Chapter 44: Middle Spirit Grade

The next morning, Lin Yuan counted his spirit stones.

He waited until breakfast ended, went upstairs, closed the door, and emptied several storage bags onto the table.

Small piles of low-grade spirit stones slowly formed in front of him.

Lin Yuan counted everything twice.

After the inn construction, wages, supplies, and everything else Blackstone had consumed, he had a little over three hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones available.

The tavern enhancement would take one hundred eighty.

More than half.

A suitable Foundation Establishment technique could cost several hundred.

The Blackstone Inn had its own enhancement available, though he still hadn’t checked the price.

And those were only the things he already knew about.

Lin Yuan leaned back.

A year ago, more than three hundred spirit stones would have felt like a fortune.

Now he was considering spending more than half of it before lunch.

Blackstone was becoming expensive.

Fortunately, it was also becoming profitable.

Lin Yuan swept the spirit stones back into his storage bag.

There was one more thing to consider.

His cultivation.

Lin Yuan sat quietly for a moment and circulated his Qi.

Qi Refining, ninth layer.

His cultivation had steadily deepened since his breakthrough, helped along by the Qi Nourishing Pills, but he was nowhere near the point where his current technique became an immediate problem.

He needed a Foundation Establishment technique.

But he didn’t need it today.

The tavern was different.

It was already serving customers every day.

It was still the center of Blackstone.

Every improvement to it could begin working immediately.

Lin Yuan stood.

Decision made.

Wandering Cloud Tavern was busy by noon.

A group of hunters occupied one table near the entrance.

Two merchants were eating noodles beside the window.

A cultivator traveling alone had taken the corner table and appeared determined to finish an entire pot of tea without speaking to anyone.

Su Mei moved between the tables.

Xiao Lan came out of the kitchen carrying two dishes.

Lin Yuan waited until the lunch crowd thinned.

Then he walked to the center of the tavern.

The Territory Core responded to his attention.

A familiar panel appeared.

Wandering Cloud Tavern

Current Quality: Low Spirit Grade

Next Quality: Middle Spirit Grade

Enhancement Cost: 180 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Lin Yuan focused on the details.

Middle Spirit Grade Enhancement

Improves Existing Building Effects

Minor Qi Gathering → Qi Gathering

Dust Repelling → Improved Dust Repelling

Comfort → Improved Comfort

Structural Reinforcement → Improved Structural Reinforcement

Additional Effect will be generated according to building function.

He had looked at this before.

This time, he didn’t close it.

Lin Yuan confirmed.

One hundred eighty low-grade spirit stones vanished from his storage bag.

The Territory Core responded immediately.

A faint vibration passed beneath his feet.

Lin Yuan stopped.

The sensation spread through the floor, into the walls, and upward through the entire building.

Nothing visibly changed.

The tables remained tables.

The walls remained wood.

But the Qi changed.

Lin Yuan felt that immediately.

The spiritual energy already gathered by the tavern seemed to tighten.

What had previously been a faint concentration became noticeably clearer.

Qi flowed into the building from the surrounding environment and lingered instead of dispersing as quickly.

Su Mei stopped beside a table.

She looked around.

Xiao Lan leaned out of the kitchen.

"Did you feel that?"

Su Mei nodded.

Several customers had noticed as well.

The silent cultivator in the corner finally looked up from his tea.

Lin Yuan ignored them for the moment.

The Core was still changing.

Dust gathered along the edge of one windowsill, then slowly loosened and fell away.

A chair that had developed a slight wobble settled beneath a customer’s weight.

The air inside the tavern felt different too.

Not warmer.

Not cooler.

Just easier to relax in.

The Core responded again.

Enhancement Complete

Wandering Cloud Tavern

Quality: Middle Spirit Grade

Capacity: 40 Seats

Guest Rooms: 8

Qi Gathering

Improved Dust Repelling

Improved Comfort

Improved Structural Reinforcement

Additional Effect Generated

A final line appeared.

