Cultivation at Speaker Peak was very different from anything Shin Sumi was used to, as she soon discovered. It was very disorienting, as it appeared like the basic principles didn't matter. Cultivation levels were nothing to speakers in relation to the mastery of their craft.

Instead of fighting training, lectures were given to the disciples by the upper ranks of Speakers. For novices like them, the teachers were most often cultivators who had been in Lead Peak for over two years.

Apart from their experience as a Speaker, nothing differentiated the teachers from the students. In fact, Shin Sumi's jaw nearly dropped to the ground when one day a Liquid Realm second step cultivator walked up to stand before them in the lecture hall.

With a cultivation of only the second step, the man was one of the weakest persons present and yet he was supposed to be their teacher.

Rather than teaching techniques and divine skills, the person in charge of their education would simply sit cross legged on the center platform and talk. Sometimes the lectures could last up to six or seven hours but there was never anything other than talking involved.

At first, Shin Sumi thought maybe they had been unlucky, having been given an unusual individual as a teacher, but after the second, third and fourth lecturers, she had started to realize that it was all she could expect from their lectures.

"What is the point of talking like this for hours? The things he says don't even make sense! He's been contradicting himself for five hours today!"

"We are on Speaker Peak after all, we should have expected them to speak quite a lot but this..."

Next to Shin Sumi, Lei Jing and Xiu Ying were slowly losing their patience.

"Yesterday's teacher was proof that everybody on this peak is crazy and wasting their time. If a second step cultivator can become a teacher here, we will never properly cultivate past the level we are at now."

Shin Sumi turned to her comrades discreetly, speaking in a low voice as to not disturb the hall, "I have an idea. Maybe we are understanding this all wrong. Follow me after the lecture, I know where we can get some information."

As frustrating as it was to her, Shin Sumi couldn't help but believe that there was more to it than just hearing a cultivator talk for hours. After all, she had witnessed first hand the power used by Master Lead. It hadn't been a divine skill or a profound technique or anything of the sort. His words had been simply... magical.

Nevertheless, the lecturers only spoke normal words, and ones that made no sense, at that. Only if there was one place where they could get a good grasp on the discipline that was Speaking, then Shin Sumi knew exactly where to go.

"Haven't you already been here a few times before?" asked Xiu Ying. She was eyeing the rows of books, parchments, jades and scrolls with a strange face. It was clear that she wasn't fond of libraries like Shin Sumi was.

"I have, but back then I didn't know what I was looking for. Now that we know there is a thing called 'Speaking', it is easier to search for related documents. Look!"

Shin Sumi picked up a rolled up parchment that had been covered by dust for the last dozens of years, at least it seemed. On the end of the wooden frame that held the parchment rolled up, the character for 'word' was inscribed.

"I saw this one the last time I was here but I didn't bother opening it. Now I'm thinking it might be useful if it's about word magic or Speaking."

Gathering a few scrolls, the girls found a table in a corner of the library and started researching the mysterious ways of Speaking.

"Listen to this, 'Speaking exists in many different ways. The only common denomination is that words Spoken come not from the chest but the dantian. Speaking is not spiritual powers enhancing speech, nor is it formation based. The Speaker's voice is an expression of the flow of Shinsoo in its purest form, reflecting the heart. Complex thoughts are intrinsically harder to Speak, as is Speaking to another cultivator,'."

"... What does that mean?"

"I am not sure. Maybe this is saying that the cultivators teaching us are simply practicing Speaking with their dantian instead of their chest?"

"That makes no sense! How could you produce sound without using your vocal chords?!"

After sharing more of their findings and parting ways for the rest of the day, Shin Sumi walked aimlessly for a while before finding herself in front of the moss-covered rock and the bamboo grove where Master Lead had seeked her out.

"Nuan, do you want to come out?" she asked in the silence, only perturbed by the rusting bamboo leaves.

"Hmm. I guess not. Last time scared you, is that right? You had to wait for a couple hours in hiding before I could come find you again, poor girl," she sighed, "Next time I will find something for you to read at the library, okay?"

Continuing in her head, Shin Sumi thought back on what her comrades and her had read.

"Speaking is expressing the heart's intention with the flow of Shinsoo... Is this why Master Lead asked what was at the core of my Dao? He surely made it sound like Speaking was powerful and that it shouldn't be used for the wrong motives. I wonder what his motived are, though."

Shin Sumi couldn't shake the first impression she had gotten of the strange Master. The sudden change in the Master's words and action from when everybody thought the prisoners were in the State of Sleep.

"With his position, he didn't have to appear nice to us prisoners. If it was his true nature, why didn't he act like that despicable Master Tin? It would have been simpler. Same with the shady way of approaching us, first not telling us anything and then picking us one by one to reveal what Lead Peak was all about. Why didn't he tell us right from the start?"

Something was strange, but because there wasn't any apparent motive for anything she had seen so far, Shin Sumi couldn't even begin to formulate theories.

