Chapter 384: Chapter 379: The Network
Location:Obsidian Academy — Headmaster’s study / Training yard / Academy outskirts
Date/Time:Early Ashwhisper, 9939 AZI
Realm:Lower Realm
Headmaster Qin’s study smelled of old ink and cold tea.
The room was a contradiction — cluttered and precise at the same time. Scrolls stacked on every surface, formation diagrams pinned to the walls with iron nails, tea cups in various stages of abandonment occupying every flat space not already claimed by paperwork. But the clutter had order. The scrolls were grouped by subject. The diagrams followed a sequence. Even the tea cups seemed to occupy their positions by design rather than negligence.
Qin sat behind his desk. Thin. White-translucent hair catching the morning light. Pale grey eyes that had no business being that sharp in a frame that mild. Ink stains on his cuffs. A broken nose — twice broken, if the angles were any indication — that gave his face the look of someone who had been in the wrong place at the right time on more than one occasion.
"Miss Ashford." The mild voice that carried more than it should. "You requested this meeting."
"I did."
He gestured to the chair across from him. Jayde sat. The study was warded — she’d felt the formations when she crossed the threshold. Good wards. Old ones. The kind that didn’t just muffle sound but ensured that the conversation stayed between the people having it.
"I want to discuss expansion," Jayde said. "Our magitech products — the cooking arrays, the heating units, the water purifiers. Revenue is strong. Demand is growing. We’re ready to scale."
Qin picked up a teacup. Examined it. Set it down — apparently the wrong one. Picked up another.
"Scaling requires infrastructure," he said. "Workshop space. Formation masters for quality control. Students with practical skills who need projects." He sipped. "You have something specific in mind."
"The Academy endorsement." Jayde set a document on his desk — the product specifications, the revenue figures, the market analysis that Green had compiled. "Your name on our products. The Academy brand carries trust across the Lower Realm. With your endorsement, we reach markets that would take years to build from scratch."
Qin read the document. The pale grey eyes moving through the figures with the speed of someone who had been reading reports since before Jayde’s grandparents were born.
"These revenue numbers are real?"
"I can provide the ledgers."
"I don’t need the ledgers. I need to understand why a first-year student is building a commercial operation that outperforms most Lower Realm merchant houses." The eyes lifted from the document. Sharp. Amused. "Most students are concerned with cultivation advancement, and tournament rankings. You’re building a supply chain."
"The Lower Realm needs more than cultivation advancement."