The triumphant grin on Feng Xiao's face was a thing of pure, unadulterated smugness. He led Lei Man and Chu Qinqing away from the pavilion, leaving the fuming Huo Long and the stoic Shui Ling to lick their wounds. Their path took them away from the central hub of the inner sect, towards a long, gracefully arching bridge that connected to a more distant, solitary peak.
The air grew quieter here, the buzz of the other disciples fading behind them, replaced by the lonely whistle of the wind through the high mountain passes.
"That was quite the show back there," Lei Man said, breaking the silence. He was still trying to process the political whirlwind he'd just navigated. "Were the Flame, River, and Cloud Peaks our only options?"
Feng Xiao laughed, a bright, clear sound. "Gods, no. The Inner Sect has six main peaks. You only met the three who bothered to show up. It's often more telling who doesn't come to the party."
He hopped onto the railing of the bridge, balancing with an easy, careless grace as he walked alongside them. "Let's start with the most obvious one," he said, gesturing with his head back towards the main sect. "The Sword Peak. You saw their mountain, the one that looks like it's trying to stab God in the eye? They are purists of the Sword Dao. For them, every question and every answer is found in the edge of a blade."
He looked at them both, a playful glint in his eye. "You, Junior Sister Chu, use water. Formless. Anathema to them. And you, Junior Brother Lei... you use nothing at all. To the Sword Peak, you're not just an unorthodox cultivator; you're practically a pacifist. Since you don't use swords, they have no interest. It's not an insult; it's just that their entire library of techniques would be completely useless to you."
"That explains one," Chu Qinqing said, her voice the first she'd offered since the decision. "Who else was absent?"
"The Ice Peak," Feng Xiao replied, hopping back down to the bridge's path. "They were interested, I heard. They watched your matches. But they're a proud, insular bunch. They splintered from the River Peak generations ago to pursue what they call a 'purer' form of water cultivation. They seek to mold disciples from scratch, to turn them into perfect, unyielding glaciers. Your art, Junior Sister, is already fully formed. It's the art of the Azure River Clan. They wouldn't deign to 'adopt' a genius from an outside lineage, no matter how powerful. It would dilute their brand."
Lei Man processed this. The politics of the sect were even more complex than he'd imagined. It wasn't just about power; it was about pride, philosophy, and lineage.
"And the last one?" he asked. "The sixth peak?"
"The Grass Peak," Feng Xiao said with a wave of his hand. "Our friendly neighborhood alchemists and beast tamers. They were very interested, but they are also pragmatic. The Grass Peak is about resources and utility, not head-to-head combat. They wouldn't get into a public shouting match with brutes like Huo Long. That's not their style."
He gave them a sly look. "Their plan, most likely, was to wait and see where you landed. If you'd joined the Flame Peak, they would have opened a trade negotiation within a week, offering rare fire-aspected ingredients in exchange for your services. They're merchants at heart, not fighters. They don't recruit disciples so much as acquire assets."
It all clicked into place. The three most powerful and direct combat factions had made their play. The three most specialized and philosophically rigid factions had stayed away, each for their own logical, self-serving reason.
"So in the end," Chu Qinqing stated, her voice holding a note of finality, "we were only ever coming here."
"Exactly!" Feng Xiao chirped, his grin returning. He spread his arms wide as they reached the end of the bridge and set foot on the quiet, unassuming ground of his home peak. "The Sword Peak wants a sword. The Ice Peak wants a block of ice they can carve themselves. The Grass Peak wants a tool for their garden. The Flame Peak wants a bigger fire, and the River Peak wants another drop of water for their stream."
He turned to face them, his eyes sparkling with a genuine, infectious enthusiasm. "Our master... he doesn't want to change you. He just wants to see what happens when you give a couple of beautiful, impossible puzzles a place to grow."
They had arrived. The Cloud Peak was quieter than the others, with fewer grand pavilions and more natural, open spaces. The air felt lighter here, freer. It already felt more like home than any place Lei Man had ever known.
