Fang Xiao enjoyed teaching the outer sect. It was far from the most efficient way to amass contribution points, especially for a disciple with his skill in battle. Hunting spirit beasts, or more intelligent prey, carried substantial risks of course, and such missions were rather variable income besides. A single fruitful hunt could pay more than entire months of poor takings. But even blacksmithing work and tutoring advanced students paid better than teaching introductory martial classes, to say nothing of the money that could be made drawing talismans.

All the same, he enjoyed the work. He made a point of teaching at least one introductory class every few years.

It was simply a shame so many of his students were not ready for true martial study.

Three dozen disciples struggled through pushups as Fang Xiao ate a late lunch. He typically practiced grain liberation, but Elder Hu’s strange lesson had made a temporary fad of the mortal affectation. And Qian Min’s cooking was tolerable.

He chewed on a piece of fried dough as he watched this year’s advanced class struggle through their exercises.

Cai Haoyu was slacking again. He might now understand that Fang Xiao was less tolerant than his former tutors, but old habits died hard.

Fang Xiao scooped up a pebble and charged it with lightning.

He flicked it.

The boy jumped at the impact, then collapsed into a puddle of limbs. A pleasing hint of burnt silk filled the air.

“By withholding effort you only cheat yourself Disciple Cai. Again. From zero.”

He paused for a moment to check the moon. There were still hours before it set.

“That applies to all of you. From zero.”

The disciples halfheartedly concealed their groans, but none protested.

He had no idea what they were complaining about, it was only two hundred pushups. Three hundred now, he supposed. Even a mortal could manage that, if they were dedicated. The earlier workout hadn’t been that bad.

It was truly a pity that the class was so lacking, aside from a few rare gems. That the slothful Cai scion numbered among those gems was doubly pitiful. He might actually be worth something one day, if he learned to bleed for it.

He supposed the sect was much the same. A few glorious gardens of wonder surrounded by great fields of mundanity.

Sectmaster Meng’s dream was beautiful in its simplicity. A place where they could be free. Free from the stifling rules of the orthodoxy, able to walk their paths to their ends. Free to teach and learn as they wished, no matter how dark their arts, so long as they did not prey upon their fellow disciples.

But freedom alone didn’t teach. And neither did most of their elders. At least not to those disciples unwilling to bind themselves to their little fiefs.

Perhaps it had been different, before he had withdrawn. But Meng Xiao had remained in closed door cultivation for almost a hundred years now, until that debacle with the late Elder Fan. And even now he seemed disinterested in taking a more active hand in running the sect.

“Leg raises then crunches. Two alternating sets of a hundred each.”

He would be generous today, and give the disciples a soft cooldown. They’d done well in sparring. Almost managed to look like real disciples and not children playing with swords.

“If I see legs that are not vertical, or elbows failing to touch knees, you will all begin anew.”

Cai Haoyu quickly straightened his legs, before he earned another correction. He wasn’t even the worst offender, but Fang Xiao expected better from one who’d been given so much.

That was how they thought of him, wasn’t it?

He smirked. Perhaps it wasn't solely the fault of the sect, that so many disciples were lacking.

It was almost funny how many claimed the title of demon in the absence of the will to seize anything at all. In the absence of virtue they loudly touted their supposed vice. Anything to wrap themselves in distinction.

It wasn't like the orthodoxy did better, for all that they imposed order and structure. He wondered how the slothful Cai would have fared under their tutelage, if his family’s name was not so tarnished.

“Enough. Stand. If you haven't finished your set, you will do so after I speak.”

Thirty four disciples rose from their backs with varying degrees of alacrity. They made for a strange crowd. All of them were weak enough to age as mortals did, their bodies showing the truth of their years. Cai Haoyu had seen but fifteen summers. Next to him stood a muscular man who had seen easily forty, making him even Fang Xiao’s senior in age. All they had in common was that they had reached the midpoint of qi condensation in their first six months in the sect. Or risen at least one small realm, if they had arrived already above it.

“Do you know why I insist that you perform calisthenics to the point of exhaustion after sparring?”

“Conditioning keeps you alive.” The oldest disciple grunted out. A former soldier likely. He wondered which nation he hailed from. Perhaps he would ask, if the man lived long enough to matter.

“You're still thinking like a mortal Disciple Zhang. Not getting killed keeps you alive. Conditioning offers little protection against a gulf in skill or cultivation, and true bodily cultivation is far more than mere conditioning.”

