Days were passing.

After leaving the next clan, the caravan split, and the three sects went each in their own direction.

A little less than a fortnight later, they reached the Nan Liang mountain.

[Arrival Day 9am]

At the base of the mountain, there was a walled off town. The wagons got emptied there, and finally the clansmen who joined the caravan could start their journey back to their home clans.

Only the disciples remained. Yuan Yu had gone for the time being, but not for long, soon he returned and led all new disciples a little higher up the mountain. Trekking up, Jin was awed by the sights. The mountain was heavily terraformed by the house. Along the pathway, the mountain had all sorts of architecture built starting from ground level, often climbing quite high up the mountain wall. There were some buildings that looked like single houses, but also some much, much bigger, stretching far up and far along the road. These might have been dorms or some facilities which were used by a huge amount of people. There were also several towers with sharp tops, and some buildings were clearly extending underground.

Finally, they came to a clearing. Yuan Ju told the disciples to gather, did a quick headcount and nodded. There were a little more than a hundred disciples gathered.

“Everyone, listen to me carefully. This is your first day in our house, and the very first thing we’ll do is attend the admission ceremony. We are the last group to arrive to the sect, and therefore the ceremony will take in the evening, in the hall of initiation. The hall is on the grand peak belonging to Master Reinhardt, one of the house’s leaders. It’s quite a way up the mountain so I suggest we start moving right away. We can rest once we reach the peak.”

Everybody followed Yuan Yu. Jin found his conversation partner and chatted him up as they were trekking up the mountain.

“Bei, my brightest star. Do you know anything about this admission ceremony?”

Bei smiled.

“Yes.”

Jin waited for elaboration, but it looked like Bei was showing his cheek - or he didn’t want to waste the breath, as trekking up at the pace to keep up with Yuan Ju was not a trivial thing. Most of the newbies managed to just about do that, but there were some that started falling behind. Jin was familiar with this kind of activity though, so he had enough energy and breath to strike up a conversation.

“Don’t wait for me to beg, what’s that about?”

“You’ll see once we’re on the spot, I wouldn’t want to spoil the show for you.” - Bei smiled smugly, and continued on.

“A hint at the very least?”

“A hint…” - Bei thought for a little - “Alright. We’ll have to pick our favourite color, or somebody will assign it to us. Something similar to that”

“Favourite color...? How about teal? Can I pick teal?”

“Haha. It’s not literally going to be like that. It’s just a hint. Additionally, the selection will be limited.”

“Alright. What are you going to pick?”

“Blue.”

“Blue? Alright, I’ll pick blue too.”

“Don’t. You’re not a material for royal blue. A country bumpkin should pick dirt yellow, weed green, pimple red or bruised purple.”

“Huh, hearing you describing these colors like that, I’ll be more sure to pick the royal color. Others don’t sound nearly as good.”

“We’ll see, perhaps you’ll change your opinion once you hear somebody else explain the differences. But anyway, let’s pick different ones. It’s going to broaden our reach, and it’s going to be good for our goals.”

Jin thought for a little.

“Our goals…? I don’t believe you have mentioned anything so far.”

“I didn’t. Maybe I should enlighten now?”

“I don’t know, maybe there is a good reason I shouldn’t know now.”

Bei thought for a little bit.

“I don’t think there is, but the first goal is fairly simple - get as much decision making power as possible, as soon as possible. First I need to see what’s the path, I’m not sure what possibilities does the house structure offer at this time. Worst case there’s little we can do outside attending to normal responsibilities outside of trying to wiggle out one thing here or there. Best case there’s placement systems arranged and we can stick it to competitors in broad daylight.”

Jin was a little aghast, as he looked at Bei.

“That’s quite ambitious, and what’s the point of taking the power?”

“There’s no special point to it. You can say the point is to exercise it, as well as it can be exercised.”

“Is that so?” - Jin was asked, as he was thinking.

“Yes. I trust myself the best, as to who can be performing the best decisions. So long as I don’t get outplayed in the game, I don’t think there’s much reason to doubt it. If I do - well… perhaps it means somebody was just more suited than me?” - Bei smiled.

“Huh.” - Jin thought it might be time to laugh, but he wasn’t really sure how funny this was. It was certainly interesting.

“Let’s try it” - said Jin - “I can give you my hands. So long as you stay on track that is, if you slip up, I might be throwing stones at you instead.” - Jin smiled

“Haha. Sounds fair to me. A fool like you won’t notice if I slip even if I do it right in front of his nose, what do I have to worry about! Haha!”

Jin made a grimace on his face in response to these comments.

They trekked further ahead, they've seen quite a few students throwing glances at their group. Most of the people they passed seemed to rush from one spot to another, but clearly were surprised by the anomalous appearance of this pack of newbies.

