Chapter 3 — Above the Clouds
The moment the ship lifted fully from the platform, the roar of the capital faded into a distant murmur.
The massive flying vessel rose steadily into the sky, its formation arrays glowing faintly along the hull as spiritual energy surged through its core mechanisms. Wind whipped across the deck as the city below grew smaller and smaller.
Thousands of people had gathered at the departure plaza earlier.
Officials, merchants, servants, curious commoners.
But among them, only two faces truly mattered to Li Tian.
His mother stood at the edge of the platform, her sleeve raised high as she waved toward the ascending vessel. Even from this distance, Li Tian could recognize her anxious expression.
Zhao Meilin had never been particularly good at hiding her emotions.
She continued waving long after the ship had begun to ascend.
Beside her stood his father.
Li Wen did not wave as enthusiastically.
Instead, the older man stood straight, his hands folded behind his back for a moment as he watched the ship rise into the sky.
Only when the vessel climbed higher did he slowly lift a single hand.
A restrained gesture.
Dignified.
Measured.
Exactly the kind of farewell Li Tian expected from him.
His father was a man who believed emotions should never cloud one’s judgment.
Even at a moment like this.
Li Tian raised his hand in return.
For a brief moment, their gazes met across the widening distance.
Then the ship passed into the cloud layer.
The capital vanished.
The mortal world disappeared beneath a sea of white mist.
For the first time in his life, Li Tian realized that the life he had known was truly behind him.
There would be no returning to the comfortable halls of scholarship.
No more debates within the court academies.
No more quiet evenings reading beside lamplight while his father critiqued his arguments.
Everything ahead of him now belonged to a different world.
The world of cultivators.
A world where strength decided everything.
---
Once the ship stabilized above the clouds, the initial excitement gradually faded.
Sect attendants began guiding the passengers into different sections of the vessel.
The ship itself was enormous.
Several decks stretched across its vast structure, each reinforced with spiritual formations that stabilized the vessel as it sailed through the heavens.
Li Tian quietly observed the movements of the attendants and disciples as he followed the flow of candidates through the corridors.
Servants carried storage chests filled with spirit stones toward the core engine chambers.
Formation disciples inspected glowing arrays carved into the metal walls.
Every system on the ship appeared to function with quiet efficiency.
Even the distribution of living quarters revealed something about the sect’s priorities.
Cultivator candidates were directed toward the upper decks.
The cabins there were spacious and brightly lit by formation lamps.
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Scholar candidates were sent toward a lower corridor.
The rooms were smaller.
Not unpleasant.
But clearly inferior.
A subtle distinction.
A reminder of status.
Li Tian noticed the difference immediately.
He said nothing.
Zhao Ren, however, did not hide his displeasure.
“They didn’t even try to disguise it,” Zhao Ren muttered as they walked down the corridor.
His expression was dark.
Earlier insults from the cultivator candidates were still fresh in his mind.
Li Tian had seen the moment earlier when one of them laughed openly.
“Scholars? What use are scholars on a cultivation path?”
“They probably just need someone to count spirit stones.”
Zhao Ren had nearly exploded then.
Even now, his fists were clenched tightly.
Sun Mei walked quietly beside them.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes moved constantly.
Observing.
Calculating.
Unlike Zhao Ren, she seemed more interested in watching how people behaved rather than reacting to it.
Eventually the attendants stopped before a row of doors.
“These quarters are assigned to the scholar candidates of the Grand Firmament Sect,” one of them said flatly.
Li Tian nodded.
Zhao Ren gave a stiff grunt.
Sun Mei simply accepted her room key and stepped inside.
One by one, they disappeared into their assigned chambers.
---
Li Tian’s room was modest.
A narrow bed.
A wooden desk.
A single window that opened toward the endless clouds outside.
He stepped toward the window slowly.
The sky stretched endlessly before him.
Below the ship lay nothing but rolling white clouds illuminated by distant sunlight.
The view was strangely calming.
But Li Tian’s mind was already moving.
Planning.
His goal was simple in words.
But impossible in reality.
To seize Heaven’s Mandate.
Even thinking the phrase sounded absurd.
Yet he could not abandon it.
From the moment the thought first appeared in his mind, it had refused to leave.
But scholars alone could never accomplish such a thing.
Scholars possessed influence.
They could guide kings.
Advise rulers.
Design strategies.
But in the cultivation world…
Influence meant little without power.
Li Tian understood this clearly.
Scholars inside cultivation sects were sometimes granted limited cultivation methods.
Mostly techniques meant to extend lifespan.
Longevity breathing arts.
Low-level spiritual circulation methods.
Nothing that could allow them to compete with real cultivators.
The sect needed scholars to live long enough to maintain records and administrative systems.
But never strong enough to challenge the cultivators themselves.
Li Tian frowned slightly.
That arrangement might satisfy most scholars.
But it would never satisfy him.
If he wished to grasp Heaven’s Mandate…
He would need true power.
Whether through opportunity…
Or cunning…
Or sheer determination.
But before anything else, one question remained unanswered.
Did he even possess the talent to cultivate?
