Chapter Nine
Riley unhinged his jaw to tear off an ungodly amount of meat from the hunk that Cook had prepared for him from the heart of the Razor Fin. An explosion of flavor struck his mouth, sending a cascade of saliva flooding into his mouth.
“Holy shit, Cook!” Riley exclaimed after he finally managed to swallow. “That was incredible!”
The construct nodded smugly, vibrating with a low thrum before holding up a lone digit, pointing towards Riley’s core.
Riley squinted in brief confusion before understanding dawned upon him and he closed his eyes to look at the ball of light at his center that he now knew to be his dantian.
A dense pack of ambient chi was shooting through his body with the speed of a bullet, the motes of light tracing their way through him toward his growing chi channels. As they merged with the channels and poured into his core he felt a slight rush of power, coursing through his veins before slowly subsiding to just a gentle hum.
“Damn!”
Cook just nodded smugly again, tapping at the rest of the Razor Fin’s massive heart that remained on the plate, gesturing for Riley to eat up. Not needing any further encouragement, Riley tucked into the rest of the meal with gusto, doing his best to ignore the blood that seeped into his mouth with every bite.
“I still can’t believe you managed to kill a Razor Fin, Brother Ri Lee,” Heron said, gratefully accepting a plate of fish from Cook alongside his twin. “Even if it was just a juvenile.”
Riley shrugged, pausing his feast briefly to speak. “It was like fighting a bull shark on the beach, just have to outlast them. Helps that adrenaline is one hell of a drug, too.”
Heron nodded slowly, confusion painted over his face. “Right . . . ”
They’re so expressive here, Riley noted idly, finishing his plate with a final satisfactory belch that made Cook thrum with laughter. All their emotions are written all over their face. I like it.
“Still impressive,” Egret chuckled, rolling the set of dice that they had been playing with earlier back and forth in his hands. “The Inner Sect are usually the ones that get the good food. I could get used to this.”
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“Why’s that? Why do they get the good stuff?”
Heron shrugged. “They’re our seniors. When we can challenge them in power, we will reap the rewards.”
Riley nodded sagely. Just like a football team. I guess that makes me a Freshman then.
“And when can we challenge them?” Riley asked, leaning forward with interest. “My Coach would always designate certain days for position battles.”
Egret frowned. “Well traditionally most sects have an intra-sect tournament but the Whispering Glade has always been too small for that. Mostly the Elders elevate disciples to the Inner Sect who show particular promise.”
“Like Meilian,” Heron grumbled.
“Who’s that?”
“She was a no-name orphan like us that the sect picked up off the streets of Far Water,” Egret explained. “Her Spirit Beast name was Otter but when she ascended to Chi Projection at the age of 14, the elders let her choose her new name and elevated her to the Inner Sect. And she chose to be Meilian of the Whispering Glade.”
Riley’s brain stuttered for a moment before managing to translate the name. Beautiful Lotus . . . that seems a little pretentious, right?
“She’s powerful too,” Heron added. “She practices the same martial techniques as Elder Meihua, bending the shadows around her to confuse and attack opponents. It’s rumored that Elder Meihua also bore the name Otter when she was an Outer Disciple and that her shadow arts are based upon the hunting methods of the Umbral Otters that live in the surrounding wetlands.”
Riley squinted. Umbral Otters? That doesn’t sound very dangerous. How tough could this girl possibly be?
He shook his head, returning to the task at hand. “So basically the Inner Sect Disciples get everything handed to them on a platter, right?” The twins nodded. “But if we individually find something in the Glade, like my Razor Fin, we get to keep it and don’t have to share?”
“Exactly.”
“So what’s stopping us from walking out into the Whispering Glade and looking for stuff to make us strong?”
The twins exchanged a glance before Egret hesitantly answered. “Because it’s dangerous? There are quite literally a million ways to die out there.”
“Besides, all the good tasks that involve leaving the sect get taken up by our Seniors,” Heron grumbled as Cook set down a platter of tea. Hearing his words, the construct thrummed softly and laid a consoling wooden hand upon the young cultivator’s shoulder. “Thanks, Cook.”
“Besides we have responsibilities within the sect,” Egret continued. “We have to tend to the High Gardens, attend Elder Qiang’s lessons on combat, and help the constructs out with the general menial tasks around the sect. We only get two free days a week to do whatever we want and that's not for another few days. And like Heron said, our Seniors always get the good quests.”
“Let me worry about that,” Riley laughed, standing from his chair. “I’ll make sure we get ourselves a proper trip for the boys. Just be ready for a fuckin’ adventure this weekend. See y’all tomorrow for practice!”
The twins watched Riley leave the Lowly Dining Hall, sharing a worried glance.
“We’re fucked aren’t we?”
“Yeah, probably.”