Stormy Mountain Sect Chapter 7

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

See previous post for the link to Energy Barons pre-order, my current working title for Essence Wave 2. It's release date is way out there, but it'll definitely be out before then. Joy just wanted a pre-order available to help with advertising and stuff. 

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

Aisling was a tall, willowy blonde girl. Her bangs hung in front of her face, so I couldn't tell what her eye-color was. She walked nervously beside Elder Li Mei. Another fourteen youngsters followed behind. After a quick command, the ten army recruits peeled off behind Inspector Crane, while the other five headed towards where I waited with the rest of the sect hopefuls.

Elder Li Mei directed the four future sect workers to Seniors Lei and Brandon, who gave them the simpler cultivation method that Johnny and Haoyu had received. Aisling followed Elder Li Mei to where Nuan and I stood. “Aisling, this is Nuan, and Marc. They will be joining you in the outer sect upon our arrival. Nuan is a talent six fire cultivator, and Marc a talent seven wood and growth cultivator. Aisling is a talent seven Air cultivator. I will return shortly with your cultivation method, Aisling.”

“Yes ma’am,” Aisling said, her voice quiet but strong. Her voice contrasted with her hung head, as if she was trying to use her hair to hide from us.

“So, I’m Nuan,” my girlfriend said. “We’re from Sandberg, about a week up the trade road. My dad is a store owner, and I had been their helper. This is Marc, his family are farmers with the best farm in town.” She took my arm. “What about you?”

“Uh, my mom is a waitress at an inn,” Aisling whispered.

We waited for a minute, but she didn’t say anything else. Elder Li Mei walked up, and handed her the scroll. “Can you read?” she asked.

Aisling shook her head. “I’ll help you!” Nuan exclaimed. She reached out and grabbed the taller girl's arm, forcibly towing her away.

Elder Li Mei laughed, then turned to me, “You should advance soon. I can tell that you are close. Excellent job.”

“Thank you, Elder Li Mei. I will strive to do so tonight if I can,” I said, bowing to her. I waited a few seconds, then looked up to see her still gazing intently at me. She nodded, then gestured at the tree. The Lily I’d been tending for the last week rested in its new pot below the tree. I bowed again, then hurried over to the tree and quickly fell into my trance.

The next few hours passed quickly, my ability to focus for long periods of time still problematic. I’d gotten very good at dropping back into the cultivation mindset after getting distracted, though it did drop my efficiency for the first few minutes after restarting.

Nuan brought me dinner, and we ate quietly together before she ran back to the fire to cultivate some more. Two more hours passed, and then a massive swarm of Qi shot into me, beyond my control. I was coated from head to toe for a split second, then the Qi absorbed into my skin.

Immediately, every part of me became immensely itchy. I frantically scratched at my arms, and flakes were scraped off with every pass of my nails. My shirt was almost ripped off as I tried to scratch everywhere, rubbing my back against the tree while my fingers scrabbled at my chest.

Below the flakes, new skin formed, a lighter color than it had been previously, even if only by a fraction. My nails could barely dent it. Once I’d cleared the old skin from an area, it stopped itching so bad, but I was not moving fast enough.

Elder Li Mei appeared next to me, and a whirlpool of water flowed from her outstretched hand to cover me. The wildly oscillating Qi technique scrubbed my entire body within only a few seconds, and I stilled on the ground. “Excellent,” she said. With a hand gesture, I was suddenly dry and cleaner than I had been in a while. “You have successfully refined your skin, bringing you into the second level of the first stage of cultivation. Now you will need to start refining your muscles. You will find that you are stronger, faster, and tougher than you were just an hour ago.”

“Ma’am,” I asked, “Uh, why am I stronger if I only refined my skin?”

“While the level is called skin refinement, that is only because of the final result,” she said. “Your entire body has been absorbing the Qi you cultivate. When you advance to a new level, at least in this stage, the Qi surges mostly to the targeted body part, but a small percentage still absorbs into the rest of you. Your skin is the first thing to be refined because it is the outermost layer of your body, and thus gets the most Qi as it flows into you.”

“How much tougher am I now?” I asked.