“Everyone, stop. The building in front of us is not our destination, but I imagine all of you are pretty hungry. Let us have lunch.” - said Yuan Ju, pointing in the direction of a building behind him.

“This is the open cantine. There are meals served here pretty much every hour starting 7am. Breakfast dishes continue being served until 10am. Lunch dishes continue until 4pm. After that, dinner is served until 10pm. The cantine is available at all times, but only in these hours are cooked meals served. It’s soon 11am, so we’re be having a lunch. Group up here before 12am so we can continue on to the grand peak.”

[Arrival Day 11am]

Jin and Bei and the rest of the group followed Yuan Ju towards the cantine. To Jin’s surprise, a big smile appeared on Yuan Ju’s face as he eagerly went towards the cantine. Apparently he looked forward to the meal more than the rest of them.

The cantine was just a big hall. The seats were just slightly elevated above the ground. People were seated cross legged in long rows. The plates were already placed in the spot, so it was enough to just sit in front and soon the servers began moving around, with bucketfuls of different kinds of dishes.

Jin and Bei looked around and sat together, eyeing the place.

“There’s probably a certain magnitude to everything in the house.” - Jin said, just before the server came by and asked him what sort of dish he’d like.

Jin picked a variety of curries with rice, and proceeded to eat. Bei picked some fruits and nuts mixed with honey. Both were satisfied as they were finishing their meal. Once they did, they followed the example of other students - washed their plates and stacked them up, after which they left the cantine and returned to the grouping spot.

There was still some time before the 12pm, when they were supposed to move out again. They simply sat and waited for the rest of the group to gather. Just before it was time to move out, Yuan Ju also returned and did the headcount.

“Good, everyone’s here. Hope you enjoyed your meal. Let’s get on track again.”

[Arrival Day 2pm]

Two hours later, they finally reached their destination. The Grand Peak was truly grand. The space was huge, with a great hall right in the center. Outside, the view was breathtaking, but so it was most of the way here. Jin could feel at home in this kind of environment, except for the house ramping everything up many times than his old home.

“Now, everyone, enter the hall. Find your seat in the center of the hall and start talking with the advisor, so your sort can be chosen appropriately. I’ll still be with you after the ceremony finishes to guide you through some final steps - worry not. By the end of the day you’ll know what to do next, where you’re staying, where you’re eating, where you’re learning. Until the beginning of the ceremony you are free to do what you want.”

“Sort?” - Jin asked Bei.

“Yes. Like I said. The color.”

Jin raised his eyebrows. He noticed some other of his peers were as confused as he is, while others were either as smug as Bei or simply stoic as ever.

They entered the hall. At the center, there was a huge carpet with seats, not dissimilar from the ones in the cantine.

“The last group, welcome. Please seat down.” - an old man standing on a platform said. He was rather short, with a bush of white hair and a thick mustache.

The group scrambled, and found their seats in a few minutes.

“I am Reinhardt, the master of the Grand Peak, and I welcome you to my home, and to the house in general. There’s over three hundred of you this year - quite a number if I may say. Let me explain the purpose of you coming in here - we need to sort you! There are five sorts in our house, each has their own qualities to them. What you must know that successes you bring to your sort, benefit all your brothers and sisters, while the failures, the problems that you create similarly disadvantage all of your sort. The details will be explained in time, for now, let me relay, in short, what are the options here.”

[Sort Explanation]

Reinhardt made a movement, and conjured a storm of flames. Out of the flames, a phoenix has risen, and gently flew around the new students.

“Phoenix. Righteous. Willful. Stubborn. Can be sympathetic, can be unforgiving, and so is its sort. Phoenixes are most agreeable creatures, so long as the circumstances are agreeable. Otherwise… well. Who ever had displeasure, unlikely will ever speak approvingly of them. A lot of heart, and a lot of heat. Their color is flaming red.”

The phoenix clearly was an illusion - so were the flames, as Jin didn’t feel any heatwave throughout the spectacle. That was natural - who would want a real phoenix prancing around newcomers.

Reinhardt has dispersed the phoenix, and conjured a new form. This time, it was some sort of griffin, though instead of an eagle, it resembled a peacock. It had a slender body, and a huge pair of wings which seemed to span an unreasonable length. The creature had a grace of full moon, it slowly flew around and electric blue wisps were following it wherever it flew.

“Royal blue.” - thought Jin, as he looked at it.

“Mayura. Enigmatic, enchanting. As proud as it is charming and nonchalant, and so is its sort. Mayuras in nature avoid direct conflict, though only a fool would call them weak. Most gracious creatures, and one has to be very adamant if they want to get on the bad side of them. Their color is peacock blue.“

The mayura was dispersed, and another illusion was conjured. This time, a huge dragon has dropped off the ceiling onto the panel and gave out a huge, stunning roar.

