Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Hua Kui's tantrum was cut short, she quickly stood up and cleaned herself. Her fearsome appearance transformed into one that was gracious and elegant, a transformation that was probably quicker than Ming Yue's fastest attack.

"Master Jing", she addressed the woman standing in front of her, who looked at her with a stern expression.

Master Jing was not a very beautiful woman, rather quite ordinary. She didn't wear robes or a skirt like her disciple but rather light leather armor. Her hair was cut short and her skin was slightly darker from the sun. She had quite the muscular body and was rather tall, maybe around six feet.

"Hua Kui! You decide to ditch training and go out to play. What do you have to say for yourself!" she said.

Hua Kui could not retort but wanted to get away with a lighter sentence and she went with her next option.

"But that man over there! He saw me bathing! I had to punish him for committing such an act!" she answered, attempting to shift the focus onto Elder Fei.

However, her master was not that simple.

"Did you think I wasn't watching you the entire time? I saw very clearly what had happened, he was only collecting flowers and happened to be in the same area as you. He even apologized profusely but you had to attack him like that. You didn't even bother listening to him. When we come back, I'm going to decide on your punishment. My decision is final, come back with me" Master Wen grabbed Hua Kui by the ear, giving it a little twist.

She winced in pain but did not resist, resisting would probably result in more suffering.

Master Wen looked back at the two and gave them a polite smile.

"I apologize for my unruly disciple", she said, "Please come with us, I would like to at least repay you for having to put up with her. My name is Wen Jing, one of the teachers of Clear Spring Mountain."

"Clear Spring Mountain?" she thought, it was the same sect as those girls from the Bloody Plains.

After seeing them, she was curious about their sect and had wanted to check it out, now was a pretty good time to do so. Elder Fei must have been thinking something similar, after hearing the name "Clear Spring Mountain", his eyes lit up.

"Clear Spring Mountain?! Such a famous sect! I have always wanted to see it for myself!" he said with a bit of excitement.

Wen Jing smiled, "Please, follow me."

She began walking towards the east, having let go of Hua Kui's ear who had quite the sullen expression. The four of them walked together, traversing through the forest. Along the way, both Elder Fei and Ming Yue were catching up with each other.

After leaving Luan City, Elder Fei went on a journey to comprehend the Dao and reach the Earth Realm. With his dao being that of Taiji, he focused on the concept of duality and balance. Many of his skills pertained to giving and taking, to reverse someone's attack and use their power against them. This was a rather obscure dao and quite difficult to learn, but it was a path that fit him quite well.

Comprehending the Dao and cultivating were two intertwined paths, if one grows the other will follow. It is not impossible to cultivate and not comprehend a dao, but without it, it would be much harder to control your energy, causing it to go rampant often. If you lacked the cultivation rather than the Dao, then you would not have the strength to show what you have comprehended. Thus, without one or the either, it would only become a dead end.

Elder Fei traveled throughout multiple kingdoms in hopes of improving himself. He went through multiple trials with strong beasts and ghostly apparitions, braving the harsh cold of the mountains and the heat of dry desserts. Through it all, he gained a few treasures and his Dao had gone through great changes. After experiencing things life and death, coldness and warmth, suffering and comfort, he had finally reached a new level, turning his minor Dao into a major Dao. In doing so, his cultivation had been smooth and he reached the Earth Realm several months ago, close to reaching the Mind Level as well.

Ming Yue had also told him of her travels, the Youth Tournament, Redmist Sanctuary, and Rong Lu City.

An hour or so passed before they reached the famed Clear Spring Mountain, it was a majestic sight. The largest mountain among the others. Small waterfalls flowed down into larger rivers, trees grew here and there, at the front, they reached a grand gate, pure white and made of stone. At the top were the words, "Clear Sky Mountain" and a long road of steps came after it.

"Welcome to Clear Spring Mountain, please come with me", Wen Jing said, walking up the step with Hua Kui following her.

They walked up the stairs, looking around their surrounding and admiring the scenery. The mountain was not very steep and it had many flat areas around it. Those areas were turned into platforms, holding a few houses here and there. Some had gardens filled with a vast amount of herbs and medicinal treasures. There were a few disciples spread throughout the mountain, cultivating on their own or talking with each.

Ming Yue found it all quite interesting, weirdly enough she saw no male disciples walking up the mountains.

"I suppose this is an all female sect", she thought, but that was quickly dispelled when she noticed several boys dueling each other. All of them wore the same signature white robes but their strength was not very high, somewhere in the middle levels of the Human Realm.

While they were dueling, an older female senior watched them, occasionally stopping the duel to point out flaws.

"You must be wondering about our sect", Wen Jing said, "It's true that our sect is famed for being a female sect, but we do have a small section for men. Most disciples follow the Pure Body cultivation method, a unique method of ours that fits both genders but has a focus on softness. Not many men are willing to do such a thing but there are some that choose this path. Our sect was originally a special group of guards created for and by the first queen of the Clear Sky Kingdom hence the similarity in the names. After her death, we were given the task to defending our kingdom and so became a sect in order to recruit others and become stronger."

"The Pure Body cultivation method is the basis for many of our techniques, where brute strength is not the answer but gentle power. If you are interested I could have someone demonstrate for you", Wen Jing looked at Ming Yue, perhaps attempting to recruit her or just being polite.

As they climbed higher and higher up the mountain, there were less houses and gardens, instead there were small arenas. A simple white stone platform large enough for two people to fight comfortable. Past that, they were nearing the middle sections of the mountain where large halls existed.

There was a total of four halls, all of them were identical buildings made from stone. At the front were some words carved on each of them, there was a "Medicinal Hall", a "Technique Hall", a "Mission Hall", and a "Weapon Hall". Here the disciples were crowded around each of them, mainly the mission hall the practically surrounded.

Ming Yue could guess what these halls were, the Mission Hall was to obtain points to use when purchasing items from the other three halls.

Wen Jing led them past the four halls where the disciples waited patiently to enter. A few minutes later, they reached a building much more exquisite than the rest.

Trees and plants surrounded it, all of them neatly trimmed and taken care of. At the front was a small gate with the words "Clear Spring Hall", the wood and stone that made the walls formed an intricate painting, one of mountains and clouds. Behind the hall was a small courtyard which had a little pond and a fair bit of wildlife residing within it.. It was quite beautiful.