Journey Towards Dao

Elder Lin surveyed the crowd before he raised his hand to point consecutively towards multiple children.

“The four of you that I just pointed towards, step forward immediately.”

Among the four Elder Lin was speaking of, Auslen and Nathaniel were the first to be singled out.

Interestingly, their new friend Mia was also among those moving forward.

Auslen glanced to his left to observe the last child moving closer to the desk.

The boy had caramel brown skin and black hair, seeming to be around the age of 12 or 13. Unlike the other kids around him, he moved with a palpable confidence in his stride.

Seeing the correct children coming closer, Elder Lin spoke, “You four are the only ones among this batch that have managed to become practitioners at this stage.”

Auslen’s eyebrows raised slightly, thinking about the little girl next to Nathaniel.

So Miss Chubby-cheeks wasn’t as simple as she appeared…

Elder Lin continued as he lowered his head to begin writing, “The four of you will be assigned to supply distribution. Hurry up here, Michail! These will be your new mentees.”

Auslen and the rest glanced behind them to see four older disciples approaching them from afar, each of them looking to be in their early 20’s.

Within the group, a handsome young man suddenly stepped forward with significant force. His figure disappeared from the vision of all the children that were looking back, only to reappear with a silent step directly to the left of Auslen.

The youngster’s shoulder-length, brunette hair fluttered during his landing, tanned skin crinkling around his blue eyes as he smiled with a respectful bow.

“Greetings, Elder Lin!”

Despite not looking up from his desk, Elder Lin’s expression looked somewhat pleased as he instructed, “Michail, take these four to the repository, and get them familiarized with the —”

Boom!!

Interrupting Elder Lin’s instructions, an ear-splitting sound erupted from nearby, causing high-pitched screams of fright to ring out from within the group of children.

Auslen scrunched his eyebrows as he looked around, his gaze finally settling on the vibrating obsidian door that the sound originated from.

Elder Lin raised his head with a deep frown before angrily commanding, “Irene! Send that idiot Victor to the infirmary. And deduct any damages dealt to the supplies he borrowed from his remaining Merit Points!”

A red-haired young woman sighed slightly before rushing towards the still trembling door, opening it to unleash thick clouds of pungent black smoke.

A hazy film of orange light materialized over her fair face as she stepped into the smoke. It was but a few moments later that she was seen carrying out a torched black, half naked body.

The masculine figure had various injuries covering his body, and sections of his Outer Sect robe were still burning with red cinders.

Auslen could still hear the male’s weak voice as he was quickly carried away, “I was almost there… Irene… I almost got… this time—”

Irene’s anger was salient within her dissipating voice, “Shut up, Victor! How many times must you blow yourself…”

Once their voices disappeared from earshot, Elder Lin waved his hand in annoyance, saying, “Just take your mentees to the repository, Michail. You are familiar enough with the procedures.”

Michail bowed once more while meaningfully winking towards Auslen and the other three.

Auslen, Mia, and the brown-skinned boy quickly understood his hint, bowing in tandem towards Elder Lin. Nathaniel’s anxious bow came a beat later.

Nodding in satisfaction towards the group, Michail turned as he said, “Let’s go.”

…

“As supply distributors, our job is to deliver apprentice-requested items to the appropriate Alchemy Chamber before the apprentice arrives at their scheduled time-slot. It’s the apprentice’s job to return anything borrowed before they leave, so our duty ends there. It’s not all that complicated, really.”

Auslen and the rest were following behind Michail through a hidden hallway, passing by several other Outer Sect Disciples that were rushing by with huge black leather bags hanging from their shoulders.

The group stopped in front of a heavy set of obsidian doors before Michail unlocked them with his Identity Medallion in one smooth, practiced motion.

As he casually kicked open the doors, Michail continued, “If you don’t count lugging the heavy supplies around, the hardest parts of the job are remembering the names of everything and where they're all stored. Let me give you a walkthrough.”

Once Auslen made it inside the repository, his brows twitched slightly before he quickly got control of himself.

