Lesson Hall, Three Incense Mountains
Yu Ming paid close attention to Luo Ping's fourth lecture. He had learned much about the common customs of cultivators in these lessons.
To his great surprise, he learned that many didn't care too much for the upcoming tournament and were rather focused on something entirely else: Annual Selection.
The Annual Selection was conducted by senior members of the Sect for the sole purpose of taking in disciples under them every year, compared to the tournament, where only a few masters were paying attention.
Depending on your talents, achievements, or performance on their tests, these masters would take anyone from the 1st Layer of [Qi Gathering] to the Peak Stage of [Foundation Establishment] as their disciple. Some of them had truly eccentric tests that only a select few could pass, while others simply measured the cultivation base for the selections, giving most a chance to accept a master.
Another important piece of information he had been able to glean was that, while there weren't any active wars going on, skirmishes on the borders were quite common, and casualties weren't uncommon in them either.
Knowing that he could be recruited for a skirmish even with his low cultivation base made Yu Ming feel a whole new level of pressure to increase his cultivation.
"All right, you people. I know you must be feeling pretty pressured about the selection, so I have a great opportunity for everyone who wants to earn a few spirit stones for cultivation. Some menial tasks can earn you something, so you can quicken your cultivation. Stay behind if you are interested; others are free to leave."
Yu Ming watched as nearly all the disciples left, leaving behind a boy and a girl who seemed to know each other.
"How about you three introduce yourselves before I decide whether you will chop wood or clean the empty houses?"
The boy quickly stood up and said, "I am Mu Chen, a 3rd Layer [Qi Gathering] practitioner! "
Following him, the girl also introduced herself, "I am Mo Yao, 5th
Layer of [Qi Gathering]. I want to work with Brother Chen!"
"I am Yu Ming, 1st Layer of [Qi Gathering]. Please guide me."
Luo Ping seemed briefly amused by the girl before shrugging and assigning them the tasks. Yu Ming was to chop wood while the other two would clean houses.
"Yu Ming, you will receive 1 Spirit Stone for 100 neatly cut wood pieces, while Mu Chen and Mo Yao will get a Spirit Stone per house, shared among them. You can do these daily; just remember to get proof from the Peak Master's enforcers before collecting the spirit stones."
Yu Ming watched as the two and Luo Ping quickly went out, following them at his own pace.
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Camp, Three Incense Mountains
"Heh, That's the 23rd piece already. You have a knack for this."
"Thanks... But at this rate, I will barely earn a spirit stone by evening." Yu Ming stopped chopping wood to complain to his senior, Bai Tong, who was in charge of logging at the peak.
Bai Tong rolled his eyes at Yu Ming and left while saying, "Are you in debt or something? Slow is good; you will be rich before you know it."
Yu Ming resumed his chopping with a miserable expression while grumbling under his breath, "Easy for you to say..."
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Yu Ming's House
Tired from chopping wood, Yu Ming slumped down on his bed.
'Those old men were such a pain in the ass! They rejected 11 pieces for various reasons, and I had to go back again to chop them properly.'
Looking at the spirit stone clutched in his hand, Yu Ming admires its milky white color and smooth texture before going to his cultivation room to try it out.
'Let's try this out. If it really works, then I might be able to increase my cultivation quickly, as long as I don't slack.'
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Cultivation Room, Yu Ming's House
While seated, Yu Ming circulates his Qi as per [Heartstone Hymn Sutra] and immediately feels a cooling sensation on the tips of the fingers as the cool and gentle foreign Qi enters, adds itself to his stream of Qi, and slowly gets refined as it continues to circulate through his opened Primary Meridian.
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After a while, Yu Ming feels a certain full sensation from his meridian as his spirit stone crumbles back to dirt.
'This spirit stone is amazing. I can feel that my Qi has increased by a noticeable amount!'
Once Yu Ming circulates his Qi a few more times and feels that his body is natural again, he stands up and looks at his crumbled spirit stone longingly, thinking,
'Those scions have access to these every day...? How could the poor ever hope to catch up?'
