Jasmine sat on the roof of the Kaithist temple, looking toward liberation. The sun peeked above the horizon, casting its golden rays across a misty countryside. Immense limestone karsts—like great, mossy turtle shells—dotted the landscape. A verdant forest and abandoned rice patties stretched for miles all around . . .

All of that was beyond the stone-gray wall surrounding Tianhai, the territory she called home, where towns speckled the landscape, and fields for farming brimmed with life. The forest bordering the monastery had green trees sprinkled with pink flowers.

Her attention turned to the great wall. Tiny figures strode along the walkway. Soldiers. Men called to keep monsters out.

And keep us in.

Tianhai had been around for generations. But the wall was a new installation, built when her grandmother was a girl. No one but sect leaders, all of which had Greater Gold Cores, were allowed beyond the wall.

And one day, Jasmine thought to herself, you too will leave.

Just staring off into the sunlit horizon opened up her throat, making it feel like she could sing! If she was already in the Gold tier, she would have packed up and hiked out of here years ago.

Beyond the wall was limitless opportunity. She could go where she wanted, do what she wanted—and find someone who could help her reach far beyond Gold. With that kind of power, no one could tell her what to do. No one could control her. No one could hurt her or the ones she loved!

Cold chills climbed up her spine. She hugged herself, shivering. That was her future—a future she was heading towards, one step at a time. And right now, she needed to focus on her next step. Advancement.

She wasn’t even a Tin yet.

Gods above, she didn’t even have a spirit core.

Today, she was going to change that. Her attention turned to the community just beyond the forest of pink-petaled green trees. Buildings crafted of quartz sparkled in the sunlight. A rugged hill, like a tower made of stacked stones, was at the center of the sect. A multi-tiered pagoda sat atop the hill, glittering as beams of light shimmered through its glass surface. Golden clouds bobbed around the building, while turtles with transparent shells and feathery wings landed on one of its many roofs.

The Sect—and the School—of Rising Sun.

It was there, in that community, where she’d find the information she needed. But sneaking into the library, and nabbing a manual on cultivation, wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

At least, not anymore, with her being the talk of the monastery. Her fellow brothers and sisters would be keeping a sharp eye on her. But she had ways around their supervision . . .

“Jasmine!” A voice called. It echoed from somewhere over the edge of the roof. She frowned, cocking her head, raising an ear as if to hear better.

“Jasmine!”

She inched forward, then shifted to a kneeling position. She adjusted her headdress, making sure it was tight. Which it was, of course. When she dipped her head over the edge, she looked toward a wall with many windows. Everything was upside down, but even with the weird perspective, she spotted a woman rushing past one of the open windows. She was bald, wearing a green monastic robe with a white sash tied around her waist. “Jasmine!” the woman called, unaware that she was being spied upon.

Jasmine swung her legs over the edge, slid down, hung for a moment, then dropped to the next roof. Clay shingles creaked beneath her weight as she crept toward one of the windows, holding her hands out to either side.

There was a bonsai tree sitting on the windowsill, so she pushed it aside before climbing through the opening. She dropped to the jade flooring, which was cool against her bare feet.

“Aunt Kels!” Jasmine hissed, keeping her voice down, not wanting to attract unwanted attention

The woman started, then spun around. Her shocked expression melted to relief. “Jasmine.” She rushed over and wrapped Jasmine in an embrace. Her clothes smelled of cherry blossoms. “What are you doing up here?” Kels whispered, placing her hands on Jasmine’s shoulders, pushing her back. She studied her face with tan eyes—eyes that reminded Jasmine of her mother.

A small lump formed in her throat. “I . . .” She cleared her throat. “Just needed to be alone.”

“Your brothers and sisters were about to leave. When I didn’t see you in the group, I asked them to wait.” She bit her lip. “Jasmine. They’re nervous about taking you along.”

“As they should be.”

Aunt Kels folded her arms.

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“I’m just kidding! I’ll be—”

“This is serious, Jasmine. If you’re caught stealing again, and they imprison you or harm you, there’s nothing we can do to—” Her words caught, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Jasmine crossed her arms across her chest, looking away.

Kels took a calming breath. “I know you want to cultivate,” she whispered, placing a warm hand on Jasmine’s cheek. “But Jasmine . . . the Heavens have different plans for us.”

