《Universal Knowledge of the Dao》


 1 Little Sumi

    Shin Sumi''s dad thought it was about time. He slowly pushed the creaking door open.


    "Little Sumi, I want to talk to you about something."


    "Father ?"


    Shin Sumi lifted her head from the book she was reading. When reading, she was often close to being lost in another world, hence why she hadn''t even heard the door open.


    Her dad looked at her for a second.


    She had long black hair, shining with the light of the fire next to her. Her locks were contouring her face seemingly carved out of the purest jade.


    "Yes she is beautiful" thought her father, "every official from the big city would want to marry her off to their sons".


    "Little Sumi, you turned fourteen recently. You are a woman now. It is time you get married. Listen, you father has..."


    "Father please. We have had that conversation already. I don''t want to be married off to someone I don''t know from the big city !"


    "You know how important that could be for the family ! Right now I, your father, am just a mayor from this small East Seaside village. If we could get you into one of the family of the Lord''s officials, our life would be even better ! You could have maids helping you daily, and I''m sure your husband would provide you with many books from the big city library !"


    "I don''t want a husband, and I can always ask Second Uncle for the books. He is the Chief Librarian of the big city library. I want to become the next Chief Librarian, I don''t want to get married into some officials'' family."


    Shin Sumi''s father looked at her with gentle but resolute eyes.


    "Sumi, I have already decided. Tomorrow someone from Official Yane''s house will come pick you up. You will live there for a time before all the arrangements for the wedding are made."


    Sumi''s eyes started to redden as she got up. Her foot stomped the ground before she left the room, the tears in her blue eyes blurring her vision.


    She stormed through the main door of the residence before turning to the auxiliary building on the left of the courtyard.


    The Shin family mansion was the biggest in the village. But compared to the houses of the people from the big city that wanted her, it would have been considered crude.


    The golden carps from the pond stopped moving for a breath''s worth of time as she ran past them.


    As soon as she entered the auxiliary building, her agitated heart started to calm to a slow and steady rhythm.


    "It is because of the smell of the incense that Doctor Wen lit for mother" she thought.


    Shin Sumi put her head through the entrance to her mother''s room, verifying that nobody was around. Doctor Wen didn''t like people visiting because it disrupted Shin Sumi''s mother''s rest.


    Her mother was asleep. She had been bedridden for the last few months since she got sick.


    With Shin Sumi''s father being the mayor of East Seaside village, and her brother Shin Wuya having been taken as an apprentice scholar in the big city, nobody visited Shin Sumi''s mother for very long periods of time.


    Only Shin Sumi went to see her when she wasn''t reading her books in her chamber.


    When her mother was awake, Shin Sumi would talk to her and try to make her smile.


    Usually Shin Sumi would bring a book to her mother''s bedside, and would read patiently if she was asleep.


    This time she didn''t bring anything with her, not even the pickled plums that her mother loved.


    Sitting on her knees next to her mother, Shin Sumi closed her eyes for a few breath''s of time.


    She listened to her mother''s rugged breathing, her sick lungs forcefully trying to circulate the incensed air to make her better.


    Shin Sumi considered waking her up, but as she was about to put her hand on her shoulder, she refrained herself.


    "No, she is going to take father''s side" she muttered to herself. "I am sorry mother, your daughter has disappointed you."


    Without another word for her sleeping mother, Shin Sumi left like a shadow.


    She didn''t return to her chamber. Her father was probably there waiting for her to return.


    Instead she turned to the main gate of the mansion.


    At this time of day, nobody was guarding the gate. After all East Seaside village was relatively small, and there was virtually no records of any kind of trouble that would require guards patrolling all day everyday.


    Shin Sumi didn''t take another look at the Shin family mansion where she had lived all her life. She would not return until she could attain her goal of becoming a Chief Librarian.


    Shin Sumi knew the road to the big city fairly well. She would often accompany her father when he had to go report monthly matters and taxes to the Officials.


    For her, it was always a good opportunity to go see her Second Uncle and the library.


    She would usually take books she had previously read with her, to exchange them for new ones, but this time she left without anything. After all, all of her books were in her chambers.


    "I am sure Second Uncle will understand, and have them picked up later by someone from the library."


    Shin Sumi had planned to hide with her Second Uncle for some time and learn from him how to become a librarian.


    "Second Uncle has always been nice to me, providing me with the best books. If I ask him not to, he will not say anything to father. And when I become a real librarian, nobody will be able to force me to marry against my will !"


    Her dream was something hard to achieve for a woman, but Shin Sumi was convinced she could do it with the uncle she idolized as her instructor.


    It was with resolute determination that she walked along the big city road for more than two hours.


    She would occasionally hide behind bushes from the passing horse carriages, just in case her father sent someone looking for her.


    She was getting tired and hungry, and the sky was turning dark, but she continued to walk. The comfort of her home and her reading chair next to the fireplace made her reconsider her decision a few times, but Shin Sumi would then clinch her fists and keep on walking.


    It was at that moment of the day when the red oblique sun lights would shine on the lands that Shin Sumi was almost surprised to see a lone man on a horse.


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    She hadn''t heard him at all and had just enough time to run behind a tree nearby before the man emerged from the cover of the woods.


    As she waited patiently, the man slowed down and proceeded to dismount his horse and attach it to a tree on the other side of the road.


    "Oh no, don''t tell me he is one of those messengers that would stop for the night anywhere ?"


    Shin Sumi was getting a bit scared. She was the daughter of a mayor, and had always lived in a relative comfort. Her travel experience was basically nonexistent, but she knew what could happen to a young woman like her in a remote place.


    But now she was stuck. She couldn''t really walk past her hiding place because the man would spot her. But she couldn''t walk back either.


    Shin Sumi considered waiting here for the man to fall asleep, but then she would have to walk the rest of the way to the big city without any light.


    Her only option was to make her way through the woods, and get back to the big city road further along, hoping that she would arrive before everything would turn completely dark.


    Slowly taking one step after another, she crept backward, putting more distance between her and the road.


    When she was finally out of the man''s sight, she turned around and continued her walk, now through the middle of the woods .


    The Silver Sea region was relatively small, and the woods were never really dense. Added to that, the beasts she had read about in her books almost never liked being close to the sea, which made the region reasonably tranquil and safe.


    The only things a girl like Shin Sumi could fear were travelers. Weary after long days of walking, men could turn into something worse than beasts, ready to pounce on a good looking young woman at first sight.


    Shin Sumi sauntered for a long time, occasionally turning to her right hand side.


    "This is strange. Normally I should have been back on the road by now " she thought. She was starting to get scared.


    "Am I going to die here from hunger, lost in the woods ? I have not even reached the big city. Father, mother, uncle, Sumi is sorry, I really have disappointed all of you this time."


    She was about to give in to her situation and stop walking when the corner of her eye caught something strange.


    It was something like a tiny wisp of light in the darkness of the woods. The small flame was a dark green color, but oddly enough, it shone brightly.


    Shin Sumi had the weird thought that even during daytime the dark flame would shine brighter than anything else.


    Intrigued by the dancing flame, Shin Sumi followed it, seemingly in a trance.


    The wisp was moving between the trees, further and further into the heart of the forest. But Shin Sumi was already lost and she wasn''t even thinking about getting back to the road at the time.


    She couldn''t take her eyes away from the light for even a moment. It was as if she had lost the ability to blink.


    Remembering something from a book about the legends of the Immortal world, she began to speak out loud.


    "Sometimes when people whose karma isn''t resolved die, their soul will roam the world until their vows are completed" Shin Sumi said from memory. "Could it be a lost soul ?"


    She had stopped believing in all the legends concerning the Immortals, Divine Beasts and otherworldly beings a long time ago. She knew that it was just fantasies. But the dancing flame before her was very real.


    She followed it until she arrived at a clearing. There, another dark green wisp came into existence, seemingly from nothing. And then another. And another.


    Soon Shin Sumi was surrounded by tens of luminous dancing flames, but strangely she didn''t feel even an ounce of fear.


    As she advanced towards the middle of the clearing, the wisps spread around her to mark her path. She followed the path until she was standing before a very old tree stump.


    The stump was ancient and the tree had nearly completely rotted away, but Shin Sumi still sensed the smell of young sprouts after a rainy day. It wasn''t unpleasant at all.


    Under the light of the many wisps, Shin Sumi began to observe the stump a bit more closely.


    "Maybe these wisps really are souls. But why would they want to take me here ? What kind of tree is that ? It looks so old that even the stump is nearly rotten."


    She wasn''t paying attention to her feet as she got closer and closer, looking at the stump, and suddenly lost her footing when she stepped on the side of a root.


    She fell face first onto the old greyish green stump, and the moment she made contact with it, everything around her disappeared.


    She couldn''t see the wisps anymore, and the stump was nowhere to be seen.


    Instead the only thing she saw was a great void with some kind of golden tree in front of her. But as soon as the tree appeared, it started to wither.


    Shen Sumi watched as the tree withered at an incredible speed. Soon it was little more than a grey stump. But as the stump turned into ash, it revealed a white fruit hidden inside.


    The fruit was not completely white and seemed to have leaf like patterns on its surface. But the strangest thing of all was that it seemed to be pulsing like a beating heart.


    Shin Sumi was completely lost in her trance as the fruit started to spiral in her direction. She tried to move but she suddenly found herself unable to.


    In this dark void she couldn''t control herself at all, and she could only watch passively as the fruit slammed into her with great speed.


    She closed her eyes right before the moment of impact, but she felt nothing.


    ***


    When she regained consciousness, Shin Sumi found herself lying on the floor. She was on her belly, and her head was pressing into a hard surface.


    "Did I hit my head when I fell ? What a strange dream " she thought as she tried to open her eyes a few times.


    Her head was hurting, she really must have hit her head on the stump.


    As she finally opened her eyes, Shin Sumi noticed that it was now daylight.


    "Oh no, I am still lost in the forest ! Father will be looking for me, I need to find the way to the big city soon !"


    She was still a little bit stunned but she had not forgotten the reason why she left home.


    Upon getting up, Shin Sumi looked all around her. Something strange was going on. The stump wasn''t there anymore. In fact the whole clearing seemed to have vanished as she now found herself in the middle of a dense forest.


    "What happened to me ? I remember clearly following the wisp and seeing a grey tree stump, just like in that weird dream !"


    Looking at her feet and clothes covered in mud and still damp from the morning dew, she opened her eyes wide.


    "What is that ?"


    Shin Sumi spoke out loud, bending over to pick up the thing her head was laying on.


    It was a book. A really old book. The cover was leathery and reminded her of the bark of a tree, with leaf like patterns all over.


    Shin Sumi tried to open it, but the book was magically sealed. She couldn''t do anything to it.


    She was contemplating the book and pondering about what happened when suddenly the book started to tremble.


    Inside her hands, the book started spinning on itself, faster and faster, turning into a dark green vortex.


    When it finally stopped turning and landed back into the hands of the flabbergasted Shin Sumi, it was no longer a book. It was more like a nut. Or a small shell.


    She had no idea what just happened and started thinking that maybe she hit her head harder than she thought when a swooshing noise came from over her head.


    In the blink of an eye, a young man landed right in front of her.


    The shy and polite Shin Sumi would never have talked with a stranger usually, but she opened her mouth and spoke a few words.


    "Were you flying right now ?"


    The man who had landed looked at her and replied "Is it your first time seeing an Immortal ?"


    Unknowingly, Shin Sumi closed her hand around the nut she was still holding.


    Without waiting for an answer, in one fell swoop, the young man picked Shin Sumi by the waist and lifted her from the ground.


    "Don''t worry, my name is Fen Wudao, I''m a cultivator from the Dark Sky Starry Sect. I was flying back to my sect when I sensed a unusual Shinsoo. It turns out you have a lot of talent for cultivation. What is your name ?"


    "Immortal Fen, this one''s humble name is Shin Sumi."


    "You can call me Senior Brother. Now try to rest for a bit and close your eyes, we have a long road in front of us and the wind will make you cry."


    Shin Sumi wanted to ask him to put her down, or bring her to the big city. She didn''t want to be taken away to an Immortal Sect !


    She was about to reply when the small nut still inside her hand suddenly bit her.


    "Ouch !"


    "Is there something wrong ? " Fen Wudao asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.


    Once again she wanted to say something, but the nut bit her again. She felt it twisting and moving away from her hand. In an instant it had moved up her sleeve and into her garments. It finally stopped moving when it reached right in between her breasts.


    "No, Senior Brother Fen, it was nothing."


    For some reason, after the bites of what she thought was a nut, Shin Sumi didn''t feel like going to the big city anymore.


    Something told her to close her eyes, and she slowly drifted into sleep, while they were flying at high speed through the air, over the woods and far away from the big city and its library.

 2 The tests of the Immortals

    Shin Sumi woke up with the change in altitude as Fen Wudao was landing.


    Shin Sumi felt refreshed. She didn''t know how long she slept for, but she had needed it. After looking at the sun high up in the sky she estimated their flight to have been about five hours long.


    Fen Wudao slowly let her go and Shin Sumi tumbled on the grass.


    "My bad, Junior Sister Shin, I can''t quite control my flight yet. I''m just a fourth step Liquid Realm cultivator. I was only given this winged arrow recently."


    Up until now, Shin Sumi hadn''t seen the small silvery arrow that was under Fen Wudao''s feet.


    "Thank you for bringing me here, Senior Brother Fen" she said while giving a courtesy bow. "Hmm... Where are we ?"


    "We are at the foot of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. This is where mortals start their enrolling process. It is a bit difficult sometimes, but with your natural talent, Junior Sister Shin, you shouldn''t face many troubles to enter the sect as a honorary disciple."


    Shin Sumi was quite at a loss. "Natural talent ?" she thought, "Do I have any ?"


    Seeing her puzzled expression, Fen Wudao pointed to two different directions with both his hands before announcing "If you want to enter the Dark Sky Starry Sect, you have to climb the stairs until you reach the first gate. If at any point you want to renounce, if you feel that you cannot do it, just take this hidden path back to the mortal domains."


    "The path can only be entered one way though. If you give up there is no coming back. It is a path specially designed to disappear once you reach the end. And it also fends off all beasts that could threaten your journey."


    Adding another sentence, Fen Wudao said "I am confident in your talent, you should really give it your all. As a matter of fact I already consider you as my Junior Sister. What I said right now, I was given orders to say it to any mortal recruited."


    Shin Sumi didn''t respond at all and just gave another bow as the young man started to drift away on his silver arrow.


    "If you succeed, come find me at the third gate in two days !"


    Shin Sumi stayed where she was for a few minutes while she was deciding what to do.


    In the end she really felt like she wasn''t fit to be an Immortal.


    "I guess learning how to fly would be nice. But in all the stories I''ve read about Immortals, it''s all about fighting and killing. I am not made for this. I just want to read books."


    Recalling how she didn''t ask Fen Wudao to bring her to the road or the big city earlier, she thought "I don''t know why I didn''t say anything back then, I guess I was just intimidated by Senior Brother Fen."


    Looking one last time at the set of stairs that disappeared into the mountain, Shin Sumi turned around towards where Fen Wudao pointed the hidden path was.


    But before she could even set foot on the glowing stone that marked the beginning of the path, she felt a stab of pain right against her breasts.


    "Ayii ! What is ... oh."


    Shin Sumi totally forgot about the nut she had picked up earlier. The nut had slid between her breasts and was stuck there by the folds of her garments.


    "How could I forget about the book that turned into a biting nut ? I should ask Second Uncle about it. Maybe he has a book about it." she said out loud while taking the nut out of her outfit and into her hand.


    Once again she tried to leave the mountain but before her foot touched the stone, the nut bit her again.


    The bite was harder this time, and hurt quite a lot.


    "Why doesn''t this thing want me to leave ? Too bad, I''m not taking you with me if you keep biting."


    And with that she threw it away.


    As soon as the nut left her hand, a small vortex started to appear, and the nut started to turn into a book.


    It was exactly the same thing that happened earlier after her strange dream with the stump, but reversed.


    It only lasted for a second, though, before the book turned back into a grey nut, in mid air, it flew back to her.


    It immediately wiggled across her body, returning to between her breasts and biting her as she sneakily tried to leave.


    Shin Sumi was starting to be genuinely annoyed by the moving book-nut.


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    She tried a few more times to get rid of it, but every time the nut lost contact with her skin, it would turn into a book and then back into a nut flying in her direction.


    Shin Sumi tried to avoid it but it was too fast for her, and would always find itself back against her chest in less than a breath''s worth of time.


    "Fine, you know what ? If I can''t get rid of you, I''m gonna try to go up the stairs. But when I fail, don''t bite me again when I leave !"


    She was almost depressed when she realized she had been talking out loud to a nut. But what was said was said, and for some reason she felt like she couldn''t go back on her words anymore.


    The nut stopped biting suddenly as she took angry steps towards the old stone stairs.


    ***


    Shin Sumi walked up the stairs for a few hours.


    She usually was not used to doing so much exercise, and could feel her legs getting weaker and weaker with each step. But every time she slowed down or stopped, the nut would bite her.


    Strangely the bites would always be followed by a small surge of energy, allowing Shin Sumi to walk for a long time after it.


    This way, almost ten hours passed, but Shin Sumi was still walking, seemingly without seeing the passing of time, looking at her swollen feet.


    She had never been out of breath like this before, and was at the point of giving up.


    The sky had turned dark again. Shin Sumi sat down on the step, and strangely the nut didn''t bite her this time.


    A faint and tired smile showed up on her red lips as she closed her eyes and thought "Finally I give up. I can no longer walk. I did what I said I would, now I just want to go back to the city after a little rest. I miss home. I miss my parents, I miss Second Uncle, I miss my books."


    She was starting to consider going back home after all this.


    "I can always escape from father again and become a librarian"


    Yes, this is what she would do.


    But unfortunately for her, the strange nut woke up again.


    Wiggling against her skin, the nut slowly started to tickle Shin Sumi.


    She thought she didn''t have any strength left, but she found herself moving in an uncontrolled manner as she attempted to free herself from the nut.


    She even stood up and started slapping the different parts of her body where she could feel the nut.


    It was at this point that she saw a bright white light a few dozen meters ahead of her.


    As soon as she saw the light, the nut stopped moving, returning to its usual place.


    "I... I did it ?"


    It was unexpected. She had not been paying attention and was at the point of giving up right in front of the end of the stairs.


    Shin Sumi hesitated for a few seconds, but this time her curiosity won her over and she started walking again.


    She had thought she couldn''t walk anymore, but with all the tickling she just endured, she knew she still had enough for a couple dozen stone steps.


    The first gate of the Dark Sky Starry Sect was a grand arch luxuriously decorated. It was almost ten meters tall and stood at the top of the stone stairs like an Immortal hand helping the tired mortals.


    As soon as Shin Sumi walked through the arch, she felt refreshed, and her mouth that had been thirsty for a long time felt normal again. Even her belly that had been growling for the entire walk up the stairs was silent again.


    "So that is how Immortals live ?"


    Shin Sumi saw two luxurious buildings, each at the opposite side of a grand stone platform. At the end of the platform was another gate like the first one.


    Everything was brightly lit, even in the middle of the night. The weirdest thing of all was that there was no lamp around.


    "It''s almost as if the buildings themselves are glowing ! I can''t believe it !"


    The first gate was the main entrance to the sect. It was a place where the magical barriers defending the whole sect impeded every person who was not part of the sect. That was the reason why Fen Wudao could directly fly in but Shin Sumi had to walk the long stone stairs.


    Coincidentally it provided a good opportunity for a test of perseverance. This way, every mortal that wished to join the Dark Sky Starry Sect would have to prove their determination.


    Shin Sumi had passed the first test.


    A young man who didn''t seem to be much older than Shin Sumi was sitting cross legged at the center of a platform, in front of a big stele that was glowing in shades of purple.


    He seemed asleep to Shin Sumi, but he opened his eyes as soon as she entered within a twenty meters radius of him.


    The young man was a first step Liquid Realm disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect called by everyone "Little Azu". He didn''t have a great talent and had been put in charge of the second test for the mortals that wished to enter the sect.


    As soon as he opened his eyes, his jaw dropped and his eyes started to bulge visibly.


    "A girl ? And a very cute one at that !! Quick, I have to look good !"


    Little Azu jumped to his feet and almost instantly seemed to regain his countenance.


    Clearing his throat, he announced loudly in a voice too low to truly be his own "Mortal ! Welcome to the Dark Sky Starry Sect, the most powerful Immortal Sect this side of the Blue Fire mountain range ! I am Immortal Lit.. I mean Immortal Azu."


    Shin Sumi looked at him with a quizzical expression. She was still impressed because the young man was an Immortal. But compared to the impression Fen Wudao had made on her, this Daoist Azu and his fake voice was simply... comical.


    She gave a very light bow as she simply replied "This humble one is Shin Sumi. I was brought here by Senior Brother Fen Wudao. I look forward to your guidance, Senior Brother Azu."


    The youth standing proudly with his hands clasped behind his back felt very happy with the way she addressed him. He was usually called Little Azu by everyone, even the honorary disciples that had not even reached the Liquid Realm.


    But as soon as he heard the three words "Senior Brother Fen Wudao", all the air seemed to leave his lungs as Little Azu gasped loudly.


    Who was someone like Fen Wudao ? He was only a year older than him and was already a fourth step Liquid Realm cultivator ! And how Shin Sumi casually used his name, clearly she had some relation with him.


    Using his real voice this time, he quickly replied "Sister Shin, I didn''t know you were a friend of Senior Brother Fen ! We are all friends here, please call me Little Azu like everyone else ! I will be in charge of conducting the second test for you."


    Turning to the grey stele behind him, Little Azu continued.


    "There are three tests to become a honorary disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. The first one was the endurance test. You passed this one by arriving here. The second test is the talent test. It''s easy, you just put your hand on the surface and the test stone will light up according to your talent."


    "Red means basic talent. Then there is orange, yellow, green and blue. Last is purple, meaning extreme talent. No one has succeeded in making the stone turn purple in the last ten or so generations. Even colors above yellow are rare, so you shouldn''t feel bad if you get red or orange. As long as the test stone changes color, you pass the test."


    Little Azu''s cultivation base was not nearly as high as Fen Wudao''s, but even he could feel the Shinsoo fluctuations around Shin Sumi.


    Shin Sumi was very intrigued by the stone stele and figured she would give it a try.


    After all she walked all the way up to please the weird nut and stop it from biting her, but now that she really had a chance to become an Immortal, she felt a little excitement.


    "I wonder if I do have talent after all..." she thought to herself.


    She still wanted to become a librarian in her heart, to be able to read books all the time, but as she had already passed the first test to enrol into an Immortal sect, how could she not be excited ?


    It was the dream of every mortal to become an Immortal. Even though most people thought that Immortals were but mere legends, sometimes a mortal would see people flying high in the sky above their heads.


    Shin Sumi had confirmation that what she always took to be stories for children was the reality. And it was right in front of her !


    She took a step forward to place herself in front of the test-stone. Taking a deep inspiration, she put her hand on the flat cold surface.


    "..."


    "..."


    Neither Shin Sumi nor Little Azu said anything. The stele kept it''s grey dull color.


    After nothing happened for a few seconds, Shin Sumi turned to Little Azu with a concerned look on her face.


    "Erm... there seems to be an error Sister Shin. Let me try the test stone."


    Little Azu put his hand on the steele. Almost immediately the stone turned a vivid red, proving that is worked perfectly well.


    But how could that be ? Little Azu himself felt Shinsoo fluctuations on her ! How could she be totally devoid of talent ?


    And considering the fact that Fen Wudao brought here here in the first place, it seemed like even him must have had sensed something.


    Little Azu was puzzled and in deep thoughts when Shin Sumi felt something move between under her robes.


    The little nut moved against her skin, rolling while ignoring gravity until it found itself inside her palm.


    Understanding something, Shin Sumi gently asked "Brother Azu, can I give it a second try ?" and moved her hand toward the platform a second time.


    "Normally it won''t change anything, this test stone has never failed in hundreds of ... ?"


    His sentence was cut short when he realized that the stone stele was showing signs of change.


    As Shin Sumi pressed the hidden nut on the stone, it finally changed to a bright red. Without stopping, the red changed to orange, then yellow. When it finally started to settle down, the stele was almost halfway between green and blue.


    Both Shin Sumi and Little Azu were speechless.


    Hesitantly Shin Sumi asked "Brother Azu, does that mean that I have passed ?"


    "How could someone Senior Brother Fen himself brought here not pass with unsurpassed talent ! I have never seen something like this before ! Sister Shin you are amazing ! With talent like that you may even have a chance to reach the Core Developpement Realm and become an Elder !"


    Shin Sumi blushed. It was not from the excessive compliments and praise that Little Azu was offering, but because of shame.


    The color of the test stone was due to the nut, not her. She had absolutely the worst talent for Immortal cultivation !


    She didn''t know what the Core Developpement Realm was but she didn''t care. She only wanted to go to the third gate and meet Fen Wudao again.


    He had said that he would wait for her on the second day at the third gate, and she intended to ask him to bring her back to where she belonged, with the mortals.


    "Congratulations to Sister Shin for passing the second test. You can now go through the second gate. The last test is a test of sensing the Shinsoo, but with your talent it should not take you long."


    With that Little Azu gave her the lightest bow and offered her a piece of jade. He had imprinted the jade with Shin Sumi''s results for the first and second test and the jade would act as an official proof.


    Shin Sumi bowed low enough to hide her red cheeks as she said goodbye to Little Azu.


    "Sister Sumi... If ever you want to after you''ve become a disciple of the sect... feel free to come back and have a chat with me !"


    She didn''t reply and hurried towards the second gate. She felt too shameful to even look at an Immortal in the eye.


    The nut was still in her palm as she scurried through the grand arch and in the direction of the third test.


    "Shinsoo sensing... I have the feeling that I won''t be able to pass this test by myself either..."


    A few minutes later, Shin Sumi understood what the test was about.


    She found herself in a gigantic maze where every path was blurry.


    From what she had read about the Immortals ways, she knew Shinsoo was the energy from heaven and earth that Immortals used all the time. It was something that normal mortals couldn''t feel.


    For obvious reasons the Shinsoo in the maze of the third test was made so that even mortals could feel it as long as they had a bit of affinity with it.


    But Shin Sumi didn''t have even the tiniest bit of Shinsoo affinity.

 3 Entering the Dark Sky Starry Sec

    As soon as she entered the maze, Shin Sumi felt her senses become distorted.


    It was a strange place, and it soon became evident that the maze was not designed by any mortal.


    Shin Sumi had always been a smart girl. She knew that if she followed one of the walls, she should normally have been able to find the exit easily.


    But as if the most basic laws of space didn''t apply here, she found herself returning to the entrance no matter how hard she tried.


    "If common sense doesn''t apply, then I should try with instinct !"


    Shin Sumi knew it would lead her nowhere, but was still unable to bring herself to use the strange nut once again.


    The shame she felt was already big enough thus she decided to retract her hand from the reassuring surface of the wall next to her.


    She walked for a bit, turning left and right, walking up or down the flights of stairs she encountered, randomly based on impulse.


    In less than half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Shin Sumi was lost in the maze.


    She had no idea where to go, and whenever she turned around, she didn''t recognize the way she just came from.


    The dense fog hid everything out of a three steps radius around her.


    Luckily the maze was just a test and there were no traps nor any danger lurking in the fog.


    Shin Sumi found herself walking for what seemed like forever before her resolution slowly started to crumble.


    For the sixth time since she entered the maze, her eyes looked down at a crack on a stone step.


    She recognized the crack because it was shaped like the birthmark on the priest''s forehead from East Seaside Village.


    Shin Sumi was walking in circles, no matter where she turned in the large foggy passageways.


    Finally stopping her useless walking, Shin Sumi slid her hand in her garments.


    She easily found the nut, stuck between her breasts.


    Taking it out in the open, Shin Sumi started talking.


    "Alright little nut. You win this time. Please show me the way ! I don''t care what I have to do, just get me out of here. You want me to join this Dark Sky Starry Sect, right ? Fine, I''ll do it."


    Obviously Shin Sumi didn''t want to join the sect. She clearly wasn''t fit to become an Immortal, the three successive tests had shown it to her over and over.


    But she wanted to get out of the maze. She had never been adventurous to begin with, and she hadn''t asked to get stuck in a maze made by Immortals.


    She had to agree to follow the nut. It was the nut who had brought her here in the first place.


    As soon as Shin Sumi spoke the words out loud, she extended her hands in front of her.


    She took a step forward, and another, waiting for the nut to show a reaction.


    She was again starting to wonder if she had gone crazy, when finally the nut started trembling in her right hand.


    Shin Sumi was at the intersection between three paths when the nut started to roll off her palm.


    In the wriggling fashion she was starting to get used to, the nut followed her arm, rolled over her shoulder and down.


    It seemed for a moment that the nut was hesitating between rolling down her breasts, but one angry glance from Shin Sumi made it keep going reluctantly.


    A second later the nut was in the palm of her left hand.


    "I can''t believe it worked. Thank you little nut, show me the way !"


    Shin Sumi turned left, following the indications given by the rolling nut.


    ***


    She followed the nut for an undetermined period of time, sometimes turning right, left, or even going backwards.


    Her senses were still blurred by the dense fog and her path didn''t make sense to her, but she had no choice but to keep walking.


    The whole time she kept asking herself questions.


    "What is this nut ? Why can it feel the Shinsoo when I can''t ?"


    She was intrigued by the nut, and even more by the book that appeared every time she tried to throw the nut away, but overall she was mostly angry at it.


    She had never asked for any of it.


    "One thing is for sure, as soon as I get the chance, I''m leaving you somewhere inside the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Who knows, maybe an Immortal will be interested in you and take you away !"


    As soon as she spoke the words out loud, the nut stopped moving and bit her hand. Hard.


    "Ouchiiie !"


    This time the nut seemed as angry at her as she was at it. She couldn''t see any mouth on the smooth surface of the nut, but she could definitely feel the teeth.


    Holding her wrist, she looked at the place where she felt the bite.


    Two circular rows of small dots were visible on her fair skin.


    "You bit me to the blood ! How could you ? I''m not ... what ?"


    Looking down more closely, Shin Sumi was speechless.


    The nut indeed bit her to the blood. Tiny red droplets were forming on her wrist, following the bite mark.


    But the strangest thing was that the blood didn''t flow down like it would normally do.


    Instead, the drops were moving in in a strange pattern.


    The blood seemed to condense in the shape of a leaf, right there on her white wrist !


    Shin Sumi ignored the pain and looked at the drawing that was appearing to sink under her skin.


    "This leaf design... It is the same as the cover of the book ! What does that mean ? What have you done to my skin little nut ?!"


    However, no amount of questions brought a response from the nut. Instead it went back in her palm, prompting her to keep walking.


    Shin Sumi took another step forward, still holding her wrist when suddenly, her surroundings disappeared.


    Instead of being in the middle of the maze, she found herself under a grand archway.


    There it was, the end of the third test !


    Looking over her shoulder, Shin Sumi saw a blurred pathway, filled with fog. From the outside it seemed exactly like the entrance.


    "Junior Sister Shin ! You''ve made it ! I was certain you would succeed."


    A familiar voice brought her out of her daze as she turned her head again.


    Fen Wudao was standing five steps away from her, on the other side of the third gate.


    "Welcome to the fourth test !"


    Shin Sumi''s head started spinning as she heard her Senior Brother speak.


    "What ? There''s a fourth test ?!"


    "Ahaha it''s just a joke ! I''m sorry I couldn''t refrain myself. Welcome to the Dark Sky Starry Sect ! You passed the three tests !"


    Fen Wudao looked at Shin Sumi with a happy glint in his eyes. His head was a bit cocked to the side and one side of his lips curled upwards in a teasing smile.


    When Shin Sumi heard that it was a joke, she felt relieved. She had had enough of the tests.


    Now the most important was to find a way to have the nut leave her be. Maybe her Senior Brother Fen could help !


    Shin Sumi looked at her hand still clenched. But when she opened it, nothing was inside.


    Looking around, she couldn''t see the nut anywhere, and she was certain she couldn''t feel it in her bosom.


    Suspiciously, she looked at her wrist.


    "Are you okay Junior Sister Shin ?"


    Fen Wudao brought her back to reality. Her wrist was as it had always been, smooth white skin, with no leaf design on it whatsoever.


    "I am sorry Senior Brother Fen, I think the maze... I am still a bit disoriented" Shin Sumi carefully said while asking herself where the nut could be.


    "Ah yes, the Foggy Maze has always been one of the worst tests. I remember a few years ago when I first arrived here, I spent almost half a day in the maze before I could pickup on the clues. How long did it take you, Junior Sister Shin ?"


    "I don''t know, it felt like hours. I was worried Senior Brother Fen wouldn''t be here, you said you would wait until the second day at the third gate."


    "Did the test-stone examiner at the second gate give you anything ?"


    "Brother Azu gave me a jade. Ah, here it is" Shin Sumi replied after fetching the small white jade from inside her sleeves and handing it respectfully to Fen Wudao.


    Fen Wudao took the dull looking jade in his hand, scanning it with his divine sense.


    His mouth couldn''t help but parting in an ''O'' shape as he read the information Little Azu had imprinted.


    "A green blue talent ?! How is that possible ?!!"


    His face clearly showed his excitement as he looked back at Shin Sumi.


    Shin Sumi bowed her head, not saying anything.


    The guilt and shame inside her were stronger than ever. Only she knew what her real talent counted as.


    "Senior Brother Fen, I... " she started saying before being interrupted.


    "And less than two hours in the maze according to the time of Little Azu''s inprint !! It seemed like my impression of you has been wrong since the beginning ! I felt that you had unusual profound Shinsoo fluctuations around you, but who knew you were such a precious gem !"


    "Come with me, I''ll take you to the Affairs Pavillion to get your identification medallion ! Now you are officially a member of the Dark Sky Starry Sect !"


    Shin Sumi didn''t have time to tell Fen Wudao what she wanted to before he grabbed her by the waist.


    Less than a second after, they were both on the silver winged arrow, shooting at high speed through the air.


    This time Shin Sumi kept her eyes open as she looked around, at the scenery of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    From the third gate, she could only see a relatively small plaza, similar to that of the second gate, but from higher up the entire sect was revealed to her.


    The Dark Sky Starry Sect was located inside a mountain range, with valleys spanning more than five kilometers.


    The mountains encircling the main valleys were steep, and their peaks were so high that they were covered by clouds.


    In fact, the whole place was obscured by the dense clouds.


    As they flew above the first valley, Shin Sumi noticed a lot of houses, some of them with courtyards and a few buildings were even two stories high.


    Fen Wudao held her close as he explained a few things.


    "The Dark Sky Starry sect takes its name from the shadow of the mountains constantly looming over the valleys. This valley is reserved for the Honorary Cultivators who haven''t reached the Liquid Realm yet. The Inner Sect disciples like myself live in the second valley. Only the Elders are allowed to live on the face of the mountains, and the Core Development experts can live above the clouds. They are the Stars of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."


    Shin Sumi looked up at the dark clouds before turning her head back down.


    Under their feet was a gorgeous valley with clear ponds and spring water, ancient trees with dazzling flowers everywhere, as well as rocks covered in green moss.


    The many paths leading to the dozen or so cultivation platforms and pagodas were bustling with disciples.


    The whole place seemed brimming with activity and the air felt pure and refreshing.


    It was truly a place designed for Immortals.


    For the first time, Shin Sumi was starting to understand why most people could only marvel at the chance of becoming an Immortal.


    "It seems like it wasn''t such a bad idea after all, little nut. Maybe I will spend a few more days here before going back to the big city and getting rid of you" Shin Sumi said in her heart.


    Maybe if her natural talent and Shinsoo affinity hadn''t been that bad, Shin Sumi would have wanted to stay, but she couldn''t ignore the guilt inside her.


    ***


    On the silver winged arrow, it only took about ten minutes to cross the whole valley before Fen Wudao landed in front of a two storied building.


    This time the landing was much better and Shin Sumi''s foot found stable ground.


    "I have to go back to the Liquid Realm valley. Bring the jade to Elder Zhu inside, he will give you everything you need and your sect identification medallion. I will see you soon Junior Sister Shin !"


    Shin Sumi gave a bow to the departing Fen Wudao before entering the building.


    Contrary to her expectations, the inside of the Affairs Pavillion wasn''t as dazzling as she thought.


    She quickly found a clerk wearing red robes who gently indicated her to who she was looking for.


    The person called Elder Zhu was a middle aged man currently sitting in a meditation posture with his eyes closed.


    As soon as Shin Sumi arrived, he opened his eyes and looked at her.


    His eyes seemed older than the rest of him and they held a curious glint as they scanned her up and down.


    "Oh ? You have good talent. I guess you are new here ? This old one''s name is Zhu Yunhai."


    "Elder Zhu, Shin Sumi is looking forward to your guidance. Senior Brother Fen told me to give you this jade."


    Elder Zhu''s eyes didn''t seem to want to leave Shin Sumi''s graceous body as he reluctantly looked at the jade inprint.


    As soon as his divine sense made contact with the jade, his mouth opened in the exact same way Fen Wudao''s had.


    The lust had nearly entirely disappeared from his eyes when he finally came back from his shock.


    "Junior Shin, as soon as I laid eyes on you, I could tell that you were a peerless talent. Oh my, it''s been years since a priceless gem showed up in the sect. I shall get everything ready for you myself !"


    Giving back the jade, he even bowed slightly as he left hurriedly behind a sliding door.


    Shin Sumi was once again covered in shame after all the praise she received.


    Thanks to the strange magical nut, everybody thought she was a promising cultivator.


    How could she not feel shameful knowing she herself was only an average mortal ?!


    Elder Zhu came back a few minutes later, holding a pouch held closed by a leather cord.


    "In this bag of holding you will find your command medallion indicating your rank in the sect. Please keep it on you at all times. You will also find food and a cultivation method book as well as a few robes. You have to forgive me, Junior Shin, for it has been so long since a peerless individual like you had appeared, that the sect doesn''t currently have any green or blue colored robes. You will have to wear red robes in the meantime. Please come back to the Affairs Pavillion in a week''s time to receive the robes you deserve."


    Shin Sumi received the pouch without saying a word. She only half listened to Elder Zhu''s explanation, her thoughts distracted by something the man said.


    "A book ? A real Immortal book ? I wonder what is inside, I can''t wait to read it !"


    Elder Zhu apologized for not being able to accompany her himself, and dispatched one of the red robed clerks to show Shin Sumi''s dormitory arrangement.


    As he watched the young woman in pretty clothes walk away from the Affairs Pavillion, Elder Zhu''s reassuring smile disappeared.


    Instead his face showed a complicated mix of lust, envy, but most of all fear.


    With his lowly talent, he had already been lucky to cultivate to the great circle of the Liquid Realm and become an Elder of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


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    But Shin Sumi and her unnatural talent rarely seen even in a hundred years, she was destined to accomplish much more, so he couldn''t afford to offend someone like this.


    ***


    The clerk hurriedly lead Shin Sumi down one of the valley''s paths, not daring to say a word after eavesdropping on the conversation between her and Elder Zhu.


    The red robed youth bowed respectfully to the waist before leaving Shin Sumi in front of an old courtyard.


    The clerk went half leaping back to the Affairs Pavillion, the young man''s speed surprised Shin Sumi.


    "The Immortals really are different from people like me" Shin Sumi thought dejectedly before pushing the door, opening it up onto the courtyard.


    The place looked like it used to be majestic but had been unmanned for years.


    A small pond with a few fish leisurely swimming inside occupied the center of the courtyard.


    A plum tree next to the pond overlooked a stone bench covered in moss and rotting fruit.


    Shin Sumi carefully walked on the stone path leading to the lone construction in the back of the courtyard.

 4 The Shinsoo Gathering Manual

    The moss was covering everything inside the courtyard, giving it a green-ish appearance.


    Shin Sumi was careful to avoid tripping and finally arrived in front of the doorstep.


    She gave a light push and the door opened without a sound.


    The interior of the wooden house was simple. A table with an oil lamp, two chairs, a dresser.


    In the corner, a single bed stood under the window.


    Shin Sumi didn''t spend more than five seconds looking at the dusty interior before sitting down on a chair.


    Untying the leather knot, she let all the content of the bag of holding onto the table.


    She discarded everything to the side, apart from the one thing that interested her.


    "Finally I can read an Immortal book !"


    Shin Sumi''s eyes shone with a strange light as she looked at the book between her hands.


    It was a relatively new copy of something that was passed down to every member of the Dark Sky Starry Sect upon arrival.


    Inside the wooden cover were hundreds of pages describing the sect and the first steps of cultivation.


    "The Blue Fire mountain range spans thousands of kilometers, separating the Blue Fire country from the Light Shore country. Inside the mountain range, ..."


    "The Affairs Pavillion is located south-east of the Myriad Swords Pagoda, where Honorary Disciples can ..."


    "It is forbidden to attack a fellow disciple. Apart from the tournaments, under no circumstances can a disciple injure ..."


    ***


    Shin Sumi read for the whole afternoon and most of the night, only stopping twice to eat the bamboo cakes from the bag of holding, and to turn on the oil lamp.


    When she finally put down the wooden book, the sun was already lighting the clouds in the sky.


    The sect was still bustling with activity, as if the cycle of day and night didn''t matter.


    Even though the sun was up, the constant clouds kept the valley in a semi-dark atmosphere.


    For some reason Shin Sumi didn''t feel tired after a whole night of reading.


    "Maybe it is because of the air... I''ve never felt such refreshing feeling before. Ah, it is truly an Immortal place."


    Shin Sumi looked at her wrist. A contradicted expression was showing on her face.


    "It isn''t all bad after all. And it seems like the nut finally left me. I still wonder what that leaf symbol was that appeared in blood though..."


    Shin Sumi was about to step out the door to her courtyard when she realized what she was wearing.


    Ever since she left home, she hadn''t had the opportunity to change, and she hadn''t even brought clothes with her.


    Turning around, she grabbed one of the two red robes on the table, and proceeded to change after shutting down the window blinds.


    Now that she looked like any disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, she remembered the bag of holding.


    Putting back all her belongings inside apart from the second dress, Shin Sumi tied the bag shut and the leather cord around her waist.


    That was the way Fen Wudao, Little Azu and the clerk from the day before wore theirs.


    Shin Sumi truly did look like any other female Honorary Disciple when she stepped out of the courtyard.


    Following the crudely drawn map in the book, she walked leisurely up the path for an hour or so, admiring the Immortal trees.


    According to the newcomer''s book, one of the busiest places of the lower valley was the North Cultivation Plaza.


    It was a good place to start meeting new people and try cultivation.


    Shin Sumi had never been good at making friends, preferring the comfort of the fireplace to read books. Unless she had to, or to go to the big city library, she almost never went outside.


    Her father had sent her to East Seaside Village''s school when she was a kid, but her natural talent at learning and her shy nature lead all the other kids to quickly avoid her.


    After a few months at school, she had cried a lot to her father, saying that she didn''t want to go anymore.


    But now that she had taken her first step in the Immortal world, how could Shin Sumi stay the same ?


    "Even if I have to force myself, this time I won''t let this opportunity go to waste. If I am to stay here for a while, I might as well meet people."


    It was with a steady determination to encounter other disciples that Shin Sumi walked up the valley.


    The sun was high above the dark clouds, giving the Dark Sky Starry Sect the most light it could, when Shin Sumi arrived at the North Cultivation Plaza.


    Similar to the platform where she had met Little Azu, a gigantic stone construction occupied the center of the plaza.


    Two stories buildings were placed all around the square platform and it was possible to see countless disciples going in and out at all times of day and night.


    Shin Sumi walked up the stairs to get to the platform when she spotted a small group of girls a few dozen meters away.


    Shin Sumi only had been in the Dark Sky Starry sect for less than a day and had spent most of her time in her room reading, but she already knew there was way more men than women.


    During her long walk up the valley she saw a lot of people. Most were men, looking between twelve and forty years old.


    Most of them wore long red dresses like her but some of them wore bright orange robes.


    She even saw from far away a man in a yellow dress, crossing tens of meters in a single leap, surrounded by red robed disciples trying to keep up.


    Shin Sumi had tried to not pay attention to all of the other disciples, but she couldn''t help but notice a few of them ogling her.


    Now that she finally found other girls, seemingly her age nonetheless, Shin Sumi was a bit reassured in her heart.


    The three girls all wore red and were in a circle, conversing with low voices.


    "I heard that a green talent kid has arrived yesterday..."


    "Green talent ? Come on Sister Liu, lying is bad, it can even affect your cultivation."


    "No, I heard the news too, apparently it''s a very mysterious person that Senior Brother Fen himself brought up here ! I''ve got the news from Hui Dong at the Apothecary Pavillion."


    Shin Sumi couldn''t help but overhear their conversation as she was walking closer.


    A slight smile appeared on her face. It seemed like the three girls were already a bit impressed by her without even meeting her.


    Shin Sumi still felt guilty and full of shame considering that she cheated in the three tests, but she had made the resolution to make friends, and her entering the sect seemed like a good ice-breaker.


    "Hi fellow disciples ! My name is Shin Sumi, nice to meet you !"


    Shin Sumi introduced herself as she was only a step away. The three girls cut short their conversation as they looked at the bowing figure in her new red robes.


    "..."


    "Erm... I am sorry for interrupting your conversation, but I arrived yesterday and you were talking about -"


    "Who are you ?"


    A loud voice interrupted her. Shin Sumi lifted her chin to look at the three girls, but their eyes were looking above her.


    Turning around, Shin Sumi was now face to face with another disciple.


    She hadn''t even heard the girl arrive, but here she was, less than a step away from her.


    She wore an orange robe, and her hands were tucked in the opposite sleeves.


    Her long black hair flowed freely around her face white as snow.


    Her red lips were in a sneer and the disdain was clear in her ink black eyes.


    "I asked you once already. Who are you ?"


    The woman''s voice sounded domineering. Shin Sumi was confused for a second and started replying.


    "Fellow disciple, I am Shin -"


    "No, stop it there. I don''t care after all. You''re just trash. That''s who you are. Now get away from me and my followers."


    Almost as soon as she opened her mouth, Shin Sumi was shut down by the menacing girl.


    A few people around them had turned their heads to look at the commotion, wondering who Chu Erlong was talking to.


    Behind Shin Sumi, the three other girls started commenting as well.


    "You''re right Big Sister Chu, she doesn''t deserve to talk to you."


    "Yes, she is just trash. You already have us three followers, why would you need more red robed thrash ?"


    "Big Sister Chu, tell her to get her own Big Sister to follow !"


    In less than ten breaths of time since she had tried to meet the three girls, Shin Sumi was rebutted violently.


    Before she even realized, one of the girls pushed her hard and she stumbled across the platform.


    Snorting loudly, Chu Erlong gathered her followers and left.


    Soon, all the people who were looking at the commotion shook their heads and went back to cultivation.


    Chu Erlong was after all an orange robed disciple. Her talent was far better than that of normal red robed disciples, so who would dare to butt head with her ?


    Shin Sumi got up as fast as she could. Her palm was bleeding after scraping against the hard floor but she didn''t care.


    All she wanted was to get away as fast as possible.


    She ran for a few hundred meters, ignoring the puzzled look on every disciple''s face, until she found herself under the cover of a few trees.


    Hiding in a clearing that resembled the one where she found the strange nut, Shin Sumi sat against a tree.


    She was still crying a bit, remembering the last time she went to school a long time ago.


    "So much for having a new life here. Maybe it''s really for the best that I go back to the Big City."


    Her face was inside her hands, between her knees, when a sudden heat from her wrist made her open her eyes again.


    As soon as she flipped over her hand, the inside of her wrist flashed with a deep red leaf pattern and the nut appeared in its place.


    "That''s where you''ve been ?! How did you - Wait what are you doing ? Stop it, I- Ouchiiie !"


    Instantly rolling between her fingers, the grey nut bit the side of her index before Shin Sumi had the chance to do anything.


    "Why are you always biting me ?! What are you ? Stop following me !"


    Without thinking about it twice, Shin Sumi waved her arm violently, throwing the nut away.


    Once again, a strange vortex appeared in mid air, and the nut transformed once again into a book.


    This time the book didn''t change back into the form of a moving nut but stayed there, in the air, unmoving.


    Forgetting momentarily about her recent problems, Shin Sumi stood up and approached the book.


    It wasn''t her first time seeing it, but every time she threw it away before, it would turn back into a nut and fly towards her.


    But not this time.


    The book was hovering a meter above the ground. Once again Shin Sumi observed the bark-like covers of the book, and the leaf pattern that was entirely covering it.


    Before she could even get her hand close to it, the book suddenly jerked open to the first page.


    There on the blank page, a character was slowly forming.


    The process rapidly gained speed as Shin Sumi couldn''t do anything but watch words appear all over the page.


    In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the page was entirely covered with miniscule characters.


    At the top of the page, three words were written in deep green.


    "Shinsoo Gathering Manual"


    As if she were in a trance, Shin Sumi put her fingers on the page. Rapidly going over the page, it didn''t take long for her to read the entire thing.


    "This page... The beginning is the exact same as the last part of the newcomer''s manual that I read last night ! Even the title ''Shinsoo Gathering Manual'' is the same. But after the middle... Where do the fourth and fifth steps come from ?"


    As every book she had ever laid eyes upon, how could Shin Sumi forget the content of the newcomer''s guide ?


    But this strange old book in front of her was almost the exact copy of the book in her bag of holding.


    The only difference is that for some reason it seemed more... complete.


    The newcomer''s manual not only described the sect as a whole and show the rules. It was also a guide for the Honorary Disciples to get to the Liquid Realm cultivation stage.


    The book clearly described the three steps necessary to progress in the cultivation world.


    First, find a source of Shinsoo and breath it in to fill the body. Second, circulate the Shinsoo to awaken the Shinsoo passageways. Third, condense the Shinsoo to form a vortex, leading to the Liquid Realm.


    But the information recently appeared on the old leafy book was different. A fourth and a fifth step were added.


    Or more precisely, another two steps were now between the already existing ones.


    Out loud, Shin Sumi recited.


    "After the Shinsoo has entered the body using the previously mentioned breathing technique, the next step is to use the Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique to refine the Shinsoo and leave out all impurities."


    "After the first passageways have been cleared, the steps one through four should be followed again until all the sixty-four passageways have been opened."


    For some reason, the added steps seemed to be more precise than the other three.


    For the first time in her life, Shin Sumi started to doubt her reading abilities. Since when did she start forgetting about a book''s content ?


    The old book was still floating unmoving in the air when Shin Sumi took out the newcomer''s manual from her bag of holding.


    Quickly opening it up, she tried to find the passage about the three steps of the Shinsoo Gathering Manual. But no matter how much she flipped the clear white pages, she couldn''t find it again.


    Instead Shin Sumi only found a couple of blank pages where the Shinsoo Gathering Manual was located.


    "What is going on here ? It''s almost as if... the old book stole what was written on the guide. But I''m certain there were only three steps. Could it be that this magical book upgraded the information ?"


    Shin Sumi was feeling a mix of emotions that couldn''t be described with words.


    Pondering for a moment, she put the newcomer''s manual away in her bag of holding.


    "Why did only the Shinsoo Gathering Manual get stolen ? Is it because it describes cultivation ? After all it''s the only part of the book that was really about Immortal stuff."


    A new idea slowly bloomed into Shin Sumi''s mind.


    Her eyes were shining like two pearls with excitement.


    "I know my talent is severely lacking. I think for now it is best if I keep a low profile. But if the information on this page is true then once I get to the second step of Shinsoo Gathering, I should see changes in my cultivation that nobody else has !"


    Shin Sumi had decided that this new life of hers in the Dark Sky Starry Sect was a good opportunity for change.


    She had tried to make friends, but that was a failure.


    Considering her severe lack of talent, she quickly discarded the idea of going back to that Chu Erlong girl after getting her green or blue robes. She might be able to scare the girl with her apparent talent, but if any altercation ensured her true level would be instantly revealed.


    But if instead Shin Sumi could cultivate with the method inscribed in the true Shinsoo Gathering Manual her talent would advance by leaps and bounds !


    If Shin Sumi couldn''t make friends in this new life, she wouldn''t let people bully her again.


    Taking the old leafy book in her right hand, Shin Sumi didn''t have to do anything. Instantly the vortex reappeared and transformed the book back into a small nut.


    In a flash of light, the deep red leaf pattern on her wrist shone and the nut disappeared completely.


    "Strange... It must be some sort of summoning magical art."


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    Shin Sumi had no idea what she was talking about but in the history of the Dark Sky Starry Sect there were many instances of magic use. With her shallow knowledge she could only take a guess at what was happening with the nut.


    ***


    Shin Sumi decided to not go back to her courtyard for now.


    The lower valley in the sect was a big place spanning a few kilometers and there were many things to see.


    Most of the valley was occupied by forest areas or dormitory for Honorary Disciples.


    The Dark Sky Starry Sect could only be described as a middle ranking sect in the Light Shore country, and was the house to a bit more than ten thousand mortals who hadn''t attained the Liquid Realm yet.


    Obviously all those Honorary Disciples couldn''t have their own courtyard like Shin Sumi did.


    In fact all of the red robed disciples lived in big dormitory areas, sharing rooms with each other.


    Only the orange robed disciples and above could have their own houses, and only those above yellow could be considered for a courtyard.


    But in a small sect like the Dark Sky Starry Sect, the yellow talent individuals could be counted on the fingers of two hands.


    Above the yellow robes, green blue or the mythical violet robes were virtually nonexistent.

 5 Ups and Downs of a New Life

    Shin Sumi first made a stop at the Cultivation Resources Pavillion to get her first monthly payment of spirit stones.


    According to the rules of the sect, each disciple could get a few resources per month to help in their cultivation.


    Of course the amount one could receive varied depending on the color of their robes.


    The clerk in charge of the Pavillion when Shin Sumi showed up was a red-robed disciple.


    He first laughed when Shin Sumi asked for four lower grade spirit stones.


    "Who do you think you are ? Ahaha Brother Gu, come and look at that baby chick who thinks she is a phoenix !"


    Without saying a word, Shin Sumi closed off her heart from the feeling of guilt rising once again in her guts.


    On the outside she forcefully wore a smile full of contempt and disdain as she produced her identification medallion.


    As soon as the two red robed clerks saw the imprint on the medallion, their jaws dropped.


    Even though they couldn''t use divine sense to check what was inside the identification medallion, the simple word ''green'' hand carved on its surface was enough to make them swallow their words.


    "Now you wouldn''t want to bear the consequences of angering that baby chick, would you ?"


    Shin Sumi almost blushed. She couldn''t believe she actually said those words out loud !


    Who would have thought that the feeling of being superior and seeing others tremble in fear would be so exhilarating ?


    Shin Sumi received her four lower grade spirit stones from the clerk who was now bowing as deeply as possible.


    "I have to be careful though. Until I actually make progress in my cultivation I can''t afford to let anybody know who I''m supposed to be."


    Shin Sumi remembered a sentence she had read in a book once. It had a deep impact on her as it said : ''The higher a man climbs, the harder the fall will be''.


    Turning her head back towards the two red robed disciples, she spoke in a quiet voice.


    "Ah, another thing. I remember your faces. If word were to spread that I''m actually a green robed disciple, that would ruin my disguise. You wouldn''t want that, would you ?"


    As she left, the two clerks immediately gave up on all ideas of telling their friends. A green robed disciple was bound to attain the Core Development stage one day or another, meanwhile it wasn''t even sure that they would themselves get to the Liquid Realm.


    The fear of offending such a high class disciple was a lot more significant than the satisfaction of telling a juicy story.


    Once outside of the Cultivation Ressources Building, Shin Sumi let out a deep breath.


    She wasn''t used to lying and trying to be overbearing like that, it wasn''t like her. Or at least like the old her.


    Now that she was decided to change, Shin Sumi wouldn''t let herself be bullied by the likes of Chu Erlong for too long.


    Shin Sumi walked for a while in the lower valley, taking in the sights for the first time.


    She visited most of the cultivation buildings and the major landmarks, as well as the secondary valley where disciples grew crops and raised beasts.


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    With her status in the Honorary Disciples class, Shin Sumi didn''t actually have to work the fields or the farms. Just like having a courtyard, it was one of the perks of being above the others.


    Shin Sumi slowly learned that it was how the cultivation world worked. The talented had a better status, and just like the strong feed on the weak, the talented had better access to cultivation ressources without having to work as hard as the others.


    It was profoundly unfair, ensuring that the strong always remained strong. But how could Shin Sumi complain ?


    She had no talent at all, and would never have been allowed in the sect if not for coincidental circumstances.


    She didn''t ask for it but the world now viewed her as strong. It was a rare chance to climb up the ladder, as long as nobody found out she was actually the worst of them all.


    Luckily for her, Shin Sumi didn''t have to resort to her status to pick up a few grains of spirit plants and flowers.


    The introduction to the different species being cultivated in the fields in the newcomer''s guide was very concise, but Shin Sumi knew that they were a source of Shinsoo.


    Normally the Shinsoo imbued in one of those spirit plants was too low to cultivate even for a red robed disciple but Shin Sumi had virtually no trace of spiritual energy inside her.


    By growing the plants inside her private courtyard, she was hoping that it would allow her to bathe in Shinsoo even in her sleep.


    The sun was setting above the clouds when Shin Sumi decided to head home.


    The lower valley couldn''t be considered as huge, but was still big for a mortal and the walk home took time.


    When Shin Sumi finally closed the door of her courtyard behind her, she was yawning from not having slept in more than a full day and having walked so much.


    Too tired to plant the seeds immediately, she left them on the table inside, with her four low grade spirit stones.


    The courtyard had been unmanned for years but the water in the pond was still clear and fresh, alimented with spring water coming from a small waterfall.


    Shin Sumi''s clothes fell freely on the stone bench as she untied her robe.


    In the privacy of the courtyard walls and closed gate, the cold water of the pond embraced her as she bathed for a while.


    After getting rid of her sweat and the light layer of dust on her skin, Shin Sumi laid down on the rocks, half submerged in the pond.


    The water had a soothing effect and Shin Sumi slowly drifted into sleep, not even bothered by the lazy fish swimming around her.


    She woke up the next day feeling completely rejuvenated. Her eyes still unfocused opened to the flashing of her wrist.


    The dark red pattern was once again showing, but this time something about it was different.


    The leaf seemed more alive than before, and was oriented in a different way !


    "I am certain that yesterday the point of the leaf was towards my hand ! This time it''s the complete opposite !"


    Getting up and drying herself, Shin Sumi once more donned her robes, not leaving her wrist out of her sight.


    As soon as she turned around, the leaf turned with her; itself always pointing in the same direction ! The house in the back of the courtyard !


    Following the leaf as if it was giving directions, Shin Sumi entered her house.


    The first thing she saw upon opening the door was the table.


    Everything was exactly as she left them. Drawing a bit closer, Shin Sumi discovered the nut.


    There is was on the table, munching on the seeds she had brought back from her trip to the fields.


    "Noooo ! What are you doing ?!! Don''t eat them, I need them to cultivate !"


    As soon as she saw the strange scene, Shin Sumi tried to push the nut away from the seeds.


    Her hands brushed the table a few times but the nut would always slip between her fingers, eating a bunch of seeds each time.


    For once the nut would not allow her to touch it, ironically.


    It was only after seeing the nut gobble up the four low grade spirit stones in one fell swoop that Shin Sumi finally managed to get her hands on it.


    Frustrated as she was, she yelled a bit at the nut laying on her palm, unmoving.


    Throwing it away in a corner, Shin Sumi was really angry.


    In order to calm herself down, she proceeded to clean the house a bit.


    "Urgh that damn nut... What am I going to do now ? I wish I had a book to read... I miss the library " she mused in silence.


    The amount of dust she wiped with her old robes still dirty from her adventures in the forest showed how long it must have been since the house had its last occupant.


    When Shin Sumi was finally done with the inside of the house, she started cleaning the courtyard too.


    Ignoring the leaf on her wrist, Shin Sumi worked the whole afternoon.


    It was with a calmed down heart that she looked at the entire courtyard, a smile on her face.


    The place was now much more attractive and colorful. Removing the moss that had grown everywhere had been a strenuous work, but had been worth it.


    The stones that made the steps leading to the house were almost scintillating with different colors.


    The bench under the little plum tree was covered in intricate carvings.


    Now that she had cleaned everything up neatly, the courtyard gave Shin Sumi a sense of familiarity that she had never felt before.


    It was as if now the courtyard was her home. It was hers and no one else''s.


    A whole day had passed while she was cleaning, and the sky was darkening again.


    "Now what can I do ? I would have given cultivation a try if that damn nut hadn''t eaten all my seeds and spirit stones !"


    Shin Sumi was forcing herself to calm down once again when suddenly her wrist started pulsing.


    "What is ... Uh ?"


    The leaf pattern was still dull, and no light was emitted from it, but Shin Sumi could feel something.


    It was like a pulse calling her from the inside. It was a peculiar sensation; the likes of which she had never experienced before.


    She just couldn''t ignore it!


    Full of curiosity and a little bit of apprehension, she once again walked inside her room.


    The corner where she had thrown the nut to was empty, it was nowhere to be seen.


    Without even trying to ask herself how the nut could move for the thousandth time, Shin Sumi followed the red leaf contrasting with her skin to find the nut.


    The nut was inside her robes, in the top shelf of the dresser.


    "Seriously ?" Shin Sumi couldn''t help but ask, as she found the nut in the folds where her upper torso would have been, had she worn the robes before.


    But that wasn''t as surprising as what she found next to it.


    The nut was unmoving, just like any inanimate object, in the middle of a bunch of seeds.


    When Shin Sumi was in the fields the previous day, she had brought back a fistfull of spirit plants and spirit flower seeds.


    The seeds were all brown and hard to recognize from one another, at the time.


    So how could the seeds now be all colorful and giving off a fragrant aroma ?!


    Carefully, Shin Sumi picked up the dress, not letting anything fall to the floor before she reached the table.


    The nut rolled almost immediately along her fingers, returning to her wrist where it disappeared in a flash of light.


    The leaf symbol disappeared as well, her wrist once again returning to its natural white and smooth complexion.


    Judging by sight alone, the amount of seeds seemed to be somewhat the same as what she remembered picking up.


    But something was still missing.


    "Where are the low grade spirit stones ? I need them more than the seeds ! Ah ?"


    Spreading the seeds on the table, Shin Sumi quickly found what she was waiting for.


    The four low grade spirit stones she had acquired were not bigger than her pinky nail, approximately the same as the many seeds.


    The only difference was the murky white color that the spirit stones gave off.


    Carefully picking them up from the colored seeds, Shin Sumi observed them a bit closer.


    The four stones were a bit bigger than what she remembered, but not by much. The most interesting though was the golden gleam they emanated.


    In comparison the previous four stones were definitely a lot less pure and their light was dull.


    "I know what they are ! High grade spirit stones !!"


    Closing her palm tightly around her treasure, Shin Sumi fetched the newcomer''s guide with one hand and nervously turned the pages.


    "Where was it ? Where was it ?! "


    It was evident with the tone of her voice that she was more than confused and excited by the idea of having four high grade spirit stones right there in her hand !


    What was a high grade spirit stone compared to a low grade one ? Comparing the two was like comparing the Heaven and Earth !


    A low grade spirit stone contained a bit of Shinsoo inside. It wasn''t something rare at all, and even a sect like the Dark Sky Starry Sect had a good amount of them.


    In fact the Dark Sky Starry Sect had enough to provide all their disciples with their monthly stipend for thousands of years.


    But it was still low grade spirit stones. Even though they had a bit of Shinsoo naturally imbued into them, it was not a lot.


    Shin Sumi had read in the book that a middle grade spirit stones was worth roughly a thousand low grade ones !


    That was already a rarity for small sects and the Dark Sky Starry Sect would only give some away to disciples for meritorious services or as a prize for tournaments.


    But that still wasn''t too rare, as the Dark Sky Starry Sect still had a few to spare.


    But a high grade spirit stone was worth a thousand middle grade spirit stones !


    Even a single one had enough Shinsoo to make up for the sect''s expenses for more than a year !


    Shin Sumi couldn''t help but read all the information she had over and over again.


    Her eyes were shining like two bright pearls and her jaw was continuously open.


    "It''s... It''s really an Immortal treasure !!"


    Shin Sumi didn''t dare to part with her four high grade spirit stones for even a second as she danced a bit in excitement in her room.


    When she finally calmed down enough to think rationally again, she blurted out "Little nut ! Come out !"


    For a few seconds nothing happened. But then in a flash of light way less impressive than before, a little grey nut materialized with a leaf pattern on her skin.


    The nut didn''t seem to move at first, as if it was wondering if Shin Sumi was still angered or not.


    Seeing as she had tried to stop it from eating the seeds earlier, the nut was now a bit suspicious of her.


    "Come on, I''m not gonna throw you away this time ! I swear !! Little nut, did you do that ? Was it you who turned the low grade stones into high grade spirit stones ?!"


    Now convinced of her good intentions, the nut started to roll around happily.


    From the outside it looked just like a grey ball randomly rolling around, but somehow Shin Sumi could feel that it was genuinely happy.


    The sentient nut felt more proud than ever.


    "How did you do that ? It''s just like the book isn''t it ? Everything you steal becomes better ?" Shin Sumi couldn''t help but ask.


    What the nut had done with the seeds and the spirit stones was exactly the same as what the book had done with the Shinsoo Gathering Manual.


    Although the nut was sentient, it clearly did not have a high level of intelligence, it simply kept rolling around happily.


    Shin Sumi felt a little disappointed.


    "If I''m staying in this Dark Sky Starry Sect to cultivate, I''ll have all the time I want to understand things. Maybe once I start cultivating I will be able to understand more."


    Until the nut had produced the four high grade spirit stones, Shin Sumi had still been hesitating as to whether to leave the sect or stay for a bit longer.


    Since she had no talent, cultivating normally would be painstakingly long. But now, the highly concentrated Shinsoo of the stones could give her a better chance at cultivation !


    Besides, being in a real Immortal sect was a once in a lifetime chance. Even though Shin Sumi still didn''t feel like it was made for her, at least it was a good opportunity to get her hands on Immortal books.


    "It''s such a pity that only Liquid Realm disciples have the rights to access the sect''s Library of Spirit Arts and Techniques."


    Luckily for her, the strange sentient nut-book that seemed connected to her by destiny gave her all the reasons she needed to stay in the sect.


    "It''s decided. As long as I can keep on reading new books, Shin Sumi will become an Immortal !"


    Soon after the sentient nut was back inside her wrist, Shin Sumi felt herself yawning a few times as the clouds became darker and darker; all the handiwork of the day and the excitement had a toll on her body.


    Shin Sumi put all the seeds on the bench outside, intending on planting them all the next day.


    "Now the spirit stones..."


    Afraid of leaving her newfound treasure out in the open, Shin Sumi put the spirit stones in her bag of holding and proceeded to hide it under her mattress.


    "It''s probably parano?a, but just to be sure."


    The courtyard was quite isolated from the rest of the sect but she couldn''t risk having someone look inside the window and seeing the spirit stones by accident.


    Unlike the courtyard which was hidden by the tall gate and walls erected all around, the house had windows providing a direct view at the sect outside.


    Shin Sumi was about to go bathe in her private pond when an idea emerged in her mind. Quickly running back inside, she picked up one of the high grade spirit stones.


    When she entered the fresh water, she was holding the spirit stone tightly between her white fingers.


    Putting it in a rock crevice to make sure the current wouldn''t move it at all, she finally relaxed.


    Shin Sumi found sleep easily this night, her excitement and tiredness being washed away by the running water all around her.

 6 Dragon Breath Moonflower Tea

    Shin Sumi woke up to an unknown combination of smells in her nostrils.


    It was like nothing she had ever smelled before; it was somewhat strong but also gentle. This flowery waft was nice but moderately unsettling.


    Without knowing what woke her up, the first thing Shin Sumi thought about when she regained consciousness was the spirit stone.


    Having slept a whole night in the refreshing waters of the pond, she felt rejuvenated. Fumbling around for a while, she finally fished out the high grade spirit stone.


    The little thumb sized stone had lost a bit of its golden luster, dissipating in the waters overnight.


    Shin Sumi looked at her hands for a few seconds, testing her body to see if she was feeling different, having soaked in spirit spring water for a whole night.


    Unfortunately nothing was feeling out of the norm, and it was with a dejected face that Shin Sumi got out of the pond.


    Her skin was as white as ever, shining like a pale moon with the glistening droplets of water.


    The water flowing in the Dark Sky Starry sect was somewhat special as Shin Sumi''s skin was nowhere near as wrinkled as it would have been after a whole night in normal water.


    She once more donned her red robes before her gaze ventured behind the stone bench.


    Because of the bench and the poor light, as the sun wasn''t brightening the heavy clouds yet, she hadn''t seen the source of the flowery smell yet.


    Her beautiful eyes couldn''t help but widen in an exaggerated manner when the caught sight of the pile of spirit plants.


    A few minutes before going to the pond to soak the evening before, she had put all the seeds in her possession in a small pile on a stone tile.


    She hadn''t even planted them and yet, laying before her was a strange assortiment of spirit plants and flowers.


    Shin Sumi didn''t know the name of the Immortal plants, but she remembered more or less what she had picked up in the fields.


    She also remembered quite well what the plants looked like since she had spent some time looking at all the Honorary Disciples in the middle of nurturing the fields.


    And yet none of the plants in her courtyard looked exactly like them !


    "This one seems similar to the yellow flower in the southern field. But this one has more petals... And this plant ! It''s almost identical to the strangely shaped red vegetable, but it has orange dots !"


    As she went on to inspect the plants and flowers a bit closer, Shin Sumi quickly found that all of them shared a strong resemblance to the plants she remembered.


    "Can it be because of the little nut ? The seeds had changed after it swallowed them and then spit them out. Is that what the nut does ?" she pondered absent-mindedly while observing the plants. "It takes things and changes them to something better... Just like the spirit stones, the seeds have been upgraded ! Is that also why they have grown so fast ?"


    The plants in the fields were at all sorts of growth stages, from tiny sprouts to more than a few meters tall plants.


    Those right before her though were not fully grown, but it was still nothing short of a miracle to have seen them change from a seed to what they now were.


    A sudden realization hit Shin Sumi as she was thinking about the matter. Taking out the used spirit stone, she wondered.


    "Or maybe this high grade spirit stone''s power didn''t just dissolve in the spring water ! The entire courtyard was probably affected. After all it has a really strong Shinsoo concentration, perhaps it''s possible."


    Shin Sumi made a quick mental note to find more seeds and test them in the future, with and without having the nut refine them.


    Despite having slept in Shinsoo filled Immortal spring water, Shin Sumi hadn''t shown any signs of change and her body was still that of a mortal.


    Her stomach growled to remind her of that. Her energy had been replenished by the waters but she still needed to eat.


    Thinking about what she had learned recently from the newcomer''s guide, Shin Sumi carefully selected a few plants.


    In the book it was mentioned that as long as Honorary Disciples worked for it, they could take a certain amount of certain plants for them to eat.


    The plants weren''t something mortals could find in the mortal world, and they were grown in an Immortal sect, making them perfectly suitable nutrition for cultivation.


    In fact due to the low spirit stone income that Honorary Disciples usually earned, most of them relied mainly on the spirit plants to cultivate.


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    The spirit flowers were grown for the purpose of serving as medicinal ingredients, and nourishment for some beasts from the farms.


    Following one of the recipes from the guide, Shin Sumi cooked the indicated parts of the plants in a big metal pot of boiling spirit sprint water.


    Having been in the Immortal world only for a few days, Shin Sumi didn''t know of it but anyone in the sect would have started to pull their hair from their heads in frustration by seeing how she used all these precious materials.


    Obviously cooking spirit plants was fine, and no one would bat an eye. But using water and plants refined by a high grade spirit stone to cook such normal food was definitely an oddity.


    Considering the price of these things on the sect''s market, Shin Sumi was living a life nobody could afford without even knowing it.


    But at least she knew all these items were precious enough, considering how strange the grey nut was and the part that it had in their production.


    Over the course of the next few days, Shin Sumi would carefully hide all her treasures in her room every morning before leaving her courtyard.


    The sect was big and she hadn''t even explored all of the lower valley and the adjacent fields and training grounds.


    When the sky started darkening, she would then go back to her quiet private courtyard to sleep, alternating between the waters of the pond and the more comfortable but less refreshing bed.


    Everyday she would come across hundreds of disciples. Sometimes she would try to get to know some of them and sometimes avoid them. Based on her previous encounters, Shin Sumi tended to judge people easily based on their appearances.


    All of the aspiring Immortals had a certain ego about them that made them think less of any people beneath them on the cultivation hierarchy. It was especially true with Honorary Disciples wearing a color different than red, and with disciples that had already reached a certain point of Shinsoo gathering.


    Shin Sumi usually did her best to avoid these people as much as she could, preferring the company of red robes disciples who hadn''t condensed any Shinsoo like herself.


    As their presence in the sect alone indicated, all of the disciples Shin Sumi saw had at least a tiny bit of Shinsoo affinity and basic talent. After all, all of them succeeded the three entry tests.


    Maybe some of them had cheated their way in by means of strange treasures like she did, or by having relations with someone already in the sect, but it definitely wasn''t the norm, and these people could actually be counted on one hand.


    Shin Sumi was different. After all even after using a whole high grade spirit stone and a good portion of quality materials, she still hadn''t made even the smallest advancement in her cultivation.


    "Maybe I''m destined to stay a mortal forever. I will still try for a few more months, maybe I just need more spirit stones !"


    Soon enough, a week had passed since her arrival, and on the morning of the seventh day, a red robed clerk showed up at the gates of Shin Sumi''s courtyard.


    "Sister Shin, I have a message for you from Elder Zhu from the Affairs Pavilion. May you open the gates ?"


    Shin Sumi was trying to cultivate on the stone bench, breathing in and out while holding a spirit stone.


    When she heard the voice of the clerk, a warm smile lit up her face and she opened her eyes.


    To make sure the Shinsoo from the spirit stone wouldn''t dissipate too much, she put it into her bag of holding. The bags were made of a special refined material that concealed what was inside. It was all described in the newcomer''s guide.


    Shin Sumi then proceeded to open the gates after adjusting her robes on her shoulders.


    When she opened the door, she saw a young man seemingly her age, half bowing from his waist.


    "Brother Lan, you don''t need to bow to me. How many times do I have to tell you !" she said while furrowing her brows.


    Her words made her seem exasperated, but her tone was more playful than anything.


    The young man laughed a bit before looking at her in the eyes.


    It wasn''t the first time that the two had seen each other. While Shin Sumi was exploring the lower valley, Lan Hui was working on behalf of the Affairs Pavilion.


    He was a gentle young man with a low talent but clever eyes. Only a few months after he got into the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Elder Zhu had taken a liking to him and had made him his direct disciple.


    Lan Hui was smart and knew that with his talent, he probably wouldn''t achieve much with his cultivation. Having Elder Zhu as his master was a good thing and provided him with protection.


    Everybody liked him in the sect and most people would often seek him instead of dealing directly with the Affairs Pavilion to resolve conflicts.


    After all the Affairs Pavilion was in charge of enforcing the sect rules and Elder Zhu wasn''t known for showing much mercy.


    Instead Lan Hui acted as a counselor and most of the time resolved small conflicts between disciples with a clever judgment.


    "Sister Shin I need to respect the etiquette. Your cultivation may be low for now but you''ve only been here for a week. I''m sure you will make incredible progress soon. In fact you may become a Liquid Realm disciple in less than a few years ! Plus I''m here on behalf of my master, so it is only normal for me to properly address you."


    "Anyway. My master wants to see you before the end of the morning. I think it has something to do with your robes."


    Shin Sumi hadn''t forgotten how she was supposed to get her green robes. She answered with a tone full of mixed emotions.


    "Ah yes, the robes... Do I really have to wear them ? I like my red robes. I don''t want to get everyone''s attention."


    Lan Hui carefully replied after pondering for a moment. "I guess it''s understandable, but don''t you want followers ? Most yellow and orange robed disciples have followers doing their biddings. Just to get on their good sides, people are ready to do anything for them."


    "I just wish I could practice cultivation without anyone noticing me."


    "You can always keep your red robes I suppose. But sooner of later people will notice your progress and your talent. When that is the case I, Lan Hui, hereby swear to be your first follower !"


    "Mn..." Shin Sumi replied absent-mindedly. She had heard Lan Hui''s tone and it was clear that the young man was sincere with his words. In fact they may have even contained a hint of infatuation, but Shin Sumi didn''t even think about it.


    Unknowingly Lan Hui had reminded her once again of the high expectations people would have if they knew her supposed talent. Not a lot of people knew for now, but no one besides herself knew that she was in fact a fraud.


    How would Lan Hui react if he knew she didn''t have any talent or Shinsoo affinity ? And after he had sworn to follow her in the future.


    Lan Hui didn''t know about her hidden questioning and blushed slightly while thinking "Well done, Hui. Can you be more obvious ? Now Sister Shin will think that you are a creep."


    Changing the subject as soon as possible, he bowed quickly once again and announced his departure.


    "I will be leaving early, Sister Shin, I have some matter in the eastern dormitory to attend to. You should get going as well, the sun is already getting high above the clouds. Ah, one last thing, Sister Sumi..."


    Shin Sumi wasn''t paying attention but she raised her head again and looked at him with interrogating eyes when he spoke his last sentence.


    "Be careful around my master. He isn''t what he seems to- I mean, don''t let your guard down."


    Without waiting for an answer, Lan Hui turned and started to run to his destination.


    Shin Sumi looked at the fleeting figure with one brow raised.


    After that she organized her courtyard for a little bit, making sure everything was hidden before leaving for the Affairs Pavilion.


    It was almost noon when Shin Sumi finally arrived at the Affairs Pavilion.


    As soon as she got close to the building, one of the clerks in attendance recognized her from her first time there.


    Bowing deeply in front of her, the red robed youth escorted her to Elder Zhu.


    The middle aged man was currently in a small garden inside the wooden structure. As soon as the clerk announced her arrival he turned his head, displaying a seemingly sincere smile. His long black beard contrasted with his light colored cultivation robes and he was holding a cup of tea.


    The aroma from the tea wafted through the air and Shin Sumi recognized the smell of one of the plants she had recently encountered, mixed with another fragrance.


    The mix was very pleasant and it went without a doubt that it wasn''t ordinary tea.


    "Do you want to share a cup of tea with a humble old man ? I grew the plant with Shinsoo and harvested the leaves myself. In just a little bit more it will be ready to be poured."


    His voice was as gentle as ever but Shin Sumi respectfully declined, thinking about Lan Hui''s last words to her.


    "Elder Zhu, Sumi doesn''t qualify to taste such a fragrant tea, and with someone as respected as yourself."


    The man insisted a bit more, upon which Shin Sumi finally agreed and sat on the opposite side of a small wooden tea table.


    "You don''t need to flatter me Junior Shin. Instead let me compliment you. It''s only been what, one week ? And you are already making progress it seems. Was your skin as white and perfect the last time we saw each other ?"


    One of Shin Sumi''s brows spasmed unnoticeably. Talking to herself she muttered "What does the color of my skin have to do with anything ? I''m only here for my robes. It''s not like I had the choice, you summoned me."


    "Elder Zhu, please don''t flatter me either. I haven''t made any progress yet. Anyway, you wanted to see me ? I presumed it was about the robes ?"


    "I just wanted to enjoy tea with a recently arrived disciple. But now that I think about it, you are right."


    Elder Zhu casually waved his hand, and a clerk came out from behind a door panel. He was holding a wooden case.


    "Two sets of precious robes, only deserving of you. Now, where were we ? Ah yes, I am interested in hearing about your first impressions of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."


    Shin Sumi respectfully accepted the small wooden case and replied to the middle aged man.


    They casually talked for twenty minutes or so before Shin Sumi mentioned the tea.


    Smiling with pride, Elder Zhu looked her in the eyes with what seemed like passion as he explained. "A few years back one of my expeditions out of the sect had me stumble upon a merchant who sold me a few seeds of the most precious Dragon Breath Moonflower. It is similar to the Moonflower growing in the sect''s fields, but this one is special. You see, the legend says that these seeds were once the treasured property of an ancient and almighty dragon for thousands of years. When the dragon passed away, its last dying breath containing all his will naturally refined the seeds, transforming them on the most fundamental level."


    "It''s quite beautiful isn''t it ? Naturally it is just a legend that the merchant used in order to sell them but I found the story touching."


    Now it made more sense to Shin Sumi. Completely disregarding the story behind the name she thought back to her version of the Dragon Breath Moonflower that the little nut had refined and that had grown thanks to the high grade spirit stone.


    Her plants had a much more fragrant aroma but lacked the secondary smell. In fact, the Moonflower smell was so precise and original that Shin Sumi was certain of it.


    "It is indeed a beautiful story Elder Zhu. And you made this tea yourself with only those Dragon Breath Moonflower leaves ? I refuse to believe that only one plant can have such a pleasant and refined aroma."


    "I assure you Junior Shin, these leaves alone make for the best tea there is. I am quite proud of it and I consider myself lucky."


    Elder Zhu was praising his tea so much, in fact maybe a little too much, that he missed Shin Sumi''s eyebrow raising for a split second.

 7 The Terrifying Plan of Elder Zhu and the Nut Experiments

    Shin Sumi was sure of it. Having made tea with her better Moonflower leaves herself, she knew the smell of the brew. And although it was faint, she could definitely smell something else in the teapot.


    At least Elder Zhu hadn''t lied about one thing, this flower was indeed rare, and maybe nobody in the sect apart from Shin Sumi could discern it''s real smell.


    Considering the strange warning from Lan Hui earlier, Shin Sumi had been thinking about Elder Zhu''s intentions the whole time.


    Him lying about what she was about to drink was already enough.


    Thankfully Elder Zhu still hadn''t poured the tea, waiting until the brewage was at the perfect temperature, as he had said earlier.


    And because of the way he had praised his tea so much, she now had a reason to politely decline.


    Shin Sumi got up to her feet in one swift motion. Elder Zhu was wearing a puzzled expression on his face but his eyes held a different gleam.


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    Joining her hands and bowing deeply, Shin Sumi said to him "Thank you for the robes Elder Zhu. Sumi will now take her leave. It really feels inappropriate for me to enjoy such a wonderful tea. I simply don''t have anything to give you in return for a favor like this one, I hope you won''t take it too much to heart."


    Understanding in an instant what she meant by these words, Elder Zhu stood as well.


    Inside he was very frustrated, but he knew he had spoken too much and she was right about the etiquette.


    "I see. I hope I haven''t put you in an uncomfortable position, I assure you it wasn''t my intention. Maybe I should indeed call over Elder Tao to enjoy this rare brewage. It''s effect will maybe even bolster his cultivation a bit."


    Gnashing his teeth, Elder Zhu plastered a smile on his face as he watched Shin Sumi leave.


    As soon as Shin Sumi left the garden and then the Affairs Pavilion, his fake smile disappeared.


    "I don''t need to rush this. She will still be here for quite a while before she reaches the Liquid Realm. I was too excited this time and it turned against me."


    ***


    The lighted clouds were casting dark shadows under Shin Sumi''s feet when she left the Affairs Pavilion.


    She let out a long expiration as her rushed heart finally calmed down.


    "What did Elder Zhu try to make me drink ? And why ?"


    Her mind was spinning from the internal fear she had felt and all the questions she now had.


    It was exactly as she had thought. Unless she had a sufficient cultivation base to bear it, her supposed talent was only a source of problems.


    She didn''t notice the footsteps behind her, only thinking about getting back to the safety of her courtyard.


    "Sister Shin !"


    In one leap, the person following her reached her side. Lan Hui was slightly out of breath.


    "I came back to the Affairs Pavilion as soon as I could but I couldn''t find you there. What did my master want ?"


    Lan Hui looked calm like always, but his eyes conveyed a sincere anxiety.


    "Just to give me new robes and... to share tea with me. But I refused."


    Upon hearing her answer, Lan Hui let a silent breath of relief, but it didn''t escape Shin Sumi''s eyes.


    Acting like nothing happened, Lan Hui simply replied and started to change the subject.


    "Anyway, have you been to the Pill Building today ? I heard there was- Sister Shin ?"


    Noticing she had stopped walking, Lan Hui turned his head backwards.


    The old Shin Sumi would probably have kept it all to herself, but the new her wasn''t like that. She was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and a serious expression on her face.


    She had to confront him.


    "Brother Lan. What are you not telling me ? The warning from earlier, as well as your expression just now. What exactly is going on ?"


    For once, the clever Lan Hui was at a loss. He couldn''t find his words at all.


    Pushing him a bit further, Shin Sumi asked again "What was it about ? Why do I have to be careful around your master. What was in the tea ?!"


    Without paying attention, her tone had risen quite a bit. Lan Hui immediately made a gesture to silence her.


    "Shhhhh !! Not here ! I will tell you everything back at your courtyard. I promise."


    Despite not knowing him for long, Shin Sumi trusted him. He seemed to genuinely care about her, so she silently resumed walking.


    When they finally arrived at her courtyard, Shin Sumi used her identification medallion to close the gate with a magical Shinsoo formation.


    Ensuring that it was a safe place and no one from the outside would be able to hear them, Lan Hui relaxed a bit.


    "I told you I would tell you everything, so here it goes. Please don''t be mad at me Sister Shin, I don''t know much but I swear I would never hurt you."


    Shin Sumi silently sat on the stone bench, waiting for the red robed youth to start his explanation.


    "My master took me in knowing fully well that I would never amount to much in the cultivation world. You see my talent was as low as it could be. The truth is I have no idea how I made it past the Foggy Maze. After that I spent a few months trying hard to cultivate, working in the fields for food and ressources. I had made virtually no progress when Elder Zhu summoned me to the Affairs Pavilion and asked me to become his direct disciple."


    "How could I refuse ? It seemed like the best opportunity at the time. And it was ! For more than three years I''ve been working with him and he helped me a lot during my cultivation. Thanks to Elder Zhu I am now already starting to condense Shinsoo into a vortex ! It was all because of the pills. You''ve only been here a few days so I''m sure you didn''t know that he used to be in the Pill Building before he joined the ranks of the Elders and was made Head of the Affairs Pavilion."


    "But the pill he makes... They are simply too strange. I have made my research but I still have no idea what they are. The only thing I know is that sometimes they would help me improve my cultivation base greatly, and sometimes I would be sick for days."


    Lan Hui almost shivered, reminiscing about what he had to endure. His face full of disgust, he looked directly into Shin Sumi''s eyes.


    "I couldn''t say anything because he is my master and after all Elder Zhu has always been my benefactor, but I''ve also noticed a pattern. Roughly a month before giving me a new pill to try, a Honorary Disciple or two disappear. I know it might sound crazy but... I think my master has found a way to refine a disciple''s talent into a pill !"


    Shin Sumi''s eyes were now as wide as could be and her mouth had turned into an horrified "O" shape.


    Stealing somebody''s talent ?!!


    How in the world could someone be monstrous enough to do this !


    Shin Sumi had her doubts and guesses about the whole thing, but never in a million years could she have guessed what Lan Hui just told her.


    "I never confronted him nor asked him anything... You see it''s usual for a master to implant a soul magic on their disciple. Normally it would be to seek revenge in the case of someone killing their disciples, as it shows their last few moments of consciousness. But it also means that my life is his... With that soul imprint, a simple thought on his part can kill me and erase my soul."


    Shin Sumi had no idea such magic existed, but she didn''t know much about the cultivation world. Everything seemed unrealistic but plausible at the same time.


    With a trembling voice she asked "And you thought Elder Zhu wanted to steal my talent ?"


    "It has been a long time since he last fed me one of these pills" Lan Hui replied. "The last few were successes, so my guess is that he has perfected his pill recipe. Knowing about your talent, I was afraid he was going to try and steal it from you for himself."


    "Why would an Elder of the sect want my talent ? I have not even awoken my Shinsoo passageways ! "


    "Elder Zhu''s talent was never the best, he started cultivation more than a sixty year cycle ago and has been stuck in the seventh level of the Liquid Realm for years. With only his own talent he has almost no chance of reaching the Core Development stage. But with your incredible talent, Sister Shin, nobody can say what my master could do if he refined it into a pill !"


    Shin Sumi and Lan Hui talked for more than an hour. With his position as a law enforcer in the sect, Lan Hui had a good insight on the Honorary Disciples of the lower valley.


    He provided Shin Sumi with a lot of information on certain people to avoid.


    Each time she would ask something, he would answer immediately and even add further information. It was clear how earnest he was to talk to someone and soon Shin Sumi was convinced that he was not lying to her.


    In fact she even wondered if he liked her.


    Suddenly an almost inaudible low vibrating sound came from Lan Hui''s bag of holding.


    Lan Hui took out his identification medallion and quickly scanned it with divine sense.


    Having reached the great circle of Shinsoo Gathering, he naturally knew how to use divine sense and soon he put away his command medallion.


    "I have to go, my master requests my presence back at the Affairs Pavilion. I will see you soon Sister Shin, I wish you well."


    Shin Sumi unlocked the gates and looked at the young man leave in a hurry. She had learned so much information that she needed time to fully process it.


    One thing was clear though, she had to make progress on her cultivation quickly.


    She still hadn''t felt even the tiniest ambiant Shinsoo, but the new version of her definitely couldn''t quit.


    Remembering how easily she had been bullied a few days earlier by Chu Erlong, Shin Sumi decided to spend the whole afternoon cultivating.


    "She made fun of me for being a low level disciple. Once I successfully cultivate, with the ressources upgraded by the little nut, my cultivation should advance by leaps and bounds. Then when I go out with my green robes, we will see who will want to follow who."


    Shin Sumi put away the wooden box containing her new robes in the dresser. She picked up a high grade spirit stone from her bag of holding and began her breathing exercises.


    ***


    A few days later, Shin Sumi still had made no progress. No matter how hard she tried and how much she bathed in the Shinsoo enhanced waters of the pond, she still couldn''t feel any Shinsoo around her.


    She had now used all of her high grade spirit stones supply.


    "I still have two more weeks to wait until I can go back to the Cultivation Ressources Pavilion. Even with the best kind of materials, is it really impossible for a mortal without talent to cultivate ?"


    She had spent a good amount of time thinking for the last few days, especially about the little nut.


    Shin Sumi still had no idea what it was, if it was some kind of fruit or more like an animal.


    She wanted to study the nut a little bit more but for some reason it was nowhere to be found. Her wrist was clear and the leaf pattern wasn''t showing.


    "If only I knew how to call it out..." she thought, but she couldn''t find any way other than wait.


    She prepared food with the spirit plants that she still had stacked under her bed.


    The last recipe she hadn''t tried from the newcomer''s manual was some kind of soup using the bamboo-like spiritual plant.


    In the fields the plant was called Green Arrow Stalk but her version of it was a bit more yellow and almost translucent.


    She was cutting the stalk open when a dozen of small pea sized seeds fell out from her hands.


    Her spiritual plant was full of seeds !


    Not even a second had passed when Shin Sumi''s wrist flashed and the leaf pattern appeared.


    The little nut appeared instantly, gobbling up the dark seeds.


    Using her reflexes without even thinking, Shin Sumi managed to snatch the nut in her palm. With the other hand she carefully cupped the seeds.


    The nut was biting her, not too hard but in an imploring manner, as if it really desired to eat all the black peas.


    Shin Sumi put all the seeds in the bag of holding before finally releasing the nut on the table.


    The nut rolled around for a bit, but there was no seed to be seen anymore so it simply stayed unmoving.


    "Now little nut, be patient. Time for some experimenting."


    A strange smile was on Shin Sumi''s lips as she was recalling all the tests she had thought about for the past few days.


    Now that she had an inkling on how to summon out the nut, the first thing she did was experiment with how to control it.


    The first step was obviously understanding how and were the nut went when it touched the leaf pattern on her skin.


    Unfortunately, Shin Sumi''s knowledge of cultivation and the Immortal world was too shallow.


    The only thing she learned was that the nut could only disappear when it was on contact with the leaf pattern.


    Wrapping her forearm under a tight piece of her robes, she now was sure that the nut couldn''t vanish like it would normally.


    It was a really hard to do, mostly because the nut was sentient and although quite low, had a certain level of intelligence.


    As soon as it understood that she wanted to keep it away from the leaf symbol, it furiously tried to roll against her skin, wriggling and biting.


    ***


    It took fully two hours for the nut to finally calm down, and Shin Sumi''s arms were covered by tiny circular biting marks by then.


    Shin Sumi then took out a few black seeds from her bag of holding.


    As soon as they were out in the open, the nut started rolling uncontrollably again, doing its best to reach the seeds.


    Whenever Shin Sumi would put away the seeds, the nut would move for a bit in incomprehension and then settle still on the table.


    As if it was a magnet for valuable resources.


    Shin Sumi went out in her courtyard to pick a few pea sized rocks. They were very similar in aspect to the seeds, which is why she was doing this experiment.


    Laying down a handful of seeds mixed with rocks on the table, it didn''t take long for Shin Sumi to observe the behavior of the nut.


    Looking really close at the scene, she saw the nut rush to the pile. In only a few breaths of time, only the rocks remained behind.


    Shin Sumi previously thought that despite it''s appearances, the nut was some kind of a small animal. But now that she had observed it up close, it became apparent that the grey sentient ball didn''t have a mouth, nor any orifices.


    Whenever it was eating, the seeds would simply disappear upon touching its surface.


    Waiting for a few minutes, Shin Sumi fed the nut a few more seeds at regular intervals.


    Following a whole five hours, the nut had eaten almost all the seeds.


    The only thing that Shin Sumi could then do was to wait to see results.


    Because she had been asleep the last time, she didn''t know how long she had to wait for the nut to spit out the seeds.


    After patiently waiting at the table for almost an hour, Shin Sumi soon became tired of simply waiting in front of a dead nut and decided to bathe.


    Another idea of hers was to take the nut into the water. She had never done so before and it would be interesting to see if the waters would be enhanced !


    Holding the nut while she disrobed, Shin Sumi jumped into the pond once again. In the Dark Sky Starry Sect she had explored so far, her private pond and its two carps was definitely her favorite place.


    The nut didn''t seem reluctant to be submerged and in fact was as still as before. It only flared back to life for a second when Shin Sumi quickly took out and then put away another seed.


    It only lasted for the briefest of moments but the nut still had time to leave a few bite marks on her delicate white skin.


    Being held underwater for that long reinforced the fact that the nut wasn''t some kind of animal and had Shin Sumi thinking.


    "Maybe it''s just a sentient vegetable.. After all it came from that tree stump in the forest, with all of the wisps..." she recalled.


    Shin Sumi hadn''t been in the pond for long before a tickling sensation started spreading throughout her body. She didn''t have time to react before the sensation receded in no time.


    It was very strange but when she looked down at her body, distorted by the undulating spring water, she quickly understood.


    "The bite marks on my arms have all vanished ! Did the water heal me ?"


    The courtyard she had been gifted with definitely wasn''t a normal place. Even without the high grade spirit stones refining the atmosphere, the place had a dense Shinsoo concentration.


    It was entirely possible that the healing effects were due to the pond only, Shin Sumi wouldn''t have known since she never hurt herself after she arrived in the sect.


    But another wild guess slowly formed into her mind. Lifting her hand that was still holding the nut, she looked at it with a complicated expression.

 8 Xiao Yues New Sister

    "I can''t believe I''m saying this but... Little nut, please bite me !"


    The experiment was quite simple really. Holding the nut out of the water, it didn''t take a full second before the nut was leaving a deep circular mark on her palm.


    For some reason the nut seemed to perfectly understand her this time. Shin Sumi then put the nut on the side of the pond, out of the water.


    Her hand made a splashing noise, she quickly submerged it.


    After five seconds of waiting, nothing seemed to have happened, no tickling sensation.


    Her dripping hand still had the the mark when she held it out in front of her face.


    Cupping the nut with her other hand, Shin Sumi put them both underwater this time.


    After a few seconds had passed, the tickling sensation appeared again and the biting mark had subsided.


    "So you do heal ! But only in water ?"


    But that still wasn''t enough to fully understand the extent of the nut''s powers.


    After all the marks had been left by the nut in the first place. Fumbling around beneath her, it took a while for Shin Sumi to find a rock that had not been smoothed by the water over the years.


    Biting her lips slightly, Shin Sumi traced a deep red cut near her elbow.


    The drops of blood quickly merged into the transparent water as they fell from her arm.


    A few tears were making her eyes shine and she had to breathe calmly to ease the pain.


    Not waiting for long, Shin Sumi put her arm holding the nut in the fresh waters.


    The coldness instantly eased the pain before the tickling sensation started.


    This time it look around ten seconds for the tickling to stop.


    It was with pure amazement that Shin Sumi looked a bit more closely at her arm.


    "Not even a scar, but the deeper the wound the more time it takes to heal... "


    This could not really be described as a life saving trump card but Shin Sumi knew how important her discoveries were.


    She was curious about how much the nut could heal her but she wasn''t crazy enough to hurt herself more than by just cutting her arm lightly.


    After bathing for a while Shin Sumi still held the nut and went back inside of her house at the back of the courtyard.


    Almost twelve hours had gone by and she was tired of waiting when the red leaf on her forearm started shining.


    At first Shin Sumi didn''t notice because of the cloth wrapped over it, but as the light grew in intensity she became curious and started looking anxiously at both the nut and the leaf design.


    A few seconds later the light disappeared immediately. Weighting the hand that held the nut, a small pile of seeds had appeared.


    "Green Arrow Stalk seeds ! Just like the first time, these seeds are now yellow, not black !"


    It had taken exactly twelve hours, the nut had spit out the seeds.


    "Interesting, the original seed became yellow, but after it grew its fruits were black. And now they are yellow again. The refining can only work for the original plant. Too bad the nut has to refine every seed or else I would have had an endless supply of Yellow Arrow Stalks in my courtyard."


    Counting the time in exactly the same way she had half a day ago, Shin Sumi didn''t let her eyes leave the nut for even one second.


    "3, 2, 1... More seeds ! Eight more !"


    Apparently the nut worked like a perfectly oiled machine. When fed something, it took exactly twelve hours before the exact same thing came out refined.


    After all the seeds were back, Shin Sumi tried to feed them again to the nut but it just sat there, unmoving and uninterested.


    "It only works once on an object. I can''t refine it more."


    That was a bit of a disappointment but Shin Sumi was still more than happy about her little treasure.


    Now that she knew how it worked, she wanted to find out what exactly was suitable for the nut to eat.


    Unfortunately she didn''t have any more seeds and her spirit stones had already been upgraded once. She had to find ways to have access to more cultivation ressources soon.


    Besides, Shin Sumi had to focus on her cultivation. In two weeks she had consumed two high grade spirit stones.


    That number was something inimaginable for anyone in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, whether they were Honorary Disciples, Liquid Realm cultivators, or even the Patriarch and the Elders.


    But for her that was simply not doing it. There was only one way to go, try with more spirit stones. Only if that didn''t work after a few months then Shin Sumi would have to give up the Immortal life and go back to the mortal world.


    For some reason she thought about Fen Wudao.


    "I wonder if Senior Brother Fen would even look at me if he knew I was a fraud and I had to leave the sect. In fact he might even kick me out himself..."


    Reassuring herself mentally with the fact that even with insane innate talent it should still take more than just two weeks to cultivate successfully, Shin Sumi relativised.


    "Or maybe I can see him and ask him for pointers ! From a Junior Sister to her Senior Brother. It''s decided, if in a month I still haven''t made progress, I will seek him out. Maybe I can even ask him for a favor and have him lend me a book from the Liquid Realm Library of Spirit Arts and Techniques !"


    "But for now it''s best if I try by myself. Maybe I can find some clues by watching others !"


    And Shin Sumi was right. In fact she was too stressed out. Nobody in the Dark Sky Starry Sect really knew how fast a green robed disciple could advance but two short weeks would still be a huge exaggeration.


    Red robed disciples could spend months if not years before making the most basic progress, and even orange robed disciples that were rare would usually spend at least two months in cultivation before achieving their first breakthrough.


    What caused Shin Sumi to be in such a rush was obviously her lack of knowledge about the cultivation world, but mostly the pressure she had by knowing that people expected her to be the brilliant gem they thought she was.


    Shin Sumi shivered when she thought about the smiling Elder Zhu Yunhai and his dark plans regarding her talent.


    For the first time since she arrived, Shin Sumi had trouble sleeping, nightmares invading her mind like ants crawling from under an overturned rock.


    ***


    Shin Sumi hadn''t slept at all when the sun started shining above the clouds.


    Battling her tiredness she forced herself to leave her courtyard and walked in the direction of the North Cultivation Plaza.


    She hadn''t gone back there since her first day in the Dark Sky Starry sect and her encounter with Chu Erlong.


    Thankfully the orange robed girl was nowhere to be seen.


    Assuming the common cultivation posture, Shin Sumi started to meditate.


    She looked at the dozens of Honorary Disciples around her and studied their breathings with half closed eyes.


    Most of the disciples were following the basic cultivation method indicated in the manual but some people would find better results with minor changes.


    After all these years since the establishment of the Dark Sky Starry Sect it was easy to imagine how all disciples had exchanged pointers about meditation. Many of the disciples in the Liquid realm had shared their own views and tips to their friends still in the mortal realm.


    In fact there was no better way to practice cultivation than by mimicking others and finding the suitable cultivation method.


    Shin Sumi took many mental notes of her observation''s results. She wanted to try everything but this was not the place.


    Compared to the rest of the lower valley, the Cultivation Plazas had the most dense Shinsoo concentration by far.


    Even Shin Sumi''s own personal courtyard had slightly less Shinsoo, even though it was a place designed for the green robed disciples to cultivate without being bothered by other people of inferior talent.


    But as Shin Sumi quickly pointed out, many disciples next to her were holding spirit stones.


    It was a good way to improve the quantity of the Shinsoo breathed in but Shin Sumi couldn''t do that.


    She only had two high grade spirit stones and could definitely not afford to make that fact public. The best way for her to cultivate was in the privacy of her house.


    Shin Sumi was still tired from the night before and the cultivation posture was hurting her legs so she decided to take a break.


    Instead of returning to her place, she went to the disciples market.


    It was a long stone road devoid of trees approximately in the middle of the lower valley. The place was always bustling with activity as many disciples were walking through the stalls, trying to find treasures for a cheap price.


    It was not the first time that Shin Sumi had been there but she never stayed for too long considering that she didn''t own anything that could be used as money to exchange for goods.


    But this time an idea popped into her mind.


    Any disciple was free to sell or buy anything displayed in the market as long as it didn''t go against the rules. Only some special objects were forbidden like poison and faulty medicinal pills, for the sake of the disciples.


    A low ranking Liquid Realm disciple like Little Azu usually walked around, inspecting random goods just in case.


    Shin Sumi quickly encountered a female red robed disciple that seemed to be alone.


    Not wanting to repeat the same mistake as with Chu Erlong''s group, she made sure that she was simply by herself.


    Shin Sumi''s willpower overtook her shyness as she forced a big smile on her face, showing her white teeth.


    She was about to raise her arm to get the attention of the red robed girl when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.


    "Hi ! Fellow disciple, are you shopping alone ?"


    Shin Sumi turned around to see an orange robed disciple grinning at her.


    The girl seemed about the same age as Shin Sumi. She had grey eyes that reflected the clouds, contrasting with her dark skin and could be considered pretty. Her petite stature made her seem fragile but she had an aura of confidence around her that was evident.


    When she faced Shin Sumi, her eyes darted up and down to size her up. For a second Shin Sumi was afraid that she was going to make another enemy but finally a smile appeared on the girl''s face.


    "I''m Xiao Yue. You want to tag along ?"


    "Thank you Sister Xiao. I''m Shin Sumi" she said as she started bowing to thank Xiao Yue when she felt the girl''s hands on her arm.


    "Come on, lose the useless respect. From now on we are sisters, okay ? Just call me Yue !"


    Shin Sumi was taken aback. Never in her life had she suspected that she could get a friend that fast.


    That was Xiao Yue''s temperament. At first sight, she would decide if she liked somebody or not and she would stick to it. The people who knew her found her a bit weird but strangely nobody hated her.


    "So what do you need Sister Sumi ? You can find everything here ! Let me show you around !"


    Xiao Yue had a simple view of life. She had seen Shin Sumi alone and looking around, thus she had come to help her.


    Besides, the red robed girl that Shin Sumi was about to talk to was Fang Lin and Xiao Yue didn''t like her.


    Without having the time to do anything, Shin Sumi felt Xiao Yue''s arm wrap around hers and she started pulling her along the market alley.


    "Oooh, here are some good swords ! They are not as good as the ones in the Myriad Sword Pavillion but much more affordable !"


    "Look ! Spiritual talismans to stay awake for days !"


    Everything Xiao Yue showed Shin Sumi seemed incredible by the sound of her voice.


    As they were walking around, a lot of disciples - especially males - turned their heads to look at them.


    Obviously they were looking mostly at Xiao Yue who was wearing a dazzling orange robe. Shin Sumi quickly discovered that nearly all guys were simply smiling.


    No trace of lust was clearly visible, they were looking at her like they would a good friend.


    For once Shin Sumi felt good and relaxed.


    Xiao Yue seemed liked by everyone around here and her talent was enough to make sure that no ordinary disciple would take her lightly.


    As they walked around, Shin Sumi learned from her new friend that she had been in the sect for more than a year already.


    She had begun cultivation at the age of thirteen, brought here by a Liquid Realm disciple by the name of Long Que.


    Her talent had shone bright on the test-stone and she had opened her Shinsoo passageways after half a year in the sect.


    "Sister Sumi, what do you think of these ?"


    Shin Sumi was brought back from her deep thinking. Xiao Yue was holding a pair of bracelets against her tanned skin.


    "I like them very much Sister Yue !"


    The two bracelets were simple silver bands ornated with stones. One of them exhibited a green stone and the other a purple one.


    Trying them on a few times, Xiao Yue was having a hard time deciding. That didn''t seem to inconvenience the disciple that was selling them. The youth in his twenties was all smile, telling her to try for as long as she wanted.


    After another long hesitation, Xiao Yue turned to Shin Sumi.


    "Which one do you prefer, Sister Sumi ?"


    "I think the purple one is beautiful. If I had to choose I would pick this one !"


    Showing her white teeth, Xiao Yue turned to the stall owner.


    "I think it''s settled then. I''ll take both !" she said while fishing for two low grade spirit stones from her bag of holding.


    Shin Sumi was wondering why she had asked her for advice when she had planned to buy both bracelets when Xiao Yue turned to her.


    "This one is yours from now on. This is a gift, you don''t owe me anything. You were right, the purple bracelet is beautiful on you !"


    Shin Sumi planned on refusing the gift, but upon seeing Xiao Yue''s seriousness she decided against it.


    Wearing the bracelet immediately, Shin Sumi saw Xiao Yue''s eyes light up.


    It really was a simple gift, Xiao Yue just wanted a friend.


    "As long as you are wearing this bracelet, then you are my Little Sister. And as your Big Sister, I say you tell me where you want to go !"


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    Shin Sumi couldn''t help laughing and covered her mouth with the white hand adorned with her new bracelet.


    "Alright then Big Sister Yue ! Let''s find spirit plants."


    Hearing her reply, Xiao Yue''s face turned serious all of a sudden. Her brows bere in a ''V'' shape and she was pondering something.


    "No that won''t do... You are taller than me, it doesn''t sound cute at all if you call me Big Sister. I wanted to try it since every orange disciple is called that by their followers, but you''re not my follower. Since you are my friend and my sister, loose the ''big'' "


    For a second Shin Sumi thought that she had done something bad. She let out a relieved sigh and laughed again.


    "Why don''t we lose the ''sister'' too ? I''ll call you Yue and you''ll call me Sumi ! What do you think ?"


    Normally it was a form of address only reserved to the closest relatives or friends but considering that they were now sisters Xiao Yue immediately approved.


    ***


    They walked around the market for close to an hour.


    At any time of day and night disciples would close their store and others would take their place.


    The place seemed like a big mess to Shin Sumi but Xiao Yue explained "Technically you set shop anywhere but usually certain areas are respected. If you want to sell pills, all the disciples looking for them will be in the pill area so it is best to set up shop there."


    Xiao Yue knew the market perfectly well, and a lot of the sellers as well. She introduced many of them to her new sister.


    At least in front of Xiao Yue they all seemed very happy to meet Shin Sumi.


    The more time passed the more Shin Sumi started to understand Xiao Yue''s background.


    Not knowing anyone in the sect but having a pretty good talent, she had to find ways to progress. When she discovered the market and all its impressive goods, she did her best to do quests for the sect.


    That way she earned a decent amount of spirit stones and some objects to trade in the market.


    For a long time she had sold things herself and made friends with many customers and fellow sellers.


    Shin Sumi had no idea what the quest system was and asked Xiao Yue.


    "No, it''s not in the newcomer manual. That thing lacks a lot of things ! It hasn''t been changed maybe since the foundation of the Dark Sky Starry Sect !"


    "The quest system is the best way for disciples to earn better income. Any disciple can choose a quest issued by the sect, as long as it corresponds to their rank. The easiest are something like finding special plants in the mountains around the sect. The more difficult quests can provide more reward but they can be dangerous before you open your Shinsoo passageways."


    "Before that, you can alternate between working in the fields and lower rank quests. I''ll tell you more about the quests tomorrow ! I''ll take you to see the Quests Pavillion !"


    Xiao Yue had piqued Shin Sumi''s interest but she was right, the sky was getting dark and with her tiredness Shin Sumi found herself yawning frequently.


    After accompanying her to the entrance of the market area, Xiao Yue hugged Shin Sumi briefly before heading on their separate ways.

 9 Revelations

    The next morning, Shin Sumi got up early to meet Xiao Yue next to the market entrance.


    Xiao Yue was already waiting for Shin Sumi. As radiant as the day before, she greeted her with a hug.


    "How did you sleep Sumi ? Is the dormitory comfortable enough ?"


    For a second Shin Sumi asked herself what Xiao Yue was talking about.


    She had been so used to having her own courtyard that she had forgotten for a second that red robed disciples would normally share rooms in one of the main dormitories of the lower valley.


    "Yes I slept perfectly fine. And you ? Do you have your own room ?"


    "Yes that''s one of the perks of wearing orange ! I have a private room, and even a small spiritual formation set up to close off the room to other people ! I''ll take you to it if you want, and you can show me your dorm as well !


    But for now, let''s go to the Quests Pavillion ! It is the best way to make spirit stones."


    As they started walking, Xiao Yue explained a little bit more about the quests system.


    "It might be hard for you to do a lot of quests, considering that you haven''t started condensing Shinsoo yet. For now you can probably only take a search quest."


    Her grey eyes reflected into Shin Sumi''s and she continued explaining.


    "These are not hard to do, it is basically a list of things that you can go look for in the mountains of the sect and bring back to the Quests Pavillion. It is also a good basis to obtain more status points."


    "What are status points ?"


    "It is a ranking amongst the Honorary Disciples. When you complete a quest for the sect, you are awarded a certain amount of points. With those points you can unlock more difficult quests that give you more points. Also at the end of each month, the top hundred disciples based on their status points get special rewards from the sect !"


    "Last month I placed in the top eighty and was given fifteen spirit stones and a protection talisman!"


    "How many quests did you have to do and how many status points did you earn ?" Shin Sumi asked. She desperately needed more spirit stones to feed to the little nut and cultivate with.


    Xiao Yue wore a proud smile on her pretty face. It was clear that she was very happy with her achievements.


    "I did a dozen or so. If you choose the right quests it is not too difficult. Usually I prefer personal quests though. For personal reasons sometimes Liquid Realm disciples add their own quests to the list at the Pavillion. They tend to be a bit more difficult and original, but the rewards are buch better ! Sadly they don''t give off status points upon completion. Ah, here we are !"


    Opening her arms in the manner of a tour guide, Xiao Yue showed Shin Sumi the Quests Pavillion.


    It was a building closely resembling in design the Affairs Pavillion but it was much bigger.


    The place was full of people going in and out or simply waiting in front of it.


    As they got a bit closer, Shin Sumi discerned a big jade screen emitting a soft glow.


    "Status Points Ranking" she read out loud.


    She was trying to find Xiao Yue''s name from afar when a blast of wind hit her from the side.


    "Watch out Sumi !" cried Xiao Yue pulling on her sleeve.


    A second later, a yellow blur had passed right in the spot where she stood. A few meters away, in the front of the Quests Pavilion entrance a large group of disciples made way in haste, letting the yellow blur enter unhindered.


    "What was that ?"


    "More like who. It''s the yellow talented disciple Jun Qian. He''s number one on the ranking."


    Xiao Yue was frowning. Considering the special way she felt about other people, it was clear that she didn''t like him very much.


    Recalling something she heard a few days before as she read his name on the first line of the ranking screen, Shin Sumi said "Jun Qian. Isn''t he the rumored number one strongest Honorary Disciple in the Dark Sky Starry Sect ? I''ve heard people say that he is voluntarily keeping himself from entering the Liquid Realm."


    "Yes that is what the rumours say. Honestly I think it''s possible, he is despicable and would do anything as long as it suits his personal agenda."


    "But why would he decide on purpose to stay on a lower level ? Does that make any sense ?"


    Shaking her head slightly, Xiao Yue explained.


    "The Liquid Realm disciples don''t take the same quests as us. In fact they don''t live like us at all from what I''ve gathered. And Jun Qian has been first on the ranking for over three years now. Every month he enjoys the best resources that any Honorary Disciple could ever hope to get. If he broke through to the Liquid Realm cultivation stage, he would find himself at the bottom...


    Instead he stays here, enjoying himself and doing quests. Last month a lot of people were hoping to get the speed talisman but I guess he got that one too."


    Shin Sumi pondered for a moment, but her thoughts were interrupted by loud exclamations from the crowd in front of the Pavillion.


    Since the arrival of Jun Qian with his speed talisman a few minutes earlier, people had started gathering. For the nameless disciples who would likely never end up on the ranking board, it was spectacular to see how many points a top disciple had gathered.


    Reading the number next to his name, Shin Sumi saw Jun Qian''s total.


    "12,000 ?!! How did that bastard get 3,000 points in a single quest ?!"


    Next to Shin Sumi, Xiao Yue nearly had smoke coming out of her nostrils. It was the first time Shin Sumi saw her like this.


    "He must have killed a really dangerous beast in the woods. Maybe even a Liquid level Beast like a horned serpent or a murderous sky vine."


    This month too, Jun Qian was certain to place first in the ranking.


    As Xiao Yue explained, the month had only started a week before but Jun Qian already had around 5,000 more points than the second on the jade screen.


    Shin Sumi had only seen a yellow blur earlier due to his extreme speed, and didn''t see Jun Qian''s face. With the description she had gotten from Xiao Yue, she was starting to form a picture in her mind of what the despicable Jun Qian must look like.


    A lot of people had gathered and quite a large number of girls were waiting for the number one Honorary Disciple of the sect to come out of the Quests Pavillion.


    They were all his followers that had heard about his return.


    Shin Sumi thought silently "I guess the stronger, the more followers one has." Thinking about Xiao Yue right next to her, she wondered why an orange-robed pretty girl like her didn''t seem to have any followers.


    The acclamations redoubled when a figure walked out of the Quests Pavillion.


    Contrary to her expectations, Shin Sumi found that the youth wearing yellow robes was not at all what she expected.


    He seemed to be in his mid twenties and had a handsome face. His gaze was gentle and his lips always held a slight smile.


    In one motion Jun Qian detached a yellowish paper talisman from his leg. Letting it go in the wind, the paper turned wrinkly and soon it had dissolved into invisible powder.


    For a second Shin Sumi''s blue eyes crossed Jun Qian''s sight, their gaze interlocking for the briefest of moments.


    Turning away, Jun Qian grinned as he received praise from dozens of his followers.


    Most of the girls around were younger than him and their eyes were shining with wonder.


    Xiao Yue tugged at Shin Sumi''s sleeve, taking them out of the path of the amazed mob.


    Jun Qian left the Quests Pavillion and soon the place was a lot quieter.


    A few orange robed disciples that were already around contracted their hands into fists, walking inside the Pavilion with renewed determination.


    "Hmpf. What is so great about that Jun Qian anyway ? If I had spent years in the sect just like him I would already be in the Liquid Realm."


    Xiao Yue was voicing her angry thoughts in a low voice as the two girls finally entered the Pavillion.


    The inside was entirely made of shining red wood pulsing with a soft light.


    Jade screens and scrolls were everywhere. In some way the Quests Pavillion resembled a library. Shin Sumi immediately liked the place because of that.


    She had seen a lot of people enter the building, but for some reason the inside seemed to be much bigger than the outside and it wasn''t crowded at all.


    "Uh, this is strange. Maybe it''s because of Immortal magic. Or did all the people go upstairs ?"


    In the middle of the the entryway was a big wooden staircase.


    Each step was carved with inscriptions that looked similar to those on Shin Sumi''s courtyard gate.


    "A Shinsoo formation ! Does it prevent people from entering ?"


    Shin Sumi had no knowledge regarding Shinsoo formations and could only form wild guesses.


    Out of sheer curiosity, she landed her foot on the first step.


    Immediately a powerful force of expulsion rose around her, seemingly to prevent her from going further. But before Shin Sumi was ejected, a soft light shone from her bag of holding and the force of expulsion disappeared.


    It takes some time to describe but all of it happened in an instant and nobody noticed apart from Shin Sumi herself and Xiao Yue who was about to warn her.


    She had started speaking but was interrupted before she could even begin to warn Shin Sumi.


    Normally the force of expulsion would have blasted her at least a few meters away. But for some reason Shin Sumi was still on the second step.


    Without turning towards her flabbergasted friend, Shin Sumi kept on advancing.


    Past the second step no more obstacle rose and Shin Sumi walked unhindered to the second floor of the Quests Pavilion.


    As she stopped to observe her surroundings, Xiao Yue finally caught up with her.


    She was holding her command medallion in her left hand, the one with the green stone bracelet and she had a bit of sweat dripping from her forehead.


    "How did you do that ?! Sumi, why can you be here ? Even with my command medallion the repulsive force is almost too strong for me to resist !"


    "What do you mean Yue ? I''m perfectly fine... What is this place ?"


    "It is the quests room for ranks orange and above ! This is where disciples can find the best quests, those that give out a lot of rewards from the sect. The spirit automaton of the Quests Pavillion ranks them automatically and calculates reward accordingly. Sumi, I think it is best if we go back... I don''t understand but you shouldn''t be up here ! Follow me."


    Shin Sumi took one last look around her before following Xiao Yue downstairs.


    Clearly the second floor of the Quests Pavillion was more luxurious than the first one. There were no disciples present it seemed and the scrolls and jade screens covering the walls and tables were less densely packed.


    Shin Sumi understood why she shouldn''t have been there and why she was in an instant.


    "That is bad. I''ve made a grave mistake ! With my red robes I am not supposed to be here ! What am I gonna tell Yue now ?"


    Biting her lips, she quickly exited the building behind Xiao Yue. It was easy as all the low ranked disciples around automatically parted to let her orange robed friend pass easily.


    Once outside, Xiao Yue put away her command medallion and crossed her arms in front of Shin Sumi.


    "What was that, Sumi ? How did you go up the stairs ? Normally there is a repulsive Shinsoo formation to prevent red robed disciples to gain access to the upper floors."


    She had her brows furrowed and a suspicious air about her.


    "Do you have some confusion treasure to trick Shinsoo formations ? What is going on ?"


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    Shin Sumi''s lips started bleeding a little bit because of how hard she was biting them.


    The taste of blood didn''t wash away her guilt as she wondered what to say.


    "What can I do ?" she asked herself, "Should I tell her the truth ?"


    Shin Sumi didn''t want to lie. She hadn''t known the girl for more than a day but they were already sworn sisters. Besides deep inside her heart she felt that Xiao Yue was honest and trustful.


    But her secret was too big "What if Yue decides to expose me ? I think she wouldn''t do that but how can I know ?"


    All of her thinking happened in a second but it felt like an eternity in Shin Sumi''s torn mind.


    Unbeknownst to her, something else happened.


    At the same time as she was pondering on her situation, a soft light glimmered on her wrist. Thankfully it was completely hidden by the cloth she had tied earlier during her experiments with the nut.


    The nut didn''t come out of the leaf pattern but it still shone briefly.


    Without knowing it, a strange sensation spread through Shin Sumi''s body.


    For some reason Shin Sumi felt much calmer than before. She stopped biting her lip and clasped her hands behind her back.


    She knew what to do.


    "Yue, can we talk somewhere more private ? I know a place, follow me. I promise to tell you everything you need to know."


    Xiao Yue was still on the defensive but she trusted Shin Sumi.


    Ever since she was little, she had a special instinct and it had never failed her. She could feel in her guts some things that other people would never know.


    And as she followed Shin Sumi in the direction of the south of the lower valley, her heart told her to trust her.


    ***


    Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue had walked in silence. The situation was very reminiscent of when Lan Hui had revealed the truth about Elder Zhu to Shin Sumi. But now it was her turn to reveal something to someone else.


    She and Xiao Yue were in the middle of a small forest in the lower valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Not a lot of people knew that the forest was the settings of a lone house and courtyard.


    "This... it''s an abandoned courtyard ! I heard it''s last occupant was a green robed disciple from more than a hundred years ago " said Xiao Yue upon seeing the closed gates.


    Without a word, Shin Sumi took out her identification medallion from her bag of holding.


    The gates flashed with the signal of the Shinsoo formation deactivating and opened without a noise.


    "Welcome to my home" said Shin Sumi leading the way.


    She was bowing from her waist, waiting for Xiao Yue to recover her senses and enter.


    It took a full ten seconds before the grey eyed girl finally reacted.


    "Your home... You mean ... You are the green robed that arrived recently ?!"


    Of course, Xiao Yue had heard about the news. They were solely rumors but rumors often stemmed from partial truths. People had been saying here and there that a newcomer had arrived whom was supposed to be a complete genius.


    Never could Xiao Yue have guessed that her new friend was that genius !


    She wasn''t at the Liquid Realm yet so she couldn''t sense the Shinsoo fluctuations from others. But why would a genius wear read garments ?


    "It wasn''t my plan to hide it from you, but the thing is ..." Shin Sumi started explaining.


    She talked for almost an hour, recalling her story to Xiao Yue, but of course omitting the little nut.


    Shin Sumi still felt bad for her lies but that''s what her strange sensation from earlier had led her to do.


    Shin Sumi was smart, she understood that it somehow came from the little sentient nut.


    It wasn''t her first interactions with it and this time the sensations closely resembled what she had felt when the nut gave her small bursts of stamina during the first test of the sect entry.


    Taking one last breath, Shin Sumi finished her story.


    "I hope you are not mad with me Yue... Do you still want me as your little sister ?"


    Shin Sumi''s last words came from her heart. She honestly wanted Yue to forgive her and was waiting anxiously for her answer.


    Along the explanations, Xiao Yue''s hand had found her chin and she was holding it seriously, thinking.


    It was only after a few minutes that she opened her mouth.


    "Sumi ... I understand. I know what you feel "


    Shin Sumi lifter her head to look at Xiao Yue in the eyes. She was a bit dubious.


    "Does she ... ?"


    "That also explains why you wanted to get spirit stones so fast ! You lack confidence in yourself ! You don''t need to Sumi. With your big sister here, you will make progress soon. You''ve only been here for two weeks. No progress doesn''t mean you are bad at cultivation, even geniuses need a bit of time !"


    Shin Sumi let out a long internal relieved breath. Xiao Yue was back to her original self.


    Thankfully she didn''t hate Shin Sumi, she just thought Sumi had put too much pressure on her own shoulders.


    Xiao Yue''s instincts told her that what she had been told wasn''t the whole truth but she knew that she had at least a part of that truth.


    "I guess everybody has their secrets... Maybe one day you''ll tell me and I''ll tell you mine as well Sumi" she thought as she forced herself to think of another subject.

 10 Out in the Wilderness

    Xiao Yue stayed with Shin Sumi until the end of the day, giving her pointers about cultivation.


    "Your courtyard really is impressive ! With an environment containing such a dense Shinsoo, you will be able to progress in no time !" she marvelled encouragingly.


    In only one day, Xiao Yue felt that she had made the same progress as she would have done if she had a few low grade spirit stones.


    It really was heavens for any cultivator beneath the Liquid Realm.


    After the clouds got dark, Xiao Yue made a move to leave when Shin Sumi grabbed her.


    "Yue, why don''t you stay the night here ? You still haven''t tried the pond."


    Shin Sumi had previously planned to do more experiments with the little nut that night, but she still felt bad about lying to her friend.


    Instead of letting her leave she insisted that she stayed.


    Xiao Yue was overjoyed.


    "It can be our first sleepover ! I just need to grab some stuff in my room, I will be back in a short time. Thank you Sumi, that means a lot."


    Sumi exhibited a happy face, truly reflecting her feelings.


    Even though she had only met her the day before, she could consider Xiao Yue as her first ever real friend. Shin Sumi had always been shy, preferring the company of books rather than people.


    While Xiao Yue was out for a trip to her habitation, Shin Sumi organized her room a little bit.


    She hid all of her precious seeds away under her mattress and threw away all that remained of the evolved spirit plants from before.


    Hesitating for a while, Shin Sumi decided to summon the little grey nut.


    Using a normal seed as bait, she didn''t have to wait for long before her wrist flashed briefly.


    Holding the nut within her palm, she gave instructions.


    "Little nut, I don''t know if you understand what I''m saying, but I trust you. Please, please, do not come out before tomorrow. I can''t tell Yue about your existence and I don''t want to lie to her any more than I already did."


    She had no idea if the nut had understood any of it, but it soon rolled around her fingers to return to her wrist.


    By its own volition the nut had disappeared once again, just in time for Xiao Yue''s return.


    "Sumi ! I''m back, open the gates !"


    With a flick of her sleeve, Shin Sumi took out her identification medallion. She was quickly getting used to it now.


    "Yue, you were fast !"


    "Why do you say that ? Am I interrupting something ?"


    "Not at all, of course not. I''m just saying that you are really fast ! I thought your room was in the south-west dormitory."


    "It is. I am fast because of my cultivation. Even though I haven''t condensed my first vortex yet, my speed is already far better than a mortal''s. Don''t worry you will see by yourself soon !"


    Xiao Yue was all smile. She really wanted Shin Sumi to be more confident in herself.


    Before, the two girls had simply been talking about cultivation and practicing a bit, but now Shin Sumi gave a little tour of her property.


    It wasn''t large, the courtyard being only approximately a twenty meters squared.


    Next, Shin Sumi invited Xiao Yue into her room.


    "Woah it is so much bigger than my own room ! You even have a large bed ! Is it where we are going to sleep ?"


    "Ahah no, I have other plans " Shin Sumi laughed quietly. "Do you want to see my favorite place so far in the sect ?"


    Without waiting for an answer, Shin Sumi walked outside. In a few seconds she was by the pond, next to the stone bench.


    "Are you coming, Yue ?" she said as she undid her robes in a quick fashion and leapt into the pond.


    When she resurfaced, Xiao Yue was still standing at the door in amazement. For a second Shin Sumi thought she might have acted a bit too strange but since they were already sisters it should have been fine.


    To her relief, Xiao Yue''s mouth quickly turned into a big smile showing her white teeth.


    ***


    "Sumi, this pond is incredible ! It is so fresh and ... relaxing ! Besides the Shinsoo here is really good to cultivate without even worrying about it !"


    Shin Sumi didn''t say anything. She couldn''t feel it but she suspected the waters to have retained a bit of the energy from the high grade spirit stone.


    The girls were sitting next to each other on a shallow part of the pond.


    The fish swam freely between their legs, occasionally brushing against them, causing a soft giggle.


    "You know, there is a waterfall a few hours from the valley, in the west mountains. The water doesn''t feel as nice as here but the place is really beautiful, I''ll take you to it one day."


    "I''ll gladly go with you next time !" Shin Sumi replied.


    The two girls talked for a long time in the waters. Xiao Yue explained a lot of things about the Dark Sky Starry Sect and cultivation in general, Shin Sumi listened with intent and admiration.


    It was the middle of the night when a shining bright dot appeared in the clouded sky.


    A second later the dot had transformed into a streak of light.


    "Sumi, look ! It must be an elder of the sect returning !"


    Xiao Yue''s voice broke the long silence, but no response came to her.


    "Sumi ?"


    Shin Sumi had fallen asleep. Her eyes were closed and her breasts were moving in a calm and regular manner. A light cloud of white vapor came out of her soft red lips with every expiration.


    Xiao Yue looked at her tenderly. Unlike Shin Sumi who could still be considered a mortal, she needed a lot less sleep and was not even tired.


    The water surface rippled without a noise as Xiao Yue moved closer to her new sister.


    The water droplets on her skin fell down as she gently massaged Shin Sumi''s shoulders and arms.


    ***


    When Shin Sumi woke up, Xiao Yue was still massaging her body. The contact startled her but she calmed down when she realized what was happening.


    "Good morning Sumi. How did you sleep ?" Xiao Yue asked.


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    Shin Sumi replied with a slurred tone "Good. I feel so refreshed ! I''ve never felt like this before !"


    "This is a massage technique I obtained from another cultivator a year ago as a reward from a quest. It helps opening up the pores of your skin to absorb more Shinsoo energy" Xiao Yue explained while rubbing Shin Sumi''s skin in a strange pattern.


    "It apparently is really useful. This is the first time I''ve tried it so you will have to tell me ! I figured it was inappropriate to do it with anyone else but we are sisters and sisters should help each other, right ?"


    Shin Sumi bobbed her head in approval, enjoying the feeling spreading through her upper body.


    After a short while of observing the effects of the massage, Shin Sumi thought about how long Xiao Yue must have been massaging her.


    "Can you teach that massage to others ?" she asked.


    "Yes, I can give you the scroll where the technique is written if you want. I''ve already memorized it after all."


    The two girls had been bathing for a really long time now and the dawn had already turned into morning. They both donned their respective robes.


    "Here is the massage technique ! You can try it on me next time if you want !" said Xiao Yue as she took out a small white scroll from her bag of holding. She added "The day is already well on its way, I should probably go now. Thank you Sumi for letting me enjoy the comfort of your courtyard. It was really a great time !"


    "Don''t thank me Yue, it''s normal ! As my sister you can come here anytime to spend the night with me. I really enjoyed it too."


    Xiao Yue asked Shin Sumi what her plans were for the day. Shin Sumi was going to cultivate while Xiao Yue planned on working for some quests.


    "I have accepted three quests this time. The month already started a week ago and I plan on getting into the top one hundred again. I will hunt in the southern mountains for a few days or weeks, depending on the time it takes to finish the quests. Maybe you can give them a try too !"


    That was a good idea, since Shin Sumi had a plan already.


    Xiao Yue left the courtyard first, hugging Shin Sumi goodbye and wishing her well for the days to come.


    Shin Sumi left soon after in the direction of the lower valley fields. She collected a few handfuls of seeds from flowers called Worm Roots Flowers. She had picked up the flower randomly but she knew its petals were used to make spirit food.


    With people around, Shin Sumi didn''t have to worry about the little nut showing itself. For some reason the nut seemed completely uninterested by the seeds when there were people around.


    Maybe it was a measure of protection but anyway, it was a good thing.


    This time Shin Sumi didn''t go back to her house and went directly to the Quests Pavillion.


    Xiao Yue had already left for her quests and it was time Shin Sumi tried for herself.


    She didn''t have any faith in getting into the top hundred considering her talents, but maybe she could at least obtain some status points and a spirit stone or two by the end of the month.


    Besides, she needed to leave the sect for her plan.


    What she needed the most to cultivate was spirit stones. They were the most efficient way to progress and Shin Sumi firmly believed that with enough high grade spirit stones, even a simple mortal with no talent could eventually succeed.


    She had no proof of this whatsoever but it was her only option.


    According to what she had learned recently, Shin Sumi knew that the best source of income was the quests system as well as the market.


    "Right now I don''t have anything to sell in the market, but I have the little nut. With it I can definitely work something out !" she thought as she arrived at the Quests Pavillion.


    The place was crowded as usual and with the time it took Shin Sumi to pass the mass of disciples, she had enough time to read the ranking jade screen.


    Xiao Yue''s name wasn''t displayed but Jun Qian''s was still in the first place, with two thousand points more than the previous day.


    "Big Brother Jun fought a Snake Raven yesterday ! "


    "I bet he will have more than fifty thousand status points by the end of the month !"


    "Second Brother Li is not bad either, but it''s a shame he will never be able to beat Big Brother Jun."


    The scoring board was the talk of the whole sect it seemed. Jun Qian really was impressive.


    Once inside, Shin Sumi looked around at a few posters listing possible quests for red robed disciples. Now that she knew what it entailed for her, she didn''t go to the second floor.


    She had been searching for a few minutes when finally she found what she was looking for.


    "A spirit plant quests list ! For this one I need to find ten stalks of White Cloud Lotus. And this one, any seed of Purple Vine will do ! It is a good opportunity to explore around the sect too !"


    Following Xiao Yue''s explanations from the day before, Shin Sumi took out her identification medallion and lightly pressed it against the quest she was interested in.


    That was the procedure. The spirit automaton of the Quests Pavillion was called and instantly inscribed a complicated character next to the quest information.


    This way, other disciples would know that the quest was taken and it would instantly disappear once Shin Sumi would report her success.


    In case of failure or abandonment, the symbol would be erased and make the quest available again.


    Shin Sumi selected three different spirit plants quests, which was the limit for one disciple.


    Remembering the information detailed in her newcomer''s manual, Shin Sumi quickly walked to the western gate of the lower valley.


    She met Lan Hui right before the gates opened into the wilderness of the training ground and told him about her quest so that he wouldn''t find her absence strange.


    The Dark Sky Starry Sect was a small sect in the cultivation world but it still encompassed a few dozens peaks of the Blue Fire mountain range.


    "The size of the sect may be small in the world but for a mortal it is still incredibly big !" Shin Sumi thought. "According to the information in the guide, I guess it would take months to walk from one side of the sect to the other !"


    It was with big shiny eyes filled with excitement that Shin Sumi stepped out of the lower valley boundaries for the first time.


    The old her would probably not have enjoyed going out into the wilderness but Shin Sumi was slowly starting to adapt to the new version of herself.


    And that version was brave and excited instead of shy and afraid.


    ***


    Shin Sumi had been walking for a few hours now. Soon after she had left the western gate, the thin and tortuous path had disappeared completely. The vegetation was getting denser and denser the further away she went.


    Shin Sumi was nowhere near the borders of the training grounds, which could only be reached by walking for more than three days, but she still needed to exert caution. If a normal red robed disciple reached the borders, their identification medallion would inform them. For an orange robed disciple, the limit of where they could go was a bit further. And so on.


    With her identification jade imprinted for a green level disciple, Shin Sumi didn''t know the extent of where she could go safely with her inexistant cultivation.


    The training grounds were still the propriety of the sect though, which ensured that normally no disciple would find themselves in mortal peril. But there was no surveillance of the area and no one knew for sure what kinds of beasts were roaming around.


    Shin Sumi walked carefully, taking in the noises of the jungle.


    She wasn''t used to the wilderness but she was a clever girl. Looking at the ground and the trees, she kept constant notes of her position compared to the entrance of the sect.


    A few broken branches and footprints indicated that the area frequently saw disciples passing through. Shin Sumi decided to go further away from the marks.


    There was no trail to follow but it was relatively easy to find a location remote enough to be safe.


    The danger of spirit beasts was constant but at least she could easily avoid other disciples. The training grounds were the property of the sect but not technically part of the sect. Hence the rules would not apply and friction between disciples could escalate quickly. In this case the Affairs Pavilion would not bat an eye, even if a fight to the death over some treasure took place.


    After a few hours of walking, the environment seemed untouched for Shin Sumi. No footprints nor any indication of man presence were visible.


    Just to be sure, she kept advancing for a little while.


    A strange sound suddenly resonated within her ears. It sounded like an infant''s laughter.


    Shin Sumi lifted her head to look at the canopy. The sound originated from a strange bird that had a beak that parted four ways. The bird looked at Shin Sumi with malice in its eyes before flapping its wings and flying away.


    "The creatures in the Immortal world are nothing like those from the mortal world" said Shin Sumi. She recalled the many stray dogs of her East Seaside Village and the swallows in the sky during spring time. Compared to them, everything in the jungle was strange, exotic and colorful.


    It was a wonderful sight, albeit filled with danger.


    Shin Sumi was still absentmindedly pondering about this new world opened to her when her wrist flashed with a deep red light.


    A second later the little grey nut was biting her arm so hard that it stopped Shin Sumi right in her tracks.


    "Aiiiee ! What''s wrong with you ! It hurts you know ?!" she cried while trying to cup the always evading nut.


    It took her a few seconds and around ten more bites to understand what was going on.


    All around her were gigantic leaves approximately the size of her. There was nothing unusual about it, but as Shin Sumi moved around, she briefly saw between the leaves out of the corner of her eye.


    A few steps in front of her was a gigantic ravine !


    It was about twenty meters wide and went on for what seemed like a kilometer. The most terrifying of all was the depth which Shin Sumi could not clearly see the bottom of.


    Had the nut not been there she would have fallen to her death immediately ! The nut had saved her life !


    Shin Sumi slowly extended her neck over the chasm.


    "I would have fallen a few hundred meters if you hadn''t saved me..."


    The rush of adrenaline made her tremble from her head to her toes.


    When Xiao Yue told her about the dangers of the training ground, Shin Sumi would never have expected this kind of thing. And Xiao Yue had seemed so casual about it too !


    Shin Sumi was about to go back on her tracks when her eye caught a sliver of light reflected from somewhere in the ravine.

 11 The Copper Bell in the Darkness

    The cliffs that bordered the chasm were very steep and not a lot of light could reach the bottom. In fact nearly nothing could be seen from high above.


    It gave the place a dark and mysterious feeling that conferred no want to go explore it.


    But just as she decided to retreat, Shin Sumi caught a light from way down in the chasm.


    It was a fleeting light that only lasted a second. Intrigued by it, Shin Sumi decided to wait around a bit longer while she calmed down from her earlier fright.


    She didn''t have to wait for long before the light shone deep down once again. This time Shin Sumi knew where to look.


    "There is no mistaking it ! That is the reflection of the sun on water !"


    Observing the other side of the chasm, Shin Sumi saw a number of big trees that plunged into the abyss in almost constant shadows. With the wind, sometimes the leaves would part enough for a tiny ray of sunlight to reach the bottom a few hundred meters below.


    As the waters below scintillated in rhythm, Shin Sumi caught a glimpse of a rainbow.


    "There is definitely a waterfall down there !"


    ***


    Circling around the borders of the chasm for half a day, Shin Sumi finally found what she was looking for.


    There, between the roots of an ancient tree with a trunk the size of a small house, she found a passageway that reached inside the ravine by a steep slope.


    It was a tedious process to climb down, grabbing roots and stones here and there, and Shin Sumi was starting to wonder whether it was really a good idea or not. Any wrong step she took could be her last.


    It took almost four hours for her to reach the bottom of the chasm. She had stopped a few times to rest sitting on boulders but the further down she went the longer it took to progress.


    The cause behind this was because of the light. As it dimmed progressively it became harder and harder to find climbing holds. Added to that the fact that the day was reaching its end soon, it was night time when she finally reached the bottom.


    "At least I''m sure that this place is not often visited by disciples !"


    Shin Sumi was completely blind during the night and decided to rest in a large anfractuosity a few meters from the bottom.


    She could only sit against the hard wall and it was very uncomfortable but she didn''t want to risk her safety by exploring without light.


    The whole time the nut had stayed out of her wrist, installed between her breasts as usual, ready to warn her of any danger to come.


    Shin Sumi couldn''t sleep for the entire night, the noises of the jungle above her reminding her at all times of the beasts lurking in the vicinity.


    ***


    The sun had already been out for a few hours before it was high enough for its light to reach the bottom of the chasm. Shin Sumi could see the clouds bright in comparison to the dark rocks that made the cliff sides.


    When she was confident enough in her sight to explore a bit, she left her resting cave to go South.


    She had walked a long time to find a way down after she had seen the waterfall and she knew it would take at least an hour to find it.


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    Thankfully the chasm was in the form of a line and there was only one possible direction in which to walk.


    There were two reasons why Shin Sumi had decided to enter the ravine instead of leaving, each one as good as the other.


    The first reason was because of her quests. She had selected the ones with the name of plants she knew, and White Cloud Lotus was one of them.


    White Cloud Lotus were small flowers that had leaves in the shape of lotus petals but the flower itself was round and white. It''s appearance could definitely described as soft and cloudy. Shin Sumi had seen one or two of them in the market of the lower valley while she was shopping with Xiao Yue.


    She had found the flowers beautiful and had asked the stall owner about it. Shin Sumi remembered him clearly saying that although not too rare, the White Cloud Lotus were hard to find because they only grew in dark places with a lot of humidity.


    The plant required a lot of Yin Shinsoo energy to grow and was useful in the cultivation of spirit arts with cold attributes. A lot of Liquid Realm disciples adepts of such arts would pay a good amount of spirit stones for these flowers.


    The second reason why Shin Sumi was excited to find waters was because of her own plans. She had come to the training grounds to use the little nut to refine seeds and plant them.


    "I was careless the first time and the plants absorbed a lot of Shinsoo from the high grade spirit stone in the pond" she had thought, "this time I will plant them after they are refined and keep the spirit stone for myself !"


    She needed as much Shinsoo as possible to cultivate and although it was nice to have spirit plants grow in just one night, Shin Sumi felt that it was a huge waste of resources.


    According to her senses, Shin Sumi felt it strange that the darkness of the chasm didn''t seem to go away as the sun rose higher above the clouds.


    Even in the Dark Sky Starry Sect valleys obscured from the sun by the grey clouds as always, a difference could be seen between hours of the day.


    But not here, not in the ravine.


    "This darkness is strange. I can barely see a few meters in front of me even though the clouds are bright." said Shin Sumi with furrowed brows.


    She walked for two incense sticks worth of time, comforting herself in the feeling of the little nut between her breasts.


    "The nut will tell me if there is any danger. I don''t have to worry, it has never failed me so far ! I just have to trust it again and keep going."


    Shin Sumi felt that something was off without knowing what. The further along she went the more the feeling grew inside her.


    She could hear her heart thumping a little bit quicker than before and ...


    "My heart ! I can hear it beating !"


    It was nothing too strange, she was alive after all. But it made her understand what was wrong all this time.


    "Why is everything so silent ? I can''t hear any beast nor the sound of the wind entering the ravine. Even the rustling of the leaves is gone... What is going on here ?"


    Shin Sumi took out the little nut from her robes. There was no mistaking it, the nut was still alert but judged that nothing was dangerous.


    That helped Shin Sumi calm down a bit.


    She was walking in nearly a straight line, only changing directions when she needed to avoid a tree or a rock. The whole ravine was only a few meters wide but since she couldn''t see the sides, just the opening above her head, Shin Sumi was under the impression of it being way larger.


    At one point she stopped to observe the sky above her. It looked like a giant scar in the earth with ragged edges, traced like a lighting bolt towards her horizon on both sides.


    "I recognize the shape of the opening there. This is where I saw the trees. And right on the other side is where I almost fell the first time !"


    Speaking out loud just to hear sound, she said "I should be right where I saw the waterfall. It must be on this side !"


    Shin Sumi had been keeping the middle of the chasm as her reference during her journey in the darkness but now she needed to find the wall.


    The reason she had been avoiding the borders was something she had picked up during the last trial for entering the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    In the Foggy Maze the normal technique of following a wall didn''t work. It was due to the strange magic at work but here her thoughts were similar.


    "Who knows what kinds of caves there are in the rocky walls ? Maybe some animals like the darkness and silence better and sleep in the shadows."


    Maybe she was being overly careful but that was still better than being reckless. The brave version of her was courageous, not stupid !


    Shin Sumi advanced with small steps, turning her head all around before advancing again.


    That was all she could do to progress safely, but it still wasn''t enough as suddenly the ground seemed to disappear under her feet.


    Splash !


    The sound of the water receiving her body off balance was almost non existent.


    Even when the waters rippled and she took a big gasp of air upon resurfacing, no noise was emitted.


    The waters were ice cold and instantly dispelled all the fatigue Shin Sumi''s body felt.


    But is still was definitely not a nice feeling to be plunged into cold water.


    Panting and reaching for the rocky ground she had left involuntarily, Shin Sumi cursed in her heart "Little nut ! Why did you not warn me ?! The next time you pull off something like this I will kill you !"


    Her anger was talking, of course she wasn''t in real danger. It helped her redefine what the word ''danger'' meant for the sentient nut though.


    She meant to grab it inside of her robes with her arm numbed from the cold but her fingers simply closed themselves around air and soaky fabric.


    Her first instinct was to look at the water surface, but all movement had already stopped and she couldn''t differentiate it from the ground.


    It took a few seconds for Shin Sumi to remember the fact that she had a magic compass engraved under her skin.


    Taking her wrist to her face to see the leaf pattern, Shin Sumi followed it to retrieve the nut.


    The whole point of coming here in the first place was to have the nut help her in cultivation, not to lose it !


    Laughing bitterly, Shin Sumi thought of how much she would have loved for a situation like this to arise a few weeks before when the nut was nothing but a biting nuisance.


    Shin Sumi followed the red leaf pattern around the edges of the pool. This time she tested with her feet for solid ground first. Her robes were soaked and she was already shivering from the cold.


    She stopped a few minutes later when she arrived next to the waterfall.


    Now that she had traveled this far inside the chasm, she could barely see her feet.


    The waterfall flowed from a crevice in the rocky walls a few meters above her head but she couldn''t see it''s source. The waters seemed clear but there was no way to tell because of the profound darkness.


    It was the strangest thing she had ever seen ! The water was flowing right in front of her and she could touch it with her hand but she couldn''t hear even the slightest sound.


    It was as if the waterfall was somewhat illusory even though she could feel it.


    Not wanting to stay for longer in a place that seemed more and more mysterious by the second, Shin Sumi quickly followed the leaf behind the waterfall. There was a stone passage carved naturally into the wall opening access to a cave.


    Shin Sumi didn''t know how wide or deep the cave was and there was no reverberation of sound to help her.


    "I''ll retrieve the nut and then I will leave this place ! Screw the White Cloud Lotus !"


    She had spoken out loud but even her own voice felt muffled in her ears.


    She walked for what seemed like an eternity. She was starting to become really scared and considered abandoning the sentient nut a few times. Although, every time the thought surfaced in her mind she would grit her teeth and push forward.


    "If you weren''t my only hope of cultivating, I would definitely leave you here. When we''re back, we''re going to have a talk !!"


    Shin Sumi''s wrist had been showing an unmoving dark red leaf up to this point but suddenly it started turning to her right.


    A few minutes later, at least Shin Sumi knew she was on the right path when the cave passage turned.


    She had been in complete darkness for hours now, the only light being the dim blood red from her wrist. She was surprised to suddenly see a brilliant white dot appear in the distance.


    Hastening her steps, Shin Sumi accepted the light as a deliverance. Or more like a moth approaching a flame.


    Unknowingly she had almost started running.


    The light shining more and more brightly came from a small object on the floor. It illuminated its surroundings enough to allow Shin Sumi to see the end of the cave behind it.


    It was a tiny white bell.


    The nut was right next to it and rolled back to Shin Sumi when she got close enough.


    Intrigued by the bell, Shin Sumi observed it carefully. It was covered in six rows of scriptures in a language she couldn''t understand. Had she been able to sense them, she would have found powerful Yin Shinsoo energy fluctuations rippling from the inside of the bell.


    Shin Sumi picked it up. The bell was weightless in her hands and felt warm to the touch. Shaking it a few times, she was almost disappointed to hear nothing.


    Such a strange artifact, here in this dark cold and silent place, for some reason she thought that since it was giving off light and heat, maybe it would make a sound too.


    She was going to put the bell into her bag of holding and leave the place when the nut which had returned to her bit her finger.


    It seemed like its only way of communicating and Shin Sumi would have let out a long exasperated sigh, had the pain not been so intense.


    A drop of blood fell from her index onto the bell.


    At the same time, a melodious sound rang to Shin Sumi''s ears. It was so soft and gentle, and truly was like a manifestation from the Heavens.


    The drop flowed from the top of the bell, passing the first row of characters. It didn''t stop there and quickly flowed past the second and third rows too.


    In the exact same instant, light slowly spread out from the bell, scattering the darkness as if it was suddenly daytime. The cold that Shin Sumi could feel right down to her bones was slowly dissipating as well.


    The strange thing was that the light emitted no shadows, and Shin Sumi could see the water vapor coming out of her mouth, indicating that it was still cold all around her.


    The droplet of blood continued down the side of the bell as Shin Sumi observed her surroundings become clearer and clearer.


    Past the fourth row, the smell of the wet earth as well as a very distant disturbing stench assailed her nostrils.


    She hadn''t even realized that her sense of smell had become altered too since she had been too preoccupied by the darkness and the silence. But now that her sense of smell had returned, she realized she had been missing that too.


    The fifth and sixth rows of characters were unlike the others and Shin Sumi didn''t feel anything change when the blood touched them.


    "Since the other lines were respectively about sound, sight, feeling and smell, maybe this one has to do with taste ? And the sixth one... " Shin Sumi had no idea but her instinct was telling her that she was probably onto something.


    It only took a few seconds for the blood to reach the opening of the bell after it first made contact with the white surface. It left a dark trail perpendicular to the scriptures which quickly expanded to cover the whole bell.


    The dried blood had completely changed the appearance of the bell and made it seem like copper.


    Shin Sumi was unsure of what to do now and put the bell in her bag of holding.


    Since she could now see perfectly clearly it took a much shorter time to reach the entrance of the cave than before.


    This time Shin Sumi could hear the waterfall before even seeing it.


    The waters were exceptionally clear and the curtain formed over the opening was translucent, almost transparent.


    Shin Sumi followed the stone path and froze in place when she opened her eyes to the bottom of the chasm.


    After the copper bell had shone onto her, Shin Sumi could now see everything perfectly. The abyss of the ravine was suddenly a lot less scary. In fact, to Shin Sumi it was a wonderful location !


    Many small caves were engraved in the light brown rocky walls. Some of them were covered by the many trees present.


    Although different kinds of trees were visible, they all had their color in common, which was a translucent blue that made them seem like spectral apparitions.


    The gentle sound of the water filling up the natural pool was like celestial music to the ears and the small patches of flowers lightly swayed, tempted by an invisible breeze.


    "This place is not so terrible after all ! I kind of like it actually" thought Shin Sumi. She was looking at the flowers and plants.


    All of them were light colored and many were translucent just like the trees. None of them had shadows.


    Shin Sumi pondered about the strange properties of the copper bell. Somehow she had the feeling that the light she was seeing around her was just an illusion.

 12 Bones and Snakes

    Apart from her own perception, nothing had really changed. The chasm was still plunged in its mysterious darkness.


    It showed on the plants that no sunlight had ever come this far inside the ravine.


    Shin Sumi somehow knew that but she had no way of testing it and so discarded the thought for the moment.


    She quickly summoned the little nut using the seeds she had gathered before leaving the sect.


    She didn''t have a lot of time. When Shin Sumi had left the sect she had only brought enough food to sustain herself for a few days.


    It was her first time outside the sect and she previously had no idea she would go this far.


    While she was waiting for the nut to refine the seeds, she explored the area for a bit.


    Now that she could see everything, the bottom of the chasm didn''t seem so terrifying.


    She picked up a few plants specimen she didn''t know about and even found a few stalks of White Cloud Lotus!


    "Great, a few more and my first quest will be completed!"


    She was happy. She had thought the quests would be much harder. Maybe she was simply lucky. After all she had even found a treasure in the form of a copper bell.


    She toyed with it for a short time but apart from a crystalline sound that was actually very pleasing to the ear, nothing seemed to happen.


    Settling down at the entrance of the cave where she found the bell, behind the waterfall, she worked on her cultivation using one of her remaining high grade spirit stones.


    The nut didn''t go back inside her wrist but remained nested between her breasts. It wasn''t bothering her that much after all.


    She had completely forgotten how angry she had previously been, now that the nut had found her a treasure.


    The clouds above the ravine were starting to darken when the nut started moving, disturbing Shin Sumi''s cultivation.


    Twelve hours had passed and the seeds had been refined.


    Finding the perfect place next to the pool so that the plants would have enough water, she planted them. In total, she had almost a hundred seeds of Worm Roots Flowers.


    Shin Sumi was about to resume her cultivation but decided otherwise.


    Fumbling around in her bag of holding she pulled out a bamboo scroll. It was the massage technique she had obtained from Xiao Yue.


    Shin Sumi looked at the scroll before unravelling it.


    "It seems like a normal scroll, nothing magical or strange. But since it is about a massage related to cultivation, I wonder if the nut will upgrade it too."


    The way the Shinsoo Gathering Manual had appeared on the book when the nut turned into the book had left a deep impression within her. She had wanted to test a few things for two weeks but she had literally nothing with her that resembled writings.


    Now that she could finally read something, she was excited.


    The whole reason she had accepted to get into the Dark Sky Starry Sect in the first place was to read Immortal books after all.


    There were only a few dozen lines on the bamboo scroll. They had been handwritten a long time ago and the end part was almost impossible to read.


    Shin Sumi''s fingers traced the words as she quickly went over the whole text.


    "Oh, that''s it ? These are just Shinsoo passageways that should be rubbed in the correct order. Too bad you need to use Shinsoo to maximize its effects..."


    Shin Sumi had committed the words to memory. She closed the scroll and put it to the side.


    Fetching the nut from her clothes, she called out loud "Little nut, it''s time to do your thing. Can you please turn into a book ? Or do I have to throw you ?"


    The nut seemed to understand and immediately spun into a grey vortex. Less than a second later the ancient tree like book materialized in her hands.


    A new page had been added right after the Shinsoo Gathering Manual.


    "Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening !"


    Immediately, Shin Sumi opened up the scroll again. All its content had been erased.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes ran along the leaf-like page as she discovered the real technique.


    "Most of the good parts were not even in the scroll ! What Xiao Yue did to me was a simple ''Yin Massage Technique''. It was rumored to only work on women at night " she recalled the words that were on the old scroll. "The Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening works in any kind of Yin environment, not just at night."


    She was intrigued to discover that the technique also worked on men, although not as much. For one part it only stimulated one half of the Shinsoo passageways, the ones attributed to Yin energy.


    It was common knowledge that men had a dominant Yang. It was also the reason why disciples at the end of the Shinsoo Gathering stage only tended to open a few passageways corresponding to their energy affinity.


    "If this technique is used in correlation with the Shinsoo Gathering Manual, I bet it can help me during the fourth step of Shinsoo Gathering ! Maybe I can even open up at least half of the sixty four passageways in one go !"


    Shin Sumi was really excited. She would have tried the massage method on herself immediately if she could.


    But something that hadn''t changed with the upgrade of the information was the fact that one needed Shinsoo to use the technique.


    Once Shin Sumi finally reached the stage of feeling the flow of Shinsoo around her, she could practice the technique on herself. She didn''t even need Xiao Yue to do it for her.


    Only the lesser version required a second person.


    Shin Sumi thought about how she would also give back the favor to her sworn sister when she mastered the technique. Xiao Yue would be very pleased.


    ***


    The sun had disappeared from behind the clouds and the ravine was plunged into darkness.


    Only Shin Sumi could see perfectly well, although it was somewhat different from daytime.


    At night the darkness was natural whereas during the day even without any Shinsoo affinity she could feel that something strange was going on.


    Shin Sumi bathed in the waters that now felt warm on her skin before cultivating again.


    Since her own blood had made a connection with the copper bell, she felt protected from the cold and was less tired.


    "The bell seems to feed on the Yin energy from this place and convert it in Yang energy."


    Her senses were working perfectly fine, unlike the previous day where she was cut off from everything.


    At some point during the night, Shin Sumi opened her eyes with a frown. She had been thrown out of her peaceful meditation by a putrid smell.


    It only lasted for a few minutes before a hissing sound rang into her ears and the smell disappeared soon after.


    Curious, Shin Sumi stood up from her cross legged position. She put away the high grade spirit stone of which the power was already declining and went to explore the other side of the chasm.


    She previously only adventured on one side because the pool made walking along the bottom of the ravine difficult.


    By using the natural cave behind the waterfall she reached the other side while keeping her clothes dry this time.


    She remembered smelling the same putrid odor of decomposition right when the bell had shone under her blood for the first time. At that moment she didn''t pay it any attention, mesmerized as she was by the situation.


    She didn''t have to walk for long before finding the source of the stench.


    Less than a hundred meters from the other side of the waterfall was a pile of bones.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes opened in an exaggerated manner as she froze on the spot.


    "Bo-bones... BONES !"


    Shin Sumi screamed as she realized that she had been peacefully practicing cultivation next to a pile of bones this whole time.


    Without even thinking about it she started to run away. Forgetting all about her precious flowers planted earlier, even forgetting to pick up White Cloud Lotus Flowers when she ran past them, she made way to the exit of the chasm.


    She had acted on instinct and her body moved on its own.


    With reckless abandonment she started to climb the steep slope.


    All of her resolutions to be brave had crumbled in an instant, mortified as she was at the sight of thousands of bones.


    Her body was full of adrenalin and she didn''t notice that the rock she gripped onto was loose.


    ***


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurry and her head felt like an anvil struck by a sledgehammer.


    As she recovered her senses slowly, a hissing sound was ringing in her ears, seemingly from all around her.


    The first thing she saw when her eyes finally decided to focus was a mass of writhing dark snakes.


    She immediately put her hands to her mouth to muffle her screams and made a move to get up.


    A sharp pain stabbed her leg and she realized she couldn''t move it.


    Thankfully the thousands upon thousands of snakes around didn''t seem to notice her and stayed approximately a meter away.


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    If they had been even half a step closer, Shin Sumi thought she would have passed out again.


    Using the meditation techniques normally used for cultivation, Shin Sumi calmed her heart little by little.


    She was breathing with a normal rhythm when she reopened her eyes, although the presence of all the reptiles kept her somewhat agitated.


    Now that she was concentrated and had a clearer mind she analysed the situation.


    The snakes covered every square meter of the ground she could see from her lying position. The only area free of snakes was around her.


    "Are they-are they not going to attack me ?"


    Shin Sumi didn''t know how long she had been unconscious for after her fall but she was certain no snake had bitten her. Ignoring the pain in the back of her head where she had hit herself, the only pain she felt came from her left leg.


    The hissing noises were constantly assailing her ear drums but she decided to ignore them.


    Since the snakes seemed somehow repulsed by where she was lying down, they weren''t a major threat for now. The more pressing matter was her broken leg.


    When she was younger, Shin Sumi had seen one of the kids from East Seaside Village break their leg once. She remembered clearly the disgust she felt upon seeing the twisted member at an angle that should never have existed.


    There was no denying it, her tibia was fractured in the middle.


    She was stuck in the bottom of a dark chasm with a broken leg and surrounded by thousands upon thousands of snakes.


    Shin Sumi was asking herself what to do. She wanted to cry but kept the tears in.


    "All I wanted was to pick up a few flowers ! I didn''t know that the little nut would escape and find a treasure. Was that bad karma ?" she spoke out loud, to no one in particular.


    A few snakes occasionally tried to poke their small shining dark head a little bit closer to Shin Sumi. Baring their fangs that looked like swords and dripped with what could only be venom, they hissed even more in her direction but always turned back.


    Shin Sumi was getting more frightened by the second. In her mind it would only be a matter of time before one of the reptiles got close enough to get a taste of her.


    Taking out the copper bell, she yelled "Is that what you are after ? You can take it back if you want !"


    She was about to throw it away, hopefully luring the snakes with it but at the last second she managed to stop her hand.


    When the bell showed its reddish brilliance, all the snakes dispersed a few steps back. It was so sudden it almost looked like an invisible force had pushed the whole mass away.


    The few slower ones had terror in their eyes before they managed to reach the same radius as the others.


    Shin Sumi was speechless. Agitating the bell until the cristaline sound rang, she looked at the snakes whose hissing redoubled.


    "They ... are repulsed by it ?"


    The snakes did not come because they wanted the treasure back ! Instead they were avoiding it !


    Shin Sumi had no idea why that was the case, but she was immediately reassured to know that she was relatively safe as long as she kept the bell close to her.


    "To think that I almost threw it away !" she thought. Each snake had two sword-like fangs and with the innumerable number of snakes she could see, the sheer image of them all attacking at once made her shiver.


    She carefully put the bell back into her bag of holding at her waist. Slowly, she observed the snakes still trying to get her but unable to get closer than a meter away.


    Now that she could free her mind from the apparent threat of the snakes, she could concentrate on her broken leg. The time to figure out why the bell repulsed the snakes would come later.


    "Aargh !" she grunted with her teeth closed, "I can''t climb back up the wall like this. Maybe I can crawl on the floor."


    With the utmost care in the world, Shin Sumi started to crawl backwards ever so slowly.


    The pain from her lower limb was close to making her break her teeth by grinding them. She had never felt such a pain before.


    She completely ignored the snakes, trusting to believe that they would move with her and the copper bell.


    It took her a full ten minutes to crawl a mere three meters. At this point she couldn''t see the place she had fallen to anymore, covered as it was by the dark snakes.


    She was about to resume her crawling when all of a sudden the snakes dispersed. In less than thirty breaths of time, they all slithered into the various caves that bordered the bottom of the chasm, or under the roots of the pale bluish trees.


    Propping herself onto her hands, she looked at where she had fallen. On the rough surface of the rocks, all the blood she had lost was gone.


    "That is what they were really after!" she looked at her red clothes, torn here and there and smeared with blood around her leg. She concluded, "The repulsive power of the bell is stronger than their taste for blood."


    Shin Sumi was relieved to understand the situation a bit better and to get rid of the snakes. Now that the hissing was gone, her throbbing head regained a bit more clarity and her headache started to dissipate.


    She had only hit her head on the ground as a result of her left leg breaking under her weight. She would have been dead for sure if she had fallen head first. She could be considered lucky to only have a bump the size of a small egg.


    It took Shin Sumi the same time to crawl back to the waterfall than it had taken her the previous day in complete darkness.


    She was sweating profusely from the pain and effort. At last she had arrived.


    With her predicament, there was only one thing she could do and that was what she chose to do when she realized she couldn''t go back to the sect or seek an exterior help.


    She knew the properties of the chasm all to well and nobody was physically able to hear anything from above.


    The only thing she possessed that was useful to her now was the little nut. Once again it would be a solution, she hoped.


    Her feelings regarding the nut were strange to say the least. She never asked for it, but she had come in contact with it by chance. After that it had been a total rollercoaster of events, from impossibly lucky encounters and revelations, to sometimes almost dying.


    Without bothering to undress herself in her condition, Shin Sumi slipped into the water head first.


    She embraced the relief brought by the pool under the waterfall with open arms.


    She didn''t even need to prompt the nut as it appeared suddenly on her wrist and nudged itself between her breasts.


    Now Shin Sumi could only hope that the healing powers of the nut would be powerful enough to treat her leg. At least it would alleviate most of the pain.


    ***


    Shin Sumi bathed for an entire night and a day. Eating her food in rations, she was hoping to get better soon.


    Sometimes she would hear the distant sound of all the snakes hissing for a while before it stopping abruptly.


    Shin Sumi had nothing to do except wait, try to cultivate and think. After her high grade spirit stone turned dim, she knew it had become useless and threw it away.


    Before it even touched the ground, a few dozen snakes had come out of nowhere to snatch the spirit stone.


    There was still a hint of Shinsoo in it and it made the snakes crazy. One of them jumped by extending its body enough to grab the spirit stone and swallow it into one gulp.


    The other snakes seemed dejected but after a few seconds when they couldn''t sense Shinsoo anymore, they disappeared.


    Shin Sumi was surprised to see such a thing and watched the whole scene unfold before her eyes.


    "Now I understand better. So the snakes like blood a lot and like Shinsoo too. Why don''t they go after the nut ?"


    Shin Sumi was confident in the nut''s ability to survive, considering that it was made from the hardest material she had ever seen.


    In one quick motion Shin Sumi used all of her strength to throw the nut away. She needed force or else the nut would have time to turn into a book. If it did that, the book would then return to her before it even left the one meter radius protective zone around her.


    Shin Sumi watched with curious eyes as the nut flew away in a grey streak.

 13 First Quest Completed!

    The nut was the reason why Fen Wudao had picked her up what seemed already a long time ago. He said himself he had sensed Shinsoo fluctuations.


    If Shin Sumi was correct, the snakes would definitely be attracted to the Shinsoo in the nut.


    The trajectory of the nut was about to end when a few snakes appeared.


    Shin Sumi was confused. "Only a few of them, this time?" she mumbled.


    An almost empty high grade spirit stone had attracted thousands of snakes but the strange nut and it''s weird properties that surprised her time after time didn''t attract all of them?


    The nut bounced a few times with a ''poc'' sound. The snakes around it turned to look at it but soon turned around, confused.


    After a few seconds of searching for something they disappeared once again. The nut started rolling on the floor and returned to the pool.


    Shin Sumi extended her arm and placed the back of her hand on the ground. The nut rolled into her and lightly bit her as she plunged it once again in the water. It was it''s way of telling her to stop throwing it around.


    Shin Sumi resumed her meditation, contemplating the matter of the snake pit.


    ***


    A few hours later, Shin Sumi opened her eyes. The twenty four hour mark was passed, she had been recovering for a full day.


    Carefully she extended her leg outside the water. With slow exercises she tested her left leg.


    "It''s already repaired. The bone was definitely fractured but now it''s as good as new" she said half impressed. She knew the healing powers of the nut were incredible but it was still quite a shock to see it. The kid from East Seaside Village all those years ago had suffered for months, stuck in a chair without being able to get up. And here she was, jumping and running a day after breaking her leg.


    "The Immortal world is beyond comprehension for mortals" she sighed.


    Her skin was full of wrinkles and her robes were soaked. The fabric was cut open in a few places.


    Thankfully Shin Sumi had brought something to change into. The bag of holding she had been given was too strange for her to understand how it worked, but it definitely seemed like it''s insides were bigger than it looked.


    She took out new robes and donned them. On her waist, the bag was hanging, looking empty as always. She had bathed a whole day with it but her second set of clothes was dry.


    It felt good to change, Shin Sumi was already feeling better.


    "I have to go back to the sect now. The plants haven''t grown by that much, but I will come back soon" she told herself. "It should be safe, I can''t imagine anyone coming to this place without the copper bell or a similar treasure. If the snakes are attracted to Shinsoo, no cultivator after the Shinsoo Gathering stage would dare come down here!"


    Shin Sumi was right. The reason she hadn''t been attacked by the poisonous snakes the first night was because of her lack of Shinsoo. The snakes were dangerous but not because of their intelligence. They responded almost entirely on instinct and seemed blind to anything other than Shinsoo and blood.


    Shin Sumi didn''t know the extent of the snakes'' power but she figured "Since I found a treasure I guess no one has ever stayed long enough down here to find it before me. Apart from the guy who lost the bell of course."


    That meant that the snakes were probably dangerous even for Core Development Realm Elders.


    Smiling at herself, Shin Sumi left the bottom of the chasm, not without picking up as many White Cloud Lotus flowers as she could.


    "With the bell, this place is a cultivation paradise for me! I can grow all the plants I want and nobody will ever know!"


    Her plan to reach the Shinsoo Gathering stage was slowly starting to take shape.


    She was careful during her ascent this time, checking every rock and committing to memory the safe path to follow.


    There were still many mysteries related to the dark chasm in her mind, but they would have to wait for another day.


    Shin Sumi wanted to rest. There had been so many events recently and she wanted to lay down on her bed and sleep. Unfortunately there was still much to do.


    After a few hours of walking, Shin Sumi found the western gate of the lower valley.


    She took a deep breath through her nostrils. She had been gone for only three days and a half but it felt good to be back.


    Shin Sumi didn''t go directly back to her house but instead stopped at the Quests Pavilion.


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    Her first quest was to gather ten stalks of White Cloud Lotus flowers. She had picked up five times more than the requested amount. Luckily all the quests involving numbers were implicitly stating ''at least the amount indicated'' and the more items disciples could gather, the better.


    Inside the Pavilion, Shin Sumi walked to one of the many counters where clerks received the returning disciples.


    Shin Sumi put her identification medallion against the surface of a grey rock that resembled a tombstone.


    Thankfully the stone shone indifferently for every talent level and Shin Sumi kept her cover.


    Taking out all the White Cloud Lotus flowers from her bag, the clerk looked at the counter with wide open eyes.


    Before, he had simply been doing his job without the slightest expression of interest. Now that Shin Sumi had revealed more than fifty stalks of White Cloud Lotus flowers, he was definitely impressed.


    "Fellow disciple, can I ask you your name ?" he said.


    "My name is Sumi, from the Shin family. What is yours, brother ?" replied Sumi. She didn''t understand why the clerk would be interested, but she decided to play along.


    "This one''s name is Lu Dong. Sister Shin, where did you find that many White Cloud Lotus flowers ?"


    Shin Sumi furrowed her brows. Showing a complicated expression on her face, she answered hesitantly.


    "Well... Brother Lu, sorry if it seems rude but I can''t tell you. Besides it wouldn''t even matter. I was simply struck by chance and found these flowers randomly while I was in the training grounds."


    Shin Sumi didn''t look like it but she was angry on the inside. "So he was just greedy after all."


    If she hadn''t been instructed by Xiao Yue previously, Shin Sumi may have answered Lu Dong. But now she realized that the clerk obviously wanted to harvest the flowers himself.


    White Cloud Lotus flowers were Yin type spirit plants. They weren''t too rare but because they required dense Yin Shinsoo concentration to grow they were hard to find. Most of the time disciples would be lucky to find one or two stalks. Fifty at the same time was very unlikely.


    To Lu Dong it seemed like Shin Sumi really had struck gold. When the stone had scanned her medallion, it had revealed that it was her first quest, thus leading to Lu Dong to try to bamboozle her.


    "Can I have my rewards now ?" Shin Sumi said with a serious face. She didn''t seem threatening at all but she was serious enough to change the clerk''s attitude.


    "Sorry Sister Shin. Here."


    Lu Dong pressed a special jade against the stone. Nobody under the Core Development Realm could feel it but the spirit automaton of the Quests Pavilion woke up. It scanned the pile of White Cloud Lotus flowers stalks, imprinting the number in its records and giving Shin Sumi her rewards.


    Her identification jade flashed briefly.


    Shin Sumi didn''t have the power to read what was imprinted on her medallion, having not reached Shinsoo Gathering. Instead she had to go to one of the many test stones around.


    They were called test stones because they looked exactly like the second trial to enter the Dark Sky Starry Sect but the way they worked was fundamentally different.


    Once pressed on the surface, an identification jade''s information was displayed on the surface of the stone. It worked with some kind of magic Shin Sumi didn''t understand.


    Reading only the concerned information, the screen displayed:


    "Shin Sumi, Honorary level, status points: 300."


    Shin Sumi calculated quickly in her mind. "The reward for ten stalks was a hundred status points. That means the additional plants are worth five points each."


    It wasn''t bad for a first quest. In fact if was an impressive score for a disciple with only mortal aptitudes.


    That also meant she could exchange her status points for three low grade spirit stones. Doing that would put her back to zero points but for Shin Sumi that was perfect.


    The spirit stones exchange took place at the Cultivation Ressources Pavilion.


    When Shin Sumi walked out of the Pavilion she had just put her spirit stones in the bag of holding at her waist. This time she wouldn''t have the nut refine them, she had a better idea.


    She had started to conceive her plan when Xiao Yue caught her going to the second floor of the Quests Pavilion.


    Her sister had asked her if she had a confusion treasure to cheat the spirit automaton of the Pavilion.


    A confusion artefact was very useful when one wanted to disguise their cultivation or appearance. And Shin Sumi knew exactly where to find them.


    The day was coming to an end when she reached the market streets. The place was busy as always and Shin Sumi was walking leisurely in the talisman area.


    There, disciples would buy all sorts of talismans, yellow papers imbued with a Shinsoo spell. The most sought after were the strength talismans without a doubt.


    Just like Jun Qian had used when Shin Sumi first saw him, speed talismans were also of the kind that sold out the fastest.


    They were very useful in combat or during training sessions in the jungle. There were many dangerous spirit beasts with power exceeding that of a mortal and the rewards for their head was above average. Low level disciples that couldn''t rely on their own aptitude could tackle them with the use of one or two talismans.


    Shin Sumi though wasn''t after these star products. After looking around for a while she hadn''t found any confusion talisman.


    "If there were some here, they are sold out. Maybe I''ll have more luck in the pill area." she said a bit disappointed.


    But luck was indeed on her side and she only had to look at two stalls to find what she was looking for.


    The shop owner was a middle aged red robed disciple of the Pill Pavilion and exhibited proudly a pin in the form of a cauldron on his robes. Seeing Shin Sumi interested in his goods, he explained "I see Sister had good eyes! This is a Common rank good grade Confusion Spirit Pill. It was made by my master Cloud Cauldron, and it is part of his latest batch!"


    Shin Sumi was a bit confused "Rank? Grade? Cloud Cauldron? What does that all mean?" she asked herself with a puzzled face. The disciple in front of her immediately saw her expression. He was waiting for a more impressed reaction but the red robed girl seemed new around here. Who hadn''t heard about his master?!


    "You don''t need the pills to appear confused, Junior Sister" he said with a smile and a wink. Shin Sumi''s eyebrows turned into two crescents high above her eyes. The disciple started laughing "It is a joke hahaha I am sorry. Let me explain."


    His pick-up line had failed miserably and Shin Sumi didn''t even realize it was one. The middle aged man was dejected at first but his eyes were shining as soon as he started his explanation. It was clear that he was very passionate about pill concocting and apothecary disciplines.


    "The spirit pills are classified into four ranks which are Common, Earthly, Heavenly and Immortal. For each rank the grades can be low, normal, good or high. Only a master apothecary like master Cloud Cauldron can produce pills above the Common rank normal grade! The purity of the effects essence of these pills is exponentially better than in normal grades. It is also a little more pricey because of how difficult the process to make higher grade pills is."


    It was the first time Shin Sumi had heard about that. She was starting to realize that the information in the newcomer''s guide was lacking in many aspects.


    It was also the first time she heard someone be referred to with a daoist name. In her mind, only the people that had been banned or disowned by their family would use something other than their birth name.


    Shaking her head mentally, Shin Sumi went back to the matter at hand. "How do the pills work, Senior Brother ?" she asked.


    "Once you swallow that pill, your cultivation base will be undetectable by anyone under the Core Development stage for twelve hours guaranteed."


    "Ah, it is not an appearance pill... Sorry to have bothered you Senior Brother" replied Shin Sumi, starting to turn around to look elsewhere.


    "Junior Sister, wait! That is what you were after. So you want to change your facial features to be unrecognizable ? I have what you want" said the disciple hurriedly.


    He fumbled under the table that made his stand and finally took out a wooden box with a triumphant expression.


    "These pills do just that. They are Common rank normal grades, so their effect is limited to six hours approximately."


    After he had explained everything about the pills themselves, the red robed man went on about how he didn''t understand why Shin Sumi would want to hide her beautiful features. With a bit of disgust, Shin Sumi stopped listening and took a closer look at the pills.


    The half a dozen pills in the wooden box were all similar. They were small white globes the size of a pinky nail. They had no fragrance and seemed totally ordinary. If Shin Sumi had had a bit of Shinsoo affinity, she would have sensed the tiny fluctuations around them. A small cloud was engraved on their surface, the mark of the master apothecary who concocted them, Cloud Cauldron.


    She secretly rubbed the inside of her wrist. The nut appeared in her hand for a few seconds and disappeared when she pushed it back against the leaf pattern.


    The little nut had not bitten her. At least she knew the pills were not dangerous.


    "Alright then, I''ll take them!" she said, interrupting his compliments that were quite creepy, frankly speaking.


    "Oh? Perfect! The price is one spirit stone. For the whole box of course."


    "One spirit stone?!" Shin Sumi couldn''t help but gasp. It was way better than she had anticipated! She was wondering if she had enough with her three newly acquired stones to even buy one pill.


    The stall owner''s mouth distorted into a grimace. The sales had not been good recently and he absolutely needed more spirit stones. He was already lucky to find someone interested in the appearance pills.


    "Alright, I''ll throw in a normal grade cultivation base confusion pill. Don''t make it too hard for me Junior Sister, I can''t lower the price more you know?"


    Shin Sumi wore a puzzled expression for half a second before smiling gently. They had both misunderstood each other but it turned out really well for her.


    She was relatively new to all this and didn''t know the value of Immortal items very well yet.


    She took out a spirit stone and received her newly acquired pills. With a slight bow she turned and left, worried that the Pill Pavilion disciple would change his mind.


    The sky was dark when she arrived at her courtyard. She had left it three days before but it seemed like an eternity to Shin Sumi.


    "So many things happened in the last few days! Here little nut, eat this and I''m off to sleep."


    The nut happily came out and swallowed the many pills as well as the two remaining spirit stones. The items disappeared one after the other as soon as they came into contact with the grey nut. It was done in a few seconds but Shin Sumi had already fallen asleep on her bed with a smile on her face.


    Her dreams that night were filled with pictures of dark creatures with a thousand snake''s heads climbing an ancient tree big enough to cover the whole sky and more.


    Although these dreams would be terrifying to anyone, Shin Sumi slept peacefully and rested until dawn.


    She woke up just in time to see the nut produce the refined pills and spirit stones.


    The new pills were perfectly round and the cloud engravings had disappeared. The pills were no longer white but glowed with faint colors, never setting onto one in particular.


    Shin Sumi wondered what rank the pills were now. Because of the classification of pills she had learned about the day before, it was hard to say to which level the nut had refined them.


    "Now they should be at least Common rank high grade, right ?" she asked herself.


    It was pretty easy to tell according to the Shinsoo fluctuations emanating from them but sadly Shin Sumi didn''t have the capacity for that.


    That reminded her about the progress she had to make. Soon. Everything from the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening technique to the most basic Shinsoo knowledge relied on her ability to use and feel the ambient Shinsoo. That was the same with understanding the little nut and finally getting to read Immortal books. All of that would come only if she reached Shinsoo Gathering.


    Setting herself in a meditation posture on the stone bench, under the plum tree, Shin Sumi took out a high grade spirit stone and started to cultivate.

 14 Shin Sumis Botanical Garden

    Shin Sumi stayed a whole day and a night doing breathing exercises next to the pond.


    She had put a spirit stone on her lap, hoping that being in contact with it during a long time would help her feel the Shinsoo.


    Her breathing had been calm and steady for hours, with one long inspiration and a short expiration. From what she had learned by observing others and from what Xiao Yue told her, it was the best way, although slightly uncomfortable at first.


    It was not a natural breathing technique and it felt strange in her chest but Shin Sumi was patient and determined.


    The rumbling of her stomach forced her to stop her session of meditation. Stretching while she cooked her last remaining portions of spirit plants, Shin Sumi observed her body.


    Although it still showed no results, meditation was good for her body and her mind. After twenty four hours of exercises, she wasn''t tired in the least and her heart was like a mountain lake; calm and pure.


    She ate her spirit food, enjoying the strange taste like nothing from the mortal world, then returned to her meditation spot.


    Adjusting her breathing, she found her rhythm of one long, one short and closed her eyes. Soon her mind was slowly drifting off while her body tried to absorb more Shinsoo.


    During meditation, Shin Sumi was completely motionless but that didn''t mean her body stopped its normal activity.


    After another day long session, she found her robes sticking to her skin. It wasn''t particularly warm outside, especially with the Shinsoo formations of the courtyard altering the ambient heat and humidity, but Shin Sumi was still covered in sweat.


    "Maybe that is part of cultivation. Does that mean I''m getting close to Shinsoo Gathering?" she wondered as she bathed and washed her robes.


    It had been three days since she had come back to the sect''s lower valley and Shin Sumi was already one high grade spirit stone down.


    Her consumption of resources was incredibly high and was enough to make the wealth of any cultivator under the Core Development stage pale in comparison.


    For Shin Sumi it was almost normal because she had only ever tried to cultivate with high grade materials.


    She had donned her robes again and felt light and refreshed when she decided to leave the valleys of the sect for the training grounds of the mountain. She wasn''t particularly keen on walking through the jungle again but she could easily endure it in order to get to the chasm.


    On her way, she made a stop at the fields where she picked up more seeds. She carefully chose plants that had a bigger Yin Shinsoo affinity. It was clear that this kind was more suitable to grow at the bottom of the chasm.


    The path to the western gate from there went either in the direction of the Quests Pavilion or crossed the North Cultivation Plaza.


    She had no business in the Quests Pavilion and she hadn''t been to the Cultivation Plaza in awhile.


    The trees swayed due to a light breeze in this part of the lower valley. It was a forest area spanning a few hundred meters in all directions. A dozen of dilapidated courtyards could be seen from the path.


    Just like Shin Sumi''s they were reserved for green talent Honorary Disciples and it was clear that they hadn''t had an occupant in years.


    One of the courtyard''s Shinsoo formation was broken and the gates were open. In just one glance Shin Sumi could see that it had lost all of its luster, now being nothing more than a fancy house.


    There was no doubt that the Shinsoo quality there had deteriorated over time without the protective spells in place.


    "I am glad that I was assigned a courtyard in the southern forest area. At least mine is hidden and in better conditions" she thought.


    Along the way she had been feeding seeds to the nut regularly. Shin Sumi had had an idea and was very happy with her results. It turned out that she didn''t need the nut to be out in the open to feed it ressources.


    From her bag of holding to her wrist, Shin Sumi watched as seeds after seeds disappeared upon contact with the skin on her wrist. The leaf imprint flashed in an almost undetectable manner every time even though the nut was still inside.


    She was about to leave the forest area when the sound of laughter entered her ears.


    "It''s coming from the abandoned courtyard. The open one!" said Shin Sumi while looking around her.


    Intrigued by a possible presence there, Shin Sumi walked under the trees in silence. She drew closer and closer to the open gates as the voices progressively entered her range of perception.


    "... and that''s what I told him! Can you believe it Sister Liu?"


    The voice was unfamiliar to Shin Sumi, although she had heard the name ''Sister Liu'' before. She was wondering where when a second voice rang.


    "Did Brother Zhao really asked you out? Wow Sister Fan, you are so lucky!"


    "Hmpf. Do you really think someone like a Liquid Realm disciple like Brother Zhao would take interest in you? Sister Fan you are pathetic. He is clearly using you. Nobody would even look at you if you weren''t with me all the time. Senior Brother Fen likes me so he must have pulled a few strings to get his followers closer to mine in order to reach me."


    After the last person had spoken, ending with a cold snort full of disdain, there was only silence. Clearly the other voices were too afraid to reply.


    Shin Sumi recognized the last voice and the harsh words almost immediately.


    "This is definitely Chu Erlong. I should go quickly before they spot me!" she muttered.


    Shin Sumi turned and started walking away much faster than previously. She absolutely didn''t want to confront the yellow robed Chu Erlong, besides she had been spying on them, which was not really appropriate behavior.


    If Chu Erlong knew, she would be furious without a doubt.


    Shin Sumi was almost back on the path when her toes got stuck in a root. Caught in her momentum, Shin Sumi stepped loudly on a dead branch to find her balance.


    CRACK !


    "Oh no, I hope they didn''t hear me!"


    She didn''t turn back to verify and made her way to the path. Shin Sumi left the forest as fast as she could without looking suspicious.


    At the gate of the dilapidated courtyard, a yellow figure appeared. Her followers hadn''t heard anything but Chu Erlong was far into the Shinsoo Gathering stage and could reach the Liquid Realm anytime. Her senses were far more developed than that of her followers.


    Her brows were furrowed and her gaze contained something unreadable. She turned to sit back on the stone tiles under the curious look of the three red robed girls in front of her, not sharing any of her thoughts.


    ***


    Shin Sumi slowed down only when she reached the North Cultivation Plaza.


    Her heart rate was a bit fast and she was biting the inside of her cheek as a punishment.


    "In the Immortal world, being too curious can lead to dangerous situations. Sumi you''re better than this, try to be more cautious!" she reminded herself.


    She was right. In this society where power was everything, she couldn''t afford to be careless, especially when she was at the bottom of the food chain.


    Without delay, she made her way to the western gates.


    When the gates were far behind her and she had reached the end of the marked path, Shin Sumi rubbed her wrist. The nut came out and directly rolled across her skin to settle between her breasts.


    Shin Sumi was not bothered by it anymore, and even found it reassuring to have it close to her. The nut had an insane sensibility for any danger and Shin Sumi now trusted it fully.


    With the nut''s indications in the form of light or stronger bites, Shin Sumi avoided many troublesome areas.


    Her mind compass followed the direction to the mysterious chasm, not bothering to explore around more.


    "I was lucky to stay safe while exploring the chasm and even finding a treasure. Now is not the time to push my luck too far. I can always explore around later when I have reached Shinsoo Gathering!"


    In a few hours'' time, Shin Sumi was back above the dark cliffs of the ravine. It didn''t take her much time to find the slope and she was soon climbing downwards.


    About a quarter of the way down a crystalline metallic sound rang in her ears. The copper bell in her bag of holding had activated itself and dissipated the confusion due to the darkness and the strange Yin energy.


    The bell had absorbed some of Shin Sumi''s blood and now formed a bond with her in much the same way the little nut had back in the Foggy Maze.


    Shin Sumi''s knowledge was too shallow to fully understand but she had become the master of the two treasures.


    She was next to the cave she had used as a shelter during her first night in the chasm when she heard the first hissing sounds.


    The snakes were visible a few meters below. They didn''t seem interested in her in the slightest, rushing towards the waterfall area.


    Shin Sumi walked there at her own pace, and when she arrived the snakes had disappeared.


    "A beast must have fallen off the cliff. It should be no more than bones now" she commented.


    Her previous fear regarding the pile of bones was gone now that she understood the place better. As long as the snakes didn''t turn to her she was completely fine with whatever.


    She was the one who had come into their home after all!


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    Looking around, Shin Sumi was stunned upon seeing the crops she had planted.


    Her hand brushed gently the leaf of one on the stalks. The Worm Roots flowers had grown in an exaggerated fashion. In just a few days the plants had turned into small trees wider than her arm and twice as tall as her.


    The roots were a pink beige and ondulated on the floor. "I guess they don''t call them Worm Roots flowers for nothing" Shin Sumi observed.


    A hint of gold was visible on the veins of the leafs, the result from the little nut''s powers of refining.


    At this point Shin Sumi had no idea what was the name of the evolved Worm Roots flowers and she didn''t care. Her biggest worry was how she was going to harvest them and put them all into her bag of holding.


    It took about an hour to pull out the first plant out of the soil. Unfortunately Shin Sumi had torn off most of the roots in the process. The flower was still rare but had lost value because of it. Even someone without any botanical knowledge like Shin Sumi was able to tell.


    The second time Shin Sumi was more careful and extracted a full plant in less than an hour. Her hand wiped off the sweat from her forehead and she let out a long sigh.


    That wouldn''t do. She needed tools! How could she have predicted that the plants would grow this big in just a few days?


    Shin Sumi was thinking about the combined powers of the nut''s refining and the high density of Yin type Shinsoo down there while walking around the waterfall pool.


    For the second time in her life Shin Sumi saw the enormous pile of bones. Her idea was to use one of the bones to dig the soil more easily in order to extract her plants.


    Shin Sumi looked a bit closer at the pile. Thousands of beast skeletons had been mixed over the years. The snakes had devoured everything except the bones. Even the crushed skulls were empty.


    Using all of her willpower to refrain herself from vomiting, Shin Sumi drew even closer to the pile.


    All sorts of bones were in the mix, coming from various animals. Long reptilian vertebrae, sturdy tusks, even birds skeletons were in there, which Shin Sumi found a bit weird.


    Some of the older bones in there turned to dust when she accidentally stepped on them to reach one particular piece.


    It was a shoulder blade that had come from a hog like creature. Shin Sumi didn''t know and definitely didn''t want to know where it was from.


    The only thing she was interested in was that it was hard and big enough to dig with. That was all that mattered.


    She was about to get down the pile when she looked in the distance.


    The pile was in the middle of the canyon and had previously blocked off her view of the rest of the chasm. The scar in the earth spanned a few kilometers in length but Shin Sumi didn''t go past a few hundred meters.


    There were more flower patches in the distance, more trees and certainly more big white mounds.


    "How many bones are there..." Shin Sumi asked herself in half confusion half disbelief.


    She stayed perched on the clean pile of bones looking in the distance long enough to get the feeling that the further away the darker the environment became.


    The copper bell''s powers overcame the darkness but Shin Sumi could tell that it was still there and it was most concentrated further ahead.


    Turning back, Shin Sumi returned to her small farm the other side of the waterfall. She would eventually unravel the many mysteries of the dark ravine but she had time for that.


    Besides she was afraid there were more dangers there and it would be safer to wait until she was at least in the Shinsoo Gathering stage.


    Using the hog shoulder blade as a shovel, unearthing the Worm Roots flowers was much easier now.


    She had planted almost a hundred seeds and all of them had turned into beautiful specimens. It was probably because they were all high grade after being refined, their growth wouldn''t fail.


    It took a few hours to harvest them all and Shin Sumi was exhausted by the physical labor but she wore a smile on her face. It was a complete success!


    "Soon I will be able to sell them hopefully!"


    Waiting for the twelve hours of refining time to pass, Shin Sumi bathed in the pool. She didn''t go deep inside the pool, preferring to stay close to her stuff and more especially the copper bell.


    Only there was she certain that the snakes posed no threat to her and she was able to enjoy her bath. Besides in the range of its powers the bell turned the water from extremely cold to perfect temperature, there was no way Shin Sumi would go further away.


    The water droplets were glistening without light as they streamed down her naked body. It was exhilarating to be able to bath naked in the open like that. There were no walls, no Shinsoo formation, but she was still covered in darkness.


    Had someone been watching her, they would have found the situation very weird. A mortal girl enjoying her bath in the darkest of places, surrounded by poisonous snakes, without a care in the world.


    According to her calculations, the twelve hours period had ended while Shin Sumi was washing herself. The nut was still inside of her wrist and had not resurfaced in a long time.


    Rubbing the location of the leaf imprint, Shin Sumi collected the nut as well as many glowing seeds. It was strange to see them come into existence, seemingly pouring out of her own body.


    She planted them all in the place previously occupied by the Worm Flower roots, which were now inside her bag of holding.


    The goal of her trip had been to retrieve the plants once they were ready to be harvested and plant new seeds. Now that it was done she could go back to the sect.


    "It is not that bad here but I feel like the sect is still a better place to cultivate. I should leave now in order to arrive next morning."


    She was about to leave in the direction of the entrance of the ravine when an idea popped into her mind. Turning back quickly, she went to the pile of bones and picked up a few random strange ones that seemed complete.


    Her plan was to sell things in the market to obtain spirit stones. Who knows, maybe she could take advantage of the bones and sell them?


    ***


    Once again the way back to the lower valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect was tiring. Shin Sumi avoided areas when the nut told her to. Nothing out of the norm happened to her, except when she hid herself inside of a hollow tree trunk to avoid being seen by a red robed disciple with a malicious air.


    She felt followed and her heart was beating really fast after that, but she reached the western gate of the lower valley.


    "I am safe now. Whoever that was, they can''t do anything to me inside the sect."


    Shin Sumi still walked with hurried steps back to her courtyard, just in case.


    Counting the Worm Roots flowers inside of her bag of holding, she tried to calculate how many spirit stones she could obtain if she sold them all. Normal spirit flowers this size would cost approximately one spirit stone each from what she had seen in the market.


    Considering the fact that these were all evolved versions of the usual flower, she should be able to sell them at double the normal price.


    Shin Sumi was bursting with excitement!


    She picked up a wooden box from under her bed mattress. It was the box containing the refined confusion pills.


    Without hesitation she popped one into her mouth where it dissolved almost instantly, leaving an aftertaste resembling that of fresh mint.


    "It is time to go now, I am going to be rich!"

 15 "Who Wants a Golden Worm Root Flower?"

    As the pill dissolved in her mouth, Shin Sumi felt a minted taste appear on her tongue.


    It wasn''t the first time she had tried one of the pills. During her waiting at the waterfall she had actually tried one, just to ensure it worked.


    Shin Sumi knew the sweet taste of mint would linger until the effects of the pill stopped about twelve hours later.


    She didn''t feel anything else change, just like the previous time. Looking at her reflection in the pond she was almost as surprised as the first time.


    "It is so strange! My face is completely different! These Immortal pills sure are something."


    The second pill had the exact same effect as the first one. Her new face was the same both times. Her nose was slightly shorter, her hair shortened significantly, and her eyebrows became thinner.


