When Yu came to, she was standing in the library, her hand pressed against the crystal. The formation and the crystal were all dim, like before she had stepped into it the first time. Yu turned around and faced her master who was absolutely beaming at her. He had the look of a cat that just caught a mouse and was ready for some play time just before gobbling it up.

“Welcome back.”

Yu tilted her head to one side and then the other. “I like Elder Jiu. She seems sweet.”

He blinked at her. “Oh. What an interesting statement. Let’s get out of here and head to my tower. I do not like being home. Step out of the formation and come here.”

Yu did, grabbed Bai’s basket, and walked towards him asking, “Where are we exactly?”

He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. Suddenly they appeared in a tea room with a low table, two seat-pillows and steaming tea waiting. He gestured to a pillow and she walked to it and sat down as she would at her family’s table, placing Bai to her right.

He sat as well and said, “We were at the primary Long family estate. That is where their testing apparatus is housed and kept safe.”

“Wow. You stepped me all the way there?” She didn't actually know where it was, but absolutely believed it was many thousands of li from the sect.

He smiled while pouring tea for them both. “I see the elder taught you some terms. Good. In answer to your question, yes.”

“Umm. She told me to take it slow, and I will. But I have to admit, Spatial Affinity seems a little . . . too powerful in some ways.”

He nodded in response to her statement and said, “It certainly is. That is why nobody in their right mind angers the Long clan. In reality, it is only the gods and the stronger family members that keep a level of control over everyone. Some are utterly mad and are kept isolated within the various estates. Some are used as crafters, warriors, assassins, or whatever fits with their strengths and weaknesses.”

Not sure what he expected from her in regards to his family, Yu said hesitantly, “The elder told me to be cautious of how they use me.”

He snorted at that. “She is absolutely right. As I want you for my plans I won’t allow any of those vultures near you while you are here. At least for as long as I can. The matriarch could force my hand but she won’t unless she sees a future where it is the best choice. Your power is something they will all crave and I cannot keep it from them forever, but that doesn’t matter for now as you remain weak. And that is our next topic of conversation. You have a gift in all five areas of the affinity. Can you describe them for me?”

Yu slumped in relief that she would get at least that protection from him and described the findings of the testing. When she talked about her limited ability to view the future, her master seemed intrigued. “So you can only see your own future or a future which you actively influence. How fascinating. What an interesting outcome. This will serve my plans well.”

Yu asked, “You haven’t shared your plans that you have stated involve me. Will you?”

“Certainly not. Anything I say could alter them. You are pulling all the strings I need you to, so the only thing you should focus on is growing stronger and continuing on as you have.”

Apparently, that topic was closed, because he moved right along without letting Yu ask anything else. “So that tells us the next steps. I imagine you ran out of Qi before you finished creating the storage pocket?” Yu nodded and he said, “Fine. You should not create one before you have sixty meridians open, at least. If it were me I would wait until I had compressed my Qi to see if you can get some special capabilities out of it, but given your meridian situation that is nearly half a decade away and we may not be able to wait that long. Let’s see how patient we can be and take it from there. And we might come upon a fortuitous event or two which could tweak the strings. For now, you will practice unfolding space so you can step. Do not attempt to create your own spatial pocket, understood?”

Yu was disappointed but bowed her head and said, “Yes, master.”

“As you can only practice in private you will need either a training room or to be here in my tower. At least for a while, you will be limited in growing your primary affinity. I don’t want anyone to see your silver glow which you will not be able to consciously suppress for many years. I understand that will be frustrating for you but you have six other affinities to work on so you won’t be bored.”

Yu snorted at that.

He cleared his throat and said, “Yes well. I don’t want you to think I have not heard you and my plans do allow us to discuss some of the items you brought up when you first arrived. But before that I have instructions. First, after you leave tonight, you will use a special breakthrough room I have reserved for you. It is your permanent room and nobody is permitted access except the single individual I pick to clean it and serve you. This is a luxury I can grant not because you are special or have earned it, but because we require it for secrecy. Nobody is permitted to know how many meridians you open. The various factions of the sect and empire track these things and I won’t allow it for you. As such, you are to enter and exit through stepping only, nobody may see how many times you use it.”

Yu nodded at that. She had been concerned about that, although she had no idea it was monitored so closely by so many.

He continued with a less than pleased face, “The second is an annoyance, but as you will find out in two days anyway, I might as well tell you now. All direct disciples are granted something of a contribution point allowance. Each is awarded a monthly stipend for being a direct disciple and as much as I wanted to remove it, the rules of the sect and the rune system for the badges forbids it. Thus you will find you are given a one thousand points per month stipend.”

Yu knew the surprise showed on her face and he explained. “The idea when it was put in place was that direct disciples are supposed to be exceptional and thus should not be spending their time earning their stay at the sect. They don’t pay full tuition either in case you didn’t know that.”

Oh. That was great news in Yu’s mind. The less her parents had to put out for her meant more for her family and clan.

He seemed bothered but continued. “Since you are my disciple, you pay nothing in either points or tuition. The others pay less depending on whether they have an elder or vice leader as a master.”

Yu blinked at him but said nothing; that was all good news and Yu didn’t want to risk making him angrier by saying so. She couldn’t figure out his attitude about it - he had given valuable things when they left her home after all. It must have been something other than tuition.

