Wu Yong

Standing at the entrance to the plaza, Wu Yong took in his surroundings. The plaza itself was a little smaller than the one at the foot of the stairs. It was shaped like an octagon, with a mosaic of a blooming lotus centered in the middle, each leaf pointing to a corner of the plaza. On the left side of the plaza from where he stood, a row of tables was laid out with a buffet of food. Wu Yong’s stomach rumbled at the sight, reminding him of his hunger. He quickly made his way to the tables to get some sustenance.

The food was at first glance quite mundane and simple. But once he started eating, Wu Yong quickly realized it was anything but. Everything was beyond delicious and filled his body with energy and comfort. It was clearly made of special ingredients. Meat from spirit beasts and ancient and rare plants. He could scarcely believe they would serve this kind of food to people who weren’t even members of the sect yet.

Once he had eaten, Wu Yong remembered that the disciple selection ceremony was not over yet and that soon the next trial might begin. Looking around, he could not find any indication of when and where the next trial would begin. The plaza was still slowly filling up with aspirants as they arrived at the top of the stairs. Most of them were either eating or chatting with each other, though some were stretching or meditating, preparing for the next trial.

The ornate balcony adjacent to the plaza caught Wu Yong’s eye. It was situated on the cliffs, overlooking the plaza, and was occupied by elders of the sect. Wu Yong’s eyesight was quite good, so he was able to study them in some detail from where he stood.

Prominently at the center of the balcony, a trio of impressive-looking elders sat on raised seats. In the middle, on the highest seat sat an ancient man with a long silky beard that reached the middle of his stomach. But despite showing many signs of old age, he did not seem feeble even for a second. He sat comfortably and straight, radiating physical confidence in his manner. To his left sat a musclebound man, seemingly in his middle-age, with a short dark beard and wild hair. To his right sat an older looking man with a scholarly air about him, and with a clean-shaven face and long hair. All three of them radiated authority and power, sitting on their high seats, looking down on everyone present.

Taking his eyes away from the intimidating trio, Wu Yong scanned the crowd of elders looking for a clue for when the next trial would begin, as well as out of simple curiosity. But suddenly, he found his gaze locked with an elder.

Gao Xin Ke

Studying the various aspirants, I suddenly locked eyes with a lanky looking kid by the buffet tables. He had arrived sometime in the last half hour, somewhere in the upper-middle in the distribution of arrivals. He had a piercing gaze, clearly taking in many details with his eyes. He almost seemed to judge me in his mind, until his eyes widened in some mix of surprise and embarrassment before quickly being averted when I gave a knowing smirk.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his embarrassment. He certainly had some spirit. And if he could cultivate that sight of his, he might even stand out.

While I was absorbed in my own thoughts, another elder approached me and drew me out of them with his greeting.

“Elder Gao? Is that you?”

I turned to face him and recognized him as elder Wei, one of my peers, likely stuck in his cultivation like me. I returned his greeting with a nod and replied “it is indeed, elder Wei.” 

In a vaguely judgemental tone, he said “I didn’t expect to find you here. Aren’t you usually holed up by yourself in cultivation? It’s been a while since I last saw you.” 

I held back a sarcastic retort and replied in an amicable tone “I spend most of my time improving myself, yes, but I am here today in order to find a disciple.”

He broke into a knowing grin, nodding and saying “Aaah I see, so the reclusive Gao Ke Xin has finally given up and joined the rest of us in teaching the next generation. Welcome to the club brother.”

Frowning, I retorted “Not quite, brother, I have not given up yet. Taking a disciple is for the purpose of continuing on my path.”

Surprise and interest showed in his expression as he asked “Oh, really? How so? So far, teaching the disciples has been a waste of my time. Don’t see how you could strengthen your cultivation by taking up teaching.”

Though I had my own doubts about the effectiveness and purpose of my endeavor, I didn’t let it show. “After long deliberation, it was the conclusion I came to. My art of the Heavenly Mountain will benefit from taking on a disciple.”

“Oh, I see. Well, good luck with that. Though I doubt you’ll have much luck with getting a good disciple. All the kids with good potential get snatched up by the more powerful elders and grand elders.”

Skeptical, I asked “Really? One would think that there are more than enough students to go around.”

Shaking his head with a wry smile elder Wei replied “Only a tiny fraction of the students that make it all the way through will truly amount to anything. Even among those showing promise, many will end up becoming mediocre, or leave the sect to return to the mortal world instead of pursuing cultivation in the sect. And all those with great potential are always taken in by the grand elders. Even if the elder has many disciples already and won’t be able to give much time to each individual one, just their power and connections alone are enough to give a massive advantage to their disciples.” He gave a defeated sigh and continued “So in end, the only disciples that are available to us are the mediocre and the dregs, and even amongst those there will be fierce competition for the better ones”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

A feeling of anxiety was taking root in my body, but before it could affect me I summoned up my determination and smothered it. “If so, then I will fight fiercely for the best I can. I will not be so easily cowed. I have decided on this as my path forward, so I will not give up easily”

Elder Wei looked at me deeply before he replied “I can’t say I don’t admire your tenacity. I doubt you’ll succeed, but I wish you luck nevertheless”

“Thank you, brother Wei” I replied sincerely. I pitied his defeated attitude, but I appreciated his support.

