Tales From the Myriad Realms (Peregrine x kookyboy9)

His benefactor's response left Caller internally flustered. Apologizing? To him? Again? He truly had met a very kind cultivator.

Caller wasn't really the arrogant type. He valued his sect and the people in it, and he didn't believe in making enemies for no reason. If an opportunity to do a good deed presented itself, he'd probably take it, especially if it didn't inconvenience him in any way. But he couldn't imagine apologizing over whether or not his words might have incidentally offended a weak, injured mortal. Was the mentality difference between the Great Realm and the Lower Realms truly that vast? If it was, he'd have to check his behavior more often as he got stronger. He didn't want anyone to notice something wrong.

Then again, he couldn't remember his seniors ever telling stories about blowing their cover because they weren't kind to mortals. Maybe it was just his benefactor.

But, he couldn't deny he was pleased and grateful at the opportunity her willingness to answer questions represented. It was the perfect chance for him to finally gain a bit of information about this world. Of course, he still had to be careful, but it seemed like he was finally about to get a chance to learn more about his main mission.

Alongside Du Fuyi's memories, Caller had also received vague knowledge of the task the Realmheart had given him, the task he would need to complete if he ever wanted to return to his main body in the Great Realm. The Realmheart wanted him to destroy the Frost Coral, an unknown being that was growing slowly, but ceaselessly. If it was ignored indefinitely, one day it would completely cover the entire realm, leaving no room for any beings that could not survive its arctic chill. It would spell a death sentence for the world's mortals, which would also eventually mean an end to all cultivators.

Would it be appropriate for him to ask about it? Then again, Caller didn't know what [i[else[/i] a mortal might ask about.

"Ummm..." Du Fuyi said, somewhat hesitantly. "Since it almost killed me, could you tell me more about the Frost Coral? Like, I know the basics. It's full of cold energy, and lots of frost beasts. But I've never heard of the sects living near it or wanting to use it. Why haven't they... gotten rid of it yet?"

Internally, Caller was quite pleased with his acting. His words were polite, but still filled with a touch of grievance. If all went according to plan, the lady cultivator before him would only think he was asking because he wouldn't have been harmed if the place had been destroyed in the past. Mortals were often petty like that, weren't they?
 
The merman seemed shocked for a moment that Tan Qiuyue was being so nice to him, although she could understand that. Most other cultivators of her level wouldn't give a second thought about giving offense to those weaker than them. She just hadn't had the chance to develop that abrasiveness that allowed them to do so. Not that she felt that was a bad thing. Any one of those weaker than her that she met could easily be more worthy of respect than her, given a chance to grow properly. Why not give them the benefit of the doubt? She knew she'd greatly benefited from others holding such a benefit herself.

Du Fuyi seemed to have decided on a question, though. He wanted to know about the Frost Coral Reef? That must mean his tribe was significantly closer to the Thunder-kelp forest. Regardless, this was one of the easier questions for her to answer. She'd spent a significant amount of time in the reef, and she'd heard quite a bit about it. "The frost coral? Well, like you said, the region is absolutely teeming with cold energy. The closer to the center you get, the stronger the energy gets. Normally, mortals or xiantian-level cultivators can enter the outer edges, but the coral itself absorbs and releases a significant amount of cold energy, so getting to close to it would kill them. Once one forms a world core, they can go deeper in, although the depths of the reef are off limits to pretty much anyone who hasn't formed a law seed." She paused for a moment. The next bit wasn't something she had personally confirmed, due to the dangers of doing so, but... "I've heard there's a crystal at the very center of the reef that contains condensed cold law energies, although I haven't personally gone deep enough into the reef to see it. I know a couple people who left to retrieve it, but they never returned."

She hadn't mentioned that it was at least theoretically possible for her to reach the depths of the reef, although she couldn't do so for long or she'd have to start burning her world core. And that would be a disaster. One of the main reasons she hadn't been willing to try it. It wasn't worth the risk to confirm that the crystal was there, and she didn't have any illusions that she could claim the crystal herself. She certainly wasn't the first cold cultivator in the seas.
 
