ARK SPIRIT

Phong Van Tu accepted the pot of Iron Lotus Flower from Tieu Lan, stroking his beard with a smile so broad that his eyes nearly disappeared into narrow slits.

He did not waste time on further pleasantries. After storing the plant inside his ring, Phong Van Tu searched through it for a moment and took out a translucent jade slip. Fine threads of light moved slowly within it like strands of silk.

“This is your greeting gift. Take it.”

Tieu Lan quickly accepted it with both hands.

“Use your spiritual awareness to connect with it. There is nothing to fear. It only contains recorded information.”

Tieu Lan followed his instructions. Within a few breaths, her eyes had already lit up.

“A Medicinal Materials Compendium...”

She nearly forgot there were other people around them.

“It records so many spiritual herbs, their medicinal properties, growing environments, harvesting times, storage methods... There are even plants here that I have never seen in the Hundred Herbs Record.”

Her delight only made Phong Van Tu more pleased.

Tieu Lan held the jade slip against her chest for a moment, then seemed to remember something. She immediately knelt before him and kowtowed three times with complete seriousness.

“Disciple Tieu Lan greets Master.”

Many people in the courtyard turned toward them at once. Some were surprised, others openly envious, and quite a few could not hide their jealousy.

A new disciple had only arrived at Tieu Dao Mountain that very day, yet an elder of Medicine Peak had already personally accepted her as a disciple. That alone was enough to place her on a path completely different from most of the people standing in the courtyard.

Phong Van Tu laughed heartily.

“Get up. Medicine Peak does not care much for excessive ceremony. From now on, take good care of your plants, study medicine properly, and do not give others a reason to say that I chose the wrong disciple.”

Tieu Lan rose, her expression far more serious than usual.

“This disciple will do her best.”

Hao Nhien cupped his hands.

“Thank you, Old Van, for taking care of Tieu Lan. With Senior guiding her, I can be much more at ease.”

Phong Van Tu glanced at him.

“You can be at ease about her. You should worry about yourself first.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

Phong Van Tu studied him from head to toe before saying:

“Medicine Peak does not suit you. Sword Peak might, and Earth Peak may not be a bad fit either. As for the other Peaks, you can learn about them yourself later. Three months in the outer sect is not long, but if you pay attention, it is enough time to understand where you should go.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“I also want to begin in the outer sect.”

“Then all the better.”

Phong Van Tu gestured toward the new disciples gathered around the courtyard.

“The outer sect of Tieu Dao is no different from a miniature cultivation society. Every kind of person exists here, and every kind of situation happens. Some people have higher cultivation than you. Some have clans behind them. Some have older brothers or sisters in the inner sect. Others are not particularly strong themselves, but they are very good at forming groups and gathering people around them.”

His tone was casual, but Hao Nhien listened carefully.

“Let small things pass when you can. If something truly cannot be tolerated, then there is no need to force yourself to endure it either. But do not assume that just because you have won a few fights, there is no one in the outer sect who can make you suffer.”

Phong Van Tu smiled.

“Sometimes confronting something head on costs you more than it is worth. Sometimes handling it indirectly wastes too much time. During these three months, learn for yourself when to be Tieu Dao, and when to pretend that you are not.”

Hao Nhien cupped his hands again.

“This junior will remember.”

Phong Van Tu called over a nearby Medicine Peak disciple.

“If there is still a quiet room available halfway up the mountain in the outer sect area, arrange one for this brat.”

The disciple immediately acknowledged the order.

Hao Nhien, however, was somewhat surprised.

“Old Van, there is no need to make special arrangements for me. I can stay in the ordinary outer sect quarters.”

Phong Van Tu laughed.

“Do you really think everyone in the outer sect is treated exactly the same?”

Hao Nhien paused.

Phong Van Tu clasped his hands behind his back.

“Written rules are one thing. Unwritten rules are another. Some people have masters. Some have clans. Some have earned merit. Some have caught an elder’s attention. Resources, housing, opportunities, connections, luck... they have never been equal.”

He spoke so directly that Hao Nhien found himself with nothing to argue against.

“Tieu Dao Sect does not pretend such things do not exist. On the contrary, we allow them to exist a little more openly. If you have an advantage, learn how to use it. If you do not, find a way to earn one yourself. Just do not break the major rules of the sect.”

Phong Van Tu gave him another glance.

