บท 33: A Journey Across Two Mountains
Only ten days remained until the date of the inter-sect tournament. The tournament was to be held at the Yuso Clan, and it wasn't long before they needed to depart from Heavenly Path Mountain.
Yaan decided to focus on his Agile Sword Arts during this time, rather than accumulating more Innate Qi by killing beasts. He felt that he could more easily improve his combat strength in a short period of time by practicing his sword arts compared to refining Slaughter Aura into Innate Qi. Aside from that, the beasts were beginning to pull back due to the cold winter weather. Since there were fewer beasts, he had fewer opportunities to slaughter and progress his Qi refining cultivation.
The temperature within the core sect remained stable as ever, but outside of the core sect, snow enveloped the lands and icy winds tore at the skin. It had dropped well below freezing, reaching a level that was beginning to become dangerous for ordinary mortals, and even negatively affected beasts and cultivators too.
Fewer beasts were assaulting the sect, with hardly any making it all the way to the border. Even if Yaan returned to Hun Village, it was unlikely that he would be able to hunt many Rank 2 beasts.
And so, he trained his sword arts. Time and time again, the narrow blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle. His footsteps were light yet fast. His body seemed to move slowly, yet it also blurred between positions with each step.
"Phew…"
Yaan wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, then sat down on a small boulder to eat his lunch, which was contained within a stack of bamboo boxes. This 'lunch' consisted of a large quantity of spirit beast meat, and not much of anything else. Any other human would find it difficult to eat so much spirit beast meat, but Yaan was a fiend, this was merely a snack.
"Yaan!"
Hearing his name being called, Yaan turned to the side and saw his teacher approaching. His teacher's appearance had started to recover slightly now that the beast tide was receding. Some of the wrinkles on his tired face had smoothed out, and his white hairs were darkening, returning to their natural black colour. The elder was still feeling stressed and anxious, but this brief respite allowed him to recover some energy.
"Teacher." Yaan stood up and half-bowed. It was customary to treat one's teacher with respect in the cultivation world, and Yaan knew that this much was necessary. Many disciples would show a much more subservient display to their teachers, perhaps even speaking empty words of flattery.
Yaan wasn't the type to do this. He saw nothing wrong with simply being polite and showing gratitude when necessary. Any more than that would just be sucking up, and he felt like such actions didn't suit him.
He didn't realise that this was also Rui's influence.
Great Elder Wan knew his disciple's personality and didn't mind it at all. In fact, he approached Yaan with a smile; clearly, he brought good news.
"Yaan, we will be departing for the Yuso Clan tomorrow. Be at the core Grand Hall tomorrow before noon, we shall leave at midday to the minute, so tardiness is unacceptable."
"Tomorrow? Teacher, will it really take so long to reach the Yuso Clan with yours and the other great elders' powers?" Yaan asked inquisitively. Leaving tomorrow gave them ten days to travel across two mountains. This seemed a bit excessive when he had seen his teacher flying down the mountain on a sword in no time at all.
"The journey can't be rushed due to the increased number of beasts in the surrounding areas. On top of that, we will be forced to slow down because of the disciples being brought along. We also need to arrive at least three days early in order to settle in and assess the competition."
Yaan nodded slowly. Indeed, it would appear that there were many aspects to this tournament that he hadn't considered.
The tournament…it was finally here! Honestly though, this tournament was the least of Yaan's worries right now. Between the all-encompassing beast tide, his endlessly restrained hatred of Elder Sun, as well as his doubts towards his own teacher, this tournament seemed somewhat trivial in comparison.
Great Elder Wan noticed that Yaan didn't seem too concerned, giving him some thoughts of his own.
"Yaan, winning the tournament's Innate Qi league will be impossible for you, since you're only at the early stage right now. The winner will definitely be someone at the peak stage, who has been at this stage for a long time. But even so, it will be good for you to gain some experience with fighting against others at your level."
As Yaan studied his teacher's earnest expression, he couldn't imagine that what Rui said was true…that his teacher held malicious intentions in his heart. He could only assume that she had made a mistake. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
Great Elder Wan left Yaan alone after reminding him again to be at the Grand Hall by mid-day the following day.
Yaan practised his sword arts for a while longer, before heading to bed. At his level, he still needed to sleep, though his need for sleep was much lower than a normal human. Anyway, he wanted to be well rested before setting off, so he fell asleep early.
The next day, after making his preparations, Yaan made his way towards the Grand Hall. Upon his arrival, Yaan found that a few familiar faces were already present, including both elders and disciples.