Du Fuyi listened attentively to his benefactor's explanation, not having to fake his interest in the subject. Of course, by Caller's standards the information was somewhat superficial, but he supposed it made sense that's how a cultivator would describe it to a mortal. After all, it wasn't as though she was going to bother trying to describe its true nature to him. Considering that it was based on the ice element, it was doubtful he would have understood it even if she had tried.

However, the last bit of information caught his attention, causing his eyebrows to momentarily tremble before he regained control of himself. Du Fuyi had no way of knowing what such a thing was, but he understood the concept of laws. The value of a stone that contained laws wasn't lost on him.

It was even more meaningful to Caller.

The Frost Coral was built around a law crystal, and, judging by the environment it had created, a very large one at that. A natural condensation of pure law energy, law crystals were of inestimable value in the process of transforming a cultivator's world core into a true minor realm. What was more, Caller himself had been hoping to get a law crystal from this descent, albeit one for the law of fire.

"That... must be really valuable," Du Fuyi said softly, swallowing slightly even as he steadied his emotional fluctuations. "Is that why no one wants to destroy it? The Frost Coral? Because of that crystal?"
 
Tang Qiuyue shook her head at his question. "Would that that was the only reason we let the coral be. No, the real reason is self-evident if you ever make it to the center of the reef. Every cultivator who has tried to take the crystal perished. Several middle-stage Law Seed cultivators tried, but they all failed." She'd also heard tell that there had been an peak-stage Law Seed cultivator who'd made an attempt, but she didn't have anything evidence to back that up. "Most of them perished to the Frost Beasts in the reef. In the innermost sections of the reef, they get quite powerful. Those lucky enough to get past the beasts are assumed to have perished to the law energy permeating the surroundings.

If we could, we'd have destroyed the corral years ago. We tried to keep it under control at first, but the stuff grows back faster than we can kill it off. Now, we just do our best to keep islands clear of it." That was how the sect she'd been born to had been destroyed. The corral had surrounded the island, and then began to encroach. The seas around the island quickly became so cold that the lower-level cultivators couldn't get off the island, and then the island itself had become so cold that cultivators began to die out left and right. In the end, the elders came together to make a desperate attempt to destroy the reef. She assumed they had failed, considering that she never saw them again.
 
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For the perceptive Caller, who was desperately digging for any facts that might help him understand how to clear the seemingly impossible mission this advanced Realmheart had given him, his benefactor's short explanation gave him more information than she had likely intended, or at least expected, to provide.

First, there was no one in this realm capable of dealing with the Coral. And, judging by the fact that Caller had been provided the information that the Frost Coral first appeared 5000 years ago, it wasn't simply a matter of waiting for a person with the right strength to come along. Whatever the reason it had appeared, there was nothing that would be able to stop its spread. Tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of years in the future, the Frost Coral would dominate every inch of this realm.

As a side note, that raised an interesting question of how Caller had ended up here. He did not know what had gone wrong with the descent ritual, but the fact that his master had been presiding over it meant that it wouldn't simply be a careless mistake. He also had a hard time believing that there was anyone in his sect who would wish to sabotage him, especially when so many people had gone through the effort of trying to get him to hold off on his first descent until he hit a true bottleneck in his cultivation.

But… was it even possible for a realm to interfere with a descent? How strong would the cultivator who formed that realm need to be for such a thing to happen? Worst of all, Caller wasn't a powerful enough cultivator himself to be able to investigate it. He'd barely even formed his law seed, let alone being able to comprehend the laws of such a complete realm.

For a second, he almost regretted his decision to make the descent when he hadn't truly needed to. His master was right, tradition was meaningless when confronted with the nuances of one's unique path. And his senior's stories had never prepared him for a descent that had gone this far out of control.

