Chương 45: Acknowledgment of Worldly Matters

Liming practically tumbled through the door before it was even all the way open. Paike couldn't help but crack a smile as she half-fell, caught herself, and straightened before smoothing her robes and meeting his eyes. She then proceeded to glide across the floor like a proper lady. When she reached him, she placed her hand on his forehead, her face a mask of concern.

"Brother. I'm glad you have awakened." Paike snorted, doing his best to suppress a laugh as even the simple exhale made his entire aching body twinge. The past few days had been kind to him, but in general, his condition was far from good.

"Good to see you too, sis," he said, teasing her slightly, and instead of becoming upset with him or anything, she just cracked a smile. That she was in the mood to smile relieved many of his worries.

"How are you faring? How did all of you hold up?" Paike asked. He heard there was no major harm done to any of his teammates, but he wanted confirmation himself. Liming pushed up her sleeve, showing a few bandages along her forearms.

"Nothing terrible," she said.

"I managed to fight a peak Ruby cultivator for almost a minute! And I only received a few light wounds," she bragged. And that she was an Early Ruby who had awakened only a couple of weeks before it was truly a feat worth boasting about.

"Wow. Impressive," Paike said, moving in the gentlest clap he could.

"I'm sure Mother will be excited to hear of your exploits." Liming smiled.

"I have written them a letter detailing what we've done, but have not received a response to that yet. But," she said, pulling a scroll with their family's seal on it, "I have received some other news from the family. Not from our parents, but the information department." Paike looked at her impassively, waiting for her to explain. She pouted.

"Come on. Guess." He waited.

"You're no fun," His sister whined.

"I am still in a decent amount of pain. I think I have every right to be a little grumpy," Paike grumbled, though there wasn't much heat in it. Liming unfurled the scroll.

"Dear young lady, yada yada yada," she said, skimming through the tedious formalities of the letter. Paike could only be amused at how much, or how little, she tried to maintain a proper image, but at the same time, her relatively young age still shone through at times.

"To inform you about the developments regarding our interactions with the Fang clan. Their family has been encountered in a few of our recent business dealings and has seemed to take personal offense at their repeated defeats. We find it unlikely, but there is a chance that those grudges might spill into the younger generation. Be on guard and do not be caught alone or in a negative position. They have been shown to have very little honor and will not hesitate to engage in an unfair fight.

But above all, make sure you do not embarrass the family." She let the scroll close.

"It goes on like that for a while. But apparently, they are pleased with our positions on entering the sect. Though they haven't yet got word about your incredibly fast breakthrough to Middle Ruby. But we are both going to get a stipend increase, and we are expected to both be in the top five within three months." The increase in his resources was welcome news, but the added pressure to move up in the rankings was not something he needed.

But the deadline was far enough away that he could worry about that after he took care of the elders' concerns. Paike gestured for her to hand him the scroll. He skimmed through it himself, verifying that yes, they were warned about the Fang clan, their underhanded tactics. The letter also included a lot more details about their fighting style. Close-ranged melee weapons, for the most part, along with variations of fire and wind, were preferred.

There were also some instructions to, if provoked, show them the power of the fan of the Kong family. Paike hoped that they had done their mother proud. Before they had a chance to talk about anything else, the attendant came back and set the tray with a pitcher of water, a glass, and a small bowl of plain rice. Liming jumped out of the way, allowing her to place the tray across Paike's legs. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Do you require any assistance, Master Kong?" Paike shook his head.

"I will be okay. Thank you." He had to fend off Liming attempting to feed him, but he did let her fill his glass with water from the pitcher. After finishing it, she sat in one of the chairs as he ate and filled him in on all the happenings in the last few days.

"They mentioned that your qi sense was suppressed, so it's a little bit sad that I have to tell you this way, but I broke into Middle Ruby yesterday!" Liming finished with a cheer. Paike let out a small cheer of celebration.

"Congratulations, sister." She deflated a little.

"Though unfortunately, I am not alone. Several of the more prominent members of our class have also advanced. You'd better hurry up, Paike, or you're going to fall behind." It felt like a needle jabbing into his back, the everlasting pressure to keep up when he was starting so far behind and moving so much slower. Liming seemed to understand that it was time to change the subject.

"Physical cultivation class has been rough without you there to help and organize our team. Apparently, we all have a bit of a temper, as you know." Paike rolled his eyes slightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not there to help anymore. I'm sure you'll figure out how to do it without me."

"And about that," Liming said, "Elder Ji has asked me to pass along a message that once you're whole and your physical cultivation has been brought back to its previous levels, you're welcome to come back. Though any more unexcused absences will not be tolerated," she said with a smile. Paike blinked in surprise. He had figured that he would not be welcomed back. The elder had made his rules very clear, and so to see him making an exception for him was beyond flattering.

His surprise was evident on his face, and Liming explained.

"It seems as if valid excuses or reasons for absence are accepted by the elder. Li Feng broke into Late Ruby yesterday and missed the class because of it, but has not been kicked out." Paike blinked in shock.

"Late Ruby? Already?" That was... shocking.

"How does he move so fast?" Paike wondered aloud.

"I suppose there's a reason he's first on the rankings."

"Still," Liming added. She had already gone over some changes, though the top ten had not shifted at all. Paike expected to be challenged pretty soon after he recovered, and he would take his time, but not the weeks or months elders had predicted. There were also a few people ranked above him that he might be able to beat if he could recover his strength.

"Have you decided what you're going to use the sect points you've won on?" Paike asked. She shook her head.

"I'm debating if I should be getting a better art from a more advanced library, or some sort of resources to help me figure out my natural affinities. I still haven't quite settled on which path I want and could use some guidance." Paike ran the ideas through his head.

"I would suggest getting a better art. You can always drop it later or reform it if it doesn't work for the aspect you chose to attune to. The affinity finding methods are not always great in the Ruby realm. The best way is when you're in Topaz or even Emerald. You can still attune then." Liming grimaced.

"Yes, but it takes much longer and is more difficult to attune to an aspect you don't use in your meridians, so I wanted to start out right."

"But you'll have a better idea of what types of arts you'll actually be good at and can choose which affinities to actually attune to, that is far better than just going for whatever you have natural talent for."

"You already attuned to an aspect, though!" She protested.

"Sis, you know that wasn't a choice I would have made if I could have done something different," Paike said.

"I have no idea if it matches my affinities, and it definitely wasn't what my meridians were using. On top of that, Elder Chu doesn't seem impressed by the aspect, or maybe there is something else to it that she isn't telling me. Besides, what is it that Father always says if someone asks him why he doesn't practice techniques but rather makes them as he goes?"

"Cultivation is not a straight path…. I suppose you're right," Liming conceded. Paike found that it had been too easy, and she'd probably already made that decision or had already been leaning in that direction before she asked.

"What about you? How will you spend your points?" Paike grimaced slightly.

"I think I'll need to purchase lessons from an inner sect disciple on combat trances. I don't think I can afford an elder or a core disciple's lessons with my available points. Still, I need to get that under control within a month of leaving here." Liming nodded.

"That seems like a wise choice." Paike was grateful he didn't have to explain the consequences if he did not. But if even Liming thought that he needed to control himself, he might seem a bit more monstrous than he realized.

"Oh, before I go, brother, I brought you this." She rested a tome on the bed next to him, and, craning his neck slightly, he could see that it was the book detailing the art of Acknowledgment of Worldly Matters.

"Maybe by the time you leave here, you can be better armed," she said with a smile before they said their goodbyes, and Paike stared at the book. Now he just needed a way to get rid of this qi dampening.