It took almost two months for the Mystical Qilin Sect to clean up its act. Yan Ping proved her efficient leadership by arranging the internal arrangements needed to accommodate visitors from the other sect. This update is available on novel·fire·net
While the change was exciting, Anji was too busy to help with anything. In fact, she had the most important role in the martial arts exchange program. As the youngest daughter of the Celestial Dragon Sect and the official successor to the Mystical Qilin Sect, Anji had to act as the Rainbow Alliance’s representative and give a speech to initiate the exchange program. However, before that, she had to first make her debut as Ci Wang.
Preparing for the successor’s debut ceremony was more gruelling than Anji thought. For a sect that supported innovation, they were surprisingly traditional regarding rituals.
For a week before her debut, Anji was subjected to all types of cleansing treatment. For seven whole days, Anji would follow the strict regime of meditating, bathing in cold water and eating vegetarian food. In addition to these rituals, the girl had to memorise the sect rules and memorise her oath speech during the succession vows. There was no time to waste, and Anji felt more exhausted than the time she had to do all the chores in Researcher Yang’s messy lab. Even so, the young girl persevered.
Yan Ping watched as Anji grew thinner daily. Although the girl was not sickly because Doctor Yun checked on her daily alongside Aunt Wine, who ensured that Anji ate only the most nutritious vegetarian food, it was difficult for the adults to watch Anji subject herself to the seemingly inhumane succession rituals.
"Make sure to pamper her a lot once this is all over," Yan Ping mentally transmitted her order to Aunt Wine, who was leaving the hut.
Aunt Wine was initially surprised to receive a direct order from the sect leader. However, her surprise soon melted into joy. Nodding to the leader, who was hidden from sight, Aunt Wine bowed twice and left with her basket of dirty dishes.
By now, Anji must have finished her dinner and shower. Yan Ping chose to enter the isolated hut at this time. It would be her first time seeing her chosen successor in over six days.
"Child, are you still awake?" Yan Ping asked at the door, not wanting to enter the hut carelessly. Even if she was the sect leader, rules had to be observed. Anji could not leave her isolation until the day of the ceremony tomorrow.
From behind the door, Anji perked up.
"Shifu? Yes, I am still awake."
Smiling outside the door, Yan Ping told Anji to just listen by the window. Making the child open the door and suffer the chill wind was not good. She might catch a cold before the ceremony.
"Was it difficult observing the daily cleansing rituals?" she asked.
Anji did not want to lie. It wasn’t easy. However, thinking about what it meant symbolically made it easier to endure.
"Anji can still persevere," she replied warmly and received a chuckle in response from the other side of the closed windows.
"From tomorrow onwards, many people will start to refer to you as Ci Wang. You might have to listen to people use your courtesy name more than your given name for a long time. I hope you don’t forget who you truly are even when we begin the successor training after this."
Reassuring her shifu that she would never forget her name, Anji talked with Yan Ping for about an hour before she was finally shooed to bed. The young child had to be up before the birds to make a hike to the Mystical Qilin Mountain’s highest point to make the heavenly vow to uphold her duty as a successor with the sect elders and her shifu as witnesses. There were only a few hours left until then.
As Anji bade Yan Ping goodbye, she blew out the candle and climbed into bed. The air was chilly at night. However, the covers were warm. Yet, Anji found it difficult to sleep.
After tossing and turning for a long time with many thoughts in her mind, the girl finally gave up sleeping and decided to meditate. Who knew that after doing nothing but eating, sleeping and meditating for almost a week, she would miss meditating again?
After several deep inhales, Anji circulated her energy and pulled her mind deeper into her subconscious. The rhythmic breathing and familiarity of her inner world soothed the undercurrent of uncertainties. Even without the golden dragon’s presence, Anji found herself calming down.
In this manner, Anji meditated until someone came to look for her at the door. Strangely enough, Anji did not need to hear or see the person to know who it was. Ever since the conversation with her teacher about spiritual weavers, Anji had a deeper understanding of her Heavenly Eyes. Grandpa Jin did not teach her how to use the abilities but confirmed that her teacher was partially right. In his words, Anji was using her eyes like a war horse to plough a rice field.
In the week of isolated cleansing, Anji tried many things and found a different way to merge her Heavenly Eyes ability with the soul cultivation method. Although Grandpa Jin chose not to comment on her progress, his twitching whiskers told Anji she had made a significant discovery about her ability in the right direction. According to the lazy golden dragon, mastering the art of spiritual weaving would only be a matter of time for Anji. However, removing her seal completely was an entirely different matter.
Before Senior Researcher Mo could reach the hut and call for Anji, the child had already gotten out of bed and gotten dressed. Although she had not slept a wink all night, Anji felt more refreshed after a conversation with her shifu and more meditation.
"Oh? You’re up already?" the surprised senior researcher asked. "Did you sleep at all?"
Anji only smiled, choosing not to answer him. She was already dressed in the ceremonial robes. The robes were mostly white with a short lilac trim on the edge of the sleeves and a lilac sash at her waist to indicate that she was still a successor in training. Most times, successors will wear a coloured highlight from the district they were from. However, since Anji was originally from the Celestial Dragon Sect, she decided to go with her house colour.
As an elder of the sect, Senior Researcher Mo offered to escort Anji up to the mountain where the ceremonial vow would occur. According to tradition, the successor has to hike alone to meet the sect leader and elders who will wait there. The vows should be taken at the first break of dawn. However, Anji was merely a child and had never fully toured the sect. She was here for only a few months, and no good adult would willingly let a child endanger herself, even for a ceremony.
"Here," the man offered Anji a cold bean-paste bun. "Aunt Wine made this last night. Although successors traditionally do not eat until the ceremony vows are over, you were given a special exception. It’s still vegetarian for now. You’ll eat a proper feast after this is over."
Accepting the breakfast gratefully, Anji munched on the bun held in one hand while the senior researcher held onto her other hand to lead her further up to the back of the mountain. Usually, that was considered a forbidden zone even within the inner court. Only senior researchers and the sect leader were permitted to enter it.
Now that Anji was considered one of those special people permitted to enter the sacred founding site of the Mystical Qilin Sect, her heart pounded while they climbed higher.