An instant later, Caller dismissed those thoughts. He believed in his sect's methods. If the Realmheart had truly drawn him here against the influence of his master, then that only meant this was where he was meant to be. All he had to do was focus on completing the mission.

Speaking of the mission, the second, and far more important, piece of information he'd gotten from his benefactor's explanation—most of the people who entered the Frost Coral died from the beasts within it. This meant, even if he restored his powers at an entry Law Seed cultivator, it might not be enough for him to resolve the situation on his own. His master and senior disciples had been right, a support system was truly essential. He was going to have to find people to go to battle with him when the moment to confront the Coral finally came.

The best option for that? His kind benefactor, and her sect.

"I see," Du Fuyi murmured, his voice faintly tremulous. "I guess even the most powerful cultivators have things they can't solve, don't they?" At that moment, the young merman sounded oddly disillusioned. He sighed, chewing on his lip slightly, before abruptly looking up.

"Benefactor," he said, his voice still soft and regulated, but clearly passionate. "May I join your sect?" His hand shook slightly, causing the half a citrus he had left to wobble through the air. However, his gaze didn't waver. "I know it is bold of me to request more from you when you've already saved my life and given me food to eat. And I know I must not seem like much, being my age but only at the second stage of Houtian. But my tribe was… ill-suited for my cultivation, and I'm confident I'd be able to show my real talents here. I will work hard, to repay you and not let down the grace you've shown me."
 
Tang Quiyue shook herself free of thoughts of her previous sect, then frowned at the merman's reaction. It was true that even the most powerful of cultivators were sometimes unable to oppose the will of the world. However, had he actually understood everything she'd said about the Frost Coral Reef? She hadn't understood herself just how valuable the crystal at the heart of the reef was until she'd formed her world core. In fact, she'd assumed it was just a weird oddity that caused the area to be more dangerous than normal until then. There was definitely something more to Du Fuyi than met the eyes.

On top of that, he was asking to join the sect? She didn't really care that much about the sect, so she had no clue how demanding the sect's requirements were to join. She could be certain that the requirements weren't so low that Du Fuyi would have an easy time getting in, however. Especially given that he was still at the second stage of Houtian. At the same time, he had been polite, and had answered all of her questions. She'd answered a few of his own questions as an apology for her own rudeness, but his questions had given rise to more questions of her own. She didn't see much harm in giving him a recommendation to the sect, but first... "Ill-suited? Do you mind if I ask why?"

If his tribe had been ill-suited, then he could very well be a genius for having managed to make it to his current stage at all. Those sorts of circumstances would certainly be worth making an exception for. Of course, he also had clearly been exiled, but she didn't get the feeling that his character was lacking. And he could quite easily lie about whatever act caused his exile as well. Perhaps better not to ask, then have someone keep an eye on him. In fact, that seemed like the best idea to her. That way, if something more turned up to this story, she could find out. Of course, all of that rested on the supposition that the sect wouldn't be ill-suited to his cultivation as well. If that was the case, he'd never show his talent, even if he was a once-in-a-thousand-years genius.
 
For a second after the cultivator asked her question, an expression of mixed embarrassment, rage, and humiliation flashed across Du Fuyi's face. However, a second later and he regained control of himself, repressing everything he was feeling behind a slightly tight-lipped smile. "It is only natural for Benefactor to ask," he replied, swallowing slightly.

"My tribe... was divided into several major groups, and I was one of many sons of the Chief. I assume that, in order to ensure I, as the son of my father's favorite wife, would not stand a chance at inheriting in the future, they got in my way at every possible opportunity. Nothing overt. Nothing that father would reasonably be able to object to. But more than enough to ensure that I would never be able to cultivate for more than fifteen minutes uninterrupted. And there's no way that a 'waste' who couldn't even reach the first stage of Houtian before his fourteenth birthday would be able to compete for the position."
 
