- Sam -

As they walked into the flight pavilion, Sam grew excited. He had marveled at the mysterious space array that would allow them to travel from the foot of the mountain to the top so quickly. It was magical to him.

Would he be able to do magic like that one day? He wondered if someone would teach him. Well, he needed to keep working hard on his cultivation for now, since that was the only tool he had been given so far.

They walked up the stairs and were at the top of the mountain within moments. Sam was excited to get outside of the pavilion to see how high they were now. There was a boy behind the desk this time, and after exchanging some formalities, Senior Hall signed them in with a ring on his finger, just as Elder Babbot had done.

They then moved out toward the departure gate where something awaited them that was so strange, he forgot all thoughts about space arrays. There was a gigantic turtle resting on the stone floor of the gateway area. It's eyes were closed, and he thought it must be sleeping. It had a bright yellow shell, and wrinly brown skin. It was so tall that, even laying down, he wouldn't reach halfway while standing on Senior Hall's shoulders. It was long and wide enough that he wondered whether the turtle was bigger than the dormitory he stayed in.

"Children," Senior Hall told them, "This is Grand Ancestor Valerie. She has been with this sect for a very long time, so remember to mind your manners." So she must be a spirit beast, and an ancient one at that. He had heard stories about spirit beasts from his parents, and they had told him, "If you should ever encounter an Elder spirit beast, you should give them all of your respect. Treat them as if they were superior to even us, or the Mayor. Do that, and they might let you live. Show them disrespect, and they will kill you with a thought."

So, Sam thought it went without saying that they should mind their manners, but then he wondered if all the other children had heard the same stories from their parents. He hoped they had, because he wouldn't risk the Grand Ancestor's wrath by speaking about such matters openly in front of her. If any of the other children died, he supposed there was nothing he could do about it, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Senior Hall walked over to speak to someone, and that was when Sam noticed Rebecca and Stephen for the first time. He would not have recognized them if not for Senior Hall addressing them by name. They were kowtowing like children who'd been caught stealing, and they were covered in so much blood, he couldn't see their skin.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Rebecca, Stephen, what are you doing? Stand up, and clean yourselves before you frighten the children. Someone might think you'd offended Gra-" Senior Hall said, "Oh. I see." Then he turned back towards the children. Without saying anything further, the two used that magic cleaning technique that Andrew had promised he'd learn soon, and they were back to normal. Or, at least, they were no longer covered in blood. Their faces looked aged and haunted.

Sam thought about Senior Hall's words. Had they offended the Grand Ancestor? That would be surprising to Sam. According to the stories, if this Grand Ancestor Valerie were as old as Senior Hall suggested, then the two cultivators should have been splattered on the floor like a squashed fly. Perhaps this Grand Ancestor was kinder than the ancient spirit beasts in his family's stories. Or perhaps Senior Hall was mistaken. He wouldn't take any chances either way.

The three adults walked around and picked up the children two at a time each, before jumping up, and depositing them on the Grand Ancestor's shell. When it was Sam's turn, he looked around from the top of the yellow shell. It was shaped almost like a flat bowl. There was a small ridge, about as tall as he was, at the outer edge of the shell. It made a sort of wall that marked the border of the area where they could sit.

As soon as the last children were on board, Senior Hall said, "Okay, children, sit down, be quiet, and do not move around until I tell you to. If Grand Ancestor Valerie gives you instructions, then you follow them, even if they are different from what I, or anyone else, told you."

With that, he was the last to sit down. As soon as he was seated, the Grand Ancestor stood, and calmly walked over the edge of the departure gate's platform. They did not fall, but instead she tucked her legs into her shell, and they flew into the sky towards the forest. If she did not walk through the air, like the tiger he'd seen on the first night, and if she did not use wings, he wondered how she was moving. He noticed that Emily had a curious expression as well. Maybe she wanted to ask the same thing.

They traveled in silence, with nobody moving. It did not take long to arrive at the forest. They had gone to the closest part of the forest, and he wondered what they would be hunting. He also wondered how they would hunt it. His dad had a bolt action hunting rifle that he used to shoot deer sometimes, or to protect the goats from coyotes, and wolves. He hadn't seen any guns since arriving at the sect. Did cultivators even need guns? They used magic, after all. Maybe there was a dao of the gun, or gun-fu? He wondered what that would look like, but he wasn't sure, since he hadn't even seen anyone use a sword yet.

The adults stood, and quickly removed each of the students from the Grand Ancestor's shell. When the adults were finished, they bowed to the Grand Ancestor, with Senior Hall giving words of thanks to massive spirit beast. The children repeated after him, bowing, and calling in unison, "We thank the Grand Ancestor for her abundant generosity!"

They remained in a bowed position, until she nodded slowly, and laid down. Senior Hall then stood, and the children followed him into the forest.