Eventually, Yu Ming just sleeps in his cultivation room while complaining about how unfair life is.
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Lesson Hall, Three Incense Mountains
The next day, the cultivation class passed quickly without incident.
In general class, Luo Ping explains the relations between neighboring Sects in clearer terms while also explaining what Daemons are.
"I won't explain all the neighboring Sects, only those where there have been tensions in recent years. There is a coalition of Sects opposing us from entering Evergreen Forest, led by the Bright Sword Sect. To the North, we have a great enemy who has stopped us from entering the Northern Continent by using a series of natural fortresses; I am talking about the Black Sky Sect! Behind the Black Sky Sect stands the Daemon Race, who fears us entering the Northern Continent, where the Daemonic Council always sends support whenever the Black Sky Sect is unable to hold on. These are the main concerns you ought to have; we also have a few skirmishes with other Sects if any resources are found in the border regions."
"Daemons are beasts who achieve significant cultivation; they are led by a council, usually reside in the northern part of the continent alongside a few Great Sects, and try their best to stop any other Sect from gaining a presence there."
"I am sure you all will see all these as long as you survive long enough. On the matter of survival, I will give some advice: you all better start saving tokens for the combat-oriented arts and learn them quickly, or buy some magic tools! Who knows when you might be conscripted or need to survive in distant lands? It is best to take care of such things before they become big enough to kill you."
Luo Ping quickly rushed out after ending the sessions, seemingly in quite a hurry.
Yu Ming takes his time, slowly coming out, only to find Mu Chen and Mo Yao waiting outside.
"Hey. I am Mu Chen and this is Mo Yao as you know by now... Since we will be meeting each other regularly, I thought it might be nice to meet up later and get to know each other after our work. What do you say?"
Confused as to why they never tried introducing themselves yesterday, Yu Ming replies hesitantly, "Sure... Let's meet outside the Hall then."
"Great. See you soon." Mu Chen leaves, with Mo Yao following him creepily, never once looking at Yu Ming.
Yu Ming simply shrugs and moves toward his worksite, greeting Bai Tong with cupped fists before taking his spot to chop more wood.
As Yu Ming gets more at ease with chopping wood, his mind drifts off while his body moves mechanically.
'Hmmm. I never thought we had such a history with the Black Sky Sect... I should go around and make some connections with seniors so I can make sense of what can happen to me...'
Yu Ming stacks his pieces in an orderly manner before continuing, ' I should also check the talisman... I keep forgetting that and also need to find Sister Jin as quickly as possible.'
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Outside the Hall, Three Incense Mountains
Yu Ming walks down the mountain road to see Mu Chen and Mo Yao already waiting there in fresh clothes.
"Finally! I thought you had forgotten about us. Let's head to the Golden Pheasant Pavillion right now; I am starving!"
As Yu Ming follows Mu Chen and Mo Yao, Mu Chen asks Yu Ming more about him.
"I am from a village you wouldn't know. I have a Single-Element Qi Root." This first part didn't cause any reaction among them, but the second caused both of them to look at him weirdly.
"Uh... I don't think you're supposed to say anything about your Qi Root... or anyone's Qi Root."
Yu Ming looked incredibly embarrassed as Mu Chen awkwardly explained to him how it's taboo to talk about anyone's Qi Root and could make some very offended.
Mu Chen sheepishly added once he saw Yu Ming look so embarrassed, "I mean, I don't care! I have a 3-Element Root."
"I have a Dual-Element Root."
Both look surprised, as Mo Yao quietly adds before she goes back to admiring Mu Chen's face.
"Thanks... I am from a village so I don't know a lot of these informal rules... Can you teach me about these?"
"Hah! Sure, but let's fill up our belly first."
Yu Ming looks on as a bright golden restaurant appears with a lot of traffic, with Mu Chen spreading his hands wide in a welcoming gesture and speaking grandly.
"Welcome to the Golden Pheasant Pavillion!"