“You happen to know me, so I am giving you a better room. You should get used to something this simple. There will be far more unfair things later.”

Hao Nhien remained silent for several breaths before laughing.

“I understand.”

“Good.”

Phong Van Tu continued:

“As for the inner sect examination, you must first spend a full three months in the outer sect and accumulate at least one hundred contribution points. One hundred points only gives you the right to obtain an examination token. It does not guarantee that you will be selected.”

“There is an examination three months from now?”

“Yes. The timing is just right for your group.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

Phong Van Tu then gestured toward Tieu Lan.

“She has acknowledged me as her master, so from today onward she will follow me to Medicine Peak. She does not need to go through the normal outer sect path.”

Tieu Lan tightened her hold on the jade slip.

Hao Nhien was not surprised.

Old Van had already said as much back in Thanh Van City.

Phong Van Tu looked between the two of them and waved a hand.

“If there is anything you need to say, say it quickly. One of you is coming with me to Medicine Peak, and the other is about to start earning contribution points. Do not stand here clinging to each other until nightfall.”

Tieu Lan’s cheeks reddened.

Hao Nhien could only laugh.

The two returned to Hao Nhien’s old room to pack a few things.

As soon as the door closed, Tieu Lan let out a long breath and hugged the jade slip to her chest.

“Young Master, I have a master now.”

When they were alone, she naturally returned to her usual form of address.

Hao Nhien laughed.

“Mm. Our Tieu Lan is really impressive.”

Her cheeks turned pink, but she could not hide her happiness.

Hao Nhien took out the portion of Iron Lotus Flower seeds he had set aside for her.

“Take these with you to Medicine Peak. The conditions there should be better suited to this plant than my Cave Dwelling. I’ll keep a few seeds myself and try a different method.”

“Yes.”

He then took out a pouch of mid grade spirit stones.

“Take these too.”

Tieu Lan did not accept them immediately.

“Young Master needs them as well.”

“I still have enough.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Hao Nhien laughed when he saw the doubt on her face.

“Do not look at me like that. I am not so poor that I need to let the newest disciple of Medicine Peak in my family run short of spirit stones.”

Only then did Tieu Lan accept the pouch.

“Then I will study hard. Once I learn how to make better medicinal liquids, I will earn spirit stones and support Young Master instead.”

“Good. I’ll wait for that.”

After joking for a moment, Hao Nhien became more serious.

“Once you reach Medicine Peak, listen to Old Van. If there is something you do not understand, ask him. If someone gives you trouble, there is no need to endure it without reason.”

Tieu Lan nodded.

“I know. Young Master also needs to be careful. With so many people in the outer sect, it probably will not stay peaceful.”

“Mm.”

“Do not get hurt.”

“I’ll try.”

Tieu Lan immediately corrected him.

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“Not try. Remember.”

Hao Nhien fell silent for a moment before nodding.

“All right. I’ll remember.”

Not long afterward, a Medicine Peak disciple came to inform them that Phong Van Tu was preparing to return. Hao Nhien’s new residence had also been arranged.

When the time truly came to separate, Tieu Lan became quieter than usual.

They were only going to two different places within the same sect. It was hardly a separation of life and death.

Even so, from Thanh Van Town until now, the two of them had spent nearly every day together.

Tieu Lan stood in the white pebble courtyard holding her small bag.

Hao Nhien walked over.

“Go. Medicine Peak is waiting for you.”

“Yes.”

She took several steps before turning around.

“Young Master...”

The moment the words left her mouth, she remembered that others were nearby, and her face immediately reddened.

Phong Van Tu stood not far away and pretended not to hear.

Hao Nhien smiled.

“What is it?”

Tieu Lan hesitated briefly.

“I will study hard.”

“I know.”

“You should too.”

“Mm.”

Only then did she turn away and follow Phong Van Tu and the Medicine Peak disciples.

Hao Nhien remained where he was.

Tieu Lan turned back several times. Even when her figure was about to disappear into the mountain mist, she still glanced back one final time.

Phong Van Tu seemed to say something to her.

Hao Nhien could not hear it.

He only saw Tieu Lan pause, nod, and then continue forward with steadier steps.

Hao Nhien smiled.

She had begun walking her own path.

It was time for him to begin his as well.

Hao Nhien’s new residence was located halfway up the mountain, some distance above the crowded rows of wooden houses below.

