rule 12

Chapter 24: Discussion with Sun Xia

"Good afternoon," Sun Xia said as I sat down across from her. Between us was a wooden dining table with only two places set. It wasn't so large as to make a conversation awkward, but not nearly small enough to be for a more intimate meal. "I hope the guest house has been to your liking. If you require anything, just ask any of the servants around the compound for help."

We were in some kind of private dining room not unlike the one I'd had breakfast in. But this one was in the largest building I'd seen in the compound, and the walls and ceiling were decorated in Asian-style carvings and murals. The plates and chopsticks in front of us also seemed extra fancy, with a lot of decorative flourishes. 

It all left me feeling quite a bit nervous. My family was strictly middle-class, so I wasn't used to stuff like this. And I couldn't help but be very conscious of the fact that the woman in front of me was likely very rich and influential. It did not help that Sun Xia was also gorgeous. 

I knew I had no chance with a girl like her, but I was still very aware of that fact. Which made me glad Shui Jianfeng—Or I suppose just Jianfeng now, as he'd insisted we were on a first-name basis after everything we'd been through—took the time to help me fix my clothes. It wouldn't have helped my nerves for Sun Xia to see how awkwardly I'd been dressed before.

"The house is great," I said, fidgeting with my hands a bit as I tried to calm my nerves. "More than I need to be honest. Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me," Sun Xia said, shaking her head. "It is the least I can do when you were so instrumental in helping save my little sister as well as two of my retainers."

I nodded at that, not sure what to say.

Thankfully, at that moment, Zhao Wei returned to the room. She came in pushing a cart full of food. And despite my initial impressions of her as a bodyguard, no servant came in to help her. Instead, she moved to place the food on the table herself.

My mouth started salivating just a bit as I got a whiff of all the various dishes. I didn't recognize all of them, but regardless they smelt delicious. When Zhao Wei finished and left the room again, I was ready to dig in. But, not wanting to look like a pig or ill-mannered, I held myself back, looking at Sun Xia to wait for her to start eating first.

She caught me looking and smiled. I'd be lying if I said that smile didn't take my breath away just a bit. "Help yourself. We can talk after we've eaten."

"Okay, thank you for the meal," I said, doing my best to sound polite. Then I couldn't help myself anymore, and I dug in.

Suffice it to say, it was all delicious. Many of the dishes were familiar but were just way better than what I'd eaten before on Earth. Everything seemed perfectly cooked, from roast duck, to braised chicken, to crispy pork, to a bunch of other stuff I wasn't quite sure what they were. It was even better than the breakfast I'd had earlier in the day, which had already been great.

I only just managed to keep myself from pigging out, remembering the manners drilled into me by my mom. If only to not look like an idiot in front of such a beautiful woman. Hopefully, the etiquette here wasn't so different that I was still failing. There were so many similarities to some cultures back on Earth here that it would be rather annoying if that was the case.

"I suppose I don't need to ask if you enjoyed the food," Sun Xia said when I was wondering if it would be impolite to ask for a fifth bowl of rice.

I felt myself flushing a bit at that, but did my best not to let my embarrassment out in my voice. "Um… Yeah. It was very delicious. Thank you. Your chefs are really talented."

"That they are," Sun Xia said, patting her scarlet lips with a napkin. She'd eaten much less than me, which made me rather self-conscious. Then again, they did serve a lot of food, so wouldn't it have been a waste not to eat it? "And you have a very healthy appetite, it seems."

I cringed just a bit at that and rubbed at the back of my head nervously. "Yeah… That's kind of new, and I'm still getting used to it."

"Oh?" Sun Xia asked, tilting her head slightly. 

"Yeah… A side effect of my cultivation, I guess."

Sun Xia shook her head as she placed down her napkin. "No need to explain then. Now, shall we speak of the reward I promised you."

"Um, okay," I said, putting down my empty rice bowl. Then I rubbed my hands nervously. Part of me felt just a bit uncomfortable at asking to be re-paid for doing the right thing. Like asking someone to pay me after finding their lost dog or something.

But I did my best to fight off my instinctive urge to reject such rewards. Because what I did was hardly so mundane and safe. And in this world, I really could use all the advantages I could get.

"So, as I said yesterday," Sun Xia began, "for helping save my sister and two of my retainers, you are free to stay at this compound for as long as you need. That should be quite helpful, as I believe you said you come from quite far away. It is expensive to stay in the city, or so I'm told, and you will find the accommodations here much more comfortable than most places in Everlake. However, it costs me little to allow this. So tell me, what else would you wish for as repayment for your help?"

"Well…" I said, trailing off as I thought back over everything I'd considered since the talk with Jianfeng and Lin at breakfast. Just to make sure I had my request straight, and I focused on the important things. "There's a couple of things I'd like help with. But I'm not sure how difficult they might be so…"

"That's fine," Sun Xia said, waving her hand dismissively. "Speak your mind, and I will tell you if it's possible."

"Well, I think the thing I might need the most is help with… well, this," I said, pointing at my chest. "Jianfeng and Lin pointed out to me that my cultivation might… Attract unwanted attention given its nature. Um, I kinda cultivate a bit differently from most cultivators around here and have… Well, a core like that of a spirit beast."

"Truly?" Sun Xia asked curiously.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "Can you sense it? You have a spirit sense, right? They thought if people looked closely using a spirit sense they'd notice and might think I'm a spirit beast or something."

"I could see that happening," Sun Xia said as her lips turned into a small focused frown.

At the same time, I felt the now familiar sensation of a spirit sense focusing on me. Unlike before, though, it didn't just pass me by and seemed to be peering into me. It was a bit of an unnerving feeling but not terrible. Also, it was good to know that I should be able to tell if someone is examining me this closely. Though I suppose a sufficiently powerful or skilled cultivator might be able to do it without me noticing.

"I see," Sun Xia said, nodding. "And to be clear, you are not a spirit beast? It is alright if you are, as despite even what most cultivators believe, there are many instances of spirit beasts and humans working alongside each other. Not just as servants or pets, but actual partnerships. Although most of those are with Rank 3 spirit beast at least, mainly because that is when most spirit beast develop a greater ability to reason."

"Nope," I said, shaking my head. "I just practice an odd cultivation method, I guess."

"I see," Sun Xia said, nodding. "So you wish for something that can hide this core of yours from detection. A prudent choice, given the attention it could attract. Especially from some of the older Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"Wait, what?" I asked, suddenly feeling a lot more worried. "Why specifically Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

"It's simple," Sun Xia said. "The next stage after Foundation Establishment is Core Formation. From what I understand, the Golden Core is very different from a normal spirit beast core. But there are still those who believe studying spirit beast cores could help them with their own ascension. For such a person, a human with such a core would be even more useful."

