The Unbound Pavilion's headquarters, at first glance, do not strike Azreal as particularly magnificent, especially in comparison to the architectural design and grandeur he encounters on his way through the Sect. Yet, upon entering and being escorted to a raised platform at its heart, his initial impressions undergo a swift transformation.
'The Qi here is remarkably dense, so much so that cultivating in these headquarters could accelerate breakthroughs to a pace beyond my wildest dreams!' Azreal thinks, a surge of excitement coursing through him, momentarily causing him to disregard Elder Juhee's earlier admonitions to maintain a level head. As he attempts to anchor himself back to calmness, Azreal becomes aware of the intense scrutiny he's under. Over fifty pairs of eyes, cloaked in the same indigo robes, fixate on him, though a select few among them have more ornate embellishments, their designs whispering of their elevated status as Elders.
This subtle distinction among the observers, coupled with the palpable thickness of Qi that fills the space, imbues the headquarters with an aura of hidden depth and complexity that belies its outward simplicity. Azreal realises that he stands at the precipice of an opportunity that could redefine his path, enveloped by the focused attention of those who have mastered the energies he is only beginning to understand.
“Who is that with Elder Juhee?” one of the male disciples asks.
“I’ve never seen him before! He must be new…” another male disciple states.
“When was the last time Elder Juhee personally had a disciple tested for their potential? It’s been over fifty years since then!” a female disciple, who is attempting to whisper to other disciples, blurts out.
Hushed whispers can be heard as Elder Juhee leads Azreal a raised circle platform, situated in the middle of the headquarters, “Step into the middle of the formation, do not drag your feet and damage it.” Elder Juhee gestures before moving towards a set of steps that lead to a small throne-like seat with a small chest attached to the side.
Azreal steps into the formation, a small pulse of power ripples from his foot as his first step enters it causing Azreal to hesitate, ‘This won’t kill me, right? I am feeling a deep sense of hatred and fear drilling at my soul?’.
“Don’t panic, Azreal, the Celestial Nexus Array is supposed to pulse beneath you. It is attempting to gauge your potential. The higher the number of pulses, the higher your potential.” Elder Juhee moves to her seat atop the small staircase. Reaching her hand into the chest from her seated position, she pulls out a palm-sized stone, with eight smaller coloured crystals evenly distributed across the stone. She signals for one of the Elders to approach her, instructing, "Trulia, take the Resonance Prism to him, and ensure that no one interrupts us during the assessment of his potential."
“At your command, Great Elder Juhee,” Elder Tulia, an older woman with long straight grey hair and a wrinkled face, bows after being handed the Resonance Prism. “Don’t call me Great Elder, you know I hate the title. We all lead the juniors together, you know that, Elder Tulia…” Elder Juhee quickly retorts.
“I know, Elder Juhee. I wanted to show respect for you in front of the new disciple,” says Elder Tulia as she makes her way towards Azreal, handing him the Resonance Prism, and giving him a small smile. Elder Tulia immediately moves a few feet away from the formation and places her hands behind her back, beginning to intently look at the formation and Azreal.
“Azreal, the resonance prism measures your affinity to the elements. As cultivators, we cannot only control Qi and use it as a weapon, but we can also infuse elements into our Qi and, if you are powerful enough, control the elements to a certain extent. The eight stones each represent an affinity and will ignite if you have the affinity to wield that element. You only need to channel your energy into the stone. To be considered a genius at the Heavenly Root Sect, you will need to be able to wield at least four elements. Activating four elements would make you an exceptional talent, and in the future, you could become an extremely powerful core disciple. Again, that is not to say single element cultivators are not dangerous; some of them are even more dangerous than multi-element due to their control and experience within the singular element,” Elder Juhee smiles at Azreal.
Elder Juhee scans the room before continuing, “We have a few four-element users in our Unbound Pavilion.” A large smile spreads across her face, “We even have two five-element disciples and a single six-elemental disciple, who is currently undergoing closed-door cultivation before the upcoming Sect competition in two months' time.”
“The Celestial Nexus Array is the most expensive and difficult part of testing your potential. This array was built for me by a friend from the Upper Heavens. Not many people in this heaven could possibly afford or even understand the intricacies of this formation. It links to the heavens, judging your potential. The number of pulses the array produces directly correlates to your potential,” says Elder Juhee.