    Her eyes lost their clear blue tone for a black as dark as night. Her lips became a little bit more voluptuous.


    Shin Sumi admired herself for a few seconds more. She liked her new appearance. It wasn''t as good as her real face according to her, but it looked really convincing.


    Shin Sumi was really pretty normally, and although her new face was completely different, she could still be considered a beauty.


    Shin Sumi locked the gate of her courtyard behind her and made way for the market area of the lower valley.


    As always the place was very busy when she arrived.


    Now that she was a bit more familiar with the market, she went directly to where she could make business.


    "The spirit plants area! Here I go, time to install my little shop!"


    Shin Sumi took out of her bag of holding a white rectangular piece of fabric she had found in her house. She laid it down on the floor between two other similar shops.


    Nothing was out of the ordinary and nobody even looked at her from the hundreds of disciples passing by every second.


    Shin Sumi grinned mischievously. It wouldn''t be long before people noticed her.


    And she was right. The moment she took the first evolved Worm Root flower out of her bag, a dazzling brilliance caught the eye of every passerby. It was a strange light that was actually darker than normal. Such a strong Yin type plant would often react this way to the Yang light from the sun, emphasizing the contradiction in their nature.


    For a second everybody who saw the plant stopped to look at it. Shin Sumi was smiling openly but it didn''t last for long before a voice rang out.


    "Umpf. Who cares, it''s just a Worm Root flower..."


    The man who had spoken was a red robed disciple appearing to be thirty years old. He held a hint of disappointment in his eyes and turned away with a sigh.


    Upon realizing that he was right, a handful of disciples turned away as well.


    Shin Sumi had her brows furrowed and spoke in a voice that was not her real voice but was even more entrancing "Just a Worm Root flower ? Oh I''m sorry fellow disciple. Yes I, Yan Yan, am very sorry that your eyes are not good enough!"


    She had come up with the name ''Yan Yan'' on the spot and it went perfectly with her new face.


    Without waiting for the response of the disciple she insulted, ''Yan Yan'' kept talking.


    "Indeed it''s a Worm Root flower. But even a mortal would be able to spot the golden touches on the leaves. How come you didn''t notice, fellow disciple? And have you ever felt such a strong Yin Shinsoo energy radiating from a spirit plant? I bet not. Maybe this treasure of mine isn''t for you after all. These top grade spirit plants are only for deserving people. Heh." she punctuated with a snort.


    The red disciple that had been insulted over and over stopped in his tracks and turned his head. He opened his mouth angrily to rebuke Shin Sumi but no word came out.


    With his face as red as his robes from shame, he turned away once more and left the place.


    Everybody else was speechless before Yan Yan''s strong words and powerful voice. In fact many people turned their head to look at the commotion.


    "Such gall, insulting Brother Ke like that! I bet the Worm Root flower is quite incredible!"


    "I''ve seen many Worm Root flowers before, but never with such Yin Shinsoo."


    Shin Sumi smiled openly to her clients once again, her calm and composed manners contrasting with the scene just a few seconds before. She had lied about the strong Yin Shinsoo before, herself not being able to sense anything, but she was relieved people approved. Her bluff had paid off and now she could hear more and more people being interested.


    It only took a few seconds before the first client stepped forward.


    "Sister Yan, I would like to purchase this flower please. Name your price!"


    Shin Sumi beamed at him and replied: "Two spirit stones."


    Upon hearing the price, all the conversations stopped. It seemed as if the whole area just became silent, except from the sound of jaws hitting the floor.


    The disciple who wanted to buy the flower was the most surprised of all. What were two spirit stones for a plant as rare as it looked? Even normal Worm Root flowers this big would be at least three to four spirit stones!


    The disciple hurried to take out the spirit stones and started laughing like it was the luckiest day ever for him.


    Behind him, a lot of disciples had regained their senses and started talking.


    "Not so fast! I, Bao Huan, offer three spirit stones!"


    "Hmpf! I will pay five low grade spirit stones for the Worm Root flower!"


    "Sister Yan, I offer ten spirit stones!! This flower will really help my future cultivation of Yin type techniques!"


    Before long, a real auction was taking place in front of Shin Sumi''s shop. People were starting to get angry at each other, not even paying attention to the ridiculous price they went for.


    Shin Sumi sighted openly, but was all smiles inside "My plan is working perfectly! The next step is to get all these customers hooked!"


    Inhaling to fill her lungs to maximum capacity, Shin Sumi shouted: "EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!!!"


    All the disciples stopped arguing for a second and listened to her: "This disciple here was the first to want to purchase the plant, so it is normal that he will be my first customer. Fellow disciple, here you go, sold for two spirit stones" she said as she handed the flower to the guy in the front. He was holding the flower like a precious treasure, ignoring the look of envy in the eyes of the others. But Shin Sumi wasn''t done yet.


    "To be fair, I admit that this is Yan Yan''s first time selling spirit plants. I don''t know the prices well right. But since I asked for two spirit stones, it will remain as it is. Don''t try to win a plant by auctioning it right before my eyes, I will not sell it if it turns all of you into animals. Ten low grade spirit stones? That''s almost a year''s worth of cultivating resources given by the sect! That is ridiculous. Besides I don''t want people to spread rumors about me trying to steal your spirit stones."


    All the disciples had calmed down by now and started to realize that what she had said made sense. Besides, Yan Yan''s beauty was captivating and who would not listen to the words of such a fairy? One thing still had some disciples perplexed though.


    Shin Sumi smiled again after observing a slight pause. Handling her bag at a vertiginous speed, she took out flowers after flowers and laid them out neatly on the white fabric.


    "Now who wants a Golden Worm Root flower?"


    She had spoken about ''flowers'' in plural, meaning that she had more. All the disciples were once again flabbergasted. In an instant she had taken out more than fifty flowers!


    All of them had the golden touches on the leaves and they were all perfectly grown, without damage or anything.


    During the first hour of Yan Yan''s botanical shop being opened, the Worm Roots flowers were sold out. Shin Sumi even took out the second batch of fifty plants that she had kept on reserve.


    All the customers were satisfied and word quickly got out in the market. The only disappointed disciples were those that had not been able to purchase a flower. Some of them even asked Shin Sumi when she would open shop again.


    Shin Sumi now had more than two hundred low grade spirit stones in her bag of holding! If people knew that in half a day''s time she would own that many high grade spirit stones, they wouldn''t believe it. Even a patriarch or elder of the sect would turn crazy upon hearing how rich she was going to be.


    Shin Sumi put away her white cloth and left the market quickly. She randomly walked in the forest for a stick of incense worth of time before going back to her courtyard. She didn''t want people following her, just in case.


    She was feeding the nut her newly acquired spirit stones when it started raining.


    "It''s strange, Yue told me it never rained normally. The clouds are always there, but it''s the first time I''ve seen rain." she pondered while looking at the sky. It took a few more seconds for her to realize that the rain was purple.


    ***


    High above the clouds forever enshrouding the Dark Sky Starry Sect, an old man sat atop a stone altar, looking at the clear blue sky.


    The stone altar was located on the very top of the highest mountain of the sect. Only the Patriarch had access to such a remote location and it was his personal cultivating place.


    The moment the purple rain started appearing down below, his brows as sharp as swords furrowed and his gaze peered in the distance, to the west.


    The next instant, the old man vanished, flying at high speed towards the western border of the sect.


    "Reverend Purple Rain, I should have known you would visit, the clear sky spoke of good omens today."


    Before him stood a middle aged man wearing a dark purple cloak that hid his face.


    A suffocating pressure emanated from the hidden figure floating in the sky, rivaling the pressure coming from the gentle but severe looking old man.


    The mouth under the cloak moved, "Patriarch Sen, have you nothing to do besides sitting there alone all day? You should work on your cultivation, I am afraid you have fallen behind recently."


    The two experts flew, unmoved neither by the wind nor the attacks spoken by each other.


    "Cut the crap Purple Rain. What do you want?" asked the Patriarch of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, with a look in his eyes that contrasted with his otherwise gentle countenance.


    Reverend Purple Rain responded with a sneer. "You know exactly what I am here for. I want to retrieve our ancestor''s corpse and the land that is rightfully ours."


    "Then you know I won''t let you do that. Besides, do you really think that you alone will be enough to take over our land? Go back to your puny Sky Earth Sect."


    "I came here in the quality of an old friend to offer you either a deal or a warning. I see you have chosen the latter, old codger. Fine, but you better remember what happened to ancestor Dark Sky in the old days. He was bold like you, see how it ended."


    The figure hidden behind the purple cloak flicked his sleeves, sending a white piece of jade flying at high speed towards the old man. Patriarch Sen stopped the jade mid flight with a casual move of his fingers.


    "This transmission jade links to me personally. For old time''s sake I will give you another chance. If five years from now I haven''t received the answer I''m looking for, this is war."


    Under the light of an incantation gesture, Reverend Purple Rain''s feet shone as he flew away with unbelievable speed.


    A few seconds later, Patriarch Sen was back on top of the stone altar, looking at the piece of jade in his hand. In his mind, a figure appeared that was no more than skin and bones. The man had lost all of his hair and nails and seemed on the verge of death.


    Patriarch Sen remembered the last words his ancestor had spoken as his hand obscured the skies with dark, neverending clouds. His torso was split open from shoulder to hip and the wound had turned blacker than ink.


    "What did he want?" spoke a voice behind the sitting Patriarch''s ears.


    The voice resembled the sound of sandpaper on a piece of metal. An old woman had came into existence behind Patriarch Sen at some point. She was wearing bright and colorful robes, forming a powerful contrast with the long grey hair draping her shoulders.


    "Same as always" replied Patriarch Sen with a sigh, "He wants the western training grounds to look for Old Man Mui''s relics. Lady Fang, do we have a chance to win at this?"


    The woman surnamed Fang clasped her hands behind her back, looking at some unknown point beneath the clouds.


    "I don''t know, it will all depend on what happens next."


    ***


    Shin Sumi stuck her hand through the open door of her house. The rain had stopped.


    The last few purple drops were absorbed by the soil as fast as a thirsty beast drinks up water. It had only lasted a few minutes but there was definitely something strange going on.


    "I''ve never seen rain that strange before. I should ask Brother Lan when I see him. If somebody knows something here, then it''s definitely Brother Lan."


    Wary of the purple rain, Shin Sumi didn''t dare go out for a bath yet. She prefered waiting a little bit for the stream of spring water to renew the waters in the pond.


    She meditated patiently for a few hours, stopping only for eating and stretching her legs. She was impatient to set her eyes upon a mountain of high grade spirit stones.


    "If with this many spirit stones I don''t reach Shinsoo Gathering, then I had better give up on cultivation altogether!" she thought.


    Her eyes were glittering with impatience and her jaw was clenched with determination. This time she would give it her all and stop only when she had reached the Shinsoo Gathering stage.


    Of course this was false. During the course of the next following week, Shin Sumi had to stop at least once a day to eat a little bit. She was far from being able to ignore mortal needs yet.


    Nevertheless, she went into a cultivation session like never before.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes slowly gained a red tinge as she forced herself to endure prolonged meditations. After a day she was completely numb in her legs and bottom.


    Gritting her teeth, she looked like a mad woman as she took out the tenth high grade spirit stone.


    Her voice was hoarse from the breathing exercises that were done mouth closed, and she let out a low roar.


    "I can keep going! I have to!" she said, encouraging herself to continue. Between her breasts, the little grey nut was silent and unmoving, not leaving her for a second while she meditated.


    At the end of the first week, Shin Sumi had depleted a quarter of her ressources. And yet, not once had she felt the sensation of progress.


    The high grade spirit stones were by far the best cultivation ressources that existed on the continent and anybody that saw her would have cried tears of blood. By now it was clear that Shin Sumi had virtually no talent for cultivation and everyday she was wasting enough spirit stones to run a small sect for months.


    But Shin Sumi endured it, again and again, taking out spirit stone after spirit stone. Even when she stopped cultivating for the briefest of moments, she kept a stone in each hand, plunging her in deep Shinsoo concentration. Even when she bathed after the end of the first week to remove the filth and sweat that had accumulated against her soft skin, she lay in the refreshing waters with spirit stones in her hands.


    The quality of the ambient Shinsoo in her courtyard had gone up by several levels and the place now looked even more like a celestial paradise.


    The old plum tree above the pond seemed younger and sturdier, and fresh fruits were beginning to appear, although it wasn''t the season.


    The grass in the courtyard garden was now three times taller than it had been previously and radiated a lush green tinted with a silver lining.


    The entire place was being influenced by the concentrated Shinsoo held by Shin Sumi, but herself showed no signs of improvement.


    It was only after three intense weeks of cultivation that Shin Sumi''s eyes opened with a strange gleam inside her blue irises.


    She was running out of spirit stones and her anxiousness could be read in the shape of her brows as well as small wrinkles that had appeared on her jade forehead.


    It was only for a moment but inside her body, Shin Sumi felt something like a flame flickering into existence before disappearing the next instant.


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    "A spark?" her subconscious instantly brought up.

 16 The Spark of Progress

    The dantian region was located in the abdomen, a bit lower than the navel. That was the source of one''s Shinsoo foundation. Just like the heart was the center of the blood system and pumped it through the veins, the dantian linked all the Shinsoo passageways in a complex manner.


    During what amounted to not even half of a quarter of a second, Shin Sumi had felt something.


    Shin Sumi''s mind could do nothing but compare what she had felt to something she knew. The feeling she just experienced briefly was akin to a spark, a tiny spurt of energy that appeared out of nowhere, winked and disappeared.


    Shin Sumi had read the Shinsoo Gathering Manual over a hundred times and knew the page by heart. But even so, she had no idea what had happened.


    Little she knew that the spark she had felt was something every mortal with some talent would feel during puberty. It was the awakening of the dantian. Before her, there had been no case of such awakening appearing later on. After all, who would be stupid and rich enough to waste tons of valuable resources on a mortal with no talent?


    But that is what happened. By forcefully using high grade spirit stones and determination, Shin Sumi had awoken her own talent.


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    Of course she ignored all of that. For her it had just been a tiny spark inside of her abdomen, but enough to light her hopes up in flames, blowing her anxiety away in smoke.


    Shin Sumi sat there silently beside the pond, her mouth slightly ajar. "What was that?" she wondered.


    A tickling sensation later, the little nut left her breasts and returned to her wrist, disappearing like a sentinel whose job was done.


    All of a sudden, all the tension Shin Sumi had felt as well as her tiredness and mental stress seemed to rush to her brain. Flooded by everything, Shin Sumi barely had time to slip in the quiet waters of the pond before exhaustion overtook her as she fell into a deep slumber.


    Outside of her courtyard, a figure hidden in the shadow of a tree stirred. A jade slip in the person''s hand had flashed with a soft blue light once. Without a sound, the person disappeared into the forest returning to some place in the lower valley after three long weeks of waiting.


    ***


    Shin Sumi woke up with the sun, although the neverending clouds still hid the astral body''s full shine.


    She stretched, shaking the water from her arms and legs, trying to remember what had happened.


    "I was cultivating and then... A spark! I remember now!" she said out loud, finally clearing her head from the sleep induced blur. "I passed out from exhaustion... I need to be more careful when I cultivate next time. But at least I had some results this time!"


    She was smiling happily. She still had no idea what the spark she had felt meant, but it couldn''t have been something bad. It was progress!


    For the past month and a half, everything around reminded her that she didn''t have a place in the Immortal world with a non-existent talent. She hadn''t believed it, trying her best to cultivate forcefully. And she was right.


    Shin Sumi looked in her room for food before remembering that she didn''t have any left. Opening her bag of holding, she found only a few low grade spirit stones, an unknown plant, the copper bell and other miscellaneous items.


    She thought about Xiao Yue for a while, wondering where she was, and then Lan Hui. She had seen neither of the two in a while.


    Shin Sumi left her courtyard, her belly rumbling and her mind preoccupied with the realization that she missed human contact. Cultivation was by definition a lonely process, but Shin Sumi was still a mortal. At fourteen years old she had made her first friends and now she wanted to see them.


    Shin Sumi made her first stop at the Cultivation Ressources Pavilion. She had been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect for over a month and she was able to obtain her monthly stipend of four low grade spirit stones. Of course after finding the same two clerks as the last time. "Nobody else needs to know what color my robes are supposed to be" she reminded herself and the two red robed disciples in front of her.


    She didn''t feed the spirit stones to the nut. In Shin Sumi''s mind, now that she had found a great source of income at the market, it was important to also carry normal spirit stones just in case. If for some reason she needed to pay for something at some point, she couldn''t carelessly take out a precious high grade spirit stone that would make even the sect''s Patriarch drool in envy.


    Shin Sumi walked around the sect for a bit, picking up a few hundred more seeds and making inquiries about the whereabouts of her friends.


    Lan Hui was known and liked by everyone so it was relatively easy to find his trace. Xiao Yue however was a different matter.


    Shin Sumi went to the Quests Pavilion. She blended naturally in the crown that was always in front of the giant magic screen.


    "Status points ranking" she read. The new month''s list was displayed in big letters, magically changing whenever somebody on the list completed a new quest.


    Of course Jun Qian was at the top of the list. He had over five thousand points. "Less than last month at the same time" commented Shin Sumi "but still twice as much as the second disciple."


    Shin Sumi turned away from the crowd on the side of the building. There, she found smaller screens recalling the ranking of the last twelve months.


    Again, Jun Qian was on the top of the ranking. Every ranking in fact, although Shin Sumi stayed focused on last month''s.


    Her eyes lingered for a bit on the name before following down the list. Jun Qian didn''t matter to Shin Sumi. She had never had any interaction with him and truthfully she didn''t have the right to be interested in someone as powerful as him.


    No matter how much Shin Sumi read the list, she couldn''t find Xiao Yue''s name anywhere. A frown gave her a serious face and she wondered "Strange, the last time I saw her Yue told me she wanted to get on the monthly list..."


    "Sister Shin!" A voice interrupter her thoughts. She turned around to find who was calling to her.


    Lan Hui was standing a meter away from her. He bowed rapidly, to which Shin Sumi replied by bowing too.


    An honest smile covered his face, and his eyes were excited and maybe a bit... relieved. Keeping a formal speech while they were in the midst of the crowd, he said "Please come take a walk with me. I want to talk to you about some matter."


    Nodding affirmatively, Shin Sumi tucked her hands in her sleeves and followed her red robed friend.


    In the distance, Chu Erlong and her three followers were watching the Quests Pavilion. Two of the three red robed girls were chatting about cultivation, boys, and sometimes both, as always. Only Chu Erlong and the girl surnamed Liu were looking at Lan Hui and Shin Sumi.


    The Liu girl, unlike Chu Erlong, had trouble hiding her malicious intent. Her eyes were circled by a dark shade the color of a tea infusion, as if she hadn''t slept in a long time.


    ***


    In the woods to the east side of the lower valley.


    The trees were bristling with an imperceptible wind. Their leaves were projecting round spots on the stone ground. The dance of the dark and light shapes under Shin Sumi and Lan Hui''s feet made the ground seem to move. Shin Sumi was lost in thoughts, looking at the rays of light filtered by the canopy, briefly catching particles of dust. Everything seemed suspended into the air, motionless, giving the forest an underwater feeling.


    After walking some distance, Lan Hui turned to face Shin Sumi. He was genuinely happy to see Shin Sumi again after these long few weeks and he didn''t bother trying to hide this fact.


    "Sister Shin, I am glad you are okay. I heard that you went to the western training grounds a few times?"


    Shin Sumi replied "Yes I completed a few low level quests. Mostly collecting spirit plants. I didn''t know that the quests system existed! If Xiao Yue hadn''t told me before I wouldn''t have known for a long time."


    Lan Hui nodded, understanding her words "Most people tend to prefer quiet and lonely environments to cultivate. Considering your special talent, it''s no wonder you don''t tend to go out a lot."


    Shin Sumi smiled on the inside. Lan Hui had just voiced exactly what she had wanted him to think. High talented disciples were a strange bunch. That much she knew thanks to Xiao Yue''s explanations.


    Some promising individuals took pride in their talent and used it to gain followers and fame. It was the case of the number one Honorary Disciple in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Jun Qian. Others were more quiet and enigmatic.


    Shin Sumi was trying to count how many disciples wearing robes with a color different than red she had seen or met. There was supposed to be about a thousand such people in the lower valley but Shin Sumi had barely seen enough to use all her fingers.


    Lan Hui brought her back from her mental calculations when he raised an eyebrow, seemingly realizing something. "Sister Shin, did you say Xiao Yue?"


    Shin Sumi leveled her gaze with Lan Hui''s. Was that important? Why did he look concerned all of a sudden? She nodded when he asked her confirmation about the person, quickly describing the petite orange-robed girl.


    "You became friends with Xiao Yue?!" continued Lan Hui, mouth open in disbelief. Shin Sumi frowned for a second, asking for explanations.


    Shin Sumi''s mouth became stuck in an ''O'' shape expression while he elucidated the situation.


    Xiao Yue was someone everybody knew, she was special in her own way which meant in her case that she was very particular with people. Lan Hui was surprised but relieved that they had become friends and even sworn sisters.


    Indeed, the orange-robed disciple was talented and beautiful and ever since her arrival in the sect, many people had tried to befriend her and even follow her. Boys and girls, although mostly boys. Not once had they been successful.


    The reason behind it was Xiao Yue''s ability to judge people and read their inner thoughts like a book. But for other disciples she just seemed strange and unaccessible.


    She was quite the mystery, not the best but definitely full of talent. She had placed on the top hundred of the status points ranking a few times but had always refused any compliments or friendship.


    Lan Hui seemed almost jealous of Shin Sumi for being able to befriend her so easily, although he was mostly happy for her. He kept telling Shin Sumi she was lucky and that Xiao Yue was a good person.


    A jade slip vibrated in his bag of holding. Lan Hui and Shin Sumi had talked for almost an hour now and he had some business to attend to on behalf of the Affairs Pavilion. Lan Hui departed but not before reminding Shin Sumi to be wary of Elder Zhu''s actions.


    As if she needed the reminder. Shin Sumi walked around the sect alone, wondering what the scary Elder would do next to try and steal her talent. He was one of the reasons she had worked so hard on her cultivation recently.


    Chills ran along her spine at the thought of the countless disciples Elder Zhu may have tricked in the past to complete his technique for talent-stealing.


    "I have to keep cultivating. Until I reach at least Liquid Realm and move out of the lower valley, I''ll never be safe here."


    That was sufficient to reignite the spark of determination in Shin Sumi''s eyes as she started once again to make preparations for a trip to the dark chasm.


    She chose another few quests about spirit plants she remembered having seen inside the mysterious ravine. "Easy job," she thought "if I continue selling plants at the market, I don''t really need the quests. From now on I will keep the rewards as they are, not upgrading them with the little nut''s ability."


    Shin Sumi still needed low grade spirit stones to pay for normal things like pills and food and artefacts from the market. In turn the marked will provide her with a lot of high grade spirit stones if business was as good as the first time. The quests were just an excuse to get out of the lower valley and into the training grounds.


    Shin Sumi was smart and her plan was perfect but she was still naive. Not too long ago she had been the prized daughter of East Seaside village mayor. Now that she was half a step into the Immortal world, she still lacked instinct and skill. She didn''t notice Chu Erlong''s follower, the girl surnamed Liu spying on her from a distance.


    ***


    "Aiiie! What is going on? Why are you so agitated today?" asked Shin Sumi out loud. If anyone was around it was seem like she was talking to an invisible ghost. She was in fact talking to her little grey ball that strangely resembled a nut.


    The nut had bitten her a few times today, prompting her to turn left and right again and again in the midst of the jungle. Incomprehension and a little bit of anger could be seen in the sharp lines of Shin Sumi''s brows and lips. "Why is it acting so strange today?" Shin Sumi wondered.


    The nut was sentient to a degree but incapable of speech, or anything more than biting really. Its only way of cummunicating was through harder of softer bites that would leave a tiny circular imprint on Shin Sumi''s otherwise flawless white skin.


    Shin Sumi was deeply annoyed but she wasn''t stupid. She knew the nut had a reason to act this way. Thus she followed the directions, although she knew the way to the dark chasm pretty well by now.


    What she didn''t know was that Chu Erlong''s follower had been tracing her steps ever since the western gates of the lower valley. Thankfully the nut''s efforts were paying off and soon Shin Sumi shook off her pursuiver unknowingly. The girl named Liu that had been assigned to following Shin Sumi everywhere for the past month stomped the jungle floor angrily with her foot, scaring off a number of insects from their homes.


    When she arrived at the chasm, Shin Sumi climbed down the stone face quickly and efficiently. She wanted to plant the seeds immediately but there were still a few hours left before the nut finished refining the hundreds of dried and tiny conical buds.


    There was no rushing in cultivation, as Shin Sumi knew, but she still had things she could do before planting the seeds. Exploring around the chasm, she searched for Blood Lilies, one of her quests objectives.


    As the name implied Blood Lilies were deep red, and the petals even looked like drops of blood about to fall from the flower. Shin Sumi wasn''t aware of the spirit plant''s uses but she remembered clearly the tear shaped petals from an earlier trip to the chasm.


    She rapidly stuffed her bag of holding with about three times the required amount to complete the quest and went back to the waterfall.


    "There is still time" she said, and decided to relax and enjoy a bath in the pool at the foot of the waterfall.


    Shin Sumi was now used to the snakes and the strange lighting to the place. She didn''t look twice at the source of the hissing noises while she disrobed and jumped in the water. The copper bell protected her at every moment. Had the Liu girl been able to follow her up until now and had the mysterious darkness of the chasm not dulled her senses, she would have been so shocked that she would have fallen unconscious on the spot.


    Who would have thought that this red robed newcomer girl that nobody knew was peacefully enjoying a bath surrounded by thousands of snakes capable of killing a mortal in seconds, in the most dangerous and scary location in the entire Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Shin Sumi closed her eyes for a while and dozed off, her body still taking the toll from the consecutive weeks of intense cultivation.


    When she woke up, she knew instantly that the time was right to plant the seeds. She acted with precision and efficiency, of course after she dried and dressed herself.


    Because she had felt the spark inside her dantian right before running out of high grade spirit stones, she still had a few left that she used to make the plants grow faster.


    The idea came to her when she remembered the exotic assortiment of flowers that had grown during her first bath with a high grade spirit stone. Her entire stack of seeds had been affected. The only problem she encountered though, was that in the chasm, the snakes would attack and gobble up every thing that had an ounce of Shinsoo inside.


    Be it object, animal, cultivator or treasure, the snakes would burrow out of the ground and open their jaws wide in excitement. She had even seen them almost fight for a used spirit stone before. The only thing apparently capable of distracting the snakes was the copper bell. Another exception seemed to be the plants growing around the place, which they ignored, probably full of the same Yin Shinsoo as the snakes.


    Shin Sumi thought deeply, her chin resting on her closed fist. She said "It wouldn''t be good to leave a spirit stone laying around. The snakes would eat it immediately. Can I protect it with something?" she continued, looking around. Her eyes soon set on a white object with a twisted shape.


    "The bones! They are left untouched. Maybe I can protect a spirit stone with bones so that the snakes won''t reach it."


    Shin Sumi was weighing the pros and cons of all the ideas that popped into her mind. She was sitting silently in the middle of her little field, a spirit stone shining with pale light between her knees.


    She was lost in thoughts for such a long time that her body subconsciously started to breath in and out with the pattern described in the Shinsoo Gathering Manual. Shin Sumi had spent three weeks doing only that, and now her muscle memory naturally started cultivating while she was thinking.

 17 Feeling Changed

    Shin Sumi didn''t even notice at first. All of it was very new to her. In the past she had been cultivating but it was more accurate to say that she had only been trying.


    As of now, Shin Sumi really was feeling something bubble up inside her. It was a sensation of slowly drifting, not unlike when one falls asleep. She was still lost in thoughts but these thoughts were getting more cloudy with every passing second.


    A person with really high Shinsoo affinity would have been able to spot a slight distortion in the air above the high grade spirit stone on Shin Sumi''s lap. The distortion took the shape of fumes, being inhaled noiselessly by her nostrils.


    Inside her dantian, the spark that had been awoken the previous day once again flared to life. Shin Sumi still didn''t notice, convinced that she was still thinking seriously and completely ignoring her trance. More and more time passed as Shin Sumi slipped into unconsciousness, still remaining somewhat alert.


    That is exactly what meditation is all about. Getting into the rhythm of one''s own body and mind, in accord with everything around.


    As that was happening, Shin Sumi started feeling a distant thumping. The sound like percussion didn''t come from afar, no, it came from inside her. Her dantian was slowly waking up, powered by the invisible Shinsoo entering her system.


    At first the thumping was somewhat erratic and felt strange. In her crossed legs position, eyes closed and hands resting on her knees, Shin Sumi unknowingly frowned a little bit.


    A thought popped into her mind. "I have to adjust to find the method corresponding to my organism" she thought. She was recalling what she and Xiao Yue had talked about extensively in the past.


    After having observed a lot of cultivation practitioners on the North Cultivation Plaza platform, Shin Sumi knew breathing was key and allowed a disciple to tune their Shinsoo intake.


    The part of Shin Sumi''s mind that was still rational and awake knew what was happening at this point.


    "So that is the real cultivation" she murmured between her closed lips.


    Inside her dantian the spark was still flickering with a rhythmic thumping. Shin Sumi adjusted her breathing slightly and the thumping changed immediately. After a bit of experimentation she knew exactly what to do.


    It simply felt right to accord the percussion inside her dantian with that of her calm heart.


    It took a bit of time to get the feeling right but Shin Sumi was lost in a peaceful state of mind and completely ignored the passage of time.


    The spark was now flaring regularly, kind of like bubbles exploding at just the right time. Shin Sumi''s physical body and Shinsoo system were resonating at the same frequency, alternatively sending blood coursing through her veins and Shinsoo in her meridians.


    The concordance of her breathing with all that made her inhale even more concentrated Shinsoo with each instant. Shin Sumi could feel the bubbly spark send more and more waves with each soft explosion.


    Although the feeling was very pleasant and the Shinsoo entering her body made her feel refreshed and powerful, it didn''t last long.


    Maybe it was because she had forced her talent to awaken with such a large quantity of precious resources that it was now used to it, but the high grade spirit stone was drying up at a vertiginous speed.


    With the lack of Shinsoo adding fuel to the spark, blowing up spiritual bubbles in her dantian, the thumping disappeared rapidly. In her meditative state, time seemed to pass differently than in the outside world but now suddenly Shin Sumi could only feel her heart beating.


    "The meditation is over. The spirit stone is empty!" she realized.


    Opening her eyes and stretching her neck, Shin Sumi lifted her gaze towards the cloudy sky. "The sun is setting down. I have been meditating for more than two hours." she calculated quickly.


    Two hours wasn''t a long time to cultivate for. Besides it felt different for the one cultivating. Shin Sumi was curious to feel that she was under the impression of having cultivated for a lot longer than that, although she thought she had not been gone for more than a few minutes.


    "I understand what Yue told me now. Before I thought I knew but I realize now that I was like a frog looking at the sky from the inside of a well. I used to simply meditate, forcing Shinsoo to somewhat get inside me but it was nowhere near cultivating."


    Sparks seemed to glitter in her blue eyes as she understood more. She was completely out of her trance now, fully awake and full of energy.


    She had been enlightened enough to understand what had happened when the spark appeared for the first time, although not entirely. Her talent had sprung to life it seemed.


    Success. She had forced her body to undergo drastic changes, from a mortal with no talent to a person with some affinity for the Immortal way.


    Nobody could know at this instant, not even her, what kind of talent she now had. A test-stone like the one in the entrance to the sect would be enough, but Shin Sumi couldn''t go back there with no reason. Plus it didn''t really matter.


    As she stretched and stood up in the middle of her field next to the waterfall, she tested her body a bit.


    Absolutely nothing felt different from before. She had used a whole high grade spirit stone precious enough to make any expert drool in envy but she didn''t advance one bit. At least from what she felt.


    Something was telling her that whatever level her talent had reached, her dantian now had certain expectations regarding the Shinsoo she needed to cultivate.


    With enough time, a red robed disciple could go through Shinsoo Gathering and reach the Liquid Realm stage. All they needed was a good amount of spirit stones but with only the quantity provided monthly by the sect, it was still possible.


    An orange robed disciple would need less time to reach the same level, obviously, but would benefit greatly from better cultivation resources. And that was the same all the way up to the mystic purple talented cultivators.


    All of that was briefly explained in the newcomer''s guide that Shin Sumi had read extensively. But her own version of the Shinsoo Gathering Manual, provided by the little nut-book, was displaying something a bit different.


    If a disciple refrained from forming a vortex in his first attempt at a breakthrough from Shinsoo Gathering to Liquid Realm, there was a way to open Shinsoo passageways in a previously unseen manner.


    Shinsoo Gathering was like building a foundation for the next stages of cultivation. The stronger the foundation, the more aptitude one would display. Red talented individuals would open some passageways and then condense a vortex and move on. Orange would open more Shinsoo apertures before condensing a vortex. The number of openings, usually between five and twenty didn''t change the level of the person, but their capacity to naturally absorb the energy of heaven and earth.


    It was a critical thing to take into account when reaching the upper stages of cultivation like Core Development. With only a few passageways opened, red talented disciples would never be able to go above the Liquid Realm.


    Sadly there was nothing to do about that as it was impossible to reverse the process of forming a vortex. At least that was what everybody thought. Only Shin Sumi knew the technique used to expulse all Shinsoo from her body and attempt Shinsoo Gathering again and again. Only by doing that could she open the maximal amount of passageways. It was tedious work and the manual stated that the resources needed where simply unfathomable.


    All the ressources one needed to reach the level where a vortex could be formed, she would need for every attempt at opening passageways.


    Shin Sumi remembered all that, drawing conclusions in her mind. She didn''t know what it meant exactly to need better quality resources but she didn''t care. After all she had her own way of acquiring an insane amount of resources easily.


    Because her body had been taken over by cultivation, the high grade spirit stone she had wanted to use to hasten the growth of her crops, had instead been used entirely by Shin Sumi.


    The plants were still nothing more than seeds. The earth was barren in a fifteen meter squared area.


    Shin Sumi had successfully cultivated for the first time and it took her by surprise but now that she knew, she wouldn''t fall for it again. Holding a low grade spirit stone in her hand, she refrained from settling down above it, ignoring the urges emanating from her sleeping dantian.


    Picking up a dozen of bones from the other side of the waterfall, Shin Sumi set up a small tower of bones. The white wood-like sticks formed some kind of triangular pagoda above the low grade spirit stone "sturdy enough to keep the snakes away" Shin Sumi hoped.


    Shin Sumi backed away from her creation, getting the tower out of reach from the continuous effects of the copper bell in her bag of holding.


    She clearly remembered the area affected by the small bell from when she broke her leg. Although she was sure of it, she felt at a loss when no writhing mass of black snakes appeared.


    "Something isn''t right. There should be hissing sounds by now" she asked herself.


    She waited for a few more seconds. Nothing. Taking another spirit stone from her bag, she threw it right next to the pile of bones.


    Reptiles instantly filled up the area, coming out of every hole in the ground, from below the vegetation roots and seemingly from everywhere at once.


    The spirit stone was gone in a second. A few snakes got curious about the pile of whitened bones but quickly rejected the idea of poking at it and went away with the others.


    Crouching above the bone cage, Shin Sumi closed her eyes. Her nostrils quivered as she took a deep breath and steadied her heart.


    "I can definitely feel the Shinsoo in that spirit stone" she thought. Not wanting to absorb it all, Shin Sumi took a few steps away from it again.


    A thought popped into her mind. "It''s the Yin Shinsoo of this place!"


    "These old bones have been here for so long that they are tainted by the ambient Shinsoo! This is why the snakes aren''t interested. I should have known, the plants growing here are all full of energy but the snakes don''t eat them like they do everything else."


    It made sense, really. And it was also a good opportunity for business. If the bones were a source of Yin Shinsoo energy, there would surely be someone in the market willing to buy them for a reasonable price.


    Shin Sumi took out the low quality spirit stone from under the bones and replaced it with a high grade one.


    If she wanted to grow plants faster, a low grade stone wouldn''t do, she reasoned. Testing a few options, Shin Sumi took her time.


    After almost an hour, Shin Sumi wiped off the sweat from her forehead. Laying in the middle of the field were about ten bone towers.


    Each of them was made from a dozen bones and covered up to three high grade spirit stones. Some of them were empty, Shin Sumi having completely depleted her stock with her recent prolonged cultivation sessions.


    "Three is the limit, more Shinsoo than that and the snakes will break down the piles to get to the stones."


    Shin Sumi had been careful with each tower, placing them in the best area possible to influence the growth of the plants.


    As she stood there looking at her farm, Shin Sumi felt good. It was the same feeling one would experience after resolving a long lasting problem.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes focused once more when she lifted her head to look at the sky. Above the always dark chasm she could see the stripe of clouded sky, torturous like a strike of lightning or an old scar.


    Night wouldn''t fall for another few hours at least. Making calculations quickly in her head, Shin Sumi believed she could be back in the lower valley before night time.


    She hesitated for a while. "If I stay I can see how long it takes for the crops to grow and sell them at the market tomorrow. But I''m out of resources to cultivate" she thought. "If I go back to my courtyard, I can definitely use the remnant Shinsoo from the last session to make some progress. Plus maybe Yue will be back in the sect! I have so much to tell her!"


    And with that Shin Sumi made up her mind.


    What had recently been on her mind were the drastic changes in her courtyard. Because she used an unbelievable stock of high grade spirit stones during three consecutive weeks, her courtyard garden has been affected.


    She remembered how the dozen seeds turned into full grown plants overnight, after bathing with a single high grade spirit stone.


    Shin Sumi laughed, tiny creases giving even more charm to her jade mien. "I bet the garden has never looked that beautiful and lush before. Maybe I should be a gardener after all!"


    When she arrived at the sect''s lower valley, she went directly home, just in time for the sun to set above the clouds.


    She sat on the stone bench for a while, taking in the beauty of the green garden.


    The Shinsoo formation that was embedded into the courtyard walls was a complicated design, offering a good measure of protection against intruders as well as keeping the Shinsoo flow constant inside.


    Only the houses that had been unoccupied for a long time like the dilapidated one where Chu Erlong often went had lost its powers.


    Shin Sumi''s was operating at full capacity and unless a powerful expert showed up, it was impossible to break the spell formation.


    This way all the Shinsoo gathered previously by means of high grade spirit stones would remain in the air, the earth and all the plants that absorbed it.


    Shin Sumi reached above her head with a jade white hand, plucking a plum from the tree.


    Now that she had awoken her talent, she was far more in tune with Shinsoo and she could barely feel it around her. For a disciple having yet to reach Shinsoo Gathering, it was already impressive.


    Shin Sumi thought about the foggy maze that had her disoriented in the most uncomfortable way before.


    "With the affinity I have now, the maze would be a piece of cake, no doubt" she mused happily.


    She used the back of her sleeve to wipe away the plum juice from her lips before crossing her legs and closing her eyes.


    The more she cultivated, the better she became at tuning her heartbeat with the powerful thrumming of her dantian. It took only a short time for an invisible vortex to appear around her.


    Her nostrils sucked the ambient Shinsoo with incredible regularity. With each breath, the virtual bubbles inside her sent more energy of heaven and earth through her meridians.


    The technique described in the complete version of the Shinsoo Gathering Manual was similar to the classical one that everybody in the Dark Sky Starry Sect used or had used. There were only minute changes but they made the technique vastly more powerful.


    Although requiring more resources, Shin Sumi''s cultivation was also more efficient, one breath sucking in three times the amount of Shinsoo another cultivator would inhale.


    Shin Sumi cultivated the entire night lost in her trance, feeling herself becoming one with her surroundings.


    At this rhythm, it would only be a question of how much energy she needed to finally reach the Shinsoo Gathering stage and open up her first passageways.


    The dawn had just come when Shin Sumi made a move. Her pretty eyelashes fluttered for an instant, acclimating to the ambient light.


    The high walls of the courtyard were casting long shadows that were rapidly disappearing with the motion of the sun.


    Shin Sumi bathed quickly, washing her robes at the same time before donning a new set. Before, she thought the red color was a bit too provocative on clothes but now she was used to it and even liked her robes.


    Compared to mortal clothes, the robes worn by the Dark Sky Starry Sect disciples were simpler. Long pieces of fabric with ample sleeves and many folds closed by the lace of the bag of holding, serving as a belt.


    Many female disciples originally frowned upon seeing the robes for the first time, the lack of adornment not suiting their taste. But everybody got used to it in the end, as they were other ways to promote their beauty.


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    Shin Sumi was combing her hair, the purple bracelet offered by Xiao Yue shining in contrast with her long black locks.


    "I wonder is she is back in the sect yet. The last time Lan Hui told me he hadn''t heard anything about her whereabouts. I asked him to tell me when he had information, maybe I should find him first."


    Shin Sumi left her courtyard, closing it by making a simple gesture with her identification medallion in hand. The courtyard was still lush and every plant inside was thrumming with life force, but some of the grass, especially around the stone bench had lost a bit of luster.


    Shin Sumi was half disappointed and half relieved to see that. It meant her meditation session had been successful, having absorbed a lot of Shinsoo. At the same time she was sad about the fact that her courtyard would soon return to its previous look, still luxurious but not as pretty.


    "At least it will save me explanations to whoever comes here. I can''t possibly tell Yue or Brother Lan that I ''stumbled'' upon a mountain of high grade spirit stones, can I?" she thought unconvinced "It is definitely for the best to have the place return to normal as soon as possible!"


    Shin Sumi was walking under the cover of the trees. The air felt fresh but a certain scent agitated her nostrils. She didn''t have time to react before a flash of light illuminated her right wrist and a sharp pain took hold of her arm.

 18 "I Think I Am In Great Danger"

    The little grey nut had come out of the leaf pattern imprinted on Shin Sumi''s wrist in the briefest of moments and had proceeded to bite her as hard as possible.


    A red pearl of fresh blood dripped from the circular bite mark onto her right foot, stopped dead in its tracks.


    Shin Sumi was used to the biting by now. Annoyment at the nut flashed in her eyes for a split second before her rational mind took over.


    "What is it?" she thought, "this bite was strong and unexpected. Something dangerous is close by." Shin Sumi didn''t spend more time thinking, her pretty blue eyes looking around.


    The trees above her head, the grass next to the stone path, everything in her field of vision looked completely normal.


    Only then did the nut let her arm go. Rolling across her skin, Shin Sumi felt it reach her leg, stopping only at her left ankle.


    The nut was smart and had stayed out of view from the outside. Apart from the blood stain on Shin Sumi''s shoe, nothing indicated why she had stopped so suddenly.


    "The ground?" she asked herself in a low voice. Bites were the only way of communicating the nut had ever shown since the beginning and Shin Sumi was more or less familiar with the pattern. A bite on the leg was probably an indication that whatever was dangerous was on the ground.


    Lowering herself on her toes, Shin Sumi looked at the path right in front of her. The urgency of the bite meant that it was close.


    Focusing her eyes on the gravel and dust that formed most of the sect''s paths, Shin Sumi remembered the smell that had agitated her nose seconds before the painful warning.


    "There, these lines!" she exclaimed interiorly.


    Only by looking at it up close could she discern it. Eight tentacle like lines were carved on the dry ground, all emanating from one spot. "My next step would have been directly in the center" she thought.


    Shin Sumi observed the floor a bit more before standing up again. Nothing around her seemed out of the ordinary except from the ground.


    But Shin Sumi''s instinct was simply not fully developed. A figure on a branch some thirty odd meters away was observing silently.


    Taking a few steps back, Shin Sumi picked up a dead branch. Throwing it in front of her, the branch touched the floor exactly where the eight wiggly lines concentrated.


    What happened next was so fast that for a long time Shin Sumi was convinced that it had happened before the branch landed. From the eight lines on the ground, black roots rose. A blink of the eyes would have made an observer completely miss it but the roots joined at the top.


    They touched each other right above the center, above the branch. In a simple motion, they crushed the branch that was thicker than a finger as if it had been a match stick.


    Shin Sumi had not even registered what had happened as the roots fell back on the ground, vibrating slightly so that dust and pebbles would cover them again.


    In a split second everything was over. The branch had been crushed to dust and nothing was left of it.


    If Shin Sumi had been in its place, at least her legs would have been reduced to nothing. Then her upper body would have fallen on the same spot.


    A shiver down her spine cut her respiration short. She didn''t dare imagine the scene.


    "Someone tried to kill me!"


    Shin Sumi forced herself to remain calm and to not panic.


    She was new to the world of cultivation but knew as much as to not be too afraid. After all she was still on the sect''s grounds. Her courtyard was in a remote location but even though somebody had tried to kill her, it will probably not escalate into a fight.


    The trap had failed and she was alive, but unless there were other traps, she thought she wouldn''t be assaulted.


    Keeping calm appearances Shin Sumi walked around the trap, with a safe distance from the killer plant.


    In her head, she started thinking about what the implications of someone trying to kill her would be, as the nut went back to her chest region. The nut refused to return in her wrist, prepared to give another signal if it sensed a new danger.


    Further away in the trees, the girl called Liu discretely left her hiding place, half running and half jumping with impressive speed to report the failure of the trap.


    Because she had forced herself to remain calm, Shin Sumi''s mind cleared rapidly, the adrenalin still pervading her limbs but wearing off.


    She recounted what happened with a voice that only she could hear.


    "Somebody tried to kill me in the sect grounds. Who would dare do that?"


    She didn''t have to think much further. Her mind pictured Chu Erlong for a split second but the thought discarded itself quickly. In the end the only person she could think of was a scary figure hidden beneath a gentle smile.


    "It can only be Elder Zhu!" she thought. "He is the only one who knows where I live apart from Yue and Brother Lan. He probably has a way of stealing my talent after I''m dead."


    The explanation was simple but convincing enough. Shin Sumi could still smell the scent of medicinal plants. It was no doubt that the one used as a trap was some kind of precious material that only an Elder could get his hands on.


    Besides, Elder Zhu was known for his medicinal talent and affinity with plants was part of his expertise.


    Shin Sumi resumed her walk towards the more lively part of the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s lower valley. Her mind continued to think and make plans as she found the stone paths more often used by disciples.


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    She was more on guard than ever towards whatever plan Elder Zhu had prepared for her.


    ***


    The slender silhouette of Liu Qing was crossing the northern forest of the lower valley.


    The girl''s red robes were bristling with the wind. She was really fast and could jump as far as three meters with only one step.


    Liu Qing was on the verge of breaking through to the Liquid Realm. She had been for quite a while now, having opened a handful of Shinsoo passageways. For some reason though something kept her from reaching the first true realm of Immortal cultivation.


    "It is because unlike me you red robes are simply trash" had said Chu Erlong one day with harsh words.


    "Maybe she is right. Us with less talent will never amount to much" she thought as she ran towards the dilapidated courtyard, "I should be happy to be able to follow someone like Big Sister Chu."


    Liu Qing would maybe never reach the Liquid Realm. What she didn''t know though was that her talent had nothing to do with it. Crossing over from opening the Shinsoo passageways to condensing a vortex was more of a formality than a true obstacle.


    Liu Qing had a weak mind. She had always been shy, and even when her family had celebrated for three days and three nights the news of her recruitment in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, she had stayed quiet.


    Even for her family of aristocrats in the capital city of the Silver Sea region, being officially accepted in an Immortal sect was an honor that surpassed anything else.


    She had worked as hard as she could with her low talent in the sect before meeting Chu Erlong.


    "Sister Liu!" sounded a voice from the gates of the old courtyard. "Big Sister Chu, Sister Liu is back!" said the voice but in another direction, louder.


    As Liu Qing slowed down and walked past the open gates, Chu Erlong emerged from the house in the courtyard.


    Liu Qing stopped.


    Chu Erlong was wearing a bright orange dress. Although it was a normal piece of cloth made exactly like every other disciple robes, it looked like it fitted her perfectly.


    Chu Erlong''s figure was slim and tall. Her shoulders were thin and the orange fabric seemed to fall from them like sunshine piercing through the never ending clouds.


    Her long dark hair was tied at the end in a bundle that swayed with her steps. Her cheeks were tinted with a slight red and she wore a radiant smile.


    Liu Qing couldn''t help but smile too. The image of her Big Sister now superimposed in her mind with the girl that had accepted her that day.


    For the first time since in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Liu Qing had found her anchor. Chu Erlong had offered her company, friendship, and many other things.


    While Liu Qing was a raven, Chu Erlong was the moon that shone brightly and made her stand out from the night sky.


    "Big Sister Chu, about the trap, it..." she started. Chu Erlong interrupted her with impatience and malevolence in her eyes that Liu Qing didn''t seem to see.


    "Did it work?! Is she dead?"


    Liu Qing bit her top lip and bowed deeply before answering. She didn''t need to as Chu Erlong turned her back to her.


    Liu Qing was surprised for a second, waiting for a scolding, which would usually happen. Instead, Chu Erlong didn''t say a word but started to tremble.


    At first, she trembled just a bit but after a few seconds, her shaking was visible to the three girls present.


    A short girl with a round face reacted before Liu Qing did. Her name was Fan Cai and her voice was disturbingly high pitched as she asked "Are you okay Big Sister Chu?"


    Her voice clearly held tones of surprise mixed with fear. Her question was cut short and she produced a loud ''gulp'' when Chu Erlong turned again to look at her followers.


    "That... little... RASCAL!" she screamed, not caring about being heard from outside of the abandoned courtyard.


    Liu Qing and the other followers were all stunned. Extreme agitation was visible on Chu Erlong''s face.


    "Liu Qing, tell me everything you saw. Don''t leave any detail out" she asked her, finally seeming to recover a bit.


    Liu Qing swallowed uncomfortably and recounted all of the recent events from when she was spying on Shin Sumi. Even after she stopped talking Chu Erlong stayed silent, judging the situation in her head.


    "She... she is really good. Acting like a red robed disciple with no talent. Even a green talented disciple shouldn''t have been able to discover the Clover Prison Seed that my grandfather specially grafted himself" she said. "What am I going to say to grandfather after this? I wasted a lot of resources on this plan, but that unassuming twit ruined it just like that?!"


    The girls in front of the orange robed youth didn''t dare say a word. Although they were usually not spared a second glance from Chu Erlong, she still trusted them and confided in them. They understood immediately what she meant.


    Chu Erlong had told them weeks ago what she thought. Ever since she had seen Shin Sumi trying to spy on them in this exact courtyard, she had been suspicious of her. She had asked Liu Qing to follow her.


    Liu Qing had kind of a natural talent in being stealthy. Maybe because she had been invisible during most of her life. She had easily spotted Shin Sumi going to her courtyard. She had seen her using her own identification medallion to open the gates. There were no doubts to be had, Shin Sumi was not a red robed disciple.


    Liu Qing had first proposed Chu Erlong to befriend Shin Sumi, but the orange robed girl had laughed at her face "And then what? Do you think she will help us? Considering her talent she would just use us as stepping stones until she reaches the next level. If she really has such a monstrous talent, she''ll become a star before we even have a chance at touching the clouds."


    Liu Qing clearly remembered the words of Chu Erlong that day, when for the first time her friend had given her shivers.


    "We must destroy her. She should be OUR stepping stone. A big enough one for all of us. We absolutely can''t let her reach a level where she can easily defeat us and make us look like dog shit next to her."


    That was how it began. After that Liu Qing had spent most of her days following Shin Sumi everywhere, trying not to be shaken off by the green talented girl''s seemingly random actions.


    Finally Chu Erlong had prepared a plan. She had contacted her grandfather through gritted teeth, asking for a big favor.


    Chu Xuanba was the Great Elder of the sect, standing above all the other Elders, responding only to the Sect Patriarch and the mysterious experts of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    He was a gentle looking old man but with deep eyes capable of rendering a Liquid Realm cultivator unconscious with a single glance. As a mid Core Development cultivator, nobody in the sect would dare look at him sideways. Even as the first daughter of his first son, Chu Erlong was careful when talking to him.


    She had used his favors to get a dangerous plant that could kill a Liquid Realm disciple in the blink of an eye. But even that wasn''t enough.


    "We have to destroy her!" said Chu Erlong once more, bringing Liu Qing back to reality.


    "Actually I have an idea, Big Sister Chu..." said Liu Qing in a whisper.


    ***


    Shin Sumi walked faster than usual. Even though she wanted to appear unaffected by her near death experience, she found it really hard to act normal.


    For once, she seemed to remark all of the disciples from the Affairs Pavilion, visible with a pin on the front of their robes.


    There were many disciples like Lan Hui, acting like some sort of law enforcer in the lower valley, but usually they would go almost unnoticed. Shin Sumi wondered how many of them knew who they were working for.


    "A monster. Elder Zhu is a monster" she said to herself.


    She then wondered how many of them had been tasked to follow her.


    Shaking her head, Shin Sumi laughed unconvincingly.


    "Come on Sumi, don''t be too paranoid. Focus on what you''re doing. The nut will protect you."


    Shin Sumi had initially decided to go back to her secret farm in the dark chasm but decided against it.


    "I''m probably safer in the middle of the sect and traps could await me in the jungle" she said to herself.


    Still carefully looking around her, she tried her best to keep a low profile as she headed to the Cultivation Plaza. Lan Hui had many friends, some of whom he trusted with his life, as he had told her once, so when she stumbled upon one on her way, she asked him to send Lan Hui a message.


    Shin Sumi arrived at the Cultivation Plaza not so long after and she settled on top of the middle platform.


    She was surrounded by disciples meditating, with only a few groups of people chatting instead of focussing on cultivation.


    She finally felt safe once again. Nobody would dare to do anything to her in the middle of the Plaza, which was one of the most frequented places in the lower valley.


    She tried cultivating for a while, to calm her heart as much as to do actual progress in cultivation. To her dismay, she found that the Shinsoo in this place, although in higher concentration than somewhere else, was simply not dense enough to make the spark inside her dantian flare up to life.


    Lan Hui arrived not too long after, his friend having told him about the urgency he had sensed in Shin Sumi''s voice.


    He had been rushing to get to the Cultivation Plaza as soon as possible, only to find a calm and smiling Shin Sumi.


    Lan Hui sat down in front of her after bowing rapidly.


    "Brother Lan, I''m happy to see you" Shin Sumi started after bowing herself.


    "Sister Shin, what is going on? Du Le told me to meet you quickly, is everything alright?" Lan Hui answered with a concerned expression.


    Shin Sumi''s cristalline laugh resounded quietly, trying to be as natural as possible.


    She dispelled most of his concern in a few words before changing the subject. Shin Sumi told him about her first real success in cultivation and about how she had felt the Shinsoo in her dantian.


    Lan Hui congratulated her and offered a few pointers, although Shin Sumi appeared to be listening with only one ear.


    "With the little bit of Shinsoo I have accumulated inside me, can I use the jade medallion to communicate?" she interrupted him.


    Lan Hui was silent for a moment before answering "Well, it depends if you have enough Shinsoo inside you. You are still not fully into Shinsoo Gathering, you need to forcibly absorb Shinsoo first and then at some point your body will become naturally able to gather the energy you spent."


    "So if someone uses Shinsoo, their body will return back to peak condition by itself?"


    "Exactly, although it takes time, especially since we Honorary Disciples don''t have much Shinsoo to begin with. Shinsoo Gathering is a long process and I advise you to spend as little of your energy as possible."


    Shin Sumi bobbed her head up and down as she understood more and more. Nevertheless, she didn''t give up on learning the way of communicating via jade slips.


    Lan Hui explained it to her, agreeing that it was something important to know in case of urgency for example, even if a few messages could leave a disciple completely without Shinsoo.


    By using the identification jade she had been given, Shin Sumi learned how to register other people''s personal jade, as well as how to condense Shinsoo to form a mental connection with the jade.


    A new world of possibilities opened up before her as she now understood how to read and imprint information on jade slips.


    She seemed very happy with that and thanked Lan Hui profusely, even standing up in order to bow deeply. Lan Hui departed with a smile on his face, although it hid the fact that something didn''t feel right to him.


    He hadn''t walked more than thirty meters, having just gone down the stairs of the cultivation platform, when he felt a familiar vibration in his bag of holding. Taking out his identification jade, he pressed his forehead against it because it was the simplest way of accessing the information.


    "Brother Lan, please act normal and forgive me for being so strange earlier. I think that I am in great danger."

 19 Fen Wudaos Visit To The Lower Valley

    Lan Hui was startled by this message. It was no wonder Shin Sumi had seemed so easier to learn how to communicate with privately. Unless a really powerful expert interfered with his divine sense, nobody would be able to hear what she told him.


    Lan Hui was clever, and apart from a slight slowing down of his steps, he perfectly hid his surprise at what Shin Sumi had told him.


    She resumed the situation and what information she had gathered from the traps that had almost killed her.


    After sending a brief message back, Lan Hui left swiftly.


    "I will try my best to investigate Elder Zhu, Sister Shin. In the meantime you should be relatively safe, he wouldn''t dare do a thing in the middle of the sect. The training grounds are also fine, Elder Zhu never leaves the lower valley and he is not the kind of man to send disciples do his job."


    Shin Sumi was relieved. For now, her only way to become stronger involved her farm of Yin type spirit plants in the dark chasm out of the sect.


    She stayed a little while more at the Cultivation Plaza, seemingly cultivating before leaving the area.


    Coincidentally, she disappeared from the busy place right before Liu Qing showed up. The shy girl with the red robes had been tasked again to follow Shin Sumi and was currently gnashing her teeth, unable to locate her target.


    As soon as she passed the western gates, Shin Sumi pushed forward with the higher speed she was capable of at the moment. As a fourteen years old girl half a step into Shinsoo Gathering, it wasn''t much. Nevertheless she advanced through the ever-changing jungle.


    Maybe it was the few drops of remaining adrenaline coursing through her veins but her progression was smoother than usual, seemingly avoiding most dangers.


    Only once did the nut have to protect her, from a crow the size of a boar, prompting her to duck.


    She was now used to walking long distances, and the trip that had taken her more than six hours the first time was done in only two.


    Shin Sumi couldn''t know that but her repeated attempts at cultivation using high grade spirit stones had refined her physical body slowly.


    It made sense, considering that even the blades of grass in her courtyard had grown lusher, that she too would have undergone changes. As of now her body was comparable to that of a Liquid Realm disciple, with the corresponding stamina.


    Shin Sumi reached the entrance to the chasm. As per usual nobody was around. In fact in more than a dozen years, nobody had attempted to get close to it.


    The black ravine and its mysterious darkness was to be avoided at all cost by all cultivators under the Core Development Realm. No one but an Elder would even think about it, and even then there were few Elders that wanted to try.


    But Shin Sumi didn''t know that. Besides, the copper bell was on her person at all times. In the entire Blue Fire mountain range, maybe she was the only person that could remain safe in the scar shaped chasm.


    Shin Sumi climbed down the familiar slope with ease, jumping the last meter. It had only been over half a day since she left her crops to grow but the tiny seed had already sprouted into small trees thicker than her arm.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes bulged out of their socket when she saw the results of her last farming experiment.


    "How am I going to get them all in my bag of holding?!" she thought.


    The question didn''t really need an answer. After all the mysterious bags of holdings worked with a magic that she didn''t understand, and that the crops would all disappear inside the bottomless spatial artifact. A more accurate question would have been "How am I going to dig them all up by myself?!".


    Shin Sumi let out a long sigh as she fumbled inside the pouch at her waist. A forty centimeter long white bone in the shape of a shovel emerged from the grey bag.


    Shin Sumi had found what was a beast''s shoulder bone in one of her first trips to the chasm. The bone had been cleaned white by the snakes and had undergone a certain Yin energy tempering in this abyss.


    Just like the primitive humans must have done countless eons ago, Shin Sumi started to work, crafting tool from bone and digging the earth for resources.


    About halfway through the stalks, Shin Sumi took a short break. Her red robes were completely soaked and her hair stuck uncomfortably to her neck and forehead due to the sweat.


    Panting, she sat down in the middle of the crops and closed her mouth, forcing the Yin Shinsoo filled air to enter her nostrils.


    Under her jade colored eyelids, her eyes were calm and her mind was slowly calming down as well.


    "Cultivation is great" thought the fourteen year old girl that was just starting to understand that she was now on the path to becoming an Immortal.


    She had undergone lots of things, feeling more fear and pride and pain and joy than ever before in her past. Although her life had been in danger and somebody had even tried to kill her recently, the bubble of Shinsoo accompanying the spark inside her dantian was enough to make Shin Sumi feel better.


    She spent close to two hours lost in the subconscious feeling that was brought by cultivation. When she finally emerged and opened her eyes, she felt refreshed and back to her peak condition.


    Digging up the remaining half of the crops, Shin Sumi didn''t think about anything other than the unimaginable amount of high grade spirit stone she would soon obtain.


    At this rhythm, even her unusual need for cultivation resources would be eventually satiated. Her progression was assured, as long as she could evade all attempts to end her life.


    ***


    In the marketplace of the lower valley, Shin Sumi closed up her little shop.


    She had sold all of the stalks for two spirit stones each. The price was considerably low for this type of plant, even more so considering that all the plants presented some variations. Shin Sumi kept quiet about it, pretending to keep her secrets but attributing the changes to the nut''s refining.


    More people had gathered around ''Yan Yan''s shop'' as she called it herself. Under her disguise Shin Sumi praised the nut''s abilities as well as the dense Yin Shinsoo from the chasm.


    The Yin type spirit plants were the most common type in the market. This was due to the fact that the Dark Sky Starry Sect was always covered by dense clouds, limiting the sunlight to a minimum. Apart for certain plants that could only be of the Yang type and could be even more valuable, Shin Sumi as Yan Yan had probably broken a record for the most valuable plants sold in high quantity in the market.


    A lot of people had started wondering where this Yan Yan came from and how she could produce so many plants at once. Another question often raised in silence was why she would only sell them at such a low price.


    Nevertheless nobody could really complain. The alluring Yan Yan even sold her products to other shop owners, as long as they agreed to not sell them at a higher price.


    Asking too many questions could sometimes be detrimental and since everybody was beneficiary, then everything was fine.


    The identity of the mysterious girl with the sparkling red lips and the deep black eyes was also something of little importance. Confusion Pills were common, and after obtaining so much spirit stones it was only normal to use every way possible to ensure the seller''s real identity was hidden.


    Shin Sumi had come back from the dark chasm already hidden by the features of Yan Yan. The handful of disciples that actually recognized her from her previous time selling plants accompanied her towards the market area.


    This was the safest that Shin Sumi could actually be, under another girl''s traits and surrounded by people eager to see what she had come to sell.


    As Shin Sumi turned randomly in a forest for a few minutes, shaking off potential pursuivers while the Confusion Pill dissipated, she laughed for herself.


    Lan Hui had come to her shop and bought one of the first stalks she had taken out.


    "If only he had known it was me!" Shin Sumi mused. "I would have given him as many as he wanted for free!"


    The red robed boy with an Affairs Pavilion insignia knew everything there was to know about the sect''s lower valley. Yan Yan''s shop was something he had heard of, obviously.


    Something else that Shin Sumi hadn''t predicted was the visit of someone else to her shop.


    "Big Brother Fen..." she thought.


    As Shin Sumi''s face reappeared instead of Yan Yan''s, on the way to her courtyard, she recalled the interaction she just had with Fen Wudao.


    "Junior Brothers, may I?" a voice had said behind the wall of customers observing the shining blue-green plants on the white piece of cloth.


    Instinctively, the crowd had parted, as if something deep inside their dantian had prompted them to do so. This was the pressure that a Liquid Realm cultivator emanated naturally.


    Fen Wudao was wearing a simple white unadorned daoist robe that for some reason seemed to make him look like an Immortal saint.


    Some of the Honorary Disciples in the crowd didn''t know who he was and started asking questions around, to only be silenced quickly by the others.


    All noise had died instantly, waiting for the Liquid Realm prodigy to speak. His presence was unexpected and many disciples saw it as a chance to benefit from his wisdom.


    Shin Sumi had lifted her head because of the sudden silence as well as the pressure following the youth''s voice. She was facing the person whom had brought her to the sect, to the Immortal world.


    "Senior Brother Fen? What can this Yan help you with?" she had asked with a soft voice, almost in a whisper.


    Fen Wudao responded, his enigmatic smile never leaving his face, "Oh, you know who I am? You will have to excuse me Junior Sister but I am not yet aware of your name."


    "It is Yan Yan''s greatest pleasure to meet the Senior Brother Fen that everybody always talks about."


    "So you are Yan Yan. I have heard about your little shop. Maybe you can help me with something."


    Fen Wudao''s words radiated the proudness that came when a strong person talked to people from a lower realm, but his tone was still gentle and warm.


    Without waiting for another round of praise and paying respects from Shin Sumi as Yan Yan, he continued "I have come to the lower valley to see friends of mine, but I heard about your supposedly incredible stock of Yin type plants. I feel lucky to be able to see it for myself."


    Shin Sumi felt her spine shiver. It wasn''t because of fright though.


    "Did he just wink at me?" she pondered over his behaviour. His words of praise were totally unexpected but would be sure to have an important effect on whoever was listening to him.


    Indeed, Fen Wudao did have these intentions. That was the power that a Liquid Realm cultivator could have on people. Whomever he praised would see their reputation change radically, and in the same way he could bring down anyone with just a few words.


    Shin Sumi didn''t have time to think much further about why he would do that to a red robed girl he knew nothing about because Fen Wudao suddenly bent down to look at the plants all over the square cloth.


    He extended a hand above one randomly chosen stalk and closed his eyes.


    A wave of excitement came from the flabbergasted crowd as the air blurred slightly under his hand. The space between the plant and his hand changed in a manner that Shin Sumi had never seen before while the youth used his own Shinsoo to ascertain the quality of her merchandise.


    Fen Wudao observed the spirit plants for an incense stick''s worth of time, taking his time in front of the crowd of disciples whose numbers had tripled since he arrived.


    Shin Sumi was about to open her mouth after the prolonged silence when Fen Wudao''s eyes opened, looking directly at her.


    "I wasn''t misinformed! These specimen are all of incredible quality! Junior Sister Yan''s eyes are good for picking up plants!" he said with a big warm smile.


    "I can''t receive such praise, I had no idea of their worth until Senior Brother Fen enlightened me" Shin Sumi responded with a bow.


    Fen Wudao flicked his sleeve in the process of standing up straight again. His hand flashed above his bag of holding and a dozen of low grade spirit stones appeared in his palm.


    Yan Yan''s alluring smile had disappeared as soon as the Liquid Realm youth spoke. Her eyes turned sideways, reluctant and full of hesitation.


    "Senior Brother... I... Well I am sorry but I have to refuse" she had said, still not looking him in the eyes.


    A small blast of pressure overtook her for a moment before disappearing. The surprise was visible on Fen Wudao''s face and even caused him to forget to reduce his presence for an instant.


    Shin Sumi immediately bowed down until her forehead almost touched the ground, apologizing profusely.


    "I am really sorry Senior Brother. When I opened my shop I stated openly that I would give a chance to anyone to buy my plants. I can''t go back on my word and sell you more than one stalk."


    The Honorary Disciples that had been present since the beginning of the scene opened their eyes wider than they thought was possible. A big surge of respect for Yan Yan grew in their hearts.


    Fen Wudao relaxed, his slight smile returning to his thin lips. He sighed almost exaggeratedly and put the spirit stones back in his bag in one swift movement.


    Shin Sumi stayed in her low position for a while longer until Fen Wudao encouraged her to raise.


    "I see. Your sense of moral is strong. It''s a shame that I can''t buy any more" he said while looking around quickly. "I really need these plants. Here, take my medallion imprint. If ever you get your hands on more plants of this quality, send me a message!"


    Taking out a silver winged arrow that Shin Sumi knew of, he jumped on it. A second later he was already high in the sky.


    On the white piece of cloth, a stalk had disappeared, replaced by three low grade spirit stones.


    Shin Sumi recalled his leaving as she closed the gate of her courtyard after her. Her features were now back to normal, nothing of Yan Yan''s alluring appearance remained.


    People would argue that she was prettier as she was, but less provocative.


    Shin Sumi thought about her appearances. The Confusion Pill as it was should have been powerful enough but after the nut had refined it, it had become even more potent.


    "Did Senior Brother Fen see through my disguise?" she asked herself right before suddenly lifting her head, pupils dilated by a realization.


    "Oh no, the identification medallion!"


    Shin Sumi took out her jade inscribed with the character for ''green''.


    Now that she was into Shinsoo Gathering, she had access to a little bit of Shinsoo. She had used almost all of it to send a sound transmission to Lan Hui earlier but reading a jade inscription wasn''t a tiring process.


    Sending a sliver of divine sense to the jade pressed against her forehead, Shin Sumi read her own medallion.


    "Shin Sumi, Honorary Disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, green talent."


    She stayed quiet for a long while. Fen Wudao had exchanged his jade imprint with hers. What would happen if he tried to communicate with Yan Yan? What would happen when Yan Yan would send him a message about Yin type spirit plants?


    Shin Sumi wasn''t sure how to answer her questions. When she had sent a message to Lan Hui, she didn''t get anything besides the profound sensation of connecting with him.


    But Fen Wudao was a Liquid Realm prodigy! Would his divine sense reveal more about who was on the other side of the communication?


    Shin Sumi had no way to ascertain the truth.


    She took a long bath until way after the end of the day. Looking at the sky, she was full of questions.


    The nut had left her wrist after she had given it almost all of the low grade spirit stones and was now nowhere to be found.


    Shin Sumi could have encountered it easily by following the leaf pattern under her skin, but she didn''t. She was enjoying a quiet moment to reflect upon her life and cultivation.


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    She fell asleep naturally at some point, not knowing when she stopped looking at the clouds, imagining the stars above it.


    She woke up at dawn, her tiredness having dissipated totally. After a certain point in cultivation, sleep became unnecessary. When Shinsoo would gather naturally from Heaven and Earth, the body would replenish its energy by itself.


    After soaking in spring water all night, Shin Sumi''s skin was soft and smooth, nothing like the wrinkly leather that would be the norm for mortals.


    She dried herself quickly and put her robes back on. The nut appeared on the stone bench next to her.


    "Twelve hours" Shin Sumi thought.


    The nut started spitting out high grade spirit stones one after the other. The beads the size of a nail fell out for what seemed like a long time. Shin Sumi''s worries all dissipated.


    She was used to see the nut''s miracle but every time it would still have an effect on her.


    The spark in her dantian bubbled at the Shinsoo concentration that was mounting up but Shin Sumi refrained herself from sitting down.


    "It would be a waste to use it all now. I have to go back to the chasm."

 20 Experience is Knowledge and Opening Doors

    Shin Sumi had always been weary of Elder Zhu.


    During four months she had never stayed in the sect''s lower valley for too long, wondering patiently what the next move of the Elder would be.


    She would leave by the western gates to go directly to the chasm. Then she would cultivate while waiting for her plants to grow. As soon as they were ready to be harvested, Shin Sumi would dig them out and replace them.


    From all the batches she sold, about one quarter of the high grade spirit stones the nut would refine would be used to speed up the process of growing plants.


    Sometimes she would come back to the sect as Shin Sumi, sometimes as Yan Yan, never allowing too many coincidences to occur.


    Her line of reasoning was "if people always see me leave and Yan Yan only return, it won''t be long before my secret is discovered".


    The only person that possibly knew about her secret was Fen Wudao. Shin Sumi still didn''t know if the Liquid Realm cultivator actually knew or not.


    She always kept an extra Yin type spirit plant for him. Most of the time he would come by himself, allowing Shin Sumi as Yan Yan to spare her Shinsoo instead of having to send him a message.


    Fen Wudao always acted the same way around her, being the smiling and gentle youth he always seemed to be. He never mentioned anything about Shin Sumi, and his interest seemed to be strictly centered on the spirit plants.


    Because of the frequent visits of the Liquid Realm prodigy, Yan Yan''s little shop had seen its reputation grow exponentially.


    By now everybody in the lower valley had heard of Yan Yan, her alluring beauty and her miraculous plants. Even the Pill Concoction Pavilion sometimes sent a disciple to retrieve plants from her.


    The Pill Concoction Pavilion usually was more interested in the resources that resulted from the quests, but the mysterious Yan Yan had simply made too big of an impression for them to ignore.


    Nobody really knew who she was and how she found the plants. It made no doubt that she was an Honorary Disciple from the lower valley. There would have been no point for a higher disciple to go to that market to sell plants.


    Something else that everybody knew was that the person behind Yan Yan used a Confusion Pill.


    The disciple that actually uncovered that act was one of Shin Sumi''s most frequent clients as well as her close friend, Lan Hui.


    By working at the Affairs Pavilion it was easy for him to search the records and Yan Yan''s name was nowhere to be seen.


    When word started to get around, Shin Sumi had hesitated to tell Lan Hui who she really was but had decided against it. She trusted the boy with her life at this point, but it was important to keep some secrets.


    Besides, most of the highest sellers of the market hid their real identity just as a safety measure.


    Even Xiao Yue came by a few times to buy Yin type spirit plants.


    The first time it happened, Shin Sumi nearly called her ''Yue'' as she would have normally. She only refrained from doing so at the last moment, earning a strange stare from her friend.


    Shin Sumi hadn''t seen Xiao Yue for weeks after she had left for her quests.


    The same night the girls had reunited in Shin Sumi''s courtyard.


    "Thankfully I finished assimilating all the excess Shinsoo yesterday" thought Sumi the night Xiao Yue came knocking at her gates.


    "Sumi, are you there?" giggled an excited voice behind the Shinsoo formations.


    Shin Sumi opened the gates to be completely overwhelmed by an orange colored blur.


    Before she even had time to realize, Xiao Yue was embracing her, her head resting on Shin Sumi''s shoulder.


    "Why were you gone so long, Yue?!" asked Shin Sumi in an excited voice.


    The absence of the girl had been intensely felt by Shin Sumi and she seemed to realize just now how much heavier her heart felt in her chest.


    Xiao Yue looked into her eyes, smiling and not willing to let go of her friend.


    "I was trying to complete a quest that would have put me directly to the first twenty spots of the ranking!"


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes wide, her ''O'' shaped mouth and high brows waiting for an explanation.


    "A Storm Tiger had been spotted near the eastern training grounds just before you arrived in the sect. It''s a rare species around here. It''s about as strong as a four vortexes Liquid Realm cultivator but I couldn''t let the opportunity go."


    She continued, finally letting go of Shin Sumi and walking around her while emphasizing her words with her arms.


    "I had prepared a long time for this, and when scouts reported another sighting I simply had to go. The tail of the Storm Tiger as well as its heart are worth a lot of spirit stones! And about nine thousand status points. But there is something even better about hunting."


    "What is it?" asked Shin Sumi, baffled by the amount of status point that had just been announced.


    "Experience!!" bursted Xiao Yue. "It was about time I did something really exciting. Don''t you find life in the sect really boring? I mean except for the quests, us Honorary Disciples can''t go out much. I was tired of the same routine, cultivating all day everyday."


    Shin Sumi looked at her with a weird expression that she quickly hid. Her life couldn''t really be called boring. She had almost been killed a few times, be it the by snakes or the jungle, and of course through Elder Zhu''s attempt with the plant trap.


    Xiao Yue didn''t know yet, she reminded herself. Besides, who else in the lower valley had to maintain two different appearances and had founded the most profitable store in the whole market?


    Shin Sumi thought about it for a second. "It is true that besides that I haven''t really done anything exciting. I always tell myself that everything will be different when I breakthrough to the Liquid Realm, but I don''t want to spend all my time pursuing cultivation."


    "I have my own dream of becoming a librarian. I want to have more knowledge" she thought.


    Xiao Yue had let her reflect on her previous words, but now she turned to Shin Sumi again.


    "You know, experience is not just about doing something thrilling. It is knowledge."


    Shin Sumi froze for a second. That was exactly what she was thinking about. The eyes of Xiao Yue were fixed onto hers, as if she was reading her innermost thoughts. The feeling vanished quickly, "surely it is just a coincidence" thought Shin Sumi.


    "Anyway, I guess it is better to wait until we officially become cultivators. Honorary Disciples is just another way of saying ''mortals'' after all. The Immortal world is so big and dangerous, without having enough Shinsoo there is only so much we can do..."


    Shin Sumi was looking at Xiao Yue from the side. For some reason the last words of her sworn sister were strange. It contrasted a lot with the rest of her speech. They seemed almost... desperate.


    Xiao Yue brought Shin Sumi back from her deep thoughts, her head disappearing in the collar of her robes.


    "Sumi, can you help me disrobe? For weeks I have dreamed about taking a bath here again."


    Shin Sumi laughed and helped her friend, not paying too much attention to the fact that she had even asked for help in the first place.


    The laughter froze on her red lips, her fair skin paling to an abnormal degree when the tanned skin of the petite orange robed girl appeared in front of her.


    "Yue, what happened?!!"


    The left side of Xiao Yue''s body that had been hidden until now was not in good shape. Her arm was fine but the entire area between her smooth breast and her thigh was red. The skin seemed to have been torn off here and there and scabs the size of her fist could be seen.


    Shin Sumi had seen her friend naked before. But now all the excitement and pleasant feeling about taking a bath with Xiao Yue had disappeared.


    Xiao Yue sighed.


    "The truth is, I wanted to convince you that experience is important for a cultivator before you saw that. I guess if there is another life lesson to be learned, it is that no great reward comes without risk."


    Xiao Yue, supported by Shin Sumi, stepped into the fresh spring water, her skin shivering slightly.


    "Locating the Storm Tiger was easy. I had everything ready to kill it and bring back what I needed. But I underestimated it. I had laid traps all around the area and prepared follow-up attacks. I still can''t use magical Shinsoo techniques so it was pretty basic but strong enough. I simply didn''t expect the Storm Tiger so close to death to attack with a renewed might. He bit me a few times and threw me against a rock. When I woke up a few hours later he was dead, but I had lost a lot of blood."


    Shin Sumi was silent. She listened to Xiao Yue with a tear in her eye, but she was thinking about something else.


    "I should have been back about a month ago" said Xiao Yue, "but beneath the Liquid Realm it is impossible to use Shinsoo to heal faster."


    With a laugh supposed to be reassuring but sounded bitter, Xiao Yue told Shin Sumi that everything would be fine, she could ask a sect Elder to treat her and she would soon be the same as before.


    At least she had completed her quest and was assured a good place in the ranking.


    Xiao Yue was laying down with just her head out of the water. Shin Sumi was sitting down next to her, gently stroking her hair.


    Now that she could look at her from up close, she could see traces of exhaustion and internal pain that were absent before her departure.


    Shin Sumi was thinking about her sworn sister''s story. Little by little, she was realizing what it meant to pursue the life of an Immortal.


    Had it happened a few months prior, Shin Sumi would have been devastated. She would even have had occasional nightmares, probably. And she certainly wouldn''t have understood how Xiao Yue could be so calm and rational about the whole thing that happened to her.


    But the Shin Sumi of today understood. Things like that happened everyday. Cultivating meant overcoming the barriers of the mortal existence, reaching further and further ahead.


    "Does that mean losing everything that matters to us humans?" she pondered deeply. The thought of her family that she left behind surged for an instant in her mind.


    No, they wanted to force her into a life she never desired. She would not let her emotions get the best of her.


    Her mind was in turmoil. For the first time, she appeared to realize something. It was like some great truth of life. Unfortunately every time she tried to grasp it and comprehend it, it seemed to slip away, remaining unattained.


    A soft but painful groan came from under her hands. Without noticing, her fingers that were only lightly stroking Xiao Yue''s shoulders had started to press harder.


    Shin Sumi retracted her hands and made sure that Xiao Yue was sound asleep.


    "Don''t worry Yue, Sumi will take care of you" she whispered, not even louder than the flow of water from the small waterfall at the end of the pond.


    Tapping her wrist twice, a green flash revealed the grey nut that had been staying quietly inside.


    It was the first time that Shin Sumi summoned it in the presence of somebody else. She had learned how to do so naturally. The truth was that she needed a tiny sliver of Shinsoo to call the magic nut out.


    After having used an innumerable amount of high grade spirit stones to cultivate in the dark chasm, Shin Sumi now had gathered enough Shinsoo to put to shame many Honorary Disciples that had been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect for longer than her.


    Although she had no way to know that yet, she had finally caught up with what her supposed green talent should have done to her dantian. The only difference was that she needed many more resources than normal.


    Shin Sumi picked up the nut between her fingers. The nut let her do as she pleased as it was soon submerged in the waters.


    In the dark of night, the soft green glow of the nut was noticeable but Shin Sumi didn''t care. The only person present was Xiao Yue and she was asleep and in need of help.


    Without prompting, the nut started to heal whoever was in the waters. Shin Sumi didn''t know if it would work on someone other than her. She had, after all, bonded with the nut by blood.


    These aspects were somewhat blurry for Shin Sumi, whose knowledge of the Immortal world was still shallow.


    She blew a bit of air from her mouth, relieved that it was working.


    Leaving the nut under water, she moved a bit closer to Xiao Yue, slowly to not wake her up.


    Shin Sumi concentrated for thirty breaths of time, just the time for the tip of her fingers to turn a soft blue. She had learned the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening months ago but had been unable to practice it.


    The technique had certain conditions to be met before working. It would only succeed in a Yin type environment. Plus, the practitioner obviously needed a small amount of Shinsoo.


    Working along the Shinsoo passageways openings of Xiao Yue''s body, Shin Sumi slowly massaged her friend.


    She ended up doing it all night, until the sun started rising above the clouds and the first sign of Xiao Yue waking up scared the nut into hiding inside the leaf pattern.


    "Hmmm Sumi? Did I fall asleep?" Xiao Yue asked in a sleepy voice.


    Shin Sumi laughed and tousled her sister''s hair. Xiao Yue sat up straight and stretched a bit.


    "Uh?" she exclaimed. "I feel great! My injuries, they all feel better!"


    Sumi looked her straight in the eyes and decided to tell a half-truth.


    "I tried the Shinsoo Massaging technique on you! It works wonders, although... I couldn''t remember exactly so I had to improvise."


    "Are you serious? I feel so great! Even the marks on my side have almost disappeared! Your way of doing it is clearly a better tier! It''s almost a different technique."


    Shin Sumi explained what she had done in details, only omitting the fact that what she had done was simply following the evolved version of the technique. Or the complete version, if she wanted to be more accurate.


    "I will call it the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening technique then. I can teach it to you if you want" Shin Sumi said, hiding her smug smile.


    As the girls wrapped themselves in their robes again, Shin Sumi imprinted the technique on a piece of jade. It was a word-for-word copy of the one in the book with a bark cover that hid within the nut. The only difference was that she didn''t write the line saying the technique could be applied to oneself.


    She would have to ''find out by coincidence'' later and then tell Xiao Yue.


    Xiao Yue left the courtyard first, having to do a few things since she had only come back to the sect the day before.


    Shin Sumi took her jade medallion imprint, finally having reached Shinsoo Gathering. With it, the girls would be able to communicate wherever they were, as long as they had enough Shinsoo to cover the distance.


    Shin Sumi stayed in her courtyard, seated on her stone bench.


    Crossing her legs, she patiently waited until her heart and mind were at peace and tuned with her body.


    She had found out a few days ago that her progression while cultivating had slowed down rapidly. That could only mean one thing.


    She had used the opening technique on herself regularly before and had gathered enough Shinsoo for her first try. She was ready to open her first Shinsoo passageways!


    What would be an exciting breakthrough for all disciples was simply a normal task in Shin Sumi''s mind.


    It is true that it was her first time doing it, but she knew that with her complete Shinsoo Gathering Manual, she would have to do it a few times in the future in order to reach the perfect sixty-four openings foundation.


    Each step should be easier than the last, with the first one being the most difficult.


    Shin Sumi took out a large stock of high grade spirit stones. The nail sized beads formed a small pile next to her as she didn''t want them to get too close to her for now.


    If she encountered difficulty in breaking through, she would simply use a spirit stone to give her a little boost. She was so rich at the moment that spirit stones that virtually everybody in the sect would kill for were just some kind of energy snack for her.


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    Inhaling and exhaling in rhythm, Shin Sumi slowly woke up the flow of Shinsoo in her dantian.


    Bubbling up, the Shinsoo circulated with more and more speed with each turn. The control of the Shinsoo flow inside one''s body came as a natural sense upon reaching Shinsoo Gathering. Just like sight comes to a newborn. But as a newborn would sometimes have trouble seeing for a while, it would take cultivators more or less time to acquire full control, an obstacle that talent impacted greatly.


    Thankfully Shin Sumi had forced her talent to reveal itself and although she didn''t know where on the color scale she was placed now, she was pretty confident in her ability.


    She was spinning her Shinsoo as fast as she could, approaching the limit where her internal energy would circulate too much for her to handle.


    Concentrating intensely, Shin Sumi diverted the flow of Shinsoo with all its might in a sudden way.


    All of it was directed towards one sole point along her passageways. The first Shinsoo aperture.

 21 First Breakthrough ?!

    The shapeless flow of Shinsoo swirled uncontrollably inside Shin Sumi''s passageways.


    When her internal energy broke through the first opening, Shin Sumi didn''t feel anything in the moment. Besides she was too busy controlling the dangerously unstable flow to probe herself.


    The wave of Shinsoo kept going. It was only at the second opening that she realized that her Shinsoo level had dropped by a few percent.


    It was only at this moment that Shin Sumi understood how incredibly hard opening all sixty-four passageways was.


    The way the passageways were organized was sort of like a tree. Not all of the Shinsoo openings were accessible directly.


    The openings were commonly classified into two categories, Yin and Yang types. Although it was true that men and women tended to have more difficulty with the opposite type, there was one more difficulty.


    It was not a definite appellation but the sixty four openings were also commonly separated into three sub-categories.


    The Primal Doors, the Outer Doors and the Spirit Doors.


    Nobody knew who came up with these names first but they had stuck, at least in the mind of the disciples of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Independently of whether the openings were of the Yin or Yang type, they were all placed along the branches of the tree like passageways.


    Originating from the dantian, there was only one way the flow of Shinsoo of a disciple during breakthrough could go, up the branches.


    What Shin Sumi realized was that her Shinsoo levels went down with the opening of the first door she encountered.


    "The first Primal Door" she thought while concentrating. "There are thirty Primal Doors, twenty-four Outer Doors and the ten Spirit Doors. If my energy decreases like that with every barrier, I''m going to get stuck at the Outer Doors!"


    "No, even before the Outer Doors. I won''t last until half of the Primal Doors!" she renewed her calculations, having just successfully attacked the second opening.


    Shin Sumi extended her hand to her side, almost picking up a high grade spirit stone.


    The mantras from the Shinsoo Gathering Manual in the tree-like book popped into her mind.


    "No, I should not force the energy to go through. I will let it progress as it is supposed to."


    The Shinsoo Gathering Manual was precise on the subject. The first step described in the precious document was to accumulate Shinsoo within her body.


    That, she had done by forcefully consuming spirit stones like a drunkard consumed alcohol.


    The second step was to cleanse the energy and purify it using the Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique.


    Shin Sumi had tried to apply the technique when cultivating but had been stunned to realize that it was useless in her case. The nut''s refinement was even more miraculous that she had thought.


    Only the purest Shinsoo was condensed in the high grade spirit stones. Compared to them, nevermind the quantity of Shinsoo, the low grade spirit stones that were the common currency in the sect were like drops of muddy swamp waters in front of heavenly rain.


    The Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique had been rendered useless by the little grey nut''s powers.


    Shin Sumi went through the third step of the manual mentally, opening the doors. That she was doing right now!


    The fourth step was the interesting one. It meant that as long as Shin Sumi followed the first three, she could do them again and again until all sixty-four openings would open.


    Keeping that in mind, she kept controlling the flow of Shinsoo which was becoming slower and easier to control with each door.


    By the time the tenth door opened, Shin Sumi had lost nearly seventy percent of all her accumulated resources. Thinking about it, she felt a slight pinch in her heart.


    "All of it for just ten Primal Doors..." but then she thought about what normal disciples had to go through just to get to this point. Feeling guilty and shameful, she went back to her breakthrough.


    Outside her body, half of a day''s time had already passed. The breakthrough was an intense process that was slower on the outside than it was on the inside.


    When she reached the twelfth opening, her energy levels were so low that Shin Sumi felt her lungs contracting, as though she was out of breath, completely drained by the expenditure of Shinsoo.


    She still managed to push through and break the door open, gritting her teeth with a hidden rage. The last drop of Shinsoo disappeared soundlessly crashing against the thirteenth obstacle that seemed like an insurmountable mountain at the time.


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes the instant the process was terminated.


    She felt tired, dirty and her sense of balance was distorted for a moment until she took a deep breath, inhaling through her nostrils.


    Immediately her newfound power activated. It was like putting one''s hand in cold spring water after a burn. The passageways that were opened for the first time finally shone to life with a low rumbling sound that only Shin Sumi could hear.


    The Shinsoo that she had expanded slowly but surely recovered, and at a rate that was more impressive than she had ever thought it could be.


    Shin Sumi marvelled at the wonderful sensation brought with the natural flow of energy around her. Deep within her she knew how lucky she was.


    Not even thinking about mortals who would never experience something similar in their whole life, she felt lucky even compared to other disciples.


    She had opened twelve passageways in one go! Compared to the total of sixty-four it didn''t sound too impressive, but one had to keep in mind that even yellow-robed disciples would not often manage to open more than eight or ten Shinsoo apertures.


    That was the case for Shin Sumi only because of the perfect Yin Aperture Shinsoo Opening technique she had cultivated. The technique didn''t impact the levels of energy needed to breakthrough, it was more like a softening of the Yin type doors.


    Thanks to the technique that Xiao Yue had shown her, the success rate of breaking through the Yin type doors had augmented drastically.


    "I wish I could get my hands on the Yang Aperture technique" Shin Sumi thought, already thinking about her next try.


    During the breakthrough, she had clearly felt the difference between the Yin and the Yang affinity of the doors. The first kind had been like a tidal wave in front of a paper crane whereas the latter had been more akin to ramming a steel door with Shinsoo.


    As Shin Sumi replenished her levels of energy, she was taking in the energy surrounding her, analysing it as it flowed through her body.


    "This energy feels... different. This is nothing like the high grade spirit stones."


    From the beginning Shin Sumi''s body had been tempered and had evolved with gargantuan amounts of Shinsoo of the highest quality. Even when she had cultivated using only the remaining Shinsoo that permeated her courtyard after long sessions of cultivation, it didn''t feel turbid like this.


    Shin Sumi understood immediately what she needed to do.


    "I could practice cultivation the normal way now. My first openings are already cleared, I should be able to condense the Shinsoo into a vortex once they are full to the brim. But if I want to keep opening more Apertures I definitely need only high grade spirit stones."


    Looking at the side, the small pile of spirit stones eyed her. A shining glimmer radiated from her eyes, comparable to a wolf''s when looking at a lamb.


    "No, I can''t do it now. Here is not the best place to cultivate extensively. If the courtyard transforms into a paradise again, I won''t be able to explain to Yue. I should pick up more seeds and go to the chasm."


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    Shin Sumi was right. Her secrets were far too important, even for Xiao Yue. It was too easy to screw up and to let clues out in the open, she needed to be more careful.


    Just for precaution, Shin Sumi decided to also check the Quests Pavilion, to give herself more reasons to leave the sect unnoticed.


    Arriving at the chasm just before dark, Shin Sumi cultivated for a whole night and a day. Even spending high grade resources to speed up the growth of her botanical garden, plants needed time and so did her cultivation.


    After her recent breakthrough she had to stabilize her foundation before resuming the intense energy intake she was used to. That part did not come from the evolved Shinsoo Gathering Manual but was simply common knowledge. Every disciple of every sect in the continent knew that, Shin Sumi included.


    For her though, the process was a bit different. Instead of slowly allowing ambient Shinsoo to circulate inside her passageways, she was doing exactly the opposite.


    The Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique was something she hadn''t used much in the past, her consumption of spirit stones being far more important than her use of ambient energy. But now she felt like her body was full of turbid, muddy Shinsoo that she needed to get rid of.


    While her Violet Dew Lila grew next to the waterfall, Shin Sumi practiced the breathing technique. Refining the Shinsoo inside her would take a bit of time but that was the only way she had to get the impurities out.


    Surrounding herself with high grade stones for a better environment, she waited patiently. All around her, dark snakes looking like black rotten roots hissed, confused between their attraction for all things containing Shinsoo and the repulsion induced by the copper bell in Shin Sumi''s bag of holding.


    After having spent more than half of her time in the dark ravine where only she could go, Shin Sumi had learned to ignore the reptiles. Instead she viewed them as part of the background, just like the waterfall or the white-blue albino trees and bushes.


    Shin Sumi thought about capturing a snake or killing one. She had thought about it for quite some time but had never taken action. There was a good chance that these kind of reptiles would sell for quite a hefty price in the lower valley market.


    Hesitating for a while, she decided against it once more. She would have to ask Lan Hui or Xiao Yue beforehand if they had ever seen small black snakes that were linked in some way to Yin type shinsoo.


    If the entire species only existed around the sect in the chasm, it could give away her secret hideout.


    "It is not worth the risk" Shin Sumi said to herself, turning away from the writhing mass of snakes.


    She collected her newly grown plants using her bone shovel and planted new seeds. Shin Sumi left them without spirit stones, letting them grow naturally.


    Shin Sumi often alternated in order to vary her time spent in the dark ravine.


    After leaving the ravine, she ate a Confusion Pill to take the traits of Yan Yan. She walked under the western gates unnoticed by Liu Qing.


    It had been a few weeks since the shy girl expert at hiding had successfully followed Shin Sumi. Her eyes didn''t do as much as a turn as Yan Yan walked past her.


    Shin Sumi saw her but chose to ignore Liu Qing. As far as she knew, she was just one of Chu Erlong''s followers and as Shin Sumi didn''t have many interactions with them, it didn''t leave a good impression in her mind.


    Taking out her identification medallion but carefully hiding the inscription in her palm, Shin Sumi lifted it to her forehead.


    "Senior Brother Fen, Yan Yan would like to invite you to meet at the lower valley market as soon as possible. I brought with me many Violet Dew Lilas that I found in the training grounds, they may be useful for your cultivation."


    Fen Wudao had never told her what he needed exactly to cultivate so Shin Sumi would often send a message when she tried growing new kinds of plants.


    When she arrived at her usual spot in the market, a few Honorary Disciples were already there, waiting patiently. Yan Yan politely saluted her customers, building a good relationship with the ones that had been buying from her since the beginning.


    "Big Brother Won, I was worried I wouldn''t see you anymore! You didn''t come the last time I sold a few plants."


    "Sister Ke seems to have improved again in the short time we haven''t seen each other! You have to tell Yan Yan your secret to having a skin as smooth looking as yours!"


    "Hello, Brother Du, you seem to be in a good mood today!"


    "Of course Sister Yan, whenever you open shop it''s like a hole in the clouds, your sunlight illuminates my day!" answered the orange robed disciple. He used to be quite proud of himself, never bothering taking a second glance at anyone with a red robe before. Since Yan Yan started opening her shop he became more and more interested in the girl with the plump red lips. Now he always exchanged pleasantries with her, a slight blush on his cheeks.


    Most of the usual customers were like that. Of course they didn''t want to miss the opportunity to buy high grade Yin type plants for an amazing price, but even more so they didn''t want to miss Yan Yan herself.


    Shin Sumi opened her square of white cloth. She was about to spread her recently grown goods when she noticed something in front of her. There was a space in the wall of disciples.


    "It started when Senior Brother Fen came here the first time. Since then the Honorary Disciples always leave him a spot right in front of my shop."


    Shin Sumi put her hand on her waist while sitting down cross legged. Ever since she had opened her passageways she realized that she didn''t need to physically open her bag of holding. A sliver of divine sense and a drop of Shinsoo were enough to summon whatever object was inside her hand.


    She expertly spread out the Violet Dew Lilas in front of her. A purple shine encompassed the white cloth, making the greyish white flowers stand out even more.


    A shadow flew overhead during a split second with a whooshing noise. Shin Sumi couldn''t help but distort Yan Yan''s features with a smile.


    "Senior Brother Fen is here" she thought.


    Fen Wudao dropped from his silver flying arrow right onto the spot at the front. No body seemed really surprised by his appearance, although it was as theatrical as ever.


    "Violet Dew Lilas! Today''s plants are a bit rare. The dew has incredible healing properties and the petals can be refined into Second-Life Pellets. The refining process only has a slim chance of success but if it works, each pellet has the ability to bring even a cultivator at the Core Development stage back to life from the verge of death."


    Fen Wudao was a Liquid Realm cultivator and thus had access to much more knowledge than an Honorary Disciple. Whenever he would choose to share his wisdom, every other cultivator present would listen with open ears, commiting the information to memory.


    "The dew only comes out at dawn and dries in a few hours at most. It seems like Little Sister Yan harvested this batch right before coming here."


    "Senior Brother Fen is right, as always. These plants are fresh from the day" Shin Sumi answered with a bow before turning to the general audience, "As always, the price will be two low grade spirit stones for one plant, and one plant only."


    She didn''t need to make the precision as everybody already knew the rules in place, but she liked to. It reminded her of how the merchants that came through East Seaside Village would talk. Their attitude in front of a crowd had always impressed Shin Sumi, who had wished she wasn''t as shy as she was at the time.


    As always, the Honorary Disciples waited for Fen Wudao to choose his specimen first. After all he had the highest authority there, hence it was natural that he got the first pick.


    But this time, Fen Wudao turned to face all the waiting customers and bringing his hands together, spoke.


    "Today I will let everybody shop before me. It has come to my mind that it is not very respectable for me to take advantage in front of you. Instead I will simply ask that you leave me one spirit plant, that''s all."


    The crowd was overjoyed. Their respect for their Senior Brother in the sect went up by another level, which they didn''t think possible.


    Shin Sumi looked at him with a smile, confusion visible on her brows.


    "What is he up to?" she asked herself. Whatever he had in mind, she couldn''t guess.


    She sold her whole stock easily, once again adding more than three hundred spirit stones to her bag of holding.


    When there was only one plant left, the crowd of disciples stopped pressing in line. Although some were a bit disappointed for not being able to buy a Violet Dew Lila, there was no way they could do anything in front of Fen Wudao.


    Seeing that Fen Wudao didn''t plan on doing anything at first, the disciples quickly dissipated. The Liquid Realm cultivator stood there unmoving with his eyes closed until every disciple had left Shin Sumi''s shopping area.


    "Big Brother Fen, this plant is for you, it is the only one left, as you asked."


    Fen Wudao opened his eyes to look at Yan Yan. Their eyes made contact for a second before Shin Sumi bowed.


    "I had them wait because I am afraid I''m going to break the laws of your shop." he said slowly.


    Shin Sumi was more puzzled than ever. She was about to ask something but Fen Wudao continued, cutting her short.


    "I don''t have any spirit stones with me, but I still want that Violet Dew Lila. Are you willing to give it away in exchange for that Gold Tyrant Flying Sword?"

 22 Gold Tyrant Flying Sword

    "Gold Tyrant Flying Sword??" Shin Sumi answered in a breath as a flash of golden light erupted from Fen Wudao''s bag of holding.


    When the light from summoning dimmed, he was holding a long dagger with a leather handle. The metal from the sword shone brightly and it seemed that it truly was made of gold.


    Shin Sumi was speechless. The edges of the blade were so thin that it looked as if it could cut through anything.


    "I obtained this sword as a reward from the sect about a year ago. It is a really good flying sword, very loyal" Fen Wudao said as the sword started hovering gently above his palm.


    "Flying sword? Loyal?" thought Shin Sumi still disguised as Yan Yan, "what does that even mean?"


    Fen Wudao kept talking, clarifying Shin Sumi''s inner questioning.


    "Flying swords are the most common weapons used by cultivators. I''m surprised that with the amount of spirit stones that you are making every time you sell plants you still haven''t gone to the Myriad Sword Pavilion."


    Shin Sumi''s eyes lit up as she remembered hearing about it. It was a tall building close to the Cultivation Plaza in the northern side of the lower valley. The tower-like building housed an incredible amount of weapons for disciples to buy.


    Shin Sumi never bothered to visit it as she didn''t find the use of a weapon necessary. She was only an Honorary Disciple and the only times she left the lower valley were to go to the training grounds, still inside the sect''s borders.


    And whenever she would find herself on the way to the chasm, the nut''s warnings were enough to deal with whatever danger she found herself in.


    A brief image of Elder Zhu flashed in her mind.


    "There is actually another source of danger. But with my cultivation base, what chance do I have against a sect elder at the great circle of the Liquid Realm?"


    Despite her thought process having taken less than a fraction of a second, Shin Sumi found Fen Wudao looking at her with a strange gaze.


    Once again it was as if he had been reading her thoughts. She replied "I haven''t been there yet, it is true. I don''t think I would know what to do with a weapon, Senior Brother Fen."


    Fen Wudao laughed a bit, although remaining serious.


    "You are still young. I guess after only a few months in the sect, you still don''t know a lot about the cultivation world."


    His sentence was said in a careless manner, but Shin Sumi felt the hair on her forearm raise as if by a cold wind.


    "Does he know who I am? Or is he guessing?"


    Shin Sumi didn''t fear Fen Wudao. After all the white robed Liquid Realm cultivator had always been gentle. His eyes contained only warmth and care, without an ounce of malevolence.


    But Shin Sumi found it very disturbing to not know that her disguise may have been breached.


    "This is still your spirit plant so I won''t force you to exchange it for my sword. I came here today as a Senior Brother looking after his generation."


    Shin Sumi stayed silent once again. It felt as if Fen Wudao still had some things to say although he had already started to turn around.


    It didn''t fail as he looked back at Yan Yan.


    "Sister Yan, with what is coming around, you really should consider a weapon" he said as the golden sword disappeared in his bag. "If you want, I''ll leave you a week to decide. Go check out the Myriad Sword Pavilion in the meantime to see if you can find a sword that suits you better. And if you don''t want to, the choice is ultimately yours after all."


    Shin Sumi felt a prick coming from her right wrist. It was a good thing that the Confusion Pill altered the entire body and not just the face, as the leaf pattern was hidden at all times.


    The nut had come out from hiding for a split second, not enough to be seen or felt but plenty of time to bite. It wasn''t a strong bite or a capricious one. It really felt... urgent.


    "Senior Brother wait!" she called out as the young man was about to fly off on his silver winged arrow.


    "Yan Yan would like to exchange her spirit plant. It is just that... I don''t know how I can repay you for such favor. Surely this Gold Tyrant Flying Sword is worth more than a Violet Dew Lila" she said in only one breath.


    Fen Wudao stopped immediately. Once more the shine of gold resplended in the deserted market area.


    "Good. You don''t need to think about repaying me. I am simply taking care of my junior. Besides I have other swords and this one doesn''t suit me well."


    Fen Wudao took the sword to his forehead. With a deep thrumming sound, the sword vibrated for a second. When Fen Wudao reopened his eyes, the sword fell to the floor. Shin Sumi caught it by reflex, carefully avoiding the sharp parts.


    It had lost all its luster, looking more like copper than gold. Its edges now looked blunt and almost broken. It was in no way similar to the sword that Fen Wudao had been holding a second before.


    "What happened to the sword?!" asked Shin Sumi out loud. "What is this piece of crap?" she asked herself in her head.


    "This is one of the greatest tricks to this sword ahaha!" Fen Wudao laughed. Seeing the deeply disappointed face of Yan Yan as she held what looked like scrap metal, he laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.


    Flying away on his magical arrow before Shin Sumi could do anything, he said "You will soon understand!" before disappearing, too fast for the eye to follow.


    In the deserted market area, Shin Sumi was left alone. She couldn''t think of any explanation as to what had happened.


    Fen Wudao was usually gentle and open, but Shin Sumi already knew about his mysterious and eccentric side. After all when she had just gone through all three tests for the entrance of the sect, pushing her towards her mental and physical limit, he still had dared to joke about a fourth test.


    "He really is not as simple as everybody thinks" she told herself, leaving towards the woods before the Confusion Pill''s effects vanished.


    As her appearance reverted itself to its usual form, Shin Sumi surprised herself to think that she didn''t actually care if he knew who Yan Yan really was.


    She waited until she was back in the privacy of her courtyard to take out the sword from her bag. She couldn''t have delayed, after sending everybody away from the usually crowded market, even Fen Wudao couldn''t expect the Honorary Disciples to wait for too long.


    "Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, eh?" she said as a dull yellow light flashed in the open.


    The name could only lead up to great expectations. And Shin Sumi had been genuinely impressed when Fen Wudao had pulled out a golden sword with edges as sharp as a tiger''s claw.


    But no matter how she looked at it, right now it only conveyed one thing to Shin Sumi. Scrap metal.


    Not worried, she ran her finger along the edge of the blade, one after the other. Nothing. Not even a tidy indent left in her smooth skin.


    "This wouldn''t even be able to cut a tree leaf!" she said, frustrated.


    It was only then that she thought about bonding with the object. In the cultivation world it was frequent that a magical artefact would only work to a small percentage of its full potential after bonding with a master.


    Fen Wudao had said that the sword was ''loyal''. Whatever he meant by that, Shin Sumi had no idea but she had seen him release the sword from his control.


    But Fen Wudao was a Liquid Realm cultivator, he could do things with Shinsoo that Honorary Disciples couldn''t. Shin Sumi thought about the only thing she knew about bonds.


    After all she possessed two great items that were linked to her, both by blood. That was of course the copper bell that she had acquired in the dark chasm and the little nut that lived under her skin.


    "But how do I bond with something that is not even capable of drawing blood from my fingertip?!"


    Shin Sumi tried biting her tongue, a crimson droplet falling onto the rusty blade but nothing happened. Unlike the other times she didn''t feel the slightest connection to the sword.


    She was becoming more and more frustrated. Fen Wudao was its last possessor, so how could it be normal? Was all his talk about looking after his junior bullsh*t he made up just to get a spirit plant without paying?


    She couldn''t believe it. In one last desperate attempt, Shin Sumi brought the sword to her forehead, probing it''s cold materials with a wisp of Shinsoo.


    As soon as the metal connected to her skin, a shivering sensation propagated along her spine.


    In her head, cries of despair, pain but also pride and strength rang. Something within the sword made her feel cold and warmth at the same time. It was akin to the soft touch of the sun in the coldest of winters.


    Shin Sumi immediately removed the sword from her forehead and threw it away by reflex.


    The sensation of being probed, or rather probing someone else''s memory was too much for her to take by surprise.


    The sword bounced once on the stone tiles with a ''clang'' and rested about two meters away from the bench where she was sitting.


    The weapon had the exact same unalluring looks to it but now whenever Shin Sumi looked at it, she couldn''t help but fear it a little.


    For more than two incense stick of a time she was too afraid to pick it up again. When she actually decided to try again, her breath was ragged.


    "Big Brother Fen gave it to me so it should be safe. Just one more try Sumi, one more!"


    The whole time she kept an eye on the leaf pattern on her wrist. At any sign of the nut showing up to prevent danger, she would throw the sword away.


    She knew the little grey nut let her try the first time but with what she had experienced, she couldn''t bring herself to accept that it was safe.


    The metal was still as cold as before when it touched her skin. Sending once again divine sense in the sword, she braced and accepted whatever was to come.


    Past the first second, the cries that seemed to come from the victims of the sword throughout the ages slowly dried out. Now she realized that they were probably just a test or a measure of protection from the sword itself.


    A strange energy wrapped around her flow of Shinsoo. Shin Sumi did nothing against it. It brought her comfort in the middle of the cries. She realized it was a bit of Divine sense left by Fen Wudao just as it started talking.


    "Junior Sister, you made the right choice with this sword. The fact is I myself met my limits with this particular weapon and that is the reason I decided to give it away."


    Fen Wudao must have left this Divine sense imprint when he renounced his mastership of the flying sword.


    "Before you reach the Liquid Realm you will unfortunately be unable to access its full potential but it is still a fantastical weapon that will prove useful in the time to come."


    "This sword has been owned by many masters, and in order to make it your own you need to pass the challenges left behind by the last generation. Luckily for you I am the last generation."


    Shin Sumi looked calm and composed, the dim rusty sword pressed against her head. She was glad Fen Wudao left some instructions. She could tell by the tone of his voice that it was important.


    Fen Wudao had left previously by laughing, happy to have played a good trick on his junior but now Shin Sumi knew he was serious.


    A message imprinted itself in Shin Sumi''s mind. It wasn''t a voice imprint, more like a carving on an ancient plate. The plate seemed to be carved out of a dark golden metal and just like the rusty sword, gave Shin Sumi a sense of deep cold with a hint of warmth.


    When Shin Sumi dropped the sword, the Divine sense imprint of Fen Wudao dissipating, the ancient carving stayed in her head.


    Although she hadn''t claimed ownership of the sword, she had been accepted as a potential owner. Unless she gave up the sword''s challenges, she couldn''t go back now.


    The metallic plate had been carved so many times that the inscriptions were a bit blurry.


    "It must have been all the challenges issued by the past owners". Shin Sumi was thoughtful for a long time.


    The first line was the only one she could read. Surely the others would become clear once she succeeded the first one.


    "Use the sword to carve out a new handle."


    Shin Sumi didn''t know what to think of it. Was kind of test was that?


    She had tried the sword previously but hadn''t even been able to cut her finger open. Now she was supposed to carve a handle?


    "There is no way I can do that. Why did Big Brother Fen choose such a challenge?!"


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    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was useless in the meantime!


    "The sword should prove useful in the time to come... What is he talking about?"


    Shin Sumi pondered these questions for a long time but was unable to come up with any answer. The sky was dark when she stood up from the stone bench.


    She decided to cultivate for a bit inside her house, hoping for an idea to pop up in the meantime.


    For a few days Shin Sumi alternated between cultivation and experimenting with the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    She tried it against many different materials but the sword was exceptionally blunt and seemed completely unable to cut.


    "How can that be called a sword?! Apart from bludgeoning my opponents, what am I supposed to achieve with this?" she said desperately.


    She even tried to have the nut work its magic on the weapon, carefully waiting for any response from the little grey ball.


    She couldn''t reveal that she possessed such a sword to her friends, Lan Hui and Xiao Yue but she still asked them a lot of questions about bonds and magical items. Although it ended up being useless for her case, Shin Sumi still learned a lot from it.


    She even went one day to the Myriad Sword Pavillion.


    It was the oldest looking building in the lower valley and also the tallest one. From the outside there were five levels, each with big windows covered by paper screens.


    The door was locked when she arrived. Standing on top of the last step of the stone stairs, Shin Sumi looked up at the impressive building.


    She felt insignificant in front of the building. In fact usual disciples would feel even worse than she did, but Shin Sumi was a special case.


    The Myriad Sword Pavilion was a capricious building, with a spirit automaton comparable to that of the Quests Pavilion. Usually the pressure it would inflict on disciples would be difficult to bear, although anyone with enough determination could enter.


    The red robed disciples especially would often have to try multiple times before they could force their way through the invisible wall of pressure.


    Shin Sumi approached without knowing anything of all this. She had her green identification medallion on her at all times, and that was enough to make the spirit automaton let her in.


    She lifted the heavy knocker on the door. It was shaped like an ox'' head and vibrated the door upon contact.


    "Why does everything in the Immortal World seem so dramatic all the time?" thought Shin Sumi unimpressed.


    Finally the door opened onto a dark room, closing once again right after Shin Sumi walked in.


    Outside of the Myriad Sword Pavilion, a red robed boy that appeared twelve or even younger stood with his jaw opened so wide that it almost touched the floor.


    The calm manner with which Shin Sumi had approached the building and banged the door was like nothing he had ever seen.


    "In one year in the sect I have never managed to get close to the door of the Pavilion. How did she do that?!"


    ***


    Inside, Shin Sumi''s eyes fluttered for a second. As soon as the heavy door had closed behind her, shining lights had appeared all around.


    Before she even had time to acclimate to the light, a crystalline sound rang in her ears.


    She knew what the sound was and also knew that nobody else was hearing it.


    In her bag of holding, the little copper bell shook twice, dimming the lights in the room so that Shin Sumi could see perfectly.


    When she realized, she forgot to maintain her composure for an instant as she realized that the bell didn''t only work in the dark.


    "This place... Light, warmth, it is strongly of the Yang type! But the copper bell acted and made it more normal" she thought.


    "I understand now! It is all about balance isn''t it? From the Yin, the bell brings the Yang. From what is Yang, the bell changes to Yin!!"


    Her sudden comprehension made her happy, although she now realized she should have understood that a long time ago.


    "Balance..."


    The word resonated in her mind. A second wave of comprehension struck her as she stood there unmoving.


    She knew what needed to be done with the sword!


    She turned back on her feet, preparing to leave to try out her new ideas, when a deep voice boomed behind her.


    "Does this young lady need Elder Xi''s guidance?"

 23 "What Do You Prefer I Call You?"

    Shin Sumi wanted to leave the Myriad Sword Pavilion. She was afraid the idea would leave her mind as fast as it had appeared.


    Her respect for the older generations and the general etiquette indicated that she should stay though.


    Returning to her original position, she clasped her hands together and bowed.


    "Sorry for disturbing you Elder Xi, this junior shall take her leave."


    "Ohoho not at all, not at all. It has been a while since a red robed disciple entered this place anyway. In fact I haven''t seen a Honorary Disciple in a long time."


    Shin Sumi became intrigued. Asking carefully while keeping her bowing position if he was the Elder in charge of the Myriad Sword Pavilion.


    "You could say that. Although it is mostly because I like to roam around here. Did you know that this building is one of the oldest in the sect?"


    "Disciple Shin ignored that fact. Why is it so?"


    "It is the oldest and one of the most valuable. Not because of the weapons but because of the building itself."


    Shin Sumi was getting slightly annoyed with this Elder. She wanted to leave but couldn''t, so she was listening with only one ear. Seemingly interested, she said:


    "I''m afraid I don''t understand."


    "Then let me teach you a bit about the history of the sect. Before the Dark Sky Starry Sect, the valleys were occupied by the mighty Sky Sect. The first Patriarch of the Sky Sect built this building itself."


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    Shin Sumi had always loved hearing and reading stories, and thus decided to listen to the old man.


    "He used a special Shinsoo spell that no one else has been able to understand since then on this very building. Did you realize something when you first entered here?"


    "No, I didn''t... The door closed, it was dark and then I was here."


    "Precisely. That is the beauty of it. Since the splitting of the Sky Sect in the Sky Earth Sect and the Dark Sky Starry Sect, not many disciples know of this spell. Where do you think you are?"


    "I''m not sure I follow you, Elder Xi."


    Now this mysterious Elder Xi had all of Shin Sumi''s attention.


    "You could say ''on the first floor of the building'', which would be right. But if you said ''in the lower valley'', then that would be wrong. Nobody but the first Patriarch knows where exactly this place is located."


    The Elder had a cunning smile on his wrinkly lips.


    "This building exists in the lower valley, the upper valley and even on the highest mountain of the sect. All at the same time. The spatial formation at work is impressive isn''t it?"


    "So you mean the Liquid Realm Disciples also come in here from the upper valley?"


    The elder laughed affirmatively. Shin Sumi was lost in thoughts. When Elder Xi stopped laughing, his eyes contained an intelligent gleam that hadn''t been there previously.


    "Now young disciple, what did you need in coming here?"


    Shin Sumi ignored why the Elder had told her about the Myriad Sword Pavilion''s specificity but since she was here, she might as well search for information like she had planned on doing.


    "This disciple wanted guidance on swords and sword bonding."


    "Ah, I see. If you are looking to find yourself a sword, follow me" the old man said as he started walking away, his hands behind his back in a peaceful manner. "Choosing a sword is like choosing a daoist partner. Compatibility is absolutely required."


    "Some swords are very different from others. Usually female disciples tend to choose ''softer'' swords. These on the left are easier to control, they don''t need much mental effort" he continued, occasionally pointing to the many racks of swords on the dark wooden walls.


    "If a sword is too strong and the cultivator too weak, their compatibility will drop. That makes for an unusable weapon. Weaker swords are easier to control for women, but can also turn easily against them. The key is finding balance."


    Shin Sumi was alerted by the elder''s words.


    "Balance?" she thought, once again turning all her attention to Elder Xi''s words.


    "These swords are a bit more caracterial, but are still soft overall. I would advise you to pick one of them if you can afford it. How many spirit stones can you afford to spend?" he asked while turning to face her.


    Shin Sumi was a bit embarrassed to having led him to believe that she was interested in buying. Bowing slightly in apology, she responded:


    "Actually I didn''t come to buy a sword. I came to know a bit more about certain things."


    She hesitated a bit under the elder''s deep gaze, but still kept talking. Apart from Elder Zhu, she had no real reason to worry about the Elders of the sect. She didn''t remember all their names, but Lan Hui had mostly told her that they could be trusted.


    "Have you heard of a Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, Elder Xi?"


    A moment of silence followed. Under tired eyelids, a strange flash that Shin Sumi didn''t capture illuminated the man''s pupils. Gauging her for a long minute, he finally spoke again.


    "Do you prefer I call you Green Disciple Shin Sumi or Red Disciple Yan Yan?" he said in a soft voice that was maybe a bit too calm for Shin Sumi to keep her composure.


    "You don''t have to worry about me knowing. I don''t care about how or why you would decide to hide your identity. I understand why you would come to Myriad Sword Pavilion, but you should have realized by now that you will not find the answers you are looking for here."


    The elder started walking again, this time at her side instead of in front of her. He showed her the door while making small talk.


    "I wish the best to you, feel free to come back whenever you want, but you should focus on your training. Soon you will understand."


    "Junior Shin Sumi thanks Elder Xi for his lesson on the sword, she will not forget it" she answered almost mechanically.


    When she stepped out of the building, she was still in shock.


    "What just happened? How did he know me? He knows about the strangeness of the sword? He said I would understand soon?"


    A lot of questions assailed her mind but she didn''t feel panicked at all. For some reason her trust in this Elder Xi was still intact. She almost felt happy he knew who she was.


    Her visit to the Myriad Sword Pavilion had been full of mysteries. First she had found enlightenment about the copper bell and possibly the flying sword. Then the elder had revealed impressive secrets about the Pavilion itself. Then there was this strange interaction that she still couldn''t qualify completely.


    She took a forest path back to her courtyard. Meanwhile in the square where the Pavilion was located, a young boy that still hadn''t succeeded in getting close to the Myriad Sword Pavilion was talking to a girl wearing a red robe. The girl was Liu Qing and seemed really interested about the person that the boy had seen enter.


    Shin Sumi had not paid any attention to the two of them as she had walked past them. People were found anywhere in the sect at any time of day and night. She was deep in the woods when she sent a divine sense message to Lan Hui.


    The response didn''t wait for long to arrive. Lan Hui was the best disciple she knew when it came to gathering information. Shin Sumi was happy to feel her identification medallion vibrate in her hand.


    "What? No Elder Xi in the whole sect?!" she exclaimed with a frown upon hearing the recorded message.


    How could Lan Hui not know the old man? Shin Sumi was sure that Lan Hui had gone to the Myriad Sword Pavilion at least once, and besides he surely would know of at least a disciple that had met the old man there. The words ''Elder Xi'' had spoken implied that he often spent his time roaming inside the place.


    But Lan Hui''s words were clear. He was absolutely sure about his fact. He had even added off the top of his head a list of all the Elders of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Once again, Shin Sumi felt at a loss. She was sure Lan Hui would have been able to solve her internal mysteries but in the end he didn''t.


    "But the old man MUST be an Elder. Or else how would he have been able to enter the sect and know that much about the Myriad Sword Pavilion?"


    Her mind went back to what she knew about the sect. For some reason she thought that the old man could be much older than he appeared. Maybe it was his apparent great wisdom.


    "No it''s not right", the history of the sect was fresh in her mind. She never forgot anything she ever read. Her calculations didn''t add up.


    "The Dark Sky Starry Sect came to be when the Sky Sect dissolved about a thousand years ago, the highest cultivators here are Core Development Elders and Patriarchs. Even their lifespan isn''t great enough to still be alive."


    Every time Shin Sumi thought back on her interactions with the mysterious old man, a deep sense of reverence birthed in her heart. Whatever mystery was around his existence, Shin Sumi still couldn''t believe that it was a bad thing.


    The old man had even helped her.


    Her line of thinking was simple. If she had no way of making sure of it, as long as it wasn''t detrimental to her, why should she obsess over it?


    For the time being it was best to leave that on the side and concentrate on what mattered.


    She cultivated for the rest of the afternoon, finally purging off the last drops of muddy Shinsoo in her system and getting back to the condition she was in before her breakthrough.


    Xiao Yue showed up at night as expected. Shin Sumi had invited her to spend the night at her place.


    The girls talked for a while, Xiao Yue not picking up any clues that Shin Sumi had opened her first meridians.


    Although it pained her to lie to her big sister in which she could confide about almost everything, she couldn''t tell her about her recent progress.


    It was a hard thing to do, even more so considering the fact that Xiao Yue knew about Shin Sumi''s official talent. She would be expecting her to breakthrough any day. She had been in the sect for already about half a year after all, which was long for a green-robed disciple at this stage of cultivation.


    What really kept Shin Sumi from telling her was her own technique provided by the Shinsoo Gathering Manual.


    In a world where everybody knew it was possible to open passageways only once, her own way of doing things would be hard to take in, even for Xiao Yue.


    Besides, since Xiao Yue was herself close to breaking through to the next level, she couldn''t really practice the evolved Shinsoo Gathering Manual''s techniques.


    Her body had already accepted too much impure Shinsoo to be helped, as far as Shin Sumi knew.


    Shin Sumi also couldn''t tell her about the gift from Fen Wudao or her meeting with ''Elder Xi''. The first one would reveal Yan Yan''s true origin and cause Xiao Yue to realize that she had already lied to her too many times.


    The second one would be simply ridiculous. If Lan Hui didn''t know of any Elder Xi, Xiao Yue wouldn''t either. Besides it was all linked to the sword that she was not supposed to have.


    Once again, Shin Sumi stopped thinking too deeply about it and enjoyed the night simply.


    Xiao Yue''s injuries were completely healed by now and due to the little nut''s powers not even a scar could be seen on the delicate skin between her arm and hip bone.


    The two girls talked for a long time, laughed for even longer and finally went to sleep.


    In her courtyard reserved for green-robed disciples, outside climate didn''t matter too much and even at this time of the year the temperature was perfect. Who else in the sect could relax lazily like this at night in a pool of spring water?


    Xiao Yue left early in the morning, refreshed and full of energy. She asked Shin Sumi if she wanted to wander around the sect grounds all day with her but she declined.


    It was one of the perks of not wearing a red color. If a cultivator had no intention of cultivating for a day or two, nobody would ask anything and the pressure was a lot lower.


    Shin Sumi told her that she would gladly do it another day, but she absolutely wanted to cultivate. She even told Xiao Yue that she felt close to the point of breaking through.


    Once alone, the guilt and shame of lying to her sister overtook her again.


    "I am sorry Yue. I promise one day I will tell you everything."


    Cultivating a bit more to get in a better mood, the morning passed quickly.


    It was around mid-day when Shin Sumi opened her eyes. Her heart was calm and synchronized with the pulsing of her dantian. Probing her bag of holding with her hand, a golden light with no luster or brilliance appeared.


    "Hello again, Gold Tyrant Flying Sword."


    Running her hand along the blade, Shin Sumi felt a shiver coursing through her arm.


    She forced herself to put the cold metal against her forehead. The voices were gone, but the same feeling as before assailed her.


    Shin Sumi knew she was feeling fearful of the blade. Generally to her it was a good thing to be afraid of weapons, but she wasn''t the daughter of the mayor from a tiny village anymore.


    She was a cultivator. If she wanted to survive in the Immortal world, she had to deal with a lot of things she wouldn''t even have considered before.


    As of now she knew the blade wasn''t adapted to her. It was proud and mighty, and as though she had opened a few meridians in record time and was possibly one of the strongest of her level of cultivation, Shin Sumi herself was not more than a shy girl that had great luck.


    "Maybe that is the lesson Senior Brother Fen wanted to teach me."


    If she wanted to one day use the sword, she first would have to get on the same page. It was all about balance.


    Why would a strong and loyal sword allow someone like her to get ownership of it?


    Shin Sumi was looking at the sword intensely. Every few seconds she would bring the blade to her forehead. The shivers were still present but she was learning to get used to them.


    "It is still not enough. I need to make it feel like part of my arm."


    Shin Sumi knew that it was a flying sword, supposed to be used as a pair with Shinsoo control but that was only possible for Liquid Realm cultivators, thus it was the only thing she could come up with.


    She experimented a few moves while holding the piece of metal that was uncomfortably heavy.


    Despite the serious look on her face, she felt ridiculous. She even turned around a few time to ensure that nobody was watching her, although it was impossible in her courtyard.


    Even the nut, unmoving on the stone bench under the plum tree, seemed to be judging her and making fun of her crazy attitude.


    "This is definitely not working. If I have to respect the sword I might as well respect myself."


    Shin Sumi thought about contacting Xiao Yue. Surely her sister would have some advice for her regarding weapons.


    It really was the easiest way but she ultimately decided against it. Relying on someone else''s knowledge would not work, if her speculations about the first challenge of the sword were correct.


    Not somebody else''s knowledge, her own. Knowledge...


    The blue eyes in Shin Sumi''s face lit up suddenly. Finally she had come to understand what Xiao Yue had meant that one time long ago when she had just returned to the sect.


    The petite orange robed girl had left the sect in search for experience. That was what she had referred to as knowledge.


    Without thinking further about it, Shin Sumi left her courtyard. She was so entranced in her new idea that she nearly forgot to pick up the little grey nut that was rolling frantically towards her.


    She went directly to the western entrance of the sect, where she suddenly stopped for a second. Inhaling deeply, she concentrated a few seconds.


    Some disciples were talking about cultivation in a small group next to the gates and turned to look at her resolute attitude with a sneer.


    "She must be new here. Do you remember your first time in the training grounds, brothers?"


    "As if it was yesterday ahaha! Look at her so frightened... I''m sure she won''t last out there, even though she can''t get past the red border."


    "How do you know? Hmpf." said a voice filled with contempt.


    The group of young men that appeared all to be around their mid-twenties suddenly turned to look at the origin of the voice.


    An orange robed teen stood there. He was smaller than all of the men before him, but his simple appearance made them gulp.


    "Big Brother Hon... What.. What is it like beyond the red borders?"


    The red robed disciple who had spoken was talking about the limitations that were in place in the training grounds to ensure that disciples wouldn''t get killed easily.


    Because all disciples carried their identification medallion with them at all time, they physically couldn''t cross what was called ''the red border''. Obviously the orange disciples had their ''orange border'' and so on.


    But simply because of that, it showed how talented individuals dominated their peers.


    The teen called Hon Zi started talking, himself sizing up the frail looking Shin Sumi concentrating.


    "Even though it is not your place to say, you were right. Close to the red border, the difficulty of advancing through the forest is higher. Looking at her she doesn''t seem like she had any talent. She must be new, so she has no artefact. She probably hasn''t started Shinsoo Gathering yet."


    He sighed once before continuing, "she isn''t going to survive with this kind of determination. She should know her limits. As her senior I should give her pointers."


    Before the eyes full of reverence of the red robed group, the teen advanced towards Shin Sumi with a strange gleam in his eyes.


    The closer he was, the better he could see the way her robes hung to her body. Lust lifted the corner of his lips.


    "Eh, these idiots think I''m interested in ''giving pointers''. It has been a while and I''ve never seen her before. She can''t outrun me if I make a move in the deep jungle."


    He was about to propose to accompany Shin Sumi through the woods to protect her when a whooshing sound blew into his ears.


    A second later, Shin Sumi was gone. Far after the gates, a red figure jumping about five meters at a time with incredible speed was disappearing in the dense vegetation.

 24 Completely Losing I

    The orange robed youth that had planned to trick Shin Sumi was left speechless.


    "Did this red robed trash just disappear like that? How does she have the ability to go even faster than me?!"


    Hon Zi had been in the sect for quite some time, about two years now, having entered when he was fourteen, but that was the first time he had seen something like that.


    He was about to open his passageways, putting him directly in the right track for breaking through to the Liquid Realm. Although he couldn''t be compared to the likes of other orange robed disciples like Xiao Yue or even Chu Erlong, how could he be left in the dirt by a red robed piece of trash?!


    Not wanting to lose face in front of the group of older red robed disciples that still looked at him, he spoke loudly before leaping towards the jungle.


    "Go ahead Junior Sister!! I will cover you from behind!"


    Thankfully for him, from where the group was standing, next to the stone building that made the side of the gates, they weren''t able to see more than the first jump of Shin Sumi.


    He was leaping through the outskirt of the woods, meters with each step. No matter where he looked at though, no trace of the young girl could be seen.


    A few dozen meters behind him, Liu Qing had arrived. She too had been looking at the focused Shin Sumi moments before.


    But when even an orange talented disciple like Hong Zi had lost her track, the weak Liu Qing had no chance of finding Shin Sumi.


    Hong Zi saw Liu Qing, pondering for a moment why the girl had followed them. He didn''t go near her though, he even waited for her to leave. First of all because he couldn''t go back now, as the group of red robed disciples were still in the vicinity of the gates.


    Secondly because his shame of having lost Shin Sumi had cut all the lust that usually filled his body.


    Thirdly because just like many disciples, he was terribly scared of Chu Erlong and knew that Liu Qing was her close follower.


    Unaware that two people were trying to track her, Shin Sumi was advancing swiftly through the forest.


    She still hadn''t reached the limit for red robed disciples and thus still dared to not be too careful.


    Thinking about it, Shin Sumi realized how much she had been relying on the nut since her arrival in the sect. For every step of the way, the nut had always warned her about potential danger, to the point where Shin Sumi knew perfectly what every kind of bite meant.


    "That is my problem for now. I have to get experience for myself! Or else the sword may never recognize me."


    Without even knowing when, she had become completely certain that it was what she needed to do in order to get the sword to cut.


    Thinking back to her interaction with the mysterious ''Elder Xi'', it all made sense.


    She kept jumping for half an hour, advancing rapidly through the dense woods. She only stopped when she was certain she had reached at least the orange border.


    Now she had to be more careful. From experience she knew that soon she would enter the zone of the training grounds that made up the swamp.


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    After opening her passageways and with her body that had been unknowingly refined through the use of countless high grade spirit stones, Shin Sumi was only moderately out of breath after almost an hour of leaping around.


    For the first time she was testing her limits and she felt proud about it.


    She was smiling to herself, her mind swirling with thoughts and possibilities when a loud noise erupted in the distance.


    It sounded like an explosion, followed by shouts.


    "Disciples!"


    Although Shin Sumi was confident enough to go against the first part of the jungle, she didn''t know how she would compare to other disciples.


    The sad reality of the training grounds was that although they were part of the sect, they didn''t qualify as sect grounds. Hence the high rate of mugging and sometimes even killing that occurred when disciples fought each other.


    Shin Sumi wanted to get away quickly in order to not be discovered. She even thought about popping a Confusion Pill il her mouth, taking the appearance of Yan Yan.


    Nobody disliked Yan Yan, compared to a nameless disciple like herself. Yan Yan had a better chance of getting out of an altercation freely.


    She didn''t take out a pill though. She was running low on her stock as the disciple that usually sold them ran out recently. She had even wondered why that could have been.


    The image of ''Elder Xi'' coupled with Lan Hui telling her that no such Elder existed in the sect quickly formed in her head before she dissipated the thought quickly.


    "Maybe somebody was impersonating an Elder by using a Confusion Pill. But now is not the time to think about it. I have to leave quickly!"


    She ran in what she believed to be the opposite direction of the loud bang and the shouts. Her rush and her theory about the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword both altering her mind, she didn''t even pay attention to the nut''s warnings.


    The dense forest was tricky and the sound had bounced off the trees in many directions before getting to her ears. She was going directly towards the true origin of the noise.


    A blast of light inundated her as she stumbled onto a clearing, right after a wall of leaves.


    In front of her stood three disciples, holding another one that seemed to be in bad shape. Further away, a dried up corpse was peeking out of the surface of the swamp.


    A tree trunk fallen to the side was still burning from small white flames producing a strangely intense heat.


    Shin Sumi stumbled upon the scene just as the fallen disciple was rendered unconscious by a vicious kick.


    Silence.


    The three disciples that were in their twenties turned to look at Shin Sumi simultaneously.


    In the short lapse of time that the four conscious people looked at each other, Shin Sumi recognized the insignia on the left chest of the three people.


    "The Affairs Pavilion insignia" she thought. "Lan Hui has the same. They must be working for Elder Zhu."


    She didn''t have time to think further about what had turned the clearing into a battle scene as one of the three guys acted.


    He was the oldest of the bunch and clearly the leader. Waving his arm dramatically at her, he shouted "CATCH HER!"


    Shin Sumi should have leapt backwards and ran to safety, but the strangeness of the scene and her confusion allowed the two other disciples to quickly surround her, cutting off the possibility of retreat.


    "Sister, you shouldn''t have been here to day. It has nothing to do with you but you''ve seen too much" said the leader.


    "Yeah, the boss doesn''t want any witnesses" said another, behind Shin Sumi to the left.


    "We don''t want Elder Zhu to be mad, trust me it''s not a good sight!" completed the third one, at Shin Sumi''s right hand side.


    "Chao Ru, you dumb piece of sh*t !!!" erupted the leader. "Why don''t you say everything while you''re at it?! Just say what we came here to do!"


    Chao Ru, oblivious to the tone of his furious leader, started: "We are disposing of the co-"


    "CHAO RUUUUU!!!" The leader was enraged. "That was a figure of speech!! If you and I weren''t blood brothers, I would ..."


    Shin Sumi couldn''t believe her ears. How thick were these guys?! She wanted to point out how she had already figured who they were working for earlier. Really, they shouldn''t wear the insignia that clearly stated "we are directly under the command of Elder Zhu of the Affairs Pavilion".


    Of course the thought didn''t get through her lips. Although the guys were arguing and Chao Ru was sure to get a good beating after that, they were still closing in on her.


    The three guys were older than Shin Sumi, with frames like a bear''s. They were still Honorary Disciples at their age but they clearly had experience to compensate for their lack of talent.


    Elder Zhu wouldn''t have chosen them for this kind of job if he didn''t trust their results.


    Shin Sumi''s heart was beating fast. So fast that the ''boom boom'' reverberated in her ears so loudly that it seemed to eclipse everything.


    She was trapped, unable to escape, unable to think.


    Out of sheer instinct, her hand flashed across her bag of holding. The dull light disappearing, the now familiar shape of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword became visible in her hand.


    Its weight was uncomfortable, putting Shin Sumi off-balance.


    All three of her opponents looked at the sword with a surprised expression that quickly went away. They all thought "what is that piece of junk" and regained their seriousness.


    It wasn''t the time to talk anymore, they had to silence Shin Sumi quickly, just like they had the other guy now burnt and unconscious. If they delayed too much, they were taking the risk of having even more disciples stumbling onto the scene.


    One of the three, the one who didn''t seem to share familiar bonds with the others, took out a few paper talismans from his bag of holding.


    The leader of the group took out a short dagger that looked about a thousand times sharper than Shin Sumi''s Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    The last one simply rolled his shoulder muscles. He was the youngest of the three but the bulkiest, and gave the impression that he could crush Shin Sumi''s skull with just one hand.


    In a split second, they all attacked. It showed that they had been working together for quite a long time, their coordination being on point. Thankfully Shin Sumi had good reflexes and evaded the first salvo.


    She jumped sideways towards the guy with the paper talismans. Her first instinct had been to get away from the sharp dagger and the bulging muscles.


    Whiiiiish.


    A paper talisman flew in a straight line past her shoulder. Pure luck was the reason why their trajectories hadn''t intersected.


    It was the first time Shin Sumi had witnessed let alone heard about the use of paper talismans in a fight. The only example she had was Jun Qian the yellow robed disciple and his speed talisman. Other than that she had no idea what they could be used for.


    The talisman flew fast and reached a nearby tree. A deafening explosion of white flames occured. Anyone who had blinked would have missed the impact.


    Shin Sumi didn''t allow herself to be startled as she wasn''t out of danger at all, and refused to think about what might have occured, had she not evaded the talisman.


    The tree fell on to its side, water from the swamp splashing and half extinguishing the white flames.


    The heart in Shin Sumi''s chest was beating furiously fast. She was on the verge of losing it and relied only on instinct. She wanted to cry, to apologize, to run away, to abandon the Immortal world.


    She never asked for all that! She had gone to the training grounds simply for that, training. A life or death situation was too much for her to handle.


    For half an incense stick worth of time she continuously evaded the attacks of her three opponent. The boys were getting more furious by the second but she kept evading them.


    Shin Sumi discovered at the same time as them how her body was unpredictably powerful and nimble. The second her feet were on the ground she was ready to leap again, evading another salvo.


    But she knew she couldn''t keep on doing that forever, besides every time she would try to get away from them, a paper talisman would fly out of nowhere and prevent her from leaving the area.


    Shin Sumi had no idea what to do. She couldn''t think straight and the only thing that went through her mind was "I am going to die here."


    And then she snapped.


    The change was so sudden that even she didn''t realize it. At some point she simply stopped evading. Luckily the boys slowed down their attacks. When the prey had given up, what use would it be to keep on attacking?


    After all she was cornered, surrounded, and even though she was fast, the three boys still believed she wasn''t strong.


    The fight was decided.


    The first to get Shin Sumi into his reach was the youngest, Chao Ru. Mustering all his strength into one punch, he swiftly got closer to her.


    As the first was about to reach her face, Shin Sumi lifted the Gold Tyran Flying Sword in front of her.


    The impact made Shin Sumi jump backwards, but even more so it made Chao Ru''s hand vibrate with a deep pain.


    "AAAAAaaaaaah" cried the boy loudly. He held his right hand in his left. At least two of his fingers must have been broken by the impact.


    The sword may have been only a dull piece of metal, but it was still stronger than any bone a Honorary Disciple had in their body.


    Shin Sumi tumbled on her back. Either she didn''t realize what she had done to Chao Ru, or due to the state she was in she didn''t pay it any attention, but she immediately got up.


    She had been projected towards the guy wielding the paper talismans.


    Without a second of hesitation, Shin Sumi lifted the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword above her head and slammed it down on the poor disciple''s.


    All of this takes some time to describe, but since the moment Chao Ru attacked her, not one second had passed and the paper talisman disciple was floored, his ears buzzing and his consciousness on the verge of dissipating.


    Shin Sumi battered him a few more times until her instinct reacted to a movement behind her.


    She was like a lost animal, hungry and hurt. Instinct and survival were the only things that mattered.


    Wielding the broken sword once again, she faced the third attacker.


    "I''m gonna skin you alive you b*tch" said Chao Long. In his hands, the dagger turned and turned again, a proof of his dexterity.


    But Shin Sumi was in no condition to analyse the movement of the blade to know from which angle he would attack. She was brandishing the bronze colored sword and swatting at the air in front of her.


    It looked a bit ridiculous, this weak looking girl with a big piece of junk metal turning incoherently. The effect was working though. Due to her large movements with the heavy blade, Chao Long had no way to get close.


    "WAAAAH!"


    A sudden cry from deep inside Shin Sumi''s throat swelled up as she jumped into offensive. It was so surprising that Chao Long couldn''t even react to it.


    Bonk!


    His fall was maybe the most pitiful of the three. The middle of his forehead caved in as Shin Sumi bludgeonned him.


    As if she wasn''t aware of what she was doing, she kept hitting and crying until his head turned into a bloody pulp. Her terrified expression never left her face, distorting her mouth and eyes.


    Only when all movement had stopped did she turn to the other two disciples.


    The passed out paper talisman guy was jolted awake by the breaking of his leg under the massive sword, only to lose consciousness once again. He was on the verge of death when the crazed Shin Sumi turned to the third guy, Chao Ru.


    Chao Ru was the first to suffer in the three-on-one fight, but also the one to suffer the less.


    His hand had swelled up considerably and it would surely take weeks if not months to heal, even with Elder Zhu''s medicinal assistance.


    But of course that was only if he could escape his current predicament. Tears were falling down his cheeks, snot dripping from his nose and a foul smell seemed to come from under him as he tried to crawl away unnoticed.


    Shin Sumi hit him square on the back of the head, her berserk attitude still not dissipating. She too was crying, although she didn''t really know why. She didn''t really know anything.


    She was panting, one knee on the ground, propped up on the heavy sword when she regained a bit of clarity in her mind.


    "What was going on?" she asked herself.


    She felt incomparably exhausted, mentally and physically. Her hands were covered in blood and her arm muscles were sore.


    She cried some more for an unknown period of time, curled into a ball without daring to look around her even once.


    When she finally moved, it was to crawl towards the water of the swamp to wash away the blood on her hands. She still was in a state of big shock and couldn''t believe what she had done.


    It was only when one was at their lowest that they could find the strength to rebel like she did.


    She had come out unscathed at the end, but with the price of two human lives, maybe three.


    She eventually found the strength to turn around after a long time, only to vomit all the content of her stomach in the bloody mud of the swamp the next instant.


    She wanted to leave, to get far away, to find the comfort of her small courtyard but her legs would not listen to her.


    The little nut was releasing healing waves in the swamp water around her but with no effect. What she felt was not physical pain.


    For a second she thought about Xiao Yue''s words. Experience.


    A dry and nervous laugh found its way through Shin Sumi''s throat as she realized what experience she just acquired.


    It was only a while after that a vibration in her bag of holding suddenly jolted her awake.


    She took out the piece of jade with the word ''green'' inscribed on it and poured some divine sense into it.


    "Disciple Shin Sumi, you are requested by Elder Zhu for a private audience. Please come to the Affairs Pavilion before the end of the day."

 25 The Liquid Pelle

    The message sent to her identification medallion via divine sense brought Shin Sumi back to her senses.


    Suddenly her rational mind took over again, pushing the images of slaughter and her mental scars away.


    "Elder Zhu wants to see me before the end of the day? Can it be that he knows I have killed his mercenaries? No, surely he wouldn''t have any way of knowing that. It must be for something else."


    A repulsive idea crept into her head. Shin Sumi really didn''t want to resort to that, but for her own good she had to gather every piece of information she could get her hands on.


    Thankfully her stomach was now completely empty, keeping her from vomiting once more when she bent over one of the corpses.


    It was the leader of the group, the one she had bashed the head in so many times it now resembled nothing more than a red gory paste.


    As fast as she could while looking away, Shin Sumi extracted his bag of holding from around his waist.


    Without even thinking about it, she opened the not yet rigid fingers of the corpse and took the dagger he had menaced her with before.


    She did the same with the other two red robed disciples with the Affairs Pavilion insignia. Her eyes distant and lost in a dark void, she discovered that the disciple adept of using paper talismans had died not long after she was done with him.


    Shin Sumi hesitated whether she should hide the corpses in the muddy waters that formed the swamp or not when the other two disciples came to mind.


    The three versus one battle that she had won despite all odds had lasted for about a stick of incense worth of time, and the constant movement had brought the four people across the clearing a few hundred meters away.


    As she had been lost in reflections and sick to her stomach, Shin Sumi had forgotten all about what the three disciples were doing when she arrived.


    First Shin Sumi went to check on the disciple that had been knocked unconscious the moment she had stumbled upon the scene.


    "He is still alive" she said in a relieved breath. "Another dead body and I think I would not be able to sleep in peace for the rest of my life!"


    The young man was still unconscious, having lost a lot of blood, but Shin Sumi could tell that he would wake up eventually. He was already in the Shinsoo Gathering Stage and his wounds had started recovering, although slowly.


    It wasn''t the time to think about performing shameful acts. Shin Sumi had already killed three people and taken their possessions, thus she ignored the voice in her head and still took the disciple''s bag of holding.


    "I am sorry, brother ... Jiu" she read the name on his identification medallion" but I''m sure you wouldn''t mind considering this a small payment in exchange for saving your life!"


    Shin Sumi was joking but with a bitter laugh.


    She put the identification jade back in the folds of the disciple''s robe. There was no use for it, as it was inscribed with personal information and nothing else.


    Finally Shin Sumi turned her head towards the swamp waters. There was still one person to check on.


    Since the beginning Shin Sumi had no delusion about the person''s state. When she arrived, the corpse was already dried up and half immersed in water.


    Gears slowly turning in her head she now understood what had been going on in this clearing, far from the sect''s borders.


    "Elder Zhu had commanded the group of three to hide the dried up corpse. Disciple Jiu walked in on them, apparently simply due to bad luck. The four of them fought until he was almost killed and about to be left to rot hidden away. I must have been alerted by the sound of their battle and I interrupted them. After that... well it''s over now."


    Shin Sumi didn''t find any bag of holding nor identification medallion on the dried up corpse. The only thing she could tell was that the facial features were unrecognizable, the skin having been stretched across the skull as if by a vacuum inside.


    A large cut was visible on the corpse''s abdomen, going from the pelvis to the diaphragm. Inside the rotten skin and the frail bones, the flesh was black and some organs had been removed.


    The dantian region especially had been badly damaged.


    Shin Sumi had thought before that nothing could get worse but she was wrong. Upon inspecting the corpse she still found in her stomach enough bile to throw up and almost passed out from the shock of seeing a corpse in this state.


    The corpse simply had a set of red disciple robes on it and nothing else. Shin Sumi understood why when she performed a closer inspection of the loot she acquired from the other disciples bags.


    "Of course the Affairs Pavilion disciples have kept his stuff. His surname was Dang Chi. Quite a few status points, he wasn''t too bad for a red robed disciple, as far as talent goes..."


    These were only Shin Sumi''s interpretations but she somehow knew there was something behind it.


    When she was done around the clearing, Shin Sumi had taken every possession of every disciple, alive or dead. At this point she decided that she had nothing more to do around there.


    Shin Sumi was silently thankful for Elder Zhu''s request to go see him. It wasn''t that she particularly wanted to, but at least she had found something to cling onto.


    If there were no other pressing matters to attend to, nobody knew how long she would have stayed crying in the middle of the bloodbath she herself had created.


    Taking a human life is a difficult thing to do and before that, Shin Sumi had no idea how much of a toll it could take on somebody''s spirit and soul.


    Storing all the different bags of holding into hers, she quietly left the scene never to return. Upon waking up, the red robed youth called Jiu would wonder what had happened but would have no way of knowing.


    Hopefully he would simply be grateful for still being alive. If he was stupid enough to enquire why the three disciples he found hiding a corpse were wearing the Affairs Pavilion insignia, then all the trouble that would follow would be his to deal with.


    Shin Sumi quickly made her way to the western gates of the lower valley. A lot was on her mind as she jumped through trees and bushes. The little nut swayed gently between her breasts as she moved, unneeded in this part of the woods, but still giving Shin Sumi a comforting feeling.


    On her way she passed Hon Zi who was about to leave the training grounds as well. The teen with the orange robes had waited around for a full five hours and only now was about to head back to the lower valley.


    He didn''t see more than a red blur as Shin Sumi leapt a few meters away from him.


    Liu Qing was nowhere to be seen, probably having returned to Chu Erlong to report the matters of Shin Sumi going to the Myriad Sword Pavilion before her escape through the woods.


    Shin Sumi went back to her lone courtyard where she undressed quickly and washed herself in the pond. She stayed silent during the whole time, afraid to even think about what had happened. One thing was sure, she wanted to feel clean. To wash away her body and soul as much as possible.


    She didn''t stay idle for too long. After she had donned new red robes, she left the courtyard, locking the entrance with her identification medallion. The day was soon to be over and she had to go meet Elder Zhu at the Affairs Pavilion.


    Instead of leaping meters with each step, Shin Sumi opted for a slow walk. She remembered the first time she had crossed the lower valley from the Affairs Pavilion to her courtyard.


    She had been impressed by the speed of the red robed disciple that showed her the way. Now she realized that she was capable of much greater speed and efficiency.


    For the first time, Shin Sumi discovered what cultivation was all about. Training to become more powerful.


    As the Affairs Pavilion appeared in front of her, she imagined herself walking into the dragon''s den. The only way to ensure that she would never experience that was to be stronger than anybody else.


    The strong made the rules. The strong preyed on the weak. Only by becoming the strongest could she ever be free of worries.


    "Disciple Shin Sumi was required for an audience with Elder Zhu" she announced to the clerk waiting inside the building.


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    The clerk was already well into the Shinsoo Gathering stage and was able to use a jade slip to check the information. After a nod of the head, he showed Shin Sumi the way into the building.


    A few corridors further, Shin Sumi found herself in the small garden that occupied the center of the building. The aroma of medicinal plants and tea brewing wafted into her nostrils.


    "Junior Shin! It is my pleasure to see you again after these long months!" a booming voice resounded from the tea drinking table.


    Elder Zhu was sitting cross legged with a steaming cup in his hand. His long black beard moved as he spoke with a smile.


    "Please take a seat" he ordered. His tone was gentle and warm but still contained some of the strictness that came with his position as law enforcer.


    Shin Sumi sat down in front of him after a courtesy bow.


    "Disciple Sumi was immersed in meditation, please don''t take offence for my arriving late" she said.


    "No no no, not at all. I am glad you have accommodated to the cultivation world. Tell me, Junior Shin, how far in the Shinsoo Gathering stages are you?"


    As an Elder of the sect, it was normal for him to enquire about the progress of his disciples, especially the ones with incredible talent often never seen for hundreds of years on end like Shin Sumi.


    If she didn''t know better, she could have sworn the man only wished her progress.


    "I am currently preparing for passageways opening. I want a stable foundation before trying to break through to the Liquid Realm."


    "Good, good" Elder Zhu answered, "I am definitely happy to hear that. Your breakthrough will be a celebration for the Dark Sky Starry Sect. With talent such as yours, once you get to the Liquid Realm you are sure to find yourself a good master amongst the Core Development Elders. This old one simply hopes that you will not forget about him when you become one of the stars of the sect!"


    His hearty laugh was sincere and for a second Shin Sumi started to doubt everything that happened in the last few months. Elder Zhu definitely didn''t appear to be someone who could cold heartedly place deathly traps to steal a disciple''s talent, or who would ask his servants to hide young bodies for him.


    Shin Sumi remained careful though. Someone as experienced as him was bound to have acquired acting skills that defied common sense and interpretation.


    "Disciple Shin, on behalf of the sect I have to ask you something."


    Suddenly, his tone changed, and a look of concern appeared on his face.


    "Tomorrow everything will be made public for all Honorary Disciples but since you have a special status here, I was put in charge to deliver the news. You definitely have to postpone your breakthrough by at least a month."


    "???!" Shin Sumi was taken by surprise by this announcement. She waited for more information from Elder Zhu as the man seemed like he wasn''t done.


    "In a month''s time, all Honorary Disciples that have started Shinsoo Gathering will get the opportunity to participate in the Rising Star Tournament. This is something that hasn''t occurred for the last hundred years, it is a rare chance to train in a very special place of the sect."


    "Normal disciples can''t know but considering your unusual talent the higher ups of the sect don''t want to take any risk with you. In a few years time a grand war will possibly erupt between the Dark Sky Starry Sect and our enemy, the Sky Earth Sect. The Rising Star Tournament goal is to buff our ranks with as many Liquid Realm Disciples as possible. Only then can we stand a chance in an open war."


    Shin Sumi was flabbergasted. Suddenly everything made sense. It explained why Fen Wudao had given her his personal sword, and why the mysterious ''Elder Xi'' had told her to focus on cultivation.


    It all lead to this Rising Star Tournament.


    "All the Honorary Disciples will be competing against each other, and only the strongest shall get to the top. As you can imagine, there are high hopes for you to place first. If you were to breakthrough during the first stages of the Tournament, the road to first place would be ensured and everything would turn out for the best."


    "To aid in your breakthrough, I have personally designed a gift for you" Elder Zhu announced with shining eyes.


    Shin Sumi''s attention was brought to a small black wooden box that had a strange aura to it.


    With a wave of Elder Zhu''s hand, the box floated towards Shin Sumi.


    She received it with caution, still waiting for an explanation.


    "This box contains a Liquid Pellet. It is one of a kind. A pill that I refined myself. Using this Liquid Pellet at the moment of breaking through to the Liquid Realm will give you a sixty percent chance of success even in the worst conditions! With it you are almost assured of placing first in the Rising Star Tournament."


    Of course, Shin Sumi had heard about the famous Liquid Pellet. Who hadn''t heard of it? And who hadn''t dreamt of possessing one?! Shin Sumi also knew that it was possible to buy one from the sect''s reserve at the Cultivation Resources Pavilion for the exuberant price of eight hundred low grade spirit stones.


    What was eight hundred spirit stones? In comparison with only the monthly allowance provided by the sect a red robed disciple could earn not more than two low grade spirit stones. That meant waiting four hundred months before being able to buy a single Liquid Pellet! That was ridiculous.


    Thankfully disciples never depend solely on the sect. Working in the spirit plants fields, farms and stables of the sect could provide more spirit stones. An even more lucrative activity was the ones offered by the Quests Pavilion, where status points could be exchanged for almost anything. Finally the best option was the market area of the lower valley, but it wasn''t a reliable source of income for most disciples except Shin Sumi.


    Not every disciple could refine and sell at will hundreds of very high grade spirit resources. Shin Sumi could. But even with this taken into account, a Liquid Pellet was not something she could afford every day.


    "A Liquid Pellet?!" she exclaimed out loud, "and with a sixty percent chance of success... Elder Zhu, this disciple knows that she definitely doesn''t deserve such grand favor!"


    "Don''t say anything else" said a smiling Elder Zhu as he applied a bit more pressure on the box with his Shinsoo. "This is the intention of the sect as a whole. View it as a reward for your incredible talent. The matter is settled, please don''t make things difficult for me by not accepting the pellet!"


    Shin Sumi gave up on trying to refuse. Her hand stroked her bag of holding, transporting the black wooden box to the confines of her personal storage space.


    "Remember Disciple Shin, in a months time, breakthrough to the Liquid Realm and place first in the Rising Star Tournament. Only if you do so can we have a chance in the upcoming war with the Sky Earth Sect."


    Elder Zhu showed Shin Sumi the door personally. As they walked through the Affairs Pavilion exquisitely decorated corridors, he gave her plenty of advice about cultivation and the use of the Liquid Pellet.


    "This particular Liquid Pellet is of Yin type, which means more adapted to female disciples like you. It was designed specifically for you after all. As soon as the pellet makes contact with your dantian, your rate of absorption of Shinsoo will be increased dramatically, allowing you to condense Shinsoo with much more strength."


    The talk went on more more time than Shin Sumi would have wanted but still resulted in interesting information.


    Shin Sumi bowed deeply to the Elder and thanked him for his guidance before taking her leave. She dropped the act almost immediately after the Affairs Pavilion was out of sight.


    "Hffiou. I''m glad that is over!" she said to the nut, relieved. "I thought somehow Elder Zhu had found out about what happened in the forest. He simply wanted to bait me with his pill."


    "And this Rising Star Tournament... That part should be completely true. His lies should have been mostly about the pill itself."


    "What Elder Zhu said about how the Liquid Pellet works should be true. It coincides with what Xiao Yue said. So what is the catch here?"


    Shin Sumi had reflected upon the whole interaction for a while when her eyes opened in full. That was it!


    "The dried up corpse in the swamp! A pill that helps gather Shinsoo in a short period of time! How easy for an Elder that spent his live creating medecine would it be to alter a Liquid Pellet? If my suspicions are correct, this single pill sucks in the Shinsoo, not from the environment but from the cultivators themselves!"

 26 "Show Your Prowess And Prove Your Worth"

    Shin Sumi was almost sure of her theory. The Liquid Pellet was certainly a trap to steal her talent.


    As she understood it, a normal Liquid Pellet had the capacity to attract a lot of ambient Shinsoo in the body of the cultivator that had ingested it. It was a genuine Immortal medecine giving a disciple more chance of success in their breakthrough.


    It wasn''t until the official announcement was made in the sect that Shin Sumi''s suspicions gained more substance.


    The day following her visit to the Affairs Pavilion, a loud crystalline sound rang in the entire sect, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. Shin Sumi who was at the North Cultivation Plaza lifted her head at the same time as everyone.


    It sounded exactly like the plucking of a string on a zheng. Shin Sumi remembered her teacher from East Seaside Village displaying such an instrument once for a wedding ceremony. The only difference with now is that it almost seemed like she was standing inside the wooden cavity of the musical instrument.


    The pure note resounded for an entire thirty breath cycle before it stopped. During the whole time, Shin Sumi couldn''t help but close her eyes and smile.


    Only the Liquid Realm disciples and the Honorary Disciples that had been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect recognized the treasured artefact of the sect leadership, the Star Zheng.


    That special zheng had been one of the only mortal possessions that the founder of the sect brought with him when he entered the Immortal world.


    Through all his life, he had been often seen meditating while playing heavenly music. His melodies were known all over the continent in the different cultivator sects that he had visited.


    According to the legends that were passed down through each generation to the Liquid Realm disciples, after his passing, the founder''s zheng gained a spirit of its own, turning from a mortal object into a magical artefact of incredible power.


    Nowadays, it was said that the Star Zheng''s sound was so powerful that it could make the disciples of the Dark Sky Starry Sect be twice as strong in battle while making the enemies of the sect cower in fear.


    As Shin Sumi had felt it within her heart, even a single note lasting for a few seconds was powerful enough to ring through the entire sect and to raise everybody''s the spirit.


    Shouts from the eldest disciples could be heard everywhere, their effervescence proving the caliber of the call.


    "It''s the Star Zheng! The Patriarch is going to speak!"


    "The Star Zheng! I never thought I would hear it twice in my life!"


    "The Star Zheng is the protector spirit of the sect! My cousin Bai who is in the Liquid Realm told me. Something important is going to happen!"


    Conversations were bubbling up everywhere around Shin Sumi. They only died when a warm and powerful voice started talking.


    Using the Star Zheng and his own cultivation base as a medium the Core Development leader of the sect, Patriarch Sen, spoke.


    "Honorary Disciples of the mighty Dark Sky Starry Sect, hear my words. Thirty days from now will begin the greatest event of your generation. A grand trial by fire will be held, every disciple who has at least reached the Shinsoo Gathering stage is free to participate. You will be transported to the special training grounds of the sect that is normally reserved for the Inner Disciples of the Liquid Realm.


    "The goal of the trial by fire is to show your prowess before your peers and prove your worth! The first two hundred disciples to pass will be offered an Inner Disciple immortal cave in the upper valley. The first twenty will receive rewards from the sect reserve as well as a direct tutelage under a Core Development Elder.


    "All disciples that wish to compete are required to stand on one of the two cultivation plazas thirty days from now. All of you should now resume cultivation. The sect expects great things from you."


    And just like that the voice stopped.


    There was a lot to take in. The disciples around Shin Sumi kept silent for a few more seconds before the generic crowd burst with excitation!


    "Waaaah! I knew something epic was going on!"


    "A training session in the Inner Disciples training grounds?! Can you imagine how effective cultivating there would be!"


    "After being stuck for years in Shinsoo Gathering, I, Yun Kei, will finally be able to achieve the Liquid Realm!"


    "Forget about the Liquid Realm brother Yun, I will place in the top two hundred for sure!"


    Shin Sumi looked around at the public excitement. Even she couldn''t help but be a little excited although she already knew the general lines.


    Something bothered her though. Patriarch Sen had omitted the fact that it was all in preparation for a war to come.


    Sighing, she said to herself "I guess that is the way of cultivation. That should be expected from every cultivator."


    Soon most disciples left the North Cultivation Plaza. From high up in the skies above the lower valley, lines of disciples could be seen on the stone paths leading to the different training grounds.


    Everybody was on their way to prepare for the trial by fire to come.


    ***


    "Rising Star Tournament... I bet she is the real rising star expected by the sect..."


    In the abandoned courtyard that she and her followers frequently occupied, Chu Erlong was mumbling to herself.


    "What did you say, Big Sister Chu?"


    The three red robed followers had turned to look at their leader. Chu Erlong dispersed the long black hair that obscured her pretty face.


    "Nevermind. You too should go into secluded meditation. You can occupy this place."


    "What about you Big Sister Chu? Are you not excited about this Rising Star Tournament? Had Great Elder Chu told you already? You didn''t seem too surprised to hear the announcement."


    Chu Erlong smiled with a hidden sadness. She lifted her head towards the sky. The neverending white clouds reflected dazzlingly on her bright orange dress, making her look like a precious flower.


    Liu Qing''s eyes wandered for a second on Chu Erlong''s colorful complexion. As her most confident follower, she already knew what she would answer to Fan Jue.


    "My grandfather had indeed told me about the tournament. It is simply that I now realized something" she added. Jumping to her feet with grace, Chu Erlong stood up. When she looked back down, her face was an unreadable mask again.


    What was on her mind, nobody knew but her.


    ***


    High above the clouds, on the tallest peak of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, a lone figure all dressed in white was walking with slow steps up a long staircase.


    Despite his apparent youth and vigor, each step was difficult for him and seemed to take every bit of mental focus he could muster.


    The pressure on the Patriarch''s mountain was hard to endure for a Liquid Realm Disciple, even for the Patriarch''s direct disciple.


    "Junior Fen Wudao reports to master Sen!" he announced with a voice amplified by Shinsoo.


    "Come in and have tea with me" replied a voice from inside the building in front of him.


    Fen Wudao quickly wiped the sweat from his brows with the back of his white sleeves.


    "You wanted to see me, master?"


    "Yes Wudao. I want to know what you think about that protegee of yours."


    Fen Wudao''s eyes looked in the distance in confusion for a split second before coming back to the old man sitting at the tea table.


    Every time Fen Wudao came here by orders of the Patriarch, he was caught in amazement by the place. The building in itself wasn''t particularly impressive, but everything inside was.


    A myriad of spirit plants exhumed a fragrance that was beneficial for cultivation. An oil painting on the wall seemed to come to life every time someone looked at it. Even the tea table was slightly pulsing with a shining light.


    "Well?" the old man insisted with a warm but strict tone. Fen Wudao opened his mouth. This time he didn''t lapse because of the Immortal paradise displayed in front of him but because he was deep in thoughts.


    "This junior is confident that master if referring to Yan Yan."


    "Yan Yan, Shin Sumi, call her however you want. I see you have taken the liberty to give her that precious sword of yours" replied Patriarch Sen.


    Fen Wudao was relieved to know that his master was aware of the double identity of the girl he had brought back to the sect himself.


    Patriarch Sen seeing how embarrassed his disciple was after his last sentence didn''t let him reply. It was true that it sounded more like an accusation.


    "Good, good. Very good. What are your thoughts on her capacity to use the sword?"


    Fen Wudao answered with complete honesty.


    "I think she may be able to reach the second challenge of the sword before the end of the tournament. As for the third one... she will undoubtedly have already become an Inner Disciple before reaching that level. Does master think I should have been more lenient on the challenges?"


    Patriarch Sen shook his head negatively.


    "No it is a good way to make her reach her true potential. From what I''ve seen she should be close to completing the first challenge by now. Surely kept the same first trial as you had when I gave you the sword?"


    His question was rhetorical. Patriarch Sen knew his disciple very well.


    "In that case I have already helped her figure out the clue to the first challenge. Although I''m not sure if she hadn''t realized it before I even saw her."


    Fen Wudao was puzzled. His master going to see a Honorary Disciple in person?! How was that fact kept secret? In the sect, the public appearance of the Patriarch was very rare. The number of disciples below the Liquid Realm that have actually seen him could be counted on the fingers of one hand.


    Reveling in the puzzled expression of Fen Wudao, Patriarch Sen took his time before explaining.


    "Just like I approached you years ago, ''Elder Xi'' payed a visit to the Myriad Sword Pavilion."


    Fen Wudao immediately understood. At the time when he had just reached the Liquid Realm and taken off his yellow robes, it had taken him a while to figure out who that mysterious ''Elder Xi'' that had given him the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was.


    ***


    Xiao Yue was already in front of Shin Sumi''s courtyard when she got back from the North Cultivation Plaza.


    The two girls had met right after Patriarch Sen''s announcement. They didn''t have to send each other a message via jade slip, they both knew they were going to meet.


    "Such an important announcement, I have to talk to her" they had both thought in unison.


    As they had been undressing to bathe, Xiao Yue''s piercing gaze had read Shin Sumi''s mind.


    "You already knew about the Rising Star Tournament?" she asked.


    Not wanting to hide anything more from her, Shin Sumi told her sister and friend everything that had occured the day before after she had left the training grounds.


    She omitted the part where she fought to death with three disciples from the Affairs Pavilion. Unconsciously it was more in order to protect herself than to hide it from Xiao Yue.


    Some things are better left silent.


    Shin Sumi recounted the divine sense message, her meeting Elder Zhu again, the expectations of the sect regarding her and of course the Liquid Pellet.


    When the last topic was brought up, Xiao Yue''s eyes couldn''t help but double in size. She was even almost panting a little.


    Shin Sumi had naturally taken out the small black wooden box as she talked about it. She could sense an intense feeling of envy from Xiao Yue although the orange robed petite girl stayed quiet.


    Xiao Yue was really a bit jealous. Shin Sumi had arrived relatively recently in the sect but it was clear how the administration up to the elders and the patriarch himself had clearly dotted on her.


    "To even have a Liquid Pellet crafted personally for her..." she thought.


    It was true that Xiao Yue was envious of all the good things that happened to her friend, and she would have been even more if she knew everything. But Xiao Yue wasn''t the kind of person who would turn against those with better luck. In fact she was even more proud and happy for Shin Sumi than she was jealous.


    Besides for the matter of the Liquid Pellet, there was another variable in the equation.


    Elder Zhu himself had crafted it. Xiao Yue didn''t know yet how it worked, Shin Sumi having stayed quiet about the bodies in the forest, but she could sense that something was off.


    Past her first feelings of envy, the realization of the danger had struck her. Crystalline water droplets had flown all around when she jumped to her feet in the middle of the pond.


    "Sumi promise me you will never consume this pellet! It is too dangerous. Who knows what the poisonous fangs of Elder Zhu might have done to the pill!"


    Not wanting to back down without a promise, Xiao Yue made Shin Sumi promise. The girls were not experienced enough in cultivation to perform a dao oath, but Shin Sumi''s words were coming from her heart and their importance was as tangible.


    Once that was done, Xiao Yue had sat down again in the fresh water, a smirk on her face.


    "What is it, Yue?" had asked Shin Sumi, "Why are you looking at me with a strange smile?"


    "Hehehe, from now on you are forbidden to eat the Liquid Pellet made by Elder Zhu, but you can definitely have someone else eat it!"


    It took a second for Shin Sumi to realize the meaning behind her cunning words.


    "Think about it, it''s the perfect trap and the perfect weapon! If ever you are in danger, nobody will think twice if you try to save yourself by giving away what you have. Even a Liquid Pellet. It is a miraculous medicine but it''s definitely not worth losing your life over it."


    Shin Sumi finished the explanation herself, "and whoever gets it will not be able to refrain from using it. Then whatever plan Elder Zhu has will be redirected to the enemy! Yue, you are brilliant."


    Shin Sumi clapped happily with a honest smile, to which Xiao Yue replied with an exaggerated bow. Shin Sumi couldn''t hold it and burst into laughter, soon followed by her sister.


    As they practiced the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening under the night sky, the girls made a silent promise.


    "Whatever happens during the Rising Star Tournament, I will stay by your side."


    At dawn, Xiao Yue left before Shin Sumi. She hugged her sister tightly. Apart from the one time Xiao Yue had been in training for a month and got injured, the girls had never stayed far away from each other for more than a few days in a row.


    Now Shin Sumi knew that the next time they would see each other, they will both be standing on the platform of the North Cultivation Plaza, ready to enter the secret training grounds and begin the tournament.


    It was time for Xiao Yue to go into secluded meditation to prepare her breakthrough to the Liquid Realm. One thing was on every participating disciple''s mind. The sooner one broke through, the easier it was going to be to pass the trial.


    Shin Sumi too was planning her training for the month to come.


    Shin Sumi made one last scan around her small house and courtyard, putting every thing she owned in her bag of holding on her person at all times. She too would not come back for a month.


    Along the path she took to reach the western gates, Shin Sumi appreciated the silence. The lower valley was usually bustling with incessant activity, if not crowded, but this time it was empty.


    Every Honorary Disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect was officially either in secluded meditation or out training in the wild.


    Shin Sumi thanked the fact that Yan Yan had accumulated a good amount of spirit stones. She would at least maybe be able to open a few more Shinsoo passageways. The empty market was silent and desolate in a way she had never seen before.


    "Everything is sold out. They all rushed to make preparations and buy whatever they could find. Pills, artefacts, weapons, paper talismans... You name it, it''s gone" said a familiar voice behind Shin Sumi.


    Lan Hui was standing there, his hands clasped in his sleeves. He looked peaceful compared to the excitement that had taken over the sect.


    "Brother Lan, aren''t you going into secluded meditation to prepare for the tournament?"


    "I will be soon, once I''m done with all the work at the Affairs Pavilion. Did Elder Zhu request a meeting with you the other day?"


    A look of worry flashed briefly on his face.


    Shin Sumi told him in a few words what had happened, even made second promise to not consume the Liquid Pellet to calm her friend''s anxiousness.


    "Good. Good" said Lan Hui reassured. He turned around to leave but his mouth opened at the last moment.


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    "Sister Shin, I..." His voice died down soon after, unable to say what he wanted to. "Forget it. Good luck with your training!"


    And Shin Sumi was alone again. There were thirty days left before the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament.

 27 Beast Core Looting

    As the lower valley was currently empty, the sect''s training grounds were naturally full.


    Thankfully the area that made them up was much bigger than the valleys, therefore all disciples could train without bothering each other.


    After the announcement the day before, everyone had left in a quest of power, be it meditation training or fighting training.


    The latter was what Shin Sumi was after, too.


    As she closed in on the red border, the sound of disciples fighting grew more and more distant. Shin Sumi passed close to the area where she had fought the three Affairs Pavilion disciples just a few days before.


    At that time she had thought she was already past the red border but for some reason the red border extended a bit more in that direction.


    "How strange, it is also the direction to the dark chasm. Although the ravine should be past the orange border too."


    Shin Sumi had planned on having her training near her second home in the sect, the always dark chasm filled with poisonous snakes. She hoped that no disciple would adventure themselves near that area.


    The fact was that with her green identification medallion, she had never felt the limitations as to where she could go and thus didn''t know for sure where the colored borders were located.


    All along the way, the little nut was more silent than usual.


    "It must be because all the spirit beasts are either in hiding or fighting disciples for their lives" she thought.


    The spirit beasts were indeed hiding away. Usually they would be more protective of their domain and attack every disciple that traveled a bit too close to their territory but for a reason their limited intelligence couldn''t understand, the forest now swarmed with bright colored robes.


    Shin Sumi made her way silently, evading every sound of battle in the direction indicated by the nut.


    Her goal was to reach the other side of the dark chasm, where virtually no disciple should be present. The immense scar on the earth that was the ravine was dissuading enough with its mysterious absence of light and sound.


    When she was sure that nobody was close, Shin Sumi stopped for a second. She was standing on a big rock in the shape of a skull. Scanning the dense forest with her eyes, she inhaled deeply.


    The sound of birds, the writhing of insects on the ground, the drops of dew on the leaves of the canopy, she embraced it all.


    "This location will be good enough" she said out loud.


    A shine from her bag of holding later, the Gold Tyrant Flying piece of metal appeared in her small hand.


    Although the dull blade was really heavy, Shin Sumi was not too bothered by it. Recently she had started to realize how much her body had changed from that of a mortal. She was already half a step into the cultivation world.


    As much as she hated to admit it, her recent fight where she, for the first time, had killed a human being had improved her skills a lot.


    At least confidence wise, now Shin Sumi knew that she could hold her own ground and that in all probability no red disciple could ever be a threat to her.


    She wondered how she would compare to a spirit beast though.


    With a rotating movement of the sword to give her more momentum, Shin Sumi jumped. Her leg muscles were already powerful enough to cover a few meter with one burst, but the added momentum propelled her about eight meters vertically.


    Slamming down with all her might, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword chopped down at the skull rock below.


    A deafening noise rang out, followed by a high pitched hissing.


    "I can''t use my divine sense to track down spirit beasts yet, but I can make use of my knowledge!"


    The newcomer''s book served as a guideline for the recently arrived disciples, providing all sorts of information. One passage that Shin Sumi remembered well was about common spirit animals around the sect borders.


    A big chunk of the skull shaped rock exploded under the impact, revealing the hollow structure inside. A rounded ball of grey spikes with purplish tips was hissing inside the rock.


    "Purple Devil Hedgehog" she whispered.


    Under the spiky armor, the creature was looking at her with invisible eyes. It was normally a peaceful spirit beast that relied on dissuasion to ward off potential threats. It was notorious for its carved habitat that acted as a repellent.


    Shin Sumi had recognized the skull shape of the rock instantly. Although the Purple Devil Hedgehog could not be considered as a fighter beast, once it was out in the open it would give its all to get rid of any attacker.


    The ball of spikes was roughly as tall as Shin Sumi''s knee, and it''s tips started oozing purple goo.


    "Poison" thought Shin Sumi. Wielding the sword, she took on a fighting stance, preparing for combat.


    The Purple Devil Hedgehog never stopped hissing, until the last moment. Rolling on the ground, its speed greatly shocked Shin Sumi who nearly failed to evade the first collision.


    The dangerous ball of spikes stopped a few meters past her. A few leaves that were previously on the ground had been stabbed and were hanging from the purplish grey tips.


    Shin Sumi once again leveled her weapon horizontally. Before the Purple Devil Hedgehog attacked a second time, she saw the impaled leaves darken and turn black before disintegrating completely.


    That showed how potent the purple poison seeping from the beast''s armor was.


    The beast attacked again, never once revealing a weakness. That was its tactics. By attacking with a rolling motion, it always kept its soft belly hidden. There were only a few species that were able to deal with the attack and defense combo of the Purple Devil Hedgehog.


    Unfortunately for it, human cultivators and their weapons were one such species.


    The second time around, Shin Sumi met the attack with her sword. A vertical blow powered by all her strength completely crushed a dozen spikes before ripping the skin open underneath.


    The hedgehog cried with a high pitched sound that resembled a whistle.


    Shin Sumi''s sword didn''t cut, it crushed. The lower half of the beast had been turned into a bloody pulp. A mix of poison and blood started forming a dark pool under the unfurling creature.


    Seeing how the meter long beast couldn''t roll and hide, Shin Sumi was suddenly caught by the distress of the creature.


    With a secondary blow, Shin Sumi decapitated the Purple Devil Hedgehog swiftly by crushing its neck.


    The earth and leaves under its carcass were turning black and showing signs of rot by the effect of the poison.


    Shin Sumi stood there, feeling her heart calm down to a normal rhythm again.


    "This Purple Devil Hedgehog didn''t ask for anything and yet I disturbed it to kill it."


    Shin Sumi was frightened to realize that she actually didn''t care that much. The mentality of cultivators was as such. Once again, the law of the strong had spoken.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword hummed imperceptibly for a second. Without her realizing, all the blood that covered its dull blade disappeared.


    Shin Sumi put her sword away and kneeled near the dead creature. Using the dagger she had taken from the dead Chao Long, she carefully cut open the belly of the hedgehog.


    A dark red crystal was there, reflecting a bloody light on her face.


    "A beast core!" she gasped.


    Shin Sumi knew what a beast core was thanks to what disciples had told her. She also knew it was the reason why the snakes in the dark chasm pounded on every animal that fell to their death.


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    It was the source of every spirit beast''s strength. Comparable to a human cultivator''s dantian, the beast core evolution showed how potent a spirit beast was.


    With a dark red shine, Shin Sumi knew instantly that the Purple Devil Hedgehog was comparable in strength to a red robed disciple.


    "It was so easy..." Shin Sumi thought. "Although I was surprised by the speed of the first attack. I have to be more careful and ready next time."


    Pocketing her loot, she left, a hard look barring her face.


    Training had just begun.


    Deep in that part of the forest, no disciples other than Shin Sumi were present. If some had been, it would have been mindblowing for them to see a red robed young girl so far from the red border. The speed at which the young girl progressed was frightening.


    After three days, Shin Sumi still hadn''t rested, not even for a minute.


    Relentless, she was seeking spirit beasts, slaying them with a unsurpassed efficiency every time, taking their beast cores before leaving in search for another prey.


    She had found quite a few Purple Devil Hedgehogs, many Double Headed Frost Lizards but also some other kinds of creatures she didn''t know the name of, like a strange species of vines with eyes on the leaves.


    The vines were harder to crush than the beasts and she had almost been trapped in their entangled embrace more than once.


    She had still found diamond shaped crystals with an orange tint inside their main trunk, proving that they were beasts.


    In fact, the further Shin Sumi advanced in the forest, the less red beast cores she found, slowly replaced by orange ones, sometimes even bordering on yellow. These were definitely harder to fight and always took quite a toll on Shin Sumi''s stamina.


    But nevertheless, the more she fought, the more she found herself able to endure and keep pushing.


    When her limit finally started to show, without recklessness, Shin Sumi didn''t continue her way into the depth of the forest, instead opting for a temporary retreat in the dark chasm.


    As soon as she arrived at her Yin type spirit plants farm, she slumped into the cold waters of the pool by the waterfall.


    Exhausted, she realized that for the first time she had actually used all of her energy. The feeling wasn''t uncomfortable though. For once, all of her training for the past year seemed to have paid off when she thought about how many beasts comparable to orange level disciples she had fought in a row.


    In fact Shin Sumi now knew she had somehow got from being a talentless mortal to a pretty decent cultivator.


    Without letting it get to her head, she knew it was all due to the mysterious grey nut that had accompanied her along the way.


    The nut was currently digesting all the beast cores Shin Sumi had fed it. Shin Sumi waited for the twelve hours to pass, eating a stalk of Night Dragon Vine that she had left in the middle of her farm the last time she had harvested her crops.


    "Beast cores are like spirit stones. The higher the ranking of the beast, the higher the grade. To maximize the effect, it has to be refined. Thankfully the little nut seemed excited to absorb them."


    "It is the first time I fed it beast cores though. I wonder what effect the nut will have on them."


    Now that she was in a calm environment and not battling spirit beasts, her mind roamed free, excited about the days of training to come.


    The twelve hours weren''t finished yet when an intuition hit Shin Sumi, coming from nowhere.


    In one move she grabbed the nut, sending a sliver of divine sense into it to prompt it to turn into a book.


    The nut disappeared in a grey vortex, the rough bark-like cover of the book now resting on Shin Sumi''s fingers.


    She flipped the pages distractedly. It was easy, there were only a few pages that weren''t blank. Or so it should have been.


    Under Shin Sumi''s fingers, new information was slowly being written. With every passing second, characters appeared from the depth of the leaf pages.


    "Purple Devil Hedgehog" she read. Then on another page "Double Headed Frost Lizard", then "Thousand Eyed Vines" and many others.


    There was one new page for every species of beast Shin Sumi had encountered. Or more precisely for every core the little nut was digesting.


    Shin Sumi was lost in contemplation. It was the first time the nut book had done something like that. When she had fed it spirit plants seeds for example, nothing of the sort had happened.


    Every page was complete with a description of the species, and its level according to its age and how to recognize it.


    "The first Purple Devil Hedgehog I fought was only between ten and fifteen years old..."


    The most interesting thing was that every page contained the beast''s weakness. Shin Sumi read it absentmindedly though.


    Thinking about it, she didn''t actually find it that useful.


    "What good is it if I can only learn of its weakness after I already obtained its core?"


    The twelve hours were coming to an end when Shin Sumi was reading the page about a kind of spirit squirrel whose tail always seemed to be on fire.


    Suddenly, a picture of the beast core she had obtained from the Red Eyes Flaming Squirrel appeared on the page.


    "That image... Why does it look so vivid?" Shin Sumi asked herself. The image in the book was definitely only an image. But still...


    Shin Sumi unconsciously reached for it with the tips of her fingers. When they made contact with the leaf, a warm sensation left the book and coursed through her digits.


    Taking her hand back, a beast core was there. She had actually taken it from the picture!


    Now the picture of the core was gone. Shin Sumi observed the red gem in her hand for a while. It was definitely the same core she had actually looted from the squirell''s corpse.


    The only difference was that although its purity seemed about the same, the color had changed from a dark red to a red bordering on orange.


    "The grade has changed! The core is now of a higher level! So the nut did refine it. It is strange though, I remember giving the nut the beast cores in a different order."


    Whenever Shin Sumi had refined seeds and spirit stones thanks to the nut, they would always come out twelve hours later exactly and in the same order.


    Flipping through the pages, Shin Sumi now realized what was going on.


    "Every core is there, on the corresponding page!"


    Shin Sumi tried taking the picture of the Purple Devil Hedgehog core. Again, the warm sensation pulled the core out of the image. The difference this time was that a different picture had taken its place.


    "They are all stocked here! How does it work?"


    Shin Sumi''s curious nature had taken over. She had to try different things in order to understand. Turning the book back into a nut, she constated that no cores came out. Opening the book again, the cores were displayed on the pages.


    Only if she sent a divine sense instruction to the nut would it give her cores in nut form.


    Shin Sumi wondered if it was only possible to do that with beast cores, and why.


    After she had progressively taken out all the refined cores, she found herself still full of interrogations but with no way of experimenting. She had to find new cores!


    Calming her excited breathing, Shin Sumi forced herself to calm down first.


    "Each thing in its own time. First, I need to cultivate."


    Shin Sumi couldn''t forget about the original purpose of her training. To get stronger. Her cultivation level was good, she already had a dozen Shinsoo passageways opened, but that was far from enough.


    Using the refined beast cores as spirit stones, Shin Sumi cultivated cross-legged next to the waterfall for over a day. The nut''s refining had dramatically increased the quantity of Shinsoo contained in each core, but the quality was still lacking somehow.


    Shin Sumi had to use the Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique to get rid of the impurities in the cores before letting her dantian absorb it completely.


    The technique having come from the evolved version of the Shinsoo Gathering Manual, it was certainly flawless.


    Although it took a certain amount of time with each core to purify it, in the end Shin Sumi found herself cultivating with resources comparable to high grade spirit stones.


    "I don''t have many spirit stones, only enough for two, maybe three attempts at passageway openings. But with the cores, maybe I can open all sixty-four within a month!"


    When she finally felt her dantian full to the brim with Shinsoo, Shin Sumi didn''t hesitate for long. Tuning her breathing to the pulsing of her dantian, she once again tried to break through the blocked passageways.


    This time, Shin Sumi''s energy completely depleted after reaching the twentieth door.


    "Two thirds of the thirty Primal Doors are down" she said gritting her teeth when she opened her eyes again, "Ten more and then I will be able to begin breaching the twenty-four Outer Doors."


    She didn''t stabilize her energy levels yet just after her breakthrough this time. Forcing herself for the sake of her training, Shin Sumi made her dantian pulse, pursuing her Shinsoo Gathering without remaining in a meditation posture.


    Little did she know, but most disciples were unable to cultivate the slightest bit while doing something else before reaching the Liquid Realm.


    Once again, Shin Sumi had unknowingly surpassed all possible expectations.


    Progressively getting used to the ambient flow of Shinsoo being gathered, Shin Sumi left the tranquility of the dark ravine for the intimidating forest and its many spirit beasts and dangers.


    One thing was on Shin Sumi''s mind other than the beast cores and the Shinsoo openings.


    "I need to achieve balance with the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword."


    What she meant by that, only she knew.

 28 The Way Of My Blade

    Shin Sumi decided against going too far from the chasm to train this time. Constantly gathering Shinsoo while moving was too strenuous to take risks.


    "Until I become proficient at cultivating while moving, yellow level spirit beasts are definitely not a good idea. In fact even an orange level might be a bit too much."


    She had never been too reckless in the past and now was definitely not the time to start. What mattered the most at the moment was her training.


    Shin Sumi knew she had gained a lot of experience from her previous fights but after consideration she thought it would be best to find only low level spirit beasts.


    Her plan was to get the maximum amount of beast cores to open her Shinsoo passageways while training with her sword at the same time. She only had a short period of time before the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament, hence why she didn''t want to waste time by waiting for her dantian to stabilize her new level of Shinsoo.


    For any other disciple it would have been completely impossible to do all this simultaneously but Shin Sumi was unaware of this. She was only really beginning to realize how her level could compare to other people''s anyway. But, the excess of confidence that would come when she fully realized how blessed she had become could only have a negative impact on her.


    For now it was better for her to believe that she was only a bit above average.


    Taking the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword out had become a habit for her. In fact she almost always had it in her hand, only putting it back in her bag of holding when she was sure of her safety.


    Holding the sword gave her a sense of security as well as a moral support. Shin Sumi was far from the shy and afraid girl she had once been.


    All that said, though, she still proceeded with caution.


    For a couple of hours, she did her best to find low level beasts and fight them, looting their red beast cores.


    Cultivating at the same time was not easy, her fights with red level beasts now comparing to the ones she had with orange beasts a few days before.


    Shin Sumi found herself out of breath multiple times, obligated to stop and sit cross-legged between every two or three fights to keep her dantian from spiraling out of control.


    Worst case scenario it could even completely flow out and internally damage her dantian in an irreversible manner, returning her cultivation base to that of a mortal with no chance of cultivating ever again.


    Although it was strenuous, Shin Sumi acclimated to it in a relatively short time. She even found herself being more proficient with her use of Shinsoo to power her physical body, using energy with less useless dissipation than before.


    As she slowly rebuilt her foundation, her amount of internal Shinsoo rocketed and her battle prowess underwent a gradual change.


    It was during this second session of battling spirit beasts that she discovered the strange properties of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    She would usually open the carcasses with Chao Long''s dagger and remain immersed in picking out the spirit beast cores from them. By chance as she was taking the core of a Snow White Fox, she happened to cast a glance at her sword.


    It was only by seeing the blade of the sword glimmer with the blood as it was being absorbed into the metal that Shin Sumi realized that none of her previous fights had left even a stain on the blade.


    "The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword is absorbing the blood!" she exclaimed.


    Somehow the sword was changing.


    Instead of crushing her target with brute force, the sword had slowly turned into somewhat of a cleaver. It was far from the clean cut expected from any sword, but it was progressively getting there.


    Shin Sumi had been mostly puzzled by the fact that the sword didn''t show any physical change whatsoever, the rusty blade looking as dull as ever..


    "I am on the right track. To obtain a balance between me and the sword..."


    Shin Sumi had conjectured it since her visit to the Myriad Sword Pavilion, even before she met the mysterious ''Elder Xi''. His words had reinforced her original idea.


    "Just like the Copper Bell balances the types of Shinsoo, a sword will accept a master only if they share a common wavelength. As the name implies, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword is a proud sword with a lot of intent. It''s own personality differs a lot from mine."


    Shin Sumi pensively recalled the slow changes of the blade.


    "Currently the blade is feeding on the blood of the beasts that it has attacked. By battling constantly, my own personality is changing, tuning in with that of the sword."


    She didn''t know when exactly the switch had occurred, but Shin Sumi realized that she had come to view the sword as an independent being with its own personality. Only some weapons of a certain quality could ever hope to achieve some kind of intelligence.


    By being passed down from one generation to the next by countless experts, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had taken on traits from the personality of each one, progressively becoming more than a simple crafted tool.


    "For the balance to be perfect, it also needs to follow my personality" Shin Sumi thought.


    She remembered the first Purple Devil Hedgehog she had fought and how sad she had felt for an instant when she took it''s life in a barbarian manner. Now she had come to view the spirit beasts as just some kind of resource.


    Although it was a common thing for cultivators to kill spirit beasts, especially when they were roaming around sects, it pained Shin Sumi''s mental state a bit.


    There were some limits she had set up for herself, for example by not attacking an animal when it was protecting its family or when it was especially peaceful.


    She wasn''t a monster and had refrained from attacking a Red Eyes Flaming Squirrel when she saw that it was hiding its babies.


    Yes, Shin Sumi had moved from her old ways to match the intent of the sword in her hand.


    And as a result, the piece of metal that used to be as dull as a wooden stick was slowly regaining its quality.


    "But I need to reaffirm myself in a way that the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword will accept."


    Shin Sumi didn''t even know where to begin with that half of the process.


    She tried her best while she was cultivating and battling spirit beasts in the dense forest beyond the chasm.


    With her added familiarity with the natural flow of Shinsoo and the heavy weapon in her hand, she soon reached the level where she could go back to fighting beasts comparable to yellow robed disciples.


    Some of the slowest ones she could beat within a certain amount of time, all the while cultivating internally.


    For some others Shin Sumi had to concentrate a lot more in order to fair well. Reaching a certain level, the beasts were more resourceful, even cunning at times.


    These fights were always a bit risky but also forged better experience. Shin Sumi would then stop her dantian from absorbing external Shinsoo, focusing her whole mind and body on the present moment.


    Shin Sumi''s other objective, besides her work on the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, was to open as many Shinsoo passageways as she could.


    After a few more days of fighting, according to her own estimates she had enough beast cores to attempt a third opening session.


    Because her dantian was functioning at all times, the Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique was much more efficient and had purified all that she qualified as ''muddy Shinsoo'' that would impede her further progression.


    As soon as she arrived back at the waterfall in the dark chasm, she started cultivating, half immersed in the water.


    With all her constant fighting, Shin Sumi had received some light injuries that also needed tending to, and the best and obvious way for that was definitely the little nut''s powers when plunged into water.


    As her skin reformed after a poisonous Thousand Eyed Vine had bruised her deeply, her dantian rapidly tuned in with her breathing rhythm.


    One of the other good aspects of cultivating constantly made it so that it was much easier to achieve a perfect tuning necessary for meditation.


    A few more weeks of cultivating the way she did and Shin Sumi knew that she would be able to simply close her eyes and immediately enter a state of proficient meditation, completely disregarding the place she was at.


    Shin Sumi ingested all of her refined beast cores at once, continuing Shinsoo opening from where she had left it, this time ramming open the twentieth door in one go.


    The energy flowing through her meridians was going strong and although a small portion was depleted with each opened Primal Door, Shin Sumi flew rapidly through the last remaining ten Primal Doors.


    She had about twenty five percent of her initial amount of Shinsoo left when she attempted to break open the first Outer Door.


    Although the Outer Doors were simply a name given to the second set of openings, from the thirty first to the fifty fourth, it was only then that Shin Sumi fully realized how different they were.


    As her Shinsoo made contact with the blocked opening, a loud bang echoed deep in her meridians. The next instant all of her energy that had tried to pierce through was scattered.


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes, trembling, a spurt of blood erupting from her lips.


    It had taken her by surprise and the entire flow of Shinsoo from her dantian had been destabilized.


    A weakness from deep down to her core took over, almost making Shin Sumi faint on the spot.


    Not having any other choice, Shin Sumi ingested a dozen high grade spirit stones from her bag of holding in rapid succession. Thankfully they managed to replenish enough of her lost energy to keep her dantian functioning.


    The trail of blood from the corner of her lips drying, Shin Sumi entered a deep meditative state, rotating her dantian at full speed until her health was improved.


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    All of it happened suddenly. A little voice in her mind made Shin Sumi involuntarily realize how important fighting experience was in day to day cultivation.


    Listening to only her instinct, she had managed to somehow reduce the internal damage her door opening backlash had caused. In a way it was very similar to how one would react in a fight with a high level spirit beast, countering attacks and preparing subconsciously for a surprise move.


    It took a full two days for Shin Sumi to recover. She was nowhere close to full capacity yet but at least all danger had been reduced to minimum.


    As she opened her eyes and sighed deeply at her misfortune, a growling from her stomach made its way to her ears.


    "I am famished!" she exclaimed.


    Cultivators relied heavily on Shinsoo, and in the process of leaving their mortal state towards the Liquid Realm, Shinsoo tended to replace all of her daily needs. It was without a doubt the reason why after Shinsoo Gathering the Honorary Disciples ceased to feel the need to eat and sleep.


    But due to the unforeseen backlash, Shin Sumi had been almost emptied and was now facing one of the biggest rushes of hunger that she had ever felt.


    Thankfully, she had prepared herself beforehand and had one of the most incredible variety of high quality resources of the sect in the form of her own refined spirit plants.


    Chewing on the roots of several flowers one after the other, Shin Sumi quickly satiated her hunger while also filling her dantian with renewed Shinsoo.


    Her stock of spirit plants was rapidly diminishing under her teeth, but the spatial dimension pocket that was her bag of holding held an unbelievable amount of seeds of all sorts.


    Shin Sumi planted them in the same location as usual, next to the waterfall at the bottom of the chasm. Sadly she couldn''t spend her high level spirit stones rashly, since the Rising Star Tournament beginning was approaching fast. All cultivation ressources she could find to aid in her Shinsoo openings was precious.