I grimaced at the thought of that. The last thing I needed was attention from cultivators that strong.

"Have no fear," Sun Xia said, noticing the look on my face. "This is not true of all Foundation Establishment cultivators. Nor would most bother looking so deeply at a random lesser cultivator. I should also be able to procure you something that will make it even harder to notice such a thing. However, to ensure it works even against Foundation Establishment cultivators means it will be quite costly."

"So I guess that will be my reward then," I said, trying to wince. "Unless it's too much?"

"It is an adequate reward for what you risked and what you managed to help with," Sun Xia said, nodding. "However, you seem like you had other things you wished to ask of me?"

"Yeah, but I guess that was just me being greedy. Or not understanding what I was asking with help for my core. It's fine."

"You can still ask. While I can't promise you another reward of great monetary value, if it is something simple I can do, I would not mind."

"Well…" I said, still hesitating. On one hand, it seemed like she was already giving me a lot. On the other, it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it? The other things I wanted to ask shouldn't cost her anything as far as I could tell. 

"There's just two more things I'd like help with. One has to do with cultivation. Lin mentioned once that he thought my cultivation was perhaps closer to body cultivation than spirit cultivation. Because of that, and some other reasons, I think I might still be able to do normal spirit cultivation alongside what I do now. Would you or someone you trust be able to watch over me when I make my first attempt to cultivate like that and interfere if there is any Qi deviation?"

This was something I'd brought up with Lin between the sparring. We'd been bouncing around ideas of what I could ask from Sun Xia, and I remembered a comment Lin had made back in the mines. She wasn't so sure about my assumption. But given my status screen still had a spot for cultivation and spirit beast cultivation, and my Minor Cultivation Talent Skill, I thought it was still possible. Enough to try, anyway, if I could do so safely.

"I should be able to help with that," Sun Xia said after staring at me for a long moment. I didn't feel her spirit sense, so I thought she was just giving it some thought. "From what little I've gleaned of your cultivation, I'm not sure if your assumption is correct. But I am quite adept at using my spirit sense and controlling Qi. Should something go wrong with your attempt, I am confident I could prevent any disasters. However, this would require setting aside quite a bit of time. You'll have to wait for me to find an opportunity to help when I do not have other more pressing concerns."

"I can wait," I said, nodding. Her opinion on my chances made me a little less confident about my assumption, but since she thought she could prevent any issues that might appear, I still thought it was worth the try. The extra boost in strength from two different cultivation paths like this was too potentially powerful to just ignore. "Thank you."

"It is no problem. Now, what was the other thing you'd like to ask of me?"

"Would it be possible for you, or perhaps Zhao Wei to help me hunt as strong of a spirit beast as you can?" I asked hesitantly. "One where you can safely allow me to make the finishing blow? Or two if that wouldn't be too much of an issue?"

Sun Xia raised an eyebrow at that, and I winced at how odd that might have sounded. But, when I didn't expand further, she nodded and didn't ask. "Once again, not something of great difficulty. Zhao Wei would be better for such a thing. I will speak with her about it, though it might take some time until she has an opportunity to help with this. She does not like leaving my side, so it will have to be when I do not need to leave the compound, and I am at my safest. Was there anything else? "

"No, that's it," I said hurriedly. I was more than happy with just the help with my core, especially since high-level cultivators might be interested in it. So everything else was just extra, and I didn't want to look like I was taking advantage of her kindness. "That's already more than I could have hoped. Thank you again."

"You are most welcome," Sun Xia said, smiling softly. "And once again, thank you for your help. Looking back on it now, it's clear just how close things came, and your help with the ambush was very much required."

"You're welcome as well," I said, feeling a bit odd at her thanks. Especially since I was getting quite a bit in return. Free housing for the indefinite future, along with what was probably an expensive solution to my problem, and help with two more issues felt like a lot.

"Now that that's decided," Sun Xia said, bringing my attention back toward her. "There is one more thing I'd like to discuss with you."

"Oh, uh, okay. What is it?" I asked, feeling curious. What else would she need to speak to me about?

"If I remember correctly, you said that you are from a distant land," Sun Xia said. "Would you indulge me and tell me the name of your homeland?"

I froze for a second at the question. Then I force myself to relax. There was no need to be too anxious about this. In stories where people get sent to other worlds, there's always this weird idea that you have to hide it. But honestly, unless there was a taboo about traveling to other worlds, it really shouldn't matter. The biggest issue would be people thinking I was crazy or a liar.

Then again… this was a cultivation world. And while world traveling might be more believable here, it could also actually be taboo. So maybe there was a small need to be anxious. At the very least, I should tread lightly unless pressed directly.

"I could," I said slowly. "But I doubt you would have heard about it. It's very clear to me that I am very far from home. I also have no idea how I got here, and I'm honestly not even sure just how I might go about getting home."

"You don't know how you got here?" Sun Xia asked a small look of amusement on her face. Then, for a moment, it looked like she thought of something. It made me a bit nervous. Had she figured it out? And if so, was that a good or bad thing? On one hand, it might mean that someone in this world might be able to take me home. On the other, it could mean that a taboo against such things might actually exist.

"No," I said, trying to be as honest as I could. And also trying not to think about my time in that place that wasn't a place. "One moment I was on the way home. The next… something happened. Then I found myself in the Amberwood."

"I see," Sun Xia said, nodding as she stared at me for a long moment. It made me nervous, but I kept quiet. Eventually, she spoke again. "If that's the case, then I won't pry any further. However, the reason I asked this was because I wanted to know just how long you intended to stay here in the city. And if you planned to leave for your home any time soon."

I frowned at that. If I thought it was a likely option, I would definitely be trying to head home. But from everything that I knew, I doubted I would be able to make much progress towards that any time soon. Not before I got a whole lot stronger, I suspected. Something that both horrified me and excited me.

Because as terrible as this place can be at times, I would be lying if I said I didn't like the idea of cultivating and getting stronger. Or even the chance to reach immortality and live forever. I just wished I could at least tell my family and friends I was okay. 

I grimaced at that last thought, doing my best to not think about just what they must have thought happened to me. Was it better if they thought I ran away or that I disappeared? Both sounded horrible.

"I don't think I'll be able to go home any time soon," I said slowly, trying to push away those depressing thoughts. "Though I don't have to stay here the whole time I'm in the city if it's too much of an imposition."

I added that last part quickly as I realized why she might be asking me this.

Sun Xia shook her head at that. "Do not misunderstand. I only ask because I want to know if you will be staying around long enough for me to want to invest in."

"Invest?" I asked, taken aback. That wasn't where I thought this conversation was going at all. 

"Yes, like I've done for Shui Jianfeng and Ming Lin," Sun Xia said. "Someone in my position is always on the lookout for those with potential that we might bring into our spheres of influence. And I believe you might be such a person."

