As the Golden Millenium Dew continued to meld into Xiao Cui’s spirit roots, I noticed that she gradually gained a semblance of control over the process. A trickle of blood poured from the corner of her lips, but there were no injuries to her body I could see.

  That meant this was taking a toll beyond the physical, but if it worked out then it would be worth the price. So far, none of the ‘dead’ spirit roots had been fully awakened, but plenty of the golden dew had started to repair the damage.

  The foremost observation I’d made during this time was that the way cultivators—or at least those in the Cloudy Falls Sect—understood spirit roots was fundamentally flawed. The idea that having more spirit roots made one more talented and having none made one a worthless trash wasn’t quite accurate.

  It was partially true, but seeing a supposedly untalented mortal who didn’t possess enough spirit roots to cultivate actually did have plenty, just that most of them were inactive, reminded me never to trust what I was told at face value. Always investigate and come to your own conclusions.

  Xiao Cui seemed to be guiding the droplets of the golden mist towards her roots. Most of the energy was lost before, falling between the web of spirit roots to be lost to the void.

  As time passed her control seemed to improve. This was a girl without any ‘talent’ for cultivation, yet it seemed the interacting with spiritual energy came naturally to all beings.

  Still, the process was far from efficient. I wondered if I could somehow assist her using my own qi, but I was worried that poking around inside her spirit roots might cause irreparable damage.

  It was for the best that little Cui did this alone, even if we were wasting fragments of potential. This was a learning experience that would allow me to improve the methods of refining natural treasures for everyone in the sect.

  When the golden liquid fell on her already awakened spirit roots, it had little effect—none that I could observe, anyway. That followed what Guan Jin had told me of its effects.

  I heard a sound like shattering glass. A dazzling flash of gold and white followed.

  I had to avert my gaze briefly. When I turned back I felt the corner of my lips tugging upwards into a grin. I had been right.

  One of Xiao Cui’s formerly dead spirit roots which had slowly been repaired by the occasional droplet of Golden Millenium Dew had exploded with golden-white light and started to throb madly. It resembled the other spirit roots, except it had a unique colour.

  Her original roots were either ‘normal’ blue or the white-blue which I suspected was some sort of elemental affinity. Her newly awakened spirit root should be gold affinity, but it was also tainted with white, making me wonder if a new affinity had been created.

  Maybe that was simply what gold affinity spirit roots looked like… I had no clue.

  Xiao Cui gasped and her entire body shuddered. A sheen of sweat glistened on her skin, but she was still uninjured.

  I didn’t know how much time had actually passed. A breath or a lifetime—it was hard to tell while every fibre of my being was focused on ensuring the health and safety of my disciple and recording the entire process of refining the natural treasure.

  As I watched, more spirit roots awakened to a chorus of shattering that resembled the tinkling of wind chimes. I tried to recall how many roots one needed to be considered able to cultivate.

  Even if it was the lowest of talents, as long as Xiao Cui passed that threshold then I could allow her to live longer and perhaps utilise more healing and herbalism techniques than she could as a mortal. It eluded me for now.

  I wouldn’t strain myself. We could assess how successful the process was once it finished.

  Not every ‘new’ spirit root was golden-white. Only the ones which had been connected to the blue-white spirit roots. Ones which branched off from the regular roots could either be pure gold or regular themselves.

  A few roots which branched off from golden-white roots were also regular or pure gold, with a couple even being the same blue-white as her original roots. It didn’t seem to follow a particular logic or pattern.

  My vision flashed black. When it returned, I saw that her spirit roots were once again clouded over and constantly shifting.

  As instantaneously as it had begun, the process of refining the Golden Millenium Dew had ended. I immediately inspected Xiao Cui’s body to ensure she wasn’t injured.

  I frowned. There was nothing wrong with her, except a thin trickle of blood that led from the corner of her lips to her chin.

  Which made no sense.

  I wanted to scream in frustration at the madness of it all. However, I knew that was simply my past knowledge biting me in the backside.

  When it came to this world, things were different in many aspects. I guessed it was some form of spiritual exhaustion.

