I entered the grasping life palace, following Wang Ren. I was curious about the new arrivals. He’d told me it was two boys—identical in appearance—and a girl who claimed to know some healing arts and herbalism.

  That piqued my curiosity. For someone in this world to know healing arts specifically was quite rare. Especially a mortal. I wanted to see her methods.

  If she had the talent to cultivate I would almost certainly offer her a position as my disciple. Even if she didn’t, I might allow her to stay simply to study her methods.

  However, Wang Ren probably wouldn’t like that, even if he wouldn’t stop me. Now that we were a sect we had to be strict. Xiao Cui had been an exception back when I didn’t know better, but giving mortals hope was worse than simply telling them the truth.

  As we entered, I saw the girl walking away from us. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and groaned before exclaiming, “I’m going to find that scary bastard and complain!”

  The two boys, who were definitely twins now that I got a better look at them, fell backwards and then pointed at Wang Ren after the girl asked what was wrong with them. I snorted and waited to see how he would respond—I assumed Ren was the scary bastard in question.

  Rather than berate the girl or get angry, Wang Ren turned to me with genuine hurt in his eyes. “I’m not that scary, am I?” he asked.

  I stifled a laugh. I couldn’t tell if he was actually insulted or if this was a trick he was playing on the kids.

  “I agree with the girl, you’re pretty terrifying. You look like a spirit beast,” I teased.

  “Not you too, Sect Leader,” he gasped, wiping away a fake tear from his eye and looking wounded. Fool.

  After that, he turned back to the girl with a smirk on his face and stepped to the side to let me take charge. Not before he got a little revenge, however.

  “A lack of respect isn’t a positive sign. I don’t think we need mischievous brats in the Grasping Life Sect,” he remarked, tapping a finger against his chin.

  The girl’s expression dropped and she dropped to her knees. She pressed her forehead into the ground, kowtowing. “I’m sorry for being rude! It’s just we were waiting for so long and I didn’t know when someone would come by and-”

  I placed a hand on her shoulder and lifted her back to her feet. I had a feeling she might keep rambling forever if I didn’t take charge of the conversation.

  “Ignore him. Prime Guardian Wang is only teasing you,” I said with a sigh. “I heard you know healing arts?”

  The girl nodded furiously and clenched her fists. The two boys stood up behind her and approached me.

  “Interesting. I have to say that is a rare thing, especially for a mortal. I would like to see a demonstration,” I replied.

  The girl immediately took off her pack and began reaching inside. I snorted. “Not right now. We’ll test your talent first,” I explained, pulling the talent stone from my storage ring and placing it on the ground.

  Taking a seat in front of the stone, I motioned for the three kids to sit opposite me. The girl went first. Apparently she had already been tested once before so this was more of a formality than a necessity.

  I was curious to see how the talent stone worked. Waving Wang Ren over, I whispered in his ear.

  “How do I operate this thing?”

  He stifled a chuckle. “Oh? The wise Sect Leader Zhao is ignorant of such a simple matter? No worries, this magnanimous Wang will save you face today,” he jeered. “All you need to do is cycle some qi through the stone while the child’s hand is on the stone. It should handle the rest. I don’t really know how it works but it does,” he explained, shrugging once he was done explaining.

  That was deceptively simple. I was sure there was some strange concept at play, but I wouldn’t be able to figure that out until I saw the stone working.

  The girl already knew what to do and her hand was resting on the stone before I had to ask. “What’s your name?” I asked, placing my own hand on the stone.

  “F-Feng Mei.”

  The name sounded familiar. I wondered where I had heard it before. It took a few seconds but then I remembered the woman who Yu Chun had beaten up in front of her blossom parlour before we left Three River City. Her name had been Feng Li Mei, though.

  I exhaled and cycled a single drop of my qi through the talent stone. Almost immediately the murky grey began to clear up until the stone was a pure grey sphere.

  For a moment, nothing happened, but then the grey began to shift and morph. Lines of black appeared in the grey, looking extremely familiar.

  Actually, it made sense. The talent stone was showing a web of black lines that resembled what Xiao Cui’s spirit roots had looked like when I was able to peek at them.

  More and more black lines appeared, branching off from each other for a few seconds until eventually the branching slowed down and then stopped.

  However, the stone wasn’t done yet. Once the lines had finished appearing, the black colour began to change, taking on a dull green hue.

  Wang Ren exhaled loud enough to break my concentration. I removed my hand from the stone and my qi returned to me.