"Me?" I asked. Had I really demonstrated anything worth noticing already? It wasn't like she knew about the System or anything.

"Yes. At your age and level of cultivation, there is already potential. But your willingness to help during an incredibly dangerous situation also does you credit."

"Uh, well—" I started to say, not sure what I wanted. But she cut me off by raising a hand.

"You do not have to decide now," Sun Xia said. "Since you are from so far away, I doubt you know much about this land. Let alone the politics and problems of the city. Being a retainer of mine is both beneficial but also dangerous. I have enemies, and should you join me, they would be your enemies as well. This is not a decision to be made lightly."

I nodded at that, feeling relieved. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with myself just yet, but also I hadn't wanted to offend her by rejecting her offer.

"Just keep this offer in mind over the coming weeks," Sun Xia said. "Get yourself settled in. Learn about the city and where you are. The people here. The factions. The politics. And most importantly, think about what goals you might have for the future. Only then can you make an informed decision."

"Alright," I said, nodding at her words. Goals for the future, huh? "I'll make sure to do that. And thank you for the offer. It's very generous."

"You are welcome," Sun Xia said before she stood from her seat. "Now, unfortunately, I have other duties that require my attention, so I must be off. We will speak again later after I've looked into something to help with your core problem. Until then, you should stay within the compound. While it is unlikely someone will so rudely inspect you with their spirit sense and notice it, it's better to avoid the possibility altogether."

"Okay, I'll wait then," I said, watching Sun Xia move to the door. "See you later."

"Goodbye for now," Sun Xia said, smiling and nodding at me before she opened the door. She walked out, and Zhao Wei quickly fell into step behind her, the two of them disappearing down the hall soon after.

I watched this all absentmindedly as I considered Sun Xia's offer. I thought on her words about making an informed choice. And about what kind of future goals I might have.

I'd already ruled out finding a way home until far into the future. And while getting stronger was an obvious goal, it was also a bit vague. Did I have any other more definite and immediate goals I wanted to reach?

Maybe. Something did come to mind: Finishing off the remnants of the Marauders so they couldn't hurt any more people. That could be a worthy goal. I wasn't strong enough for that yet, but given the System, it didn't feel like an impossibility.

Joining Sun Xia would probably help towards that goal as well. Resources to help me get stronger. Allies that would be eager for a chance of revenge as well. But, was that enough of a reason to join Sun Xia fully, and have to face off against whatever other enemies she might have?

As much as I hated the Black Wind Marauders that got away, I couldn't let the idea of revenge against them take over my life. Especially not when it was possible they might end up meeting their end before I was even ready to do anything. 

Master Fang Hong said that the Alchemy Association would retaliate for the attack made against them. And while they probably didn't care as much about the other crimes committed by the Marauders, I would be happy as long as the bandits could no longer hurt anyone else.

Even if part of me really wanted to do it myself. To make the scum pay with my own hands…

I frowned and took a deep breath to push away the unproductive thoughts. Instead, I tried to think about what other goals I might focus on if the Marauders got taken care of by someone else. What else did I want to do in this world beside getting stronger?

I couldn't think of much off the top of my head. There were just too many unknowns. And despite my efforts, I couldn't help but dwell on the Marauders and what they'd done. Even if they were taken care of before I was strong enough, it wasn't like they were the only horrible people in this world. This world was likely filled with dangers and troubles, bandits and worse doing the same kind of terrible things I'd seen.

Perhaps working to fix that might be an option for me. It would really depend on just how powerful the System could make me. If I wasn't strong enough, then the idea of trying to make any amount of impact would be laughable. It's why I would have never considered the same thing back on Earth. But here… It just might be possible.

There were other advantages to this path too. Of working towards being some kind of vigilante. Or Hero? Perhaps bounty hunting merc?

The System could give me a lot from spirit beasts, but I couldn't help but think that it would be even better against people. And if I chose to take on more bandits and scum like that in the future, then I'd at least not have to worry about finding acceptable human targets.

I nodded as I considered that and moved to stand and leave. That was certainly an idea I should think about. Something I could see myself doing, even if it was so different from what I'd thought I'd be doing when I was still on Earth. Whether or not this goal meant I should join Sun Xia, however, I still wasn't sure about. I didn't know enough about her yet or about her enemies. Nor did I know much about the city and the world beyond.

But it wasn't like I had to make the decision now. Sun Xia was kind enough to give me plenty of time to think about it. So I should take advantage of that and think things through fully.

For now, I would probably go rest and relax. Get settled in and explore the System and all my Skills as much as I could while living here. Probably ask Jianfeng and Lin a boatload of questions about this world and where we are.

Once I could leave and visit the city, verify everything for myself, and just learn more things firsthand, that's when I would make my decision.

Chapter 25: Sparring and the City

I brought up my sword quickly, parrying a blow aimed at my head. A small opening appeared in my opponent's guard. I struck for it, aiming for a stab with the full intent to pierce through their head.

His sword came back up and diverted my stab. Then he flicked his sword and nearly cut my hand. I managed to pull back just in time to avoid that. But it left me a bit off balance and allowed my opponent to continue his attack.

I fell back on the defensive as a flurry of blows was launched against me. Doing my best, I tried to parry and block it all, not able to even try for a counterattack. Each blow was fast and precise, almost too fast for me. 

Rips started appearing on my training robes for the many blows I couldn't fully defend against. Below them, shallow wounds were cut into my skin. But they were of little concern to me. I was more used to the pain now, and with my Vitality, they didn't really affect my fighting.

Some of our audience cheered while others jeered as I was pushed back. I ignored it as best as I could, trying to keep my focus on the spar.

Still, I couldn't help but feel just a bit annoyed. Not at our audience, but at my inability to keep up with the relentless assault against me. If I was fully boosted to 3x like Qi Devourer was able to do at max, then this wouldn't be such a difficult fight. Unfortunately, I wasn't being bolstered anywhere near that much despite using the boost.

That was something I figured out over the last week of training and sparring in the Sun Compound. My stats were now too high—have been since I reached Rank 1, likely—and the 250 Qi stored in Qi Devourer's reserved pool wasn't enough to get me to 3x anymore. It could only reach around a 1.5x boost. 

Still impressive, but not nearly enough for me to really have a chance when sparring with Jianfeng. With my spirit beast cultivation, I was stronger than him in pure strength when boosted, but he had me beat in speed using a wind movement technique. Not so much to be overwhelming, but when combined with his greater experience and skill, the only reason the spar was still going was he was holding back. 

Over the last week, the only time I'd managed to barely win a spar against him was when I surprised him with my crude workaround to getting enough Qi for a 3x boost.

