The next day, Eva introduced Alaric to four people: Son, Jun, Crox, and Hundao. Alaric recognized Son, Jun, and Crox, recalling brief past encounters with each of them, but Hundao’s unfamiliar face and reserved manner immediately made it clear that he was new to the city and likely unfamiliar with its customs and dynamics.

They were currently sitting at the same open area where he had encountered that mysterious man before. The first three tried to hide it, but he could tell they were nervous under his gaze. The last one, despite looking timid, wasn’t showing any sign of nervousness.

’It seems I got that under control, even if a little bit.’

After spending some time around people in the city, Alaric noticed a distinct pattern: most individuals seemed to go out of their way to avoid interacting with him. Although some might consider this avoidance beneficial for steering clear of unnecessary trouble, Alaric saw it as a significant obstacle to his future ambitions. He reasoned that such isolation could cause him to miss out on valuable connections and unexpected opportunities, which were essential for achieving his goals.

After careful analysis, he discovered that he gave off a frightening aura that seemed to originate from the dense gray energy within him. Although he believed he had tamed and controlled this energy, it unconsciously radiated an intimidating presence, making those nearby feel uneasy or even suffocated. This unintended effect explained why people instinctively kept their distance from him, despite his efforts to appear approachable.

Upon realizing the impact of his intimidating aura, Alaric devoted himself to learning how to suppress or mask it. Through focused effort and experimentation, he managed to diminish its effects somewhat, making himself appear less threatening and helping others feel more at ease in his presence, even if the suppression was only partially successful.

This is why Son and his friends are still nervous in his presence, but the new guy, Hundao, isn’t so much. They have ’memory’ of how scary his presence was, but Hundao has nothing to work with.

He and Eva stood in front of them, while they sat on the same bench he had once sat on. "I am sure Eva here has told you what we plan to do?"

After a brief, tense pause, Son was the first to find his voice. He sat up a little straighter, forcing confidence into his words as he replied, "Yes, boss, we were told about your plan to implement a security system for the city, one that will specifically address cultivators who might come here seeking to cause trouble." His statement was met with small nods from the others, who seemed relieved someone had spoken up.

’Boss?’ Alaric found the title oddly formal and perhaps a bit excessive, given the informal nature of this gathering. Still, he chose not to comment, deciding it was better to let the group form their own impressions for now.

"Good," Alaric continued, his tone encouraging, "I would like all four of you to become the founding members of this new security group. You won’t have to worry about compensation; your payment will be covered with valuable resources. Additionally, as the first to take on these roles, you’ll receive special benefits and privileges that come with being pioneers in this endeavor."

Curiosity flickered across the faces of Son, Jun, and Crox as they considered what these benefits might be. Despite their interest, anxiety seemed to weigh down their tongues, keeping them silent. The tension in the air was almost palpable as they hesitated, each one hoping someone else would ask the question burning in their minds.

’It seems I have a lot of work cut out for me.’ This reaction seems to frustrate Alaric a little. He had to admit, he wasn’t the best when it came to interacting with others, far from it; he was terrible at social cues, but he would learn.

Finally, it was Hundao, still looking somewhat shy, who broke the silence. His voice trembled slightly as he addressed Alaric, "Umm, Sir? Boss? May I ask, what exactly do we receive as the first members of the security group?" The question seemed to bring a collective sense of relief to the others, grateful that someone had voiced their shared curiosity.

Nodding in satisfaction, Alaric replied, "You each get one Flesh refinement pill." He could tell how far each of them had come in their flesh-refinement journey. Son, being the oldest, is at the middle stage of the flesh refinement realm, Jun, Hundao, and Crox are at the beginner stage, while Hundao is surprisingly the closest to the mid level.

One can imagine how difficult cultivation is without resources. Son has been cultivating for a decade and a half, and he was still at the middle level of the flesh-refinement realm. Meanwhile, if he had been successfully admitted to the archive academy at the start of his journey, he would be one or two stages ahead by now, depending on his effort and resource allocation.

