Chapter 62: Ghost Number Seven
"Be-Become a Ghost?"
"The sixth pavilion has been there for almost as long as the other five. It's existence as never been revealed to anyone though" Fen Wudao joined in on the discussion.
"If you wish to join us, then you'll become the Seventh Ghost and all the secret techniques and spiritual arts of the Ghost Pavilion will be available to you. You will also join one of the five pavilions, but as a facade to not raise suspicions."
"And if I don't ?" Shin Sumi asked, afraid of the consequences a refusal would bring.
"Then naturally we would have to make you swear an oath on your cultivation to never reveal the existence of the Ghost Pavilion. Or we could erase your memory of this discussion."
The Patriarch's voice was severe but gentle. He knew as well as Shin Sumi that she had already accepted the offer.
"As a reward for your performance in the Rising Star Tournament, you will also naturally get a courtyard like this one on the face of the central mountain in any case. But if you join the Ghost Pavilion you have to renounce the glory and the other perks of having finished first in the tournament."
Shin Sumi chuckled imperceptibly. Was she really the type of person to be clinging to glory like Jun Qian and Chu Erlong?
"And I can still join any of the other Pavilions?"
Fen Wudao answered, "Yes, your friends and even your instructors in said Pavilion will never know that you are a Ghost."
All the questions that wrecked Shin Sumi's brain had been answered. What she wanted to know most was if she would have to say her final goodbye to Xiao Yue, Lan Hui and the others if she joined the Ghost Pavilion.
Unlike she had first thought, joining the Patriarch and Fen Wudao would not erase her presence completely, she would just have to live a double life.
Eh! That wasn't so bad, she had already lived three different one in the sect during her first two years!
An idea suddenly coming to mind, Shin Sumi thought about it for a while before sending a private divine sense communication to Fen Wudao.
Just in case her idea would be asking too much, she wasn't willing to bring it up directly with the Patriarch who was currently sipping on his cup of tea.
Fen Wudao's eyes enlarged when he received a mental message, his eyes quickly darting from Shin Sumi to Patriarch Sen. The latter had seen what was going on despite not knowing the content of the message, but continued to casually sip on his tea.
"Junior Sister, I don't really know, to tell you the truth. Master?" Fen Wudao spoke out loud. Whatever the Patriarch would say, Fen Wudao was certain that his master wouldn't take offence and would study the question. Shin Sumi had nothing to worry about for asking.
"If my Junior Sister has already adopted three different identities within the sect... Can all three of them join a Pavilion?"
Shin Sumi's eyes immediately went down following her head, as a form of respect and apology, but her ears were perked up, waiting for the answer.
What Shin Sumi wanted more than anything was to learn, gain knowledge. If by chance she could get her hands on three different kinds of techniques, manuals, scrolls, she would be starting to have her own library of the Immortal World in her mind.
And that was without taking into account the fourth source of knowledge, the Ghost Pavilion, by far the more mysterious and the one Shin Sumi wanted to learn from the most.
Patriarch Sen's expression went from puzzled to that of impressed, and then pondering for a while. As if he had been talking with himself, his eyebrows moved like his lips, frowning a bit and then suddenly opening up for a few seconds.
"Well that is indeed a strange request. No sane person would try to assimilate the teachings of more than one pavilion at a time... Comprehending one technique can sometimes take years for some individuals. But you're not any disciple. With your talent I trust that you would be able to make it work out. I also trust that if you realize that it is too hard you will make the right choice."
And just like that, Shin Sumi's request had been accepted. The Patriarch and Fen Wudao would take over the preparations for her acceptance in the Ghost Pavilion, in the meantime she could occupy herself and wait for the results of the Rising Star Tournament.
Shin Sumi took her leave respectfully, thanking her Seniors for taking care of her before descending the mountain and taking the appearance of Bai Fulong.
Because of Fen Wudao's direct tutelage under the Patriarch as well as his very promising talent, his courtyard was one of the best for Liquid Realm Practitioners. Apart from him, not more than ten or so disciples had their own plot of land away from the valley.
The upper valley was very similar to the lower valley. The buildings and plazas were identical although everything seemed twice as big in size.
As Shin Sumi walked the paths and streets, she realized one of the big contradictions of the Immortal World.
"This is the way everything works here... Close to ten thousand Honorary Disciples for only a thousand or so Liquid Realm cultivators, but the upper valley is ten times bigger than the lower valley."
The stronger, the more perks to be enjoyed by someone. Although it sounded like a very primitive system, history had shown that it worked.
Shin Sumi went back to the plaza where she herself had appeared before Fen Wudao. The place was now crowded! Without a word, Shin Sumi slipped in the middle of the sea of disciples with colorful robes.
In the Liquid Realm there were no visual distinctions between talents of strength. Any individual could wear any color of robes and thus Bai Fulong's green robes went unnoticed by the crowd.
The reason behind that was immediately obvious for Shin Sumi. Lazily spreading her divine sense around her, she could feel the strength of every single person.
