Stone Room - Old Yu

Shu He had his arm stretched out in front of his face, his hand holding the token he had just received, he channelled his qi and the number '600' appeared on the side, his name was engraved on the back.

He sighed and hung it around his neck underneath his robes.

Currently he was laid on a neat bed that rested on a smooth, patterned stone floor that resided inside a stone room.

It was his room, one he had been assigned to after the induction was over, it was quite simple with basic furniture and little decoration however it was sizeable enough for simple activities such as cultivation, the largest section of the room was a square of 6x6 meters that was empty, a perfect place for meditation and practicing techniques.

There were two square rectangles that shone with light, but it wasn't real sunlight just some large brightstone lamps, all in all it wasn't anything special but for Shu He, he found it a great improvement to how he'd been living.

'They even have a flushable toilet and small shower, I guess putting a piping system together is easier when you can manipulate stone and earth, though the design isn't quite what I was used to…' He finally felt like he had reached the modern comfort level he had missed.

Because of this he couldn't help but lay still on his bed and laze about for a while.

Their tour of the sects areas had lasted a few hours, they had been shown various areas such as training areas with equipment they could use, cultivation areas that had beneficial natures to them, some more specialised stores, a duelling arena, areas to take on tasks or missions, even the various establishments from food to entertainment that other disciples had put together to earn points.

Yes, you could buy food and entertainment with points, when Shu He first heard this he became a bit worried because if you have to buy food with points, then it doesn't matter how much it costs even 600 points won't last long.

But Rong Jia, the Sect Master had explained that all disciples will receive simple meals for free if they visit the cafeteria run by the sect, so they didn't need to worry; Spending points on food is merely for people who want to enjoy something different.

Other than that, they some other areas were spoken about but not shown, a lot of these were specialised areas or pavilions that focused on a specific path of cultivation or creationist work, they were for the new disciples to visit and discover themselves.

One such place was the Alchemy Tower and another the Four Seasons Garden, both places he would have to visit for sure.

Alchemy Tower was self-evident, it was the central place for Alchemy in the Titanic Steel Sect, somewhere Shu He had to go to advance his skill as an apothecary, or rather alchemy.

The Four Seasons Garden was another place he so desperately wanted to visit, just the name makes him feel marvelled, a garden that is split in to four sections that perfectly imitate the four seasons all year long with thousands of different herbs grown that are used by the entire sect.

Before, his garden barely covered his back yard in his small house at Green Gate; he can't imagine how much work it would take to maintain a garden thousands of times bigger!

The Sect Master also mentioned the Techniques Pavilion, but she also mentioned that you shouldn't visit it until you were at the third level of cultivation – Meridian Awakening.

Unfortunately for Shu He, he was only at the second level still, Blood Enhancement.

The reason for this was simple, until the third level you couldn't externalise you qi, thus you won't be able to use techniques that require you to do so.

*Haaaah*

Shu He let out a long sigh, he wasn't quite sure what to do right now since it felt like he was limited in his actual options, he needed to reach the third stage.

He couldn't even go and speak with Gang Bo and go about the sect together because right after the guide he was whisked away by the Sect Master, he could still remember the moment it happened clearly.

…

"With that, your induction is finished; You should all go to your assigned rooms to get comfortable as you'll be living there for a while, then you should consider what your next goal is, a flag post ahead is the best way to make progress" Rong Jia spoke calmy though her expression seemed a little twitchy.

"I wonder if our rooms are near each other's" Gang Bo spoke to Shu He completely oblivious.

"Uh, first I think you should be worried about something else" Shu He said, signalling towards the Sect Master.

"Uh…" Gang Bo began to sweat slightly.

Many times, throughout the tour she had hinted that she was waiting for him to ask for a disciple position from her, it seems she didn't want to ask herself, probably because she was the sect master.

She walked up to him staring him dead in the eyes.

"Since you seem too oblivious, I'll just HAVE to say it; The position of direct disciple has been empty since I took the seat of sect master, but I think you have great potential, your talent with the Steel element matches the sects namesake greatly" She spoke proudly, then waited for a reply after…

"…" Gang Bo stood confused while staring at her, the others around were looking at him like he was an idiot.