    Shin Sumi thought about the insane amount of spirit stones she had wasted just in order to make her plants grow faster.


    "There is nothing to regret. It was all investment to make more plants and make even more spirit stones in the end. I must not spend too much time thinking about it" she sighed.


    During the days spent fighting after her last attempt at a breakthrough, Shin Sumi found herself working harder than before.


    Maybe it was the fear of a cultivation backlash happening again or simply the thought of all the Outer Doors that seemed like one mountain to surpass after another, anyway she doubled her efforts.


    Spirit beasts fell one after the other as Shin Sumi progressed deeper and deeper within the forest.


    She never would have thought that she would one day be able to an animal kill in cold blood with one strike of a sword.


    "It is all due to the confrontation in the clearing" she realized. "If I had never met the three Affairs Pavilion disciples, I would never have understood what it meant to take a life."


    "Now I know that all life is precious. But I also understand that in the world of cultivation, death looms over all. It is after all the law of the strong. Only by reaching the top of the top can I become free of worries."


    Without even realizing it, Shin Sumi was progressively changing her principles. What did it mean to be just and act like a saint?


    Justice was defined by the victorious. She had understood that point in''Elder Xi''''s monologue about the history of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Any disciple of the sect instinctively viewed the rival Sky Earth Sect as an enemy since the splitting of the original Sky Sect. The Dark Sky Starry Sect had labelled the Sky Earth Sect as rebellious and had chased them off the land. But if the Sky Earth Sect had won the internal strife... Who was to say what would have happened to the Dark Sky Starry Sect?


    Shin Sumi always acted according to what she thought was the right thing. Nevertheless, the right thing sometimes changed according to the point of view.


    Pursuing the Dao was in essence a selfish act. Becoming strong was the only way to ensure that one''s path was righteous. The emperor''s words were law even when they were wrong and everybody had to abide by it.


    The last drop of blood from a strange bird with leave-like feathers disappeared from the blade of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    Shin Sumi was panting. The bird had been a strong opponent. As Shin Sumi sliced its chest cavity open, the pure yellow core that shone outwards provoked a small exclamation on her part.


    "One more yellow core! This time I have twice as much resources as last time. If I can''t open the Outer Door with that, no one can!"


    Shin Sumi gave the core to the nut and put the open carcass in her bag of holding. After the previous rush of hunger, she had wished she had a bit of meat instead of just plants. Spirit beasts were known for having a delicious flesh filled with energy, able to enhance one''s cultivation.


    Besides, she didn''t want to simply hunt all these living beings simply for their core. At least she could feed on them instead of just using them to achieve a higher level of cultivation.


    There were about twenty days left until Shin Sumi had to go back to the sect for the Tournament to begin. It was time for her to open more Shinsoo passageways.


    This part of the forest was completely deserted by all disciples. In fact besides Shin Sumi not many disciples could even adventure themselves this deep into the wilderness. Yellow robed disciples had been waiting for an opportunity like the Rising Star Tournament and were almost all in deep meditation sessions, staying in the best shape possible for the time being.


    After all her deambulations, Shin Sumi had become an expert in the area. The little nut was virtually not needed anymore to warn her about possible dangers.


    Shin Sumi sat down on her usual rock under the waterfall, setting her breathing and her dantian to the right tune.


    Shinsoo Opening could begin again at last.


    Controlling the flow of internal energy with more concentration and better ability than ever, Shin Sumi finally felt confident in attacking the first Outer Door.


    The mental fight against the barrier lasted for what seemed like a long time inside her mind. She manipulated her Shinsoo flow relentlessly but the door kept resisting like a huge shield immune to Shinsoo attacks.


    The door radiated a certain aura inside Shin Sumi''s passageways, the sort that went against her own aura.


    It was only after her final assault, when Shin Sumi''s confidence had started to crumble in fear of another backlash that the door had finally burst. Shin Sumi''s Shinsoo was flowing with freshness into a previously unexplored part of her meridians when she realized what had made the door so strong.


    In fact she should have recognized the certain aura that had blocked hers and reduced the efficiency of her attacks. Some Primal Doors had also possessed that aura, albeit in a less intense way.


    "Yang type Shinsoo!!"


    Shin Sumi understood everything now. The obstacle was one of the Yang type openings. Every passageway of the sixty-four total was of one type or the other. Because Shin Sumi primarily possessed Yin type Shinsoo and had even cultivated with almost only Yin type resources, the corresponding doors were easy to open with a single salvo of Shinsoo.


    "To break down the Yang type Outer Doors is going to be more trouble than I expected. Unless..."


    A crystalline vibration resounded as Shin Sumi had opened her eyes and fetched something from her bag of holding.


    "Unless I can change the attribute of my Shinsoo..."


    Her small hand was slowly shaking the Copper Bell, making the engraved character shine in the dark.

 29 The Training Continues

    Shin Sumi had been in possession of the Copper Bell for about a year now. She remembered walking completely blind through the depth of the tunnel behind the waterfall.


    The little nut had brought her to the bell for some reason, as a hunting animal would follow a prey.


    Even since a single drop of blood from her finger ran along the carved lines of the bell, Shin Sumi knew she had become its master.


    She had named it Copper Bell because of the tint of blood encrusted on the patinated surface. Originally the bell had been white and strange looking but its new color had made it seem like any normal bell one could find in the mortal world.


    But even after many months, Shin Sumi had never had the occasion to test the bell''s properties.


    "The Copper Bell seems able to change the attribute of Shinsoo for its master. The ravine is dark, cold and silent but the bell allows me to see, hear and feel comfortable. The Myriad Sword Pavilion first shone so brightly that it was blinding but after a ring of the bell my vision was normal again" Shin Sumi recounted the facts she had gathered by experience.


    "The first time the bell converted the Yin environment into a Yang sensation to achieve balance for me. The second time it was the opposite."


    Shin Sumi had a crazy idea in mind. It had popped up in her brain as soon as she realized the Yang attribute of the Outer Door she had just broken down.


    If she was able to trick the door into thinking that her Shinsoo was of Yang type, she would be able to breakthrough swiftly. The Outer Door would then be a simple formality and she would need a lot less Shinsoo and patience in order to pass all the remaining twenty three openings.


    For the Yin type doors, she would simply have to reverse the process, her original attribute being sufficient, she hoped.


    All of these were mere conjectures but Shin Sumi felt smug. Maybe it could work!


    Checking her inventory for how much resources she had left, Shin Sumi climbed out of the chasm once again. She would need at least a few trips out in order to gather enough resources for the opening of the Outer Doors.


    And that was not even talking about the ten Spirit Doors that came after the Outer Doors.


    "Judging by the change from Primal to Outer, I can''t even imagine the ridiculous amount of cores needed to break open a single Spirit Door..."


    If the difficulty had gone from one to ten by reaching the thirtieth door, then reaching the fifty fourth probably meant going from a tenfold to a hundredfold difficulty!


    Concentrating her Shinsoo in her legs, Shin Sumi leaped through the forest, close to ten meters with each step. The leaves bristled as she flew past.


    Shin Sumi had never really felt like an explorer before. She often preferred the comfort of what was around her, without surprises. The only two significant travels, if you could call them that, were when she left the Shin household in East Seaside Village and when she discovered the dark chasm on her first trip to the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s training grounds.


    Even now, although she had changed a lot over her entering the Immortal world, exploring was not really on her list of things to do.


    The dark ravine that was always obscured by the strange Yin Shinsoo permeating the area had been explored a few times by Shin Sumi but never to its full extent. The same way, she had never tried to follow the scar that it formed in the earth from the outside. Until today.


    It was more of a bother rather than a source of excitation for Shin Sumi. The fact was that after her constant fighting with the local spirit beasts, their population had diminished by quite a lot.


    Each time she went out looking for battle she had found herself trying harder and harder to find interesting beasts that could give her resources.


    "I guess the others are hiding from me now..." she thought.


    Usually the beasts in the area were left to their own business. This part of the training grounds were only accessible for high level Honorary Disciples and sometimes Liquid Realm Disciples, although the latter preferred training in some of the sect''s secret spatial dimensions.


    The last few days though, Shin Sumi had been seeking adversaries relentlessly. At first, the beasts were angry and being very territorial, had tried to chase her away or kill her.


    But with the level of intelligence associated with their bestial cultivation they had soon realized that she was more of a danger than anything else and had instead gone for the other obvious solution.


    They hid away.


    Now Shin Sumi had to go to a different place, hoping to find more beasts. She couldn''t even imagine how the lower level beasts inside the red borders might feel like. Instead of having to deal with one individual, the animals must have been swarmed by thousands of disciples looking for battle experience.


    She arrived to a point where the flat lands of the forests ended after a bit more than an hour of running at high speed. Taking a breath while looking at the scenery from the side of a small mountain, she rested for a bit.


    "The Immortal world..." she murmured.


    At her food laid the entire jungle. She could barely make out the mountains in the distance that formed the sect grounds. One of them was so high that it reached the neverending clouds.


    Even at this distance, Shin Sumi was astonished to discover that the sky never seemed to appear. She was long since used to the gloomy light, even at high noon, but sometimes wished she could cast a glimpse of the clear blue sky she had grown under.


    The whole forest area was just one of the sect''s training grounds, and it had taken Shin Sumi a long time to cross completely. Adding the fact that her speed was at least ten times faster than that of a mortal on foot, Shin Sumi could only imagine the scale of the sect as a whole.


    Even now, as she sat on the foot of the mountain, she was still deep within the confines of the Blue Mountain Range.


    As if some kind of universal truth dawned onto her, for the first time she had an intuition about how big the world must be.


    Following the change of the landscape, Shin Sumi met a bunch of new species. She was even attacked by a small goat with incredibly strong curved horns that pointed to the front.


    The Rock Spear Mountain Goat had proven to be a good adversary but sadly had escaped Shin Sumi''s sword when it realized that it was no match for the young girl.


    Thankfully the nimble spirit beast wasn''t the only inhabitant of this part of the mountain.


    Little by little, Shin Sumi''s stock of resources replenished, the grey nut adding new pages to its book.


    As she fought new species, Shin Sumi discovered that the comfort she had found previously by being used to the same spirit beasts could have been dangerous, had she stayed in the same part of the forest for all of her training.


    The same tricks and attacks wouldn''t necessarily work on every target, and once more Shin Sumi felt her battle prowess climb steadily.


    She was forced to leave the mountain after a particular incident though. As she was pursuing another Rock Spear Mountain Goat she stumbled onto a nest of insects the size of an infant''s fist.


    Having never fought a swarm before, Shin Sumi was at a loss when faced with a hundred or more flying jet black insects, their translucent wings thrumming with powerful vibrations.


    The only thing Shin Sumi could do was running with all the speed she could muster. She waved her sword a few times behind her back but the small creatures evaded every of her swings.


    It was only by jumping in a stream of mountain water that she was able to hide from the Black Wind Bees for long enough to make them lose focus and leave her alone.


    If Shin Sumi''s body had not been refined countless time with the best quality of spirit stones, her physical strength would not have been enough to allow her to escape and hold her breath underwater for this long.


    She could only shiver at the thought of what state she would have been in if the bees had successfully attacked.


    Shin Sumi was completely out of juice, her Shinsoo drained till her last drop, when she felt it was safe enough to leave the stream.


    The sound of the Copper Bell, light and crystalline even underwater, had reminded her of what she had to do next as it provided her some warmth in the cold flowing water.


    Shin Sumi walked in the obscurity of the night back to the chasm, for the first time in a long time needing the warnings of the little nut between her breasts, completely defenseless in the face of danger.


    It made her realize that despite how far she had gone from being a mortal in a small village, life was something that could be taken away at any time in the cultivation world. There was always stronger, such was the cruelty of pursuing the Dao.


    Shin Sumi fested upon her fresh crops until her Shinsoo levels were back to normal. Her cultivation base had long since stabilized since her last breakthrough.


    "The only thing I need to do now is fill my dantian to the brim with spirit beasts cores and open as many Outer Doors as possible. But first..."


    Shin Sumi took out the Copper Bell from her bag of holding. Holding it out in the darkest of night in the darkest place there was, Shin Sumi mused at how bright the bell appeared.


    A few passing snakes hissed as they were forced away by the shine.


    "Or most likely by the Yang energy emitted by the bell" thought Shin Sumi.


    In the warm reddish light, her finger followed the engravings on the surface.


    They had been carved in characters she did not understand and thus could only imagine what was written.


    As the bell closed in on her forehead, Shin Sumi sent a bit of Divine Sense towards the magic artefact. Ever since she had obtained the mysterious object, that was something she had done countless times.


    Some kind of warm sensation rapidly spread from her head to the rest of her body, scattered by the simple act of touching it with Divine Sense. It showed how powerful the artefact must have been.


    "Such a strong Yang force..." she wondered as always.


    In the spiritual perception of her Divine Sense, the Copper Bell was akin to a bright ball of light. Everything about that ball resonated with Yang type Shinsoo, brighter than ever.


    When she had tested the bell previously during the day, the ball had seemed a lot less fierce. Because the Dark Sky Starry Sect was always obscured by clouds and mostly because Shin Sumi herself was of Yin attribute, she could only imagine how the Copper Bell would appear if she tried to send Divine Sense into it in a strong Yang environment.


    She imagined it being cold and dark instead of how it appeared now.


    Shin Sumi took a deep breath and concentrated on her dantian. When she was ready, she sent her flow of Shinsoo in the direction of the next Outer Door.


    She didn''t go in with the intention of breaking it open, instead opting for a peaceful approach. First she had to ascertain the Shinsoo attribute of the door.


    Shin Sumi didn''t even know if using the Copper Bell would aid in any way in her Shinsoo Opening, but if it did, it would be useless to attack a Yin type door with Yang energy.


    And that was precisely the case of the thirty second door.


    Putting the bell away, Shin Sumi inhaled deeply with a collection of red beast cores on her lap. Half a breath later, the previously peaceful Shinsoo flow in her meridians started rotating aggressively. At the same time as she tried to pry open the Outer Door, the Flowing Shinsoo breathing technique purified the energy from the cores.


    The process went completely according to her predictions. Since the door was of Yin type, it didn''t reject her energy as much as the Yang type doors. The opening was still much more difficult than that of a Primal Door, but it was nothing out of her expectations.


    After spending close to a quarter of her total Shinsoo level on the finally opened door, Shin Sumi once again calmed down the energy flow within her.


    Her cheeks were red with excitement when she ascertained the attribute of the next door, the thirty-third.


    "Yang type! I can finally try the Copper Bell!"


    She had been anxious to try her idea for a long time now, to the point where she had to forcefully calm herself down in order to resume her cultivation.


    Holding the bell in one hand, an orange yellowish core in the other, Shin Sumi expanded her Divine Sense to its limit in the direction of the bell.


    Fearing repercussions and a backlash from her cultivation base, Shin Sumi had always refrained from trying to grab the fierce white ball of light that she felt in the bell. But ever since the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword came into her possession, she understood much better how the magical bonds between an artefact and its master worked.


    As of now, Shin Sumi firmly believed that no matter what she did, as long as that bond wasn''t severed she would be fine while using the bell.


    Her Divine Sense closed in on the ball of light from all around before tightening. The warmest sensation she had ever felt reverberated throughout her whole body.


    It felt as if she was on fire from the inside, but instead of burning her, the fire was gentle. Instead of the fierce and powerful flames she was afraid of, the inimaginable warmth held only good intents towards her.


    Following her every order, the ball of light nestled within her dantian, its light shining onto her internal flow of Shinsoo.


    Although it was colorless, Shin Sumi could only describe the flow turning from a white blue to a red tinged grey as it slowly changed attribute.


    When the changed was complete, Shin Sumi sent the Shinsoo towards the thirty-third opening, carefully at first but then with more passion.


    During the entire time she was immersed in her current state, Shin Sumi easily broke through three more doors.


    It was only by the time she had destroyed the thirty-sixth door that she opened her blue eyes.


    The night had since long gone, replaced by day. Shin Sumi still hadn''t retracted the Copper Bell''s power from her dantian but she was happy to realize that even now it still affected the way she viewed the ravine around her.


    It was actually something she had been really careful about when absorbing the bell''s light earlier. Part of her Divine Sense had stayed out looking for clues like the absence of sound or a coldness to appear. If such a thing had happened, it could only mean that Shin Sumi''s body was defenseless against the powers of the chasm and it''s writhing mass of black snakes.


    "Surely they would love it to bite me" she teased the slithering animals, ignoring their hissing.


    Shin Sumi was in a joyful mood. She had found a way to surpass the difficulty of opening the Yang type doors!


    There were still thirteen days until the end of the training period preceding the Rising Star Tournament. In such a short lapse of time, Shin Sumi had made more progress than anyone in the sect in ten times that amount of days!


    During the following week, Shin Sumi alternated between fighting spirit beasts for their core and opening Outer Doors, stabilizing her cultivation base while she explored different areas around the chasm and the jungle.


    She only went as far as the mountainous zone after the immense forest valley once, when there were five days left for training.


    She had opened forty six doors in total and was closing in on the Spirit Doors.


    She had been pursuing a Brown Slime Toad when she felt the ground tremble under her feet.


    Shin Sumi looked around her for a split second but it was a sharp pain that brought her to jump to her left suddenly.


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    The nut had slipped from the folds at her breast level to her right arm without her noticing. The next instant a boulder in the shape of a enormous tortoise crashed exactly where she had been standing.


    The nut had saved her life with its painful warning.


    "A landslide?!" Shin Sumi exclaimed. "No, this rock... wait... Uh?"


    Shin Sumi gaped with astonishment and a strong feeling of pressure. The rock before her slowly unfurled its head.


    It was a gigantic tortoise three times taller than her and at least five times longer!


    What she had thought to be rock was actually a spirit beast. And a huge one at that!


    The Stone Leaf Tortoise closed its jaws with impressive strength. A defeaning ''CLACK'' struck Shin Sumi, forcing her to take half a step backwards.


    The tortoise''s shell was pointy at the front, rounded at the back and had a stone-like texture, which was the reason behind its name.


    It was the first time Shin Sumi saw this kind of animal, or even a spirit beast that big for that matters.


    Shin Sumi jumped backwards on the slight slope of the mountain side. Her burst brought her almost ten meter away from the tortoise.


    "I must have entered its territory. Such a strong pressure, this is not good. A spirit beast like this is one I can not offend!"she thought.


    "I have to get away. Quickly!"

 30 Crushed By A Stone Leaf Tortoise?!

    As soon as Shin Sumi''s foot landed on the rocky slope, she already considered herself much safer than she had been previously.


    "As strong as that tortoise might be, it can''t be nimble with such a huge stone like body!" she logically thought.


    Rumbling noises cut off her mental sentence suddenly. The ground had started trembling.


    It was a special ability that the Stone Leaf Tortoises developed over the years. When the specimen grew to be an adult, its affinity with rocks and stone elements was so symbiotic that it was able to make the ground tremble and provoque landslides. It was akin to a cultivator''s technique or magic and showed how powerful the tortoise was.


    Shin Sumi was immediately destabilized, allowing the tortoise to advance towards her with an agility on the moving ground that defied logic.


    She jumped again sideways, evading at the last moment a charge that would have a devastating impact on her small body.


    The Stone Leaf Tortoise''s shell would have impaled her, had she been the slightest bit slower.


    Shin Sumi''s second jump was more lucky than the first. Because of the unstable ground she had lept sideways unintentionally, giving her a few extra breaths to prepare for what was to come as the tortoise turned to face her.


    That fact did not escape Shin Sumi''s eyes of course. In order to verify she lept once again to the side, making sure she landed on one of the biggest boulders.


    The tortoise''s powers didn''t seem to affect the giant rock the size of a cabin. Because the beast was preoccupied about Shin Sumi, its powers were spread out all around. Shin Sumi didn''t know it they would be enough to make the boulder tremble but didn''t intend on staying long enough to find out.


    The reason she had chosen this landing spot was in order to secure her next trajectory. If her speculations were correct, the tortoise would need a few seconds to face her before it attacked. If she was wrong, at least she could jump out of the way immediately and hope for a new alternative.


    "One, two, thr... Here it comes!"


    As it turned out, Stone Leaf Tortoises were as fast in a direct line as they were slow turners. Shin Sumi was still shocked about the beast''s speed.


    Jumping from boulders to dried branches of sparse vegetation, Shin Sumi kept on evading every attack the tortoise sent her way. Her reflexes were barely able to keep her safe for now. The pressure emanated by the tortoise was slowing her down and slowly sapping at her reserve energy.


    "If I don''t act, I''m going to run out of juice at some point. This is bad."


    With each turn, Shin Sumi focused eighty percent of her attention of the tortoise. Although it was impressive, the tortoise didn''t seem too intelligent and kept attacking in the same way over and over.


    The rest of Shin Sumi''s attention was observing their surroundings. With a body this big, the tortoise would be a piece of cake to escape from, in the forest.


    The barren land that was the side of the mountain, though, was not the most tactical place.


    "This is really bad."


    Shin Sumi still had different options, although not many. She made her way in front of the same big boulder as before. She had been evading for close to ten minutes now and her stamina was starting to diminish progressively.


    Gathering all of her energy in her legs, Shin Sumi took a deep breath before jumping vertically. The tortoise that had just been about to impale her with the lone horn on its shell was already in full momentum. It was too late to stop.


    The Stone Leaf Tortoise rammed into the rock, nearly oblitering it in the process. Even the beast that was stronger than a rock itself was stunned for half a second.


    The moment it had made contact though, Shin Sumi was reaching the apex of her trajectory. She could only jump about twice the height of the tortoise, but any height was already progress.


    A golden light shone into her hand. The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword swung on her way down. Using all the strength she could muster in such a short lapse of time, her muscles bulged as she slammed the sword onto the tortoise''s shell.


    ZOOONG !!


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    "Bwah!" Shin Sumi spat a mouthful of blood. The blow had landed but the brute strength of the impact had mainly reverberated into her arms.


    Shin Sumi could tell her left forearm had been pretty damaged.


    "It might even be broken" she thought as she rolled off the shell of the tortoise.


    A low grunt escaped the beast''s clenched jaws. Its head and the point of its shell were still stuck in the rock.


    Forcing herself to ignore her potential injuries for the time being, Shin Sumi ran. After the Black Wind Bees incident, she thought she had found her maximum speed but she surpassed herself once again.


    The slope was gentle and she remembered the area. A small plateau was visible a few hundred meters ahead and then she would be able to rejoin the forest.


    From there, Shin Sumi estimated her chances of shaking off the tortoise at about eighty percent.


    She ran downwards, not even turning around to see what state the tortoise was in.


    She had only covered a quarter of the way to the plateau when a loud bang erupted with the complete destruction of the boulder that was keeping the tortoise stuck.


    The dark eyes of the Stone Leaf Tortoise picked up another shade or two of darkness. It cried with pain and rage. A greyish light was visible under the tree trunks that were its feet.


    The beast was now angrier than it had ever been. Its mind that was already not so bright went completely blank.


    Shin Sumi kept running but she was slower than the grey light propagating. Following that magical light, the ground shook with even more strength than before.


    Her feet unable to find a stable spot, Shin Sumi rolled on the floor. The tearing of her disciple''s robe and the trails of blood that resulted from her fall were the least of her worries.


    The tortoise was rapidly approaching, the downwards direction and its huge mass augmenting its velocity greatly.


    Shin Sumi took advantage of the beast''s momentum and inability to turn to escape to the side. It was a close call as she felt the blast of wind from the huge rocky mass punch her in the face.


    In the same swift movement, Shin Sumi flung her arm sideways.


    A yellow paper square, tiny in comparison to the huge tortoise, was propulsed towards the beast.


    BANG


    The paper talisman stuck to the top of the tortoise''s hind legs, immediately blowing up.


    Shin Sumi had picked up the talismans from the bag of holding of one of Elder Zhu''s disciples after the battle in the clearing. Its use was fairly simple, Shin Sumi only had to send a sliver of Shinsoo into it before throwing it away.


    She had never forgotten about the paper talismans, but if possible she had wanted to not use them. The Rising Star Tournament was about to start and she would need all resources available.


    Shin Sumi was wearing a sly smile on the corner of her lips. The paper talisman had worked perfectly!


    The tortoise grunted as it was blasted to the side. A big piece of rock-like armor fell down from the zone of impact, revealing soft pinkish flesh underneath.


    The tortoise let out a painful howl, clacking its jaws repeatedly at the same time.


    The trembling of the ground was temporarily stopped as the beast recovered. Shin Sumi sent a few more talismans towards the huge creature.


    Not getting caught in the same trap twice, the tortoise simply bent its legs, half retracting them inside its shell. The talismans stuck to the shell instead of the softer upper legs.


    The blast of the explosion was impressive to Shin Sumi but had virtually no impact on the tortoise''s shell.


    As soon as the fire died, the tortoise was back on its feet, fixating Shin Sumi with its dark eyes. Now that Shin Sumi had used a different kind of attack and with relative succes, the tortoise had calmed down a little bit.


    Even if it couldn''t be considered smart, it definitely had some degree of intelligence. The explosion from the first talisman had hurt it badly, but the others had been useless. At least the Stone Leaf Tortoise knew it could be blocked.


    Shin Sumi breathed raggedly. The tortoise had stopped its constant attacking for a few seconds. Both were looking at each other, probably pondering their chances of success in this fight.


    Shin Sumi was puzzled.


    "How in the world did this huge tortoise evade the second salvo of paper talismans?! It is the only way I''ve found to defeat it, it has to work!"


    She wondered if there was anything she could do to make the paper talismans more effective.


    "It doesn''t matter what, just a slight improvement will suffice... Maybe make them fly faster to prevent the tortoise from evading? Or maybe an even stronger blast of white flames?"


    The tortoise was also starting to feel its stamina run out. It still attacked Shin Sumi whenever she moved, preventing her from escaping. Although it had calmed down, the beast still planned on fighting to the death this small human girl who had dared to hurt it.


    Shin Sumi rolled to the side and resumed running around the tortoise. No matter what rage animated it, the animal couldn''t turn easily due to its large body and heavy legs. At the same time she was thinking deeply.


    Scenes from her fight in the clearing passed in front of her eyes. Ever since that fateful day she had tried her best to forget the incident. But as the paper talismans had come from one of the three Affairs Pavilion disciples, so would the answer to her problem if ever there was one.


    Suddenly her eyes seemed to illuminate!


    "That may be the solution! I remember the explosions of white flames clearly!"


    Shin Sumi watched in her mind a tree being completely burnt down by a paper talisman provoking a blast with a radius of a few meters.


    By comparison, even the talisman that had succeeded in hurting the Stone Leaf Tortoise only affected it in at most a meter squared. So how come the explosions coming from the Affairs Pavilion disciple were so much bigger?


    Shin Sumi had looked into paper talismans before, even asking Xiao Yue and Lan Hui what they knew. The kind she had looted on her attacker''s corpse were the most common. The only thing that could change the capacity of the blast and the strength of the flames was...


    "Yang type Shinsoo... Of course! Flames are by essence of Yang attribute. That must be it!"


    The rocky ground trembled under the tortoise''s fast steps but Shin Sumi still managed to take out the Copper Bell. The item was useless in a fight, but if Shin Sumi was able to use it on herself then it would be a different matter.


    The first two tries failed due to her inability to concentrate enough in order to control her Shinsoo and absorb the bell''s powers.


    "It is so much easier on stable ground" she muttered, gnashing her teeth.


    For the third time she evaded the tortoise, leaping until she was completely behind it. According to her calculations she had barely three breaths of time to absorb the bell before she would be at risk.


    One... Two... Three!


    Finally Shin Sumi succeeded, just in time to evade the next slam of the pointed horn on the tortoise''s shell.


    Shin Sumi felt her Shinsoo type immediately change, the white blue darkening until it reached a reddish coloration.


    A slap of her hand onto the bag of holding at her waist, a few paper talismans appeared between her fingers.


    She threw them one by one, the tortoise facing the other way after its last attack. Before it could even see what she was doing, the talismans connected to the rough patches of rocky skin.


    BOOM!


    The Stone Leaf Tortoise was taken by surprise by the intensity of the blast. Shin Sumi was right. The Yang type Shinsoo boosted the explosion magic by at least five times!


    The tortoise howled even louder than before. But contrary to Shin Sumi''s expectations, it did not stop. The tortoise ran into her, not stopping for even a second to lament its wounds.


    A malevolent light shone into its eyes, as it to say "I knew you would do that, now you can only suffer"!


    By reflexes alone, Shin Sumi summoned the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. Holding it vertically, the piece of dull metal could only offer a very slim protection against the ramming power of the beast, but that was the only thing she could do.


    Shin Sumi was already thinking that everything was over when the unexpected happened.


    Between her fingers, the metal started shining. A fierce light ran along the edge of the blade. It was blinding at first but when Shin Sumi was finally able to discern the weapon through the light, she almost gaped in astonishment.


    It all takes some time to describe but it happened instantly, as the tortoise was about to crush her to death.


    Shin Sumi thought about how shiny and sharp the sword had looked like before Fen Wudao had handed it to her. Between her fingers, the sword now looked almost exactly like it had then.


    Sliiing.


    Shin Sumi had braced for impact but it was useless. Unlike the powerful impact she expected, a slight vibration was all she felt. In an instant the sword had deflected the impact of the Stone Leaf Tortoise, pushing the horn to the side.


    It fact it didn''t simply push the horned shell to the side, as she would soon realize. The pointy bit of the leaf shape had been cut off in an instant!


    Even the very top of the tortoise''s head was spurting blood a deep cut wound etched in the hard skin.


    The tortoise had no idea what had happened, the slicing pain sharper than even the powerful blasts from earlier.


    As if a voice inside Shin Sumi''s head prompted her to do it, she jumped vertically.


    It just felt right in that instant. Following the exact same pattern of movements she had done earlier, Shin Sumi gave a powerful sword strike to the middle of the tortoise''s shell from above.


    She still hadn''t fully realized what had happened to the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. Until the sword''s circular motion cut unhindered through the entire tortoise.


    Zhiiiiiiiiing!


    With an almost melodic sound, the shell split in half over the entire length of the tortoise, from the already cut off pointy part to the rounded back. Under the shell, the soft pinkish flesh was also sliced open. As were the bones, the organs and then more skin.


    When Shin Sumi landed back on the floor, she stood between two gigantic mountains of flesh.


    Dark blood poured out of every bit, dyeing everything in brown.


    The Stone Leaf Tortoise had died quickly without even realizing it.


    Shin Sumi held the sword in her hand, motionless, puzzled by the whole situation. She had been about to die but suddenly the sword had started shining and now...


    "I am alive... I... defeated the tortoise?!"


    For months now, Shin Sumi had been used to the blunt and rusty appearance of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. No matter what she had done, the blade didn''t change one bit. Its cutting powers had started returning, but no matter how she viewed it, they should not have been able to cut through a tortoise this hard and big!


    Now that the pressure on her shoulders was gone, the spirit beast being dead, Shin Sumi fell to her knees.


    All of a sudden, she seemed to remember all of her wounds, from the torn flesh where she had scraped herself on the rocky ground to the pain in her forearm where the bone was probably broken.


    Her Shinsoo level was rapidly draining so she popped a red beast core inside her mouth, all the while returning the Yang type powers to the Copper Bell.


    The Copper Bell was really draining in terms of powers, especially in a fighting situation, she realized. It was only when the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword stopped shining that she understood the importance of the bell.


    The sword in her hand felt lighter and still had the slim and proud appearance as before, but suddenly lost its radiance.


    "It is because of the bell! All I needed was Yang attribute all along?!"


    A wave of pain and fatigue took over, cutting off all of her ability to think straight for a moment.


    "I need to act fast before I lose consciousness. Let''s get to work!"


    Using beast cores to gain somewhat of a boost, Shin Sumi cut open the belly of the tortoise. Inside was a dazzling green gem.


    "Green beast core!! No wonder the tortoise was so strong..."


    Shin Sumi was running out of time. She had to get back to the chasm before she completely lost all her energy in order to heal herself. Testing the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword''s new prowess, she dismembered the beast quickly, the blade cutting the stone-like flesh like grass.


    She finally left when all the pieces were in her bag of holding. One more beast core absorbed later, she was back at the chasm, drained but alive and happy.


    Slumping in the pool beneath the waterfall, Shin Sumi finally allowed herself some peace.


    Without a prompt, the little nut flashed out of her wrist''s leaf imprint and started releasing healing waves mixing with the fresh water.

 31 Challenges, Trials And Confusion

    Without even realizing, Shin Sumi fell asleep. She had been physically and mentally exhausted to the point where not even a drop of Shinsoo remained in her dantian.


    The nut released invisible healing waves, rippling soundlessly through the water continuously.


    Thankfully Shin Sumi had long since reached the point where her Shinsoo levels were being replenished automatically, although it was nowhere near as efficient as when she was actively in Shinsoo Gathering.


    Besides, the chasm she had found all these months ago was filled with Yin type Shinsoo and was a good place to cultivate or at least heal her wounds peacefully.


    Shin Sumi woke up in the middle of day. It was hard to tell because of the constant darkness but the Copper Bell at her side instantaneously activated itself upon sensing its master''s awakening.


    Her body was still aching all over and she grunted when she raised her arms to lift herself out of the natural pool.


    "Ouch! My bruises are gone but I can still feel my forearm..."


    Her arm had been badly hurt in the fight with the Stone Leaf Tortoise.


    "It was broken for sure. I don''t know what state I would be in, had the nut not been here. Well anyway, I''m better now, and there is still four days left before the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament!"


    Shin Sumi was not the type to lament on her current state. Sending a sliver of Divine Sense into her bag of holding, she patted it happily when she saw the remains of the Stone Leaf Tortoise.


    Taking out one chunk of pink grey meat at a time, Shin Sumi gaped at the amount.


    "How did I even cut that tortoise in so many pieces in my half unconscious state?! There is a whole mountain of meat in my bag! But... Where is the core?!!"


    Shin Sumi started panicking for a second before her memory reminded her that she had given the beautiful green gem to the nut before passing out.


    Turning the nut into a book in one motion, Shin Sumi checked the newly formed page.


    As expected, in the middle of the old book, a shockingly realistic image of the beast core was displayed, next to an inscription.


    "Stone Leaf Tortoise... A shell shaped like a leaf... Its weakness is turning around and its neck. All soft parts composing the legs and such are as hard as rocks but extremely sensitive to flames! I knew it!"


    She made a grasping motion at the page, the dazzling green gem seemingly appearing from nowhere and making contact with her soft digits.


    "Oh, twelve hours have passed already? I didn''t know I slept until after midday" she thought, keeping in mind the way the nut worked its magic.


    Shin Sumi took a long look at the green beast core. It seemed so pure that you could almost see through it. She hesitated for a long while before putting in away in the bag at her waist.


    "I will ruin too much energy if I absorb it now. I am still recovering and it would be a waste if all the Shinsoo in the beast core was not used to open doors."


    Instead, Shin Sumi turned her head towards her bag. Her line of sight ended abruptly, given than a mountain of flesh about three times her size was obscuring the view.


    "Hmmm. I''m sure it tastes great roasted..."


    Shin Sumi quickly started a fire and moved on to cutting the pieces of meat to a reasonable size. Even though she was famished, there was no way she could eat even a hundredth of the tortoise in one meal.


    She first tried to carve out a chunk of seemingly soft flesh from what she believed had been the thigh of the beast, but Chao Long''s dagger was as efficient as a blade of grass.


    Under her finger, the meat was soft enough to be squished a little bit but the metal blade was still unable to cut through.


    In fact the elasticity of the flesh was unavoidable, given the fact that the tortoise could move around but Shin Sumi was not expecting such toughness from the inside of the tortoise''s body.


    "If there is no other choice, I guess I have to resort to that!"


    Shin Sumi summoned the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword into her hand. She was worried that without the power of the Copper Bell changing her Shinsoo attribute, the sword wouldn''t cut, but its sharpness still remained from the previous fight.


    "Thank the Heavens. I found be dangerously close to empty again if I had to sustain the powers of the bell for long" she sighed, relieved.


    Nothing like Chao Long''s weak and normal looking dagger, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was not an usual blade. Now that the sword had been tricked into believing she was worth its powers, it cut perfectly.


    In fact it was so easy for Shin Sumi to carve the meat that she almost cut her fingers off on the other side of the pink chunk.


    A short time after, Shin Sumi skewered the meat on a sharpened bone she had found on one of the piles the other side of the waterfall.


    As a rich smell full of flavors arose from the orange flames licking the meat now turning brown, Shin Sumi was thinking about the sword in her hand.


    She hoped that the way she had used to unlock the sword''s sharpness would not be a problem in the future. She felt a little bit bad about the trick she had used, although involuntarily, but at the same time she was happy.


    "This way I don''t have to cross the line and do something that is against my morals. Who cares if that stupid sword wants me to be as tyrannic as it is? If I didn''t possess a way to make my Shinsoo of the Yang type, who knows what I would have needed to do for the sword to accept me... It is unfair."


    The sword had probably been made by a male cultivator and then used by countless tyrannic figures to become what it was now. Just thinking about it, Shin Sumi was filled with a sentiment of disgust. If she had been a man, it would have taken way less time to gain mastership of the sword.


    "I wonder how Senior Brother Fen wanted me to succeed the sword''s challenges" she pondered deeply.


    Testing the meat a few times, Shin Sumi evaluated that she still had a lot of time to kill before she could start eating.


    Closing her eyes and concentrating, Shin Sumi put the radiant blade of the Gold Tyrant Flaming Sword to her forehead.


    Once again she entered the mysterious space inside the sword. She had finally succeeded in awakening the real appearance and power of the weapon, now was the time to complete the first challenge.


    She recalled the ancient looking dark gold plate that had appeared when she had entered this space the first time. The sentence on it left by Fen Wudao was simple.


    "Use the sword to carve a new handle."


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes once more. An idea had just came into existence within her mind.


    Next to her, the roasting remains of the Stone Leaf Tortoise was dripping meat juice on the red embers. The bone on which it was resting was still a spotless white, seemingly untainted by the heat of the flames.


    The bone had been in the chasm for long enough to retain some of its Yin type Shinsoo. Shin Sumi knew that without the Copper Bell at her side, flames would not have been able to burn in such a cold and Yin type place.


    Opening her bag of holding, Shin Sumi extracted a four meters long white thing that looked like an articulated whip.


    It was the spine of the Stone Leaf Tortoise. Just like the rest of its body the tortoise had an insanely strong bone structure. Shin Sumi didn''t know what to do with it after she had removed the meat around it, but now, an inkling of an idea had formed.


    Using the tip of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword as thin as a leaf, Shin Sumi separated the longest vertebrae from the rest of the spine. Patiently but with a lot of care, she removed all the excess material around the bone until is was the perfect diameter to fit in her hand.


    The vertebrae was hollowed quickly, its marrow easily pushed out.


    "There it is. A new handle" she whispered while she approached the naked hilt of the sword and the carved vertebrae.


    A dazzling golden light spilled everywhere the instant the two pieces made contact. By magic, the new handle stuck perfectly to the metal.


    The snakes that were just outside the Copper Bell''s perimeter were surprised by the clear and powerful light. Some of them even got burnt slightly by the strength of the Yang Shinsoo emitted by the sword.


    In Shin Sumi''s mind, the ancient metal plate''s first line of engraving slowly faded away, revealing another line.


    Fen Wudao''s voice sprung up from the void of the space within the sword, full of excitation and praise.


    The message had been pre recorded via Divine Sense imprint, but the emotion in the youth''s voice was clear.


    "Congratulations, Junior Sister! It seems like you have completed the first challenge of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. By now the sword should have returned to its previous appearance."


    Shin Sumi held her breath. She was waiting for the second challenge to be announced. The Rising Star Tournament of the Dark Sky Starry Sect was just around the corner. The reason why Fen Wudao had given her his precious sword was so that she fared the best possible in the trial by fire. Given the limited time left, as soon as Shin Sumi could start working on the second challenge, the better it would be.


    "The second challenge you have to pass in order to gain mastership of this blade is the following."


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    The Liquid Realm cultivator''s voice suddenly turned serious. A cold and formless intent slowly rose up from within the sword.


    "Temper the sword''s blade with the Five Veins of Hell Fire."


    And just like that the message ended. Shin Sumi pulled back from the sword, retracting her Divine Sense.


    Shivers were running down her back. For some reason the last words had made quite an impact on her.


    "The Five Veins of Hell Fire" she repeated a few times. "I have no idea what it is and where to find it but it sure sounds terrifying..."


    Focusing her mind, Shin Sumi''s eyes stopped their listlessness and turned more resolute than ever.


    "I will definitely succeed!"


    A painful grumbling from her stomach broke through her unwavering will.


    "But first... let''s eat!"


    The tortoise meat was finally cooked. That night, Shin Sumi fested like rarely before. The flavor of the meat filled her with warmth and seemed to replenish her Shinsoo levels almost as fast as meditating with high grade spirit stones would.


    The tortoise had lived for almost fifty years according to the nut''s new page acquisition, and was at the green core level, of course it was filled with Shinsoo.


    Shin Sumi knew she could eat like a rich aristocrat for more than a month with all the meat she possessed in her bag of holding.


    At the same time as she used the Copper Bell on herself to prepare for the next Shinsoo Door opening, a brief thought flashed into her mind.


    Her eyes showed a flash of nostalgia and she wished she could have her family back in East Seaside Village taste such succulent Immortal food.


    Her line of thinking broke before Shin Sumi could start reminiscing about her family too much. She had given up on this kind of life already to become an Immortal anyway.


    A vibration in her bag of holding luckily interrupted the thought.


    It was Xiao Yue sending her a message. It had almost been a month since Shin Sumi had seen her sworn sister and she wondered how Xiao Yue''s training had made her improve. Shin Sumi rejoiced about the fact that a few days from now she could see her friend again, while scanning the identification medallion with her Divine Sense.


    "Sumi, are you still outside the sect? The Rising Star Tournament starts tomorrow morning when the sun rises and I wanted to bathe in your pond one last time with you..."


    Wait... WHAT ?!


    Shin Sumi erupted with panic. She jumped to her feet.


    "Tomorrow?! Isn''t there four days left?!! How long did I sleep for after the fight with the tortoise?"


    This changed everything. Shin Sumi was still quite far away from the lower valley. Even with her recent improvements and her cultivation base with forty-six Shinsoo Doors opened, the walk back would still take two hours at least.


    She had wanted to use the green beast core to open a few more apertures, maybe reach the Spirit Doors or more before the beginning of the trial.


    But now Shin Sumi realized she had only around four hours and then the training month would be over.


    Gathering all of her possessions from the chasm, Shin Sumi even when as far as putting a lot of bones in her bag of holding. The sudden rush kept her from being able to think straight.


    Only twenty minutes had passed since she finished eating and she received Xiao Yue''s message and Shin Sumi was on her way.


    It had become so common for her to borrow the powers of the Copper Bell that she didn''t even think about retracting it from her dantian.


    Her internal Shinsoo bubbled up with a red tinge as she sped along the trees. Soon enough she had crossed the borders restricting the orange robed disciples.


    "I better eat a Confusion Pill now" she said to herself as she hears distant sounds of human activity.


    She hadn''t seen another disciple in a month and the last thing Shin Sumi wanted was for someone to know about her physical abilities.


    "Everybody knows that Yan Yan has received the appraisal of Senior Brother Fen, whereas I would prefer to be a nobody!"


    She felt the familiar effects of the Confusion Pill on her body right as she was about to surpass a group of three red robed youths.


    Fwooosh.


    A gentle looking kid who seemed even younger than Shin Sumi saw a red blur as his hair flowed with the speed of Shin Sumi.


    "Who... who was that?!" he exclaimed out loud. He barely had the time to make out the facial features of the person passing by before they were gone.


    "What are you saying Han Gu? Hurry up or we will be late for the tournament" replied one of his friends who had not even seen Shin Sumi due to her speed.


    "No-Nothing... Hey guys, wait up!"


    Shin Sumi slowed down right before the Western gate appeared in her sight. The journey had taken only about an hour and a half, which was a record for her.


    Shin Sumi patted her thigh, suddenly impressed at herself at the thought of having made more progress than she expected.


    She was lost in thoughts about how she would have been much stronger, had she had enough time to use the green beast core to open more Shinsoo Doors. Silently, she blended in with the excited crowd on their way to the closest Cultivation Plaza.


    Nobody seemed to be looking at her which surprised her for an instant.


    "Why doesn''t Yan Yan''s face attract attention today?"


    She dismissed the thought quickly. Considering the excitement that was the Rising Star Tournament it was no wonder everyone was stressed and focused solely on themselves.


    Shin Sumi fell into the same line of thinking, trying to concentrate before she reached the North Cultivation Plaza.


    Unlike everybody else Shin Sumi had a lot of expectations dotted onto her, and it was only now that she realized that the burden was heavy on her shoulders.


    "I can''t deceive Senior Brother Fen, or even the higher ups of the sect..."


    Even Elder Zhu, the despicable man who didn''t think twice about stealing one of his disciple''s talent leaving them buried in the jungle, was counting on her on behalf of the administration of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    The North Cultivation Plaza was crowded. Shin Sumi was lucky enough to find a spot to sit cross-legged, fitting behind a burly man.


    She closed her eyes, her hands resting on her knees palms facing upwards, meditating.


    The burly man whose back was to her was shaking, disturbing her internal concentration. Shin Sumi opened one eye, looking intensely at the figure.


    The man who seemed to be more than twice her age was repeating encouraging words to himself. His hand was shaking quite strongly with stress even making him drop his gourd as he was about to drink refreshing water.


    Shin Sumi sighed, wondering for a moment if she should try to move, reassure the red robed man or simply do nothing.


    The gourd fell on the stone tile that made the immense platform, splashing a few drops on Shin Sumi''s lap.


    "Excuse me Brother, I tend to be quite clumsy when I''m stressed and... are you okay?"


    The man looked into Shin Sumi''s eyes, incomprehension on his face. He had simply tried to apologize to the youth behind him but... why was this kid''s face so unsightly?


    Shin Sumi couldn''t believe her ears.


    "Brother?!" she thought she heard him say. He was looking confused, and so was she but he didn''t seem to realize his mistake.


    Opening her eyes wide with realization, Shin Sumi bowed slightly to look at the reflection on the water spilling out from the gourd.


    "Who is... Why am I... A man?!"


    The moment she understood why the Confusion Pill had turned her appearance into that of a boy, a high pitched pure note resonated through the air.


    The Star Zheng interrupted every one in the sect, even dissipating Shin Sumi''s thoughts for now.


    Everybody gathered on the North Cultivation Plaza platform dropped silent at once.


    A powerful voice sprung up from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. To every disciple''s shock, the tiles of the platform suddenly started glowing with a moving blue light.


    "Honorary Disciples of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, you have all gathered in this place for one reason. Be your robes red or green colors, every one of you has a chance of participating in this grand Rising Star Tournament. Your mind has been made up the moment you stepped on those platform so I will keep it concise."


    The glowing platform was rapidly gaining in intensity. A strange feeling of spinning around started rising in Shin Sumi''s abdomen as in everyone else''s. In an instant, right before Shin Sumi felt as if she would pass out, the platform suddenly grew insanely bright. It was blinding like a sun.


    "Let the trial begin!"

 32 The Rising Star Tournament Finally Begins!

    The light of teleportation rapidly subsided, leaving Shin Sumi with a twisted stomach and a feeling of confusion.


    She instantly knew she had left the sect. Where she was exactly, she didn''t know.


    "The air feels thicker and its harder to breath... But this overflowing Shinsoo..." she muttered.


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    Her position hadn''t changed in the slightest from when she had sat on the stone platform of the North Cultivation Plaza.


    Her stomach quickly returning to normal, Shin Sumi ensured she wasn''t going to vomit before unfolding her crossed legs and lifting her body from the ground.


    Around her was nothing and no one. A slight breeze made her hair flutter behind her head.


    "All the people present on the platform, where did they all go? Has the trial started?"


    Unbeknownst to her, pairs of deep eyes enshrouded in mystery were watching. In fact the invisible figures were watching everybody that had been teleported by the Spell.


    Patriarch Sen wasn''t the only one watching the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament. Back in the sect, most of the Elders had gathered in the Grand Hall. A giant stone tablet made of glittering jade that spanned the entire floor of the building relayed images and sounds from the dimensional pocket where the tournament was located.


    "Patriarch, what is the meaning of this?" asked an Elder surnamed Ku. He was one of the lesser Elders that had not been made aware of the tournament rules. "Why does it seem like none of the disciples can see each other?"


    On the stone screen, two groups of hundreds of disciples, one per cultivation plaza, were slowly regaining their senses.


    "Hehehe" started a voice sitting on one of the highest seats of the Grand Hall. The voice that was neither imposing or deep sent shivers down the spine of Elder Ku. It belonged to none other than Grand Elder Chu Xuanba, Chu Erlong''s grandfather, after all!


    "Elder Ku, you have in front of you one of the marvels of the Star Zheng, wielded by our Patriarch. It is a simple spell but quite a strong one. All the Honorary Disciples are under the impression that they are in a barren land right now. They are merely trapped in an illusion though."


    Another Elder from a high seat continued "The first trial is for them to escape this world of illusion. It is a difficult feat testing the mental prowess of each individual as well as their ability to understand their senses."


    "The power of the illusion will diminish by one percent every two hours. The fastest disciples should be able to understand in a day or two and will be transported to the next level. In the meantime we get to enjoy watching them run around aimlessly without a clue, hohoho"


    And sure enough, as the disciples started recovering from the teleportation spell, all the Elders could see their confusion.


    ***


    Almost as soon as she got up, Shin Sumi was taken by a strange feeling. First the unusual atmosphere and secondly something deeper. Something that seemed to come from inside her.


    Unsure of what was going on, Shin Sumi attributed the feeling to the fact that her dantian was bubbling by itself, awoken by the high concentration of Shinsoo in her surroundings.


    "This is a great place for cultivation! Although it is a bit strange that the sect leader has not given us any information on what to do..."


    Shin Sumi tried to move around a little bit. The sky above her head was a uniform purple grey and the land was exceptionally flat. With her experience of her own vision, Shin Sumi knew she could see as far as a dozen kilometers or so.


    Even still, no matter how far she moved, the land was barren and no even the smallest elevation was visible.


    Besides with her speed, she had been expecting a strong push of air against her face, but although the air seemed thick, no amount of resistance was felt.


    In fact, her hair was still flowing gently with the same breeze as earlier!


    "This is strange, I am sure I am facing the wind now but my hair..."


    No matter how much she thought about it, something very bizarre was going on.


    "It appears useless to explore around. There''s not even a landmark visible, and there is no sun to give me a sense of direction" she thought.


    Due to the strange sky above her head, Shin Sumi''s shadow wasn''t visible. The whole world was filled with a gloomy light that broke all of her senses and perception.


    It reminded her a little bit of the dark chasm, where senses were altered when one didn''t use an artefact like the Copper Bell.


    Unable to find a solution right away, Shin Sumi decided to sit back down and cultivate. Leaving a sliver of Divine Sense focused on the present situation, she rotated her dantian, slowly incorporating the outside Shinsoo to her own.


    The Copper Bell was still powering her dantian, her appearance that of a slender young boy, looking fifteen of age.


    Because of that, the turbulent flow was tinted with red.


    After an hour of cultivation, Shin Sumi found that unexpectedly she didn''t progress as much as she thought she would. The turbulences in her internal energy were mostly dissipating the newly added Shinsoo.


    It was only after another hour and after she retracted the Copper Bell''s powers from affecting her Shinsoo attribute that a glimpse of an idea crept up in her mind.


    Shin Sumi was a bit surprised to see that her appearance remained that of a young boy instead of the familiar Yan Yan, but quickly attributed it to the fact that she had consumed the Confusion Pill while her Shinsoo was of Yang attribute.


    "So I can even use Yin type Shinsoo while looking like a man" she thought, interested by the idea.


    Initially she had been proud to be able to turn into Yan Yan at will and mask her real identity, but because Yan Yan''s little shop had been so successful, now even Yan Yan was known around the lower valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Something kept ticking in Shin Sumi''s mind though. After retracting the Copper Bell, the sensation of a Shinsoo more turbulent as usual had disappeared but because of the link between her and the Copper Bell, she knew it was due to it.


    It was as it the Copper Bell was restless, or trying to tell something to its master but without being able to, as it what was impacting it was too powerful in comparison.


    It was when the four hours mark since the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament had been passed that the Copper Bell finally reacted.


    The Star Zheng''s power had diminished only slightly but it was now enough. The Star Zheng was a really powerful artefact and was wielded by the Patriarch of the sect, an expert on an unfathomable level to Shin Sumi.


    Because of that, even though the Copper Bell was really powerful, it had been unable to dispel the illusion due to Shin Sumi''s lack of strength.


    Shin Sumi felt the Copper Bell radiate through her bond with it as soon as the strength of the illusion was weakened enough for the bell to act.


    A gentle chime rose up in the air while the engraved rows of characters on the bell''s surface shimmered.


    The air seemed to distort, twist and finally break. For an entire three breaths of time, all the other participating disciples were fully visible to Shin Sumi.


    "The whole time I was in the middle of them," she spoke out loud slowly, not knowing if the others could hear her or not. "It seems like most of the disciples have not realized it yet."


    She observed for a brief moment how everybody looked in a trance, some of them running erratically in place, others meditating with confused looks on their face.


    The next instant, the light of teleportation and the twisting feeling that accompanied it enveloped Shin Sumi. She was gone.


    ***


    "Oh, three of them are already awakening? This is unheard of. It seems this generation has quite good elements" commented Patriarch Sen who didn''t seem to pay much attention to the screen tablet.


    Because he was the one using the Star Zheng''s powers, he obviously had been the first person to notice the behavior of the disciples. As soon as his voice died down all the Elders in the assembly frantically scanned the magical jade with their eyes, trying to recognize who was in the process of leaving the illusion.


    "Jun Qian was the first to realize and break the illusion, that was to be expected. He has been waiting for years for a chance to shine while staying in the lower valley."


    "Another yellow robe broke through the Star Zheng''s illusion after only four hours. He is Tai Bu, one of Elder Peng''s disciples, right?" asked someone, to which Elder Peng responded affirmatively.


    "Who is the last one?" asked Elder Ku to himself before finding the last individual. "Here! They''re ... a red robed disciple?!"


    Silence instantly fell on the assembly. No one could believe what they were seeing. Only Patriarch Sen had a strange light in his eyes that went unnoticed.


    "How could a red robed disciple break such a powerful illusion after only four hours?!" said an Elder.


    The comments flew from everywhere in the Grand Hall. Who was that individual? How come he was able to have such insight on the first stage of the tournament?


    The young red robed boy was unknown. It was normal considering the fact that due to their status, Elders usually didn''t pay any mind to anyone under the orange or even yellow talent.


    Besides Patriarch Sen and Elder Zhu, virtually all the Elders present were frowning in disbelief. It had taken longer for Elder Zhu to realize who the red robed youth could be, but he finally understood the sly smile on the Patriarch''s face.


    Everybody was focusing their gaze on the youth sitting in the middle of the crowd of disciples just as the blue vortex of teleportation sprung up, making him disappear.


    Most of the disciples in the illusion were still trying to run around, comically moving while remaining in place, not knowing what was going on at all. Only the most clever could realize that it was useless to move and concentrated on meditation.


    On the top left corner of the massive jade screen, three squared formed. Each one centered around one of the awoken disciples that had just reached the second stage of the tournament, Jun Qian, Tai Bu and the nameless red robed disciple.


    ***


    Shin Sumi had less trouble getting back on her feet after the second teleportation. She hadn''t known what to expect the first time after all.


    Upon opening her eyes, a sharp gasp was the only reaction she could have.


    "And I thought the barren land earlier was strange and sad..." Shin Sumi commented. The place she had been teleported to was completely different from before. In fact it was different to anything she had ever seen in her short life.


    In front of her, a huge landmass rose in the air. Simply judging by her vision, Shin Sumi was unable to tell how big it was. The floating land filled her entire line of sight, only revealing a pitch black abyss below. She was located on a small altar made of grey rock, the only similitude with the previous landscape.


    A few steps ahead of her was an incomprehensibly high ledge separating the altar from the next piece of land. It was obvious in a single glance that the only path she could take was to jump from blocks to blocks and join the floating continent.


    A red sky enveloped every part of the landscape in blood, as to give a taste of what would happen if one were to fall down to the abyss below.


    A countless number of altars were located all around the landmass, and Shin Sumi was on one of them. The pillar of light she had come out didn''t dissipate like she thought it would.


    In the distance, two more pillars were visible. One was relatively close to her, maybe ten to fifteen altars away, and the other one was almost hidden by the landmass. It was still too far for Shin Sumi to see clearly the silhouette of the person coming out of the closest pillar but she guessed that it should have been another disciple that woke up from the illusion of the first stage.


    "There is only one way to go now..." Shin Sumi thought. "It is strange that we don''t have any instruction as to what to do but I guess it is part of the trial."


    And that was when Shin Sumi started her journey through the floating rocks, only slightly behind the other two trial takers that were on the same stage.


    After a hours of running and jumping from one land to the next she realized that the number of landmasses was way bigger than she expected. They were also progressively getting more massive.


    Her first pause was on a chunk of rock that was as long as the entire lower valley. Running low on stamina, Shin Sumi sat cross legged to replenish her Shinsoo levels. In the distance she noted the appearance of more pillars of light.


    "Ah, other disciples are joining progressively. So the fastest you complete the first stage, the most advance you get on the second. It is a race!"


    The blue white pillars contrasted aggressively against the dark red sky, as if they were telling the contestants to hurry. Far behind her, Shin Sumi saw the pillar she came from. It already seemed so far away even though she didn''t feel any closer to the huge floating continent ahead.


    Two days later, Shin Sumi was still running along the landmasses. They had now become as big as the entire Dark Sky Starry sect, or at least she thought so.


    "For a mortal, crossing one landmass would take around a whole day!"


    Of course that was in the case a mortal could even get to this place, which was impossible due to the crazy jumps one had to take between each platform. Even Shin Sumi who was already well used to jumping and running at full power found the abyss below disturbing and feared falling down.


    She realized though that she was now may more confident in jumping almost ten meters in one go.


    "The high concentration of Shinsoo in this place, it is like constant training!"


    By this point almost all of the light pillars were lit, indicating that nearly everyone had joined the trial dimension with the floating continent.


    "Yue... I hope you''re here to and we''ll get together soon" Shin Sumi couldn''t help but think.


    Xiao Yue was an orange robed disciple, which represented less than ten percent of all the disciples participating. According to Shin Sumi''s calculations, Xiao Yue should have arrived at least a few hours prior.


    Both girls were looking at the pillars in the sky, hoping for the best for the other. Shin Sumi had tried sending a divine sense message via her jade identification medallion, but the strange laws that governed the place didn''t allow such means of communication.


    "If we''re going to meet, it will be by chance... or fate."


    ***


    Back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s Grand Hall, the Elders all wore serious faces.


    "By now, ninety percent of the disciples have passed the first challenge. Some of them are even quite advanced along the daunting Path of the Hell Island."


    "Elder Won is right, two of the three contestants that did great in the first trial have even reached the first crossroads. The red robed youth that was with them doesn''t seem that impressive after all. He is still about three quarters of the way there."


    "He must have a great mental aptitude to have broken the Star Zheng''s illusion, but in the end he can''t cut it. He is only a red robed disciple after all, no matter is aptitude he is far behind the yellow robes."


    Patriarch Sen remained silent. Sometimes the Elders would turn to look at him waiting for his input, but he stayed quiet. His lack of response was not unusual though, considering his personality.


    All the Elders had learned along the years that the cunning Patriarch was good at hiding his thoughts. When he spoke it was often with great wisdom but when he didn''t, it was impossible to know what to think of it.


    His face partially hidden in the shadow of the high seat of the Grand Hall, not one person present was able to discern where his eyes were focusing.


    Looking at a certain corner of the jade screen, he was thinking "She is still a bit behind of course, but I wonder what tactics she will use in the long game..."


    ***


    It took another few hours for Shin Sumi to reach the first crossroad. Crossroad was a big word, considering that it was a platform like any other along the way. But contrary to the others, it was where the path coming from different pillars joined.


    For every ten pillars, there was only one way to reach the main landmass, and it was through one of these crossroads. If by any chance all ten disciples coming from these ten pillars of light were to arrive at the crossroad at the same time, it was very possible for them to start fighting to gain the advantage in the trial.


    As such, if a disciple arrived way before the others like it was the case for the two yellow robed disciples in front of Shin Sumi, they would have the choice to take another path backwards to confront the incoming disciples.


    Or it was the best occasion to lay down a trap and stop the nine others who would pass through there from advancing.


    As fate would have it, Shin Sumi was only second in arriving to the key platform on her path.

 33 Crossways Encounter Of The Yellow Kind

    Shin Sumi saw at first glance that the platform was unusual. From afar she could see smaller floating landmasses just like the ones she had used previously converging onto this one path.


    From that it was easy to deduct that some other disciples would pass through the area.


    "I think that from the other two that succeded the first trial before me, the closest was around fifteen light pillars away. I wonder how many pathways lead to this specific platform" she wondered.


    Shin Sumi hesistated for a while between settling down and recuperate from the long hours of running and leaping or try to advance.


    It wasn''t in her habit to act rashly without thinking and if there was even a chance that another disciple in the lead had to go through the same way as her, she wanted to avoid them as much as possible.


    "Stopping now would be unwise. In the off chance that I misjudged and they are closer than I expected, I can''t afford to have a yellow robe attack me while I meditate."


    Shin Sumi knew there were some talismans and artefacts that could be used to locate cultivators in the vincinity. Although this key landmass seemed at least two full days of running long, she wasn''t sure she could find a place remote enough to meditate peacefully.


    Unbeknownst to her, another cultivator had already gone through the same dilemma on the same particular crossway.


    ***


    Tai Bu was hiding in a crevice that ran along the edge of a rocky cliff. Dark sparks seemed to dance around his body as he was sitting, unmoving.


    Being admitted in the Dark Sky Starry Sect as a yellow robed disciple at only the age of sixteen, Tai Bu had been promised a bright future almost immediately.


    He had instantly caught the eye of Elder Peng, one of the top ten Elders of the sect. Since then, it was almost as if he had become his blood relative, having a profund connection as Master and Disciple.


    Elder Peng had poured his soul into cultivating his precious disciple, who in only two years rose from a mortal to a bright student who even opened twelve Shinsoo Passageways during his breakthrough.


    Tai Bu had been about to try his hand at breaking through the Liquid Realm one day when Elder Peng had arrived at the immortal cave he had provided to his Disciple. It was then that Tai Bu learned in advance about the Rising Star Tournament, in much the same way that Shin Sumi had with Elder Zhu.


    Tai Bu had delayed his breakthrough for an entire month in the hopes of finding the right opportunity during the Tournament, ensuring his success as well as a good place within the Inner Disciples of the Liquid Realm.


    Patiently waiting for the second trial-taker to arrive to his landmass, Tai Bu was stroking and stretching a leather whip leisurely. It had been given to him by his master at the same time as other artefacts, like the dark sparks that powered his hiding illusion, and had become his weapon of choice.


    Back in the Grand Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Elder Peng was scrutinizing the jade screen with filial love in his eyes.


    "Young Bu, don''t make me loose face. That red robed boy coming your way may have great mental aptitudes, but there''s no way he can escape your Flaming Whip. Make him understand how big the gap between you two is!"


    ***


    Shin Sumi was starting to feel the effect of the loss of stamina. She had been running for three days in a row since she last stopped. Since she took her decision to continue forward, only five hours had passed.


    "I may have overestimated myself. I need to rest soon. Who knows what this trial by fire has to offer, but I must ensure I''m always in peak condition to fight, just in case."


    Her mind was starting to slowly form a plan, as she came to understand the specificity of this stage of the tournament more and more.


    "It is a race, so I can''t afford to rest for two long. But if the goal is to reach the huge continent at the end of the path, it can take weeks or even months! So one had to judge when to stop and for how long efficiently..."


    Shin Sumi decided to run to the top of a small hill that was not too far from her path on the elongated landmass. In front of her, maybe less than two kilometers away, she caught a glimpse of a rocky area where the landmass reduced in width.


    From afar it looked like some sort of canyon and passing through appeared to be the only way to get to the end of this platform and reach the next.


    "The perfect place for an ambush" she thought, "but also a good place to stay alert if somebody comes."


    Shin Sumi''s reasoning was simple. If she stopped to rest and replenish her Shinsoo levels right after the canyon, she would be able to sense any person incoming, giving her enough time to leave before being noticed hopefully.


    Pretty tired but not yet exhausted, Shin Sumi closed in on the ravine. Two sharp walls of grey rock rose up in the air in an intimidating fashion. The red light coming from the strange sky overhead progressively became dimmed as it couldn''t reach the bottom of the canyon.


    "Another day another ravine" thought Shin Sumi, suddenly missing her cultivation spot within the sect''s training grounds.


    At the same time as she took her first step on the slight slope marking the entrance of the canyon, a figure clad in invisible black sparks opened their eyes a few hundred meters away.


    "Here they come" murmured Tai Bu, "The talisman has activated, someone is entering the ravine already!"


    Only a cultivator in the middle of the Liquid Realm could sense someone''s presence from this far away. Thankfully for Tai Bu though, his Master had crafted a few paper talismans that he could link to his divine sense.


    Given his own lack of cultivation level, the quality of the talismans was greatly reduced but Elder Peng was a Core Development Elder! Every item given to Tai Bu was leagues away from those a random Honorary Disciple could get their hands on.


    Silently, Tai Bu stretched and readied his whip. He only had to wait for the arriving disciple to walk on the narrow pathway under him and his surprise attack would be an instantaneous success.


    "They wont even know what happened to them, hehehe."


    Not even thirty seconds later, Tai Bu''s excitement was reaching its apex when a figure clad in red robes walking along the narrow path came into his field of vision.


    For a split second, Tai Bu was taken by surprise. "How can it be a red robed disciple?" he asked before reassuring himself.


    Considering the time he spent hidden waiting for another person to arrive, the first to cross paths with him should definitely not have been a low level disciple.


    In accordance to the first stage of the tournament, only the disciples with the best mental aptitudes should have reached the second stage that fast. Tai Bu was thus expecting a yellow robed disciple or at least an orange one.


    But why did it matter after all... A grim smile crept up on his otherwise dignified face.


    "As it turns out, this boy doesn''t even qualify to be my stepping stone. I''ll make him pay for wasting my time, hehehe!"


    Shin Sumi whose features were that of a male cultivator was only ten steps away from under where Tai Bu was hiding. She was advancing with care, doing her best to look around but still oblivious to the impending menace.


    A few meters above, Tai Bu started counting in silence.


    Nine steps.


    Eight steps.


    Seven steps.


    But right when he was down to the last six digits and his leg muscles were already flexing and about to launch him towards the newcomer, something unexpected happened.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes suddenly darted upwards, locking straight into Tai Bu''s. An uneasy feeling instantly overtook him but he wasn''t even able to think "How can he see me?!" before a short dagger appeared in the disciple''s hand.


    With a speed that should have been impossible for a low level disciple, the dagger was thrown... right in Tai Bu''s direction!


    In the crevice that was his hiding spot, Tai Bu was stuck directly on the path of the flying weapon. His reflexes acted before he could even understand what was happening, prompting him to dodge the only way that was possible, by jumping down inside the canyon.


    "This red robed trash must have had a special artefact capable of finding me. There''s no other way. But now that it has come down to this, I can beat him even with one hand and my eyes closed!"


    Tai Bu wasn''t completely wrong. After all with the dark sparks concealment given to him by a Core Development elder, how could a random disciple see through him so easily?


    Had he waited a bit less, maybe his surprise attack would have been effective. But seven steps had already brought him right into the range of the Copper Bell.


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    The tiny Copper Bell was without a doubt a profound magical artefact, and its ability to create an illusion was only equal to its ability to dispell one.


    Shin Sumi hadn''t understood what happened at all but Tai Bu had appeared out of nowhere in the corner of her eye. Although she maybe wasn''t as strong as Tai Bu, her extensive training in the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s training grounds had forged spontaneous reflexes that most of the disciples her age wouldn''t possess.


    Her body had reacted with incredible speed, taking out Chao Long''s dagger and throwing it at the suddenly appearing threat.


    Following up on her first attack, Shin Sumi took out another weapon and jumped towards where Tai Bu was going to land before he even reached the ground.


    Tai Bu''s descent was met with a golden shine held by Shin Sumi''s small but firm hand. Her face was an impassible mask and her breathing was almost as calm as it could be.


    Ziiing.


    The thin blade of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword vibrated in the air right under Tai Bu. In an incredibly short time, the latter managed to push his hand that was still holding the Flaming Whip downwards.


    The Flaming Whip was a genuine Liquid Realm level weapon and thus absorbed the brunt of the force from the incoming sword. The momentum was still enough to change the direction of his fall and even projected Tai Bu a few meters ahead of Shin Sumi.


    Shin Sumi was surprised. She took a deep glance at the coiled whip that was intact even after a full blown impact from her sword.


    That was the same sword that had cleanly cut in two a huge Stone Leaf Tortoise!


    "This... this whip is incredible!" she thought while moving again.


    Tai Bu groaned on the floor. The strength of the sword strike had instantly rendered his right hand numb and he had collided with the rocky ground at great speed.


    His unattention due to his groggyness only lasted for a second before he tried to shoot to his feet but it was already too late.


    Using her physical strength to its limits, Shin Sumi reached Tai Bu in a single step. This time she used the pommel of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, immediately making Tai Bu loose consciousness.


    Wheeeeeew. Shin Sumi let out a long breath. The fight had only lasted about five breaths of time and had been completely one-sided but happened too suddenly.


    Shin Sumi replayed the images of what had just happened in her head. She was glad Tai Bu had managed to block her sword.


    "In the spur of the moment, I actually delivered what could have been a fatal blow..."


    She had acted completely on instinct. From the moment the Copper Bell rung and Tai Bu''s figure had appeared above her, her mind trained with the constant threat of powerful spirit beasts in the jungle near the sect had only focused on two points.


    Someone was ambushing her and she was in danger. It was only after she had managed to overpower Tai Bu that she had calmed down enough for her judgment to recover its clarity.


    ***


    When Tai Bu regained his senses, Shin Sumi was long gone, just like his precious Flaming Whip. His bag of holding had also been emptied while he was out cold.


    A tremor suddenly ran through him. For the first time since he stepped into the cruel Immortal world, he had faced death in the eyes. Him, who had great talent and a master who was willing to nurture him fully never once felt a fear like that.


    "Who is this guy? How could he be so strong with just a red level talent?! And he didn''t even seem older than me... What a terrifying monster" Tai Bu reflected on the short exchange with Shin Sumi.


    In the Grand Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Elder Peng was fuming.


    "This is outrageous!!" he vociferated, "This thief deserves death! He cheated somehow! A nobody wearing only red robes, there is no way he could beat my Tai Bu. I''m gonna skin this bastard alive!"


    His eyes were becoming bloodshot and a lot of Elders present wondered if it was because of Tai Bu losing the encouter or the fact that the Flaming Whip had been stolen along with the numerous artefacts that he had given his disciple.


    Elder Peng was about to continue his rant when all of a sudden a formless pressure spread out on him. The stiffling sensation was akin to a mountain pressing down on his shoulder, cutting his breathing short and silencing him in an instant.


    "Brother Peng, calm down. Your disciple losing that badly to a red robed youngster isn''t enough, you want to lose even more face by taking arms against a junior?"


    The Dark Sky Starry Sect''s Patriarch Sen had spoken. Without counting the reserve powers of the sect that were in secluded meditation, he was by far the strongest cultivation practicionner in the sect. His words carried all of his power with them and the pressure that emanated from him far surpassed Elder Peng''s capacity, forcing him into submission.


    Right below the Patriarch, Great Elder Chu snorted coldly "Tch. To think that Brother Peng''s disciple was only this promising. It''s like an embodiment of ''All bark and no bite''. The jade screen only relays image and sound to us but from even without sensing their use of Shinsoo, from that brief encounter its clear that Tai Bu lacks practice and combat training. Maybe he had the raw power to beat most of the Honorary Disciples, but without sufficient reflexes and instinct, there''s no use in brute strength."


    Although his words seemed quite harsh at first, Great Elder Chu was actually calming down the situation. As he explained clearly, his words made sense and even Elder Peng in his rage could not retort a single thing.


    Great Elder Chu still recognized Tai Bu''s strength and even gave pointers as to what he should be training next. After all, even though they had all seen the same scene unfold before their eyes on the giant magical screen, strategy and reflexes were the only logical explanation. Never in the world could they have thought that the red robed unknown disciple could have had more strength than Tai Bu.


    Patriarch Sen''s dominating pressure quickly receded, allowing Elder Peng to catch his breath once again, finally calmed down.


    "Consider your disciple to be lucky to still be alive. The Rising Star Tournament is far from over yet."


    Elder Peng silently bowed towards Patriarch Sen, then towards Great Elder Chu before sitting back down on his chair. His eyes had cleared a lot although they still contained a dark glimpse of malice while they focused on the red robed figure displayed on the third square.


    ***


    This time Shin Sumi felt as if she had struck gold. She had been cautious all along, expertly judging the terrain she progressed into as a good ambushing spot, but she could never have expected it to go that well.


    Shin Sumi had only been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect for a little bit more than a year and had spent most of her time practicing cultivation alone, as a recluse. Her number of friends in the sect could be counted on one hand and she didn''t know well what was going on with the other Honorary Disciples.


    Had it been anyone else from the red up to the yellow talented individuals, they would have definitely recognized Tai Bu at first glance. But for Shin Sumi he was just a guy with a yellow robe.


    She had been waiting for an ambush but it had gone way more swiftly than she expected.


    "For some reason he appeared out of nowhere in an instant but he didn''t jump at me. Could it be...?" she thought deeply about the matter as she advanced.


    "I didn''t pay much attention because of how cautious I was, and afterwards I was too occupied with the fight, but now that I think about it I felt a tug in my very soul" she said as she brought her hand close to her chest that was unexpectedly flat.


    "Oh that''s right, the Confusion Pill mixed with the Yang Shinsoo of the Copper Bell turned me into a boy. I had forgotten for a second!"


    It was only at this point that light shone in her mind due to a revelation. The tug at her soul! There wasn''t many things in her arsenal that could provoque such a sensation. Due to the limited strength of her divine sense, she could also rule out a direct sensing of her opponent from as far as a few meters away.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been hidden in her bag of holding until the beginning of the fight, so she could rule that out too.


    "The only other magical treasures that are linked to me in a deep way are the little nut and the Copper Bell!"


    Of course she was most used to the nut''s warnings, which is why her mind instantly turned to the Copper Bell.


    "This tiny blood-stained bell... Not only can it power up powerful illusions regarding the type of Shinsoo around and inside me, but it can also dispell other people''s illusions?! What else can it do?"


    The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. And the more she felt an urge to test out all kinds of things with the Copper Bell.


    Just like when she had experimented with the nut''s ability to refine objects, a devious smile slowly spread onto her boyish features in excitement.

 34 Reaching The Floating Continen

    Sadly, Shin Sumi had no way to really test the different abilities she imagined the Copper Bell would have. As of things were now, she was running alone on the floating island path.


    Given the fact that she had been one of the first Honorary Disciples to reach the second stage of the trial and she had passed Tai Bu a few days ago, she was more serene than before.


    She didn''t go through another cross-roads platform, and she was certain the other light pillar that had illuminated the blood red sky before hers was too far away to correspond to a path close to hers.


    Taking short breaks at a time, Shin Sumi didn''t dare rest too much.


    "I can''t let the yellow disciple from before catch up with me. I''m sure he would use any opportunity he gets to take revenge on me. Plus, I didn''t even tie him up or anything, I have no idea how long he was out for after I struck him and left."


    Shin Sumi hesitated for only a split second. A flash of remorse showed up on her boy face before dissipating.


    It wasn''t without reason that she decided to let Tai Bu free of restraints. She had imagined what would have happened if she had left him tied up on a place like the cross-roads canyon. Surely the next disciple to pass through would take advantage of the situation.


    Although Shin Sumi had killed before, it was never out of pleasure. But sadly she knew that it wasn''t the case for everyone in the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Leaving Tai Bu defenseless was akin to condemning him to die. Although his blood wouldn''t stain her own hands, how could she allow something like that to happen voluntarily?!


    "Besides, the whole point of this Rising Star Tournament is to raise the level of the future Liquid Realm Disciples by giving them opportunities and experience. When the war between the Dark Sky Starry Sect and the Sky Earth Sect comes, an asset like a yellow robe reaching the Liquid Realm is precious."


    Only a handful of disciples knew the real purpose of the trial by fire, and Shin Sumi was part of them, due to Elder Zhu''s explanations a month before the start of the Tournament.


    Shin Sumi let out a long sigh before slipping a Confusion Pill into her mouth. She would do so every day approximately, when she would feel the power of the illusion hiding her identity decline.


    "Who would have thought the Immortal World would be so... unholy" she said to herself as she resumed her running along the rocky platforms, "every legend and myth depicting Immortals praises their holy spirits and enlightenment of the world. But really we are all still humans..."


    Humans they were, but there were still perks to being considered an Immortal.


    In front of her, Shin Sumi could see the incredibly large and menacing landmass that was the central continent in this blood red world. In fact it was so big that from any point in this pocket of space it still occupied the focus point. For the first time since the beginning of the second stage of the tournament Shin Sumi realized that she indeed had been advancing closer to the landmass.


    She had no idea how much longer it would take to reach the central point where, she imagined, all paths would converge, but she was certain it could be counted in months.


    A greenish light pulsed slowly on her wrist before the little grey nut appeared, instantly moving to her open palm. Without stopping, Shin Sumi retrieved what the nut had just finished refining and put it in her bag of holding.


    "Yellow robed disciples really are something else..." she murmured at the sight of the few hundreds of high grade spirit stones," his master must have showered him with resources for a good while. To bad it all ended up in my hand hahaha!"


    Shin Sumi wasn''t stupid. Although she didn''t know his name or his ranking, it had been easy to reach the conclusion that Tai Bu had a master in the Elders rank.


    The artifacts that she had stolen from him were anything but ordinary, especially that coiled leather whip. Ever since Tai Bu had deflected a full strength sword strike from the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword using the whip it could only be extraordinary.


    The black leather seemed completely normal, as would a weapon held by a mortal, but somehow exuded a powerful aura.


    By probing the weapon with her divine sense, Shin Sumi suffered a backlash of Shinsoo energy, forcing a mouthful of blood out of her lips.


    It didn''t take too long to recover but now her face was livid as she started to understand what was going on.


    The Flaming Whip was an artifact that could almost be considered on par with the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword and although Tai Bu''s master had given it to his disciple, the weapon wasn''t made his.


    From what she had gathered from her own experiences of bonding with a powerful weapon, there was no way the link between a measly Tai Bu and the Flaming Whip was this strong. In fact, Shin Sumi was certain that during her probing, it was Elder Peng''s divine sense that had rebuted her.


    "As of now, I can''t bond with it and use it as my own. Unless its true master allows me to, the whip can''t be mine until I''m strong enough to overcome the previous bonding" she thought while circulating her Shinsoo along her meridians to recover for the losses due to the backlash, "since its master isn''t in this spatial dimension they shouldn''t have been able my probe, but it would only bring trouble if I came out of this tournament with the whip in hand. I need to do something!"


    Concentrating on the warm power of the Copper Bell gathered inside her dantian, Shin Sumi decided to test something.


    Slowly directing the flow of energy along her arm into the Flaming Whip, she felt the weapon change inside her hand.


    Just as her own appearance changed when she consumed a Confusion Pill, the whip distorted in a bizarre manner.


    The more Copper Bell power she poured into it, the more different the Flaming Whip was from its original state.


    Wanting to test the limits of the change, Shin Sumi retracted all the Yang type power from her own body, redirecting all the Copper Bell''s illusory Shinsoo to the weapon.


    As the name suggested, the Flaming Whip was a strong Yang oriented weapon but now in the matter of seconds, its entire length had been covered in... ice?!


    And that was not the end to the change! The whip shrank while emitting a furious whistling that could sting the soul.


    In total, no more than four breaths of time had passed and the famed Flaming Whip had turned into something completely different.


    Because the weapon wasn''t hers, Shin Sumi was still unable to use it, and the Copper Bell had acted only on a superficial level. In appearance the Flaming Whip now resembled an ice spear, even giving off a strong Yin type energy pressure.


    On top of it all, the Copper Bell restricted that pressure outside of Shin Sumi''s own perception field, allowing the power of the weapon to be completely hidden to any outsider as long as they were probing her with a divine sense weaker than the Copper Bell''s capacity.


    Shin Sumi once again resumed her progression, happy to have discovered something new about the Copper Bell.


    "I wonder who created that artifact. It must have been a really powerful Immortal. The bell''s power can completely distort reality to such an extent that even an expert cannot read through its illusions."


    All the while she recalled her features that were that of a young man. Checking her bag of holding with her divine sense, it was an easy feat to count the number of Confusion Pills that she possessed.


    As soon as the number popped into her mind, Shin Sumi calculated.


    "At this rate, I can easily keep up my disguise for at least three more months" she thought. "I should be one of the more advanced on the path to the central floating island, so the probability of running into someone else is low as long as there are no other crossways."


    "Maybe I can save some Confusion Pills for the time being. After all no one can see me and - AIEEE!!"


    Her stream of thoughts was dispelled instantly by a sharp pain from her arm.


    "Little nut, what are you doing ?! That hurts you know!" she cursed out loud.


    Ever since starting her cultivation, Shin Sumi''s field of perception had been greatly enhanced by her growing capacity to handle Shinsoo. In fact the great number of Shinsoo openings she had unclogged through the use of countless resources had been the biggest factor in that.


    Her divine sense was still a bit weak when it came to intensity, but when talking about the radius at which it could be used, Shin Sumi could be considered top grade.


    Because of that, during her training in the back mountains of the sect''s training grounds, Shin Sumi had felt the little grey nut bite her less and less. Now Shin Sumi would register any source of danger faster thanks to her divine sense than with the nut''s warnings.


    "There is nothing dangerous around here, no need to bite me like that!"


    The circular red dotted line on her fair skin hadn''t disappeared yet when another row of invisible teeth pricked her again.


    Forcefully stopping, Shin Sumi''s face instantly grew serious. Unknowingly, she raised a fist and her other hand came to rest on her bag of holding, ready to take out the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword at a moment''s notice.


    In the Grand Hall where the Elders of the Dark Sky Starry Sect were gathered, a few pairs of eyes were focused on the red robed boy that had overcame their expectations twice now.


    "What is he doing" asked a mid level Elder to his neighbor in a low voice, "the boy is alone on his platform. That looks like a fighting stance... Could there be Spirit Creatures already?"


    "No that''s not it", answered the other Elder, "our Patriarch told me that Spirit Creatures would only play in the central continent, not that far away. I don''t know what to answer you, brother Juwen."


    As more and more Elder eyes looked at the square of the screen where Shin Sumi was displayed, she was actively trying to decipher the nut''s warnings.


    "Answer me this, little nut. Is there any danger?"


    ...


    The nut remained silent. Or more accurately, it didn''t bite, nor moved, glued to Shin Sumi''s lower arm, hidden by the red robes'' sleeves.


    "Is there someone or something close to us?"


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    ...


    This time the nut rolled a little bit, seemingly hesitant. Shin Sumi was perplexed, but reassured in a way. Lowering her combat-ready arms, she started walking again, at a moderate pace. The nut didn''t stop her from doing so.


    "So it''s not someone, it''s not an animal, and I would have known it there was an obstacle in the terrain... What can it be?"


    Suddenly an idea flashed across her mind. Shin Sumi had been talking about Confusion Pills when the nut first bit her.


    "Is it about the Confusion Pill? Something has happened? Are they poisonous?"


    This time the nut became frantic, rolling so much that Shin Sumi struggled to keep a straight face with all the tickling going on under her robes.


    "Are you telling me that I should stop consuming them, little nut?"


    Once again the nut stopped all movement. It was clear that it wanted to say exactly the opposite.


    Shin Sumi was starting to get annoyed by now. It seemed evident that nothing of great importance was going on. If she wasn''t in danger, then what could justify the nut''s actions?


    As it happened, the nut was also starting to get annoyed, in its own way. Communication wasn''t their forte after all. Rolling up to Shin Sumi''s neck, its teeth quickly sunk in her flesh, staying like that for a long time, comparable to a leech.


    Shin Sumi let out a low cry from the pain, but didn''t remove the nut. This was different.


    "This warm wave..." she thought absent-mindedly.


    A memory of when she first entered the Dark Sky Starry Sect came flooding in back. The nut had kept her going along the never ending stairs, sending warm waves through her body, replenishing her stamina and her willpower in order to continue her ascent.


    It was something the grey nut didn''t do often, probably because it was hard for it to do or it was really taxing.


    For a split second, Shin Sumi felt as if she and the nut had fused, had become one as a single thought entered her mind.


    The nut retracted its teeth as soon as it was done, and disappeared through the leaf imprint of Shin Sumi''s wrist, entering a slumbering state for the time being.


    But that was enough.


    "They are watching."


    Shin Sumi had understood that single feeling. It hadn''t been transmitted through words or images, nothing of the sort. But she had felt it thanks to the nut, and understood it perfectly.


    "This is the Rising Star Tournament. We are in a different pocket dimension but the leaders of the sect are monitoring everything."


    "I must keep in mind that all of it is their doing" she said, thinking about all the things she would have to do carefully.


    She also understood why the nut had always stayed hidden inside her sleeves and the folds of her dress, and why it was so adamant about her continuing the use of the Confusion Pills.


    Thankfully this part of the trial by fire was pretty uneventful. As she had suspected, Shin Sumi was far away from all the other disciples, having gained quite a lead thanks to her prowess from the first stage of the tournament and her great speed.


    Close to three months had passed since the beginning of the stage when Shin Sumi approached the main landmass of the dimension, the central continent.


    On her way she had gone through another crossway platform or two, but nobody was waiting there for her.


    From afar the big floating island seemed simply huge, but she only realized the scale of it fully when she reached the last platform. In front of her laid an insurmountable wall on which stone steps seemed to have been carved by giants.


    Those unending steps climbed from the bottom of the island to the flat surface on top. From there she could see thousands upon thousands of kilometers up to the blurry light pillars forming a perfect circle at the edge of space.


    The platforms on the path she had taken now looked like single steps. Just thinking about the fact that she sometimes had taken a few days just to cross one made Shin Sumi gasp for breath at the scale of the universe laying before her.


    A strange feeling of exhaustion cultivators tended to forget about rose up inside her the more she climbed the rocky path. For every new stone step it was like passing through a curtain of spiritual pressure.


    "So... dense..." she muttered in a heavy breath, "such a stifling pressure from the Shinsoo in this place!"


    The red sky and the greyish rocks were all she had seen for a long time, which only blew her surprise up to another level altogether when she took the last step towards the top.


    The first thing to hit her senses was the fragrance coming from the innumerable specimen of rare and exotic plants with exquisite design.


    Wherever her eyes darted, heavenly looking scenery caught her sight. A stream of white pure water flowed from between rocks under the roots of trees so high she couldn''t see the top.


    Fish as big as buildings occasionally jumped out of the water, teasing the many rainbow colored birds on the high branches and composing a sweet melody of splashes mixed with the chirps and whistles.


    If she hadn''t been that intoxicated with the celestial paradise in front of her, Shin Sumi would have remembered the first time she had flown above the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s lower valley with Fen Wudao. To a mortal, such a sight was already something they wouldn''t see even if they had three lives.


    But if she had been standing where she was now at that point in time, she would have died on the spot, with a smile on her lips and stars in her pupils.


    Even more so than the scenery, aroma and melodious sounds making her believe in the Heavens above, the pressure would have instantly taken her life.


    It was no surprise the Honorary Disciples who knew about the place from the Liquid Realm disciples were more than excited for the Tournament to take place here. Even for the Liquid Realm cultivators, training here was tens of times better than in the sect and was valued immensely.


    A ranking like that of the Quests Pavilion was renewed every three months in the upper valley, allowing a restricted number of disciples to train here for a short while.


    Shin Sumi felt her dantian fill up with Shinsoo to the point that it was almost overbearing. Sweat poured out of her like a fountain, her robes drenched and her teeths tightly clenched painfully. She sat down to meditate and regulate her body and mind until she was acclimated to the ambient pressure.


    Almost a day later, the initially barbaric pressure has mostly disappeared and she could finally dispel the crushing feeling on her stomach, lungs and shoulders.


    Moving around was hard enough, especially while keeping her internal Shinsoo flow and dantian to an acceptable pace.


    The progress of her cultivation in this place would surely advance by leaps and bounds but it also required a complete control over herself in order to no over-exhaust dangerously.

 35 The End Is In Sigh

    After her short session of meditation in order to adjust a little bit to the pressure, Shin Sumi continued to regulate her dantian but at least was able to move more freely than before.


    Her clothes were soaked with sweat and now that she realized it, an acrid odor was starting to form from certain areas. Because cultivators were much better than mortals at regulating their bodily functions, it rarely happened that they needed a bath.


    In fact since she had started to unclog her Shinsoo Apertures, Shin Sumi had only bathed out of pleasure but not out of need.


    Thinking about her courtyard and its pond, back in the sect, Shin Sumi sighted loudly, suddenly missing her comfort after all these months of training and running.


    Her eyes darted off in the distance immediately. The stream of clear water that was maybe a dozen meters wide turned in between roots and rocks, forming a shallow neck from which a slight slope created a natural beach.


    As she approached the stream, Shin Sumi saw to her relief that the giant fish hastily swam away, as if they were afraid of her.


    "If this is a training ground, generations of fish must have been hunted for food by disciples of the sect" she thought, herself wondering if they were as tasty as they looked.


    In a swift motion, Shin Sumi disrobed and threw her red garments on a rock to the side all the while jumping in the refreshing water, splashes flying in every direction.


    She played happily for a couple minutes, leisurely floating at the pace of the river at times, occasionally propelling her back towards the beach.


    Only when she decided she had fooled for long enough did she start washing herself in order to get back to cultivating and exploring around.


    Using her hands she rubbed her body, focusing on the areas that were the smelliest, from the armpits on down. She had reached her midsection when she suddenly froze.


    "What is..." she started before falling into a deadly silence.


    She then let out a scream in which true horror could be heard and almost passed out. Her vision had turned pitch black for half a second before she managed to catch herself.


    It was only after that her mind realized what was going on, and her complexion turned as red as the bloody sky. She finished her affair in less than twenty seconds, not daring to look down at her body. Or more accurately at the male anatomy that was hiding her true identity.


    She only lowered her gaze after having donned another set of robes, being sure that she was covered again.


    She quickly washed her previous clothes and put them into her bag of holding.


    Her hastened heart-rate slowly receded, her mind returning to a state of relative calmness.


    Never had she thought in all her life that the first time she would see a naked man, it would be herself paradoxically. She thought about her family for a brief moment.


    More than a year had passed since she had been ordered to wed an Official from the big city Lord''s court. It wasn''t the first time she reminisced about that moment, but it certainly was the first time her will wavered.


    "I miss my family" she thought, "Mother and Father at home must think I am dead by now. Brother too, and Second Uncle in the library as well."


    The weight of breaking her familial duties could be felt on her heart. She knew that at some point she would have to face the consequences of her decisions.


    In the Immortal World where everyone had to maintain a righteous mindset in order to progress, torments from the past could become a major obstacle in breaking through to the next level.


    If her heart wavered, Shin Sumi would become unable to reach her maximum level, remorse and regrets ever dragging her down.


    "When this is over, I will go to them and explain what my life has become. I am sure they would understand. After all, what is a small position like an Official''s wife compared to a legendary Immortal, right little nut?"


    A hint of sarcasm tinted her words. The ''Immortal legends'' she spoke about referred to the myths little kids from the mortal realm liked to hear before going to sleep. They were all about pure-hearted individuals, living enlightened above the clouds. Dragons amongst men.


    None of the lecherous and cunning people that would kill others for the sake of their own future. What a joke it was.


    The little nut didn''t answer her rhetorical questions. Shin Sumi wished her sworn sister Xiao Yue was here.


    "I wonder how far along she is. I hope she didn''t run into too much trouble. If ever we get the chance, I would like to reunite with her as soon as possible."


    Little did she know that Xiao Yue was having the exact same thoughts, reaching the last crossway platform before the central floating continent.


    Xiao Yue was a promising disciple who could be said to honor the orange garments that she wore. She couldn''t quite compare to the handful of yellow robed Honorary Disciples, but even among her peers she could almost be called a prodigy.


    She had fared pretty well in the first stage of the tournament, clearing the illusion after a dozen hours. It allowed her to be part of the first quarter of disciples to arrive to the blood sky path.


    She wasn''t considerably late compared to Shin Sumi, Tai Bu and the yellow robes disciples in general, but even half a day was a big difference.


    On the scale of the whole floating platforms path it was close to nothing but while taking into consideration the physical aptitudes of the differently colored disciples, the timing could only get split further and further.


    Xiao Yue was about a week behind Shin Sumi at this point, but with no way of knowing that her sister was actually in front of her.


    She would sometimes turn her head towards the light pillars in the distance longingly, thinking about Shin Sumi.


    "What are you looking for, Big Sister Xiao?" asked a teenage girl wearing an orange dress too, "do you think people are after us?"


    Contrary to herself, Xiao Yue''s travelling companion Kan Xi was far from the picture of bravery and excitation. She was a reserved girl that had joined the sect only recently and intensely regretted participating in this Rising Star Tournament.


    "No, Kan Xi. Again, I would tell you if there were people after us. Now keep running, I''m not going to wait for you."


    Xiao Yue sighed loudly and thought "At least Kan Xi isn''t slowing me down too much. Sumi, you have to catch up soon!"


    Kan Xi was not convinced. She had seen Xiao Yue look backwards anxiously a lot recently and that in turn made her anxious too. Having been born in a really poor family, her whole life had been about running away.


    She thought that it would be all over when a warm and beautiful man had descended from the sky to take her away to the Immortal World.


    With her frail constitution she lacked fighting power and her confidence was hence dragged down. Despite her orange robes, she had only been in the sect for a few months and had just recently started to feel the Shinsoo around her.


    It was even impressive that she would be able to muster enough strength to follow Xiao Yue as they ran along the path to the floating continent. The latter guessed that her talent wasn''t bad at all after all.


    "Kan Xi, let''s stop at the next platform. We should arrive tomorrow or the day after to this big landmass, I feel that it would be better to arrive with our power replenished. Now sit down and cultivate the way I showed you."


    Kan Xi diligently crossed her legs on the ground and closed her eyes after nodding affirmatively. She circulated her energy along a precise path, not deviating from the way Xiao Yue told her to by even a single drop.


    Xiao Yue had good eyes and even better experience. From her own tales she had instantly been able to discern that Kan Xi wasn''t training to the best of her aptitudes.


    It was known that some ways of cultivating were more adapted than others to certain people, as well as the fact that some ways were simply more powerful independently of the individual.


    It was the case for Shin Sumi''s complete Shinsoo Gathering Manual that was thought to have been lost to the world, instead becoming an incomplete lesser spell.


    As she was resting too, Xiao Yue once again was lost in thoughts. Her eyes looked up to the floating landmass that now covered about half of her field of vision.


    Just like all the disciples with no exception, she was wondering what was the point of this stage of the tournament.


    ***


    Shin Sumi turned around an ancient tree, ducking under one of its roots.


    She held a weird fruit in her hand, occasionally taking a bite out of its sweet and juicy green texture.


    None of the plants or animals, nor even the rocks remotely resembled ones she was familiar with. She had found that particular type of fruits on the branches of a small tree, being eaten by birds the size of a person, with a tail about four times as long.


    According to the known laws of nature, when animals ate some things, it was often safe to assume that humans could eat it too. Besides, a cultivator''s physique was stronger than a mortal''s and had less risks of intense poisoning.


    Shin Sumi had struck gold with that fruit. Its nectar was very sweet and the fragrant taste lingered on the lips for a long time. But even better was the fact that it was full of spiritual energy.


    With every drop down in her trachea, Shin Sumi thought she was drinking pure liquefied Shinsoo.


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    "It''s no wonder the birds in this place grow to this size... I would too if I had spent my life feeding on raw energy."


    She could feel her energy levels rising almost continuously but by a small amount.


    It was a safe way of cultivating, although it would take a long time to make progress. But it was better this way.


    At first, Shin Sumi had wanted to use the Stone Leaf Tortoise''s green core to open up the remaining Shinsoo Doors as soon as she stepped on the big floating continent, but now she had changed her mind.


    Her dantian was already on the brink of danger due to the ambient pressure, it would be a bad idea to push it forcefully. At least for now.


    "Besides I am not sure how long it would take, and that would leave me defenseless in case of attacks" she had argued with herself.


    Just like her sworn sister, she often wondered what was the point of this stage of the tournament.


    The long paths that spanned months of running had seemed like a race, especially when the speed at which disciples cleared the first stage gave them a headstart or a longer delay. She had thought something would happen upon reaching the central landmass but after three days on there, Shin Sumi was still at a loss. Could this have been a trick? On the mind of the few who had reached this far already, it didn''t make sense. What was the point of the first stage entirely if the second stage wasn''t a race?


    Shin Sumi took a large bite of the fruit in her hand before throwing the core away. She had a large number of them in her bag of holding, having stripped the tree naked to the sad and angry cries of the birds deprived of food.


    Unable to determine her orientation clearly in this place where the sky was always uniformly red, she was seeking a high point to gain more clarity when a clear heavenly note resounded through the air.


    "There''s no mistaking it, it''s the Star Zheng! An announcement concerning the development of the trial will most probably be made" thought Shin Sumi upon hearing the vibration inside her head.


    No voice followed the note though. Instead, a giant light pillar, similar to the blue one she came from, appeared somewhere in the sky.


    The light was yellow, brighter than a sun, and almost as warm. It seemed to be calling the souls of each disciple around. It screamed louder than any message, telling everybody ''this is your end goal''!


    What had prompted the appearance of the light pillar, nobody knew. Maybe the Patriarch had decided that it was time, maybe it was because of the number of disciples having finally joined the central island.


    When Shin Sumi saw the burst of light flooding the sky above the canopy, she felt an irresistible urge to see it, unable to not know how far the end was.


    Using her internal Shinsoo energy to power up her muscles, she climbed one of the biggest trees she could find. It had a dark and brittle bark that crumbled into dust when she stepped on it repetitively.


    A dozen vertical steps was all she needed before she was standing on the branches. From there it was simple climbing, from branch to branch, through the door-sized leaves and the bird nests.


    The warmth emanating from the light pillar inundated her as soon as she was above the heavy shadows of the canopy. The mix of green and gray with the red and yellow in the sky truly formed a beautiful sight.


    From her panorama, she could see the immensity of the floating world. Regions seemed to be laid out in a concentric manner all around the pillar of light, stretching into a cone that eventually faded further away than the eye could see.


    The island was perfectly circular, with a lone mountain in the exact center, from the top of which the yellow light burst profusely. After further examination, Shin Sumi saw that dozens, no hundreds of mountains were actually visible, although none of them represented even a tenth of the central one.


    Rows of mountain ranges separated the different regions one had to pass through in order to access the end of the trial.


    The message was clear. Only the fastest at going through the different regions would reach the pillar of light first and claim an inner Liquid Realm Disciple position.


    Shin Sumi wondered what would happen if the one to reach the goal first had not yet broken through to the Liquid Realm. Because even though it was evidently a race, the whole point of the Rising Star Tournament was to nurture disciples in a way so that the younger generation would produce an unprecedented number of Liquid Realm fighters.


    Just standing in this spatial dimension was enough to make great progress in cultivation, so the elders of the sect were all hoping to see come out of the trial, not Honorary Disciples but Liquid Realm cultivators.


    But what the disciples didn''t know yet, was that Patriarch Sen, the highest authority in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, had devised a cunning plan to separate the true geniuses from the masses.


    ***


    "And with that spell from the inestimable Star Zheng, now the youth know the way to the end of the tournament" concluded the voice of the Patriarch as the Star Zheng''s illusory form disappeared from his lap.


    All the Elders in the Grand Hall had turned their attention of the screen in the middle of the room. A new image had replaced all the squares representing disciples. Instead, a disk with five concentric rings was displayed.


    The inner four rings were greyed and looked dull, but the fifth was flashing with wild colors. A certain number of dots were close to the external borders of the disk. With a majority outside and some inside. These dots were mostly yellow in color, although one of them was orange, and another one shone brightly in green.


    The dots outside of the disk were all mixed together, most of them red, a few orange, and only one yellow.


    The Patriarch didn''t have to explain more what all that meants. At a single glance it was easy to figure out that the new display showed a map of the Tournament spatial dimension. Each dot represented a disciple, classified by color of their robes.


    The spatial distribution of the individuals was too large to show an image of all of them, but the Elders quickly learned that they could see a visual projection of each disciple when they focused their divine sense on the dot.


    Without even looking, all the Elders knew who the single yellow dot to not be on the disk''s outer ring was. Elder Peng''s complexion instantly darkened while a silent and discrete rage overtook him. The only yellow robe behind the others was of course Tai Bu, who had been tricked by Shin Sumi and left behind for a while. Hadn''t he decided to lay an ambush to the following disciples, he would have been on par with the other yellow robes.


    But other than Elder Peng himself, nobody spared more than a thought to the isolated yellow dot. Their attention was, of course, on the green one.


    In most of their Divine Senses'' perception, an image appeared. It was a figure clad in red robes, standing on top of a tree, observing the land below him, all the way to the yellow pillar of light.


    "Him... That''s the one kid who won against Tai Bu!"


    "This guy, so he had green talent all along?!"


    "Why does he hide his talent with red robes?!"


    The young boy with pretty features was the talk of everyone now. Besides Elder Zhu and the Patriarch himself, nobody knew the secrets of this boy.


    After the clamor in the room died down, a few Elders noticed something else on the Tournament map.


    "Patriarch Sen, what are these other dots? My Divine Sense doesn''t seem able to pick up on them. Please enlighten us, sir" one asked respectfully.


    "Ah, the bronze, silver and golden dots? But they are treasures of course" the Patriarch answered calmly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. His mouth held a slight smile, which the Elders who knew him well recognized instantly.


    They asked themselves "what devious plan does Patriarch Sen have in mind this time" ?!

 36 Shin Sumi, Treasure Hunter

    "Treasures?!" an Elder gasped, "are they real? Or just a few illusions created by the mighty Star Zheng?"


    "But of course they are real" responded the Patriarch with an emphasized pride, "They are part of the arsenal of our sect, to be given as trophees to the youth who succeed in claiming them."


    The assembly was speechless. Apart from Great Elder Chu, with whom Patriarch Sen consulted on most matters of importance pertaining to the sect, no one was privy to his bigger plan.


    The Second Elder, next in command after Chu Xuanba, stood up, facing his seniors with a grave expression darkening his face.


    "Real treasures? To these youth only half a step into real cultivation? Have you gone mad, Senior?!"


    He was not hiding his discontent, which made a serious wrinkle appear on Great Elder Chu''s brows.


    "Watch your words, Mu Chuyin. Do not forget who you are speaking to. These treasures are a way to test the worth of the disciples. Only if they prove to be capable of obtaining them will they be left to them. Also" his deep eyes scanned the entire hall, locking with those of many Elders, "keep in mind the real goal of this Rising Star Tournament. War is upon us. What use is there to having a Myriad Sword Pavilion if nobody wields any weapon when it matters? This trial is about nurturing the future of our Dark Sky Starry Sect, making them into capable cultivators."


    "Besides" added the Patriarch, more calm than his subordinate, "this matter was not decided by us alone. Our ancestors have agreed to it. The dots you see on the map correspond to twenty five percent of the weapons we have at our disposal. Of them, sixty percent are common treasures, the bronze dots. Thirty percent are good grade treasures, the silver ones. And the last ten percent, represented by golden dots, are from our Heavenly Collection, for Liquid Realm and below."


    Upon hearing the explanation, the Second Elder Mu Chuyin made a backing motion, sitting back down with an averted gaze. If the reserve powers of the sect, the ancestors, had agreed to it, nothing he could say would be of much importance.


    "Not all of them will be claimed, as only a few could succeed in finding and gaining them. According to their worth, these treasures have been hidden by the Star Zheng. Powerful illusions will spring up as someone draws close and give these kids a good run for their money, ha-ha-ha!!"


    The Great Elder Chu Xuanba sighed. His Patriarch was... unpredictable to say the least. But he had proven time and time again to be the shoulders needed to carry an entire sect. So what if he was having a bit of fun sometimes?


    ***


    Shin Sumi jumped down the giant tree, catching herself in a rolling motion with ease.


    "So I have to go for that central mountain then. But these mountain ranges in the middle... I wonder what they are for. They seem to run all around, maybe they are the borders of different zones. This is a trial after all, it would make sense to have different stages to it."


    Orientating herself in the direction of the yellow pillar of light, Shin Sumi started walking. The scenery around her was so heavenly that she couldn''t help but feel herself relaxing, albeit just slightly. Even if her mind was always in constant alert, she could only imagine with difficulty trouble arising in this place.


    After passing a few hills that were previously hidden by the canopy, Shin Sumi discovered a hole in the ground. It was like a mouth that spanned hundreds of meters and left a deep scar in the earth.


    Instantly reminding her of the canyon from where she had met Tai Bu, her sense of alert tingled with the prospect of danger.


    Shin Sumi followed the opening of the cave while carefully examining her surroundings. There was one thing she new about the Immortal world and it was that danger was always lurking around the corner, but also that danger often meant riches.


    Just like the dark chasm back in the sect, which no cultivator had managed to successfully explore and come back besides herself, there was a possibility that she could find something of interest inside.


    The first time she had climbed down the dark ravine, it was her own lack of any talent and cultivation that had saved her. The snakes had not taken any interest in her because she possessed no Shinsoo, and that had allowed her to find the Copper Bell.


    After ensuring that there was a low probability of a surprise attack, Shin Sumi jumped down on a rock formation right below the entrance to the hole.


    She had seen no traces at all around it, nothing showing the passage of another cultivator.


    She couldn''t rule out the possibility of a beast living inside the obscured cave, but with her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in hand she was sure she could handle it.


    "After all I''ve made minced meat of a Green core Stone Leaf Tortoise! It would be unnecessary risk to put a stronger beast in this training dimension, considering we''re all only Honorary Disciples."


    The cave was deeper than she expected, and Shin Sumi soon found herself relying on the power of the Copper Bell to see clearly with the lack of outside light.


    Grey and green moss covered most of the rock walls, slowing down her descent with slippery footing.


    Holes looking like pitch black eyes followed her. There was something entrancing about them, as they had the diameter comparable to that of an arm. It was just sufficiently large for Shin Sumi to reach into the darkness inside the granite.


    As these thoughts crept up in her mind, she distanced herself from the wall as much as she could with horror.


    "Whatever these holes are, they are far from normal. Maybe some sort of creature is inside waiting for an arm to rip off and eat!"


    Even though she had felt the danger radiating from whatever was hiding in the dark holes, the further Shin Sumi explored down, the more uneasy she felt.


    "I... I must know! What is inside?!"


    The more she tried to think about something else, the more the perfectly round black eyes were at the center of her thoughts.


    Breathing heavily, she approached the wall, her hand slowly raising to meet whatever was calling to her.


    The silence was overbearing, and a musky fragrance obscured her other senses. Her hand was now really close to the dark hole in front of her.


    The tip of her finger crossed the threshold of the shadow inside the hole that even the Copper Bell didn''t dissipate.


    A low humming sound she hadn''t discerned previously rumbled almost imperceptibly. Somehow she felt the perfectly right timing.


    A golden ray pierced the darkness for a second, prompting a high pitched shriek the likes of which she had never heard before.


    At the very last moment when ''something'' was going to grab her arm, she had thrusted the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword forward, hard metal entering the hole as well as what was inside.


    The shriek was volumes above what her ear could endure and Shin Sumi nearly fell to the floor, covering one ear with her hand. At the tip of her sword, a creature the size of a human head was screaming with all its might.


    The Copper Bell rang automatically, drowning out the sound of the creature before it could do irreparable damage to Shin Sumi''s hearing, allowing her to concentrate more on her catch.


    The twisting and turning creature impaled on the golden metal tip looked like an infant with a comically small head and no arms. Its ferocious teeth that were much bigger than expected were clenched to the point of shattering due to the pain it felt.


    A pair of dark wings with the span of a hand unfurled repetitively as if they could help it escape.


    Black drops of viscous liquid were coming out of the gray skin where the blade disappeared, running along its edge.


    In a moment of disgust, Shin Sumi shook her hand, projecting the small creature against one of the rocks coming out of the walls. Due to its frail frame, the Moss Vampire died instantly.


    The moment the shrieks stopped, the entire cave started vibrating. It was like a primitive signal that one of them had died and the thousands of Moss Vampires that occupied the many holes started to leave their hiding place.


    Shin Sumi braced and curled up in a ball of the floor upon realizing the size of the swarm that could attack her at a moment''s notice.


    Fortunately for her, the Moss Vampires were fearful creatures and the death of one of them was enough to scare them into leaving.


    A black tornado rose up from the cave and obscured the red sky with a black cloud of wings for a few minutes. It was only then that Shin Sumi relaxed and left her defensive foetal position.


    She understood later what a Moss Vampire was and why the entire swarm had not attacked her when she obtained the slain creature''s core and fed it to the little nut.


    "In the end they are weak creatures with little intelligence. They produce a kind of entrancing smell that pushes cultivators to reach into the holes they dig in the rocks. Their sharp teeth then tear off that arm immediately" she read from the magical book a few hours later, "it is only due to their big number that they hunt successfully, and simply scaring them is enough to best them."


    As she had thought previously, it made sense that beasts the disciples could encounter during the trial were not too hard to beat or to escape from. But it still made Shin Sumi shiver at the relative danger they were still into.


    "This is for real, someone can really die during this tournament and not even to the hands of others..."


    In the end, Shin Sumi had suffered no damage and had just been grazed by danger, nothing more. More alert than ever though she continued to go deeper and deeper inside the earth.


    "This cave system must definitely hold treasures!", she now was convinced of it.


    What she didn''t know though was that the cloud of fleeting Moss Vampires had been seen by some of the few yellow robed disciples that were on the same zone of the floating continent.


    One of them had left the same platforms path she had taken before a few hours earlier and was currently sitting cross legged trying to acclimate to the ambient Shinsoo pressure.


    The cloud of Moss Vampires didn''t escape his sight, and it didn''t take long for him to understand that it was no normal cloud. And to reach the same conclusion as Shin Sumi concerning the presence of a treasure.


    Shin Sumi continued to walk for a long time. The cave had at some point stopped going down into the earth, instead it twisted on a horizontal plane.


    The only sounds that ruptured the ominous silence were drops falling from stalactites into small puddles of water.


    At this depth, vegetation was scarce, and living creatures seemed too. Part of it could be due to the rising in temperature that could not escape the cave.


    Shin Sumi could feel it, even though its effect were almost completely negated by the Copper Bell.


    "What is at the end of this cave?!" she asked herself repeatedly. The cave system was formed of only one path starting from the gaping mouth that was the opening.


    Somehow it made her think of the oesophagus of a giant beast that laid dormant and waited for prey to walk right into its digestive tract.


    "No, it is silly. There is no way a beast could be that huge" she breathed out, unconvincingly. It was more of a matter of reassuring herself.


    "I''m glad it''s only one path though. With all these turns I can''t figure out the correct orientation to the central mountain."


    As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Shin Sumi cursed interiorly. As if the Heavens had heard her and decided to make fun of her statement, she discovered a large cavity the size of a building right after the next turn.


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    There were five passages leading deeper into the ground from there. She could see the openings on the wall to the left side, where sharp protrusions of rock looked like a random assembly of grey teeth. The right side, which was a continuation of the big room was empty, except from a platform which rose about a meter from the ground.


    With the sheer size of the room, the far end was obscured, although from the reverberation of her footsteps, Shin Sumi knew was closed. Still intrigued by the lone platform sticking out like a tree stump, she decided to explore it a bit before having to choose which path to take.


    "Well that was a waste of time!" she said angrily when she discovered that the area was completely empty. In fact the place where the walls made contact with the ground was so empty it was almost perfectly a ninety degree corner.


    "Now that I think about it, this whole place is strangely squared. It looks man made to me at least. That''s a relief, it rules out the possibility of being into the belly of a giant creature, right little nut? Ah-ah-ah!


    I should probably rest a bit before going deeper. The Shinsoo quality here is not bad, and the pressure has even gone up quite a bit. In case of a fight or if I need to flee it would be safer to adjust a little bit beforehand. Let''s sit on that platform."


    Shin Sumi was now behind it, facing the wall with the five possible paths from here on deeper. The strange room was almost perfectly carved out like a hall, except that particular wall.


    Or maybe it was that particular wall that was strange in this room. Somehow the rocky teeth that came out made shapes that looked highly unnatural.


    Shin Sumi kept staring at the wall as she approached the platform. She could barely see it even with the Copper Bell tempering her senses. She was squinting so hard it was about to give her a headache when she finally reached the circular stone stump.


    She sat down on it, only to jump up the very next instant.


    "Something is there!" she gaped.


    Sitting down once more she understood.


    "From this point, the wall... it''s a statue! Wherever I am it looks like a rock wall, but only from this platform it makes sense!"


    The shapes formed by the rock spurs drew on the vertical plane a figure sitting cross-legged. It was facing Shin Sumi, staring down at her from its towering posture. A hand extended from the side of what appeared to be an old male cultivator, pointing at one of the five entrances.


    "He is showing me the way!" exclaimed Shin Sumi.


    Any normal cultivator entering into this room with no source of light would be lost by its immensity. Even with torches there was no way to penetrate the dense shadows that obscured it in its entirety. Even the Copper Bell could barely allow Shin Sumi to see one side from the other!


    As such, a disciple in training would not be able to see the statue and to choose the right entrance.


    Shin Sumi meditated until her Shinsoo levels were fully replenished and the suffocating atmosphere felt a bit easier to move in before rushing off the platform.


    The old man statue was unnerving, even more so coupled with the darkness and the silence. She was glad to escape its unphased rocky gaze.


    She walked in the small tunnel with confidence. Whoever carved this place and this statue that could only be discerned from a single location in the room would not have done so if there was no purpose.


    If a treasure was hidden under the ground, then it had to be there!


    "I wonder what it is. Maybe a special technique? Or a scroll with a cultivation spell? Or a weapon! Although my Gold Tyrant Flying Sword is pretty good."


    As Shin Sumi advanced further down, she realized she no longer had any sense of orientation or depth. It had been almost a day since she entered the cave system, but even that would not have been enough to normally disorient her in the way it did.


    The slight slope was descending straight, and with each step she felt a significant raise in temperature. Or in fact it wasn''t temperature, but a sudden rise in Shinsoo.


    It was similar to what she had felt upon climbing the side of the floating continent, but her body didn''t react in the same way. The climbing had felt like passing through a series of curtains, with a rising pressure of Shinsoo quantity.


    Whereas there it wasn''t pressuring her so much as make her skin and her entire being burn with the change in Shinsoo quality.


    There wasn''t more Shinsoo in this area, it was simply much higher grade.


    ***


    It was around this point that the magic jade screen in the Grand Hall of the sect trembled and almost produce a cultivation backlash to every Elder that was currently focusing on the green dot.


    A few lower level Elders had to keep themselves from staining the Hall floor with blood erupting from their mouths. Somehow their Divine Sense was violently expulsed from the projection and returned to them going berserk.


    "Cough... Cough!! What is happening?! First the boy went almost dark but now my Divine Sense can''t even get a hold of him!"


    "Same for me Brother Mowu, urgh. Where was his last location?!"


    It was at this strange reaction that Patriarch Sen decided to speak out loud and explain to the best of his knowledge what had happened.


    "All of you should refrain from trying to probe the disciple with the green talent from now. The Star Zheng''s screen projection will normally inform us where the disciple is back on the radar again. It is most likely that they went somewhere unexpected..."


    "What do you mean, Patriarch? Do you know where the boy went?"


    "It has to be one of these five places" he answered, with a big emphasis on the word ''these''. Not willing to say anything else, he closed his eyes in meditation in order to not be bothered anymore.


    ***


    In the depth of the trial by fire space, Shin Sumi was advancing with a little bit of difficulty. In front of her, a deep red halo was pulsating.


    A humming sound started resonating from her own bag of holding, and before she could even notice it, a golden ray had escaped it.


    "What the...?"

 37 The Vein Of Hell Fire

    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword came out of her bag of holding with no prompt coming from its master.


    Shin Sumi was flabbergasted. "What the..?" was the only thing that escaped her lips.


    "The sheer quality of the Shinsoo in this place is already burning, I don''t want to have to deal with that sword! What''s happening?"


    She followed the last afterimages left by the sword as it escaped her view by plunging down towards an invisible abyss behind a small rock formation.


    As she crept closer to where the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword disappeared, a large pool of red light slowly came into view.


    Its light wasn''t intense, but it burned her retinas with every pulse.


    "It''s a source of Shinsoo!! I can''t even look straight at it! And the light pulsating that even the Copper Bell can''t tone it down, it has reached the point where Shinsoo becomes visible... To think that such a place would be accessible to us disciples!"


    It was a known fact that dimensional pockets of space had a finite level of energy contained within them. Depending on the size of the space, the number and quality of sources could change drastically.


    At her level, of course, Shin Sumi didn''t know much about all that. But even she could tell that an insane amount of Shinsoo had to be used, and that an insane amount of it came from this very place.


    "So when the source dries up, the whole dimension will collapse and disappear, right?" she asked the little nut, who remained silent and motionless.


    Shielding her eyes with her fingers as much as she could, she stole another glance at the magical red lake of pure Shinsoo, "but now, where is my sword?!"


    After a few attempts that left bright spots on her eyes even when closed for a long time, she finally spotted a golden line in the middle of the surface of the pool.


    It was strange because with the intensity of the light, the sword handle that had been forged out of a Stone Leaf Tortoise''s spine should have appeared black or at least very dim. But it was bright as well, or rather it looked like it was absorbing the light of the lake.


    Upon seeing the blade of the weapon completely submerged beneath the glowing substance, Shin Sumi instantly gave up on climbing down closer to retrieve it.


    Her skin was burning with a pain she had never felt before, she could barely even open her eyes. She couldn''t even imagine what would happen if she were to directly touch the source.


    Instead she retreated back a couple steps, at least until the rock formation kept the glow hidden from direct view. She sat down where it was only slightly uncomfortable and started cultivating, absorbing some of the glow with each breath.


    Soon, non-corporeal tendrils of red pulsation could be seen entering her nostrils and her mouth, deep in a trance state.


    ***


    The Elders had given up on trying to peek at the lone green dot on the map. Regularly someone would try, but they would only get a regurgitation of blood in the process, trying to hide it and give up on scanning Shin Sumi''s location.


    After all, the green dot hadn''t moved for almost a month. Many other colored dots had grown closer to the center of the map, with a single yellow one even reaching as far as the second circle.


    "Jun Qian is the number one disciple under the Liquid Realm, as predicted. With that green kid out of the way, it becomes obvious from anyone to see."


    "Elder Xang is right. He will probably be the one to reach the exit first. I heard that he was already really close to crossing the threshold into the Liquid Realm. When he does, nothing in the trial will keep him from success."


    Jun Qian was the talk of all the Elders. Him, Tai Bu, and Sui Lin were commonly known as the big three, but even then Jun Qian was far above the other two.


    Tai Bu had managed to catch up with most of the yellow dots a couple weeks prior, earning the satisfaction of his master, Elder Peng who was glad his personal disciple wasn''t out of the game.


    Tai Bu had seemingly learned from his past mistake, as he left alone most of the disciples he crossed path with. Instead he concentrated on getting used to the pressure on the surface of the floating continent fast.


    ***


    A few hundred meters from Tai Bu, Xiao Yue was sitting cross legged, with one eye opened in the direction of the yellow robe in the distance.


    Kan Xi, unaware of the possible danger, was doing her best to adapt quickly to the environment.


    Because of the color of their robes, the two girls had easily avoided unnecessary fights. After all, what red talented disciple in their right mind would attack two girls with a better talent than them?


    The same way, no other orange robes had approached them. Another dissuading fact was Xiao Yue herself. She was well known across the lower valley and her name was on the Quest Pavilion''s Ranking list almost every months since she had joined the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    She was wildly considered as the closest one could get from yellow robes. What she lacked in natural talent with Shinsoo she made up for with experience, resourcefulness and a smart mind.


    With a small flash of light, she took out a normal looking flying sword and put it on her lap.


    It was just a simple act, but she hoped that Tai Bu would sense it. It was basically saying "if you come closer, you might defeat us but we won''t go down without a fight!"


    She knew all too well about Tai Bu''s master''s gifts. The boy was already strong by himself but the Flaming Whip always left a big impression on the other disciple''s mind.


    Xiao Yue had no idea how to even go about dealing with the frightening whip.


    Luckily Tai Bu kept quiet and on his side of the hill. As soon as he was used to the pressure enough, he left as swift as the wind in the direction of the giant pillar of light marking the exit of the trial.


    Xiao Yue relaxed and sighed in relief. She put away her sword and turned to look at Kan Xi.


    "Are you good now?" she asked, referencing the ambient pressure.


    "Yea.. Yeah I think I am good enough to go."


    "Great," said Xiao Yue, "listen Kan Xi, I think it''s best for us to split. The whole point of this Rising Star Tournament is to make us Honorary Disciples breakthrough to the Liquid Realm. But more than just that it is an incomparable opportunity to get first hand experience."


    A sad look flitted briefly through the eyes of the girl but was soon replaced by understanding and resolve.


    Xiao Yue continued "This entire place is filled with premium grade Shinsoo, so even just standing here will help you greatly assimilate more energy. According to the techniques I passed on to you, you should be able to breakthrough easily once you open your Shinsoo Openings."


    "I will do my best. I promise I won''t deceive you, Big Sister Xiao!"


    "If you run into trouble, you know how to contact me. If I''m close-by I''ll come and help but don''t rely on it. In this dimension the Divine Sense messages don''t reach as far as outside."


    To that, Kan Xi''s reply surprised Xiao Yue greatly.


    "Have you not been able to contact the person you are seeking?"


    Her voice was soft and contained confidence. She had noticed the way Xiao Yue would look into the distance, searching for something but without success.


    Xiao Yue''s eyes turned warmer than before, and she answered in a whisper.


    "Indeed. I will introduce her to you once this is all over. You are a good person Kan Xi, stay safe."


    Kan Xi bowed down low as a way of thanking her for her help since the beginning of the trial. Xiao Yue bowed her head rapidly in response and finally left.


    As soon as she was out of Kan Xi''s field of vision, her expression changed.


    Xiao Yue took a red colored pill from her bag of holding and put it in her mouth. It dissolved quickly and left a salty taste on her pink tongue and lips. She licked them while smiling.


    She felt the surge of energy almost instantly. After a few flashes of light, she was now wearing a thin silvery necklace, and wielded a sword in each hand. After having to slow down for so long to ensure Kan Xi followed her, now she could finally use her full power to do what she loved.


    Exploring and fighting.


    ***


    The yellow robed young man who had seen the cloud of Moss Vampires escaping the tunnel was named Bai Xuengen. He was twenty three years old, which made him the current oldest yellow talented Honorary Disciple of the sect.


    Because of how old he was when he was found by one of the Liquid Realm disciples patrolling around the sect, he hadn''t found an Elder that was willing to make him his direct disciple.


    After all, the younger the newcomer, the easier they were to shape into a promising cultivator.


    But because of that, Bai Xuengen was used to training by himself and had a mindset very different from the likes of Tai Bu or Jun Qian.


    When an opportunity arose, he always jumped on the occasion, slowly building his power over time.


    It was the same this time with the Moss Vampires.


    "I hate darkness" he snorted as he reached the bottom of the tunnel, "if I didn''t catch these flying beasts escaping, I''m not sure I would have chosen to come down here."


    Taking out a paper talisman from his bag of holding, he cast a spell that illuminated the cave around him in a twenty meter radius. That was only enough to reach one side of the hole at a time, and even the ceiling was hidden from his view.


    The whole time he was climbing down, he held a spear in his hand, ready for any kind of attack. But no beast nor humans were present.


    "Did all the creature leave at once? Someone must have scared them. I need to advance faster" he thought.


    Bai Xuengen was only after one thing. A treasure. He knew better than anyone his own ability, and he was certain of his win against any red or orange disciple, but he wasn''t sure about a confrontation with another yellow robed disciple.


    Thus, he prefered to speed up his advance, just in case someone else wanted to explore this part of the land.


    He soon arrived at the room where the statue of the old man had been found by Shin Sumi.


    Exploring around it for the better part of an hour, he cursed when he only found empty space.


    There was something of interest, a strange platform that looked like a tree stump and stuck out of the ground like a sore thumb, but he couldn''t understand the reason behind it.


    Maybe at some point an artefact had been there.


    "It definitely looks like a pedestal of some sort. Whatever treasure was kept there has already been found! If only this shitty paper talisman could have had more reach, I wouldn''t have lost this much time!"


    Bai Xuengen hadn''t seen anyone in the entrance to the cave and thus was certain that whoever took the treasure had left by another exit. Running back to the sharp wall where he had first seen many possible ways, he took out a golden compass.


    The light of divination flashed briefly behind his closed eyelids and he took a sharp breath. This compass was his most treasured possessions that he had gotten as a reward for a particularly difficult quest.


    It allowed his to enhance his senses to a point that could only be described as magical, allowing him to see things the naked eye couldn''t. It was an invaluable object, but as a price, Bai Xuengen was forced to use a huge quantity of Shinsoo, even for a single second of divination.


    After stabilizing his energy levels for short time, he ran head first into the opening on the rocky wall that he had seen thanks to the compass. The compass had never failed him.


    Kilometers below, at the end of the tunnel next to the one he took, Shin Sumi opened her eyes.


    ***


    Immersed in a trance state, Shin Sumi had no idea how much time had gone by. The only thing she knew was that she felt particularly good and that something was calling to her.


    She opened her eyes slowly, afraid that they would start burning again because of the source of Shinsoo a few meters below, but none of the sort happened.


    The light wasn''t as bright anymore, and was pulsating more slowly. Her attention though was not focused on that. Her eyes were locked on the object floating in front of her.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was levitating in front of her, as if in wait for her to grab its handle. And she did.


    "The sword was calling to me... Has it finished absorbing Shinsoo from the source?" she asked herself.


    She was still confused as to what that whole process was, but the dimming of the light could only mean two things. Either she had spent a long enough time in meditation to be completely used to the strength of the source, or her sword had absorbed an insane amount of Shinsoo from it, thus lowering the strength.


    As soon as her hand touched the handle of the sword, and she circulated energy along her meridians, she knew it was a bit of both.


    Her levels of Shinsoo were totally different from before!


    "Forty Eighth Shinsoo Door?!!"


    Unknowingly, she had opened more doors during her trance! Now there were only sixteen levels left in order to reach the perfect cultivation, the Sixty-Four Doors.


    But her bewilderment was interrupted by something else. A call from the sword prompted her divine sense to enter the blade.


    "The Five Veins of Hell Fire: first tempering done."


    Suddenly it all made sense. Shin Sumi had found a Vein of Hell Fire!


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    "So what I called a source of Shinsoo was actually one of the five veins! Now I understand why this was the trial imposed by Big Brother Fen on the sword, and why it was important to reach it during the Rising Star Tournament!"


    "Five Veins, five zones on this continent. Got it. Thanks the Heavens, this is better than any treasure!"


    Shin Sumi was overjoyed. Due to sheer luck, or fate, she had managed something incredible once again. Not only did she find what she wasn''t even looking for, she managed to use it to refine her sword as well as open two more Shinsoo Doors.


    Before leaving, she tried to assimilate more Shinsoo from the Vein, but quickly saw that it somehow wasn''t possible. It didn''t bother her much, as she would probably be able to absorb more energy if she found the other four Veins.


    Besides, they would probably suffice to open all the Doors, coupled with the Stone Leaf Tortoise green core, and reach the Liquid Realm.


    One thing was for sure, she couldn''t risk breaking through before she had completed the sword''s task, just in case it meant the end of the Tournament for her.


    Putting the now inanimate sword back in her bag of holding, Shin Sumi retreated her steps in the tunnel, planning to get out of the cave as soon as possible, now that she had a new goal.


    She had almost reached the room with the five openings when sounds of battle reached her ears.


    "Someone came down here! Did they go through another door?" she asked herself, but the answers came naturally.


    Without a doubt, the clang of metal and muffled grunts came from the opening right next to the one leading to the Vein of Hell Fire.


    Cautiously, she peeked through the passage and advanced, her feet as silent as possible, even though it was probably unnecessary with the fight going on anyway.


    Bai Xuengen was the origin of the ruckus, or more precisely, his spear was. In front of him, a stone golem about four meters tall was meeting his every attack with a short sword not even a tenth of his own weapon.


    A moving statue that big was ridiculously large with such a weapon in hand, but the fluidity of its movement were on a completely other level.


    At a single glance it was obvious that Bai Xuengen was being pushed back by the golem. From where his left hand gripped the spear, blood was trickling, staining both his robes and weapon.


    A deep cut on his upper arm was visible whenever he parried to the side, which was probably the reason he was slowly loosing.


    The golem rumbled and its long arm swept in front of him, aiming for the legs of the young man. The latter avoided the blow by spinning backwards in the air.


    For a second mid-flight, a red robed figure appeared in his field of vision.


    As soon as he touched the ground, he went back into assaulting the golem while shouting.


    "Get out of here! Leave and you''ll be safe! The treasure is a trap. As soon as I tried to get my hands on the dagger, the rocks moved and now I''m stuck fighting them! Red robes have nothing to do here, go back to the surface!"


    Shin Sumi understood immediately. She wasn''t going to risk her life to get a short sword. The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in her arsenal was definitely better.


    She shrugged her shoulders in indifference and turned around.


    She left as quietly as she had come, not bothering herself with matters that didn''t concern her.


    A scream echoed through the tunnels right as she was questioning her sense of guilt.


    From the sound of it, it was clear that Bai Xuengen had received another wound. Without delaying a second longer, Shin Sumi rushed back towards the source of battle.

 38 Fighting Golems

    Shin Sumi shook her head internally.


    "Because it''s rare in the Immortal World, it doesn''t mean I have to forget compassion and leave someone in trouble if I can help."


    She wasn''t completely sure that she could defeat a magical golem by herself, if Bai Xuangen couldn''t, but at least she had to try. Worst case scenario she could give the injured disciple an opportunity to escape.


    Besides, the Gold Tyrant Flying sword she held in her small hand had cleaved a green core Stone Leaf Tortoise in two with a single strike! What was that feat compared to a measly stone golem?!


    "I''ll help you" she shouted!


    Bai Xuengen''s eyes bulged out of their sockets at the voice behind him.


    "You moron! I told you to leave! This is not something you can handle, you''re about ten years too early for that!"


    Shin Sumi laughed, even though her eyes were serious and focused.


    "Don''t underestimate me, focus on yourself before you get any more damage."


    Bai Xuengen thought he was going to pass out from madness. "What an impudent brat" he thought, "thankfully no one knows about that. Should I escape while he is distracting the golem?"


    A smile darkened his face, "He''ll never survive to tell anyone he helped me, after all. Even if I stay, one strike from the golem and he''s done for. Really it''s his problem, I told him to leave."


    Bai Xuengen had made his choice in the split second it took for Shin Sumi to pass him and raise her sword. He barely had time to get up and hold tight his open wounds when a slashing sound rang before him.


    Shin Sumi had jumped, using her momentum to propel herself directly in front of the golem.


    The magical creature rumbled with discontent at the attack and lifted its short sword to meet the incoming golden flash.


    "HAAAA!!" she screamed, accompanying the downwards arc of her blade. At the last moment Shin Sumi twisted her wrists slightly, evading the short sword and reaching directly the shoulder of the golem.


    She had avoided the weapon by fear of damaging hers but in turn she had missed the focal point of her attack, the head.


    Bai Xuengen saw the same instant as if in slow motion. The golden arc cut unhindered through the animated rocks as if they were made from butter. The sword didn''t even slow down!


    The arm fell with a massive ''boom'', kicking up a cloud of dust.


    Rumbling like thunder, the golem let out a cry but didn''t stop attacking.


    Shin Sumi took a step sideways and evaded the relatively slow attack. Her next strike separated the golem from its legs easily.


    Without wasting a second, she follow up by plunging the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in the creature''s chest up to the handle.


    She was going to continue before cracks started to appear all over the fallen mass of rocks. In the blink of an eye the golem crumbled into pieces the size of a fist.


    Bai Xuangen was frozen in place.


    In less than fifteen breaths of time, the same golem that had injured him badly was defeated.


    More important than that, the one to defeat it was a red robed boy! And with a perfect form and a seemingly complete mastery of his sword.


    In front of him, the boy sighed out loud and then stopped to pick something from the ground that was hidden from his view.


    As soon as Bai Xuangen realized the humiliation he had just suffered, a mouthful of black blood erupted from his throat. It wasn''t due to injury, just to the shame he felt.


    If he hadn''t thought that nobody could see the scene, he would have probably passed out straight away. Luckily for him, he had no idea that most of the Elders had been watching the entire time.


    ***


    "This green boy is messing with everybody! He bullied my Tai Bu before, and now he is bullying Bai Xuengen! Patriarch, please do something to stop that masquerade!"


    It was of course Elder Peng speaking out loud in the Grand Hall. He almost cursed before he remembered his standing and the assembly he was in.


    The Great Elder, Chu Xuanba immediately put him back in his place, even menacing him that it was the last time before he was thrown out.


    Another Elder, prompt to follow his superior, added "besides there was no bullying involved. The boy just saved Bai Xuengen" he said out loud, before following in a low voice "and Tai Bu was the one to attack him that time..."


    Elder Peng almost exploded from rage, but managed to control himself. He closed his eyes, waiting for the veins on his temples to reduce in size.


    Many of the surrounding Elders were smiling at the misfortune that had befallen their colleague, "Poor Elder Peng" they thought, "he is normally relatively calm and good-willed, but Tai Bu is a sensitive subject..."


    Turning back towards the display screen, many of them focused once more on the green dot, only to see the boy in red garments pick up a shiny orange gem.


    ***


    "So these golems also have cores in them. Maybe they were animated using real best cores magic, or artificial ones."


    Shin Sumi quickly put away the orange core by feeding it discreetly to the grey nut hidden in her sleeve. Now was not the time to let Bai Xuengen or the Elders see it.


    She turned around to look at the yellow robed man still on his knees and smiled confidently, "You''re alright there? The treasure is yours if you want it."


    She had expressed quickly her lack of desire for the weapon, partly due to indifference, but mostly in order to stay on Bai Xuengen''s good side. Even though he looked weakened and in a vulnerable position, he was a genuine yellow robed disciple.


    Shin Sumi couldn''t risk making an enemy out of a guy like this.


    She held her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in one hand and extended the other in a friendly gesture to help Bai Xuengen when the ground started rusting behind her.


    Bai Xuengen''s eyes opened even larger than before and he jumped to his feet.


    He had been beaten shamefully by Shin Sumi''s skill in dealing with the golem he couldn''t beat but he wasn''t going to let that happen twice.


    He parried the first blow that came their way before Shin Sumi could even turn back.


    She let out a gasp and reaffirmed her grip on the handle of her sword.


    "Two golems?! You''ve got to be kidding me."


    Where the first golem was slain, two were now standing, having come out of the ground by magic. One held the magical short sword, the other a spear made of rocks, protruding like an extension of its own arm.


    "Take the one with the blade, I''ll slow down the other one" shouted Bai Xuengen!


    Putting away the matter of his own shame, the yellow robed man jumped to action. He could always reflect on the situation later, but it would be useless if he died now.


    Shin Sumi nodded affirmatively and engaged the armed creature. This one was faster and tougher than the previous golem, and almost managed to hit her a few times.


    Something new also made the fight more difficult on their part. Every time Shin Sumi would cut a limb, the golem would simply stitch it back in place magically.


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    On his side, Bai Xuengen was swinging his spear crazily against the golem''s own spear. Each collision resulted in a loud ''boom'' and a cloud of rock dust that made it hard to see through.


    While repeatedly moving around, escaping and attacking when an opportunity arose, Shin Sumi thought about the core she had obtained from the last golem.


    "It crumbled when I pierced its chest! That must be where the core is located!"


    Trying her chance at it, she yelled to her yellow counterpart "run your spear through its chest! If you can separate their core from their body they fall"!


    Bai Xuengen grunted. As if it were that easy a thing to do.


    The total combat took a few minutes, but intense ones. It ended quickly after Shin Sumi managed to slip into her golem''s defensive zone and cut him from between its legs all the way to its head.


    The golem crumbled in small rock fragments and didn''t get back up. A shine of intense orange light emanated from the mess, indicating that the core had been extracted.


    "It worked!" she realized.


    With the combined effort of Bai Xuengen and her, incapacitating the second golem was an easy feat. The boy blocked the creature''s movements with the long range of his spear while allowing the girl to get closer and deal the fatal blow.


    Both were panting but proud.


    Shin Sumi snatched the two dense orange cores without a word, taking her own reward while Bai Xuengen could have the blade.


    Just by the color of the cores, Shin Sumi could tell that the new golems were both stronger than the previous one.


    He didn''t seem to mind the red robed boy keeping the cores and he didn''t say a word, taking out a green colored pill that he swallowed in a hurry.


    The pill had healing properties and closed up his wounds instantly to his relief.


    The trap that had been set by Patriarch Sen for this particular treasure was a tough one, but it was only a test for disciples after all. It allowed the disciples that were after the treasure to breathe a bit before continuing.


    Bai Xuengen was back to peak conditions thanks to his marvelous pill. He considered offering one to the boy in red who had helped him twice but decided against. Pills like that were expensive and he still felt too humiliated by this lowly junior.


    He walked in the direction of the coveted short sword with the intent of grabbing it and leaving this cave forever when yet another trembling from the ground rumbled.


    "Another?!"


    This time both Honorary Disciples reacted at the same time, shouting simultaneously.


    Four golems rose up from the debris of their predecessors. Four towering rock creatures, three spears and one magical short sword.


    Bai Xuengen already regretted trying to get the ''treasure'' that he had so intently sought. But escape was not an option anymore.


    "Shit. Look at their chests!"


    Shin Sumi had just caught a glimpse of a new layer of dark rock covering the location of the golem''s cores.


    "You think you can cut through with that sword of yours?" replied Bai Xuengen.


    His way of speaking had changed unintentionally, losing the tone he normally used to speak to lower ranked disciples. He didn''t flinch either when Shin Sumi talked to him without showing the due respect.


    Again and again, Shin Sumi showed a prowess that was inconsistent with the color of her robes. Just like the Elders before their magical map showed them Shin Sumi''s true talent, he was seriously doubting she was only red talented.


    Without replying, Shin Sumi joined the fray. This situation was getting dangerous, and in the way of her search for the other four Veins of Hell Fire.


    The sword danced elegantly in the dark cave, cutting the air in arcs of gold.


    ***


    "Patriarch... Am I wrong to assume that the sword the green talented boy is using is the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword?"


    The one who had spoken was one of the youngest Elders. He was a bright individual that looked like a middle aged man. He was responding to the cultivator name of Red Edge, having abandoned his birth name when he had taken the position of master of the Sword Valley.


    As the position implied, he was in charge of the Liquid Realm Disciples that chose to train in the way of the sword and as such his knowledge of the weapon surpassed that of many.


    As soon as the words left his mouth, the assembly of Elders turned sharply towards the back of the Grand Hall and their leader.


    The Patriarch laughed and answered "Elder Red Edge is right, it is my old Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. My disciple Fen Wudao passed it onto the next generation."


    Elder Red Edge nodded while rubbing his chin, deep in thoughts.


    "And he has already tempered the sword in one of the fires. Is it luck or destiny?"


    "So you''ve reached the same conclusion as me?" asked the Patriarch, "I would like for this disciples to join your Sword Valley upon reaching the Liquid Realm. I''m sure you wouldn''t be against that, would you?"


    "It is ultimately up to the kid to decide..."


    After Elder Red Edge answered, the assembly fell silent once again. The fact that Fen Wudao''s own sword had been given to the green talented disciple meant a lot.


    Somehow Elder Peng felt a bit relieved. It lessened the humiliation of his own disciple, Tai Bu. After all, if the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was now in Shin Sumi''s possession, it implied that Patriarch Sen knew about it and let it happen.


    The only green talented disciples of the sect was meant for something more than what his Tai Bu probably was.


    On his seat, Elder Zhu in charge of the Affairs Pavilion of the lower valley was cursing at the inner politics of the sect. He was not aware of all that!


    Whenever he closed his eyes, he could only see himself giving Shin Sumi the poisonous Liquid Pellet. If it had been to a simple disciple, even a green talented one, it would have been fine.


    But Shin Sumi had been acknowledged and monitored by the Patriarch himself!


    If ever Shin Sumi consumed the tainted Liquid Pellet and word got around that it came from him, Elder Zhu could directly forfeit his life. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do. Fortunately for him, Shin Sumi had still not done anything with the Liquid Pellet.


    ***


    The fight against the four armored golems took the unexpected duo an entire hour. Both were exhausted this time.


    They had no idea about the traps and treasure system put in place by the Patriarch, but they knew from the difficulty to obtain the short sword that it had to be at least a good grade item.


    Shin Sumi was tired from holding the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword and moving it around at full speed and power for an extended period of time. She was currently resting on the ground, a hand on the handle just in case another wave of opponents rose from the ground.


    Bai Xuengen was exhausted too, both physically and mentally. He cried a little when he looked at his inventory. His bag of holding had been greatly depleted by his use of magical artifacts.


    A way he had found to break the armor worn by the golems was to use Yang type magic. Fire and explosive talismans worked especially well on the armors, but the speed and parrying of the golems made it really hard to hit their chest.


    Shin Sumi''s sword worked too, but only if she managed to successfully hit them.


    After reflecting on the effect of the talismans, Shin Sumi came to the conclusion that her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been imbued by a certain amount of Yang type Shinsoo by the Vein of Hell Fire.


    After she had picked up the clear orange cores left behind by the destroyed creatures, Shin Sumi waited for the next salvo while regulating her breathing.


    Once they were both rested enough, Bai Xuengen took a long look at his new partner and benefactor. At this point he was certain that he could have never won alone.


    In fact he would even be willing to give up the sword if the boy dressed in red asked him to. Judging by Shin Sumi''s apparent condition, he probably couldn''t even empower her after such long fights.


    "Are you ready to see what''s next, brother?" he asked.


    He had completely lost all sort of presumption due to the boy''s clothes color and instead acknowledged him as ''brother'' directly.


    Shin Sumi flinched for a second before she remembered that she was assuming the appearance of a boy.


    "Go ahead, pick up the short sword."


    Both disciples braced themselves as Bai Xuengen reached for the weapon lying in the mass of rubble.


    His hand extended and... nothing.


    He grabbed the sword that was laying there and instantly poured a bit of divine sense into it. He felt relieved after he immediately succeeded in bonding with it.


    Shin Sumi let out a long breath, a smile making its way to her lips.


    "Finally it''s over! We can get out of here!"


    She heard no response from the yellow robed boy immersed in the sword in his hands.


    She turned around and was ready to leave, just like that, when Bai Xuengen reacted. He had spent a few second marvelling at the quality of his new weapon.


    As it turned out, the sword was part of the Heavenly Collection of items, the highest grade in the Rising Star Tournament. From just one glance Bai Xuengen knew he would only be able to master it fully after breaking through to the Liquid Realm.


    "Wait a minute, brother! What is your name?"


    Shin Sumi stopped and answered after a second of silence. She had to make up a name fitting for a boy! She hadn''t thought of that.


    "I''m Bai Fulong. And what is yours, esteemed brother?"


    "Ah-ah, we must be connected by fate! My name is Xuengen, surnamed Bai as well."


    Shin Sumi laughed a fake but very convincing laugh. She had no real interest in Bai Xuengen, she was already afraid of having spent too long underground.


    "Fate it must be indeed."


    "Brother Bai, I have another question..."


    "What is it?" Shin Sumi asked, suddenly feeling strange and fearing the answer.


    "What is your real cultivation level?" asked Bai Xuengen in a low voice.

 39 A Reptilians Chase

    Bai Xuengen didn''t want to offend Shin Sumi with his question, so he followed up.


    "I mean you are stronger than me, a yellow talented disciple, yet you wear red colored robes. You show no interest for the treasure that we both fought for, and your sword looks on par with it judging by its effect on the golems. You also leaped to my help with confidence even when I asked you not to. Just who are you, brother Bai?"


    Shin Sumi was at a loss. Her guts were right, this was one of the worst questions she could have been asked.


    The boyish face that covered her own wore an enigmatic smile for a good while. She decided that it was best not to answer and to leave now.


    Bai Xuengen followed along in silence towards the exit of the cave, keeping a distance of a few dozen meters to not bother the boy in front of him.


    "Whatever his absence of answer means, there must be a reason for it, I shouldn''t have asked."


    And yet he couldn''t wrap his head around it. Nonetheless, this Bai Fulong had only been nice and tolerant enough towards him and such he didn''t want to press the matter.


    They were about to reach the entrance to the cave and could already see the red disc of the sky over their head when Bai Xuengen stopped his new companion one last time.


    "You should leave first, brother Bai. I am going to stay here for a bit until my Shinsoo levels are in perfect condition again. But before we part ways, let us exchange identification medallion imprints. You know... just in case one of us gets in trouble. I owe you for earlier so tell me if you need something at any point."


    Shin Sumi smiled and didn''t say anything. She extended a hand from her sleeve. Her identification jade flashed briefly at the same time as Bai Xuengen''s as both jades recorded the other''s divine sense.


    She then left, quickly leaping from rock to rock until she had exited the mouth of the earth.


    She was relieved to have actually considered that very possibility a few weeks prior when she had been experimenting with the Copper Bell.


    During the whole divine sense exchange process, she had sent a bit of the bell''s powers into the medallion, cladding it in Yang type Shinsoo imprinted with her newly found fake name.


    Now if everything worked accordingly, Bai Xuengen''s medallion had successfully recorded Shin Sumi''s divine sense, but under the false assumption that it was Bai Fulong''s.


    Once back out, Shin Sumi didn''t lose any time and focused her attention on the yellow pillar of light to reorient herself in the right direction.


    She had no idea how she would find the next Vein of Hell Fire but she could formulate a guess that it would be in the next circle after the outer ring.


    The floating continent on which all the disciples participating in the Rising Star Tournament were by now was extremely large. Simply judging by the view Shin Sumi had a few days prior while above the canopy, she could tell that the first mountain range separating the outer ring from the next one was days away, even for her.


    Shin Sumi advanced against the current of a river that seemed to originate from the mountain range. She was still in a jungle-like environment, walking under the green canopy towards the yellow light. Whenever she looked above her head, dots of yellow tinted red sky contrasted with the refreshing shade, looking like the trees were on fire.


    After her journey underground and its perilous nature, she felt a newly found sense of ease in open areas.


    She was leaping along the river banks, unhindered by the gigantic roots that came out of the rich soil, or sometimes even the water itself.


    Everything in this world appeared sized for giants, as if it was a completely normal jungle like the one close to the lower valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, but at least five times bigger in all aspects.


    Of course, Shin Sumi knew the reason behind it. Shinsoo was the energy of nature, what nourished the life of every animal, plant and humans alike. She had seen firsthand one of the sources of Shinsoo of this dimension, the Vein of Hell Fire.


    Shin Sumi closed her eyes for a brief time, the feelings she had upon getting close to the Vein resurfacing. Her skin tingled where it had burned a bit and her eyes let out a moisturizing tear. The power of the Shinsoo source really was terrifying. It was no wonder everything grew to such ridiculous size close to it.


    "Uh?! What is that?" she exclaimed, brought back to reality by a movement close by.


    In the peaceful flow of the current, what she had assumed to be a tree trunk suddenly sank through the water. Not half a breath of time later, the surface of the water was again broken when something seemingly exploded from where the trunk had sunk.


    A roar like nothing she had ever heard teared at her eardrums as the trunk split in half while rapidly falling towards her.


    When Shin Sumi realized that what looked like the bark of a gigantic tree was in fact a huge crocodile, it was almost too late to escape. Even the little grey nut had been surprised by the sudden attack and bit the girl with a delay.


    Using only her primal instincts, she managed to leap to the side unconsciously, the teeth the size of her head barely missing her.


    A whole chunk of the river banks disappeared under the powerful jaw, muffling the roar a bit, although Shin Sumi was sure she had seen part of the dirt disintegrate even before contact, due to the power of the sound only.


    She instinctively knew the roar was magically enhanced, meaning that the crocodile could use the Shinsoo to some extent. So amount of sound could normally pierce through her defence to that extent.


    Her consciousness had been on the verge of collapse when the roar erupted, and now she could only fight with willpower against the disorientation provoked by the vibrations.


    "Urgh.. This beast is ridiculously strong" she exclaimed while forcing another movement to the side!


    In her heart she knew that it was not an opponent to be trifled with. When the huge green eye of the beast next to her locked into her own, she realized that a flash of intelligence was present.


    The entire exchange had only lasted a split second but Shin Sumi was already aware of her disadvantage. She evaded one of the slow but powerful hind leg sweep at the moment she decided to not even try to fight the reptilian creature.


    The only solution she could think of was to put enough distance between her and the beast so that it would leave her alone.


    But unlike the Stone Leaf Tortoise she had fought, and the animated rock golems, the new enemy was not fighting simply to protect its territory or possession. And so the hunt began.


    "Leave me alone" she thought as the crocodile flailed its tail, sending waves of water across the full width of the river and propelling itself entirely on the banks.


    In a normal forest, the trees might provide some cover or at least hindrance to such a big beast due to their density, but Shin Sumi''s surroundings were composed of giant sized vegetation.


    Her nimbleness was definitely an advantage though, as the creature of more than fifty meters in length could not turn easily.


    Every time Shin Sumi saw the distance between her and her chaser, another roar from the beast made her temporarily lose focus and slow down imperceptibly.


    In doing so, the crocodile was wasting important amounts of Shinsoo, and the time it took for it to recharge for another magical roar seemed a bit longer with every instance.


    But it was definitely worth it from the beast''s perspective, as its Shinsoo levels were really high and its prey would obviously run out of energy before it.


    All the odds were stacked against her, with Elder Peng jubilating on the other side of the jade screen in the Grand Hall.


    The chase continued for an entire day before Shin Sumi first started to feel the fatigue kick in.


    Her breathing had been jagged for a while now and she knew she couldn''t keep up for too long. With a pain in her heart, wishing she could have lasted longer before resorting to that, she flashed her hand across the bag of holding on her belt.


    A couple of high grade spirit stones manifested themselves in her hand, which she brought to her mouth instantly.


    Consuming such precious resources in that situation could only delay the moment she would run out of energy but at least she could get a good boost out of that.


    In the Grand Hall, a couple of lower level Elders spat out in incredulity. They didn''t miss the energy signature of such high level spirit stones.


    "High grade?! This kid even has spirit stones like that? What in the world is this kid''s background and why have we not head of him before?"


    "Patriarch, is that your doing?"


    As soon as the few Elders brought up the subject, even the ones that were previously focusing on their own disciples turned their attention to the lone green dot of the map.


    Looking back and forth between the scintillating screen and Patriarch Sen, they realized with the latter''s facial expression that even he wasn''t aware of that fact.


    He was certain that Fen Wudao had told him he had picked the girl up from the middle of nowhere in the mortal world, on his way back to the sect.


    A thought flitted through his mind as he turned to glance at Elder Zhu a few rows below, but the unsightly expression of Zhu Yunhai clearly indicated that it wasn''t his doing either.


    The Patriarch didn''t answer the Elders questions. Not one single soul knew how the green talented disciple had gotten their hand on high grade spirit stones.


    The precious materials allowed Shin Sumi to continuously escape the crocodile''s attempt at biting her from behind.


    The roars were diminishing in strength, just like Shin Sumi''s own stock of high grade spirit stones when she reached what looked like the end of the forest.


    The terrifying presence behind her that surpassed everything she had ever felt stopped like against a wall as soon as she crossed the threshold formed by the last few trees.


    In front of her laid an enormous wasteland similar to what the first few platforms of this stage of the tournament looked like.


    The land wasn''t simply bare, it was also completely flat, having no sort of hills or canyons whatsoever. Nevertheless, a huge mountain range could be seen on the other side of the wasteland, in the direction of the yellow pillar of light.


    "I''ve made it?!"


    Shin Sumi continued without stopping for a stick of incense''s worth of time. Behind her, no more roard or heavy footsteps from the huge crocodile.


    When she gathered enough courage to turn around, the forest was already far behind.


    Just under the cover of the trees, the long greyish green shadow of the beast could be seen, pacing around but not daring to step on the wasteland.


    "It... can''t come here" Shin Sumi asked herself, incredulous. "Why is that so? Is it simply because of the rules in this place, or is there more to it?"


    She was starting to get a bit more confident and even went back towards the forest slowly and carefully, tempted by curiosity.


    The pacing crocodile roared in frustration, a roar that was completely normal, not a Shinsoo enhanced one. It flailed its tail violently, splitting down a nearby trunk in the process.


    Once again, Shin Sumi was amazed by the strength of the reptile, her breathing cut short at the display of power.


    She was now about a kilometer away from the canopy, a distance that the crocodile could cover in a few short bursts of speed, but enough to allow Shin Sumi to run to safety once more.


    Unintentionally teasing the crocodile, Shin Sumi observed it from the distance. Keeping a kilometer wide radius for safety, she walked along the length of the forest, followed by the crocodile.


    She eventually joined the side of the river that came from the mountain range, river which was the only natural thing around that differed from the flat and barren wasteland.


    The crocodile sunk heavily in the waters, only keeping its back and head over the water level, eyeing Shin Sumi and bubbling with rage.


    Shin Sumi took another single step towards the beast, feeling that something wasn''t right with this place. That was enough. The crocodile had enough.


    It jumped towards the banks in much the same way it had when it attacked her the first time, roaring and biting all over the place.


    As soon as it touched the ground though, a cry that was far more terrifying than the crocodile''s distorted the air from seemingly far away but everywhere at the same time.


    The cry was a mix between a shriek and a roar and surely came from an even more powerful beast.


    A ''ziiing'' sound followed suit to the cry. Shin Sumi only saw a blur that caused her eyes to retract in their orbits.


    She felt herself fall to the ground, her unconscious sight only catching a glimpse of the retreating crocodile, returning to the river and escaping as quickly as it could, its tail between its legs.


    Shin Sumi didn''t really lose consciousness as she caught herself on the ground at the last moment. Her memory of the last breath of time before her fall were half gone, and she could only remember a blur without seeing it in her mind.


    The crocodile was gone, as was the thing that made it flee.


    Shin Sumi had no idea what had happened. In fact even the Elders back in the sect viewing the whole interaction had not known what it was. Only the Patriarch and the Great Elder Chu Xuanba had an inkling of what the thing that made the crocodile flee was.


    Everyone was flabbergasted, the higher ups included.


    Shin Sumi got up and slapped her thighs to get rid of the dust that had accumulated, and to remind her muscles not to flinch more than they were already.


    Looking up at the bloody red sky, she didn''t know if she should cower in fear or praise whatever that was. The only thing important was that she was alive and the crocodile was gone.


    It now seemed clear that there was a reason the reptile knew about why it couldn''t get to Shin Sumi once she had passed the last trees. In its own foolished the creature had been baited into going in the open area and had been punished for that.


    Shin Sumi approached the place where the beast had been struck by the blur before fleeing. Something dark and pointy had been left there, that contrasted greatly with the grey dusty ground.


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    In all rationality, the intelligent crocodile would never try to attack her again and after making sure that it was really gone, Shin Sumi didn''t fear an attack and crept closer until she could see what the object was.


    "A claw! Part of the crocodile''s claw!"


    She knew it was not the entire thing. She had seen firsthand what the beast''s legs looked like, and a single claw was as big as her leg, yet this part was only the size of a hand.


    The pointy part had been smoothed by the ages and the blood of its prey, and veins and cracks could be seen on its surface. Yet what impressed her the most was the clean cut that had severed the beast''s talons.


    It reminded Shin Sumi somehow of the way she had cleaved in half the Stone Leaf Tortoise all these months ago.


    "A perfect cut, so smooth.. Yet it wasn''t made by a blade... What was that thing?"


    Taking out her precious Gold Tyrant Flying Sword for a test, Shin Sumi ran the edge against the claw. Nothing.


    Pouring a bit more power into it as well as a wisp of Shinsoo, she tried again.


    "No way. I can''t cut that! Whatever did it is leagues away from me and my sword. Its speed is faster than a human''s eyes, and its power is ridiculous."


    She suspected that the real reason she had nearly lost consciousness back then was not due to any sort of attack but simply the presence of something unfathomably strong.


    It was a known fact that experts in the cultivation world could make crowds fall unconscious simply by standing there, exuding raw strengths with every fiber from their beings.


    What had happened was just that. A raw power acting fast like lightning and leaving her unable to do anything.


    It was clear that the crocodile had just suffered a warning. With the preciseness of the cut that had severed its claw, it was obvious that the entire crocodile could have been killed in a flash. Yet the thing that let out the distant cry deliberately let it live, as well as her.


    Bowing in a few general directions, Shin Sumi expressed her thanks to the crying presence, holding the severed claw with both hands.


    She tried to feed it to the grey nut but with the claw being about five times its size, the nut simply rolled around and quickly became uninterested.


    Shin Sumi also bowed once towards the river that flowed through the jungle area, somewhat feeling empathy for the crocodile. After all even though it had tried to make her its snack a few times, ultimately she was the one to bait it and make it lose its claw in what could only be a painful process.


    Swearing a silent oath, Shin Sumi promised the crocodile that they would settle their bet the next time she entered this trial''s dimension, if it happened.


    But for that she had to become stronger. Right now the fifty meter long green crocodile was something she couldn''t surpass, and the creature that had punished it even more so.


    Making it her new objective of strength, Shin Sumi found in herself a new calling for power.


    On the other side of the wasteland laid the first mountain range. Thunderous clouds obscured the high peaks, as if they were warning disciples not to cross.


    Popping a Confusion Pill into her mouth, Shin Sumi walked in the direction of the storm.

 40 Ice Ice Baby

    The wasteland crossing was rather uneventful after the fights Shin Sumi had under the earth and the chase by the reptilian creature.


    As she understood it, this barren piece of land circulated all around the mountain range and probably served as a barrier between the outer ring and the second one.


    As to what seemed to keep the two rings separated, the blur she had come to call to herself the Ring Keeper, no further appearance served to clarify what the thing was.


    The unimaginably powerful thing was still a complete and utter mystery to her.


    As a peek into the Grand Hall of the sect would tell, not many people knew the truth behind that. In fact even the Patriarch didn''t seem to know for sure. He would have to consult the reserve powers of the sect for clarification, he said to himself.


    Reaching the foot of the mountain range, Shin Sumi discovered that unlike what she expected, the obstacle wasn''t whole. She felt a bit of relief upon seeing many entries into valleys that would allow her to cross safely.


    Craning her neck to look at the distant mountain tops shrouded by the storm, she didn''t want to even start wondering how the weather was up there.


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    For someone from a mortal background like her, storms were a terrifying entity that were rumored to happen whenever two Immortals clashed in the sky, the aftermath of their battle resulting into a rain of death fire.


    After entering the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Shin Sumi had learned that storms were nothing of the sort, but it was still something to be feared.


    Xiao Yue even told her that sometimes lighting bolts were believed to be an expression of the Heavens themselves.


    The constant rumble and flashing purple white clouds overlooked every entrance to the second ring.


    In the distance, Shin Sumi saw tendrils of smoke rise up through the air to be dissipated long before they could join the clouds.


    There, next to the glowing fire, three disciples sat in a circle. They didn''t seem to sense Shin Sumi from the distance and they looked completely entranced by the fire, long shadows dancing on their heavy robes.


    All three of them were clad in garments that looked unusual from what she knew of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Mismatched clothes that were not telling of their talent level. What was strange too was that all of them appeared to be trembling, their hands hovering in the flames.


    "They are seeking heat? But it''s not even that cold out here... Are they okay?" she asked herself.


    Curious, she stepped a bit closer, covering herself from their sight behind jagged rocks.


    "Crap, they''ve seen me" she cursed when the three of them turned their heads simultaneously towards where she was hiding.


    Shin Sumi still wasn''t used to the divine sense of others and the possibility of being sensed. Now the three disciples were on guard.


    Two of them jumped to their feet, rather comically with the amount of clothing they were wearing. The third one, the only one with no expression of concern on his face simply took out a small circular shield from inside a fold of his robes.


    His lips moved quickly, uttering two words that Shin Sumi couldn''t discern. The shield started rotating and glowing with green light.


    Rising up above the three young men, the shield extended in a flash, forming a bulb of transparent green protection around them.


    Only when the shield had been put in place did the two others put down their weapon and sit back down next to the fire. They didn''t even bother looking at Shin Sumi anymore.


    If the latter knew one thing about the magic available to Honorary Disciples, it was that everything seemed to be arranged by color. Just like her own talent had granted her a green medallion, even though she knew it was all the little nut''s doing, Xiao Yue had been deemed orange talented.


    The same way, many were red talented and only a few yellow talented. This impacted the way the disciples dressed in the sect, Shin Sumi herself being one of the few if not the only exception.


    But this rule of color grading also applied to many other things magic or cultivation related. For example the cores found inside spirit creatures were a good example.


    And just by looking, Shin Sumi knew that the shield put in place by the group of three above the fire was telling its level with its color.


    "This explains why they are not concerned with me. Other than the fact that I''m wearing red, if they have a shield comparable in power to a green talented disciple''s, they should have nothing to fear from me."


    "I should just leave them be. I have to find the other four Veins of Hell Fire in the different rings."


    Half turned around, she still wondered a bit about the reason behind the three men''s apparent coldness. The only thing she could imagine was maybe a curse of some kind, or an aftermath of them getting the green shield.


    The shield was obviously one of the good treasures scattered around the dimension. Since she herself had participated in one of the sub-trials for acquiring a treasure, she knew of the pain it could be.


    Before departing, Shin Sumi dropped on the ground one of the fruits she had gathered a while back. It was a way of telling them she had no evil intentions as well as helping them a little. When ingested, she remembered feeling a remnant heat from the fruits.


    "That''s all I''ll do for them. Now is time to cross to the next ring."


    The closest valley was a few hundred meters away and in a flash Shin Sumi already was progressing. Above, the thunder raged, obscuring the sky except for the flashes of lighting.


    The scary clouds were full of water that formed rivulets against the mountain slopes, joining into a turbulent torrent snaking at the very bottom.


    Drops of icy cold rain would sometimes fall between the rocky walls, and Shin Sumi was soon forced to wrap a piece of cloth around her, her figure now a grey cloak with only a band of red robes visible under it.


    She was a bit embarrassed to use what had been a curtain in her cozy courtyard in the lower valley in such a way, but at least she got some cover from the cold rain. She was suddenly very reminiscent of the three disciples she had seen briefly just outside the valley.


    The Copper Bell rang once, reducing the cold, but not completely.


    "For someone without the Copper Bell, every single drop would be bone chilling. That explains the three disciples outside with the fire. But even that would probably manageable even for a red robed disciple. Is the next ring formed of an ice environment?!"


    The valley was large and long, and the steep slopes on the sides were too smooth to allow for an ambush or a good hiding spot. Without having to care much for an attack, Shin Sumi advanced quickly.


    The end of the valley was in sight when Shin Sumi''s eyes opened drastically.


    The second ring was indeed an icy environment. But much like the outer ring was occupied by a jungle and all sorts of appropriate reliefs and obstacles, the tundra in front of her was by no means flat.


    In front of her laid an area comprised of blue, red and white colors that seemed to have been splashed around by a crazy painter.


    Arcs of ice reflecting the blood red sky extended from the ground, like fish frozen mid-leap, or the tusks of an unimaginably large animal.


    Crevices big enough to swallow whole cities snaked between the arcs, their mirror like insides a deep blue under the layers of snow.


    A bone chilling wind carried thousands upon thousands of snowflakes, each like the petals of a flower in bloom.


    The sight truly was magical and Shin Sumi couldn''t help but marvel at the beauty and the sense of indomitable nature of the landscape.


    From where she stood, it seemed like the second ring formed a plateau lower in altitude than the outer ring. Judging by what she had seen back then from a high tree, she had the feeling that this ring was smaller than the other one.


    "It might have been just an impression though. The logical rules don''t seen to apply in this place. For all I know the laws of space differ greatly from one ring to the next."


    Shin Sumi descended through the rocks, progressively turning from a dead grey to a pure white as the snow claimed sovereignty over everything.


    The snow whistled through the air and formed big circles in the sky, turning the wind currents visible for everyone to see.


    Down near the mountain range, although cold, the snow didn''t seem too violent, unlike in the distance where blizzards obscured even the thousand meters long tusks of ice.


    Under her grey cloak, Shin Sumi realized that the piece of cloth did almost nothing to hinder the snowflakes and she could almost sense every single one of them on her skin where they disappeared soundlessly.


    The Copper Bell was active continuously, doing its best to reduce the sensation of cold. After only a few hundred meters, Shin Sumi felt herself drained and had to stop.


    "Every snowflake drains my energy" she exclaimed! "This is not something I can sustain! The three disciples with the shields outside the mountains must have felt the same and decided to go back until they found a way to pierce through the tundra."


    An inkling of an idea flitted through her mind. She made sure to hide herself well under the coat, even though she was alone.


    "The people from the sect are always watching" she reminded herself before retracting her divine sense and her Shinsoo from the bell.


    It was something she could have done a long time ago, as she already knew that the effects of the Copper Bell on her appearance only took place in the first instants of consuming a Confusion Pill.


    This meant that as long as she ate a pill while under the Yang type Shinsoo provided by the bell, she would turn into a boy. Stopping the powers of the bell after she had morphed didn''t change much, except revert her own attributes and attacks to a Yin type power.


    For example now that the Bell wasn''t active, even though she looked like a boy, she would never have had the power to unleash a cleaving attack at a Stone Leaf Tortoise if her sword didn''t recognize her Shinsoo attribute.


    The reason Shin Sumi kept the bell''s powers on at almost all time was for two reasons.


    First, it seemed to extend greatly the lifetime of the Confusion Pill. The pills as she acquired them functioned for six hours at most. They had been made by an Elder apothecary called Cloud Cauldron but were only common grade. With the refining process of the little nut, this time was extended to half a day.


    The use of the Copper Bell, though, made them last almost two days entirely!


    The second reason was simply because when Shin Sumi cultivated, she wasn''t always certain as to how fast was the arrow of time. Sometimes comprehending deep magic could immerse oneself for a long time. Just in the case she reverted back to her female self while lost in meditation, she didn''t want her aura and divine sense to change abruptly and be discovered.


    Shin Sumi pulled her cloak lower over her boy features.


    "It wouldn''t look strange in this kind of environment. And this way even if I revert back to myself, the people watching won''t be able to tell."


    Allowing the Copper Bell to rest in the bag of holding instead of sustaining her change in Shinsoo attribute made Shin Sumi''s energy levels stabilize at a better rate.


    She didn''t stop to wonder about how the normal disciples normally fared in such places and she continued moving on, soon arriving at the first crevice blocking her path.


    "Seeing how they raided the market at the announcement of the Rising Star Trial by the Patriarch, many of them must have plenty of resources or artifacts to protect themselves" she thought.


    A few meters ahead, the scar in the layers of ice extended in the shape of a lighting bolt. It looked really deep but Shin Sumi couldn''t ascertain the extent of the depth. To do that she would have to take at least a step closer to falling off the slippery ice and she absolutely wanted to avoid that.


    Following the crevice with a safety distance, she walked in the direction of an ice arc, under which the crevice stopped and the ground seemed whole.


    She was still far from the towering half arch when the ground trembled. Not by much, just a slight tremor, but vibrating enough to cause the suspended ice to detach.


    Spikes of pure blue ice the size of a building fell from the peak of the arc, planting themselves deep into the ground.


    Had she been under, Shin Sumi would have been stabbed by the gigantic icicles, her dead body soon frozen and covered by a layer of fresh snow.


    She shivered but not entirely because of the cold.


    "What made the ground tremble?" she asked herself without needing a response. The area was desolate. She had been alone for the entirety of the trial so far, except for her brief interaction with Bai Xuengen.


    Given the size of the floating continent, she would probably not encounter many people.


    "Unless?" she felt the ground tremble a second time.


    Her head under the cloak turned towards the right. This time the corner of her eye had caught a very brief light, coming from a few thousand meters away.


    "Are these sounds of battle that make the ground tremble?"


    Just for the sake of not getting lost, Shin Sumi noted in her head a few landmarks in the forme of the lightning bolt crevice and the arc where the spikes had fallen.


    She had advanced in a somewhat straight line since her arrival in the jungle the other side of the mountains. If she came from platforms that were south, with the north being the yellow pillar of light marking the exit, then now she was turning westwards.


    In the labyrinth formed by the crevices too big to jump over, orientation was crucial if she wanted to find her way later.


    She was fine with meeting disciples on her way, but she would rather stay alone for safety, even if it meant facing creatures alone, like the big crocodile from before. And so she went opposite to the possible battle.


    As she discovered on her path, the new ice environment wasn''t as desolate and dead as she thought. Ice flowers with delicate and frail petals bloomed in groups of tens in some places.


    Seemingly carved into ice and transparent like glass, crooked trees sometimes found their way out the frozen ground. Tiny arrowhead leaves bristled with the wind, like chimes bringing a pleasant melody to her ears.


    Snow Lizards were sometimes startled by her footsteps breaking the uppermost layer of snow, fleeing into crevices, the suction cups on their appendages sticking easily to ice.


    Shin Sumi thought about hunting a few of them for food but the thought of eating a slimy animal wrought her stomach with disgust.


    "I still have a few spirit fruits to eat, and if I can make fire, I could even roast some Stone Leaf Tortoise meat!"


    Food wasn''t a concern at all for Shin Sumi. Her stock was big and she could go for days without a meal. Counting briefly, she deemed her resources enough to make her last another six months at least!


    "By then I''ll be long gone from this icy tundra, and I''ll probably be able to find something better than a Snow Lizard to eat."


    Night time never came in this trial dimension, so Shin Sumi decided randomly to stop when she found a suitable place.


    It was a cave made of snow and fallen icicles, with the entrance hidden behind an ice tree. The cave was only big enough to accomodate one person on their knees but had the particularity of turning on itself kind of like a shell.


    This would give Shin Sumi protection from the cold wind and would also hide the fire she planned on making from the view of others.


    Using a simple paper talisman, Shin Sumi insufled Shinsoo in the form of a simple flame. Because she didn''t have wood or burnable resources, the fire wouldn''t sustain itself for hours but at least it would help regulate her temperature for a bit.


    The vivid yellow and orange flames danced on her face but Shin Sumi still kept her cloak on her. She had felt her appearance change a couple hours before.


    In the warmth of the fire, Shin Sumi allowed herself a few minutes to collect her thoughts and to daydream. Nestled between her breasts, the little nut was comfortable too.


    It had been months since the little nut had been there. After all, Shin Sumi had spent the whole time as a boy ever since the beginning of the trial. The nut which apparently prefered breasts must have been greatly disappointed and had stayed most of the time hidden under the leaf pattern on her skin.


    After a while, Shin Sumi put a hand between the folds of her cloak then her robes. Her hand was cold and she shivered at the touch of her own skin. Dislodging the comfy grey nut, she gently asked it to turn into a book.


    Catching up on what she had missed, Shin Sumi read extensively about the few creatures she had killed in the jungle, the stone golems, the Moss Vampire, and even the fruits she had picked up.


    Just like how she had been busy fighting, cultivating the Vein of Hell Fire, or running away from a crocodile, the nut had collected a lot of information on her newly acquired resources.


    Suddenly looking a lot like the Shin Sumi from ages ago, the little girl that loved to read her books at the light of a candle, Shin Sumi lost herself in the characters on the leaf pages.


    Knowledge is power, she remembered. Even now as she was seeking a different kind of power, she didn''t forget that motto.


    Her reading lasted for a good while until a movement followed by a ''cling'' distracted her.


    There, on the ice next to the floating fire talisman, a piece of metal had fallen.


    It was an Affairs Pavilion insignia.

 41 The Ice Flowers Domain

    The Affairs Pavilion medallion must have been encased in the ice until the fire melted it, allowing it to fall. Shin Sumi looked above, but only a piece of red cloth remained in the ice.


    \"Thank the Heavens\" she thought, not wanting to deal with a whole corpse hanging above her head.


    Turning the insignia between her fingers, she wondered how long it had been there. What generation of disciples training here had left this as a souvenir?


    It was then that her expression turned unsightly.


    \"No, that''s not right! This dimension is normally used by Liquid Realm disciples in training. Not by red robes Honorary Disciples working for the Affairs Pavilion!\"


    She thought her eyes couldn''t look more shocked, but she was wrong.


    \"Brother Lan!!\"


    The cry had been let out completely, not bothered about hiding anymore. Shin Sumi had no way of determining whose insignia it was, but somehow she was convinced it was Lan Hui''s.


    Sadly, the Affairs Pavilion medallions were not like the identification jades possessed by every disciple. They were just a simple piece of metal embroidered on the disciple''s dress. Nothing on them could clarify at first glance who was its owner.


    Shin Sumi pocketed the cold metal and blew a wisp of Shinsoo on the fire talisman, prompting it to stop burning. The talisman was half intact and could still be used for a couple hours.


    She then crawled out of the ice cave, jumping uncertainly on the largest branch of the ice tree, looking for indications to look for her friend.


    Lan Hui had been her first friend in the Dark Sky Starry Sect. He was the first person to talk to her and to seem genuinely interested in her. Every single one of his actions towards her had been full of care and tenderness.


    Now that something bad might have happened to him, how could Shin Sumi stay idle?!


    She sent her spiritual perception into her identification medallion. The easiest way to find him was to contact him, obviously.


    She wasn''t sure how the jade worked in this dimension, considering that she had never been able to contact Xiao Yue before. But Bai Xuengen the yellow robed disciple she had met close to the first Vein of Hell Fire had insisted on exchanging jade imprints.


    \"Somehow the jades must work here. Maybe their range is just a lot more restrictive.\"


    Shin Sumi made several attempts at communication with Lan Hui, all of which failed. But by the reaction of the communication jade, she at least learned something.


    \"My message was transmitted. Brother Lan is close-by, or at least his jade is.\"


    It was a simple thing to determine really. Every successful use of the transmission device used up a bit of Shinsoo from her dantian. Because Shin Sumi''s power level was insane due to her particular cultivation of the complete Shinsoo Gathering Manual, it was only a small bit, but that could still be felt clearly.


    It was even Lan Hui who had told her about that at first, when he had taught her how to use the jade to send messages.


    Now by a twist of fate, she was using his teachings to try and find him in the wasteland of snow and ice.


    In order to find the red robed boy, Shin Sumi unleashed all the powers at her disposal. Unlike Bai Xuengen who had a magical artefact to do that, she had no device that showed her the correct path.


    Instead she let out the little nut, like a tiny hound, to sniff any sort of track or direction. It was a dangerous move to do because whoever might be watching back in the sect would temporarily be able to see the little nut, the source of Shin Sumi''s powers.


    The nut fell down from her sleeve directly into the pure white snow. Shin Sumi was relieved to see the snow being moved around by the nut without showing it openly.


    Walking around the ice cave extensively for almost an hour, Shin Sumi met up with the nut after a full circle.


    No bites, no information. Shin Sumi was already in a dead end.


    Hidden under her cloak, she looked up at the red sky, almost praying to the Heavens for the well being of her friend.


    Collecting herself after a moment like that, Shin Sumi forced herself to calm down and think rationally.


    \"First of all, I''m not a hundred percent sure that it''s Brother Lan''s insignia. Secondly it could have ended up here by any sort of means.\"


    Now that she was calm and collected once again, Shin Sumi felt her mind clear rapidly, her thinking faster than before.


    \"Maybe a snow tempest brought it here. That would explain how it was trapped in tons of snow and encased in ice. There was no blood on the piece of cloth so either Brother Lan was still unscathed when he lost it, or it didn''t happen here.


    It could have been done by another disciple or a beast or simply the bad weather, tearing his robes.\"


    Shin Sumi calculated approximately how long it had been since she arrived on the floating continent. It was a hard thing to do because of the time she had spent in meditation close to the Vein of Hell Fire.


    Judging by what she knew of her speed compared to red robed disciples, and the time she had spent to get to this place, she successfully restricted the area in which Lan Hui could be.


    \"He is not that fast. Unless he was taken by an orange or yellow robed disciple, he shouldn''t have been able to leave the ice ring yet. And I don''t think any other colored talent would be interested in a red talented boy.\"


    Shin Sumi''s conjectures were right. On the map in the Grand Hall, the few dots that were already in the third circle were all yellow and orange colored. In fact all the yellow robes were there apart from Bai Xuengen. And only some red robed disciples were displayed in the ring of ice.


    But one problem echoed through her head now. Even if Lan Hui was in the ice environment like her, how would she find him?!


    The ice ring encased between two mountain ranges spanned weeks of travel just to cross and made a full circle around the next ring. Searching each and every corner of it meant spending close to a year''s worth of time.


    And by then, Lan Hui would already have left, or the snow would have covered his body in dozens of meters of white.


    Shin Sumi shivered at the thought. No that wasn''t how to think. One solution presented itself to her mind.


    \"If Brother Lan is still alive and well, he will obviously continue on with the trial. He is bound to leave the ice ring at some point. If he was here, then he will probably head straight towards the mountain range. And that is where I''ll catch him!\"


    Of course that didn''t take into account the possibility of him being stuck somewhere or in peril.


    Shin Sumi suddenly remembered the debt that Bai Xuengen had insisted that he owed her. Or rather Bai Fulong, the male self of Shin Sumi.


    Once more sending a message through her identification medallion, Shin Sumi hoped for the best. The jade didn''t send a voice message but rather transmitted thoughts, thus Shin Sumi didn''t have to worry about her feminine voice being received by the yellow robed disciple.


    \"Brother Bai. I need your help. If you are able to do this for me, then I''ll consider our debt settled. Please help me find and protect a red robed disciple from the Affairs Pavilion. His name is Lan Hui and I suspect danger has befallen him in the icy tundra. Let''s keep in touch for that matter.\"


    Almost instantly, Shin Sumi''s jade vibrated lightly. It was a simple reply from Bai Xuengen.


    \"Leave it to me, Brother.\"


    Shin Sumi didn''t completely trust Bai Xuengen, having met him only recently, but she wholeheartedly believed to have made a big enough impression on him for him to take the matter seriously.


    Through the lack of questions regarding Lan Hui''s description, she figured that Bai Xuengen must already know him.


    Lan Hui was the intermediary through which Elder Zhu, the Elder in charge of the Affairs Pavilion, contacted disciples and resolved conflicts. Because of that, Lan Hui had had dealings with almost everyone in the lower valley, and yellow robed disciples were no exception.


    \"Bai Xuengen sounded rather confident, he must have some kind of way to find Brother Lan. Now I''ll wait for him near the third ring!\"


    Without knowing it, Shin Sumi was of course talking about the golden compass that Bai Xuengen possessed. As long as he had enough power and no exterior forces interfered, he was almost certain to find the direction of what he was looking for, a person included.


    Shin Sumi focused her attention of the yellow pillar of light once more as she avoided the snaking crevices and advanced through the white landscape. Remembering the towering icicles, she didn''t dare getting too close to the ice arcs that pourfended the air, almost in defiance of the Heavens.


    On her path, more and more ice flowers covered the ground. They seemed so frail, as if the wind alone would be enough to break them into millions of pieces.


    If Shin Sumi hadn''t been absorbed by other matters, she would have looked at the scenery with stars in her eyes. But how could she focus on such a futile thing like flowers when her friend was possibly in danger?


    Because of her focus, she didn''t realize that the flowers soon occupied so much of the ground that she couldn''t really avoid stepping on them as she leapt with the enhanced power of her legs.


    Because of her focus, she also didn''t see the faint blue mist that arose from every flower that had been crushed. That same mist that propagated from flower to flower, like a message from a plant to the next in protection of the intruder.


    Shin Sumi''s sight was impaired by her cloak and the mist was faint enough to not be discernable at first glance.


    Thankfully, Shin Sumi was fast, and the mist was just slow enough in its progress to not catch up to her. But that was when the wind rose.


    Tempests were common in the ice tundra, every Liquid Realm disciple that had ever trained there could confirm that fact. In fact most of them would tremble slightly at the recollection of what the storms in the icy environment could do to a person.


    And that was coming from the testimony of Liquid Realm cultivators! Each and every one of them was dozens of times stronger than any Honorary Disciple by a large margin! That said a lot.


    Apart from the cold that seemed through every fabric and obstacles, and the blocks of ice that could be flung around by the powerful wind, most of the disciples'' minds instantly went to something else when thinking about the ice ring.


    The Ice Flowers Domain. That was the name given to the blue mist that was currently being blown right into Shin Sumi''s face.


    The mist was hardly discernible and once it was breathed in by Shin Sumi, she had already been sealed.


    Shin Sumi only smelled a very faint flowery perfume. Without realizing yet, her movements had already been slurred down to half her normal speed.


    \"What are these?! Flower?!!\" she exclaimed when she saw the first illusory flower stalks grow from her legs.


    Taking out Chao Long''s dagger, Shin Sumi didn''t waste any time and started severing the growing stalks.


    Where the stalks were severed, the flowers stopped blooming, but every petal that fell to the ground instantly transformed into another flower.


    Such was the nightmare brought about by the Ice Flowers Domain.


    In just a few minutes, Shin Sumi had cut so many invading stalks that tried to slow her down that her surroundings were covered by gentle and frail looking petals. And there was still the mist coming from them.


    Soon, the ground was so covered that not even a finger''s length of snow was visible. In fact the recently cut flowers fell onto the flower field... and started growing on top of each other!


    In five minutes'' worth of time, Shin Sumi had been stopped completely, and she was surrounded by walls of flowers that seemed to merge together to form a magical array of mirrors.


    From the outside, it only looked like a block of ice had been erected or shaped by the growing wind.


    As soon as the block of ice completely closed, the Ice Flowers Domain was complete. The rate at which Shin Sumi started loosing her energy augmented exponentially.


    \"It is draining me! All my Shinsoo is leaving!\"


    Tendrils of vapor like Shinsoo formed from all her pores and Shinsoo openings, slowly leaving her body at first but growing faster and faster.


    Shin Sumi found herself becoming really disoriented, her senses blocked by a cold numbing feeling. The mist all around was clogging her Shinsoo openings, altering her sight, sense of direction and all around alertness.


    Judging by the growing lack of rationality that was invading her, Shin Sumi only estimated herself to be able to last for around five more minutes.


    Not even knowing when, her knees found themselves on the ice cold ground. She was kneeling and breathing hard. Even the air felt solid around her and the mirrors all around rendered her surroundings infinite in all directions.


    Down to her bones the cold had invaded everything but the numbness had spread to a degree where she couldn''t even feel the low temperature anymore.


    Her sight was the last sense remaining and even that started to fade into black slowly.


    \"This is the end. My only hope now is for someone to rescue me\" she thought.


    She didn''t know that the Ice Flowers Domain wouldn''t kill her completely. The way the terrifying formation worked was that the mirrors drained her until the last drop of Shinsoo and then she would be trapped in ice, not even knowing that she was alive.


    In fact, not many people had ever died from the Ice Flowers Domain. Apart from serious frost bites and a lack of Shinsoo that reverted disciples temporarily to the state of a mortal human, most of them would be rescued once the trial was over.


    But Shin Sumi ignored all that and truly believed that she was breathing her last breath. And so did the little nut.


    In a last ditch effort, the little nut rolled out from the folds of Shin Sumi''s red dress. Shin Sumi was already blinded, deafened, unable to feel or orient herself.


    The circular rows of sharp invisible teeth plunged deep into Shin Sumi''s flesh, leaving a mark on her white neck before it turned blue.


    The bite had effects comparable to a shot of adrenalin. Shin Sumi''s eyes opened with a sharp intake of breath, suddenly making her body function once again.


    She knew this wasn''t going to last, and that the little nut had only given her a leeway of a few seconds.


    In one move, Shin Sumi slapped her bag of holding. The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword materialized in her small hand, its warm golden texture flashing briefly for a second before it was dimmed again by the mirrors.


    Imbuing the sword in Yang type Shinsoo with one thought to the Copper Bell, Shin Sumi slashed with all her might in the upwards direction.


    It was her last effort, all her strength gathered in one move to strike the mirrors formation towards the exterior. Only one strike had to do it, but as soon as the link between the mirrors were broken, Shin Sumi would be able to escape the frightening Ice Flowers Domain.


    If she indeed struck the top. But the viciousness of the domain also laid in its disorientation ability.


    Without her senses of sight, touch, and her entire body numbed, what Shin Sumi had taken for the up direction was actually straight below!


    All the strength of her slash concentrated on the surface of the ice, cracks spreading crazily in concentric bolts. The ground caved in inside the mirrors formation, but not stopping there.


    Quickly extending outwards, the ground completely collapsed in a hundred meter radius. A giant crevice was hidden beneath the large portion of the land occupied by the ice flowers.


    Shin Sumi still held the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, partly because of reflex and partly because her fingers seemed frozen solid. The last of her strength, of the second wave of energy given by the strange little grey nut, had finally dissipated.


    Her lifeless body plunged into the depth of the ice, accompanied by shining chunks of shattered mirrors, reflecting the red sky above and spinning colorful dots of light all around.


    Her body was finally free from the Ice Flowers Domain, her dantian at last retaining its Shinsoo and already gathering some of it from the environment through her breathing. But she was falling quickly to her death and this time the grey nut wouldn''t be able to save her.


    Her last attempt as freeing herself had been akin to a suicide in the end. Had she been conscious, she would have chuckled dryly at the irony.


    Clutching her sword, Shin Sumi plummeted in the abyss that was growing darker and darker. The crevice was really deep and soon the red of the sky had softened into violet, then dark blue, then simply dark.


    And then, as she was about to crash to the bottom, a clearer blue appeared in the distance.


    Resonating from the pulsating source of light in the distance, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword hummed.


    It slowed Shin Sumi''s descent at the last minute. The weapon struggled for a second, unable to free itself from Shin Sumi''s grasp. In the end the call from the blue light was too strong, and the sword started carrying its owner with it as it drifted through the air.


    The closer the blade got to the source of light, the second Vein of Hell Fire, the more the pulsating strength of the Shinsoo impacted Shin Sumi.


    Her countenance that had been unsightly reverted back to normal, and soon her complexion had turned from a dangerous blue white of death to a healthier jade color.


    Shin Sumi''s eyelashes fluttered for a second before opening.

 42 The Blue Vein

    In the history of the cultivation world, it was unknown during which era or millenia the first sentient weapons were created.


    Although it had probably emanated from the work of one single legendary craftsman, the knowledge of the technique spread quickly to the entire world.


    As such, sentient artefacts were not that hard to find. The only thing that made them quite rare was that no matter how many times the technique to produce them was refined, no matter how many generations passed, the success rate of creating such an object was really low.


    Most of these artefacts, especially weapons, were kept like treasures and passed down from ancestors to heirs, becoming family or even clans and sects heirlooms.


    The level of intelligence of a weapon was directly linked to the resources used to create it and the mastery of the craftsman behind it.


    As it turned out, Shin Sumi''s Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was either not that intelligent or possessed a really bad temper.


    As soon as it had sensed the presence of a Vein of Hell Fire in the vicinity, the sword had not been able to resist the temptation and had flown in its direction.


    Shin Sumi had been in an almost comatose state, frozen solid by the effects of the Ice Flowers Domain. Without her knowledge it was probably what saved her life.


    In her last attempt to break free from the mirror formation of the Ice Flowers, she had slashed her sword downwards before losing consciousness, tightly clinging to her sword with frozen fingers.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword dragged Shin Sumi across the air for hundreds of meters through a cavern that had probably not seen the light of day since ancient times.


    It wobbled in its path, half trying to control its flight with the burden of its master gripping the handle, and half trying to shake her off.


    The blue Vein of Hell Fire was in sight, and its effects were only starting to fill Shin Sumi with enough energy to open her eyes when the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword lost some altitude.


    Shin Sumi crash landed on the transparent ice, sliding for dozens of meters, unaware of what was going on except from a sharp pain that was slowly awakening as her body recovered from its frozen state.


    Finally liberated from its burden, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword took to the air once more before planting its double edged blade deep into the Vein. Only the handle was visible, if you managed to look directly at the source of all Shinsoo in the second ring of the trial dimension.


    Shin Sumi understood where she was before she could even move freely. She was laying in an unsightly position, with much of her robes torn open revealing pieces of flesh purer than the ice she was resting on.


    \"The second Vein of Hell Fire!\" she mumbled. Her words didn''t really make sense as she couldn''t feel her jaw.


    The excitement drowned out the pain quickly and she slowly started to piece together how she ended up there. It was truly a miracle.


    She ignored that all the bruises actually came from the sword and now the Ice Flowers Domain nor the fall itself. It didn''t matter anyway as the Vein of Hell Fire was enough energy to recover her full strength and more thousands of times over.


    The pulsating source of Shinsoo irradiated with such strength and raw energy that Shin Sumi''s skin tingled, exactly like it had back in the outer ring.


    The only difference was that this time the source was blue in color and more on the Yin type side.


    Shin Sumi realized that even the ice touching her skin didn''t feel cold at all, almost burning her actually.


    \"So the ''fire'' in Hell Fire isn''t actually flames at all!\" she thought as she recovered quickly. \"The first one was red and burning, deep under the earth like the belly of a volcano. But this one is blue and although it is burning, it doesn''t have heat. Or else ice wouldn''t be the main characteristic of this place...\"


    \"How lucky was I to be trapped by the Ice Flowers right above the Vein of Hell Fire?!\" Shin Sumi thanked the Heavens.


    The little grey nut rolled on her arm silently but ecstatically, seemingly unaffected by the dense Shinsoo pulsating so strongly that it was almost overbearing.


    Shin Sumi looked at the nut for a second through half closed eyelids, her maximum at the moment.


    \"Is the nut excited because of the source of Shinsoo or because it is a plant or animal of some sort?\"


    Shin Sumi didn''t know why the thought had popped into her mind, but it had brought along a whole lot of ideas and conjectures.


    Maybe in this place she was able to think more clearly, stimulated by the blue Vein of Hell Fire, but her brain was functioning at high speed and clarity now that she had completely woken up.


    \"The trees back in the outer ring were much bigger close to the cave entrance to the Vein... And there was this huge crocodile, the bigger creature I''ve seen so far, that was really close to it too... Well except for the blur that chased it afterwards...


    Anyway, in here too, the flowers were densely packed right above this place. And now the little nut. Maybe the source of Shinsoo makes living things stronger the closer they are to it!\"


    It was now so obvious that Shin Sumi felt ashamed of not having thought of it sooner. It make so much sense! And it that conjecture was true, then it would be way easier to find the remaining three Veins in the next rings!


    \"But before that, there''s something more important I need to do!\"


    Of course she hadn''t forgotten her friend Lan Hui.


    Shin Sumi checked her identification medallion for any transmission that could have occured while she was out. It was useless but she didn''t know it.


    Close to the Vein of Hell Fire, not even the Elders back in the sect could see or sense her, the fluctuations of Shinsoo in this place acting like a shield, much stronger than a puny jade medallion.


    Shin Sumi tried to contact Lan Hui, Bai Xuengen and even Xiao Yue but none of her divine sense messages seemed to reach out.


    She wanted to escape the cavern and keep on looking for her friend but that was impossible for now.


    Turning around and protecting her face with her small white hand, Shin Sumi took one glance at the glowing blue vein down below.


    The handle carved from the Stone Leaf Tortoise was the only thing that could be seen of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    Sitting with her back to the Vein in a cross-legged position, Shin Sumi calmed herself to enter a state of meditation.


    \"I have to wait for the sword to finish its refining. I can''t leave without it, and I need all the energy I can gather to find you, Brother Lan.\"


    ***


    Shin Sumi was unaware of time passing while in her deep meditative state.


    She hadn''t been immersed for more than a week when an orange robed girl clad in a black cloak reached the other side of the first mountain pass.


    Xiao Yue was shivering slightly, even under her big fur cover. Her first attempt at crossing to the ice ring ended abruptly with her having to go back to the jungle area.


    There she had found a suitable spirit beast and hunted it for its fur. Xiao Yue''s hunting skills were known among the entire lower valley as being top class, even for an orange talented disciple.


