"What's the big deal about the Inner City anyway?" Su Yao asked. "Isn't it just the place where the bigger sects have their main branches?"
"The Inner City is a lot more than just the place where the large sects gather their power," Wu Ling said, noticing both Su Jixin and Zou Sujin looking a little sheepish. Their branch of the Su family didn't have a path to the Inner City either and they'd never thought that their daughter could support such lofty aspirations so they'd never emphasized its importance to her. "In the Outer City, just being a cultivator at all makes you special. There are five thousand mortals for every cultivator in the twenty outer wards of Silver Sword City, though that shifts a bit depending on which ward you're in."
"Right," Su Yao said, following along with Wu Ling. "I heard in the Inner City that there aren't as many mortals compared to cultivators and that the cultivators tend to be stronger in the Inner City."
"That's generally true but there's a lot more to it than that," Wu Ling explained. "There are only two kinds of cultivators that are allowed to enter the Inner City. Cultivators at the fourth stage and above or young geniuses who are able to reach the second stage by twenty years of age or the third stage by forty. Sects that keep their main branch in the Inner City tend to have superior cultivation methods that allow a person to advance their cultivation further along with the resources for a person to advance their cultivation faster," he continued.
"Most cultivators never make it into either of those categories," Su Jixin said, wanting to ensure that his daughter's head didn't become lost in unobtainable clouds.
"You essentially have to become a member of a second-rank cultivation sect like the Shining Blade Hall to get access to the techniques and resources that would allow you to even try," Su Jixin explained.
"Yao'er, I don't want to discourage you," he continued. "But it's very difficult for Artists to advance that far. Most of the Artists I've heard of from the Inner City are Scholars or Martial cultivators who have awakened their artistry as supplementary cultivation methods rather than as a primary path. If you wanted to progress that far as a pure artist, you'd be better off making the journey to the Southern Continent to apply at the Myriad Arts Pavilion instead of trying to reach the Inner City in Silver Sword City where the arts aren't valued as highly."
"Oh," Su Yao said, deflating in her seat. "So it really isn't possible."
"Your father didn't say it's impossible," Wu Ling pointed out. "Just that most cultivators can't make it. Look at your cousin Xiang," he added, gesturing at Su Xiang sitting next to him. "She's already a late-stage Brawler and she's only turning eighteen this year. I have no doubt that she'll be a Soldier by this time next year and the Shining Blade Hall will be offering her the opportunity to become an Inner Disciple and move to the Inner City."
"And what about you," Zou Suyin asked pointedly. As a fellow artist and musician, she knew how hard it was to advance beyond the first stage. "Do you have a path to the Inner City as an Artist?"
"Um, Aunt Zou," Su Xiang said delicately. "Brother Ling already has a pass to the Inner City until he turns twenty."
"Really?" Su Yao exclaimed. "Brother Wu, why didn't you tell me you were so amazing?"
"In this case, I'm not the amazing one," Wu Ling said awkwardly. "And honestly, while I have a pass to the Inner City, I'm not sure that I'd use it unless I was with someone like my Aunt Hyacinth. When you think about the second-rank sects of the Inner City you have to keep in mind that they're bound by the rules of the Inner City. While there are fourth-stage cultivators and above who raise their families in the Inner City, if their children don't meet the standards to remain there on their own merits then they're sent to the outer city when they grow older. You'll find many of the less talented children of Inner Disciples in the Outer Ward branches of second-rank sects. At the same time, the Outer Ward branches are full of ambitious new disciples trying to be the first generation of their family to break into the Inner City and that competition helps produce some of the strongest cultivators of their generation," he said.
"But how does that get you into the Inner City?" Su Yao asked. "Wouldn't one of your parents have to be an Inner Disciple of a second-rank sect for you to live there with them?"
"Yes, which is why I won't use my pass unless I'm with someone like my aunt," Wu Ling said.
"Which sect is your aunt a member of?" Zou Suyin asked, puzzled that Wu Ling had never before mentioned having a family member in the inner family.
"Aunt Hyacinth is also a member of the Bamboo Silk House," Wu Ling answered readily. "Though she's technically a Master Alchemist more than she's an Artist, she's the one who taught me the art of tea. I suspect she also knows several other arts that we've never had a chance to discuss. After all, everyone in the Bamboo Silk House learns at least a little bit about certain arts, even if they primarily fill another role in the sect."
"As impressive as your aunt is," Su Juxin interjected. "It sounds like even your sect didn't provide her a path to the Inner City as an Artist, rather, she's a fourth-stage Scholar."
"That's true about my aunt at least," Wu Ling admitted. "But you underestimate the number of young women who have become Understudies by twenty and Trusted Artists by forty. The important thing is that a second-rank sect has access to better cultivation methods than the ones you find in the third-rank sects that only exist in the outer wards. If Su Yao awakens within the next year, I have no doubt that she could become an Understudy by twenty provided she has a good enough cultivation method and applied herself in a sect with the resources to nurture her."
"You really see that much potential in my Yao'er?" Zou Sujin asked. She was impressed by Wu Ling's assessment of her daughter's talent but she hadn't seen anything from Su Yao herself to let her easily share his assessment. "Are you suggesting she join your Bamboo Silk House if she awakens in the next year?"
"That really depends on her," Wu Ling said, looking at his former classmate earnestly. "Remember what I said earlier about being diligent. Even if you're talented, unless you work hard, you won't make it very far. If you want an easier life, the Outer City and a marriage to someone like Fang Lin might really suit you. Just think about it tonight while we're at the banquet. Talk to some of the other young lords and ladies that will be guests tonight, not as potential suitors, but about cultivation and their own goals. If you find that you resonate with the people looking to make their way to the Inner City, consider what you should do to emulate them. If you find that they repel you, that's an answer as well."
Slowly, as the wheels of the carriage took them closer to the evening's banquet, the wheels of Su Yao's mind began to turn in dozens of new directions. She'd always thought finding a good husband with a future in one of the prosperous wards of the outer city would be a path to a happy and secure future, but had she really been selling herself short? Should she be looking at a different kind of companion who had their eyes set further down the road of cultivation? Maybe… maybe she should be looking at a man more like Brother Wu…