The next few days flew by Ren with extraordinary speed. Like expected, Zhi Mu and Shen Junan had not picked a manual to delve into further, though they looked extensively, while both Xin Jing and Han Ting picked out a general art that promised an increase in mobility, even at later realms, should it be mastered. Ren had thought that they would pick something more exotic, and not the same art, but ultimately it was their choice to make.
Xiao Bao had eventually settled on taking a manual that referred to itself as The Lightning God's Eye. She didn't tell them the specifics of it, but said that it was a perfect match for her, whatever that was supposed to mean. Zhi Mu joked that it would make her less excitable, which made Xiao Bao splutter in indignation.
Ren himself picked out a small manual that was simply titled, Insights, and nothing else. There was no author given, but it intrigued him enough to pick it out.
The first page of it read: 'Humans are naturally sorted into different castes. These castes are not necessarily tangible or immediately evident, yet they are there, constantly accompanying us. [...]That which divides is an amalgamation of factors: beliefs, reasoning, power, and many more. Thus, social groups will form that mostly conform to a caste that is reasonably close in all these points. Birth, in this case, plays a crucial role in the formation of social groups, though other circumstances may influence who will be accepted to a certain extent as well, and should someone not fit into the caste that their circumstances assigned them to, they will be excluded, one way or the other, unable to fit in until they have conformed or have risen to another caste, though those who are not originally from this caste might never truly be accepted. Tolerated, yes, but never accepted.'
It was all a bit cryptic and no examples of specific situations were given on the first few pages, the author just rambling on, but Ren thought it was similar to the style of Sundering Sword, and thus he took it, even if he wouldn't be able to understand it, for now. Additionally, Ren picked a small collection that depicted different exercises for both body and spirit that were more in line with what Xin Jing and Han Ting picked out.
The first exercise that was described in the manual was fairly simple, yet Ren had never seen it mentioned before. The Cultivator should push out their spirit, and then immediately seize it back inside. By focusing on minimizing the time between expansion and contraction, he would reduce any lag between an action and its accompanying reaction when it came to the arts.
At least that was the idea behind it. The first few hours of following the instructions gave Ren almost no tangible success. Even after multiple hours of following the instructions, he felt like he was missing the point of the exercise.
Eventually he put the exercise to the side in favour of training with his sword, immersing himself in his sword arts. As he swung the sword, pushing his arts to their limit, he remembered that basically all his arts had some connection to swords. Master Darkhaven and Xiao Ai even told him that learning anything not connected to swords would be immensely arduous for him.
'But this technique is just a general exercise, nothing special about it. It should be just as easy as the bowl exercise.' Ren thought, but still contemplated how to connect it with swords.
The answer he came up with, and he was embarrassed how long it took him, was to liken the expansion to drawing the sword, while the spirit's contraction would correspond to sheathing it. This change in mindset catapulted his progress with the added benefit of furthering the range that he could push his spirit. Where before he could only push it about three hand spans evenly around his body, now it was about a metre.
This also directly translated into certain arts advancing, namely his 'sword-step' and 'domain of the sword'.
When he told the others about his progress with it, Shen Junan looked at him with exasperation, barely believing what he heard. "That is amazing, Brother Ren. In normal circumstances you would just try to synchronize the ebb and flow of your spirit with the rest of your body, specifically your blood, to achieve more control in such a short time." He shook his head and sighed to emphasize his point.
They were sitting in the garden, away from the bookshelf of Cloudgrass, a gnarly tree spending them shadow.
"When someone becomes an Adept, linking all parts of your cultivation with the concept of your Intent is customary. Brother Ren has merely discovered it for himself now." Zhi Mu threw in while sitting on a rock that was strangely shaped like a cushion, multiple puppets dancing around him.
-----------------------------------------------
After their week was up, the fourth and seventh elder came to collect their charges. Darkhaven was apparently running late, as he had something more important to do, and would only pick Ren up shortly before the Novice trial.
Though, as it turned out, Han Ting, Xin Jing and Shen Junan decided to stay at the summit for now.
"I still want to analyse Grandmaster Cloudgrass' manual, and sparring with someone around my level would certainly help." Was what Xin Jing said, Han Ting nodding along.
