The sound of tweeting entered Shu He's ears as he walked through a verdant mountain path, the Titanic Steel Sect occupied a large area over the mountain range and had plenty of variation in its terrain, a lot of it had been renovated and terraformed when the sect had been made and throughout the many years after but there were still plenty of places that retained their natural beauty.
This was one such path that was a ridge that laid on the outer side of the sect, Shu He decided to take a scenic route that he hadn't gone through before to clear his mind and think a bit before he reached the Elder's Hall, the sound of rustling leaves and clacking branches as birds sang was comforting to him as he was reminded of the days he would spend in the forest outside of Green Gate.
'This meeting, I wonder what it's about specifically…' He thought to himself as he glanced at a birds nest in the tree near him, it was early in the morning right now and a mother was feeding her fledgling chicks.
However, just a moment later there was a rustling as the chicks fought over who would be fed next, their black featherless bodies chirping hungrily, one of them was knocked aside and fell from the nest on to the ground where it floundered about in panic.
Shu He took another step, he hadn't cared about such things even when he was younger in the forest and even after joining the Beast Taming division, he full well knew that such events were just life, natural occurrences, survival of the fittest.
Yet he still felt an oh so tiny prick of pity in his heart, one he should ignore and move on like before.
Yet his feet stopped as he glanced at that little chick, fighting for its life, trying to stand and return to its nest yet its undeveloped body wouldn't let it, it was fated to die of starvation or become prey to some other critter.
He turned and began walking over to the chick, he supressed his presence like when he went hunting and restrained his Qi by instinct, he layered his hand with an oh so thin layer of Qi as he bent down and scooped up the unknowing chick.
It chirped a little, unsure at what was happening as it looked around, its eyes were still undeveloped and blurry so it couldn't recognise what was happening to it.
Shu He's eyes flashed with gold as he looked at the poor chick before smiling slightly.
"Not injured, lucky you" he had seen the little chicks skeleton, organs and muscles and everything seemed fine, to not be injured from that height with such a tender body was truly lucky.
Without another moments notice he hoisted the chick up into the nest, the parent glanced at Shu He and watched her chick be laid comfortably back, before hopping over and feeding the newly returned chick.
After that Shu He merely walked away, like nothing happened.
'If I feel even a hint of pity, regret, desire, then I should do what I want; It doesn't matter if I don't get anything from it, as long as I can be happy with myself' He thought with glazed eyes.
A bird can't tell him thanks, or repay him, yet the slight warmth he felt returning a lost chick was enough for him.
'Though, speaking of thankless tasks, I wonder how Jin Bao's death will be treated… he was a sect disciple after all and I killed him, by the rules of the sect I'll be imprisoned.' That thought did sit in the back of his mind, but he felt optimistic that it wouldn't be the case.
'They took down the duel formation after Jin Bao showed his connection to the black sects and didn't even stop the fight so they must have known what would happen… rather, I'm still more surprised that the fight wasn't stopped.'
Shu He stopped for a moment as the image of the sect master staring him down from outside the formation flashed in his mind.
'It was like she was telling me I wasn't allowed to forfeit or run' He frowned.
"But why?" He murmured.
He hadn't interacted with the sect master much at all, the only time actually was the few moments on induction before she took Gang Bo.
'Did he tell her about me? No, even if he did he doesn't know much more than other people, I've only ever showed my 'normal' abilities to him'.
'Did she know about my golden Qi?' Was his thought.
He thought back, the only two events that he can think of was the event back in Green Gate, Chao Shi was present at that moment so it wouldn't be surprising if he had told his sect master, the second would be the strange surge he couldn't keep under control during the 5 Elements test.
'Maybe they just knew I have something strange about me, but not any specifics…' He felt this was likely, he hadn't shown his hand much until that moment in his fight with Jin Bao.
'I'll be questioned about that for sure, but I have some ideas' He had replayed that moment in his head many times thinking about how he could explain it away.
'My core flame though…'
His thoughts wondered as he walked as his senses turned inwards to himself, inside of him, gone was the sights of the twin core flames one gold and one azure.
During the pinnacle of that fight, something changed, not just to him mentally but to his core flames.
Or rather, core flame.
Before they had been sticking to each-other like a pair of conjoined twins, every time he used the golden flame extensively they got closer and closer and at that moment they reached a singularity.
Their form was no longer that of a simple core flame.
In the centre was a gold ball made of a vortex of flames, like it was collapsing in on itself in an ever-burning cycle, flickers of azure could be seen in the whirlwind of gold, not just that, like petals surrounding a flower or fruit, bright azure petals sprouted from the bottom and embraced the golden core.
Shu He's first thought was.
'It's like a fruit, maybe a seed?' It was odd to him, his knowledge of core flames was that they were always in the form of a flickering candle like flame, anyone he has heard mentioned them has said the same.
So why has his changed? Even if they merged, did they need to have a different shape?
The core flame became even more mysterious to him, he would have to keep an even closer eye on its changes in the future.
He would love to go asking around about it, and his previously twin flames along with his Golden Qi, but it would likely draw too much attention to him, he would just steadily trawl through different books in the Mesmerising Tortoise Pavilion, and then ask questions when he could without blowing it.
Soon, Shu He reached the centre area of the sect which was a square plaza that was used for gatherings whenever sect announcements were made, in the short distance were two massive waterfalls crashing into a lake filling the air with a mist of water vapour creating a mystical sensation whenever one looked over the landscape.
Between the two waterfalls was a stretch of well laid bricks extending towards what looked like a jade tower inlaid in stone with an entrance at the bottom.
