ARK SPIRIT

Thanh Van Tea Pavilion stood close to the central square.

It was a three story building constructed from ironwood darkened by age, with sharply curved eaves. Rows of deep red lanterns hung outside, along with several strips of festival lights that had not yet been taken down from the previous celebration. The first floor was the liveliest. Tea drinkers mixed with cultivators who had just finished their examinations, while calls for attendants, the clink of cups against tables, and arguments about the various sects seemed to continue without pause.

The second floor was far more open. Large windows faced the street, and the breeze from the mountains carried in the fragrance of tea along with the scent of flowers from the stalls below. The third floor was much quieter. Bamboo curtains hung across individual rooms, and the occasional sound of a zither drifted downward, giving the entire tea pavilion both the prosperity of Thanh Van City and the refined atmosphere of a place often visited by cultivators.

Hao Nhien and Tieu Lan chose a table near a window on the second floor.

From there, they could see nearly half the street leading back toward the square. People still passed in large numbers. Some looked delighted after passing the first round of a sect examination, others returned dejected with swords in their arms, while several youths stood directly below the pavilion arguing until their faces turned red over whether Sword Sect or Tieu Dao Sect was truly more worth joining.

Tieu Lan studied the tea menu for quite a while before finally choosing two of the most expensive teas listed.

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow slightly.

“So extravagant?”

“We received tokens from Tieu Dao Sect today.” Tieu Lan answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “No matter what happens later, we should drink a good cup of tea to remember the day.”

Hao Nhien considered that for a moment, then nodded.

“That makes sense.”

The tea arrived quickly.

Its fragrance was fresh and clean, with a faint floral note mixed into it. The moment Tieu Lan lifted the cup, she immediately recognized that the leaves had been roasted quite well. After taking a sip, she happily turned her attention to the street below.

“Hao Nhien, that person in green looks really good.”

Hao Nhien followed the direction she indicated and saw a young man in green adjusting his hair in front of a shop that sold bronze mirrors.

“The clothes look good. The person wearing them seems a little busy.”

Tieu Lan laughed.

A while later, she pointed somewhere else.

“What about that one? His bag is so big. I wonder what he has inside.”

“Probably everything he owns.”

“That must be tiring.”

“If it really is everything he owns, then he has to carry it no matter how tiring it is.”

Tieu Lan laughed again.

Hao Nhien sat beside her, listening as she commented on the people passing below, and gradually felt himself relax.

He had grown accustomed to days filled with constant pressure, battles, and danger. Sitting in a lively tea pavilion now, listening to people argue in the street while Tieu Lan cheerfully discussed the clothes and luggage of strangers, felt strangely unfamiliar.

But the feeling was not unpleasant.

Quite the opposite. It felt very real.

Perhaps life was supposed to have moments like this as well.

After a while, quick footsteps sounded from the stairs.

Hao Nhien turned around.

Quan Nha had just reached the second floor. In one hand, she carried a pale yellow token and a bundle of Tieu Dao Sect clothing. The moment she saw them, she walked directly over and sat across from them as though the seat had always been reserved for her.

“Attendant, one cup of jasmine tea.”

Only after ordering did Quan Nha turn her attention to Hao Nhien.

“I heard from the Quan family that your branch in Dong City ran into trouble, and there is still no news of your parents?”

Hao Nhien set down his cup.

“That’s right.”

Quan Nha frowned slightly.

“There are people in Dong City bold enough to move against members of the Quan family?”

“The Quan family in Dong City was never a major force,” Hao Nhien explained. “Our household was only my parents, me, and Tieu Lan. We also ran a small medicine shop. Compared with the Quan family in Thanh Van City, we were hardly worth mentioning.”

Quan Nha remained silent for a moment before asking very directly:

“Are you saying that to fool a three year old?”

Hao Nhien paused.

Her jasmine tea had just arrived. Quan Nha took a sip before continuing.

“A tiny medicine shop, a branch almost no one has heard of, and then somehow a person appears from it who can reach Heavenly Accord inside the Quan Family Inner Secret Realm. Hao Nhien, I am not that easy to fool.”

She set the cup down.

“It is not good to be dishonest when you are still this young.”

Hao Nhien did not know whether to laugh or sigh.

