The… river… runs… down… the hill.

  "Put down your brushes, the test is over."

  I slam my brush down, thankfully finished writing the final answer in time.

  The outer disciple teaching, an older one, comes down the row and takes the sheets offered from other disciples including my own. As soon as the paper, something like parchment but smoother, is out of my hands I groan and slump in my seat.

  I thought I would be happy, learning how to read and write, something I never thought I would get a chance to learn but no one said how hard it was!

  Surrounding me are outer disciples wearing our sky-blue robes, so soft, all from similar situations, not knowing how to read and write. It's something the sect cannot tolerate among their ranks and has mandatory classes for those that don't pass the initial test.

  I of course absolutely failed said test.

  A few took to it like fish in water and have almost graduated within the month since we started, and others more on track, and looking to be graduating within two. Apparently, there's something called a formation written into the walls that helps us learn how to read and write. The elder said it works for simple topics, the skills being so foundational to the one that laid it that the qi it manipulates naturally pushes our minds to learn faster.

  Doesn't work with anything harder than this though, at least not without being extravagantly expensive to create.

  There are some that it barely affects, noticeably lagging behind. Unfortunately, I'm in that number as it takes a while for me to understand and put down what's taught, but unlike a few others in my position I spend a long time in my room working on it, so I think I'm about average with the class nowadays.

  A few of those that it doesn't work well with however include disciples far older than us. The outer disciples that teach ignore them, especially when they corner some of the younger students in the class to 'help' them out.

  I deliberately ignore the three pushing a mousy disciple back down into his seat and start talking about helping their senior brothers and head to my next class.

  New outer disciples get the first three months to take advantage of various classes setup to help them start on their path, along with a small allowance for food and a temporary exception of the mandatory missions all disciples are expected to do.

  I slide into a room with raised seats, surrounding an outer disciple halfway into giving a monotone lecture.

  "-idian Creation is when one truly starts to feel the qi within their body, actively moving it and flowing through the nine atrophied meridians to strengthen them to make way for Qi Condensation, and then Foundation Establishment where our founder and Sect Leader currently resides. Of course, you should forget about the latter two and focus on honing your body to prepare yourself for Meridian Creation, a weak foundation will make one succumb to the qi rampaging through your flesh."

  The man then goes on about different exercises and resources that can help one to build your body. Exercises I can do. Resources? Not so much, even the lowest recovery pill is one beyond what I can afford right now.

  I guess that's why they focus so much on accomplishing missions or gaining employment at one of the various Halls in the sect. The latter however are significantly harder to gain a spot in, near impossible for me given I don't know anyone nor am part of a family of any standing.

  My only path is luck or slogging through better paying missions when I finally can.

  Although he starts going over things I've already learnt, I stay. Lecturers change every week, sometimes bringing up new topics or exercises I include into my regimen so it's worth staying just in case.

  It's soon over and others get up, moving in groups to socialize or train, very few going alone. I myself head to the building where I was assigned a room, living with a few dozen other disciples spread across the floor and building.

  But I have my own room! That's the most important part.

  I just grab my spear, the same one from the trials which they let us keep, before heading back out. My destination being one of the more popular places around, the sparring grounds.

  There are a bunch spread throughout the outer area where we outer disciples live, but the one I'm heading to is the largest, under the purview of an outer elder and some of his personal disciples which we get taught by.

  I say teach but it's more like they gave us a few katas with swords and spears, not really hiding their preparing us for the army, before calling it a day and sending us to spar. From the elder's words, there's no teacher better than real combat.

  The reason I keep going back is they do sometimes go around critiquing the fights, some of which has helped in cleaning up my form.

  Hasn't helped me get past basic thrusts and slashes though, unlike some others.

  Going through the gates of a walled off courtyard reveals the large grounds. Dirt floor littered with outer disciples with only a single, small building on the other end of the courtyard. Thankfully the time is slotted for new disciples to practice relatively safely without worrying about fighting significantly stronger and experienced disciples.

  Some look to be practicing katas and moves on their own, but most are in or waiting around sparring circles monitored by the elder's personal disciples.

  Looking around, I spot a spar about to finish up as the disciple hands advice to the two and I walk over.

  It clears and I give a nod to the disciple overseeing and wait a moment before a girl walks in and of course, holding a sword.

  We get in our stances and wait for the signal before starting. The girl hangs back and circles, logically wanting to stay away from the sharp stick but I don't stay still and whip the blade at her with a step.

  She takes a quick step back to get out of the arc of my swing, charging in once it passes and I have to strain a bit to slow my momentum to a stop, my heart jumping a bit as my hand slid up further than I wanted in the swing so I have to put more effort to stop the heavy swing.

  Although I was waiting for the opening, I almost don't meet her diagonal slash with the butt of my spear in time.

