Chapter 19- Exploring a New Realm

Tian and Hong settled in on the porch of the guest house. Tian was still lost in the echoes of memory, but he did his best to keep up his end of the conversation.

“I have no idea why you thought that would work.” Liren shook her head and sighed.

“I didn’t. Well, I didn’t think one way or the other about it.”

“Eh?”

“The master-disciple system, and by extension the Direct Disciple system, is all built around fear and affection.” Tian shrugged. “The Inner Court is a damn snake’s nest, where treachery seems routine. Too much fear. Not enough affection.”

“I think that’s more the Heavenly Realm generally, rather than just the Inner Court of our Monastery. You think it’s related. That everything is so messy because they… Oh, I see. The Monastery isolates itself to keep its core secrets from leaking, and to protect themselves from the Inner Court. They need the Inner Court to gather resources and protect territory, but they won’t be motivated without the promise of better skills. So they make most of their skills available to the Inner Court, with the hint that Core Disciples get full access to all the good stuff.”

“And you don’t need a true revelation of the dao to become a Core Disciple. It just takes ability, and I would assume, merit.” Tian smiled. It really did all make sense. “Which also explains why they don’t teach the Skytreading Art to everyone. It probably takes a degree of insight into the dao that not everyone gets.”

“Don’t rule out sheer snobbishness. Restricting the best cultivation art to the best cultivators is not the craziest thing I have ever heard. It would also mean the direct disciples are always the most powerful, letting them maintain control. They are the true heirs of the sect. Inheriting it from their masters. A master for a day, a father for life, or at least until it’s time to read the will.” Liren concluded.

“It’s all quite sensible. Reasonable, even.” Tian shook his head. Liren didn’t say anything. Yet another completely logical series of decisions with disastrous consequences.

“We should rename the Monastery. Instead of slandering the honorable Ancient Crane, we could be known as the ‘Unintended Consequences Sect,’ or the ‘Virtue-Seeking-Morons Monastery.’” Tian didn’t quite laugh.

“For once, we can’t hang it on Starsieve. I guarantee he got it from his teachers. It was probably traditional at the time. Maybe it still is, I don’t know.” Liren closed her eyes, her voice growing faint. “The Sect Master is going to be mad. Madder.”

“Why?”

“I’m not going to accept the Skytreading art, or take a master.”

Tian let her words roll around for a moment. The stars were coming out. They looked so beautiful. Never losing their wonder.

“Why?”

“Because you are my Dao Companion. Because I’m determined to break this stupid cycle. Because I don’t really feel like trusting my future to a stranger either. Besides, I don’t think I will harm my path any.” She shared a meaningful glance with him. She hadn’t elaborated on where she got her Ten Suns Godslaying Body from, but it presumably came with a Qi and Shen cultivation method. Tian wondered if the Hell Suppressing Body did. He kind of doubted it. It didn’t really seem like what the art was for.

“Makes sense.”

“What will you do? Take a weaker art?”

“Maybe temporarily. I think I’ll do what any good Heavenly Person does, and go adventuring. Something will turn up.”

“That’s nonsense.” Liren rolled her eyes, then frowned. Then leaned in, frowning harder. “That is… definitely nonsense…”

“Mmm. The good news is I can complete the Heavenly Swallows to basic mastery very quickly, now that I’m at the Heavenly Realm. I only have the tenth dart to finish anyhow. Advent of Spring is working just fine. I’ll need to look into some combat arts, but we have merits for that kind of thing. Oh, speaking of.” He handed over the spirit stones. Liren took them without comment. Really, there was nothing left to say.

They watched the stars grow brighter, comfortable in each other’s company.

“Hey, Liren?”

“Yes?”

“Wanna get naked and roll around on the ground together? For some reason it’s all I really want to do right now. I’m not really sure where things will go from there, but I am very eager to find out. Is that the same kind of urges you get? And… can we?”

Tian sat on the bed in his cell, looking at the painting on the wall. “She could have just said no.”

She did say ‘no.’ She just also said a lot of other things.

“I’m new to ‘urges.’ A little understanding would have been reasonable.”

A little naked understanding?

“I mean…” Tian found himself grinning, to his pleasant surprise. “A bit of naked understanding sounds wonderful.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Good news and bad news on that front, and it’s the same news.

“We will. Someday, but not today.”

Yep.

“Curse?”