It’s not love at first sight – it’s nothing even close to the sort.

It’s not love, nor is it admiration – no, it’s far closer to disappointment.

Because laying eyes upon the new leader of the Windward Sect, Cheng Kong finds himself rather underwhelmed.

Because if not for the seating arrangements and the attire, there would’ve been little indicating the other’s rank. There’s no distinct aura of power or wisdom surrounding the other, save for that of the Peak Lords flanking him where they sit, overseeing the events taking place at the Great Plaza.

Today marks the final stage of the Selection – the event wherein various sects invite prospective disciples to prove their mettle – and Cheng Kong knows that he must succeed. He must succeed, because he knows that he cannot wait another eight years to try again.

But it’ll be fine. It’ll be fine, because he’s been preparing for this. It’ll be fine, because he’s been training for this. Today, he will succeed, and it’ll be thanks to Master Wu, the wandering rogue cultivator who’d once saved him from despair.

Cheng Kong briefly wonders where the other is now, and what the other would think of Cheng Kong’s accomplishments so far. Would Master Wu be proud of him? Cheng Kong rather hopes so, even if he is doing this purely for his own benefit.

Today, he must succeed.

With him recently having turned twenty-four, there’s truly no more time to waste.

He’s already failed once, but this time would be different. This time around, he would definitely succeed.

Cheng Kong stands upon the Great Plaza, scarcely even winded, having left his fellow competitors in the dust while ascending those winding staircases.

Unfortunately, it’s only at this point that it occurs to him that maybe he shouldn’t have been quite so hasty. There’s more to being a cultivator than practicing cultivation and martial arts after all. There’s more to it – more to it than meditation and training and sparring and night hunts. There’s treating one’s peers with sincerity, one’s superiors with great loyalty, and one’s inferiors with adequate respect. There’s also being cultivated, dedicating oneself to the study of things like art, literature, music and whatnot.

In many ways, it’s similar to the education nobles receive over in the Imperial Capital, even if the works and techniques taught likely differ significantly – and even if it is similar, Cheng Kong remembers far too little of his childhood education for it to matter here.

As for his bloodline, it too would’ve carried little weight. With a powerful backer, the situation might’ve been another – the admission criteria would’ve likely been more lenient for one thing. Cheng Kong doesn’t want that though – he wants to get in through his own merits and his own merits alone, and besides, even though eight years have now passed, Cheng Kong knows better than to reveal himself.

If he could get accepted into the Windward Sect however, then things would be different. Because while not the most well-regarded sect in the region, it still holds significant sway, and by joining it, he would finally be able to sever the connection in-between the him that exists in the present and the him that had been forced to leave everything behind.

This would be his new beginning; Cheng Kong would make sure of it.

Brace yourself, he thinks, preparing himself for the next step of the journey. Brace yourself, Cheng Kong.

It would be fine – everything would be fine. Potential mistakes aside, he had likely received a passing score in most of the challenges leading up to this one – passable, but by no means excellent.

However, given that most of his fellow competitors hail from farmers or merchants, the grading criteria could hardly be that strict – because if indeed so, then would the sect have as many disciples as the number of peaks and buildings suggest? Granted, there’s also the outer sect at the foot of the mountain, but still.

It would be fine – everything would be fine.

Determined to think no more of it, Cheng Kong focuses on the challenge that awaits; the martial arts challenge.

He would undoubtedly have the physical advantage over most of his competitors – many of them young and untrained. As such, he would have to be careful not to injure them, even while showing off his own skills.

Thinking this, he steps up to face his first opponent and bows. Then, when the signal is given for them to start, Cheng Kong allows them to make the first move. He only really allows them that much though, because then he quickly deals with them and with the ones that follow until he finally faces off against his final opponent, someone who unlike the others does seem to have a pretty solid foundation to stand on. This doesn’t stop them from losing to him, of course.

However, even with all this accomplished, he knows better than to let it go to his head and bows respectfully both to his defeated opponent and to the referee. Then he turns towards the Peak Lords and bows to them as well.

Then, after straightening back up, he takes the time to study these masters without being too obvious about it, wondering who – if any of them – would step up to become his new mentor.

Out of the eight, only three of them both look and feel like proper elders. These would later become known to him as Elder Lin, Elder Wen, and Elder Huang, already then at an age where it would’ve been perfectly understandable for them to retire from their duties, like elders typically did.

