Chương 19: Someone Ahead May Die

Paike recovered from his ordeal rather quickly. Perhaps that was the nature of physical cultivation. Whatever it was, he was grateful for his increased healing after having awoken. But some of the other oddities took him a little longer to get used to. The biggest so far was having no hair. He really hoped it would grow back. When he lost all his hair from the awakening, he also lost his eyebrows, which felt pretty unnerving. Luckily, he didn't seem to sweat anymore.

Still, the light drizzle from the skies was more annoying than usual because it kept running into his eyes. The bald ridges of his brow were not enough to redirect the water away completely. He supposed he would get used to it, but still, it would be better if he didn't have to. He wished he had thought to tie a cloth around his temples before they had left. Absent-mindedly, he rubbed his head with his hand, barely feeling the odd triangular-shaped bits of subdermal armor that had developed.

He could only count it among his blessings that they were not visible, making him look like some lizard descendant. That would have just been too much. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as he and Guan Li walked through the sect compound towards the training field where physical cultivation class was held. They joined the stream of people also heading to the classes. The majority didn't attend, but enough of the population of disciples did that it created significant foot traffic.

Luckily, they were all cultivators, so the pace was more that of a mortal's light jog than a crowded city's streets. When they got there, Liming and a girl Paike recognized from around the class approached them. Liming stood in front of him, looking up with her head slightly cocked. She reached up and poked him in the nose—quickly, too quickly for him to react. Out of sheer surprise, he froze. From his side, he heard Guan Li stifle a laugh. Liming ignored him and studied Paike's face.

He wasn't sure how to react to it, so he just stared back impassively.

"Yep," she said, "That's you. You know, you don't look half-bad bald, brother. Almost like a monk." She snickered slightly while the girl standing next to her grimaced awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. His handful of a sister remembered her presence and turned slightly, the angle of her shoulders including her in the conversation.

"Brother," Liming said, regaining her composure, "I don't think you've met my roommate. This is Xin Yixin." Paike greeted her with a bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Xin." Liming continued, "This is my brother, Kong Paike."

"Mister Kong, it's a pleasure to meet you as well," Xin said, mirroring his bow. She was short, much shorter than his sister, with black hair that tickled her jawline. Her almond-shaped eyes were a honeyed hazel, and she studied his face with an intense inquisitiveness. Already, he could see why she got along with his sister. Liming liked people she could put off guard with her antics, but they also needed to be quick enough to keep up with her wit. Xin seemed to be able to. He studied her right back.

Paike could sense that she was spiritually in the Early Ruby stage, like most around her. That was expected, but she had also physically awoken. Now that he looked more carefully, he realized that his sister and Guan Li had also physically awoken. He felt a little embarrassed for not noticing earlier. It took some observation because, physically, she hadn't changed much. Was that because she was still growing, or was she simply so close to the ideal she held of her own body? It was hard to say.

"Congratulations on your physical awakening," Xin Yixin said with a smile.

"Yeah... um, I was cutting it a little close," Paike said, rubbing his bald head.

"It was.... troubling. Congratulations on yours as well," he added politely. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. She gave a soft smile but didn't respond.

"Anyways, I think the elder is ready for us to assemble," Liming said, and the four of them moved to form a row at the back of the class. Most of the disciples had gathered already, though a few stragglers hurried in, taking their places just before the hour struck. Elder Ji looked over the class.

"For many of you, this is our last day together," he said.

"Many of you have made me proud. Others... I hope you have learned to improve your work ethic." Several of those who had not yet awoken looked highly uncomfortable at these words. Paike could understand, even though he had awoken. But his thoughts were interrupted as the elder called out a name.

"Li Feng, come to the front." The number one ranked disciple in the outer sect stood up and walked with precise steps to the front of the class, coming to a stop before the altar.

"You have performed well," Elder Ji said, producing a single vial of pills and handing it to him.

"Guan Li," The next name was called. Next to him, Paike felt the disciple in question freeze. It was only a second, but it was enough for Paike to have to ram his elbow into his friend's ribs to get him moving. As he got to his feet, Paike shot his roommate a smile and inwardly cheered for his friend as the slightly less lanky boy walked to the front with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Congratulations. You have performed adequately." Mei Lingchi also received a bottle of pills. Paike recognized her as the fourth-ranked outer sect disciple. Her getting recognized was no surprise, though; she was someone who had performed very well throughout both classes and had awoken early. She was a tall girl with long, slightly wavy, golden hair. Otherwise, she was conventionally beautiful. He recognized her family as well-known and respected, though with slight mercenary tendencies.

They were often hired as healers, medics, or for peacetime operations rather than warriors or bodyguards. Many imperial families and dukedoms kept members of her family on retainer. If she followed in her family's footsteps, she would be very valuable and highly sought after. With no further fanfare, Elder Ji dismissed his disciples.

"Now, many of the quicker among you caught on that I said that only most of you will not be seeing me again. That isn't to say I will stop my lessons like Elder Chu. Unlike her, I will not be selling my services for a sack of points. Instead, I will make you truly earn my tutelage. You must show that you valued my time from the very beginning. That is why I will be conducting trials with the help of some other elders." Paike felt two presences brush against the class, though he couldn't identify them.

"There will be three trials. Those who succeed will receive continual lessons for the next three months." A ripple of conversation exploded among the students. Physical cultivation lessons from an elder for three months, everyone looked around with excitement. There were over a couple hundred students present out of the thousand cultivators in the outer sect who attended these classes regularly. Competition would be stiff.

"The top 20 performers in this trial will continue on. You have half an hour to form groups of four. Do not assume that a strong group will be able to carry you to victory." Elder Ji warned.

"Members of the top teams who fail to impress will be not be guaranteed a place. They will instead be replaced by standouts on lower-ranking teams, so do not give up. Even if you are falling behind, someone ahead of you may always die." Paike and his assumed team exchanged looks.

"When he said "die," did he mean in real life or simply fail the challenge with a simulated death?" Guan Li asked. Xi Yixin looked a little pale. Paike and Liming shrugged.

"Hard to say," Paike said.

"Disciples do die, but the elders generally don't allow it to happen," Liming began to explain.

"Likely, if anyone is severely injured, they will be extracted from the trial. But there's always a chance they might not recover. Medicine is only so good, after all. Still, at this level, I don't think any of us can produce an instantly lethal blow that the elders couldn't protect against." Paike nodded in agreement.

"But I don't think they're going to coddle us either. Even if no one dies, spending three months healing would set any one of us too far back to ever recover." The three of them looked at him as if he was stating the obvious.

"Okay, I didn't mean to suggest you weren't going to take it seriously," he said, backpedaling slightly.

"But, you know…"

"Yes, brother," Liming said.

"We know."

"So, what can we do to prepare?" Paike asked his new group.