Her eyes were closed and her heart was still, deep in thoughts as she was, when suddenly her eyebrows perched up.

"Wait a minute. If Speaking is about the truth of the heart, why did Master Lead start picking prisoners with the ones Master Tin said had lied? That's the opposite of the way of Speaking!"

Replaying the events of that day, in the plaza with all the cultivators and the Masters of the sect watching, Shin Sumi realized something.

"Out of all of us chosen, five had lied in the first of Master Tin Fire's questions, as for the rest we all are below twenty-five of age. And now that I think of it, I don't think I have seen one of the 'liars' since I properly entered Lead Peak..."

A sudden chill assaulted Shin Sumi's back, crawling like an intangible feeling of fear.

"Wh-where are these five now?! Master Lead should have known from the start that they would not be prone to the way of Speaking, so what were his motives in choosing them? Was it just to appear like the saviour from Master Tin's nightmarish questioning?"

Now the semblance of a theory was starting to form in Shin Sumi's mind.

"Is that why he didn't reveal that Lead Peak was also called Speaker Peak? So that his saviour disguise would hold?"

***

"Senior Chao, pardon this junior for asking, when will be able to cultivate fighting techniques?"

The one who had spoken after the day's lecture was Fei Unwan, one of the most recent recruits of Lead Peak with Shin Sumi and the others. Raising a hand while bowing slightly with respect, he had attracted the attention of the lecturer, Chao Wu.

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The young man who had been in Speaker Peak for years turned to look at him, his eyebrows furrowed behind the long black hair falling partly on his face. According to the information the newcomers had gathered on Speaker Peak, Chao Wu was one of the strongest cultivators around, at the Liquid Realm's Seventh Step.

The rumors even mentioned that he had grown up in a smaller sect known for their fighting talents and that he entered the Blue Fire Sect due to his great potential, which was why Fei Unwan had chosen to talk to him rather than the other lecturers.

"Junior... What is your name?"

-Fei Unwan, senior.

-Junior Fei, can you tell me what is wrong with your question?"

Fei Unwan instantly froze in place, remaining silent for a long time, provoking a long sigh from Chao Wu, "Have you learned nothing from all my lectures?"

Sensing that Fei Unwan was either in trouble or simply that the situation was becoming too acidic, most people who were still there cleared the lecture hall. The only remaining disciples were newly accepted cultivators.

"With one question, you are asking me more than five different questions in one, do you realize that?"

Silence.

"Do I have to spell it out for you, Junior Fei? You are asking me 'if' you will ever get to learn fighting techniques. You are also asking me if Speaker Peak even has fighting techniques. You are probably asking why you haven't seen any cultivator with a sword or a dagger ever since you entered here. You are asking if you will have the chance to wield a weapon again because yours were taken when you became prisoners back in the Sky Earth Sect. You are also implying quite strongly that you don't understand the point of these lectures, or anything that happens on Speaker Peak for that matter. Am I wrong?"

A different kind of ice overtook Fei Unwan from Chao Wu's response, an ice so cold that even Shin Sumi and the others were affected by it. Chao Wu had explained everything Fei Unwan had meant and even more than that.

"A Speaker should learn to speak his truth, not blabber about hidden meanings and implied interests. This relates only to the other side of the coin. Now, start over."

It took a full five seconds for Fei Unwan to reach a state where he was calm enough to talk again in front of the cold eyed lecturer. He opened his mouth a first time, but reflecting back on what Chao Wu had said, he decided to close it again.

Fei Unwan's second attempt at talking also turned out to be a failure as no word came out of his mouth. Finally, he reached a point where he was confident that his question was as simple and straightforward as possible.

"Where can I find a sword to replace the one I used to have?"

Chao Wu smiled. It was almost the smile of a parent who observed their child's progress. It was clear that he was content with the phrasing this time and that Fei Unwan's efforts were worth it.

Nevertheless, the lecturer simply nodded and turned around, disappearing from the hall in one swift movement without answering.

"What the...? He didn't answer!" Lei Jing tilted her head to one side, unsure about what was wrong with the question this time.

Shin Sumi thought out loud, "He didn't want to answer, just to make Brother Fei realize what he truly wanted to ask..."

"What sort of twisted teachings are these?! And I still have no idea where I will find a weapon to replace my Piercing Soul Spear."

Knowing that the leaf pattern on her wrist still held her Sky Deception and Void Sword hidden, Shin Sumi felt a bit guilty and didn't press the matter.

"Nuan, I am going to find Senior Chao tonight. I think he can really help me understand this Speaking thing and I think for someone who said that Speaking wasn't about hidden meanings, he did imply quite a lot of things."

With the cover of darkness and the Invisible Crane of Oblivion, Shin Sumi snuck out of her residential quarters. She didn't need to, strictly speaking, but to her it was also a way to train her movement skills.

Reigning in her Shinsoo, she waited patiently for a group of three disciples to walk past her. From her most basic estimations, the three of them were around the Liquid Realm's fourth step, one above her, and yet at no point did they even sense her presence.