  The stone held the image for a breath’s time and then the spider web dissipated back into a murky grey mess. I threw an annoyed glance at Wang Ren.

  I’d managed to count the lines, so that wasn’t an issue, but I had wanted to inspect the stone a little more before moving on.

  “Sorry, it’s just that it’s rare to see someone with a pure affinity, even if it is a weak one,” he explained.

  “So she has a pure affinity,” I remarked, though I didn’t know what it was. I was rather clueless in these matters. “What kind?” I asked Ren.

  “Wood. One of the five elements of the natural cycle along with earth, fire, air, and gold. It is not that strong, but the fact that it is pure means a great deal,” he replied, giving the girl an appraising look.

  She hadn’t heard our conversation as we were whispering, covering the sounds with our qi. She fidgeted with her hands, a nervous expression on her face.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  I understood that look well. Her entire fate rested on my decision. She had uprooted her life and the lives of her two companions to risk it all on my sect.

  However, she needn’t have worried. With her supposed talents in healing and the confirmation that not only could she cultivate, but she possessed rare wood affinity spirit roots, her recruitment was guaranteed.

  I turned back to her, not letting my face give away what I had decided. “Do you know what the results mean?” I asked her.

  I doubted she did, but I figured asking couldn’t hurt. She shook her head. “No, lord cultivator,” she replied.

  “They mean you are now a disciple of the Grasping Life Sect, Feng Mei. Congratulations. I will have to figure out what manuals to provide you with, but for now we will have a house constructed and get you settled in,” I told her with a smile.

  The newly indoctrinated disciple leapt to her feet and rushed forwards, arms outstretched to embrace me. I would’ve let her give me the hug, being the soft hearted fool that I was, but Wang Ren didn’t stand for it.

  In the blink of an eye he appeared between us, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. Frozen in place, the girl suddenly realised what she was doing and stared at me with wide eyes.

  She fell to the ground and pressed her head to the floor. “Lord cultivator I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean- this one forgot her place,” she stuttered. “Forgive me.”

  I sighed internally. I knew that it was important to keep a hierarchy in place, but I didn’t like this attitude. People grovelling at my feet simply because I knew how to control little strands of energy.

  However, I couldn’t change the world simply because it didn’t fit with my own morals. I would ensure that the Grasping Life Sect didn’t become like the other sects of this world, but sometimes you had to enact change from within. It wouldn’t happen overnight.

  Surprisingly, it was Wang Ren who raised the girl to her feet and led her towards the exit of the palace. “You must call him Sect Leader Zhao, as you are now a disciple of our sect. Remember your place. One day you may become an elder and gain the right to address him with less formality, but for now you are just one of many disciples,” he told her, turning to wink at me.

  He knew I wasn’t a fan of this, but I appreciated that he wasn’t coming down hard on a girl simply for a mistake. Right before they exited, Mei suddenly turned around and looked towards the two boys sitting on the floor.

  “What about the twins? Are they also allowed to join?” she asked, a trace of nervousness in her voice.

  “That depends on the outcome of their test,” Wang Ren said, gently but firmly pulling her away.

  “Wait!” she exclaimed, stomping a foot. “If- if they can’t join then I won’t,” she protested.

  I almost wanted to laugh at the childish tantrum, but this was a pivotal moment for me and the sect. Our first outside disciples. I couldn’t show favouritism here or it would set a bad precedent.

  “Look, even if they can’t become disciples of the sect we still have use for mortal workers. I doubt we will send them away from the mountain, even if they fail the test,” I said with a sigh. “Besides, you are now a disciple of the Grasping Life Sect, Disciple Feng. Your first concern should be to uphold the dignity of the sect. Throwing a tantrum is not very dignified,” I added, narrowing my eyes at her.

  She baulked, straightening up and furrowing her brow. She stared at the twins for a moment with a conflicted expression then sighed and turned around to leave.

  Wang Ren nodded to me, clearly appreciative of how I’d handled the situation, before following after her. With that sorted, I turned to the two boys, Yu Jin and Yu Bao, who looked far less terrified than they had when I entered.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, to which they both nodded and shuffled towards the talent stone.

  They both reached out at the same time, their hands clashing as they neared the stone. I chuckled at their embarrassed expressions.

  “One at a time. Yu Jin, you go first,” I told the boy on the left.

