Calculating Cultivation

“New face, come sit,” a middle-aged woman waved me over. The TripleX faction like others, had a gathering place for members of their faction. There was nothing else for me to do and I felt getting to understand the faction better would be useful.

What could be called a club slash bar existed that members could visit and relax at for no cost. The risk of betrayal was huge, which was why factions went out of their way for official members to reduce the chance of any resentment building.

The place was elegantly decorated like all the other faction spaces I had been in. High quality goods, with energy inside of them for durability. Extremely fine craftsmanship as well. This was only considered middle class in the Forever City, while it would have been the height of luxury back on the continent.

Along with the middle-aged woman who invited me over were two younger looking men. “Thank you senior. I am Yuan Zhou,” I said with a bow before sitting down at the chair she gestured at. Everyone had on observation blockers including me. Still, there was no doubt in my mind that they were stronger.

“I am Song Mo, and this is Song Wen and Song Zhang. Not often we get a new face around here,” she explained.

“I recently joined under the authority of Vice Leader Qiang You,” I replied and they all looked slightly surprised before schooling their expressions.

“An external member, how rare. Well let me be the first to welcome you,” Song Mo said.

“Welcome, welcome. You must be quite capable if you have been invited. I can’t recall the last person who was invited into our faction,” Song Wen said with a smile. This was a huge difference in treatment than before. It was a bit surprising.

“The last person was that Wan fellow. He never returned from his assigned mission,” Song Zhang said.

“Ah, him. He truly was forgettable. That was what, two hundred cycles ago?” Song Wen asked.

“Something like that. Now we have a fresh face once more. You are either incredibly strong, incredibly talented, or have some incredible connections,” Song Zhang said.

“It is talent. If he was strong he wouldn’t use blockers or come here. And anyone with connections would join another faction,” Song Mo said.

“I would have to say it is talent and potential as the basis for why I was invited into the TripleX faction. I am quite grateful to Qiang You for allowing me to join. I am curious how things work,” I replied.

“We wait around until we are called on for a mission. Mostly information gathering which is our specialty. But we also do support. There are other groups that show up here as well. The faction doesn’t control many towers, but we are rich. As long as you can pay, you can purchase guaranteed support from us,” Song Mo explained.

“Wouldn’t factions hire internally?” I asked.

“Most of them do. But vat grown cultivators are absolutely useless in combat. You need experience and knowledge to survive. You figure out how to beat one, you can beat them all. Even with different models of cultivators used, diversity is a strength,” Song Zhang explained. I nodded at this. It made sense. If everyone used fireball, then just bring anti-fireball techniques or equipment to an inter-faction battle.

“But mostly we do information gathering at a high level. Scout out other forces, handle diplomacy, stuff like that,” Song Wen added.

“So, talent, huh. Any special skills?” Song Mo asked. That was a tough question to answer. I couldn’t say my talent was getting around the Forever City or my cultivation. The first one needed to be phrased better and the second would invite tricky questions and reveal how weak I truly was.

“My scavenging and thieving skills gave me quite a lot of credibility with Vice Leader Qiang You,” I said.

“That is a rare path. Normally it is combat, or information gathering. But scavenging, that is fairly rare to meet anyone who goes far enough to get to a high enough level. And thieving, you stole something super valuable?” Song Mo asked.

“I was never caught. And I stole over ten million credits worth of goods,” I replied curious as to their reactions to that amount. There were nods at that amount.

“Now that is impressive. We earn about a million credits per mission. Get one every hundred cycles or so,” Song Wen said in a slightly bragging tone. I nodded at this.

“That does sound impressive,” I replied. A servant then came over to ask what I would like to drink. I said water, while the others refilled their specialty drinks. The drinks were quickly brought out along with a selection of finger food. I noted there were slight traces of energy in all the creatures.

“Welcome to the good life,” Song Mo said to me with a smile.

“It is always like this?” I asked.

“Yes. The faction takes half of anything we earn, so it is more than paid for,” she replied. My heart seized up at that. Half?! That was robbery. How would I ever repay my debt since I would have to give half of it up. Then there were more cultivation resources, equipment, and everything else.

“What about contributing in other ways? Like crafting?” I asked.

“For the specialty stuff, which is all handled out of faction. We have some allied crafting factions we work with. For the lesser stuff, that is what the servants are for. Why, were you thinking about earning money between jobs?” Song Wen asked.

