When Boneroot entered the Grand Hall the next morning, he was exceptionally grateful that the Sect Masters generally left teaching the Outer Sect disciples to the Experts. As such, he did not find Master Bo on the stage of the amphitheater, ready to teach the Basic Cultivation class. Instead, he found someone he didn’t know.

The Expert at the front of the growing group of disciples was dressed in deep blue robes, decorated with white embroidery in the form of a tiger. His hem and sleeves were much longer than was necessary, or even practical. His face and black hair were drawn back tightly, but it looked much more natural on him than someone like Bao Tiankaiji. Despite that, Boneroot felt he looked more rodent than regal.

The boy didn’t see either of the two teammates he actually liked, so he took a seat close to where he originally met Iris, away from most of the other groups of cultivators. With Kuroki still sound asleep in his shadow, Boneroot didn’t have much to do but observe his fellow disciples. As best he could tell, they were in the same or similar groups as on their first day at the Brightmoon Sect. The difference now was that he knew some of their names.

A few did stick out to him, though. Hana Kasumi had joined both Zhens and the rest of their bunch. Apparently, they hadn’t noticed Boneroot’s entry because the target of their gossip looked to be Hana Shio, who was sitting alone in the front row. Elsewhere, the scions from Hamagari were sitting together, though Yalwa Haske was on her own a couple rows back. Boneroot soon turned his attention toward the Sect Expert about to be leading the group.

He had seen the man with Master Bo the day before, so he was almost certainly the Expert for Water ki. As more disciples filtered into the Grand Hall, the would-be teacher was greeting some with exceptional warmth, while completely ignoring others. It quickly became apparent to Boneroot that the man didn’t care much for commoners. Even when Jota Guling appeared, the Expert decided to strike up a conversation with the Zhen group instead of greeting him.

More students had begun sitting closer to Boneroot as the theater filled up. Bits of conversation found their way to his ears. He actually heard his own name come up occasionally. Sometimes it was accompanied by words like ‘savage’, or ‘lucky’, but other times the nameless voices were surprisingly reverent.

“Told you he’d already be here,” Iris’ voice cut through the idle chatter nearby. She was walking toward his seat with Guang Yali at her side. Both had changed into the sect robes since he’d last seen them.

“Morning, Boneroot,” Guang said with a yawn. “You’re studious, huh? First, you take off to cultivate, then you’re here early. Maybe we should be taking this more seriously, yeah?”

At that, he nudged Iris with her elbow, but she just rolled her eyes.

“Speak for yourself, Guang. I’m taking this plenty seriously, thanks. I managed to cultivate for five hours yesterday.”

“Boneroot cultivates eight hours every day.” Kuroki slipped out of his shadow realm and immediately back in before Boneroot even noticed what he was doing. He really needed to impress into the tsovar that there is such a thing as tact.

“Morning to you, too, Kuroki,” Iris responded sourly. “Is that true? How do you even go for that long?”

The question took Boneroot off guard and he first thought it was a joke. When he noticed Guang also looking anticipatory of the answer, he reassessed. He thought back to his cultivation before meeting Kuroki, or Kroshieshi. Back then, he meditated most of each day. Aside from finding food, there really wasn’t much else for him to do. It occurred to him that not everybody had the luxury.

“I used to cultivate a lot longer than that when I was first starting out, but I had the time to spare. I don’t think it’s necessarily about how long you meditate, though. I’m probably going to cut that time down, anyway. It’s more important that you’re doing it efficiently. I can try to give you some tips later, if you want.”

Boneroot ended his offer with a shrug, as he really wasn’t confident in his ability to help the other two out. They were his teammates, though, and at least one of them was his friend, so he’d do his best. They happily agreed, but their enthusiasm only made the boy more anxious.

To take his mind off it, he asked, “So, what did you two do after I left? Kuroki was asleep when I finished cultivating, so I couldn’t ask... He’s also asleep now.”

Boneroot sighed. Guang replied with a short laugh, “Nothing much. We got some food, chatted a bit, then Iris rushed off to catch up in cultivation.”

