With Kong Yun so close and both boys still full of youthful fire, they immediately broke into a scuffle right there on the stone steps.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
The Wendao bell tolled.
A white crane soared past the mountain gate, spreading a rainbow bridge across the sky. The white-browed youth opened his eyes, hands tucked behind his back, and began ascending the rainbow bridge, step by step.
All the disciples on the stairway, no matter where they stood, bowed deeply in greeting. For this was one of the highest Daoist elders of the entire Wendao Palace.
Kong Yun hurriedly grabbed Xue Cuo. “Get up quick! The Wendao bell has rung!”
Xue Cuo scrambled to his feet, tossing away the feathers he’d plucked and jamming his discarded shoes back on. “What? Where? What’s ringing?!”
Kong Yun’s eyes bulged as he stared at the feathers fluttering from Xue Cuo’s hand. His fingers trembled with fury. “You plucked my feathers?!”
Xue Cuo quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. “An immortal’s coming! Don’t lose your dignity in front of others!”
The long stairway stretched like a pale green thread.
The white-browed youth surveyed the assembled disciples, matching them one by one to the sects of the Three Mountains and Five Seas. Once his count was complete, he began:
“Gu Ruhui, Lang Cui, Zhuo Qingyuan… first tier. Assigned to Tianquan Mountain. Receive first-tier disciple talismans.”
“Xiaofeng, Liu Xingyi, Du Jinyu…… Kong Yun…… Xue Cuo. Assigned to Diquan Mountain. Receive second-tier disciple talismans.”
“Jiang Chaosheng, Jiang Wenmin… Leopard One, Tiger Five, Pig Three… Gou Tongzhong… Zeng Yang… Zhou Xiao… Zhu Qiuqiu. Assigned to Wuwen Mountain. Receive third-tier disciple talismans.”
Celestial clouds scattered across the sky. Some were overjoyed, others crestfallen.
Most of the major sects took the news calmly. After all, the spiritual energy at the Wendao Palace was rich, and its geomantic position unparalleled. For the leading sects, it was practically a private garden. Even a second-tier ranking was honour enough for an ordinary disciple.
Third-tier was of course the lowest. But it was still faster than slogging through training back in their home sects.
Wendao Palace remained the most renowned immortal palace in all of Eastern Divine Lands. In recent years, a few up-and-coming sects had made a name for themselves, but none yet rivalled it.
Most of the top-tier disciples already knew one another. Even if they hadn’t met, their elders had mentioned names, so there was a sense of easy familiarity.
Only Gu Ruhui stood at the head of the group, cradling his sword. He knew no one, and was the sole anomaly among the first-tier disciples.
He was slight and solitary, with eyes like cold frost. Dressed in an elegant robe of celestial blue, he looked all the more refined and noble, striking in his quiet beauty.
In the mortal world, he had suffered more humiliation than most could imagine. He had learned silence as a defence. The world was cold. He was treated like filth, loathed, disregarded.
“This gege, what’s your name?”
Gu Ruhui startled and turned. A girl in red with spirit-snake braids had her hands clasped behind her back, smiling brightly. “Lang Cui-shixiong and Qingyuan-shidi didn’t dare come, so they asked me to speak to you.”
Caught off guard, Gu Ruhui instinctively lowered his gaze. He dared not meet her eyes.
Were all the immortals here… so cheerful?
The little girl wore twin jade bells on her wrists, lively and impish. “Gu-gege, may I ask you something? Is the Sword Immortal really that cold and aloof?”
Gu Ruhui didn’t know how to respond, but the moment she mentioned his respected teacher, his expression softened. “Shifu is wholly devoted to the Dao. He’s upright in character, and treats me well.”
The girl glanced back at a few of her shixiong. “Gu-gege, come over here. We all want to hear stories about the Sword Immortal.”
Gu Ruhui felt like he was dreaming. He was speaking to people he’d never dared even look at. Standing on platforms he had never imagined reaching. This wasn’t the mortal realm, nor even the earth. It was the finest immortal palace in all of the Eastern Divine Lands.
Above him were clouds and sunlight; the scent in the air was of orchid and divine herbs; the robes he wore were trimmed in the furs of rare beasts and spiritual birds.