Tang Quiyue was less surprised than she should have been at that news. In theory, familial piety was all well and good, but in practice, it often was ill-enforced. However, the tale did explain quite well why his cultivation was so low, and it certainly made him quite the genius if it was true. Since he didn't seem to be lying about the story, it certainly would do no harm to admit him into the sect using a backdoor. Worst came to worst, the sect would have another outer disciple. It wasn't like they could have too many disciples, was it?

"My condolences. That was truly heinous of them. If that is the case, I see no issue with allowing you to join the sect. Shall we go to see Elder Baozhi to see if he can find somewhere for you to stay inside the sect?" She stood from her seat slowly, allowing the small beast on her lap to jump to the ground before it slid off and fell. Elder Baozhi should be the right elder for the job. Unless they'd changed the one who was in charge of the housing and provisions on the island? That didn't seem like a likely possibility.
 
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"Can I truly?" All of the poorly hidden suffering that had been present on Du Fuyi's face was instantly wiped away by a mixture of excitement and relief. A part of him had genuinely not expected it to be that easy. Perhaps it was different in lesser realms, but in the Great Realm, disciples were a serious business. Any sect that simply took in anyone who asked would end up bloated and weak, their resources consumed and unable to be returned by the pitiful force they'd raised. In the end, the whole sect would self-destruct. As much as Caller had wanted to enter his benefactor's sect, he had expected to need to prove himself, potentially repeatedly, before the opportunity would arise.

He immediately stood up, formally saluting in the mer fashion with his arms folded across his chest, and his head bowed as deeply as he could manage. In that moment, all his weakness, hunger, and pain was forgotten. Despite the pure, raw insanity of the situation he'd found himself in, he'd managed to gain a foundation. And even if he was treated as nothing but the outermost of outer disciples, Caller's own knowledge of cultivation would allow Du Fuyi's rank to soar.

"Thank you so much," he said, sounding as though he was trying to keep his voice from shaking. "I swear I won't let you down."

Finally uncrossing his arms and lifting his head, Du Fuyi followed after Tang Quiyue.
 
Tang Qiuyue waved a hand at Du Fuyi's thanks. "Don't mention it. Just make sure not to embarrass yourself." Not that she really would be impacted if he did. There wasn't much she could do to lower her standing in the sect much further than it already was. She didn't participate in the normal sect politics because she was basically an outcast here, despite living in the sect for the past decade. A blink of the eye for some of the more powerful elders, she supposed.

Reaching the edge of the small mountain clearing, she mobilized her spiritual energy, lifting herself and the merman into the air and around the mountain, heading towards a different clearing – this one bustling with the elder's disciples. As she landed, a number of them bowed respectfully, and one of them approached. "Elder Tang. What brings you to our master's dwelling today?"

She turned to look at him. "I have business with Elder Baozhi. Is he in?"

"Please wait and I will go check." The disciple bows, walking towards the cave at the back of the clearing.
 
When they lifted into the air once more, Du Fuyi began to study the sect that surrounded them. The island they were on was fairly small by the standards of the Great Realm, but he supposed that for the limited population of a Lesser Realm it was fairly large. Large enough that there was no way he could catch a glimpse of all the buildings with nothing but mortal eyes, at any rate. People moved about from place to place, chatting, having simple martial exchanges, or going about whatever tasks filled their day.

Briefly, Du Fuyi wondered if he was going to be assigned work from the sect. Often times that's what outer disciples were, at least in the Great Realm. Nothing more than a glorified work force that was fortunate enough to touch the edge of some of the sect's techniques. As someone who'd been trained as nothing but a cultivator since the moment he was born, Caller considered it quite a novel experience. At least Du Fuyi was somewhat familiar with work, as he'd been expected to hunt and gather supplies for the good of the tribe, like all the other merpeople.

Du Fuyi tucked himself politely behind his benefactor once they landed in a new courtyard, making sure to follow a respectful distance behind her. As generous as this lady was with him, Du Fuyi's memories told him that cultivators weren't often the kind to associate with mortals, and he didn't want to complicate matters by acting out of place. Judging by the way the disciples in this courtyard also skated over his figure as though he wasn't there, he figured that things weren't too different here. The graceful, pale woman walking in front of him was simply a strange exception.