“That depends on a lot of things,” she said. “But this is only the first level of the first stage, so don’t start thinking you are superhuman or anything. You might be anywhere from ten percent to fifty percent harder to cut, and five percent stronger. It will add up, and working your body like you have been doing is an excellent way to increase your strength. There are many who forget that Qi adds to what is there, and by increasing your base strength, you increase what Qi can do to benefit you.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said. “Uh, will all advancements make me want to scrape my skin off?”

“No,” she said. “They get much more unpleasant from here. The path of cultivation is not for the weak of heart.”

I gulped, “Yes ma’am. I will walk it.”

“Good. Now, go rest,” she said, then turned and walked off.

Nuan advanced the next morning, just before we were to leave. This time, I got to watch as she started to itch her arms, her face in a panic, but Elder Li Mei stepped in much faster for her than she did for me. It took a few minutes, but she was clean, her skin clear. “Congratulations!” I said, giving her a big hug.

“Thanks,” she smiled at me. “So, did I beat you?”

I grimaced, “No. I advanced last night.”

Nuan faked a pout, “Well, I guess almost beating you is pretty good, considering your talent is higher than mine.”

“Yup. It’s because you are a genius,” I said. She blushed.

We finished getting our stuff together quickly, and were on the road again in only twenty minutes. Aisling was already inside, her breathing quick and even as she cultivated. Nuan sat beside her, and I squeezed into the corner.

I can’t believe we both advanced already, I thought giddily. It took Samara almost four months to reach Muscle Refinement, and she’s still there last I knew. Of course, her light affinity made it hard to cultivate all winter, but I believe the main difference has got to be using a good cultivation technique. This one is considered weak and only matches half my affinity too!

”Cultivation time, Nuan whispered, smacking my left knee lightly.

I nodded, blushing, and fell into my trance. The scroll had told me to change how I moved the Qi as it flowed into my control, tracing different paths around my body. I reached out with my mind, and found that there was more Qi in the air, or I could feel more anyway. Where before I advanced, guiding Qi felt like trying to grab mist, now the mist was condensed a bit and flowed easier to my waving mental hands.

Each ball of Qi that absorbed into my muscles felt like a pinprick, a tiny stabbing sensation. My skin still absorbed some, but not a lot. I tried to figure out if there were any places that my skin absorbed more, so I could try to finish laying the foundation of my advancement. The scroll, and Elder Li Mei, were both emphatic about making sure to fully refine each body part, not leaving anything out even after advancing.

It took us three days to reach the next town. My hometown was the farthest into the wilderness our kingdom had managed to sustain, so far at least. The traveling merchants who’d last come into town before the recruitment caravan had mentioned that Duke (Name) had announced a new mayor who would be organizing another farming community, but the timeframe was uncertain.

At that town, another twelve soldier recruits and five worker hopefuls joined us. There was no one with a talent over five, though. One of the new worker hopefuls was April, who had a wood affinity. She was short, maybe five feet tall, and tiny, with a cute, delicate face. Haoyu was instantly smitten, and followed her around like a puppy for the next week.

The last town added another twenty five soldier recruits, six hopefuls, and a young man named Feng. Feng had a talent of seven, like me, and dual affinities. His affinities were Metal and Sword, which was awesome in my opinion. Inspector Crane tried to get Feng to join the army every meal, and I could tell the stoic boy was getting annoyed by the time the walls of the capital of our province became visible.

We left the forest behind nearly a mile from the city. Farm plots stretched to the walls in the distance, but no buildings besides barns for animals were outside the city. Grains stretched high into the sky, ten feet tall and swaying in the wind. Vegetable plots dotted the land, and trellises of grapes and beans were visible in places as well.

The walls of the city glittered in the sunlight, the light gray stone twinkling. Behind the walls over a dozen buildings towered into the sky. The one sticking up from the center of the city was easily five hundred feet tall, a massive edifice of white stone, gold, and glass that left me wide eyed.

Extending much, much farther into the air were the mountains on either side of the city. The pass through the Stormy Mountains was obvious, a massive rent in the mountain range that went beyond my sight. To the north of the city, thunderclouds swirled ominously in the sky, rain and lightning pounding on the peaks. Buildings were barely visible through the rain a third of the way up the slope to the tallest nearby peak.

