Once the final test of this year was over, Cao Yun left the square and went back to the Heavenly Swallow Faction residence with Mei Hua, Ren Chao and Sun Liao. When they arrived, Zhi Yin and the older members of the faction were waiting for them.
"We're going to leave for the Ancient Ruins in a few hours." Zhi Yin took off her second-year emblem and handed it over to Cao Yun. "You're officially second-years. The paperwork has been done way faster than last year. Apparently the disciplinary pavilion is way more efficient."
Cao Yun took the emblem and replaced his own. So did all his friends. It happened that they had the same number of second-years and first-years in the faction. As such, they didn't need to have any more emblem made.
"I asked the disciplinary pavilion for a few emblems for the first-years. And I also asked for a couple of second-year emblems just in case." Zhi Yin looked at Sun Liao and Mei Hua. "I'll trust you with the recruitment process while I'm away. This is not a problem if we don't have many members as long as the faction stays true to my vision. When I founded it, I wanted a place in which disciples could train freely without the restrictions from the big factions."
"Yes, Faction Leader." Both of them nodded. Cao Yun wasn't really concerned about it. Thankfully, he had been able to delegate all administrative responsibilities to his friends. Just like Ren Chao, he didn't care about this side of things at all. In fact, administration was something that he dreaded. The less paperwork he had to do, the happier he was.
"You'd better not ruin Fairy Zhi's faction. When I'm back from the Ancient Ruins, I'll surely be way stronger. If you've wrecked the place, I won't forgive you!" No one really paid attention to Ling Hui. Right now, she was the one with the weakest cultivation. In fact, she was quite aware of that fact. And seeing that her idol was soaring through the ranks and she was dangerously behind her, not even crossing to 6th-grade Mortal yet, she was panicking.
"Sister Ling, I'm sure you'll have a great harvest indeed. But cultivation and strength aren't everything. Look at what happened to Lu Meihan. Never measure your worth through your cultivation or you risk your sanity. Just as Spirit Master Xiao said that day, your Dao Heart is your most important treasure!"
Hearing the encouraging words from her fairy, Ling Hui smiled brightly and nodded. "I understand, Faction Leader."
"Anyway, we don't have much time. I just wanted to ask you. When are you going to leave?"
"We'll wait around ten days. The first week will be a great occasion to get ready. Then, I do believe we'll have a few recruits, so it should take us a few days. In the worst case, we won't delay our departure for more than two weeks. Otherwise, it will be way too long."
"That's a wise decision indeed. If you wait too long, you'll risk being overtaken by new things and you'll delay even more and more. By the way, Brother Chen, I know that you have individual training sessions with Chief Instructor Peng, right?"
"That's right. The results are incredible. I may even be able to break through to 8th-grade Mortal in two to three months. This is quite insane..."
Hearing this, Ling Hui's eyes popped out. Then, she lowered her head. Of course, Zhi Yin saw it. This little girl was quite energetic and somewhat rude at times. But Zhi Yin was fond of her, also for her flaws. She decided to talk with her a bit more on their way to the Ancient Ruins. If she stayed in that state of mind, she wouldn't progress too much. In fact, she could even miss out on some opportunities. However, she didn't want to do so in front of everyone else because she knew Ling Hui's character. She wouldn't admit to any weakness in front of others.
"Then, you should probably go see him today or tomorrow. After the entrance of the new first-years, he'll be busy for a while. After all, he has to organize their entire training. It doesn't look like it, but it's a lot of work. He has to choose the perfect instructor for every disciple and discuss it with every single one of them. You should have realized by now but Chief Instructor Peng really values his work. When he decides to help train someone, he goes all out."
"I understand, Faction Leader. I'll go see him as soon as I can, thank you."
Zhi Yin looked back at the residence. For the past couple of years, she had gone through many hardships just to keep this faction running. During her first year, she had lost hope several times. Thankfully, Ling Hui, Zhao Fei and Zhao Lin had always been there to support her. One last time, she examined every detail of the residence and carved them in her memory.
