Universal Knowledge Of The Dao 23 "What Do You Prefer I Call You?"

Her respect for the older generations and the general etiquette indicated that she should stay though.

Returning to her original position, she clasped her hands together and bowed.

"Sorry for disturbing you Elder Xi, this junior shall take her leave."

"Ohoho not at all, not at all. It has been a while since a red robed disciple entered this place anyway. In fact I haven't seen a Honorary Disciple in a long time."

Shin Sumi became intrigued. Asking carefully while keeping her bowing position if he was the Elder in charge of the Myriad Sword Pavilion.

"You could say that. Although it is mostly because I like to roam around here. Did you know that this building is one of the oldest in the sect?"

"Disciple Shin ignored that fact. Why is it so?"

"It is the oldest and one of the most valuable. Not because of the weapons but because of the building itself."

Shin Sumi was getting slightly annoyed with this Elder. She wanted to leave but couldn't, so she was listening with only one ear. Seemingly interested, she said:

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Then let me teach you a bit about the history of the sect. Before the Dark Sky Starry Sect, the valleys were occupied by the mighty Sky Sect. The first Patriarch of the Sky Sect built this building itself."

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Shin Sumi had always loved hearing and reading stories, and thus decided to listen to the old man.

"He used a special Shinsoo spell that no one else has been able to understand since then on this very building. Did you realize something when you first entered here?"

"No, I didn't... The door closed, it was dark and then I was here."

"Precisely. That is the beauty of it. Since the splitting of the Sky Sect in the Sky Earth Sect and the Dark Sky Starry Sect, not many disciples know of this spell. Where do you think you are?"

"I'm not sure I follow you, Elder Xi."

Now this mysterious Elder Xi had all of Shin Sumi's attention.

"You could say 'on the first floor of the building', which would be right. But if you said 'in the lower valley', then that would be wrong. n.o.body but the first Patriarch knows where exactly this place is located."

The Elder had a cunning smile on his wrinkly lips.

"This building exists in the lower valley, the upper valley and even on the highest mountain of the sect. All at the same time. The spatial formation at work is impressive isn't it?"

"So you mean the Liquid Realm Disciples also come in here from the upper valley?"

The elder laughed affirmatively. Shin Sumi was lost in thoughts. When Elder Xi stopped laughing, his eyes contained an intelligent gleam that hadn't been there previously.

"Now young disciple, what did you need in coming here?"

Shin Sumi ignored why the Elder had told her about the Myriad Sword Pavilion's specificity but since she was here, she might as well search for information like she had planned on doing.

"This disciple wanted guidance on swords and sword bonding."

"Ah, I see. If you are looking to find yourself a sword, follow me" the old man said as he started walking away, his hands behind his back in a peaceful manner. "Choosing a sword is like choosing a daoist partner. Compatibility is absolutely required."

"Some swords are very different from others. Usually female disciples tend to choose 'softer' swords. These on the left are easier to control, they don't need much mental effort" he continued, occasionally pointing to the many racks of swords on the dark wooden walls.

"If a sword is too strong and the cultivator too weak, their compatibility will drop. That makes for an unusable weapon. Weaker swords are easier to control for women, but can also turn easily against them. The key is finding balance."

Shin Sumi was alerted by the elder's words.

"Balance?" she thought, once again turning all her attention to Elder Xi's words.

"These swords are a bit more caracterial, but are still soft overall. I would advise you to pick one of them if you can afford it. How many spirit stones can you afford to spend?" he asked while turning to face her.

Shin Sumi was a bit embarra.s.sed to having led him to believe that she was interested in buying. Bowing slightly in apology, she responded:

"Actually I didn't come to buy a sword. I came to know a bit more about certain things."

She hesitated a bit under the elder's deep gaze, but still kept talking. Apart from Elder Zhu, she had no real reason to worry about the Elders of the sect. She didn't remember all their names, but Lan Hui had mostly told her that they could be trusted.

"Have you heard of a Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, Elder Xi?"

A moment of silence followed. Under tired eyelids, a strange flash that Shin Sumi didn't capture illuminated the man's pupils. Gauging her for a long minute, he finally spoke again.

"Do you prefer I call you Green Disciple Shin Sumi or Red Disciple Yan Yan?" he said in a soft voice that was maybe a bit too calm for Shin Sumi to keep her composure.

"You don't have to worry about me knowing. I don't care about how or why you would decide to hide your ident.i.ty. I understand why you would come to Myriad Sword Pavilion, but you should have realized by now that you will not find the answers you are looking for here."

The elder started walking again, this time at her side instead of in front of her. He showed her the door while making small talk.

"I wish the best to you, feel free to come back whenever you want, but you should focus on your training. Soon you will understand."

"Junior Shin Sumi thanks Elder Xi for his lesson on the sword, she will not forget it" she answered almost mechanically.

When she stepped out of the building, she was still in shock.

"What just happened? How did he know me? He knows about the strangeness of the sword? He said I would understand soon?"

A lot of questions a.s.sailed her mind but she didn't feel panicked at all. For some reason her trust in this Elder Xi was still intact. She almost felt happy he knew who she was.

