Ling Qi began her first morning as a disciple of the Sect blearily rummaging through the tiny kitchen for something simple to eat. She was quite happy that they had stocked up the previous night; she would hate to have to trudge out to the storehouse before she had a chance to properly wake up.

  Honestly, it still felt a little bizarre to think that she no longer had to worry about where her food would come from. Her musings served as ample distraction while she finished preparing breakfast. She was a bit surprised to note that Meizhen’s door was still closed, and there was no sign of the other girl waking up yet. Ling Qi hadn’t really read the girl as being the type to sleep in like this.

  A quick glance out the window as she sat down to eat showed that it was a good hour past sunrise. Even after she had finished eating and gone back to her room to make a futile effort at taming her hair and cleaning up for the day ahead, her roommate’s door remained closed. Ling Qi considered knocking, or even cracking the door open to check on her, but the other girl’s warning lingered in her mind.

  Instead, she decided to spend her morning continuing to work on the exercises given for the Argent Soul technique until it was closer to noon. Sitting cross legged in the darkened meditation room simply breathing was oddly relaxing once she had managed to still her thoughts, and Ling Qi quickly found her tiredness fading.

  Without using a spirit stone, she didn’t feel any increase in the fragile flicker of warmth remaining from last night’s meditation, but it still felt good to sense it ‘breathing’ along with her. For the first time in recent memory, she felt like she was genuinely good at something. She knew it was probably just wishful thinking on her part, but she allowed the thought to linger anyway.

  When she emerged from the meditation room, she found that Bai Meizhen had finally awakened. The girl was seated by the hearth sipping from a cup of water, looking just as immaculate as she had the day before. Ling Qi felt a twinge of jealousy at the seeming ease with which the other girl maintained her appearance. She had long since resigned herself to her own peculiarities.

  More importantly, the pale girl was different in one major way; the snake she had seen hints of was now fully visible, looped loosely around Bai Meizhen’s neck. It was an eye catching thing with bright green scales that reminded her of expensive jade. It was also quite small, only being about as wide as two fingers held together.

  The snake and girl looked up with eerie synchronicity as Ling Qi emerged, and she couldn’t help but notice that the little snake’s eyes were the exact same shade as Meizhen’s. Before the silence could become awkward, Ling Qi looked back up to her roommate’s face.

  “Oh, you’re up then. Good morning.” She didn’t feel the need to try and speak better around the other girl, who seemed to have no reaction to it either way.

  “Good morning,” Bai Meizhen responded evenly, not breaking eye contact…… or blinking. Ling Qi really wished she would blink more often. “Did your cultivation go well?”


  Ling Qi shrugged, feeling a bit self conscious. She liked to think so, but she had nothing to compare it too. “I think so. I mean…… I don’t think I managed to ‘awaken’ but I think I can feel something in my ‘dantian’ now?” Ling Qi stumbled over her words more than she would have liked.

  The pale girl simply nodded slightly in response, setting down her now empty cup. “That is expected. It would be highly unusual for you to have broken through to the Red Soul stage in a single night of cultivation without significantly greater resources.” She reached up to idly stroke the tiny spade shaped head of her serpent with one finger as she spoke and the reptile pressed itself against her touch.

  “I cannot imagine you will fail to achieve it by the end of the week should you put the effort in,” she added. Her tone was as bland as ever, but Ling Qi thought she was going for encouraging. Maybe. She also might be putting an ultimatum down; it was hard to tell.

  Despite that, Ling Qi had a feeling that this girl’s views on natural progression speeds might be a bit skewed. “I know I’ll manage it,” she responded with more confidence than she actually felt. “I have to go out though so I’ll see you later.” She’d like to ask more about some of the things the other girl touched on, but she’d be late if she did.

  Bai Meizhen responded with a small nod as Ling Qi turned to go, turning her full attention back to the serpent around her neck. The last sight she had of them was the bright green snake raising its head and hissing in Bai Meizhen’s ear, almost as if whispering to her.

  It was a clear, bright day, though the autumn chill was quite strong. Ling Qi was relieved to find that her disciple’s uniform was warm despite the fact that it was hardly winter wear. It really was the nicest set of clothing she had ever owned. She still wanted to modify it a bit, if only because of the poor fit. Perhaps she could see about breaking in the sewing kit she had been provided.

  Such thoughts were kept to the back of her head as most of Ling Qi’s focus was on ensuring that she didn’t run across trouble on the way to the plaza. She didn’t know if her ‘friendship’ with Bai Meizhen would be enough to invite real reprisal, but she didn’t feel the need to take chances.

  With no one actively looking for her and the lack of real crowds, it wasn’t difficult to simply take a circuitous route to the edge of the area. Once there, she skirted around the perimeter until she reached the entrance path carved into the mountainside. She kept her head down and slouched subtly to hide her height, making it out without trouble.

  It would get harder as time went on, but for now, her little tricks for avoiding notice were sufficient. Luckily, there were few people on the path to the plaza, and those that were traveling it were fairly scattered and too occupied with their own thoughts to pay her any mind. The plaza itself was more populated, and it was here that she first saw older disciples. There were even more of them than students her own age. Where had they come from?

  She stuck to the edge of the plaza for a time to observe but eventually relaxed. None of the older disciples seemed to have any interest in those from her group. In fact, they seemed to be almost pointedly ignoring them as they went about their business. Most headed into the large lecture building, but others simply stood around in groups chatting or heading off down the other……

  Those hadn’t been there yesterday. There were now four other gates – two on the eastern side and two on the western side – marking paths that wound up or down the mountain. Ling Qi shook her head at the sight. More magic. She really was out of her league. The confidence she had felt last night and this morning was ebbing quickly. Eventually, she moved out of the shade of the gates and begin searching for Han Jian.

