The message sent to her identification medallion via divine sense brought Shin Sumi back to her senses.

Suddenly her rational mind took over again, pushing the images of slaughter and her mental scars away.

"Elder Zhu wants to see me before the end of the day? Can it be that he knows I have killed his mercenaries? No, surely he wouldn't have any way of knowing that. It must be for something else."

A repulsive idea crept into her head. Shin Sumi really didn't want to resort to that, but for her own good she had to gather every piece of information she could get her hands on.

Thankfully her stomach was now completely empty, keeping her from vomiting once more when she bent over one of the corpses.

It was the leader of the group, the one she had bashed the head in so many times it now resembled nothing more than a red gory paste.

As fast as she could while looking away, Shin Sumi extracted his bag of holding from around his waist.

Without even thinking about it, she opened the not yet rigid fingers of the corpse and took the dagger he had menaced her with before.

She did the same with the other two red robed disciples with the Affairs Pavilion insignia. Her eyes distant and lost in a dark void, she discovered that the disciple adept of using paper talismans had died not long after she was done with him.

Shin Sumi hesitated whether she should hide the corpses in the muddy waters that formed the swamp or not when the other two disciples came to mind.

The three versus one battle that she had won despite all odds had lasted for about a stick of incense worth of time, and the constant movement had brought the four people across the clearing a few hundred meters away.

As she had been lost in reflections and sick to her stomach, Shin Sumi had forgotten all about what the three disciples were doing when she arrived.

First Shin Sumi went to check on the disciple that had been knocked unconscious the moment she had stumbled upon the scene.

"He is still alive," she said in a relieved breath. "Another dead body and I think I would not be able to sleep in peace for the rest of my life!"

The young man was still unconscious, having lost a lot of blood, but Shin Sumi could tell that he would wake up eventually. He was already in the Shinsoo Gathering Stage and his wounds had started recovering, although slowly.

It wasn't the time to think about performing shameful acts. Shin Sumi had already killed three people and taken their possessions, thus she ignored the voice in her head and still took the disciple's bag of holding.

"I am sorry, brother ... Jiu," she read the name on his identification medallion, "but I'm sure you wouldn't mind considering this a small payment in exchange for saving your life!"

Shin Sumi was joking but with a bitter laugh.

She put the identification jade back in the folds of the disciple's robe. There was no use for it, as it was inscribed with personal information and nothing else.

Finally Shin Sumi turned her head towards the swamp waters. There was still one person to check on.

Since the beginning Shin Sumi had no delusion about the person's state. When she arrived, the corpse was already dried up and half immersed in water.

Gears slowly turning in her head she now understood what had been going on in this clearing, far from the sect's borders.

"Elder Zhu had commanded the group of three to hide the dried up corpse. Disciple Jiu walked in on them, apparently simply due to bad luck. The four of them fought until he was almost killed and about to be left to rot hidden away. I must have been alerted by the sound of their battle and I interrupted them. After that... well it's over now."

Shin Sumi didn't find any bag of holding nor identification medallion on the dried up corpse. The only thing she could tell was that the facial features were unrecognizable, the skin having been stretched across the skull as if by a vacuum inside.

A large cut was visible on the corpse's abdomen, going from the pelvis to the diaphragm. Inside the rotten skin and the frail bones, the flesh was black and some organs had been removed.

The dantian region especially had been badly damaged.

Shin Sumi had thought before that nothing could get worse but she was wrong. Upon inspecting the corpse she still found in her stomach enough bile to throw up and almost passed out from the shock of seeing a corpse in this state.

The corpse simply had a set of red disciple robes on it and nothing else. Shin Sumi understood why when she performed a closer inspection of the loot she acquired from the other disciples bags.

"Of course the Affairs Pavilion disciples have kept his stuff. His surname was Dang Chi. Quite a few status points, he wasn't too bad for a red robed disciple, as far as talent goes..."

These were only Shin Sumi's interpretations but she somehow knew there was something behind it.

When she was done around the clearing, Shin Sumi had taken every possession of every disciple, alive or dead. At this point she decided that she had nothing more to do around there.

Shin Sumi was silently thankful for Elder Zhu's request to go see him. It wasn't that she particularly wanted to, but at least she had found something to cling onto.

If there were no other pressing matters to attend to, nobody knew how long she would have stayed crying in the middle of the bloodbath she herself had created.

Taking a human life is a difficult thing to do and before that, Shin Sumi had no idea how much of a toll it could take on somebody's spirit and soul.

Storing all the different bags of holding into hers, she quietly left the scene never to return. Upon waking up, the red robed youth called Jiu would wonder what had happened but would have no way of knowing.

