He Yu’s eyes snapped open. His heart skipped, and his cultivation base trembled. The spirit before him looked human enough. She had the face of a woman in her early twenties—although one could never be certain with a spirit that strong. Her nose hovered only a few inches from his own. An amused and slightly smug grin played across her lips. Brilliant seafoam green eyes swirled with subtle, shifting currents. Spirit or not, she was easily the most beautiful person he’d ever seen.

“So somebody is home in there,” she said as she stood up from crouching in front of him. Her voice carried the sound of a tumbling brook beneath her words.

Her movements were unnaturally graceful as she shifted her weight and folded her hands at her waist and tucked them into the sleeves of her gown. She moved with a fluidity that He Yu found more than a bit unnerving. A noticeable coolness, and the sensation of mist hung about her. As though he stood at the base of a waterfall rather than under a tree. He Yu swallowed as he sat before the newcomer, all but certain she was some kind of natural spirit of the forest or a nearby lake.

“Perhaps I was mistaken,” she said, halfway to herself. “Surely if somebody lived inside that head, that somebody would have said something by now.”

From his seated position, He Yu cupped a fist in his palm and bowed as best he was able. “Apologies, great spirit. This one hadn’t felt your approach. A humble mortal meant no offense, especially to a being as ancient and wise as yourself.” It was always best to flatter natural spirits. Especially the strong ones.

The spirit laughed, a sound like running water or gently pattering rain on roof tiles. It only further cemented his conviction that a true spirit stood before him. For some unfathomable reason.

“You give me face, young man. However, I am no ancient. Merely one who walks the Way. I’ve been told there’s a town nearby. Might you be able to direct me?”

Despite the warmth of the summer afternoon, He Yu’s blood ran cold. This was so much worse than a natural spirit. If this woman had spoken true, she would have to be a powerful immortal. He’d no reason to doubt that she was. The unnatural sensations surrounding her should have been his first clue.

Spirits acted in accord with their nature and could thus be easily appeased. By contrast, immortals were capricious and unpredictable. Any slight—real or perceived—and she would obliterate him. The entire town of Shulin would quickly follow. As dangerous as a spirit would have been, this was so much worse.

“So you’re just a traveler then?” he asked before he could help himself and mentally kicked himself for doing so. He knew better than to risk offending an immortal, but it had always been a poor habit of his, blurting out the first thing that came to his mind. That he was more afraid than he’d ever been in his life apparently wasn’t enough to keep him from doing it even now. It would be just his luck that this would be the thing that got him killed. Right when he’d finally gotten the one thing he needed to join Dong Wei’s school, too.

Much to his relief, the woman gave another soft laugh before she answered. “Indeed. What else did you think I might have been?”

He Yu answered her frankness in kind. “A natural spirit of these lands. Perhaps the sovereign of a river or lake.”

To his credit, she certainly didn’t look like any sort of traveler he’d ever seen. Her fine silk gown, a pale blue affair with patterns of crashing waves at the hems and sleeves, looked as though it had just been made. Her hair was likewise immaculate, held back by an ornate hairpin, with not a single strand out of place. Nor was her jade-like skin marred by a single speck of dirt. She looked more a noble lady than a humble traveler. But if she was an immortal, how else would she look?

“A lake spirit? No, I am a woman of flesh and blood. I’d have thought you’d recognize a fellow Daoist. Seeing as you walk the Way yourself.”

“Oh, not at all,” He Yu said quickly, giving another awkward bow. “I’m just a novice, especially compared to one such as you.” It was always best to stroke an unfamiliar cultivator’s ego, even if they seemed kind.

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The woman gave a dismissive flick of her sleeve. “Stop with the flattery,” she said, but not unkindly. “I find it tiring and have to put up with far too much of it back at the sect. Stop groveling and stand up.”

“What sect?” he asked as he stood, dusting off his pants. Of course, there was only one sect she could be referring to.

“The Shrouded Peaks Sect,” she said. “Surely you’ve heard of us?”

He had. “Is it like the school Master Dong Wei runs here in Shulin?” It was the only real point of reference he had, although he knew the Shrouded Peaks Sect was known throughout the whole Dragon Empire.

