Lin Xaio sat alone at the peak of the Yu mountain, her breathing slow and steady, every breath taking in the Qi that permeated the air.

How many centuries had it been since her last breakthrough? It had been so long that she could barely remember. It was not unexpected, at her levels of power even the largest sources of Qi were effectively irrelevant.

She released a breath as she noted the Qi in the air decreasing. It was time for her to end her session before she drained the entire mountain of the Qi vital to its functionality.

Shaking her head she rose from her meditative position, her body still perfectly relaxed despite spending over eight hours sitting in near perfect stillness.

Crack

Her eyes snapped to the air above her.

The sky was cracking, hairline fractures expanding, light of various colors emitted from them before the center of the crack opened up and an unfamiliar figure dropped out of it.

She could feel no Qi behind the fracture even as it repaired itself, leaving the sky unblemished.

No Qi… she frowned at that thought. For something to not have any Qi should be impossible.

Meaning wherever that gap had led was likely a completely foreign world to what she knew of.

Something unknown had just fallen from it, from a place that likely did not follow the same rules as the world she lived in.

At least she could take solace in the fact that if she couldn't handle whatever threat emerged, it would take the Emperor or one of his four generals to win.

With a single burst of speed she arrived at the landing place of whatever had fallen.

Looking at the object that had emerged from the rift, she was greeted by the sight of a young man, black of hair and with a short stubble gracing his jawline.

His build was rather bulky, his muscles resembling a blacksmith more than a warrior.

It was his clothing that was the strangest part of him however, some form of beast-hide coat, a black shirt and blue pants made of a durable material, along with a style of footwear she had never encountered before.

His breathing was ragged, a small stain of blood near a rock.

If hitting himself against a rock had made him bleed, then there was no way he was powerful enough to harm her at all.

Activating a diagnostic spell, she looked him over.

A couple of cracked ribs, a fracture in his skull and several points of internal bleeding.

She sighed as she started to heal the man, her attempts restricted by his lack of Cultivation.

He would need to be coherent if he was to answer any questions.

For now however, he would need to be placed somewhere warm, the freezing winds of Mount Yu were lethal to mortals.


Fuck.

Lee Young woke with a start, his body screaming in pain. His breathing was labored, his ribs aching with each shallow intake, the air chilling him to his core.

But at least he was alive.

Getting crushed by a truck when a lift failed was not how he expected to die but it had nearly happened.

Hopefully he'd get a hefty insurance payout for that.

He coughed as his lungs once again betrayed him, the icy chill of the air practically burning them.

"Finally awake I see," a feminine voice said in a cold monotone, "drink this."

He was propped up to a seated position as a cup was pressed to his lips, the liquid inside warm to the touch.

He started to drink, the heat was pleasant, warming him up ever so slightly despite the freezing air.

The heat entered his body and flowed out, slowly but steadily spreading to his limbs and fighting away the chill, even as the pain in his ribs started to lessen, his muscles and bones relaxing as whatever painkiller she had given him worked its magic.

Eventually the drink was finished and he started to breathe again.

The chill creeped into his bones immediately.

He coughed again before opening his eyes and blinking.

Where the hell was he?

Surely he should be in a hospital room. Yet what he saw surrounding him looked more at home in some kung fu movie.

Red wallpaper and gold trim decorated the large room, pillars supporting what looked like a marble ceiling. Large drapes of crimson cloth hung between the pillars, tied up with golden ropes.

On proud display between the drapes were statues of dragons crafted from a green stone, racks of weapons of various types and several expensive looking pots.

He looked to his side and saw the woman that had given him the drink.

His throat dried and his breath caught.

God she was fucking gorgeous.

Pitch black hair tied into a bun, a single bang falling down the side of her face, a large pin holding the bun in place. Her skin was smooth, pale and lacking a single blemish, the sort of skin makeup artists spent hours trying to fake. Her eyes screamed that she was Asian, probably Chinese but he wasn't an expert.

And her clothes?

