《Little Island Sect》


 Sect members & Realms

    <table width="196">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Realms:</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Qi Training</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Foundation Building</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Core Formation</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Nascent Soul</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Transcendence</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Immortal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="196">Dao Immortal</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table width="813">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Previous Identity</td>


    <td width="86">New Name</td>


    <td width="123">Realm</td>


    <td width="83">Stage</td>


    <td width="83">Gender</td>


    <td width="83">Age</td>


    <td width="137">Root</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Ember</td>


    <td width="123">Core Formation</td>


    <td width="83">4</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">19</td>


    <td width="137">Fire</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Ice Beauty, Sect Elder''s Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Rain</td>


    <td width="123">Core Formation</td>


    <td width="83">3</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Clan''s Core Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Cobalt</td>


    <td width="123">Core Formation</td>


    <td width="83">3</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">18</td>


    <td width="137">Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Master''s 7th Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Wave</td>


    <td width="123">Core Formation</td>


    <td width="83">2</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">16</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Smaller Clan''s Heir</td>


    <td width="86">Silver</td>


    <td width="123">Core Formation</td>


    <td width="83">2</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Clan leader''s illetigimate daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Mint</td>


    <td width="123">Core Formation</td>


    <td width="83">1</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">15</td>


    <td width="137">Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Core Disciple of the Sect</td>


    <td width="86">Blossom</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">14</td>


    <td width="137">Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Core Disciple of the Sect</td>


    <td width="86">Citrine</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">15</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Powerful Clan Master''s Mistress</td>


    <td width="86">Snow</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">16</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Lesser Clan''s Daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Lotus</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Clan leader''s illetigimate daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Marble</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Illetigimate Son of Prime Minister</td>


    <td width="86">Pine</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">16</td>


    <td width="137">Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Lesser Clan''s Heir</td>


    <td width="86">Flame</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">9</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Fire</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Clan leader''s illetigimate daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Amaranth</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">8</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">14</td>


    <td width="137">Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Clan leader''s illetigimate daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Moon</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">8</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">15</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect''s Core Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Glass</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">8</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">15</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Illetigimate Son of a Clan, at odds with letigimate Brother</td>


    <td width="86">Steel</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">8</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">14</td>


    <td width="137">Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">letigimate Son of a Clan, lost against illetigimate Brother</td>


    <td width="86">Hearth</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">8</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">14</td>


    <td width="137">Fire</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Core Disciple of the Sect</td>


    <td width="86">Beryl</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">6</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">16</td>


    <td width="137">Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Core Disciple of the Sect</td>


    <td width="86">Glow</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">6</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">18</td>


    <td width="137">Fire</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Grandson of a Sect Ancestor</td>


    <td width="86">Stream</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">6</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">13</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Master''s illetigimate daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Jade</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">5</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">14</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Princess</td>


    <td width="86">Bell</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">5</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Spring</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">4</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">13</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Core Disciple of the Sect</td>


    <td width="86">Obsidian</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">4</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">19</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Core Disciple of the Sect</td>


    <td width="86">Star</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">4</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Fire</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Noble''s Illetigimate Son</td>


    <td width="86">Bamboo</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">4</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">20</td>


    <td width="137">Water, Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Granddaughter of a Sect Ancestor</td>


    <td width="86">Nerine</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">3</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">12</td>


    <td width="137">Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Violet</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">3</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">12</td>


    <td width="137">Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Topaz</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">3</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">13</td>


    <td width="137">Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Great-Grandchild, twin of Coral</td>


    <td width="86">Pearl</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">2</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">19</td>


    <td width="137">Water, Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Great-Grandchild, twin of Pearl</td>


    <td width="86">Coral</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">2</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">19</td>


    <td width="137">Water, Earth</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Lesser Clan''s Heir</td>


    <td width="86">Dagger</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">2</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">12</td>


    <td width="137">Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Elder''s Disciple</td>


    <td width="86">Dancer</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">1</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">11</td>


    <td width="137">Fire</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Clan leader''s illetigimate daughter</td>


    <td width="86">Holly</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">1</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">11</td>


    <td width="137">Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Blacksmith</td>


    <td width="86">Forge</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">1</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">17</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Alchemist</td>


    <td width="86">Burn</td>


    <td width="123">Foundation Building</td>


    <td width="83">1</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">19</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Blacksmith</td>


    <td width="86">Hammer</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">8</td>


    <td width="83">male</td>


    <td width="83">16</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Alchemist</td>


    <td width="86">Light</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">7</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">12</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Blacksmith</td>


    <td width="86">Flower</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">7</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">14</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Blacksmith</td>


    <td width="86">Spark</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">7</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">15</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Sect Alchemist</td>


    <td width="86">Kindling</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">3</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">13</td>


    <td width="137">Fire, Wood</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Princess</td>


    <td width="86">Orchard</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">2</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">15</td>


    <td width="137">Water, Wood, Metal</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="218">Commoner</td>


    <td width="86">Droplet</td>


    <td width="123">Qi Training</td>


    <td width="83">1</td>


    <td width="83">female</td>


    <td width="83">7</td>


    <td width="137">Water</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Prologue

    32 pairs of eyes were watching the soul lanterns flicker as the ship swayed. The large merchant vessel manned by experienced sailors lay at the pier, ready to set off at their command.


    One of the lights flickered and died. Then another. One by one the lights flickered and died.


    "Why couldn''t they just accept it?" A girl she recognised only after a moment as one of the two famous ice beauties from the inner sect lamented. She didn''t look much like an ice beauty right now. Her smeared make up and dirt obscured her fine features, her long, scruffy hair didn''t even remotely resebmle her usual silken tresses and the dirty sect uniform had a long rip. The ice beauty looked sad, tired and hopeless, just like the rest of them.


