Shin Sumi woke up to an unknown combination of smells in her nostrils.
It was like nothing she had ever smelled before; it was somewhat strong but also gentle. This flowery waft was nice but moderately unsettling.
Without knowing what woke her up, the first thing Shin Sumi thought about when she regained consciousness was the spirit stone.
Having slept a whole night in the refreshing waters of the pond, she felt rejuvenated. Fumbling around for a while, she finally fished out the high grade spirit stone.
The little thumb sized stone had lost a bit of its golden luster, dissipating in the waters overnight.
Shin Sumi looked at her hands for a few seconds, testing her body to see if she was feeling different, having soaked in spirit spring water for a whole night.
Unfortunately nothing was feeling out of the norm, and it was with a dejected face that Shin Sumi got out of the pond.
Her skin was as white as ever, shining like a pale moon with the glistening droplets of water.
The water flowing in the Dark Sky Starry sect was somewhat special as Shin Sumi's skin was nowhere near as wrinkled as it would have been after a whole night in normal water.
She once more donned her red robes before her gaze ventured behind the stone bench.
Because of the bench and the poor light, as the sun wasn't brightening the heavy clouds yet, she hadn't seen the source of the flowery smell yet.
Her beautiful eyes couldn't help but widen in an exaggerated manner when the caught sight of the pile of spirit plants.
A few minutes before going to the pond to soak the evening before, she had put all the seeds in her possession in a small pile on a stone tile.
She hadn't even planted them and yet, laying before her was a strange assortiment of spirit plants and flowers.
Shin Sumi didn't know the name of the Immortal plants, but she remembered more or less what she had picked up in the fields.
She also remembered quite well what the plants looked like since she had spent some time looking at all the Honorary Disciples in the middle of nurturing the fields.
And yet none of the plants in her courtyard looked exactly like them !
"This one seems similar to the yellow flower in the southern field. But this one has more petals... And this plant ! It's almost identical to the strangely shaped red vegetable, but it has orange dots !"
As she went on to inspect the plants and flowers a bit closer, Shin Sumi quickly found that all of them shared a strong resemblance to the plants she remembered.
"Can it be because of the little nut ? The seeds had changed after it swallowed them and then spit them out. Is that what the nut does ?" she pondered absent-mindedly while observing the plants. "It takes things and changes them to something better... Just like the spirit stones, the seeds have been upgraded ! Is that also why they have grown so fast ?"
The plants in the fields were at all sorts of growth stages, from tiny sprouts to more than a few meters tall plants.
Those right before her though were not fully grown, but it was still nothing short of a miracle to have seen them change from a seed to what they now were.
A sudden realization hit Shin Sumi as she was thinking about the matter. Taking out the used spirit stone, she wondered.
"Or maybe this high grade spirit stone's power didn't just dissolve in the spring water ! The entire courtyard was probably affected. After all it has a really strong Shinsoo concentration, perhaps it's possible."
Shin Sumi made a quick mental note to find more seeds and test them in the future, with and without having the nut refine them.
Despite having slept in Shinsoo filled Immortal spring water, Shin Sumi hadn't shown any signs of change and her body was still that of a mortal.
Her stomach growled to remind her of that. Her energy had been replenished by the waters but she still needed to eat.
Thinking about what she had learned recently from the newcomer's guide, Shin Sumi carefully selected a few plants.
In the book it was mentioned that as long as Honorary Disciples worked for it, they could take a certain amount of certain plants for them to eat.
The plants weren't something mortals could find in the mortal world, and they were grown in an Immortal sect, making them perfectly suitable nutrition for cultivation.
In fact due to the low spirit stone income that Honorary Disciples usually earned, most of them relied mainly on the spirit plants to cultivate.
The spirit flowers were grown for the purpose of serving as medicinal ingredients, and nourishment for some beasts from the farms.
Following one of the recipes from the guide, Shin Sumi cooked the indicated parts of the plants in a big metal pot of boiling spirit sprint water.
Having been in the Immortal world only for a few days, Shin Sumi didn't know of it but anyone in the sect would have started to pull their hair from their heads in frustration by seeing how she used all these precious materials.
Obviously cooking spirit plants was fine, and no one would bat an eye. But using water and plants refined by a high grade spirit stone to cook such normal food was definitely an oddity.
Considering the price of these things on the sect's market, Shin Sumi was living a life nobody could afford without even knowing it.
But at least she knew all these items were precious enough, considering how strange the grey nut was and the part that it had in their production.
Over the course of the next few days, Shin Sumi would carefully hide all her treasures in her room every morning before leaving her courtyard.
