Fenghuang Yu cleaned out Bai’s basket of sand and returned him to it while wiping herself and him off as best she could. She then sat down by Bai and petted and comforted him, waiting for her master’s explanation. For two more hours, she waited until her master’s voice sounded out, “I did not think you would last so long.”

Yu looked at him and still said nothing.

Long Bingwen turned his hairless head and face to her then and, showing absolutely no expression, he offered, “You may ask your questions now.”

Yu asked a question in response to his permission. “Is there a limit to the number I can ask?”

He raised a single “eyebrow” at that. Eye ridge? Eye? Sigh. “If I said you could only ask two, what would be the first?”

Yu said neutrally, “You are not mad at all, are you?”

Suddenly his face was full of expression. It gave off the impression of a facade melting away and the truth of the world appeared. Yu saw a terrifying visage of a man with no constraints. A man who knew the world was his for the taking if he wanted it and there was little anyone could do to stop him. And then his entire form began to glow silver and the world around them just stopped. Everything except the two of them was frozen. The sand blowing below and around was frozen in mid-air. The few clouds in the sky no longer changed as the air no longer moved. It was as though the very world had halted at his whim.

“And your second question?” His reverberating voice was terrifying in its surety. Power echoed from it.

Yu gulped and asked, “How many people know?”

His face relaxed then and he smiled. “Meixiu told me you were brilliant, but I doubted. A mother’s judgment cannot be trusted.”

Yu exhaled in relief and bowed from her seated position. “Thank you, master.” Then she looked back up at him and said, “And thank you for leaving those things for my family.”

His smile widened. “You do not miss much, do you? What gave it away? I am confident it was not the incident just now.”

Yu answered immediately, “Your control at my home when you drove us to our knees.” She was referring to his “visit” when he came to pick her up at her home and take her to the sect she would be spending her next years, or perhaps decade or more. Yu continued her answer with, “A madman would have crushed the table along with me, but done nothing to my family, or crushed us all. Instead, you used exactly the amount of force to bring everyone to their knees and nothing else in the courtyard was harmed.”

Still smiling he asked, “What else?”

“The clothes. It was too mad. Too intentional. And then too easily resolved.”

“Brilliant. Anything else?”

“Your scene at the end, gifting so much to my family. The head was a nice touch.”

“Well done. He was an old fool who angered the wrong individual. I have been looking for a reason to get rid of that thing for years. Now the last thing?”

Yu thought for a few moments and asked, “Did you expose yourself in those ways to see if I would see through your charade?”

Looking pleased, but not necessarily with her, he said, “Absolutely! I am actually impressed. You can’t truly understand what I mean, but that does not happen often.” Then his hold on the world released and they were moving again.

His tone changed to the one Yu’s mother got when she was lecturing about cultivation. “Yes, the Spatial Affinity has indeed driven many insane. Our family, yours on your mother’s side I mean, has a gift for its many forms. It is why our family is respected and feared. The affinity is also often misunderstood, which you will appreciate later. Some few can use it to see through time, forward and back, such as your great great whatever grandmother. Some use it to control time, as you saw. All who use it can move themselves or objects through space instantly and create pockets of space although the distance and size are determined by affinity strength. The control of gravity, or the force that holds us to the world, is rare but some have it.”

Yu asked, “That was what you used before at my home and on the mantis?”

He nods. “Yes. Spatial is the strangest and most feared affinity besides Chaos, which only devils use. In between your other studies, we will work together to discover your strengths and weaknesses and help you learn it.”

Yu bowed again and said, “Thank you, master. I look forward to learning.” And she really did too. Of course, she was scared as well. Yu didn’t want to go mad.

As if reading her mind, he says, “Seeing the future is the most dangerous part of using our Qi and the shock and fear is what has driven some into guilt or anger-driven madness.”

Yu gulped at that. “I am ok without knowing the future.”

He looked at her for a moment and said, “Perhaps. Your mother has a minor gift for it. Did you know that?”

Her mother could see the future? Did she know about Yu’s troubles? Or about her freedom? Her shock must have shown on her face because he said, “Whatever you are thinking, the answer is no. She cannot control it. It comes upon her at the gods’ will. I cannot see through time at all, but nobody knows that. I play the madman to increase their fear of me. And of course to encourage those who wish to bother me with annoyances to leave me alone.” He stopped and raises his eye ridge again, clearly waiting for a question.