“Yes. I was thinking about ways to supplement my income,” I replied.

“Take more missions, but the risks go up and your pay decreases. Also, there are only so many missions,” Song Mo said.

“Indeed, there is a limited amount to go around. Well, I am sure you will find something to do,” Song Wen added.

“What about starting a business? Who would I need to speak to about that?” I asked.

“A business? Maybe the faction quartermaster or their assistant, but their position is as high or higher than a tower master. Other tower masters handle specific duties inside the faction, but normally the faction focuses on a specific type of trade itself,” Song Mo said. I nodded at this, frustrated but not surprised.

These were all things Bones had explained to me before, but I wanted to confirm. Businesses tended to fall under the purview of the faction itself or tower masters who had the wealth to invest. If I could run a business myself, that would be it. I would just be able to run it myself. There were too many other interests to consider otherwise.

That was the problem, back on the continent and here in the Forever City. People who lived a long time created an incredibly stagnant society in terms of opportunities. What made things even worse was that the level of competition inside the Forever City was immense. At least on the continent, there was enough room to breathe, however slightly. Here, all avenues were chocked off.

It probably wasn’t intentional, but just a natural result of endless competition over a long period of time. The benefits that could be squeezed out were squeezed until only a few drops remained behind. That was the downside of an immortal society with very little scruples. It also explained why there wasn’t slavery. If you didn’t work, you would have a hard life, or become a cloaked figure living out their life on a staircase for eternity, or until the tower you were in was destroyed.

With my debt and the fact I wouldn’t be an immortal even after my breakthrough, but a massive amount of pressure on me to figure out a solution. That was clearly the point of the deal I had made with Qiang You. He wanted to profit off of me as much as possible. And the worst part was, that his investment into me would be considered a great kindness. I didn’t dare complain or bad mouth him in the slightest. I might think bad thoughts, but cultivation society hadn’t become that controlling.

Bones had mentioned that some factions did that, track people’s thoughts, but it led to the issue of creating group think and a monoculture, which didn’t stand up well against factions with more variety. I would need to find a way to create wealth without stepping on any toes. And I didn’t think a rocking chair would cut it this time.

I used to think that Half Moon City was hard mode in terms of starting up a business, but it was super easy mode compared to the Forever City. I had backing, support, a kind master, and lots of people looking out for me. Here I had only myself, and I was now in massive debt.

Escaping or running away was impossible as well. While I might be able to escape, Qiang You would follow up and put a bounty on me. Then people like the cultivators I was talking to would hunt me down professionally. I could easily see him throwing couple million credits to have me killed if I offended him by trying to get out of my debt in any other way than paying it back.

There was also the fact that the credit card I had was issued by the Heavenly Alliance. While they didn’t bother with tracking people down, or cutting off their funds, they could do that. If Qiang You was pissed enough, he could cut me off entirely from monetary transactions. I was locked in now and there was no escape. Just the pressure to earn a lot of credits and cultivate.

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“So, all your off time is spent here?” I asked. That was a lot of time to spend just sitting around. Song Mo gave me a smile.

“There are other ways to pass the time. Some people prefer to go into hibernation to pass the time quickly instead. But good food and drinks help pass the time. Also, we are tapped into the news. You hear about that tentacle incident?” Song Mo asked me.

“I was there actually. I barely managed to escape. The tentacles just ripped through the towers. Then the fighting. I was lucky to survive,” I replied.

“Well thankfully it was contained. Still making the conflict there quite interesting. If you survived such a conflict, you clearly have some talent,” Song Zhang said and tilted his head towards me.

“Thank you, senior Zhang,” I replied I continued to eat the finger food and chat with the cultivators.

I learned quite a bit chatting with them. The TripleX faction had only five towers throughout the Forever City, but they were scattered. Each tower master also held another position. Qiang You was one of the strongest, but the exact abilities and powers of the higher ups were closely guarded secrets. At that level of fighting, it was less about raw power apparently and more about skill.

“It is all about leverage with techniques. The hardest part is at the start of a fight,” Song Mo said.

“I disagree. Surviving is simple enough if you aren’t stupid. It is figuring out a counter or attacking back. Everyone is a turtle. And they like to hide in their shells,” Song Wen said.

“What do you think Yuan Zhou?” Song Mo asked me.

