Darkhaven sighed to himself as he regarded the Novices, those few who finished the trial. He made no sound, but it was still possible to feel how vexed he was if you stood next to him.
In one neat line they stood, fifteen in total, most of them either anxious about the final results or too eager to receive them. Darkhaven let his senses roll over them one more time. Most did not think they were being observed all the time if there were no eyes on them, even if it was extremely hard to truly know if someone was watching, and this went doubly so for Cultivators.
The boy of the harmony division had, different from every other Novice, a confident smile adorning his face. He held his arms behind his back, multicoloured robe fluttering in the wind. Darkhaven felt like he was about to bite into a sour apple, but it was undeniable that the boy of the Di family had won. It was inevitable, really. The gap between him and every other contestant simply too large. Ji Daiyu's anxious face made for a stark contrast, the fingers on her left hand nervously twitching against each other in a rhythm only she knew.
The Di and Ji family were two of the four most prominent cultivation clans on the mountain, and denying a promising member of a rivalling family the prestige and recognition she should have received was only a mild part of the constant game of power those people played.
Personally, Darkhaven saw no true gain in it, and evaded any kind of involvement in those pointless quarrels to the best of his abilities, but he could admit his dislike for the harmony division's disregard of his division, and even more importantly, his position as the sect's strongest Master.
'Damn politics. Nothing but cowardly snakes biting at each other's throats, constantly pushing and prodding how far they can go before the knife would strike them down.' Darkhaven thought darkly.
He looked down at his gnarly hands, marked by the unrelenting passage of time. 'I am getting older, and the little fish are getting bolder. I will have to accelerate the plan even more.'
He retained his outwardly calm facade while the moment stretched on and Darkhaven gathered back his thoughts.
A few Adepts were already getting antsy. They of course did not show it, but he did not live this long without being able to discern meaning from minute changes in a Cultivator's Spirit's flow.
The Adept who represented the harmony division even had the gall to look deeply satisfied with the results, sure of victory, a sardonic smile playing on his thin lips.
Not wanting to stay in company any longer than necessary, Darkhaven began announcing the results, or so the audience thought.
"Congratulations to everybody who made it this far, you overcame adversity, and pushed past your limits to stand before us now." He opened his arms wide, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I even believe that your performances were so close, that I have decided to give each of you the chance to choose any one type of art from the weapon division. Additionally, each of you will be given the opportunity to have an extra training session with a senior Adept once a week, and your division's allowance of spirit stones and other materials will be doubled."
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Darkhaven finished his speech with a resounding clap of his hands, and a grandfatherly smile that would surely sting the old Di family Master more than a stab through the chest, and leaving an almost deafening silence in his wake.
What did this mean? Was there no winner, and they simply got the same rewards?
The silence was broken by the Novices beginning to talk excitedly among themselves, while most Adepts were clearly too shocked to respond or call their charges to order. It was understandable. After all, the prize he promised the Novices was what usually the second placeholder would receive, and now thirteen disciples would be getting an upgrade to their rewards.
Only Ji Daiyu and the Di family boy looked dissatisfied. She looked torn, not sure if she should be angry with the old man, or perhaps even thankful, but still anxious all the same. The boy, on the other hand, looked furious, his face similar to a clenched fist, and eyes burning with perceived injustice.
It was only natural that they reacted this way, Darkhaven thought. Seldom a Master had proclaimed the results of a trial to be too close to judge. Especially when they were not in fact too close. The overseeing Master, if there was one, had the last word though, only it was usually not used on such trivialities.
Both the Ji and Di families would see this as Darkhaven disrespecting them. The Di's far more so, as the ruling implied that an almost fifteen-year-old prodigy of the Di family was not only not superior to a girl of the Ji family who was four years his junior, but also on the same level as those who had received no equivalent help.
"That will be all, for now." Darkhaven said, not caring that the children were already no longer listening, and vanished in a flicker, leaving Adept Ji, who remained stoic, to take care of the rest.
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Ji Daiyu was not sure how she should be feeling right now. Darkhaven had given them all good resources, and with Ren being his apprentice, she was certain that the old Master would not have changed the results if she had won. She was unsure how her family would react, if she would be punished in some way for her inadequacy. Something heavy in her stomach twisted itself into a knot so heavy she thought she might vomit.
She hated herself for the shiver that ran down her back while thinking of her family and steeled herself, carefully trying not to let her thoughts surface.
People were dispersing. Ren, Xiao Bao, and... she suppressed another shiver, Zhi Mu were talking. Her two friends, apparently trying to convince the terrifying Adept of something, talked animatedly, especially Xiao Bao, but their words seemed to only crush against cold walls.
Zhi Mu shook his head, bringing the conversation to an end, put a hand on Xiao Bao's shoulder, who looked reluctant, and the two of them disappeared in a flicker not dissimilar to Darkhaven's. Ren sighed after them, but turned to her with a smile.
"Hey, Daiyu, this was crazy, right? I thought for sure that I wasn't going to make it through." Little Fatty said, laughing, with Ling Sen in tow, choosing this moment to approach just as Ren landed with a smile of his own in front of her.
"Congratulations! All three of you." Ren said, and looked at them a little awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure how to continue.
While she was still lamenting her performance, and dreading any interaction with her family, Little Fatty simply pushed through the awkwardness and clapped both her and Ren on the back.
"Thank you, brother Ren, thank you very much. We put our all into it, after all, we truly did." The large boy said, voice boisterous and jovial.
She managed a slim smile as he led their conversation, talking about this and that, and slowly the knot in her stomach untangled itself.