    The illetigimate young master who won the tournament just a few months before, who had a famous rivalry with his letigimate brother, was holding his unconscious hated rival in his arms. She had seen him carry that boy through the battle when the city was looted.


    No servants were around the noble princess. They hadn''t been able to keep up as they fled - and as servants they were safer without a hunted master.


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    There were others. The 13 year old boy on her left had been brought to them by his grandfather before the honoured ancestor returned to die with his sect.


    Another light flickered and died. "Mommy!" The cries grew louder.


    Hurried steps from the pier announced the arrival of another person. Another girl. One of the most powerful Clan master''s new concubines, no older than 16 and chosen for her talent just to leave numerous precious descendants. Two faint cries proved that the bundles in her arms were babies. They couldn''t be hers.


    "Do you think they''ll come?" She whispered.


    The ice beauty sighed. "They want to stay for revenge. They''ll probably try to go to the other sects or challenge their fate somehow."


    "As if pools of primordial liquid and secret heavenly manuals could be found anywhere and by anyone if they just wish for it hard enough."


    Sighs were the only response.


    A group of lights died. Not many were left now.


    The first rays of sunlight rose over the horizon.


    "Should we sail now?" The captain asked once again.


    "Yes." She answered as the silence spread. "Before they find us again."


    The ship set sail soon after. The teleportation treasure activated and the vessel disappeared.


    When their sight cleared they saw sunlight. A warm glow, illuminating a lone mountain in the sea.


    "This is home now." She whispered.

 Chapter 1: Names

    "Mighty Dragon Swallowing Sword!" A rather young boy''s voice woke her up.


    "Heavenly Dancing Fairy Palace!" Countered two equally young, shrill voices.


    "Divine Mystic Spring Immortal Cave!" Another demanding and very young voice argued back - only for a girl''s voice to reject it in favor of "Fleeting Flower Blossom Orchid!".


    She groaned as she sat up, waking another girl she was sharing a mat with in the process. The other girl held her ears shut after a moment of desorientation.


    "Children!" A commanding matron''s voice interrupted the argument with a loud clap of very mortal hands.


    The young, powerful cultivator kids that had just been arguing went quiet very quickly. "Sect names are not important right now. I have no doubt your elders will take your suggestions into account, but for now you should wash your hands and faces. Otherwise there won''t be any dinner!"


    She chuckled as she heard the mortal, the captain''s wife if she remembered correctly, scold the proud scions of great cultivator clans like the unruly children they were. It was odd to think that these mortals, the captain and his wife, were the oldest people on the ship now. No elders, no martial uncles or aunts, no masters, no ancestors... just youths younger than 20, a few children and babies.


    She spread out her divine sense and felt the others. She had been far too focused on possible pursuers the night before, but now...


    6 people in Core Formation. She herself, at 15, was the youngest and weakest of them so she couldn''t tell how strong the others were.


    31 were in Foundation Building, in different stages. 12 of them around her age or a little younger and pretty close to Core Formation, too.


    7 in Qi Training.


    Talented descendants and clan disciples of lesser rank. One princess, but none of the princes. All of them of lesser clans, later born children or children from branch families with talent but not much backing.


    No guards. No elders meant to keep them alive. No truly precious treasures she could feel. No, those went with the more important children, like her second and fourth brothers. A lot of girls, fewer boys.


    Of course. What were girls if the family could protect their sons?


    And then there were about 500 mortals. Some of those were probably clan children, future cultivators, but she couldn''t tell which with her current strength.


    Nothing, compared to before, but maybe enough out here, at the edge of the continent.


    Divine Mystic Spring Immortal Cave...indeed.


    With a weak smile she got to her feet and made her way up to the deck. She...wasn''t feeling much of anything. Numb, she thought. Too numb from all the pain and horror. All of them were likely to develop mental demons if they were allowed to brood.


    Outside it was dark again. Apparently they had slept away the entire day. Not surprising, with how long they had been awake the previous day.


    Still, she jumped off the ship and ran across the sea towards the dark blotch obscuring the stars. Their mountain was larger than it seemed, but rather bare. Not much of a shoreline, just cliffs all around.


    As she entered the formation she briefly felt it scan her bloodline. Not an elegant solution, but also not one their enemies could get around either. They just had to hope there were no...mistakes...in their bloodlines. Getting an ancestor wrong in these circumstances, when the spirit of the formation didn''t trust them enough to take orders yet, would be unfortunate.


    The island itself was brimming with qi, drifting like clouds around the mountain. Few trees, but many precious herbs and shrubs, so much so she didn''t need to come close to feel them. No beasts, no doubt thanks to the formation.


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    The mortals couldn''t live there, even if there was a way to get them inside.


    As she reached the cliff she jumped up to take a look. Up to near the peak, where her place as one of the strongest would be, of course. She saw one girl on the way, already digging a cave. As the first at the top she had choices, such as an overhanging cliff with an existing cave containing a qi spring. Very close to the Spirit vein, too.


    She marked it mentally but kept looking - and as luck would have it she found a cliff with a small waterfall. Climbing upwards, she found herself on a nice plateau. The waterfall came from another qi spring in the cliff wall at the back of the plateau and the vein ran through the plateau into the mountain. Just as good in theory as the cave, but much nicer since she could get plenty of sunlight for a garden.


    She spread out her divine sense and marked the plateau as her own while a small smile tugged on her lips. Now if she could get a few trees to grow here she would finally have her very own place, the likes of which only adults and nascent soul cultivators had any right to own.


