The Young Master sighed. As expected, his opponent knew him too well to fall for his tricks.

  “It wasn’t like I had many other options,” Feng said, wincing as he straightened his back. The young cultivator cycled his qi once more — his spiritual energies cannibalised to heal bruises and broken bones — before facing the speaker.

  She was tall — taller than most men, taller than even his Father, whose visage stood like a pillar among lesser cultivators. Her hair was the shade of twilight blue, its darkness forming striking harmony with her flawlessly pale complexion; one akin to that of drifting snow found atop a mountain’s throat.

  Hers was a beauty that would have stopped the heart of any lesser men unacclimatised to the sight of cultivated splendour. Even then, the fleeting remembrance of her face alone — dark eyes of predatory amber framed amidst a sea of inhuman perfection — might be enough to torment their thoughts with longing for the rest of their days.

  At the moment, however, Feng’s feelings towards her leaned more towards a disgruntled nature, rather than any appreciation of her unearthly resplendence.

  “You have grown even faster, Lianshi,” he commented as his ribs realigned themselves. “Not even the training weights of the Inverted Monks slow you much any more.”

  The Young Miss of the Chen Clan grinned cockily. She waved her arm at him with a mocking gesture. The heavy weights strapped to them barely hindered her movements, yet the action still carried such heft that Feng could feel the air shiver from her swings. “Perhaps I should double them again, hm? That should give you at least even odds of landing a hit on me.”

  The weights strapped to her arms and legs were heavy enough that even ten mortal men wouldn’t be able to lift a single one together. On top of that, she had already been holding her strength back significantly throughout their fight earlier. The fact that his torso had not wholly caved in from that single palm strike she had landed before was a clear indication of that.

  Yet even with all those disadvantages, he still could not last more than a minute in a spar against her. Unbelievable.

  The Chen Clan of the Split-headed Carnivores Sect had truly outdone themselves this time. Their Young Miss was an unprecedented prodigy, even among the high standards expected of a Clan Heir within the Four Mountain Sects Group.

  Feng did not consider himself a lousy cultivator. Indeed, even when held up to the strict requirements expected of a Young Master of the Hei Clan, he did not come up short. At eighteen years old, he was already in the second Step of the Third Realm — the Body Tempering Realm.

  By the standards expected of him, Feng knows that his cultivation has thus far left nothing to be wanting. Hence, despite losing to his best friend for the fifth consecutive time that day, the Young Master did not feel much embarrassment.

  Lianshi was just ridiculously strong. That was truly all there was to it.

  Or so he told himself, anyway. Privately, there was a tumour of despair nestled deep within him that loathed the enormous gulf in strength between them. It had not even been half a decade ago where he had been her superior in all matters of cultivation.

  Where, then, had this ridiculous growth in potential come from? His only comfort was that Lianshi’s explosive cultivation development baffled everyone within the Province equally, disciples and Elders alike.

  Even prodigies should have limits. Yet it appeared his friend held none.

  “Perhaps we should call it a day,” Feng suggested, trying not to grimace at the pain as he walked back into the ring. “It has already been several fights.”

  The blow that Lianshi left on him had mostly healed. Feng’s cultivation, while nowhere at the level of his opponent’s, was still advanced enough for him to survive blows that would outright kill a mortal man. His recovery abilities were also significantly more developed than those of his peers, on account of a superb cultivation upbringing.

  Nevertheless, it would still take a little longer for his body to fully recover from their soreness. His partner might be raring for another round already, but Feng would greatly prefer it if they stopped. The bruises and wounds he had accumulated over the past five fights were beginning to take their toll.

  Feng could burn away those minor injuries in an instant if he expended most of his qi, but that would be a wasteful choice. The day had barely begun, with the waxing moon dipping below the flowing curtains of the Jade skies — radiant auroras shimmering in their usual resplendence of sea green and violet, set against the dark backdrop of starry nights — and there were still many things he had to do.

  At his words, Lianshi frowned. “Is the Young Master of the Hei Clan such a disappointment that he lacks the vigour to keep up with a fellow Young Miss? How far you have fallen. I still remember the days when we would go for ten rounds, at least!”

  Was she not aware of how her words might be misconstrued by an outsider? Feng narrowed his gaze and caught the faintly amused glint in her snake-pupil eyes.

  Stolen story; please report.

  No, she was deliberately saying it that way. Feng supposed it was good that they had convinced her Core Disciple bodyguards to leave them alone together before they started sparring.

  “This Young Master has plenty of vigour,” Feng replied, suppressing a sigh behind a practised smile. “It is simply that the Lady’s splendour outmatches him. This lowly one suggests that perhaps the Young Miss would be better off sparring with her equals rather than her lessers. I am sure the Elders of the Hei Clan would be willing to trade pointers with you.”

