Elder Win smiled fondly at several of the youth gazing with particular rapt attention at the grain fields growing in the lush caldera basin below, such a glorious contrast to the endless desert sands beyond the city. “To many of you will be granted the sacred duty of tilling the fields, using your affinity for Earth and Water to nurture the crops that feed us all, and the spirit herbs upon which the sacred art of Alchemy depends.” He then dipped his head towards the handful of more powerfully built aspirants, those who were clearly more than simple novices, with the builds and bodies of warriors, whether or not they were new to the world of cultivation. “And others among you will no doubt serve our college in other ways equally vital.”
Alex grinned at the sight of Luo and Xiao’s late arrival, counting it a miracle that Master Win wasn’t chewing them out as they panted before the elder with wide goofy grins on their faces. Alex could so clearly sense their excitement at being here, still wearing their caravanner armaments, for all that they glowed so strongly with their recently awakened potential that Alex halfway suspected they had had yet another fortuitous encounter or breakthrough. They, it seemed, truly were embracing a storybook start to their cultivation journey. For all that the third among them had already turned his last page. Because even fortuitous encounters could hold hidden risks and dangers that not everyone was equipped to handle.
Even so, both were careful not to look Alex’s way, all of them knowing how important it was to show no unexpected bonds of familiarity, lest enemies unseen put 2 and 2 together.
At least their enthusiasm earned a nod from Elder Win.
“To the most daring among you will go the sacred duty of seeking balance within the rifts. Securing what prizes you may, aiding our school… and aiding yourselves in the process. And welcome to our two newest aspirants, who have already proven themselves and so will be granted a certain amount of lenience for their tardiness… on this day alone.”
Both immediately fell into dogeza. “Our humblest apologies for our lateness. Thank you for your grace and forbearance, Master Win.”
The elder chuckled, gesturing for the pair to rise. “And all of you will benefit from forming alliances and friendships with all of your peers. So that you may learn from all of them, and appreciate the strengths they all bring to our organization. Take the Ruidians among us. Their tribes are uniquely suited both for harvesting rifts and crops. The wise cultivator takes note of their tribal ways and learns from them, to the benefit of our entire city.”
Alex stiffened, realizing what a fool he had been to get so distracted by friendly faces as to ignore what was now at his rear, as several dozen youthful faces and a handful of hardened gazes turned to peer his way, but already knew from the reflection in the closest pair’s eyes what he would see.
A warmly smiling Linnea cheekily waving and smiling right back, her bright red hair and brilliant green eyes giving away her heritage despite her caramel complexion, almost as much as did the ruby flashing brilliantly in the warm midday light slipping past the weave of her straw hat.
“Oh hi, everyone! My name’s Linnea, and it’s a pleasure to meet you all! I do hope to be able to delve the rifts with each and every one of you, as your fellow student and classmate! Do you guys say classmate? Did that translate correctly?” She stage whispered Alex’s way before wrapping him up in an enthusiastic hug. “Isn’t this wonderful, Alex? Now we can go to school together!”
Hanz, standing dutifully by her side, rolled his eyes and sighed. “Linnea, you’re getting overly excited again. They said we could tour the facilities with the initiates, not that you actually were… Linnea, don’t you dare ignore me!”
The girl had shamelessly flowed to Alex’s other side, still claiming his hand and gazing guilelessly up at Alex.
“What was that? I thought I just heard a breeze. Come, Alex, our fellow disciples are getting ahead of us.”
“Linnea, don’t you dare! Father will be furious with you!”
Quick as a flash, her carefree demeanor turned to a furious glare as she snapped around to lock gazes with her cousin. “Like I give a fuck about what that prune-faced asswipe thinks! He acts like he fucking owns me. Do you see the way he looks at me? Like I’m his property, ever since I reached my majority! There’s no way in hell I’m putting up with his shit for another turn of the seasons, cousin. He’s trying to force me to marry his best friend’s son so he can marry the guy’s younger sister. I mean, disgusting! She’s twenty years younger than him! You want to go back to that bullshit? That’s fine. But I’m out!”