Stealthily walking up the slope of the mountain, the more she progressed, the more Shin Sumi realized she needed to be careful at every moment. As far as Invisible Crane of Oblivion had proved useful to her, she knew she wasn't at a level where she could walk and keep her invisibility up at the same time in front of somebody much stronger than her.

That would have been fine in any other part of the sect as the higher she progressed on the mountain, the stronger the people residing there were, but here in Speaker Peak, it was different.

Having quarters up the mountain didn't measure in strength or cultivation level, but in Speaking ability. At the level Shin Sumi was in, she could run past somebody living near the very top but be caught instantly at the border with the Common Area.

"I should slow down and observe the area a bit before I keep moving. From what I know, Senior Chao's courtyard is only a few houses away."

Settling down in a cross-legged meditation position, Shin Sumi breathed slowly in and out. She had found that by staying completely still, she could keep Invisible Crane of Oblivion up for a really long time and even get some of her energy back.

As long as she took the time to replenish her energy levels like that, she could potentially stay hidden for days!

However only a few minutes passed before a strong presence was felt in the distance.

"That pressure and divine sense, it exceeds by far the Liquid Realm's eighth step. Could it be..."

Literally frozen in place, Shin Sumi couldn't even think about moving closer or further away from the strong individual, lest she wanted to ruin her cover. Instead she patiently waited until the divine sense receded, a few blocks away.

"Uh-uh, Master Lead seems to be paying a visit to Senior Chao as well..." she was now pretty sure of what was going on. "I can either leave while I'm hidden or try to creep closer. Maybe I can even get some information about Master Lead Fire's true motives."

Shin Sumi suddenly relaxed her tense shoulders and legs, the pressure she put on herself instantly evaporating, as she realized something that made her laugh inaudibly.

"Heavens, I am so used to doing this and having my life depend on my discretion that I forgot this was just training. Nobody said I wasn't allowed to walk around here anyway!"

Deciding to try her luck, Shin Sumi crept closer to where the presence had just been, until she was only a dozen meters away from Chao Wu's courtyard. To a cultivator, even one in the third step of the Liquid Realm, a dozen meters was certainly enough to eavesdrop as long as the people speaking were not restricting their voices.

Sitting down like she had before, Shin Sumi completely erased her presence and concentrated her hearing.

"...so do you think they are acclimating?

-Some of them are beginning to understand the basis behind Speaking, Master, but this humble disciple cannot claim to be the reason.

-Speak freely, there is no need for all of these polite formulations with me."

There was a short pause following Master Lead Fire's demand, probably for Chao Wu to bow.

"Then allow me. Just like you said, they recently started to question the organization of Lead Peak. One of them asked about sword fighting and offensive techniques. My guess would be that he is the Royal Guard one. I think I have also identified the Master Alchemist, although I didn't have the occasion to Speak to her directly. As for the other ones, the Librarian, the Traveler, the Mother and the Clan Leader, I have not yet found who they were.

-Good. You did well in such a short time."

The praise in Master Lead's voice was clear and undisguised.

"You are making remarkable progress, Chao Wu. I believe you are nearly ready to join the Silent Seven.

-Thank you, Master.

-One last question, how did you respond to the inquiries about offensive techniques?

-I didn't, Master. I believe at least some of them have understood that they can cultivate such techniques. Maybe the next time I will make it clearer that relying on other types of abilities, though, only slows down the progress in the Speaker's way."

Master Lead seemed to think for a second before answering, "There is no need. I am confident they should figure it out really soon. They are close to understanding what Speaking really is at its core."

Shin Sumi remained where she was and didn't dare move as she could sense Master Lead preparing to leave. The door opened and the figure of the Master appeared in front of the courtyard. It was only when the door closed behind him and the light from inside had diminished that Shin Sumi could see his face.

A sudden sentiment assaulted her as for a split second she thought his eyes were directed straight at hers. Then, eyes in the distance, Master Lead smiled, folded his arms in his sleeves and disappeared with a speed too fast for Shin Sumi to follow.

"He... Did he see me? Is that what his last sentence was about?" Shin Sumi suspected.

Realizations dawned on her progressively and she sat in place for fifteen more minutes, long after Master Lead was gone, theorizing about what she had heard. Master Lead was clearly authorizing but not encouraging the cultivation of other types of techniques. Was the Silent Seven the elite troupe of disciples of Lead Peak? What was the deal with the Royal Guard, the Master Alchemist, the Librarian, the Traveler, the Mother and the Clan Leader?

From Chao Wu's explanations, the Royal Guard was clearly Fei Unwan, but as for the others... Shin Sumi immediately thought of herself as being the Librarian, which meant...

"Master Lead is testing Senior Chao's ability to read our secret desires!"

Thinking back to what Chao Wu had told Fei Unwan earlier, a phrase came to her attention.

"This relates to the other side of the coin... Maybe hearing or listening is of equal importance to progress in the Speaker's way?"