"She's already gone?" and here I am, thinking we could have enjoyed a morning glory. I got up from the bed and took one look at the messy sheets; this will need some changing. I grabbed a towel and covered my unmentionables. Zhu Ling had somehow managed to walk away stealthily without me noticing. I can't blame her as conversing would be really awkward after the steamy night.

Today is a special day as all non-cultivating disciples in the sect will finally start their long, arduous journey; there is so much to learn and experience. I'm excited but not to the point of having sleepless nights over it as I already have a faint idea of what to expect.

Yesterday night you were glowing. I fiddled and examined my locket; I have had it for as long as I can remember. I don't know who gave it to me, but I'm reluctant to part with it. Yesterday night, it faintly glowed, but I was too busy to check on it.

Does it glow only during sex? Since the locket has never shone before, I can only conclude as such. But why does it glow? I don't like having unknowns, but now is not the time to investigate. I let the locket be and walk out of the room.

*Hiii!*

I smiled at the flustered Hong Lin; he had a towel covering his entire body like a woman. Without waiting for me to talk, he rushed past me and dived into his room; tightly locking the door behind him. His behaviour isn't strange to me as I have seen it multiple times in the past. Honestly, I don't know his deal; if his chest wasn't so flat, I would have believed he is a woman in disguise. Come to think of it, I have never seen him naked. It's an odd thought, but it is the truth. During the rare times that the sect allowed us to go outside, we've had the pleasure of visiting the local stream; and as curious kids, we couldn't resist the urge to plunge in for a quick, memorable swim. All of the members of my former group have done it, all of us except Hong Lin. So it's natural to think there's something he is hiding; then again, I might be jumping to convenient conclusions to think he is a female in disguise as he might be hiding an embarrassing scar.

I put the thoughts of Hong Lin behind my mind and headed to the bathroom. It isn't enormous, but it is enough. I walked to the large wooden tub and examined it. It was still wet from use. I closed the drainage and started filling it with water using a pail. I am not too fond of this process as it is troublesome and repetitive. Soon, the water-filled just to my liking. At the corner, a smooth small black stone lay on a protruded holder. I snatched the rock and examined it. We need to get another one. The black stone is some type of heat-stone found in areas populated with hot springs and geysers; it releases heat energy once in contact with water. Its ability isn't unlimited, as the more you use it, the more useless it becomes and the colorless it becomes.

I dipped the stone in water, and immediately it gave off a slight red hue; now, it's only a matter of waiting. The stone was fast to fulfil its duty as a deep of my finger in the water confirmed the heated status of the water. I grabbed a pair of tongs and fished the heat-stone from the water. I then returned both the tong and stone to their initial position. I jumped into the tub and let the hot water sip away my exhaustion after removing my towel, of course.

The water is so relaxing and comforting to the skin; luckily, I am long used to such pleasures. I took the fragrant soap and cleaned my body. The action was quick. I jumped out of the tub and uncorked the drainage. Water flowed in a whirl as I dried myself before walking out.

"Jiang Ming, hurry up," Hong Lin's impatient cry made me pick up the pace; I entered my room changed into clean robes and went to the main room where Hong Lin, in his iconic red robes and a feminine hairstyle, impatiently waited.

"How long does it take you to prepare? Are you a girl?" It is a surprise to be lectured by him of all people.

"How ironic," it is funny since the time it took me to bathe and dress was the same as him only dressing. I disregarded him and started for the door.

We walked out of the courtyard with the outer-sect gate as the destination. Our courtyard and all the non-cultivators are located at the sect's outskirts. Apart from these two zones, there are three more; the inner-sect, the core-sect and the court. The outer-sect belongs to cultivators who have just started the journey; the inner-sect belongs to slightly advanced cultivators; during sect wars, they are usually the main force used in the competitions. The core sect belongs to core disciples; they are mysterious and typically used as black horses during the competitions. As for the court, it is for the elders, peak masters and deacons. The sect master, Jiang Yan, has her peak separate from the zones. Going by the zones, you would expect her to be based after the court zone, but her peak is close to our house. She told me to live with her, but I thought it would create unnecessary troubles; now, she resides with Zhu Ling. Hehe... I should have taken her offer.

