Chapter 26:

The main lobby of the Starguard Hall was big. Two stories tall at least and wide enough to house hundreds of people. There were four big pillars equally spaced throughout the room. They were red, decorated with more murals, and covered in gold at the top and bottom. The walls were less decorated, mainly with geometric lines of gold that, on closer inspection, were also carved with art.

To the right and left were several different reception areas with many booths and attendants. Lines of people waited their turn to be seen, and for some reason, the area to the right seemed to have a lot of people waiting. Many of them wore different kinds of cultivator robes, while others dressed in just rough-looking tunics and trousers. Several also had leather or metal armor, but all of them were armed in some way.

Directly opposite the entrance was an archway that led further into the back of the building. Guards stood watch there, and everyone who went to pass them had to show them some kind of token. I assumed that area was for actual members of the Starguard and the front was for everyone else. Either people who wanted to test to join or people here to set up jobs and requests.

What really drew my attention, however, and put a smile on my lips, was the various boards I could make out in the room beyond. There were jade tablets hung on the hooks of the board, and I had a strong idea about just what was stored on those. Requests for the Starguard. Or, as I liked to think of them, Quests.

Because this place was essentially an Adventurer’s Guild. The perfect kind of place for someone who got stronger from killing things. I would need to hunt a lot of spirit beasts for cores and Skills. So I might as well get paid at the same time by hunting beasts that people want to be rid of. And, in the future, I could also get paid to go after the remnants of the Black Wind Marauders or just other bandits in general.

“What are you smiling at,” Lin asked as we stepped to the side of the entrance to avoid blocking the people coming and going. “You had the same smile when I explained what the Starguards were.”

“Nothing, really,” I said, still smiling. “It's just… A place like this didn’t really exist back home. But the idea of it did. In stories. Usually, they were called adventurer guilds and stuff. I just find the idea of me getting to join something like this kinda funny. Like a dream I had as a kid coming true.”

“You’ll have to pass the trial first before you can join,” Lin said, shaking her head. “So try not to get too excited before then.”

“I know,” I said, giving one last look at the archway leading deeper into the building. Then I turned to the big line of armed people. “Is that where I sign up for the trial? Seems like a lot of people.”

“It is,” Lin said, looking at the long line with a frown. “It’s a bit strange that there are so many people signing up right now. There usually isn’t this many. It wasn’t like this when Jianfeng and I took the test.”

“They probably want to see the Ice Fairy,” Jianfeng said as he rubbed his chin. “That’s the only thing I can think of that would cause this.”

“Ice Fairy?” Lin asked, turning to Jianfeng.

I did the same, wondering just who that could refer to. Usually, in Xianxia stories, women called fairies were super beautiful. Which was really saying something, as for some reason, cultivation usually enhanced people's looks. Women more than men, usually, though I wasn’t sure if that was the case here as well.

“Yes, Sun Yun mentioned hearing about it from Qian Chi,” Jianfeng said. Then he turned a slight frown towards Lin. “I’m quite certain you were there when she brought it up. It was before our little misadventure.”

“That was more than a week ago,” Lin said, deadpan. “Also, you know Sun Yun likes to gossip a lot. Sometimes it’s easier to… just let her go on without really paying attention.”

Jiafeng rolled his eyes at that. “Of course… Well, regardless, the Ice Fairy is supposed to be an incredible beauty visiting from the Soaring Cloud Sect. Not the branch we have in the city, but the main Soaring Cloud Sect. It’s rumored that she will be taking the trial to join the Starguard here.”

Lin just scoffed at that. “Then I’m not sure what all the excitement is about. Sure, being a part of the main Soaring Cloud Sect is impressive. But if she’s coming all the way out here to join the Starguard, then she can’t be all that note-worthy herself. I doubt the competition out here is anywhere near as great as Soaring Cloud City.”

Jianfeng sighed. “Of course, you’ll ignore the great beauty part.” He shook his head and then turned to me. “But you get it, don’t you, Lan? Why everyone is so excited?”

“Umm…” I said, feeling a bit nervous when Lin turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. It felt a bit judging. “Well, kinda. I mean, I'd probably want to see her just to see what all the fuss is about.”

Jianfeng nodded as if I said something profound.

Lin just rolled her eyes and scoffed. Then she elbowed Jianfeng who was still nodding. “Well, come on, we’re wasting time. Lan and I will go get in line. You go check the Repository for any bestiary we can afford.”

I perked up a bit at the mention of the Repository. The Skyguard Hall wasn’t just a place for its members to find jobs. It also had a library filled with information. There was everything from cultivation techniques—something I would definitely be looking into once I was a member—to guides to the local area. To get access, you’d have to spend contribution points, which were a non-transferable currency rewarded only by the Starguard Hall for missions. Each book or scroll you bought or rented also costs points.

