Somewhere in Caprath, inside a rather lavish room, a woman could be seen doing her makeup. Well, the sheer amount of makeup she wore was too much to simply be called makeup. She was practically remolding her face with paint.
This woman was Daisy Ashland, the second wife of Dave Ashland, the Lord of Caprath City. Daisy was one of the five wives Dave had married among his many concubines. She was both brilliant and, well, beautiful—makeup beautiful, at least.
Suddenly, in a certain corner of the room, a figure appeared.
"My Lady, we have a problem," the figure spoke.
"What is it?" Daisy asked, putting her makeup brush down.
"Lilian Alderford is awake," the figure said, shifting Daisy's mood slightly. She was shocked to hear the report but quickly composed herself.
"How? How did it happen?" she asked in a stunned tone.
"A new alchemist by the name of Kent appeared on the scene a few days ago, and, to everyone's shock, Lilian woke up perfectly fine. She's even well enough to be taken back to the sect," the reporter said.
"What do we know of this new alchemist?" Daisy asked.
"He's young and, well, he claims to be the disciple of that alchemist...the shameless alchemist."
"The one who ran and hid in the mountains?" Daisy asked.
"Yes. He's just a Level 3 Root Blossom stage cultivator," the reporter added before asking, "My Lady, should I report this to Lord Dave? I made sure she would stay asleep until the Young Miss arrived, but it seems things might not go as planned."
"No," Daisy said. "I will do it myself. Just go back; I'll handle the rest from here."
"As you say, my Lady," the figure bowed and left. A few minutes later, Daisy also left and went to another lavish building. The building was constructed with rare stones that seemed to absorb the spirit qi in the air.
Perhaps it was due to the formation placed around the room, but the spiritual qi there was unusually rich and plentiful.
In one of the rooms inside this enormous building, a man could be seen thrusting his body against a woman who seemed lost among the stars. He showed no mercy, and her moans filled the room, even echoing down the halls.
Daisy stopped in front of the door, and without knocking, she pushed it open and walked in.
"For heaven's sake, Daisy, it's not yet your turn, so why are you interrupting us?" the woman, bent at an unnatural angle, shouted.
"Shut up, Vida. We have a problem, so snap out of your horniness, and let's talk about it," Daisy shouted back, and it seemed to work. Vida, the third wife of Dave Ashland, calmed down instantly.
"What is it, my love?" Dave asked, still moving his hips, but slower this time.
"Lilian Alderford has woken up because of some new alchemist," Daisy announced, causing Dave to thrust rather forcefully, making Vida yelp in pain. But Dave didn't pay attention to her; he pulled away and moved toward Daisy.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, I just got the report from our spy in the Alderford mansion," Daisy replied. "What should we do? We can't let that spirit root slip through our fingers; we've invested a lot in this."
"We won't. Our daughter will get that spirit root, no matter what," Dave said before turning to Vida. "Get that useless son of yours to go to the Alderford family and propose marriage to Lilian," he commanded.
"As you say, my Lord," Vida said, unhappy but obedient. In the Ashland family, they all knew that despite being only the second wife, Daisy was far more intelligent than the rest—even more than Dave himself—so they always deferred to her.
"And this new alchemist, what should we do about him?" Daisy asked.
"I'll send some men to take him out the moment he steps out of the Alderford mansion," Dave replied. A few seconds later, Daisy was gone. Vida, although reluctant, also left to handle the task assigned to her.
"Damn it," Dave cursed. "Why so suddenly? I won't let the only Platinum Grade Spirit Root in this city slip through my fingers," he added, clenching his fists. Soon, he, too, left the room.
The reason he was so intent on securing this spirit root for his daughter was that, in this world, Spirit Roots were everything. They determined one's potential, and many believed that to ascend, one must possess a very high-grade spirit root.
Those known as prodigies typically had higher-grade spirit roots. In Lilian's case, she had a Platinum Grade Spirit Root. This meant that someday she could potentially ascend to a higher realm.
In Sonox, there are eight different grades of spirit roots: Common, Copper, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum, Ruby, and Dark Gold. The latter two are the rarest, but even Platinum is exceptionally rare.
So, when it was discovered that Lilian had a Platinum Grade Spirit Root, the Ashland family became envious and plotted to steal it for their daughter.
They had put Lilian to sleep and were waiting for the Alderford family to become desperate. Then they would swoop in, pretending to help her and take her away. The rest would depend on the specialist they had contracted to perform the transplant.
However, with Kent's unexpected appearance, everything had changed. It now seemed likely that this grand opportunity would soon slip through their fingers.
Their next move has already been implemented.
But would they succeed? That question now rested on Kent, who had finally advanced to the Sword Adept stage. He was leaving the Alderford mansion with Unity to explore the city and possibly sell his Qi Gathering Pills.
But before leaving, he went to meet with John Alderford, who had requested an audience.
"Once again, thank you for helping my daughter, which was akin to helping my family," John Alderford said.
"I was just doing my job, Lord Alderford," Kent replied with a small smile.
"You can call me John, and please, take this token as a form of our appreciation," John said, handing over a pouch to Kent.
Kent reached out and received the pouch with a warm smile. The Tower had already counted the amount—it was 1000 spirit stones, equivalent to 100,000 gold coins. More than enough to secure the ingredients needed to improve his alchemy skills.
"Thank you, Lord... erm, John. But I have a request, I would like to request Unity to escort me around the city. It's my first time here, and I want to get the full Caprath experience," Kent asked.
"Are you sure? Unity is just a level 4 Root Master. If you want, I can assign some Root Grandmaster guards to escort you," John proposed.
"I don't need bodyguards, John; I just want a guide, and Unity is a rather pleasant guard," Kent said, casting a sidelong glance at Unity, who was standing beside Lilian and her mother.
"As you say, Master Kent," John said, turning to Unity. "You will accompany Master Kent. Make sure he feels welcomed in Caprath City," he instructed.
"Alright, my Lord," Unity bowed.
"Then I will see you all later." With that, Kent and Unity left, taking a rather fine-looking carriage to tour the city for the next few hours.
Back inside the hall, John and his family entered into a sudden discussion that seemed to revolve around Kent...