The end of one journey marks the beginning of another. Like a river flowing to the sea, we must embrace both the satisfaction of completion and the anticipation of new horizons. This is the eternal cycle.
—Sage Master Tang Xue, Mistress of the Eternal Frost
Lantern light painted Aeris in warm hues, casting long shadows across cobblestone streets. The festive atmosphere persisted despite the dramatic events of the recruitment trials. Master Qingfeng's stern voice drifted from where he conversed with the Skyward elders, their forms silhouetted against the illuminated pavilion steps.
Xiulan watched the other accepted disciples march up toward their initiation ceremony. Her friends weren't with them.
Across the square, Ren Chun gestured animatedly while speaking with Feng Yu, their profiles sharp against the lantern glow.
She hoped that this wouldn't cause them problems.
"No!" Mei Chen's cry pulled Xiulan's attention back. Tears streaked down Mei Chen's pale cheeks. "I want to come with you!"
"You've already joined Skyward Institute." Xiulan offered a weak smile, her split lip still stinging.
Mei Chen squeezed her fists tight enough to whiten her knuckles. "But that man tried to murder you!"
"It will be okay." Xiulan patted Mei Chen's back, careful not to aggravate her ribs. "Master Qingfeng and the other elders declared there won't be any ramifications. No one will harm you or the others because of your association with me. Elder Fou will be watched closely and won't be part of your training."
Mei Chen shook her head frantically, more tears spilling. "That's not the point! We'll be apart for years!"
"We won't be that far apart." Xiulan smiled through the pain. "We can still see each other some days. We will make plans to meet since we'll all be in Aeris, after all."
"I'm not sure I can handle this..." Mei Chen's shoulders slumped, her spiritual energy flickering erratically with distress.
Feng Yu appeared, placing a gentle hand on Mei Chen's trembling back. "Don't worry. I'll be there with you."
Xiulan caught Feng Yu's amber eyes in the lantern light. "I'm counting on you to protect Mei."
"I don't want protection!" Mei Chen stiffened under their touch, spiritual energy crackling with frustration.
Xiulan traced small circles across Mei Chen's silk robes. "You'll always have a place by my side. I'll miss you terribly, but this separation isn't forever. Think of all you'll learn in the meantime."
"Remember why we chose a school?" Feng Yu adjusted her saber at her hip. "Only permanent staff remain forever bound. Schools exist for independent cultivators to preserve their freedom while learning."
"I'll study hard too." Xiulan straightened. "Maybe we'll even get lifetime discounts at the Treasure Pavilion!"
"The Pavilion isn't that generous with departing disciples." Feng Yu's lips quirked downward.
"You're probably right." Xiulan grinned. "Still, I can't help feeling optimistic."
"But we'll be apart." Mei Chen's shoulders drooped.
Xiulan leaned back against the wooden bench, gazing up at the night sky where lantern light bled into the starry sky. "We've been together our whole lives. If our bond can't survive a brief separation, how weak would that make it?"
Mei Chen wiped her tears with her sleeve. "I'll study harder than anyone! I'll graduate early and come right back to you!"
"If that's how you want to focus your energy." Xiulan smiled at Mei Chen's renewed determination.
"Ha!" Feng Yu tossed her sandy brown hair. "Don't get ahead of yourself. With my skills, I'll graduate first and show you both how it's done."
Xiulan shook her head, her smile turning wistful. The endless competition never changed.
The scent of fresh steamed buns wafted through the air as Ren Chun approached, carrying a woven basket filled with pork buns and crystallized sugar sticks. "Everyone should eat something."
"We should explore the festival while we can." Xiulan stood carefully.
They snacked while wandering past countless stalls adorned with red lanterns. Children played traditional ring toss games while others attempted to catch goldfish with paper nets. The sweet scent of candied hawthorn berries mixed with the savory aroma of grilled meats.
"Look!" Feng Yu pointed toward a crowd gathering around floating lanterns. "Mei Chen, let's try that one." She grabbed Mei Chen's hand and pulled her toward the stall.
Ren Chun watched them go, then turned to Xiulan. "I was wrong about her. Mei Chen may be a wrathful spirit, but after our experience—the difference is glaring."
"Well, it's obvious." Xiulan bit into a warm pork bun, savoring the familiar taste.
"One wonders if you've found enlightenment." Elder Chen studied Qingfeng's face. "Perhaps the mountain calls."
"I've spent centuries in meditation." Qingfeng poured another cup of tea. "Haste serves no purpose, especially with a new disciple to guide."
"The heavens won't permit delay once epiphany strikes." Elder Liu's voice carried a note of warning.
