CHAPTER NINE

A burly man on top of his horse was leading the caravan. He looked at me and Radul - no one else was on the road. Mainly because the villagers are scared of me. But they sent Radul their congratulations yesterday.

“You boys heading to the sect? We’re dropping people off their on our journey through Azure Province.” The burly man had a beard that just testified to his wilderness life. Seeing both me and Radul nod, he laughs and points to two horses. There were one person each horse, but that’s much better treatment than what we expected. I thought they would just throw us in a box-filled carriage.

A lady was in on one horse, she had a friendly smile and was beckoning for me to come over. I nodded respectfully to the leader of the caravan and walked toward her. Little did I expect, Radul saw her and jogged toward her. Faster than me, but he didn't sprint. That way he didn't seem desperate.

Radul hopped onto the lady’s horse and shot a glance at me. I frowned - it seems me and Radul are destined to be enemies. I force myself to shrug, reminding myself that my furious side can never come out. I walked over to the black-robed man on the second horse.

“Hey there.” Surprisingly, he broke out a quiet smile.

“Hi.” I respond briskly.

“What’s your name? I’m Ustol.” He reached out a hand, pulling me up to the horse. The horse seemed to make a snort in response.

“I’m Anmos. Nice to meet you.” Lifted up, I sit behind him. It’s the first time I’ve been on a horse, and it feels pretty strange. But in an entertaining way, the horse's warm body and every breath below you.

There wasn’t any more talk between me and Ustol. But a carriage ahead of us, I could see Radul and the lady laughing and telling stories. Every once and awhile Radul would see me looking and flash me a contemptuous smile. It only added to my growing annoyance.

After a while, the following question arose in my head: What if I killed him? Immediately after the thought appeared in my head I tried to suppress it. Take him to the forest and kill him? From the conversation between the other original riders, I learned that the burly leader, Ustyrr, happens to be a cultivator. One at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. As soon as they suspect me of killing Radul he might end up killing me. It wasn’t worth the risk.

***

In almost no time, two weeks had passed. The caravan had plenty of food - no one went hungry. Every once in awhile we would stop at a village and pick up boys and supplies. We eventually ended up going around Sunrise City - no need to go.

***

Nearly a week later the caravan left us in front of the huge Melody Mountain belonging to the Azure Melody Sect. We were at the base of the mountain, a path of stone steps leading all the way up.

“All boys going to the sect, now’s your time to depart. We wish all of you the best.” The hearty voice of Ustyrr called out to all of us.

“Good luck, Anmos.” Ustol gave me a rare smile, setting me down from the horse. I patted the horse, and then looked up at those stone steps. The time has come.

“Bye Ustol!” I went up to the first stone step, the other boys joining me. There was about ten or eleven of us. We began our trek up the stairs. I moved at my own steady pace. Radul decided to lead the pack, running faster and faster.

I wanted to catch up to him, but I know I couldn’t. Despite being thirteen and Radul being eleven, Radul was always more athletic than me. Faster and stronger. But none of that will matter once we cultivate, I assure myself.

We keep on running with no sign of the steps ending. Sweat pours down each and every one of us. One by one, I can see people falling down to take extra breaths. I don’t look back, I continue running. Maybe if I had looked back I would have noticed those people being taken away.

It wasn’t long before it was just me and Radul. It was a race, who can get to the top first? And at that moment, I channeled that stream of Qi within my dantian to my legs. I instantly felt my speed increase, as I went up the stairs much faster compared to before. Radul could only watch as I surpassed him - making me smile. I kept running and running. I don’t know when I stopped.

I opened my eyes to find myself with the other ten boys. They were all looking at me, shocked. Radul was at my side as well. I looked around to see that we were at some pavilion. In front of us was a blue-robed young man. He wore the blue robes of an Inner Disciple.

“All of you guys just experienced what cultivation is like. An endless road, a path to success that does not end. To reach the apex? To reach the top? You need to have both determination and talent. Otherwise, you should simply quit. Learn from this lesson.” The young man looked at all of us, nodding at both me and Radul.

“Well, who’s up first?” A blond kid from another village stepped up. He had a smile on his face, he was clearly confident. He put his hand on some kind of glass globe in the young man’s hand.

“Outer Court. Stand outside.” The young man said without a change in his expression. The blond kid frowned, clearly disappointed in his result. But he could only resign to standing outside the small pavilion.

A few other boys stepped forward. One slightly big youth stepped forward and got the honor of having the talent to be an Inner Disciple. It actually caused the Inner Disciple to smile and tell him to stand to the left of him. Soon it was my turn.

I stepped up and put my hand on the glass ball. I felt some kind of energy flow throughout my body, connecting with something within me. It happened in a flash.

“Talent poor, but at the second level of Qi Condensation. Inner Disciple.” The man actually looked at me and shook his head. I could tell what he’s thinking - I only made it because I had a manual early. With my kind of talent, I wouldn’t be an Inner Disciple.

But this doesn’t make sense! My talent should have been increased! Why is it still poor? A multitude of questions arise in my head: What is the painting then? If someone else had it would they cultivate much faster than me? Seeing how I couldn’t find the answer, I only suppressed the questions and tried to cover up my shock. I stepped to the left of him, with the other blond boy.

Another boy went up and became an Inner Disciple. Now it was Radul’s turn. I watched very carefully. I wanted him to fail, I wanted him to have even worse talent than I do. I mean, it’s only natural, right? He has always treated me poorly, how could I wish good things for him?

“W-what? Incredible! I got to call an Elder! What’s your name!?” The young man stepped back - shocked.

“Radul Novor.” Radul smirked, clearly satisfied with the Inner Disciple’s response.

“Uh! Wait here! Also, remember my name is Tyror. Please come see me some time, or at least remember me.” Tyror smiled amiably and then ran out to get an Elder. He used Qi so his speed was incredible - much faster than my second level speed.

Eventually an Elder came. He re-evaluated Radul’s talent, and then took him personally away. I listened intently and heard the word ‘Core Disciple’. Those two words filled me with rage: why is his talent better than mine? But I once again suppressed my second half, telling myself that Radul never met with the Ruler of Heaven. How could I compare myself to him? Yet even with this convincing, I found myself clenching my fist.

After a while, everyone’s talent was evaluated. The Outer Disciples were led away to the Outer Court. The young man lead us three Inner Disciples to the Inner Court. Along the way he started talking.

“I hope you guys made a good relationship with Radul. His destiny is higher than we can imagine. And you, you should get rid of whatever disagreement you have with him and start sucking up. In this Court, a Core Disciple is a powerful backer but an even worse enemy.” He turned toward me, shaking his head in disapproval. I didn’t care.

I looked around to see the trees and beautiful scenery. The air was much clearer, the sky was blue, and the grass was lush. It was the perfect cultivation scenery. It was just as I imagined.

He gave each of us a number, mine being “572.” We came up to long rows of small houses. The number was simply endless. They were smaller than our houses in Sun Village yet were more modern - concrete instead of plain stone bricks. I found myself in front of a wooden door with the letters “572.”

I put my hand on the handle and opened the door.