Senior Sister Liu's smile made my blood run cold. In all my ti at the Azure Peak Sect, I had never seen her smile. Stern lectures? Yes. Disapproving frowns? Constantly. But a smile? This was new territory, and new territory was dangerous in the cultivation world.
"Senior Sister!" Wei Lin's voice cracked a little, but not a second later he was back to flashing his usual cocky grin. "What a nice surprise to—
"Three weeks." The smile on Senior Sister Liu's face hadn't changed, but that sohow made it more terrifying. "Three weeks without so much as a ssage to the sect."
I watched Wei Lin's confident façade crumble under that unnaturally pleasant expression. Even Lin i, usually so composed, was fidgeting with her jade pendant.
"We were gathering elental essence," Lin i tried to explain, the words tumbling out in a rush. "For cultivation, of course. And we had very good reasons for—"
"The elental essence was for ," I cut in, making Senior Sister Liu look at . "They were helping prepare for a breakthrough."
"Ah yes," she murmured. "Two breakthroughs in a few weeks." She examined closely, no doubt looking for signs of unstable qi or damaged ridians. Finding none, she slowly nodded. "Not bad. Looks like the World Tree Sutra is quite suited for you."
"Thank you," I stuttered, at a loss for anything else to say. It was odd being complinted by soone who mostly communicated through sharp silences and disappointed expressions.
Her gaze dropped back to Wei Lin and Lin i, and her face cooled by several degrees. "Ke Yin has progressed further than any other outer sect student. You two, on the other hand, have fallen behind in your cultivation."
Here we go, I thought. The lecture we'd all been dreading.
Wei Lin opened his mouth to protest but shut it again quickly as Senior Sister Liu went on.
"The immortal path is a lonely one," she declared. "Each cultivator must prioritize their own advancent above all else. Friends, family, worldly attachnts - these are chains that will only drag you down. Look at yourselves - while your friend has reached the fifth stage, you both remain at the third. How can you hope to keep up if you don't focus on your own cultivation?"
I held back a sigh as I listened. This was the traditional view in the cultivation world, but I knew there were many ways to the Dao. Dual cultivation was a pri example – though that definitely wasn't the situation with my friends and . Still, it proved that the "lonely path" philosophy wasn't the only valid approach.
Though, I did feel guilty that they really had lost ti cultivating because of .
"Senior Sister," Wei Lin interrupted carefully, imdiately making wonder if he had a death wish. "Most disciples at our stage wouldn't have the confidence to travel outside the sect alone. Even if they did, most wouldn't return alive."
Lin i nodded, apparently deciding that since Wei Lin had already stuck his neck out, she might as well join him. "The few weeks outside taught more about the cultivation world than all my ti in the sect. We learned—"
"Be that as it may," Senior Sister Liu cut her off smoothly, "it is still my job to track the progress of outer disciples. I cannot have you running around outside the sect without permission. A few days is one thing, but weeks?" She shook her head. "There must be consequences for your actions."
Wei Lin and Lin i tensed beside . Here it cos, I thought.
"For the next month, you will both take extra shifts in the herb gardens," she began, her voice allowing no room for debate. "You'll also assist in training the new servant recruits in basic cultivation techniques." She paused and a small, fleeting smile played across her lips. "And you'll also serve as training partners for the inner disciples."
Wei Lin's face fell. Extra garden shifts ant less ti for his practice, and teaching beginners was notoriously exhausting work. But to serve as training partners for inner disciples? That was sothing different entirely. That ant being used as practice dummies for people who could easily crush us if they got careless. Even those that tried to hold back often misjudged their strength.
Lin i looked less bothered by the garden duty – it was her specialty after all – but the prospect of teaching clearly made her nervous. And I could see her hands shaking slightly at the ntion of inner disciple training. We'd all heard stories about outer disciples who ended up in the dical pavilion for weeks after such sessions.
"The inner disciples need reliable training partners to help them hone their skills," Senior Sister Liu continued, as if she hadn't just sentenced them to weeks of acting as human target practice. "And since you three get along so well, they'll also benefit from having a cohesive team to train against."