"Those who reach such states defy the heavens by their mere existence." Qingfeng traced the cup's rim. "A premature ascent guarantees failure. Did not your own founder teach this truth? Has the Skyward Path been lost?"
Silence descended over the courtyard. The elders exchanged uncomfortable glances, their earlier righteousness withering under the weight of their own teachings turned against them.
Qingfeng traced the rim of his teacup. "I trust you will moderate Elder Fou's behavior. A feud between an elder and children would reflect poorly on Skyward Institute's reputation."
Elder Ping's face reddened. "You overstep, Master Qingfeng. The Treasure Pavilion holds no authority over Skyward Institute's elders!"
"Perhaps." Qingfeng lifted his gaze to study the morning sky. "Though if you wish to pursue this argument, I could stir Grandmaster Han from his decades of isolation to seek his counsel."
The color drained from five faces simultaneously. Elder Chen's hand trembled as he set down his teacup. Elder Wei's breath caught audibly. Even Elder Bai, normally stoic, shifted uncomfortably on his cushion.
It wasn't difficult to imagine what the elders had been scheming during their leader's absence. It had been an easy guess.
Qingfeng looked between them. He understood the discourtesy of such a threat. Yet Elder Fou's reckless actions had nearly sparked disaster.
His thoughts turned toward Lin Xiulan's peculiar nature. The merged souls within her burned bright—a phenomenon he'd never witnessed in many centuries of cultivation. Most transmigrated souls destroyed their hosts, yet these two had achieved perfect harmony.
The golden meridian opening pill had only amplified that unity. He traced the cup's rim, recalling his astonishment at the profound changes it triggered. Such results surpassed his wildest expectations.
A pity about her talent compared to her companions. The princess was nearly peerless, and that Ren Chun boy showed thrice her potential martial prowess. If Xiulan had their skills, she would reach sainthood within a century. As it was, she would likely need ten times as long—if she survived the journey.
Even if her talent was lacking, her luck was boundless. She attracted powerful allies like a lodestone drew iron filings. Even in forgotten Blackmere, where he'd planned for centuries more of peaceful meditation, she'd gathered remarkable companions.
The wrathful spirit girl, a hidden princess, and a prodigy—each drawn to her orbit.
The blood of her family stained her karma black. Elder Fou spoke truth there—those deaths would echo through eternity. But how many cultivators truly walked an unstained path? In five hundred years, he'd met countless who claimed purity. Most lied to themselves.
Mortal laws no longer held sway over her head. Cultivator society cared little for familial bonds, and while she had taken part in a war between mortal houses, she had not crossed that taboo of crushing those too far beneath her.
She was not yet tall enough to reach that metric. By the time she was, he hoped the mortal ripples she had stirred would have played themselves out.
In the end, the heavens alone would judge whether her good works outweighed her sins when tribulation lightning struck.
And if these elders were anything to go by, there had not been anyone to teach these brats proper manners or morals in a long time.
Their self-righteous posturing and quick resort to violence proved they'd forgotten the fundamental teachings of cultivation.
The elders waited for him to speak again.
Qingfeng set his empty teacup on the stone table. "The wind carries seeds across vast distances, yet we cannot predict where they will take root and flourish. Lin Xiulan grows like a peach tree in winter—defying expectations, finding strength in adversity. Some might call this a flaw. I see it as proof that the Dao manifests in unexpected ways."
The princess radiated power like the vermillion bird of legend—her fire nature burned bright and pure despite her attempts to hide it.
If Xiulan found peace with the darkness within her soul, if she could restore her harmony, she might transform into the Phoenix itself. He'd seen too many fail at such things. But it wasn't impossible to imagine for the girl who showed so much promise.
Ren Chun displayed the traits of an Azure Dragon cultivator—his qi moved with the quiet power of rivers and the steady rise of spring winds. Pure and controlled, it hinted at a talent that ran deeper than most.
Mei Chen presented a more complex puzzle. Her unique existence as a mindful spirit bound to a mortal form opened paths uncharted in the recorded history of Arinthia's cultivation.
It was not unknown in other realms, as his research has suggested, but what form her advancement might take remained clouded.
Beyond the square, paper lanterns drifted skyward from the festival grounds.
The lights merged with the stars scattered across the inky expanse, creating new constellations that winked and shifted in the night breeze. Each flame represented a prayer, a wish, a dream rising toward the heavens.
The ancient ritual connected earth to sky, mortal to immortal, student to master in an unbroken chain stretching back through time.
The heavens would test them all soon enough. But tonight he would make sure the young cultivators could celebrate together, their futures bright with possibility.