It was the main reason I wanted to join the Starguard, aside from getting paid to hunt monsters or even bandits in the future. Even in a frontier city like Everlake, the Starguard Hall should have things in their repository that would cost a lot more to find anywhere else. The only other way to get access to resources like that would be to join a sect or major clan or the imperial army. And since unlike those other groups, there were a lot fewer strings attached to joining the Starguard, I of course chose to join them.

But that was for the future. For now, we just needed more information about local spirit beasts so I could better plan just what kind of Skills I could be aiming for in the future. Jianfeng and Lin would spot me the points for now, though it shouldn’t be too much for such simple information. Still, I would pay them back later, even if they felt like they still owed me for the mine.

“Ah, so violent,” Jianfeng said jokingly while rubbing his stomach. Then he stepped away to dodge another elbow. “But fine. I’ll go see what they have here. You two get to wait in line. Who knows, maybe I’ll run into the Ice Fairy and get to see her first. I doubt they’ll keep her out just because she hasn’t gotten her token yet.”

“Well, try not to give her a reason to gut you if you do,” Lin said, shaking her head. Then we made our way over to the back of the line while Jianfeng headed for the guarded archway.

“I hope this won’t take too long,” I said, eyeing the very long line in front of us.

“I’d be more worried about what this means for the trial,” Lin said, eyeing the people in front of us thoughtfully. “The larger number of trial takers could make it a lot harder on you.”

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“Oh…” I said before grimacing. “I hadn’t thought about that… Ugh… Out of curiosity, how often do they hold these trials anyway?”

“Once a month,” Lin said, giving me a knowing look. “But you shouldn’t run away just because it might be a bit challenging. You’ll never be truly strong if you run from every challenge. Especially one without the risk of death. Also, didn’t you say you wanted to get a look at the Ice Fairy? You’ll hardly be able to do that if you run away.”

“Didn’t you say the trial would be hunting spirit beasts,” I said warily, ignoring the jab about the Ice Fairy. She’d understand if she was actually a guy. Instead, I eyed all the people in line warily. The floor was wood, so I couldn’t use my Earth Sense, but I doubted the people here were all that weak. “And that fighting between trial takers was allowed?”

“Yes,” Lin said, smirking. “But, killing and maiming are disallowed. Foundation Establishment Starguards will ensure that. So it will probably be one of the safest ways for you to compete with others at our level.”

“I guess…” I said, still feeling a bit unsure. I hadn’t been much of a fighter before coming to this world, so unless I had to, I still found myself shying away from conflict. I’d gotten better in our spars, but something like this would be a lot different even if no one would die. Yet, she wasn’t wrong either. “Might as well give it a shot.”

“Good,” Lin said, patting me on the shoulder firmly. “It would have been a bit disappointing if you chickened out so easily.”

I rolled my eyes at that, but before I could actually respond, a hush washed over the busy hall. Before, there were dozens of conversations echoing around. Now, people were going quiet, with only soft whispers breaking the silence.

All the whispers said variants of the same thing. “The Ice Fairy.”

It made it so that a pair of footsteps seemed to echo in the large hall. I turned towards the direction of the noise to see two people.

One was a tall older man with salt and pepper hair. His hair was tied up in a tight topknot, and he had a very pointy-looking goatee. He looked distinguished and wore robes that reminded me of two of the Azure Tigers I’d seen before. Light blue with cloud accents. Unlike those robes, however, the clouds on these robes looked almost lifelike. The blue was also much closer to the blue of a bright summer sky, deeper and more vibrant.

The person beside him wore similar robes, but hers had gold mixed in with the white of the clouds. She was shorter than the older man, probably only reaching up to my eyeline. Her hair was a shockingly snow-white color and was done in elaborate tied-up braids held in place by ice-like ornaments. The rumored Ice Fairy.

I’d been curious as to why she was called that, and just how beautiful for her to be for people to make such a fuss. Unfortunately, while I now understood the ice part, I didn’t get to see her face. She was wearing a veil. It was a sheer and delicate thing, but seemed to make it impossible to make out her actual face. I found myself a bit disappointed at not getting to sate my curiosity.

The old man beside her eyes scanned the room as the two continued to walk in near silence. It was a bit awkward, and I couldn’t help but start to feel bad for the girl. Did this happen everywhere she went? That would be rather—

My train of thought was broken as something washed over me. Another spirit sense, but this one seemed to push down like a relentless pressure. It restricted and dominated, feeling so powerful that I was certain there was nothing I could do to fight it. The man had to be at least Foundation Establishment or higher.

