No, to be more accurate, the Tushan fortress was built around the volcano. Even as acrid smoke billowed out of its ravenous mouth, a miniature city was nestled at the foot of the gigantic mountain, slotted neatly into smaller hills that dotted the landscape. The buildings of the city were varied – way more advanced, modern and affluent than the town near the bus stop I alighted at a few hours ago. I almost couldn"t believe there was a city within the fortress.

Why do they need those high, fortified walls for?

I half-imagined a colossal t.i.tan rearing its head over those walls and peering down on the insect-like residents scampering within the Tushan Fortress. Maybe it was to keep out the t.i.tans…ahem, I mean magical beasts and demonic creatures.

"What are you looking at?" Tang Qi Hong sounded amused as she dragged me along. "Never seen a city before?"

"Not inside a fortress, at least."

Tang Qi Hong merely giggled. "You haven"t seen anything yet."

She then explained to me that the Nine-tailed Fox Sect was divided into inner sect and outer sect. I had no clue why a sect bothered to divide itself into inner and outer, but their organization was none of my business. Anyway, the inner sect resided within the buildings cl.u.s.tered atop the Flame Volcano, and was thus able to make use of the natural heat and flames from within its depths.

Each of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s inner disciples were granted a single house atop the volcano, which contained a forge. Within these forges were furnaces, which were naturally powered by the flames emanated from the volcano"s lava.

At the foot of the volcano, Tushan City was divided into nine districts. Within each of these districts, the outer sect disciples dwelled. But they were not alone. While Nine-Tailed Fox Sect governed the city, the residents within were not necessarily sect members. Merchants, artisans, clerks and a whole host of other Great Zhou Empire citizens had settled down in the city, providing secondary and tertiary services such as selling spirit herbs, spirit medicine, spirit materials, enchanted artifacts, spirit engraved gear and various other cultivation and forging materials.

"A lot of the inner sect members are considered dual martial artists and blacksmiths," Tang Qi Hong told me proudly. "That"s why the status of the inner sect disciples is very high, and there aren"t many of them. Each one is an authentic blacksmith of prestigious rank."

"Heh…so are you an inner sect disciple?" I asked, impressed. Tang Qi Hong placed her hands on her hips and puffed her well-endowed chest out proudly.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?"

I think you are Tang Qi Hong, of course. But obviously I didn"t say that out loud. Instead, I had an inquiry.

"So what does the outer sect do?"

"The outer sect is mainly responsible for selling enchanted artifacts and spirit engraved gear, as well as manage the various branches of Nine-Tailed Fox armament shops scattered throughout many major cities in the Great Zhou Empire. They also a.s.sist us inner sect disciples with menial labor and simple tasks. You know, such as grinding and cutting up spirit materials so that we inner sect disciples can more efficiently forge spirit engraved gear. But we"re the ones who inscribe spirit engravings and infuse spirits into the engraved armaments in order to turn it into a spirit engraved gear."

Before we could reach Tang Qi Hong"s residence, however, an adult over thirty popped his head out of one of the shops and waved at her.

"Qi Hong! What are you doing here?"

"Elder Zhao! Are you selling stuff again?"

"Yeah, depositing my Spirit Engraved Gear at a shop. I"m hoping to make some money off them." Elder Zhao was rubbing his hands in glee. He then turned toward me curiously. "You brought a friend with you? Is he your boyfriend or something?"

"N…no! Geez!" Tang Qi Hong reddened. "I"m just showing him around Tushan City! Introducing him to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and all that."

"Cool." Elder Zhao nodded as he studied me. Then he brightened up. "Hey, why don"t we recruit him? The recruitment exam is tomorrow, right?"

"Eh?" I was taken aback by the straightforward suggestion. Elder Zhao nodded enthusiastically as he deepened his scrutiny.

"Every year, the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect will recruit new disciples. We get a few from visiting academies such as Wu Ling Academy – that"s how we recruited you, right? Qi Hong? But it"s not nearly enough to maintain the running of the sect. as long as you possess the basic knowledge of forging armaments or have a certain level of martial arts, and you pa.s.s the recruitment exam, you will qualify to become an outer sect disciple in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect."

"Uh, cool."

I had no intention of joining the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, though. Not when I was already technically part of the Heaven and Earth Sect.

Then again, I was officially an Experimentalist, and not part of any sect, so…

"Why not?" Tang Qi Hong brightened at that and gave me a little push. "Fei Wu, why don"t you give it a try?"

"Uh, well…"

"After becoming an outer sect disciple of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, you will be a.s.signed a personal teacher who will teach you both martial arts and forging spirit armaments. You"ll be guided through the various forging processes so that you"ll be able to better a.s.sist the inner sect disciples with simple tasks such as grinding and discarding spirit materials. After about two years of training, you"ll be evaluated."