"Jiang Ming, are you nervous?" Hong Lin stopped me with an unexpected question, is she referring to talent? The only relevant thing that I should be nervous about is talent; it is usually the first obstacle those wishing to pursue the path face. Am I worried? No, I can't be bothered to be nervous over things above my control. Besides having mediocre talent isn't that terrible, I can always substitute it with hard and torturous work. The trick is to not let it be an excuse for laziness.

"Even if you have a low talent, I will still be with you."

"What the hell? Why are you talking as if it is an indisputable fact that I will awaken a trash talent?" Hong Lin has ways to piss off people. Shit, now I'm conscious about it.

"What if I'm unable to cultivate and die like a helpless mortal?" I asked him to rub off the uneasiness; the life span of mortals is limited to [170]; being the highest ever recorded. I imagine it would be painful for a cultivator to have mortal friends; I mean, watching your friend shrivel into bones and skins must be heart-breaking. At least, that is what I think.

"Then I would die with you."

".."

"You didn't have to make it weird," Hong Lin's answer and straight face make me uncomfortable. I know he has perfected his jokes, but sometimes it is way too perfect.

"Jiang Yan?" Just as the atmosphere is about to get weird, I spot a mature beauty just at a distance. She is dressed in a fitting cyan dress, revealing her more pronounced hips. Her blue eyes playfully look towards our direction. Has she always been this beautiful? It never occurred to me before that she, too, was such a beauty; previously, my eyes were only occupied by Zhu Ling. I don't doubt that if she offers me to live with her again, I will admit in a heartbeat.

As I ogle at her cleavage revealed by her V-shaped top, she approaches us with a smile; she's as tall as me even though I'm younger. On the subject of heights, Zhu Ling is about my shoulder's height. Same to Hong Lin, who is a surprise as most boys our age are almost as tall as me.

"Ming'er, how was your night?" Her first question stops me in my tracks. Does she know about last night? The ability of cultivators is quite scary if she checked last night. I would never notice her.

"What brings you here this chilly morning?" I dodged her question and noticed something peculiar.

"Hong Lin, why are you shaking?" Is he afraid of Jiang Yan? This is not how he usually behaves in her presence. 

"Hong Lin, why are you so stiff? Don't worry, no one is after you," Jiang Yan's words seem to somehow manage to calm Hong Lin; these two are hiding something. I don't know what it is, but ever since the toilet man beat us up. Hong Lin seemed somehow absent-minded.

"Here... I have a gift for you two," Jiang Yan pulls two objects from heaven knows where and hands them to us; she gives me a contraption of some sort with a pointer embedded on it. What is this? It isn't a surprise that I have never seen such a bizarre instrument. On the other hand, Hong Lin is given a jade talisman; talismans are usually used by cultivators to carry martial techniques and relay messages.

"You'll both know what they are after learning to use qi," I pocket the contraption and look at Jiang Yan, expecting her to add something else.

"I'll be going then, see you guys later," She doesn't give us a chance to say anything and disappears; I have seen her pull the trick countless times, but I'm always amazed every single time. 

"Let's hurry," I pull Hong Lin out of his thoughts, and we head to the outer sect. On the way, we meet others who have the same agenda as us. I also spot my previous group and nod at them. They nod back, and we reach a silent agreement; it seems this guy also understands to focus on cultivation. 

We soon arrive at the outer-sect gate. The gate is actually a formation. All the sect's zones are separated by formations; the formation produces a false scenery; hence if you don't know the real path, it might lead to an endless labyrinth.

There is a raised platform at the gate with a small table carrying a colourless globe on it; two old men in white robes stand at either side of the table. One has a long white beard and a slightly wrinkled face, the other has short hair and a dark stubble beard, but one thing they share is their gazes filled with patience and experience.

Disciples continued to stream towards the raised platform, a silent rule spread through the crowd; everyone was to be quiet. I was no exception. After some time, the number of arriving disciples ended.

