Steadily Upgrading Everything!
Chapter 22: I need Knowledge.

Chapter 22: I need Knowledge.

The next morning, John awoke before dawn.

The early sunlight bled softly into his room through the edges of the window shutters.

After a brief cultivation session to circulate his Qi, he pulled on his robe and hood, adjusted his aura with the Double Face Lizard Technique, and stepped out onto the streets of Nine Sky Clan.

The eastern market buzzed to life as he arrived, narrow alleys lined with potion stalls, cultivation scroll vendors, street food carts, and a few rogue cultivators whispering behind curtains.

The smell of grilled meat and incense mixed in the air.

There was chatter everywhere, voices full of tension, curiosity, and rumor.

John moved quietly among the crowd, his senses sharpened, his Spatial Awareness expanded to catch stray murmurs and veiled conversations.

After an hour of casual wandering and listening, he found himself seated in a modest restaurant on the second floor, overlooking the street below.

He sipped a bowl of broth, ears perked as nearby cultivators whispered with excited voices.

"They still haven’t found him, have they?" a man at the next table asked in a low voice.

"No. The Blue Sapphire Clan is furious. That bastard didn’t just kill a few guards—he killed Fatmaster, and Giant Sorrow too!"

"Now they’re saying it’s more than just revenge," another added. "There’s word that he’s got a terrifying cultivation level... Spirit Seed Realm, at the very least."

John’s expression didn’t change, but inside, a pulse of alertness rippled through him.

Then came a new voice, deeper and more cautious.

"Have you heard about the incident in Deep Havoc Wilderness? They say the same man encountered the young miss of Nine Sky Clan."

"You mean Briana Flare?" someone gasped.

"Yes. She was knocked unconscious, they say. Only because her guard was quick to act did they escape alive."

"Impossible...! She’s at the Blood Refinement Realm! You’re telling me some rogue cultivator overpowered her?"

"That’s what’s spreading. They say the attacker didn’t just overpower her—he moved faster than her flying sword. Her guard claimed he couldn’t even sense the man’s cultivation."

Gasps followed.

"Then... he must be hiding his realm. That means... Spirit Seed Realm. Maybe even higher."

John slowly placed his spoon down, a quiet sigh escaping him.

"Not only am I wanted by the Blue Sapphire Clan... now the Nine Sky Clan is after me too."

He leaned back in his seat, letting his eyes drift to the crowds below.

He watched merchants haggle and children run by, and yet the world felt narrower now, as if invisible walls were closing in.

"I must be even more careful moving forward. No slip-ups."

He tapped the wooden table with his finger thoughtfully.

Thanks to his Level 7 Double Face Lizard Technique, he didn’t need to worry about being identified by appearance or aura.

His current disguise portrayed him as a young man barely in the Bone Refinement Realm, unremarkable, forgettable.

But he knew better than to rely on technique alone.

"Even the most perfect mask can crack if worn without caution," he whispered to himself.

As he finished his meal and stepped back into the streets, the sun had begun to dip lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the clan’s eastern side.

His feet moved aimlessly, but his mind was sharp, already planning routes of escape, hiding places, fallback points.

"They may be searching for a ghost," he thought with a faint smirk. "And I intend to keep it that way."

Tugging his hood down further, he melted into the crowd, just another face in the Nine Sky Clan, but with a storm brewing behind his calm eyes.

As John made his way through the bustling streets toward Nine Sky Inn, he immediately sensed something strange.

The air was denser, not just with the warm breeze that whispered through the tiled rooftops, but with cultivation energy.

The crowd today was thicker than usual, but not just with ordinary townsfolk.

There were robed figures lining the streets, their movements graceful and confident, their steps light but deliberate.

John’s brows furrowed slightly, and he instinctively expanded his Spatial Awareness to full range.

A pulse of Qi spread from his body like an invisible radar, brushing past the cultivators in every direction.

"Blood Refinement... Spirit Seed... even... Spirit Bud?"

His eyes narrowed. "What’s going on?"

Every few paces, he caught the scent of pills, herbal, pungent, metallic, alchemic.

Some smelled of healing medicine, others bore the unmistakable sharpness of refining enhancers.

"They smell... like alchemists."

Some of them even wore white or pale blue robes embroidered with small cauldrons or pill diagrams.

It was clear they weren’t just wandering cultivators, these people had come here with purpose.