Elder Zhao mistook the cause of my hesitation and launched into a long explanation of how the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect worked.

"The evaluation works by the inner sect arranging examiners to evaluate your performance and abilities. Once we recognize your talent, potential or achievements, then you"ll naturally be brought over to the inner sect so that the authentic blacksmiths or the top martial artists in our sect can impart their experience and wisdom, and even knowledge of spirit engravings, to you. This is the only way for an outer sect disciple to become an inner sect disciple. That"s why most people join the outer sect first, for this opportunity."

"Uh…cool."

I didn"t ask, though…but I guess knowing about this was better than not knowing, so I didn"t complain. Instead I merely nodded patiently.

"Becoming an inner sect disciple and becoming recognized as one of the top spirit engravers is a big deal, you know?" Tang Qi Hong informed me. "You"ll occupy a high-ranking position within the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and have a lot of connections with many of the major sects and powers. You"ll have a lot of influence and gain access to vast resources."

"R…right," I mumbled, not knowing why they wished to recruit me of all people. I was just a One Star Const.i.tution cultivator, after all. Then again, Tang Qi Hong probably just wanted me in the sect with her. For what reasons, I couldn"t say, because I didn"t want to be overly self-conscious and misunderstand anything.

But I wasn"t that dense either.

"Qi Hong, how about I bring this young man to the hostel for the examinees? He can proceed to the examination straight from there tomorrow. You can drop by and watch then."

"Eh…" Tang Qi Hong looked a little disappointed, but she swallowed it and nodded. "Sure." She turned to me and patted my shoulder with an encouraging smile. "Good luck!"

"Wait, why are you guys deciding this for me? I never said I wanted to take the exam…"

My protests were in vain. Neither Elder Zhao nor Tang Qi Hong was listening to me. The former was gesturing for me to follow him, while Tang Qi Hong waved goodbye before departing. I tried to object, but Tang Qi Hong, despite keeping her eyes on me for as long as she could, merely waved and disappeared up the volcano.

"Qi Hong sure has taken a liking to you," Elder Zhao chuckled. I couldn"t help but roll my eyes and sigh.

"…I guess."

"I"m looking forward to see how you"ll perform in the exam tomorrow."

"Don"t get your hopes too high up," I muttered under my breath. "Prepare to be disappointed."

Now that I was dragged into this mess, I decided to give the whole thing a go. Might as well have some fun messing up the exam and doing my best. I wanted to see how far I could go, even though I didn"t hold much expectations of myself.

After all, not only were my skills rusty, I had almost no knowledge of spirit engraving or forging armaments. Now that I thought about it, this was probably why a Four Star Const.i.tution pract.i.tioner like Tang Qi Hong joined the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect instead of the Red Phoenix Sect. no doubt she had some prior background in Spirit Engraving or artifact forging.

While my forging knowledge only stretched to the extent of shaping weapons with ice, I decided to give it a try.

*

The next morning, I woke up relatively early and proceeded toward the examination venue. As I expected, by the time I reached there, the plaza in front of the outer sect"s city was already filled with countless candidates, many of them young and hopeful.

The great gate had yet to open, but many youths had already arrived early. For what reason, I did not know. Perhaps to grab their spots? Was the exam first come first serve or something? Whatever the reason was, I had no idea. Anyway, I was surprised to see that several of the youths came from the top sects. Not just Wu Ling Academy, but also Qi Mo Valley, the Snow Valley Sect, Kun Lun Sect, Heavenly Way Sect, and even from the four celestial creature sect – White Tiger Sect, Red Phoenix Sect, Black Tortoise Sect and Green Dragon Sect.

Apparently you could serve as a secondary Nine-Tailed Fox Sect member, as long as you keep your martial arts sect as your primary. Many of these youths chose to do so because they wanted to learn the finest spirit engraving techniques and forging methods from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, which was the most prestigious sect for those sort of techniques. However, I was aware that such secondary Nine-Tailed Fox Sect members were usually regarded as outsiders and were considered not as trustworthy as primary Nine-Tailed Fox Sect members such as Tang Qi Hong. They would never attain the ranks that full primary Nine-Tailed Fox Sect members did.

Naturally, these high-ranking martial artists from prestigious sects carried an air of arrogance about themselves, and were even accompanied by servants. I wondered why. It wasn"t as if the servants could take the exams for them. They would be just dead weight. Maybe they just tagged along for the sole purpose for their masters to show off their incredible statuses or something.