Azreal’s mind slowly becomes numb, ‘There is too much to learn in such a small amount of time!’ he thinks to himself before pushing the thoughts aside and focusing back onto Elder Juhee’s words.
“This process should take less than a few minutes. The number of pulses indicates your talent and potential. Disciples with high potential have pulses that number in the thirties. With myself being the most talented and highest potential member of the Unbound Pavilion. I had fifty-four pulses, which should attest to how difficult it is to get a high score from the Celestial Nexus Array of the highest results capable of the lower heavens,” Elder Juhee's self-confident smile is plastered across her face.
Azreal coughs a little, reading the messages that pop into his vision, ‘System, you’ve only been around for two and a half days, you have no idea what score I will get!’ Azreal quickly retorts.
“Now try to channel as much of your Qi into the Resonance Prism as you can. It will need plenty of Qi to be able to accurately detect your elemental affinities,” says Elder Tulia, who is still fixated on the pulses occurring every ten seconds. ‘He is already up to fifteen pulses, and he’s not even breaking a sweat. When I took the test, I almost passed out after twenty-five pulses…’ Elder Tulia thinks to herself as her shock begins to increase every ten seconds.
Stolen story; please report.
Azreal, nodding along with her instructions, begins to channel his Qi into the Resonance Prism. The exact moment, Azreal pushes his Qi into the Resonance Prism, his Qi begins to pour out of his body at an incredibly fast rate. Azreal closes his eyes, attempting to maintain the Qi that is being ripped out of his body. Managing to get his Qi under control, Azreal opens his eyes and looks down at the Resonance Prism. Four of the gems are already ignited and shining, a higher amount of stones than Azreal expected.
“So, you’ve got Fire, Ice, Blood, and Earth. Interesting, I was expecting at least five stones to light up from you,” Elder Juhee says. Azreal hadn’t heard Elder Juhee’s words, as the drain on his Qi is his main focus, ‘I might run out if it keeps up this pace,’ Azreal attempting to bargain with the Resonance Prism. A few seconds later, Azreal’s full focus spread across the Resonance Prism and his own supply of Qi, another surge of Qi, ripped from his body, causing his eyes to widen, as two more stones ignite a brilliant white and purple. The stones for Air and Lightning affinities begin to shine brightly.
“Six elements! I knew it!” Elder Juhee speaks with an elated tone in her voice, “We have another one! Those old fogies are going to be so jealous of my Unbound Pavilion!” Elder Juhee begins to laugh, before realising she is in front of her disciples and other Elders of the Unbound Pavilion, she immediately becomes embarrassed and pushes her laughter down.
“Elder Tulia, I'm not seeing anything wrong am I? Shadow and Water Affinity as well!” Elder Juhee stutters, causing most of the disciples there, who were only half-watching initially, to pay extremely close attention to the scene that is unfolding in front of everyone present.
Silence befalls the room, seconds pass by slowly before the silence is broken by one of the female disciples, “E-e-e Eight Elements! That’s not possible!” A female disciple speaks with absolute disbelief in her voice.
Everyone turns to look at Elder Juhee, whose jaw has dropped, her eyes clearly fixed on the beautiful young man whose confident and brilliant smile is fully on display. The way his black hair frames his face, his crystal blue eyes, Elder Juhee is unable to tear her eyes away from the amazing scene before her.
‘Fuck! The system was right! I am fucking amazing! Eight Elements!’ Azreal is just as surprised by his newfound power, ‘This is unbelievable!’.
‘I will believe you a little more moving forward now, sorry system…’ Azreal replies to the message.
“Eight elements is undoubtedly an amazing feat, but I am becoming more and more intrigued about who you are, Azreal. Someone of your potential does not just appear out of thin air,” says Elder Juhee before standing and walking down the stairs. “How many pulses is he at, Tulia?” Elder Juhee says as she stands next to the Elder, who is still currently concentrating on her task. “He is at pulse thirty-five and showing no signs of fatigue or pain,” replies Elder Tulia.
“Thirty-five? Are you sure? Even I was showing signs of pain and sweating at this point,” says Elder Juhee.
