Chen Fei struck the boulder before her, shouting the name of a single formation character. The character she’d spoken flared at the point of impact, as though it had been painted upon the world in silver light by a master calligrapher. It persisted for an instant before fading, but it achieved its intended effect. The boulder crumbled, her mountain-aligned qi fueling the power of the formation character.
“You don’t need to shout it,” came the rumble of Ren Huang’s voice from behind her.
Turning and saluting him, she said “This disciple offers her apologies, Senior Brother Ren.”
“If you shout, your enemy will know your intent. Hold the character in your mind, and place it upon the world at the moment of impact.”
It had shocked her when she first learned that not only was Ren Huang a master of formation scripts but that he also had some passing familiarity with her family art, the Seventy-Two Blessed Symbols. Or at least arts similar enough to it. He’d laughed when she told him as much, claiming that her arts weren’t so rare that he’d never heard of the like. Anyone skilled at formations would be familiar with such techniques. Incorporating formation scripts into martial techniques—even a single character—was difficult and seldom worth the effort, however. Thus, it remained something most tended not to bother with.
That conversation had occurred at their first training lesson. She’d won that lesson by collecting the highest amount of wood spirit cores along with Tan Xiaoling in the competition the day before the end of the truce. It had seen her doing much the same as she was doing today—punching boulders at Senior Brother Ren’s instruction.
The second lesson had come at his invitation but had an undisclosed price attached to it. When she expressed her concerns that she might not be capable of paying for Senior Brother Ren’s services—or living up to his expectations—to Tan Xiaoling, her housemate had just laughed. Ren Huang was a core disciple, she’d said, and knew well what Chen Fei’s capabilities were, both with regards to payment and what he would demand from her training.
Ren Huang looked to the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to set. “Our time is up for today.”
Chen Fei saluted him once again. “When will this disciple be expected to pay for the lessons?”
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“Now,” he said. With a flick of his fingers, a bamboo scroll appeared to hover before her.
She unrolled the scroll and read it. “I can’t do this!” she half shouted in protest.
“I disagree,” Ren Huang countered. “But, should you need to gain strength, the mountain’s bounty will sustain you while you cultivate.”
“What—”
“I’ve already adjusted the scripts around the outer sect. You will not be able to return until this task is complete.” Without further explanation, he took a single step and was among the treetops. He was gone an instant later.
Chen Fei stared at the scroll in disbelief. An awakened bear had made its home nearby. It was at the peak of the Second Realm, and if allowed to hibernate for the winter it would surely advance. Come spring, it would threaten the outer sect disciples who ventured out to gather materials or train in the area. She was to dispose of it.
She wanted to scream. The sound she made instead was more of a pathetic whine. This was so unfair. Sure, the Seventy-Two Blessed Symbols art was well suited to dealing with awakened beasts, being rooted in the use of formation characters. But she wasn’t suited for this task. There were other disciples who would be so much better at it. Tan Xiaoling, for example. She was everything Chen Fei wasn’t. Strong, capable, and possessed of an unflinching confidence in herself. Someone like Tan Xiaoling wouldn’t balk at an assignment like this. She was the kind of person Chen Fei was expected to be. The kind of person she was supposed to be.
Allowing her shoulders to slump, Chen Fei heaved a sigh and scuffed at the dirt. Well, if she was stuck up here until she dealt with the beast, she may as well settle in. Using the technique she’d spent the day practicing, she set about felling nearby trees. She would need shelter, and she didn’t know of any caves that she could use nearby. She’d built similar enough shelters back home, after all.
Senior Brother Ren had been right about one thing—the mountain would sustain her. She honestly felt more at home right now than she ever had since arriving at the Shrouded Peaks Sect. Her whole life had been spent in the mountains before now, and one set of peaks was much like any other. More importantly, this high above the ever-present mists she could feel the abundance of mountain qi. The other aspects that clung to the lower slopes were far less present here, so she may even be able to finally break into the middle Foundation stage up here. She was well aware that her advancement hadn’t progressed at nearly the pace it needed to since she’d arrived. One quarter of the year she’d had to reach Body Refining was already gone, and she’d not even advanced a single stage.
As she set about to splitting logs with precise strikes supported by her Seventy-Two Blessed Symbols Art, her thoughts returned again to the unfairness of all this. Why would Senior Brother Ren task a weak and cowardly disciple with hunting an awakened bear? By the time she’d finished building her shelter, the sun had already dipped behind the western peaks. Chen Fei lit a small fire, although she had little need for the extra warmth. With her shelter built, she settled in to cultivate before sleeping in her bed of pine boughs.