Well, none of my business…

"Whoa. Isn"t that Tong Xue? From the Smart Shadow Sect? What is he doing here?"

There was a murmur that rumbled throughout the crowd when they caught sight of a familiar friend. I blinked when I saw Tong Xue somewhere at the front, wondering if I should wave at him. Seeing the crowd"s attention riveted upon him, I decided not to. I didn"t want to draw any attention to myself if possible.

"Didn"t Tong Xue already break through to the Flowing Qi Stage a couple of years ago? Shouldn"t he be on the verge of attaining the Qi Fusion Stage? His cultivation in the martial arts field should be going smoothly, so why would he want to partic.i.p.ate in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s outer sect disciple exam?"

"Only G.o.d knows," someone else muttered.

While they conversed, Tong Xue strode forward with a warm smile on his face. He was as friendly as ever, which allowed everyone to relax around him. I remembered that was how he befriended me a couple of years ago.

The guy was a great friend, if a little…lacking on the courage department.

"What are you doing here, Tong Xue?" I asked as I waved at him, finally deciding to ignore the attention if it came. The people around us weren"t focused on Tong Xue for too long, given how their attention shifted quickly when a newcomer arrived.

"Oh? Fei Wu, you"re here too?"

"Yeah…somehow."

I sighed and shrugged. Tong Xue chuckled.

"I"m guessing it has something to do with Tang Qi Hong."

"A little," I admitted. "But more like Elder Zhao from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. I meant to stay the night after a mission, but somehow I got dragged into the exam."

"Heh…I see."

"So why are you here?" I asked again, refusing to be dragged away from the question. Tong Xue smiled.

"Breaking through to the Qi Fusion Stage was proving a little difficult, and I haven"t gotten enough experience. So I thought it would be a refreshing change to come to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to learn about Spirit Engraving. It"ll help me take my mind off the problem for a while. Perhaps I might find an alternative path! There"s also the possibility that meeting people while forging spirit armaments will help me develop as a martial artist as well."

Tong Xue was humble and polite, as always. I was surprised that he was so forthright, plainly giving his honest intentions without much probing. The guy had nothing to hide, or so it seemed on the surface anyway.

But if what I knew about the Smart Shadow Sect was anything to go about, I suspected there was some form of underlying motive behind Tong Xue"s partic.i.p.ation in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s outer sect disciple examination.

However, it didn"t matter. Tong Xue was my friend, and I had no reason to doubt him, so I merely nodded in fake understanding.

I wasn"t given much time to contemplate on Tong Xue"s true motives, though. A shocked cry from somewhere in the crowd caught my attention.

"Isn"t that Liang Shao Yang?!"

A youth was yelling in fear. The countless youths scattered across the courtyard immediately gulped and paled when they heard the name.

"Who…?"

While I remained confused, many people instinctively moved out of the way to allow a single youth to walk straight to the gate of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s outer sect plaza. Even those people who had arrived early to occupy the front of the queue swiftly gave way to the newcomer when they saw him approaching.

Just like that, Liang Shao Yang, who despite having arrived late, took the front spot of this line in such a manner. He would therefore become the first candidate to take the outer sect examination.

"You don"t know who he is?" Tong Xue asked. I merely rolled my eyes.

"Of course not. Should I know him?"

"He"s Liang Shao Yang of the Divine Shadow Sect. you know what the Divine Shadow Sect is, right?"

I nodded at Tong Xue"s question. I did know what the Divine Shadow Sect was. It was a demonic sect, full of a.s.sa.s.sins who were willing to kill in exchange for large sums of payment.

"Liang Shao Yang grew up in the Divine Shadow Sect, and it"s rumored that he has been a.s.sa.s.sinating people ever since the age of twelve. As of today, he"s probably sixteen like us, but he has probably killed over a hundred people."

I pushed my gla.s.ses up my nose as I studied Liang Shao Yang. With my Heaven and Earth qi senses, I could certainly sense the dark, shadowy aura that hung around him like a murderous cloud. It was clear that Liang Shao Yang"s hands had been stained with blood. Beside me, Tong Xue smiled strangely, but he shook his head and said nothing more.

Neither of us did anything when Liang Shao Yang cut in front of us. Tong Xue showed no resentment, and clearly had no intention of disputing the matter. As for me, I was meant to queue up at the back, and I returned to my spot quietly.

After going my separate way, my attention was drawn again to the entrance to Tushan Fortress. Apparently a group of newcomers had just arrived as well.

"Miss, please come this way."

A hunched servant over sixty was striding forward, gesturing for an eye-catching, beautiful young girl to enter.