  Her eyes widen and in a panic, jerks her head back in time for her to dodge the capped end. But the pole still stops her strike cold and her sword rebounds from the rebuff, leaving her wide open as she tries to adjust from the force.

  My hand near the butt slips off and I send a fist straight at her face. Her free arm gets up in time to block it with her forearm, but the force and her position sends her stumbling to the ground.

  She can't recover in time before my spearpoint is in her face and the overseer calls it.

  Giving a slight bow, I stay in the ring as the disciple gives her some tips she takes before stepping out.

  "Watch your hands, you forget about the spear between moments and it ends up betraying your expectations."

  I give a nod at the advice. It's something that I've been trying to work on, but even a month later it's difficult to make the weight of the pole comfortable in my grip.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Taking a few breaths to calm my heart between bouts, it's not long before the next one arrives, previously talking with a few other disciples to the side and watching nearby matches.

  "Brother, would you mind if we spar without weapons?" I tilt my head in confusion, he's asking for it but doesn't sound very enthused to do so.

  It's something he catches, "My elder brother is forcing me to, he isn't here today but he'll know if I skip it and I'd rather not deal with him then."

  Giving an amused smile I agree with a nod. Depositing my spear out the ring, I get in position, low stance with both hands up, one arm slightly outstretched and the other close and protecting my head. My opponent gets in a slightly different one, but quite awkwardly.

  Although I'm lagging behind with my spear, I can't say the same with my fists.

  It's over quick as I dash in, not needing to stay further as with the reach of a spear, and dodge the reactive jab from my opponent, the movement telegraphed and stiff, and uppercut into his gut through his open guard.

  "Oof!"

  The air is pushed out of him, and he drops to the ground coughing. I held back a decent bit but a gut shot is still something to recover from if you're not used to it.

  I offer a hand which he takes once he's recovered.

  "Again?"

  I only get a sullen nod in response.

  The next few bouts last a little longer as I change it up each time, hanging back on the defensive, weaving through his strikes, even practicing some kicks and grapples, the latter of which takes us to the ground with him tapping after I get his arm twisted behind his back.

  "Good instincts," an elderly voice speaks up.

  Turning at the new, but familiar voice, I bow slightly towards Outer Elder Leishen, my opponent picking himself up from the dirt and bowing as well.

  The elder looks old, and as he's said he's at the second stage of Qi Condensation and them having lifespans of about 200 years means he's actually old unlike the elder from my recruitment trials. But even with his beard, his body looks as lean and strong as other cultivators around and from what little his robes don't cover, the scars show he's experienced quite a bit of combat. Likely why he's in charge of overseeing combat for outer disciples.

  "Rough, but much better than that spear work of yours," he says before turning and walking away, other disciples bowing as he passes.

  The elder's disciple steps forward once his teacher is gone, "As my teacher said, you are good for your experience, but flesh alone cannot beat steel. Focus on your spear work, but do not allow your bare-hand skills to stagnate."

  I give a nod in response as he turns to my opponent to give tips before he adds in, "Also, I highly recommend you do not grapple an opponent as you did. Cultivators are strong, and some carry tools that can prove fatal up close so it is best to stay out of their reach."

  With that I leave the courtyard after a few more bouts, dirty but still full of energy even after the spars. Grabbing a quick snack from one of the various restaurants spread through the outer sect manned by mortals, we all have to eat somewhere, I head towards the edge of the sect.

  It's not long before I arrive at a small courtyard near the wall of the sect, far from the more populous areas of the sect and mostly in disuse. I say mostly as there are signs of others using it as well, but I never end up encountering them and I don't bother to change my schedule to do so.

  Inside is a perfect place to exercise without issue. Nestled between two storage buildings and a third side blocked by a small bamboo forest as part of a garden, it's perfect. It's also relatively bare save for a huge pile of shaped rocks stacked to the side present in nearly all training grounds.

  Resting my spear against a wall, I warm myself back up by running from one end to the other without pause, lasting 15 minutes before I stop, sweating and huffing.

  Grabbing the rocks, I use them for what they were made for and start on my exercises. Push-ups, sit-ups, and anything else that I can safely push my body with what I have on hand, that being rocks. Bodyweight alone no longer challenges me and I can't afford proper weights yet nor do I wish to wait in the long lines at the buildings where communal weights are, the 'gyms'.

  But my lack of options does let me get creative. Cloth isn't that expensive here, especially the roughest ones I could find, and I know how to sew. That led me to making pouches I can tighten over my body to hold weights easier; a direct copy of the better ones sold for ten times as much as I spent making these.

  I'm in the middle of doing a burpee, a strange name but something an outer disciple recommended which does work, when a visitor arrives.

  Tie Feng walks in, bag in hand and jian on his waist, giving a nod to me and goes about doing his own workout. It's not longer after before Lan Yue also arrives, the girl heading to a clear area near the bamboo to start her own training.