  I was eager to find out if she had gained enough spirit roots to enable her to cultivate, but I could see she wasn’t in any condition to try right now. In fact, she’d fallen asleep, a peaceful expression on her face contrasting with the trickle of blood and layer of sweat.

  I chuckled, then turned to face Guan Jin. “Thank you for granting us this opportunity, Senior,” I said with a bow.

  The serpent had said the Golden Millenium Dew no longer benefited its cultivation, but that contrasted with what it had explained about beast cultivation. And given that only a single drop formed every thousand years, how old would this snake have to be in order for it to have used enough for that to occur…

  Either it was telling the truth, which meant that Grandpa Guan was… ancient, or it was using an excuse to cover its generosity in giving the dew drop away.

  Whatever the truth was, I was glad that I had been able to give my little disciple this opportunity. For a while I’d worried I would eventually have to part ways with Xiao Cui when my cultivation ascended too far.

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  With a final shallow bow and a martial salute to Guan Jin, I made my way back out of the cavern. As I walked I picked up a few of the spirit stones which had scattered across the stone during the earlier fight.

  We were sure to need them in the coming days.

  ****

  I sat on a mat in a meditative pose, my gaze resting on my sleeping disciple. Xiao Cui hadn’t yet woken up after consuming the drop of Golden Millenium Dew, but the sun had only risen a short while ago so I wasn’t worried.

  Xiao Cui mumbled and rolled to one side. I chuckled at her antics and watched as she slowly roused from sleep. With a groan, she pulled her blanket up over her face.

  “Not a chance,” I said, yanking the blanket off her in a fluid sweep and tossing it to the side of the room.

  “Hey! Bastard Master, give it back,” she whined, pouting at me with puffy eyes.

  “How are you feeling?”

  She looked over her body and closed her eyes momentarily. “About the same as I did yesterday. I’d feel better if I hadn’t been so rudely woken up,” she retorted.

  It was only now I realised I wasn’t sure how the sect actually tested children to see how many spirit roots they had. Without that method, how was I supposed to figure out if she was able to cultivate or not?

  I’d been able to see her spirit roots while she was absorbing the treasure, but the veil had drawn shut the moment the process ended. I either had to figure out a novel method on my own or learn the one the sects used.

  There were still a few days left until Wang Ren returned, so there was no harm in a little experimentation. When he returned I would ask him if he knew.

  “Tidy up your bed, it’s time,” I said ominously.

  “Time for what?”

  “To see if letting you use that treasure was worth it, or if I just threw a jin of gold down a well.”

  ****

  Two days passed without any gains. I was still no closer to being able to check the quantity of Xiao Cui’s spirit roots.

  I could single out the area where they were in her body. However, they only appeared as a shifting, writhing mass of… not quite energy or qi, but… stuff.

  “Let’s take a break. I’m sure you’re eager to get back to playing with your herbs and potions,” I said, stretching my arms to the ceiling and then standing up.

  “There’s a little more to it than that, idiot Master,” she snorted.

  Walking out into the midday sun, I inhaled the flowery scent of the mountain peak and let my shoulders relax. I heard excited shouting down the mountain.

  Wang Ren’s lips were drawn taut as he strolled up the path, accompanied by a bubbly Teng Sheng rattling off a dozen questions a minute. A warm smile crossed my face at the sight.

  Life was slowly easing into something resembling normal, even with the chaotic attack a few nights ago. With Wang Ren back, things would truly get moving.

  “Hey, Ren! How did your travels go this time?” I called out, approaching the duo.

  “Sect Leader! You look unusually cheerful today, did something bad happen?” he teased.

  “Fool,” I snorted. “Xiao Cui successfully refined the Golden Millenium Dew, but I realised I don’t know how to appraise her spirit roots. I was wondering if you had the method?”

  “You don’t know something that simple?” he exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. He looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eye and added, “I sometimes forget with how fast you’ve been cultivating that you were once the sect’s famous trash. Let me enlighten you, wise leader.”