  Their appearances were identical, which made telling them apart difficult. However, I had an advantage in that my exceptional energy senses allowed me to differentiate them by the slight oddities in each boy’s blood essence.

  He nodded and reached out his hand, placing it on the stone. As I’d done for Feng Mei I sent out a drop of my qi to begin the process of assessing him.

  It didn’t take long for the talent stone to show the results. The web was a lot dimmer than Feng Mei’s, meaning the boy had less spirit roots. I spotted one or two that were closer to brown than blue, but the colour wasn’t strong, meaning it was unlikely to be a true earth affinity.

  “Alright, Yu Bao, your turn,” I announced, gently pushing Jin’s hand away from the stone.

  His face dropped immediately, looking crestfallen. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then changed his mind and fell silent.

  I ignored him for now and repeated the process for Yu Bao. To my surprise, the results were almost identical to his twin brother’s, except he had one more spirit root.

  As a doctor, I was immediately curious about the implications behind that. However, I had so much on my plate already that trying to begin a study on twins and their affinity for cultivation would be ridiculous.

  Maybe once I was older and bored with life I could start some random passion projects, but right now I had much to do. Yu Bao removed his hand of his own volition, though I saw he also seemed upset.

  My lack of reaction and the fact his results were almost the same as his brother’s had likely led them to believe they were not talented enough to cultivate. I allowed them to think this, as I wanted to test their loyalty to Feng Mei, but also their determination.

  It was obvious that the girl was not only the most talented of the trio, but had been the driving force behind their decision to uproot their old lives and come here. However, they couldn’t simply follow her like lost puppies for the rest of their lives. If they wanted to begin anew, they would need their own motivations.

  “When you followed Disciple Feng to this mountain, what did you hope to achieve?” I asked them.

  The boys fell silent, contemplative expressions adorning their gaunt cheeks as they shared a look. It took a few moments for them to come to a realisation. I half expected them to blurt out the same answer at the exact same time. I’d watched too many movies…

  Instead, it was Yu Jin who spoke first, taking the initiative while his brother continued to think in silence. “Did we fail the test? Are we not talented enough to cultivate?” he asked.

  “That isn’t an answer to my question,” I replied immediately.

  He froze and resumed thinking. Yu Bao finally raised his eyes and met my gaze. I saw a spark of determination and confidence in them that hadn’t been present before.

  “Farming was a simple life. Wake up with the sunrise, toil in the fields, turn in for the night after a hearty meal. I was content,” he began.

  I settled in, ready for a life story, but his next words took me by surprise.

  “But I always longed for more. When we grew up, our father used to tell us tales of immortals, flying through the skies on swords and levelling mountains with a single wave of their sleeve. I always imagined myself one day, floating up there in the clouds. I wonder when I forgot that dream. Satisfaction killed my ambition,” he declared, smashing a fist against his palm.

  “When Mei came to us with her idea, I was against it. Actually, it was Jin who eventually convinced me to follow them, saying that Mei would be helpless without us. He was a fool. That girl could’ve made the journey faster without us slowing her down,” he chuckled, throwing a sideways glance at his twin as the other boy punched his arm.

  “But, we made it. The moment I saw that gate at the bottom of the mountain, I felt something resonate deep inside me. I knew we had made the right choice. Even if we can’t be cultivators, I want to stay here. We’re strong. We can build houses, gather materials. Whatever you need,” he finished, patting his biceps as he flexed. “Maybe if we keep at it long enough, we might find a way to cultivate even without talent. I’m willing to take that risk.”

  Perfect. It had been hard to see their true personalities with Feng Mei here, but now I knew they had the right character. These were the kind of people I wanted around me, not bloodthirsty young masters who would cause chaos at the drop of a hat.

  “And you? Do you feel the same way?” I asked Yu Jin, who’d been staring at the floor after his brother’s passionate speech.

  He glanced at his twin and then stared up into my face. “I do, Lord cultivator. Take us in and we’ll work like horses to pay you back,” he affirmed.

  I chuckled. “You shouldn’t make dangerous promises to cultivators,” I quipped. “I’ll hold you to them until the day you drop dead.”

  Even at my poor joke, neither of the boys baulked. Instead, they nodded and their fierce determination shone through in their expressions. Satisfied, I prepared to deliver them the shock of their lives.

  “Good. Disciples Yu and Yu, as you have said you are talented builders, I will make you responsible for constructing your own houses. Report to Elder Wang to receive appropriate cultivation methods. Welcome to the Grasping Life Sect.”