ARK SPIRIT

The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight slipped through the window of the stone dwelling, Hao Nhien slowly opened his eyes.

He had spent almost the entire night in breathing cultivation.

Several mid grade spirit stones placed around his meditation cushion had dimmed noticeably. The remaining spiritual qi drifted around him like a thin mist before gradually dissolving into the air. After returning the previous evening, Hao Nhien had not gone straight to sleep. Instead, he entered the Cave Dwelling of the Cosmic Ark and regulated his breathing there, using the purer spiritual qi within to force the remaining black qi from the Black Cloud Leopard out of his meridians.

The result was better than he had expected.

The wound on his shoulder had already begun to close, and the remaining black qi caused only a faint numbness around the area whenever he exerted too much force. The tear on his left thigh still ached, but it no longer significantly interfered with the circulation of true qi.

Hao Nhien rose, rolled his shoulders, and stretched. A few crisp sounds came from his bones, and much of the heaviness that had accumulated from the previous day eased with them.

He walked to an open patch beside the medicinal garden inside the Cave Dwelling, circulated his true qi, and tested several punches.

The first was slow, the second faster. By the third, true qi was already flowing smoothly through the meridians of his arm and gathering in his fist, producing a deep rush of air as the punch cut forward.

Hao Nhien turned and followed with a kick.

Whoosh!

The thin layer of spiritual mist in front of him split apart, leaving a faint ripple in the air.

He lowered his leg and stood still for a while, feeling the condition of his body.

The past few days had not raised his cultivation realm, but his seventh layer Qi Condensation had stabilized considerably. His true qi flowed more smoothly, his meridians handled force better, and his body was gradually becoming accustomed to chaotic real combat where there was no arena, no time to rest, and no one outside guaranteeing his safety.

Hao Nhien lowered his gaze to his hand and laughed.

“I’m still missing a lot.”

He was not disappointed. If anything, what had happened yesterday had made his weaknesses much clearer, especially his ability to keep what he had worked to obtain.

He washed his face, changed into a clean set of outer sect robes, then stored the Cave Dwelling form of the Cosmic Ark away. The space around him rippled slightly. The medicinal garden and small stream disappeared, and the simple stone room returned.

Hao Nhien pushed open the door and stepped outside.

Morning sunlight fell across the mountainside. White clouds drifted below the distant valley, and the outer sect was just beginning to wake. Conversations, opening doors, footsteps, and even the occasional argument echoed from the rows of buildings below.

He had not gone far when a burst of commotion reached him from ahead.

Near the entrance to the male disciples’ area, a crowd had gathered. Some leaned against the stone railing, others pretended to be passing by while noticeably slowing their steps, and several were so enthusiastic that they were practically talking over one another.

At the center stood a familiar figure.

Tieu Lan.

She was no longer dressed in the same outer sect robes as Hao Nhien. Her outer garment still carried the pale blue tone of Tieu Dao Sect, but green embroidery now ran along the hem, together with the small alchemical furnace emblem of Medicine Peak. Her black hair was tied neatly with a pale pink ribbon, and she held a small cloth pouch in her arms.

Perhaps because she was a newly accepted disciple of Medicine Peak, combined with her naturally striking appearance, she had only been standing there for a short while before several male disciples surrounded her with questions.

One young man spoke eagerly.

“Junior Sister Tieu Lan, the male disciples’ area is rather confusing. If you’re looking for someone, just tell me. I’ve been here for three months, so I know every road.”

The person beside him immediately interrupted.

“Three months is nothing. I’ve been here eight months. If Junior Sister needs to find someone, I can definitely take you there faster.”

A third man sounded even more serious.

“Junior Sister, don’t listen to them. There are plenty of rough people around the male disciples’ quarters. It would be safer if I escorted you.”

Tieu Lan maintained a polite smile, though the corners of her mouth were already beginning to stiffen.

“Thank you, Senior Brothers. I’m only waiting for someone.”

“Who?”

“A family member.”

“A family member?”

Several of the male disciples became wary almost simultaneously.

At that moment, Hao Nhien arrived.

The instant Tieu Lan saw him, her eyes brightened.

“Hao Nhien!”

Everyone around her turned at once.

Their gazes landed on him with curiosity, appraisal, and even a few traces of faint hostility.

Hao Nhien cupped his hands and kept a courteous smile.

“My apologies, Senior Brothers. I have something I need to discuss privately with my younger sister. Sorry to trouble everyone.”

He naturally caught Tieu Lan by the sleeve and led her out of the crowd.

She followed immediately.

They had only gone a few steps before dissatisfied voices sounded behind them.

“Younger sister? What younger sister comes to the male disciples’ quarters first thing in the morning looking for her older brother?”

