A week passed in focused cultivation. I sat cross-legged in the meditation chamber, vital energy flowing through the twelfth primary meridian I'd just carved. The breakthrough to Meridian Opening third layer had come smoothly, my understanding of energy pathways deepening with each successful channel.
"Bloodlines?"
The question echoed in my mind—not my own thought, but a concept the Heavenly Dao pushed toward my awareness. Images followed, sensations of familiar genetic patterns entering the world bead's space.
Family members. My bloodline.
I sent my senses outward, consciousness expanding through the meditation chamber walls, across the Core Region, stretching toward the Eastern Region cities. The world bead responded to my will, showing me what I sought.
American City's monument plaza materialized in my mind's eye. Two figures stood among the crowd of new arrivals, their hands extended as Sarah Carter distributed identity tokens from her seemingly endless supply.
Derek and Melissa Mason.
My cousins. Both attended Stanford, both brilliant in their own ways. Derek studied computer science—we'd bonded over programming languages at family gatherings, swapping stories about frustrating debugging sessions and elegant code solutions. He had that methodical engineer's mind, always breaking problems down into logical components.
Melissa was pre-med, driven and ambitious in a way that made my parents hold her up as an example whenever I slacked off in high school. Sharp wit, sharper tongue. She didn't suffer fools gladly, which made family dinners entertaining when Uncle Robert started his political rants.
I watched them through my spiritual sense as they examined their new tokens, Derek's analytical mind already working through the implications while Melissa questioned Sarah about cultivation requirements with the same intensity she probably brought to her anatomy courses.
They looked around American City with wide eyes, taking in the obsidian architecture and the impossible scale of it all. Derek said something that made Melissa laugh, probably some dry observation about the physics-defying construction.
Part of me wanted to appear before them as the Eastern Region God, maintain the divine mystique. But they were family. Smart family who'd probably see through any disguise eventually.
I pulled my consciousness back to the meditation chamber, opening my physical eyes. The carved stone walls reflected soft light from the glow inscriptions I'd embedded throughout the palace.
Derek and Melissa would need guidance. They'd need resources, techniques suited to their affinities. And knowing them, they'd have questions—lots of questions—about how this world worked and what opportunities it offered.
I stood, stretching muscles that had been still for hours. Time to pay my cousins a visit.
The world shifted around me as I willed myself to American City, spatial laws bending to transport my body across the vast distance in an instant. No flash of light, no dramatic entrance—just a seamless transition from the Core Palace to a narrow alley between two obsidian buildings.
I stepped out onto the main thoroughfare, positioning myself casually against the polished black wall. The street bustled with cultivators of varying strengths, most still in Body Tempering realm based on the spiritual energy radiating from their cores. My cousins walked toward me, Derek pointing at something while Melissa shook her head at whatever observation he'd made.
"Ben?"
Derek spotted me first, his eyes widening with recognition. He grabbed Melissa's arm, redirecting her attention.
"Holy shit, it is you!" Melissa's sharp features broke into a genuine smile as they hurried over.
I pushed off the wall, grinning. "Derek! Melissa! What are you guys doing here?"
They reached me, Derek extending his hand for a firm shake while Melissa went straight for a hug that caught me off guard.
"We just arrived maybe an hour ago," Derek said. "Still trying to wrap our heads around all this."
"An hour?" I looked between them. "Why didn't you text me? I've been living here for weeks. I told everyone at the family dinner to contact me if they decided to come through."
Melissa exchanged a glance with Derek before answering. "We didn't want to impose on you."
"Impose? You're family."
"Yeah, but..." Derek ran a hand through his hair. "We've been reading the forums, following all the posts about how hard it is to make merit points here. Everyone's struggling to afford basic housing, fighting over scraps of information in the library. We figured if you knew we'd arrived, you'd feel obligated to share whatever you've managed to earn."
"Summer break just started," Melissa added. "We finally have free time away from classes, so we thought we'd try it out on our own first. See if we could make it work without being a burden."
I stared at them for a moment before laughing. "You thought I was struggling?"
"Aren't you?" Derek frowned. "The average person is barely scraping by."
"Guys, I've made it rich in the Eastern Region. You don't need to worry about things like that."