He paused, to see if any of his students would experience a sudden bout of enlightenment.

“You perform calisthenics after you are already exhausted so the movements become so ingrained into your body that even when your limbs scream for mercy, your form will remain flawless. Once you do not cheat on your crunches, we will move on and you will learn not to cheat on your lunges.

“Should you live long enough, one day you will find yourself fighting a losing battle. Bereft of qi, broken of body. On that day, you will be glad to discover that even when your muscles are spent and your dantian dry, your form will remain perfect. You might die anyway. But your final thrust will not waver.

“But that level of mastery cannot be learned until you can command your body flawlessly even at its weakest. Dismissed.”

The moment he turned to walk away, a pair of disciples collapsed onto the grass.

What a farce. They weren’t that tired. Perhaps those two had meant to run away from home and join a theater troupe instead.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fang Xiao noted an interesting sight. It appeared Elder Li was not the only one that Elder Hu was gracing with a surprise visit. Perhaps Sectmaster Meng wished him to audit their teachings?

Fang Xiao quietly snorted at the thought. If Meng Xiao cared what went on in his sect, he would already know, if half the legends about him bore any hint of truth. If Elder Hu was here, it was for his own reasons.

Why would he be here then? Was he looking for another disciple? If so, he supposed either he or the Cai boy would be the obvious candidates. But then a week ago, he would not have pegged Su Li as being any elder’s choice. He still didn’t see what talent Elder Hu saw in her. She was passable with a sword, but her talent with cultivation was far from exceptional. A small realm a year in the middle qi condensation was not an encouraging pace.

Hu Xin himself was just as much a mystery. Fang Xiao still found himself turning over that lesson in his head, wondering if there was something deeper there. Qian Min had confirmed for him that the surface content was exactly what it seemed, a well presented summary of basic principles.

It just didn’t add up. That the Elder who never taught was a better speaker than many who did. That none could see what he saw in the first disciple he’d taken in recent memory.

Fang Xiao cut his musings short, as Elder Hu approached him.

“Disciple Fang.”

“Elder Hu.”

There was silence for a moment. Fang Xiao’s stomach churned in anticipation. There was opportunity here, he felt. The same instinct that had won him Elder Akayama’s favor and Elder Cai’s tutoring whispered to him that there were benefits here to be acquired.

“A good lesson. It reminds me of some of the lectures I received when I was a mortal first embarking on my own martial journey a lifetime ago.”

“Thank you, Elder Hu. Your own lecture gave me much to think about.”

“Did it now? I must confess I do find myself curious. What exactly did you take from Kan Ye’s words?”

Fang Xiao paused, and looked at the Cai boy, who was lurking just at the edge of mortal hearing. Elder Hu followed his eyes.

“Did you have a question for Disciple Fang?”

“N-No.” The boy spit out, turning to leave. At least he had the sense not to intrude upon his seniors.

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“Walk with me, disciple. If you have no pressing commitments.” Elder Hu said, ignoring the interruption.

As if Fang Xiao had things more pressing than a surprise visit from an elder on his schedule. Akayama and Cai were both nearly hermits, which gave him plenty of time to carefully plan his conversations with them.

Elder Hu led him into the woods beyond the training fields, seemingly heading nowhere in particular. For several minutes, they walked in silence, before he spoke again.

“Tell me, have we ever spoken at length before?”

“No, Elder Hu. You congratulated me, when I attained the rank of inner disciple, but we only exchanged pleasantries.”

“Hmm. I have attended many of those. They tend to blend together after a time. So few live long enough to be worth remembering.”

Did that mean Fang Xiao had risen high enough for Elder Hu to care? Or that he still had further to go? Again, they lapsed into silence. Fang Xiao wondered if he should answer the question he’d been asked, before Cai Haoyu interrupted them.

“Tell me, what do you think of your students?”

“Too soft and too hard at once. Spoiled brats whose parents had no better options, and old men made brittle by hard living.” Fang Xiao answered immediately. “But they are the best we received this year. I think perhaps ten of them might have a chance to become inner disciples in a decade or so if they remain with the sect.”

“And what do you think of the odds that they both survive and remain with the sect to reach that rank?”

Fang Xiao saw where he was going with his questions. Elder Hu was evaluating his understanding of the state of the sect. Was he considering establishing a new disciple’s union, with him at its head? He’d heard they’d had one decades ago, before it scuttled itself in a dispute with the Empty Sepulchre and the Liang clan. He wasn’t particularly interested in such a bureaucratic position, but it rarely hurt to give a good accounting of yourself to an elder.