  She knew it was foolish, but between her embarrassment with Sun Liling and her roommate’s…… taciturn nature, she really was looking forward to some simple, friendly interaction. She couldn’t really bring herself to be suspicious of the handsome boy.

  This was the only reason she paused rather than leave entirely when she caught sight of him already having a conversation with another disciple. It was another boy, shorter by a head than the two of them, but significantly broader at the shoulder and wider at the waist. If anything, he seemed almost Han Jian’s opposite: squat and brawny with fierce features and spiky black hair.

  She wasn’t close enough to hear them over the low murmur of sound from the rest of the plaza, but she did see that the shorter boy was doing most of the talking, gesturing wildly. He seemed to have a rather bombastic personality at first glance.

  Han Jian’s smile seemed pretty fixed. Han Jian met her eyes then, noticing her where she had stopped in the shade of one of the scattered peach trees. For an instant, Ling Qi saw something like relief in his eyes. That was enough to get her moving again. Once she had gotten closer, Han Jian raised a hand, interrupting the other boy.

  “Ling Qi! Over here! Glad you could make it.” That was one way to excuse oneself from a conversation though she wasn’t too pleased about the attention it drew to her. For his part, the shorter boy turned quickly in the direction of Han Jian’s gaze, an eager expression on his face…… only for it to fade as soon as his eyes landed on her.

  Ling Qi suppressed her frown and instead nodded politely to Han Jian as she closed the distance.

  “Good morning, Han Jian. I’m sorry if I was late.” With him, she felt she should at least make an effort at politeness.

  Ling Qi glanced at his companion. He was frowning unhappily at her. What was his problem? “Who might your-”


  “Really, Jian?” the shorter boy interrupted, giving the other boy an incredulous look. “When I heard a heartbreaker like you was coming out to meet a girl, I thought I would have a chance to meet a beauty, not a stick with pretensions!”


  His words were loud and coarse, even discounting their content. Ling Qi felt her expression freeze on her face even as Han Jian winced almost imperceptibly. If she hadn’t already noticed his discomfort with the other boy, she might have done or said something unfortunate. As it was, she held back, but only just, by clenching her teeth. In the silence that followed, Han Jian managed to rally.

  “.……Yu, isn’t that a bit much? There’s no call to be rude to another practitioner. Besides, I told you that it wasn’t anything like that.”


  “That was definitely more than a bit much,” Ling Qi interjected sourly, glaring at the shorter boy, and ignoring the unpleasant twinge that Han Jian’s words brought for no reason that she would acknowledge.

  ‘Yu’ simply waved a dismissive hand at her words, making her temper flare further. He didn’t even look at her. “She’s just a commoner, Jian. You can tell by looking. Are you really going to waste time on this?”


  Ling Qi didn’t bother saying anything this time though her expression grew darker. She couldn’t do anything about this now, but she would certainly remember the insult. Han Jian’s expression was wary as he responded.

  “I’m not going to break a promise, Yu.” It was probably the least friendly thing she had ever heard him say.

  The shorter boy snorted in response. “Fine. I suppose I won’t begrudge you your tastes, Jian. Just try not to waste too much time. I won’t stand for a brother of mine falling behind!” He stomped off on his own as his words faded into the morning air, leaving the two of them standing in awkward silence. Well, Han Jian seemed awkward. Ling Qi was seething internally.

  “So…… brother?” she asked dully, fixing Han Jian with an unimpressed expression.

  He winced, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. It was only then that she noticed the tiger cub was nowhere to be seen. “Not by blood. It’s just……” he trailed off, seemingly searching for words. “Have you ever had a peer that your parents pretty much ordered you to make nice with? It’s like that.”


  Ling Qi hadn’t ever had that experience, but she could understand what he meant. She had ‘made nice’ with less pleasant people during her time living in the streets. She felt her temper cooling. It wasn’t Han Jian’s fault.

  “Heartbreaker?” She quirked an eyebrow.

  Now, the handsome boy just looked tired and exasperated.

  “It’s a stupid joke that started a few years back because of a friend’s sisters. Yu just takes it too seriously because……” He trailed off and gestured helplessly at his handsome face.

  Ling Qi thought he sounded sincere, but she couldn’t help but be a bit more wary now. Although if she were being more reasonable, it was a little silly for a fourteen year old boy to be considered a ‘heartbreaker’. “So, what happens now?”


  He sighed. “I can give you a few tips on starting your cultivation, and if you would like, and I can help you practice a bit like I said I would,” he responded sincerely. “I’ll be going to the classes the Elders are holding in the afternoon though.”


  “So will I,” Ling Qi said, feeling a bit relieved. “Will this be a one time thing then?”


  “I figure I can spare an hour or two every few days if you’d like.” Han Jian really did seem almost too nice. His ass of a friend did have a point though. She was just a commoner; why was he willing to spend time on her? She would like the answer to be that he simply liked her, but she wasn’t sure she could believe that.

  “I would like that.” Linq Qi considered just asking him, but she couldn’t risk offending him and losing his aid. She needed every resource she could get right now. She felt a little sad that the encounter with the other boy had made her suspicious, but it was for the best.

  “Where should we start?” she asked. “My roommate helped me get a feel for my dantian, and I think I have the first breathing exercise down.”


  “Oh? That was fast,” Han Jian said, eyebrows rising. “I assume you mean the Argent Soul exercises,” he continued, to which she nodded. “I’ll leave finishing that to the Elder later. If you understand your dantian……”


  “I’m not sure I do,” Ling Qi admitted. “She kind of…… brute forced it. I get that it’s your spiritual center and where you store qi, but……” She trailed off, spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness.

  He gave her strange look, leaning back against the trunk of the peach tree they were standing under.

