It was not long after, they had long joined back into the main paths, the five of them were almost at the entrance of the heart division, when Xin Jing had them take a more hidden way. Ren was just able to sense the black, wooden gates of the heart division, two disciples standing before it and talking animatedly, a man and a woman.

Xin Jing looked a little uncomfortable when they looked at her questioningly.

Shen Junan speaking up."I guess our fellow disciples would not be as respectful as in the illusion or even body division, Sister Jing?"

Xin Jing answered him with a sigh escaping her mouth. "I just don't want to get so much attention, bringing you all, being considered as one of the sect's brightest hopes and a relative of an Elder is already enough if you ask me. This way only has a small training ground that is almost never in use, and we can just directly make our way over to my place."

Seeing as they had no objections to taking a slight detour around the main gate, they made their way through a thick bamboo forest. What was interesting to Ren was that the green bamboo, wider than his legs even, hindered his ability to sense somewhat, after only about ten meters everything became misty and distorted.

"Sister Jing, what are these bamboo trees? I have never seen them before" He asked, eyeing the bamboo as they ran in between them, wonder colouring his voice.

Xin Jing answered him in a doubtful voice, looking at the wooden sword that he carried around with him. "It is called heartwood, a type of wood that was slowly bred and acclimated to higher concentrations of spirit in the atmosphere by successive generations of heart division disciples. It is extremely robust and even cutting down one of the bamboos is hard work." Pointing over her shoulder at the training sword strapped to his back, she continued. "And high quality weapons and cultivation appliances in general are built with materials that can withstand a Cultivators force of spirit, just like your sword. I am honestly surprised that Master Darkhaven gave you one made of heartwood without even telling you anything about it."

She looked back at him with one eye, expecting some answer, but Ren could only shrug in response, there wasn't anything to it, Xiao Ai gave him the sword in one of their earliest training sessions, and he used it ever since. He told her as much.

"Huh, that's a little weird, but OK. Getting back on track. You likely thought of it because the forest blocks your senses off, right?" She turned completely to him, running backwards, dodging bamboos and rocks at breakneck speed without looking, and gave him a knowing smile. "That was also the first thing that I thought of, when my grandmother took me here for the first time. It is quite disconcerting not being able to use one of your senses at all, like running around in the dark."

Ren nodded back at her, touching his sword and thinking about what she just said. "You are right, Sister Jing, I don't like it at all. It is stifling, and I even need to concentrate on pushing my senses out, or I wouldn't be able to perceive anything."

He gave her his honest feelings.

"That is already far better than a lot of Adepts even, and should you ever wish to train your perception further, which I highly recommend, this is one of the best places on the mountain, trust me." She said, crossing her arms.

They continued dashing across the forest, Xin Jing running backwards all the while, leading the group and talking with the others, asking about their troubles with sensing the surroundings.

"I believe that my situation is similar to Brother Ren's. The area that I can observe is far smaller, and I have to actively stretch my senses." This was Shen Junan, who observed the forest with a keen interest, seemingly not having known its effect on a Cultivator's senses despite knowing about the materials.

"Though, If I push my own spirit around myself, everything it touches obviously is once again far easier to make out."

He said, and flooded the area around himself with his spirit, him at the centre having a tight ball with a diameter of only around four meters, tendrils of his spirit were still shooting out from it to connect with bamboos ahead, swinging the boy forward without as much strain on his body, as he kept up with them.

Han Ting, on the other hand, did not have such a good time. "I can even normally not sense the surrounding spirit as good as the four of you, not to speak of dodging trees with it, like Sister Jing, but right now I can sense nothing but chaos, it is all incomprehensible to me." He shook his head to emphasize his point.

"You have to work on that point, Brother Ting, even if your constitution makes it more difficult. Otherwise, you might hit a roadblock along the way and can no longer advance." Zhi Mu gave his advice calmly.

"Thank you, Brother Mu, but at least in this forest I don't think that I can train, for now at least, and thankfully my other senses are working just fine. How is it for you, Brother Mu?" Han Ting sounded as resolute as always, but Ren thought that he looked at least a little chastised, as he tried to deflect from himself.