“I would say it all comes down to each fight. Every fight is different and each opponent has a different level of skills. At least that is what I have picked up from my limited experience. I personally prefer to hide or run away,” I replied.

“The rabbit strategy. That is smart. When the tigers and dragons prowl about, it is better not to be caught,” Song Zhang said.

“Bounties are the most important thing. That is where you can make real money,” Song Mo said.

“Bounties? How does that work?” I asked. This was something Bones hadn’t talked about.

“Well, we are a mercenary faction. Hunting and killing targets is a quick way to make a lot of credits. Factions put up bounties on members of factions they don’t like. We share a kill list with a couple other mercenary factions. Good news, that also keeps us off those kinds of lists,” Song Mo explained.

“What are we talking, a couple million credits?” I asked.

“For experienced members, yeah. But a tower master is easily priced at tens of millions. Key members of a faction, hundreds of millions of credits. It’s a lot, but it is cheaper than fighting. And no one knows who posts the bounties on a specific faction. That information is kept strictly secret and handled by the hire ups,” Song Mo said.

“But we don’t get them if they come here. Bad for business. But mostly it is just for show and to make people motivated to go in for the kill,” Song Zhang added.

“Couldn’t it be abused. Like a faction setting up fake members?” I asked.

“Everyone is registered with the Heavenly Alliance, including you. Don’t look so surprised. They keep track of it all. I have no doubt they have at least an entire tower dedicated to tracking everything and everyone in the Forever City,” Song Wen said.

“They would just have someone super powerful, nota full tower,” Song Mo said.

“There is a reason traveling through the core area of the Forever City is restricted. And they probably have both. That’s the big rule. Never go against the Heavenly Alliance. You see a member, you get on your knees and hope they don’t crush you,” Song Zhang explained.

“They aren’t that bad. Don’t listen to your seniors too much. They just like to scare new people,” Song Mo said.

“It is fine. I appreciate the warnings. So, no assassination team or faction?” I asked.

“At that kind of power difference, no. Well, it is rare. I mean the senses of a tower master are immense, and their personal chambers are incredibly protected. Anything too powerful, well you will draw the wrong kind of attention,” Song Wen said.

“Trust us, we have brainstormed on the idea several times. Just one assassination, and we would have loads of credits, but it is too risky. You either are daring and dead. Or cautious and alive,” Song Mo said. I nodded at this. That mirrored my life philosophy as well. I didn’t like fighting.

“Anything else? Like going into the Firmament?” I asked.

“Ha! Oh, that is a good joke,” Song Wen said.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Song Zhang asked while staring at me.

“I heard it was a good way to get credits,” I said.

“And die horribly. The things out there. Well, even the faction leader would be hesitant. You have to be from one of the mega-factions to even consider such a thing. And a lot of power to back yourself up. Sure, people go out there, but you never know what you will run into,” Song Mo said and shook her head.

“At least with cultivators you know what to expect and can assess danger. But out there, poking around different bubbles, you are just asking for the wrong kind of attention. Anything worth taking will always be claimed by something stronger,” Song Zhang said.

“So, no trading with other cultivation societies or super-organizations?” I asked.

“That is the kind of stuff the Heavenly Alliance handles. Not low-level people like us. Sure, there is the very rare job that might lead outside the Forever City, but they aren’t worth doing. Too much risk, compared to whatever reward is being handed out,” Song Mo explained.

There went another idea up in flames on how to make money. Post scarcity societies sucked for capitalism. I had known this before, but it was incredibly aggravating at the moment. The opportunities for any kind of advancement were just non-existent. And all these high-level cultivators did not want any kind of entertainment. They were aesthetic monks, lusting after more power. Sure it appeared that the portions of the tower were luxuriously decorated, but at a certain point it was just a matter of personal preference.

When one had millions of credits of wealth they could move around at a whim and were immortal, they would see to their comfort first. But even the drinks and food I was enjoying, only cost bits, fractions of a credit as their raw value. They weren’t even valuable enough for a faction to consider charging for them.

Even if the faction spent ten credits a day on a member for a hundred years, or cycles, it was only 365,000 credits. That amount would be easily earned back from just one of their missions. The economy didn’t have a need for physical goods, it was a service economy. With the primary service of any value being violence.

It was weird to look at such an advanced society, seeing them come so far, and be so utterly barren of societal advancement.