"There are dozens more high-realm cultivators than usual in the city..."

"What kind of event could attract this many strong people?"

John blended into the crowd, moving slowly, calmly, his disguise keeping him entirely unremarkable.

His expression was blank, but his mind raced.

Using his Spatial Awareness subtly, he scanned nearby conversations.

Two men sitting on a bench beneath a willow tree caught his interest.

He tilted his head, fine-tuning his sense to capture their voices.

"The Blue Cauldron Sect is holding their entrance exam here this time. A rare chance," one said.

"Yeah, and the Nine Sky Clan is hosting it. One month from now. Only those at Blood Refinement Realm and above can even try."

"I heard it’s not just a test of cultivation, you have to demonstrate real pill refining skill. They’ll have real flames, real ingredients... even old Sect elders will be watching."

John’s eyes lit up with interest.

"Blue Cauldron Sect... that’s one of the top alchemy sects in this region."

He remained a silent observer as more conversations confirmed the same, the city had become a hotbed of preparation for this rare sect recruitment.

Alchemists, pill cultivators, herbalists, even rogue geniuses with unusual skills, were all flocking to Nine Sky Clan.

Back in the familiar room on the fifth floor of Nine Sky Inn, John sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed.

The window was shut, filtering out the rising chatter of the streets.

The glow of a nearby lantern flickered across the wall.

His mind sifted through the information he’d gathered.

"The Blue Cauldron Sect is coming here personally... and the test is one month from now."

"Minimum entry requirement: Blood Refinement Realm... and that’s just to get inside the door."

"And it’s not combat-focused... it’s all about pill refinement."

He tapped his fingers on his knees in thought.

"If I could join the sect... I would gain status, protection, and a legitimate identity inside the martial world."

"No clan would openly mess with a rising star from the Blue Cauldron Sect, especially not one with talent."

A slow, confident smile curled at the edge of his lips.

"Time to add alchemy to my list of weapons."

After pondering the possibilities for a while, John slowly rose from his seat.

The sun had just begun its descent behind the tall buildings of Nine Sky Clan, casting a golden-orange hue across the streets.

The buzz of voices and footsteps outside had only grown louder, thick with anticipation and ambition stirred by the upcoming sect examination.

"I need more than determination and spirit," he thought as he adjusted his robe and tucked a few gold coins into his pocket.

"I need knowledge. Real alchemical knowledge, and practice."

With his disguise still active and his aura still masked as a mere Bone Refinement cultivator, he left the inn and merged with the crowd.

His steps were steady, deliberate.

Not long after, he arrived at a familiar place, the Nine Sky Martial House.

It stood three stories tall with polished stone walls and crimson roof tiles that shimmered faintly under the waning sun.

The large signboard above the entrance bore the same elegant characters he remembered from before.

This was the place where he had once purchased the Double Face Lizard Technique, which had since saved his life more than once.

Now, he was here for a different purpose.

John stood outside the door for a few breaths, observing the cultivators who trickled in and out of the shop.

Most were here to purchase weapons, scrolls, or Qi techniques.

But John had only one target in mind today, alchemy manuals.

"I need to study the basics thoroughly. If I can get a proper alchemy book and drop it into my Upgrade Slot, I’ll be able to boost my skill passively while also practicing."

"And to practice, I’ll need herbs, spiritual furnaces, and flames..."

Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside.

The familiar chime of a hanging bell greeted him as he entered.

The scent of scroll ink, polished steel, and faint incense lingered in the air.

Several young attendants, dressed in navy blue robes with the shop’s emblem stitched on their sleeves, bustled between shelves stacked high with ancient scrolls, manuals, and weapons mounted on racks.

John walked through the aisles, passing sections labeled "Sword Arts," "Spear Mastery," "Defense Techniques," and "Qi Enhancement." At the far left, a smaller and less-crowded section caught his eye, "Auxiliary Arts."

"There it is."

Among the shelves in that section were dusty tomes and worn scrolls labeled Array Carving, Spiritual Cooking, Talisman Crafting, and finally, Alchemy.

John crouched and ran his fingers along the titles. Most were introductory manuals, but one scroll stood out, it had a faint glow to it and bore a silver thread binding.

He pulled it out and unrolled it slightly.

"Foundation of Pill Cultivation: Herbs, Flames & Flow"

"Perfect," he whispered.