"You have proof? You have tested the healing efficacy of the pods?" Elder Zhenqui, the Elder of Healing Hall, asked.

I wasn't surprised she had been the first to question my declaration. Elder Zhenqui was beautiful, and she knew it and used her beauty as a bludgeon at times. She made obvious efforts to accentuate her appearance and to showcase that beauty. Today she wore a richly detailed cultivator's gown instead of the standard Hanfu, the gown dyed the deepest blue. She'd commissioned gold and silver carps to be embroidered as accents across the entire garment and had added an interesting belt of silver filigree to complete the ensemble.

Her clothing and bearing denoted a woman of wealth, but I wondered if she wasn't trying to prove something by displaying such an ostentatious amount of waste. She wore at least one ring on every finger, the jewelry garish instead of stylish. Most cultivators wouldn't bother with rings as an ornament, but if they did, they wore one. One that served as a storage device, but she had paid to have beast cores and spirit stones polished and set in such number that some fingers sported two rings.

For most, the effect of spirit stones and beast cores as jewelry might be impressive. For me, I thought it tacky. It was easy to tell she was compensating for something, and since Four Element Sect was so new, I reasoned it must be her position. She would probably never had the chance at Head of Healing Hall at her age or Realm if the Empire hadn't allowed the Sect to form.

"Not extensive testing, unfortunately," I replied once I was sure the Patriarch was going to allow the Elders gathered to ask questions.

"The Lord who was using his people as Qi batteries made use of a local insect to increase Qi production. If a person was injected with the insect's venom, their Qi absorption would approach that of a Body Refinement cultivator, but it came at a cost.

"It gave him more Qi to power the eight trigrams formation, at the cost of his people's lives. The venom slowly destroying their ability to gather Qi, and without that ability, it became impossible for them to maintain their body's homeostasis. Each of them would die in excruciating pain.

"Once I discovered the seedpods, their purifying characteristics became obvious. I decided to test their efficacy by placing the woman in a bed of pods, hoping they would have a leaching effect and they would draw the poison from them. My theory worked with even better results than I'd expected.

"Not only did the pods leach the venom from each women's body; they also served to reignite their ability to absorb Qi. As they purified the venom they extracted, they converted it into pure Qi, Qi that was able to kick-start and repair the damage done to each woman's Qi network.

"I assumed that if they were this effective in their raw form, then once they could be processed into pill form those properties could be condensed and further refined.

"I am hopeful that a pill can be created that would counteract the damage done by ingesting other pills, by leaching the impurities those pills leave behind. Perhaps another that would help a cultivator breakthrough Realms without the side effects and danger of the current variant."

"I would like a sample of those pods," Elder Zhenqui said.

"As would I," Elder Dill, Head of Alchemy Hall, and Elder Korn, Head of Herbal Hall said in tandem, echoing her.

"I apologize, honored Elders," I said, "but I will not be sharing any of the pods with Four Element Sect."

My pronouncement had an immediate effect, the Elders in conclave both surprised and angered by my words. Only Elder Shadow and Patriarch Umbra refrained from reacting. I interpreted that lack of reaction as tacit approval of my action. That interpretation may have been foolish, but sometimes a fool's choice was the only choice.

"You would deprive the Empire of a resource that might save lives? A resource that might finally solve the problem of impurities accumulating from pill ingestion?" Elder Zhenqui demanded in disbelief.

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"The Empire, no," I replied.

"I will make arrangements to ship enough of a sampling to the Emperor and to my Alchemist mentor in Flowing Water Sect for them to experiment with the seeds. I am certain between the two parties, one of them will be able to unlock the properties of the seedpod and create a series of pills that enhance the purifying nature of the plant.

"I simply refuse to share with Four Element Sect," I continued.

"Why?" Elder Satida, Head of Contribution Hall demanded.

"Elder Dill has made it clear that my contribution to the Sect is meaningless. He has denied me access to Alchemy Hall, a position I won during the Emperor's tournament. That would be bad enough, but he has also denied me access to all Alchemy information that has been collected and stored in the Library.

