Chapter 5: Arrival

Once the sun had reached over their heads and the jungle once more turned into a spaced-out forest, the three Seniors stopped in a random spot.

Being used to the Seniors behavior from the past few weeks, Tian An routinely stopped just behind the seniors, stood in place, and waited for their instructions.

A beat or two passed in complete silence as the lack of movement made Tian An increasingly aware of the lack of any noise around them.

That was before it was broken by a small squeal, and before Tian An could react, he was pulled into someone's arms and flung around in a circle.

"Oh, I am just so happy you made it! You have no idea how hard it was watching you kids suffer through all that!" Senior Yue said in a tone of gushing enthusiasm, much in contrast to what Senior Tian An knew from the last few weeks.

"Disciple Yue, put the little one down; you don't want to squish him after he worked so hard to make it this far." Senior Xue chuckled as he stepped up to take Tian An into his own hands.

After being directly put into Senior Xue's arms by Senior Yue, he was met with the sight of the black-haired Senior giving him a big smile before slowly being placed on the ground with a light pat on the head.

Before Senior Xue could continue with what he wished to say, Tian An's attention was taken away by a large hand roughly patting his head and a boisterous laugh coming from Senior Dong behind him.

"Good job sticking in there, kiddo! I was surprised your group ended up with anyone making it through all the way to the end; you must have some strong willpower to make it all the way through."

Senior Dong commented and finally put the rough hand shaking his head to rest, leaving his hair somehow more of a mess than it was beforehand.

"Ahem, as I was going to say before disciple Dong interrupted," Senior Xue paused to give Senior Dong an amused side eye before focusing back down on the smaller form of Tian An. 

"All three of us are proud of you for taking the sect trial to completion; not many ever do. Furthermore, the difficulty of the one you completed over the last few weeks is said to be known as the most grueling amongst the introductory sect trials." Senior Xue seemed to take a pause to let that sink into Tian An's mind.

Which indeed it did, as he had already been overwhelmed by the sudden switch in character the three Seniors in front of him displayed, so he didn't mind taking in their praise at more than face value.

Seeing the small smile on Tian An's face, Senior Xue continued with his spiel. 

"It is rarely expected for someone from Malta City to ever make it through the sect trials to completion, and if they ever do, it is with the collaboration of the larger group. But I won't speak more on it lest it get to your head." Senior Xue took a moment to chuckle at his own words before continuing on.

"Before we move forward, disciple Dong will pass to you a small token that allows you entry into the White Lotus Sect; do not lose it, as it is the only one you will get for quite some time."

As Senior Xue finished saying this, Senior Dong came to the side of Tian An, who turned to face Senior Dong.

Sitting in Senior Dong's stretched-out hand was a green jade stone fitted with a small silver string attached to the top.

The characters 'White' and 'Lotus' were carved into the jade piece in bold lettering.

Taking it from Senior Dong's hand, Tian An briefly inspected it in the palm of his hand. Before using one of his makeshift cups to hold the token on the front of his waist.

Tian An watched as the three seniors walked side by side away from him and further into the forest, only to see them vanish right before his eyes.

Taking a moment to bask in confusion Tian An waited a moment before stepping forward himself.

He realized that this was probably what the Senior Xue meant by needing a small token to enter the sect.

As Tian An made it to the place where his Seniors vanished, he took a hesitant step forward and watched as the space around him rippled in silent waves before he felt as if he was breaching the surface after being underwater.

Tian An's eyes widened as he captured the display before him.

Unlike the endless forest he was once standing in, he now stands before a large, impossibly high mountain range.

Tens, if not hundreds, of small peaks littered the sky as multi-colored clouds shrouded their peaks.

But despite the natural beauty of it all, what really captured Tian An's eyes were the hundreds of buildings towering all over the mountain range.

From tiny huts to monolithic buildings, the mountains were covered in a multitude of well-crafted structures the likes of which Tian An had never seen before.

Bringing his eyes back to what was in front of him, Tian An traveled along the giant stairs that climbed an impossibly long way before ending beneath two green dragon archways that looked to be circling one another.

Tian An eventually had to stop taking in the beauty of the White Lotus Sect as he felt a nudge on his shoulder and looked to see Senior Yue nudging him along with her hand and an understanding smile on her face.