Everyone was so kind, so graceful, so properly mannered.
No one hit him. No one cursed him. No one kicked him till he bled. He hadn’t fainted from hunger. He hadn’t been soaked in the stench of murder.
So such a world truly existed.
So… this was the world Xue Cuo had always lived in.
No wonder he smiled so much.
And all of it had been given to him by Shifu. Brought to him by the Sword Immortal.
Gu Ruhui’s heart stirred. And then, almost without thinking, he wondered: how could Xue Cuo have such fine parents, and still be so disappointing?
He had actually fallen to the second tier. If it were him, he would have clawed his way into the first tier even if it killed him. I would never shame the Sword Immortal or shimu* like that.
(*TN: shifu’s wife.)
Elsewhere, Kong Yun and Xue Cuo both wore bruises on their faces. Too exhausted to keep bickering, they cheerfully shook hands and made peace.
They supporting each other, one leaning, the other pushing. They hobbled up the steps, limping all the way, until they were each collected by their respective elders.
The mood among the second tier disciples was noticeably chillier. Some harboured visible grudges, and most had already broken off into small cliques of three or four.
Xu Youyu was already waiting at the mountain gate. When he saw Xue Cuo, he squatted down and said, “Little shixiong, you’ve been dropped to second tier. Elder Xue’s away, the Sword Immortal is in seclusion. I’ll take you to Mr. White Brow and see if there’s room for negotiation.”
Xue Cuo silently wiped his sweat. After a moment, he broke into a bright smile. “My parents aren’t worried. What’s there for shidi-gege to worry about? First tier, second tier—it’s all swordsmanship. Doesn’t make much difference to me. I might as well stay in second tier.”
Xu Youyu frowned. “That’s not quite right, Little shixiong. First tier and second tier may not be heaven and earth, but are still very different. Like the Tianyi Pavilion and the Shujian Pavilion in our sect. Moreover…… if you make it into first tier of Wendao Palace as a Tianyi disciple, you’ll likely be targeted by your fellow disciples.”
Xue Cuo thumped his chest. “I’m not scared! I’ve got my Super Thunderbolt Talisman with a Shocking Sound and Invincible Thunderbolt Fire Dance in the Universe!”
Xu Youyu didn’t quite follow that, and rubbed his forehead. “Let’s just go find Mr. White Brow.”
Led by Xu Youyu, Xue Cuo walked along the stone path. Up ahead, he saw Gu Ruhui standing with a few other radiant young cultivators. He waved enthusiastically, “Little Gu-gege!”
Gu Ruhui turned his head rather slowly before nodding back with polite caution, watching as Xue Cuo and a senior disciple in blue approached Mr. White Brow.
The three exchanged a few words. The senior in blue looked visibly disappointed but still took Xue Cuo to replace his first tier talisman with a second tier one.
“Ruhui-didi, I’m hosting a chess gathering at Zhaixing Tower tomorrow. You must come,” someone said warmly.
Gu Ruhui cupped his hand silently. Another chimed in, “Qingyuan, bring that dragon egg of yours. I want to play with it.”
A dragon.
To these dazzling prodigies, was a dragon no more than a toy?
Gu Ruhui sighed quietly once more.
Xu Youyu returned with the replacement talisman. “Little shixiong, we’ll have to wait until Elder Xue returns to revisit this. Her temper is fiery. If another elder steps in, it’ll only make things worse. So, for now, you’ll have to bear with it.”
Xue Cuo asked, “Shidi-gege, can you bring Sword Uncle here?”
Xu Youyu paused, recalling the snowy sword, then shook his head. “No can do. In Wendao Palace, students must train with nothing but their own abilities. No spiritual treasures, especially ones with sentience.”
Xue Cuo’s eyes widened in horror. He jumped down the steps. “Sword Uncle and I are like brothers! How could I leave him here to enjoy luxury alone? I’m not learning anymore. I’m going back to the Immortal Forest!”
Xu Youyu: “There are a lot of talisman scriptures in Wendao Palace.”
Xue Cuo replied, “I’ll go visit Sword Uncle on my rest days. Shidi-gege, if you have time, please go to the Immortal Forest and check on him for me. He’s just a sword, he might get lonely.”
