AI Cultivation: Reborn as a Sword

Walking up the thousands of stairs to the Galaxy Sword sect, Lan Xiaohui shares her perception with me once more and I am capable of seeing the sect emerge from the top of the stairs. It is rather inconvenient to build such an expansive settlement on a mountain, but considering the fact that the Qi is strongest in places where heaven and earth meet, it is no wonder that sects prefer to lay their foundations on mountain peaks.

Supposedly, there is a formation at the foot of the mountain that transports one to the very top, but Wu Yulan and Lan Xiaohui decide to take the scenic route anyway. I will have opportunities to study this formation later, so I am not particularly against taking the stairs.

The first building that emerges into view is the Sect Hall which is built at the highest point on the peak and is also among the tallest buildings, easily rising hundreds of standard Lan Xiaohui steps into the air. It is a pagoda with red walls and brown roof cladding and even at this distance I can tell that there are powerful arrays built into it, because the whole structure is surrounded by a gold mist that flashes with array symbols.

The biggest difference between this sect and the one inside my Inner World is that the Galaxy Sword does not occupy only one mountain peak, but instead has facilities built into half a dozen mountain peaks.

The sect is much larger than the one inside my Inner World, and I would estimate that it has around two thousand disciples, and this number approaches closer to three thousand as we reach the top of the stairs and I can see the vast courtyards dedicated to the Outer Disciples.

Being an Outer Disciple in a sect like the Galaxy Sword sect is quite a prestigious post. To begin with, only the most gifted cultivators have an opportunity to join the sect as an Outer Disciple, and to become an Inner Disciple, one has to be an outstanding talent or a Core Disciple of an affiliated sect. This accounts for the low number of disciples.

On top of this, to my understanding, the Galaxy Sword sect is a rather peculiar organization. For most of the Outer and Inner Disciples, this sect is not a permanent posting, but rather a decade-long venture after which they eventually return to the sect they originated from in the first place. However, if one becomes a Core Disciple, they will remain in the sect forever. Most other sects, becoming an Inner Disciple meant a life-long commitment.

In that regard, joining the Galaxy Sword sect is something that is for the most part about prestige; at least in the eyes of commoners. In reality, its high turnover rate is likely caused because the demands of the sect are too high and the environment is simply too competitive. A so-called genius might do well in this sect for several years, but then reach a bottleneck that they cannot pass. Rather than remain in the sect as a failure with no future, they’d return to their sect and enjoy the lifestyle of someone who has received the best care and training in the entire Kingdom — a future pillar of the sect.

I decide to take some notes about how the Galaxy Sword sect does its business; it is not wrong, in the least. There is no point in wasting resources on transient cultivators who cannot reach the pinnacle, and it is much easier to let them go and replace them with the new generation that might reach greater heights. Ultimately, the competition within the sect and the limited slots made available once every five years will have the highest chances of producing better generations of future cultivators.

But still, how does a sect like this justify sharing its secret arts and methods with those who might leave at any time?

At the entrance to the sect — a large, towering gate — there is a wooden notice board with the names of those who passed the first phase and qualified for the tournament. It is identical to the notice board that was in the central square at the city, and as expected, neither Wu Yulan’s nor Lan Xiaohui’s name is on the board, though for different reasons.

Wu Yulan does not have to compete, as suspected, and Lan Xiaohui simply did not qualify. Yun Fei’s name is also not on the list, which is also not a surprising development.

In the city, there were a few outstanding opinions about the nature of Wu Yulan and Yun Fei’s success. A few outliers commented that they either cheated or that the Pagoda this year was made easier. How else could it be explained that some unknown Outer Disciple cultivator like Yun Fei could possibly achieve such a result? This opinion, of course, does not take into account that if the Pagoda truly was made easier, then all these geniuses from influential sects would also achieve incredible results.

Even at a glance, it is obvious that these rumors are spread by those families who want to limit the Wu clan’s rising influence and they are using Yun Fei as the target of their slander to also diminish Wu Yulan’s achievements. They would never directly call into question Wu Yulan’s ability — she is the so-called princess of the city, after all, and an arranged marriage with her would elevate any clan to new heights overnight.

Speaking of Yun Fei, just as we enter the sect proper, the girl in question emerges from the Martial Hall — also our destination. I immediately sense Lan Xiaohui’s heart throb with uncertainty and a complex cocktail of emotions.

Lan Xiaohui, obviously, never expected that Yun Fei would actually qualify for the tournament, let alone succeed in it. When Lan Xiaohui said that if Yun Fei could join the Galaxy Sword sect, that she could follow my owner, Lan Xiaohui thought she was doing Yun Fei a favor by giving her an impossible task.

However, Yun Fei, out of sheer stubbornness perhaps, managed to conquer the first phase of the Martial Meeting, and there is no telling how many pieces of her heart she had to surrender and sacrifice in order to achieve the result she did.

I don’t know much about this entity, but I cannot even imagine what kind of desperation in her heart drove her to this. However, it is this kind of desperation that is valuable to me. She could be useful to me and I’d prefer that Lan Xiaohui not have such high standards for earning her friendship.

“Yun Fei…” Lan Xiaohui murmurs as the girl approaches.

Yun Fei smiles and bows her head politely to the two, but does not remain to exchange words, and instead hurries onwards and down the steps towards the city, leaving Wu Yulan and Lan Xiaohui to stare after her. For some reason, when I saw her expression, she seemed anxious and embarrassed; apologetic, even.

I don’t really understand why Yun Fei seemed so embarrassed, but I understand why Lan Xiaohui feels a sting of shame and guilt. The way the two parted last time truly did make Lan Xiaohui seem like an elite that demanded Yun Fei first join a very prestigious sect before they could be friends.

Back then, I also thought that Lan Xiaohui made the correct decision, but now I can only imagine how much energy Yun Fei would be able to generate for my Inner World with this stubborn determination.

Eventually, the two make it to the entrance of the Martial Hall, and two disciples greet them at the door.

“The elder will see you in a moment, please enter,” one of the disciples says and gestures to a room inside the towering pavilion.

“Wait, aren’t you Wu Yulan?” the other disciple asks.

Wu Yulan nods.

There is an expression of pure panic and also relief on the two disciples. “My apologies, Miss Wu. Please disregard what I said earlier. The Elders will see you at the Sect Hall. Please follow us.”