I snapped my eyes open, not to the sterile white of a hospital room, but to the sharp, invigorating air of a mountain and wooden rafters. The very atmosphere felt different, cleaner, charged with an unfamiliar energy that tingled on my skin. Strange herbal smells filled my lungs, a scent I'd never encountered before, yet it somehow felt familiar.

  My body felt both alien and my own. Every breath seemed to infuse me with a vitality I had never known and an unfamiliar ache that shifted with my body's natural movements. I was clad in simple, rough spun robes, a stark contrast to the vibrant jeans and hoodie I had just been wearing. Yet they fit with an unnerving comfort, as if they were made for me. I reached up, my fingers brushing against the coarse fabric of my new garments, a small frown of confusion creasing my brow. Where was I? And how did I get here?

  The name of this place, plucked from the fleeting caress of a breeze, whispered from half formed memories of a different life, was the healing pavilion of the Golden Fang Sect upon the Azure Peak. A domain of cultivation, a place of profound power, and a world that was the antithesis of the concrete jungles and neon-lit stages and concrete jungles of Earth.

  The fleeting moment of wonder was brutally shattered, ripped away by the searing memory of *how* I came to be in this state. It was him. Jian Li. A name that now tasted like ash in my mouth. He strode into our lives with an aura of arrogance so thick I could almost choke on it, a palpable power emanating from him like an icy wind from . He was a prodigy, they said, favored by the Elders, a master of martial techniques with an unnerving mastery over ice.

  He didn't see us as fellow cultivators, as new talents striving for greatness. No, in his eyes, we were less than dust. Insignificant pests, an unwelcome infestation on the pristine grounds of his esteemed Sect, a mockery of the power he so clearly believed was his birthright. His disdain was a tangible wave, a glacial front that washed over us, chilling us to the bone, seeping into our very souls. He smirked, a cruel twist of his lips that promised a torment far beyond mere physical pain. "I'll teach you a lesson," he'd declared, his voice like the crack of ice. A brutal, harsh lesson on the unforgiving hierarchy of this world, on our utter worthlessness.

  And he did. The beating was swift, brutal, and utterly, soul-crushingly humiliating. Jian Li's strikes were precise, honed by years of training and an innate talent that was frankly terrifying. Each movement was devastating, each blow designed to inflict maximum agony, to shatter not just bone but spirit, without the mercy of immediate death. He wanted us to suffer, to understand our absolute insignificance in the grand scheme of his existence. Each impact landed like a flurry of ice shards, cracking ribs, sending waves of agonizing pain through my body. His ice affinity was evident in every chilling touch, the cold seeping deep into my flesh, mimicking the icy dread that had gripped my heart. I felt the world break around me, not just my body, but the fragile hope I had dared to harbor.

  As the other outer sect disciples and I lay there, adrift in our misery, the distant, amplified voices of Azure Peak's elders had carried on the wind. They spoke of Jian Li's unparalleled talent, his esteemed lineage, and the immense pressure he was under to perform, to uphold the reputation of his clan. While their words offered no comfort, no solace, they provided a chilling context. Jian Li was not merely a gratuitous bully; he was a product of this world's relentless, brutal pursuit of power, a system that valued strength above all else, crushing the weak without a second thought.

  My body ached with a deep, bone-weary pain, my spirit bruised and broken. Xufeng, had fallen. Whatever that strange writing was must have pulled the soul or memories of Xander into this battered body. I didn't understand why, nor did it matter. All that mattered was I was in a new world. And my friends, if they even got the same treatment, were somewhere in this new world full of demons and spirit beasts and cultivators and millions of other ways for people to die.

  Tears started to well up in my eyes when I heard something familiar. A rhythm being tapped out by fingers on wood. It sounded louder than I remembered as Xander, but my memories as Xufeng told me heightened senses were a part of being a cultivator. Closing my eyes to focus, I waited for the beginning of the pattern before I started to whistle. The familiar melody, one that would not be known by anyone of this world.

  It wasn't the harsh attention-grabbing whistle of an adoring fan. But the soft, timid, whistle of someone afraid to hope. The rhythm was all too familiar. The four of them had spent weeks practicing that first song we had written while I also worked at booking gigs. And just as long recording and editing to get the perfect version for that first album. It didn't sell out or even get played on the radio besides a couple of inde stations or when one of the local stations wanted to do a show about local bands. It wasn't even our most popular song. But it was that song that all five of us could remember at the drop of a hat.