The girl in question didn’t even bat an eye at the teasing. “Keep talking, Guang. I’ll surpass you in a week at this rate.”

Boneroot laughed along with Guang, but he noticed the Zhen group had turned their way, whispering conspiratorially in their characteristic fashion. It reminded him that the two disciples at his side were only a portion of his team. If they couldn’t work together with the other two, he might not make it out of the Outer Sect in the first year.

Their staredown was interrupted by the Sect Expert.

“Attention! It is with great dismay that I see nobody failed to show up for the first class. A pity.”

The man’s voice was haughty, his expression disdainful. He continued, “I am Chih Yuto. I cultivate the Rime of the Ancient Hunter, the foremost Winter ki art in the Empire.”

Boneroot wondered if it was also the only such art. He’d never heard of Winter ki before.

“I have been given the responsibility of hammering into your skulls the basics of cultivation. This will be a waste of effort with at least half of you, but so be it. You will come to the Grand Hall at the same time the first five days of every week. If you prove yourself capable of efficient, consistent assimilation of ambient essence, you will be exempted from that obligation.”

“Of course, if you so choose, you are welcome to attend the class anyway, such that you might absorb more of my wisdom.” The man rolled a hand and his eyes. “That is a matter for later, though. I expect very few of you are at that point and we’ll be starting with a lecture on the nature of cultivation. Afterwards, you will all meditate and I will make some preliminary assessments.”

Boneroot felt simultaneously confident in his own cultivation and nervous for Iris’ and Guang’s. Chih Yuto did not seem like a patient, or compassionate instructor. On the other hand, neither of them seemed the type to crack under criticism.

“If you have been allowed to attend the Brightmoon Sect, I assume you know the basics. That is, you know what essence, ki, and qi are, as well as how to cultivate them. If you don’t, do not share that fact publically.”

A chorus of snickering broke out in certain pockets of the audience. They quickly quieted down, though. Chih Yuto continued his lecture.

“I will also not be going into detail about the specific functions, or techniques of ki and qi. You will learn that in their respective classes. The focus of these lessons is singular: Do you know how to get stronger and can you do it efficiently? Until the answer to both questions is an unambiguous yes, you are required to attend these classes.”

A number of disciples had produced paper and ink brushes. Some were attempting to create neat summations of the Expert’s words, while others sloppily jotted down everything the man said. Iris looked at the writing implements with envy. For Boneroot, it seemed useless. Part of the advantage of advancing in cultivation was improved mental faculties, memory included. For most of his time in the Red realm, however, he hadn’t known how to read, or write. Perhaps it was necessary for them. Now, though, memorizing the Sect Experts words was effortless.

“To that end, we are going to talk about essence. Naturally, you know what it is, but do you know how it functions? Can you explain why cultivation works, or how? I doubt it, so pay attention.”

What followed was a fairly long-winded reiteration of Kroshieshi’s lessons back in the grove. Chih Yuto talked about essence as the fabric of the universe, though he used a fairly contrived metaphor to do so. He talked about cultivating as a way to force essence to flow only within one’s body, though he refused to put it so simply. Finally, he devoted a lot of time to describing energy cycling; what was a proper technique, what was an abomination, what was the purpose of the exercise.

While Boneroot didn’t pick up anything that could help with his own cultivation, he did learn a thing, or two about how the process of cycling was understood within the Empire. According to Expert Yuto, a noble clan would rise, or fall depending on the efficacy of their cycling technique. If said technique was flawed, if it didn’t provide it’s young practitioners with a clear path forward, the clan that created it was unlikely to succeed in the long-term.

As the man in the ostentatious robes continued to pontificate about the successful cultivation arts of the Yuto, Zhen, and Doa clans, Boneroot began to wonder how the Luminous Way stacked up by comparison. Though Iris and Guang didn’t strictly cultivate the sect’s art, they would certainly need to take some cues from it to advance their personal arts. Now that he thought of it, he wasn’t sure the Luminous Way actually instructed its practitioners in energy cycling at all. He’d have to ask Venh about the intricacies of the sect art.

