Micro and his new friends from the Jade Fire Mountain Turtle Sect arrived in a hilly area at the base of the three mountains around sunset. Spread out across the hills were small wooden houses, each of which overlooked a small field. Micro recognized some crops as some kind of grain, and he noted a large number of cows grazing on one hill.

  “Welcome to the territory of our humble sect, master,” Kel said as they passed a small hut. “This is the outer territory, where the mundane under our protection live.”

  “Mundane?” Micro asked as he looked around at the grim scenery before his eyes. The few people he could see were dressed in rags and bowed in fear of the cultivators the moment they noticed them. Even from a great distance, nobody dared to look up at the cultivators.

  “Yes, those who do not follow our path but wish to remain under our protection,” Kel explained with a condescending tone. “Those who do not cultivate would not survive amongst those who do.”

  “Why are they all so poor and scared?”

  “What?” Kel asked with surprise in his voice. “The mundane simply cannot stand in the presence of a cultivator’s aura.”

  “That sounds unpleasant.”

  “Masters of internal energy such as my grandfather would be able to freely approach them without doing them any harm, but why should he do such a thing? They walk their path, and we walk ours,” Kel explained, content that he had resolved the matter.

  “What path…?” Micro frowned as he looked around at the houses, connected by a foot path that seemed even less reliable than the trail he’d been disappointed by at the shrine of the strange cat. “You said there would be roads.”

  “Ah, worry not over the unworthy nor their ways, master,” Kel said with a reassuring tone. “They live well under our protection in return for their services in mundane tasks. Farming, smithing, fishing, mining, and other such labours are ways in which they may prove their worth despite their shortcomings.”

  “There was such a system…” Micro spoke with a general displeasure that he couldn’t quite pinpoint the cause of, but he still looked curiously around as the number of houses began to increase the further they walked. Kel introduced various aspects of the sect as they passed through several more villages, none of which looked more or less run down than the last. Some villages were connected by natural foot paths, while others had no roads at all.

  “We’ll be crossing into the inner territory of the sect soon, just over this hill,” Kel said as he guided Micro over the rough terrain. They passed a rotten old fence, and Micro was quick to notice a much larger number of buildings, all of much finer construction. “Behold, the land of my ancestors!”

  Unlike the random nature of the buildings of the outer territory, the inner sect was much more like a town, with its buildings in neat rows, divided by footpaths filled with people. Some buildings were built of stone, and some were two or three stories tall. Kel looked upon the familiar scene with pride, then turned to Micro.

  “Have you seen such a magnificent place in your world, master?”

  “I think the old man’s village may have looked like this a long time ago…” Micro replied quietly as he looked down on it from the top of the hill. “The roads…”

  “Of course, the roads!” Kel exclaimed. “They are carefully maintained by those living here. I’m sure you’ll be—”

  “No, Kel…” Micro interrupted him as he set foot on the road leading straight into the heart of the town.

  “Are they not—”

  “I’m sorry, Kel…”

  “I see…” Kel grimaced, but he restrained his dejected tone and continued his tour with Tae and the others not far behind them. “Over there is a tea house I think you’ll like, and just beyond those houses is a weaponsmith who has served my family for five generations. Perhaps you would like to be introduced?”

  “So, everybody in this town is a ‘cultivator’ like you?” Micro asked.

  “Yes, and all aspire to challenge my family’s supremacy.” Kel looked proud as he declared the intent of his territory’s population to overthrow him. “One would not survive here without some mastery of internal energy.”

  “Do they not like you?” Micro asked in confusion.

  “Such is the path of a cultivator, after all.” Kel gestured toward the path before them with a profound smile. “Those who do not seek power will find only misery and death. There is no place in our world for the weak willed.”

  “It does feel… weird…” Micro thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Oh well.”

  Kel happily paraded Micro around the mountainside town until the sun had set, introducing him to too many people for him to remember, and making sure he learned the location of every shop and market before they continued up the mountain. Of course, Kel was proud of his family’s homeland, but his reason for trying so hard to impress Micro may have been a response to the look of disgust on Micro’s face whenever he noticed the state of the roads they walked upon. Micro did his best not to complain though, and the day ended on a high note when a young woman brought Kel a basket of baked treats to congratulate him on his return home.

