Soft? Comfortable... and warm. A bit too warm, kinda hot actually... uwh... it was soft and comfortable, but too warm, *twitch twitch* Ears twitched and eyelid trembled, an unwilling grown filled the quiet air as something shifted back and forth.

Another grown... she was unable to push away what was so warm, it was kind of clinging to her... Hrrr.. Unwillingness filled her as she struggled to open her eyes, it was a hard battle but finally, she opened her eyes just to hiss at the sun blinding her. Kou had awoken!

She looked around for a moment and felt... like she was in the wrong world for a moment. she was in a small wooden room. It had a desk, a chair, a cultivation mat, and a bed. The Bed could comfortably hold 2 people but currently, there were 4 in here. Xiu Shihong, Ning Jiao, Li Zhi, and herself...all bandaged up.

The weights she could not bush away were no blankets or the like but the bodies of her friends, which also had a few bandages here and there. Each of them was sleeping, it looked like somebody just pilled them up here...after a moment ... Kou finally felt it, her whole body was on fire... like burning needles piercing her skin everywhere.

The Pain was so strong that she fell back unconscious.

The next time she woke up she was alone, her bandages seem to have changed, and she was a lot more comfortable, while there was still a sting of pain assaulting her body, it was bearable, she had worse. Slowly she pushed herself up, she looked around... a small wooden room with a wooden door, there was a round window at head height similar to one you would find in a boat.

The only thing she could see out of the window was the blue sky.

With a groan she stood up, her body ached... there was a change of clothes, foreign and weird fabric that she had no recollection of owning, however, tail holes clearly indicated they were meant for her... However, they were kinda tacky... it was something a fairy would wear, a short skirt, a long and flowing stash, and something akin toa mantel, all of them in pure white...

She refused to wear that.

Carefully she looked around before she found her trusty cloak, relieved she pulled out an outfit similar to her old one, it was one of the things she had Xifeng gather back in the city, after all her old outfit was already kinda.. well old.

Very comfortable in the hardeneth leather coat and pants as well as her thick boots she let out a sigh. Whoever had given her these clothes had a very shitty taste, in her own opinion, she preferred the pretty robes Wu Xiao had gifted her to this at any day. But would still rather wear her armor over anything else.

Having no idea where she was Kou simply opened the door and looked around, it was a long corridor with doors similar to hers, leading.. presumably into rooms much similar to her own, at the end of it were wooden stairs leading upwards, so Kou calmly made her way upwards, moving slowly and carefully, as her body was still aching.

However, once she arrived upstairs her eyes went wide, there were clouds everywhere, and she was on what seemed to be a giant ship, she felt a chill, not from cold but from anxiety as she had no idea where she was, however, there were a few people on deck, all of them wore Daoist clothes, or if female some had outfits similar to the one Kou had found, making them quite the center of attention for some of the males around. Everyone here was rather young, most people around 18 to 20, which made Kou stand out quite a bit since she was still around 16 by this point.

Kou let out a stifled cough when she noticed that everyone here had cultivation comparable to hers, well not everyone, but most of them were in core formation and none of them seemed weak at all, in fact, if you tried to compare the old core formation experts in the Ning Empire to these young people you would start laughing.

With her ears flicked back and her expression frozen Kou actually got some attention, she actually was the only one that had features like hers here, and some of them the people seemed rather intimidated by them, vivid mumbling broke loose but nobody approached her or explained what was happening, in fact, it was more like they avoided her.

Luckily the attention she got also made some other realize she was here, after a moment Xiu Shihong and all of her other friends were there, including some boy Kou could not for the life of her remember, Hei Tian, Wu Xiao, Li Zhi, and Ning Jiao all were here too. Most of them having a disgruntled expression especially Hei Tian looked fairly grumpy, making his handsome features appear quite fierce and he was already being looked at by some girls.

"Finally you have woken up..." Ning Jiao jumped into Kou's arms, which made her wince in pain inwardly, but she did not show any to the outside, idly patting the young girl's head while her eyes drifted back and forth between everyone. Wu Xiao and Hei Tian both had solidified their cores by now, and thanks to the medicine that Kou had given them both of them had golden cores, albeit Wu Xiao's was a bit weaker. Shockingly Ning Jiao just like Li Zhi actually had reached the very cusp of the fourth realm just a step away from core formation.

Xiu Shihong smiled at Kou, her red eyes glowing with the same friendly affection they had shared since young, they had lived together for much of their childhood, all of them, so the bound between them was quite thick. However.. the first thing Xiu Shihong did was smack Kou over the head... much to Kou's dismay and pain.

"Arr... Uch... what the..." It was followed by a hug, not just by Xiu Shihong but everyone excluding the males obviously, making Kou wince again.

"You idiot should've just come to us once you needed help... " Xiu Shihong grumbled quietly...to which Kou just grumbled, and kept quiet... as usual. "Where are we anyway.. who are these people..." She went to the question most important right away, skipping over any explanation she had to do... she could do that later, or not at all, let's do it not at all, right?

"We are on a flying ship, after you passed out you were out of it for about a month, that old guy that showed up threw all of us in a room and told us to wait there." Xiu Shihong had a sour expression. "After that we and the others that got taken got an explanation. Apparently, we are being sent off to the eastern lands past the frozen wastes to join some sects there... Every one hundred years the emissaries of different powers set out and recruit or.. well kidnap promising youths to bring back home into their sects. Apparently, this one was from the "9 Great Sect's" A combination of middle to large-sized sects that have allied themselves with each other and therefore were able to content with other great powers." She scoffed.

"Obviously we were not asked for an opinion, so we are just carted off like cattle. Anyway... All the other people here are others that have been gathered up. Some of them apparently from great clans from different countries that came willingly, others have participated in a tournament of sorts to get the spot, anyway, they all are snotty-nosed brats... and then there is those like us that apparently have "Adequate" talent and just have been gathered up. We are en route to reach the lands of the 9 great sects in about 2 months. From what I've gathered each of their territories is larger than the Ning Empire..."

Kou grumbled, this explanation was enough to understand what happend, but she was unhappy. "We can't leave I suppose... Like just jump of board?" Li Zhi shook her head "We saw someone try, there is some kind of barrier and he just got a bloody nose of it." Another grunt came from Kou after that before her eyes shifted back and forth.

"I'm... happy to see all of you again, even if it's here..." She nodded a rare smile bloomed on her face. That simple thing stunned some of the onlookers as Kou's face really bloomed when she smiled. Wu Xiao actually blushed while Hei Tian just chuckled wryly moving forward to ruffle Kou's hair. "You have grown up well Little Sister! I'm very happy you are alive, we all are. However, how about you explain to us what happened to you?"

Kou grumbled as her hair was ruffled but she did not resist, she was close with Hei Tian, after all, he was like an older brother to her. "Mh...After I fell into the River...Shi Shi saved me and send me somewhere else to train.. she wanted me to be save from that old foggy... I stayed there until I was strong and came back over the sea... I ... I met someone on the way and with their help, I managed to from my core quickly making it possible for me to do what I did... Shi Shi was the old.. lady.. on the..." She stopped staggering.. as she held her head... Yes Shi Shi, what happened to her? Kou barely was conscious at that point so everything was kinda blurry, her ears flicked back and she grumbled before she heard a voice in her head.

It was Xifeng. "She is ...here."

At the same time, Hei Tian's expression froze a little. "My Elder Sister did something to you and that old lady, binding her spirit to you before she was taken away by these people. She is also on this ship, but she is being kept guarded, I was able to talk to her a bit, but she did not tell me anything....Ever since... that white Aura appeared around her she... changed, and became mysterious."

Kou was only listening with one air as her attention was currently down in her own body, near her core next to Xifeng was something else, a small child. It had pale skin and brownish hair, with a pair of fluffy ears on its head, it seemed to be asleep, not reacting at all if Kou tried to wake it. She felt that the thing was connected to her core... and she felt that she was very clearly Shi Shi.

She let out a sigh, ready to investigate this later as her gaze once more fell back to her friends. "So...do we have a plan?"

Wu Xiao let out a sigh. "Well as far as we could gather we can pick where we want to go, but apparently that is also kind of difficult as some places have preferences, apparently there is one sect that only takes girls, while there is another one that only takes boys. There is one that focuses on Sword Cultivation, one that focuses on Alchemie, and so on. Anyway, sometimes people are picked and do not get to choose, usually, that also means they will have a higher status in said sect so nobody complains..."

Kou nodded. "So we all go to the same sect and keep our heads down until this has blown over..got it.." She nodded slightly but Xiu Shihong's expression froze slightly. "I... I think it would be better if we choose what is best for us... I don't know if you guys noticed but... these people.. those that go in and out and bring more students in... they are far above what we know, even those that are comparable in power to us here have strange and powerful cultivation techniques and weapons. I want to stick together but if you see an opportunity you should take it."

Xiu Shihong's words were quite true and resonated with most of the group. Seeing the chance to leap above and become a true cultivator was quite enticing to all of them, and they fell silent as they contemplated. Not a single of them, Li Zhi, Xiu Shihong, Hei Tian or Kou thought that even if they were apart anything would change. However, for Fu Tengfang, Ning Jiao and Wu Xiao they were only attached loosely. Tengfang had stuck with Li Zhi for the last few years and had more of a subordinate relationship with Xiu Shihong.

Ning Jiao really only knew Kou. While she had befriended the others of the last month there was not much of a bound, not to speak about her still being a Ning... one of the reasons they were in this situation in the first place.

Much the same could be said for Wu Xiao, he had become friends with Hei Tian and respected the girls, but he was mostly here due to his attraction to Yun Kou, therefore he was unsure how he should go about it.

As for Kou herself... she actually rather had everyone together. Li Zhi, Hei Tian, and especially Xiu Shihong were her family. If possible she would like to stick together, much more now after they had just reunited after so long. Ning Jiao was nice, She had no idea who Fu Tengfang even was, and Wu Xiao was pleasant to be around...

However...

