The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

The next day, the trio split up early in the morning after breakfast.

They had discussed which craft they wanted to pursue and planned to investigate further at the various guilds. Once they had settled on which craft they would like to learn, they would then head to The Orchid Covenant headquarters to find potential mentors.

As a trade-focused organization, The Orchid Covenant was not unfamiliar with the benefits of employing its own craftsmen to control its own supply chain. One of its core focuses was to offer its younger members the guidance they needed to become these craftsmen. It was something that aided the various independent cultivators greatly when they banded together, as they would usually be inferior to united organizations with uninterrupted heritages.

As for Li Lang, he headed to headquarters to do some pill-refining first before setting off on his mentor search. After all, he had already decided on which craft to pursue.

Of the five crafts, Li Lang would be lying if he didn’t say the Artificer profession interested him the most after alchemy. Perhaps because it had to do with metallurgy, which had the most connections to his world, but he still ended up selecting Brushweaving.

This was because talismans were just too useful. While Artificers were famed for producing treasured weapons and armor, talismans had much more utility. As someone who had frequented talisman stores, Li Lang knew exactly how varied and useful the effects talismans had.

It wasn’t a coincidence all his trump cards so far were talismans. On top of having a myriad of uses, it also came at a cheap price for the maximum effect. The only downside was that they were single-use items. While Li Lang knew he couldn’t craft the most powerful talismans right away, he wanted to have extra options. It was more sustainable to create his own than to rely on stores.

By noon, Li Lang finished refining a batch of Nourishment Pills and made his way down to the usual counter, where he settled his business.

“Greetings, sir. How many pills would you like to sell today?” The clerk asked as soon as she recognized the young boy with a big head.

“I won’t be selling today. I’m looking to learn Brushweaving, so I’m looking to see if you had manuals or mentors currently looking for disciples.”

“...I see. Please give me one moment.”

The clerk quickly skimmed through her notebook, scanning for the relevant section with the information she wanted.

“Thank you for waiting. I see that there are currently three masters accepting students within Emberglow City that are part of our organization. Let me write down their details for you.”

When Li Lang received the note, he found it had details about the background of the mentors and their requirements.

All these Brushweavers had various reasons as to why they were looking for students. Some had legacies they wanted to pass on, while others simply wanted an assistant. There were even a few who wanted to view how other practitioners of their techniques would progress so they could gain inspiration for themselves.

As Brushweavers were still people and they all came from various backgrounds and motivations.

As luck would have it, the list Li Lang received contained all three types of these people.

The first candidate on the list was a middle-aged woman named Mei Wanying. She employed a technique from an old legacy that was passed down to her. She accepted dozens of students in an attempt to spread those teachings.

She happened to own one of the large chain talisman stores. This meant it didn’t come as a surprise when her main condition was that during her mentorship, you had to sell the finished product to her business, which spanned throughout the Luminescent Domain. The main issue was that she would only pay a small flat fee for each completed talisman, so it wouldn’t suit those looking to make money.

The second candidate was a young man by the name of Yi Lin. His condition was mainly to have his apprentice be his assistant as well. They wanted their potential students to be their assistants for a certain number of hours each month. This made it unsuitable for those who were short on time and had other obligations.

The last candidate was an old man named Huan Ming. His condition was, in a way, the most lax. He simply required the student to sign a contract that stipulated they would share their experiences as a Brushweaver every so often.

No one worked for free, and each of these mentor candidates had their own agendas. Li Lang fell into thought as he decided which mentor would fit his needs the best. His goal was simply to gain enough proficiency to be able to do his own research on the subject matter.

While it was ideal for him to become good enough to pass whatever trials awaited him in the pocket realm, his main goal was to scratch the itch he had had since the moment he laid eyes on talismans. And to do that, it would be ideal for him to learn the basics before jumping into research.

“Sir, maybe you can go meet them before deciding?” the clerk suggested upon seeing the boy struggling with his dilemma.

“...You’re right. Thank you for your help.”

With that, Li Lang set off to the addresses written on the note he received.

