My Essence - Two Issues.

'That was Intent?' Shu He was currently stood in the centre of the plateau that was atop the central mountain, he was staring deeply that the statue of the first Sect Master that was towering in the centre of it as he tried to recall his memories from back then.

He had left the Sect Master's abode shortly after since the other two wanted to continue elsewhere about things he wasn't privy to, so he went on his way, but as he was guided outside by a veiled person he couldn't help but pause and take in the sights, the First Sect master was supposedly the strongest Sect Master the sect had ever had, capable of crushing mountains and splitting the earth, at least according to legends about him.

Such strength… Shu He wondered if he'll be able to achieve it.

'I can only remember my feelings from back then… but is that enough? Can I reproduce them without the triggers? Will they even create the same result?' he couldn't help but doubt himself.

'In the first place, what would my 'Intent' focus on?' he asked himself, when he fought, he used a mix of Wood element techniques along with his bow, so should he focus on his bow? He then thought about some words that Chao Shi had left him before he went away.

They were – "Think back, why did you learn to wield the bow in the first place? Find your essence".

 "Why I wield it?" He closed his eyes and sighed, feeling the gentle breeze that crawled across the top of the plateau, beside him the veiled person stood in silence with their backs straight, they didn't try to hurry him as if they were letting him take his time to think.

Shu Xue on the other hand was happily wondering around the statue while patting its solid surface and staring in wonder, it was the first time she had seen it after all.

'When was it? The first time I wanted to learn to use a bow?' his dredged a memory up, it was back when he was searching for the herb – the Crystalroot Flower – he had made a mistake and wandered in to a wild boar's territory causing him to be chased, yet before he knew it he felt a chill as an arrow rushed past him in silence, dealing with the boar before the wild animal even knew I'd been struck.

He remembered the shock, surprise and amazement he felt then, before that moment he had ignored the bow, thinking he only wanted to focus on his gathering and medical skills, but after seeing the chilling silence that arrow dealt the finishing blow with, the underlying grace and power, a spark formed in his mind then and there.

After that he began to learn archery from his father, but it wasn't just that, he began to learn how to use a knife properly to prepare traps, to skin animals, to prepare their meat. "Right… it wasn't just archery I learned from him" a flash of light entered his eyes as he came to a sudden realisation.

And a conversation he had with his father echoed in his mind –

"Shu He, what do you think a bow is?" He asked his son.

"It's a tool, a tool for hunting, a tool for killing".

"That may be so for other people, but to me, the bow is my life".

"Your life?" 

"I see you don't understand, I don't mean that I'm obsessed with it, but that it is what gave me everything I have now, without the bow I can't hunt, without hunting I can't earn a living."

"Without the bow, I wouldn't be here, thus the bow is my life, it has shaped my life and continues to do so."

Were the words he remembered, making him think. 

'Just what is the bow to me?' He questioned as words popped up in his mind, it was a tool, a weapon, a legacy, something he cherished.

'What do I use the bow for?' Killing.

That was the first thing that came to his mind, but he shook his head, that was wrong, he didn't agree with that at all, he remembered the sensation he felt as his arrows ruptured the heads of those bandits, it felt wrong, like what he was doing was incorrect.

'Right, to me, my bow is inherited from my father… that will, what do I want to do with it? Why did I want to learn it in the first place?'

The single arrow came to mind, it wasn't excessive, it didn't cause more pain that needed, it ended the boars like fast and painlessly, that was his ideal… right, in the end his bow had one use, and one use only.

To Hunt.

…

Inside the Sect Master's residence was a small room resembling a meeting room, not dissimilar to the one Shu He had first met the Sect Master in, Rong Jia was seated comfortably on a seat that was positioned higher up than the rest while Chao Shi was kneeled in front of her, with Wu Zhong and Su Wen were positioned either side, sitting on lower seats.

"I saw Disciple Shu staring at the statue on the way here, it seems you said something to him? As meddling as ever I see, I thought you would have washed your hands of such things" Wu Zhong said to Chao Shi as he got comfortable on the cushioned seat.