“Master, why both? It seems like so much work. Isn’t your power alone enough?” Yu was honestly baffled by his whole charade.

He nodded and answered with, “You might think so; but the more strength and renown you have, the more people come to ask things of you.” Obviously, he shared this with her knowing she would not tell anyone. She had her own secrets after all. And Yu was fully aware nobody would believe her anyway. Who in the hells was she? And he could always just make her vanish into space or whatever.

He smiled and said, “Good. I see you understand.”

Looking up at him she chuckled and said, “I don’t think I will suffer from too many people bothering me for that reason, Master.”

He barked out a single laugh and said, “I wouldn’t be so sure. But back to business. I will leave you at the entrance and you will follow all the same rules and regulations of the sect as the rest. You will receive no special treatment from being my disciple because coddling one such as yourself is a mistake. Your brother has been given the same warning. That said, you are not to show any part of your God Sign to anyone under any circumstances. Nobody can even see that it is silver. I have already passed word to all of the staff and elders.”

He waited for her confirmation and she nodded.

“Good. That badge you wear is a symbol of your station in the sect. You will notice it has three concentric circles. The outer, which you see in gold, symbolizes you as an outer sect disciple. The middle is for an inner sect disciple, and the center circle turns gold if you become a core disciple. Between the first two rings, is a set of ten characters, one through ten. They symbolize your placement in your level of the sect. If one is lit up, you are in tenth position and if ten are lit then you would be in first. Between the second and third rings are five symbols used only by direct disciples of sect leaders. One means you are a disciple of an outer sect elder, two inner sect elder, three core elder, four a vice leader, and five the leader. It will only show when you touch it and need it to show. Do not abuse this. I will be notified every time it is used and if you call on me without need I will not be pleased. In fact, you are only to call upon your position as my direct disciple in the direst of emergencies and when you need to deny showing your Sign. Do you have any questions about anything I have said?”

Yu asked, “Yes, Master. How will I know when it is time to train with you?”

His answer was only, “You will be notified.”

Yu assumed all the details of the day-to-day will be explained to her. Beyond that, “I was told you would provide guidance on my classes, how my affinities will be exposed, how my Qi types will be used, and such.”

“Ah yes. Show me your full God Sign so I can discover what is best. Schedules are provided for new disciples after three days of becoming familiar with the sect. I will have yours provided for you as well.”

Her parents said he is to be trusted, so she said, “Sign,” and mentally willed it to face her master.

Name:

Yu

Clan:

Fenghuang

Clan Rank:

Young Mistress

Sect: Black Dragon Sect

Sect Points:

0

Disciple

Level:

Outer Sect Disciple

Disciple

Rank:

{Calculating}

Ki Type:

Granted: Ether

Blessed: Aura, Mana

Ki Affinity:

Primary: Spatial

Secondary: Darkness, Fire, Earth, Water, Wood, Lightning

Cultivation Level:

Stage: Formation

Age:

9

Max Ki:

2,010

Available Ki:

2,010

Might:

75

Agility:

96

Resilience:

102

Spirit:

201

Perception:

93

Meridians:

4/156

Martial Forms:

Kung Fu: (Adept)

Tai Chi: (Initiate)

Weapon Capabilities:

Hook Swords: (Adept)

Jian:(Initiate)

Bow: (Initiate)

Whip: (Initiate)

Dual Jian: (Novice)

Staff: (Novice)

Spear: (Novice)

Ki Skills:

Aura:

Mana:

Ether:

Grade 1:

- Qi Construct

(Initiate)

- Flame Thorns (Initiate)

- Stunning Grasp (Initiate)

- Fire Sword (Novice)

- Fire Shield (Novice)

- Flaming Acceleration (Novice)

- Fire Summoning (Novice)

Grade 1:

- Qi Construct (Initiate)

- Follow the Water (Initiate)

- Soothing Flow (Novice)

- Nature’s Blessing (Novice)

- Regeneration Vines (Novice)

- Bolt Strike (Novice)

- Flashing Burst (Novice)

- Shadow Meld (Novice)

- Silencing Darkness (Novice)

- Stone Spike (Novice)

- Water Control (Novice)

Grade 1:

- Qi Construct (Initiate)

- Beast Bonding (Initiate)

Grade {unknown}:

- Transformation (Novice)

- Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Status:

None

Honors:

*Tribulation Supplicant

Titles:

The Corrupted

The Blessed

Tiger’s Blood

Yu was surprised to see the unfamiliar information about the sect.