Tucking his pale hair behind one ear nervously, Du Fuyi couldn't help but notice that 'pale' seemed to be the word of the hour when it came to people in this realm. Almost all of the hair styles he'd seen were somewhat faded, like someone had lowered the saturation bar on the world's population. He and his benefactor seemed to particularly match that description, now that he thought about it. Both of them were pale skinned, with near white hair and light eyes.

From behind Qiuyue, Du Fuyi offered a merperson's salute, even though he knew the bows weren't directed to him. However, inside his head, he finally caught something of interest.

Elder Tang.

He finally got his benefactor's name, or at least part of it. She'd never introduced herself to him, which either meant she didn't want him to know her name, or there was some implicit tradition in this world he'd simply missed. He couldn't help but think back to when he'd introduced himself, but couldn't recall if she'd shown some strange reaction to his behavior. Internally, Caller scolded himself. His master had always told him to remember everything and pay close attention to anything that happened. Of course, he couldn't help but think that was much easier said than done, especially when he no longer had the support of cultivation to help him recall things.

Unwilling to attract the accidental ire of any of the disciples, should he accidentally do something out of line, Du Fuyi simply waited quietly for Elder Tang and the disciples to tell him what he was supposed to do.
 
Tang Qiuyue waited patiently for the disciple to return. Du Fuyi seemed to be unsure of what to do, but he wasn't committing any real taboos because of it. A minute or so later, the disciple returns. "Elder Tang, Elder Baozhi is indeed in and bids you entry. Please follow me."

The disciple begins into the cave after making sure that the pair are ready to follow. Tang Qiuyue follows after, motioning for Du Fuyi to follow after her. The inside of the cave is a relatively normal cultivator's residence, with additional tunnels branching off out of sight. Most likely leading to various rooms and repositories inside. The initial room of the cave contains a small table with seating. At the opposite side of the table is a younger (by appearance) cultivator, with a stern face, brown eyes, and faded black hair. He looks at Du Fuyi with a bit of surprise as he enters, then nods his head. "Elder Tang. I assume he has something to do with your visit today?"

Tang Qiuyue nods her head. "Indeed. I found him in the Frost Coral reef. Could you find him somewhere to stay in the outer sect? He shows more promise than you would think at first glance. If he was entirely truthful, he may even be able to enter the inner sect in a few decades."

At the start of the request, the elder frowns a little bit, but his face soon morphs into an expression of confusion. "Surely not. At his level of cultivation now?"

Tang Qiuyue gives him a bit of a smile. "Even if he wasn't being entirely truthful, you know that the sect takes most anyone who doesn't enter under false premises. It isn't like there are any other sects around here aside from the merman tribes." Considering that the elder hadn't already said something, it appeared that she had remembered the correct elder. That was a relief. Elder Baozhi was one of the few elders of the sect who wasn't openly antagonistic to her.

Elder Baozhi gave a small chuckle at the assertion. "True enough that. I'll see to getting him settled." He faces towards Du Fuyi. "Can I get your name? I'll need to enter it into the registry of sect disciples before we can get you a room in the sect."
 
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Du Fuyi hesitated for a moment when the apprentice returned, wondering if he was supposed to follow them in. Logically he figured the answer was yes, but who knew what kind of rules a sect in a lesser realm would have? He still considered his position here unstable at best, and didn't want to make any foolish mistakes.

Fortunately, he was spared from any further wondering when Elder Tang beckoned him to follow her, and he quickly fell into step beside her. He glanced curiously around the inside of the cave as he entered, having never lived in such a space himself. Overall it seemed... cold. However, he figured that might have to do more with him than the cave itself, considering the fact that he hadn't seen anything resembling a fire or heat source since he'd arrived in this place. The stone inside the cave was as mildly chilly as the air outside had been, and the water had been even colder.