“There has to be other opportunities around here,” I said.

“If you find any, let us know,” Song Mo added.

“Better than sitting around and just chatting most of the time,” Song Wen said.

“What about training combat skills or techniques?” I asked.

“We do that, but there is only so good you can get just practicing. What we do works. It is all about slow and steady, building up those credits,” Song Zhang answered.

I then realized that all of these members were immortals. It should have been obvious before, but they were so far above me. It was just that the faction didn’t have a low enough rank for a member like me. If they knew my actual strength, they would be truly shocked. I was the lowest of the low in terms of ability and power.

With the observation blockers on place on all of us, there was no way to tell how strong we all were. That was the same reason beings were hesitant to start fights. Strength was normally assumed by one’s position. Since I was a faction member, they assumed that while I was weak based on my statements, I was on a similar level to them.

But the truth was, all three of them were far above me. That difference was hard to process. They were content to take the safe jobs, since time was not a valuable resource for them. There was no rush to get stronger. The safer they were, the longer they would live, which would naturally allow them to earn more credits and increase their strength however immortals increased their strength.

“That is frustrating. I was hoping to start a business of some kind,” I said.

“When you run a tower, then you can. But getting a tower, now that is incredibly hard. And this faction doesn’t do that, since it invites trouble. Normally we are nestled in with other dispersed factions or allied with a larger faction where our towers are located,” Song Zhang answered.

I nodded at this. They were being surprisingly helpful, but it made sense. If karma impacted me, they were probably trying to place me in their debt. As for Qiang You, him helping me in any way massively tilted the scales in his favor. The sad part was that all of these cultivators would be confused since I was unbound to karma. I was too weak. And I probably would never be bound. It all depended on the path I took once I reached immortality, which was a very far distance away.

Looking around I saw a few other small groups chatting and a couple individuals sitting by themselves as well. “Seems like there are a lot of members,” I said.

“Well this faction is more concentrated than most. But we also need members to defend in case of an attack. You can’t leave yourself defenseless, you know?” Song Wen said.

“Just surprised at how many members there are. Like a thousand per tower?” I asked.

“I would say that is about right. But the numbers aren’t made public for security reasons. And everyone has their own little groups they prefer. We just like to greet the new people like yourself,” Song Mo said, clearly implying that after this I wouldn’t be welcomed. Clearly, they were trying to get some kind of karma advantage on people who showed up, like a hazing ritual.

“That is understandable. Thank you for sharing so much,” I replied, knowing that their plan had backfired. Even the nice people were looking out for themselves. At least I had a much better idea of how the TripleX faction actually worked now and the organizational structure. This tended to be much more unique for every faction along with their primary revenue source was.

Looking around again, I noticed some members playing board games, others reading stuff on pads, and it was a pretty calm atmosphere. The kind you would find at an elite social club. I felt like I was an imposter and didn’t belong here. While everyone had observation blockers, they were all immortals. It was incredibly stressful and made me feel weird in a way that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

While I was part of this club, I didn’t feel like part of it. While I continued to listen and chat with the three Song cultivators who had invited me to sit down, I realized I was entertainment for them as well. There was rarely anything knew and I could see them looking at me and my reactions. They probably had spoken with their counterparts, countless times.

“Are there any social tournaments like for games?” I asked once there was a lull in the conversation.

“There are events hosted by the Heavenly Alliance that you can look up. They cost a lot of credits to join and the competition is tough. The Dimensional Go competition is legendary,” Song Zhang answered. I soon learned that Go was apparently too simple and easy, so a three dimensional version of that game was the most popular past time for competitive individuals.

If you hadn’t played a million games and studied for at least ten thousand cycles, or years, it wasn’t even worth attempting to compete. It would just be a crushing humiliation. The grand masters played games that lasted around five to ten cycles. With some moves involving weeks of contemplation.

There were other games out there and competitions, but one needed credits and a lot of time to invest. The immortals who pursued these hobbies were incredibly competitive. And even the most hopeless of individuals would get better with endless time to practice. It was impossible for me to find any traction in that area of the Forever City. Another aspect of the culture Bones had failed to mention.

It was a minor detail, but an important one. There was a middle class out there. I just needed to find the right item to appeal to cultivators and a method of distribution. But the market was there. I would need to put a lot more thought into any kind of business idea I came up with.