Alex felt his cheeks flush as bemused gazes turned his way as the pair’s argument began to heat up, finding himself in the center of a family dispute he really didn’t want to be a part of, seeking only to blend in with his fellow cultivators. Yet Linnea and Hanz’s angry hissing and vituperative whispering in their guttural dialect earned increasingly wide-eyed stares until Elder Win had to rather forcefully clear his throat.
And the two idiots were still going at it!
“Knock it the fuck off! Argue with your fingers or in group-chat, NOT out loud! I swear, if I get kicked out of yet another school because of you two assholes...” Alex snarled the words, glad the insults translated so well into their Germanic-sounding tongue, even if the surprised looks the cousins and the nearer students were showing had just served to permanently associate Alex with them.
At least the glare he flashed had both of them paling with wide-eyed surprise when Elder Win was forced to clear his throat a second time, making it damn clear that even he had limits, no matter how useful visiting eccentric Ruidians might normally be, and the trio of idiots were coming damn close to crossing that line.
“And here is where all of you will be expected to assemble the second glass past sunrise tomorrow morning, where we will begin our formal assessments of your strengths and weaknesses as both martial artists and cultivators.” Elder Win gestured to the wide courtyard just a short distance away from the grand Pagoda that Alex was using as a mental landmark. This area, like all the fields and buildings belonging to the college, was adjoining the lip of the massive caldera gazing down upon the lush, fecund valley below.
“Those of you still cleansing your meridians will have your techniques examined and for those only recently awakened to the world of cultivation, fear not, our school has techniques oriented towards both desert sands and mountain ice, the sun and the moon. For those among you who have actually managed to achieve Bronze, you will be granted one free analysis and access to a suitable cultivation tome so that your Bronze ascent may be free of burs and unexpected hardships.”
Alex couldn’t help but smile at the pair of powerfully built men among the more slender aspirants whose eyes lit up upon hearing those words. And he wasn’t surprised at all to hear that they’d be getting access to a cultivation manual, because studying how best to form strong cords of spiritual energy was the farthest thing from immersing oneself in the personal Qi techniques of ancient masters. The latter being the path that Alex was eager, perhaps too eager, to pursue.
“Of course this all comes at a price,” Elder Win said with a smile. “One easily paid in school credits earned by tending to the fields below, hunting for desert herbs… and of course, for those well versed in combat, daring the rifts themselves.”
Alex couldn’t help but nod at that, considering it more than fair, even if a few aspirants winced at those words. But since when had any student of any realm not born to privilege not been juggling work assignments of one sort or another alongside their scholarly duties?
“What’s more, you will all, regardless of your cultivation levels, additionally be provided with pristine meridian cleansing techniques useful for cleansing and purifying both body and meridians that will prove to be useful, regardless of whether you’re a rank beginner, or just a half-step away from Silver.”
Elder Win flashed a reassuring smile. “And this prize will be provided absolutely free of charge,” he declared, earning no less than a dozen looks of relief and excitement from the younger members of their group, their instructor’s knowing gaze making it clear he understood the needs and limitations of his newest batch of aspirants as only an experienced instructor could.
“Of course this is just the beginning of your cultivation journey. You will find that our school library is among the most extensive and prized in the entire desert, so many of our tomes infused with the blessings of those who have come before. Tomes that can be yours to peruse, study, and master, when you have advanced sufficiently in ability and have defined the path you wish to take as a cultivator, and have proven yourselves to our fine school.”
All the younger students continued to nod dutifully, but one of the more experienced looking men, a rugged-faced cultivator radiating Bronze potency with the features of a man in his prime, silently waved his hand, earning Elder Win’s politely raised eyebrow.
“Yes?”
“So, your academy offers basic cleansing and cycling techniques, and more advanced ones should we earn credits by farming or culling your rifts.”
Elder Win gave a slight nod. “Correct.”
