Tian Mingyun turned over to see who was touching his shoulder. It turned out to be the girl that she had fought fiercely in the arena with. His injuries had all mostly healed thanks to him breaking into a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator, but the claw marks all over the girl's face still remained. He was about to bow and apologize before she stopped him and spoke.
"Oh come on, we were in a fight. This much is nothing compared to other beating I had gotten. Well, I can not even be mad since I am here to ask you for a favor... I can not read, you see... So..." She had been asked many favors before and always strived to do what others asked, yet she was not talented at asking for favors.
Tian Mingyun understood her intentions without the need for her to finish her sentence and looked over at his group: Hou Yun, Yanku Zhimei, Huoli Jingzi, and Huoli Yue. They would do, for now, he felt safer knowing he was not alone, perhaps he had become too spoiled with making friends after gaining speech. He sent off his friends out of the First Step Pavilion ahead of himself and moved to aid Qin Fen.
It seemed that İnstructor Fei did not see much in Qin Fen and did not even bother giving her advice on what to Cultivate. Tian Mingyun, despite being merely 10 years old, was now burdened with making such a crucial decision for someone. Neither of them knew the weight of this action in the Cultivation culture, but picking out what someone else should Cultivate was a matter no smaller than trying to describe the other person's past and future. This was no act that should have been left to a 10 year old.
Tian Mingyun decided he should learn a bit about Qin Fen before he made a decision, so they talked as they walked.
"So, what do you think you have an inclination for? I used the hints and descriptions of the other four and the guidance of Instructor Fei to decide on the books for others."
Qin Fen thought for a fair while. Whenever she looked back on her life, it was beatings, labor, starvation, and more labor. She had no clear understanding of her own positives or negatives, this was even the first time she was trying to describe herself.
"I guess... I work hard. I have been toiling away for as long as I remember... I would much rather just get married to some rich guy as his fifth wife or whatever and do housework rather than Cultivate. This whole thing feels so tiresome... I feel like they will just make us work harder if we even succeed." What she did was voice her concerns, more so than describe herself.
Tian Mingyun did not dare correct her or poke deeper. This girl named Qin Fen was younger than Yanku Zhimei, yet her hands were already as callous as hers, if not more so. Tian Mingyun knew that Cultivation was no easy task and one could not hope to achieve it without desiring it. He could guess that those who did not make the cut after 3 months would likely end up as those white clothed and exhausted looking slaves working day and night. He wanted to spare this girl who had already lived such a life from living it even further.
"Look... If you wish to one day live while doing what you want, and have others serve you tea and wash your clothes like those Noble Ladies back in the Yellow Leaf City, then you have to Cultivate. It is hard work, but you will always remain a slave if you can not pull through." Tian Mingyun was doing his best to encourage her, fearing that her life would only be full of suffering if she could not rise higher.
Tian Mingyun could understand Qin Fen. He was a mute cripple with no power not so long ago, if he was lucky enough to find a Cultivation Technique Book and cure himself, then this girl at least deserved such a chance too.
"You... You speak pretty well for a little boy. Is it from reading books that you learned to speak like that?" She wiped off her tears, trying to embrace the hope that she might live a day without toiling in the future, the hope that she had forsaken long ago.
"This Qin Fen promises you this, teach me how to Cultivate and how to read, and I shall pay my debt for the rest of my life! Give me the chance to stand up for myself, and I will stand up for you as well." She was sincere, this was the first time anyone had extended a helping hand to her, despite her having tried to beat him so fiercely just a couple of days ago.
Tian Mingyun accepted her sincerity and looked for a proper book for her among the books on the shelves by skimming through their contents as he kept listening to her talk about herself.
"I think I have always had a talent for being fierce. You know, like never staying down no matter how much I am pushed down. I got beaten a lot because of that too... Also, I guess things don't really get to me. I had a lot of gross stuff happen to me. You know what I mean, right? But I never really wanted to kill myself like the other girls. Some even bit their tongues off and choked on them because they were tied up." Qin Fen let out a deep sigh as if decades of stress had been piling up in her life that was not even a couple of decades long yet.
