The gong resonated like the final verdict of a trial.
The general murmur of the courtyard died out immediately. Every body in the area tensed at the same time, as if a predator had just entered the territory and every survival instinct screamed the same order: stay still.
I turned toward the entrance of the courtyard.
Master Wei walked with measured steps, and each one seemed to generate a pulse of invisible pressure. He was a man who defied all visual logic. His face was that of someone who had lived seventy years, with deep wrinkles and a completely white beard. But his body told another story: broad shoulders, thick arms, and a posture that spoke of raw strength barely contained.
He was not imposing in the traditional sense. But the way he occupied the space was absolute.
I felt something strange in my chest. My body, this young and still weak body, instinctively recognized that it was standing before something that could destroy it without effort.
So this is what a true difference in level means.
In my previous life, I had been in boardrooms with powerful men. Executives who controlled budgets of billions, people whose decisions could sink entire companies. But that power was abstract, mediated by institutions and hierarchies.
This power was direct.
Liling leaned slightly toward me. Her voice was barely a whisper.
"He is in a bad mood."
I looked at Master Wei again. His expression seemed neutral to me.
"How do you know?"
"His Qi is turbulent. The way he moves... there is a tension in him."
I blinked. I had not noticed any of that. To me, Wei was just an older man walking with authority.
Interesting.
I had assumed that my advantage over the people in this world was my analytical capacity, my ability to see patterns that others ignored. But Liling had just demonstrated that she had access to a completely different set of data. She could read things that I did not even know existed.
I made a mental note: Liling was not just a competent bodyguard. She had a talent for perception that likely indicated considerable cultivation potential. I had underestimated her ability.
How many other things am I underestimating?
Master Wei reached the center of the courtyard and stopped. He simply let the silence stretch while his eyes scanned the rows of disciples.
When he finally spoke, his voice was surprisingly clear for someone of his apparent age.
"Mandatory training. Two months since the last session. Some of you have progressed." His gaze stopped on several specific disciples. "Most have not."
No one dared to respond.
"We will begin with an evaluation of fundamentals. Row by row. If your form is deficient, I will correct it. If your technique is shameful, I will know. And if you are wasting my time..." he left the threat unfinished.
He started with the blue ribbon disciples, the lowest level. He moved among them with a speed that contradicted his appearance. A touch here to correct a posture. A cutting word there to point out an error. He was not cruel, exactly, but he was not kind either.
I watched how he worked. In a way, he reminded me of the best managers I had worked with. People who knew exactly what to look for and did not waste time with unnecessary preliminaries.
The row for Xiao Yue was approaching. I felt Liling tense beside me.
"Are you okay?" I asked her in a low voice.
"I always hate this part," she admitted. "Master Wei has a reputation for using the Young Mistress as an example of what not to do."
Of course. Nothing like public humiliation to motivate someone.
When Wei finally arrived in front of Xiao Yue, my entire body tensed involuntarily.
She held her ground. Her expression was that mask of ice that I knew well. She made an appropriate bow and waited.
"Young Mistress Xiao Yue," Wei said. His tone was neutral. "Show me your basic fire channeling form."
Xiao Yue nodded and adopted the posture. She closed her eyes briefly, then began the sequence.
And it was... different.
I had seen Xiao Yue train dozens of times. I knew her movements. But this was more refined. The changes we had discussed, the small corrections, it was all there. There was no waste of energy. Each transition flowed into the next.
The flames that manifested in her hands were small, not the spectacular explosions that some disciples produced. But they were constant and stable.
Wei watched in silence. His face showed nothing.
Here comes the criticism.
Liling beside me was practically holding her breath.
Wei crossed his arms.
"Better."
Xiao Yue opened her eyes, clearly surprised.
"Your control has improved notably since the last session. The stability of the flow is acceptable." He paused. "I am pleased to see that your effort is yielding fruit, Young Mistress."
For a fraction of a second, the mask of Xiao Yue cracked. I saw genuine astonishment on her face. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the mask returned.
"Thank you, Master Wei."
Wei nodded once and continued to the next disciple.