“What about the martial elements of your school? Training in unarmed and melee combat, or the advanced arts of learning to channel our spiritual energy through our attacks?”
Their instructor grinned. “An excellent question. Your martial prowess will be carefully graded over the next few days, and your future mentors will help you choose the best path forward. Whether that be mastery of fundamentals or incorporating the power of the elements into your attacks is for your future masters to decide. But rest assured, those of you with the requisite affinities will be given plenty of opportunity to study Qi disciplines with masters of Ice, Earth, and Fire. These techniques are also covered extensively in our library, but here especially, care must be taken to assure that you actually have the requisite affinities, lest daring those tomes imperil the very prize you seek to enhance beyond all others.”
One of the youth’s gazed at Win with wide-eyed awe. “Will our hands become so strong we can smash bricks with our fist? Shatter enemy soldiers with a single blow?” He then flushed and lowered his head, despite Win’s chuckle.
Elder Win solemnly drew a finely made Jian and gestured to a stone obelisk just a few feet from the lip of the caldera. “Force and power are all well and good. But the true master learns to channel his arts with perfect precision, such that a thrust that exerts almost no effort at all… free of all flashy storybook technique… is still more than enough to defend one’s school, protect one’s academy, or guard one’s caravan.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
With those words, he turned and spun around, striking the solid granite obelisk with a graceful winding thrust that seemed more dance than anything else. Alex’s eyes widened, instantly understanding the significance of that casual movement that had half the class furrowing their brows.
Yet the wisest among them were exchanging sober glances, quickly bowing their head when a grinning Win flourished his blade, showing neither scratch nor mar, before resheathing it once more.
One of the youth’s frowned. “Master? I’m not sure I...”
It was at that moment that the granite toppled over, cut cleanly in half.
A chilled Alex stared at the perfectly sheered granite for long seconds.
He had seen the thrust that had melted through the stone, an incision a good two inches wide, yet the blade was less than half the thickness of the stone pillar. Which meant that a flick of the wrist too fast for him to see must have widened it to a devastating degree, bringing home once more how vulnerable he was now, compared to when his Quickness had soared to the heights of Silver. No matter that subjectively he felt as alert and fast as he ever had, he realized he had a hell of a ways to go before he dared to take any potential opponent or battle lightly.
Elder Win smiled into the awed silence. “You will find, dear students, that the best techniques don’t need to be flashy or predictable. The just need to work with a minimum of fuss or expenditure. And I’m pleased to share with you all now that this very technique is available for your perusal in the library for those who have ascended far enough, with an affinity for Water. You’ll find it useful for piercing stone, steel, or the hides of particularly troublesome spirit beasts.”
He then gave a clap of his hands. “And that too we will be practicing in the future. For now, let’s continue our tour. For those of you who show your continued loyalty to our fine institution and have what it takes to achieve Bronze, you will find within our prestigious halls countless opportunities to ascend and grow.”
Alex found himself smiling with excitement as he took in the magnificent architecture of the college with their tour, all of it lining the outer rim of the caldera, a simple stone wall dividing academy grounds with the city beyond. To Alex it had far more in common with a city college campus from his first life than a walled off academy on a hill or mountain top that was divorced from the world. Yet the spectacular view of the caldera basin and the magnificent architecture was every bit as grand as that of Dragon Academy and near the equal of the view at Rising Phoenix Academy as well.
An academy that was now no more.
Alex felt an ache in his heart for all that had been lost as he gazed upon graceful multistory pagodas, grand cathedral-like cultivation halls with masterfully engineered domed ceilings soaring high above the awed students, and squared off buildings of granite with wide arching doorways and well-illuminated halls adding a sense of grandeur to what would otherwise be oppressive structures of stone.
From them all, Alex caught sight of dozens of men and women radiating the potent spiritual energy of Bronze wujen and a handful of body cultivators going about their business and studies, the few glances sent their way professionally polite, free of all condescension, but no more than that.