“Dragon. Proud, ambitious... strong, capable and daring. And so is its sort. This creature needs no introduction. Golden dragon. fearsome. Top of the hierarchy, extremely territorial. May none of you ever have to face this creature in the wild, that being said they can be best of friends - so long as you prove their equal. Their color is gold.”

In a moment the dragon has dispersed and in its place, a huge, dark green serpent started it’s movement, risen up and looked at everyone from above.

“Serpent. Patient. Careful. Some say cunning. Observing, calm though vigilant. And so is its sort. The serpent picks its encounters. It wants to meet anything and everything on its own terms, not the other’s. Their color is moss green.”

“...and finally...” - Reinhardt said, as he started conjuring again. This time, the floor seemed to wave and started acting like water, second later it looked like water too. Soon a huge head has risen up above the surface, with eyes focused on the group of students.

“Kraken. Silent. Contemplative. Perceptive. and so is its sort. Often aloof, but this needs not be the case... Krakens are rare creatures, hiding in the depths of the oceans. They have very minimal contact with people. Nevertheless, from the stories we know that they are powerful, intelligent creatures, with many talents of which we know very little. They are said to not be very aggressive, however their sheer gaze and presence sends chills to whomever has fortune - or misfortune for that matter - of meeting one. Their color is purple.”

Reinhardt dispersed the illusion.

“Phoenixsort, Mayursort, Dragonsort, Serpentsort, Krakensort. These are your options. These are your sorts. Don’t choose on a whim - I’m not here just to put a fancy lightshow for you as I’m explaining things. I’ll use a technique to determine which sort will allow you to grow within the house to the best of your ability. Of course, it is not completely assured, nobody can measure the depths of another person, especially if they are as young as you, my dear pupils. There will be some leniency and if the determined sort was not a clear pick, you’ll be able to select one or more runner ups.”

“Now, let me establish connection with you. You probably never had any mind related techniques performed on you, but trust me. Close your eyes and welcome me when I knock.” - Reinhardt explained.

Jin followed the instructions and closed his eyes.

Soon, despite his eyes being closed, he was on the Grand Peak but outside the hall. He was still sitting. He moved his head around, and the image shifted as expected, and he felt all the impressions proper, he suspected that he really was moving his head inside the hall, on his seat.

A bright light appeared, and after it disappeared, it left a little flying worm around.

“Hello.”

Greeted the worm.

That was unexpected.

“Greetings” - replied Jin, without missing the beat.

“I am a Mind Worm, and I am property of Master Reinhardt. My task is to sort you into the house. Are you ready?”

“Yes.” - answered Jin, a little dumbfounded.

“What’s your favourite color?”

“What sort of question is that? It’s the very same one that the Bei had asked me earlier.” - thought Jin

“I think your color, my little friend, is the most beautiful in the world.”

“Is this your final answer?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready for us proceed?

“Yes.” - Jin confirmed

The scenery suddenly changed. There were 2 boys arguing, and almost at each other’s throats, and the situation was escalating quickly, both of them were ready to throw punches.

“What do you do in a following situation?”

Jin looked at the situation..

“I do nothing, I don’t know these boys.” - he answered honestly. He wondered what sort would that answer bring him closer to? Likely either serpent, kraken and probably mayura. Which sort did he want to belong to? Bei said it’s best to choose something else than the Mayura, as it is where he wants to go.

“Is this your final answer?” - The worm asked, as he was pondering.

“Yes.”

“Are you ready for us to proceed?”

Jin thought a bit, and decided to try and coax his answers in such a way that he lands in the Dragonsort. Phoenixsort seems inflexible and uncompromising, and he didn’t want to deal with people of this sort. Serpentsort sounds better, but somehow he had a prejudice that it might be hard there to both, gather and give trust when push comes to shove. Krakensort sounds like a place where it’s hard to get others’ cooperation and get anything going. Dragonsort and Mayursort sound like the best places to gain momentum in the quest for power, though the dragonsort and serpentsort are probably most competitive.

“Yes, I’m ready.” - finally replied Jin.

The scenery changed again. He stared at the wall, and the wall was made of tapestry with countless number of black dots.

“How many dots can you count up to?” - asked the worm.

Jin was dumbfounded again. There’s no way in his mind that somebody really wants him to count these up. The task would be somewhat too riddiculous. Then again, he can’t say that for sure, he was in the cultivation house now after all. But then, what sort of people would count everything? What would a dragonsort person do? Likely not count at all and give an extremely rough approximation.

Jin thought for a bit.

“5000” - he answered.

“Is that your final answer?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready to proceed?”

“Yes.”

The scenery changed again.

It was similar scene to that from before, though this time a hunk of a boy was approaching you.

“What are you looking at? You want to get a beating too?”

Jin wasn’t one to skip a fight, and the sort he wanted to join was like that anyway, so he just smiled.

“Yes.”

The boy swung at Jin, Jin tried to dodge but he failed, though there was no physical reaction from the punch either. He couldn’t really do much aside from observing in this illusion.