Next, there are two others, already at what could be considered a respectable age; the veiled Peak Lord Xiu, who in spite of getting on in the years is still renowned for both her beauty and skill, and the person that Cheng Kong would soon call his new master, Peak Lord Wu, Wu Chengyi.

Later on, Cheng Kong would ponder the curious coincidence that he would end up getting taught by not one, not two, but three people referred to as Master Wu:

Master Wu Shang, from his childhood.

Master Wu Ming, from his teenage years.

And finally, Master Wu, Wu Chengyi, who has just claimed him.

Relieved yet at the same time undeniably anxious, Cheng Kong finds himself directed the side to stand with one of the assisting disciples.

From there, he looks on as other hopefuls are claimed on the behalf of other Peak Lords – because indeed, the other Peak Lords seem to direct their head disciples for such task, and no one but him is claimed by a Peak Lord directly.

This holds definite meaning as well, but Cheng Kong opts not to think of it. Instead, he makes use of his new position to view the remaining Peak Lords, confirming his suspicions that they are young and startlingly so; not children but certainly not much older than him.

Looking at them, Cheng Kong isn’t quite sure what to feel.

Awe? Envy? No, rather... confusion? Perhaps there’s a smidge of envy in there as well, but mostly Cheng Kong just feels confused and frustrated on top of it all.

Peak Lord Jiao – Jiao Ziyu – could’ve easily been mistaken for a disciple, had he not been wearing the outer robe signalling his rank. Cheng Kong finds him plain to the point of being an anomaly; an existence that could seemingly blend into any given crowd.

In fact, the longer Cheng Kong looks at him, the more convinced he becomes of having seen the other before, coordinating the portions of the Selection taking place below the Green Jade Peaks.

Cheng Kong – and others with him – had readily dismissed this person as a senior disciple, because back then, Peak Lord Jiao had only been wearing the regular Windward Sect uniform – light jade green with darker jade green belt and lapels.

Now however, Peak Lord Jiao wears the decorated dark green outer robe signifying his true status, which does little to change the plainness of the rest of him. The upper portion of his hair is in a simple bun, and there’s no jade crown or even a hairpin keeping it in place. Instead, there’s but a single cord that isn’t at all dissimilar to the one Cheng Kong had used to tie his own hair this morning.

Still, the fact that Cheng Kong had been so close to this person yet failed to figure him out makes him anything but ordinary – rather, it makes him dangerous. After all, had numerous assassins not already proven that inconspicuousness oftentimes ranked far above martial arts skill?

When it comes to the one seated beside Peak Lord Jiao however, inconspicuous is hardly the word to describe them. And indeed, their attire isn’t dissimilar to that of the rest. His features however are anything but plain, and he would’ve stood out even without the attire or the exquisite jade crown in his hair. Someone that beautiful would’ve stood out even dressed as a beggar, and he is indeed beautiful to the point of commoners potentially worshipping him as a celestial. Still, in Cheng Kong’s private opinion, no man has any business looking like that.

Moreover, there is the moment when the other’s gaze firmly lands upon him, giving Cheng Kong his first taste of the unsettling feeling of being watched by Peak Lord Bai, Bai Mingyue. Later on, he would think that such eyes were unnatural – something far more at home with either the demonic or the divine.

At this point in time however, Cheng Kong merely finds them deeply unsettling, and upon noticing this, Peak Lord Bai folds up his fan in one elegant motion and then rests it against his own lips, barely hiding a faint yet undeniable smirk.

Others clearly see it though, but their reactions differ quite a bit from Cheng Kong’s. They seem to find it charming, whereas Cheng Kong finds it quite infuriating. He isn’t quite sure why though, and he’s quick to snap out of it when he feels the stab of an outright glare directed at his person.

And just off to the side of Bai Mingyue, Cheng Kong finds its origin – the young Sect Leader himself, Yi Yeguang. The other’s scrutiny doesn’t last particularly long, but that moment alone makes the skin on the back of Cheng Kong’s neck prickle.

It’s not love – at first sight or otherwise.

It’s not love – not anything of the sort.

It’s not love – nor is it admiration.

It’s not love, but⸺

Watching the young Sect Leader, Cheng Kong wonders.

He feels definitely feels something, but he’s not quite sure what it is.