*Bang*

"She wants you to be her disciple" Shu He whispered to him after elbowing him in the side.

"But i-" Gang Bo looked a bit hesitant, looking at the Sect Master and then Shu He.

"This is your chance- Take it" Shu He spoke seriously; he didn't quite get why he was hesitating, but it would be a massive waste to throw it away.

When he heard what Shu He said, a light lit up in Gang Bo's eyes as he turned to Rong Jia and bowed.

"This junior, Gang Bo, requests that the sect master take me on as her disciple!"

"Very well, I shall take you on as my one and only direct disciple". She smiled brilliantly.

He crashed on to one knee, placing his fist against the floor.

"Gang Bo greets Master!"

The scene had a rather odd feeling to it, Gang Bo was a man with a large stature and Rong Jia was a fairly normal sized lady, so even when he knelt he almost reached her height.

"Great, now let's go!" She said as she grabbed the collar of his robes.

*WHOOOSH*

The others watched with their draws dropped as she easily dragged Gang Bo as he shot through the air, jumping location to location before they were out of sight in seconds.

"Bloody hell" Someone swore.

'I hope he doesn't get motion sickness easily' Shu He thought as he felt his stomach churning just watching them go.

…

Shu He had fallen asleep as he laid on his bed, truthfully in the days leading up in to the exam he hadn't slept enough so it all caught up to him, he slept so much that by the time he woke up it was the next morning, or at least he assumed it was so.

"Having no clock or window in here is inconvenient…" He complained to himself, though his internal clock told him it was around 8am it was easy for him to be misled.

He got up, took a shower before putting his robes back on and heading to the door, he pushed on to the metallic tablet next to it and it slid open, then he stepped outside.

As the door closed he watched carefully, he used his eyes and saw the locking mechanism through the rock, multiple pillars entered the side of the stone door keeping it in place.

Towards the right side of the door on the outside was another similar metal plate, this was the 'keyhole' and the token around his neck was the 'key'.

He found it rather convenient honestly, it was like carrying around your mobile phone that had a lot of different apps to access things, he didn't expect such sophistication here, but he was pleasantly surprised.

The process of replacing them was simple as well, since it was all one large formation with smaller formations that linked into it you could just pay a fee (Or be put into negative points) and have the old token deactivated and a new one created, it really was like a modern credit card system.

The formation even remembers your qi signature from when it was registered so there would be no faking identity.

He walked past rows and rows of doors exactly the same as his own with the only difference being the number on the door.

Coincidentally his was '404' which made him chuckle when he first saw it.

After minutes of walking he saw sunlight as he walked out in to the open air, a view from the side of a mountain greeted him as he could see all sorts of buildings and people walking below.

Yes, his current room was inside one of the mountains that made up this mountain range between the Metal and Water regions, the Titanic Steel Sect spanned a large area of these mountains with the core being the tallest, Ascension Mountain.

The scale was far bigger than Shu He had anticipated, the sect contained what was essentially a large bustling city, even bigger than Orefine that rested down below, and what makes things even more surprising is that the majority of people here were cultivators.

The only mortals here were those that were descendants of sect members, or servants or volunteers that were granted permission and brought in my disciples.

'It's not surprise that cultivators aren't known in more rural areas like my village if they hole themselves up in places like this…' He thought as he leisurely strolled down the staircase, multiple other disciples passing him minding their own business.

Soon, Shu He reached the bottom of the staircase and began making his way in to the 'city', heading clearly for a certain location.

He would very much would love to dive straight into the Tower or Garden, but he felt it would be better if he spent time grasping this sect as a whole, and that all started here.

A large sign written in fancy text rested on the large building.

'Crested Dragon Pagoda'

Shu He had returned already.

He walked into the open doors, looking around at all the decorations and people inside, it was bustling compared to yesterday and there were plenty of people lining up behind the counters.

'Ugh… maybe another day would be better?'

Shu He used his sight to get a clear view of the room, there was almost 20 people per line, around 100 or more waiting, it would probably take a while to get through.

As he was scanning the room that contained qi of all sorts of sizes and colours he noticed something a bit weird causing his brows to furrow.

'What's that?' He started in the direction with his actual eyes and focused his sight.

