Kevin relaxed as the last motes of Fire Qi entered his sealed land. He took a moment to confirm that nothing seemed amiss before snapping his eyes open and checking his timer.
Fifty-four minutes, just five minutes slower than his last attempt in the Earth Courtyard. That tracked. Six minutes of real improvement, with the remainder being due to the ease of using Earth Qi.
The difference was countered almost perfectly by the extra speed of his energy gathering formation here, making them neck and neck, except for the generative bonus of using Fire Qi, of course.
Already, he felt the discomfort of it burning away, but the benefits were more than worth it.
With his last cycle complete, he had a little over half an hour of his estimated start time for the gathering. More than enough to make it back even if he walked, and plenty for a shower and a change of clothes if he jogged.
Despite a hint of mental fatigue from hours of cultivation, Kevin pushed himself to make the faster return. Extra time in the day was always useful, and he could use the exercise.
He might be in the best shape of his life, but that mattered little compared to what most other cultivators were capable of. A little jogging wouldn’t bridge that gap, but it would stop him from backsliding until classes started.
Less than ten minutes later, Kevin slowed as the entrance to his dorm building came into view. A half-dozen people were clustered outside, and as he watched, one split off and began speaking to a returning disciple.
If he wasn’t mistaken, one of them was Gerard as well. This had to be the group organizing the gathering.
“Hey, Kevin!” Gerard called out as he drew closer, the man jogging out to meet him even though Kevin was on his way over. “Awesome, you’re back in time for the first portion of the meet-up.”
Kevin smiled in response. “I figured six was about right since I didn’t have an exact time.”
Gerard scratched the back of his head, embarrassment flashing across his face. “Sorry about that,” he chuckled, the sound as unfortunately high and mocking as his usual, hyena-like laugh.
“We hadn’t exactly agreed on the whole plan this morning, and I didn’t want to give you the wrong time. In the end, we decided to go from six to ten so people can jump in as they show back up.”
“You don’t need to stay the whole time,” Gerard hurried to continue, as if worried Kevin would object. Perhaps people already had. “We’re all busy, so just come along and stay until you’ve had enough or need to get going.”
“Just ask the door for the second-floor function room when you’re ready.”
“Sound good,” Kevin nodded. Given the last-minute organization and disparate group of individualistic cultivators, that was probably the best strategy they could use for planning it. “I’ll see you at six then.”
With a wave, he headed inside and keyed the door to his room. He had a little time to get ready, and to plan.
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The massive function room on the second floor already had two dozen people in it when Kevin arrived a few minutes before six. Despite that, they occupied less than a quarter of the cavernous space.
It looked like the room could fit two hundred with ease, more than all the disciples who’d passed this cycle. Was the spring cycle so much larger that they needed all this space?
Or was this more over-the-top cultivator decadence? It was impossible to tell.
Gerard was standing at the front of the group and had donned a set of formal, almost suit-like cultivator robes. Alongside him was a stunning young woman in a deep turquoise evening gown.
The other greeter didn’t look a day over eighteen, yet she was both taller and more powerful than the man beside her. She had to be closing in on the third stage, at least, with all the Qi Kevin could feel coming off her.
Gerard stepped forward with a welcoming grin, but there was only time for a brief greeting and assurance things would start soon before he returned to meeting other fresh arrivals.
Moving out of the way, Kevin scanned the rest of the room to see what he was dealing with. Most of the disciples were gathered to one side by a long table laden with finger food and drinks.
It was hard to guess advancement stages with so many people clustered together, but Kevin stayed at it, trying to push his abilities further. At best guess, he’d say the average level was somewhere between late first stage and mid-second stage.
Not the strongest of the new disciples, then. Either the best had snubbed everyone else, were still out training, or were just arriving fashionably late. Good; that would work well with his plan.
He just needed to find the right time to enact it.
After a few minutes of waiting, during which Kevin grabbed a drink, a voice called for attention from further in.
“Welcome, everyone,” the woman who’d been standing with Gerard said. “I am Celisse Drewen, one of the organizers. We expect further arrivals as the night continues, but don’t let that stop you from mingling.”
The murmuring conversations from around the room settled as everyone turned to face her. Celisse was tall enough to be seen over the rest of the attendees, and, more than that, she was the strongest person who’d shown up. If there was anything that got a cultivator’s attention, it was strength.
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“This is a chance for all of us to get to know one another, both to find new friends and to help avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings.” Celisse glanced sideways at the bulk of the disciples as she spoke, all of whom were standing alone or in groups of two or three.
There didn’t look to be a lot of mingling going on from what Kevin could tell, and it seemed she’d noticed the same thing. The night was going to be rather pointless if everyone stuck to the people they already knew.
For a moment, Kevin thought he saw a flash of annoyance cross the woman’s face, but it faded so fast he could be sure. She paused, seemingly lost in thought, gesturing everyone over.
“Come on, gather round. We’ll try something to get you all started.” Soon, she’d formed the forty-odd people who’d shown up into a rough circle.
Kevin had to suppress a grin as it all happened. It was feeling like some kind of icebreaker was coming, and if he was lucky, it would provide him with the perfect opening. There were a few things you could ask up-and-coming cultivators, and one would be ideal.
Gerard had joined Celisse in the center of the circle, and the two of them were whispering quietly as they glanced around the group. There were only a few moments before it started.
He had to make a final choice now; did he go with the plan to attract like-minded disciples by standing out? This was his last chance to decide if it would be better to fly under the radar for as long as possible.
Both options had their benefits and disadvantages, but…
“OK then,” Celisse said, drawing all attention back toward her. Preening, she continued. “As I said, we won’t get anywhere unless we share a little information. I’ll start us off.”
