My plans to self-isolate and spend the day cultivating were abruptly altered when an Elder Sect member ordered all of us out of the spatial array. The Patriarch recognized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet other cultivators our level and age, and it would be idiotic not to take the time to network. I might have been able to wrangle an exemption if I could get Elder Shadow's permission. He wouldn't agree without a valid reason, and my hope to evade Braun and friends was not a reason he was likely to support.

These tournaments allowed friendships across Sects to be fostered and formed. There was no way to know who you might meet, but there was a chance to form a connection, a Heavenly opportunity where outer sect members with no prospects might befriend someone powerful. Of course, feuds could also be engendered. It was easy for young men and women, full of pride and easy to insult, to react badly to some innocuous provocation. Sect wars had been started for less as cultivators vowed vengeance.

If they lost during a tournament match, and there was even the remotest possibility of foul play or cheating, even Sect Elders and Patriarchs might become involved. What was seldom mentioned was that how well a Sects member did, reflected on the standing the Sect they were part of enjoyed. It was conceivable that a few talented Outer Sect members, that did well, could raise the prestige of their Sect enough to elevate that Sects tier.

Our members had to attend a lecture on the first day of the week for the last month so that the Sect could explain the political situation in the Cai'Li empire. There were exhaustive discussions about the Sects that would be attending, what element they focused on, how they ranked, where they were located, and some small points of interest so that we might speak with others without inadvertently insulting someone.

It was during these lectures that I finally got a real sense of the political power Sects maintained. The Cai'Li empire owed its continuing existence to Immortal Realm cultivators that were invested enough to protect the vast tract of land our nation claimed from incursions by other Sects and Empires.

Battle skirmishes were a fact of nature along our borders. A place for cultivators to test themselves against other powerful individuals. Duels and tournaments gave some insight into how well an individual was progressing, but it was the life and death battles that truly tested a cultivator. For those that won, they were often rewarded with new insights and advances for Realm and Dao.

The Emperor's family was discussed in detail, every Prince, Princess, and Potentate examined. Jade tokens distributed with likenesses of the family captured so that we would be able to identify someone if we met by chance. I thought the classes were a waste of time, especially after the Elder conducting lessons had distributed the jade token. It would have been a much better use of our time to have included all of the minutiae he was disseminating within those same tokens and let us study on our own.

I could only surmise that they had done that in the past, only to find out that Sect members were lazy. Perhaps focused was a better description. We worked tirelessly on our cultivation, martial techniques, and secondary professions. But when it came to other matters, most Outer Sect members couldn't be bothered. The Inner Sect brothers and sisters had long learned that there was usually a reason behind everything the Elder Members did, and if they thought it important to study politics, important enough that time needed to be set aside to comply, then there must be some logic behind that decision.

Honestly, it didn't hurt to be better informed about the world at large. The education we received before our majority concentrated mainly on practical skills and knowledge. Attention was given to mathematics and language, but the bulk of our time was spent learning about the indigenous beasts and fauna of the world. We were taught to identify danger, not about some war that may have been fought hundreds of years ago.

During the course, everyone else paired up or worked in small groups. It was moments like this that I regretted the solitude that Braun and Nero had forced me to endure. But Niake had taught me the folly of trusting so easily, and I wasn't socially adept enough to forge relationships with people that might be forced to turn against me. Tarrah was a friend, but her status as my Mentor meant that any socializing, we might engage in was limited. She had to maintain a certain distance; it would not do for us to become such close friends that she was unable to guide me effectively.

I extended my Qi perception further than normal when I exited the illusionary Sect we'd been provided. The water element was abundant, given the nearby pool and dripping water from the stalactites, that was no surprise. The difference was the air element. It existed, but was stunted somehow, I identified a few pockets of dead air, air oversaturated with carbon dioxide, each one I noticed was isolated in out of the way areas.

I would quantify the air element in the cave and tunnels as aged, tired, and worn out. Air that had little movement, and no life. It was an extreme contrast to the roaring currents that intermixed with the surging water element at Flowing Water Sect. There the air was alive, always changing. Even air on a still day had more movement and life than anything I had found in these caves.

I made a note of where the pockets of dead air were located so they could be reported. The Sect had to have someone that could resolve the problem. I wondered why they didn't create a network of wind arrays to funnel air from the outside in. With all the work that Dragon Spire Sect had invested in infrastructure, ignoring this feature seemed short sited. But perhaps because very few people had any connection to the air element, they would not have the same concerns as someone like me did. As long as the air wasn't killing anyone, there was no benefit to spending the investment to circulate air in out of the way caves.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The Dragon Spire Sect had made effort to revitalize the air, they had nurtured a type of moss or lichen that grew in clusters. The moss also acted as a light source, it had been cultivated to replace arrays or spirit stones as a natural resource, not the dim fluorescent illumination that could be found in some of the fish that littered the pond, but light bright enough to make visibility and travel easy. What was most impressive was that the moss was able to act as a light source for the larger central caves as well as the smaller side caves.

