And so the next days went on without the slightest hitch. Ren trained, ate, and enjoyed his time on the mountain immensely, and though he still occasionally thought about Lin, Aya, Ning and others of his hometown, he mostly just ignored the issue.

He, for example, had already visited some other divisions with his friends, the puppet division being a prominent destination of their group, yet he did not think to start searching for Ning in earnest. Every division had too many disciples for Ren to just ask around, and frankly he simply thought it would be too much of a hassle. He might not be taken seriously, he didn't know what he would even tell Ning if he found her. But ultimately those were just excuses for him to put finding her off, for now. He might ask Darkhaven to help him out, later.

Tomorrow he would have his next lesson with Darkhaven, which he hoped to not be so cryptic as the last times, and the training in their class had also started to pick up the pace. They sparred almost every day, with Ren slowly even starting to win matches, despite his opponents being not allowed to actively use other arts and only swordplay, this was still a massive achievement. The ones who lost to him were less than pleased with it, and it was the first time that Ren felt true anger directed at him by the other disciples.

And though Xiao Bao told him not to worry about it, as there would be trials for the Novices in a few months time and everyone felt that they had to improve, Ren still thought about the other disciples looks, and how not all of them joined the get-togethers beside the waterfall any more.

These trials would test the Novice's fighting capabilities, as well as their control and awareness of spirit, and somehow also their heart of cultivation, though how the trial would be conducted exactly Ren didn't know. It was also not really that important to him, and he forgot to ask anyone...

One other matter that came up was the issue of Intent. Ren had found a most comprehensive book on the subject of Intent, called: The Stages Of Intent And Alternative Paths.

Thinking that since his early acquisition of Intent was the reason for his introduction to the inner sect, and little Fatty talked about how much luck was supposedly involved in gaining an Intent, he visited the book reserve.

And It was good that he did, in his opinion. The author talked about many esoteric influences, enlightenment and personal attunement foremost, but also things like the month, day, and even hour of birth, social caste and such, that would all have an influence on the Intent that one ends up with.

And it was also not the case that the Intent didn't get stronger, the pressure that Darkhaven applied and also the minute control of the surrounding spirit that Adept Ji demonstrated when he brought him over to the weapon division, were all abilities that were facilitated through Intent. According to the author of the book, there were only four known levels of Intent. The initial level would only be useable inside the body, strengthening the practitioner's capabilities as well as their ability to use cultivation arts of the theme of their Intent both. For example, someone who had an Intent focused on movement with a water alignment would also become a better swimmer, and in the same vein Ren was also hailed as a born swordsman by Darkhaven.

Ren supposed that Adept Ji had reached the basic level of Intent, having the ability to influence a small part of the surrounding spirit. This spirit would obviously not be as easy to control as his own. Darkhaven on the other hand likely had reached the advanced level, he could influence an enormous area without even looking winded at all, but he likely had not reached the mythical fourth level, as the author said it was one of the requirements to becoming a Transcendent cultivator. Darkhaven was still a Master though, and apparently even when it came to controlling the surrounding spirit one Intent might not be like the other, being focused more on range or control, even wresting the control of another cultivator's own spirit from them.

The advanced level is as vast as the ocean, it read, and the achievements of different Masters and Grandmasters might vary greatly.

The effects of the fourth level were not known to the author, beyond being necessary to reach the Transcendent level.

When it came to alternative paths, Ren couldn't believe what he read.

"The mages of the east have found another way, as they do not rely on intuition and ingraining of a cultivation technique the same way us traditional cultivators do, they also do not develop an Intent. Instead, what they do is inscribe formulae onto themselves and direct their own alignment with secret arts, keeping their spirit more flexible and transformable, though their arts are often more rigid, and it is also the case that a single cultivator of the same rank is often stronger than an equivalent mage.

The system of mages still has merit nonetheless, as it enables a multitude of utilization, like easier formations, faster progression, and the aforementioned flexibility of spirit, resulting in a multitude of different standardized arts that are useable for mages. If a traditional cultivator wanted to use these formulae, as the mages call their brand of arts, they simply would not be able to make them work as soon as they gain Intent, as the formulae of mages are designed for use with attunement, but nothing more specific. The cultivator would have to change the formula of his choosing to match his Intent, wasting months or even years of study, making this avenue of research unattractive. This does not even factor in the problem of looking at and understanding secret formulae to begin with. For a deeper look into the mages society and their cultivation arts please refer to pertaining material."

Mages did not even use Intent! And a mage was weaker than a cultivator, so how could the empire of mages be so successful and enormous? Ren was stumped by this, as even though the author said that it lead to faster progression, and other benefits, this didn't really explain it to him, as it was but a passing thought, and he did not want to search for 'pertaining material', Ren left the cultivation and empire of mages, for now.

Coming back to the present, Ren and the other four were in a circle with them discussing how to pass the Novice trial, as a good result would give you not only honour but also support and specialized training from the sect, easier access to arts, and of course bragging rights.

"This trial will be easy, like eating cake. Daiyu, you shouldn't worry so much. Your family could even easily tell you how the tests will be done, right? Why don't you share it with us?" The boisterous voice of Xiao Bao rang through the clearing for the first part, and ending in a conspirational whisper, as if Bao thought someone might suspect foul play.

Daiyu simply sighed. "I already told you, my family won't give me any hints, they expect me to perform without any more help, and even if I did not perform exceptionally well, it is not like I couldn't get my hands on more arts. My family only cares about the prestige that an outstanding result would bring." She sounded resigned, and while the others pitied her familial situation to some extent, they didn't care about the honour of it at all, only wanting more support from the sect.

"I know that the trials will always test the same aspects, combat, control of spirit, sense, and firmness of heart. But the trials always change, except for the trial of the heart, where you will enter an illusion of some kind. We could face a tournament, fight spirit beasts, or even puppets, while spirit control and sense are relatively straight forward, regardless of the specific testing format, I believe." Little Fatty added in an unusually taciturn voice. Even he was becoming serious as the trial would decide over a large part of his immediate future, even though it was still around four months away.

And so they bickered back and forth, trying to come up with a viable training plan. Ren simply enjoyed their company, while he himself did not make significant progress with his project of having all arts or his manual running all the time, the two passive arts were already integrated to his satisfaction, and he had even managed to use the sword-step, though he was still far from any kind of mastery in it.

The idyllic scene of a waterfall framed by lush greenery, and his friends debating before it, inadvertently put a smile on his face.