The sect was big and she hadn't even explored all of the lower valley and the adjacent fields and training grounds.
When the sky started darkening, she would then go back to her quiet private courtyard to sleep, alternating between the waters of the pond and the more comfortable but less refreshing bed.
Everyday she would come across hundreds of disciples. Sometimes she would try to get to know some of them and sometimes avoid them. Based on her previous encounters, Shin Sumi tended to judge people easily based on their appearances.
All of the aspiring Immortals had a certain ego about them that made them think less of any people beneath them on the cultivation hierarchy. It was especially true with Honorary Disciples wearing a color different than red, and with disciples that had already reached a certain point of Shinsoo gathering.
Shin Sumi usually did her best to avoid these people as much as she could, preferring the company of red robes disciples who hadn't condensed any Shinsoo like herself.
As their presence in the sect alone indicated, all of the disciples Shin Sumi saw had at least a tiny bit of Shinsoo affinity and basic talent. After all, all of them succeeded the three entry tests.
Maybe some of them had cheated their way in by means of strange treasures like she did, or by having relations with someone already in the sect, but it definitely wasn't the norm, and these people could actually be counted on one hand.
Shin Sumi was different. After all even after using a whole high grade spirit stone and a good portion of quality materials, she still hadn't made even the smallest advancement in her cultivation.
"Maybe I'm destined to stay a mortal forever. I will still try for a few more months, maybe I just need more spirit stones !"
Soon enough, a week had passed since her arrival, and on the morning of the seventh day, a red robed clerk showed up at the gates of Shin Sumi's courtyard.
"Sister Shin, I have a message for you from Elder Zhu from the Affairs Pavilion. May you open the gates ?"
Shin Sumi was trying to cultivate on the stone bench, breathing in and out while holding a spirit stone.
When she heard the voice of the clerk, a warm smile lit up her face and she opened her eyes.
To make sure the Shinsoo from the spirit stone wouldn't dissipate too much, she put it into her bag of holding. The bags were made of a special refined material that concealed what was inside. It was all described in the newcomer's guide.
Shin Sumi then proceeded to open the gates after adjusting her robes on her shoulders.
When she opened the door, she saw a young man seemingly her age, half bowing from his waist.
"Brother Lan, you don't need to bow to me. How many times do I have to tell you !" she said while furrowing her brows.
Her words made her seem exasperated, but her tone was more playful than anything.
The young man laughed a bit before looking at her in the eyes.
It wasn't the first time that the two had seen each other. While Shin Sumi was exploring the lower valley, Lan Hui was working on behalf of the Affairs Pavilion.
He was a gentle young man with a low talent but clever eyes. Only a few months after he got into the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Elder Zhu had taken a liking to him and had made him his direct disciple.
Lan Hui was smart and knew that with his talent, he probably wouldn't achieve much with his cultivation. Having Elder Zhu as his master was a good thing and provided him with protection.
Everybody liked him in the sect and most people would often seek him instead of dealing directly with the Affairs Pavilion to resolve conflicts.
After all the Affairs Pavilion was in charge of enforcing the sect rules and Elder Zhu wasn't known for showing much mercy.
Instead Lan Hui acted as a counselor and most of the time resolved small conflicts between disciples with a clever judgment.
"Sister Shin I need to respect the etiquette. Your cultivation may be low for now but you've only been here for a week. I'm sure you will make incredible progress soon. In fact you may become a Liquid Realm disciple in less than a few years ! Plus I'm here on behalf of my master, so it is only normal for me to properly address you."
"Anyway. My master wants to see you before the end of the morning. I think it has something to do with your robes."
Shin Sumi hadn't forgotten how she was supposed to get her green robes. She answered with a tone full of mixed emotions.
"Ah yes, the robes... Do I really have to wear them ? I like my red robes. I don't want to get everyone's attention."
Lan Hui carefully replied after pondering for a moment. "I guess it's understandable, but don't you want followers ? Most yellow and orange robed disciples have followers doing their biddings. Just to get on their good sides, people are ready to do anything for them."
"I just wish I could practice cultivation without anyone noticing me."
"You can always keep your red robes I suppose. But sooner of later people will notice your progress and your talent. When that is the case I, Lan Hui, hereby swear to be your first follower !"
"Mn..." Shin Sumi replied absent-mindedly. She had heard Lan Hui's tone and it was clear that the young man was sincere with his words. In fact they may have even contained a hint of infatuation, but Shin Sumi didn't even think about it.
Unknowingly Lan Hui had reminded her once again of the high expectations people would have if they knew her supposed talent. Not a lot of people knew for now, but no one besides herself knew that she was in fact a fraud.
