Zhi Rui entered her cave, as a beginner she's not allowed to have furniture on her cave for at least a month. inside the cave was a mess, nature had taken over its roots and grass all around. Zhi Rui wore her robe and put the storage pouch on her waist. she sat down on a big root and read each spell one time after three hours she finished. One time each was all she needed.

She looked up one more time at the work she'll have to clean Zhi Rui sighed and went away.

She went to the place where she got the token, she picked a small mission of collecting herbs. and without looking at the clerk she activated the lightweight spell, reducing her mass but not her physical strength.

Each step covered easily five to six meters, and she wasn't running fast.

it was around thirteen in the afternoon when Zhi Rui reached the beginning of the forest. Calm and steady she entered it after a few dozens of meters inside Zhi Rui sat crosslegged, and closed her eyes.

two meters ahead of her there was a big hairy rat bitten on the belly.

Zhi Rui concentrated and felt the spirit vivid inside the creature, she manipulated her inner energy to the corpse. the spirit inside the rat condensed into a small black ball Zhi Rui could feel it with her energy, she tried to infuse her core energy with it. suddenly the rat trembled, and the small black ball radiated a small light. Zhi Rui sees the bitten rat moving as if alive, She smiled.

then she tried to remove the black ball from the rat, it came towards her, she kept it close and swiftly waved her left arm upwards.

a bird fell in front of her She reached out to it and took it's spirit away, in the same way. she tried to exchange the bodies with the spirits when the bird entered the rat body it came alive again.

but when Zhi Rui tried to put the rat's spirit inside the bird she saw that the black ball had diminished, and as soon as the bird corpse came alive it died. Zhi Rui took the birds spirit out and observed it. it was slowly dissolving, Zhi rui enveloped it with her energy, then it stopped.

She nodded. And with a thought, she absorbed the spirit into her own core. Albeit minimal she could feel it nourishing the aperture of her core.

Zhi Rui got up 'A pity I cannot use necromancy inside the sect. I'll have to cultivate it here.'

She started to walk through the forest looking for more prey to test.

Zhi Rui did not wait long until she sensed something 10 meters from her, She looked ahead, through the bushes there were two big yellow eyes

'Hehe looks so much like Hilda." She mused.

Zhi Rui walked to the left to get out of its sight first, then she turned to the bushes and ran her feet only touch the ground two times. She stood face to face with a black panther it was lying down still looking through the bushes only the body was at least three meters.

It suddenly jumped backward and tried to bite Zhi Ruin.

Zhi Rui smiled and with a swing of her arm she smashed the panther between the eyes and started to subdue it's a spirit.

Dead leaves spread around as the animal became confused. Zhi Rui gathered her energy in one symbol she forced her palms on the forehead of the animal and due to lust her energy was undeniable, and in few second the beast was under control.

Zhi Rui released it, the panther stood up on its four paws the young panther's head reached near Zhi Rui's chin.

Zhi Rui gently patted the panther's head with a smile "Your name will be blackie."

blackie nodded as if understanding every word. Zhi Rui closed her eyes, she could feel a connection with the animal, she could feel it's restlessness due to the fight waning.

Zhi Rui chuckled

"Go on, you're hungry, hunt something to eat then we're going back."

It jumped right away leaving Zhi Rui behind.

'Though it only formed a core, it can evolve fast by sharing my energy. besides, it's already too glaring appearing with a tamed animal on the first day.

With this, I'll receive some attention, only enough to not be an isolated person nor to be a person of high status. basically, people will know who I'm but won't care enough to pay attention to what I do.

She sat down and closed her eyes, she could feel where the panther was.

Zhi Rui opened her eyes abruptly, she slowly got up and waited.

Two disciples had approached her.

"Hey, are you new?" A blonde boy with freckles on his nose asked.

Zhi Rui nodded "I just came in today."

"Eh," he said, "Nobody must've told you then. It does not matter the mission. Newbies must not come to the forest alone. the clerk of the mission board saw your name there alone, and gave us this mission to get you back."

Zhi Rui frowned she looked at her own card, but there was nothing informing.

"You're Zhi Rui, right? the empire's general's daughter?" the other boy had sparse black hair and asked nervously.

Zhi Rui observed the boy close, whatever he sais might be the general opinion of her.

Zhi Rui nodded.

"Wow so you're the Zhi Rui people won't stop talking about! My family told me about how you barely started the community center and there' already enemies trying to stop you!"

"What?" the blonde fellow asked.

"Ugh, She started this project to help the slums it's so groundbreaking that nobles are trying to stop it, I received a letter before going out of the sect this morning, the youngest prince was caught and killed on the spot for trying to incriminate the community center with banished drugs" the boy excitedly told the story.

Zhi Rui laughed inwardly, 'This boy and his family must've lived in the slums, and left recently otherwise he wouldn't be so open like this.'

Zhi Rui shook her head internally.

"I'm just doing what people should've been doing long ago." Zhi Rui spoke seriously.

The blonde boy sneered "What use is there if you help them? After you offer them a hand they'll only ask for a leg instead of trying to improve themselves."

The black haired boy stared the other's eyes, the blonde boy sighed, "you're different. You're a cultivator."

Zhi Rui shook her head.

"People are only useless if they don't want to learn, if you can teach them something, anything that can help them then they'll become productive. A painter can draw an image and a writer can create a story based on the image. It means if people gather their abilities, then something incredible might be created."

Zhi Rui sighed

You only need to give them the very basic need, that is to stay alive.

If they can be relieved of the fight for survival, then they can try and improve their lives. and by consequence improving the life of the people around them."

Zhi Rui preached. The blonde boy cringed, "ug whatever just remember that beginners alone in the forest is not allowed, you'll have to go back with us.

The black haired boy kept smiling and nodded through her speech.

Zhi Rui just smiled, "My beast is already coming back."

The two looked around confused when suddenly from the tree top a black panther jumped right beside them. they both jumped backward and took a battle stance.

Seeing as it meekly went to Zhi Rui's side they relaxed, they saw the bloodied maws of the panther and looked weirdly at Zhi Rui.

"Is this your beast? It has a formed core, how did you beat it up?"

the blonde boy asked incredulously.

The boy was referring to the fact that while the person and the beast have the same cultivation level, the beast is still way stronger. hence her defeating it is so unusual.

Zhi Rui gently smiled

"I have aptitude with these kinds of taming skills and I had some outside help too."

"O-Okey" the boy agreed but he could see the animal did not have one injury, only the brand mark on its head, that means Zhi Rui did not need to battle it.

Suddenly their tokens shined. Zhi Rui looked at her own.

'The entrance tests had been finished, of two thousand testees, only two hundred were accepted. newcomers are to present themselves at the sect's main lounge for a briefing at fourteen and a half hours.'

Zhi Rui looked at the boys, the black haired one hurriedly took his watch out of his storage pouch and hesitantly spoke: "Now it's exactly fourteen."

Zhi Rui smiled, the way back will normally take one hour, but Zhi Rui hoped on top of blackie and held herself firmly.'Lightweight." she whispered.

Blackie ran faster than ever, Zhi Rui could see the boys miserably trying to catch up, she let go of her hands and straightened her body, she felt the wind hitting her, she closed her eyes.

"Is this freedom?" She asked herself.