It was then that an oddly solemn Elder Win led them into the grandest cultivation hall yet.
Even the Ruidians among them were utterly silent, all of them feeling the spiritual pressure of the half-dozen cultivators sitting in lotus position upon the intricately tiled floor flashing with spirit pearls, jade, and gold.
Artificer skill check made!
Alex’s eyes lit with wonder, sensing and understanding that the massive structure was actually condensing the spiritual energy to levels he’d normally expect to find in the heart of the great forest, or perhaps his own sanctuary. A thought that sent a sharp jolt of melancholy despite the heady rush of illumination.
“Can you all feel the spiritual energy radiating from the cultivation sanctuary before you?” Win smiled in approval at the half dozen nods he received, the others quickly dipping their heads as well. “Good. For this sanctuary is the prize you should all aspire to, and is the greatest of all privileges. To harness and hone your foundation in the most glorious configuration of spiritual energies is a boon that the truly worthy and devoted to this school will have available to them.” He gave a satisfied nod. “It is this, as much as any cultivation pill, that can help the most worthy of Bronze ascend, one day, to Silver. And who knows to what heights beyond?”
He then smiled indulgently, leading them past the building-sized spiritual treasure. “And therein ends our tour. Tomorrow, after testing your cultivation techniques and martial prowess, we will begin assigning you all curriculums best suited to your strengths, and make note of the most efficient ways you can contribute to the school. As I’ve already shown you the grand eating hall where spirit beast meat is served and elite dormitories with grand views of the valley below, prizes that will be of benefit to all of you, easily earned with the accrual of sufficient credits, our orientation is officially at an end. You may return to the city proper via any of the exits I have shown you, so long as you display the badges you will each be assigned upon leaving.”
He turned, favoring all of them with a discerning eye. “For those of you new to the city who lack homes of your own, or merely wish quarters closer to the school without paying for Bronze tier lodgings within the academy proper, or those curious as to the best inns and eating establishments near the school where they accept both silver coins and school credits… we shall continue our tour within the city proper. But whether you elect to join us or head on home, please remember that perseverance and dedication are every bit as important as potential. And for those of you who choose to live off campus, your first test will simply be to arrive at the testing grounds tomorrow morning in a timely manner.”
Elder Win’s gaze hardened, revealing just a hint of his true aura. Alex was happy to see that his sense of the man was correct. A Rank 1 Silver who had earned his ascension the hard way, radiating sufficient Potency to crush even the Deepest Bronze who dared to underestimate him. It was an aura that very few could ever hope to achieve, causing more than one basic cultivator to flinch back in dismay.
“If you lack even the dedication to arrive at the campus in a timely manner, if you’re unable or unwilling to attend all of your future classes with the dedication your teachers expect and that this path demands, then perhaps the cultivator’s life isn’t for you. Certainly, you will leave yourself open to challenge, as is any cultivator’s right to demand when your lack of integrity or dedication puts the collective at risk. And that is a trial I wouldn’t recommend any of you endure on your very first days as members of this institution. Understood?”
The entire class nodded in heartfelt unison.
Alex hid his smile, somehow certain that attendance at this campus would be a hell of a lot better here than at most colleges where students lived off campus.
Elder Win then proceeded to a nearby exit different from the front entrance of the school, making a point of showing the gatekeeper his pin of silver. Alex and the others were then instructed to each claim one of the copper ones the smiling guardsman presented to each of them. Alex easily sensed the faint traces of spiritual energy that would prevent it from being too easily counterfeited.
“Well that was a wonderful tour,” Hanz said with an overly patient smile as Linnea enthusiastically showed her ruby pendant just as Hanz did with his sapphire eyed one, both of them earning a friendly nod from the guard, their pendants quite a bit different from the pins that Alex and the other disciples now wore. “Now if we’re done sightseeing, we really need to meet up with the rest of our group for the evening run, cousin.”
Linnea glared. “I told you, I’m joining as a student. Just like Alex here!” she said, claiming Alex’s arm.
