Cui Xinya was both shocked and confounded she had never heard of such a deity before and most certainly not one that had a shrine in the academy complex. She smiled at her new student and took her by the arm swiftly the girl was rather short for her age at least by a couple inches on average, but she could tell she would grow into a most beautiful women albeit a shorter than average beauty.

"Follow me young one we should have dinner I will call some of the servants to give us food for the evening." Cui waved her new disciple over to her side.

Rize followed Cui further into the courtyard into the main building where several servants waited silently Cui Xinya waved them off, causing them to bow respectfully and leave to prepare a meal. Who was her master… that she could wordlessly give commands to her servants and they know her meaning?

"So Rize" she said out of the blue as she sat down at her cushion "tell me about your family what nobility do you come from?" she looked up as one servant came in and poured a cup of tea.

"Master--"

"Call me Miss Xinya please. No need to be formal here."

"Miss Xinya I do not come from nobility my family is from a small village on the border of the Great Northern forest. We by the standards of the city were extremely poor."

Cui Xinya nodded in acknowledgement as she listened "I see so you don't have training in decorum and etiquette?"

Rize shook her head ferociously she had never seen any reason to learn something so pointless.

"First lesson my young student. Etiquette and decorum are essential to a cultivator of ki energy... you may not see it now, but politics are just as critical in our lives as anything else. Take me for example do you think I'd have become the youngest master in the academies history if I didn't know how to maneuver the political landscape?"

Rize's brows furrowed as she had never considered that, she was at heart a country hick and no one had ever bothered inviting her to any formal events to learn such things as etiquette.

“I understand, but master why do politics matter so much? I have no formal training and won’t I risk embarrassing you.” Rize said concerned about her lack of knowledge in such fields.

Cui Xinya smiled as she looked at Rize's troubled expression "Don't worry child I will not let any student of mine embarrass me in the public arena so you will receive all the proper training these next couple days. In one weeks’ time many of the nobility and even the crown prince are going to be here for an annual event that is extremely important in the empire's world of politics. You will be my new little ornament." She smiled a slightly devious grin.

Rize felt a chill go down her spine as she watch her new master sip her tea slowly inhaling the sweet scent. Does her new master make it a habit of reading into people’s minds?

...

Possibly the most powerful master besides the Grandmaster was Master Sada Yoshida his legend proceeded him no matter what he did. Formerly a military captain who learned cultivation on his own he joined the academy five years ago at forty years old. His military experience refined his cultivation though it was self-taught and caused him to have a deep understanding of cultivation of ki energy. This was why he was the perfect master for Ezio who needed the best if he was going to impress his grandfather.

The Eternal Emperor now a days rarely emerged from his cultivation only to let his children run the empire via a council along with several other important figures with his father at the head. Ezio saw the burden his father was under and knew that he had to be strong like his siblings so he could take some of the burden from him all the hard work he was going to put into his cultivation was for that goal.

It didn't help his father that the war with the Kalimdah alliance had taken a toll on the empire as a whole and still no end was in sight so he had to become strong quickly if he was going to bear the burden of ruling by his father’s side. His other siblings however had aspirations of their own and would seek to be by father’s side as well.

"Master Sada I appreciate you taking me in. It is an honor." Ezio said as they walked towards Master Sada's courtyard "I am truly thankful as will my father."

"I didn't do it for you or your father" he said gruffly "I did it because you had the most talent out of this year's batch. Your lineage had no bearing on my choice... if you do not preform to the expected level you will be tossed aside and a new student will take your place. Do you understand?" Master Sada said without any hesitation despite Ezio’s obvious rank.

Ezio nodded his head confidently as they continued onward.

They walked along the stone pathway before in the distance the girl with blue eyes was trailing behind the young master Cui Xinya. It took a second before Ezio could process the situation...WHAT THE HELL! Ezio almost tripped over his own foot from shock how did that girl manage to impress Cui Xinya the legendary youngest master in academy history!

"Ezio" the gruff voice came from his master as he glared at Cui Xinya with unusually hateful eyes. "Watch out for that blue eyed girl. Do not let her get near you...anyone that witch takes an interest in is not good news. The only thing you should do is humiliate her in the upcoming showcase to the nobility cripple her prospects now before that witch makes her a deadly weapon...." He turned to Ezio. "Do you understand?"

Ezio nodded not sure how to take his master's words what was so bad about Master Cui?

…

*Swack*

"Again..."

*Swack*

"Again..."

*Swack*

"Again..."

"Not good enough! We cannot afford for you to be weak son! Keep on going!" the voice turned to two nearby guards. "Do not allow him to quit until he cannot lift his arms any longer."

"As you command Lord!" The two guards did a salute bowing their heads slightly as they did.

The smacking of the wooden practice katana began to echo in the distance as Crown Prince Uramoto Ryoma walked away. The selection ceremony was only a couple days away and his son needed to be strong for the challenges ahead. He was confident his son would gain the favor of a powerful deity, but he couldn’t afford to make any risks. The inner court was far more competitive than his son was used to thus far an unfortunate side effect of being so isolated from the world.

Ezio his youngest son was one of his more…talented children and though each of his children could be considered great talents he had a special place for his youngest…perhaps all parents have a special place for their youngest child.

...

