Chapter 35: Selecting A Refinement Method
Noticing the bewildered look on Zen's face, Master Su attached one small ring to the hilt of the flying knife and slipped the other on her thumb. She hurled the flying knife down the mountain.
Zen cried out at the sight of what Master Su did. The flying knife was so sharp that it could have embedded in the ground anywhere, and since it was so dark out, it would be hard to find.
However, a second later Master Su flicked her wrist, and the flying knife returned to her hand.
It was a marvel to behold in Zen's opinion.
The two small rings were inconspicuous, as though an invisible thread connected them. After throwing the flying knife, it only took a gentle tug, and it returned.
It was a razor-sharp knife, but Master Su caught it in her hand without an issue. Zen admired her skill enormously.
Taking the flying knife and set of small rings from Master Su, Zen respectfully bowed and stated, “Thank you, for your generous gift, Master Su.”
Master Su gave a slight chuckle and patted his head. “Don't stand on ceremony, you're going to be a member of my Drizzle Peak! Run along and rest now,” she urged graciously. “Tomorrow you will pick refinement techniques after the peak selection.”
Zen nodded and walked back down the mountain the way he had come.
On his way back, he slipped one small ring on his thumb and the other onto the hilt of his flying knife. He threw the blade as Master Su had done, but when he tugged it, the knife shot at him.
Breaking into a cold sweat, Zen threw himself onto the ground, and the knife narrowly missed him. Although his body was exceptionally tough, Zen wasn't strong enough to withstand the sharp flying knife.
How did Master Su make it look so easy to catch the flying knife with her bare hand? Why couldn't he? After practicing several times, he finally mastered a little trick.
It was midnight when Zen returned to the dormitory.
All the disciples who had participated in the Blooded Test were fast asleep. Zen slipped into bed, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, the masters and disciples gathered to begin discussing the peak selection.
Yesterday's crystal fragments of the Blooded Test had been tallied, and the participating disciples were now ranked.
Because Zen killed a level-five unreal beast, he was undisputed number one, and therefore a highly sought-after disciple by all the masters.
The masters were all quarreling about Zen joining their respective peak.
Every month they bickered with each other to win the champion over to their peaks.
After a long heated argument, the masters were at a standstill, so, they sought Zen's advice to find out which peak he wanted to join.
When the outer disciples near Zen heard that, they were filled with jealousy.
'Zen is lucky! He gets to choose which peak he wants to join, ' most of the outer disciples thought admiringly. 'If I were him, I would choose Skytop Peak. After all, it ranks highest among all thirty-three peaks.'
All the masters waited for Zen's decision. Master Xu was more confident than the other masters that he would be adding Zen to his peak. After all, Skytop Peak was the most powerful peak out of the thirty-three and had an excellent reputation. Thus, he firmly believed that only a fool would choose a different peak.
“I choose the Drizzle Peak,” stated Zen quietly.
For a moment, the masters sat in stunned silence.
They thought Zen would choose one of the top ten of the thirty-three peaks.
Maybe the second-ranked peak, Blackrock or the Azure Peak, which was fifth-ranked....
None of them ever expected Zen to select the Drizzle Peak because it was ranked lowest of the peaks.
'What the heck?' they wondered.
Master Su walked up to Zen slowly smiling brightly and said, “I accept your choice.” Then she looked around at the others present and declared, “Zen is now an outer disciple of the Drizzle Peak!”
Some of the masters, including Master Xu, looked a little angry. They assumed that Master Su paid to get Zen; otherwise, he wouldn't choose the Drizzle Peak.
“Master Su, do you think it's appropriate?” questioned Master Xu sourly. He was determined to win Zen over.
A merit-based system of admittances had always been the tradition of the thirty-three peaks, although everyone knew that a disciple might be excellent today and just as easily, fail tomorrow. In the long history of the Cloud Sect, there had been countless gifted disciples, but not many of them made significant achievements in the end.
However, the simple truth was that the more disciples a peak had that were skilled, the more likely that peak was to achieve something.
“Oh? Master Xu? Is there a problem with that? It's a mutual matter. I think you understand,” sneered Master Su. “If you want to make further changes, I'll play. But, I wonder if you have the stomach.”
Judging from Master Su's confident attitude and Zen's unwavering choice, it was clear that the two had reached a secret agreement. The other masters kept silent, criticizing Master Su inwardly.
If Master Su were unreasonable, they could argue, but, since she wasn't, they would be asking for trouble if they messed with Master Su now.
With the end of that argument, the struggle for the top disciple ended, so the masters moved on to the second-ranked outer disciple...
Basing his decision on Zen's, Nory chose the Drizzle Peak too.
Half of the day was gone before all the disciples who participated in the test were assigned to a peak.
The work for the day wasn't over yet though. There was still the critical task of choosing the refinement method that suited them.
At the Cloud Sect, there was a hall called the Heavenly Library.
In this library were housed almost all the methods known to the entire empire.
However, it wasn't easy for a Cloud Sect disciple to go there and select a refinement method.
Each selection cost a hundred points, which had a market price of two hundred Cubic Crystals.
