Iris put forward a valiant effort to keep her new friend awake, but it was no use. The boy was too exhausted and the lecture too dull.

Fortunately for Boneroot, she did eventually manage to wake him up, albeit violently, when it seemed that Master Bo was finishing his speech. The boy jerked his head up, catching the master’s eye, which elicited a quick, scornful glare from the man.

“As I was saying, you will be put into your teams following tomorrow’s preliminary sparring. For now, it is time for you to get situated in your living quarters. Those of noble station may follow me, while those of mercantile, or common origins will wait here for Master Lei to show you to your rooms. Don’t give me those looks!”

Leading a parade of self-satisfied-looking young men and women, Master Bo strolled out the back of the Grand Hall a few minutes later. Among them went most of the more colorfully-adorned disciples. After his departure, the amphitheater was reduced to roughly forty of the hundred disciples who originally sat on the benches.

Boneroot used the opportunity to thank Iris for her timely wake-up.

“Don’t mention it. I’d have done the same if I wasn’t worried about that windbag making an example out of the commoner scum.”

The boy grimaced as he realized the risk he’d taken.

“It wasn’t on purpose. Danh made me run here from the forest the last two days, that’s all.”

“Wait, the Sentoru Forest?” Staring at him, Iris muttered, “Orange realm, huh.”

With a sheepish grin, Boneroot clarified, “Cultivating while you run isn’t easy, sure, but it just takes some getting used to.”

“I didn’t even know you could do that.”

“Me neither!”

Iris and Boneroot chatted happily while they waited for the reentry of Master Lei. When twenty minutes passed, Boneroot started to inquire about the elusive cultivator.

“What’s she like? She looked strong.”

Iris didn’t bother to point out the redundancy of calling a Sect Master strong.

“Well, I only saw her fight a little bit,” Iris leaned in conspiratorially. “It was crazy, though. The way she moved, her techniques, it was otherworldly. I can’t even imagine getting to that point. And she uses the sect art, too! It’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here.”

Iris, of course, left a lot unsaid, but she relished the boy hanging on her every word. Up until this point, it was a rare in her life that she was the one in the know.

“What’s the sect art?”

“What, did Expert Danh tell you nothing?”

“Correct.”

“Oh, well the sect art is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a cultivation art developed by the Brightmoon Sect called The Luminous Way. The other two sects have their own. I think Wyvern’s Roost practices the Draconic Spirit, but I’m not sure about the Fervent Heart sect.”

Boneroot had heard of the other two sects, but only in brief from Kroshieshi.

“So, what’s the—”

“Pulse of Battle! That’s the Fervent Heart’s sect art. The Luminous Way is different from those two, though. Master Lei was saying—”

“That you’re acting a bit too familiar?”

The woman in question had popped up from the bench in front of them, her expression completely neutral aside from a single, quirked eyebrow. Up close, Boneroot noticed the woman’s eyes were an ever sharper shade of the same blue that comprised Iris’. She met his gaze for a moment before announcing for the rest of the room to hear,

“Alright leftovers, let’s move out.”

Some of the better dressed of the remaining disciples protested the address, but they were corralled just the same. Among the two score remaining, Boneroot guessed there were slightly more of mercantile descent than common.

The group followed Master Lei as she ambled in a number of wrong directions, at one point bringing them all the way back to the sect entrance, making one of them read the sign, then laughing and sprinting toward the actual site of their residence.

She and forty sweaty young cultivators finally came to a stop at a collection of buildings tucked into the far side of the plateau, each one shouldered to the next. While the location left much to be desired, the buildings themselves were well-built, with blue, stone facades and tiled roofs. Better yet, Master Lei finally revealed that they each had a cottage to themselves.

Some of the merchant-born disciples were a little too relieved by that announcement. Despite the group’s conspicuous antsiness to get situated, Master Lei didn’t release them just yet.

She spoke in a bored tone, drawing our her words and pauses.

“So. Tomorrow, be at the main training ground... The biggest one. Over there. At one hour to noon. Finally. This is where. You live... Each house has a bedroom. A bathroom. A cultivation chamber. A garden. Some of them have kitchens.”