Zhi Mu let it easily slide and considered his own situation, but before he could give an answer they crossed the forest, and promptly after leaving it the sight of a group of about twenty new heart division disciples, gathered in a half-circle around a woman with grey hair, greeted them.

"Well, so much for not wanting to meet anybody." Shen Junan whispered to Xin Jing, who stood beside him.

"Shut up." She grumbled back.

The old woman gave the five of them a once over, intense eyes boring right through them, and Zhi Mu's spirit even coiled in preparation for battle, but the moment passed, and the young Adept relaxed, looking sheepish even. Ren could not make out if she was surprised by their appearance, or she was messing with them, and even though they had left the forest just behind them, and he could sense her spirit clearly, it gave nothing away to him but the fact that she was in fact a Master, though how she compared to someone like Darkhaven Ren could not say.

She was wearing a gray tunic, resembling the attire of regular Initiates and Novices, with no adornments and billowing sleeves. Her hands were by her sides, hanging down casually.

Most interesting was her face though, as even if her hair was completely gray, only her eyes and the feeling of her spirit revealed her age to him.

"Well, look who has come to place, I didn't think that you would join us in this session, young Mistress." Her voice was smooth and yet clearly aged, deeper than one would expect from a woman of her stature.

She gave Xin Jing a mischievous smile, and the tone of her voice obviously expected some kind of answer.

Xin Jing remained calm and collected on the outside, though Ren thought that she was not happy with this encounter, her spirit muted and flat.

The girl saluted the woman before them, the four of them joining her immediately, as her status as a Master demanded.

"Novice Xin greets you, Master Clearheart, but I must humbly decline your generous offer, my companions and I planned on touring the division." Xin Jing said, trying to convey urgency with her voice.

Master Clearheart was having none of it though. "Surely if that is to be your goal, young Mistress, then the five of you can enjoy a little of my lesson, I am sure that it would make many things clear to your companions, just as I am about to enlighten these new students of mine."

She smiled at both Xin Jing and the gathered disciples, who were already animatedly chatting, some trying to figure out who they were and others making big eyes at them.

Xin Jing was about to decline again, not wanting to be dragged into this, but Master Clearheart raised her hand to stop her. "I insist."

Looking at each one of them, Xin Jing sent them a question while transmitting her voice with a little spirit technique, making it hard for others to listen in. "Are you okay with this? Master Clearheart's lessons aren't exactly the most exiting, and as this is a class of beginners, we likely won't even learn anything new."

Both Zhi Mu and Shen Junan sent her something along the lines of, "It is fine, if the old Master insists then she surely wouldn't waste our time", Ren and Han Ting simply gave her a nod.

"Then we will graciously accept, Master Clearheart, please advise." Xin Jing said, once again saluting the old woman, who nodded at her in satisfaction and gestured for them to sit down among the other disciples.

As the children before her quieted down, similarly to his peers in the weapon division there was no one over sixteen in this class, Master Clearheart resumed her lesson. "Now where were we? Ah yes, there are many mysterious stories told about the heart division, our training methods, our fighting prowess, and of course our heart."

The woman gave the Novices that listened to her a smile that was trying to lift the atmosphere, and a few of them hesitantly laughed.

Satisfied, she continued, pacing before them, her wooden walking stick clinking against the tiled ground that transitioned into smooth grass where the disciples were sitting. "Does anyone here know the origin of heart cultivation?"

She looked around, waiting patiently for anyone to speak up or raise their hand to be called upon, and just as she was about to continue, as none were either willing or knowledgeable, a girl with matte brown hair spoke up hesitantly. "Well, I think that it was discovered by a mortal who wandered the world?" She asked, not sure of her answer at all.

"That is an answer, I suppose, and it is correct that it was first developed or discovered, though we can't be sure as it was too long ago with there being conflicting records from the time period of its inception. The legend, though, goes like this." Clearheart lowered her voice, and crossed her hands behind her back, giving herself a solemn air.

"There once was a man who knew nothing of cultivation and the world at large, only tilling fields for the first thirty years of his life. It was monotonous work, but the man was happy in its simplicity until the point that he was no longer. His heart was longing for the wider world, and so began his journey of self discovery and enlightenment. On his ninety-fifth name day, the twilight of his life, looking back on all that he had seen and experienced, his heart broke through the tethers of this world and freed him of all worldly concerns."