After Jin recovered from his happiness-induced bout of dizziness, Elder Flower informed him that now was the time to show the Illusion Room to the Elders of the Mad Monks Sect.

It went to show just how much importance the monks put on better vetting their disciple candidates, that it was only 3 hours later that the meeting began. Jin and Flower were sitting in the large conference room with the two sect elders who had met them upon their arrival all those months ago, and for some reason, inner disciple Shen.

Back in Jin's world, even setting up a meeting like this would have taken a week as everyone would have searched through their calendars, bouts of self-importance would have slashed most days a week, and someone's daughter's violin practice would have nuked everything in the end anyway.

The cultivation world was a lot smoother somehow. One would think that people living much longer would move more slowly, and while this was the case usually, this was an interesting exception. Jin guessed that this was due to sects having clear hierarchies, and if a particular Elder was busy cultivating in solitude, then the person below them would be sent to make the decision in their place in case it was time-sensitive. It kind of made sense that sects were composed of a very fluid structure when one considered the amount of time that cultivators liked to seclude themselves.

The inclusion of inner disciple Shen in the talk bothered Jin for a bit however, then he got even more confused when the Mad Monks contingent sat down, with inner disciple Shen in the middle and the two Elders sitting slightly behind him.

"Sect leader Shen, Elder Kwang, Elder Zhang," Elder Flower started, addressing the three men. They each nodded in a sequence of their names being called, which confused Jin even further. Why was inner disciple Shen being referred to as sect leader?

Jin refrained from saying anything, but his mind was racing.

"Greetings, Elder Flower," sect leader Shen said. "I've been informed that significant progress has been made in the task at hand. Is it perhaps time for us to offer our input?" he asked calmly.

Jin could almost hear the smirk in the man's voice. The man who'd been beating the shit out of him for seven months now. He'd gained some insight into Shen's character throughout all of this.

If he actually was the sect leader, then that meant that the level of instruction Jin had gotten was significantly higher than he'd suspected. However, it was very confusing why exactly it was the sect leader who had been teaching him.

"Inner disciple Jin has made significant progress in the creation of the Illusion Room, to the point where it is time to show the product and to integrate the feedback of the client, rather than just the creator." Elder Flower said politely.

Jin's mind startled to a halt, forgetting all matters of sect leaders and whatnot, as he realised that if the Mad Monks had an issue with his Illusion Room, then he would again have to go back and revisit the work process.

He felt like he aged a hundred years in a second at that realisation. Considering how hellish the creation process of that thing had been up till now, if he had to do it again he might just age a hundred years in terms of stress.

"Inner disciple Jin is a very hard worker, and a very creative thinker," sect leader Shen praised. "I hardly think that what he has created is lacking enough for us to criticise," he said.

Elder Flower pulled the Illusion Room up on the table and floated it towards the man through a flexing of her qi.

Jin meanwhile was mentally putting his hands together in prayer, while Shen looked at the Illusion Room curiously. 'Please like it, please like it, please like it, please like it, please like it,' was running through his mind like the forgiveness mantra of a Latin-fluent priest in a Catholic church on Easter Sunday.

If it hadn't been considered rude, Jin would have immediately abandoned this conversation and bowed down towards Mecca to ask for help from all sorts of deities for help in this matter.

Sect leader Shen calmly raised his right hand, his forefinger extending to rest on the shining surface of the metal cube that was the Illusion Room. "I should survey," he said calmly before his gaze went slightly blank and he disappeared mentally from the conversation.

Perhaps feeling Jin's confusion, Elder Flower spoke up while they waited. "The Mad Monks Sect is indeed fortuitous to have a sect leader who has mastered the partitioning of the body so that he may be present in a variety of ways and affect change throughout the entire sect," she said calmly, causing Jin to realise what exactly had happened.

The powers of cultivators were as endless as they were varied. Once they obtained a high enough level, naturally splitting oneself up into aspects would be possible. It would make perfect sense for a leader of a large organisation to want to create copies of himself to walk the mountain and help with a variety of tasks. Keep an eye on things. After all, as was always the case if you wanted something done well, you had to do it yourself.

The pressure on Jin increased with the realisation that it had been the sect leader who had shown him the Place of Rest in an attempt to motivate him. It meant that it wasn't just the people in charge of the Outer and Inner rings who wanted to create a more efficient solution, but that the question of the testing went up to the highest authority.

"We are indeed blessed to have a leader as wise as the one we have," the middle-aged Elder Kwang said from behind Shen. Although, he did say it in a manner that indicated he wasn't interested in pursuing the conversation further. The tone implied something like, 'What are you talking about right now? There's other stuff going on.'

Jin sighed, internally complaining at the ridiculous amount of subtext that was present in any conversation between cultivators and wondered if he would become like this once he reached a few hundred years of age. It sounded exhausting, to be honest. Hiding behind a mask, visually and verbally for the rest of one's life.