Melissa crossed her arms. "Rich how?"
"I broke through to Meridian Opening realm," I said, keeping my voice casual. "Started crafting low quality spiritual artifacts and pills. Got a shop set up in the second ring—Heavenly Forge Emporium. The place basically sells out every day. I can't make products fast enough, honestly."
Derek's analytical mind kicked in immediately. "Meridian Opening already? That's... how is that possible? Most people are still stuck in Body Tempering fourth layer."
"Good cultivation technique, lots of practice." I shrugged. "Point is, I've got more merit points than I know what to do with. You two showing up isn't a burden—it's family."
"Here." I took out my identity token and aimed it toward them, waiting for them to take out their tokens. Derek and Melissa exchanged glances before pulling the black metallic discs from their palms, the tokens materializing in their hands with a faint shimmer.
I focused on the transfer function, willing merit points to flow from my account to theirs. Twenty thousand each—enough to purchase a decent cultivation technique from the All Paths Library. The tokens pulsed with acknowledgment.
Melissa's eyes widened as she checked her balance. "Ben, that's—"
"Pocket change," I interrupted. "Seriously. Come follow me, I'll take you to our family home."
"Family home?" Derek looked up from his token.
"Yeah, I rent a top quality mansion in the city. It has tons of private rooms, enough for the entire family to live."
I led them through the concentric rings of American City, past the bustling commercial district where cultivators haggled over spiritual herbs and basic equipment. The residential areas grew progressively larger and more elaborate as we moved inward. Small apartments gave way to townhouses, then proper homes with courtyards.
The top quality properties occupied the innermost residential ring. Each mansion sat on its own plot, obsidian walls rising three stories high with intricate geometric patterns carved into the stone. Gardens sprawled between buildings, spiritual energy so dense it created visible distortions in the air.
We reached the largest mansion on the block. I placed my hand against the bronze plaque beside the entrance, registering Derek and Melissa's identity tokens for entry permissions. The heavy doors swung open silently.
We stepped inside while my cousins craned their necks to see everything in awe. The entrance hall stretched forty feet to a sweeping staircase, polished black floors reflecting the soft glow of embedded light inscriptions. Side passages led to multiple wings, each containing private chambers and cultivation rooms.
"This is insane," Melissa whispered.
I pulled two storage rings from my own ring, the small black metal bands catching the light. "Here, you'll need these first."
"Rings?" Derek reached out tentatively.
"Storage rings."
"What? Like in the novels!?" Derek's voice shot up an octave.
"Exactly like that. They carry about ten cubic feet of storage space, and anything inside them is frozen in time so things like food will never spoil."
Derek and Melissa stared at me with amazement. "You can craft these!?"
I smiled at them. Of course I had plenty in storage so I didn't need to craft these, but I could craft low quality spiritual storage rings like these if I wanted to.
"Blood bind them." I took out a lancet, the small diabetic tool for drawing blood. "Just a drop of blood on each ring. They'll resize to fit your finger and bond to you permanently."
They pricked their fingers, blood welling up before touching the metal. The rings absorbed the crimson droplets and shrank, settling comfortably on their index fingers.
"Now the fun part." I reached into my own storage ring and withdrew several pieces of equipment. Light leather armor materialized in my hands—chest pieces crafted from supple beast hide treated with spiritual energy, dyed deep forest green with reinforced panels across vital organs. Bracers followed, their surfaces etched with defensive inscriptions that would activate on impact. Leg guards designed to protect without restricting movement, each piece connected by adjustable straps.
Two longswords came next, their blades forged from spiritual iron with simple but effective sharpness inscriptions running along the edges.
"All low quality spiritual grade," I explained, laying everything out on a nearby table. "You need to blood bind each piece. As equipment, once blood bound, the weapon and armor pieces are designed to instantly equip to their master whenever you need them. When not in use, you can store them in your storage ring."
Derek picked up one of the swords, examining the blade with his engineer's eye. "This is incredible! Did you craft these yourself?"
"Of course I did."
Melissa was already pricking her finger again, touching blood to the chest piece. The armor shimmered, then vanished. Her eyes went wide. "Where did it—"
"Think about equipping it," I said.