The elders wouldn't be competing in the tournament, but they needed to protect the disciples, not only from beasts, but also from the other organisations.
The number of people gathering around the Grand Hall gradually increased, until Yaan realised that over one hundred people would be joining the trip this time. This was around half of the core sect!
"Oh, Yaan!"
Yaan turned to face Elia as she happily made her way across to him. She wore an unhidden excited expression and was clearly in a good mood.
"Hi, Elia." Yaan nodded. Elia didn't mind his lacklustre emotional response, by now, she had adjusted to this.
Despite Yaan changing drastically and becoming increasingly reserved as time passed by, he was still her childhood friend from their home village…she refused to let go of that fact, no matter how much he changed.
"Junior Disciple Yaan, you're here." Owan Shin approached them both and nodded, his demeanour as calm as ever.
"Senior Disciple Owan Shin." Yaan clasped his hands and nodded slightly, prompting Elia to hurriedly do the same.
Owan Shin, as the son of the sect lord, was their most promising candidate in this tournament. He was their greatest hope for bringing glory to the sect.
The young prodigy turned towards Elia and raised an eyebrow.
"Junior Sister Elia, you're coming along also?"
She blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"I-I'm just going to watch, to gain experience."
"That's good too." Owan Shin nodded. Elia was yet to reach the Innate Qi Realm and her battle experience was lacking, so of course she wouldn't be competing.
As Owan Shin glanced around, Yaan noticed something too.
"These people, they're…" Yaan felt confused. He saw many unfamiliar people wearing clothing that he didn't recognise.
"Members from the Thunder Sword School. They will be travelling alongside us." Owan Shin explained plainly.
The Thunder Sword School was one of the Heavenly Path Sect's few allies. Since they would be passing by two other mountains between here and the Yuso Clan, each of which was home to an enemy of their sect, it best to travel with together. It seemed that for now, the disciples of the two groups were keeping to themselves, not mingling with those from the other group.
A few more disciples and elders arrived, including the other two Qi Temple Realm disciples, Inhi and Xin Tia. These three always drew gazes of admiration no matter where they went in the sect. It was rare for ordinary core disciples to even get the chance to talk to them, but to Yaan, this was nothing unusual.
"Junior Disciple Yaan."
"Oh, if it isn't Junior Disciple Yaan."
They each greeted Yaan before Elia. This order was only natural, since Yaan's position was now a bit higher than Elia's due to him reaching the Innate Qi Realm at such a young age. His talent, combined with his good manners and the mature way in which he presented himself, resulted in most people feeling well inclined towards him. Everything about him suggested that his future was bright and promising.
Before long, the sect lord finally addressed the large crowd.
"Good, everyone has arrived. It will take us a little under one week to reach the Yuso Clan. All disciples at the Innate Qi Realm should stay inside the carriages, only come out when we say it is safe. Many beasts are still roaming around. The elders will handle the beasts, but your safety will be endangered if you break this regulation."
The disciples all nodded quickly, understanding that this was a serious matter and not to be taken lightly.
There were stone paths built between the nine mountains, allowing the sect members to travel in carriages without needing to circumnavigate the wilderness. These carriages were not drawn by ordinary horses, but by a herd of white stallions, Rank 1 beasts which the sect bred for excursions like this.
Yaan entered a carriage along with Elia, Owan Shin, Inhi and Xin Tia. He was most familiar with Elia and somewhat familiar with Owan Shin, but he only knew the other two on a superficial level. They all knew of each other because they were the greatest talents in the sect, but since they all spent most of their time in closed door cultivation, they weren't exactly well acquainted on a personal level.
This was often the nature of cultivation groups. Aside from their teachers and disciples, most cultivators had little interaction with others. Of course, after living for so many years, the elders would build up many strong relationships, but this took an exceedingly long period of time.
As the carriages set off, the carriage descended into silence. Elia was clearly feeling uncomfortable in this atmosphere, but Yaan didn't mind the peace and quiet. In fact, he preferred it this way, he would rather not talk if there was no reason to do so.
That said, it wasn't exactly comfortable, Yaan could feel that Xin Tia was examining him curiously. She probably assumed that as a child, he wouldn't be perceptive towards this sort of thing…she couldn't possibly imagine the life that Yaan had experienced until now.
Out of all of them, she left closed door cultivation the least often. Even so, she had heard Yaan's name and knew about a few of his exploits. She knew that he was oddly proficient in battle, and that he worked harder than any other child his age.
Towards her curious gaze, Yaan ignored it. He would politely engage in conversation if someone else started it, but he didn't feel inclined to be the initiator. He would be perfectly content to spend the entire journey in silence, enjoying the rest before the tournament.