Feng Xiao's cheerful declaration hung in the air, a promise of a future that was both exciting and deeply uncertain. He led them off the bridge and onto a stone path that meandered through the Cloud Peak itself.
The difference from the other peaks was immediate and profound. There were no grand, imposing training halls. Instead, the entire peak was a sort of vertical, terraced garden. Pavilions were nestled into the mountainside, their architecture designed to complement the natural rock formations rather than dominate them. The air was filled with the sound of wind chimes and the gentle rustle of leaves from ancient, gnarled pine trees.
"Our peak values space," Feng Xiao said, gesturing to the wide-open areas around them. "Hard to comprehend the boundless sky when you're cooped up in a stuffy room, right?"
He led them up a winding set of stone stairs carved directly into the mountain, arriving at a quiet, secluded terrace. Two elegant, identical wooden gates stood side-by-side, each leading into a private courtyard. Below the terrace, a waterfall of pure, white clouds cascaded over a cliff edge into the infinite blue below.
Waiting patiently by each gate were two young figures, a boy and a girl, both no older than thirteen, dressed in the simple, gray robes of servant disciples. They looked up with wide, nervous, and deeply respectful eyes as the three inner disciples approached.
Feng Xiao stopped and gestured to the two gates with a grand, sweeping motion.
"And here we are," he announced with a flourish. "Home sweet home. These are your new dwellings. Courtyards 1237 and 1238."
He handed Lei Man and Chu Qinqing each a small, silver token engraved with their respective numbers. "These are your keys. Tied to the protective arrays."
Then he turned to the young servants. "You two," he said, his tone still cheerful but now carrying the authority of a senior. "This is Inner Disciple Lei Man, and this is Inner Disciple Chu Qinqing. From this day forward, you are assigned to their courtyards. You will see to their daily needs—meals, cleaning, running errands. Your performance will reflect directly on our Cloud Peak. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Senior Brother!" the two servants chirped in unison, bowing deeply.
Feng Xiao's playful grin returned as he faced Lei Man and Chu Qinqing again. "Every inner disciple is assigned servant disciples from the outer court. It's a symbiotic relationship. They serve you, and in return, they get to live on a peak with a higher concentration of spiritual energy and maybe, if you're feeling generous, pick up a few scraps of wisdom. Don't be afraid to give them orders."
He gave them a conspiratorial wink. "The master believes a healthy rivalry is best nurtured at close proximity. Settle in. Familiarize yourselves with your new homes. The master is currently in seclusion, but he will summon you when he is ready. For now, just... be."
With a final, cheerful wave, he turned and seemed to simply melt into the mountain mist, his presence gone as quickly as it had appeared.
Lei Man looked from his token to the gate marked '1237'. The young male servant disciple assigned to him immediately stepped forward, his head bowed.
"This one is called Jin," the boy said, his voice trembling slightly with awe. "It is my honor to serve Senior Brother Lei."
Beside him, Chu Qinqing was greeted by the young girl. "This one is Mei, at your service, Senior Sister Chu."
They were neighbors, their front doors not ten feet apart, each now with a household to manage.
Lei Man gave Jin a slight nod, the experience of being called "Senior Brother" and having a personal attendant a strange and novel one. "Thank you, Jin. Please, open the gate."
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Jin scurried forward and pushed open the gate to courtyard 1237. Lei Man stepped inside, Chu Qinqing doing the same next door.
His new home was simple, elegant, and breathtaking. It was a private space carved from the mountain, with a single, gnarled pine tree growing in the center of a raked stone garden. The main building contained a modest sleeping chamber, a study, and a meditation room, all crafted from fragrant, dark wood. But the true masterpiece was the back of the courtyard. It opened onto a private, unguarded veranda that hung directly over the sea of clouds, offering a view of pure, boundless freedom.
This small patch of rock and wood, perched at the top of the world, was his. For the first time since he'd been ripped from his beige life, he felt a sense of peace, a feeling of having finally, truly arrived.
