Chapter 1 – The Young Master is Off to Join a Sect

Zhao Ren was feeling the weight of expectation. His family had just sent him off with Uncle Tai to be enrolled in the Heavenly Sword Sect, and it was up to him to live up to the wealth, fame, and power of his ancestors. Ren belonged to the Zhao family, a declining cultivator family that hadn’t produced a single talent of note for many centuries until he had come along, and even he just barely qualified. He wasn’t even a great talent, much less a generational talent, but that was how he was treated. His entire clan had pinned their final hopes on him because they couldn’t afford to nurture more than one or two more new generations. Even those who were currently cultivators barely had enough wealth to send home.

Since birth he had been fed ‘beneficial’ herbs, slept in qi gathering formations, or had one quack fortune teller after another proclaim him to be the one who would turn around the fortune of his family. There were only two reasons he hadn’t become a silk pants or an arrogant young master.

The first was the fact that the resources channeled toward him gradually dwindled over years and finally stopped as he approached the optimal age when he could begin cultivating. Ren knew that by then the Zhao family was basically just like any other somewhat rich merchant family but with a storied history. Honestly, he was grateful for their support until then, but the burden of his family’s desperate expectations only felt heavier knowing he couldn’t live up to them.

The second reason was his childhood friend from the Xi family, Xiyuan, who was the true genius. It was his misfortune, or rather fortune, that their ancestors had been friends, and the Xi family was the last of those who still bothered to interact with the sinking ship of the Zhao family. Growing up around her was to know what true talent was, and Ren, who had been on the verge of having his nose eternally pointed to the sky, had been disillusioned and humbled. After a certain incident, his own pride had been permanently curbed.

He had faked a smile and all the confidence of a heavenly genius and said farewell to his family, who had just had a celebration to send him and his uncle off. He couldn’t bear to shatter their dreams and hoped that either he really would succeed or something terrible would happen to him that couldn’t be foreseen and absolve him of his duties. On top of all the expectations, he felt even guiltier for his despondent thoughts. Uncle Tai, who was a very savvy adult, noticed his mood and tried to cheer him up and gave him the highlights of the cultivation sect that could possibly lead him to immortality.

“After they test your potential, you’ll be living all by yourself in a hut while managing a plot of land. It’s a bit strange, I know, but the founders’ teachings say that having responsibility can help you achieve your true potential. Though they leave it up to you how you want to manage your household.”

“Most disciples grow herbs, but some use it as space for a workshop or forge, some use it to practice formations, some grow food, but some just leave it fallow. Don’t tell others, but the elders keep an eye out for those who use this opportunity well.”

“What should I do about money, Uncle? This currency Father gave me is only used in the mortal world.”

“Since our family can no longer send funds, be sure to find ways to earn contributions, which you can exchange for spirit stones. The qi those stones contain can be used to cultivate, or the stones themselves are used as currency for resources.”

“Be smart, and you can find small ways to profit. Right now I’m earning some contribution points for bringing in potential recruits for the sect.”

I thanked him for his advice but asked, “Do we get any tasks other than managing the land?”

He laughed and said, “Of course, the more talented ones just prioritize other tasks that afford the most contribution points. I hire some of the poorer disciples to manage it for me when I would rather hunt beasts or have to travel out of the sect.”

While they traveled, Uncle Tai showed him some of the more practical skills one needed as a cultivator that most of his family would have looked down on as menial tasks, like how to set up camp and cook on a campfire. Even as the young master of a declining family, he had never had to take care of himself and was grateful to his uncle for not laughing too much when he made charcoal of the first fish he had caught. The first fish, which had taken him as long as Uncle Tai had taken to catch 4 fish. After all, he had been raised to hunt beasts and duel, not fish.

Ren was mortified, but his uncle pointed out that making that mistake would help him learn, and he was right. The second fish was more of a dried plank and had more salt than a preserved pig but ultimately was still edible. He didn’t force Ren to eat it, but when he didn’t offer any of his, Ren’s pride, meager though it was, didn’t let him ask for his uncle’s share. In the future he would absolutely pay more attention to cooking.