"I hate it too when disgusting men do stuff like that. But I just think 'So this is what I suffer for today'. I would much rather kill them if I could do so, not myself. So when I saw the other girls do it, I did not scream like the others but instead just thought 'You could have bitten off their necks instead of your own tongue'. I know it is wrong, they probably killed themselves because they could not handle how horrible it felt... But I feel like it is the easy way out to want to die. However difficult it gets, you should toil away and try to live." She was pouring her heart out. This was the first chance she ever had to vent, so she was just using it.
Tian Mingyun found a Cultivation Technique Book he thought would be perfect after listening to Qin Fen. He made no comments because he knew how overbearing it was for someone to try and live through where others would wish for death. He crawled out of that pit of death and decay, so he knew that Qin Fen was likely the kind of person to crawl out of there as well. He wanted to give her the best chance to climb higher and survive, no matter how difficult the path ahead may be.
"This is the Cinder Caterpillar Cultivation Technique. From what I gathered by reading it, it is a Yuan energy focused Cultivation Technique. It aims to make your breakthroughs in the Body Refinement Realms easier, but you will one day have to find a new Cultivation Technique once in the Qi Condensation Realm or find the other parts of this book, the Cinder Cocoon Cultivation Technique, and the Brilliant Cinder Butterfly Immortal Cultivation Technique. I think this is not even one tenth of the proper Cultivation Technique with all three books and they do not have the others at all. But, this will be a great benefit for you since you will be able to recover faster from injuries as well, though at the cost of painfully molting." Tian Mingyun did not sugarcoat it.
Tian Mingyun knew that this was far from ideal, the Venom of Ascension was complete and had the path paved up to the Divine Illumination Realm if one was stubborn and talented enough to see it through. But this Cultivation Technique simply lacked any guidance after making one reach the Qi Condensation Realm. It was still unlikely someone would ever reach such a high realm since even the mightiest Cultivator back in Yellow Leaf City was an extremely old Noble at the Organ Refinement Realm.
Regardless, it was still important how high the peak of a valley was, for someone climbing a mountain would likely reach higher than the peak of a valley, even if he never made it to the peak of the mountain. Yet, Qin Fen seemed content.
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"I don't care if I have to peel my skin off every single night! If I can really Cultivate and recover so fast, I am willing to endure some pain!" She happily clasped Tian Mingyun's hands.
Tian Mingyun then read the book to her, promising to do so once every two days at sunset until she could memorize it, then handed it over to her for her to practice the poses drawn on the pages on her own time.
The day had been long and exhausting for Tian Mingyun, but it was yet to end, Instructor Fei escorted all of the kids, now with a Cultivation Technique Book in each of their hands, and kept explaining some rules.
"You are to never harm a book, you are to turn them in once your three months are due. You are to remain within the stone wall borders of the Respite Caves. Any fighting or loud noise outside of practicing your martial arts will result in execution on the spot. Now, wear your gray robes and go to Respite Caves, the food will be delivered to you twice a day, and you may wash yourself in front of the well at the center of the Respite Caves' entrance." Instructor Fei seemed impatient to be done with the tedious task of explaining the rules to kids.
Tian Mingyun sensed his annoyance and bowed while tightly hugging the Vital Thread Cultivation Technique Book.
"I am once again grateful for Instructor Fei's generous advice. I hope to make progress with my Cultivation within these three months, so that I may be worth your effort of teaching and guiding me today." Tian Mingyun learned manners and flattery from books, so his words sounded far too grand yet sincere for the rather casual situation.
Knowing Tian Mingyun's intent by now, his friends also bowed, Qin Fen's being the slowest on the catch but bowing deeper to make up for it.
Instructor Fei was usually very upset around this time every season, newly purchased kids had no manners and he was not allowed to use violence to discipline them. This was a rule to prevent injury before allowing them to Cultivate for three months to see their worth. However, Instructor Fei was finally getting proper respect from such greenhorns. He could not contain his proud and satisfied smile and tried to cover it by caressing his thin and long facial hair.
"Ahem... For having such good manners. I will give you an additional piece of advice. These caves are not all natural, some used to be small mines of iron and Firefly Ore. So, settle into the scentless caves. The ones that smell like iron are full of rust, and the ones that are slightly pungent have Firefly Ore. Firefly Ore is dangerous when wet." Instructor Fei did not speak further, but he would make a small exception and make it so these kids were given some more boiled rice and oatmeal than others.
