Chapter 2: The Apprentice's Trial
My junior brother’s sword came at me unchecked—until senior brother pulled me aside at the last moment.
Tucked safely in his arms, I heard the junior’s frantic apology: "Sorry, senior sister!"
I peeked out. "I could’ve dodged even without your help!"
Truthfully, I’d clutched a Thunderbolt Talisman. Had he pressed the attack, we’d both have been injured. If he’d stopped, I’d have conceded—my stamina was spent.
Senior brother set me down, plucked the talisman from my grip, and burned it.
I fumed. That was my last-resort life-saving charm!
"Senior brother, you—!"
I swallowed my protest. His stern expression told me I’d crossed a line—my reckless gambit had angered him.
"No more dangerous talismans," he said. "What if you hurt someone?"
Pausing, he added, "You can’t control their power yet. Harming yourself would be worse."
"...Fine."
Defeat weighed on me. After all this training, I still fell short.
A glance at my smirking junior brother made me itch to slap him.
"You’re no better," senior brother chided him. "Brute force alone won’t work. Had your sister been fresh, you’d have lost."
The junior hung his head. Seeing him scolded too lifted my spirits.
This time, senior brother stayed—taking over our master’s role, drilling us daily.
Under his watch, we collapsed into deep sleep each night, exhausted.
Not that we’d been lazy before. Our master never expected us to match senior brother’s demon-slaying prowess—just survive and not embarrass him.
Six months later, our skills had leaped ahead—yet we remained outclassed.
When master emerged from seclusion, he wept openly upon seeing senior brother—only the second time we’d witnessed his tears.
The first was when senior brother first left to train alone.
With master back, senior brother’s attention shifted. Our progress waned as he spent days discussing adventures over tea and chess.
When we eavesdropped, senior brother tried shooing us—until master said, "Let them listen. They’re not cut out for cultivation anyway."
Senior brother obeyed master always—except twice: bringing us to the sect, and making us disciples.
Then came the villager’s plea—a murderous catfish demon, a millennium old.
The glance between master and senior brother confirmed it—the same beast that slaughtered our families.
"Chang Xuan, guard the sect. I’ll bring treats when I return," senior brother said lightly.
But I knew—this was different. That demon haunted my nightmares.
"Let me come!" I begged. "I’m weak, but extra hands help!"
"You’re still green," he demurred.
Master interjected: "Let her see the world. Sheltering her forever wastes potential."
I flashed a thumbs-up—master always cut to the heart.
Senior brother hesitated. "The wilds are perilous now. Many haven’t returned..."
"I’ll obey absolutely!" I vowed. "Disobey and may I die wretched!"
My violent oath startled even battle-hardened senior brother.
"Let her go," master said. "Experience will cure her wanderlust."
As I packed, master stopped me—not to revoke permission, but to inscribe a glowing talisman on my palm.
"Use this only in mortal danger," he said.
Senior brother examined it later, then bandaged my hand.
"This is potent—but you lack power to wield it fully. Master means it for your escape."
His words stung. If only I’d trained harder.
We found junior brother Chang Heng snoozing on a boulder downhill. Two slaps woke him.
"Took you forever!" he grumbled, eyeing my talisman enviously.
Senior brother sighed, then gave him a restraining charm—and me a "special" teleportation talisman.
"Unlike ordinary ones, only I can trace where this sends you," he explained.
As we set off, I studied the intricate markings—a design beyond my skills.
"Move out," senior brother ordered. The real trial had begun.