“Are you ready to proceed?”

Jin sighed again. This sorting method was confusing to him. Fair enough. It was made by an expert, not a newcomer like him.

The scenery changed again. It was pitch black.

*thump*

Jin shook.

*thump*

“Mr. Worm? Are you there?” - Jin felt uneasy. He knows this *thump*. It was the first sound he heard after he had woken up from the slumber. It was the sound of a tribulation.

There was no answer.

Jin tried opening his eyes. He couldn’t.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

His uneasiness rose again. He decided to enter his aperture. He was pretty sure this isn’t his aperture.

“Kasm?” - Jin probed.

“I’m here.” - the boy answered.

JIn waited for a bit. There was no sound.

“I was just checking something, I’m going through sorting ceremony in the house now.”

“Splendid. On your way then, don’t dally here.” - Kasm waved his hand and thrown Jin outside the inner space.

“Ugh.”

*thump* *thump* *thump*

“Well, there’s nothing really to do.” - thought Jin, and waited, though it must be said that even though he knew it must’ve been a fake thumping, he still was uneasy.

The scenery changed to the original one as if the blackness and thumping were never there, the worm was in front of him again.

“Are you ready to proceed?”

“Yes.” - sighed Jin. These “questions” were not as simple as he initially thought they would. And how he was to prove he was dragonsort there? Just by being brave in face of danger? He pondered for a bit, but had no great answer.

[Jin Sorting Test Done]

“The sorting is over. Based on your answers, the two most fitting sorts are...“ - the worm paused here

“Dragonsort… “ - the worm started.

“Yes!” Jin thought.

“20%” - the worm announced.

“No!” - Jin gasped

“Mayursort… 5%”

“Phoenixsort... 25%”

“Serpentsort… 25%”

“Krakensort… 30%”

“Quite equal results, since phoenix, serpent and kraken have close results, you can pledge as either. Which will it be?” - The worm asked.

Jin furrowed his brows.

“How about dragonsort? Is that possible?”

“It’d be likely unproductive, and therefore it is not allowed.”

The results surprise him. How in the world would he even get the serpentsort score so high?

“Can you tell me based on what the scores were given?” - Jin finally asked.

“Yes, it was mostly based on your internal state while going through the questions. Your internal state was your answer.”

“Ah, I was starting to think it must be something like that. So the actual answers in the first questions were irrelevant?”

“Answer to first question was considered as playful. It improved the Mayursort score. Answer to question number two was neutral, with some concern. This increased both, kraken and phoenix scores.”

Jin smiled.

“Ingenious.” - he murmured. There was no way he could somehow influence his internal response to situations given how varied these tests were.

“Must I pick now? Can I consult?”

“Yes. the test is over. I’ll anyway be here until the ceremony officially begins. You must let me know before then. Just close your eyes and sit on your seat to do that.”

Jin attempted to open his eyes after hearing this, and he could finally do so.

“Freedom” - he thought. All in all, it was quite a bizarre experience. Jin looked to his left towards Bei. Bei was just sitting calmly and observing people within the hall.

“You’re out? What did you pick in the end?” - asked Bei.

“I didn’t yet. I can either pick phoenix, serpent or kraken.” - answered plainly Jin.

Bei started laughing.

“Jin the Ocotopus? Jin the snake? Where’s that daring dragon from the Tai clan mountain? Hahaha!”

Jin only made a sour expression to Bei’s jeering. Maybe he shouldn’t have confided here.

“Never mind, let me think alone.” - Jin said.

“Wait, wait.” - said Bei, as he gradually stopped laughing. - “Maybe it’s not so weird. Jin the kraken? Kraken sounds good. The misfits could use someone to tug onto. And it’s going to be good to have a passage to their nest. Pick the purple, my dear friend.” - Bei said as he was smiling.

“I don’t mind. Did you get the mayursort?”

“Naturally.”

Jin nodded, closed his eyes and waited for the scenery to change. Once it did, the worm also reappeared.

“I pick krakensort.” - Jin announced shortly.

“Is this your final choice?” - it asked

“Yes.”

The worm shook, and the vision has dispersed together with him. Now Jin only saw the darkness of the back of his eyelids. He opened his eyes.

He looked around. There were still many people with eyes closed. some were already awake, and some even stood up from their seats to stretch their legs. Apparently it was alright.

He looked at Bei and nodded, signalling that he’s picked the sort. Bei only rolled his eyes, which put a smile on Jin’s face. He followed the example of other students and decided to leave his seat temporarily.

He tried to look for some other people that he’s known and ask them for their choices.

Finally, he managed to find the spot where the Kai siblings were sitting. They still were having their eyes closed. Jin couldn’t bother them now. Instead, he approached a student who was supporting the wall, looking a little tired of waiting. Ideal person to strike a conversation with.

