After Shao Yue had spent a month at the Sect, the elders summoned Ren Meili to the main hall to give a report.
"Junior Sister Shao is a very focused person," Ren Meili said. "She spends one hour a day practising the sword. The rest of the time, outside of eating, bathing, and such, she cultivates. When I retire for the night, she's still cultivating. When I wake up, she's still cultivating. I'm honestly not sure if she even sleeps."
The five elders sitting at the end of the hall exchanged glances. Being able to forgo sleep by meditating was certainly possible. However, typically only cultivators at the Heavenly Realm could achieve it. Shao Yue was at the third realm, while the Heavenly Realm was the sixth realm.
Even if she was sleeping, she'd still be cultivating for at least twelve hours a day, day in and day out. Even the strongest among them, at the Nascent Soul Second Stage, could only focus for around four hours. As for the disciples, if any of them could meditate for an hour or two, it would be a great achievement.
What sort of genius had delivered herself into their hands?
The Third Elder asked, "Have you learned anything about her likes and dislikes?"
"Responding to Third Elder, Junior Sister Shao cares a lot about her health," Ren Meili replied. "She only takes one pill a day to avoid building impurities in her body and sometimes praises the nutrition of the meals provided to her. She has also mentioned that she won't begin body tempering until she finishes growing."
"Interesting." The Fourth Elder stroked his chin. "I wonder if she has received instruction from some unknown master."
Ren Meili continued, "I have offered to teach Junior Sister Shao how to open her meridians, but she is highly against the idea."
"Did she mention why?"
"All I know is that she believes there to be a great benefit to keeping them closed. She said giving details would only cause me to become unmotivated."
Silence fell.
The head elder asked, "Is there anything else you've noticed?"
"Junior Sister Shao really doesn't do much other than cultivate," Ren Meili said, wracking her brain. "She hasn't even left the courtyard in this past month. Oh, but she mentioned wanting to watch the competition between the outer disciples."
"Really?" Inner disciples would often come watch out of boredom or bet on matches, but such a thing clashed with Shao Yue's apparent indifferent personality. "Then, we'll call you again after the competition. Continue with your duties."
"Yes, elders."
Ren Meili cupped her fists and left. The elders promptly started discussing the unbelievable information.
Shao Yue withdrew her divine sense with a smile. Ren Meili hadn't exposed anything. It seemed her disciple was trustworthy after all. She wondered how she could reward the woman without hindering her own cultivation.
As Ren Meili returned, Shao Yue 'coincidentally' began to leave.
"Oh, hello, Master," Ren Meili greeted.
"Meili." Shao Yue nodded in greeting. "I'll be heading out for a bit."
"Huh? Really?"
She nodded again. "I have some things to buy. It'll only be half an hour at most."
"If you're stepping out, you should put on your sleeves."
"Oh, good call. Thanks."
Shao Yue had almost forgotten about her dress code rebellion. She amended it to avoid trouble and headed over to a supply store.
Along the way, she attracted many glances and whispers.
"Huh? Did we have such a young inner disciple?"
"But she doesn't have any cultivation."
"What is she doing here? Is she one of the elders' daughters?"
The unknown brought with it certain fears, so they all kept their distance. They didn't know if Shao Yue was someone they could provoke or not. Thus, her shopping trip was peaceful, and she returned within half an hour, as promised.
Back in the main room, Shao Yue set up a complex array on a piece of parchment using a few seemingly random crystals and baubles she picked up from the store.
She had no attainments in arrays. She had no idea how the array worked. An Emperor experienced in assassination and subterfuge had taught it to her, taking advantage of her peerless memory. All she knew was that the combination of lines and objects set up within a circle would have the desired effect.
Shao Yue set an inkwell in the center of the array and called for Ren Meili.
"What is it, master?"
"Place your hand on this array and put your qi into it, the same as when you had your Spirit's grade measured."
"Um, okay."
Ren Meili obeyed her orders. The pattern on the parchment lit up and the crystals shattered before the light all flowed into the ink. She tilted her head, confused.
"Tell me," Shao Yue said, sitting down. "What do you think you lack the most? Attack techniques, movement techniques, defensive techniques, cultivation techniques, or body tempering techniques?"
"I've never practised a body tempering technique," Ren Meili admitted. They cost an order of magnitude more than other techniques of the same grade. She could never afford one, let alone a decent one.
"Understood. Then, you're dismissed until dinner."
"Yes, Master."
Ren Meili was curious about the array but knew better than to ask questions.
Shao Yue took a blank book she'd purchased and began to write using the infused ink.
Hours passed.
"Master, I've brought your dinner."
"Good timing." The ink had finished drying, so Shao Yue shut the book and accepted the tray of food. "This is for you."
Shao Yue handed over the book. Ren Meili flipped through the blank pages with a confused look. "What is this?"
"Inject your qi into it."
When Ren Meili's qi made contact with the ink, it turned visible, filling the pages with words. "Steel Body Transmutation Technique?"