Hopefully he would simply be grateful for still being alive. If he was stupid enough to enquire why the three disciples he found hiding a corpse were wearing the Affairs Pavilion insignia, then all the trouble that would follow would be his to deal with.

Shin Sumi quickly made her way to the western gates of the lower valley. A lot was on her mind as she jumped through trees and bushes. The little nut swayed gently between her breasts as she moved, unneeded in this part of the woods, but still giving Shin Sumi a comforting feeling.

On her way she passed Hon Zi who was about to leave the training grounds as well. The teen with the orange robes had waited around for a full five hours and only now was about to head back to the lower valley.

He didn't see more than a red blur as Shin Sumi leapt a few meters away from him.

Liu Qing was nowhere to be seen, probably having returned to Chu Erlong to report the matters of Shin Sumi going to the Myriad Sword Pavilion before her escape through the woods.

Shin Sumi went back to her lone courtyard where she undressed quickly and washed herself in the pond. She stayed silent during the whole time, afraid to even think about what had happened. One thing was sure, she wanted to feel clean. To wash away her body and soul as much as possible.

She didn't stay idle for too long. After she had donned new red robes, she left the courtyard, locking the entrance with her identification medallion. The day was soon to be over and she had to go meet Elder Zhu at the Affairs Pavilion.

Instead of leaping meters with each step, Shin Sumi opted for a slow walk. She remembered the first time she had crossed the lower valley from the Affairs Pavilion to her courtyard.

She had been impressed by the speed of the red robed disciple that showed her the way. Now she realized that she was capable of much greater speed and efficiency.

For the first time, Shin Sumi discovered what cultivation was all about. Training to become more powerful.

As the Affairs Pavilion appeared in front of her, she imagined herself walking into the dragon's den. The only way to ensure that she would never experience that was to be stronger than anybody else.

The strong made the rules. The strong preyed on the weak. Only by becoming the strongest could she ever be free of worries.

"Disciple Shin Sumi is required for an audience with Elder Zhu," she announced to the clerk waiting inside the building.

The clerk was already well into the Shinsoo Gathering stage and was able to use a jade slip to check the information. After a nod of the head, he showed Shin Sumi the way into the building.

A few corridors further, Shin Sumi found herself in the small garden that occupied the center of the building. The aroma of medicinal plants and tea brewing wafted into her nostrils.

"Junior Shin! It is my pleasure to see you again after these long months," a booming voice resounded from the tea drinking table!

Elder Zhu was sitting cross legged with a steaming cup in his hand. His long black beard moved as he spoke with a smile.

"Please take a seat," he ordered. His tone was gentle and warm but still contained some of the strictness that came with his position as law enforcer.

Shin Sumi sat down in front of him after a courtesy bow.

"Disciple Sumi was immersed in meditation, please don't take offence for my arriving late," she said.

"No no no, not at all. I am glad you have accommodated to the cultivation world. Tell me, Junior Shin, how far in the Shinsoo Gathering stages are you?"

As an Elder of the sect, it was normal for him to enquire about the progress of his disciples, especially the ones with incredible talent often never seen for hundreds of years on end like Shin Sumi.

If she didn't know better, she could have sworn the man only wished her progress.

"I am currently preparing for passageways opening. I want a stable foundation before trying to break through to the Liquid Realm."

"Good, good," Elder Zhu answered, "I am definitely happy to hear that. Your breakthrough will be a celebration for the Dark Sky Starry Sect. With talent such as yours, once you get to the Liquid Realm you are sure to find yourself a good master amongst the Core Development Elders. This old one simply hopes that you will not forget about him when you become one of the stars of the sect!"

His hearty laugh was sincere and for a second Shin Sumi started to doubt everything that happened in the last few months. Elder Zhu definitely didn't appear to be someone who could cold heartedly place deathly traps to steal a disciple's talent, or who would ask his servants to hide young bodies for him.

Shin Sumi remained careful though. Someone as experienced as him was bound to have acquired acting skills that defied common sense and interpretation.

"Disciple Shin, on behalf of the sect I have to ask you something."

Suddenly, his tone changed, and a look of concern appeared on his face.

"Tomorrow everything will be made public for all Honorary Disciples but since you have a special status here, I was put in charge to deliver the news. You definitely have to postpone your breakthrough by at least a month."

"???!" Shin Sumi was taken by surprise by this announcement. She waited for more information from Elder Zhu as the man seemed like he wasn't done.

"In a month's time, all Honorary Disciples that have started Shinsoo Gathering will get the opportunity to participate in the Rising Star Tournament. This is something that hasn't occurred for the last hundred years, it is a rare chance to train in a very special place of the sect."

