Immortal Druid

[POV: Kang Wen]

A few days passed peacefully in the hidden forest camp.

Kang Wen gradually learned the rhythm of life among the trees. It wasn’t bad. He couldn’t quite say it was good, either. The daily chores reminded him of his early years as an outer disciple in the Steel Sky Sect with endless errands, sweeping, fetching water, and chopping wood. The difference was the abundance of spiritual resources here. The forest brimmed with rare herbs, spirit fruits, and natural qi veins perfectly suited to each person’s spiritual roots. It was as if the woods themselves provided whatever a cultivator needed for steady progress.

The only real drawback was the absence of proper cultivation manuals or formal instructors. Senior Wo Li made up for that by sparring with them whenever asked, offering guidance through direct combat that sharpened their techniques far better than any lecture could. As for the other two companions, Kang Wen still didn’t know what to make of them. The bald monk Guo Yimu acted like a spoiled young master from a wealthy clan, his rotten personality and hidden treasures giving him away. The young lady Li Ming seemed to hold some special status as well; Xing Ning treated her with unusual respect, and Senior Wo Li never forced her into menial labor. In fact, she often volunteered for it herself.

In the end, Kang Wen decided it would be safest for the young master to remain here. Xing Ning was well-protected under Senior Wo Li’s watch and appeared to be viewed favorably by the group. The young master had even been gifted a precious sword that made even Kang Wen’s heart ache with envy.

On the morning of his departure, Xing Ning stood before him with a reluctant expression.

“Senior Kang Wen… do you really have to go and leave me here?” Xing Ning asked quietly, voice laced with worry.

Kang Wen placed a steady hand on the young man’s shoulder and spoke with calm conviction. “This is for the better, Young Master. Learning from Senior Wo Li will be invaluable to your growth. Besides, the sect is at a sensitive time right now, especially in locating the traitor who caused the incident in the secret realm.”

It was a lie by omission. The search for the traitor had nothing to do with why Kang Wen wanted Xing Ning to stay behind. He had deliberately withheld the truth: the Steel Sky Sect and much of the domain were still under heavy attack. The important thing was that Xing Ning remained safe. He was the living legacy of their sect. The Sect Leader had long ago imprinted the core sword arts and cultivation methods directly into the young master’s bloodline. It was a secret technique passed down from their founding ancestor’s unique constitution. As long as that bloodline endured, the Steel Sky Sect could rise again like a phoenix from the ashes.

Guo Yimu leaned against a tree nearby, sweeping lazily with his broom and complaining loudly. “Aiyo… now there’s no one left to share the chores with. Who’s going to help this poor monk carry water and chop wood every morning?”

Li Ming crossed her arms, looking genuinely disappointed. “Tch. I’ll lose a decent sparring partner. Senior Kang’s sword moves were getting fun to dodge.”

Kang Wen cupped his fists respectfully toward the two of them. “Guo Yimu, Li Ming… This Kang Wen thanks you both for looking kindly upon the young master. Please continue to treat him well in my absence.”

He then turned toward the treetop where Senior Wo Li sat reading a novel, legs dangling casually from a thick branch. Kang Wen bowed deeply.

“Senior Wo Li, this junior thanks you greatly for everything you have done. I will repay this kindness ten-fold when the opportunity arises.”

Senior Wo Li didn’t even look up from his book. He turned a page and remarked casually, “No need. Just stay safe.”

Kang Wen straightened, a complex mix of gratitude, worry, and determination settling in his chest. With one last glance at Xing Ning, he mounted his flying sword and rose into the sky, leaving the peaceful forest camp behind.

The Sword Frenzy had a sect to return to and a war that refused to wait.

…

..

.

I felt bad for Xing Ning. He still didn’t know the full truth. Kang Wen had mentioned something about a war in his sect, and it clearly wasn’t over yet. I could have told Xing Ning everything right then, but I had to respect Kang Wen’s resolve.

If I was going to give the young master the push he needed, it had to come from something he sincerely wanted, not from me forcing the information on him.

I dropped down from my tree, stuffing the novel I had been reading back into my storage ring. “What do you think, Xing Ning?”

Xing Ning hesitated, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword. “I felt like Senior Kang Wen was lying to me,” he admitted quietly. “He’s never been good at hiding things from me… but he still tried.”

It seemed he really had no idea about the scale of the conflict, but the fact that he had caught the lie showed he wasn’t completely clueless after all.

Guo Yimu, who had been leaning against a tree, suddenly dropped his usual monk act and spoke in a surprisingly serious tone. “Of course he’s lying.”

Unexpectedly, the bald young man stopped pulling his exaggerated monk impression entirely. “His clothes were in tatters when he came, weren't they? Not to mention all that blood. Senior might’ve healed his injuries, but with that much blood loss, he must’ve fought a terrible battle. I’ve seen my gramps come home looking exactly like that many times. He’d always shrug it off like it was nothing, but I knew better. Must be nice, being a young master, huh? Going so far as to cross domains just to reach you and make sure you’re safe—”

Li Ming smacked him hard on the back of the head. “You are a young master too, idiot!”