Liling grabbed my arm tightly. When I looked at her, she had tears in her eyes that she was clearly trying to hold back.
"He... he gave her a compliment," she whispered.
"So it seems."
"Kenji, Master Wei never gives compliments to the Young Mistress. Never."
I looked toward where Xiao Yue remained in her position. Her posture was perfect, her expression neutral. But I noticed the way her fingers trembled slightly.
She is trying not to react. To maintain her composure.
A warm and uncomfortable sensation rose in my chest. It took me a moment to identify it.
Pride. I am proud of her.
How strange. I had not felt that in a long time. Perhaps never in this way.
The evaluation continued. The blue ribbon disciples finished their turn. Then came those with green ribbons.
And it was then that my understanding of this world changed drastically.
The first green disciple who demonstrated his technique launched an attack that made the air vibrate. A column of fire erupted from his hands and hit a training mannequin twenty meters away. The impact was deafening. The mannequin, which seemed to be made of reinforced stone, cracked.
Impressive.
But it was only the beginning.
Another disciple created a sphere of water the size of a person and threw it against the ground. The impact created a crater three feet deep.
A third summoned ice spears that pierced through targets.
My brain began to make involuntary calculations.
The green disciples were, individually, more dangerous than most small arms I knew from my previous life. Perhaps not tanks or heavy artillery, but definitely more lethal than any conventional infantry soldier.
And these are only mid level.
Then came the turn of the silver ribbon disciples.
The first to demonstrate was a young man no more than twenty five years old. He stood in the center of the courtyard, adopted a relaxed posture, and simply... existed for a moment.
The air around him began to distort. I felt the pressure even from my position at the edge of the courtyard. It was like being near an industrial furnace.
He raised a hand.
What happened next defied my understanding of physics.
An explosion of pure fire erupted from his palm. It was white in the center and blue at the edges. The heat was so intense that I felt my skin burn even fifty meters away.
The designated target, a solid stone block the size of a car, simply ceased to exist.
The stone floor of the courtyard trembled under my feet.
I looked at Liling. She seemed impressed but not surprised.
She already knew this was possible. To me it is a revelation.
Another silver disciple demonstrated his technique. This one created a lightning storm that lit up the entire courtyard. The bolts struck multiple targets simultaneously. The sound was so loud that my ears buzzed for several seconds afterward.
A third summoned pillars of earth that rose from the ground like giant fingers, crushing everything in their path.
I stood there, watching, trying to process what I was seeing.
In my mind, I began to make comparisons. Firearms. Could they even touch these individuals?
An assault rifle fired projectiles at approximately 900 meters per second. Powerful, yes. But these cultivators moved with a speed that made conventional projectiles look slow. And their defenses...
I had seen one of the green disciples block a direct attack with a simple Qi barrier. The impact that would have shattered reinforced concrete barely made him step back.
Small arms would be useless. Perhaps heavy explosives would work, but you would have to hit them first. And these are only mid high level disciples of a provincial clan.
A cold realization settled in my mind.
Those two idiots I had seen fighting in the plaza the day I arrived in this world, the ones wasting energy making their fists glow before hitting each other, were not representative cultivators. They were incompetent. People who had barely learned the basics and executed them poorly.
I had based my initial understanding of this world on the worst possible examples.
I have severely underestimated this place.
The full scale of power in this world operated at a level that my corporate brain had never really considered possible.
In my previous life, power meant control over resources, political influence, financial capital. All abstract things exercised through systems and institutions.
Here, power was direct. A sufficiently strong cultivator could, individually, destroy infrastructure, defeat armies, change the outcome of conflicts.
And I was walking through this world with the physical strength of a malnourished teenager.
This is unacceptable.
The realization was immediate and clear. I could not stay as I was. Being smart would not be enough if any decent disciple could kill me before I finished a sentence.
I needed personal power. I needed to start my own cultivation.
At least enough to not be completely helpless. To have the basic capacity to survive if things went wrong.
Another project for the list. But this one is urgent.
The demonstrations continued for another hour. By the time they finished, my understanding of the world had been completely recalibrated.