“We’ll go with your name, what you’re studying, and what your goals are at the Twisted Path. So I’m Celisse Drewen, and I’m taking both sword and incantation classes.”
“Even though the Drewen clan has deep ties to the sect, we all have to start at the beginning. Thus, my goal is to enter the inner sect to study with my fellow clan members,” she finished with a small curtsy.
A murmur ran around the circle, and Kevin smirked at how perfect the situation was. He’d been wandering how to set something like this up, and here it had fallen into his lap.
Celisse had set the stage well with her humble bragging, too. He had no idea she was part of an important clan before she’d brought it up, and he’d bet a lot of others here hadn’t, either.
Before the murmurs turned into full speculation, and before anyone could step forward, Celisse turned to the man beside her. “After introducing yourself, move on to the next person to keep us going. Gerard, if you would.”
“Ah, right,” Gerard stammered, glancing sideways. From the suddenly intimidated look on his face, it seemed he might not have known who he’d teamed up with either.
Quickly gathering his composure, Gerard gave a small bow. “I’m Gerard Haydon, and I’m studying martial arts and spear techniques. My family gave up a lot to get me this far, so I’m going to grow strong enough to pay them back tenfold.”
Kevin locked eyes with Gerard as he finished, giving the man a respectful nod. His goal was a worthy one, and this was also just the opening he needed. Taking a small step forward with an eager smile, he waited for the odds to land in his favor.
It wasn’t much of a gamble, not when he knew the man and was standing in his direct line of sight. Unless Gerard was better acquainted with someone nearby, he’d be the logical choice to move on to.
The man’s eyes lit up in response, and he gave a slight nod. “Kevin, why don’t you go next.”
“Sure,” Kevin said as all eyes turned to him. Ignoring the annoying pain from the burning Fire Qi inside — why had he done that just before this gathering? — he settled his heart and spoke.
You didn’t draw attention without being polarizing, and you couldn’t attract like-minded people if no one knew what you were about. It was time he took a risk.
“Hi everyone, I’m Kevin Blake,” he said, unphased at the number of people staring at him. It was hardly the largest group he’d spoken in front of. “I’m studying formations, martial arts, and Qi shielding.”
With the slightest pause despite himself, he pushed on to the kicker. “And I’ve only got a single goal; I’m going to become immortal.”
As he’d expected, there was an instant of shocked silence before a burst of whispers and laughter spread through the circle of people. He’d seen people respond to his dream a few times now, and he’d been willing to bet that most fresh disciples would act much like Travis had the first time.
Already, much of the talk seemed to be turning mocking, but that was fine. The important thing was that everyone was talking about it, with no signs of imminent violence.
The ugly look in Celisse’s eyes was the worst, though he couldn’t tell if it was actual anger at his goal or just that he’d stolen the show from her. Hopefully, nothing would come of it, but he’d manage if he had to.
It might be true that you needed to be polarizing to attract a lot of attention, but you also couldn’t be polarizing without making a few enemies. Everything he’d seen since arriving showed a far calmer atmosphere than he’d feared in the sect, so it should be fine.
“Seriously?” A voice shouted from across the circle, past the two organizers in the middle. “Do you realize that you just declared you would surpass everyone here? No, everyone in the entire sect?”
Perhaps he’d spoken too soon. That was about the worst way his statement could have been taken, and Kevin had been hoping that the mockery meant no one was seriously annoyed.
A figure stalked into view, defying his exceptions by being a skinny young man instead of the hulking bully he’d imagined. Like Celisse, the kid couldn’t be much older than eighteen; unlike her, he barely topped five feet.
Nor was his advancement that impressive; he was in the second stage but didn’t appear that far through. Yet… something in the way he moved screamed danger.
“Even the patriarch himself has only reached the Primordial Soul realm in the last hundred years,” the man continued, his glare intensifying. “Yet you’re going to surpass him too on your way to the peak?”
“You’ve barely passed the beginning, old man,” the kid snorted. “Don’t talk about the mountain when the foothills are still hidden in the clouds.”
Kevin resisted the urge to lick his lips or shift his weight back and forth. Had he miscalculated? A glance out of the corners of his eyes helped calm his racing heart.
If anything, the tone of the conversation shifted further toward mockery with every angry word that was spouted. Despite his genuine anger, the young man was hammering home how ridiculous a goal it was/
Time to lock in any interest while calming those who might cause trouble. “Apologies if I offended you, young master,” Kevin said, laying the respect on thick as he gave a low bow. “I’m an outsider, so I’m still getting used to your customs.”
“I might be deadly serious about my goal, but I see now that I shouldn’t have brought it up so blatantly.”
It was a good thing bowing hid his face from those around him, as Kevin was having a hard time keeping a broad grin from crossing his face. Despite drawing more anger than he’d expected, he'd still do it all over again.
Within a few days, all the new disciples, and many of the older ones, would have heard about the crazy outsider who wanted to reach the peak. There was a very good chance that anyone with similar ideals would reach out. If not tonight, then in the coming days or weeks.
The young man snorted a second time but seemed unwilling to push the matter further in the face of such an abject apology. While he might cause trouble later, Kevin had shifted the tone so that he would come out as the villain if he didn’t back down.
Instead, he seemed content to take over the spotlight. “Fine, you’ve wasted enough time anyway. I’m Darren Mathews, and I’m studying pure martial arts. The sect saved my family years ago, so I’m going to support it in any way I can.”
The crowd slowly settled as the conversation moved around the circle, and Kevin slid back into place.
He’d put out a fishing rod; now it was time to see if he’d caught anyone.