Jasmine refused to meet her aunt’s eyes. Why didn’t she understand? Didn’t she see the injustice surrounding her? The sects were led by men in power—men who used their authority to burden the weak and grind the faces of the poor. Even the soldiers, men who were called to protect their territory, treated women like toys and Tins like trash.

“Your place is here,” Kels continued, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“No. It’s not.”

Kels was silent. She was the only person Jasmine could be frank with. The others simply wouldn’t hear it.

“The others find purpose serving the Heavens,” Jasmine said. “I don’t.”

“But you can.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Kels pressed her lips together, eyes squinting sympathetically. She looked over her shoulder, toward a group of monks wearing robes of black and white. They were at the end of the hall, speaking quietly.

“Come,” Kels whispered to Jasmine, pulling her along as she started in the opposite direction of the monks. “You shouldn’t be here.” They were close to the abbot’s private quarters. The only way Jasmine had reached this place was by climbing the pagoda’s many roofs. She wasn’t allowed to merely wander up the stairs. Senior monks or nuns would have stopped her.

As they descended a flight of jade steps, passing paintings of ancient temples on high mountains, Kels continued. “Your group will be visiting the sect of Rising Sun today.”

“Will you be supervising?”

“No.”

Jasmine’s heart sank. If she wasn’t going to be doing it, then that meant—

“Youxia’s going to.”

Jasmine groaned.

They reached a landing, where two seniors—one dressed in white and one in black—were standing, heads bowed. As Kels and Jasmine passed by, they lifted their gazes. One frowned, but when she glanced at Kels’s white sash, she nodded her approval.

“Jasmine,” Kels said as the two of them started down another flight of stairs. The woman glanced over her shoulder before continuing with a whisper. “The High Council considers you a threat to the stability of peace. Someone informed me, just this morning, that they’re talking about restricting your freedom, keeping you here.”

“Honestly,” Jasmine said, biting off one of her nails. “I’m surprised they haven’t done that yet.” Then she quietly added, “And I kind of hope they do.”

“You wouldn’t want to live the rest of your life huddled up—”

“I mean, if it came to that,” Jasmine cut in, “I’d just forsake the ministry, leave, and never come back.”

Kels stopped, grabbing Jasmine’s arm. She didn’t have a dantian, or a cultivated body, so she couldn’t enforce her muscles. Still, she clutched Jasmine’s arm with an iron grip.

Jasmine sighed, then spat out the nail she’d been chewing on. Shouldn’t have said that.

“I made a vow to your mother’s soul that I would protect you,” Kels said, voice tight. “If you leave the monastery, you have no one to back you up, no one to protect you. No one to care for you.”

Jasmine finally looked at the woman’s face.

She was staring at the ground, eyes moist. “Promise me you’ll behave.”

Behave . . .

That word resonated with a memory of Jasmine’s sister. She used it the night she left. Don’t behave, little Jas. Do anything you can to cultivate.

Where are you going? Jasmine had asked, cheeks wet with tears. Stay!

I need to go. But if I return, I hope to find you with a Golden Core.

If you return?

Yes. She smiled sadly. If.

Jasmine’s heart ached. Was everyone she loved destined to abandon her? Kels was the last of her family, so if Jasmine did excommunicate herself from Kaithism, she really would have no one.

Sometimes, her sister had said, the hardest thing to do is the right thing to do. Jasmine took a deep breath. She would eventually leave this place, and strike out on her own. But how would she break it to her aunt? And how would she survive without the monastery’s protection? She didn’t have any—

She stopped herself, taking another steadying breath. One step at a time. For now, she needed to reassure her aunt . . .

“I promise,” Jasmine said, words hollow, “to behave.”

Kels gave her a distrusting stare.

“I promise!” Jasmine said with a little more gusto.

Kels hesitated, then nodded. “Good enough.” She wiped her wet face with a green sleeve. “Come on.” She continued descending the stairs. “Your group is waiting.”

Jasmine followed. Her false promise left an icky tang in her mouth. She wanted to explain everything to Kels—her plans to find out how to cultivate, reach Gold Core, then leave the territory. She wasn’t doing it just to get out of this throttling society. She was doing it for her aunt, for her sister, for the other nuns.

They judged her now, but when she returned a powerhouse—liberating them and every other lesser soul—they would bow at her feet, and weep tears of joy. Then, when she told them who she was, their eyes would bulge and they’d sputter their apologies, praising her for breaking the rules, fighting against their leaders, and defying the Heavens.