Something I couldn't do now. Both because I wasn't supposed to be relying on that expensive technique, as well as the fact that it was easily worked around by anyone who knew what I was doing. Thankfully, I still had other options available to me. I hadn't just been spending the last week practicing my swordsmanship, after all.

I parried several more slashes, accepting more painful but superficial cuts on my arms as I stood my ground. Then I activated my newest Skill, one that I'd been working hard to adapt to.

Earth Constructs(Active) (Rank D): Create constructs out of earth within range shaped by your will and imagination. Additional Qi can be expended to increase the size or strength of constructs. 

Cost: 5 Qi

Upkeep: 1 Qi per 5 Minutes

Range: 5 Yard Radius

Spears of hardened rock shot out of the ground from both sides of me. It still wasn't quite as fast as the Skill Rock Spears—Earth Construct requiring much more focus and willpower to achieve the same results in exchange for its greater versatility—but it was enough. My training with the Skill was paying off, though not so much that I was going to risk consolidating further to Earth Manipulation.

Not yet.

Jianfeng's eyes widened at my move, and he lurched back while slicing apart the spears aimed at him. That gave me enough time and space to funnel even more Qi into Earth Constructs for the next part of my plan.

My Qi rushed into the earth and this time a dome of solid rock started to form around me. One large enough for me to maneuver in. Jianfeng rushed to try and disrupt me before I finished it. But I held him back by making more spears of rock grow out of the forming dome. Just long enough for my construct to finish forming, leaving me safe for the moment. I'd channeled a lot of Qi into the dome to make it tough enough to be quite hard to break.

Grinning at my plan working, I held my sword up at the ready and moved away from the center of my shelter. I kept track of Jianfeng's attempt to break through my defense with Earth Sense, attacking him with spears of rock to slow him down. At the same time, I activated Metallic Razor Slash as I prepped my attempt at winning this match.

I didn't have too much time to prepare this, as the dome took a lot of Qi to make and so did my rock spear attacks. Despite having a lot more Qi than most people at my level, I didn't have enough that I could keep this up much longer without draining myself dry.

So once my Skill was prepped, I lined myself up with where Jianfeng was still trying to slash through my deteriorating spiky dome. Then I used Earth Construct once more and opened up that part of the dome by shaping the rock there inward.

The moment the path was cleared, I activated Burst Step and lunged forward with a metal Qi-enhanced stab. I aimed right for Jianfeng's throat. A week of an old man berating me for not being vicious enough in the spars—despite having a late-stage Qi-Gatherer as a referee—kept me from aiming anywhere else.

For a moment, I thought I was actually going to get my second win against Jianfeng. But despite my surprise, and despite all my speed, he still somehow managed to parry the blow.

He met my glowing silver blade with his own glowing a duller light. And even though I couldn't really see it, I knew the wind was guiding and aiding him in his movements. Shifting the line of my attack ever so slightly, he forced me to miss his throat, and then he slashed down with his sword.

I froze when his sword was just above my head, close enough to tickle a couple of strands of my hair.

My breathing was heavy from the brief period of extreme speed and adrenaline. Yet Qi still surged through my body because of the boost from Qi Devouring, leaving me feeling oddly energized and wanting to continue our spar.

But I lost fair and square, so I held back on that urge.

Instead, I sighed and pulled my sword back as we both straightened from where we'd stopped. I also tried not to feel frustrated at the loss. I'd only been training for a week, after all. I should be proud of how far I'd already come. And it wasn't like I didn't have my own advantages. Advantages that I make use of very soon, hopefully.

"My win again," Jianfeng said, smiling as he sheathed his sword. I moved to do the same.

Off to the side, sitting on stone benches, our audience cheered. The loudest were the two—non-disguised—girls there, Feifei and Sun Yun. They tended to cheer for Jianfeng. Partially because he was the better fighter. However, I suspected it also had something to do with the crush both girls seemed to have on the man.

"Yeah, kick his butt!"

"That was wonderful, Jianfeng!"

I didn't take it too personally though, as it wasn't like there wasn't anyone cheering for me. Lin did so… Well sometimes. Half-heartedly. But at least Big Chui did so with more vigor. He was another one of Lin and Jianfeng's friends who were taken in by Sun Xia. Around the same age as the rest of us, but almost a whole head taller and really broad. Hence the nickname. A very nice guy as well, happy to cheer for the underdog in the fight.

"Good effort."

"That was a great attack!"

And, of course, then there was Little Tao and Sun Yan. 

Little Tao was much younger than everyone else in the training yard, maybe ten at most. He'd also been with Jianfeng and Lin when they were still on the streets before meeting Sun Xia. And, as expected of his age, he just liked to watch the fighting and cheered everybody loudly as he hopped up and down.

"Yay! That was so amazing!"

Sun Yan was near the complete opposite. He was the fraternal twin of Sun Yun but seemed to have some health issues. It left him a bit on the thin side, as well as a bit quiet. Still, he clapped politely from the sidelines.

Of course, not everyone was so positive about all this. One person watched all this with his arms crossed and an unimpressed frown on his face. This was Gou Shi, the trainer hired by Sun Xia to help teach all her retainers. He was a late-stage Qi-Gatherer and a retired Alchemist Guard.

He was also, as far as I could tell, never happy.

"Terrible, just terrible," the older man said, shaking his head as he walked over. He turned a very stern glare at me, making my spine stiffen. "You're doing better at using your techniques while fighting. But only because you were completely inept before. You still need to weave your techniques into your swordsmanship. Don't just swap between the two!"

"And even if you've got a lot of Qi for your cultivation," the old man continued, "that doesn't mean you should be spending it so freely in a fight! That dome was impressive for your cultivation and gave you space, but it was also incredibly wasteful! Against more than one opponent, even if you manage to defeat an enemy with your move, you would end up draining yourself dry. And don't you dare think you can just recover with spirit stones! Even if you can do it faster than most, you hardly have the resources to be so wasteful."

The old man shook his head in disgust and glared at me.

I winced and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. He wasn't wrong about anything he said, and I was still working on following his advice. I also couldn't blame him for the attitude either. Not after I realized why he was so against the way I used spirit stones before.

My time in a spirit stone mine had left me with an incorrect idea of their actual value and rarity.

A single spirit stone could feed a normal family of four for half a year. It could be used to buy several monster cores—depending on the type—and was a very important cultivation resource. Especially if you didn't have access to a Qi-rich environment. So my style of just scarfing them down really was absurdly wasteful. 

It was like I was eating tens of thousands of dollars each time I ate a full stone. If I'd seen someone doing that back on Earth, I'd be rather disgusted as well. Which was why I was trying to break that habit by not relying on them so much.

I'd even managed to figure out how to fill up my Qi Devourer reserve manually with my own Qi instead of using stones. It took some trial and error, but it was something I was very motivated to do once I understood the value of a spirit stone.

