"Disciple Shu He has arrived as ordered" Shu He walked into the Vice Sect-Master's office and bowed, Wu Zhong was sitting at his desk with a calm, listless expression as he sipped on a cup of tea; There wasn't a word said for a full minute as Shu He stood with his head in bow, so Shu He began to wonder what he'd done wrong.
"Ah, good tea, we just got a new shipment in from the northern region, you should give it a try some time!" Wu Zhong spoke cheerfully before he turned to Shu He and remembered that he was still bowing "Oh, yes, you can stop bowing now".
'This old man walks at his own pace as always…' Shu He sighed internally "I'll consider it" he replied.
"Now then, you've been quite busy haven't you? The report from Su Wen was quite shocking, dealing with a large group of bandits from get go, discovering one of Hive's little hideouts, let alone letting us nab one of their higher ups… quite an achievement." Wu Zhong spoke as he read a scroll that was laying on his desk and nodded lightly.
"I really just ran away for most of it though…" Shu He couldn't help but sigh slightly, he was completely outclassed even after using his trump cards, it showed him how undeveloped he was as a cultivator still.
"That's all you needed to do, you served as great bait" Wu Zhong flashed him a grin "But really did do well, those three chasing you were all stronger than you, yet you didn't succumb to defeat until the fourth appeared, you should be proud of that".
"…Thanks" Shu He replied, but he still didn't take it to heart, no matter what he said he would have died that day had Su Wen and the others arrived.
Seeing his reluctance to accept the praise Wu Zhong merely shook his head gently "I didn't hear about the rest of your mission since they returned after 'that', mind filling me in?".
"Okay" Shu He nodded and went ahead and explained his encounters in Sunny-shore and the ill sailors in case he didn't know, then his travel to Pure-Pond and his meeting with the three Crystal Coral sect members, the subsequent hunt for the stones, facing off against the Razor Wolf and dealing with the 'imposter'.
He hadn't mentioned his little side-trek to the ruins, they likely knew he went there but not what happened and he wanted it to remain that way, it was a secret he would have to keep from everyone.
"Do you have any of these stones you mentioned? Would you show one to me?" Wu Zhong eyes shone like stars as Shu He explained that part, so Shu He knew he'd have no chance of hiding them.
"Sure, I kept a few because I thought the sect might want them" He lied, he still had a few from the ones Little Xue 'laid' after they had set off from Pure-Pond, 13 of them to be exact. He brought one out and place it on Wu Zhong's desk as the old man picked up it and observed it deeply.
Shu He could see all sorts of Qi lights flashing in his eyes and moving from his body to probe the 'stone', it took a full 5 minutes before he set it back down and let out a deep sigh.
"How odd… I can feel something unique about this but it's so odd! It's like Qi but not Qi… you said someone consumed one and died?".
"That's what I heard yes, but it came from the imposter so I'm not sure if it's true" Shu He replied, slightly surprised that he could sense something from it. 'the Qi inside the stone is Golden Qi, but it was a different type of it, so maybe a higher-level cultivator could sense it?'
"It would be a good idea to not consume it, do you mind if I send these off to the Alchemy Division for research? You'll be rewarded with points based on the results".
"That's fine" 'I have no use for them anyway' Shu He thought, there wasn't any harm in receiving points for free.
"Hmm… the beast ascending is likely due to these stones, and you've already been rewarded bonus points for that, but there is one thing you haven't mentioned, is there?". Wu Zhong's eyes narrowed as Shu He felt a hint of pressure push down on his skin.
'What? This isn't about the technique I found in the ruins, is it?' A drip of sweat fell down Shu He's brow. "What is it?" He asked.
"You've got a little friend in there, haven't you?" Wu Zhong pointed to the pack on his back causing his heart to leap slightly before he calmed down, he placed the pack on the floor before opening it and gently lifting Little Xue's chrysalis out and presenting it to the Vice Sect-Master.
"I picked her up in Pure-Pond and then she began her ascension shortly after" He explained.
"Hoh, so you managed to pick up a animal pre-ascension, how lucky… but why didn't you mention this?" Wu Zhong stood up from the desk and walked around, closely observing the chrysalis.
"I didn't think it was relevant to a mission report, it was outside of the scope…" Shu He said, trying not to speak too much lest he trip up.
