"Humph, I knew it. Bai Muchen is always rude." Jing Sui unhappily muttered while walking with Cai and Leng Mansheng back to the outer court.
Three months had passed, they are still outer court disciples. Leng Mansheng has the fastest progress. From the fifth level, he rose to the seventh level. Jing Sui is also the same but was days late compared to Leng Mansheng's advancement. Cai is still stuck in the sixth level. No matter how hard she tries, she can't find any breakthrough. She has a heavenly spiritual root and scored the highest in the first exam but her improvement is equal to the lowest talents. No one in the outer court is impressed with her. They only respect her because of Leng Mansheng and Jing Sui beside her.
Lately, she gets more belittled and they, unfortunately, run into Zhan He's group. It was lucky Bai Muchen kept his word and is looking after her.
"I really want to punch him! What that core disciple said was right, he's taking advantage of his position as the Founder's apprentice!" Jing Sui complained once more. She nudged Leng Mansheng, "Wasn't it right?"
"We still owe him. In exchange, respect him as our senior." Cai calmed the raged Jing Sui.
That night, when all students have retired to their courtyards, Cai is still awake. She is practicing in a secluded forest. The moonlight brimmed over her and provided her dense yin qi. Cai practiced a cultivation technique Shen Mo tucked for her. It can hasten her progress but ever since she started practicing, she felt no improvement at all. Thus, she started cultivating at night. While reciting the mantra, Cai's dantian is not even expanding from all the qi she absorbed. Her body glowed a bit and more energy from the moon descended on her. All of a sudden, she felt a pang of pain from her dantian. Cai lost her focus and spat blood.
"Cough! I must not give up, must not!" She tried to sit up but her vision blurred.
Before her consciousness slipped, she heard the calming tap of heels. The trace of footsteps seemed to be the same as Shen Mo's unfettered demeanor. She tried to look up but all she saw was a pair of boots stopping in front of her.
The moment she woke up, she is back in her room. Cai remembered someone saw her faint. The same sounds of footsteps resounded outside her room. It stopped by the door and she saw a shadow beneath.
"Master!" Cai hurriedly jumped off her bed and opened the door from her room.
It's not within her expectation that it was Bai Muchen. He looked at her without a change of expression and showed her a porcelain bottle.
"Take it. Don't you know exposing yourself to moonlight frequently can damage your balance? Your meridians will be broken if you keep this routine. I refined a pill for you that will help you recover." Bai Muchen said as Cai took the bottle. He heard her shout 'master' that's why he hurried over. "Senior, Master won't be back. There are still two years to go."
Cai pursed her lips. She knows that, she just hoped too much.
"Senior, you must take care of yourself." Bai Muchen held her shoulder, his gaze sincere and less detached. "I may have been too rude outside but do remember we are hiding your identity. The reason Master placed you here is not what we can guess but trust him. I know because my father does. Just keep in mind not to overexert in practice, it will just bring more damage than progress. How will I enjoy this competition if you are crippled?"
"Whatever you say, but thank you for this medicine." Cai calmed her ripples of emotions. "By the way, I never wanted to inherit Master's position. I only want to be an immortal like him."
Bai Muchen hummed his reply. He patted her shoulder before leaving. On the way out, Bai Muchen's sword flew by. He hopped on the slim blue sword that brought him upwards.
"Senior Cai has a different vision. The Grandmaster's position is now secured. I can replace Master in the future." Bai Muchen thought, his expression eased a bit and his eyes flickered with a sharp light. "No one can inherit it than me. If someone dares to compete, he's dead."
Miles from Tao Supreme Sect, during the serene night, a young boy read a book in his tent by the barracks. Xie Mingjun lied down in boredom and let the book slip from his hand. He stared at the plain ceiling, his brows furrowed.
"I've been here for four months. Uncle Mu Zheng is disappointed I have no progress at all. What's wrong with me?" He wondered and raised his hand. Xie Mingjun felt complicated as he shut his eyes. "If I can't reach Qi Refining in five years, I can't enter Tao Supreme Sect."
"You're having wishful thoughts!" A chuckle came from the other side.
Xie Mingjun sat up to find the new recruit, Si Bao. He is a young teen with a lean body. Si Bao always wear his cheerful smile that complimented his gentle features. By the wooden chair sat Si Bao grinning at him.
"Senior! Why do you keep popping up everywhere?!" Xie Mingjun was creeped out. Even though Si Bao looks like a friendly scholar, his strange habit scares Xie Mingjun a bit.
"You're just busy looking up you didn't notice me enter. Captain Mu sent me here to notify you. We are leaving this station tomorrow morning. The capital city suddenly ordered us at the borders to scout the areas outside Zhou." Si Bao informed and stood up. He turned to Xie Mingjun before adding, "Why do you want to go to Tao Supreme Sect? It's hundreds of miles away from Zhou. Going there will need a lot of strings to pull. Even the governor's son didn't make it because of the expenses. The crown prince also tried, but he failed the second level of the test. It's a very difficult school to enter. Only few can make it."