As they traveled to the sect, his uncle picked up 3 other recruits from other cities and villages. The lessons became more general to avoid showing overt favoritism. Despite all that, he was learning a lot. He was still very glad to see the rise of the fantastically tall mountain ranges that were home to the Heavenly Sword Sect after almost 3 weeks of travel.

As they approached the gates, the scale of it caught Ren by surprise because they continued to walk for hours more after first spotting the entrance. The gates were truly gigantic and beautifully made with the characters “Heavenly Sword” carved into them in powerful strokes. Just looking at them made him dizzy, and he had to avert his eyes.

Ren’s uncle guided the potential recruits to the guards dressed in impressive armor and presented his identification jade. Despite knowing they should be welcome, the guard’s piercing gaze made him nervous. In front of him were these stairs that stretched into the clouds ahead. In the front of each stair was a character carved in. Before they began ascending, Uncle Tai turned to them all.

“Now this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You can only climb these stairs for the first time once. Don’t waste it.”

It took Ren a second to puzzle out his meaning, but by then he had already turned and started. Ren turned to the first step, and on it was carved “immortal.” It didn’t make him dizzy like the gates, so he took that as a good sign and followed after him. He tried hard to understand each character, but some of them were hard to recall or had greater meaning that he couldn’t immediately understand. He saw his uncle was almost a hundred steps ahead and only getting farther away and hurried to catch up.

After a few steps, he recalled his uncle’s words and paused.

“So what if he climbs ahead? He’s probably done it countless times. Like he said, this is a first for me, and I should savor it.”

With that he felt a bit free to ponder on each step as he climbed. His traveling companions had long since gone ahead. After a few hundred steps, he felt himself enter an almost meditative state and started to understand the theme. They were lessons. They told of mistakes made and treasures gained. They told of companions found and lost. Of the purity of the Dao and the freedom the sword gave from worldly ties. They also mentioned many things. Things he felt, but could barely understand. It was a shock when he stumbled and realized he had climbed the last stair. He turned and looked behind him and saw clouds hiding the number of stairs he had ascended. In a daze he turned to his uncle, who was patiently waiting.

“I’m proud of you, little Ren. I hope you learned something from the experience.” Then he turned and led Ren to another gigantic gate.

In a daze, Ren saw the characters engraved on the gate. He saw the characters “Cultivating Immortality” for a second before he had to look away again. There, in a little area, waited a middle-aged man who could only be described as well-fed or maybe steady as a mountain without sounding unkind. There was a small crowd of other hopeful potentials lined up before him, and he joined in. As he leaned to observe what was happening, he saw the elder’s chubby hands engulf the wrist of the young man before him and proclaim,

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“Bone age 15, spirit roots of the 4th order, Outer Sect pass ”.

Ren already knew from his own education that 4th order spirit roots were the worst spirit roots one could have. Since cultivators drew in the same type of qi through their roots, those with a mixture of the 5 types would be the least efficient. 4th order indicated a mix of 4 to 5 types, and most cultivators with those never broke through the very first stage of qi gathering or took so long that the ideal age to cultivate was past them.

From what Ren observed from those ahead of him, disciples up to the age of 17 were accepted, and spirit roots were a must. Those without were instantly failed. He could see some who were dressed as peasants looking in equal measure hopeful and terrified. They probably didn’t know their future. In this aspect, Ren counted himself lucky, for he had his measured every year until it was confirmed that he had 3rd order spiritual roots, meaning a mix of 3 spirit roots. His were of earth, metal, and wood. It was hopeful that he might reach the second, foundation establishment, or even the third stage of cultivation, core formation, which would be counted as the beginning of cultivation and thus the minimum his family expected of him. Ren already knew the chances were slim for 3rd order spiritual roots to reach such a stage, but that didn’t stop them.