“It’s impressive,” Ishin remarked, staring up at the eight blue and orange spires. “All the buildings here are so… grand.” The Daihu Tribe had many buildings of its own within Pale Fang Fortress, but hardly any of them stood beyond five stories. Instead, they tended to extend out into wider floors. Here, though, multiple buildings looked like extraordinary feats of art—beyond what he’d imagined.

  Hou Lei looked at Ishin with interest. “They don’t have tall buildings in the Nine Striped Hills? Thought you all lived in giant castles?”

  “Fortresses,” Ishin clarified.

  “Same thing, aren’t they?”

  Ishin’s gaze continued to trace over the Eight Oaths Resolve School, noticing spiraling engravings along the edges of the front door. “Think about it as a large region surrounded by a thick, tall stone wall—a fortification. Inside, we have buildings, but none like this.” He gestured at the Yellow Dome. “Or that.”

  A blue and orange parrot soared through the air before landing on the eave that stretched over the front gate. Ishin stared at it, confused. He’d never seen a parrot before.

  “Good thing you came to our fair city, then,” Hou Lei said, oblivious to Ishin’s curiosity. “You got to see our architecture, and now you get to see the best martial school Yellow Dome has. Let’s head in.”

  Hou Lei led Ishin up the front stairs to the main entrance—two bronze doors painted the same colors as the rest of the school. Hou Lei pushed them open, revealing a vast entrance hall beyond. It easily dwarfed the main training room of the Daihu Tribe Martial Hall. A hundred disciples wearing blue and orange robes moved about in various directions.

  Protruding from both ends of the central hall were passages leading to further halls of similar design. Those stretched farther than Ishin could see, and he could only fathom the size of the school’s interior. At the far end of the central hall was an inclined stairway leading to a set of sliding doors. It was there that Hou Lei brought Ishin.

  “Most of the training rooms are farther back in the east and west wings,” Hou Lei explained. “Our younger disciples train there. This back area is where the stronger disciples spar and train. Typically reserved for the third layer of the Initial Realm and above.”

  Ishin glanced around at the moving mass of disciples as they navigated to the far end of the central hall. Everyone he saw was his age or younger. Quick glances at select disciples indicated they were at the second or third layer of the Initial Realm. It was clear that these disciples surpassed the skill of the Daihu Tribe’s senior disciples.

  They’re probably stronger and more experienced than me. That was an unpleasant realization.

  “If these are the weaker disciples, how strong are the strongest disciples your school has?”

  “Our strongest disciples are at the sixth and seventh layers of the Initial Realm, but they’re also older. If anyone reaches the Adept Realm, they’re offered a staff position at the school—or they have to leave.”

  Hou Lei slid open the doors at the rear of the central hall. To Ishin’s surprise, a large circular covered garden lay before them. Light flowed in from windows lining the rim of the ceiling. Flower beds adorned the garden’s edges, while a koi pond rested in the far right quadrant. Throughout the garden, dozens of disciples sat on the soft grass, eyes closed.

  Ishin recognized the postures. They were cultivating, not merely meditating. An older gentleman walked among them, observing their progress. He wore the same-colored robes as the disciples, but one glance at his cultivation made it clear he was in the Adept Realm.

  “Is he an instructor?” Ishin asked.

  “We call them masters,” Hou Lei corrected. “That’s Master Ning. He helps disciples with their cultivation techniques. And this,” he gestured to the garden, “is the Garden of Tranquility.”

  Aptly named. It did look like a comfortable place to cultivate. He examined the ambient qi in the room—wood, wind, water, and another orange and yellow qi that Ishin couldn’t identify were the main types that permeated the air. There were the expected traces of countless other qi types, including lightning, but Ishin knew this place would not be a good fit for his cultivation needs.

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  “This way,” Hou Lei said, leading Ishin further into the school.

  They walked over a bamboo bridge on the west side of the garden, moving into another room. They continued to pass through one chamber after another, giving Ishin a growing sense of the school’s immense size. Finally, they reached a small, bare room lined with dimly lit candles.

  In the middle of the room sat a young woman dressed in Eight Oaths Resolve robes. Silky raven-black hair cascaded down her back, nearly reaching her waist. Her skin was pale and smooth, suggesting she was around Ishin’s age. She possessed a noticeably sharp chin and nose. Eyes adorned with long lashes suddenly opened, revealing a gaze of piercing intelligence.