Seeing this, Tieu Lan quickly explained:

“Sister Quan Nha, it really is true. Hao Nhien was not as strong as he is now. After our family suffered trouble and we were separated from our parents, he encountered a few opportunities, and only after that did his cultivation gradually change. I also benefited from that and was finally able to properly begin cultivating.”

Quan Nha turned toward her. Her expression clearly softened.

“I believe you more.”

Hao Nhien immediately asked:

“Why do you believe her when she says it, but not me?”

“Because she looks more honest than you.”

Hao Nhien had no answer to that.

Tieu Lan lowered her head to drink tea, but the smile at the corner of her lips was already obvious.

Quan Nha continued:

“Tieu Lan, when you are beside him in the future, remember to keep an eye on this lecherous older brother of yours. I do not think he is as honest as he looks.”

Hao Nhien nearly choked on his tea.

“Lecherous older brother?”

Tieu Lan’s shoulders trembled as she tried not to laugh.

Quan Nha calmly asked:

“Am I wrong?”

Hao Nhien fell silent for several breaths.

Ever since Heavenly Accord, he had increasingly realized that merging with the identity of Quan Hao Nhien involved more than memories. The hot blood of a seventeen year old, his reactions to victory and defeat, to danger, even to a beautiful young woman, all seemed to be becoming natural parts of him.

Thirty years of experience from his old world might not actually be enough to overpower a body standing at the height of youth.

Hao Nhien rubbed his forehead and decided to change the subject.

“Sister Quan Nha, did you meet Old Van?”

“No.”

Quan Nha took another sip of tea.

“The people from Tieu Dao Sect said Senior Phong Van Tu found a valuable medicinal plant and carried it back to the mountain. I arrived too late to meet him.”

Hao Nhien glanced toward Tieu Lan.

Tieu Lan immediately lowered her head to drink tea.

Quan Nha noticed their reaction and paused.

“Does this have something to do with the two of you?”

Hao Nhien coughed.

“That medicinal plant... Tieu Lan may have contributed a little.”

Quan Nha immediately turned toward Tieu Lan.

“Then that makes sense.”

She thought for a moment before continuing:

“Old Van is not among the strongest cultivators in Tieu Dao Sect, but his position in Medicine Peak is not low. His knowledge of medicinal theory runs deep, and he is also well known in Thanh Van City. There are many people who seek him out for treatment, medicine, or advice on medicinal theory.”

Quan Nha turned back to Hao Nhien.

“I still think your luck is unusually good.”

Hao Nhien immediately pointed toward Tieu Lan.

“It is because of her.”

Quan Nha nodded without hesitation.

“Then that makes sense.”

Hao Nhien looked helpless.

“You do not have to believe that so quickly.”

“I never believed Old Van would place special value on someone who only knows how to stare blankly at other people.”

This time, Tieu Lan truly burst out laughing.

Hao Nhien began to feel that coming to Thanh Van Tea Pavilion today had been a mistake.

After laughing, Quan Nha’s expression became more serious.

“But there is something both of you should know. The tokens Old Van gave you do not necessarily mean you will immediately become inner sect disciples.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Hao Nhien immediately became attentive.

“How does it normally work?”

“I only know the usual rules,” Quan Nha said. “Those selected in Thanh Van City first go up the mountain, receive outer sect status, and spend their first three months there. During that period, they must learn the rules, complete missions, accumulate contribution points, and prove that they truly belong in the sect.”

Tieu Lan asked:

“What happens after three months?”

“Only then are they qualified to take the examination for entry into the inner sect. Those with strong enough results can be selected by the appropriate peaks or halls.”

Quan Nha paused.

“But the two of you have tokens personally given by Old Van, so things may be different.”

Hao Nhien asked:

“Different how?”

“I do not know.”

Quan Nha answered very directly.

“Tieu Dao Sect always has special cases. Some people reach the mountain and are immediately taken away by an elder. Others are clearly valued by a senior but still get thrown into the outer sect for several months. There are also people who believe they are certain to enter the inner sect, only to remain in the outer sect for several years.”

Her gaze moved toward the two tokens held by Hao Nhien and Tieu Lan.

“So do not speculate too much. You will know when you arrive.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“That makes more sense.”

Quan Nha raised an eyebrow.

“You are not worried?”

“Worrying will not help me enter the inner sect any faster.”

“True.”

Hao Nhien asked another question.

“If I really have to spend three months in the outer sect, what are contribution points used for?”

