When He Yu returned home, he was so lost in thought he didn’t notice Li Heng in the courtyard until he nearly crashed into him. It was well past the time they typically met for their evening spar so it shouldn’t have caught him off guard that Li Heng had begun without him. He’d just been far too inside his head to think about much else on his way back.
The noble returned his sword to his storage treasure and then beckoned He Yu to follow him into the main room. While Li Heng prepared tea for them, He Yu remained lost in his thoughts. The meeting hadn’t gone poorly. Quite the opposite, in fact. He’d come out of it with two arts, picked by a sect elder specifically for him. What bothered him about it were the allusions to outside forces and the implication that He Yu was somehow meant to be… well, he didn’t know what. He was just a First Realm cultivator. Not even at the late stage yet. How was he supposed to matter in any way at all?
“That’s a face if I’ve ever seen one,” Li Heng said. The tea was done, and Li Heng was busy in the process of serving it, something he was much better at than He Yu.
“Sorry,” he said again. “I just have a lot on my mind is all.”
“If you want to talk,” Li Heng began, leaving the door wide open. Over their months of living together, Li Heng had become rather adept at knowing when to press He Yu, and when to simply leave an invitation.
“What’s been going on in the empire? Like with politics?” he asked.
Li Heng blinked. “Not what I’d expected,” he said, “but I suppose you’d have to take notice sooner or later.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The comment had caught him off guard. He’d been expecting a simple explanation about whatever it was nobles got up to when they weren’t cultivating. An explanation that would most likely bore him, and provide no insights into what Elder Cai had said.
“Well, if you make it into the inner sect and form your Golden Core, you’ll invariably be drawn into imperial politics. That assumes you don’t choose to live out the entirety of your immortal lifespan in the sect, of course. Rogue cultivators are tolerated, but only to an extent. Even if you spent a thousand years cultivating in a cave or on a mountaintop somewhere, once you come back to the world at large, imperial politics would find you whether you liked it or not.” When He Yu didn’t respond, Li Heng asked, “so what prompted this, anyway?”
He Yu couldn’t decide how much he wanted to tell Li Heng. Nothing that Elder Cai had said seemed like it had been meant in confidence, though. He couldn’t imagine that a sect elder would entrust an outer disciple with any real secrets anyway. After some consideration, he failed to find any reason to dissemble.
“I had a run-in with a sect elder at the manual pavilion,” he said. “He gave me some arts to cultivate and made a couple of vague mentions about things in the sect and the empire moving. Just trying to figure out what exactly he meant by all that.”
Li Heng gave a thoughtful hum and tapped his chin before answering. “I suppose the sect elders would take a longer view of things. I hadn’t given it much thought, but it does seem like the various fractures among the noble clans have been growing over the past couple of generations. Things have been stable for hundreds of years, so I guess it was bound to happen eventually. The empire long united, as they say.”
While he’d never heard that specific turn of phrase before, He Yu could at least get the thrust of Li Heng’s comment. “Is that why you’re here then?” he asked.
After a nod to indicate the affirmative, Li Heng asked, “What do you know of the situation at the border?”
Not much, if he were honest. Li Heng told him that his father, General Li Bao held the Western Passage for the emperor. Since coming to the sect he’d managed to pick up a few more tidbits about the empire’s political landscape and had learned of the Western Passage’s importance. It was a small, relatively flat region situated between the mountain ranges that served as the empire’s western and northern borders. While either of the border mountains had numerous passes that allowed traversal during the warmer parts of the year, the Western Passage was an obvious point of weakness in the empire’s natural defenses.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Once He Yu had relayed his knowledge of the region’s geography, Li Heng nodded again. “That makes the appointment a coveted one. To complicate things for my family in particular, the Li only rose to prominence in my grandfather’s time. He earned his appointment as the General of the West when he reached Nascent Soul and was granted his appointment as Marquis upon reaching the Sixth Realm. When my father also attained Soul Refining, my grandfather stepped down as outer head of the family and secluded himself in cultivation. He has since advanced to the Seventh Realm. We are a young family with few advanced cultivators, so our position isn’t the most stable. To answer your question, then, I am here in the south to hopefully gain allies.”
