Sky Pride

Comparison is the thief of joy. Tian and Hong were, unquestionably, the strongest in the Outer Court of Ancient Crane Monastery. Others might have more polished skills and better equipment, but the difference in physical capability, elemental awareness, to say nothing of the sheer depth and purity of their vital energy, put them miles beyond their peers. Which put them in a bit of a tricky situation. Tian didn’t understand that. Hong very much did.

“It’s no longer a question of networks or of family ties. It’s a question of strength. Once the gap gets to a certain point, things become very difficult. We are notionally in the same realm- hell, we are juniors, but you have made it very clear that you stand above everyone. And… once I heard about what you did, I arranged a private duel with a certain senior sister.”

“How many moves did she last?”

“One. My boxing isn’t anything special, but…”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Tian looked over his shoulder at Liren. “Not with the strength you can put behind it, the speed you can throw your hands, and your ability to know their every move before they make it.”

Liren nodded faintly. “Straight right cross, caught the point of her chin and dropped her flat. I thought I had really harmed her for a few seconds.”

Tian nodded. “Word got around afterward.”

“Yeah.”

Burning Heaven didn’t add to the conversation. She was carrying them to the rendezvous point for the expedition to the White Peacock’s testing ground, and it seemed her mind was firmly focused on what they might be tested on.

Liren continued after an awkward pause. “It will be better when we are in the Heavenly Realm. Once the gap gets past a certain point, there is no comparison, right? And the bitterness of being surpassed in realm by a junior is one all the Level Tens are familiar with. Most of them will cheer for us when we ascend. But until then, we are all part of the Outer Court. The fear is that we will choose to rule it.”

“No. Also, how? I mean, I can’t control who gets what missions, who gets paid whatever, housing is practically whatever you want…”

“Yeah, but you and I can wait for someone in a quiet spot, beat them rotten and rob them. Then extort the next few with the example of the first as motivation.”

Tian blinked at her. His expression clearly communicated that, while he understood all the individual words, he couldn’t understand why she put them in that order.

“I didn’t say it was likely, and most of ‘em know we wouldn’t. Not even taking into consideration what the Inner Court or the Elders would do if we tried. But you have to put it in the context of a hundred and fifty years, two hundred years, of seeing the biggest scumbags getting the biggest rewards. Not all the time, but given our particular circumstances, we would be a perfect fit. The, hah, the arrogant young master and mistress of the Outer Court.”

Tian started slowly nodding. “There is Burning Heaven and Sister Mei as our Heavenly People backing. Throw in the rest of the Wangs and Sister Lin, and we have money, the production lines for some crucial goods, and the cultivating birds and animals. You have ties to the disciplinary squad, I have ties to the hospital, we both have ties to the Inner Court and Direct Disciples, and short of an all out ambush by a dozen or so peak level nines, they can't beat us in a fight either.”

“Talismans would be a big equalizer, can’t forget them. Same with arrays, and they probably don’t know poisons barely touch you. I guarantee someone in the Outer Court got their hands on a Heavenly Realm talisman and kept it just in case.” Liren sniffed.

“Right. Elder Rui gave you those Goldsword talismans. Who’s to say they couldn’t get some of their own?”

“Right, and they have had a century or two to collect their own life saving measures. My point is just that it would be… unwise… to push too hard.”

“I wasn’t going to push at all!” Tian threw his hands up.

“You don’t have to. You already won.” Burning Heaven laughed. It seemed she had only been pretending not to pay attention.

“She’s right. From their perspective, we conquered the Outer Court and didn’t bother to tell anyone we had done it. But what would change if we did?” Tian could hear the sinister chuckle in Hong’s voice.

“Literally nothing? Because we don’t actually have the power to change anything?”

“We do with soft power. Soft power backed by hard is the best kind. And everyone knows that, while we could, we are currently choosing not to. We are choosing not to make waves. You are being punished very publicly, and you are very publicly going along with it. I’m laying low too, mostly reviewing the current rules and regulations for the Outer Court, as well as compiling a standard of conduct for the Disciplinary Squad. Not alone, obviously, but…”

Tian groaned and buried his face in his hands. He could do this much political math.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“What would we have to- no, wrong question.”

“Yeah. It’s not about what we could gain, it’s about what they could lose. Starting with face, a sense of security, opportunities to advance, and going from there.”

“So what does this have to do with our little… outing?”

Liren tapped his shoulder with a bit of heavy paper. It nearly fluttered out of his fingers when he tried to grab a hold of it. He settled his breath and took a proper look.

There wasn’t much to it. Elder Rui had suspended his mandatory mission to make charcoal for the duration of his absence from the Monastery, though he was required to continue his study on the importance of filial behavior and the teachings of the Ancient Crane for as long as he was away. More interesting was what it was silent on. It didn’t instruct him to leave the monastery, or give him permission to challenge the trial. It didn’t even mention why he would be absent from the Monastery. It just said what would, and would not, happen if he did leave.