  This… Wang Ren had grown bolder by the day. Perhaps getting out and travelling the world had been good for him. Usually he only pouted when I teased him, but his tongue had grown barbs.

  “That would be helpful, thank you Ren,” I replied with a heavy sigh, not rising to the taunt. “Feel free to rest a while first, I’m going to take a walk in the forest. Come to little Cui’s house when you’re ready.”

  He gave me a martial salute and raced off to his own house, leaving a startled Teng Shen in the dust. Teng Sheng’s expression morphed into one of determination.

  I was about to turn and go for my stroll, when he called out to me.

  “Sect Leader, do you…” he began, then fell quiet and looked at his feet.

  “Go on. You are free to ask me for anything and if I can provide it, I will,” I replied.

  “Do you think I can be as strong as Prime Guardian Wang one day?”

  “No,” I instantly replied.

  His face fell and then scrunched up. He formed a fist. “Why? Why are the heavens so unfair? Wang Ren was blessed with such prodigious strength and I…”

  “Hmph! Idiot,” I scolded him. “You think Wang Ren was born that bulky? I’ve known him since I joined the Cloudy Falls Sect and in that entire time I don’t think he’s spent less than four hours of each day training his body. The rest of the time he is honing his techniques or cultivating. Geniuses and prodigies exist, but Wang Ren isn’t one of them. He earned every scrap of strength he possesses.

  “You will never be as strong as him, because by the time you reach his level, he will be another realm ahead. All you can hope for is to keep chasing after his shadow and one day turn around to realise you are casting one of your own from near the peak.”

  I wasn’t great with motivational speeches, but I felt that was one of my better ones. It seemed to have the intended effect, because Teng Sheng had a wide mouth and wider eyes once I was done berating him.

  “I-I understand, Sect Leader,” he replied, bowing to his waist. “I will work my hardest to repay the debt I owe you.”

  With that, he raced off into the distance, presumably to start training like a madman. The guidance I’d given him allowed him to cultivate and train by himself, but once I figured things out with Xiao Cui I wanted to continue experimenting with him and developing my own knowledge of cultivation.

  I knelt down beside one of the trampled flowers. I couldn’t leave them like this. I wasn’t sure if simply replanting them in the same position would be enough to fix the formation, but it was better than allowing them to remain destroyed.

  Perhaps I should ask little Cui for her help. She was the person with the most herbalism knowledge on the mountain. Yu Chun might know a little too, though neither had the requisite formation talent.

  I could provide them with healing education, but I would need to acquire basic methods for vocational pursuits. Hopefully the nearby city might have manuals on herbalism, alchemy, beast taming, formations, artifact refining, and the like.

  The walk cleared my mind of distractions. I returned to little Cui’s pagoda ready to continue. Wang Ren was already there, chatting away with my disciple.

  “Really? Master Zhao used to get bullied by everyone in the sect? I don’t believe that… he’s so talented,” she exclaimed, eyes glued to Wang Ren as he regaled her with stories I’d rather forget.

  “What nonsense are you filling her head with, Ren?” I harrumphed.

  “Only reminding her that even the greatest among us had humble beginnings,” he replied with a wink.

  I sat down beside them and turned to my brother. “So, you know how we can appraise her spirit roots?”

  “Of course, every inner disciple knows the method. Quite a few outer disciples too, but I suppose you wouldn’t be one of them,” he explained. “We simply need to acquire a talent stone.”

  I smacked a hand against my face. This idiot. The way he’d confidently bragged that the method was easy had led me to believe he knew how to do it himself, but the truth was that we needed an artifact…

  “And how can I acquire one of these talent stones?” I asked.

  “They should have some in the nearby city. If not, I’m sure the Li Clan or the Golden Leaf Consortium will have a few on hand.”

  I groaned. Then I sighed. I had been stuck on Million Flowers Celestial Peak since we’d been sent here from Three River City.

  Perhaps it was time to stretch my legs a little. Wang Ren had explored our surroundings, but I had yet to do so.

  It was time to go for an adventure.