Every three peaks in Bloodborne Sect acted as an independent organization led by an outer elder, and there were twelve of such outer elders in the sect. The Three Emerald Peaks, led by Outer Elder Han Yue, was one of those independent ones. Emerald Peaks had its own administrative building, Internal Affairs Hall, training ground, and many other facilities which helped it run smoothly.
With nearly a hundred people calling it home, it needed all those. And all these facilities ran with the help of staffs that were retired disciples but still called the sect their home — Deacons. One of those Deacons who ran the training ground of Emerald Peaks was Cang Wuyou — a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator. He was at the peak of that realm with almost no hope of breaking through to Core Formation.
So he worked here, donning his all–black uniform, his grey hair neatly combed and his weathered face in a constant state of solemness, as he stood in front of five rows of disciples who stood straight as poles without making a single noise in the vast open space of the training ground.
The evening sun gently basked the crowd, and the chilly wind whipped around, but no one paid that any mind. Everyone here was a cultivator who had already refined their Skin — the first step of Body Refinement.
"You all have been made aware of the upcoming yearly competition coming in a month from today, and might even know what fate awaits you if you fail to perform adequately. But today, I'll explain the benefits of performing well." Cang Wuyou paused, letting his words settle. The crowd stirred slightly but quieted down almost immediately under his gaze. Most of the disciples before him had greater potential than him, but he was stronger than them at the moment.
"Potential means nothing if they can't actualize it." He pondered for a second — a bit of reminiscence of his disciple days — but he snapped out of it in a moment.
"The best disciple from every year gains the chance to compete in the Spirit Cauldron Summit Trials, which will be held between disciples from the three groups of minor peaks under Spirit Cauldron Peak just like ours," he continued.
"And if you perform well there, you will be qualified for the Bloodborne Assembly between the four major peaks. Hope you keep all that in mind and train with the mindset to go all the way. Now train as you see fit." His words sent the crowd below into fervor. But he just completed his speech and walked to the raised platform from where he maintained order and occasionally gave pointers, uncaring of the turbulent emotions of the disciples.
"I can't fail like last year. I must win." Li Moyun clenched his fists. He stood at the front of one of the lines, which signified his position among the disciples. His tall body blocked the view for the disciples standing behind him, while his long black hair whipped at their faces, but no one complained. Even if they did, one sharp look from his dark abyss–like eyes shut them up.
Li Moyun was considered one of the most talented of this generation in the Three Emerald Peaks, having completed Bone Forging before turning sixteen — a significant achievement completed only by four of his peers, all of whom were in their third year now in the sect.
All five of them were called the Verdant Five — a nickname given by other disciples due to their dominance. No other disciple, younger or older, could match their prowess in the whole Emerald Peak.
"You sure about that, Li?" a voice called out from behind Li Moyun as the disciples dispersed, rushing to find their friends for training. The voice sounded mocking. It was Qing Long — one of the Verdant Five and a long–time rival of Li Moyun. Even their appearance differed.
Qing Long was short and stocky with short hair and a chubby, almost childlike face — but his behavior was far from it. He was a petty guy, drawing fun from mocking and pulling others down. But he hadn't been able to do so with Li Moyun — his annoyance bottling up the more he failed to do so. This hadn't happened since the day he was born.
His family was a cultivation clan with Qi Condensation elders as pillars, so he lived like a king back in the mortal world. But here in the sect, even a no–name like Li Moyun was his equal, which acted as fuel for the beginning of their rivalry and persist for three years now.
"Who's going to stop me, you?" Li Moyun replied as he slowly turned to face the shorter guy, looking down on him. His voice remained calm with no fluctuations even in the face of mocking.
Qing's expression soured. He had to look up to match this bastard's eyes. "Yes, me. Doubt it? Do you think you can win against me just because you did it once by a fluke?"
"A fluke, you say? We'll see if it was a fluke or fact in the yearly competition. Or do you want to try now?" Li Moyun's voice rose by a notch this time, reverberating through the training ground, causing Deacon Cang Wuyou to turn their way and speak, "No sparring now."
His command caused the two to halt their conversation. Both turned towards him and cupped their fists. A huff was all both did as they slowly parted and walked away.
The small episode of drama was being watched by all, including the three remaining Verdant Five who just shook their heads.
"Their arrogance sickens me." Ziqing, the only girl of the Verdant Five, commented before walking away. She was an elegant and kind–hearted girl with beauty unmatched in the Emerald Peaks, her reputation second only to the two boys who had just bickered with each other like kids.
All of this naturally fell under the watch of Shuyan, who was just practicing the Three Step Sword in a corner of the ground, but he paid it no mind. These were all at the peak of Bone Forging — not something he could meddle into even if he wanted. He just had to quietly watch and grow with the new treasure he had found — the WorldStone, which he had aptly named Pocket World for convenience.
He had spent the remaining day and night understanding the instructions about the Pocket World, and the more he knew, the more he rejoiced at the fact that it fell into his hands and not someone else's.
This pocket world could grow. It could grow by taking anything. Even soil, leaves, and wood worked as resources, but these hardly made a dent. Even spirit stones and pills, which Shuyan had dumped all he had of, made only a slight difference. And it wasn't growing at the moment; it was repairing itself with all those resources.
But there was one thing that he had confirmed after experimenting— the higher the Spiritual energy in an object the greater the effect in the pocket world. Which meant even herbs and spiritual artifacts and weapons would work. It was just that he had none of those at the moment.
"You are Shuyan, right?" A voice broke his concentrated practice and trail of thought, causing him to turn to the source of the voice. It was a fellow disciple who seemed to know him.
"Yes?" he replied unenthusiastically. He didn't like interacting with others, but of course he couldn't avoid it entirely if he wanted to stay in the sect. Lin Dage was proof that even the most introverted person needed someone as a friend.
"How is your preparation going for the competition? What stage are you?" the boy asked without even introducing himself.
"Second." Shuyan replied in a deadpan voice.
"Ohh. Good luck for the comp." The boy trailed his voice, his face mirroring Shuyan's. He left a superficial good luck and mixed with the crowd, his intention so glaring the sun might have been a lamp.
But Shuyan wasn't disheartened. Almost all disciples weighed the worth of a friendship by talent, which he didn't have much of. Only Lin Dage hadn't done so and remained his friend. He had some other friends, but they were in other peaks. So Shuyan was all alone most of the time, Lin Dage busy with his other friends.
"I don't need them either way," he muttered and continued his practice. Shuyan had talent around the bottom in the peak, but he had just gained something greater than talent could give.
The Pocket World seemed to have another feature which Shuyan had only realized while cultivating in the morning today. His Qi absorption had increased by multiple times, and his cultivation had been pushed to the peak of Stage Three of Body Refinement — Muscle and Tendon Refinement.
He just needed a week or two before he could enter Stage Four— Bone Forging which would greatly increase his chance of surviving or maybe even win it all in the coming competition.
Shuyan had almost died of happiness after realizing that, since increasing one's talent was almost impossible without some heavenly treasure, which was also practically impossible to get for him.
"Now I just need to work hard and focus on cultivating. I just need time."
Time was one thing he didn't have much of, since the competition was fast approaching.