Realizing they wanted him to move forward, Tian An took a deep breath before preparing himself to climb up the thousands of steps before him.

He guessed his mother was right about one thing: immortals really do love their stairs.

Tian An had ample time to enjoy the architecture and natural beauty of the sect in relative silence as he spent the next hour climbing up stairs that seemed to be intentionally made longer than an eleven-year-old's legs could comfortably reach.

He also realized that his Seniors did not accompany him to climb up the stairs but were waiting at the top of them.

By the time he had reached the top of the stairway, his legs were more than angry at having to overextend themselves for at least a thousand steps.

Though what shocked Tian An more was the light clapping his Seniors did once he got up to the archways that stood right on top of the flat space the stairs lead up to.

Senior Xue told him that the stairs were apparently the second trial of the White Lotus Sect.

To Tian An, it seemed like a joke when compared to the month he previously spent passing the first trial.

Seeing his mildly dissatisfied expression, Senior Xue smiled.

"I know that compared to the first trial, this may seem like nothing. But many fail to climb up the stairs, passing an insuperable challenge just to face another break more than you might think."

When Senior Xue commented that to Tian An, he couldn't help but ponder if that really was the case. 

Not wasting a moment, Senior Yun once again placed her hand on the back of Tian An's shoulder and guided him away from the stairs.

Now that he was on top of the stairs, Tian An noticed that he was on a very, very large platform that extended all the way to other stairs that went up the base of the closest mountain.

The flat platform was made of hundreds of evenly carved stone squares that were divided by little divots in between each square.

Tian An barely walked fifty feet before Senior Yun took their hand off of his back and told him to stop.

Looking up at her, Tian An wondered why they were stopping.

As if hearing his thoughts, Senio Yun looked down at him and said, "We are to wait here for the other groups to arrive."

Tian An made a small 'oh' sound through his lips before looking around the giant platform where their group stood alone.

He couldn't help but wonder if they were the first ones there, considering that no one else was present besides them.

The group stood in silence for ten more minutes before the sounds of people conversing slowly became louder from behind Tian An.

Turning around, Tian An saw another group of three seniors mumbling to each other atop the stairs he had just climbed a few minutes ago.

Tian An watched the three look down the steps at what he assumed were probably possible sect recruits like him.

It took around an hour of patiently waiting for Tian An to see the first head pop up from the staircase. The child was huffing and puffing and looked just about ready to blow a house down by the time they fell to their backs on the platform next to their Seniors.

Tian An thought the Seniors should tell the boy to stand up, as laying down after a long trek probably wasn't a good idea for their strained legs.

Sadly, that didn't seem to happen, as the Seniors briefly congratulated the child for making it up the stairs before turning back to the steps once more in patience while waiting for more to arrive.

Through the next hour, more and more children made their way up the staircase, and several groups of Seniors were now waiting at the stairs for their group to arrive at the top.

Spaces started to fill in the once empty plaza as groups of twenty or more filled in the once desolate stone platform. Tian An was surprised to see how many children were assigned to a single group.

Although he can't deny that his group did start with at least fifty other members, it was still surprising to see more than ten other groups of Seniors leading a few dozen behind them.

Tian An had to rethink to himself if having an aptitude for cultivation was really all that rare, as the sect in charge of his region alone had hundreds of children in its footsteps today.

Not to mention the amount that probably failed the first trial here yet still retained their aptitude.

After observing the other groups slowly crawl into the platform up the stairs, Tian An eventually got bored standing in place and sat down to practice the Lotus exercise he learned and improved with on the way to the White Lotus Sect.

But as soon as he closed his eyes, he cleared his mind again, and he was once again reminded why the night before had been such a mystifying experience for him.

As silver waves spread and waned throughout the void of his mind once again, he contemplated for what felt like hours what to do with them.

He tried nudging them, poking them, and looking closer at them, yet each attempt was met with the small lights floating around as if unbothered by his attempts to move them.

Letting out a quiet sigh before giving up, Tian An realized that he probably should have asked his Seniors about what he was seeing.

