The various disciples and servants were bustling to-and-fro within the sect, busier and more crowded than usual.
At the giant pillar in the center of the sect where the inner-sect's caves were located, many disciples had formed a large crowd in front of the pillar's fifth face. At the center of this crowd, three imposing men stood facing each other with polite smiles and competing eyes.
These three men were the sect's Second, Fourth and Sixth Elder, and they had been standing a dozen chi away from Hirai Hikaru's cave for a whole day now.
…
Some time after Kenja had entered Hizumi's cave…
The Fourth and Sixth Elders had walked side-by-side as they approached the cave of the disciple in question. The tall elder glanced down to his right to look at the short elder while still facing forward. He narrowed his eyes and pinched his long mustache with his right hand, sliding his figers down the hairs in a domineering manner.
"Brother Ariyoshi, it is my intention to take this disciple under my wing. I ask that you do not impede me."
After years of searching, Sixth Elder Gao Diao had found a suitable successor for his teachings concerning herbology and pill concoction, so he was unwilling to let her fall in another's hands. Hikaru was young and new to cultivation, yet she boasted a knowledge of plants that he had not seen in any other disciple within the sect.
The short man walking next to him tilted his nose up to the ceiling and began stroking his beard in a condescending manner. He snorted a puff of air through his nose.
"HMPH-Impede you? This disciple has an affinity with the heavens. She was fated to meet me and become my disciple. So…I warn you, Brother Gao, 'Do not impede me!'"
Fourth Elder Ariyoshi Miji had met Hirai Hikaru once before and, after discovering the disciple's luck and capability, decided to take her in for himself. Additionally, if Hikaru were to accept him as her master, he could rub it in his brother's face.
Elder Gao narrowed his eyes further but did not say anything because they had arrived in front of their neice's door. Elder Gao stepped in front of his brother to knock on the door three times.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
It was a powerful and authoritative knock but one that yielded no response.
Elder Gao knitted his brows as he placed his palm on the cave's entrance. Several breaths passed with him standing there, touching the door.
"Can't you tell if she is inside?" Elder Ariyoshi asked, wondering why his brother was taking so long.
"I cannot. I feel an abundant amount of Qi inside, so if she has already withdrawn into a deep meditation, it will be difficult for me to sense her presence."
Those who were cultivating for some time would often reach an inner peace, and their energy signatures would meld with their environment. As long as one maintained a steady mind, one's Qi would become like a drop in an ocean, indistinguishable from one's surroundings.
Elder Ariyoshi stepped forward and placed his hand on the door to get a better feel for the situation inside.
"She's been given a larger blessing than I would have imagined," he analyzed with one eyebrow arched up.
"You think so, too?"
While everyone in the sect received extra Qi to cultivate as a reward from the completion of a challenge, the champion would receive a much larger helping proportional to the challenge's difficulty which was recognized by the sect in some fashion. For others, it was a celebratory benefit, but the true reward was the larger serving for the accomplished hero and that is what the covetous cultivators craved most.
Kenja had completed two of the sect's oldest challenges, so he had received two large portions of Qi as a reward inside his cave, but the two elders knew only about the first one.
The two elders' gazes crossed one another, and they stared at one another for several breaths.
Elder Ariyoshi withdrew his hand from the cave and began stroking his beard. He let out a quiet cough and spoke to his brother, "Ahem…well, what are you waiting for? Didn't you come to deliver those pills? I am sure she will be glad to receive them sooner rather than later."
Elder Gao also withdrew his hand from the cave and narrowed his eyes at this sneaky brother of his. "Che-che-che, I think I will wait for her to finish. You can go ahead and leave, Brother Ariyoshi. I will fetch for you once she is done."
Once one has secluded themselves to cultivate, interrupting them could result in the failure of a breakthrough or a hiccup in one's foundation. Best case scenario, you would incur the ire of the interrupted individual. This was one of the reasons many would ask a companion or master to guard them as they cultivate.
While the elders had the right to call a disciple out of their seclusion, many would look at the elder unfavorably for their timing, and the disciple in question could bear a slight annoyance toward that elder.
If Elder Gao were to bring Hikaru's seclusion to a premature end, not only could he antagonize her, but his brother could sweep in and win her favor, costing him a successor disciple.
