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2.47 - Promotions and Beyond
🕑 Added 2024-04-09 22:00:01 +0000 UTCHe Yu awoke in the medicine hall for the second time in as many days. As he opened his eyes, he was greeted by an unexpected sight. Chen Fei sat next to the bed, worry plain on her features. In one corner, Tan Xiaoling and Li Heng spoke softly to one another. Yan Shirong sat near the door, reading.
“He’s awake,” Chen Fei said, her voice filled with relief.
Tan Xiaoling moved to the side of the bed and bowed far lower than was strictly appropriate over a salute. “Sect Brother He,” she said. “It was an honor to exchange techniques with you.”
Yan Shirong scoffed. “The both of you were showing off by the end there,” he said, but there was no malice or envy in it. If He Yu were to venture a guess, there was more than a little bit of awe.
“True enough,” Li Heng said. “It’s a shame about the guandao, though.
He Yu ignored them both, simply staring at Tan Xiaoling in disbelief. He did the best he could to return the gesture, from his position in the medicine hall bed. “It was an honor, Princess.”
He desperately wanted to ask her about what had happened during the fight—about the insight he’d gained. The sense of whatever had taken root in his spirit during the fight remained, but it lay dormant. Tan Xiaoling had told him to ask Zhang Lifen about it. He could do that. He could wait. He already had more questions for Zhang Lifen than he could count, and now that the tournament was over and he was a member of the inner sect, he wasn’t about to let her keep dodging them.
“Sect Sister Tan will suffice,” Tan Xiaoling said. “We’re peers now, after all. You’re only two ranks behind me in the inner sect.”
“Wait, they’ve announced the rankings already? How long has it been?” From what He Yu could remember, the rankings would have been announced the day after the tournament concluded.
“They postponed the ceremony,” Li Heng said. “After three days, and with you still out, they announced the rankings. You’ve been asleep for five days in all.”
Five days. That explained why Chen Fei had been so worried. He Yu turned to her. She was still sitting next to his bed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset you but I just couldn’t give up. I had to see what I could do. I’d made it that far, and what if I’d won?” It all came out in a rush. As he spoke, Chen Fei looked down and away. He Yu clamped his mouth shut, suddenly feeling terribly self-conscious himself.
Fortunately, Li Heng inserted himself. “We can talk about the tournament itself later. Don’t you want to know how all the rankings shook out?”
He Yu couldn’t have agreed to that any faster. Tan Xiaoling’s performance had earned her a rank of six hundred twelve, and his own a rank of six hundred fourteen. Sha Xiang and Cui Bao were ranked six hundred twenty and twenty-one respectively. He Yu was surprised to learn that among those eliminated in the quarterfinals, Chen Fei had been ranked the highest at six hundred twenty-eight. Li Heng had earned the six-hundred-thirtieth position.
He Yu learned the difference between them was mostly due to their match-ups—Chen Fei had performed better against her opponent than Li Heng had, but Li Heng had placed higher than Yan Shirong and Da Ning because he’d been defeated by the tournament champion. Da Ning was ranked six hundred thirty-three, and Yan Shirong six hundred thirty-five.
“I feel a bit bad for Qiao Xia,” Chen Fei said after Li Heng had finished relaying the rankings.
“Why?” He Yu asked. Of all people to feel bad for her, he’d have expected Chen Fei to be the last.
“Her friends are in the inner sect now. It will be at least another year before she can see them again.”
“Somehow I don’t think she’ll miss them all that much,” Li Heng said dryly.
Before they could continue with their discussion of rankings and who was—and wasn’t—now a part of the inner sect, the doors of the room slid open. Zhang Lifen entered and looked over the assembled disciples.
“Congratulations all of you,” she said with a smile. One of her rare genuine ones. “You all performed admirably, and within expectations.”
As the chorus of thanks, accompanied by salutes rippled through the room, He Yu added one more question to the pile. What exactly did she mean by expectations?
“While I’m sure you all would like nothing more than to celebrate your success, I need a moment with my disciple,” she continued. “I’ll release him to you soon enough.”