It seemed like a storm of Qi, collectively flowing in a chaotic manner, at first it just looked like a mess but the closer Shu He looked…

'A man… no I think I recognise the figure…'

If it was any normal man he wouldn't have put it together, but the location and recency bias made him put two and two together.

"Senior Yu?..." He whispered under his breath, but the figure seemed to stir, and Shu He quickly found himself the subject of a scrutinising gaze.

He felt a bit nervous all of a sudden, but the gaze didn't feel hostile, nor did it feel like it had evil intent.

A moment later, the figure moved, weaving steadily between the crowd before it stopped, seemingly looking at Shu He and walking out the store.

'…Should I follow?'

His instinct was telling him to do so, but his mind was telling him it could be a trap.

'What kind of trap would a senior like him lay for a new disciple like me?' He pushed away his doubts.

He quietly followed after.

…

He chased after the murky figure like a stalker, steadily moving along and trying not to make himself stand out, he could always see the qi cloaked blob in the distance as he stuck to it as close as he could.

However, the chase didn't last long, as the figure entered a door in the back of the pavilion that should be locked, leaving it open a crack.

'If I was a story protagonist, this would scream trap' He though to himself as he opened the door and calmly walked in entering a hallway, he steadily walked through before coming across another open door that he entered without hesitation.

The room he entered look like a workshop with many benches covered in all sorts of items, the walls lined with shelves stacked with different kinds of curios, it almost resembled some kind of toy store that you would see in movies.

"Hohoho, so you could see me!" A voice echoed as 'Old Yu's figure materialised into thin air, of course Shu He could see it was some kind of technique with his sight though.

"Senior Yu" Shu He bowed his head in greetings, he felt weird saying 'senior' so much already, but he knew he'd have to get used to this kind of formality.

"Please, just call me Old Yu I have no need for those stuffy formalities" He complained.

"Oh… Okay then Old Yu, I like that better as well" Shu He shrugged, why waste the effort if the person doesn't like it?

"Heh, I bet you didn't respect your village elders when you were… Slightly younger".

Shu He paused for a moment in slight shock but then just spoke freely.

"Respect is earned not given".

"That's true, but sometimes you must feign it, or it'll put you in a bad position".

"That's… I get that" Shu He spoke with some pause; he did understand the idea, but he did find it hard to swallow still.

"Hoho, it's fine, you're still young so you have plenty of time to learn, now then I'm sure you have a question for me?" Old Yu spoke as he made his way to a chain before steadily setting himself down on it.

"Then, Old Yu, what were you doing hiding away in the corner like that?" Shu He asked in an attempt to clear his confusion.

"Hiding away you say? Hoho, I was doing no such thing; I was merely watching everyone, it's a hobby of mine".

"A hobby you say?"

'I guess people watching is something people do' Shu He thought to himself.

"Well, I like to look for a certain thing, or a certain type of person."

"What kind of person?" Shu He felt the need to ask with a bit of nervousness.

"Someone like you" Old Yu spoke, and a keen glint of light glimmered in his eye.

"…" Shu He couldn't help but instinctively take a step back.

"Ah- there's no need to panic, I'm not going to do anything hoho, I meant someone who can see through my technique, it's quite an impressive one you know? Someone who can see through it is even more impressive, so I like to find them and get to know them".

"…Why?" Shu He asked, hoping to hear a good answer.

"Why not? They might become the future of the sect or even the cultivation world, if I do them some favours now, they will owe me in the future hohoho!" Old Yu chuckled to himself before he paused.

"It's truly impressive you could see through it though, I wonder, are those eyes of yours special?" He spoke all of a sudden, causing Shu He's hair to raise on the back of his neck as he stumbled backwards, he felt an odd desire leak from the old man that he felt dangerous.

"Hah- sorry old habits die hard, like I said I won't do anything to do nor anyone in this sect; I won't tell anyone, my mouth is shut, I'd rather keep this to myself anyway" He reassured Shu He.

"…Thanks" Shu He spoke lightly, but he did feel relieved even if he couldn't believe Old Yu fully, but he did get a sense that he was telling the truth.

He paused for a second, organising his thoughts before speaking.

"Then, Old Yu, could I ask for some help?"