“Hey, I’m Jin. I guess we need to wait still quite a bit more for the official ceremony to start?”

The boy sighed.

“An hour to go. Just an hour.” - the boy answered, seemingly trying to convince himself.

“Oh, it’s already this late? I didn’t realize.”

The boy shrugged.

“I’m Ren, seems like I was one of the first folks to finish. Maybe some idiots are still counting the dots on the wall.” - the boy joked.

“So we all had the same tests? Interesting. Where did you end up?”

“Mayursort. You?”

“Krakensort.”

“Kraken? That’s pretty cool. I heard krakens can be weirdos, but you seem like a perfectly charming guy - are you sure you’re in the right sort?” - the boy asked as he smiled.

“Haha, I’m certain. I just finished picking the sort, and I barely know anybody here. My friend was sorted into Mayursort, same as you. Honestly I don’t know much what these sorts are about. Are there any rules?”

“Not sure about the rules… we’ll see, the old man said he’s going to go over more things to consider later. I’m rather not sure myself, from what I gathered the sorts work almost like clans. Well, normally I shouldn’t say this - prejudice can be crippling after all, but the gossips are there for anybody willing to lend an ear.”

“Oh? What’s the gossip?”

“It’s mostly about where the sorts stand in relation to each other. Apparently, dragonsorts don’t approve of serpentsorts, they think serpentsorts are cowardly. Dragonsorts seek to solve disputes in the most direct way, which plays to their strengths, and whoever avoids that is called a coward, whoever accepts is often just trampled. And apparently, serpentsort knows very well how to deal with dragons, though their methods created some bad blood.

Phoenixsort usually approves mostly of itself, but that is not quite true. They have the biggest disputes among themselves after all. They don’t have strong likes or animosity with any other group.

Mayursort is in a perfectly amiable position with everybody, at least most of the time.

Krakens are similar but not quite - usually they keep to themselves.” - The boy paused.

“Usually.” - he added, with a smile - “All this is to be taken with grain of salt, the sort leadership actions need not reflect on our own.”

“Leadership?” - asked Jin, curiously.

“Yes, like I said, the sorts have almost a clan-like structure. It’s important for the house to develop the students fully, and they have a mini political field with 5 players in play.”

“Interesting.”

“Everyone, attention please! Finish your sorting now if you haven’t already, and those who wondered off, please return to your seats. We have half an hour left until the ceremony officially begins, and as of this moment we’re letting the house bodies into the hall.”

“Thanks Ren, I’m sure I’ll see you around.” - Ren waved his hand and both returned to their seats.

Soon the hall was being filled up by students. The hall was split into 5 sections, within each, students of a particular sort were gathering and taking a seat.

“Take your seats! Don’t dally!” - hurried Reinhardt the newcomers with his augmented voice.

Soon, all the movements ceased as everyone had found their place.

[Sorting Ceremony Start, Arrival Day, 7pm]

“We are about to start.” - announced Reinhardt, at which moment the silence has spread.

“Dear students! We are here today to celebrate the admission of our newest members! While every one of us has urgent tasks to perform, it is in no way acceptable to shun the formal duties one has to their group. And so, today we’re welcoming a new body of students, the new set of trainees! They have come from the Ru clan, Jian clan, Tai clan, Lu clan, Gu Nan clan” - A loud applause has commenced.

“May they further the splendor of our house in the future. Now! All of our new pupils have already been sorted. First, Phoenixes!”

Reinhardt conjured all sorts of phoenixes of many kinds. Each has flown to the side of a student in the center, marking who has been sorted into Phoenixsort, and pecking and trying to lead them to join the rest of their sort, as loud applause was performed by the phoenix section of the hall.

Jin noticed that Chi was among them. “Quite fitting” - he thought, as he smiled.

“Now, Mayuras!” - Reinhardt announced, as he waved his hands. And so similarly, the creatures were conjured which led the students to their seats. Bei was among. So was Ren. The rest of Mayursort were welcoming the newcomers with applause.

The things proceeded similarly for serpentsort and dragonsort - and dragonsort was where Kai Yuan had ended up. When it was time for krakensort, again the floor started resembling a moving stormy ocean and octopus like creatures were hopping and guiding Jin and the rest of the students towards the kraken section.

While moving, Jin could take a better look at the sections. He noticed that there were some number difference between different groups - looked like the dragonsort had clearly the most students within, followed by serpentsort. Mayursort and phoenixsort sections seemed to be similarly filled, and lastly, the krakensort was the smallest.

Jin navigated to his seat, the krakens gave each student a nod, as they were seated wherever the tiny kraken had led them.

“The competition within the dragonsort must be really rough.” - thought Jin, as he swiped his gaze over the sections from his seat.

The applause for krakens has finally ended.

“Welcome once again, among your own sort. Now let me introduce you to some of the opportunities that your sort will provide for you, and why you should make your sort proud.”