    "Aww, already taken..." A strange girl grumbled as she was still standing there admiring her very bare plateau that only had a bunch of herbs. That girl''s clothes were clean and her hair was washed, unlike her own.


    She half expected an argument and a fight...but nothing came. The other girl just left to keep looking. It was odd. The girl seemed to be stronger, so...shouldn''t she have been challenged?


    For a moment she contemplated reserving another spot, but...that seemed kind of mean, to reserve all the good spots in advance.


    As she had the wood element she knew all too well that the ground was too rocky for trees right now. She would have to ask someone with earth roots to improve the soil before she could plant anything. And maybe get that someone to make a cave for her, too.


    She remembered the girl making a cave further down - and decided to wash first. With a grin she jumped down the mountain like a monkey, and then onto the ocean to run back to the ship over the water surface.


    She had to get her stuff, after all. Hopefully nobody had stolen her bag. She had copies of all of her families jade slips in there, but not much else except for some bare necessities like soap. And lots of seeds, even the precious types. No spirit stones or tools, sadly. Those went to her brothers, heavens knew where they had fled. Her parents'' soul lamps were with them, but since they went to fight the enemy...well, even if they lived they wouldn''t come to her.


    She wasn''t quite sure if she was glad to be free and safe - or frustrated because she had been left to her own fate.


    With one last jump she landed on board and went into the improvised building on deck. The ship''s belly was full of things, with no space for hundreds of people, so...well.


    Loud discussions greeted her when she entered the smaller room where the cultivators were.


    She almost groaned as she realised that it was the sect name discussion, again. Or maybe still.


    Just as she was looking around for the strongest of them to keep order the captain let out a loud whistle, followed by silence as the noble cultivator youths seemed shocked at first - and then slightly embarrassed at the earlier commotion.


    "Children. Please be reasonable." The elderly man began in that voice that just demanded the listener keep quiet. Authority, that was what his voice conveyed, she thought as she sat down against the wall. "First of all: I am well aware of who you used to be, but do you truly want to keep those names? Why don''t you choose new ones, names your enemies don''t know?"


    He began his speech with an unexpected topic, but maybe she had just missed a big chunk of the entire argument that had taken place.


    "You will have to start again, as a small collection of weaker cultivators. Do you want some other cultivator that has been around for centuries to feel challenged by the ''Divine Dragon Controlling Slayer''?"


    That resulted in a lot of dissatisfied grumbling among the younger boys, but most people seemed thoughtful. She saw a few people nod in agreement. With a mortal!


    "And what will the sects around here think if a few children found a sect with a grandiose name? They''ll think you have something worth stealing. Do you want to be attacked because you call your sect something impressive?"


    "No..." Now there was a consensus that wasn''t the least bit reluctant. They definitely didn''t want to be attacked again. Anything but that. "We just want to cultivate in peace." The ice beauty, who seemed to have washed herself at some point, said. Not many had gotten around to that yet.


    The captain nodded. "In that case I suggest you guys elect a new sect leader tomorrow. Wash yourselves, get changed, have dinner, think about some nice, peaceful names, then sleep some more. You''re not going to accomplish much today in this mood."


    Silence followed for a little while. Then, the crowd dispersed as people went to get soap, a change of clothes and then a bucket of water from the sea the water practitioners cleansed to turn it into pure, sweet water for washing.


    Someone cast some sort of shadow technique to separate boys and girls and she finally got to wash herself.


    Clean and in new clothing she felt much better. Fresh. The minty toothpaste in her mouth made her smile.


    Maybe she should just call herself that. Mint.


    As a cultivator with a wood root it seemed rather fitting.

 Chapter 2: What to do?

    Clean, sated and wide awake thanks to her higher realm Mint sat on deck contemplating what to do. Start her cave? She needed an earth cultivator for that and she doubted her cave was their first priority.


    A lot of people had run over to the island to find their own place, too. The older ones, at least. The kids got a sleeping pill and went back to bed.


    Before she could brood too long the ice beauty waved at her to come over to the captain''s cabin. Two of the other core formation cultivators were standing at the door already while the ice beauty went to find the others, Mint assumed. A meeting of the elders... though seeing herself as an elder felt very odd.


    Still she followed the others into the captain''s cabin. Inside there was a simple table with a few chairs, a whole wall full of storage spaces filled with boxes and a door to another room. The captain and his wife were standing near the back, waiting. Maybe she should have felt insulted that a mortal had called in mighty core formation disciples, but all she felt was relief that someone apparently knew what to do. Or had the willpower and experience to help them find a solution, at least.


    It didn''t take long for all of the strongest disciples to arrive.


    Not just core formation cultivators thoug, but also others.


    Mint turned to the ice beauty in confusion. Before she could ask though the captain''s wife interrupted her thoughts. "All right, children. I am sure you are wondering why we asked all of you to come here."


    All the gathered disciples turned towards her, but nobody spoke.


    "The reason is simple. We, mortals, need to sail to another island nearby tomorrow to settle down. We do not have enough resources as it is and we will need all we have to build a new village. We can''t leave hundreds of people cooped up in this ship." The captain sounded very calm, but the realisation that they had to leave immediately, or at least the next day, hit hard.


    "But, what about the little ones?" One of the weak Foundation Builing disciples that were present for some reason interjected. She was a girl with muscles that made her sleeves strain around her upper arms.


    "We''ll take the babies in until you have a place for them or they''re old enough to become cultivators. A rough cave is no place for a toddler and none of you kids have any idea how to keep a baby alive without accidently letting it starve or freeze. All we would ask is some protection from you when we need it." The captain''s wife explained patiently.