Her master said off-handedly, “As long as you wear that badge, your Sign will show the information it provides. And more later.”

He scanned her silver Sign up and down and shook his head. “I have never seen its like. Four meridians at nine years old and an adept twice over. How close to ten are you?”

“I only just turned nine, Master.”

“Amazing. You will provide a great boon to my plans. If I thought it would work, I would simply throw resources at you and stand back watching as the world falls apart around you. Unfortunately. . .” He sighed and shook his head. Then he shrugged and said, “Ah well. I am sure you have been told that your meridian count is to be kept a secret from everyone and without exception?” Yu nodded.

“I have a few ideas about your schedule now and will have it fully planned out by the time your Welcoming ends. My first instinct is to simply throw caution to the wind on your affinities and place you in classes for all of them. On the downside, your skills are a little slim which is not a surprise given your age and where you come from. Work hard to gain more and force your Sign to consolidate. For now, just don’t allow your Sign to show skills at all unless you ask for specific criteria.”

Remembering what her parents said about consolidating her Sign, Yu simply said, “Yes, master.” Of course, she has no idea how to do that, but hopefully, the sect would teach her.

“Good. You will learn what to do about your bond as well. Is it Ether bound or talisman bound?”

“He is Ether bound.”

“Wonderful!” And he really did look joyous. “He will grow with you then.”

Then turning from Yu and facing forward again, he said, “I recommend you rest and meditate. We will arrive in a few hours. We will not speak of the prior incident.”

Shrugging, Yu sat with Bai’s basket before her and watched her bonded partner. When he first opened his eyes and she saw one solid glowing red and one solid crystal blue eye, she was concerned he might have vision problems. But that was soon put to rest when he clearly saw her fingers fine as she played and teased him. Yu fed him Qi and then played with him for a while, showing him the world as it rushed by. After a while, he fell back asleep and she did as her master recommended, closing her own eyes and preparing for what was to come.

***

“Wake up, disciple.”

Yu’s eyes opened to a world of cold and gray. Looking around, she lost sight of the ground and sky and saw only gray and white mist. There was a bubble of power that appeared to be keeping the clouds and moisture at bay but she still felt a frigid breeze.

Yu picked up Bai and stood to bow to her master. “Yes, master?”

“We are approaching the sect.” Then he turned, smiling slyly as he said, “You will want to see it from here.”

Yu watched and saw no change until they finally punctured the clouds and there were blue sky and sun and a layer of clouds below her, like fluffy gray dirt. But the most amazing thing around was not the view of being as close to the Heavens as she ever had been, but of a single mountain penetrating the clouds. Oddly it did not seem to end in a point, but in a jagged horizontal irregularity, making it appear as though something broke the tip off for simply being too tall.

As they rose higher and got closer, Yu realized how incorrect her perspective was. It looked to her like the size of her home city when she first saw it. But as she approached and it kept getting larger and larger in her vision, she recognized that she has no reference for how absolutely monstrous the thing was. Finally, they crested the jagged edge and Yu gasped, holding Bai a little tighter. The image before her was far beyond anything she could have imagined.

The mountain was not flat. In fact, it is not a mountain at all. It was a gigantic volcano, orange and yellow liquid bubbled and boiled in its depths. While impressive, that was not what caused Yu’s mind to halt. What made her gasp in awe was what was inside the volcano above the magma. Within the crater were fifteen suspended islands. Or perhaps they were smaller mountains or part of this mountain that did not fall in the magma below. There was one in the middle, clearly the largest and with the appearance of a city, likely bigger than her home. With a second look, Yu noticed the city actually resembled the black medallion on her chest with rings except it had one extra outer ring. It was clear each ring had houses and businesses, but the closer they were to the center, the more luxurious and impressive the structures. Oddly, each of the three city rings seemed to be spinning in a different direction. Only the outer ring did not rotate as sprouting from that unmoving circle were fifteen fingers that Yu could barely tell acted as bridges with people walking and running and riding beasts across.