  “I wish I’d known you would return so quickly, young master!” the girl shouted happily. She held out her basket with a deep bow. “We would have prepared much more!”

  “Here, master!” Kel said to Micro after gratefully accepting the gift from the young woman. “You’ll find no honey buns in the empire more delicious than those made by this girl’s mother.”

  “Thank you.” Micro tentatively received the small round treat with a nod. It was fluffy and still warm, and melted in his mouth in moments. Before he realized, he’d finished it.

  “What do you think?” Kel asked, the young woman beside him looking slightly nervous at the sight of Micro, his attire still looking more like it belonged on a corpse than beside the young master of her sect.

  “I don’t have a fuel gauge, but I think I’ll need about one hundred more of those,” Micro replied.

  Kel laughed loud enough to surprise the young woman beside him, but she soon joined in at the sight of his good cheer. Micro noticed a sour look on Tae’s face, however, as she leered at the girl from several paces behind.

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  “Very well!” Kel declared. “We’ll be sure to place a large order in the morning.”

  “We’re honoured, as always,” the young woman bowed deeply as her face reddened. “Thank you, young master.”

  They left the town behind them as the sun began to set. As they climbed higher up the mountain, they came to a wooded area. The trees were unlike the gargantuan evergreens Micro had grown accustomed to in the forest, and he thought they looked more like tall fruit trees that seemed to sparkle when he looked closely enough at them.

  “Was it already Christmas…?” Micro mumbled as he tried to make out the shape of a small flickering light before it vanished. “That many lightbulbs must take a long time to change…”

  “What’s that? Oh, the lights?” Kel asked. “These trees were grown from cuttings taken from the immortal guardian of a dungeon. At least, that is the most likely of the stories which have been passed down through the ages. Another myth holds that a cultivator kept an apple seed in his pocket while meditating atop the mountain for a thousand years before planting it. In any case, they are beautiful, are they not?”

  “Like street lights,” Micro said with a nod of agreement. “They never go out?”

  Kel smiled at Micro’s reply, having grown used to not understanding many of the things he said. As they continued on, the road became much steeper, until Micro was having trouble balancing. He managed to avoid falling back down the mountain, but he fell to his knees a number of times. Micro then noted that the air became much cooler and thinner as they ascended, causing him to shiver when he stopped to rest.

  “Don’t worry, master,” Kel said while removing his outer robe and draping it over Micro’s shoulders. “Using your internal energy to stay cool or warm will become a trivial matter to you after you begin your training with us. We’ll be sure to prepare a hot drink for you as soon as we arrive.”

  “Thanks, Kel,” Micro mumbled with a quivering lip. “Being cold… Human’s sure have it rough…”

  For a while, all Micro could see through the fog of his breath was the side of the mountain to his left, and an endless, moonlit valley to his right. He thought it might be beautiful, but he was too cold to fully appreciate it as he clambered up the rocky mountain path. He pulled Kel’s cloak tightly around him and pressed on, ignoring a complicated expression Tae occasionally directed toward him after receiving the garment.

  “How do you get mail delivered to such a place…?” He mumbled beside Kel.

  “Mail?” Kel asked in reply.

  “Deliveries…” Micro shivered. “No mail truck could make it up a hill like this. Not even a bike…”

  “Messengers have never had any trouble on this hill,” Kel explained.

  “But their wheels would get stuck, or worse…” Micro said while looking down the steep mountain. Though the path was made of dense rock, there were no guard rails to prevent an accident.

  “Wheels? Why would messengers need wheels?” Kel asked in confusion. “Carts are for the mundane to move.”

  “You don’t use any vehicles with wheels?” He asked in disbelief, frozen in shock by Kel’s explanation.

  “No, of course not. What cultivator would rely on the strength of a horse?” Kel unintentionally scoffed. When he realized the disrespectful tone he’d let slip, he cleared his throat and continued. “Though I did enjoy riding them as a child… But a cultivator walks their own path, in every sense of the word.”

  “You only ever walk?” Micro asked, his eyes widening still.