  Seconds after I started whistling the tapping stopped. I was about to quit and just forget the tapping as my mind being addled from the beating, and the sudden loss of everything that had mattered to me. When four voices softly sang the chorus:

  "The raven's keen gaze, a beacon bright,

  guiding my path through shadows of the night.

  across the fog-draped hills and lonely plains,

  from twilight's first blush till sunlight reigns.

  towards a fireside's embrace, a comforting glow,

  where cherished souls in loving welcome flow.

  a radiant greeting, warm and understood,

  at the tranquil port, where all is truly good.

  my wandering ceased, my solitude undone!

  you, feathered guide, have shown where I belong.

  your ebony flight, a promise understood,

  has brought me at last to my true, precious abode."

  The second that last note died Xufeng couldn't help but start laughing.

  "I still say that raven just wanted your pen because it was shiny." an unfamiliar female voice said.

  "And I keep saying it was an agent of fate using my pen to bring us together." came the usual reply in a new man's voice.

  The Golden Fang sect began with the core practice: Medication and Qi manipulation. For me, each breath was a painstaking effort to draw the ambient Qi of Azure Peak into my body, a slow, agonizing journey to guide it through my meridians. Our sudden transition from a world without Qi, coupled with Jian Li's brutal assault, had left me weakened, my understanding of Qi manipulation painfully limited. Fragments of folklore offered little practical information, and the instructors more interested in sounding poetic over actually teaching me definitely did not help. Yet, even cycling a wisp of Qi in my dantian for a few extra breaths, or pushing it a short distance along a blocked pathway, was a hard-won, monumental triumph.

  Thankfully we were not the only ones suffering through these beginner steps. Just five unremarkable potential disciples among this current crop of recruits. Days started before sunrise with blocks of training and lessons throughout the day broken up by chores and meals. Thankfully a competency test had given the five of us a week of *light" duty. Meaning instead of learning to read and write the courtly characters, we had a half class on martial forms, elemental affinity, and how an affinity could be utilized for different roles. Like how someone with a fire affinity and a speed focused form might be a messenger assigned to region that has a desert or volcano. Areas where their fire Qi would be better able to protect them without depleting them to the point of death.

  Dust motes danced in the lone shaft of sunlight piercing the gloom of the cavernous hall, illuminating worn training mats and the faint hum of residual energy. Chen, his grin a flash of white against his grimy face, nudged Tang with his elbow. "Think boot camp would be just as luxurious?" he quipped, his voice echoing off the stone walls.

  Across the room, Lijiang, her brow furrowed, meticulously tallied a small stack of tarnished coins. The clink of metal against wood was a sharp counterpoint to the birds singing outside. "Luxury won't help if we get kicked out, Chen." she retorted, her gaze sweeping over a collection of frayed scrolls and a half-empty waterskin. "We need to know what we've got before we can find more."

  Qin's boots slid across the worn flagstones, each step a whisper in the hushed expanse of the communal training hall. The air, a potent brew of old sweat and crushed herbs, clung to the rafters, a tangible testament to the years of cultivation it had seen. He nodded, a barely perceptible dip of his chin, as he walked through the heavy oak doors. "The three of us are sharing a room now," he announced, his voice a low rumble. "Tang and Lijiang already share quarters. Which is lucky for us."

  Tang, her hands gentle as they hovered over Chen's bandaged arm, observed the subtle flush returning to his skin. A faint warmth radiated from his flesh, a stark contrast to the pallor of his earlier exhaustion. "I know healing in the stories was always quick," she murmured, her fingers tracing the lines of his veins. "I wonder if the Qi speeding it up will mean we need to eat more or better-quality food."

  Meanwhile, I strode back into the hall from the open balcony, having just scanned the sparse landscape outside for any passersbys. I unfurled a frayed scrap of paper with charcoal writing. "A merchant caravan passes through the Whispering Pass at dawn," I said, my voice cutting through the low hum of activity. "They'll pay for sturdy hands to help unload their wares. And perhaps," I added, tapping a line on the paper, "a few of those silver blossoms that bloom in the southern region. Not enough for us individually, and we aren't strong enough to use them, but we might be able to trade them. Maybe find a way to grow a couple locally and get a minor reward for services to the Sect."

