Bao Tie stood dumbfounded as he digested what had just happened.
He had been given an ultimatum: get a disciple promoted or get disowned by the family.
Most of Bao Tie's life had been spent in the shadow of his siblings. However, under the umbrella of the Bao family, he had enjoyed a relatively consequence-free life.
Bao Tie had a devilish nature, enjoying stepping over others. His current post as overseer of new disciples was below his standards, but it had still served him well to oppress and do whatever he wanted without much scrutiny from the sect, since he was located far away from the main sect.
However, this was only possible because he was part of the Bao family, which held some clout within the sect. Thus, many avoided conflict with him because of that. If he were to lose this protection, he could easily count at least a dozen enemies who could take advantage of that.
Bao Tie shuddered at the thought. It dawned on him that he had made quite a menagerie of enemies.
Bao Tie was not only cruel but also smart. He quickly started to think of options to avoid this disaster. He ignored the issue with Xiao Shan for the moment and quickly dashed to the new disciple quarters.
Da He was talking with another disciple when a sudden cold wind made his clothes flutter. A chill ran through his spine, he had a bad feeling. He looked back to see Bao Tie with a very serious expression.
"Da He, I'm enlisting you for this upcoming promotion examination. You are already at the second level of Qi Condensation, so it should be a breeze for you to move on," said Bao Tie with a dull expression, trying to be imposing.
"I thank Senior for his consideration," said Da He while cupping his hands. "However, an elder in my family is already taking me in as a direct disciple, so there is no need to go through the examination."
Bao Tie's face darkened. "But I will not forget Senior's consideration," said Da He as he calmly walked away.
Bao Tie quickly walked through the disciples' quarters, scanning everybody. However, to his despair, there were really no disciples anywhere close to breaking into Qi Condensation. This was also his fault, as he had driven the disciples hard into labor rather than cultivation.
It dawned on him that he might have to rely on Xiao Shan. The mere thought caused his stomach to churn. He decided to make a visit to his Uncle Yan. He planned to test the waters to see if he could get away with other means, perhaps even causing an accident to Xiao Shan was a possibility.
He left the training grounds to visit his uncle at the outer sect.
He arrived at a pavilion with red gates covered in symbols representing the fire element. A sign mounted on top was inscribed with the words "Yan."
Bao Tie collected himself, then bowed at the gate. "Bao Tie wishes to meet Uncle Yan. I ask that Uncle give me a few pointers for the examination."
Suddenly a light breeze passed through, lifting Bao Tie's hair. A faint voice resonated in his mind: "Enter."
Bao Tie walked through the gates. He felt a cold sensation as if passing through a waterfall; however, he was not wet.
He walked through a path made of cut marble stones. Ponds with water as blue as the sky adorned the courtyard. Small koi-like fish swam through, emitting rhythmic sounds as they waved their tails.
Bao Tie finally arrived at the main pavilion. A middle-aged man was seated on a red mat at a table made of jade, the table legs adorned with auspicious images of tigers. "Sit," the man said, waving his hand at a teapot mounted in a contraption. A flame ignited, bringing the tea to a perfect boil.
As Bao Tie sat, Bao Yan served some tea. "What concerns you, little nephew?"
Bao Tie felt a chill down his spine. Members of his family rarely treated him this well, he had a feeling something bad was going to happen.
As tea was served, Bao Tie talked about his difficulties finding appropriate candidates. "You see, Uncle, this last disciple Da He refused me, but given his family status, I couldn't do much about it. To make things worse, my backup disciple is not doing very well. This Xiao Shan is just not good," he said as he shook his head.
Bao Yan narrowed his eyes as he listened. "Little nephew, I know what you are trying to do," he said with an exasperated tone.
"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but listen to me, some elder high up wants to see this Xiao Shan," said Bao Yan as his expression turned very serious. "I don't know the full details, but even the ancestor is concerned about this."
"Make sure nothing untoward happens to this disciple. You must make sure he gets through the examination."
Bao Tie felt like lightning had hit him. He even dropped the tea cup he was holding, his mind in shock.
It took only a moment for Bao Tie to recover. Apologizing to his uncle and bidding farewell, he left in a hurry. "Who is this Xiao Shan really? What the hell is his background?" he thought as he returned to his quarters.
Finally, Bao Tie arrived at his place. He sat cross-legged on a straw mat as he decided what his next move would be. "There is definitely something big going on. Uncle Yan and even the ancestor are acting out."