She focused, and the armor materialized on her body, straps automatically adjusting to her frame. "Holy shit!"
Derek followed suit, blood binding his equipment with methodical precision. Within minutes, both stood fully armored, swords appearing and disappearing in their hands as they practiced the mental commands.
"This is so cool!" Derek made his sword vanish and reappear half a dozen times in rapid succession.
"Wow, are we like, nouveau-riche now?" Melissa grinned, striking a pose in her armor. "Are you my sugar daddy?"
"Haha, yeah, it really is different having rich family for once," Derek added, making his armor flash on and off.
I laughed along with them, Derek still grinning as he made his sword flash in and out of existence like a kid with a new toy. Melissa struck another exaggerated pose, admiring the way the armor fit.
Their easy acceptance warmed something in my chest. No awkward protests about charity, no performative gratitude that would've made things weird. They took what I offered because they saw me as family, plain and simple. That mattered more than they probably realized.
"Come on," I said, heading toward the door. "Let me show you around properly. There's a lot more to this city than just the monument plaza."
We spent the afternoon exploring American City's commercial district. The restaurant scene had exploded in recent weeks—spiritual beast meat and cultivated vegetables made for incredible dining experiences. Restaurant owners purchased ingredients from hunters who ventured beyond the city walls, creating a thriving economy.
I led them to a place I'd discovered called the Jade Hearth, though it had nothing to do with actual jade. The owner, a former chef from Sacramento, had adapted quickly to cooking with spiritual ingredients. We ordered grilled wolf steaks seasoned with herbs that grew wild in the Eastern Region's forests, served alongside roasted vegetables that practically glowed with concentrated energy.
"This is insane," Derek said around a mouthful of meat. "I can feel the spiritual energy in the food."
"It actually helps with cultivation," I explained. "Not as much as dedicated practice, but every bit counts."
Melissa savored her meal with the appreciation of someone who'd survived too many cafeteria dinners. "I'm never eating normal food again."
From there, we headed to the second ring where Heavenly Forge Emporium stood. Rachel looked up from the counter as we entered, her face brightening with recognition.
"Ben! I was wondering when you'd show up with more stock."
"Rachel, these are my cousins—Derek and Melissa." I gestured between them. "Guys, this is Rachel Torres. She keeps this place running."
Rachel waved, then returned to organizing inventory. I'd raised her salary to one hundred merit points per hour after seeing the constant traffic through the shop. She'd earned every point, managing the chaos of customers while keeping track of stock levels. The storage ring I'd given her sat on her finger, filled with backup inventory for when the shelves emptied faster than I could restock.
Derek and Melissa wandered through the aisles, examining the merchandise. More storage rings lined one shelf, each priced at twenty thousand merit points. Armor pieces filled another section—bracers and leg guards for four thousand per pair, chest pieces for eight thousand each. Longswords like the ones I'd given them sold for ten thousand.
"Holy shit, they're this expensive?" Melissa stared at the price plaques.
"Only because people pay for it," I said with a shrug. "Costs me almost nothing to make them. It's nearly pure profit. I hunt most of the beast hides myself. Being Meridian Opening realm means everything near the city is basically harmless to me."
Derek did quick mental math. "You gave us... over sixty thousand merit points worth of equipment?"
"Pocket change," I repeated. "Seriously."
Our final stop was a cultivation chamber in the market district. These specialized rooms rented for steep hourly rates, their walls inscribed with formations that concentrated spiritual energy to several times the ambient density. The effect matched what I maintained in the Core Palace, though I wasn't about to tell them that.
I opened the door to one chamber, revealing a simple stone room with cushions arranged in meditation positions. The air practically hummed with concentrated power.
"This is where serious cultivation happens," I explained. "Normal ambient energy works, but these chambers accelerate everything. And don't worry about the cost—I'll keep you both topped up on merit points. You can use these rooms every day if you want."
Melissa stepped inside, her eyes widening as she felt the energy density. "This is incredible."
"Yeah," Derek agreed, following her in. "We could actually catch up to the average cultivator in weeks instead of months."
I leaned against the doorframe, watching them experience what I'd been taking for granted. "See? So really, it's no burden for me. Just contact me via identity token when you need more points."