By the time Elder Lu finally let him go, Jiang’s head was swimming with all the new information he’d been given. It was undoubtedly useful stuff – how to take the next steps on his ‘path of cultivation’, for example, but he already knew he was probably going to forget at least half of everything else the Elder had told him.

  He didn’t even see why the way he spoke was such a big problem anyway, let alone why it merited a half-hour discussion.

  Jiang stepped into the shared quarters, the low murmur of voices shifting as he entered. One of his new roommates had apparently lit some cheap incense, and the smell lingered in the air. It wasn’t unpleasant, though it did remind him it had been… a while since he’d had a chance to bathe.

  A quick dip in a river didn’t count.

  Irritatingly, it seemed like his roommates had also invited some other people over. Jiang vaguely recognised them from the group of aspirants that hadn’t been rich, important, or well-connected enough to join one of the better groups earlier.

  The other occupants had gone quiet for a moment when he’d entered, but now their conversation had resumed, more subdued than before. He could feel a few of them eyeing him. Newcomer curiosity, probably. He didn’t really feel like dealing with it, but he knew if he just ignored them entirely, it’d be more awkward later.

  Better to get it over with.

  Fortunately for his struggling social skills, the young woman from earlier – Lian, or something? – took the initiative to greet him.

  “Oh, hey!” she said brightly, seeming more comfortable now than when they had first met. “You’re back! Thought maybe you’d gotten into trouble already.”

  “No, just got talked at for a while,” Jiang said, brushing past them toward the table. He pulled out a stool and dropped onto it, stretching his legs. “Not sure how much of it I actually remember.”

  “Lucky,” Wei muttered, exhaling as he leaned back. “Most of us barely got a second look from the Elders, let alone a private audience.”

  Jiang shifted uncomfortably at the note of envy in his tone. He’d never really had to deal with anything like that before, but he was getting the unfortunate premonition that it was going to be a significant factor going forward. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad though – he could put up with a little grumbling, and surely people wouldn’t escalate beyond that, right?

  One of the other aspirants, a wiry young man with sharp features and restless fingers, leaned forward slightly. He was one of the better-dressed people in the room, though apparently not well-off enough to merit an invitation to the actually wealthy aspirants. “Wei was saying Elder Lu pulled you aside?” His tone was casual, but there was a flicker of something calculating in his eyes.

  Jiang held back a sigh. He could already tell this was about to turn into the same conversation he’d had with the guards back at the magistrate’s estate. Why was he here? How did he get in? Who did he know?

  “Yes,” Jiang said shortly, picking up one of the incense sticks and rolling it between his fingers. “He sponsored me.”

  Predictably, that got a reaction. It had been a surprise for him as well, but apparently while the first stage of the Qi condensation realm was technically enough to qualify for entry into the Sect, it wasn’t enough to be admitted on its own merits. Without Elder Lu vouching for him, he would have been turned away at the gates like the small crowd of people he’d passed heading back down the mountain. He had wondered about that.

  Still, that meant he owed Elder Lu more than he’d thought – and considering the Elder had refused to take back the elixir as well, that was significantly more than he was comfortable with. He couldn’t even use the elixir anymore, because apparently his ‘shadowy’ alignment didn’t play well with fire. The Elder hadn’t even been able to narrow down exactly what his alignment was, though, in fairness, it wasn’t absolutely essential information. Apparently, it wasn’t quite as simple as ‘shadow’ - there seemed to be further concepts interwoven with it, which was fairly rare.

  Joy.

  Any alignment that was at least similar to his own could be used to cultivate with. Elder Lu had brought out a massive chart with a bunch of alignments and their relative similarity to each other on it, but Jiang hadn’t bothered to try and remember any of it.

  The same aspirant as before spoke up again. “Well, you’ve got backing, at least. That’ll make things easier for you.”

  Jiang frowned. He didn’t have backing, not really. Elder Lu hadn’t promised him anything besides an entry into the exams. If anything, it just meant he’d be watched more closely.

  Still, it wasn’t worth arguing over, so he just let it slide.

  The conversation drifted, but the underlying tension didn’t fully ease. A few of the aspirants still looked at him with thinly veiled curiosity, while others exchanged knowing glances, as if his ‘sponsorship’ confirmed some hidden advantage.

  Lian, seemingly keen to move the topic along, leaned forward. “So, what’s everyone’s plan for contribution points?”

  That seemed to catch the others’ attention.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  “Not much choice, is there?” one of the other young women, who he was pretty sure was called Meilin, muttered. “Jobs, cultivation, or—” she gestured vaguely, “whatever else the Sect allows.”

  “The Elder made it sound like the jobs would be cutthroat,” Wei said, frowning. “Even if we wake up at dawn, we’ll be fighting for scraps.”

  “Most of the rich kids are aiming for donation points,” the young man who’d asked him about Elder Lu – Jiro, Jiang thought his name was – said, scowling slightly. “They’re treating this like it’s already over. Some of them even came with servants carrying their coin.”

  Meilin scoffed. “Typical. Probably going to use their parents’ connections to get an Elder to back them too.”

  “That’s exactly what’s happening,” Lian said, expression souring slightly. “You heard about Elder Yan?”

  Jiang’s attention sharpened.

  “What about him?” Wei asked.

  Lian’s lips twisted. “He’s already chosen one of the new disciples – Zhang Shuren, I think? The son of a high-ranking official from the southern provinces.”