The gate to Courtyard 1237 closed with a soft, solid click, sealing Lei Man off from the rest of the world. The silence that followed was profound, broken only by the gentle, ceaseless whisper of the wind flowing over the peak. He walked through the raked stone garden, his footsteps the only sound, and ran a hand over the rough, ancient bark of the gnarled pine tree at its center.
Behind him, the young servant disciple, Jin, stood with his head bowed, his hands clasped nervously before him. He was a statue of perfect, subservient deference.
Lei Man turned to face him. The boy was young, thirteen at most, with a thin frame and eyes that were a mixture of awe, fear, and a desperate, hopeful ambition. He looked like the kind of disciple the old Lei Man would have been, if he'd even had enough talent to become a servant.
"Senior Brother," Jin said, his voice quiet but clear. "This one has just reached the 4th level of Body Strengthening. Is there anything I can do for you? This one can prepare tea, draw a bath, or arrange for the kitchens to send up a meal."
Lei Man looked at the boy, and for a moment, he didn't see a servant. He saw himself, or rather, the boy whose body he now inhabited. He saw the desperation to please, the constant awareness of one's own lowly status, the hope that a scrap of attention from a superior might change one's fate. The rigid hierarchy of this world, which he had so far only experienced from the bottom, was now something he was a part of from the top. It was a strange, uncomfortable feeling.
He had no desire to be a master. He had spent his first life being invisible and his second being looked down upon. The idea of commanding this nervous, hopeful boy felt alien.
"No, thank you, Jin," Lei Man said, his voice softer than he intended.
The response seemed to fluster the young disciple. He bowed his head even lower, a flicker of panic in his eyes. He had been trained his whole life in the etiquette of the sect. Gratitude was a currency that flowed downwards, not upwards. To be thanked by an inner disciple was a breach of protocol, a sign that he had perhaps done something wrong.
"No need to thank this one!" Jin said quickly, his voice a little too loud in the quiet courtyard. "It is this one's honor and duty to serve Senior Brother. Please, do not hesitate to command me. Your wish is my purpose."
Lei Man sighed internally. This was a wall he could not break down with simple kindness. The system was too deeply ingrained. To treat Jin as an equal would only cause him confusion and fear. He had to play the part he had been given.
"Very well, Jin," he said, his tone shifting, becoming more detached and authoritative, the voice of a master. "For now, I require solitude to meditate. Ensure I am not disturbed. You may see to your own duties."
The shift in his demeanor had an immediate, calming effect on the boy. This was a language he understood. A clear command.
"Yes, Senior Brother!" Jin said, a visible wave of relief washing over him. He gave a deep, formal bow. "This one will stand guard outside the gate and ensure no one approaches."
He then scurried away, his back ramrod straight, his steps filled with a new sense of purpose.
Lei Man was alone once more. He walked past the simple, elegant living quarters and out onto the private veranda at the back of the courtyard. The view was breathtaking. He was standing on the edge of the world, a boundless sea of white, fluffy clouds stretching out to a horizon that was a perfect, deep blue.
He sat down on the edge of the wooden platform, letting his legs dangle over the infinite drop. He was an inner disciple of the Red Cloud Sect. He had a home, a title, and a servant. He had achieved the dream of countless cultivators.
But as he looked out at the vast, empty sky, he felt a familiar, profound sense of detachment. He had shed the skin of Leo Mann, the data clerk. He had shed the skin of Lei Man, the family trash. Now, he wore the skin of Senior Brother Lei, the prodigy of the Cloud Peak. It was just another mask, another role to be played in this strange, beautiful, and terrifying new world. The only time he felt truly himself was in the chaotic, nonsensical freedom of his trips.
He took a deep breath, the clean, Qi-rich air filling his lungs. He had a new home and a new title, but his path remained the same. He needed to get stronger. And for that, he would need more fuel for the furnace.