  The woman rose from her cultivating position. Standing, Ishin saw a blue obi cinched around her waist, bringing the silk robes tightly against her lean yet voluptuous build. Ishin couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her.

  Zhu Rhee, I’m guessing.

  “Rhee!” Hou Lei said enthusiastically, waving a hand. The large blood cultivator sauntered forward, and Zhu Rhee smiled at him warmly.

  “Morning, Lei.” Ishin was thrown off guard. He hadn’t even called his friends only by their given name—always providing an honorific. Evidently, people were more lax in the empire proper. “Is that him?” Zhu Rhee asked, looking at Ishin.

  “Yes, he is!” Hou Lei waved Ishin over. “Come on, get over here!” Ishin walked forward, spear over his shoulder, pack still on.

  When he was only a few feet away, Ishin stopped and offered a bow to Zhu Rhee. “Greetings, honored Zhu Rhee. I am Ro Ishin.”

  Zhu Rhee closed the distance between them until she was only an arm’s reach away. From here, Ishin could smell the faint scent of herbs—but also sweat.

  “You’re exactly as Lei described.”

  Ishin saw her eyes examin his face, but she wasn’t looking at him—she was looking at his scars. Then he remembered the leather armor he was wearing and knew how he must appear. His grip tightened around his spear in irritation.

  “And how was I described?” he asked through pursed lips.

  Zhu Rhee stepped around him. “As a warrior from the Nine Striped Hills. You have the armor, spear, and—”

  “Scars?” Ishin interrupted, turning to face her.

  If Zhu Rhee was bothered by his snapped comment, she didn’t show it. “Yes.” She turned and began walking toward Hou Lei, who had remained silent so far. “More importantly, you’re an Initial Realm lightning cultivator.” She glanced back at Ishin. “When Lei told me that, I couldn’t believe it. But yet, here you are.”

  Most of Ishin’s anger dissipated. He took the opportunity to examine Zhu Rhee’s chakra. She was at the fourth layer, like Hou Lei had said, and had a darkness-aspected chakra.

  Ishin was surprised. Darkness was a very flexible qi type, but it wasn’t as purely combat-focused as fire, metal, or earth. If she’s that capable using darkness qi… His appraisal of her skill went up.

  “You both make my chakra aspect sound so unique.” This time, he took a step to the side. “Is there no one else in this large city of yours with the same chakra aspect?”

  “Possibly somewhere,” Zhu Rhee said with a shrug. “But none that I know. Most wouldn’t waste their first chakra on such a difficult aspect to cultivate.”

  Hou Lei bellowed out a laugh. “It’s like I told you. You’re unique.”

  “I see.” Ishin looked at the darkness cultivator prodigy. “So you want my help?”

  Zhu Rhee shook her head. “Lei vouched for you. Said he was impressed with what he saw at the Dueling Pit.” She speared Hou Lei a reproachful look. “Even though I’ve told him to stop going there.”

  “Sorry,” Hou Lei muttered. Ishin had never heard the man sound that somber before.

  “However, I still want to assess your abilities myself—to see if you’re worth our school’s time.”

  Ishin considered her more closely. “And if I don’t pass your test?”

  “Then you may go,” she answered simply.

  Nodding to himself, Ishin went on to ask, “And when I pass?”

  For the first time, Zhu Rhee smiled at him. “Then I’ll let you train at our school and give you a chance to join our team for the Exhibition Tournament. Sound fair?”

  “Fair,” Ishin replied. He dropped his pack to the ground and kicked it to the side of the room. “Do you want to do it here and now?”

  Hou Lei laughed at the display, while Zhu Rhee appeared to look at Ishin with new interest. “He’s as enthusiastic as you, Lei.”

  “He is indeed!”

  Zhu Rhee moved away from Hou Lei, adjusting the cuffs of her robe. She came to a stop on the opposite side of the room from Ishin.

  “Since I’m new to your city,” Ishin said, twirling his spear around to warm up his muscles, “perhaps you could help me out with something. How should I address you? I’m guessing calling you by your given name is inappropriate.”

  She cracked her wrists. “If you pass, then I’ll let you call me Senior Sister Zhu. Fail, and, well, you won’t call me anything.”

  Ishin snapped his spear out. “Let’s go then, Senior Sister Zhu.”