Which was interesting. He wondered if Elder Rui was making a double point.

“What’s that old saying about masters? It always struck me as particularly stupid.”

“Um.” Liren thought about it for a minute. “Master for a day, a father for life?”

“That’s the one. Can you even imagine if people took that seriously?” Tian shook his head, not seeing Liren shaking hers.

“It’s not much of a thing at our level, but Auntie Bai says it is definitely a thing for some of the Level Tens, and even more so for the Heavenly Realm cultivators. The master-disciple relationship is a permanent one, and since everyone involved has almost certainly outlived their parents, it may well be even more important than blood relations.”

“For birds, it’s less complicated. We use human words and concepts, but it boils down to trusting someone to teach you something that could make you very, very powerful, or get you killed. So how much do you have to trust them, and how much is their teaching worth? If someone is teaching you the road to true immortality, you owe them. Generally, you owe them obedience and loyalty, up to a logical point.”

Tian thought that made sense. It really was Elder Rui making a double point. “You don’t think we can lead properly? Fine. Go learn from a damn bird if you like. It is entirely up to you. We aren’t chasing you away. You are welcome back whenever you like. But if you do learn from the bird, he will expect you to be obedient and filial, and he won’t have our tolerance for your little quirks.”

“Is the White Peacock even planning on taking a human disciple?”

“No,” Burning Heaven said. “He isn’t taking any disciples. The White Peacock is planning on transmitting his prided Nine Colored Feathers Art, which does require you to have feathers. So, unless there are humans with wings and feathers, they can’t use it. On the other hand, he has a very sizable retinue of servants, disciples, and guests. It’s pretty normal for them to snap up cultivators who don’t catch the Peacock's eye, including humans. Teaching the true dao being considered a major merit, and who wouldn’t want to make connections with potential future powerhouses.”

“Ahah.”

“Plus, you can cultivate in the Peacock’s cultivation ground, and possibly, with some luck and skill, snag some of the fruits and things growing there. Things that could reduce your cultivation time to the peak of Level Nine to weeks. So. Very worthwhile.” Burning Heaven concluded.

“Any idea what we are going to be tested on? I’m sort of struggling to imagine what they would care about, given the huge realm gap.” Liren asked.

“None. I guess we will be tested on our character or something? Our mentality?” Burning Heaven drove her wings hard, trying to find an elusive thermal.

Tian tried to put all the pieces together. The two of them had essentially outgrown the Outer Court, but they weren’t yet strong enough for the Inner Court. They were distorting Outer Court, exerting a kind of mental pressure on the others. The kind of pressure that could twist and deform people. That could make more Brother Mao’s- decent cultivators who couldn’t stand the weight of someone like Tian, and invisibly broke.

The elders generally meant well, but they weren’t always reliable. This arrangement was an example of them meaning well. Time would tell if it was actually a good idea.

The most benevolent solution to the political and social problem would be to get Tian and Liren into the Inner Court and then to Direct Discipleship, as quickly as possible. They couldn’t force a revelation, but they could make sure that when an opportunity opened, Tian and Hong were in the exact right place to take advantage of it. Better still, it got them out of the Monastery for a while, easing up the pressure on everyone, Elders included.

The more Tian thought about it, the more pleased he became. Then he started interrogating the feeling, because “pleased” wasn’t quite it. It was more the feeling of seeing well laid out tile, or watching a drawer slide shut so smoothly and seamlessly, you wished you could open it again just for the hedonism of it all. Something being as it should be, perfectly.

“I feel bound up. Like I’m walking around in a half crouch,” Liren muttered. “Do you remember the first thing Starsieve said to us? The Earthly realm isn’t nine levels, its nine transformations. Each time we fill up our internal vessel, then break and rebuild them into an even bigger vessel. I can’t say it ever felt that way to me-”

“Or me,” Tian snorted.

“But I don’t think he was lying about it. I think that my mind is ready to take its shot at the Heavenly Realm. My qi is pure and dense, I have experienced things, seen things, learned things, that are miles and miles beyond the ordinary cultivator. I’ve had so, so many opportunities to really think about what immortality means to me.”

“You think you are going to have a revelation as soon as you top out Level Nine.” Tian concluded.

“Yeah. And until I get there, I feel stifled. Compressed.”

Tian considered it a moment. “Well said.”

“You too?”

“Mmm.” Tian reckoned he had skirted along the edges of immortal revelation several times now, but each time his body wasn’t yet ready. He was eager to be ready. To stop becoming, and be. The enclosed mountain forced him to consider internal matters. In a sense, it was a blessing. In another sense, he was very damn ready to be moving. Some days, he had the insane urge to claw at the formation shielding the Mountain, as though he could dig his way to freedom.

“This is the last piece of preparation before we confront our breakthroughs.” Tian spoke slowly, feeling the weight of the words land on the air. “Our last big push. We have accumulated a lot. We have impeccable foundations. Time to soar.”