It was a clean stone dwelling with a small courtyard in front and a moss covered cliff behind it. From the window, he could see a valley buried beneath drifting clouds, and the spiritual qi was noticeably richer than it had been near the foot of the mountain.

Hao Nhien stood outside the door for a moment.

Phong Van Tu had certainly not been exaggerating.

This so called “quiet room” was considerably better than his previous quarters.

The disciple who guided him there handed over the room token and several thin booklets introducing the outer sect, then departed.

The room fell silent.

There was no sound of Tieu Lan preparing tea, no one asking whether he needed more medicine, and no familiar figure sitting by the table recording information about medicinal herbs.

Hao Nhien stood beside the window. Medicine Peak could only be seen faintly through the distant clouds.

Three months.

Tieu Lan would begin walking her path of medicine.

As for him, he needed to understand the outer sect, earn enough contribution points, and obtain the right to take the inner sect examination.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the embryonic cycle inside his Divine Soul continued circulating slowly, weak but stable.

Hao Nhien turned away from the window.

“Then let’s begin.”

Three days later, deep on a southern slope of Tieu Dao Mountain, towering ancient trees covered nearly half the sky.

A chase was unfolding through the forest.

Boom!

A massive body tore through a thicket, snapping branches and scattering leaves on both sides. Dirt and stones flew beneath its four legs as deep hoofprints appeared one after another in the damp ground.

It was a first rank demonic boar.

Several times larger than an ordinary wild boar, it was more than a zhang long. Its black fur was as hard as iron spikes, standing upright along its back. Its eyes were bloodshot with pain and fury, and every breath carried hot air mixed with the metallic scent of blood.

The beast was fleeing.

A figure followed close behind.

Hao Nhien’s pale blue outer sect robes were torn in several places, the sleeves stained with mud and dried blood. His build was compact and powerful, and every step was fast and stable. Rather than recklessly rushing forward, he kept applying pressure, forcing the boar toward the direction he wanted.

The beast roared and crashed through a patch of low vegetation.

Not far ahead, a dark cave opened beneath a rocky cliff.

Hao Nhien immediately understood what it intended to do.

It wanted to return to its den.

If it reached the confined terrain inside, its massive body and thick hide would become far more troublesome to deal with.

Hao Nhien accelerated. True qi surged from his dantian into the meridians of his legs, giving him another burst of speed.

Sensing the danger behind it, the boar suddenly drove all four legs into the ground and leapt over a rocky pit directly in front of the cave.

As long as it remained on solid ground, its raw strength and ability to change direction made it difficult to handle.

But jumping was a mistake.

Its body was too heavy, there was no ground beneath it to disperse force, and it could no longer curl in to protect its back. For the brief moment it hung in the air, its entire spine became a clear target.

Hao Nhien seized the opening.

He pushed through several more steps, driving true qi into his legs until his speed surged at the final instant. Just as the boar cleared half the width of the pit, Hao Nhien stamped hard against the ground and launched himself after it.

The remaining distance vanished almost immediately.

The boar was still suspended in the air, its heavy body carried forward entirely by momentum. Hao Nhien caught up from behind and rose more than half a body above its back, close enough that it almost felt as though he could simply lower his feet and land directly on the beast.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the embryonic cycle inside his Divine Soul completed another rotation. His awareness became clearer, allowing the distance, falling angle, and movement of the boar to arrange themselves sharply in his mind.

He only needed another half beat.

Hao Nhien drew his legs in while airborne, rotated his hips, and pulled his right shoulder back. Power gathered through his waist, back, and arm into his clenched fist.

The instant his body came directly above the boar’s back, his right fist descended.

Boom!

The punch slammed into the section of spine stretched taut by the leap.

Crack!

The dry sound of breaking bone echoed through the forest.

The boar’s massive body immediately lost balance. The momentum that had been carrying it toward the cave now dragged its entire body forward and downward. It crashed into the ground like a huge boulder, sending mud and dead leaves flying in every direction.

Hao Nhien used the recoil to twist in midair and landed several steps away.

The ground trembled beneath the impact.

The boar shrieked and tried to rise, but the rear half of its body had nearly lost all strength. Its front legs clawed deep into the earth, dragging out long furrows without managing to lift it back to its feet.

A sharp pain ran through Hao Nhien’s left leg.

A cut nearly half a handspan long marked his thigh. Earlier during the chase, a thorny branch as hard as an iron hook had torn into him. The wound was not fatal, but it was deep enough for blood to soak through his clothes.