“A great many things,” Quan Nha replied. “Exchanging for resources, borrowing basic cultivation arts, entering certain cultivation areas, obtaining pills, and even gaining the right to attend certain guidance sessions. The more contribution points you have, the easier your first three months will be.”

Hao Nhien smiled after hearing that.

“Tieu Dao Sect certainly knows how to conduct business.”

Quan Nha tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“They take a large group of people into the outer sect and have them complete missions for the sect, then make them spend contribution points to exchange for resources that already belong to the sect. Three months later, they select the best among them. Even the people who are not selected have already worked for the sect for three months.”

Hao Nhien raised his cup.

“Cheap labor at its finest.”

Quan Nha remained silent for a breath.

Then she laughed.

The smile came so suddenly that some of the usual coldness on her face seemed to disappear. Her phoenix eyes curved, and her entire face brightened.

Someone at the neighboring table even turned unconsciously to look.

Hao Nhien also froze for a brief moment.

Quan Nha immediately placed a hand on the hilt of her sword.

“Hao Nhien.”

Hao Nhien stood up at once.

“We still need to prepare for the journey up the mountain. Thank you for the reminder, Sister.”

He turned toward Tieu Lan.

“Let’s go.”

Tieu Lan rose as well, but did not forget to salute Quan Nha.

“Sister Quan Nha, we will meet again.”

Quan Nha answered her quite gently.

“Mm. We will.”

Then she turned toward Hao Nhien.

“As for you, remember to temper your heart.”

Hao Nhien was already heading toward the stairs.

“I will remember.”

Only after leaving Thanh Van Tea Pavilion did Tieu Lan tug at his sleeve.

“Hao Nhien, you went down those stairs a little faster than usual.”

Hao Nhien turned toward her.

Tieu Lan immediately put on a serious expression, though her eyes were still full of amusement.

He sighed.

“You have learned bad habits.”

“Because I have spent too long beside Young Master.”

“So this is my fault?”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien had no response.

Three days later, Hao Nhien and Tieu Lan returned to the gathering point north of Thanh Van City.

The moment they arrived, they finally understood what Quan Nha meant when she said they had only registered.

A sea of people stretched before them.

At least several thousand young cultivators crowded the square outside the northern city gate. Most wore the pale blue outer sect robes that Tieu Dao Sect had distributed earlier. The clothes were the same, but the people wearing them could not have been more different.

Some stood perfectly straight, wearing expressions as serious as though they were preparing for war. Others squatted by the roadside eating steamed buns, their brand new sleeves covered in crumbs. Several young women gathered around a small bronze mirror, one fixing her hair, another adjusting a hairpin, while a third asked her companion with complete seriousness:

“Sister, does this shade of rouge match the Tieu Dao Sect uniform?”

The other young woman studied her for a moment before answering:

“It does, but if you start sweating while climbing and the color runs down your chin, you will look more like a female ghost who just joined the sect.”

The whole group immediately burst into giggles.

Not far away, a tall young man carried three or four large cloth bags. Vegetables, an iron pot, a thin blanket, and even two live chickens stuck out from them. He squeezed into the line while trying to force an entire watermelon into the last bag.

Someone nearby could not help asking:

“Brother, are you going up the mountain to cultivate immortality or open a restaurant?”

The tall young man answered with complete seriousness:

“If cultivation does not work out, opening a restaurant is still a way to survive.”

The person who asked fell silent.

Hao Nhien nearly laughed.

Farther away, several people had clearly rushed over from somewhere else. They still looked half asleep and carried steamed buns and bowls of hot porridge.

One person asked while drinking his porridge:

“Has it started yet?”

His companion answered:

“Not yet.”

The first man immediately relaxed.

“Then I can eat another half bun.”

The whole square felt more like a market festival than the entrance day of an ancient cultivation sect.

If not for the thousands of matching pale blue outer sect robes, it would have been difficult to believe that this was the day people were joining a sect with a long history.

Hao Nhien observed the scene for a while, amused and intrigued at the same time.

This Tieu Dao Sect...

Really was different.

Beside him, Tieu Lan watched with bright eyes.

“Young Master...”

In the middle of the chaotic crowd, she unconsciously used her usual private form of address. But the surroundings were so noisy that no one noticed.

“I think this is actually a very good place to cultivate one’s Dao heart.”

Hao Nhien turned toward her.

“Why do you say that?”

