Ren woke to the brisk morning air, and the sun had yet to rise. He took a moment to realize where he was and felt a surge of excitement wash away the drowsiness. It was his first day as a disciple, and he had a full day ahead of him. Suddenly, he remembered he had no instructions and didn’t know what was next. A little unsure, he went back to his identity jade and sat on the meditation platform as he tried to glean the rules embedded in the jade.

  Ren felt a wave of relief when the jade instructed that the first challenge was to understand the jade. It also informed him the sect expected more disciples to arrive, so he had a week to settle in before attending the first class on the basics of cultivation. Having learned this, Ren went to explore the plot that would be his home until he entered the next step of cultivation.

  In the light of the morning, the mist still covered his land, which was rife with weeds. It dawned on him that if he had to maintain or grow new herbs, it would be a challenge for one person to accomplish it all alone. The area behind his hut was for storing wood and mostly empty, but he did discover some basic farming tools. There were two bare trees that looked dead, though Ren had no idea what kind they were. The walls surrounding the compound were dirty and had alarming cracks in them.

  Ren also recognized that a week’s worth of food was exactly enough till the first lesson, and he would then need to find more food. His education taught him that qi beasts were the most nutritious meat and spiritual herbs were best for his current qi gathering stage, but he had no idea where to obtain them. No doubt they would cost contribution points. A little unsure about how to proceed, he decided to take his uncle’s advice and grow spiritual herbs. The land would have to be weeded and turned in preparation.

  He set about yanking weeds until the sun was high in the sky before his rumbling belly reminded him he had to make his own food. There were no chefs here! He had barely covered a quarter of the field, and already it felt like he was falling behind. He made a quick meal of undercooked porridge and chunks of dried meat. Though he found it difficult to swallow, he forced himself to. He couldn't afford to be picky. After all, he was now an independent young man and a cultivator as well! Afterwards, he continued on bravely battling the weeds. The green menace that stood in the way of the bountiful spiritual herbs would taste defeat.

  By dusk, Ren was exhausted. He had just finished half the field, and his back ached terribly from stooping all day. He now had to make dinner for himself, which he did feeling a little sorry for himself, missing his family chef, who unfailingly made lavish meals of fish and fowl. But somehow, as he ate his chunky porridge and dried meat only slightly softened by the cooking, the stars were once again spectacular. He felt the exhaustion not fading but instead settling evenly across his body.

  The porridge was somehow the best meal he had ever eaten, and the chunks of tough meat were the finest accompaniment. The cold spring water tasted particularly delicious. As Ren welcomed the night beside his warm fire under the brilliant stars, he felt a quiet appreciation for life that he had never felt before. If this was the life of a cultivator… he was glad to be counted amongst them. It was certainly challenging, but overcoming those challenges gave him the pleasure of a day well spent that none of his days of tutoring and martial coaching had ever given him.

  The next morning he still woke before dawn despite the aches throughout his body. Deciding to embrace the life of a cultivator, he repeated his steps from yesterday, meditating on the information in the identity jade until dawn. The cultivation laws of the sect continued to seep into his mind. He also picked up some more useful tips, like the outer sect market that would meet every week and that the next one would be held today. There were also directions to the other major halls of the sect. Though the jade said to wait until after the first class to decide on a cultivation method from the Hall of Scriptures.

  After dawn, Ren continued to work on his field and was approaching noon when he heard a knock by the gate. He wiped his brow, getting more dirt on it, and went to open the gate. He found Big Hua smiling brightly at him.

  “Greetings, brother, I came to see how you are doing. I finished weeding my plot yesterday and wasn’t sure what to do next, so I came to visit.

  Ren was a little surprised, both at his manner of address and how rapidly he had finished the farm work. He paused a moment and said, “I was going to finish weeding and eating before going to the outer sect market. We can go together if you like, brother.”

  It felt nice to have a friend. Life as a young master had more sycophants and two-faced competitors than friends. It was refreshing to start anew. Since Bao Hua had called him brother without an agenda, he had reciprocated.

  Hua seemed just as surprised when he replied, “There’s a market? Let me help you weed, and we can head there early.”

  Ren tried a feeble protest, but Hua was already yanking weeds. Ren noticed he even had a rough straw hat that hadn’t been there before. When he asked about it, Hua told him that the longer weeds could be used to weave a hat to shade from the sun. Though the best hats needed better materials, Ren felt it completed the image of a farmer in his mind. Hua even taught Ren how to weave his own hat as Ren prepared lunch for both of them as thanks for all his help.

  As the meal was cooking, Hua said, “I’m so glad they gave us a month’s worth of food; I’m not sure I would have time to find food if you’re right about those classes in a week.” Ren froze. He realized he had completely miscalculated the food in storage. That was meant to last a month?! Were they humans or birds? A new source of food was a priority. Furthermore, Ren was embarrassed when he saw Hua grimace as he swallowed a bite from the bowl. Ren felt the need to defend his efforts.

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  “I haven’t cooked much before. You should have seen me at the beginning. Still, I would be very grateful if you had any pointers on how to improve. I know this isn’t very good.”

  Hua was very gracious and said, “I’ve certainly had worse by far. You should’ve tried some of my little sis Rui’s attempts when she first started. The porridge was so chunky my brother said she must have tossed in rocks when he wasn’t looking!” Ren was heartened by the attempts to cheer his spirits and decided Hua was certainly not a bad sort and could definitely be called a friend.

