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  Though a land of fading mysteries and meagre gains, should a man find themselves blessed with a body capable of learning Heaven’s fallen Arts, he may choose one of four Paths to walk within the 103rd Outer Province.

  Head to the Four Mountains that stand in the centre of the state, and upon those hallow peaks, choose:

  Should they crave valour in bloodshed, or otherwise possess martial skill in the staff or glaive, a man may seek the Beheaded Phoenix Sect. Through the trials of combat, their worth may be discerned, and they might find their Divine flesh in the exsanguinated ashes of the undying fighting cult.

  Should they hold no mortal obsession over one’s flesh or mind, or otherwise possess skill in the sword or the brush, a man may seek the Decaying Greyroots Sect. Through a jar of parasite eggs ingested, their worth may be discerned, and they might find their Divine flesh in the festering larvae of the body-shifting cult.

  Should they yearn for peace and stillness, or otherwise possess skill in fists or maul, a man may seek the Inverted Monk Sect. Through tests of patience across maddening eternity, their worth may be discerned, and they might find their Divine flesh in the thousand-turns labyrinths of the distance-deciphering cult.

  Should they be mad of mind, drowned in lust, void of wit, or otherwise possess suppleness in flesh and organs, a man may seek the Split-headed Carnivores Sect. Through a night of passion with unearthly beauties, their worth may be discerned, and they might find their Divine flesh in the bottomless stomach of the man-eating cult.

  — A popular parable within the 103rd Outer Province

  “You aren't going to get dressed first?”

  Upon hearing his Senior Brother’s question, the Young Master looked down upon his complete state of undress, and shrugged. “Later. If I do it now, I’m just going to get blood over the robes when we meet Senior Sister Jin.”

  “And you don't think there’s anything wrong with us being naked right now?”

  Feng looked around pointedly, where the Disciples of the Sect were rushing about, utterly uncaring of their nudity. The two of them were hardly the only ones in a state of undress; more than a few Inner and Core Disciples had already abandoned their robes to the side as they went to combat the flames, and the evacuated Apothecary station was littered with naked disciples who were just recently resurrected.

  Resistant as the materials were, the robes of the Sect were not completely fireproof. Given how expensive they were to replace, it was no wonder that many Core Disciples simply opted to fight the inferno with only their bare skin. Their cultivated bodies could bear the fires of the Beheaded Phoenix Sect far better than any fabricated material the cult could provide.

  Moreover, nearly every single Disciple within the monastery was male — and hardly an unpleasant sight besides, given their accomplished cultivation. The proud nature of cultivators as a whole, combined with the exposed state that the Headless Impure Resurrection technique often leaves the Disciples in, meant that the sight of public male nudity was not as much of a taboo or even uncommon as it might be among other Sects.

  Funnily enough, Lianshi once mentioned that the Split-headed Carnivores Sect also suffered from a similar issue due to their transformation techniques, though theirs obviously pertains to female nudity rather than the male form.

  “Do not let me stop you, Brother Dai,” the Young Master replied. “I would even ask that you don your robes since there are the foreign female disciples about. In fact, there is no need for you to follow me if you have other duties to attend to. I shall be fine.”

  “Oh no, I’m not letting you and Jin alone together,” Brother Dai said. Feng raised an eyebrow at the familiar way he spoke her name. “I would be failing my responsibilities as Senior Brother if I left you with her like this.”

  Feng looked quizzingly at him. “I must admit to not knowing Senior Sister Jin that well, but from our limited interaction, she strikes me as a calm and rational individual. I doubt she would hurt me.”

  “Jin’s deposition is fine,” the other disciple waved his hand. “Far better than that hedonistic wretch we talked to earlier. I’m more worried about what will happen if you two are seen naked and alone together. Can you imagine the rumours that will spread? The results would be apocalyptic.”

  Feng considered his Brother’s words. “I suppose whispers of infidelity this close to the wedding would be bad for our Sect’s relations.”

  “What? No, I was referring to Lianshi’s reaction if she hears you have been having nude dalliances with female disciples other than her.” Brother Dai chuckled. “Bad enough that you kept refusing to become physically intimate with her before the wedding. If she realises you might have given away your chastity to someone else before her, I doubt there’s anyone around who can save you.”

  The Young Master rolled his eyes. “Lianshi isn’t some rabid beast or jealous mistress to go into a rage at the first illicit rumour. And besides, how would you know if I haven’t already lost my chastity? I’m hardly a child any more.”

