It was a beautiful night within the Illuminated Sword Sect.
Sitting near the edge of a cliff, overlooking the clouds from high above, was a single wooden pavilion with an ornate red roof. Under its roof was a table and two chairs.
In one chair was a young man with a refined face and long, crow black hair. He was dressed in the white and blue robes of the Illuminated Sword Sect's signature uniform, a white headband tied around the top of his head and another keeping his long hair in a ponytail. The star light from the sky illuminated his visage, making his porcelain white skin seem to shimmer.
In the other chair was another man, yet his face was obscured within the shadows of the pavilion's roof. He was dressed in similar robes to the other young man, yet they were white and golden rather than white and blue.
The young man daintily sipped from a cup of tea in his hand. He closed his eyes for a moment before setting down his teacup. When he opens his azure blue eyes, he turns them to the sky.
"The servants really did a splendid job with the tea tonight," he says. "Don't you think so as well, shifu?"
The other man doesn't respond. He doesn't even move, his hands remaining folded on his lap.
The other man sighs as he slowly sets down his tea cup.
"Shifu, allow me to start off by saying that my loyalty for you is boundless," the young man continues, leveling his stare at the other man. "This year marks my fifth year under you. And I can count with the fingers of one hand the number of times I have even questioned your orders. However, your...latest decision is very questionable. Even for you, esteemed Elder Starry Sky. My fellow disciples have come to me about what your intentions might be."
The tone of his voice shifted, taking on a more serious undertone.
He was no longer a student addressing his shifu. He was a disciple, addressing an elder in a rare situation where they were equals.
The other man doesn't immediately respond as the disciple leveled his glare at him.
It was a very, very daring move, for a mere disciple to level a hostile glare at an Illuminated Sword Sect elder. Not even an upper reaches disciple, a lower reaches disciple. To most, it wasn't just daring, it was downright suicidal. Yet this one did so without hesitation.
The other man just chuckles. He reaches for the teacup sitting on his side of the table separating the two.
"Ah, Wen De, Wen De," he says, his voice possessing the baritone of a middle aged man's voice. He sounded as if he were scolding a child. "You claim to know me so well, yet you dare to look at me like that as if you aren't aware of the consequences. But then again, it is probably because you have been with me for so long that you dare to do so."
Elder Starry Sky chuckles again. He brings a cup up to his shaded face before gently laying it back onto the table.
"Wen De, out of all my disciples, you are my most accomplished," he says. "In the time it takes for average mortals to merely break through the shackles of mortality and enter the Qi Condensation phase, you've done so while also breaking through into the Foundation Establishment stage. Now, you're in the mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and with how quickly you're going, by the time it reaches your tenth year of cultivation, you'll have broken through into the Aura Manifestation stage and become an upper reaches disciple. Your talent can be described as that of 'once in a century' and you're already well along the path of becoming an elder in the future.
"However, you should know that you aren't my first priority. Neither are the rest of my disciples. And neither is even the sect. Ultimately, everything I do is to first fulfill my own self interest."
Wen De, the young man under the moonlight's illumination, doesn't respond. However, he didn't seem surprised. His glare lessened as he brought his teacup back to his lips, though he kept his gaze on his shifu.
"I've taken an interest in the soldiers that my first senior disciple brother decided to bring back to the main school. So if I find them satisfactory, I'll bring them under my wing before my other disciple brothers can get to them. Well, not like they'll want to. Other than maybe my first senior disciple brother."
Wen De pondered on the words for a moment. Then he squinted his eyes.
"Esteemed elder…please excuse me if I am miscalculating, but the resources allocated for your domain of the sect in the lower reaches can't possibly be enough to account for all of your current disciples and the veterans of the ravine," he says.
"I'm perfectly aware."
For a moment, Wen De looked confused. Then, his eyes widened.
"Esteemed Elder, you…?"
The other man chuckles. He lifts his teacup up to his lips for a moment before setting it back onto the table.
"The lower reaches of this sect are sheltered," he says. "But that's not at all a bad thing. After all, a brand new cultivator's most valuable weapons are time and an environment in which they can focus solely on advancing their cultivation.
"However, the veterans of the ravine are special. Very unique exceptions that might not appear even once again in my lifetime. They are survivors of war, long-time survivors at that. Wen De, do you know what the average lifespan of a soldier under the Aura Manifestation is immediately after being conscripted?"
One of Wen De's eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Even in some of the safest encampments within the Midlands, newly sent out disciples usually don't last for longer than a month. Some of the stronger ones, the ones that survive long enough to become squadron leaders or vice squadron leaders, may even live past a whole half a year. No more than a mere blink of an eye to those of us who seek to attain the powers of the heavens."
Wen De's eyes widened slightly.
No longer than just half a year? This information was as startling to him as it was new.
"This is a pattern that has persisted since the righteous and the demonic sects began fighting for the Midlands," the elder continues. "Yet, the veterans of the ravine have broken that pattern by a huge margin."
The elder holds up a finger.
"The average time of recruitment for the former soldiers…is somewhere between two to three years. That is, at minimum, quadruple that of the lifespan of average squadron leaders."
"Quadruple?" Wen De repeats.
"Not to mention the three squadron leaders and their vice squadron leaders. They've all been promoted at around the same times, around two years ago. Their vice squadron leaders came slightly later, but also still around two years ago. All of them were part of a recruitment group that was sent to the ravine four years ago. Almost all of whom are gone by now, but only after serving for an average of three years."
Wen De hummed as he closed his eyes. Four years wasn't really anywhere near the number of years Wen De had lived, and just barely half of the number of years he had been a cultivator. Yet that mere blink of an eye was an unprecedented amount of time for a soldier.
How unfair the heavens are, doomed to such a fate. Wen De sighs. But, hmmmm…how curious.
"Why the discrepancy?" he asks.
"Not even I nor the other elders know," the elder says. "There isn't anything special about that ravine that makes it unique from where the other encampments are stationed. However, the answer itself isn't all that important. What is important is that they're here now. And that they're the perfect test subjects. Wen De…"
Wen De opened his eyes again. He fixed his gaze onto the elder's veiled face.
"I've invested my time and resources into you because I saw that you would eventually be worth it all in the future. And I plan, on doing so more in the future, but only if you can prove that you're worth it all. Tomorrow, I will be conducting an initiative skill assessment, but I will be making a few…alterations to it. You and the other disciples will participate in the assessment. And if you don't prove to be worth all the investment I've put into you, well…"
Wen De's eyes darkened slightly. He completely understood his master's implication.
There was no more discussion of the topic after that as the two peacefully finished their tea. Just as their cups were to be emptied, elder Starry Sky chuckled quietly to himself, breaking the otherwise potent silence.
"Ah, before I forget…"
Wen De almost scoffed at those words.
"Your little brother, who was apparently part of the group sent out to the ravine, has made a safe return."
The cultivator stopped, his cup mid-raise towards his lips.
"You ought to thank the heavens for looking out for him," the elder says, smiling slightly at Wen De's reaction. "And maybe pay him a visit. I'm sure he'd be glad to see you again."
Wen De stared at the cup in his hand, a blank look in his eyes. He slowly set it back onto the table, as if just noticing that the cup was empty.
"Thank you for your concern, esteemed elder, but I do not have the time to do so right now," he says. "Perhaps after the examination."
"If that's what you want," the elder says with one last smile.
The rest of the night went on in peaceful silence as the two men drank their fill.