  Lijiang seemed to relax at my words. "Good. I know I can be...difficult about having more than we need-" she said, before Chen interrupted.

  "The Heavens favor the bold, but luck is when preparation meets opportunity." Chen said, translating his favorite malaphor for whenever she had started to apologize for being anxious about their supplies.

  Qin tossed Lijiang another coin purse. "If we are to prepare then we must know what support we are starting with." he said, knowing the quickest way to help his friend was to work through her concerns. "This one is Tuoba Qin, middle son of a lower member of the Tuoba Clan of merchants. If I fail out, as is expected of one with such little talent in martial techniques, my family will expect I contribute by escorting caravans or being a bodyguard to one of my favored cousins."

  Lijiang seemed to relax before saying "I have nothing waiting for me outside of here. Less than nothing." she shivered as her memories surfaced. "I was living on the streets and had just been taken by slavers when my dantian ignited. That caught the attention of a Golden Fang patrol, who took down the slavers and declared I was now a recruit of the Sect, and I was in their debt. If I don't qualify at the end of this year, then I owe them a decade of service."

  Chen raised his eyebrow. "That’s not a thing." he said, his eye losing all mirth. "Under Imperial law sect patrols are required to hunt down slavers, smugglers, bandits, and demonic cultivators. For this they are allowed to collect taxes and garrison a mortal military force of no more than 2% of the population from those under their direct jurisdiction, meaning the closest city or town."

  Lijiang looked at him wide eyed "How-" "This one is Pang Chen. Son of Pang Jiaya, Lord Magistrate of the town of Burning Lakes. It's a trade hub known for its hot springs and being one of the main gates between the grass planes and the Turtle's Shell Mountains."

  Tang smacked his arm "Bragger. My name is Song Haitang. Born and raised on an apple orchard." Chen snickered. "Yes, my name means crabapple blossom. Apparently, my parents here are romantics who met under a crabapple tree in spring."

  A smirk crossed Chens lips before he said "You're also the shortest now." The room suddenly went quiet as Tang glared at him. Before anyone could speak she hit him in the stomach, causing him to double over.

  As Tang wrapped one arm around his head she yelled "MENTION MY HEIGHT AGAIN!!! I WILL CRIPPLE YOUR DANTIAN AND SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR HOTSPRINGS ON THE BACK OF AN OX!!!"

  Qin and I rushed in struggling to separate the two. Eventually I was able to pull Chen away while Qin held her back. "Ok, so that's a sore subject." Qin said. "Xufeng, what about you?"

  I nodded, "She Xufeng, my family ran a tea shop before some rogue alchemist decided the ally out back was the best place to experiment. I was across town running errands when everything in a half a block was destroyed by the explosion. Things got a little fuzzy after that, but an Inspector said I had the potential to be a cultivator after saying I had been cleared as the primary suspect. Apparently they had a diviner with them, which is super rare."

  Chen looked interested at my mentioning the diviner. "How rare are we talking?" he asked, mischief in his eyes.

  "The way the Inspector told it almost two-thirds of all cultivators are solely martial focused." I said, trying to remember exactly what had been said. "Leaving the rest to dabble in other paths, but with little to no support. Alchemist and healers are tolerated. Artifact makers are just as likely to be killed as they are to be supported. And divination is ridiculed or stomped out on the claim of sedition."

  Lijiang looked sad at this news. "What about Spirit Beast tamers or herbalist?" she asked softly. "Surely given the need for resources they aren't as disdained."

  I shrugged, "They weren't mentioned, but given tamers would need double the resources, I doubt they are well received in most sects. And herbalist probably double as alchemists in order to reduce their dependency on others."

  As the information sank in I heard a chime go off.

  "Quest Introductions Complete:

  You now can access Quest System.

  New Quest: Find your Dao.

  Having learned there are many paths a cultivator can walk. But which one is for you?

  Objectives:

  Awaken your affinity

  Select a Cultivation method

  Reward: Access to the Points Store."