Breathing deeply, she let go of her attachment to this place. This was just wood and stones. The real faction was the cultivators around her.
"We're off!"
Just like that, Zhi Yin left with her group.
-
Cao Yun followed Zhi Yin's advice and she had been right. Chief Instructor Peng was already a bit busy as he was studying the reports from the entrance examination. Choosing the right instructor for each disciple was of utmost importance. However, he still put his work aside to train Cao Yun.
Cao Yun could feel that his meridians were reaching their peak. In fact, he could even feel some of his acupoints more accurately. Not only would he rapidly break through to 8th-grade Mortal. His next cultivation phase would also be smoother. The 8th-grade Mortal consisted in controlling all of his acupoints to open and close them at will. There were 361 vital points, or acupoints, in the human body. Right now, Cao Yun was feeling that at least twenty of them were reacting when he sent his intent around them.
If he tried to open them right now, he could damage his body though. Indeed, if he opened them and let too much surrounding Qi inside without having tempered his meridians adequately, this Qi could injure him. The risks were low, but it would be stupid to take them.
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Chief Instructor Peng was also rather pleased with Cao Yun's progress.
"I'll be a lot busier for the next few weeks. But as you'll be away from the sect, it won't be much of a problem. However, we'll have to schedule your next training session in more than five weeks. You should be back by then, right?"
"If everything is going fine, yes. We'll leave in less than two weeks. We're only going to the Lunar Marsh so eight or nine days to travel to and back. I think, six weeks would be a safer schedule."
"Fine. And maybe, you'll have gained some insights. It's indeed better to wait a bit after your return. Frankly, I think this will be our last session together. Your progress is very steady and you should be close to a breakthrough by that time. It's even possible that you'll do so during or right after our next session."
Old reminiscing memories came back to Chief Instructor Peng and he chuckled a bit.
"I remember when I broke through in the middle of... I probably shouldn't talk about that." Clearing his throat, he quickly changed the subject.
-
During the entire week, Cao Yun spent a lot of time with his friends to prepare their adventure into the Lunar Marsh. As he was the only one who had traveled through the place, he explained everything he had seen there. Mei Hua and Sun Liao were particularly interested in it, especially Mei Hua.
"Brother, it's important that you tell me every detail of the plants and the beasts. No matter how many books I read, firsthand experience is always a great source of information. And I don't think I'll be able to refine any pill there, so I should get them ready before we go."
Hearing this, Sun Liao winced.
"Sister, what do you mean? You won't be able to refine any pill there?"
"Well... I can't very well take my furnace and cauldron with me on the road."
A sudden realization lit Sun Liao's face. "Oh, I see... You shouldn't get too worried about that. The Wubei Sect authorizes the rental of spatial tools to the factions. Every faction can rent one spatial tool at a time."
"But none of us are Mortal Warriors, we can't operate a spatial ring."
Ren Chao who was a blacksmith had gotten very interested in spatial rings. But in addition to their scarcity, they could also only by operated by a Mortal Warrior. To store something inside of it, or take something outside of it, you had to send your Qi within the ring. Of course, you had to control it very carefully. In fact, even for Mortal Warriors, controlling a spatial ring was quite difficult unless they had a great perception. Only a Spirit Warrior could optimize his use of a spatial ring.
"Brother, there are other spatial tools than spatial rings. In fact, the Wubei Sect has a few spatial pouches. Contrary to what you could imagine, they are in fact array formation plates. I know how to activate them without any problem. However, they're not as efficient as a spatial ring. You can either put something inside or take everything out. You can't really control what you take out. And of course, the space is limited.
"Without these tools, harvesting materials would be a real hassle. And we can also bring important objects, just in case. Of course, getting them in and out all the time would be a pain. But I don't think you intend to use your cauldron all the time."
