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..."
After speaking with Armorer Dian, Liang Xiong made his way across the sect to one of the smallest buildings within the sect's sprawling grounds. While the Tower of Mending was small by the standards of the Inner Sect, the luxurious materials used in its construction and the powerful formations that protected it in times of danger were a testament to its importance.
No army could function without healers and the Purple Thunder War Hall knew that very well. While most sects in the Inner City had invited a number of Guest Alchemists to see to the concocting needs of their own sect, Liang Xiong's sect had gone further, establishing a branch of the sect dedicated to training and raising their own alchemists.