Chapter 22 - Journey Through the Mountains

Only ten days remained until the date of the inter-sect competition. The tournament was to be held at the Yuso Clan, for which they would depart from Heavenly Path Mountain sometime soon.

Yaan decided to focus on his Agile Sword Arts during this time, rather than accumulating more Yuan Qi by killing beasts. His main reason for doing so was because he felt that he could better improve his combat strength in a short period of time by practicing his sword arts compared to refining slaughter aura into Yuan Qi. The other reason though, was because the beast tide had indeed started to reduce in scale and intensity due to the cold winter weather. Since there were fewer beasts, he had not so many opportunities to slaughter and develop his Qi refining realm further.

The temperature within the core sect remained stable as ever, but outside of the core sect, snow enveloped the lands and icy cold winds tore at the skin. It had dropped well below freezing, reaching a level that was beginning to become dangerous for ordinary mortals and even negatively affected beasts and Qi masters too.

Fewer beasts were assaulting the sect, with hardly any making it all the way to the border. Even if Yaan returned to Hun village, it was unlikely that he would be able to hunt many Rank 2 beasts.

And so, he trained his sword arts. Time and time again, the narrow blade cut through the air sharply. His footsteps were light yet fast, his body seemed to move slowly yet also blurred between positions.

“Phew…”

Yaan wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, then sat down on a small boulder and ate the lunch he prepared earlier. This ‘lunch’ consisted of a large quantity of spirit beast meat and not much of anything else. Any other human would have difficulty eating this much spirit beast meat, but to Yaan the fiend, it was but a snack.

“Yaan!”

Hearing his name being called, Yaan turned to the side and saw his teacher approaching. His teacher’s appearance had started to recover slightly now that the beast tide was receding, with some of the wrinkles on his tired face smoothing out. He was still stressed and anxious, but this brief respite allowed him to recover some energy.

“Teacher.” Yaan stood up and bowed slightly. It was customary to treat one’s teacher with respect in the cultivation world, and Yaan knew that this much was necessary. Most would show a much more subservient display than Yaan though, perhaps even providing empty words of flattery.

Yaan would do no such thing. He saw nothing wrong with simply being polite and showing gratitude where necessary. Any more than that would just be sucking up, something that he felt didn’t suit him.

Great Elder Wan knew his disciple’s personality and didn’t mind it at all. In fact, he approached Yaan with a smile, clearly he brought good news.

“Yaan, tomorrow we will be departing for the Yuso Clan. Be at the core meeting hall tomorrow before noon, we shall leave at midday to the minute, so tardiness is unacceptable.”

“Tomorrow? Teacher, will it really take so long to reach the Yuso Clan with yours and the other Great Elders’ powers?” Yaan asked inquisitively. Leaving tomorrow gave them ten days to travel across merely 2 mountains, it seemed a bit excessive when he had personally seen his teacher flying gracefully on a sword at speeds in excess of any horse drawn carriage.

“The journey can’t be rushed due to the increased number of beasts in the surrounding areas. On top of that, we will be forced to slow down because of the disciples being brought along. We also need to arrive at least 3 days early, in order to settle in and assess the competition.”

Yaan nodded slowly. Indeed, it would appear that there were many aspects to this competition that he hadn’t considered. Plus, there would surely be many political schemes taking place behind the scenes, both internally and externally.

The competition…it was finally here! Honestly though, this competition was the least of his worries right now. Between the all encompassing beast tide, his ever stewing hatred of Elder Sun and his growing need for revenge, as well as his doubts towards his own teacher, this competition seemed somewhat trivial in comparison.

Great Elder Wan noticed that Yaan didn’t seem too concerned and had some thoughts of his own.

“Yaan, winning the True Yuan Qi league in the competition will be impossible for you, since you’re only at the early stage right now. The winner will definitely be someone at the peak stage, and someone who has been at this stage for a long time and learned a wide variety of spells. But still…it would be good if you could gain some experience fighting against other Qi masters of your own level seriously.”

As he studied his teacher’s earnest expression, Yaan couldn’t imagine that what Rui said was true, that his teacher held malicious intentions in his heart. He could only assume that she had made a mistake, or at least, that’s what he told himself.

Great Elder Wan left Yaan alone after reminding him to be at the meeting hall by mid-day tomorrow.

Yaan practised his sword arts for a while longer, before going to sleep early and getting up the next day just before sunrise.