“Hao Nhien, right? I’ll remember that name.”

Another voice was even louder.

“Hao Nhien! I challenge you!”

Hao Nhien did not turn around.

Tieu Lan lowered her head, her shoulders trembling as she tried not to laugh.

The two followed a narrow path away from the stone buildings. As the noise behind them faded, a stretch of green forest appeared ahead, with a clear stream running alongside it. Morning light shimmered across the water, and a few wildflower petals drifted with the current, making the area feel far more peaceful than the noisy outer sect quarters.

They chose a flat rock beside the stream and sat down.

Tieu Lan finally exhaled.

“Young Master came at exactly the right time.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“You seem very popular.”

Her cheeks reddened.

“You’re still teasing me.”

“I’m not teasing you. Our Tieu Lan only had to show up at the male disciples’ quarters and people were already fighting to guide you, escort you, and challenge me along the way.”

She turned her face aside, though the corner of her mouth still curved upward.

“Then I won’t come to the male disciples’ area next time.”

“No need. We can just meet here from now on.”

Tieu Lan nodded.

Only when she turned and studied Hao Nhien more carefully did her expression change.

“Young Master, were you injured?”

Hao Nhien paused. He had changed into clean clothes and stabilized his aura, but apparently that was not enough to hide it from her.

Or rather, Tieu Lan simply knew his normal condition too well.

“It was nothing serious.”

She frowned.

“Nothing serious, yet your face is still slightly pale?”

Hao Nhien knew he would not get away without explaining, so this time he did not intend to conceal too much.

“I took a few missions in the forest. First, I hunted a first rank demonic boar. Later, I ran into a second rank Black Cloud Leopard.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on NovelPhoenix. Report any occurrences.

Tieu Lan immediately tightened her grip on the cloth pouch.

“You fought it?”

“For a while. Once I decided it wasn’t worth the risk, I ran.”

“That’s all?”

Tieu Lan silently stared at him.

Hao Nhien coughed.

“After that, I found some medicinal herbs, but five people stopped me on the way back.”

“Five?”

“The Five Tigers of the Yang family.”

Hao Nhien told her what had happened when his loot was taken, without deliberately minimizing too much this time. Only when he reached the part where he chose to hand over the pouch instead of risking a fight did his tone become calm again.

“There were five of them, and I was already injured. Fighting at that point wouldn’t have been courage. It would have been asking for trouble.”

Tieu Lan tightened her fingers around the medicine pouch.

“That was too much.”

“Mm. Very much.”

“Doesn’t Tieu Dao Sect care?”

“There are rules, but not everything can be controlled. They know where the limits are. They don’t kill anyone, they don’t cripple cultivation, and they choose places without witnesses. That makes them difficult to deal with.”

Tieu Lan remained silent for a while before asking:

“Are you planning to go after them immediately?”

“No.”

Hao Nhien answered without hesitation.

“At least not now.”

Tieu Lan visibly relaxed.

She opened the cloth pouch and took out several small medicine bottles, placing them on the rock.

“This is Hemostatic Powder. I only recently learned how to make it. It isn’t a true pill, but it works better on external wounds than ordinary medicinal powder. Take it with you.”

Hao Nhien picked up one bottle.

“You can already make this?”

“It’s only powder. It doesn’t count as alchemy yet.”

The moment medicinal arts came up, Tieu Lan became noticeably more animated.

“Medicine Peak is wonderful. Master gave me a small corner of the medicinal garden to care for. There are many low level spiritual herbs there for new disciples to practice with, and I’ve already read quite a lot from the Medicinal Materials Compendium.”

She pointed to the bottles in front of them.

“The most useful things for Young Master right now would be Hemostatic Powder, Qi Recovery Pills, and Minor Restoration Pills. Hemostatic Powder is applied externally to stop bleeding, Qi Recovery Pills replenish true qi, and Minor Restoration Pills can help treat minor internal injuries.”

Hao Nhien asked:

“Can you refine Qi Recovery Pills yet?”

Tieu Lan shook her head.

“Not yet. To become a true medicinal cultivator, I need the ability to control fire. Pills require an alchemical furnace, stable temperature, and precise adjustments to the flame as the medicinal properties change through each stage. I haven’t learned a fire control art yet, so right now I can only prepare medicinal powders and simple medicinal liquids.”

She thought for a moment before adding:

“Master said that once I understand medicinal properties better, he’ll begin teaching me basic fire control. But a good fire control art definitely won’t be easy to learn.”

Hao Nhien smiled bitterly.

“In Tieu Dao Sect, anything that looks useful is never cheap.”

Tieu Lan laughed as well, then became serious again.

“Young Master, I’ll prepare more medicine for wounds and some simple qi restoring liquids. They won’t be as effective as real pills, but they’re still better than nothing. Don’t risk your life just for contribution points.”

