First Assignment; Food and Memories

"There are many stages to the Dao-Seizing Calamity. There is the Dao-level Stage, the Seizing Stage and the Calamitous Stage. Do not be fooled, however. Crossing all three of these stages can very possibly take more than a million years."

Ye Zuliao's stomach grumbled, causing some of the others to laugh. The thought of waiting that long for anything was a hard pill to swallow, but it was the reality they were now faced with. Their cultivation really could take a million years or more.

"And so, I give you your first assignment."

Eyes narrowed at this statement.

For the entire class so far, no one dreaded the words 'assignment' more than the three students that had lost the bet. Ye Zuliao, Ye Zhiyuan and Ji Haogui tensed up, teeth chattering as they prepared themselves for Logean Wuji's first assignment. What scared them even more was the requirement; if they did not pass perfectly, they would be forced into the wider world for three months.

Three months without the safe refuge of the dorm. Three months braving the heaven-rending monstrosities that lived in this dangerous world.

"Common Assignment Number One: Gain enlightenment of your individual dao and step into the First Dao-level. You must advance to the First Dao-level in three days time."

Bi Xue and Zhou Hua both reeled in shock, blurting out random strings of curses under their breath. Ji Tianshan seemed anxious to start; Ji Haogui was the exact opposite, Ling Jian'er and Cyrus glared at each other, Zhou Hua stowed away her knife and nodded while Ye Zuliao rubbed his tummy.

Ye Zhiyuan touched Pixie's shoulder. Pixie had been despondent ever since Logean Wuji spoke to her. On one hand, she wanted to make her parents proud and, on the other, she believed she could do that by following her passion.

"Master, just how will we do that?"

Logean Wuji shook his head, wearing a smile as he said, "For now, we'll take a break. After that, I will take you all to one of the many sacred grounds within the United Realm."

"Is that what this world is called? The United Realm?" Ji Tianshan quickly followed up on that, more eager about the entire situation than perhaps anyone else.

"Yes. It contains remnants of every Hall of the United Sect." Logean Wuji smiled at her, a glint in his eye as he took note of her attitude toward the assignment.

Ye Zuliao gulped as he wondered just what kind of delicious energies he might be able to devour in that so-called 'sacred ground.'

Logean Wuji flicked his finger and nine bamboo baskets materialized before each student. In each basket were baked goods, warm and aromatic. Each student found in their basket the baked delights that they most loved, and were drenched in ecstasy as they chowed down.

Zhou Hua managed to rip herself away from the overwhelming enjoyment, and she began to scrutinize her meal, trying to find what about it was so tasty. Soon enough, she was picking it apart with her hands, squeezing and melodramatically tasting.

In fact, the word 'tasty' barely did these goodies justice.. From the moment they smelled those treats, everyone was driven to a state of ceaseless gluttony. They had no initial thought but 'must eat,' and they did not even care about maintaining an air of decorum before their Master.

Logean Wuji smiled to himself, then summoned his own basket of goodies.

'Well done, Hua. It's not easy to acquire the mental fortitude to overcome Mother's Glutton Enchantment. You must be quite determined. Good.'

He then picked up a steamy muffin, staring at the bits of fruit infused in it. As he did so, suppressed memories resurfaced, forcing him to acknowledge and relive them.

.....

"No- Mom! I don't like it when you put the blueberries in!"

We arrive in the Village of Akna-Logea, atop Mount Logean, eons ago. A toddler, dressed in a white miniature chef's outfit, was standing on a stool in order to reach the tabletop. Within the kitchen, a large number of muffin pans had been prepared by both the toddler and his mother, who was near him at the table.

She was splattered with flour and batter, even on the stray locks of black hair that fell loose from her bun. Like crescent, shining moons, her silvery eyes became rife with delight and warmth as she looked to her son, seeing him twist his face and stick out his tongue. She had added blueberries to the batter, something he had been against ever since they started.

"Now, now, Wuji. These are for your father. You know how he loves blueberry muffins."

With a smooth voice, Xuyue Zailiang consoled her son, Logean Wuji.

"I don't get it- yuck! How can he like that?" Logean Wuji dropped the wooden spoon and pushed the bowl back over to his mother. He no longer wanted any part in preparing that horrible abomination.

"Well, Wuji, different people like different things. For instance, you love fighting with your older cousins in the clan, but you hate playing musical instruments, whereas I love musical instruments and detest fighting." She stirred the batter, but also turned so she could cast a warm smile to her son.

"I know." The young Logean Wuji hopped off of the stool, dragged it over to the counter, climbed back onto it and found the oldest looking muffin pan he could reach. "Even so, it's hard to believe Dad and I can be so different..."

Logean Wuji paused after he handed his mother the old muffin pan. She shook her head when she saw it, but used it anyway.

"Mom..."

"Yes, Wuji darling."

"You like blueberry muffins too, don't you."

"Not as much as your father, but yes."

His plump cheeks were stretched thin as his mouth fell agape, finger pointing in an 'Aha!' as if his suspicions were affirmed. "Mom! I'm not adopted, am I!?"

