“What’s up with the blue coats?” Shao asked as he noticed several individuals wearing those same coats walking across the field.

“Inner disciples of the Shigong Sect wear blue haori over their black hakama,” Xiahou Ren answered, leaving Shao to use context clues to realize that the black robes were called “hakama” and the blue coats were called “haori.”

“And outer disciples just wear the hakama?” Shao guessed.

“Precisely,” Ren said with a smile. “For future reference, elders wear green haori, and the Patriarch of the Shigong Sect wears a purple haori. The red bands attached to their swords indicate the highest realm they’ve reached. Typically, inner disciples are Zhouji, and elders are Jindan, but that’s not always the case. Certain immensely talented inner disciples reach Jindan before they’re old enough to be considered elders. According to legend, there’s one man who wears the blue haori of an inner disciple, yet he has reached the vaunted fourth realm. To reach the fourth realm before the age of fifty should be utterly impossible.”

Shao considered these words and wondered if he could reach the fourth realm within the next few decades. How many times had he heard the phrase “utterly impossible” over the past two weeks? Would his abnormal natural talent for cultivation allow him to catch up to this man of legend?

“Hmm.” Shao exhaled thoughtfully. “I think I would like to see this man for myself?”

“You’ll have to become an inner disciple for that,” Xiahou Ren said with a smile.

“Uh huh. To become an inner disciple, you have to win the ‘tournament,’ correct?” Shao guessed based on the information shared with him by Shen Jian a week before.

“You don’t have to win, necessarily. You just have to catch an elder’s attention. As long as you get into the semi-finals, you have a pretty good shot at becoming an inner disciple. There’s a second way to become an inner disciple that would be much easier for you and me. If you become a Zhouji before you’re twenty years old, you automatically become an inner disciple.”

That gave him three years to advance three steps. It would be easy. Shao was sure he would reach that point after just a few months of training his body. For a moment, he considered coasting and getting his blue haori in a few months, but he remembered the high expectations that Shen Jian, Granny Daiyu, and all the other villagers back to Bluecrest had for him. It would be a betrayal for him to slack off in his training.

“When is the tournament?”

“A month from today,” Xiahou Ren answered easily. “The Rite of Initiation is held on the eighth full moon of the year, and the tournament is held on the ninth full moon of the year.”

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Mercifully, the line moved quickly, and it was just a matter of time before Xiahou Ren stepped through the small arched opening into the stone pagoda. Yang Shao only had a few seconds to peek into the structure before an outer disciple dressed in black hakama gestured for him to enter.

The interior of the pagoda was just as intricate as its exterior. Once inside the structure, Shao realized that the inside of the pagoda was just a single large chamber about thirty cun across with a high vaulted ceiling that stretched more than fifty cun into the air. In the center of the pagoda was an elderly woman sitting behind a desk wearing a green haori that was very reminiscent of Shen Jian’s. A teenager in a black hakama with a katana sheathed at his hip stood to the side of the table.

“Next,” the bored outer disciple said as he gestured for Shao to approach the old woman.

Shao walked up to the table, and the old woman stared at him through a pair of thick glass spectacles. Just as Shao was beginning to feel awkward standing there in the middle of such a massive chamber, the old woman spoke.

“Seven.”

The outer disciple picked up a necklace from the table and handed it to Shao. Marked on the wooden disk in the center of the necklace was the character for “seven” written in thick black ink. He was grateful that Granny Daiyu at least taught him the single-digit numbers before he left home.

“Next.” Without looking twice at Shao, the outer disciple called for the next person in line.

A part of Shao expected the outer disciple to do a double take and gasp in shock when he saw that Shao was a seven-star. Apparently, seven-star Lianqi weren’t that rare in this part of the world. With a sigh, Shao donned the necklace, making sure that the character on the front was visible.

As Shao exited out the back of the pagoda, an outer disciple on the other side said to him, “Please wear your necklace at all times. Should you voluntarily remove your necklace, you will be disqualified.”

“Good to know,” Shao responded, and the outer disciple gave him a long-suffering glare.

Shao walked over to where the other members of his group had accumulated on the field. Several dozen cultivators filled out the field at about equal distance from one another, and various disciples from the Shigong Sect could be seen interspersed between them.

The other members of Shao’s group each wore necklaces displaying their relative strength. Xiahou Ren’s necklace displayed a seven, Louis’s necklace displayed a six, Liu Mei’s necklace displayed a five, and Xu Fei’s necklace displayed a one. Shao was silently grateful to have some confirmation that everyone was as strong as they said they were. Beyond Xiahou Ren’s statements, he previously had no proof of their levels of power.

As Shao approached, Xiahou Ren saw something in the distance, and his expression darkened. Ren said, “Watch out, Yang Shao. I think we’re about to have some unhappy visitors.”

Shao turned in the direction Xiahou Ren was looking, and he saw three cultivators walking directly toward them with squared shoulders and aggressive posture. Two of the cultivators wore the colorful robes of the Gao Clan, and one wore much more muted robes.

Even at a glance, Shao recognized one of the two approaching Gao men as Gao Linyu who wore a necklace bearing the character for “three.” More concerning than Gao Linyu was the other Gao who wore a necklace bearing the character for “nine.”