The first mentor candidate he would be visiting was the easiest to find. The address written down was a popular talisman store on the main street.

It didn’t take long for Li Lang to find the grand storefront among the hustle and bustle of the streets. There didn’t seem to be many people heading inside, but that was typical for talisman stores, especially in a city with a high ratio of mortals.

He stepped past the lacquered doors to find a long corridor with tables on both sides. Inside were half a dozen guests, silently browsing the various talismans on and behind the tables. There were more than double the amount of clerks than customers, which meant the idle workers immediately noticed the new arrival.

“Welcome! Is there anything I can help you with?” a young girl politely greeted.

“Yes, I’m actually here to see Miss Mei Wanying. Please tell her my name is Li Lang and that I’m also from The Orchid Covenant.”

The young girl’s smile twitched as she recomposed herself at the unexpected answer.

“...Of course. Please give me one moment.”

The girl ran out towards the back while her coworkers glanced over for a brief moment before resuming their business with their clients.

While he waited, Li Lang browsed through the various talismans on sale. He spotted all the ones he had previously used, the warding talisman, concealing talisman, and decoy talisman. The entire store was well stocked.

Now that Li Lang planned to learn Brushweaving from scratch, his attention was naturally drawn to the more basic talismans. One of the cheapest talismans for sale was a simple water talisman. The explanation labeled below simply explained that it could produce a certain volume of water depending on its grade.

It was a good choice for travelers heading to places that lacked water sources.

The other rudimentary choices were talismans of different elements like fire and earth. Most of the more advanced talismans were offshoots from these elements.

Just as Li Lang laid eyes on the explosive talismans he once saw the Clear Heart elder used to clear away the Abductress’ smokescreen, the young clerk returned and called out to him.

“Umm, Sir. The master has agreed to see you. Please follow me.”

Under the eyes of all the other customers, Li Lang was led into the back and arrived at a small courtyard. There was a bamboo water fountain on the side of a small pond. The girl led Li Lang around this garden toward one of the side buildings.

“Master, I have brought Li Lang.”

“Good, please come in. You may go back to work, Lan Er.”

Seeing the young girl instantly take her leave, Li Lang took a deep breath before entering the room. He found a middle-aged woman standing by a table, holding up a large scroll with both hands. On the scroll was a painting of mountains and rivers, and she was holding it up to the candlelight.

“Greetings, Senior Mei. I am Li Lang.”

It was only at Li Lang’s introduction that she finally glanced over at the young boy with a large head.

“I take it you’re here to learn about Brushweaving?”

“...Exactly. As expected of Senior, you’re able to see right through me.”

“There aren’t many reasons for the covenant to give out my name and location to someone as young as yourself. Let us cut to the chase. I stated my requirements for recruiting students clearly to the guild. Are you willing to accept them?”

“That…I’m still considering and have come to see with my own eyes.”

“Oh, and what do you think about what you have seen so far?”

“...You run quite a nice store, so I believe you must be a skilled mentor in the ways of Brushweaving as well. But can I learn the exact amount you will pay for completing talismans?”

“One Qi stone for every three talismans. That is already generous of me to pay for my students when I am the one providing all the materials. Back in my days, we would work for our mentors for free.”

“Hmm, do you mind if I take a look at your other students? I heard you accept a number of them, correct?”

“They’re in the room down the hall. While you won’t be able to learn much from just watching, do know that our school of Brushweaving has been passed down for hundreds of years for a reason. If you want to learn Brushweaving the correct way, I am your best choice in this city.”

With those words, Mei Wanying went back to appreciating the scroll in her hand.

Li Lang awkwardly left her be and ventured into the adjacent room alone. When he opened the door, he found a spacious room with a dozen desks spread across, like a classroom. Behind each desk was a young cultivator, who all had their full concentration on the nascent talisman before them. They held their brush intently, and all had a serious expression on their face.

In fact, none of them even bothered to look over at Li Lang entering.

Instead of calling them out, Li Lang took the opportunity to watch them at work. It was obvious they were in the middle of inscribing talismans, and Li Lang welcomed the opportunity to observe.