"It is finally time," the elder with a stubble beard started, his hands hidden inside his Taoist sleeves. " I am elder Lin Yi, and he is elder Da Wei," it turns out the elder with the stubble beard is Lin Yi; he is interesting. Instead of letting elder Da Wei introduce himself, he does it for him. Unconsciously, telling everyone present the initiative is his. Elder Da Wei doesn't seem to mind as he smiles and nods at the mention of his name.

"I will interact later with those of you wishing to become distinguished array masters and formatists," elder Lin Yi's ancient gaze swept across everyone present and he nodded, "I will waste your time no more. You're here to awaken your meridians and start the long, endless journey. All you need to do is to come over and place your hand on the meridian-opening globe," he pointed at the clear ball resting on the table. How does it work? I was interested in how the seemingly ordinary globe can awaken our meridians.

"If you want to know how it works, visit the array peak," the elder spoke out excitedly. His words were more of an advertisement than a random statement.

"Who will start?" Elder Da Wei finally spoke out, he gazed at the small crowd, but everyone avoided his eyes. "Don't be afraid. Even I went through the process, I'm still ok."

Following his words, someone finally stepped up and approached the globe. His posture confident and wary, he reached out his hands towards the globe. Immediately, the globe started to shine, and white light enveloped the boy.

"The brighter it shines, the higher your potential," elder Lin Yi added as the boy finally retrieved his hands from the globe, "you have an average potential," he patted the boy's shoulder and motioned for him to head down.

"Mediocre!"

"Average!"

"High!"

After the boy left, the others finally gained courage and stepped on the platform with elder Lin Yi announcing their potential. Finally, no one but Hong Lin and I were left. Hong Lin looked at me and smiled. He then patted my shoulders and headed to the platform.

His hands reached the globe, and it shined brighter than ever. Does he have such a high potential? The light shined to the point sunlight was made useless.

"Heavens! Unrivalled potential! Your future is unlimited. The sky is no longer your limit," Elder Lin Yi was almost jumping around Hong Lin. Elder Da Wei, too, wasn't an exception. His old eyes registered shock.

Hong Lin stepped out of the platform, and I walked towards it. Am I nervous? Now that Hong Lin stole the audience's attention, anything lower than his would-be deemed mediocre. I shrugged my insecurities and placed my hand on the globe. I felt warmth penetrate my skin and enter my body; I felt freer and no longer restricted. 

"Heavens! Another good seed!" Elder Lin Yi was all over me, "boy, why don't you two consider joining the array peak?" I ignored his advertisements and settled on his first words; it seems my potential is the same as Hong Lin's.

I walked down the platform and headed towards Hong Lin. He had a beaming smile like usual. His stiff atmosphere was finally gone.

"Haha... I knew we would be heaven-defying," I almost scoffed at his statement, but I held back the urge.

*Cough**Cough*

"Now, those of you with low talent shouldn't be unmotivated," elder Da Wei coughed and started. "Cultivation isn't about talent alone. It is only through talent and hard work that you can reach the peak," the elder looked at the small crowd and sighed. A hierarchy had already formed; those with low talent stuck together while those with high talent distinguished themselves. "Here is where some of you will fall, do not fear the talented. Only fear a hard-working genius," following his words, some of the unmotivated ones clenched their fists and silently made their vows.

"Hehe... just as my fellow Taoist has said, don't show weakness. Remember, weakness is a sin!" Elder Lin Yi added.

Their advice is helpful, but they shouldn't have categorised us if they really wanted to eliminate the hierarchy. It is in our nature to want to belong and at the same time resist anything different from us. The elders must know this and intentionally introduce the hierarchy. If they let it up to us, a more dangerous one would be formed.

"Now, all of you will receive the outer-sect robes and follow Taoist Da Wei," elder Lin Yi motioned for us to form a queue. He then started to hand us a blue garment; a drawing of a mighty dragon soaring towards the sky is at the back of the cloth.

"Welcome to the outer sect," elder Da Wei announced once everyone was settled. He then motioned for us to follow after him.

Junior_elder

Phew! That was long, hope it isn't too boring.