The disciples began to disperse. Some stayed for additional practice. Others withdrew in small groups, conversing about what they had seen.
Xiao Yue remained in her original position, clearly waiting for additional instructions.
Then something unexpected happened.
Master Wei, who had been supervising the final demonstrations, walked deliberately toward where Xiao Yue was standing.
Liling tensed again at my side.
"What is he doing?" she whispered.
Wei stopped in front of Xiao Yue and spoke in a voice loud enough for me to hear from my position.
"Young Mistress Xiao Yue."
"Master Wei." She made an appropriate bow.
"I have been informed that you now have access to the fire technique library of the clan."
"That is correct, Master."
Wei nodded slowly. "Good. Those techniques can be complex for someone without formal supervision."
Xiao Yue did not respond, but her posture became slightly more rigid.
"My position as a servant of the clan prevents me from offering private tutoring without the explicit authorization of the Council of Elders," Wei continued. His voice was completely neutral. "However..."
He made a deliberate pause.
"If in the future you had questions about fire element cultivation, and we casually happened to meet in the hallways of the clan or in the gardens during my morning walks, I would see no problem in answering general academic inquiries. Such spontaneous conversations do not require formal authorization."
The face of Xiao Yue remained perfectly controlled, but I saw the moment she processed what Wei had just said.
He was offering her covert mentorship. Technically he was not violating any clan rules, but the message was clear.
"I understand, Master Wei. I appreciate your... willingness to share general knowledge if circumstances permit."
Wei nodded once. "My morning walks usually occur near the Scarlet Lotus Pavilion. Every day, approximately one hour after sunrise."
"That is useful information, Master."
"Good. You may withdraw, Young Mistress."
Xiao Yue made another bow and began to walk away. Wei turned and walked in the opposite direction, as if the conversation had never happened.
I looked at Liling. She looked back at me with an expression of complete confusion.
"Did what I think just happened actually happen?" she whispered.
"It seems so."
"But... Master Wei... he never... this makes no sense."
And she was right. It made no sense based on everything I had heard about Master Wei.
According to Liling, Wei had a reputation for being hard on Xiao Yue. For using her as a negative example. For ignoring her progress. But today he had given her a direct compliment and was now offering covert mentorship.
Something has changed. But what?
The possible variables were numerous. Perhaps Matriarch Feng had spoken to him. Perhaps the genuine progress of Xiao Yue had caught his professional attention. Perhaps there was politics behind this that I did not understand.
Or perhaps Wei had never really been hostile toward Xiao Yue. Perhaps he had simply been brutally honest about her deficiencies, and now that she showed real improvement, he responded appropriately.
Insufficient data for a definitive conclusion.
Xiao Yue approached our position. Her expression was carefully neutral, but when she reached where we were, she let out a long sigh.
"That was..." she began, then stopped, as if she did not know how to finish the sentence.
"Unexpected," I offered.
"Yes. Very unexpected." She looked toward where Wei had disappeared. "Master Wei has never spoken to me like that before."
"How do you feel?" Liling asked softly.
Xiao Yue considered the question. "I am not sure. I am still thinking."
"It is a positive development," I said. "Informal access to a high level instructor is a valuable resource."
Xiao Yue looked at me with those golden eyes.
"Is that how you see it? As a resource?"
There was something in her tone. It was not an accusation, exactly. Rather it was genuine curiosity, as if after so much time she was finally taking the time to try to truly know me.
"It is true that I see everything as resources or tools," I admitted. "It is my way of understanding the world. But that does not mean I do not value the personal aspect of the situation, or the feelings of other people... That is something I am still working on."
"And what is the personal aspect?"
"That someone with power and influence is finally seeing you as you deserve to be seen. That matters beyond any practical advantage."
Xiao Yue studied me for a long moment. Then, something in her expression softened slightly.
"Thank you for your point of view, Kenji."
"There is no need to thank me."
"Yes, there is." She looked at Liling. "You two are..." she stopped, searching for words. "Important to me."