Guo Yimu rubbed the spot with an exaggerated wince and complained loudly, “That doesn’t mean because I’m bald it’s fine to smack me on the back of the head again and again! Have some respect for this poor monk’s scalp!”

“You are not even a real monk!”

Xing Ning looked deeply troubled. He turned to me, eyes searching for guidance. “What do you think I should do, Senior?”

I reminded myself that this guy was basically still a teenager, despite his impressive physique from cultivation. He had only just turned seventeen. That meant he had been fifteen when I picked him up from that village where he had nearly been killed in a duel.

I sighed softly. “I won’t be coming with you, so will you still go?”

He held the Blackedge Eclipse out toward me, offering the precious sword back. “Senior, I’m going—”

I gently pushed the blade back into his hands. “Take it. Consider it my blessing. If you’re going, you have to hurry, or Kang Wen will leave you in the dust.”

A look of firm resolve flickered across Xing Ning’s face. He drew the sword with a sharp ring of steel, channeled his qi, and shot into the sky on a streak of light, chasing after his protector.

It was definitely not the responsible thing for an adult to do, letting what practically amounted to a child fly off to war. But this was the cultivation world at the same time.

Li Ming watched Xing Ning disappear into the distance, then turned to me with a curious frown. “Senior, why do you look so conflicted?”

I answered her question with one of my own. “Can you tell me about cultivation realms? How young do they usually start?”

Li Ming scratched her cheek awkwardly. “Um… I don’t know…”

Guo Yimu immediately guffawed. “Hah~! I didn’t know you were so ignorant, princess—”

“Don’t call me that!” Li Ming screamed at him, face flushing red as she raised her hand threateningly again.

I felt the weight of Xing Ning’s departure settle over the camp like a quiet fog. Li Ming and Guo Yimu stood beside me, the usual banter between them dying down as they noticed my silence.

“It was preferred to start as young as five years old,” explained Guo Yimu, voice steady and surprisingly mature. “But even then, it was not guaranteed for one to have talents in cultivation. The existence of spiritual roots is the absolute basis of cultivation. A lack of it means no matter how much you dream of cultivation, you will never be able to do it. This logic also applies between realms, since some would peak in Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment and never go further. At the bare minimum, cultivators would have to go through Body Tempering before they start interacting with qi in a more efficient manner. However, most cultivators would skip this stage with the blessings of a higher-level cultivation method and quickly start with Qi Condensation. Various sects would follow different philosophies and teachings, but at their core, they are a dog-eat-dog world. That is why hierarchies are very important within sects. Most outer sect disciples are only mortals or stuck at Body Tempering. In order to advance, you’d have to show talent or some other qualities worth taking you in… like, for example, being a son or a grandson of an elder, like me.”

Guo Yimu gave a small, self-deprecating smile. “I confess, being born to the right parents is a skill too. And like me, Xing Ning had that opportunity, and at the same time, the responsibilities attached to it. That meant cultivating zealously, so I wasn’t envious of Xing Ning one bit despite being five years younger than me and having roughly the same cultivation. That level of ‘talent’ or ‘dedication’ must mean a lot of people have huge expectations of him. On the surface, I was of the same cultivation and roughly the same age, but the truth was that he and I were very different. Essentially, he and I were what you’d call manufactured geniuses, thus young masters."

I realized slowly that I might’ve underestimated this cultivation world subconsciously. I had seen the flashy battles and the qi techniques, but I had never truly grasped how mercilessly the system shaped people from the moment they drew their first breath.

Guo Yimu continued without missing a beat, as if he had given this lecture a hundred times before. “The standard is that at least before fifty years old, one must reach the beginnings of Qi Condensation already, gaining you a maximum lifespan of a hundred years. At Foundation Establishment, you gain a century or two. Cultivation is essentially a rat race against death, so I believe it to be foolish for Senior to ask how young they start, when the moment a person is born, the rat race has already begun.”

It was honestly a really bleak way to look at life. I knew what a rat race was like from Earth, and I didn’t like it. I thought I had left that world behind, but that world might chase me here. I guessed it would really be for the best for me to isolate myself from the cultivation world as much as I could, huh?

Ugh…

I wasn’t blind to the reality that this wouldn’t last forever. After all, there must be a purpose why I came to this world, right? The more time that passed, the more certain I became of it, and I was dreading the day I would have to abandon this lifestyle.

Li Ming stepped closer and placed a gentle hand on my arm, her voice soft and reassuring. “Senior, don’t look so conflicted. Xing Ning could handle himself. He was a true genius, unlike a certain bald donkey over there.”

Guo Yimu immediately protested, puffing out his chest. “Hey! Who are you calling a bald donkey? This humble monk is a manufactured young master too, you know! I have feelings!”