"And you," Gou Shi said, turning his glare onto Jianfeng instead. "What have I told you about the Stormchaser Steps? You should be living and breathing the second form. Not just…"

I relaxed as Gou Shi's ire was turned toward Jianfeng instead. While I appreciated the advice, that didn't mean I liked having the man's attention any longer than necessary. He could be quite intense after all.

As Gou Shi went over everything he felt that Jianfeng did wrong, I took the free moment to clean up the training yard a bit. I used Earth Constructs to deconstruct the dome and filled back in the ground as best as I could. 

I also did the same with all the chopped-up spears of earth. It wasn't quite perfect, as I didn't have a good way to completely fuse the stone without making the ground harder to deal with for the servants who would be cleaning up after us. But it was better than just leaving everything to the groundskeepers.

I could have probably done more with Earth Manipulation if I consolidated my Skills further, combining Earth Constructs with Reinforce Burrow Creation. But I was holding off on that for now. I was still getting used to Earth Constructs. My hope was that getting better at this Skill would make the transition to Earth Manipulation easier. Allow me to keep doing what I could now, instead of having to relearn it all from scratch. 

I wasn't quite sure if that would work, but if I didn't test these things then I'd never know. Also, I wasn't willing to give up Discreet Earth Wader for Earth Manipulation either by combining it with Reinforce Burrow Creation. Recreating that Skill with Earth Manipulation seemed like it would be incredibly hard, and it was just too useful of a Skill to lose for however long it took me to relearn it.

I couldn't use it too easily in a direct fight as I was still working on how quickly I could drop into the ground. And someone who knew I could do that would be able to take advantage before I was fully submerged. But despite all that, it was still an incredibly powerful tool for ambushes, scouting, and escaping.

If I was planning on staying away from fighting for a long period of time, I might not have been so cautious about this. I would have just taken the short-term loss for potentially long-term gain. However, the more I learned about this world, the less willing I was to take the slow and steady approach when it came to getting stronger. 

This world was simply way too dangerous for my liking. And it would continue to be that way for me until I had the strength to truly protect myself. The fastest way I could reach that point would be, ironically, to take on more dangers. To hunt spirit beasts for even more Skills as well as cores. 

And a Skill like Discreet Earth Wader would be far too useful for that to give up on now.

Of course, I doubted I would actually reach the level of strength needed to be truly safe any time soon. But, it would at least make me feel better if I got all the low-hanging fruit first before I focused on more long-term gains.

Gou Shi was still not done by the time I cleaned up as best as I could. But, two familiar figures walking into the yard interrupted him, much to Jianfeng's visible relief and my surprise and excitement.

Was today the day?

"And another thi—" Gou Shi started to say before he noticed what I had. He straightened up at the sight of Sun Xia and Zhao Wei before turning to face them and bowing. "Young Miss. What can I do for you today?"

"I just need to speak with Li Lan for a moment," Sun Xia said, gesturing toward me with a smile. Having gotten a bit more used to seeing her around the Sun Compound, that didn't make me feel as nervous as it used to. 

"Of course," Gou Shi said respectfully. Then he turned to glare at me. "You heard her, boy. Don't keep the Young Miss waiting."

I did my best not to roll my eyes at that. Mainly because the man could likely snap me in half with barely any effort, and I did appreciate his training even though he technically didn't need to bother with helping me. I wasn't one of Sun Xia's retainers after all. 

Instead, I walked over to Sun Xia, a feeling of anticipation in my chest. We'd met and spoken a few times when we ran into each other over the last week. But she hadn't sought me out like this before. So I could only assume it meant that she was ready to help me with one of the three rewards I'd ask for.

"Walk with me," Sun Xia said as I neared before she turned to leave the courtyard. Zhao Wei nodded at me before following her mistress.

I rushed to follow suit.

"I've managed to procure something for your privacy issue," Sun Xia said, stopping in a small empty courtyard away from the training yard. She turned to face me and pulled a wooden box out of her spatial pouch. I couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the too-big box leaving the little pouch at her hip. It was like a magic trick but better. "So it seems your time locked up in the compound is at an end."

I grinned at the news and eagerly took the box when she handed it to me. Opening it up, I saw what appeared to be a simple silver necklace with a jade charm. I had something similar when I was a little kid. 

"As long as you have that on," Sun Xia said, gesturing to the box. "You will not have to worry about even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator finding out your secret. Not unless they know exactly what they are looking for and force the issue. But if that ever happens, you will already be in a very dangerous position."

"Thank you," I said, grinning with anticipation. "I really appreciate this. It's good to finally not have to worry about that and get a chance to see the city."

"You are welcome," Sun Xia said, nodding. "Have you thought of where you would like to go first with your newfound freedom?"

I nodded at that as I took the necklace out of the box. Zhao Wei offered to take the box to free up my hands, which I accepted gratefully. Then I finally put on the necklace. A strange feeling seemed to wash over me for a moment before it disappeared.

"Yeah," I said, just a little distracted as I tried to get a feel for what the necklace was doing. But it was too elusive for me to really feel anything from it anymore. "I've discussed it a lot with the others. Lin and Jianfeng offered to show me around the city in general, but the one place I know we will go to is the Starguard Hall."

Sun Xia nodded at that. "Prudent. I was going to suggest the same if you hadn't brought it up. Even should you choose to become my retainer, they would still be a very valuable source of information and techniques. They might even have something that could help you with your unique cultivation."

"Yeah," I said, grinning. The moment I learned about the Starguard Hall, I knew I would be joining it. Very little strings attached, access to a lot of resources, all to do what I was already planning on doing to cultivate and harvest Skills. Not that I would mention that last part to Sun Xia. "That's the main reason I want to join. But the money I can get wouldn't hurt either."

"Yes, I suppose that would be another benefit," Sun Xia said, smiling. "Now, this is one part of my repayment to you done. As for your two other requests, I should have time in five days to oversee your cultivation experiment, but the spirit beast hunting will need to wait until next week. I hope you do not mind."

"Not at all," I said, shaking my head. I wasn't in a rush or anything, and I knew Sun Xia was still quite busy from what I've heard. "This necklace is already amazing. I can wait for the other things."

"Excellent," Sun Xia said. "Then I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy your newfound freedom."

I grinned at her and nodded. "I will." Then I rushed off to let the others know.

—line break—

Jianfeng, Lin—still using her male disguise—and I left the Sun Compound at around noon. Though not before saying goodbye and hearing quite a bit of grumbling from the rest of my new friends. Mainly it was Sun Yun who was still not allowed to leave the compound because of her reckless attempt to save Jianfeng and Lin. But there was some grumbling from the rest too. Feifei had duties at the compound she had to attend to. Big Chui had yet to reach Early Qi-Gathering and couldn't skip his daily cultivation. And Little Tao had daily lessons he wasn't allowed to skip either.

