Following his father's murder, Wu Ling's mother returned to the life of a courtesan, disguising her young son as a girl to take refuge in the Bamboo Silk House, a women's only sect dedicated to the arts. Now, as his powers awaken, he'll find himself torn between protecting his family and the goals of powerful cultivators who see him as a means to an end. "Wu Ling, I've accepted a marriage proposal on your behalf," the bewitching Hall Master of the Bamboo Silk House declared. "When you enter the Inner Sect, you'll enter under the name 'Hua Qianhu', fiancee of a young lord of the Liang family." "Hall Master, that's impossible!" Wu Ling protested. "Even if you ignore my relationship with Meifeng, I might have dressed well enough to hide as a mortal woman but I could never..." "So you truly didn't realize what you were doing," the Hall Master said, a dark smile on her lips. "Little Ling, you're a natural-born Shapeshifter. I'll teach you what you need to know," she said, her features shifting until she looked like a mirror image of the stunned Wu Ling. "As long as you follow my arrangements and learn my techniques, it isn't impossible for you to reunite with Meifeng..." "But you should consider Young Lord Liang carefully," the Hall Master added. "His affection for you is genuine. Perhaps, one day, you'll even feel the same for him..."
"I'll go," Su Yao said, eagerly pricking her finger and pressing it to the spirit tool before circulating her energy through it. Just like Florist Dongtian had said, as soon as her energy touched it, she felt a sharp tug as it pulled deeply on her energy. The sharp sensation only lasted a moment before a small ball of dim red energy appeared in the air above the tool.
"Early-stage Aesthete," the older woman declared, making a note in her ledger. "How recently did you awaken and how old are you?"
"Just yesterday and I'm sixteen summers old," Su Yao said with pride. "I wouldn't have thought I was ready but Sister Wu Ling recommended I focus on my calligraphy instead of my zither when awakening and it worked."