    It was the oddest case of keeping hostages Mint had ever heard of. Caring for babies to ensure their own protection. It wasn''t stupid.


    "Before we get to the details you kids will need a command structure. You need to know who is responsible for what, and who gets to make decisions before you start getting arguments." The Captain said sternly.


    Again, the teens could only nod. He was right, Mint knew. But...she could hardly tell others what to do... except she was one of the strongest now, so of course she had to.The thought just never crossed her mind since, well, she was just an illetigimate daughter. Most of them were daughters, illetigimate or ordinary if talented disciples. None of them had ever been among those prepared for leadership in a sect - or maybe some did have that sort of education?


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    "At this table we have all the Core Formation Cultivators, the strongest Foundation Building Cultivator of the earth and fire element as well as the only Foundation Building Alchemist and Blacksmith. That should be everone you need to create the basic structure of your sect."


    <hr>


    Mint held up the rough plan of their mountain and sighed. There was a big valley in the middle of the mountain they were supposed to turn into a big herbal garden, but once again the line that should have been straight turned out to be crooked.


    "Okay, I give up!" Mint decided on the spot, only to be rewarded with several snickers. Being among the youngest of the people she was supposed to lead was not nice. She had exactly no dignity or respect.


    Instead of mulling things over any more she turned to the two oldest girls, who had water and earth roots - very important to the department responsible for gardening, among other things, really - and threw the map at them. It wasn''t her fault she never learned how to draw a map!


    "I bet you guys know exactly where the qi springs are and you know how the streams running through the garden would reach the soil everywhere. So please, just...do it and tell us what you need." Mint felt defeated. Everyone was getting frustrated with her failed attempt at leadership! She was definitely the worst sect elder ever.


    Next, she turned to one of the girls who were pretty close to Core Formation. "You and two of the others go with Coral, I''ll take the rest to go with Pearl. We will improve the soil while Coral and Pear dig the channels."


    "Make a lake in the middle, so we can plant lotus and water lilies." The young man in her team, Bamboo, suggested. "And you guys should mill the rock to soil where we can''t plant or the soil is too thin while we''re at it."


    Mint stared at him for a moment. 5 years really did make a big difference. Maybe trying to be the sole leader really had been a dumb idea.


    Coral''s frown suddenly turned into a smile. "Good idea. Maybe a forest on the northern edge, a lake in the middle and gardens where we specifically plant certain herbs in the south."


    "What about personal gardens? I want my own!" Little Amaranth, who was a year younger than Mint, demanded.


    Mint shrugged. "We could put those in the east...then in the west we could have a poisonous forest that''s off limits to everyone else."


    "And an Orchard going all around the valley, then we can make wine and have fruit whenever we want!" The other guy, Pine, had another nice idea, as it turned out. Mint smiled at him, earning herself a blush. She looked away as she blushed, too. Working with boys was just too awkward.


    Everyone nodded. Not that any of the girls had ever had wine, but that didn''t mean they didn''t want to try.


    Pine grabbed the mess of a map, pulled the ink off and started drawing from the beginning. Suddenly, the mess Mint had made earlier seemed even more embarrassing as his picturesque map of what they had imagined literally floud out of his brush.He even had the nerve to look smug about it.


    Not that she could say anything, he had every right to be smug, but that didn''t mean she had to like it.


    "Thank you, that looks nice." Mint tried to appreciate his effort, but...maybe she lacked a bit of enthusiasm. "We can hang up the map in our cave later on, when we get one."


    Pine grinned at her, happily, which made her feel kind of bad for being so unhappy with his skill. It wasn''t his fault she was terrible at this, either.


    With a bit more determination Mint nodded. "Okay, Coral and Pearl dig the lake while we take care of the other preparations. Blossom and Amaranth remove the worst brambles and useless grass, Pine and Bamboo make a map of the soil quality and what we can do with it while I prepare the seeds for planting."


    That sounded like a much better plan, Mint thought to herself. Bamboo was the oldest even though he was weak, and Pine had to do the drawing. Removing useless mortal plants was easy enough for the two youngest girls. Coral and Pearl were the only ones capable of making the lake aside from the earth team - and the earth team was busy digging everyone''s caves.


    The others nodded in agreement, too, so that was good. Maybe she wasn''t the worst elder ever after all. Suddenly, she felt much lighter. Ready to do what she loved: play with spirit water while soaking the seeds and then play in the mud - or rather, prepare the seeds for planting.


    Hopefully she could move the bed from their hastily dug out storage area to her own cave by the time the sun set.

 Chapter 3: Watching grass grow

    Her cave was, well, small. And not exactly well made. Just a hole in the cliff, with barely enough space for all of her things as long as they were neatly stacked on the wall opposite her bed - and under her bed. And on the shelf above her bed. She felt like she was living in a storage closet full of seeds, jade slips and a small sack of personal belongings.


    But she got to sleep in a bed in her own cave! Just like everybody else!


    Mint knelt on the newly milled rock. What used to be bare cliffs was lots of wet sand in terrace fields now, thanks to the earth team. This was definitely the reason why she only had a hole to sleep in, not a proper cave like the others even after 4 days in this place.


    The thought that they still had to think of names for their groups and the sect, since earth group was a dumb name, crossed her mind. But that could wait.


    Newly milled volcanic sand was not exactly the right soil for an Orchard, certainly. The balls of mud with seeds soaked in spirit water would take months to be ready, but these fields would take just as long to become a good place for an orchard even with her full effort.


    As the strongest this most difficult task was naturally her duty.