Shu He made his way over the stone bridge, glancing at the small sized lake that he was passing by, there were giant carps bigger than him happily swimming by without a care in the world, their silver scales glimmering a rainbow of colours in the refracted light, the surface of the water packed with Lilypad, some sort of cattails and different variations of lotus flowers.
He reached the jade structure and began looking around.
'I was told I needed to come here to reach the Elder's Hall but…'
After another few seconds he felt a slight warmth near his chest, he reached into his robe and saw that the card he had been given earlier was flickering with lights suddenly.
And right after that, the gates in front of him creaked open inviting him inside.
'Automatic doors huh, I keep getting surprised at the gap between architecture and technology'.
He stepped inside, it wasn't a very large room only enough to accommodate about 10 people if they stood close together, but obviously this room wasn't meant to be a place to relax in.
With a rattle, Shu He felt his weight shift for a second before he realised he was travelling upwards.
'So it was an elevator' He nodded, he wasn't too surprised now especially after that gigantic elevator during his entrance exam.
Instead of closing his eyes and waiting Shu He looked outside, this 'tower' was made of some kind of fine jade like material and had translucent panels as windows so he could look outwards as it rose up.
His eyes glimmered slightly as he took in the view, he could see half of the sect well the higher he went, there were so many places he hadn't visited yet, peaks he hadn't even set foot on, yet he still saw some areas he recognised.
The entertainment district, the small area where he met his senior brother Jian He before he was led to the Best Taming Division, the Striking Tiger Arena, the Covetous Dragon Pagoda, the Alchemy Tower, the park where he had been practicing the Two Celestials Method and many more, he hadn't been here for more than a few months, but he was beginning to familiarise himself.
He felt the elevator stop, unfortunately there was no satisfying 'ding' sound before the doors on the other side opened.
Shu He stepped out on to the beautifully carved white marble that made up the floor, he breathed in a deep breath before exhaling.
'I'm even higher up now, the oxygen here is very thin, I don't think a mortal could live up here' He thought as he felt the air thinning on his tongue, even he didn't feel 100% right now.
"Junior Shu He, correct?"
He heard a light, but emotionless voice called him out as he looked forward.
In front of him was a woman with finely wrapped black hair, she was quite tall as she stood stock straight with her hands behind her back, her sect robes well fitted, a small token attached to her waist sash that read 'Protector'.
"That's right, junior pays respect to senior…" He clasped his hands as per usual.
"My name doesn't matter; follow me I will guide you into the Elder's Hall".
"Okay" He nodded and began to follow along.
Shu He was slightly confused, he had met some sect protectors before, but this one was slightly different, her face was covered in a veil with the 'Metal' symbol covering his front, no matter how much he looked with his bare eyes he couldn't catch a glimpse behind it.
Of course, if he used his 'sight' it wouldn't be a problem, but he felt that would be a bit rude.
There was a probably a reason she hid her face, the other sect protectors didn't after all.
He walked across the large plateu that was beautifully decorated, if any place he had visited felt like a celestials hideout this was the one, the gently flowing clear water, beautiful flowers that wafted a calming scent.
And right in the middle was a massive statue of a large stout man.
"Is that one of the previous sect masters?" Shu He asked.
"…" But he received no response, she just kept walking.
'Is that how it is then…' Shu He realised he wouldn't be receiving a tour on his way to the hall, slightly disappointed.
Even though he didn't know who it was, he couldn't help but be attracted to the hammer that was held in the statues hands, he could tell even without using his sight that it wasn't merely part of the statue.
'Is that thing a real weapon? How long has it been there? Rather, how on earth did someone use it?'
It's size was taller than Shu He from handle to head, the head of the hammer was bigger than his torso two-fold, there was no way he could imagine himself lifting that.
'Whoever used it must have been an absolute monster…' He concluded.
He followed along like a good disciple, entering a large octagonal through a pair of large double doors, silence was all that was heard as they swiftly made their way through the twisting hallways, before long they reached a room with another pair of large double doors.
The sect protector knocked on the doors with the steel knocker and then spoke.
"I've brought Shu He" a simple message before silence descended once more.
Right now, Shu He started to feel a little pressure, the formal feeling that surrounded him make him feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Enter" With that word the doors began to open, Shu He looked towards the protector only to realise she already disappeared giving him a slight fright.
'These people are like ghosts!'
He took a deep breath before he walked into the room steadily, straightening his back to seem a bit more formal, the room was well decorated with ornaments filling the walls and the name 'Titanic Steel Sect' filling a banner near the back of the room, the floor had a silver mat crossing through it to the entrance that he was now walking on.
And in that room, there were 6 people present, out of the 6 Shu He recognised four of them.
Right at the centre, on a throne of steel was the silver haired sect master Rong Jia, she sat comfortably with her legs crossed as she watched him walk over, her sword was resting on the arm.
On the right was an old man with messy white long hair and a beard wearing a monocle, he didn't know this one.
Stood next to the fuzzy white elder was Mu Kai, the elder that was the announcer for the tournament, his stubbled face flashed Shu He a small grin.
On the left was Su Wen, the elder that had held the entrance exams for Shu He's group, he hadn't expected to see him here.
And standing next to Su Wen was a muscular older man with short grey hair, again he didn't know him, but Shu He could feel a sort of battle tested aura leaking from his posture.
And finally, the one that surprised him most was stood next to the sect master.
Wu Zong, the stone-faced old man that had helped him picking out techniques was stood with his arms crossed behind his back.