“Why not attend one of the sects closer to your home?” He Yu asked. It seemed the more sensible option to him.
“Because our enemies are all in the northwest.”
“Is that why you were so distrustful of Tan Xiaoling at first?” He knew roughly that the Jade Kingdom lay on the far side of the Western Passage, hugging the southern edge of the great desert beyond.
“In a sense. The Jade Kingdom has its own cultivation traditions, and Princess Tan surely has access to resources at least equal to those of the Shrouded Peaks Sect. I can’t see any reason for her to leave home simply to train. I assumed she was here to collect allies since her own situation is even more precarious than mine.
“Despite having no brothers or sisters of her own, her father hasn’t named her as his heir. She needs allies even more than I do, but the Jade Kingdom typically looks inward in such matters. Since getting to know her better, it doesn’t seem as though she’s particularly interested in forming political relationships. I could only guess as to what she’s doing so far from home.”
“I don’t get it,” He Yu muttered.
Li Heng gave a noncommittal shrug. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you. You’ve got a long way to go before imperial politics will try and rope you in. Besides, whatever this elder has in store for you, I wouldn’t worry about it right now. There’s little you could do about it anyway. Tell me about the arts.” He Yu first produced the manual containing the Five Crescent Winds. Li Heng looked it over and gave an approving nod. “Good choice, but I’d expect no less from an elder. You’ll be able to take this art far, especially if you cultivate complementary techniques.”
“That’s what Elder Cai said.” He shouldn’t have been surprised that Li Heng could tell so much about the art with just a glance. That was just the advantage of having not only higher cultivation, but the advanced tutoring the noble had no doubt received during his younger years.
“Elder Cai?” Li Heng asked, arching an eyebrow. “That’s who gave you these arts?”
“You know him?”
“I know of him. My family keeps extensive historical records. Grandfather says it’s important we know the capabilities of notable cultivators within the empire.”
“Here,” He Yu said, pulling out the jade slip containing the Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace. “This is the second one he gave me.”
After a few moments, Li Heng put down the slip. “This is quite the art,” he said. “I can hardly make sense of it past its foundational technique, which appears to just be a cultivation technique. A complicated one, however, with some other aspects I can’t quite discern. It will be difficult to master.”
A pit formed in He Yu’s stomach at that response. “Elder Cai said something to that effect. What did it say?”
Li Heng shook his head. “It’s best if you find out for yourself. Once you reach the Second Realm, you’ll be able to comprehend the slip’s contents.”
The jade slip lay between them, softly reflecting the lantern light. He Yu considered it for a moment. Li Heng seemed a bit unsettled by what he’d seen in the art. It seemed a little unfair that he wouldn’t share what he’d learned. “Elder Cai also said this art would take me to the heights of cultivation.”
Li Heng gave a sharp laugh. "Did he? I suppose that’s assuming you can manage it. I’ll keep my family art if it’s just the same. It’s good enough for my father and grandfather, after all. By the time I climb as high as them, I’ll have the necessary insights to improve it if I need to.”
A small stab of envy stuck He Yu with that comment. The idea that he could simply improve an art passed on to him from a Seventh Realm ancestor seemed so far out of reach. But Li Heng had been so casual about it. It was just one more difference between them. “I suppose I’d better get to work,” He Yu sighed. “Elder Cai said I can’t begin cultivating the Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace until I reach Foundation. I’m not even at late Qi Gathering yet.”
“About that,” Li Heng said, the corners of his mouth quirking into a grin.
He Yu perked up. “Don’t tell me, you found a pill that will take me to the peak of the First Realm, and you want to give it to me?”
“No,” he answered with a laugh. “I think I have a bit of a plan though. First, you need to learn how to properly use that guandao of yours. Get a tutor, and cultivate the Five Crescent Winds. We’ll have to wait for the end of the truce anyway.”
It wasn’t exactly the answer he’d hoped for, but it was something. Given that he hadn’t had to pay for the manuals Elder Cai had chosen for him, he was far less opposed to the idea of hiring a sect tutor now. At least now he was finally making real steps along his Way.