    And as a practical person she chose the practical way. Step one, trow the plant matter they had ripped out in the valley on top of the sand all around the valleyand shred the plant matter while she was at it. Step two, make the qi training kids help because it takes too long to do that alone for the entire circumference of the valley and those kids had the most free time.


    Next, she dipped her finger in a small pouch at her hip to get fungus spores. She closed it carefully after getting her spores and then smeared the spores all over the first few brambles. Add spirit water and then send out her wood element qi to encourage the fungi to grow.


    Not even a minute later she felt fine threads spread through the moist matter. ten minutes later the mushrooms were growing and spreading out happily. If they slowed down Mint added more spirit water. She made them keep growing until the plant matter turned to mush all around the valley - which took about a week of hard work exhausting her qi, body and mind every day.


    The first grass seeds he got to throw into that new soil were a miracle to her. Finally, a proper seed. She spread different kinds of mortal grass amd bush seeds all around the new Orchard''s fields of sand and by the time she arrived where she had started and got to take a break Mint was too tired to go and talk to people.


    Instead, she sat down, sent out a thread of divine sense and focused on one of the seeds. it had a fine layer of sludge all around from the moisture in the soil.


    The seed awakened and spread fine roots, then the first, fragile leaves brocke through the soil. The roots searched for nutrients, found them and transported them to the stem to let the light green, almost transparent leaves grow larger, greener and more solid. Roots spread further, finding water and nutrients as well as competitors underground. The roots fought, the leaves multiplied and grew, catching sunlight to fuel their growth in an endless cycle. Yet the roots were losing. Deeper down there were no nutrients. There was no more spiritual water that had driven its extremely fast growth. The sunlight wasn''t enough to keep up with the speed. The energy in its lifeblood faded.


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    And then it dried up, slowly. The leaves went brown and dry first. The roots struggled to hold on, waiting for water, digging for nutrients. Yet there was nothing.


    At long last the roots shriveled quickly, exhausted from far too fast growth.


    And Mint exhaled. A shiver went through her body as energy pumped through her veins. Something was ever so slightly different. She took a deep breath, exhaled again, ran a cycle of her cultivation technique to see what had happened - and broke through to the second stage of Core Formation.


    When she opened her eyes three pairs of eyes were watching her curiously.


    "Good Morning...are you awake for real this time?" Amaranth asked.


    Mint just blinked at her, still too deep to react properly. Or speak.


    Amaranth sighed. "Okay, so you''re not awake. Fine. Come on Blossom, apparenty we''ve got free time since our leader is still asleep." Blossom allowed the more active girl to pull her along without any resistance.


    Nerine was the only one who remained, though the little girl seemed entirely satisfied just sitting there and watching Mint come to her senses slowly.


    It took almost an hour for Mint to return to full awareness. For a second she contemplated announcing her breakthrough and celebrating, but this was truly not the right time.


    The sight of all the grasses and bushes in the Orchard terrace fields, now dead, was a bit depressing. It was necessary though.


    "Nerine." She called the little girl, who was still watching curiously. "Could you please get a few from the earth group to mix up the sand and soil a bit? I want to sow another round. More green, then a controlled burn, I think."


    The girl nodded obediently, really taking her for an elder apparently. "Yes, elder." And then she was off to find the other group''s elder.


    Being obeyed like that, even if it was just a little girl that had barely cultivated for 2 years, felt odd.


    This was just the second round to make the sand fertile. She would need quite a few more to fertilise the deepest layers. Maybe a bit of Moss? She would just have to get a good balance to get more nutrients into the soil before the trees could be planted.


    A wave of panic spread through her as she thought of the trees - and her other seeds! She had been in meditation for days, what if nobody had thought to water her seeds?


    At a speed she had never reached before thanks to her new cultivation she arrived at the greenhouse within minutes. The sight of mois, dark soil in the boxes through the glass wals helped her calm down, but she still had to go inside to check on her seeds personally.


    They hadn''t suffered at all, as it turned out. She could faintly feel traces of Blossom''s qi all around. That had not been the first person she would have thought of - but then again, she didn''t know the others in her group at all.


    And doing things on her own only to lose her seeds because she was too caught up in something and didn''t prepare a backup was just stupid. Plus, she probably wasn''t the only one getting the occasional distraction from her work.


    No, they needed someone to cover for each person and for later a schedule so people could spend time cultivating in peace. Maybe someone knew something about formations and could automate watering or something? That would be convenient.


    With a smile at her and now also Blossom''s seeds Mint left the Greenhouse. The glass was a bit murky, she noticed. A rush job. She would have to ask for it to be remade once everything else was built. With all the jade slips in her cave Mint really wished there was a library pagoda to store them.


    With a sigh she went back to the terrace Orchards to wait for Nerine and hopefully a few earth root disciples.

 Chapter 4: experience, maturity and lack thereof

    Mint sat down on one of the stone wall rings of the future terrace orchard, waiting for Nerine and hopefully a few earth disciples.


    As she sat there her thoughts started drifting.


    How would one go about building connections? She knew, well, she had talked to the other disciples in the wood group and she had been in a meeting with the other leaders in the captain''s cabin. Then she got the garden project assigned to her and spent most of the time after that watching grass grow and kind of failing at being an elder.


    She didn¡¯t know anyone here. Sure they all had a common ancestor, but that ancestor, whose island they were on now, had died thousands of years before any of them had been born. The island was literally the only reason they were grouped together, with everything from commoners to, as it turned out, two princesses, all mixed up. That didn¡¯t make them friends.