The four inner sect disciples filtered out, with Chen Fei casting one final look and a smile to He Yu over her shoulder before she left. He was a bit too caught out to smile back.
“Good,” Zhang Lifen said with a clap once they were alone. “Now, get up. I’ll show you to your new home. You don’t strictly need me to escort you, as the key has a formation you’re already familiar with, but it will give us a chance to speak.”
“Get up? Aren’t I still injured? And what key?” He wasn’t going to complain though. Despite the hard turn, it seemed that he might finally get some answers from her.
“Key is the jade badge on the table. Just like the one for your old house. As for your injuries, take this.” Zhang Lifen flicked her wrist and a pill box appeared before He Yu. He snatched it from the air and cracked it open. Immediately the medicinal scent filled the room, and He Yu could feel the qi practically gushing from the pill.
He popped the pill in his mouth and bit down. Qi flooded his meridians. The remaining traces of his injuries rapidly faded, but there was still more qi—quickly threatening to break from his control.
“That shouldn’t kill you,” Zhang Lifen said, with a less than comforting grin. “You’ll have to cultivate as we walk in order to keep it from producing a backlash.”
That practically went without saying. He Yu snatched up the badge sitting on the table next to the bed and followed Zhang Lifen out of the medicine hall. With the insights of the Peerless Judgment that came as he tried to control the raging qi within, he saw her pill for what it was—more a ploy to keep him quiet than anything else.
“Get used to that, by the way. It’s a Grade IV Qi Alignment pill. Normally we give them out once a month to inner sect disciples who have reached Golden Core. Thanks to Old Guo, your presence is developed enough that you can make use of them now. Although, I should warn you that you won’t be getting one once a month. Every other month at most. More than that, and it likely would kill you.”
That was—alarming, if He Yu were truthful. After a moment, he managed to wrestle the energies of the pill down enough that he felt he could speak. “Didn’t you say I shouldn’t be stuffing myself with elixirs?”
“I did, but the further you advance, the more important elixirs will become. Besides, things have changed. Don’t ask,” she said, flicking one of her sleeves. “I’ll explain in the coming days, I promise. For now, it’s important we sort a few things out before I start answering any questions.”
He Yu nodded silently. Thankfully he was growing accustomed to the pill, and while he still needed to concentrate on cycling his cultivation base, it no longer threatened to break free of his control. With his whole concentration no longer occupied, he realized for the first time that his surroundings were unfamiliar.
He was still in the Shrouded Peaks, with the ever-present clouds and mist obscuring the sky. But he was also on a different, higher mountain. The misty gray blanket was noticeably denser here, and the whole feel of everything was more charged. Natural qi was even more abundant than it had been on the outer sect mountain.
What few disciples he caught sight of in the rolling cloud banks were all older than what he was used to seeing. Still young-looking, in that way immortals were, but with a sense of age beyond their appearance. Each one moved with an unnatural grace or power or smoothness. They exuded the sort of confidence that could only be achieved through hardship and strife, but could never be faked. There were, each in their own way, like Zhang Lifen. He shot a glance in her direction and saw her looking at him intently.
“Welcome to the inner sect, Junior Brother He.”
The words stirred something within him. This—this wasn’t supposed to be his life. He was the son of a blacksmith. A boy with a weak spirit merely playing at cultivation. Too inept or talentless to be worth teaching, even in the eyes of a mere Second Realm charlatan. He Yu blinked away tears as he bowed to Zhang Lifen.
She motioned for him to follow, and then led him to a house that was nearly as large as Dong Wei’s school had been back in Shulin. “Before I let you go get settled in to your new home, there’s one last thing to take care of if you truly want to be my student. I must warn you though, your life will be far harder than it would have been otherwise. But I can promise you one thing—I will help you become everything you’ve dreamed of and more.”
He Yu kowtowed before Zhang Lifen and said, “Senior Sister, this Junior humbly requests apprenticeship.”
“This Senior accepts Junior Brother as her apprentice,” Zhang Lifen said airily. Then, she flashed a warm, genuine grin. “Now get up, go inside, and rest. I’ll be by in a few days to make sure you regret ever going out to look for those herbs in the forest.”
