When Bai Feng awoke this time she felt as if she were bursting with energy as she sat up from her bed, she could feel her dantian now as it pulsed with qi. She looked out of the window and saw the sun only just beginning to rise alongside colors that somehow seemed more vibrant than they ever had before and smiled. She hadn't slept in today and wasn't feeling drowsy at all despite the exhaustion she had felt last night. Today was already turning out to be a better one than yesterday.

Taking a moment to stretch as she got out of bed she took a moment to go to the mirror and smooth out her dress. Sleeping in it probably wasn't the best of ideas but it was the nicest damn thing she had ever worn. That and she didn't have any other clothing than the ragged clothes she had been wearing when she was caught. They were not nearly as comfortable as the dress and didn't fit right to boot.

Giving herself another look in the mirror she went over to her bag, brought out one of the brushes and set to work getting her hair in a semblance of order. It was quite nice to not have to worry about any loose strands getting in her eyes. She gave herself a nod when it was all roughly behind her she put it away. Taking one last moment to make sure nothing was missing in her bag, a habit she didn't see a point in breaking, she went out and towards the kitchen eager to get some food.

Bai Feng fixed up a simple meal for herself before heading to the dining room, pausing as she caught sight of her roommate Yi An sitting there. She had arrayed around her various papers filled with symbols and a couple of different brushes and was currently drawing more symbols on one of the papers.

A bit confused Bai Feng set her food down at the opposite end of the table before greeting her friend and taking a seat herself. "Good mornin' Yi An. What's that ya are workin' on?"

Yi An didn't look up as she continued to work on whatever it was she was doing. "Good morning Bai Feng. I am simply writing down examples I will be using in the future for your lessons on literacy. Do be prepared, once you have finished eating we will be beginning."

Bai Feng blinked before blurry memories of last night came rushing back and she remembered what Yi An had said then. "Oh, right. Ya did say that last night. Thanks for doin' this, it's mighty kind of ya. I certainly have never needed to read before but the longer I'm here the more it seems like not bein' able to is goin' to be a problem." There had certainly never been a true need before for her but if every cultivation art here needed her to read something in order to practice then she certainly was going to have to learn.

Yi An looked up this time and momentarily fixed her piercing gaze on Bai Feng before looking back down and continuing to write. "It is simply unacceptable for you to be illiterate while we're roommates. Though, what do you mean it is only going to be a problem now? How was missing such an essential skill not a problem for you before?"

Maybe it was essential for her now but it certainly wasn't much of a problem in the past. At least she didn't think it was. "Never really needed to, certainly never needed it to figure out if somethin' was valuable or not. And on the rare occasion, somethin' or other did require that, I knew a boy that could."

Yi An completely paused as she stared at Bai Feng now. Her eye twitched as her voice became ever so slightly strained. "... Just what type of work did you do exactly before you joined the sect where basic literacy wasn't a necessity."

Bai Feng for a very brief moment thought about lying and saying she was a cobbler or something like that since answering honestly here felt a bit like throwing herself to the wolves. But then she realized she didn't particularly care if Yi An or anyone else thought less of her for it, she had survived because of what she'd done and even had managed it her way. She was proud of what she'd built there and how she'd done it.

She looked Yi An straight in the eyes as she gave her response. "I led a small gang, not too much use for literacy when it's almost never somethin' ya have to worry about out in the alleys. Always somethin' else ya need to worry about instead."

Yi An was silent for a moment before she giggled of all things. Bai Feng wasn't entirely sure how to react as Yi An kept on going for another few moments before she stopped with a smile on her face. "Ah, my apologies, that was perhaps a mite unseemly from me. You do just keep utterly subverting whatever it is I might be expecting of you and seem to have a vendetta against proper social conduct. It is quite invigorating, even if you will have to learn to not speak so frankly eventually to deal with those who would use such knowledge against you. I had pegged you as the daughter of a poor soldier family or maybe a common merchant. It is refreshing to be wrong."

Bai Feng didn't really know how to respond nor was she entirely certain she understood all the words she had used. "Uh, your welcome, I think?"

The girl simply giggled a bit more at that. "Now, do start eating up. I would hate for your lessons on literacy to be delayed from such a simple thing."

Bai Feng looked down at her still untouched food before nodding to Yi An and beginning to eat. She was glad she had ended up with Yi An. She might not get exactly what was with her but she seemed like a good sort. A good friend. And she was actually curious what it'd be like to be learning to understand what those symbols actually meant.

Literacy was very confusing as it turns out, and Yi An was very determined to make her understand it. She still wasn't entirely sure how in the hells any of it made sense in the end but Yi An had assured her it would in time. She had even taught her how to write her own name which was actually really neat. Her lines weren't nearly as clean as her friends were but she had said for a beginner it was good enough.

Bai Feng also noticed that even as strange of a concept literacy was to her she was grasping the bits she did understand surprisingly well. What she had learned was clear in her mind and easy to remember. Was this an effect of her awakening?

In the end, though they ended up finishing a good bit before spiritual lessons began. Yi An once again didn't attend, opting to instead head to the training fields for some personal practice before the physical cultivation lessons. Lessons which Bai Feng was determined to attend this time, she had meant to that first day but had instead gotten completely lost in cultivation. Though that may have been for the best considering she felt more energetic than she had in a long time now.