To the noble clan disciples, one hundred points might not be much, but to most of the common disciples, it was a lot.
What annoyed all the disciples equally was how many refinement methods there were in the Heavenly Library, whether high or low-level refinement methods, which made it hard to choose. Some disciples managed to accumulate a hundred points, but that would only buy the Barbaric Fist.
The book was inexpensive, selling for only a dozen gold in the Imperial Capital, so, paying a hundred points was a waste of points.
There was an art to pick a refinement method at the Heavenly Library.
All outer disciples were granted access to the Heavenly Library once to select a refinement method.
Under guidance from the masters, they headed for the Heavenly Library.
The deeper into the Cloud Sect that someone went, the more they experienced its vastness. After passing mountain forests, lakes and magnificent buildings of various shapes, they finally came to the gates of a great hall.
The hall had a purple haze covering it. With careful observation, streaks of purple light could be seen emitting from it.
As Zen stared at the bright glow, his eyes hurt. It was a peculiar feeling, similar, but much weaker, to that of the cyan dragon figure in his mind.
“Pupils, don't look directly into the light,” reminded one of the masters warmly. “Through your eyes, it can damage your soul.”
Hearing this, the outer disciples immediately looked away from the light.
As important as a man's soul was, a common saying used to describe damage came about of 'soul injury'. Someone with even a minor soul injury would feel the effects, like dizziness and weakness for several days while more serious soul injury might leave a person paralyzed or cause brain damage severe enough to make him an idiot for several years.
“What is the light, Master?” asked one of the outer disciples.
“It is known as the intent,” explained the master.
“Intent is what everything in the world has that gives them existence. The human has intent, as does heaven, the sword as well as the saber,” pointed out the master. Then he pointed to the purple light, adding, “At one time, our Cloud Sect killed a Vengeful Beast* and buried it here. The purple aura is its intent.”
(*TN: the Vengeful Beast is a species of a headless creature that battles against heaven.)
With the explanation the master gave, Zen learned something else.
'If that's the case, then maybe it is 'the dragon intent' giving the cyan dragon its intense energy?' Zen thought.
There was no way Zen would ever forget how it felt as the dragon intent was tearing his soul. 'But then? What is the intent? And, how does it happen?' he wondered, mystified by the new knowledge.
Zen decided to keep his question to himself for now.
Deep in thought, Zen almost ran into the disciple in front of him when everyone came to a stop in front of the platform of the Heavenly Library.
“Keep in mind, that this is your only opportunity to choose a refinement method free of cost. Also, kindly remember, the deeper into the Heavenly Library you go, the higher the refinement method levels are. But! At the same time, the stronger the Vengeful Beast intent will become. At that point, even if your eyes are closed, its intent will burn your soul!” warned one of the masters. “Accordingly, you should proceed as far as you can, but, don't exert yourself. Okay, now, go on in.”
The master had barely finished giving instructions, and the outer disciples were scattering as they entered the Heavenly Library.
Among the many disciples, Zen climbed the stairs and entered a magnificent hall.
Standing in the middle of the great hall, Zen saw a towering word cast in black iron. It was a number, one.
“The refinement techniques offered out here in the outermost part of the Heavenly Library are all worthless rubbish!”
several of the noble clansmen called out as they continued walking and passed the entranceway bearing the large number one.
Lining the shelves in this hall were books of various tier one refinement methods. 'Considering that each shelf houses about ten thousand different tier-one refinement methods, and there are twenty shelves, then that means there are two hundred thousand tier-one different refinement methods in this hall?' Zen thought.
Tier-one refinement methods were widespread throughout the empire. In spite of the vulgar manner the noble disciples stated about them, they were right; these methods were not worth much.
Only a few disciples lingered here, most of them went further into the library.
Zen didn't hesitate to follow the crowd heading deeper into the Heavenly Library. He noticed that instead of following, Nory remained in the hall of the tier-one refinement techniques.
Walking about one hundred feet further, the crowd came to the next hall. In the middle of the entrance was a large number two.
Needless to say, this was the hall of the tier-two refinement methods.
Here, the aura of the Vengeful Beast's purple intent was stronger than in the first hall which made some of the outer disciples turn back because they felt ill.
It was the strength of someone's soul that determined how well they resisted the intent of the Vengeful Beast.
The vast majority of those disciples had never honed their souls. Naturally, some people were born with stronger souls, while others were not. It was like any genetic differences and had nothing to do with their strength.
Several outer disciples didn't want to give up, even though they already felt very ill. So, they stood still, closed their eyes and tried hard to withstand the intent of the Vengeful Beast.
However, it didn't take long for the color to drain from their faces, and a wave of dizziness came over them. Finally, with no other choice, they left the hall. Making a bad situation worse, one disciple fainted in the room and needed to be carried back.
Most of those remaining acknowledged their limitations and remained at the hall of tier-two refinement methods. If those disciples continued to go deeper, their souls were likely to be damaged.
Therefore, they stopped there and began searching for the refinement that worked for them.
Very few people continued deeper.
One of those who did was Zen.