Shao Yue nodded. "This is a body tempering technique for metal qi users. At the first stage, your skin will become as durable as steel. Bladed weapons will be unable to cut you. At the second stage, your bones receive the same treatment. Even heavy impacts won't shatter them. At the final stage, it affects your muscles, and your body becomes its own suit of armour."
Ren Meili was speechless. She flipped through the book in a daze. Shao Yue began to eat.
After Ren Meili read it through in its entirety, she exclaimed, "This is profound! What grade is this?"
"It's on the upper end of grade four."
Ren Meili sucked in her breath. "Is it really okay to give me this?"
"You're the only one who can read it, so who else would I give it to?"
She stroked the cover of the book as if it were the most important thing in her life. "You wrote this, right? Who made it?"
"Have you heard of Kong Shun, the Martial Emperor?" Shao Yue's face turned nostalgic without her realizing. "He's the only one to have reached the Emperor Realm through only the Martial Dao. He created that technique when he was in the Second Stage of the Heavenly Realm. He wanted to even the field between himself and weapon users, to be able to catch swords with his bare hands." Shao Yue giggled. "Muscle-head."
Ren Meili now had a second reason to be stunned. She'd never seen Shao Yue make those sorts of expression, never heard her speak in that tone of voice. "Do you... know him?"
Shao Yue smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "I've said too much. You won't mention it, right?"
"Disciple wouldn't dare!"
"Good. Then, go study. As usual, ask me any questions you have about the technique."
"Disciple obeys!"
That night, Shao Yue laid on the roof and stared up at the stars. She had spent countless nights with Kong Shun observing the heavens and discussing the Martial Dao. So many, in fact, that rumours had started circulating about them. But, they were only rumours.
He was the one who had realized the error of the orthodox path. The one who had inspired her to head back in time to start again. When she returned to the Emperor Realm, she would have to go pay her respects.
In the following days, Shao Yue noticed a subtle change. Her lunch and dinner meals now came with two servings of vegetables instead of only one. She suspected the elders had taken Ren Meili's report to heart and were trying to win Shao Yue over using her focus on health.
Weeks flew by.
Shao Yue quietly broke through to the Resonant Realm Second Stage. She didn't mention it to anyone.
Ever since she went out to purchase the materials for creating the manual, she hadn't left the courtyard. Thanks to her daily training, sword calluses had fully formed on her hands.
"Your breakfast, Master," Ren Meili said, placing a plate of dumplings on the table. "Also, today is the day of the outer disciple competition."
"Oh, is it?" Shao Yue nodded. "Then, let's head over soon."
"As you wish."
The walls around the inner area of the sect had a narrow walkway on top. The pair strode up the stairs and found a spot with a good view of the arena below. A few other inner disciples stood at other places along the wall.
Any outer disciple able to participate in the tournament would. Combat experience was invaluable, not to mention how the top ten would all be promoted to inner disciples.
"Is there something you're hoping to see, Master?"
"You can call me Junior Sister in the sect, or use my name," Shao Yue replied, placing her hands on the raised edge of the wall. "I'll point out anything interesting I notice."
While the other nearby sect, the Dancing Steel Sect, put a heavy emphasis on weapons, the majority of the disciples within the Monsoon Sect fought with bare hands. That made the fights both safer and longer.
It might hinder their ability to reach the Emperor Realm, but really, nobody in the Sect had any chance of reaching it in the first place. Ren Meili had a slim chance, but only due to Shao Yue showing her favour.
All of the disciples had countless issues clearly visible. Shao Yue could chatter on for a week about any one of them. Rather than doing that, she focused on the issues that could also be seen in Ren Meili.
"Watch that boy's left leg," Shao Yue said, pointing. "Notice anything?"
Whenever Shao Yue made such a comment, Ren Meili would consider it seriously for a minute before giving her opinion. Much like Jinwu did for Shao Yue, the former Emperor would gently guide Ren Meili to the correct insight.
Some things were easier to see from afar. Ren Meili had no way of watching herself fight. She couldn't spot errors that should have been obvious. However, they became clear when she saw the outer disciples fighting, at least after Shao Yue pointed them out. When Ren Meili realized what Shao Yue was doing, she got more invested, putting in her full effort.
The exchange continued for an hour until Ren Meili said, "I need to meditate on this."
Ren Meili sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes. Shao Yue nodded and waved her hand, surrounding her disciple in a barrier of qi that blocked out the environmental noise.
When a cultivator felt a breakthrough coming on, it wasn't good to delay it.
Each breakthrough to a new stage required three things. First, sufficient qi development. That was the main thing that prevented Shao Yue from instantly going to the Ninth Stage. Second, sufficient insights into the Martial Dao. These could be gained from combat experience and studying martial techniques written by people of higher cultivation. The third requirement changed based on the realm. In the Resonance Realm, it was sufficient resonance with their Spirit.
Shao Yue had the Martial Dao understanding of an Emperor Realm cultivator. Sharing a bit of it with Ren Meili had given the disciple enough insight to loosen her bottleneck.
"If it isn't Junior Sister Ren!" A man nearing his thirties wearing the inner disciple uniform strode towards the women. "I heard you were assigned to babysit some kid. Looks like the rumours were true!"