Liling smiled broadly and, before I could stop her, grabbed Xiao Yue in a quick hug. Xiao Yue tensed in surprise, then relaxed slightly.
"Liling," she protested weakly.
"I am sorry, Young Mistress, but you just said something incredibly emotional and I have the right to react appropriately."
"It is not appropriate to hug your employer in public."
"Then it is a good thing that almost everyone has already left."
In spite of herself, Xiao Yue smiled. A small and real smile.
We began to walk back toward the Silent Bamboo Pavilion.
"Kenji," Xiao Yue said as we walked, "I saw you watching the demonstrations of the senior disciples."
"Yes."
"Your expression was... interesting. As if you were making mental calculations."
Perceptive as always.
"I was recalibrating my understanding of what is possible in this world."
"And?"
"And I realized that I had severely underestimated the scale of power. The first cultivators I saw when I arrived in this world were incompetent. I based my initial understanding on the worst possible examples."
Xiao Yue nodded thoughtfully. "It is a common mistake for outsiders. The cultivators you see in the city streets generally are the ones who failed to reach higher levels. The truly powerful ones rarely mix with the general population."
"I understand that now."
"Did it scare you? Seeing that demonstration of power."
I considered the question honestly.
"It did not scare me exactly. But it did make me aware of my own vulnerability. In my... previous experience, I never had to worry about my personal physical safety. Now it is different."
"Are you thinking about starting to cultivate?" Xiao Yue asked, and there was a note of genuine interest in her voice.
"I am thinking that it would be prudent to have at least some basic defensive capabilities."
"It is a smart decision." She paused. "If you decide to do it, I can help you with the basics. Body strengthening techniques, fundamental Qi circulation. I am not a master, but I know more than most."
The offer took me by surprise.
"Would you be willing to do that?"
"Kenji, you have helped me more in the last few weeks than anyone has in years. Teaching you the basic fundamentals of cultivation is the least I can do."
Liling, walking on the other side of Xiao Yue, practically overflowed with satisfaction. Clearly she enjoyed seeing us interact in this way.
"Then I accept," I said. "Though I warn you that I will probably ask many annoying questions about the underlying theory."
"I expect nothing less," Xiao Yue responded with a touch of humor in her voice.
We reached the pavilion just as the first stars began to appear in the sky. Liling went ahead to prepare dinner while Xiao Yue and I stayed in the garden for a moment.
"Today was an important day," Xiao Yue said softly. "I realized something."
"What?"
"That I am not alone. For so long, I felt like I was fighting everything on my own. But now..." she looked toward the pavilion, where Liling could be seen moving in the kitchen, "now I have people who truly care about my success."
"That matters more than you can probably understand," she continued. "And I wanted you to know it."
"I know," I said finally. "And for the record, it is not one sided. This arrangement... working with you, being here... it has also been meaningful for me."
Xiao Yue looked at me with an expression I could not completely decipher. There was warmth in it.
"We should go in," she said finally. "Liling will worry if we stay outside too long."
I nodded and followed her toward the interior of the pavilion.
That night, after dinner, I sat in my room with a book on body cultivation fundamentals that Xiao Yue had lent me. The demonstrations of the day kept playing back in my mind.
Power. True physical power that defied the laws of my old reality.
And I was in a world where that power was attainable. Where I could, with enough time and effort, become something more than the disposable executive who had died in an empty office.
The idea was both exciting and terrifying. Tomorrow I would begin my own training.
****
Author's Note:
Hey everyone!
I wanted to clear up some potential confusion regarding how Xiao Yue and Liling perceive Kenji. You might get the impression that they suspect he's from another world, but that's actually not the case!
To them, Kenji's way of speaking is just incredibly bizarre. Since they are within the Silver Cloud Clan's territory, they simply assume he's a "provincial" or a commoner from a distant, backwater region. They attribute his strange vocabulary and "bombastic" language to a local dialect or a lack of formal education in the ways of cultivation.
In short: the girls don't have a clue about his true origins. They just think he's a penniless outsider with a weird accent and a very unique (if slightly confused) perspective on how cultivation works.
Thanks for reading and for all your support!
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