A slightly harsh intake of breath suddenly resounded through the room as sect leader Shen opened his eyes and removed his hand from the Illusion Room thoughtfully.

"I see that inspiration has been found where it was given and that the dissuasion of the damned becomes the salvation of the unworthy," he said cryptically with a nod. "An intelligent man with no skill may survey the work of others and pass judgment, but a wise one knows that the best evaluators should be those for whom it was meant."

If Jin understood correctly, that was the sect leader giving his agreement.

The trend of people not being particularly scared of Jin's scenario continued. However, someone from a combat sect would definitely be less affected by the horrors Jin had brought into this world.

"Perhaps I should test it next, sect leader?" Elder Kwang asked, causing Jin to internally raise an eyebrow. After the sect leader agreed, was it in fact an Elder's role to second-guess that decision? Was there an internal power struggle going on?

Sect leader Shen seemed unperturbed. "It would be folly to not curiously gaze into the beast that others must enter unwillingly," he said and lightly pushed the Illusion Room to the right on the table to where Elder Kwong was sitting in a seiza position. The middle-aged man frowned and put his hand on the Illusion Room, before blanking out.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"The Illusion Room has centred the core subject of its fear wisely, if the biggest fear that is to be resolved is the loss of one's sanity, then that is what one should be confronted by," the sect leader muttered.

"I'm sorry for referring to you as an inner disciple," Jin blurted out, causing Elder Flower, surprisingly enough, to chuckle and Elder Zhang to crack a small smile.

The sect leader simply grinned mischievously. "I never introduced myself and it is not wrong of an inner disciple to assume that it should be another inner disciple who should lead him. There is no offence taken where there was none intended and being a disciple is an honourable role indeed when one considers the lessons that life has to teach us… for which it uses a variety of mouthpieces," he said cryptically.

Jin, unfortunately, now knowing that the man was not an inner disciple, did not have the status to be annoyed by the speech pattern anymore. He simply nodded pretending as if what had been said was actually relevant instead of just hot air.

"Sect leader Shen is wise indeed," he said.

"It is a dilemma for any Elder indeed," Elder Zhang piped up. "When one considers the powers that we wield at our level of cultivation, is there a point to let our disciples do anything? However, by doing nothing they have no opportunity to grow. It is a precarious balance indeed deciding on when one must act and when it is better to not do so. The preservation of our sect however is something that cannot be miscommunicated by someone who does not have a perfect overview of the situation," he said.

Jin nodded thoughtfully, realising that perhaps it had been necessary for someone high up the chain to show him the Place of Rest, and to tell him the troubles that had befallen the sect. It would have been foolish for this person to reveal their position of authority because this would have caused Jin to have been socially obligated to kiss their ass more than to offer actual solutions.

It seems that the Mad Monks were very well aware just like he was of the pitfalls of cultivator courtesy, and had their own strategies for avoiding the mistakes that this sort of behaviour often caused.

"If only all cultivators were as clear-sighted as the mad monks," Elder Flower said kindly. "Then the world would find peace and the demons would have been banished long ago."

The implication was obviously that most cultivators weren't particularly rational. Jin sincerely hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with a lot of those particular types of cultivators anytime soon.

"The fates determine the pattern of the heavens, and the heavens dictate the lives of their subjects. Everything that is must be, and everything that is not was never meant to. Karma resolves all in the end," Sect leader Shen said, which could be understood as a condemnation, as well as an offer of forgiveness. One couldn't really tell and that was perhaps the point. People would hear what they wanted to hear, which in itself was a powerful rhetorical strategy.

The conversation was interrupted.

Elder Kwang came to himself with a light gasp instead of just an intake of air, his previously flinty steeled eyes flitted about for a few seconds before he caught himself. He frowned. "It is seldom that I have witnessed a work of art so grotesque. I am afraid of what lurks in your head young inner disciple, but I am glad that is being used for a good purpose," he said with a resolute nod, before crossing his arms and returning to silence.

Sect leader Shen turned to Elder Zhang. "Would you like to try it as well?" he asked.

Elder Zhang just shook his head. "It is good that the disciple selection process can finally begin. They have been waiting for a while haven't they?" he mused. 'They' in this case refers to the people who were waiting at the bottom of the mountain.

Jin wondered if these were the same mortals that he'd seen seven months ago when arriving at the Mad Monk Sect. If so then they'd been waiting a while, no?

However, from a cultivator's perspective, anyone who wasn't even willing to wait such an amount of time was unlikely to have the necessary willpower to achieve anything. Jin did wonder how the disciple selection timing was decided. Was there one disciple selection process a year, did they wait for enough people to get here to justify the test?

