I cover my mouth as I yawn. I’m sitting against one of the larger trees in the clearing and I have to pinch myself to keep myself awake. Jing Xia rests her head on my shoulder, napping in the evening light.

A festive atmosphere had taken over the sect with the announcement of the new elder, and all the disciples in the Sect have been enjoying themselves to the best of their abilities. Jing Xia and Ming Lai dragged me out to quite a few of the parties, celebrating the fact that I’m now a core disciple.

Now, Ming Lai sits across from another senior disciple, her eyes lost in thought as she studies the board in front of her.

She reaches forward, moving a piece. The young man sitting across from her frowns.

A servant comes by, lighting the lanterns around us. The sect is barely quieting down with the coming of night time and I know that many of the festivities will likely last until tomorrow.

Tai Qiu walks down the path towards us and I move to get up to greet her. She waves me down, so I remain where I am. The two senior disciples still bow to her from where they are sitting. Jing Xia mumbles something from where she rests on my shoulder.

“I’ve been looking for you for a while Disciple Lin.” Tai Qiu says with a smile, her movement relaxed, as if a great weight has been taken off of her shoulders.

“My apologies Elder Qiu.” I say, smiling up at her.

“You don’t need to apologize. I haven’t been searching that hard.” Tai Qiu sits next to me, watching the game that Ming Lai and the other senior disciple are playing with mild interest. “As a Core Disciple, you will be moving in with me in the home of the twelfth elder.”

I yawn into my hand again, trying to hide the action. Ming Lai had moved closer to her elder’s home as well when she had been accepted as a core disciple.

Tai Qiu has more to say, so I keep quiet, watching as Ming Lai slowly takes away all of her opponent’s pieces.

“After your next birthday, the Empire will be holding a tournament for the sects and the more talented rogue cultivators in the City of Tong Xun. The Patriarch has asked me to represent our sect along with Elder Song.” It takes me a moment to remember Elder Song, he is a large bear of a man that spends most of his time traveling the northern mountains. “She also recommended that I take you with me.”

I perk up at her words. Ever since my outing with Elder Li Mei Wu and my sisters, I haven’t left sect grounds. I want to see more of the outside world, and a gathering of the sects must be amazing to see! Sure, it’s still some time away, but it’s also a year earlier than when I’d normally be allowed to leave the sect.

I stand up from where I’m sitting, grabbing Tai Qiu’s hands.

Jing Xia falls to the ground as I move, her eyes shooting wide open as she stares at me like I betrayed her.

“Really? I’ll get to go?” I ask her, staring into her eyes.

She looks taken aback by my excitement. “It will be a while before it happens. But I will take you with me if you want to go.”

I smile, my sleepiness from moments ago gone. “Even if it sounds a little silly, I want to see the world. I know that there is more out there than I could ever imagine.”

An expression of understanding passes over Tai Qiu’s face, “I see. That isn’t silly. The world is amazing after all.” Tai Qiu chuckles.

***

Two months before my fourteenth birthday, I reach a breakthrough in my spirit cultivation, finally entering the realm of Spirit Recognition. Various forms and types of spirit flow through my body, some of the spirit having aspects of death, while most of it seems to take on an aspect hard for me to define, similar in essence to my music. When I feel that I am able to fully sense and understand the spirit flowing through me, the next page in the Spirit Manual shows itself to me.

The fourth page focuses on the idea of making my spirit become truly part of me and my own individual essence.

When I ask Tai Qiu for some pointers, she simply tells me to meditate on who I am and what that means.

Her advice, while profound, isn’t exactly helpful. Still, I follow it and spend some of the time I usually spend on cultivation trying to figure out who I am.

Trying to define myself is surprisingly hard.

With the new understanding of my own spirit, I find that I use it without even realizing it in a lot of my actions, whether it is sparring with Tai Qiu, or playing music. Spirit isn’t a static thing and it constantly flows through me and around me.

A week or so before my birthday, while playing The Fourth Requiem: Sacrifice, I have my gentlest breakthrough yet, and I enter the Sixth level of Qi Awakening.

Slightly scared of the name and the feeling of the Sixth Requiem, I consult Teng Zhu about it, he warns me that the Sixth Requiem isn’t to be taken lightly and that I should only play it when my mind is completely centered and I feel ready.

I take his advice to heart and don’t play the requiem.

I quietly sit on the floor of my room on the morning of my fourteenth birthday, feeling the spirit and qi within my body, watching as they intertwine seamlessly. My spirit is part of who I am, but it’s also something completely different. It is a fascinating paradox to watch.

Someone filled with familiar spirit approaches the door to my room. It’s still hard to identify most people by their spirit, but I’ve memorized Tai Qiu’s own unique spirit fairly well.

Tai Qiu knocks on the door and enters the room. I keep my eyes closed, focusing on my own spirit for a moment longer.

I open my eyes, looking up at her with a smile from my position on the floor.

Tai Qiu sits down across from me, mirroring my smile. “You seem to be doing well.”

I nod, agreeing with what she said. “Spirit is beautiful in a way. I-I don’t really know how to describe it.”

“It is hard to describe the beauty of something you cannot physically see.” Tai Qiu says, reaching into her robes. She pulls something out, hiding it from my sight. “But,” Tai Qui, says with a playful smile, “That isn’t what I came here to talk to you about. Today is your birthday.”