"Hopefully what happened to Zhou will make them more careful with their practice partners," Wei Lin muttered under his breath, though not quite quietly enough.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
I couldn't stay silent. They'd gotten into this ss because of , going out of their way to help when they could have just focused on their own cultivation like proper disciples.
"Senior Sister Liu," I spoke up, ignoring Wei Lin's subtle head shake. "They don't deserve punishnt. If anyone should be punished, it should be . I'm the one who—"
"Do you actually believe that?" she interrupted, fixing with an intense stare.
I nodded. I wasn't the type to let friends take the fall for , even if it ant more work. They'd gone out of their way to help; I'd do the sa. Still, there was sothing about her expression that made wonder if I was walking into so kind of trap.
To my shock, Senior Sister Liu actually laughed – a real laugh, not the terrifying smile from before. "Since you're all so convinced you did the right thing," she said once she'd composed herself, "let's put that to the test."
We exchanged worried glances, wondering what she had in mind.
"But before I get to that," she continued, "so good news. Depending on how valuable your recruits prove to be, you'll each receive contribution points."
I nodded, familiar with the practice. Disciples could earn points by bringing back treasures, techniques, or even people to the sect. It was a standard way to encourage expansion while maintaining quality control. Though I had to wonder how many points a stone guardian, its human buddy, and two reford bandits would be worth.
"Now then," her voice took on an almost playful tone that set off all sorts of warning bells in my head, "about testing your teamwork. The Outer Disciple Tournant is fast approaching. The first stage typically involves group activities." Her eyes glinted. "I don't usually recomnd first-years participate, but since you're so confident in your way and one of you has reached the fifth stage... would you dare to participate and prove wrong?"
We exchanged glances. I could see the uncertainty in Wei Lin and Lin i's eyes, but also determination. They weren't going to back down if I was willing to try.
"Yes," I said firmly.
"Are you certain?" Senior Sister Liu's voice dropped lower. "This year's participants are on another level. Not only is soone like Wu Kangming participating, but there are several cultivators who have reached the seventh stage." She paused aningfully. "And one who has reached the eighth."
I kept my expression neutral, but my mind was racing. The eighth stage of Qi Condensation wasn't far from the Elental Realm. Soone at that level could probably kill within a minute.
A few months ago, I would have imdiately rejected this challenge. The risk of death or drawing attention, especially from the elders who would be watching the tournant, would have seed too high.
And yet...
My recent breakthrough ant I was more confident in my ability to stay alive, and I knew I had room for at least one more advancent before the tournant. If necessary, I could even do another training ti loop - though I'd have to be careful about showing too much improvent too quickly.
My thoughts on drawing attention had changed. After my experience with Elder Molric, I'd realized that having one-on-one tuition from an elder was worth the increased scrutiny. Yes, it might paint a bigger target on my back, but it would also an access to better resources and techniques. Who knew? I might even get a life-saving treasure out of it.
Not to ntion, I couldn't stay an Outer Disciple forever.
But more importantly, the tournant would be closely monitored. Unlike the outside world, there would be rules and supervision. It was actually safer than our recent adventures, in so ways. Plus, the rewards for placing well in the tournant were substantial. Even if we didn't win, just participating could earn us valuable resources.
"Master," Azure's voice echoed in my mind, "you're actually considering this?"
"I am," I replied ntally. "I'd been planning to sign up for the tournant anyway - if there was an added bonus of getting my friends out of trouble, even better."
I looked Senior Sister Liu in the eye and nodded. "Yes. We'll participate."
She studied for a long mont before nodding. "In that case, I will waive the punishnt – but I expect you all to pass the first stage." Her lips quirked slightly. "As for anything more than that... maybe next year you might actually have a decent chance of winning." She looked directly at as she said this, and I wondered just how much she had guessed about my potential.
"Ti isn't a problem," Azure mused in my mind, picking up on my thoughts. "Though we should be careful about how obviously we improve."
"Agreed," I replied ntally. "We'll need to make any advancent look natural."
Senior Sister Liu turned to leave, then paused. "You have eight weeks," she said over her shoulder. Then, in a movent too smooth to follow, she simply... wasn't there anymore. Her voice lingered in the air like an echo: "Use them wisely."
User Comments
0 comments from readers