    Imbuing the coat with the Yang energy of a few beast cores in order to fight the cold, the resourceful girl was now finally stepping on the snow.


    She marveled at the sight of the blue crevices like lightning bolts between the fangs that were the ice arcs soaring towards the Heavens.


    In her hand was the identification jade she had just tried to use to contact Shin Sumi.


    \"Nothing at all. I don''t think Sumi is that far behind, which means she must be in front! Where are you, sister?\"


    Her breath formed a small cloud in front of her delicate lips as she sighed before moving forward across the land of snow and ice.


    Xiao Yue eyes were vigilant at all times. Her instinct as a hunter was more developed than many, and she knew how to recognize traces and hints that indicated danger.


    That applied to spirit beasts but also to cultivators. One of the things she feared the most wasn''t an animal, that she could deal with easily. But the cunning nature of cultivators, especially in the conditions of a trial by fire, that was something else.


    Across the jungle environment, she had seen many instances of disciples tricking one another over an item, a precious artefact or a treasure. Almost as soon as she had left Kan Xi, the orange robed girl that was following her, she had participated actively in the hunt for treasures.


    Xiao Yue worked better alone, unbothered by the lack of company, but she pitied those who couldn''t.


    \"I may pity them, but that is how the game works\" she thought as she travelled the almost empty white landscape.


    At some point in a small area hidden by a forest of ice trees, sounds of battle echoed in the distance. Interested by them, Xiao Yue approached the scene from a hidden point of view.


    Three disciples, all with red robes, were battling an Ice Winged Serpent the size of a bear. On top of the creature''s head, a short sword could be seen planted. The beast didn''t seem bothered by it at all, as if it had spent decades with it there. In fact small greenish white scales were coiled around the basis of the sword, almost as it the beast had fused with the weapon.


    The sword shone with a glint that only a certain nature of artefacts produced.


    Stars shone in Xiao Yue''s eyes and she understood why the three disciples didn''t want to give up the fight against the beast that was obviously too strong for them.


    \"A good-grade treasure!\"


    Xiao Yue was going back and forth in her head, wondering what to do. Judging by the power of the Ice Winged Serpent, she could probably kill it with almost no risk to herself.


    The red robed disciples though, that was another deal altogether.


    Xiao Yue didn''t want unnecessary contact with other disciples, and also felt a bit bad about reaping the reward they were actively fighting for. Had it been someplace else and at another time, she wouldn''t have thought about it twice, but here...


    \"I really have to commend them. Already being this far deep into the second ring, these red robes have strength!\"


    The trial had already been ongoing for a few months, but what was that amount of time compared to the length of the whole Rising Star Tournament? The fact that red robed disciples had succeeded in fighting off the cold of the second ring, making it this far this soon meant that they were well prepared, and deserved their reward.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a low shout from one of the three boys.


    \"Now!\"


    It was only then that Xiao Yue realized that the three of them were placed around the Ice Winged Serpent, forming a perfect triangle with the creature in the middle.


    Rows of light shone on the ground, green lines connecting the three boys together and attacking the snake at the same time.


    \"A green level spirit formation! They have this level of power?!\"


    The surprise in Xiao Yue''s eyes was underwhelmed only by the surprise felt by the snake itself. As the green lines wrapped around it, the snake was helpless. Like burning hot chains, the lines seemed to sink inside the beast''s flesh, cutting slowly into scales and bones as if they were nothing.


    A sizzling noise arose, drowned in the beast''s cries of pain, until it was dead.


    Panting, the three red robed disciples had lost a huge amount of energy by unleashing a spirit formation spell that was above their current power.


    From what she had seen, Xiao Yue conjectured that the spell could probably be used by a single green talented disciple, but given their low power, the disciples had to be three in order to successfully use it.


    The boy that seemed to be the leader told one of his two companions to retrieve the sword that stuck out of the Ice Winged Serpent''s head, while the other was charged of finding the beast''s core in the middle of the mass of charred flesh.


    The leader then took out a fan from his bag of holding, revealing to Xiao Yue the reason for their strength.


    The fan was rainbow colored and heavily damaged. The paper triangles were almost all ridden with holes and some of the wooden armature was broken.


    As the boy was observing the fan, the last remaining paper part that was untouched suddenly ripped. Along with the tear, the fan caught on fire, green magic flames destroying it quickly, forcing the boy to throw the thing in the snow where it continued to burn unnaturally.


    \"That was its last use... Thankfully we seem to have found a new weapon on par with it, brothers!\"


    Xiao Yue understood instantly. The boys had repeatedly used the fan in order to pass trials and acquire treasures. That was how they managed to get this far already.


    She was about to turn around and leave, having finally decided to leave them alone when a chuckle erupted from the boy on top of the snake head.


    \"We? We have found a new weapon? I don''t think so, Lao Wan. It is time to end our collaboration now that your precious fan is gone. NOW DIE!\"


    In a flash, the red robed boy launched itself. In his hand the scaley short sword drew a circle in the air. Unable to escape and taken by surprise, the boy called Lao Wan couldn''t respond in time.


    The sword entered between the shoulder and the neck and almost didn''t slow down until it had escaped the boy''s body on the opposite side, just below the torso.


    Without a word, the previous leader of the group fell to the ground, the white snow forever tainted by his blood.


    The third boy of the group, obviously the youngest, was standing there, his eyes bulging out of their sockets with shock, unable to comprehend.


    Xiao Yue saw his instinct kick in as he turned around to flee but too late.


    \"With that sword in my hand, even orange robed disciples will think twice before attacking me, don''t you think you can escape, Ning Ho!\"


    The treacherous boy threw his sword, easily finding its target after six or seven spins in the air. Without having escaped more than fifty steps, the boy named Ning Ho fell, the sword planted deep between his shoulder blades.


    Xiao Yue refrained a gasp. Even she had been unprepared for the scene that just unfolded in front of her.


    When she looked back up, the last standing boy was wiping the blood of his newly acquired sword in the snow, laughing like a maniac.


    Xiao Yue''s eyes had already shifted from encouragement to hatred. If before she had scruples about getting the sword after their fight, now she only wanted to make him pay.


    ***


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes amidst a sea of blue light.


    The Vein of Hell Fire had dimmed by more than seventy percent compared to its brilliance from before.


    Without wasting any time, Shin Sumi scanned her own body anxiously. Excitement rose quickly in her, messing her breathing rhythm.


    \"Fifty second Shinsoo Door! I opened four of them in one go!\"


    Just like last time, the Vein of Hell Fire had directly boosted her cultivation by what could only be considered an enormous leap.


    Shin Sumi marveled at her newfound strength. She wondered if now she would be able to fare better against the giant crocodile from earlier.


    Four Shinsoo Doors wasn''t much normally, but Shin Sumi had long passed the Primal and Outer Doors. During the Spirit Doors phase, each one was way harder to break open than the last, needing an unimaginable amount of Shinsoo to break the barrier.


    With the amount needed for the fiftieth door alone, one red robed disciple would be able to directly open the first twenty doors. Considering that most disciples would normally only break through a dozen openings in their cultivation, it showed how insanely unusual Shin Sumi''s cultivation was.


    Her meditation close to the Vein of Hell Fire and the absorption by the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had emptied a good portion of the Shinsoo source. It was unknown how long it would take for its strength to grow back.


    But as of now, the Vein seemed to be on the verge of extinction. In fact it was barely enough to sustain the environment.


    The entire ring was directly linked to the Vein of Hell Fire, and due to the relative frailness of the ice, the ground started to tremble while Shin Sumi was checking herself.


    Cracks started to appear in the walls of the cavern where the source was located.


    A chunk of ice the size of a house started vibrating a second before it detached. Right above Shin Sumi.


    It was at the same time that the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword finished its absorption. A golden arc of light broke through the air, instantly returning to Shin Sumi''s hand faster than lightning.


    The thin golden blade effortlessly cut the bloc of ice, equal pieces falling on either side of Shin Sumi.


    The sword that had started like a rough and dull piece of metal was now closely resembling the leaf of some treasured plant.


    Its slick profile was more refined than any weapon Shin Sumi had ever seen and the blade was so thin it almost was translucent.


    It made no doubt to Shin Sumi that the blade had undergone a massive change in power.


    Following the path opened where the block of ice had fallen, Shin Sumi leaped out of the cave in hope of finding a safe way back to the fresh air.


    The cave crumbled on itself soon after, the Vein of Hell Fire now buried again for who knows how long.


    Shin Sumi wrapped herself in her cloak. With the recent events, the cloak was now full of holes, barely covering the new set of robes she had donned. But Shin Sumi didn''t feel the slightest cold.


    She looked in the distance towards the yellow ray of light, her hand seizing from her bag the vibrating piece of jade.


    She ignored how long she had been under the ice, and only hoped that Lan Hui had been found. With clenched teeth, she sent a sliver of divine sense into the identification medallion.

 43 An Ancient City Maze

    \"Brother Bai, I have found that Lan Hui boy. He is with me now, we are close to the mountain range between the second and third ring. He is good now.\"


    The message came from Bai Xuengen and had been sent right as Shin Sumi had escaped the ice prison where the Vein of Hell Fire was located.


    Shin Sumi heaved a sigh of relief. Lan Hui was safe. It did not matter now what trouble had befallen him as long as he was sound and taken good care of.


    Amused, Shin Sumi thought about how her intuition was right. She had instantly thought of Lan Hui when she found the Affairs Pavilion insignia even though it could have been someone else''s, and she had been right.


    She didn''t know for certain but Bai Xuengen wouldn''t have said \"he is good now\" if the red robed disciple had always been fine.


    Shin Sumi was about to reply something along the lines of \"I am on my way, thank you brother Bai, consider your debt fulfilled\", and was already circulating a bit of her newfound Shinsoo from the Vein when another vibration interrupted her.


    The second message also came from Bai Xuengen, which made Shin Sumi furrow her eyebrows. Another message so fast?


    \"Brother! They are still after him, I can''t protect him here. We have to cross to the next ring and hopefully lose them in the mountain pass! My divine sense won''t project from there. Shit, here they come!\"


    And just like that the message ended. Shin Sumi tried to answer, holding the jade so tight that her knuckles turned white but to no avail.


    \"Who are ''they'' and what do ''they'' want?! Beasts? Disciples? Bai Xuengen is yellow talented and has the sword from the golems, what is it that can make him flee in this tournament?\"


    A certain image flitted through her mind. She remembered the huge crocodile, and the blur faster than lightning that had severed its claw.


    She had heard the cry of the thing and she remembered perfectly the strength that had crushed her in an instant.


    It had been enough to make her lose consciousness, a power akin to to the weight of a thousand mountains compared to her puny cultivation level.


    \"No that can''t be it. Bai Xuengen wouldn''t last a single breath before that thing.\"


    Shin Sumi sent her divine sense to the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, sending it to her bag of holding with a thought. The sword was too visible and recognizable.


    She had to find Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui and couldn''t waste any time, but it didn''t matter what was after them, she still had to exert caution.


    \"Little Copper Bell, it''s time for me to become Bai Fulong once more\" she said as she activated the bell''s powers. Trying to intensely forget the images of her male body in the clear river water that one time, she wasn''t too happy about using Yang type Shinsoo to hide her identity, but Bai Xuengen knew only her face as a red robed boy.


    Once the Confusion Pill dissolved into her mouth, Shin Sumi was ready.


    Arching her legs a little bit, the ground cracked in a circular pattern beneath her feet before she lept in the direction of the yellow pillar of light.


    Her entire body had undergone refining from the very source of Shinsoo of the entire ice environment, and it showed.


    Impressing even herself, Shin Sumi traveled more than thirty meters with each burst of power. The cold wasn''t as bothering as before, and even the beautiful snowlake dancing above her head could not sap away her energy like before.


    If before she felt like she was on par with yellow robes, now Shin Sumi knew that she owned them!


    ***


    Bai Xuengen turned away quickly as soon as the boy sitting on the rock a few meters away noticed his staring.


    Lan Hui sighed while clutching his left wrist.


    \"I''m fine, Senior Brother Bai. Your pill is working. I just need to rest for a bit and we can continue.\"


    Bai Xuengen held his fist tightly. They couldn''t rest for too long, they had to keep moving, but the red robed boy wasn''t in condition yet.


    The light of divination flashed briefly in Bai Xuengen''s eyes before he put away his magical compass.


    \"They are closing in on us again. Do you have another speed talisman?\"


    \"I only have two left\" answered Lan Hui straight away.


    Bai Xuengen sighed once more. His forehead was wrinkled with concern. Tearing a piece of cloth with his teeth, he turned to face the young man.


    \"Wrap your hand in this. Put a spirit stone against the wound to keep your energy levels as close to maximum as possible.\"


    \"Mn\" approved Lan Hui. He clenched his teeth to do what he was told. The contact between the spirit stone and his open flesh burned painfully for a second before the pain started being alleviated.


    He took one last look at the place where his fingers had been before wrapping his hand in the cloth. That was only a makeshift bandage but it would be enough for a while.


    \"You know, Senior Brother Bai, you would have no problem escaping alone. I mean you wouldn''t have to...\"


    \"Stop spewing nonsense\" Bai Xuengen cut him off before he could finish his thought. \"Someone I owe a debt to trusted me with finding you and keeping you safe, and I intend to do just that.\"


    He looked back towards the entrance to the tunnel and continued, \"Before he gets here, you stay with me, I''m not leaving you behind, no matter what you say.\"


    Lan Hui didn''t know Bai Xuengen very well. Obviously, being one of the few individuals of the lower valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, he knew his name, but hadn''t interracted much with him before.


    The Affairs Pavilion boy was a good judge of character, being in charge of solving conflicts between disciples on a daily basis, but he knew his first impressions of the yellow young man were mistaken.


    Instead of the aloof personality and proud nature to be expected from a talented individual, he had found Bai Xuengen to be rather... simple.


    Bai Xuengen had showed him an incredible sense of duty and commitment that was unexpected for someone he didn''t know.


    Whereas he probably should have focused on his cultivation and progress, as it was the goal of the Rising Star Tournament, Bai Xuengen had instead stayed with him and protected him from the repeated assaults by his aggressors.


    The two camarades resumed moving as soon as Lan Hui had finished tending to his wounds.


    The boy kept thinking about the person Bai Xuengen was referring to when he said he was asked to protect him.


    \"Bai Fulong... I know nobody of that name. Whoever that is, it''s obviously not their real name. Bai Xuengen should know that too.\"


    The yellow robed young man did know. He had suspected from the start that ''Bai Fulong'' had been a made up name that coincidentally matched his own.


    He also was willing to bet that the face of the boy dressed in red yet displaying an unusual strength was not his real face.


    He would uncover that mystery soon. He knew that his last message to Bai Fulong had been received, right as they had left the second ring a few days before. Now it was only a matter of time before he could find and meet them.


    Hopefully the mysterious boy in red robes would offer them an explanation. And hopefully Chu Erlong and her group wouldn''t catch them beforehand.


    On his own, Bai Xuengen would have been fine. He could beat the orange robed Chu Erlong with his eyes closed, but with the crew she had gathered and the already injured Lan Hui, every fight could be the last for the latter.


    ***


    Shin Sumi was at a loss.


    \"What is this place?\" she asked in disbelief.


    No voice answered. There was no one around to answer but that wasn''t the reason for her confusion. Advancing as fast as she could, she had just finished crossing the mountain range separating the second ring from the third.


    The air had suddenly gotten warmer and the snowflakes had disappeared silently. The icy landscape was behind her.


    From what she had seen so far, Shin Sumi expected to find a third special terrain after the mountains. The third ring, location of the third Vein of Hell Fire that she needed to temper her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword with.


    But instead, she was in front of a dead end.


    Due to the circles becoming smaller and smaller, the mountain range between the ice ring and the next one was way smaller than the one before that. In fact not many entrances could be found to trace a path between the high stormy peaks.


    Shin Sumi was sure to have taken one of them, but after a few hours of walking in between the rocky cliffs and the jagged stones leading the way, she found herself in front of a wall.


    The wall was a dark grey color, much darker than the mountains itself and was incredibly flat.


    Rising vertically, she couldn''t even see where the wall ended and where the dark rumbling clouds started.


    Had it been a normal exploration, Shin Sumi probably would have turned back and tried to find another path between the rings, but she didn''t have that luxury.


    \"Lan Hui is with Bai Xuengen but his message sounded almost panicked. Something is after them, I can''t delay much longer.\"


    It was then that Shin Sumi saw the hole.


    Right at the end of the path, behind a strange looking stone statue representing a tree, the dark wall separated slightly, leaving just enough room for maybe two or three persons to walk side to side.


    The entrance was square shaped and looked completely ordinary, except for the few lines carved above it.


    \"Where the sky lays low and meets the ground, only a star can shine bright enough to light the way\" Shin Sumi read without difficulty.


    It was not written in the common language used by the people around the sect, but being the avid reader that she had been all her life, Shin Sumi recognized the words.


    \"The ancient southern tongue! This is from the Story of the People!\"


    Shin Sumi breathed heavily as flashbacks from her childhood formed in her eyes. The Story of the People, a legendary myth that had come from who knew when in ancient history.


    She could recall her second uncle, the city librarian explaining to her \"These texts come from an era way before our own, Little Sumi. Nowadays most of the culture from back then has been lost, but some few bits remain.\"


    \"We don''t know their name or where they came from. The legend talks about an entire civilization that rose from the belly of the earth and ascended to the heavens.\"


    Shin Sumi''s second uncle had teased her a lot with this story, until he finally gave her a cipher scroll and an old looking book with a leather cover.


    To her disappointment, Shin Sumi had only been able to translate a few pages of the entire book with the cipher. A lot of the text had remained a mystery.


    The cipher had been found far away in southern lands and although crude, corresponded well to the strange symbols written on the pages of the leather covered book.


    Shin Sumi remembered her delight reading the Story of the People, and that sentence was definitely part of it.


    \"Where the sky lays low and meets the ground, only a star can shine bright enough to light the way\" she repeated in a soft voice.


    What was the link between this pocket dimension owned by the Dark Sky Starry Sect and the People from the story? Her mind spun with excitement and confusion.


    \"How befitting... The Rising Star Tournament, when one ascends to the Liquid Realm and becomes a star for the sect.\"


    Now she was starting to understand.


    \"Does that mean... Is the whole ring underground?!\"


    The entrance carved in the whole, the line from the Story of the People rising from the belly of the earth... Shin Sumi sensed that she was right.


    \"Well I''m about to find out anyway. I don''t have much choice, do I?\"


    Shin Sumi had never felt claustrophobic when she was younger, instead preferring to stay inside most of the time. But recently she had spent an incredible amount of time far away from the light of the sun.


    Or in this case the blood red light that flooded the entire sky devoid of sun.


    From the sect itself that was always covered in heavy clouds to the Veins of Hell Fire deep under the surface, and now this?


    Shin Sumi entered the square hole, allowing herself to be swallowed once more by the earth, feeling in her nose the scent of the wet and warm rock.


    Unlike these other underground places she had visited, the atmosphere in there was lighter.


    Shin Sumi didn''t feel like she was pressed down to the ground by the weight of the earth above. Instead the feeling was more akin to moving inside a gigantic building.


    Or maybe that feeling came from the fact that the walls were carved and the ground was covered by stone tiles.


    \"This isn''t just another cave, is it?\" Shin Sumi asked the relative darkness, \"The entire ring is a big maze...\"


    As far as her divine sense could probe her surroundings, the only thing in sight was a complex entanglement of corridors, halls, tunnels, all with carved walls and tiled flooring.


    In some places, the precious looking tiles had been dug up, likely by someone looking for hidden treasures. Some walls that had at some point in time been covered by tapestries were now bare.


    Like the ruins of an old civilization, the underground city had definitely seen the passage of time.


    Shin Sumi navigated for hours in the maze, unable to find indications of which way to go, which path to follow.


    She tried to make sense of her orientation to find the general direction towards the next ring but she soon realized that it was impossible.


    The ground was never perfectly level, always in a slight slope, and a large number of stairs with a seemingly random number of stairs made it so she couldn''t even recall if she was on the same floor as the entrance.


    In fact, now that she looked at it closely, not a single room or corridor was in a straight line.


    For Shin Sumi who''s orientation without the sky was not that great, this maze was a nightmare.


    \"Maybe it works the same way as the entry test to the sect?\" she had tried without conviction. But the little grey nut was unable to help her this time. Not even the natural flow of Shinsoo in this place could help navigating it.


    Shin Sumi tried contacting the people she was looking for through divine sense messages but she didn''t get any response.


    \"I have to leave it all to luck? No that doesn''t make sense. Luck is important for a cultivator but that hardly fits the criteria for a test or a tournament! How do the Elders and the higher-ups of the sect expect us to pass the trial with sheer luck?!\"


    \"I am certain there is a special way of passing this ring besides pure luck. Maybe there are clues in the carvings on the walls? Is that linked with the Story of the People in some way?\"


    But the more she looked at it, the more Shin Sumi realized that the engraved rows of characters that sometimes spanned entire walls were complete gibberish to her.


    Even with her knowledgeable background the writings were impossible to read. Besides, some of them had even been destroyed by the passing of time.


    \"It is strange, in some places it seems written in the ancient southern tongue, but here for example the characters are completely different!\"


    Shin Sumi sighed.


    \"... and completely unintelligible.\"


    Depressed by her lack of findings, Shin Sumi continued her evolution through the corridors, trying to find clues in basically anything.


    She arrived after a series of large and impressive halls to a plaza with a high ceiling. The place was awe-inspiring and Shin Sumi could almost see the might that it possessed whenever the civilization that lived here was at their best.


    The room was almost circular and possessed dozens of platforms distributed evenly along the perimeter. From the entrance, Shin Sumi could barely see the platform at the end of the plaza, a few hundred meters from where she was.


    On each platform, a large pedestal stood proudly in the middle, surrounded by a few smaller ones.


    In one glance, it was easy to tell what had happened. Each platform had once housed a large statue that was now nowhere to be seen.


    The carved lines on each pedestal had been furiously scratched by heavy weapons, rendering what was probably the names of the people whose statue was worshipped utterly ilegible.


    Whoever desecrated the plaza of worship did a good job on the dozens of pedestals, but clearly couldn''t be bothered about the smaller ones.


    Rubble and broken up parts covered the smaller pedestals. Of the lower statues, some features could be distinguished amongst the ruins, all of them human looking.


    Taking the entire room in sight, Shin Sumi discovered that the markings that she had previously found only on the walls, the ones in the ancient southern tongue, also covered part of the floor there.


    The engravings formed intersecting lines between platforms here and there, drawing a complex pattern of hundreds of symbols.


    In fact, from above, the entire place probably looked like...


    \"A magical formation! The worship that had been going on here weren''t only to these individuals, but also for this complex pattern! But seeing how it looks now, broken up and forgotten... Who or what in the world had the power to break a formation this large and impressive?!\"


    Shin Sumi didn''t have any answer to her questions. The fact that this strange underground city was in the middle of the training dimension of the Dark Sky Starry Sect made no sense. It was only a ring in the big floating continent, just like the ice environment and the jungle.


    Has the civilization flourished in this exact space, or had their city been moved there? By whom and how did it end up owned by the sect? What was the link between the sect, this place, and the People from the legendary story?


    Shin Sumi was pondering these thoughts all the while admiring the nearly perfect pattern of the spirit formation.


    Every line, every platform fit in the perfect spot, with the center being the source of all symmetry.


    \"Except that fountain\" Shin Sumi realized.


    Close to the center of the room but not quite in the middle, a dried up fountain stood. As she got closer to it, Shin Sumi saw that she wasn''t the first disciple to come here.


    Large splashes of blood covered part of the stone fountain, which wouldn''t have been unusual considering that this maze had once been a city that had fallen. Surely some fights took place, maybe even amongst the pillagers that dug up the floor tiles.


    But what made Shin Sumi gasp was the fact that the blood hadn''t dried yet. No, it was definitely fresh.

 44 Wormslayer And The Black Cloud Curse

    The fountain was at the almost exact center of the spirit formation, although off by a few steps. The body of the fountain which seemed made of stone was stain by fresh blood.


    Something was wrong there, Shin Sumi knew it. All around the stone build of the three leveled fountain were small pedestals very similar to those around the main statues that could be seen on the outer edge of the room.


    They protruded by a meter or so and were perfectly placed around the fountain, which made them also not centered when taking the entire room into account.


    Before she had seen the blood, Shin Sumi hadn''t paid attention to that at all, focused as she was on the history of the place and the stories it told.


    Now though it was different.


    "That fountain and the stones around it are not part of the room. They were added much later. The ground is also covered in less dust and rubble."


    Without another word, Shin Sumi took out her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. The thin blade shone a golden light around her and seemed humming for battle.


    Holding it in her small hand, Shin Sumi felt powerful like never before. After undergoing repeated refining with pure sources of Shinsoo, the weapon''s quality had improved by a lot, and small intertwined vein like lines could be seen running along the base of the blade.


    But Shin Sumi hadn''t taken it out just for the sake of marveling at it''s elegance and strength.


    Standing about ten steps away from the row of off-center pedestals, Shin Sumi aimed at the fountain itself and let go of her sword.


    Brute forcing it, she had put a lot of power into the sword, which spun at great speed and whistles through the air. Shin Sumi''s arm was still finishing the motion when the tip of the sword penetrated the stone of the second level of the fountain.


    The way she had thrown the sword, the power she had put into it and the point she had aimed at, the fountain should have almost exploded into thousand of pieces but it did not.


    The second level of the fountain was cut clean off like it had been made of butter.


    Immediately a shower of blood started raining from the severed fountain. Even more impressive, the fountain itself trembled and started... wiggling?


    The row of pedestals sunk into the earth, followed by the fountain, all the while a roar echoed from below.


    As it turned out, the fountain was only the tongue of a gigantic worm type creature, using its appearance to bait people to get closer, until they were inside the pedestal circle. By this point Shin Sumi had guessed that the array of stones were in fact teeth only waiting to crush everything that got close enough.


    Shin Sumi was surprised, but not unprepared. She had somehow felt that something like that was about to happen, although she hadn''t thought that her sword would find its way to the other side of the room after breaking the fountain.


    "Oh no, I need to get it before that thing gets away or attacks!"


    But it was too late. The tongue and the teeth had disappeared in the ground, leaving only a wide crater the size of a small house.


    The ground was rumbling furiously under Shin Sumi''s feet. Her sword was a dozen meters ahead, on the other side of the crater.


    It was a very small distance, the likes of which she could cover in less than a second. She was halfway there when the earth split open under her feet, prompting her to jump vertically at the last moment.


    Shin Sumi had only one thought "If only I could get my hand on my sword" before she felt a call from inside her.


    It all happened in the span of time it takes to blink, and Shin Sumi naturally answered the call.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was saying something to her. Shin Sumi uttered one word mentally.


    "Return!"


    And the sword moved. Flying back to her hand faster than lightning, Shin Sumi held it firmly by the time she landed right besides the huge worm who just reached the apex of its attack.


    The stone teeth closed in the air, grinding everything that was in the mouth, rocks, tiles and soil to dust. They produced a deafening noise that was horrible in the ears.


    As the creature fell back down, intending on hiding under the earth until the next attack, Shin Sumi spun on herself, sword in hand.


    Hacking with all the speed and strength she could muster, Shin Sumi cleaved into two the giant worm.


    A second cut parted what remained in the air. Then a third slice, and a fourth, all the way to eight slices.


    The worm was defeated but would never know how. Like a vegetable prepared for a soup, the giant worm had been cut into evenly spaced slices.


    A pond of blood filled the crated that remained in place. After breathing in relief for a bit, Shin Sumi''s face was distorted by disgust as she plunged her arm into the remains of the worm.


    An orange core was retrieved and given to the little nut. The fight was over.


    "It was only an orange level beast? I guess it was pretty easy to cut down" she thought.


    What intrigued Shin Sumi more though was her sword.


    What had happened? How did the sword come back to her hand? Did it ask her?


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was, as the name stated, a flying sword. It was part of a type of magical weapon that could be controlled at a distance by the user.


    But as far as Shin Sumi''s knowledge went on these matters, only Liquid Realm cultivators and above could accomplish such a feat.


    "Has the sword already reached such a level?" she pondered.


    Experimenting a bit, Shin Sumi found that she couldn''t control the sword in the air, but she only had to give it a word through divine sense for it to return to her hand immediately.


    Unknowingly, the bond that had formed between her and the weapon had been strengthened by their shared cultivation of the Veins of Hell Fire.


    "That will surely come in handy in case of sneak attacks like that!" she said excitedly.


    Every day now she found herself with renewed power and strength beyond her wildest imagination! To think that when she had arrived to the Dark Sky Starry Sect she was completely talentless and weak...


    Now Shin Sumi had the power to protect herself and her friends, for sure.


    If she could find them. She was, after all, lost in a giant underground maze where anything could potentially attack her from anywhere.


    Shin Sumi was about to leave the plaza through one of the many entrances when she realized that the little grey nut wasn''t anywhere on her body.


    The glowing leaf symbol on her wrist clearly showed that the nut was outside, too.


    Turning around, Shin Sumi found it next to the hole where the worm had transformed into a puddle of dark blood. Something of interest was there, that''s what the nut was saying.


    After all, it made sense because even if it was easy to forget about it, the point of this place was to provide a trial for the Rising Star Tournament.


    Werever a powerful foe could be found, it was logical to have at least a simple treasure like a weapon for example.


    Her face torn by disgust, Shin Sumi reached into the blood to where the little nut was indicating.


    Shin Sumi took out a weirdly shaped object in blood colored wrapping.


    Discarding the disgusting cover, Shin Sumi retrieved something that looked like a curved blade, the kind that draws strange arcs in the air when thrown.


    The weapon was nothing impressive, and just a glance and a sliver of Shinsoo were enough to confirm that it was a low level artefact that probably wouldn''t be useful for Shin Sumi.


    But almost as soon as she had uncovered the blade, the little nut reacted strangely, not bothering with the weapon at all, instead turning to roll around the blood clad wrapping.


    "... really?" sighed Shin Sumi, picking up what seemed to be hardened cloth... or parchemin?


    Using a bit of Shinsoo to magically remove the blood from the thing in her hand, Shin Sumi''s eyes almost gained stars when she saw glowing lines appearing on the ancient-looking scroll.


    "It''s a cultivation technique for the Liquid Realm! Now that is worth something!"


    In comparison to the useless strange blade, the scroll held a lot more potential in the eyes of any disciple.


    Cultivation techniques were not uncommon, but they varied a lot depending on their grade and the use of a lesser technique could sometimes lead to reduced speed of cultivation or even blockages.


    Usually the more potent techniques were only given to a disciple by their direct Master.


    Of course common techniques were provided for any Liquid Realm Disciple, coming from the sect''s base of knowledge. More techniques for specific cultivation purposes could also be purchased from the sect for copious amounts of spirit stones.


    "With that I will be able to start cultivating towards the Core Development Realm straight away whenever I cross over to the Liquid Realm!"


    Once again Shin Sumi thanked the little grey nut. What was even more important than finding a good technique was that the nut would refine it until it had achieved an even better grade!


    Shin Sumi allowed the nut to dispose of the parchemin, knowing that soon it would be enhanced and visible on one of the pages of the tree bark covered book that was secretly hidden by the nut.


    The same thing had happened for the Shinsoo Gathering Manual and the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening, and it had literally changed Shin Sumi''s cultivation.


    With a great mood, Shin Sumi finally excited the plaza. She was so happy and proud that she almost wished to encounter a lot more perilous situations as every time she seemed to uncover a great deal of treasures and opportunities.


    But something was far more important than being greedy to her at the moment, and that was to find Lan Hui and Bai Xuengen.


    ***


    The two young men had been chased for weeks now, Chu Erlong relentlessly following them through the depth of the earth.


    Lan Hui was extenuated, but overall in a better shape than before. With his slow but repeated use of Shinsoo from his own reserve and spirit stones, the wound on his hand had stopped hurting.


    That was something he could deal with back at the sect after the trial. It was a well known fact in the cultivation world that an injury to this degree, losing a few fingers, was not irreversible. Provided with the good kind of spirit medicine, even that could be mended.


    But everything came at a cost. In order to protect Lan Hui, Bai Xuengen had fought against the waves of attacks that had been thrown at them.


    The yellow robed man suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood on the floor. With a feverish look in his eyes, he looked at the hand in which the blood had fallen.


    From the back of his hand all the way to the middle of his upper arm, a black trail that seemed to be releasing a dark and nefarious smoke covered his skin, like a tribal tattoo of some kind.


    From the moment it had appeared, Bai Xuengen had successfully guessed what it was, considering Chu Erlong''s background.


    "The Black Cloud Curse... Is it acting up again?"


    It was Lan Hui''s voice that had spoken, breaking the tensed silence that weighed the atmosphere.


    "Yeah. But now I''m fine again. Chu Erlong is going to attack again soon. If this goes on, we won''t be able to last another forty eight hours."


    The Black Cloud Curse was a famed divine art proper to the Chu Clan from which Chu Erlong came. It made sense that as talented as she was, she would have the full support of her clan in order for her to make full use of the Rising Star Tournament.


    The Chu Clan had existed for a long amount of time, and had been working tightly with the Dark Sky Starry Sect almost since the sect split from the Sky Sect. As a result, the current leader of the Chu Clan, Chu Xuanba had even risen to the point of being appointed as the Great Elder of the sect.


    As such, Chu Erlong had access to resources from the sect but also from her clan, like the Black Cloud Curse.


    For a honorary disciple not having reached the Liquid Realm it would have been nearly impossible to gather up the Shinsoo necessary to use the Black Cloud Curse, but Chu Erlong obviously had in her possession more techniques and artefacts from her clan.


    That was also the reason she could relentlessly launch wave after wave against Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui.


    Apart from her followers of always like Fan Jue and Liu Qing, her massive force of a dozen or so disciples from red to orange robes could be explained by her influence due to her clan.


    Which disciple, which nobody wouldn''t follow her for a prospect of entering the famed Chu Clan or a promise of clan resources?


    For someone like Chu Erlong, gathering enough people to serve her and accomplish her malevolent plan had been as easy as flipping her hand over.


    And there was the Black Cloud Curse... Bai Xuengen had been afflicted by it the moment Chu Erlong had attacked him, right when he found Lan Hui in the ice tundra.


    Chu Erlong had then suffered a strong backlash, unleashing a magic way above her limits, but it was nothing compared to what Bai Xuengen had been enduring ever since.


    The black marks had been sapping away his strength slowly and also tracking him wherever he went, allowing the one who cursed him to follow them for weeks.


    "And now the curse has flared up again" thought Bai Xuengen. According to the past weeks'' experience and his own knowledge it meant that Chu Erlong was getting closer again, ready for another attack.


    "If only we knew why Chu Erlong was attacking me, going so far as to use a curse from her clan on my protector..." lamented Lan Hui to himself.


    The only person who could maybe answer these questions was without a doubt Shin Sumi.


    Who could have guessed that Chu Erlong would go so far just because of Shin Sumi?


    The girl''s arrival in the sect had not been noticed by many, but Chu Erlong had randomly stumbled upon her and had even uncovered Shin Sumi''s secret green talent.


    Chu Erlong had even tried to kill her once and had Shin Sumi under surveillance for a long time.


    The real irony was that from Chu Erlong''s point of view, she couldn''t back down now, persuaded as she was that Shin Sumi knew.


    As such her real chance to beat the green talented girl was using Lan Hui, whom she had found by accident.


    Chu Erlong was getting closer to the location were Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui had fled to.


    She was thinking "once the yellow robed succumbs to the Black Cloud Curse, Lan Hui will be in my hands. I''ll use him to bait Shin Sumi in the next ring. It will be either her cultivation or the boy''s life!"


    Chu Erlong really was heartless and ready to do anything to achieve her goals. And she had to do that before the end of the Rising Star Tournament.


    The difference in levels was easy to compensate below the Liquid Realm, and Chu Erlong had utter confidence in her artefacts and resources. But with Shin Sumi''s talents, how long would it take before she was leagues above her in all aspects upon reaching the next stage of cultivation?


    Unbeknownst to her, she was about to find out sooner rather than later.


    A few tunnels away from the boys'' location, Shin Sumi was advancing randomly in large rooms, sometimes trying to real the murals and the characters she could find written here and there.


    At the same moment, Bai Xuengen used a bit of his Shinsoo on his golden compass, trying his luck at a way out of their predicament.


    Hope was slim if they couldn''t escape Chu Erlong and her followers. Nevertheless, he couldn''t and wouldn''t resign himself to their fate.


    Bai Xuengen hadn''t arrived to this point to give up that easily. And he didn''t have to as the golden compass shone brightly, the light of divination flashing in his pupils.


    A golden silhouette overimposed on the shape of the walls in the room they were in. Only Bai Xuengen could see the golden figure while he used his compass.


    By force of habit, Bai Xuengen cut off his connection to the compass after a single breath of time, not wasting anymore precious energy.


    When the light disappeared from his eyes, it was immediately replaced by confusion.


    "A person? How is that possible? The compass never showed me anything like that before!" he said to himself.


    The magical artefact he trusted with all his soul had never shown anything else than the way towards his objective. For a second Bai Xuengen wondered if him being in this training spatial dimension had refined his cultivation to a point where the compass now showed more than before.


    Shaking his head and the thoughts away, he concentrated on the new information. The Black Cloud Curse was slowly sapping away his energy and concentration.


    "The key to get out of this situation is a person, and they looked close to here... Could it be..?!"


    Bai Xuengen immediately started shouting like a madman, startling Lan Hui who was about to shut him down by fear of revealing their positions to Chu Erlong and her followers.


    "We are right here! Brother Bai if you can hear me, I am Bai Xuengen, Lan Hui is with me! BROTHER BAI!!"


    The powerful voice of Bai Xuengen enhanced by Shinsoo traveled the tunnels in a second, alerting Liu Qing who was ahead of Chu Erlong''s group as the pathfinder, but someone else.


    "Bai Xuengen... Lan Hui..." a soft but boyish voice escaped one of the paths close to the young men''s location.


    "Bai Fulong is here!"


    After weeks of anxiety and search, Shin Sumi had finally found the two people she was looking for.

 45 "No Need To Call Me Senior"

    "Brother Bai!!" Bai Xuengen exploded. It was him! it was really him after all!


    "Now we have a chance!" he said, turning to the speechless Lan Hui all the while Shin Sumi joined them.


    "You..." started Lan Hui. He had a dumbfounded expression which confused Bai Xuengen.


    "What is it Lan Hui? Is there something wrong with your wound?


    - No it''s just... excuse me, but who are you?"


    ...


    Silence. None of them spoke for what seemed like a long time.


    At first, Lan Hui who had never heard the name Bai Fulong before thought that this mysterious ''Bai Fulong'' had been one of his friends who had simply given Bai Xuengen a made up name.


    But now, with the red robed youth in front of him, he realized that the aura, the trace of Shinsoo given off by the newcomer was not that of one of his friends. In fact Lan Hui was positive he had never crossed paths with that person before.


    Bai Fulong was the first one to break the silence, Shin Sumi still at a loss at what to say.


    "Well... It''s Bai Fulong of course. You must have been hit in the head or something, he is the one who saved me before and who asked me to look after you!"


    A look of puzzlement across his face, Bai Xuengen turned to Shin Sumi for help, expecting her to reveal her true identity in order to clarify things.


    Reading his eyes perfectly, Shin Sumi shook her head, "who I am doesn''t matter right now. I sense a few divine senses from the south. Let''s get going. Are you two alright?"


    Bai Xuengen replied affirmatively immediately, maybe a bit too fast for Lan Hui''s taste.


    "Wait a second, Senior Brother Bai."


    The two young men in front of him turned towards him at nearly the same time. Of course, they were both called ''Bai'' and Shin Sumi was good at this game.


    "I mean Bai Xu.. Yellow robed Senior Brother Bai" he said, almost forgetting the formal form of addressing a senior, "What about the Black Cloud Curse? If you trust Senior Brother Bai Fulong, then he should be made aware of that. Unless we have a way of dealing with the curse, it''s useless to try to escape forever."


    Bai Xuengen clenched his teeth. Lan Hui was right.


    "Black Cloud Curse?" Shin Sumi asked, curious and worried by the scary name.


    "It''s a magical spell that originated from the Chu clan. Chu Erlong cursed Senior Brother Bai when he first rescued me and..


    -Chu Erlong??!"


    Shin Sumi was taken aback. Chu Erlong?! What was she doing here? Was it her doing? Why?


    "Do you know her?" asked Bai Xuengen.


    "Mn. I know who she is, yes. I never thought she would be the one to give you such troubles..."


    Lan Hui went on to explain rapidly what had been going on thus far and what they knew about the curse, all the while getting on the move before their assailants could reach them.


    Bai Xuengen didn''t know what to think. First the mysterious red robed boy had saved him life in battle, showing prowess which he himself was incapable of despite the color of his robes. Then he had admitted to never having heard of him, a yellow robed disciple! But now he was saying that he knew of the orange robed Chu Erlong? Her clan was at the top of the sect, but still... Something didn''t make sense.


    "I may have a way to deal with the curse, but we need to find a source of water first."


    "Water?" the two boys thought in unison. How could they know Shin Sumi was thinking about using the curative properties of the little grey nut hidden in her wrist?


    From her standpoint, Shin Sumi was certain getting rid of the curse was the main priority. Only then would they be able to escape Chu Erlong''s group.


    If what the boys had told her was true, then Chu Erlong had already amassed enough followers to be really dangerous, even for her, and they would need Bai Xuengen to be in full health.


    The group of three advanced quickly through the tunnels, not bothering about trying to orient themselves in the maze.


    Less than an hour after they had begun moving, a group at least twenty disciples strong arrived where Shin Sumi had met them.


    "Tch. So now there are three of them?" asked Chu Erlong.


    Liu Qing answered, her head bowing towards the orange robed girl, "yes, I heard them call for a certain Bai Fulong. By the tone of Bai Xuengen''s voice, he must be a friend of his and he even called him ''Brother''. Do you know of him, Big Sister Chu?"


    Chu Erlong''s lips pursed in a teasing manner, her eyes unreadable.


    "No I don''t. But I''m certain he''s not yellow talented or else I would have known that name. Bai Xuengen is the trash of the yellow robes, so his friends wouldn''t be much better I imagine. Let us keep going. Liu Qing, you go on first."


    The shy Liu Qing nodded before leaving the group. She wasn''t willing to contradict her boss but something felt wrong about that Bai Fulong. Her guts were telling her that the situation wasn''t as simple as it seemed.


    Following the global indications of direction provided by Chu Erlong''s link with the curse on Bai Xuengen''s hand, Liu Qing advanced stealthily. Chu Erlong still needed her to ascertain the path towards her target. The curse only gave a rough direction and distance but the maze was still a pain to navigate through.


    Far ahead, Shin Sumi lead her small group through more and more tunnels, now perfectly unaware of which direction they were going in. Sometimes going up stairs, sometimes down slopes, she still hadn''t found a way to understand which was forwards or backwards.


    Bai Xuengen coughed up another clot of black blood.


    "This is the third time since I''m with them, and this has been going on for weeks! How does he still manage to endure?" she asked herself in silence. "He''s running on fumes now, we need to find a solution soon!"


    Bai Xuengen had told her about his golden compass, but was unsuccessful at using it. He had lost too much Shinsoo already and couldn''t activate it''s divination powers with what little was left in him.


    Shin Sumi could only toss him another spirit fruit, the only source of Shinsoo she was willing to spare at the time.


    "It''s not that I don''t want to give him high grade spirit stones or enhanced beast cores, or even golem cores, but there is still time and I can''t afford to lay bare all my trump cards just in case."


    "There! On the left!" Lan Hui had yelled.


    In her worried thoughts, the room at the end of the left hand side corridor had escaped her spiritual perception.


    Stopping dead in their tracks, the group of three turned abruptly towards the place indicated by Lan Hui. It was a large room nearly perfectly square that had a series of holes on the floor.


    Traces of tiles that had been removed a long time ago made a swirling pattern all around the main hole. From the strange shape of the wall that flowed seamlessly into a dark opening above their heads, it was easy to see that at some point water had been running through the place.


    In fact it wasn''t the first time Shin Sumi had seen a room like this in the maze. In all probability this was another place of devotion for water deities, as confirmed by the remains of broken statues and pedestals.


    Thankfully, unlike the previous similar rooms, this one still had an intact pool in the middle.


    The central hole was illuminated by blue crystals embedded on the sides, making the still water shine with a holy light.


    Not wasting any time, Shin Sumi helped the coughing Bai Xuengen down the hole. The water rippled slightly when he broke the surface, producing a gentle melody that soothed the soul.


    "Lan Hui, you guard us. If I am correct, thirty minutes to an hour should be enough to get rid of the curse."


    The boy didn''t ask any of his dozen questions. If Bai Xuengen trusted that Bai Fulong, then he would to. It didn''t matter which color were his robes if he was competent enough, and the mysterious youth''s determination was convincing.


    Standing close to the single entrance to the room, Lan Hui turned his head towards the darkness, ready to alert Shin Sumi if ever something came across his divine sense or his sight.


    Chu Erlong and her group were a threat, but they couldn''t forget that this was all part of a trial by fire where devious beasts could attack at any time.


    Carrying the floating Bai Xuengen that was on the verge of passing out unconscious, Shin Sumi sank to her waist. A cold blue light illuminated her masculine face from below as she summoned the little nut from her wrist.


    As soon as the nut got out, Shin Sumi felt the familiar feeling of regenerative magic coming from her tiny companion. Almost instantly, the feverish Bai Xuengen looked relieved, the wrinkles on his face disappearing with his tension and exhaustion.


    Shin Sumi put the little now right above Bai Xuengen''s abdomen, first helping the yellow robed young man to gather more Shinsoo.


    "That will help fight off the Black Cloud Curse, rather than letting the nut do all the work. If it even works..."


    Breathing out for a long while, Shin Sumi was relieved. They had only taken a few hours to find this place. Luckily it was also the first time she had seen one of these rooms that still had water.


    In fact they had been really lucky.


    The nut in the water also reinvigorating her from a distance, Shin Sumi closed her eyes for a second. She was about to call Lan Hui to take her place in order to benefit from the strange magic while she stood guard outside when she felt a bit of a current against her submerged ankle.


    Opening her eyes, Shin Sumi stole a furtive glance at the blue waters right as a shadow disappeared from her view.


    Quick to react, Shin Sumi yelled "Lan Hui, come help me take Bai Xuengen away from here, there is-"


    Her sentence had suddenly been cut off by the water level rising to her head.


    "No, I am being pulled down!"


    At some point in time a scaley claw had grabbed her ankle, yanking her down under the surface of the water closer to the center of the massive pool.


    Somehow the creature had perfectly escaped Shin Sumi''s divine sense perception. Opening her eyes, she could barely discern a long grey shadow that seemed to avoid the light all around it.


    The creature was snake-like in all aspects except for the torso that was vaguely humanoid. The creature was covered by scales that rubbed painfully against Shin Sumi''s legs.


    Wishing her Shinsoo perception to envelop the creature, Shin Sumi found herself completely dumbstruck. According to her spiritual senses the pool was completely empty!


    "It is just as if the creature was one with water! I can''t sense it, I have to use my eyes."


    Shin Sumi reacted quickly, it wasn''t the first time she fell for a trap. Her sword appeared soundlessly in her hand but her underwater movements were so sluggish that the creature escaped the first blow effortlessly.


    As soon as her arm slowed down, the Water Ghoul grabbed her legs once more, continuously dragging her down towards the depth of the water.


    Up above, Shin Sumi discerned Bai Xuengen''s floating silhouette, unconscious and defenseless but thankfully unbothered by the attacking creature.


    Shin Sumi struggled as best as she could, conscious that she couldn''t get dragged for too long for lack of breath.


    A cultivator''s body and aptitudes were not comparable to that of a mortal but still Shin Sumi needed air to breathe. Below the Liquid Realm, a cultivator still couldn''t last more than a few minutes submerged.


    Her powerful legs kicked the creature''s torso by chance, removing the clawed hands from her for a few precious seconds.


    As she swam up as fast as she could, Shin Sumi was relieved to see that at least the creature was not too strong, if a kick could land like that.


    A cry like a low bellow of anger agitated the waters under her.


    "Oh great, now it''s angered!" thought Shin Sumi. Two claws grabbed her this time, a bit stronger than before.


    The bubbles escaping Shin Sumi''s lips twirled upwards as she debated once more.


    But suddenly something changed. Just like a person would feel when falling from really high up, Shin Sumi experienced a sudden retching, making her lose more air.


    In front of her open eyes, the bubbles that came out of her mouth and nose plummeted towards the depth, apparently sucked by some sort of gravitational pull.


    Apart from it''s hard scales and claws, the Water Ghoul had one powerful ability that made it hard to beat.


    Unbeknownst to Shin Sumi, angering it had caused its tail to split open in four directions, revealing a dark spinning orb.


    The Water Ghoul core was the source of its powers which could cause a strong water current. The pull was simply that, a pull and didn''t hurt directly the Ghoul''s target but was certainly strong enough to keep any air-breathing creature from reaching the surface.


    Shin Sumi was rapidly dragged down by the descending beast keeping a safe distance between it and her.


    She passed the bubble she had previously escaped. The surface was now almost a dozen meters away from her, and her lungs were at least a third empty by now.


    "What is dragging me down?! I don''t understand, I can''t do anything, is this the end??!"


    Shin Sumi was not only sad but also mad.


    "Such an obvious trap and I fell for it!" In her precipitation to save Bai Xuengen as fast as possible, she had momentarily forgotten about all the dangerous aspects of the trial by fire besides Chu Erlong and her group.


    Her stomach suddenly retched once more in the opposite direction, making her loose even more air.


    "The pull... stopped?"


    The red core of the Water Ghoul had stopped spinning, protected by the tail. It may have been one of the most formidable opponents she had faced thus far, it was a low level beast and needed to replenish a bit more Shinsoo before attacking again.


    Shin Sumi was halfway to the surface when the claws returned to her ankled, this time making sure the beast couldn''t be kicked.


    As low as the creature''s level was, it still remained really hard to beat in its natural habitat, and Shin Sumi was desperately dragged back down again.


    Her sword was too slow, her legs immobilized, and her lungs slowly emptying. It was at that time that the Water Ghoul decided to use its magic to pull her down again, just to make sure. All hope was lost for Shin Sumi.


    Unless...?


    A distant splashing noise reached her ears, and the blue light from the crystals distorted slightly. Something had happened close to the surface.


    Shin Sumi looked up to see only a small shadow try to move. A red light flashed from the shadow''s right hand before picking up speed and whooshing past her face.


    The red thing was spinning too fast for her eyes to follow as it plummeted, pulled by the Water Ghoul''s magic just like everything else.


    The grey silhouette of the Ghoul hid momentarily the red weapon as it passed behind it and reached its split tail.


    A bellow ten times more painful than before erupted from the beast right before its core was destroyed.


    All along its length, the scales started to disappear, the grey looking more translucent with each passing second before they dissolved into the water.


    In half a second, the Water Ghoul was gone, the only testimony to its existence being the nausea in Shin Sumi''s stomach as she hurried to the surface.


    Her jet black hair stuck to her male face, obstructing her view when she finally breathed in a delicious, life-saving mouthful of air.


    She parted her hair to reveal a dripping wet and worried Lan Hui, hurriedly supporting her.


    "Are you okay Senior Brother Bai? It was a Water Ghoul wasn''t it ?!"


    Shin Sumi put up one finger in the air, asking him to wait while she breathed a bit more normally again.


    She described the creature briefly before Lan Hui confirmed her the name of the creature that had almost killed her.


    "How did you know what to do? And how did you kill it by the way?"


    Lan Hui responded respectfully "A Liquid Realm Senior once told me about the danger of Water Ghouls, and how strong their magic was in water. I threw a Flying Sword underwater as soon as I felt the tug from below..."


    Shin Sumi was impressed. It was only then that her eyes opened in a panicked way and she started looking around anxiously.


    "Senior Brother Bai Xuengen is okay, I pulled him out of the water before he could drown."


    "You saved us both then, Brother Lan!"


    The boy was taken aback by the form of address from this mysterious senior and quickly replied.


    "No, no, it''s nothing. I heard Senior saved Senior Brother Bai''s life before, and he saved mine. It was only normal for me to help you, I had a favor to repay!"


    Shin Sumi lips curled upwards and her smile soon turned into a laugh.


    "You are right, we all saved each other I guess! There''s no need for you to call me Senior now. Do you think we can lower Bai Xuengen down in the water again now?"


    The still unconscious Bai Xuengen resumed his recovery after Shin Sumi discreetly checked that the nut was still there. Somehow it had the intelligence to stick to Bai Xuengen''s body as soon as she was pulled away.


    A question still pervaded her mind though.


    "What was the point of having a dangerous creature here? It wasn''t a trial for a treasure?"


    The perfectly well timed answer came by itself almost as fast as the thought when a brilliant light shone from the depth below.

 46 Reminiscence

    A pillar made of moss-covered stone slowly rose from the center of the blue pool of water.


    The full extent of the pillar was not visible as it seemed to extend from the very bottom of the water hole, far deeper than the region where lived the Water Ghoul.


    On top of the pillar, a flat surface was encompassed into a magical bubble made of pure Shinsoo. No matter the depth and the crushing pressure, the bubble had shielded its contents from the water.


    The light that had attracted Shin Sumi and Lan Hui''s gazes came from that magical shield.


    "Defeating the Water Ghoul was the trigger to reveal the treasure, eh?" it didn''t take long for both disciples to understand what happened.


    The moment the top of the circular magical bubble came into contact with the surface of the water, it burst open, dissipating into thin air and revealing what was inside, the protective light dying out.


    A scroll was resting, folded, on the flat top of the pillar.


    Lan Hui gestured respectfully to Shin Sumi, prompting her to retrieve the item.


    Shin Sumi grabbed it and was about to unfold it when she stopped her hand. She had just thought of something. Instead she threw it towards Lan Hui who grabbed it surprised.


    "You read it, Lan Hui. Whatever it is, I think you deserve to have it, you are the one who saved us today."


    Even Lan Hui couldn''t reply anything to that. He humbly accepted, not understanding why Shin Sumi didn''t even want to read the content of the scroll.


    He didn''t know that the little grey nut was on her mind. Shin Sumi was lucky to have thought of it beforehand, or else the contents of the scroll might just have vanished at some point in the next few hours.


    How would she explain that? The little nut''s ability to steal books, scrolls, jade writings and refine them was heaven-defying, which also made it hard to explain if it was witnessed by someone.


    Every time it had happened, the nut had been right next to the writings, but now that they were all in the water, no too far from the radius of restorative magic emanated by the nut, Shin Sumi couldn''t really tell it it had a way of acting or not.


    What she was sure of was that the nut had always stolen things that she herself had read.


    By purposefully handing the scroll over to Lan Hui, she made sure that the scroll remained intact. Depending on what it was, she could maybe have a read at it later, but only if it wasn''t part of the nut''s ability of stealing.


    Lan Hui unrolled the scroll and started reading out loud, his eyes instantly sparkling with interest.


    "Minor Teleportation Spell! We really struck the jackpot! This is an amazing spell!"


    Even Shin Sumi was impressed.


    "T¨¦l¨¦portation? Is that even possible?!"


    It was the first time she had heard about something so insanely powerful that her mind could not rationalize it.


    Lan Hui had forgotten that whoever Bai Fulong''s real identity was, if he was taking the trial it meant that he was only an Honorary Disciple too, just like him.


    In his mind, the mysterious savior was almost shining with infinite power and knowledge, but no, Bai Fulong was simply a mortal waiting to step into the Liquid Realm like everybody else.


    "The scroll allows a Liquid Realm cultivator to step through the folds of space five times. It is a Minor Teleportation because although the process is instantaneous, the distance is limited to five kilometers at most."


    Like he was used to back in the lower valley, Lan Hui explained to Shin Sumi all there was to know about the scroll, reward of their difficult fight.


    "From what is written here, I can tell that the spell can also be used by a honorary disciple but only twice. It seems like the teleportation empties a good bit of the Shinsoo of the user so for an Honorary Disciple the scroll has to use more of its power, thus reducing the number of uses."


    Shin Sumi had little to no knowledge in magic and Shinsoo formations, only knowing the basic principles but what Lan Hui told her made sense.


    She replied, refusing Lan Hui''s proposition to give it to her "It is a great treasure for you to have. Just in case something happens, you will be able to escape safely. And after you enter the Liquid Realm, you''ll be able to do that five times!"


    Lan Hui bowed as a way to express his thanks. Besides, from what he had seen of Shin Sumi''s strength and speed, five kilometers was a distance that she could cover in less than a minute, probably.


    Her speed was unprecedented below the Liquid Realm, so she would have no trouble escaping pursuivers. For her the scroll was very useful only if she became trapped in a Shinsoo Formation or the likes.


    "Gnnn... Wha-" Bai Xuengen was slowly waking up. Shin Sumi and Lan Hui cut their conversation short to give all their attention to Bai Xuengen.


    Lan Hui recalled the most recent events to him as well as the Minor Teleportation Spell scroll they had found while Shin Sumi checked his hand for traces of the curse.


    The yellow robed disciple''s eyes shone with a strange light when she heard about the spell, like glints of envy and greed, but he chased the thought away as he lifted himself out of the water and turned to Shin Sumi.


    "Brother Bai, thank you for assisting me and saving my life this time again. The Black Cloud Curse seemed to have disappeared, or at least it doesn''t flare up anymore."


    Shin Sumi was a bit embarrassed and had to control herself to not laugh a bit.


    "Erm... Actually it was Lan Hui who saved us both this time... And as for the curse I only tried something and was lucky that it turned out successful."


    Bai Xuengen''s eyes almost burst out of their sockets. In a hurry he apologized to Lan Hui and expressed his thanks, instantly forgetting all about seniority and the usual format aspect of relationships.


    Just like Shin Sumi before, he asked Lan Hui to call him by his name, losing the ''Senior'', making all three of them brothers as they had all at some point saved one another''s life.


    All the while, Shin Sumi disguised as Bai Fulong was observing Bai Xuengen''s hand. No matter how hard she looked and how much divine sense she used, she could not see any trace of the curse that was there before.


    Once again she was astounded at the little nut''s powers. Relieved, she joined the two others in celebration of their newfound friendship.


    ***


    Chu Erlong had been meditating amongst her group of followers for about an hour. She wasn''t trying to achieve a breakthrough of to comprehend some sort of technique and was just circulating her energy to make sure she was in top conditions.


    Despite what she had let on, she was actually concerned about that Bai Fulong that changed the situation just by his arrival. He was an unknown variable at the level of the yellow robed Bai Xuengen, and could potentially ruin her entire plan.


    Chu Erlong was sitting cross-legged on a small Shinsoo formation made of five mid-grade spirit stones assembled in a circle. The simple fact that she was using mid-grade stones to absentmindedly cultivate showed her place in the Chu Clan. It also served to impress her followers just in case after weeks of this man-hunt they grew tired of it.


    Her followers were also cultivating in small groups, waiting for the return of Liu Qing in order to resume their attack, and were taken by surprise when Chu Erlong coughed loudly.


    "Baargh! Cough cough...", out of nowhere it seemed like she had suffered a strong cultivation backlash as a mouthful of bad blood erupted from between her beautiful lips.


    "Boss Chu, are you okay? Did your cultivation tuned backwards?" a red robed middle aged man asked after quickly supporting her.


    With a face of disgust, Chu Erlong pushed the disciple away "Let go of me, I''m fine. It''s the Black Cloud Curse... Somehow Bai Xuengen got rid of my Clan''s curse!"


    Back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s Grand Hall, Chu Xuanba reacted violently to his granddaughter''s words. Standing up, his fingers hooked in the old wood like a claw, he was clutching his arm-rests so tightly that the chair splintered and almost broke.


    He hadn''t been looking at Shin Sumi''s group for a while and had ignored the curing of Bai Xuengen until his own granddaughter had found out the hard way.


    "My Black Cloud Curse defeated?!! That is impossible! Nobody under the Core Formation should be able to get rid of it!"


    "Grand Elder please calm down. The chair has done nothing to you, old friend" Patriarch Sen intervened.


    Under his bushy eyebrows, his clear eyes concentrated on the green dot shining on the spirit map. At this point all the Elders knew the name ''Bai Fulong'' although none of them knew of that individual.


    It was clear by now that whoever the green talented disciple was, he was hiding his identity well. Besides the Patriarch and Elder Zhu, none of the others present knew of Shin Sumi''s real identity.


    In fact it wasn''t that important. No matter the talent shown, she was still only an Honorary Disciple. She had a long way to go to prove her worth at the scale of the sect, and was still just a promising bud that hasn''t yet bloomed.


    All it took was a slight overestimation of her strength in front of a powerful spirit beast and the bud could disappear. Or another flower could bloom first and steal all the sunlight.


    ***


    Without the Black Cloud Curse in place, Bai Xuengen could not be traced easily anymore. For the first time in weeks, him and Lan Hui tasted a relative peace, taking the time to cultivate instead of fleeing every hour or so.


    The group of three was still not completely out of danger from Chu Erlong''s gang but now the only way to completely assure their safety was to progress in strength.


    The third ring of the training dimension in which the Rising Star Tournament took place, the underground maze somehow related to the People was rich in ambient Shinsoo.


    The further one progressed along the circular domains, the stronger the Shinsoo pressure was. It was relatively easy to get accustomed to the density of Shinsoo, and the benefits to one''s cultivation was unimaginable.


    With the treasures hidden about everywhere and the appropriate quality of natural energy, this place was as different from the sect grounds as heaven and earth.


    Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui were slowly recuperating from the weeks-long hassle of being chased, taking in as much Shinsoo as possible and making impressive progress.


    At their side, Shin Sumi was looking afar, her gaze lost in the distance. She didn''t feel like cultivating, her concentration taken by other concerns.


    "How do I find the third Vein of Hell Fire? And if we find it, how do I explain to Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui what I''m doing?"


    Another thing she hadn''t thought of previously and had just recently crossed her mind bothered her.


    "Bai Xuengen has no idea who I am, he never saw me before. When we fought the golems he didn''t recognize my sword either... But Lan Hui will for sure recognize the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. He knows Fen Wudao gave it to ''Yan Yan'' so he will at least know that my two fake identities are one and the same."


    She sighed, unable to find a way to continue to protect her secret "how long will it take before Lan Hui links my battle prowess and the green talent I''m supposed to have? I am the only green talented disciple of this era and he''s one of the only other disciples to know..."


    Shaking some of the thoughts away, Shin Sumi decided to try cultivating. Sometimes leaving it up to fate or destiny was easier. If she could do nothing about it then she shouldn''t be bothered by it. The only thing it could currently do was cloud her mind and slow down her progress, like a chain dragging behind her.


    All three of them cultivated for an entire night, which was something they hadn''t done in a long time. A sliver of divine sense was kept out around them at all times though, just in case.


    The very next day they started to actively find a way out of the maze. They even went as far as taking notes on their locations, Lan Hui inscribing the information on a piece of jade using divine sense.


    Shin Sumi saw new markings on the wall and instructed the two disciples accompanying her about what she knew of the People and their Story.


    "Wow, you know a lot of things, Brother Bai. Where did you learn all that?"


    "I used to read quite a bit a long time ago..." Shin Sumi stayed a bit evasive. It was almost as if she could tell what Bay Xuengen was probing for before he even asked.


    "So... How long have you been in the sect for? Where do you come from?" his voice was very casual but the look in his eyes betrayed him, proving his piqued curiosity.


    Feigning meditation, even Lan Hui was obviously interested in the conversation.


    Immediately feeling Bai Fulong''s reluctance to answer, Bai Xuengen continued to try and put him at ease.


    "You know, not a lot of disciples knew how to read before entering the sect. I heard that most newly arrived disciples come from small villages and hamlets all around Blue Fire Country and Light Shore Country. The fact that you read a lot before must mean you come from a wealthy family like me, right?"


    Shin Sumi''s eyebrow lightly twitched when she heard the words ''wealthy family''. Bai Xuengen wasn''t wrong, after all Shin Sumi was the daughter of the mayor of East Seaside Village, and their family mansion was the biggest there. But that was from another time.


    Compared to the looks and scale of everything in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Shin Sumi''s family could only be described as lowly. Even still, she understood Bai Xuengen''s words and viewed him in a new light as he continued.


    "My family is the secondary branch of a small clan of Blue Fire Country. Every ten years they get to send one youth to the Dark Sky Starry Sect. One of my ancestors saved an Immortal from the sect a long time ago, and that was the promise he made in retribution."


    "I was born a commoner in a farm" started Lan Hui in reply, "I don''t remember where my parents live. I didn''t even know that reading was a thing before I got here. I was picked up by an emissary of the sect in travels to Blue Fire Sect. The first thing he told me was that for a lowly mortal it was surprising that I had even an ounce of Shinsoo in me."


    "So when I hear about your Story of the People, it makes me wish I had that as well in my childhood. But it''s funny, I almost never think of my parents. I am way happier in the sect anyway."


    Shin Sumi stayed silent during the entire talk. It was not that she didn''t enjoy sharing memories but she had to keep her secret safe. And also because she had cut off that part of her life forever when she arrived at the sect.


    The Shin Sumi from East Seaside Village was gone, only the cultivator remained. Or at least that was what she had thought.


    But now hearing about their life stories, Shin Sumi felt a distant longing in her heart. Her soul was almost throbbing when she thought about her brother, her uncles, her father, and her mother.


    She hadn''t even said goodbye to her mother before leaving.


    Bai Xuengen looked up at the face of Bai Fulong. A fleeting silvery light had attracted his eyes. It was a tear streaming down Shin Sumi''s face that had escaped her own perception.


    "But you know, stories are from the past. As cultivators we better look forward and not let our past hinder our cultivation."


    At first, Lan Hui didn''t understand why Bai Xuengen would choose to change subject right when it seemed like Bai Fulong was about to speak, before he saw the tear on his face.


    Shin Sumi quickly wiped it away when she realized what happened and jumped to her feet.


    "You are right, Brother Bai. Let us concentrate and look for a way out. Brother Lan take the stairs up, you this tunnel and I will check the third path. In five minutes we regroup and decide which way to go."


    It was the way they had found to look efficiently for clues and directions, although it had yielded no results yet.


    "It would be much more efficient if we spread further out, but we have to stay together, in case of an attack by Chu Erlong" she was thinking.


    Unbeknownst to them, a shadow that had escaped their senses was observing them from a dark corner. The shadow disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was only after in ran past a luminous crystal that it was possible to see the details of the person hidden in the dark. Liu Qing.


    Unbeknownst to Shin Sumi and her group, Chu Erlong still had another way of tracking them. Using the most discreet and most efficient at hiding and spying there was under the Liquid Realm as a pathfinder, Chu Erlong''s group had been slowly tailing Shin Sumi''s group, even using precious artefacts to hide their presence.


    "Their group had split up two minutes ago, Big Sister Chu. We need to move now or else they''ll be together again!"


    "Alright Liu Qing. Everyone, go!"


    Chu Erlong''s orange dress waved, giving orders. Her eyes were shining with delight and her mouth was curved in a beautifully dangerous smile.

 47 Confrontation

    During the small window of time in which Shin Sumi, Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui split up, Chu Erlong had actually chosen to launch a surprise attack!


    Her goons and her quickly and swiftly invaded the corridors following their vanguard, Liu Qing.


    As she mapped the way for the large group, she stopped momentarily, using a silent gesture of her hand to signal some of the red robed disciples.


    Nodding in unison, the five red robes slapped their bags of holding and produced paper talismans.


    Infusing the talismans with Shinsoo, a transparent and odorless mist rose from the papers to envelop their entire squads. In less than five breaths of time, the twenty plus fighters had been swallowed by the invisible mist.


    A while back, the disciples had found the talismans after beating a swarm of fist sized insects, back in the first area of the trial dimension. Later on they had been accepted by Chu Erlong as part of her group, exactly because of these talismans.


    The hiding magic of the Cloaking Mist ensured that no disciple up to the great circle of the Liquid Realm could sense them. The group was still visible and could be heard but if a divine sense were to probe the mist, it would only reveal empty space.


    What was even more important was that the divine senses coming from the group also benefited from the mist!


    For these disciples still young and inexperienced, the importance of these talismans was unfathomable. As long as they stayed far away enough, they could probe Shin Sumi and her group without them realizing they were coming for them!


    Lan Hui was the first to come back to the meeting point. He was almost jolly and was bringing good news with him, having found carvings of arrows probably left by previous disciples who had passed by the stairs.


    He was the weakest of the three, which went in Chu Erlong''s favor.


    Lan Hui only saw a blur as one of Shin Sumi''s goons jumped out of the shadows and held him from behind, restraining his movements and his mouth.


    The second one was Bai Xuengen, coming from the tunnel on the left of the crossing. Bai Xuengen was worthy of his talent and he immediately realized that something was wrong with the situation. He had sensed Lan Hui''s presence earlier but somehow it had disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    "Brother Bai, something is going on here!" he didn''t hesitate to say as loudly as possible, calling Shin Sumi.


    "Well too bad our sneak attack failed on you, Bai Xuengen" said a voice from a hidden place. The darkness of the underground maze didn''t allow his eyes to reach more than a few dozen meters, and even his divine sense was dumbfounded.


    Bai Xuengen could sense where the voice was coming from but he could not pinpoint the exact location using his divine sense.


    "I''d recognize your voice anywhere. Chu Erlong, come out of hiding, I know you''re here."


    Chu Erlong''s suave voice was highly recognizable, and she was the only disciple without yellow robes daring to address him by his full name without showing an ounce of respect.


    But it wasn''t Chu Erlong who came out of the shadows. Bai Xuengen was yellow talented after all, and would be a hard opponent to beat, even for Chu Erlong and the artefacts at her disposal. Instead she sent all of her troops against him.


    Shin Sumi was currently racing back to the meeting point. Her divine sense was still too constricted to feel what was happening all the way back but Bai Xuengen''s call had reached her.


    She stepped out of the path she had taken only to see and hear Bai Xuengen fighting a dozen disciples at the same time. She was surprised to see him fight when her divine sense had only shown an empty tunnel.


    It didn''t take long to catch up on what was happening. In a reflex emphasized by all her training in the mountains and her encounters during the Rising Star Tournament, she grabbed the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, throwing it ahead of her as she ran along.


    The golden blur sped across the air but failed to hit any of the disciples attacking Bai Xuengen.


    Now that Shin Sumi had arrived, the lack of divine sense didn''t matter anymore. She had something nobody, not even Chu Erlong could expect.


    The Copper Bell made it so that the darkness that clouded all disciple''s visions was as bright as day for her.


    Shin Sumi''s sword didn''t aim for any disciple but the one she could see restricting Lan Hui in the distance.


    The sword pierced the disciple''s shoulder, embedded in his flesh to the hilt.


    A scream of pain that made one''s soul shiver erupted from the hidden disciple''s mouth. Lan Hui didn''t waste any time, escaping his grasp and taking him out with a blow to the head.


    For a split second, the Affairs Pavilion minister froze when he saw the shining golden weapon. The next instant, the sword was recalled by Shin Sumi, leaving the unconscious red robed man to bleed out.


    By then, Shin Sumi had joined Bai Xuengen and was using her bare fists to help him, outnumbered by red robes.


    Lan Hui joined the fray, taking out two daggers and clenching his teeth. He might have not been the best fighter around but his cultivation level didn''t lack for a red robed disciple.


    Chu Erlong was stunned for a moment. She had been ready for many possibilities but the scene unfolding in front of her exceeded her plans by far.


    "Who is he?! He''s able to see through the Cloaking Mist and to control a flying sword to this extent??! How can Bai Fulong be an Honorary Disciple?!"


    A single move from Bai Fulong had turned the tables around in less than five seconds.


    Lan Hui was almost back to where Shin Sumi and Bai Xuengen were fighting, showing an unexpected fighting spirit and ability. His twin daggers seemed to split the air in twisted motions and evade the blocks of his opponents, taking a few of them out quickly.


    When Chu Erlong finally reacted, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was back in Shin Sumi''s hand, Bai Xuengen was continuously blocking all attacks with ease and Lan Hui was almost with them.


    The orange robed girl closed her eyes, chanting a short incantation. The ring on her finger immediately turned to dust and the thousands of tiny particles started to float in a circular motion in front of her, like a disc of broken crystal.


    Shin Sumi was parrying two red robed disciples at the same time with her sword when a familiar but distant feeling rose in her as well as a sharp pain that the rush of battle quickly drowned out.


    "The little nut" she thought as she recalled what the sensation was. "Chu Erlong is about to do something! Brother Bai, Brother Lan, get behind me!"


    Without questioning Bai Fulong''s words, both his comrades followed the command. They didn''t have time to ascertain what danger was coming but they trusted Bai Fulong with their life. They had no choice.


    "Get back, we should run! NOW!"


    The two of them leaped backwards as fast as possible, watching Shin Sumi fight off the disciples to make their escape easier.


    Of course, Shin Sumi had no intention of staying there for whatever Chu Erlong was preparing in the shadows in the back of the corridor. She turned around and started to run, sword still in hand.


    Lan Hui stole a glance at the particular golden sword held in Bai Fulong''s hand as he turned, but he did not process right away. They had to run for now, explanations would naturally come later.


    Chu Erlong''s chanted incantation finished right as Shin Sumi and her group were about to reach the crossing from where they had come mere minutes earlier.


    The thousands of crystal shards had collapsed into a big fiery ball of molten matter, glowing a bright yellow color.


    Chu Erlong''s lips closed in a grin as she said "How do you plan on escaping THAT now, eh?"


    The ball flew away from her hands with astonishing speed. Thankfully for the red robed disciples, their misfortune of fighting the combo of both Bai Brothers made it so most of them were on the ground, already unconscious or wallowing in pain.


    The fireball flew above their head, the radiated head almost too much for them even if they miraculously avoided it''s path.


    Having almost no time to read to the blazing sun that was coming their way, Shin Sumi who was the closest to the doom projectile launched her sword while jumping with all her strength.


    Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui were already halfway up the stairs when the yellow fireball hit the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword with a deafening explosion.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword took the brunt of the blast, redirecting it upwards instead of straight at Shin Sumi''s group.


    The remaining power of the fireball hit the ceiling of the stone corridor, provoking a storm of dust and fine power.


    Due to the confined environment and the strength of the blast, every disciple was momentarily rendered blind and deaf by the explosion. Even Chu Erlong being as far as she was ended up on the floor, her senses momentarily stolen.


    Silence settled after a few dozen seconds and Shin Sumi finally managed to open her eyes, the black veil that had been clouding her vision finally replaced by the white of the dust.


    "Brother Lan? Brother Bai?" she called uselessly.


    The ceiling had collapsed right after the shockwave from the explosion sent her off in the side tunnel. Shin Sumi''s divine sense quickly searched her surroundings, only to find that a huge portion of the upper level was in rubble, filling completely the tunnel they were previously in.


    The crossing of tunnels was now sealed off by chunks of rocks the size of houses!


    Thankfully the rubble had only destroyed the first half of the set of stairs, leaving Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui unscathed but separated from Shin Sumi.


    Due to the strange laws of physics in place, the disciples could not communicate via divine sense through the walls of stone but Shin Sumi could feel the presence of two different groups on the other side of the rubble.


    "Chu Erlong is blocked too! Lan Hui needs to escape now, and so do I. Don''t worry my friends, we''ll join each other soon!"


    Somehow, they had all escaped the blazing fire that had been thrown at them by Chu Erlong.


    "What kind of magic was that?! Thankfully the Gold Tyrant Divine Sword redirected the blast, or we would have been fried instantly!"


    Shin Sumi was thinking about the frightening magic in Chu Erlong''s possession.


    "First the Black Cloud Curse, now a small blazing fireball, how deep does her arsenal run? With that she can fight on equal footing with anyone under the Liquid Realm!"


    Shin Sumi was about to curse her for having so many opportunities due to her being the heir to an important Clan of the sect when she realized how hypocritical it was from her.


    Starting as a nobody without even an ounce of Shinsoo affinity, Shin Sumi had managed to rise and become one of the strongest Honorary Disciple too.


    "And it was all thanks to the little nut that saved me once again today... Without it I would have died countless times, and I wouldn''t have found the Copper Bell, and never gained the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword from Senior Brother Fen, and... My Sword!!"


    Only then did she feel her empty hand. Her memories right before the blast were fuzzy but she recalled the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword being blasted away by the explosion.


    Concentrating on her mental link to the weapon, Shin Sumi sent out her divine sense trying to call the blade to return to her.


    Some small rocks close to the collapsed area started to rumble before letting out a golden blur that found its way to her hand.


    Shin Sumi let out a long breath. In her anxiousness she had forgotten to breathe. At least she still had her sword, even if her friends were separated from her.


    Weapon in hand, Shin Sumi felt like she could do anything. Upon closer inspection she had seen that the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was completely intact, even after the massive amount of damage done by Chu Erlong''s spell.


    If a small sun colliding with the sword didn''t leave as much as a scratch on it, then what could possibly happen? As long as she avoided monsters like the Water Ghoul, she could probably surpass anything that was thrown her way.


    She thought about the giant crocodile from the first area of the trial for a brief second, wondering how she would now fare against it but didn''t give it much thought. The enclosed area of the maze was way too tight for a huge beast like that. As for the ''blur'' that had reduced the crocodile to its sorry state... well she wasn''t so sure.


    ***


    At the time of the confrontation between Shin Sumi''s group and Chu Erlong''s gang, not many elders were present in the Grand Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect as it was the middle of the night.


    Outside of the timeless dimension where no sun ever rose, the life of the sect needed to continue, the Elders occupied with their disciples or simply taken by matters of the sect.


    There was always at least one Elder present though, just in case in order to alert the others if an unexpected even arose.


    The trial by fire had been going on for months now and the possibility of a disciple breaking through to the Liquid Realm was growing bigger.


    Patriarch Sen spent most of his time seated in his high chair overseeing the large hall, seemingly meditating but his divine sense always connected to the Shinsoo screen displaying the map.


    Nobody besides him knew what he was thinking of, which were the rules of the Rising Star Tournament that he himself had set up.


    "It is still too early for a breakthrough. Even the most advanced disciples cultivation-wise have a really shallow level of experience. When they reach the Liquid Realm, they will finally take their first real step into the cultivation world, by then the more experience the better."


    The Honorary Disciples in the midst of the trial were so engrossed in their own adventures and their knowledge of cultivation and breaking through were too poor to realize that some of them had already acquired more Shinsoo than what was necessary for breaking through.


    The main condition for finishing the test was to reach the exit, which could be done independently of the individual''s level. But other forces were at play that even Elders didn''t necessarily know about.


    Patriarch Sen knew that some of the Elders had picked up on it silently after watching their disciples fail to break through.


    Reaching the Liquid Realm can only be done in the fifth area of the floating continent. The central ring, that was where the exit was located as well as the only place that allowed a breakthrough.


    "If a kid like Jun Qian, Tai Bu or Sui Lin who have been waiting for a long time at the top of the Shinsoo Gathering Realm were to be allowed a breakthrough, they would have done that immediately in the first ring!


    Where would be the fun in that?! Eh-eh-eh!"


    The Patriarch laughed to himself, "what we need is a shift in power to push everybody to their limits! And the longer they stay in the training dimension the more benefits they can reap from it!"


    Continuing his thought process, he focused his divine sense on the green dot of the map.


    "For example like finding the Veins of Hell Fire..."


    ***


    Shin Sumi had been roaming the maze for a week straight with little to no rest. It was not the first time she was alone underground, but she had somewhat gotten used to moving with Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui.


    Even if she was more of a loner, the stuffy atmosphere of the rock all around her was slowly taking a toll on her mental.


    "Exploring was much easier with the others. And faster too" she sighed out loud after having to retrace her steps back for what seemed like the hundredth time, "dead ends everywhere."


    Her spirits were lifted for a while when she accidentally stepped in the middle of a room containing five Blood Wolves. That would have scared any red or orange robed disciple but for Shin Sumi it was just an occupation to kill her boredom.


    The pack of wolves were without a doubt protecting a treasure and her divine sense indicated that they were not too strong.


    The five wolves were standing around a large hole in the ground that was too far away for her divine sense to penetrate, not daring to attack her but clearly not going to leave the hole unprotected.


    "Something in this hole must be of value! I have to get it!"


    After fighting easily against them, sharp golden sword versus dark claws, Shin Sumi collected the red cores from their corpses, unaffected by the sight of their blood splashed everywhere.


    Feeding the cores to the little nut, Shin Sumi stepped on the border of the hole.


    The gaping mouth of darkness stared at her, giving rise to an uneasy feeling in her guts.


    For some reason even the Copper Bell was unable to tear away at the darkness, as if some higher level of power had dictated the laws of this place.


    In fact a stifling pressure seemed to rise off of the hole, the kind that was usually enough to make any disciple renounce on exploring that place.


    Nevertheless, although Shin Sumi was a prudent and rational person not prone to rash decisions, she couldn''t bring herself to ignore the possibility of a glorious treasure and some adventure.


    "I hope it''s some kind of dimensional artefact that would show me the way out of this maze!"


    It was just wishful thinking and she knew it, but she wanted to believe.


    Resting for a bit just to make sure she was in her best condition, Shin Sumi soon lept in the darkness.


    ***


    "What in the Heavens is she doing?!! She can''t enter that!" back in the sect, Patriarch Sen suddenly opened his eyes and yelled out loud.


    The heads of the Elders present turned quickly, confused, waiting for an explanation.


    "One of the disciples went to a sealed off area... Who in their right mind would do that?!"


    It was also the reason why the Copper Bell couldn''t diffuse the darkness. The area was normally limited to Liquid Realm disciples, but... Shin Sumi had entered the Blood Wolf''s Nest.

 48 Blood Wolfs Nes

    Shin Sumi completely ignored what she had gotten herself into. Due to her insane Shinsoo affinity after having opened fifty two Shinsoo apertures, the formless barrier that would normally block any disciple below the Liquid Realm from entering the limited areas had just been felt like a relatively strong pressure for her.


    As Patriarch Sen was pulling his hair off his head in anger and anxiety, Shin Sumi was plummeting through the darkness towards the Blood Wolf''s Nest, wondering what sort of treasure would be waiting for her.


    She also knew that a treasure would not appear unprotected simply waiting on the floor. There would obviously be some form of trial or test which Shin Sumi couldn''t wait to discover, with confidence in her strength.


    What she had always accounted for in the Rising Star Tournament was that everything had to be designed for Honorary Disciples. In fact it was her main supposition regarding the ''blur'' that had saved her from the giant crocodile. Because of the strength of the crocodile, it had been restricted for the safety of the trial-takers.


    But in her suppositions, Shin Sumi had not thought that she could go off-limits and put herself in real danger. After all, she was one of the strongest people currently in this dimension!


    At a point during her short fall through the black opening in the earth, Shin Sumi felt herself slow down. Light had not quite returned to her yet, but she knew she had lost momentum.


    "It is like moving through honey" she thought, "the Shinsoo pressure just went up a notch! It is good, maybe I''m getting close to the Vein of Hell Fire! Or maybe it''s a secret cultivation place!"


    Like a feather gently pushed by the wind or a falling leaf, Shin Sumi put her foot on solid ground with grace. Because she had now gotten completely through the barrier preventing access to low level disciples, the Copper Bell suddenly activated, revealing her surroundings.


    The grin on Shin Sumi''s mouth and the golden sword in her hand instantly froze while all the hair in her body stood up.


    "Wha- what is that?!!" she was about to say out loud before the life-saving fear that had overtaken her kicked in and glued her vocal cords shut.


    In front of Shin Sumi laid hundreds or thousands of Blood Wolves. It was a whole army currently sleeping soundlessly. But what was even more frightening was the huge mountain of fur in the center of the immense room that rose and fell with the rhythm of a slow and steady breathing.


    Shin Sumi realized that the pressure that rendered all her movements sluggish actually came off of the giant beast sleeping in the middle of the pack.


    "S-so huge! And strong... Even without the massive Blood Wolf being awake I can hardly move", she thought.


    The unsurmountable power wasn''t something Shin Sumi could comprehend with her Shinsoo Gathering strength. It was definitely above the giant crocodile''s realm.


    "This beast must be at least in the mid-Liquid Realm. It''s not something I can handle at all" she now realized with panic!


    Shin Sumi was trapped in the middle of an army of sleeping Blood Wolves.


    Looking at the darkness above her and feeling the formless pressure on her shoulders she didn''t even attempt to jump out of the hole where she came from. No, she would have to find a way out somewhere else. And without awaking the Blood Wolves.


    After analyzing her situation, Shin Sumi started to explore the giant cave, carefully treading the beast covered ground.


    From the Shinsoo fluctuations of all the creatures around her, Shin Sumi discovered that they were all extremely similar to the five she had fought above the entrance. They all shared the same dark fur and red markings on the length of their powerful bodies and they also were only about red core level fighters.


    By themselves, the Blood Wolves posed absolutely no threat to Shin Sumi, even if they ganged up on her with a ten to one ratio.


    She scanned the room with her eyes in a futile attempt to count them. With their amount, Shin Sumi had absolutely no chance of victory whatsoever.


    And that was of course without counting the white furred mother Blood Wolf. It was clear now to Shin Sumi that this cave was their lair, and all the Blood Wolves were protecting the mother.


    Even normal wolves found in the forests of the mortal world were very territorial creatures, always protecting their lair. It wasn''t even unusual for them to have a few guards outside of their nest.


    Had Shin Sumi been a tad bit slower in defeating the five guards up above, she would have jumped in the middle of an army of alert, enraged and bloodthirsty wolves.


    Shin Sumi''s face was so pale that she looked like a skeleton.


    "This time I really screwed up... I need a miracle to get out of here alive!"


    The miracle came when she reached the other side of the wolf mother, after an hour of walking carefully in order to not make any noise or worse, step on a Blood Wolf''s tail.


    Without any prior indication, her bag of holding started to vibrate. In less than the moment it takes to blink, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was flying around her, casting a golden light on the hills of fur around.


    "A Vein of Hell Fire? Here?!"


    Suddenly it all made sense. Of course the mother Blood Wolf would make her lair close to such a powerful source of Shinsoo. It may even have been what allowed her to grow so big and her pack to number in the thousands.


    The sword cut through the air with astonishing speed towards a wall far away. Thankfully it was the furthest possible from the enormous white furred Blood Wolf.


    Zzziiiiing.


    The weapon was vibrating powerfully, a sign of the Vein of Hell Fire being really close, and in less than half a breath of time it had disappeared through a large crack in the wall.


    Shin Sumi followed the golden arc cautiously, glad that she could escape this hellish place.


    She had gone only a quarter of the way when she realized that the ground felt like it was vibrating.


    "No, it''s not the ground... It''s a growl!"


    She turned around faster than a bolt of lightning, right on time to see the mountain of white fur slowly grow bigger and bigger. From under the fur, a powerful leg appeared, then two. The legs were slender and aerodynamic. A red streak of hair ran along the muscles, stopping in between the claws of the beast, making them look like blood was dripping from them.


    Each one of the claws was bigger than a two-handed sword and probably sharper.


    After the legs came what was the biggest animal head Shin Sumi had ever seen. Compared to the mother Blood Wolf, the giant crocodile was just a large lizard!


    The maw of the beast was large enough to hold a two stories house in it and the sharp teeth were definitely enough to crush it to dust in one bite. But what was even more terrifying were the red eyes of the Blood Wolf, piercing the white fur and scanning the room for the source of the noise that awakened it from its slumber.


    Shin Sumi was frozen in place, unable to move under the pressure of the gaze. She could only look in despair at the huge Blood Wolf and the red eyes fixated on her.


    Willing herself to move, she soon realized that the Shinsoo emanated from the beast locked her in place, rendering all efforts useless.


    "The strength of a Liquid Realm beast. I''m completely powerless against that thing!"


    The growl of the mother Blood Wolf soon got picked up my more and more low-level wolves starting to awaken as well.


    The white Blood Wolf suddenly lifted its head towards the ceiling of the cave and started to howl. The power of the soundwave reached Shin Sumi the next instant, throwing her in a straight line until she collapsed against the wall, blood spurting from her mouth and dripping down her ears.


    She was still conscious albeit stuck in place, faced with thousands of wolves who were now howling too, and their terrifying mother.


    Sending a sliver of divine sense into her bag of holding, Shin Sumi summoned a few paper talismans. In her current immobile state it was the only thing she could use.


    The talismans ignited a few meters in front of her, forming a blast of white flames that illuminated the entire room, and sent the closest wolves flying. Shin Sumi herself felt the heat of the flames but she endured, closing her jaws tight. Even the mother Blood Wolf seemed affected, not by the blast or the faraway heat but by the light. The red eyes closed for an instant, rupturing the pressure that assaulted Shin Sumi.


    All it took was a split second for Shin Sumi to get up and throw more paper talismans. She only had a couple left and the explosions were less powerful than the previous ones but they allowed some distraction to get rid of the mother Blood Wolf''s insane pressure.


    The giant beast was now howling even louder than before but because if was the second time, Shin Sumi wasn''t taken by surprise. Using all the circulating energy she could muster in such a short time, she clogged her own ears with Shinsoo, dampening the blow while she braced.


    Rushing to the side, Shin Sumi rolled into the crevice where the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had disappeared.


    Howling orders, the mother Blood Wolf launched her army after her. Right before she escaped their sight, Shin Sumi caught a glimpse of the reason why the mother had not attacked her herself.


    Between the white furred legs, a dozen small wolf pups were curled up in a ball, whimpering and scared.


    "I invaded her territory just after she had a litter of cubs... This is the worst situation I could have found myself into! And now I''m almost out of fire talismans but at least the mother herself can''t come after me."


    The crevice was narrow, definitely not large enough for the mother. If all the normal Blood Wolves attacked her in a straight line, she could probably fend against them. It would all come down to whether she would run out of energy before they ran out of numbers. The fact that the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was gone as well and did not respond to her call was also a big problem.


    A brilliant idea popped into her mind as she evaded the first pouncing of the Blood Wolves behind her. The last paper talisman flew off in a straight line, sticking itself to the top of the tunnel.


    If Chu Erlong could collapse an entire section of the maze with a fireball, why couldn''t she do it?!


    Recalling the strength of the fireball blast multiplied exponentially by the narrow space, Shin Sumi waited for a couple seconds before detonating the paper talisman. The last thing she wanted was to get caught up in it as well!


    BOOOM!!


    The tunnel collapsed on top of a few wolves with a somewhat underwhelming power.


    "Crap, I miscalculated, probably only a couple wolves got crushed!"


    She could hear more than five sets of footsteps behind her and a lot of barking. The most time passed, the more the Blood Wolves seemed enraged and wanted to kill her. Normally they would only chase her until she left their territory but now she really had made them mad!


    And the worst thing was that if it hadn''t been thanks to the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword once again saving her life by showing her the way, she would have been trapped in the central room where the whole army was gathered. That and the giant white wolf.


    Unfortunately, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword didn''t seem to hold Shin Sumi in high regards. After having absorbed the power of two Veins of Hell Fire, it couldn''t wait to taste even more of them and thus refused to answer its master''s call. As such, Shin Sumi was left without her weapon, stuck in a narrow corridor with bloodthirsty creatures.


    Now that she had recuperated from the blow struck by the mother Blood Wolf, she had gone back to peak condition. More confident than before, she slapped her bag of holding in between two leaps, producing a small flying sword.


    "Even if it doesn''t hold a candle to my normal weapon, this is still one, right?" she thought. Compared to the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, this glaive was nothing more than a toothpick.


    Having received the golden sword really early in her Shinsoo Gathering, Shin Sumi had never known what it was like to fight with more normal weapons like other disciples. The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was a treasured weapon of high grade, leagues apart from the regular flying swords.


    The simple power of her throw was instantly reduced compared to usual, giving her a bad feeling about the fight.


    The red core Blood Wolf at the lead of the chase didn''t even bother looking at the incoming blade, catching it in between its powerful jaws and instantly rupturing it in the middle.


    And just like that, Shin Sumi understood how lucky she had been to have her sword in her recent cultivation adventures.


    Having looted many disciples and slain different beasts along her trials, Shin Sumi had acquired a rather large collection of weapons that she was now proceeding to throw behind her.


    For every three or four throws, only one would hit the wolf and remain stuck in its bloody fur accompanied with a painful cry.


    One by one, Shin Sumi got rid of her pursuivers as well as her arsenal of blades, showing her lack of experience fighting without the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    There was only one wolf remaining when Shin Sumi finally caught sight of a blinding green light at the end of the tunnel. Having no projectiles left, she rushed ahead even faster, followed by the enraged beast.


    The more she advanced, the more she started to feel the pressure mount around her. The brief relief that she had been provided with when she got away from the mother Blood Wolf slowly disappeared. Once more, a formless mountainous pressure grew on her shoulders, her legs, her arms, followed by the now familiar burning sensation.


    As Shin Sumi slowed down, unable to keep her speed while getting closer to the Vein of Hell Fire, the wolf slowed down as well with confusion, its low intelligence unable to understand what was wrong.


    Shin Sumi was less than fifteen steps away from the radiant green source of light when she couldn''t advance anymore. The hilt of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in the middle of it was visible only when she squinted her eyes.


    With its lesser cultivation, the Blood Wolf was incapable of following her further, stuck approximately ten steps from Shin Sumi.


    After a while of observation between the two parties, Shin Sumi guessed that the wolf could not reach her and chose to ignore it, focusing on absorbing the green Vein.


    After growling to no avail for a long time, the wolf too decided to wait, its eyes never leaving the seated silhouette almost in reach.


    ***After going across the icy plains of the second ring, Xiao Yue had entered the underground maze easily. Because of the path she had taken, she found an other entrance than the one Shin Sumi would come to use a few days after.


    Inside the dark and ancient tunnels, Xiao Yue had encountered a couple of other disciples, all of which fled once they saw her.


    At this point in the trial, only the most talented and experienced of disciples had already reached the third domain, and the only red robed individuals were part of a larger group. On their own, there was no way for a single low level disciple to go this far that fast without running into mortal danger.


    Even with that in mind, most of the disciples trying to find their way through the maze were orange or yellow robed, thus it wasn''t too unusual for some of them to cross paths with Xiao Yue.


    But contrary to all expectations, not one of them was willing to spend time close to her.


    "Oooooh they ran away... Come on guys, it''s no fun without company. I''m looooneeely" she weeped, although the sly grin on her face betrayed her sentiments.


    A black spear was twirling in her hand and seemed to release smoke that was even darker than the galeries devoids of light.


    The high-grade weapon she had acquired before leaving the icy tundra while Shin Sumi was in isolation instilled fear in everyone that saw it. But even more so, it was the bearer of the spear that was most feared.


    Due to the quality of the weapon, the sub-trial necessary to gain mastery over it had of course been intense, and only the best had been suitable to win. And Xiao Yue''s attempt had left a deep mark on many a disciple''s mind.


    When she had stumbled upon the scene of dozens of disciples at once transfixed in front of a black monolith, she had known that something big was in play.


    The Shinsoo fluctuations coming from the monolith were really strange and formed links between every disciple cross-legged.


    Without hesitation, Xiao Yue had tried to probe the smooth surface of the black rock.


    "Do you wish to take part in the trial?"


    Xiao Yue''s vision had been all encompassed in darkness, with white smoke-like characters in front of her.


    Xiao Yue had accepted immediately before a whirlwind of smoke teleported her in a sub-dimension.


    "There''s a trial within the trial" she had thought, "and it looks like a giant arena? I don''t know what''s going on but it sure seems interesting!"


    The small world she was in was closed off by mountains on all four sides, the center of the square being a giant tower on top of which resided a mighty black spear.

 49 Black Devil Maiden Xiao Yue

    Because of the new environment Xiao Yue had been instantly moved to, her first reflex had been to find hiding behind one of the small ruins that covered the area to observe what was going on.


    From there she could observe the dozens of disciples fighting in the arena, trampling on what looked like cities and fields from far away.


    "A miniature world! These cities are not far away, they are really tiny!"


    In fact she herself was located on top of what must have been in the past a big castle. The ruined high walls that currently shielded her weren''t taller than a meter, which would translate to at least five stories compared to the size of this dimension.


    Even the mountains that closed off this small valley were only about ten meters high and a couple hundred meters apart.


    But Xiao Yue didn''t spend too long wondering about how this dimension came to be or if it had been inhabited by small humans at some point in time. She had observed the scene for long enough now and had an inkling as to what was going on.


    Up above in the small clouds, thunder roared never endingly. In fact it only took a couple of lightning strikes to understand that bolts would strike the central tower whenever a disciple killed another.


    At first glance this sub-trial looked completely barbaric but after she witnessed the same disciple being killed then flashing back to life in a random place, Xiao Yue understood that everything happening here was illusory.


    "This looks like fun! We can kill each other and practice fighting without actually suffering damages!" she was overjoyed.


    The tower central to the arena contrasted highly with the size of the dimension. As if it was hundreds of meters tall, the proud looking building housing the black spear overlooked the ruined cityscape.


    On all sides of the tower, spiraling steps could be seen flashing on and off with different colors. In fact there were as many sets of stairs as there were disciples.


    Xiao Yue was still observing when she felt a presence behind her. Although she was close to the mountains, she wasn''t exactly at the edge of the arena.


    An orange robed disciples that looked to be twenty or younger had sprung into existence right behind her!


    Almost as soon as the young man spotted her, he attacked mercilessly with a battle cry through his clenched teeth.


    Xiao Yue''s divine sense didn''t have the time to completely register the disciple when her sharp reflexes took over.


    The sword she took out with a slap to her bag of holding was of course the good-grade treasure she had come across previously. The same sword that had been embedded in the cranium of an Ice Winged Serpent that three red robed disciples fought together before of of them betrayed the others.


    This weapon was the best she had at her disposal by far, and her mastery over it proved worthy of a fine blade.


    Without thinking twice, Xiao Yue spun on her feet, slicing the approaching orange robed disciple with ease. The moment the blade exited the young man''s body, thunder roared, and a lilac colored lightning bolt struck the black spear on top of the center tower.


    The next instant, a lilac step had appeared at the bottom of the tower, next to all the other colored assortments of stairs.


    "Ooooooh, I get it! Each strike gets you a step" she realized the point of the sub-trial. "Then... if I get enough kills it will reach the top and the treasure will be mine!"


    Looking at the sword in her hand and probing the tower, Xiao Yue immediately knew that the menacing black spear was in a completely different league.


    It was at this moment that her eyes started burning with a strange passion, a passion that would only be extinguished when she attained her new goal.


    Most of the disciples participating in the trial were orange robed, although a third of them were red robes lucky enough to have reached the icy tundra this fast. None but a couple of cultivators she recognized could really pose a problem to her it seemed.


    Xiao Yue came out of hiding, but in the confusion of the fight between a few dozen parties, not one person turned to her.


    "They are all already fighting... Then I just have to join the battle!"


    As it turned out, the first opponent Xiao Yue met was the guy she had already cut down once.


    "This time, you are going to die, trash!", the fool uttered, seeking revenge before Xiao Yue impaled him with a smile.


    "Trash? Seriously?" she replied right as the man was being teleported elsewhere.


    Leaping into action, Xiao Yue then proceeded to take down two disciples fighting each other in one fell swoop by surprise.


    The thunder roared twice more, the lilac steps on the tower now numbering four. There seemed to be at least a hundred more steps before it reached the top.


    What happened next could only be described as barbaric domination.


    Slowly at first, Xiao Yue reached twenty steps. As it turned out, each time a disciple would die, their own sets of stairs would lose one step. This way in order to reach the black spear, the victorious had to not only kill a lot of the others but limit their own amount of deaths.


    After reaching her fiftieth step, Xiao Yue saw that most of the disciples present didn''t even have a single step of their color remaining.


    It was then that she chose to call in a loud Shinsoo-enhanced voice to everybody to fight her.


    A few of the disciples entranced by the trial hadn''t noticed her progression yet, but the number of lilac steps as well as her outrageous provocation made their blood flow in reverse.


    Between steps fifty and ninety, Xiao Yue was surrounded at all times by her own volition and yet not once did she lose her life. Her sword spun around again and again, mercilessly taking down anyone in her path.


    The total carnage she had brought with her didn''t stop for another twenty steps.


    By this point all the disciples had given up, most of them dispirited enough to want anxiously to leave the sub-trial and return to their bodies in front of the black monolith in the icy tundra.


    Some of them were even crying a little.


    Even Xiao Yue herself had become bored at some point. If nobody wanted to fight her, then what was the point? Where was the fun in that?!


    Some disciples were sitting cross legged in the middle of the arena, simply waiting for Xiao Yue to slaughter them.


    Xiao Yue had been dragging her sword on the ground for a while, not bothering with a fighting stance before slicing people.


    It was upon reaching the hundred and tenth step that one of the disciples jumped at her furiously, trying to score at least a point from her before her win.


    In the end, Xiao Yue had finished the trial with a hundred and eleven kills and not a single death.


    The black spear that was repeatedly struck by lightning descended into her hand, dousing her in a black light that made her look terrifying.


    The next instant, all the disciples found themselves back into their own bodies right as the black monolith crumbled into fine black dust.


    Xiao Yue was standing in the middle of them, the Black Devil Spear in hand, a bit hazy. Black smoke seemed to rise up from the entire length of the spear, catching all the surrounding light.


    The look of the orange robed girl was since then etched into their memories forever, as well as the nickname Black Devil Maiden Xiao Yue.


    It was unknown who called her that at first, but she heard their cries as they flew away from her upon being teleported back in the ice tundra.


    Now Xiao Yue was roaming the tunnels of the ancient maze, the name Black Devil Maiden echoing after each of her encounters with another disciple.


    ***


    Right as Xiao Yue was lamenting her loneliness and whishing for her sister Shin Sumi to reunite with her soon, the latter was opening her eyes, a few levels below in front of the green Vein of Hell Fire.


    As her consciousness left its meditative state out of time and space, Shin Sumi instantly probed herself by reflex. Her body now seemed to be glowing from the interior as her divine sense roamed around her meridians and Shinsoo openings.


    The number of Shinsoo doors unclogged had risen up from fifty-two to fifty eight!


    "Only six more to go and two veins left" she thought as she stretched lightly.


    With every of her movements, Shin Sumi felt the power of her muscles almost rumbling, brimming with raw strength. Her silhouette was as slender as always but she had made quite a leap in strength as she had absorbed unknown quantities of pure Shinsoo energy.


    If before absorbing a Vein she felt like a piece of coal, now she was more akin to a diamond, refined and pure.


    Her mind was suddenly struck by the feeling of being watched. Shin Sumi turned around sharply, calling the now tame Gold Tyrant Flying Sword to her hand in an instant.


    Not ten meters from her was a Blood Wolf. Of course Shin Sumi remembered the single wolf that had followed her all the way to the Vein of Hell Fire. Out of weapons and ideas, she had only been saved by the presence of the strong pressure from the Vein that had allowed her to put some distance between her and the beast.


    But now she couldn''t believe her eyes!


    "Is that really the same Blood Wolf ??!"


    The beast that was looking at her had at least tripled in size! It''s fur that was once black with red streaks now also showed hints of silver linings.


    The claws that had been like daggers were now short swords that gleamed with a greenish glow.


    Upon watching Shin Sumi get up, the wolf shot back a couple meters. It had lost its bloodthirsty air and its eyes didn''t show even an ounce of the madness they once contained.


    The wolf howled softly, scratching the ground at the same time.


    Somehow Shin Sumi saw profound intelligence in the black pupils in front of her. Slowly she lowered her sword and stepped sideways.


    Assured that they were not going to attack each other, the wolf sat down and nuzzled its snout between its hind legs, closing its eyes.


    "So I''m not the only one who benefitted from the Vein of Hell Fire, eh?"


    A light probing answered her question. The wolf radiated strength in much the same way as herself. It had gone from a red core beast, a low level Shinsoo Gathering creature to a late stage green core!


    For a second Shin Sumi wondered if its core could be updated to a blue core through the refinement process of the little nut, but a worried stare from the Blood Wolf at the same moment made her forget the idea.


    "The Blood Wolf won''t attack me now" she knew, "wait, this isn''t right, it should be a Silver Blood Wolf now!"


    In fact the grey streaks didn''t lie, Shin Sumi recognized the mutated species from one of the books Xiao Yue had shown her once.


    The powerful beast twice as big as herself suddenly looked up, sniffing the air. With lightning speed, the hunter ran to a wall of the large cavern before coming back to the same spot carrying a big rat in its jaws.


    Shin Sumi watched the Silver Blood Wolf eat with a mix of disgust and interest.


    "It seems like even its smell has been enhanced..."


    As if it was understanding her human words perfectly, the wolf growled affirmatively.


    Stretching its legs, the wolf roamed about in the cave for a couple of hours while Shin Sumi stabilized her new powers and made sure her cultivation base was firm. The whole time she kept an eye on the wolf from afar.


    It soon looked pretty evident that the wolf had finished its absorption a long time before Shin Sumi. The way it knew the cave system was an indication to that.


    "Could it be that you''ve stayed all this time around here for me?" she asked the wolf.


    Although it was a ferocious beast in nature, the Silver Blood Wolf nodded proudly like a pet dog.


    "You have toured the cave a lot haven''t you?"


    Another intelligent nod.


    "Do you know the way out of here? Some path to reach one of the tunnels?"


    The wolf looked confused for a moment before it understood what Shin Sumi meant.


    With the sheer size of the wolf, it was evident that it could not fit through the passage they had both used to arrive to the Vein of Hell Fire anymore.


    The wolf seemed genuinely happy to see Shin Sumi follow as it lead her to a small but large enough passage carved into the walls. Contrary to the caverns in this part of the maze that seemed to have come about naturally, this one tunnel was obviously man made.


    Runes and strange characters covered the walls in patterns that Shin Sumi could not understand. She slowed down enough to imprint on her memory the stone writings, the Silver Blood Wolf patiently waiting for her.


    Shin Sumi felt that the magical runes served as a way to prevent the aura of the Vein of Hell Fire to spread from the cave it was in because as soon as she and her companion wolf passed the tunnel she could no longer feel it.


    The Silver Blood Wolf looked disoriented for a moment but stuck close to Shin Sumi. Having absorbed most of the Vein of Hell Fire, she now beared it''s aura slightly.


    "Maybe that is why the wolf is now friendly" she thought with no way to confirm or infirm her theory.


    The path was now in a slight upwards slope, probably leading to the main levels of the maze and Shin Sumi took advantage of the calm and solemn atmosphere to observe her sword before going back to the chaos and danger of the Rising Star Tournament.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had gone through unprecedented changes once again. When Shin Sumi remembered the appearance of the sword when she obtained it at first, she would barely admit that they were one and the same.


    The golden sword was a marvel of beauty and grace, nothing like its name indicated. The blade was so thin that it looks able to cut the wing of a fly by the width! Besides retaining its golden color, the sword was almost translucent.


    Even the handle that Shin Sumi had carved clumsily out of the spine of a Stone Leaf Tortoise had benefited from the refining process of the veins.


    Elegant designs ran from the pommel to the hilt of the sword and the whole fit Shin Sumi''s hand perfectly.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was different from other cultivator weapons in that for each of its owners, the sword almost reverted completely back to its blank state.


    Fen Wudao''s sword had obviously been refined by himself and was on a whole other level, but when he had passed it down to her, the thing could not even be called a sword anymore.


    It was a heap of dark yellow metal, too dull to cut down anything. And now that Shin Sumi was gradually enhancing it, the sword didn''t look like it would revert to the state it had when Fen Wudao held it.


    The sword was adapting to its master. Shin Sumi was a girl, her natural aura brimmed with gentle Yin type Shinsoo, whereas Fen Wudao''s Shinsoo was of the fierce Yang type. Hence his version of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been mighty and imposing.


    "I bet I am the first woman to hold mastership of this sword. This is far from tyranny but more like a slick and thin feather."


    She remembered the multiple times the sword had acted on its own, too interested by the proximity of a Vein of Hell Fire to hear her mental orders.


    She squinted suspiciously "or is the sword the tyrant after all..."


    For now though, the sword seemed to behave as Shin Sumi arrived close to the end of the tunnel.


    Next to her, the Silver Blood Wolf was now unwilling to go much further.


    Shin Sumi stopped and called the beast, kind of wishing she could take it with her. Imagine her returning to the battlefield on a ferocious silver mount!


    But she of course had to give up the idea.


    "You want to return to the Vein, don''t you? And maybe go back to your family after, hmn? I don''t blame you. Family is important, don''t escape like I did never to return. But at least I kind of have a different family now... Yue, Lan Hui, Bai Xuengen... I guess they are the closest I have to a family."


    Sensing her mixed feelings but unable to fully comprehend it, the Silver Blood Wolf nuzzled against Shin Sumi for a few moments.


    Shin Sumi even felt a tug at her divine sense, as if the wolf wanted to wrap its spirit against hers. At a loss, Shin Sumi allowed it to intertwine their divine senses.


    "This... are you bonding with me?"


    The link was similar in a way to what had formed between Shin Sumi and the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, or the Copper Bell, although different.


    Like sharing identification jade imprints between disciples, the wolf was forming a link between the two.


    When the process finished, the beast stood proudly in front of Shin Sumi, yapping one last time before running off in the distance back towards the green Vein of Hell Fire. The silver streak died in the darkness, leaving Shin Sumi with an unexpected sadness.


    "Thank you for the good time, little wolf. I''m going back to where I''m supposed to be now. If one day I can, I''ll take you with me to the Dark Sky Starry Sect!"


    The effects of the last Confusion Pill had dissipated while she had been absorbing pure Shinsoo, so she popped a new one into her mouth.


    Her face turned into Bai Fulong''s again as she went exploring once more in hope to find the exit of the maze.


    She only stopped fully two hours later when the corridor in front of her exuded a dangerous feeling. A dark mass of smoke denser than any shadows obscured her vision, even with the Copper Bell at her side.


    But what made her stop was not the darkness rather than the presence she could feel through it.


    "Yue-Erm... Xiao Yue?"

 50 The Unexpected Reunion

    From the inside of the mass of darkness, Xiao Yue peeked out, squinting to discern who had called her name.


    The Black Devil Spear in her hand stopped spinning to point towards the corridor and the invisible Shin Sumi.


    "Who is it?" she asked in a defying voice.


    Even though her own weapon produced a neverending black fog darker than her surroundings, Xiao Yue had no trouble seeing through it. Because she was the spear''s master, her vision was not clouded by it. That didn''t change the fact that the entire underground maze was really dark.


    Xiao Yue couldn''t see who called out to her and was wondering how a person would have seen her.


    The sound of light footsteps echoed through the tunnel, bringing Bai Fulong into her divine sense perception range before seeing him with her eyes.


    Xiao Yue grinned, thinking "a red robed guy, and he doesn''t look a bit older than me."


    "Are you alone?" she asked, knowing full well that it was impossible for a low level disciple to be this far in the third ring by themselves.


    "Yes, Senior Sister Xiao, you don''t have to worry..." started Shin Sumi.


    Xiao Yue froze for half a breath when she realized that the first time the stranger had been calling her by her name.


    "You need to know your place and to not lie to your senior!" she roared, jumping towards Bai Fulong for a surprise attack.


    Xiao Yue pounced on Shin Sumi with all the speed of the number one orange robed disciples. The mighty black spear rumbled with the sound of thunder, it''s velocity a match for the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword''s.


    Shin Sumi blew a little bit of air from her nose, almost laughing. Xiao Yue was terrifying but that didn''t leave her stuck in place.


    For the first time since the absorption of the third Vein of Hell Fire, Shin Sumi had the opportunity to test the strength she had acquired.


    Her powerful legs left the ground, instantly transporting her to the other side of the tunnel. She passed by the pouncing Xiao Yue without her even realizing it.


    The Black Devil Spear cut the air, not encountering the expected obstruction. Where Shin Sumi had been standing was not empty space. In two spots in the ground were cracks spread in a concentric pattern.


    "Wha-


    -Hey, please calm down Senior Sister Xiao, I told you I''m alone and I don''t want trouble"


    Xiao Yue''s figure was a mixture of confusion and fury. Did this low level disciple just evade her sneak attack and pass her in a flash?


    "That was definitely not the speed of a red robed disciple. Who are you and what do you want?"


    If before Xiao Yue was only careful because she thought the red robed boy was part of a larger group, now she understood that she needed to be wary of him.


    "I am... Bai Fulong, pleased to meet you!"


    The boy in front of Xiao Yue bowed respectfully. Partly in order to hide the smile on his lips.


    "Come on Sumi, you need to be more convincing. Don''t let her see through you, it''s not time for a reveal yet..." Shin Sumi thought.


    Shin Sumi had thought about the possibility of her meeting Xiao Yue for a while now. Despite how much it pained her to not be able to tell her the truth, she had decided that it was best to leave it for the time being.


    She had made a promise of helping Lan Hui and Bai Xuengen. They definitely needed her help if Chu Erlong decided to attack again. Just by recalling the small sun that had been thrown her way, she shuddered internally. No she really didn''t want to involve Xiao Yue if possible.


    There was also the matter of the Veins of Hell Fire. If Shin Sumi revealed herself, then Xiao Yue would never let her cultivate alone in the Veins of Hell Fire. That would mean revealing the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword and the fact that besides being Bai Fulong, Shin Sumi was also the mysterious Yan Yan of the lower valley market.


    "What complicated mess have I gotten into" she sighed, but now wasn''t the time to think about all that.


    "What do you want?" asked Xiao Yue again, slightly impatient.


    "I simply recognized you from afar Senior Sister Xiao. I wanted to meet you, that''s all. I am a fan of yours. "


    "So what now, you are going to ask me to tag along? I don''t travel with people, even less with people that are useless to me."


    "Such ruthlessness", thought Shin Sumi. She recognized the Xiao Yue that used to despise people trying to follow her.


    "Isn''t that a bit lonely? We''ve been in this trial for so long now, I thought you might enjoy a travel companion..."


    Xiao Yue was taken aback. She didn''t expect this Bai Fulong to touch her right where her feelings were. It''s true that she had been pretty lonely, trying to find her sworn sister Shin Sumi, not knowing that she was right in front of her.


    "Besides I''m not useless. I have speed and power. In fact I don''t think you could get rid of me if I started following you, ah-ah."


    Xiao Yue''s brow twitched with anger for a second, but the young stranger was right. She had seen his speed in the quick attack earlier and knew she wasn''t a match.


    But she wasn''t going to let that affront slide.


    "Oh yeah? You want to try me?"


    The Black Devil Spear pointing at Bai Fulong, Xiao Yue assumed a half fighting stance.


    Shin Sumi was only joking but she only now realized that she had offended her friend. Without time for explanations or apologies, Xiao Yue attacked her.


    They were so close to each other already that Shin Sumi couldn''t evade like last time.


    Without a second thought, the approaching tip of the black spear being the only thing in her mind, she called to her sword.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword appeared before Shin Sumi realized her mistake. It was too late and she was already using the golden blade to parry the black spear.


    CLANG!


    After the first contact, Xiao Yue gritted her teeth, not willing to believe that she had been parried. She attacked a second time, then a third before a blow from Shin Sumi made her retreat half a step.


    Xiao Yue tried her chance another few times, not listening to Shin Sumi''s tries at an apology.


    "Please- Stop- Senior- Sister- Xiao-..." the sound of the weapons clashing punctuating every word.


    Xiao Yue was stunned. Shin Sumi lowered her weapon, bowing and apologizing profusely for her words.


    The orange robed girl didn''t take advantage of her lowered guard to attack. Every one of her blows had been deflected, and during the entire exchange, not once had see succeeded in making that Bai Fulong take a step back.


    "Hmpf. Fine. Tag along if you want but don''t expect anything from me, okay? And I will not wait for you."


    And just like that, Xiao Yue ran off in the distance.


    Shin Sumi sighed. She had messed up, but it seemed like the issue was temporarily resolved.


    Picking up speed, it didn''t take long for Shin Sumi to catch up to her friend, who turned her head away as soon as she caught sight of the red robes.


    Xiao Yue recognized the strength of the individual following her but wasn''t willing to acknowledge him.


    "This Bai Fulong... he has the strength to subdue me anytime but doesn''t seem to have bad intentions... He has to be a yellow robe in disguise, but which one? I don''t recall many friendly yellow robes."


    Right behind her, Shin Sumi smiles to her friend in a reassuring manner whenever she took a glance at her. It didn''t seem to have the expected effect though, Xiao Yue only reacting with a face that seemed to say "what a creep".


    In her bag of holding, Shin Sumi could feel the presence of the Goldy Tyrant Flying Sword. She was relieved that Xiao Yue hadn''t recognized the sword.


    Although there weren''t many pure golden weapons in the sect''s lower valley, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword of now didn''t look anything like it did before when it was in Fen Wudao''s hands.


    Continuing their search for the exit of the underground maze, Xiao Yue didn''t do more than simply bear with the mysterious person being near her. She merely tolerated his presence, sometimes being annoyed when he stopped to look at carvings on the walls.


    What pissed her off the most was that after leaving him deciphering the strange characters, he would catch up with her way too fast.


    "It''s like his divine sense isn''t dulled by the maze like anyone else''s!"


    Her suspicions were confirmed a few days later when an arm blocked her way at some point during their runnings.


    Xiao Yue was about to yell at Bai Fulong asking him what he was doing when she saw his eyes focused far away ahead, his hand signaling her with the universal gesture of silence.


    With the darkness, Xiao Yue wasn''t able to see anything, but somehow she felt like obeying this time.


    A few seconds later, a dozen small creatures crawled their way from the shadows. The furry creatures moved in a bizarre way, pulling their bodies like caterpillars slowly on the ground. Bloated heads bigger than the rest of their bodies dragged along, blind white eyes lost in the distance.


    "Blind Crawlers" the divine sense of Xiao Yue told Shin Sumi without a sound. "As long as we don''t move or say anything they won''t attack us. They may not seem like much but once they find a prey they will not stop attacking before its death... or theirs."


    Shin Sumi nodded mentally, amazed by the knowledge of her sworn sister. The Blind Crawlers slowly passed between their legs, continuing their procession.


    Blind Crawlers were strange creatures. They did not rely on Shinsoo at all, only using sound to hunt. With the two disciples motionless, Xiao Yue and Shin Sumi were virtually invisible to them.


    "How do you know all that, Senior Sister Xiao?


    -Mmmm I had a brief encounter with three of them in another part of the maze. It took me a while to get rid of them, even with the Black Devil Spear."


    Once free to move, Shin Sumi let out all the air she had been afraid to breathe out. With a strange gleam in her eyes, Xiao Yue looked about to say "thank you" but ultimately turned to look at the dark tunnel.


    "It''s a good thing that we saw them. Blind Crawlers, strangely enough, are not an underground species. They always go out in open air to mate and they never leave for too long."


    "So you mean...


    -The exit is not that far from here! We are almost out!"


    Shin Sumi cheered calmly, happy to see Xiao Yue smile for the first time in a while. Her seriousness reappeared quickly but at least it was an improvement of her mood.


    Xiao Yue was right, the exit was near. After going through a flight of stairs and a few more galeries a red square of light appeared in their fields of vision.


    After months underground, Xiao Yue''s divine sense was finally free to spread as far as her cultivation allowed her to.


    To her surprise, she realized that her range had undergone a massive leap, now covering hundreds of meters at the same time.


    She, like Shin Sumi, could feel it in her meridians. Her entire cultivation had improved thanks to the high quality of Shinsoo in the dimension, and the further they went, the better it was.


    "I should have broken through to the Liquid Realm by now, but this" she gestured wildly "doesn''t allow me to... I wonder if we need to reach the end of the trial to break through."


    "It makes sense" though Shin Sumi out loud, "this tournament is a great opportunity for improving our cultivation base. The longer we refine our strength before the Liquid Realm, the sturdier our base will be when we finally step across the barrier."


    Xiao Yue agreed, the consequences of the hypothesis becoming cleared and cleared in her head.


    "The longer we stay here, the better we become. But then another disciple could reach the end before us and reap the rewards. Maybe that is why no one has finished yet."


    Even more so now with the strange Bai Fulong with her, Xiao Yue was painfully aware that as strong as she was, she was still just an orange robed disciple. Yellow robes were a kind of their own and could very have reached the end already. Maybe they were waiting there as much as they could to surpass their limits, ready to exit at the right moment.


    Back in the Great Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Patriarch Sen was listening in on their conversation, focused as often on the single green dot.


    "These girls are clever. They have figured out the real point of the trial. Nevertheless it will be hard for Shin Sumi to surpass everyone if she doesn''t pick up more speed. Cultivating with the Veins of Hell Fire is very beneficial but time consuming."


    And Shin Sumi knew that. What more, she had to find the fourth Vein of Hell Fire and being with Xiao Yue at the moment would make her task even more difficult.


    During the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament, upon arriving to the blood red and grey landscape, Shin Sumi had wished intensely to find her sister Xiao Yue.


    But ever since, she had spent all of her time disguised as Bai Fulong and now there was no way to revert back to her original appearance. Due to her unusual strength and the highly recognizable golden sword, her identity as Bai Fulong would be pierced in an instant, did she revert to her original self.


    Finally able to slow down and relax for an instant, the two girls were walking in the mountain pass separating the third ring from the fourth.


    Xiao Yue didn''t seem to mind Bai Fulong''s presence anymore or at least not in the same way she used to, traveling together bringing people closer. She was walking leisurely when she sensed her companion stopping in place.


    Seemingly lost in thoughts, Bai Fulong had raised his head towards the uniform red sunless sky.


    "Bai Fulong?" Xiao Yue asked, wondering if he was okay. From what she knew of him, this comportement was very unlike the cheerful atmosphere usually about him.


    "Senior Sister Xiao, so I guess this is goodbye, uh?"


    Xiao Yue was at a sudden loss. She hadn''t expected that, for sure. The same boy who had wanted to stay with her against her will in the maze was now departing?


    A brief light of understanding flashed behind her pupils.


    "Yeah... I think you are right."


    They had both benefited from each other in the underground domain but now there was no reason for them to continue on together. Bai Fulong was a complete mystery to her but it was clear that he was hiding something. The red robes had the strength of a yellow level disciple, wasn''t afraid of her in the slightest and surely hid many more secrets. It wasn''t that unexpected for him to want to continue alone, in the end.


    "Hey, just in case, you know how to contact me. May we cross paths again, Bai Fulong" Xiao Yue said while turning away before adding in a very low voice "...or whatever your real name is."


    Shin Sumi smiled sadly. After longing for months to be reunited with her sister, now she had voluntarily parted with her after only a few days together.


    At least they could now stay in contact. Well Shin Sumi always had the ways to do so, provided they were close enough for a divine sense transmission to each other''s identification jades. But now Xiao Yue could contact Bai Fulong too. Maybe that way Shin Sumi could ascertain that her friend and sworn sister stayed safe in the fourth domain of the tournament dimension.


    Resolutely watching her friend speed up in the distance, Shin Sumi collected herself and finally set foot to continue her journey.


    "Two more rings, two more Veins of Hell Fire. I need to advance quickly before the yellow robes reach the exit."


    Unlike for other disciples, Shin Sumi held more responsibilities regarding her success in the Rising Star Tournament. The words of Elder Zhu from her last visit to the Affairs Pavilion resounded in her mind.


    "A war is looming over the Dark Sky Starry Sect. We have been at odds with the Sky Earth Sect for years. In five years time will the war start. You placing first in the upcoming tournament is our only chance."


    Of course Shin Sumi didn''t trust one hundred percent of what the despicable Zhu Yunhai had told her but from what she understood from the action of Fen Wudao on her behalf, she could tell that it was at least partially true.


    Because she was the only green talented disciple of the lower valley, a lot of expectation had been put onto her. That was obviously the reason why Fen Wudao had gifted her his precious sword and had her refine it as her own in the Veins of Hell Fire.


    But even in the grand scheme of things regarding the upcoming war, Shin Sumi also had her own goals in placing first in the tournament. That was the only way she had found to gain a good enough position to escape the realm of influence of Elder Zhu.


    She was certain the Elder was set on stealing her talent and as long as she didn''t protect herself enough he would find a way to do so with his higher cultivation.


    The Liquid Pellet enclosed in a box in her bag of holding served as a constant reminder of that. Because of him being the Affairs Pavilion master and law enforcer of the lower valley, he was obviously seen by the administration of the sect as the one who nurtured the most the green talented girl.


    Elder Zhu was protected from the rest of the sect, now she needed to protect herself from him. And the only way to do that was to gain the privileges coming with placing first in the Rising Star Tournament.

 51 Copper Bell Tricks

    Shin Sumi stepped out of the mountain pass a few hours after Xiao Yue.


    She could have left much sooner but she wanted to show that she wasn''t going to follow her friend for any longer now that they had gone out of the maze. It was also a way for Shin Sumi to keep her from changing her mind and staying close to Xiao Yue.


    The neverending thunder from the dark clouds that obscured the top of the mountain abruptly stopped from entering her range of hearing as soon as she stepped in the delimitations of the fourth ring of the floating continent.


    The plain that looked desolate and grey a second before suddenly turned into a massive expanse of bright yellow.


    "Sand?" Shin Sumi instantly felt the coarseness of the ground beneath her feet. Because she had spent all her life in the Silver Sea Region, she was familiar with the sand of the coast.


    But here there was no sea, just a desert. A scorching hot desert. Dark red rock formations here and there stood proudly, but apart from that nothing seemed to disturb the yellow expanse.


    With the Copper Bell active in her bag of holding, the impact of the overwhelming Yang type Shinsoo was greatly dimmed but even so Shin Sumi could feel the burning.


    "This region ist the complete opposite of the icy tundra of the second ring. Here everything seems Yang related. If I didn''t have the Copper Bell, I too would be crushed by the oppressive feeling..."


    All the female disciples would feel this way. Women were of the Yin type and men were of the Yang type. That was common knowledge not only in the Immortal world but also for every apothecary and doctor of the mortal realm.


    "But even the icy ring was not that overbearing" she recalled. Until she had found Lan Hui''s Affairs Pavillion insignia, Shin Sumi had spent most of her time in the second ring hidden as Bai Fulong, a male cultivator.


    At the time she didn''t know as much as she did now about the Copper Bell''s ability, but certainly her male self had not been that affected by the Yin type environment.


    What the Copper Bell allowed Shin Sumi to do was not only to change her identity and the imprint of her divine sense, it completely turned around all of the Shinsoo type of her and her surroundings.


    As proof of that, Shin Sumi still had in her bag of holding the unusable ice spear, which was nothing but the Yin version of Tai Bu''s Flaming Whip.


    Shin Sumi also recalled how the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword wouldn''t cut even a leaf when she had powered it with her own Shinsoo. It was only after the Copper Bell had converted her energy to Yang type Shinsoo that the sword finally allowed her to link to it.


    "The ice tundra was not colder for male disciples and yet this desert solely affects Yin types on a deep level. This is unfair!!"


    The way she understood the fourth domain, Shin Sumi was convinced that female disciples were at a complete disadvantage. Suddenly the Rising Star Tournament didn''t seem to give all disciples an equal chance!


    Shin Sumi was infuriated for Xiao Yue and the other powerful female trial-takers although she herself didn''t care much.


    "As long as I still have a few Confusion Pills with me I won''t be bothered by it. When I find the fourth Vein of Hell Fire I just hope the pill won''t run out of power while I''m in meditation..."


    Now that she wasn''t underground anymore, Shin Sumi had ways of finding the direction to the Vein of Hell Fire. While it was too difficult to do in the maze, it should be a piece of cake to find traces of the Shinsoo source in open land.


    "Okay, where are the biggest creatures? The bigger and most powerful, the closer I am to the Vein, right? Show me the way, monsters!" she said enthusiastically.


    She had obviously realized that every time she had come across a big creature or a place in which the concentration of spirit beasts was stronger, the Vein of Hell Fire was sure to be close.


    The giant crocodile in the first ring had been roaming close to the hole where she had met Bai Xuengen. The Ice Flowers and their domain had been right above the blue Vein. And of course the Blood Wolf Nest and the terrifying mother wolf.


    Shin Sumi was a bit frightened about what she would find this time around by looking for the vein but she was also prepared and excited.


    She wasn''t courting death, and being so close to dying encased in a block of Shinsoo-sucking ice or being demolished by the mere roar of a wolf were the worst experience she ever had.


    Nevertheless, Shin Sumi felt empowered by having survived all these tribulations and even learned from them.


    Finding relief from the scorching heat in the temporary shade of the big rock formations, she advanced quickly and carefully through the fourth domain of the dimension.


    The Rising Star Tournament was getting progressively harder as time went on and Shin Sumi knew that once again she would have to be brave and never relax too much.


    The number of disciples in each region was also getting lower and lower. In fact none of the trial-takers had managed to set foot on the central and final ring yet. The uncertainty of that fact remained stuck in everybody''s heads, pushing them to move forward even in the difficult moments.


    Apart from a number of lizards the size of a finger, Shin Sumi didn''t encounter any sort of spirit beasts for the first few days in the fourth ring.


    The lizards were bright red and didn''t even qualify to be considered beasts of the Immortal world. Although they rushed towards Shin Sumi with all the will to fight, crushing them was as easy as turning over her palm.


    The tiny reptiles hadn''t even formed a beast core yet and after getting rid of a few of them, Shin Sumi didn''t bother taking out her sword anymore. It was maybe cruel but dealing with the small attackers with a stomp of the foot proved sufficient.


    Not having eaten in a while, Shin Sumi even ate a couple, after roasting them on a small fire in the shadow of a rock formation.


    "So far I haven''t found any sort of beast or test or even a treasure for that matter. Somehow it is refreshing, but it gives of a strange feeling..."


    In a trial like the Rising Star Tournament, one could at least expect obstacles in their way. Even more so considering that it was the fourth domain out of five before the exit!


    "Or maybe I am just lucky" she considered after another few days of tranquil travelling even if it was more of an attempt at easing the eerie feeling that had been growing inside her.


    On the seventh day in the hot desert, Shin Sumi came across something that changed from the barren land. On top of a sand dune was an array of rocks forming an arrow.


    Shin Sumi was approaching with curiosity when the arrow-head suddenly started to rumble. Soon the entire dune was slowly being lifted from the ground. Yellow sand crystals glittered under the red sky as they fell from the rocky arrow.


    The curled form of a winged creature rapidly unfurled, a shrill cry erupting from under the arrow-head.


    The rocks that made the strange arrow pattern were actually bone spurs from the terrifying looking creature!


    Shin Sumi didn''t wait for the beast to completely wake up before summoning the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    "Finally some action" she rejoiced. The Shinsoo fluctuations were strong but not something Shin Sumi couldn''t deal with.


    "A yellow level creature, this is a good omen!"


    Shin Sumi jumped over the spirit beast, directly attacking the point of the arrow. If she was not mistaken, that was where the head would be.


    Slamming down her arms, Shin Sumi descended with all her speed and power on top of the last bone spur.


    CLANK !


    The sound of metal on rock distorted her eardrums. Immediately, Shin Sumi''s arms felt numb and somewhat painful. Unaware of what was happening, she fell on the sand at the side of the now awake creature.


    A long beak with a downwards curve slammed down onto her the next instant, Shin Sumi evading the blow by sheer luck while she was tumbling on the sand.


    The Sand Hawk looked mad. Letting out a second shriek, it flapped its wings sending all the remaining sand on its body towards the red robed girl, like small tornados.


    "Urgh!" Shin Sumi protected her face with her arm. The sharp wind combined with the sand crystals cut her skin on multiple parts.


    "Why isn''t my sword working?" she asked herself, realizing that her first blow had done nothing.


    Considering a beast of that level and the three times refined Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, slaying the Sand Hawk should have taken one strike or two at most!


    She didn''t have time to think further as another wing movement sent even more sand in a straight line to where she was.


    Shin Sumi evaded to the side but the uneasy footing due to the coarse sand made her jump less effective.


    "Aeeigh" now it was her calf that had received the wind blade.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was a great weapon but proved ineffective to shield its master from long range attacks like that.


    "But what it''s great for is cutting into things... Take that!"


    The golden blade blurred into motion, thrown directly under the large wing of the Sand Hawk. If Shin Sumi had been unable to break the bone spurs in the shape of an arrow, then a more fragile part of its body would have to do.


    The tearing sound of the fleshy wing that she was expecting never came, the golden sword instead bouncing back with another ''clank''.


    "%$#€! This stupid bird is made of metal or what??!"


    Another wind blade followed as retaliation. The Sand Hawk was not only powerful but fast and precise!


    Shin Sumi had avoided being hit directly but her body was now covered in superficial cuts. Even her red robes now looked tattered and torn in all places.


    Shin Sumi wished she had more exploding paper talismans when she suddenly realized that they wouldn''t work.


    "That''s it! Fire wouldn''t work because this is a powerful Yang type bird!"


    Normally even a given attribute would work to a certain extent on a beast with the same Shinsoo type. But in this trial dimension, anything was possible!


    After all Shin Sumi had seen a land covered in ice, a luxurious jungle and a scorching desert sharing the same continent.


    Somehow the laws of this place made it so that even the living things shared an absurdly strong compatibility with Yang Shinsoo.


    And the Sand Hawk was obviously strong enough to resist physical attacks of that level, which rendered the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword completely useless!


    Shin Sumi evaded another sand tornado all the while slapping her bag of holding. Besides her sword, Shin Sumi still had a bit of arsenal left.


    During the time in the maze with Xiao Yue, she had picked up a few random weapons, all flying swords of low grade but not enough to replenish her losses from the battle with the Blood Wolves.


    What she took out of her bag though was something different. It was a curved blade with no handle. A hole in the moon crescent shape served to hold it.


    "I wish I could use the Ice Spear but that should work too. I''m still not strong enough to overpower the restrictions on the Ice Spear."


    With the power of the Copper Bell, Tai Bu''s Flaming Whip had been transformed into a Yin type Shinsoo weapon which was exactly what Shin Sumi needed, but the backlash from the times she had tried to bond with it had taught her a good lesson. Whoever the master of the weapon was, she was too inferior to steal from them.


    Instead she had opted for the crescent shaped blade she had found within the bloody remains of a giant worm, wrapped in the parchemin with the Liquid Realm cultivation technique.


    She had paid no mind to the blade at first but she remembered sensing that it was a Yin blade.


    The curved shape was very reminiscent of a late moon and the silvery metal even shone with a bit of darkness. Of course it was far from exuding black smoke like Xiao Yue''s impressive Black Devil Spear.


    Concentrating the energy in the blade, Shin Sumi threw the strange blade with an arc, ending its silver trajectory directly through the Sand Hawk''s wing.


    The flesh of the wind ruptured, accompanied by a loud cry of pain. The silver moon blade flew swiftly back into Shin Sumi''s hand, the strange shape making it into a boomerang.


    The low flying Sand Hawk now was red with rage. With each flap of its wings, it sent multiples sand tornados barrelling towards Shin Sumi.


    In order to avoid being hit, Shin Sumi had no choice but to throw the blade again. It was the only thing that seemed to stop the bird from attacking her over and over. The unsteady surface of the sand combined with the scorching heat was slowly sapping away at her strength.


    "The blade works but it is not enough. I need to power of the Copper Bell to reverse!"


    Shin Sumi had previously been using the little bell in order to change her own energy into Yang type Shinsoo. Now what she needed was the opposite!


    She needed the bell to convert the overtly Yang environmental Shinsoo into Yin type energy into her own body.


    Suddenly Shin Sumi understood the complexity of the fourth domain.


    "So it is not completely unfair for female disciples. Yin type cultivators are more strongly affected negatively by the ambient energy, but they are in better shape to fight. Whereas Yang attributed people are not having their strength sapped away too fast, but their attacks are more or less uneffective!"


    Of course, provided one had the sufficient physical strength, or a high grade enough artefact, even male disciples could easily win in a fight. But transformed into Bai Fulong, Shin Sumi only relied on the strong Yang of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    Insuffling her divine sense into the Copper Bell, Shin Sumi redirected the flow of Shinsoo from her dantian. The process was a bit more difficult to put into practice than in theory and she had to avoid being hit too much in the meantime, but finally Shin Sumi succeeded.


    "This fight has been going on for way too long. Now goodbye, big rock chicken!"


    Infuriated by her tone as if it had understood her words, the Sand Hawk doubled its speed of attack. Powerful Yin fluctuations now rolled off of Shin Sumi''s golden sword, at least enough to make her opponent uneasy.


    The left half torn wing of the creature was damaged and its wind blades were reduced in power, so Shin Sumi powered up her legs in the direction of its left side.


    Opting for two strikes in one go, she threw the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword towards the wing, instantly recalling it to her hand after it blew up another hole in the middle of the yellow feathers.


    The Sand Hawk now had three holes in one wing and could not support itself, landing heavily in a cloud of sand with devastating force.


    Shin Sumi was swept back by a wave of sand. She spat out a mouthful before resuming her offensive.


    Now that the spirit beast was on the ground, she could reach it and use the full strength of her arms to deal massive blows.


    "The power of the sword is greatly reduced when I use it with Yin type Shinsoo. It should be enough to cut that chicken into two, though!"


    As it turned out, Shin Sumi had to leap twice in order to reach the Sand Hawk, her first attempt ending with her arm being shredded by a sand tornado.


    Ignoring the blood gushing out of her arm, she still used both hands to raise the golden sword above her head. The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword still looked as elegant and fiery as before but imbued with Yin Shinsoo it had lost some of its luster as it descended in a semi-circle above the Sand Hawk''s head.


    Zzzing.


    The golden metal vibrated powerfully, cleaving the Sand Hawk right below the first bone spur on its back. The cry reverberated into Shin Sumi''s eardrums, making her feel a bit dizzy.


    The mass of the creature finally fell down, death having come to it at last.


    Shin Sumi too fell down to her knees. Using up that much energy to power the Copper Bell, as well as the entire fourth ring sucking the Yin out of her, combined with the heavy wounds she had received, she was almost completely out of strength.


    "Urgh, I am not used to long fights. I always find myself at a disadvantage and I get hurt. For now it''s best if I end fights in one go, I lack defensive strength..."


    Using the Sand Hawk''s corpse as a source of shadow, Shin Sumi recollected herself. She already felt a bit better after prompting the bell to resume its normal use. As Bai Fulong, she at least didn''t have to worry too much about her energy being sucked out of her.


    She tied a piece of cloth around her arm, stopping the bleeding as best as she could.


    Shin Sumi thought about Xiao Yue for a while as she ate to regain a bit of strength. The orange robed girl had the Black Devil Spear, so she would be okay in fights but Shin Sumi hopes that the Yang type environment would not get to her before she could reach the final ring.

 52 More Sand Blades

    As she expected, the Sand Hawk turned out to be yellow level creature. Shin Sumi waited patiently in the crater''s shadow for the little nut to refine the sand colored core and read all the magical book had to say about the creature.


    Refining cores and spirit stones was definitely the primary advantage of having the little nut around.


    Nevertheless the informations about the creature whose core was refined was something Shin Sumi was always passionate about. Besides it often revealed the weak points of the beast, which would be very useful if she encountered a stronger one of the same kind.


    It was precisely that little bit of information that had allowed Shin Sumi to run around the Rising Star Tournament mostly without danger. Whenever she came across a creature she knew of, she always managed to strike its weak points first, giving her a better chance.


    "Senior Sister Xiao, are you safe? The fourth ring sucks up all the Yin Shinsoo of a cultivator, do you have enough energy to progress?"


    Now that she reached an open area and with the improvements to her cultivation base, Shin Sumi could send divine sense messages way further than before. She knew that Xiao Yue had received it when her identification jade vibrated with a message back.


    "I know. The creatures here are weak to Yin Shinsoo though. But I''m sure you''re fine if you have the time to worry about me."


    Shin Sumi''s jaw fell on the floor. She didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at the sharp response.


    "Aaaah... Would it kill you to be nice to someone else once in a while, Yue?" Shin Sumi thought in a low voice.


    After cultivating with the aid of plenty of red and orange refined cores, Shin Sumi was soon back at full strength. The bleeding of her arm had stopped. Like always she marvelled about the fantastical abilities that came with being a cultivator.


    Compared to the underground maze of the third ring, crossing the vast yellow expanse of sand of the fourth ring was a piece of cake to someone like Shin Sumi.


    With the Copper Bell and the insane amount of spirit beast cores she had in her bag of holding, it was relatively easy to maintain the Shinsoo signature of a male cultivator all the time. This way she reduced the drainage of her energy.


    Only when a sub-trial or a spirit beast crossed her path did Shin Sumi switch her use of Shinsoo to that of Yin type.


    She was becoming more and more efficient with it and soon with enough practice, Shin Sumi could go from one type to the other in less than a single breath of time.


    "I have had many encounters with red level beasts recently, but since the Sand Hawk I haven''t found another yellow one... Could it be that the Vein of Hell Fire was all the way back at the start of the fourth ring??!"


    Shin Sumi felt that she was getting close to the inner ring. In fact she could almost see the mountain range in the distance. That was the delimitation between this one and the final ring of the floating continent.


    She was starting to get anxious at the fact that the Vein of Hell Fire was nowhere to be seen. Because each domain was a ring, she was starting to feel that maybe the Vein was on some other side.


    "That or I have gone too far already..."


    Completely lost as to where she should go, Shin Sumi started walking in a circle. She was set on finding the source of Shinsoo, not having any other choice with regards to her cultivation.


    She had previously opened fifty eight of the total sixty four Shinsoo Doors. It would be a pity to stop there even if that was already unprecedented in history.


    "I am so close to completing the great circle of the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, I can''t finish the tournament before I open all sixty four."


    According to her calculations though, the amount of Shinsoo necessary to surpass all the consecutive bottlenecks of each door was so high that finding the remaining two Veins of Hell Fire was the only option.


    She would have to spend years in the training dimension in order to gather enough cores to break open the eight doors left, whereas the purity of the high quality Shinsoo from the Veins could burst effortlessly through many at a time.


    Shin Sumi had almost completed half of a circle around the mountain range in a few weeks. For a tournament like this spanning many months it wasn''t a long time, but the anxiousness in her heart started to grow with each passing day.


    "Still no trace of the Vein..." she was thinking. And the scarcity of the spirit beasts even made it so she was draining her stock of resources faster than she was replenishing it, simply by maintaining her energy levels high enough.


    On her path, she made sure to check each and every dark red rock formation that split open the yellow sand, in search of a tunnel or a crevice leading to the underground.


    As far as she knew, all the Veins of Hell Fire were located in the center of the floating continent, but once again she seemed to have ran out of luck.


    "Somebody, please help!! Anyone! We are trapped by a real monster!! Please somebody save our lives!"


    Shin Sumi froze in place, almost letting go of the vibrating piece of jade in her hand.


    Normally in order to send a divine sense message, one would target exclusively one jade medallion. This was the reason why people would exchange identification jade imprints, to communicate privately without worries of somebody intercepting the message.


    But Shin Sumi knew that this particular broadcast had been sent at large to whoever it could reach.


    She did not know who originated the message, but she knew it had to be from not too far away.


    Shin Sumi considered not responding to the call for help but dismissed the idea almost immediately.


    "Maybe this is the thing I have been looking for. At this point in the trial, the message has to come from at least an orange robed disciple."


    She picked up speed, following the fluctuations of Shinsoo that allowed the source of the signal to be found.


    "A real monster? What could that be?" she was intrigued. This whole time she had been looking for strong beasts, following the idea that being close to a Vein of Hell Fire nurtured better and stronger beasts.


    Her theory had even definitely been proven by the low level blood wolf that had chased her to the source, eventually even mutating into a Silver Blood Wolf strong enough to possibly contend with her.


    Shin Sumi''s red dress blurred across the desert with incredible speed. As it turned out, the divine sense message had come from a location roughly halfway between mountain range bordering the fourth domain.


    She felt that she was getting closer and closer when she spotted an array of gigantic pillars of stone in the distance.


    From an angle, they looked like any other rock formation. Same tone, same size, same strange silhouette shaped by the sandy wind.


    A bird''s eye view from the area would have revealed that the dozen rocks formed a perfect spirit formation, the dunes in between tracing lines from pillar to pillar.


    Shin Sumi was about the step over the first line when her wrist hurt with a familiar feeling.


    "Ouch!"


    The little nut bit her. It was something she hadn''t felt for quite a while. As her strength grew, the warnings from the nut became more and more scarce. But that also indicated that what was going on there was a real danger.


    Upon closer inspection, Shin Sumi realized that a faint glow was visible above the dunes she was about to cross, going from rock to rock.


    This was an illusory barrier purely made of Shinsoo. Although Shin Sumi''s divine sense could still go further beyond, her sight was slightly affected by it.


    Only because she had been warned did she spread out her divine sense in a straight line ahead.


    Her eyes were only seeing an immovable desert but her Immortal sense was picking up movement, faster and faster the further she went.


    "This is a giant whirlpool of some sort. The sand dunes turn all around the center point. I can''t quite pick up what''s going there but my guess is that the message came from someone trapped in it!"


    From where she was, at the border where the sand''s movements were the slowest, she felt that she could at least go a bit further. Even entire dunes couldn''t keep her from turning back with that speed.


    Ignoring the nut, her intuition telling her that she was about to find clues as to where the Vein was located, Shin Sumi stepped across the almost invisible line.


    The first sensation that assailed her was a brutal increase in Shinsoo pressure. From where she had been standing, half a step behind, to where she was now, the difference was so strong she couldn''t put it into words.


    "The Vein has to be here somewhere!" she knew it. But a stronger sense of danger kept her from becoming too overjoyous.


    A simple look ahead was all it took to understand the danger. In a circle ten kilometers across was the biggest whirlpool Shin Sumi had ever seen.


    A slope that could be considered gentle ran from the exterior where the sand was slow to the center, located hundreds of meters below where she was standing.


    Shin Sumi stopped for a second to try to ascertain the speed of the sand further down when a prick hurt her ankle lightly.


    The sand was moving under her feet. A tiny dune was even forming on one side of her shoes. But inside the sand Shin Sumi could see dark grey blobs with a long tail, swimming like fish in water.


    "A sand leech! Ewwww!!"


    The small crawling sucker had stuck its teeth in her pale skin right where her robes ended. Somehow it reminded her a lot of the circular rows of teeth marks that the nut had left on her wrist numerous times.


    Shin Sumi jumped to the side where a small uneven rock platform was staying above the sand.


    She removed the leech with her hand. The grey tail instantly withering and turning a disgusting shade of black. The moment the teeth stopped being in contact with her skin, a light puff of invisible smoke rose from the dark blob.


    "Shinsoo fluctuations... Urgh of course the leeches here are only interested in sucking Shinsoo out of me."


    Shin Sumi was disgusted but she didn''t dare think too lightly of the leeches. In an environment that was already harsh on people''s energy resources, even tiny buggers could become a major problem if she wasn''t careful.


    Following the circular flow of the sand, the small grey leeches would bump into the rock she was standing on before disappearing underneath. Shin Sumi was relieved to see that they couldn''t reach her as long as she stood where she was.


    She observed the leeches for a while, considering picking one up carefully and have the little nut try to refine it. Somehow Shin Sumi was dying to know more about them, especially their Shinsoo sucking abilities.


    She was ready to put her hand down in the sand as fast as possible to catch one before it could latch on to her, but to her dismay the grey blob disappeared to the side.


    "Stange, I though for sure that the flow would push it towards here. All the previous ones hit the rock..."


    Lifting her head, Shin Sumi came to the abrupt realization that the red stone pillar that had been about ten meters away from her was now... about twelve meters?!


    "Oh no, even the rocks are moving slowly with the sand?!"


    It was now obvious how a disciple had managed to get trapped there while exploring. Nevertheless Shin Sumi could see many platforms like the one she was standing on along the whirlpool, but there was no sign of anyone.


    "What happens when you reach the center of the vortex?"


    The speed of the sand down near the middle was enough to make any yellow crystal sharper and more powerful than a normal blade. In fact, after one point, Shin Sumi could see the rocks being cut down slowly by the abrasive flow.


    The sheer speed of the sand made it fly into the air, blurring the middle of the vortex. In fact Shin Sumi could not discern anything past a certain point.


    Still in the safety zone where Shin Sumi was sure to reach the outside of the magical whirlpool in one or two jumps, she stayed for a bit longer.


    Something wasn''t right, in her eyes.


    "This pressure isn''t due to the spirit formation. It feels a lot more like a powerful beast."


    It wasn''t as strong as the mother Blood Wolf''s spiritual pressure, but the overall feeling shared many points with it.


    A normal disciple would probably not be able to feel the difference but for Shin Sumi that had repeatedly felt the influence of strong creatures and raw Shinsoo like that of Veins of Hell Fire, it was obvious like the nose on the face.


    "The broadcast talked about a monster. I''m guessing there is indeed something under the sand. Something that must be close to the center."


    The way the rocks started to shatter close to the epicenter of the vortex didn''t make sense. The rock would crumble piece by piece with the sand, it would not be cut like it was at the exact same radius.


    "It''s more like a spinning blade rather than a vortex... Is there any spirit beast that does that?" she asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.


    The closer she got to the center, the stronger the waves of sand became. Whatever was spinning it was doing it fast and continuously.


    She also felt like the rocks that formed gigantic spirit lines had maybe been placed there by someone. Not as a trap but as an enclosure for whatever was dwelling under the sand.


    Still going further in, Shin Sumi still kept track of behind herself. For every movement she made forwards, she made sure that there were easily reachable platforms in the vicinity, in case she needed to escape.


    She was getting closer and closer to the center, and the platform she was on was getting covered by sand on one side. Another leap or two and she would be able to reach the point where the first rocks started to shatter.


    The diameter of the vortex at this point was only a couple hundred meters. Calculating in her head, she estimated the speed of the sand to be about a rotation per second.


    Slowing down her breathing to concentrate, Shin Sumi finally decided to put to execution the plan she had been forming in her mind for the past hour or so.


    She first made use of the moon crescent blade, throwing it in an arc as high as she could. To her relief, the blade travelled across the barrier of sand and back. By doing that multiple times, each iteration a bit lower, she was able to determine that the ''blade'' that was cutting the rocks was not as tall as it seemed.


    It even was possible to jump over it.


    Shin Sumi took to the air, her golden sword in hand. The sword didn''t cut the air as brilliantly as normal, its color lacking luster after being powered up by Yin type Shinsoo.


    While in mid-air, Shin Sumi concentrated all the power she had into the sword before letting it go weakly.


    The technique, if you could even call it that, was something she had never tried for real. She had only seen Xiao Yue use it once with her Black Devil Spear, but she figured it would be her best option at the time.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was a powerful Yang type weapon but she had just charged it as much as possible with Yin Shinsoo.


    Using all of her mental concentration, Shin Sumi forced the sword to remain stable for the time it took to fall.


    What Xiao Yue had done was release all the energy stored inside her weapon in one short burst, a wave of powerful and dense Shinsoo washing over the weapon''s surroundings.


    But Shin Sumi''s version was even more powerful. Because the sword was unconsciously rejecting the Yin attributes, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword really wanted to blow all of the excess energy away.


    Shin Sumi reached the apex of her vertical jump just as the sword reached what would be the center of the vortex.


    Shin Sumi''s divine sense let go of her grasp to the sword at the exact right moment.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword shone brightly for a split second, having expulsed the invisible fluctuations of Shinsoo in all directions.


    For any onlooker, nothing had happened at all. The true genius of the technique was that the blast was only spiritual, not physical. The sand didn''t even ripple and the rocks didn''t tremble.


    But Shin Sumi felt her divine sense being repelled instantly, almost tearing her unconscious.


    Landing back on the same platform, Shin Sumi stabilized herself, swallowing a mouthful of blood forcefully.


    "Damn it, I was too close. The backlash on my meridians is intense, especially from Yin Shinsoo while I am posing as a man."


    All the energy release having come from her own dantian, she had kind of expected the force to leave her without damage.


    Even at her distance, the invisible Shinsoo fluctuations were powerful, but at least she was still conscious.


    The same could not be said for whatever creature had caused the vortex.


    For an all-yang type creature, a blast of Yin was akin to the most painful of burns for a mortal.


    For the first time in however long the beast had been alive, it stopped moving.


    The centrifugal force stopped, all the sand rushing back to the middle of the giant crater.


    The force and speed of the sand dunes was unbelievable, but Shin Sumi''s eyes were quicker. Right before it got covered completely, Shin Sumi spotted a giant silvery mass.


    Along the oblong body, numerous thin silver fins were erected, slicing across the sand like a hot knife in warm butter. The back fin especially was more than three meters long, straight and vertical.


    Putting to action the last part of her plan, Shin Sumi threw the moon crescent blade with all her remaining strength, aiming for the eye she could discern near the pointed and sharp nose that looked like metal.


    The boomerang sword entered the soft part of the beast''s skull with frightening accuracy right as the sand washed over the twenty meters long Silver Desert Swordfish.

 53 Silver and Purple

    "A... fish? It''s a swordfish!"


    Shin Sumi having spent her youth close to the sea knew about this type of menacing looking fish that always promised a good fight with fishermen but provided good food for days.


    Obviously it was her first time seeing one this long, and nowhere near close water. Nothing seemed to surprise her anymore.


    The sand had washed all over the place, covering the beautiful twenty meter long iridescent silver beast. With the sand coming back to fill the crater, the Shinsoo pressure had diminished significantly.


    Cracks spread rapidly across a few of the stone pillars, turning to dust the spirit formation and dissipating the last bit of pressure that remained.


    "I... have done it" Shin Sumi slumped down on her knees, finally giving in to the shaking of her legs. The unexpected use of a new powerful technique, the rush of risking her life, it all reached its apex now that it was over.


    With the now normal ambient pressure, Shin Sumi recovered much faster. She used the last few golem cores she had picked up what seemed like an eternity ago. Breathing slowly through her nose, she inhaled directly the refined energy.


    She was so drained she had to wait for a while before thinking about summoning her sword back to her.


    In fact, true to its nature, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword refused to be summoned by her. But Shin Sumi didn''t mind, she was ecstatic. For a second she had been afraid that the detonation of Yin Shinsoo had killed the spirit bond between the two but as it turned out she could still feel the sword perfectly.


    There was one other reason why the sword wouldn''t respond.


    "The Vein, finally! It was here after all!"


    Only a few hours of recuperation were needed before Shin Sumi started to excavate the area, pushing sand around to reveal once more the Silver Desert Swordfish.


    Shin Sumi was on the lookout for leeches despite not seeing any. Maybe the leeches could only move thanks to the flow of sand and were now stuck in place. The parasitic species depended entirely on the presence of the Silver Desert Swordfish.


    Shin Sumi excavated the head of the fish before preoccupying herself with the Vein of Hell Fire.


    "That moon crescent blade is really good, it''s a pity I can''t call it to me like the golden sword."


    Reluctantly, Shin Sumi followed the path of the blade, digging deep into an eye with the diameter of an arm length. The short dagger she had took out for this lacerated blobs of flesh after blobs of flesh.


    Cutting the optic nerve, Shin Sumi put away the remains of the greyed eye with disgust.


    "Ew, I''m not eating fish for a while after that!"


    Even without taking into consideration the repulsive torn flesh the fish seemed to be made of clay, somehow having a rocky texture all the while being a creature of flesh and blood.


    Shin Sumi''s body was leaning downwards half inside of the massive dead Silver Desert Swordfish when she finally reached the place where the moon crescent blade had ended up.


    Mushy brain matter filled the hole inside of which the sword was floating. Shin Sumi extracted it, holding it with two fingers. Somehow the jelly-like brain was even more disgusting than the perforated eye.


    Shin Sumi was about to leave the body of the sand fish when her divine sense caught something unexpected.


    Expanding her perception range, she discovered that the body of the fish seemed to hold three treasures.


    The first one was located right where she was, in the exact middle of the brain.


    It was an orb that looked like condensed smoke, grey like the surrounding flesh. The ball the size of a fist gave off an eerie feeling, like fleeting thoughts, unable to put a name on it.


    Probing it with divine sense gave of no result at all, like trying to look through a rock. Without understanding a single thing about it, Shin Sumi put it away, a bit puzzled.


    The second treasure was of course the beast core that she had almost forgotten about.


    That was obviously the most interesting point about slaying a powerful beast! Given the trouble she had gotten into, surely the beast core would be at least yellow rank.


    Because of her unusual cultivation which not many people could equal, Shin Sumi sometimes had a hard time judging the strength of a creature. What she had thought was a strong yellow level creature was actually a powerful green level monster!


    The core looked like a green apple, a smooth surface rippling with Shinsoo. Feeding it to the nut, Shin Sumi was ecstatic.


    "Another great find! I didn''t expect to be able to beat a creature of this level... Am I really that strong?"


    Because she didn''t have many points of reference, Shin Sumi always doubted her ability.


    One thing was certain though. Despite being without equal in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, the gap between her current level and the Liquid Realm was still too big of a step.


    If she did not reach the Liquid Realm quickly, she would still risk quite a lot.


    Along her journey she had made a few friends, but she had also made quite a few enemies.


    The third and last ''treasure'' was something that Shin Sumi half expected to find. It was located in the belly of the swordfish, still intact despite bathing in stomach acid.


    If Shin Sumi had wondered about what became of the disciple that called for help, now her question had been answered.


    A bag of holding was floating. A few pieces of torn clothes around it had retained their orange color, the rest of the body probably having been digested.


    Shin Sumi pocketed the bag after looking for an identification jade with no success. She joined her hands in a short and silent prayer for the soul of the unknown disciple before finally leaving the corpse of the fish to decay under the hot red sky.


    Shin Sumi started digging into the sand next to the Silver Desert Swordfish, while thinking about her last encounter with Chu Erlong.


    "What if she reaches the last ring before me and breaks through to the Liquid Realm? If she then wanted, all it would take is a slap to completely crush me..."


    Such was the gap between one realm to the next. A gap as big as the difference between heaven and earth.


    Moving the sand around proved to be a more tiring task than she expected. With each move and each grain of sand displaced it seemed like two more were falling down to take its place.


    After a task more exhausting than an actual fight, Shin Sumi finally touched on a hard surface.


    It was a dome made of hardened sand and rock conglomerates. The entire thing was encased in sand and completely covered with glittering engraved runes.


    Close to the very top of the dome, where Shin Sumi was currently, there was a hole.


    It was quite large and showed traces of erosion on all sides. The repeated passage of the Silver Desert Swordfish had carved into it little by little.


    Somehow the sand wasn''t able to fall down inside the dome, resting on top of the hole as if an invisible layer kept it out. Shin Sumi''s hand, on the other side, had no trouble passing through.


    Even the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had gone through to the inside. As soon as she found the hole, Shin Sumi could feel the presence of the Vein of Hell Fire.


    "The fish was trying to get inside! This structure must be so powerful that even after however long the fish tried it only eroded this much... And because of this hole some Shinsoo must have leaked outside, making the fish more powerful and also bigger..."


    It wasn''t exactly empathy, but Shin Sumi still felt something at the thought of the fish trying its best to reach the source of Shinsoo. The more it opened up the hole the bigger it had become, and the longer it would have taken for it to be able to enter the dome.


    "What irony. Thankfully it''s big enough for me."


    Shin Sumi dropped down inside the opening, following her mental link to her sword which at the time was surely already plunged to the hilt in the Vein.


    The inside of the dome was vast like a great hall. Shin Sumi landed on top of a pillar that stood at the center of the giant rock bubble. A chain of pillars rose from the ground on the outermost part of the ground, forming a spiral ending where she was.


    More carvings covered every surface. Shin Sumi recognized some characters from the ancient southern tongue of the People.


    "Just like in the maze, the People have been here" she said out loud. But it wasn''t only the People. Just by looking at the bizarre assortment of characters, Shin Sumi discerned at least five completely different writings.


    Some of them could only barely be considered as writing, more like primal forms of drawings.


    Shin Sumi reached the ground quickly, taking a mental image of the carvings but not bothering to try and decipher them. It was impossible after all.


    Still following the presence of her sword, Shin Sumi walked around to the central pillar. She had landed on top of it, dozens of meters above, and now she had to get inside.


    A staircase had been carved inside the pillar, descending into the earth in a reversed spiral, opposite that of the pillars.


    Shin Sumi reached the fourth Vein of Hell Fire after months of searching in vain. The temple built around it must have been in order to worship the source of Shinsoo.


    "Could it be that I am standing right where the first humans have discovered magic?"


    It was a possible explanation for the primal carvings. The most recent seemed to have originated from the People whom she knew had been extinct for long before her birth.


    Shin Sumi sat down a couple meters away from the radiating purple glow of the Vein of Hell Fire.


    She was wondering about how the relatively small Dark Sky Starry Sect had come to own a training dimension so big and full of mysteries when she entered a state of meditation.


    It was like drifting off to sleep. She knew that upon waking up, her cultivation would have advanced by leaps and bounds.


    ***


    Shin Sumi only took a few days to reach the mountain range separating the fourth and the fifth ring.


    "This is it" she told herself, looking up at the dark clouds that vibrated with thunder, hiding the peaks from view, "the last ring. Another Vein of Hell Fire and I will have opened the last Shinsoo Doors."


    She clenched her fist, the cracking of her fingers seeming to rival the sound of the storm above her head.


    Her recent absorption of Shinsoo had pushed her limits to the sixty second Shinsoo Doors. Her speed was so impressive to her that she didn''t even think the top disciple under the Liquid Realm, Jun Qian, had been faster while using a magical talisman.


    Her strength had undergone a massive change too. Just for the sake of entertainment, Shin Sumi wondered if she could take on the giant crocodile from the first ring of the tournament.


    "With the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in my hand, I could probably give that big lizard a run for its money, eh!"


    The sword had once again been refined, now thinner than a butterfly wing. Golden veins now ran along the blade, a delicate pattern that reminded her of rays of sunshine peering through the clouds.


    Another unexpected improvement had greatly surprised her upon waking up from meditation this time.


    The Copper Bell hadn''t shown any reaction while being close to all the other Veins of Hell Fire, but somehow the purple one seemed to resonate strongly with it.


    By itself the small bell had flown out of Shin Sumi''s bag of holding, landing close to the overbearing purple glow, not daring to plunge right into it like the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword did.


    By the time it reacted, Shin Sumi had already reached a deep state of meditation and was unaware of it, but the bell absorbed the purple energy during a long time before returning to Shin Sumi''s side.


    The Copper Bell was a mysterious item with unheard of abilities. It could change one''s Shinsoo attribute, impact one''s senses by balancing the ambient energy around its master.


    Thanks to the bell, Shin Sumi could see in the darkness, feel warm in the cold and endure the harshest conditions like nobody else.


    Its powers were strangely similar to the laws of the fourth ring that impacted strongly a type of Shinsoo or the other with different effects.


    When Shin Sumi woke up, she had no idea that the Copper Bell had been absorbing the Vein too. She only thought of it when she was about to leave the stone temple built around the Vein.


    The second a thought formed in her head about having to change into Bai Fulong again, she heard the crystalline ringing of the bell, finding herself instantly transformed.


    "Whaaa¡­ ? I didn''t use a Confusion Pill but I can feel that I have morphed already ! I''m certain the last pill''s effects ran out before I absorbed the Vein so how can it have worked ?"


    It hadn''t taken long for her to inspect her things and see the light purple glow that emanated from the rows of engravings on the copper of the bell.


    From a single thought, Shin Sumi realized that she could now assume the appearance of Bai Fulong, Yan Yan and obviously herself. She didn''t have to rely on Confusion Pills anymore.


    It was as if she had truly become the other two characters she personified. They had always been a part of her, but now she could be all of them whenever she wanted, according to her situation.


    Focusing on her next task at hand, Shin Sumi sped up, crossing the mountain path with unrivaled speed.


    During her absorption of the Vein of Hell Fire, she had again lost track of time. She was unable to determine if somebody had already reached the fifth ring, even though it was highly improbable that nobody did.


    "I hope no one has reached the exit yet, at least."


    The fifth ring was very different from the other four.


    Being the central ring it was much smaller than the others, and contrarily to them it didn''t consist of flat ground. The entire domain was a huge mountain, incredibly tall and large.


    The barely visible top of the mountain had been flattened, like by the cut of a giant sword swung by the heavens themselves. It was from there that the yellow pillar of light representing the exit was located.


    From where she stood Shin Sumi could discern tiny spots moving along the mountain, rushing to get to the top.


    "So people have already arrived this far¡­"


    She didn''t know if they were advancing slowly or if the mountain was simply too big but the ant sized silhouettes were making almost no progress at all in a relatively long time.


    Surely this had to do with a trial of some sort. Shin Sumi thought about the climb right before reaching the giant floating continent.


    With each step the Shinsoo pressure had increased. Maybe that was the case there too.


    That would also explain why no one seemed to have broken through to the Liquid Realm yet.


    Just like she and Xiao Yue had theorized, the disciples were waiting for the right time, taking in as much Shinsoo as possible to ensure the success of a breakthrough.


    By watching the people walking the slope in the distance, Shin Sumi realized that at least ninety percent of them were yellow robed disciples. The others wore orange robes and of course no red level disciple had made it this far this early.


    "This time I will really stick out too much if I keep wearing my red garments. Brother Unknown, let me borrow one of yours" she asked silently, referring to the cultivator whose remains were scattered inside a rotting Silver Desert Swordfish.


    The bag of holding she had retrieved from the stomach acid had plenty of useful weapons, talismans, pills, parchemins and scrolls. So much that Shin Sumi had decided to wait before investigating the full extent of the resources. She knew herself, if she started reading the different scrolls, she would not be able to take her eyes off them before she was done.


    Shin Sumi didn''t have that luxury yet. First she had to place first at the end of the Rising Star Tournament.


    In one quick movement, she had donned the robes of the fallen disciple, throwing away her old red ones.


    "He-he, it''s like I''ve had a breakthrough!" she smiled to herself.


    Shin Sumi advanced progressively. She was at the base of the mountain, about to start her climb when her divine sense picked up on a strange connexion.


    As if the entire mountain was alive, the overflowing divine sense completely took over her own. An unavoidable signal appearing in her mind.


    "The last trial of the Rising Star Tournament is upon you. Like a star, rise along the edge of the mountain. On each step there can be only a limited number of people. Defeat those in front before ascending to the next step."


    The message was simple and disappeared as fast as it had appeared.


    "These are the rules to the trial then. It''s a real tournament this time, we have to fight for real !"


    As it turned out, Shin Sumi found it physically impossible to climb the mountain by any other path than the four twisted line that came from the bottom. The closest one to her was not far, and she could see in the distance that it joined with another one.


    "At the bottom there are more of us, and as we climb the number reduces. I wonder if I''ll find myself having to fight Yue¡­"


    Shin Sumi was also worried about the Vein of Hell Fire. Because the area was restricted, she feared that she would never be able to get to the final source of Shinsoo.


    An almost invisible barrier rippling with light carved the path so that nobody under the Liquid Realm could ever cross it. The barrier was seemingly so strong that Shin Sumi couldn''t even feel the Shinsoo fluctuations coming from the slight ripples.


    From what she imagined, barriers like this were positioned everywhere on the mountain, blocking the path of those who tried to climb without having defeated their adversaries.


    Testing her dantian, Shin Sumi also realized the implications of the sudden message about the rules.


    "Breaking through is still impossible. I thought we would have a chance as soon as we advanced to the central domain but no. The top is the only goal then."

 54 "Hey its you again!"

    It wasn''t that Shin Sumi wanted to break through to the Liquid Realm right away but she was certainly worried that some people might have already. But as it turned out it was only possible closer to the top of the mountain, at least.


    Shin Sumi advanced quickly, the path snaking around the base of the mountain peacefully, not hard at all. Shin Sumi expected a rising pressure of Shinsoo but the ambient energy remained calm like water from a lake.


    In fact the energy was even calmer than usual. Due to all living things in a given place, each sharing the energy of nature, it was almost impossible to see no fluctuations.


    In between two barriers though, along the path, the Shinsoo was perfectly still, and albeit in a low concentration it was of really good quality and pureness.


    Shin Sumi reached the first ''step'' of the path in under thirty minutes.


    She was expecting something grand and impressive, like an arena of some sort.


    But instead of something worthy of a tournament, she only stepped in a circular plaza with a single grey monolith in the middle.


    She was a bit puzzled. Only Xiao Yue and the people who gave her the nickname Black Devil Maiden would have gasped upon seeing the rectangular piece of stone.


    It was exactly the same as the one containing the trial for the Black Devil Spear, although this one was not black.


    Before getting close to it, Shin Sumi explored rapidly the other side of the plaza.


    Pushing her hand forward, the invisible barrier of energy rippled, blocking her from advancing.


    "Hmm, there is really no way to cheat this, I see... I guess I will have to see what this grey rock is about."


    Shin Sumi extended her divine sense towards the peculiar monument. The light of teleportation vibrated around her and before she knew it, she was gone from the plaza.


    No message appeared, no additional rules, only the scenery changed.


    "Have I become really big or is this city really tiny?" was the first thought that popped into her mind after she opened her eyes.


    Shin Sumi was standing on what looked like a rice field, only that it was no bigger than a house rug.


    Small farms the size of a large fist were in ruins all around. In some places, craters were visible, as if a massive meteorite had crushed whatever tiny civilization had lived there.


    "Meteorites or the remnants of a human sized fight..." she commented before turning her attention towards the distance.


    The small world was enclosed by a mountain range, just like the one where Xiao Yue had fought for her new weapon.


    A small red sun was declining behind the mountains, obscuring slightly half of the arena.


    "Ah, finally!" a masculine voice called out from behind a hill.


    A yellow robed youth had been laying down on the ground, seemingly waiting for some action.


    "Now I just have to beat you like a dog in order to advance. I''ve been waiting for a while for you."


    The yellow robed man jumped to his feet, a large grin appearing on his face upon seeing the orange of Shin Sumi''s robes.


    "Small fry" was his first impression.


    Shin Sumi sneered. She couldn''t see clearly the guy''s face from where she was with the small sun shining brightly behind him.


    The young man roared and jumped into the air. His leap was massive, already proving that he had earned his yellow talent.


    His hands were shaped like claws, aimed directly towards Shin Sumi''s neck.


    Shin Sumi took out her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, ready to parry.


    "Is he really attacking with his hand? Doesn''t he have a weapon or something? That''s strange..." she thought right as the young man reached his apex.


    "Hey, haven''t I seen you before?" she suddenly asked while lowering her stance.


    Back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Patriarch Sen didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    Elder Peng was clutching the arms of his chair so hard that it was about to break into dust.


    From the spiritual screen displaying the map of the floating continent, the Elders couldn''t see into the sub-dimensions within the stone monoliths. But Elder Peng had just seen the only green dot on the whole map enter the same sub-dimension as his disciple.


    "From all the different paths on the lower half of the mountain, these two had to pick the same..." sighed the Patriarch of the sect.


    Tai Bu was already really close to Shin Sumi when he saw her male features clearly.


    "Oh, it''s you again! It''s been a long time, fellow disciple!" Shin Sumi laughed.


    "YOUUUUUU!!" erupted Tai Bu in madness.


    His first attack had been kind of lazy. After all, why attack at full force when he was only confronting an orange robed disciple. But upon seeing who that particular disciple was, Tai Bu was enraged, immediately conjuring up more power into his claw slash.


    Because of the sudden burst of power from him, Shin Sumi had to move at the last moment to evade the slash, her sword suddenly in the wrong position for a parry.


    "I was wondering why you were not using a weapon, could it be that you''re missing yours?"


    "SHUT UP! I''m going to tear you to shreds!"


    Tai Bu''s frenzied attacks seemed to grow faster and faster and at first it looked like Shin Sumi was being pushed back.


    Tai Bu thought to himself "I can beat him. If I keep up this rhythm he won''t be able to last for long. All it takes is one good strike to the neck and after that I will just have to loot his corpse."


    From an outside point of view, it was easy to assume that Shin Sumi was being slightly overpowered, each strike evading almost late.


    But from her perspective it was completely different. At first she had thought that the yellow robed man was just attacking her with deadly intent but after she realized that it was Tai Bu, Shin Sumi thought differently.


    "I stole his weapon at the beginning of the tournament but this guy had still managed to get this far... He deserves far more praise than me. I would have been dead a few times if the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been stolen from me."


    Because of that, Shin Sumi was only evading the attacks, not parrying them with her sharp sword or even attacking back. Instead about half of her divine sense was focused on something else.


    "I really do like his whip though. It looks like a really strong weapon that might come in handy when I can become it''s master. I can''t really just give it back to him. Come on, there has to be something useful in there."


    Her divine sense had spread to her bag of holding and was currently scanning the bag she had picked up from the unknown disciple in the belly of the Silver Desert Swordfish.


    Tai Bu was certain he was overpowering her, finally getting his revenge, but really Shin Sumi was just a bit absent-minded and evaded all the attacks by sheer instinct.


    She had made so much progress with her cultivation that this sort of situation was something she could deal with blindfolded.


    "Please find something. I don''t want to have to cut his legs or something. I kind of pity him, he is right to be mad at me... Uh?"


    Shin Sumi''s divine sense had finally picked up what she was looking for. It was a simple piece of paper that looked a bit old and moldy. On its two faces was the same symmetric character. According to her knowledge of magical talismans, there was only one possibility of what the talisman could do.


    In between two of Tai Bu''s attacks, Shin Sumi felt her bag of holding, retrieved the talisman and slapped it on his arm.


    The entire process happened in the blink of an eye. How could a Shinsoo Gathering cultivator be so fast as to attach something to a yellow robed disciple''s arm right as it was going at full speed right toward their throats?!


    Tai Bu didn''t have the answer. As soon as Shin Sumi''s divine sense touched the talisman now on his arm, Tai Bu froze.


    "Immobilisation" was the word inscribed on it. The talisman was low level binding magic. An artefact of this grade could only freeze him for a second or two, considering his talent, but that was more than enough for Shin Sumi.


    Using the pommel of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, carved out of the spine of a Stone Leaf Tortoise, Shin Sumi struck Tai Bu''s head with force.


    "M...Monster" thought Tai Bu right as he lost consciousness in exactly the same way he had a few months prior, against the same opponent.


    Not even five minutes after the green dot had disappeared from the map in the Grand Hall of the sect, it reappeared. From this it was evident what had transpired in the sub-dimension.


    "Not a second time¡­ I won''t allow it, this is cheating ! I''m going to skin that bastard alive !"


    Patriarch Sen furrowed his brows : "Elder Peng¡­"


    "Yes I know, I know, it''s a figure of speech, I won''t attack a junior¡­"


    Despite saying that, the Core Developpment Elder was fuming with rage. Twice had his disciple met defeat at the hands of the same disciple. At least it was a relief to know that this mysterious kid was a green robes.


    "Wait¡­ Has he changed his robes ?!"


    Focusing his divine sense on the green dot, all the Elders present realized that Shin Sumi had gone from orange to yellow robes. Only a trained eye like Elder Peng''s was able to notice a special set of embroideries on the sleeve of the material.


    "He has robbed my Tai Bu AGAIN ??!"


    ***


    Tai Bu woke up to an empty arena. Remembering quite clearly his last instants before lapsing into unconsciousness, the first thing he checked was his bag of holding.


    As it turned out, before leaving, Shin Sumi had thoroughly inspected his inventory, cleaning out all she could find besides his weapons. This time at least she had left him the few swords and spears he had amassed during his trial.


    In the place of his impressive stock of talismans and artefacts was a single high-grade spirit stone, worth at least half of what she had stolen.


    At least Tai Bu had something to comfort himself over.


    That did not do the trick as he jumped to his feet and shouted with rage.


    "YOU SON OF A DOG SHIT, I WILL GRIND YOU TO DUST WHEN I FIND YOU AGAIN !!"


    But for now he was stuck in this sub-dimension, unable to leave before the next person came in and he could defeat them. He was about to slump back behind the small hill where he was resting before when a blur appeared in front of him.


    In the middle of the road to the second arena, Shin Sumi was looking at the yellow robes floating from her body.


    "Wow, these garments are definitely not bad ! Really light and well designed. That''s to be expected for high potential disciples, I guess."


    Shin Sumi had donned one of the sets of robes of Tai Bu''s, feeling that a yellow robed disciple was less strange around the mountain of the central ring.


    She didn''t know that from all the people that had reached the fifth section of the floating dimension, only a handful were wearing orange while a hundred or so were in yellow.


    Shin Sumi felt fancy in her new robes, and even quite confident. She now knew how strong she was in comparison to other disciples below the Liquid Realm, and by wearing yellow robes she didn''t feel like she was cheating as much.


    Preciously hidden in her bag of holding were her green robes, still folded and unused since more than a year ago. She had never worn them.


    "At first I was afraid that it would attract too much attention while I didn''t have the strength to back it up. Now I could probably wear them but where is the fun in that? Yellow level disciples would become a bit afraid of going up against me, wouldn''t they?"


    Shin Sumi realized how impertinent and full of herself she sounded but it was still true.


    Ever since she had arrived in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, she had seen low level disciples cower in fear so many times in front of higher graded individuals.


    Like a ray of sunshine in her bright robes, she arrived at the second stop along the mountain path.


    Not bothering to check the energy barriers, trusting her divine sense, she directly headed towards the grey monolith.


    This time she was prepared for the teleportation. Just because she felt strong didn''t mean that somebody wouldn''t try to sneak on her just as she appeared.


    The second sub-dimension seemed to have come from the same small world as the first. Tiny houses and road paved the arena enclosed by another small mountain range.


    This time there were already two disciples battling in the arena.


    The two of them were yellow robed, emitting powerful Shinsoo fluctuations as they attacked each other with longswords and metal pole.


    They had probably been evenly matched because as soon as Shin Sumi appeared they decided to call off their battle and rush towards her.


    "If I can''t beat you, Dafun Ghu, then I''ll have to take my win from him!"


    "Not if I beat him first, Ke Muhan!"


    The two disciples surnamed Dafun and Ke charged straight towards Shin Sumi, although they still tried to sneakily attack the other to no avail.


    One glance had been enough for them to realize that they didn''t know the features of Bai Fulong.


    If they didn''t recognize the new fighter, then it meant that he surely placed below them in the Shinsoo Gathering ranking.


    "Rejoice Brother, for you will be able to tell the world that you have been defeated by the mighty Dafun Ghu!"


    "No way, come taste my blade first!"


    Shin Sumi felt both of their pressure mount up on her. But compared to the pressure given off by a giant Silver Desert Swordfish, or a Sand Hawk, how could Shin Sumi be too affected by two human cultivators?


    Steadying her breathing in a split second, Shin Sumi focused. The one named Ke Muhan was a bit faster than his compatriot and thus she concentrated her first movement on him.


    With a perfectly timed leap, Shin Sumi took off of a roof that looked like a small temple. In the air, her foot turned, her toes pointed directly as Ke Muhan''s attacking arm.


    At the same time as she evaded the metal pole, she kicked him out of balance. Her jump pushed the assailant to the ground and propelled her towards the second man.


    Because she had been fighting bigger adversaries, spirit creatures quite a lot, Shin Sumi had grown adept at mid-air battles. That was especially useful when her sword had the power to instantly return to her hand, allowing her to attack not once but twice in a leap.


    A golden arc split the air as she passed above Dafun Ghu. The longsword he was holding with both hands didn''t even shake or vibrate, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword''s thin blade simply cutting through with almost no resistance.


    Shin Sumi landed behind the two disciples who immediately turned with gobsmacked expressions on their faces.


    The shock, however, didn''t last more than the blink of an eye.


    Ke Muhan stood from the ground and Dafun Ghu slapped his bag of holding to produce another longsword.


    Their eyes locked onto Shin Sumi, not bothering to look to the other as they both said in unison:


    "Whoever finishes him first gets the win."


    Even though they had been locked in combat when she arrived, Shin Sumi immediately sensed the complicity between them.


    As it turned out, both men had been friends for a really long time, they had even gone through the Rising Star Tournament together so far.


    The atmosphere of the arena completely changed, prompting Shin Sumi to take a fighting stance. The same trick wouldn''t work twice.


    "I haven''t fought more than one opponent ever since the stone golems of the first ring" she thought, conscious of her lack of experience in the matter.


    The three pairs of eyes shone with battle intent, the two versus one fight ready to begin, for real this time.


    ***


    "Eh...Eh..."


    Shin Sumi didn''t emerge from the monolith''s sub-dimension for another hour. She was panting and covered in small cuts and bruises, but at least she was victorious.


    "These two really are dangerous together... They gave me more trouble than any other fight so far."


    She had used all the tricks she could, but there was a limit to what she could do against two opponents with good skills and perfect coordination.


    As soon as she was out of the arena, she sat down to meditate and restore her energy levels.


    The pure and gentle flow of Shinsoo around assured that she could have a good rest in a short time.


    She wished there was a body of water nearby so that she could use the little nut''s powers to mend her cuts and repair her body quickly. For the time being she would have to hold her wounds tight with her own Shinsoo until they repaired themselves with time.


    For a cultivator, a large quantity of energy could be used to almost instantly regenerate, but being only in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, she didn''t have that ability quite yet.


    Shin Sumi was meditating for a few hours with the help of spirit beasts cores when the grey monolith shone with a blue glow. A yellow figure appeared.


    Ke Muhan didn''t say anything, not even looking at her for more than a quick glance.


    Judging from her appearance, winning against Dafun Ghu had been a really tough fight. He clearly wasn''t willing to provoque Shin Sumi right now. Or Ever.


    Shin Sumi finally stood up, having recuperated enough to get going to the next challenge.


    Ke Muhan simply looked at her, the features of Bai Fulong forever etched into his memory as someone that was not to be trifled with.

 55 Strong Ones

    Shin Sumi arrived at the third of the many arenas that formed the path to the top of the mountain, towards the exit and the end of the Rising Star Tournament.


    The whole time she kept a sliver of her divine sense connected to the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    "There has to be a Vein of Hell Fire somewhere accessible, or else Senior Brother Fen wouldn''t have told me to refine the sword in the five of them. Come on sword, sense it !"


    Since the beginning of her roaming around the massive continent, Shin Sumi had always relied on the golden sword to find the Veins of Hell Fire. The ability of the weapon to sense them was way higher than her own even though she could still sense their presence to a certain extent.


    She had found the first four and had opened sixty-two doors of Shinsoo.


    She was so close to unclogging all sixty-four Shinsoo Apertures that it was infuriating to her. So close yet with no idea about how to find the last Vein.


    During the past few days, Shin Sumi had also constantly counted and recounted all of the resources she had in her bag of holding.


    A few high-grade spirit stones, golem cores, beast cores, miscellaneous food items full of spiritual energy¡­ She had more resources than would be needed by any disciple for a chance at a breakthrough to the Liquid Realm.


    But for every Shinsoo Door open, the amount of energy sufficient to force the next one open rose exponentially.


    Thanks to the little nut refining the Shinsoo Gathering Manual, Shin Sumi had chosen a path of cultivation that was long forgotten by the world. This had enabled her to reach the top of the realm, being unchallenged by any other.


    But with all great prowess came a heavy price to pay too. If really she couldn''t find the last Vein of Hell Fire, Shin Sumi would have to try opening the last two Doors with her own powers and resources.


    It was still possible, but with a lower success rate and augmented risks of a cultivation backlash. If she didn''t have enough energy, it would all dissipate forcefully in her body, unleashing a storm of raw Shinsoo inside her meridians, leaving her defenseless and drained.


    Obviously using the gentle Shinsoo of a Vein of Hell Fire while meditating was the best option.


    "I still haven''t seen a tenth of the mountain though, maybe I''ll find it easily later after all."


    Trying to keep a positive mindset, Shin Sumi entered the third grey monolith, a sword already in hand. Even if there were more opponents this time, she would be prepared and ready to fight as soon as the light of teleportation faded away.


    The third arena still featured the tiny world, in which two other people were already fighting.


    Because the path Shin Sumi had followed up the mountain was only one out of many, there were many crossroads along the way. The third arena was one of them.


    Compared to the previous two, this expand of tiny land was more than devastated. A lot more disciples had gone through it and fought seriously.


    Craters had shaped the landscape in a bizarre way, and most of the small city''s buildings had already been turned to dust and rubble.


    Compared to Ke Muhan and Dafun Ghu, the two yellow robed disciples were clearly not adept at working together. Even as Shin Sumi beat them to the ground, they realized that she was not a match and still tried to fight between themselves.


    Shin Sumi was at a bit of a loss, becoming quickly dispirited. Somehow it was a very similar situation to Xiao Yue''s when she had been fighting for the Black Devil Spear.


    "You guys are not even going to try and take me down?" Shin Sumi said in a low voice.


    It was as if the two men were simply playing the long game, waiting to see which of them would get beaten by the newcomer faster, so that the other could take advantage and win their fight too.


    The loser would simply get beaten twice.


    Shin Sumi didn''t care at all about the two disciples. She was mildly infuriated, and simply chose one at random and knocked him out with the flat part of her blade.


    "If I had a hammer that would be even easier."


    As soon as the man was unconscious, Shin Sumi sensed the force of rejection coming from the entire arena. It was just like when she had won against Tai Bu, the grey monolith was trying to kick her out of the sub-dimension.


    It only took a bit of force though in order to resist the teleportation back out.


    Just like any fighter could decide to leave the dimension to rest with the good quality Shinsoo outside, only a thought was needed to complete the teleportation or resist it.


    The second disciple, the one still standing, was about to relax his shoulders, expecting the fighting nightmare that was Shin Sumi to exit the arena. A grin was on his lips.


    He now only needed the other guy to wake up so he could knock him out himself, registering a win and the ability to go on along the mountain.


    He surely didn''t expect Shin Sumi to stay a bit longer than necessary. She didn''t stay for long, just enough to also get rid of him.


    The next thing the yellow robed disciple knew, he was waking up alongside his previous opponent, still in the arena and with both of their bags of holding almost empty.


    "Were they really yellow robed disciples?! Such shame and lack of motivation... You could have thought that months of hard trial would have given them a bit more nerve..."


    Thankfully for her, not all the disciples were lacking luster like these two. As things progressed and she climbed the mountain towards the yellow pillar of light one arena at a time, her opponents were getting stronger and stronger.


    A few days later, Shin Sumi had entered the seventh trial alone. She had waited a few hours for someone to finally come join her in the arena. When the teleportation happened, a young women with a yellow dress appeared.


    The girl was maybe sixteen or seventeen and was completely unassuming. Her shyness almost prevented her from looking directly at Shin Sumi as she spoke in a soft voice.


    "Pr-Prepare yourself Senior Brother. I am Fu Xue from the Fu clan. I will give it my all to defeat you so you''d better be ready!"


    Not expecting this kind of respectful talk before a fight, Shin Sumi had been a little bit stunned.


    Usually to give themselves more courage and get in their fighting mindset, cultivators were more prone to insults and hostility.


    This Fu Xue though didn''t seem to have an ounce of virulence in her, her personality being as soft as silk and smooth like the surface of a mountain lake.


    "This one''s name is Bai Fulong" answered Shin Sumi with a slight bow from her head, "I am ready to receive your sword if you are ready for mine."


    Fu Xue nodded before reaching behind her back.


    Between her shoulders was a small wooden scabbard held up by a single strap. In a swift movement, Fu Xue took out the strangest sword Shin Sumi had ever seen.


    The blade looked like stone, just like the handle and the pommel. Even the guard was just a squared piece of rock.


    "Has she stolen her sword from a statue or something?" thought Shin Sumi.


    But she didn''t dare make fun of it, as this unassuming looking sword gave off powerful fluctuations of an unseen kind for her.


    Fu Xue muttered a few inaudible words before blowing a wisp of Shinsoo onto her hand.


    Shin Sumi readied her sword, suddenly being assaulted by a strong pressure.


    "What is going on?!" she exclaimed.


    In the small white hand of the yellow robed girl, the stone sword was undergoing the strangest changes.


    In the span of five breaths, the stone sword as tripled in size, becoming almost as long as the wielder herself.


    Veins could be seen bulging on the girl''s forearms, the massive stone weapon obviously really heavy now.


    And what was even more impressive was that the transformation didn''t seem to end there.


    The uneasiness in her guts was growing too strong, Shin Sumi knew that she had to attack successfully before the transformation was complete.


    It was hard to imagine the petite girl wielding such a massive stone blade, but she seemed to have confidence in herself, judging from the gleam in her eyes, becoming colder and colder by the second. And if indeed that Fu Xue could wield that blade, Shin Sumi knew she was potentially in a lot of troubles.


    Shin Sumi threw the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in the direction of Fu Xue. The golden blade flew in a straight line with incredible speed.


    Holding a sword that was basically a large chunk of heavy rock, Fu Xue should have been unable to protect herself from the incoming blow.


    At the last moment, light grey lines erupted from somewhere under her robes. Their brilliance showed how powerful the spell was as the lines wrapped around Fu Xue''s arms.


    The next instant, the massive sword was in the path of Shin Sumi''s Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    CLANK !


    The stone sword blasted away the golden blade, swatting it like an invasive fly. Against the power of Shin Sumi''s throw, the stone sword didn''t even budge.


    Fu Xue had clenched teeth and her forehead was already quite sweaty from holding a sword this large and heavy.


    "GHAAAAAA" she launched herself forward, her steps crushing the tiny landscape due to her weight.


    Shin Sumi recalled the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword a second faster than the incoming attack, managing just in time to swing with full power.


    That was a mistake, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword being strong enough to resist the massive hammering but not Shin Sumi''s arms. Despite that, she had no choice, being too late to evade the strike.


    Shin Sumi was struck aside, tumbling on the ground for a full five meters.


    Fu Xue was breathing heavily but she still held her clan''s sword for another attack.


    The Fu clan was a rather small clan based not too far from the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Much like Bai Xuengen''s Bai clan, every few years they would send in their most powerful youth to join the ranks of the sect.


    Despite looking gentle and frail, Fu Xue was indeed worthy of the title of most powerful from the clan in her generation.


    Arriving at the sect at roughly the same time as Shin Sumi, she had been placed under direct tutelage from her uncle, Elder Fu. There she had trained only in the secret arts of her clan, the Breaking Fu Sword.


    "How can she move like that with a sword that heavy ??!"


    Shin Sumi was being rapidly pushed back. Her sword absorbed the brunt of the impact from each blow but it was being blasted away every time.


    It was only due to her ability to recall her sword to her hand when it was away that she managed to stand after so long.


    Unfortunately for her, as much as the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword dampened the blow from the Breaking Fu Sword, Shin Sumi''s arms still had to bear with the force of a thousand hammers each time the two swords collided.


    The grey lines on Fu Xue''s arms were shining less and less bright with each move.


    It was this special magic from her clan that allowed the small stone sword to transform into the terrifying Breaking Fu Sword and that enabled clansmen to wield it properly.


    Fu Xue was panting hard, occasionally lowering the tip of the stone sword to the ground to lessen the burden on her arms.


    At the same time, Shin Sumi was rolling on the ground once more. She could feel the fractures in the bones of her forearm, relying entirely on willpower to raise her weapon again and again.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword that was usually light as a feather now felt heavier than lead.


    Without realizing it, both fighters were wishing for the other''s strength to drain.


    For the first time ever, Shin Sumi had been completely beat, but it took all of Fu Xue''s Shinsoo reserve.


    She had almost no power left, the lines on her arms disappearing into her skin and the giant stone sword progressively getting back to its original form.


    Shin Sumi couldn''t lift her hands. In fact she couldn''t even stand anymore.


    Unleashing a desperate roar, Fu Xiao ignited her Fu clan''s spell a second time. The palm of her hand was bleeding extensively, her skin having ruptured a long time ago.


    She walked one step towards Shin Sumi, dragging the massive sword behind her. Then another one.


    Fu Xue''s energy depleted entirely the moment her foot landed for a third step.


    She was unconscious. Shin Sumi had won.


    Embracing the feeling of rejection from the sub-dimension, Shin Sumi let herself be teleported out of the arena. She needed the gentle and strong Shinsoo from the outside to recover.


    "Fu Xue¡­" she said in a raspy voice, laying down. Her eyes were looking straight up at the blood red sky.


    "You are really strong. If you hadn''t stuck to your single technique right to the last moment, you could have walked over to me and ended me. I may have won but this is still your victory."


    ***


    "Elder Fu, your niece seems to excel in the Breaking Fu Sword style", in the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s Grand Hall, Patriarch Sen calmly stated, "she managed to put the green talented kid in this sorry state in just a stick of incense''s worth of time."


    "The Patriarch praises that kid Fu Xue too much. The Breaking Fu Sword''s offensive style can only win. This defeat is a shame to our name. As bad as that green disciple looks, my Fu Xue must be in an even worse state."


    Although Elder Fu''s words seemed harsh, all of the Elders present knew they were just a humble facade. Just a look at the old man''s face was enough to see the peaceful smile and the praise in his eyes.