"I understand his actions involved a Cultivator's Oath, and that he may have had no choice in the matter, but that is his burden to bear. Mine is finding a way to continue my progress in Alchemy, and if I am going to need to purchase formula and study material, I need something of value to trade.

"The pods should allow me to purchase the resources that I need."

My decision to deny the Sect of the seedpods was not a capricious decision, although there were elements of revenge. The chance to create a new pill was a rare event. Most Alchemists were more concerned with perfecting the known formulas. The few that spent time experimenting did so because they had reached a bottleneck in advancing their profession. It became almost impossible to reach Masterclass in any profession without a Heavenly opportunity.

The potential for these seedpods to supply that opportunity for an Alchemist was a fortuitous event. One that seldom occurred after thousands of years of alchemical research. My pronouncement that I would not share any of the material with Alchemy Hall, Herbal Hall, and Elder Dill specifically was a major blow to both Halls and the professional aspirations of Elder Korn and Elder Dill.

Elder Zhenqui and Elder Korn were not happy at my words, but at least they were reasonable enough to make their anger at Elder Dill as obvious as their anger at me. Elder Satida, the Head of Contribution Hall, was more appraising in her deliberation. I was certain she was considering how many contribution-points the pods would fetch, and if they were used successfully in creating pills what that would mean for new inventory.

"I am sure we can come to an agreement," Patriarch Umbra coaxed.

I wasn't falling for that again. The last agreement we had reached was one where I was supposed to remain nondescript. She had all but painted a bullseye on my back by having this meeting publicly.

I didn't know what had changed, why she had decided to thrust me into the limelight, but I came to a quick decision. If I was going to be noticed and remembered, I would implement my own plan to protect myself. Instead of humble and obsequious, I would act as a diva and pretend insult.

"I don't think we can," I refuted.

"Flowing Water had these types of agreement," I sneered. "Agreements, where those considered less, were 'encouraged' to give way to those considered more deserving.

"I've had enough of sacrificing for the greater good. Sacrificing to people that feel they deserve anything and everything they see. The seedpods and cores belong to me, by right. They were legally confiscated from smuggling operations discovered in my Fief.

"Perhaps you can force my spatial device open and steal the pods I am holding, but if you do so, I will file a grievance with the Empire. I haven't studied the Empire's laws, but I'm certain laws exist that protect Barons from just this type of theft.

"And when I file my grievance, I will make sure to include details. The knowledge that I had made it known I would be sharing this resource with the Emperor.

"He might turn a blind eye from theft against one of his Barons, but I doubt he'll ignore that same theft when it affects him."

"Why would you think we would steal or force you to give up the seedpods?" Elder Zhenqui asked, insulted.

"Why?" I said in disbelief.

"Because it is common practice at Flowing Water. Maybe I am wrong, and that Sect has been all but lost to corruption, something endemic to them. And if I am, and that is not standard for all Sects, I apologize most humbly, but my experience is that those who have the strength, think that strength also gives them the right to act as they will.

"And so far, that seems to have been proven out at Four Elements. After all, it was a person that I beat honorably in a dual, mandated by the Emperor, that forced Elder Dill to act against me. That person is now safely ensconced in Alchemy Hall.

"He is rewarded by using an Oath to force an Elder's hands. An Oath that denied me unfairly, a position I had won with my placement in the Alchemy competition the Emperor sponsored.

"I don't see how this is any different from the blatant theft and corruption that exists in Flowing Water.

"When an Elder can be forced to ignore the mandate of the Empire, and the person that forces his hand suffers no repercussions, it seems obvious that corruption is everywhere, and the rule of 'might makes right' is so fundamental to our society that his actions are dismissed as trivial.

"I have learned this lesson well over the past year. Well enough to know that any power I might have to control the distribution of the seedpods will only be possible by borrowing the Empire's protection.

"A protection I will accept."