At that, she disappeared. Certain members of their group scrambled to find the buildings with kitchens, but their hustle was thwarted by the nameplates outside each one. Boneroot, however, took a moment to bid farewell to his first new, human friend. He and Iris agreed to meet at one of the closest training grounds in the early morning before separating to find their houses. Kuroki slipped out of his shadow and Biku materialized next to Iris so they could also bid a quick farewell.

By the time Boneroot arrived at the structure with his name on it, the surrounding area was empty, giving him no glimpse of his neighbors. Still, he was satisfied. The day had certainly started out poorly, then got worse, but things were looking up now, so he entered his new home with head held high.

The central room bore the same color as its outer constitution and had a simple, wood table and several, similar chairs. One door led to his bedroom, the other to the cultivation chamber, each of which were just as barebones as the rest. Boneroot didn’t mind the simplicity, as it was a step up from his previous two rooms. The bar wasn’t set very high, but still.

“Where are all the trees? The flowers? Everything’s stone. You humans are so boring.”

Kuroki slunk back into his shadow for the night. Boneroot didn’t bother to dwell on the cat’s disappointment. He was too tired. He fell asleep the moment he sprawled out on the firm bed.

~

Boneroot woke up hungry. After a failed attempt to rouse Kuroki, he decided to get a head start on his meeting with Iris, hoping she might know where to find food. A short walk to the grassy field they chose as the designated meeting spot yielded very few sightings of other disciples. He could see a small handful at one of the more distant training grounds and, past that, what looked to be another housing block. Scanning the rest of the plateau, it did seem that each residential area had its own training field.

As far as he could tell, there were four different districts, which he would guess to be new nobles, new commoners, then the same for those past their first year in the Outer Sect. He didn’t see anyone firing off flashy techniques in the distance, unfortunately. Everyone appeared to be doing fairly light exercise, or just socializing.

So, when he arrived at his own destination, he was hardly surprised by its vacancy. With Kuroki still asleep and an interruption guaranteed in the near future, the boy decided to take the time to practice his newest technique instead of cultivating. He took another quick look around to check for wandering, nosy Sect Experts, then began to form the CHAOS YARN in his palm. Not a moment later, Venh appeared at his side.

“Caught you.”

Boneroot recovered from the surprise fairly quickly by his standards, but he still glared at the man.

“Why can’t you just say hello? Is that really so hard?”

“You should know by now that this is more fun. Also, don’t go revealing your techniques so freely. Especially not the one I taught you!”

The boy was skeptical and his face reflected that, so Venh elaborated.

“Later today you’ll be fighting. You want to go into that fight with as much of an advantage as you can manage. It may not look like it, but people are watching. Certain clans have a lot invested in the success of their young members and that includes contacts, or even other members, among the older Outer Sect disciples.”

He nodded to the fields in the distance, though Boneroot couldn’t see anyone actually looking their way.

“Point taken, I guess. I just wanted to kill some time until my friend gets here.”

“Why not cultivate?”

“I’ll be interrupted soon. Probably in an hour or two.”

“So? You’ll need to get used to that. Sure, it’s nice to have your precious cultivation chambers and time to focus,” Venh’s sarcastic emphasis wasn’t well received. “Really, though, once you leave the sect, those are luxuries. Take advantage of it as much as you can while you’re here, but don’t neglect the realities of being a cultivator. I thought Kroshieshi beat that into you.”

Halfway through Boneroot’s reluctant admission that Venh was right, he was interrupted by the timely arrival of Iris.

“Ah you must be Boneroot’s friend, I’m Danh, but you can call me Reverent Sect Expert Danh the Glorious, and you are?”

Iris froze mid-stride, trying to reconcile her need to respect a Sect Expert with the nonsense she just heard. The look on Boneroot’s face offered some insight into how to proceed. Still, she couldn’t think of the right thing to say before Venh cut her off.

“I’ll be watching you.”

And like that, the man was gone.