Beside him, Nathaniel’s jaw fell open in astonishment before he whispered to Auslen, “It’s too big! How’d it all fit inside?”

Auslen shook his head in ignorance, as he had been thinking to himself the very same question.

The repository was gargantuan. The most peculiar thing was that its size greatly exceeded the scope of the entire Elixir Refinement Hall! Auslen could not even guess how this achievement was made possible.

Is the bizarre spatial extent of the repository due to some sort of Spell Formation? But Grandfather told me that the effects of Spell Formations were all somewhat limited, and this law-defying feat doesn’t quite seem like it could be classified as "limited"…

Auslen glanced around, failing to accurately estimate the height of the far distant ceilings. He could not even begin to see where the repository ended, as he got dizzier the longer he stared. Rows upon rows of stupidly tall wooden shelving, filled with various sealed items, extended down the repository farther than the eye could see! And within those shelves, disciples could be seen roaming and flying around hastily like ants within an ant colony.

While Auslen, and Nathaniel, and even Mia were all revealing varying signs of bewilderment, a sudden whisper caught their attention.

“This repository isn’t truly located within the Elixir Refinement Hall, but contained inside of a Ruin Fragment. All of the Outer Sect Elixir Refinement Halls have access to this place.”

Auslen quickly turned his gaze towards the speaker, realizing that it was the brown-skinned, blue eyed pre-teen that was also a part of their group of four.

Ruin Fragment? Disregarding what that even means, how would this newly arriving Outer Sect Disciple know of such a fact.

Could this be another potential targe— friend candidate? On the same day?

Auslen’s cute face beamed, blinking in confusion as he questioned the child.

“How did you know.. uhh… What’s your name, anyways?”

Nathaniel and Mia were also quite interested, turning their attention towards the older boy in anticipation.

The boy chuckled before silently replying, “My name’s Tarek. What about you three?”

Noticing that they were suddenly introducing themselves again, Nathaniel seemed particularly enthused this time.

“My name’s Nathaniel!”

Mia bowed her head shyly, “Mia.”

Auslen waved as he finished, “My name’s Auslen. Nice to meet you, Tarek!”

Before any of them could say anymore, their mentor had abruptly halted his stride in front of a shelf, turning back towards them with a smirk.

“And my name is Michail Nikolaou, your Appointment Mentor and Senior Brother within the Outer Sect.

“Now that we've all gotten to know each other, we shall begin the tour! Don’t worry about the exaggerated spaciousness, for now. We’ll start you guys out with just this one shelf.”

As he waved his hand, several large sheets of paper appeared within, which he then handed to each of the children.

Auslen looked through the dense page, reading numerous terms that he had never heard of before.

Jade Spirit Vine? Paralysis Poison Grass? Are these supposed to be Spirit Plants?

Michael explained, “Although there is a considerable amount for you guys to remember, during the next three hours, we will only focus on the basics. Just keep that cheat sheet in your storage rings, and you can study them later in your own time.”

He raised his hand towards the packed shelf as he pointed towards two different types of equipment.

“The first thing apprentices typically send us a request for is a cauldron. Equally as frequently requested is the Ignition Plate. Most Outer Sect Disciples do not have their own refining equipment, which is why our jobs are so important.”

He moved his finger further down the shelf, causing the group of children to draw their gaze to the innumerable thin, rectangular jade boxes that lined the shelf.

Gazing at the seemingly endless amount of supplies, Nathaniel gulped loudly in distress.

Michail chuckled before he continued, “Each of those jade boxes house an individual Spirit Plant. Most Alchemists and apprentices prepare their own beforehand, but we still sell them onsite on the behalf of the Spirit Botanist Association, in case an unprepared apprentice arrives.

"Today, I'll give you guys a brief overview on the Spirit Plants that are most commonly asked for, but we won’t focus on them until next week. You four are only here three half-days out of each week, so we’re gonna have to move fast. Let’s get to it!”

