Data-Driven Daoist

The boat ride to the Heavenly Friendship Palace was a slow fair. Yu Han whispered the gist of what he’d learned about the core clans, halls, palaces, and inner court disciples to Niu’er. The girl nodded, occasionally offering her own opinion. They sat close. Her scent tickled his nose---a distraction Yu Han was way too conscious of, though Niu’er remained oblivious.

Her mind was on their destination. It was her trial, after all. Success or failure, would she be able to make full use of her imperial grade bloodline art? Would she remain mediocre in her own mind?

The gentle wind blew, ruffling his hair. He had led them grow out a bit, but they didn’t reach his eyes.

Yu Han touched the river water, his fingers parting the flow into rippling waves. The last time they went to the Heavenly Friendship palace, Fei Rui had led the way.

This time, the crab had stayed behind at the yard to prepare for his tribulation.

Yu Han wasn’t worried. Doubts existed, naturally, but dwelling on them served no purpose. The crab had been stuck at his level for who knew how long. A breakthrough was long overdue, now that he had his memories.

Fei Rui was confident. Yu Han would cheer him on.

There were other passengers on the boat. The boatman pushed against the riverbed with a bamboo pole. It wasn’t deep.

They left the centrum and, after meandering through river valleys, reached the island-mountain where the Heavenly Friendship Palace was located.

Halls had proper branches in the centrum. Palaces did not. Was it another demarcation? While palaces maintained stalls and shops in the marketplace to conduct trade and offer services, it was nowhere near the scale of the halls.

Halls were above Palaces. Clans were above the commoners. Was that the message? Probably not. Palaces weren’t dominated by commoners. Most of the members were made out of nobles from outside the sunken mountains.

Commoners dominated the settlements. The towns and villages under the jurisdiction of Great Barrier City. A city ruled by a grand consortium of courtyards and pavilions, the halls, the palaces, and the muddy waters of politics.

The boat bumped against the pier. The boatman got off first, tying the vessel to a piling with a thick rope.

Huang Niuniu gripped the gunwale and hopped the gap. Yu Han followed. The hull tilted under his weight, only righting itself once he stepped onto the wood.

His weight loss progress might have stalled recently.

This was not the same pier as last time. It was just as ancient, with a stone foundation covered in aging moss. Poles lined the walkway, bearing the flag of the Heavenly Friendship Palace.

Stairs were etched into the mountainside, leading up. Shrines depicting a goat and a horse flanked the ascent.

The other set of stairs had a dragon and a phoenix.

The pagoda in the ritual hall had wooden statues of twelve beasts on its tiled eaves. There was a dragon and a bird that could’ve been a phoenix.

There was a goat and a horse too. And a worm, monkey, and crane.

Gorge-Crawling Earthworms. Dawn Mist Cranes. Blizzard-Eyed Aquatic Monkeys. Three spirit beast tribes that had a major presence in the sect. Their statues had been on the first of three layers of the pagoda. The fourth animal on that layer had been a fish. Does the sect have some kind of fish tribe too?

The snake, dragon, phoenix, and wolf occupied the second layer; the bull, ram, goat, and horse, the third. It made sense for dragons to be above worms, but for a goat to be on the highest strata?

What were the chances the sect had tribes of all twelve types of spirit beasts? If Feral Spot’s ancestor was the god of underground spaces, did the other spirit beasts have divine figures too?

Did the second and third layers signify something else?

A group of disciples made their way down the stairs. There were nearly twenty of them, though only three had accompanying spirit beasts.

An inner sect disciple with a bird perched on his shoulders led the entourage. A type of vulture perhaps? It had gold and silver feathers and wore expensive jewellery.

The inner disciple walked with the confidence of a king. His long hair was bound with a jade clasp. A sword in a black scabbard hung from his waist. Sharp cheekbones and a narrow jaw give him an austere look, accentuated by thin eyebrows that angle downward slightly. What stood out were his eyes. They were a brown so pale they appeared gold.

Two girls followed him; one had a round face with a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. She cupped a rainbow-coloured frog on her cupped palms with a fond, curious look.

The other girl had a large forehead and a wide mouth that curved downwards at the corners, as if she was perpetually displeased. Her spirit beast resembled an armoured cobra. The snake was lazing across her shoulders.

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Is that a common fashion choice of snake-accorders? Snakes being used as accessories were a common scene in the sect.

The group was boisterous. Flattery abounded, their target the three disciples in the lead.

“Is that Senior Brother Geng?” A passenger who had just gotten off whispered.

“It is! Then those two must be the two mystical talents from the archipelago!” His companion said.

Mystical talents? Yu Han had heard of them. Mystical talent meant royal grade qi affinity. There were five this intake among the external seeds. It was a record high. Only one had come from the lower bounds, from the other prefectural kingdom the sect had dominion over. What was it called again?

Right. The Storm Canyon Prefectural Kingdom. It was controlled by the Storm Canyon Qu Clan.

Among the internal recruits, there were seven mystical talents. Who among the twelve would come out on top during the rookie tournament was a popular topic all over the sect. There were ongoing bets, with the pool expanding every passing day.

My money’s on Fang Zhao. Niu’er has an imperial grade bloodline art. That’s one higher than royal too.

Yu Han passed the boatman enough ghoul cores to cover the trip.

Voices from the group reached Yu Han as they neared.

“Not everyone can accord with profoundly talented spirit beasts after less than half a year of initiation,” Senior Geng said. Though he praised, he spoke as if merely stating facts. The vulture on his shoulder raised its wings, striking a strange pose and holding it. Its beady eyes settled on the passengers, then Yu Han. It cawed. “Hush, Treasure Wing. You’ll scare the little ones.”