Her visit to the Myriad Sword Pavilion had been full of mysteries. First she had found enlightenment about the copper bell and possibly the flying sword. Then the elder had revealed impressive secrets about the Pavilion itself. Then there was this strange interaction that she still couldn't qualify completely.

She took a forest path back to her courtyard. Meanwhile in the square where the Pavilion was located, a young boy that still hadn't succeeded in getting close to the Myriad Sword Pavilion was talking to a girl wearing a red robe. The girl was Liu Qing and seemed really interested about the person that the boy had seen enter.

Shin Sumi had not paid any attention to the two of them as she had walked past them. People were found anywhere in the sect at any time of day and night. She was deep in the woods when she sent a divine sense message to Lan Hui.

The response didn't wait for long to arrive. Lan Hui was the best disciple she knew when it came to gathering information. Shin Sumi was happy to feel her identification medallion vibrate in her hand.

"What? No Elder Xi in the whole sect?!" she exclaimed with a frown upon hearing the recorded message.

How could Lan Hui not know the old man? Shin Sumi was sure that Lan Hui had gone to the Myriad Sword Pavilion at least once, and besides he surely would know of at least a disciple that had met the old man there. The words 'Elder Xi' had spoken implied that he often spent his time roaming inside the place.

But Lan Hui's words were clear. He was absolutely sure about his fact. He had even added off the top of his head a list of all the Elders of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.

Once again, Shin Sumi felt at a loss. She was sure Lan Hui would have been able to solve her internal mysteries but in the end he didn't.

"But the old man MUST be an Elder. Or else how would he have been able to enter the sect and know that much about the Myriad Sword Pavilion?"

Her mind went back to what she knew about the sect. For some reason she thought that the old man could be much older than he appeared. Maybe it was his apparent great wisdom.

"No it's not right", the history of the sect was fresh in her mind. She never forgot anything she ever read. Her calculations didn't add up.

"The Dark Sky Starry Sect came to be when the Sky Sect dissolved about a thousand years ago, the highest cultivators here are Core Development Elders and Patriarchs. Even their lifespan isn't great enough to still be alive."

Every time Shin Sumi thought back on her interactions with the mysterious old man, a deep sense of reverence birthed in her heart. Whatever mystery was around his existence, Shin Sumi still couldn't believe that it was a bad thing.

The old man had even helped her.

Her line of thinking was simple. If she had no way of making sure of it, as long as it wasn't detrimental to her, why should she obsess over it?

For the time being it was best to leave that on the side and concentrate on what mattered.

She cultivated for the rest of the afternoon, finally purging off the last drops of muddy Shinsoo in her system and getting back to the condition she was in before her breakthrough.

Xiao Yue showed up at night as expected. Shin Sumi had invited her to spend the night at her place.

The girls talked for a while, Xiao Yue not picking up any clues that Shin Sumi had opened her first meridians.

Although it pained her to lie to her big sister in which she could confide about almost everything, she couldn't tell her about her recent progress.

It was a hard thing to do, even more so considering the fact that Xiao Yue knew about Shin Sumi's official talent. She would be expecting her to breakthrough any day. She had been in the sect for already about half a year after all, which was long for a green-robed disciple at this stage of cultivation.

What really kept Shin Sumi from telling her was her own technique provided by the Shinsoo Gathering Manual.

In a world where everybody knew it was possible to open pa.s.sageways only once, her own way of doing things would be hard to take in, even for Xiao Yue.

Besides, since Xiao Yue was herself close to breaking through to the next level, she couldn't really practice the evolved Shinsoo Gathering Manual's techniques.

Her body had already accepted too much impure Shinsoo to be helped, as far as Shin Sumi knew.

Shin Sumi also couldn't tell her about the gift from Fen Wudao or her meeting with 'Elder Xi'. The first one would reveal Yan Yan's true origin and cause Xiao Yue to realize that she had already lied to her too many times.

The second one would be simply ridiculous. If Lan Hui didn't know of any Elder Xi, Xiao Yue wouldn't either. Besides it was all linked to the sword that she was not supposed to have.

Once again, Shin Sumi stopped thinking too deeply about it and enjoyed the night simply.

Xiao Yue's injuries were completely healed by now and due to the little nut's powers not even a scar could be seen on the delicate skin between her arm and hip bone.

The two girls talked for a long time, laughed for even longer and finally went to sleep.

In her courtyard reserved for green-robed disciples, outside climate didn't matter too much and even at this time of the year the temperature was perfect. Who else in the sect could relax lazily like this at night in a pool of spring water?

Xiao Yue left early in the morning, refreshed and full of energy. She asked Shin Sumi if she wanted to wander around the sect grounds all day with her but she declined.

It was one of the perks of not wearing a red color. If a cultivator had no intention of cultivating for a day or two, n.o.body would ask anything and the pressure was a lot lower.

Shin Sumi told her that she would gladly do it another day, but she absolutely wanted to cultivate. She even told Xiao Yue that she felt close to the point of breaking through.

