66 Growing Up To Be Grea (1/2)
”Had I placed first in the Rising Star Tournament, one of my alters would have probably been chosen by an Elder as a direct disciple, and then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to join three Pavilions at the same time!”
It was then that Shin Sumi recalled a few bits of conversations she had heard when she was roaming around the upper valley market.
”Talking about becoming a direct disciple, I heard a rumor, Yue...” she said with a smile as big as her head.
Xiao Yue blushed, waving her hand like it was nothing.
”It's true then?!! You've become Master Sword's one and only disciple?!”
Xiao Yue didn't contain her excitement anymore. It was definitely news like no others. She had been definitely chosen by the strongest Pavilion master to be his direct disciple!
Not only would she have unlimited backing but she would also have access to the best cultivation resources there were, as well as great techniques that were not passed down to everyone in the Star-Sword Pavilion.
To celebrate, the two girls shared a cup of spirit wine, a pricey beverage that invigorated the soul and made them even happier than they were.
It had been a long time since Shin Sumi and Xiao Yue had leisurely enjoyed the presence of the other. Up until the night was dark around them, they relaxed, laying down on the fresh grass, taking in the sounds and smells of the forest.
They talked about their upcoming plans, for Xiao Yue the master-taking ceremony and for Shin Sumi the triple selection process.
”Do you know which Pavilions you're going to choose?” Xiao Yue asked.
Shin Sumi sighed, ”I'm asking myself the same thing. I have a few ideas but the truth is... I don't want to choose. I want to learn all there is to know from all five Pavilions.”
”I understand what you mean. It's such a broad world, anything is in theory possible. But the thing is that you, like everyone else, have to have a speciality.”
Her interest piqued, Shin Sumi rolled on her side, propping her head on one arm to look at her sister, ”What do you mean a speciality?”
”It's something Master Sword has told me. When he saw me, he used his divine sense to see the Shinsoo Doors I had opened. Did you know that you only need ten open Doors to practice cultivation in the Liquid Realm?
Within all sixty four doors, some of them are closely related to each other and some aren't at all. You know that in order to do magic you need to circulate Shinsoo in a specific pattern, right? Well depending on the Doors you have opened, some patterns will always be impossible for you to use.
”So what is yours then, Yue?”
”From the twenty two Doors I can use thanks to the Yin Aperture Shinsoo Awakening technique, Master Sword told me that more than sixteen of them were appropriate for manipulating weapons and following the teachings of the Star-Sword Pavilion!”
Suddenly it all made sense for Shin Sumi. Depending on the Shinsoo Doors a Liquid Realm cultivator had, their path would already be forged the moment he broke through. Despite one's will, sometimes somebody would excel at a domain but be really bad at another one.
”And how do you know which path is the right to take then? What if you have more than one accessible with your set of opened doors? Or... more than three?!”
Xiao Yue's mouth opened for a while but closed without a sound. She wasn't sure what Shin Sumi was talking about. More than three possibilities? That wouldn't even be called a speciality anymore!
”Sumi, how many Shinsoo Doors have you opened?”
Shin Sumi closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. She didn't want to look at her sister's eyes, afraid of what her reaction would be.
”...sixty-four” she let out almost inaudibly.
”.......” Xiao Yue's mind went blank immediately. A tsunami of information had crashed into her brain in the least expected way possible.
”SIXTY-FOUR?!!!” she couldn't believe it.
On the side, Shin Sumi grimaced, ready to explain and even apologize to her friend. She was about to open her eyes and face Xiao Yue, already imagining the face of disgust.
But before she could do anything, Shin Sumi felt something soft and warm wrap around her. Xiao Yue was hugging her with all her tender might.
”Sumi, that is amazing. If anybody could do it, that was you for sure. I'm so proud of you!”
”Yue, I-
-How did you manage that? Is it the massage technique?!
-Hmm... Partially. I also stumbled upon great fortune in the tournament... To be honest I don't really know how it happened, I had so much energy inside of me, I thought I would burst open during the fight with Jun Qian and Chu Erlong. It's all thanks to your arrival and you having my back that I could successfully break through without exploding!”
Shin Sumi's lies were only partially true. She had become an expert at lying to her friends, which was in itself a bad and good thing at the same time.
”So now you can join any Pavilion of your choosing?”
”Because of the sword given to me by Fen Wudao, I'm thinking of joining the Star-Sword Pavilion...with you. But since so many people saw me fight using a sword as Bai Fulong, I'll have to use him to get in.”
”That leaves you with Yan Yan and yourself. Any idea? Why don't you go to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion? Their techniques are powerful and you'll thrive there!”
”That was my second choice, yes. I think Yan Yan will be perfect there. As for me... I don't want to attract to much attention, so either the Divine-Beast branch or the Shinsoo-Medecine Pavilion.”
The two girls pondered the question for a while, both very excited by the other's achievements and the fact that they would be together in the Star-Sword Pavilion. If Shin Sumi managed to get in.
Despite Xiao Yue's gracious offer to talk to Master Sword about Bai Fulong's acceptance in the branch, Shin Sumi wanted to do it by herself.
For her it was a way of showing Fen Wudao and Patriarch Sen her worth, as well as having as many backup plans as possible if ever it turned out that she wasn't cut out for the Ghost Pavilion.
The mysterious hidden sixth branch of the sect, that was even above the Inner Sect formed only of selected disciples chosen by a master, Shin Sumi could not wrap her head around what it could be like.
The next few days passed quickly for Shin Sumi. With an incredible amount of spirit stones at her disposal, she bought a few sets of weapons and explored a bit more around the sect.
Because of the Void Sword's strange nature, she couldn't simply show up at the Star-Sword Pavilion's selections with a sword that had no blade. She even visited the place where she had first met Patriarch Sen in the form of Elder Xi.
As it turned out, both her and the Patriarch were adept at hiding their identities.
Sadly, 'Elder Xi' wasn't there, but Shin Sumi still managed to find a perfectly good sword for Bai Fulong. A very balanced grey blade with a black stone handle.
The new sword, called 'Sky Deception' as the engravings on the hilt revealed, was a very manly looking weapon but strangely it had a soft feel to it.
It wasn't overbearingly Yang typed like the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been. A perfect weapon to use as Bai Fulong and as herself.
Unable to decide on one more sword, Shin Sumi bought a whole load of middle grade blades, under the flabbergasted eyes of the disciple in charge of the counter. The sum of spirit stones that Shin Sumi had spent on swords was incredibly high for anyone but to her it was nothing more than disposable income.
And if she didn't have enough, making more was easy. As long as she had one low grade spirit stone left, the nut could turn it into a high grade stone, which she could exchange for more low grade ones and so on.
Having nothing else important to do before the beginning of the selection process for the different Pavilions, Shin Sumi left the upper valley grounds and returned to the lower valley.
The two levels of the sect, one for the Liquid Realm disciples and the other for the Honorary Disciples, were separated by a large cliff in which a tunnel had been carved.
From there, a long straight flight of stairs descended into the ground. The tunnel ended inside a large construction on the edge of the lower valley. A huge set of pillars held a large roof above the hole in the cliff.
Even from her time in the lower valley, Shin Sumi had never noticed the building, which was partially hidden in a forest where Honorary Disciples didn't have access.
What she didn't expect though was that Liquid Realm Disciples either were not allowed to cross between valleys.
”Hold there fellow sister. Who sent you, if I may ask?”
A first step Liquid Realm disciple stopped her right as she was stepping between the stone pillars.