Molting the Mortal Coil

Even now, Sage felt the waves of power radiating off the old man sitting beside him and gave up all hope of defiance. At this moment he was sure that this old man bird, was at least as powerful as the Peak Master’s from the Holy Flame Sect. He had been told the Peak Master’s were all at rank 6, and from what he felt from Peak Master Zhen on the expedition, this old man was more powerful than she was. He knew he had to go in, but couldn’t help but ask, “What if I don’t want to get tested and just want to leave instead?”

The old man chuckled, “As soon as you opened the seal, you were bound to go in there and take the test. Even if you had left before seeing me, I would have gone out and caught you. Do you think you’re the first one who’s been here before? Anyone who finds this place is bound to keep its secret one way or another. Don’t dawdle anymore, head on in and we’ll see what to do with you.”

Sage was about to ask more questions, but he saw the look on the old man’s face and knew it was time to do as he said. If he didn’t act quickly, he knew there would be consequences. Since he was going to be forced into this no matter what he did, he might as well try to be on their good side. Sage was reminded of the main character from so many stories, their hard headedness would infuriate those in power, but somehow through their hard work and determination they would gain the good favor of their superior and all would be forgiven.

Sage wasn’t one of those fools. In his first life he’d seen more than a few people with that sort of attitude. More than a few of those hotshot programmers found that their talent and skill wasn’t appreciated. They would eventually either throw a tantrum and find themselves getting demoted for their attitude or become disillusioned and head off to other companies to try again. At the time, Sage had always kept his head down and plodded along like a turtle. In that life he always sought safety and stability. As long as he stayed with the company he was assured regular pay raises, good benefits and even investment options. He had a genial attitude and made sure not to make any enemies. More than a few of those cocky guys had come and gone in the time he was there. He didn’t care if they didn’t see him as anything special. Being special didn’t keep your job it just made you stand out. The stand outs only ended two ways: they would fly high or they would crash and burn.

Things were different now. Sage realized how oblivious he used to be. He would shut out all the things he didn’t want to think about and just focused on the happy parts. On a deeper level he knew what he was doing, but he didn’t even reflect on why he did it let alone try to change it. Looking back now he saw that it wasn’t the ones with skill and talent at their job who rose up to positions of power. It was those with an insidious nature. Politics as they called it. It wasn’t about doing a good job it was about getting recognition for their work. Creating relationships with their superiors and getting their favor. Those hotshots thought their skills would take them far, but they were oblivious to the muddy waters all around them. Skill was only secondary, when part of a large group of people the most important factor was how they dealt with the people around them. There were countless stories of brilliant people being fired due to failed relations.

Sage wasn’t going to make such silly mistakes this time around. So many were so obsessed with honor and dignity. Would bowing his head politely and doing as someone asked make him into a different person? Certainly, if he gave in to the demands of anyone he encountered he would find it easier to obey than to not. He might turn into one of the downtrodden, those who had been hurt so much they just wanted everything to easy and couldn’t stand up to anyone at all. That said, if he knew why and who he submitted to, where was the problem? If a person worthy of authority or respect asked something of you, why refuse? That might be the opportunity to forge a good relationship. It was certainly a delicate game to choose when to submit, at least for a normal person.

That must be where humility was born. If everyone treats everyone deferentially, it’s easier to get along.

At this point, Sage moved into the training room that the old man had indicated. Once he realized the power of the old man he gave up resisting and worked on being agreeable. He tried to put on his most charming smile. Of course, it was quite strange given his appearance. That snake like face with the flattened nose, elongated head, wide mouth, and his scales the color of darkly tanned skin. The old man hadn’t mentioned his strange body even once, so it must not have been too odd for such a thing to be soon in the ancient times.

The room he was in looked just as simple as the courtyard. It was a hall a similar size as the courtyard. A wooden walkway around the outer edges of the room surrounded a stone floor. The stone floor was made up of thick stone bricks and formed a square yard forty feet wide. There was a thick stone pillar at each corner of the stone area, each covered with glowing array formations. Outside the pillars and along the wooden walkway the walls were covered with racks and stands holding different types of training gear and implements. Sage gave everything a quick look over and was about to ask what the test was when the voice of the old man rang out from above.

“The first test. Walk into the center of the training grounds and release your aura.”

Sage was surprised at the source of the voice and quickly turned to the side, where he saw that out in the courtyard the old man was gone. He looked up and nobody was there, the voice seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Stop looking around and do as I said. You wouldn’t be able to find me now even if I told you where I was.”

Sage immediately slithered over into the training grounds, realizing he had delayed because of curiosity. Moving into the center of the large stone square he resolved to not waste any more time and upset the old man. Of course, just because I obey quickly doesn’t mean I can’t stay on guard and keep on the lookout for danger.

Standing in the stone grounds he felt the stone pillars at the corners of the room come to life, energy billowing out of them and connecting together. He even felt the energy writhe around underneath him and finally relaxed a bit. The pillars were creating a protection array, making sure the room wouldn’t suffer any damage from anything going on in the training room.

Releasing aura wasn’t something Sage ever practiced. He had heard of many interesting techniques related to this field, but he always just saw it as posing and intimidation practice. In his opinion it was better to be unseen. If no one knew of your intent or even knew you were there, wasn’t that a better weapon then just showing off how strong you were and drawing attention?

Either way, he did what he could, letting his energy leak forth. The green glow of wood elemental energy leaking out into the room. The aura extended out and seemed to shrivel up at the edges like dried tinder. The aura that matched his Qi Cultivation Technique, Verdant Firebrand. At the center it was powerful and overflowing with abundance, growing weaker and weaker as it extended outwards, till the edges were the perfect fuel for fire techniques.

I wonder if this will do?