Those fingers led to islands evenly distributed around the inside edge of the volcano. From the angle she had while flying with her master, Yu could see the farthest mountain on the outer ring was hovering over an area bright with magma and was filled with fires in what appeared to her to be random locations between burning ash-covered buildings. Next to that was a mountain over an area of magma churning with even greater power and pressure. That island was a mini volcano in and of itself and she saw magma leaking down it in channels between streets and structures that glinted with the shine of metal. Next to that was an area where the rocks were thickest and protected it from the heat below. Massive stones were everywhere, jagged, round, smooth, and rough, interspersed between stone and dirt buildings and streets. The next mountain was an area also with deep stone to protect it from the heat but this one was filled with life. It appeared to be a forest with all the buildings made of living trees, all the roads and walkways their roots. It was cooled and fed by the water rushing into it from its adjacent island which was a mountain exuding steam as water poured from the edge of the greater volcano. Rivers, tributaries, ponds, and a single large lake made it a shocking blue amidst the dark gray and brown and orange of its surroundings. It would have stood out the most if not for the next mountain over which was more white than the last was blue. It appeared a frozen wasteland with buildings made of ice the way the other was made of trees. It stayed cold by a constant freezing wind from over the volcano’s edge which was missing a substantial chunk. The next was less a mountain and more a number of thin and tall peaks with wind blowing strongly through the channels between. The winds closer to the icy mountain were cold but got progressively warmer as the distance increased, resulting in turbulent currents where they met. Objects were flowing amidst the winds, rising and lowering as the gales increased and decreased. And lastly on the outer ring was a mountain obscured by a massive black cloud, constantly flashing with bursts of lightning that struck somewhere hidden underneath. Nothing could be seen beneath the cloud so Yu could only imagine the brutal strikes the island below was absorbing.

And there was a smaller ring between the inner city and greater outer islands that appeared to rotate with the moving rings in the center. There were three islands rotating to always be in the sun and were almost too bright to look at being filled with glass and crystal that refracted and reflected the rays of sunlight. The other three were always in the shadow of the large center island or the larger volcano and were so dark Yu could not see inside enough to even make out shapes. Each of those six islands was minuscule compared to the rest, the largest being only about the size of her father’s palace.

And finally, what Yu could not see before because of the angle, were two final islands about the size of the smallest light and dark ones. One was floating above the center of the center island, while the other was suspended below by three glowing chains that must have been as thick around as the island itself. Both islands were domed, the one above crystal and the one below a solid corrugated stone or metal of some sort.

“Impressive is it not?” her master asked amid her musings.

Yu nodded, speechless.

“That tall one all the way at the top is my humble abode and the bottom is the testing center where you will be tested.”

Yu just nodded again. She was struggling to absorb it all. Then Yu recognized what he had just said and turned to him. “Tested?”

“Why yes. You don’t think everyone who applies for a sect just automatically gets in, do you? There are finite resources you know.” Then he shook his head and mumbled something to himself.

Yu turned back, examining the bottom island so close to the bubbling magma below. She knew there was no point in asking; he wouldn’t tell her about the test or tests. Unfortunately, Yu could see almost nothing because the testing center looked like a large gray egg with no way to see in or out. She moved her eyes away from the “testing center” and returned it to the rest of the islands and the magnificent creation before her. It was beyond her ability to fathom how something like that was ever created.

After many breaths of allowing her time to contemplate what she was seeing, Yu’s Master said, “It is ridiculous for me to ask, but I will. Tell me what you see and why.”

Yu spoke almost in a daze, still looking everything over and gathering more details with each scan. “The outer islands are the standard affinities. Likely training and professional areas. The inner are obviously light and darkness although seeing detail is challenging. The center is the city for general commerce and the primary living quarters matching up to the medallion in sect level. There does appear to be a possibility of overlapping living quarters in the affinity mountains though.”

“Good but obvious. Now tell what you did not tell me. They are called mountains by the way.”

Yu finally pulled her face from the most amazing thing she has ever seen and said, “All I have are guesses.”

“Guess then,” he demanded.

“The affinities are very competitive with each other. How that works with multi-affinity students I can’t figure out.”

“I see. Anything else?”

Yu scrunched her face but said, “Some affinities are missing? I’m sorry, master. I can’t think of anything else.”

He nodded and turned away without responding. “Time to let you go.” And they descend to the center island.