Hao Nhien took a bottle of medicinal powder from his storage pouch, spread it across the wound, and bound it with a clean strip of cloth.

Only then did he approach the beast.

The boar was still breathing. The ferocity in its blood red eyes had not completely disappeared, but fear had already mixed into it.

Hao Nhien drew a short sword.

One clean strike ended it.

He then opened the beast’s skull and removed a core about the size of his thumb.

Pale blue light reflected across his palm.

Hao Nhien wiped away the blood and stored the beast core in his storage pouch.

“Ten points.”

For those ten points alone, he had chased this boar for nearly two hours.

Hao Nhien sat down on a nearby rock and regulated his breathing.

The hunt had not been especially dangerous, but it had taken more effort than expected.

A first rank demonic boar possessed no special techniques, nor was it as fast as feline beasts or predatory birds. It was considered one of the easier creatures to deal with in the low level mission zones.

But “easy” was relative. Once cornered, the impact of that heavy body was still enough to break the bones of a mid stage Qi Condensation cultivator.

Hao Nhien had landed no fewer than ten solid blows.

Most of the force had been absorbed by coarse fur, thick hide, and layers of fat.

If the beast had not leapt on its own and exposed the weakest moment of its spine, the hunt would have dragged on even longer.

Hao Nhien lowered his gaze to his hands. His knuckles were already red.

“My fists still aren’t sharp enough.”

If he had used the Tieu Dao Sword from the beginning, the fight would probably have ended much sooner. But he had never taken this mission merely for the beast core.

The ten contribution points were only part of the reason. More importantly, low level hunting missions gave him a relatively controlled environment in which to continue tempering his body, refining his fist art, and learning how to react in real combat.

Three months in the outer sect was not long, and Hao Nhien had no intention of simply waiting for the examination.

It had all begun three days earlier, when he first entered the outer sect Mission Hall.

The place was far busier than he had imagined.

A three story stone building stood on the eastern mountainside, with a large wooden plaque hanging above the entrance:

Sect Mission Hall

Inside, jade slips and wooden mission tablets covered the walls, divided by difficulty, location, reward, and level of danger.

Outer sect disciples constantly moved in and out. Some were delighted because they had managed to claim an easy mission, while others grumbled because the better tasks had already been taken. There were even people crouching beneath the staircase calculating how many days they would need to clean spirit beast pens before earning enough contribution points for a bottle of pills.

Hao Nhien had spent less than an hour there before understanding one thing.

Tieu Dao Sect truly knew how to build an economy.

If you wanted resources, you completed missions. If you wanted access to cultivation arts, you paid contribution points. Pills, artifacts, better cultivation areas, guidance from elders, and countless other things all required the same currency.

Even the Tieu Dao Encyclopedia, a fairly comprehensive reference containing information about the sect’s structure, the various Peaks, detailed maps, demonic beast territories, commonly encountered spiritual herbs, mission experience, and many other things extremely useful to new disciples, cost two hundred contribution points.

Hao Nhien had stood in front of that price for quite some time.

Two hundred points for a single book.

He finally understood why offering only ten contribution points for cleaning the square on entrance day had nearly caused the entire crowd to fight over the opportunity.

The examination token itself required only one hundred points. Of course, a disciple also had to spend a full three months in the outer sect before being eligible to exchange for it. Contribution points were only half the requirement.

That only made the price of two hundred points for a single reference book even more revealing.

Tieu Dao Sect knew exactly how to create demand.

Good information was also a resource, and if you wanted it, you had to earn it yourself.

The Foundation Establishment Pill silenced him even longer.

A single pill could significantly improve one’s chances of successfully reaching Foundation Establishment.

Its price was ten thousand contribution points.

Ten thousand.

If he relied entirely on first rank demonic boars and earned ten points per beast core, he would need to kill one thousand of them.

Hao Nhien had briefly imagined himself spending several years of his youth running around Tieu Dao Mountain chasing a thousand wild boars.

The thought alone was exhausting.

Only then did he realize that his comment back at Thanh Van Tea Pavilion about cheap labor had still been somewhat naive.

Cheap labor was merely the first layer.

Tieu Dao Sect had built an entire system that encouraged people to work voluntarily for the things they wanted.

Yet after thinking about it carefully, Hao Nhien did not find the arrangement particularly objectionable.