Reinhardt paused.

“Your sort is one of your lifelines in the house. Being part of the strong sort brings many benefits, and earning accomplishments will yield benefits not just for you, but for the sort as well. It is your sort that procures the benefits you’ll soon enjoy to you - it is also the sort’s responsibility to cover for you, when in need.”

“Your performance will be rewarded with house credits, and for each earned credit the sect puts an additional one in your sort’s balance books. As you can see, the house will not shortchange you, and your individual benefit will not be sacrificed for the wellbeing of the group.”

Jin nodded hearing that. This was sounded like a good deal.

“The credits can be earned via various methods. There will be competetive events throughout the year. The contributions hall always has commisions for anyone capable and willing to perform the needed tasks. And of course, each step you take in your progress will be rewarded as well.” - Reinhardt paused here.

“Speaking of. your first big task is to enter the realm of rank 1 expert. Though you have joined our house, and your potential has been determined, you are still considered trainees. You need to awaken your apertures, otherwise you’ll be considered nothing more than mortals, no matter where in the world you are. Those who manage to awaken the aperture within the first year, will receive 30 credits. Those who manage to do it within the first 6 months, receive 60 credits. The first person to rank up will receive 120 credits.”

Jin’s eyes widened.

Reinhardt smiled.

“One of you has already reached rank 1, he is a young krakling from Tai clan, Tai Zhen Jin. Jin, please come join me here.”

Dumbfounded, Jin stumbled onto the stage.

“Congratulations Jin, I hope that your success will inspire your peers! There will be 120 credits transferred in your name by the end of the day. And of course...”

Reinhardt waved his hand, and an ornate hourglass of his sort had some purple crystals conjured within it.

“Krakensort earns 120 credits, making it take a lead in this year’s house league as of now!”

Murmurs have spread.

“Of course, it is very rare to have a first place taken before race to reach rank 1 truly begins, therefore this year, there will be equally generous reward waiting for the second person, among you trainees to awaken to your potential! 120 credits to the second person who reaches rank 1!”

An applause.

“We’ll have high expectations of you, my boy.” - Reinhardt added.

“Now, it’s getting late, and you still need to get accomodated. Good luck in this year’s league, let the most capable win!”

The door was opened, and slowly everybody was moving out.

[Sorting Ceremony Finished, Arrival Day 8pm]

“Kraklings!” - A booming voice called - “Follow me.” - A tall, plump man instructed, as he started moving to a less crowded area.

“Welcome. I am Grom, one of the Curators. It’s up to me to follow up and get you settled in. For now, let me make a head count… all 25 students are here. Follow me.”

Jin and the rest followed the big man. It was getting dark, Jin was quite excited to see his new lodgings.

It turned out it was another hour of trekking along the mountain paths. The scenery has changed quite a bit, and the area they were in was very windy.

"Everyone, listen to me carefully. The building in front of you is the administration hall for Krakensort. You are now part of these quarters. The first thing you need to do is to finish some formalities regarding registeration into the house. The clerks inside will guide you through the process. Anybody who’s gone through, please return to this spot.”

Everybody slowly started pouring in into the administration building. Jin was no different.

It looked like the hall was already prepared for them. Inside, the clerks invited the new students one by one.

The registration was fairly simple, the clerks documented things like clan, name, age and basic aptitudes at the time of admission. Afterwards, each disciple received a rectangular broach. It was made of wood, with a single character painted on in white - “Preparation”. They also received a few sets of clothes together with the krakensort broach, a wooden tag with a carved building symbol, floor and room number within it, referring to their accomodation. Finally a sheet with basic information about facilities, their availability and other miscellaneous information and the schedule for their training - theoretical, physical and mental.

Things went pretty similar with Jin, except he received a bronze badge with a symbol for number one carved into it, a different kind of broach than the rest and no schedule for his training or classes.

Once again, everybody assembled outside.

Grom accounted for everybody’s presence again.

“Welcome to the krakensort quarters of the Nan Liang Mountain, a branch house of the Southern Alliance.” - he smiled “Now you’re all officially a part of it, all formalities have been completed. There won’t be any duties for the rest of the day, you can get acquainted with the new surroundings, facilities and layout. Don’t forget to keep to your schedules.”

“With this, I bid you goodbye. I recommend you all start by navigating to your lodging space. I wish you all good luck, if you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask other students or staff around.”

Jin approached Grom before he could escape, he was hoping Grom might help him, as he wasn’t sure what to do. His circumstances were a little different, and he wanted to confirm what to do.

“Go to your lodging space and settle down there. It’s a little further up, you should see the entrance with the matching symbol on your tag. I’ll fetch you after I hand over the report. I also need to confirm how to handle your situation.” - Grom replied to Jin’s inquiries.

