Chương 159: Chapter 158: Master Hua Yong

As they crossed into the inner sect, Senior Brother Zhen Hao pointed out various peaks and landmarks as they passed over them. When Senior Brother Zhen Hao pointed out another peak, Yang immediately recognized it as the Spirit Herb Peak.

"I have been here before. To watch the plant cultivation event. I arrived a few hours early to look around."

"Was it fun?" Senior Brother Zhen Hao asked in a tone that made it clear he doubted it.

"It was. I learned a great deal, and I encountered some rather large bees who were kind enough to share their honey with me in exchange for letting them feed on my qi." Yang added this with a small laugh, then realised a moment too late that he had again mentioned his qi in a way that likely fed into whatever Senior Brother Zhen Hao already suspected. He decided not to worry about it. They were Senior and Junior Brothers now, and Yang would rather keep their relationship honest from the start.

He was likely to find out anyway. Senior Brother Zhen Hao made a thoughtful sound, and they flew on. This was the deepest into the inner sect Yang had ever been, or rather more accurately the furthest away from the Outer Sect Peak, since Soaring Cloud Peak, instead of sitting somewhere central, was actually located at the far edge of the inner sect's territory. They crossed over a vast crystal clear lake.

Yang spotted enormous serpentine shapes shifting beneath the lake's surface and mentioned them to Senior Brother.

"Oh, those are water dragons." Senior Brother Zhen Hao said casually.

"Water dragons!" Yang repeated stunned. There were dragons in the sect?

"Yes. Do not ever enter the lake without permission first. They do not appreciate uninvited visitors." Yang assumed he meant Master's permission or perhaps Senior Brother Zhen Hao's own, but the phrasing had sounded odd enough to his ears that he asked for clarification.

"Whose permission?" Senior Brother Zhen Hao looked amused by the question.

"The dragon's permission, obviously. Would you want a stranger walking into your home uninvited?" Yang sputtered.

"I thought they were owned by the sect."

"Junior Brother, they aren't pets. They are cultivators." Yang was now more bewildered, not less.

"But the sect has beast peaks and beast masters…" he tried.

"It does, and most beast cultivators, the elders and disciples alike, choose to live there, but it's not mandatory. The elders can choose other places to live apart from the peak, of course, as long as they aren't already spoken for. The water dragon elders especially prefer the Mirror Lake."

"The dragons are… elders?" Yang's voice came out strangled.

"Junior Brother, what is so confusing about this? There are elders and disciples just like on other peaks of the sect. You are usually sharper than this. Did the accident do something to your head?" Senior Brother Zhen Hao now sounded worried as he sped up.

"Let's get you to Master quickly; he'll know what's wrong with you."

"Senior Brother, I thought the beasts were used and controlled by the sect." Now Senior Brother Zhen Hao's tone turned scolding as he gave Yang a brief glare over his shoulder.

"Junior Brother, that is the wrong way to think. We are all intelligent beings. The beast cultivators are often stronger than human cultivators of the same realm; by that logic, shouldn't they enslave us instead of the other way around? Slavery is abhorred in all forms by the White Cloud Sect, and this type of thinking has no place in the sect. Why would you even think that" Yang was rendered speechless. What was he supposed to say?

Because I read it in a number of trash web novels in his past life and assumed the same logic applied here. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. He could hardly say that out loud.

"I am sorry. My thinking was flawed." Yang had no trouble apologizing, especially since in this case his thoughts and assumptions were rather offensive. Thankfully, Senior Brother looked satisfied with his apology.

"I will introduce you to the elders and fellow disciples there sometime. Communication can be difficult with the lower realm ones, but by the time they reach Golden Core it becomes quite easy." Yang nodded obediently, not wanting Senior Brother to think he held some kind of prejudiced and oppressive worldviews.

He went a little deeper into his own thoughts, wondering what other assumptions he had carried over from his old world that simply did not apply here, or whether it was specifically the sect that operated differently. He did not get far before Senior Brother Zhen Hao began their descent. Yang looked down and couldn't see anything apart from the unbroken white expanse of clouds below them, no land visible at all.

Senior Brother Zhen Hao plunged straight down into the cloud, and when they broke through it the peak finally appeared beneath them. There were no buildings in sight as they continued down. Senior Brother Zhen Hao levelled off a few meters above the ground.

"There is no restriction on flying here since this is not a public peak." Yang looked at him curiously as Senior Brother continued, "Master doesn't have a specific craft of his own, and he lacks interest in teaching anyone apart from his own disciples. So it is just the master and the twelve of us on the peak. And even then, half of us are usually away." He paused and added, "Other inner sect disciples can't come here without an invite or reason." This was news to Yang.

From the peaks he had visited so far, he had assumed all inner sect peaks operated under broadly similar rules.

"Are there other peaks like this in the inner sect?"

"Most of them are like this actually. The craft peaks and the ones with administrative function are public ones. Most peaks aren't built around a craft or a particular style of cultivation." He gave a small shrug, "Though ours is admittedly the least populated, since apart from Master none of us have even been interested in taking in a disciple of our own." They reached an area where a grand entrance was carved in the rock face of the mountain.

"This is Master's cave residence," Senior Brother Zhen Hao said as the sword landed before the stone gate. Yang stepped off and turned to look at Senior Brother.

"Master will meet you alone." Senior Brother Zhen Hao gave him an encouraging smile.

"Don't be nervous, Junior Brother. Go on inside." Yang made his way to the cave entrance and glanced back; Senior Brother Zhen Hao was watching him, and Yang turned back and wondered whether he should knock or simply walk in, but he was relieved from the burden of making that particular choice when a voice came from inside.

"Come inside." Yang stepped closer and placed a hand on the door, which dissolved at his touch and he entered his master's cave residence. His jaw nearly dropped. The hall inside was enormous, the ceiling cavernous with several chandeliers suspended in the air with no visible means of support. At the far end of the hall, on a raised dais, his master sat on something that could only be described as a throne, legs crossed, watching him intently.

On either side of the long approach to the dais were seating areas, low tables and floor cushions and just as luxurious as the rest of the room. Yang walked forward. As he got closer his eyes met his master's and he immediately lowered his gaze. When he judged himself to have reached a respectable distance he dropped to his knees and prostrated fully, forehead to the ground.

"Disciple Chen Yang greets Master." Nothing. Yang stayed exactly where he was forehead against the cool stone floor not moving a muscle and waited. After a few seconds, a voice came from above him.

"Rise." Yang stood keeping his eyes downcast.

"Look at me." He did not want to but there was no version of this where he had a choice, so he raised his eyes and looked at his master directly. His master said nothing further and simply kept looking at Yang and continued looking, long enough that Yang found himself with nothing better to do than stare back. So he did.

The last time he had been in a room with his master was when he had just woken up from a week-long sleep and had been processing several important pieces of information simultaneously while the Sect Master stood over him. At the time, he had neither the capacity nor any reason to give him or any other man any special attention. But now he did. His master was a young-looking man; even amongst the cultivators he looked young. He could at most pass for a man in his mid-twenties. And extremely beautiful.

He thought of Senior Brother Zhen Hao, whom he had privately considered the most handsome man he had ever seen. This was not that; Master's features were rather feminine and delicate. He had an androgynous face, paired with a tall, lithe frame and long, elegant fingers. He had dark black colored eyes, pools of water, depth without bottom, and right entirely without any visible emotions.

He wore the white of the sect but layered over multiple inner robes in shades of grey and pale blue, visible at the collar where the outer robe parted. Yang had no idea how long he had spent taking in his master but he jerked when his voice called out.

"Done looking?"