"Normal disciples can't know but considering your unusual talent the higher ups of the sect don't want to take any risk with you. In a few years time a grand war will possibly erupt between the Dark Sky Starry Sect and our enemy, the Sky Earth Sect. The Rising Star Tournament goal is to buff our ranks with as many Liquid Realm Disciples as possible. Only then can we stand a chance in an open war."

Shin Sumi was flabbergasted. Suddenly everything made sense. It explained why Fen Wudao had given her his personal sword, and why the mysterious 'Elder Xi' had told her to focus on cultivation.

It all lead to this Rising Star Tournament.

"All the Honorary Disciples will be competing against each other, and only the strongest shall get to the top. As you can imagine, there are high hopes for you to place first. If you were to breakthrough during the first stages of the Tournament, the road to first place would be ensured and everything would turn out for the best."

"To aid in your breakthrough, I have personally designed a gift for you," Elder Zhu announced with shining eyes.

Shin Sumi's attention was brought to a small black wooden box that had a strange aura to it.

With a wave of Elder Zhu's hand, the box floated towards Shin Sumi.

She received it with caution, still waiting for an explanation.

"This box contains a Liquid Pellet. It is one of a kind. A pill that I refined myself. Using this Liquid Pellet at the moment of breaking through to the Liquid Realm will give you a sixty percent chance of success even in the worst conditions! With it you are almost assured of placing first in the Rising Star Tournament."

Of course, Shin Sumi had heard about the famous Liquid Pellet. Who hadn't heard of it? And who hadn't dreamt of possessing one?! Shin Sumi also knew that it was possible to buy one from the sect's reserve at the Cultivation Resources Pavilion for the exuberant price of eight hundred low grade spirit stones.

What was eight hundred spirit stones? In comparison with only the monthly allowance provided by the sect a red robed disciple could earn not more than two low grade spirit stones. That meant waiting four hundred months before being able to buy a single Liquid Pellet! That was ridiculous.

Thankfully disciples never depend solely on the sect. Working in the spirit plants fields, farms and stables of the sect could provide more spirit stones. An even more lucrative activity was the ones offered by the Quests Pavilion, where status points could be exchanged for almost anything. Finally the best option was the market area of the lower valley, but it wasn't a reliable source of income for most disciples except Shin Sumi.

Not every disciple could refine and sell at will hundreds of very high grade spirit resources. Shin Sumi could. But even with this taken into account, a Liquid Pellet was not something she could afford every day.

"A Liquid Pellet?!" she exclaimed out loud, "and with a sixty percent chance of success... Elder Zhu, this disciple knows that she definitely doesn't deserve such grand favor!"

"Don't say anything else," said a smiling Elder Zhu as he applied a bit more pressure on the box with his Shinsoo. "This is the intention of the sect as a whole. View it as a reward for your incredible talent. The matter is settled, please don't make things difficult for me by not accepting the pellet!"

Shin Sumi gave up on trying to refuse. Her hand stroked her bag of holding, transporting the black wooden box to the confines of her personal storage space.

"Remember Disciple Shin, in a months time, breakthrough to the Liquid Realm and place first in the Rising Star Tournament. Only if you do so can we have a chance in the upcoming war with the Sky Earth Sect."

Elder Zhu showed Shin Sumi the door personally. As they walked through the Affairs Pavilion exquisitely decorated corridors, he gave her plenty of advice about cultivation and the use of the Liquid Pellet.

"This particular Liquid Pellet is of Yin type, which means more adapted to female disciples like you. It was designed specifically for you after all. As soon as the pellet makes contact with your dantian, your rate of absorption of Shinsoo will be increased dramatically, allowing you to condense Shinsoo with much more strength."

The talk went on more more time than Shin Sumi would have wanted but still resulted in interesting information.

Shin Sumi bowed deeply to the Elder and thanked him for his guidance before taking her leave. She dropped the act almost immediately after the Affairs Pavilion was out of sight.

"Hffiou. I'm glad that is over," she said to the nut, relieved. "I thought somehow Elder Zhu had found out about what happened in the forest. He simply wanted to bait me with his pill."

"And this Rising Star Tournament... That part should be completely true. His lies should have been mostly about the pill itself."

"What Elder Zhu said about how the Liquid Pellet works should be true. It coincides with what Xiao Yue said. So what is the catch here?"

Shin Sumi had reflected upon the whole interaction for a while when her eyes opened in full. That was it!

"The dried up corpse in the swamp! A pill that helps gather Shinsoo in a short period of time! How easy for an Elder that spent his life creating medecine would it be to alter a Liquid Pellet? If my suspicions are correct, this single pill sucks in the Shinsoo, not from the environment but from the cultivators themselves!"