“Here we are,” Inspector Crane said. “(City name), capital of (province). Well, Elder Li Mei, it has been a good journey, and I wish you well until I see you again.”

“Have a safe journey,” Elder Li Mei said.

Inspector Crane leapt out of the carriage, and yelled out, “Soldiers, form up!”

Out of the window I saw every soldier and recruit step out of the roadway, and then they followed Inspector Crane down a side road. I looked south where they were headed and saw hundreds of tents in an open field, with people marching barely visible at that distance.

“We will be traveling to the sect, which you can see there,” Elder Li Mei pointed to the storm.

“Uh, is it always storming?” Aisling asked.

“Yes,” Elder Li Mei said. When we all got wide eyed and worried about being rained on all the time, she laughed, “But the buildings and roads have water repellent formations on them, and the main section of the sect is shielded in its entirety. Traveling around the mountain, though, is always a wet prospect. The storm does bring extra Qi into the area, giving rise to many spirit herbs, trees, and beasts. Many of your missions as outer sect disciples will be to locate valuable herbs or slay beasts that have become a problem.”

“Is there, uh, cultivation magic that we can use to stay drier?” I asked, never one to like working in the rain, even though I often had to on the farm.

“Some, but you would be better suited just getting used to it,” she said. “In the last hundred days before I left the sect, it had rained on all but four of them.”

“Yes ma’am,” I sighed, frowning.

“Once you manage to open your dantian and start to condense your Qi, the rain will stop bothering you for the most part,” Elder Li Mei said. “Yet another reason to push forward as fast as you can.”

The carriage fell silent, and I dropped back into cultivating. It took another hour to circle the city, and then a few more to reach the base of the mountains. Most of the merchant wagons had continued on to the capital. A large complex of warehouses met us near the base, along with a small residential area and a town hall. Ten feet tall walls surrounded the complex in a u-shape, backing into the mountains on either side.

A small delegation met us at the gate. I hopped out first, followed by Feng and Anthony. Anthony and Xiulin had managed to rejoin our carriage group after the third town by advancing. Even Feng had advanced, only a few days ago, before we reached the city.

After all the boys got out of the carriage, I then helped Nuan out, while Feng helped Aisling and Anthony assisted Xiulan. Nuan and Xiulan formed up to my left. My right was to the carriage, while Feng, Aisling and Anthony were across from us. I then reached up and helped Elder Li Mei out of the carriage while Feng held the door. As soon as her feet hit the ground, all six of us dropped into a bow.

Behind the carriage, all of the hopefuls were lined up behind Seniors Lei, Brandon, and Chyou, who’d joined at the third town after visiting her family. They bowed at the same time we did. The delegation at the gate consisted of six people dressed like Senior Lei and a balding, chubby, old man wearing a slightly more ornate robe.

Elder Li Mei took six steps forward, and then the delegation all bowed and said, “Welcome home, Sect Elder Li Mei.” The old man’s bow was shallow, while the other disciples bent ninety-degrees to the ground.

“Thank you, Elder Huizhong,” Elder Li Mei said, bowing the exact same amount that he had.

“It is good to see you, Mei Mei,” he said softly with a grin, then louder, “And I see you have brought us a bumper crop of future disciples. Six outer sect disciples is three higher than Elder Xiaobo brought back from his route. We await Elder Nuwa, who should be here by this evening. Feel free to bring your disciples to the base of the trial, if they wish to take it.”

“Thank you,” she smiled brightly at the older man. She turned back to us, “Disciples, this is Elder Huizhong. Those of you destined to be workers will see him often, as he is the head of the Trading House.”

“Greetings Elder Huizhong,” all of us chorused out, bowing to him.

“Ho, such polite disciples. You always find the good ones, Mei Mei,” he said quietly. Only Elder Li Mei and the Outer Disciples heard him.

“Uncle,” she said with an aggrieved tone. He just laughed, his belly jiggling with his mirth. “Fine, I will get you for that.” In a louder voice, “Disciples, leave your items. Your seniors know whose bag is whose. Follow me.”

