Shuren flew past the farmlands where he had once completed his first missive, wide and expansive beyond the borders of the walled city. The edge of Cloud City was on the horizon, its walls reaching to shelter the inhabitants. After joining the Seven Clouds, Shuren now realised the ingenuity of the design, and that the walls weren’t for direct protection, but made up the foundation of a city-wide formation. He didn’t know what its abilities were, and he didn’t want to find out.

  The kaleidoscope of dawn arrived soon, the light of life rousing the world. A girl was ravaging the beef jerky on the flying nimbus.

  “I should have asked this earlier. My name is Shuren. What’s yours?”

  “Alzu,” the girl said in between bites. “Where am I going?”

  Shuren wasn’t sure. It’s not like she could join the sect. He would have to meet the man who initiated the cloud missive first. But he couldn’t deny that she now had a spark of ambition that would require her to cultivate her own path. In the worst-case scenario, if she has no more relatives left, there were orphanages run by the sect in these situations, grooming them into well-rounded and loyal disciples.

  Shuren looked at Alzu, remembering her words at her parent’s grave. He frowned. Since he pushed this child to become a cultivator, if she embraced that path with dedication, he’d consider sponsoring her. The road will be far more difficult starting off at an orphanage, so he could ask mother for ideas.

  “We’ll prepare for you to join the Seven Clouds sect in the future. It will be a long and difficult journey, and you’ll have to work very hard. Do you think you can do it?”

  She nodded without hesitation, taking out another snack from a pouch. If she still kept the same meaning of life in the future, she’d need to reach Rank 6. Only then could one qualify to swim out of the river and observe the flow of reincarnation from the riverbank.

  Naturally, there was a price to be paid. Everyone above Rank 6 would receive increased longevity and an Immortal body, capable of making even their own inner world. In return, they would be cut off from the Genesis River, unable to reincarnate after death.

  A small price to pay.

  Tez stumbled out the entrance of Evening Clouds. He limped with a swollen eye and a bruise-covered body. “I’m too weak. I can’t grow fast enough just by sitting here. I need to find some resources of my own. It’s what that thing is telling me to do.”

  The external injuries on him didn’t matter too much. They were easy to take care of. But his single golden eye dimmed with a brooding storm, indignant at his own weakness. Tez would endure his own humiliation, but when the people he cared about were affected too, he couldn’t endure it.

  Especially at the hands of that purple-haired bastard with crimson eyes.

  Though he looked pathetic, his shivering fist and clenched jaws told a tale of perseverance. He wouldn’t yield like this. Never again did he want to feel that helplessness. That weakness. That despair.

  “Damn it! To think Shuren was the most reasonable one of them all. Those delegate young masters from the higher regions are borderline insane! Shit, do I ask him for help?! But…”

  Tez thought back to his last encounter with Shuren. “I went too far last time. I doubt an apology is enough to sort out our grievances. The allure of power, and maintaining camaraderie in this sect…” But with the quests of the System, there were only so many options he had

  For a moment, Tez flickered with hesitation. Every time he ended up in the worst incidents, it was always preceded by a quest given from the System. Almost as if the System itself was pushing him to-

  A sharp pain ran through Tez’s head, forgetting the last thought he had.

  “As they say, if I want to get stronger faster, I need to face my adversity with favorability, using it to hone my Path. I have to get used to the ways of this land,” Tez muttered, staring up at the sky. A sky foreign to him in every way. Yet, this sky could be conquered by one’s hand. He saw an inner disciple with a child on a flying nimbus heading his way back to the sect, and motivation fuelled his heart. “I have to be selected to become an Inner Disciple within a month. I need the status and prestige from it, and only then will these worthless bastards stop messing with us! Then I’ll take revenge on that scumbag, and all the flies hanging around him like he’s a piece of shit!”

  I just have to follow the System, and gain as much power as possible!

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Though the Evening Clouds consisted mostly of Outer Disciples, it was the official military force of Cloud City. Even if you never make it to Rank 2, or become an Inner Disciple, one could make a decent living as a Cloud Knight. Every Cloud Knight Garrison throughout all Cloud City originated in the Evening Clouds. Naturally, they served as the primary convening point for disciples out on missives, so near the entrance of Evening Clouds was a large hospice.

  A formation of multiple buildings in an array, Shuren went to the ward intended for Inner Disciples returning from missives. The cloudmulet gave that information to his mind when he thought of it, as if he had already explored this place in and out. It was a strange feeling, like someone had opened his head to pour a glass of memories inside.

  “Hopefully Ming got more intel on the matter.” Shuren disembarked from his cloud, beckoning to Alzu. “We’ll have you go through a quick check up. Let’s go,” Shuren stretched out his palm to Alzu, grabbing her hand. Though her straw sandals were in poor shape, she kept up the pace, still eating the rations that Ming provided.