The sect provided inheritance, resources, territory, and protection. Disciples contributed effort in exchange for what they needed. At the very least, the rules were laid out clearly.

As for the fact that some people had connections, powerful clans, masters, or better opportunities than others, Phong Van Tu had already warned him about that.

Tieu Dao Sect did not pretend everyone started from the same place.

And considering the room halfway up the mountain that Hao Nhien himself had received through Old Van, he had even less reason to act morally superior about it.

After weighing his options, Hao Nhien accepted three missions.

A complete core from a first rank demonic beast was worth ten points. A complete core from a second rank demonic beast was worth thirty. Gathering the required amount of a low level medicinal herb would earn another ten.

Completing all three would give him fifty points.

That was still only half the contribution requirement for an examination token.

But Hao Nhien was in no hurry. He had only been in the outer sect for three days.

He did not yet fully understand the terrain, the distribution of demonic beasts, the factions among outer sect disciples, the unwritten rules, or which regions were genuinely dangerous.

Taking missions beyond his understanding would not be courage.

It would simply be asking for trouble.

First, stay safe.

Then understand the system.

After that, increase the pace.

Hao Nhien regulated his breathing for a little longer before standing.

The injury on his leg had stabilized.

A first rank beast core now rested in his storage pouch.

His first ten points could be considered secured.

During the first two days, Hao Nhien had spent most of his time learning how to be a hunter.

He learned to identify hoofprints in damp soil, distinguish fresh beast droppings from old ones, read rubbing marks left on tree trunks, and tell whether a thorn bush had been broken by a charging beast or cut apart by a passing cultivator. Even wind direction mattered. If his scent drifted ahead of him, the prey might detect him long before he ever found it.

None of these things sounded impressive, and they hardly resembled the cultivation techniques people imagined when speaking about immortality. Yet in practice, they were more useful than the few lines written on a mission tablet.

A cultivator who understood nothing about the wilderness and casually entered demonic beast territory was little different from a blind man carrying a sword through a place where everything around him might bite.

Hao Nhien had trained beneath waterfalls, fought inside the Quan Family Inner Secret Realm, and faced opponents such as Quan Huyen. Only after entering the deep forest alone to hunt demonic beasts did he realize that this was an entirely different form of combat.

There was no arena defining the battlefield and no opponent standing in front of him, waiting for both sides to exchange moves. There were also no secret realm rules quietly ensuring that defeat merely meant being expelled outside.

The longer he remained in the forest, the more clearly Hao Nhien understood one principle.

A fight began long before the first punch was thrown.

He exhaled, stood, and flexed his hand.

“At this pace, it’s a little too slow.”

He glanced once more at his reddened knuckles.

“I should probably use the sword.”

One experiment like this was enough.

He wanted to temper his body and continue understanding his fist art under genuine pressure, but that did not mean deliberately choosing the least efficient method in every situation. Knowing when to use his fists and when to draw his sword was also part of learning real combat.

Hao Nhien brushed the dirt from his clothes and checked the wound on his thigh.

The blood had stopped soaking through the bandage. The medicinal powder Tieu Lan prepared before they separated had worked even better than he expected. An ordinary powder sold through the Mission Hall would probably have stopped the bleeding as well, but the pain would not have faded this quickly.

The thought of Tieu Lan softened his expression.

He wondered how her first few days on Medicine Peak were going.

With Phong Van Tu personally teaching her, she was probably enjoying herself immensely. Knowing Tieu Lan, she might still be holding that Medicinal Materials Compendium right now, reading and taking notes, brightening every time she discovered a spiritual herb she had never seen before.

Hao Nhien imagined the scene and laughed.

“I can’t let her get too far ahead.”

He took out the mission map and checked their surroundings.

His current position was not far from an area where the medicinal herb required by his third mission could be found. If he continued southeast along the mountainside, he could search for the herbs while becoming more familiar with the terrain and observing the traces of other demonic beasts.

Hao Nhien drew the Tieu Dao Sword and continued deeper into the forest.

There was still the medicinal herb mission ahead.

As for a second rank demonic beast, there was no need to rush out and find one.

If three months in the outer sect truly resembled a miniature cultivation society, as Phong Van Tu had said, then Hao Nhien still had far too much to learn before thinking about how quickly he could run through it.

For now, he would earn his points one by one.

More importantly, he would stay alive long enough to bring them back.