So it was just the three of us who left the compound and headed out into the city.

For the two of them, I imagined it was a rather mundane thing. For me though, it was very much exciting. Not only because it would be my first time leaving the compound after being stuck there for a week. But also because it would be my first time in what was essentially an alien city. 

Sure, it wasn't completely alien to me. There were a lot of things that seemed familiar, even if I'd only ever seen them in fiction and historical recreations. But even then, those things hardly matched one-to-one with this world and city. And pictures and videos were very much different than seeing things in real life.

We started off in some kind of rich residential area where more compounds like the Sun Compound resided. It was mainly composed of wide streets bordered by a bunch of walls for the various neighboring residences. There was still greenery mixed into this however, beautifully worked to look natural and perfectly maintained. Not a stray blade of grass or weed in sight. Also not many other people around.

As we continued moving south, however, the compounds got smaller and smaller until they were replaced by single homes. We saw more people walking around as well, most wearing cultivator robes in a variety of colors. Then after that, we finally reached what Lin told me was known as the Cultivator District.

The streets widened up even further here, and soon I found it hard not to gawk at everything like a tourist.

The buildings here were much more eye-catching and vibrant than what I'd seen so far, except for maybe a few of the larger buildings in the Sun Compound. Even then, most of those hadn't seemed like they were designed to draw attention like the ones I was seeing. 

All the colors here popped more from the painted wood and tiles of the buildings; mainly an assortment of reds, blues, and greens. There were intricate-looking murals on many of the walls depicting landscapes, spirit beasts, and what might have been battles. Alongside those were carvings and decorative flourishes on the rest of the buildings, as well as intricate—almost life-like—statues at the entrances of the shops. 

Even the various shop signs looked beautiful. The characters—which I could read thanks to subtitles from the System—all looked to be made out of gold, silver, or jade. Jewels or intricately carved wood frame them, along with icons that fit the theme of the various shops.

Everything was just so different from the utilitarian architecture of modern cities I was used to that I couldn't help but want to look at every little detail. And that wasn't taking into account the various things being sold, along with the most stunning thing of all.

As if all the beautiful—if normal—art wasn't enough, many of the stores and restaurants had more fantastical decorations. One had a simple cloud of mist that glinted against the noon sun, highlighting a shop called the Heavenly Lotus Blossom. It was dense enough, and the light reflective enough, that I knew it couldn't be normal.

Another shop called the Raging Flame Forge—which was much further into the district and well away from the Residential District—had a burning red anvil made out of fire right over their sign.

And another shop called the Heavenly Water Pavilion had several water fountains in front of the shop. All the water was incredibly pristine and clean looking, but what really caught my eye was the streams of water twisting in the air in impossible patterns, along with bubbles of water that just floated through the air around the building's sign. Apparently, that was a really well-known and expensive restaurant owned by members of the Shen Clan—the greatest clan in the city.

"Is the whole city like this?" I asked in awe as my attention was drawn away from the fancy restaurant by a man descending from the sky. The sight in the light of day still took me aback despite having seen Master Fang Hong and the Black Wind. How common were cultivators that could do this, I couldn't help but wonder.

Lin scoffed and shook her head. "Not even close. The streets are only so clean in the richer parts of the city. And all those wasteful spirit array decorations you'll only see in the Cultivator District. The rest of the city is hardly so bright and clean as this place. Don't let all the pretty sights fool you."

Jianfeng sighed at his friend but didn't correct her. Instead, he said, "He isn't wrong about that. Most places in the city are hardly as nice. And as beautiful as this place seems, you should be careful. Even in the nicest parts of the city, you can run into danger if you get on the wrong side of some people. Especially if you are alone and don't have the protection of anyone more powerful.

I sobered a bit at that. Right, this was still a cultivator world. I could run into some arrogant young master and end up with an ever-escalating feud if I wasn't careful. Thankfully, I wasn't a confrontational kind of guy, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

"Come on," I said with a sigh. "You couldn't let me enjoy the moment for a while?"

"Sorry, sorry," Jianfeng said sheepishly. "Not the most fun topic, but it had to be said."

"Better no fun than dead," Lin said with a deadpan. Though perhaps she was a bit apologetic as she followed that up by saying, "But at least for today, you don't have to worry too much about that stuff. Just stay close, and we'll keep you safe while you gawk."

I couldn't help but smile a bit at that. "Well, alright then. Thank you."

We headed west through the district where the governor's palace loomed overhead on a hill. I continued to look at the various displays outside of shops and what I could make out of the merchandise being sold. There seemed to be a shop for everything, from clothes to weapons, to armor, to foods, to what might have been alchemical ingredients, to other things that I wasn't really sure about.

Then, finally, we reached our destination. The Starguard Hall. It was ten stories tall, each level above smaller than the one below, creating a sort of pyramid shape. Each roof of the layers curved up at the ends elegantly. Five stars—seemingly made out of golden light—hovered over the double-wide doors that led into the building. Patterns of the same light, along with silver and bronze lights, decorated the red and white exterior. 

I couldn't help but grin at the sight. Its appearance was impressive, but I was much more excited about what lay within.

Over the last week, I learned a lot about this world from talking with Lin, Jianfeng, and my other new friends. And I quickly realized my thoughts on becoming some kind of bandit-hunting merc were very much possible. Both because there were, unfortunately, a lot of acceptable targets in this world, as well as because of the Starguard Hall's existence.

They were pretty much the ideal organization to help support me, able to provide all sorts of resources in exchange for doing what I already wanted to do—hunting bandits and other outlaws, as well as hunting spirit beasts. 

Said resources were everything from money, to information about all known spirit beasts, to cultivation techniques that would hopefully make better use of my Cultivation Skill. All of it would be available to earn once I joined, with a lot fewer strings attached than any other organization. 

Of course, joining the Starguards wasn't as simple as just walking in and asking to become a member. There was a test that needed to be taken. A trial involving all the people that wanted to join in a period of time.

Today, I would just be signing up for this trial. Not a big deal, but it was a good first step toward truly settling down in this world. Even should I end up not becoming Sun Xia's retainer, the Starguard would let me support myself if the need arose.

My grin grew at the thought, and I gave the impressive building one more long look. Then, the three of us made our way inside.

Chapter 26: Starguard and Icy Fairies

The main lobby of the Starguard Hall was big. Two stories tall at least and wide enough to house hundreds of people. There were four big pillars equally spaced throughout the room. They were red, decorated with more murals, and covered in gold at the top and bottom. The walls were less decorated, mainly with geometric lines of gold that, on closer inspection, were also carved with art.

