With the already cracked pavement falling apart even more as white Qi began to fill the area, Lin Songmei and Yan Mingqing backed off as Gao Kunshan ended it off with a large explosion. As the dust cleared, Songmei and Mingqing grimaced as all their previous hiding places had been ruined by a shockwave.
Taking a deep breath, Mingqing raised her sword, disappearing from her spot as she rushed forward. Songmei, on the other hand, left her spot as well, running off with light steps to tread the now ruined area. Circling around Gao Kunshan while letting loose a barrage of arrows, Songmei blazed through her Qi as she began trying to encase Gao Kunshan in a crystal carapace.
Up above though, without anyone’s knowledge, was a fourth figure, watching the scene below with bright eyes and a faint smile: Liu Xueli.
Watching Gao Kunshan flex to break apart the crystal growths appearing on his body, Xueli floated around while invisible while studying her disciples’ fighting habits. Of course, Xueli wasn’t present just to watch, she had to ensure the safety of her two little disciples. She stayed out of sight though for... very obvious reasons.
Using her terminal to record the entire scene, Xueli was already satisfied with what had transpired—no matter how Songmei and Mingqing performed in battle. Sure, the evidence to wrap up the entire conflict unfolding in Westriver was nice, but, as the head of Starlight Lake’s Martial Pavilion, it wasn’t really her problem.
The others in the sect were the ones to manage the training ground and sect relations with the city, Xueli’s job was just to make sure her disciples were safe and grew well. Also, it helped a lot that Xueli, all by herself, was pretty confident in wrecking absolutely everyone in the city if it came down to it.
Xueli’s eyes had woken up and refocused on the scene though, when the mayor had begun monologuing, singing his ambitions to the whole world. Whether her disciples won or not, Xueli already considered the whole fight as a win in her books because the fight could open Songmei and Mingqing’s eyes a little more.
Starlight Lake and the Pavilion of Radiant Shadows, as two of the four biggest sects in the world, had an important line to walk along. As some of the biggest organizations in the world, it was their job to keep order in the cultivation world while striking a nice balance with the non-cultivation world.
Doing a bit of a twirl and flip mid-air to readjust herself to get a better viewing position, Xueli continued recording as she watched the fight unfold below her.
Mingqing, since the last time Xueli had seen, had improved her swordsmanship by leaps and bounds. No longer did Minqing look like a green onion straight out of a practice room, she looked seasoned, and comfortable fighting actual opponents.
Songmei, as well, had improved by a vast margin. Xueli was happy, for someone who only started learning how to shoot a bow a year and a half ago, Songmei could hit her mark pretty much every time. But, to Xueli who considered herself a bit of a mother or older sister figure to the two disciples, she was grinning from ear to ear as she watched the two interact.
Songmei was no longer standing around like an awkward cactus. With a little more needed confidence, Songmei was voicing her thoughts more. Songmei’s fighting had benefited as well as Xueli noticed she was going on the offensive more, fighting with drive and calm rather than panic and hope.
Xueli, tapping her chin and checking her recording, felt Mingqing experienced growth in a different way. Mingqing had, for once in her life, started to develop a more consistent ability to talk to people she didn’t know. Mingqing had found some genuine comfort and connection through her pesky shell of status.
What kind of genius master had raised this pair of absolute gems! Xueli wanted to have a word with them so she could pat them on the back! They were unparalleled for sure! Those two were so cute, fun, and worth teaching!
Xueli was also glad though, Mr. Mayor down below, the juggernaut her disciples were trying to grind down, had done a lot of teaching for her. He had raised a couple of great points mixing in with his horrendous takes.
War being better than peace? Xueli was sure the mayor’s sanity had fallen off because basing an argument around wanting more war was just an easy way to have the entire argument be disregarded.
His mention of equal opportunity outside of talent was a fair point though. Xueli, herself, a couple of decade-... years back, had a similar time in her life. A feeling of imposter syndrome accompanied by a severe doubt in whether her position was due to her own work or her luck from birth.
Cringing and facepalming at some of the embarrassing memories coming up, Xueli distracted herself with the battle unfolding below as she tried to figure out how to explain it to her disciples when they—inevitably—came to ask her.
Post-War, the sects had learned their lesson. Too many talents outside of the big sects had cropped up due to war, people who made a severe impact without having traditional ‘talent.’ Gao Kunshan, of course, was not one of them. As a foundation establishment cultivator, he would’ve been slapped into blood mist the moment he set foot anywhere even near the battlefield. Gao Kunshan was just a little delusional about his own position in the world, but Xueli didn’t care.
The sects though, to address their previous system, had instituted a bit of a ladder system with some hidden filtering. One was the expected one, and the easiest one to implement. Starlight Lake, along with most other sects, opened up their entry tests for everyone. Anyone, regardless of their talent, could try and become an inner or outer disciple for the sect.
Direct disciples were still scouted like before, but should an outer disciple perform well enough, they could then become an inner disciple, and inner to direct. Easy system. Pretty fair as far as Xueli could tell as they implemented a review system to try and combat some innate biases sect elders might have.
They had even had some success too! Some of their current rising stars had been inner disciples in the past, and one, Ma Sicheng, had been an outer disciple to start.
The hidden filtering system was more of a psychological one too. To cultivate faster than talent might suggest, it took someone who was a bit of a risk-taker with a dose of pride and a willingness to work themselves to the bone. If someone with a little less talent wanted to try the sect entry test, they’d need those things anyway.
Xueli, pausing her thinking a bit, raised her eyebrows and grimaced as she watched Mingqing take a heavy blow and fly back into a pile of rubble. Crossing her arms, Xueli had to remind herself to stay hidden. Her two disciples were dripping blood from a couple of wounds, but they were still able to fight. Gao Kunshan wasn’t doing too well either...
Extending her senses, Xueli tried to pry into how much Qi Gao Kunshan had left. Weighing how fast he was using it and how the battle was unfolding... Xueli shrugged. Her two disciples had a chance to draw it out long enough for him to run out of steam. They could do it.
The other system was a lot harder to implement and Xueli disliked it a lot more. Consisting of a collaboration with other sects, it was a transfer system allowing disciples to change sects. With a lot of complexity with the application and tryout system, Xueli didn’t hate it, but because a lot of people threw themselves at it without really considering if they were fit to transfer, it meant the system was always like sifting through sand to try and find some gems.
Wiping a happy tear from her eye, Xueli was glad she no longer had to look through the system anymore now she had her own disciples. What a great life she now had. She could shirk so many responsibilities using her disciples as an excuse.
Taking a moment to write down her thoughts in a concise manner to explain to her disciples later, Xueli grinned and sat back, pulling out some snacks to enjoy the fight below.
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What a benevolent spring maiden, this Xueli character!
Ger plenty of rest, drink lots of orange juice and keep chicken noodle soup on hand. Lastly REGULAR meals.
Thank you for writing.