After making his preparations, he made his way up the mountain and towards the meeting hall. Upon his arrival, Yaan found that a few familiar faces were already present. These people consisted of both Elders and disciples. The Elders wouldn’t be competing of course, but they needed to protect the disciples, both from beasts and the other organisations. The number of people began to gradually grow in number, until Yaan realised that in excess of 100 people would be joining the trip this time. It really was around half of the core sect!

“Oh, Yaan!"

Yaan turned slightly as Elia skipped across to him, she wore an unhidden excited expression and was clearly in a good mood.

“Hi, Elia.” Yaan nodded. Elia didn’t mind his lacklustre emotional response, she had by now adjusted to this. Despite Yaan changing drastically and becoming increasingly reserved as time passed by, he was her childhood friend from their home village…she refused to let go of that fact, no matter how much he changed.

“Junior disciple Yaan, you’re here.” Owan Shi approached them both and nodded, his demeanour as calm as ever.

“Senior disciple Owan Shi.” Yaan clasped his hands and nodded slightly, prompting Elia to hurriedly do the same.

Owan Shi, as the son of the Sect Lord, was their most promising candidate this time. He was their greatest hope for bringing glory to the sect in this tournament. The young prodigy turned towards Elia and raised an eyebrow.

“Junior disciple Elia, you’re coming along also?”

She blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I-I’m just going to watch, to gain experience."

“That’s good too.” Owan Shi nodded. Elia was yet to reach the True Yuan Qi realm and her battle experience was lacking, so of course she wouldn’t be competing.

As Owan Shi glanced around, Yaan noticed something too.

“These people, they’re…” Yaan felt confused. He saw many unfamiliar people wearing clothing that he didn’t recognise.

“Members from the Thunder Sword School. They will be travelling along side us.” Owan Shi explained plainly.

The Thunder Sword School was one of the few allies of the Heavenly Path Sect. Since they would be passing by two other mountains, each housing an enemy organisation of the sect, they thought it best to travel with one another. It seemed that for now, the disciples of the two groups were mostly staying with people they already knew, not mingling with those from the other group.

A few more disciples and Elders arrived, including the other two Qi Temple realm disciples, Inhi and Xin Tia. These three always drew gazes of admiration no matter where they went in the sect. It was rare for ordinary core disciples to even get the chance to talk to them, but to Yaan, this was nothing unusual.

“Junior disciple Yaan.”

“Oh, if it isn’t Junior disciple Yaan.”

They each greeted Yaan first before Elia. This was only natural, since Yaan’s position was indeed a bit unique with his success in reaching the True Yuan Qi realm at such a young age. Added on his good manners and the overall way he presented himself that was clearly beyond his years, and most people felt well inclined towards him. Everything about him suggested that his future was bright and promising.

They didn’t go inside of the meeting hall, but turned to the Sect Lord as he finally began speaking.

“Good, everyone has arrived. It will take us a little under one week to reach the Yuso Clan, as we need to travel past two mountains before arriving. All disciples at the True Yuan Qi realm should stay inside the carriages and only come out when we say it is safe. Many beasts are still roaming around which the Elders will take care of, but your safety will be endangered if you break regulation.”

All of the disciples nodded quickly, understanding that this was a serious matter and not to be taken lightly.

There were stone paths built between the nine mountains, allowing the sect members to travel in carriages without needing to circumnavigate the wilderness. These carriages were not drawn by ordinary horses, but by a herd of white stallions, a Rank 1 beast that the sect bred and kept.

Yaan entered a carriage along with Elia, Owan Shi, Inhi and Xin Tia. He was most familiar with Elia and was somewhat familiar with Owan Shi, but he only knew the other two on a very shallow level. They all knew of each other because they were the greatest talents of the sect, but since they all spent most of their time in closed door cultivation, they weren’t exactly well acquainted on a personal level.

As the carriages set off and began the descent down the mountain, all was silent within the carriage for a brief moment. Elia was clearly feeling uncomfortable in this atmosphere, but Yaan didn’t at all mind the peace and quiet.

Xin Tia examined him curiously. Out of all of them, she left closed door cultivation the least often. At most she had heard Yaan’s name along with a few of his exploits, like how he was oddly proficient in battle and worked harder than any other child his age.