    It was true that the Fu clan''s way was of overwhelming strength and breaking their opponents by only one means -the Breaking Fu Sword- but none of the people here could really ashamed about the result of the last duel.


    Facing against a green talented Honorary Disciple, Fu Xue had still managed to hold her own quite well. Compared to her, Tai Bu had been ridiculed over and over.


    Elder Peng was fuming, close to exploding in place. Tai Bu was a boy he had picked up from the mortal realm. Even if he didn''t come from any fancy cultivator clan with secret techniques he had still managed to rise and get recognized as the number three disciple under the Liquid Realm.


    His prowess with the Flaming Whip was something that could give trouble even to monsters like Jun Qian and Sui Lin. But because of his first encounter with Shin Sumi he had been deprived of his prized weapon.


    Thankfully for his Master''s sanity, Tai Bu had been transported to another path on the mountain earlier. At least there were less chance of him facing against Shin Sumi now.


    ***


    It only took Shin Sumi a few hours to absorb enough Shinsoo to sit properly. Because of the beating she had taken, she had been unable to meditate for a while, forced to wait patiently for the energy of nature to enter her body the natural way.


    Her arms were painful and swollen, broken bones almost puncturing her skin. A few tears of pain rolled on her cheeks as Shin Sumi forced herself in a sitting position. From there on, meditation and the regenerative powers brought with it would be hundreds of times faster.


    "Fu Xue didn''t come out even to meditate ?" she wondered to herself.


    Because of the rules of the fifth domain of the floating continent, only by winning in a fight inside the monoliths counted as a pass for the next arena. Fighting outside of it had become almost useless and the quality of the Shinsoo outside was much better to recuperate.


    Because of that Shin Sumi found it strange that she didn''t see Fu Xue come out at all. She was unaware that at some point in time while she was waiting, a blurry figure had gone in and out of the monolith, much too fast for her to even sense it.


    A whole day later, Shin Sumi was finally ready to move on to the next arena. Because she didn''t have any water in which to put the little nut, it turned out that mending bones together was really slow.


    She even had to use quite a bit of spirit beast cores. Now the only ones remaining on the pages of the little nut''s book were the high grade yellow cores and above.


    With each important fight, her resources were used a little bit more. After the tenth arena, Shin Sumi''s inventory was reduced to only the Sand Hawk''s yellow core and the Silver Desert Swordfish''s green core.


    But at least she still hadn''t suffered any proper defeat.


    Shin Sumi arrived to the eleventh monolith along her way after having spent two weeks in total on the mountain''s slope.


    Even though she was doing good in fights, she was starting to feel a sort of anxiousness about the whole trial.


    She was still missing one Vein of Hell Fire and by her experiences in the last ring she knew it could take months to find. But considering all the disciples she had encountered so far and all the other powerful yellow cultivators, she didn''t have the luxury to wait.


    Sword in hand, she teleported into the arena right as she arrived, not bothering to restore her strength to a hundred percent.


    She had confidence and unless she met another Fu Xue, she would probably be able to deal easily with her next opponent.


    The new expanse of tiny world that appeared before her eyes was empty. Sighing heavily, Shin Sumi sent a divine sense thought to go back out.


    If she had no choice but to be patient, at least she could power up some more. Her cultivation level within the Shinsoo Gathering Realm was already so high that no amount of normal Shinsoo would help her advance, but it would still help to restore her reserves.


    She sat down and started closing her eyes when an instinctual sense of unease made her turn her head. For a split second she thought she saw a blur of some kind swoop right past her but the next instant the place was empty.


    Feeling that something strange was at play, Shin Sumi got up once more and sent her thoughts to the grey monolith.


    The sub-dimension arena was not empty anymore.


    A girl in beautiful yellow robes was standing in the middle, looking a bit shaken despite her cold eyes and her overall calm countenance.


    Without a word she turned to Shin Sumi, reaffirming her gaze and taking out her weapon.

 56 "The Air Is The Canvas"

    The icy cold looking girl in front of Shin Sumi had the most unusual weapon she had ever seen.


    The thin white fingers of her opponent wrapped gently around the leather covered pole, one hand at the base and one closer to the top.


    The top end of the pole was covered in long straight hairs going in the same direction, their respective length forming a soft chiseled tip.


    Facing Shin Sumi and her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was a girl with a giant paintbrush.


    Shin Sumi had already spent quite a good amount of time in the Immortal world to be completely taken by surprise by such an unusual weapon but still, it was a strange sight for her.


    Because of her obsession with books and reading, Shin Sumi had always admired writing tools, always taking her time to look at the large collection owned by the big city library when she was visiting her Second Uncle there.


    Nevertheless, now was not the time to fantasize about brushes. Despite the ridiculous looking weapon, Shin Sumi could feel a deep power swirling around the girl in front of her.


    The Shinsoo fluctuations were strong. In fact they hadn''t even started fighting but the pressure was already on par with Fu Xue''s after taking out her massive Breaking Fu Sword.


    As one could have expected, at this point in the Rising Star Tournament, only strong ones were worthy enough to be this close to the end.


    A name suddenly popped in Shin Sumi''s mind. Sui Lin.


    She remembered the informations given to her by Xiao Yue and Lan Hui about the top disciples under the Liquid Realm.


    Three of them were even called the Big Three, although she had never crossed swords with them. At least to her knowledge.


    Jun Qian was the obvious number one. He was the good looking young man always being swarmed by red and orange dressed girls trying to get his attention. He had been holding his cultivation back from breaking through to the next realm just to wait for a big even such as the Rising Star Tournament.


    The prospect of placing first and having a spot in the Inner Circle of the Liquid Realm, where disciples were nurtured a hundred times better than the rest, was too tempting for him.


    Shin Sumi had never fought him but she had seen firsthand his place on the rankings of the Quests Pavilion. Without a doubt he had the ability to back up the title of number one, easily completing more high-rank quests than anybody else.


    The third of the Big Three monsters was a mystery to Shin Sumi. She only knew the name ''Tai Bu'', but had no idea about who he was. With such an inspiring name though, Shin Sumi always felt a bit apprehensive at the thought of encountering him.


    How in the world could she have guessed that the same Tai Bu was the unlucky disciple she had crossed paths with twice already, making him bite dust each time?!!


    This time Shin Sumi was interested in the second placing disciple. In a world that always regarded women as slightly inferior to men, Sui Lin had piqued her interest.


    She was obviously a very talented girl, being recognized by everyone as the second disciple under the Liquid Realm, placing right above Tai Bu.


    Xiao Yue had told her that Sui Lin was a cold hearted girl that almost never went out of seclusion because she despised most other disciples. Shin Sumi remembered having smiled at that mention by Xiao Yue. The orange robed girl was really similar to that Sui Lin in her actions, at least when she wasn''t with Shin Sumi.


    Back to the yellow robed girl in front of Shin Sumi, in the eleventh monolith''s arena, the name Sui Lin immediately rang.


    "This time maybe I can finally compare myself to one of the best ranked disciples. But I have to be careful. She is definitely stronger than Fu Xue."


    "Senior Sister, I am glad to be able to exchange pointers with you ? she said, this time out loud. "Thank you for your guidance !"


    The cold looking Sui Lin didn''t even acknowledge Shin Sumi''s words, instead lowering the tip of her paintbrush in what looked like an offensive stance.


    Shin Sumi didn''t waste any more time, taking to opportunity to launch an all-out quick attack. Her useful, fastest and deadly combo, the Two Strikes Flying Sword Attack.


    "I need to find a better name" she couldn''t help but think while throwing her golden sword and jumping forward simultaneously.


    ***


    "Is the green talented kid fighting right now?" asked an Elder in a low voice to the person next to him. Patriarch Sen, in the back, seemed to be deep in meditation, hence why he didn''t want to bother him by speaking too loud. The Patriarch was sometimes a bit unpredictable, and the Elder who had spoken did not want to find out how he would react if taken out of focus like that.


    "Yes, someone just arrived, although I''m not sure who it is..."


    "I didn''t even see the other disciple arrive, when did that happen?!"


    Because of the way the magical map of the tournament grounds worked, the Elders couldn''t see the dots that had already entered a monolith arena.


    But they were dumbfounded by the fact that a single yellow dot had blinked really fast right next to the green one right before disappearing again. They had been spotting Shin Sumi''s location for long enough to know that she had been alone on the eleventh plaza.


    "Oh no, it must mean that it''s ''his'' doing..."


    "Elder JeHan, who are you ta-... Wait. Do you mean... ''him'' ?! We have to alert the Patriarch! He is interfering with the entire trial!"


    Patriarch Sen appeared right behind the three Elders talking, so suddenly that they almost fell off their chair. Like often he had an enigmatic smile on his face.


    "Yes this is his doing. He''s having a bit of fun, but who could blame him, to be honest? He''s playing the matchmaker and I couldn''t have done a better job at it myself. The green one is currently fighting Sui Lin."


    Contrary to what they thought, Patriarch Sen was not annoyed at all by the actions of the person they were discussing.


    "Sui Lin? Oh that is sure to be a good pairing" commented one of the Elders, imagining what the battle must be like in the arena.


    "With what the green talented boy has done to Tai Bu, it will be nice to see if Sui Lin can fight toe to toe with that Bai Fulong."


    Another Elder who thought Shin Sumi''s victory against Tai Bu had been a partial fluke argued.


    "Don''t forget that in the last short year of trial, almost every disciple has more than doubled their strength. Sui Lin was already close to Jun Qian''s level, according to Elder Sho, now the both of them ought to be close to Liquid Realm strength."


    Patriarch Sen intervened once more, cutting short the pointless debate.


    "Regardless of the outcome of this fight, there is a particular reason why that old one set it up like that. He must have a certain idea which I don''t doubt is for the sake of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."


    And with that, Patriarch Sen left. His words carried a lot of hidden meaning which only an Elder of the sect could understand.


    The three men who had been talking together pondered the situation for a while. At times one of them would take out a spirit jade to send information to other Elders whom were not present.


    ***


    Shin Sumi and Sui Lin were fighting quite conservatively. If Sui Lin could have been considered cold before, then she was now exuding pure hatred for her opponent.


    "I don''t know where this man if from but he his dangerous. He is easily on par with us that they call the Big Three. And his sword is very high grade at least."


    On the other side, Shin Sumi was at a loss. No matter how she moved her body, exploiting her speed and power, her biggest attributes, it didn''t seem to phase Sui Lin at all.


    "She is blocking me effortlessly and so far she is only using the paintbrush like a staff. I can still push a little bit more though !"


    So far, Shin Sumi, much like Sui Lin, had been using only brute force in all her strikes. Sending a sliver of divine sense to the Copper Bell, Shin Sumi decided on a more magical approach.


    All of a sudden, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword which was being swung repeatedly started to shine with a slight glow.


    With the powers of the Copper Bell, turning the sword into a Yang powered magical artefact was as easy as flipping her hand to Shin Sumi.


    Carrying more and more power, Shin Sumi''s blows were slowly gaining on Sui Lin''s ability to parry and divert the blade.


    This was due to the added Shinsoo pressure, but not only that, Shin Sumi was especially using Yang type Shinsoo. Against a female opponent like Sui Lin, who seemed to have about the same physical capabilities, having the dominance in Shinsoo type was a great advantage, made only possible by the Copper Bell.


    "So he was still hiding some strength. I''m glad that I waited a bit for a counterattack. You were not the only one to hide your trump cards."


    Sui Lin smiled to herself in a grim fashion. Biting her tongue, she spat out a single drop of red blood, falling onto the tip of the big paintbrush she was holding.


    "Let''s start the show !"


    Unaware of the hidden presence close to them, both fighters were starting to become serious.


    The paintbrush was moving elegantly in the air, Sui Lin''s speed almost doubling.


    At first, Shin Sumi felt no change in the Shinsoo pressure coming from the strange artefact, but as Sui Lin used the air itself as a canvas, distorsions started to appear in front of Shin Sumi.


    "The air is the canvas. The blood is the link. The energy is the ink."


    Sui Lin had chanted out loud, in an almost imperceptible voice. Contrary to the coldness and the heart of steele she seemed to possess, her voice was warm and sweet.


    "Like that of an angel from the Heavens," Shin Sumi thought, "enough to make any boy become infatuated with her."


    She seemed to have found the reason why the number two disciple didn''t like to mingle with others and chose to stay secluded most of the time. Unlike Jun Qian, Sui Lin rejected admirers strongly.


    But Shin Sumi didn''t have the time to marvel any longer at the voice of her opponent.


    The distorted air was forming a complicated pattern of light with each stroke of the paintbrush. Sui Lin was already deploying one of her strongest attacks.


    The use of magic was very restricted for cultivator below the Liquid Realm because their Shinsoo was just a mess of energy swirling inside their dantians. Opening the Shinsoo Doors allowed for better passage of Shinsoo and more room for it to flow in but it still didn''t compare to the abilities unlocked by the next realm.


    There was a reason why the Shinsoo Gathering Realm was sometimes not considered true cultivation yet. Before the Shinsoo condensed into a droplet and formed the Sea of Shinsoo, it was a very hard to control shapeless substance.


    And yet geniuses appeared sometimes. Sui Lin, like Jun Qian and Tai Bu, was one such genius. Even before the Liquid Realm she was capable of condensing her energy using a certain medium, unleashing magic that should have been impossible.


    "Only Jun Qian''s candlestick magic can rip apart my Character Formation" thought Sui Lin with confidence.


    She only had the sufficient amount of Shinsoo to write the first four magical characters of the technique she knew, and the one she had chosen was ''Pillar''.


    As soon as the word formed completely, Shin Sumi was assailed by a tenfold pressure compared to before.


    Her heels broke through the ground as the light character pressed heavily onto her head.


    Had she not raised her sword at the last moment, her entire body would have been pressed down to the ground.


    "I feel like there is an actual pillar of stone on my shoulders" Shin Sumi painfully groaned, her grip on the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword tightening.


    Pushing with her powerful leg muscles, Shin Sumi sent even more Shinsoo into the golden blade.


    Sui Lin was controlling the ''pillar'' with the tip of her brush, a drop of sweat forming on her brows. Magical techniques demanded a lot of energy. Contrarily to Fu Xue''s Breaking Fu Sword or Chu Erlong''s Blazing Sun, Sui Lin didn''t rely on a magical technique enabled by having a certain clan''s blood running through her veins.


    Both fighters seemed to have reached a stalemate when Shin Sumi''s sword slowly started to move upwards.


    "He is cutting through the pillar?!! Nevermind his strength, his sword is amazing..."


    Sui Lin couldn''t believe her eyes, although she was still prepared for the eventuality.


    "Fellow Honorary Disciple, you have earned by respect. Unfortunately for you this is the end. This next technique was supposed to be used against Jun Qian..."


    While Shin Sumi was still forced to deal with the pillar, Sui Lin breathed in calmly. She had tested Shin Sumi''s speed before so she knew she would have to be really fast.


    But for the sake of victory, she was willing to bet on her paintbrush.


    As soon as Sui Lin moved her artefact, Shin Sumi was finally released from the pressure. She hadn''t completely cut the character with her sword. Doing so would incur an energy backlash to Sui Lin, which she avoided at the last moment.


    Sensing that it was her only opportunity, Shin Sumi leapt forward to attack.


    Sui Lin was drawing in the air, her opponent approaching rapidly.


    The tip of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was only at an arm''s length away from her hand when she clenched her teeth.


    ''Cage.''


    As soon as the word was completed, Shin Sumi knew the fight was over.


    If ''Pillar'' was overwhelming strength pressing down from above, ''Cage'' was the ultimate restraint from all sides.


    The word made of light instantly wrapped around Shin Sumi, sticking formlessly around her arms and legs and even her neck.


    Even the tip of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was stuck suspended in mid-air, unable to get any closer to its target, Sui Lin''s hand.


    "I can''t move! She trapped me! What a terrifying technique..."


    Sui Lin was visibly exhausted but Shin Sumi could see the relief in her eyes. She herself hadn''t been sure if she could pull of the second word from her Character Formation before Shin Sumi''s strike landed.


    "This is my win, Fellow Disciple" she said coldly. At the same time, the brush in her hand was moving slightly, making the cage a bit smaller with every movement.


    Shin Sumi was already unable to move and now the light patterns pressing down on her were preventing her from breathing properly!


    "At this rate I''m going to pass out soon..."


    No amount of debating proved useful, Sui Lin was right. It was indeed her win.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes closed by themselves after a minute or two, oxygen deprivation kicking in.


    Her last coherent thoughts were about all her possessions in her bag of holding. If Sui Lin wanted to, she could take her weapons, her Copper Bell, even the Liquid Pellet.


    She would also discover Shin Sumi''s true identity...


    The instant Shin Sumi truly lost consciousness, Sui Lin was already prepared to fight the rejection coming from the monolith.


    Just like Shin Sumi had guessed, she planned on going through her inventory. Who wouldn''t ?


    But instead of the weak divine sense intent she expected, a strong force expulsed her with irresistible might.


    Sui Lin''s face dropped, "oh no, not that again" she thought as she found herself outside of the monolith, unable to get in again.


    The next instant, a blur too fast to see was carrying Shin Sumi out of the sub-dimension and across the energy barriers all over the mountain, as if they were made of paper.


    When Sui Lin finally succeeded in entering the arena again, Shin Sumi was nowhere to be seen, the hidden presence having also vanished.


    With the blur carrying her, Shin Sumi regained consciousness as soon as she felt the high quality Shinsoo of the outside.


    Images flashed before her eyes, the speed at which they were going way higher than what her sight could discern.


    When finally the speed dropped, and Shin Sumi adjusted to the environment, an intense white light was shining directly below her.


    Shin Sumi''s stomach convulsed as she was unexpectedly dropped, only a few meters from the terrifyingly strong pulse of light.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword immediately left her hand and plunged right into the last Vein of Hell Fire.


    Shin Sumi lifted her body from the ground, assailed by the burning sensation from the proximity of the Vein.


    A shrill cry almost ruptured her eardrums, directly above her face. When Shin Sumi looked up, a painful expression on her face, a very large white eyeball looked back at her.


    She had recognized the cry from when she had seen the giant crocodile beaten back, a year ago.


    It had been a long time since then but the blur, the cry and the overwhelming pressure, capable of pushing back the huge lizard in an instant had been etched deeply into her memory.


    The white eyeball in her field of vision was was soon followed by an equally large head terminated by a white beak. A long neck like that of a crane held the bird head above the slender white body adorned with golden lines.


    The sharp talons that had been holding her until recently were now resting on the ground, under the massive folded wings.


    At the same time as Shin Sumi saw the giant bird, back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect Patriarch Sen, the leader of the sect, turned his head and looked at the highest mountain peak around, his eyes piercing through the clouds.


    "He has finally played his card. So that''s what he''s after."

 57 Golden Thunder Inside

    "A c... I got brought here by a massive white crane" Shin Sumi realized.


    She knew she was next to the last Vein of Hell Fire, the white one. The feeling of the gentle but terrifyingly strong energy source was unmistakable.


    Despite being looked down upon by a very large animalistic creature, Shin Sumi didn''t react like she would have done otherwise.


    Her first instinct had been to try and fight, her survival mentality taking over but she forced herself to remain calm.


    The creature hadn''t done her any harm and even decided to bring her to her goal. At this point, Shin Sumi was also certain that this white crane was the blur she had seen a few months ago for the first time.


    A strong wave of pressure emitted by the Vein of Hell Fire itself prompted Shin Sumi to sit down and meditate, or else she would be unable to physically process the quantity of energy being washed over her.


    Nevertheless, she forced herself to stand on her knees, lowering her gaze and bowing to the giant bird.


    "Thank you, Senior White Crane" she called softly.


    The beak of the crane pushed her head aside and the flap of a white wing with golden lines intermingled with the feathers forced her into a sitting position.


    Whatever Shin Sumi felt like doing, the simple pressure that the white crane had conjured with a casual move had forced her into submission.


    "It wants me to meditate" was the only thing she could understand from the bird''s actions.


    A cry that was more akin to a loud chirping was the only answer Shin Sumi had before lapsing into a deep meditative state.


    Over her head, the white crane reached a large rock crevice, nesting comfortably. The white head turned soundlessly, the unreadable white eyes gazing at the hilt of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword protruding from the white source of Shinsoo.


    ***


    "Wudao, can you guess why I have called you here?"


    Patriarch Sen was standing away from the white robed young man, his hands clasped behind his back.


    "I think Master has some news about the green talented girl, Shin Sumi."


    Patriarch Sen turned to face Fen Wudao, his old eyes looking as deep as the sea.


    "Old man Crane assured that she found the fifth Vein of Hell Fire."


    Fen Wudao involuntarily took half a step back. He had obviously been shaken by the Patriarch''s words.


    "You mean... The white crane that is... He..."


    "Yes. I don''t think there is any worries to be had though. The focus point is that with Shin Sumi, that makes a total of eleven. The refinement of the golden blade is complete. You did well in choosing that girl."


    Fen Wudao was gradually coming back to his senses, bowing deeply to his Master''s words of approval.


    "Pardon me for being out of place for asking but... does Master intend on taking her as a direct disciple?"


    ***


    Shin Sumi woke up peacefully from her meditation.


    Although it had been completely subconscious, she had immersed herself deeper than ever before in her cultivation.


    Was it the effect of having the white crane in the surroundings, protecting her?


    The bird that brought her to the final Vein indeed did not have any bad intentions towards her, that was certain. Or else she would have already died a thousand times.


    The first thing Shin Sumi did after opening her eyes and feeling the presence of the white crane was to turn and bow to the creature a second time.


    "This humble one thanks Senior White Crane again for taking me to the Vein of Hell Fire. This disciple owes Senior a great debt."


    The crane looked at her with empty eyes and Shin Sumi saw the beak move a little bit. Was it a response? Shin Sumi had no idea.


    Whatever or whoever the White Crane was, Shin Sumi knew it was sentient, at least to an extent.


    The creature was too strong to evaluate it''s cultivation level properly but the feeling that the bird gave off was somewhat similar to that of the Silver Blood Wolf that had bonded with her back at the third Vein of Hell Fire.


    But there was also another feeling that Shin Sumi couldn''t shake off. Something more... human, even though it looked no different than the many spirit creatures Shin Sumi had met and fought.


    Shin Sumi couldn''t finish off her thoughts as a white wall suddenly appeared right in front of her eyes.


    A stifling pressure assailed her just from the force of the wind due to the approach of the crane.


    A second later, Shin Sumi was trapped in the beast''s talons, moving faster than what would have been comfortable for her at her cultivation level.


    "I didn''t have the time to properly assert my strength and the results of cultivating next to the last Vein! And here we are blurring out of space again."


    The transportation in the crane''s talons only lasted a blink or two. When finally the disorientation and the high speed stopped, the white crane was gone and Shin Sumi was standing in front of a monolith.


    Out of reflex, Shin Sumi was about to bow for the third time but a Shinsoo wave forced her thoughts to connect to the monolith, sending her immediately inside.


    Shin Sumi stumbled in the arena and touched the ground at the same time as thunder rumbled.


    "No, it''s not thunder..." she thought, closing her fist and at last inspecting her body with her own divine sense.


    "My entire body... My muscles, my bones... They are completely different from before!!"


    The rumble Shin Sumi was hearing didn''t come from the outside world but from inside her body!


    It was like nothing she had ever felt before. And nothing she had ever seen either.


    Her entire body had gained a golden hue from the inside. Her bones, her muscles, every fiber of her being radiated a profound light.


    That was the effect of opening all Sixty-Four Shinsoo Doors.


    Shin Sumi had entered the great circle of the Shinsoo Gathering Stage.


    After repeatedly gathering the energy of nature and breaking open each Door in succession, following the circulating path from her dantian to all the apertures, Shin Sumi had broken open the barriers that were thought to have been lost forever.


    A single probe had revealed all of that as well as the fact that she would need a bit of time to adjust.


    The crackling thunder inside her body that couldn''t be heard from the outside meant that her body was being remodeled, right here and then!


    After each breakthrough it was an unavoidable process, fine tuning the newly-found strength and the energy levels of an individual.


    Usually it was very gradual and didn''t impact the disciple too much, but what was happening to Shin Sumi was very different.


    But as fate would have it, Shin Sumi didn''t have the luxury to sit down and acclimate to her new state.


    "You...!" a female voice had spoken from the other side of the arena.


    Shin Sumi gritted her teeth and looked up. Because of what was happening with her body, even spreading her divine sense was difficult and only a second had passed since her arrival in the monolith''s arena.


    She had been unable to feel the girl''s presence!


    And in fact there was not one person in there with her but two.


    In a single glance, Shin Sumi recognized the two disciples. One of them was wearing an orange robe, the girl, and the boy was dressed in beautiful shining yellow robes.


    "Ch-Chu Erlong and Jun Qian !"


    There was no mistaking it. Shin Sumi could not forget the two faces that looked at her.


    Without waiting for them to come over, Shin Sumi summoned the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword but to no avail.


    Her bag of holding vibrated slightly but the sword didn''t come out.


    The mental link between Shin Sumi and her sword was intact, but she could tell that something was happening to the sword.


    An orb of invisible energy was wrapped around the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. Much like herself, the blade had finally undertook the last refining of the five Veins of Hell Fire.


    "What the %$¡ê#??!"


    Shin Sumi was looking in pain, cold sweat dripping from her brows.


    "Senior Brother Qian, look, Bai Fulong is hurt. What a pity."


    Jun Qian snickered.


    "You don''t even need me to end this trash-eating dog now" he answered, folding his arms over his chest.


    Jun Qian was a good looking young man. Even if he hadn''t been known as the highest ranked Honorary Disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, dozens of girls would definitely be trying to catch his attention.


    His face was thin and perfectly symmetrical, giving off a gentle impression like that of a flower petal on the surface of a pond.


    But his eyes were as cold as a bone-chilling blizzard.


    "If you think you can trample me, I would love to see you try !"


    Even in her state, Shin Sumi defied the odd couple. From their exchange just now she had come to understand that they had not been fighting. It was more likely that Chu Erlong had made an agreement with Jun Qian to get rid of her adversaries.


    And two of Shin Sumi''s identities were considered as such. Bai Fulong for having almost defeated her and her Blazing Sun spell, taking the side of Bai Xuengen and Lan Hui, and Shin Sumi herself for... well for being her.


    It all started when Chu Erlong''s follower Liu Qinq had discovered that Shin Sumi was the only green talented disciple in the Lower Valley. Chu Erlong couldn''t bear the fact that she would soon become too strong for her to handle and had even tried to assassinate her by placing a deadly trap near her courtyard.


    Of course the attempt was unsuccessful and ever since Chu Erlong feared Shin Sumi''s revenge. She knew in her heart that if she didn''t get to Shin Sumi now, the latter would become much stronger than her in a short time.


    Unfortunately for her plans, Chu Erlong had not crossed paths with Shin Sumi during the entire Rising Star Tournament, at first trying to bait her using Lan Hui whom she knew was a friend of her foe.


    But Bai Fulong had showed up. Out of nowhere a talented nobody with a red dress had obliterated her plan, not once but twice.


    Chu Erlong had ways to deal with Bai Xuengen but Bai Fulong was an enigma that had ruined the show for her. And there was still no trace of the green talented Shin Sumi.


    "Oh I won''t trample you. I''ll torture you. I''ll reduce you to dust!"


    Now that Chu Erlong had Bai Fulong between her hands, she was turning hysterical. She even had the best disciple, Jun Qian, as her backer just in case.


    That simple assurance didn''t come with a low price, but Chu Erlong would sacrifice anything for her goals to be accomplished.


    Bai Fulong was laying down on the cold and raspy ground, seemingly in pain. And Shin Sumi was in pain.


    But what Chu Erlong didn''t know when she was done talking and attacked was that each wave of pain in Shin Sumi''s fibers also brought forth a stronger wave of raw power.


    The golden light erupting from within her radiated an intense might and Shin Sumi felt powerful enough to topple mountains... just not right now while it was still ongoing.


    Chu Erlong''s long curved blade tore through the air before Shin Sumi could even stand on her knees.


    "He''s already dead" thought Chu Erlong moments before the strike.


    In a last ditch effort, Bai Fulong rolled out of the way, evading the blade by the skin of his teeth.


    A few loose hair gently fell where they had been cut, and Bai Fulong''s eyes were so close to the sword that Shin Sumi could see the engravings where the hilt connected with the cold metal.


    ''Sun-Cloud Eater'' was the name of the weapon.


    A fitting name, considering that the Chu Clan techniques all revolved around these two concepts, like the Blazing Sun technique and the Black Cloud Curse.


    It went to show that the sword''s quality was better than most found in the sect, having come from her clan.


    And here Shin Sumi was on the floor, unable to summon her own weapon, faced with the wrath of Chu Erlong.


    In a flash, the orange robed girl saw Bai Fulong unleash a punch with surprising strength. Shin Sumi''s aim was the blade in front of her, aiming right where it stuck out of the ground.


    The blade vibrated, Chu Erlong''s forearm numb instantly. With the recoil of the punch, Shin Sumi was sent back a few steps in the air, landing heavily on her feet.


    She was gnashing her teeth and holding her belly. The thunder inside her was rumbling crazily, but the pain almost felt good.


    Her entire body was being reborn.


    "Ghyaaaa" Chu Erlong launched herself back into attacking !


    Chu Erlong was worthy of being one of the top disciples despite being only orange talented. Her background, the support of her clan and the Great Elder of the sect easily made up for what she was lacking in talent, in comparison to the likes of Tai Bu and Sui Lin.


    Shin Sumi evaded the blows however she could, ducking and dodging, sometimes even jumping. It was only possible because her adversary was still in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm.


    One of the most prominent faculties gained with successfully reaching the Liquid Realm was the control of Shinsoo. By forming Shinsoo Threads, one could even control objects.


    Had Chu Erlong been in the Liquid Realm, she wouldn''t have had to hold physically her sword, instead using one of many Flying Sword techniques.


    In that regard, Shin Sumi''s control of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was an abnormality. Without that power, as long as Shin Sumi could get out of the way, Chu Erlong couldn''t do anything to her.


    That was until she underestimated her.


    Chu Erlong had strength and speed. When she swung her Sun-Cloud Eater, it was even possible to see a small array of paper talismans glowing inside her sleeves.


    Because of all of her magical artefacts she could rival with Shin Sumi''s speed!


    And now it was too late to dodge. Instead, Shin Sumi gathered what little bit of Shinsoo she could muster in her arm and relied on her physical strength to punch the blade once more.


    Metal versus skin. In a second the shock pushed back both fighters, Shin Sumi''s heels digging deep into the hard ground.


    On the side, Jun Qian''s eyebrows lifted, an expression of surprise carved into his face.


    Even the invisible white crane suspended in the air above them looked intensely at the scene.


    Ziiiing.


    The tip of the Sun-Cloud Eater planted itself in the ground a dozen meters away. At the same time Chu Erlong was letting go of the hilt.


    "Haa... Haa..." Shin Sumi was breathing hard.


    A few of her fingers were broken and a sliver of blood was pouring from between them but she was mostly intact.


    And even paying the price of a few finger bones was worth the look on Chu Erlong''s face.


    The more Shin Sumi waited, the more strength she could feel from her dantian. Being forced to fight in her state had bigger risks of cultivation backlash, not having the time to properly acclimate to the great circle of Shinsoo Gathering but at least it made the refining process faster.


    She was telling herself that she could certainly beat Chu Erlong when the latter screamed.


    "JUN QIAAAN!"


    Bai Fulong was a lot stronger than she expected. Now she realized that after all she needed the help of the number one disciple.


    Even if that nobody Bai Fulong had been hiding his strength forever, there was no way he could beat Jun Qian.


    The yellow robed man was a monster.


    He chuckled while slowly unfolding his arms.


    "You can''t even beat an already beaten dog? I''m reconsidering our association."


    "If you want to dual cultivate with me, we have to kill that guy and the green talented b*tch."


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes wide, her thoughts raging all over the place after hearing them talk like she wasn''t even there.


    "Dual cultivate?! Is that why these two are together?!"


    Chu Erlong looked at Jun Qian seductively, even putting her hand gently on her hip in the middle of the fight.


    "You wouldn''t want to give up the opportunity of getting the vital Yin of the heir to the Chu Clan, wouldn''t you?"


    Jun Qian''s eyes were now filled with luster, his mind clouded with lecherous thoughts.


    "He he he fine, I''ll deal with him."


    Shin Sumi was shocked. How far was Chu Erlong willing to go to get rid of her enemies?!


    Shin Sumi knew what they were referring to, of course. The vital Yin was something a girl had only once in her lifetime, before knowing any man. For male cultivators it was something more precious and useful to cultivation than a magical pellet.


    Now having the will to fight alongside her, Jun Qian planted his feet on the ground and spread his arms wide.


    Without an incantation, the pressure rose around him. An ephemeral candle appeared between him and Shin Sumi.


    Shin Sumi gasped once for air due to the pressure before the thunder in her rumbled with double intensity. Her strength was now eighty percent stabilized and most of her body had turned golden on the inside.


    "It''s not enough. I need all my strength to fight him" she thought, trying once more to summon her weapon to her hand, "and the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword isn''t responding!"


    Unsure of what to do, Shin Sumi braced herself. She could feel that Jun Qian was about to start something. Something powerful.

 58 In The Light Of The Candle

    The candle appearing between Shin Sumi and Jun Qian was roughly the size of a person.


    With each passing breath of time, Shin Sumi felt the pressure rise drastically as the ethereal object seemed to become corporeal.


    "How can it be a weapon?! Either way it''s powerful."


    It appeared to her that Jun Qian was concentrating really hard at this point, immobile and his arms pointing at the candle with open palms towards it.


    While he was starting his magic technique, he was defenseless!


    Shin Sumi took advantage of that, leaping straight at him with the speed of the great circle of Shinsoo Gathering.


    Once more she concentrated her power in a punch. She reached the apex of her trajectory in the air right above the huge candle.


    And then she fell. In an instant all of her concentrated energy disappeared from her meridians, leaving her coughing a mouthful of blood.


    "An attack?! From where? And when?"


    It felt to her as if something hit her hard. That was the effect of losing a big amount of energy in one shot. Like a brick hitting directly her dantian.


    It was when she saw the candle gain thirty percent more consistence right after she fell that she understood.


    The ethereal candle formed a spiritual wall between her and her opponent, draining the Shinsoo she was circulating whenever she attempted to go past it.


    And the candle was only half physical yet! With every instant the pressure that the candle emanated was rising steadily.


    "If I can''t use Shinsoo, then I''ll just bash his head in with physical power!"


    Shin Sumi was getting annoyed. She still hadn''t acclimated to her new level of power and already she had to deal with two of the strongest opponents she knew.


    Without daring to enhance her muscles with Shinsoo, Shin Sumi started running. She passed the candle with a bit of apprehension but thankfully she remained fine.


    It seemed like the candle was only after her Shinsoo.


    Bare handed, Shin Sumi attempted to hit Jun Qian when a flash of orange got in her way.


    "If Bai Fulong isn''t using magic, then alone I''m more than enough to kill him!"


    Chu Erlong intercepted Shin Sumi, using a second sword, not as fancy or strong as the Sun-Cloud Eater.


    Shin Sumi may have had incredible strength, without reinforcing her fist with Shinsoo she could not accomplish the feat of breaking a sword a second time.


    By sheer reflex, Shinsoo started spinning in her dantian as she readied her hand. Shin Sumi only thought about what she was doing a moment to late.


    The blade and her right hand collided the instant before the candle sucked the energy out of her. Had it been a moment before, Chu Erlong would have sliced through her entire arm!


    Shin Sumi was blasted back, a second drainage of energy taking a toll of her.


    Having the Shinsoo in one''s body dissipated forcefully was never a good sign. Even the power coming from the remoulding of her body was temporarily cut short.


    Back on the other side of the arena, Shin Sumi slapped her bag of holding to produce a beast core. Anything that could minimize the loss of Shinsoo helped.


    "If only the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was obeying me! I could slice through that pile of wax in no time!"


    The candle was now more than eighty percent corporeal.


    Shin Sumi knew it was only the start. Whatever the candle did, ruining her momentum and her Shinsoo circulation was obviously not its only ability.


    Because of the two consecutive losses of Shinsoo, the refining of her body had paused, as if her own body was feeling that it was not the time for it.


    But in doing so, the raw energy created inside her had nowhere to go, rendering her even more unstable, bubbling in her meridians.


    "I can''t circulate energy, but my physical strength is not enough to deal with Chu Erlong and strike Jun Qian at the same time. And now the candle looks complete."


    Shin Sumi was not able to decide what to do in time before Jun Qian moved his hands together, the candle now being a hundred percent physical.


    "You have held up this long against us, but now is time for you to die."


    Jun Qian''s voice was cold. Shin Sumi could tell that he was not talking out of rage or in order to provoke her.


    He was speaking like it was a fact and he fully intended to kill Bai Fulong.


    "First Light: Flame Flickering!"


    Following his words, the pillar of wax started shining, the brown wick suddenly catching fire.


    The flame looked completely normal but a sense of dread rose from within Shin Sumi.


    Somehow she could feel a connexion to the flame. She couldn''t ignore the fact that almost half of the candle had been materialized using her own energy and turning it to wax.


    "So essentially the flame is burning my energy!"


    Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Shin Sumi couldn''t beat Jun Qian''s magic using Shinsoo and she couldn''t fight properly against Chu Erlong with only her physical strength.


    The situation looked a bit dire but Shin Sumi remained focused. She stayed far from the odd couple to regroup and observe the scene a bit.


    "I have a couple weapons but without Shinsoo they won''t hold for long enough to get rid of Chu Erlong. And I''m sure that the candle is not simply a passive magic."


    The might radiating from the magical human sized candle was vastly above what it had done to her so far. The true potential of Jun Qian''s magic had yet to be revealed in full.


    Right as she was thinking that, Jun Qian''s hands formed a different sigil and he murmured.


    "Second Light: Wax Modeling !"


    Instantly the greyish wax of the candle started moving. The top part of the pillar, where the brown wick was sticking out slowly melted, shaping the first fifth of the candle in the form of a head.


    It was Shin Sumi''s own head! Or rather Bai Fulong''s.


    The terrifying sight of a candle copying her appearance froze Shin Sumi in place.


    Whatever that meant was definitely very bad for her.


    Not delaying for longer, Shin Sumi resumed her assault, relying on her strong legs to move side to side in order to shake off Chu Erlong.


    She was close to approaching Jun Qian when finally the orange robed girl caught up to her, swinging her sword wildly at her head.


    "You fell for it" thought Shin Sumi, ducking at the same instant as she rotated on the ground.


    Her heel spun backwards, planting itself in the middle of Chu Erlong''s chest, right below where she held her sword.


    Under Shin Sumi''s fast kick, Chu Erlong felt her breasts crushed inside her ribcage. Who would have known that her ample bosom would be what prevented her from breaking a few ribs!


    Nevertheless, the orange talented girl was pushed back coughing, the air having left her lungs in an instant.


    Shin Sumi stood up and ran towards Jun Qian.


    One step. Two steps. The distance separating the two was rapidly decreasing.


    For the first time Shin Sumi thought that she had a chance at beating him or at least severing his connexion to the magical candle.


    Brandishing a fist, using all the momentum she could gather, she hit Jun Qian with a lot of force but only to find her hand squishing into a soft and warm substance.


    "More wax ?!"


    As fast as lightning, Shin Sumi retracted her hand and moved away.


    "You know, my spell is not about the candle. It''s about the wax!"


    Jun Qian laughed madly behind the screen of wax that had blocked Shin Sumi''s blow.


    "Making a shield out of wax is much easier than a candle. And so is a spear!"


    The wax wall condensed into a whiter and harder substance, suddenly becoming a spear two meters long, directly into his hand and pointing at Shin Sumi.


    "HAAaa!"


    Hurling the spear with unbelievable force, Jun Qian hit Shin Sumi''s robes, piercing a hole into the folds right where her heart had been before she jumped out of the way.


    Shin Sumi was back to square one, forced away from her enemy and with Chu Erlong now back in the fight with more rage than ever.


    Shin Sumi''s dantian had momentarily resumed her transformation, her adaptation after having absorbed the fifth Vein of Hell Fire.


    The wax candle though was still trying to steal her energy from within her, slowing down the process by a lot.


    And even more perturbing was the fact that Bai Fulong''s face on the candle was now becoming more and more realistic. From the dead looking grey of the wax, the features were now gaining hints of color, almost copying exactly her skin tone.


    Below the copy of her bust, shoulders were being drawn out of the melted wax, and one arm was even half carved.


    Shin Sumi''s instinct was screaming that something really bad for her was going to happen when the statue of Bai Fulong was completed.


    Trying something new, Shin Sumi slapped her bag of holding open, producing three short swords.


    Moving at the same time to ensure that Jun Qian could not produce a shield for all three of the incoming attacks, Shin Sumi threw the first blade.


    A leap later, Shin Sumi was throwing a second sword from mid-air.


    She was about to throw the third one, still holding it in her left hand, when her grip on the sword''s handle tightened.


    For some reason she was suddenly unable to let go of the sword.


    She had targeted the yellow robed genius cultivator with both swords, only one of which he blocked. The second one was intercepted by Chu Erlong by his side.


    Surely the third one would have hit its target, so why didn''t Shin Sumi''s arm let it go?


    A strange feeling took over her, making her terrified to look at her own left arm. She knew what had happened before even glancing at it.


    At some point between her second throw and the third, her movement had become sluggish very rapidly. And now her forearm and hand were unable to move.


    Her member was coated in a thin layer of wax. In fact with every passing breath her healthy looking arm was turning greyish.


    The color of cold wax.


    Despite the dread instilled into her and the cold sweat on her back, Shin Sumi still had the clearness of mind to understand the true power of the candle conjured by Jun Qian.


    Because the candle had stolen her Shinsoo to take a physical form, she had been forcefully linked to it.


    As long as the energy link lasted, the more Shin Sumi wasted time and energy, the more the candle would transform into a puppet version of her.


    Ever since the Second Light enchantment uttered by Jun Qian, the wax from the candle had gone from grey to the color of her skin. The arm of the wax figure was now perfectly realistic while her real arm had been slowly transforming into wax.


    That was a level of magic unheard of for Shin Sumi!


    Invisible to the three disciples in the arena, the white crane floating above their heads suddenly turned its white eye towards the distance. A second later the bird blurred out of existence, reappearing only a few moments later while another presence appeared at the entrance to the arena.


    Shin Sumi was too petrified to care about her surroundings that much and didn''t realize that someone else had arrived.


    Jun Qian and Chu Erlong both looked at the newcomer, the yellow robed young man almost immediately uninterested. But Chu Erlong''s eyes turned another shade of dark, her teeth clenching a bit more than before.


    "Xiao Yue !"


    How could Chu Erlong ignore the orange robed girl''s face? She was after all another strong contender for the title of best orange robed disciple.


    Shin Sumi heard Chu Erlong''s cry absentmindedly but the familiar name suddenly jolted her out of her miserable state.


    "...Yue?!"


    "Hey, Bai Fulong, how are you doing? Not too good I see..."


    Xiao Yue only took a single glance to successfully assess the situation. She had just beat an opponent in her third arena of the mountain when she found herself instantly transported to this place.


    The actions of the white crane were cryptic at best, and out of the four people in the current arena, only Shin Sumi had ever seen who was behind the sudden transportations.


    "Chu Erlong" Xiao Yue called out, "Is this how you do things? Two versus one? And with Senior Brother Jun nevertheless..."


    "Xiao Yue, this was never about you. Stay out of it or join us, unless you want to die a miserable death."


    Xiao Yue arrogantly laughed. Unless she was around Shin Sumi, Xiao Yue was never the very feminine and gentle girl, instead resembling more and more the ''Black Devil Maiden'' Xiao Yue.


    "Eh-eh-eh I would really like to see you try!"


    Stabbing her Black Devil Spear into the ground, Xiao Yue took her stance. She had decided that, just because she was against Chu Erlong and Jun Qian, she would take Bai Fulong''s side.


    "Hey, Bai Fulong, can you move? Are you alright?"


    "Y-Yes, Jun Qian''s magic wax surprised me, You have to be careful with his candles. They are very potent, even for me and you."


    Xiao Yue had never really faced Jun Qian in a fight before. She knew how he fought thanks to the rumors but she never imagined that he would be so tough for Bai Fulong.


    Xiao Yue remembered clearly the few weeks she had spent with Bai Fulong and how astonishingly strong he seemed to be.


    And now he was wearing yellow robes as well, maybe having finally revealed his true colors.


    "No matter what you do, if Jun Qian materializes a new candle, you can''t use Shinsoo close to it! Keep it to physical attacks."


    Xiao Yue nodded. Having arrived later, she was able to make good use of the knowledge Bai Fulong had painfully gathered.


    Maybe now they had a chance!


    The fight had suddenly become a two versus two combat. Jun Qian didn''t seem phased by it at all, but Chu Erlong was starting to wonder if they were really going to get beaten.


    "Stop worrying Erlong, you have the first raked Honorary Disciple on your side. Nothing bad can happen" she was reassuring herself and once more preparing mentally for the fight.


    "Half of Bai Fulong''s arm is already cast in wax. The more he uses magic the faster the wax will take over, transforming him in a puppet of some sort. Like this, maybe he has around a stick of incense before become completely incapacitated. Unless we...uh?"


    Xiao Yue''s thoughts were suddenly stopped because of a crackling of thunder right besides her.


    Shin Sumi''s mind had gone blank for a moment. Because of the temporary delay in attacks brought by Xiao Yue''s arrival, her dantian had finally resumed the process of remoulding her body from the inside.


    As they were speaking, her adaptation had finally reached a hundred percent.


    Shin Sumi was now in the great circle of Shinsoo Gathering!


    It was a state long lost to the world, at least in the small Dark Sky Starry Sect. She could even be considered half a step into the Liquid Realm!


    Her entire insides had turned golden and every single one of her Shinsoo Apertures was flowing smoothly with gold looking Shinsoo.


    It was the perfect cultivation to the uppermost limit of Shinsoo Gathering!!


    And the Heavens themselves had reacted to it.


    The first bolt of lightning had condensed out of thin air, before the dark clouds even formed.


    It struck Shin Sumi right in her dantian, trying to destroy the perfect state she had achieved.


    It was known as Tribulation Lightning, something that would usually never come for a cultivator until the end of the Core Development Realm.


    Shin Sumi felt a strong sense of rejection from the world itself, as well as an even stronger impulse of attraction from inside.


    Even Jun Qian, Chu Erlong and Xiao Yue had been paralyzed by the change in atmosphere happening at a higher level than themselves.


    Only the invisible white crane in the sky was floating as ever. It had been him that protected Shin Sumi during the first lightning strike.


    "Impossible... Bai Fulong is breaking through to the Liquid Realm?! It shouldn''t be allowed until the top of the mountain!"


    Jun Qian was the first to break out of the daze brought by the Heavens taking part in the situation.


    Because Shin Sumi''s cultivation was so special, the Heavens intervened and the frail laws about breaking through in this dimension had been torn apart by her own energy.


    Forced to sit down by an invisible force, Shin Sumi quickly entered a meditative state.


    At the same time, Jun Qian''s had fully realized how quick the tables were turning.


    "I can''t allow him to succeed! I have to turn him into a wax puppet before he breaks through!"


    Biting his tongue hard, Jun Qian spat out a mouthful of blood, spraying the candle in front of him with a thin mist.


    His magic rapidly increased at the price of his own energy, the wax on Shin Sumi quickly expanding at the same time as the candle sculpture of her became more realistic.


    Chu Erlong joined as well, rushing like the wind, sword in hand. Now that Shin Sumi was in a trance, she could not react at all, that was the perfect opportunity for her.


    A pitch black cloud of smoke blocked Chu Erlong''s sword. Xiao Yue had reacted just in time, her Black Devil Spear spinning rapidly.


    "I''m your opponent now, Chu Erlong!"


    The two orange robed girls were exchanging blows at an impressive speed, metal crashing against metal.


    Shin Sumi was in the process of being covered in wax, and Xiao Yue was alone to defend her.


    Pushing himself to his limits, Jun Qian conjured a second ethereal candle out of his wax magic, forcibly linking Xiao Yue to it.


    "Come on Bai Fulong! Please succeed quickly, I can''t hold them off for too long!"


    Judging by Xiao Yue''s estimations, she could only last ten or so minutes before being herself caught in wax. And that was without counting Chu Erlong''s relentless attacks.

 59 Liquid Realm

    The ongoing two versus one fight was raging around Shin Sumi.


    Her entire arm had now coalesced into wax, the greyish substance slowly taking over her entire body.


    The sound of metal clashing against metal was defeaning, and the thunder from above still roared but Shin Sumi was oblivious to it all.


    "My dantian..."


    Shin Sumi was floating in a void. The space around her was empty, silent and dark, yet she only felt a reassuring feeling, a connexion stronger than anything she ever experienced.


    She was within herself, floating inside her dantian, in tune with her body and mind.


    Contrary to when she delved deep into a meditative state, this time she wasn''t concentrating on anything else like the flow of Shinsoo, the energy of nature. She wasn''t trying to comprehend a technique or applying a skill.


    She was simply folded upon herself, her spiritual presence invading her energy points.


    At the speed of thought, Shin Sumi travelled through the void. There was no sense of space and no air to blow her long hair away but she knew she was moving even though she didn''t know how or why.


    In the distance, what seemed like lightyears away, a fuzzy warmness came into view, like a cloud.


    The cloud had no edges, no physical limitations. The space in her dantian simply went from dark and emptiness to golden warmth.


    "This is my Shinsoo, the Shinsoo I have gathered continuously in the last couple years."


    Inside her own energy space, a single glance told her all the information she needed.


    "All the energy I have refined again and again to open all Sixty-Four Shinsoo Doors. Even the energy from the Veins!"


    Amidst the golden plasma, a few regions varied slightly in color. Red, blue, green, purple and white were the colors of the five Veins of Hell Fire she had used to get to this state.


    The colors only made a portion of the overall cloud but their shine was significant. The five colors outruled all the tiny specks of glowing dust that floated here and there.


    Had Shin Sumi seen the small individual specks she would have realized that they each represented a spirit stone or a spirit beast core she had used to cultivate.


    Shin Sumi was still advancing quite fast towards the cloud. In the void where no sense of scale was provided, the cloud seemed either close and tiny or far and immensely big.


    "It is all turning to gold... Is it because I have opened all the existing Shinsoo Doors?"


    No answer was given to her but her own mind felt like it was true.


    The approaching plasma was now radiating an intense golden glow. Shin Sumi had no idea how long she had been moving for and if what she was experiencing now was very slow or faster than light.


    Subconsciously, Shin Sumi extended a hand towards the plasma cloud which started rotating.


    From a gaseous volatile substance, the Shinsoo inside her dantian was condensing into a drop of golden liquid.


    "Liquid Realm" she now knew what it meant. Had all the cultivators in history since time immemorial experienced the same scene?


    The process of her energy coalescing from nothing into a liquid droplet. It was even the third step from the Shinsoo Gathering Manual!


    The vortex in her palm had turned into a drop and now it was being flattened, forming a golden mirror like a puddle or a small lake.


    Shin Sumi looked around her at the immensity of emptiness. How many clouds would it take to form enough drops to fill an entire ocean in there?!


    ***


    Tribulation lightning was not something ever to appear during a low level breakthrough. Reaching the Liquid Realm was considered the first real step into cultivation and was not enough to provoke the Heavens themselves!


    But Shin Sumi''s case was special. Due to the little nut refining the Shinsoo Gathering Manual into its complete form, Shin Sumi''s cultivation had strayed from what could be called the normal path.


    It was more than enough to incur the wrath of nature itself, seeing Shin Sumi as a defyiance to the laws in place.


    Bolts formed one after the other in the dark oppressive clouds that seemed to cover the entire world.


    They were raining down in succession towards the yellow robed figure sitting down, already half encased in magical wax.


    Xiao Yue, Chu Erlong and Jun Qian were still fighting to the death, the latter two trying to get to Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue ensuring they couldn''t.


    They, too, had never heard of Liquid Realm Tribulations. But the simple fact that Heavenly Lightning was trying to get rid of that Bai Fulong was proof enough for his enemies that he couldn''t be allowed to live.


    If he succeeded, then his level of power would be devastating to them. They had to put an end to it. Now.


    In much the opposite way, Xiao Yue had decreted that she had to protect Bai Fulong. She was currently fighting two of the most promiscing Honorary Disciples of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, making enemies out of dangerous people.


    Protecting Bai Fulong during his breakthrough was also a way to make a useful friend for the future. A friend that would be able to crush anything on their path.


    In the midst of the fight, none of the protagonists really had time to spare to pay attention to the silver and purple lightning crackling neverendingly above their heads.


    Tribulation only came for one person after all so they were safe themselves, which was fortunate. In order to eradicate Shin Sumi''s law-defying cultivation, each bolt contained enough power to kill any disciple effortlessly.


    But Shin Sumi was not alone. In the skies above, seemingly battling the clouds themselves, a white slender crane was fighting.


    The bird''s cry was drowned by the rumble of the Heavenly storm but its magic still pierced through them, dissipating the lightning right before they could hit Shin Sumi.


    Even the dark clouds were sensing that Shin Sumi was close to finishing her last step in the breakthrough, the intensity of the tribulation reaching a climax.


    Sixty three silvery bolts had rained down so far when a massive black mist coalesced into the shape of a giant hand. The hand was as big as a building and concealed in the tribulation clouds, only the white crane could see it.


    Before the sixty fourth lightning bolt was formed, the white crane was already in the grasp of the hand. The hand represented another level of Heavenly Laws and even the white crane had to use all its power to protect itself.


    The white eyes devoid of emotions looked down intensely as a last single bolt took shape above Shin Sumi. The crackling lightning was red like blood and contained a completely new level of power. The silvery purple attacks previously unleashed were like ants compared to a mountain in front of it.


    RUMBLE


    The storm was stronger than ever. Xiao Yue and the others had even stopped fighting because of the pressure. They had been forced to sit down in order to simply resist the pressure trying to crush their bones into dust.


    Grinding their teeth, they were looking at the massive red bolt taking shape, too puzzled by the scale of what was happening to comprehend it.


    Too fast for their eyes to follow, the red lightning descended from the dark clouds, piercing the atmosphere and suddenly more brilliant than anything.


    The last hope of the white crane was dying quickly but suddenly a golden blur rose from the ground.


    It didn''t look as brilliant or as powerful as the lightning bolt, but it was at least quicker. The golden afterimages in its wake tore the sky into two, a long straight line opposing the trajectory of the red lightning.


    "The eleventh refinement", the white crane''s eyes were reflecting the golden line, another strange glow suddenly burning deeply behind its pupils.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had flown out of Shin Sumi''s bag of holding out of its own volition.


    The spherical energy barrier made of Shinsoo Threads that was wrapped around it clashed first with the red lightning, not impeding its power but instead burning away instantly.


    The tip of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword hit the heavenly strike the next instant. After the fifth Vein of Hell Fire, the blade of the weapon almost didn''t look like gold anymore.


    It was so thin and concentrated that it almost appeared like there was no blade at all. Just a handle and a slight distorsion in the air above it.


    The massive blood-colored bolt crashed into the golden glow like a tsunami would into a boat, the sword completely submerged.


    But then the impossible happened. Faced by the golden sword, the lightning strike dissipated. Too fast to see, even for the white crane, the blade had cut through the lightning again and again, tearing it to shreds.


    Sixty four bolts in total but none of them had impacted Shin Sumi.


    The dark clouds were slowly receding when the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword descended, spinning in circles around her.


    The situation had happened so fast that Xiao Yue and the others were still in shock. As strong as they were, they were nothing compared to Heavenly Tribulation and what had happened.


    Nothing could seemingly stop Shin Sumi''s breakthrough now.


    Once again, Jun Qian was the first to react. Opening his arms wide and swearing loudly, he bolstered his spirit candles with more power.


    Xiao Yue tried to get back up on her feet only to fall down again. Both her legs were encased in wax and her flesh was torn in multiple places. Fighting against both Jun Qian''s technique and Chu Erlong''s strikes was a lot.


    The spirit wax was still taking over Bai Fulong''s body, right until Jun Qian suddenly started coughing, blood flowing wildly from his mouth.


    Bai Fulong suddenly blasted a wave of Shinsoo from all the pores in his skin. All three other disciples were pushed back, their senses almost being stolen from them for a breath of time.


    When they opened their eyes again, Bai Fulong was gone. Shin Sumi was standing in his place, a beautiful green dress adorning her.


    Her face was the color of jade, her cheeks with a subtle hint of color. Her blue eyes radiated a strong might and her black hair flew without wind.


    With the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword circling around her she looked like a goddess of war and beauty.


    When she finally completed her breakthrough, fully stepping into the Liquid Realm, the Shinsoo blast had ruptured the Copper Bell''s powers, revealing her true appearance. It had also completely destroyed the yellow robes she had been wearing, the ones she had stolen from Tai Bu.


    In a flash she had doned the only robes she could find, the ones she had always been too lacking in confidence to wear.


    "Sumi" cried Xiao Yue.


    Without a word, Shin Sumi waved her arm, her sleeves dancing in front of her. The first wax candle with Bai Fulong''s face had already been destroyed and now the one representing Xiao Yue shattered like glass.


    The Black Devil Maiden Xiao Yue''s eyes teared up instantly as she rushed and held Shin Sumi in her arms. The latter''s smile was warm and Shin Sumi took her sister in her embrace, enjoying the moment of pure bliss.


    Chu Erlong''s mind went blank, unable to accept what had happened and was still happening. How could Shin Sumi be there?! Was she... Bai Fulong this whole time?! And that she was never even close to killing her? And worst of all, now it was too late.


    "Yue I am so sorry for not telling you anything. I swear I will make everything clear once we get out of here. For now just stand back to treat your wounds and let me finish this."


    Shin Sumi softly pushed Xiao Yue away. Xiao Yue nodded and followed her order, knowing that the fight was not over yet.


    Although the fight wasn''t finished, the outcome was clear as day. Shin Sumi was in the Liquid Realm whereas her opponents were not.


    Even though they could use magic and they were geniuses in their own rights, the difference between them was so big that no amount of talent could amount to it. Moreover Shin Sumi was already giving them trouble before and she hadn''t broken through yet.


    "How ... How did you succeed?! It was supposed to be impossible before the last part of the mountain! How the hell are you to conjure Heavenly Tribulations ?!"


    Jun Qian was on one knee, blood spurting from his mouth due to the backlash of having his magic destroyed by one wave of her hand. His entire cultivation was messed up and flowing all around his meridians having been dispersed forcefully.


    Shin Sumi''s senses had undergone such a change that she could now sense the disarray in his flow of energy. Her eyes, sharper than ever, could see every tiny crease in his dirty robes and the pale complexion of his face.


    Jun Qian was no threat anymore. Shin Sumi turned to the orange robed girl.


    "Chu Erlong. You wanted me, right? I''ll let you attack once."


    Shin Sumi had never truly understood the reason Chu Erlong was after her. She had never intentionaly wronged her and yet the girl had tried to kill her multiples times by now, even going to the length of hurting Lan Hui to get to her.


    Chu Erlong screamed with rage and started running towards her. She had a sword in her hand, focusing all her power on one strike although her mind was all over the place.


    She was one step away from piercing Shin Sumi''s throat when the latter reacted.


    SLAP


    A single slap to Chu Erlong''s face sent her tumbling to the ground a few meters away. Chu Erlong passed out instantly from the shock.


    Having rendered her opponent unconscious, Shin Sumi felt the sense of rejection coming from the monolith. She had passed the arena trial.


    But contrary to before, this time it was much easier to resist the urge of teleporting outside the sub-dimension.


    With her new level of cultivation, Shin Sumi''s link to the Shinsoo of nature was stronger but also implied that she was more resistant to it.


    In order to advance further into the Liquid Realm, the amount of energy she needed to absorb was insanely higher. The Shinsoo she had felt being so pure and crisp in this place had now become rather normal if not a bit low quality for her new affinity to it.


    Done with Chu Erlong, Shin Sumi rushed back to Xiao Yue, condensing a soft light from her palm and helping her friend mend her wounds.


    With the Liquid Realm came a whole array of magical possibilities that Shin Sumi naturally felt were possible. Curing someone was such thing that became normal once you left the Shinsoo Gathering Realm.


    One''s divine sense was also much bigger and stronger, allowing to control and physically impact things to a certain extent in a large radius.


    By that means, controling a flying sword was another natural ability that one gained spontaneously. It wasn''t the time to try it now, but Shin Sumi was definitely impatient to take her Gold Tyrant Flying Sword for a spin.


    "Are you alright?" Shin Sumi asked Xiao Yue. She had asked without thinking even though she could feel perfectly the condition of the orange robed girl by using her divine sense.


    "Yeah I''ll be fine. Sumi... thanks. I still need to beat that ugly dog and pass the trial but seeing how his legs are shaking and how much blood he''s lost it is going to be easy."


    Now that she had rested a bit, and with Shin Sumi''s help, Xiao Yue''s condition was almost back to normal already.


    Grinning, she advanced towards Jun Qian and ruthlessly hit his head with the pole of her Black Devil Spear.


    "Done" she exclaimed right before teleporting out of the arena.


    Shin Sumi smiled with a little bit of fear. Xiao Yue was strong but the simplicity in her ruthlessness was terrifying.


    Before leaving the arena herself, Shin Sumi stopped in place and looked up into the sky before bowing at a right angle. Her newly developped divine sense had picked up the presence of a creature she was somewhat familiar with, hidden by magic.


    Shin Sumi teleported out of the arena, leaving the white crane to think out loud.


    "That girl... She is already perfectly acclimated to the Liquid Realm, so unusual..."


    Even the old white crane who had discerned that she was a girl with the appearance of a young man at first glance couldn''t see through her cultivation clearly. He had been as surprised as anyone when Tribulation Lightning descended.


    The first bolt had even very nearly hit her when he succeeded in reducing its power to only one percent of the original.


    "This is a very interesting development. Is it related in any way with the Eleventh Refinement? Is this really the way of the Gold Tyrant?"


    Even for someone who had lived as old as him, the idea of a Perfect Shinsoo Gathering didn''t cross his mind. It was evident that Shin Sumi had opened a large amount of Shinsoo Doors but the technique to break through them all had been lost in time immemorial.


    Blurring out of the twelfth arena, the invisible massive puzzled bird went on to continue his cryptic plans with the poor unaware disciples. It was time to pay a visit to Fu Xue and Sui Lin''s arena.

 60 The Number Two

    "To think that this whole time you were Bai Fulong¡­ I never suspected you !"


    Shin Sumi was glad that Xiao Yue wasn''t angry at her. After explaining the entire story to her, how she also became Yan Yan and then Bai Fulong, Xiao Yue''s furrowed brows relaxed and her crossed arms fell to her side.


    She looked much more amazed than mad, impressed by Shin Sumi''s journey through the trial.


    Because of the threat posed by Elder Zhu on one side and Chu Erlong on the other, Shin Sumi had not wanted to risk danger for her and her friends.


    Xiao Yue gasped and cursed when Shin Sumi told her about what had happened to Lan Hui just because Chu Erlong knew how close they were.


    "I wonder where he is now¡­ Well as long as he stays with Bai Xuengen far away from Chu Erlong, they should be fine."


    Xiao Yue vigorously shook her head.


    "No, I think you''re wrong. Even before you were like suuuper strong and now you''re in the Liquid Realm. From here on out that stupid b*tch will definitely stay away from you and the people you value."


    Xiao Yue''s harsh words were deadlier than steel. Shin Sumi almost broke out in laughter and had to resist the urge to hold her sister against her.


    "I''ve missed you, Yue" she said softly instead.


    Xiao Yue grinned and blushed a little bit, waving away at her.


    The two girls were leisurely walking along the path to the next arena, Xiao Yue often spacing out while taking in the long story that Shin Sumi had brought her. On her side, Shin Sumi was reflecting upon herself and her new level of cultivation.


    Telling her story, Shin Sumi had purposefully omitted the little nut and the Copper Bell. Somehow she felt that this kind of thing was completely out of the norm. She didn''t mind telling Xiao Yue about them, but they were still in the Rising Star Tournament dimension, where Elders could watch anything at any time.


    Now that Shin Sumi was on another level, she could feel divine senses on her, the sort that didn''t belong to people physically close. The Elders obviously had a way of prying on them from outside the dimension.


    Because of people like Elder Zhu, Shin Sumi could not reveal her secrets, even to Xiao Yue. Only the things that the administration of the Dark Sky Starry Sect ought to know, like the fact that she had the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword and that she had refined it in the five Veins of Hell Fire.


    However, now that Shin Sumi was in the Liquid Realm and acknowledged as the first of the Tournament to reach the next step in cultivation, she finally felt like she could openly speak about Elder Zhu.


    If other Elders found out about his actions, now that was his problem. Knowing that the Elder was in the latter stages of the Liquid Realm, even if it was an entire realm above her, Shin Sumi still felt much more confident.


    Elders were paying attention to her and if anything happened to a talented disciple like her Zhu Yunhai would definitely pay the price.


    "Oh, right !" Shin Sumi''s eyes suddenly lit up, "Yue I have something for you !"


    Uh ? Xiao Yue was perplexed. What could it be ?


    "A while ago, I tried refining the Liquid Pellet. My goal was to kill the poison inside it and use it on myself, but I had no way of knowing if the refining process had worked or not. In the end I did not need it because of the Veins of Hell Fire, but now that I''ve reached the next step I can sense things better. The refinement was a success !"


    Xiao Yue could not believe her ears. Had she heard right ?!


    "I know these things are pretty valuable, and I am no apothecary but I think the success rate of breaking through with it should be around sixty to seventy percent."


    Pretty valuable ?! Liquid Pellets could fetch a price above a hundred spirit stones in the market of the lower valley ! And that was only for random pellets not above a thirty percent success rate !


    What Shin Sumi was giving to Xiao Yue was priceless !


    A bit in a daze, Xiao Yue held the pill in her hand for a while before remembering to put it away.


    Xiao Yue once more jumped into her friend''s arms, almost making her fall to the ground. Xiao Yue wasn''t fond of using outside help in cultivation, but it was different coming from Shin Sumi.


    She was so anxious to use the pellet to break through and join her sister in the Liquid Realm, but she was forced to wait. Because of the laws in place she felt that a breakthrough was impossible for now. Only Shin Sumi who had opened the Sixty-Four Shinsoo Doors could ignore the Star Zheng''s rules and break reality like she did.


    Xiao Yue would have to go through the trials of the monolith, along the path to the top of the mountain.


    "We''ve reached the next arena, I will wait for you outside," Shin Sumi said casually, while Xiao Yue readied herself and her Black Devil Spear.


    Because Shin Sumi was in the Liquid Realm, she was almost considered out of the Rising Star Tournament already and she could now walk through the Shinsoo barriers along the mountain like they were made of smoke.


    The only reason she stayed for now was to ensure Xiao Yue''s safety, and act as a Dao Protector for her when she reached the top and attempted a breakthrough.


    Sitting cross-legged, Shin Sumi spread out her divine sense to make sure that nobody was even close to her.


    Since she had not done it for a long time, Shin Sumi decided to clean a little bit of the insides of her bag of holding, dressing an inventory of everything she had.


    Soon, a single thought was all it took for a scroll to appear in her small pale hands.


    "The parchemin I took from the worm in the underground maze" she recalled.


    The nut had been the one to force her to plunge her hands into the entrails of the slain spirit creature. There she had found the moon crescent blade, wrapped in a blood soaked scroll.


    "Uh? Why is it still there?"


    For some reason, unlike all the other magical writings Shin Sumi had come across, this particular one had not been stolen by the little grey nut. Not yet at least.


    Inscribed on the scroll was a cultivation technique for the Liquid Realm. It was something fundamentally impossible to comprehend while in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm.


    Now that Shin Sumi could read it, she had a feeling that things had changed.


    As soon as her eyes set on the old wrinkly surface, the little nut materialized on her wrist. The leaf pattern on her skin glowed dimly for a second, the sign that the nut was out of her body.


    Following the movement of her eyes on the characters, the nut rolled all along the paper, stealing the writings.


    Shin Sumi smiled. She could hardly contain her excitement.


    "I already have a cultivation technique for the Liquid Realm ! Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow, even the name sounds amazing. I bet the nut will make it even better !


    To harness the power of a shadow, now that is something coming from the Immortal World ! ?


    Over the course of the next few hours, Shin Sumi accompanied Xiao Yue along her trials, always waiting outside for her friend to surpass whatever challenge was coming her way.


    Because the both of them were already in the lead position along the path, the adversaries were no longer disciples but rather illusions created by the monolith. Powerful foes that could compare with yellow robes in power but lacked determination and personality.


    While Xiao Yue was fighting, Shin Sumi was reflecting on her power and the changes it had brought along with her breakthrough. The parchemin for the new cultivation technique was still being refined by the nut and that was the only thing Shin Sumi could do while waiting.


    In her inventory of magical artefacts and treasures, the only obvious change came from the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.


    Taking out the weapon, Shin Sumi was lost in deep thoughts.


    In her hand was the handle that she herself had carved out of the spine of a Stone Leaf Tortoise. After many refining processes, the handle had changed drastically and thin golden lines had appeared along its length.


    The rough piece of bone clumsily pierced to arrange for the fitting of the blade had slowly morphed into a grip made perfectly for her hand.


    The change had been gradual and had happened over the course of many month of trial and many more fights for survival.


    But now after the fifth Vein of Hell Fire, the change was so drastic that Shin Sumi was speechless.


    The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was missing its blade.


    "I can feel the blade but it''s not there" was the simplest way to resume Shin Sumi''s complex thinking.


    The vibrating metal was gone, only Shin Sumi''s divine sense could feel it but her eyes could not.


    "I can hardly call it the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword¡­ It''s not even a sword anymore !"


    The golden blade was gone and yet the weapon thrummed with much more power than even before.


    Opening her fingers, Shin Sumi sent a simple thought through her link to the sword. With no delay the artefact slowly rose into the air, following her every order.


    Twisting and spinning, the sword revolved around her, the ''Flying Sword'' part of the name suddenly meaningful.


    Shin Sumi slashed the air with two of her fingers in the general direction of a nearby boulder. The golden arc followed as fast as lightning, cleaving the rock with the tiniest sound.


    Shin Sumi opened her eyes in full and her jaw hit the floor.


    "Un-unbelievable ¡­ !"


    After the white crane carried Shin Sumi to the last Vein, she had found herself unable to use it, an orb made of Shinsoo forming a barrier out of nowhere around the weapon.


    It had led to much more trouble during the fight against Jun Qian and Chu Erlong, to the point where her life could have been in great danger, had Xiao Yue not arrived.


    Of course, Shin Sumi suspected rightfully that it had all been part of the plan of the mysterious white crane.


    After her breakthrough though, the Shinsoo threads around the blade had dissipated, revealing the new Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, missing its length.


    "Maybe I can go see Elder Xi or Senior Brother Fen after the tournament. They will know what is going on, especially Senior Brother Fen since he was the previous owner."


    But a realization dawned on her this instant.


    "Wait, he gave the sword to Yan Yan ! Can I even still turn into her ?!!"


    She had not yet tested the Copper Bell. What if Shin Sumi had become too strong for the little bell''s powers and they were not sufficient to change her cultivation and appearance ?


    Shin Sumi rang the small bell while fumbling around for a Confusion Pill to trigger the transformation when her hand stopped.


    Right there in front of her face, the pale skinned hand was morphing !


    Without needing the Confusion Pill, Shin Sumi had already transformed into Yan Yan, taking less than a breath of time to do so.


    Shin Sumi''s wish for experiments brought her back to the time where she spent her days in the dark chasm in the sect''s training grounds.


    "Now that''s an interesting result. I wonder if I can-" but the fire ignited in her was cut short by the glowing of the monolith.


    Xiao Yue appeared, breathing heavily but a content smile on her face. She froze for a split second at the sight of the unfamiliar face before letting out a relieved breath.


    "Sumi don''t scare me like that ! Why are you looking like Yan Yan ?!"


    Shin Sumi explained that she just wanted to see how her switch in identity was impacted by her breakthrough. She had not yet told Xiao Yue about the Copper Bell, not having found a good explanation as to how she could have found it.


    Seemingly convinced by the answer, Xiao Yue didn''t probe any further. She was getting excited, her Shinsoo levels already full to the brim since quite a long time.


    "Only a few arenas left I think!"


    The two girls had already gone through a lot of them, and that was without counting all the ones they had skipped due to the actions of the white crane.


    Similarly, other disciples had been watched by the white crane, like for example Tai Bu, Sui Lin and Fu Xue. But the mysterious plan of the sentient bird didn''t involve putting them on Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue''s way.


    A full week after she had crossed the last mountain range, entering the fifth and last ring of the floating continent, Shin Sumi arrived with Xiao Yue as the top of the mountain.


    From the biggest spirit formation she had ever seen, centered at the very top of the continent, rose an enormous pillar of yellow light.


    It had been that same pillar that guided all the disciples ever since they had first reached the floating continent.


    Because she was previously so far away and since it was basking in brilliant yellow light, Shin Sumi didn''t know that the uppermost part of the mountain was visible from almost everywhere on the landmass.


    In concentric rows were first the mountain path, snaking around the entire domain with plazas adorned with grey monoliths.


    After that came the yellow and orange desert, pierced only by the gigantic rock formations.


    Next was the underground circle, which turned out to be even deeper in the ground than Shin Sumi had thought and formed a massive basin full of what could only be water, shining under the sunless red sky.


    Then came a plain of pure white and blue, the Icy Tundra of the second domain.


    Even at her level of power, which made her sight ten times better than before, Shin Sumi only discerned a little bit of green here and there from the last ring.


    Thousands of kilometers away from where they were standing, the end of the continent was invisible, even to the eyes of a Liquid Realm cultivator.


    "Can you see all the way to the start?" asked Xiao Yue, whose sight was limited to a few hundred kilometers.


    This was what it meant to reach a superior Realm of cultivation. Every single aspect of the human body was refined in incredible ways. Like how a blacksmith turned a piece of metal into the best of weapons, cultivation was the way for humans and beasts to reach new levels of power.


    To rise.


    "Rising Star Tournament. So we really were the stars" Shin Sumi spoke in a low voice.


    "Uh?" Xiao Yue had heard but not understood her sister''s words.


    "Oh it was nothing, don''t worry. Are you ready to start the process?"


    Of course Shin Sumi was talking about breaking through to the Liquid Realm. Even with one of the most beautiful sights that ever entered her eyes, all Xiao Yue could think about was the feeling in her guts, telling her that it was finally the time.


    On the top of the mountain, under the yellow pillar of light, the restrictions on breaking through were finally lifted. In fact Xiao Yue even felt a sense of rejection from the pillar, as if it was reluctant to let her come close unless she first reached the Liquid Realm.


    All was made to ensure that the best of the best could leave the trial first. And although the best of the best was Shin Sumi, she first wanted to act as a Dao Protector for Xiao Yue.


    Sitting down behind her, in the same cross-legged position, Shin Sumi spread out her divine sense, wrapping the entire top half of the mountain with her perception.


    It was truly like being omniscient, every blade of grass, every fly, every rock a part of her spiritual connexion.


    Concentrating on her breathing first, calming the surging emotions within her, Xiao Yue took out the Liquid Pellet when she was ready.


    Trusting Shin Sumi a hundred percent with regards to the purification of the poison that the pill had once contained, Xiao Yue popped it in her mouth with no hesitation.


    With her divine sense, Shin Sumi could feel the energy inside Xiao Yue. Because she had practiced cultivation according to the Shinsoo Gathering Manual given by the sect and not the refined version, Xiao Yue had not yet opened her Shinsoo Doors.


    It was this way for regular cultivation, Shin Sumi being an exception in the sense that she had refined her Shinsoo over and over by opening the doors and delaying her breakthrough until she was in the great circle of Shinsoo Gathering.


    By using the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening method though, Xiao Yue had already prepared her meridians for the breakthrough. That at least ensured that she opened at least ten Shinsoo Doors.


    With the power of the high grade Liquid Pellet and her own energy, Xiao Yue launched the assault on the first Shinsoo Doors. As long as she opened one, her breakthrough would be a success.


    The only thing that mattered now was how many she could open before running out of energy and before the plasma cloud in her dantian condensed into a liquid drop of Shinsoo.


    Shin Sumi surveyed the entire process, making sure nothing went awry, ready to act if she sensed the slight disturbance in her sister''s Shinsoo flow, when a strong divine sense entered her thoughts.


    "You need to leave the tournament now. The orange girl will be okay but you have to leave, all preparations have already been completed outside. "


    From the aura of the divine sense, Shin Sumi could not tell who had spoken to her exactly as well as the cultivation level of the anonymous speaker.


    One thing was certain though, the male voice was infinitely stronger than her and there was no way of impeding the teleportation process that was already starting under her feet where an invisible spirit formation had sprung up to life.

 61 The Return Of The Void Sword

    The twisting sensation in her stomach grew stronger and stronger until she finally felt cold ground under her still crossed-legs.


    Taking a deep breath, Shin Sumi inhaled, only to feel a rather muddy Shinsoo enter her dantian.


    There was no doubt now, she was back into the sect''s grounds, the quality of Shinsoo and the aura around her felt familiar.


    A young man clad in white robes was standing right in front of her, his palm extended in a friendly gesture.


    Without a second thought, Shin Sumi grabbed onto the helping hand and rose from the ground.


    "Senior Brother Fen ...!"


    "Hi, Junior Sister Shin. I''m glad that you''ve completed the Rising Star Tournament. And so brilliantly at that!"


    Shin Sumi blushed, not knowing what to say after such a compliment.


    "My achievements are nothing compared to those of a genius like Senior Brother" she muttered awkwardly.


    Fen Wudao smiled. His expression was warm and honest praise filled his eyes.


    "I am sure you have a lot of questions" he began, ignoring her attempt at returning his compliment, "follow me, somebody wants to see you."


    And just like that, Fen Wudao disappeared. Shin Sumi''s divine sense caught up to him instantly but the speed the young man revealed still left her in awe.


    After being used to only Honorary Disciples for months and months, Shin Sumi found that Liquid Realm disciples were capable of incredible speeds.


    Spreading effortlessly her power into her legs, Shin Sumi blurred away from where she had appeared, following her senior at a distance.


    Fen Wudao discreetly turned his head enough to see the green robed girl almost capable of catching him.


    "Only broke through yesterday uh? Fascinating !"


    While leaping around at full speed, Shin Sumi observed her surroundings. This was definitely not the lower valley with which she was familiar. From the outline of the dark mountains all around, she could only guess that she was somewhere in the upper valley, the one reserved to Liquid Realm disciples.


    Above their heads, the dark sky was tinted with the slightest pink, the first rays of sunlight almost piercing through the never ending heavy clouds.


    Shin Sumi felt herself smile. After months under the blood red sky of the trial dimension, it felt good to see a ''real sky'', with clouds and a sun.


    Following Fen Wudao, Shin Sumi thought about the first time she had come to the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Fen Wudao had brought her along on his flying silver arrow.


    She wondered why he wasn''t using his item at this time. Could she, too, at some point, fly like him?


    From her first days in the sect, Shin Sumi knew that the pavilions which adorned the mountain''s sides were reserved for Inner Sect disciples and Elders.


    "We probably are going to Senior Brother Fen''s own courtyard. I wonder how different it is going to be from mine" she asked herself in silence.


    The trip didn''t take more than a couple dozen minutes, as both cultivators were in the Liquid Realm, much faster than Honorary Disciples.


    "We have arrived," Fen Wudao said as he started slowing down his pace, "This is my residence."


    Shin Sumi didn''t hear the last part of his sentence as a sudden divine sense assault petrified her. Almost against her will, Shin Sumi fell to the floor, kneeling on one knee.


    It wasn''t due to overbearing force, and no order had been given for such action but nevertheless Shin Sumi helplessly complied.


    The strength of the divine sense that had suddenly probed her was so out of her league that she could do nothing but yield.


    The pressure disappeared immediately, allowing her to breath. The divine sense was still there but it''s strength had been cut down by almost a hundred.


    "Please stand, disciple Shin. Congratulations on placing first in the Rising Star Tournament, I wouldn''t have expected it any other way."


    Again, praise coming from an expert much stronger than herself.


    Shin Sumi started balbutiating awkward words and lifted her head to look at the person that had been waiting for Fen Wudao and her.


    Fen Wudao''s courtyard was similar to the one Shin Sumi had taken residence in previously, or at least their styles were extremely close.


    A large tree two meters wide rose to the sky, overlooking a calm and precious pond. The waters were still, like a silver mirror reflecting the dark clouds.


    A single stone tile replaced the moss covered bench Shin Sumi was used to. A wooden table with beautiful intricate ornate designs representing a dragon soaring through the skies stood low on the stone tile.


    On one side of the tea table were two empty sitting mats. On the other side, the single mat was occupied by an old man whose beard was the same color as his robes, a pure white.


    His long hair dragged behind him and almost flowed without wind. His dark eyes contained a sea of wisdom that Shin Sumi could not fathom.


    "The eyes of someone who had already lived a few mortal lives at least" she thought as she recognized the Elder Xi that had introduced her to the Sword Pavillion many months ago.


    This time though she knew a bit more about that Elder Xi. And with the new divine sense given to her by reaching the Liquid Realm, Shin Sumi could tell that the Elder''s cultivation level was much higher that she had believed at first.


    "Patriarch" she bowed, "this disciple is truly honored to meet you once more."


    Shin Sumi''s introduction was courteous and relatively simple. But in fact it made Patriarch Sen''s eyebrow slant slightly.


    "Oh, you have figured it out already" he referred to ''Elder Xi'', "even Wudao had called me Xi a few more times when I first revealed myself to him, eh-eh!"


    Standing on the side with his arms folded behind his back, Fen Wudao turned his head to the side, embarrassed by what his master was telling Shin Sumi.


    "Don''t just stand there, the both of you. Let''s have tea, shall we?"


    Shin Sumi bowed rapidly before sitting on one of the mats opposing Patriarch Sen. Fen Wudao followed and immediately started preparing tea.


    "How was your experience in the trial?" asked Patriarch Sen, seemingly making small talk, although Shin Sumi could tell that the main point was coming quickly.


    Shin Sumi recalled out loud some of the experiences of cultivating in the training dimension. She purposefully avoided talking about the Veins of Hell Fire, knowing that this was next in the discussion.


    As expected, the subject was brought up by Patriarch Sen, under the eyes of Fen Wudao who only knew half of the story.


    "Wudao was the last person to temper the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in the Veins. He was the tenth, which makes you the eleventh. Have you noticed anything happening with the blade after that?"


    In Shin Sumi''s eyes, the image of an orb made of Shinsoo threads instantly popped up. She told her listeners everything she had felt from that, recalling every detail in the most precise way.


    "I couldn''t use the sword for a while after that. It was only after my breakthrough that the sword obeyed me again. Now it works fine but..."


    She didn''t know how to put into words what she felt. Instead she stood up and made a quick bow.


    "If you allow me..."


    The Patriarch casually extended his hand, letting Shin Sumi do whatever she wanted. Fen Wudao remained silent, curiously watching the scene.


    Shin Sumi sent a sliver of divine sense into the bag of holding that never left her belt. A golden blur later, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was out and started revolving around her.


    With a tiny motion of her fingers, the sword stopped in mid-air, hovering in between her and the Patriarch, the tip pointing to the side where nobody was.


    "Fascinating..." Patriarch Sen said in a low voice, his long white beard drowning his words.


    "Was this to be expected?" Shin Sumi didn''t know what tone to adopt next. She was obviously talking about the fact that the sword was missing its blade!


    Instead of a sharp piece of metal, the carved handle held onto nothing at all!


    With a quick glance, Shin Sumi was able to ascertain that Fen Wudao had no idea what was going on either. He looked flabbergasted and at a loss between what his eyes and his divine sense were telling him.


    He couldn''t see a blade, but he could almost feel one.


    The explanation came from the Patriarch after a few minutes of careful observations.


    "The Void Sword. This is the original name of this artefact. According to the legend, the master craftsman behind this work of magic had succeeded in creating a heaven-defying blade. One that did not exist.


    By combining five elements and using them to power his furnace, the pure gold of his sword turned into nothing."


    Patriarch Sen stroked his beard while talking. His hair kept on flying around softly despite the lack of wind and dots of light seemed to magically shine inside the darkness of his eyes.


    Shin Sumi was almost entranced. Not by anything magical but by the same spell that takes over the mind of children who are listening to the village elder''s stories of the distant past.


    "But the master craftsman turned out to be living in the wrong era for his art. The word spread like wind of a sword that could not exist and it soon reached the ears of the most warmongering enemy of Blue Fire Nation.


    He was called the Gold Tyrant, a high level expert who had successfully invaded half the continent.


    Knowing that his life''s work would soon fall into the Gold Tyrant''s hands, the master craftsman cursed his own sword. The curse broke his heart, reducing decades of work into an ordinary piece of trash metal, but ensured that the Gold Tyrant would never use his sword for himself, not after eleven generations had passed."


    Patriarch Sen''s voice died down. He didn''t need to say more, both Fen Wudao and Shin Sumi had understood what existed between the lines.


    They didn''t know how the sword came to be in possession of the Patriarch, nor the origin of the story he had recounted for them. What mattered was that Shin Sumi had completed the Eleventh Refinement.


    Just like the genius swordsmith had done in the past, the sword had been tempered in five different types of Shinsoo fires.


    Because of that, the curse was broken, the eleventh generation finally able to revive the true Void Sword.


    "What is going to happen now" asked Shin Sumi in her mind. "It turns out the sword I have been using for the past year or so is greater than anticipated. I don''t want to give it back though!"


    Shin Sumi''s mind was torn by this legitimate question. She was not willing to believe that such an important item had ended up in her hands just like this.


    From what she had gathered, the Patriarch himself as well as Fen Wudao both owned the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword at some point. With the added story about the sword, even she could tell that they would not be able to regain mastership over the item now, especially since it had morphed into the Void Sword.


    "Wudao, you know what to do. It is time to test the Void Sword and its bearer."


    The Patriarch''s voice cut the silence like a glaive. Shin Sumi didn''t know if it was her imagination or if the voice had made the temperature drop a few degrees.


    She found herself shivering while Fen Wudao turned around and stood up.


    The white robed Liquid Realm practitioner''s face was expressionless, although his eyes still contained some of the warmth Shin Sumi had seen previously.


    Under the sight of Patriarch Sen, Fen Wudao placed himself in front of Shin Sumi and bowed once. Or rather simply nodded his head towards the green robed girl.


    By sheer reflex, Shin Sumi bowed as well, still unsure about the situation developing.


    "Where did all that tension come from? Are we going to fight?!"


    The atmosphere had frozen. The Void Sword was still turning around Shin Sumi who clenched a fist, ready to react and give orders to the sword.


    "Should I defend myself?! This is the Patriarch of the whole sect and his direct disciple! Oooooh, what should I do, what should I do..."


    Shin Sumi''s panic was broken short by Fen Wudao''s elegant voice.


    "Junior Sister Shin, let us exchange pointers, okay?"


    Now they were really going to fight.


    Like a spring finally relieved of any pressure, Shin Sumi exploded outwards with all the force she could muster. Her fingers flew in front of her, swiping the air with complex motions.


    The Void Sword followed each and every one of her movements, its non-existent blade humming as it tore the air apart.


    Fen Wudao seemed frozen in place, compared to the attacks of the Void Sword. The golden handle flew past his face like lightning, the young man evading the strike at the last moment.


    Fen Wudao had not been prepared for such speed right at the beginning and actually felt pretty relieved that he avoided being hit by his junior.


    His battle spirit even relaxed a little bit when he heard the Void Sword hit a boulder behind him, pulverizing the moss-covered stone into a dozen pieces.


    "That ought to slow down the sword for a few breaths of-"


    Plic.


    A drop had fallen from his chin onto his torso. Without looking at it he knew that the drop had stained his white robes red.


    Only a few moments after the Void Sword had flown past him had he realized that it actually cut him. Shin Sumi had not aimed for a specific body part, like his neck, instead only focusing on a high speed blow.


    Due to their difference in level, Fen Wudao had evaded it almost easily, but the blade still had entered his cheek.


    "The blade doesn''t exist and yet the damage does" Patriarch Sen stopped the face-off, ready to put up Shinsoo barriers between the two if needed.


    "Ha-ha-ha-ha, please Master, don''t! Hahaha this is great!"


    Fen Wudao lifted a finger to his chin, a small red pearl stuck to the end of it. He was laughing wildly, his long black hair floating behind him.


    He truly looked like a madman but his eyes were still composed and calm.


    "You actually managed to hurt me. Your sword drew blood from me."


    His words sounded threatening and angry, but his tone was one of admiration. A small vortex formed on his palm, producing a short silvery blue sword that started spinning around him, just like the Void Sword around Shin Sumi.


    "Junior Sister, please continue."


    Despite the sudden change in atmosphere for the second time, Shin Sumi actually felt relieved. She let out a long breath before reaffirming her stance.


    Fen Wudao was not planning on killing or hurting her. As he said, they were just exchanging pointers. This was all only a test, they would not try to get the Void Sword back after using her to refine it. At least that''s what she thought.


    "Here I go then, Senior Brother."


    The Void Sword turned into a golden blur before launching itself forward again.


    Now that Fen Wudao had taken out a sword for himself, the combat changed drastically. Every second the two swords, one golden and one silvery blue, clashed with each other a dozen times.


    For the first time, Shin Sumi was able to unleash all the potential she felt she had gained with her breakthrough. In a liberating friendzy, she attacked recklessly.


    Shin Sumi had opened the Sixty-Four Shinsoo Doors, reaching the great circle of Shinsoo Gathering and unparalleled power. Nevertheless she was only in the lower Liquid Realm.


    Her opponent was a well known genius who already spent two years in the Liquid Realm under the direct tutelage of the Patriarch of the sect.


    Shin Sumi held her own for a few minutes until she started feeling the tiredness that came from intense fighting. In front of her, on the opposite side of his courtyard, Fen Wudao was still standing straight, one hand behind his back, seemingly unaffected by the length of the fight.


    "Should we continue?" asked the young man.


    "Eheh, whatever you want, Senior Brother. I could keep going for hours!"


    Shin Sumi was smiling in a terrifying way. Finally being able to lash it out at a hundred percent had awoken something in her.


    Patriarch Sen sighed out loud, a half-smile on his face, hidden by his beard.


    "All right kids, it is time to end this" he said out loud, patronizing both disciples who looked to him like children in a pointless fight, "well done, both of you."


    Fen Wudao clearly had the upper end of the fight, but despite this, the Patriarch had made sure to acknowledge both fighter''s abilities.


    "The Void Sword couldn''t have been in better hands. You do live up to your talent, Sumi. And I''m sure you will continue to do so in the future."


    Shin Sumi had put away her sword and was now catching her breath. She suddenly looked up with a puzzled expression at the last sentence of the Patriarch.


    "Because of your level of cultivation, you are not like the other disciples, Sumi. The simple fact that you can give a fight to Fen Wudao on the same day of your breakthrough is very telling. It would be a mistake to assume that this is only due to the sword you are wielding. A weapon is only as strong as the one holding it."


    Fen Wudao absentmindedly nodded his head in agreement with his master''s words.


    "Normally a disciple reaching the Liquid Realm would choose one of the five Pavilions. The Star-Sword Pavilion, the Divine-Beast Pavilion, the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion, the Cloud-Formation Pavilion and the Light-Breaker Pavilion. If it is of your intention, you may join one of them and your place as a Inner Sect disciple will be ensured."


    Shin Sumi knew already about the five different branches within the sect. But she knew something else was coming.


    "Or you can join the secret Moon-Ghost Pavillion and become the fifth Ghost."


    A sixth pavilion?! Shin Sumi had never heard of such a thing. The fact that the Patriarch of the Dark Sky Starry Sect himself said so was the only thing preventing Shin Sumi from believing it was a lie.


    On the side, Fen Wudao was standing as solemn as ever. Only his fingers were fidgeting with something on the inside of his white robes.


    It was a small insignia representing a white moon on which a strange shadow was eternally cast. A shadow resembling a ghost.

 62 Ghost Number Seven

    "The sixth pavilion has been there for almost as long as the other five. It''s existence as never been revealed to anyone though" Fen Wudao joined in on the discussion.


    "If you wish to join us, then you''ll become the Seventh Ghost and all the secret techniques and spiritual arts of the Ghost Pavilion will be available to you. You will also join one of the five pavilions, but as a facade to not raise suspicions."


    "And if I don''t ?" Shin Sumi asked, afraid of the consequences a refusal would bring.


    "Then naturally we would have to make you swear an oath on your cultivation to never reveal the existence of the Ghost Pavilion. Or we could erase your memory of this discussion."


    The Patriarch''s voice was severe but gentle. He knew as well as Shin Sumi that she had already accepted the offer.


    "As a reward for your performance in the Rising Star Tournament, you will also naturally get a courtyard like this one on the face of the central mountain in any case. But if you join the Ghost Pavilion you have to renounce the glory and the other perks of having finished first in the tournament."


    Shin Sumi chuckled imperceptibly. Was she really the type of person to be clinging to glory like Jun Qian and Chu Erlong?


    "And I can still join any of the other Pavilions?"


    Fen Wudao answered, "Yes, your friends and even your instructors in said Pavilion will never know that you are a Ghost."


    All the questions that wrecked Shin Sumi''s brain had been answered. What she wanted to know most was if she would have to say her final goodbye to Xiao Yue, Lan Hui and the others if she joined the Ghost Pavilion.


    Unlike she had first thought, joining the Patriarch and Fen Wudao would not erase her presence completely, she would just have to live a double life.


    Eh! That wasn''t so bad, she had already lived three different one in the sect during her first two years!


    An idea suddenly coming to mind, Shin Sumi thought about it for a while before sending a private divine sense communication to Fen Wudao.


    Just in case her idea would be asking too much, she wasn''t willing to bring it up directly with the Patriarch who was currently sipping on his cup of tea.


    Fen Wudao''s eyes enlarged when he received a mental message, his eyes quickly darting from Shin Sumi to Patriarch Sen. The latter had seen what was going on despite not knowing the content of the message, but continued to casually sip on his tea.


    "Junior Sister, I don''t really know, to tell you the truth. Master?" Fen Wudao spoke out loud. Whatever the Patriarch would say, Fen Wudao was certain that his master wouldn''t take offence and would study the question. Shin Sumi had nothing to worry about for asking.


    "If my Junior Sister has already adopted three different identities within the sect... Can all three of them join a Pavilion?"


    What Shin Sumi wanted more than anything was to learn, gain knowledge. If by chance she could get her hands on three different kinds of techniques, manuals, scrolls, she would be starting to have her own library of the Immortal World in her mind.


    And that was without taking into account the fourth source of knowledge, the Ghost Pavilion, by far the more mysterious and the one Shin Sumi wanted to learn from the most.


    Patriarch Sen''s expression went from puzzled to that of impressed, and then pondering for a while. As if he had been talking with himself, his eyebrows moved like his lips, frowning a bit and then suddenly opening up for a few seconds.


    "Well that is indeed a strange request. No sane person would try to assimilate the teachings of more than one pavilion at a time... Comprehending one technique can sometimes take years for some individuals. But you''re not any disciple. With your talent I trust that you would be able to make it work out. I also trust that if you realize that it is too hard you will make the right choice."


    And just like that, Shin Sumi''s request had been accepted. The Patriarch and Fen Wudao would take over the preparations for her acceptance in the Ghost Pavilion, in the meantime she could occupy herself and wait for the results of the Rising Star Tournament.


    Shin Sumi took her leave respectfully, thanking her Seniors for taking care of her before descending the mountain and taking the appearance of Bai Fulong.


    Because of Fen Wudao''s direct tutelage under the Patriarch as well as his very promising talent, his courtyard was one of the best for Liquid Realm Practitioners. Apart from him, not more than ten or so disciples had their own plot of land away from the valley.


    The upper valley was very similar to the lower valley. The buildings and plazas were identical although everything seemed twice as big in size.


    As Shin Sumi walked the paths and streets, she realized one of the big contradictions of the Immortal World.


    "This is the way everything works here... Close to ten thousand Honorary Disciples for only a thousand or so Liquid Realm cultivators, but the upper valley is ten times bigger than the lower valley."


    The stronger, the more perks to be enjoyed by someone. Although it sounded like a very primitive system, history had shown that it worked.


    Shin Sumi went back to the plaza where she herself had appeared before Fen Wudao. The place was now crowded! Without a word, Shin Sumi slipped in the middle of the sea of disciples with colorful robes.


    In the Liquid Realm there were no visual distinctions between talents of strength. Any individual could wear any color of robes and thus Bai Fulong''s green robes went unnoticed by the crowd.


    The reason behind that was immediately obvious for Shin Sumi. Lazily spreading her divine sense around her, she could feel the strength of every single person.


    When one had a sixth sense capable of discerning perfectly clearly the power and level of someone in the same Realm of cultivation, what was the use of matching color robes?


    "According to my teacher Elder Luolian, this year the first one is only an orange robe!


    - Yeah that''s what Cang Su and the others were saying too... Man, the level has really gone down since our time, eh?"


    Next to her, Shin Sumi could hear a small group of arrogant looking men. Not paying attention to them, she smiled to herself. What they were saying meant that the Patriarch had already done what needed to be done by erasing her presence. Nobody knew that she had already exited the trial.


    But the thing that made her even more happy was that the next in line for leaving the trial dimension was wearing orange robes.


    It had been only twelve hours or so since Shin Sumi was forcefully pulled out from the yellow pillar of light. Then Xiao Yue had only just started her breakthrough. In all probability, she had been the closest to reaching the Liquid Realm and leaving the tournament.


    Suddenly, the crowd around Shin Sumi died down. Someone had spotted the blue glow of teleportation on top of the platform. That was it. Somebody was excited.


    ***


    From the vantage point provided by his courtyard, Fen Wudao could almost watch the plaza from above.


    "You let her get you."


    The voice of the Patriarch resounded from behind the young man. The old looking cultivator was still sipping on his fragrant tea.


    Fen Wudao turned around, "I did what I had to to make her fight at a hundred percent."


    "Hmm. You didn''t have to let her draw blood though. Anyhow what did you think?


    - The Ghost Pavilion will benefit highly from somebody like her. Her cultivation is... unusual."


    It was evident that Fen Wudao was waiting for the point of view of his Master. His own cultivation level was too close to Shin Sumi''s to be able to discern it with enough clarity.


    "I feel the same way about that. I am not certain what it is that makes it different but her talent is considerable."


    Fen Wudao produced a short sword out of thin air. It was almost a dagger and shone with a silvery blue light.


    Stroking its length with his thumb, the sword Fen Wudao had used against Shin Sumi looked perfectly fine from a distance. Nevertheless the large crack spreading from one side along the edge didn''t escape the perception of the Patriarch.


    "Even though I was not at a hundred percent power, had the fight lasted longer I would have been at a disadvantage..."


    "With the Void Sword in hand, she will revel in combat. The Star-Sword Pavilion is a must, she will follow in your footsteps there. Do you have any idea which other branch she will choose?"


    Fen Wudao pondered the question for a while. Besides the Sword Pavilion whose style revolved around using blades for an aggressive fighting style, he was unsure which Pavilion would get her attention.


    "The Cloud-Formation Pavilion and the Light-Breaker Pavilion are the next two in which she would excel. Her magical abilities should gain a great boost soon considering how well she can already shape her Shinsoo to control the Void Sword, and the Shinsoo Formations of the Cloud Pavilion are made for her. If she absolutely wants to join a third branch, Light-Breaker it should be. It is the most offensive style of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."


    Patriarch Sen agreed silently with a nod of his head. The Breaker Style consisted in physical strength augmentation, somehow similar to the techniques passed down between each generation of the Xue Clan. The Light-Breaker Pavilion mostly relied on totems and Shinsoo Formations but contrary to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion the techniques were used on one''s own body.


    "Somehow I have the feeling that we are going to be surprised by her choices..."


    The Patriarch''s cryptic words made Fen Wudao furrow his brows. He was about to respectfully enquire about the reasons that made his Master unsure when a gust of wind blew his hair away.


    When he opened his eyes, Fen Wudao was staring at an empty courtyard. The Patriarch was gone, probably off to his own mountain, the highest peak around the valleys.


    "With my Master and me backing her up, we will probably not have any problems with the Second Ghost. Getting the approval of Old Ghost One will be the real issue..."


    ***


    Xiao Yue blinked twice without moving, her stunned expression frozen. Her breakthrough had gone smoothly thanks to the Liquid Pellet.


    She had seen the Shinsoo cloud within her coalesce into a drop and then flatten into a small lake. Due to her limited amount of opened Shinsoo Doors, the lake was nothing like Shin Sumi''s but the orange robed girl had no way of knowing.


    After all, Shin Sumi was an abnormality. Fourteen opened Doors still made Xiao Yue one of the best cultivators in her generation, fighting on equal footing with the yellow robes with sheer training and willpower.


    But right as she was about to enjoy the power coursing through her veins, the invisible formation under her feet glowed and she was transported through space.


    Close to a thousand people were now watching her as she stood on the central plaza of the upper valley.


    The disciples ranged from about sixteen years old to at least forty, all of them forming a mess of a rainbow. But what shocked Xiao Yue was the cultivation levels of every single individual.


    "Liquid Realm ?"


    It was only then that the orange robed girl realized that she was back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    A few people cheered, some men with lust in their eyes, most of them only showing praise. It was official, Xiao Yue was one of them now!


    "Geng Lan, give me the 20 medium grade spirit stones!


    - Oi Brother Phan, you could at least give me time to cry a little bit... But a bet is a bet and it was a girl in first place, here you go."


    "Hey, I just arrived, have I missed Jun Qian?


    - Shh... no, this girl arrived first! An orange one, can you imagine? Either she''s really good or that Jun brat was trash."


    Most of the crowd had been betting on which Honorary Disciple would win the trial. Jun Qian had been the obvious favorite so far.


    Some of the Liquid Realm disciples facing the plaza even remembered the time they themselves were still in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm. Jun Qian was already a big name back then. His reason for postponing his breakthrough for so long was to maximize his chances at opening Shinsoo Doors.


    Unknowingly, Jun Qian had been on the right track for cultivating in the way of the complete Shinsoo Gathering Manual like Shin Sumi, but not with the right technique.


    And most important, all his efforts had been for naught. His ranking of number one had been crushed, not by one but by two girls.


    "Since you cheated in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, I''ll crush you in the next one! It''s time to reach the Liquid Realm!" Jun Qian thought while closing his eyes and rotating his dantian. He would never give up.


    When he had arrived on the top of the mountain central to the training dimension, Shin Sumi was long gone and Xiao Yue had just finished teleporting out to the upper valley.


    Back in the sect''s upper valley, Xiao Yue was being indicated to step down from the large platform and the Shinsoo Formation. A gentle looking middle aged disciple with a light purple gown showed her the way through the crowd.


    "Congratulations on winning this generation''s Rising Star Tournament, Sister ... Sister?


    - Xiao Yue, nice to meet you.


    - Sister Xiao, nice to meet you too, I am Kai Shan, I will be in charge of getting your situation sorted in the upper valley."


    Kai Shan''s light purple robe was adorned by a small insignia. Xiao Yue instantly recognized the Affairs Pavilion.


    "Since you have finished first, naturally you will get the best treatment possible around. I would advise you to not parade around too much as you have yet to stabilize your energy levels, but to be honest, who would dare look at you sideways? Ah-ah-ah.


    - What do you mean?


    - Every Elder of the sect must be looking at you right now. Everybody wants to make you their direct disciple, obviously. So if people are mad at you for bragging about your first place in the tournament, even if you don''t have the strength to face them alone yet, you''ll never really be in trouble in the upper valley."


    Everything Kai Shan said made sense, except for one thing. Carefully, Xiao Yue probed her guide.


    "I still can''t believe the Rising Star Tournament is over... And I reached the exit first, it''s not a dream?!"


    Kai Shan''s gentle face turned to face her. His smile was honest and warm, "I can assure you it is not a dream, Sister Xiao."


    But then, it meant that Shin Sumi... What had happened with her sworn sister? Xiao Yue was at a loss.


    When the orange robed girl sat down to initiate her breakthrough, Shin Sumi was behind her, acting as a Dao Protector to ensure her safety. But when the crucial step happened, Shin Sumi was gone, not appearing on Xiao Yue''s divine sense perception at all.


    Could it mean that Shin Sumi had somehow gone back to another place of the floating continent? Or had she exited through a secret way which the disciples waiting at the plaza were not aware of?


    Anything was possible for Shin Sumi and her mysterious cultivation and talent.


    Xiao Yue was following Kai Shan, unaware that Shin Sumi was watching her from afar. The orange robed girl''s divine sense was still acclimating to its new level and her sister''s divine sense imprint was drowned by the crowd''s.


    As soon as she saw the girl appear, Shin Sumi wanted to run to her sister and congratulate her. But right as Kai Shan introduced himself to Xiao Yue, Shin Sumi''s bag of holding started vibrating.


    "Don''t delay, go towards the west mountain, follow the trail behind the Second Star Arena" Fen Wudao''s message read.


    "Sorry Yue we will have to postpone... again..."


    Shin Sumi felt terrible for her friend but she knew what had to be done. By accepting Patriarch Sen''s proposition of joining the Ghost Pavilion, she had already forfeited her first place in the tournament.


    Only a handful of people knew about her, Chu Erlong and Jun Qian, the members of the Ghost Pavilion, and Xiao Yue of course.


    Because of sheer shame of not being first in the tournament, Jun Qian and Chu Erlong would not say anything.


    Shin Sumi trusted Xiao Yue with all her heart, trusting that the girl would pick up on the clues and not talk or enquire about her, which would reveal the fact that someone else had in fact exited the tournament first.


    ***


    West side of the upper valley, Second Star Arena.


    Following the message, Shin Sumi soon arrived at the indicated arena. From her few short walks in the upper valley, she had already realized the difference in atmosphere between the upper and lower valley.


    The latter resembled a mortal village a lot. Besides the Immortal looking scenery, all the buildings and pagodas, as well as the many small houses were very basic.


    But the upper valley was different. There were no houses. Virtually all the disciples of the Liquid Realm had a small courtyard which would be considered a small mansion for a mortal.


    "Even my old courtyard is smaller to any of these cultivator buildings..."


    What was also strange was the presence of a small round arena between every blocs of courtyards or so.


    The courtyards seemed mostly empty, but the arenas were presently full of disciples and the sound of fighting echoed in the air.


    "YOU TRASH, COME BACK HERE !"

 63 New House, New Technique!

    "Ling Dufei, if you don''t stand up this instant I''m going to break your bones one by one!"


    The Second Star Arena was made up of a big platform separated into four smaller ones. One of them was empty, one had three disciples cultivating and the last two were currently hosting fights.


    The powerful voice had come from one of them. A big burly man was standing above a young cultivator, threatening him.


    The tall man with shoulders as broad as an ox''s had glowing tattoos covering his arms, somewhat similar to Fu Xue''s magical technique.


    In one glance Shin Sumi could tell that he was a disciple of the Light-Breaking Pavilion.


    The youth called Ling Dufei was dressed in a long dark grey robe. His head was shaved clean and despite his adult features, he seemed to have the body of a child.


    The scrawny boy-man grimaced, wiping the trail of blood running from his lower lip with his right sleeve.


    "If you continue to beat me up, Wang Pao, my friends from the Divine-Beast Pavilion will not let you rest, I can promise you!"


    "Tch. First you dare to call my Breaking Style trash and then you keep your mouth open? Are you never going to learn? Do I have to pound it in your skull?"


    Ling Dufei stood up on wobbly legs. Shin Sumi ignored how long the fight had been but Lin Dufei had obviously been on the receiving end of most of the action.


    A yellow light appeared between his fingers, the Shinsoo signature of the technique reading as a binding spell.


    Wang Pao chuckled. Under his half robes, his tattooed legs glowed as well, sending Shinsoo coursing through his lower members. In the blink of an eye, his enhanced calves and thighs had brought him in front of the poor Ling Dufei.


    This time it was his arm''s turn to glow as Wang Pao caught Ling Dufei''s yellow light between his burly fingers.


    The cracking sound was cut short by Ling Dufei''s scream.


    "Don''t try to use that sort of low level spell on me, trash. I''m here for your Beast. Go on, if your Beast Style is as strong as you were proudly telling me before, use it and defeat me", a mad smile twisting his lips," I''m waiting."


    Ling Dufei had realized that Wang Pao would not let him do anything other than use the Beast Style. The burly man had retreated a few steps and was simply waiting, arms folded over his ripped chest.


    Ignoring his broken fingers for now, Ling Dufei breathed out loudly, an invisible wind rolling one of his sleeves, revealing a Shinsoo imprint on his wrist.


    Shin Sumi''s eyes opened suddenly.


    "That mark... It''s a lot similar to the leaf pattern on my wrist!"


    Located in the same place as the little nut''s leaf pattern, Ling Dufei''s wrist was adorned by a dark red paw pattern.


    With enhanced perception, Shin Sumi could feel the change in Shinsoo around Ling Dufei as soon as the blood touched the paw mark.


    "Something is coming... He is summoning his fighting beast!"


    Lin Dufei''s features were still distorted with rage but his eyes had gained a glimmer of hope in them. Now that he was in the middle of his summon, he had a chance at beating Wang Pao!


    "So boring... How long is it going to take, eh?" Wang Pao was yawning.


    Using the same technique as before, Wang Pao instantly stepped right in front of his opponent. Ling Dufei had no chance to react before a large fist planted itself in his belly.


    Ling Dufei flew over ten meters, crashing on the ground right next to the arena platform in a cloud of dust mixed with his own blood.


    "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha I told him he would go down with a single punch!" Wang Pao was enjoying himself very much. Ling Dufei had passed out unconscious but the burly man was clearly not willing to stop soon.


    "Pao, you''re done. Go back to cultivation."


    The voice of an old man echoed through the entire arena, instantly stopping Wang Pao in his tracks. Even the fighters on the other platforms stopped.


    Clearly the voice belonged to someone vastly superior to the puny Wang Pao who instinctively fell to his knees and bowed.


    "Ye-Yes Master Mui..."


    The fight was over. Wang Pao left the Second Star Arena without another glance at the fallen Ling Dufei. All the other disciples around resumed their activities like nothing ever happened.


    Nobody went to help Ling Dufei get back to his senses or stand up. That was the way of the Immortal World, where the strong preyed on the weak.


    Besides, a squabble between disciples like that was not world-ending. After such a beating, Ling Dufei would only need a day to recover. Despite the clear difference in strength, both cultivators were in the Liquid Realm.


    Shin Sumi left too. This fight had nothing to do with her and she was not one to mingle into another''s business like that. Only, the tattoo on Ling Dufei''s arm was etched deep into her memory.


    "A mark for summoning a fighting beast... Why does it look so similar to the little nut''s leaf pattern?"


    The Divine-Beast Pavilion... Could it be the key to understand the mysterious little nut that had brought her so far into the Immortal World without revealing any of its secrets?


    The answer had to wait. Shin Sumi followed the path indicated by Fen Wudao, starting behind the Second Star Arena all the way into the middle of a forest.


    She was about to stop and retrace her steps back, convinced that she had taken a wrong turn when Shin Sumi spotted an old looking wall in the distance.


    The forest was dense with trees and bamboo groves. A few streams of pure spring water had crossed her path a few times. Moss-covered rocks stuck out of the ground here and there.


    Although it looked very pretty, Shin Sumi had thought that Fen Wudao was going to assign her a courtyard, not take her out for a walk in the forest!


    But at the end of the path, when nothing else seemed made by man, there was an old wall. Walking up to it, Shin Sumi spotted the silhouette of a young man dressed in white.


    "Brother Fen, this place is beautiful, where are we?"


    "Hello Sister Shin."


    Fen Wudao gestured around him at the old wall and the decrepit looking gate that was planted in the middle of it.


    "Welcome to your new house. I know what you''re thinking, it is in ruins and nowhere near what should be considered as an Immortal cave, but come take a better look!"


    Shin Sumi didn''t object, instead sending a bit of Shinsoo into the Copper Bell in her bag of holding. The artefact reacted instantly upon activation, tuning Shin Sumi to her environment.


    Just like in the first phase of the Rising Star Tournament, the illusion was dispelled. In the tournament, the illusion of being in a desert served the purpose of allowing the disciples with the best Shinsoo affinity and mental aptitudes to start ahead of the others but here it was a simple trick in order to deceive one''s eyes.


    Only the Copper Bell was the perfect artefact to counter that trick. Although Shin Sumi couldn''t pierce through the full extent of the illusion, the old wall and the decrepit gate had now turned into a transparent greyish screen in her eyes.


    Shin Sumi could make out the shape and the existence of a complete building in their place, as if it were in and out of reality.


    Fen Wudao of course had no idea that Shin Sumi possessed such an artefact, probably even unaware that such a thing existed in the first place.


    The young man threw a small silvery plate at Shin Sumi who caught it between two fingers. On the silver slip was a shallow carving of a moon with a shadow across its diameter.


    "The Ghost Pavilion symbol!"


    Shin Sumi knew what to do. She poured her divine sense into the plate, which immediately linked itself to her. The silver morcel was now hers with all its secrets.


    Now that she owned a key to the hidden house, the illusion dispersed fully. The Copper Bell had already shown her that an illusion was active there but now the spell was gone.


    The wall stood strong and in perfect shape, three meter tall walls along the entire domain. A bronze colored wooden door with carved handles was opened in the middle of it, peering into a beautiful garden.


    Shin Sumi acted a little bit surprised but not too much. Just enough so that Fen Wudao looked proud of his trick.


    "This small mansion doesn''t appear on the Dark Sky Starry Sect records. Because unlike me you will not appear as a genius despite your true ranking, you can keep a low profile. That place is the perfect opportunity for that."


    With just a glance, Shin Sumi could tell that Fen Wudao had at some point in time longed for a situation similar to hers. Because he had been acknowledged publicly as unrivaled amongst his peers, he could not live discreetly in the forest, focusing on cultivation.


    "Brother Fen wished he could have been the same as me... Keeping the existence of the Ghost Pavilion a secret while being in the spotlight at all times must be hard to do."


    The two cultivators entered through the doors at the same time, stepping on the stone tiles that ran across the garden.


    "This house initially belonged to our brother, the Fifth Ghost", Fen Wudao explained, "Because of it I could not disappear from the records like you, Sister Shin. Instead the Patriarch had to take in a direct disciple, somebody who would keep a public front for the sect.


    When the Fifth Ghost left for a mission outside the sect, it was already too late for me. Luckily, a genius like you appeared only two years after. So this place is now yours."


    "Where is the Fifth Ghost now?" enquired Shin Sumi.


    Fen Wudao sighed, "That, I do not know. The intrigues in which the Ghost Pavilion takes part run deep and wide. I am unaware of most of what is going on."


    "Don''t worry about it, though. For now, concentrate on stabilizing your cultivation base after your breakthrough. In two days'' time you will be able to reappear in the upper valley. You will then be able to go and claim your rewards, my Master has arranged for you to officially finish in the fifteenth position in the Rising Star Tournament.


    Then you will be able to start cultivating the techniques of the different Pavilions and I will call you when it is time to make your proper entrance in the Ghost Pavilion."


    Fen Wudao stayed with Shin Sumi for a couple of hours, sharing tea and talking about the house, the Ghost Pavilion and cultivation in general. For the first time, Shin Sumi was able to peer into her mysterious senior''s personality, understanding the hardships that came with his status.


    He looked relieved to be able to enjoy himself for a couple of hours before returning to the upper valley.


    After months of trial, Shin Sumi enjoyed the company, although she would have prefered to be with Xiao Yue, and even felt a bit saddened when the white robed young man left her alone in her new home.


    Walking around the mansion, Shin Sumi absentmindedly lost herself in her thoughts before her feet stopped in front of the spring at the back of her building.


    The clear sound of the spring coming out from a crevice in between two rocks was music to her ears.


    "It feels like forever since I''ve taken a relaxing bath" she realized.


    Following the water with her divine sense, Shin Sumi entered the two story house. From what Fen Wudao had told her, the second level was a simple room with mats on the floor. It was an ideal place to cultivate in all serenity.


    Most people would use a room like this to focus on spiritual techniques and to comprehend things about their own cultivation. After reaching the Liquid Realm, one''s need for sleep was basically nonexistent, cultivator preferring meditation instead.


    But what Shin Sumi was currently interested in was the bottom level. There was a small kitchen, although it was probably more of a place to craft medicine, given that the only furniture on the furnace was a large cauldron.


    Checking the pots and recipients, Shin Sumi sadly came to the conclusion that the place had been thoroughly cleaned by her predecessor. Not a single pill remained, not a leaf or seeds, nothing.


    "I''ll have to take a trip to the dark chasm at some point if I''m allowed to do so. I left so many different Yin type plants, I could probably start a second market in the upper valley!"


    Another room of the base level was completely empty except for magnificent tapestries. There was nothing magical about them but they were pleasing to the eye.


    Shin Sumi didn''t bother checking the entire place. She would have all the time to do so in the future. After the kitchen and the empty room, she directly went to where her divine sense was leading her.


    From behind the house, the spring water entered into a bathing room! It was large and cozy, rocks forming an indoor pond. Candles and crystals lit the mirror-like surface of the pool in such a way that the walls and ceiling seemed to ondulate in rhythm.


    Shin Sumi furrowed her brows slightly, "Hmm not bad, but I would rather feel the outside breeze... I will have to do something about that later."


    At least she had some place to bathe, in the comfort and the security of her own home.


    Gently, Shin Sumi loosened her silk belt and the leather cord that tied her bag of holding to her slender waist. The green robes flowed down her smooth skin, forming a soft pile on the wooden floor without the slightest sound.


    Shin Sumi ignored the heating furnace next to the bath, instead using the Copper Bell to adjust herself to the water. With magic, the cold spring water was the perfect temperature.


    Running her hands through her hair, Shin Sumi slowly washed her long black locks before cleaning her body.


    Once she was done, she let herself slump down until the water was up to her shoulders. Her developing breasts were the only thing still above the surface besides her head. Nestled in between them was a small greyish ball.


    "I didn''t even feel the little nut come out of my wrist" she laughed. "Is it the same when people from the Divine-Beast Pavilion summon their fighting spirit beasts?"


    "Hey, little nut, can you turn into a book?"


    The familiar small vortex appeared, the old bark cover falling onto Shin Sumi''s open hands.


    "Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow, a fitting name if I''ll get to wear the same insignia as Brother Fen."


    She referred of course to the ghost shadow over the moon that symbolized the Ghost Pavilion.


    "I wonder if the techniques are linked in any way..."


    The Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow was a cultivation technique that she had acquired during the trial. She had already partially read it but without trying to comprehend anything.


    From what she had learned, it was useless to decipher a new technique before handing it to the little nut. After it had done its trick, the technique was guaranteed to be upgraded, only then would it maximize its utility.


    Under the light of the crystals, Shin Sumi read carefully the small inscriptions on the page of the book. The Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow scroll showed her a new way to channel her inner Shinsoo.


    From her dantian, she would have to guide the Shinsoo along a carefully chosen path, linking meridians in a specific order.


    The technique came in three different steps, from which she could only read the first.


    "Materialize an illusory shadow, harnessing the darkness and stealing the light. Once I''ve cultivated the first step fully, the second step will probably unlock itself. Or maybe I need a higher cultivation level..."


    Shin Sumi was puzzled but excited. Letting the nut go float around leisurely, Shin Sumi concentrated.


    Gathering her Shinsoo, Shin Sumi forced its path along her body.


    It wasn''t an easy thing to do. Sometimes the path required the Shinsoo to flow unnaturally inside her body and the concentration needed was incredible.


    Sweat beads rolled along Shin Sumi''s cheeks, mixing with the clear water surrounding her.


    "Gaaah another failure! I''ve tried maybe a hundred times but I can''t even make a full cycle!" she gasped after two full hours had passed.


    "The Liquid Realm... It is something else. How can it be so hard controlling my own energy?!"


    Frustrated but also somewhat glad to have found a good challenge, Shin Sumi left the bathing room.


    After meditating for a few hours, she tried again to circulate her Shinsoo in the way of the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow, not making any further progress, being stuck before completing a single cycle leaving her empty and tired.


    For once Shin Sumi understood what it meant to cultivate normally. No matter how she thought of it she couldn''t find a shortcut this time. Neither the little nut nor the Copper Bell could help her.


    "Even fighting spirit beasts is easier than sitting down and cultivating that technique" she pouted.


    For the two days indicated by Fen Wudao before she could get out to the upper valley, Shin Sumi alternated between trying to cultivate the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique, getting angry about it, resting and trying again.


    She had made a little bit of progress but not enough to get her to be satisfied with herself.


    "Two days! Now I can leave and claim my rewards. Maybe I will find inspiration in the upper valley, I''ve been dying to roam around and explore a bit more!"

 64 Ruining The Sec

    Right before stepping out of the shadow though, Shin Sumi stopped, suddenly pondering about something. In a simple movement, she exchanged her green robes for orange ones. With magic it was much faster than a blink and soon her green robes were hidden in her bag.


    She then walked rapidly from behind the arena wall, intent on making her way through the upper valley.


    It was only then, in the bustling activity of disciples fighting and walking in small groups or alone that she realized that she knew basically nothing about the upper valley.


    "Lan Hui was the one who showed me the ropes of the lower valley, but here... There is nobody I know besides Yue and Brother Fen."


    One landmark that Shin Sumi remembered was the arrival platform from the Rising Star Tournament. Heading there, Shin Sumi made sure to open her eyes wide, taking in all the sights, smells, sounds and feelings.


    Between her breasts, hidden in the orange folds of her robes, the little nut seemed as impatient as her to discover another part of the sect entirely.


    If the lower valley was still somewhat similar to a mortal city, it was completely different in this part of the mountain.


    Everywhere Shin Sumi looked, she could see cultivators, not just people. Some were reading ancient scrolls, others simply walked around with swords spinning around them.


    Magic was everywhere, the flow of Shinsoo unperturbed despite the bustling atmosphere.


    "Wow, over there, what is that?!" Shin Sumi had just spotted a cultivator feeding what could only be a Devil Fox, a beast high enough to touch his chest with its head.


    The Devil Fox had two bone horns poking out from between the ears, as well as three tails. It looked ferocious and impressive but in the hands of the cultivator from the Divine-Beasts Pavilion it was simply a pet.


    On the cultivator''s neck was a tattoo representing two horns, engraved in his skin with a dark red mark.


    Shin Sumi had almost stopped to observe the scene better when the neck of the cultivator flashed with a vibrant orange color. In a very fast vortex, the Devil Fox spun through the air, sucked into the marking like a pile of dust in a strong wind.


    Besides Shin Sumi, nobody was surprised to see such a thing happen. Everything was just common feats around here.


    "Oi, Ken Dang, I''m over here! I need to ask you a favor!"


    Just behind Shin Sumi a disciple with a long black beard interpelled somebody in the distance.


    "About that plant growing formation that you said you had mastered... If I offered you a short sword and a Cleansing Spirit Pellet, would you help me with my Centenary Ginseng root?"


    "So people exchange favors in the street just like that..."


    The sense of community and being part of a whole was mind-blowing to Shin Sumi.


    "Are these really the same people that would fight to the death at any occasion during a trial or for resources?!"


    Coming from the Rising Star Tournament where unless you had enough strength you couldn''t relax your guard at any time, the peacefulness of the upper valley was a drastic change.


    Shin Sumi found the platform where she had caught a glance of Xiao Yue two days prior after more than an hour of leisurely walking through the sect.


    Past the excitement of seeing the first new Liquid Realm cultivators come out of the trial successful, not many disciples were around.


    The only groups left were those that were waiting specifically for a friend or a clan member, somebody they knew was still in the lower valley.


    Waiting for the opportune moment, Shin Sumi only made her appearance on the platform when nobody was paying attention to it, by eyes or divine sense.


    From then on, she would just have to act like she had just been teleported.


    Motion sick from the ''teleportation'' she had just ''gone through'', Shin Sumi fell on her knees loudly, catching the attention of a young man that had been on the other side of the platform.


    "Oh, an orange robed girl! That one surely isn''t half bad to have arrived this early!" he said in a low voice before continuing out loud: "Hey there Sister. Are you okay? Welcome to the upper valley!"


    Shin Sumi looked up towards the young man who presented himself rapidly before answering her questions.


    "From what I''ve heard, you''re the fifteenth person to walk out from the trial. The first arrived two days ago and we can expect the late bloomers to finish in a couple of months at most!"


    Shin Sumi nodded, acting much happier now about her ranking.


    "Do you want me to take you to the Resources Pavilion? From there you''ll get your rewards for your ranking as well as a jade slip allowing you to take a house for yourself somewhere in the valley."


    Great! Shin Sumi didn''t even have to ask before the serviable young man already gave her the answers she was looking for.


    The massive building holding the main center of resources distribution was a dozen or so kilometers away from the platform they were in, which made it close to the center of the upper valley.


    But for Liquid Realm cultivators, what was a dozen kilometers except a short run. Shin Sumi even had to cut down her speed a bit to not arouse suspicions that she was already completely used to her cultivation level.


    "Head in there and go to the clerk in a red robe, he''ll help you. If you need any more assistance, you can send me a jade slip message. Or just ask for Juwen Xi at the Shinsoo-Medecine Pavilion! I''ll see you later Sister Shin!"


    Shin Sumi bowed rapidly, expressing her thanks before turning towards the Resources Pavilion.


    "Hello? Is there anybody here?" she asked, unsure of what to do after she found the high ceiling room completely empty.


    A bang followed by the screeching of somebody trying to pick up tens of scrolls and papers at once answered her.


    "I''ll be with you in a second, sorry for the wait!"


    Shin Sumi''s ears twitched. Hadn''t she heard that voice before? Before she could find out in her memory, a young man walked up from hidden stairs behind the counter.


    The face was indeed familiar, even after about two years had gone since she last saw him.


    "Brother Azu?


    -Green talented girl! Big Brother Wudao''s protegee! You''ve made it into the Liquid Realm in no time, are you here for your rewards?!"


    Shin Sumi answered affirmatively, happy to see someone she had already talked to once.


    She remembered him, the second Immortal she had ever seen. Little Azu had been sleeping on the platform hosting the second test for entering the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    He was the first person to discover her supposed green talent when the nut touched the testing stele, hidden in her hand.


    Little Azu took out a piece of jade on which were inscribed the names of the disciple that had already finished the Rising Star Tournament, all the while making small talk.


    "So do you know which Pavilion you want to get in? With your ranking, there''s bound to be room in any of the five."


    Shin Sumi thought about it. She knew she had three slots but still hadn''t decided on which branch would be most interesting.


    "About that... I don''t really know what to choose, Little Azu. What is your opinion on them?"


    Little Azu''s smile turned more confident in the blink of an eye. Brushing his short hair machinally, his tone turned to that of a teacher talking to a kid.


    "Well from my own experience... The Breaking Style is for muscle-heads. A cute girl like you isn''t fit to be there, unless you want big bulging muscles everywhere and air in your head."


    What Little Azu said made sense to Shin Sumi.


    "Then there''s the complete opposite, the Shinsoo-Medecine. Becoming an apothecary isn''t great for fighting but you get to learn a lot. The only other bad aspect is that your control needs to be on another level. It''s not about power, rather about your ability to control Shinsoo to perfection in order to create medicine. Because I''m not good at fighting anyway it''s the Pavilion I chose initially, but I got rejected when my teachers found out that I have no talent."


    Shin Sumi''s face must have turned to worry or pity because Little Azu instantly dispelled her thoughts with a casual wave of his hand.


    "Oh no, don''t bother, it''s fine. Being more of a caretaker is really a good position. I get to learn a lot about the sect and to meet a lot of people. Anyway, what was I saying?"


    Shin Sumi had heard from Lan Hui about what had happened to Little Azu. He had been brought to the sect very early in his youth but his talent had only been red. After years of trying, nobody thought that he could reach the Liquid Realm. In a feat of pure luck he finally managed the breakthrough but with only one Shinsoo Door opened, condemning him to be stuck at the very bottom of the Liquid Realm.


    Little Azu quickly got hold of his thoughts, his glib tongue endlessly continuing to speak information to his listener.


    "Now the Formation Style. That''s a good one. More balanced than the rest. The people there focus much more on using magical techniques to fight. They are also more versatile than the others I guess. Depending on your type of magic there''s really nothing you can''t do. It just takes a lot longer for them to reach higher levels of cultivation within the Liquid Realm."


    "Obviously there''s also the stars of the sect. The best fighters almost always go to the Star-Sword Pavilion. That''s where you can learn to master all sorts of weapons. Everybody wants to go there! The only thing is..."


    "...?"


    Little Azu bent his upper body down, closing in on Shin Sumi from over the counter. As if he was afraid somebody would head him, he continued in a very low voice.


    "The Swords Masters in charge of the teaching are ruthless. They only want the best of the best. It''s basically only for the Inner Sect disciples, the ones chosen by a master."


    "I mean it''s understandable. There are so many geniuses in there, they wouldn''t want the standard to lower over time."


    Before Shin Sumi could say anything, Little Azu gave her a wink, adding "But Big Brother Fen is the most genius-y out of all of them!"


    "And yeah, that''s about what I can tell you. So have you chosen?"


    "Erm... What about the Divine-Beasts Pavilion? You left this one out, Little Azu."


    "Tch," Little Azu almost spat on the floor before remembering that he was in his workplace, "that bunch of fools who think they are strong. Apart from the Medicine branch they are definitely the weakest of the bunch!


    It''s all bark and no bite with them."


    "But how do they chose their fighting beasts?"


    "Does it really matter?"


    Shin Sumi could tell that Little Azu had some sort of resentment towards the Divine-Beast Pavilion. Maybe they didn''t accept him either, she thought. But looking at her face of insistence, Little Azu sighed.


    "Fine. It''s more of the opposite actually, the beasts chose them. Anyone can actually go and visit the Beast Nest on the bottom of the north mountain. But don''t do it!


    If you go there, with your talent, you''re bound to attract a beast and then you''ll be stuck with the Beast Style without being able to leave! Sure you might get a powerful Steel Wolf or a Blood Red Tortoise but you should really stick to swords or magical techniques."


    So it''s the animal that chooses the cultivator, not the other way around... Could have Shin Sumi been chosen by the little nut before she even started cultivating?


    "One more thing... Can more than one beast choose you?"


    Little Azu thought about it for a few seconds before recalling some information he was given when he reached the Liquid Realm.


    "Yeah, that can happen, but you need to reach at least the third step of the Liquid Realm I think. Most disciples only have one but the Beast Master of the Pavilion has three."


    Shin Sumi pondered for a moment, "third step..."


    "The Liquid Realm is divided in five steps. When you breakthrough you''re automatically on the first step. Then you need to condense vortexes in your Shinsoo Sea. When there are five of them you can solidify your Shinsoo Sea into a solid core. That''s-


    - The Core Development Realm," she finished Little Azu''s words.


    Shin Sumi had known about the steps in the Liquid Realm for a long time. In fact it was one of the first questions she had ever asked Lan Hui after meeting him. It was also how Little Azu had presented Fen Wudao on her first day.


    Fen Wudao was a genius because at only seventeen years old he was already on the fourth step of the Liquid Realm.


    Thinking about it, even with the nut and the Copper Bell and the complete circle of Shinsoo Gathering, Shin Sumi was only in the first step despite being sixteen years old.


    Thanking Little Azu for his precious help, Shin Sumi retrieved her prize for placing fifteen in the Rising Star Tournament and left the Resources Pavilion.


    Her prize consisted of a hundred and twelve medium grade spirit stones as well as a stabilization pellet. For her the pellet was useless considering the unusual stability of her cultivation base, but the spirit stones were definitely worth the hassle.


    If a medium grade stone was worth ten low grade ones, then she was sitting on a goldmine!


    Wondering what they would turn into, Shin Sumi discreetly fed the pellet as well as a couple spirit stones to the little nut, keeping the rest in her bag of holding.


    She had just stepped outside of the Resources Pavilion when words of Fen Wudao came through in the form of a divine sense message.


    "My Master has finished tweaking the records of the sect. Now ''Yan Yan'' and ''Bai Fulong'' can officially step in the upper valley."


    Shin Sumi was overjoyed. Now all she needed to do was to find a discreet place to swap identities and she would be able to claim even more spirit stones!


    Not leaving anything to chance, Shin Sumi returned inside the large building to ask Little Azu for directions.


    "The market is on the west side of the valley. Here, I''ve inscribed the location on your identification jade! Good luck finding what you''re looking for Sister Shin!"


    The market wasn''t far away, and Shin Sumi even heard the bustling activity of disciples selling their goods and arguing about prices before she saw the market with her eyes.


    Compared to the lower valley market where she as Yan Yan had made a ton of spirit stones with Yin type spirit plants, the market this time wasn''t much bigger.


    What changed the most was the quality and quantity of the resources sold.


    Her first stop was in front of a disciple claiming in a magically enhanced voice about the best changing rates of the whole valley. There, Shin Sumi exchanged twenty medium grade stones for a hundred and eighty low grade ones.


    The disciple was right, it wasn''t a bad exchange rate, considering that in a couple of hours they would have almost all turned into high grade spirit stones!


    With more currency in her bag than ever, Shin Sumi then found a seller for cultivation robes. For a price as low as a handful of stones, Shin Sumi bought the cheapest red and orange robes she could find.


    Her previous ones were all in tatters after the fights she had endured in the tournament, but she needed something for her alternative personalities to wear.


    Her first choice was Bai Fulong. Morphing into male features without even needing a Confusion Pill, Shin Sumi donned the newly acquired yellow colored robe in a secluded forest far from the buildings.


    From there, all she had to do was go back to the Resources Pavilion!


    Little Azu was still behind the counter, this time being far less talkative and friendly.


    "I guess Bai Fulong is not better looking than me after all..."


    Doing the same thing a while later for Yan Yan, at the end of the day Shin Sumi sat down on a cultivation platform, in the middle of meditating disciples. Probing her bag of holding, she calculated the amount she had acquired in no time.


    Bai Fulong had placed nineteen in the trial and Yan Yan twenty. Because of that, Shin Sumi now had an additional two hundred medium grade spirit stones.


    When she had asked the Patriarch about the possibility of using all three of her identities to learn from different branches, she had completely forgotten about the rewards.


    "Patriarch Sen must have been furious on the inside... Three hundred medium grade spirit stones instead of a hundred... I''m ruining the sect, eh!"


    Overall, she was really happy. Now she could virtually do anything in the upper valley. With Little Azu''s indications, she now knew where the main buildings of the valley were.


    "Okay little nut. First I''m going to stop by the market once more and see if there''s any interesting scroll. Then I''ll visit the sect''s library and buy a few techniques. If after that I still have resources left I''ll try to find a few swords! The Void Sword is too strange and recognizable, I need weapons for Yan Yan and Bai Fulong too."

 65 Training Alone

    The loud voices of sellers, the constant fighting amongst disciples wanting the same artefact and offering higher prices, every sound was very indicative of the livelihood of the market area.


    "You there, fellow sister, I can offer you this dagger for only five spirit stones! It''s made from real Horned Serpent scales!


    - Thank you but I''m looking for something else. Can you tell me who has the biggest collection of Spirit Formations scrolls here?


    - Ah, I see, you''re a newcomer. If you go over there to the left, you''ll see Brother Ulong''s shop. You''ll recognize it easily, there are always dozens of people in front of it. But if you''re looking for weapons, come back here to my shop, Po Yan''s Magical Weapons Gallery!"


    Shin Sumi thanked Po Yan and followed his instructions, at the same time drawing a mental map of the market and how it was arranged. Just like in the lower valley, shops specialized in a certain type of resources were packed close to each other, allowing a client to find them more easily.


    Just like Po Yan said, Ulong''s Mystery Shop was densely populated by all sorts of disciples. His motto was written on the large banner above his store, "For any Liquid Realm step, there''s a scroll for you".


    "Exactly what I needed!"


    Contrarily to her expectations, Shin Sumi found that most of the scrolls containing spirit formations were really cheap. For only one or two middle grade spirit stones per jade slip or scroll, she was able to get quite a good amount of them.


    "Protective formation, hiding formation, light transmitting formation... I think it''s good enough for now!"


    Shin Sumi''s objective in finding spirit formations was complete. Now if she learned to use them properly she could set up a few measures of preventing herself from being seen, for example when she used the Copper Bell''s powers to change appearance.


    She was about to leave Ulong''s Mystery Shop when a particular scroll attracted her attention.


    "Shinsoo Fist of Thunder!"


    Now that was an impressive name, something that caught her attention enough to make her want to stay.


    She was about to pick it up from the rack it was laid on when a male disciple stopped her hand.


    "Hi fellow disciple, can I give you a word of advice?"


    Shin Sumi nodded, unsure of what was going on.


    "That technique... The Shinsoo First of Thunder, don''t spend your precious spirit stones uselessly on something like that. I know that it sounds powerful but it''s absolutely impossible to get the technique right. From everybody I know who have tried, nobody has been able to master it. Five spirit stones for a flawed technique, it''s not worth it."


    "How come it''s a flawed technique? Now I want to take a look at it even more! If I can see it and then have the nut refine it, maybe I can even understand how it was flawed."


    After a bit more thinking, Shin Sumi came up with the conclusion that with the rare opportunity provided by the nut she had an incredible chance to get more knowledge on how techniques worked. And knowledge was power.


    Because she had only broken through recently, she still didn''t have any magical techniques at hand, those being rare below the Liquid Realm, especially when one didn''t have any Master providing for them.


    "Such an incredible name too... It''s really a win-win for me!"


    When Shin Sumi called out to Brother Ulong to buy the scroll, she realized that quite a few people were looking her way, many smiling.


    "Ah, another junior that got owned by the Shinsoo Fist of Thunder..."


    "How many spirit stones do you reckon Ulong had gained over the years with that one scroll? He sells it for five and when the buyer understands that the technique is flawed, Ulong buys it back for two stones. It''s like an endless supply for him over the years!"


    Shin Sumi ignored the talk around her, feeling quite smug about the fact that all the disciples of the crowd would drop dead with shock if they knew she had a way to make the technique work.


    After her questionable acquisition, Shin Sumi asked Ulong if he had any other great techniques. But as expected these were not easy to find.


    Each branch of the Dark Sky Starry Sect had their own techniques and disciples could only learn them when they joined the corresponding Pavilion. The only other techniques were the ones that were flawed or that had been clumsily created by disciples themselves.


    The latter were usually nothing great and only served small purposes, like lighting a fire under a stove but not fighting in a war.


    "All of the techniques passed down in the sect have been refined over the years by countless generations before becoming what they are... I guess creating a technique is not an easy feat."


    Ever since she had learned of the existence of magical techniques, Shin Sumi had wanted to try her hand at creating a technique suited for her.


    Before even thinking about that though she needed experience and to study already existing techniques.


    Shin Sumi had been roaming around the market, familiarizing herself with it quite well and even asking for tips to set up a new shop when a high-pitched pure note resounded through the air.


    "It''s the Star Zheng again! The Patriarch is going to speak."


    The strange properties of the singular note propagated at the speed of sound across the entire upper valley. Shin Sumi who was quite excited by her findings suddenly found herself calm and composed.


    "Newcomers, congratulations on reaching the Liquid Realm. The Pavilions selection process will be starting in seven days and will last for two months. For now, only twenty two of you have made it through the Rising Star Tournament. We expect you to be numbering in the hundreds by the end of the selection process. The number of places in each Pavilion is limited, so prepare yourself quickly and act soon."


    Around Shin Sumi, quite a few of the disciples who had stopped to listen to the old serene voice made strange faces.


    She knew instantly they were part of her generation, the ones who had just entered the upper valley.


    "Oh man... I thought the hardships were over after the end of the tournament..."


    An older Liquid Realm cultivator on the side snickered after hearing the youth who had commented.


    "It''s never over Brother. It''s to keep us on edge or something" he said before continuing in a much louder voice, "Attention to all newcomers, you should go stabilize your cultivation quickly. Wait until it''s completely stable and then go immediately to the selections."


    Another older cultivator joined in, laughing at the first one.


    "Oi Brother Fei, you''re giving out tips now? I thought you missed your entry to the Star-Sword Pavilion and went instead to the Light-Breaker... Are you really someone the newbies should listen to?"


    "I dare you to repeat that, Luo Shen! I won''t take any comments from a Cloud-Formation kid who can''t reach the third step!"


    "Oh, really?"


    Some cheering could be heard. A fight was quickly escalating between the two disciples. As Shin Sumi had guessed earlier, the competition between the different Pavilions was strong.


    The two disciples, Luo Shen and the one surnamed Fei were definitely having a go at it, when suddenly an ethereal shape appeared between the two of them.


    The shape shone with a silvery light that pierced the eyes but Shin Sumi could make out the appearance of a candle before it split into two. Each half of the wax figure ran into a disciples who found themselves stuck in whatever positions they were in.


    The wax magic had dissipated, leaving its targets still immobilized when a gentle but manly voice was heard before the crowd could even be amazed.


    "I don''t want any fighting in my sight. You two trash should scram before I get angry."


    Shin Sumi had been about to leave the area discreetly but the familiar voice and technique suddenly made her want to stay and observe.


    Jun Qian had appeared out of nowhere.


    "Looks like going from first under the Liquid Realm to second in the newbie ranking didn''t make him more humble" Shin Sumi thought.


    "Br- Brother Jun, this is just a game between us. Luo Shen and I are good friends."


    Shin Sumi could not believe her eyes. Were these two Liquid Realm practitioners being intimidated by a newcomer? Even if it was Jun Qian, it seemed a bit much.


    The answer to her questioning came from the girl next to her, talking with a friend in a low voice.


    "He''s become Master Cloud''s direct dog, even before the start of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s selection. Within the five Pavilion Masters, Master Cloud is the number two, ranking just after the Patriarch, the Great Elder and Master Sword. That''s a lot of backing for a newbie, it must have gotten to his head."


    The girl with a blue dress was providing a simple explanation to her friend and had not thought that Jun Qian could hear her with the distance separating them. Her face turned frighteningly white when the number two newcomer lifted his head in her direction.


    He was going to at least rebuke her, or maybe even give her a lesson. It was too late to take back her words now.


    But then Jun Qian''s eyes spotted the red robed disciple that was standing still right behind the girl frozen with fear.


    Shin Sumi had a warm smile on her face, the kind that was either welcoming an old friend or either taunting and ironic. It was obviously the latter that Shin Sumi wanted Jun Qian to see.


    The boy that had once been completely defeated by her managed to keep himself steady despite his knees'' wish to let him fall to the ground. Only his exorbitant eyes with a light of fear could be seen.


    Shin Sumi had etched a mark so deep in his memory that for a second he was blinded once more by the sight of the sixty fourth bolt of terrifying heavenly lightning.


    His jaw trembled a bit at the reminiscence of how she had ignored him, his magic broken by her breakthrough. At the time he wasn''t even worth looking at for somebody like her.


    And now that he himself was in the first step of the Liquid Realm, he knew that he was probably still no match. Shin Sumi had been blessed by sixty four bolts of lighting failing to obliterate her. A day later, Jun Qian had only received sixteen bolts and had almost died, like anybody else would have.


    Anybody except the monster that was Shin Sumi.


    Jun Qian snorted to keep some face before putting his hands in his sleeves and leaving the market street.


    Only two people had understood what had just transpired. Shin Sumi left too, a devilish smile on her lips, looking like a small mischievous girl.


    "Taunting Jun Qian is fun but I need to go back to my house and learn some magic!"


    Like everyone, she had heard Patriarch Sen''s voice and the Star Zheng. She had one week to prepare fully before attempting to enter a Pavilion.


    Or rather enter three of them.


    "Little nut, what am I going to do? Despite what Little Azu told me, I still haven''t decided where to go..."


    Thankfully there was an entire week left. That was more than enough time for Shin Sumi who didn''t need to stabilize her perfect cultivation, backed up by sixty four Shinsoo Doors instead of a dozen like a normal disciple.


    She decided to postpone her decision for now, concentrating solely on learning the techniques she had acquired.


    By the time it took her to read the different scrolls, go back to her lonely house in the forest on the west side of the valley and send a divine sense message to Xiao Yue to ask when they could meet, the little nut had already done the job of refining the techniques.


    The old looking wooden book in one hand, Shin Sumi slowly lost track of time, entranced in the making of spirit formations.


    The protective formation she had gotten first took her about four hours to complete. Pouring energy out of her fingers into the dust on the ground, Shin Sumi quickly mastered the patterns needed to create an invisible barrier around her courtyard.


    The alterations to the formation pattern that had appeared in the nut''s book were not too different from the original pattern, and there was no clue as to how much better the new version was, but Shin Sumi knew in her heart that the protective formation was a bit stronger than originally intended.


    "I almost wish that Jun Qian or someone would come and try to enter the house now, just to see if the formation works... Too bad the house is already invisible to the eyes of others."


    Talking about invisibility, Shin Sumi then turned to the next page in her book. Hiding formation, the second scroll from the market.


    After a day of hard work without rest, Shin Sumi had finally mastered all the spirit formations she had acquired. Being alone, she had no way to ascertain her success and the quality of her formations designed to shield her from any intruder or undesired observer.


    Despite that, she knew with the ambient flow of Shinsoo that her magic worked. Compared to her previous failed attempts, the feeling around her was clear. The formations didn''t need a lot of magical power, but had she pulled it off before reaching the Liquid Realm, she knew she wouldn''t have been able to discern the energy signature of her barriers like that.


    "When Yue answers me we will be able to try the third magic, the light transmitting formation! Projecting an image on a surface, that would be so amazing!"


    Spirit formations like that were common practice for cultivators, but still had quite an impact on Shin Sumi, who hadn''t been brought up in the cultivation world with as much knowledge as some others.


    Although nobody would judge what she had done as a great achievement, the sheer fact that she had succeeded in mastering three formations in the short span of a single day when anybody else was seriously immersed in cultivation would make some heads turn.


    Taking a bit of deserved rest, Shin Sumi left the training area of her courtyard for the bathing room. She was enjoying the fresh water when the medallion in her bag of holding received a divine sense message.


    "Sumi, you won''t believe what happened to me! I can meet you as soon as you want, I''ll be at the Fourth Star Arena. You and I have a lot to talk about, so be there!"


    As often, Xiao Yue was bubbling with energy, always having a good reason to be excited.


    Without bothering with washing her hair anymore, Shin Sumi left her house right after activating her newly created protective formation.


    The twelve Star Arenas were arranged in a circle on the outskirts of the upper valley. According to their numbers, the fourth one was somewhat close to the Second Star Arena that was below Shin Sumi''s forest house.


    Shin Sumi heard the Fourth Star Arena before seeing it. Sounds of fighting resounded like in any proper training arena, but what caught her attention first was the discussion between two young men running by.


    "I told you it was a bad idea! We need to get you fixed. I know someone from the Medicine branch that will help you, he owes me a favor" said the boy holding the other by the arm, pulling him along.


    The man being pulled replied in a very low voice, obviously in a sorry state. His face was completely empty of blood contrarily to his flank where the white grey fabric of his daoist robes were tainted red.


    "I just wanted to ask her out... I didn''t know who she was, she just looked cute!


    - Stop it, you''re making it worse, what if she hears you?!


    - I don''t care anymore! Why is the blood not stopping?! My wound should have mended by now!! It''s her devilish magic..."


    "Devilish magic...?" that was enough for Shin Sumi to understand what had transpired. Her arms folded in her sleeves, she walked into the arena just in time to see Xiao Yue standing in the middle of one of the platforms just as she was putting away her Black Devil Spear.


    "Sumi!"


    When Xiao Yue saw her sworn sister, she instantly ignored the boys that had bothered her previously and the terrified faces of the people training around.


    Solely in front of Shin Sumi did the Black Devil Maiden disappear to reveal the cheerful Yue.


    "Oi, Yue, you did quite a number on the guy back there... Is he going to be okay?"


    Xiao Yue laughed, her beautiful laughter echoing for a second.


    "He''ll be fine. It''s only a scratch from the Black Devil Spear. It may look intimidating but I didn''t use more power than necessary. Had I wanted, I could have made mincemeat out of him, hmpf."


    Seeing the faces around them, Shin Sumi embarrassedly proposed that they went for a walk to talk, rather than stay in the middle of the Fourth Star Arena, where people were definitely looking at them strangely.


    Together, they left the trails until they found a nice clearing to sit down and talk.


    "So what happened to you during my breakthrough?" Xiao Yue asked.


    Taking a deep breath, Shin Sumi tried to hide her uneasiness as she blatantly lied to her closest friend.


    "I left the trial. I did it in a way that would stay discreet so that people wouldn''t know about me..." Shin Sumi started.

 66 Growing Up To Be Grea

    "Had I placed first in the Rising Star Tournament, one of my alters would have probably been chosen by an Elder as a direct disciple, and then I wouldn''t have had the opportunity to join three Pavilions at the same time!"


    It was then that Shin Sumi recalled a few bits of conversations she had heard when she was roaming around the upper valley market.


    "Talking about becoming a direct disciple, I heard a rumor, Yue..." she said with a smile as big as her head.


    Xiao Yue blushed, waving her hand like it was nothing.


    "It''s true then?!! You''ve become Master Sword''s one and only disciple?!"


    Xiao Yue didn''t contain her excitement anymore. It was definitely news like no others. She had been definitely chosen by the strongest Pavilion master to be his direct disciple!


    Not only would she have unlimited backing but she would also have access to the best cultivation resources there were, as well as great techniques that were not passed down to everyone in the Star-Sword Pavilion.


    To celebrate, the two girls shared a cup of spirit wine, a pricey beverage that invigorated the soul and made them even happier than they were.


    It had been a long time since Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue had leisurely enjoyed the presence of the other. Up until the night was dark around them, they relaxed, laying down on the fresh grass, taking in the sounds and smells of the forest.


    They talked about their upcoming plans, for Xiao Yue the master-taking ceremony and for Shin Sumi the triple selection process.


    "Do you know which Pavilions you''re going to choose?" Xiao Yue asked.


    Shin Sumi sighed, "I''m asking myself the same thing. I have a few ideas but the truth is... I don''t want to choose. I want to learn all there is to know from all five Pavilions."


    "I understand what you mean. It''s such a broad world, anything is in theory possible. But the thing is that you, like everyone else, have to have a speciality."


    Her interest piqued, Shin Sumi rolled on her side, propping her head on one arm to look at her sister, "What do you mean a speciality?"


    "It''s something Master Sword has told me. When he saw me, he used his divine sense to see the Shinsoo Doors I had opened. Did you know that you only need ten open Doors to practice cultivation in the Liquid Realm?


    Within all sixty four doors, some of them are closely related to each other and some aren''t at all. You know that in order to do magic you need to circulate Shinsoo in a specific pattern, right? Well depending on the Doors you have opened, some patterns will always be impossible for you to use.


    "So what is yours then, Yue?"


    "From the twenty two Doors I can use thanks to the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening technique, Master Sword told me that more than sixteen of them were appropriate for manipulating weapons and following the teachings of the Star-Sword Pavilion!"


    Suddenly it all made sense for Shin Sumi. Depending on the Shinsoo Doors a Liquid Realm cultivator had, their path would already be forged the moment he broke through. Despite one''s will, sometimes somebody would excel at a domain but be really bad at another one.


    "And how do you know which path is the right to take then? What if you have more than one accessible with your set of opened doors? Or... more than three?!"


    Xiao Yue''s mouth opened for a while but closed without a sound. She wasn''t sure what Shin Sumi was talking about. More than three possibilities? That wouldn''t even be called a speciality anymore!


    "Sumi, how many Shinsoo Doors have you opened?"


    Shin Sumi closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. She didn''t want to look at her sister''s eyes, afraid of what her reaction would be.


    "...sixty-four" she let out almost inaudibly.


    "......." Xiao Yue''s mind went blank immediately. A tsunami of information had crashed into her brain in the least expected way possible.


    "SIXTY-FOUR?!!!" she couldn''t believe it.


    On the side, Shin Sumi grimaced, ready to explain and even apologize to her friend. She was about to open her eyes and face Xiao Yue, already imagining the face of disgust.


    But before she could do anything, Shin Sumi felt something soft and warm wrap around her. Xiao Yue was hugging her with all her tender might.


    "Sumi, that is amazing. If anybody could do it, that was you for sure. I''m so proud of you!"


    "Yue, I-


    -How did you manage that? Is it the massage technique?!


    -Hmm... Partially. I also stumbled upon great fortune in the tournament... To be honest I don''t really know how it happened, I had so much energy inside of me, I thought I would burst open during the fight with Jun Qian and Chu Erlong. It''s all thanks to your arrival and you having my back that I could successfully break through without exploding!"


    Shin Sumi''s lies were only partially true. She had become an expert at lying to her friends, which was in itself a bad and good thing at the same time.


    "So now you can join any Pavilion of your choosing?"


    "Because of the sword given to me by Fen Wudao, I''m thinking of joining the Star-Sword Pavilion...with you. But since so many people saw me fight using a sword as Bai Fulong, I''ll have to use him to get in."


    "That leaves you with Yan Yan and yourself. Any idea? Why don''t you go to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion? Their techniques are powerful and you''ll thrive there!"


    "That was my second choice, yes. I think Yan Yan will be perfect there. As for me... I don''t want to attract to much attention, so either the Divine-Beast branch or the Shinsoo-Medecine Pavilion."


    The two girls pondered the question for a while, both very excited by the other''s achievements and the fact that they would be together in the Star-Sword Pavilion. If Shin Sumi managed to get in.


    Despite Xiao Yue''s gracious offer to talk to Master Sword about Bai Fulong''s acceptance in the branch, Shin Sumi wanted to do it by herself.


    For her it was a way of showing Fen Wudao and Patriarch Sen her worth, as well as having as many backup plans as possible if ever it turned out that she wasn''t cut out for the Ghost Pavilion.


    The mysterious hidden sixth branch of the sect, that was even above the Inner Sect formed only of selected disciples chosen by a master, Shin Sumi could not wrap her head around what it could be like.


    The next few days passed quickly for Shin Sumi. With an incredible amount of spirit stones at her disposal, she bought a few sets of weapons and explored a bit more around the sect.


    Because of the Void Sword''s strange nature, she couldn''t simply show up at the Star-Sword Pavilion''s selections with a sword that had no blade. She even visited the place where she had first met Patriarch Sen in the form of Elder Xi.


    As it turned out, both her and the Patriarch were adept at hiding their identities.


    Sadly, ''Elder Xi'' wasn''t there, but Shin Sumi still managed to find a perfectly good sword for Bai Fulong. A very balanced grey blade with a black stone handle.


    The new sword, called ''Sky Deception'' as the engravings on the hilt revealed, was a very manly looking weapon but strangely it had a soft feel to it.


    It wasn''t overbearingly Yang typed like the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been. A perfect weapon to use as Bai Fulong and as herself.


    Unable to decide on one more sword, Shin Sumi bought a whole load of middle grade blades, under the flabbergasted eyes of the disciple in charge of the counter. The sum of spirit stones that Shin Sumi had spent on swords was incredibly high for anyone but to her it was nothing more than disposable income.


    And if she didn''t have enough, making more was easy. As long as she had one low grade spirit stone left, the nut could turn it into a high grade stone, which she could exchange for more low grade ones and so on.


    Having nothing else important to do before the beginning of the selection process for the different Pavilions, Shin Sumi left the upper valley grounds and returned to the lower valley.


    The two levels of the sect, one for the Liquid Realm disciples and the other for the Honorary Disciples, were separated by a large cliff in which a tunnel had been carved.


    From there, a long straight flight of stairs descended into the ground. The tunnel ended inside a large construction on the edge of the lower valley. A huge set of pillars held a large roof above the hole in the cliff.


    Even from her time in the lower valley, Shin Sumi had never noticed the building, which was partially hidden in a forest where Honorary Disciples didn''t have access.


    What she didn''t expect though was that Liquid Realm Disciples either were not allowed to cross between valleys.


    "Hold there fellow sister. Who sent you, if I may ask?"


    A first step Liquid Realm disciple stopped her right as she was stepping between the stone pillars.


    Despite her best attempts at explaining what her intentions were, the disciple didn''t let her pass.


    "I''m sorry, the rules are the rules. If you try to pass one more time, I''ll have to call in a law-enforcement Elder. Since you''ve just arrived you didn''t know, so I''ll let it slide this time though.


    - But...


    - Please don''t make it hard for the both of us. You have no idea how terrifying Elder Oyang is, trust me it''s best to go back up and leave."


    Frustrated, Shin Sumi stomped her foot on the ground.


    "How will I be able to get back to the dark chasm?! It''s been a year, I need to take care of my crops of Yin type plants!"


    She was almost half-way up the stairs when an idea popped into her mind. She had been thinking about calling Fen Wudao for help, being the direct disciple of the Patriarch, surely he would be able to do something. She had even seen him in the lower valley before!


    But there was another way...


    "Hiding spirit formation!"


    Between her breasts, the little nut seemed to approve of Shin Sumi''s idea. Maybe it too wanted to go back to the dark chasm, play around with the writhing mass of deadly snakes.


    Stopped in the middle of the stairway to the lower valley, Shin Sumi quickly went on to experiment with her hiding formation.


    "The only time I''ve used it was on the training area of my courtyard, on solid ground. But here I can''t trace the pattern on the floor..."


    Taking out a piece of cloth from the bag of holding at her belt, she laid it flat on a step.


    "My old red robes, you can be useful again. Let''s see if I can draw it on myself!"


    Her idea was to draw the pattern on her dress, making herself hidden at all times while wearing it. Like some sort of invisibility cloak.


    Concentrating Shinsoo at the tip of her finger, Shin Sumi started to work the pattern she knew by heart. A few minutes later, the last line was closing in on the first, ending the pattern, when the cloth ripped to shreds under her hand.


    "Uh?"


    The portions of the robe where her finger had been were now cut open, or rather broken down so finely that only a red dust of strings remained in that place.


    "Oh no, it''s too much concentrated Shinsoo in one place?! I need something that would withstand the pattern..."


    Under the careful eyes of the little nut, Shin Sumi slowly immersed herself in the almost scientific trance that took over whenever she was experimenting.


    Every time, it was when the pattern got to completion that the surface on which she was drawing shattered.


    The handle of a broken sword splintered immediately. Even the now empty scroll on which the little grey nut had ''stolen'' the hiding formation teared apart.


    "I don''t have any jade slips that I can use... The only things I have are weapons and spirit stones... Wait. That''s it!"


    The answer was under her eyes the whole time! What could withstand concentrated Shinsoo better than a spirit stone? It was already literally a concentrated piece of solid Shinsoo!


    Using the tip of her nail, Shin Sumi put the first spirit stone she could get her hands on really close to her face. The surface was not big so it was relatively hard to draw the pattern.


    After a long and laborious process, Shin Sumi held her breath as her nail closed the lines.


    She had no idea what would happen if a spirit stone were to explode. All the concentrated energy within the stone would burst into powerful shards. A devastating power this close to her face was definitely dangerous.


    But thankfully none of that happened. The stone vibrated lightly, the white color almost fading into a dull grey.


    That was proof the hiding formation worked!


    The fact that from looks only the stone seemed completely normal was an indicator of success in Shin Sumi''s eyes.


    Not wasting any more time, Shin Sumi ran down the stairs, right until she was about to enter the pillars building.


    Calming her breathing and holding back her divine sense from spreading, she held the spirit formation stone in her hand and walked out silently.


    The disciple in charge of keeping the gate between the two valleys was further away. The tension within Shin Sumi and the rhythm of her heartbeats slowly rose as she got closer and closer to him.


    From the theory behind hiding formations, Shin Sumi knew that the closer she got to someone, the more chance they had to detect her, especially if they had a higher cultivation level.


    Like a shadow, Shin Sumi walked past the disciple, keeping a distance of only five meters between them.


    The fear of getting caught had turned the short thirty seconds of her sneaking around into a tantalizingly long experience.


    Quickening her pace, Shin Sumi got out of perception range a few seconds later, right when the spirit stone in her hand thrummed and vibrated. The little nut bit her skin with its painful row of teeth, leaving a deep mark on her shoulder.


    By reflex, Shin Sumi threw the stone away in the forest right as it exploded. There was almost no sound, the remnant of the hiding power drowning the noise into nothingness, although the energy wave blasted branches and leaves away in an instant.


    Her breath cut short, Shin Sumi stood there in shock for quite a long time.


    She didn''t know that all this time she held a powerful bomb in the palm of her hand!


    The footsteps of the Liquid Realm disciple coming in to check what the strange wind was, brought Shin Sumi back to her senses.


    Fleeing the scene as quickly as she could, Shin Sumi got away at the last moment.


    She arrived at the familiar dark scar in the earth a few minutes later, her speed allowing her to rush across the lower valley like the wind.


    Compared to her previous training sessions at the dark ravine, this time Shin Sumi didn''t spend any time there at all. With the Copper Bell by her side and her newly augmented divine sense perception range, she could explore every square meter of the ravine in less than ten minutes.


    She was even a bit disappointed to find that the rich concentration of Shinsoo she was happy to bathe in previously was in fact not that great. A Honorary Disciple her who had never been to the upper valley had thought that this place was paradise.


    Nevertheless, Shin Sumi didn''t leave the dark chasm empty handed. After visiting the small Yin type plantation she had left alone, she had quite the spirit plants inventory.


    "All my Worm Root Flowers are dead, the Snow Lilies are all dried up," she thought.


    Some of the plants had not resisted the passage of time very well, especially considering that nobody had taken care of them but at least the White Cloud Lotus flowers were as beautiful as ever, glimmering with moonlight and a dense Yin type Shinsoo.


    There was one single big surprise that made the entire trip worth making, though.


    Shin Sumi remembered planting a few Ivory Silk Feather seeds that had never grown. Maybe the conditions weren''t right, or maybe they needed more time to grow.


    And they did. All the seeds even seemed to have fused into one giant stalk that was now over five meters in height! The white silk dropping from the higher branches draped down over the entire stalk, giving a mystical appearance to the fist sized trunk.


    Ivory Silk Feathers usually resembled white feathers planted in the ground, not longer than a forearm at most. Now this single monstrous feather would put to shame even the giant White Crane from the Rising Star Tournament dimension.


    Using her Liquid Realm Powers, Shin Sumi didn''t have any trouble harvesting the plant, making it fit in her bag of holding easily too.


    "So in the end it wasn''t a complete waste of time. I even experimented with a type of bomb the world has never seen... Now I should go back to th-"


    Shin Sumi stopped frozen. In her hand, a jade slip was vibrating, glowing with a soft light and emanating the divine sense of the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s Patriarch.

 67 Two Insignias

    Instantly Shin Sumi''s mind was overflowing with all the things she did and shouldn''t have done, especially over the past few days.


    "Does he know I''m in the lower valley? Does he know about the dark chasm? Has he changed his mind about joining three Pavilions?"


    Not wanting to draw more conclusions before even listening to the recorded divine sense in order to not freak out unnecessarily, Shin Sumi took a deep breath and took out the vibrating jade.


    "Follow the trail up the mountain at the north of the valley. Wait in front of the dilapidated building called House of the Sky. Be there in fifteen minutes."


    Shin Sumi let out the air in her lungs. She didn''t think she was in trouble after all. She couldn''t be sure yet but the tone used by the Patriarch was not harsh at all.


    "Another ruins? Is that all the Ghost Pavilion can do? First my new house and then this House of the Sky... North of the valley... Wait, fifteen minutes?!"


    Shin Sumi''s head started spinning when she recalled the Patriarch''s last words.


    Even by the most basic calculations of the speed she could muster, there was no way she could get there in fifteen minutes!


    Even though her speed had gone through an insane increase with her new power level, she was currently in the dark chasm!


    Back when she was an Honorary Disciple, the dark chasm was almost two hours away from the lower valley!


    Not spending another second in waste, Shin Sumi concentrated all her Shinsoo from her dantian into her legs.


    Faster than the wind, she left a trail of flying leaves behind her as she dashed continuously towards the lower valley.


    From there she didn''t stop even to take a breath. Clenching her teeth, she approached the pillars of the entry to the upper valley.


    "Even if I''m caught, surely the Patriarch will have my back on this, right?!"


    She was going faster than she ever did before. Running in a straight line between the trees, she couldn''t see the Liquid Realm disciple in charge of guarding the gate to the staircase to the upper valley.


    Half a second later, the gust of wind she had inadvertently summoned crossed through the building, howling as she ran up the stairs, twenty steps at a time.


    More than ten minutes had already passed when she finally reached the upper valley. According to the mental map in her head, Shin Sumi knew she was currently on the southern side of the valley.


    Rather than crossing in a straight line towards the north and risking to be slowed down in the busy streets, Pavilions and market area, Shin Sumi decided to run around, keeping close to the Star Arenas.


    She was passing the Fourth Star Arena, the one close to her own house when a second gust of wind approached her without her realizing.


    "Hey Sister Shin."


    "Brother Fen?! How- Why did-"


    Fen Wudao spread his arms wide, instantly covering the both of them by a curtain of Shinsoo, much like Shin Sumi''s hiding formation.


    "What were you doing in the lower valley?"


    Shin Sumi was taken aback. Had Fen Wudao followed her from all the way back there? What did he see exactly?!


    "You know what? Nevermind. It''s fine you can do whatever you want as long as no one catches you. We''re here anyway, let''s get you introduced, little Seventh Ghost."


    His reassuring smile dissipated all of Shin Sumi''s confusion. The both of them landed in front of an old building that looked like half ruins.


    A wooden panel still half hanging over the bronze door informed them that it really was the House of the Sky.


    "Is that the usual meeting place for the sixth Pavilion?" asked Shin Sumi in a low voice.


    "It depends, we only know at the last moment... I am not even sure what this is all about. I''m only guessing this meeting is for you."


    Shin Sumi entered behind Fen Wudao, keeping the etiquette of following the higher ranked. Contrarily to her expectations, there was no magical seal on the building, nothing to keep it secret.


    Despite being away from the areas where disciples were allowed to roam free, the lack of secret seemed a bit strange to her.


    The House of the Sky was an obscured building with a simple looking entry. The smell of dust and mold was overflowing Shin Sumi''s nostrils, obviously coming from the dark wood panels covering the floors and walls.


    Greyish tapestries were here and there, the drawings too faded to see what they once represented.


    Both disciples, Fen Wudao and Shin Sumi were waiting in silence, when Fen Wudao suddenly looked in the distance, as if he was seeing through the walls.


    Answering an order that Shin Sumi never heard, Fen Wudao nodded before turning back to her.


    "Wait here Sister Shin, you''ll be called in soon."


    And just like that, Fen Wudao disappeared after sliding close the door to the main room.


    Conscious that she was being observed, at least by divine sense if not directly, Shin Sumi didn''t move a single muscle, waiting for instructions. The anguish in her heart was only topped by her expectations for the meeting.


    More than half of a sixty minutes cycle passed, Shin Sumi not batting an eyelid.


    Finally when she thought she would die from heart failure, the wooden panel opened by itself, the old voice of Patriarch Sen prompting her to enter.


    "Disciple Shin Sumi pays her respects" she called, her head low, getting to her knees and bowing as soon as she walked in.


    Another few minutes of pure silence.


    Piing.


    Something just registered in Shin Sumi''s divine sense range. A tiny metallic pin had been thrown in front of her.


    She instantly recognized the moon overlapped with the silhouette of a ghost.


    "Stand up and stick out your palm."


    Doing as she was told, Shin Sumi finally took a glance at the full room around her. She could feel three presences in the room, although only two of them were familiar.


    Behind the seated Patriarch, Fen Wudao was looking at her with a straight face, although his eyes were smiling. Off to the side, a third person was standing, hidden by the darkness.


    Obviously, the third person didn''t want her to see them. And they were definitely much stronger than she was, completely obliterating her divine sense.


    "Who is it? The Ghost number one? Two? Even the Copper Bell can''t activate and dispel the darkness with them around..."


    Shin Sumi kept her interrogations to herself, concentrated on making her hand steady, the trembling agitating her being repressed by sheer willpower.


    From nowhere, Shin Sumi felt a prick in the middle of her palm. A single drop of blood flew out of the tiny wound, completely out of her control.


    Both floating in the air, the drop of red blood collided with the ghost insignia, leaving a brownish mark on the backside of it.


    ''Seven'' read the blood stain.


    "Welcome to the Ghost Pavilion, Seventh Sister."


    The voice that had just spoken came from the unknown person in the room, who was apparently sounding like a middle aged woman. A few simple words and then she was gone. Just like that the presence disappeared, Shin Sumi never hearing the opening of a door or feeling the movement of Shinsoo in the air.


    She didn''t know what cultivation level the woman had but it was so much higher than hers, leaving Shin Sumi feeling like an ant in front of a building.


    Despite being accepted officially as a member of the Ghost Pavilion, Shin Sumi felt like she had been grazed by death itself, the knowledge that at any point she could have been dead without knowing it.


    Patriarch Sen sighed, a serene smile wrinkling his old face. From his sleeve appeared three rolled up scrolls. All of them were sealed by a wax moon crescent. White, grey and black, each their own color.


    "These are now for you to learn, number seven. If you have any questions, six can answer for you" the Patriarch said, Fen Wudao gently nodding, "good luck on your selection for the other branches."


    "Wait, is this all there is to it?" Shin Sumi asked herself in disbelief as she was walking down the mountain.


    Above her head, Fen Wudao''s silver arrow flew like a comet as he disappeared in the clouds.


    Back in her courtyard, Shin Sumi went straight to the bathing room, letting the fresh water relax the heart-stopping tension that had been wrecking her nerves.


    "The selections start tomorrow... I should go straight to the Swords Pavilion then, it''s the hardest to get in. Once that is done, I''ll at least be sure to accompany Yue in the future."


    There were still a few hours to kill before Shin Sumi had to move, which she spent trying to circulate Shinsoo according to the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow method.


    The technique was as hard as before to circulate, but with the explanations provided by Xiao Yue, at least Shin Sumi knew that it could be a good thing.


    "At least with all sixty four Doors opened, it is theoretically possible. The number of high-level Doors is also very high, which should enable more power once I manage to succeed. It''s only normal that it''s difficult!"


    After a few cycles of complete exhaustion and recuperation in the bathing room with the help of the little nut, Shin Sumi was only one step closer to completing the technique.


    Giving up for now, she chose a new cultivation dress, her features turning to that of Bai Fulong almost instantly.


    "Sky Deception, now is your time to shine" she stroked the length of the grey blade, infusing her Shinsoo and talking to it like one would do with a pet.


    The Sword Pavilion stood proudly close to the middle of the upper valley. It was a grand building adorned with all sorts of pillars and decorations, a flamboyant red shining like a torch below the dark clouds.


    A large crowd was already gathered in front of it, by far the most impressive crowd of Liquid Realm cultivators Shin Sumi had ever seen.


    "Were there that many people in the Rising Star Tournament to begin with?!" she couldn''t believe it. The discussions around her, though, informed her that anybody could take the selections.


    "How many times have you tried it, Brother Hao? Three?" asked a dark skinned cultivator to the middle aged man next to him.


    "Yeah, I feel like last time I was close to succeeding in the imparted time though! I prepared during the whole year for this!"


    "It would suck to be forced to go to the Beast branch again... I just wish the selection this year would be the same as last year. Man, cutting that Shinsoo reinforced stump with a normal blade was too hard then but now I feel like I can do it!"


    "You know it''s gonna change. And I bet it''s going to be harder this year with- Oh look, it''s the direct disciple giving the talk!"


    Shin Sumi detached her eyes from the couple of cultivators. The direct disciple could only mean one thing.


    Xiao Yue had appeared, opening the doors to the Sword Pavilion wide. She was wearing an all black robe, her Black Devil Spear in her hand, leaving a trail of deathly smoke.


    Her face was stern but Shin Sumi could tell by the discreetly wandering eyes that her sister was looking for her.


    "Today''s selection process is easy. Each of you is to take a piece of parchment and grab a tree leaf. The first thirty disciples to cut the parchment using the leaf will be accepted in the Star-Sword Pavilion. Begin!"


    At the exact same time as Xiao Yue was giving the starting signal, the top most window of the pavilion opened, a thousand white squares of parchment falling from the sky like fireworks.


    The beautiful display didn''t take the disciples mind away from their tasks though. The next instant the crowd had dispersed, looking for the nearby tree to plunder for a good looking leaf.


    Shin Sumi followed suit, Bai Fulong''s face as concentrated as anyone''s.


    "I definitely didn''t expect this sort of trial. What does it even mean as to our abilities with weapons?!"


    Besides, Xiao Yue''s voice was clear. Only thirty disciples would be allowed to enter the Sword Pavilion, not one more.


    Still having the Ivory Silk Feathers plant in her bag of holding, Shin Sumi hesitated for a short few seconds whether she should pluck one of its leaves and use it instead of a tree leaf. In the end she decided against it in the name of fairness, as well as because of the discrete assembly that had formed around the Sword Pavilion.


    Because of the flying parchment squares and the rush to grab a tree leaf, nobody had really paid attention to the newcomers. And now, around fifty disciples were standing at the bottom of the pavilion, some of them leaning against the walls, others simply waiting behind Xiao Yue.


    Shin Sumi had not felt them arrive at all, but now that she had seen their presence, her divine sense was going wild.


    A formless pressure had accompanied the troop, a high level group of cultivators for sure. Besides Xiao Yue, all of them must have been at least third step Liquid Realm disciples.


    "Star-Sword practitioners... These are disciples who have already entered the number one branch of the Dark Sky Starry Sect..."


    If Shin Sumi was wondering what they were doing there, the answer came abruptly when two of the disciples in standby leaped from the ground. The next instant, the both of them reappeared on either side of a trial taker, not five meters from Shin Sumi.


    The two third step disciples had one hand each on the newbie''s shoulders, the other hand firmly gripping the hilt of their swords in a terrifying manner.


    The trial taker was knocked out instantly, his consciousness escaping without his realization, probably. He was quickly taken away, the general confusion mounting as to what had happened.


    Xiao Yue cleared her throat loudly, bringing the attention back to her.


    "If this hadn''t been clear enough before, only one normal leaf is allowed. Any disciple attempting to cheat their way into the selection by using an Immortal plant leaf or a blade of any sort will be gently asked to step out."


    Much like everybody else''s, Shin Sumi''s back shivered. She definitely hadn''t been the last person to think of trying to cheat.


    The warning was simple. All the attendees were step one Liquid Realm cultivators whereas the referees were the fifty high level disciples. There was no way to cheat.


    Silence dawned on the crowd. Fear was a powerful tool, and a good motivator too. With a simple action, it was now certain that nobody would try to cheat and instead diligently worked on their task.


    "Cutting parchment with a normal leaf" sighed Shin Sumi.


    The goal was definitely exuberant. Who in their right mind would think of that?! But after all it was the Sword Pavilion''s trial.


    The Star-Sword branch was completely focused on using weapons instead of any other form of fighting. And yet the disciples attending the selection process were not allowed to use any weapon.


    "We are Immortal cultivators. The key is definitely the flow and use of Shinsoo. I''ve got it!"


    Shin Sumi was not the only one to understand the point of the trial. In the distance, Xiao Yue had spotted Sui Lin, the previous member of the Big Three from the lower valley.


    She was surprised that Sui Lin would attempt to get in the Sword Pavilion, when her techniques and magic would definitely do wonders in the Formation Pavilion. Maybe because Jun Qian had been accepted as Master Cloud''s direct disciple, she wanted to get away from him in order to not be his shadow forever.


    As for the third member of the Big Three, Tai Bu, he was currently trying to infuse his tree leaf with Shinsoo.


    "Two promising disciples, and they already figured out what to do. And that is not even considering all the older disciples attempting the selection once more. There''s bound to be a few of them succeeding soon."


    The voice behind Xiao Yue startled her a little bit. She had not heard him get so close behind.


    "Where is the friend you''ve told me about, Yue?" asked Master Sword, a grim looking man with an unintentionally terrifying smile.


    "Master, I don''t need to tell you for now in my opinion. If everything goes right, my friend will enter the Pavilion in no time."


    "Oh?" said Master Sword with a scoff. Sometimes even he was taken aback by the audacity of Xiao Yue''s words. That was what he had liked about her in the first place. "I sure hope they don''t disappoint me. Anyway we''ll be fine if we get the two members of the Big Three."


    Xiao Yue nodded, the presence of her master disappearing from behind her the next instant. She wasn''t sure anybody had even realized that the proud number three expert in the entire sect had shown up just now.


    "Sumi, I believe in you. Don''t make me look like a fool in front of my Master, please."


    In her Bai Fulong disguise, Shin Sumi had indeed understood what the trial was about.


    She was gently trying to infuse moderate amounts of Shinsoo in the tree leaf resting on her palm.


    "It''s an exercise of Shinsoo control. Anything can become a weapon with enough Shinsoo infused into it, the hardest thing is to not consume the frail leaf with energy."


    Because only one leaf could be used, insuffling too much Shinsoo into it automatically meant failing the trial.


    "It should be good now" thought Shin Sumi, holding the leaf carefully, the parchment piece in her other hand.


    Slash.


    The second half of the parchment fell to the ground without a single noise. The green leaf suddenly burst into pieces, unable to endure the Shinsoo anymore, not that it mattered.


    Ziiiiiing.


    Shin Sumi caught the small object flying towards her at the last moment.


    "A pin in the shape of a sword eh? How original."


    Xiao Yue herself was handing out the insignias to all the disciples that had succeeded. Because of her current occupation she had failed to find her sword sister previously, but her heart was finally made at peace when she found herself throwing a tiny sword pin to the well known silhouette of Bai Fulong.


    "Sumi as Bai Fulong, Sui Lin, Tai Bu, and twenty seven other good disciples. Master Sword will be happy."

 68 Unrivaled And Unprecedented

    Xiao Yue, in charge of the selection process for the Star-Sword Pavilion, bidded everybody farewell, her and the other Sword disciples disappearing inside the grand building.


    Her new disciple badge in hand, Shin Sumi immediately sent her sister a message to thank her and ask about the teachings of the Sword branch.


    To the divine sense message, Xiao Yue responded that she was glad Bai Fulung had done okay, placing amongst the best in the selection. She also added that while she was the direct disciple of Master Sword, she had only joined a few days before and still didn''t know much about how the Pavilion worked.


    "We''ll both have to see how it is tomorrow morning... I am joining you too, as a student this time."


    Xiao Yue then reminded Shin Sumi to hurry, although it was unnecessary. Shin Sumi had not forgotten that the other branches'' trials were taking place as they spoke.


    "Next up is the Cloud-Formation Pavilion... That''s where Jun Qian is enrolled, maybe Chu Erlong too. Yan Yan is definitely the only face I can use there."


    Of course Shin Sumi was not afraid of Jun Qian and Chu Erlong recognizing her. Laughing wryly, she assumed that the scar she had left in them was too deep to be washed away yet. But for the sake of the Dark Sky Starry Sect as a whole, she didn''t want the two to be affected by her simple presence.


    Especially Jun Qian. After their last encounter, the previously number one changed entirely after a simple glance at her.


    Even more so since he had become Master Cloud''s direct disciple, Shin Sumi could actually attract his master''s anger if she inadvertently bullied him into submission while they were cultivating in the same branch.


    This was the reason Shin Sumi had chosen to present herself as Yan Yan. Using the spirit formations she had learnt during the week to hide herself from the passerbyes in the sect, she effortlessly assumed the market seller''s appearance.


    "Welcome to the Cloud Formation Pavilion entry trial. The number of places for new disciples isn''t defined yet as we are only interested in your capacity to control and use Shinsoo."


    When Shin Sumi arrived, Jun Qian was already addressing the rules of the selection process.


    "Hm, it seems like the direct disciple is always in charge of recruitment, no matter the branch. First Xiao Yue and now Jun Qian."


    Ignoring the looks given to Yan Yan by the male disciples around, Shin Sumi focused on the rules explained by Jun Qian.


    The selection process was in two steps. The first one was to activate a spirit formation, right here and there on the surface of the platform they were standing on. Only those who would be able to succeed in less than two hours would move on to the second step.


    Looking to the side at two other particular contestants, Shin Sumi added "and those who come from cultivation families with access to such techniques already."


    Fu Xue, the female cultivator with the impressively large stone sword was there, eyes wide open like a little girl, taking in all the rules dictated by Jun Qian. Almost next to her was Chu Erlong, whose presence didn''t surprise Shin Sumi in the slightest.


    But what was Fu Xue doing there?! Her Fu Clan was dedicated to spirit formations, but only the ones enhancing the cultivator''s body!


    Becoming one with the huge sword they carried around, that was the whole thing about their techniques. Fu Xue was definitely made for the Light-Breaker Pavilion!


    And even then, with her strength that had been almost on par with Shin Sumi''s, she could have easily made it to the Star-Sword Pavilion as well.


    "Nevermind what she is doing here for now. I''ll probably get the chance to talk to her later if we are both accepted here. She left a good impression on me during the tournament, I hope we can become friends in the future!"


    Jun Qian had finished his explanations by the time Shin Sumi was looking at Fu Xue. The second step of the trial was still a mystery, only the passing disciples would get to know them.


    As the time of evaluation started, Shin Sumi started working on her light transmission formation. From the three she knew, it was the one she had practiced the less, but also the less impressive one. Because of the selection process, she wasn''t aiming to place first or anything, in fact she wanted to do quite the opposite. Get accepted as a nobody, that was the key for Shin Sumi.


    "Because there are no limitations on the number of applicants, the Cloud-Formation Pavilion is staying open, even for those in the Rising Star Tournament that have yet to reach the Liquid Realm. Two months from now, there will still be people getting recruited. It also means that disciples who fail today can practice and try again later."


    At least the first step of the selection, anyone could potentially do. Disciples simply needed to know of a single working formation.


    Shin Sumi was wondering how the judging of the formation would work while she was only sixty percent done with hers when the answer suddenly came in the form of a halo of light under Chu Erlong.


    "The platform-", how could Shin Sumi have missed that? The platform on which they were standing was the testing device!


    Very reminiscent of the stele used to determine an Honorary Disciple''s Shinsoo affinity, the materials forming the platform were made to react strongly when met with a working spirit formation.


    "Once the formation is complete, the platform will glow and you will have passed the first step of the trial to enter the Cloud-Formation Pavilion" synthesized Jun Qian for the crowd.


    Since the matter of him and Chu Erlong becoming dual cultivation partners was a known fact by now, everybody present could attest to the gleam of pride in his eyes. The woman that was promised to him had succeeded before anyone else. How fitting for him, the direct disciple of Master Cloud.


    An older disciple completed his formation a few seconds after Chu Erlong, received by looks of envy from a few other disciples who were struggling with their own.


    Fu Xue was third in completing the first step of the entry trial. By the time five or six halos of light had spawned from the platform, it was Shin Sumi''s turn to shine.


    A disciple next to her complimented Yan Yan on her success, having given up the trial a few seconds prior. He was probably intent on making friends with the talented and good looking Yan Yan, before Shin Sumi cut short his aspirations by not even replying.


    Instead, she sat cross legged on the ground, simply waiting for the first examination to end.


    The result was clear soon after. Crafting a spirit formation was not an easy task, and it could even be called downright impossible if one hadn''t trained in such arts before.


    As expected no disciple could create a working formation out of nothing, and so the examination ended after thirty minutes of wait.


    After reminding them that they could try again whenever they were ready, Jun Qian quickly dispersed the failing individuals before gathering the twenty or so people who had passed.


    Each of the remaining disciples was soon handed a sealed scroll on which the words ''trial of aptitude'' were written.


    The moment the scrolls were passed around, Shin Sumi had already more or less guessed the content of the second trial.


    Her suspicions were confirmed when Jun Qian gave the signal to open the scroll and explained the rule.


    "You have to complete the formation that was assigned to you. These are low level techniques that were created for the sole purpose of this assignment. The only time limit is two days."


    Jun Qian''s voice was low and steady. If Shin Sumi didn''t know better and hadn''t caught a glimpse of his viciousness and cunningness, she could have sworn that he was the perfect knowledgeable big brother made for the job.


    "If in two days time from the moment you opened the scroll, you haven''t drawn your assigned formation on the platform in front of the Pavilion, then you will have failed the trial and will be forced to wait a year to try again."


    The purpose of this ''trial of aptitude'' was evidently to see one''s capacity to understand a spirit formation. In short, the faster you could get the low level formation to work the better your aptitude.


    Like everybody else, Shin Sumi stopped right outside of the building, her feet still firmly planted on the testing platform.


    "A low level formation, without the little nut''s refining. How hard can it really be?"


    The magical drawing on the scroll didn''t even seem too complex.


    The same thought must have crossed all of the participant''s minds. All at once, the disciples spread out, already gathering Shinsoo in their fingertips.


    The runes-like symbols were quickly etched on the cold ground, invisible to the eyes, relying only on the divine sense to work.


    Shin Sumi''s mastery of spirit formations was almost non-existent, thus she had no idea what purpose the formation in itself served. If any of the lines were significant to others, to her there were no indications as to what the result should be.


    Nevertheless, as she saw the others'' formations crumble apart one by one, hers seemed to hold quite well.


    Even Fu Xue had to abandon at some point, unable to gather more Shinsoo for the time being, forced to take a rest and retry before the two days had passed.


    After the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, only Chu Erlong and Shin Sumi were left. Not even Jun Qian had stayed to observe.


    A few drops of sweat had accumulated between Shin Sumi''s brows. Her concentration was intense, like her consumption of Shinsoo.


    Because of the precision needed to perform a spirit formation, cultivators had to constantly adjust the Shinsoo output in accordance to the pattern. A bit too much Shinsoo in the wrong place and the formation would burst. A bit too little and it would crumble, incapable of holding the mounting power.


    Both girls were immersed completely in their respective processes, cut from the outside world, not paying attention to one another. In fact, they were not even aware that the others had all left.


    In a stroke of luck, Chu Erlong and Yan Yan both traced their last lines at the same time.


    A small blue tornado of wind rose from the middle of Chu Erlong''s circular pattern, while a block of ice condensed in front of Yan Yan.


    Suddenly realizing about the presence of the other, Yan Yan''s eyes met with Chu Erlong''s.


    Ecstatic about their success and the pressure finally relieved, both girls couldn''t help but smile.


    "Chu Erlong doesn''t seem that bad in the end. Maybe it was some sort of miscommunication before" Shin Sumi found herself thinking, "but maybe as Yan Yan I can befriend her?"


    She was about to praise her, in the bliss of their success, and had stepped closer to her, when Chu Erlong''s eyes pierced her soul with coldness.


    "I know who you are. I don''t know how you''ve remained incognito, you must have a powerful cultivation family behind your back. Because of that I am willing to let go of the grudge between us, Shin Sumi. I won''t reveal who you are if you let me, Jun Qian and my followers, alone."


    Shin Sumi was stunned. How could she have expected that Chu Erlong had pierced her disguise long ago thanks to Liu Qing''s spying in the lower valley?


    Taking a second to think things through and calculate Chu Erlong''s motives, Shin Sumi finally nodded.


    "I have no interest in you and your man. I never had any, to be honest" she responded, closing her eyes while sensing the arrival of Jun Qian, alerted by the testing platform a few seconds beforehand.


    Chu Erlong too masked her surprise, half relieved to hear that her powerful nemesis had no further plan, and half shocked to hear the contempt in Shin Sumi''s voice.


    Gritting her teeth slightly, Chu Erlong thought about the possibility of Shin Sumi never even considering the grudge between them.


    Using her divine sense to communicate without words before Jun Qian could perceive her message from a distance, Shin Sumi added:


    "But if you dare touch another one of my friends to get to me again, I will make sure to resolve any of your grudges towards me in a bath of blood."


    For a second, Shin Sumi''s eyelid lifted right enough to reveal an iris full of madness and the flames of a devil. Chu Erlong shivered, unable to react for a short time, taken by fear while Jun Qian stood in front of them. The next instant, Yan Yan''s eyes opened fully, suddenly jovial and respectfully bowing to Jun Qian.


    "Congratulations, you two have succeeded on your first try?! Here are your insignias. Wear them proudly, you have earned them."


    Jun Qian''s face translated his surprise and good impression clearly.


    "I can feel that with the three of us, the Cloud-Formation Pavilion will have a complete renewal in strength!"


    Shin Sumi''s lip almost twitched, "don''t tell me that he wants to make another ''Big three'' with us?!"


    Feigning a sudden fatigue due to the use of too much Shinsoo, Yan Yan quickly excused herself to go rest.


    "I will see you soon, Brother Jun, Sister Chu! I am so glad to have made it into the Formation branch!"


    Shin Sumi almost wanted to turn around just to see the face of Chu Erlong who for sure wanted to vomit after hearing her last words.


    But she definitely didn''t want to stay there for too long. She had more to do, and spending time with Jun Qian and his companion was not on her list.


    "First things first, I need to refill my energy. Crafting spirit formations... it''s so intense, I still can''t believe I managed to do it in one go!"


    Despite her insane amount of Shinsoo in her dantian, Shin Sumi still felt exhausted like never before.


    Upon arriving at her forest house and activating the protection formations that were still in place, she finally relaxed a little bit.


    Using the nut''s powers to rest efficiently while immersed in water, Shin Sumi only took thirty minutes to replenish her energy levels.


    "Where do I go next? I still need to find a branch for myself! Bai Fulong and Yan Yan are all set, but I can still fit one more Pavilion! What do you say, little nut?


    No, I haven''t chosen yet. Crafting medicine is useful but with you here, I can already buy the cheapest stuff and turn it into the best resources. I think the Light-Breaking Pavilion is the strongest, but..."


    Talking to herself, Shin Sumi was still unable to decide on the path to take.


    Leaving it to convenience, she decided to go to whichever Pavilion was closest first, and see what the entrance trial was about.


    "Divine-Beast Pavilion first then. Are you excited little nut?"


    No answer. Of course.


    The building that housed the Divine-Beast Pavilion, despite its name, looked more like a mortal building than any other place in the sect Shin Sumi had ever seen.


    It was a little bit underwhelming after the grand trial at the Sword branch and the impressive magical platform at the Formation trial.


    What''s more, Shin Sumi spotted quite a number of disciples that had been excluded from the past two trials. Even the male cultivator who had been knocked out for cheating in the Star-Sword trial was there.


    "Maybe it isn''t for me... Let''s go to the Light-Breaking Pavilion straight away."


    But Shin Sumi was stopped before even turning around.


    "Ouch! Little nut, are you crazy?!"


    From the beginning, Shin Sumi had been trying her best to keep the existence of the nut hidden from others, but now it was directly biting her in front of many witnesses!


    Holding her pain within, Shin Sumi sent a sliver of divine sense to the nut, ordering it to keep quiet.


    "Aiie!" came the second bite.


    This time, she definitely understood.


    "Fine, I''m not leaving. But hey, maybe the trial will be too difficult and I won''t get in anyway."


    Exasperated but still following the nut''s prompts, Shin Sumi waited patiently. Contrarily to the other trials she knew, this one seemed a bit different. Instead of a crowd occupied by a task, the disciples were waiting in line in front of the decrepit building.


    But Shin Sumi knew deep within her heart that she had managed to go this far only thanks to the nut and it''s unrivaled powers. It was only fair to do what it asked once in a while.


    When it finally was Shin Sumi''s turn, a little bit of apprehension had mounted in her stomach. The process seemed so strange, the curiosity was slowly eating at her nerves.


    It even somewhat reminded her of the cruel wait she had to endure before getting the approval of the Ghosts for the secret sixth branch.


    "Welcome young lady. I''m Gen She the Keeper of Beasts. I will be in charge of supervising your assessment" called out a peaceful looking old man right past the door to the Pavilion.


    The man looked calm and weak, but Shin Sumi knew that appearances could be deceiving in the Immortal World.


    "Is he the Beast Master of the whole Pavilion?" she asked herself while he kept talking.


    "Unlike the other branches, the Divine-Beast Pavilion chooses you, not the other way around. You can even call it destiny if you will, he-he-he. Feel free to walk around. You have ten minutes, or until you feel chosen."


    The words uttered by the old man were cryptic at best, but Shin Sumi simply nodded, not bothering to make sense of it.


    "Destiny! Chosen! Eh. Do you hear that little nut?" she asked herself risibly, "Little nut?!"


    Shin Sumi realized the absence of the nut almost too late to see it roll on the ground past a long corridor full of grey wooden shelves.


    "Where are you going? Wait... are these eggs?!"

 69 Nuan

    A single quick sweep of divine sense revealed the truth to Shin Sumi.


    "All of these possess a spirit creature inside?! But this shelf clearly says Fox-tails Squirrels... Squirrels don''t lay eggs!"


    Full of surprise, Shin Sumi had not realized she had voiced her thoughts out loud.