Bao Tie gritted his teeth. "Maybe there is a silver lining somewhere. If this guy really has some high backing, I can still stand a chance to benefit..."
Meanwhile, Xiao Shan was returning from the disciples' quarters. He had gotten some rations and was ready to return to cultivate. As he walked through, the world felt different, but he wasn't quite sure how, it just felt more vivid and colorful.
As he walked back, he stumbled upon Da He, who immediately greeted him as usual. "Junior brother, it's been a while. How is the..." Da He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Xiao Shan. "Did you just break into Qi Condensation?" he said as his mouth dropped. A few days ago, Xiao Shan was merely a mortal, asking Da He for some pointers. Today he felt that the junior in front of him was not too far from his own level.
Xiao Shan nodded his head shyly. It suddenly dawned on him that Da He was also at Qi Condensation and would notice his breakthrough. As he looked at his senior brother, he could see and feel some of the clues of his cultivation, he could feel some mysterious aura around him.
"Junior brother Xiao Shan, are you really attempting the examination?" said Da He. Xiao Shan sighed as he explained to his senior brother about how Bao Tie had coaxed him into it.
Da He rubbed his temple. "Let me give you a piece of advice: if things get bad, just withdraw. There is always another year to try. Don't force yourself. As long as you can keep cultivating, the sect will give you another chance."
Xiao Shan bid farewell to his senior brother as he returned to his cave. Many thoughts raced through his head. He wanted to drop out as he felt he was not well prepared; however, he also wanted to keep searching for his master, so getting into the sect was also important.
Finally, as he reached his cave, he saw Bao Tie waiting for him, his hands crossed behind his back with a dispassionate face.
"I see little Shan has made himself a good cave," Bao Tie said as he obviously forced a smile. "I'm here to congratulate you on your breakthrough."
A chill ran through Xiao Shan's spine. While Bao Tie's words sounded nice, they held a devilish nature that made Xiao Shan concerned.
"It is a pity you are only at the first level. You see, the instructions we give to cultivate are just fragments, meant to find out who has true talent to cultivate and who is just cattle."
"But worry not, little Shan. Your Senior Tie is a great person and is willing to lend you a hand," said Bao Tie with an expression that reflected the opposite of his words. He pulled out a stone from his bag of holding and a wooden slip.
"Here, study this well. This is the true technique. Use this spirit stone as a resource to stabilize your cultivation," he said, handing out the items to Xiao Shan, who stood speechless.
Bao Tie then bid his farewell, his face blank and eyes clouded like a dead fish, as if he was really absent and his corpse had come to do the work.
Xiao Shan returned to his cave in disbelief. He stared at the wooden slip for a while, it described a technique to absorb spiritual energy from spirit stones.
He looked at the stone Bao Tie had given him. It seemed like a simple stone with some crystal inclusions; however, on closer look, Xiao Shan could feel a faint aura coming from it.
"A real spirit stone!" Spirit stones were rare outside cultivation sects, but they were useless to mortals. However, to cultivators, spirit stones represented currency, something that could be exchanged for other resources or used as a cultivation resource itself.
Xiao Shan paused for a moment. He felt a bit skeptical about the situation. Bao Tie was in general unfair with him, it was strange he was suddenly this generous.
After much thought, he couldn't quite figure it out. However, he was able to tell that the spirit stone was real and the technique really helped him. He also felt some familiarity in it, which made him feel less suspicious about the technique.
Finally, Xiao Shan decided to make use of it. He started to do some breathing exercises as he held the spirit stone in his hands. He felt the spiritual energy in his body slowly circulate and then flow to the stone. A thin white vapor, barely perceptible to the eye, emanated from the stone and was inhaled by Xiao Shan.
As he did the breathing exercises, the white mist flowed in and out of his nostrils, coiling like dragons. Xiao Shan could feel the nourishment this brought him as the flow of spiritual energy circulating in his body got stronger.
He spent two days working non-stop. By the morning of the third day, the spirit stone looked dull and started to crack. Xiao Shan felt refreshed as some of the impurities in his body were expelled. He opened his eyes as they flashed brightly, his body and his entire self felt different, lighter.
As he stood out of his cave, he felt his spiritual energy circulating, nourishing him. He no longer felt hunger or tiredness, for he had broken through to the second level of Qi Condensation.