To the right and left were several different reception areas with many booths and attendants. Lines of people waited their turn to be seen, and for some reason, the area to the right seemed to have a lot of people waiting. Many of them wore different kinds of cultivator robes, while others dressed in just rough-looking tunics and trousers. Several also had leather or metal armor, but all of them were armed in some way.

Directly opposite the entrance was an archway that led further into the back of the building. Guards stood watch there, and everyone who went to pass them had to show them some kind of token. I assumed that area was for actual members of the Starguard and the front was for everyone else. Either people who wanted to test to join or people here to set up jobs and requests.

What really drew my attention, however, and put a smile on my lips, was the various boards I could make out in the room beyond. There were jade tablets hung on the hooks of the board, and I had a strong idea about just what was stored on those. Requests for the Starguard. Or, as I liked to think of them, Quests.

Because this place was essentially an Adventurer's Guild. The perfect kind of place for someone who got stronger from killing things. I would need to hunt a lot of spirit beasts for cores and Skills. So I might as well get paid at the same time by hunting beasts that people want to be rid of. And, in the future, I could also get paid to go after the remnants of the Black Wind Marauders or just other bandits in general.

"What are you smiling at," Lin asked as we stepped to the side of the entrance to avoid blocking the people coming and going. "You had the same smile when I explained what the Starguards were."

"Nothing, really," I said, still smiling. "It's just… A place like this didn't really exist back home. But the idea of it did. In stories. Usually, they were called adventurer guilds and stuff. I just find the idea of me getting to join something like this kinda funny. Like a dream I had as a kid coming true."

"You'll have to pass the trial first before you can join," Lin said, shaking her head. "So try not to get too excited before then."

"I know," I said, giving one last look at the archway leading deeper into the building. Then I turned to the big line of armed people. "Is that where I sign up for the trial? Seems like a lot of people."

"It is," Lin said, looking at the long line with a frown. "It's a bit strange that there are so many people signing up right now. There usually isn't this many. It wasn't like this when Jianfeng and I took the test."

"They probably want to see the Ice Fairy," Jianfeng said as he rubbed his chin. "That's the only thing I can think of that would cause this."

"Ice Fairy?" Lin asked, turning to Jianfeng. 

I did the same, wondering just who that could refer to. Usually, in Xianxia stories, women called fairies were super beautiful. Which was really saying something, as for some reason, cultivation usually enhanced people's looks. Women more than men, usually, though I wasn't sure if that was the case here as well. 

"Yes, Sun Yun mentioned hearing about it from Qian Chi," Jianfeng said. Then he turned a slight frown towards Lin. "I'm quite certain you were there when she brought it up. It was before our little misadventure."

"That was more than a week ago," Lin said, deadpan. "Also, you know Sun Yun likes to gossip a lot. Sometimes it's easier to… just let her go on without really paying attention."

Jiafeng rolled his eyes at that. "Of course… Well, regardless, the Ice Fairy is supposed to be an incredible beauty visiting from the Soaring Cloud Sect. Not the branch we have in the city, but the main Soaring Cloud Sect. It's rumored that she will be taking the trial to join the Starguard here."

Lin just scoffed at that. "Then I'm not sure what all the excitement is about. Sure, being a part of the main Soaring Cloud Sect is impressive. But if she's coming all the way out here to join the Starguard, then she can't be all that note-worthy herself. I doubt the competition out here is anywhere near as great as Soaring Cloud City."

Jianfeng sighed. "Of course, you'll ignore the great beauty part." He shook his head and then turned to me. "But you get it, don't you, Lan? Why everyone is so excited?"

"Umm…" I said, feeling a bit nervous when Lin turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. It felt a bit judging. "Well, kinda. I mean, I'd probably want to see her just to see what all the fuss is about."

Jianfeng nodded as if I said something profound. 

Lin just rolled her eyes and scoffed. Then she elbowed Jianfeng who was still nodding. "Well, come on, we're wasting time. Lan and I will go get in line. You go check the Repository for any bestiary we can afford."

I perked up a bit at the mention of the Repository. The Skyguard Hall wasn't just a place for its members to find jobs. It also had a library filled with information. There was everything from cultivation techniques—something I would definitely be looking into once I was a member—to guides to the local area. To get access, you'd have to spend contribution points, which were a non-transferable currency rewarded only by the Starguard Hall for missions. Each book or scroll you bought or rented also costs points.

It was the main reason I wanted to join the Starguard, aside from getting paid to hunt monsters or even bandits in the future. Even in a frontier city like Everlake, the Starguard Hall should have things in their repository that would cost a lot more to find anywhere else. The only other way to get access to resources like that would be to join a sect or major clan or the imperial army. And since unlike those other groups, there were a lot fewer strings attached to joining the Starguard, I of course chose to join them.

But that was for the future. For now, we just needed more information about local spirit beasts so I could better plan just what kind of Skills I could be aiming for in the future. Jianfeng and Lin would spot me the points for now, though it shouldn't be too much for such simple information. Still, I would pay them back later, even if they felt like they still owed me for the mine.

"Ah, so violent," Jianfeng said jokingly while rubbing his stomach. Then he stepped away to dodge another elbow. "But fine. I'll go see what they have here. You two get to wait in line. Who knows, maybe I'll run into the Ice Fairy and get to see her first. I doubt they'll keep her out just because she hasn't gotten her token yet."

"Well, try not to give her a reason to gut you if you do," Lin said, shaking her head. Then we made our way over to the back of the line while Jianfeng headed for the guarded archway.

"I hope this won't take too long," I said, eyeing the very long line in front of us.

"I'd be more worried about what this means for the trial," Lin said, eyeing the people in front of us thoughtfully. "The larger number of trial takers could make it a lot harder on you."

"Oh…" I said before grimacing. "I hadn't thought about that… Ugh… Out of curiosity, how often do they hold these trials anyway?"

"Once a month," Lin said, giving me a knowing look. "But you shouldn't run away just because it might be a bit challenging. You'll never be truly strong if you run from every challenge. Especially one without the risk of death. Also, didn't you say you wanted to get a look at the Ice Fairy? You'll hardly be able to do that if you run away."

"Didn't you say the trial would be hunting spirit beasts," I said warily, ignoring the jab about the Ice Fairy. She'd understand if she was actually a guy. Instead, I eyed all the people in line warily. The floor was wood, so I couldn't use my Earth Sense, but I doubted the people here were all that weak. "And that fighting between trial takers was allowed?"

"Yes," Lin said, smirking. "But, killing and maiming are disallowed. Foundation Establishment Starguards will ensure that. So it will probably be one of the safest ways for you to compete with others at our level."