Du Fuyi offered a merman's salute once more when Elder Baozhi's gaze fell on him, his eyes awkwardly shifting to the side at the man's doubtful comments. In truth, his assessment was more than valid. If it wasn't for Caller's arrival, even without his unexpected death, it was doubtful that Du Fuyi would have ever made it even halfway to Xiantian until the day he died.

Finally stepping out from behind Elder Tang's shadow when Elder Baozhi spoke to him, Du Fuyi nodded politely. "Greetings Elder. This one is called Du Fuyi," he said, somewhat carefully. He was trying to be respectful, according to what remained in Du Fuyi's memory, but to Caller it sounded more awkward than polite. Hopefully his memories weren't failing him here. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join the sect."

The sect who's name he still didn't know, now that he thought about it. He was off to a great start as a new disciple.
 
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Seeing that the matter seemed pretty much settled, Tang Qiuyue turned to leave, then hesitated a moment, turning back to Elder Baozhi. "I almost forgot. Could you pass a message along that I'll be entering closed-door meditation for a while? I'll be back before the inner disciple selection."

Elder Baozhi turned from Du Fuyi for a moment to nod at her. "That would be agreeable. Good fortune in your efforts." He gave her a wave as she exited the cave, vanishing from sight as the elder turned back to Du Fuyi, giving him an affable smile. "Now. I can see something about your story has impressed Elder Tang, so I'll skip the customary hazing of candidates. Do you have a reason why you chose this specific sect to join? I can see that you are of the mer tribes, and I must admit to curiousity as to why you would choose to join a sect such as ours instead of a merman clan? Even exiles can normally find a new life with a new clan if they are willing to put in the work. Note that your answer won't change your admission or not unless it's something truly horrific."
 
Watching Elder Tang turn to leave, Du Fuyi hesitated for a moment, before saluting graciously. She'd saved his life, and given him a solid foothold in this world. He owed her an undeniable debt. Cultivation was a slow and time-consuming affair, so it was only natural that she would go into seclusion. He certainly couldn't expect her to keep further tabs on him. Perhaps she'd already settled whatever mixture of curiosity and good-will had led her to pay so much attention to him.

"Good fortune, Elder Tang," he bid farewell. He would have to do his best to make sure he'd done everything he could to live up to the grace she'd shown him, if he ever wanted to see her again.

Watching Elder Tang leave the cave, Du Fuyi forgot to turn around again until he suddenly heard Elder Baozhi start speaking again. Promptly whirling on the spot before standing with his hands tucked respectfully behind his back, Du Fuyi nodded slightly. "Replying to Elder Baozhi, I'd never lived outside my tribe before, and ran into great danger after I was on my own. Elder Tang… saved my life. I hope to one day be able to repay the life-saving grace she showed me." Explicitly, it wasn't an answer. Implicitly, Du Fuyi was confident it would convey everything the elder needed to know about why he'd joined this particular sect. Without Elder Tang swooping in to save him, he likely would have wandered for a very long time before he was able to find any sort of foundation in this realm.

"I promise to work hard and serve the sect well," he swore. And, if he was to fulfill his mission, he would definitely have to. Du Fuyi was not yet capable enough to have a good sense of exactly how far Elder Tang had flown with him, but Caller could guess that this sect was not far from the Frost Coral at this point. If it continued to expand, who knew how long it would be before this sect was driven out of their island?
 
Elder Baozhi nods along to the story, not finding anything particularly alarming in his explanation. As the merman finishes his explanation, the elder gives him a reassuring smile, then turns his attention to the book in front of him, flipping through a few pages. "In that case, welcome to the Serene Waves sect. I must admit, we rarely have any mermen in the sect, so I'm uncertain. Do your people require any special accommodations to survive above the ocean's surface?"