Chao Shi shook his head "Unfortunately I can't just forgot that I was the one who brought him here, Vice-Sect Master".

Wu Zhong grunted "You planned to ascend soon after you left seclusion, no? Do you have the time to worry about others?".

"I think I've said enough to him, he has perfect capable Elders to watch over him, no?" Chao Shi replied, while shooting a slight grin towards the Wu Zhong showing that he had heard about his favouritism.

"O-of course, what do you think the sect is for?" Wu Zhong coughed and averted his eyes, he hadn't realised just how far the rumours of the Vice-Sect master skipping out to take over the Technique Depository, so he could happily discuss techniques with certain disciples were.

"You seem like you're in good spirits, Chao Shi, it's good to see, I was worried that that event would have affected your cultivation" Su Wen chimed in with his usual plastic smile.

"I thank you for worrying, Elder Su, but you don't need to worry… I am a cultivator after all, I need to move on no matter what happens… it's just that I had forgotten my drive after being stuck for so long" Chao Shi replied with a similar plastic smile.

"That's good to hear… then, Sect Master, may I ask what you have you called us together for?" Su Wen asked the patiently waiting Rong Jia who was sat with her eyes half-closed.

"Right…" she opened her eyes as she sighed lightly "First of all, Chao Shi, it's about your permission to ascend".

Chao Shi's eyes flickered slightly "What about it?".

"It's been rescinded temporarily" Su Rong announced, causing Wu Zhong to almost yell in surprise, yet the other two merely had expressions that crumpled slightly.

"How unfortunate" were Su Wen's words, on the other hand Chao Shi sighed and scratched the back of his head, showing his slight irritation.

"You don't seem too surprised" Rong Jia asked.

"I heard an overview of what's been happening recently from your servants while I was getting changed, if I'm honest, it would be stupider to let me go right now with all of that happening" Chao Shi admitted.

"Try not to say that to any Iris representatives unless you want to lose your chance altogether" Rong Jia replied with sharp eyes, what Chao Shi said could be taken as slander against the Emperor himself after all.

"I know… so, what are the conditions for its reinstatement?" Chao Shi asked with a lazy tone, it was clear he was more than annoyed that this was happening.

"The conditions aren't clear, the aim is to crush Swarm's activities across the five regions, the ideal situation would be to take care of the ringleader and discover their main base, wiping it out" Rong Jia explained.

"And, do we have any leads?" Chao Shi directed his question towards Su Wen who was twirling his moustache. "Nothing clear unfortunately, we captured a higher up over half a year back now and have been raiding every hideout he listed, but we haven't struck anything major… There are two major problems the five regions are experiencing right now" Su Wen began to explain.

"First off is that disciples and vagabond cultivators with high potential are disappearing into thin air, this has been happening for the past six months give or take; Every single one of them was of course an outer disciple, meaning they didn't have any contracts binding them".

"Are we going to start performing the ritual with outer disciples as well?" Chao Shi asked, assuming it would be the best thing to do.

"If that was possible, I'm sure the Sect Master would agree" Su Wen glanced over to Rong Jia who lightly shook her head "Unfortunately we don't want to reveal its location to too many people because of the risks… not only that, but you should also understand that ritual catalysts have a limit to how many oaths they can bind, using it for every outer disciple simply isn't possible".

Wu Zhong sighed off to the side "If we were a smaller sect, it would be possible, but because of our scale…" a look of pain crossed his face "The costs of being one of the largest sect aren't cheap".

Chao Shi leant on his hand as he understood that the sect's hands were tied in that aspect, he then asked, "What's the other major problem?".

"There has been an increase in the distribution of a certain Elixir within the black market, both to mortals and cultivators" Rong Jia explained, Chao Shi's brows furrowed as he felt a foreboding feeling pass over him.

 "Which one?" His voice was clear and concise – filled with worry. Rong Jia carefully looked him in the eyes as a look of knowing flashed between them.

"It's the World Devouring Elixir".