Chương 94: Do You Dare Accept?

The smile on Senior Sister Liu's face was unsettling. During my time at the Azure Peak Sect, I had not seen her smile. Sure, she gave stern lectures, disapproving frowns, maybe even a slight nod of acknowledgment, but I had never seen a smile. A smiling Senior Sister Liu was a new development, and new developments were usually dangerous in the cultivation world.

"Senior Sister!" Wei Lin's voice cracked, but within a second, he was back to his normal grinning self. I could tell it was forced, and if I could tell, then Senior Sister definitely could.

"It's great to—""Three weeks," Senior Sister Liu said. There was no change in her smile, which somehow made it even scarier.

"Without sending any sort of communication to the sect." I watched Wei Lin's confident disguise fall apart; I even saw Lin Mei squirm, fiddling with her jade pendant.

"We were collecting elemental essence," Lin Mei explained quickly.

"For cultivation purposes. And we had very good reasons for—""The elemental essence was for me," I cut in, which made Senior Sister Liu turn to look at me.

"They were helping me prepare for a breakthrough."

"Two breakthroughs in a short period of time." She checked me out thoroughly, likely looking for any signs of unstable qi or injured meridians. Once she found nothing wrong, she nodded slowly.

"That looks fine. So far, you seem to be making a lot of progress with the World Tree Sutra."

"Thank you," I stammered, unsure of what else to say. It was strange to receive praise from someone whose primary method of communication consisted of uncomfortable silence and disappointed facial expressions. Her gaze returned to Wei Lin and Lin Mei, and her expression chilled by multiple degrees.

"Ke Yin has advanced further than any other Outer Sect student, however, you two have fallen behind in your cultivation." As soon as she said that, I had a feeling what lecture she was going to give.

"The immortal path is a solitary road," she proclaimed.

"Every cultivator must place their own development above everything else. Friends, family, and worldly attachments; these are shackles that will only pull you down. Take a look at yourselves, while Ke Yin has achieved the fifth stage, you both continue at the third stage. How can you possibly maintain pace if you do not cultivate for yourself?" I held back a sigh. That was exactly what I thought she would say.

While this was the traditional viewpoint in the cultivation world, I was aware of numerous paths to the Dao. Dual cultivation was a perfect example, although that certainly wasn't the case with my friends and me. Nevertheless, this illustrated that the philosophy of the "solitary path" was merely one of many valid approaches. However, I did feel somewhat responsible that they really had lost time cultivating due to me.

"Senior Sister," Wei Lin interjected, immediately causing me to question whether he wanted to get himself killed.

"Most disciples at our level would have difficulty traveling outside the sect alone. And even if they did, most would not survive." Lin Mei nodded, apparently figuring that since Wei Lin had already stuck his neck out, she might as well join him.

"Those few weeks outside showed me more about the cultivation world than all of my time inside the sect. We learned—""Regardless of that," Senior Sister Liu cut off Lin Mei.

"It is still my responsibility to monitor the progress of Outer Sect students. I cannot allow you three to wander about outside the sect unmonitored. A day or two, that is fine, but weeks?" She shook her head.

"There must be consequences for your behavior." Wei Lin and Lin Mei stiffened near me.

"For the next month, you'll both take on more shifts in the herb garden," she began.

"Also, you'll both be involved in training new servant recruits in fundamental cultivation methods." Her face lit up briefly with a tiny, fleeting smile.

"And you'll both serve as training partners for Inner Sect students." Wei Lin's face sank. More hours working in the herb garden would reduce the amount of time available for practicing, and training novices was known to be extremely taxing work. But to be training partners for Inner Sect students? That was something altogether different.

That meant serving as practice dummies for people who could crush us if they lost concentration, and even those who attempted to restrain themselves frequently miscalculated their own power. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Lin Mei appeared less troubled by the garden work — it was her area of expertise after all — however the idea of teaching made her nervous.

And I could see her hands shaking slightly at the mention of training with Inner Sect students. We'd all heard tales about Outer Sect students who wound up in the Medical Pavilion for weeks after such experiences.