“I know. After this, I don’t intend to go back into the forest as poorly prepared as before.”

Tieu Lan hesitated.

“If you really need points, I could ask Master for a few medicinal herbs and give them to you to submit at the Mission Hall.”

Hao Nhien immediately shook his head.

“I’ll accept medicine you make yourself. And if I truly end up in danger, I won’t be too proud to accept your help.”

He paused before explaining more clearly:

“But medicinal herbs from Medicine Peak are resources belonging to your master and your lineage. Using them to earn points for me is different. That’s part of your opportunity, not something I should use to patch over my own lack of preparation.”

Tieu Lan lowered her gaze.

Hao Nhien continued:

“One hundred points for the examination token, two hundred for the Tieu Dao Encyclopedia. I can earn those three hundred points myself.”

He smiled.

“If I ever reach the point where I truly have no other choice, I’ll ask you. But I’m not there yet.”

Tieu Lan was quiet for a while before nodding.

“I understand.”

She pushed the medicine bottles toward him.

“Then you’re not allowed to refuse the medicine I make.”

“Of course not.”

“Why?”

“Because our Tieu Lan made it herself.”

Her face immediately reddened.

“You’re saying strange things again.”

Hao Nhien laughed, and the atmosphere beside the stream softened considerably.

After a while, Tieu Lan remembered something else.

“Master also mentioned the upcoming examination for outer sect disciples.”

Hao Nhien immediately became attentive.

“Has something changed?”

“Not exactly. The location simply hasn’t been decided yet. Apparently there are three places being considered, but the final location won’t be announced until one day before the examination.”

“One day?”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien frowned.

“Then it’s almost impossible to prepare specifically for the terrain.”

“That’s why Master said you should exchange for the Tieu Dao Encyclopedia before the examination. It contains a great deal of information about terrain, demonic beast regions, secret realms, restricted areas, and even the characteristics of the various Peaks.”

Tieu Lan sounded somewhat helpless.

“But it comes with a usage contract. The person who exchanges for it is the only one allowed to read it. Restricted sections cannot be copied or deliberately passed to others. When receiving the jade slip, the user must leave a spiritual awareness imprint. Violating the restriction means losing access and being heavily fined in contribution points.”

Hao Nhien fell silent after hearing that.

A moment later, he sighed.

“Tieu Dao Sect really knows how to run an economy.”

Tieu Lan covered her mouth and laughed.

“Master said the sect spends enormous resources searching for, modifying, and maintaining secret realms used to train disciples. Medicinal gardens need caretakers, formations consume spirit stones, demonic beast populations need to be controlled, and residences and cultivation areas all require maintenance. Without the contribution point system, the sect couldn’t support this many people.”

Hao Nhien considered that.

It did make sense. A major sect could not function on a few lofty words about freedom and wandering as one pleased.

Freedom also had a price.

And in Tieu Dao Sect, that price was not particularly cheap.

“All right.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“I’ll exchange for the Tieu Dao Encyclopedia before the examination.”

Tieu Lan smiled.

“I believe you can do it.”

They stayed beside the stream for a while longer.

Tieu Lan told him about her first days on Medicine Peak. Phong Van Tu appeared casual on the surface, but he was meticulous when teaching. The first thing he made her do was not refine pills or memorize formulas. Instead, he had her sit in the medicinal garden for two full hours and observe every plant.

Which ones lacked water, which had absorbed too much spiritual qi, which showed signs of being eaten by insects, and which needed to be moved somewhere else.

Tieu Lan quoted him:

“Master said that if you don’t even understand how a plant lives, you have no right to throw it into an alchemical furnace.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“That sounds exactly like him.”

Tieu Lan laughed too.

Near noon, she finally stood.

“I need to return to Medicine Peak. Master is checking my notes this afternoon.”

“I’ll walk with you for a while.”

They followed the narrow path toward the road leading up to Medicine Peak.

At the fork, Tieu Lan stopped.

“I’ll bring you more medicine in two days.”

“All right.”

“And during those two days, you’re not allowed to go looking for another second rank Black Cloud Leopard.”

“I know.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Tieu Lan still did not seem completely convinced.

She took several steps, then turned around again.

“Hao Nhien.”

“Mm?”

“The Five Tigers of the Yang family... don’t rush.”

Hao Nhien remained silent.

Tieu Lan continued:

“I know you’ll remember what happened. But until you’re sure, don’t let yourself get hurt again.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“Mm. I’ll remember.”

Only then did she finally leave.

Hao Nhien remained there for a while, waiting until her figure disappeared behind the bamboo forest before turning back.

That afternoon, he did not enter the forest.