Towards her curious gaze, Yaan ignored it. He would politely engage in conversation if someone else started it, but he didn’t feel inclined to be the initiator. He would be perfectly content spending the entire journey in silence, enjoying the rest before the competition.

“Senior disciple brother Owan Shi, who do you think will win the tournament?”

Yaan sighed internally. He should have expected that Elia wouldn’t give him his peace and quiet.

“In the Qi Temple realm, it should be the Yuso Clan young master, Kin Lee.” Owan Shi didn’t hesitate with his answer. Xin Tia and Inhi didn’t look surprised, but Elia’s eyes widened.

“You don’t think that you’ll win?” This question was a little bit rude, but she was just a young girl so he didn’t mind it. Owan Shi shook his head bitterly and explained it to her in simple terms.

“I recently ascended to the 2nd Layer Qi Temple realm, which can be considered pretty good before turning 50 years old, but Kin Lee is already at the 3rd Layer Qi Temple realm. He’s a true genius.”

“You reached the 2nd Layer?” Xin Tia asked with a bit of shock evident in her tone.

“Congratulations, Senior Disciple Owan Shi.” Inhi nodded lightly.

“2nd Layer?” Elia asked, feeling confused. Were the realms not split up into initial, early, mid, late and peak stages?

“It’s normal that you don’t know about this.” Owan Shi explained patiently. “The Qi Temple realm is split up into layers, each layer represents a floor of the Qi temple within the dantian.”

Yaan already knew this as Rui had explained it, but Elia was in awe. Owan Shi didn’t explain much, but Yaan knew that there was more to it than just this.

There were actually 9 potential layers in the Qi Temple realm. It was possible to ascend to the Spirit Core realm after achieving the 3rd layer, but most would choose to ascend at the 4th or 5th layers. The higher layers became increasingly difficult to attain, but reaching a higher layer before ascending to the Spirit Core realm would drastically improve one’s future prospects, even positively affecting their talent.

“Then what about the True Yuan Qi realm? Could Yaan win?” Elia asked eagerly, casting a quick glance in Yaan’s direction.

To this question, Yaan rolled his eyes.

“Elia, I just entered this realm recently, I’m only at the early stage. I have no chance of winning, I’m probably just going to fight against the other clan’s youngest geniuses."

Elia cringed slightly, realising that she had said something stupid.

“Haha, even if you don’t win a single match, just showing up is enough for you to show off, junior disciple Yaan.” Owan Shi laughed.

It was true. Yaan would definitely be the youngest competitor in this competition, there was basically no doubt about that. Nobody would criticise him even if he lost his first match.

As they travelled, Elia asked a few more questions regarding the other groups. Every now and then, the group would stop and everyone would get out to stretch, chat and eat.

For most of the people present, it was necessary to eat and sleep often. It was only after reaching the Spirit Core realm that a Qi Master could completely forgo nutrition and sleep. They would still need to recover their energy via meditation and some pills now and then though.

At the True Yuan Qi realm, it was enough to eat a single meal once each day and to sleep just a couple of hours each night. At the Qi Temple realm, just eating and sleeping briefly once every few days was fine.

This journey was obviously more difficult for Elia. As a Qi Gathering realm child, she was barely better off than a mortal. She didn’t realise it, but the Sect Lord intended to put her through this experience as a sort of tempering, to boost her motivation to improve quickly.

The time spent passing the Swift Sword School was tense, especially for the Thunder Sword School, the arch enemy of the other school. However, they didn’t expect to encounter nobody from this sect along the way. Whilst most of the organisations had withdrawn their forces from this region in response to the receding beast tide, the Heavenly Path Sect Elders had assumed that they would run into the other groups as they prepared to set off towards Yuso Mountain. Even though the caravan took a path that went around the Northern face of the mountain, to encounter nobody was still a bit unexpected.

Passing by the Fire Dragon Sect, they encountered the same situation.

After much apprehension and doubt, the Elders eventually realised that these two groups must have already departed before them.

The journey was relatively uneventful from Yaan’s perspective. Since he was stuck inside the carriage for most of this time, even when they were attacked by the occasional beast group, the Elders took care of things within a few minutes at most without the disciples even becoming aware of the danger.

A week passed by in relative peace. They finally arrived at their destination, Yuso Mountain. This was the largest of the nine mountains and the residence of the Yuso Clan, the strongest power within the Greenwood mountain range.