We walked after her for nearly twenty minutes. The entire time, I was marveling at the city around us. People crowded the roads, but our walk was unimpeded. Murmurs of ‘Elder’ parted the river of people, even though less than half of them wore the colors of the sect. Warehouses and shops lined the road at first, and I was astounded at the fact that most of the shops had glass windows looking in. “I’ve never seen this much glass,” I whispered to Nuan, trying to maintain a dignified look while gawking at everything.

“Are you trying to catch flies with your mouth?” Anthony asked, taunting me.

“You are just as amazed by what is around us,” I retorted. We bickered for a minute, as I was unable to resist responding to his insults.

Suddenly, a young man our age walked into the side of our formation. He was tall, almost six feet, with straight black hair and a effeminate face. He was dressed in a fancy tunic and pants, green with gold filigree. Around him were four guards in green painted armor. The lead guard had been yelling “Make way!” But I’d thought he was shouting for Elder Li Mei.

“Get out of the way peasants,” the guard snarled, his hand raising to backhand Xiulan.

Before he could finish the motion, the presence of Elder Li Mei blanketed us all. I knew, I KNEW, she was there in front of me, and KNEW that she could kill me with but a thought. Unable to stand, I dropped to my knees, as did the other Outer Disciple recruits. I couldn’t turn away to check anyone else, my gaze forced at the beautiful woman who suddenly inspired the most primal terror I’d ever felt.

“Who are you to strike a disciple of the Stormy Mountain Sect?” She asked calmly, quietly. Her voice still echoed from the buildings around us. All sounds of commerce had ceased as soon as she turned her attention upon the guard.

“I, I apologize, great mistress,” the guard stammered, his voice muffled. It took me every drop of determination to turn away from the awe-inspiring woman to see that the guard was groveling in the dirt. His voice was difficult to understand because he spoke into the ground itself.

“Unhand my guards, wench,” a teenage voice full of arrogance commanded. “I am the son of Duke (name) and will not have you treat them this way.”

SHE walked out of the side of my vision, my mind screaming at me for not keeping an eye on HER. The boy, the noble, trembled but wasn’t as affected as the rest of us. His other three guards drew their weapons, only to immediately drop them to the ground. Of course, so did their hands.

Elder Li Mei flicked her sword, when did she draw it?, splattering blood on the ground. “You stand in the Trade District of the Stormy Mountain Sect and insult one of its Elders. If I were to relieve you of your head and bring it to your father in a box, he would immediately kowtow before me in thanks that I spared the rest of your family. Tell me, moronic child of a duke, why I should spare your miserable life.” Her voice was soft and questioning, implying she actually wanted an answer.

The groveling guard had stilled at some point, blood leaking from his ears and eyes. More and more of my willpower was being diverted to not gibbering in terror. The boy immediately dropped into a kowtow, his forehead hitting the ground. “I did not see, I did not know. Forgive me, Elder. I am to be inducted into the Inner Sect today, please, do not kill me.” He hit the ground hard enough that the skin on his forehead split.

“Hmm, you will be inducted into the Outer Sect, you say? Fine. I will forgive your insult for now,” Elder Li Mei said, and the presence that had blanketed the area vanished.

The other three guards immediately collapsed, scrambling after their removed limbs. “Master, please, let us leave and find a healer,” the second one begged.

“Go, worthless guards,” the noble snorted. “Do not bother reporting to my father. You are all removed from our service.”  He hurried after Elder Li Mei. “Uh, mistress, I believe I misheard you, which is my mistake. I am to be inducted into the Inner Sect.”

“No, one as idiotic as you does not belong tied that strongly to my sect until you learn some manners and common sense,” she said brightly. “Cease speaking immediately, or my patience will flee.”

The gulp that came from him was audible where I was kneeling.

“Come along, children. Walking will help you get over the shock,” Elder Li Mei said, immediately striding off. The guard that was going to hit Xiulan didn’t stir, and I lost sight of his prone body when we turned a corner.

The noble fell in line directly behind the elder, forcing Aisling away. She wisely kept her head down, moving back and letting him walk where she had been.

I shook my head, stupid nobles. Always throwing their power around. Elder Li Mei is scary.