Han Meijiao just approved the tall boy's decision in silence, his muscles flexing as he stood with crossed arms, while Xin Jing's grandmother, the fourth elder, looked on with a sour expression, though she accepted the girl's decision and left shortly after.
Shen Junan didn't need anyone's further permission, as Cloudgrass was his teacher. Xiao Bao was inordinately pleased with them still accompanying her, though she was still downtrodden by the fact that she would not be able to even watch the Novice trial. Cloudgrass remained adamant in his decision.
They continued their cultivation at the summit, Ren coming ever closer to the realm of Novice. Cloudgrass told him that it was only natural that he would become a Novice in under a year, as an Intent paired with the corresponding cultivation manual would certainly result in fast advancement.
Three days later, the day of the trial, Darkhaven arrived.
Surprising both Xiao Bao and Ren, Zhi Mu spoke up just before they left.
"Well, I guess that I will accompany you, Brother Ren." Zhi Mu, who was just leisurely watching the proceedings, interjected, turning to Cloudgrass with deliberate slowness. "And I think that if Drakhaven and I accompany Novice Xiao, and I bring her back when the trial is over there shouldn't be any problems, right old man?"
Cloudgrass looked unimpressed with Zhi Mu, but also didn't oppose his whim. Neither did Darkhaven. The old Master looking more amused by the situation than anything else. He beckoned them to go.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Well, if that is all, let us be on the way. Young Ren will set the pace." Darkhaven concluded, and signalled Ren to start moving with a raised eyebrow.
Ren just smiled, and with that the four of them started their descent.
---------------------------------------------------
What a pleasant development, Darkhaven thought while looking at the two young disciples of his division.
He was sure that Ren would develop in a satisfying way, the boy's Intent and his own training making sure of it, but Novice Xiao was far removed from even the possibility of a quick rise, in his mind at least.
Talk about suspicious manuals showing up in the sect were not something he was that concerned with, most of it was nothing more than rubbish after all, but observing the changes in her cultivation made him at least consider investigating them to a certain point. On the other hand, Ren playing around with his spirit, expanding it like a relatively strong Novice while drawing it back in with the finesse of an Adept, and at the same time using his movement art with nary a thought, was still of far greater interest to him.
Very soon the boy would become a Novice, and encounter his own trial. Darkhaven smiled with anticipation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ji Daiyu looked around herself, right hand holding the pommel of her sword lightly, ready to draw at a moment's notice. Her hair was done up in a simple braid, swaying from right to left, while her eyes shone with determination.
She stood in an arena that was specifically used for both duels and trials, and was naturally outfitted for the Novice trials. It was a single round platform, maybe two hundred metres across, she estimated, with a multitude of formations shining on the grey-green floor.
Around a hundred other Novices stood together with her before the spectator stand that was only filled with a few Adepts. All of them were waiting, nerves strained, for Master Darkhaven to arrive, as he was supposed to oversee the Novice trial.
After a few more minutes, Adept Ji cleared his throat and started addressing the assembled disciples. "My name is Ji, and I greet all of you, aspiring disciples of our glorious sect. Unfortunately, Master Darkhaven is running slightly late, but fret not. He will be arriving shortly. In the meantime, each of you shall move into one of the circles that will appear shortly." The man said, waving his hand and making the formation show the advertised circles.
Each circle had a little golden light burning in the middle, before which each of them sat down.
"Only one to a circle, please." Adept Ji had to emphasize with a raised eyebrow, as two Novices from the body division occupied the same area. The man was clearly not enthused by them, seeing as he shook his head when one of them left their circle, while looking more than a little embarrassed.
Daiyu took a spot somewhere in the middle of the crowd, able to observe the spectator stand with ease. She was wearing her standard grey robes, like all other disciples in the arena, sword strapped to her right hip. She had not seen Xiao Bao among the participants, and was getting worried for the older girl, but ultimately such worries were unnecessary baggage that she had to disregard in order to perform to the best of her ability.
Little Fatty and Ling Sen sat behind her with only a few circles separating them. The two of them had also noticed the absence of their resident chess enthusiast, but like Daiyu, couldn't do anything about it other than focus on themselves.