    Gen She appeared silently next to her, startling her before answering.


    "You have a good knowledge young lady. Indeed only a fraction of the beasts on display here lay eggs. And even for them, only a rare few are still in their original shell.


    Every day the Divine-Beast Pavilion receives spirit creatures from disciple quests. Our role is to treat them properly to make sure they are not injured."


    Shin Sumi was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like in this Pavilion people cared about the spirit creatures.


    "Using the secret magic of our branch, we then put them to sleep and create a Shinsoo egg around them. They are permanently stuck in a resting stasis, until they are awoken."


    The old man Gen She explained that the first few corridors were a bit different. They were more or less resources for the sect, a small army of weak creatures.


    They could even be bought as food for the Beast branch disciples to feed their magical pets.


    "These ones cannot be woken up by a single sweep of divine sense. This is why they are in the front, so newcomers like you can understand the situation without any risks."


    Shin Sumi understood what Gen She meant. The most natural thing to do for a cultivator was to use divine sense to probe the surroundings.


    If one were to accidentally wake up thousands of beasts at once, it was truly a disaster for the entire upper valley.


    "Now that this is clear, follow me."


    Directing her, Gen She accompanied Shin Sumi to a few other rooms.


    The way the Pavilion was arranged, the beasts were stacked according to their strength, and then to their type.


    In order to target a spirit beast, a disciple only had to release divine sense on a single egg. If the egg cracked, the search was over.


    As Gen She had said before Shin Sumi entered, the creature did the choosing. Only if they were compatible and the egg entered in resonance with the divine sense would it signal the cultivator.


    "And the most powerful ones?" Shin Sumi asked.


    Gen She sighed but with a knowing smile.


    "Like anybody else I guess. Sure, you can start over there at the end of the corridor. I''ll let you try a few ones and come back this way until you''ve been chosen. You have eight minutes left."


    Gen She disappeared.


    Contrary to what the old man had thought, Shin Sumi was not actually set on giving a try with the stronger eggs. She simply wanted to confirm what was at the end of the path.


    The entire Pavilion looked strange to Shin Sumi. She wasn''t really into it, and the atmosphere felt quite cramped. Of course it could also be due to the fact that her divine sense was completely restricted.


    In fear of waking up a random beast, Shin Sumi was too afraid of using her divine sense, thus being like a mortal which had become an unusual feeling now.


    "Little nut, where are you?! I swear to the gods don''t put me in trouble or else..."


    Shin Sumi was walking the rows of shelves, looking for her small companion, but her mind was clouded by strange thoughts.


    She remembered the first time she had seen a cultivator from the Beast branch summon its fighting creature.


    The pattern left on the disciple''s skin, and now all the eggs looking like small colored balls with a light patterning on them.


    According to the type they represented, all the eggs were lightly colored. Red for fire types, blue for water or ice, green for plants, brown for earth and gold for metal.


    The pattern that was more distinguishable the more she got closer to the powerful spirit creatures was even representative of the species of the eggs.


    And yet, she couldn''t find a single egg that had a leaf pattern or a grey color.


    "Maybe the little nut isn''t an egg after all..."


    At this point, Shin Sumi had arrived at the end of the path. After a last flight of stairs, the walls were that of a cave, clearly indicating that she was not above ground anymore.


    "This is where the most powerful creatures are. I bet they only react to an insanely strong divine sense and they must be difficult to tame."


    Because of sheer curiosity, and because in her life in the Dark Sky Starry Sect Shin Sumi had come to fight a lot of strong creatures, she wondered what level could the beasts displayed there attain.


    The display of eggs there was a bit different from above. A light curtain of Shinsoo separated each alcove in the wall, each one housing only a single egg.


    Shin Sumi was about to look into the first alcove, trying to decipher a pattern to see if she knew what beast it was, when she realized that she couldn''t see an egg at all.


    "Uh? There''s nothing there. Maybe somebody has been chosen by it before. Let''s look at the next one."


    But the next Shinsoo cage was empty as well.


    Overtaken by a terrifying intuition, Shin Sumi started walking faster and faster towards the end of the room.


    Empty, empty empty... They were all empty.


    "Oh no..."


    In the second to last alcove, a small round egg was rolling in place. It''s color was a dull grey, engraved with little leaves that made it look like a nut from afar.


    "What have you done?!!!"


    Shin Sumi tried to retrieve the little nut but her hand was immediately blocked by the Shinsoo curtain of energy.


    Taking advantage of her moment of hesitation, the little nut bursted out of the alcove, rushing into the very last cage.


    Shin Sumi only had time to see that in the center was a brown colored egg with lines that formed small wings when the little nut touched it.


    A small vortex appeared in an instant, sucking the egg inside the little nut.


    Like it did with any spirit stone, the little nut had sucked in the egg like it was nothing, taking away the last strong creature that the Divine Beast Pavilion had in stock.


    "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Shin Sumi asked again, angry like she had never been before in her life.


    Without realizing, a terrifying wave of power erupted from her, Shinsoo distorting the air with her madness. The wave of Shinsoo rippled against the Shinsoo curtains, her full power completely unleashed.


    But then, as soon as the power made contact with the little nut, a small crack appeared on its surface.


    "Uh?" the unexpected development startled Shin Sumi who instantly retracted her energy that had involuntarily bursted out.


    "Is the little nut... hatching?!"


    The tiny grey ball with which Shin Sumi was familiar was slowly cracking open.


    A small portion of thin shell crumbled on itself, revealing a tiny bead-like black eye to the shocked Shin Sumi.


    For her, the little nut, despite being abnormally lively, was still a nut of some kind! Never had she actually thought of it as a small creature.


    Around the pearly eye was dark golden fur, shivering with the slightest rustle of wind. The shell cracked open further on a slender body covered in the same colored fur.


    A small mane of hair wiggled with the creature''s breathing. On its back, a grey membrane slowly detached from the fur, unfurling like skeletal wings.


    The last part to come out of the shell was a long grey tail, the end being a dark golden tuft whipping at the air.


    "Little nut, you are... no, I shouldn''t call you a little nut anymore. What are you?"


    Not answering, the small creature the size of a palm looked at Shin Sumi from below. A tiny wimp that instantly melted Shin Sumi''s heart came out of the creature''s small jaw.


    Joyfully hopping around, the beast finally ended on Shin Sumi''s extended hand, quickly crawling along her arm. It finally stopped when it reached the opening of her robes, finding comfort in the girl''s bosom like it always had.


    Shin Sumi smiled, a tear appearing out of nowhere on her cheek.


    "Oh little nut..."


    Carefully protecting the small newborn creature with one hand, Shin Sumi was about to walk away, taking her precious companion to see the sun for the first time when the memories of what happened right before came back rushing in.


    In the emotion of the moment, she had forgotten that the little nut had completely ruined the sect''s stock of powerful eggs...


    Not wasting time in case Gen She came around, Shin Sumi grabbed a handful of eggs from the next room, a little bit of each kind.


    The quickest she could, she placed an egg in each of the empty Shinsoo cages at the end of the corridor. She was aware that this replacement was awful at best but what else could she do?!


    At least she wouldn''t be found out immediately.


    Running away from the scene of the crime, she only stopped when she reached about halfway back to the entrance to the Pavilion.


    There she held the small dark golden creature with grey wings, waiting for Gen She whose unhurried steps could be heard.


    "Oh my...!" said the old man resting his sight on the small beady black eyes in Shin Sumi''s palm, "what a precious little friend! How lucky you are, young lady."


    Shin Sumi was relieved, smiling back to the guardian of the Pavilion.


    "It''s a Lion Bat. A really good companion. Friendly, not too dependent on its master, easy to tame. But don''t worry she is also a fierce fighter!"


    "A Lion Bat... She?"


    "Yes, it is a female!"


    Shin Sumi had never heard of the species before, only familiar with mortal bats. She had heard of ''lion'' before but only from the big city library books, never had she ever seen one in real life.


    "This one is really small, I didn''t even know we had one so small! Usually we get adult ones, this is a real blessing!"


    Gen She accompanied Shin Sumi and her little companion to the exit, spilling all his knowledge about Lion Bats on the way.


    He then ceremoniously handed her a scroll with a wax seal representing claw marks. The scroll contained the method to magically bind a creature to its master, consequently forming the summoning pattern on the master''s skin.


    A single discrete look at her wrist, though, confirmed to Shin Sumi that the leaf pattern had not left her skin nor changed at all.


    As expected, Shin Sumi received the corresponding insignia to add to her small collection.


    Before she knew it, she was back at her forest house, her eyes never having left the small creature''s frail appearance.


    "Why did you never tell me before, little nut? I would have gone straight to the Divine Beast Pavilion for you. No, that''s not right, I can''t call you that. What is your name?"


    An unhelpful but warming wimp was the only answer. The warmth spread through Shin Sumi in much the same way the little nut had previously boosted her abilities with its own Shinsoo.


    "How about Nuan?"


    Instead of answering, the baby Lion Bat bit Shin Sumi with affection.


    "Nuan it is... I''m happy you didn''t lose your teeth, little Nuan" Shin Sumi smiled as she saw the familiar row of indents in her silky skin.


    Time passed quickly, Shin Sumi simply holding the frail little creature in one hand, resting against her breasts while she sat down on the bench in her garden.


    At first she was completely lost in bliss at the sight of Nuan, but then her calculating mind started to creep around again.


    "But now that the little nut has become Nuan... Can it still refine spirit stones?"


    Gently waking up the Lion Bat that had fallen asleep by brushing its folded wings, Shin Sumi held a fingernail sized spirit stone to its head.


    The baby Nuan looked at the white stone with her black beads for eyes. The one sided staring contest didn''t last long before a long pink tongue stuck out and snatched away the spirit stone!


    Turning from a strange egg into a little furry creature didn''t impact its appetite for magical items at all.


    In fact it was quite the opposite, Shin Sumi discovered, as even some small bits of broken jade seemed to pick Nuan''s interest, something that had never happened before.


    Shin Sumi also found herself relieved when, an hour or so later, the Lion Bat spat out the refined resources.


    "Pfiuu, I''m glad it doesn''t come out the other end!"


    Shin Sumi did some more testing about Nuan''s nutrition, remembering that bats usually ate insects. Unfortunately for Shin Sumi''s inventory, the newborn would only frown away when presented with a fly or a grasshopper, it''s attention completely turned towards magical items.


    The last experiment Shin Sumi could afford to do at the moment turned out to be a complete success when with a single thought backed by divine sense, she prompted Nuan to enter the leaf pattern on her wrist.


    "Concealment: perfect! Now stay still for a bit, Nuan, I have to go back to the Sword Pavilion."


    That was the advantage of having a spirit creature born out of an egg that was already linked to her.


    Shin Sumi completely disregarded the scroll given to her by Gen She. Even upon opening it, Nuan didn''t bother stealing the lines inscribed on them, as Shin Sumi already had a summoning mark on her wrist.


    Bonding with a spirit creature had never been that easy!


    Shin Sumi also thought this way about taming the animal. Because the little nut was already ''alive'' before, Nuan seemed to have no interest in discovering the outside world, having already been Shin Sumi''s companion pet for more than two years.


    Not forgetting to switch identities and pin the sword insignia to her robes, Shin Sumi presented herself at the Star-Sword Pavilion at the expected time.


    After a quick review of the disciples present, an older disciple guided the newcomers inside the grand building housing the most selective branch of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    "Well, after the secret sixth branch of course" thought Shin Sumi.


    Diligently, Bai Fulong paid Xiao Yue a courteous bow, to which she replied with a discreet wink. Sitting not too far from each other, they both silently attended the lesson given to them by an older disciple about the way of the sword.


    In the Sword Pavilion, the lessons were taught along a simple processus. First there was a session with a mentor, teaching about fighting forms or techniques. Then was a practice time, where disciples of the same skill level would spar between each other, sometimes with dummy weapons and sometimes real ones.


    After all that, the day would end, leaving the next six days for disciples to practice by themselves, often going to a Star Arena for this purpose.


    After a few weeks, Shin Sumi had already grown accustomed to the teaching methods of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. These methods rarely differed from one branch to the next, always allowing time to progress in certain skills between each lesson.


    Only the Divine Beast Pavilion was a bit different. Because their primordial way of fighting and cultivating depended on a spirit creature, the first few months were crucial for establishing a good relationship between beast and master.


    It was also the right time to learn how to take care of them, earn their trust and form a life-long bond.


    Spending a few days per week with the Sword Pavilion and the Formation Pavilion, Shin Sumi still had lots of time to spare. Because of her peculiar cultivation, she didn''t need nearly as much time as other disciples to assimilate a new technique or a way to control her Shinsoo.


    The rest of her time was mostly spent with Nuan, playing around and testing the small Lion Bat''s abilities, or going to the upper valley library to look for scrolls or Immortal world related information.


    Only a few days after her rebirth, Shin Sumi was shocked to discover that Nuan still had the power to turn into a book. No matter how much she researched this fact in the old tomes on the dusty shelves of the library, there was no instance of a living being turning into a book ever being recorded.


    "This one is very interesting, but it''s a book that has gained sentience after thousands of years of use. I don''t think there''s anything in there concerning you, Nuan."


    Nuan was a complete mystery. Shin Sumi knew from her instinct as well as the new pages in the wooden book that the little nut had taken the appearance of a Lion Bat for a single reason.


    "According to the last page, the last spirit egg, the brown one with wings pattern, was a Lion Bat egg. So you''ve taken the appearance of the last egg you stole, eh? But what about the other eggs? Do you have any of their traits? And are you really a Lion Bat or can you change?"


    Of course, Nuan did not answer any of these questions. Even if she could, there was no indication that she even knew the answers.


    Shin Sumi was almost tempted to turn to the most knowledgeable person she could find in the sect for help.


    "Technically, even if he is the sect''s head, Patriarch Sen should be my Fourth Brother, right? What kind of older brother doesn''t help his little sister?!"


    Shin Sumi was only joking to herself about the fact that she was the Seventh Ghost, when suddenly her heart stilled and a bone-chilling feeling took over her entire body.


    A divine sense message from the Patriarch, right as she was thinking of him.


    "Oh no, what have I done, talking about my senior like that?!!"

 70 Moonlight Shadow

    "I am a ''ghost'' after all, Yan Yan needs to keep a low profile in the Cloud Formation Pavilion."


    Thankfully the Patriarch wasn''t reprimanding her on the way she had addressed him. Of course he had no way of knowing that.


    She was also glad that it had nothing to do with the incident at the Divine Beast Pavilion.


    "It seems like Nuan eating every single one of the most powerful eggs still hasn''t been discovered. If I''m lucky they will never be able to trace it back to me."


    Shin Sumi looked at the Lion Bat, currently jumping around on the ground, chasing a butterfly playfully.


    "Had Nuan eaten another egg last, would she have taken the appearance of that egg?"


    She considered herself lucky to have ended up with a Lion Bat as a pet instead of a reptilian creature or something huge like a Stone Leaf Tortoise.


    Talking with some disciples she met randomly at the Star Arenas, she knew that the Divine Beasts Pavilion would only start their teachings in a month or so, which left her with more time than ever to train in other kinds of magical arts.


    Because the techniques of the other two branches she was in weren''t necessarily difficult, at least in the beginning, she concentrated almost all of her time on the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow cultivation technique.


    After a month of being in the Liquid Realm, she had only recently succeeded in completing the cycle of Shinsoo Apertures necessary to circulate her energy. But it wasn''t anything like a breakthrough, a single cycle almost meaningless in cultivating.


    "I need to be able to circulate constantly, even when I''m asleep."


    It was a dreadful task, the control needed for one cycle being so exhausting that she would almost empty her dantian in the process. Her current ability was only of maybe two or three cycles at maximum power, really far from the thousands of cycle she was supposed to do in a day.


    "At which point do I get to materialize a shadow?" she wondered, referring to the first step of the Moon Severing Ethereal Shadow. Shin Sumi already had a sliver of response though, having peered through a few books from the upper valley library.


    "It makes sense that to make a shadow, one needs a light. This technique of course refers to the moon, but in here..." she looked up at the neverending clouds obscuring the sky day and night.


    "Is that why the technique is considered a low grade cultivation technique in the sect records? Because it''s impossible to harness its full power in the Dark Sky Starry Sect?"


    It seemed like there was no easy answer to her problem and she even considered leaving the technique altogether for another one, but Shin Sumi was not one to give up that easily.


    "Going to the dark chasm can help with the Yin Shinsoo but it still wouldn''t be enough. I can feel it."


    Postponing the problem for now, Shin Sumi relaxed for a bit, letting her mind drift away with thoughts of shadows constantly crossing the full moon.


    Shin Sumi woke up a while later, a tiny furry creature jumping on her face relentlessly.


    "Hey Nuan, what are you- Ouch!"


    In between two jumps, the Lion Bat had turned into a heavy book covered with tree bark.


    Shin Sumi jumped out of the water, rubbing her painful nose, her brows furrowed at the floating book.


    "Oh, now you''re levitating, uh? What is it?"


    Without any wind, the pages of the book turned, stopping at one of the latest pages. That was new, the Lion Bat had the ability to turn into a book by itself and still move and act through its pages?


    Shin Sumi traced a finger on the indicated page, tapping gently against the symbol etched at the top. She knew that symbol by heart, having seen it on her own blood-stained insignia and more recently in dreams.


    "The white scroll from the Ghost Pavilion!"


    There was no mistaking it, the Lion Bat had finally finished refining the first of the three scrolls given to her by the Patriarch. For some reason it had taken a few weeks for the nut to do instead of the usual couple hours. It was not too surprising though as a simple sliver of divine sense had revealed the intense protection magic covering the entire scroll.


    Even after unlocking the scroll with her insignia, linked to her by blood, Shin Sumi could read it but the nut was not ''authorized'' to do so.


    "White Claw Dusk Cleaver" was the name of the technique from the white scroll. No description of the technique was provided but the name alone proved to be quite awe-inspiring.


    Immediately concentrating Shinsoo within her, Shin Sumi tried her hand at the new technique. The quantity of Shinsoo needed was relatively high which was no problem for somebody with as much reserve power as she had, but what was really interesting was that the Shinsoo Apertures that needed to be connected were almost the same as the ones for the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow.


    "It seems I''ve made the right choice to pursue this type of cultivation technique. The skills from the Ghost Pavilion flow quite well with it."


    Forcefully stopping her attempt at the White Claw Dusk Cleaver technique, Shin Sumi sat down to think about it.


    "I won''t be able to complete anything unless I reach the second step of the Liquid Realm, at least. And by the churning of Shinsoo in my dantian and my Shinsoo Sea, I know that the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow is the right way."


    Looking at the sky above the sect, Shin Sumi breathed out slowly. Her eyes were peering through the heavy clouds, as if she was looking at the moon despite not seeing it.


    "The Patriarch should have my back, right Nuan? Am I about to do something really stupid?"


    Perched on her forearm, the Lion Bat was silent, her beady eyes turned to Shin Sumi while licking her paws and flailing her tail.


    "Let''s go."


    In the cover of darkness from the night, Shin Sumi exited her patch of forest. At any hour of day or night, the Dark Sky Starry Sect was always a bit busy, making her walk across the Star Arenas completely inconspicuous.


    Following the same trail she had taken the day of her acceptance in the secret Sixth Pavilion, Shin Sumi progressively left the flat upper valley for the slopes of the northern mountains.


    "We''ve passed the House of the Sky... I''ve never been this far up before. Now is the time to be careful."


    Careful or not, according to her calculations she had only a few hours before dawn. And if she wanted to cultivate on top of a mountain above the clouds for a while, then the faster the better for her.


    Avoiding certain parts of the trail where she would be left in the open for too long, Shin Sumi ran and climbed, relieved that there were not many buildings this high up.


    Expecting to stumble upon an Elder of the sect at any time, she was holding a few spirit stones in one hand, ready to draw a hiding formation pattern in case it was needed. But the night remained silent.


    Alone with her shadow and little Nuan, Shin Sumi soon reached the middle of the clouds.


    The constant humidity and fogginess was also tainted with a strong Shinsoo, an almost unnatural one, that clouded her divine sense.


    "As expected, the constant cover of clouds above the sect is not a natural occurrence... Rather it''s some sort of spell. Was it performed by the sect to hide from others? Or the other way round the sect has been cursed..."


    The stories of the Sky Sect splitting up and forming the Dark Sky Starry Sect and the Sky Earth Sect came to her mind. Surely decades of resentment could have built up and caused something like this.


    Blindly advancing where her divine sense was obstructed, Shin Sumi continued her ascent, until the dark grey world around her turned a bluish hue.


    "The sky!"


    Perched on her shoulder, Nuan was looking at the night sky for the first time in her life. For Shin Sumi too it had been a long time.


    "A full moon, and even stars" she sighed, taking in the sight for a moment.


    A yellow dot out of the corner of her eyes attracted her attention for a split second, prompting her to fall to the ground a moment later.


    "Oh crap there''s a building there on the other mountain!"


    How could Shin Sumi have failed to see the Patriarch''s very own mountain top?! Even though she knew he was the number one expert in the sect and was sure to be frighteningly strong, she didn''t know if the old man''s divine sense could reach all the way to where she was standing.


    "His eyes will, though. I better hide behind this rock if I want to cultivate. I''ve gone so far that it would be a waste to give up now anyway."


    Gathering all her willpower to not run away, Shin Sumi sat down cross legged behind a small rock formation tall just enough to shield her from the Patriarch''s building. The mountain top she had arbitrarily chosen thankfully was not occupied. Cold sweat dripped down her back at the thought of what would have happened, had she ran into the Patriarch in his own quarters.


    Inhaling a high grade spirit stone just to calm down, Shin Sumi slowed her heartbeats before conjuring up the method to cultivate the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow in her mind.


    "Yin Moon, please make me stronger" she quickly bowed to the astral body.


    One cycle, two cycles,... Shin Sumi was right. The effects of the moon Shinsoo on her cultivation was better than anything she had tried previously.


    Before she knew it, Shin Sumi had completed a dozen cycles of Shinsoo through her passageways and the dawn was still hours away.


    Immersed in cultivation and oblivious to the invisible shadow in the cloud right below where she was, Shin Sumi ignored that she was being observed.


    "Ephemeral Shadow... What audacity..." spoke the shadow being, the voice indecipherable. Whoever it was though, it was clear that the observer was impressed and a bit annoyed at the same time, "She reminds me of First Brother a lot. If she wants the moon, let''s get her the moon. And not allow her back up here again while I''m at it."


    At the same time as the shadow reached their conclusion, Patriarch Sen was sitting inside his chambers, having just finished a meditation session.


    His smile ruptured the serenity of the moment, his thoughts unreadable as his divine sense peered through the clouds around Shin Sumi.


    At the same time, the shadow disappeared from the blanket of clouds, not to return until long after dawn, when Shin Sumi was already gone for a while.


    ***


    "I''m on the verge of the second step, Nuan! Can you believe it? To think that for a whole month everything I did was pointless. All I needed was one good look at the moon and look at the progress I''ve made! It''s insane!"


    Shin Sumi was overjoyed. Her Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique had undergone such a change of difficulty. If before Shin Sumi could compare the experience of cultivating with eating two loaves of dry bread at the same time, using the moon''s Yin Shinsoo was like having a jar of water to make the food go down smoothly.


    "If today''s Sword Pavilion training isn''t too hard, we will go back up the mountain tonight, alright?" she asked the Lion Bat while hiding her inside her wrist. It was time to join Xiao Yue, as Bai Fulong, and pursue the way of the sword.


    Shin Sumi was disappointed to find Xiao Yue missing from the training session, but it made sense when she saw who the instructor for the day was.


    "Ugh, it''s Wan Jishun. No wonder Yue went training on her own. Maybe I should leave as well before-"


    "Bai Fulong! I see you are late by sixty seconds. You know what happens to the late comers. And don''t make a sound."


    The eyes of the assembled disciples, all seated and turned to the instructor were showing a mix of pity, compassion and amusement. It seemed like all of them knew Bai Fulong was not late at all, rather they had all come early, or simply Wan Jishun was picking on him.


    Joining her hands, Shin Sumi nodded low, to show her respect and acknowledge the order that was given to her, before turning towards the corner of the training hall.


    From a rack of hundreds of wooden swords, she picked one that seemed not too bad.


    Concentrating Shinsoo on the tip of her foot, Shin Sumi discretely traced a short pattern on the floor under her.


    "It''s a low level sound suppression barrier that I learned a few days ago. It''s easy enough that I can complete it with my feet and closed eyes. Compared to the other formations it''s not even worth mentioning but I guess it has some value too."


    For some reason whenever Wan Jishun was the instructor for the first step Liquid Realm disciples, Bai Fulong always ended up receiving some sort of punishment.


    Whether it was for being late, not listening, having a bad form, Shin Sumi always ended up in the corner of the hall, swinging a wooden sword. Sixty seconds late meant six hundred swings of the training weapon.


    For a cultivator, six hundred swings was not a hard task, although it still took quite some time to do. What had pained Shin Sumi the most during her previous punishment was that Wan Jishun had taken on a new habit. For every groan or hard breathing coming from Bai Fulong''s throat, the instructor would add ten more swings.


    "At least with the formation I don''t have to worry about keeping it quiet" thought Shin Sumi out loud, taking advantage of the sound barrier.


    But despite how Wan Jishun seemed to intentionally pick on Bai Fulong, the latter always listened attentively. Wan Jishun was in the top three Star-Sword practitioners, and his technique was said to be flawless. The Sword Master had even praised him many times, according to Xiao Yue, saying that he only lacked a bit of raw strength to place higher in the ranking.


    With his scholarly approach to sword fighting and discipline, Wan Jishun often taught about fighting strategies and theoretical fighting.


    "... and it is the reason you should cultivate a sure-kill technique as well as a quick-activation strike" Wan Jishun had finished his lecture at the same time as Bai Fulong was putting down his wooden sword.


    "Now onto fighting training. Only quick strikes, no heavy blows today, you''ll be using real swords."


    That was the sign Wan Jishun was leaving the training hall. He was never interested in fighting training, leaving the disciples to fend for themselves.


    "Brother Bai, do you mind if we pair up today?" a soft voice came from behind Shin Sumi.


    "Sister Mei?" Shin Sumi turned around to face the girl in vibrant lilac robes. Her long black hair was tied in a complicated knot, the ribbon perfectly matching the color of her dress.


    She had a fair skin with pink cheeks, giving the cute impression of always blushing. If Shin Sumi didn''t know better, she could have thought Mei Yunei was a frail innocent girl.


    But after having paired up with her on a few occasions, she knew that reality often didn''t match appearances.


    "Let''s have a good fight" Bai Fulong continued, taking out the Sky Deception sword with a smile.


    Smiling too, Mei Yunei summoned her sword, a light blue blade so pointy and thin calling it a needle was more accurate.


    Bai Fulong steadied his posture, suddenly alert and ready to fight. Both the girl and her sword didn''t look too scary, but in Mei Yunei''s hand, the Ocean Needle sword was more than terrifying.


    After having been in the Star-Sword Pavilion for a few months, Shin Sumi had found that Xiao Yue, Mei Yunei and a limited few others were the only people that forced her to fight at more than eighty percent power.


    The training session passed quickly, neither fighter managing more than bruising the other lightly. It was the Star-Sword Pavilion''s policy to allow fighters to hurt each other, and no one would bat an eyelid if somebody came to lose a hand in combat.


    It was all up to the disciples to find an appropriate sparring partner to avoid such a thing happening.


    "Reality is sometimes cruel and you can''t always avoid trouble", such was a motto in the Immortal World.


    Shin Sumi was sitting cross legged on the floor with all the other disciples, replenishing their Shinsoo levels after the fight. Under her half closed eyelids, she was looking at her hand, slowly opening and closing.


    "My strength has gone up" she thought, "I can feel it in my veins, the sword reacted faster than before and my blows were more precise and powerful."


    There could be only one explanation, the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow. After the long period without any progress with the technique, she had cultivated with the Yin type Shinsoo of the moon, finally bridging the gap she had found herself stuck in front of.


    Still in a bit of a daze, Shin Sumi returned to her courtyard. She put up all the protective barriers she had placed around her home, one by one.


    It was time to take out her real sword and try the Void Sword with a hundred percent power.


    Spreading her divine sense around the entire place to make sure her spirit formations were working, Shin Sumi was about to start her individual training when a very familiar Shinsoo arose in her perception range.


    "This Shinsoo, there''s no mistaking it... It''s the moon!"

 71 The Moon Stones Brilliance

    "The moon can''t be in my courtyard, that is ridiculous. But the Shinsoo signature is unmistakable."


    On Shin Sumi''s tea table, a white cloth with a very faint silvery design laid flat, folded into a square. Only a small bump revealed what was hidden inside.


    Carefully, Shin Sumi unfurled the linen, squinting at the source of a brilliant white light.


    The Copper Bell in her bag of holding immediately rang, toning down the brightness that looked identical to pure moonlight.


    "A Moon Stone!" Shin Sumi confirmed her suspicions.


    She knew about these precious stones that, according to legends, had fallen straight from the white astral body onto the plane it orbited around.


    "I can''t believe it! This is a genuine Moon Stone!"


    Despite being incredulous and very happy, Shin Sumi''s mind had not stopped thinking though. Her eyes wandered rapidly from left to right, thoughts unrelentlessly trying to figure out what had happened.


    Still holding the Moon Stone half wrapped in cloth, Shin Sumi fell to her knees, legs tucked under her.


    Palms flat on the ground, her forehead pressed hard against the dark wood of the floor.


    "Thank you Senior. This humble Seventh Ghost will not disturb you anymore. I am in your debt for this Moon Stone."


    Shin Sumi was fairly confident nobody was even remotely close to her house at that time but there was no way for her to ascertain that. It was obviously not with her low cultivation level that she would be able to discern the presence of whoever it was that left the Moon Stone there.


    But just in case, she had no choice but to pay respects and acknowledge the precious gift.


    The message was simple, "If you want to cultivate using the moon, do it from here, don''t go back up the mountain" and as for who had gifted her a Moon Stone, well the choice was limited.


    After Shin Sumi put the Moon Stone away in her bag of holding, the room suddenly turned pitch black, as if all light from the world had died the instant the small moon disappeared. Even with the Copper Bell activated, it took a second for her eyes to readjust to the ambient light.


    She was still holding the cloth that had previously hidden the Moon Stone''s glimmer. The white linen was almost weightless and had been weaved so tightly that it felt like silk on her fingers. The embroidered ghost shadow on its center used silver threads, serving as a signature accompanying the Moon Stone.


    "Hmmm... How long should I wait for, just in case the Senior Ghost is still nearby?" Shin Sumi wondered to herself. "Nuan, come out!"


    A green flash on her arm later, the Lion Bat appeared, jumping happily all around as soon as she touched the ground.


    "I have something amazing to feed you, little Nuan. For now I have to practice magical techniques so it''s playtime for you but don''t go too far away okay? You''re definitely going to be interested in what I just obtained!"


    With a mental promise of good food for Nuan, Shin Sumi let the spirit beast roam free. It had been a few hours since Nuan last came out, and for what she was going to do, she couldn''t risk her leaving the leaf pattern on her own.


    The Void Sword was a dangerous weapon, one that Shin Sumi was about to use for training. She couldn''t even think of what would happen if Nuan came out of her arm as she was striking with all her strength.


    With a slap to her bag of holding, Shin Sumi produced the Void Sword. Despite the missing blade, the weight in her hand remained the same, and she almost felt like she was once again complete. The sword had become an extension of her own arm.


    Usually Shin Sumi would begin her practice with normal sword strikes. Not everything they taught in the Star-Sword Pavilion was flashy and extravagant. Most of the earlier lessons were about successfully parrying and attacking.


    But this day she had already been singled out by Wan Jishun and the normal techniques were still fresh in her hand. Instead she wanted to work on the Star-Sword Canon.


    Concentrating Shinsoo in the appropriate Shinsoo Apertures, Shin Sumi lifted her arms.


    "Star-Sword Canon first form: Cleaving Meteor!"


    In a sudden burst of released Shinsoo, her raised sword accelerated downwards with incredible speed. Even with a missing blade, the tip of the sword condensed with yellow light that disappeared when the Void Sword reached its target.


    The large boulder covered with moss that was at the end of Shin Sumi''s own training grounds split open with an ear shattering noise.


    Even from five meters away, the boulder stood no chance in face of the Star-Sword Canon''s first technique. Even the ground itself now possessed a scar going in a straight line from Shin Sumi.


    The girl was panting, her eyes closed.


    "Ha..Ha.. A regular sword uses so much more Shinsoo" she said to herself, "but it really makes the difference."


    It was her first time trying the Star-Sword Canon outside of the Pavilion''s regular training sessions. And even then, the form of the sure-kill technique was studied only through wooden weapons. At least for once it felt good to not have the sword splinter and break between her fingers due to the massive pressure endured.


    Shin Sumi now also understood why the Star-Sword Canon was forbidden in regular Star Arenas fighting with other disciples.


    "Cleaving Meteor is the Star-Sword Canon''s first form out of seven, and currently it''s my limit at a rate of maybe three per day with a real sword. Improving my cultivation speed with the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow will give me more leeway and bring me closer to being able to use the second form."


    Shin Sumi felt happy, a fulfilling sentiment which took over her and remained, even as she was scouring the forest trying to find a new boulder to rope and drag back to her courtyard.


    "I really need to invest in proper targets. At this rate all the large chunks of rocks in the forest will have turned to dust in a few months."


    Upon her return from the forest, Shin Sumi found Nuan sitting on the first step of her house, curiously looking at her with black beads for eyes.


    "Cute little Nuan... I''m sure you would have loved to steal the Star-Sword Canon and make it even better, right? I''m sorry but no can do! Unlike the other techniques I have, these seven forms are not passed down on a scroll of parchment. They are only taught from one person to another."


    Shin Sumi sighed, "Yes I know it has flaws. The Shinsoo Aperture link to power the Cleaving Meteor doesn''t feel perfect, and only you would find a suitable version of it but I have no choice in the matter."


    Without any answer from the Lion Bat, the conversation soon turned a bit too one-sided for Shin Sumi who decided to meditate for a bit. She hesitated to take out the Moon Stone but didn''t. During day time the power of the Moon Stone would not be optimal.


    After resting enough so that her dantian was not void of Shinsoo, Shin Sumi stood up with determination in her eyes.


    "Round two! Star-Sword Canon first form: Cleaving Meteor!!"


    ***


    "Ouch! Nuan do you want to come with me?" Shin Sumi asked.


    She had just painfully stripped of her clothes and plopped down in her refreshing bath. Her body was aching all over, training having taken a toll on her.


    The Lion Bat happily obliged, splashing Shin Sumi''s face and landing on her belly. Soon after, a sweet aroma permeated the air as Shin Sumi''s muscles relaxed, her articulations already hurting less.


    Even after morphing from a weird nut into a spirit beast, Nuan had still retained her healing powers in water. The strange being that had accompanied Shin Sumi since her very first step into the Immortal World was shrouded in mystery but it wasn''t something that bothered Shin Sumi much.


    She knew she couldn''t comprehend Nuan yet, but as long as the Lion Bat was willing to stay with her, she didn''t have to. The creature was refining her resources, enhancing her techniques, healing her, and in turn Shin Sumi was feeding her and giving her all her love.


    "You did well, Nuan. I wanted to keep this treat for after I used it tonight, but I don''t feel like cultivating for now, so you can have it. Return it soon, okay?"


    Reaching above her head to where her bag of holding was, Shin Sumi retrieved the Moon Stone, illuminating the bathing room with a pure white glow.


    Nuan was immediately excited. It seemed like she knew what Shin Sumi had just told her and couldn''t wait to put her little teeth around the small mesmerizing moon. The bat wings flapped a few times, the lion tail whipping the air, and soon enough the white glow had completely disappeared.


    "Good girl, let us both rest now" said Shin Sumi before letting her consciousness drift away into restorative sleep.


    ***


    Shin Sumi was quickly making progress.


    After Nuan had refined the Moon Stone, no apparent changes seemed to have occured.


    "Maybe the Moon Stone is too high level a resource for little Nuan... After all there should be some limit to her destiny changing abilities."


    She had used the stone every night to cultivate peacefully for about a month when, spending some time in the library, she had determined the Moon Stone powers to last only for about a few weeks of use.


    "What?! Only a few weeks! I didn''t know the Moon Stone only lasted such a short time! Despite being so rare and in limited amounts it only lasts so long. And I was so close to breaking through to the second step."


    Shin Sumi was tempted to go back up the mountain once more, just off the chance the senior who gifted her the stone would reiterate.


    "It is strange though, the intensity of the Yin Shinsoo from the Moon Stone has not gone down even a little bit."


    Unable to do anything about it, Shin Sumi didn''t want to think too hard of the matter. Between the three Pavilions she was in, a lot of practice and cultivation was needed anyway.


    "Now is not the time to slack of, Sumi," Xiao Yue told her one night, "the rankings will be determined in only a month! A whole year of resources will be based only on your placement among your branch."


    Shin Sumi sighed.


    "The Star-Sword Pavilion''s ranking is almost already done. We all know who the disciples participating in the Cross Branches Arena will be."


    "Yes exactly! And you''re one of them, Sumi. So everybody is going to want to challenge you to prove their strength."


    "You really have it good, Yue, being the Sword Master''s direct disciple and all... Nobody will challenge you, that''s going to save a lot of hassle."


    In a flash, Xiao Yue stood up from the bench both girls were sitting on. She stomped her foot with an angry expression.


    "Oh, I have it good?! Sumi, don''t devalue yourself like that! Let''s not even talk about the Rising Star Tournament, and you''re in three Pavilions at the same time! You have three times as many chances as anyone else! Or two, if the Beasts Pavilion doesn''t participate."


    Shin Sumi looked down. Somehow she had forgotten how incredible her situation was compared to others. But Xiao Yue didn''t seem to understand her line of thought. She simply didn''t want to participate in any tournament.


    Shin Sumi stood up as well, gently embracing her sworn sister, the Black Devil Maiden Xiao Yue that everyone feared in combat, the proud disciple of the number one expert in the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Only with Shin Sumi would she allow her cheeks to turn red and her eyes to close blissfully.


    "You are right, Yue, as always. And as long as I make it for the Sword Pavilion, I won''t even participate in the other rankings. And I do need to work on my swordsmanship. Because I''m not using the Void Sword but Sky Deception, I can''t use my full strength."


    This was a thing she had discussed for a long time with her sister before. Despite hiding it from everyone, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, now turned into the Void Sword was still her primary weapon. The bond between a sword and its master was no simple matter.


    Hiding the Void Sword from the eyes of the world was like fighting with only one arm for a wrestler.


    Due to her high talent and her perfect Shinsoo Apertures, Shin Sumi was still among the best in the new Liquid Realm Disciples, but it just wasn''t the same without the Void Sword.


    "I''m thankful to the Gods that you are not using that sword. Sky Deception is fine, really!" commented Xiao Yue.


    Shin Sumi snickered, "Eh, you''re only glad I don''t wipe the floor with you in the rankings challenge."


    Xiao Yue lifted her shoulders, palms to the sky.


    "It''s fine with me, between you crushing everyone and you stuck below Mei Yunei, I rather prefer the latter."


    "Hey she''s not better than me" replied Shin Sumi!


    Xiao Yue, who had been looking intensely at the pond with a malicious smile, turned back sharply.


    "Oh, you haven''t heard? She fought Ken Duang earlier at the First Star Arena. It''s her fifth win against him, and she only lost four times. You and Ken Duang are at a stalemate, right?"


    Shin Sumi didn''t need more to understand the implications of Xiao Yue''s sentence, but the latter decided to say it out loud anyway.


    "That places you below Mei Yunei."


    With a hand in front of her mouth, Xiao Yue bid her goodnight. Shin Sumi feigned being angry and training right away, hiding her cristalline laughter.


    Back to her courtyard a few minutes later, Shin Sumi sat down with the Moon Stone in one hand, Nuan perched on her shoulder.


    "So Mei Yunei really is going to place fourth if this continues."


    There were only six places for each branch to participate in the Cross Branch Arena, excluding the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion which wasn''t concentrated on fighting and the Beasts Pavilion because the new disciples spirit creatures were all too small to fight yet. That was the first rule, the second being that only newly accepted Liquid Realm disciples could participate.


    If Shin Sumi disguised as Bai Fulong could hold on to her fifth place, then she would be happy. The Cross Branch Arena results afterwards didn''t matter that much, everybody knew that the real fight was between the might of the three direct disciples of each Pavilion Master.


    Placing in the top six of a branch was all that mattered for the rewards, the resources given by the sect for a whole year.


    "Yue will take first place, then Mua Lin and Mua Jin, her, me and finally Ken Duang. That should be the final six, unless..."


    Shin Sumi closed her eyes, thinking back to the final stages of the Rising Star Tournament. Behind her eyelids, an ice cold face was looking back at her.


    "Sui Lin... She is the first person that ever crushed me completely, back then. And there''s also Tai Bu. These two haven''t made a move yet but I''m certain they will try their best to participate in the Cross Branch Arena."


    Sui Lin and Tai Bu were two of the Big Three from back in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm. Despite their reputation and their acceptance in the Sword Pavilion, they had kept silent and discrete until then.


    "Maybe that is what they were waiting for. With their respective abilities, there is no way they won''t make big waves soon. Well... Sui Lin at least."


    Shin Sumi''s opinion on Tai Bu was kind of low. After all they had only met twice, the first time being when she had stolen his Flaming Whip and the second when she had completely beat him.


    But Sui Lin was another matter. She had only crossed paths with her once or twice at the Star-Sword Pavilion, despite attending the same classes and training sessions. The only thing she knew was that the silent girl had never once shown her magical paintbrush there.


    Much like herself she had picked up another sword with which to fight. But unlike Shin Sumi there was a good chance Sui Lin was going to use her favorite weapon for the ranking of the Sword Pavilion.


    "That is going to be a problem if she comes after me. She was already terrifying when she wasn''t in the Liquid Realm yet. Her proficience with magic is very high and combined with the might of the Star Sword Canon she would be really hard to beat."


    Shin Sumi''s path was similar, in the sense that she could use her teachings from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion and use the magical techniques she had become quite good at, but because of her hidden identities she didn''t have the same option as Sui Lin.


    "Nuan, it''s time for you to rest," Shin Sumi called out. Understanding, the Lion Bat disappeared in the leaf pattern on her wrist.


    The Copper Bell rang once, Shin Sumi''s traits morphing into Bai Fulong''s.


    The Star Arenas located all around the upper valley were busy during day and night alike, and that was precisely her destination.


    "Ken Duang, it''s time for us to settle our score. Third Star Arena now, what do you say?"


    Shin Sumi was already on her way when she received a divine sense message back from the young man, agreeing to the rendez-vous.


    When Bai Fulong arrived at the meeting place, Ken Duang was already standing on top of a fighting plaftorm, attracting the eyes of a few disciples around.


    "Whichever wins will keep their place until the end of the ranking month, alright?"


    Nodding with a smile, Bai Fulong didn''t waste any time. Sky Deception''s dark grey blade fended the air as Shin Sumi leaped to join her opponent.

 72 Fight For The Ranking

    Without any momentum needed, Ken Duang pushed his sword to the side, forcing Shin Sumi to accompany his movement in order to not have her sword yanked away from her.


    Strength. Because his sword was heavier, Ken Duang didn''t have a fighting style as fluid and elegant as Shin Sumi''s but rather relied on his strength.


    Shin Sumi stabilized her foot on the ground and instantly lept to the side. She had anticipated Ken Duang''s next move.


    The young man spun on his heel, the flat side of his sword swiping at Shin Sumi''s side right as she dodged.


    "Heh, we''re starting to know each other''s style, Brother Bai."


    "You''re right... Why don''t you show me something new?"


    Ken Duang''s upper lip curled. The Shinsoo in the air instantly twisted as he concentrated more power from his dantian.


    Being a top practitioner in the most selective branch of the sect meant that his power couldn''t be only due to his strength. After all they were cultivators.


    "But even that is too easy to-" Shin Sumi''s thoughts were completely cut off, the large blade unpredictably connecting with hers. Due to their relative position Ken Duang had been unable to attack her directly, instead forced to attack Shin Sumi''s weapon. The dark Sky Deception didn''t offer much resistance as its flat part dug deep into Shin Sumi''s side before dispersing the strength of the blow.


    Even if she had predicted the blow, there was no way she could have parried it. The strength sent her rolling across the platform under the widened eyes of the audience.


    The Shinsoo inside her dantian was in turmoil. She could already see Ken Duang''s follow-up attack coming from above.


    "Steady one foot and all the Shinsoo in one arm."


    An attack like Ken Duang''s was not meant to finish a fight. Instead its purpose was to throw the opponent''s cultivation in disarray to then strike them down. But how could he know that Bai Fulong in front of him had achieved a perfect Shinsoo Gathering with Sixty Four Shinsoo Doors opened?


    Shin Sumi''s control over her own dantian was incredible, allowing her to steady her cultivation base instantly and have her power back where she needed it the next moment.


    Ken Duang reached the apex of his jump, his sword looming ominously over Shin Sumi.


    "I''ve got you now" thought the young man. It was then that Shin Sumi disappeared from his vision. Only a faint trail was left in front of him as she fended forward, passing underneath the attacker.


    Sky Deception was raised, the full power of her arm making it look like a black rainbow.


    The tip of the blade was painted in red, as was the backside of Ken Duang''s leg.


    Compared to the bruise she had received due to the earlier strike, it was impossible to tell which side had the upper hand for now, and now both fighters were back at the starting point.


    "How good. You always manage to surprise me, Brother Bai. Should we take it up a notch then?"


    Smiling as if they were simply having a discussion and not a fight with real blades, Shin Sumi nodded.


    From the five or six disciples currently watching the scene unfold, one promptly left the Star Arena. Unlike the other spectators, he wasn''t transfixed by the display of power and fighting ability.


    Tai Bu was silent.


    "K-Ken Duang is going toe to toe with that monster Bai Fulong!! Is he really the lowest qualifier for the Star-Sword Pavilion?! No, there''s no way. I''ll find somebody else."


    When he had heard that Ken Duang was in the Third Star Arena, he had immediately thought of the perfect opportunity to provoke him and rise in the rankings. It all changed when he saw his opponent and he heard they were not at their first battle.


    A deep scar was etched in Tai Bu''s mind. From the moment they first met, he had been ridiculed over and over by Bai Fulong. Like a shackle on his heart, Bai Fulong''s shadow completely pulverized his willpower.


    "As long as I stay far from him, I can still reach the top. I''ll only be number two instead of one" had been his line of reasoning ever since the Rising Star Tournament.


    But now the fight between Ken Duang and his nemesis, both seemingly equally powerful, had shown him exactly how many steps separated him from his goals.


    Gnashing his teeth, Tai Bu looked back at the Star Arena with a hardened look one last time before leaving.


    "Come on Bai Fulong, you have to win this fight. If you''re the only person I''ll never win against, then at least you have to be at the very top."


    On the central platform of the Third Star Arena, Shin Sumi and Ken Duang were looking at each other. Two drops of blood fell from the latter''s leg before his Shinsoo magically stopped the bleeding.


    "Brother Ken has strength. With Sky Deception I can''t quite match him in raw power. Spirit formations are out of the way, my only option is to strike quickly and efficiently."


    Keeping her thoughts silent, Shin Sumi leaned forward, once more taking the offensive.


    As the fight progressed, it was clear that the two were quite evenly matched. Shin Sumi concentrated her attacks together in a neverending salvo in order to not leave Ken Duang enough time to complete a more powerful strike.


    In turn, Ken Duang''s strength made sure to impact Bai Fulong heavily, each blow having to be absorbed in order to continue.


    Both were starting to breathe hard and the fight had gone on for minutes when Bai Fulong''s side stopped for a second after successfully pushing Ken Duang away. Breaking the ongoing rhythm, it was only a slight pause but long enough for Shin Sumi to make her Shinsoo flow.


    Instantly feeling something was about to happen, Ken Duang bolted forward, his sword sweeping sideways at the same time.


    It was already too late.


    "Star-Sword Canon, first form: Cleaving Meteor !"


    Sky Deception fell, a sad whistling sound accompanying its descent as it cut the air open.


    Ken Duang raised his blade in an attempt at defence at the last moment. After all, he, too, was a member of the Star-Sword Pavilion and was familiar with the Pavilion''s first form. But how could he have thought that in the very short delay after the last attack, Bai Fulong had enough time to condense his Shinsoo in the right way to invoke the Star-Sword Canon?!


    A blast of Shinsoo in the form of a powerful wind blade left the yellow light at the tip of Bai Fulong''s sword. A straight line of fresh red blood appeared from Ken Duang''s left clavicle to his right hip, leaving intact only the part of his chest that was behind his blade.


    Ken Duang fell back, pain tearing through his whole body, his sword dropping to the ground next to him.


    The moment his eyes focused again after the intense pain allowed him to think straight, a dark cold metallic blade was pressed against his throat. Bai Fulong had won, the fight was over.


    Sky Deception left Ken Duang''s neck, returning to Shin Sumi''s bag of holding. The moment the outcome of the fight had been decided, all animosity disappeared. Taking a knee to the ground, Shin Sumi helped Ken Duang to his feet, inquiring about his injuries.


    "I''ll be okay" he replied," the cut is not too deep. A few days of rest and I''ll come back stronger."


    Shin Sumi sighed from relief.


    "It''s scary to receive the Star-Sword Cannon''s first form. You unleashed it on me so quickly I couldn''t do anything against it."


    "To be honest it''s also quite scary to use it on a real person... I didn''t - COUGH COUGH!"


    Shin Sumi was interrupted by a fit of cough. Gripping her stomach, it felt like her insides were about to come out of her throat.


    Waving away Ken Duang and the observers'' worries, Bai Fulong sat down next to Ken Duang.


    "As expected, unleashing that technique so fast and with an already low Shinsoo level really takes a toll on your body" Shin Sumi thought to herself, "I need to strengthen my cultivation base and fast."


    Having watched the whole fight, two disciples decided to step on the fighting platform. They introduced themselves as they approached the fighters.


    "Fellow Brothers, what do you say we help you treat these nasty injuries? We are Pei Du and Huang Ten, from the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion..."


    Bai Fulong nodded quickly, "If you would be so kind..."


    "Oh no, not at all. It''s good practice for us. We Shinsoo-Medicine cultivators spend a lot of time here at the Star-Arenas, watching our fellow disciples fight. And for the lowly price of one middle grade spirit stone, I ensure you''ll be back on your feet in a few hours!"


    That was to be expected. When one''s talent is valuable, an opportunity like that only made sense. Shin Sumi thought about Nuan who would heal every single one of her injuries just by being immersed in water. Had she been training alone, she would have refused Pei Du and Huang Ten''s offer, but next to her Ken Duang was very pale and bloody.


    "Here''s for the both of us. Please treat us well!"


    Shin Sumi tossed two spirit stones, one to each Shinsoo-Medicine disciple. In turn, the two boys bowed quickly and took out a small scroll from their bags of holding.


    A very short incantation later, from the scroll appeared two carriers made from fabric. Much like a sick person would have to be transported laying down, the two disciples took care of Ken Duang and Bai Fulong.


    "Wow, these things can fly?!" Shin Sumi was flabbergasted. Behind her carrier, Pei Du laughed.


    "Yep! That''s one of the perks of being part of the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion. They are low level flying artifacts turned into emergency carriers. Other than in battle they are basically useless and need a person to maneuver but it''s still good for training."


    From far away, Shin Sumi had already seen flag-like flying artefacts at times, although she had never imagined they would be carrying a wounded disciple.


    After a slow flight at low altitude, Pei Du and Ken Duang brought the fighters to their practice, a small two-rooms house with its own courtyard, at the foot of a mountain.


    Using their divine sense, the apothecaries ascertained their physical condition by probing their bodies before finding the best remedy.


    Shin Sumi in the body of Bai Fulong was already feeling much better, the backlash from expending too much Shinsoo already washing away. She was only prescribed a few herbal concoctions for bruises, and a Shinsoo-imbued piece of incense for better recuperation after her backlash.


    Ken Duang was left to rest when Shin Sumi decided to leave, thanking the medicine branch disciples for their care.


    Already feeling quite refreshed, she was impressed by the talent of the two young men. She had once been told that only those without much talent would choose to join the medicine branch and avoid fighting.


    As it turned out, there were also high potential individuals, even among them.


    ***


    Back in the privacy of her home and with her injuries fully healed, Shin Sumi decided to take out the Moon Stone.


    If the amazing artefact full of Yin type Shinsoo would only last for another week at most, she had to make the most of it.


    So far, the Shinsoo from the moon was the only thing that had allowed her to make some sort of progress with the Liquid Realm cultivation technique she had chosen, the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow. Thanks to the light of the moon and then the gifted moon stone, Shin Sumi had managed to go from a few cycles a day to almost a hundred!


    She still wasn''t able to circulate her energy according to the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow continuously, but it had become her primary way of accumulating the energy of nature. At least when it came to replenishing her energy levels after a fight, it was leagues above what she had been used to with other techniques.


    Slowing down her breathing, Shin Sumi sat down, her legs crossed and her back straight, the Moon Stone in front of her radiating a pure white light all around.


    With each cycle from the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow she imagined her Shinsoo passageways absorbing a little bit of the white light, adding another color to her golden apertures.


    Immersed in meditation, time passed quickly. Only a sliver of Shin Sumi''s divine sense was left outside, almost her entire being completely focused on circulating her energy. Had she been able to, she would have concentrated her whole mind to the task at hand, but it was more reasonable to stay attentive to the outside world.


    Especially to her bag of holding and the identification jade people used to communicate with her. Thankfully nothing brought her out of her peaceful meditation session this time.


    Slowly but surely, her ability to use the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow grew to the point where she could complete about a thousand cycles on the fourth day. She really understood why people would go into seclusion to cultivate. Contrarily to how one would train their physical body by using their muscles a bit each passing day, training the spirit was more effective when done in one sitting.


    Over the course of the week, Shin Sumi had to wake up from her almost trance-like state only three times to go follow the teachings of the different Pavilions she was part of. It wasn''t an obligation on her part, cultivating and training had always been left completely to the disciples to arrange.


    Nevertheless, with the rankings coming up soon and leading to the Cross Branch Arena, she was curious to see if some tension had risen.


    In the large training room of the Star-Sword Pavilion, Shin Sumi as Bai Fulong was picking up a wooden sword when a tap on her shoulder turned her around. A middle aged man whose name she didn''t know was holding a wooden spear in his hand. He seemed almost embarrassed to ask, although his eyebrows were trying hard to stay firmly slanted downwards.


    "Is he afraid of fighting me?" Shin Sumi asked herself, resisting the temptation to shake her head and laugh at his pitiful appearance.


    "Brother Bai, I-I would li-like to challenge you to an amicable fight. What do you say, young man?"


    Shin Sumi eyed the man up and down. Under Bai Fulong''s gaze, it was clear that the disciple was quite frightened. A few steps behind, four of five other disciples were watching, trying not to be too obvious about their curiosity.


    "Sure! Let''s have a good practice fight."


    Bai Fulong''s reply scared the challenger who had to take a full second to calm down and bow in return.


    Standing sideways with her sword slightly raised, Shin Sumi relaxed her knees. This was the posture she was feeling the most comfortable in for a fight. It wasn''t really practical to use in a real fight that could start in the most unexpected manner but for a duel it felt right to her.


    Deciding to take the first step forward, Bai Fulong launched the first attack, a normal strike straight ahead. As soon as she moved, Shin Sumi was glad to see the face of her opponent completely change.


    "Fighting lives in one''s blood" she remembered one of Wan Jishun''s teachings, "only by having a sword in hand can you really tell one''s will".


    Suddenly, the clumsy looking middle-aged man livened. By seeing a sword approaching in his direction, his blood seemed to churn and catch fire. Using a perfect technique, he parried Bai Fulong''s attack effortlessly before launching a counter attack.


    Having no trouble at all to follow Bai Fulong''s rhythm, the man showed clearly that he had earned his place in the most selective Pavilion of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    On the flip side, he only lacked a little in raw power, but his technique was definitely on par with the best.


    Suddenly changing rhythm and speed, Shin Sumi blasted the man''s sword away from his hand, the wooden tip of her blade ending against the man''s heart.


    "It looks like my win. It was a good fight, let''s do that again sometime, alright brother? I would like to know your name."


    "M-My name?" The man had reverted to the shy person he was before the fight, his confidence surely blown away at the same time as his sword," this humble one is Zaho Zhu."


    "Zaho Zhu, you''re good! Your technique especially is great, I had trouble finding a flaw in your movement!"


    Zaho Zhu tipped his head as a thanks, disbelieving the praise he had received. On the side, the five other disciples who had been watching all had their jaws to the floor.


    Shin Sumi was really proud of herself. She had managed to avoid embarrassing the middle aged man while at the same time making sure to show everybody that she was a league above them.


    Despite being aware of her talent as a cultivator, Shin Sumi didn''t like to taunt her worth, afraid of being seen as full of herself like Jun Qian and the likes.


    Now the five people who had been secretly waiting for a chance to challenge Bai Fulong knew there was no point in doing so. And the man who had challenged him had lost but with honor and even some praise from her.


    She had even asked for his name, genuinely impressed by his technique and potential.


    Glad to have resolved the situation in the best way possible, Shin Sumi didn''t stay around for longer, by fear of seeing people slightly stronger than Zaho Zhu try to go after her too.


    "The upcoming ranking has made everybody frantic. I guess it''s a good thing for the sect as a whole, everyone trying their best to surpass their own limits... I hope it''s not as bad in the Cloud-Formation Pavilion as it is here."


    The day after was indeed the scheduled day for the spirit formations training.


    How could Shin Sumi know the situation would be even more hectic there than in the Star-Sword Pavilion ?!

 73 Cloudy Weather

    Hence, she had less pressure resting on her shoulders as she arrived at the training area of the Formation Branch of the sect.


    Contrarily to the Star-Sword Pavilion, the Cloud-Formation Pavilion only rarely housed their training and cultivation processes inside the main building. Instead, the three stories tall building constructed above a giant formation shining with multicolored light overlooked the meeting place, the platform.


    This day, the large platform where newcomers had been tested before entering the Pavilion was full of disciples. Each slab of light grey stone had at least two disciples on them, which made Shin Sumi''s progression a bit difficult without shoving people aside.


    "What is going on here? Has there been an announcement?"


    Yan Yan was talking to herself out loud as she navigated the crowd randomly. There were too many people present to successfully use her divine sense to track down the person she was looking for. Shinsoo fluctuations were all over the place, especially since at the very sides of the platforms, a few applicants were still trying to pass the trial of entry to the Pavilion.


    "Oh, Sis-Sister Yan! Didn''t you hear? The doors to the main building will open soon! Master Cloud has decided to organize the ranking tournament himself."


    Shin Sumi turned around to see the disciple who had answered her. It was a girl that should have been around her age, sixteen or so. She had long black hair that she was toying with between her fingers.


    Shin Sumi ignored the girl''s fluttering eyelashes and pink cheeks. She had become used to Yan Yan''s many, many infatuated followers. Be them boys or girls, Yan Yan attracted a lot of people, which was good when she was selling plants in the market of the lower valley. Now, Shin Sumi tended to ignore them.


    She was a bit more sympathetic to the women who mustered up the courage to talk to Yan Yan, mostly because they were not as pressuring and full of lust as the men.


    "He is organizing the tournament himself? How is it going to happen? And why is everybody piled up here?"


    "Didn''t you receive the information on a jade slip in front of your door this morning?" inquired the girl.


    Shin Sumi was at a loss. Because of her place in the Ghost Pavilion, Shin Sumi didn''t really officially have any room to her name in the upper valley. And that also implied the same for Bai Fulong and Yan Yan, her two other personalities.


    "That doesn''t really matter. Can you tell me what the plan is?"


    "Well... As soon as the doors open everyone is free to join one of the thirty two smaller arenas inside the building. Only the best two will get to move to the next round at the end of the day, so it is crucial to choose well."


    With a smile that was almost sad, Shin Sumi politely refused the proposition. Continuing to walk through the crowd, she tried again to find friends of hers.


    "That is not good. If Master Cloud has gone to the trouble of organizing it, then there is no way he will let me slip away from the tournament."


    Despite not being as flashy as she was in the Sword Branch, Shin Sumi was still normally among the most talented disciples of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. According to her recent encounters with other disciples, Yan Yan should be at the fifteenth spot or so.


    "We all know it''s only to give the impression of fairness. The way things are going to happen, everybody has a chance as long as they have enough victories among one of the thirty two groups. But each group has to have at least twenty people in them. If this phase of the selection ends tonight, then there is no way everybody will battle everybody, which means there should be some Seniors watching over the area and deciding who passes and who fails the selection."


    Shin Sumi was pretty sure that was how things were going to work. In fact the idea was so obvious that everyone should have come to that conclusion as well. Excepted that all of the less-talented disciples were blinded by their envy of placing high in the rankings, purposefully ignoring the true nature of the ''fairness'' of the trial.


    "Sister Yan, over here!"


    Shin Sumi quickly made her way to her friend before sighing loudly.


    "Thank the Gods you found me Sister Fu. What a commotion, right?"


    "Yes, I heard some people have been waiting for hours, just for a chance to not be in the same arena as..." Fu Xue paused before finishing in a very low voice "as us."


    "How will that even work? I''m pretty sure Master Cloud has already arranged the order for the top most sixty four disciples. What if we are all in only two arenas?"


    "Hey, don''t ask me too many questions now. I don''t know anything, same as you! We have to be a little bit more patient."


    Looking at Fu Xue with her head to the side, Shin Sumi smiled.


    "You look really excited, Sister Fu. Could it be about the fighting, or... Is it something else? Do you have a boy in mind maybe?"


    Fu Xue turned sharply towards Yan Yan. Her stare was like a corpse''s and her face looked colder than ice.


    "What the hell are you talking about? Of course it''s about the fighting. My sword hand has been itching for days. I''m gonna use this opportunity to wipe the floor with as many people as I can."


    Shin Sumi couldn''t help but involuntarily step back. Fu Xue was really terrifying. Nevermind the time where she had battled Bai Fulong in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, in a very tight match that ended up with Shin Sumi''s lucky victory.


    Shin Sumi knew that Fu Xue had been making progress so fast that it was astonishing. Even she wasn''t aware of how far she had gone on the path of cultivation yet.


    "Have you mastered a new technique? You sound really confident... What if you''re facing Chu Erlong or Yi Haje?"


    Shin Sumi knew she hit the mark when Fu Xue''s eyes opened wide and her lips turned into a grin.


    "Don''t tell anyone but... I may have successfully used the Cloud Arts Third Form once or twice."


    Now it was Shin Sumi''s eyes'' turn to open wider than normal.


    "Th-Third form?! Are you kidding me? Don''t tell me you''re aiming straight for Jun Qian!"


    Fu Xue was about to answer, sadly cut by a deafening boom. The large doors of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s main building were opening.


    Instantly the rustling of the hundreds of disciples died, a strange moment of serenity imposed by the small figure behind the open doors.


    Master Cloud overlooked the plaza with eyes obscured by shadows. His long grey robe was undulating with a non-existent wind, the vivid light patterns ever-changing. A soft fabric woven between light and dark, exactly like a cloud.


    "Come in."


    A simple instruction, and then Master Cloud vanished. Shin Sumi had heard that he was a man of few words, but she was still at a loss when the expected rallying speech never came.


    "Uh, usually somebody would come to encourage us to fight and everything, right?" Fu Xue had read Shin Sumi''s mind, "Anyway, let''s go! One last advice though, don''t get on the same platform as me eheh"


    And with a smile and a wink, Fu Xue was gone too, leaving Shin Sumi standing in the middle of the rushing mass of disciples.


    "I should enter too or else I''ll get stepped on! Let''s find the best arena to lay low and not move onto the qualifications."


    But how could that coincide with Master Cloud''s plan? As soon as she set foot inside the grand hall covered in mosaic patterns depicting storms and cloudy skies, a strange thing happened.


    One of the most attractive features of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion main building was a giant sphere of sort, rotating slowly in the air close to the arched ceiling. It was a massive cloud, its tendrils waving in the air. The sphere was illuminated from the inside by what could only be hidden thunder.


    The artefact was blinding to anyone setting foot inside the hall, except for Shin Sumi whose Copper Bell discretely rang.


    As soon as the gentle ring appeared in her head, Shin Sumi''s eyes lost their focus on the white lightning, instead turning to one of the tendrils, moving faster than human eyes could follow.


    Shin Sumi too would have missed it, had it not plunged directly under her one foot, still suspended in the air before touching the hall''s tiles.


    Before she could even react and with her momentum helping, Shin Sumi stepped on the lightest cloud there was, at the end of the tendril.


    No matter where she launched her feet, a new invisible cloud platform would appear, taking her someplace else. Shin Sumi realized that from the beginning she had no choice as to where she was going.


    Looking around, she also interestingly discovered that the other disciples didn''t seem to be affected at all by the phenomenon.


    "This is Master Cloud''s doing" she was certain of it when she saw Cho Nuei, another high ranked disciple staring at his feet in confusion as he walked to a nearby arena.


    "And now only two higher ranked disciples per arena, as predicted... How am I going to escape this?!"


    It was too late to walk back. She even wondered if the giant cloud artefact would have picked her up from any other place in the upper valley to bring her here as Master Cloud wanted.


    When the invisible cloud platforms finally let Shin Sumi''s feet touch the ground instead of hovering a finger''s width above it, she found herself next to one of the most remote arenas of the grand hall.


    All thirty two arenas were grey slabs of rock protruding from the ground, about five meters on each side and waist high. All together they covered the entire floor of the building which strangely seemed larger on the inside than on the outside.


    "After all this is the main building of the spirit formation branch. My mind is spinning when I try to think about how many formations must have been used on this single part of the sect."


    Much like the twenty or so other disciples next to her, Shin Sumi was astonished at the efforts that must have been done in preparation for this small tournament.


    Before long, the drone noise of the hundreds of attendees died down once again, this time with the appearance of thirty two Inner Sect disciples.


    Just like for the Pavilions entry selections, the Inner Sect disciples were in charge of judging their junior.


    Simply feeling the pressure that emanated naturally from them, it was easy to tell that all these late-Liquid Realm cultivators had trained for a long time and they were leagues above the new disciples.


    After all, one technically entered the Inner Sect only after reaching at least the best part of the mid Liquid Realm, which was the third step. But as long as an individual was chosen by a master, an elder of the sect, they would have a place secured as an Inner Sect disciple.


    As for a disciple reaching the third step of the Liquid Realm but not having any master, well that had simply never happened in the history of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    With her rather low cultivation level approaching the second step, Shin Sumi couldn''t tell exactly what level the examiner of her arena was but the third to fourth step was a good guess.


    "You two, give me your name and get ready to begin."


    The young man pointed at two disciples in front of him before stepping down from the platform to let them get on.


    He recorded their name and when they had entered the Cloud-Formation Pavilion on a piece of jade with his divine sense.


    The fights were started at the same time on all the different arenas of the grand hall, resulting in a deafening commotion and a multicolored array of glowing lights all around. Everybody was unleashing magical techniques one after the other, more often than not relying on the Cloud Arts.


    Despite being stronger than most other techniques, the Cloud Arts were shared by all the Cloud-Formation Pavilion disciples, which made them a bit predictable, especially with all the disciples present rarely capable of using more than its first form.


    Only other techniques were really effective in surprising the opponent, which gave the cultivators coming from various cultivation clans a large advantage.


    "This is nothing like fairness but in the Immortal World, strength prevails above all things."


    After three or four rounds of fights, Shin Sumi was pointed by the Inner Sect disciple''s finger. With a slight grimace she discovered that when her turn came, the seemingly disinterested examiner perked his head upwards, suddenly more attentive.


    "Heh. You''re expecting me to win easily because I''m one of the two that will advance to the finals. Let''s see what you do when I show my horrible fighting aptitude then."


    It was the only solution Shin Sumi had come up with to avoid being selected as a top sixty-four contender for the formation branch.


    Because she was already almost certain to be selected as a fighter for the Star-Sword Pavilion, Shin Sumi was trying her best to lay low in the Cloud-Formation Pavilion.


    "If I lose my fights here, there is no way I''ll move on to the next phase, right?"


    Yan Yan stepped up on the platform, facing a nineteen years old man who had joined the pavilion a year before her.


    "Good, he can probably use the Cloud Arts second form, I can use that to lose easily!"


    The fight started almost immediately, not wasting any time due to the large number of fighters who still had to go after them.


    Yan Yan''s opponent immediately concentrated Shinsoo in his fist, forming a gray orb that wrapped around his fingers.


    Facing him, Shin Sumi did the exact same thing, except with much less Shinsoo. The technique was the very common Cloud Arts first form, Cold Smoke.


    After completing the incantation, linking the right Shinsoo apertures to the spell caster''s hand, the balls of smoke simultaneously unleashed a dozen of snake-like cloud columns that jumped out of the hands towards their adversaries.


    Because of her half-assed attempt at the spell, Yan Yan didn''t produce enough snake clouds to counteract all of her opponent''s.


    The grey smoke columns were hitting each other in mid-air, mingling harshly until only a dissipated mist remained. Only the last three of the man''s attack managed to get to Yan Yan.


    The bite of Cold Smoke was like a short burn that completely paralyzed the flow of Shinsoo in the opponent''s body. Yan Yan grimaced, holding her left thigh and her left arm. Both of her members had been hit.


    Already Shin Sumi was at a disadvantage, the Inner Sect referee furrowing his brows wondering if Master Cloud had made a mistake when he had handed him the names.


    "Tch. You''re pretty fast. Let''s see what you do about the next one!"


    Yan Yan''s opponent who had never even heard her name before was completely duped as to what her prowess was worth. He was even a bit vexed to see that younger girl block his first attack almost perfectly.


    "Hao Clan secret technique, Icicle Ring!"


    Clapping his hands once in front of him, the man then extended his arms wide. Ice cold tendrils of Shinsoo from the tip of his fingers condensed in the air.


    As the name implied, the Hao Clan technique created a circular array of terrifying looking icicles, all pointing towards Yan Yan. The air that was already cold after two simultaneous Cloud Arts Cold Smoke lost another few degrees in front of the six majestic icicles.


    The sudden display of power surprised Shin Sumi, who found herself on high alert at the last moment. Going by reflexes right as the icicles were released towards her, she knew she had underestimated her opponent.


    Unless she wanted to give up the tournament so bad she was willing to suffer grave injuries, she had to act.


    The Shinsoo Sea inside of her bubbled, sending frenzied energy through to her right foot, her left leg still frozen by the previous attack.


    The six icicles were at the point of reaching her when the sole of her foot hit the ground loudly, sending all the accumulated Shinsoo out in a blast.


    "Light of Fire, Dharma Pillar!"


    A red hot pillar of flames exploded upwards from her foot. The burst of heat engulfed everything coming at her from the front, in the form of a three meter tall flaming shield barely large enough to hide Yan Yan from her adversary''s eyes.


    A mushroom of steam soon replaced the pillar and the icicles, as if the opposites had annihilated each other and had completely died.


    The Dharma Pillar, from the Light of Fire arcane, was a low level technique she had found in the upper valley market. Before Nuan''s refining the pillar would have been good enough for maybe one killer icicle, the enhanced version having completely obliterated all six.


    The Hao clansman in front of her was surprised and enraged at the same time. Who was this nobody that had turned his sure-kill secret technique into a cloud of steam?! But it didn''t matter to him. With Yan Yan''s apparent exhaustion and the impressive fire pillar she had just conjured, there was no way she had enough Shinsoo left to use a second trick like that.


    What was more, the man could tell that her entire left side was still affected by the Cold Smoke magical frostbite.


    "Time to end this farce, Cloud Arts second form!"

 74 "You Forced My Hand!"

    The Cloud Arts Canon, much like the Star-Sword Canon, only possessed seven forms. One could say to have fully mastered the Cloud Arts by only knowing how to perform seven magical techniques.


    What made them so special and a source of great pride for the Dark Sky Starry Sect was their ambivalence. Each technique was very different from the previous one, even as their difficulty and level of execution improved.


    As such, the first form, Cold Smoke, was a spirit formation capable of debilitating the opponent by paralyzing their flow of Shinsoo.


    The second form however, was completely focused on damage and hurting the target.


    "King''s Tomb!" growled the Hao clansman facing Yan Yan.


    As soon as the technique was executed, a large fog sprung up from the young man''s feet. Instantly it was as if the two of them were standing inside a cloud.


    Because she also knew the technique, Shin Sumi knew that the fog had the property of perturbing the divine sense of whoever tried to look into it besides the caster.


    However she wasn''t certain it would affect the Inner Sect disciple, whose divine sense was much higher than theirs. Hence why as soon as the fog appeared, Shin Sumi cracked a jade slip she had just taken out.


    On the jade slip was a Shinsoo imbued pattern, the one for a hiding formation.


    After her little experiment with the spirit formation when she had visited the lower valley for the last time, Shin Sumi had been experimenting some more, at last coming up with a great solution on her own. She had made many such formations, all of them on a different piece of magical jade.


    Now shielding herself from the perception of another cultivator was made as simple as using one of these jades.


    Without taking any time to confirm the hiding formation had worked, Shin Sumi condensed her Shinsoo in a peculiar way.


    "Shinsoo Fist of Thunder" she muttered.


    With perfect timing, as soon as her energy was crackling like bolts of energy in her fist, the King''s Tomb potent ability was unleashed.


    It all takes some time to describe but from the moment the fog sprung up to the first deadly attack, only the blink of an eye had passed.


    Two, five, then ten spikes of condensed energy rose up from all around, piercing through the air like the horns of a devil. Because of the fog reducing her vision to nothing, it was impossible for Shin Sumi to spot the deadly spikes.


    But thankfully the hiding formation had disrupted the Hao clansman''s divine sense as well, sending the spikes into disarray instead of coming at her at different angles which would be unavoidable.


    One invisible spike indeed came at her, which she felt at the very last moment. With the speed of her reflexes though, her Shinsoo imbued fist connected with the cloud column before her shoulder was pierced.


    A deafening boom completely imprisoned by the hiding formation resounded. The Shinsoo Fist of Thunder completely obliterated the spike, sending tiny purple lightning bolts along the inside of the mist.


    A large portion of her energy spent on the Shinsoo Fist of Thunder, Shin Sumi felt the wave of fatigue overtake her but it didn''t matter. She had defeated the King''s Tomb.


    Right before when she knew the mist would disperse, Shin Sumi deactivated her hiding formation with her divine sense and launched herself out of the platform.


    Bracing herself internally, Yan Yan''s body landed right out of the arena, followed by her spitting a mouthful of blood.


    "The oldest trick in the book. A bit of blood and everybody is convinced," she thought.


    "It''s my win" confirmed her opponent, a bit surprised by the outcome, "have I used too much Shinsoo with the Icicle Ring?"


    From his point of view, the man had suddenly lost control over his own technique, unable to focus his attacks on the target. Not wishing to toss aside his victory though, he was simply glad some of his cloud spikes had connected.


    Under the eyes of the twenty disciples present around this one arena, the Inner Sect disciple in charge of supervision had no choice but to announce the young man''s victory. Looking to the side at Yan Yan who was just getting up, her face pale and holding various parts of her body, he seemed to mutter something unintelligible to himself.


    "She was completely caught by it. I sensed the disarray of the guy which means he lost control over his technique. That''s lucky for her, but she should have been able to end the fight before that, or even use the technique herself, right?"


    How could the Inner Sect disciple admit that he too had lost the focus of the fight due to Shin Sumi''s hiding formation, even to himself? No techniques of this caliber should have been able to impact his higher level cultivation.


    "Let''s move on to the next fight" he ultimately decided, "this is nothing but a facade anyway."


    While the next fights took place, Yan Yan was slowly recuperating by consuming spirit plants and a few pills she had bought from the market. In truth Shin Sumi didn''t need such thing at all but the more details, the more convincing her appearance was.


    "With this Hao guy obviously stronger than Yan Yan, there''s no way she''ll move on to the qualification phases, right?"


    She was completely intent on losing every fight until she could get out of the Cloud Formation Pavilion main building and the ranking tournament for this branch of the sect.


    Instead she simply wanted to go back to her home and cultivate with the Moon Stone some more until she reached the Liquid Realm second step.


    The second fight that was asked of her took place a bit more than an hour after the first one, about the time needed for recuperation.


    Due to the large number of participants, only two fights per person were scheduled. Then the choice of the two people moving on would rest on the Inner Sect disciple''s hands. It was the same for each of the thirty two arenas which were all booming with fighting and from which shouts like ''Cold Smoke'' and ''King''s Tomb'' were constantly overheard.


    Unsurprisingly, Yan Yan lost her second fight in what could only be described as a pitiful manner.


    The Inner Sect referee was silently gnashing at his teeth, dreading what he was about to announce.


    By the time each contestant had fought twice, almost all of the thirty two arenas were done with their activities.


    Shin Sumi was looking at all the fierce fighters around her, wondering which one would be chosen in her stead. Surely, after failing to win twice out of two attempts, there was no way Yan Yan would move on, right?


    The first selected disciple was, without surprise, the other disciple that the arena had chosen like Yan Yan, a young man whose talent was undeniable.


    Around Yan Yan, everybody was nodding, as if to show they had never intended to take his place, instead all fighting for the remaining spot.


    "And the second one of you that will join the top fighters in the next selection process is... Yan Yan."


    By the time every participant''s jaw had left the ground from shock, they all turned towards the young girl in lilac robes. Yan Yan had dropped her head and was sighing quietly.


    "Really? You won''t let me abandon the fight at all, Master Cloud?"


    Even she couldn''t believe it.


    "All my efforts to lose were for naught and now I have angered about twenty people."


    "What is going on, Senior Brother," the man from the Hao clan was first to react and ask for explanation from the referee, "I beat her fair and square, why should she advance?"


    "Yeah, that''s right, even I can easily beat that kid! I''ve won all my fights, why have you chosen her?!"


    Normally low level disciples such as them would never dare talk to an Inner Sect disciple in this tone, but this time the anger was too strong. Even the referee looked apologetic as he shook his head, denying any further discussion.


    "Fine I guess I don''t have a choice now" said Shin Sumi quietly, realizing she had spoken out loud only after the facts.


    It was only a few words but for the angry disciples that rightfully deserved a chance it was the straw that broke the camel''s back.


    "Yan Yan! Fight me!"


    One of the guys that won both his fights jumped on the platform, motioning Shin Sumi to join him for a fight. Suddenly they all didn''t care how cute she looked, she had been turned into an enemy.


    "I-I don''t think it''s necessary, fellow daoist, I don''t-" she started to ask herself how to resolve the situation when her words were interrupted by a white glow coming from the disciple''s hand.


    The man in the middle of the platform was attacking her. She had witnessed his magical technique before and how the white glow turned into a devastating ethereal Shinsoo blade.


    Attacking a fellow disciple by surprise was not something that was completely unseen but it was still considered a move with no honor judged badly amongst the peers.


    Even the Inner Sect disciple frowned, ready to intervene, even if he was a bit late.


    But he didn''t have to. Quarrels were unavoidable due to the circumstances and Shin Sumi was deeply aware of that. Now that the man had attacked, though, she was genuinely angered herself. After all it was only for a slim chance of placing higher in the ranking, nothing life changing.


    "Since you''re attacking me and I have no choice but to participate in this shitty tournament, I don''t see any reason to force myself to lose anymore."


    Shin Sumi jumped from the ground onto the platform, her arm extended behind her. The energy inside her passageways connected at the same time as the Shinsoo blade was released towards her.


    "Shinsoo Fist of Thunder!"


    Without any remorse, Yan Yan punched the air in front of her. The crackling of lightning overtook the whistle from the blade fending the air.


    Talking only about the two techniques involved, the magical blade was leagues above the Shinsoo Fist of Thunder. In terms of the casters powers though, how could the angered disciple compare to Shin Sumi?


    Yan Yan''s punch disintegrated the glowing white blade with almost no energy spent. She had been standing more than a meter away from her opponent when she released her own attack but the fist had still displaced enough air that the disciple was pushed backwards forcefully.


    The man had no time to deal with the backlash of having his technique broken and his flow of Shinsoo in disarray at all, Yan Yan had advanced swiftly like the wind and was now right next to him.


    Not bothering to use any technique, simply venting her anger, Yan Yan grabbed the man''s head in her small hand. The next instant he lost consciousness as his skull was brought to the ground with incredible brute force.


    From the moment the disciple had provoked her to a fight to now, only two or three breaths of time had passed and there she was, standing on top of his unconscious body.


    "I didn''t want to participate, I wanted to be left alone but you forced my hand and now I don''t have a choice. Anybody else that is not pleased by Senior Brother''s decision?" she even had the gall to announce.


    Shin Sumi had always taken pride in remaining calm in almost every situation. She even had trouble believing how her sister Xiao Yue had become the tyrannic Black Devil Maiden. Now she understood why it would be easy to choose that path if you had the ability to.


    In the Immortal World, strength was law. It was all that was needed to gain others respect.


    Anyone should have been elated at the prospect of being in the top sixty-four contenders for best disciple of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion, only Shin Sumi stormed off with still some anger within her.


    The other chosen disciple quickly followed her with an amused expression. He had heard of her before and had been surprised at her losses but he now understood that she had absolutely not wanted to win.


    Another person was a bit amused but mostly relieved, the Inner Sect disciple in charge of their arena who promptly disappeared from the small crowd of bewildered disciples. Nobody was contesting his decision anymore, the disciples who had hesitated to provoke her now having cold sweats at the look of the unconscious fighter who had his head bashed in without even having the time to realize his mistake.


    Following the first part of the selection process, the grand hall was quickly emptied while the expected sixty-four fighters were resting and refilling their energy level.


    For all of them the real tournament was only starting now. As soon as they had realized they couldn''t go to any arena as they pleased, Master Cloud''s plan had been revealed.


    Fu Xue was happily pacing around, having not broken a sweat throughout her fights as per the looks of her. She found Yan Yan in a corner but didn''t disturb her considering her furrowed brows, crossed arms and flushed cheeks.


    As much as Shin Sumi recognized Fu Xue as a great fighter and a terrifying enemy to have, the same went the other way around.


    In the Cloud-Formation Pavilion Shin Sumi had not made much waves but she was still respected by everybody who knew her. There was even a strange rumor that Chu Erlong and even Jun Qian himself were avoiding her.


    Whenever they crossed paths, a dead-cold stare from Chu Erlong would be the only reply to Yan Yan''s lovely smile.


    After all she was the only person who knew of Shin Sumi''s real identity, also knowing that despite her hatred she should not meddle with her.


    Why Shin Sumi or Bai Fulong were not commonly known as the true first place of the Rising Star Tournament, Chu Erlong had no idea but she was intelligent enough to understand that she shouldn''t try to find out.


    Because the latter and Jun Qian were public daoist partners, naturally Master Cloud''s direct disciple had also avoided Yan Yan despite not fully knowing why.


    As the rumors of a strange love triangle involving the couple and Yan Yan made its way around the disciples, the two top cultivators currently sitting down and cultivating with each other didn''t bother themselves with it.


    In the face of true power, no random disciple''s words would impact them.


    "Why is Jun Qian there?! As Master Cloud''s direct disciple, shouldn''t he be exempted from fighting today?"


    "It''s not fair to go against him, why doesn''t he just have a place in the team for the Cross Branch Arena already?"


    "If Master Cloud has deemed necessary to have him participate... Does that mean there is somebody else that could rival him?"


    "As long as I avoid him I don''t care if he''s here or not."


    Of all the disciples present, most already had a clear idea about what the lineup for the top six would be and didn''t hold any expectations.


    Only a few had been hiding their true strength just for this occasion and to rise up in the rankings. Much like Shin Sumi, some cultivators who were quite good but not at the very top felt like being in the top sixty-four was already enough of an achievement.


    That general drop of morale was only due to the presence of Jun Qian there. Had Master Cloud predicted that when he instructed his direct disciple to appear?


    The questioning was quite short as Master Cloud himself appeared soon after the hundreds of other disciples had left the building. His changing robes undulated like the wind, half of him obscured by shadows despite standing right below the huge glowing cloud orb that adorned the hall''s ceiling.


    Even more pressuring than having the Pavilion Master appear out of thin air in front of the disciples, Master Cloud was accompanied by twelve men in single-colored robes.


    "The Cloud Elders...!"


    Without having ever seen them before, even Shin Sumi knew who they were the first instant the twelve colored rainbow of people fell into her sight.


    "We will be the referees for the upcoming tournaments. The arena will be set promptly."


    Master Cloud''s words resonated in the giant empty hall. His voice was soft and low, forcing the few who weren''t bowing yet to lower their head, as if by simply speaking the hidden figure had unleashed some mystical property.


    Jointly, the twelve Cloud Elders extended both hands down, palms turned to the ground who immediately started glowing.


    Spirit formations performed by an array of cultivators had the power of each human node multiplied, but with the appropriate increased difficulty. Given that this array was formed by the twelve most powerful people in the sect when it came to magical techniques, it was a given that the ground started shaking immediately.


    The thirty two platforms which served as arenas for the previous fights rose up from the ground, joining together into a humongous single platform with a height of more than five meters.


    "A-Amazing", Shin Sumi thought. The feat of completely remodeling the grand hall in just a few seconds was astonishing. In comparison, launching a few cloud spikes was utterly laughable.


    "For the rules of the fights, Elder Azure Cloud, if you will" stated Master Cloud, as calmly and plain as a winter sky.

 Chapter 75 - One Step Higher

    He was a gentle looking old man with long white hair draped over his shoulder. Not as profound as Patriarch Sen''s, his eyes still radiated a deep knowledge that only an expert could have.


    "The first series of fights will take place shortly. Each of you will fight once. The winner advances to the next round which will take place in three days time.


    We Elders will judge you based on your magical ability during the fight. Killing will be severely sanctioned. The winner is decided once the other fighter loses consciousness, is forcefully pushed off the arena limits, or is incapable of fighting in any way. As proud disciples of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion, surrendering is not an option unless we decide it is best for you."


    The rules were clear. They also implied that the Elders would make sure nobody was in too much danger and at risk of death. Of course if an Elder had to intervene, the fight would be stopped and decided immediately.


    Finally, it was made clear that the results of the fight would depend on the disciple''s magical ability. For most it would be pretty obvious, but for some like Fu Xue it meant that some physical based techniques would not be regarded as fair.


    "All twelve Cloud Elders will be watching... This is more than a simple ranking tournament, isn''t it?"


    Nobody had dared talk out loud and yet this rhetorical question was on everybody''s mind.


    In order to judge the fighting of a few juniors, only one Elder, or even Inner Sect disciples were enough. And yet all twelve experts and the Cloud Master himself had mobilized.


    The hidden reason behind the format of the tournament was becoming more and more evident.


    Shin Sumi too was thinking about it, "The Elders are looking for disciples to enroll as their own students. Surely the most promising will find a master, basically having a place in the Inner Sect for as soon as they reach the third step of the Liquid Realm."


    Even if the prospect didn''t matter to Shin Sumi at all due to her secret position as the seventh Ghost from the Ghost Pavilion, it was a lot to think about. It was also an evident motivation to fight at full power and prove their worth to the Elders.


    Sadly, something else bothered Shin Sumi even more.


    "No surrenders. But in the face of the Elders, faking a loss would be way too obvious. Just from standing there, I almost feel their gaze directly on my soul."


    Despite her true power, in terms of magical abilities and fighting prowess, Shin Sumi wasn''t certain she could end up in the top six practitioners anyway, but she wasn''t willing to risk it. She had already promised Xiao Yue that she would fight for the Star-Sword Pavilion as Bai Fulong.


    "To make this a bit more fun for you youngsters, we have also decided on a certain ... training opportunity."


    More than half the disciples present were already having cold sweats. Somehow in Elder Azure Cloud''s mouth, a training opportunity sounded scarier than anything they had ever experienced.


    "For those of you who will fail in the first two rounds, you will get to train for an entire week in the Dark Fortress, which is equivalent to a month out here. Exciting, isn''t it? This way you are rewarded even if you don''t make it to the top sixteen."


    Every single pair of eyes were bulging as soon as the words ''Dark Fortress'' fell. A dozen jaws dropped an deven a few thuds could be heard from disciples whose knees had given out.


    "The Dark Fortress?!" Shin Sumi was frankly scared. She had already planned on losing in the first round but now it was entirely out of the question.


    The Dark Fortress was a place known even by Honorary Disciples below the Liquid Realm as one of the scariest places in the sect.


    Much like the Rising Star Tournament''s floating continent, it was one of the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s pocket dimensions used for training.


    But unlike the floating continent who was overflowing with Shinsoo of different types and a great place for training, the Dark Fortress had different laws of physics applying.


    Shin Sumi remembered Lan Hui''s explanation he had given while shivering in fear just by recalling what he knew, "It is a small world in which light doesn''t exist. Even fire can burn without giving off the slightest light, in there."


    And it wasn''t all. More than just a physical feat, training in the Dark Fortress was also a mental challenge.


    "According to what I''ve been told, the only type of Shinsoo in the Dark Fortress is of darkness type. Unless the cultivation technique you have chosen uses darkness type Shinsoo, you will feel like your entire being is submerged in the darkest of waters, almost unable to move and breath."


    Spending time in the Dark Fortress was said to be one of the most efficient ways to train, though. Time passed quicker on the inside than the outside, but the suffocating presence of darkness Shinsoo was really stimulating for the cultivation.


    As Shin Sumi understood it, it had to do with honing a cultivator''s affinity with Shinsoo. After all, once a blindfold is removed, even the dimmest light turns very bright.


    And she knew that even the mysterious Copper Bell wouldn''t be able to help her in this situation. As powerful as it was, the bell could only alter one''s perception to fit their need but it could not change the laws of physics. If the Dark Fortress was completely devoid of any light, the Copper Bell was of no use at all.


    "I have to win the first two fights, preferably only by luck or with the smallest advantage. I absolutely can''t crush my opponents or else the Cloud Elders will know I''m not using my full potential in the rest of the rounds."


    Such a strange feat that only Shin Sumi was capable of achieving, under the traits of Yan Yan. Only one question remained, though.


    "Who will I be fighting first? Has the pairing up already been made?" she looked around at the grimacing disciples still in the process of digesting the idea that the Dark Fortress was just around the corner.


    Only a select few were like her, scanning around for worthy opponents while not too bothered themselves.


    Fu Xue was one of them, Chu Erlong and Jun Qian also calm, naturally.


    "If I have to go up against one of them, I am screwed" Shin Sumi realized, "Either I manage to squeeze in a win but then I won''t be able to fool the Elders and lose my other fights, or I might as well accept the Dark Fortress and also give up on the Star-Sword Pavilion rankings."


    Patiently waiting for the assembly to regain their composure after his last announcement, it was at that moment Elder Azure Cloud chose to clear his throat once more.


    "Now that you all understand the rules and what is at stake, it is time to compose the brackets according to your potential. Brother Orange Cloud, please."


    Punctuating Elder Azure Cloud''s sentence with a slight nod of his head, the orange wearing Elder stepped forward as well.


    His eyes never leaving the ground in front of his feet like a shy boy in front of a pretty girl, the Elder''s lips moved ever so slightly but no words escaped them.


    "..." A few disciples perked their ears, trying to decipher if the Elder was saying something or simply being unnaturally shy.


    Half a breath later, a rumble once more shook the ground. Following the silent incantation, a grey cube the size of an adult had dropped out of thin air, landing loudly on the tiles of the grand hall.


    "A testing stele, just like the entrance to the sect. Are they going to measure our talents?" the disciples instantly recognized the monolithic testing stone.


    "..." Elder Orange Cloud once more failed to produce a sound as all eyes were set on him. At his side, Elder Azure Cloud sighed while shaking his head ever so slightly from side to side. He, of course, knew of his fellow cultivator''s habit with public speaking. Why did it turn out to be him having to summon the testing stone?


    "Erm... What fellow Elder Orange Cloud is saying is that each of you will take turns here, put your hand on the stele and release a sliver of Shinsoo. The stele will then take it all into account to form the most appropriate order for the fights to come."


    Then, pointing at the disciple standing the closest to where the stele had dropped, "You, go first."


    The disciple instantly joined hands and bowed, before making his way to the testing stone with a resolute face.


    Shin Sumi smiled internally as the silhouette of the man walked, trying to hide the clenching of his fists.


    "Oh, what an interesting first pick."


    A few meters away, Chu Erlong too looked at the man who had just been picked, alternating from the corner of her eye between Yan Yan and him, her teeth slowly grinding together.


    In front of the testing stone, the young man inhaled deeply, contacting his palm on the cold smooth surface. Without letting any more anxiousness arise, he quickly injected his Shinsoo.


    To his and everybody''s dismay, the stone let out no reaction at all. Has it worked?


    Gesturing him to move aside, Elder Orange Cloud signaled another disciple to take his place, a shallow smile appearing on his face. Despite not saying a word, the Elder seemed content with the testing.


    "Maybe it doesn''t show anything so that nobody besides the Elders knows our potentials. And yet even from that sliver of Shinsoo, I could feel you have grown stronger, Brother Bai", Shin Sumi realized.


    Bai Xuengen awkwardly made his way back to the crowd, his empty gaze stuck on his own hand, wondering why there was no reaction from the testing stone.


    Thankfully for him, during all of the sixty-four contestants'' assessment, not even once did the stone show any response, and apart from Elder Orange Cloud''s bizarre constant smile, neither did the Elders faces.


    "Maybe the order will be decided fairly this time," Shin Sumi almost said out loud, still angry at how she was forced into fighting by Master Cloud''s devious plan.


    "Now that the order has been decided, we shall get started immediately. Brother Orange Cloud."


    The shy orange robed Elder took one hand out of the folds of his robes. Between his small fingers was a brightly glowing piece of jade that slowly started to float above the ground before reaching above the height of the fighting platform, towering above the disciples.


    A large magical screen appeared from the piece of jade. On it were sixty-four names, neatly arranged into one column. Next to them were a bunch of empty lines, fewer and fewer with each new column.


    It didn''t take a genius to understand what the display showed. According to the lines, all the fights were decided.


    The criteria for the pairing seemed random at first, but a good eye easily spotted that the topmost fighters had all been put on different seeds.


    "So the strongest according to the testing stone will only meet later on. Pairing a stronger cultivator with a lower ranked is actually pretty smart for deciding the line-up for the Cross Branch Arena."


    Shin Sumi was reassured. Even if she didn''t know everybody present, she naturally knew the names of the best contenders, none of which she would meet over the next two fights.


    Because the fights were mostly one sided for the first round of this Cloud-Formation Pavilion tournament, the thirty two disciples who would move on to the second round were decided pretty quickly.


    Without any surprise, Fu Xue, Bai Xuengen, Chu Erlong and the likes all managed an easy victory.


    Ignoring the dejected disciples who knew the Dark Fortress was waiting for them, Elder Azure Cloud briefly congratulated the winners before opening the front door of the building.


    "See you in three days Sister Yan," smiled Fu Xue, "I''m off to train, would you like to join me for some sparring practice?"


    Yan Yan waved back, "thank you for the offer Sister Fu but I need to strengthen my cultivation base more than I need fight training. I will see you soon."


    Shin Sumi didn''t lie. Ever since she had gotten the Moon Stone, her cultivation had increased by leaps and bounds, finally managing to properly circulate the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow.


    According to the texts she had found in the sect library, the Moon Stone would be depleted of its unique Shinsoo in a few days at most and she couldn''t afford to waste more time.


    "I''m on the verge of breaking through to the Liquid Realm second step. All of my techniques will become more powerful and I will be able to use the white scroll from the Ghost Pavilion."


    White Claw Dusk Cleaver was the name of the first technique passed down by the Ghosts. Due to her sixty-four Shinsoo Apertures, Shin Sumi had a great affinity with Shinsoo which had instantly told her what some of the requirements for the technique were.


    Not only did the technique use a lot of Shinsoo with one use, the complicated pattern of openings needed to circulate energy in the right way was such that attempting it before reaching the second step would only result in a strong energy backlash.


    Knowing one''s limits was key for survival in the Immortal World.


    Tired but excited, Yan Yan promptly left the Cloud-Formation Pavilion for the forest behind the Second Star Arena. There, in the privacy of her own home she rang the Copper Bell once, her traits morphing back into her own face, Shin Sumi''s real face.


    Tapping her wrist with Shinsoo imbued fingers, she called out to the Lion Bat.


    "Nuan you can come out now! I have a few spirit stones for you to munch on while I cultivate."


    Gently stroking the Lion Bat''s fur for a while, Shin Sumi felt sorry for having to force her into hiding in her wrist most of the time.


    Erecting a magical barrier around her courtyard to make sure that Nuan couldn''t get out into the wild on her own, Shin Sumi then sat down on the grass in front of her house.


    The glow of the Moon Stone, as intense as ever, pierced between her fingers as she gently laid it down between her legs.


    Shin Sumi''s breathing slowed, her heart and dantian synchronized, her mind cleared from distractions.


    ***


    Inside Shin Sumi''s dantian was her Shinsoo Sea, the ethereal representation of her cultivation. Shinsoo Sea was the general term, although hers was more like a large puddle or a small lake. She only expected that it would bloom into a fully grown sea after advancing on the path of cultivation.


    Most of the time the Shinsoo Sea would sit quietly, calm and flat like a mirror. Sometimes a few waves would stir, their crashing becoming the source of power for whatever technique she was using.


    Only at the moment of a breakthrough, though, would the golden lake churn and rampage inside her body like it did now.


    The clear white foam forming on the golden Shinsoo seemed to be the source of all the agitation. When the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique had been too hard for her to cultivate, Shin Sumi could only add so much energy to her reserve.


    One cycle after the other, the foam was easily assimilated by the golden Shinsoo Sea.


    But the Moon Stone Shinsoo was something else entirely. Running hundreds of cycles per day, the moonlight colored energy was much more present, making the usually calm Shinsoo Sea bubble and storm.


    As the energy crashed inside her dantian, Shin Sumi subconsciously realized that the golden lake was expanding rapidly. Like a whirlwind of pure Shinsoo, the infinite void that was her dantian was being overtaken by the sea.


    When the last wave crashed into emptiness, the golden sea had more than doubled in size. With the same intensity as if a bolt of lightning had struck her, Shin Sumi suddenly woke up from her trance and opened her eyes.


    Every joint in her body was cracking, as if she had been immobilized for months and her body needed remodeling. It wasn''t numb though, or ever uncomfortable in the slightest.


    Shin Sumi''s head was clearer than it had ever been and she could feel the strength pulsing through her bones, muscles and fibers.


    She was covered in sweat, as if her body had expulsed all the filth within her to the outside, leaving her pure and refreshed.


    She must have stirred the ambient Shinsoo in the area because Nuan had stopped playing and was sitting in front of her, intensely looking at her with her beady black eyes.


    In total she had taken twelve full hours to break through to the second step of the Liquid Realm.


    ***


    When Shin Sumi walked into the Cloud-Formation Pavilion main building, only a few other disciples had arrived. She was early, soon the other thirty one cultivators would come for the second round of the ranking tournament.


    The assembly was complete when an imposing and intimidating silence overtook the large arena. The twelve Cloud Elders and the Cloud Master stepped out of thin air in a rainbow of colors.


    The magical jade screen displaying the name of the fighters and the order of their matches had been updated.


    Without the need for prompting, the first two disciples of the day met on top of the massive platform under the eyes of the others who were seated on one side, and the Elders on the other.

 Chapter 76 - A Display Of Hidden Strength

    The second day of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion tournament started quickly. All the contestants still in the race knew that with each passing round the difficulty would rise due to only the best fighters remaining.


    By this point most of the fights still went according to predictions. It wasn''t hard to know who would win before the fight had even begun. Still, a few unexpected outcomes made watching the process worth it.


    Fu Xue won her fight easily. She was in the top half of the brackets, just like Jun Qian, but the setup was so that she wouldn''t fight him until the last round deciding one of the two finalists.


    Right after she exited the stage, the next two contestants took place in front of one another.


    Next to Shin Sumi, a disciple who had already won his second fight sighed.


    "How boring. Now Brother Inu is up against this guy. We all know who''s going to win, can''t we just send this guy to the Dark Fortress and move on? I''m here to watch Sister Chu."


    Yan Yan swiveled her head around, her beautiful eyes locking into those of the disciple who had spoken.


    "You never know what can happen, fellow disciple. I have the feeling that this fight is going to surprise you."


    "Heh" her neighbor snickered. He wanted to retort but kept to himself. He hadn''t payed attention to whom the person next to him was.


    Despite his complete confidence in Brother Inu''s win, he simply couldn''t contradict this beautiful girl he had never seen before. The words he had formulated in his mind kept being stuck in his throat as he choked on them.


    It was only after a long while that he finally mustered the confidence to talk to Yan Yan, this time with a cunning expression.


    "If you are so confident in this nobody against Brother Inu whose rank has remained in the top fifteen for the entire past year, why don''t we bet, Sister...?"


    Ever since the end of the Rising Star Tournament, Bai Xuengen had remained discrete. Maybe it was his encounter with Bai Fulong and the time he spent with him and Lan Hui that had changed his ways. The proud yellow robed disciple from before had suddenly stopped flaunting his fighting prowess.


    Now he remained in the shadow of others, waiting for his time to shine and claim back his fame. In fact, not many people knew about him even though he used to be in the top ten yellow robes back in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm.


    But when everybody was fooled, how could Shin Sumi be too? She knew Bai Xuengen better than most. And with her acute Shinsoo reading ability, she could tell that he was a lot stronger than he appeared to be from a distance.


    The l.u.s.tful disciple who had proposed a bet was starting to think that Yan Yan had not heard him when the pretty girl finally replied.


    "What shall we bet then?"


    His anxiety immediately disappeared, the man''s confidence rose through the roof, thinking "if she is headstrong enough to bet, it''s as good as done, ehehe".


    "If your guy wins, I will give you two technique scrolls from my Rui Clan''s set of passed down techniques. Hell, I''ll even give you a high grade spirit stone with it."


    Shin Sumi almost laughed at the latest addition, "A high grade spirit stone? Nuan can make me hundreds of them a day. I''ll take the techniques though."


    "Is that fine?" the Rui clan disciple waited for her nod of approval, "and if Brother Inu wins... you''ll have a date with me, Rui Keshin!"


    Shin Sumi was already expecting this particular proposition. Being a girl in the Immortal World, she had already learned a long time ago how to read a man''s eyes.


    Nevertheless how could she pass on such an opportunity to gain two new techniques?


    "You''re on, Rui Keshin" she simply said, now focused again on the fight at hand.


    Bai Xuengen and Brother Inu were currently circling each other. Gauging one''s opponent was a crucial part of the fight. Depending on their ability, sometimes all it took was a single high speed attack to gain the advantage needed for a one sided fight.


    Not finding any flaw in the other''s defence, the man surnamed Inu launched the first attack.


    From one of his palms, a jet of water spurted out with incredible speed.


    Almost caught up by the thin jet, Bai Xuengen avoided the attack at the last moment when he realized that his adversary''s second hand was moving in a bizarre pattern.


    "A single handed incantation...!"


    Rui Keshin was hiding his smile. It looked to him like the bet was already won in advance. Inu Lei''s technique was fearsome when unprepared.


    Following the incantation, the jet of water suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if it had hit an invisible wall. Splashing against the formless surface, the water rapidly spread in all directions, closing on itself in the shape of a giant cube.


    With the speed of a veteran fighter, Inu Lei crossed his arms, forming a circle with two fingers in front of his mouth.


    Before Bai Xuengen could even realize, Inu Lei''s breath through his magical incantation turned all the water of the cube into ice.


    "Your fighter is now trapped in an ice cage. I''m pretty sure that''s the end of him. When do you want our first date to happen, my lady?"


    Shin Sumi ignored Rui Keshin as well as the rising temptation to bash his head in with her own fist.


    Maybe she got excited at the prospect of two techniques from the Rui Clan but Shin Sumi knew she wasn''t being stupid when she accepted the bet.


    She had felt Bai Xuengen''s progress ever since the Rising Star Tournament.


    In the middle of the cube of ice, Bai Xuengen was still as calm as when the fight first started. Nobody, not even his adversary, could see his face and yet it was far from what they imagined.


    Bai Xuengen was looking serene, neither happy nor angry. In fact he didn''t seem to be fazed at all by the dire situation.


    "I feel the outside breeze..." nobody heard him say in a very low voice, as if to himself.


    It was obviously the twelve Core Development Elders who first felt Bai Xuengen''s actions. From where they were sitting, any of them could see the entire stage with their divine sense as if they were standing in the middle of it.


    Elder Purple Cloud even lifted an eyebrow, under the complicated gazes of some other Cloud Elders.


    KZIIING!


    The six ice walls imprisoning Bai Xuengen burst open simultaneously, pushing them aside like they were made of paper with a heavy wave of condensed Shinsoo.


    Bai Xuengen revealed himself amidst the cloud of ice shards.


    "I see the currents..." Bai Xuengen said softly.


    Upon hearing these words nobody could discern, Elder Purple Cloud stood up from his seat for a brief second before he regained his composure.


    At the same time, Inu Lei was himself shoved violently to the side, his feet leaving the platform as he twisted and turned in the air.


    When Inu Lei finally rejoined the floor, it was his face that touched it first and he wasn''t on top of the platform anymore but on the ground level of the hall.


    Bai Xuengen left the platform to return to his seat next to the other contestants who started talking quietly among themselves.


    "Bai Xuengen... I remember him now, he joined the Dark Sky Starry Sect two years after me. He wore a yellow robe at the time but spent almost his entire time in secluded training."


    "He got my blood boiling! I used to be really close with Inu Lei in terms of rankings... Now I want to fight him!"


    Chu Erlong was gnashing her teeth. The last time she had seen him before these ranking matches was when he stood up to her and her gang in the underground ring of the Rising Star Tournament.


    He and Bai Fulong had fought her before they all got separated by the fireball she had launched.


    Despite his impressive victory, Bai Xuengen only left a strong impression on the other fighters. The only person who was completely speechless was Rui Keshin.


    He simply couldn''t fathom what he had just seen. His eyes were still stuck on the platform when something obscured his field of vision.


    Yan Yan''s petite hand was laid out flat in front of him. With a twitch of her finger, she implied what she wanted.


    "Pay up."


    Rui Keshin had lost his bet and Shin Sumi wasn''t going to pass up the opportunity to gain two new techniques.


    She hadn''t heard of the Rui Clan but it was obvious that any technique passed down for a few generations was bound to be somewhat useful.


    "F-fellow Sister, as promised here are the two scrolls I talked about, from my Rui Clan. As for the spirit stone... I''m a little low for now but I swear I''ll give it to you in less than a week''s time!"


    Shin Sumi was at a loss for a second. She had completely forgotten about the high grade spirit stone. As it turned out it was Rui Keshin''s biggest complaint and yet she couldn''t care less.


    She raised her shoulders and took the two scrolls who looked ancient and impressive without having even been opened.


    "Ca-can you give me back the scrolls after you''ve understood the technique as well? If I truly lost them, my Father and Grand-Father would definitely kill me..."


    Shin Sumi had expected no less. Even if they were the purpose of the bet, at no point had she expected to truly own the two scrolls. Clan techniques were usually a rare prize with only a few copies in existence if more than one.


    Shin Sumi agreed and pocketed the scrolls, only in appearance. To Rui Keshin it definitely looked like she put them in her bag of holding when in fact she used the folds of her sleeves to hide her wrist.


    In a quick move she had actually activated the leaf pattern on her wrist, making the scrolls disappear within where the Lion Bat Nuan was resting.


    It was an unexpected ability she had discovered recently, that Nuan could absorb and eat resources even without leaving the leaf imprint on her skin.


    And just like that Shin Sumi now owned two more magical techniques, "it really is too easy when men are fooled by their l.u.s.t."


    ***


    By the end of the day, only sixteen contestants remained. A wave of relief washed over the tired fighters. From then on, they knew they were in the clear, having avoided the Dark Fortress, the terrifying punishment imposed by the Cloud Master for the losers of the two previous rounds.


    Yan Yan had had no trouble at all winning her fight, apparently going against one of the weakest remaining disciples. Or maybe she would have struggled a bit more had she not broken through to the second step of the Liquid Realm a few days earlier.


    After three days time, the third round was going to happen but Shin Sumi couldn''t care less. Now that she had avoided the Dark Fortress she only had to lose her next fight to get out of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion ranking tournament.


    She was also really excited for the fights to come. Jun Qian and Chu Erlong were still in the race, as was Fu Xue. But more interestingly, the latter''s next opponent... was Bai Xuengen!


    Shin Sumi wondered what the outcome would be, "Surely Fu Xue is stronger but how much more strength has Bai Xuengen hidden until now?"


    With these thoughts in her head, Shin Sumi exited the Cloud-Formation Pavilion main building. She didn''t go to her courtyard though, unstead going in the direction of the Third Star Arena.


    She had received a divine sense message from Xiao Yue, prompting her to come.


    "What?! Sui Lin is going to fight Mua Lin!!" She anxiously replied. "I''m on my way there now."


    Shin Sumi sped up, only stopping once before she reached the arena. She had gotten used to setting up a hiding formation quickly and efficiently in order to change her robes and appearance.


    When the Third Star Arena was in view, Yan Yan was already nowhere to be seen, replaced by the ordinary looking Bai Fulong.


    Contrary to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion, the Star-Sword Pavilion didn''t hold an organized tournament in order to decide the disciples'' rankings. It was all left to the disciples themselves, as long as the ranking was decided before the Cross Branch Arena.


    Shin Sumi had previously beaten Ken Duang, taking the fifth place for herself behind Xiao Yue, Mua Lin, Mua Jin and Mei Yunei. She was content with it as long as she was part of the top sixth.


    After all she had promised Xiao Yue she would fight for the Star-Sword Pavilion.


    But it was all going to change if Sui Lin and Tai Bu were starting to reclaim their places. And what a way to do it... Sui Lin was challenging Mua Lin, the current number two.


    Sharing a similar name was not where the comparison stopped between the two cultivators. Both girls were haughty and with the right to be so.


    Once was the number two practitioner of the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, the other was the current number two of the Star-Sword Pavilion.


    They were both sizing each other up on top of the main platform of the Third Star Arena when Shin Sumi arrived.


    Mua Lin was a short and petite girl with long black hair tied in a knot. Anyone who first looked at her would get the sentiment of looking at a small doll. Oftentimes men would offer her their protection when they didn''t know who she was. Only a selected few, though, knew that it was a grave mistake.


    With her Despairing Blossom sword in her hand, rare were the men with the qualifications to hold up their own against her in the same cultivation level. Making her really pretty but enhancing her looks as a doll, Mua Lin was wearing a pink dress with a large ribbon as a belt.


    "Who is this cutie?! Wow they are both cuties?!! Who are they, are we about to watch a cat-fight?" A male disciple on the side started speaking up to his friend who immediately put his hand on the first guy''s mouth before hitting his head repeatedly. "Do you want to die?! Both of them have the qualifications to make you change your surname to Stupid is they wanted to. This is Sui Lin in white and Mua Lin in pink. And behind the platform is Mua Jin, be glad he hasn''t heard you or else he could have cut your tongue before you finished your sentence."


    Shin Sumi sighed deeply. As a female cultivator herself, she knew why it was necessary for the likes of Xiao Yue, Sui Lin, Fu Xue and the others to be cold and ruthless. The Immortal World was too manly for young women. If they wanted the respect they deserved they had to own it.


    As a result female cultivators would often shut themselves from the others and act cold. Not many things could reason with the l.u.s.t in a man''s eyes, but fear was definitely one of them.


    "Mua Lin, thank you for holding the second place until now. I''m glad you were the one to do so. But I''m afraid I''ll be taking it back today", said Sui Lin.


    When Mua Lin looked like a doll girl, Sui Lin was much more of a woman already despite being younger than her by a year or so. She was taller, slender with forms in all the right places that her long ice colored dress could only try to hide. At the moment she was pointing a nameless sword at her opponent.


    "Take it back?" Mua Lin replied, "Stop holding on to your past achievements, Sui Lin. You never held second place."


    The last words were still floating in the air when the first clash of swords occured, almost too fast for the eyes to see. They both had lunged at each other simultaneously, exchanging blows that were all parried.


    "Eh not bad. I hope you weren''t too attached to your sword though. Now hurry up and take out your real weapon." Mua Lin pointed to Sui Lin''s hand.


    Sui Lin''s sword was missing its tip and had a long crack running along it. The disciples who had not paid attention during the previous exchange were flabbergasted.


    "Such a difference in swords... No, in level. Mua Lin is much stronger, isn''t she?"


    "Wait a bit longer. She told her to take out her ''real'' weapon. Does that mean it hasn''t properly started yet?"


    Sui Lin sighed. "I never really thought this scrap metal would be enough to defeat you, I''m glad you''re not disappointing me" she said as she threw the broken sword over her shoulder away from the platform.


    "I''m going to fight you at my best, Mua Lin. The second place will be mine."


    Shin Sumi''s eyes opened wide. She knew perfectly well what her ''real'' weapon was. As far as she knew, Sui Lin hadn''t used it once since the Rising Star Tournament, so not many people from the upper valley knew about it.


    Condensing Shinsoo in the tip of her finger, Sui Lin waved her arm in the air, not attacking but writing something out of thin air.


    "World Creating Paintbrush, come forth."

 Chapter 77 - Mua Lin x Sui Lin

    Sui Lin''s paintbrush appeared, amazement could be seen in every disciple''s eyes around. Even Mua Lin marveled at the peculiar weapon.


    "Sorry for the waiting, Mua Lin. Now we can get serious?"


    If Sui Lin was intimidating before, now that she had traded her junk blade for her proper weapon her aura grew a dozen times thicker.


    If Mua Lin wasn''t too impressed by the radical change in atmosphere, it was only because she was completely immersed in her own will to fight. Her Despairing Blossom was pointing straight at Sui Lin, ready for the second exchange of blows when she suddenly paused.


    "Hey hang on. No matter how I look at it, a paintbrush isn''t a weapon. If you plan on using spirit formations on me you don''t deserve to be in the Star-Sword Pavilion."


    Mua Lin was right, it was also something Shin Sumi was wondering about. She knew better than anyone else what it meant, being in both pavilions at the same time.


    "Don''t talk idly during a fight or you will regret it. Star-Sword Canon First Form: Cleaving Meteor...!"


    The tip of Sui Lin''s brush now glowed with a bright yellow light. No matter how she looked at it, Mua Lin couldn''t deny that this was indeed the Star-Sword Canon''s first technique.


    Used with a low level blade, Cleaving Meteor''s devastating strike was reduced by a large margin. The power behind the technique was directly linked to the swordsman''s strength as well as its weapon.


    And yet when Sui Lin released the yellow light, the pressure from the impending Cleaving Meteor was definitely not fake.


    "It''s the real deal... I need to evade that" Mua Lin realized. From an outsider''s perspective it seemed as if she had been mocking her opponent when in reality she was probing Sui Lin.


    If she was able to release the Star-Sword Canon through her paintbrush, her weapon was truly terrifying. What else was she capable of?!


    Mua Lin who was very familiar with Cleaving Meteor evaded the strike easily. Locking eyes with Sui Lin, both girls knew that all of this was simply a demonstration and no real intent at a strike.


    "Show me the worth of your paintbrush in close combat!" Mua Lin jumped forward, pressing on the offensive.


    Nevermind the techniques Sui Lin was capable of using, she was only brandishing a large paintbrush after all. It wasn''t a blade or an offensive weapon.


    With a deep confidence in her own Despairing Blossom sword, Mua Lin struck down against the wooden paint brush.


    A loud metal-on-wood bang resounded but the paintbrush remained unscathed. Forcing the pinkish blade to run along the leather wrap around the pole of the paintbrush, Sui Lin pushed the brush tip down.


    Sui Lin took great pride in her weapon. If it weren''t capable of deflecting a sharp edge, how could she be using it for combat?


    Imbuing Shinsoo on the silk like hair of the brush, the writing tool immediately became as sharp as any sword. By the time Mua Lin realized what was happening to the paintbrush, the tip was already brushing against her shoulder.


    Both weapons were interlocked, but Sui Lin had the advantage of range.


    "WUAAAAH!" Mua Lin let out a scream. Forcing her arm to push harder than before, she finally shoved Sui Lin to the side, allowing her to take a step back.


    Under her fingers, her shoulder was gushing out blood. She hadn''t felt the tip of the brush enter her flesh and yet she had been cut deeply by Sui Lin''s peculiar weapon.


    "You''re asking for death. And when this is over I will break your brush in half!"


    On the side of the platform opposite Shin Sumi, Mua Lin''s twin brother Mua Jin was gnashing his teeth. His fingers were digging deep into his crossed arms, leaving red marks on his biceps, and yet he tried to remain calm as his sister was being hurt.


    With a battle cry, Mua Lin lunged forward once more. It seemed as if she had gone crazy from shock, swiping her pink sword horizontally.


    Sui Lin defensively slammed the ground with the end of the paintbrush pole, intent on blocking the horizontal strike. And yet her eyebrows were furrowed. "Something doesn''t feel right."


    Despite appearing to be attacking without restraint, the cunning Mua Lin was in fact very calm. What bothered Sui Lin was the sensation of Shinsoo being condensed, that her divine sense was picking up subconsciously.


    "Star-Sword Canon Second Form, Piercing Heavens!"


    At the last moment, the crazed Mua Lin suddenly changed stance. Despairing Blossom accelerated in a straight line like a comet, going straight towards her opponent''s c.h.e.s.t.


    It was too late for Sui Lin to block with her weapon, the speed of Piercing Heavens ever growing. The only solution that would allow her to escape her predicament was...


    ''CAGE''


    Faster than a sword technique, manipulating Shinsoo in the way that was most familiar to her, Sui Lin summoned the Shinsoo cage from her Character Formation technique on herself.


    "The air is the canvas. The blood is the link. The energy is the ink." Sui Lin''s voice spoke softly as a small cloud of dust receded.


    Her breathing had gone a bit heavy and irregular but she was completely unscathed. Around her, the ''cage'' character that had shielded her from Piercing Heavens was slowly fading.


    Even Shin Sumi took a few seconds to understand what had transpired. From having experienced first hand, she obviously knew what the Character Formation technique was, and she had seen and felt the ''cage'' before.


    "She attacked in order to protect herself? She used her Character Formation without the paintbrush? She was faster than Piercing Heavens?!" Shin Sumi didn''t know what was the most impressive thing about what just happened.


    "I''m glad she''s the only one that ever completely beat me. Sui Lin is terrifying." She recalled the fight in the last stages of the Rising Star Tournament. Even then without having condensed her Shinsoo Sea, Sui Lin was strong and she could use her technique almost perfectly.


    Now that she had opened her Shinsoo Doors and reached the Liquid Realm, her affinity with Shinsoo had changed entirely. It made sense that the same technique she could use previously would now be easier for her to execute.


    And yet she had done so with perfection at the right moment. It only served to wonder what she was now capable of ''writing'' with her paintbrush.


    "This is my Character Formation technique. I had no choice but to use it, I was surprised by your Piercing Heavens. I hope you don''t consider this cheating, I was using magic after all but on myself. This is the equivalent of using a spirit pill in my opinion."


    Sui Lin and Mua Lin were staring at each other''s eyes from across the platform. From their looks alone, it was obvious that Mua Lin was in worse conditions.


    The petite girl''s shoulder was torn open and the gushing blood had only now stopped to flow. She was breathing heavily and her face was pale from having her Piercing Heavens, undoubtedly one of her strongest attacks, stopped at the last moment.


    Shin Sumi squinted her eyes a little. She knew something was off. Had Sui Lin been a little late in writing her ''cage'' on thin air? Did using her ability without the brush cost too much Shinsoo that she had to wait and restore a bit of energy?


    Many questions remained, even after the fighting resumed at a slower pace. A few blows were exchanged in a quick succession, both girls keeping from using big finishers for the time. It seemed like they were both running low on stamina after the last showdown.


    After being in a stalemate for a while, it was Mua Lin who took the offensive position.


    She raised Despairing Blossom with her right hand, chanting something unintelligible in a low voice. The pink sword suddenly started vibrating. The beautiful weapon transformed before Sui Lin''s eyes.


    Despairing Blossom was a needle-like sword, very thin and pointy, but now thorns were appearing along its sides and a small bulb at the tip was blowing and blooming.


    Like a rose unfolding during spring time, the weapon now resembled a flower complete with sharp petals capable of slicing the air itself.


    In Mua Lin''s hand, the name of the sword fully reflected its existence.


    "It is time to finish this, Sui Lin. You were a worthy opponent but this is your loss."


    Observing silently the fight, Mua Jin suddenly opened his eyes wide and tried to interrupt his twin sister. "Lin''er, don''t use that!! You can''t be thinking of the Da-"


    "Shut up, Jin''er! I''ve made up my mind!!"


    Never had Mua Jin wanted to stop a fight this much in his life. Whatever Mua Lin was intent on doing seemed life threatening and yet Mua Jin knew it was too late.


    Being his sister and his twin, they were tuned in such a way that he could feel her intentions and the movement of her Shinsoo much better than anyone else.


    Opposed to her, Sui Lin the cold looking woman in white was eyeing Despairing Blossom with a lot of deep thoughts. "She is going to attack me with all her might and I can''t use ''cage'' a second time. I have to use an attack of my own to block her attack."


    With the quick strokes of an experienced writer, Sui Lin drew invisible lines in the air. A blue glow started shimmering along the paintbrush, accompanied by a peculiar crackling.


    "Ice Scythe" she said softly, her paintbrush now being claimed by a thin layer of ice, the brush tip covered by a long curved ice blade.


    Although it takes some time to describe, both weapons had completed their transformation in the time it takes a spark to fly off a stone.


    Knowing fully well that this was the climax of the fight, the two fighters unleashed one of their most powerful attacks at the same time.


    "Dance of the Flowers, Sunlight Petals!" shouted Mua Lin.


    Sui Lin answered, "Cold Star Ice Whistle!"


    On the other side, the powerful ice scythe was cutting relentlessly the incoming petals, freezing the air with each swing and sending shards of transparent ice in a straight line, whistling like the blizzard in the trees.


    Even the disciples watching, more than a few meters away from the platform had to cover their eyes and faces from the small snowstorm that was being unleashed in front of them.


    Both attacks lasted the same amount of time and when they finally ended, cold mist was escaping both girls'' lips.


    "You... can''t... escape" said Mua Lin in a hoarse voice. Facing her, Sui Lin was silent, her eyes expressing her complicated thoughts.


    Mua Lin was the first to cough up blood as well as fall down on the ground. Sui Lin''s pure white robes were now tainted by her blood in multiple places.


    Despite the powerful Cold Star Ice Whistle, the assault of the Sunlight Petals had managed to come through on multiple occasions.


    Falling on one knee, Sui Lin bowed once to the unconscious Mua Lin. The victory was hers but she knew how to respect a powerful opponent.


    The crowd that had grown silent to watch the issue of the fight suddenly burst with enthusiasm, having watched one of the best fights their eyes ever laid upon.


    Only one person wasn''t sharing the global frenzy.


    Mua Jin''s fingers had dug ten bloody holes in his own arm, watching his sister using one of her most powerful moves while already injured and short of energy.


    He had warned her not to do it, knowing full well what would happen if she didn''t outpower her opponent. And yet it wasn''t her fault. "It''s all because of YOU!" he shouted.


    Eyes blinded with rage, Mua Jin''s hand slapped his bag of holding, producing a large two-handed sword that was red in color.


    Before anybody could realize, Mua Jin''s Blood Blade tip was glowing with the yellow light of a star and he was pouncing on the exhausted and injured Sui Lin.


    He was at the apex of his jump above the platform when a grey silhouette disappeared from the crowd on the opposite side, reappearing next to him.


    "White Claw Dusk Cleaver" said the blurry figure in an imperceptible voice.


    Before it could even form completely, Mua Jin''s Cleaving Meteor was interrupted by Shin Sumi. In a split second, the ground underneath them turned completely black.


    A white crescent moon rose from the darkness, swinging vertically towards Mua Jin. "No, not a crescent moon. A white claw." Mua Jin thought before the large object slammed against him.


    The Blood Blade didn''t last an instant against the massive claw coming out of the darkness that barely slowed before descending on Mua Jin''s abdomen.


    The haunting cry of despair that then escaped his lips froze everybody''s heart, as the White Claw Dusk Cleaver ripped half of Mua Jin''s midriff.


    Only a split second had passed, not many observers aware of what had happened. One moment Sui Lin was the winner of her fight and Mua Jin was seeking revenge for his sister, the next he was screaming on the ground, half his side turning into a bloody mush at the feet of Bai Fulong, next to his sword in pieces.


    "What was that attack?!" the onlookers asked themselves. "Did you see anything?" "No, Mua Jin jumped and then this guy blocked and destroyed him." "I''ve seen him before, he''s Bai Fulong, number five of the Star-Sword Pavilion ranking!"


    Shin Sumi stopped breathing for a moment. For once, she was completely depleted of energy. Only one attack from White Claw Dusk Cleaver and yet her entire body was left without an ounce of Shinsoo.


    But what left her even more stumped was the result of her attack.


    "Crap, have I killed him??! Oh no, this is bad, hang on Mua Jin!"


    Keeping a straight face, Bai Fulong immediately took out a few medicinal herbs, products from Shin Sumi''s own courtyard.


    Applying the medicine the best she could, she called out for Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion disciples.


    The latter were always lurking around the various Star Arenas, looking for potential business to grow their names and make a few spirit stones out of others'' fights. They were quick to react, taking care of both Mua Jin and Mua Lin.


    When the panic of the scene died down, only a few people remained at the Third Star Arena. The truth was, as brutal as that had been, it was just a fight between cultivators. Now that the action was over, people were going back to their own cultivation.


    "Bai Fulong, you... We''ve fought before." Sui Lin addressed Bai Fulong, her expression returning to the coldness of ice.


    "Yeah, you wiped the floor with me, Sister Sui," Shin Sumi replied with a tired smile. It was unnecessary to precise the circ.u.mstances of the fight, though. The simple fact that Sui Lin knew Bai Fulong''s name already meant he had left quite an impression on her.


    "Why did you intervene just now? And what was that crescent moon... You know what? Forget it. We will see each other at the Cross Branch Arena."


    "Heh. Too cold for a single ''thank you for saving my life''. She sure seems lonely." Shin Sumi looked at the white figure leaving the arena. It was time for her to leave too. Shin Sumi was exhausted and needed some time to meditate, replenish her energy and reflect on the technique from the Ghost Pavilion she had used for the first time.


    "I didn''t have enough time for anything else. White Claw Dusk Cleaver was my only option. I hope nobody caught on and that the Patriarch will never now..."


    According to the white scroll it came with, White Claw Dusk Cleaver was a two-step technique. The reason why Shin Sumi had no choice but to use it was mainly because the technique allowed the caster to materialize instantly next to the target.


    As long as it was within a few meters, Nuan''s book ability had even informed her that she would be capable of traversing magical obstacles and Shinsoo barriers.


    As for the second step of the technique... Shin Sumi had never experienced its destructive power before. She knew it ought to be strong, but this was completely out of what she had expected.


    Reflecting on it back in the peace of her home, she was glad she hadn''t killed Mua Jin by using a move she didn''t completely understand yet. He was alive, the rest didn''t matter.


    Attacking an opponent that was already down, by surprise and for a simple ranking matter, like a coward. He had gotten what he deserved.


    For the next two days, Shin Sumi hoped the entire time that the Ghost Pavilion would not catch on what she had done. Was using the White Claw Dusk Cleaver like revealing the existence of the Ghosts ?


    She was right about to think she had gotten away with it when she entered her home after visiting Xiao Yue and she saw a piece of jade on her tea table.


    The jade was shaped in a perfect square, and semblance of a formation could be seen on one surface. In one glance Shin Sumi knew what it was.


    "An Imagery Stone!" She had learned a light transmitting formation herself, and the pattern on the jade seemed very similar. "This is used to record a divine sense image. Who left it here?"


    Despite asking that question, she knew it could only have been a ghost.


    Sending her own divine sense into the jade, a bright image immediately appeared in her mind.

 Chapter 78 - "Who Am I Supposed To Root For?"

    The image was bright and crisp, Shin Sumi was transported instantly.


    As if she was watching the scene herself but couldn''t move. Even more than just light, the Imagery Stone also provided sound. It was an experience like no other. The only difference with a real memory was that she was left devoid of divine sense.


    From the moment the Imagery Stone started displaying in her mind, Shin Sumi recognized the place where the scene had been recorded.


    "This is the middle of the market. Is that... Sui Lin?" a girl with a long white dress clinging to her silhouette had appeared in focus. "And there''s Mua Lin coming! When was this recorded? After their fight?"


    Mua Lin was approaching Sui Lin, her hands tucked inside her sleeves.


    "Sister Sui..." called the petite girl. "Mua Lin?" Sui Lin had now noticed her and was checking her up and down.


    Sending the question from Sui Lin''s eyes, Mui Lin answered.


    "My injuries are all fine now, thank you for your concern. I wanted to talk to you and... On the behalf of my brother I sincerely apologize. He acted out of his place and had Bai Fulong not been there, you..."


    Not able to finish her sentence, Mua Lin dropped to her knees and bowed so low her forehead was nearly touching the ground. It was the most respectful apology she could make.


    After their fight two days earlier, Mua Jin had tried to kill Sui Lin while she was exhausted and injured, caught in a rage which cultivators should be able to control.


    "Get up, Sister Mua, don''t bow to the floor for such a trivial matter" Sui Lin helped her to her feet again. "As you said, Bai Fulong was there, and Mua Jin paid deeply for his affront."


    The image of the strange white crescent appearing, suddenly gutting Mua Jin from nowhere, was stuck in Sui Lin''s eyes.


    "I was already unconscious from your Cold Star Ice Whistle, but I heard that Jin''er took out his Blood Blade... You may not know it but my brother is nearly as strong as me, so how did Bai Fulong stop him in time?"


    More than simply apologizing to Sui Lin, Mua Lin had come to try and piece together what happened that day after her defeat.


    "That guy, he..." Sui Lin didn''t know what to say, "he just appeared out of nowhere right as your brother was going to attack. He summoned a white claw or a moon crescent and the next moment your brother was already done for."


    "What kind of attack was it? It broke the Blood Blade and still tore half of Jin''er''s abdomen."


    Sui Lin sighed "I don''t know what that technique was but it''s definitely a high ranked finisher. It lasted only a short amount of time and I was too weak to properly catch it but... Bai Fulong seems to have hidden his trump cards well. I fought him once before when we were still in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, it was a hard earned victory for me."


    Looking deep into Mua Lin''s eyes, she continued "I don''t know what kind of training this guy has been up to, but his strength is definitely amongst ours. And this technique of his... it gives me shivers just to think about it."


    Sui Lin was confident that Mua Lin would not go against Bai Fulong. Despite having hurt her brother to the point that he was still in a coma with half his torso missing, she understood that it was all her brother''s mistake and he deserved his punishment.


    And yet, the white robed girl couldn''t help but give a silent warning to Mua Lin.


    The Imagery Stone chose this moment to end its transmission. That was the extent of what had been recorded on the piece of jade.


    Shin Sumi had no time to wonder who had recorded the scene, or how, when a voice started talking in her head.


    After the meeting between Sui Lin and Mua Lin, Fen Wudao had added his own voice to the formation.


    "Sister Seventh Ghost, I just had this peculiar scene given to me by one of our Ghost elders. I don''t know which one of them recorded the Imagery Stone but it is evident to me that you left quite a big impression on them."


    Shin Sumi was trembling inside. What she feared had happened, the Ghost Pavilion had found out about what she did. And yet she couldn''t discern any sarcasm in Fen Wudao''s divine sense message.


    "From the description told by Sui Lin, I can''t imagine you have used anything else but the White Claw Dusk Cleaver. I have to say, even I am impressed that you managed to learn that technique proficiently in such a short time. And that would also mean that you''re now in the second step of the Liquid Realm.


    I''m very curious about your progress. Since you defeated Mua Jin and rendered him unable to fight for a while, you should have taken his place on the Sword Pavilion ranking and secured a place for the Cross Branch Arena."


    Fen Wudao had a very bright mind. From such few clues he had basically painted a perfect picture of Shin Sumi''s recent progression.


    "After the Cross Branch Arena is over, would you like to exchange pointers with me, Sister Seventh Ghost? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you." After that the divine sense message ended.


    Shin Sumi blinked a few times. During the entire message, Fen Wudao had remained very calm whereas she thought she would be in trouble for possibly divulging the existence of the Ghost Pavilion.


    "Exchange pointers with Big Brother Fen..." Shin Sumi thought back to the only time she had done something similar. She had been instructed by the Patriarch and Fen Wudao to meet them right before they offered her a place in the Ghost Pavilion.


    "Could it be that they have something in mind for me? Since I got introduced to the Ghosts and received the three scrolls I have had no contact with the Ghost Pavilion at all. Were they waiting for me to reach the second step of the Liquid Realm?"


    These were just suppositions in the mind of Shin Sumi. Not bothering herself with it for too long, she eventually decided that there was no way to know for sure until the moment to meet Fen Wudao arrived.


    "In the meantime I need to settle a few things."


    The time had come for her to go back to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion main building. The third round for deciding the disciples'' ranking was to start soon.


    Shin Sumi strode into the grand hall with fifteen other disciples. They were all gauging each other silently as only half of them would remain after the end of the day.


    Contrary to the previous times, though, the atmosphere was not heavy at all. To all these proud disciples, the pressure had gone down significantly.


    "You''re right, brother, but I wouldn''t feel too dejected if I don''t succeed in this round. At least we won''t be sent to the Dark Fortress for secluded training."


    The punition that was the terrifying Dark Fortress no longer loomed over them, as per the words of Elder Azure Cloud.


    It was the sole reason Shin Sumi had not wished to drop out of the tournament earlier, but now she was free to do so, as long as it remained convincing enough in the eyes of the Elders judging the disciples'' prowess.


    "Because Mua Jin was incapacitated by me while both of us were in perfect fighting condition, what''s more in a Star Arena, I''ve secured a place in the Star-Sword Pavilion top six. There is no reason for me to continue here, unless I want a possibility at fighting myself in the Cross Branch Arena hihihi."


    Shin Sumi''s train of thoughts was interrupted by a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she discovered Fu Xue, her face warmed by a beautiful large smile.


    "Sister Yan, I''m so excited! We made it! We''ll most definitely end up in the top six! I''ll get to fight the top disciples of the Star-Sword and Light-Breaker Pavilion soon!"


    "Sister Fu, are you not jumping to conclusions a little bit? There are still sixteen of us, and then only the top six out of eight will remain."


    "Come on don''t be such a downer. This will be as easy as falling asleep, I can already tell you the names of the top six with ninety percent confidence."


    Shin Sumi listened to Fu Xue''s list of names. For the most part she agreed with her, having already ascertained a lot of the disciple''s strengths during the previous rounds. But how could Fu Xue know that she herself would not be participating?


    Another thought popped into her head suddenly.


    "So you are confident you''ll win against Bai Xuengen in a breeze? He''s your opponent today. Have you seen his last fight?! He seemed pretty strong to me."


    Fu Xue instantly stopped bubbling around. Her eyebrows dropped and her cheeks flushed in an angry red tint.


    "What? You think he''s stronger than me?! Sister Yan, don''t joke around like this. That Bai fellow made a pretty big wave the last time but he was practically going against trash. I''ll make him bite the dust teehee." Despite the harsh words, Fu Xue ended with a smile and a laugh.


    Shin Sumi sighed internally. Fu Xue and her unreadable mind sometimes scared her a little bit. What happened to the very shy girl she had met during the Rising Star Tournament?


    "Bai Xuengen sure is in trouble... I wish I could tell him but Yan Yan isn''t supposed to know him."


    Sitting down in his corner with crossed legs and hands joined together, Bai Xuengen suddenly sneezed.


    Meanwhile Fu Xue was still mentally enjoying the fights to come. "I hope I''ll meet him in the Cross Branch Arena" she said silently.


    Shin Sumi turned her head towards her friend to ask "Who, Bai Xuengen?"


    "No silly, although they may be related to one another. Bai Fulong. The last time we fought he barely beat me but I still need my revenge. I have no doubt he will be in the tournament to come."


    Shin Sumi was unsure how to comment that last bit of information. Fu Xue wanted to fight her! And she didn''t seem to have heard the news concerning Bai Fulong.


    "Oh you will definitely see him. He secured his place in the Star-Sword Pavilion a few days ago by almost crippling one of the Mua twins."


    Yan Yan had said that with a blank face, almost as a matter of fact. In front of her Fu Xue looked shocked.


    "Doesn''t she have any interest in the matters of the upper valley" Shin Sumi asked herself?


    "Great. He''s definitely much stronger than he was, so I can beat him without feeling bad."


    Shin Sumi sighed once more through her curved lips. Fu Xue had one of the worst personalities she had ever encountered and yet she was someone she loved to hang with.


    The fights started right after the appearance of the Elders, cutting the disciples'' idle chat.


    Sixteen fighters, meaning eight fights for the day. By this point only those with proven talents remained.


    On his seat of honor, Master Cloud remained silent even as his direct student bowed towards him.


    The third fight of the day was, for Shin Sumi, one of the main events there could be. Two people she considered friends of hers were being opposed by fate to compare their ability.


    "Who am I supposed to root for?"


    Fu Xue and Bai Xuengen walked up, tension already rising between the two even though they both looked very calm.


    Contrarily to what she had said to Yan Yan, the girl was not taking the young man lightly. The advice given to her previously was still in her mind as she tried to gauge her opponent.


    Unleashing her first attack as quickly as a lightning strike, she surprised Bai Xuengen with the Cloud Arts first form: Cold Smoke. If she could incapacitate him, even partially, from the get go, the fight would be much easier.


    The smoke snakes coalesced into existence in front of him before it looked like he had even reacted. They pounced on him from different directions and then...


    As soon as they reached a radius of one step around him the smoke disappeared, as if blown away by a gale wind.


    In the Elders assembly of seats, Elder Purple Cloud looked intently at the young man''s right hand, down by his side. His hand was faintly glowing and his fingers were pointed to his front. For Elder Purple Cloud there was now no doubt about the technique Bai Xuengen was using.


    Not discouraged by the first failure, Fu Xue kept on pressing with a barrage of attacks. Cold Smoke was a relatively low level technique, but how would her opponent fare against a slightly higher leveled one?


    Bai Xuengen had still not moved half a step when she decided to unleash King''s Tomb, the second form of the Cloud Arts. Before the unbreachable mist could englobe the two fighters, Bai Xuengen whipped his sleeve horizontally, a wind visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye blowing away at Fu Xue''s technique.


    The cloud spikes all missed Bai Xuengen who looked like some sort of deity untouchable by his opponent.


    "He is using wind. It is the natural enemy of the clouds, logically." Bai Xuengen''s proficiency with wind attacks and defenses was troubling Fu Xue. Even more troubling was the lack of signs on his face that would indicate if he was using a lot of Shinsoo or not.


    Since Bai Xuengen was calm under any circ.u.mstance, it was hard to tell if his wind technique could go on forever or if he was spending all his energy to dispel Fu Xue''s attacks. If the latter was the case, then Fu Xue could simply keep pressing on until he ran out of Shinsoo but if it wasn''t... then Bai Xuengen was simply terrifying.


    "Stop thinking too much, Xue" the girl said to herself, "this guy is at most Liquid Realm second step, just like you. He can''t be unbeatable."


    It was with renewed confidence that Fu Xue stepped back and straightened her posture. She inhaled and exhaled deeply three times before smiling at Bai Xuengen who by this point had lifted one eyebrow in confusion.


    "Let''s have fun. Fu Clan technique, Earth Shattering Spirit."


    Fu Xue bent down and launched both her palms to the ground at the same time as Bai Xuengen sent a powerful wind blade over her head.


    Light grey lines appeared on the girl''s arms, transferring to the stone platform much like how she had used her stone sword when Shin Sumi first met her.


    Having completely missed her with his wind blade, Bai Xuengen launched wind based attacks one after the other relentlessly. The air blasts could only be felt with divine sense very briefly, completely invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye, and yet they all seemed to miss Fu Xue.


    Veins were now bulging on her arms, contrasting with her petite and fragile stature. Whatever the Earth Shattering Spirit was, it took time to complete but nevertheless Fu Xue didn''t seem to concern herself with Bai Xuengen''s attacks at all.


    The young man with clenched teeth had realized by now that Fu Xue had pierced his secret. Ever since she had smiled at him, his uneasiness had been growing and he now knew why.


    The stone platform was cracking and rupturing in different places around Fu Xue. By the intensity of it and the powerful Shinsoo fluctuations, it was obvious her technique would be completed soon. Even more frantic than before, Bai Xuengen summoned a massive wall of fire from a small spirit formation, then using his wind to send rippling fire waves around.


    The fire now made the wind blades more deadly but also visible, it was clear that most of the attacks were flying haphazardly in different directions.


    "Could it be that he can''t control the precision of his attacks?"


    But from the barrage of blows, at least a few ought to be sent in the right direction. One such fire wave was headed straight to Fu Xue when the magical lines on her arm straightened on the ground and lifted... A giant stone hammer!


    Using the stone from the platform they were standing on, Fu Xue had taken out a large chunk of rock in the shape of a massive hammer. The broken edges were all covered by the light grey lines, forming some sort of wrapping and holding the newly created weapon under her control.


    "HhhhhhhhaaaaAAAA!" Fu Xue swung the giant hammer right on time to completely crush the fire wave. Immoveable like the earth, wind couldn''t even scratch its surface.


    By now, all the watching disciples had grown silent, Shin Sumi included. Who could have guessed that the little Fu Xue would be able to do something as unrealistic as lifting a massive hammer made from the ground?


    SLAM!


    The hammer head struck down the ground hard enough to vibrate the entire platform, only a few meters from Bai Xuengen''s position. With the rebound of the attack, the latter''s knees bent forcefully and a spurt of blood escaped his lips.


    Fu Xue was breathing heavily, obviously using a lot of energy to maintain this form of attacks but Bai Xuengen was still in a much worse shape. The hammer never struck him directly but each powerful earth shattering slam was making his complexion whiter and whiter.


    After the fifth blow, Bai Xuengen fell backwards to the ground. Using this opportunity, Fu Xue lifted the hammer one last time, holding it right above Bai Xuengen''s body. The head of her weapon was almost twice the size as him, looming above and plunging him into its terrifying shadow.


    Two Elders stood up from their seats, ready to take action in case the hammer fell onto him. Elder Purple Cloud was on the verge of opening his lips to stop the fight, anxious not to have Bai Xuengen killed, but he didn''t have to.


    Smiling with conflicted feelings, Bai Xuengen was the one to speak first.


    "It''s your win, Sister Fu. I can''t resist anymore, I''m drained."


    "Bai Xuengen. You were surprisingly strong. Let''s have more fun next time, okay?"

 Chapter 79 - Settling Things

    Fu Xue put down her hammer to the side, releasing it from the magical grey lines. The massive rock formation crumbled into pieces.


    She had won the fight fair and square. Bai Xuengen was torn when he awkwardly lifted himself from the ground to return to his seat. His legs were barely holding on but his mind was in a worse shape.


    "I was too careless and let her discover the fact that I can''t control my wind blades. She even took care to not use the hammer closer to me. The closer it is the easier I can deflect it but here... There was nothing I could do."


    Elder Purple Cloud was smiling internally, looking at the young man barely walking on his own. Next to him, Elder Crimson Cloud asked "I take it you''ve found a good disciple, Brother Purple?"


    "He will do perfectly, indeed."


    Far from the Elders who were now taking a brief intermission to repair the damage Fu Xue had done to the arena, the girl who had just fought found her seat next to Yan Yan.


    "You were right in being confident, you''ve beaten Bai Xuengen pretty easily it seems" said Yan Yan.


    "No Sister Yan, you were right. It was harder than I anticipated. I even had to use one of my trump cards, my Fu Clan''s Earth Shattering Spirit technique."


    Shin Sumi turned silent for a moment. Despite her victory, Fu Xue''s eyes had a strange depth to them. She was looking in the distance, peering through people and buildings, lost in her own thoughts.


    She suddenly turned her head towards Bai Xuengen who was just now reaching his seat. Shin Sumi didn''t attempt to stop her when she stood up and started walking. She was curious.


    "Bai Xuengen. I want to ask you something."


    Bai Xuengen looked up and locked eyes with the girl who had just very nearly crushed him to death. But he could tell she wasn''t seeking trouble. She was not one of these people who held a grudge after a scheduled fight.


    "Are you related to Bai Fulong?"


    The unusual question startled him a little bit. Why was she asking him about his ''Senior Brother Bai'' who had helped him and saved his life many times in the Rising Star Tournament.


    Bai Xuengen answered negatively, pausing for explanations. Fu Xue hesitated a few seconds but turned on her heels instead.


    Bai wasn''t an usual surname in East Seaside Country and Blue Fire Country. So more specifically, why would Bai Xuengen and Bai Fulong be from the same Bai Clan?


    Shin Sumi had conflicted feelings, looking at both her friends interacting. She had heard Fu Xue''s question to Bai Xuengen but didn''t know what to make of it.


    "That Bai Fulong has made quite an impression on you, hasn''t he?"


    "I have some unresolved business with him, that''s all. Judging Bai Xuengen''s progress since the Rising Star Tournament, I thought if they were related that would give me an idea of how strong Bai Fulong might be now..."


    Slightly uncomfortable about talking about her other personality, Shin Sumi was relieved when the next fight started, cutting short on the conversation. Besides, she had other things to think about.


    Her fight was coming next and she was intent on dropping out of the competition.


    "How to look like I''m weaker than my opponent without the Elders realizing that this isn''t the case?"


    Shin Sumi knew she sounded arrogant when she spoke to herself, but she also knew who her opponent was. Gen Lao was a promising Liquid Realm disciple but he was definitely not on par with the likes of Fu Xue, Chu Erlong, Bai Xuengen and the others.


    When time came for them to step on the platform, Shin Sumi still had no idea how to lose her fight with credibility.


    "I''ll just have to improvise then. Come at me Gen Lao."


    During the entirety of the fight, Shin Sumi did her best to react a bit late to Gen Lao''s attacks. The techniques she used often lacked precision and her power was restrained to sixty percent of what she was capable of.


    And yet she couldn''t avoid using her reflexes at times. The same fighting reflexes she had honed for years while in the Dark Sky Starry Sect and she now had to forcefully stop.


    How could that fool the Elders and Master Cloud, trained experts who were intently watching the round?


    Even Master Cloud himself had lifted an eyebrow under the shadow that obscured him.


    When the fight ended with Yan Yan on the ground and a panting Gen Lao holding a sword on her throat, even Chu Erlong and Fu Xue were perplexed.


    Elder Azure Cloud who was to announce the issue of the fight cleared his throat, his angry face about to ask for an explanation.


    Shin Sumi, as she was awkwardly getting up, thought "how is it so hard to appear weak?!" She looked towards the Elders'' seats feeling the growing pressure of their divine sense on her, wondering what to do now when she froze in place.


    Nevermind the intimidating pressure of twelve Cloud Elders that were noticing her lack of fatigue and injury, what made her heart skip a beat was a pure white speck of dust landing on Master Cloud''s open hand.


    All eyes on her, nobody had seen the briefly visible white glow before Master cloud closed his hand, except her.


    "Wait, Elder Azure Cloud" said Master Cloud in a soft and hypnotizing voice, "This fight belongs to Gen Lao. Next fighters please."


    His face wasn''t visible from where she stood, but Shin Sumi knew while speaking he had been looking at the White Crane''s feather in his palm.


    Shin Sumi glanced briefly up at the ceiling despite knowing she wouldn''t be able to see the White Crane anyway. In a quiet manner she returned to her seat under the cheers from Gen Lao''s friends.


    Even if she had not deceived the Elders, most of the fighters hadn''t seen her semi-obvious attempts at losing.


    It wasn''t the case for Fu Xue though as she stomped the ground angrily with her foot.


    "Care to explain what that was, Sister Yan?! You''re a very bad actor, you know that?"


    "Sister Fu... I am sorry but I can''t explain. I didn''t want to participate in this ranking anyway. I''m not interested in the Cross Branch Arena."


    Having fully given up on pretending, Yan Yan told her friend in a low voice so the other fighters wouldn''t hear, especially the poor Gen Lao who fully believed in his victory.


    "So what? You''re afraid, that''s it? You''re scared of meeting stronger opponents and getting hurt?" Fu Xue was trying to grasp Yan Yan''s intents without success.


    "And you, aren''t you relieved we won''t have to fight each other?" answered Shin Sumi.


    Fu Xue grew silent for a moment. She looked at her friend with clenched teeth, her cheeks flushed a light red "But... but..."


    "It''s too late anyway. Master Cloud has decided to let it slide and give Gen Lao the victory" Shin Sumi closed the debate before adding, in order to not raise more suspicion, "I don''t know why he decided to let me off the hook though."


    Still not convinced but unable to do anything, Fu Xue crossed her arms and turned to the ongoing fight on top of the platform.


    Chu Erlong won easily. Despite her original talent that had been deemed only to be orange when she was in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, she had the advantage of her grandfather being the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s Great Elder.


    Hence, her resources and her importance in the eyes of others had always been way above average. Using this appeal to the masses, she had gathered a large group of followers that proved useful in the Rising Star Tournament.


    She had even grown closer to Jun Qian in order to ask him for help in killing Shin Sumi and Bai Fulong, unaware that both were the same person.


    In exchange for his service, Chu Erlong had allowed Jun Qian to make her his dual-cultivation partner. Ever since then and despite their failure in their first objective, the two of them had remained close.


    Dual-cultivation had also allowed them to intimately grow stronger, mixing their Yang and Yin type Shinsoo, to the point that both had made impressive progress.


    Of course since she was the weaker one in the couple, Chu Erlong had been the one to benefit the most from these sessions.


    She now stood proudly as number two of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion, right below Jun Qian who was Master Cloud'' direct disciple.


    At the end of the day, there remained only eight Liquid Realm disciples. According to the lineup, Chu Erlong was almost certain to end up in the final, opposing only the two strongest.


    What interested Shin Sumi more was what would happen on the other end of the bracket. If everything went right, the semi-finals would oppose Jun Qian and Fu Xue.


    It didn''t matter in terms of the Cross Branch Arena selection, but could Fu Xue really take on the number one disciple of the Pavilion?


    Shin Sumi would have to wait in order to know the answer. She had succeeded in getting out of the competition, thanks to the mysterious White Crane, and now wasn''t allowed to watch further matches.


    "Senior White Crane was here. There is no other way. But I thought they lived in the Floating Continent, in the sect''s pocket dimension!"


    Her mind was torn by different ideas and interrogations. What was the White Crane doing there and why did it help her?


    ***


    Without the need to fight anymore, be it for the Cloud-Pavilion Pavilion or the Star-Sword Pavilion because she ''lost'' in one tournament and had a place ensured in the other, Shin Sumi spent some time for her cultivation.


    It had been a long while since she last was able to completely immerse herself in meditation, not bothered by the events of the outside world.


    "I''ve been cultivating for six days straight" she realized while opening her eyes. Her sight instantly fell between her crossed legs, where a brilliant white light illuminating the whole room came from.


    "The Moon Stone still isn''t running out of Shinsoo it seems... So Nuan''s refining proved useful in the end?!"


    Shin Sumi was overjoyed. Ever since Nuan had tried to refine the stone by eating it, no change had seemed apparent, which had troubled Shin Sumi a little bit.


    Usually the strength of whatever object Nuan had ingested was doubled or more, but the Moon Stone had shown no such thing. Could it be that this time it was its longevity that had been increased by the Lion Bat''s mysterious powers?


    "The Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow can be trained almost only with the Yin Shinsoo from the moon. I was worried I would need to find another way to harvest the moon''s Shinsoo but it seems like it''s not the case anymore."


    "Good little Nuan" she patted the Lion Bat''s head, "what would I do without you?"


    The small fighting beast with beady black eyes playfully licked the tip of her finger and folded her wings, curled up against her leg.


    By feeding almost exclusively on spirit stones and other resources with plenty of energy, Nuan had grown quite a bit since she accompanied Shin Sumi. She was almost twice her original length, now spanning from Shin Sumi''s wrist to her elbow and still with a tail to spare.


    Nuan could even fly for short distances, even though she preferred to run and jump around like an excited rabbit when she wasn''t asleep.


    Because she and Shin Sumi had bonded deeply ever since Nuan was still an egg, Shin Sumi''s divine sense was especially powerful when it came to things related to her spirit beast.


    She was able to probe Nuan with a single thought, no matter where she was, judging accurately her physical condition and her spiritual power. After eating her fill of expensive resources every day, Nuan was now close to reaching the Liquid Realm as well.


    Shin Sumi had also noticed that the reach of her divine sense seemed to be enhanced by a few meters in radius when she was standing close to the Lion Bat and the latter was outside the leaf pattern on her wrist.


    Somehow Shin Sumi had the feeling that when Nuan would reach the Liquid Realm, the divine sense linking the two would undergo some sort of transformation, also it was only conjecture.


    Looking lovingly at the fierce but small beast by her side, Shin Sumi stood up and stretched. Even after reaching the Liquid Realm''s second step, not needing to eat or sleep anymore, Shin Sumi''s mortal body still needed to wake up after being immobilized for an extended period of time.


    "Little Nuan, what do you say we go visit Brother Lan today? It''s been a while, right? Maybe today he''ll give you a spirit flower to munch on!"


    Nuan jumped in place once, Shin Sumi unsure if she had understood or if she was just happy as usual.


    "Alright then, let''s go!" Shin Sumi extended her arm for Nuan to jump onto. As soon as the little wings flapped and Nuan had climbed onto Shin Sumi, she ran all the way along her arm, ending right between the girl''s c.h.e.s.t, under the folds of her robes.


    Nuan''s little furry head was the only thing sticking out of the light green robes Shin Sumi had donned today.


    Shin Sumi, for once, was walking the upper valley paths as herself. It had been a long time since she had not used another appearance in the sect grounds. If she remembered correctly the last time was more than a month back, when she last visited Lan Hui.


    "Lan Hui, it''s me Sumi, are you here?"


    "Sumi! Just a second, I''ll dispel the barrier first."


    Following the young man''s words, the invisible barrier blocking Shin Sumi''s divine sense from entering his small house broke open, allowing the reveal of Lan Hui''s presence.


    "It''s been a while, I guess you were pretty busy with the fighting and stuff" started Lan Hui after saluting his friend, instantly crouching to pet Nuan who had jumped out of Shin Sumi''s robes.


    "I should be fine for now, I don''t expect anybody to challenge me for my rank in the Star-Sword Pavilion."


    "Don''t you want to fight Sui Lin for the place of number two behind Xiao Yue?"


    Shin Sumi thought in silence for a while, mindlessly stirring the tea Lan Hui had offered her.


    "I''m not looking for recognition and I would like to avoid pointless fights if I can, I-" she started answering before Lan Hui cut her abruptly.


    "I meant to ask, do you think you would win?"


    Shin Sumi knew why Lan Hui would ask her that. After the Rising Star Tournament had ended for Lan Hui, a few weeks after her breakthrough to the Liquid Realm, he had told her how he found out she was Bai Fulong.


    She had revealed to him her second identity but still kept Yan Yan as a secret. Lan Hui thus became aware of the fights leading to her and Xiao Yue''s victory over Jun Qian and Chu Erlong, especially the fight against Sui Lin.


    After spending a long time with Bai Fulong and Bai Xuengen, Lan Hui had come to admire Shin Sumi for her strength and fighting spirit. He knew that Sui Lin was the only person to ever beat her in a fight.


    "I don''t know, to be honest. Her strength has grown by quite a lot and I''m sure she hasn''t revealed all of her true power during the fight against Mua Lin."


    "And what about Xiao Yue?"


    Lan Hui knew of Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue''s special friendship, knowing full well that the two of them would avoid fighting at all cost. But he of course still wanted to know who was stronger.


    Because of Elder Zhu''s experiments on Lan Hui and his barely passable talent, Lan Hui was lucky he had even reached the Liquid Realm in terms of cultivation.


    Only his control of Shinsoo was really good, allowing him to find a place in the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion and keep cultivating while avoiding fighting altogether.


    Because he didn''t have the power to judge for himself, Lan Hui was trying to learn about the strength of people in the same generation as him.


    Shin Sumi thought for a long time about his question. She hadn''t seen Xiao Yue fight for a long time due to her position as Master Sword''s direct disciple and she realized that even if she was Xiao Yue''s closest friend, she had no idea about her true strength.


    Lan Hui and Shin Sumi talked for hours about the sect, cultivation and their respective Pavilions. As always when two good friends were reunited, time passed quickly and the day turned into the night for a short while before the sun appeared again above the clouds.


    They were talking about Nuan who was gently munching on a spiritual plant Lan Hui had picked from his medicinal garden especially for her when Shin Sumi perked up her head.


    Her divine sense had picked up a very familiar aura still quite far away.


    Without bothering explaining pointlessly, Shin Sumi prompted Nuan to hide as the Copper Bell rang in her head.


    Not two seconds later, Bai Fulong was sitting in Shin Sumi''s place, looking intently at Lan Hui.


    By the time Lan Hui also picked up the newcomer''s aura he had already guessed who it was.


    "Well well well, if it isn''t the full trio reunion! Brother Bai, Lan Hui, good morning to you two!"


    Bai Fulong turned his head to look at the young man in the doorframe, sighing loudly "Xuengen, how many times have I told you to call me by my name?"


    "Sorry Brother Fulong, I can''t get used to it!" Bai Xuengen laughed out loud.


    "Xuengen, why don''t you sit down with us? I''m about to prepare some fresh Hazy Green Ginseng tea I''m sure you will enjoy."


    "Thank you for the offer. I actually came to you because I have good information for you my friends... The lineup for the Cross Branch Arena has just been decided this morning."

 Chapter 80 - The Cross Branch Arena Begins

    Following Bai Xuengen''s announcement, both Bai Fulong and Lan Hui perked their ears.


    "The lineup for the Cross Branch Arena is decided?! The six fighters for the Cloud-Formation, Star-Sword and Light-Breaker Pavilion..."


    Bai Xuengen took out a small jade and started reading with his divine sense.


    Upon hearing the names of the eighteen disciples from their generation, Shin Sumi sometimes nodded knowingly, sometimes an expression of surprise plastered on her face.


    "Tai Bu has beaten Ken Duang?!" she realized when his name completed the Star-Sword Pavilion ranking, "What an interesting surprise... I''m looking forward to seeing him fight alongside me."


    Due to her presence in two of the three Pavilions, Shin Sumi naturally knew all their fighters, at least by name if not personally. She was, however, unaware of most of the Light-Breaker disciples.


    "Brother Xuengen, who is Master Breaker''s direct disciple from the Light-Breaker Pavilion?" she asked. Since she, as Bai Fulong, could eventually end up fighting them, she wanted to know to do some preparation if needed. There was only a week left before the beginning of the Cross Branch Arena after all.


    "You don''t know? Master Breaker''s direct disciple is not from our generation but the one above us. He hasn''t chosen one this year. With Jun Qian and the Black Devil Maiden Xiao Yue, that''s one less monster to worry about."


    The three talked for a while longer, conjecturing on the format the fighting will take in the upcoming tournament and on who will win according to their insider information.


    They were about to part and leave Lan Hui to do his medicinal work when Bai Xuengen turned to Shin Sumi.


    "You know, Brother Fulong, even if we are not in the same Pavilion, since I won''t be fighting this time we will be rooting for you, right Brother Hui? You finally have the opportunity to kick Chu Erlong''s a.s.s for the time she assaulted us and nearly melted us with a fireball."


    Behind Bai Xuengen''s awkward encouragement, Shin Sumi could tell that his resentment was real.


    "Eh. Why don''t you do that yourself? I heard you were pretty strong during your Pavilion''s ranking."


    "Well..." Bai Xuengen looked to the side briefly, blushing like an excited little girl for a second, "I would, but my new master has forbidden me from fighting for the time being, so..."


    Lan Hui jumped on the occasion, his face excited by the revelation.


    "A new master?!! Xuengen you''ve found an Elder to teach you incredible techniques?! You''re sure to enter the Inner Sect very soon then! Who is he?"


    Shin Sumi suddenly realized she knew the answer already. She hadn''t paid attention to it before but now it was clear, from Bai Xuengen''s fights during the Cloud-Formation Pavilion tournament.


    "My new master is Elder Purple Cloud. Turns out the techniques I''ve found in the floating continent are very close to his Wind Arts and as such I am the Liquid Realm disciple he was looking for, so..."


    Shin Sumi and Lan Hui congratulated their friend. Even if he hadn''t made it into the top ranks and the lineup for the Cross Branch Arena, things were looking up for Bai Xuengen.


    As for Shin Sumi, now she had the names of her potential opponents and a week left before the beginning of the tournament. She promptly bid farewell to her friends and soon she was walking the paths of the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s upper valley as herself, gathering information.


    ***


    "Is that the way in?" Mei Yunei asked Bai Fulong, following him through the entrance of a large building. The building had six stone columns at the front, engraved with the name ''Dark Sky Starry Sect''. The tiled roof was slanted, making the building look like a giant beast emerging from the earth from the outside.


    "According to the information we have, I''m pretty sure" replied Shin Sumi, "The Cross Branch Arena is taking place in the Underground of the upper valley. Usually this entrance is closed off but for today''s big event the gates have been opened."


    Shin Sumi was sounding smug but she was in fact only repeating the information Lan Hui had given her after she went to him for help. The tournament was something every disciple of the upper valley looked forward to for months and yet not many people knew that the location the event took place in existed.


    She had seen the strange building a few times, it was after all located near the middle of the upper valley, nevertheless she previously had no idea it was the entrance to a large system of underground paths.


    "According to my source of information, this used to be a special training area for the sect. Eventually all the creatures and resources that filled the earth ran out and the sect decided to close it off."


    Mei Yunei pouted "Why didn''t they set up a transportation formation? That would have been much easier to find above ground. Or even better, why not make us fight somewhere else?"


    Bai Fulong laughed at the girl''s angry face, shrugging his shoulders.


    "I don''t know, I think they''ve chosen this place because it''s the only arena capable of housing all of the upper valley."


    The rest of the disciples would come a bit later, according to the information Xiao Yue had relayed them. First the disciples who were to fight had to gather and prepare.


    Thinking about the fact that thousands of disciples from all ages and Pavilion would watch them fight on a large stage, Shin Sumi felt a shiver down her spine.


    "To think that I only wanted to avoid attention to myself..."


    "What did you say, Brother Bai?"


    "Oh nothing... I''m a little bit apprehensive of having all the people''s eyes on me, that''s all. What about you Sister Mei?"


    Mei Yunei''s pupils dilated slightly and her face turned a deep red. Her hands started trembling before she hid them quickly in her sleeves. Before Shin Sumi''s comment, she hadn''t even thought for a second about the large crowd that would come to see them.


    "Sister Mei, over here! Ah, and Bai Fulong too..." a voice called out in front of them.


    Tai Bu''s eyes turned from brilliant and passionate to dark and dispirited as he looked respectively at the newcomers.


    "Tai Bu! Is this where we''re supposed to gather?" asked Mei Yunei.


    Shin Sumi paused for a second, slightly taken aback. Her mind suddenly started spinning as memories flooded in.


    "Wait... He is Tai Bu?!!"


    Shin Sumi never had the occasion of meeting the last member of the Big Three from the Shinsoo Gathering Realm. Despite being in the same Star-Sword Pavilion, Tai Bu most often trained on his own, like Sui Lin. Because of his master, Elder Peng, the Master Sword had allowed his absence from the Pavilion training sessions.


    Shin Sumi was a bit excited at the prospect of meeting him for the first time, especially since she heard that Tai Bu had defeated Ken Duang and taken his place in the ranking. In her mind he was definitely a mighty opponent, and a pillar of the Star-Sword Pavilion in the upcoming Cross Branch Arena.


    And yet the young man in front of her...


    "You''re Tai Bu?! You''re the one who tried to ambush me on the floating continent! You had that strange Flaming Whip with you. And we met again in single combat near the end of the trial!"


    Shin Sumi had blurted these words out, incapable of holding back her shock. Who could have guessed that the man she had ridiculed twice was actually the famous Tai Bu?!


    The latter gnashed his teeth, trying his hardest to remain calm. "Bai Fulong didn''t even know my name before today... I''ve been trying to surpass him for years and get my Flaming Whip back and he didn''t even know me..."


    "We meet again, Bai Fulong. I guess I never properly introduced myself before. You wiped the floor with me at the time but I''ll let you know that I''ve trained hard for that to never happen again. We will settle this and I will get my whip back later. For now follow me, Xiao Yue is waiting."


    Shin Sumi thought for a brief second, "uh? If you want your whip so badly, just ask me and I''ll give it to you. I can''t even use it."


    Because of Elder Peng''s magic and link to the whip, Shin Sumi had never been able to properly use it. Even after reaching the Liquid Realm she had been unable to form even a slight connexion with it.


    A familiar voice suddenly cut her thoughts short as the three of them entered a large room brightly lit by spirit jades and colored crystals.


    "All of us are here now "said Xiao Yue, "As you know this Cross Branch Arena''s goal is to show the might of our Star-Sword Pavilion against the other branches of the sect, namely the Cloud-Formation Pavilion and the Light-Breaker Pavilion."


    In front of her, Sui Lin and Mua Lin were listening, barely sparing a glance in Tai Bu, Mei Yunei and Bai Fulong''s direction.


    "We have one hour before the start of the event, I''ll explain to you the rules set up by the Pavilion Masters as well as the strategy I''ve come up with. Then we''ll rest for a bit to make sure we are in peak condition."


    Shin Sumi smiled internally as her sworn sister talked and explained. Who could have guessed that her little Xiao Yue, with her short temperament, would be such an adept strategist? The sweet Xiao Yue who was known by all as the terrifying Black Devil Maiden was actually born to lead, apparently.


    "This is how we should proceed..." the flames of her fighting spirit shone in Xiao Yue''s eyes, soon reverberated by all five other fighters. Xiao Yue, Sui Lin, Bai Fulong, Mua Lin, Mei Yunei, Tai Bu. The Star-Sword Pavilion line-up was strong. They would show the Dark Sky Starry Sect why their branch was called the strongest.


    The silence that pervaded the Underground of the upper valley slowly turned into a low hum, progressively echoing louder and louder as the disciples entered the arena. After the full hour had passed, it sounded like roaring thunder, until a figure dressed in white appeared from nowhere.


    The old man was floating in the air above the huge arena. From the disciple''s seats on the ground, the Patriarch looked like a transcendent Immortal, instantly imposing respect and silence.


    The crowd stood up then bowed down as one, forced by an invisible pressure.


    "The Cross Branch Arena is a tradition that spans generations in our Dark Sky Starry Sect" began Patriarch Sen, "Three of our five branches will clash before your eyes. The eighteen chosen disciples will show you their prowess, and hopefully inspire you to great things. Training is what pushed these eighteen individuals to what they are today, the peak of their respective Pavilions."


    "So open your eyes wide and focus your divine sense, for this competition is not about finding out what branch is stronger. Before all, the Cross Branch Arena stands to show you what can be achieved along the path of cultivation. Each branch is part of the same tree that is the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Without one of its branches, the Dark Sky Starry Sect wouldn''t be what it is."


    Patriarch Sen smiled internally. He could sense the fervor in the eyes of the thousands of disciples standing up before him. Turning his deep gaze to the first circle of seats, he nodded to the man seated in the leftmost of the five high seats, comparable to thrones.


    At a point unknown, the first rows of seats had been filled by the Pavilion Masters, the Pavilion Elders and the Sect Elders as well.


    Master Sword was the first to stand. He was a middle aged man with long dark hair and eyebrows in the shape of a sword. Looking like a weapon himself, his sharpness only equaled his hidden might.


    "My Star-Sword Pavilion is here to answer the Patriarch''s call and show the young generation what their peers are capable of."


    "The disciples of my Cloud-Formation Pavilion have been honing their skills for this moment. Allow them to demonstrate my teachings with pride."


    The third seat, placed in the center of the five, was a bit different from the others. It was almost twice as large but much lower so that its occupant was still seated at the same height as the others.


    Master Breaker was by far the tallest of the Masters. In fact he looked like a living mountain, towering above everyone. He was a burly man with muscles stronger than that of a bull. His n.a.k.e.d torso and back were broad as Wild Cavern Bear''s and both his legs looked like tree trunks.


    "This one''s Light-Breaker Pavilion is ready to step in the arena and enlighten the youth as to what peak body cultivation looks like."


    Master Breaker then sat down awkwardly in a large booming sound. His stone throne looked on the verge of collapse under his weight, barely holding in the end.


    Next to him, an old man Shin Sumi would have immediately recognized cleared his throat. He was the same old man who had instructed her about the Beasts selection process all these months ago.


    "My Divine-Beast Pavilion will not be participating today, on the account that Beasts must grow before they show their true splender. Nevertheless I hope my disciples will get to learn a thing or two by watching their peers."


    The last Master to stand up was obviously Master Furnace. Unlike the others, the young looking woman who was the head of the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion didn''t take her daoist name from her branch''s.


    "The disciples of my Pavilion have already prepared dozens of pills and medicinal products for the youth that will fight today. As always we will ensure the treatment of your injuries, at an affordable price."


    Patriarch Sen smiled wryly. Even in moments like these, that greedy crow, Master Furnace, was asking for spirit stones. Her true nature couldn''t be hidden after all.


    "The Elders of our Dark Sky Starry Sect will be overseeing today''s combat. Here are the rules that the eighteen fighters will follow."


    The Cross Branch Arena, as known by everyone, was a brawl type fighting tournament.


    One person from a Pavilion drawn at random would be standing first in the middle of the arena. The other two Pavilions would then send their fighters one at a time to beat the standing disciple and take their place.


    At any chosen time the winning disciple could trade places with another from their Pavilion but in doing so forfeited their chance to come back to the arena.


    The last disciple to stand their grounds would win the tournament.


    Even though the rules of the Cross Branch Arena resembled a simple brawl, strategy was a key point of it. Because the participants were from three different branches, their fighting styles greatly differed. Also depending on who was standing up, the flow of the fight would be greatly influenced by whom the other entities would send to fight.


    "The last Cross Branch Arena, three years ago, was won by the disciples from the Star-Sword Pavilion so we will be welcoming them first. Fighters, come into the arena."


    Following the Patriarch''s call, Xiao Yue looked for a brief second into Shin Sumi''s eyes before turning to the opening of the arena.


    Shoulders relaxed, head high, Xiao Yue entered the light under the acclamation of all the disciples from the Star-Sword Pavilion. Behind her stood the five other fighters.


    Because the Star-Sword Pavilion was a very selective branch, the number of their disciples in the assembly was considerably lower than that of the other branches.


    The clamor from the other Pavilions instantly overtook them, especially coming from the Light-Breaker Pavilion who as always, was large and loud, as if it were their motto.


    "Look at this sorry bunch! This year the Cross Branch Arena will be for us!" exclaimed a large and powerful looking woman. Her fellow branch members followed suit, "Big Brother Daoju will only take one bite out of them. Four women and only two men, looks like the Star-Sword Pavilion is trying to appeal to the crowd rather than win the fight this year!"


    Unperturbed despite the loud shouts, Xiao Yue walked patiently to the middle of the arena.


    "I, Xiao Yue, will be the one in charge of the Star-Sword Pavilion. I wish for a fair fight with my fellow sect disciples."


    Her announcement was very tame. "Another ploy of hers to better surprise the crowd later" thought Shin Sumi amused, "The Black Devil Maiden hasn''t awoken yet it seems."


    The next group of six fighters to come out in the light was of course the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. Jun Qian, Chu Erlong and Fu Xue were accompanied by Ye Tezhu, Po Xuan and Rai Linxi.


    Their line-up really was as Bai Xuengen had informed Shin Sumi, as well as what she and Fu Xue had predicted weeks prior, except the absence of Yan Yan.


    "This humble one''s name is Jun Qian. Me and the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s elite will be entertaining you, so please be lenient on us, brothers and sisters."


    Contrasting sharply with his words, Jun Qian''s tone was nothing but smug sarcasm. He simply couldn''t wait to fight.


    He even took a quick glance in Bai Fulong''s direction. It seemed like he had a big added motivation for this fight. Would it finally be the time to repay ten folds what Bai Fulong had done to him in the last step of the Rising Star Tournament as he hoped?


    The third and last group of six to come out was the Light-Breaker Pavilion. Under the lead of Daoju Kai, the rank of bodily cultivators looked impressive.


    Imposing silence for the last time, Patriarch Sen''s voice extended over the entire arena once again.


    "I will now choose which branch gets the privilege of standing first on the defensive size... Unless you have some further opinions?"


    It was unusual but not unheard of for the Patriarch to ask for the fighter''s opinion. He had an idea of the strategies developed by each side and the first instants were crucial.


    "If I may," Xiao Yue took the initiative, "my Star-Sword branch would like to give up the starting position to the other branches."


    "If the brothers in the Light-Breaker Pavilion are not against it, my branch would also like to let them have it first," followed Jun Qian.


    Daoju Kai laughed a hearty laugh, "Well if everybody agrees then it''s settled. Senior Patriarch, we the Light-Breaker Pavilion will start in the middle. Chen Long, you go first!"


    And just like that, the Cross Branch Arena began.

 Chapter 81 - A Devil Against All The Others

    "Very good" Xiao Yue exhaled while she circulated her energy, "just like we expected they have put Chen Long in first."


    The six fighters of the Star-Sword Pavilion were sitting on one side of the Underground Arena, in a special made Shinsoo bubble that stopped the sound from the crowd to reach them.


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" This time it was Bai Fulong who had spoken. Despite the best acting possible, worries could be seen on his face.


    Xiao Yue snapped angrily. "Fulong, who do you think I am?!" A wave of Black Devil Shinsoo washed over Bai Fulong who, for the first time, understood what a mistake it was to cross Xiao Yue.


    Of course Xiao Yue wasn''t mad at Shin Sumi, but in the eyes of others, how could she be so sympathetic to Bai Fulong as to receive his worries? Naturally Shin Sumi understood too.


    Bai Fulong bowed from his chin up, instantly remembering his place.


    "The other branches will not be expecting me to come out so early. Either they change their entire strategy or they wait it out hoping that the other branch will do the heavy lifting."


    By leaving the Light Breaker branch the starting defence, Xiao Yue had guessed that the other branches would never figure out that she was coming out to attack. Or else why wouldn''t she claim the first position?


    Chen Long was standing in the very middle of the arena. On all the sides the excited disciples were watching him, waiting to see who would come out to fight him.


    Unlike some others, Chen Long didn''t feel pressured in the slightest when it came to public exposure. He was grinning like a child, his large biceps crossed over his broad c.h.e.s.t.


    "Come at me" he shouted!


    Po Xuan from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was the first to step forward. And yet he barely had the time to hear a few of his fellow disciples chant his name in encouragement before the crowd exploded.


    He was only about halfway to Chen Long when Xiao Yue stepped out of the Star-Sword corner. In a burst of dark Yin energy, Xiao Yue had crossed the distance that separated her from the middle. They were both at the same cultivation level but the difference in speed was already evident.


    Chen Long gritted his teeth. Suddenly he didn''t feel so good about taunting his adversaries in the limelight. Despite the stereotype that permeated the Light-Breaker Pavilion, Chen Long of course was not all brawn and no brains.


    "She hasn''t taken it out yet. If I meet her head-on, she won''t have time to use her devilish techniques. In hand-to-hand combat, I, Chen Long, will not lose to her!"


    The Black Devil Spear that had earned Xiao Yue her nickname had still yet to be seen.


    Powering up his legs, Chen Long leapt towards Xiao Yue. Physical body cultivation held the absolute advantage in close-range combat. Because it didn''t require the Shinsoo to go through a medium, the speed at which the flow of energy was able to change was also greatly increased.


    Even if Chen Long was not a master of extravagant techniques like his fellows from the Light-Breaker Pavilion, he excelled in the basis. His control over the flow of energy in the different parts of his body was top-notch, high level enough to have earned him his place in the top six of his branch.


    "Chen Long you moron..." Daoju Kai sighed. He was already in the middle of turning away from the fight before Chen Long and Xiao Yue had landed the first blow. "Li Wei, get ready. I want you to test out the Black Devil Maiden''s strength."


    Xiao Yue''s grey eyes looked absentminded as Chen Long''s fist grew closer and closer to her face. With the combined speed of the two coming at each other, there was no way to evade the blow.


    Chen Long, who had always taken pride in his speed, was already seeing himself landing a hit on the top disciple when Xiao Yue''s palm rose towards him.


    Compared to the large body cultivation practitioner''s fist, Xiao Yue''s hand seemed as small as a pebble in front of a mountain. And yet that small pebble imbued with a dense Yin Shinsoo was enough to shove Chen Long''s fist slightly to the side.


    With his momentum, he shouldn''t have been able to stop himself.


    "Don''t underestimate me!" grunted Chen Long who was about to hit the ground with his glowing fist. In a feat only someone with his control could do, Chen Long redirected all of his energy into his left heel, instantly changing his attack from a frontal punch to a backwards spinning kick.


    But Chen Long spun without encountering any resistance. His divine sense had barely picked up her presence when Xiao Yue landed on his back after a somersault.


    "Down you go" she spoke calmly. Chen Long''s bulging eyes were reflecting a long black object that seemed to emit a nauseating black smoke.


    "When d-did she..." but it was too late. The Black Devil Spear''s pole slammed into Chen Long''s neck, sending him tumbling to the side, unable to breath and on the verge of passing out.


    For a slight second, Chen Long had seen the hesitation in Xiao Yue''s eyes. Had she used the other side of her spear, his head would have been separated from his body.


    Even if his body had the capacity to still move, Chen Long''s mind was too blank to react further. He barely registered the sounds of fighting coming from Po Xuan''s direction.


    It was only Daoju Kai''s voice that woke him up from the nightmare he was experiencing, "You''ve done enough Chen Long. Switch out for Li Wei."


    ***


    "Heeh... Heeh..." Xiao Yue was breathing heavily. After Chen Long had fallen, she had gone right into fighting Po Xuan.


    The boy from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion didn''t look like much but he still gave him more of a fight than the big burly Chen Long.


    If Po Xuan had been alone, he would not have posed much of a problem to her but due to the format of the fight, Li Wei had arrived rapidly.


    From a three-way fight, the situation had quickly changed to a two versus one. As of now Po Xuan and Li Wei knew they had no chance of beating Xiao Yue by themselves so they had to collaborate.


    Because of the unexpected move from the Star-Sword Pavilion, the Light-Breaker Pavilion was already down two fighters and the Cloud-Formation Pavilion one. Even if the improvised association between Po Xuan and Li Wei managed to take down Xiao Yue, they had to give it their all, ruining their own stamina for whoever would replace Xiao Yue.


    "Li Wei is going to hold out longer than Po Xuan. His stamina is on another level and his body can handle more hits even if he''s slower."


    Jun Qian, as the leader of the spirit formations practitioners, was already making plans for the next round. Once Po Xuan tapped out, who should he send to fight?


    Ssshhhhh...


    The Black Devil Spear whistled in the air. Li Wei once more slapped his own body with his palms.


    The Light-Breaker cultivator was tall and strong, but not as massive as the others from his Pavilion. His body-refining techniques were slightly different, not relying as much on muscle strength.


    He had a shaved head and wore a long cloth wrapped around his body, making him look like a monk. But no monk would ever harbor the fighting spirit of a ferocious beast like him.


    "Palm Reinforcement: Purifying Wall!"


    Imbuing the Shinsoo from his palms onto his own body, Li Wei received the Black Devil Spear attack like a mosquito bite. With his protective strength technique, the Black Devil smoke couldn''t invade his body.


    Li Wei grunted. He had the advantage over Po Xuan because he had the opportunity to watch Xiao Yue fight him for a few moments before he himself joined the fray. He had seen the black smoke corrode and hurt Po Xuan like a poisonous gas more than the hit actually damaged him.


    That was the danger of Xiao Yue''s weapon. Besides her speed and strength, one had to look out for the nauseating smoke which would take any opportunity to attack an opponent.


    "Did Big Bro Daoju know that? Is that why he sent me to fight her, because of my Palm Reinforcement? He knew I had the means to forcefully stop the smoke" Li Wei thought.


    Next to him, Po Xuan was spitting out blood. His robes were torn in different places and each and every hole in his clothing revealed a blackish skin, very telling of the Black Devil Spear''s power.


    Li Wei blocked Xiao Yue''s attack once again. She was breathing heavily and seemed to have used a lot of power but Li Wei knew otherwise.


    "She is dragging this out... What a terrifying girl, that Black Devil Maiden. She hasn''t used any heavy attacks yet, nothing from the Star-Sword Canon either, and yet I can''t find any opening to land a blow on her."


    Forced into a defensive position, Li Wei had no means to attack. What''s more he was forced to repeatedly use his Palm Reinforcement, further draining out his resources.


    His only hope of taking down Xiao Yue was whoever would replace Po Xuan.


    "Po Xuan, retreat. I''ll take your place."


    A proud and lofty voice rose up above the clash between Li Wei and Xiao Yue.


    "You''re finally coming out, eh, Jun Qian?" Xiao Yue smiled devilishly.


    The Cloud Master''s direct disciple was standing right next to them. According to the rules he was waiting for Po Xuan to step back in order to enter the fight himself.


    Li Wei thought "When did he arrive? I haven''t felt his presence at all until he spoke." Was Xiao Yue waiting for him to step forward?


    "If it''s you, I can''t concentrate on another opponent at the same time. Star-Sword Canon second form..."


    In an instant, Xiao Yue''s posture changed dramatically.


    "Piercing Heavens!!"


    The Black Devil Spear suddenly accelerated, taking Li Wei almost by surprise. His glowing palms on one another in front of him, he attempted one last Palm Reinforcement.


    The tip of the spear spun right into his flesh, piercing both his palms at the same time and landing into his shoulder. Li Wei''s second to last thoughts before passing out were that of despair. He now finally understood that all along she had been toying with him, draining his Shinsoo for this one attack.


    All under the eyes of Jun Qian, who seemed completely disinterested in Li Wei''s fate.


    "M-monsters..." said Li Wei as he was falling to the ground. Xiao Yue, Jun Qian, his Big Bro Daoju, they were all simply on another level.


    "Jun Qian, it is our turn now" said Xiao Yue as she called the Black Devil Spear back to her hand.


    Jun Qian slowly took out his hands from the sleeves of his white daoist robe, "Are you sure you don''t need Bai Fulong to save you, this time?"


    Internally, Jun Qian was torn between excitement and disappointment. He had been wanting to fight Xiao Yue for a long time, especially because the two of them were their respective Pavilion Master''s direct disciples.


    But more than that, what Jun Qian wanted was to get revenge on Shin Sumi for the Rising Star Tournament. He was smart, though, and knew that Shin Sumi went under the name Bai Fulong in the Star-Sword Pavilion. He wasn''t aware of the reason for hiding her identity but with all the Elders watching he didn''t dare reveal that fact. Some matters were simply above him, even if it pained him to admit it.


    Instead of answering his taunt, Xiao Yue spun her spear in front of her, conjuring the last drops of Shinsoo she had available in her dantian.


    "Black Devil Domain: Despair Mist!"


    "Wax Domain: Congealed Puppet!"


    The time for jokes was over. Faced with each other, both cultivators had to go all out.


    At the same time Xiao Yue unleashed a large black curtain over them, Jun Qian let out a pale grey wax domain.


    "Creating a pseudo-domain while only being in the Liquid Realm... This generation isn''t bad at all" Patriarch Sen murmured.


    Next to him, the Grand Elder Chu Xuanba nodded, "These two are in the third step- no, they are almost reaching the fourth step of the Liquid Realm. Master Sword and Master Cloud truly have fostered great disciples."


    It was said that creating a domain was one of the hardest cultivation techniques to be produced. Other types of techniques were basically rendered useless in front of a domain. A full domain could only appear from some cultivators of the Core Development Realm but it wasn''t the complete set of requirements.


    Besides the cultivation level, one had to achieve a great compatibility with their cultivation techniques. The simple fact that Xiao Yue and Jun Qian were capable of such a feat proved that their respective affinity with the Black Devil Spear and the mysterious magical wax. Moreover, a large amount of Shinsoo was needed to simply sustain a domain.


    The two domains clashed with each other constantly, trying to push their borders towards their opponents.


    The black curtain seemed to corrode anything it touched aggressively and yet it was starting to show difficulty to impede the wax curtain''s progression.


    Insidious and tentacular, the world of wax was slowly but surely expanding, taking over Xiao Yue''s side.


    Jun Qian was gnashing his teeth, beads of sweat pearling on his forehead, "Xiao Yue... How deep are your resources?!"


    It was obvious for both fighters that Jun Qian was the victor of this confrontation. Xiao Yue was reaching her limits, especially since she had taken down three fighters before Jun Qian''s arrival.


    "I will drain your energy until I can''t get up anymore!" Xiao Yue''s eyes seemed to scream at Jun Qian.


    The crowd watching the clash between the two head-disciples of their own Pavilions had grown almost silent. It wasn''t that they didn''t want to speak, it was more of a matter of being so awe-struck and pressured by the intense Shinsoo flow of their pseudo-domains that they simply couldn''t utter a word.


    Jun Qian and Xiao Yue simply were on another level compared to them.


    Even Meng Wa was stuck in place and had difficulty moving. He, too, was a fighter in the arena and yet he couldn''t approach the two domains.


    His entire body was telling him that if he tried to get closer he would get engulfed in their techniques and be eaten alive.


    The stalemate between the Cloud-Formation Pavilion and the Star-Sword Pavilion''s number one ranked didn''t last long. Xiao Yue had depleted all of her energy.


    Avoiding the backlash from having her pseudo-domain f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y cut open, she decided to retract it herself. It was her loss this time, but after all this was a team battle.


    Signaling the rest of the Star-Sword Pavilion line-up, Xiao Yue exited the arena, leaving her place to another fighter.


    "Tai Bu, it''s your turn. Make him burn, okay?" said the exhausted Xiao Yue right before sitting down. Tai Bu didn''t reply and simply nodded. He was about to turn and go fight Jun Qian who was now in the process of beating Meng Wa, when a voice that directly attacked his nervous system called to him.


    "Hey Tai Bu... Erm listen, I don''t really care about your weapon but since you''re fighting Jun Qian I wan''t to maximize our chances so... Here you go."


    Quite nonchalantly, Bai Fulong slapped his bag of holding and tossed the Flaming Whip to Tai Bu, speechless as he was.


    The intense struggle that pervaded Tai Bu''s mind could not be seen by others. It only lasted the time it takes to blink but Tai Bu went from refusing to accepting his weapon back a hundred times or more.


    "This doesn''t mean our issues are resolved" he finally told himself. Without another word, Tai Bu entered the arena, cracking his knuckles and unfurling the leather black whip.


    The Flaming Whip was exactly the same as when Bai Fulong had stolen it from him, two years prior. Tai Bu was even impressed that its conditions had not deteriorated, completely unaware that it was Elder Peng''s spells and formations that had prevented Shin Sumi from tampering with it.


    Squeezing his fingers imbued with Shinsoo on the leather handle, a magical fire spread rapidly along the whip''s entire length.


    "Flaming Whip, Fire Ring!" Tai Bu joined the fray, launching fiery blade through the air, each attack accompanied by an earth shattering cracking sound.


    In this moment, Tai Bu was glad he had continued to teach himself techniques compatible with his whip, even when he had not seen the weapon for a long time. In his hand, the Flaming Whip had become part of his body, it was like a second nature to him.


    One of the fire blades launched with his first attack landed on Meng Wa''s arm. Instantly, the scorching smell of charred flesh rose as a painful wail tore open the fighter''s lips. The fire technique was so powerful that, had Meng Wa not been a body cultivator, his arm would have been simply cut off here and then.


    Unable to do anything in the face of Jun Qian and Tai Bu, Meng Wa retreated to the Light-Breaker Pavilion.


    Turning toward Tai Bu, Jun Qian smiled and spoke.


    "We have about a few seconds before the Light-Breaker guys send out a very powerful dude. Brother Tai bu, let''s enjoy ourselves in the meantime, okay?"

 Chapter 82 - Are Beasts Afraid Of Fire?

    From his words, Tai Bu understood three things. Jun Qian was exhausted, probably from using his wax domain from the very start of his fight. He had an idea as to who the Light-Breaker Pavilion would send out, and if Jun Qian himself called that person ''powerful'', it could only mean the truth.


    And last of all, Tai Bu understood that Jun Qian would now fight him completely unrestrained. His full power against Tai Bu in a last attempt to down their numbers.


    "He is very talkative during a fight" thought Tai Bu. It was only then he realized the snicker on Jun Qian''s lips.


    A simple glance down made Tai Bu''s heart skip a beat. A tentacle of wax was slowly wrapping around his foot.


    How could it have gone unnoticed?! Unknowingly, Tai Bu had stepped in the remnants of Jun Qian''s wax domain, which was enough for the latter to activate his technique.


    "Luckily for me, my weapon has range" Tai Bu calmed himself, "Attacking the wax won''t do any good. It is not the type of wax that my whip can burn down either. I just have to defeat him from here before the wax takes over me, right?"


    The young man unfurled his Flaming Whip, making the air crack with every rotation.


    Jun Qian stood in place, in a shallow pool of grey wax. He was trying to conserve his energy as best as possible.


    "Tch. I''m still within his whip''s reach but I can''t get further away or I won''t be able to control the wax anymore."


    By a strange twist of fate it seemed like both cultivators reach were similar. But where Jun Qian had the advantage in that his technique was infallible once the wax tentacle had touched their enemy, Tai Bu had another advantage.


    The Flaming Whip cracked once. The tip of the whip was much too fast for their eyes to follow. At the last moment, Jun Qian erected a wax shield in front of him.


    The second crack of the whip resounded right after the shield had burst into hundreds of pieces. It happened so fast that when the sound reached their ears, the whip was already back above Tai Bu''s head, twirling.


    "A measly wax shield won''t stop me, Brother Jun" Tai Bu said in a low voice while taking a deep inspiration, "Star-Sword Canon, first form: Cleaving Meteor!"


    A ring of soft yellow light appeared above Tai Bu''s head. In reality only the tip of the Flaming Whip was glowing as the technique was charging but because of its motion, an entire arc had appeared, casting light onto Tai Bu, making him look like an heavenly apparition.


    Jun Qian condensed his wax into a large barrier above his head. In the face of Cleaving Meteor, the area that needed protection was relatively small. The power of the strike, though, added to the momentum of the whip was something that truly terrified him.


    Tai Bu''s leg had only been taken by the wax up until the knee. Could Jun Qian manage to resist the Flaming Whip''s strikes until the wax covered his arms?


    It was a risky bet.


    C-CRACKK!


    The lash of the whip had traced a line of blood along Jun Qian''s shoulder, straight to his hip. Had the wax not protected him, the force of Tai Bu''s whip would have cleaved him entirely in two pieces.


    Jun Qian was breathing heavily, clutching his side with one arm, a crazed look in his eyes that somehow remained cold.


    Tai Bu closed his eyes for a split second. The technique he was about to use would end the fight but he needed to concentrate a bit more. He had never attempted it with a whip before, only with swords.


    "Star-Sword Canon, second form: Pier-" Tai Bu opened his eyes just in time to see a blurry figure stop behind Jun Qian.


    "Nice whip you got there. I wonder how hot its flames are."


    Jun Qian''s heart stopped for a brief moment. A voice had spoken behind him, and he instantly knew who the voice belonged to. Not sparing a look toward Tai Bu despite the terrifying attack that was coming, Jun Qian spun on his feet.


    "Daoju Kai, you-"


    Interrupting the second fighter, this time with actions and not words, Daoju Kai''s palm spun to the side. Jun Qian had not managed to even start his sentence when the power of a cannon blasted the side of his face.


    A single palm strike sent him flying a few meters before he crashed heavily onto the ground. The Beast Daoju Kai had sent the Wax Master into unconsciousness in one strike.


    "-cing Heavens!" Tai Bu finished his incantation before the backlash of having his technique stopped from unleashing struck him. With the power of his wrist, he had managed to change the path of his attack at the last moment, ensuring his whip would go towards Daoju Kai instead of Jun Qian.


    "Heh" Daoju Kai struck the ground with both his palms, propelling himself to the side in a rolling motion. The accelerated whip cracked in a deafening manner but only pierced the empty space.


    Before Tai Bu could muster up enough energy for another finisher, Daoju Kai was upon him. The latter''s speed, hin instincts and his strange technique... All of these combined were definitely bad news for Tai Bu.


