On the road the next day, Shao continued to buffet Shen Jian with questions.

“You mentioned the Shen Zaifu family last night, and that made me realize that I don’t know what family you’re from. What’s your family name?” Shao asked.

“Technically, it’s ‘Shen.’ I’m from the main family of the Shen Clan. It’s like how Yang Feng doesn’t have a family name because she’s the granddaughter of the Yang Patriarch. My younger brother is the current Patriarch of the Shen Clan.”

“Is he stronger than you?”

Shen Jian let out a bark of laughter. “Ha! No, he’s a three-star Jindan, and he’ll never reach five-star. I am a nine-star Jindan with plenty of room to grow.”

“Hmm,” Shao grunted, not willing to comment on the obvious hostility between Shen Jian and his brother. “On to my next question. What’s the plan when I get to Shigong Temple? Are they going to give me a sword and make me start doing practice swings?”

“On a base level, yes. You’ll go through the Trial of Initiation to get in, then you’ll train as an outer disciple until the tournament. When you prove yourself in the tournament, they’ll make you an inner disciple.”

“Trial of Initiation? Why do I have to take a test to get in if you’re vouching for me? Shouldn’t your recommendation be enough for me to get in?”

“To begin with, I won’t be there. You’ll be going to Shigong Temple alone. Don’t worry, though, a six-star Lianqi will have no trouble getting through the Trial of Initiation. We let basically any cultivator above three-star in.”

“Fine, whatever. What’s the difference between an outer and inner disciple?”

“When you join a sect, you start out as an outer disciple. In return for a small amount of aid from the sect and use of certain training grounds, the outer disciples keep the temple running. Outer disciples mop the floors, fix the roofs, work the fields, and guard the gates. This allows the inner disciples, core disciples, and elders to focus entirely on their training.”

“So I’m going to mop the floors when I get there?”

“Just until you become an inner disciple. You’ll have no trouble becoming an inner disciple within two or three months.”

“How many outer and inner disciples are there in Shigong Temple?”

“I don’t know for sure, but the number’s definitely in the thousands. In terms of how many of each type of disciple there are, the ‘rule of ten’ typically applies. For every ten outer disciples, there’s one inner disciple. For every ten inner disciples, there’s one core disciple or elder. And, of course, there’s only one Sect Patriarch.”

“How many core disciples are there?”

“Now you’re starting to get into information I really shouldn’t share. Information regarding the core disciples is forbidden knowledge even for outer disciples. Let’s just go with ‘less than ten.’”

“I guess that makes sense. What about…?” Shao was about to ask another question, but Shen Jian cut him off with an upraised hand.

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Shen Jian pointed down the road. Shao followed his outstretched finger and saw Silver Pine Village rising from the horizon. “It seems like the time for questions has ended. This is where our paths will diverge for now.”

The two cultivators approached Silver Pine Village from the east. Just as they entered the village proper, their path was blocked by a massive crowd of villagers. For a moment, Shao was afraid that they had run into an angry mob that would attack them for some perceived slight. This fear fizzled when he remembered the crowd that had formed when Shen Jian initially arrived in Bluecrest.

Nearly half of the villagers present bowed to the two cultivators, and Shao awkwardly bowed his neck in response. He had been taught all his life to return a bow when he received one.

Standing at the front of the crowd were two people. Shao had been to Silver Pine Village several times in his life, so he knew the identities of these two individuals. One, an older man with a balding head and hunched posture, was Patriarch Song Qian. The other, a much younger man who wore the same black robes that Shen Jian wore under his green coat and had a curved sword sheathed at his side, was Wei Da. The younger man was the Divine Protector of Silver Pine Village. Despite his vaunted position, he still bowed deeply to Yang Shao and Shen Jian.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shao noticed that a single red cord hung from Wei Da’s scabbard. Shao had passed Wei Da on the street once before, but this was the first time he really picked up that Wei Da was a disciple from Shigong Temple. Like most villagers of Bluecrest, Shao was convinced that all cultivators were the same before he met Shen Jian.

Though Shao expected Patriarch Song Qian to speak first, it was Wei Da who cleared his throat and greeted the two cultivators. “Greetings, honorable Elder Jian. I welcome you to this humble village and invite you to stay in my home for as long as you wish. If there is anything I can do to make your visit more comfortable, ask and I will make it so.”

“Excellent. I just might take you up on that, young man,” Shen Jian said, removing a saddlebag from his horse. “I bring unfortunate news from Bluecrest Village, but we should speak of it in private. Wei Da, you know what brings me here, I assume?”

“I have a suspicion,” Wei Da said, peering at Shao out of the side of his eye. “This young man standing next to you is from the Yang Clan, as I see it. You are here to test the people of this village?” Uncertainty transformed the end of Wei Da’s sentence into a question.

“Exactly. Well done,” Shen Jian said with a smile. “You’ll have no trouble administering the test, then?”

“Of course not, Elder Jian,” Wei Da said, bowing deeply. Shen Jian stepped forward and placed his saddlebag in Wei Da’s hands.

Patriarch Song Qian looked at the two men and asked, “Shen Jian, will your student be staying with us?”

“No,” Shen Jian said with a mischievous smile. “He needs to head over to Shigong Temple as soon as possible. This young man, Yang Lin Shao, will probably make it to Jindan before the end of the year.”

“That certainly would be something,” Wei Da said, and the light rumbling of laughter underlying his words made it clear that he didn’t believe that was possible.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me for a second. I need to speak with my student in private for a moment.” As Shen Jian spoke, he grabbed Shao by the shoulder and started leading him away from the crowd.

“One thing, please,” Wei Da said, approaching Shen Jian with a look of deep concern on his face. At a volume just loud enough for the two cultivators to hear, Wei Da asked, “What happened that made you draw your sword?”

“There’s no need for you to worry. The threat has been dealt with. We’ll talk more about this in private.” Shen Jian gave a pointed look at Wei Da as he said this.

“I understand.”

Shen Jian led Shao to the other side of the village stables. Before Shao could complain about being pulled around like a dog, Shen Jian began to speak at a low volume. “Before we split up, I need to tell you about the danger you’re in. If you don’t make it to Shigong Temple within two weeks, there’s a good chance you’ll die.”