“Perhaps one in three to survive. Many will overreach, or find themselves too weak to do what is necessary. Perhaps one in five will have their debts bought out by their clans, or desert the sect.”

“You were teaching last year’s initiates, correct? And their class was about the same size as this year’s?”

“Yes Elder Hu.”

“So, of the hundred and fifty or so students we have taken in each year, we might expect perhaps one or two to both survive and become inner disciples.”

“Of those who focus on combat, yes.”

“Let us be generous and double that number then, to account for the other disciplines. So, for each hundred initiates, we expect one or two to remain with us long enough to eventually become inner disciples.”

“Yes.”

Fang Xiao knew the odds were bleak, but he hadn’t followed the numbers to their logical end before. It made sense then, why there were a scant three hundred of them on the sect’s rolls. And a full third of those had been abroad so long they might as well be assumed deserters or dead.

“In light of this, what do you think of the state of the sect? Are we ready for the challenges of the coming years? Are we equipped to grow in power and glory, to raise up new legends and future elders?”

Elder Hu spoke these words calmly and quietly, as if he were commenting on the weather.

Fang Xiao’s heart beat faster. Those words were not treason. There were precious few words that were, beneath Meng Xiao’s sky. But they were the sort of words that other elders would take up arms against, to protect their little fiefs. He took a minute before he answered. Elder Hu had made clear that this was not the sort of conversation that was rushed.

“I think,” he finally began. “That we are much like any other sect. There are those who are strong, and those who are not. And that there are too few of the former, and too many of the latter.”

“So we are. And what do you think, when you look upon this mediocrity?”

Fang Xiao’s stomach felt heavy. His throat was dry, and his hair prickled the side of his face. The little voice in the back of his head that whispered when opportunity was near was all but screaming now. His next words mattered.

“I think that there are many glorious mysteries here, and that we could be more, if they were not so tightly guarded. If the strong were more willing to teach the weak.”

“I do not disagree.” Elder Hu said mildly.

He kept walking, and Fang Xiao followed. As far as he could tell, they were simply wandering the grounds of the sect, headed nowhere in particular. He desperately wanted to know if he’d passed Elder Hu’s test, but the same instinct that had compelled him to speak now warned him to stay silent.

“It would be unkind of me to ask faith of you without first offering proof of my own.” Elder Hu finally said. “Let me explain plainly what I want from you, and what I would offer in return. I was displeased to see the state Disciple Su was in when she returned from your party.”

Fang Xiao almost missed a step, how had he forgotten about that? It would not be fair to blame him for what had happened, but the mighty were not bound by fairness.

“I do not hold you responsible.” Elder Hu continued. “But while such a beating might temper one’s resolve, it also rendered her unfit for any martial instruction this week. I like to think that we used our time productively regardless, but the matter left me with much to think on.

“In taking a disciple, I have in some ways compromised my ability to stand above conflict within the sect. Exposed additional surface to attack. And yet, while my reputation protects Disciple Su as much as it makes her a target, I suspect her experience was far from unique. Disciple Su informs me that you have eschewed accepting a master, despite receiving at least two offers.

“I will not insult you by tendering my own. Instead, I would ask that you perform two small favors for me, and in exchange I will offer you my aid in your cultivation without any expectation of acknowledgement as a teacher or filial duty.”

Fang Xiao’s tongue rasped against his mouth like a dry brush across coarse paper. Even if none of them would share their deepest secrets with him, it would still be a momentous achievement to be taught personally by three elders.

“What two favors?”

“First, I would have you act as a moderating influence among the younger generation. Clamp down upon the worst excesses of competition, protect those who do not have a patron to hide behind. To do your best to act as an example, to teach even those who lack talent, so long as they have the maturity to take your lessons seriously.”

Fang Xiao nodded. He already attempted to do much of that, but he could certainly step up his efforts if it would secure him Elder Hu’s favor. The advanced martial class was organized by the administrative hall, but there was nothing stopping him from offering his own to a broader audience.

“Second, the matter that occurred at your party must be addressed. Su Li will handle the matter with Geng Ru herself. I would not see the rancor between myself and Elder Li give rise to violence among elders. But Li Ru’s insults must be answered. I would have you be my instrument in punishing him.”

“Li Ru is not weak. As I am now, I think he would win two duels in three.”

Elder Hu smiled at him.