I try to look surprised, “It is?”

Tai Qiu snorts, then moves closer to me, revealing a blue ribbon in her hand. She gently ties the ribbon into my hair. “In the village I grew up in, the fourteenth birthday was an important one.” Tai Qiu takes on a melancholy look as she speaks, “It was the year you officially entered adulthood. The girls of the village would place ribbons into the birthday girl’s hair, I don’t remember what it symbolized, but it… it’s important I’m sure.” She finishes with a sad smile, her hand resting on top of my head. “I hope you don’t mind.”

I reach up and hold the back of her hand for a moment before letting go. “I don’t mind.” I smile at her. “I’m glad you shared it with me.”

Tai Qiu pulls away, standing up. “I’m not good at giving presents, but if you see something that you want from the city of Tong Xun, tell me.”

I stand up and bow to her, “You’ve already given me too much. I dare not request more from you.”

Tai Qiu simply raises an eyebrow, then motions for me to follow her.

I comply, my qi and body flowing so that my every movement is silent. The Movements Of The Silent Monster still takes concentration for me to use, but it’s starting to become easier now that Tai Qiu has me activate the basic steps of it at all times.

Tai Qiu leads me through her home, a book floating to her hand from somewhere in the house. She opens the book, reading it as we walk through the small garden she keeps in front of her home.

Eventually the book snaps shut as we arrive at the clearing where she spends most of her time instructing me. The portal still shimmers with the ethereal chains wrapped around it.

“We will be leaving the sect to travel soon.” Tai Qiu says, her gaze focused on the portal. “There are many dangers in the world, and I worry that you might not be wary of them.” She turns her gaze to me. “I don’t know how to prepare you for what lies out there except to say this; People will lie, cheat and kill to get what they want. No matter how kind they may seem, the true face that lies underneath their mask can be horrifying.”

“I may be ignorant of many things, Elder Tai Qiu. But I know more of the ways of the world than you might think.” I say, looking into her eyes to show my sincerity. My experiences from my last birthday’s excursion still stay at the forefront of my mind. I know the ease with which people kill, and… the Third Requiem has shown me the monsters that can live underneath a smile.

Tai Qiu’s expression softens. “I know. I have seen the death that you witness nearly every day. Still, I can’t help but worry. It is my job as your teacher to do so.”

I bow my head in acknowledgement of her words.

Tai Qiu doesn’t say anything else as she pulls her sword out from that strange storage and motions for me to do the same.

I breathe in deeply, letting out the breath softly as I watch my teacher wearily. My body easily moves into a graceful stance from The Whispers of The Silent Raven.

Tai Qiu raises her sword, still outside of my reach, then brings it down.

My body moves on instinct, stepping to the side as large furrows appear in the ground where I stood. Again, from nearly a meter a way, she slices her sword at me. The wind itself turns into a blade, her qi giving it shape and power.

I dance around the cutting wind, dashing forward towards her. She remains calm as my blade aims for her stomach.

She blocks the strike, but I pull my blade back only having feinted the strike. Each strike of my sword is calmly blocked as she doesn’t move from the spot where she stands. Again she strikes towards me, qi extending the length of her blade.

I strike with my own qi, trying to copy her technique. Her power quickly overwhelms mine and I feel her qi dissipate as it hits me, almost like a wave of heat.

“You still have trouble condensing your qi.” Tai Qiu says, lowering her sword. “It is a relatively simple technique. You should be better at it by now.”

I look away, feeling a little embarrassed. “My qi doesn’t want to condense itself. It likes being free.”

Tai Qiu gives a small laugh. “Your qi is part of you. It doesn’t have wants or likes.” She places her sword back into her storage. “But I suppose I can see how your cultivation technique doesn’t lend itself to techniques like this.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, sheathing my own sword.

Tai Qiu sits down on a nearby fallen log as she ponders my question. “Your Requiems are like broad strokes of a brush, large and encompassing. Condensing your qi is like taking a much smaller brush and asking you to write perfectly with it. You simply aren’t used to the small details, and the mistakes are easier to see.”

“I see.” I frown, frustrated that the Requiems prevent me from mastering a simple technique.

“I’m sure that you will start to understand the technique soon.” Tai Qiu says, trying to ease my worries.

I nod, and we continue our lessons.

The rest of the day passes quickly. Elder Zhu doesn’t make an appearance, but Tai Qiu tells me that he is dealing with a problem on the other side of the Empire. Still, I wish I could’ve seen him.

I’m resting in the hot springs after our sparring lessons, when Jing Xia slides into the water next to me. She sighs as she loosens her body to the hot water of the springs.

“Love is strange.” Jing Xia says after a moment.

I look at her curiously.

“I mean, it pops up at the most inconvenient times. Did you know that Ming Lai found a sweetheart? She’s been spending all of her time with him.” Jing Xia pouts at me.

I giggle. “I’ve noticed. She hasn’t exactly been quiet about it.”

Jing Xia pauses, before looking slyly towards me. “What about you? Has there been any handsome men that have caught your eye?”

I start coughing, caught by surprise from the question. I blush, thinking about kissing someone. “N-no.”

I sink into the water in an effort to hide my blush.

JIng Xia bursts out laughing.