Her master took a breath and said, “Alright. Now let’s talk about your . . . troubles.” He poured them both more tea and said, “First, it likely will surprise you that I agree with removing the rule protecting seniors from attacks from juniors. However, you are smart enough to understand the consequences of such an action. I will share something somewhat delicate. This sect’s laws are balanced on a blade’s edge between providing a safe place to learn and grow and readying disciples for the real world. As I believe you said, the idea of something being fair is ridiculous and I personally find the concept of protecting our disciples from unfairness repugnant. The world is an unfair place and we should be preparing them for that. If it were up to me we would send everyone out to battle and those that lived would return stronger and we’d repeat that cycle forever. But those days are long past, due primarily to humanity’s inherent stupidity. Thus we are stuck teaching soft people in a soft way perpetuating the self-destructive cycle.”

To Yu’s eyes, he really was irritated by the whole idea of not simply sending everyone out to battle to the death.

She watched his face’s disgust shift to a more neutral expression as he continued, “Given that, having disciples simply beating each other up would guarantee only the core disciples would ever have any resources. While not inherently wrong as the strong should be dominant, here we must find a way to give opportunity, as is the sect's purpose. So where is the balance? The reality is, the only manner of equality we have here within the rules are the lines between sect levels and the various law enforcement groups. Thus you were right. As I said, I do not get involved but I may step in if I do not find their solution satisfactory and have informed all three vice leaders of that.”

Yu bowed low from her seat and said, “Thank you, master.”

“Be silent.” He was really angry then. “I did not do it for you; I did it for this sect, which I need in order to fulfill my plans. What matters is that it looks like I did. Do you know what that means? How our relationship will be seen?”

Yu nodded. “I do, master. I hope you can appreciate that, despite everything, I did not call on your position. That it exists has been enough but I do not wish to depend on another’s power. At least unless there is a truly dire situation.”

Relaxing slightly, he nodded. “I do acknowledge it. You have done well on your own and wielded the threat of my power with care. I particularly enjoyed how you handled that snot-nosed Bao brat.”

So he was watching? Yu blushed and coughed. “I didn’t mean to hurt him so badly. He was just much softer than I understood.”

He waved it off. “I don’t care. Even a little. The entire thing is beneath my notice except for the enjoyment I received from it. This brings up another point. That family has been pressing their power recently. They may be leading up to a challenge of the imperial family. I don’t care, and neither will you. Neither you nor I should involve ourselves in such frivolities. Understood?”

A rebellion against the Emperor was a frivolity? Yu had no idea what might actually matter if that didn't.

Agreeing or not, Yu nodded. The truth was, she really did have no interest in getting involved in imperial politics.

Her master said, “Either way, the Bao are not particularly appreciative of me at the moment for reasons that have nothing to do with you, but you will still receive their ire. In fact, I support their bias against you because it will force you to grow strong.”

Yu sighed. Well, his priorities were clear at least.

“On top of that, you seemed to make enemies of the Bao boy and ally yourself with the third princess upon arrival. You inadvertently entered into a political battle of the empire and now must endure the consequences. I will not get involved unless they threaten my plans, especially those I have for you.”

Yu said firmly, “Gui Ai is my friend and I won’t abandon her.”

She didn't care about politics, but she did her friends and family.

He shrugged and said apathetically, “Again, I don’t care. I was just letting you know. What you do or don’t do is up to you as long as you don’t alter my plans in regards to your growth. As I said, I have better things to do with my time than think about you at every moment.”

Yu certainly hoped that was the case, although it apparently wasn’t running the sect.

As if reading her mind, her master cleared his throat and he continued, “Anyway, I will not involve myself further in the management of the sect. This is bordering on too much as it is. I am not here to manage the lives of the soft and useless spawn of this empire’s supposed elite. Now, onto your other questions. First, I don’t care about the foolishness of my martial elders. It was their own fault and as far as I am concerned I am thrilled you embarrassed them. It will turn them against you, thus pushing you to grow. Anything that does that I support. Speak of which, your skills issue. You are right to bring up the question of grade 1 skills and the need to advance. Walk with me.”

He put down his tea and stood. Yu did the same, wondering what plans he could possibly have that involved someone her age, and followed him with Bai’s basket. They walked through what appeared to be a normal estate with servants wandering around. Yu did not see any guests though. Her master took her to a small single-room building which appeared to be a small house with a bed, desk, chair, and washbasin.

He turned to her and said, “This is your room. The only way to enter it is through stepping, so you may enter here when you can reach it. I have released the shield placed on this island so it will no longer block your particular Qi signature. Feel free to come and go as you please. Servants will clean it when you depart. The next time you arrive, there will be instructions waiting for you on the desk. If you follow them, you will be granted access to new skills.”

Yu was gaping at him. “Step all the way up here?” The sect master’s floating island was at least a li above the center city.

He nodded. “Yes. Remember the message I had given at your Welcoming. Everything in this sect is earned.”

Then he looked down at the basket hanging from Yu’s hand, reached forward, and gently touched a finger to his head. He nodded and said, “Once your bond reaches grade 2, you will need to move him to the sect’s beast housing area. As it costs more than you can afford and I do not wish for you to be distracted by having to spend all your time to pay for it, I will fund his care. I consider his growth part of your own and it is within my plans so I do not breach our agreement of non-involvement.”

Yu was scared of losing Bai but bowed and said, “We both thank you, Master.”

He waved it away and said, “That is all for today. In our next session, we will discuss your sect testing results and practice stepping. Now I will send you to your breakthrough room to cleanse your next meridian and send you to your room after you get yourself back together. Do not disappoint me.”

Then she was gone.