Jin bowed and went ahead up the trail, until he reached the appropriate entrance. He entered the building through it.

There were a few students moving about. A lot of them with the same broach that he had been given pinned to their waists.

The disciples were giving him a curious glance. He expected a couple jabs coming his way after being put on a spot the way Reinhardt did, almost all students have seen his face now. Right now though, he received only a few approving nods from his seniors, which was not bad at all.

He entered the building, and searched for the room number until he found it, and entered it.

A sight of a startled youth welcomed him into the room.

“Hello, I’m Tai Zhen Jin. I’ve been assigned this room.” - said Jin with a smile, showing the youth the tag he still held in hand.

“Oh.” - said the youth, still a little bit put off by Jin’s sudden appearance.

“Apologies. The rest of the beds are unoccupied, so feel free to choose your spot.” - Finally the youth said - “ I’m Lu Sun Shin. - he greeted.

“I was quite enjoying having a room all for myself.” - Sun Shin sighed.

“Were you visiting your clan for some reason?” - he pointed at Jin’s clothes

“Sort of.” - replied Jin thinking for a second - “Me and my group have just been admitted to the sect. My circumstances are a bit different than the rest, hence I’m here.”

“Oh? Wait… Zhen Jin, you’re that boy who got 1st place in advancement! I remember now. Sorry I wasn’t paying too much attention at the ceremony.”

“Haha, that’s expected.”

“So… how did you manage to do it? Awaken so early?”

“Long story.” - said Jin evasively.

Shin gauged him for a couple seconds.

“Well, one way or another it’s unusual. Let’s try to get along seeing how we’ll be sharing the same room for a while. The house is a rough place as it is, it’d be nice to have at least one safe zone.” - Shin smiled, while Jin raised his eyebrows.

“For sure..., but is it that bad? How come?”

“Nothing out of ordinary - it’s just difficult to progress, and the house wants us to progress quickly, how can it not be rough.” - Shin shrugged.

“I’m not sure of your story, but you surely know that opening the aperture is not a simple matter.” - Shin sat on his bed.

“Not really... How so?” - Jin pondered aloud.

The boy raised his eyebrows.

“Mine got opened in unusual circumstances, it wasn’t something entirely intentional.” - Jin cleared up quickly

“So it’s like that? … There are just conditions to opening it, and they may differ from person to person too. The first one is, the energy body must be sufficiently developed. Normally this happens around the age of 12, regardless of talent. Sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. The minimum house admittance age has been set to 12 for this reason. The second is to somehow rile up the energies on a deeper level. This is the difficult part that most are struggling with.”

“Generally speaking, the first year for trainees is somewhat of an adjustment period. It will still be tough on some, but anyone can make it through it. After that, it gets hectic. Depending on aptitude, luck and many other factors the apertures may pop open almost immediately, but it can also take a lot of trial and error. You heard the grand master, there is an additional rewards if you manage to reach rank 1 within the first year. If it opens within second year - you are sort of on schedule. The house will support you fully. If your aperture is not opened by the end of the 3rd year, you’re off from the main track.” - he sighed. “And you don’t want to be off the main track.”

“I see. How long did it take in your case?”

“Nine months into the second year I managed to do it.” - Shin said with a sour face, clearly remembering some bad memories - “Neither fast nor slow really, a little sooner than average.“ - he shrugged.

“Of course pushing ahead of the pack and working towards opening aperture early is highly encouraged. So long as instructors don’t have any qualms about the preparedness of the trainee, they don’t shy away from offering help. On the other side of the spectrum, some unfortunate souls don’t manage to open their apertures, and the instructors don’t know what’s exactly blocking their apertures from opening. In that case, they get sidelined. They are free to leave the house or decide to keep trying - in that case they usually need to find some sort of a part-time job though.”

“I see” - Jin pondered.

“Alright” - Shin said while standing up. - “Think I’ve rested enough. I’ll be off for now.”

“One second, where do you take a bath?”

“The door is right there.” - said Shin pointing at it - “Most rooms for students are equipped with one.”

“Perfect.”

Shin raised his hand in a wave and left the room.

“That should do it.” - thought Jin having finished setting everything up. He grabbed a set of house robes and proceeded to the bathroom.

After taking the bath, changing the clothes and pinning the brooches to his waist, Jin decided to wait in front of the building for Grom. There was a bench there, so he sat on it.

He observed other students around, and what Shin said seemed to ring true. The atmosphere here wasn’t very relaxed, the students seemed to be quite focused and purposeful. Some just seemed just very tired. There were also few that seemed to be resting or idly spending time.

Jin didn’t wait long, it was maybe 10 minutes since he sat down when he noticed Grom approaching.

Jin stood up and turned towards him.

“Jin, let’s go to the canteen.” - Grom said immediately. - “I am famished.”

