Yang woke the next morning at dawn and as per his routine went straight outside to water the plants.
He had been thinking about the Spirit Spiral plants since Senior Brother Lin Yi crouched down beside them yesterday. Whatever had stopped him, he had not said, and Yang had not found a way to ask.
He knelt down at the Spirit Spiral bed now, the morning still early, and looked at the three small shoots barely a few inches above the soil.
He reached out and touched the nearest one lightly.
He had not touched them since planting, only watered them daily with the Spirit Spring Rain Technique and monitored their progress from a standing position.
But now, with his finger resting against the shoot, he noticed it leaning into his touch. Barely perceptible, he wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t actually looking for something.
He drew his hand back and held it a millimetre from the shoot and watched. The shoot leaned toward his fingers again but it could also be the wind. The shoot is as weak as it can be, a small puff of air blown from his mouth would be able to make it move.
He took his hand away entirely and repositioned himself, stepping into the garden bed carefully so that his body blocked any wind from one side. He placed his hand on the opposite side of the shoot, close but not touching, so that the plant was between his body and his hand with no wind reaching it from either direction. He watched.
It leaned toward his hand.
He moved his hand slowly sideways. The shoot followed. Not in a way that would be obvious without focused attention. But Yang had been paying close attention because of Senior Brother Lin Yi, and because of that the movement was unmistakable.
He stood back up and brushed the soil off his knees.
He had been performing the Spirit Spring Rain Technique on these plants every morning without fail and had otherwise barely looked at them. His attention had been on talismans and cultivation and the upcoming competition, and plants were not an interest of his. Or rather, they had not been an interest of his before.
He was very interested now.
Something had clearly changed in the Spirit Spiral plants, or in his relationship to them, that he had not noticed until now.
So many questions and so few answers.
He had been grumbling about this pattern since he returned from the Cardwright World.
He stood at the edge of the garden bed and acknowledged, honestly, that despite the complaints he did not actually mind.
Every mystery led somewhere.
Every question he could not answer yet was a path he would eventually walk.
He had just started on his cultivation journey. He intended to become an immortal.
Whatever he did not understand now he would understand eventually, and the timeline was long enough that there was no reason to panic about the things that were currently beyond him.
After giving himself this rather inspiring pep talk, he went back inside to wash and cultivate.
He worked through his morning Heavenly Diversion rounds and then made his way to the outer sect hall. Breakfast could wait. He had the sponsorship letter and competition choices to submit first.
The hall was quieter than usual at this hour, still being set up for the day, the usual mid-morning bustle not yet in full swing. Senior Sister Wei Wei was at her station. Senior Brother Bo Yu was at his. Yang caught Senior Sister Wei Wei's eye from across the room and held up the rolled scroll. Her eyes widened and she came toward Senior Brother Bo Yu's counter at a fast pace.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister." Yang greeted them both.
"Junior Brother," Senior Brother Bo Yu said with a smile. "Here with good news."
"Let me see it," Senior Sister Wei Wei said, reaching toward the scroll impatiently.
Yang handed it over. She unrolled it immediately, Senior Brother Bo Yu leaning in beside her so they were both reading at the same time.
The letter was short and to the point.
To the Inner Sect Hall,
I, Chen Xin Hai, core disciple of Lingyun Peak, hereby sponsor Chen Yang, second stage Qi Condensation outer sect disciple, for participation in the talisman division of the upcoming inner sect competition.
Chen Xin Hai
Core Disciple, Lingyun Peak
White Cloud Sect
It did not take long. When they both looked back up at Yang their expressions were the same: surprised, and curious.
"Junior Brother," Senior Brother Bo Yu said, "how do you know Senior Chen Xin Hai? A core disciple of Lingyun Peak?"
"I do not know him," Yang said. "I have a passing acquaintance with his junior brother. I am not sure why he gave me a sponsorship."
"Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao?" Senior Sister Wei Wei asked.
"You know Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao, Senior Sister?" Yang asked, surprised.
"Know him? No. Heard of him? Very much so. It is only newer disciples like you who are not familiar with his reputation." Her tone was dry.