Xuyue Zailiang broke out into laughter, rubbing her son's face and shaking her head. "Heheehe- No, Wuji darling, you're not adopted! Ahaha!"

Logean Wuji seemed all too relieved to hear this, and he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

.....

Logean Wuji did not realize, but as he was looking at the muffin in his hands tears started to fall from his eyes. By now, the Glutton Enchantment had weakened significantly, so most of his students were able to regain their senses. They noticed him crying as he stared at the muffin and seemed to be in deep reverie.

"Does he not like the blueberry ones," Ye Zuliao asked.

Bi Xue said, "I don't think that's it. He must be remembering something that has to do with that muffin. Maybe someone precious once made muffins for him."

"Or maybe," Ling Jian'er jumped in, "he's on a strict diet and is forcing himself to not indulge in it."

They looked at her strange, then Cyrus looked back toward Logean Wuji before saying, "Looks like Tianshan is gonna find out."

They followed his gaze to see Tianshan approaching Logean Wuji with her basket in hand.

"Master?"

Logean Wuji did not even notice her arrival, so he turned to her while blinking rapidly. The tears were still wet on his face, but he did not bother wiping them away. "Yes, Tianshan."

"If you don't want the blueberry ones, would you like to trade for these buns?" She put her basket down on Logean Wuji's mat, then reached in with both hands to retrieve three cream buns. Holding them, some of the cream got onto her fingers, but she did not seem to mind as she held them before Logean Wuji's face.

"Oh... No, it's quite alright Tianshan. Enjoy your buns."

Pouting, Ji Tianshan put the buns back into her basket. Licking her fingers, she said, "You know, Master..."

Logean Wuji smiled, inviting her to continue.

"My Auntie once told me that, even if we can't move on from things in the past, we should always look back with a smile. That's because even sad memories are the happy times we had with the ones we lost."

Ji Tianshan looked to the sky, staring off into the endless clouds.

"So that way, when they look down on us, they don't feel worse for having to leave so soon..."

Ji Haogui took a deep breath through his nose. His face was already red, eyes watering, but he too looked up to the sky with longing. The others could not be sure, but the sorrow the siblings radiated was impossible to miss.

For a moment, Logean Wuji also looked up to the cloudy firmament with a wistful yearning in his eyes. The others gathered in silence around him, unable to find the words to even begin to console him. Ji Tianshan felt a tug on her sleeve, looking back to find her brother in tears.

"Tianshan. Mom and Dad... they hate me don't they..." Before he could finish, Ji Tianshan pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him. He sobbed into her chest and she stroked his head while trying to calm him down.

"You're wrong, Haogui. Mommy and Daddy don't hate you at all. They don't blame either of us for what happened, okay?"

Ji Haogui could not speak just yet, so he bawled in response.

Logean Wuji had looked down from the sky a moment ago in order to witness the moment between the siblings. With a warm smile, he waved his hand and gently brought them over to his side and placed a hand on each of them.

"As a child," he started, causing his students ears to perk up furtively. "I loved nothing more than picking fights within the clan to show off my ability. All day I would issue challenge after challenge, never taking no for an answer. Eventually, when my cousins were sick of me, I even went so far as to goad them on with taunts. I angered them to the point of rage just so I could fight them. It was what I loved."

"There were few things I loved more. One such thing was accompanying my mother in the kitchen whenever she was baking. She baked for everyone in the clan all on her own, never wanting anyone's help... but mine..."

Listening to here, the students were bitter. Ji Tianshan and Ji Haogui listened closely, not even daring to breathe too loud.

"The blueberry muffins reminded me of her and my father. He loved Mother's blueberry muffins more than anything; I hated them for little to no reason at all. Sometimes I feel like, because of that, I robbed myself of time I could have spent with them, enjoying Mother's blueberry muffins. I feel like I wasted my childhood on pointless things..."

Bi Xue bit her lower lip, thinking back to her own father and what happened to him because of her. Even if Logean Wuji had healed him with no effort at all, that did not erase what she caused. It could not.

Zhou Hua looked down at Logean Wuji's basket, her own thoughts running wild.

"I'm sure your parents would not have wanted it any other way." Pixie stepped forward, smiling at her despondent teacher. Logean Wuji nodded, eyes shutting as he sighed.

"That's right. I'm sure that all they wanted was for you to grow freely and be happy. You were able to live happily as a child and that's something no good parent would ever want to change." Cyrus, surprisingly, had something to say on the matter as well.

"Mm! You should cherish the time you did spend with them. Cherish the time you spent helping your mom out in the kitchen. Those are the moments that they would never change. Not for anything." Ye Zhiyuan also stepped forward and, soon, they were all forming a circle around Logean Wuji and the Ji siblings.

Looking to his students, Logean Wuji smiled and cast his gaze upwards once more. Without even thinking about it, they all followed his action and looked into the endless sky of clouds.

"You are right. You are... truly..."