A Chinese dress made of black silk with gold trim that flowed into an Eastern Dragon.

"Uh… where am I?" he finally asked, trying to keep his breathing shallow.

"You are currently within the inner sanctum of the Storming Dragon Sect," the woman replied, her voice completely even.

Okay, so there were three options.

First was a practical joke. That was highly unlikely given what he remembered. He should be in a hospital, not the middle of a prank.

Second option was that he was delirious. That… was also unlikely. He remembered the last time he had been delirious and back then he had believed he was some sort of evil snake god getting pissed off at his cultists for taking so long summoning him.

And throughout it all, nothing had seemed strange, so the simple fact he was questioning things made that less likely.

And the third option, the one that should make the least sense, was that he'd gotten Isekai'd.

Admittedly getting Truck-kun'd by a stationary truck wasn't exactly something he had expected but at least he was seemingly alive.

"So what happened to me?" he asked before grimacing and clutching at his ribs.

It felt like one had just cracked.

The pain lessened rapidly but if it had broken-

Then the woman removed his hand from his chest before placing her own on it.

It burned.

He grimaced at the sudden sensation of heat that assaulted him before it vanished just as quickly as it came.

"Good, the medicine is working properly," the woman claimed.

"Then what the hell was that snap?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"I shall forgive your outburst given the circumstances," she declared and he frowned, "however should you refuse to mind your manners, I shall take corrective action."

Her tone was completely devoid of compassion as she said that.

"To answer your question," she continued, "that was the medicine setting your rib back in place so it can heal properly."

He frowned.

The medicine setting his rib? He considered it, his rib definitely was starting to feel better, no longer pounding, no longer pressing against his lung each time he breathed… he could certainly believe that it was healing.

The problem was the speed with which it was healing.

He glanced around the room again.

Fantasy world.

Probably fantasy China.

Which also probably meant magic.

He had likely been given some sort of health potion to heal whatever injuries he had.

He glanced at the woman who was currently in the process of picking up several things and placing them on a tray.

"Sorry," he said, causing her to look at him, her eyes narrowed, "I just, I have no idea where I am, what's going on or who you are."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I have already told you where you are," she proclaimed and he nodded.

"Yeah, Storming Dragon Sect right?" he asked before continuing, "but that means nothing to me."

She frowned.

"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked.

"Getting crushed by a truck after the ramp it was on collapsed," he deadpanned.

"A what?"

"A truck."

She looked confused.

"I have never heard of such a thing before," she acknowledged.

"Yeah, and that's how this whole situation is for me," he replied.

"Very well," she said, "then please explain what you know."

"The air is freezing," that was the first thing that came to mind.

She tilted her head before closing her eyes.

"Very well, then I shall inform Elder Lin of your awakening," she declared and he frowned.

"Why the sudden change of plan?" he asked.

"I was going to inform the Elder of your awakening before you apologized," she explained as she picked up the tray, "however, if you are claiming the air is freezing, then it would be better to move you somewhere more comfortable before continuing the conversation."

He nodded.

"Thanks… though you seem to be quite at home here yourself," he said.

"Because the air in here is not freezing," she declared.

He gave her a blank stare.

"The air is solidly a fifth of the way between water freezing and boiling," she explained and he blinked at her description, it definitely didn't feel like it, "the chill you are feeling is from the nature of the Qi in the air."

He had no idea what that meant.

"Then I shall take my leave," the woman declared before turning.

"Oh yeah," he called out, "my name is Lee Young, what's yours?"

The woman didn't even bother turning around.

"I am Mei, a core disciple of the Storming Dragon Sect."

She was out of the door before he could even register that he didn't understand what she had just told him.

Well, he supposed he could ask later.

For now, he really had to do something to make himself warm.

The sheet on the futon he was laid on was thin, ridiculously smooth and soft but still thin, so he doubled it up before curling into a ball and seeking refuge, doing his best to breathe shallowly to limit the air chilling his body.

He was pulled from his restlessness at the sound of the door opening.

Looking up, he was greeted by the sight of a girl, probably somewhere in the region of fifteen to seventeen years old, with blonde hair tied into twin-tails, a lotus flower decorating each tie.

Just like Mei, her skin was what he could only describe as perfect, lacking a single hint of acne that might have plagued a normal girl at her age.

Her eyes were a soft green, also possessing clear Asian features but her soft smile and a warmth in her eyes made the girl look far more approachable than Mei had.

Her clothes consisted of an emerald green silk, with golden dragons embroidered into the trim, coiling up the obviously Chinese robe before the head was hidden by a red mantle with golden trim.

"Hello Heavenly One," the girl said and he groaned.

"Are you flirting with me?"

She stopped, a single eyebrow raised.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" she asked, causing him to frown at her.

"You called me 'heavenly one'."

"Yes, because you fell from a crack in the sky at the top of the mountain," she answered calmly.

He blinked.

"Wait, really?" she nodded, "guess that means I definitely did get Isekai'd."

"So why are you here?" he asked the girl.

"I was the one that witnessed you enter this world," she said, causing him to nod before frowning.

"So you know I'm not from this world?" he asked, "how?"

"Your body only had the Qi from the mountain inside it, anyone from this world with such a lack of Qi would be dead," she explained.

"Okay, so that makes things easier," he admitted, "does this… Elder Lin know?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes, Elder Lin most certainly does know," she replied without hesitation.

"So what's your name anyway?" he asked, "mine is Lee Young."

"Mine is Lin Xiao," she said.

Well that explained why this Elder Lin would already know, this girl had to be his granddaughter or something… well, assuming the Chinese ordered their names like the Japanese anyway.

"Now, open your mouth," she commanded and he froze, "now."

Well, he supposed if he was going to be meeting the girls grandfather he probably shouldn't upset her.

He opened his mouth.

She placed a small round object that tasted mildly spicy inside.

"Now swallow," she commanded and he did so.

Almost immediately he felt a gentle warmth spread through his body, driving out the bone-deep chill and flowing up his throat, all the way to his nostrils where he took a breath.

The heat neutralized the freezing air.

He blinked.

"Ah, thank you," he said, moving his hand to rub the back of his head.

"I would recommend against touching there," she said and he froze, "when you fell from the sky, you cracked your head on a stone. It should be mostly healed, however it is safer to avoid aggravating it for another day if possible."

He lowered his hand.

After the pill the girl had just given him, he wasn't going to ignore her advise.

"So, how long will the pill last?" he asked the girl.

"Approximately a day," she answered, "normally it is not used for such a purpose but given the circumstances, I believe it was an acceptable use."

He looked at the girl.

"Not it's normal use?" he asked, "what is it normally used for?"

"It is normally used by beginners with a fire alignment to aid their cultivation," she answered casually, "though I doubt any of that makes sense to you."

He nodded.

"All I took from that is that it helps people breathe fire better," he admitted.

"Well, I suppose that is close enough for a basic explanation," she offered him a small smile, "had I given you a more powerful one, it would have unleashed enough fire Qi to cook your insides."

He looked at her, hoping she was joking.

"Do not fear," she said with a kind smile, "those levels of pills are for those who have already developed a resistance if not comfort with temperatures that would kill a mortal. What I gave you is designed for someone of your constitution to learn to assimilate such power."

Well that calmed him ever so slightly.

The door opened again, drawing his attention to the person entering.

It was once again Mei, carrying a freshly laid out tray with a teapot, a pair of cups and a small plate of biscuits.

"Your tea Elder Lin," Mei said while bowing her head to the blonde girl.

Wait, what?

"Hold on! You're Elder Lin?" he asked, his jaw slack at the mere idea.

The girl offered him an amused smile.

"Indeed, hence why I most certainly do know what I told you," she proclaimed, "now, would you like some refreshments?"

She gestured to the tray.

"Ah, yes please," he answered, earning a twitch from Mei's eye even as she moved to pour the tea into the cups.

Soon enough he held a cup of green tea in hand, the bitterness tinged with a hint of sourness and an accent of mint. He had no idea what blend it was. He had never been a tea person, coffee was his caffeinated beverage of choice.

But he was pretty damn thirsty.

"So, how is your name arranged and what cultural norms does your world have concerning using those names?" Lin said, prompting Mei to blink and look at her in surprise.

"Excuse me Elder Lin," she cut in, "but what do you mean 'his world'?"

"He came from a rift in the sky, lacking any hint of Qi," she explained, "the only rational explanation is that he is from another world that is completely devoid of Qi."

Mei simply bowed.

"Thank you for enlightening me, Honored Elder."

"Well, to answer your question," Lee said, "that depends on where exactly you're from. But from the country I'm from, we put our family names after our given names and people usually use their given names unless in a professional situation."

She nodded.

"So how do you wish for me to refer to you?" she asked and he blinked.

"Ah, you can just call me Lee," he said.

"Very well, then you may call me Xiao," she replied and he raised an eyebrow.

"Elder, with all due respect-"

"I am permitting him to speak casually with me due to his culture," Xiao cut Mei off calmly.

Lee looked at Mei.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said, earning a raised eyebrow from the 'elder', "I mean, how many people even know Lee isn't my family name?"

"That is fine," she said, "I did say you may call me Xiao, not that you must call me that. If you are more comfortable with using a more formal means of address then that is acceptable."

Mei seemed to relax.

"So… what do you want to talk with me about?" he finally asked, "I doubt you just wanted to know my name."

Lin nodded.

"You fell from a rift in the sky before me," she stated firmly, "that is as close to a sign from the Heavens as is possible. Therefore it is my duty to look over you while you are here."

Well that was a relief.

The girl's expression morphed, her casual smile shifting into a stern stare.

"That is, assuming you choose to walk the path of immortality."

Lee froze.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you choose to become a Cultivator and strive for the heavens, I shall teach you," Lin declared, "if you choose to live as a mortal, then I shall simply give you a small amount of money to start your new life."

He frowned.

He didn't really have much context but it sounded like he was being asked if he wanted to learn the local magic system.

And in such a scenario, there was only one answer he could possibly give.

"I'd regret it if I didn't at least try," he said without hesitation.

"Good," the blonde said with a soft smile, "then the first thing we shall do is arrange some living quarters for you."

"Where do you intend to place him?" Mei asked, her expression remaining ice-cold.

Lin released a sigh.

"Where all applicants stay," she replied, earning a nod from the dark haired woman.

"Then I shall make the arrangements," with that said, Mei turned and left the room.

"So where will I be staying?" he asked.

"In a village at the foot of the mountain," she said, "it was built primarily for that purpose though it has expanded over the millennia."

He blinked.

"Is this place really that old?"

"My grandfather founded the Sect roughly five thousand years ago," she said, her tone so normal that it took Lee several seconds to process what she had just said.

"Wait! Your grandfather was alive that long ago?"

She offered him a soft smile.

"He is over six thousand years old," she declared and he swallowed.

She spoke of him in the present tense.

Suddenly her talk of 'the path of immortality' and 'mortals' made a lot more sense.

But that also raised a question in his mind.

She looked to be somewhere in the region of sixteen years old but if immortality was an actual thing here…

"How old are you exactly?"

"Two-thousand, one-hundred and seventy-three years old," she said calmly.

He swallowed.

"And Mei?"

"You can ask her that yourself."

Well he supposed that was a reasonable answer.

"Now, there are two ways down from the Sect compound," she continued, "the slow way and the quick way."

He narrowed his eyes.

"What's the slow way?"

"You can take the stairs," she answered easily, "that should take you several days."

"Hold on, just how high are we anyway?"

"Roughly a hundred Li."

"… I have no idea what that means," he admitted.

"That is unfortunate," she responded, "but we are roughly three quarters of the way up the mountain, with the lowest clouds reaching roughly three hundredths of the way up."