Chih Yuto droned on about the excellence of his own clan’s art for a while. As Boneroot did his best to stay awake, he noticed Iris and Guang paying very close attention to the condescending Expert. It almost made him feel bad for not taking it seriously. It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn anything from Chih Yuto. Certainly, the man was at least near the same level of power as Kroshieshi, it was just that he’d already been told all of this by the aforementioned tsovar. Whenever he next met the old hellecat, he’d have to express his gratitude. He hadn’t properly appreciated just how concise and intuitive his teachings had been, even if they seemed anything but at the time.

Cultivation was complicated. Thanks to Kroshieshi, though, Boneroot had been given a strong base of knowledge with which to work. Suddenly, he knew how to help Iris and Guang. He had to suppress a smile as he realized he could just parrot Kroshieshi verbatim. The advantages of an Orange-realm’s memory were coming through in more ways than one today.

Finally, Chih Yuto finished his drawn-out explanation of energy cycling. He allowed the audience to finish writing, or digesting his words, before he announced the next phase of the class.

“If you forget anything I’ve just said, do not come groveling to me about it. Instead, you can beg one of the students with the good sense to write it all down.”

“Or the coin to buy paper,” Iris muttered under her breath.

“Now”, the Sect Expert said, “we can move on to the assessments. Unlike the sparring yesterday, this is not a competition. Nearly all of you will fail equally. With so many of you assimilating essence in close proximity, you’ll find the process more challenging than usual. Good. Space out, two to a bench, and begin cultivating. Until I speak to you directly, do not stop.”

The disciples did as they were told. Boneroot began meditating. He had never done so in such a large group before and he was surprised at how true the Expert’s words were. The essence around him quickly grew tumultuous, losing the steady flow of its natural state. It was actually rather similar to the shaky process of cultivating after Kroshieshi beat him bloody. Nostalgic, really.

After what felt like an hour or so, Boneroot received a tap at his shoulder. He looked up into Chih Yuto’s displeased glare.

“Passable. Join the other up there. Cultivate more if you’d like. I don’t care.”

The Sect Expert moved on to Iris next to him, while Boneroot moved toward the front of the class. On the stage was Jota Guling and no one else. Curiously, the boy was still holding a book. Before he reached his destination, Expert Yuto’s voice sounded from behind.

“Dreadful. Your cycling is a mess and you’re taking in a pittance of essence.”

Without a suggestion on how to improve, or a shred of encouragement, the instructor moved on toward the next bench. Iris’ face contorted with frustration, an expression that didn’t go away when she restarted her meditation.

“Believe it or not, that was the nicest he’s treated any of your teammates.”

Jota was addressing him as he found a seat on the floor nearby. Boneroot was actually surprised to be talking to the other Orange-realm. He hadn’t seemed keen on conversation the day before.

“The other girls, too?” Boneroot tried not to let his hopefulness come through in his voice.

“Correct. Zhi Zhen received a particularly harsh evaluation. However, Wei Zhen was the one who tried to argue the point.”

Jota smiled to himself and Boneroot looked over to the group in question with a wicked grin.

“How many has he done?” Boneroot asked.

“A little under half. Sometimes he interrupts immediately, but other times he’ll watch for up to ten minutes.”

“Anything interesting happen yet?” Boneroot pressed the boy without a shred of shame.

Still smiling, Jota responded, “Amina Zafi was assessed. She did not pass.”

That was a surprise. Jota continued, “It did not help that the next thing she saw was me sitting up here. I imagine her caretaker will be displeased.”

“Caretaker?” Boneroot said with some incredulity. “You mean the Sect Expert?”

“Yes, the one who is clearly only here to watch over a single individual. Thus, a caretaker.”

Boneroot was hesitant to talk so dismissively of the Sect Experts, lest they appear at his side, like Venh or Master Lei were so fond of doing. He was pleasantly surprised by their chat, however. The boy was affable and seemed on the same wavelength. Another friend would certainly be a boon.

After a few minutes, Boneroot and Jota were joined by Hana Shio. She greeted them with the careful respect that he was surprised to see in a noble. The boy hadn’t talked to her since he was nearly disemboweled on her trident. From the look on her face, though, it was as if that had never happened.

