A figure slowly made its way up a seemingly endless flight of stairs, garbed in the blues and violets that marked it as an inner disciple of the Golden Peak sect.

Shoulder length pale brown hair fluttered freely in the chilly morning breeze, causing two emerald orbs sitting upon a young, handsome face to narrow in annoyance as strands of almost beige filament curled around the contours of its face.

Yu Xiang picked at his out of control mane, cursing himself for forgetting to bring a pin or even just some string to tie it back.

In a fit of pique, he even briefly contemplated cutting it all off but quickly sighed explosively to loosen the tension building inside of his body. It had taken him years to get his hair just right, just long enough to look majestic, something that most other cultivators seemed to agree with as long hair was pretty common for both men and women here, but not so long that they would get in the way, most of the time.

It would be a shame to ruin all of his stylistic work just because of a single tantrum.

But his wild hair wasn’t the real reason he was so high strung today, no, he was simply nervous. Who wouldn’t be in his position?

He had just been personally summoned to one of the upper plateaus by the young patriarch, the heir of the entire Golden Peak sect, who was also technically his childhood teacher? For, like, less than a year, but still… Anyway, Yu Xiang was fairly confident his slight bout of nervousness was entirely justified.

After all, he had no idea why exactly he’d been called over, hell, if he’d been a normal kid at the time of his stay at the sect’s nursery he wouldn't even be aware that one of his caretakers was the sect’s heir.

Not like the man had concealed that little tidbit of information all that well outside of simply never mentioning it to him and the other children, but Yu Xiang had eyes, he could see how the other caretakers treated him with deference, and it had been a piece of cake to get a description of the Golden Prince out of some attendant that had readily answered his curiosity without knowing that the young patriarch had been a caretaker before.

Then again, would he have even caught Guan Hui Chen’s eye if he’d been just another kid left alone after his parents died? Probably not.

Yu Xiang tried to bring back to mind those long gone days, in a vain hope of calming his fraying nerves, which surprisingly enough actually worked.

His reaction to being first taught how to gather spiritual energy without a spiritual sense to create a foundation stood tall and indelible in his mind, a surprisingly simple affair that he was done with in a month but which took his so called ‘peers’ years to get down properly, which also left the young reincarnator almost four whole years to shore up his foundations and acclimatize himself to the workings of chi. The perks of being born with an old soul, he smiled to himself.

The green eyed cultivator clutched a wooden box in his right arm, pressing it against his side as if seeking some peace of mind from the one physical connection that tied him and the Golden Prince together.

It had certainly been an experience explaining to Lin Fen why exactly he’d been summoned by the sect’s heir of all people, which then led to him needing to finally reveal the small fact that the precious work of art of a gameboard that they had been using to play in their downtime was gifted to him by none other than the Golden Prince himself.

Which also meant, much to the young alchemists' shock, that the 'attendant' Yu Xiang had been mentioning all these years was the heir of their sect.

The silver haired beastfolk had almost coughed up a lung at the news, as the mouthful of tea he'd been enjoying at the time went down the wrong pipe.

Coupled with the comedically flabbergasted face Lin had made once he'd gotten his breathing back under control Yu couldn't help but let out a laugh, his years long gambit having finally reached fruition.

Not even the table that was subsequently lifted up into the air and broken on his back managed to stop his mirth.

As he immersed himself in these and more happy memories Yu Xiang kept ascending the mountain one step at a time. The spiritual energy rose alongside the peak's height, although the difference wasn't as large as that between the outer and inner compounds it was still surprising, Yu even briefly wondered what it would be like to stand at the highest point of the Golden Peak mountain.

The young reincarnator banished these stray thoughts from his mind as he finally reached the end of the long staircase, setting foot for the first time upon the upper plateaus which stood between the inner compound and the citadel that housed the sect's elders, core disciples, and the patriarch's family.

Unlike in the inner compound, there were only a handful of buildings standing upon this land, but what they lacked in number they more than made up for in scale.

For unlike down below there were no shops or libraries, only the residences of powerful inner disciples. Enormous villas rose towards the heavens, surrounded on all sides by exquisite gardens perfectly curated by no doubt dozens of gardeners.

Who else aside from the young patriarch could afford to live here? Yu Xiang had no idea, and frankly, he didn't actually care all that much, so he simply followed the directions left in his invitation until he reached his destination.

The green eyed cultivator walked down a road paved with multi colored tiles, a riot of warm colors that led towards an imposing set of double doors.

Yu Xiang gulped loudly as he neared the entrance to his old benefactor's residence, taking in the massive multi stories high mansion. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever was to come, then raised a closed fist to knock on the large door.

Before his knuckles could meet the wood of the door however the entrance swung open on its own, making Yu Xiang pitch forward and almost fall on his face as the solid obstruction he'd expected disappearing caused him to momentarily lose his balance.

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A man clad in the crimson robes of a core disciple revealed himself from behind the door, looking at the embarrassing gaffe committed by the inner disciple with an impassive gaze.

Yu Xiang coughed in his hand trying to hide his embarrassment, looking at the new guy in curiosity.

He looked fairly young for a core disciple, if he had to guess the young reincarnator would've put him as someone in his early twenties. He had short brown hair, with a light bluish tint that reminded Yu of the sea, and a pair of icy cyan eyes that exuded no emotion.

"The young master has been expecting you." The stoic core disciple broke the silence first, turning his back towards Yu Xiang and beckoning him forward with a wave of his hand. "I will take you to his meeting chambers."

With his piece said the older man strode forward with no hesitation.

Yu Xiang quickly followed him, taking the chance to observe the inside of the young patriarch's mansion, which were just as grand as its outside.