Elder Ariyoshi stared back at him and flexed his shoulders. "Thank you for your consideration, brother, but I will join you in guarding her. If she has a breakthrough, I will have two reasons to congratulate her. Besides, there's a chance she is not inside, so I don't want to miss her return."
They were not certain whether Hikaru was inside her cave, but if she was outside in the sect, she would return within the day. Few reasons existed for a person to stay away from their cave for longer than a day, especially if they were newcomers to the sect.
They stood a small distance away from the cave for several hours, watching the door for any change…
A loud shout reached their ears from behind them.
"ARACHA! Hurry with the tea, will you?! We are almost there, and I want to offer her some tea once we meet."
The two elders turned around to see the Second Elder Inazuma approaching them with his disciple following behind while heating a pot of tea in the air. He spotted them and his monocle fell from his eye as a surprised grin appeared on his face.
"My brothers! I never expected to see both of you here!"
Elder Gao and Elder Ariyoshi smiled back at their brother as they both stroked their facial hair once more.
"Che-che-che. It's even rarer to see you outside of your studio, Brother Inazuma. What brings you out here?"
Elder Ariyoshi snorted. "HMPH-It is good to see you brother, but I am curious as well. Even big brother cannot make you leave your studio, so what has happened?"
Aracha finally caught up and stood behind her master, fanning the flame underneath the teapot. Elder Inazuma placed the monocle back on over his good eye.
"My brothers know me very well. I left my studio to recruit a young talent that I've discovered."
The two elders he spoke to furrowed their brows and looked at each other in confusion before turning back to their Brother Inazuma.
"A new talent? In what?" asked Elder Gao.
"Ho-ho, spiritual tools! What else?" he smiled from ear to ear, ecstatic to find another kindred spirit.
"Spiritual tools?!" asked Elder Ariyoshi in disbelief.
Spiritual architects was an arduous occupation that required an in-depth knowledge of cultivation as well as circuitry and mechanics. To become adept in such a field, one had to spend years studying and researching, hindering the progress of one's cultivation. Due to the time and sacrifice required, finding an architect was rare, but finding a "young" talent in the field was unprecedented.
"Aye. This Hirai Hikaru had beaten big brother's challenge with one attempt." He smiled with his teeth visible to the elders, his excitement evident to anyone looking at him.
The two elders' eyes widened to the extreme. Elder Ariyoshi was the first to shake himself free of the surprise.
"Your broken TD that you've spent years trying to fix? She fixed it?!"
Elder Inazuma furrowed his brows at Elder Ariyoshi. "Don't call it TD. It's a tribulatory demarcator! What's so hard about that?" he pouted.
Elder Gao rolled his eyes and spoke next. "Okay, your broken tribulatory demarcator. She fixed it? And in one attempt?"
Elder Inazuma's smile returned and he nodded. "Aye. What's more, She must have done something profound because I cannot even tell what she had done! The centennial-silver circuit was untouched; the rolling-raptorskin resistors weren't moved or replaced; the—"
"BROTHER!" both elders said in unison.
Elder Inazuma had a nasty habit of going off on a tangent unless someone stopped him before he was too far gone.
"Ho-ho, my apologies, brothers. I lost myself for a moment. But yes, I am here to recruit her," he nodded several times with his eye closed.
The two elders put on a wide smile for their brother. Their happiness for him and for the sect was genuine.
To find another spiritual architect was a cause for a sect-wide celebration. The number of architects that resided within the entire Freezing Desert could be counted on one hand, and they knew of only two within Ryuga, now a third.
Elder Ariyoshi clasped his hands. "That is great news, brother! Don't let us stop you. Go find her."
"Yes. Go find her and introduce us to her later." Elder Gao mimicked his brother.
Elder Inazuma bid them farewell with clasped fists and a bow. "Come, Aracha. Is the tea ready?"
Aracha followed behind her master as they approached Hikaru's cave which was a few steps away. She had halted the flame and was waiting for the tea to cool a bit. "Almost, master."
The other two elders furrowed their brows when their brother approached the cave they had been watching for several hours. He was about to knock on the cave when Elder Gao spoke out to him.
"Brother Inazuma, where are you headed?"
Elder Inazuma looked back at them. "I just told you. I am going to meet my future disciple."
