Behind the high walls and potent formations protecting the Pure Edge Sword Sect, several promising young disciples watched with slack jaws and wide open eyes as one of their fellows dominated half of the training yard. In theory, as a Brawler under twenty years of age, Fan Chaoyang held the same status as all of the other young talents in the courtyard but only a fool would place him in the same category as most of the people surrounding him.
Polished silver sword-light gathered around him, forming a dozen blade-shadows that mirrored the movements of the shining sword in his hand. Around him, six junior disciples hurled razor-sharp daggers as rapidly as they could. Sweat formed on their brows as they tried to work in tandem to overwhelm their senior brother's defenses but no matter how many knives they threw, each one was deflected harmlessly away by either the sword in his hand or one of the blade-shadows around him.
"Why is Senior Brother Fan doing this?" one disciple in the crowd of observers whispered to a slightly older disciple.
"Evidently he met a cultivator who has strange attacks that produce blades like a flock of birds," the older disciple said. "He started this yesterday with three opponents and he's been adding more opponents as he goes."
"What kind of cultivator could frighten Senior Brother Fan into practicing like this?" the younger student marveled.
"I don't know," a third disciple interjected. "But I heard a rumor that it's not a sword cultivator. Senior Brother Fan sent a request to the Temple of Five Mysteries asking if they have any sorcerers who are willing to exchange pointers."
Moving from one step to the next, Fan Chaoyang was oblivious to the whispers of his fellow disciples. In his mind's eye, the daggers hurled at him became black, blade-winged birds. The pressure exerted on him by the six disciples throwing daggers paled in comparison to what he'd seen that man unleash. How would he defend against ten, twenty, or thirty of those wicked birds? What would he do when the man's painted beasts added their own elemental energies to the assault?
For too long, he'd reigned among the top sword cultivators of his generation. In Silver Sword City, being a top sword cultivator frequently meant being a top cultivator overall, but what he'd seen at Fang Lin's banquet taught him that he'd long been at the bottom of a well, blind to the talents and methods of those who had to rise up in the Outer City.
Ignorance, however, could be fixed. Xiong Dahuo had lost so pathetically because he not only underestimated his opponent, he didn't even understand him. Now that the aggressive Brawler from the Sanguine Saber Sect had drawn out Wu Ling's techniques, Fan Chaoyang had an image to train against. One way or another, at the upcoming Young Expert competition or on some other field, he was certain that he'd cross blades with that man. When the day came, he intended to be well prepared.
Swords were sharpened on whetstones but men sharpened themselves on each other. Only by overcoming the best opponents could he consider himself to have the sharpest edge. Finally, after two years spent standing above his peers, he felt he had found a target worth sharpening himself on!
***
Elsewhere, in a dimly lit room thick with the smell of herbs and warmer than a summer's day, Yu Jinqi stood quietly to the side while he waited for Independent Alchemist Yu Tao to finish his concoction. Just being allowed into the respected Alchemist's lab while he was concocting was a privilege few disciples of the Jade Cauldron Sect could obtain and normally his eyes would have stared fixedly at his uncle's deft manipulation of ingredients and careful control of flames.
Today, however, he worked hard to control his urge to fidget. His legs twitched with the desire to pace and his eyes wandered over the impressive collection of herbs and rare ingredients in his uncle's lab but settled on nothing. Finally, after what felt like hours but in truth was less time than it would take a single stick of incense to burn, Alchemist Yu finished his concoction, carefully guiding the refined elixir into six porcelain bottles and covering their stoppers with wax before turning to his nephew.
"Well Jinqi," his uncle said. "Did you notice the variation in this batch of Flameheart Elixir? If you can correctly describe my modification to the concoction recipe or method, one of these bottles is yours," he said in a rich, warm voice. While Yu Tao fell short of reaching the third stage by thirty and moving to the Inner Sect, he'd still passed his Independent Alchemist exams by the time he was fifty and maintained the youthful appearance of a man in his early twenties.
When he looked at his nephew Jinqi, however, he saw talent that far exceeded his own at that age, if only he could find a way to draw it out of the young man! Holding impromptu sessions like this, where he offered up elixirs as rewards for furthering his skills was one of the ways he hoped to help his young nephew reach his potential and achieve something he hadn't been able to in his youth.
"Uncle, I'm sorry, I have other matters on my mind today and I wasn't able to notice any changes in your method," Yu Jinqi said in a small voice.
"Oh? Has a woman caught your eye?" Yu Tao teased, putting the fresh elixirs away and gesturing for his nephew to join him for a cup of tea. "You know, your uncle has considerable experience with women and…"
"It's not a woman," the young man quickly interrupted. "It's something else. I saw a demonstration at a banquet I attended with a friend. It made me think about things. I haven't ventured out of the sect much to learn but I think, maybe I should venture out a little bit. I wanted to know, uncle, if you would sign a pass for me," he finished in a rush.
"That must have been some demonstration to have you this flustered," Yu Tao said with an easy smile. "Of course, I'll support you. What kind of pass do you need me to sign for you? Are you going adventuring beyond the city walls?"
"No. Yes, I mean, maybe, but not yet," Jinqi said. "I have a friend who is planning on an expedition soon and I may join him but that's not what this pass is for. I asked around and the Amber Lily Academy recently returned from a trip to the mountains to gather herbs during the Lunar Eclipse. They're hosting an alchemy exchange in a few days where they'll auction off some of the rare ingredients they brought back. There will also be lectures from their alchemists and contests for the younger generation. I, I want to go," he finished in a very small and quiet voice.
In the Jade Cauldron Sect, if he'd approached most instructors and asked to attend lectures at a third-rate sect that wasn't even completely dedicated to alchemy, being laughed at would be the least of his concerns. Many Independent and Master Alchemists would have berated or even beat him for the implied insult that their teachings weren't sufficient for an Alchemy Initiate to progress to Novice.
Yu Tao saw things differently, however. While the sect's teaching methods produced a steady stream of qualified alchemists, the world of alchemy was vast. Convention might dictate that only senior Novices were allowed to represent the sect in competitions or attend exchanges outside the sect, but he'd watched Jinqi struggle to find his way long enough to know that the young man needed a different approach. If he could find it at this exchange, wasn't that ideal?
"I'll tell you what," Alchemist Yu finally said as he looked at his fidgeting nephew. "I'll sign your pass on two conditions. First, I want to see what kind of information is being shared at these lectures, so I'll be attending with you. I'll expect a well-written report from you afterward describing what you've learned and how it differs from the instruction you've already received in the sect. You're not to put anything you learn there into practice without first consulting with me. You understand?"
"I do," Jinqi said, his shoulders slumping in relief. "What's the second condition?"
"The second condition is that if there is a competition suitable for Alchemy Initiates, you are required to enter it! You cannot represent the Jade Cauldron Sect as an Initiate, however, as a member of the Yu family and your uncle, I'm willing to stake our family name that you won't embarrass us. What do you say, Jinqi? Are you up to the challenge?"
For a moment, Yu Jinqi's world spun. Blood thundered in his ears and his vision dimmed. Representing the Yu family instead of the sect? The thought made his palms sweat and his knees weak! And yet… was it really any different from representing the sect? He might not be allowed to wear his sect robes but he couldn't escape his identity. And if he risked nothing, how could he ever venture outside with Zhang Buyan and that Artist?
"Okay Uncle," he finally said, bringing the spinning room to a stop and meeting his uncle's questioning gaze with a look of determination. "I'll do it!"