Something he had failed to notice with his first glance was that the red robed disciple had a weapon strapped to his left side. With another curious look, Yu realized it was a sword or a saber to be precise.

The young reincarnator was no weapon master so he could not tell the quality of the weapon with just a glance, but considering whose belt it was hanging from Yu could assume with almost total confidence that it was a high quality blade, and he briefly wondered if the man walking in front of him was some kind of swordmaster.

Hanging from his other side was something altogether different, something that immediately caught the inner disciple's attention and raised a deep feeling of envy.

A bag of holding. Or well, a spiritual sack, satchel, or whatever, but he'd first learned of the concept back in his previous life as an item from fantasy, so that was the first name his mind conjured.

Yu Xiang knew that every core disciple was given one upon rising to the rank and that only expert array formation masters were able to create them, which once again made him even more interested in learning the practice for himself. He just needed someone to at least teach him the basics as he didn't fancy learning from zero with no guidance and just a bunch of scrolls to keep him company. He was no bookworm, unlike his feline companion.

His jealous glances towards the stoic cultivator were cut short as the man stopped in front of another set of doors, these ones looking more human sized than the giant double doors that led into the villa.

The core disciple turned around swiftly. "The young master is waiting behind these doors, enter quickly, and don't cause him trouble unless you want to deal with me."

Had those words come from any other core disciple Yu Xiang might have felt some intimidation, but the man's words lacked any and all hostility, sounding more like a reminder than a real threat, so the green eyed cultivator took the warning at face value, taking a last steadying breath before he knocked on the door a single time and entered the room.

The so called meeting room didn't look like he'd expected it to. Yu Xiang had pictured some kind of cold hall set up to intimidate anyone called in but instead, he found a cozy, warm room with decorated walls and colorful rugs bringing the place to life.

"Come sit with me little Yu." A warm and inviting voice stole the young reincarnator's attention, leading his gaze towards the form of a man he hadn't seen in almost a decade.

Almost nothing had changed about him. His blonde hair was still just as long and majestic as ever, his amber eyes shined with amusement just like the last time he'd seen him, and his smile held the same fondness as back then, like someone meeting with a favored nephew after a long time.

Yu Xiang moved almost robotically, sinking his backside into a cushion that had been left for him in front of Hui Chen, while the young patriarch watched him with mounting amusement.

"I see you have brought my little gift with you." He noted conversationally, obviously trying to put Yu at ease. "Why don't we play a game? For old time's sake."

The green eyed cultivator could do nothing but agree with the other man's words, setting the board and pieces with swift and practiced movements that he'd performed hundreds of times before.

And with their game all set up, they began to play.

They played in complete silence, the only sound audible was that of the pieces scraping against the board.

Yu Xiang lost the first game.

Then the second.

And the third one too...

In the first place, Yu hadn't recreated the game of chess because he was good at it, or because he held any fond memories towards the game.

It was simple, easy to remember, and a clear connection to his life before this one. That was it.

He could have made some other games as well, but the young reincarnator had no intention of tainting this world with the friendship breaking, love souring, and family destroying presence of the cursed Monopoly.

He had never won a single game against Hui Chen, even when the man had first learned how to play, and it looked like that losing streak would not be broken today.

But in its own way, this familiar occurrence managed to calm Yu's mind, and after a couple of games, amiable chatter began filling the room.

"You sure have grown up a lot since I've last seen you, haven't you?"

"I see you haven't slacked in your cultivation. Good, good."

"I hope you've been making friends and didn't mono focus on your training all these years. You used to be such a lonely child..."

These and other pleasantries were spoken by the blonde cultivator, but even as they talked amiably Yu Xiang's curiosity couldn't help but grow. What had made the sect's heir want to invite him here?

Guan Hui Chen seemed to sense his feelings and beat him to the punch before he could ask his question. "You must be wondering why I summoned you, right?"

Yu nodded eagerly, ready to finally learn the man's motives.

The Golden Prince gave him a deprecating smile. "As much as I would like to tell you that this was merely a social call for the two of us to reconnect, there is indeed something more."

A slender hand reached into his crimson robes, pulling out a rolled up scroll that was then offered to the other cultivator.

"I have a mission for you." Explained the young patriarch. "You see, as the heir of our great sect, it is my responsibility to search and, let us say, snatch up any promising talents that catch my eye."

Yu's heart skipped a beat, an idea forming in his mind.

"But as much as I would like to welcome you in my group right now, that's simply not how things are done." The smile on the young heir's face turned almost apologetic.

"I understand perfectly." Yu reassured the other man as the idea took root in his brain.

"Thank you for understanding, but to make a long explanation short, I will need you to complete a mission for me before I can offer you my support." Hui Chen finally motioned towards the still sealed scroll in Yu's hands, who now quickly opened it and scanned it.

His face fell.

A genuine laugh escaped from the young patriarch's mouth as he witnessed his crestfallen expression.

'Try to make amends with Su Rong during an expedition?'

Why this of all things?

Once again, Hui Chen seemed to read his mind. "Our sect prides itself in the bonds of cooperation forged between our disciples, so I need you to embody this quality and at least try to make peace with this heated rival of yours." He said while a wide smile stretched his cheeks.

Yu Xiang perfectly understood his benefactor's words, and on some level even agreed with him, but he still couldn't help but let out a sigh of discontent.

Watching his reaction the Golden Prince smirked. "And once you return from this mission, you might just find out that our sect's array formation master is going to give a public lecture on the basics of his craft in the Hall of Knowledge."

Yu Xiang bowed deeply, with his hands held with a palm gripped around a closed fist in a cultivator's salute.

Yu Xiang was not going to let him down no matter what!

The young patriarch laughed openly once more at his reaction.