    But if all of her failures had taught her anything it was that she couldn''t just depend on herself. She was a 15 year old girl with no experience or skills aside from playing the flute well and a tendency to lose herself in plants'' growth cycles. That was certainly beneficial for her cultivation, but not particularly useful in this situation. It was very obvious to her by now that choosing the strongest as the leader might not be the best idea.


    She would much rather dig in the mud and play for spirit trees until they grew wooden treasures of her choice than try and lead a group of actual people. Not that she had much of a choice now.


    So that left becoming friends with the others in her group so they could just do all of this together.


    And how would one go about making friends?


    Mint was slightly stumped there. Her friends had been introduced to her by her mother, the main wife or her grandmother and, well, then they had been told to be friends. She could hardly go to the others in her group and order them to be her friends. That would be weird.


    Maybe she could invite them to a tea party? She would need tea, pots, cups, tables, chairs, elegant decoration and so much more for a tea party though. She didn¡¯t even have anything to wear to such an occasion!


    As she was mulling over how to befriend or at least get to know her group little Nerine returned - by herself, unfortunately.


    Mint tilted her head to the side as she wondered what could have prevented the earth group from sending people. It wasn''t like the improvement of their caves was urgent at this point, after all.


    "Elder! There''s going to be a big discussion!" Nerine announced excitedly. "The sect master said to call you."


    Mint waited for a moment, but no further information was offered. "Okay...where and when? And why?"


    Nerine blinked. "Uhm...something with lots of roots? And the kids that didn''t get their introduction at 10."


    Mint sighed. Sending a 12 year old, obedient as she was, might not be the best idea. "And when does the sect Master want to talk about that?"


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    "Oh, later, when everyone is there."


    By now Mint was feeling the sudden urge to invade the little girl''s head and see for herself what she had been told, but that was what demonic cultivators did and could hurt the psychological state of mind badly. Not that she would ever seriously consider it, but sometimes she fully understood why some people wanted a technique like that.


    "And where is there?" She sighed.


    "At the big storage cave!" Nerine grinned proudly.


    Mint did her best to smile at the girl. All she had done in her life had likely been some basic lessons, cultivating and playing. It was good enough that she hadn''t just run off to hide and look for pretty flowers with her friends. "Thank you for informing me. Do you want to come along to the big cave or would you rather wait for the earth group and watch them mix up the orchard soil?"


    Mint recognised that look, surprise and apprehension. Of course Nerine had forgotten about why she had been sent to the earth group in the first place.


    "I...um, I''ll just wait here, elder!" She announced before running off, back towards where she had just come from.


    Mint smirked. Kids could be very obvious.


    She, herself, hurried towards the storage cave. Their biggest and currently only at least partially empty cave as far as she knew.


    The spirit root problem was really their biggest one at this point. If she had someone with earth, metal and wood roots, even if that person was only at Foundation Building, they could have simply turned the rock at the Orchard into fertile soil. No pure earth or metal cultivator had any hope of ever getting soil right.


    But of course in their precious, carefully bred bloodline anything except single and double roots was a rare exception. So much so that they couldn''t send even a single, decent, common 3, 4 or 5 root cultivator with her group - no, the few the bloodline had all went with the more precious groups. The irony, for multiples to suddenly become so precious after getting shunned for their inadequate talent all their life!


    Mint sighed softly. In truth, making a new sect was hard and none of them had any idea what they were doing.


    With many frustrated jumps Mint hopped up the crater, over the peaks and then down the mountain, all the way to the edge of the cliff by the sea. There, she found the big cave, still full of precious jade bed plates, all sorts of stone pots, silver vases and embroidered screens made from more or less precious materials filled with spiritual radiance and other things that were to be expected in a cultivator''s private quarters.


    It would have been a dazzling treasure trove if it wasn''t for the fact that it was all crammed together and sort of messy.


    There were many bed plates, Mint noticed. Too many people who just never arrived at the ship.


    There were no people waiting for a meeting with the sect master though.


    Before she could decide whether Nerine had made a mistake the young woman who had somehow become their sect master showed up carrying a freshly grown wooden table. It was rather simple yet elegant and for a moment Mint wondered which of her team members had grown it. Whoever it was could very well be a good fit for the building team.


    As the wood elder or whatever her group would end up being called it should have been her responsibility to know exactly who it was.


    With a slightly pained smile she bobbed her head towards the sect master - not particularly good manners, but then again her honourable sect leader was currently carrying a table while jumping down a cliff.


    She didn''t have any personal subordinates at all to do things like this for her, so Mint couldn''t exactly judge her for lack of decorum as a sect master.


    "Hi Ember!" Mint waved at her instead and got a good natured grin in return.


    "Hey, there. I''ve got great news, so don''t look at me like that! I''ve got a solution to your problem, even." The girl declared way too smugly to have any dignity as a sect master. "You see, I asked the captain about our little multiple root problem."


    Mint stood up straighter unconsciously. The captain usually knew what to do, after all.


    The sect master''s overly smug expression became even more obnoxious. "I''m going to wait for the others before I tell you though."


    For a brief Moment Mint considered starting a vote of mistrust due to their sect master being annoying so they could replace her with the captain. Then, she followed Ember into the cramped cave to wait for the others.

 Mortals 1: kids

    The Captain smiled to himself as he adjusted the timetable and duties at the newly grown harbour warehouse. Though currently it was the sleeping quarters for most of the settlers.


    Little Holly and Nerine had done amazing work there - though he never would have expected to receive buildings grown from trees over just a few days to his specifications when he signed up for the emigration.


    Once the adjusted timetable satisfied him he turned around, only to discover a group of curious children watching him. His youngest son was among them, as well as other children from settler families, the cultivator children they were temporarily taking care of and even Holly. The sight of a high and mighty Foundation Building Master that was also just a normal 11 year old girl munching on an apple slice like all the other kids her age was still unsettling.