The blood drained from his face at that.

Fuck they were high up.

He considered what she had just said and suddenly had a bad feeling about the 'fast' way down.

"The fast way down, is to fly down," she stated, "I can make the journey in a couple of seconds if need be."

The mere thought of rocketing down a mountain at such speeds was not something he really felt like doing.

He blinked.

"And what about Mei?" he asked, "she said she would arrange accommodation for me-"

"Mei-er can make the journey in under a second," he froze.

"… What?"

Lin smiled.

"My own speed is generally greater than hers, however she can travel faster than anyone else I have known," she explained, "but in combat I greatly exceed her."

He swallowed.

It certainly sounded like these people were superhuman to a ludicrous degree.

"So, how long will it take for me to get to a reasonable speed for climbing up here?" he asked, wondering just how much work it would take.

"Once you have properly established your foundation and become a proper Cultivator, you should be capable of making it in less than an hour," she told him.

He froze.

"Are you joking?" he asked simply.

She shook her head.

"No, upon becoming a full Cultivator you will be capable of maintaining speeds greater than a mortal can achieve for hours at a time," she said, "while a mortal would have to climb at a sustainable pace, rest and deal with other inconveniences, a Cultivator can simply sprint all the way up in a single attempt."

He had not considered something as simple as sustained sprinting.

"Now, are you ready to leave?" she asked, causing him to swallow.

"Is there any other way to get down?" he asked, causing her to shake her head.

"No."

He swallowed again.

"Is there a problem?"

"I'm uh…" his face heated up, "kind of afraid of heights."

She blinked.

"I see," she responded calmly.


Lee awoke groggily before opening his eyes.

He did not recognize the room he was in.

Wooden walls, a dirt floor, a straw bed, a small pit with a pot hanging above it and a chest in the corner.

"Finally awake," Lin's voice called from his side, prompting him to look at her in confusion.

"What happened?"

"Since you are afraid of heights and are already going to have to adapt to a new world, I decided it would be better if I simply rendered you unconscious and brought you down in that state."

"Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied with a small smile, "however you will have to overcome that fear at some point, now is simply not the appropriate time."

He nodded, that was fair. He may not like the idea of having to go so high up at any point, but it was fair.

"Now, since you are so unfamiliar with this world, I shall visit you each morning and give you some lessons on our cultural norms and other basic information an average person of your age would know," she told him.

"Thanks."

A small light flashed and he blinked as a small brown pouch appeared in her hand.

"This is for your first month here," she said as she handed it to him, "I will not be giving you more."

He blinked.

"Just enough for me to live off until I get a job?" he asked, prompting her to nod, "thanks."

She nodded.

"Now, for your first lesson," she spoke, her voice deadly serious, "weakness is a crime."

He froze.

"What?"

"If you show weakness, people will take advantage of it. Whether it is true or not, you must present a strong front to the public."

He released a sigh of relief.

So she didn't mean it literally.

"So don't let the sharks smell blood, got it,"

She blinked in confusion.

"Is that a proverb in your world?"

"Yeah. Sharks in the water can smell blood and swarm to eat the victim," he explained.

"Is that so," she looked put off by that, "they sound quite different to the sharks here."

"Really?"

"Yes, the sharks over here are generally rather nice people."

Lee blinked.

Nice people?

"Uh, where I come from sharks aren't people, they're sort of just really big carnivorous fish," he said.

"Is that so? Well, over here they're something of a cross between human and fish," she told him, "they are also some of the best blacksmiths in the world."

Well that was unexpected.

"Now, back on topic," she said, "do not show anyone weakness, that includes such things as kindness. That is not to say you cannot show any kindness, merely that you should be careful that you do so in a way where it is not misconstrued as weakness."

That certainly sounded like a pain in the ass.

"So how do I do that?"

She closed her eyes.

"Avoid giving charity unless doing so can prove your strength," she declared, "and even then, only give charity to those whom are desperate."

He frowned.