They were surprised. Frankly, every single one of them was very poor and ignorant. They were lucky to have broken their limit, reaching the highest point their mortality would allow.

Coming to this city was nothing short of an eye-opener for them. So they took their time to learn as much as they could about how cultivators progressed.

Son, in particular, was desperate for progress. Having spent close to two decades trying but failing to make any substantial progress, he turned to different means to gain money to buy one of the most desired treasures in this city: Flesh-refinement pills.

It was because of this pill that Son had gone around scamming other cultivators; now it was being handed to them to keep the city safe, which would also benefit him. It was a win-win situation.

He practically jumped from where he was sitting, landing prostrate on the floor in front of Alaric, "Great boss, we shall do anything you ask. If you want us to topple a mountain, as long as you provide the equipment, we will fulfill it."

Everyone became speechless at the shamelessness that a single man can have.

Alaric felt second-hand embarrassment at the public display, while Eva facepalmed at the situation. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Regaining his composure, Alaric addressed the group with a calm authority. "From now on, Hundao will serve as my personal assistant, while the rest of you will answer to Eva. She will take on the role of your group leader. In one week, I will distribute the Flesh-refinement pills as promised. Until then, your primary task is to recruit more reliable members for our security team. Hundao, come with me." With that, Alaric turned on his heel, leaving behind the still-prostrate Son and his bemused companions, trusting Eva to restore order among the group.

Hundao quickly followed behind him.

Alaric’s decision to appoint Hundao as his assistant was a carefully considered one. Unlike Son, Jun, and Crox, who still harbored nervousness from their earlier experiences with his intimidating aura, Hundao regarded Alaric without fear or preconceptions. This lack of anxiety made conversations smoother and more genuine, qualities Alaric valued as he sought to improve his ability to connect with others.

If he wished to learn how to communicate and interact with people freely, he would need someone to interact with freely. Hundao, being relatively the same age as he was, was the perfect candidate for such interactions.

...

Reaching a massive building, the Golden Merchant House. The very same merchant house owned by Xiao Zhihuji, the elder who gave him the golden card yesterday.

Walking to the receptionist, he simply flashed his card to the lady behind the desk and said, "I am looking for manager Go."

"Honored guest, please wait, let me get him for you." She left her seat immediately and was not seen for 10 minutes before returning with the chubby man.

"Young warrior, welcome. What would you need my help with?" Manager Go was surprised that the young man sought him out. There was no need for his presence if he just wanted to purchase any of their wares.

Alaric bowed slightly, "Sorry for calling you out of nowhere, manager. I know your time is precious, so forgive me."

"I came to discuss some business with you, manager. I was hoping you would hear me out. Besides that i would like to purchase some items."

"Nonsense, this is a better use of my time. You are a valued customer. Come, let us go to my office, and if you don’t mind, you can tell me what you need, and I will have it prepared while we discuss." Manager Go said while ushering them towards his office.

"Manager, I would like to purchase black marrow sap and crystalline dew moss."

"Ah? Those are quite rare in the city; luckily, we do have some in stock." He signaled for one of his subordinates to prepare for the purchase.

Manager Go was a very efficient man, which was why he could run a merchant organization like this one with little effort.

They arrived at a spacious office. "Please sit."

Manager Go offered them a seat. Alaric sat before signaling the young man with him to sit beside him, too.

"Manager Go, I would like access to one of the alchemy rooms available here," Alaric said, getting straight to the point. At the request, Hundao’s eyes went wide in shock.

"Mr. Alaric, we have no problem giving one of those rooms to you. Truthfully, we haven’t seen those rooms in use since they were made." Manager Go said, sadness written all over his face.

Alchemy was not an easy profession to enter; it required extensive knowledge, time, and resources. Most of all, it required the core refinement realm to get into. The reason being: the essence energy couldn’t be used for the pill-refinement process; it still wasn’t refined enough, but some innovative humans figured out ways for body realm cultivators to refine pills, only requiring one to be rich enough.

That method uses a powerful formation powered by origin stones.