    "Daoju Kai... So this is the kid, right, Master Breaker?" Patriarch Sen turned his head to look at the person on the large seat behind him.


    Master Breaker grinned, "The oldest son of the subsidiary branch from the Daoju Clan. He couldn''t inherit the main branch''s beast taming techniques so he turned to the Beast Style."


    Next to him, the old Gen She, the Keeper of Beasts, perked his head immediately. The Daoju Clan was known in the entirety of Blue Fire Country as the best spirit beasts cultivators. It was said that the head of the clan had a personal arsenal of over twenty fighting creatures.


    They made a fortune by selling their beasts here and there, assisting governments and revolutionaries alike. Before their strength, one could only bow as the number of fighting beasts they had amassed was enough to overthrow an entire country.


    "The Beast Style truly is a wonder. Who could have thought that this kid would manage to assimilate it so well in such a short time" the Beast Master said out loud.


    Master Breaker answered, his face gaining another degree of seriousness, "Kai is a very special child. It is a blessing for us that the Daoju Clan kicked him out. From his youth he has always been with and admired spirit beasts. His instinct is on par with that of a ferocious fighting creature. What''s more, his Beast Style, leaving strategy behind and fully relying on his instinct and strength is something only he can do."


    Patriarch Sen blinked, although his eyes seemed to already know the answer "Why is that?"


    Master Breaker sighed "The Beast Style is a constant all-out attack form. Every move he makes is an attack. Defence is not part of his vocabulary, neither is being passive. In such a constant state of body, he would break after a few minutes of fighting but Daoju Kai... For a boy his age, his Sea of Shinsoo is three times as large as anyone else."


    Three times as large... Although his Shinsoo was only of Liquid Realm third step quality, the sheer amount of it he had in his dantian was enough to constantly power-up a technique like the Beast Style. Only Shin Sumi, with her sixty four opened Shinsoo Doors, could maybe rival with such a deep well of energy. And even then, she had less Shinsoo in her Shinsoo Sea, instead having a higher grade of energy.


    Daoju Kai... truly deserved his daoist name The Beast. As if he was spitting on the entire way of the clan who had rejected him, where they were beast masters he himself was the beast.


    Daoju Kai enjoyed himself to the fullest. Like a Shadow Blossom Tiger, his claws were ripping the ground open with every move as soon as his instinct told him to move.


    Tai Bu''s Flaming Whip had so much trouble catching Daoju Kai that it seemed like it was avoiding him. Daoju Kai''s instinctual fighting spirit was so developed that even the slightest twist of Tai Bu''s wrist made him jump, before the whip could even start moving.


    "He''s my natural enemy, he might as well be predicting my strikes" Tai Bu thought. For some reason he was really calm, even though Daoju Kai was constantly getting closer to him.


    On the opposite side, Daoju Kai too was very calm. He completely relied on his body to act, every move an attack, as always. But his mind wasn''t void.


    "I can''t get too close. Even my reflexes aren''t fast enough against his whip when I''m in a three meter... no, four meter radius. If I want to reach him there are three ways. Wait until he''s drained, wait until that girl from the Cloud-Formation team gets here or catch his whip."


    Daoju Kai grinned. On all fours, all of his muscles tensed, his long nails turned into claws imbued with Shinsoo, he really looked like a devilish human beast.


    "I am not going to wait any longer, prepare yourself Tai Bu! I am unbeatable!!"


    Taking advantage of one of Tai Bu''s attacks, Daoju Kai steadied himself. Just like any other attack coming at him, Tai Bu expected him to evade using his insane reflexes.


    But instead, Daoju Kai stayed in position and let the whip strike him.


    BANG


    The clash of the weapon against the Beast''s arm was felt throughout the entire Underground Arena. Daoju Kai''s mouth splurted a bit of blood and his vision grew dim for a split second but he endured it.


    Because the attack had connected, there was a brief moment of latency before the whip would leave his reach and that was exactly what he wanted.


    Ignoring the charred smell of his skin against the flames that ran along the whip, Daoju Kai firmly held the tip of the weapon inside his claws.


    Tai Bu was speechless. Did-did he just catch it with his b.a.r.e hands?!


    He couldn''t let his mind even try to comprehend his opponent''s action before the latter suddenly tugged at the whip. Tai Bu was propelled forward, too late in letting the whip go.


    Had his favorite weapon not been stolen by Shin Sumi so easily before, the young man would probably have let go of it, but unconsciously Tai Bu couldn''t bear to part with the Flaming Whip again.


    Once he was in the air, Daoju Kai released the whip, shaking the smoke and the smell of burnt flesh from his injured hand. Slamming the ground with the other, he leaped in a twist of his upper body, claws first.


    Daoju Kai''s body was a weapon in itself and his reinforced claws were similar to knives. Without being able to suppress his momentum in mid-air, Tai Bu was right in the Beast''s trajectory of attack.


    "It is not over yet" shouted Tai Bu!


    In a last ditch effort, Tai Bu slapped his bag of holding, producing a short dagger in his left hand. Much like the Flaming Whip, the dagger instantly caught fire in contact with Tai Bu''s Shinsoo.


    Both fighters were three meters above the ground when they collided in a muffled and hard sound.


    A shower of blood erupted from the middle as the two fell in a straight line.


    Using his inhuman reflexes, Daoju Kai kicked down as he was touching the ground and proceeded to roll over and absorb the impact from the fall. He then stood there, looking at Tai Bu.


    Tai Bu''s shoulder had been pierced by Daoju Kai''s Beast claws and bone was sticking out of the open wound. With a single glance at him it was obvious the fight was over for him. In truth, he couldn''t even get up. His body was completely drained of energy and the last drops of Shinsoo he possessed were currently used in order to stop his bleeding.


    And yet his eyes still had a gleam of defiance in them.


    "Puuah! You bastard..." Daoju Kai held the handle of a dagger between his fingers, plunged deeply into his lung. His claws had disappeared, revealing normal hands underneath. In fact he seemed to have momentarily stopped his Beast Style.


    "Brother Daoju, leave the arena and get treatment. I will step in your stead!" A cultivator from the Light-Breaker Pavilion was motioning him to go back to their bench.


    "Are you kidding me? We have already used four people, counting me. The other two Pavilion have only used two so far, there is no way I can leave so early! JUST WATCH ME!"


    With the willpower of a thousand soldiers, Daoju Kai put both hands on the dagger''s handle and pulled.


    Very little blood spilled from the deep wound that had pierced his lung in two different places, but it was only because Tai Bu''s flames had burned a large portion of his insides before extinguishing.


    The dagger dropped to the ground, its sound heard by the entire silent arena.


    "Oh oh? This boy is determined. A little bit stupid but I can''t take away his determination" Grand Elder Chu Xuanba chuckled, talking to Master Breaker.


    "He''s a beast after all" was the only response the large burly man could give, "Master Furnace, if you would please prepare to receive my boy..."


    The woman at the end of the Pavilion Master''s row nodded, her eyes firmly planted on Daoju Kai''s wound, "Breaker, you should really teach your disciples to hold their lives in a higher regard. Lei Shon, Kang Yumei, as soon as Daoju Kai steps out of the arena I want you to take him in. He may refuse to follow you but use force if necessary."


    The two disciples that had appeared upon having their names called, one male and one female, bowed and disappeared in direction of the Light-Breaker''s bench.


    Daoju Kai was standing in the middle of the arena, having drawn the eyes of everybody around. His face was drained of blood but his eyes still burned with will to fight.


    Drawing from the deep well of his Shinsoo Sea, Daoju Kai f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y closed up his wounds and reinforced his damaged lung.


    "I''m not done yet! Who else is here to fight?!"


    "That would be me" a delicate voice answered from almost a hundred steps away.


    Daoju Kai turned to face the origin of the voice when his feet suddenly started glowing. No, it was the ground underneath his feet that had started to emit a greenish light.


    Without any other tell that a technique had been activated, vines suddenly appeared, wrapping around the Beast''s legs, torso and arms.


    "Did you forget this is a three-way fight?" the young woman inquired as she leisurely stepped closer to him. "My technique, unfortunately, takes quite a bit of time to prepare. Unlike you I wouldn''t have been able to face Tai Bu straight on so I decided to step back for a while. I hope you don''t mind that."


    The girl was dressed in dark red robes. She wore a touch of makeup that made her green eyes look like two emeralds shining in the middle of her pretty face.


    Shin Sumi inhaled slowly, back in the Star-Sword Pavilion corner, "Rai Linxi. She is dangerous. Her presence is almost non-existent. Next to Tai Bu and Daoju Kai nobody even noticed her. I have never seen her use that technique before, maybe because it wasn''t suited for the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s tournament."


    Shin Sumi was about to advise her teammates to be careful but she remembered at the last second that she wasn''t supposed to have that information. From what she knew, though, she was certain Sui Lin was the best fit to fight against her, especially since Daoju Kai was still standing too.


    "Erm... Maybe you should go, Sist-"


    "I''m going next." Bai Fulong''s attempt to strategize was cut short by a cold but delicate voice, "I want to see more of this Daoju Kai. I''ll deal with the girl too."


    Unexpectedly, it was Sui Lin herself who had taken a step forward. Shin Sumi sighed, "I guess that works too..."


    In the middle of the arena, Daoju Kai seemed struggling to tear apart the vines that imprisoned him while Rai Linxi was forming spirit formation incantation signs with her hands.


    "I was sent instead of other stronger disciples in order to drain your energy faster. I don''t have much Shinsoo myself so there''s always the risk of running out before you, but look at yourself! You''re already looking like a living corpse!"


    Not about to commit the same mistake Daoju Kai had made by not paying attention to her, Rai Linxi made sure to look around frequently. Although she looked very confident in appearance, she was trembling inside, constantly wondering who the Star-Sword Pavilion would send against her.


    Daoju Kai growled like an animal when his pupils expanded suddenly and his growl turned into a scream.


    "Ah, yes. The vines that currently hold you are my precious Lost Guardian Vines. They just activated their second ability, Shinsoo Sinkers."


    The luxurious green vines now bore short red thorns, piercing Daoju Kai''s skin all over his body.


    "The more Shinsoo the Sinkers get from you, the stronger they will be, the faster you will be drained, the stronger they will be, and so on" Rai Linxi smiled.


    Her face was already pale, an indication that her technique indubitably consumed a lot of her Shinsoo too, but at least Daoju Kai was done for.


    Her eyes constantly darted from Daoju Kai''s vine prison to the white figure approaching in the distance, "Heh, so they sent Sui Lin. I need to restrict her too before anything else. A soon as she steps in my range, I''ll trap her under the Lost Guardian Vines too."


    Sui Lin''s face was completely expressionless. She was walking slowly, her large paintbrush in one hand, until she looked at an invisible spot on the ground and suddenly stopped.


    "The air is the canvas. The blood is the link. The energy is the ink."


    A droplet of blood left Sui Lin''s thumb to fall onto the paintbrush.


    "Character Formation, Hole."

 Chapter 83 - Immobile Movement, Canvas Domain and Stone Golem

    Sui Lin''s paintbrush danced elegantly in the air, a circular character appearing from nowhere.


    The golden painting sunk into the ground, encompassing Rai Linxi in its middle. The rocky surface rumbled. It had only taken a split second since Sui Lin''s arrival but her technique has already drawn a large hole, part of the arena collapsing onto Rai Linxi.


    "W-What?! How can it be happening?" Rai Linxi was using all of her energy to protect herself from the rocks falling into the hole around her.


    Sui Lin''s technique had trapped her underground, all the while remaining outside of her range of effect.


    "There must have been a reason why you waited approximately one hundred steps away from Daoju Kai before using your Lost Guardian Vines. It seems I was right. Your range is large but only to this extent. As long as I remain further than a hundred steps your vines won''t matter."


    Sui Lin''s cold voice shook Rai Linxi to the core, "She was able to deduce this much by only seeing it once?!"


    But most of all, Rai Linxi was shaken by the fact that her divine sense had suddenly lost contact with Shinsoo Sinkers, the technique that was currently restraining Daoju Kai.


    An almost inhuman roar resounded from above the hole in the arena.


    "My Character Formation has cut your Shinsoo link with your technique. I advise you to forfeit, Rai Linxi, because Daoju Kai seems pissed, quite frankly."


    Rai Linxi''s heart was beating faster and faster with every second.


    "You wench, these thorns really hurt... Wait until I-"


    "I forfeit!!" Rai Linxi shouted so loudly that every spectator could hear us even without relying on their divine sense.


    Sui Lin let out the mildest smile on her usually expressionless face. Her plan had worked.


    "Now that it''s only the two of us, I really want to know how strong the Beast really is. Too bad you''re already injured but there''s nothing to be done about that. Come at me, Daoju Kai."


    On the sideline, the recovering Xiao Yue was red with anger. The veins on her temples seemed to be about to burst, to the point that Mei Yunei asked her if she needed treatment.


    "That paintbrush-wielding wench... She could have used Rai Linxi''s restraints on Daoju Kai to put an end to him but instead she just wants to fight him at full power. What if she loses?! That would mean an unnecessary loss for us."


    "Heh," Mua Lin stepped into the conversation, "You don''t have to worry, Devil Maiden. Sui Lin knows what she is doing. Daoju Kai is already too injured to beat her, what is wrong with wanting to have fun?"


    Everybody knew that Daoju Kai was already on the verge of collapsing. There was virtually no chance of him beating Sui Lin but they were still in the middle of a team fight.


    What bothered Xiao Yue wasn''t only the slightest possibility of Sui Lin losing. Besides Daoju Kai, maybe only Shin Sumi as Bai Fulong had enough Shinsoo resources to take on multiple strong fighters. As strong as Sui Lin was, now that Rai Linxi had surrendered, the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was free to send another fighter.


    "If my calculations are correct, their next fighter is Fu Xue... Sui Lin will need all the energy she has against her."


    Next to Xiao Yue, Bai Fulong slowly nodded. Shin Sumi''s eyes were fixated on the middle of the arena, but her mind only thought of Fu Xue.


    Daoju Kai would soon be unable to continue. With him gone, all three Pavilions would have already used their strongest cards, their number one disciples. Xiao Yue, Jun Qian and the Beast.


    Now only their trump cards remained. Depending on the situation and who they were up against, the Star-Sword Pavilion counted on Mua Lin or Bai Fulong. For the Cloud-Formation team, Fu Xue or Chu Erlong could both step up to the plate.


    As for the Light-Breaker Pavilion, Shin Sumi didn''t know enough about them yet to formulate a guess.


    In the middle of the arena, Daoju Kai g.r.o.a.n.e.d. An ice spike has just barely missed his c.h.e.s.t. Probing his own dantian with his divine sense, he knew he was about to launch his last attack.


    His eyes were burning with all of his will to fight and yet, his fangs were peeking out of curled lips. Despite the situation and his clear disadvantage, Daoju Kai was smiling.


    Unlike Tai Bu, Sui Lin didn''t have the speed to match Daoju Kai, instead relying on her Character Formation immobilization techniques and her Ice Scythe for offense.


    "My form is unbreachable. The Beast can''t even approach me, this will be over soon" she thought.


    Facing her, Daoju Kai was very calm. "Sui Lin... What a beautiful and perfectly fitting name."


    "Iron Claw of the Beast!" Daoju Kai leaped forward. His hands glowed with a dark light in front of his body. Like a sheath around his fingers, his last drops of Shinsoo extended, pushing his claws to their limits as he propelled himself towards Sui Lin.


    Raising an eyebrow, Sui Lin held her ice-coated paintbrush horizontally and let out a wave of ice spikes.


    The Iron Claws tore through the ice like cloth, sending a myriad of multicolored shards flying in the air.


    Instantly raising her level of seriousness, Sui Lin took a defensive stance and spat a drop of blood onto her weapon.


    "My ice spikes did nothing?!" she was starting to wonder if she had badly underestimated Daoju Kai. "Cold Star Ice Wh-"


    She was about to launch one of her strongest techniques, the one that had triumphed over Mua Lin, when Daoju Kai smiled and instantly sped up in mid-air.


    "Wh-What?" the crowd was speechless, "Impossible?!"


    Only the Light-Breaker Pavilion disciples had mixed feelings, "Daoju Kai has already reached this level...? He can use the Immobile Movement Dilatation?!"


    By sending Shinsoo impulses through their muscles, Light-Breaker cultivators reached a level where their body surpassed the limits of what was normally possible. Even while in the third step of the Liquid Realm, his body was temporarily comparable to that of a fifth step Liquid Realm cultivator.


    By using his Immobile Movement Dilatation, Daoju Kai had managed to get close to Sui Lin, to the point where her technique was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y interrupted before she had the chance to complete her incantation.


    Even though it all happened in the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow down for Daoju Kai as he landed in front of Sui Lin. The latter''s paintbrush separated the two.


    Daoju Kai''s limbs were shaking, drained as he was. Shocked by the fact that he managed to approach her while being in such a sorry state, Sui Lin didn''t even react offensively. Instead she just stood there, firmly holding her weapon between them.


    THUD


    Daoju Kai smiled as his knees gave out. He fell to the ground but his eyes never left Sui Lin''s.


    "I wanted to see you from up close. Your eyes are... so clear."


    Daoju Kai had spoken in a voice so low that only she could hear. She inhaled sharply, completely unable to react in any way.


    The Beast lapsed into unconsciousness, his body finally at its limits.


    Sui Lin remained silent, her expression completely closed off. She was thinking over and over, "what is that strange technique? I couldn''t react at all, I''m lucky he didn''t use it earlier in the fight..."


    Had Xiao Yue been there listening to her thoughts, she would surely have laughed to the point of crying and rolling on the ground. A technique?! What technique? Wasn''t that just passion?


    Master Furnace''s two disciples, Lei Shon and Kang Yumei quickly and discretely took care of Daoju Kai, escorting him out of the Underground Arena for treatment. His life wasn''t in danger anymore but he needed to receive medical care as soon as possible. Any extended period of time could drastically impact his cultivation and talent, as well as impede his recovery.


    F.o.r.c.i.b.l.y shaking her thoughts and heart flutters away, Sui Lin concentrated back to the arena in the middle of which she stood.


    Fortunately, Daoju Kai had stopped her from using Cold Star Ice Whistle before she even started gathering the required energy. Had she used her sure-kill technique, she would have been almost as drained as he was at the end.


    "It''s not time to be idle yet. Without looking at her I can already tell from the Shinsoo fluctuations who is coming to greet me."


    Sui Lin of course referred to the disciple sent by the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. Her strange little confrontation with Daoju Kai after she had made Rai Linxi forfeit seemed to have lasted a couple minutes in her heart but in reality it had been short enough so that Fu Xue was almost upon her.


    "How are you doing, Ice Queen?" taunted a pretty girly voice.


    "Stone Demoness, fancy meeting you here" answered Sui Lin, looking Fu Xue up and down.


    From a single glance it was clear that Fu Xue was not in her element. Despite putting up the most confident face she could muster, Fu Xue was definitely stressed by the crowd of thousands gathered around and looking at her.


    Even the most terrifying fighter could be shy out of the battlefield, and Fu Xue was definitely one of them. But as someone who had known her for a long time, Sui Lin knew that as soon as her Fu Clan Sword was out of its sheath, Fu Xue became a completely different person.


    "Don''t you think it''s funny to confront each other like that?" Fu Xue pulled a strand of her hair to the side as a force of habit.


    Sui Lin was glad to be able to chat for a bit. As long as she could recover even the slightest bit of Shinsoo, the conversation could continue.


    "What do you mean?" Sui Lin raised an eyebrow.


    Fu Xue slowly unwrapped the piece of cloth that held the large wooden sheath on her back, "Well for the many years I''ve known you, you were always better at sensing and controlling Shinsoo than I was. And you know I was always better with a weapon. And yet here we are, you from the weapon branch and me from the magical technique branch."


    "Maybe we have both made up for what we lacked at the time..." Sui Lin replied.


    "Yes..."


    For an entire second, both girls were looking straight at each other, neither moving nor speaking. Had the large crowd not been there, surely one could have heard an insect fly during this one second.


    BANG!


    Both girls had attacked at the same time, the Breaking Fu Sword annihilating Sui Lin''s ice shards. The ice covered paintbrush finally stopped the stone sword''s momentum in a clash that sent strong vibrations in her arms.


    Fu Xue''s arms were covered in grey light pattern, making her muscles stronger than they were normally. Tightening her grip even further, Fu Xue suddenly let go of one hand.


    The massive sword that looked like it belonged to a stone statue swiped at Sui Lin horizontally while Fu Xue''s other hand condensed Shinsoo for her next attack.


    "Cloud Arts: Cold Smoke!"


    Fu Xue sent dozens of cloud snakes towards Sui Lin. Using all of her strength to pary the massive sword, even the most basic technique from the Cloud Arts tome could potentially change the outcome of their fight.


    But Sui Lin was far from being on her last leg. Drawing a ''Cage'' around Cold Smoke, she managed to restrain the attack before the cloud snakes even had the chance to approach her.


    "Isn''t your sword a bit heavy when you wield it in one hand?" she asked between two breaths, "Pillar!"


    Sui Lin''s second Character Formation instantly pressed down from above onto the massive sword. Suddenly the weapon seemed to Fu Xue like its weight had more than tripled, forcing her to let it drop to the ground in fear of having her arm broken under its weight.


    The stone sword slammed the surface of the arena with a loud ''BANG'', picking up a large cloud of dust.


    "Canvas Domain: Ink Dimension!"


    Completely unannounced, Sui Lin used the dust as a cover to unleash a pseudo-domain. The tip of her paintbrush had shed its ice and was moving frantically in her hand.


    "Time is of the essence, I need to complete this quickly" she thought. Her Canvas Domain was far from being perfect and she knew that if Fu Xue managed to stop her before she could complete it, the backlash would be enough to take her out instantly.


    Luckily for Sui Lin, Fu Xue was temporarily stuck, her weapon taken away and her last spiritual technique having been broken. Despite her talent she couldn''t produce another attack in such a short time.


    Before she even realized, Sui Lin''s pseudo-domain was complete. When the dust finally dissipated, ethereal pictures had been drawn all around her.


    From the inside, Sui Lin''s domain looked like a large spherical painting. Golden Shinsoo symbols covered the scene, moving in a hypnotizing manner. The air was the canvas, and on it could be seen a tree next to a river where fish occasionally leaped. Clouds in the sky overlooked a small mortal village in the distance.


    Without taking into consideration the fact that this was a very dangerous technique, Fu Xue still found the picture so beautiful that she was almost moved to tears.


    Detaching her eyes from the sphere inside of which she found herself, Fu Xue had to use all of her power to gather Shinsoo as her instinct told her she had no choice but to block what was coming next.


    "Canvas Domain, Star Sword Canon second form: Piercing Heavens!"


    Fu Xue felt the change in the Shinsoo from Sui Lin''s technique before she heard the incantation she uttered out loud. Her eyes suddenly opened wide and her hands pressed the ground, both palms infusing the rocks with her own Shinsoo.


    Piercing Heavens was a technique that was both precise and fast. Using a blast of concentrated Shinsoo, one could use it to accelerate a weapon in a straight line, forcing a piercing motion from almost any position and speed.


    As hard as it was to use, once a disciple from the Star-Sword Pavilion knew how to perform the technique, its form almost never changed. But by combining the deadly finisher from the Star-Sword Canon to her own Canvas Domain, Sui Lin had found the inspiration for an even deadlier combo.


    Watching the fight intensely, Master Sword found himself gripping the arms of his seat with clenched hands. A ravenous smile tore his lips open as he praised his Pavilion''s number two disciple internally.


    "Master Sword, did you teach your disciples to combine techniques this way yourself?" enquired Master Breaker who had rarely seen his fellow Pavilion master this excited before.


    "No I certainly did not. This girl is a rarely seen genius. Really it is a shame for her that this generation has produced so many outstanding disciples. Had Xiao Yue not been from the same generation, surely I would have picked her as my direct disciple. Or maybe..."


    Master Sword stopped his last sentence before he said too much.


    "Really what a surprising generation."


    Master Breaker nodded, completely in agreement with his point of view. He wondered what his fellow master had meant, maybe meaning that there was another peerless genius amongst the ranks of his disciples. Everything would become clear during the last issue of the fight anyway.


    The Star-Sword Pavilion was currently in the lead, still having three disciples on the sideline. Then the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was second and finally came the Light-Breaker Pavilion by a very short margin. Both had only two disciples left but the Light-Breaker''s fifth contestant had almost joined the fight.


    While the Pavilion Masters were calmly chatting among themselves, in the center of the Arena, Fu Xue was trapped inside Sui Lin''s painting.


    She had reacted as soon as she understood the danger of her position. Sending her Shinsoo into the ground, Fu Xue quickly set up a small but powerful formation. The ground glowed faintly in a pattern that was heavily distorted when pieces of the arena itself detached from one another.


    In the briefest of time, the various rock chunks seemed attracted to Fu Xue like nails to a magnet.


    Sui Lin''s multiple Piercing Heavens were tearing her painting appart, turning an ethereal ink fish, part of a tree, even pieces of ink clouds, into lethal weapons as the painting itself accelerated in dangerous spikes.


    The many ink weapons formed this way slammed into Fu Xue in the middle, incapable of evading from inside the pseudo domain.


    Her only option was to parry.


    Piercing Heavens was so fast that for a moment the inside of the sphere wasn''t visible from the outside at all. Dust rose around as pieces of rock flew in all directions.


    "Your painting skills have become beautiful and deadly at the same time," Fu Xue slowly said. The upper part of her body was covered by rocks, from her head to the middle of her dress. In the parts where Piercing Heavens had hit, some armor had fallen off or had been destroyed, leaving large bruises apparent on the girl''s skin.


    Sui Lin''s eyes opened wide. Fu Xue really had surprised her too. In the time it takes to activate her modified Piercing Heavens, she had managed to completely protect herself by turning into a stone golem.


    Fu Xue was about to retaliate and start attacking Sui Lin again when a strange sensation entered the divine sense she had poured into her stone armor.


    "Heavy punch! Break!!"


    The next instant, Fu Xue was pushed a few meters forward, her back suddenly feeling like she was hit by a hammer. On the other hand of the first that had struck her, a girl taller than her by at least two heads was standing in a fighting stance.


    "Xing Jing always delivers!!! And the crowd goes wiiiild!"

 Chapter 84 - Endless Curiosities

    Xing Jing stood behind Fu Xue, her muscular body firmly planted on the ground, although her expression was that of playfulness and excitement.


    "Where... Did she come from?!" Fu Xue asked herself in confusion. On her back, the protective rock armor that had managed to resist more than one of Sui Lin''s Piercing Heavens crumbled apart.


    That sort of power... How did it hit her without her even realizing?!


    As Fu Xue looked at the strong woman, both she and Sui Lin attempted to probe the newcomer to no avail.


    "Don''t tell me that her cultivation base is so much higher than mine that I can''t even decipher her presence" Sui Lin suddenly felt anxious about that strange girl.


    "Oh? That Fu Clan girl completely dropped her guard, didn''t she? I guess that''s what happens when Xing Jing enters the fight" Master Breaker said confidently.


    Next to him, Master Cloud remained silent. Unlike the fighters in the middle of the Arena, how could someone with their level of cultivation fail to probe Xing Jing?


    "Where did you pick such an interesting fruit, Breaker? That girl''s cultivation is... No, she doesn''t even have a cultivation base, does she?"


    In the thousands of people assembled for the Cross Branch Arena, Xing Jing was definitely the closest to what could be called a mortal.


    Her dantian was as empty as could be and not even an ounce of Shinsoo radiated from her body.


    "I... I can''t see her," Fu Xue referred to her divine sense. In front of it, Xing Jing was completely absent, "No, rather her presence is so faint that I''m not used to see her."


    Both Sui Lin and Fu Xue had confused expressions, their guard suddenly going up as means to protect themselves from the unknown.


    Pointing at them, Xing Jing laughed loudly until her eyes were clouded by tears.


    "Aahaha that look is the best... Every time I meet someone new they look at me like this. Don''t worry You''ll understand my secret soon."


    Xing Jing wiped a tear from her eye and re-assumed her original stance.


    Under her robes, all the muscles in her body tensed. Hidden under her clothes, the tattoo that connected her belly with all her members started to emit a soft dark light.


    "Here I come!"


    As soon as her voice escaped her lips, Xing Jing was nowhere to be seen. By sheer reflex, Fu Xue turned around, a sudden possibility striking her mind.


    She was right. Xing Jing had not disappeared. Her speed was just on that level. Facing Fu Xue from the other side, Xing Jing let out a horizontal kick.


    The n.a.k.e.d foot blasted through the rock protection, the almost invisible tattoo on her sole flashing just once.


    Being further away, Sui Lin had a slightly better view of what had happened and yet she didn''t have time to react. Xing Jing''s movement, there was definitely no technique behind it. Xing Jing was just... running!


    In an attempt to stop her from coming for herself, Sui Lin bit her tongue and was about to send a drop of blood onto her paintbrush when she stopped abruptly.


    "Character Formation is useless. In fact all of my techniques are. Without feeling her divine sense, I can''t send my techniques to hit her at all."


    She had suddenly understood what the terrifying presence of Xing Jing meant. But she had yet to comprehend how it was possible.


    Having been hit twice with the force of a tree trunk falling onto her, Fu Xue was enraged and injured.


    With a lot less energy than when she had started the fight, her stone golem form shed away to reveal her bruised body.


    "I can''t maintain it any longer which also means I can''t get hit anymore."


    More than anybody present she understood the level of power than Xing Jing could deliver, although her singular presence was still a mystery.


    Xing Jing seemed lost in thoughts for a moment when Fu Xue revealed herself from under the rocks. She looked at the petite girl up and down, slowly shaking her head.


    "Listen, Fu Xue, right? I don''t want to hurt you too bad. I am going to-"


    Xing Jing didn''t finish her sentence before Fu Xue, enraged by her condescending tone produced a flying sword and sent it towards her.


    Xing Jing''s eyes opened like giant marbles and she realized how her way of speaking had offended her. Bowing multiple times in rapid succession, she easily evaded the flying sword and apologized at the same time.


    "No no no! I''m so sorry Sister Fu, I didn''t mean to say it like that. Listen I will explain my fighting style to you. I didn''t want to offend you I swear!"


    Even as veins were beating furiously on Fu Xue''s temples, the fighter from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion forced herself to calm down.


    "I might as well listen to her and recuperate a bit of energy while she talks" she said to herself and then out loud, "Go on."


    "Thank you, I''ll be quick. Listen, my body is different from all of yours. I''m not a cultivator, you see?"


    "..."


    From the distance between the center of the arena and the seats, the only people capable of hearing her explanation were of course the Elders and the Pavilion Masters.


    "Is that true, Breaker?" one of the other Masters enquired.


    Master Breaker stroked his beard, his head swaying slowly from side to side "Hmmm yes and no. Xing Jing doesn''t have a cultivation base in the normal sense. For a reason I ignore, her dantian doesn''t absorb even the slightest drop of Shinsoo. But it doesn''t mean she is completely devoid of it."


    Master Furnace, the woman in charge of the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion was listening with great care. Maybe Xing Jing would be worthy of her medical attention. Curiosity for the human body was the reason for her existence after all.


    The large Master Breaker continued, "From what evidence I''ve gathered, Xing Jing''s Shinsoo acquired through meditation or other means goes through her body to her dantian and then gets dissipated. Before leaving her into our care, her Clan must already have had an idea about that, as they covered her body with spiritual tattoos. The way they work is completely natural to Xing Jing."


    "She simply uses her body in a normal way and the tattoos send Shinsoo into her muscles?"


    Master Breaker nodded at Master Furnace''s remark.


    "That, coupled with her natural talent for martial arts, Xing Jing is a beast on the ring. I even made her an instructor for hand-to-hand combat in my Pavilion, she teaches up to the second-step disciples although she herself is only mortal. But she''s a ticking bomb as well..."


    Naturally, all the experts gathered to see their disciples clash in the Cross Branch Arena understood what Master Breaker meant.


    A girl who was fighting despite not having an ounce of Shinsoo nor divine sense was both heroic and destined to suffer. Divine sense was a crucial part of fighting, allowing to probe and see the opponent as well as their technique, but the lack of could be compensated by reflexes and alertness.


    However, with the most resilient body amongst all the eighteen contestants, the latter was precisely Xing Jing''s weakness. Master Breaker had deemed her strong enough to have the honorary title of Liquid Realm third step without knowing what her limits were. What would happen if her muscles couldn''t take all the Shinsoo she had absorbed thus far?


    ***


    "I''m stepping out" Sui Lin cut Xing Jing''s explanation abruptly, "you both continue fighting but I''m out of energy. My techniques are the worst match for your strength."


    Sui Lin turned on her heels, putting away her paintbrush, "Sorry everyone, Sister Mei, you can take my place."


    Now only Fu Xue and Xing Jing remained in the Arena. As the pale-faced Sui Lin rejoined the side-lines and Mei Yunei joined the fray, Fu Xue was slowly recuperating.


    "So you''re like a glass sword. I can''t wait to see how you''ll shatter."


    Contrarily to Sui Lin who would rather conserve her energy and leave when she knew she couldn''t face an obstacle, it was not in Fu Xue''s mentality to give up in a fight.


    "A glass sword... I like that" Xing Jing laughed, all the while assuming a powerful fighting stance.


    She knew better than anyone else how close the analogy was to her reality. Because of the lack of Shinsoo in her dantian, her muscles had been reinforced in a way that made her body the strongest for her level, but it also meant she couldn''t do what most cultivators could.


    In essence she was the only mortal in an Immortal World. Any injury she obtained would have to be recovered from, like a mortal would. Without Shinsoo she was incapable of regenerating her body or closing up wounds by herself.


    Like a glass sword, she was a fragilized weapon.


    Despite having full consciousness of that, Fu Xue wasn''t showing any mercy towards the tall girl. Xing Jing had the will of a fighter and holding back would only show disrespect. She had stepped out in the arena to fight, and Fu Xue was completely agreeing with that.


    "Unfortunately, much like Sui Lin, I''ve emptied almost all my reserve energy earlier. This will be my last attack" she told herself as she gathered Shinsoo in her hands.


    "Cloud Arts... Third form! PEERLESS SKIES!!"


    The pressure in the Arena rose drastically. A large cloud formed above Xing Jing, only a few meters in the air.


    Even she, without divine sense, could feel the pressure of a strong technique and see the white light it radiated.


    The third form of the Cloud Arts techniques, Peerless Skies, was different from the others in the sense that it wasn''t a single stage technique. The longer time one spent in activating it, the stronger the technique was. It also consumed a lot more Shinsoo as the cloud grew bigger and bigger.


    Gritting her teeth and ignoring the beads of sweat on her forehead, Fu Xue decided to bet on the speed of her technique.


    As long as Xing Jing didn''t move, she would keep pouring energy into it.


    It all came down to the moment Xing Jing herself attacked. Faced by this absurdly strong technique, she wasn''t going to remain idle. She leaped forward, understanding that Fu Xue would launch the cloud at her as soon as she did.


    "I can''t take that head on, I need to evade and strike quickly."


    In the seats watching the combat unfold, the crowd was completely silent. Everybody present was below the Liquid Realm''s third step and watching Peerless Skies being used in combat was as surprising to them as seeing Jun Qian and Xiao Yue use pseudo-domains previously.


    The weaker disciples even felt some uneasiness in front of Peerless Skies'' pressure.


    Fu Xue motioned down with both hands as soon as Xing Jing moved, sending the cloud downwards.


    By the point the cloud struck the ground, the fighter from the Light-Breaker Pavilion was ten steps away from it. The cloud burst in a terrifying wave of white light.


    For a moment, everything turned white. The technique was completely silent, the only noise across the room being that of the ground cracking and the air being pushed away from the center of the blast.


    In the middle of a step, Xing Jing was drowned into the immaculate white light, as if time had suddenly slowed down. She disappeared from sight as Fu Xue tried her hardest to fight the fatigue and keep her divine sense focused on her opponent.


    But then Xing Jing, like a dragon in a storm, soared out of the white cloud, one leg first and arms to the side.


    Fu Xue cursed internally. Unbeknownst to the public, it was the first time she had ever used Peerless Skies, moreover in a bad condition after an already intense fight. Peerless Skies'' radius of effect was larger than the other techniques from the Cloud Arts arsenal, but as luck would have it, Xing Jing''s speed was just a tad above.


    "It''s my loss" Fu Xue still found the strength to sigh and cross her arms in front of her.


    Xing Jing''s ferocious kick struck her guard but encountered almost no resistance. Fu Xue was sent flying through the air in the direction of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s bench, for the third time by the same adversary.


    By the time Fu Xue lost consciousness in mid-air, both her arms were broken and the white light of Peerless Skies had receded, uncovering a forty meter diameter circle of cracked desolate ground.


    Fu Xue plummeted down and was about to crash when a person appeared and softened her landing by catching her in their arms. It was the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s next fighter, Ye Tehzu. Looking down at the collapsed body held by his arms, the young man''s eyes enlarged slightly.


    As quick as possible, he turned back on his heels to put Fu Xue to rest among the other fighters of his branch.


    "Oh crap, please don''t wake up, please don''t wake up. By the gods, why did she have to come flying this way?!" Ye Tehzu didn''t mean to catch her, it was a simple coincidence that she landed right where he was. By all means he didn''t regret not letting her crash on the ground, but knowing Fu Xue he knew he would be in big trouble if she realized she had been laying down in a man''s arms.


    "Please take care of her, and if she wakes up don''t tell her I grabbed her. And I sure didn''t touch her in any inappropriate places, okay?!!"


    Ye Tehzu left Fu Xue in the care of Rai Linxi who was in the best shape from their line-up of defeated fighters. As soon as he spoke, Rai Linxi''s eyes shone with a strange devious spark.


    "Ooooh Sister Fu is not going to like that... I don''t know how she will take the fact you went out of your way to catch her."


    "No- No I didn''t, she-"


    "Grabby hands and all that, oh she WILL be pissed, I know it."


    "Wait, that''s not at all how it-"


    Chu Erlong who was meditating on the side opened one eye to look at the pathetic scene next to her, disrupting her concentration for her upcoming turn.


    "Shut up and go fight." In one sentence, Chu Erlong stopped the commotion. If there was one person whom Ye Tehzu feared almost as much as Fu Xue, it was definitely Chu Erlong.


    Reluctantly but having no choice, Ye Tehzu returned to the Arena to join Xing Jing and Mei Yunei.


    As soon as he was out of hearing range, Chu Erlong turned to Rai Linxi, "Not bad, you really know how to encourage him."


    "Tehzu is scared shitless of Sister Fu. Right now he should be considering all the possible death he could endure at her hands when she learns that she has been touched by him. Even if he didn''t really touch her at all, obviously."


    Resting her chin on her knee, Rai Linxi smiled, "His depression should only last a few seconds though. In a short while it will turn into anger. I really hope he redirects it towards Xing Jing for sending Fu Xue his way."


    Chu Erlong looked in the distance, absent-mindedly adding "Boys really are complicated but so easy to manipulate..."


    ***


    Mei Yunei was a much better match against Xing Jing than Sui Lin. Her Ocean Needle sword flowed freely in her hand, easily catching up to the speed of Xing Jing''s martial arts.


    With every move, Mei Yunei''s hair bounced on her head, the lilac ribbon holding them dancing along her blue sword.


    Clenching her jaw at the same time as her fists, Xing Jing evaded the weapon while counterattacking with her b.a.r.e feet. With each attack the tattoos on her body discretely glowed, strengthening different muscles.


    Kzzzing!


    For the third time since the beginning of the fight, Ocean Needle slid along Xing Jing''s forearm. With furrowed eyebrows, Mei Yunei was starting to breathe a bit heavily.


    Not only did Xing Jing hold enough firepower to compare to a battering ram, she was also an expert at hand to hand combat, effortlessly redirecting her opponent''s strength instead of taking the brunt of the blows head on.


    "Piercing Heavens!"


    Mei Yunei''s teeth briefly showed a vibrant smile. Ocean Needle had just been pushed to the side. Normally she would raise her sword for the next strike, just like she had done previously.


    But having successfully baited Xing Jing, her sword was pointing towards the latter''s t.h.i.g.h when she unleashed the acceleration power of Piercing Heavens.


    Ocean Needle''s tip shot towards its target at an alarming pace. The light blue blade was very thin and much faster than a typical sword.


    Understanding the danger she was in, Xing Jing braced herself and brought her arm back along her body during a side-step, effectively trapping the path of the blade between her arm and her t.h.i.g.h.


    With the added power of the Star-Sword Canon''s second form, there was no stopping Ocean Needle by just parrying it like before.


    Instead Xing Jing steadied her heart and ignored the pain. Sharing the burden of Ocean Needle''s acceleration between her leg and her arm, she avoided any important injury to either one, instead opting for two deep lacerations that didn''t touch any vital veins or arteries.


    Successfully stopping the sword''s momentum, Xing Jing grabbed the needle-like blade with her hands before Mei Yunei could react.


    If she manages to successfully yank the sword away from her, Mei Yunei would instantly turn from a dragon to a chicken in a fight. No matter how strong and adept with a sword she was, she was done as soon as her hands were empty.


    Mei Yunei''s eyes flashed with a lot of bizarre emotions, understanding the tall girl''s plan. Xing Jing had decided to take her sword right after Piercing Heavens as well, right as her control briefly relaxed due to the Shinsoo she had just burned.


    But one thing Xing Jing, in the heat of the moment, had not accounted for, was that the Cross Branch Arena was not a duel fight. It was an all out brawl between three Pavilions. And Xing Jing had not felt Ye Tehzu''s divine sense approach.


    "Cloud Arts, first form enhanced: Cold Smoke Lightning!"

 Chapter 85 - Mei Yuneis Ocean Piercing Thread

    Ye Tehzu let out a powerful technique from the get go.


    As soon as he was within fighting range, Cold Smoke mist darts shot out towards the two girls. Wrapped around each incapacitating snake was a light purple bolt of condensed lightning.


    Hearing the technique being unleashed, Xing Jing turned around rapidly.


    For the event that was the Cross Branch Arena, she naturally had prepared against Cold Smoke. It was the most basic attack from the Cloud Arts taught at the Cloud-Formation Pavilion after all.


    But Ye Tehzu''s version was much different from what she had prepared against.


    The bizarre electrified attacks shot straight at her. She wanted to evade but the pain in her t.h.i.g.h from Mei Yunei''s Piercing Heavens forbade any swift movement like before.


    Despite her injury, Xing Jing managed to avoid most of the snakes but three of them.


    She fell to the ground, tethering on the verge of unconsciousness as the purple lightning entered her body, her muscles altering between numbing pain from the Cloud Arts first form and devastating electricity.


    Blood was gushing out of her gritted teeth as she held onto her fighting will.


    "You''re going to regret forcing me to hold Fu Xue in my arms," Ye Tehzu mumbled right before condensing more Shinsoo for a second attack, "Blast Arrow!"


    "Ocean Piercing Thread!"


    Due to Xing Jing having to force herself to deal with the boy''s previous barrage of attacks, she had unwantedly let go of Ocean Needle, allowing Mei Yunei to get back her blade and her control over it.


    Mei Yunei had swiftly cut through the remaining Cold Smoke snakes, those that were targeted at her and not at Xing Jing.


    Now that the latter was on the floor, her priority was stopping Ye Tezhu. She was clear on the danger that Xing Jing represented but she also knew that her arsenal of techniques was not adapted to fighting multiple opponents at the same time.


    Unlike Ye Tehzu who she knew had a lot of large range techniques.


    And one of them was Blast Arrow.


    From Ye Tehzu''s right hand, a parchment talisman burst into flames, birthing a large bolt of purple lightning in the shape of an arrow, at the same time as Ocean Needle started to extend like a wire.


    "Turning a needle into a thread... This attack is very dangerous" Ye Tehzu could feel the powerful fluctuations coming from the blade in Mei Yunei''s hand.


    The latter''s eyes burned with a cunning flame, as if she already knew her attack had connected perfectly without having fully unleashed it yet.


    Without feeling the condensed Shinsoo that wrapped the needle blade, Xing Jing was much more focused on the bright arrow shooting out from Ye Tehzu''s side. She knew it was a large range attack, which could only mean one thing.


    As she was getting up, forcefully enduring the pain of lightning in her body, there was only one option remaining in Xing Jing''s mind. She had to go towards him in order to evade his Blast Arrow.


    Mei Yunei breathed out calmly. Xing Jing was pushing herself off the ground and started running towards her opponent. The purple Blast Arrow was flying towards them both.


    Mei Yunei blinked, her heart and dantian calm like the summer sea. All of it didn''t matter.


    She was the fastest in the Star-Sword Pavilion. In comparison to her Ocean Piercing Thread, her opponents attacks were slower than turtles while she herself was flying like a sparrow overhead.


    When Mei Yunei opened her eyes, time had slowed down considerably. In exchange for a large portion of her Shinsoo, she had the ability to enhance her technique''s speed, giving her a few seconds more.


    Ocean Needle''s blade shot forward, its speed surpassing that of a third step Liquid Realm practitioner by far.


    The wire-like weapon went straight towards the purple arrow, piercing it along its length, its accuracy terrifying. Continuing to push forward, Mei Yunei''s Ocean Piercing Thread turned sharply, directed at Ye Tehzu.


    In the fraction of a second, the boy''s arms were both pierced by the wire.


    "One more second. Just one!" Mei Yunei concentrated harder, forcing the wire-like blade to undertake another sharp turn, this time revolving around Ye Tehzu to pierce his side.


    Her grip still tight around Ocean Needle''s carved handle, Mei Yunei ignored the progressive blur taking over her vision.


    The tip of her attack was only a few centimeters away from Xing Jing''s abdomen.


    Sending even more Shinsoo from her hand into her weapon, Mei Yunei emptied her dantian. Without a sound, the black needle tip went through Xing Jing without encountering much resistance.


    Mei Yunei didn''t even see the end of the wire come out of her opponent. Her vision had turned dark and her consciousness was drifting away.


    "Heh, I couldn''t even accurately target the right organs. But I''m still the fastest..."


    From Mei Yunei''s reality defying point of view, three seconds had passed but on the outside of her pseudo-domain, it was only a blink.


    She went from standing up calmly with a sword in her hand to falling unconscious in the briefest of times, all the while unnoticed by both her opponents.


    The first reaction from Ocean Piercing Thread came from the Blast Arrow which had been touched first. The insanely condensed Shinsoo from Mei Yunei''s attack had gone through its middle, forcefully destroying the large range technique.


    A rain of purple lightning exploded from the arrow in all directions.


    They had not even realized what had happened yet, but holes were in their bodies.


    Ye Tehzu''s last thoughts were that his heart had been missed by only a few centimeters.


    Xing Jing who had just endured Ye Tehzu''s Cold Smoke Lightning at point blank range was even worse than him. Her organs were already burnt and mangled from the inside when Ocean Piercing Thread took her out.


    She didn''t realize she was already unconscious.


    In the time it takes to blink, all three fighters went from attacking to losing consciousness with heavy injuries. Such was Mei Yunei''s reality defying pseudo-domain, Ocean Piercing Thread.


    "Breaker, could you-"


    "Sure, the girl is yours. Please take good care of her" Master Breaker already knew what the woman in charge of the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion wanted.


    Patriarch Sen calmly stroked his beard as the crowd went wild behind the rows of Elders, "How unexpected. A three-way tie. That girl from the Star-Sword branch sure took them by surprise."


    Rising from his seat, his voice carried over the entire Underground Arena.


    "All three Pavilions will now send their next fighters."


    The whispers among the crowd revealed that almost nobody had understood what had really happened in the arena. Mei Yunei''s strike was simply too strange and unpredictable.


    "Big Sister Xing lost?!"


    "Mei Yunei fell down just like that... Did she use some kind of special suicidal technique?"


    The excitation of watching their peers fight was at an apex. Some disciples were in the midst of realizing the difference there was between them and the chosen fighters, the top of their respective pavilions.


    Some other disciples were highly motivated or inspired by the high level of techniques displayed.


    In any case, everybody was watching intently, not wanting to blink in case they missed even the slightest move that could decide the issue of a fight.


    After the surprise of Ocean Piercing Thread, all three pavilions suddenly lost one fighter. At this point, the Light-Breaker branch and the Cloud-Formation branch both were down to their sixth and last fighters while the Star-Sword Pavilion held the advantage.


    The only hope of winning for the other Pavilions was to beat, in succession, Mua Lin and Bai Fulong.


    Not many people had ever seen the latter fight, but almost everybody had heard about his instant victory over Mua Jin who was still in recovery since then.


    Taking her down would already be quite a feat, and who could hope to do so but the Cloud-Formation Pavilion''s last fighter, ranked second.


    Chu Erlong was walking towards the center of the arena, looking at Mua Lin and Sei Shian in the distance.


    "How could we have messed up so bad?!" she felt enraged, "It''s already my turn but Shin Sumi still hasn''t shown her face."


    Gauging her opponents from afar, Chu Erlong bit her lower lip. She was proud and lofty but she knew how to evaluate her own strength accurately. Whenever she bragged about her capabilities, it was more often than not because she knew herself to be superior.


    "Mua Lin is trouble, but Sei Shian... doesn''t seem like much, and yet I''ve been warned about him. I have to be careful this time around."


    Sei Shian walked with his eyes closed. He looked in his late teen years and had long black hair freely flowing down his shoulders, contrasting with his light blue daoist robes.


    With his hands tucked in his sleeves, he didn''t look anything like the other members of the Light-Breaker Pavilion, being slimmer than even Li Wei.


    To be one of the best practitioners in the Light-Breaker branch without having the same imposing build as the others, one could naturally expect him to have some sort of special technique.


    All three fighters, Mua Lin, Chu Erlong and Sei Shian were simply walking. It seemed at first that none of them were willing to take the first opportunity to attack.


    Since the beginning of the Cross Branch Arena it was the first time all three fighters entered the fight at the same time. Depending on the timing of their attack, being the first to step forward could either turn into a large advantage or a grave mistake.


    It was Mua Lin who gained speed first. Her sword, Despairing Blossom, was already in her hand as she ran straight towards Chu Erlong.


    Mua Lin powered up her sword by pouring Shinsoo into it. She didn''t need to use a fancy technique for her first attack but she still needed an attack strong enough to force the girl from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion to be in a defensive position.


    Such was the style of the Star-Sword Pavillion. A highly offensive style. To send a barrage of attacks with a lot of power.


    The Star-Sword Pavilion teachings never focused too much on defensive stances. With the absolute techniques of their weapons, they aimed to overpower any defense and to defend with attacks.


    The Cloud-Formation Pavilion had a different approach, more versatile. Spirit formations formed an array of techniques that covered a large capability in terms of range and power.


    Lastly, the Light-Breaker Pavilion was on the opposite of the scale. Due to the nature of physical body cultivation, the innate properties of the Light-Breaker branch turned the disciples into heavy shields capable of deflecting a lot of attacks. Their body strength was above anyone else''s, making them experts of close range combat and ensuring victory if their opponent was disarmed.


    Faced with Mua Lin''s rapidly approaching attack, Chu Erlong stopped in her tracks. She knew she had to keep her as far away as possible.


    Slapping her bag of holding, Chu Erlong produced a couple of flying swords adorned with old paper talismans. She sent them flying in succession towards Mua Lin before starting an incantation with her hands, manipulating Shinsoo at high speeds.


    Mua Lin snorted. She could see the talismans on the flying swords. Obviously they were not simple low grade weapons. Holding the Shinsoo condensed in Despairing Blossom, she swiped at the incoming weapons with her sword.


    As soon as the tip of her sword hit the flying weapons, the parchemins burst into heavy explosions, sending a cloud of fire in all directions.


    Still a few steps away from the other two, Sei Shian opened his eyes, the two explosions of fire reflecting on his pupils and the teeth uncovered by a slight smile.


    Mua Lin on the other hand wasn''t smiling.


    "A magical explosion. Its range isn''t strong enough to hit but it is large enough to block my divine sense by displacing the Shinsoo in the air. This was never intended to hit me, she''s using the explosions as a shield" Mua Lin immediately understood. The next instant she hit the ground with her foot, turning sharply into another direction rather than straight ahead.


    In the exact place she had stood in before, a dozen of cloud snakes pierced the wall of fire with insane speed. Had Mua Lin not evaded quickly as soon as she understood the goal of the exploding parchemins, she would have been hit dead on by the Cloud Arts first form, Cold Smoke.


    The cunning and unpredictable Chu Erlong, matching power and impeccable strategies. She had rightfully earned her place as number two of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion.


    Standing there, lit by her ongoing flames, she looked like a goddess of some sort as she prepared her next step. Mua Lin might have avoided her Cold Smoke, but she was now much closer to Sei Shian than to her.


    "In a three-way fight, I must avoid being surrounded at all costs" she thought, "It would be optimal if they spent some time exchanging blows between them, leaving me enough time for Peerless Skies."


    Nevertheless Chu Erlong''s calculating mind was not the type to bet on a chance occurrence. Peerless Skies needed time to be unleashed and Mua Lin would never let that happen.


    As Mua Lin slid to the side to avoid Cold Smoke, she found herself drawn closer to Sei Shian who had accelerated at the same time.


    Gritting her teeth, Mua Lin could feel the Shinsoo being manipulated by the young man.


    Despairing Blossom slashed towards him from the side as his two palms were pushed forward.


    "Chu Erlong''s explosions are nothing compared to mine" Sei Shian mumbled.


    Despairing Blossom''s cutting strength was at it peak, enhanced by Mua Lin''s Shinsoo, when it hit one of Sei Shian''s hands. His palm suddenly burst forth a dense explosion, shattering all of Despairing Blossom''s might and shoving it away.


    Completely taken by surprise by the man''s technique, Mua Lin''s wrist became numb as she held her sword in front of her. Sei Shian had only used one hand and the other one was coming for her.


    "Exploding Palm!"


    Sei Shian''s other hand exploded, pushing Mua Lin back a few steps even though she wasn''t directly injured by it.


    "This is Sei Shian''s body cultivation technique. No wonder he doesn''t have the same build as the other from his Pavilion. All of his Shinsoo is concentrated on his skin instead of his muscles and he has the ability to detonate it at will..."


    Chu Erlong thought deeply but quickly. Now that she knew more about the mysterious fighter, she had to reevaluate her plan of action.


    "This is the worst match-up I could have gotten" she felt a bit depressed, "and yet, I think I''m going to have a lot of fun today! Let''s see how big of an explosion you can make at once, Sei Shian."


    Cupping her hands together, Chu Erlong breathed a bit of Shinsoo into an ethereal ball forming out of thin air.


    "Burning Moon!"


    The spherical spirit formation floated rapidly out of her hand towards Sei Shian.


    Still calm and composed, Sei Shian''s limbs were moving as freely as water, each contact with Mua Lin''s blade bringing forth intense Shinsoo explosions.


    From his fighting style, it was clear that Sei Shian wasn''t on par with Xing Jing when it came to martial arts but he was definitely an expert nonetheless. For Mua Lin who didn''t have the velocity and swiftness of Mei Yunei, attacking and defending at the same time was becoming more and more difficult.


    The petite girl dressed in pink robes glanced over to Chu Erlong. She had seen her prepare her Burning Moon. Without knowing what the specific technique was, she hoped that it would at least change the rhythm of the fight.


    In a quick change of pace, Mua Lin bolted for Chu Erlong right as the Burning Moon sped the opposite way. With no changes to the black ethereal Shinsoo ball''s direction, she accurately deducted its target to be Sei Shian.


    The young man had reacted a bit too late to Mua Lin''s quick diversion to notice Chu Erlong''s discrete technique.


    Gritting his teeth and using all the speed and flexibility he could muster, Sei Shian still let out a kick towards Mua Lin''s back leg.


    His shin exploded against Mua Lin''s, her leg caught in the blast, forcing her to the ground in a painful rolling manner.


    Forcing herself to her feet without losing more momentum, Mua Lin held Despairing Blossom over her head, its tip shining with golden yellow light.


    At the same time, both Cleaving Meteor and Burning Moon reached the last step of their preparative states.


    Chu Erlong''s technique collapsed on itself and black light spikes pierced the air all around it. Sei Shian crossed both his arms releasing his most intense explosion so far to counter the deadly looking burning black spikes.


    A few meters away from him, Despairing Blossom was descending rapidly on Chu Erlong. Cleaving Meteor was not as fast as Piercing Heavens but it had the advantage of a higher range of effect, unleashing the cleaving might for up to five meters instead of being limited by the weapon''s length.


    Chu Erlong slapped her bag of holding to produce a protective formation, activating it on her left side, the side targeted by the yellow light.


    Mua Lin was using all her strength in this simple strike that, in theory, was nearly impossible to miss and yet she suddenly lost her balance, the energy in her leg having been drained away by Sei Shian''s desperate attack on her shin.


    Closing one eye with pain, Mua Lin twisted her finger at the last second, trying to compensate for her lack of balance as Cleaving Meteor was cutting the air in two.


    It was a very miniscule and sudden change, but one that had not escaped Chu Erlong''s eyes, at the peak of her concentration in battle.


    "The blade is off target! It is not my left side that needs protecting but there is no time... I will have to use ''that''!"


    Chu Erlong''s sixteen Shinsoo Passageways suddenly opened at the same time, bringing out a flow of Shinsoo ten times more intense than before.


    "Black Cloud Sun!"

 Chapter 86 - Exploding Palm, Dance of the Flowers and Black Cloud Sun

    As soon as Chu Erlong produced her pseudo-domain, a large black cloud formed around her instantly. The only reason she used it was because it was the fastest and most efficient protection she could muster to stop Cleaving Meteor from hurting her.


    The Black Cloud Sun flickered with black light. It was large enough to cover her entirely but was still kept within a short radius of her person.


    Mua Lin''s attack rammed into the cloud, a yellow trail following the cleaving motion.


    Chu Erlong''s face was pale, due to the Shinsoo she had to consume for her pseudo-domain barrier but it didn''t stop her from smiling sincerely.


    As soon as the Star-Sword Canon''s first form had touched the ethereal cloud, its yellow light turned black, the dark gleam running along the light trail. In a short enough time, the black light had devoured all the yellow, consuming Mua Lin''s energy with it.


    Chu Erlong refrained from spitting a mouthful of blood, focused on her technique.


    Black Cloud Sun was a bit similar to Sei Shian''s Exploding Palm in the sense that she was burning her Shinsoo with that technique. And by seamlessly mixing her own with the Shinsoo from incoming attacks, the latter was consumed as well, rendering the attack ineffective.


    But unlike Sei Shian, whose technique consumed energy whenever he deliberately chose to, Chu Erlong''s Black Cloud Sun consumed her energy for as long as she maintained her domain.


    What it meant was that whether she was attacked or not, her Shinsoo levels were dwindling at a quick pace.


    She had had no choice in using her pseudo-domain, now all Chu Erlong could hope for was for Mua Lin to keep attacking uselessly and drain her own dantian as well.


    Seeing her attack be completely nullified by Black Cloud Sun, Mua Lin took a split second to assess her situation.


    With her divine sense, the girl in the pink dress probed the young man who was still somewhere behind her. She had seen and felt a really large and intense explosion when Chu Erlong''s previous attack had hit him but she needed to know if he was coming after them or not.


    Burning Moon''s black spikes had shot straight for him upon release, forcing him to detonate his arms in protection. What he had not anticipated was that rather than simply piercing him and causing physical damage, the black spikes had suddenly coiled around his limbs.


    Burning Moon, as the name implied, was burning his limbs slowly but devastatingly. Because he didn''t know how long the technique would last, Sei Shian hadn''t wanted to use his Shinsoo to shield himself and stop the burning.


    Instead, as Mua Lin and Chu Erlong were fighting on the other side of the arena, he was concentrating on gathering Shinsoo in every arm and leg of his, to detonate and take down Burning Moon with a bang.


    Sei Shian was literally a bomb that risked exploding at any time. Mua Lin was not willing to attack him, seeing as he was stuck in place and the feeling in her leg still instinctively holding her from getting closer and getting caught in an explosion again.


    "Chu Erlong is stuck in place too, but there has to be a limit to what her Black Cloud Sun can take," she thought to herself.


    "Both my adversaries are forced to remain immobile. It''s a pity I can''t target you both, but Sei Shian doesn''t have to worry for now. You, Chu Erlong, on the other hand, you will have the chance to taste my favorite technique. It usually takes too long to use in combat, so thank you for incapacitating the both of you."


    As she was speaking to Chu Erlong''s silhouette inside the flickering black cloud, Mua Lin was clearly circulating her Shinsoo. In fact, the cycles her energy was following inside her body were so intense and violent that even the other fighters watching from their corners could feel the flow of energy being distorted.


    Whatever Mua Lin''s ''favorite technique'' may be, it was bound to be powerful.


    In the Star-Sword Pavilion''s corner, Sui Lin was watching silently, surely having mixed feelings. It wasn''t a month ago when she had battled Mua Lin and she herself had been surprised by the strength that such a petite girl could release.


    Mua Lin''s fighting stance was changing with each cycle of Shinsoo. Like a dance, her steps moved in a bizarre fashion and Despairing Blossom twirled in the air. The body of the blade had grown thorns, and a bud-like bubble was blooming at its tip.


    Just like when she faced Sui Lin, Mua Lin''s sword was turning into a metal flower, as beautiful as it was deadly.


    Chu Erlong was silent, ready for action but still waiting patiently. She had utter confidence in her Black Cloud Sun, as long as she could keep releasing it. Now it was simply a matter of how long and intense Mua Lin''s attack would be.


    "Dance of the Flowers, Rainbow Thorns!"


    Metal thorns flew off of Despairing Blossom with each swing of Mua Lin''s arms. With a simple wave, it was like a dozen tiny flying swords with highly condensed Shinsoo, all sent towards a single enemy, Chu Erlong.


    Contrarily to Sunlight Petals, the other technique from Mua Lin''s Dance of the Flowers, which was a large burst of Shinsoo, Rainbow Thorns could be stopped at any time. As she kept attacking, the demand in Shinsoo on her part increased and the rate at which the thorns flew out accelerated.


    Sunlight Petals was ultimately stronger, but Rainbow Thorns was perfect for the situation.


    Concentrating on maintaining her barrier in place, Chu Erlong could not attack and was forced in a defensive position.


    For almost half of a sixty second cycle, all three fighters in the Arena were stuck in place. Sei Shian still had yet to get rid of Burning Moon and the two girls were locked by each other.


    Would Chu Erlong''s pseudo-domain crack before Mua Lin stopped her neverending barrage of flying thorns?


    Angered and powerless, Chu Erlong was draining her Shinsoo levels at a pace that could only be described as fast.


    "How deep does her reserve go?! I don''t have enough strength remaining to use Peerless Skies anymore and I can''t take on Rainbow Thorns without Black Cloud Sun!"


    Despite her many attempts at calculating her options, only one remained thus far.


    With a snap of her fingers, Chu Erlong cut the link between her divine sense and Burning Moon. The dark spikes tangling Sei Shian instantly dissolved into the air, suddenly releasing him from his trapped fate.


    Suddenly free, Sei Shian roared at the top of his lungs.


    He was enraged. He had been trapped so easily by Chu Erlong''s discrete attack that his shame had gone through the roof. And most of all, he had remained trapped for almost a minute, which was insanely long for a fight between cultivators, and not even once had his opponents tried to attack him.


    They had simply disregarded him and turned on each other.


    What lack of respect was that?!


    Of course Sei Shian didn''t have the same insights as Mua Lin, whose actions made complete sense from a strategic stand-point, nevertheless his anger was real.


    After the impressive roar coming from the young man, Mua Lin had understood what had happened. Chu Erlong was still hidden behind her domain and her attack had seemingly done nothing to it, each thorn she sent having been burned by black light.


    It wasn''t really true, as the walls of Black Cloud Sun fluctuated more intensely than before, showing that it was on the verge of collapsing, but it escaped Mua Lin''s vision.


    Sei Shian was coming behind her, so Mua Lin stopped her Dance of Flowers and turned around, Despairing Blossom now looking like a normal blade again, not as pretty but still deadly.


    All four of Sei Shian''s limbs were full to the brim with dangerous unstable Shinsoo, ready to burst as soon as he gave the command. Faint Shinsoo wisps were already leaking from the skin of his hands, burning as soon as they left his body and making him look like he was made of fire.


    "If he touches me even once, this is going to be the worst fireworks ever. One hit and I''m dead" Mua Lin understood how potent Sei Shian''s technique could become.


    She also knew the assembly of over thirty Elders, five Pavilion Masters and the Patriarch would not let somebody die during the Cross Branch Arena, but she wasn''t willing to try her luck.


    "Cleaving Meteor!"


    Giving it her all, Mua Lin opted for a middle ranged attack. Letting Sei Shian get close to her was not a good idea.


    The yellow sword tip flashed forwards, cutting the air in two and for a split second, Mua Lin thought she had definitely stopped Sei Shian.


    Unfortunately, the young man completely disregarded the strike, detonating his left hand, the force of his explosion overpowering Cleaving Meteor''s momentum.


    The blast was so strong that Mua Lin was forced backwards a step even though Sei Shian was still quite far away. Lifting her sleeve over her eyes, a wave of air hotter than Hell itself washed over her.


    She had been wrong about Cleaving Meteor stopping Sei Shian, but she was certainly right about the fireworks and the aftermath of being hit directly by him.


    "Tch. I have condensed so much Shinsoo that I couldn''t control the power output of my Exploding Palm," Sei Shian realized. Without his knowledge, he had gone above his usual limit," It doesn''t matter, I still have one hand and two feet to explode them both to smithereens."


    Sei Shian immediately jumped into action again, not willing to let Mua Lin breathe free for a second.


    As strong as his explosions were, Mua Lin''s sword techniques were still absolutely deadly, should they hit properly.


    Sei Shian first used the fist he already exploded to attack. Because Mua Lin was not expecting it, her defense was thrown out of rhythm. She scrambled to put her weapon up.


    It was this moment Sei Shian stopped his fist and turned on his heel. Instead of punching straight out, he kicked below Despairing Blossom, taking Mua Lin by surprise.


    His diversion was the simplest he could have used and yet in the speed of the moment there was nothing Mua Lin could do.


    Her hip took the exploding heel directly. The noise made by the blast of the explosion turned into a painful ringing in her ears, drowning out even the sound of her hip-bone breaking.


    "That''s one down" Sei Shian calmly stated, slowly bringing his kicking leg back to the ground and turning to Chu Erlong''s Black Cloud Sun.


    "Mua Lin was the second to last fighter for the Star-Sword Pavilion. I don''t know much about that Bai Fulong guy, but Mua Lin was the number two of their ranking for the longest time. There is no way he is stronger so I should first focus on Chu Erlong."


    Sei Shian''s plan made complete sense. From his understanding, Chu Erlong still posed the biggest threat. Especially considering her bothersome protective barrier, which even Mua Lin''s Dance of the Flowers had not broken through.


    "Two large explosions left, and probably a few normal ones" Sei Shian probed his energy levels before running straight towards Chu Erlong.


    Despite forcing himself to remain calm, Sei Shian definitely had a grudge against Chu Erlong he didn''t have against Mua Lin. It was the girl from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion who had badly hurt him and trapped him within Burning Moon.


    Or maybe he should thank her for forcing him to condense his most powerful set of explosions. She had brought about her own downfall.


    "Tch. Sei Shian, do you think I''m like you and have only one trick that I use over and over?"


    Chu Erlong was definitely not giving up now. Unfortunately for her, she couldn''t sustain her protective pseudo-domain for any longer. The energy consumption of Black Cloud Sun was too high.


    She had to defeat Sei Shian another way. Now that Mua Lin was out for good, the end of the Cross Branch Arena was in sight. All that remained was beating Sei Shian and then have her revenge against Shin Sumi as Bai Fulong.


    Shin Sumi was currently leaving the Star-Sword Pavilion''s corner, getting closer to the center of the arena at medium speed. In her hand, Sky Deception had just appeared.


    Even as her eyes focused on Bai Fulong in the distance, Chu Erlong prepared her attack against Sei Shian.


    The young man was about to thrust his fist when the dark cloudy barrier disappeared, revealing Chu Erlong crouching on the ground.


    "Cloud Arts second form: King''s Tomb!"


    Because Black Cloud Sun obscured the inside of the barrier, Chu Erlong had used the last instants of her domain to unleash the second technique of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion.


    Her timing wasn''t exactly perfect. She had hoped that King''s Tomb''s hiding properties would spring up before her presence was revealed. However it didn''t matter that much.


    Sei Shian was already in range. He couldn''t evade the deadly condensed spikes springing up under his feet.


    His only option was to confront the attack with an attack of his own.


    Chu Erlong was very calculating, her clever mind coming up with strategies as the situation progressed, whereas Sei Shian didn''t like to bother with such tactics.


    With a sadistic smile, Sei Shian jumped up and lifted his legs, simply kicking hard on the way down.


    A large explosion engulfed him, dispersing most of the cloud spikes and sending a blast of burning hot air towards Chu Erlong.


    She had called him a one trick pony, and Sei Shian sure had answered with his single trick.


    Chu Erlong wasn''t willing to believe that her attack had been thwarted just like that. She had never seen King''s Tomb being so ineffective.


    "Maybe I didn''t have enough Shinsoo left and my attack wasn''t perfectly executed" she instantly thought before correcting herself, "Could it be that Sei Shian''s explosions can burn other people''s Shinsoo as well and not simply his own?!"


    The young man from the Light-Breaker Pavilion himself didn''t know. He didn''t need to know, his punches and kicks, the beautiful fire flowers blossoming from his unique technique, that was what he knew and loved.


    Chu Erlong retreated two steps and clapped her hand together loudly.


    A ring of fire sprang up out of thin air in front of her, centered on Sei Shian.


    The ring quickly squeezed like a belt around Sei Shian''s slim body. The technique wasn''t really powerful and contained many flaws. Chu Erlong probably had picked it up from a scroll somewhere. But nevermind its origin, it was useful in a fight because it stalled Sei Shian for a moment and it didn''t take any time to prepare.


    Sei Shian''s smile never wavered. He stopped his momentum as the fire belt approached and slapped his sides with his hands.


    "Palm Reinforcement!"


    Unbelievably, Sei Shian didn''t produce any explosions this time. Instead he used the technique first demonstrated by Li Wei against Xiao Yue.


    With his reinforced skin, the ring of fire simply didn''t have enough power to do any damage to him.


    "Don''t look surprised, Chu Erlong, you''re the one who said I only had one attack. Because I prefer the beauty of explosions doesn''t mean I can''t use other attacks. I''m from the Light-Breaker Pavilion, so of course I can use most of the basic techniques we learn there."


    Sei Shian hadn''t spoken out loud but his cunning smile and the light in his eyes conveyed his message perfectly.


    Chu Erlong realized suddenly, as the ring of fire didn''t stop her opponent for a single second, that Sei Shian was in fact a lot more complex than she had judged him to be.


    He wasn''t simply exploding everything he touched, he was also calculating the outcome of the fight a few moves in advance, as proven by his split-second decision to reinforce his body and keep more explosions up his sleeves for later.


    "There''s no escaping now, and your energy should be low enough" Sei Shian once more pressed Chu Erlong into a defensive stance.


    Sei Shian was already lifting his fist, about to release a normal explosion, followed up by the massive Shinsoo burst from his other hand.


    Chu Erlong''s pupils suddenly dilated, not because of the upcoming exploding power, but because of a dark grey blur spinning its way towards them both.


    Sky Deception had been thrown by Shin Sumi from right outside of the battling disciples'' range of divine sense, making its way to them in the blink of an eye.


    The moment the spinning sword entered Sei Shian''s perception, the young man had no other choice but to turn and unleash his fist to try and block it.


    Sky Deception''s tough metal collided with Sei Shian''s energy burst, Chu Erlong using this moment of freedom to get away from him and steady her energy levels.


    Calling to her sword in much the same way she had learned to do with the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, Shin Sumi lifted her left hand and caught the sword handle.


    "Ah! You''re finally there, the last guy before my Light-Breaker Pavilion wins the Cross Branch Arena!"


    Sei Shian was taunting Bai Fulong, half in order to see how he would react and half because his confidence told him the newcomer wasn''t as strong as Mua Lin.


    Just like for any new fighter entering the arena, the crowd either cheered Bai Fulong or booed him, depending on which Pavilion they came from.


    Only a few disciples here and there were completely silent. Would an observer have had the time to see exactly who was silent, they would have recognized all the quiet watchers to have been present the day Bai Fulong intervened against Mua Jin on the behalf of Sui Lin.


    "I''m sorry but I don''t think I''m going to lose here..." Shin Sumi quietly said, readying her stance and facing both Sei Shian and Chu Erlong.

 Chapter 87 - Shin Sumi Steps In To Fight

    Shin Sumi taunted Sei Shian back. She had never wanted any attention drawn to herself, but in this case it was unavoidable.


    She was the last fighter to enter the arena, after fifteen other talented young men and women who had all stated their victory with confidence, even when they lost seconds after.


    To remain quiet and not show the same self pride as the others would probably have the opposite effect of drawing the attention to her even more.


    "The both of you are exhausted already and your half-baked explosions wouldn''t even be enough to topple over a chicken."


    Sei Shian laughed out loud, holding his belly as if he had just heard the world''s most fantastic joke. After a few seconds of intense laughter, he pretended to wipe a tear of his eye before talking in a serious manner.


    "Don''t push your luck, now. Arrogance is fine only when you have the power to back it up."


    Sei Shian sped up towards Bai Fulong who was still almost a hundred steps away. Chu Erlong was gathering Shinsoo on her side, her mind alternating between excitation and depressive thoughts.


    The girl from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion knew that out of the three of them she was obviously in the worst state. She had been forced by Mua Lin to use her pseudo-domain, draining most of her energy.


    She had definitely not expected Sei Shian to be such a good fighter and to give her this much trouble. If she wished so, Chu Erlong knew she could probably beat Sei Shian, but then she would definitely get trampled by Shin Sumi.


    Her mind soon came to a conclusion while she was watching Sei Shian approach Bai Fulong.


    "Even if I can''t win myself, I''ll do everything in my power to stop that freak Shin Sumi from winning."


    The hatred she had for Shin Sumi had roots that were planted deep into her heart from even before the Rising Star Tournament. As herself, Shin Sumi had escaped her in the lower valley. As Bai Fulong she had ridiculed her in the determining fight of the Rising Star Tournament. As Yan Yan she had even taunted her in her own Cloud-Formation Pavilion.


    Faced with the choice between helping Sei Shian and conceding the win to Shin Sumi, there was no hesitation on her part.


    Shin Sumi frowned lightly when she saw Sei Shian approaching.


    "That''s not good, I don''t want to take the fight over here."


    Sei Shian was fast, but Shin Sumi was faster. She started running too, trying to meet him as close to the center of the arena as possible.


    In less than three seconds, the distance between them disappeared. Sei Shian''s martial arts stance was ready for any kind of counter attack the moment he had seen the yellow light forming at the tip of the raised Sky Deception.


    "Cleaving Meteor!"


    "Tch, too slow!" Sei Shian didn''t bother blocking the Shinsoo enhanced strike. "Mua Lin''s version was much faster" he thought as he easily stepped to the side and out of Cleaving Meteor''s path.


    Bai Fulong lips turned into a sly and cunning smile.


    Halfway down to the ground, Cleaving Meteor suddenly stopped. Bai Fulong''s face went pale for a brief moment as the backlash for stopping a Shinsoo technique had momentarily reversed his flow of energy.


    It was the price to pay for interrupting a technique but in Shin Sumi''s case it was worth it. With the incredibly deep resources she had, especially considering she had just entered the fight, one Cleaving Meteor''s worth of Shinsoo wasn''t much.


    Sky Deception had not yet completely stopped when Shin Sumi''s powerful legs kicked the ground and she picked up speed. In the fraction of second she had become ten times as fast as she was previously, starting to close the distance between her and Chu Erlong and leaving Sei Shian behind, stunned by surprise.


    From the speed at which she had entered the arena, who could have guessed that she would be capable of a much quicker pace?


    Chu Erlong was only halfway through the preparations for Burning Moon. She, too, had been taken by surprise by Bai Fulong''s move.


    F.o.r.c.i.b.l.y interrupting her spell, she took out a large pole that seemed to be made out of wax and planted it on the ground as Sky Deception swiped at her.


    There was no doubt about the origin of the wax pole. It was a gift from her dual cultivation partner Jun Qian, only she had not expected to use it so soon. The pole now activated by her Shinsoo extended into a great shield, blocking Shin Sumi''s first blow.


    The shield made cracking noises but held strong.


    Second sword strike.


    Bai Fulong wasn''t even using fancy techniques, but the sheer force of the attacks was making the shield crack more and more.


    Third sword strike.


    Fourth sword strike.


    The wax shield exploded into a hundred pieces. In the meantime Chu Erlong had managed to squeeze her last few drops of Shinsoo, releasing a weakened version of Cold Smoke at Shin Sumi.


    Of course, as she knew, Shin Sumi herself had mastered the same technique and its weak points. Not even a single snake cloud hit its target.


    Expecting a last defence to spring up from the resourceful Chu Erlong, Bai Fulong lifted and swung Sky Deception one more time. Chu Erlong closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her in a last attempt to protect herself.


    Seeing how she had become powerless, Shin Sumi twisted her wrist at the last moment, diverting the cutting edge of the sword away and hitting with the flat part of the blade instead.


    WHACK!


    Even without cutting power, Sky Deception slammed into Chu Erlong''s arms with power. The girl from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was sent flying backwards a few meters before hitting the ground pitifully.


    "This definitely won''t improve my relationship with Chu Erlong" Shin Sumi thought as she saw the drained girl m.o.a.ning in pain, her consciousness barely present anymore.


    "How humiliating... Chu Erlong was basically slapped into losing the fight" a disciple mumbled to another in the crowd.


    "The Star-Sword Pavilion is using a brand new fighter but Chu Erlong has already dealt with Mua Lin AND Sei Shian, the outcome isn''t that surprising..."


    "Still, how could a nobody beat Big Sister Chu?"


    "You haven''t heard about this ''nobody''? Where were you during Mua Lin and Sui Lin''s fight at the Third Star Arena?! Let me tell you, when the fight ended-"


    Different rumors and opinions were slowly spreading among the crowd. Shin Sumi was oblivious to it, given her stance as a fighter with ears far away from them, but she would have been quite pleased with the way the conversations turned out.


    Many disciples relied heavily on the fact that Bai Fulong has only inherited the lucky position of the fighting order. Only a handful of them believed in his strength being key in this fight.


    Patriarch Sen''s deep eyes contained a small sparkle as he couldn''t help but overhear some of the conversations.


    "Brilliant. Remarkable but not extraordinary. As any Ghost should be" he then discretely picked up a small piece of jade and sent his divine sense into it, "Wudao, prepare your quarters. The fight will be over in a few minutes and she is ready."


    Shin Sumi was breathing with some heaviness. She wasn''t tired at all but figured it would be a good practice to seem more exhausted, having swung her sword a few times.


    She turned around to face Sei Shian, who was still quite a few steps away. She had taken him by surprise and dealt with Chu Erlong in only a few seconds.


    The young man from the Light-Breaker Pavilion had already reluctantly accepted the fact that Bai Fulong was better than he had thought initially. And yet he also knew that Chu Erlong was already nearing the end of her rope, thus he believed that he was still capable of beating Shin Sumi with his two monstrous explosions remaining.


    Sei Shian cracked his knuckles, telling himself with optimism "Great, I didn''t have to lift a finger against the girl. This guy got rid of her for me, leaving me with more power to beat him with. Heavens are looking after me!"


    One leg to the front, his weight resting on his back leg, his guard up, ready for battling Bai Fulong.


    Shin Sumi attacked him straight away. Sky Deception whistled in the air, striking Sei Shian''s Exploding Palm.


    Shin Sumi''s hands trembled under the impact of the Shinsoo burst but held strong.


    "Woah, even a normal explosion is that strong... No wonder Mua Lin couldn''t hold on forever. I have to avoid direct contact."


    Shin Sumi hadn''t planned on letting herself get hit anyway, but she wanted to know just how strong these explosions really were. And if they had been just simple explosions, maybe she would have pressed the fight to get it over with but seeing how Sei Shian still had one arm and one leg sizzling with Shinsoo wisps ready to explode ten times as powerful as what she had just felt, she had a better sense of the battle now.


    "It is better if I make him use that troublesome technique first."


    For a while, Bai Fulong only swung his sword classically, sometimes throwing in a Cleaving Meteor for good measure. His panting became heavier and louder as time went on.


    Shin Sumi''s fellow disciples from the Star-Sword Pavilion were all silent. Every one of them who had battled or trained with Bai Fulong before knew exactly what he was doing.


    Tai Bu''s nerves were on the verge of breaking, as was the vein on his temples.


    "That bastard. He''s feigning exhaustion." Tai Bu was very conflicted. He had been caught up in Shin Sumi''s special strategy a few times himself, each time thinking he had a chance of beating Bai Fulong.


    But that was exactly what she wanted. She could see it in Sei Shian''s eyes, she could almost read his thoughts.


    "Oh I see... You''re the type to hit strong but with low stamina. The more the fight goes on the more your power decreases."


    On the sidelines, Tai Bu was hitting his t.h.i.g.h with his fist, "Come on, he''s obviously faking it! This guy''s reserves are endless", owning him a strange look from his fellow cultivators. Who exactly was he rooting for in this fight?!


    Four entire minutes had passed since the beginning of Bai Fulong and Sei Shian''s duel. This wasn''t a long time but for a cultivator battle it was sure to be draining.


    Sei Shian was showing signs of fatigue although less than his opponent. Bai Fulong''s movements were becoming a bit sluggish despite his sword still hitting with a lot of power.


    Shin Sumi lifted her sword with a shout, using Cleaving Meteor while sweat poured out of her brows. Fast on his feet, Sei Shian evaded the blow easily, Bai Fulong''s precision had drastically gone down too.


    "Now is my chance" thought Sei Shian.


    The young man pivoted on his heel, using all his strength to kick his leg backwards. All the Shinsoo wisps on his leg condensed around his heel for the third of the four massive explosions he had previously prepared.


    "You can''t evade that now. DIE!!"


    After the long and slow paced, dragged out battle, Sei Shian''s kick was as fast as lightning. There was no way Bai Fulong could parry it as well, considering his level of fatigue.


    In the crowd watching patiently, a few disciples has already accepted Bai Fulong''s defeat by this point. He had shown a great deal of power and speed against Chu Erlong, earning their respect, but unfortunately it hadn''t worked against Sei Shian.


    The foot about to explode was getting closer and closer to Shin Sumi''s side with all the speed a martial arts expert could muster.


    It was at this moment that Shin Sumi stopped breathing hard and reacted with even faster reflexes. She had waited four entire minutes for this, for a chance at getting rid of Sei Shian''s troublesome explosions.


    Bai Fulong pressed one hand against the flat side of his blade, orienting its length perpendicular to the incoming attack.


    A small light formation shone briefly on the other side of Sky Deception, forming the shape of a ram''s head.


    The image only lasted for an instant, quick enough so that a blink would make an observer entirely miss it. In the crowd intently watching, a young man from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion stood up with a jolt. It was only after the others looked at him strangely that he sat back down.


    The young man''s name was Rui Keshin, the poor disciple who had lost a bet to Yan Yan before during the Cloud-Formation inner tournament.


    "Rui Clan stolen technique: Heavenly Ram!" Bai Fulong received Sei Shian''s foot straight on, the latter detonating his intense burst the moment his leg touched the body of the sword.


    The ram head on the sword glowed more intensely, although its light was extremely dim compared to the fire of the explosion. But as its glow gained in intensity, the explosion suddenly started to lose power.


    It happened so fast that probably no disciple had properly seen what had occured. In the fraction of a second the entire explosion was absorbed by the Heavenly Ram, Shin Sumi standing straight against Sei Shian''s heel.


    The first part of the Rui Clan technique was complete. Sei Shian''s leg was still up against the flat part of Sky Deception when Shin Sumi activated the second part. By simply pressing forward with her sword, the Heavenly Ram made contact again with her opponent.


    The longer Heavenly Ram stored the energy it had absorbed, the more difficult it was to control it and the less it was able to restitute.


    By immediately attacking after canceling out the explosion, more than ninety percent of the Shinsoo fire of Sei Shian''s own technique was unleashed against him.


    From the outside, where the Heavenly Ram technique was not visible, it appeared like something strange but not impossible had occurred.


    Sei Shian flew backwards as a painful scream echoed in his throat.


    "Sei Shian''s technique backfired!"


    "How is that possible? Was his explosion so high level that even himself could not deal with it? He has been holding onto it for a while now, his energy probably turned unstable..."


    Sei Shian''s leg was bloody and nauseating smoke was coming out of his charred flesh. It was indubitably the most pain he had ever been into. And it could be said that he had inflicted that on himself.


    From where he had stood in a kicking position, he had not seen the Rui Clan technique at all. He was almost to the point of believing himself that his own energy had gone unstable, if it wasn''t for the slight delay he had felt.


    His Shinsoo coursed through his mangled leg, suppressing momentarily the pain and blood loss. Because of the gravity of his injury, Sei Shian had no choice but to dispel his last remaining explosion. As much as he wanted to use it to blow Bai Fulong''s head off, he had to use the energy on his leg.


    Sei Shian propped his body on his elbow, looking at Bai Fulong with rage and fear in his eyes.


    With a voice hoarse from his scream he spoke, "What did you do to me?! My attack connected and the moment after, my technique was returned against me!"


    Shin Sumi didn''t speak a word. She, too, had been slightly surprised at how well her plan had worked.


    Now only remained her and a tired, badly injured Light-Breaker Pavilion cultivator in the Arena. It was virtually impossible for her to lose the fight at this point and she intended to do that quickly.


    She lifted Sky Deception whose length was now b.a.r.e from any ram''s head. Walking over to Sei Shian, the latter attempted to crawl backwards, dragging his useless limb along the cold ground.


    "You have to surrender the fight now..." Bai Fulong spoke in a calm and quiet voice. The tip of Sky Deception was pointing straight to the young man''s neck, in a sign that taking his life had become the easiest thing to do.


    Sei Shian gritted his teeth, a gleam of defiance burning in his eyes. But only a dark and absolutely terrifying willpower met his gaze. Bai Fulong''s stare seemed to calmly speak to him, saying "There is no point in killing you but I can do it."


    "You are a mad man. I''m out of here" Sei Shian told Shin Sumi before enhancing his voice with Shinsoo, "I surrender."


    Shin Sumi heaved a sigh of relief, putting away Sky Deception. Her hand trembled slightly before hiding inside her sleeves as she quickly returned to the Star-Sword Pavilion corner.


    A few people from the Light-Breaker Pavilion had now entered the arena to recover Sei Shian who could barely move his leg without screaming in pain. Some disciples from the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion also entered the arena splitting up in three groups, each going to enquire if the fighters from all branches needed help and recovery.


    At the same time, Patriarch Sen had started hovering above the scene, speaking in a very loud voice and announcing the results of the Cross Branch Arena.


    Shin Sumi didn''t deem necessary to listen, though, as she had just now returned to Xiao Yue and the others. Mei Yunei and Mua Lin had already left in the care of the Shinsoo-Medicine healers, leaving only Tai Bu and Sui Lin, the old members of the Shinsoo Gathering Realm''s Big Three.


    Sui Lin looked at Bai Fulong intensely for a few seconds before simply nodding and leaving, her arms crossed and her face cold like ice as always.


    Tai Bu, snorted loudly. He too exited the arena without uttering a word. His anger towards Bai Fulong was far from quenched but Devil Maiden Xiao Yue was right there next to them and he wasn''t willing to confront them.


    Turning down the Shinsoo-Medicine Pavilion disciples'' offer, Bai Fulong and Xiao Yue were now alone in their corners. The disciples who had watched the entire Cross Branch Arena were slowly leaving and the Elders and Pavilion Masters had long since disappeared.


    "Let''s go home, Yue, alright?" Bai Fulong spoke softly, almost imperceptibly.


    Xiao Yue turned to Shin Sumi and smiled, her hand finding her sister''s and they disappeared through the dark passageways dug into the earth.

 Chapter 88 - The Sky Sect History

    Shin Sumi woke up with such a headache that it felt to her like her head had been split in two during her sleep.


    Forcing herself to her feet, she felt disoriented at first, unable to recognize her surroundings when the memories of what happened after the Cross Branch Arena ended flooded back to her head.


    "This is... Yue''s house!"


    Shin Sumi haphazardly put on a set of robes and left the room, slowly finding her way through her sister''s large domicile. Holding the wall with every step, she didn''t dare use her divine sense by fear of her head not being able to take it at this point.


    The sunlight, both warm to her skin and ferocious to her eyes, greeted her at the door. Sounds of flowing water and light splashing were coming from her right hand side, sounding like heavenly music to her s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ears.


    "Sumi, you''re awake!" Xiao Yue''s voice was coming from the direction of the water, "come join me, you''ll feel better!"


    Seeing her sister holding the wall in such a way, to Xiao Yue she looked like a frail animal, lost in the unforgiving world.


    By the time Shin Sumi had made a single step outside of the house, she felt a wet sensation around her waist, and a refreshing and firm hand grabbing at her arm. While she could easily guess who was currently holding her, she was also feeling a tickling sensation near her feet, where something soft seemed to happily run around and between her legs.


    "Here, let me help you. You too can help, Nuan."


    Nuan, of course the little Lion Bat was tickling her feet. Shin Sumi was at peace, surrounded by Xiao Yue and little Nuan. Were it not for the massive headache tearing her head apart.


    Her eyes still closed, Shin Sumi felt the soft breeze suddenly wrap around her at the same time the sound of the fabric of her robe falling arose from below.


    The water was cold, but in a good way. Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue entered first, sitting on an underwater bench at the extremity of the water piece. From the happy yips she heard on the grass, it was clear that Nuan had not yet taken her bath, instead chasing a butterfly or something of the sort.


    "What happened, Sumi? Is it because of the technique you used against Sei Shian?"


    Xiao Yue''s voice was soft and low, like a whisper. She had instantly understood her sister''s condition and was making her best attempt at not aggravating the headache.


    She was taking her time washing Shin Sumi''s shoulders, arms and back, waiting for an answer, whenever the girl was ready. How could she know that Shin Sumi was currently furious inside her own head, not able to utter a sound out loud but mentally cursing like a sailor from the village where she grew up.


    "Nuan, get in the water girl! Please don''t make me wait any longer!" was a more appropriate version of her thoughts.


    When finally the Lion Bat became disinterested from the butterfly, Shin Sumi could hear Nuan dive into the pond, breathing a sigh of relief.


    "We should have bathed last night instead of waiting for the day," she thought. Nuan''s magic would have prevented a lot of pain upon waking up, for sure.


    The wave of invigorating strength took over her, not as pleasing to her glistening skin as Xiao Yue''s hands washing her, but certainly a thousand times more helpful with the damned headache.


    Shin Sumi''s shoulders relaxed immediately. The contrast was felt by Xiao Yue''s hands, who in turn felt relieved as well. The girl had no idea it was Nuan who had this effect.


    Xiao Yue was just happy her sister felt better.


    She continued to massage her back for a while, softly and without using Shinsoo, breaking the silence only after a stick of incense''s worth of time.


    "Do you want to talk about it?"


    Shin Sumi let herself slide off the underwater bench before turning, facing Xiao Yue''s petite body and tanned skin.


    "I don''t know what to say, really..."


    "Sumi, this doesn''t happen to cultivators. Headaches are supposed to be a thing from the past. We are Immortals now."


    Shin Sumi completely agreed. She was at a loss as well as to why her head had suddenly felt bad when she woke up.


    Xiao Yue continued, "Is is linked to the technique you used against Sei Shian? You can fool other people but don''t expect me to believe that Sei Shian''s own explosions backfired. A technique that can perfectly mirror an incoming attack and return it against the attacker, that''s bound to affect you as well, right?"


    Shin Sumi smiled. Xiao Yue was clairvoyant as always. How she did it was a mystery but she always had the perfect intuition.


    "It''s not really like that," Shin Sumi clarified, "Heavenly Ram doesn''t mirror the incoming attack. It is merely a spirit formation that absorbs the Shinsoo of the attack. The first part of the technique is absorption when contact is made. The release only happens when another contact is made. In Sei Shian''s case both happened almost simultaneously."


    "Did all the power get used by Heavenly Ram or did some of it get to you?"


    Shin Sumi understood Xiao Yue''s concern, however as far as she knew the technique had been executed perfectly and apart from a large Shinsoo consumption on her part it should have been left at that. To go as far as suggest her headache was originating with Rui Keshin''s stolen clan technique seemed a bit much.


    She explained to her friend how she fortunately won the technique from a bet during the Cloud-Formation Pavilion inner tournament. As she was explaining, a brief image of her bedridden mother suddenly flashed in her mind before disappearing as quick as it had come.


    As the conversation progressed, each girl giving their opinion on the previous day''s fights and techniques, Xiao Yue''s face of concern slowly melted away. The jovial and carefree girl had quickly returned. Shin Sumi had that effect on her, and it could be said that the opposite was true as well.


    The conversation lasted for a long time, well after the girls had gotten out of the water and compared their wrinkly fingers. The afternoon was already well in place when Shin Sumi''s divine sense suddenly alerted her.


    "My identification jade... Hold on, Yue, somebody left me a divine sense message."


    Shin Sumi concentrated her divine sense into her bag of holding until the message appeared clearly in her mind.


    Fen Wudao''s voice rang inside her ears, prompting her with a respectful tone to join him at his home. The spoken message was already over when a brieve image flashed behind Shin Sumi''s closed eyelids.


    It was unmistakable. The symbol of the Ghost Pavilion, a Ghost obscuring part of the Moon.


    Fen Wudao''s order to come by his residence had suddenly taken a new flavor. Something big was going to happen.


    "Yue, I have to leave."


    From the expression on her face and the slight speeding up of her heartbeats, it was clear that something exciting was coming to her.


    Xiao Yue understood immediately. She had no idea of the existence of the Ghost Pavilion but since they had fought the day before and their Star-Sword Pavilion had won the branch encounters, it seemed normal that the Dark Sky Starry Sect higher ups had judged their level worthy of missions and the likes.


    "Is it going to be your first mission for the sect?! Do you think you''ll leave the sect grounds?" Xiao Yue was excited for Shin Sumi. The latter had to calm her down, saying she had no idea if it was a mission and if it was going to be away from the upper valley.


    "I''ll tell you when I can! Nuan, come here little girl!"


    Shin Sumi grabbed Nuan who frantically ran along her arm until she was comfortable, resting in the c.h.e.s.t folds of her daoist robes.


    Xiao Yue waved at her friend from the door to her courtyard, wishing her the best.


    ***


    Shin Sumi breathed out slowly to calm herself. She was still more than a few hundred meters away from Fen Wudao''s Pavilion, hoping that her little breathing exercise would not be noticed by the divine sense of whoever was present there.


    "There was definitely a Ghost imprint on the divine sense message I received. How many Ghosts are going to be there? I wonder what they''ll ask of me..."


    She remembered before the Cross Branch Arena, when Fen Wudao had talked to her regarding the White Claw Dusk Cleaver. He had then proposed to exchange pointers with him, teasing about some things he would like to discuss with her.


    Shin Sumi was now in the second step of the Liquid Realm. Even more than that, her energy levels had had time to stabilize firmly and she was already on her way to the third step.


    This was the main reason Shin Sumi suspected that the present meeting regarded something bigger than just them, something important to the Ghost Pavilion as a whole.


    With a resolute expression on her face and a heart that was now calm like a mountain lake, Shin Sumi advanced to Fen Wudao''s courtyard door.


    "The door is open, please come in, Seventh Sister."


    Fen Wudao''s voice was warm and gentle, as always. When Shin Sumi opened the door, he greeted her from afar. He was crouching near a bush of spirit plants that radiated a strong Yang type Shinsoo.


    Shin Sumi drew closer as he tended to the bush, pouring spring water from a skin pouch he held attentively.


    Shin Sumi probed her surroundings with her divine sense, to no avail. Even if there were more Ghosts in the vicinity, her divine sense level was too low to register any presence.


    "Nuan, no-" Shin Sumi blurted out in panic as, from nowhere, Nuan decided to jump out of her robes, glide over Fen Wudao and land on the spirit plant bush.


    "Ah-ah-ah, and what might that cutie''s name be? Nuan?"


    Fen Wudao laughed heartily. Sticking out a finger, he gently approached Nuan''s lion muzzle. The black beady eyes of the Lion Bat perched onto the bush''s upper branches looked at the finger with interest and a mix of mistrust.


    "I am so sorry Brother Fen, she is sometimes unpredictable... I''ll get her out of your spirit plants garden, I promise-"


    "No, no, it''s fine. These Fire Berries have already caught her attention, she might as well have some of them."


    As a proof to his point, Fen Wudao retracted his finger then picked up a small amber-colored fruit from a lower branch. This time, Fire Berry in his palm, Nuan''s eyes showed no sign of mistrust, the fruit disappearing in the Lion Bat''s mouth faster than what Shin Sumi thought possible.


    "Ah-ah, good. My Fire Berries are properly ripe it seems. I wasn''t sure whether they were ready for harvest, but a spirit b.r.e.a.s.t naturally wouldn''t eat a fruit that isn''t properly ripened. See how she didn''t touch the Soul Cry Citrus bush?"


    Shin Sumi smiled. She didn''t know Fen Wudao was so knowledgeable in spirit fauna and flora.


    "Nuan, you''ve had a treat. Do you want to leave Brother Fen''s plants alone now?" Shin Sumi was crouching too, extending her arm until Nuan perched onto her shoulder.


    Fen Wudao had turned to look at Shin Sumi, a cryptic smile on his face. Was he gauging her?


    "Seventh Sister, what do you know about the Sky Earth Sect?"


    The abrupt question took Shin Sumi by surprise. Her mind instantly spun and weaved thoughts, trying to make sense of why she had been summoned there.


    "The Sky Earth Sect, the sister sect to our own... Both used to form the Sky Sect but something happened and they split up. My humble guess is that the Dark Sky Starry Sect now stands on the grounds that once housed the Sky Sect, and this is the reason the Sky Earth Sect wants war with us. There probably are resources, relics, treasures that we kept and that they want a share of... or all of them."


    Fen Wudao was about to answer but Shin Sumi''s eyes still wandered a bit, as it seemed she still had more to say.


    "...And I am not sure how this is related but I also think the constant cover of clouds over the valleys have to do with the internal strife within the Sky Sect as well. Is that right?"


    Fen Wudao''s eyelids twitched a little bit. He was impressed at what Shin Sumi had gathered from what was essentially a sort of taboo.


    Fen Wudao suddenly stood up, motioning to Shin Sumi to join him at the same tea table where she had met the Patriarch at an earlier date.


    He then took a deep breath before recounting what he knew of the history of the Dark Sky Starry Sect and its predecessor, the Sky Sect.


    "Generations ago, the Sky Sect was one of the strongest sects in the Blue Fire mountain range, which was called the Moonlit mountain range. The Blue Fire Sect was only a small group of cultivators and did not compare at the time to the power in place, the Moonlit Sect. It was in fact smaller than the Sky Sect.


    The Moonlit Sect was the ruler of this part of the cultivation world, the Sky Sect being only a distant second in terms of resources and power. It had been that way for immemorial times, the Moonlit Sect ruling with a steel hand over the other sects and even the mortal empire.


    That was until fate decided otherwise. Hungry for even more power, the Moonlit Sect wrongly decided to expand themselves onto the bordering nations. They even went as far as the Silver Lake Empire, to the west of Blue Fire Country. However the Moonlit Sect did not know how puny and weak this side of the cultivation world was until they touched upon the Silver Lake Sect''s lands."


    Fen Wudao paused only to sip on his fragrant tea, occasionally offering to refill Shin Sumi''s cup.


    "The demise of the Moonlit Sect happened so quickly the records say that their name was forgotten in only a sixty day cycle. The power they had angered was no joke. And this is how the Sky Sect, which had always lived under the shadow of the Moonlit Sect, suddenly rose to prominence.


    With their unexpected propulsion to the top, the Sky Sect strived for a long time. Only, since the demise of the Moonlit Sect, two mentalities had begun to oppose each other within the sect.


    One faction could be said to be power hungry. While they viewed the fall of the previous ruler as a testament to the West''s power, even more so they thought it was an opportunity to expand themselves, claim the Moonlit territory as theirs.


    The other faction feared that what had happened to the Moonlit Sect was destined to happen to the Sky Sect, should they follow the same path."


    Shin Sumi, who had listened patiently to Fen Wudao''s tale of the Sky Sect, felt the urge to interrupt him.


    "Which faction do we originate from, as the Dark Sky Starry Sect?"


    Fen Wudao''s expression didn''t change at all.


    "You already know the answer. While the majority of the Elders of the Sky Sect mutually agreed that expanding the sect was a good thing, Patriarch Mui was strictly against it."


    Shin Sumi''s eyes lit up. She had heard that name before from Lan Hui.


    "Patriarch Mui was Patriarch Sen''s master, right?"


    "That is correct. He was also known as daoist Dark Sky."


    "What happened to him?"


    "The other faction got him by surprise. Even with his strength as number one expert of the Sky Sect, he was powerless in front of an assembly of Elders. Even the reserve powers were too late against the maniganced revolution. Patriarch Mui died, while his full might turned into a curse for the entire sect."


    "But Brother Fen, I don''t understand... I thought the Dark Sky Starry Sect had been founded previously to Patriarch Sen being the Patriarch. But if his master was still part of the Sky Sect, who founded the Dark Sky Starry Sect?"


    "This is where it gets complicated. And it has to do with us. This is where the roots of the Ghost Pavilion lay."


    In Shin Sumi''s head, all the pieces of the puzzle were slowly taking place and fitting each other. Fen Wudao only clarified the bits that were missing.


    The Ghost Pavilion was even older than the sect, formed at first by the reserve power backing up Patriarch Mui. Upon the latter''s demise, the silent Ghost Pavilion at the time only composed of four people, Patriarch Sen included, battled against the traitor faction. Ultimately, after a secret battle, the Ghosts drove the opposite group away.


    This was where the Sky Earth Sect and the Dark Sky Starry Sect finally split up.


    Fen Wudao''s eyes reflected the gravity of the sect''s history, "Since then, both sects have been trying to erase the other from their history, going as far as to change their views and teachings of what really happened.


    But us, as Ghosts, we have to perpetrate the truth while keeping it a secret."


    Shin Sumi''s mind was spinning. So many revelations, yet her number of questions kept increasing with each new answer.


    What was Patriarch Mui''s curse? How did the battle between the traitors and the Ghosts remain hidden from all the other people''s eyes? Couldn''t the Sky Sect''s internal conflict have been resolved any other way? And more importantly...


    "What does all of this have to do with us younger Ghosts, Brother Fen?"

 Chapter 89 - A Mission For A Ghost

    "I''m getting to it, Seventh Sister. The war with the Sky Earth Sect is coming in two and a half years'' time, at the most. You already know that, but the goal of the Rising Star Tournament was to quickly form geniuses like you.


    From what we''ve seen in yesterday''s battles, we, the Dark Sky Starry Sect, can be proud to have at least twenty one strong practitioners in our Liquid Realm ranks."


    Fen Wudao stood up, slowly walking over his personal training arena.


    "The truth is, the Inner Disciples of the sect at the Liquid Realm level are not very numerous. In total, our forces are only about a hundred and fifty strong. Our Elders from the upper Liquid Realm to the low levels of the Core Development Realm are only about thirty. Lastly the experts on our side, as well as the reserve powers and the Senior Ghosts are just a handful."


    Fen Wudao was toying with a short sword, waiting for Shin Sumi to stand up to him on the training grounds.


    "From what our spies in the Sky Earth Sect have reported, their forces roughly amount to the double of ours."


    The revelation of how strong the enemy sect truly was felt like a shock to Shin Sumi. Her steps stopped abruptly while images of a one-sided war appeared in her mind.


    She spoke quietly, "If they are so much stronger, why wait five years instead of attacking straight away?"


    Fen Wudao started attacking with light but fast sword strikes. While still discussing, Shin Sumi held Sky Deception and blocked before taking the offensive side against her senior.


    "Patriarch Mui''s relics and treasures. To put it simply, the Sky Earth Sect believes we have two of daoist Dark Sky''s relics. Coupled with the rare treasures still intact from the Sky Sect''s era, like the Floating Continent dimension and the Dark Fortress, our base power runs deeper than theirs."


    "What are these treasures...?" Shin Sumi suddenly felt strange. Luckily she and Fen Wudao were constantly moving while fighting, or else she would have looked really pale. It felt to her like she knew the answer to her question already as soon as it escaped her red lips.


    "One you know intimately by now, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. It was Patriarch Mui who passed it on to Patriarch Sen. But as you know I made the choice to give it to you."


    Of course Shin Sumi understood. In order for the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword to turn into the Void Sword, it had to be tempered by generations upon generations in the five Veins of Hell Fire. Had Fen Wudao kept the sword for himself, he wouldn''t have been able to temper the blade twice and achieve what the weapon wanted.


    "Aherm. This is why you are so important in this upcoming war, Seventh Sister" a third voice suddenly joined in the discussion after clearing their throat.


    Shin Sumi was so startled by Patriarch Sen''s sudden appearance behind her that she almost failed in blocking Fen Wudao''s attack.


    "Before his passing, Old Man Mui kept emphasizing how his precious golden sword was a treasure of utmost importance to the sect. But no matter how nagging I was, that old geezer never explained a single thing. Almost four hundred years later, the sword has passed between the hands of three more generations and I can only guess what he meant."


    "Patriarch Sen, can you tell me more about the curse the previous Patriarch used on the sect?"


    Shin Sumi tried her best to sound respectful and greet the newcomer respectfully even though she had to forget the courtesy bow lest she wanted Fen Wudao''s sword cutting her in two by accident.


    The Patriarch paid it no mind and didn''t spare the fighting disciples a single glance, absorbed as he was into his cup of tea and his memories.


    "Aaah, the curse. Look up at the sky and you''ll see its effect."


    Shin Sumi instantly knew what the Fourth Ghost was talking about. She even had emitted herself the possibility that the heavy cover of dark clouds originated with the splitting of the Sky Sect.


    "It was only after his passing that I understood how many secrets my master kept within him. Had he not been struck down right as the curse started, I have no idea how much more potent it would have been.


    Usually when a curse is unleashed, it is highly linked to the caster''s lifeline" Patriarch Sen explained, endorsing a role of professor for Shin Sumi''s benefit, and Fen Wudao''s as well.


    "To put it simply, low level curses stop when the caster is rendered unconscious. Higher level curses can last up to a lifetime. But any magical curse used from a person''s cultivation base stops when the individual dies."


    Fen Wudao and Shin Sumi slowed down their sword training, both concentrated on the Patriarch''s voice. Even for the number one inner disciple of the sect, curses were a bit abstract and hard to understand.


    It was Shin Sumi who understood the implications of the Patriarch''s words first. She was about to stupidly ask if they were sure that Patriarch Mui had really died when the solution dawned on her.


    "Then if it didn''t come from Patriarch Mui''s cultivation base, it came from an item. A powerful artefact if the curse is still strong after four hundred years."


    Patriarch Sen lifted his head to look straight at Shin Sumi, a look of praise in his old eyes.


    "Good. This is the only explanation. The artefact used was something that even the Old Ghosts were unaware the Sky Sect possessed. We have no idea what it is but we can assume it is a really high grade treasure."


    Shin Sumi wasn''t doubting the Patriarch''s words in the slightest but a look of confusion must have spread across her face before the Fourth Ghost spoke again.


    "You must be wondering what the point of such a powerful artefact is, if its only strength is summoning clouds over a few mountains. However you will soon understand why the Sky Earth Sect still wants to go to war with us over a centuries old matter.


    When my ancestor was struck down, the curse had only begun. Unfortunately its progression was interrupted by the traitors who dealt the finishing blow. I can still remember that day clearly, when I saw my Master fall down from the sky and crash in the valley. It was at that moment the full power of the curse started, from the inside of my Master''s broken body rather than in the skies above like it was supposed to."


    Shin Sumi''s eyes opened wide. Fen Wudao looked at her to see her reaction, having heard parts of that story himself already.


    But Shin Sumi''s surprise wasn''t only because of the violent memory of the Patriarch, but because some formless links had connected inside her mind.


    Without interruption, Patriarch Sen continued, Shin Sumi''s thoughts becoming denser by the second.


    "The artefact that is powerful enough to cloud the skies for almost half a millenia is still accompanying my ancestor''s remains. Since the beginning every attempt to retrieve them has been a failure. The curse is simply too strong.


    Much like any disciple who cultivated and trained in the lower valley before, you should have spent some time in the training grounds to the west."


    "Are you referring to the dark chasm?" Shin Sumi asked.


    Patriarch Sen nodded. It wasn''t difficult to piece the information together once one knew the story of daoist Dark Sky. What he ignored, though, was that Shin Sumi had already done what nobody every did.


    She had already explored the chasm and even established the base of her Yin type spirit plants selling operation there. If one cultivator knew all about the dark chasm, it was her.


    Now that she knew the large scar in the earth was where Patriarch Mui fell and his curse went wild, it made sense. The oppressive darkness and the powerful Yin Shinsoo concentration were definitely magical in essence and not a natural occurrence.


    Only she had explored it through and through, and she had found nothing but darkness and writhing snakes. There were a lot of remains, humans and animals alike, but nothing that indicated the four hundred years old corpse of a late Core Development expert.


    As for the treasure that was at the origin of the curse...


    Shin Sumi nervously stroked the outside of her bag of holding. Inside she could feel the presence of a certain artefact. A little copper bell with engravings on its surface.


    "What am I nervous about" she thought, "they are my seniors, my Ghost brothers. If the Patriarch believes the bell can save us from a war with the Sky Earth Sect, then he should know my side of the story!"


    Perched on her arm, Nuan looked straight at Shin Sumi. The spirit creature wasn''t gifted with speech but from their divine sense link Shin Sumi could immediately tell that Nuan was against her idea.


    "Don''t tell them" was the feeling that Shin Sumi got from Nuan''s serious eyes before the two black beads blinked and Nuan jumped on top of Shin Sumi''s head, using the higher spot to glide away farther.


    "About the black ravine, why can''t it be explored? I drew close to it once but the stifling pressure and the oppressive darkness made me turn away."


    Fen Wudao nodded. He, too, had already seen the place and had thought about exploring it when he was a Honorary Disciple in the lower valley.


    "Only the orange talented disciples and above have access to that area and I am betting on their gut feeling to not approach it too much. Despite years of research about the curse and what the artefact that conjured it might be, I still haven''t found a way to close off the area in a sufficient manner.


    It seems as if enclosing the black ravine in a building or barrier of sort only makes it stronger and more intense."


    Shin Sumi could see in the old Patriarch''s eyes that his failure was a deep regret in his life and it was somewhat difficult to admit to his juniors.


    "As for exploring it, no cultivator who ever tried has been able to escape. I have no idea what is under the layer of darkness. Divine sense is blocked by the curse. For all we know there might be a Demon of ancient time living in there, or a pocket dimension. My humble guess is that the area is simply empty except for the special artefact, the curse having consumed everything else."


    Shin Sumi was thinking deeply about the Patriarch''s words. She knew that if she wanted to talk about the Copper Bell and her own experience of the dark chasm, it had to be now.


    Shin Sumi inhaled and exhaled deeply. She simply couldn''t ignore the feeling that emanated from Nuan earlier. In nut form, Nuan had followed her everywhere, dark chasm included, had saved her life countless times and had given her everything she owned now.


    Shin Sumi was certain now. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she would not tell about the secrets she had acquired from the dark chasm. Instead she had to change the subject before the Patriarch could read her emotions.


    "The Sky Earth Sect is willing to go to war because of this artefact?" she asked.


    Patriarch Sen stroked his beard before answering, "They have a lot of reasons for wanting to eradicate us and take back the land of the Sky Sect. The artefact is only one of them. You can also count the cultivation techniques and resources, the different pocket dimensions like the Floating Continent and the Dark Fortress, and a chance at going stronger again to ggain back the power and fame of the Sky Sect.


    I am confident they haven''t attacked us yet, giving us five years to prepare, simply because they think we have the curse artefact of daoist Dark Sky and we can use it at will."


    It made sense now. Even Fen Wudao who already understood the global picture before now realized more of the in-depth causes and consequences.


    Even if the Sky Earth Sect knew they had the upper hand in terms of power during a war, they were doing everything they could to avoid fighting. Unsure of the real power of the artefacts owned by the Dark Sky Starry Sect, they were giving Patriarch Sen an ultimate chance to surrender before having to shed blood on both sides.


    "Reverend Purple Rain, an old disciple of Old Man Mui like me, has come from the Sky Earth Sect a few years ago, asking me to give them our ancestor''s corpse. It was when I told him to get lost that he declared a war five years from then. But his decision had been made earlier I''m sure."


    Shin Sumi was perplexed, "Is there no way at all to avoid the upcoming war?"


    The word ''war'' had just left her lips when she suddenly realized there was something fishy about the whole situation. She had been invited by Fen Wudao to exchange pointers to her and instead both him and the Fourth Ghost Patriarch Sen had spent hours telling her about the political history of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Finally the Patriarch had linked it all to the war with the Sky Earth Sect.


    "There is one way..." Patriarch Sen looked in the distance, hiding both his hands in his sleeves, "As our sister Seventh Ghost, with your talent that is seen only once in a millenia, you are our best asset for this mission. We want you to infiltrate the Sky Earth Sect and retrieve something for us."


    Shin Sumi''s heart tripled its beating tempo. Was she excited? Terrified? Confused? All of these emotions and much more.


    Patriarch Sen then went on to explain the details of the infiltration mission. Shin Sumi was perfect for this secret quest, not only being talented enough but especially being able to hide her identity in a natural way and take on the features of at least three persons.


    Because of the Cross Branch Arena and the fame he had already acquired within the sect, Bai Fulong was not a wise choice. The chances of spies from the Sky Earth Sect, were there any, having heard his name were really high. In fact, maybe Yan Yan''s identity was also already compromised.


    She instantly knew she would have to go as herself, as Shin Sumi, unless she managed to create a new persona through the Copper Bell.


    As the Patriarch and Fen Wudao explained to her the rough idea of the plan they had, Shin Sumi could feel her mind spinning more and more. She had known that meeting them would amount to a situation bigger than herself but she didn''t know how big of a situation it would be.


    "It is getting dark soon. Why don''t you go home and think about it for the night, Seventh Sister?"


    Fen Wudao was right. She needed to think. The choice was ultimately hers to make although she wasn''t certain she even had the choice.


    But for the sake of the sect and its fate in the upcoming war, Shin Sumi understood the importance of her mission and the obvious reasons why nobody else could take her place.


    Behind the heavy clouds formed by daoist Dark Sky''s dying curse, the sun slowly disappeared as Shin Sumi and Nuan walked home.


    In the comfort of her bathing room, Shin Sumi entered the pool of fresh water.


    She closed her eyes to meditate, attempting to make sense of everything she had been told that day.


    As the night progressed, a lot of questions took shape in her mind, some of which she answered herself, some others she kept in her memory in order to ask the Ghosts later.


    "Did you believe that, Nuan? It turns out the little bell I found is actually Patriarch Mui''s priceless relic! It is capable of obscuring the sky for centuries and turn a ravine into a black hell that not even a Core-Development expert can go into... I have been using it only to get rid of illusions and change my appearance to someone else''s. I need to try new things now that I have an idea of where it came from and what it can do. If I can, I would like to use somebody else''s face if I''m going to the Sky Earth Sect."


    At no point since she became a Ghost had the others inquired about how she was able to change identities so easily many times a day if necessary. Since Patriarch Sen had talked extensively about the lost treasure of daoist Dark Sky, Shin Sumi was ninety-nine percent sure he didn''t know she had the Copper Bell or at least where it came from.


    For certain, the Ghosts had assumed her capacity for stealth and transformation had come from her cultivation technique.


    In the Immortal world, cultivation techniques were not a taboo but were more of a personal thing. Each cultivator had their own and it was not common to ask somebody what technique they cultivated. As the effects and the speed were different between techniques, unveiling one''s cultivation technique was akin to reading them like an open book, for the better or the worse.


    They did not know that Shin Sumi cultivated the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique to gather and purify Shinsoo in her dantian and it had nothing to do with changing her physical appearance.


    Besides the Copper Bell and its uses, Shin Sumi had many more questions for the Ghosts.


    Going to the Sky Earth Sect... She didn''t even know where it was located or how far. She didn''t know either how long she would have to be there for.


    "Retrieve something for us" the words of Patriarch Sen reverberated endlessly in her head. They wanted her to steal a treasure of the Sky Earth Sect.


    She didn''t know what yet but it had to be something precious enough to change the fate of the war to come.


    Something precious that was probably well guarded. A secret mission full of dangers.

 Chapter 90 - A Last Tour

    The following day, Shin Sumi was on the path leading to Fen Wudao''s house early in the morning.


    She had made up her mind but more importantly she wanted to clarify certain aspects of her upcoming mission.


    She was greeted at the door by a meditating Fen Wudao whose divine sense had picked up her presence. Not too long after, they were both sipping on tea when Patriarch Sen arrived.


    ***


    "It is settled then. In three days'' time you will leave for the Sky Earth Sect. Should any situation that you can''t handle arise, use the Jade Compass to communicate with us."


    Shin Sumi sent divine sense into the pale green object, immediately sensing the powerful spirit formation engraved within the artefact. Her knowledge of spirit formations had greatly improved over her time in the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. She could tell that the power of the artefact was high, allowing for communication across incredible distances, but in turn the number of communications was very limited.


    Anyway, it was reassuring to know that she had a way back to the Dark Sky Starry Sect, should she ever need it.


    When she left the company of the other two Ghosts, Shin Sumi was feeling excited and anxious at the same time. For her it was very reminiscent of the day she fled her family mansion in East Seaside village for the big city.


    "Who could have guessed I would end up in an Immortal Sect, about to go undercover into enemy territory to retrieve a centuries old artefact..."


    Neither Fen Wudao nor the Patriarch were able to answer her when she inquired about how long she would have to remain hidden in the Sky Earth Sect. She was on her own when it came to judging the right time to go into action without being caught by the Sky Earth Sect''s cultivators.


    The plan was frighteningly simple for a mission with such stakes. Shin Sumi would present herself as one of the young women from the surrounding cities, basically reenacting her own first step in the cultivation world.


    She would become the daughter of a farmer escaping a marriage she didn''t want. She would pass the tests to enter the Sky Earth Sect and settle inside.


    In her bag of holding, Shin Sumi had a few divine jades, compilations of information coming from previous spies sent to the Sky Earth Sect over the years. With such an arsenal, she would be able to fit in quite easily as well as know the way to reach there, of course.


    Shin Sumi''s life might have been very valuable to the Ghosts and the Dark Sky Starry Sect but she was still ultimately disposable. The amount of resources and information given to her, on the other hand, were the fruit of years of work and many a spy''s life.


    It went to show how important her mission was for the Ghosts and that they were confident in her ability.


    Shin Sumi left the two Ghosts for her last three days in the upper valley. She was feeling proud to be given such a big mission and especially an opportunity to cross more than half of the Blue Fire Empire.


    "I wonder if there are any delicacies or curiosities specific to the Sky Earth Sect''s area that I can bring back to Xiao Yue and my friends" she told Nuan as she walked the paths of the upper valley.


    She gently patted the Lion Bat''s back, right between the skeletal bat wings in a spot that made Nuan purr with p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.


    "You know, I would have not accepted this mission, had I not been able to bring you with me. You''ll just have to hide for a few months at most, and then I will ''find'' you and you will become my spirit animal once again, okay sweet girl?"


    It was one of Shin Sumi''s earliest questions to Patriarch Sen when she arrived to Fen Wudao''s home this morning. Shin Sumi had to bring Nuan with her along the mission and she was relieved to hear that the Sky Earth Sect practiced a similar kind of spirit creatures training as their own Divine-Beasts Pavilion.


    "I should have guessed that" she thought as she read the information on one of the divine jades, the one with records of the Sky Earth Sect''s hierarchy and cultivation genres, "the two sects have only split a few centuries ago, it is normal that the cultivation types and techniques would remain highly similar."


    ***


    The first person on Shin Sumi''s path of farewells was Lan Hui, quickly followed by Bai Xuengen.


    Shin Sumi felt bad about leaving her friends without any information but she was very conscious of the fact that she could not tell them anything. Not that she didn''t trust them but rather because a Ghost might be watching.


    Spending a few hours with each of them, soon Shin Sumi had also met and laughed with Fu Xue, Mei Yunei and of course Xiao Yue, to whom she told a bit more than to the others.


    "Does that count as a farewell?" she even asked herself when she waved enthusiastically from afar at a cold stone-faced Sui Lin.


    "Pffiou, thank the Gods for not having to use a Confusion Pill every time I want to switch identities anymore. I don''t think I''ve ever alternated so much in only two days'' time."


    For every person she met and wanted to talk to, she would hide somewhere and take on the features of either Bai Fulong, Yan Yan, or more rarely herself.


    "Oi, I should also go to the lower valley for a while before I leave, chat a bit with Brother Azu to see how he is doing!"


    Shin Sumi took out her identification jade, sending one divine sense message before entering the carved flight of stairs in the cliff joining the two valleys.


    When she exited the tunnel at the bottom, stepping between the stone pillars at the entrance of the lower valley, Yan Yan''s silhouette cast a shadow in front of her.


    The Liquid Realm disciple in charge of guarding the passage, recording which Honorary Disciple tried to ascend as well as the Liquid Realm practitionners trying to descend, didn''t take long in noticing her and standing in her way.


    "What are you doing here? It is strictly forbidden for Liquid Realm disciples to leave the upper valley. Are you one of those who try to come here to bully the lower level disciples in the Shinsoo Gathering stage to give you their spirit stones?"


    The disciple''s assurance was wavering because with a single glance he was able to tell that her cultivation level was higher than his and yet he couldn''t let her pass.


    "Listen, Senior Sister. For you I am willing to let it go and not report you to the Affairs Pavilion but please do me a favor and go back from where you came, okay?"


    Shin Sumi held her hands open in front of her, as to signify she didn''t want trouble.


    "Of course, I''m sorry, I don''t want to cause trouble for you. I have been allowed to come here, just wait for a bit, Brother...?"


    Seeing as Yan Yan seemed to not want to cause trouble, the disciple slightly relaxed.


    "Sezhuan. You can call me Sezhuan Mon."


    For a couple minutes, Yan Yan and Sezhuan Mon chatted, to the point that the boy would be willing to let her pass. He was probably intoxicated by Yan Yan''s gentle traits and beautiful figure, and wondered if his lucky day had finally come when a whooshing noise came from above and a silver streak stopped right before them.


    "Younger Sister Yan, are you okay?" asked a manly but warm voice full of smiles.


    Fen Wudao looked at Yan Yan and the other disciple with a slightly confused face before understanding almost immediately what was going on.


    "S-Senior Brother Fen...! Sezhuan is deeply sorry. This humble one didn''t know that Senior Sister Yan was sent here by your person. I will step aside now" the boy immediately bowed and mumbled all sorts of apologies.


    Yan Yan looked intensely at Fen Wudao as she walked past Sezhuan Mon, expressing with her eyes all the thanks she could.


    She felt bad for using Fen Wudao in order to get entrance to the lower valley, but Fen Wudao understood.


    "If everything is settled here I will leave first. I trust that you will reach the second step soon, Brother Sezhuan, here''s something that might help you" said Fen Wudao while tossing him a medium grade spirit stone.


    The boy immediately forgot that a Liquid Realm disciple had entered the lower valley, failing to notify Yan Yan''s presence, simply happy to have met a beautiful girl, Fen Wudao and even getting a nice spirit stone in the process.


    Fen Wudao''s silver arrow flew away in a few seconds and when Sezhuan Mon''s eyes returned to the ground, Yan Yan was gone too. Silently, he returned to his post and proceeded to sit down and meditate with the medium grade spirit stone.


    Now successfully in the lower valley, Shin Sumi walked around, purposefully reigning in her cultivation base to not intimidate the Honorary Disciples she crossed paths with.


    She remembered the first time she had felt Fen Wudao''s full presence in the marketplace, when he let all of his divine sense and aura out in front of a bunch of Shinsoo Gathering cultivators.


    Quite naturally, her feet soon took her to the market of the lower valley, where Yan Yan had spent most of her time acc.u.mulating quite the amount of spirit stones. She then had Nuan refine them into high grade ones.


    In front of the spot she once used to occupy herself, she met a few people she recognized as previous customers.


    "Sister Yan!" a few of the male disciples immediately got close to her even though they hadn''t met in a few years.


    "Brother Yuo, Brother Sun!" she smiled at them, chatting peacefully.


    Unlike before when she was living in the lower valley, none of the disciples tried to flirt with her. Although her old acquaintances feigned nonchalance, they were now obviously filled with a sense of respect and intimidation due to the fact that she was a Liquid Realm cultivator.


    One of the male disciples had told her about seeing Little Azu in the Affairs Pavilion, which became her current destination.


    With a troubled mind, Shin Sumi walked slowly towards Elder Zhu''s Pavilion. Ever since the Rising Star Tournament, she had not heard from the Elder, and she hoped it stayed that way forever.


    Many times she had wanted to do something about the old man''s dark actions towards the disciples of the sect but with his status, Elder Zhu was untouchable.


    Stopping once on the way to the Affairs Pavilion, Shin Sumi abandoned Yan Yan''s features. She wanted to meet Little Azu as herself. She also used a hiding profound formation to make her presence as discreet as possible and change her divine sense quite a bit. She hoped the little trick would be sufficient in avoiding Elder Zhu seeing her, should he be at the Affairs Pavilion at the same time as Little Azu.


    What troubled Shin Sumi the most was the fact that Patriarch Sen seemed to trust the Elder completely. Since becoming part of the Ghost Pavilion, she had learned that it was the Patriarch who had asked Elder Zhu to deliver her a Liquid Pellet and tell her to wait until the Rising Star Tournament to break through to the second Realm of cultivation.


    Naturally she didn''t think Patriarch Sen knew about Elder Zhu''s tampering with the Liquid Pellet.


    Only Lan Hui and herself knew exactly what kind of experiments Elder Zhu was conducting on his disciples. Because of his network of acquaintances in the lower valley, Lan Hui was charged with keeping track of his actions from afar. However as far as they knew, since the Rising Star Tournament, none of the Honorary Disciples had met the same fate as the desiccated corpses hidden in the lower valley training grounds.


    "When I leave the sect, maybe I''ll send a message to Fen Wudao and explain to him everything I know. He can then contact Lan Hui and make sure Elder Zhu doesn''t do anything bad ever again" she thought as she entered the grand building.


    A ball immediately formed in her stomach, for as soon as she put down her foot inside the doorframe a strong divine sense washed over her. The divine sense was stronger than hers by a lot, definitely from the Liquid Realm''s seventh and last step.


    "Ooooh! Green talented girl! It''s been a while, what brings you here?" Little Azu was full of joy and energy like always, insisting on calling her ''green talented girl'' even though the two had met and talked a few times, with Shin Sumi telling him to call her by her name each time.


    "Good evening Brother Azu-" Shin Sumi started answering, her nervousness reaching a peak before she was interrupted by a powerful but old voice coming from deep into the building.


    "Disciple Shin, what a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to have you here. May I formally invite you to join me for a cup of fragrant tea?" said Elder Zhu, following his words with a strong divine sense assault.


    Little Azu heard the booming voice, confused as to why Shin Sumi instantly turned pale and clenched her teeth, even closing one eye in the process of withstanding Elder Zhu''s divine sense.


    "Are you alright?" the Liquid Realm first step boy asked.


    Shin Sumi considered turning on her heels and escaping but the divine sense wouldn''t let her. It was actually a relief when she drew closer to the door leading to the insides of the Affairs Pavilion.


    "Yes Brother Azu, I just remembered something but it''s fine. I have to pay my respects to Elder Zhu first. How can I refuse such an honor?" she tried her best not to sound pained and sarcastic.


    After the first corridor, the door to the small garden was already open. At the far end, behind heaps of beautiful flowers and plants, a tall figure dressed in light green robes stood with their back to her.


    "Elder Zhu" Shin Sumi acknowledged the person, nodding her head in the smallest bow as per the etiquette engrained in her. Had she thought about it, she would never have bowed to a man like him.


    The man in green robes turned slowly, his face full of smiles. Wrinkles circled his eyes and his forehead, under his long white hair. Only his beard still had traces of black mixed within the dominantly white hair.


    "What happened to him?" Shin Sumi asked herself, a bit shocked at the Elder''s appearance.


    Without a doubt, the man at the other side of the garden was Elder Zhu, and yet he looked dozens of years older than when she had last seen him. He used to look like a middle aged man with black hair but now he was nothing more than an old man.


    For most cultivators, after reaching a certain age, the body didn''t represent one''s ability or power. Because the physical body grew old but the cultivation base only grew stronger, a lot of Immortals preferred to hold back their appearance, instead endorsing the traits of somebody half their age or even more.


    While Shin Sumi didn''t know Elder Zhu''s age precisely, she knew that he was way past his forties like he used to seem. This was also obviously the case for Patriarch Sen who had been alive for centuries and yet seemed barely over seventy. Had he chosen to, Patriarch Sen surely would be able to take on the features of a middle-aged man, or even a teenager twenty times younger than he really was.


    But for Elder Zhu the process seemed different. He even confirmed it as he spoke in an old voice.


    "Disciple Shin. Liquid Realm second step. It is a great feat of cultivation that you have accomplished in the short few years you''ve been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect. You are definitely worthy of your talent and the sect couldn''t hope for a better generation, in the face of such predicaments like the upcoming war. Ah, to be young again. Sit down with me."


    Elder Zhu motioned a seat while he himself sat down on the opposite side of the tea table. Shin Sumi sat down carefully, her muscles taunt and on high alert. She didn''t know what Elder Zhu wanted but she had no choice for now.


    "As you can see I am way past my prime. In fact I celebrated my hundred and thirtieth birthday last week. You don''t need to congratulate me, this number only brings me closer to death."


    To Shin Sumi, Elder Zhu''s speech about his own mortality felt strange. In her ears it resembled a call for help, while being incredibly cold and realistically objective. Her instincts knew exactly what type of man Elder Zhu was despite never having encountered someone like him.


    The old man in front of him knew of his own mortality. He was ready to do anything. As if his actions wouldn''t matter anymore, nothing was stopping him from reaching his goals.


    "You must be wondering why I''m rambling like that. Or maybe, judging from how your eyes look at me, you already have an idea?"


    Shin Sumi breathed out and in again, slowly. Like the old man she was facing, she decided to let all pretenses go and speak her mind. There was no changing what was going to happen very soon.


    As she put down the cup of tea she had left untouched, she said "You''ve been keenly aware of your past prime for a long time. I guess that is the reason you''ve been searching for ways to extend your lifetime. Liquid Realm practitioners can only live up to a hundred and fifty years at the most and in the best condition, while Core-Development cultivators can easily reach five hundred years of age. Being stuck half a step before Core Development must be enraging."


    Elder Zhu smiled sincerely. It seemed he expected Shin Sumi to already reach that conclusion. Curious, he motioned her to continue.

 Chapter 91 - Elder Zhus Truth

    The tension around the tea table in the Affairs Pavilion garden was rising gradually. Despite Elder Zhu smiling in what looked like a sincere way, a formless pressure could be felt all around Shin Sumi, goosebumps involuntarily forming on her skin.


    "Instead of making progress with your own cultivation, you found yourself having to look after talented disciples, still young and promising. But that is not enough now, is it?"


    Shin Sumi''s words were becoming harsher and harsher, further away than what was acceptable to say to a member of an older generation with each sentence. Nevertheless, Elder Zhu seemed overjoyed with her conclusions, each time making her continue to speak her mind.


    "You are proficient in alchemy and making medicine, and you saw in your talent a way to change your fate. You devised a formula that would drain the recipient''s cultivation base and transform it into a core."


    Shin Sumi went on to justify her thoughts out loud, hoping that if she could get away from the situation with her life, she would need as much information as she could gather.


    With a low voice, she exposed how she knew Elder Zhu had experimented for many years, including with Lan Hui.


    At first, the experiments were only partial successes. Following the ingestion of such a core, the condensed cultivation base of an unlucky disciple, Lan Hui''s own cultivation increased in a very short time, his talent having seemingly been given a second chance. That was until he met his cap and Elder Zhu found out that Lan Hui''s original talent had been profoundly damaged.


    That was the reason he would be stuck at the first step of the Liquid Realm forever, like Little Azu and probably many other failed experiments.


    "But then you found what was missing in your formula, right?" asked Shin Sumi.


    She was only based on conjectures, relying on Elder Zhu''s nods and genuine approval, "Dang Chi must be one of your successes, right?"


    Elder Zhu''s surprised expression would have been comical, were it for any different situation. The Elder was genuinely surprised to hear Shin Sumi pronounce this name.


    Dang Chi was the name of the desiccated corpse she had found three of Elder Zhu''s goons burying in the training grounds. In the face of imminent death, she had battled it out with the three disciples until they all died by her hand, leaving her stomach churning till this day.


    Elder Zhu broke the silence, "you were the anonymous person who dealt with Chao Ru, Chao Long and Dei Fong?"


    It was Shin Sumi''s turn to nod, "You didn''t know it was me only because you were too excited to investigate. If my calculations are right, you had just perfected your ultimate weapon, the Liquid Pellet."


    Elder Zhu had stopped smiling by now. More and more, Shin Sumi''s words were turning him serious. At first he was praising her for her hindsight but he had only been given a preview of her knowledge of his actions. He was only now realizing that she knew a lot more than he had expected.


    Not letting it show in the slightest, Zhu Yunhai was struggling internally. Had his actions been leaked to other Elders? To the Patriarch? Besides Shin Sumi and Lan Hui, who else knew of his dark tactics?


    Not knowing about his internal questioning, Shin Sumi continued.


    "You were one of the only people in the lower valley who knew I had a green talent. I am not even sure any other Elder knew about that fact, so it would have been easy to eliminate me and steal my talent. The perfect target. Am I right?"


    Shin Sumi was now being downright provocative with Elder Zhu. If it was going to be her last moments in life, she didn''t see any point in softening her words. And yet, somehow she felt strangely comfortable.


    The longer as the situation lasted, the less threatened she felt, while at the same time Elder Zhu started to feel a strange anxiousness.


    Somehow their positions were reversing, although only spoken words had been exchanged.


    Shaking away his inexplicable feeling, Elder Zhu stood up abruptly and turned his back to Shin Sumi. Folding his hands in his sleeves, he asked in a solemn tone:


    "Who else knows what I''ve been up to these last few years?"


    Shin Sumi didn''t answer. Spoken words could be powerful, but Elder Zhu was still a peak Liquid Realm cultivator whereas Shin Sumi was only on the second step of the same realm.


    Silently, Shin Sumi sent a sliver of Shinsoo into her bag of holding. At the same time, Elder Zhu''s hands started to glow a very dim white.


    Both had felt the same change in atmosphere. Was it only due to Shin Sumi''s words?


    There were five more seconds of silence during which none of them moved in the slightest. The gentle waves of the Yin spiritual plants'' leaves could almost be heard, before Zhu Yunhai''s lips opened.


    "I asked you a question, disciple Shin!"


    Shin Sumi''s eardrums vibrated strongly under the pressure of his Shinsoo-enhanced voice. Elder Zhu was using the same simple trick he had performed earlier when he forced her to advance instead of allowing her to flee.


    But this time, besides the loudness of the voice, Shin Sumi didn''t experience any restriction due to the higher level divine sense usage. Her own divine sense was not constrained in any way, as if the mental attack had been completely annihilated by something. Or someone.


    Elder Zhu doubled his divine sense attack, all the while turning to face her. The glow on his hands reached out in front of him, a piercing ray of light attacking with shocking speed.


    Shin Sumi evaded the first ray at the last second, taken by surprise by the sudden attack. Letting go of the Void Sword, the latter floated in the air around her, blocking the second ray while her hands joined together.


    "Light of Fire Arcane: Dharma Pillar!" A bright red pillar of flames extended under Elder Zhu''s feet, forcing him to jump out of Shin Sumi''s technique.


    Using the brief moment he was in the air, Shin Sumi grabbed hold of her flying sword, instantly unleashing power into it.


    "Cleaving Meteor!!" Even without a blade, the Void Sword accelerated downwards, the strong cleaving power straight along Elder Zhu''s trajectory.


    "Hmpf. Too weak" Elder Zhu lifted his palm, the white glow now flattening in the form of a small shield. Against the strong Cleaving Meteor produced by the formidable Void Sword, the simplest of his defense techniques had actually broken the attack.


    Cleaving Meteor''s yellow light extinguished without a sound, Elder Zhu unscathed. That was the difference in strength between the two, a second step versus a peak Liquid Realm cultivation base.


    The old man was about to use another series of light techniques when he suddenly stopped himself.


    "If I kill her now, I will never know who else I need to get rid of, let''s not get carried away now" were his thoughts, and then out loud:


    "I''ll give you another chance, who else knows what I''ve done?"


    His voice was strangely calm, as if he could reason with Shin Sumi at this point. Not giving in the slightest, Shin Sumi didn''t answer, instead reaffirming the grip on her sword, waiting for the Elder''s next unpredictable move.


    Elder Zhu sighed loudly after a few seconds. He was in the process of opening his lips once more when a different voice appeared.


    "Silence can speak more than words, Elder Zhu. Besides, why would my Junior Sister answer a living corpse''s question?"


    "FEN WUDAO?!" Elder Zhu blurted out, his light glow technique reappearing by reflex.


    The figure dressed in white was standing on one of the roofs of the Affairs Pavilion, tall and proud. Elder Zhu''s lips cracked a short smile after the initial surprise. Unlike his worst fears, the newcomer was only a disciple and not another Elder... or even stronger than an Elder.


    "Two kids instead of one doesn''t change the thread of fate" the old man said, all the while thinking to himself that something was different with Fen Wudao.


    "Senior Brother Fen" Shin Sumi was as confused as Elder Zhu, "what are you doing here?"


    The relief could be heard in her voice. She still didn''t understand how it was possible, but she now understood where her lack of feeling threatened came from. Despite his great age catching up to him, Elder Zhu was still a peak Liquid Realm cultivator.


    Shin Sumi was only on the second step and even with the added help of Fen Wudao, the latter was only a fourth step cultivator.


    There was no doubt about it, Elder Zhu''s divine sense didn''t lie, the young man''s cultivation base only gave off traces of the fourth step.


    But then Elder Zhu''s face fell.


    "Cultivation Release!" Fen Wudao slammed his open palm onto his belly right below the navel, where the dantian was located.


    A formidable blast of energy spread out rapidly, a strong and intimidating divine sense immediately filling the small garden. Shin Sumi was overtaken by Fen Wudao''s hidden strength in seconds. Even Elder Zhu had to take half a step backwards.


    The strength of Fen Wudao''s true cultivation base erupted fully. It wasn''t as strong as Elder Zhu''s but it came too close to it for Shin Sumi to tell the difference.


    "Eighth step?!" Elder Zhu roared in disbelief. Things were turning out for the worst for him. Despite the difference of a single step, Elder Zhu was old and had had a bit of decline in strength recently, and Fen Wudao was a peerless genius unrivaled amongst his peers. Besides, Elder Zhu walked the path of alchemy and medicine, not barbaric fighting like him. Could he really beat him if he wanted to?!


    "Don''t agitate yourself like that, Elder Zhu, or you''ll die from a heart attack. I am not going to face you" Fen Wudao said as he leapt from the roof to the garden, standing against a wooden pillar and crossing his arms. "My Junior Sister will be taking out the trash today. I will simply level the playing field."


    "What?!"


    "WHAT?!!"


    Both Elder Zhu and Shin Sumi couldn''t believe their ears. Did Fen Wudao just said he would leave the fight to Shin Sumi, after his big revelation and everything?


    "Ah ah ahahah AHAHAHAHAHAHA" Elder Zhu broke up into laughter. It was the sad condemned laugh of a dying old man. Whatever he did after that point only had one possible ending.


    Elder Zhu had just been sentenced to death, one way or the other. And yet, as the biggest affront that could have been done to him, Fen Wudao had decided to let the weak Shin Sumi battle him.


    Him, an Elder of the mighty Dark Sky Starry Sect, transformed into a training dummy for his last battle?


    Shin Sumi also understood at the same time. Fen Wudao wanted to train her by making her go against a much stronger enemy. Whether she managed to overpower Elder Zhu was almost irrelevant. The two of them combined, they were certain to beat him.


    If Shin Sumi didn''t manage to kill Elder Zhu, Fen Wudao would then join and finish the job. If Elder Zhu proved too strong from the get go, Fen Wudao had ways to make sure Shin Sumi was unharmed. And if by any chance Elder Zhu managed to overpower Fen Wudao as well, the other simply had to call Patriarch Sen for help.


    All the possible outcomes ended with Elder Zhu losing to a bunch of kids.


    "You kids have ambition and cunning. It seems like Fen Wudao was hiding even more secrets than me. He wants to see how much progress you''ve made, Disciple Shin, I have to say I''m quite interested as well. Show us the full extent of your power!"


    Roaring, Elder Zhu punched downwards with his white glow covered fist. As the ground transported an incredible shockwave, Shin Sumi felt the small earthquake growing more and more intense.


    At the speed of thoughts, Shin Sumi told herself "Big Brother Fen showed himself before the fight escalated. That must have been in order to inform me that I was covered. So now is the perfect opportunity to go all out."


    As the ground vibrated strongly, Shin Sumi was ready to finally enter the fight properly. Despite being weaker than Elder Zhu by almost a full Realm, she had two advantages.


    Somebody had her back, and she had not only two but three Pavilion''s teachings accompanying her.


    Jumping in the air to avoid the moving ground, she spun onto herself and threw her sword straight at Elder Zhu. The shockwave passed below her feet, some spirit plants being unrooted in the process.


    When she touched the ground, Elder Zhu had just managed to fend off the Void Sword. Not wasting any moment, Shin Sumi accelerated towards him.


    "So far he has shown only ranged techniques. Maybe close combat is the way to go."


    Shin Sumi managed to reduce the distance between them in half when Elder Zhu showed his teeth in a vicious smile. Pushing his hands against one another, he concentrated the Shinsoo in his body into his foot. A large formation sprang up below him, intricate symbols carving the soil with light.


    "Tortoise Fortress!"


    Turning the fresh soil into hardened earth, Elder Zhu conjured a massive wall between Shin Sumi and him. A fat tortoise was engraved on the wall, its lazy eyes seemingly looking at Shin Sumi as if to say "I''m impregnable".


    Shin Sumi didn''t let the tortoise or its wall bother her. Without stopping her momentum for a second, she amassed Shinsoo into her right fist.


    "Shinsoo Fist of Thunder!"


    Her fist crackled with tiny purple lightning bolts, sending a massive amount of energy from her fist to the wall in a single point of contact.


    BOOM


    The wall took the impact right on its center, sending the carving of the tortoise to the other world. Cracks spread out like a spider web along the entire surface, which had sunk into the wall by a few centimeters.


    Shin Sumi was certain the wall had been obliterated, but she didn''t have time to wonder why Elder Zhu had deployed a simple wall in the first place, as the old man''s voice spoke from the other side.


    "Blind Hedgehog Spikes."


    Shin Sumi''s fist was still going through the wall when Elder Zhu''s technique attacked from the other side. Fast light bursts pierced the wall in multiple places, blindly aiming at Shin Sumi.


    One such white light spike briefly illuminated her face, missing her eyes by a hair''s breadth. Another hit her side, tearing her dress and taking a piece of her flesh with it.


    "Urgh!" Shin Sumi clenched her teeth. She ignored the pain, her Shinsoo automatically stopping the loss of blood.


    Thankfully it was only a flesh wound, having avoided her organs, but now she was furious. "I can also attack blindly from the other side of the wall!"


    Using her divine sense and opening her hand in front of her, Shin Sumi called out to her sword via their mental link. With her other hand, she grabbed Sky Deception from her bag of holding, using the black blade to shield herself from any other light rays that would pierce the wall.


    Ever since it was called the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, Shin Sumi had used her primary sword in a most peculiar way, something she had never managed to do with Sky Deception. The Void Sword responded to her immediately. She had thrown it at Elder Zhu earlier and now she was calling it back.


    Due to the intrinsic nature of the Void Sword, the blade was invisible but more importantly, the sword didn''t leave any trace of divine sense.


    Without feeling it coming and without having seen Shin Sumi call to it, the blade sliced Elder Zhu''s arm, leaving a deep wound and earning a low cry from the pained old man.


    Not stopping there, the Void Sword clashed against the remnants of the Tortoise Fortress, finishing the job Shin Sumi''s Shinsoo Fist of Thunder had started.


    Pieces of the wall fell down, turning back into the soil that had given it life earlier. Elder Zhu was holding his arm now rendered almost useless, the cut having severed many of his muscles in one fell swoop. As the Tortoise Fortress crumbled down, a red dressed girl appeared from behind it, holding a dark blade in one hand and a single handle in the other.


    At this point in the fight, Fen Wudao was pleasantly surprised by Shin Sumi''s ability to fight. He had not been present for the final fight of the Cross Branch Arena, but even then he would not have been satisfied. Bai Fulong was the disciple fighting in the Cross Branch Arena, but what he and the other Ghosts were interested in was Shin Sumi''s true nature.


    Now that she was free to fight using her pure instincts and not worrying about her apparent character, Shin Sumi was like a demon, brandishing two swords and unleashing techniques after techniques. Only Fen Wudao''s concentration didn''t waver for a single instant.


    As he looked at the duel between her and Elder Zhu, he was holding onto his own sword, ready to enter the fray at any time. It looked like Shin Sumi now had the upper hand, but Elder Zhu was still an old practitioner at the peak of the Liquid Realm with maybe five times the amount of Shinsoo Shin Sumi possessed.


    Shin Sumi''s two swords crossed one another, producing two Cleaving Meteors at the same time, striking Elder Zhu from above.


    Still holding his arm, the old man from the Affairs Pavilion didn''t flinch. Barely looking at Shin Sumi''s head-on assault, he opened his mouth and spat out a tiny globe.

 Chapter 92 - Second Step vs Last Step

    Fen Wudao''s eyes opened wide to look at the tiny green globe that Elder Zhu had spat out. He didn''t think the Elder would use that kind of attack, unfortunately Fen Wudao reacted a fraction of second too late.


    The green bead cracked open and immediately a large green cloud spread out to cover the entire garden.


    "Seventh Sister, don''t breathe in!" Fen Wudao cried, conjuring a magical technique in his hands in the hope of dispersing the poisonous cloud. But he was too late again.


    Shin Sumi had naturally inhaled some of the green gas, its spreading too fast to avoid.


    Elder Zhu laughed like a maniac "Ehehehe you didn''t think I would let you toy with me, did you? I have more than one trick up my sleeves!"


    Fen Wudao''s hands spread open, a whirlwind forming and slowly s.u.c.k.i.n.g in the nauseating gas trying to limit its nefarious effect, all the while thinking "That is not good. Sister Shin can''t deal with something of that caliber. I need to finish off Zhu Yunhai and take her to Master Furnace."


    Luckily he was not affected himself. The poison that Elder Zhu had unleashed was not too potent. Because of their small difference in cultivation base, Fen Wudao had been able to block it out of his system. But for Shin Sumi, she didn''t have such luck and was probably already unconscious on the ground.


    "Back up Senior Brother Fen!" a female voice alerted the young man. The next instant an invisible blade fended the air next to him, only to be blocked at the very last moment by Elder Zhu who had heard Shin Sumi''s alert.


    Shin Sumi''s face turned pale. She had almost sent her Void Sword into Fen Wudao''s head by mistake! How could she know her Senior Brother would get in the way of her attack?! Was it because of the green gas?


    When Elder Zhu''s technique had surprised them and the globe had crashed on the ground, delivering its deadly toxins, Shin Sumi hadn''t cared that much. As soon as the green substance got close to her, she had heard the crystalline ringing of a small bell in her mind.


    Ever since the Copper Bell entered her possessions, Shin Sumi had become accustomed to it. Naturally, after knowing that the artefact had activated, she had paid no mind to the gas any longer.


    She was launching a new attack on Elder Zhu when Fen Wudao had stepped in, faster than a bolt of lightning.


    "This green gas is nothing, I can take care of it myself. But if you want to intervene, Senior Brother Fen, I won''t use the Void Sword then" Shin Sumi told him in a concerned voice.


    Fen Wudao was speechless. He had thought for sure that Shin Sumi was already affected by the gas but she seemed completely fine. Elder Zhu himself couldn''t believe his divine sense.


    Without another word, Fen Wudao walked back out of the fighting zone as Shin Sumi jumped at Elder Zhu, brandishing Sky Deception.


    The Void Sword was impossible to detect by anyone other than its master, linked with it by strong divine sense bonds. The handle carved out of a Stone Leaf Tortoise''s bone was visible but still couldn''t be felt. As such, the Void Sword was almost as dangerous for allies as for enemies.


    An undetectable weapon, unless the handle was in your field of vision. For cultivators who were used to rely heavily on their divine sense, being almost completely omniscient in their reach radius, the Void Sword was a terrifying entity.


    Elder Zhu grinded his teeth in frustration and anger. His Winter Swallow''s Peril poison had been neutralized?! How was it possible?


    The Winter Swallow''s Peril he had himself concocted years ago in great quantity was a poison he had researched intensively in order to augment its potency. It was a rare kind of poisons that did not attack the body but rather the mind.


    As soon as the green gas entered an individual''s lungs, skin pores or even open wounds, the magic within the gas would spread out, filling the soul of the target with illusions. For weaker cultivators, it could outright kill them, their soul unable to deal with the visions brought forth by the poison.


    For stronger individuals, the studies that Elder Zhu had himself done showed that time seemed to slow down and quicken at random rates and that all the target''s senses were overloaded by illusory artefacts.


    Or at least that is what was supposed to happen, but not to Shin Sumi.


    Shin Sumi held many secrets. Maybe she was simply immune to this type of poison. Maybe that damned Void Sword had to do with it? Now was not the time to think about it for the Elder.


    After using one of his trump cards, not only had it been completely useless, instead it had shown that Fen Wudao had reacted faster than the Elder had thought possible.


    And there was this strange sword... The Void Sword has profoundly damaged his arm to the point where it had now become useless. The bleeding was easy to stop for any cultivator with a bit of experience but reattaching nerves could only be done over time for Liquid Realm practitioners.


    The more the fight progressed, the easier it was to see that Elder Zhu was not a warrior. In a few short years, Shin Sumi had already amassed more experience with fighting and the use of offensive techniques and weapons than the old man.


    One technique after the other, Shin Sumi made full use of skills she had acquired from both the Star-Sword Pavilion and the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. Switching between swords at her convenience, she would build on the Void Sword''s power to incite Elder Zhu to care more about it.


    When the Elder''s focus was concentrated on following the invisible blade, she would then use Sky Deception or the Cloud Arts.


    "She''s proficient in using all sorts of techniques and at great speeds. I have never studied the Cloud Arts but I don''t think I could successfully use the Cleaving Meteor with a technique such as the King''s Tomb in this fashion."


    Fen Wudao was impressed by his junior. However, as much as experience could make up for cultivation, the gap between Shin Sumi and Zhu Yunhai was simply too large.


    Every technique used by Elder Zhu, even the simplest like his white light blade and shield, had the advantage of packing a lot more Shinsoo into them. An expert wielding a bamboo sword with his Shinsoo would still beat a low level disciple with a Heaven-sent weapon.


    "Hesh," Shin Sumi held her side. Under her fingers, a red and sticky substance was dripping very slowly, "the wound from earlier re-opened on top of the rest."


    The girl was panting. Her injuries were only shallow but the amount of energy she had to use to keep on attacking was the opposite. Because Elder Zhu was not a fighter, she could push him around but only by a constant assault. Should she momentarily stop her attacks, one of Elder Zhu''s techniques was bound to hit her.


    "I need to stop him once and for all to make sure he can never hurt anybody again" Shin Sumi thought while she attacked. A Cleaving Meteor launched with Sky Deception momentarily shattered the light shield created by Elder Zhu.


    Using this opportunity the Void Sword left Shin Sumi''s hand for Elder Zhu''s feet. For her next technique, Shin Sumi needed to immobilize her opponent as much as possible, "either you lose your feet or you are stuck mid-air for what is to come."


    Feeling the peculiar flow of Shinsoo around Shin Sumi, Fen Wudao had a pretty certain guess as to what she planned on doing next. As Elder Zhu was dealing with multiple attacks, Fen Wudao''s muscles contracted slightly, his breathing calm and his heart at peace.


    "I need to act fast as soon as it is over. I don''t think her technique is going to work against somebody as strong as Elder Zhu. I hope she knows she can only use it because I''m here to have her back."


    But Fen Wudao trusted Shin Sumi, and Shin Sumi trusted him too. She knew her next attack was going to be the last, the energy consumption being simply too great. She was already exhausted and wouldn''t be surprised if she were to pass out immediately after she was done.


    Elder Zhu whose attention had been focused on the Void Sword didn''t let the traceless weapon hit him. Instead, just as Shin Sumi predicted, he kicked the ground with his feet before the sword got close, momentarily suspended in mid-air.


    "White Claw Dusk Cleaver!"


    Right after the Void Sword passed under Zhu Yunhai''s feet, the ground turned black where it previously was the grey and colored soil littered with destroyed precious plants. A large white claw the size of her rose from the darkness without a sound as Shin Sumi was instantly transported behind her target.


    Her arm lowered intuitively suddenly moved up, prompting the ghostly claw to do the same.


    It was the same technique that had stopped Mua Jin in the middle of a powerful attack and left him bedridden for the past month. It was by far Shin Sumi''s stronger offensive technique, one she had inherited from the Ghost Pavilion''s white scroll.


    "Damn it, this is bad" Elder Zhu instantly understood the danger he was in! He had never experienced the secret technique but the simple pressure emanating from the white claw was a terror to his very soul.


    But Elder Zhu knew that cursing wouldn''t help him in any way. Fortunately for him, he was a peak level Liquid Realm cultivator and while his attacks were slow because he was never a fighter, his mind and thoughts were faster than his hands.


    As the white crescent moon rose, he poured all of his Shinsoo into his hand. It was too late to do anything else and moving out of the way of the massive claw was impossible in mid-air so instead he decided to strike his fist downwards in a simple manner.


    The same instant a long needle imbued with deep blue light escaped his lips, much like the Winter Swallow''s Peril globe from earlier in the fight. Only the needle seemed to be directed at where Shin Sumi was standing before and not where she was now.


    The white claw met the Elder''s fist at the same time as he spat out the needle into the air. The delicate finger bones didn''t last the blink of an eye, were they imbued with Shinsoo or not. The White Claw Dusk Cleaver rose unimpeded, splitting the Elder''s fist in two to then continue on with his arm.


    A cry of pain coming from his very soul escaped the Elder''s lips. He already had only one arm remaining ever since the Void Sword''s first hit but now his precious arm was quickly being shattered, cut and destroyed by the white crescent that had come out of the darkness.


    The White Claw didn''t stop there, following Shin Sumi''s arm it rose at a frightening speed. One of the Elder''s t.h.i.g.hs came after the mangled flesh that was his arm''s remains. Much like the fist, the t.h.i.g.h offered very little resistance.


    It was almost cut clean off when suddenly Shin Sumi''s arm trembled and stopped.


    The red dressed girl had lost consciousness.


    The White Claw Dusk Cleaver disintegrated into smoke, disappearing with the patch of darkness below. Shin Sumi had reached her limit.


    The entire attack had lasted just the time Elder Zhu was in the air after his initial jump and now both of them were descending with gravity.


    Elder Zhu''s pain was unfathomable. In less than a second his arm had been turned into a bloody mush and his leg had been cut almost clean off, now dangling off the few bits of muscles and tendons that had not yet been touched.


    With bloodshot eyes he roared in pain, panic overtaking him for the first time. Ever since the appearance of Fen Wudao he knew he was going to die after this fight but now he wished to die immediately.


    Anything that would stop the pain would be welcome gladly. However there was another wish in the crazed Elder''s heart.


    He would do anything to take at least Shin Sumi''s life with him. Everything that had happened was her fault and she was going to pay!


    Shin Sumi''s limp body bounced once behind him, her lack of consciousness only now registering in Elder Zhu''s divine sense.


    "Had she not been exhausted and at her limit, the White Claw would have continued its trajectory." In different words, the same thought crossed both Elder Zhu''s mind and Fen Wudao''s.


    The latter had sprung into action right as he understood Shin Sumi''s situation. His figure had turned into a blur, approaching the other two. His plan was to retrieve Shin Sumi first and let her lay somewhere safe rather than right next to the frenzied Elder.


    Only Elder Zhu who had just now found out about her unconsciousness was not about to let him have his way.


    Conjuring his Shinsoo, he ignored his severed limbs, instead concentrating his energy on his vocal chords. What use was there in trying to heal when he was already at the end of his line?


    "STAY BACK!"


    Fen Wudao''s figure stopped abruptly, his eardrums vibrating dangerously and his muscles almost tetanized.


    Elder Zhu''s technique was more than simply enhancing his voice with Shinsoo. His message itself was laced with spiritual energy, an attack that Fen Wudao was definitely not expecting.


    Acting only on instinct, Elder Zhu has done his best to stop Fen Wudao. Maybe it was fate or maybe it was the adrenalin rush but the timing was perfect for Elder Zhu.


    Unable to move for at least a second while he reversed Elder Zhu''s technique, Fen Wudao watched powerlessly as the long blue needle was activated by Elder Zhu''s divine sense.


    Only two breaths of time earlier, when he still had most of his limbs intact and was still in disbelief of what Shin Sumi was capable of, Elder Zhu had spat out a medicinal needle into the air. Fen Wudao who was observing attentively his Junior use the Ghost Pavilion''s first secret technique had then miscalculated.


    To him it had looked like Zhu Yunhai''s needle attack was just too late to call back in front of the incoming White Claw. Even the trajectory of the needle was wrong, directed at the spot where Shin Sumi was earlier. After that the young man had completely disregarded the needle.


    But now that Fen Wudao was unable to help Shin Sumi, he felt the old man call to his blue-glowing needle, activating it with his divine sense.


    The slick weapon turned sharply in the air. Had the Elder been inspired by the Void Sword in the middle of the fight? It seemed like he was using the same methods as Shin Sumi''s in terms of distraction and attack.


    How could Fen Wudao have been so stupid to let it leave his mind?! The young man bit his tongue so hard that it started bleeding, watching the needle accelerate towards Shin Sumi''s unconscious body. His own body was only just starting to respond but he would be too late in the face of the quick attack.


    "Sixty Four Crane Flight" Elder Zhu whispered.


    The needle was halfway there when it split into two, then four, then eight. A blink of an eye later, sixty four needles were upon Shin Sumi.


    Fen Wudao''s body took a hard step forward at exactly the same time as a green glow flashed on Shin Sumi''s wrist.


    In a twirl of grey and green, a small Lion Bat appeared on top of Shin Sumi. Nuan immediately spread her skeletal wings above her master.


    The black beads that were her eyes looked straight at Elder Zhu''s, instillating mostly surprise and a slight fear.


    Where had that Lion Bat come from?! He had completely overlooked the fact that Shin Sumi was enrolled in the Divine-Beasts Pavilion as well as the other two. In only a year, most divine beasts were still very young and small, basically useless in a fight. This was the reason a lot of disciples who chose to use spirit creatures were bullied at first, because the fruit of their labor would only show after a long time.


    Only Nuan didn''t seem afraid of the sixty four poisonous needles at all. As if they struck a brick wall, the needles bounced off Nuan''s wings, falling on the ground and disappearing immediately.


    "No, that is not possible" Elder Zhu cried in despair.


    "My Junior Sister is full of secrets" a voice full with pride brought Elder Zhu back to Fen Wudao.


    The young man who had just gotten rid of Elder Zhu''s blocking voice technique stood straight and stretched. His divine sense wasn''t lying, the old man was running empty on Shinsoo. Despite his many tricks, the fight was basically over.


    "She fought well. Now is my time to act, any last words, esteemed Elder?" Fen Wudao''s eyes gained a shade of darkness.


    "Wait... I don''t care for your last words. It is time for you to leave this world and beg the King of Death for a better life in the cycle of reincarnation," his eyes gained another shade of darkness.


    Elder Zhu''s mangled and broken body was completely empty and yet he still managed to tremble violently. Fen Wudao''s aura was spiking dangerously.


    "I... I am an Elder of the Dark Sky Starry Sect! A disciple wouldn''t dare kill me!!" Elder Zhu was panicking. Something about Fen Wudao was terrifying to him, even more than his imminent death.


    Fen Wudao slowly approached, his energy levels rising exponentially.


    "Grey Ghost Scroll: Berserker Shadow!"


    These were the last words Elder Zhu''s ears ever heard.

 Chapter 93 - Leaving Years of her Life

    "Hey hey, take it slow, alright?"


    Fen Wudao''s voice was calm and gentle as he quickly crouched next to Shin Sumi.


    "The White Claw Dusk Cleaver has taken a toll on you. It''s a very Shinsoo hungry technique and you were already exhausted before you used it.


    -...Elder Zhu?"


    Shin Sumi immediately enquired about the Elder. When she lost consciousness, she had just managed to hurt him with the Ghost Pavilion technique but she knew she hadn''t ended him. Fen Wudao laughed almost embarrassedly.


    "He''s... no longer able to do you any harm. Can you get up by yourself?"


    Shin Sumi nodded silently and propped herself up without much of a problem. Probing herself with her own divine sense, she quickly evaluated her state. Bruises and sore muscles, tired but overall she was feeling perfectly fine. Her hand naturally found Nuan the Lion Bat at her side, who she gently pet as she looked around.


    The garden inside the Affairs Pavilion could no longer be called a garden at all. The overturned soil was laced with debris of spirit plants who had once been a source of pleasant fragrance and soothing Yin Shinsoo. Pieces of rock and jade littered the broken wooden deck adjoined to the Affairs Pavilion main building.


    On the other side of the court, another smaller wooden building that certainly corresponded to the Elder''s personal quarters used to stand. The wood beams and panels composing the primary structure were still miraculously intact but a large hole had been blasted through it. The gaping hole resembled the maw of some exotic creature, broken frames and splinters turned into giant teeth.


    From the bottom of the hole in the destructed building, a severed limb was peeking out, only telling of the fate Elder Zhu had met. Shin Sumi recognized the leg that her White Claw Dusk Clever had almost managed to separate from Zhu Yunhai''s body. As it turned out, Fen Wudao had finished the job for her.


    With her divine sense spreading around her, it was easy for Shin Sumi to find the remains of the Elder who once stood proudly as the regent of the lower valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Sword cuts and bloody holes covered his body, his light blue robes impossible to recognize. His face was broken, as if a giant hammer had struck the side of his cranium.


    Shin Sumi held her breath involuntarily.


    "How long was I out for, Senior Brother Fen?"


    Fen Wudao answered calmly, standing next to her in front of the hole in the building, "less than a sixty second cycle."


    Shin Sumi''s heart almost skipped a beat and she had to force her jaw to not drop to the ground. In under a minute, Fen Wudao had managed to beat a great circle of the Liquid Realm Elder to death.


    Her own fight with the Elder had lasted about ten times longer. She could be considered a peerless genius from holding out as long as she did in front of somebody more than a few steps above her in cultivation. She had even given trouble to the Elder who was not too accustomed to fighting. Granted, Fen Wudao had helped her in restricting the Elder''s divine sense''s power over her, but she had still performed an incredible feat.


    But the young man standing next to her was simply on another level. There was definitely no trickery to the fact that his true cultivation was of the eighth step of the Liquid Realm. Even Shin Sumi''s most powerful techniques had barely turned the soil over whereas Fen Wudao had destroyed a building in less than a minute.


    Shin Sumi had been unconscious for her Senior Brother''s fight, whishing she could have seen him attack. Despite the injuries he had suffered, Elder Zhu still had most of his energy left and probably another few tricks up his sleeves. However the Fen Wudao before here looked completely unscathed. Even his robes didn''t have a single spot of dirt on them, and his Shinsoo Sea was calm as a mountain lake. It almost looked like taking down an Elder had been as easy as flipping his hand or pointing his finger.


    "I was a bit presumptuous in letting you fight the old bastard alone, Seventh Sister. I hope you don''t take offense at that, I only wished to see your power and give you an opportunity to use it."


    Fen Wudao''s justification was very light, as if the whole ordeal had been a simple game, however Shin Sumi knew exactly what she meant. She had felt her blood boil like never before, her warrior heart completely free to be unleashed in this small courtyard garden.


    As was everything related with the Ghost Pavilion, the situation with Elder Zhu had been a succession of mysteries. Now that she thought about it, Fen Wudao''s cultivation reveal and him making her fight was not that surprising, coming from a secret Pavilion originating from even before the creation of the sect. From the very beginning when Fen Wudao had gifted her the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, every step of the way had been some sort of passive test of her abilities.


    "What is going to happen now, Senior Brother?" Shin Sumi suddenly seemed to realize what they had done. "An Elder of the sect is dead, how are we going to explain that? Even with the protection of the Ghosts, I am surprised the Great Elder or somebody else hasn''t been made aware of Elder Zhu''s death yet."


    As she spoke, Shin Sumi spread her divine sense even wider, trying to encompass the entire Affairs Pavilion which was normally within her reach. But nevermind the entire Pavilion, she suddenly found herself unable to peer into the main building at all.


    "A barrier? When did you have the time to-


    -It is not my barrier. It seemed like Elder Zhu built it right before I appeared. He must have wanted to dispose of you quietly and not alert the vicinity. He even knocked out Little Azu, I doubt he wanted him to remember you entering the Pavillion."


    Probing the barrier, Shin Sumi recognized the spell as hand. She had learned a version of it during the teachings of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. It was a spirit formation expanded from an artefact engraved with the spell rather than a divine sense based formation. The Elder must have chosen this type of barrier because he was using his divine sense to pressure her. In any way, the barrier couldn''t prevent someone from entering or leaving, but all divinse senses were restricted.


    "Judging from the strength of the barrier, we should have five more minutes before its power dissipates. After that there will be no hiding from the other Elders and the sect as a whole. Even Azu will probably wake up instantly once the barrier is broken."


    Fen Wudao''s assessment of the situation was quick, as he had already thought about it when Shin Sumi was waking up.


    "As for what''s going to happen next, Seventh Sister, I think I have an idea." Fen Wudao''s cryptic smile made Shin Sumi freeze for a second. "You''ll be put on trial and executed by the sect."


    Shin Sumi''s heart was about to stop when Fen Wudao opened his palms forward, an apologetic expression on his face, followed by a deep laugh.


    "I am kidding, I am kidding. But in theory that is what''s going to happen. As soon as the sect finds out, somebody will look for a culprit, and who fits these shoes better than... let''s say Bai Fulong?"


    A flash of comprehension passed through Shin Sumi''s mind. After the terrifyingly bad attempt at a joke, she thought she understood now, "Bai Fulong is the most well known out of the three personalities I use and the hardest to explain the sudden disappearance of..."


    "Exactly. You will be going to the Sky Earth Sect as yourself and in the meantime the entire sect is going to look for the Bai Fulong who killed Elder Zhu and escaped."


    It made sense. Before her unplanned meeting with Elder Zhu, Shin Sumi already knew she was leaving the Dark Sky Starry Sect this very day yet she had no idea how her disappearance would be explained.


    The Shin Sumi who followed the Divine-Beast Pavilion teachings was virtually unknown in the sect apart from a select few individuals. No one would bat an eye if she were gone.


    Yan Yan from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was a bit more difficult to explain but she was sure Fen Wudao and Patriarch Sen could find the right excuse, like a trip to the Dark Fortress for example.


    That left only her male identity, Bai Fulong. The young man who had first caught the eyes of many Elders during the Rising-Star Pavilion. The same young man who had distinguished himself from the crowd during the duel between Mua Lin and Sui Lin. The disciple who had taken part in the Cross Branch Arena along the other seventeen most promising disciples.


    Thousands of people knew who he was by now, making his disappearance much harder to justify. Below the fourth step of the Liquid Realm, the rules of the sect indicated that disciples couldn''t undertake missions away from the sect and its training grounds.


    "If only I had reached the fourth step, it would have been so much easier," Shin Sumi lamented. "Your idea is definitely the better option, Senior Brother. All I need to do is escape and stay as a woman, at least until I reach the Sky Earth Sect."


    "That will be one of your trump cards. If the Sky Earth Sect manages to see through you, you can reveal yourself as Bai Fulong in disguise. By then the rumors of you killing Elder Zhu will have travelled to them, surely."


    Shin Sumi nodded. The planning of her leave had been thrown into chaos at first, but now with the help of Fen Wudao it had consolidated by a lot.


    "One last thing before I leave the lower valley," Shin Sumi started, under the curious eyes of Fen Wudao who knew there was still a few minutes left for her to make her move, "I want to see what an Elder''s bag of holding looks like... Aren''t you curious Senior Brother?"


    Looting a corpse... The corpse of an ally or a friend would be a big taboo unless the circ.u.mstances were a matter of life and death, however Elder Zhu could not be considered an ally anymore by neither her nor Fen Wudao.


    The young man was the first to reach the Elder''s mangled body and his bag of holding. After peering through its contents with his divine sense, he emitted a single condition.


    "You can''t take any artefacts. They were all linked to Zhu Yunhai and although they are now masterless, the Elders must have ways to find you through them."


    Shin Sumi shook her head, "I am not interested in those. I simply want to see what kind of techniques he had."


    Making her way to the bag of holding, Shin Sumi held her hand open, materializing the bag''s contents onto her palm one by one. Nuan was quick to appear, resting on Shin Sumi''s shoulder, seemingly intrigued by her master''s actions.


    On the interior though, Shin Sumi was very proud of Nuan. The little Lion Bat had read her thoughts.


    "Take a look, little Nuan, I''m sure you''ll find that very interesting" she thought silently.


    In under two minutes, Shin Sumi had read the few scrolls and spiritual jades that interested her, making sure Nuan had done so as well.


    Next to her, Fen Wudao was silent. He didn''t even consider the Lion Bat''s presence, simply looking at his Junior Sister. He understood what she wanted to do but even for somebody of her talent, learning techniques by a single glance was impossible. Or maybe she was just looking for inspiration.


    "That is what I thought," said Shin Sumi getting up from her crouching position, "all of these are too high of a level for me. If only I had a few days to try and learn something... Oh well, it was worth a try."


    Convincing enough, she thought. Hopefully Nuan had time to absorb all of the techniques for her to refine later.


    Shin Sumi was about to depart from the Affairs Pavilion and bid farewell to her Ghost Brother, leaving the sect for who knew how long. Only before she did so, she realized one last thing.


    "Hummm Senior Brother? Would you mind leaving early?"


    Fen Wudao''s eyebrows lifted, curious. Did she want him to leave so she could forgo his advice and loot the dead Elder some more? Maybe some artefact had caught her eye?


    "Actually I think it''s best if you leave now as well, we don''t want any trou-


    -I agree but my robes... I need to change before I leave, so..."


    "This is goodbye then... From then on you will have to face the Sky Earth Sect alone, Seventh Sister. I wish you a good journey and success in your mission, the Ghost Pavilion is relying on you."


    Getting his footing straight and his emotions in order, Fen Wudao flushed the red from his face as he gave Shin Sumi a last few words of encouragement. Exchanging a deep bow with her, he then hopped onto his silver winged arrow, leaving in a discrete streak across the sky.


    Shin Sumi changed robes quickly and efficiently. What would have happened, had she not realized it? Any disciple from the lower valley crossing paths with her would have seen her torn garments covered in her own blood.


    But now, she was looking like Shin Sumi, like any female disciple of the lower valley, completely anonymous.


    She exited the Affairs Pavilion quietly, making use of the fact that no disciple was around to get some distance between her and Elder Zhu''s residence by using her Liquid Realm speed, which made her look like a blur to any Honorary Disciple her divine sense could have missed.


    Soon, Shin Sumi was at the gates of the lower valley. If her calculations were correct, the barrier in the Affairs Pavilion was about to break open.


    She gave a quick glance back at the lower valley. She remembered vividly the first time she saw the Immortal paradise, as it seemed to her at the time.


    Her first day in the sect, she remembered thinking about how big it was, and yet now with her powers she could run through it faster than any mortal ever could.


    "Now is not the time to reminisce. I need to leave the whole sect before somebody decides to lock down all access to the valleys."


    Shin Sumi disappeared under the third gate, the highest one. Between the second and the third was where the magical Foggy Maze was located, in order to test newcomers on their ability to sense Shinsoo.


    Thankfully, the identification jade inside her bag of holding ensures that she didn''t have to go through the maze this time.


    It was one of her worries but Fen Wudao had cleared it for her. The maze sensed who came through, but there was no way for the Elders to know who the maze recognized, fortunately.


    Only the Patriarch had this kind of knowledge, and Shin Sumi knew he would ascertain it was Bai Fulong who last left the lower valley.


    Cloaking her presence with a temporary Hiding Formation, she quickly passed the plaza where the talent test stone was located. The disciple in charge didn''t even notice somebody had gone through.


    There was now only one gate left before the open world. Once she was at the end of the stairs, she would be at the foot of the Blue Fire mountain range.


    This time Shin Sumi didn''t look back towards the sect. She had spent four years in the sect, whereas the mortal kingdoms seemed like a distant memory.


    The fourteen years old girl who Fen Wudao brought here only had one thought at the time, leaving East Seaside Village and becoming a librarian with her Second Uncle in the big city.


    Unfortunately for her dreams, she had learned that reading books was not enough to become a cultivator. Fighting, training, killing... The life of a cultivator was tumultuous.


    "To think that I couldn''t become a librarian and read books my entire life because of you, Nuan. The irony of the Heavens, you ARE a book. And a cute little Lion Bat of course."


    The more Shin Sumi progressed down the stairs, the more she could feel the ambient Shinsoo diminish in quality and quantity.


    At the foot of the stairs, the air felt so muddy to her that it almost caused a physical pain. Having bathed in the Shinsoo from a cultivation sect for so long, the normal Shinsoo levels of the mortal realms were absurdly low.


    It took quite a while for her to get accustomed to it, by which point the Blue Fire mountain range''s peaks were distant and disappearing from her sight in the clouds.


    From high hills, the nature around her turned to luxurious forests. At long last, Shin Sumi had been advancing for almost an hour when she spotted a man-made trail on the ground.


    "If I follow this trail to the west, I am bound to find paths and roads. It will lead me to mortal cities."


    Shin Sumi honestly wished she hadn''t fallen asleep on her first trip with Fen Wudao. Maybe she would have been able to recognize which direction they came from. No matter her level of cultivation, Shin Sumi was in a location completely unknown to her.


    Was her home village far? She only knew it bordered the Silver Sea and that the Blue Fire mountain range was at the east of it.


    The forest path was getting a bit bigger, with traces of horse hooves in the dirt, when Shin Sumi suddenly stopped. A few hundred meters ahead, two presence had appeared in her divine sense.

 Chapter 94 - Like a Mortal

    There was no shadow of a doubt, the two presences in her divine sense were mortals. Instantly, she probed them and their possessions.


    One figure was tall and burly, with facial features that seemed to be primitively carved out of stone. The other one was exactly the same but smaller.


    "A father and a son with axes, this deep into the forest. They are cutting wood" Shin Sumi had seen the long handles and sharp metallic faces strapped to the men''s backs.


    The two mortals were still quite far away and were completely oblivious to Shin Sumi''s presence. On the other hand, the latter had completely analysed them, what they had and what she would do.


    "They don''t have a mule or a cart which means they will transport the wood by hand. Their home is close-by!"


    "This one''ll do," the men stopped before they reached the end of the path where Shin Sumi was.


    Now that she was in the mortal world, she reminisced a bit about the ways of mortals, while patiently waiting for the lumberjacks to work their way through a trunk.


    Cutting wood, for starters, seemed a bit strange to her now. It had been a long time since she had seen fire come out of a pile of logs. Paper talismans were much easier to use.


    How could she have forgotten such trivial aspects to daily life? She remembered the pile of wood that her father would regularly buy for their own home. It was only thanks to that pile of wood that Shin Sumi ate hot meals and sometimes even took hot baths, back in East Seaside Village.


    In the winters, when the wind whistled and would make people shiver, the Shin family would spend time close to the hearth of the main room, depending on the flames for heat.


    "They wouldn''t turn their back on a young girl lost in the woods, would they?" she asked herself in a low voice.


    She had realized that she hadn''t eaten a proper hot dinner in almost a year. Cultivators, past a certain point in cultivation, didn''t need to rely on food to survive. Spirit plants and fruits were often eaten only because they provided slim boosts in cultivation.


    Eating for survival was a thing of the past for her, but eating for p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e was an activity she found herself missing. More importantly, in order to reduce the use of the precious stock of wood, people would only cook a single meal for everybody and thus eat together. Sharing a meal with another person was another aspect she missed fondly.


    Shin Sumi waited for the man and his son to finish cutting the fallen trunk into smaller logs. The boy insisted on holding one himself, his arms tight around the piece of wood that looked almost bigger than him. The father took the other four, his muscular frame a sign that it was a regular occurrence for him.


    Finally taking a step forward, Shin Sumi soon entered the two men''s sight.


    "Father! Look" the boy''s voice rose in a surprised pitch that could only be achieved by a man who had not reached puberty yet.


    "Don''t point your finger at a person, son. That is impolite."


    Shin Sumi was surprised. The man seemed more well spoken than she had expected.


    "My apologies on behalf of my son, fair lady. This is quite the remote location for a stroll and Wuike is not used to seeing people like you."


    Shin Sumi had not spoken a single word yet, as the man bowed his head lightly, encouraging his son to do the same. "People like me?" she thought, wondering what the man meant by that.


    "Are you perhaps in need of a place to stay? Or are you looking for the way to the nearest city?"


    Shin Sumi was perplexed. As if the man had read her mind, these were the two things she was wondering about.


    "I humbly thank you for your hospitality, sir. This stupid girl lost her way and is not used to small forest paths" Shin Sumi refered to herself and responded to the man''s bow in kind.


    "These woods are treacherous and an awful lot of young people tend to get lost in them, it is only natural to provide help when I can. Come along, my and Wuike''s house isn''t far."


    The man turned around and started walking. The young boy, Wuike, looked at Shin Sumi for a few seconds more, his eyes darting up and down her figure before he followed his father.


    Folding her hands in her sleeves, Shin Sumi quickened her pace and followed as well.


    She broke the silence after a few minutes, her curiosity of the man''s last few words being too important to ignore.


    "Sir, what do you mean when you say that a lot of people get lost in the woods?"


    Turning his head to look at her with the sincere smile of a father, the man replied, "Youngsters from as far as Rishen City or the old Baijo town sometimes appear in these woods, lost like young sheeps in the same path as the one you took. This is partly why me and my son go up there to cut logs."


    "Listen, young lady, I ain''t one to ask questions, whatever brings all of you up here is none my problem" the man''s rough speech sometimes betrayed his nature as a man of the country despite his best efforts to control his language. Self consciously focusing on his words, he continued, "I simply offer my assistance when I can, to make sure none of you get eaten by wolves at night."


    The man''s simple way of phrasing his thoughts somehow warmed Shin Sumi''s heart. It was clear that this man and his son were not cultivators but Shin Sumi knew what the man meant by his words.


    The direction she had taken had been in a straight line from the end of the stairs leading to the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s lower valley. She remembered when she climbed these stairs a few years back and Fen Wudao''s words that she could choose to leave at any time.


    In all probability, the man next to her had seen many people who had turned back during their climb and ended up in the forest near his house. From what she knew, the Inner Sect disciples would often carry missions out of the sect and bring back young mortals with potential to become cultivators.


    Only a small portion of them would end up becoming Honorary Disciples whereas the other would have to find their way back to their home.


    Many of them had ended up walking in the same way she was now, relying on the hospitality of the lumberjack. Possibly many Liquid Realm disciples leaving the sect for missions had also taken the same path.


    It was probably the strong auras of these individuals that had dissuaded the man from asking too many questions about his occasional sudden guests.


    "I see. In this case I won''t bother you for long, sir...?"


    "People call me Wuije," the man replied. Shin Sumi noticed that he didn''t ask for her name back on purpose. The less the man knew, the better he seemed to be.


    Shin Sumi made a mental note to leave the man a spirit stone, a spirit plant or something to repay his kindness when she would leave.


    They had followed the forest path for about half an hour when a small clearing appeared in sight. A rather crude but welcoming wooden house stood in the middle of the clearing. In front of it, the path suddenly became larger, telling of the fact that the man was often travelling to other cities.


    The lumberjack most likely provided wood for the neighboring cities. Pointing to the cart, the man spoke to Shin Sumi, "if you wish to share our humble supper and roof, I can bring you to a city tomorrow. Old Ren is waiting for his monthly supply, which takes me as far as the Hoyan River."


    Shin Sumi considered the offer. She was initially going to share their supper before leaving, but the proposition was tempting.


    The Dark Sky Starry Sect was already looking for Bai Fulong after finding Elder Zhu''s body, but nobody was looking for Shin Sumi. And even then, Fen Wudao had assured her that the Patriarch would delay the search outside the sect.


    Seeing no reason to rush things for now, Shin Sumi graciously accepted the offer.


    To a cultivator like her, it was almost exciting to spend a day as a mortal in the company of this man and his son.


    The supper consisted of forest mushroom soup, a dried piece of meat and a large bowl of rice. Despite not containing an ounce of Shinsoo, the food felt good in her stomach, a consistency she hadn''t experienced for a while.


    After dinner, Shin Sumi helped the son, Wuike, clean the room and the wooden dishes while Wuije prepared the small hut for the night.


    Gentle red embers crackled in the fireplace, casting long shadows on the two small beds. After a long day of woodworking, Wuije and Wuike fell asleep soundlessly in the man''s bed while Shin Sumi laid flat on Wuike''s bed.


    She didn''t sleep, meditating instead in a position that looked like she was sleeping. She wanted to spend some time as a mortal but she still needed to be alert in case people from the sect went to look for Bai Fulong near here.


    "Wuije mentioned a lot of young people appearing in these woods. If all the rejected applicants for the sect end up here, surely the sect knows about it."


    ***


    Spending a night in a stranger''s hut was a new experience for Shin Sumi. Had she never entered the Immortal world, she would have never accepted Wuije''s offer, instead preferring to spend the night walking in the forest, be there wolves or not. Besides, the man was a wood cutter used to carry logs and axes around. His strength was impressive for a mortal, leaving absolutely no chance to a seventeen years old girl, should his morals be low.


    However for an unexplainable reason, she trusted the man. Maybe it was because his eight or nine years old boy was there too, or maybe because the man''s eyes were serene. He was a simple lumberjack, happy with his simple life.


    The three of them shared hot green leaves tea in the morning before Wuije prepared the cart. Wuike helped his father set the logs onto the cart behind the small horse.


    "If no trouble arises, we will be near the Hoyan River by mid-day. Wuike my boy, hold the castle for me, okay? I will be back before the sun sets."


    With a proud air, the young boy puffed his c.h.e.s.t and stood straight in front of the door of their hut. Wuije laughed and Shin Sumi smiled. Wuike laughed as well.


    "He is a good boy. He wants to be like his father when he grows up. I would rather he learned to read and became a scholar but it is up to him to decide."


    Shin Sumi asked why he wanted him to become a scholar.


    "A man like me with arms but no wits will never go out into the world. I might be strong enough to chop down trees, I might even be called the strongest around here but I know there are always stronger people out there."


    The man hesitated before continuing in a low voice, "believe me or not but I have seen people in these woods not much older than Wuike who could-... Nevermind, it is not my place to say," Wuije finally decided against telling his story, instead changing the subject slightly.


    "Strength can only carry you so far, but the brains are different. Scholars can experience the entire world from a book, can talk with kings and emperors. Real power and tranquility doesn''t come from the muscles. The dukes and city regents are not strong and yet they are the more powerful. Only then can they live without bother, without spending a single day wondering if they are going to eat the next day, without hoping they won''t need to use their arms."


    The man''s voice slowly trailed off into silence. Shin Sumi respected that silence, the man had said enough. She decided not to bring up the subject again.


    Her next few words she kept to herself, "The Immortal world is very similar and very different from the mortal realm at the same time. Power and strength is everything, but cleverness and intelligence is most useful. The two opposite aspects have to progress together or else one will only have a grim future in cultivation."


    She thought about the people she knew who were both clever and strong at the same time. Xiao Yue, Chu Erlong, Sui Lin, they were all on top of their level and had shown time and time again how strategy and brains mattered when the muscles were engaged.


    However her best examples were definitely Patriarch Sen and Fen Wudao. The first had lived more than a few mortal lifespans and his eyes radiated wisdom. With his position in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, it was also impossible to deny his strength as a cultivator.


    On the other hand, Fen Wudao was barely two year older than Shin Sumi but his cultivation level was unheard of for his age. A nineteen years old man at the eighth step of the Liquid Realm was a genius in the ways of cultivation but Fen Wudao was also cunning enough to hide it from everyone except maybe the Ghosts.


    The cart pulled by the small horse shook on the bumby forest path, bringing Shin Sumi and Wuije out of their reveries. The bright morning sun peered through the leaves above their head.


    As the sun rose higher and higher, the forest seemed to become sparser and sparser, until the cart joined a larger road and they left the forest behind.


    Turning her head to look at the scenery, Shin Sumi spotted the high peaks of Blue Fire mountain range in the distance. From their position, most of the peaks were enshrouded in heavy clouds. Shin Sumi was uncertain whether these clouds were due to high altitude or if they were a trace of Patriarch Mui''s curse, the heavy darkness that perpetually covered the sect she came from.


    Because of the Copper Bell in her bag of holding, Shin Sumi had not suffered from the darkness as much as most other disciples. One of the first tricks the small bell had shown to possess was its ability to make its master''s surrounding clear and sharp in any situation. Even in the dark chasm Shin Sumi could see clear as day around here, the curse seemingly having no effect on her person.


    Because of that, she wasn''t as ecstatic as others would be when she felt the warm rays of the sun on her delicate skin. The same sun that seemed to never hang above the valleys of the sect was now high up in the sky. Shin Sumi calculated that it would probably be at its peak in two hours.


    "Stay in the cart, little lady. It won''t take more than a few minutes and we''ll be on our way to Hoyan River" Wuije pulled on the reins, bringing his cart to a stop in front of an old but big house on the outskirts of a little town.


    Wuije entered the house and spoke to an old man, the one surnamed Ren he told her about the previous night. Reappearing outside shortly after, Wuije unloaded the logs from the cart, refusing any help from Shin Sumi with a smile.


    Wuije started counting his copper coins as soon as the empty cart pulled away from old Ren''s house and onto the road.


    The less than a dozen small copper coins seemed ridiculous in the man''s large palm, but his smile was that of contentment. Shin Sumi could almost read his mind, "With that I can bring back at least five bits of meat, a few weeks'' worth of rice and fresh eggs to Wuike! Maybe I will even find a toy or somethin'' for him to play with."


    Close to an hour later, Shin Sumi could hear the noise of a bustling city in the distance before Wuije could even spot it.


    As they approached the city gates on the main road, Shin Sumi realized that many other carts in front of them waited in a line, almost at a standstill.


    From the trips she had taken with her father from East Seaside village to the Big City, she knew that waiting for the guards was an unavoidable formality in cities as large as that one.


    Patiently waiting, the better half of another hour went by before Wuije sighed with relief, the small horse finally at the gate.


    A guard that didn''t bother to hide his boredom eyed the empty cart briefly, leaning on his dull iron spear. He spoke in a mechanical voice, betraying how monotonous his job was.


    "What business do you have in Hoyan River and what are your names?"


    The guard looked above his spear-head at Wuije briefly then Shin Sumi, for a bit longer.


    Wuije responded calmly, "We delivered wood at the last village, earning us enough to visit Hoyan market, my niece and me. I''m Wuije and that is Wumei."


    "Be on your way by dusk, the streets are busy these days. That''ll be a copper per head."


    Wuije obeyed, parting with two of the precious coins he held. The whole time, a simple smile never left his face.


    After passing the gates, when the guards were far behind them, Wuike turned to Shin Sumi, still smiling.


    "I''m glad this is a big city and the guards never remember me. If they knew how many ''nieces and nephews'' I have had over the last few years... Eh-eh-eh!"


    Shin Sumi laughed as well at the man''s clear sense of humor, thanking him for everything he had done for her. She then fumbled a bit with a hand in her bag of holding.


    It was strange to use the bag of holding by opening it and physically putting her hand inside, but she didn''t want to startle Wuije by having something simply appear in her hand at her will.


    When she took her hand out, Shin Sumi exclaimed, "Ah! There it is," and promptly shoved whatever she held inside Wuije''s large hand.

 Chapter 95 - Destination Home

    Shin Sumi had thought about it for a long time before they reached Hoyan River. Of course, she wanted to repay Wuije for the trouble she had given him.


    She was even more inclined to do so considering the man hadn''t hesitated a single second before lying to the guards about her and paying the hefty price of a copper coin for her.


    She had seen his days'' work being paid by old Ren ten coins and Wuije had already parted with two just entering the city.


    Wuije opened his hand, feeling what Shin Sumi had left inside.


    It was a pearl, large as a coin and whiter than snow.


    "An Empress Tooth!" the man exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. He attempted to push his hand forward in a motion meaning he couldn''t accept the gift but Shin Sumi''s own small hand retracted promptly, a smile forming on her face.


    "Keep it, I have no use for it. This is only a small payment for your hospitality and the trouble I caused you."


    Wuije wanted to retort something for a second but eventually closed his mouth after a second of silence. He was smart enough to read Shin Sumi''s honest expression.


    A smile of gratitude echoed Shin Sumi''s own and a small nod expressed his thanks.


    "Have a safe journey back to the mountains, I''ll be on my way now" Shin Sumi parted ways with the woodworker, making her way through the streets of Hoyan River City.


    Pearls white enough to be called Empress Tooth were not that uncommon but the demand of such a luxurious item still made it very valuable. With the one Shin Sumi had given Wuije, the latter would probably be able to spend three to four months without ever looking at his coin purse.


    For the price of a low grade spirit stone, nine Empress Tooth remained in her bag of holding.


    In the sect they only served as a vain decoration female disciples liked to add to their hairpin. In the mortal realm, the use was very similar but only reserved to high status women.


    For Shin Sumi it meant being able to easily get metal coins for food and other things important to her she had thought about for a long time.


    Food was more of a guilty p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to Shin Sumi who didn''t need it to survive. She didn''t need sleep either and wouldn''t need to spend money on a room at night. Travelling in Wuije''s cart had been nice but terribly slow for Shin Sumi whose legs could be faster than a horse''s by using the slightest amount of Shinsoo.


    But she definitely needed money for what she had in mind.


    She spent the better part of the afternoon walking the streets leisurely, basking in the sun and the anonymity of a large crowd. Asking questions here and there to the few individuals that didn''t look at her with lecherous intent, she soon began to build a map of the country in her head. The roads she needed to take, the cities she could stop at and those she could avoid.


    She also managed to exchange all of her pearls but one, in a small shady shop far from the main streets of the bustling city. The man she sold the pearls to seemed happy with himself. She had gotten ripped off compared to what she could have fetched for eight precious pearls in a market, but the man also offered discretion and Shin Sumi wanted it more than the money.


    Haggling at the open market would surely raise eyebrows. A young girl like her with eight pearls was bound to raise questions. Even after she sold them, a young girl with a lot of money was bound to raise even more unwanted attention.


    Shin Sumi then stopped at a few stationary shops, avoiding the open market for now. She bought a dark grey cloak, the kind that was thick but without looking expensive and would hide her face and her silhouette. To compliment her new cloak she also bought a couple of dresses that were more appropriate for a country girl.


    Not changing her clothes yet, Shin Sumi moved to another part of the city. The richer part.


    The smell of luxurious spices and fragrant incense soon replaced the smell of the horses and the commoners'' market. Shin Sumi couldn''t help but feel out of place in a neighborhood like this one.


    She quickly entered a shop, then another before finally finding what she wanted in the third one.


    Most of the metal coins she had exchanged were gone by the point Shin Sumi left, a smile of contentment on her face.


    She left Hoyan River by foot, crossing the long wooden bridge to the other side of the river, the eastern side.


    After an hour of two, the main road became more and more empty, the few crossways she had passed thinning the number of carts.


    A slight relief progressively went over her face when the sun started setting down. From the obscured valleys of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, she had become more familiar with less light. It would also make her disappear in the shadows more easily.