Xie Mingjun's shoulder eased and lowered. "What exactly is Tao Supreme Sect?"
"Good that you asked." Si Bao smiled lightly, ready to chatter with Xie Mingjun. "Tao Supreme Sect is not even one of the Ten Ancient Sects. It was established more than a thousand years ago by a great genius that dominated the Six Realms of our world, Wu. Tao Supreme Sect is also famous for its founder, I heard he owns the whole world too. All kinds of talents tried to enter Tao Supreme Sect. Just months ago, Tao Supreme Sect had a selection. Over ten thousand geniuses participated but less than a hundred of them can pass. Moreover, Tao Supreme Sect develops their students quite fast. You know General Meng Yu?"
"General Meng Yu? Uncle Mu Zheng told me General Meng Yu is our commander. I haven't seen him yet but all I know is he is second to the emperor's strength." Xie Mingjun speculated General Meng Yu has something to do with Tao Supreme Sect, and his guess wasn't wrong.
"General Meng Yu is younger than our captain. He entered Tao Supreme Sect as one of the representatives of Zhou, he's only fourteen or so and he is the only one who passed. In five years, he returned to Zhou, greatly surpassing his peers. At twenty-five, he returned once more. Not even the old prime minister can match him. It took him ten years to become a Nirvana cultivator. The emperor offered him to become the Head Minister of the Military Department three years ago."
"That fast?" The young boy was impressed greatly. However, another possibility lowered his morale.
He is not a talent like General Meng Yu, nor does he know how Tao Supreme Sect's exam works. On the bright side, he has five more years to train. Mu Zheng also promised to help him reach Tao Supreme Sect. Furthermore, five years from now, almost all super forces will gather their young cultivators for a tournament and choose ten representatives for the next selection of Tao Supreme Sect. Xie Mingjun must join, he needs to find that man and repay the favor he owes.
"Whatever you say, Senior. I will still aim to be a member of that school!" Xie Mingjun said with a tone filled with inspiration. Tao Supreme Sect will help him rise.
White Tiger Mansion;
"My! There's a lot of them!" Shen Mo's eyes dilated to see the mountains of Endless Light Fruits.
He was warned that one Endless Light Fruit can weaken a Celestial Death cultivator. Just imagine if a Qi Refining Cai tries to eat the wrong one, it will be a disaster. Shen Mo pondered for a moment when he came up with an idea.
"Madame Su, Mister Bai, can I take them all? I promise to return the harmless ones and will only need ten or so." Shen Mo turned to them for their permission.
"We don't have much use for these aside from baiting warlocks. You can have them all." Bai Zhang readily consented.
Shen Mo raised his hand and the space ring he wore glowed faintly. The thousands of Endless Light Fruit entered the space ring in a second.
"Many thanks. I will come back next time and give you the harmless fruits. I should get going." Shen Mo raised his hood but Madame Su conjured a breeze to stop him.
"Young Momo, we found this artifact from Ah Yan's residence. He had your name carved underneath. We recognized the materials he used to forge this mask." Madame Su opened her hand and a blank mask floated on her palm. She passed the mask to Shen Mo. "Ah Yan defeated a dark path cultivator in the past called Twenty Faces who can change his identity at will. Ah Yan knows your insecurity regarding your looks, so he was inspired by Twenty Faces to give you a mask that can alter your face, whether you want it ugly, average, or pretty. It's just that he didn't succeed and the day he died, he wasn't able to finish it. Only now did I and my husband complete this mask."
Shen Mo froze. He can't smile or frown. Bai Muyan is his youngest friend, but one of the most reliable. He always makes Shen Mo act younger than his age and cope with Bai Muyan's generation. Sometimes, Shen Mo becomes immature due to Bai Muyan's influence.
"Heh." Shen Mo accepted the plain white mask. His gaze was deep with reminiscent of his old friend. Bai Muyan was not the only acquaintance he has that passed first. However, Shen Mo never regards his life as a path full of pain and departure. He moves on. That is how he became so peaceful. "Maybe I have enough time to visit Bai Muyan too. Thank you."
Shen Mo wore the mask but it suddenly disappeared as if it mended with his body. He looked at the crystalline walls and saw his clear reflection. Shen Mo got tired of seeing his face, he wished it would have been average or something. Just as he thought of it, his appearance shifted to a plain-looking face. Shen Mo was bewildered.
"Amazing! Can it do more?" He thought and began thinking of other features.
He can change his profile easily, from the prettiest to the ugliest. Shen Mo nearly laughed at his own look. He settled to an average countenance, a face that takes one second to easily forget. In this way, no one can recognize him or cause a fuss to anger him.