  “.……Right, that is the gist of it. The dantian’s not a physical organ like your heart or your stomach, but exercising and expanding it is at the core of improving your ability to hold and use qi. Think of it as the heart of your spirit.”


  Ling Qi was aware vaguely of the body’s organs, from a half remembered diagram in a physician’s text that she had stolen and pawned off last year. She wracked her thoughts for information from a text she had only flipped through in a moment of idleness while waiting for a fence.

  “Does that mean that once I awaken it, it will start moving qi through the rest of my body?”


  He smiled, and despite herself, she felt a little warmer.

  “Yeah. But unlike your physical veins, you will have to open your meridians manually. It’s…… pretty difficult and painful, but you’ll need to bear with it because your qi won’t be able to affect the world without any open channels.”


  Cultivation wasn’t easy it seemed. Ling Qi took a seat on the bench beneath the tree as they continued to talk, discussing the basics of cultivation.

  There were a very large number of potential meridians in the human body and which ones she chose to open would affect which techniques and arts she could learn. Arts were what cultivators called their magic, and techniques were individual spells within an art. Much of it went over her head, but she thought she understood the basic idea.

  Han Jian had wind-aligned meridians open in his legs, as well as fire-aligned meridians through his heart and spine. A practitioner essentially had a limited amount of space in their body to use for channeling qi, which allowed the use of arts. A meridian could only channel a single type of qi at a time, limiting the number of arts a cultivator could use. As one grew in power, their body could withstand the opening of more meridians, allowing them a greater breadth of techniques.

  It did mean that Ling Qi, who was just starting out, would be limited to a single art at first. That was troubling. If the classes turned up nothing on the matter, she might have to ask Bai Meizhen for advice.

  For all that she did enjoy the time she spent with Han Jian, it couldn’t last forever. After an hour or so, she had a slightly better handle on things, and he had corrected some mistakes she was making with the Argent Soul exercises. It was with somewhat restored confidence that she walked alongside him to the lecture hall as the sun dipped past its zenith and the time for the afternoon lessons began.

  Threads 1-New Settings

  Ling Qi stood at the edge of the grassy cliff and looked over her new home. Mountains and hills stretched in every direction, blanketed by the mists of an early fall morning, not yet chased away by the sun’s rays. In the distance the mighty slopes of the Outer Sect’s White Cloud Mountain, as she now knew it to be called, pierced the clouds, almost a third of the vast peak rising high above into the heavens.

  She wondered how her mentor Zeqing was faring, and Hanyi as well. She hadn’t had a chance to speak to the ice spirits that lived upon the frozen summit since before the qualifying tournament. She would find out soon enough, she mused – as soon as the application to continue visiting Zeqing’s home cleared the Sect’s bureaucracy. It was going to be strange, to lose access to many of the sites she had so freely used over the last year – in the interests of competition, Inner Sect disciples were restricted from visiting sites belonging to the Outer Sect, barring special circumstances. It wouldn’t do to have the more tenured students monopolise the most potent sites for years on end, or so it had been explained to her. An inconvenience, yes, but Ling Qi had no doubt that she’d be more than able to find suitable replacements.

  Scanning the rest of the horizon, the rest of the peaks were mere hills by comparison to White Cloud Mountain, barely tickling the underbelly of the cloudline. The mountain she now stood upon was no exception. Storm’s Repose, a grand name for a rather modest mountain, was the least of those belonging to the Inner Sect. Others, deeper within the titanic mountain range of the Wall, equalled or even surpassed White Cloud in altitude, with some rising so high that their peaks were deadly to cultivators of the third realm like her.

  Sixiang murmured in her thoughts, the insubstantial moon spirit’s essence tingling in her thoughts as they peered out through Ling Qi’s eyes.

  Ling Qi thought, turning away from the cliff with a swish of silk. Her dark gown swayed around her ankles, and the winglike half-cloak which hung from her back flared out, fluttering in the wind a moment too long to be natural. She couldn’t stand here all morning. She had to settle into her new abode.

  The grassy cliff she stood upon was a narrow thing, the vibrant green grass contrasting with protruding grey stone all around despite the chill of encroaching winter. Her disciple’s home was built directly into the side of the mountain, visible only by the perfectly set and framed door of darkly lacquered wood which formed its entrance.

  Sixiang asked.

  Pausing at the door, Ling Qi grimaced. That was true, but……

  her other spirit, Zhengui, muttered sleepily from her dantian. The tortoise-snake had been slipping into lengthy naps more and more since the end of the tournament.

  Ling Qi thought back grumpily to Sixiang.

  the spirit replied cheerfully.

  Ling Qi thought, sighing. Sixiang’s attention wandered at the best of times.

  “Zhengui, hang on. I’ll have a space for you soon,” she murmured aloud. She was thankful that Lady Cai had helped her expedite matters.

  Zhengui yawned in her thoughts, sinking back into slumber.

  The last few days had been an exhausting slog, most of her time spent dealing with all the set-up for entering the Inner Sect. Between paperwork for a living and cultivating space for Zhengui, then another stack of forms for permission to visit Zeqing, and yet another allowing her to spar with Meizhen, Lady Cai, and Gu Xiulan, she’d hardly had a moment to focus on anything else. She had no idea how her liege managed it.

  Stepping inside, Ling Qi found herself in a warm room of polished gray stone. A paper lantern hung from the ceiling overhead, casting the simple furniture set around the chamber in a soft and welcoming light. The lantern hung a bit low, Ling Qi noted with mild annoyance, ducking under it as she swept toward the hall that lead to the other rooms. The door closed with a quiet click behind her.

  Continuing her exploration, Ling Qi found a small kitchen and a pantry well stocked for simple meals and tea. She lingered for a moment, studying the formations on the shelves and walls meant to preserve the ingredients, clean the space, and repel pests. They were more complex than what she could compose herself; such utility had never been the focus of her formations studies.