    A faint green glow briefly illuminated the inside of her cloak. Nuan whimpered curiously. The Lion Bat had come out to find herself trapped under the cloth, trying to make sense of the foreign fabric before Shin Sumi helped her out laughing.


    "Here you go, girl! You''re free as the wind here!"


    Out in the open, Nuan opened her black eyes and stretched her wings. She jumped from Shin Sumi''s hands to her shoulder, then propping herself upwards by putting a paw on the top of her head.


    Nuan sniffed the air, disoriented and confused.


    "The Shinsoo in here isn''t as good as in the sect, right? It took me a while to get used to it too" Shin Sumi admitted.


    To compensate for the lack of ambient Shinsoo, Shin Sumi offered Nuan a few spirit berries. The spirit creature gulped the fruits down ferociously. As she looked for a moment at the tiny pointy teeth and remembered the countless times she had been bitten, Shin Sumi was glad that Nuan was only as long as her arm, from head to tail.


    "Nuan, can you show me Elder Zhu''s techniques?" Shin Sumi spoke softly, petting the Lion Bat.


    Under her hand, a small vortex twisted the yapping beast. By reflex, Shin Sumi retracted her hand. She didn''t know what could happen if the vortex touched her. Would it twist her hands into a mush of torn flesh and broken bones?


    Shin Sumi shook the grim thought away. Putting the floating book on her l.a.p, she began to flip the pages with her fingers. The bark-like cover felt warm on her knees, and the paper-thin leaves that formed the pages felt frail.


    Despite Nuan''s growth since she hatched, the book had had no visible change. It made Shin Sumi question Nuan''s origin once again, the biggest mystery in her life so far.


    Quickly finding what she was looking for at the end of the filled pages, Shin Sumi concentrated.


    She would always get lost in her books as soon as her eyes saw written characters. It had always been like that. She didn''t even hear the Copper Bell ring once when the night had become too dark for her to read properly and a gentle diffuse light appeared from nowhere just for her eyes.


    On top of the highest peak of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, an old man was standing, his eyes peering downwards through the clouds, as if they could see past the opaque curse.


    "Patriarch," a voice called behind him, "I have retrieved Yunhai''s bag of holding. The ceremony is going to begin soon so whatever you wish to do, you should do it now."


    Patriarch Sen turned around, thanking the Great Elder of the sect, Chu Xuanba. The bag of holding that once belonged to Elder Zhu floated quickly from one man''s hand to the other''s.


    Chu Xuanba frowned slightly but didn''t speak.


    "If you have something to say, say it, old friend" the Patriarch sighed.


    "Most people would curse at the sight of somebody going through a deceased ally''s possessions... It would be best if the bag was cremated along with the body."


    Patriarch Sen''s eyes darted upwards to meet the stern look and the cold face of the Great Elder before returning to the matter at hand.


    "If anything was stolen, we could track Yunhai''s killer. I''m only looking for clues and I will return the bag before the ceremony. I will see you there, Great Elder," Patriarch Sen dismissed Chu Xuanba with a wave of his hand.


    After another stern look under his eyebrows shaped like swords, the Great Elder turned into a blur and left the mountain top.


    Patriarch Sen relaxed. Part of it was due to Chu Xuanba leaving, part of it was because he couldn''t find any clues incriminating Shin Sumi. Had he found some, he would have lied of course but a Ghost had to cover their traces.


    After a brief second, his divine sense fell upon the scrolls and spirit jades. One of Patriarch Sen''s eyebrows curved upwards.


    "Strange," he muttered before opening one of the scrolls, his eyes widening slightly more for every scroll he opened.


    "How peculiar... They are all empty."


    ***


    Shin Sumi forced herself away from the book on her l.a.p. She had started reading, hiding behind a tree, in order to wait for the night to cover the land.


    Her eyes were still bright with the flame of knowledge inside her. She had been close to getting a grasp on the first technique from Elder Zhu''s bag of holding, however with her experience she knew that she needed more time.


    She decided to let the words, runes and impressions the page had given her run wild in her mind while she travelled. At the same time, her Shinsoo Sea was churning lazily.


    Normally, Shin Sumi wouldn''t have been able to run at full speed while meditating, but the lack of strength of the muddy Shinsoo in this part of the mortal realm made it more than easy to cultivate while moving.


    When the pink rays of morning sun appeared in front of her, she had covered more ground than a horse pulling a cart could hope to achieve in a day and a night.


    She hadn''t yet slowed down, her cloak fluttering straight behind her, but a distant noise forced her to stop her running and walk like a mortal.


    "Sir messenger, how long is it until Chen Fort?" she asked the man riding his horse when he finally closed the distance between them.


    On his saddle were two heavy leather bags, one on each side, and a rolled up blanket at the back. Messengers were easy to recognize, always carrying news and deliveries between cities, sometimes sleeping on their horse or the side of the road.


    The sight of the strong looking man reminded Shin Sumi of the day she had left East Seaside Village. A man just like this one had scared her away from the road at night.


    She smiled to herself just before the man replied, knowing how foolish she had been at the time.


    "On foot? Maybe two hours," the man scratched his beard while thinking.


    "Are you coming from the Silver Sea Region?" Shin Sumi continued. The man nodded.


    "Is the road to East Silver City good?"


    The man nodded once again, eyeing her in a strange way. She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen and from the questions she asked she wanted to walk all the way across half a region.


    If East Silver City was her destination, she was looking for at least two weeks of walking. More than what a lady''s legs could usually afford.


    But Shin Sumi didn''t look like a lady. With her simple grey cloak she looked like any farmer''s girl. Pretty but unsophisticated.


    However farmer girls didn''t tend to travel very far.


    His mind full of confusion, the messenger shook his thoughts away, telling her roughly the distance she would face between here and her destination.


    They soon parted ways, Shin Sumi walking with determination. The horse rider made a mental note to himself to inquire about a missing young girl or concubine to the lords of the next city he would stop at.


    Confident there was no other person nearby on the road, Shin Sumi accelerated. She looked calm and for a second an onlooker would have thought she was simply walking when in fact each step of hers covered more distance than a grown man running at full speed would.


    Chen Fort was two hours away but Shin Sumi passed the guard outpost twenty minutes after she had met the messenger.


    She found a clear water fountain to refill a small gourd she carried in her bag of holding. At this time of the morning, the markets were still asleep and people were not yet out on the streets.


    Hesitating for a short time, Shin Sumi allowed Nuan to come out. The Lion Bat splashed in the water for a few seconds while she filled her gourd. After motioning to the spirit creature, Nuan disappeared inside Shin Sumi''s wrist again.


    Shin Sumi drank a few gulps of fresh water, feeling Nuan''s powers still lingering in the liquid. The dull headache that had begun in the night slowly faded away.


    Shin Sumi breathed slowly.


    "Immortals don''t get headaches like that yet it is the second time it has happened to me in less than five days," she muttered.


    Probing her body with her divine sense, she didn''t find anything out of the norm. Having no choice other than ignoring it, she shrugged and continued walking until she reached the outskirts of the city on the eastern side.


    Patiently, she walked along the side of the main road, waiting for the night to come and the passing of carts and horse riders to become more sparse.


    An entire day would seem like a long time but for Shin Sumi it passed like a breath of time. Focusing inward, she spent the day focusing on meditating despite the poor amount of Shinsoo as well as reviewing in her head the techniques she had been trying to comprehend the night before.


    For four nights and four days, Shin Sumi alternated between walking when passersby were there and running like a shadow under the cover of darkness.


    The sun was only starting to set when she spotted the sparse lights of a city in the distance.


    Shin Sumi breathed a sigh of relief, a long breath of mixed emotions. Melancholy, excitation, nervousness and even a tinge of anxiousness.


    "East Silver City, the Big City where Second Uncle lives" she spoke softly, just for herself.


    With a strange twist of her mind, Shin Sumi chuckled despite herself.


    "It took me three years to walk to the Big City from East Seaside Village. I have to be the slowest walker in all of the realms."


    Shin Sumi was standing on top of a small hill, on the side of the road, peering intently towards the city lights. In her memory East Silver City had always been the Big City, the largest city she had ever known. Now that she was older, taller and more knowledgeable about the world, she realized how foolish she had been.


    From one side of the city to the other, the entire area was barely bigger than the upper valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Granted, for a mortal it was large, spanning a few kilometers in every direction, but it was in no way gigantic.


    As her face laced with emotions looked forward under her cloak, a crystalline sound rang in her ears. In the span of a few breaths her face turned stern as her lips became redder, her eyebrows thinner and her cheeks higher.


    When the girl in the cloak finally decided to stop staring and sit down on the ground, Yan Yan''s face had taken over her own.


    "Come out Nuan, we''re stopping for the night here, there is no use in advancing at night anymore."


    The Lion Bat flashed outside of the leaf pattern on her wrist and immediately looked at her. Nuan was not very expressive, her black eyes unreadable most of the time, but Shin Sumi still felt the question.


    "I need to become Yan Yan because I don''t know if my parents are still looking for me after all these years. Disappearing people are not that common and I wouldn''t be surprised if a merchant walking on this road recognized me as a picture he''s seen placated on the walls somewhere," she hesitated before adding "and I can''t definitely go to the library as myself."


    Nuan expression didn''t fade away, because there was no expression on her face to begin with. Shin Sumi gently petted the Lion Bat, "It''s true, I might be a bit scared to do this. I''m afraid I would be recognized... Or that I wouldn''t."


    Falling into a long drawn silence, Shin Sumi''s hand pet Nuan mechanically until the tiny beast flapped her wings around, flying awkwardly around at the height of a person and attempting to survey the area.


    That night, Shin Sumi didn''t meditate. She didn''t sleep either. She simply sat there, her back against a tree, occasionally looking towards the city with reminiscence in her eyes.


    No one knows what thoughts crossed her mind that night.

 Chapter 96 - Memory Flood

    At the first lights of dawn, Shin Sumi entered East Silver City.


    As she walked through the streets, still mostly empty at that time of day, she didn''t spare a glance to the baker opening shop or the smoke starting to rise from the blacksmiths'' forges.


    She headed past the first neighborhood, the artisan district and the long walls of the many officials'' mansions. She walked straight to a large rectangular building with high windows at the end of a small plaza.


    The building was old and its grey stones had turned black in some parts, but the front of it was still clean and as beautiful as ever in Shin Sumi''s eyes.


    "The library," she spoke in an ushered tone despite the fact that she hadn''t entered yet.


    The library wasn''t open yet, it was still too early for that. Standing in the corner of a small alley, Shin Sumi looked at it for a long time, waiting for the front door to open.


    After half an hour of silent looks under her cloak, Shin Sumi''s eyes grew wide and wet as she saw a familiar silhouette pushing the two heavy wood panels open.


    "Second Uncle!"


    Without realizing it, she heaved a sigh of relief. For some reason she had been afraid her relative wouldn''t work there anymore. That the man who would open the door wasn''t the Chief Librarian she always knew.


    Calming her heart in a way only cultivators could, she closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, she pushed her cloak away from her head and walked straight towards the building''s entrance.


    "Good morning" Yan Yan''s voice accompanied her steps.


    From behind his counter, Shin Jiang lifted his head. He looked for a brief second at the teen, returning her salutations. The man''s face was emaciated and his temples were full of wrinkles, despite the fact that his hair was still black as a crow.


    Shin Sumi had once asked about his wrinkles when she was too young to understand that it was not polite. Shin Jiang had laughed before responding, "some books are written in very small characters so naturally I have to make my eyes small as well to read them!"


    He had pointed at his face and squinted really hard, the skin of his temples folding on itself. He had also stuck his tongue out and sent his eyes looking in different directions. Shin Sumi had laughed for an entire day after that, engraving that memory forever in her young mind.


    "What? Pardon me, I wasn''t paying attention," Shin Sumi realized she had been standing there for a second while her Second Uncle had spoken.


    "I said: are you looking for something specific, fair lady?" the Chief Librarian repeated patiently.


    His tone was calm and soothing, ushered as always even though they were the only two people in the building.


    "I am interested in popular stories regarding the Story of the People," Shin Sumi spoke without thinking about what she was saying.


    The Story of the People was an ensemble of texts. Scrolls, parchments, carvings much older than any other writing. The mythical People, rising from the belly of the earth and ascending to the Heavens, preceded the current era by at least dozens of millenia, if not more.


    While Shin Sumi indubitably knew of their existence, having seen traces of their ancient southern tongue in the Floating Continent of the Rising Star Tournament, most people thought of them as myths and legends from when they were children. Exactly like Immortals.


    "I would also like a blank scroll, ink and a brush please!"


    Out of nowhere the thought popped into her mind and moved to her lips, where it escaped in a soft voice.


    Her uncle looked at her with a gentle smile, "that will be two coins for the writing material and one for reading."


    Shin Sumi searched the inside pockets of her cloak for a second before passing the money to him. She had decided to keep her mortal currency in her cloak because she was afraid of producing riches out of thin air by force of habit if she used her bag of holding.


    The library of East Silver City was funded by the many apprentice scholars who wished to learn their ways to the ranks of officials, as such it was common practice to pay for entering the library and to rent writing tools for taking notes.


    "Every book is precious to a librarian," Shin Sumi''s Second Uncle had once explained to her, "we are not selling books here. If people want to take the books out with them, they will have to copy it first."


    Shin Sumi also knew that paying upfront before entering the reading room was a way to avoid thieves. This was the reason the Chief Librarian''s desk and counter were located right at the entrance of the building.


    Walking under the massive shelves full of old and discolored books, Shin Sumi inhaled silently. Dust, leather, paper, dry ink; all of the smells instantly reminded her of why she had always wanted to be a librarian.


    ***


    The day was coming to an end and the high windows were starting to darken when Shin Sumi stood up from her reading table.


    She had spent the entire day reading books and she was just now realizing that the sun was already setting.


    She pocketed her writing materials, still completely unused. She had only laid them down in front of her like most of the young scholars that had come in and out of the library all day. From her reading table she had also spent quite a good amount of time observing her uncle at work.


    More than once, Shin Sumi thought about uncovering her real identity. Returning to her old life, becoming a mortal again and working here, in the middle of books.


    But she knew it was only a futile fantasy. She was an Immortal.


    She had come to hate something she had realized early on in the day. She was fighting internally against it but she knew it was the truth.


    "Out of the thousands of books around me, none of them are half as interesting as what can be found in the world of cultivators."


    Farmer''s records, medicinal use of local plants, arithmetics, folklore,... The books in her uncle''s library were probably the finest in the entire Silver Sea region and yet to her they seemed rather insipid.


    "I still want to become a librarian... However, I want to be an Immortal librarian!"


    Shin Sumi put all the books she had read back on their shelves, donned her cloak and walked back to the entrance of the building.


    Her Second Uncle, Shin Jiang, seemed to be waiting for her with a smile. For a split second, emotions rushed from deep within her soul and flushed her face. She wanted to go back to simpler times.


    "Good luck on your scholar exams, come back anytime" the Chief Librarian said.


    "Thank you Unc-, erm, thank you Sir" she promptly replied. Exiting the library, the heavy wooden doors closed behind her.


    Shin Sumi let out a long sigh. As she walked through the familiar streets of the big city, she let the tears welled up in her eyes flow freely.


    ***


    It took Shin Sumi almost an hour until she could regain enough concentration to calm her heart and stop her emotions from surfacing again. She had just reached the outskirts of the big city and the land in front of her was completely devoid of light, or rather it would be without the Copper Bell.


    "Seeing Second Uncle first was the right choice. I almost broke into tears in front of him but I was able to barely contain myself" she thought as she was now on her way to East Seaside Village, the home of her parents and where she had spent the entirety of her mortal life.


    A flash of green light later, Nuan was trailing along with her, flapping her wings awkwardly for a few minutes before trotting on the ground when her wings were tired.


    As bats were nocturnal animals, Nuan''s black beady eyes seemed perfectly adapted to the ambient darkness.


    Sometimes, a glow worm would attract the Lion Bat''s attention. Shin Sumi would then stop walking and watch her companion hunt her prey. After the events of the day and those to come, Shin Sumi felt reassured having Nuan around her.


    The night breeze was almost cold but she didn''t care. She was deep in thoughts when in front of her on the familiar road, she spotted the forest, jolting her memory awake.


    At about the midway point between East Seaside Village and East Silver City, a portion of the road cut through a large forest. But more importantly, it was the forest she got lost in the first day she left her home, before meeting Fen Wudao for the first time.


    "This is where I found you, Nuan! Do you want to go take a look?"


    Nuan seemed disinterested, or didn''t understand what Shin Sumi said. Shaking her head, Shin Sumi grabbed the Lion Bat, forcing her onto her shoulder before running through the trees.


    Shin Sumi secretly hoped that going back to the forest where she had found the little nut would provoke some reaction from Nuan.


    The both of them made their way between the trees in search of something. Shin Sumi''s divine sense was spread large, concentrated on her memories of the strange clearing but also looking out for the dark green wisps that had paved her way back then.


    She remembered clearly her dismay when she had woken up. The clearing and the tree stump had disappeared, much like the dozens of wisps that had accompanied her.


    At the time she had thought it strange but hadn''t paid much attention to it. After all she had just woken up from what could only have been a dream. Then she had found the book, the little nut, met Fen Wudao and joined the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    It had been such a life-changing day that the vanishing clearing wasn''t worth mentioning in the same sentence.


    Now that she was a cultivator, however, she had hoped to be able to understand the situation more.


    But after hours of searching the forest, Shin Sumi only found frustration instead of answers. She had even let Nuan go as she pleased, to no avail.


    The Lion Bat was great at unearthing worms and fallen walnuts but didn''t spark any reaction from the forest itself.


    "What a waste of time, playing hide and seek in the forest" Shin Sumi grumbled, "let''s go back to the road, Nuan, okay?"


    There were still a few hours left before the sun would rise when Shin Sumi''s cloaked figure drew near East Seaside Village.


    The Hu family farm, Pei''s tannery, the village''s school,... Shin Sumi let her senses completely take in her surroundings.


    But all of that didn''t matter. She was there now.


    Shin Sumi sent a divine sense impulse to Nuan. Without complaining, the Lion Bat disappeared in the leaf pattern on her wrist. How would the townsfolk react if they saw a cloaked figure in the night accompanied by a demonic looking creature like a Lion Bat?


    Shin Sumi walked silently through the familiar city. She was about to turn from the main street and go in the direction of her family mansion when her heart seemed struck by a strange frenzy.


    She had reigned in her divine sense as soon as she entered the village ten minutes ago but she was unaware that she had also stopped breathing entirely. How could she forget to breathe?!


    Anxiety took over Shin Sumi, forcing her to calm down and steady her dantian to help regulate her body. Soon, a normal flow of air opened her lungs again.


    The reason for her anxiety was obvious. What if something had happened to them? To her parents? What if they didn''t live there anymore? What if... something worse happened?


    At a pace that was less than steady and confident, Shin Sumi turned in the direction of the Shin mansion.


    She first saw the roof, then the gate. As she drew closer and closer, she realized the gate was open.


    Stepping into the entrance to the family estate, Shin Sumi felt like her young self again for the span of a single heartbeat.


    "Nothing has changed," she observed. The pond was green, which wasn''t unusual at this time of the year. The bushes and trees seemed to be waiting for the spring, the burgeons patiently biding their time.


    Like a shadow, Shin Sumi made her way to the front door of the mansion. The door was closed, as expected. Using the necessary amount of Shinsoo, Shin Sumi lept in the air, silently landing on the slanted roof.


    "There always used to be an open window in here... Yes!"


    Shin Sumi was now inside the house. Were it not for the Copper Bell, she would have been in complete darkness. Not that it bothered her, she knew the house like the back of her hand.


    By a force of habit stronger than the three years she spent away, Shin Sumi effortlessly walked along the corridor, past her father''s office and her mother''s sewing room then down the stairs, placing her feet only where the wooden boards didn''t creak.


    Shin Sumi reached her bedroom first.


    It was a simple room with a large bed. The winter covers had been dr.a.p.ed over the latter as per usual for the season. At the bottom of the bed was a large wooden c.h.e.s.t, where Shin Sumi used to store her clothes.


    She would have opened it and put her fingers on the soft fabric of her favorite dress but she knew that the c.h.e.s.t was impossible to open without making a horrible noise.


    In her mind, Shin Sumi knew that she could have done it easily by using a sound barrier formation or something like that but she didn''t want to. She was already close to a mental breakdown and the simplest things could topple her over.


    Before entering the house she had already decided that she wouldn''t stay, that she would escape before anybody woke up, but she also knew her willpower was very thin and fragile.


    The rest of her room consisted of a small desk and its chair, a dresser and two shelves. Shin Sumi frowned slightly at the look of the empty shelves.


    All of her books were gone. Because she was reading so much, she always had dozens of books on her shelves, but now they were all empty.


    A flash of understanding lit her face right before she started blushing in embarrassment, "of course, the books belong to the library, father had to give them back with or without me..."


    Not wanting to dwell in a room for a long time out of fear that she would want to stay forever, Shin Sumi joined the corridor once again.


    Her brother''s room was closed and Shin Sumi didn''t stop to try and open it. Shin Wuya lived in East Silver City as an apprentice scholar in the hope of becoming a city official. Because he was much older than her, Shin Sumi had never really felt close to him, regarding him as more of a distant family member rather than a brother with the same blood through his veins.


    Still placing her feet expertly on the floor so that she wouldn''t make a sound, Shin Sumi walked across the mansion''s main room. She ignored the wing of the house where the kitchen, the bathing room and the storage were located. She walked past the large fireplace, still warm from the previous evening.


    Her parents'' rooms were on the other side of the building compared to her own room. They had the biggest room of course, even if it had been a long time since her mother would also sleep in the main building.


    The door was open, and Shin Sumi smiled upon hearing the familiar snores. She stood there for a long time, watching her father sleeping. Only the winter breeze knew what she was saying to him in his sleep.


    Shin Sumi knew that she didn''t have to enter her family mansion to begin with. It was called a mansion because it was the mayor''s house but it was only slightly bigger than the rest of the habitations in East Seaside Village.


    The building itself was bigger, but the courtyard was smaller than Shin Sumi''s home in the upper valley of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Had she wanted to, Shin Sumi could have used her divine sense to survey the entire estate without having to enter the gates.


    However for some reason she didn''t want to simply feel things around. She wanted to see for herself with her own eyes. She had wanted to reassure herself that it was really her father sleeping in his bed as usual.


    Silently, Shin Sumi traced back her steps through the sleeping house. She was in the middle of the main room when she stopped abruptly in place.


    Her eyes opened up slightly and a shy smile grew on Yan Yan''s face. Excitedly, she slapped her bag of holding, producing an array of different things.


    Tender fruits with shiny skin, delicious to the taste and impossible to find in the mortal realm, a few pieces of glowing spirit creature bones worth enough money for years to her parents. These were things that clearly came from the sect but which puzzled merchants would still buy for an exorbitant price, believing them to have come from an exotic country.


    Spices and incense she had bought in Hoyan River City were also part of the bundle she left on the table. These were more common things but still fetched high prices and were hard to come by in East Seaside Village.


    Finally, Shin Sumi tore part of the scroll she had bought from her uncle at the big city library. With the inked brush in hand, Shin Sumi scribbled a few lines before blowing on the paper to dry the ink and folding it.


    As if it were the most precious of the bunch, Shin Sumi placed the letter she had written in the center of the treasures.


    Her eyes were a bit sad and red but a deep smile shone on her face.


    As she exited the main building the same way she had come in, Shin Sumi''s smile slowly faded until only a serious and painful expression remained on her face.


    Very, very slowly, she walked towards the entrance of the auxiliary building.


    For years now, this was where her mother had been living, never leaving her bed because of an unknown disease.


    For the second time in the same night, Shin Sumi experienced a sharp rush of anxiety.


    Just like before, she was holding her breath when she pushed the door open in complete silence.

 Chapter 97 - More Journeying

    The room was dark. The windows on the other side of the building had been obscured by heavy curtains. Even the light of the moon was often enough to disturb her mother''s rest.


    The Copper Bell rang once in Shin Sumi''s head, revealing the room as if it were suddenly broad daylight.


    And then Shin Sumi breathed out.


    Her mother was sleeping on the bed in the center of the room. She looked deep in slumber but her breathing was ragged and her face was that of discomfort.


    With two short steps, Shin Sumi was at her side. Without a thought she brought out her water gourd, holding it above her mother''s mouth and letting a few drops at a time calm her sore throat without waking her up.


    Unconsciously, Shin Sumi smiled. She didn''t know what she had expected to find in the auxiliary building but the familiar face of her mother was enough to bring peace to her spirit.


    "This is not one of those stories the girls in the sect read for fun" she thought, "where a character comes home to find their family killed and goes on to take over the world for revenge."


    These sorts of books were popular amongst the young girls in the sect. Shin Sumi had even tried a few she had borrowed from Fu Xue but it had always felt a bit childish to her.


    Despite herself, though, she had been influenced by them, to the point that she feared what she might find, coming back to her parent''s home.


    Shin Sumi felt her shoulders relax from their tense state. She hadn''t found a praying altar where her mother used to sleep or in place of her own bed. Her mother was sleeping as usual, her condition not having deteriorated as far as she could tell.


    She had disappeared abruptly three years before but her parents still held hope as they hadn''t touched her room at all.


    Shin Sumi finished making her mother drink and watched the strained face of her mother turn back into the beautiful features she had always possessed, calm and unperturbed while still deep in sleep.


    "This is the water that Nuan purified for me. It can only be beneficial to mother."


    Without another thought, Shin Sumi''s divine sense gently probed the woman in front of her. She had been sick with an unknown disease for almost as long as Shin Sumi could remember.


    Shin Sumi only had a few memories of her mother out of her room from before she learned to talk and could run around the garden. At the time, her mother was already often pained by bright sunlight or physical exertion but she could still be a part of her children''s education.


    With her powers and knowledge that only a cultivator could obtain, Shin Sumi had half-hoped that her divine sense would help her understand her mother''s condition a bit better.


    As she found nothing out of the norm after a brief scan, Shin Sumi cursed herself for not having thought of joining the Shinsoo Medicine Pavilion. They were the ones knowing the human body better than anyone else.


    Even Nuan, when brought out of Shin Sumi''s wrist, only looked slightly curious at the woman sleeping in front of her and showed no signs of being able to do something for her.


    As the sun was about to rise over the land, signifying the waking up of the entire village, Shin Sumi took out a few spirit stones, hiding them inside the mattress her mother was sleeping on.


    If anything could help, it was definitely spirit stones. Maybe it would at least help her mother rest better, she thought as she closed the door to the auxiliary building behind her.


    Torn between relief and happiness from seeing her family''s home unchanged after three years, and helplessness from not being able to do anything for her mother despite her power as a cultivator, Shin Sumi left East Seaside Village.


    She didn''t know when she would have the opportunity to come back again but she knew she couldn''t stay any longer. She understood herself better than anyone and she knew her willpower wasn''t strong enough to stop her from staying past this point.


    "Going to the Silver Sea region was quite the detour to the east. The Sky Earth Sect is at the very south of the Blue Fire mountain range at the border where the Blue Fire country stops and the Sun Lands begins."


    From what Fen Wudao had told her and the records of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Shin Sumi''s knowledge of the surrounding regions forming the continent had greatly improved from when she was a kid.


    In the mortal realm, even the closest regions to her own were like distant lands that one might never go to and thus was of little interest. But for cultivators it wasn''t unusual to travel the world once they left their respective sects.


    The Dark Sky Starry Sect was located in the middle of the Blue Fire mountain range, which was part of the Blue Fire country to the west. It had been named after the sect that rose to power following the Moonlit Sect''s demise, and had since become the ruler of the land.


    East of the mountain range were the twin regions of River Valley and Silver Sea, which, as far as Shin Sumi knew, had no cultivators and were part of the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s domain.


    For cultivators both regions existed as one but for mortals they were part of different jurisdictions. One was where Hoyan River and Wuije''s woods were located and the other was where Shin Sumi had grown.


    Their natural Shinsoo was poor and the regions themselves weren''t big, at least not fighting over for the powerful sects in place.


    North of the River Valley region and at the end of the Blue Fire mountain range was the Jankan Empire, of which Shin Sumi knew little about.


    What interested her was what laid at the south of the Blue Fire mountain range. Past the point where the sea retreated inland and met with the mountains. There, the Sun Lands began, their large expanses of sand fuelling countless stories told to children by the dark-skinned sailors of the south who stopped their boats briefly near East Seaside Village on their way to Jankan.


    Now that Shin Sumi understood the Cultivation World a bit better, all the stories she remembered seemed oddly familiar to her.


    She had always been told that the sailors'' stories were simply that; stories. However now her view of the world had vastly changed.


    "These were all cultivator tales. From what I heard, the Sun Lands should be a cultivator paradise if even the mortals are aware of them."


    She looked at Nuan perched on her shoulder, then straight ahead at the long road to the south.


    "Maybe in the Sky Earth Sect I will have the opportunity to leave and go visit the Sun Lands. For now though we should hurry to the Sky Earth Sect. I''m afraid if I stay longer in this region, my cultivation base will drop a level due to the lack of Shinsoo."


    After seeing her family again and releasing all the tension and apprehension she had held inside her for years, she suddenly felt like a free spirit again.


    Even her speed seemed to improve and she realized that she had been slowing down unconsciously by fear of what she might find in her hometown.


    ***


    In three days, Shin Sumi was climbing the eastern side of a large mountain when she suddenly felt the change around her.


    "Shinsoo! Oh I''ve missed you!"


    Even Nuan had glittery eyes, jumping all around happily. There was Shinsoo in the Silver Sea region because even mortals, crops and cattle naturally had some energy of nature in them, but its level was too poor to even acknowledge.


    As she climbed further up, it was like a refreshing rain after a long summer season. Her body felt less heavy and her Shinsoo Sea seemed freed from invisible shackles.


    For her first night in the mountains, Shin Sumi stopped under the moonlight, finally finding an opportunity at cultivating the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow.


    Even reading the techniques she had stolen from Elder Zhu''s bag of holding proved infinitely more useful here than it had been below in the valley.


    Even before leaving the sect, Shin Sumi had been somewhat stuck in her progress of the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow. The moon stone was of great help but even with its pure Yin type Shinsoo, Shin Sumi couldn''t seem to break through her limit of a hundred or so cultivation cycles.


    Maybe for a normal cultivator the moon stone would be plenty enough of an energy source but Shin Sumi was unrivaled in that all sixty-four of her Shinsoo passageways were open.


    The complete opening of her Shinsoo Doors had given her an abnormal amount of Shinsoo, reserves deep like the ocean, as well as an ability to connect any and all doors she needed for cultivation.


    Compared to other disciples of the same step, Shin Sumi was free to cultivate all sorts of techniques instead of relying heavily on the ones her meridians allowed. It wasn''t to say that others couldn''t cultivate different types of techniques, but it was hundreds of times harder than it was for her.


    However there was a limitation to that. As big as it was, her Shinsoo Sea needed Shinsoo even more than others.


    It only takes a few drops to fill a glass with water. It takes plenty more to fill a vase. How many drops would be needed to raise the level of an entire lake?


    With Shin Sumi only able to cultivate the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow for a few dozen cycles in one sitting and no more than a few hundred in a day, her Shinsoo Sea only absorbed a few droplets of Shinsoo per day at most.


    "Fifty cycles", Shin Sumi opened her eyes after an intense cultivation session. Sweat dampened her clothes and she felt tired but in a good way.


    "I am still far from being able to cultivate the Moon Shadow Ephemeral Technique while I run, climb and fight but this progress feels immense" she spoke between two mouthfuls of spirit fruits.


    Nuan was munching on the fruit''s stem, hungry and seemingly not paying attention at all. When Shin Sumi''s hand lowered over Nuan to pet her, the latter quickly bolted, the juicy stem firmly between her teeth.


    "I''m not going to steal your food, Nuan. I know you need it. You''re still growing and you''re making good progress as well!"


    In recent months, Shin Sumi had seen Nuan grow from a baby Lion Bat as big as her hand to a clever companion the size of a small dog.


    She had been trying to fly ever since the strange little nut hatched but so far had only managed to glide rather than properly flap her skeletal bat wings.


    Much like Shin Sumi, Nuan had greatly benefitted from a short Shinsoo drought. Even as she was cultivating intensely, Shin Sumi could feel the spirit beast move around with her divine sense. It was awkward at first but Nuan had finally managed to find her balance and propel herself forward with her wings the color of night.


    A warm feeling took over Shin Sumi as Nuan finally let herself be c.a.r.e.s.sed, her food being completely gone.


    "Now you''ll be able to fight on equal ground with all the butterflies."


    It was unsure whether Nuan had understood that last sentence but she equally seemed excited. Every flying insect she crossed paths with seemed to taunt her by taking flight instead of falling prey to her small but sharp teeth.


    After petting her a few more times, Shin Sumi''s hand parted with the furry creature.


    "Can I have another look at Elder Zhu''s techniques now?"


    With a last yip that was almost a content bark, Nuan turned into a vortex, the large book falling gently on Shin Sumi''s knees.


    ***


    A week into the mountains later, Shin Sumi was still going in a southern direction. According to her estimates she had passed the border of the Silver Sea region.


    The Blue Fire mountain range extended as far as her eyes could see, but she could recognize that the landscape was different than what she was used to in the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    Instead of the luxuriant jungles and the sharp peaks of the north of the mountain formation, the south was more barren and dry and the altitude had dropped constantly.


    The few trees that still managed to grow here were thin and dark with needles instead of leaves. The large boulders had slowly left their place for smaller rocks and pebble paths.


    Shin Sumi was about to think that she was close to the end of the mountain range when a loud whistling sound appeared in the distance.


    The sound rose from behind a small mountain and a few seconds later Shin Sumi spotted its origin.


    "It''s a person on a flying artefact!"


    She was speechless for a second as the figure sped off in the distance. In front of the cloudless sky there was no doubt about it, a person was definitely flying on an artefact similar to Fen Wudao''s silver arrow.


    "No doubt about it, a cultivator" she mused, too far to discern anything particular about the person until they were gone, "are they from the Sky Earth Sect?"


    Without a second of hesitation Shin Sumi changed her trajectory, aiming for the small mountain from where the flying cultivator had come.


    Shin Sumi was supposed to find the sect on her own. At first she had thought that she would eventually find it simply by journeying along the mountain range, but she knew that in all probability it would be harder to find.


    Taking the example of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, by its location the sect was hard to find, well protected as it was between high peaks and neverending clouds.


    Maybe its good location was another reason why the Sky Earth Sect wanted to fight them for it.


    After leaving the Dark Sky Starry Sect almost two weeks before, Shin Sumi had been looking for clues concerning cultivators. For the longest time she had wanted to know how many there were, where they lived and how they built communities.


    From many disciples in the sect, she was aware that cultivator clans and societies existed, but as a girl who had lived her whole childhood oblivious to cultivation she was more curious than most.


    "The River Valley is completely devoid of Shinsoo and cultivators. That much is obvious. Does that mean that all disciples who come from cultivator societies grew up in Blue Fire country?"


    Shin Sumi''s mind was spinning with questions when she arrived near the top of the small mountain. Slowly peering over to the other side, she gasped at the panorama extending before her.


    In the valley below, close to a hundred different buildings had been constructed next to each other, forming a rudimentary village. But if by itself it was unexpected for Shin Sumi to find a village here, its surroundings and the valley as a whole were simply awe-inspiring.


    The buildings were arranged in just a few streets, all around a plaza that housed a small market. The streets extended in all directions, past the outer layer of buildings and towards the lake.


    As she spotted the lake which, at first, was too bright for her eyes due to the sun''s reflection, Shin Sumi saw that it connected to itself all around the village.


    "The village is on an island in the middle of the lake" she understood.


    Far in the distance, on the other side of the lake, a large waterfall was constantly feeding new water to the ring. From her point of view Shin Sumi could almost discern under her a small river from which the water flowed out and away from the village, although the rest was obstructed by the shape of the mountain.


    Squinting her eyes too see as precisely as she could from this distance, Shin Sumi observed the village for a long time.


    While most streets were empty, the market had a few people walking and talking, as expected. The rest of the villagers were probably either gone or inside the buildings.


    The most Shin Sumi looked from above, the more confused she started getting. If at first she was excited at the prospect of finding a cultivator village, she now was almost disappointed.


    "What did I expect, people flying and fighting anywhere? Foolish girl" she spoke harsh words to herself, "but this is very different from the upper valley. Apart from the robes, the people there look like mortals to me..."


    Crawling away from the edge of the mountain top, Shin Sumi turned her back to the valley and sat. Immediately, Nuan appeared on her l.a.p as she started thinking about her situation.


    If the village really was a cultivator society, Shin Sumi was dying to explore it. She wanted to know what goods were sold at the market, if everyone still had a house with a bed even when sleep was unnecessary, if the townsfolk had jobs like mortal carpenters and bakers.


    Shin Sumi''s curiosity was reaching a peak for the first time in a very long time. However, as she had a mission given to her by the Ghosts of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, she knew she couldn''t simply take her time to explore the world, especially after making a big detour to her hometown.


    Nuan looked at Shin Sumi, watching how her brows changed from furrowed to excitement and realization.


    "I can explore this place and use it to ask around for the Sky Earth Sect" then, after a bit more thinking, "I will go as Yan Yan."


    Shin Sumi''s plan for infiltrating the sect was to go as herself, for fear of her other personas being recognized by spies. To avoid suspicion, the Ghosts and her had decided that she would feign being in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm instead of the Liquid Realm.


    By switching over to Yan Yan to visit the village in the middle of the lake, she would raise less suspicion in case somebody from the Sky Earth Sect saw her around.


    Preparing her approach of the village with extra caution, the sun was already declining when Shin Sumi left her hiding spot on the mountain. She had changed robes and her face was Yan Yan''s as she walked quietly to the edge of the lake.


    In her preparation she had been so cautious in thinking ahead that she had forgotten one simple fact.


    "Wait... there is no bridge..."

 Chapter 98 - Long Ring Island

    "There is no bridge at all!"


    Shin Sumi hadn''t paid attention to it previously, but now that she thought about it she was certain not to have seen any bridge from her previous vantage point.


    "That''s not possible, are all the inhabitants of this village supposed to fly over the lake? What about the children?"


    Contrarily to her Big Brother Fen Wudao, Shin Sumi didn''t have any flying artefact she could use.


    She eyed the island and its buildings from the bank, confusion rising more and more with each second.


    Shin Sumi had wanted to explore that small cultivator village, maybe trade a little bit but mostly she needed it to get directions to the Sky Earth Sect.


    She was about to give up on the village altogether when her divine sense finally picked up something that filled her up with hope.


    "A Shinsoo gate! Of course, there is no better way to ensure that the bridge wouldn''t be discovered by mortals" she nodded silently as she poured some energy into the small raised stone on the bank.


    Shin Sumi couldn''t see the formation used on the raised stone but she was almost certain she had learned that type of formation back in the sect. It was a way to funnel and concentrate one''s Shinsoo, usually to power something from a distance.


    After enough energy left Shin Sumi''s hand for the stone stele, a satisfying click came from below her feet, followed by a dozen other similar sounds across the water of the lake.


    Tiles rose from invisible pillars, forming a path right at the surface of the lake. Hesitantly at first, Shin Sumi stepped on the first one to make sure it wasn''t a trap, before walking forward more and more confidently.


    The lake surrounding the village was large, almost a kilometer on each side. Much larger than the village, it was practically impossible for a mortal to see the small island clearly. Even from the mountains the village would probably appear too small.


    Because the Shinsoo gate was openly placed on the bank of the lake, free for any cultivator to use, Shin Sumi had immediately guessed that she would be welcome there, unlike non-cultivating folk.


    The moment she left the last tile and stepped on the island, another series of clicks ran along the bridge which disappeared promptly afterward.


    "The formation powering the bridge is half-automated," she appreciated the craftsmanship one last time before turning to face the first buildings.


    The village was called Long Ring Island. It consisted of only a few dozen buildings, all of different sizes and shapes.


    As she was walking along one of the four main streets leading to the central plaza, Shin Sumi relaxed more and more.


    She crossed paths with a few inhabitants walking leisurely by themselves. Nobody seemed to mind her presence and they all saluted her with a slight bow even though she was a foreigner to them.


    She returned their salutations in silence, still looking around. She didn''t want to look like she was snooping around suspiciously but something about the atmosphere in the village felt weird.


    None of the buildings had front doors. All of the constructions were completely open.


    "Have the people here never heard of theft?" she asked herself but she knew there was more to it.


    She reached the familiar ambiance of a small town market, the center of all life in small communities. Markets were the main source of social contact, that much remained true whether in the mortal realm and small towns like East Seaside Village or in cultivation communities like the Dark Sky Starry Sect valleys.


    Resources like spirit creatures, fruits and plants filled the air with a fragrant mix that made her Shinsoo Sea swell and bubble. A merchant eyed her with a smile and started his haggling routine, pointing at his array of multicolored fish.


    Shin Sumi politely declined, "at least for now" as she thought, the sight of a Deep Green Bass making her think of at least a dozen delicious meals she could make


    After the food section, the market continued with all sorts of different items.


    Cauldrons and apothecary tools for crafting medicine, pills and bottles of concoctions. Two young people were chatting amongst themselves, discussing which product would be better to treat a specific ailment or injury.


    According to her divine sense, the two must have been in the late Liquid Realm with cultivation bases close to Fen Wudao''s.


    "If you trust my judgement, you both should invest in all the pills in my stand" an old looking gentleman on the other side of the stand added his words to the conversation. The man looked old enough to be Shin Sumi''s grandfather and painted the perfect picture of a grumpy senior.


    Nevertheless, Shin Sumi knew not to completely trust her eyes. Her divine sense couldn''t tell her the man''s cultivation level precisely, only that he was much, much, stronger than she was.


    "What are you going on about, Old Zihan? Not the ''doom'' again, is it?" one of the young man asked, air-quoting the word ''doom'' with his fingers as he rolled his eyes.


    "Oh you can trust my judgment this time. My connexions in Sky Earth City keep telling me to be careful."


    Not bothering the three people discussing, Shin Sumi turned to the stand next to them. Strangely enough nobody seemed around to tend to the goods, leaving her free to look around and eavesdrop on the conversation to the side.


    She had never heard the words ''Sky Earth City'' in this manner, but considering how she was looking for directions to the Sky Earth Sect, the subject of the conversation could only interest her.


    "Are all the merchants in Sky Earth City as crazy as you then?" one of the two young men teased the merchant, "Is that what that means?"


    Old Zihan furrowed his brows, feigning to reach for a cane to beat the young man with, but with laughter in his eyes.


    "Seriously though, you two be careful not too go too far south these next few months. And tell that to miss Ling as well."


    The two young men picked up medicinal pills and dropped a few spirit stones each on the merchant''s table before turning and waving their hands, half dismissing the man''s concerns and half saying goodbye.


    Slowly, Shin Sumi detached herself from the next stand to circle back to the old man''s pills and bottles. She was looking at a strange wooden box which smelled of rotten meat when she felt the man''s eyes on her.


    "You''re not from around here. Welcome to Long Ring Island," he greeted her warmly while his divine sense scanned her briefly but respectfully, "Liquid Realm second step? Third step? No matter what you''re looking for, I have it!"


    Shin Sumi thanked him for his welcome, before adding "What can I use to help break through to the third step?"


    Smiling wildly, the man pointed at a few items of his shop, listing them out loud.


    As Shin Sumi was inspecting each and every one of them, the man froze when she casually asked "So, trouble is coming from the Sky Earth Sect''s side?"


    "..."


    "I heard you talk about it and I have plans to go there in a few days..."


    "I''ve got nothing to say. In fact I''m pretty sure my old wife is calling me. I should go" the merchant interrupted her.


    With a swoop of his sleeve, the man cleared the table from all of his goods. A blur later, he was gone, his cultivation base too strong and his speed too high for Shin Sumi to follow.


    Shin Sumi remained frozen in place for a few seconds, an expression of confusion plastered on her face.


    "What just happened?" she asked herself.


    "And he was so welcoming at first too..."


    Seeing how the merchant had fled, taking with him all the resources she was potentially interested in buying, Shin Sumi leaved his stall and kept browsing the market. Reflecting on how she should approach the subject more subtly, she made her way to another section of the plaza.


    "Techniques and formations" she read on a small banner floating above a large stand, "Maybe I''ll find more information there."


    In total, only a dozen or so merchants were present, about half of the full capacity of the market plaza judging by the empty stands.


    The one with the banner she had read was easily one of the biggest stands she had ever seen. It even had a small roof above the table of goods, a luxury the others didn''t seem to have.


    "Hey there, young lady! Are you interested in techniques to add to your knowledge?"


    Shin Sumi was tempted to say yes but Nuan chose this exact moment to flash out of her wrist and climb her shoulder.


    "Hoo, hello little fellow, do you want my scrolls as well? Ah-ah-ah!"


    "Sorry about her, she tends to come out whenever she pleases. Here Nuan, have a piece of fruit but don''t bother Senior Merchant, okay?"


    With Nuan out, Shin Sumi couldn''t risk asking to read the scrolls the man had displayed in front of her. If Nuan were to steal the information he was selling, turning scrolls into blank parchments, the whole situation would turn sour really fast.


    "I am simply going to look around for now, sir, if that is okay."


    "Ah-ah of course it is. Look all you want, I won''t disappear suddenly like Zihan," he pointed to the empty stall where the pills merchant had been a few minutes prior, "He is a good fellow but he tends to do that sometimes. Don''t take it to heart though, he is bad with unfamiliar people in general, not just you."


    Shin Sumi''s brows made a gentle surprised arc on her forehead. So the man hadn''t fled because of her asking!


    For a moment, Shin Sumi had thought the topic of the sect nearby was sort of a taboo for the people here. Trying her luck once more, she asked the merchant:


    "Do you happen to sell information as well as scrolls?"


    Lifting one side of his mouth in a curious smile, the man planted his palms on the table and leaned closer to Shin Sumi, "I can listen to what information you need and see what I can do..."


    "Oh I''m only looking for information about the Sky Earth Sect. You see I''m headed there but my maps are-"


    "No."


    "I''m sorry, what-"


    "I said no. Either you buy a technique or you leave my shop now. Either way there is nothing of the sort I want to talk about, young lady."


    In a split second, the warm man leaning over with a smile who had been making casual conversation with her had suddenly turned colder than ice. His back had straightened, arms crossed and his eyes had considerably darkened.


    Shin Sumi knew better than to probe the subject further. The man was stronger than her by at least half a realm and she was a newcomer in this village.


    "I am sorry if I offended you sir. I don''t know the customs. I will stick to buying techniques if that is okay with you."


    Bowing deeply, Shin Sumi apologized, after which the man seemed to relax slightly. She didn''t want to burn all of her bridges and he didn''t want to lose a potential customer.


    Only inside, Shin Sumi was furious.


    "Twice in a row! What is wrong with these people?! I''m just asking for directions," she said to herself, "it''s not like I''m asking for treasures. If you don''t want to cooperate with me, I''ll ask Nuan to do it then."


    If Shin Sumi didn''t want Nuan to read the techniques with her at first, now she had much less scruples.


    The Lion Bat was perched on her shoulder, seemingly disinterested as Shin Sumi opened the first scroll the merchant gave her.


    "Fire Breath of the Salamander. This doesn''t look half bad," she thought.


    After browsing over the page, Shin Sumi slowly shook her head negatively.


    Exchanging the scroll for another one, the merchant patiently watched Shin Sumi read.


    "Summer Breeze Wind Step, that can be interesting."


    Shin Sumi turned down the second one as well.


    "Do you have any other movement skills?"


    Having found his usual merchant posture, the man quickly and efficiently found four other scrolls to display in front of Shin Sumi.


    With matched efficiency, Shin Sumi went through all four of them before deciding on the last one.


    She didn''t want to overdo it and prefered to stick to only a few techniques at a time.


    "I''ll buy this one then. How many spirit stones?"


    Pocketing the scroll of a movement skill called ''Flowing Waterfall Dance'', Shin Sumi quickly thanked the man and left the market. Knowing how Nuan stole the techniques, she knew she only had a couple hours before the scrolls the Lion Bat had peered over would turn blank.


    By then, no matter what happened, she would have to be far away from this place.


    Shin Sumi didn''t bother spending more time in the market. No matter the weapons, armors, tools, artefacts, clothes, something told her that she wouldn''t find what she originally came for, information about the Sky Earth Sect.


    Instead, Shin Sumi decided to roam the three other streets of the small island village.


    She had never seen a cultivator community besides her own sect, which made it strange for her to see children running around and playing games in the street.


    Had it been any mortal village, she would have found the scene completely normal, except this wasn''t a mortal village.


    Even the kids were playing ''Immortal pretend''. In fact they were all already started on the path of cultivation.


    "This boy can''t be more than seven or eight but I can feel the air of Shinsoo Gathering about him," she thought. "These kids are growing up breathing Shinsoo day in and day out. There is no choice for them but to become cultivators."


    Part of her envied this lifestyle. Her life now would have been much simpler had she lived in a cultivator environment since the day she was born.


    Learning about cultivation at the same time as learning to walk, this would have made her life in the Dark Sky Starry Sect much easier.


    Only in another way, Shin Sumi couldn''t help but pity these kids a little bit.


    From her standpoint as a mortal kid joining a cultivation sect following a random encounter, her eyes had been opened to an incredible world she had no idea existed before. And yet, a lot of her life had been closed behind her when she took that first step towards cultivation.


    Even if they wanted, none of these kids could ever become city officials, tanners, bakers, farmers and the likes.


    Her thoughts were still a mess, like attempting to comprehend some grand truth that always eluded her, when she reached the path below the waterfall feeding into the circular lake.


    Conveniently, all four streets of Long Ring Island had a Shinsoo gate at the end, allowing a bridge to form in each cardinal direction.


    She had decided on the southern bridge for two reasons. First of all she knew the Sky Earth Sect was roughly at the south of Long Ring Island, according to when she had eavesdropped on the merchant.


    Secondly, she had seen people walk under the waterfall a few times since she arrived at the shore. It seemed like there was an entrance in the middle of the waterfall, under a large rock that blocked the path of the water.


    As far as she could see, it seemed like the only way to gain access to the waterfall, too.


    "Oh wow, do you feel that Nuan? The Shinsoo here is even better" she couldn''t help but exclaim as she stepped under the rock leading to what seemed like an underground tunnel.


    Instantly, many questions rose in her mind, which were almost all answered when she saw a large opening at the end of the tunnel, only a few dozen steps away.


    The small dark tunnel lead to a natural cave the likes of which she had never seen before.


    Like a theater or like the underground Arena at the Dark Sky Starry Sect, the cave opened in a large circle on a downwards slope.


    Thousands of small blue crystals protruding from the stone walls illuminated the scene in an eerie but relaxing light. But what really intrigued Shin Sumi were the hundreds upon hundreds of small openings in the rock facade in front of her.


    Each opening had a path or a staircase leading to it. Some of them even had wooden panels above inscribed with names.


    "This is where all the people from Long Ring Island live" she realized, "They don''t live on the island but below the waterfall, where the Shinsoo is much better for cultivation. All of these are cultivator caves."


    "And one could be yours for only three stones a day if you d.e.s.i.r.e," a voice from her side cut her off.


    It was a middle aged man sitting on a rock behind the entrance. Overcome as she was by the sight of the immense cave, she hadn''t even felt his presence.


    "We don''t have a lot of visitors today so there are a dozen caves or so that are unoccupied. If you want to cultivate, there''s no better place than around here. Might even achieve a breakthrough here, given time."


    Without words, Shin Sumi could feel the man politely probing her cultivation level. Much like the merchant from earlier, the man had immediately sensed that Shin Sumi was close to breaking through to the third step of the Liquid Realm.


    "Only a dozen unoccupied caves? But there are hundreds of them! How big really is the Long Ring Island community?" she thought, suddenly realizing that this was the heart of the village and not the island per say.


    Shin Sumi''s Shinsoo Sea was bubbling and she had unconsciously started circulating the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique to take advantage of the Shinsoo quality of the place. However she had no choice but to decline the man''s offer.


    "I have places to go," she shook her head negatively, "I would have loved to rent a cave but I will have to come back for that."


    With the little stunt she and Nuan had pulled at the market earlier, it would be disastrous if Shin Sumi hung around Long Ring Island for any longer.


    "Or maybe..." Shin Sumi''s devious smile didn''t show on her face.

 Chapter 99 - Immortal Caves

    Shin Sumi left the waterfall cave only a few minutes after speaking to the man renting the Immortal caves.


    After taking the bridge back to Long Ring Island, then the bridge back to the valley surrounding the circular lake, she quickly made her way into the mountains.


    "That should be far enough," she thought once she was what she believed to be out of the range a higher level cultivator could feel with his divine sense.


    She couldn''t risk anybody, especially the merchant who had sold her the movement technique, seeing her from afar. The chance of it was really slim but Shin Sumi didn''t want to take any unnecessary risk.


    In a twist of her body, she instantly changed into another set of robes, puttin her travel outfit in her bag of holding. At the same time the Copper Bell rang, distorting her facial features and changing the aura around her and her divine sense.


    In place of Yan Yan now stood Shin Sumi herself, her true face revealed to the world.


    Nuan flew onto her shoulder before climbing down her arm and disappearing in her wrist. The leaf pattern on her skin flashed briefly before her sleeve covered it up.


    "One more adjustment," Shin Sumi searched her bag of holding.


    "I won''t need the full formation, just the outer layer for this," she mumbled, engraving a blank piece of jade with her divine sense.


    After following the teachings of the Cloud-Formation Pavilion for a year, Shin Sumi had become quite adept at basic spirit formations, to the point she could make simple alterations to some of them with confidence.


    The one she decided to use was one of the first she had ever learned, the Hiding Formation. It was a really simple but effective pattern allowing the user to hide their presence and divine sense.


    However for Shin Sumi she didn''t want to hide her presence, simply alter the level of her cultivation base to any outsider probing her.


    "All the inhabitants of Long Ring Island and that merchant are much stronger than me. Simply reigning in my divine sense is not going to fool them."


    All the people she had talked to earlier this morning had seen that she was about to breakthrough to the third step of the Liquid Realm. In fact they had seen it so casually that it had felt to her like they could read her soul.


    "Going back to the first step should be good enough. With this spirit formation, the Copper Bell and a bit of caution, nobody would be able to tell who I am, right?" she asked herself.


    Even though she was doubting herself at the moment, Shin Sumi had full confidence in her plan. Even without that many precautions she had been able to live in the Dark Sky Starry Sect with three different identities for three years.


    Even then, the only people who knew who she was were either people she had trusted with her secret or people present at the wrong place and the wrong moment.


    Now she was much more prepared and a complete stranger to the inhabitants of Long Ring Island. As long as she was careful there was virtually no way for other people to find out what she had done.


    After all of her preparations were complete, Shin Sumi slowly returned to the lake shore by another trail than the one Yan Yan had taken earlier.


    The best way for her to test her disguise probably was to go back to the market and speak with the same merchant. By now, there was no doubt he had found out what she had done to his scrolls, considering how much time had passed. However Shin Sumi was never going to take that risk.


    Instead she headed straight to the waterfall cave, where she was greeted again by the same man who had talked to Yan Yan a few hours prior.


    "Hello there, little lady. Are you here to visit someone or to spend some time meditating?"


    Shin Sumi nodded her head in salutation, "Two twenty-four hour cycles in a good cave, please."


    "Oh, you are really close to a breakthrough, aren''t you? This is the best place you can find in a hundred leagues in every direction. If you can''t achieve a power-up in here, then you can''t anywhere, I guarantee it."


    "Three spirit stones? Hm..." she feigned thinking about it, "For that price, how good are the caves?"


    Jumping down from the boulder he was sitting on top of, the man extended his arm and pointed at the rocky face with the hundreds of caves, "You can see for yourself! Follow me, little lady!"


    Everything was going perfectly according to Shin Sumi''s plan. With her careful choice of words, the man had had no choice but to offer a visit to his caves. After travelling across the River Valley Region, she had picked up on ways to give a different air than usual about herself.


    The trick only resided in her posture and her words. By asking about the caves in relation to the price, she had seemed doubtful, a little haughty but also troubled.


    Was she saying that the caves were too expensive? In that case, maybe the girl was a poor traveler unworthy of his attention. Or was she saying that because the price was too low, the caves couldn''t be any good? That is definitely something the little heiress of a cultivation clan would say.


    These were certainly the middle aged man''s thoughts at the moment. Unable to decipher her intention and status, he would have to really sell his caves in the best way he could in any case.


    "All of the caves here are more or less the same. Some are bigger, for four or five stones a day, but all of them have the same Shinsoo inside."


    The man briefly showed Shin Sumi two of the caves at ground level, showing their similarities.


    "Some folk prefer light, some others don''t. If you have your own light source, feel free to use it or else you can come see me to get a blue crystal like these ones. I considered charging for them once, but since there are thousands of them just lying around it didn''t seem appropriate."


    He turned around abruptly and looked at Shin Sumi like a father would his young child. His finger pointed forward and the slightest flair of Shinsoo emanated from his figure which immediately seemed more imposing than before.


    "BUT NO FIRE. Understand? The smoke ruins everything and the smell is a hassle to get rid of. No magical fire either."


    Shin Sumi gulped audibly before nodding as fast as she could. It was only then that the man realized his cultivation base had leaked slightly and the girl in front of him was only in the Liquid Realm''s first step.


    "Sorry about that, ah-ah! I''ll tell you what: because of the fright I gave you, you can have one stone off on your two days rent. Is that fair?"


    Shin Sumi agreed, not against the idea but with mixed feelings jumbled inside her head, "the cultivation world is scary... who else than a cultivator can afford to accidentally threaten a client and make up for it so easily afterwards?"


    She grew silent as the man continued to showcase his available caves, telling details about how many of them helped cultivators achieve a breakthrough.


    "All of that is good but that''s not what I''m interested in," Shin Sumi thought, "I''m going to have to direct him a little bit."


    Pointing at an occupied cave, she raised her voice her little bit, sounding exactly like a curious girl with spirit stones to spend.


    "What is that light curtain I see over these ones? I want that too, can we see them instead?"


    The light curtains were something Shin Sumi hadn''t noticed until they got closer to the cave openings. Light seemed to bounce off the caves'' openings like sun rays on a waterfall, radiating off an elegant and mesmerizing glow.


    "Oh don''t you worry young lady, this is not really an optional feature. You see, here we ensure the complete privacy of our clients. That curtain of light is actually a Shinsoo barrier embedded in the face of the rock."


    Finally, the man was explaining something of interest to Shin Sumi.


    "Once you are inside, there is a spirit formation that anybody at the Shinsoo Gathering Realm and above can use that will lock the barrier in place. It can only be opened from inside and will stop anybody trying to get in, be it physically or with their divine sense. You can try for yourself."


    Without a word, Shin Sumi extended her divine sense towards the occupied meditation cave next to them. Sure enough, the room was completely unreachable from the outside, like a large blindspot in her perception.


    "I can''t guarantee that a late Core Development cultivator wouldn''t be able to force it but nobody of that level has entered Long Ring Island in maybe forty years."


    Shin Sumi now understood how the cave''s locking mechanism worked. It was a relatively simple but strong formation. Because all the barrier''s power was focused on the outside, it didn''t need a lot of energy to manage and the high quality of Shinsoo in that place ensured it constantly had power to draw on.


    "From the inside, however, you are free to probe the outside. This is important when our customers have visitors. Essentially this is a one-way barrier that will never break as long as you are inside."


    Shin Sumi now had the information she d.e.s.i.r.ed about the caves. She was free to assume Bai Fulong or Yan Yan''s identity once she was inside but more importantly, she could take out the techniques she had stolen from the market earlier without fear of being noticed by someone.


    And with the high quality of Shinsoo, her cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds even in a few days'' time.


    She and the middle aged man talked for a while longer, going over more details of the caves while Shin Sumi was listening only with one ear.


    She learned that from the inside, one could either choose to keep an eye on the outside or completely block it off for meditation purposes. In that case the only communication from the outside left was an emergency formation system allowing the middle aged man himself to send a simultaneous message to every occupant of the caves. As he had told her, this feature had been used only twice when the waterfall had flooded the caves many years earlier.


    After what seemed like an eternity to Shin Sumi but had only been a stick of incense''s worth of time in reality, the man stopped talking. By this point they had reached the entrance to the large circular cave again.


    Shin Sumi paid the man five spirit stones, three per day minus one as per their agreement, and she immediately took off into one of the opened caves near the bottom level.


    She put her hand against the cold stone on top of a dim glowing formation, putting a small amount of Shinsoo into it and watched the barrier appear.


    Stopping the effects of the small formation she had used to hide her true cultivation base, Shin Sumi let her Shinsoo radiate out of her freely.


    "Alright Nuan, you can come out now. Have you had time to refine the movement skills?"


    With a happy yap, Nuan turned into the book, using her mysterious ability to show all the techniques and information she had gained.


    "Hmmm, not yet? I guess I could wait a few hours more. In the meantime I now what to do. This place has great Shinsoo, maybe there is some kind of vein or spirit stone quarry underneath the rock. Unfortunately it is not Yin type Shinsoo."


    One was the Copper Bell and the other the Moon Stone, shining like a small astral body in her palm.


    "I wonder if I can get the Copper Bell to replicate the Shinsoo produced by the Moon Stone..."


    Patriarch Mui''s lost artefact was a treasure without a match in the entire world, as far as Shin Sumi knew. It had the capacity to see through all sorts of illusions, alter Shin Sumi''s physical appearance as well as her Shinsoo imprint, and regulate her environment for her.


    With the bell at her side, Shin Sumi could see in perfect darkness, which was its first ability she had ever discovered. Only she knew it was capable of even more mind-boggling miracles.


    Her fingertip slowly ran along the surface of the bell. She remembered when she had found it deep in the dark chasm in the sect''s training grounds.


    Then, the tiny bell had been a pure white in color until a drop of her own blood had touched its surface, linking the artefact to her and staining it in a copper tone.


    "If I remember right, these engravings respectively are for sound, sight, touch and smell. The last two rows are the mysterious ones," her finger traced the rows of unknown characters.


    Shin Sumi had already tried to test her conjectures with the bell a dozen times along the years but to no avail. It was a bit saddening to her that the corresponding row didn''t show any noticeable change when an ability was used.


    The only gauge Shin Sumi could rely on was the order her senses had been affected when she had activated the Copper Bell the first time.


    Focusing her divine sense onto the bell, Shin Sumi made it ring once. Instantly the sound of voices appeared around her, as if she had been outside of her cultivation cave.


    "Oh? The man who rented me the cave would be so mad if he knew I could bypass his elaborate Shinsoo barrier just like that..."


    Shin Sumi checked the cave''s barrier rapidly. Sound should not have been able to go through the curtain, in one direction or the other. It just went to show how unexpectedly powerful the Copper Bell was.


    "Let me see through it now" Shin Sumi said, ringing the bell a second time. The moment the crystalline ringing appeared in her ears, the curtain became transparent like a piece of polished glass and a diffuse light illuminated the cave. The light wasn''t coming from the outside. In fact it wasn''t coming from anywhere. Produced by the bell, the light simply was.


    "No use testing touch. It''s neither cold nor hot here. Same for the smell."


    Stopping her quick experiment, Shin Sumi retracted her divine sense from the bell. Instantly, the Shinsoo barrier turned back to normal, blocking light and sound while the cave went dark once again.


    "One of the last two rows has got to do with Shinsoo itself. At least change the type of Shinsoo within me, allowing me to change into Bai Fulong or Yan Yan."


    This was definitely the ability Shin Sumi had used the most but also the one she understood the least. Somehow turning into Bai Fulong made more sense, as her Shinsoo went from Yin to Yang type. Yan Yan, however, had Yin type Shinsoo just like Shin Sumi herself. Was there more to it than just Shinsoo type?


    "Can it also affect another well of Shinsoo and not just my Shinsoo Sea?" Shin Sumi asked herself as she fidgeted with the Moon Stone, "If I could make the bell change the energy in this cave to match the stone, it would mean I could cultivate the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow anywhere."


    Shin Sumi''s cultivation technique was different from most of the others by the strange requirements on the type of Shinsoo she needed to absorb. Only the Moon and special artefacts like the Moon Stone given by the Ghosts allowed the cultivation technique to be successful.


    For now, these requirements were fine because she was out in the open world and she had a Moon Stone with her for daytime cultivation, but she was only in the Liquid Realm''s second step. As her cultivation would advance, she would need more and more energy and a place like the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s always clouded skies and hidden Moon were not a good match for her technique


    Shin Sumi had considered changing techniques more than once but had always decided otherwise. In Nuan''s book, the page about the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow said that past a certain level, the perks greatly exceeded the hardness of cultivating it.


    Materializing an illusory shadow, harnessing the darkness and stealing the light, such were the main steps of the techniques.


    Besides the temptation of being able to materialize a shadow, Shin Sumi had also not managed to find another technique which suited her best in terms of Shinsoo apertures. Because all of her sixty-four Shinsoo Doors were opened, the more of them her technique would circulate through, the stronger her cultivation base would become.


    Unconsciously, as soon as she started thinking about the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow, her energy began circulating within herself. After weeks of travel with conscious effort on that part, she was now able to rotate her energy almost all the time.


    With the Moon Stone in hand, Shin Sumi soon lost herself in cultivation, her Shinsoo roaring as her internal Sea bubbled with golden waves.


    Soon the large lake that still couldn''t quite be called a Sea started rotating along with the waves. Or rather there was only waves in the infinite void of her dantian. No part of the lake was still as it churned and crashed around like an oceanic storm.


    With every rotation of the Shinsoo Sea, the waves seemed to reach a bit further outwards, each time bringing a few drops of sweat on Shin Sumi''s forehead.


    Cross-legged on the ground, Shin Sumi hadn''t even realized she had slipped into a meditative trance and was about to breakthrough to the third step of the Liquid Realm.

 Chapter 100 - Progress and Power

    The waves inside Shin Sumi''s Shinsoo Sea crashed and churned like a violent storm. With each passing rotation of the Sea, her body cracked and tore open, her joints ruptured and her muscles broke.


    And yet Shin Sumi felt no discomfort at all. In fact she wasn''t even aware of what was happening. Like a string puppet lost in a tempest, she was completely unconscious of the raging Sea inside her.


    The process continued for more than half a day. At that point, her entire body had been broken, moulded and reconstructed by the outbursts of Shinsoo within her.


    The storm was still raging with intense raw power when suddenly the Shinsoo Sea became still. The terrifying waves froze into a giant lake three times bigger than it had been, still as death and calm like a garden pond.


    The sudden stillness jolted Shin Sumi awake and she finally realized what had happened.


    Nuan was on her l.a.p, curled under her folded wings and the tip of her tail between her small jaws. As Shin Sumi woke up, the Lion Bat shook and stretched, lazily walking a few steps and resuming her nap.


    Shin Sumi stood, feeling her changed body, tensing and relaxing her muscles in succession.


    Circulating the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow, one by one she felt her meridians awaken and radiate Shinsoo within her.


    She felt full to the brim with raw power, with a Shinsoo that was bright and golden and yet cold and mysterious at the same time. In her hand, the Moon Stone was still casting its white rays on the immortal cave walls.


    Taking Nuan back inside her wrist, Shin Sumi put away the Moon Stone and the Copper Bell after renewing the formations that made her seem weaker than she was. For another person''s eyes, she would have just achieved a breakthrough to the second step of the Liquid Realm.


    She was immediately assailed by the cold blue light of the crystals illuminating the entire area beneath the waterfall. It was only then that she realized her head was thrumming and pulsing, as if her heart was pressed against her temples.


    "Headache... Is that because of the breakthrough?" The excitement about her newfound power quickly faded as the light seemed to drill into the back of her eyes.


    Focusing her Shinsoo in an attempt to shelter herself, she slowly left the caves. Nevertheless, even the Copper Bell seemed powerless to stop the light from hurting her. Neither could it stop the rumbling of the waterfall from banging her eardrums louder than she would have wanted.


    Even with a headache like the one she was suffering from, Shin Sumi should have been able to focus her energy enough to completely block the outside stimuli that pained her, however she had yet to stabilize her cultivation base enough to do such a minute adjustment on herself.


    Slowly and painfully, Shin Sumi walked under the waterfall entrance. Feeling Nuan inside her wrist through their divine sense link, Shin Sumi followed the Lion Bat''s impulse and walked towards the other side of the waterfall. Not towards the bridge to Long Ring Island but towards a damp path battered by the rebellious drops which refused to follow the rest of the waterfall.


    The path was beautiful and illuminated only by the irided light of the sun through the waters. It was like walking in a multicolored cloud but Shin Sumi ignored all of it, her eyelids closed firmly, relying on her divine sense more than anything.


    After the end of the waterfall, the path climbed a steep set of stairs hidden behind the rocks. Lacing against the mountain face, the trail led above the waterfall to the plateau overlooking the lake and Long Ring Island.


    Shin Sumi didn''t take in the sight, nor did she marvel at the hundreds of natural springs bursting out of small rock crevices and forming a large river. The river was wider than it was long which truly was a strange sight.


    Only a few meters away from the waterfall did the water freely escape the mountain. Following Nuan''s divine sense intuition, Shin Sumi sat down behind the furthest spring.


    She only now saw the trees and smooth rocks whose bottom had been polished by years of running water. Somehow in her painful state she had unconsciously registered the water and the springs but now what laid around and made most of her sight.


    Without being asked to, Nuan appeared on Shin Sumi''s wrist, immediately batting her small wings and gliding to the spring in front of them.


    Shin Sumi understood why the Lion Bat had taken her here. They were sheltered from other people''s eyes. Even from their divine sense as Shin Sumi slowly realized that the spring water had a high concentration of Shinsoo.


    That was the reason she had only paid attention to it previously and it also explained why the large cave underneath was full to the brim with good quality Shinsoo, making it a perfect location for Immortal caves.


    Gently leaning forward, Shin Sumi drank the fresh water in her cupped hands, expecting Nuan''s magic to take effect soon. It was the only thing she wanted and the only thing she had found to relieve her painful temples and eyes.


    After drinking until her belly felt strangely full, Shin Sumi took her wet hands to her face and started cleaning her skin gently.


    She was midway through washing her hair when most of the pain in her head disappeared, flowing away progressively like the oily dust and sweat covering her body.


    Feeling strong enough to stand up and move, Shin Sumi then looked around for a little while until she found what she wanted. One of the natural springs coming out of a large crevice, big enough for an a.d.u.l.t to submerge themselves in the clear fresh water.


    Rather quickly, Shin Sumi bathed. Outside of the privacy of her personal courtyard and knowing there was an entire community underneath her that could come up at any time, she didn''t want to be caught like this.


    The old clothes dried instantly and remained warm to the touch for a long time, leaving Shin Sumi stunned for a while as she had used only the slightest amount of energy.


    "I have to stabilize my cultivation base better. I can''t go out in the world with little to no control of my Shinsoo."


    Such was the process every cultivator needed to go through after a breakthrough of any kind. It never lasted a long time but the period during which the energy was unstable always felt deeply uncomfortable and frustrating, like having to learn how to read for a second time.


    After an attempt at meditating there on the plateau, Shin Sumi frowned and decided she would rather cultivate inside the cave she was paying for. Even though the concentration of Shinsoo was good around the natural springs, it felt like trying to catch a bird, focusing her divine sense on Shinsoo that was constantly fleeting and flowing away from her.


    Having been surrounded by precious water like this one for maybe millenia, the cave underneath had been soaked in Shinsoo for such a long time that at least the energy was calm and homogeneous inside.


    As she entered the large cave and faced the hundreds of holes in the face of the rock, Shin Sumi felt a familiar divine sense on her.


    "Congratulations, young lady. Second step eh? I told you this place was perfect for a breakthrough!"


    Smiling sincerely, Shin Sumi replied "My deepest gratitude to you, sir. I have been chasing that breakthrough for months without being able to catch it and one night here was all it took."


    Fetching three spirit stones from her bag of holding, Shin Sumi handed them over to the middle aged man sitting on the rock near the entrance, silently making him know that she wished to stay another day.


    Shin Sumi was glad to have broken through to the third step of the Liquid Realm, and she wasn''t lying when she said she hadn''t expected it to happen there and then. The cave truly was a blessing in that regard.


    However her initial intention had been to study the techniques Nuan had recently refined for her and she had already estimated that process to take at least two full days.


    The man smiled back at Shin Sumi and caught the spirit stones, making a gesture that meant she was welcome to stay for as long as she wanted. As long as she paid, which was a given.


    The headache gone and her body cleansed of all the filth she had expelled during her breakthrough, Shin Sumi felt so good she hadn''t felt like that in a long time.


    Her body was powerful and her mind was bright. Waving her hand behind her, she activated the cave''s spirit formations.


    After positioning herself at the center of the cave and letting Nuan roam free again before turning her into a book, Shin Sumi closed her eyes. As if her bathing experience had just been a short break from meditation, she started circulating the Moon Severing Ephemeral Technique.


    Even without the Moon Stone out, Shin Sumi could now feel her energy passing through her meridians much faster than before.


    She briefly imagined the Shinsoo Doors and meridians forming a complex system of tubes. If she could now feel Shinsoo flow like water inside it, then before her breakthrough her cultivation had been akin to warm honey, viscous and slow.


    Over two days and two nights, Shin Sumi only lifted her eyes from Nuan''s heavy book a few times to change the page she was looking at.


    Nuan had finished refining all the stolen techniques from the merchant in Long Ring Island and Shin Sumi fully intended on learning all of them.


    She didn''t know if it was an after-effect of her recent breakthrough to the third step of the Liquid Realm but her comprehension abilities seemed to have undergone a massive qualitative leap. The techniques were not really advanced, being only movement skills that didn''t require as much finesse as a combat skill, but Shin Sumi still went through them at a vertiginous pace.


    Flowing Waterfall Dance and Summer Breeze Wind Step only took her a few hours to understand perfectly. The other three were a bit more complex.


    Shin Sumi was about to start focusing on Fire Breath of the Salamander, the only defensive technique she had gotten so far, when her mind started spinning a bit.


    Standing up and stretching, she realized she had been sitting for hours upon hours. Were it any other moment of her cultivation journey it would have been perfectly fine, but right now she still hadn''t acclimated fully well to the third step of the Liquid Realm.


    It usually took more than a few days to fully reach a stable cultivation base after a breakthrough. Any cultivator other than Shin Sumi wouldn''t even have attempted to understand new techniques in that period of time but she didn''t know any better.


    Besides, with her sixty-four Shinsoo Doors opened, it was much easier to do for her than for most people.


    After cultivating for a while and settling down her pulsating Shinsoo Sea, her mind calmed down again. It was with a bit of disappointment that she realized her comprehensive ability and clarity of mind had receded a bit.


    Not wanting to spend too much time in the cave as of now, Shin Sumi exited the Shinsoo barrier and made her way out of the waterfall entrance. Passing in front of the man who had rented her the cave, she exchanged a few polite words with him and tossed him another few spirit stones.


    "I will be staying in Long Ring Island a bit longer. This is truly a great place to cultivate and I don''t want to miss that opportunity. I can at least finish learning these new techniques and settle my cultivation base before I go about finding the Sky Earth Sect" she thought.


    She hadn''t forgotten about the reason for her journey. The sister sect to her own was her destination, although she didn''t know the way to it yet.


    It had been a few days since she had been to the market and she had even changed her appearance and cultivation base since then. As Yan Yan and with Nuan well hidden in her wrist, Shin Sumi patiently approached the first merchant she had talked to on her first day here.


    The old man was advertising his pills and bottles of medicine, claiming high and loud how they were the best a hundred miles around.


    When Shin Sumi approached, the man''s nose flared slightly and a smile appeared on his face.


    "Aaah, a new customer in town, what a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e! Let me guess, you just achieved a breakthrough and need a pill to stabilize your cultivation base quickly and efficiently?"


    "You are right, sir," Shin Sumi smiled back, "I have to stabilize quickly and get on the road soon."


    "Oh, and where are you headed, if it is right for me to ask?" The merchant continued the conversation while fishing for the appropriate pill in his large inventory.


    Shin Sumi smiled again, this time internally. She had hoped for that kind of response.


    Only this time she wouldn''t bring out the subject of the Sky Earth Sect directly. She still didn''t understand why the last time the man had prefered to leave rather than talk about it.


    "I''m headed south west of here. I heard the roads are kind of dangerous this time of year...?"


    Without being more precise, Shin Sumi clearly formulated her last sentence into a vague question.


    Surprised, the old man tried to keep his confusion to himself and his face straight.


    "Hmmm the roads... They aren''t really more dangerous now than at any other time. But if you''re worried about your safety, I would recommend walking straight to the south until the mortal city of Sun Castle. It''s a few days away for someone of your speed but it''s much safer."


    Sighing heavily and purposefully, Shin Sumi continued, "What I mean is that I heard the roads were dangerous... But I do not know why. Are there bandits around?"


    The merchant laughed a dry laugh, "Bandits? In a way... This is nothing that you should concern yourself with, in any case. Here is the pill you wanted. Anything else? That would be twenty spirit stones."


    Once again, the conversation was cut short by the merchant''s unwillingness to talk.


    Shin Sumi took the pill and thanked him before leaving his shop.


    "Maybe if I spend more spirit stones at the waterfall, the man renting the caves will talk to me..."


    She roamed the market for a few more minutes, wondering what to do to get more information without being too inquisitive with the people of Long Ring Island.


    Looking around, she saw a kid playing alone on the path between two rows of empty shops.


    All smiles and reigning in her divine sense, Shin Sumi approached the kid. He was a boy of maybe seven years of age. As she got closer, Shin Sumi could detect the slightest trace of Shinsoo around him.


    "So young and already on the path of cultivation" she thought.


    The boy had noticed her too and his eyes were fixated on her beneath his long messy hair.


    "You are such a pretty Big Sister!"


    Shin Sumi was taken aback by the boy''s comment before smiling even more wildly.


    "You think so? I think you look strong! Do you want to become a warrior or something when you grow up?"


    The boy showed his teeth with a bright smile and nodded. He was missing two, having not grown his a.d.u.l.t teeth yet. He was maybe even younger than Shin Sumi had thought.


    The two of them engaged in a passionate conversation in the middle of the empty part of the market.


    "Do you want to join a cultivator sect later? I heard there was the Sky Earth Sect close-by. I''m not from here but I heard great things about it. In fact I wanted to visit it in a few days."


    The boy''s face became serious for a second and Shin Sumi thought back on how every person she had talked to had refused to tell her more about the sect.


    Her worries didn''t last very long, however, as the kid answered plainly, "I can''t go there. When I''m old enough to get in, the sect won''t be there. I heard my parents talk about it the other day."


    Shin Sumi encouraged him with a smile but the boy remained silent. His eyes narrowed a bit.


    "I don''t know if I can talk about it, Big Sister..."


    Shin Sumi took a step closer and crouched to face the boy at eye level. She whispered to him, "if you tell me what you know, I''ll give you a few spirit stones to buy the sweet plums you were looking at earlier!"


    The boy didn''t hesitate for very long, the appeal of sweets being too strong for him.


    "You can''t tell my parents that I told you, okay? The Sky Earth Sect is in trouble. They have been mean to the Blue Fire Sect and they are coming for them. It will be a big fight but my parents said I can''t see it because I''m too young and it''s too dangerous."


    Forgetting that he wasn''t supposed to say anything, the boy kept talking and talking. By the time Shin Sumi held her half of the bargain and gave him enough spirit stones for treats, her face was grim.

 Chapter 101 - Summer Breeze Wind Step

    "Big Sister?" the boy brought Shin Sumi out of her reverie, "do you want one?"


    The boy who had told her all the information she needed was holding a sweet plum in her direction.


    Shin Sumi gently bowed in an exaggerated fashion before taking the sweet and biting into it. She could tell from the boy''s eyes never leaving her and his reddened cheeks that he was highly intrigued by her. Had he been old enough to understand it, maybe it would have even been called infatuation.


    More so than that, Shin Sumi could also tell that the boy was a bit lonely.


    "Why aren''t you playing with the other kids, young warrior?" Shin Sumi asked, curious.


    The boy''s eyes shifted nervously, emotion swelling to his eyes, "The other won''t..."


    Understanding a lot from his mumbling and silence, Shin Sumi quickly and expertly changed the subject.


    "Say, do you want to play with me? I''ve been travelling alone for a long time and I haven''t found anyone to play with..."


    The boy''s face changed from sad to the most genuinely happy Shin Sumi had ever seen so fast that a single tear was caught by surprise on his cheek.


    ***


    "In a few weeks from now, the Sky Earth Sect will be attacked by the Blue Fire Sect. Most likely this isn''t a secret for anyone. If the townsfolk here know, then the sect itself is probably already preparing for war with the Blue Fire Sect."


    As the sole cultivation sect in the large Blue Fire Country, the Blue Fire Sect reigned supreme on this half of the continent. It was so big and powerful that the Dark Sky Starry Sect had no choice but to pay dividends to it.


    Naturally it was the same with the Sky Earth Sect who was only a slightly bit stronger than the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    "From what the boy told me, this only happened recently, the Ghosts are probably unaware. What should I do for my mission?"


    Back in her cave under the waterfall, Shin Sumi brought up a glowing jade compass. It was a small object infused with a lot of Shinsoo, truly a valuable item.


    Sighing deeply and calming her heart, Shin Sumi slowly took hold of the compass with her divine sense.


    "Seventh Ghost reporting to Seniors. The Sky Earth Sect has offended the Blue Fire Sect who is now coming for retribution. The estimated time of the battle is in two weeks, that is all I know about the matter."


    Keeping her message short and to the point, Shin Sumi had only said the minimum, aware that the Ghosts back in the sect would understand the matter as much as she did.


    Shinsoo communications were instantaneous, but for a matter as important as this one, the Ghosts surely would have to reunite and take a decision together, which could take longer.


    Waiting for the response, Shin Sumi put down the jade compass and concentrated on stabilizing her cultivation base with the help of the pill that Nuan had just finished refining.


    She reflected on what she had learned, trying to understand the mechanics of the deadly game the sects were playing together.


    "I was sent to retrieve that artefact in order to stop the upcoming war between the Dark Sky Starry Sect and the Sky Earth Sect. If the Blue Fire Sect deals with the latter, then is there anymore point to me getting the artefact?"


    "Or is the artefact more important than the war," she thought, "which would mean I only have a few days left to retrieve it."


    Shin Sumi''s contemplation of the matter was halted when the jade compass suddenly glowed a deep greenish gold.


    From the link with her divine sense, a voice appeared in her mind. It was Patriarch Sen, of course, responding to her.


    "Seventh Sister, you have done well to contact us. The matter of a fight between the Sky Earth Sect and the Blue Fire Sect brings good perspectives to the short term future of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. The Blue Fire Sect, on the other hand, is definitely more troubling than we had anticipated.


    Your mission, Seventh Sister, remains the same. Your target however is now the Blue Fire Sect.


    With the disparity of power between the two, the Sky Earth Sect will most likely surrender early and be made prisoners of Blue Fire. Were you to join the Sky Earth Sect before it, you will be taken to Blue Fire Country.


    After that, we trust your judgment as a Ghost and your skills as a proud disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."


    Shin Sumi slowly detached her eyes from the now dull jade compass. After communications back and forth, the item had to recharge itself over time in order to be used again.


    Her eyes were distant, her mind running wild. Concentrating, Shin Sumi replayed the Patriarch''s orders in her mind three times to be sure to understand everything and the implications behind it.


    "So the real goal of the Ghosts isn''t to stop the war but to get that artefact in our hands, after all," Shin Sumi muttered, "At least the Dark Sky Starry Sect will avoid an useless war against the Sky Earth Sect."


    However Shin Sumi''s concerns didn''t stop there. As the Patriarch had said, "the Blue Fire Sect is more troubling than we had anticipated."


    Going to war with the ferocious giant that was the Blue Fire Sect was on another scale entirely. It was, after all, a sect that had risen to prominence for centuries and had become the main sect of an entire country, far stronger than her own.


    Even the Emperor of Blue Fire Country acknowledged the sect officially. Going to war with them would be like confronting a merciless Demon for the Dark Sky Starry Sect whereas for them it would be like swatting at a pesky fly.


    Could the presence of a single artefact be enough to stop a war with such a foe? What difference could a mere treasure do?


    Shin Sumi shook her head to displace the bad thoughts. Returning the jade compass to her bag of holding, she gently asked Nuan to turn into a book again.


    The boy she had talked to in Long Ring Island had told her where the Sky Earth Sect was located, or at least the general distance and direction. With that knowledge, Shin Sumi knew she would be able to reach it in only a few days of travels.


    "I will leave tomorrow. Another day should be plenty enough to work on the few other techniques the merchant ''gave'' me."


    ***


    A day later, Shin Sumi left the waterfall caves. She bid farewell to the man who had rented it to her, telling him that she would definitely come back given the opportunity.


    "And where are you headed, young lady?"


    "I have business to attend to in the Sky Earth Sect before... you know" Shin Sumi replied immediately, her face blank.


    The man nervously scratched his head, his eyes darting back and forth between his young client and the ground.


    "You better hurry then. You''ll need at least five days to get there, I don''t know how long you''ll have to attend to your business."


    "Hmn," Shin Sumi nodded as she was about to head out.


    "Wait," the man caught her by surprise, "since I most likely won''t be needing it anytime soon..."


    With a light slap of his hand, the man produced a small token from his bag of holding. A flick of a finger later, the token landed in Shin Sumi''s open palm.


    "That''s..."


    "It''s a merchant''s pass to Sky Earth City. You''ll need to go through there to get to the sect."


    Shin Sumi''s eyes opened wide, even as she tried to keep her appearance calm.


    "Sir, this junior cannot accept-"


    "Meh, just keep it for me, okay? And if you really want to repay me, then come back for a few more days eventually. Here in Long Ring Island we don''t have many passersby and business is always kind of low."


    Bowing low enough for her body to make a right angle with her legs, Shin Sumi thanked the man and turned around. She was confused but glad to have met a nice cultivator like him, although briefly.


    "Next time however, young lady," the man spoke when she was already far away but still in ear''s reach, "don''t buy my son so many sweet plums. He could hardly sleep with all the sugar and the talk of his new ''Big Sister''."


    ***


    Disguised as Yan Yan, Shin Sumi was flying towards the south east direction. She wasn''t exactly flying but it sure felt like it to her. After her breakthrough, her physical abilities had shot up once again.


    Every step she took sent her forward by a dozen mortal steps. And that was before she decided to accelerate.


    She had been hiding her strength under a spirit formation of her design in order to fool the people of Long Ring Island but now that she was far from it, her full power was put on display.


    Behind her Nuan was flapping her wings with passion, trying to keep up with the girl in the grey cloak. The Lion Bat had grown bigger and was faster than before but obviously no match for Shin Sumi''s speed.


    "Come Nuan, we''ll arrive to the Sky Earth Sect faster if you enter my wrist" Shin Sumi said after stopping, looking back to see Nuan breathing heavily.


    With a ''Yip'' that could mean a lot, Nuan turned her head and kept flying, her skeletal wings gliding and swatting down in succession. She passed Shin Sumi and showed no sign of stopping, earning her a long sigh from Shin Sumi as well as a sweet smile.


    "Fine. You''re really stubborn, you know that?"


    Maybe it was Shin Sumi''s recent breakthrough who made Nuan want to train a bit more and become stronger herself. Despite spending every second of her life with the grey nut and then the Lion Bat, Shin Sumi still found it very hard to understand the spirit creature.


    Nuan worked in mysterious ways, sometimes out of concern for Shin Sumi, sometimes according to her own beastly will.


    Shin Sumi looked at the Lion Bat, letting her get an early start and thought "this pace will make us cover enough ground but it is slow enough for me to train a little bit..."


    The muscles in her legs tensed and relaxed before producing a short burst of power and sending Shin Sumi after Nuan with a speed worthy of a Liquid Realm Inner Sect disciple.


    Nuan was still a few steps away when Shin Sumi''s image blurred slightly.


    "Summer Breeze Wind Step!"


    Shin Sumi was at a standstill, her legs caught in mid-air, when her image disappeared completely. The next instant she reappeared, still frozen in place, however this time she was ten steps ahead of her previous position.


    "One more," she said as she blurred a second time and made a second invisible leap forward.


    "Third time," Shin Sumi continued, excited. Her body froze slightly as the technique activated, but not enough to hide the grimace distorting her face. When her image became clear again after a loud boom that made Nuan stop and turn back, Shin Sumi was sprawled on the ground, head facing down.


    "Ouchiiie! I lost control," she rubbed her bloody knees and stood up again, "this movement skill is harder to use that it looked in the book. It makes my image freeze in place at the same time as a burst of power sends me forward, but I didn''t know that my own vision would freeze as well!"


    "There''s definitely something I''m doing wrong here. Don''t worry about me Nuan, keep flying and I''ll catch up to you. I need to try again, this time I''ll activate it a bit earlier."


    For an entire day with barely any breaks, Nuan and Shin Sumi both trained in their own fashion. The former by pushing her wings to her limit and becoming better at flying, the latter by successively advancing and falling, each time getting up with a better comprehension of her technique.


    As Shin Sumi progressed, she found that each successful Summer Breeze Wind Step increased the distance and speed as well as the time during which she seemed frozen in place for any onlooker.


    She ignored the reason for that, having not yet realized that every step in succession used a bit more Shinsoo as she gained more momentum.


    Even more impressive than the speed at which Shin Sumi could master a new technique was her Shinsoo reserve.


    For somebody of her cultivation level, the amount of Shinsoo she could muster due to her Sixty-Four openings was so much greater that it didn''t make a difference to her whether she used one droplet or ten when she had an entire lake of Shinsoo at her disposal.


    By the end of the day, Shin Sumi was able to take ten steps forward, making her body look like she was transporting herself instantaneously for dozens of meters.


    "I feel like I am making good progress with the technique," Shin Sumi proudly told Nuan as she was setting up a hiding spirit formation around them, "however I wish I had somebody else around to tell me how it looks from the outside."


    Nuan yipped quietly.


    "No, it''s not that you don''t matter, Nuan," she teased smilingly, "but sometimes I don''t know if you can really understand me or not."


    Nuan looked at Shin Sumi, her bead-like black eyes unreadable. With no transition, she then started to clean her fur using her tongue.


    Shin Sumi sighed and petted her for a bit, all the while thinking of her friends back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    "I''m sure Yue would love to help me with training the new movement skills. Lan Hui and Bai Xuengen too."


    She frowned, thinking of the circ.u.mstances of her departure. She had left the sect after having killed an Elder, supposedly gone into hiding.


    "I hope they don''t hate me... Mei Yunei, Fu Xue, Sui Lin, Ken Duang,..."


    Forcing herself to stop thinking about that topic, Shin Sumi brought out the Copper Bell from her bag of holding. Above her head, the moon was the only light source in the night sky.


    Trusting her hiding formation would shield her from any cultivator travelling by, Shin Sumi disabled the spell that changed her appearance and aura, reverting to her own face and Shinsoo.


    The Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow technique was already swirling inside her, made hundreds of times more efficient with the astral body above.


    "Please, Copper Bell, can you bask in the moonlight and then provide me with an endless supply of Moon Shinsoo?"


    For a good portion of the night, Shin Sumi meditated, replenishing her lost Shinsoo from the previous day''s training. At the same time, Nuan rested, more often than not nested on her master''s l.a.p.


    She had spent an entire day flying by herself at high speed, which was quite a feat for a small Lion Bat. Thinking back on the Beast Pavilion of the sect, Shin Sumi wondered how the disciples could train and fight with spirit creatures only a year after they were born.


    She had never really followed any of the Beast Pavilion''s teachings despite Nuan hatching more than a year before. She had tried to, only to be turned down by the Elder in charge of teaching who said that Nuan was still too small and weak.


    "Don''t worry Nuan, you will grow stronger at your own pace," she had told her companion, "and I''m sure you''re the only one with as many hidden talents as yours. I don''t want you to fight for me!"


    ***


    The following day, Nuan took off as soon as the hiding formation was gone. Smiling behind her, Shin Sumi didn''t waste any time either and started raising her Shinsoo levels.


    "Summer Breeze Wind Step!"


    Flashing forward with each step, leaving a trail of frozen afterimages, Shin Sumi caught up with Nuan in no time. Her last step, the twelfth, brought her in front of the Lion Bat then she turned and opened her arms.


    "Gotcha!"


    Shin Sumi closed her arms around Nuan, only to see the Lion Bat dissipating in thin air and leaving her embrace completely empty, her large smile fading immediately.


    "What the...," even her divine sense had been fooled. Turning around just in time, she saw the Lion Bat reappear a few steps away, having never stopped flying.


    "Yip!"


    Shin Sumi was speechless for a long time, until the Lion Bat had almost flown out of her sight.


    Catching up to Nuan, she finally started to realize and understand what had been going on.


    "No wonder you can use the movement skill as well, you''ve seen me train all day! Because our Shinsoo Seas are linked through our shared bond, you have also been able to feel how I activated the technique, right? Not to forget the fact that the technique has been inscribed within you even before I attempted to learn it...


    Nuan, you are amazing, baby girl! Does that mean you know the other movement skills already as well?"


    "Yip."


    Was that a yes or a no? Even Shin Sumi didn''t know.


    After probing for a while, attempting to decipher the winged creature, Shin Sumi eventually sighed, abandoned, and started training the second technique on her list: Invisible Crane of Oblivion.


    In three days, Shin Sumi successfully also mastered the Side-Step Shadow and the Flowing Waterfall Dance. The movement skills were harder to learn than she had originally assumed, especially since Nuan and her rarely stopped and all the training had to be done while moving at a fast pace.


    Nuan hadn''t shown any more examples of her hidden talents, despite Shin Sumi''s best efforts to force her. For a portion of the night, both relaxed and meditated, Shin Sumi''s Shinsoo levels becoming stronger every day.


    It was at the end of the fourth day when Shin Sumi was about to set up her hiding formation that a sudden feeling assaulted her.


    It was a horrible feeling. The smell of blood and iron as well as an infinite bloodl.u.s.t surrounded her immediately, almost making her freeze in place with her head spinning.


    Taking Nuan back into the dark red leaf pattern on her wrist, Shin Sumi silently made her way up the nearby mountain using Invisible Crane of Oblivion, making her almost unnoticeable.


    There, behind the mountain, laid the Sky Earth Sect, or what remained of it.

 Chapter 102 - Cultivators Creed

    At first, Shin Sumi didn''t even see the massive tower erected in the middle of the valley. Even though the tower was large enough to house an entire village on each floor and tall enough to pierce the few clouds that blotted out the night sky, Shin Sumi''s eyes only caught a glimpse of it after a long while.


    What she saw first was the rest of the valley. There had obviously been a town and fields full of fragrant spirit plants surrounding the tower, but the touches of greens and yellows from the plants and houses was tinted a dark red, almost brown.


    Like flecks of dust in the rays of the sun, an array of colored spots sometimes broke the red cover where cultivator robes and bodies lay there, dead.


    From a glance, it was hard to tell the number of casualties but it easily ranged in the dozens, and that was without considering what must have happened inside the tower. Entire pans of walls had fallen off and heavy black smoke rolled out constantly from the openings.


    Shin Sumi had expected to find the Sky Earth Sect at least a few days before the battle against the massive Blue Fire Sect. Her objective had been to patiently wait, hidden within the sect, and then arrange to be taken prisoner along with the members of the sect.


    Only now, seeing the remains of the Sky Earth Sect in front of her, she realized two things.


    First, the attack had been much more sudden. Even with their large numbers, the Blue Fire Sect had managed to move at an insane speed to surprise the Sky Earth Sect in the middle of their preparations.


    Secondly, Shin Sumi realized that the plan had been foolish.


    Despite knowing that a war was brewing, Shin Sumi had never seen such a thing. In her young girl''s heart, she had failed to imagine the atrocity of the scene laid out in front of her.


    What had made her think that she would be able to ensure her own safety with her previous plan? She had not thought about it much ever since the Patriarch suggested the idea.


    The Patriarch had seemed confident enough, was he simply relying on her ability? Or did he not think about that either? Was it a test?


    Either way it seemed hard to swallow for Shin Sumi.


    Her head started spinning, forcing her to sit down on the mountain top and look away from the bloody valley.


    Circulating her cultivation technique to calm her heart and mind, she waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before opening her eyes again and daring to look at the remnants of the Sky Earth Sect one more time.


    "No matter what was wrong with the first plan, there''s no time to dwell on it. I have to decide what to do now."


    Past the first shock, Shin Sumi was now calm and collected, at least on the surface. Focusing her eyes, she started to analyse the scene in front of her.


    "There are people still moving about. They are all dressed in black robes, I think it is fair to assume that they are part of the Blue Fire Sect. Some of them are bringing the corpses of the Sky Earth Sect disciples to the west end of the valley."


    Shin Sumi''s eyes shifted, now directed towards the base of the massive grey tower.


    "A large number of people are leaving the tower. I think most of them are Sky Earth Sect members and judging by how close they are together and the black robes around, they should be enchained. War prisoners."


    Lastly, Shin Sumi looked towards the east of the tower where a swarm of black robes looked like the inside of an ant colony.


    "Their forces are overwhelming. If the Patriarch''s information is true and the Sky Earth Sect had double the firepower of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, then the Blue Fire Sect has dispatched at least twice as many people.


    Considering all of that, my guess is that the attack began when the sun disappeared last night. Six hours was all it took for the war to be over."


    Based on what she knew of war tactics and military strategy from teachings of the Dark Sky Starry Sect and her readings in the sect library, Shin Sumi had quickly estimated the duration of the battle and the state of the situation in the valley.


    Six hours was not a long time for a battle, but definitely plausible considering the disparity in power between the two parties. In any case, the main assault was already over but it was too short of a time to fully declare the end of the war.


    "They must now be starting to explore the tower, finding all the hiding disciples, putting an end to the bravado of the rebellious fighters. With such a large sect in the massive tower, it should be at least a few more hours until the Blue Fire Sect leaves the place. By the end of it, nobody will remain here, and all the treasures and resources will have been looted."


    Standing up from her crouching position, Shin Sumi breathed in and out a few times.


    "Right. I know what I can do."


    The Copper Bell rang once, reverting her to her own appearance instead of Yan Yan''s. Not as foolish as before, her new plan was still risky and she would need all of her attention and focus. The Copper Bell was a treasure she had used constantly for so long that it barely used even one percent of her power but just in case, Shin Sumi decided to make sure she could give it her all.


    "Invisible Crane of Oblivion!"


    In the place where Shin Sumi stood, a strange breeze picked up, only to silently disperse after a second or two, Shin Sumi nowhere to be seen.


    She bit her lip, hoping that the slight Shinsoo movement of activating the technique had not been felt below in the valley. Having only learnt the skill the day before, she was still far from having perfected it.


    Slowly, Shin Sumi moved to the very top of the mountain and waited for a while. In the valley under her, nothing indicated that her presence had been revealed, which reassured her.


    "Let''s get going. Invisible Crane of Oblivion won''t last for more than twenty minutes."


    The whole crux of her plan lay on the fact that Invisible Crane of Oblivion was a very powerful technique based on wind Shinsoo that allowed one''s presence to completely disappear as well as distract any onlooker.


    Shin Sumi didn''t know exactly how it worked, but the technique was described in a page of Nuan''s book form. The more someone tried to concentrate on the spot where she, the caster, was, the harder it became.


    Unlike other stealthy movement skills, Invisible Crane of Oblivion was very slow, however. The slower Shin Sumi advanced, the more undetectable she would be to higher cultivation levels.


    Shin Sumi''s plan she had elaborated on the spot solely relied on the risky balance of being slow enough to not be detected but fast enough so that the technique would last the right amount of time.


    The red fields had mostly been cleared of the corpses by now, and Shin Sumi heaved a sigh of relief when she reached a small hut that had been left standing at the end of the farms.


    "I can feel the divine sense of powerful experts passing by. This is where I need to slow down but I''ve already walked half of the way to the tower in five minutes."


    Shin Sumi hoped that upon reaching the immense grey tower, the constant flow of people would make her detection less likely.


    Not stopping for a second, Shin Sumi simply reduced her speed until she was walking even slower than a mortal.


    Past the fields, the land flattened into a grassy plain. A large amount of rubble still glowing with Shinsoo indicated to her that the gate of the sect had probably been here up to a day ago.


    In only one day, a centuries old sect had been wiped out, its infrastructures reduced to ashes and its disciples to prisoners, just like that. Such was the strength of the opposing party, the Blue Fire Sect.


    At crawling speed, Shin Sumi made her way through the rubble and waited for a group of Blue Fire Sect disciples to pass in front of her.


    Without even realizing, she held her breath, waiting for the moment their divine sense would alert them of her presence. But the moment never came even as she herself sent her divine sense towards the group.


    Invisible Crane of Oblivion was an incredible technique, made even stronger thanks to Nuan''s refining. Shin Sumi had only briefly read the technique''s description at the time and so didn''t know exactly what Nuan had changed from the basic technique.


    In any case, Shin Sumi seemed undetectable for a group of a dozen Liquid Realm cultivators, all of them between the second and the sixth realm.


    Looking towards the east of the tower, even without using her divine sense, she could tell that powerful Shinsoo fluctuations the likes of which she had rarely felt before emanated from the middle of the black robed army.


    "There is at least a Core Development Realm expert over there, there''s no mistaking it. Wait, actually there should be more than ten!"


    For an assault on an entire sect, even the mighty Blue Fire Sect could not do without intense firepower. Numbers alone were useless in the face of strong cultivators. From what she knew of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, even without counting the reserve power, the Ghosts, the number of Core Development cultivators was at least five.


    If the Sky Earth Sect was even stronger than the Dark Sky Starry Sect, then it could be expected of them to have between five and ten strong cultivators. They alone would be enough to drive off any army, unless they were matched.


    "I can''t go any further east or I would have to stop walking in order to remain undetected," Shin Sumi thought. She had never wanted to go east in the first place, "this fallen wall will do."


    In front of her, only a few steps away, laid a portion of wall so massive that it could have flattened a few houses as it fell. The stones still held together miraculously as the pan of wall was in a seemingly unstable incline against the tower.


    Above the highest stones of said wall was a large opening of the same shape in the tower''s second or third floor.


    "How nice, they made me a way in!"


    Because at this point the technique was still fairly new to her, she knew she could not use any other technique relying on Shinsoo at the same time.


    "Now where should I go? Maybe -uh?"


    Shin Sumi stopped behind the open wall of the tower as she felt a very familiar divine sense invade her mind.


    From within the space inside the leaf pattern on her wrist, Nuan was signaling her something. In only an instant, Shin Sumi understood and relaxed a bit, just in time for a slight breeze to pick up around her.


    That was her current time limit for the Invisible Crane of Oblivion. As the technique dispersed and Shin Sumi''s presence was made clear to any focused observer, she started running decidedly towards the inside of the tower.


    Even with her Liquid Realm third step divine sense, she could tell that there was a lot of activity inside the tower. Some groups of black robes were busy opening doors and stealing treasures. Many soldiers from the two sects were still fighting each other, inevitably ending with the cultivators from the Blue Fire Sect taking the surviving opposition prisoners.


    With the messy battles and movement all around, Shin Sumi was confident that her divine sense and aura wouldn''t stick out, even to a Core Development Elder supervising the assault. She was just another presence amongst hundreds.


    "This level has been almost entirely cleared out already, I need to go higher."


    As she made her way inside the tower, relying on her divine sense and a quickly drawn hiding formation to avoid crossing paths with other people, Shin Sumi''s heart beat furiously in her c.h.e.s.t.


    On the fourth level of the tower, which had not yet been cleared by the black robes, Shin Sumi stumbled upon three disciples from the Blue Fire Sect. In the confusing mix of divine senses that was the ongoing battle, Shin Sumi had not realized they were on the same path as her.


    Without thinking, she stopped for half a step as the disciples started running towards her. Her hand was already on her bag of holding, ready to summon the Void Sword at her will but she stopped herself.


    Instead of bringing out her weapon, she stomped the ground in front of her, building tension in her t.h.i.g.hs and calves.


    "Summer Breeze Wind Step!"


    The first step took her past the first attacker as his sword was swiping at the afterimage she had just left. The second step left a second afterimage which startled the second black robed disciple as his fist only met empty air before exploding with Shinsoo.


    "This technique is incredible," Shin Sumi marvelled at how easily she had avoided two attacks, even in the cramped space that was the stone corridor, "with a sword, I could even have cut them down as I flew by!"


    Shin Sumi took a third step, intending on getting past the third disciple whose hands were raised, surely as he was invoking his own attack.


    SLAM!


    Right after the burst of power in her legs, Shin Sumi''s face turned red, distorted by pain. She only slightly registered her broken shoulder and upper arm as her eyes were instantly drawn to the air above her, where a pink-ish barrier had appeared, blocking the path between where she was a moment ago and the third disciple.


    The man who had erected the barrier smiled ferociously, his hands now falling down onto the guard of the sword at his hip.


    "Don''t get up," Shin Sumi thought to herself, "that''s perfect, if I''m beat, they will take me prisoner, right?"


    She m.o.a.n.e.d in pain, her eyelids seemingly heavy as her head was surely roaring with the pain of having slammed into a wall at high speed.


    Under her helpless expression and act, Shin Sumi''s muscles tensed up imperceptibly as she was ready to pounce at the man. According to her calculations, the man would probably choose to chain her and have her taken away like the other war prisoners but she knew exactly what the grin on his face was, and the l.u.s.t in his eyes wasn''t even disguised as he eyed her up and down.


    "Take her with the others, Bao Du. Zhai Ji, stop smiling like an idiot and come with me, there might be others hiding close-by."


    The man who had stopped Shin Sumi, Zhai Ji, wasn''t smiling anymore. A look of rage was directed towards the first man, then to Shin Sumi. The next instant his foot blurred towards her, Shin Sumi''s stomach twisting inward and she coughed a mouthful of blood, her eyes reddened by the pain brought by the kick, for real this time.


    Her stomach was reeling in pain. Shin Sumi had been ready to escape but she had gravely forgotten to shield herself in Shinsoo, as all of her energy was concentrated on her legs and arms to push herself away.


    More than just the kick, what had hurt her the most was the forced dissipation of all her Shinsoo due to the shock.


    As she laid there, her shoulder crushed and her belly wrecked, her Shinsoo in turmoil, she couldn''t think straight and barely registered the sensation on her other arm, the one under her pressed against her bag of holding.


    Of three consecutive green flashes, hidden by her body, Shin Sumi only felt Nuan do something but didn''t know what.


    She didn''t have time to think properly though, as Bao Du, the soldier left behind, spoke in a low voice, his palm turned towards her.


    "Blue Fire Holy Restraints!"


    Shin Sumi''s arms suddenly straightened along her body, forcing a short scream out of her mouth as her shoulder twisted right where the bone was broken. She tried circulating Shinsoo, only to find that the magical restreints had made it completely impossible to gather more than a sliver of it outside her dantian.


    Unable to break through the restraints or use a movement skill to escape, Shin Sumi had no choice but to use that tiny bit of Shinsoo to alleviate the pain on her shoulder.


    Her belly would hurt for a while longer, but she knew her organs had not ruptured and it would heal over time, however she needed to make sure her shoulder was tended to.


    With a disinterested look in his eyes, Bao Du grabbed her by the collar of her robe, forcing her off the ground with one hand.


    "I''ll be taking that," he said as he swiftly removed her bag of holding from her waist, "now walk forward."


    Shin Sumi gritted her teeth and complied. She had managed to get herself caught and brought along the survivors of the Sky Earth Sect as a war prisoner, but it felt like a hollow victory.


    In her cunning plan, she had never expected to actually get caught, only letting herself be caught. Even more devastating than her broken bones and twisted stomach, she had not thought about her bag of holding, containing all of her weapons, techniques and treasures.


    Her bag of holding had contained it all, Copper Bell, Void Sword, jade compass, identification jade, Sky Deception,... All of her possessions. Except Nuan.

 Chapter 103 - Prisoner of Blue Fire

    Bao Du brought Shin Sumi through the areas of the Sky Earth Sect''s tower which had already been cleared by the Blue Fire Sect''s army.


    At this point of the battle, all of the experts had been taken down and the last resisting disciples were being hunted restlessly.


    Shin Sumi didn''t know how many had been killed in the process and her only wish at this point was that she wouldn''t be one of them. Her shoulder has been broken and all of her equipment, treasures and items had been taken from her by the same guy who held her captive.


    The Blue Fire Holy Restraints prevented her from moving her arms or mustering enough Shinsoo for any rebellious act. She was completely stuck.


    Once outside of the tower, Shin Sumi was taken to where all the prisoners were gathered, guarded by a dozen male and female disciples with robes slightly different from the rest.


    As they approached, she could see that all twelve guards seemed to be very young compared to the other disciples. Most soldiers she had seen while walking through the battlefield with Invisible Crane of Oblivion were men and women middle-aged. She had even thought, at the time, that the Blue Fire Sect had not wanted to send any of their youth to war, and yet the twelve people guarding the prisoners were all less than twenty years old in appearances.


    Some of them she wouldn''t have said to be over fifteen years old. The others looked barely out of their teen years and yet something was completely off with them.


    All of them had dark marks around their eyes, so dark that Shin Sumi couldn''t tell if they were natural or tattoos made to look like they never slept.


    Second of all, their robes were not jet black like the other disciples of the Blue Fire Sect she had seen so far. They were wearing grey robes, but so dark that from afar she couldn''t have told the difference, embroidered with very thin golden patterns.


    Each pattern looked different for each of these guards but Shin Sumi couldn''t properly see them all from where she was.


    The only thing she could properly probe was their cultivation level, bringing another look of surprise and shock on her face.


    "The twelve of them are all late stage Liquid Realm cultivators!"


    She couldn''t help but think of Fen Wudao, whose strength and talent were unrivaled in the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Right in front of her, encircling all the prisoners, were twelve people who could compare to Fen Wudao.


    "Stay here," Bao Du instructed, leaving her side for a couple of steps.


    As if she would dare to move under the eyes of the twelve young guardians.


    Bao Du spoke a few words Shin Sumi couldn''t decipher to a young boy who looked so nonchalant and sleepy she wasn''t sure he was listening. The boy never seemed to reply and yet Bao Du nodded deeply in a half bowing manner.


    Shin Sumi''s captor threw her bag of holding behind the young boy where a large pile of similar bags were amassed in great numbers.


    "Oh no, I will never be able to find mine, even if I escape," Shin Sumi lamented interiorly. Even though she clearly had no option available, she still hadn''t brought herself to accept the loss of her bag.


    Her thoughts were cut off by the returning Bao Du who once again held her collar and forced her to walk.


    Now turned to face all of the other prisoners, Shin Sumi could see that most of them were seated on their knees by groups of ten, all of them with a vacant look in their eyes. Just like her they must have lost everything to the attackers, except Shin Sumi had come alone from afar whereas they had also lost their homes, friends and teachers.


    Shin Sumi was taken to a group of nine people, all visibly bearing the same Blue Fire Holy Restraints. Surprisingly, they seemed to be a lot more lively than the rest of the prisoners.


    "That''s one more batch," the young boy with the golden laced grey robe called out behind Shin Sumi, startling her. She had not felt him approach at all.


    Without another word, the boy waved his hands and brought them together in a circle.


    It was a simple gesture but the power emanating from him was absurdly strong. In a second, a giant sphere-like barrier appeared around the ten captives.


    As soon as the barrier was erected, Shin Sumi could feel her arms being untied to her body and her Shinsoo slowly returning from her dantian into her meridians, circulating. From the exclamations, sighs and general sounds of relief around her, Shin Sumi could tell that the other nine prisoners were also freed from their restreints.


    For a very short moment, she forced all of the energy she could to her shoulder, soothing the pain of her broken bones and magically replacing the different parts together. Only that moment didn''t last.


    After his call, the young boy had been joined by the other eleven young prodigies. As Shin Sumi and the other prisoners were tending to themselves in a hurry, the twelve guards were focusing their energy together, preparing a large scale incantation. When they next spoke, it was all of them at the same time, in a grave voice, directing their energy towards not only Shin Sumi''s group but the hundreds of other prisoners as well.


    "State of Sleep, form three: Extension!"


    Behind Shin Sumi and her group, a very large invisible barrier encompassing all the other prisoners started to shimmer into view. After a second, the shimmering focused on only one side of the large barrier. The next moment, a protrusion was forming, rising towards the new batch of prisoners.


    It only took three seconds in total for the barrier to enclose Shin Sumi''s group within the enchantment. Given the added power of the twelve young guards, it only showed how strong the barrier was and how inescapable the magical formation had become.


    ***


    Shin Sumi was walking in the darkness, her feet b.a.r.e against a cold floor.


    The only sensation left in her was the touch of the tiles she couldn''t even see under her. As she progressed and the tiles got colder and colder, she realized that she was walking on a layer of ice.


    As soon as she started thinking about the ice, it melted into a slow flowing water current. The water on her skin was soft and pleasant and she half-mindedly thought of a face.


    It was a very pretty face. A girl''s. What was her name again? Why did Shin Sumi think of her when the water started rising around her knees?


    She shook her head and enjoyed the feeling, still progressing in the darkness.


    Not one bit scary, Shin Sumi was enjoying her walk, to the point that even if she was given a choice, she would not leave this sensation.


    She could feel the water bubble under her, splashing her knees and t.h.i.g.hs. As smoothly as summer turns to autumn, the water turned into flames, l.i.c.k.i.n.g her feet with snake-like tendrils.


    Darkness, snakes, another half-memory rose in her empty mind. A strange place, a dangerous place where she had felt safe. Only she couldn''t remember anything about it at all.


    The roots were rough and hard, but didn''t impede her walk in the slightest. As she advanced, although she couldn''t see anything, she could feel that the roots were connected together, in what could only be a massive tree.


    The tree was far and close at the same time, familiar and mysterious.


    Without knowing why, Shin Sumi knew that the roots would turn into paper, then characters written in darkness.


    Only before that could happen, a sound so harsh and unpleasant wrung her ears. So out of place in this silent and dark world, the sound made her frown and she unconsciously tried to lift her hands to her ears to cover them.


    But her hands were stuck by the roots who didn''t seem to want to let her go.


    The sound was high and low at the same time, built off of a hundred harmonics. It pierced the tree, the roots, the flames, the water and the tiles all at once.


    It was only after the darkness was broken in a million pieces than Shin Sumi realized the sound was not that unpleasant. In fact it was welcome by the entirety of her soul as well as another soul, linked to hers.


    It was the sound of a bell, a small bell that looked like copper.


    ***


    Shin Sumi kept her eyes vacant when she woke up. As soon as the Copper Bell dispelled the State of Sleep, she remembered everything, the Sky Earth Sect and the twelve guards'' technique.


    "The Copper Bell has saved me from the illusion... It''s just like in the first part of the Rising Star Tournament."


    She knew that the Copper Bell had the ability to break all sorts of illusions and spirit formations that impacted the senses. Whether it was too cold, too bright, or a formation was stopping her from seeing what was really around her, one ring from the bell was enough to keep Shin Sumi grounded to reality and make her adapt to the environment.


    Only...


    "But I don''t have the Copper Bell! It was taken from me with my bag of holding! How can that be? Can the bell function at long-range as well? Is it the link between it and my divine sense that has made it respond?"


    Shin Sumi''s thoughts were all over the place until she felt a second divine sense stiring within her.


    "Nuan! You''ve awakened too!"


    Keeping her face and appearance as calm and vacant as before, Shin Sumi hid her joy as she finally understood everything.


    When she was captured by Bao Du, in shock due to the pain she had felt at the time, she had not paid attention to what Nuan had been doing. Now that she was finally clear-headed, her shoulder a bit relieved and she could use her divine sense on herself to focus on the leaf pattern on the inside of her wrist, Shin Sumi saw that the Lion Bat''s presence was different than before. In a way, Nuan felt much larger than she was, although Shin Sumi couldn''t describe it with words.


    Nuan''s divine sense was stronger and more complex, as if it was composed of thousands of pieces that had been made to fit each other.


    "Nuan, why didn''t you tell me you could do that?! You mean that all along you could have kept my artefacts and resources with you inside my wrist?!"


    A wave of relief washed over Shin Sumi. With a bit more focus on her divine sense, she could feel the Copper Bell''s presence. Then the Void Sword and the jade compass. Discerning each specific item was hard at first, Nuan''s presence overwhelming all the others, and it took Shin Sumi about fifteen minutes to completely dress the inventory of what exactly Nuan had kept hidden as Shin Sumi was deprived of her possessions.


    Shin Sumi was just finished, realizing that the only things remaining in her bag of holding were bits of food, clothes and miscellaneous items that were not really important, when the twelve young guards in front of the prisoners started speaking.


    "Are you okay, Brother Rat? You seem a little pale, will you be able to keep helping with the State of Sleep?"


    A concerned voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the speaker was a girl who seemed to be between fifteen and sixteen year old. Her eyes too were circled in dark, as if she hadn''t slept in years. On the dark grey robe that fit her curves tightly, the golden lining looked roughly like a large insect, crawling on her left side, the head on the side of her b.r.e.a.s.t and the body twisting around her back.


    "I will be fine. That old bastard Green Leaf took me by surprise but Master Bronze jumped in at the right time," answered a younger voice.


    Shin Sumi recognized the boy who had called the others earlier. She couldn''t see him clearly, she only saw the girl get close to him and take hold of him or something.


    "What are you doing, Mantis? St-stop!" the boy called Rat with shaking in his voice.


    Was the girl tickling him?


    "Mantis, Rat, stop teasing each other. If you have strength left, keep it for the next prisoners," an older voice intervened. A man, probably one of the oldest of the bunch at twenty or so.


    Again, Shin Sumi could not see the young man who had spoken, unless she wanted to reveal the fact that she was out of their State of Sleep technique.


    For close to six hours, Shin Sumi waited patiently, feigning being under the control of their technique. In that relatively long lapse of time, about ten more groups of prisoners were brought in.


    By listening patiently to the bickering of some of the guards, their conversations and the reaction of a few Sky Earth Sect disciples, she was able to draw certain conclusions as to who they were and what they were doing.


    The Blue Fire Sect, with its immense power, still had a structure similar to most of the other cultivation sects.


    Past the Liquid Realm, only the talented could join the Inner Sect and rise through the ranks. Those whose talent would slow down their cultivation and stop before the Core Development Realm were either left to roam the world free or would settle in the sect as clercs, instructors, farmers or Elders if they were lucky enough.


    As for the Inner Sect disciples, the few who had proven their worth, they were still part of another sort of ranking which, Shin Sumi guessed, could end in different factions.


    The Night Twelve, Shin Sumi''s captors, were one of them, composed only of young geniuses whose prospect and talent were without limit. Each adorned with their animal in the golden lining of their robe, they were also recognizable by the dark rings around their eyes, due to the technique they all cultivated.


    They were under the direct command of the cultivator called Bronze Fire until they reached the Core Development Realm.


    As Shin Sumi heard an old prisoner say to his comrade before they too were imprisoned by State of Sleep, in the past tens of successive generations of Night Twelves, not a single member ever failed to leave before they were twenty-five.


    "All the levels have been cleaned, Master Bronze is positive there is only one more batch of prisoners left," a voice rose from behind Shin Sumi, past the hundreds of souls trapped in State of Sleep''s invisible barrier.


    It was the second time Shin Sumi heard the voice. The first time, the boy named Rat had referred to its owner as Raccoon. From Raccoon''s tone and slightly grave voice, she assumed he was one of the Night Twelve''s eldest, meaning he ranked higher in the hierarchy and was probably already in the Liquid Realm''s ninth step.


    "We should set up the transportation link then," Rat replied to the ones next to him.


    "What do you think they''ll do with all these prisoners in the sect?" Mantis'' lively voice asked.


    "I don''t know and I don''t care. Why? Do you want to keep some of them? Do you need a few more serving girls and butlers?"


    "Hmpf. As if. You know I only want you by my side, helping me every day, Brother Rat!"


    "St-stop it Mantis, you know I would never... I mean..." Rat''s voice died, the words stopping before his throat.


    Mantis was pouting exaggeratingly, Rat''s red face turning away from her.


    "And-and if you want to keep a prisoner as your personal slave, you need to ask Master Bronze and maybe he''ll let you pick before that weirdo Master Lead Fire finds his next test subjects."


    Shin Sumi took note of what she had heard, her mind immediately thinking back on Elder Zhu''s dark experiments.


    At the same time, she could feel the Night Twelve''s energy rising in the air. They were preparing something big, something that would be as impressive as the massive spell State of Sleep. They were setting up a giant spirit formation around the entire bubble of prisoners and linking them to a transportation formation.


    "Can they really move hundreds of prisoners through a formation and send all of us to the Blue Fire Sect?!" Shin Sumi wondered. Even to transport the Honorary Disciples of the Dark Sky Starry Sect to the Floating Continent for the Rising Star Tournament, Patriarch Sen had needed to use the powers of the Star Zheng, the sect''s treasure.


    Could the Night Twelve''s combined power really rival an artifact as old and powerful as the Star Zheng?!


    A few minutes later, as the last prisoners arrived and the Sky Earth Sect was officially no more than a large tower in ruins and aflame in the middle of the mountains, Shin Sumi''s question was answered when the transportation formation started glowing a bright red and rotating under her folded knees.


    Forcing herself to remain calm-looking and feign being trapped in the illusion like the other prisoners, Shin Sumi only closed her eyes when the red light became too bright.


    When she opened them again, the air around her felt different. She was still in the invisible bubble with hundreds of others, but they were no longer in the south of the Blue Fire Mountain Range.


    There was no doubt about it, they were now in the middle of the Blue Fire Sect.

 Chapter 104 - "What Is There To Trust?"

    Shin Sumi''s field of vision was restricted but her half closed eyes, contrarily to that of the other hundreds of prisoners, were still capable of sight.


    Trapped in the illusion of State of Sleep, none of the others seemed to have realized that they had just performed a large-scale instantaneous transportation to the other side of the continent.??


    Outside the bubble, Shin Sumi saw the Night Twelve in the same position as before, only instead of having the massive grey tower in the background, her field of view had changed to a mountain.


    No, there were tendrils of smoke rising from the top, thousands of meters high until they mixed with the occasional clouds. This was a volcano.


    On the slope of the volcano lay thousands of houses, courtyards and paths. Their number was big enough that Shin Sumi could only guess at their number in one glance. Just like the mountains in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, the higher her eyes went, the less dense the habitations seemed to be.


    At the edge of her field of view, other natural formations smaller than the central volcano rose through the earth as if forming a circle around it.


    "The nine mountains of the Blue Fire Sect" Shin Sumi had heard about the strongest sect ever since she had just started walking the path of cultivation. The Blue Fire Sect had nine mountains, each controlled by a specific master, and one active volcano whose flames were blue.


    The volcano was the centerpiece of the set, the residence of the Patriarch, the Elders, and that of their direct disciples.


    Each mountain was more or less connected to its neighbors, their slopes meeting in between and ensuring the entire sect was impregnable like a natural fortress.


    In the ring formed by the nine mountains and one volcano was a circular valley, big enough to house ten of the Dark Sky Starry Sect''s upper valley.


    On the edge of the valley, right at the beginning of the volcano was where Shin Sumi and the prisoners from the Sky Earth Sect had been transported.


    "And now what?" Mantis'' crisp voice rose through the air. From her tone of voice, Shin Sumi could tell that she was tired. Despite the twelve of them powering the spirit formation, the energy consumption must have been so great that it had left the Night Twelve panting.


    Raccoon replied, "We wait for the Seniors to arrive, any second now. After that, these prisoners are none of our business anymore."


    Mantis nodded, her voice low enough so that only Rat and the prisoners around could hear her, "I hate leaving the sect for missions like this. It is always so tiring. I just want to sleep."


    "I know, I know. Anyway, wanna check out the hot springs at my place?" Mantis continued, a devious smile on her face.


    Rat immediately turned all kinds of shades of red, like a child who had just been caught stealing a candy. He snorted, then coughed, then turned away from the girl who was still smiling.


    By this point, it had only been around ten breaths since Shin Sumi and the others had been transported across the continent.


    People from the sect, disciples and low level Elders were starting to gather around the plaza on which they landed. They didn''t get any closer than a hundred and fifty steps though, staying off the platform.


    Only one man who looked to be thirty years old or so walked the steps slowly.


    It was only after he had come into view that Shin Sumi realized that the crowd had parted ways respectfully to let him approach.


    "What a nice batch of fresh young people! You have outdone yourselves," said the man, whose voice was strangely older than his body looked.


    Upon hearing his words, Rat, Mantis, Raccoon and the others turned and bowed deeply, looking at the ground rather than at the man who surprised them.


    "Master Lead Fire," Raccoon greeted respectfully.


    A split second later, a flash of red light forced Shin Sumi to close her eyes once more. A storm of powerful Shinsoo swirls right in front of her forced her to control herself in the best way she could, having cold sweats on her back.


    "Something even more powerful than the rest combined has just appeared," was what her instinct screamed at her.


    Not looking directly at the source of the Shinsoo turbulence, keeping her empty eyes straight forward, Shin Sumi nonetheless saw that another group of people had appeared on the platform.


    While only being composed of twenty people, the group radiated with at least ten times more energy than Shin Sumi''s batch of close to five hundred prisoners.


    "The masters of the Sky Earth Sect," Shin Sumi didn''t have to conjecture too much to know who these people were, as well as their guards.


    "Lead, how nice of you to greet us back from our mission," joked a large man whose face was obscured by a dark hood. His robes were pure black, deeper than the darkest night. The only light emitted from his body was the triangle of his white beard poking out of the hood and floating around as if agitated by an unexisting beard.


    Master Lead Fire nodded with a smile before raising his shoulders nonchalantly, "Oh, I''m only interested in fresh samples, Bronze."


    Master Bronze Fire sighed, then looked around at the hundreds of prisoners, "Can my Twelve have a pick first this time? They organized most of the battle while Iron, Copper and I dealt with the Reverends."


    Behind Master Bronze Fire, two other hooded figures nodded silently. They each held large magical chains in one hand, the other hand making strange complicated motions, incantations to strengthen the chains holding the prisoners in place.


    If what he said was true and the newly arrived prisoners were indeed the Sky Earth Sect''s Reverends, Shin Sumi knew that the three Masters were all close to being as powerful as Patriarch Sen himself.


    Each Reverend of the Sky Earth Sect was as strong as a Pavilion Master in the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Fen Wudao had explained that much to Shin Sumi before she left for her mission.


    Still as discreetly as possible, she looked at the three hooded men and the dozen of Reverends. Upon closer inspection, she could definitely see traces of battle on them.


    Torn robes, missing limbs, but mostly blood. The battle must have been harsh but there was no doubt that it had been completely one-sided.


    Master Bronze spoke again, turned to the assembly of Blue Fire Sect disciples still a few steps short of the platform, "Tomorrow a large auction will be held, at noon. All disciples of the Blue Fire Sect are allowed to attend."


    Shin Sumi had not quite yet understood what he meant by that when the crowd started cheering loudly.


    The black hood of Master Bronze turned towards all the low level prisoners and Shin Sumi. His hand extended downwards with his palm opened, a massive surge of Shinsoo wrapping around the already existing spirit formation that held everyone under State of Sleep.


    The crowd had already started to disperse but Master Lead''s voice rose above the crowd''s noise.


    "What are you doing, Bronze? You don''t believe in the strength of your twelve young prot¨¦g¨¦s?"


    Master Bronze turned around slowly, his hand having finished the barrier formation, "Oh I''m quite confident in the kids. I simply want to make sure that nobody starts picking prisoners before tomorrow when the Patriarch gets back."


    It didn''t take a genius to figure out that Master Bronze didn''t trust Master Lead.


    ***


    Shin Sumi sighed.


    "No matter how I inspect it, I can''t find any weakness to this barrier."


    It had been many hours since they arrived in the Blue Fire Sect and ever since Master Bronze erected his barrier around them, the plaza had been completely silent and empty.


    The Masters had dispersed the crowd and left with their own prisoners, the Sky Earth Reverends.


    Shin Sumi was now starting to understand Bronze''s strength and place in the sect. Their Patriarch was absent and Master Bronze was most likely the second in command around.


    With the prisoners under State of Sleep''s illusion and his two-way barrier, no prisoner could hope to escape and no disciple could get in. As such, not even one person was tempted to walk around the plaza at night and no guard had been assigned to watch over the prisoners.


    Besides, Shin Sumi''s group of a few hundreds was composed only of Liquid Realm disciples, the majority of them between the first and third step. In comparison to the Blue Fire Sect''s strength, they didn''t even qualify as fully-fledged cultivators.


    "Did they kill all of the Core Development Elders and cultivators besides the Reverends? What happened to the Sky Earth Sect''s Patriarch?"


    "Most likely, each Master will have a pick of the slaves they want. What they do with us afterwards..." Shin Sumi shivered at the thought, "Especially that Master Lead. From what I understand, he is not held in high regard by the other factions."


    Thoughts swirling in her mind, Shin Sumi concentrated on thinking of a plan. Something, anything, that would allow her to regain her freedom.


    Unfortunately she was unable to do anything other than wait. And so she waited.


    ***


    The surroundings of the platform were crowded again. From the position of the sun in the sky, noon was just around the corner.


    "They are about to auction us," Shin Sumi looked at the faces of the disciples around. None of them looked like avid bidders, which made her realize what this was really about.


    "There is no way a low-level disciple will be able to afford any prisoner. This isn''t a real auction, this is a fight between the different factions, the different Masters."


    Shin Sumi, her eyes unfocused and half-closed, was still sitting in the same position as before, feigning to be under the same spell as the others.


    The crowd was getting larger by the second, its rumble growing as the voices of thousands soon filled the place. The only moment of brief silence was when a group of a dozen young disciples arrived.


    "The Night Twelve..."


    "I heard they single-handedly destroyed the Sky Earth Sect and imprisoned all of the disciples..."


    "This is Master Bronze''s unparalleled faction."


    Not sparing a single glance at the onlookers, the Night Twelve walked straight through the crowd until they were standing at the foot of the platform.


    "Rat, still sure that you don''t want any of them for yourself?"


    Rat laughed dryly, facing the prisoners, "Look at them Mantis, they wouldn''t even qualify as training dummies. What use would I have of them?"


    "You''re only fourteen. I give you three years and you''ll have the answer to that yourself," another member of the Night Twelve said, "I can definitely see some cuties."


    Rat''s face turned red, Shinsoo fueled by anger swirling around him.


    "Rat, Bull, control yourselves. Don''t do anything unsightly before the Patriarch."


    Following Raccoon''s intervention, all of the Night Twelve straightened their posture and stopped arguing. Their eyes were fixed towards the air above the bubble of prisoners, out of Shin Sumi''s line of sight.


    Trying to sense what was going on, she only now discovered that the crowd''s voice had died again.


    "The Blue Fire Sect Patriarch..." she said silently, "and he''s not alone."


    "Kids, remove the spell," Master Bronze''s voice spoke from high in the air.


    The Night Twelve all bowed as one then spoke in unison, "Break."


    A sudden gust of wind swallowed the entire plaza, followed by the waking up of all five hundred prisoners from the trap they had been sleeping in.


    "What the...", "Where are we?", "Is this really the...", all of the prisoners looked around, slowly realizing what had happened. Free to stop pretending, Shin Sumi sighed impatiently and joined the group by standing up as well.


    "The Sky Earth Sect is no longer in existence," the Patriarch spoke, silencing the disciples and the prisoners in one go, "they have defied us and they have paid the price. Such is the law in the cultivation world."


    The old man''s voice was grainy and trembling as well as unbelievable domineering.


    "Anger, rebellion, retribution. All of that is nothing compared to strength. Sects rise and fall but strength is the only thing in this world that has been there long before us and that will remain long after everything under the horizon has turned to ash.


    What place does loyalty hold in a world like this? I have lived for longer than all of you combined. I have seen the rise and fall of empires, and now my empire is stronger than any other. You may have lost friends, homes and even family, but what I am offering to you today is a chance at becoming stronger than you could ever be after centuries in the Sky Earth Sect."


    The Patriarch of the Blue Fire Sect grew silent for a few breaths before his strangely convincing voice continued.


    "Will you remain loyal to a pile of ashes, or take the chance that has been given to you and join my Blue Fire Sect?"


    Be it the prisoners of the Sky Earth Sect or the disciples of the Blue Fire Sect, everyone remained silent for a long time.


    "...D-Don''t listen to him, fellow disciples of Sky Earth! I would rather die than be a slave to the Blue Fire Sect!"


    The man who had spoken was one of the few eighth step Liquid Realm prisoners. Everybody turned to him but his own face was turned to the skies where the Blue Fire Sect Patriarch was laughing.


    "Ah-ah-ah, a strong willed individual. There is always one, isn''t there? Tell me, what is your name?"


    "I am Ming Jian, direct disciple of Reverend Yellow River," he replied, then turned towards his fellow prisoners, "most of you already know me, and you should also know that I will never betray the sect that gave me my life and my power. Are you all so afraid of death that you would prefer to cast away your honor and become a slave?!"


    The Patriarch sighed, amused and annoyed at the same time, "This is the second time this puny kid said the word ''slave''. Let this Patriarch clarify something. If you want to die for something as meaningless as honor, nobody will stop you but what I am offering you is not the chance to become a slave. I want all of you to join the Blue Fire Sect as disciples."


    "Don''t listen to him!" Ming Jian repeated, "He is lying to us, they will never trust us to-"


    "Shut up, Jian," a booming voice rose from behind the crowd of Blue Fire Sect disciples. It was a man dressed in long bright yellow robes who was missing an arm. Shin Sumi recognized him immediately from the previous day.


    "Trust you? What is there to trust? The Sky Earth Sect is no longer, the Patriarch is gone and us Reverends have been defeated. They don''t have to trust us to accept us into the Blue Fire Sect because we don''t have anything else to do or anywhere else to go."


    "Master Yellow River..."


    Faced with his own master, Ming Jian paled to the point that all color drained from his face. Even his own mentor and teacher was against him. Lowering his head, Ming Jian sat on the ground, his head in his hands.


    "Sigh," the Blue Fire Sect Patriarch spoke again, "Now, is anyone still opposing me?"


    Silence.


    If some of the prisoners still had reservations before, seeing a Reverend of their own sect turn like that was enough to dispel any rebellious thoughts.


    Having watched the whole scene unfold, Shin Sumi''s mind was all over the place. Unlike all the others, her home sect was still standing and she knew she was on a mission, but the Patriarch''s speech was still perplexing.


    "Like Reverend Yellow River said, it makes sense. But if they really don''t intend to turn us into slaves, why did Master Bronze Fire talk about auctioning us yesterday? What is the Blue Fire Sect really up to?"


    Her thoughts were cut off by the Blue Fire Sect Patriarch who knew he had won the heart of most prisoners already.


    "Let us not waste any more time. I was told upon my return that Bronze Fire''s Night Twelve were responsible for yesterday''s victory and as such, they will speak first."


    Bowing at a right angle, the twelve young people dressed in black and gold expressed their respect and thanks.


    Raccoon, as their leader, spoke for the group, "The Night Twelve thank the Patriarch for this favor. While we wouldn''t want to oppose the will of any Master, we are interested in two new disciples. We would like to request the Patriarch for a man and a woman below twenty years of age and with a cultivation base above the Liquid Realm''s third step."


    Briefly scanning the prisoners, the Patriarch extended his right hand and nodded to himself.


    Gently, two prisoners fitting Raccoon''s request were lifted off the ground before landing slowly in front of the imposing Night Twelve.


    Immediately, the chosen two dropped to their knees and bowed. A rare smile appeared on Raccoon''s face, who then proceeded to thank the Patriarch again.


    The Patriarch ignored the bow and turned to the people floating behind him, a genuine smile on his face, "Which Master would like to follow?"

 Chapter 105 - Master Tin Says

    Shin Sumi was standing straight, her neck arched to look right above her. From below she could see the old Patriarch and the five Masters that were behind him.


    Three of them she recognized from the previous day and two were still anonymous, their faces concealed inside long dark cloaks. Curiously, Shin Sumi noted that Master Lead was nowhere to be seen.


    "Brother Bronze should go first, Patriarch," said one of the cloaked figures.


    "I agree, most of the credits go to him so I also would like him to go first," continued another.


    The Patriarch smiled and nodded.


    "According to my fellow Masters'' wishes, I will pick the new disciples that will train under me," Master Bronze said respectfully, then took three steps in the air and placed himself in front of the Patriarch.


    Taking his time, Master Bronze looked at each prisoner individually. Every time his eyes would land on somebody, the Sky Earth disciple would avert their gaze as if there was some kind of pressure bearing on them like a waterfall continuously pouring on their shoulders.


    Master Bronze stayed silent for the better part of fifteen minutes, only smiling or grimacing slightly sometimes. He was making calculations but nobody knew what for.


    "I''ve chosen," he finally said, breaking the silence and the invisible tension in the plaza.


    Extending his hand, Master Bronze used the same technique as before to lift ten young prisoners from the platform, raising them mid-air as he himself descended to their level.


    "Tell me your names," his words were sharp but somewhat kind as he spoke to them.


    One after the other, all the chosen disciples spoke their names, bowing after their introduction as a good show of respect. Seemingly happy with his pick and the whole process, Master Bronze nodded and took the disciples to the edge of the platform, where the crowd quickly dispersed to let them land.


    With the ten behind him, Master Bronze folded his large arms over his ?h?st and looked back at the Patriarch, sending him an invisible signal.


    "Right, I believe next should be Master Copper?" the Patriarch turned to one of the hooded figures.


    After Master Bronze and Master Copper came the other Masters. One by one, six of them observed the prisoners and chose some of them, seemingly without any predictable pattern.


    "There are only three Masters left and about a hundred prisoners. What will they do with the rest of us if we aren''t picked?" asked a girl besides Shin Sumi in a low voice.


    It sounded like the girl was speaking to herself, and yet it didn''t stop another Sky Earth Sect prisoner to mutter "What do you think? They will probably kill us or force us to work the fields and do their dirty work like slaves."


    Not all the disciples had been convinced by Ming Jian and the Patriarch''s argument earlier.


    As for Shin Sumi, she didn''t know what to make of it. She had heard the Masters talking the day before, when the prisoners were still unconscious and stuck within the State of Sleep.


    "The Patriarch''s reasoning makes sense and is probably true for most of the Masters. The Blue Fire Sect is just looking for ways to strengthen themselves. But that can''t be true for all of them, Master Lead especially is concerning."


    So far, the young man with the old voice who was called Lead Fire had not yet to be seen.


    "Fresh samples" was the expression he had used to talk about the prisoners, which could not mean anything good for the prisoners he would choose.


    The Patriarch''s voice once more interrupted Shin Sumi''s line of thoughts.


    "Where are Lead and Tin? They should be the last ones to choose.


    -Oh this old one is here, Patriarch," Master Lead''s voice rose from behind the crowd," but I would be happy to wait for brother Tin to pick."


    As Master Lead Fire rose slowly into the air to join the Patriarch high above the plaza a strong gust of wind blew from the east, causing a lot of disciples to cry out in surprise, their robes and long hair flying wildly around them.


    "Sorry for my late arrival, Patriarch. Seeing as brother Lead conveniently waited for me, I shall come next and choose the new members of Tin Peak."


    Another dark cloaked figure had joined the ?ssembly, directly rising next to the Patriarch. He was a light skinned man with golden hair, the slightest bit grey around his temples. Unlike the other Masters, his hood was undone and resting against his back.


    His face was beautiful, his silhouette strong and heroic and yet his eyes were almost completely black. When his sight crossed paths with the crowd, disciples couldn''t help but turn away, a strange shiver crawling down their backs.


    "Hello, new members of the Blue Fire Sect, I am Master Tin. Could you please raise your hand if your cultivation level is above the second step of the Liquid Realm?"


    Shin Sumi twitched slightly, as did most of the remaining disciples. Was one of the Master of the sect asking for their cultivation level?


    Not that it was that strange, but a man of his power surely would be able to discern each prisoner''s ability with just a glance of his divine sense.


    More than half of the hundred or so disciples did as he had asked, Shin Sumi included, and raised their hands.


    "Ooooh, interesting," Master Tin smiled, his black eyes squinting to the point that they became two thin black slits, "Liars."


    A fair skinned hand appeared from under his long cloak, the index finger pointing out.


    "Tremble!"


    Master Tin spoke in a soft voice then retracted his hand. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, the confused eyes of the prisoners looking around.


    "Aaaaargh!"


    Piercing cries erupted in different places of the platform the prisoners were confined to. Five people, one whose hand had been raised suddenly dropped to their knees, holding their head while being torn with pain.


    "I''ll ask again, raise your hand if your cultivation level is above the second step of the Liquid Realm."


    A wave of pure terror took over the plaza. A single drop of time during which both the onlookers and the prisoners held their breath, their soul trembling with fear.


    In unison, hands were raised, not one disciple trying to escape like before. The plaza was silent, except for the five prisoners who were still being tortured in place, crying and m??ning.


    "No no no, that won''t do at all, brother Tin. You see, this is why I waited until the end to pick new disciples," Master Lead shook his head to the side.


    "You five, get up. You''ll be with me."


    With a swift hand motion, Master Lead instantly broke the technique that had tortured the poor lying disciples before transporting them to the side of the plaza.


    "Sorry for the interruption, you go on with your pick, Tin."


    "Heh, alright. Now raise your other hand if you are below the age of twenty-five. And remember, don''t lie to me."


    As if any prisoner would dare lie now.


    Why did they lie in the first place? Shin Sumi didn''t understand. Like all the other prisoners they should have realized that there was no point in lying, especially for such an arbitrary rule. Something was going on with this peculiar Master Tin.


    "Now who has had experience in divination?"


    Breathing out slowly, Shin Sumi retracted her hand, as did most of the other cultivators on display. She couldn''t help but be relieved even though it only meant more chances for Master Lead to pick her with the others.


    "How disgraceful. Only five of you have ever delved into the brilliant art of divination?! You''re worth less than a heap of garbage, I should smite you before you can tarnish the Blue Fire Sect''s reputa-


    -Stop it, Tin."


    The bubbles burst almost immediately, but they had existed long enough for the disciples within to realize that they had been the target of Master Tin''s anger.


    Right as the barrier around her exploded, Shin Sumi''s heart skipped a beat.


    "I... I was about to get struck...! Had Master Lead not protected me, I would be on the ground crying in pain," Shin Sumi knew, just like the other prisoners.


    "These ones go with me as well," Master Lead announced loudly to everybody around before turning and speaking in a low voice, "What the hell are you doing Tin? I think it''s time you should leave."


    Besides them, the Patriarch remained silent. Like a father watching his children play, he only looked slightly amused, not at all preoccupied by the turn their games had taken. Only the best observers could have seen his hand ready for action stop and go back in his sleeve furtively.


    "Fine. Come with me to Tin Peak, kids!" Master Tin dropped to the ground in a strong gust of wind, his hand motioning to the five whose hands were still raised in confusion.


    Without waiting for them to move, he started walking through the crowd separating for him. Now that he wasn''t about to smite anyone, Master Tin looked like a beautiful heroic figure once again.


    However, for Shin Sumi, Master Tin was already far away. In front of her laid a much more important truth. Because of the golden haired Master''s antics, she had been picked by Master Lead.


    "You''re so lucky," a girl''s voice spoke softly next to Shin Sumi. It was another girl, one who had dropped her hand earlier in the Master''s pick. "Master Lead seems to care at least. For the rest of us I don''t know what will happen. Who is the last Master?"


    She had heard him talk before, when the prisoners were not aware. Master Lead certainly wasn''t who he pretended to be.


    With a gentle floating motion, Shin Sumi and the others were transported to the side of the platform, where Master Lead stood, a smile on his lips. From up close, he looked to be thirty or less, his skin tight and his muscle outline well defined. Around his dark green eyes were small wrinkles, the kind you get from smiling, although to Shin Sumi it was more troubling than reassuring.


    He was smaller than Shin Sumi had ?ssumed, only about as tall as she was. Dropping gently behind him, Shin Sumi watched his hand wave nonchalantly while he spoke. His voice was that of an old man but his face was younger than some of the disciples in the crowd around.


    "We will be on our way to your new homes soon but for now we will watch the end of the draft."


    By the end of Master Lead''s sentence, the Patriarch had started to speak to the entire ?ssembly again.


    "The ninth and last Master to pick is Master Cobalt, however he has yet to return from the Sky Earth Sect with his troops. Core disciples of the Blue Fire Sect, because of that you will be given the rare opportunity to win one of the new disciples, of which you will become the master and teacher. To participate you need to be stronger than the new disciple by at least two steps, that is the only rule. Auctioneer Jun Wan, if you will."


    A young man so thin that his skeleton could be seen through his skin bowed deeply and stepped from the crowd onto the platform. He looked shy and weak, having to block the sun with his hand flat against his forehead, but Shin Sumi soon realized that his strength didn''t lie in his muscles but in something else.


    "Listen-up-fellow-disciples. I''m-Jun-Wan-and-I-will-be-in-charge-of-this-special-auction."


    !!!


    He talked so fast that it took Shin Sumi a full second to understand him, and a few more to adjust to what he was saying.


    "...can visit us at the Fifth District auction house. This auction, however, is the only opportunity for you to gain a student, something that normally a disciple wouldn''t have the chance of. Esteemed Patriarch, if you would like to choose the auctionee."


    Without any further thought, the Patriarch lifted a finger, sending one of the remaining prisoners floating in the air for everyone to see.


    "Ah, a male disciple, twenty three years old, with a cultivation base of the fourth step," Jun Wan commented, presenting the ''product'', adding in a low voice, "A female would have raised much higher prices but fine.


    The auction will begin at the price of thirty normal grade spirit stones, remember you can only participate if you are at least in the Liquid Realm''s sixth step."


    "Thirty five normal grades," the first bid was called by a male disciple in the middle of the crowd.


    "Thirty seven!"


    "Forty spirit stones!"


    ***


    "Hmmm, I knew it would come to that, I''m glad I''ve stayed to watch this. Well at least it''s not a girl that is being auctioned," grumbled Master Lead, surprising Shin Sumi and the others behind him.


    As new recruits under this strange Master, none of the ex-prisoners dared to say anything.


    Just as if he was answering their questions, Master Lead turned to face them and continued, "the auction has already reached five hundred normal grade spirit stones. That is a fortune to any disciple, even the wealthiest heirs of large cultivation clans. That kid Jun Wan is terrifyingly good at this, he makes you want to bid everything you have for any product of his auctions.


    Only this is a cultivator he is selling on behalf of the sect. What do you think might happen when the disciple who bought him takes him as a student and is faced with all the trouble that comes with it?"


    Shin Sumi understood what Master Lead meant, agreeing with him reluctantly, still not trusting him at all.


    For such a hefty price, any resentment from the master would turn to hatred towards the student.


    "I will go and make the buyer an offer to take the disciple from him later. He will join us in about a month''s time I reckon. See the leaf insignia on the robes of the last two still raising prices? They are alchemy disciples of Aluminium Peak."


    As the auction slowed down and finally came to a stop at a price of seven hundred and fifty five normal grade spirit stones, Shin Sumi and the others next to her found themselves listening to Master Lead''s insightful remarks concerning the Blue Fire Sect, the different peaks and the Common Area of the sect.


    Each peak was under the supervision of a certain Master and represented a different branch of cultivation, much like the Pavilions of the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Only the ninth mountain was different, as it was part of the Common Area, controlled by Master Cobalt.


    This was the area where most of the common disciples lived, but also where all the amenities of the sect were located. Farms, markets, residences, resources halls, most were located in one of the districts of the Common Area.


    Everything that was not part of a specific peak was under Master Cobalt''s jurisdiction who dealt with law enforcement within the sect as well as organize the sect''s army, which was why Master Cobalt had yet to come back from the Sky Earth Sect with the foot soldiers that had lead the ?ssault on the other sect two days before.


    "-and this is the sixth district, right below Lead Peak," Master Lead finished softly. He didn''t seem like it at first glance but Shin Sumi had quickly realized that he liked to talk abundantly.


    Smiling, the Master waved at a small group of young disciples cultivating on the side of the path at the foot of the mountain. With respect, the disciples bowed in return.


    Watching the eyes of the people they crossed paths with, Shin Sumi slowly got more and more confused. Without a trace of fear or the slightest anxiety, the disciples looked peaceful and in admiration for their master.


    Contrarily, the first image of Master Lead had been similar to a leech in Shin Sumi''s head. Also similar to Elder Zhu, in a way.


    As soon as the five hundred prisoners had been transported into the territory of the Blue Fire Sect, Master Lead had jumped to action and exposed his plan of taking some of them for himself as ''fresh samples''.


    Since nobody else but Shin Sumi was aware of the situation, she had believed from the start that this was his true nature and that he was probably the one Master to be avoided at all costs.


    Shin Sumi shuddered, the thought of an even stronger version of Elder Zhu so repulsive that her face went pale.


    However it was clear for all to see that Master Lead had protected the disciples ?ssaulted by Master Tin. Twice in fact, when the other Masters and the Patriarch himself had not batted an eye.


    Moreover, ever since she had been picked by the Master to become his disciple, Shin Sumi had seen or heard nothing but pleasantries from him, a harsh word never leaving his lips.


    "Was my first impression wrong or is there a bigger scheme behind all of this? Maybe this is the biggest trap of them all and I am walking right into it..."


    But no matter how much Shin Sumi could think and plan, for now she had absolutely no choice but to follow, remain silent and hope for the best.


    "At least I still have Nuan with the Bell, the Void Sword, Sky Deception and all the important things," she comforted herself, "alone in the biggest sect of the continent with no ally, no knowledge of the area and surrounded by people stronger than me."

 Chapter 106 - Lead Peaks Mysterious Disappearances

    Shin Sumi felt a breeze pick up and opened her eyes. She was sitting on a large boulder at the edge of a bamboo grove. The leaves rustled and the smell of bamboo reached her nose, with something else.


    "I know you''re there, show yourself," Shin Sumi said loudly.


    "Eh, you got me, Sister Shin," a young man walked out of the grove behind her. He was seventeen years old and had long shiny dark hair. His skin was fair like a girl''s and his face seemed carved out of porcelain.


    Fei Unwan was beautiful, young and talented, but unfortunately for Shin Sumi he was also very clingy.


    "You shouldn''t stand upwind if you don''t want people to catch your sent. What do you want?"


    "A few others and I are going to Wenan Lead Tavern, I thought I would invite you to join me- to join us!"


    "Thank you Brother Fei but pass. I am cultivating."


    Fei Unwan''s smile didn''t weaken in the slightest after being rejected. Even more determined, he took half a step back and was about to turn when...


    "You know, we are probably going to stop by Lead Library as well..."


    Shin Sumi lifted her head, opening her eyes again. She sighed and looked at the young man, squinting to decipher if he was telling the truth or if it was just a ploy to get her to join him.


    She sighed again.


    "Fine, I''ll come this one time," she said, jumping off the boulder.


    Fei Unwan''s smile widened, his pale eyes suddenly full of light. Almost too casually, he lifted his bent arm horizontally in her direction, his heartbeats accelerating.


    "I am not going to hold your hand, but I can break your arm if you insist," Shin Sumi looked coldly up and down at him and the arm he was offering before starting walking.


    It had been a week since Master Lead had taken ten new disciples under him and brought them to Lead Peak. They had been given a place to stay and rest at, a large training hall that had been empty for years. While some of them prefered to use the place to cultivate, Shin Sumi had found a nice spot behind the training hall, next to the bamboo grove.


    While they were now residents of Lead Peak, they had not yet officially entered the rank of fully fledged disciples. One of Master Lead''s helpers had told them he would prepare their entrance a week ago and since then had let them roam around as they wished "as long as you stay within Lead Peak''s lower half and avoid the Common Area," he had said.


    He had even given them a dozen spirit stones each to spend however they wanted, which apparently was drinks right this instant.


    "Two Heavenly Ales please, Senior Wenan!" Fei Unwan''s voice carried across the tavern, making the few onlookers turn their heads.


    "Brother Fei, you''re late" chuckled a young man, giving meaningful looks to the other people at his table, "did you two get lost or...?"


    "YOU can get lost, Brother An, if you think for a second that he and I-"


    "Brother An, we were simply at the library, which is unfortunately closed right now" Fei Unwan interrupted Shin Sumi, taking his seat next to the other new disciples of Lead Peak.


    "If you say so... What is your deal with the library anyway, Sister Shin?"


    Shin Sumi took a sip of her Heavenly Ale. It was a fermented beverage that felt cold to the touch yet that brought heat in her belly. It had been mixed with various spirit fruits and was truly the best drink around.


    "I... simply like books. There is so much you can learn in them. Some things that have even been forgotten by most people can still be found on papers and parchments."


    Unconvinced by Shin Sumi''s answer, An Luo snorted and gulped down the rest of his fruity ale.


    "I never really spent any time in the library back in the sect... you know, our old sect I mean..."


    -Me neither.


    -Same," the other disciples shook their heads negatively.


    "This is probably why I''ve never seen you before," Shin Sumi smiled, "Tell me, what branch were you in, back in the sect?"


    Ale and nostalgia being a wonderful duo, the group quickly started talking, laughing, having animated conversations. Looking at the people around her at the same table, Shin Sumi thought back to her first days in the Dark Sky Starry Sect.


    "If only there had been Heavenly Ale around at the time, I probably would have made a lot more friends faster. Yue, Sui Lin, Mei Yunei,... Let''s all get a drink together someday, okay?"


    ***


    "Is that true, An Luo?! Did they really make the new disciples fight for a place in Aluminium Peak?"


    "I heard people talk about it near Lead Arena. And that in Copper Peak the disciples had to unleash their most powerful move in front of all the other disciples. The weakest ones were sent off to Cobalt Peak and the Common Area."


    "It seems like every Peak has its own entrance examination."


    "We''ve all been waiting for this moment for a week. Now it is finally starting in every part of the Blue Fire Sect. What do you think will be the Lead Peak''s trials?"


    The ten disciples thought about it for a while, in silence. Between their hopes and their expectations, they couldn''t begin to guess at what the trial imposed by Master Lead would be.


    "Aluminium Peak makes all-rounded fighters, doesn''t it? And Copper Peak makes these black-eyed bastard geniuses whose legend says they can finish you off with a single move. I''m beginning to think that the Peak trials are simply a test for your abilities regarding the Master''s speciality."


    Everybody seemed to agree on that, however...


    "Does anyone here actually know what Master Lead''s specialty is?"


    ... they also agreed they had no idea what they had gotten into.


    ***


    "It seems like all the other Peaks have finished their trials. From what I gathered, about fifty percent of us Sky Earth cultivators have been accepted by the different Masters."


    One of the ten disciples Shin Sumi shared her current position with barged into the training hall.


    "What about the rest, Duo Che?" asked a girl, hoping to hear good news.


    "It... appears like the Blue Fire Sect Patriarch did not lie to us. All of the others are now in the Common Area, under Master Cobalt''s jurisdiction. None of us were turned into slaves, everybody has a place here."


    "Oh I''m relieved, Jun Pei will be happy to hear that. Her brother was taken by another Master," she replied, also happy to hear that all of her former comrades and fellow cultivators were safe. Despite the brutality they had endured during the war against their original sect and the fear they had had in their heart ever since, they were starting to think that the Blue Fire Sect wasn''t as bad as they originally thought.


    The reason behind the surprise war was still a mystery but in the cultivation world, war happened but what mattered was the aftermath. What the winning sect decided the fate of the losing sect would be.


    "Where is she? I need to tell Jun Pei the news!" Lei Jing looked around, smiling in anticipation.


    Shin Sumi replied, "I saw her head out for a walk, she should be back soon."


    "I will find her, I can''t wait," Lei Jing stormed out of the training hall.


    ***


    "Have you found her?" An Luo asked.


    "Not yet," Duo Che replied, "I think we have a problem."


    Sitting on a training mat on the ground, Shin Sumi immediately understood what he was talking about.


    "Where are Lei Jing and Xiu Ying?"


    Duo Che sighed, his face somber and his brows knitted. Crossing his arms, he let himself fall down to the ground into a sitting position, his robes under him.


    "Xiu Ying and I got separated during our search for Jun Pei. We couldn''t find Lei Jing either. And now all three of them are missing."


    "Alright. From now on, nobody goes out alone. In fact, nobody should go out at all until we have a better idea of what is going on. Something outside is taking us out one by one" Shin Sumi and the others conferred.


    The situation was definitely strange, and Shin Sumi''s guts didn''t even feel a sense of danger but something was happening.


    ***


    Opening her eyes, Shin Sumi looked around in silence. In the training hall, the four of them were cultivating.


    Looking at the leaf pattern on her wrist, Shin Sumi then checked again that everybody was deep in a meditative state before concentrating her Shinsoo from her dantian.


    "Invisible Crane of Oblivion!"


    A soft breeze picked up for a moment before dying down into nothing. In half an instant, Shin Sumi was gone. Carefully unlocking the door and exiting the building without alerting anyone, her stealth experience proved useful.


    Walking in complete silence for a while, Shin Sumi didn''t let down her guard. She knew she was exposing herself to whatever it was that had made her companions disappear.


    Reaching the bamboo grove where she liked to cultivate, she stopped behind the large boulder and looked at the sky. The moon was out but Shin Sumi slowly shook her head.


    "I can''t cultivate the Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow tonight. It''s not safe," she thought.


    "Nuan, come out!"


    The flash of green light was hidden by the Invisible Crane of Oblivion technique, also shielding the Lion Bat from prying eyes.


    "I haven''t given you anything to eat in the last few days, I am sorry. I have to be discreet for now so I can''t take you out every night. I hope you understand little Nuan. I don''t know if Spirit Beasts are allowed here, even the cute ones. For all I know they will send me to the Peak dealing with creatures. Maybe the Sky Earth Sect didn''t even have a Spirit Beast branch, which would ruin my cover..."


    Fetching inside the folds of her robes, Shin Sumi took out a few pieces of spirit fruit for the Lion Bat to enjoy.


    "If you promise to be completely silent and not cause trouble, I''ll let you play for five minutes, alright? After that we need to go back to the training hall or the others will think I have disappeared too. I swear once the situation is resolved I will find a way to let you live outside."


    Nuan seemed completely unconcerned but her black eyes stayed fixated on Shin Sumi for a long time. The latter extended her hand, presenting the pieces of fruit, but Nuan simply licked her fingers affectionately, still looking at her.


    Shin Sumi smiled.


    Finally, after sharing the moment with her, Nuan grabbed a mouthful of berries and started eating. Shin Sumi simply sat on the ground in front of her, petting her as she ate.


    In only a few seconds, Nuan had completely devoured the fruits, at which point she decided to stretch her wings a little bit and fly a few ??ps around her master. A poor cricket in the grass that was on her path didn''t even have a chance to flee before her teeth grabbed it.


    "Ahh..." Shin Sumi sighed, "I think it''s time, Nuan. I don''t know what is causing the recent disapparitions but I don''t want to put us in more risk. Come!"


    Nuan halted her flight and was gliding over to Shin Sumi when suddenly her little head turned sharply. The muscles on her wings tensed and she suddenly unleashed a short burst of power, her silhouette blurring and disappearing away from Shin Sumi.


    "Summer Breeze Wind Step... What is-"


    Shin Sumi b?r?ly had time to realize what Nuan had done when a strong presence appeared behind her. It was a strength the likes of which she had felt before but never directed towards her like that.


    "Having trouble sleeping, disciple Shin?"


    "Master Lead?" Shin Sumi recognized the voice. In one motion, she turned around and bowed, "Greetings, Master. This humble one is sorry, for a second I thought you were-"


    "Disciple Shin, hear my voice and still your heart. By my Power you are bound, by the Night you are witnessed, by the Chains of Truth you cannot speak lies."


    Master Lead''s old voice escaped the lips of his young face like a whistle. Like the wind on a mountain pass it gushed towards Shin Sumi and entered her ears. The eyes of the Master were deep and almost glowing, serious and grave.


    Shin Sumi''s eardrums vibrated strongly with inaudible noise, like a deep hum. Her legs shook, and her head spun. Like a punch in the guts, she felt a strange power invade her, bouncing around within her body and permeating her soul.


    Her mind suddenly flashed with thoughts of her fellow cultivators that had disappeared in recent days, but she was too troubled to register the thought. The power coming from Master Lead''s voice was strange and mysterious but more than anything it was completely in control. Faced with it, Shin Sumi was in total submission.


    "Tell me disciple Shin, what is it that powers your soul? What is at the core of your heart''s d?s?r?? What is the reason you walk the path of cultivation?"


    After the series of questions that only needed one answer, Shin Sumi shook again. Despite herself, she could feel her soul unravel at the sound of the voice.


    Master Lead''s magic didn''t leave a way out, she was trapped and she knew she could only speak the truth. She only ''wanted'' to speak the truth. She was only ''capable'' of speaking the truth.


    "I want to understand everything about cultivation and amass the universal knowledge of the Dao in books. I want to create the perfect library."


    From the depth of her core the words formed and escaped her lips almost without her realizing. There was no stopping them. In fact it even felt like relief to say the words out loud, it felt... simply good.


    The inaudible noise permeating her being suddenly stopped, like a crystal shattering. Master Lead''s eyes blinked, the graveness in them fading away.


    "He is loosening his grip on me. The technique is over" Shin Sumi realized.


    There was only silence for a moment, allowing Shin Sumi to recover from what was essentially a mental attack. Master Lead turned slightly and looked at the night sky, his hands hidden in his sleeves.


    He finally broke the silence right before Shin Sumi was about to speak and in a bowing position.


    "What a fine night, isn''t it? It is a good night to dream."


    "Master Lead, if you allow me to-


    -Everybody craves something from deep inside their heart. Sadly it''s always only about power, revenge, strength,... physical d?s?r? too, sometimes. Rare are the ones who fall out of that pattern. You are a complicated one, aren''t you? Or maybe the opposite, your dream is so terribly simple that this is where its beauty comes from."


    "Master?"


    "Do you happen to know what it is that we do in Lead Peak? What the core of my teachings are?"


    "I do not, Master. Our inquiries only resulted in people refusing to answer."


    "Good. I should be the one to tell people, for I am a Speaker. Through my words, Shinsoo is manifested in different forms. It can command stone and fire to aid me in a fight, but also sway the hearts of the people and reveal their deepest secrets, their most unsaid truths.


    It is a strong power that, used properly, can rival the might of the sword and the strength of the shield. Do you wish to learn this sort of power?"


    Having revealed her deepest intentions, Master Lead knew Shin Sumi didn''t need to lie to answer his question. In fact she didn''t even need to answer at all.


    "You are now a disciple of Speaker Peak under me. Come and we''ll find you a proper home."


    Shin Sumi dropped to her knees and lowered her forehead to the point where it almost touched the ground in reverence, as it was proper to do when addressing a new master.


    "Master, I probably should go by the training hall first, I-


    -What for? Is there any possession of yours that is left there?-


    -N-No but...


    -Then let us leave."


    The expression on Master Lead''s face was serious, but Shin Sumi could swear she had seen his eyes twinkle and the shadow of a smile form on his lips. And so was solved the mystery of the disappearing new disciples.


    ***


    "You would think that as a Master Speaker, the man would choose his words more sparingly... I haven''t heard anybody talk this much before!"


    "Glrgh!" Shin Sumi''s robes were suddenly drenched in fresh spirit fruit juice, "Fei Unwan, not while I''m drinking!" she laughed.


    "No but seriously, he can''t stop talking, can he?"


    Lei Jing wiped the corner of her mouth, "Maybe that is a way of training?"


    Lei Jing, Fei Unwan, Jun Pei, Xio Ying and Shin Sumi were sitting together. After Shin Sumi was taken by Master Lead, a disciple of Lead Peak had shown her her private room in one of the Peak''s residential buildings. He had given her an identification medallion and a scroll of information about the Peak. The other disciples soon came to find her and share a drink together.


    Every one of them was smiling and laughing, but it was clear to Shin Sumi that behind their smiles, their eyes were telling something more.


    What were the secrets Master Lead had read inside their hearts? What was their true motives for cultivation?

 Chapter 107 - The Speakers Way

    Cultivation at Speaker Peak was very different from anything Shin Sumi was used to, as she soon discovered. It was very disorienting, as it appeared like the basic principles didn''t matter. Cultivation levels were nothing to speakers in relation to the mastery of their craft.


    Instead of fighting training, lectures were given to the disciples by the upper ranks of Speakers. For novices like them, the teachers were most often cultivators who had been in Lead Peak for over two years.


    Apart from their experience as a Speaker, nothing differentiated the teachers from the students. In fact, Shin Sumi''s jaw nearly dropped to the ground when one day a Liquid Realm second step cultivator walked up to stand before them in the lecture hall.


    With a cultivation of only the second step, the man was one of the weakest persons present and yet he was supposed to be their teacher.


    Rather than teaching techniques and divine skills, the person in charge of their education would simply sit cross legged on the center platform and talk. Sometimes the lectures could last up to six or seven hours but there was never anything other than talking involved.


    At first, Shin Sumi thought maybe they had been unlucky, having been given an unusual individual as a teacher, but after the second, third and fourth lecturers, she had started to realize that it was all she could expect from their lectures.


    "What is the point of talking like this for hours? The things he says don''t even make sense! He''s been contradicting himself for five hours today!"


    "We are on Speaker Peak after all, we should have expected them to speak quite a lot but this..."


    Next to Shin Sumi, Lei Jing and Xiu Ying were slowly losing their patience.


    "Yesterday''s teacher was proof that everybody on this peak is crazy and wasting their time. If a second step cultivator can become a teacher here, we will never properly cultivate past the level we are at now."


    Shin Sumi turned to her comrades discreetly, speaking in a low voice as to not disturb the hall, "I have an idea. Maybe we are understanding this all wrong. Follow me after the lecture, I know where we can get some information."


    As frustrating as it was to her, Shin Sumi couldn''t help but believe that there was more to it than just hearing a cultivator talk for hours. After all, she had witnessed first hand the power used by Master Lead. It hadn''t been a divine skill or a profound technique or anything of the sort. His words had been simply... magical.


    Nevertheless, the lecturers only spoke normal words, and ones that made no sense, at that. Only if there was one place where they could get a good grasp on the discipline that was Speaking, then Shin Sumi knew exactly where to go.


    "Haven''t you already been here a few times before?" asked Xiu Ying. She was eyeing the rows of books, parchments, jades and scrolls with a strange face. It was clear that she wasn''t fond of libraries like Shin Sumi was.


    "I have, but back then I didn''t know what I was looking for. Now that we know there is a thing called ''Speaking'', it is easier to search for related documents. Look!"


    Shin Sumi picked up a rolled up parchment that had been covered by dust for the last dozens of years, at least it seemed. On the end of the wooden frame that held the parchment rolled up, the character for ''word'' was inscribed.


    "I saw this one the last time I was here but I didn''t bother opening it. Now I''m thinking it might be useful if it''s about word magic or Speaking."


    "Listen to this, ''Speaking exists in many different ways. The only common denomination is that words Spoken come not from the ?h?st but the dantian. Speaking is not spiritual powers enhancing speech, nor is it formation based. The Speaker''s voice is an expression of the flow of Shinsoo in its purest form, reflecting the heart. Complex thoughts are intrinsically harder to Speak, as is Speaking to another cultivator,''."


    "... What does that mean?"


    "I am not sure. Maybe this is saying that the cultivators teaching us are simply practicing Speaking with their dantian instead of their ?h?st?"


    "That makes no sense! How could you produce sound without using your vocal chords?!"


    After sharing more of their findings and parting ways for the rest of the day, Shin Sumi walked aimlessly for a while before finding herself in front of the moss-covered rock and the bamboo grove where Master Lead had seeked her out.


    "Nuan, do you want to come out?" she asked in the silence, only perturbed by the rusting bamboo leaves.


    "Hmm. I guess not. Last time scared you, is that right? You had to wait for a couple hours in hiding before I could come find you again, poor girl," she sighed, "Next time I will find something for you to read at the library, okay?"


    Continuing in her head, Shin Sumi thought back on what her comrades and her had read.


    "Speaking is expressing the heart''s intention with the flow of Shinsoo... Is this why Master Lead asked what was at the core of my Dao? He surely made it sound like Speaking was powerful and that it shouldn''t be used for the wrong motives. I wonder what his motived are, though."


    Shin Sumi couldn''t shake the first impression she had gotten of the strange Master. The sudden change in the Master''s words and action from when everybody thought the prisoners were in the State of Sleep.


    "With his position, he didn''t have to appear nice to us prisoners. If it was his true nature, why didn''t he act like that despicable Master Tin? It would have been simpler. Same with the shady way of approaching us, first not telling us anything and then picking us one by one to reveal what Lead Peak was all about. Why didn''t he tell us right from the start?"


    Something was strange, but because there wasn''t any apparent motive for anything she had seen so far, Shin Sumi couldn''t even begin to formulate theories.


    Her eyes were closed and her heart was still, deep in thoughts as she was, when suddenly her eyebrows perched up.


    "Wait a minute. If Speaking is about the truth of the heart, why did Master Lead start picking prisoners with the ones Master Tin said had lied? That''s the opposite of the way of Speaking!"


    Replaying the events of that day, in the plaza with all the cultivators and the Masters of the sect watching, Shin Sumi realized something.


    "Out of all of us chosen, five had lied in the first of Master Tin Fire''s questions, as for the rest we all are below twenty-five of age. And now that I think of it, I don''t think I have seen one of the ''liars'' since I properly entered Lead Peak..."


    A sudden chill ?ssaulted Shin Sumi''s back, crawling like an intangible feeling of fear.


    "Wh-where are these five now?! Master Lead should have known from the start that they would not be prone to the way of Speaking, so what were his motives in choosing them? Was it just to appear like the saviour from Master Tin''s nightmarish questioning?"


    Now the semblance of a theory was starting to form in Shin Sumi''s mind.


    "Is that why he didn''t reveal that Lead Peak was also called Speaker Peak? So that his saviour disguise would hold?"


    ***


    "Senior Chao, pardon this junior for asking, when will be able to cultivate fighting techniques?"


    The one who had spoken after the day''s lecture was Fei Unwan, one of the most recent recruits of Lead Peak with Shin Sumi and the others. Raising a hand while bowing slightly with respect, he had attracted the attention of the lecturer, Chao Wu.


    The young man who had been in Speaker Peak for years turned to look at him, his eyebrows furrowed behind the long black hair falling partly on his face. According to the information the newcomers had gathered on Speaker Peak, Chao Wu was one of the strongest cultivators around, at the Liquid Realm''s Seventh Step.


    The rumors even mentioned that he had grown up in a smaller sect known for their fighting talents and that he entered the Blue Fire Sect due to his great potential, which was why Fei Unwan had chosen to talk to him rather than the other lecturers.


    "Junior... What is your name?"


    -Fei Unwan, senior.


    -Junior Fei, can you tell me what is wrong with your question?"


    Fei Unwan instantly froze in place, remaining silent for a long time, provoking a long sigh from Chao Wu, "Have you learned nothing from all my lectures?"


    "With one question, you are asking me more than five different questions in one, do you realize that?"


    Silence.


    "Do I have to spell it out for you, Junior Fei? You are asking me ''if'' you will ever get to learn fighting techniques. You are also asking me if Speaker Peak even has fighting techniques. You are probably asking why you haven''t seen any cultivator with a sword or a dagger ever since you entered here. You are asking if you will have the chance to wield a weapon again because yours were taken when you became prisoners back in the Sky Earth Sect. You are also implying quite strongly that you don''t understand the point of these lectures, or anything that happens on Speaker Peak for that matter. Am I wrong?"


    A different kind of ice overtook Fei Unwan from Chao Wu''s response, an ice so cold that even Shin Sumi and the others were affected by it. Chao Wu had explained everything Fei Unwan had meant and even more than that.


    "A Speaker should learn to speak his truth, not blabber about hidden meanings and implied interests. This relates only to the other side of the coin. Now, start over."


    It took a full five seconds for Fei Unwan to reach a state where he was calm enough to talk again in front of the cold eyed lecturer. He opened his mouth a first time, but reflecting back on what Chao Wu had said, he decided to close it again.


    Fei Unwan''s second attempt at talking also turned out to be a failure as no word came out of his mouth. Finally, he reached a point where he was confident that his question was as simple and straightforward as possible.


    "Where can I find a sword to replace the one I used to have?"


    Chao Wu smiled. It was almost the smile of a parent who observed their child''s progress. It was clear that he was content with the phrasing this time and that Fei Unwan''s efforts were worth it.


    "What the...? He didn''t answer!" Lei Jing tilted her head to one side, unsure about what was wrong with the question this time.


    Shin Sumi thought out loud, "He didn''t want to answer, just to make Brother Fei realize what he truly wanted to ask..."


    "What sort of twisted teachings are these?! And I still have no idea where I will find a weapon to replace my Piercing Soul Spear."


    Knowing that the leaf pattern on her wrist still held her Sky Deception and Void Sword hidden, Shin Sumi felt a bit guilty and didn''t press the matter.


    "Nuan, I am going to find Senior Chao tonight. I think he can really help me understand this Speaking thing and I think for someone who said that Speaking wasn''t about hidden meanings, he did imply quite a lot of things."


    With the cover of darkness and the Invisible Crane of Oblivion, Shin Sumi snuck out of her residential quarters. She didn''t need to, strictly speaking, but to her it was also a way to train her movement skills.


    Reigning in her Shinsoo, she waited patiently for a group of three disciples to walk past her. From her most basic estimations, the three of them were around the Liquid Realm''s fourth step, one above her, and yet at no point did they even sense her presence.


    Stealthily walking up the slope of the mountain, the more she progressed, the more Shin Sumi realized she needed to be careful at every moment. As far as Invisible Crane of Oblivion had proved useful to her, she knew she wasn''t at a level where she could walk and keep her invisibility up at the same time in front of somebody much stronger than her.


    That would have been fine in any other part of the sect as the higher she progressed on the mountain, the stronger the people residing there were, but here in Speaker Peak, it was different.


    Having quarters up the mountain didn''t measure in strength or cultivation level, but in Speaking ability. At the level Shin Sumi was in, she could run past somebody living near the very top but be caught instantly at the border with the Common Area.


    "I should slow down and observe the area a bit before I keep moving. From what I know, Senior Chao''s courtyard is only a few houses away."


    Settling down in a cross-legged meditation position, Shin Sumi breathed slowly in and out. She had found that by staying completely still, she could keep Invisible Crane of Oblivion up for a really long time and even get some of her energy back.


    As long as she took the time to replenish her energy levels like that, she could potentially stay hidden for days!


    However only a few minutes passed before a strong presence was felt in the distance.


    "That pressure and divine sense, it exceeds by far the Liquid Realm''s eighth step. Could it be..."


    Literally frozen in place, Shin Sumi couldn''t even think about moving closer or further away from the strong individual, lest she wanted to ruin her cover. Instead she patiently waited until the divine sense receded, a few blocks away.


    "Uh-uh, Master Lead seems to be paying a visit to Senior Chao as well..." she was now pretty sure of what was going on. "I can either leave while I''m hidden or try to creep closer. Maybe I can even get some information about Master Lead Fire''s true motives."


    Shin Sumi suddenly relaxed her tense shoulders and legs, the pressure she put on herself instantly evaporating, as she realized something that made her laugh inaudibly.


    "Heavens, I am so used to doing this and having my life depend on my discretion that I forgot this was just training. Nobody said I wasn''t allowed to walk around here anyway!"


    Deciding to try her luck, Shin Sumi crept closer to where the presence had just been, until she was only a dozen meters away from Chao Wu''s courtyard. To a cultivator, even one in the third step of the Liquid Realm, a dozen meters was certainly enough to eavesdrop as long as the people speaking were not restricting their voices.


    Sitting down like she had before, Shin Sumi completely erased her presence and concentrated her hearing.


    "...so do you think they are acclimating?


    -Some of them are beginning to understand the basis behind Speaking, Master, but this humble disciple cannot claim to be the reason.


    -Speak freely, there is no need for all of these polite formulations with me."


    There was a short pause following Master Lead Fire''s demand, probably for Chao Wu to bow.


    "Then allow me. Just like you said, they recently started to question the organization of Lead Peak. One of them asked about sword fighting and offensive techniques. My guess would be that he is the Royal Guard one. I think I have also identified the Master Alchemist, although I didn''t have the occasion to Speak to her directly. As for the other ones, the Librarian, the Traveler, the Mother and the Clan Leader, I have not yet found who they were.


    -Good. You did well in such a short time."


    The praise in Master Lead''s voice was clear and undisguised.


    "You are making remarkable progress, Chao Wu. I believe you are nearly ready to join the Silent Seven.


    -Thank you, Master.


    -One last question, how did you respond to the inquiries about offensive techniques?


    -I didn''t, Master. I believe at least some of them have understood that they can cultivate such techniques. Maybe the next time I will make it clearer that relying on other types of abilities, though, only slows down the progress in the Speaker''s way."


    Master Lead seemed to think for a second before answering, "There is no need. I am confident they should figure it out really soon. They are close to understanding what Speaking really is at its core."


    Shin Sumi remained where she was and didn''t dare move as she could sense Master Lead preparing to leave. The door opened and the figure of the Master appeared in front of the courtyard. It was only when the door closed behind him and the light from inside had diminished that Shin Sumi could see his face.


    A sudden sentiment ?ssaulted her as for a split second she thought his eyes were directed straight at hers. Then, eyes in the distance, Master Lead smiled, folded his arms in his sleeves and disappeared with a speed too fast for Shin Sumi to follow.


    "He... Did he see me? Is that what his last sentence was about?" Shin Sumi suspected.


    Realizations dawned on her progressively and she sat in place for fifteen more minutes, long after Master Lead was gone, theorizing about what she had heard. Master Lead was clearly authorizing but not encouraging the cultivation of other types of techniques. Was the Silent Seven the elite troupe of disciples of Lead Peak? What was the deal with the Royal Guard, the Master Alchemist, the Librarian, the Traveler, the Mother and the Clan Leader?


    From Chao Wu''s explanations, the Royal Guard was clearly Fei Unwan, but as for the others... Shin Sumi immediately thought of herself as being the Librarian, which meant...


    "Master Lead is testing Senior Chao''s ability to read our secret d?s?r?s!"


    Thinking back to what Chao Wu had told Fei Unwan earlier, a phrase came to her attention.


    "This relates to the other side of the coin.... Maybe hearing or listening is of equal importance to progress in the Speaker''s way?"

 Chapter 108 - Listening and Speaking

    After listening in on the conversation between Master Lead and Chao Wu the night before, Shin Sumi who originally had little care for Speaking now found herself more interested in the subject.


    Patiently, she forced herself to listen attentively to the entire lecture of the day, given by the low level cultivator who was one of their teachers.


    "To learn to Speak, one also has to learn to Listen. That simply makes sense, even though I can''t quite figure it out..."


    For Shin Sumi, who liked to learn things from books, having to learn by herself without having a clear plan on how to do it was excruciatingly frustrating. She was also aware of how much she usually relied on Nuan for learning.


    The Lion Bat refined all of the techniques she acquired with a hundred percent success rate, providing her with the best techniques and thus avoiding the flaws that sometimes made a technique harder to learn.


    Only with Speaking Nuan was of no help at all! Shin Sumi was on her own..


    Passing it as a realization of her own, she told the other cultivators what she had learned from her nocturnal experience, asking for their opinion.


    "Speaking and listening would be of equal importance to each other? What should we be listening for though?"


    "Master Lead said a Speaker can obtain the power to Speak to inanimate things and control them but apart from a bell or a wind chime I can''t see what we would be listening for," Xiu Ying jumped in on the conversation.


    "Think about it, why else would they make us listen for hours on end to the lecturers?" Shin Sumi argued gently.


    "I think it''s for them to train, they are the ones Speaking!"


    Shin Sumi nodded, having also reached that conclusion and yet she couldn''t dismiss what she had heard the previous night.


    "As for what you said about weapons and other techniques, that actually sounds more logical to me now. Senior Chao didn''t forbid us from cultivating other things. He didn''t respond to me so I think it is okay," Fei Unwan nodded slightly, holding his chin between his fingers.


    Each person was coming to their own conclusion in their own time, faced with the enigmatic discipline that was Speaking. Even though it greatly differed from the sort of cultivation Shin Sumi was used too, it was very similar in that it couldn''t be rushed.


    For weeks, the new disciples and Shin Sumi patiently listened to the lecturers. And yet no matter how she tried, a revelation never came to her.


    Even enhancing her hearing with Shinsoo didn''t reveal anything besides what she had already been told, that Speaking was not a matter of using Shinsoo, or at least not in the usual sense.


    At night, Shin Sumi would often leave the confines of her room and roam around Lead Peak, finding spots to cultivate on her own.


    As she bathed in the light of the moon, her Moon Severing Ephemeral Shadow grew stronger, bringing her closer to the fourth step of the Liquid Realm.


    Only this time, Nuan''s jaws were tightly clenched around something that at first glance seemed much too big for her to eat. Whatever it was, it also made some noise, sounding panicked inside the predator''s jaws.


    "Nuan, what did you find?! This is way too big for you, you can''t swallow that!"


    Shin Sumi gripped Nuan''s head, forcefully opening her jaws and making her drop whatever she had hunted down on the ground.


    In a blob of spit, a Night Rat the size of Nuan''s head fell on the dirt.


    "You''re hunting down Night Rats now? You can''t even eat them, they''re too big! Look at the poor thing, it''s terrorized."


    The rat was too scared to move, instead attempting to play possum under Nuan''s glare. It''s heart was beating frantically but it seemed utterly incapable of running away, something it was usually really good at to escape predators.


    "Its heart sounds like it''s about to explode, it is beating so fast," Shin Sumi could hear the tiny muscle''s erratic beating. To give the small creature some rest, Shin Sumi let Nuan fly away and stopped moving, erasing her presence in the Night Rat''s vicinity.


    "There there, try to recover now. Sorry about Nuan, sometimes she doesn''t know what she''s playing with."


    Patiently, waiting for the rat to recover from its fright, Shin Sumi waited. Unsure whether it was due to spending her days listening silently to the Speakers'' lectures, she started to listen to the heartbeat of the rat abstent-mindedly.


    The beats were everything but regular, forming a strange rhythm. Without realizing it, Shin Sumi started to think that maybe the irregular beating was the reason the rat couldn''t move.


    Just as she was considering the idea, the rat''s heart started to gain regularity, finally. As a steady rhythm gradually took over the random beat, the Night Rat''s leg twitched once, then twice.


    A dozen breaths later, the rat suddenly jumped from its back onto its legs and scurried away in a bush as if its life depended on it, which was probably the case.


    Her eyes fixated past the bush, Shin Sumi stayed there, sitting in the dirt for a long time. She had been meditating for a few hours before and her mind was still partially in a state of focused emptiness.


    "I was right, as soon as the heart picked up a steady rhythm again, the Night Rat became able to move. There are doctors who listen to the heart of their patient as well. Father used to tell me that a good doctor can discern over a hundred ailments just from a person''s heartbeat.


    The heart is the core of the body, the most important piece to make it work. When it stops working, the rest quickly fails too. When the body needs more attention, the heart will speed up and send more blood around the body. When it needs to calm down, the heart will slow down and rest as well."


    "The synchronization between the heart and the rest needs to be perfect at all times for the body to work, which implies a certain rhythm that depends on the situation!"


    Rhythm.


    Suddenly, Shin Sumi''s mind clicked. After weeks of trying without success, never understanding what listening was about, it was as if she had finally gotten the key to an impregnable locked door.


    Synchronicity, rhythm, pace, these were what she should listen to. They were the key to the first steps of Speaking! Master Lead had even told her that Speaking came from the heart, how did she fail to realize it earlier?!


    "Nuan come back, we are done for the day. Once more, it is thanks to you that I have made progress. You really are the best, little girl!"


    The following day, Senior Chao was giving the daily lecture, to which Shin Sumi eagerly attended.


    Instead of focusing her attention on what he was telling the low-level disciples, Shin Sumi instead concentrated all her mind power and hearing ability on the way he was Speaking.


    At first nothing felt special, or out of the ordinary in any way but Shin Sumi persevered.


    After one hour, she still failed to feel the rhythm of his words but she understood the vast difference between something as complex as a speech and something simple like a creature''s heartbeat.


    After two hours, Shin Sumi stopped hearing the words entirely. Anybody could have asked her what had just been said a second earlier and she would have been incapable of repeating. In some kind of meditative state, she concentrated on the flux of the words and the way the sound produced by Senior Chao reverberated and propagated in the lecture hall.


    After four hours, Shin Sumi had closed her eyes. Even without sight, it was as if she could perfectly see the hall. The voice of Senior Chao bounced on the obstacles and mixed at different places in the room. Like the wind agitating the surface of a pond, sound waves twisted and turned around every object, every person, creating a mental map of the room for Shin Sumi.


    After eight hours, Shin Sumi could almost sense the pulse of the words, which words were accentuated because of the complicated acoustics and which died out quickly.


    Concentrated as she was on the rhythm of the words and their ability to move around the room, Shin Sumi didn''t understand their meaning anymore but she could feel the true nature of the daily lectures. Like a secret message, some words naturally dissipated while others grew strong, forming a rhythmic string of sentences.


    "If I could just hear the words," Shin Sumi thought, aware that she had concentrated so hard for so long that all meaning had escaped her thus far.


    "And this is where we will stop today."


    At least Shin Sumi was back to understanding human speech, she thought.


    ***


    "Aaaargh, I can''t do it anymore. It takes so long to concentrate, and then I can b?r?ly start listening in on what the true lecture is about before it''s over. Now my head hurts, my muscles are tense and my ears are playing tricks on me, it feels like."


    Months had now passed since Shin Sumi''s first arrival in the Blue Fire Sect.


    "I can only try to listen to the Speakers for a few days at a time after which I need to rest and do something else," she thought. "Should I go spend time in the library or cultivate?"


    Shin Sumi would usually cultivate at night, especially when the moon was full and its Shinsoo was at the highest concentration. When night hadn''t fallen yet, she would usually work on her movement skills and techniques in the calm of her room but these days she could feel her cultivation level reach a bottle-neck.


    The Liquid Realm was divided into nine steps, one to three being considered the Lower Liquid Realm. As such, the bottle-neck before the fourth step and the seventh step were the hardest to overcome, to enter the Mid Liquid Realm and the Late Liquid Realm respectively.


    Now that Shin Sumi had reached the end of the third step, she could feel the difficulty of cultivating increasing.


    "The Moon Stone can help me break through but it would be more efficient to use Enhancing Pills in combination with it."


    And so Shin Sumi decided to go to one of the Blue Fire Sect''s markets.


    Because unlike the others, Lead Peak focused on Speaking, a form of cultivation that didn''t require the use of Shinsoo, at least in its first steps, the market of Lead Peak was disappointing. It almost looked like a mortal town market and was almost entirely devoid of cultivation resources as well as weapons.


    "Stop there for a second, fellow disciple," a voice called out to Shin Sumi as she was leaving Lead Peak and entering the valley known as the Common Area.


    "Can I see your identification?"


    Nodding respectfully, Shin Sumi produced the piece of jade that had been given to her by Master Lead when he accepted her as a disciple of Lead Peak.


    "Do you mind telling me what business you have in the Common Area?"


    "I am looking for cultivation resources in the sect''s markets. Do you know where I could find low prices for Shinsoo Absorption Pills or Cultivation Enhancers?"


    The disciple in charge of controlling the gate between Lead Peak and the rest of the sect shook his head slightly, a pitiful smile on his lips.


    "Aaah, you wouldn''t believe how many people ask me that question every day. I don''t know why people don''t start selling that stuff in Lead Peak. Whoever does it would be rich by the end of the week!


    Try Hon She''s stall in the south-west market, I heard he buys his pills from the alchemists and sells them with only a small margin."


    Shin Sumi thanked the disciple and left, after watching him inscribe her name with Shinsoo onto a piece of jade.


    Such were the rules in the Blue Fire Sect, or at least in Lead Peak. The movement of each disciple was monitored at the gate and they were not allowed out of Lead Peak past night time. As curious as Shin Sumi was about why the rules were in place, she didn''t mind them very much.


    As long as she could roam freely in the common area and find what she was looking for, she was fine.


    Walking around in the Common Area, it was very easy to forget that she was still inside a cultivation sect. To her, the valley was more reminiscent of a large city.


    The Common Area alone was bigger than the two valleys of the Dark Sky Starry Sect and was much more cluttered too. Disciples'' residential areas were mixed with all sorts of other buildings. Arenas, training areas, eating and drinking establishments, shops and markets were everywhere.


    It took a while for Shin Sumi to find the market that the guard at Lead Peak''s gate had told her about.


    Buying a few pills to aid her in breaking through the bottle-neck of her cultivation, night was already about halfway there when she found her way back to the gate.


    "Can I see your identification again, please?" asked the same guard as before, "this is procedure, I need it to erase your name from the list."


    "Did you find what you were looking for?"


    Shin Sumi and the guard chatted amicably for a few minutes, exchanging their thoughts on different places of the Common Area.


    She was about to leave when the disciple suddenly froze, his eyes looking in the distance with a strange gleam in his pupils. Fear, Shin Sumi thought.


    She made a motion to turn around to see what he was looking at when the guard suddenly grabbed the fabric of her sleeve to stop her. In silence, his eyes told her not to do anything.


    It was her divine sense that informed her about a small ground of people walking slowly towards them. They were walking at a mortal pace, almost unbearably slowly, and there were seven of them.


    When the guard dropped to one knee and bowed to the group, Shin Sumi followed along, not willing to offend whoever the disciple had been scared of.


    As she lowered her head, she couldn''t help but steal a glance at the group before them.


    The seven were all dressed similarly. They each wore long purple robes with hoods covering most of their faces. From where she knelt, Shin Sumi might have been able to see their faces under the hoods from the side were it not for a band of purple fabric that wrapped around their mouth and nose.


    Instantaneously, Shin Sumi knew who they were. She had heard Master Lead talk about them to Chao Wu.


    "This Silent Seven!"


    The sheer power they exuded felt reminiscent of that of the Night Twelve, the elite troops of Bronze Peak but at the same time it was different. The pressure from the Night Twelve came from their power and the strength they had as a group whereas the Silent Seven had a formless presence that was hard to put into words.


    Shin Sumi''s cultivation base couldn''t quite decipher that of the group, meaning they were on another level from her but yet her divine sense wasn''t thrown in a disarray like when observing an expert. More than the group of cultivators themselves, it was the atmosphere surrounding them that felt off and dangerous.


    By the time Shin Sumi and the guards rose from the ground, the group had walked a long way. They had walked slowly, almost leisurely, which added to their eerie presence.


    "They were the Silent Seven, weren''t they?"


    "The strongest of Lead Peak under Master Lead and the sect Elders. Whatever you do, do not cross them. They each have the level of a Master Speaker on their own and when they''re together...," the guard shuddered strongly, "nobody knows who they really are but no one attempts to find out."


    "Why are they ''silent''?"


    "As the rumors go, whoever heard them Speak never lived old enough to tell the sound of their voice. As Master Speakers, the words they Speak are sharp like an expert''s sword and also as deadly."


    Shin Sumi looked in the distance, where the group had disappeared. From their pace, she calculated that they couldn''t have gone far.


    She turned one last time towards the disciple guarding the gate, "Do you know where they are going? Do they live atop the mountain?"


    Seeing the alarm in the guard''s eyes, Shin Sumi coughed lightly and clarified, "It is simply that I need to go somewhere tonight and I don''t want to cross their path again."


    She could tell that she had asked enough questions regarding the Silent Seven. Any more question and it could become dangerous as there was a difference between a new disciple enquiring about the powerful elite troops and someone curious or foolish enough to try to find who they were.


    The guard answered to the best of his ability, which meant basically no useful information except advising Shin Sumi to wait for a while before walking around Lead Peak.


    She departed from the gate, quickly leaving the guard''s field of view.


    "If there is something strange going on around Lead Peak, the best way to find out would be to investigate Master Lead himself. Why did he lie before choosing new disciples? Where are the newcomers who were not accepted into the Speaker''s way? Maybe only he has the answer to that."


    Shin Sumi''s thoughts clicked together, formulating a plan of action that could very well lead to understanding more things about the Blue Fire Sect.


    "However I can''t investigate an expert like Master Lead. It is way too dangerous, he would see through me in a heartbeat. The Silent Seven on the other hand, none of them seem to have an earth-shattering cultivation base. Would they be able to see through me?"


    By now, if the Silent Seven had kept the same pace, Shin Sumi knew there were only three paths they could be walking. She only needed to find which to put her plan to action.


    "Invisible Crane of Oblivion!"