There were a few things that I needed to do before I could head outside the sect though. The very first was officially registering Labby as my spirit companion, now that he’d broken through to the first realm.
I’d had to run rounds trying to find out what the procedures were because Lu Jie had never even considered acquiring anything but a pristine spirit beast. Having realised he didn’t have nearly enough luck, or Qi needed to get one, he’d never bothered learning more about the details needed.
Thankfully all I really needed to do was go to one of the administrative halls, and mark him as my spirit. I also planned to ask where I could find more information on spirit rats, or if Labby was just an oddity.
I picked up the list of items I’d set out for checking. The very first was a smaller cauldron. The one the old man gave me was nice, but also, far too large. It wasn’t meant to test and analyse small amounts, but to create batches of pills and elixirs instead.
The second was spirit stones. I’d read of heating arrays in a book, and how some cauldrons made use of those to finely distribute heat across their bodies. It also allowed the Alchemist to control and fine tune the heat permeating.
As can be expected, it was probably going to be expensive. Just how expensive? I had no idea. But I intended to take a look, and buy one, if I could.
The other things that I intended to look at were a thermometer, or the equivalent of one, other alchemy tools, and most importantly, some copper wires. If I wanted to explore Labby’s lightning Qi, and try and see how I could use my handy Rattery then I’d need some wires to form circuits.
The good thing I'd found out was that Labby was quite weak, and just channeling Qi around my skin made me fairly resistant to not just heat, but also lightning. I had some theories on how that worked as well, ranging from an interference in the transfer of energy to the body to simply just forming an additional layer to pass through for the electricity, and the resistivity of the Qi itself being fairly high in its “default” state, which was what I possessed. At least, as far as I knew.
I pocketed the little sheet of parchment in one of my chest sleeves as I cleaned up my table. My progress on tidying up my room and making a centralised note making system was… not good, but there had been progress, and progress made me happy.
“Ready to go Labby?” I turned around and asked, smiling as Labby squeaked jumping in the pouch at my waist on his own.
I had one last look at my room, before I walked out, and off to officially register Labby as my spirit animal.
Squeak!
***
The Cloudy Peaks sect was massive. I had thought this before, but the idea was reinforced all the more strongly as I began my way uphill on the lesser peak where the main sect halls were.
The sect’s administration and main halls were present on small wide hills, with living chambers and sparring quarters spread across the hills eventually spreading out to the forests that surrounded the city.
I walked through the dirt path, grateful that I was in the third realm, and quite close to the peak of the sect. The homes the outer disciples got were simple things, usually containing a few rooms, and a chamber to cultivate in. Even those were separated by realm, with third realm disciples being the closest to the peak, and second realm disciples just below them, and first realm disciples below them.
It wasn’t all about the realm either, as you had to have worked for the sect, and had successfully been allowed to move to the upper areas. Lu Jie had barely managed to qualify for the Third realm, but breaking into the Fourth realm, and forming the second circle in his dantian was a challenge that he, like many others, wasn’t able to surmount.
The similarities that the sect had to a modern college also amused me, and in some ways, it functioned as one. As long as you ignored the fact that you could be called to serve in the sect’s army at any given time as a disciple in the sect and were basically the equivalent of unpaid workers.
Lu Jie would count as a Student repeating their third year for the fourth time, unable to graduate yet unwilling to give up. It let me understand his frustrations a lot more, as being a true cultivator was only possible after you had formed a core and entered the Fourth Realm. Reaching the peak of the Third realm yet being unable to take that last step, I could understand Lu Jie’s desperation somewhat, even though I did not share his desires for reaching the heavens.
I felt Labby crackle with Lightning, and I gently rubbed his head, handing him a few leaves of spirit grass to nibble on. I knew I was indulging him, but the way he held the grass in his paws as he took bites from it was just far too cute for me to meaningly resist.
What a scary rat, breaking the will of a cultivator two realms above itself. Shudder.
Squeak!
I felt another spark of Lighting Qi from Labby, this time accompanied by agreement and pride. I laughed at the smug little rat, as he continued to nibble away at his stalk of spirit grass. I was starting to get better at understanding Labby, but without any actual Arts to form a link with him, we still weren’t able to communicate properly.
I was also curious about just how these arts worked. The realisation that I had so much to explore, yet nowhere enough time to do it was a bit daunting, but I wouldn’t let that stop me. Can’t give up when I’ve just barely started after all.
The scenery started to change, as taller buildings began to approach. There were extremely few regular people in the sect anyways, and around these areas, all I saw were other cultivators that walked by. Many seniors, juniors, and even some elders moved about the pathways. Mostly other outer sect disciples.