  “Of course,” Kel replied. “How do people travel in your world? By horse, perhaps, or some mythical creature of—”

  “Trucks, cars, buses…” Micro began to count the methods of transport he could recall on his fingers. “A lot more people fly these days though. The old man went overseas with his wife a few times by air. Waiting at the airport was a really interesting few weeks…”

  “Your master flew… across the ocean…?” Kel asked.

  “A few times, but only after his son was old enough to mind his garden while he was away,” Micro explained as the nostalgic memories warmed him slightly.

  “Flying… Across the ocean…” Kel’s pace began to slow and his eyes twitched as he tried again and again to comprehend Micro’s words, leaving Micro walking ahead of the group for some time. Noticing this, Tae ran ahead to catch up to Micro just as a large structure came into view.

  It was unlike anything Micro had ever seen. Several ornate buildings were built into the side of the nearly vertical wall of rock, giving the impression that they had been carved from the mountain itself. There were several levels to the temple-like structure that extended higher up the mountain, and white, stone walls were erected here and there which stood out even more against the natural landscape.

  “Welcome to the Jade Fire Mountain Turtle Sect, Master Micro,” Tae said as they came to a large, green gate. The two great wooden doors opened with a deep creaking sound which Micro could feel resonating throughout his body.

  Kel and the others caught up as they passed through the gate into a large courtyard, decorated with small trees and stone sculptures, mostly of turtles. The quiet courtyard was also full of people dressed similarly to Kel and his comrades, meditating here and there.

  “These are the fully fledged disciples of our sect,” Kel explained energetically, trying to reclaim his role as guide. “Like Tae and the others, they aspire to master the arts of our sect.”

  “Do they also want to fight you?” Micro asked.

  “Of course, or they wouldn’t be cultivators,” Kel happily replied. “But they are loyal to their path. A cultivator’s path is power, and the sect leader is more powerful than any of them. That’s why, as the heir, I must prove myself now…”

  “Good luck.” Micro smiled.

  “I would imagine very few people ever dared to challenge your master,” Kel said with curious eyes.

  “Challenge?” Micro thought for a moment. “The weather and taxes were the things he complained about most.”

  “To be challenged only by nature itself, and the imperial authority…” Kel replied with a deep expression. “I can only imagine the trials he overcame to become great enough to raise a disciple such as you.”

  “He really is a wonderful man…” Micro nodded with a twinge of sadness. “He did work hard to get to where he is.”

  “I hope to achieve even a fraction of his greatness in time…” Kel continued.

  “You have already done much to earn our devotion, young master,” Sung asserted. “And with this year’s tournament, I’m sure you will prove yourself behind any doubt.”

  “Tournament?” Micro asked. “You mean a race?”

  “Not a race, but a battle,” Kel replied with a serious tone. Some of the eyes of the meditating cultivators surrounding them opened suddenly at the mention of the tournament. Kel seemed to feel uncomfortable as their eyes fell on him, but he continued to focus attention on Micro.

  “Every year, the sects of the alliance participate in a tournament to establish which is most deserving of the highest seat,” Kel explained, feeling the weight of the disciples’ attention. “Our own sect has not held much authority in the alliance for several generations, but I intend to claim that position and bring honour to the Jade Fire Mountain Turtle Sect.”

  “He came close last year, but—” Tae began, but Kel didn’t let her finish.

  “I was weak,” He stated coldly, then turned a complicated expression toward Micro. “But I have grown stronger. I must grow stronger. Perhaps, with you here…”

  WOOSH

  A flash of light suddenly blinded Micro and the others, accompanied by a gust of wind that took his breath away. Micro stumbled back, looking forward as his eyes readjusted to the moonlit night, and noticed a figure in blue robes standing in the distance with one hand pointed at him. In their hand was a long, curved piece of wood.

  “Huh…?” Micro blurted out with a wet cough.

  The red mist that left his mouth brought his attention downward, toward a long, straight object which was protruding from his chest through a new hole in his rusty armour. He reached out to touch it, noticing feathers attached to the end of it, but his strength drained from him in an instant and he fell backward numbly. As the world grew darker around him, a single voice cut through the loud panicking of Kel and his comrades.

  “Wretched magician’s puppet.”