Restful Atmosphere

Lin Yuan focused on it.

Restful Atmosphere

Ordinary fatigue recovers more efficiently while resting within the building.

Lin Yuan read it once.

Simple, but perfectly suited to a roadside tavern.

He dismissed the panel.

One hundred eighty spirit stones.

Gone.

Lin Yuan looked around the tavern.

At least this time he could feel where they had gone.

"What did you do?"

Su Mei had reached him.

"Improved the tavern."

She looked toward the ceiling.

"How?"

Lin Yuan smiled.

"Expensively."

Su Mei stared at him for a moment.

Then she shook her head and returned to the tables.

That was enough explanation.

The customers were already noticing the change.

One of the hunters leaned back in his chair and glanced around.

"The Qi here got stronger."

His companion closed his eyes briefly.

"Much stronger."

"Did he install a formation?"

"Maybe."

Lin Yuan carried an empty bowl toward the kitchen.

They could guess whatever they wanted.

Xiao Lan was waiting beside the stove.

"What happened?"

"The tavern improved."

She glanced around.

"You say that like taverns normally improve by themselves."

"This one does."

Xiao Lan considered that.

"Fair enough."

She handed him another bowl.

"Table Three."

Lin Yuan took it.

Apparently spending one hundred eighty spirit stones did not excuse him from carrying noodles.

The change settled through the building over the afternoon.

Travelers came and went.

Meals were served.

Rooms were cleaned.

From the outside, Wandering Cloud Tavern looked almost exactly as it had that morning.

Inside was different.

The stronger Qi Gathering mattered most to Lin Yuan.

It wouldn’t suddenly push him through Qi Refining 9, but every cultivation session inside the tavern would now be more efficient.

Lin Yuan didn’t advertise any of the changes.

There was no reason to.

If the effects were useful, regular travelers would notice eventually.

Near sunset, Fang Yu entered the tavern.

She had finished checking the inn for the evening and came over for dinner.

She made it three steps inside before stopping.

Her eyes narrowed.

Then she looked at Lin Yuan.

"What happened here?"

"Why does everyone ask me that?"

"Because something happened."

Lin Yuan pointed toward an empty table.

"Sit first."

Fang Yu sat.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she slowly rested both arms on the table.

"The Qi is stronger."

"Yes."

"And something else."

Lin Yuan brought her food.

"You’ve been working all day."

"I know what being tired feels like."

"Then eat."

Fang Yu looked at him.

"You know what’s causing it."

"Probably."

"Probably?"

Lin Yuan walked away.

Behind him, Fang Yu muttered something he chose not to hear.

Su Mei passed him carrying tea.

"She’s going to ask again."

"I know."

"You could just tell her."

"And say what?"

Su Mei thought about that.

Then kept walking.

Exactly.

That night, Lin Yuan went upstairs after the tavern closed.

He sat in his usual place and began circulating his cultivation technique.

The difference was immediate.

Qi entered his meridians more steadily.

He guided it through one cycle.

Then another.

His cultivation didn’t leap forward, but the improvement was clear.

Lin Yuan continued until late into the night.

When he finally stopped, he opened his eyes and looked around the quiet room.

He had spent more than half of his available spirit stones today.

What remained wasn’t enough for the kind of Foundation Establishment technique Chen Wei had described.

That was fine.

Lin Yuan wasn’t at the peak of Qi Refining yet.

He had time to earn more.

Downstairs, the building was silent.

Across the road, Blackstone Inn still had several lamps burning.

Beyond it stood Qiao’s shop, Duan He’s business, the hitching posts, and the road passing through the center of everything.

Lin Yuan had spent months turning an abandoned tavern into the beginning of a settlement.

Tonight, he had finally improved the place where it had all started.

One hundred eighty spirit stones was painful.

Lin Yuan smiled.

Worth it.