  Jiang had no idea what social wizardry was going on here for these aspirants to already know who was doing what. They’d only been in the Sect for what, a few hours? He did make sure to note the name for future reference, though – he hadn’t forgotten Elder Lu’s altercation with Elder Yan back in Wúyè, and he already knew that he made a much easier target to take out frustrations on than another Elder.

  If the man had taken a disciple, Jiang wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up butting heads.

  “Ah, my friends, all is not lost,” Jiro interjected, arms spread dramatically and voice carrying a note of smug confidence.

  Lian raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Jiro leaned back, crossing his arms like a man with a winning hand in a game of dice. “The Elder didn’t mention it, but contribution points can be wagered.”

  There was a beat of silence as the group processed that.

  “…Wagered?” Meilin echoed.

  Jiro smirked. “Fights. Duels. Gambling, if you know the right people.” He gestured at the training grounds beyond the window. “Outer disciples do it all the time. They can bet contribution points against each other, most often in spars.”

  A flicker of interest ran through the group.

  “Wait, how do you know that?” Shen asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Jiro tilted his head, clearly enjoying himself. “Talked to an outer disciple earlier.” He tapped his temple. “Got to know things if you want to get ahead.”

  Wei frowned. “So… if we fight, we can earn points?”

  “If you win,” Jiro corrected. “And if the other guy actually has points to wager. But yeah.” He grinned. “Think about it. There are plenty of arrogant rich kids who got in because of their families. They don’t need to keep working for points. They don’t even expect us to challenge them. So, if you’re smart…” He tapped the table. “You let them get comfortable, then take them for everything they’ve got.”

  Lian exhaled, amused. “You really thought this through, huh?”

  Jiro’s smirk widened. “What can I say? I like to win.”

  Meilin folded her arms. “It’s risky. If you lose, you’re setting yourself back. Plus, these aren’t aspirants you’re talking about – they’re fully fledged disciples of the Sect.”

  “That’s the fun part,” Jiro said, flashing teeth. “It’s high risk, high reward. Some people will hoard points, which means one good win could set you up for the whole exam.”

  Shen shook his head. “And what if you lose to some rich idiot who got trained by private tutors since they were six?”

  Jiro shrugged. “Then don’t fight them. Look, obviously you’ve got to pick your fights – and yes, there’s risk. I’m not saying go challenge Zhang Shuren to a duel and expect to walk away whole. But most of the other guys? They’re comfortable. They don’t expect to be tested.” His grin sharpened. “Which is why I plan to test them.”

  Wei sighed. “That sounds great for you, but not everyone here knows how to fight.”

  Jiang tilted his head curiously. “And besides, the outer disciples will have been here for years, right? Won’t they all be at a higher cultivation than us?”

  Wei leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “Yeah, but if all you do is sit around stuffing yourself with Qi, you’ll just end up another empty-headed idiot who can’t fight worth a damn. I saw a guy reach the fifth stage in less than a year. Thought he was hot shit. First real fight he got into, some third-stage disciple wiped the floor with him because all he knew how to do was sit and breathe.”

  Jiang frowned. “Isn’t cultivation supposed to make you stronger?”

  Wei gave him a flat look. “Strength without technique is like putting a blade in the hands of a toddler. Doesn’t matter how sharp it is. If you don’t know how to use it, you’ll end up cutting yourself before you ever touch your opponent. And while I certainly wouldn’t want to fight anyone that knows what they’re doing, Jiro is right – a bunch of these outer disciples will have paid their way in.” He shrugged. “Not that I’m going to risk it – there’s no real way to tell who can fight worth a damn without getting into a ring with them.”

  Jiang leaned back in his chair, thinking. Fighting wasn’t out of the question, but he didn’t like the idea of relying on it. Jiro was confident, but Jiang didn’t trust luck. If he wanted to pass, he needed something solid.

  “… I’ll focus on cultivation and tasks from the job hall,” Jiang said eventually. It had the benefit of being more in line with his actual long-term goal anyway, which was getting strong enough to save his family.

  Meilin nodded. “Same.”

  Wei hesitated. “It’s probably the safest option, but… how much can we actually advance in a week?”

  Jiang frowned. That was a good question. He’d broken through once, but the second stage of Qi Condensation wasn’t going to come as easily. At least Elder Lu had explained what he needed to do to progress from here, so he had a solid starting point.

  “We’ll find out,” he muttered.

  Jiro, clearly disappointed that more people weren’t jumping on his plan, scoffed. “You guys are boring.”

  Lian smiled. “You’re just mad you won’t have a cheering section.”

  Jiro huffed and leaned back. “Suit yourselves. But don’t come crying to me when you’re scrubbing floors for five points a day.”

  The group settled, the tension from earlier dissipating into something more comfortable. The conversation drifted toward tomorrow’s plans—who would head to the Job Hall first, who would check the library, who wanted to spar.

  Jiang pushed himself up from the stool, stretching. “On that note, I’m going to get a start on cultivating,” he muttered, then stepped away before anyone could rope him into more discussion.

  He slipped into his room—not that it offered much in the way of privacy. The thin curtain swayed slightly behind him as he sat cross-legged on the bedding, exhaling slowly. His social tolerance had run out.

  I could go to the Job Hall now, he considered. Some of the more eager aspirants might already be trying to get a head start. But the real competition would come later, when people started scrambling for points. Better to focus on cultivation first.

  Elder Lu had explained the next steps—how to refine Qi more efficiently, how to guide it deeper into his dantian instead of letting it dissipate. Control over quantity. Stability before strength. Jiang closed his eyes and exhaled.

  The others talked in the common room, their voices muffled. He ignored them.

  He had work to do.

  Patreon!