Tieu Lan gestured toward the sea of people.

“There are beautiful people, ugly people, hardworking people, lazy people, wealthy people, and people who barely brought anything at all. Some speak very loudly, while others have not said a single word since arriving.”

She thought for a moment before continuing:

“Unlike Sword Sect, which feels too sharp, or some other sects where you can sense the weight of the rules just by looking at them, this place has many people who are truly living.”

Hao Nhien was slightly surprised.

Tieu Lan continued:

“If someone can remain true to themselves while living among all these different people, would that not also be a form of cultivation?”

Hao Nhien remained silent for a while before smiling.

“Sometimes you really do understand things well.”

He turned back toward the crowd.

“It looks chaotic on the surface, but it still has the warmth of ordinary life. Perhaps that is also a kind of Tieu Dao.”

Hao Nhien understood very clearly that what he needed was not merely a peaceful place to cultivate.

He needed to enter the inner sect. He needed access to deeper cultivation arts, a more complete path of the sword, knowledge related to the Divine Soul, and the opportunities that could help him advance quickly over the next three years.

Three years from now was the Grand Clan Secret Realm.

Foundation Establishment was only the threshold for entering.

To truly compete, Golden Core was what gave someone a real chance.

The distance was still enormous.

For Tieu Lan, however, Tieu Dao Sect meant something different. It had Medicine Peak, Old Van, an environment suited to her talent, and a culture that did not force her to become someone she was not.

At least for now, neither of them had chosen wrongly.

Near noon, the square became so crowded that there was almost nowhere left to stand.

In the distance, disciples and applicants from other sects were also watching. Someone laughed.

“Tieu Dao Sect has recruited an entire fish market again.”

The person beside him answered:

“Let’s see how many are still around after three months.”

“Easy to enter does not mean easy to stay.”

Hao Nhien heard them but paid little attention. In fact, he thought the final sentence made a great deal of sense.

Easy to enter.

Easy to leave.

Perhaps this was part of the true nature of Tieu Dao Sect.

At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded across the entire square. No one could see where the speaker was, but every word reached everyone clearly.

“It is time to head up the mountain!”

The crowd became much quieter.

The voice continued in a remarkably casual tone:

“All those registered with Tieu Dao Sect, leave through the northern gate. About ten miles outside the city, you will find a sign. There are more signs along the way. If you get lost, that is your own problem. If you turn back, you will be considered to have given up your qualification. When you reach the destination, you will receive further instructions.”

There was a brief pause.

“The first examination: reach the mountain.”

Then the speaker added:

“Good luck.”

The voice vanished.

The entire square remained silent for one breath.

Then it exploded into motion.

Thousands of people surged toward the northern gate at once.

Hao Nhien was about to pull Tieu Lan aside when the voice suddenly returned.

“Ah, I forgot something.”

The crowd stopped almost as one.

“We need ten people to stay behind and clean the square. Ten mission contribution points each.”

Silence lasted exactly half a breath.

Then the area in front instantly turned into a battlefield.

“Ten points!”

“Me!”

“Stop pushing!”

“Brother, where exactly is your hand right now?”

“Sorry, someone behind me pushed!”

A young woman in blue was squeezed to the edge and shouted angrily:

“Do none of you know how to yield to a woman? I want those ten points too!”

In the end, ten muscular men successfully claimed the designated area. Their brand new outer sect robes had already been shoved so badly that even the collars sat crooked.

The voice sounded one final time.

“That is enough. Everyone else may depart.”

Hao Nhien finally could not hold back his laughter.

Tieu Lan’s eyes curved with amusement as well.

Hao Nhien pulled her away from the flow of people.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“For tea.”

Tieu Lan froze.

“We are not going up the mountain now?”

“Let them clear out first.” Hao Nhien pointed at the crowd squeezing through the city gate. “The examination is to reach the mountain, not to see who can force their way through the gate first. Going now would only waste energy.”

Tieu Lan immediately nodded.

“Then let’s drink tea.”

The two leisurely returned to Thanh Van Tea Pavilion.

Several people passing by saw them and immediately laughed.

“They heard they had to climb the mountain and went straight back for tea.”

“They gave up quickly.”

“Very Tieu Dao of them.”

Tieu Lan waited until they were farther away before saying:

“They misunderstood.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“Misunderstanding is also their freedom.”

Tieu Lan paused for a moment, then laughed with him.