The young girl was about sixteen or seventeen, roughly my age. Her eyes blazed crimson, almost like a phoenix"s, and her willow-colored brows arched in a lovely manner. The way she sashayed forward seemed to indicate that she was someone who was used to being at the center of attention, captivating everyone – particularly the male crowd. She wore a light blue dress, and for some reason there was a trickle of snow that swirled around her long legs as she moved to the front. Her hips swayed amidst the trail of snow and she ignored the l.u.s.tful gazes of many male candidates in the crowd as she cut the line as if she had the right to do so.

She took her place right behind Liang Shao Yang.

"It"s Yin Jing Jing from the Snow Valley Sect!" someone softly whispered from somewhere in front of me. I recognized the Snow Valley Sect, but sadly, I had never heard of someone named Yin Jing Jing.

However, the people in front seemed to know who she was. Not only was she from one of the eight major sects, the Snow Valley Sect, her surname Yin seemed to be pretty famous around here. Many people automatically stepped aside to make way for her.

The girl moved as if she was ent.i.tled to such a treatment, walking past the crowd who had split apart for her. When she reached Tong Xue, she paused and glanced at him uncertainly. She frowned, as if trying to place her finger on something.

"I think we"ve met somewhere before?"

Tong Xue tilted his head in reply and shrugged. Smiling warmly, he scratched his head as he tried to remember.

"I"m not sure. Maybe about three years ago, when your father brought you to the Smart Shadow Sect for a visit, you might have spotted me among the disciples who had gathered as an honor guard."

"Oh, you"re right." Yin Jing Jing nodded in acknowledgement. "That"s right."

With that, she pa.s.sed by Tong Xue and continued forward until she arrived behind Liang Shao Yang. She then stopped and stared at him.

However, Liang Shao Yang paid her no attention at her. His attention had been riveted onto the gate to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s outer sect plaza as he patiently waited for it to open, and never once did he turn around to glance back at the people behind him.

Say what you like about the guy, but he certainly had focus.

"Hmph, so there actually exists such an unpleasant guy," Yin Jing Jing muttered in irritation as she narrowed her eyes while looking at Liang Shao Yang"s back.

Now that both Liang Shao Yang and Yin Jing Jing were at the front of the line, everyone who had parted to allow them through earlier promptly relinquished their positions and reformed the ling, winding line.

Tong Xue didn"t seem to mind, and he merely chuckled good-naturedly. I felt a little sorry for him.

This time, even as more and more young men and women continually arrived in drips and drapes, they took their place in line without cutting. It was impressive how orderly everyone was, other than those two self-ent.i.tled b.i.t.c.hes.

Should I go kick them off the line for cutting the queue? I wondered darkly, feeling a trace of annoyance. I couldn"t believe n.o.body was doing anything about it. Then again, they were probably intimidated by the duo"s power and status. One was the son of the sect leader of the Divine Shadow Sect, and the other was the first daughter of the Yin clan and a top disciple in the Snow Valley Sect. it was only natural that everyone else feared them.

Hmph, they"re nothing compared to the Heaven and Earth Sect, though…

I was going to get ready to give them a piece of my mind, when someone came barreling in front of me.

A few seconds ago, probably because I was clearly feeling very annoyed, the two people in front of me had felt really uncomfortable. The temperature had plummeted around me due to my irritation and they were shivering as they got the chills. Glancing at me, they couldn"t help but shudder and they opened up a distance between us on reflex. I had noticed their movements despite their attempts to be discrete, but didn"t say anything.

Most likely I was too focused on the two people at the front of the line to be offended at them. Anyway, just before I could step up, a st.u.r.dy-looking fella wearing the dark uniform of the Dark Asura Sect, ran up.

The fellow was obviously late, having just emerged from the long street that ran along the courtyard in Tushan City. He was laughing as he ran, probably amused by some sick joke inside that tiny brain of his.

Upon his arrival, he was dismayed to see the extremely long line that wound from the front of the plaza. Fortunately, he spotted the relatively wide s.p.a.ce between me and the two guys in front of me, and he grinned in relief.

Without any hesitation, he rushed over with a whoop of joy, and cut the queue right in front of me.

Bad mistake.

"Hey," I began, annoyed. My temper was already frayed by the two b.i.t.c.hes who cut the queue and took their places at the front, and this guy had to come along and worsen my mood. When he heard me, the Dark Asura Sect dude spun around with a sneer.

"What?"

"Get in line, dude," I told him coldly. "I was here first."

"Heh, what are you going to do about it?" the Dark Asura Sect fellow sneered as he shoved at me with a hand. Qi surged up wildly inside him as he executed a Dark Asura technique, probably to blast me out of the queue and far away as a lesson for talking back to him.