  When the pair entered the hospital ward, they felt cleanliness seep into their pores; the formations that regulated temperature and medicinal scent contrasted with the gruel and disgust they dealt with in the wilds. An attendant noticed Shuren’s state, leaving the reception to receive him.

  “We’ve already received word, you are Shuren, correct? An elder is waiting for you. Follow me,” he said. Shuren thought of apologising for the hassle, but was too tired to bother with his etiquette. For now, he had to find out what’s been going on.

  Shuren felt a foreign sense go through him and Alzu, though she couldn’t feel it. Unlike a mind transmission that was forced, it lacked pain, but Shuren involuntarily swallowed due to the pressure. He knew that whoever the elder inside that room was, they had already gotten a full idea of his level and the state of his injuries. The attendant left them at the door, bidding them farewell. He wouldn’t dare open a door to a room an elder was inhabiting.

  The elder didn’t make them wait. As if he commanded the laws of the world, the door in front opened at his will.

  Ming was sitting up in his bed, flashing a smile to him.

  And Shuren saw him. A Silvent elder, Kuveiros, with viridian hair slicked to the side, his branched horns of gold glistening with Qi. Yet, he didn’t have the imposing presence of an elder.

  The silence was broken by his sigh, filled with the air of melancholy.

  Shuren moved to clasp his hands, to bow to the elder, but an intangible force made him unable to. “There is no need, Shuren, You have done well. I am the one in your debt.”

  Alzu looked up to face Elder Kuveiros, still eating. She saw him give a warm smile, and the clashing of wood and shoes resounded as he neared her.

  “What is your name, child?”

  She took a moment to finish her bite before answering, “Alzu.”

  After a moment of confirming her identity, Elder Kuveiros took a few gentle steps to the girl. “Alzu, I am your father’s benefactor. If you have no one else, I am willing to raise you like my child. Are you willing?” Elder Kuveiros said with tenderness, recalling memories of a bygone past. She had the same eyes and branches as her father, a man that saved him at the cusp of death.

  She glanced up to Shuren, her eyes nudging for advice. Shuren answered her question. “He is an elder of the Seven Clouds sect. Accept him as your guardian, and your goal to become a Grand Pathstrider will be clearer than ever. You will have a new home,” and he instinctively patted her head.

  She looked back, nodding at Elder Kuveiros with acknowledgement. He knelt down in front of her, talking with Alzu face to face, “First, we’ll need you to get better. I’ll get someone to give you some clothes and check you for any injuries. Leixin, take care of her.”

  A disciple of black hair appeared beside Shuren, and his eyes constricted. *I didn’t even notice her presence? She must be a Core Disciple of the elder!

  “Alzu, let senior sister help." The Core Disciple grabbed Alzu by the hands, but she shrugged it off. Alzu ran past the Elder to see Ming, committing a crooked bow, “Thank you.”

  She felt a rough hand rub over her head, and she winced back. “You’re good, kid. Stay strong, so one day your ma and pa will be proud that you lived your best life.”

  Shuren watched her run up to him, and his expression eased. “I told you mine. Tell me your soul’s meaning of life.” Alzu asked.

  Shuren’s face widened. But of course, she would ask that after what he did. He gained some solace in knowing he consoled her, and gave her a view to see her path. This question didn’t need much thinking, but Shuren stalled.

  It was her eyes.

  When he first saw her, Alzu was like a dead fish, listless and unmoving. She had gone through unimaginable pain, facing the death of her parents. This was not a wound that time could heal. Yet, perhaps with the words he said on that night, she received something beyond comforting words. Facing her eyes once again, now brimming with lustre, Shuren hoped with deep sincerity that Alzu would lead a beautiful life.

  “I want to help my family, and one day I’ll lead my righteous clan to glory. Once I’ll do that then…”

  Shuren raised a hand, holding his chin as he pondered.

  “Becoming a poet doesn’t sound so bad.”

  He felt the warmth of Alzu’s hand grabbing his own, pinching his pinky finger between her thumb and fingers. “This is an oath to the spirits, so you have to do it, okay? And I will too.”

  Elder Kuveiros smiled to the side as he watched the scene unfold, aware of the significance of the saying. Junior brother, I’ll take care of your daughter well, so be at peace within the Genesis River.

  Ming only smirked, crossing his arms before wincing at the pain. With the hints he received before, this had basically confirmed Shuren’s identity. Shuren didn’t say a word, ruminating on the oath, but his smile answered Alzu. She walked back to take Core Disciple Leixin’s hand, leaving the room before taking a final look.

  And with the room having only Shuren, Ming, and Elder Kuveiros, the air of the atmosphere changed.

  Elder Kuveiros emanated the presence of a powerful cultivator.

  “Now then. I’ll have to explain to you the situation.”