"What reputation?" Yang asked.
"He is famous for his red—"
"Reputation as a gifted cultivator," Senior Brother Bo Yu said, smoothly. "He is also a disciple of the most powerful peak master in the sect. The peak master of Lingyun Peak is said to be stronger than the sect master himself."
"Yes," Senior Sister Wei Wei said, in a tone that suggested this was not what she had been about to say.
Yang had a feeling that whatever the Senior Sister was going to say wasn’t as complimentary as Senior Brother Bo Yu’s contribution.
"Either way," Senior Sister Wei Wei said, setting the letter down, "it is rare for anyone from that peak to sponsor an outer sect disciple. Your Senior Brother Lin Yi must be rather fond of you to have obtained such a favour."
Yang only smiled.
It's not like he had anything useful to add.
He did not know why he had been given the sponsorship and from Senior Brother Lin Yi's expression neither had he.
Whatever was happening around him, he was going to be careful but not fearful about it.
If there had been something genuinely dangerous in the situation his inner instincts would have likely stirred.
Probably.
He had not felt it since before the Cardwright World, and was not certain that it was still reliably active, and he was well aware that this was exactly the kind of uncertainty that could get someone in trouble.
But there was nothing he could do about it. The inner instincts had always gone dormant for long stretches after leaving the forest, only surfacing when his life was in immediate danger or when something essential to his development was nearby, the way they had led him to the Heaven-Refining Soul Sutra.
He would be alert and trust that if something truly threatened him, whatever part of him generated those instincts would surface again.
But he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and stress about the sponsorship. Not without more information than he currently had.
"Senior Brother," he said, bringing them back to the topic, "I was told I could submit my application here and you would have it sent to the inner sect hall."
"That is right," Senior Brother Bo Yu said, producing a form from somewhere behind the counter. "Which events will you enter?"
"Skill Judging, Defense Endurance, and Offensive Breach," Yang said.
"Good choices," Senior Sister Wei Wei said at once. Then: "The Skill Judging will be the most straightforward of the three for you. The other two will require more work. Do you want to know what to expect from them?"
"Please, Senior Sister."
She organised her thoughts briefly. "For the Defense Endurance, you will be shown the nature of the incoming attack only minutes before the round begins. You will have that time to produce a defensive talisman capable of withstanding it”.
Senior Sister paused for a moment before resuming “Junior Brother, not all talismans are equally effective against all types of force. You must already know a pure physical impact, an elemental attack, and something more esoteric all require different approaches to defend against”.
“If you make only general barrier talismans you will be eliminated in the early rounds. There will be several rounds and competitors who fail to defend are eliminated, until those who remain are ranked from best to worst." Senior Sister finished. Her tone warning him not to take it lightly.
"And the Offensive Breach is the same structure in reverse?," Yang confirmed.
"Almost. Instead of defending against an attack, you will be making offensive talismans to breach a formation. These are typically standardised formations but knowing how to read one and determine its weakness is a different skill from simply making powerful offensive talismans but the good news is that the type of formation defense will be mentioned." She paused. "Junior Brother, none of these events are as simple as they read on the list. Each one will test not just your skill in inscription but the breadth of your knowledge, and how quickly you think on your feet. Start thinking now about what gaps you have."
"Thank you, Senior Sister. That is exactly what I needed to know."
Senior Brother Bo Yu was already filling in the form. "I will submit your application and sponsorship letter to the inner sect hall today." He looked up with a smile. "Do your best in the competition, Junior Brother."
"I will try my best, Senior Brother" Yang said. He thanked them both and made his way back out.
The food hall was his next stop. As he walked he was already running through his talisman knowledge and mapping it against what Senior Sister Wei Wei had described. Utility talismans had been his focus for the past few days due to Senior Brother Song Yi's classes. He needed to shift back toward defensive and offensive work now, and in more variety than he had been making. General barriers and deflection talismans were not going to be enough against a Defense Endurance format that could throw a variety of attacks at him.
He had a list in his head before he reached the food hall. By the time he sat down with his tray he had the beginning of a plan.
Join my Patreon to read 10 advance chapters.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter