As soon as Adept Ji vanished from the training ground, Ren had to hold on to him for dear life.

The Adept rushed through the scenery, fast as the wind, seemingly only touching the ground every few steps.

While this was happening, Ren kept observing the surroundings, and how Adept Ji was moving his own spirit. Most of it pooled in his legs, flowing in strange patterns. It even felt like the surrounding spirit was aiding his movement, this somehow had a familiar feeling to it, a significance, though Ren could not place it.

After ten minutes, they were moving across the shining roofs of houses instead of forest paths. The residences looked almost harmonious to him, in how they nestled themselves into the mountainside. A little brook softly caressing the outlines of this village in the sect.

After another ten minutes and constantly changing vistas, Ren tentatively asked the rushing Adept how long their trip to his master would take them.

"At the pace I am going, around two and a half more hours. The weapons-division is on the other side of the mountain." "I see."

They continued flying through the different parts of the mountain. Ren saw more and more of the sect this way, though single places passed him by too quickly to leave a lasting impression, by themselves.

The holistic experience opened his eyes to the feats of which cultivators are capable of. Even after two hours, Adept Ji was neither slowing down, nor was he even breathing hard. As if he was an inexhaustible machine, always running the same pace, and never even once losing his footing.

As the Adept said, after around three hours total, they came to a stop in front of a colossal pagoda. It had, as far as he could tell, six storeys, with the higher ones becoming ever smaller. In Ren's opinion, it made the building look more like an anthill. Though it was a very impressive anthill to be sure.

Surrounding the pagoda, a tranquil pond lay, stretching itself across and into neighbouring gardens. Ren could even see some carps swimming in it joyfully, and some disciples were making merry on its shore.

From across the pond, they could already hear the shouts of people training. Both loud and aggressive or level and controlled.

He was directed to follow the Adept inside, where he saw the aforementioned training. Curiously, all of them were training with swords, even though this was supposed to be a 'weapon-division' and not a sword-division.

The Adept caught his expression and began explaining. "Did you think this was the whole of the weapon-division, Initiate? It is, admittedly, the largest part of it, but generally only disciples who focus on the sword and train in spirit arts reflecting that, train here."

Ren merely nodded in assent, already transfixed by the ease with which swords were being wielded. Flowing motions, sharp cuts and decisive thrusts, accompanied by inhuman concentration, strength and speed. All the while, their spirit was flowing in colourful ways, sometimes playful and meek, while on others brash and angry.

These displays drew him in, like nothing Ren had ever seen before, making him almost draw his own knife, in the hopes of joining them.

Ren was so spellbound, he didn't even notice the surrounding disciples staring at him, like one would look at an exotic animal.

Regardless of his obsession, the two of them moved on. Ascending the floors, they saw even more intricate spirit arts being executed, while the sound level sank proportionately.

After the second floor, unfortunately, walls were obstructing his sight, but also, to his astonishment, his other senses from observing the practice.

The fourth floor was much the same as the third.

The fifth, and final level, was totally different, though. Firstly there was a massive door, with spirit flowing through it in looping patterns, decorated in silver on matte wood. Intricate carvings snaked all over the door, making it look more like a work of art than a door.

Standing before it, Adept Ji flashed an apple sized badge, and the door opened on its own, and closed behind them.

The Inside looked quite a bit different from what Ren had anticipated. Instead of being greeted by Ji's enigmatic master, they were standing in a spacious office.

Rows upon rows of bookshelves lined the walls, with multiple cushioned chairs standing by small tables. At the far side sat an imposing Desk of pure stone, that looked as if it had been joined with a soft layer of wood on top. To the left of this desk, another door led into another room.

Adept Ji turned to him. "Wait here. I must speak to Master Darkhaven post-haste. You may look around, but do not touch anything."

Before Ren could answer him, he was already through the side door.

'Darkhaven, what an inviting name,' Ren thought sarcastically.

But as he had the opportunity, he might as well look around. Looking at different books, not only with his eyes. There were books with titles like, The Rise Of The Empire, Mage Kingdoms Of The East And Their Customs, A Compendium Of The Badland-Wars. Those were all imposing, heavy tomes, with every word of the title capitalized, and not looking like anyone had touched them in the last ten years.

But there were also silly titles, fifty-three approaches to make a woman fall for you, how to boil carrots without losing their flavour, puzzles to keep an old mind going, and many more like them. Each one of them far smaller in scope, and also looking much more used in recent time...

The ones almost teeming with spirit seemed to all be some kind of arts. Their titles ranged from imposing to outright hilarious: The seven swords of the mortal world, three hearts one sword, the sutra of the lonely path, the way of the snail, those were bigger compendiums and looked like a complete style. Then there were those with the absolutely to Ren at least, comical names, ugly girl running on water, stealing the peach, taking of your shoes, and many more.