The lecture Elder Ning had given today on meridians had been just as enlightening as yesterday, even if she hadn't managed to understand it nearly as well as she had the lesson yesterday. They were apparently nodes for qi throughout her body that had different effects depending on where they were located. And you could imbue them with a specific type of qi in order to use certain arts with them. But in order to even make use of ones meridans, you had to clear them out as they were blocked with impurities that had built up? She still wasn't entirely sure about how to accomplish that last part even with the explanation the elder had given but she was determined to figure it out eventually.

Afterward, Bai Feng took the time time to explore the grounds of the sect. It was high time she actually figured out the gist of where things were here. Ignoring whatever looks she got as wandered around the sect she learned quite a few things. There was an area full of different stalls and buildings a good deal past the lecture hall where some other disciples were currently discussing something amongst each other. There were even a few older disciples here as well, each of them not in the uniform of the sect but in customized robes, and one was even in some armor. Though as far as she could tell there wasn't any business happening here just yet.

There was also a medicine hall in the area as well. She didn't see much need in it for now but it only served as a reminder that once the two-month truce was up that there was likely going to be a good deal of fighting.

And finally, she ended up finding a library of sorts a good deal out of the way and right at the edge of where everything else was. She didn't see anybody coming and going from it right now though. She supposed that it'd be opening up later on for them.

In the end, though, Bai Feng found herself with a bit of extra time before she'd have to be at the training fields for the lessons on physical cultivation. She opted to spend the rest of it relaxing at the riverside.

The river here felt very different from the one that ran through Qizuishan. For one, she didn't see any attempts to contain the river and prepare in case it flooded. The sect had simply built around it. Though seeing how Elder Ning could seemingly manipulate water as if it were just another part of her she could see why they hadn't bothered. It was also quite calm, gently flowing through the sect. It'd probably be far less of a pain to wash oneself here than back in the city. It was nice.

After another few minutes, Bai Feng got up and began making her way towards the training field. She wondered what physical cultivation would be like.

Soon enough she found herself there. It was a large place, a huge field of emerald grass with little patches of dirt that had a long dirt track encircling it with a wooden fence marking the boundaries of the field itself. Near the entrance, she could see various racks full of different weapons, as well as dummies and targets that had already obviously seen use. One dummy, in particular, was absolutely filled with arrows.

Glancing around Bai Feng saw where all the other disciples were gathering for the lesson, including Yi An who was standing towards the back had already fixed her with her customary piercing gaze that she could feel even as far away as she was before she turned back and faced the same way everyone else was. Bai Feng made her way over, eager to greet her friend. Just as she reached her however she caught sight of the elder who was almost certainly going to be the one teaching them.

He was clad in a simple-looking grey robe and looked surprisingly normal as he stood there with his hands behind his back. He looked quite young for an elder as well and had a very handsome face while his amber eyes surveyed all the disciples who stood before him. It took Bai Feng a moment before she realized she had been staring and she slammed the door to those thoughts shut as she felt her cheeks flush. Thankfully nobody was looking her way but it was still embarrassing to have done that. She took a deep breath to compose herself before she made her way beside Yi An and gave her a wave which she returned with a small nod.

They stood there for another couple minutes as a few other disciples trickled in, the whispers of other disciples and the wind being the only sounds. At last, though the elder seemed satisfied and held up his hand, causing even the whispers to stop as he regarded them all with a steady gaze.

"I greet you disciples of the Flowing Waters." His voice was surprisingly relaxed despite his formal words. "For those not here yesterday I am Elder Bao. The rules here will be simple. You will follow my instructions to the best of your abilities and push yourself to your very limits. Do not be tardy or you will not be participating at all on that day. That is all."

His voice took on an edge as gestured to the dirt track. "Now, begin running until you have pushed yourself to your limit." He then snapped his fingers and a thunderous boom emanated from him startling everyone into motion, Bai Feng included. She could've sworn he was smirking after he did that "This lesson begins now."

What followed was the most grueling run Bai Feng had ever experienced. When Elder Bao had said that one of the rules was to push yourself to your very limits he had meant it. Whenever someone had begun to slow down he'd suddenly appear beside them and he'd snap his fingers, and while she heard nothing judging by the way whatever disciple he had done it by seemingly found a new reserve of energy to draw from and run faster again she could only imagine it sounded a lot louder to them.

Thankfully she'd managed to avoid that fate herself as she pushed herself further and further in her run. And every time she started to slow or stumbled from just how long she'd been going she felt a burst of energy that helped her recover and keep going, a burst coming from her qi. It was an incredible feeling, but that only worked for so long before she felt herself truly slowing down. Elder Bao appeared beside her and she flinched, trying to force her tired body to go faster when instead of snapping his fingers, he simply grabbed her arm and led her off the track to where some other disciples were performing slow exercises in the grass.

He instructed her to take a momentary rest before she was to follow their example and to weave her qi throughout her body while doing so. Exhausted she followed his instructions the best she could, focusing and making the qi within her dantian flow outside of it. She wasn't entirely sure just what effect this was having but she was sure it was doing something even if she couldn't tell what it was right now.

Eventually, the elder had decided she'd had enough time resting and she was thrown into even more exercises. A small part of her regretted coming here but a much larger part was thrilled at being pushed so far and being so active. She could already feel just from awakening spiritually she could go far further than she ever had before, just what would her physical awakening do for her?