Xu Youyu didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
Xue Cuo bounded back up the steps. After a few paces, his voice lowered. “No one’s gonna braid my hair anymore.”
Xu Youyu chuckled. “I’ll braid it for shixiong.”
Xue Cuo was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “You’re not as good as Sword Uncle.”
Xu Youyu could only smile helplessly as he led the little shixiong through the mountain gate. As they passed Mr. White Brow, the young man who had been meditating opened his eyes, ready to offer some encouragement.
But before he could speak, Xue Cuo had already darted off, footsteps echoing behind him, not even glancing back.
Mr. White Brow: ……
Once through the gates of Wendao Palace, the summit of Oxhorn Peak came into view. Hanging at its peak was a great ancient bell, steeped in Daoist rhythm, suspended there for over ten thousand years.
Xue Cuo stepped through the threshold and looked up.
Rainbow bridges. Flowing waters. Scarlet-eaved towers and layered halls. Immortal pavilions, veiled in twilight haze, loomed grand and serene, impossible to gaze at directly. In the sky, clouds drifted freely. Yet within them, a crisp and boundless Daoist aura quietly lingered.
Oxhorn Peak wasn’t actually this vast. But with profound magic, the cultivators had used mustard seed space to carve out and store a piece of land inside the mountain itself. Only then could so many immortal structures be housed here.
Above the clouds, a colossal sky kun* coiled sleepily around the peak, slumbering in the sky.
(*TN: legendary giant fish that could transform into a giant “Peng” bird.)
Xu Youyu, once a disciple here himself, pointed and said, “Little shixiong, I can only take you as far as your lodging—Diquan Mountain. Soon, the new disciples will have their first lesson, taught by one of the elders.”
He carried Xue Cuo on a cloud to a small mountaintop, where a spiritual spring rippled gently. The view was stunning: pavilions and towers, endless blossoms in different stages of bloom, and birdsong on the wind. This place was called Tianquan. Cultivating here yielded twice the results for half the effort.
Farther down, forests thickened and pine trees grew tall. A few huts and stone caves stood beside a brook. This was Diquan. Cultivation here yielded normal results, nothing special.
Beneath Diquan was a region called Tianwen, where the landscape was plain and the spiritual energy thin, but still usable for cultivation.
Xue Cuo landed at Diquan, bid farewell to Xu Youyu, and went off to find his new home.
He picked a cave beside the stream. Inside, it had everything: a futon, a study corner, even a patch of herbal field outside where sparse immortal herbs sprouted.
He looked around excitedly, pacing in and out. Suddenly, his disciple talisman began to glow faintly. Xue Cuo squinted at it, barely managing to read the message, and walked out of the cave.
Hovering just outside was a square-faced Daoist standing atop a white cloud. “Xue Cuo? Come on up.”
Dozens of disciples were already gathered on the cloud. Kong Yun was among them. Upon seeing Xue Cuo, the other boy’s delicate, androgynous face scrunched slightly. He clenched his fists.
Xue Cuo hurried up the cloud ladder. The square-faced Daoist checked the talisman. “Good. Now that everyone’s here, it’s time to begin your very first lesson at Wendao Palace.”
A disciple asked eagerly, “Is it formation arts?”
The Daoist replied calmly, “No.”
“You’re all fools. The first lesson of any school is naturally the Daoist scriptures.”
“I think it’ll be etiquette. Some of these mountain hicks… cats, dogs, whatever… they need proper discipline.”
Kong Yun smiled lightly, his voice sharp and smooth. “I was a monster for over a hundred years, yet somehow, you seem like someone who’s just learned how to be human.”
The disciple turned red. “You!”
The square-faced Daoist led the class beyond Wendao Palace, guiding them near the slumbering Sky Kun. There, the clouds gathered thick and soft, like giant cotton quilts floating in the air.
More Daoists arrived with their disciples, until the area buzzed with activity.
Their instructor turned and looked over the group. “Your first task as new disciples is to tame a cloud.”
A chorus of disbelief followed. “But we can’t even ride the wind yet!”
Kong Yun raised a brow, then shot Xue Cuo a look full of smug challenge.