“Don’t mind him, he’s mostly kidding.”

It took a number of additional assurances to actually get that point across, but, once he did, the two decided to find food. They belatedly realized Danh would have been the right person to ask, but Kuroki woke up and decided to take point. Soon, Biku joined him as they scoured the land for sustenance.

“I see a snake! Let’s go!”

The two spirit beasts bolted toward what Boneroot was almost certain would turn out to be a worm at very different speeds. The winged deer did his best to keep up, but the power of Kuroki’s qi was hard to match.

“Is he really in the Yellow realm? I would never have guessed that if Biku didn’t warn me.”

“His species doesn’t gain sentience until they reach the Yellow realm, which is why he’s so childlike. In reality, he’s older than me by a few years.”

When Iris recovered from that realization, she grumpily added, “You’ll be having an easy time with the fighting later today, then, I suppose.”

“Nope!” Iris perked up a bit. “Kuroki’s not allowed to help me until I’m also in the Yellow realm. It’s not as strict a binding as what you have with Biku. It’s a long story.”

“Seems we’ll have to trade long stories at some point.”

The two eventually asked some older disciples to point them in the right direction. Unfortunately, they were sent back the way the came.

In his haste to reach the training field, he hadn’t noticed one of the larger buildings near his house. Apparently, each residential area had its own canteen. While he and Iris debated how much better the nobles’ probably was, Boneroot bemoaned his house’s lack of kitchen.

“I’d rather be able to prepare my own food, like I always have. Well, except for the last year. Before that, though, I caught and cooked everything I ate.”

Iris was getting more curious as to where Boneroot actually came from, but she didn’t feel comfortable digging into that just yet. She said, “In the Capital, I don’t think anyone has killed any animals. They import all the food from nearby farms and the like. Besides, I’d wager none of the houses actually have a kitchen, at least in our area. I don’t know Master Lei that well, but it seems like something she’d think up to mess with everyone. From what you’ve told me, she and Danh would probably get along splendidly. Or terribly.”

With that, Boneroot had to agree. Once they finally made it through the doors, the canteen proved to be only marginally more decorated than their houses. The walls were a bare blue, the tables and chairs simple wood, but the signature solar and lunar carvings of the sect adorned the high wall where the food was served.

Boneroot had held out hope there would be the sort of spirit beast meat, or essence-rich vegetables that Danh had described. To his dismay, there was only a small assortment of egg-based breakfast options. At least it tasted good. Perhaps he could find the food he was looking for in Mountain’s Rest.

Iris, however, hadn’t known that type of culinary boon existed. After sufficient description, she felt some retroactive disappointment in kind. Most of that resentment was left in the dust by growing apprehension for the day ahead. As the conversation moved toward their impending fights, Boneroot shared Danh’s warning and the two adopted hushed tones.

“What do you have to worry about? There can’t be that many Orange realms in our group. Or do you think they’ll match everyone up by strength? That’d be good for me. I only broke into the Red realm a month ago.”

Boneroot was surprised by the admission, but he hid it well before replying, “That would make sense. You would have the edge over someone with a similar cultivation level, though, wouldn’t you? Because of Biku.”

“I’m not sure. According to the guy who bound us, spirit bindings are uncommon due to the rate of failure, but they’re still not that rare. I’m sure we’re not the only ones.”

Iris’ grimace mirrored her nerves. She was very aware of her weakness relative to the other disciples. Master Lei’s offer flashed to the forefront of her mind. The power she represented, the power she promised, stood on a still-distant peak. She had no intention of letting it stay there. For now, though, she was vulnerable. In her experience, those in power, be it in the slums of the Capital, or the halls of the Brightmoon Sect, were adept at exploiting that vulnerability.

She knew it was only a matter of time before one of either the cruelest, or the least secure of the nobles saw an opportunity in her to improve their own station. It was her hope, however, that she would have more time to avoid notice and get stronger. The day’s demonstrations seemed all but certain to crush that. However, befriending Boneroot was a windfall in shoring up that weakness. If they turned out to be true friends, all the better.