How would Lan Hui react if he knew she didn't have any talent or Shinsoo affinity ? And after he had sworn to follow her in the future.
Lan Hui didn't know about her hidden questioning and blushed slightly while thinking "Well done, Hui. Can you be more obvious ? Now Sister Shin will think that you are a creep."
Changing the subject as soon as possible, he bowed quickly once again and announced his departure.
"I will be leaving early, Sister Shin, I have some matter in the eastern dormitory to attend to. You should get going as well, the sun is already getting high above the clouds. Ah, one last thing, Sister Sumi..."
Shin Sumi wasn't paying attention but she raised her head again and looked at him with interrogating eyes when he spoke his last sentence.
"Be careful around my master. He isn't what he seems to- I mean, don't let your guard down."
Without waiting for an answer, Lan Hui turned and started to run to his destination.
Shin Sumi looked at the fleeting figure with one brow raised.
After that she organized her courtyard for a little bit, making sure everything was hidden before leaving for the Affairs Pavilion.
It was almost noon when Shin Sumi finally arrived at the Affairs Pavilion.
As soon as she got close to the building, one of the clerks in attendance recognized her from her first time there.
Bowing deeply in front of her, the red robed youth escorted her to Elder Zhu.
The middle aged man was currently in a small garden inside the wooden structure. As soon as the clerk announced her arrival he turned his head, displaying a seemingly sincere smile. His long black beard contrasted with his light colored cultivation robes and he was holding a cup of tea.
The aroma from the tea wafted through the air and Shin Sumi recognized the smell of one of the plants she had recently encountered, mixed with another fragrance.
The mix was very pleasant and it went without a doubt that it wasn't ordinary tea.
"Do you want to share a cup of tea with a humble old man ? I grew the plant with Shinsoo and harvested the leaves myself. In just a little bit more it will be ready to be poured."
His voice was as gentle as ever but Shin Sumi respectfully declined, thinking about Lan Hui's last words to her.
"Elder Zhu, Sumi doesn't qualify to taste such a fragrant tea, and with someone as respected as yourself."
The man insisted a bit more, upon which Shin Sumi finally agreed and sat on the opposite side of a small wooden tea table.
"You don't need to flatter me Junior Shin. Instead let me compliment you. It's only been what, one week ? And you are already making progress it seems. Was your skin as white and perfect the last time we saw each other ?"
One of Shin Sumi's brows spasmed unnoticeably. Talking to herself she muttered "What does the color of my skin have to do with anything ? I'm only here for my robes. It's not like I had the choice, you summoned me."
"Elder Zhu, please don't flatter me either. I haven't made any progress yet. Anyway, you wanted to see me ? I presumed it was about the robes ?"
"I just wanted to enjoy tea with a recently arrived disciple. But now that I think about it, you are right."
Elder Zhu casually waved his hand, and a clerk came out from behind a door panel. He was holding a wooden case.
"Two sets of precious robes, only deserving of you. Now, where were we ? Ah yes, I am interested in hearing about your first impressions of the Dark Sky Starry Sect."
Shin Sumi respectfully accepted the small wooden case and replied to the middle aged man.
They casually talked for twenty minutes or so before Shin Sumi mentioned the tea.
Smiling with pride, Elder Zhu looked her in the eyes with what seemed like passion as he explained. "A few years back one of my expeditions out of the sect had me stumble upon a merchant who sold me a few seeds of the most precious Dragon Breath Moonflower. It is similar to the Moonflower growing in the sect's fields, but this one is special. You see, the legend says that these seeds were once the treasured property of an ancient and almighty dragon for thousands of years. When the dragon passed away, its last dying breath containing all his will naturally refined the seeds, transforming them on the most fundamental level."
"It's quite beautiful isn't it ? Naturally it is just a legend that the merchant used in order to sell them but I found the story touching."
Now it made more sense to Shin Sumi. Completely disregarding the story behind the name she thought back to her version of the Dragon Breath Moonflower that the little nut had refined and that had grown thanks to the high grade spirit stone.
Her plants had a much more fragrant aroma but lacked the secondary smell. In fact, the Moonflower smell was so precise and original that Shin Sumi was certain of it.
"It is indeed a beautiful story Elder Zhu. And you made this tea yourself with only those Dragon Breath Moonflower leaves ? I refuse to believe that only one plant can have such a pleasant and refined aroma."
"I assure you Junior Shin, these leaves alone make for the best tea there is. I am quite proud of it and I consider myself lucky."
Elder Zhu was praising his tea so much, in fact maybe a little too much, that he missed Shin Sumi's eyebrow raising for a split second.