After several rounds of tea, when the crowd in the square had thinned considerably, Hao Nhien and Tieu Lan finally left the pavilion.

They passed through the northern city gate.

The farther they traveled from Thanh Van City, the quieter the voices behind them became. The main road stretched into the distance, bordered by farmland, scattered homes, and several small streams glittering beneath the sunlight.

After about ten miles, they indeed found an old wooden sign beside the road. It carried only a few words, with an arrow pointing toward a narrower path that wound into the mountains and forests ahead.

Tieu Dao Mountain

Hao Nhien stood before the sign for a moment.

“The directions certainly have character.”

Tieu Lan tilted her head.

“At least we will not get lost.”

“I would not be so sure.”

The two turned onto the smaller path.

The scenery changed quickly from there. Houses gradually disappeared, the forest grew denser, and the road became rougher beneath their feet. Wind passed through the trees carrying the scent of damp earth, fallen leaves, and wildflowers. Birds occasionally called from high above, and the distant sound of running water could be heard through the forest.

At first, Tieu Lan was delighted.

She studied the flowers along the path and sometimes stopped to examine an unfamiliar herb or a tiny insect resting on a leaf. Hao Nhien did not rush her. The two walked while observing the surroundings, looking more like travelers enjoying the mountains than cultivators undergoing an entrance examination.

But when the sun began sinking toward the west, the road still showed no sign of ending.

Night fully arrived.

The surroundings became nothing but forest and mountains.

There was still no sign of Tieu Dao Sect.

If not for the occasional wooden sign planted along the road, many people might genuinely have wondered whether they had taken a wrong turn.

Groups had already begun stopping to make camp.

One group roasted meat over a fire, the smell traveling far enough to make passing cultivators turn their heads. Another group cooked porridge while complaining.

“I heard we still have several days before we reach the real foot of the mountain.”

One person collapsed onto the ground.

“The real foot of the mountain? Then where are we now?”

“On the road to the foot of the mountain.”

The man fell silent for a moment.

“I am beginning to hate Tieu Dao.”

Hao Nhien heard him and could not help smiling.

At that moment, an angry woman’s voice came from behind.

“I told you! At this rate we still have several more days! This is not a sect entrance examination. This is torture!”

Hao Nhien turned around.

Not far away, a young woman around eighteen stood beside the road. She was quite attractive, and her clothes were more elaborate than those worn by most people around her. A silver hairpin set with pearls still decorated her hair. But after a full day of walking, dust covered her dress, and the exhaustion on her face could no longer be concealed.

Beside her stood a young man around twenty, wearing a helpless expression.

“Minh Nhan, your father already told you there would be an entrance examination. We have only been walking for one day...”

“I know.”

The young woman named Minh Nhan cut him off.

“But I do not like this.”

The young man paused.

Minh Nhan stared at the dark road ahead.

“No one says how long we have to walk, and no one tells us what is waiting farther ahead. I chose Tieu Dao Sect because I heard it suited my temperament, but if I already dislike it from the very first step, why should I keep forcing myself?”

She crossed her arms.

“I am going back. At worst, I will ask my father to find a way for me to try Bich Van Palace or Thanh Van Sect. If you want to continue, then go. You do not need to follow me.”

This time, the young man did not immediately try to persuade her.

Their argument drew the attention of many people nearby.

Some agreed.

“I think she has a point. If it does not suit her, she can choose somewhere else.”

Others laughed.

“She turns back after a single day and still talks about cultivation?”

Another person immediately argued:

“At least she knows she does not like it. Better to turn back now than force herself all the way there and quit later.”

Opinions quickly split in several directions.

Hao Nhien listened from a distance but did not join the argument.

He did not believe everyone who turned back had a weak Dao heart.

Some people quit because they could not endure it.

Others quit because they realized this was not the path they wanted.

The two might look the same from the outside, but their nature was not necessarily the same.

Tieu Dao Sect did not seem interested in distinguishing between them either.

No one forced anyone to continue.

No one stopped anyone from returning.

Whether they went forward or turned back was their own choice.

But once the choice was made, they had to accept the consequences themselves.

Hao Nhien suddenly found this kind of examination rather interesting.

There was no need for formations.

No need for opponents.

All it required was a long road whose end no one had explained.

When there was no one standing beside you, urging you forward, it became much easier to reveal what you truly wanted.