…

Michail had brought the children inside one of the Alchemy Chambers, which was completely covered in pitch-black obsidian. A few illumination crystals lined the ceilings to give the sizeable space sufficiently bright lighting.

Michael was currently removing his hands from a leather bag, taking out a large, circular Mystic Artifact, upon the shiny bronze finish being inscriptions of dense glyphs and patterns. The Mystic Artifact looked to be around a meter in diameter.

“... Always set the Low-Grade Ignition Plate onto the table first. Do you guys see these four nodes? That is where the legs of the cauldron should be placed…”

Auslen and the rest listened to the instructions as they witnessed his careful demonstration, watching him also take out a heavy, four-legged black cauldron before placing it onto the Ignition Plate. Though the cauldron looked quite ornate, it was not a Mystic Artifact.

At one point during the instruction, Auslen glanced sideways to catch the end of Nathaniel’s wide yawn.

Auslen was actually quite impressed that his young cousin could hold out for this long. He was unfortunately used to the boy’s constant whining and begging, but it seemed that even Nathaniel was aware of when he could and could not act as he pleased.

Michail’s sudden clap brought back Auslen’s focus.

“And we’re done for today! You guys are free to go. I suggest trying out one of the cafeterias on the mountain for lunch, as it’s complimentary and all-you-can-eat! Either way, I’ll see you four the day after tomorrow.”

Michail opened the door for them, ushering them back into the now incredibly busy second floor.

Turning to the others, Auslen smiled and asked, “You guys wanna go to the cafeteria?”

Tarek and Mia glanced at each other before nodding towards Auslen. Then, the group weaved through the growing crowd of apprentices as they ventured towards the nearest location.

…

“Tarek, what’s a Ruin Fragment?”

The four were sitting at a large square table in a dining hall surrounded by droves of their fellow disciples. Their table was piled with food. Auslen’s potions, in particular, were piled much higher, as he was still nourishing himself from his advancement from the previous week.

Although he had Demon meat readily available, he decided to save his first filet for his next breakthrough, as he was already halfway finished with this nourishing cycle. He didn't know how long the five cuts of meat would last him, so he didn't want to waste them unknowingly.

Hearing Auslen’s sudden question, Tarek finished chewing and replied, “I’m honestly not sure. It’s just something my brother told me a while ago.”

Nathaniel piped up curiously, “Brother?”

Tarek’s voice was tinged with subtle, child-like pride as he said, “My older brother is an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sect. He works at the Alchemy Palace on the Inner Sect's Conflagration Nurturing Peak!”

Auslen's brows raised imperceptibly, but he remained silent as he continued chipping away at his lunch.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel exclaimed, “Wow! No wonder you’re so smart!”

Mia nodded in silent agreement with Nathaniel's words.

Looking slightly embarrassed at Nathaniel’s childish praise, Tarek changed the subject, “It’s nothing! Anyways, since we don’t have to go to Qi Refinement classes, what are you three planning for the rest of the day?”

Mia looked unsure while Nathaniel turned his head to Auslen, clearly expecting for him to answer for the both of them.

Auslen already had a specific lecture in mind, but he didn’t mind hearing the boy’s thoughts.

He shrugged and swallowed his mouthful of food before replying, “I don’t know! Do you have an idea, Tarek?”

Tarek said, “There’s a beginner-targeted lecture on Spirit Botanism happening soon. If you guys have nothing better to do, we can go together. What do you all think?”

What a coincidence.

At the boy’s invitation, Auslen smiled while noticing his cousin's expression sagging in desperation.

Nathaniel had never liked being forced to listen to anything even vaguely educational. It was a wonder he could even cultivate successfully.

Nathaniel silently pleaded with Auslen to decline the offer with his eyes, but after Auslen continually refused to pay him any attention, he turned to Tarek before hesitantly muttering, “I’m just gonna—”

“We’re going!”

Auslen instantly interrupted his cousin’s reticence before turning to Chubby-cheeks.

“What about you, Mia?”

Seeing Auslen looking straight at her, she blushed before nodding quickly.

“I’ll… I’ll go!”