When the last disciple that hadn’t given up, arrived at the top of the stairs, a loud gong sounded, signaling the end of the first trial. It had reached late afternoon by now, and the sun would soon start to disappear behind the western mountaintops.

All the aspirants were quickly gathered in front of a podium. The elder in charge of conducting this year’s trials stepped onto the podium and congratulated them all on their success in the first trial, before introducing the next trial. The trial of Mind Over Fate. In this trial, the aspirants would be given an instruction manual with a basic technique to move the Qi in their bodies around deliberately.

Qi flows along the paths that fill the world. Therefore all things in this world contain Qi, because all things in this world embody a path of some kind. A plant might embody paths of growth and harmony, and thus attracts Qi proportional to the strength of its path. The same applies to people. We all have our paths, however ill-defined they might be. This is why you sometimes see mortal people of great focus and talent like skilled warriors or artisans transcend mortal limits. They have strong paths, causing more Qi to flow through their bodies, which they then unconsciously use in their work. Cultivation is merely the conscious pursuit of this

The first trial served as a test, but it also made sure that all the aspirants that completed it have sufficiently strong paths in order to attract the Qi needed for the second trial. All the aspirants thus had some innate Qi in their bodies already, and the first step in cultivation is learning how to manipulate it deliberately. Not an easy feat by any means, but with proper instruction, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

The manual they were given contains an effective, and easy to use, technique that will allow them to channel the Qi in their bodies into an object in their hands. To succeed in the trial, they must learn the technique before noon tomorrow and demonstrate their ability with special detection stones that glow when infused with Qi.

Before long, the aspirants were handed a manual and detection stone each. They wouldn’t need sleep tonight after eating the Qi infused foods we had set out for them.

I decided to pay attention to the kid I had locked eyes with earlier, figuring he might be interesting to observe. He seemed a bit concerned while regarding his manual, and looking him over as a whole I realized he might not know how to read. His skin was tan and somewhat rugged, indicating a life of outdoor labor. He might have been an illiterate peasant.

For this very reason, the manual also had pictures and diagrams demonstrating how to execute the technique, so perhaps he would manage.

By the time the sun started to disappear below the mountains and cast its evening light, all the disciples were deep in their study. They weren’t allowed to help each other so they were watched over by older disciples assigned to the task.

It might sound boring, to simply sit and watch them read and practice in silence. It was, to an extent. But if cultivation taught only one thing, it would be patience. Entering a meditative state of focus is one of the most important skills in cultivation, and for elders of the sect, observing this trial for its duration was no obstacle.

I suppose it might have been slightly poetic, that we would be practicing one of the things the aspirants are currently trying to learn. A clear mind and focus are paramount to succeeding in the trial of Mind Over Fate.

By midnight, some of the kids had already entered a proper meditative focus. The boy I was focusing on included. At least he had a good mind, able to understand the manual, and focus on the task. He likely had practice with tasks demanding focus already. Considering his tan and sharp eyes, perhaps hunting.

Back when I took the trial to enter the sect, I understood the text easily, having done some studying on cultivation before I joined. But although I understood the concepts and meaning easily, putting it into practice was more difficult. The technique for manipulating heavenly energy first requires you to clear your mind and enter a meditative state. Once the state has been achieved, you must practice a breathing technique that activates the Qi in your body, allowing you to perceive it. Having grasped the form of the Qi in your body with your mind, the sense of it won’t ever leave you again. This is called opening your inner eye and is the first step in cultivation. Also known as Awakening. It is the first and easiest step on the path to immortality. 

Once your inner eye is open, the manual describes how to take hold of the Qi in your body with your mind, and how to guide it along your spiritual veins to push it out through the palms of your hands. The final step sounds difficult, but once your inner eye is open, grasping the Qi in your body is not too difficult. The Qi that naturally flows through you is given to you by the Great Dao and is yours to command, and as long as you move it within your spiritual veins, it flows easily. All you have to do is exert your will on it. Internal Qi manipulation is thus quite easy. 

External Qi manipulation is much harder, but it is not something we require the aspirants to do during these trials.

I had a hard time clearing my mind and entering a meditative state when taking the trial myself. I have always had an active mind, causing me to overthink the techniques and being unable to completely clear my mind. Obviously I eventually succeeded, and I have since refined that same mind into one that can focus all that activity on a singular task.

A few hours before dawn, some of the disciples showed signs of having reached Awakening. Their aura would change, indicating the change in their souls. Followed shortly by them opening their eyes with various expressions, from surprised glee to smug pride. 

Not long after the first aspirants had reached awakening, the kid I’d been watching achieved the same. He opened his eyes slowly and distractedly stared into space for a moment before his eyes focused and he broke into a proud grin.

Impressive considering he likely barely knew how to read, so at least his ability to focus is quite good.

In this trial, the more affluent youths were still solidly leading the pack, many having received training in focus and meditation at home. Though none would dare complete their awakening before the trials. We don’t accept already awakened disciples into our sect outside of extraordinary circumstances since we want to observe their talent from the beginning and make sure they study the proper basic manuals. This way the sect has a hand in every step of every disciple’s cultivation.

When noon came on the second day of the trial, a little less than a thousand aspirants were able to complete their awakening and pass the trial. With this, all who were left were guaranteed a place in the sect. The next and final test would determine what that place would be.