  Next, she found an empty room full of workbenches and cupboards. This was a space meant for craftwork. It wasn’t much use to her, but poking through the cupboards turned up numerous mundane but high quality tools, from carving knives to needles to tongs and a hammer laid by a small forge in the far corner.

  Leaving the workshop behind, she next came upon a heavy wooden door banded with formation-reinforced iron. Swinging the heavy door open, Ling Qi sucked in a surprised breath as potent qi washed over her.

  a good feel,> Sixiang sighed happily as Ling Qi stepped past the threshold. The room beyond was rough. Unlike the other rooms, it seemed like a natural cavern. A glittering reverse forest of limestone stalactites hung from its high ceiling, and the floor was smooth and flat, sloping gently downward until it reached a simmering pool of liquid silver. In the center of the pool rose an outcropping of glittering yellow crystal shot through with streaks of pale green.

  This must be the lesser Argent Vent she had been assigned. Already, it felt stronger than the Argent Vent she and her friends had discovered last year, which had greatly helped them in cultivating their base cultivation. The qi in the room was potent, and Ling Qi allowed herself a few minutes to luxuriate in the mist which rose steadily from the cracks in the crystal outcropping before moving on.

  At the very back, she found a bedroom. Appointed with a simple, if comfortable, bed, a polished writing desk, and mirror, as well as a wardrobe, it wasn’t exactly a step down from her previous accommodations.

  It was hard to imagine that barely more than a year ago, Ling Qi had been sleeping in whatever warm alleyways or corners she could find. Having a real blanket would have been a luxury, she mused, patting the comforter on her new bed.

  She shouldn’t get too attached though; if she successfully ranked up to the next tier, she’d be moving into another residence. If anything, the residence that her mother and half-sister lived in in the Sect village would be more stable during her stay in the Inner Sect before she took up her duties on the Emerald Seas border for Cai Renxiang. The Sect village was more distant now, but she would make sure to make regular visits. She was determined not to abandon her mother again now that they’d reconnected once more.

  Ling Qi began to put away her few possessions, materializing them one by one from her storage ring. The dress Xiulan had gifted her went into her wardrobe. She hadn’t worn it in months, thanks to the masterpiece of talisman-craft she had earned in defending her now-liege, Cai Renxiang, but she couldn’t help but feel a little attached to it. It had been the first nice outfit she had owned in years.

  Sixiang suggested as she closed the wardrobe.

  “Where am I going to find a dress as powerful as this one?” Ling Qi scoffed.

  the spirit replied dully.

  Now that was just silly, Ling Qi thought. What if she were attacked while wearing something less potent?

  Sixiang had no response to that, and Ling Qi moved on.

  One of her newest possessions, a deep green jade badge, came next. Its flat surface held two numbers picked out in silver. First was her current rank in the Sect, Eight Hundred and Thirty. The second was her current contribution points. Thanks to the formations embedded in the jade, the numbers changed on their own. As she only needed to wear the badge for official functions, so she tucked it into the topmost drawer of her desk for now.

  Sixiang whispered. Unlike her peers, whose badges had started with a tiny “ten” for their contribution points, Ling Qi had a “twenty.”


  “I’m surprised you haven’t already picked it out,” Ling Qi said aloud. She had dreamed of that basement and chilling altar more than once. She was glad that she and Su Ling had stopped that crazed barbarian from unleashing a plague, and it seemed the Sect was as well.

  Sixiang murmured, unable to hear thoughts not directed at them.

  Ling Qi laughed under her breath as she put down the last of her new possessions, a slip of jade containing the secrets of the Argent Genesis art. Like the rest of the Argent arts, it had been created by the ancestors of Sect Head Yuan He and polished to perfection under his eye. As the successor cultivation art to Argent Soul, which had been given to all incoming Outer Sect members, Argent Genesis was given to all incoming Inner Sect members, and focused on assisting cultivators in building a strong foundation for future growth. As was usual for Argent arts, it was a balanced art, designed to mingle with almost every form of Imperial cultivation, and in particular for Genesis, a fine secondary cultivation art.

  Although her personal cultivation art, Eight Phase Ceremony, was higher quality, having been gifted by the great spirit of the Moon, Ling Qi was well aware of the benefits that the Argent cultivation arts could bring, having mastered Argent Soul during her time in the Outer Sect. Besides, the first few levels of the art seemed fairly easy to grasp.

  Today was her first true day as an Inner Sect disciple. She would have to make sure that it and all the others that would follow counted. The Duchess had set a harsh goal for her liege and herself. She couldn’t afford to fall behind.

  ***

  “It’s good to see you again, Li Suyin,” Ling Qi greeted her friend brightly as they met among the crowd heading to the earliest of the elders’ freely given basic lessons. Ling Qi thought it would be wise to attend every elder’s lesson at least once to show respect and see what knowledge was on offer.

  Her friend smiled back at her a touch nervously. Li Suyin had begun to grow her powder blue hair out again, and it now reached her shoulders. The shapeless smock she had taken to wearing in her workshop had been replaced with a gown of pale green silk with gold trim. Only the hexagonal patterned eyepatch she wore remained the same.

  “You as well, Ling Qi,” Suyin greeted politely. “Congratulations on placing so highly in the tournament.”


  “I could say the same to you,” Ling Qi said cheerfully, glancing around at the other disciples. Most looked to be only a bit older than them, but there were a scattering of people who looked quite a bit older in as much as cultivators bore the marks of early aging anyway. “Where do I put my order in for one of your meridian talismans?”


  Li Suyin’s expression grew bashful. “A-ah, well, I should have the first production batch done in a month or so? I will be sure to give you one then.”