Instead, he began exploring the outer sect.

The outer sect of Tieu Dao Sect truly resembled a small city built across the mountainside. Beyond the residential quarters were the Mission Hall, trading areas, fighting platforms, smithies, food stalls, talisman shops, and even several tea houses built from bamboo. Outer sect disciples moved constantly through the area in similar pale blue robes, yet each carried a completely different air.

Some walked while reading jade slips. Others stood beside the road selling demonic beast hides. One person sat beneath a tree playing a zither that no one seemed interested in hearing. Two disciples argued until their faces turned red over a first rank beast core, only to end up throwing their arms around each other’s shoulders and going off for tea together.

Hao Nhien walked through the area, listening far more than he spoke.

It did not take long for him to gather several useful pieces of information.

The first concerned contribution points.

Points stored on a disciple’s token could not be transferred directly to another person, but mission loot could be bought and sold. As a result, the outer sect had developed an unofficial market that was almost equivalent to purchasing contribution points.

The current rate fluctuated around ten mid grade spirit stones for one contribution point.

If someone needed points urgently, the price could rise even higher.

In other words, the two hundred points needed for the Tieu Dao Encyclopedia were roughly equivalent to two thousand mid grade spirit stones if someone wanted to buy enough qualifying mission loot from other disciples.

Hao Nhien stood in front of one stall and calculated silently for a while.

Two thousand mid grade spirit stones.

It was not an amount beyond what he could afford.

But if he used spirit stones to solve everything immediately after joining the outer sect, these three months would lose much of their meaning.

More importantly, Phong Van Tu had been right. The outer sect was not merely testing how wealthy he was or what cultivation realm he possessed. It was teaching him how to function within a system.

Hao Nhien did not rule out buying a portion of the points if the need arose.

For now, however, there was no reason to.

The second piece of information concerned the Five Tigers of the Yang family.

The five were not an obscure little group.

Their leader was Yang Hu, a ninth layer Qi Condensation cultivator. His older brother was an inner sect disciple of Earth Peak, while the other four members were either relatives or dependents of the Yang family, with cultivation ranging from the seventh to the eighth layer.

They operated mainly in the southern mission forests.

They did not rob people with clearly powerful backgrounds.

They did not kill fellow disciples.

They rarely beat anyone badly enough to cripple them.

Their favorite targets were new disciples traveling alone, especially those who were already injured but still carried valuable loot.

Many outer sect disciples had been robbed by them.

Some had complained.

But events that happened deep in the forest were difficult to prove. Yang Hu was also extremely careful about staying within certain limits and always left his victims a way out. As long as there were no serious injuries and no witnesses, the Steward Hall could usually do little more than issue warnings.

Hao Nhien’s expression cooled slightly when he heard that.

They knew their limits.

Which meant they had been doing this for a long time.

Phong Van Tu had told him that the outer sect had written rules and unwritten ones.

The Five Tigers of the Yang family existed precisely in the gap between the two.

Hao Nhien remembered Yang Hu’s name and the connection to Earth Peak, but did not dig deeper for now.

At least he knew he had not simply been stopped by five random new disciples.

The third piece of information amused him.

Quan Nha had already become fairly well known among the new disciples.

She was beautiful, strong, cold in temperament, and came from the Quan family. In only a few days, plenty of people had already tried to approach her, and most had been driven away without much patience.

Apparently, one person had even been foolish enough to tease her openly.

She drew her sword and chased him for quite a distance.

Hao Nhien touched his nose when he heard that.

That certainly sounded like Quan Nha.

She had appeared far less often over the past few days. Some people said she was completing missions outside the mountain, while others claimed she had already begun secluded cultivation in preparation for the coming months.

Hao Nhien had no idea which rumor was true.

He had no intention of finding her.

At least not yet.

By evening, after walking through nearly all the important areas of the outer sect, Hao Nhien finally returned to his stone dwelling.

He closed the door, set up a restriction, and sat at the table instead of immediately beginning breathing cultivation.

He took out a blank jade slip and placed it in front of him.

The information he had gathered throughout the day began to connect in his mind: the Five Tigers of the Yang family, Yang Hu’s older brother on Earth Peak, the way contribution points circulated, the market for mission loot, the price of the Tieu Dao Encyclopedia, the outer sect’s unwritten rules, and the examination waiting three months ahead.

Yesterday, Hao Nhien had thought he only needed to become stronger.

Today, he understood that strength alone was not enough.

If he wanted to establish himself here, he needed to know where he stood, who surrounded him, what he could use, what he should avoid, and when a battle was truly worth fighting.

He began recording the information into the jade slip.

A plan did not need to be perfect from the beginning.

But from tonight onward, he could no longer keep walking forward without knowing what lay ahead.