Once alone, the guilt and shame of lying to her sister overtook her again.

"I am sorry Yue. I promise one day I will tell you everything."

Cultivating a bit more to get in a better mood, the morning pa.s.sed quickly.

It was around mid-day when Shin Sumi opened her eyes. Her heart was calm and synchronized with the pulsing of her dantian. Probing her bag of holding with her hand, a golden light with no l.u.s.ter or brilliance appeared.

"h.e.l.lo again, Gold Tyrant Flying Sword."

Running her hand along the blade, Shin Sumi felt a shiver coursing through her arm.

She forced herself to put the cold metal against her forehead. The voices were gone, but the same feeling as before a.s.sailed her.

Shin Sumi knew she was feeling fearful of the blade. Generally to her it was a good thing to be afraid of weapons, but she wasn't the daughter of the mayor from a tiny village anymore.

She was a cultivator. If she wanted to survive in the Immortal world, she had to deal with a lot of things she wouldn't even have considered before.

As of now she knew the blade wasn't adapted to her. It was proud and mighty, and as though she had opened a few meridians in record time and was possibly one of the strongest of her level of cultivation, Shin Sumi herself was not more than a shy girl that had great luck.

"Maybe that is the lesson Senior Brother Fen wanted to teach me."

If she wanted to one day use the sword, she first would have to get on the same page. It was all about balance.

Why would a strong and loyal sword allow someone like her to get ownership of it?

Shin Sumi was looking at the sword intensely. Every few seconds she would bring the blade to her forehead. The shivers were still present but she was learning to get used to them.

"It is still not enough. I need to make it feel like part of my arm."

Shin Sumi knew that it was a flying sword, supposed to be used as a pair with Shinsoo control but that was only possible for Liquid Realm cultivators, thus it was the only thing she could come up with.

She experimented a few moves while holding the piece of metal that was uncomfortably heavy.

Despite the serious look on her face, she felt ridiculous. She even turned around a few time to ensure that n.o.body was watching her, although it was impossible in her courtyard.

Even the nut, unmoving on the stone bench under the plum tree, seemed to be judging her and making fun of her crazy att.i.tude.

"This is definitely not working. If I have to respect the sword I might as well respect myself."

Shin Sumi thought about contacting Xiao Yue. Surely her sister would have some advice for her regarding weapons.

It really was the easiest way but she ultimately decided against it. Relying on someone else's knowledge would not work, if her speculations about the first challenge of the sword were correct.

Not somebody else's knowledge, her own. Knowledge...

The blue eyes in Shin Sumi's face lit up suddenly. Finally she had come to understand what Xiao Yue had meant that one time long ago when she had just returned to the sect.

The pet.i.te orange robed girl had left the sect in search for experience. That was what she had referred to as knowledge.

Without thinking further about it, Shin Sumi left her courtyard. She was so entranced in her new idea that she nearly forgot to pick up the little grey nut that was rolling frantically towards her.

She went directly to the western entrance of the sect, where she suddenly stopped for a second. Inhaling deeply, she concentrated a few seconds.

Some disciples were talking about cultivation in a small group next to the gates and turned to look at her resolute att.i.tude with a sneer.

"She must be new here. Do you remember your first time in the training grounds, brothers?"

"As if it was yesterday ahaha! Look at her so frightened... I'm sure she won't last out there, even though she can't get past the red border."

"How do you know? Hmpf." said a voice filled with contempt.

The group of young men that appeared all to be around their mid-twenties suddenly turned to look at the origin of the voice.

An orange robed teen stood there. He was smaller than all of the men before him, but his simple appearance made them gulp.

"Big Brother Hon... What.. What is it like beyond the red borders?"

The red robed disciple who had spoken was talking about the limitations that were in place in the training grounds to ensure that disciples wouldn't get killed easily.

Because all disciples carried their identification medallion with them at all time, they physically couldn't cross what was called 'the red border'. Obviously the orange disciples had their 'orange border' and so on.

But simply because of that, it showed how talented individuals dominated their peers.

The teen called Hon Zi started talking, himself sizing up the frail looking Shin Sumi concentrating.

"Even though it is not your place to say, you were right. Close to the red border, the difficulty of advancing through the forest is higher. Looking at her she doesn't seem like she had any talent. She must be new, so she has no artefact. She probably hasn't started Shinsoo Gathering yet."

He sighed once before continuing, "she isn't going to survive with this kind of determination. She should know her limits. As her senior I should give her pointers."

Before the eyes full of reverence of the red robed group, the teen advanced towards Shin Sumi with a strange gleam in his eyes.

The closer he was, the better he could see the way her robes hung to her body. l.u.s.t lifted the corner of his lips.

"Eh, these idiots think I'm interested in 'giving pointers'. It has been a while and I've never seen her before. She can't outrun me if I make a move in the deep jungle."

He was about to propose to accompany Shin Sumi through the woods to protect her when a whooshing sound blew into his ears.

A second later, Shin Sumi was gone. Far after the gates, a red figure jumping about five meters at a time with incredible speed was disappearing in the dense vegetation.