"Wow, this place is awesome, Ren." Xiao Bao said, lounging down in one of the armchairs around the weapon division part of the heptagonal estate. After they spent a little more time with the others, introducing her and looking around the estate, Ren told her about the upcoming Novice trial and the fact that she wouldn't be participating in it.

At first, she was dismayed, after all it was a big opportunity to gain not only recognition but also resources and a better environment for her future cultivation. When he made it clear that she would still be receiving the advantages of passing the trial though, she relaxed immensely. They would still be spending the next two days on the peak of the mountain, Xiao Bao maybe even for longer as Cloudgrass said that he had to talk to the other elders and the Sect Master, before a further decision can be made.

Ren wasn't sure why Zhi Mu and Cloudgrass would even put so much emphasis on her having successfully used the Violet Ascension Art, but there clearly was something else afoot behind the scenes that he didn't know.

Not wanting to dwell on it too much, Ren turned to address Xiao Bao. "It is really nice. Unfortunately you couldn't meet Xiao Ai, I am sure the two of you would have got along."

"Nothing we can do, Brother Ren. It is not like there won't be opportunities to meet her again." She said, changing her sitting position into something more suited to meditation.

And it was true, Xiao Ai had even left him a spacial bag with his possessions and a note saying that he shouldn't just leave them like this the next time, that he can keep the bag, and that she had to leave on another mission that she didn't know when she will return from.

It was making him feel slightly dejected, but like Xiao Bao said, there was nothing they could do. Before they went to bed, or rather into deeper meditation, Ren wanted to get her thoughts on the next day. After all, the older girl had never had an opportunity like this, and unlike him, she was a part of the sect for multiple years.

"What do you think we'll do tomorrow, then? The first elder said that you could choose some arts to compliment your spirit and anything basic that seems useful from a part of his personal library. I hope that he might let us also browse a bit to be honest." Ren said, happy with their plan for the next day.

"Hmm, yeah it should be good, I honestly don't even think this is real yet. This is all I ever hoped to get from the Novice trial, and now it just sits before me." She shook her head, self-mockingly, and continued. "We can train together again as well, though you have to really put in the work now. Also, I am sure it must not have been all that nice for you in the last few weeks, with all of us just focussing on the Novice trial. I am sorry."

She opened her eyes, looking sheepish and apologetic, even guilty. Ren wasn't cross with her though, he could understand why she and the others tried so excruciatingly hard. After all, he had felt the same desperation back home when he and Lin wanted to join the Heart's Illusion Sect. He looked back at her with reassurance.

"It's fine, don't worry about it, Bao." Ren said, closing his eyes while smiling mildly at her.

"All right, good night, Ren."

"Good night, Bao."

"It is good that you are enthusiastic about the prospect of learning, Novice Xiao Bao, but please be patient for but a moment." Cloudgrass said, waving his right hand calmingly, not unamused by her wringing her own and looking at the bookshelf the old man had put up with anticipation. Frankly, Ren himself, even though he had a complete cultivation art that covered the most relevant aspects for him, was looking forward to seeing the library of a Grandmaster, even if it was only a small part of it.

"Yes, Grandmaster Cloudgrass, I am sorry." Xiao Bao said, a grin still plastered on her face, and spirit revolving with excitement.

The six of them stood around Cloudgrass, Xiao Bao in the front, and the others a little behind, it was an occasion mostly prepared for her after all. The old man had decided that a somewhat remote part of the estate's garden would make for the perfect gathering and reading place.

It was a circular, black and white marble floor with round tiles that had different coloured sand, each with different degrees of roughness to them, where they stood. Ren couldn't make out a specific pattern by simply looking at it for a bit, though he felt that there were layers of spirit stacked over each other in the ground. The edges of this marble floor seamlessly transitioned into overarching trees that made the spot look somewhat like a well lit room from within, even farther out a few mounds of dirt overgrown with tall grass hid it from any casual observation.

In the centre of the floor stood a single bookshelf that Cloudgrass had already arranged, aged wood making up its frame. It was neatly stacked with different scriptures, yellowed pages and a feeling of majesty emanating from it. From the names that were visible, it was clear that most of them were build around the use of lightning.

"Now, before we begin, Novice Xiao, let me inform you of the decision that the other elders and I came to." Cloudgrass said, gravitas entering his tone, and letting the anticipation build in them, even Zhi Mu looking somewhat interested in what they decided on doing. Xiao Bao was looking expectantly at Cloudgrass. The elder cleared his throat audibly, and continued with a smile.

"We debated on Novice Xiao's situation extensively, and ultimately decided on having you stay at the summit for the foreseeable future, likely until you have achieved your breakthrough into the Adept realm. In the time you spend here you will be able to gain pointers from multiple Masters, if you are lucky, and they are so inclined. That is all for now. I will leave the six of you with these manuals. Each one of you is free to peruse them at their leisure, and should there be some further questions, it would be my pleasure to enlighten you."

With those words, Cloudgrass vanished, a stream of spirit leaving and manifesting in the chair that Ren first sensed him in being all that he could make out from his movement.