"Senior Brother Owan Shin, who do you think will win the tournament?"
Yaan sighed internally. He should have expected that Elia wouldn't give him his peace and quiet.
"In the Qi Temple Realm, it should be the Yuso Clan young master, Yuso Lee." Owan Shin didn't hesitate with his answer. Xin Tia and Inhi didn't look surprised, but Elia's eyes widened.
"You don't think that you'll win?" She asked. This question was a little bit rude, but she was just a young girl, so he didn't mind it. Owan Shin shook his head bitterly and explained it to her in simple terms.
"I recently ascended to the 2nd Layer Qi Temple Realm, which can be considered pretty good before turning 50 years old, but Yuso Lee is already at the 3rd Layer Qi Temple Realm. He's a true genius."
"You reached the 2nd Layer?" Xin Tia asked. She tried to hide it, but a hint of shock was evident in her tone.
"Congratulations, Senior Disciple Owan Shin." Inhi nodded lightly.
"2nd Layer?" Elia asked, feeling confused. Were the realms not split up into the initial, early, mid, late and peak stages?
"It's normal that you don't know about this." Owan Shin explained patiently. "The Qi Temple Realm is split up into layers, with each layer representing a floor of the Qi Temple within the dantian."
Yaan already knew this because Rui had explained it to him, but Elia was in awe. Owan Shin didn't go into detail, but Yaan knew that there was more to it than just this.
There were actually nine potential layers in the Qi Temple Realm. It was possible to ascend to the Spirit Core Realm after achieving the 3rd Layer, but most would choose to ascend at the 4th or 5th Layers.
The higher layers became increasingly difficult to attain, but reaching a higher layer before ascending to the Spirit Core Realm would drastically improve a cultivator's future prospects, even positively affecting their talent!
"Then what about the Innate Qi Realm? Could Yaan win?" Elia asked eagerly, casting a quick glance in Yaan's direction.
"Elia, I just entered this realm recently, I'm only at the early stage. I have no chance of winning, I'm probably just going to fight against the other clan's youngest geniuses." Yaan replied, lightly shaking his head.
Elia cringed, realising that she had asked something stupid.
"Haha, even if you don't win a single match, just showing up is enough for you to show off, Junior Disciple Yaan." Owan Shin laughed.
It was true. Yaan would definitely be the youngest competitor in this tournament, there was basically no doubt about that. Nobody would criticise him even if he lost his first match.
As they travelled, Elia asked a few more questions regarding the other nine organisations. Thanks to this, Yaan also came to better understand the other organisations and their most talented disciples.
Every now and then, the group would stop, and everyone would get out to stretch, chat and eat.
For most of the people present, it was necessary to eat and sleep often. It was only after reaching the Spirit Core Realm that a cultivator could completely forgo nutrition and sleep. Even those powerhouses would still need to recover their energy via meditation and medicinal pills from time to time, though.
At the Innate Qi Realm, eating once each day and sleeping for a couple of hours each night was plenty. At the Qi Temple Realm, eating and sleeping briefly once every few days was fine.
This journey was obviously more difficult for Elia. As a Qi Gathering Realm child, she was barely better off than a mortal. She didn't realise it, but the sect lord intended to put her through this experience as a sort of tempering, hoping that it would boost her motivation to improve quickly.
Passing the Swift Sword School was tense, especially for the members of the Thunder Sword School, the arch enemy of the other school.
However, contrary to their expectation, they didn't encounter a single person from the Swift Sword School along the way.
Whilst most of the organisations had withdrawn their forces from this region in response to the receding beast tide, the Heavenly Path Sect elders had assumed that they would run into the other groups, who would also be travelling to Yuso Mountain. Even though they avoided the mountain itself and took a path a few dozen miles North, encountering nobody at all was still a bit unexpected.
When they passed the Fire Dragon Sect, they encountered the same situation.
After going through some apprehension and doubt, the elders eventually realised that these two groups must have already departed before them. The Heavenly Path Sect had set out quite early, so they hadn't expected the other organisations to leave even earlier.
The journey was relatively uneventful from Yaan's perspective. He was stuck inside the carriage for most of this time, and even when they were attacked by the occasional beast group, the elders took care of everything before the disciples even became aware of the danger.
A week passed by in relative peace. They finally arrived at their destination, Yuso Mountain. This was the largest of the nine mountains and the residence of the Yuso Clan, the strongest power within the Greenwood Mountain Range.
When Yaan saw the majesty of this mountain, he was left feeling breathless. Once again, his worldview had been expanded.
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