"Apologies," Shao Yue said, casually looking over. "Senior Sister Ren is currently breaking through. You'll have to wait until she's done if you want her to hear you wasting air."
"Already?" The man's eyes widened, then narrowed.
From his reaction, Shao Yue could generally grasp the situation. The man probably came from a prestigious family where he was used to being able to lord over everyone. Based on his cultivation and age compared to Ren Meili, her talents probably upset him, threatening his fragile position.
"Senior Sister Ren is quite talented," Shao Yue said, rubbing it in. "With a grade three Spirit, taking only four months to go from the Sixth Stage to the Seventh Stage... Maybe she can achieve Core Formation within a year."
Shao Yue didn't actually believe that. From her understanding of Ren Meili's potential, she guessed it would be two years even with her guidance. Each stage became progressively harder, and breaking through to a new realm took far more effort.
Her words had the desired effect. The man's face went black, then red. "What would a child like you with no cultivation know?!"
Shao Yue didn't desire to meddle too deeply. She only wished to buy enough time for Ren Meili to finish the breakthrough. "Hm? I'm a Second Stage Resonant."
"You?"
It was an unbelievable claim. A good pace for cultivators would be one stage per year in the lower three realms. Two stages per year would be the pace of someone with true talent.
However, those numbers assumed the cultivator had opened their meridians. Each opened meridian would increase their cultivation speed dramatically. Nobody cultivated without opening them so he had no idea what an expected speed would be, but it would have to at least be twice as slow, if not three times.
The girl in front of him was around thirteen years old. Had she started cultivating as a baby?
"You're lying, that's not possible."
"You're merely a big fish in a small pond, how can you say what's possible or not?"
The man grit his teeth. Nobody had ever dared speak to him in that way. "You should watch your tongue in my pond!"
"Huh, you admitted it."
At that moment, a burst of qi fluctuations washed over the area, signalling Ren Meili's successful breakthrough. Shao Yue waved her hand to dismiss the isolation barrier.
"Congratulations on achieving the Seventh Stage."
Ren Meili let out a breath. "Thank you, Master."
The man laughed. "Yes, that's a good look for you! You should remain a servant for life!"
Shao Yue tilted her head at Ren Meili. "This guy really doesn't know his place, does he?"
Ren Meili stood up. "Senior Brother Feng is the first son of the Feng family. They rule over Clouded Moon City and are one of the largest backers of the Sect."
Shao Yue nodded, understanding. A big fish in a small pond indeed.
"You don't have to speak with such venom, Junior Sister Ren," the man surnamed Feng said, spreading his arms. "If you merely kowtow to me three times and beg for it, I'd be glad to take you in as a servant!"
"Does this happen to you often?"
Ren Meili scratched her cheek. "Well... yeah."
The elders knew Shao Yue would be watching the competition. Four of them were in the area at a respectful distance, trying to remain unnoticed. As it was her first public appearance, they would be curious about her nature.
Shao Yue had to make her stance clear.
"Senior Sister Ren is no longer someone you can provoke," Shao Yue stated, standing between the two. She spoke loud enough that the elders could clearly hear her. "As she is my servant, refusing to give her face is the same as refusing to give me face. Her position is now above yours."
He sneered. "A mere servant girl, above me, Feng Junjie? Don't you think too highly of yourself?"
"If your father knew I was here and that you had offended me, he would kill you without hesitation for the slightest chance of appeasing me," Shao Yue said with a cold tone. "Learn your place before opening your dog mouth."
"What gives you the right to speak to me like this?!"
"Why do you think the elders assigned their most talented disciple to serve me? For fun?" Shao Yue shook her head. "Know that I'm quite fond of Senior Sister Ren, and if I hear about you bullying her in the future, I won't let you off easy."
Feng Junjie hesitated for a moment. Either the girl had a very strong backer, or she was an idiot. He was inclined to believe the latter, but couldn't be sure. "The elders will hear of this offense!"
Shao Yue smiled. They'd already heard it all and had done nothing. "I hope so, and hopefully you can act more humbly after they do."
He stomped off. He had never been humiliated so much in his life! If they weren't in the sect, he would have already attacked her. He would pay it back tenfold in the future!
Shao Yue had achieved a few different things with that exchange. First, she took some pressure off of Ren Meili. If they didn't find trouble with Feng Junjie later, it would mean that Ren Meili could use her position to fend off undesirables.
On top of that, Shao Yue declaring her fondness for Ren Meili would mean the Elders wouldn't end up reassigning Ren Meili in the future. Perhaps they would even reward the woman for building a good relationship with the grade seven Spirit owner.
In the ideal scenario, they'd even spend some effort protecting Ren Meili in order to avoid upsetting Shao Yue.
Shao Yue gestured to Ren Meili. "Let's also leave. You need to consolidate your foundation and we need to prepare for the inner sect competition."
"Ah, s-sure..."
Ren Meili knew about Shao Yue's situation, but she still believed Feng Junjie wasn't someone the girl could casually trample over like that.