Ren thought, that those were likely only one move, and not a complete art.

But he was only guessing based on their looks. Around half an hour later, Adept Ji came back, and with him was the most terrifying man Ren had ever seen. He did not look imposing, grotesque, demonic, or anything close to it. In fact, were this man to cross your path in the street you would only think him to be a kindly grandpa, with a white robe, wooden sandals, and wispy, short grey hair.

But his spirit. It felt like molasses, thick and sticky, flowing inside and around him in expansive patterns.

Never before had he met someone who felt so oppressive to him, without even meaning to, as Darkhaven was genuinely confounded with his reaction.

Darkhaven looked at him for a little longer, but then simply chose to ignore the boys' reaction, for now. The Master moved through the room with a very deliberately slow step, all the while looking at Ren.

"My student tells me that your spirit has a special quality to it, though he was not able to ascertain if it truly is what he thought it was." He spoke as if the mere thought of it would hold significance.

The old man sat down in one of the cushioned chairs in front of the boy.

"Give me your wrist, boy. I shall personally test you." He put out his gnarly right hand, filled with calluses, expectantly.

Ren, not having a real choice in the matter, stood up and presented his own left.

Once again foreign energy invaded him through his wrist, and once again his own rose in defence.

The experience felt like he was battling against an endless, dark sea, with no beginning nor end, while he only had his trusty knife. But no matter how much he seemed to cut, there was no escaping the inevitable.

And then it abruptly stopped. Ren fell to his knees, and was heaving, as if the air was sweetest ambrosia.

Meanwhile, Darkhaven's face lit up, and he looked at the boy, like a jeweller would look at a raw diamond ready to be cut and polished.

"Truly extraordinary, his talent for spirit cultivation is not that high, but he was actually able to gain a basic Intent. You said the boy was six years old?"

The old master didn't wait for his disciple to answer. "Magnificent, wonderful, almost unprecedented even!"

He jumped up from his seat and looked as if he was going to perform a jig right now, in front of them. "Even better, it is an Intent focused on wielding blades."

Ren, in the meantime, stood back up and immediately slumped back into his own armchair.

A little agitatedly, Ren asked. "What does that even mean, having an Intent, and would it be significant if my talent is not high?" During the end of the sentence, he even sounded a little defeated.

Darkhaven looked to Adept Ji once more, with one eyebrow raised. "He doesn't even know about this?"

Ji looked a little sheepish, but then smoothed out his features. "I only endeavoured to present him to you at your earliest convenience, Master!"

The old man waved his left hand at him, dismissively. "Yes, yes, of course you did."

Then Darkhaven focused on Ren again, and with steepled fingers he began.

"Let me tell you a bit about cultivation and talent, boy. There are five general levels of talent concerning the gathering and nourishing of your own spirit. What these different levels mean, is that level five can gather spirit around five times better than level one, and subsequently increase his pool of spirit. There are very few people with a talent of five, while the lowest requirement for joining the Sect is a level of one."

Here Darkhaven got even more exited, and even grinned like a fat cat.

"But after reaching the realm of Adept your innate talent level does not matter as much any more. And why is that?" He made a small dramatic pause, only to answer his own question. "Because as an Adept you gained your own Intent, and the art that you learn after, compliments this Intent.

You do not, any more, just practice a basic art to build a solid foundation, that would prepare you for a specialized cultivation art of any kind, but instead now learn one that focuses completely on the direction of your Intent."

Ren found the explanation a little long-winded, and while it did clear up some of his confusion, there was still at a few glaring flaws in what the old man said. "What is an Intent then, why does it make the talent 'almost' obsolete?" He asked.

"An Intent, is the core significance of your spirit, the concept that directs it, the cornerstone of your continued cultivation. You could say, that it is the general that commands your spirit, the core of your sword, or the hidden meaning of the poem that is your life."

As he was coming back from his reverie, his voice got a little lower.

"Normally, even a genius would take at least four years to gain their Intent. That is with the sect's excellent foundational art, guidance of seniors, and personal insight. And while I said, that talent would not have the same significance upon gaining an Intent, it is paramount in gaining it fast."

He made an inviting gesture with his hands. "To normal people, that is. You can directly begin working on an art, that is perfectly suited to your Intent."

Darkhaven then clapped his hands like he came to a decision and looked to Adept Ji. "Let the boy stay at Xiao Ai's residence, it will do the girl good.

Bring him back tomorrow in the morning. I will have a variety of suitable arts prepared."

Adept Ji clearly heard the dismissal for what it was, saluted, and left the opulent office like room. A stunned boy behind him.