The Stone Pillar Test

Master Hong was the Jade Dragon Sect's head of outer-disciple intake and, in thirty years of service, had never processed an application quite like this one.

The boy stood in the courtyard in clothes that had not been washed recently, holding a manual that should have been behind glass in the archive, and said: "I want to join the sect. I'll give the book back if you let me."

Master Hong studied him. No sect mark, no spirit root assessment, no letter of recommendation. His stance was wrong in seven different ways and somehow also right in a way that defied the framework for thinking about stances.

"Where did you get that book?"

"Found it."

"Where?"

"In a room that had the book in it."

Hong pinched the bridge of his nose. "The Iron Fist Manual has been in the private archive for sixty-three years."

"That's a long time to leave a book without reading it."

Despite himself, Hong felt a corner of his mouth move.

"Demonstrate your cultivation," he said.

The boy looked at the stone pillar beside him, and then hit it with his open palm. The pillar cracked vertically from base to crown.

Hong looked at the pillar for a long time.

"You're in," he said. "We will discuss the other details later."