He finishes flipping through the book, picking up a quill and writing something in it. He then moves the book to the side, placing it beside another small pile of books on the table. At the same time, he makes a hand gesture, and an orb of light floats from his hand out of the cave. as he looks expectantly at Du Fuyi, awaiting his answer to the question.
 
As Du Fuyi bowed again in response to Elder Baozhi's welcome, Caller found himself rolling his eyes somewhat internally. He didn't know exactly how many times he'd bowed in the past few minutes, but the total had already gone above what he could easily count. It was to the point that he almost found it laughable.

After all, back in the Myriad Realms Sect, people were almost never this respectful. It wasn't to say that they didn't have respect for their seniors and masters, but more that the entire sect was too small for it to not form a very close-knit community. It was hard to maintain such an intense, respectful attitude when you'd seen the person every day for years, and heard stories, both good and bad, about their entire life. To Caller, the Myriad Realms Sect had always felt like home, and felt like family.

But such wasn't the case in the Serene Waves Sect. Caller was quite confident that, for all it's apparent ridiculousness, his overly respectful attitude was the correct behavior for him to use. After all, Du Fuyi was a mortal facing a true cultivator. Worse yet, he was a mortal with absolutely no backing. He was a merman who had been driven from his tribe. Any cultivator out there would likely be able to kill him with a wave of the hand, and would suffer no serious repercussions for doing so. Until Du Fuyi gained some form of true standing, he would need to remain incredibly cautious.

"Thank you for your concern, Elder," Du Fuyi said politely, even as he was using that same politeness to stall while he desperately fished through Du Fuyi's memories. It certainly wouldn't do for him to say he was just as ignorant on the matter as the Elder. Or, well, could he? "I'm afraid that I am slightly ignorant on the matter as well. I've never lived above the surface, and my tribe... was not one to promote traveling above the waves, which meant they did not teach me anything about what is required to live on land long term."

Still plundering through Du Fuyi's memories, he finally began to pick up a bit of useful information. There were three types of merpeople in this realm, each with their own distinguishing features. Of the three, only one type was incapable of breathing above the water, merpeople who looked no different from humans other than the fact that their lungs had been entirely replaced by gills. Of the other two types, one possessed a full fish's tail instead of legs, and was incapable of traversing land. Only Du Fuyi's specific type of merperson reached the middle ground, having both lungs and gills, the legs to walk on land, and webbed fingers and toes to propel them through the water.

Du Fuyi's tribe had indoctrinated him to the superiority of their type of merperson, as they considered themselves the most refined. After all, they were the only ones who were fully capable of navigating both above and below the waves. Which, frankly, Caller considered ironic, as he could not recall Du Fuyi's tribe ever going above the surface for longer than was required to trade with humans.

"I do not have any dietary requirements different from humans." Du Fuyi had very distinct memories of meals made up of a mixture of sea life and plants. "But I am uncertain if my water requirements will end up different in the long term. I am sorry that I cannot provide more detailed information, Elder."
 
Elder Baozhi nods along to Du Fuyi's answers, pulling another book from one of the piles on the table, then flipping it open and writing something on the page."I've assigned you one of the residences in the southern portion of the sect's town." As he flips the book closed, one of the disciples from outside the cave steps inside, following the orb of light that Elder Baozhi had released earlier.

The disciple stops a short distance from the pair, bowing to the elder. "Master. You called for me?"

Elder Baozhi shifts his gaze from Du Fuyi to the disciple. "Yes. Please help Outer Disciple Du here settle in. I've issued him a place in residence 104 South." He shifts his gaze back to Du Fuyi. "Disciple Du, this is Core Disciple Hou. If you have questions regarding the sect's rules and regulations, please direct them towards him."

"Yes, master." Disciple Hou gives Elder Baozhi another bow, then turns to Du Fuyi. "A pleasure, Disciple Du. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the way to your residence." He turns to begin out of the cave, hesitating for a moment to check if Du Fuyi follows after him.
 
