Chapter 2 — Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today

“Hurry, hurry! We can’t be late!” The woman from the hut grabbed his hand and led him into the square. He followed after her, stumbling along on too-short legs.

Hui grinned and smoothed his robes with his free hand.

One after another, the children came to the front of the line. They pressed their hands against a crystal ball while the cultivators looked on. Hui quietly watched the cultivators, searching out their expressions. They gazed into the middle distance, expressions blank. None of them paid any attention to the children passing by.

At last, his turn rolled around. The woman gave him a little push, and he stumbled up onto the stage. Again, the cultivators ignored him. One blinked slowly, suppressing a yawn.

Hui swallowed. He lifted his hands and pressed them onto the crystal ball.

The faintest glimmer of light swirled to life in the heart of the ball.

He looked up at the cultivators.

The first cultivator rubbed his eyes, letting out a second yawn. The second stared into the middle distance, her eyes completely glazed over. The third watched a bird fly along to the left.

“I did it!” he announced loudly.

The three cultivators jumped. They exchanged a look. Their eyes flew from one to another, but no one said anything out loud.

“I saw it!” the woman from the hut announced.

One or two of the other villagers nodded, some of them hesitantly.

“He can’t perform the test again. It only works once,” the first cultivator said aloud.

“Take him, then. If he can’t cultivate, he can work as a servant,” the girl argued.

The third one put up his hands. “Fine, fine. We’ll take him.” He gestured Hui toward him.

In the crowd, the woman from the hut gave him a loving gaze, mopping her tears from her eyes. He smiled at her and gave her a nod.

The last of the children from his village filtered through. No one else made the ball light up. The cultivators nodded to themselves. The female cultivator unfolded a sheet and laid it out for him. “Sit on this, and we’ll take you with us. You can nap or rest if you prefer. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Hui nodded and stepped on board. Although it looked soft, the sheet held his weight without giving. He sat down toward the center and gathered a handful of sheet into his fist, gazing nervously at the sky.

The four of them took off into the sky. To his surprise, Hui didn’t even feel a breeze as he sat on the sheet. A faint golden aura surrounded it, forming a shield of sorts. He looked around, taking in the sights. Slowly, his hand unwound from the sheet, and he relaxed.

“You aren’t afraid?” the first cultivator asked.

Hui shook his head.

The first cultivator laughed and patted his head. “Good kid! I’ve taken a liking to you.”

“Are you going to take him as your disciple?” the female cultivator asked jokingly.

“No, no. I’m still a disciple myself. But maybe in ten years, if he manages to cultivate successfully…” He turned and smiled at Hui.

Hui smiled back.

He settled back on the sheet.

The day drew on. The cultivators stopped a few more times at other villages, but no other children passed their test. Slowly, Hui grew drowsy, and curled up on the sheet to nap.

A big hand shook him awake. He startled upright, and found seven or so other kids gathered on the sheet with him. Most were about his age, boys and girls in almost equal measure. Except for one of the boys, they clustered toward the front edge of the sheet, unafraid of the edge, and watched the world stream by. The other boy, smaller even than him, laid sprawled beside him, still fast asleep.

The first cultivator smiled at him and nodded ahead of them. “We’re almost back.”

Wiping his eyes, Hui blinked ahead of him, then stared.

Five mountain peaks rose into the sky before them. Arrayed in a loose circle, no peak looked exactly like the next. The shortest, soft and round, was populated with beautiful pavilions, fluttering with all manner of birds and butterflies. Neat stone paths led from one pavilion to another. The second peak bloomed with flowers and plants, a lush jungle sporting its own clouds, rain gently pattering over its left flank. The third peak let off a thick plume of smoke from its top. Smaller plumes of multi-colored smoke rose off its sides, mingling with the large plume as the wind took them. Tall and stately, the fourth peak sported an elegant red palace at its top, with open fields along its length where disciples practiced martial arts, swordplay, and magical techniques. As he watched, a disciple in the highest of the fields turned to the sky and roared. A fiery lion burst from their mouth and charged into the sky, letting off an enormous pressure. This far away, he couldn’t feel it, but the impression of power carved itself into his heart.

Beyond the first four peaks, the fifth peak jutted higher than all of them. Covered in a tangled, unruly forest, it laid quiet and empty compared to the five busy peaks.

“Is that the sect?” Hui asked, awestruck.

The first cultivator nodded. “Welcome to the Starbound Sect.”