  Brother Dai raised an eyebrow. “Because it’s you.”

  Ouch. Well, if they were to speak of illicit relationships and dalliances… Feng cautiously broached upon the topic.

  “Do I even want to know what your relationship with her is?”

  It did not take long for Brother Dai to realise the Young Master was not talking about Lianshi any more.

  “There is no relationship,” the senior disciple grunted. “Or at least, not in the way you are thinking.”

  Even as Brother Dai said that, he kept stealing glances back down to the clearing they had just left behind. The two of them were ascending the stairs back up to the base of the burning tower, still completely undressed and utterly uncaring of the searing heat that poured from the inferno ahead.

  Feng reached out and subtly mingled a strand of his qi with Brother Dai’s. He sensed mainly worry and frustration in his Senior’s emotions, but buried deep beneath the turmoil of anxiety and anger, there was a spark of warmth that ignited every time he looked back. Perhaps his earlier aggression was mainly a cover? Although the anger and hate felt a little too sincere for that…

  It was good to know he was not the only male within the Sect to lament over complicated relationships. That did not mean he would not take this rare opportunity to tease his Senior.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “You can continue your flirtations with her later, Brother Dai. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to meet her in the days ahead.”

  The envoys from the Split-headed Carnivores Sect were staying for quite a while this time. With the marriage so close, their Sects had few chances left to squeeze any last-minute political or financial concessions before the arrangements became sealed for good.

  Brother Dai shuddered at his suggestion. “Surely you jest, Young Master. Were you not forced to intervene mere moments ago to prevent me from lopping her head off? I had thought your time with Lianshi would have taught you the finer intricacies of romance.”

  “Most of the rules of cultivator courtship are still lost to me, I admit.” Feng looked away. “I… haven’t exactly been the best of partners for her lately. But we are not talking about my relationship troubles now. I’m more interested in yours.”

  “I hate her. She wants to eat me,” Brother Dai summarised. “For the Four Mountain Sects Group, it’s a tale as old as time. There’s hardly anything interesting there.”

  “I think she’s a good match for you.” Feng ignored Brother Dai’s betrayed look and continued. “She still cares a lot for you, enough that she keeps bothering you for your attention. I don’t know what history the two of you share, but it must have meant something to you as well if you indulge her.”

  Feng paused, before finishing with his final point: “And she’s strong, too. Strong enough to hurt you, at least.”

  “No idea what you are talking about,” Dai denied as he stared resolutely ahead.

  “Your earlier injuries before our fight. I had thought one of our Core Disciples had wounded you, but it was her, wasn’t it? That speaks quite a bit of her skills, cultivation advancement notwithstanding.”

  “She got a lucky hit.”

  “And the wounds on her… those haven’t healed either, despite her developed position within the Tempering Realm. You must like her quite a lot to react so strongly to her provocations. The blade wounds you gave might even scar over time.”

  Dai sighed, before reluctantly nodding. “Sharp as always, Young Master. You know, most people would get disturbed if they knew how much your qi senses could discern from a single glance.”

  It was a peculiar thing. As far as the Young Master was aware, while everyone possessed some level of qi sensitivity, no one matched his degree of acute perceptivity for detecting both emotional instability and Spiritual disturbances.

  The few scrolls and tomes that spoke of the subject referred to it as ‘qi empathy’. It required a fair bit of concentration, so while it wasn’t particularly useful in a fight, it proved a fair tool for navigating social situations and discerning certain secrets — though Feng tried to avoid using it too often on those he was close to.

  “Anyway, this and that are quite different.” Dai continued. “While I may have been the one to seek her out earlier, it wasn’t for some illicit dalliance or whatever nonsense. You are not daft enough to have missed what she implied earlier.”

  Feng grimaced. He forced himself to ask. “How many?”

  “Four, if you can believe that.”

  That was… impressive, in a horribly twisted way. The group envoy had not even been in the Sect for a full day yet, having just arrived the night before.

  “Were any of our Juniors killed?”

  “She left enough of them for the Impure Resurrection to still take hold afterwards. Their bodies are fine, but the mental wounds they sustained would run deep for some time yet.”

  Feng took a breath. “Did she force any of them into her bed?”

  “Well, no. But—!”

  “Then the fault mainly lies with our Juniors. Or more specifically, our failure to educate them. They should have known better than to walk willingly into the jaws of a beast.”