The frog was definitely scared. It jumped up from the girl’s palm and fell between the gap of her chest and clothes.

“A-Ah! Little Prism! You’re so slimy. Stop wriggling around my breas---”

“Sister Ran,” the other girl with the armoured cobra shushed her. “You’re being indecent.”

“Little Prism is the indecent one,” The girl called Sister Ran complained. “Wei Ning is so lucky. General Biyu is well behaved. He doesn’t get scared easily. Why can’t Little Prism be like him!”

“Spirit beasts aren’t wares in the marketplace,” Wei Ning said. “They’ll soon be our equal fellows. Treat them with respect, not as objects.”

“But---but,” Mo Ran whined. “What about that girl? What’s her name? The commoner who accorded with the four divine beasts! Didn’t she find the tiger in the marketplace?”

“What divine beasts?” Wei Ning said. “They’re a lynx, a swallow, a tortoise---not even a turtle---and a snake who’s weaker than Biyu. She didn’t buy the lynx spirit beast in the marketplace but found it rummaging through trash.”

“But she looks so cool---”

“Your Little Prism can take them all on and win,” Wei Ning said. “Have pride.”

“Junior Sister Wei is correct,” Senior Geng said. “While according such a number of spirit beasts is an impressive feat, a testament to her high adaptability, she might leave no room for a lifebound artefact nor any other necessary accords. It will hamper her growth in the long run, though a commoner needs to claw their way up however they can. They don’t have many options.”

“Like the Sect Master---”

Wei Ning covered Mo Ran’s mouth. “Some things you don’t utter.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Mo Ran blushed and averted her eyes. Her gaze landed on Treasure Wing. The vulture had long zeroed in on Yu Han.

Mo Ran followed the bird’s stare.

“Oh. So chonky,” she said. It was a subconscious whisper. Her expression of shock and amazement was so pure that Yu Han wasn’t even mad---

As if! This bitch with no brains---

“Han’er, you said that out loud.” Huang Niuniu slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Sister Mo!” Wei Ning gasped. Their entourage glared. Senior Geng sent Yu Han a disapproving look but didn’t comment.

“W-What did I do?” Mo Ran stuttered.

“You might be right, but an insult is not permissible, especially towards a fellow sect mate.” Wei Ning pulled her ear.

“Ouch!”

“Apologise!” Wei Ning commanded.

“She merely had a slip of the tongue,” Senior Geng intervened. “It is no matter. I’m sure this Junior Brother did not take it to heart. Right?”

It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“That’s right, Sister Mo,” one disciple in the entourage said. “I’m sure this fat Junior Brother is glad you even deigned to comment on him.”

“Perhaps he’ll take this chance to care for his health and not indulge in gluttony. It is no issue---especially since you, a noble, have given him pointers.” Another followed.

More comments in support were voiced. Some were neutral, while others did not hide their disdain.

Yu Han clasped his fists.

“Senior Geng is right,” he said. “This one is most apologetic too, for my own slip of the tongue.”

“W-What did he say?” Mo Ran asked. “I didn’t hear---”

Wei Ning dragged her away. The passengers shuffled aside as the party walked past, casting glares and muttering snide remarks.

Did I just offend twenty people at once? What’s done was done. Yu Han would remember this Mo Ran girl. And the faces of all the twinks who called him fat.

“What did he say?” Mo Ran asked again. Her eyes darted from Yu Han to Wei Ning and back.

“Stop dwelling on unimportant matters.” Wei Ning sounded done with her antics.

Senior Geng stood at the forefront. He waved a hand, and a pristine boat materialised on the water. It was a sleek vessel that screamed opulence, large enough to carry their whole group comfortably. It had polished teak railings and silk cushions arranged along the deck. Golden trim ran along its edges, and the cabin bore intricate carvings of dragons and clouds.

“H-He must have a storage artefact,” a passenger said. “And a large one at that.”

“Of course he does,” another passenger tutted. “He’s consistently in the top ten rankings of the inner sect. Some say he might be the next core disciple! This brother here.” He patted Yu Han’s shoulder. “No one gets into trouble by being silent. In the future, might be a better idea to keep your mouth closed? Life isn’t gonna be easy if you offend powerful people. A word from him can make or break us, you know?”

“Thanks for the advice,” Yu Han said. He didn’t feel thankful.

“As long as you know,” the passenger replied, though he seemed sceptical.

Whatever the case, Yu Han thanked him again. Unsolicited the advice might have been, it was coming from a place of care.

They ascended the stairs at varying paces. Yu Han and Huang Niuniu stuck together, of course.

“When I break through the trial, I’ll show them,” she said, as if defending him.

“Show them what?”

“Lasers!”

“How will they see?”

“With their eyes of course, dummy. It will be the last thing they see.”

“I don’t think blinding them forever is a good idea.”

“But you get so mad when people make fun of your weight.”

“I. Do. Not! Didn’t you get just as mad when Wei Ning called us unimportant matters?”

“I so didn’t!”

The towering structure of the palace loomed ahead. As they neared, they saw more disciples, most accompanied by spirit beasts. There was an excitement in the air. Even the beasts looked perked up.

“Is something happening?” Yu Han asked a passing disciple.

“Haven’t you heard?” the disciple said. “From next month onwards, the Sect Master has ordered all spirit beasts be given disciple status. They’ll be proper parts of the sect, with or without accords!”

That was... radical, to say the least.

“We can make the courtyard without Fang Zhao!” Huang Niuniu hammered her palm with a large smile, fully displaying her snaggletooth.

Yu Han lightly smacked the back of her head.