“Well met.” Hana nodded to each of them. “I suppose it is hardly a surprise that the three of us are up here. I did expect some of the disciples near the peak of the Red realm to pass, as well, though. Has Amina Zafi not been assessed yet?”

When Jota relayed the Fire cultivator’s failing to her, Hana looked conflicted. After a moment’s pause, she said, “I see. Well, that is rather unexpected, though I can’t say it’s an entirely unfortunate turn of events.”

Boneroot’s wide smile did the talking for him. He was starting to come around on the girl. Sure, she had tried to pound him into a fine paste, but Kroshieshi had done a lot worse than that and he still liked the old tsovar.

Naturally, that was the moment Kuroki decided to make his presence known. Before any of the three noticed his appearance, he was facing down Hana Shio. The cat’s lithe, black-furred form was arrow-straight. His white tail was flat against the ground as he spoke in the girl’s head.

“I could beat you up.”

Hana’s face was blank for a moment, then she laughed.

“Who is this little one? Why did you not help your master fight?”

“He’s not my master, he’s my friend! And I’m not allowed to fight!”

Kuroki’s tail swept the ground back and forth. Boneroot tried to calm the cat down before he got them both ejected from the mountain. Reluctantly, the tsovar slipped back into the shadow from whence he came.

“Sorry about him,” the boy said. “He’s young and still getting used to the sect.”

A small cry of protest rang out in Boneroot’s head, but he ignored it. Jota was inspecting Boneroot’s shadow, but Hana Shio adopted a stern look as she responded.

“You’ll want to work on that, then. If he challenges the wrong person, they won’t take it lying down. Spirit beast, or not, a cultivator’s pride is often inflexible.”

Boneroot nodded with some exasperation, “I know, I know. He doesn’t seem to really understand he can’t challenge people in the realm below him. I guess that’s just one more reason to get to the Yellow realm as soon as possible, right?”

Hana gave him a confused look. Jota interjected, “It would be unwise to rush, actually. While the first realm can be sped through with relatively little consequence, realms Orange and Yellow are integral to forming a sound base of cultivation. To err in advancing through them is to cripple your ability to ever reach higher peaks.”

“Really? Nobody ever told me that. Thanks!”

“I imagine it would have come up within the first couple sessions with Sect Expert Yuto. Whether you would have been here for it, however, is a different matter. Perhaps Expert Danh would have informed you.”

Before Boneroot could ask how he knew about that connection, Hana reasserted herself.

“That cat wasn’t lying?”

Boneroot winced.

“I should have clarified, sorry. He’s in the Yellow realm, so he’s not allowed to fight alongside me until I catch up.”

This answer, however, only proved more confusing to the girl. She looked at him skeptically as she replied, her voice slow.

“Then, how did you bind him? That shouldn’t be possible.”

“Ah,” Boneroot rubbed at his neck. “That’s a bit complicated to explain.”

“So explain.” Hana Shio’s eyes narrowed.

When Boneroot didn’t immediately cave to the demand, she relented.

“Fine, keep your secrets. I suppose you’ll need them to beat me.”

With the same predatory smile she flashed before their fight, the Water cultivator got up and left. Boneroot was reassessing his resolve to befriend the girl. Jota, on the other hand, seemed like a strong friend candidate. He seemed to know a lot and he was likely the most powerful of the first-year disciples.

“Hey, Jota, do you want to come practice with my friends after this?”

“No, not particularly.”

The blunt response tripped Boneroot up. He swallowed his follow-up.

“I don’t mean to give offense,” the boy with the book explained. “I will be in the Inner Sect in half a year. I don’t want to invest any time in those who might fail to accomplish the same. Should you succeed in graduating from the Outer Sect at the end of the year, perhaps we can chat then.”

Boneroot was put even more off-kilter by that, but he shot back, “Well, what if I get into the Inner Sect before you, then? What if it’s my team that wins the tournament?”

Jota didn’t laugh, or scowl, or react at all, really.

“You’re not on my team, so that is exceedingly unlikely.”

Boneroot had no response to that. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, before he decided to wait for Iris and Guang outside.