When one had a sixth sense capable of discerning perfectly clearly the power and level of someone in the same Realm of cultivation, what was the use of matching color robes?
"According to my teacher Elder Luolian, this year the first one is only an orange robe!
- Yeah that's what Cang Su and the others were saying too... Man, the level has really gone down since our time, eh?"
Next to her, Shin Sumi could hear a small group of arrogant looking men. Not paying attention to them, she smiled to herself. What they were saying meant that the Patriarch had already done what needed to be done by erasing her presence. Nobody knew that she had already exited the trial.
But the thing that made her even more happy was that the next in line for leaving the trial dimension was wearing orange robes.
It had been only twelve hours or so since Shin Sumi was forcefully pulled out from the yellow pillar of light. Then Xiao Yue had only just started her breakthrough. In all probability, she had been the closest to reaching the Liquid Realm and leaving the tournament.
Suddenly, the crowd around Shin Sumi died down. Someone had spotted the blue glow of teleportation on top of the platform. That was it. Somebody was excited.
***
From the vantage point provided by his courtyard, Fen Wudao could almost watch the plaza from above.
"You let her get you."
The voice of the Patriarch resounded from behind the young man. The old looking cultivator was still sipping on his fragrant tea.
Fen Wudao turned around, "I did what I had to to make her fight at a hundred percent."
"Hmm. You didn't have to let her draw blood though. Anyhow what did you think?
- The Ghost Pavilion will benefit highly from somebody like her. Her cultivation is... unusual."
It was evident that Fen Wudao was waiting for the point of view of his Master. His own cultivation level was too close to Shin Sumi's to be able to discern it with enough clarity.
"I feel the same way about that. I am not certain what it is that makes it different but her talent is considerable."
Fen Wudao produced a short sword out of thin air. It was almost a dagger and shone with a silvery blue light.
Stroking its length with his thumb, the sword Fen Wudao had used against Shin Sumi looked perfectly fine from a distance. Nevertheless the large crack spreading from one side along the edge didn't escape the perception of the Patriarch.
"Even though I was not at a hundred percent power, had the fight lasted longer I would have been at a disadvantage..."
"With the Void Sword in hand, she will revel in combat. The Star-Sword Pavilion is a must, she will follow in your footsteps there. Do you have any idea which other branch she will choose?"
Fen Wudao pondered the question for a while. Besides the Sword Pavilion whose style revolved around using blades for an aggressive fighting style, he was unsure which Pavilion would get her attention.
"The Cloud-Formation Pavilion and the Light-Breaker Pavilion are the next two in which she would excel. Her magical abilities should gain a great boost soon considering how well she can already shape her Shinsoo to control the Void Sword, and the Shinsoo Formations of the Cloud Pavilion are made for her. If she absolutely wants to join a third branch, Light-Breaker it should be. It is the most offensive style of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."
Patriarch Sen agreed silently with a nod of his head. The Breaker Style consisted in physical strength augmentation, somehow similar to the techniques passed down between each generation of the Xue Clan. The Light-Breaker Pavilion mostly relied on totems and Shinsoo Formations but contrary to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion the techniques were used on one's own body.
"Somehow I have the feeling that we are going to be surprised by her choices..."
The Patriarch's cryptic words made Fen Wudao furrow his brows. He was about to respectfully enquire about the reasons that made his Master unsure when a gust of wind blew his hair away.
When he opened his eyes, Fen Wudao was staring at an empty courtyard. The Patriarch was gone, probably off to his own mountain, the highest peak around the valleys.
"With my Master and me backing her up, we will probably not have any problems with the Second Ghost. Getting the approval of Old Ghost One will be the real issue..."
***
Xiao Yue blinked twice without moving, her stunned expression frozen. Her breakthrough had gone smoothly thanks to the Liquid Pellet.
She had seen the Shinsoo cloud within her coalesce into a drop and then flatten into a small lake. Due to her limited amount of opened Shinsoo Doors, the lake was nothing like Shin Sumi's but the orange robed girl had no way of knowing.
After all, Shin Sumi was an abnormality. Fourteen opened Doors still made Xiao Yue one of the best cultivators in her generation, fighting on equal footing with the yellow robes with sheer training and willpower.
But right as she was about to enjoy the power coursing through her veins, the invisible formation under her feet glowed and she was transported through space.
Close to a thousand people were now watching her as she stood on the central plaza of the upper valley.
The disciples ranged from about sixteen years old to at least forty, all of them forming a mess of a rainbow. But what shocked Xiao Yue was the cultivation levels of every single individual.
"Liquid Realm ?"
It was only then that the orange robed girl realized that she was back in the Dark Sky Starry Sect.
A few people cheered, some men with lust in their eyes, most of them only showing praise. It was official, Xiao Yue was one of them now!
"Geng Lan, give me the 20 medium grade spirit stones!
- Oi Brother Phan, you could at least give me time to cry a little bit... But a bet is a bet and it was a girl in first place, here you go."