As the two left the dining hall to reunite with their spirit beasts, Boneroot spotted the two disciples he’d met in Mountain’s Rest leaving the residential area with a few others. On cue, the pair noticed their new favorite object of mockery and pointed him out to the rest of their group. Poorly concealed snickering followed.

“Are those the ones?” Iris picked up on the exchange quickly. “Pretty sure their from the Zhen clan, which means at least one of them is the scion of the family. According to rumor, anyway. Probably the tall boy, based on what you told me. The Zhen are powerful, Boneroot. There are no more than four or five houses in the Empire with more influence than them. And I don’t think any are wealthier.”:

“You think I shouldn’t fight him?”

His creased brow suggested her answer would have little to no impact on his course of action.

“I didn’t say that,” Iris pushed her hands out in front of her. “I’m just saying to expect retaliation. Someone like that doesn’t suffer humiliation often. Maybe ever. As much as I’d like to see it, you need to think this through.”

Iris had little experience being the voice of reason, so she hardly could have known how ineffective it so often is. That was probably why she didn’t notice Boneroot was gone until Kuroki raced past her, Biku tailing at a distance. And then she was sprinting after the boy, offering her spirit beast a choppy, half explanation.

Boneroot arrived in front of the small group of disciples, presumably all of whom were nobles of a sort, at half speed. He didn’t want to use too much qi, or reveal his strength, too early. At the same moment, Kuroki popped up by his side, white tail rigid behind him, but ears perked up in excitement.

“Remember, you’re not allowed to help.”

“I remember the rules! I told you I’m not a cheater.”

“We did try to cheat before, though.”

“You said that wasn’t cheating!”

The tsovar whipped his head toward Boneroot, anguish filling his eyes. He realized he was being teased right as Boneroot addressed the dark-haired boy who stepped forward out of the group.

“Hello! Are you ready to fight now?”

The disciple threw his head back in deep, exaggerated laughter. From a dozen paces away, even Iris could tell it was forced. His backers went along with it, though. One of them spoke from behind a robed hand.

“Wei, you didn’t mention your little friend had a sense of humor!”

“Ah, so your name is Wei,” Boneroot’s stare never left the boy, but his head tilted to the side. “You didn’t tell me that the first time we met.”

“Wei Zhen.” The emphasis he put on his surname was unambiguous in intent.

“OK. So, are you ready to fight?”

There was no laughter this time. Wei quickly smoothed over the irritation that sprang up on his face and he began to walk past the challenger before him.

“You should stow your foolishness until later in the day, after you’ve seen what I can do on the battlefield.”

“Yes, but then you’ll know what I can do. It’s more fun this way. I have it on good authority.”

Just as Wei Zhen raised his hand to finally dispel the source of his exasperation, Sect Expert Yun was standing between them. Her posture was relaxed and her hands hidden, but her face held the same absolute severity as the first time Boneroot saw it. Behind them, Iris was thoroughly sick of people effortlessly speeding past her.

“No fighting. You have not been informed of how the sect handles challenges. That is particularly important in cases such as this with a significant gap in the disciples’ cultivation.”

“My apologies, Sect Expert,” Wei bowed his head. “This fool has more mouth than sense. He would do well to heed your wisdom.”

Yun cut off Boneroot’s response.

“Fool, or not, we do not allow cultivators to challenge those in the realm below them. Frankly, it is rarely a rule we must enforce. Most already know it to be dishonorable.”

With that, she wiped the smugness off each young disciple’s face. Boneroot, chagrinned, poked at the connection with his feline companion.

“I didn’t know that! Did you know that?”

“No! That means you’re trying to be a cheater again!”

While Boneroot and Kuroki pawed awkwardly at the ground, arguing mentally, Wei and his friends slowly, far too slowly, came to realize the implication of the Sect Expert’s words. They were uncharacteristically quiet as Yun dispersed the groups in different directions. As he walked away, entirely unsatisfied, Boneroot had the unshakeable feeling that Venh was laughing at him somewhere.