Elder Ariyoshi's swallowed some saliva, reluctant to ask the next question. "Is that your 'young talent's' cave?"
"Yes, cave 5-5, right, Aracha?" Elder Inazuma glanced at Aracha.
She responded with a vigorous nod. "Her name should be Hirai Hikaru, and she is one of Elder Kazane's new disciples."
Elder Gao rubbed his temples with both hands while Elder Ariyoshi pinched the top of his nose with two fingers. They both had their eyes closed.
"Che-che-che. She recognized my plant at the apothecary, so I am here to take her in as well. She will become a genius apothecary like no other," Elder Gao declared, without stopping his rubbing.
Elder Ariyoshi followed Elder Gao's example. "I am also here to take her in, but we believe she is in the middle of cultivating the Qi from brother's challenge—and yours as well. That is why we are here…guarding her till she is finished."
Elder Inazuma knitted his brows in a tight furrow, processing the new information. He placed his palm on the cave entrance for several breaths. Afterwards, he turned back and approached his two brothers. Standing opposite of them, the three of them forming an equilateral triangle. His one, good eye narrowed tightly, and his lips pressed tightly together.
"My brothers…"
They eyed him, cautious of his words and actions. Elder Inazuma was known for his resilience and unrelenting determination to accomplish whatever he set his sights on.
Even though he was friendly most of the time, a talented disciple was a good reason to butt heads with another brother. They might be close brothers within the same sect, but disputes would still occur which could be resolved in several ways, including a battle of techniques.
Elder Inazuma raised his hand to the right as if he was about to slap them.
"...would you like some tea?"
Aracha floated a full cup of tea into his raised palm.
"..."
"..."
After a day of waiting, the three continued to stare at each other in silence, guarding Hikaru's cave.
In the crowd closest to the caves, a chubby girl was fanning a pot of tea with a red-haired girl standing in front of her, looking at Hirai Hikaru's cave. She wore an anxious expression on her face, her right hand pinching the side of her robes.
Princess Hanabi had returned with the other girls to find three elders standing in front of Hikaru's cave. She had learned that Hikaru had begun cultivating in seclusion and that the elders would not let anyone interfere with her.
"Do you think big sister is okay?" she asked Aracha.
Hanabi and her other sisters had met Aracha at the orientation where the latter had asked about Hikaru.
Aracha smiled at the princess as she lifted the lid of the teapot and dropped some tea leaves into it. She tried consoling her, "I am sure she's fine, himesama. You worry too much! Senior Sister Hirai is quite capable."
This Hirai Hikaru had not only solved the challenge that had plagued her master for so long, but she had shown great admiration for her tea. For Aracha, the greater the desire for her tea, the more capable they must be.
Aracha's attempt to alleviate Hanabi's anxiety availed. Hanabi's lips curled into a smile as she turned to face Aracha.
"Thank you for your comforting words, junior sister."
Aracha smiled back at her. "It was my pleasure, himesama. Would you like some tea?"
Before Hanabi could respond, another girl wearing outer-sect robes had approached them.
"Senior Sister Aracha, I have news to tell you!"
Hanabi and Aracha turned to look at the other girl whose eyes glistened and nose flared as she stood before them. She was at the low-level Qi Flourishing stage.
"Go on, sister. Don't keep me in suspense."
"It's Junior Brother Puchi! His store is selling many new items!"
Aracha shook her head at her, fanning the flame underneath her teapot. "The servant's shop? Is that all?"
The girl shook her head and continued, "There's more! Anyone can purchase the items by letting him rent their keystone for enough days."
Aracha and Hanabi tilted their heads at the girl intrigued. Aracha raised her doubts as she poured tea into a cup for the princess, "It's probably not a fair trade. Like three credits per day or worse. Don't fall for it, sister."
The girl shook her head once more, her eyes widening further as she neared the punchline.
"He's giving ten credits for each day! I have already given him my keystone for the maximum days he allowed and bought myself several pills," she bragged with her eyes closed and her nose to the air.
Aracha's head jolted to face the sister, with her eyes about to pop out. "That's more than double what a stone makes in one day! Why would they do that??!"
…
…
…
Tssssssssssssss.
The teacup overflowed, spilling onto the grass below.