Volume One: Heavenly Dao Sect Chapter One: Selection of the Heavenly Dao Sect

The sky was shrouded in gray, and the planet Tianchen Star revolved at its own deliberate pace around its sun. The land was boundless, accompanied within its gravitational embrace by three satellites. One of these moons drifted perilously close to Tianchen Star’s surface, bearing its own ring, upon which the meteorites seemed ever loyal to their satellite. Even when skimming the very edge of Tianchen Star’s domain, these meteors were never captured, steadfastly orbiting their mother moon.

Upon Tianchen Star stretched vast territories, home to a multitude of powers and races thriving upon its soil. Though friction and the reshuffling of lands occurred through the centuries, the many peoples, bound by the desire to coexist, ensured this world never faced true annihilation.

The Central Land of the eastern hemisphere was one such realm—a land once ruled by four successive Emperors in distant ages past. Time had worn on, but the nation’s ancient grandeur remained undimmed. The Central Land brimmed with talent and vitality: flowers and trees flourished, birds, beasts, insects, and fish abounded. Humanity governed the realm, while all races sought harmony in diversity, embracing one another. Stories of beauty and valor unfolded every moment, as the people wielded their deep-rooted culture to attune all things, sustaining the balance of life.

Many factions were scattered throughout the Central Land, among which the Daoist Sect stood as a native power, nurturing its people, enlightening generation after generation. The moon’s ring now rested above the territory claimed by the Daoist Sect.

Once again, the Daoist Sect flung open its gates, ascending with fearless spirit to the moon’s ring, where it established the site for its trials and sought new disciples.

Beneath the moon ring, more than a hundred aspirants had gathered. Chen Fangyu stood among them, a participant in the Daoist Sect’s selection, many years having passed since the demise of the ancient Gendaya civilization. Reborn, he had come into this world in the Central Land, living now for eighteen cycles of spring.

At that moment, a steward of the Daoist Sect stood before the crowd, reading from a scroll and calling out in a loud voice, “Hear me! The Daoist Sect is the official host of this recruitment. We have ascended to the moon’s ring. If you can reach the ring, and advance ten meters to where Elder Liaochen sits, you shall be admitted as an outer disciple and enjoy its privileges.” With that, the steward, Lu Youdao, gestured for the hopefuls to look toward the ring.

Ten meters above on the ring sat Elder Liaochen, a wisp of beard upon his chin, clad in gray, appearing in the prime of his middle years. He was seated at a stone table set upon a meteorite, ten meters from the ring’s outer edge. Hearing the introduction, he rose, clasped his hands in greeting toward those below, then sat back down to savor his tea, awaiting those who would aspire to his station.

The candidates, Chen Fangyu among them, understood the rules, and turned their attention once more to Lu Youdao at the fore.

Lu Youdao continued, “Should any of you reach fifty meters to where Elder Baiyuan sits, you shall become inner disciples, and receive all due honors.” He gestured to the ring’s fifty-meter mark, directing their gaze to Elder Baiyuan’s position.

Elder Baiyuan set down his cup and flicked a drop of water into the air, where it hovered, motionless—a display of subtle mastery, a silent warning to the unworthy. He too stood, greeted the crowd with a gesture, then returned serenely to his seat.

“How can a drop of water float in the air?” marveled some candidates, curiosity piqued by the wonders at Baiyuan’s height. Lu Youdao cleared his throat, drawing all eyes back to him.

“Listen well! If any of you reach one hundred meters, to the place where Elder Ruchu resides, you shall be accepted as personal disciples of the Daoist Sect, with all the privileges it entails.” He gestured to the distant one-hundred-meter mark, far beyond the crowd’s immediate view.

On a high platform a hundred meters away, Elder Ruchu reclined with his beloved in his arms. He idly spilled a cup of wine upon the stone table, where it pooled without running off. The beauty in his embrace glanced about with languid grace—a maiden of tranquil poise whose every movement dazzled the eye.