"Hey, I just arrived, have I missed Jun Qian?
- Shh... no, this girl arrived first! An orange one, can you imagine? Either she's really good or that Jun brat was trash."
Most of the crowd had been betting on which Honorary Disciple would win the trial. Jun Qian had been the obvious favorite so far.
Some of the Liquid Realm disciples facing the plaza even remembered the time they themselves were still in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm. Jun Qian was already a big name back then. His reason for postponing his breakthrough for so long was to maximize his chances at opening Shinsoo Doors.
Unknowingly, Jun Qian had been on the right track for cultivating in the way of the complete Shinsoo Gathering Manual like Shin Sumi, but not with the right technique.
And most important, all his efforts had been for naught. His ranking of number one had been crushed, not by one but by two girls.
"Since you cheated in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, I'll crush you in the next one! It's time to reach the Liquid Realm!" Jun Qian thought while closing his eyes and rotating his dantian. He would never give up.
When he had arrived on the top of the mountain central to the training dimension, Shin Sumi was long gone and Xiao Yue had just finished teleporting out to the upper valley.
Back in the sect's upper valley, Xiao Yue was being indicated to step down from the large platform and the Shinsoo Formation. A gentle looking middle aged disciple with a light purple gown showed her the way through the crowd.
"Congratulations on winning this generation's Rising Star Tournament, Sister ... Sister?
- Xiao Yue, nice to meet you.
- Sister Xiao, nice to meet you too, I am Kai Shan, I will be in charge of getting your situation sorted in the upper valley."
Kai Shan's light purple robe was adorned by a small insignia. Xiao Yue instantly recognized the Affairs Pavilion.
"Since you have finished first, naturally you will get the best treatment possible around. I would advise you to not parade around too much as you have yet to stabilize your energy levels, but to be honest, who would dare look at you sideways? Ah-ah-ah.
- What do you mean?
- Every Elder of the sect must be looking at you right now. Everybody wants to make you their direct disciple, obviously. So if people are mad at you for bragging about your first place in the tournament, even if you don't have the strength to face them alone yet, you'll never really be in trouble in the upper valley."
Everything Kai Shan said made sense, except for one thing. Carefully, Xiao Yue probed her guide.
"I still can't believe the Rising Star Tournament is over... And I reached the exit first, it's not a dream?!"
Kai Shan's gentle face turned to face her. His smile was honest and warm, "I can assure you it is not a dream, Sister Xiao."
But then, it meant that Shin Sumi... What had happened with her sworn sister? Xiao Yue was at a loss.
When the orange robed girl sat down to initiate her breakthrough, Shin Sumi was behind her, acting as a Dao Protector to ensure her safety. But when the crucial step happened, Shin Sumi was gone, not appearing on Xiao Yue's divine sense perception at all.
Could it mean that Shin Sumi had somehow gone back to another place of the floating continent? Or had she exited through a secret way which the disciples waiting at the plaza were not aware of?
Anything was possible for Shin Sumi and her mysterious cultivation and talent.
Xiao Yue was following Kai Shan, unaware that Shin Sumi was watching her from afar. The orange robed girl's divine sense was still acclimating to its new level and her sister's divine sense imprint was drowned by the crowd's.
As soon as she saw the girl appear, Shin Sumi wanted to run to her sister and congratulate her. But right as Kai Shan introduced himself to Xiao Yue, Shin Sumi's bag of holding started vibrating.
"Don't delay, go towards the west mountain, follow the trail behind the Second Star Arena" Fen Wudao's message read.
"Sorry Yue we will have to postpone... again..."
Shin Sumi felt terrible for her friend but she knew what had to be done. By accepting Patriarch Sen's proposition of joining the Ghost Pavilion, she had already forfeited her first place in the tournament.
Only a handful of people knew about her, Chu Erlong and Jun Qian, the members of the Ghost Pavilion, and Xiao Yue of course.
Because of sheer shame of not being first in the tournament, Jun Qian and Chu Erlong would not say anything.
Shin Sumi trusted Xiao Yue with all her heart, trusting that the girl would pick up on the clues and not talk or enquire about her, which would reveal the fact that someone else had in fact exited the tournament first.
***
West side of the upper valley, Second Star Arena.
Following the message, Shin Sumi soon arrived at the indicated arena. From her few short walks in the upper valley, she had already realized the difference in atmosphere between the upper and lower valley.
The latter resembled a mortal village a lot. Besides the Immortal looking scenery, all the buildings and pagodas, as well as the many small houses were very basic.
But the upper valley was different. There were no houses. Virtually all the disciples of the Liquid Realm had a small courtyard which would be considered a small mansion for a mortal.
"Even my old courtyard is smaller to any of these cultivator buildings..."
What was also strange was the presence of a small round arena between every blocs of courtyards or so.
The courtyards seemed mostly empty, but the arenas were presently full of disciples and the sound of fighting echoed in the air.
"YOU TRASH, COME BACK HERE !"
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