"Greetings, Core Disciple Hou," Du Fuyi greeted carefully, mirroring Elder Baozhi's more respectful terminology. As polite as the other man was being, Du Fuyi had no way of knowing if that was simply because he was still in the Elder's presence, and he didn't want to end up accidentally offending the cultivator. Caller's master had always emphasized cautiousness in new realms, especially before the descender started to get a sense for the local culture. After all, this Disciple Hou was certainly many times more powerful than Du Fuyi.

As Disciple Hou invited Du Fuyi out of the cave, he bowed one more time to the Elder, bidding him a respectful farewell, before quickly chasing after Hou's back. It didn't take them long to reach the outside of the cultivator's cave. "Thank you for guiding me," he said politely. This would be a good moment to probe the man's attitude towards him. The last thing he wanted to do was actually ask Disciple Hou for information if the other wanted nothing to do with him.

"Are there any rules I should know before we arrive at the south residences?"

Of course, he'd have to double check any information he got. Caller's senior disciples had told him plenty of stories about the tricks that some cultivators would like to pull on people they didn't like, and offering them bad information was certainly the easiest way to go about that. Better to double verify than to walk into a trap.

If he thought about it, the difference between how he viewed Elder Tang and everyone else in the sect was quite remarkable. Then again, none of them had saved his life.
 
Disciple Hou lead Du Fuyi out of the cave, taking a moment to recall what rules would be likely to be important. "Well, first and most likely to be broken, outer disciples are limited to the town and surrounding fields unless otherwise summoned by an elder or senior disciple. The upper half of the mountain is limited only to inner disciples, and the top half holds the residences of the elders and their core disciples."

Disciple Hou turned at this point, pointing at the coliseum at the peak of the mountain. "The only exception to those rules are the coliseum at the mountain's peak. Any disciple of the sect can challenge another disciple, and file a request to use the coliseum. Provided that your request is accepted, there's a special path to the peak of the mountain. Any of your fellow disciples should be able to help you find it if it comes to it. Any sect-wide competitions will also be held in the coliseum, and if there's any reason why the entire sect would need to gather at once, that's where the gathering would be held." He turns, continuing down the mountain path towards the town at the base of the mountain.

"Aside from that, the only other non-common-sense rule relates to quotas. Outer disciples are expected to complete at least one mission a week, with missions varying from helping senior members of the sect with chores they don't have time for to hunting monsters in the surrounding areas. Some of the missions reward extra resources, but so long as one manages to meet their quota, they'll be given resources according to their status and cultivation level. To move up from being an outer disciple to an inner disciple, one must challenge and defeat an inner disciple in the arena. To become a core disciple, one must find an elder to take them as their personal disciple. One's ranking in the outer and inner sects are determined by their mission completion rate and their challenge history in the coliseum. The higher your ranking, the more rewards you receive.

"As for common-sense rules. Don't cause harm to your fellow disciples without reason. If you have reason, bring it to the coliseum, and just make sure not to make it too obvious if you kill or cripple them. If a senior disciple asks a favor of you, its strongly advised that you consider it, but they can't hurt you for refusing. Don't join any other sects while you are a member of this sect. No stealing, and behave in a manner at least roughly befitting a cultivator. In other words, live like a decent person, and you should be fine." Disciple Hou gives Du Fuyi a smile. "I doubt that those rules will be much trouble, no?"


Eventually, the pair reach the southern part of the town, stopping at a small building near the ocean. The building is made of brick, with a large 104 seared into the bricks next to the door. Disciple Hou stops by the door, turning to Du Fuyi. "This is, as it obviously seems, South 104. You'll be sharing with 3 other outer disciples, who you'll need to work out sleeping arrangements with. There should be two rooms with two bunks each, as well as a small living space. If you have need of a craftsman's facilities for one of the arts, they can be rented out at the town hall in the center of town." He pauses for a moment. "I wish you good fortune in your time at the sect. If you don't have any other questions, I'll leave you to it?"
 
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