  Hers is quite different than my own workout, focusing more on flexibility and balance with less of a focus on strength. It's something we were taught can work depending on one's fighting style but I very much dislike it compared to using weights. I eventually started doing some along with her, Tie Feng joining as well and I definitely see the benefits from it after she taught us, no matter how much I despise it.

  It's annoying that I can barely last a few minutes in a handstand while she can for hours at a time, and she knows it does! I've seen her smug smirks!

  None of us share classes, Tie Feng is a tanner's son in Cloudrest so he was taught how to read and write, same for Lan Yue who comes from a small merchant clan that trades between a few cities under the sect's reach. However, with us not knowing others in the sect, the other two being the first to join a sect in their families, we unofficially decided to stick together and help each other out.

  "I got a chance to visit the outer library today," Tie Feng mentions, sitting atop the rock on my back as I hold a plank. "The outer disciple teaching us today works there and was able to get us a chance to visit and you have no idea how many books there were!" He says with excitement.

  Lan Yue hums while balancing on a foot atop a young bamboo stalk, rocks as large as her head in either hand.

  "I've never seen that many books in my life! It had any topic I could think of!" He babbles on about the various books he saw.

  It was clear after the first few days he was nervously getting used to us and the sect that he was clearly more interested in the scholarly areas of being in a sect. It is something an elder saw in him after the first week and put him into an advanced class filled with similarly minded people where he spends most of his time rather than going to the sparring grounds.

  It's honestly curious why he still comes with us given how different the environments must be. Though it may be because he doesn't want to talk to strangers.

  I get that.

  "What. About. Technique. Scrolls," I grind out, Tie Feng shifting around making it harder to keep the weight balanced.

  "Oh there was a bunch of those as well! I only got to see the Martial Arts though. From what I was told the Mortal techniques are stored in the inner library and the few Spirit ones the sect has are in the sect palace and only a few core disciples get to see them," he explains.

  Martial Arts are fighting styles one can use without qi, plentiful of course as any can make one, but it is rare for one to find one suitable for themselves. Mortal techniques are rarer, born from those that refined their arts to the brink, evolving a few moves into signature techniques capable of surpassing any technique in a Martial Art in pure comparison. Spirit techniques are the treasures of the sect, infused with qi that can accomplish tasks far beyond the reach of mortal skill. Shaped from the insights of Qi Condensation and even Foundation Establishment cultivators, they are truly techniques that can change the tide of battle.

  My goal, of course, is to save up for a Martial Art. The cost of it though is quite expensive, needing to save sect contribution points from missions with a typical new disciple needing to save at least ten missions worth before being able to take one.

  As the only missions given to new disciples are menial ones, it's quite the slog to get. And a Mortal technique is not even worth considering unless I save up for at least a year or two or get into the inner sect.

  Huffing, now at my limit, I tilt and slide the rock off, Tie Feng going with it to the ground with a squawk.

  I huff a laugh through my deep breaths at him scrambling to get up while Lan Yue giggles at the sight.

  Not sure what Lan Yue does during the day, she talks to a few other new disciples whenever she comes by the sparring grounds to spar with me, and it seems like she's trying to make connections with the few others coming from a merchant clan from what I overhear.

  Good for her.

  I lay there recovering as he complains to me about getting dirty and I banter with him before starting another exercise while he follows and pulls out a book.

  The sun's going down by the time the two leave, waving them goodbye as I continue on.

  Taking my sweat-soaked top off, I start a run around the courtyard with the weights on my arms, torso and thighs and my spear on my back for added measure.

  By this point I'm well beyond tired, barely able to move as an hour goes by but I keep pushing, knowing from experience and from what I've been taught that the only way to advance is to push yourself to your limits constantly.

  That's what I do and it pays off.

  While distracting myself from the sweet pain by thinking about all the meat I'll be eating soon after, the allowance I get more than enough to afford as much meat as I can eat, I feel it happen.

  One second I'm struggling to take two steps, and the next I feel a second wind, energy coming from somewhere I never knew existed before and I'm moving.

  Not as fast as I started, but far more than I was half an hour ago. The speed catches me by surprise however and I tumble to the ground as I lose my pace.

  Staring up at the dark sky, I just breath.

  Three months. Two months after the beast wave and one since I got into the sect. It took three months to reach the sixth stage.

  I let out a whoop as I jump up from the ground, beyond happy that I somehow advanced a stage in a timeframe I never thought possible.

  It's the meat. Definitely the meat. Oh, and the workouts too. But meat first and foremost.

  My stomach agrees with me as it rumbles, and I quickly acquiesce to its demands and throw off the weights and on my top as I run out the courtyard ready to celebrate.

  I stop for a moment though and take a sniff.

  "Ugh. Showers first, then meat."