A plethora of Qi and Arts assailed my senses, as the world itself seemed to turn more vibrant with the many kinds of Qi spreading around. I continued on my path, not extremely surprised by any of it. It wasn’t any surprise to me that cultivators would fill the main halls, but Lu Jie’s memories still left some sense of surprise and awe left in me from his childhood nonetheless.
Cultivators were rare, and heralded all the more so outside the bigger cities, even just a first realm cultivator would be a boon to a village like his. So Lu Jie was by all means, a gift for the people of his village.
Lu Jie had scoffed at that, upon his arrival in the sect. The reality of having Qi, and being better than his peers had so thoroughly been shattered when he’d truly seen how widespread the world was, and what the true geniuses looked like.
Perhaps it was unfair of me, as Lu Jie’s desperation, and drive had only led to his untimely death, but I thought it a good thing that he’d come out to the sect. Being a small fish in an even smaller pond would never allow anyone to expand their horizons. The thing I despised was not seeing how vast the world was, but his desperation at his lack of talent, and that talent was what determined the fate of so many.
I despised the notion that everyone couldn’t gain a better life through effort. That even just being a cultivator was such a big gamble, that only a select few got, and how cultivators often had children with Qi, and other people had to rely on the heavens for their blessings.
I could not deny talent. Lu Jie’s memories would not let me. Yet I despised it nonetheless. And I refused to believe that cultivation couldn’t be made more accessible to people. There had to be some rules it ran on. Like any other force of nature, it must follow a path. Why did cultivators need to form a core? Why were there twelve realms of cultivation? Why did we form circles in our dantians?
The path to immortality seemed to be laid out, with each step, all the way to the end, neatly separated in realms of strength, each with their own nature and purpose to serve in the quest. Then why was it so dependent on talent? There had to be something that was missing and my curiosity began to build up.
I felt a strange anger, unsure if the emotions were completely mine, or originating from Lu Jie’s memories, yet the deep seated frustration was echoed, and driving me. An idea began to bud in my mind, a collection of laws, to guide people, and to break down the Dao itself.
I felt my Qi shift. Something was right. Something about this felt right. A path of guidance, to take not just myself, but others with me, in the journey to break down the science behind the Dao.
To find the Laws of Cultivation.
I felt Lightning Qi from my pouch, as I snapped out of my daze. I looked around, realising I’d been standing silently in front of the sect halls and felt slightly embarrassed about it. I blamed the overly potent Qi present in the air, too easy to get lost in thoughts with so much of it around.
“Thanks Labby, let’s go now,” I whispered to Labby. The cultivators could probably hear me no matter how quiet I spoke, but such was life among super humans, eavesdropping was just another fact of life.
I entered the main hall. The sect halls were wide, tall buildings made of wood. The eastern architecture was obvious and yet, there were subtle differences present as well. I wasn’t an architect though, and neither did I hold much interest outside of how these buildings were built.
I gathered back my distracting thoughts, looking around the halls to find where I was supposed to go.
I followed the paths, looking around for a while before I eventually found the chamber I needed to go to. I paused for a moment, wondering if knocking was what I was supposed to do. Lu Jie’s memories weren’t much help, as he had no clue about what was to be expected.
I didn’t get to make the choice, in the end, as with the flare of Qi, the door slid open to a chamber stacked full of books lying everywhere. My eyes drifted to the man sitting at a desk, his face hidden behind the stacks of books and paper all around him.
“Greetings, Elder. I need to register my spirit companion,” I spoke out, bowing, when a chill traveled up my spine.
I felt Labby crackle with lightning, as he too felt the sensation. A heavy presence filled the chamber, as an untold number of eyes looked at us, I felt my body freeze under the gaze, unable to move.
Cold and gentle Qi drifted over as a laugh, like the sound of ringing bells was carried through a winter forest, the moon silently watching over me.
“That’s enough play Xin Yue,” the man spoke, as the pressure vanished. “Show me your spirit,” he added and I nodded, gulping as I tried to recover from the strange gaze I'd been under.
I tapped my pocket, gently rubbing Labby to calm him down as I pulled him out. Labby squeaked, climbing onto my hand.
I saw the man freeze as his gaze turned towards Labby. A frown set across his brow as he looked at my face before looking back to Labby a few times.
“What is that? I have little patience for games, disciple. Tell me why have you brought me a pest?” The man asked, annoyance filling his voice.
I was about to explain when I felt Labby stomp his feet, his annoyance leaking out in the form of crackling lightning that spread towards the Elder and I felt my heart stop.
Damn it Labby, not again!