“Then we shall have to make you stronger. It does me little good, if your victory is not convincing.”

“What exactly are you offering in exchange for this?”

“I suppose that depends on exactly what you need. If there are places you would go, or resources you would acquire, that are too dangerous for you, I could assist you in such matters. Or, if you’re more interested in knowledge, I would not mind helping you find the answer to particular questions. Or…”

Elder Hu trailed off, then tapped the hilt of his jian. The blade leapt from its sheath like a spark from the forge, coming to a stop in the air before Elder Hu. Fang Xiao could feel the power radiating from it like a sharp sun.

“Or, perhaps I could help develop your understanding of the sword.”

If he could combine his elemental qi with actual sword intent, Fang Xiao would stand near the top of the younger generation. Elder Cai knew nothing of the blade. Elder Akayama had forsworn properly wielding a weapon until he broke his chains.

“In any case, I would expect no public acknowledgement from you. You are perfectly free to claim anything I teach you to be your own discovery, if you so wish.”

“I accept your offer, Elder Hu.” There was only one answer to such terms.

Elder Hu nodded at him, then kept walking. Fang Xiao followed along. The voice in his ear was quiet. Still, he had questions.

“Elder Hu… Forgive my temerity, but why do you care about those who can offer you nothing?”

The corollary, why did he care now, when he had not for so long, went unspoken. All the same, Fang Xiao felt certain it was heard.

“Allow me to answer your question with another. Tell me, Fang Xiao. What sort of demon are you?”

“I… I don’t know what you mean?” Fang Xiao said, silently cursing his faltering tongue. What sort of demon was he? He felt like he should have an answer, but every boast he considered rang hollow in the presence of Elder Hu, an actual sword saint.

“Perhaps that’s the wrong question. You’re a little young for it yet. What does the word demon mean to you then?”

“A demon… A demon answers to no one. They stand beyond all law but their own. They defy heaven not merely by action, but by existing outside the order it ordains.”

“A good answer.” Elder Hu said slowly. “A demon exists unrestrained, by man and heaven alike. I do not disagree. I have always preferred to think that I bear no chains, save for those I forge myself.”

Fang Xiao felt something in him resonate with those words. He wondered if Elder Hu had seen Elder Akayama’s situation.

“But that’s not all a demon is.” He continued. “Any wandering cultivator or hermit-master can claim to be unrestrained by the laws of man, and even the orthodox defy heaven in the pursuit of immortality. A demon does not merely stand free, he dictates the shape of the world around him with no regard to the will of others.

“I am the worst sort of tyrant Fang Xiao, one who does not bother to cloak his will in the cloth of righteousness. I humble what is proud. I destroy what is unworthy. I spare what I choose to. Mercy is a virtue that only the strong can grasp.”

Elder Hu turned to him and looked him in the eyes.

“I have been more involved with the world outside than I have been with the sect these last few decades. Now that I look deeper, I find myself displeased by the rot that has set in our home.”

“I see.” Fang Xiao said diplomatically.

“Do you now?” Elder Hu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elder Hu was not Sect Master Meng. He could not speak and see the sect reshaped to his will. But he was hardly the least among the elders, and would make a potent ally. His words aside, to accept this offer was to take a side. He did not think Elder Cai or Akayama would care, but if he did what Elder Hu was asking, he would almost certainly offend Elder Li and possibly the Empty Sepulchre.

And yet, the offer was too good not to grasp it. He had not risen to where he was by being a coward. This was the beginning of a faction that would shift the balance of authority within the sect. And if he played his cards right, he would stand near the top of it.

“I think, Elder Hu, that I understand your will better than I understand Kan Ye’s words.”

To his shock, Elder Hu burst into laughter, a joyous noise that sounded out of place coming from the throat that had just boasted of being a demon without equal.

“I remain curious, what exactly you saw in his words.” He said, laughter subsiding. “But that is a talk for another time.”

It was good to know that Elder Hu respected audacity and did not put much emphasis on formality. That was something he could work with.

“You are not what I expected from your reputation.” Fang Xiao said slowly.

That earned him another small chuckle.

“Good. I would hate to be so small of spirit that rumors could encompass the entirety of my nature.”

Fang Xiao didn’t know what to say to that. After a moment, Elder Hu continued.

“Truth be told, you aren’t what I expected either. Too many blessed with your talents let it go to their heads. Now come, tell me what exactly it is that you think you would need, in order to triumph over Li Ru.”