Too slow.

I stepped to the side as his Dark Asura Strike completely missed me, pa.s.sing through the front of my chest by a hair"s breadth, then whirled around to deliver a roundhouse kick to his head. My foot caught the top of his temple and the poor dude was hurled out of the line and sent crashing into an untidy heap on the courtyard.

"UGH!"

Coughing, he lay sprawled on the ground, stunned and unable to get up.

Everyone in the long, winding line turned to ogle at the unbelievable sight. One of them actually stumbled back as he shouted.

"Isn"t that Tian Jian Hao from the Dark Asura Sect? He should be at the middle levels of the Flowing Qi Stage! And his father is one of the leaders of Dark Asura Sect! How the heck did he get kicked out of the line like that?!"

Upon hearing that, everyone tried to search for the culprit. Even Liang Shao Yang and Yin Jing Jing were drawn to the commotion, and they curiously turned around to observe what had just transpired behind them. I tried to remain indiscrete as possible, trying to whistle (and failing miserably) as I blended in with the crowd. Unfortunately, the two guys in front of me had seen everything and they turned pale with fright.

They automatically moved up in front, widening the distance between us. Clearly they had no intention of being drawn into the conflict and wanted no part in the trouble that was sure to ensue. I couldn"t tell if they were more afraid of me or Tian Jian Hao.

"f.u.c.ker! How dare you kick me?!"

Tian Jian Hao bellowed as he rose shakily to his feet and glared murderously at me. I merely shrugged with a smile.

"How dare you cut the line?" I replied.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I"ll kill you!"

Even as he charged at me, I calmly stood my ground and patiently waited for him to close the distance. As Tian Jian Hao came within range, I pivoted on my left foot and lashed out with my right leg, taking him by surprise.

Wham!

The kick slammed squarely on Tian Jian Hao"s chest.

Even though Tian Jian Hao had practiced the Asura Armor Body technique, which granted him a st.u.r.dy physique and enormous endurance, he wasn"t able to halt my attack. The dude who was supposedly known as the immovable object had met an unstoppable force and he was flung several meters backward, blood spewing from his mouth.

Boom!

To add insult to injury, the tremendous impact from his collision with the ground ended up carving a small crater.

This time, after his fall, Tian Jian Hao was no longer able to get up. Part of the reason was because a thin layer of frost was rapidly freezing over his chest. Trembling violently from the cold, he lay on his back, his enraged aggression instantly frozen by the bone-numbing cold that seeped into his body from the ice.

His jaw dropped as he stared at me quietly, and I could see the obvious fear glinting at the back of his dark eyes.

I merely c.o.c.ked my head and gestured silently toward the back of the line. Swallowing, Tian Jian Hao crushed the ice on his chest with a huge amount of his qi and he slowly got up. He then obediently proceeded to the back of the queue.

"What the heck just happened?"

"Did you see that?"

While there were a few curious murmurs that ran through the crowd, there was also amused snickers.

"Hah! He deserved that for cutting the queue!"

"Serves him right."

"Tian Jian Hao has been arrogant for too long!"

"Glad to see him put into his place."

I exchanged a glance with Tong Xue, who shook his head with a weary smile. I shrugged in response and mouthed, he asked for it.

Still, I was glad to see that my martial arts hadn"t rusted much. I could still infuse my kicks with icy qi. My Heaven and Earth Yuan Yin Frost technique had seemed to improve, especially after I a.s.similated all that qi from the hundred or so cultivators and purified it. h.e.l.l, my frost attacks seemed more potent than ever.

Probably because I absorbed so much yin qi from over a hundred demonic martial artists…

Certainly, it took me almost two years to a.s.similate and purify all that amount of qi, but it seemed that it was totally worth it. Patiently waiting for long-term benefits had rewarded me with a strength I would otherwise not have achieved if I had rushed my cultivation.

Oh boy, I can"t wait to use these in actual combat!

Creak!

Just as I thought that, the gate to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s outer sect finally swung open, allowing the waiting candidates entry. A familiar figure strode out with a broad smile, accompanied by six Nine-Tailed Fox Sect disciples who were most likely his bodyguards.

"Elder Zhao…"

I recognized Elder Zhao from yesterday. I wasn"t surprised that he was the one who came out to greet us. He did say that he was responsible for recruiting new disciples into the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, after all.

"Welcome, everybody!" he called out in a booming voice, and then turned around while gesturing for us to follow him. "You may now enter the Tushan plaza. I"ll begin the briefing for the outer sect disciple examination."

With a hushed murmur sweeping through the crowd of candidates, everyone obeyed and strode through the open gates.