While Tian An was still slightly worried about souring his relations, he did think his relationship with his Seniors did warrant enough leeway to ask a question or two plaguing his mind.

Looking up at the Seniors who stood to the sides of him, Tian An lightly tugged on Senior Xue's robe.

He did this because, to Tian An, he seemed the most studious-looking of the three and the most willing to answer his question to the fullest.

Senior Xue looked down at Tian An and gave him a confused look with one eyebrow raised.

He then came down to Tian An's height and waited in silence for Tian An to speak.

Tian An wanted to start his question, but as soon as he opened his mouth to talk, he choked on his own words as he coughed once or twice.

It was then that Tian An remembered he had not spoken much the last four weeks, even spending the last two in complete silence.

This made him have to take a sip or two from his canteen before attempting to speak once again.

Thankfully, this time Tian An had no problems talking after that.

"I have followed the exercise Senior Yue gave us during the first week." Tian An paused here to see if Senior Xue knew what he was talking about.

After seeing a look of recognition on his face, Tian An continued on, "Well, just the other night, when I cleared my head, I started to see little waves of light everywhere."

"Even when I opened my eyes, they still remained all over the forest. They only disappeared from the forest once the sun came up. Oh, but the lights are still there when I clear my head again."

"I was wondering if you could tell me what the lights are for Senior Xue. No matter what I do, I haven't been able to do anything about them."

By the end of his revelation, Senior Xue had already sported a knowing look on his face.

Seeing that look, Tian An waited patiently for him to answer his question.

"Well, you see, little one," Senior Xue started. "What you saw was known as Qi, the very essence of what makes cultivators who they are."

Senior Xue explained further to expand on what he meant.

"It's the energy that permeates our world, and it will become a topic of much discussion the more time you spend in the world of cultivation."

"Don't worry about doing anything with it at this moment, as you will learn more about it during your introductory lessons to the sect. Although I must say it is quite an advantage that you are already able to visibly see Qi without any cultivation technique, you must have practiced very hard to be able to effectively advance that far in the Lotus exercise."

By the end of Senior Xue's explanation, Tian An had come to his own conclusion.

"So, the…Qi." Tian An hesitated to say it to make sure he said it correctly. "Is that what those lights are, and the exercise is supposed to make them appear?"

Senior Xue took a second to chuckle at Tian An's oversimplification of the Lotus exercise.

"That and much more; the exercise doesn't just end there, little one; keep practicing it, and you will further find the meaning of one of the most essential tools this sect can give you."

Tian An took in what Senior Xue said with wide eyes. At first, he couldn't believe that there was more to the exercise than what he had apparently already accomplished with seeing 'qi', but the idea that there was more to experience was exciting to Tian An. 

He wanted to know just exactly what he could witness if he kept practicing and how it could qualify as one of the most essential tools of the sect he was about to enter.

He also came to the conclusion that this is probably what the Seniors meant by discovering something essential from the first trial.

What Tian An didn't know was that it was just a figure of speech to represent the life experiences they were supposed to gain through living in a harsh environment meant to develop their character.

Tian An watched Senior Xue pick himself back up to his previous position and leave Tian An to his thoughts.

Tian An spent the next two hours observing the waves of light while sitting in the lotus position and going through the motions of the exercise.

It was during those final moments of the second hour that a loud clap rang out through the entire plaza.

Tian An was quick to stand to his feet and face the direction of the noise.

When he opened his eyes and looked around the plaza, he saw a clambering mass of children standing on the outer perimeter while leaving the middle space barren of everyone but two older gentlemen in black robes and a small orb that sat on top of a copper-colored holder.

Tian An also counted around a hundred Seniors standing in front of the groupings of children, all standing in pairs of three.

He thought to himself that he was lucky that he was the only one in his group. Even the others surrounding him and his Seniors were still spaced out at least three squares away from them, giving him plenty of space to himself.

With a booming voice, the left-leaning elderly gentleman in black robes started to address the crowd before him.

"Welcome, promising youths, to the third stage of the sect trials. I am Elder Tao, and you shall address me as such."

"Next to me is Elder Song, who will be assisting me in supervising you throughout this trial. He is here to explain to you the meaning of this particular test's results and what it may mean for your futures here at the White Lotus Sect."