Ezio watched his master perform several attacks in repetition. Master Sada was otherworldly in how quick his strikes were, perhaps even his father would be hard pressed to challenge him. Ezio watched starry eyed waiting for his master to finish his morning practice. The sun had yet to rise over the sky, but still was close enough that the darkened sky had given away to a cool morning light that Ezio particularly enjoyed looking at. It was this brief moment that he felt true tranquility.

"Uramoto Ezio!"

Ezio's eyes snapped back to his master who was dripping with sweat despite the cool morning breeze. Sada Yoshida wasn't bulky or large just average build, but every inch of his body was as it was chiseled from granite he was at the pinnacle of physical conditioning. Sada Yoshida was a legendary figure and up until Master Cui Xinya was the youngest master ever in the history of the Phoenix academy… which Ezio assumed was the reason he disliked her so much.

"Take off your tunic and join me." He said waving Ezio over to him.

"Yes sir!" Ezio cried out as he swiftly stripped down.

They stood side by side Ezio mimicking his master's motions as they went through the motions over and over letting the sun peak over the horizon and begin to beat on their back. They practiced in silence letting the morning calm give them peace of mind. Something about the repetition was relaxing despite all their muscles screaming out for them to stop.

After almost an hour Master Sada broke the silence. "Ezio physical conditioning are essential to giving you the best state of mind and body for the rest of the day. It will also aid in your cultivation. One whose body is at peak levels will be able to cultivate longer and more ki will flow through your body. Never forget no matter how sore you need to physically prepare yourself before you do anything." Sada said as he spun the sword in his hand hitting the katana against the practice board.

"Thank you for the wisdom master." Ezio nodded his father’s philosophy and Master Sada’s was quite similar.

They continued their training until the sun had reached a quarter up into the sky. Ezio had sweat dripping down his muscular back comparing his still growing body to Master Sada made him look scrawny which was hardly the case for a 14 year old Ezio was quite developed compared to the average man, but you simply could not compare a life time of combat and training to his few years on this world. Once they finished Master Sada grabbed two wash cloths tossing one into his student's face.

"Second rule young Ezio. Always eat a good breakfast in the morning."

Ezio smiled as he followed his master into their main hall.

...

Rize slept in her new bedroom that was in one of the smaller buildings of her master's courtyard. It was the best sleep she had gotten in a long time her body was completely exhausted from all the built up stress over the last couple months when she wasn't sure if she would make it, but now that she had her own master Rize felt like she could rest a bit longer it was quite calming. The sun hadn't risen yet, but she was sure that sleeping a bit longer wouldn't harm. Closing her eyes again she gave a gentle sigh.

"Tell me..." a shadowy figure stood over her bed that Rize had not noticed. "Is my new disciple so lazy that she does not get up at an appropriate time? Or is it that she thinks that this is a vacation since she passed my test yesterday?" An almost sinister like voice came from it in fact it felt more sinister at the moment than her new deity.

Rize's eyes popped open as she stared up at the person before her. Before her was her master who wore something that was not typical for her. She wore a training uniform that clung tightly around her body giving her an even more womanly appeal than before, but in a completely different sense. Her hair was tied tightly into a bun with two jade pins keeping it in place.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Cui Xinya said in a terrifying voice that spoke from between her clenched teeth. Her eyes stared intensely at Rize causing a shudder to go down her spine.

Rize looked outside the sun had yet to even rise above the distant horizon seeing the sun had yet to even rise Rize looked at her master puzzled.

"Get. Up." Her master said smiling her mouth twitching slightly giving her a crazed appearance that layered upon all the other horrifying feelings she was already sending out from her body language.

Rize propped herself onto her elbows as she sat up to stretch.

"I SAID! GET UP!" suddenly her master grabbed her bed from under her and pulled it out sending Rize flying onto the floor. Rize looked up at her master who had a crazy look to her eye.

"Minako Rize you have exactly two minutes to get outside dressed ready to go training with your master this morning or you will be cleaning the entire courtyard yourself and I will make sure the head servant gives you hell!" She said loudly enough for the neighboring courtyards to hear.

Rize watched stunned as her master left. What just happened? Is my new Master insane?

"You got one minute and thirty seconds now MINAKO!" her master's voice sounded out from the main courtyard sending Rize’s heart to her feet.

Rize rushed and threw on her academy tunic and tied her hair up in her red ribbon before running out into the courtyard. Her master was tapping her finger impatiently on her forearm as she waited for her student to approach.

"You only had ten seconds left Minako. Let me be clear before we start our morning routine... you will be out here before sun rise every day for training expect to be sweaty every morning. Every night you will wash yourself in the hot springs with me and we will cultivate while soaking in the waters for one hour. Do you understand?"

"Yes Miss Xinya!" Rize bowed swiftly.

"Good now today we will be building your endurance and speed. We will be running for distance with intervals of sprints in between."

"How far will we be going Miss Xinya?"

Cui Xinya looked up at the sky as she thought. "I think fifteen miles will be good today."

It took several seconds for Rize to realize what number her master had said. When she realized she indeed said fifteen miles, Rize gave a stunned look to her master if she were serious.

"Stop staring at me Minako it is uncanny with those eyes... shall we be off?" She said in more of a statement than a question.

The next moment her master launched off running towards the courtyard exit going much faster than Rize figured their pace would be for this many miles. Quickly catching up she matched the pace of her master. As an outer disciple it was not uncommon to do rigorous physical training.