“Yes, I am sure of it, thirty-six now, this young boy is truly talented… Where in the world did you find him?” Elder Tulia asks, her eyes never moving from the Array. “You wouldn’t believe me, but I found him taking the Entrance Exam, and he had never cultivated before receiving the sect’s entry cultivation method,” says Elder Juhee.
“How otherworldly is your luck, Elder Juhee…I think this boy will break your record.” Elder Tulia responds. Both continue to watch in silence, while the number of pulses becomes brighter and quicker.
All the disciples have now stopped whatever they are doing and congregated around Azreal, a deadly silence falls onto the room, with the only sound being the low hum of the array with every pulse.
A few minutes pass, and Azreal is still not feeling any discomfort or pain and is concentrating on trying to keep his energy moving around his body. “Unbelievable, he just passed your record…and he still does not look like he will falter,” Elder Tulia speaks, with silence as her response. The entire room is filled with so much tension and anticipation that no one dares to break the silence, lest they disturb Azreal.
Another few minutes pass by in the blink of an eye, and Azreal is still standing there with no discomfort or pain. ‘This is not happening!’ Elder Juhee pinches herself before continuing to stare at Azreal.
Then a minute later, the Celestial Nexus Array does something Elder Juhee has never seen before; it sends out a massive pulse of Celestial Qi, buffeting every person in the room with a Qi so thick and powerful that it knocks the weaker disciples to ground. No one but Elder Juhee and Elder Tulia, are aware that Celestial Qi has just been ejected from the Celestial Nexus Array. Only the two Elders' cultivation is high enough to have any knowledge about the existence of Celestial Qi, let alone identity if at a glance.
“One hundred pulses, absolutely impossible, who are you?!?” screams Elder Tulia, shocking everyone in the Unbound headquarters, and causing some of the disciples to look at the newcomer with a mix of fear, admiration, and excitement.
On a secluded mountaintop, hidden from the realm of ordinary mortals, two figures immerse themselves in a game of chess. This peak, untouched by time, overlooks a cosmic panorama; a living map of the universe envelops them, galaxies spiralling, and stars shimmering with the light of aeons past and future. The younger, his short hair, a mesmerising golden dawn, wears garments heavy with jewels that whisper of battles in realms untold, of secrets gathered from the corners of the unknown. His eyes, sharp and deep crystalline blue, drift to the void beyond, where reality weaves into the unfathomable.
"Have you at last found someone who caught your interest?" The Eder's voice, seasoned with the wisdom of ages long past. Dressed in robes that mirror the twilight storm, he embodies a quiet tempest, his presence as commanding as the staff he wields. Crowned with a dragon wrought of gold, its eyes ablaze, the staff signifies dominion over mysteries of the storm, seen and unseen. With a calculated gesture, he captures the younger’s rook, a move that hints at a strategy as vast as the cosmos.
"At last, you’ve come back to us. The world awaits your strength for the impending storm. My precious younger brother, the day is soon approaching where the Heavens themselves will regret their actions against you" the younger whispers, a blend of relief and sombre anticipation lacing his words. A battle rages within, a clash between the call of duty and the call of unknown paths.
Shaking off the remnants of his contemplation, he meets the other Elder's gaze, "No, it was merely a mistake, I thought there was a hint of familiarity. Alas, I was mistaken," he concedes, masking his disappointment with a facade of indifference. Yet, a spark of defiance flickers in his gaze, a silent challenge to the fate that beckons.
"Checkmate, Elder," he proclaims with a triumphant smirk, manoeuvring his knight with precision. This move is not merely a play for victory; it is an assertion, a testament to the cycles of mentorship and rivalry that have shaped their bond.
The lder's laughter, deep and resonant, acknowledges the skill of the younger. "Well played, indeed," he responds, his eyes, a reflection of the infinite dawn, beaming with pride and expectation. For in this simple game, they exchange more than just triumphs; it is a testament to the unspoken vows of potential set to ripple through the fabric of the universe.
As the decisive move seals their match, time itself seems to pause, a silent covenant stretching between them. This moment, promises of battles to come and destinies entwined within the cosmic tapestry, stands as a homage to the eternal battle and growth that defines their existence, forever captured on this timeless mountaintop.