  Ling Qi opened her mouth to protest at the gift, but a pointed look from her one-eyed friend made her close it again. She supposed she didn’t have any right to complain about charity. Li Suyin blanched then, her face growing pale. Her reaction was mirrored in a rippling wave of discomfort going through the crowd.

  “Good morning, Ling Qi,” the voice of her closest friend, Bai Meizhen, reached her ears, and Ling Qi turned to find Meizhen moving through a wide gap in the crowd with the same smooth, gliding grace that she always had. Her golden slit-pupiled eyes moved disinterestedly over the disciples gathered for the lesson before focusing on Ling Qi. “I hope your move has found you well.”


  “The ceiling is a little low,” Ling Qi grumbled, to which Meizhen responded with a raised eyebrow. The pale girl was a full head shorter than her after all. “But I am satisfied. For now,” she added cheekily.

  “Good morning, Miss Bai,” Li Suyin greeted from beside her, determined to be polite even while struggling under Bai Meizhen’s heavy aura of terror.

  Bai Meizhen glanced at her and gave a shallow nod. “Good morning,” she replied, not unkindly but with clear disinterest. “Ling Qi, is Cai Renxiang not attending this lecture?”


  “She remains busy,” Ling Qi replied apologetically. “I will be taking notes for her though,” she continued, holding up the lacquered case of writing utensils provided for the task.

  Meizhen’s lips quirked up, and even Li Suyin gave a nervous laugh. “I had wondered when it was that you had decided to be a scholar,” Meizhen said dryly.

  Ling Qi laughed as they resumed walking toward the lecture area, chatting with her friends. Well, she chatted with Meizhen. Li Suyin still seemed too nervous to speak up. It was nice. Could she have imagined a year ago that she could walk around with a straight back, and her head held high in a crowd like this?

  Putting aside her musings, the elder’s venue of choice was no lecture hall. Rather, the path led her and the other disciples into an expansive stone grotto with a softly bubbling pool at its rear. It was lit by innumerable softly glowing balls of light scattered across the artfully shaped ceiling. The grotto had never been touched by an artisan’s chisel, but it was also shaped artificially all the same. Regular sloping stone benches rose from the mossy ground in concentric half- circles radiating out from the pool at the center, broken here and there by lanes for passage.

  Ling Qi and Bai Meizhen took seats near the center while Li Suyin parted from them with a hurried bow to seat herself nearer the front. Seating herself, Ling Qi was glad that her borrowed writing case unfolded into a tray that could be laid across the lap as the benches offered no writing surface.

  She spent a few more minutes of idle chat with Meizhen as the rest of the disciples filtered in, but soon enough, she fell silent as she felt the pressure of a great presence from the center of the room. The light dimmed, and luminous mist rose from the bubbling pool at the grotto’s center, quickly resolving into the shape of a man. The figure that resolved itself from the mist was ancient and unsettling.

  The elder, clad in plain silver robes without ornamentation, was more visibly old than any cultivator Ling Qi had ever seen. His wispy, snow white hair spilled down to his shoulders, matching the long, carefully groomed beard that hung to his waist. His face was a labyrinth of wrinkles, and his eyes had the milky cast of a man blind with age, albeit one with a luminous amber light burning in his pupils.

  Most unsettlingly, he seemed not all there. At regular intervals, slow pulses of light traveled through his form, outlining his bones in radiance while his flesh seemed to fade into mist. It was as if she were looking at a ghost.

  Sixiang laughed in her head, drawing a hurried mental shush from Ling Qi. Who knew if the elder could hear the spirit?!

  The elder had appeared from the mist seated in a lotus position, hovering just above the surface of the water, and he regarded the gathered disciples in silence, stern, heavily wrinkled features giving way to a skeletal rictus before fading back in, only for the cycle to repeat.

  “I am Elder Hua Heng.” The Elder’s voice was dry and scratchy as if from long disuse, and it echoed as if rising from the bottom of a deep hole. “My final years are upon me. I have chosen to spend them spreading knowledge to new generations. Be grateful,” he said . Despite the scratchiness of his voice, he had the cadence of a professional lecturer. “You will not speak while I am lecturing nor interrupt in any way,” he ordered. “There will be a time allotted for questions at the end of the session. Am I understood?”


  The chorus of confirmation from the disciples seemed satisfactory to Elder Hua.

  “Then allow me to begin the lecture on advanced qi theory,” he began smoothly as the last voices fell silent. “You are, each and every one of you, a cultivator who has either reached the third realm or will in the near future. A significant number of you will even achieve the fourth or perhaps, higher realms. As such, it is important to ground yourself in the deeper lore of how qi functions. The simple pattern imitation of lower realms will not avail you as you advance toward the peak of the third realm and beyond.”


  Ling Qi carefully transcribed his every word, her brush flying across the page with a speed and grace that would have been impossible for her mere months ago.

  “The first piece of knowledge that you must scribe into your mind is that qi is fundamental to all things.” As the ghostly man spoke, ribbons of water rose from the water beneath him, twining around his seated form in an intricate display of control. “It is the clay from which we were shaped by the hands of Those Who Were, and it is the true form of all things. The earth and the sky are composed of qi, as is the flame and the heavenly bolt.”


  The mist and the waters shaped themselves above and around the elder, shaping a scene of two indistinct but titanic figures locked in battle with innumerable things of terrible shape.

  “However, this world is impure. Stained by the blood and essence of those who sought our destruction ‘ere the world was born, it is riddled with toxin and corruption. Age, disease, all the maladies of the mortal condition are born from this impurity. The art of cultivation, then, is expelling ever more of this impurity until the body and soul are fully cleansed.” His scratchy voice rang out over the silent grotto as the shapes in the water and mist faded, splashing back into the pool.

  “It is a task beyond the vast majority of us,” he continued, gesturing to himself. “All things in this world are composed of qi and impurities, and straining out the whole of the latter is a task only the most talented may ever accomplish.”