Alex blinked. Had he given her his name? And why were they still matching his pace?
“Then why are you still wearing your jeweled pendant? That’s right, because we were already accepted as Delvers for standard rates. Generous rates, in fact. And that includes honoring our obligations!” His voice gained an edge as the entire class of aspirants continued following Elder Win who was introducing them to several smiling hostel-owners who all promised fair school-backed rates for long term students, the most eager proprietress assuring that a single credit worth a full dozen nights under her roof where she would make absolutely sure they got to their first morning classes on time, which Alex thought was probably a good deal, even if the accommodations were little more than a place to rest one’s head. Considering that he had once thought a garden shed paradise, he doubted he’d have any complaints at all. Even if a few, such as the Ruidians beside him, turned up their noses.
“Can you believe these restaurateurs? Offering a mere seven meals for a full student credit?” Hanz hissed.
Linnea nodded as they made their way past several more upscale eateries. “And that one offering only a full course banquet for a full student credit! I don’t care how infused with spiritual energy the food is or how many fancy cultivators are eating there, it’s far too much!”
Alex winced, knowing that the girl’s words had carried just fine on the air to the handful of cultivators eating at the most upscale establishment they had seen yet, disturbing the serene melodies being played by erhu and dizi by a pair of musicians as numerous cultivators radiating spiritual energy of Deep Bronze, even Silver, made themselves comfortable at lacquered bamboo tables with cushioned seats while sipping honeyed mead and rice wine over games of go or what Alex took to be the local equivalent of chess. Other elite cultivators were savoring banquets comprised of rich, mouthwatering fare radiating potent spiritual energy that Alex could sense even from where he and the rest of the class politely observed while Elder Win exchanged a few brief words with what Alex assumed was a fellow professor.
Hanz smirked triumphantly at his cousin’s look of dismay. “You’re right. It’s far too expensive for the likes of us, because were jewel masters, not cultivators. We benefit from the potency of our kills, not from eating meats too rich in strange energies after the fact.”
Linnea’s lips pursed in a frown, glaring at the absolutely delicious-looking fare that Alex’s belly was grumbling quite loudly for. “I, for one, quite like spirit beast meat, and I’m still going to attend and learn whatever I can.”
“Fine!” an increasingly anxious-looking Hanz hissed. “But the tour is over, dusk is approaching, and we risk shaming our entire tribe if we fail to complete the delve we signed up for!”
Linnea glared, crossing her arms. “Fine, but only if Alex comes with us!”
Alex’s surprised look was matched only by Hanz’s incredulous stare. “Are you serious? We’ve only just met him!”
Linnea’s resolute nod brooked no argument. “Dead serious, Hanz. I’m not dealing with your father for a second longer than I have to, and I’m only agreeing to this run at all for your sake, because I sure as hell am not returning to that pit of backbiting vipers that you call our family!”
Alex felt like melting into the ground when Linnea’s raised voice earned them looks from not just their immediate fellow disciples but from at least several of the patrons, with expressions ranging from amusement to cool disdain.
“And with that, our tour is over,” Elder win declared. “You have half an hour before true darkness touches the sky. The hostels I showed you include one bowl of porridge per day and will allow you to pay your school credit by the end of the first week. Do any of you need a school escort to the hostels or your personal domiciles? No? Excellent. Class adjourned.”
Alex smiled with relief, it having been a long day in more ways than one. He was about to slip free of the arguing cousins when a small hand immediately attached to his own.
“Please come with us?” Linnea flashed Alex a brilliant smile.
Alex blinked at the absurdly eccentric girl. Even by Ruidian standards. “Linnea, it’s been a long day, and I could really use a bowl of stew and a good night’s...”
“You’ll get a full share from our delve. One spirit pearl minimum, even if it’s mine!” the girl hissed with unexpected desperation.
“… and really, who needs sleep? Thirty Vitality means I can skip a night here and there, so let’s go!”