He led Jin still further up the trail. Grom’s pace, while seemingly unhurried, was difficult to keep up with for Jin. Ju’s build was rather big, and for Jin any adult man towered over him, let alone a man like Grom. Despite his size, his steps were light, he wouldn’t slow down due to obstacles or while stepping the stairs.

When they reached the place, Jin already started to sweat.

“Normally you wouldn’t have access to the full menu here, but it’s your lucky day, you’ll have a chance to try some premium dishes today.” - smiled Grom.

Jin swept the sweat out of his forehead using a sleeve of his robe.

Unsurprisingly, Grom was quite a foodie.

“Go ahead and sit down, I’ll make an order.” - Grom pointed to an inconspicuous low table with an elegant looking tablecloth on it and an ornamental carpet laid out underneath.

Jin went ahead and sat down cross legged at the opposite side of the table, facing the counter and Ju, who soon joined him.

Ju was very satisfied.

“I hope you don’t mind that I ordered for you.” - He said while taking his spot.

“Not at all.” said Jin, a smile appearing on his face - “I’m thankful, in fact.”

“I’m sure you’ll be satisfied. But we digress. Let me brief you on your current situation.”

Jin nodded.

“First of all, let me ask you, do you come from a family of cultivators?”

“No.” - Jin shook his head.

“I assume then it’s safe to say you’re pretty much starting from zero?”

“That is correct.”

Grom nodded, and took out a slip of paper, and started writing down. After a minute or so, he handed the slip to Jin.

“You should get acquainted with these titles. Trainees will also be going over these. While there’s no rush, the quicker you go through this, the better, since all your peers already are familiar with all of the information contained there. You don’t need to read everything, a lot of information goes much more in depth than it is necessary for anyone to memorize - but you should familiarize yourself with all the concepts. You’ll be able to access all these documents in the library.”

Jin nodded again, taking the slip.

“Good. Now, let me tell you how the training of rank 1 expert looks like within our house.”

“First of all, once a trainee’s aperture is open, the information is let out and within a couple days, If a particular trainee caught an eye of a master-instructor, the instructor can claim the student. This is decided on the first come first served basis, the trainees don’t get to pick their instructor in any case. If nobody is particularly interested, the administration decides who is going to be the student’s master, usually the master with the least number of students is picked.”

Jin nodded.

“Now, remember this. Your master is the most important person in the house to you. Even if the house's head comes down and tells you to stand up, if your master tells you to sit, you sit.”

Jin nodded again. This appeared to be an important point.

“There’s no rules regarding your access time to the master. The master will be happy to help you at any time, provided he doesn’t have pressing matters, or instructs another pupil. If more than one pupil requests instruction at the same time, it is up to the instructor to split his time in the appropriate manner.”

Jin nodded again.

“It goes without saying, the instructor can engage with his proteges however he deems appropriate. The house will not interfere. Generally, the only way to escape your master is to leave the house altogether - though perhaps only the sort can negotiate if matters go too far.”

“You need not worry, while the instructor has all the freedom in managing his proteges, the house has rules which make the students’ success his lifeline within the house.”

The more Jin listened, the more some sense of anxiety mixed with excitement bubbled within him. He started being curious what kind of method would those masters employ.

He smiled.

"Ma Gu is the name of your master."

"Ma Gu?" - Jin asked

"Correct. " Grom smiled. "He’s not the type to be easy to please, however you’re quite a hot cookie among the new batch, and Ma Gu is known to prefer Serpents and Krakens as his pupils.".

"I see," Jin shrugged.

"Ma Gu specializes in refinement. He has his lodgings near the refinement hall, ask somebody around and they'll point you to his house."

"I will do so. Thank you."

"Another thing is, gusu. You probably don't have any, correct?"

"Correct" - Jin nodded

Grom handed Jin a wooden token.

"This is a wooden gusu token." Grom said before Jin managed to ask anything.

"It allows you to pick a gusu from the wooden list inside the contributions hall."

"List?" Asked Jin

"You need to ask for one in the hall. It changes quite often, so it's best to always get the latest version."

"I see" - Jin clutched the token, and put it inside his pocket.

"Thank you"

"Nothing to thank me for. This token is customarily given to any trainee who advances to rank one. It is only natural to hand you one" Grom smiled.

Then his attention got stolen by the incoming waiter.

"Perfect timing. I think that's all I was supposed to brief you on. If you have any more questions - seek out your master. Now, let's dig in." Grom suggested and so they did.

The food was great.

After the meal was finished, they said their goodbyes. Jin was a little excited. He felt that his previous restlessness was being replaced by this excitement and sense of unknown.

"Indeed. " - he thought. "The possibilities are here." Jin smiled, and started asking around for the way to the refinement hall. He found the home that was supposedly belonging to his master. It was getting very late by now though, and Jin didn’t want to push his luck. He decided to go back to his lodgings and take a good rest, as it was going to be a busy day tomorrow.