Jin didn't know, since he'd been personally scouted, just like all other members of the Illusion Room Sect. Their mental techniques required the predisposition towards Yin energy, which meant that there wasn't much point in taking people whose heavenly roots had different components.

Additionally, unlike combat-oriented sects who always profited from having more bodies to throw at a given problem, a production-focused sect lived and died by the reputation it accrued for the quality of its craftsmanship. In that sense, it was easier to simply invite those who were fitting and to not hold general admittance exams like this.

"Tomorrow then?" the sect leader asked whimsically. He closed his eyes and seemed to think for a second. "The weather will be very clear and the sun will be brutal," he said. "A good day."

"I seem to remember there was a pilgrimage coming, they should be arriving within the week," Elder Kwang spoke up.

It was a polite way of saying that they should perhaps wait. However, the sect leader shook his head. "Do you know what the most important attribute for a cultivator is?" he asked, his eyes locking on Jin.

"Hard work?" Jin wondered. "It must be either that or talent." You couldn't really accomplish much without one or the other.

The sect leader shook his head. "I would say it is luck. Those unfavored by the heavens forever fight an upward battle. That is why it does not make sense to tailor one's decisions to such lengths. Those who are fated will and those who are not will not."

It seemed like a spiritual version of determinism to Jin, but what did he know about the will of the heavens. He was just some random dude.

"Would you be interested in witnessing the selection process? As visiting cultivators from an allied sect?" the second leader asked Elder Flower.

Elder Flower tilted her head for a second. "I don't particularly feel the need." She turned to Jin. "Do you want to?"

Jin idly scratched at his chin. It wasn't like he was going to get many opportunities like this. He might as well, right? He shrugged. "It would be interesting to see the effect of the Illusion Room, wouldn't it?" he wondered aloud. This was him implicitly agreeing.

"Good, Elder Zhang will bring you down when it is time tomorrow. I will attend as well for once." The sect leader decided.

"Is there any particular reason?" Elder Kwang spoke up.

The sect leader shook his head. "I feel as if something is fated to happen, the strings of the heavens are being woven into a new tapestry."

Elder Kwang nodded respectfully as if that made any sense. "Then I shall also make the time to attend." He decided.

"If the selection goes reasonably well then our visit will be running towards its end," Elder Flower said out loud. It sounded like she was looking forward to leaving, but that would have been impolite and so she phrased it differently.

"Perhaps after the selection process inner disciple Jin can crystallise the advancements he has made in the way of the lance into the scenario of Dragonslayer Ornstein, and then we will gladly bid you farewell," the sect leader reminded them. The Mad Monks had after all handed over a very lucrative trainer in return for the eventual finished product.

Jin nodded, never having intended to back out on that one. Considering the template and everything being mostly done… "It shouldn't take more than a month," he said.

At this point everyone at the meeting nodded, satisfied with what had been decided. They would meet again tomorrow.

-/-

Xiao's formerly blue robes were covered in mud and dried blood from the challenges that he had to undergo to arrive here. He didn't care, he had more important things to do. The young man wearily hefted his body over a stone ledge to arrive at the top of a hill.

It was in this area that the map given to him by an old-looking gentleman with a very impressive beard showed the Mad Monk Sect to be. As he finally stood on the hill overlooking a grandiose valley ending in mountains and streams he was immediately able to make out the mountain which would hopefully become his home.

The day was yet young, and the sun had yet to fully rise. This cast the mountain covered in temple-like architecture and a variety of blossoming trees into a pink light. It was a beautiful sight, one for sore eyes, especially because it signaled the end of a journey,

Xiao had been fighting his way through the countryside for a month now.

The roads had stopped three weeks ago and everything else had been wilderness. He'd had to hide from spirit beasts, fight against wild animals and scavenge for food as his supplies ran out.

He took a moment to put his fist into his palm and to bow down in the direction he had come from thanking all the people who had helped him along the journey.

The old man with his map, the young lady with the talisman which had protected him from pestilence, and the talking thunder beast that had spared him his life when he had mistakenly encroached on its territory.

Some had tried to hinder him. The Foul Water Gang of the Shao River, the scammer who had tried to extort him of his last coins with fraudulent claims and the swarm of demon birds that had attacked the caravan he had joined for a day only to be barely fought off by the joint efforts of Xiao and the mercenary captain.

"It has been a long road, but I swear upon the heavens that today it shall find an end and begin anew," Xiao swore before starting his hike to the large encampment of people that he saw waiting at the base of the mountain, likely there for the same reason as him.

He was sure that some of them would become disciples of the Mad Monks Sect, however it would be him standing at the top.

If he had thought that time would quell his desire for revenge for the humiliation he had experienced, then he had been very wrong as every day the desire to destroy the Bao family simply grew.

"I swore vengeance and I plan to upkeep that promise," Xiao said as he approached the camp.