  Ling Qi nodded along as she copied down his words. The truth of cultivation had not been laid out so clearly to her before, but she had picked up the gist of this over the past year.

  “This truth leads to our subject matter proper. Arts are exercises and patterns of qi which bring about certain effects. Once created and refined, they may be copied by the less talented or powerful to shape the world according to the method of the art’s creator. This is accomplished by expelling qi through the shaped channels carved by your efforts through the morass of corruption which separates the soul from the physical world. The exact shape of the channel and numerous other factors determine the effect, but they also limit the number of patterns a cultivator is capable of making use of,” Elder Hua continued. “Over time, carving new channels becomes nearly impossible, but the complexity of the patterns needed for powerful arts continues to rise.”


  Ling Qi had worried over this problem as she grew better at puzzling out the requirements for her arts.

  “However, the patterns used in arts are just that, structures designed to create an effect. In the third realm, a cultivator has the potency of spirit to shape these flows more directly and personalize them for greater efficiency. In the end, no pattern made by another will match one cultivated and tailored to oneself. Thus, the focus of my lectures will be on giving you the tools to do so for yourselves going forward.” He raised one hand in a gesture for them to pause. “However. It is unwise to attempt to reshape your meridians before the threshold stage of Green Soul. Do not attempt direct manipulation of meridians before then. Until that time, satisfy yourself with simply making your arts more efficient.”


  Ling Qi leaned forward eagerly as the elder continued to speak, launching into an explanation on the meditative exercises a cultivator could perform to discover and refine the inefficiencies in an art they practiced.

  Smelting 2

  As it turned out, Dong Fu was correct. The signs were quite clear. Only a handful of other silver robed youths remained in the wide open entrance hall as she entered, and none of them paid her any more than a passing glance.

  The rear wall of the entrance hall was taken up by a massive board of ebony wood. A banner was strung up on the board, clearly delineating directions for new disciples. The spotlessly clean wooden interior of the building was honestly a little unsettling. It was unnatural; the floor was so polished that it was practically a mirror, and she couldn’t see a single scuff or mark anywhere, let alone a speck of dust.

  She couldn’t give that too much thought, however, because she was one of the last ones in. As she arrived at the sliding doors marking the entrance to hall one, she could hear the murmur of a large number of people speaking quietly within.

  Peering inside, she could see that the large room was built with a series of long desks placed on descending tiers, broken up by shallow steps going down to the pit where the lecturer’s podium stood. The desks were almost completely full, and as she stepped inside, Ling Qi caught more than one curious, dismissive, or assessing look from the crowd of chattering fourteen year olds already present. It made her hackles rise; the feeling of condescending dismissal was an almost physical thing.

  Giving herself a shake, she forced herself to ignore it and search for empty seats.

  The most obvious and first to draw her eye was a whole section which lay empty centered on a pale girl. The girl had snow white hair that fell freely down to the middle of her back and was everything Ling Qi was not: petite and dainty with almost supernaturally pale skin. She was whispering into the sleeve of her uniform, which had been personalized with a scale-like pattern in the embroidery. She seemed to be paying very little attention to her surroundings, yet she sat alone in an otherwise packed room.

  The girl raised her head then, looking toward Ling Qi. Ling Qi felt her blood run cold for as she saw the other girl’s eyes, golden and slit pupiled. A shudder of animalistic fear rippled up her spine. The moment ended when the other girl broke eye contact and returned her attention to a bright green snake which had just poked its head out of her sleeve.

  What was that? She had felt like a mouse in front of a serpent, yet the girl’s expression hadn’t even been hostile nor condescending, just indifferent.

  Ling Qi quickly turned her attention to the other possible seats. There was another girl who had a seat open next to her. She was leanly muscled with sun-darkened skin and bright red hair woven into a single braid. The splash of color stood out amidst the rest of the room.

  Strangely, she was wearing a partial boys uniform: a pair of baggy pants rather than a robe and a silken sleeveless shirt. Ling Qi might have thought her a feminine boy if not for how…… stretched the shirt she wore was. Unlike the others, who were seated with meticulous posture, she sat with her feet propped on the desk in front of her and a bored expression on her face. Her gaze briefly flickered Ling Qi’s way before the laid back girl seemed to dismiss her as unimportant.

  Further down, there was an open seat adjacent to the steps next to a tall boy, tall enough that she wouldn’t be looking down at him if they stood face to face. He was…… well, a little handsome Ling Qi could admit, in the classical way, with noble features and good proportions. But not girlish, the way some nobles and wealthy sorts could get.

  Mainly, her attention was drawn by the gold furred tiger cub curled up on top of his head. She stared for a moment, but no one else seemed to think it odd. When he noticed her look, the boy gave her a friendly smile and a slight nod that made the cub on his head growl unhappily.

  The last available seat was in the room’s far corner next to a short young man with with shaggy brown hair and a rather nasty burn scar extending across his right cheek, down his neck, and under his shirt. It was quite ugly, and it took a moment to pull her eyes from the scar to look at the rest of him. He was of middling height and compact build. Just from a glance, she would guess him to be one of the few others in this room to be of the same…… social class as her. He certainly looked as out of place and uncomfortable as she felt.

  When he met her eyes, his gaze was measuring and wary. Her eyes skittered away immediately. He reminded her too much of Tonghou, and wasn’t she going to leave that behind?

  Ling Qi glanced between the open seats, but in the end, the choice was obvious. Dong Fu’s advice still echoed in her ears, and…… if she was honest with herself, she wanted to follow it.

  It came down to loneliness in the end. If there was one thing Ling Qi’s effort to remain unconstrained had failed to give her, it was friends. Given Mother’s occupation, that pool had always been limited to begin with and living as she had for the last four years had not allowed her to spend a long time in anyone’s company.