  The Elders of the Beheaded Phoenix Sect were all venerable cultivators, each a talented individual who likely had spent several decades of their lives in cultivation. Most of them stood at varying steps within the Fourth Realm, the Nascent Realm; an achievement that most Disciples within the Sect could only dream of.

  Lianshi was barely eighteen years old, and already she was more than their equal. She stood firmly within the Ninth Step of the Fourth Realm, an utterly absurd level that had her completely eclipsing any other Disciples within the Four Mountain Sects Group.

  No, Feng thought privately to himself. It is likely her cultivation already eclipses every single Disciple within the whole Outer Provinces.

  While Feng had said the Elders were her equals in a spar, it was his sincere belief that she would triumph against the majority of them. The Elders held the edge in experience, thanks to their greater age, but that was their only advantage.

  In terms of cultivation level, few exceeded or even equalled the Young Miss before him. And in terms of sheer talent and potential, Feng felt confident in saying no one within the Four Mountain Sects Group – not even the four esteemed Patriarchs – surpassed Lianshi.

  It was no exaggeration to say she may one day become the strongest cultivator not just within the 103rd Outer Province State, but also the entire Outer Provinces as a whole — a territory that spans nearly half a billion mortals and countless tens of thousands of cultivators.

  No doubt it was one of the reasons why the Elders had met her every demand since her arrival at the Beheaded Phoenix Sect, lest they earn her ire and she challenge them to an honour duel.

  Refusal would be an insult to the Chen Clan, while acceptance risked defeat and almost certain humiliation by their peers for losing to a Disciple several times younger than them, never mind her absurd strength.

  Knowing all this, it begged a single question that any outsider would ask: why would such an extraordinary individual waste their time sparring with him? True, Feng had some considerable prestige as a Young Master of an important Sect, but there was little he could provide that the Young Miss could not gain herself, less so in such horribly lop-sided duels.

  In terms of knowledge or wisdom, the consult of a more senior Disciple would no doubt prove superior to a youth barely in the throes of adulthood. Likewise, if it was a spar the Lady sought, a fight with an Elder would doubtless provide a more engaging experience than anything Feng could give, as he was more than an entire Realm lower than her in cultivation standing.

  Indeed, from a glance, it was a mystery that would puzzle any outsider.

  But the reason for her favour was apparent to every cultivator within the 103rd Outer Province. It has been apparent for many, many years now.

  Lianshi gave an unladylike snort at his reply, crossing her arms as she walked over to him and playfully bumped her shoulder against his. “Now, why would I want to waste my time with a bunch of ancient bookworms over my Fiancé, hmm?”

  And therein lies the reason.

  Hei Feng — Heir to the Hei Clan and Young Master of the Beheaded Phoenix Sect — had been blessed with the great fortune of being engaged to the Young Miss of the Split-headed Carnivores Sect.

  The greatest prodigy possibly ever seen in the Outer Province, and his dearest friend.

  Sects

  Sects are monasteries built for the — alleged — sole purpose of educating cultivators and ensuring the continuous rise of Humanity as a whole towards Immortality. They are a relatively new creation, officially established in the wake of the new Empire heralded by His Perverse Majesty.

  Before the rebellion, the administration of mortal cultivations was usually controlled by Clans — Human families under the direct supervision of their chosen Divine God. While family Clans still exist in the modern era, their importance in spiritual cultivation is now secondary compared to Sects.

  The purpose of Sects goes beyond merely providing an institution for educating prospective cultivators, however. They represent the primary administrative body of the Empire within the region and are often responsible for governing the local population.

  Such bureaucratic duties include but are not limited to: the enforcement of His Perverse Majesty's laws, the collection of taxes and tithes from the region’s inhabitants, the culling of Spirit Beasts and other associated dangers that may stalk their lands, and the ensuring of safe trade routes throughout His Perverse Majesty’s Empire.

  Sects are referred to simply as Outer, Inner, or Core Sects depending on their province’s location within the Empire (Outer Sects exist in Outer Provinces, Inner Sects exist in Inner Provinces, and so on.)

  Each Sect is led by a head cultivator, referred to as Patriarch or Matriarch. The governing bodies and day-to-day activities of the Sect are overseen by Elders, the Sect’s strongest cultivators. Finally, the cultivators that have come to learn from the Sect’s teachings are called Disciples, who themselves are categorised into Outer, Inner, or Core Disciples depending on their standing within the Sect.

  Sects may also comprise one or several Clans: large families or lineages bound by familial blood, ancestral name, martial arts heritage, or common ideology. The head Clan of the Sect is usually the Clan of the Sect’s Patriarch/Matriarch, and their chosen Heir is often referred to as ‘Young Master’ or ‘Young Miss’.

  As a final note, any Sect of worth would also house the body of a Divine corpse, from which they may revel in the qi released from its decaying carcass, and plunder its body for secrets to learn and Divine flesh to consume.

  – Excerpt from To Those Worthy of the Eternal Banquet