"I see… but is that really the case?" Wu Zhong placed his hand on the chrysalis and placed his eyes.
'Wait, what's he doing?' Shu He wanted to pull away, but he subconsciously stopped.
After a few seconds Wu Zhong's eyes opened "As I thought… the energy this chrysalis emits is similar to those stones, they're related aren't they?" He stared Shu He dead in the eyes as he asked.
"I-uh-"
"Aren't they?" Wu Zhong repeated himself, there was no escape.
"…Yes… the stones originated from Little Xue…" Shu He reluctantly spoke, hoping he wouldn't do anything to her.
"Little Xue huh?" Wu Zhong returned to his seat as he began to sip on his tea "What kind of animal is it? To produce such stones…"
"A duck"
*PFFFT* The elder couldn't help but spit his tea before he glanced a Shu He wide eyed, wiping the tea off his mouth and clothes "Ahem- A duck, you say? Can a duck make such things?".
"Of course not" Shu He couldn't help but give him an odd stare "I think she has a unique constitution".
"A unique constitution, you say. Yes, that'd make sense… but such a thing is so rare…" Wu Zhong pondered for a moment before he looked over to see Shu He clutching the chrysalis tighter than before.
"Don't worry, we won't do anything to her, you can raise her as you planned, you should know the sect frowns on taking from juniors" Wu Zhong explained and as he did he could see Shu He visible relax a little "But you should have known that you need to register animals you bring into the sect, aren't you part of the Beast Taming Division?".
"Huh? Um, we haven't had any new animals brought in so… I didn't know".
"Is that so?" Wu Zhong looked surprised "Now that I think about It I don't think I've seen any permission forms from there… That's a problem, is there a reason for that? Do you not have enough members?" he asked causing Shu He to recall a certain two figures.
"Well we have these two perverts…" He began to speak before biting his tongue, he can't go bad mouthing his senior sister and elder to the vice sect-master, as much as he wanted to.
"What?"
"What?"
They stared at each-other in silence for a minute before Wu Zhong sighed "We'll have to bring this up at the next Division Meeting…" he noted that down on a piece of paper.
'Sorry, Senior Brother' Shu He apologised to Jian He as he carried the division on his back already.
Wu Zhong cleared his throat after he was done writing and pulled something out of his robes, placing it on the desk, it was a small crystalline stone that Shu He had seen before and something he was very excited to get his hands on.
"Present your token" Wu Zhong said, Shu He did so, and the elder placed it on a metal plate on his desk and then with a flash of light, everything was done!
He was handed his token back as he looked at it, now, above his name on one of the sides was a seal that was never there before –
[ Inner Disciple ]
He couldn't help but smile slightly, he had been enjoying a few benefits of an inner disciple already due to their agreement, but now he was accepted as one in full!
"Congratulations on your promotion, we'll look forward to seeing your growth from hereon out" Wu Zhong clapped lightly with a smile, it was an odd way for someone to be promoted to inner disciple, but it really didn't matter.
"Now, you've seen this before, but it is a Territory Stone, do you remember how to use one?" Wu Zhong slid the crystalline stone to him as Shu He picked it up and observed it, it was engraved with so many formation lines it made him sick looking at it.
"I just need to place it into the ground, and it will set up my territory right?"
"Right, and you can use any material inside your territory to form your home, it's rather intuitive so you'll get used to it, just remember, you can't place it in a restricted area like near any important buildings or in one of the districts without permission".
"Do you have a place in mind already?" Wu Zhong asked out of curiosity.
Shu He stared at the stone as different images flashed through his head "Yeah, I do".
"Then I suggest getting everything set up as soon as you can, it'll take a while to get it just as you want, and you'll need to buy furnishings, but a personalised home is much better than those stone rooms".
"I will, thank you" Shu He bowed once more.
After speaking for a few more minutes the conversation ended as Wu Zhong needed to continue his work much to his dismay, so Shu He set out straight towards the location he had in his mind.
A low summit not too far from his three divisions with little near it, with the behind against a cliff face and the front facing over the horizon, overlooking the Steel region, in the direction of his old village. It was a place he found most suitable.
He dropped the stone and it sunk into the ground while glowing, he felt the formations of the sect shift and form a boundary around him, 10 meters squared in size.
This was his new home. He would wait till tomorrow though; it was dark now.
"Tomorrow, it's time to get started".