  Once they finished their meal, Hua followed Ren to the market. Ren had to remind him to bring the small pouch, which contained 5 spirit stones and 1 pill, along with him to trade at the market. Ren took in the beautiful mountain scenery as they did, and Hua told more funny stories about his siblings. He enjoyed the walk even though he looked forward to being one of the higher realm cultivators who could wield flying swords and even ride astride them across vast distances. Flying in or over the sect was forbidden, so he didn’t see any now, but he’d seen them while approaching the sect.

  Ren heard the dull roar of the market before they saw it. It looked like there were thousands attending the weekly market. The space the market occupied was many times the size of his ancestral home despite its vast gardens and varied buildings. There was no way they could cover it all in a day. Still, the pair of them made their way in past the south gate.

  The air was full of strange scents and a low roar of voices selling and buying things. There were a few lavishly decorated permanent shops. They sold items like flying swords and spatial pouches. It wasn’t even worth finding out the cost. He knew it would be a long time before he was even worthy of owning such treasures, not to mention being strong enough to not be robbed.

  There were also many temporary stalls. From what Ren observed, most stall owners were bartering and using spirit stones to cover the difference. The barter included all kinds of things. Even though he had spent most of his life being prepared for the life of a cultivator, he couldn’t identify over half the things being traded. The bigger stalls held conventional items like swords, armor, pills, talismans, and assorted items. Those he was somewhat familiar with, though they remained entirely unaffordable.

  The smaller stalls were often manned by a single person. They advertised unconventional things like poison gu, puppets, and uncommon weapons like needles or chains. There was even a stall for mystery rock carving, which looked more like gambling to Ren. You could pay to select a rock, which could have an unknown prize within it. The few attempts he saw had no special reveals, but the crowd around it enjoyed them vicariously anyway. Beside him, Bao Hua hadn’t closed his mouth for the entire duration; he was so in awe.

  ‘Truly,’ Ren thought, ‘the cultivation world is vast indeed.’

  He found a section of the market that seemed to focus on food and made his way over. Reluctant though he was to spend his precious spirit stone on something so trivial, he hadn’t managed his food stores very well and couldn’t leave to hunt before classes began. He wanted some spirit rice, which was fare he was used to eating and knew how to portion it better. It would be enough for the next 2 weeks, hopefully. He struck up a conversation with the grain stall owner as he tried to haggle down the price. Ren felt a little proud for having remembered the tricks his servants had taught him when they would sneak out to the local markets.

  “1 spirit stone is too much for just this small amount of rice. How about half?”

  The stall owner, who looked to be just a few years older than him, scoffed and said, ‘Are you trying to rob me? This little boy still smelling of milk thinks his meager wealth is precious?’

  “Please, senior. There’s no need for insults. How about instead you throw in the seeds for these basic spirit vegetables along with the rice? We just joined the sect; help your poor juniors out, senior?”

  The man looked at him and at Hua and gave a small sigh of pity. ‘Oh, very well. This should be enough for about half the standard-sized plot. This and the rice for 1 spirit stone.”

  Ren gave his brightest smile and said, “Thank you, senior! I will direct all my friends to buy their seeds and grain from you!”

  The stall owner laughed this time and said, “Off with you now! I have other customers.”

  Ren and Hua wandered around for a while longer but didn’t dare buy anything further without learning more about what to prioritize. They decided to turn back, as it would take them a while to walk back and prepare dinner. As they walked, they shared their wonder at the things they had seen today. Hua in particular seemed determined to strike it rich and reach the heights of success, where he could sweep through the market for anything he pleased.

  Ren felt excited for the days to come. He still had five days to settle in and wanted to spend it productively and maybe plant the new seeds he had purchased. They would grow quickly and be ready within 2-3 weeks. Once they parted ways, Ren decided to greet his other neighbor like Hua had greeted him this morning. A short hike from his place was another household that looked identical to his. He knocked at the gate and announced himself.

  Just as he thought no one was home, the gate was opened by a boy of similar stature and age to him. He, like Ren, was dressed in excellent robes. He frowned openly at Ren and asked impatiently, “What do you want?”

  Ren was a little taken aback but persevered in his introduction. “I’m Zhao Ren, your neighbor. Wanted to see how you were settling in as a fellow new sect member.”

  The boy frowned deeper. “I’m settling in just fine. The jade given to us has all I need to know. Is that all? Then stop bothering me.”

  Ren was irritated by his attitude. The boy hadn’t even given his name in return. Yet there was no point in creating grudges so early, at least, and this was definitely a young master judging by his pride and appearance. So he said his farewell and left, deciding to avoid the boy in the future.

  He returned to his bare little home with a small pile of pulled weeds, then set about making food. This time he decided to make slightly larger quantities. He couldn’t spend so much of his time preparing food and would just have leftovers for the next meal. He felt weirdly excited by the idea because a young master who ate leftovers? What would his mother say?! He chuckled under his breath.

  He also continued to sleep beneath the stars, treating his hut as more a place to meditate and store things. The charm of sleeping out in the chill mountain air still hadn’t faded one bit. Ren was thoroughly enjoying his new and independent life.