My legs started to tremble from the feeling after only a moment. But then, just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Yet the message that was being sent was very clear. A message that must have gone to everyone in the room, as it was completely silent now. But the blatant staring stopped, and most people averted their gazes.

I did the same. But that didn’t last long as people went back to peeking over their shoulders a moment later. I couldn’t help but join when no second wave of pressure came. Just to see what would happen next.

The pair continued to walk as if nothing changed, and the older man kept sweeping his gaze through the hall casually. Then, to my surprise, he seemed to do a small double-take in our direction. He leaned down to the girl beside him and said something.

The girl turned to look in our direction next. I held my breath, trying to subtly look around at just who the girl might be looking at. There was no way it was us, right? Probably just someone behind us. As I did, I saw that I wasn’t the only one. Everyone around us was wondering just who had caught the attention of the pair.

After a quick back and forth, the two started heading in our direction. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of nervous anticipation at this. They clearly weren’t coming to talk to us… Right?

I turned to Lin to see if she had any clue what was happening. But she looked just as confused as me. So they were probably going to just walk past us and—

Or they could just walk right up to us. Shit. And bring the entire room's attention onto us. Sure, people were more discreet about it after the older man’s warning. But I could still see everyone sneaking peeks.

“Ming Lin, correct?” The older man said as the two stopped in front of us. “You serve Alchemist Sun Xia?”

“Yes, Senior,” Lin said, performing a low martial bow with an open palm against her fist. “What can I do for you?”

Awkwardly, I moved to do the same but didn’t speak up. I wasn’t sure if I should’ve or not, but no one eyed me oddly, so I assumed I was doing fine. I also avoided staring at the Ice Fairy. No need to make this any more uncomfortable, and I really didn’t want to annoy the the older cultivator either. Even if I was still curious whether or not her looks were really that big of a deal.

“I am Elder Shen Di of the Soaring Cloud Branch Sect,” Shen Di said, nodding. Then he gestured to the girl beside him. “And this is my esteemed guest, Young Miss Xing Yaling. She is an inner disciple of the Soaring Could Sect. She wishes to arrange a meeting with Alchemist Sun.”

“Of course, I will notify the Young Miss as soon as I can,” Lin said, bowing low to Xing Yaling as well. “Where should we go to contact you?”

“There are other things I wish to discuss,” Xing Yaling said, her voice soft and light. “Do you have the time to speak in a more private setting?”

“Yes, I do,” Lin said, bowing again. Then she glanced towards me and mouthed ‘sorry.’

“Excellent,” Shen Di said, nodding. “Then come. We can use one of the reserved private rooms in the hall.”

With that said, the older man gestured for Xing Yaling to go first. When the young lady walked off, he moved to follow. Lin, however, took a moment to quickly whisper to me.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” She said in a rush. “Just avoid talking to anyone who looks wealthy or strong. And if you can’t do that then do your best to not offend anyone. If you can’t do that either, then don’t fight no matter what. Fighting is strictly forbidden in the Starguard Hall. If someone tries something, they’ll be punished regardless of their standing.”

After saying all that, she moved to quickly follow behind the two Soaring Cloud Sect Cultivators. I watched them go, a nervous feeling in my stomach at her parting words. Was she just being careful, or was she really expecting something bad to happen by leaving me alone?

I eyed the people around me warily. Then I noticed something strange. People were glaring. A lot of people. Mainly guys, and I followed their gaze back toward Lin. Just what were they…

Oh… Right. They all think Lin is a guy. This Xing Yaling has a reputation for being an incredible beauty. And now Lin is going to speak with her. The fact that they would be chaperoned by Elder Shen Di probably didn’t matter to everyone. They were still jealous.

It almost made me laugh since their jealousy was unfounded.

I’d become a lot closer with Lin in the week that I’d stayed in the Sun Compound. There was a lot of sparring, but also just some hanging out. Enough that I felt comfortable indulging my curiosity about her disguise thing. I still didn’t know the full story, but it wasn’t because she wanted to be a guy or anything. I doubted these guys had anything to be jealous of.

Then again… I suppose that didn’t mean Lin didn’t have an interest in the fairer sex…

I quickly crushed that thought. Yeah, better not to speculate about something like that. Or do anything to bring attention to myself. I wouldn’t put it past some of these people to redirect their ire towards me for Lin’s ‘good fortune.’

Thankfully, that didn't seem to happen. After Lin and the other two moved past the arch into the restricted section of the hall, things seemed to go back to normal.

I still had a long wait ahead of me, and Lin’s rushed warnings did make me a bit anxious. But, as long as I kept to myself and was polite if I couldn’t manage that, nothing bad should happen. Lin and Jianfeng would be back soon, I would sign up, and then we could leave. Probably get something to eat while we read through the bestiaries and plan out a hunting trip.

Everything was going to be fine.