    Cultivators were supposed to be centuries old, aware of their power and highly experienced in everything they did.


    ¡°Captain!¡± And just then an all too familiar voice made him close his eyes in exasperation. ¡°Captain! I have a question!¡±


    The sect master was running over the waves towards the pleasant island the council had chosen as their new home. Close, but, they thought, not too close to the sect.


    Sect masters were supposed to be dignified, powerful master cultivators. Not children who ran to him and his wife whenever they didn¡¯t know what to do. He almost wished he hadn¡¯t told the kids ¨C no, the noble cultivators, he couldn¡¯t just call them kids in his head all the time ¨C to get their sh*t together and get an organisation going.


    He turned around and had to watch the noble cultivator Holly lift his son over her head with a cheeky grin, much to the amusement of the other kids.


    The sect Master¡¯s ¡°Captain!¡± seemed much closer now.


    With a sigh he turned around to see what kind of mess the kids got themselves into this time.


    The sect master¡¯s hair was in braids, she had dirty knees and her expectant eyes were twinkling at him as she stood before him, her absolute confidence that he would be able to solve whatever problem she was dealing with on full display. Like a chick that imprinted on the first thing it saw.


    ¡°Yes, how can I help you today, miss?¡± He asked with raised eyebrows.


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    ¡°We need cultivators with multiple roots at mid foundation building. But it takes decades to train someone like that!¡± Ember explained with a frustrated pout. ¡°So what now?¡±


    Now this, the captain thought, was exactly what he would have expected of a student stumped on their first independent project. It did not look like she had thought about a solution much, just mulling over the problem and why it was impossible.


    ¡°Did you ask your council what they think?¡±


    ¡°Errr¡­this is sort of what I¡¯m supposed to decide as the sect master¡­and Mint and Cobalt asked me¡­and I told them I¡¯d find a way¡­¡± The dignified sect master blushed in embarrassment as she casually crushed a stone between her fingers into fine powder.


    ¡°I see.¡± The captain once again realised that he was dealing with children. Obedient and generally nice children, fortunately. He had seen a lot of arrogant young lords from families like the one she had to be from, but it had never occurred to him that the less important descendants of those houses had to behave and keep their head down to avoid those masters as much as any mortal. No young master would have been willing to admit their own failure like this.


    The answer to her question was rather obvious, but he doubted the kids had the necessary skills to find a suitable lesser cultivator family to recruit. No, it would take life experience and insight into people¡¯s character. He couldn¡¯t risk them taking in any spies, evil cultivators or people who would influence these all too innocent kids and use them for their own goals. Mortals like him would suffer the most if that happened. Maybe her coming to him first really was fortunate.


    ¡°I see.¡± He repeated. ¡°When will you be able to influence your formation¡¯s spirit to allow someone not of your bloodline to enter the island?¡±


    ¡°Maybe next year.¡± The sect master bit her lips. ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°Experienced cultivators with lesser roots and families are often living their life similar to mortal clans. I¡¯m sure we could find a few morally upright masters who would be happy to move to a safer area with their families.¡± The captain explained patiently. ¡°For a family like that to move we would need a clear time frame as they would have to bring the elderly and children closer to the sect, as well.¡±


    And having such families would likely help bind the sect to their settlement for many years to come. Their aid in founding a decent town, local connections as much as their personal power, would be invaluable. Maybe he was cheating the young sect master by only presenting one possible solution, but it truly would be the best in his opinion to bind anyone the sect could recruit firmly to them through more than a bond of obedience towards a stronger power.


    Innocent girl that she was, Ember just seemed happy to have a solution and was almost bouncing in happiness. ¡°You can find them for us? That¡¯s great! Thank you ¨C I¡¯ll definitely send Mint to help grow some more houses for you and I¡¯ll tell Forge to send someone to help make tools for you!¡±


    And then, she was gone, running back over the surface of the sea as if it as the most ordinary thing in the world. He was starting to get used to that, at least.


    Before he could turn away he spotted another figure getting closer to the island, this one surfing on the surface, standing on one leg and occasionally doing summersaults. Probably Stream trying to impress Nerine again. Unfortunately for him, Nerine had gone back to the sect island to help with some sort of garden project.

 Chapter 5: A tantrum

    ?The captain will find root trash for us!¡± Ember announced as soon as everyone was sitting down around he nice table in their cramped warehouse. ¡°Problem solved!¡±


    No introduction, no explanation on why Mint and likely a few others needed people with multiple roots. No info on how the recruits would be chosen. Just that sentence.


    ¡°Root trash?¡± Mint asked in disbelief.


    ¡°What? Servants like that are root trash.¡±


    Mint wasn¡¯t the only one who was currently staring at their sect master in stunned disbelief. Forge and Burn especially seemed offended, likely since they were double roots, though as alchemists and artefact crafters their root combinations had always been appreciated.


    It took a moment for Mint to realise that, as a pure fire cultivator, Ember was a warrior. Single root warriors were just stronger. But still¡­


    ¡°Ember!¡± Rain¡¯s voice cut through the heavy, spreading silence. ¡°First of all, what kind of explanation to our problem was that supposed to be? You just went and ordered the captain to go and do your job for you?¡± If glares could pierce through steel the ice beauty¡¯s stare certainly would. The sect master¡¯s boisterous attitude was melting quickly.


    ¡°And second, how can you, as the sect master who is supposed to preside over all members of the sect, discriminate against certain root types? Types that every sect needs as much as single roots? And openly in front of us as the council, at that?¡±


    She was not screaming. Oh, no. She was speaking quietly and slowly ¨C which somehow made it much worse.