She understood the expressions of Hei Tian, Xiu Shihong, and even Wu Xiao, who were not opposed to reaching further heights, this was .. an opportunity after all...

All she could do now was wait for what the future held for them. Once was for sure at-least they would have their fair share of problems going forward. However...Kou was looking forward to it, and .. from what she had heard from Xifeng... she also had quite a reason to become stronger.

...

Weeks turned to months quickly. The group slowly growing more accustomed to each other by each day, it was... just out of necessity a good idea. Many groups had already been formed and there were quite a few unsavory people onboard.

One of such people was Huan Yu, a male of average height and appearance however, he was from quite the background, being the young lord of a widely known cultivator clan. A clan that had multiple people in realms far above core-formation. And that specific male had taken their group into his eyes. It was quite obvious why. While no female here was ugly, Ning Jiao, Xiu Shihong, and also Kou were quite above the rest, there had been quite a few attempts of many of the male students to talk to them, mostly to the former two since Kou preferred to wear a literal armor and never really interacted with anyone outside of their group.

However her icy attitude towards everyone else had made her the target of them, they had waited for her to stroll around. Something she did every now and then when her room got to dull for her, currently she found herself pushed against a wall, a scrawny arm next to her head. This might be a heart throbbing moment for others... but she was just baffled and now angry.

"I knew it.." The voice of that Huan Yu tickled her ear. "If you get a glimpse of her face, she does not pale at all next to her two friends" He was flanked by two other males.... however, neither of these people where weak, each of them was in core-formation, and it was different from what the Ning Empire had, these were true cultivators, and far more powerful. So Kou reigned her temper in just slightly.

However she was ready to strike out when that man tried to lay a hand on her, she would not be touched by this dirty man. However the moment Huan Yu stretched his hand out to cup her chin, a large hand grabbed his arm and a sickening crunch filled the air.

"Jiiiii! Li Jian!" Huan Yu shrieked and tried to pull his hand back. Huan Yu was a giant, surely above 2 meters tall and stature of general, broad shoulders and strong arms, his face was neither handsome nor ugly, but he had a strong air around him, his deep brown eyes locking unto Huan Yu's in disgust, before throwing him to the side "Screw off!" He roared like a bear shaking the area, making multiple people peak through their doors.

Kou however just flicked her ears back and blinked in irritation... she had already gathered the energy to freeze Huan Yu solid and run away... with a grumble she just turned around, just looking at Huan Yu for a moment. "Thanks..." That was all she said before moving on back to her room. While some might've been offended by that meager reaction, but Li Jian just looked after her for a moment before he moved on.

...

The nine Allied sects.

There was the Immortal Sword Villa, sometimes called the strongest of the group, they drove in the righteous ways and while some of their actions were quite hypocritical they were the very front of the force that pushed the dark dao back. Their techniques were often wind and fire or sword-based, combining expertly trained magical energy with magic swords to dominate everything under the sky. While both genders are attending males make up the large majority of their students, they have 3 different halls and 9 mountains, with each hall overseeing 3 mountains, The most noticeable of those were the Roaring Tiger mountain which contained the most fierce fighters, and the fragrant scent mountain which...obviously houses most of the female population.

Yellow Valley, is a neutral school that teaches Daoist techniques, they don't specialize in anything, using talismans alchemy and magical treasures and beasts as best as they can. Having a more or less equal population of females and males it is a balanced school, that leaves its members the freedom to choose what they want to pressure, while an expert in none they produce the most balanced talents and fighters, has earned them a spot in the 9 sects. Yellow Valley disciplines often use elemental magic in fights.

Icy Zenith. Stationed further north than any of the other sect's Icy Zenith is located on a frozen inland lake, many miles around it the land is covered in eternal ice. They only accept females, and they are seen as the second strongest in the alliance, mostly keeping to themselves they cultivate almost exclusively Yin Arts, and mostly ice ones at that. To attend there is not just a talent necessary but they also judge on appearance and character, unlike some other sect's. Therefore it is the smallest of sects while also having the highest quality. It is said that the Fairies of Ice Zenith are frozen in time, their youth never diminishing.

The Beast sect, was... as one might assume the expert in taming and using magical beasts, each of their students has a bounded spirit or beast that they work together with in harmony. The Beast sect is equal in both genders. The Beast Sect is located on a large island with lush forests and wide grassy fields.

Golden Cauldron Sect. Specializes in Alchemy and pill production said to be the richest of all sects and the sect with the most Alchemy Grandmasters capable of creating ranking pills up to 5, with their sect leader apparently able to create rank 6 and 7 pills, able to cleanse the body and heal any wound.

The other sects are, Celestial Mountain, The starry sky sect, Misty Valley, and the Yin Ghost Sect. They all live on the same land around a large mountain covered in coral, called the Star City. They are the de facto leader of the alliance and their combined forces put them into a position of power, making it possible for them to stand on the same or even higher step as the other sects. However, they are plagued with intrigue and only fully band together if they are in danger.

Those were just some of the powerful fractions... Kou closed the book she was currently reading her brows furrowed. "Ha... this is going to be difficult."