Hou Yun patted Tian Mingyun in the back, he understood that grouping up with Tian Mingyun would make their survival here easier. However, it seemed that one could make enemies by bowing as well. Hou Yun noticed how fiercely a long haired boy with a claw scar across his chest was looking at Tian Mingyun.
While some looked at him with gratitude or anger, Tian Mingyun was busy trying not to look excited. Firefly Ore. He needed it. He had to find a cave with one and settle there as soon as possible. He could not miss such a chance. It was not the only thing he needed, but it was the main component for the Second Venom: Black Coffin Veil.
Yanku Zhimei was the only one who could notice his excitement, so she hesitantly approached him and asked.
"What are you so excited about? Need any help?" She asked out of care. She knew that even if she gave Tian Mingyun land and a house, she could not pay him back for handpicking the Bride of the Stormy Wedding Cultivations Technique. So she at least wanted to ease her heart by doing favors for Tian Mingyun.
Tian Mingyun decided that Yanku Zhimei and the others were worth his trust. He gathered them to one side and spoke as all the kids walked to pick up their gray robes.
"I have to be in a cave with Firefly Ore. The rest of you should avoid it. Brother Hou Yun, you should go into a cave filled with iron. This will aid you greatly once you manage Circulation and properly start Cultivation." Tian Mingyun did not go into much detail, but they did not question it.
Despite being the youngest, due to him being a learned boy and already a Cultivator, they had no reason to question his say. But Hou Yun still asked out of curiosity.
"But why should I go into a cave that used to be an iron mine? How is that going to help me?" He was asking to learn, not to doubt.
"Brother Hou Yun, Jin energy is the energy of metal. Iron is the most basic of metals. If I understood correctly from reading those books, being surrounded by iron also means being surrounded by Jin energy. Of course, it is probably not a lot of it, but it should help you regardless." Tian Mingyun was not certain, but he was not clueless either. Hou Yun thankfully nodded.
When everyone eventually received and wore their gray robes, some looked better than others. Tian Mingyun looked ordinary and tiny, unable to fill in his robes. He was like a child wearing his older brother's clothes.
Yanku Zhimei looked agile and sharp, as she used gray bandages to tighten the robe's sleeves and tore open its skirt part from the middle, and tied each side to one leg with bandages. Her waist and hips were the same. She was basically turning her robes into a skin-tight suit that she was used to, though the shoes felt rather cheap and uncomfortable and she could not help herself in that regard.
Hou Yun seemed handsome and imposing since his muscles and wide shoulders easily filled in the robes and he folded his sleeves in to not have too many places to be grabbed from. He was still a wrestler, he detested sleeves that could be used to grab onto him so easily.
Huoli Jingzi was the most casual about it, wearing the robes as is.
Huoli Yue was the most over the top. Her figure was impressive already, so she just wrapped a piece of bandage around her waist to show off how slim it was and to make it obvious how wide her hips were. However, her boldest choice was showing her bosom by not properly closing the top part of her robes. Girls and boys were given the same clothing here, but she made sure to show herself off properly. Even picking out a violet colored flower from a bush and placing it in her vibrant hair. The only reason why all the boys were not fawning over her was due to the large and visible scar on her face that she did not bother to hide.
It was not a mere cut or wound. The scar on Huoli Yue's face was disfiguring enough to make it so that one side of her face was deep red and looked slightly like a burnt corpse. The other side being beautiful was not cause enough for most people to call her pretty. Her brother Huoli Jingzi alone seemed to be comfortable with her looks and helped her free the back of her hair from her robes and combed it with his fingers.
Yanku Zhimei could not help but be upset after seeing such a scene. It so bitterly reminded her of Shupi Juren. She still wondered if he was doing alright, or if they would ever even see each other again.
Tian Mingyun was not too connected to Huo Lan, he also knew her innate strength. He held no worries. He was instead racking his brains to figure out how this Sect worked, how he could survive here, and what he had to do to prepare the Second Venom: Black Coffin Veil.
Yet, he was too distracted to see the hatred against him and his group brewing among some of the other kids.