The woman’s expression darkened. “Something like that.” The break in her genial manner was gone almost as soon as He Yu had noticed it, as her smile returned. “So are you one of this Master Dong Wei’s students?” There was a hint of something less than kind in her voice though, but it was so brief He Yu thought he likely imagined it.

“No,” He Yu admitted. “He won’t teach me.”

She nodded, almost as though she’d expected the answer. Then, she asked, “Why not?”

“He says I’m too weak.” It was a shameful thing to say aloud, but he couldn’t deny that it was true.

“Too weak?” she asked. “Your cultivation base is as one would expect of an early First Realm. No worse off than anyone else who has just awakened to Qi Gathering. Weak in the grand scheme of things, yes, but typical for your advancement.”

He Yu looked down before answering her. “I’m not very strong. Even most of the girls in town are stronger than I am.” Surely she could see for herself that he was small for his age—short and slight of build, both. He’d never been able to decide which was worse.

The woman laughed when she heard that. It was the same laugh as before, full of mirth and lacking any trace of mockery.

“What’s so funny?” He Yu asked, still looking down and sounding very sullen to his own ears.

“First, tell me your name, young man.”

“He Yu,” he answered. “My father is the town blacksmith, He Gang.”

“Well met, He Yu. I am called Zhang Lifen, and I represent the Shrouded Peaks Sect.”

“You still haven’t told me why you laughed at me,” he said, finally looking up. He fully expected to see the same sort of thing he’d gotten used to from the people of Shulin. Mockery, derision, or perhaps pity, if the person before him were particularly kind. What he saw instead caught him a bit off guard.

Her smile was kind now, and somehow more genuine than it had been before. “I laugh because Dong Wei is a fool if he won’t teach you. As I said, your spirit is no different than anyone else of the First Realm.”

“You already said that,” he half mumbled.

“You were cultivating here in the woods outside your town’s boundary stones, absorbing qi into your dantian before I interrupted you, were you not? Making use of the spirit root you’d found. I saw your battle with that beast, by the way. Good show.”

He Yu couldn’t tell if she was mocking him or not. “I was,” he said, still unsure of what she was getting at. Anyone of her advancement, whatever it was, would have been able to do as much as he had. That, and more.

“Well then, you’ve already set your feet upon your Way. Just as I’d said.”

“So?” he asked, still sullen. “That doesn’t change the fact that my spirit and body are both too weak to be a real cultivator. Otherwise, Master Dong Wei would have accepted me into his school by now.”

“At its simplest,” Zhang Lifen said, “cultivation is aligning yourself ever closer with the nature of your Way. As you ascend through the realms of cultivation, your nature exerts greater influence not only on the world around you but on your own self.” He Yu decided to take her at her word. Who was he to debate the nature of such things with an immortal?

“True,” she continued, “you may have a touch more difficulty reaching the Foundation stage than your peers, but beyond that? Once you’ve left Qi Gathering behind you, any physical weakness you began with ceases to be of any real consequence.”

“Why wouldn’t he teach me then?” He Yu asked. It was the only thing that came to mind. Up until mere seconds ago, he’d always believed he’d be destined to remain more or less where he’d been his entire life. Of course, he’d never been about to let that stop him from trying.

Zhang Lifen shrugged. “Who knows? I’d take anything he says about cultivation with heaping of doubt. He’s not particularly skilled, you know. Hardly a master, if you ask me.”

“A master like you?” He Yu asked.

She laughed again. “I think I like you, He Yu. As much as it swells my pride to be called such, I cannot claim anything of the sort. While I stand at the peak of the Fourth Realm and have earned a place as a core disciple of my sect, my own master is of the Eighth.”

He Yu simply stared at her. Fourth Realm meant that she’d formed her Golden Core. That was impressive enough as only the most talented were said to be capable of that, but the Eighth Realm? Cultivators of the Eighth Realm only existed in legend as far as he was concerned.

“Shut your mouth before you catch a fly,” Zhang Lifen teased. “Now, I believe you were supposed to guide me to the nearby village. You should introduce me to this Dong Wei fellow, as well. I should like to have a chat with him.”