He didn't quite understand what she meant by that but he would figure it out eventually.

"So anything else?"

"Of course."


An hour passed by quickly for Lee as he listened to Lin's explanations.

There wasn't much, mainly local customs such as the correct signs of respect, how much money was worth, the name of the province they were currently located in and the governmental structure of the Empire with a capital E.

Honestly, the most shocking part for him was learning that the Emperor was known as the Immortal Phoenix Emperor, could literally revive himself without end, was over ten thousand years old and had been the emperor for nearly half of that.

It really put into perspective just how serious this Cultivation business was.

And he was going to be learning it.

"So, when do I start learning to Cultivate?" he asked the Elder.

"Tomorrow," she said, "for now, you should get something to eat and get to know the village."

He nodded as she rose from her seated position.

"Now come, I shall give you a quick tour of the important aspects of the village and a meal before returning to my duties," she said.

He pushed himself to his feet as she walked to the door and opened it.

Following her, he emerged onto a dirt road surrounded by wooden shacks.

Thankfully it wasn't too cold and there wasn't a hint of snow on the ground.

Looking around, he saw people working, tending to laundry, pulling small carts, fixing walls and other such mundane tasks.

Everywhere he looked he saw people avoiding looking at Lin. Even someone that looked like a smug prick suddenly shifted his attention away upon seeing her.

"Now, in that direction is the road out of the village, it is recommended you avoid leaving the path and entering the forest until you have at least established your foundation," Lin declared, pointing down the street, "and this way," she said pointing the opposite direction, "is the path to the Storming Dragon Sect."

He looked in the direction she said before his breath caught in his lungs.

The town looked like a slum, at least until it reached a large white wall with a red tile roof with gold dragons decorating it. The gates were currently open revealing a large set of stairs that led to a far wealthier looking series of buildings inside, their walls crafted from stone and painted white, their roofs made up of the same red tiles that decorated the dividing wall.

And beyond that, he saw an absolutely enormous Japanese style gate that led to a massive set of stairs, which started climbing up and around the giant stone wall that appeared at the other side of the wealthier district.

He glanced to the sides, wondering how big the wall was before he noticed the natural look to it and his stomach dropped.

"Is… is that wall the mountain?" he asked.

"Yes," Lin replied without delay, "there is a reason it can take mortals days to climb even with the stairs carved into it."

He looked up and saw the massive structure barely narrowed by the time the clouds started hiding the rest.

"So what's the wealthier district?" he asked as he finally shook the awe enough to refocus on the tour.

"Come," she said, leading him towards it.

"Uh, is it actually okay for me to enter there?" he asked, sure it might have been fine for her to enter but he was nobody.

"There is no restriction on entry," she said, "the wall is there to protect those inside from potential demonic beast attacks. In such a scenario, the residents of the outer houses are provided shelter inside."

He swallowed at her casual mention of 'demonic beasts'.

"So who actually lives there?" he was guessing some form of nobility.

"Shopkeepers and craftsmen," she answered, "though only if they live in their stores or workshops."

"No nobility?"

"They live in towns or cities, never a village of this size," she replied with a shake of her head, "especially not with a Sect governing the area."

Soon enough they had taken the stairs up to the merchant district, onto properly paved roads and his eyes darted to take in the sights.

An old man selling cabbage from a cart, a blacksmith working his forge, a young woman manning a window with jars of pills lined up behind her.

The atmosphere reminded him of a farmers market despite the surprising cleanliness and organization.

"Come," Lin commanded and he obeyed as she took him down a street on the right before pushing a curtain aside and leading him into a small stall.

His stomach growled at the rich aroma of various spices filling the air.

There was only a single counter with four seats in the tiny space.

"Hello there lady Lin, the usual?" a little old woman asked. She looked to be less than five feet tall, with a distinct hunch, white hair tied into a bun and deep wrinkles permeating her skin. She looked like she had less than a decade left to live.

Lin nodded.

"And I shall be paying for this ones meal as well," she declared.