While waiting, Daiyu observed her competition. Most of them had taken meditative positions, like herself, trying to stay serene in the face of pressure, while some talked among themselves in hushed voices, reassuring each other.
Eventually, Darkhaven arrived, and who travelled with him couldn't have been a bigger shock to her. Xiao Bao, and Zhi Mu, with Ren seemingly leading the two of them behind the old Master. His appearance wasn't shocking at all to her, as she knew Darkhaven to be Ren's teacher, but both Xiao Bao's and Zhi Mu's appearance disrupted her mindset.
Why were they here? Why did it look like they talked with that monster without a qualm in the world? Those were the kinds of thought running through her mind.
It was not only her who was thrown off by the trio's appearance, though. Loud chatter immediately started when they followed after Darkhaven. Zhi Mu was notorious among the population of the sect, with many worshipping the very ground he walked on, hailing him as the next Transcendent.
Taking the stage after having a short word with the Adepts that were present, Darkhaven fixed all Novices with a gaze that demanded respect. There was no spirit behind it, and no pressure descended upon them, but it still felt so heavy that even the densest among the assembled got the hint, and the noise faded to silence.
The man smiled, his robes fluttering in the wind. Did Daiyu not know better, she would have never known he was one of the strongest people on the mountain.
"We will start with the first part of the Novice trial. The trial of the heart. Those of you who succeed in passing it will directly advance to the next part, and so on and so forth till everyone has passed every obstacle or has been eliminated. All parts of this Novice trial will be overcome by oneself, thus the final ranking will be determined by the accumulated results." Darkhaven clasped his hands behind his back, letting a minor amount of his spirit permeate the surroundings, putting pressure on all the Novices. "Though there might be chances to still change one's final standings before all is said and done." The imposing man finished, and with a wave of his hand, the first trial began, Ji Daiyu's world turned dark.
-----------------------------------------------
"This really isn't as fun to watch as I thought it would be." The dejected voice of Xiao Bao rang out.
She huffed, sitting next to Darkhaven and Ren, with Zhi Mu on Ren's left. Ren dangled his legs over the edge of the spectator's platform, that truly was nothing more than a platform, as most spectators simply sat down on mats usually used for meditation.
"It might not be visually striking, young Xiao, but if you allow your senses to sharpen and take in more of the minute details, it can make for an enlightening experience nonetheless." Darkhaven's voice rumbled out, slight amusement clearly dancing on his lips, yet remaining encouraging. "Try to feel for the way that the formation's spirit flows. Only on a smaller section, though, you don't want to be overwhelmed by it. Then follow its course, see how it interacts, and maybe you could even learn something from it."
Xiao Bao wordlessly accepted the Master's advice, and closed her eyes, trying to follow his instructions.
Ren and Zhi Mu were already observing exactly what Darkhaven talked about. Multicoloured lines of spirit were connecting to the disciples sitting below them, through their eyes, ears, nose, and even mouth, unlike the illusion formations Ren had seen and experienced until now. The trial was not in possession of a more sophisticated formation necessarily, but it made use of every cultivator's meridians, that were connected to their senses.
This clearly gave the illusion that was used easier access and more control over the happenings within, the infiltrating lines of spirit were far more robust after all, but should the illusion be seen through it would also be far easier to break apart.
Ren looked at most Novices, paying special attention to his friends, and those he knew. It wasn't immediately apparent, but as time went on, there were clear changes happening in the formation patterns of some Novices.
More and more Novices advanced to a new stage of the trial, because that was clearly what this signified. Even the colour of the golden flame that floated in the middle of every participant's area changed appearance, though curiously not into the same.
"Master Darkhaven, when will they wake up from the illusion, and start on other parts of the trial?" Xiao Bao asked the wizened man sitting next to her.
"It will take at least another hour for all of them, I am afraid, unless someone escapes before then, but that is quite unlikely." Darkhaven responded, scratching his chin with his thumb.
"To be honest, all of their capabilities are already being evaluated this very moment, not only their ability to escape illusions. Most of them do not know this, of course, but the latter stages will still contribute in showing who shines under stress and the fear of injury, and who doesn't." Zhi Mu said, turning his head to face the girl.
Ren dearly hoped so, as none of their group had cleared the illusion's first stage yet.