“My introduction ends here,” said Lu Youdao. “You may now attempt the trial. I wish you success, and that you soon become pillars of our Daoist Sect.” At his words, the crowd surged toward the moon ring. Some, setting foot upon it for the first time, wavered and nearly fell. Others, familiar with its peculiarities, climbed without a tremor. A rare few pressed boldly onward, crossing the meteorite fragments and distinguishing themselves as exceptional.

Chen Fangyu, among the throng, managed to set foot upon the ring. The fragments trembled beneath him as he adjusted to their buoyancy, choosing the larger pieces for his footing. Some fragments floated like pebbles in a swollen stream, perilous to traverse.

He pressed onward. Ahead, competitors struggled to keep their balance, some surging several meters ahead of him. Those less skilled lagged behind, clinging to specks of dust before gravity pulled them down—only to climb up again, laboriously. Some, stuck between massive stones, gave up and left in dejection.

Undeterred, Chen Fangyu advanced, his spirit unwavering. The leading candidate, a man with a folding fan, was the first to reach Elder Liaochen’s ten-meter post.

“Your name!” Elder Liaochen asked, voice calm and indifferent, as though performing a mundane task.

“Li Qingfeng!” the candidate replied. Elder Liaochen inscribed the name in his bamboo ledger, then nodded toward the next stage. Li Qingfeng folded his fan, ascending to the higher steps toward Elder Baiyuan.

Next came Chen Fangyu. He bore the faint stubble of youth, and upon reaching Liaochen’s post, was met with the same inquiry—a question tinged with a strange wistfulness, as if echoing from some distant memory.

“Chen Fangyu,” he replied respectfully. Elder Liaochen’s heart gave a subtle tremor—somewhere in the depths of forgotten time, he felt he had heard that name before, but the memory was too distant, the feeling only a passing déjà vu.

“Proceed,” Liaochen said, mastering his emotions and gesturing him onward.

Chen Fangyu, puzzled but determined, climbed the next meteorite steps toward Elder Baiyuan’s station.

Elder Baiyuan, muscular and poised, watched the approaching candidates. Li Qingfeng was first to arrive, his figure lean and eager. Baiyuan, appearing in the robust bloom of middle age, his features dignified, asked for his name.

“Li Qingfeng!” Li Qingfeng replied, secretly admiring the elder’s physique. Baiyuan recorded the name. “Proceed,” he said.

Li Qingfeng bowed in thanks, intent on advancing further, but found an invisible barrier blocking his way, halting him in his tracks.

Next came Chen Fangyu, breathless from the climb. Baiyuan, sipping his tea with an impassive face, set his cup aside as he arrived, his tone tinged with faint displeasure. “Your name!”

“Chen Fangyu,” came the answer, cautious, for the elder’s tone suggested some hidden grievance. Chen Fangyu could not imagine what offense he had given, so he remained careful.

“Recorded. Proceed,” Baiyuan said, entering the name into an even finer bamboo ledger—one reserved for those who reached this rarefied height.

“My thanks, Elder!” Chen Fangyu replied. Baiyuan glanced at Li Qingfeng, who still struggled against the barrier, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Yet, knowing some things were fated both in the past and the future, he turned his attention elsewhere.

Chen Fangyu now sought to advance to Elder Ruchu’s distant post, only to find the same unseen barrier in his way. Behind him, the others still climbed, striving to catch up to the two frontrunners. Chen Fangyu lingered at this height, searching for a way through, until at last, guided by a spark of inspiration, he broke the barrier with sheer force—drawing on years of hard-earned strength—and crossed into the next ring.

Li Qingfeng, seeing this, summoned his own power and broke through as well. The barrier was, in truth, one of Tianchen Star’s defense arrays. At this altitude, the planet’s gravity weakened, while the moon’s pull became more pronounced. Chen Fangyu shone in this test, standing head and shoulders above the crowd.