Xiao Bao looked torn by the verdict of the elders. She was of course thrilled with the idea of improving her cultivation under the watchful eyes of experts that had centuries of knowledge and experience under their belts, but also dismayed at the prospect of living here for maybe multiple years, not being able to leave, until she became an Adept.

She approached the bookshelf and picked out the first manual that caught her eye. It was called Thunder's Fury, and was a complete cultivation art that promised overwhelming power and a body that was at all times equal in strength to your spirit. She dismissed it after she read on, saying that it was almost impossible to cultivate to the Grandmaster realm and that the Cultivator's perception of spirit would suffer, in addition to instilling a certain recklessness into the practitioner's actions. It was not meant for her, and so she continued her hunt for fitting arts.

Zhi Mu and Shen Junan began looking through Cloudgrass' collection with far less fervour than Xiao Bao, and though both were certain that it wouldn't hold anything of high interest towards either one of them, they began reading different descriptions and diagrams on the corresponding techniques and circulation routes that were associated with the arts nonetheless.

Xin Jing and Han Ting both were quite invested in the opportunity, and they were almost as excited as Xiao Bao. Ren was quite confused by this and asked Zhi Mu, who was standing next to him with a thin scroll in his hand. The older boy gave him a quizzical look when Ren stepped up to him, but answered regardless.

"There isn't anything special about it, Brother Ren, they were never allowed to pick any arts for themselves previously." He stopped to reconsider his statement. "Well, that is not exactly right. Let us just say that they were always shown a selection of arts that were very similar in nature, giving an illusion of choice where there never was one. At least that is what I believe. They could look at other arts of course, take some inspiration from the methods that were used in their cultivation, but to spend precious time on mastering an art that might never yield any benefits would be tantamount to blasphemy in their families."

Zhi Mu, fixed Ren with an odd gaze as he thought about the younger boy's own situation. "I am surprised that you do not jump at this opportunity yourself, Brother Ren. As I understand it, your arts have also been chosen for you, have they not?"

That was true, Ren supposed. And maybe he should be angry about it, but he hadn't really even seriously thought about that yet, and there was never a point in the last months when he felt that he wanted to practise any arts not connected to swords apart from generally convenient skills that were not even considered complete arts, like being able to clean one's self. Furthermore, even when joining, it made complete sense to Ren that he should use a cultivation manual that would be dedicated to his Intent instead of trying the basic cultivation art.

Ren didn't say all of this to Zhi Mu though, shrugging, he said. "I guess I haven't been in the sect long enough to feel that way."

Zhi Mu took Ren's word for it, and went back to reading.

She was breathing in through her nose, slowly, ever so slowly letting the surrounding spirit nourish her, like the rain pouring onto a field.

She exhaled through her mouth, letting the spirit circulate and exit out of her.

Repeating the basic steps of cultivation had always felt dull to her, a duty that was only fuelled by dedication and the want to please her parents. It was only recently that she started appreciating the process.

The slow intake bloating her meridians, choking her with its intensity, followed by the weakness associated with pushing the foreign spirit out of her after it ran its course. The momentary slacking of muscles, and the fear of failure, the latter a constant companion. She had started getting better at it, the lag between the two states reducing with each day. She had heard her father say that there were people who cultivated in a constant stream, drawing in and channelling out spirit, revolving it without any lag at all, but just feeling her progress made her mood rise higher. Her place of cultivation made it even harder to cultivate, letting her advance one of her favourite arts. She smiled, as long as one kept walking, the goal would remain the same.

She finished a last circulation, opened her eyes, and, feeling refreshed, stood up from her sitting position. Walking out of the dreary cave felt heavenly, the transition from her grey surroundings to green, blue, and every colour in between putting a small smile on her face.

"I see that you are enjoying yourself, young miss."

An old man greeted her. He had milky white eyes and wore a white robe with no accents to speak of. His hands were gnarly, resting on a staff that went up to his shoulders, giving the impression of weakness and disease. She knew it to be nothing but a facade. His face was the worst part of his appearance, leathery, and a disgusting grin that was stretching too far, a pasty white caricature of a human, just looking at it made her shudder and want to recoil in disgust. She knew better than to do so, though.

Instead, she gave a respectful greeting, clasping her hands together. The man didn't move a single muscle in response, his face remaining the same.

He was judging her, considering her worth and how much she had improved. It made her feel like nothing but cattle, weak and oh so defenseless. How she wished that she could just rip that disgusting grin off his face.

"I suppose you might have improved marginally, but can you really say that you stand any chance of victory with how you are?" He continued. The man's eyes turned intense, and his spirit pressed down on the surrounding space, heavy like a mountain, showing him to be a Master, though she knew that among Masters he was one of the weakest. Unfortunately, that knowledge didn't help when the difference between them was so vast. She remained standing with her hands clasped in greeting, enduring, always enduring.

"The family will not tolerate anything but excellence, and your childish insistence on cultivating the Art Of The Midnight Caterpillar will not help you." His voice was tired, and the pressure disappeared like it was never there in the first place. "Though you might have experienced leniency in the past, do not expect it to continue. We are the Ji family."

The decrepit Master's ominous voice danced on the wind, and when Ji Daiyu looked up, she was alone.