"Inner Sect students require dependable training partners to hone their abilities," Senior Sister Liu continued as if she hadn't just condemned them to weeks of becoming human target practice.

"And since you three get along so well, Inner Sect students will also benefit from training against a single cohesive unit."

"Hopefully what happened to Zhou will make them more careful with their practice partners," Wei Lin muttered under his breath, though not quite quietly enough. I couldn't keep quiet any longer. They'd gotten into this predicament because of me. They could've spent their time cultivating like every other disciple rather than putting their lives at risk to help me.

"Senior Sister Liu," I intervened even though Wei Lin was shaking his head for me not to get involved.

"They shouldn't be punished because of me. If anyone deserves to be punished, it's me. I'm the one who—""Do you seriously believe that?" she interrupted sharply and fixed me with a fierce stare. I nodded. As a rule, I wasn't the kind of person to allow my friends to accept blame for me; and if doing so meant more work, so be it. Still, there was something about her expression that made me wonder if I was walking into some kind of trap. To my surprise, Senior Sister Liu actually laughed.

"Since you're all so convinced you did the right thing," she said once she'd composed herself, "let's put that to the test." We exchanged worried glances, wondering what she had in mind.

"But before I get to that," she continued, "some good news. Depending on how valuable your recruits prove to be, you'll each receive contribution points." I nodded, familiar with the practice. Disciples could earn points by bringing back treasures, techniques, or even people to the sect. It was a standard way to encourage expansion while maintaining quality control. Though I had to wonder how many points a stone guardian, its human buddy, and two reformed bandits would be worth.

"Now then," her voice took on an almost playful tone that set off all sorts of warning bells in my head, "about testing your teamwork. The Outer Disciple Tournament is fast approaching. The first stage typically involves group activities." Her eyes glinted.

"I don't usually recommend first-years participate, but since you're so confident in your way and one of you has reached the fifth stage... would you dare to participate and prove me wrong?" We exchanged glances. I could see the uncertainty in Wei Lin and Lin Mei's eyes, but also determination. They weren't going to back down if I was willing to try.

"Yes," I said firmly.

"Are you certain?" Senior Sister Liu's voice dropped lower.

"This year's participants are on another level. Not only is someone like Wu Kangming participating, but there are several cultivators who have reached the seventh stage." She paused meaningfully.

"And one who has reached the eighth." The eighth stage of Qi Condensation wasn't far from the Elemental Realm. Someone at that level could probably kill me within a minute. A few months ago, I would have immediately rejected this challenge. The risk of death or drawing attention, especially from the elders who would be watching the tournament, would have seemed too high. But now?

My recent breakthrough meant I was more confident in my ability to stay alive, and I knew I had room for at least one more advancement before the tournament. If necessary, I could even do another training time loop, though I'd have to be careful about showing too much improvement too quickly. After my experience with Elder Molric, I had come to realize that having personal instruction from an elder, even if it did attract more attention, offered more advantages than disadvantages.

Maybe I would obtain a lifesaving treasure out of it. Also, I couldn't stay an Outer Disciple forever. But more importantly, the tournament would be monitored heavily. Unlike the outside world, there would be regulations and supervision. In fact, compared to our recent adventures, this was relatively safer in some respects. And the rewards for finishing at or near the top of the tournament would be enormous. Whether we won or lost, just participating would give us the chance to earn some valuable resources.

"Master," Azure's voice echoed inside my mind, "you're seriously thinking about signing up for this?"

"I am," I replied mentally.

"I was thinking of entering the tournament anyway, and now that joining would get my friends out of trouble, even better." I locked eyes with Senior Sister Liu and nodded.

"Yes. We'll enter." She studied me for a brief moment before nodding.

"In that case, I will cancel the punishment, but I expect you all to successfully complete the first round." Her lips curled upward ever so slightly.

"Maybe next year you'll all finally stand a chance of winning." She looked directly at me as she said this, and I wondered exactly how much she knew about my true abilities.

"You have eight weeks," she said over her shoulder before disappearing. The only thing left was an echo of her next words: "Use them wisely."