"I see... But it should still be a good idea to prepare as many pills as I can beforehand. With this spatial pouch though, we should be able to manage some unforeseen complications."
"I'll take care of renting it when we leave. After all, I'm the only one who can operate such an array formation to its full potential."
"Wait! Then, you'll be the one who will control all of our bounty?"
"Brother, are you accusing me of trying to steal from the group?"
"Of course I am!"
Once more, Ren Chao and Sun Liao went at it. While they were arguing among each other, Cao Yun and Mei Hua kept on talking about the Lunar Marsh and what kind of pills they needed to prepare. They also prepared some to sell them at the Wubei Merit Market.
Wen Zhu had left the Dragon's Fire Faction, but their agreement had survived thanks to the new faction leader, Zhuge Si. Thanks to this, they had secured their merit points for the entire year.
-
The entire week passed by in a flash. The group became more and more united. Mei Hua and Sun Liao both worked alongside Cao Yun. Even though his knowledge of alchemy and array formations was way more superficial than theirs, he was able to bridge the gap between them. In fact, he acted kind of like a translator between the two of them. Both occupations had similar concepts but with different terms and vocabulary. Moreover, he was the one who knew the Lunar Marsh the most.
Assisted with books on the matter, they all prepared everything they deemed necessary for their adventure. From memory, Cao Yun even drew a map that they compared with actual maps they had. There were some differences and Cao Yun had been able to point out spots where certain demonic beasts or plants and medicinal herbs were. He also pointed out where the demonic cultivators had settled their camp. It was obviously a huge point of interest for him.
Unfortunately, Ren Chao felt left behind as he had nothing to bring to the group during this preparation phase. Hence, he focused on training his body. And, a rare thing for him, he also dedicated much of his time to his mind cultivation. After suffering for a period of doubts in his blacksmithing, Ren Chao had followed Cao Yun's advice and he had found a new breath. Since then, he had realized how important someone's mind was to his craft. Contrary to all his friends, he had a very poor perception. However, his will was above average. In fact, if he hadn't lost in a stupid way, he could have bested Mei Hua and Cao Yun during the Yin-Yang Torture Illusion trial.
The new trials made him think about it and he went back to this array formation to train. And, indeed, he had way better results.
-
Finally, the Heavenly Swallow Faction received many candidates. Mei Hua and Sun Liao took care of them. In the end, they accepted three second-years whom they both knew, as well as five first-years. Among these first-years was Liu Ang. He had been courted by both the Red Cliff Faction and the Northern Purple Cloud Faction. But Cao Yun had left such a impression on him that he couldn't not join his faction, even though he wouldn't see him that often.
However, as there was still time, Cao Yun decided to spar with him under Chief Elder Baishen's gaze. Both of them quite enjoyed it. Mei Ying who was observing the fight also got hooked and she went to spar with this new guy. Liu Ang was really charming and he looked extremely young. Even though he was two years older, he looked as young as she was.
During Cao Yun's absence, both of them would keep on training again and again. Although she was a servant, Chief Elder Baishen also got attached to the young girl, feeling a bit guilty about what had happened to her. But she would help her, out of interest and not pity. Indeed, Mei Ying was starting to show a real talent for martial arts.
Seeing her younger sister back on a duel platform was painful for Mei Hua. However, she decided to respect her sister's wishes. It reminded her of scenes from a past she would rather forget. Fortunately for her, her mind cultivation was very advanced and she could decide to stop having these thoughts. Besides she needed this peace to thoroughly prepare their adventure. Going into the Lunar Marsh was not a fun ride at all.
During the day, the place was rather calm. But in the night, when the Yin was at its extreme, this place was full of dangers. Mei Hua even asked some pointers from her master who had gone there as well. At first, Mei Hua wanted to do it without her help, but she decided that this pride was misplaced. Xiao Xuefeng was quite happy to provide as much information as she could, as she was anxious about her disciple leaving her for several weeks.