"Then can I take your order sir?" the old lady asked.

"Ah, do you do curry?" he asked, causing the woman to frown.

"I cannot say I have heard of such a thing," she replied.

He frowned.

"Pieces of meat in a thick spicy sauce served with rice?" he described.

The woman frowned again with a shake of her head.

"I can make you something spicy if you wish, but it wouldn't be what you described," the woman said..

"Well, was worth a shot," he said, "I'll just have the spiciest thing you have."

The old woman nodded before turning to her pans.

"So is this 'curry' normal where you come from?" Lin asked as he sat down, the blonde girl having already taken a seat when he was ordering.

"One of the most popular dishes in the world," he admitted.

"I'm guessing there is a wide variety of it given how vague your description of it was," she continued.

"Yep."

A silence fell between them as they waited for the food to be cooked.

Soon enough a dish was placed in front of Lin who clasped her hands together, thanked the old woman and then proceeded to eat.

It looked like a lightly spiced rice dish with prawns.

He blinked as his own meal was placed before him.

In his case it was a noodle dish with a thin aromatic sauce and pieces of beef.

"Thank you for the meal," he said as he clasped his own hands together how Lin had shown him to do earlier.

"You're welcome," the old lady said as he picked up a pair of chopsticks and took his first bite.

It was milder than he had hoped for, though the old woman clearly knew what she was doing when balancing the flavors.

He soon started to devour the meal, finishing before Lin herself did.

"I suppose that really proves you were starving," the blonde said with a wry smile.

"Honestly, it was just delicious," he said before he turned to give his compliments to the chef and froze.

Why did she look annoyed?

"D-did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"… The next time you come here, I will make you something even spicier," she declared.

He blinked.

"Oh, that's good, I thought it was a bit too mild to be the hottest thing you have," he admitted.

"It is the hottest thing on the menu," the old woman declared, "but with how easily you ate that, I think I'll invent something spicier just for you."

"Thanks," he had to admit, she was a nice lady.

Her eye twitched.


Soon enough Lee was following Lin through the village once again.

They stopped before a large building with several pillars out front and red doors with golden dragons emblazoned on them.

"And this is the Pavilion," Lin declared, "there are often lessons held here by Outer Disciples of the Storming Dragon Sect to teach Cultivation."

She opened the door, revealing an amphitheater with nine tiers of benches and a large blackboard at the back of the room behind a marble pedestal.

"So I should come here when I can," he murmured.

"If you desire to," she said, "but you are in a different situation to the majority of people that would attend these sessions."

He looked at her.

"The disciples that teach here are given an incentive to teach students properly," she spoke, "as their ability to teach is one of the factors in their chances of being promoted to the Inner Sect."

"The exact method of their teaching is up to the disciple," she continued, "whether they limit themselves to lectures or if they take an official disciple of their own."

He nodded before realizing what she was getting at.

"I'm your disciple," he said.

"Yes," she acknowledged, "lectures held here are far more generalized than individual tutelage, with many of the applicants that gain a master taking significantly less time to progress."

He nodded.

"And as a disciple of an Elder, you should grow rapidly," she continued.

His heart beat harder at that.

So he was going to have a lot of pressure on him to progress quickly.

Deep breaths.

He forced himself to calm down. He was from another world. He had a lot of catching up to do. If he rushed himself then he would probably cause himself more problems down the line.

"I will grow at my own pace," he declared firmly, "I am not going to rush my progress just so you can save face."

It was probably a stupid thing to say to the girl but it was the simple reality.

Her lips quirked up.

"Good," she said, her satisfaction clear in her voice, "trying to force your growth can lead down a dark path… and if you do end up on such a path, I will end you myself."

He swallowed.

He had no intention of ending up on a 'dark path' as she put it. He just hoped he wouldn't accidentally end up on such a thing due to ignorance.

"So, where next?" he asked.

"Next I am returning to the Sect to complete my duties," she said, "I assume you can find your own way back to your shack?"

He nodded.

That shouldn't be too hard right?