  At least all of them had freely chosen to go into it, Feng thought humourlessly. Some of them did not even have the luxury to choose.

  Brother Dai's lips pressed into a thin line. “She still should not have gone after them like that.”

  “I will talk to Lianshi about this later,” Feng said. “Moral issues aside, such incidents may put a strain on the burgeoning ties between our Sects. Still, I thank you for taking the issue to hand yourself by confronting her.”

  The two of them were approaching closer to the flames now. Waves of heat roared over them as another section of the building collapsed from the raging conflagration, but the fire appeared to be well in control. Fire lines, sandpits, and trenches had been dug out with rapidity, as the Disciples were all trained in fire containment procedures. With the aid of the giant insect beast hauling the sands, the inferno was corralled far before it had a chance to spread to the other nearby structures.

  “You know, I was slightly hoping for us to create a bigger bonfire than this,” Brother Dai admitted.

  “I cannot say I share that sentiment. There's no need for excessive destruction. This much will be enough to deter Elder Jun’s more unsavoury ambitions.”

  It was something he would have to address as well when he found the Elder later, beyond the other matter he had come to discuss with him in the first place.

  But, first thing first.

  The giant six-legged monster trudged away from the tower after it emptied its last giant container of sand, its weariness apparent to Feng even in its alien frame. The transformed Disciple picked out a secluded spot some ways away; a clearing void of other Disciples. Once she had ascertained there was a modicum of privacy, she set her giant body down.

  [False Primaeval Glory; Reversion]

  The monstrous creature convulsed violently, its muscles and bones sloughing off in grotesque clumps. Sacs of decaying matter either dissolved or erupted, spraying foul-smelling liquid everywhere as they hit the ground burning. Thick, yellowish pus pooled beneath its shrinking frame, forming a hissing white haze as the noxious liquid vaporized, obscuring the disintegration of the creature from view.

  Feng and Brother Dai waited patiently at the side, as more and more body parts collapsed off the decaying structure and rapidly broke down into nothingness. The once-nightmarish beast was reduced to an exoskeleton of pale plates and bones within seconds, and even that barely lasted for another half-minute before it too vanished into white smoke.

  The haze soon cleared, and any trace of the hideous beast was nowhere to be seen. In its place was a beautiful young woman — kneeling, and naked as the day she was born.

  The black bodysuit worn by all females of the Split-headed Carnivores Sect was gone; destroyed by her earlier transformation, no doubt. The disciple was covered in the same viscous liquid that had gushed forth from the beast earlier. Her wet skin shimmered in the firelight as she stood up, the toned muscles and generous curves of her body making every movement seem effortlessly sensual.

  No sane individual would deny Sister Jin's exceptional predatory beauty. She was the perfect example of a cultivator’s allure, her every feature fused with both loveliness and finesse. Naked and glistening as she was, it was impossible for anyone not to stare at her.

  Or at least, it would have been if she had not suddenly doubled over and started vomiting out thick gobs of the foul, yellowish mucus from her lungs. The horrendous smell emitting from her pus-covered body would also admittedly turn more than a few heads away, likely to retch as well.

  “Ergh, I always hate having to do that…” Feng heard her whine between coughs.

  “It does ruin your attractiveness by quite a lot, I must admit.” Brother Dai called out. “The smell doesn’t help, either.”

  Sect Attire, Part 1

  There is no 'standard' Sect attire mandated by the Imperial Court across the Empire. As such, the monasteries are given full freedom to craft their own distinguished attires for their Disciples and Elders.

  Robes are the most common. Flowing, and often richly decorated, these simple but beautifully-coloured garments are worn with pride by disciples, typically with patterned sashes that help discern themselves to a particular Sect or Cultivation path. Robes also often have different coloured trimmings to differentiate between the status of the cultivator, such as gold trimmings for Core Disciples. Simple footwear like soft-soled shoes or sandals complete the attire, allowing for both agility and comfort in or out of combat.

  Light bodysuits, coupled with heavy cloaks or overcoats, are also a fairly common sight for those Sects whose disciples rely more on agility or esoteric techniques. Armoured gloves and boots have also become rather popular in the Inner and Core Provinces, as the industrialised Core regions have begun producing newer forms of cultivator apparel that offer any mixture of both flexibility and protection.

  – Excerpt from A Citizen’s Guide to the Flesh-Grafted Empire

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