  With that in mind, she chose the option that at least seemed friendly. She began to make her way down the stairs toward the handsome boy with the tiger cub at a sedate pace. Even if his friendliness was a facade, it was better than indifference or hostility.

  That seemed to trigger most of those who had been looking at her askance to go back to their own conversations. Now that she had the opportunity to study them, Ling Qi could see that there seemed to be several cliques among those seated here. She was no socialialite, but she could see that there was no room for someone like her there.

  As she came to a stop next to the desk where the boy was seated, she did her best to put her doubts and worries aside, but it was a difficult thing.

  “D’you mind if I sit here?” The words escaped her before she could really think about it, and she clenched her fists under her sleeves. She had been trying to remember to speak formally, but it wasn’t something that came naturally to her anymore. Now he was going to think she was……

  “Sure thing.” His laid back words cut off her internal panic. The boy shifted in his seat, moving over a bit to give her more room. The easy smile he gave her absolutely did not make her heartbeat speed up.

  “You were kinda cutting it close though, weren’t you?” He had a slight accent that she couldn’t place, which combined with his laid back attitude, seemed to draw his words out oddly.

  Ling Qi hastily seated herself before too much attention could be drawn to her embarrassed flush. Not that most were likely to care, her more reasonable side would point out. She glanced up to find him regarding her with something like amusement.

  The tiger cub curled up atop his head seemed to be sleeping again, and she briefly wondered how it hadn’t fallen when he’d turned his head to look at her.

  “My carriage only just arrived,” she responded, more defensively than she would have liked. She suddenly remembered that she hadn’t introduced herself yet.

  “I am Ling Qi by the way,” she said quickly. “If…… ah, you were wondering, I……” She hated the way her voice trailed off into awkward uncertainty. Let her slip through a busy street dipping her hands into pockets or stand up to a fence trying to swindle her, and she could be confident. Apparently, friendly conversation could make her composure crumble in moments.

  Worst of all, her damn hair was working its way loose again. She already had a few unruly strands drifting in front of her eyes.

  For his part, the boy gave her an odd look out of the corner of his eye as she hunched her shoulders, feeling stupid.

  “Han Jian,” he said after a moment. “Nice to meet you. Can’t say I recognize the name. If your carriage just got here, you must be local so that makes sense. My tutors always complained about me not paying enough attention.” He says the last with a self-deprecating smile.

  His easy acceptance eased the tension Ling Qi felt and allowed her to sit up straighter. Doing so made her notice that aside from Han Jian, she just might be the tallest person in the room. So much for standing out less.

  Still, the implied question made her feel awkward. Was he only being polite because he thought she might be someone of noble birth like him? He seemed almost too casual to be a noble though.

  “My family isn’t very important,” she decided to hedge. “Where are you from? I’m, I mean, I am not familiar with yours either.” She stumbled over the words more than she would have liked, but she felt that it was still a decent deflection.

  He laughed, and Ling Qi felt the corners of her lips quirk up. It was hard to stay tense around him.

  “Guess we’re both a couple of slackers then,” he responded, sounding amused. “The Han family is from the Golden Fields province.” He seemed really amused but also…… almost relieved?

  Golden Fields…… the name was vaguely familiar as if she had heard it once a long time ago. It came to her then. Golden Fields was the easternmost province of the empire, and more importantly……

  “Oh, the Grave of the Sun. I didn’t think someone would come from so far away.” She trailed off as she noticed that his smile had gone rather stiff.

  Did she say something rude? The story of Lu Guanxi and his final stand was famous. He was one of the Empire’s greatest heroes. She couldn’t really think of a reason why mentioning the hero would offend him. Maybe his family had sent him away and he didn’t like being reminded of how far away he was?

  He gave a slightly forced laugh. “Yeah, that’s the one. I guess most people only remember us for that old story these days.”


  Ling Qi looked away awkwardly, pursing her lips. What had she said? She cast around for a change of subject to hopefully end the uncomfortable silence. Eventually, her eyes settled back on his pet, which she noticed had now opened its eyes and was staring down at her with the sort of imperious disdain that only a feline could manage.

  “So…… where did you get your pet? I’ve never seen one like that.” Truly, she was a master of conversation and that wasn’t stilted at all.

  Why did it feel like the little tiger cub was glaring at her now?

  He blinked, but accepted the subject change. “I was introduced to Heijin by my Grandmother a few years back when I managed to awaken my qi. He’s not really a pet though, more like a little cousin.”


  What was that supposed to mean? Ling Qi had heard of some people treating their animals like family, so maybe he was just one of those. She was about to ask for clarification when a muffled boom cut through the buzz of conversation in the room.

  Like the others in the room, her attention was drawn to the source of the sound. It came from below where a tall, thin man had appeared at the lecturer’s podium. He was even now lowering his hands back to his side as if he had simply clapped for their attention.

  Ling Qi frowned as she studied the man. There was something about him which set her on edge. Perhaps it was his almost unnaturally bland and thin features, clean shaven down to the eyebrows, or the slightly gray tone of his skin. If she didn’t know better, she would think him ill……

  Or maybe it was the eye searing shades of pink and lilac he was garbed in. It was bizarre seeing what looked like the robes of a high minister in such an undignified shade. How had someone wearing such loud colors gotten past her like that? There was no door down there, so he must have come through the same entrance she had.

  She glanced over at Han Jian, but he didn’t seem particularly surprised. She forced herself to relax a bit. It was some form of magic obviously, and not something which anyone else seemed concerned about though a few of the students had been startled out of their seats.

  “Welcome to the Argent Peak Sect, children,” the strange, bald man said as he clasped his hands behind his back. His expression was one of careful neutrality, but she thought she could see amusement twinkling in his grey…… no, green, no…… in his eyes, which seemed to rapidly change colors.