"I guess…" I said, still feeling a bit unsure. I hadn't been much of a fighter before coming to this world, so unless I had to, I still found myself shying away from conflict. I'd gotten better in our spars, but something like this would be a lot different even if no one would die. Yet, she wasn't wrong either. "Might as well give it a shot."

"Good," Lin said, patting me on the shoulder firmly. "It would have been a bit disappointing if you chickened out so easily."

I rolled my eyes at that, but before I could actually respond, a hush washed over the busy hall. Before, there were dozens of conversations echoing around. Now, people were going quiet, with only soft whispers breaking the silence.

All the whispers said variants of the same thing. "The Ice Fairy."

It made it so that a pair of footsteps seemed to echo in the large hall. I turned towards the direction of the noise to see two people. 

One was a tall older man with salt and pepper hair. His hair was tied up in a tight topknot, and he had a very pointy-looking goatee. He looked distinguished and wore robes that reminded me of two of the Azure Tigers I'd seen before. Light blue with cloud accents. Unlike those robes, however, the clouds on these robes looked almost lifelike. The blue was also much closer to the blue of a bright summer sky, deeper and more vibrant.

The person beside him wore similar robes, but hers had gold mixed in with the white of the clouds. She was shorter than the older man, probably only reaching up to my eyeline. Her hair was a shockingly snow-white color and was done in elaborate tied-up braids held in place by ice-like ornaments. The rumored Ice Fairy.

I'd been curious as to why she was called that, and just how beautiful for her to be for people to make such a fuss. Unfortunately, while I now understood the ice part, I didn't get to see her face. She was wearing a veil. It was a sheer and delicate thing, but seemed to make it impossible to make out her actual face. I found myself a bit disappointed at not getting to sate my curiosity.

The old man beside her eyes scanned the room as the two continued to walk in near silence. It was a bit awkward, and I couldn't help but start to feel bad for the girl. Did this happen everywhere she went? That would be rather—

My train of thought was broken as something washed over me. Another spirit sense, but this one seemed to push down like a relentless pressure. It restricted and dominated, feeling so powerful that I was certain there was nothing I could do to fight it. The man had to be at least Foundation Establishment or higher.

My legs started to tremble from the feeling after only a moment. But then, just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Yet the message that was being sent was very clear. A message that must have gone to everyone in the room, as it was completely silent now. But the blatant staring stopped, and most people averted their gazes. 

I did the same. But that didn't last long as people went back to peeking over their shoulders a moment later. I couldn't help but join when no second wave of pressure came. Just to see what would happen next.

The pair continued to walk as if nothing changed, and the older man kept sweeping his gaze through the hall casually. Then, to my surprise, he seemed to do a small double-take in our direction. He leaned down to the girl beside him and said something.

The girl turned to look in our direction next. I held my breath, trying to subtly look around at just who the girl might be looking at. There was no way it was us, right? Probably just someone behind us. As I did, I saw that I wasn't the only one. Everyone around us was wondering just who had caught the attention of the pair.

After a quick back and forth, the two started heading in our direction. I couldn't help but feel a bit of nervous anticipation at this. They clearly weren't coming to talk to us… Right?

I turned to Lin to see if she had any clue what was happening. But she looked just as confused as me. So they were probably going to just walk past us and—

Or they could just walk right up to us. Shit. And bring the entire room's attention onto us. Sure, people were more discreet about it after the older man's warning. But I could still see everyone sneaking peeks.

"Ming Lin, correct?" The older man said as the two stopped in front of us. "You serve Alchemist Sun Xia?"

"Yes, Senior," Lin said, performing a low martial bow with an open palm against her fist. "What can I do for you?"

Awkwardly, I moved to do the same but didn't speak up. I wasn't sure if I should've or not, but no one eyed me oddly, so I assumed I was doing fine. I also avoided staring at the Ice Fairy. No need to make this any more uncomfortable, and I really didn't want to annoy the the older cultivator either. Even if I was still curious whether or not her looks were really that big of a deal.

"I am Elder Shen Di of the Soaring Cloud Branch Sect," Shen Di said, nodding. Then he gestured to the girl beside him. "And this is my esteemed guest, Young Miss Xing Yaling. She is an inner disciple of the Soaring Could Sect. She wishes to arrange a meeting with Alchemist Sun."

"Of course, I will notify the Young Miss as soon as I can," Lin said, bowing low to Xing Yaling as well. "Where should we go to contact you?"

"There are other things I wish to discuss," Xing Yaling said, her voice soft and light. "Do you have the time to speak in a more private setting?"

"Yes, I do," Lin said, bowing again. Then she glanced towards me and mouthed 'sorry.'

"Excellent," Shen Di said, nodding. "Then come. We can use one of the reserved private rooms in the hall."

With that said, the older man gestured for Xing Yaling to go first. When the young lady walked off, he moved to follow. Lin, however, took a moment to quickly whisper to me.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," She said in a rush. "Just avoid talking to anyone who looks wealthy or strong. And if you can't do that then do your best to not offend anyone. If you can't do that either, then don't fight no matter what. Fighting is strictly forbidden in the Starguard Hall. If someone tries something, they'll be punished regardless of their standing."

After saying all that, she moved to quickly follow behind the two Soaring Cloud Sect Cultivators. I watched them go, a nervous feeling in my stomach at her parting words. Was she just being careful, or was she really expecting something bad to happen by leaving me alone?

I eyed the people around me warily. Then I noticed something strange. People were glaring. A lot of people. Mainly guys, and I followed their gaze back toward Lin. Just what were they…

Oh… Right. They all think Lin is a guy. This Xing Yaling has a reputation for being an incredible beauty. And now Lin is going to speak with her. The fact that they would be chaperoned by Elder Shen Di probably didn't matter to everyone. They were still jealous.

It almost made me laugh since their jealousy was unfounded. 

I'd become a lot closer with Lin in the week that I'd stayed in the Sun Compound. There was a lot of sparring, but also just some hanging out. Enough that I felt comfortable indulging my curiosity about her disguise thing. I still didn't know the full story, but it wasn't because she wanted to be a guy or anything. I doubted these guys had anything to be jealous of.

Then again… I suppose that didn't mean Lin didn't have an interest in the fairer sex…

I quickly crushed that thought. Yeah, better not to speculate about something like that. Or do anything to bring attention to myself. I wouldn't put it past some of these people to redirect their ire towards me for Lin's 'good fortune.'

Thankfully, that didn't seem to happen. After Lin and the other two moved past the arch into the restricted section of the hall, things seemed to go back to normal.

I still had a long wait ahead of me, and Lin's rushed warnings did make me a bit anxious. But, as long as I kept to myself and was polite if I couldn't manage that, nothing bad should happen. Lin and Jianfeng would be back soon, I would sign up, and then we could leave. Probably get something to eat while we read through the bestiaries and plan out a hunting trip.

Everything was going to be fine.