    Their sect master was shrinking into herself as she looked like a guilty child. Mint was a bit surprised at this change. She would have expected haughty defiance, just based on her earlier words. Though¡­maybe their sect master was not as confident as she was trying to look. Maybe¡­Mint took a second look at the silent Ember. Somehow, something about her choice of words seemed familiar.


    ¡°Are you trying to imitate eldest senior brother?¡± Wave asked. Mint and several of the others turned towards him as they realised why it felt so familiar. Claiming other¡¯s hard work as his own, looking down on everybody else, that was exactly what the sect¡¯s heir used to do. He had been openly admired, but Mint doubted anyone really liked him.


    Ember opened her mouth, stopped, closed it again and looked at the group as if she was hoping for someone to help her out of this situation. ¡°I¡­well¡­¡±


    Citrine sighed in exasperation. ¡°I think we need another sect master. As much as I love you, Ember, you are horrible at this. Why are we meeting in a grimy, dark warehouse anyway?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­Well¡­I didn¡¯t really think about that. Who wants to be sect master? Because I don¡¯t want to do this anymore.¡± Ember grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re all mean. You always want something from me and then you criticise my decisions.¡±


    As soon as things got hard she just gave up, of course. Mint could only agree that Ember wasn¡¯t exactly sect master material.


    Nobody seemed interested in continuing the blame game immediately at least.


    ¡°So, what did you actually talk to the captain about?¡± Rain asked, before the silence turned into bickering.


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    Ember pouted at her, but responded. ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of a solution so I asked the captain how we could get experienced people with multiple roots.¡± After a moment of silence, she apparently felt the need to add: ¡°I didn¡¯t call them root trash in front of the captain!¡±


    The encouraging nods of agreement seemed to throw her off slightly. Asking a mortal was kind of strange, after all. Not having proper elders was even more unusual though, so anyone with some life experience and leadership skills was better than, well, a few teens that didn¡¯t have any idea how a sect should work.


    ¡°And he said he would contact tiny, weak clans. The cultivators can be in the sect and the mortals can live with the mortal town, so they can¡¯t do anything bad.¡±


    Mint nodded. That did seem like a good solution. And with the captain choosing who to recruit they likely wouldn¡¯t mess up and get a demonic cultivator or something. It was a pity the captain was a mortal. Though she kind of wondered whether he had ever been checked for spirit roots¡­her eyes widened as she noticed something crucial.


    ¡°Hey, different topic, but, how are we supposed to find out if someone has spirit roots now? We don¡¯t have anyone in nascent soul!¡± Mint interrupted the murmurs of agreement.


    ¡°We can discuss that later, okay? I¡­we should all think about solutions ourselves until next time.¡± Rain decided.


    ¡°We have to decide who the sect master should be next time, too!¡±


    Once again everyone was staring at Ember in shock. Apparently, nobody had really considered kicking her out just because she said something undeniably stupid.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I don¡¯t want to be sect master. Whoever wants to do it can be sect master, okay?¡±


    Again, an awkward silence spread. Nobody had anything else to say. There were no suggestions on who could be a possible better choice or volunteers either.


    Since they were apparently collecting topics and stopped the meeting Mint pulled a piece of paper out of her wide sleeves and noted both points down with a charcoal pen. After doing that she realised writing down decisions might also be a good idea to keep a record for herself. So she turned the piece of paper around, wrote ¡®1<sup>st</sup> council meeting¡¯ plus the recruitment topic down and then added that the captain would look for possible recruits.


    When she looked up again the meeting was somehow dissolving, though Mint wasn¡¯t quite sure why it felt wrong. Shouldn¡¯t someone say that it was over? Or do something else? They had discussed what they had come for, but something about this abrupt ending felt wrong.


    Still, since the others were leaving she left, as well.


    Back at her by now far more familiar orchard terrace she found someone from the earth group had mixed the soil and stone dust, much to her relief. That meant she could continue with something she loved and could forget about complicated matters for a while and didn¡¯t have to talk to anyone who might expect some sort of intelligent decision from her. Sure, she would have to inspect her group¡¯s work later, but, she realised only now, at least she actually knew what she was doing when it came to plants. So this wasn¡¯t quite as bad as being sect master would have been.


    With a much more relaxed expression she went to get some moss from the cliff walls, watered her sandy soil and then spread the moss out all over the terraces.


    While she worked she still couldn¡¯t stop thinking, no matter how she tried to focus on her task at hand.


    Who could be sect master?


    Maybe Silver, since he used to be the heir to a clan? Mint knew about him because her grandmother had mentioned a possible engagement between him and her or one of her sisters before. Or Wave or Rain, since there were two people with water roots in Core Formation. Definitely not Mint herself though. She was ¨C well, maybe not the weakest anymore, but still the youngest and she doubted anyone would suggest her.


    Maybe they should choose the oldest person, even if that person was in Foundation establishment. She had no idea who the oldest could be, but making the oldest an option couldn¡¯t be wrong. The older princess might be an option, too. Surely she would know more about how to get a sect to work?


    Mint was channelling her qi into the moss to let it grow all over the terraces. On top of that, she thought, she would sow a mix of mortal plants again, but this time it would be brambles. Brambles, and then have someone burn everything. The point was simply to make many different things grow, after all, until she had good, rich soil. Diversity in many cycles, to simulate nature. After the brambles she might get some conifers growing, then turn the trees to mush and mix them into the soil.


    As her thoughts drifted off Mint almost managed to forget the predicament they were in.