  “I am Sect Elder Sima Jiao, Head of the Talisman Department, and it seems that it is my turn to greet our new arrivals.” So this man was the one in charge of creating talismans like the spirit repelling totems placed around villages and cities? He must be incredibly wealthy. No wonder he could get away with dressing so outlandishly.

  Then she remembered the ridiculous hat her driver had worn. Perhaps becoming Immortal compelled one to dress strangely? While Ling Qi pondered the fashion sense of cultivators, Elder Jiao had clasped his hands behind his back and was giving her and the other students an assessing look.

  “I am terribly busy on the best of days so I will not ramble on. To be honest, it is likely that the majority of you will never amount to anything beyond the outer sect where you stand now, and are thus…… not particularly worthy of my time.” His blithe dismissal drew a grumble from the gathered students, Ling Qi among them. Han Jian’s serene expression didn’t change though. Perhaps he was simply that confident. Seeing that, Ling Qi let out a breath, reigning in her irritation.

  “It is simply reality. Nothing to be ashamed of,” the Elder continued, not unkindly. “In any case, your first years here will serve the purpose of separating those with only minor potential from those with true talent. This is why no one will be allowed to leave the sect grounds during the first year, nor will any correspondence be allowed in or out in the first three months.”


  That seemed to surprise some of the other disciples, setting off a wave of whispers, though no one dared to openly question the elder. It didn’t bother Ling Qi though. What did she have outside this place? Perhaps she would enjoy a stroll through her original home when she had made something of herself, but until then, why bother?

  “Be silent,” Elder Jiao said then, pulling her attention back to him. “You will have time enough for mortal concerns later. Today and in the future, you are disciples of the Argent Peak. The foundation you lay in the first steps of your path will shape the rest of your lives. There is no need for distractions from the outside world.” His odd, color-shifting eyes swept over the room as his stern expression softened back into the same easy amusement he showed at the beginning of his speech.

  “The only other rule is that you may not kill or permanently maim your fellow disciples nor may you damage or steal sect property. In addition, there is to be absolutely no violence between you newcomers for the first three months. Conflict is important for your growth, but it would not do to allow potential to be cut off before it can even begin to bloom.”


  His words, delivered in a light tone still sent a chill down Ling Qi’s spine. It seemed things wouldn’t be so different from home after all. She found herself eyeing her fellows in a new light, as possible enemies and obstacles.

  Ling Qi was brought up short only when she saw Han Jian giving her a reassuring smile. Only then did she noticed that her hands resting on the desk in front of her had clenched nervously. She did her best to return her current companion’s smile, but the expression was a little wan.

  It was unlikely that she could rely on someone whom she had only shared a brief conversation with. She managed to calm herself after another few moments; worrying for her safety was nothing new. Besides, the Elder was speaking again, and she needed to pay attention.

  “Each of you will be granted an allowance of five red spirit stones per month and access to the Argent Soul Art,” he continued, confusing her. She had no idea what either of those things were.

  “For those of you not aware,” he added, “spirit stones are the currency of the Immortals, more valuable than gold or silver.” Ling Qi was suddenly all too aware of the way his unsettling gaze rested on her before passing to a handful of other students in the room.

  “Cultivation requires the consumption of the energy in said stones, at least until one masters certain other arts. I would suggest frugality. As for the Argent Soul Art, it is the beginners form of the Sect’s cultivation art. It is exceptional for early growth, if somewhat less effective for mature cultivators.” The older man rolled his shoulders then and glanced toward the door.

  “All of your mortal necessities will be provided in the Sect at no further cost. Behind this building are two paths leading to the residential areas. You will be segregated by gender, of course.” He smiled as if amused by some private joke. “I would not suggest trespassing in the wrong zone. Rooming arrangements will be up to you, but expect to room with at least one other disciple. For the first three months, two Elders will be on the mountain to provide beginner’s training in, the physical and spiritual aspects of our arts respectively. I suggest you seek them out because you will need to earn such elder attention later.

  “All else will be up to you, your skill, and your talent.” He unclasped his hands and brought them back up to rest on the podium, but they were no longer empty. Instead, he held a large jewelry box made of dark green jade. “Now, if you would file up in an orderly fashion, I will be handing out your first month’s allowance.”


  As she stood, preparing to join the forming line below, Han Jian spoke up quietly from beside her. He was now standing as well, and Ling Qi noted that she had been right. He was actually taller than her; it felt strange to look up at someone her own age. Heijin, his tiger cub had migrated from his head to his shoulder, clinging to the fabric with his……? little kitten claws. The tiger cub was still giving the impression of glaring at her.

  “Do you need a couple of pointers on getting started?,” he asked, sounding a bit awkward. “I couldn’t help but notice you aren’t actually awakened yet. You just seemed a little on edge, you know?” He followed Ling Qi as she stepped out into the aisle to join the line.

  “Thank you,” Ling Qi responded after a moment. He had seemed friendly enough, and it wasn’t as if she had anything he could possibly want.

  “How would I contact you though?” Ling Qi asked.

  He hummed thoughtfully as the line shuffled forward. “Hm, I’ll wait out in the front plaza here around noon tomorrow. That sound good? I’d rather not end up with last pick of the housing today.”


  She supposed she didn’t have much choice in the matter. She nodded her assent and fell silent. Making conversation was more tiring than she thought.

  She soon received her allowance of spirit stones and a scroll case containing her new ‘cultivation art’. No one had come out and said it, but she thought it likely that it was necessary for ‘awakening’ since they were giving it out to everyone. She would have to read it later, and practice. Perhaps she could surprise Han Jian come tomorrow? The thought was oddly pleasing.

  For now though, Ling Qi thought as the line moved forward, she had to make sure that she would be able to keep these ‘gifts’. The first step to that would be seeing to her housing.