This moss was augmented by what seemed to be a miniature sun that had been embedded in the ceiling of the main cave. It was bright enough that light could be directed by a series of prisms into nearby caves. Shadows existed the same that it would under the glare of a real sun, but the shadows were just as stagnate as the air, never moving or changing they responded to a central light that never moved and never dimmed, small pools of darkness that never expanded reliant on buildings to give shape and existence.

Unlike Flowing Water, there were no gardens of herbs and flowers. No spirit arrays that cycled the disparate elements. Some groupings mimicked those gardens, amazing sculptures of gem and metal that had been placed with care to recreate the semblance of plants, even trees. But for all their beauty and craftsmanship, they lacked movement and life. And vitality, that was the essence of life that our Sect nurtured in each of our garden spaces.

The grouped metal plantings did serve a function, directing and controlling Qi, but it was Qi rich in earth and metal aspects, along with a touch of fire. Energies that were abundant within the Mountain and that were prioritized by Dragon Spire. The sculpted garden I found most enticing included a small rivulet of lava that meandered around each bed, like a slow-moving stream. The heat was contained so that visitors would not be scorched, and the lava would remain liquid.

I thought the glow of oranges, reds, and yellows that made up the lava gave the garden space the movement and life that the plants lacked. As I watched, I realized that the Sect had created these groupings as a panorama, a means to enlighten those who made the effort, that the sterility of metal and gems were predicated on the flowing nature of fire and earth.

The contrast was amazing, and I was happy the Elder Sect members had chased me out of the illusion array we'd been assigned to wander and discover what Dragon Spire had to offer. I admit that I had plans to steal this idea if I ever had the chance to create my own private garden; the seeming disconnect between movement and sterility would open another facet of understanding to enhance my development of my [Dao of Movement].

"It's sad, isn't it?" A young woman's voice asked me, distracting me from the tantalizing glimpse into the contrasting nature of movement to slip away. I regretted her interruption but would revisit this new awareness. I would meditate on it, later while cultivating, certain that I had gained increased insight.

"Sad?" I asked as I turned to address the woman that had spoken. She wore a veil over her face, an obvious attempt to cloak herself in anonymity. I wasn't certain if she was someone important, or someone shirking work, and hoping for a few moments of freedom. Other than the veil, she was dressed normally. She wore a Hanfu that was embroidered with Dragon Spire's symbol, her clothing the same hardy homespun that I wore.

My Qi perception tested her strength, easily recognizing that she was more advanced than me, but not by much. She had just stepped into the Qi Gathering Realm, and I had reached the perfected stage of Body Refinement. We were close enough in Realm that sparring would be possible, I might even be able to win several matches. I would have to go all out, but she wasn't so much more powerful than me that I stood no chance.

I had a hard time cataloging her elemental affinity. It wasn't earth or fire, but there was a flavor to it, a hint of something that seemed to combine water, fire, earth, and air. My own affinities resonated with her, recognizing a kindred spirit.

"The starkness of it," she answered. She appeared to be the same age as me, but it was hard to tell with Elves. We aged so slowly, that she might have been fifty, even a hundred years older and it wouldn't show on her face. That she obscured her face with a veil didn't help.

"I think that was the point," I agreed, returning my attention to the garden, "an artistic juxtaposition between Dao.

"Movement balanced against stillness.

"Perfection balanced against chaos.

"Order balanced against destruction.

"I think whoever the artist is, they are brilliant. To encapsulate so many contrasting layers and opposing Dao's would require a real understanding of each of those concepts. A lot of thought must have gone into this.

"What I find sad," I continued, "is that not many people would take the time to actually stop and contemplate the duality that the artist was attempting to frame. But his perfection of form applied to the sculpture of flowers contrasting with the inevitable fluidity of lava may be too esoteric for most to understand."

"You think for most who see this, they only see pretty sculptures and discount the meaning behind them?" She posited.

"Exactly," I agreed.

"I think, like with all art, people will interpret what they see in the context of their life experience. They come away with an experience where they see only what they expect. They see flowers, trees, and a river of fire, and never look for the deeper meaning," I explained.

"And you?" She asked.

"The panorama created by the artist speaks to my Dao. There can be no movement, without stillness. No rivers of lava without unyielding trenches that allow the lava to flow. I am enlightened. At least a small amount of insight had been gained and I will meditate on those insights to increase my understanding of my Dao.

I see the duality. I have observed how contrasting forces can work in harmony. The truths shared by the artist are appreciated greatly, and I will be able to enhance more fully, my understanding of the [Dao of Movement].