"Now, disciples, please bring up your groups starting from the most directly east side and follow in a clockwork motion to line up behind Elder Song."

As Elder Tao finished addressing the entire population present on the platform, He turned himself toward the clear orb and away from Tian An's view.

Tian An inspected the back of the Elder's robe and was intrigued by the subtle gray and silver-outlined lotuses that one could barely make out in the light when contrasted with the black robes.

Slowly but surely, lines were formed by the direction of Elder Tao's specifications. 

Groups lined up in a up in a single file, starting to the left of Tian An, and slowly made their way over to him.

Tian An was briefly nudged in the back by Senior Dong to take his place in the line once it was his turn to move over to it. He briefly turned back to see the three Seniors who followed him this far and saw them wave to him in goodbye as they started to walk away from their spots next to him.

He assumed that meant their job was done and that he was on his own now.

Not wanting to keep the line up or lose his spot, Tian An quickly made his way to the growing line in front of him and waited briefly to insert himself amongst them.

Looking ahead, Tian An could already tell that this line was going to be a long one as it looked to wrap around half the plaza from where he stood.

Tian An turned himself away from the line and toward the center of the plaza.

He watched as one of the children stepped forward on the instruction of Senior Tao and placed their hand on the clear orb that sat on the bronze stand.

To Tian An's surprise, he watched as the orb changed from clear to white and slowly transformed to a light brownish color.

After the child took his hand off the orb, Elder Song pulled him aside and looked to be instructing the child on a few things, as the boy's face lit up the more Elder Song spoke to him.

Once Elder Song looked to say all he wanted to tell the child, Tian An watched as he urged the child past him and in the direction of the second set of stairs that led further up the mountain.

Tian An watched as the child made their way across the plaza with a skip in their step all the way up to the base of the stairs before starting his climb up to a higher place on the mountain.

His focus was brought back from following the child once he saw another light appear in the orb at the center of the plaza; this time it was a deep blue and was made at the hand of a small girl with blue eyes.

Tian An quickly amused himself by wondering if her eyes had something to do with her results before his mind seriously considered it.

This continued on for hours as the line slowly advanced and lights of all colors and intensities brightened up the orb, which left each child happier after Elder Songs' conversation with them, explaining what occurred and what it meant.

At least that's what Tian An assumed Elder Song was telling each kid, since he couldn't think of anything else that they would be talking about.

While most of the children followed the routine of making the orb produce a variety of color and light, there were very few who created variations in the orb from the routine reactions.

Tian An had seen a very brawny boy make the orb create small stones that floated around inside the orb.

He also recalls a girl making the orb briefly create chime-like sounds, something that Tian An was confused by even further than the previous show of rocks.

While the entertainment of watching each kid make the orb light up with unique results each time made a good time pass, it still took quite awhile for Tian An to reach the orb himself.

Tian An felt a brief pity for the other half of the children still waiting in line for their turn; he wasn't sure if they would be finished by the time the sun set.

His thoughts came to a halt as it was his turn to step up to the clear orb in front of him.

He hadn't realized how large it was until seeing it up close and personal, as it now looked to be almost half his height in diameter.

"Place your hand on top of the device, and I will tell you when to stop," Elder Tao instructed.

Tian An briefly nodded his head towards the man before taking his right palm and setting it down on the large see-through orb in front of him.

He barely had any time to react to the familiar jutting-cold sensation that traveled through his body and transferred from his palm to the orb in front of him.

Tian An watched with rapid attention as the orb shifted into a pale gray before brightening even further into a matted, wispy white.

He thought that it was over and was very curious what the color meant for him.

Yet before he took his hand off, another retch of cold spread throughout his body; this time it was cold enough to make him momentarily shiver.

Looking at the orb in confusion, Tian An watched as, starting from its base, it started gaining a black sheen exterior that traveled all the way to the tip of the ball.

It looked as if it had become frozen over with blackened frost.

"You can stop now." Said Elder Tao, breaking Tian An out of his trance, looking at Elder Tao briefly before taking his hand off of the orb and quickly turning to walk to Elder Song in excitement.

Elder Song waited until he was a few feet away from him before directly addressing Tian An.