Some scholars did.
Most did not.
There was no way to know until the sect conducted its examinations.
Li Tian exhaled slowly.
For the first time since boarding the ship, uncertainty crept into his thoughts.
If he lacked cultivation talent…
His entire plan would collapse before it even began.
He quietly whispered a small prayer to any unseen gods who might be listening.
Then a sudden shout broke the silence.
A loud commotion erupted somewhere in the corridor outside.
Li Tian’s thoughts snapped back to reality.
He stepped outside his room.
Several candidates had already gathered in the hallway.
Voices echoed ahead.
Angry.
Mocking.
Li Tian moved toward the noise.
---
A small crowd had formed in the central corridor.
At its center, several cultivator candidates surrounded a young man who looked clearly uncomfortable.
The youth’s clothes were plain.
Rough.
His posture nervous.
Probably someone from a humble background who had barely passed the talent screening.
One of the cultivator candidates sneered at him.
“You think someone like you deserves to stand here with us?”
The youth shook his head desperately.
“I—I didn’t mean to offend anyone…”
Apparently he had accidentally bumped into one of them earlier.
Now they were making an example of him.
One of the bullies shoved him hard.
The youth fell backward.
Another stepped forward and planted his foot firmly on the fallen boy’s chest.
“Look at him,” the cultivator laughed. “Begging already.”
Several others chuckled.
The victim struggled weakly.
But the foot pressing against his chest kept him pinned to the floor.
Li Tian observed quietly.
Around the edges of the crowd stood several other candidates who did not participate.
They watched silently.
Calm expressions.
Sharp eyes.
Li Tian noticed them immediately.
Observers.
People who preferred to measure a situation before acting.
Then another voice cut through the crowd.
“Move.”
Zhao Ren pushed his way forward.
His face burned with anger.
The scene clearly reminded him of the humiliation he had endured earlier.
He stepped forward instinctively.
But a hand grabbed his arm.
Li Tian.
“Stop,” Li Tian said quietly.
Zhao Ren turned sharply.
“You expect me to just watch this?”
Li Tian’s expression remained calm.
“We are scholars.”
“This is not our battlefield.”
But Zhao Ren hesitated too long.
One of the bullies noticed.
He grinned widely.
“Well, well.”
“The scholar trash wants to interfere?”
Before Zhao Ren could react—
A fist flashed forward.
The punch landed squarely against Zhao Ren’s jaw.
He crashed to the floor.
The cultivator laughed.
“Know your place trash!.”
Zhao Ren trembled with fury.
His hands clenched tightly.
But he did not strike back.
Everyone here understood the rules.
If a scholar attacked a cultivator candidate…
The sect attendants would intervene.
And the offender could be expelled from the ship entirely.
Just as the bully raised his foot again—
A calm voice spoke.
“Enough.”
The word cut through the corridor like a blade.
Everyone turned.
A young man stepped forward from the edge of the crowd.
His posture was relaxed.
But something about him radiated quiet confidence.
Li Tian recognized him immediately.
One of the silent observers from earlier.
The bully scoffed.
“Who are you supposed to be?”
The young man didn’t answer.
Instead, he stepped forward.
One simple motion.
His fist moved.
Fast.
Precise.
The punch struck the bully’s jaw with perfect accuracy.
The man collapsed instantly.
Unconscious.
Silence spread across the corridor.
No one expected such a clean, decisive strike.
The remaining bullies hesitated.
But the young man simply looked at them calmly.
No anger.
No arrogance.
Just quiet warning.
They backed away.
The crowd slowly began to disperse.
Li Tian studied the young man carefully.
That strike had not been random.
It was controlled.
Disciplined.
The work of someone who understood combat very well.
Li Tian stepped forward and bowed slightly.
“Thank you for resolving the situation.”
The young man glanced at him briefly.
His expression revealed nothing.
Then he simply turned and walked away.
Without a word.
As if the entire incident meant nothing to him.
---
Li Tian helped Zhao Ren to his feet.
Sun Mei appeared beside them shortly after.
Her gaze moved from Zhao Ren’s bleeding lip to the unconscious cultivator on the floor.
Then she said calmly, “Interesting.”
They brought Zhao Ren back to his room.
Zhao Ren slammed the door behind them.
“That bastard!” he spat.
“Why didn’t you stop him earlier?”
Li Tian sat calmly at the small table.
“If we escalated the conflict, the sect attendants would have intervened.”
“Anyone causing trouble would be removed.”
“Possibly expelled.”
Zhao Ren fell silent.
Sun Mei leaned against the wall.
Her expression thoughtful.
“Power decides what is right here,” she said quietly.
“Not justice.”
Her eyes shifted toward Li Tian.
“You knew that already, didn’t you?”
Li Tian did not answer immediately.
But eventually he nodded.
The cultivation world had already revealed its first lesson.
Strength ruled everything.
And they had only been aboard the ship for a few hours.
Outside the window, the flying vessel continued its journey through the endless sky.
Carrying them farther away from the mortal world.
And deeper into a realm where the rules were written by power alone.
