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Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 7- A Tea Failure
🕑 Added 2025-12-16 15:00:16 +0000 UTCTian and Hong made their way down the rough stone path into the hill. The grey stone was rimmed with green. Moss, growing thick from the damp, made little forests next to lakes of lichen and the occasional rising mountain of stone. Tiny landscapes, scattered like a thousand fractured worlds across the cave. The only light came from the hole leading outside, but that was alright. Perception arts were things every young immortal was expected to master.
The path lead opened up into a wide cavern. Tian could smell the water, cool and clean, before he saw it. He could hear the faint trickling of tiny waterfalls, and feel the breath of the wind on his neck, pulled down the long tunnel and freshening the caverns below.
“Are you doing alright?” Tian asked.
“Fine. I’m going to get out the light array, though.”
“Mmm.” Tian subtly got his rope dart ready, stretching his senses to their extremes. Things had a nasty way of jumping at you when you suddenly disturbed them. Hong pulled out a little formation disk (another gift from the Wang Clan, as a thank you for all the tea Tian had been serving them) and tapped the embedded spirit crystal. Soft light, the color of daylight an hour after a summer dawn, filled the cavern.
Tian and Hong gasped. The cave seemed to come alive. Flecks of mica and streaks of colorful stone caught the light and made it dance. The little stream ran through the cavern, down little falls until it spread onto a rocky shelf and formed a pool. Faint wisps of steam rose from the clear water, making the mossy cavern damp and misty. The qi in the room was powerful, yet calm, filled with the healing strength of water and earth, balanced with the liveliness of wood. It lacked only fire and metal to form a complete cycle.
“I always wondered why they were called grotto heavens. I see it now.” Tian murmured. “Even for me, this would be a wonderful place to cultivate.”
Hong pointed towards the back of the cavern. “It seems our predecessors agreed with you.”
Sitting on a platform at the end of the cavern was a skeleton, sitting cross legged, palms up on its knees, index and middle fingers pinched to its thumbs. Its robe was an elegant silver, as though woven through with untarnishing metal, and edged with deep red. There was a sword next to it on the ground, and, still attached to the ancient senior’s finger, was a fine looking ring.
“That isn’t an Ancient Crane Monastery uniform robe,” Hong murmured. And… don’t the bones look a little… off?”
Tian took a closer look. “Your eyes were always better than mine. I don’t see it.”
They two walked over, quietly readying themselves in case of an unpleasant surprise. Hong had her spear resting against her shoulder, her eyes sweeping any shadowy spot where something vile might be hiding.
Tian kept his eyes fixed on the skeleton. As they got closer, he started seeing what had alerted Liren- the bones were too white, chalk white, as though they had been rubbed with powder. Tian stopped dead in his tracks.
Hong stopped with him, spear at the ready, trying to see what he had spotted. Tian gently put her hand on her wrist, before stepping forward and bowing.
“Ancient Crane Monastery’s Tian Zihao and Hong Liren offer their respectful greetings to the senior, and apologize for intruding on their secluded cultivation.”
The skeleton didn’t move. Tian held the bow, and Hong belatedly followed suit. The little stream made its merry noise, as it had for untold centuries, but for all that, the cavern felt dreadfully quiet.
The skeleton felt like it slightly nodded its head, and the two straightened their backs.
“I am quite certain not a hint of my qi escaped, and you haven’t even begun to cultivate shen, so it wasn’t anything like that either. How did you know?” The voice was male, and something about it itched the ears.
“Senior is not the first spirit possessing their skeleton we have met. Might I know Sir’s honored name?” Tian was on his best behavior. The Saintess, ghost or not, had been strong enough to scare even Heavenly Realm cultivators. He didn’t know how powerful this senior was, but he wasn’t willing to take stupid chances.
“Honored name, eh?” The laugh wasn’t pleasant, but it didn’t seem hostile. “Maybe in this era, my name shall be honored.” The skeleton didn’t move. It’s mouth never opened, it’s hands didn’t twitch. However it was speaking, it didn’t involve moving air. “In this era, I will be known as Suneater.”
Tian cupped his hands and bowed again. “Respectful greetings to Daoist Suneater.”
“Mmm. You said Ancient Crane Monastery. Did Elder Eightgates finally lose his mind and slap a nickname on Heavenstep Mountain?”
“Reporting to Senior, this Junior has only ever known it as Ancient Crane Mountain. I do not know Elder Eightgates.”
Tian felt brainpower flex and twist around him. It seemed that Suneater was less than convinced by his answer.
“Eightgates. Elder Eightgates. Perfected Human Eightgates. How could you live on this mountain and not know who rules it?”
Tian and Hong could only smile awkwardly.
“Merciful heavens, I’ve been awoken by idiots. Let’s start from the top, shall we? You are servants of my Eight Directions Palace, hoping to cultivate immortality some day. You apparently aren’t complete idiots, since I can see your master or mistress has invested at least a little into your foundations. For some reason, they have renamed the mountain and changed the servants’ uniform.”
Tian felt the increasing weight of the brainpower around him, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. Suneater was clearly some sort of powerful ancient, but the Saintess spoke like an ancient. Even Starsieve, who was comparatively much younger, spoke like an ancient. Suneater sounded younger. Not that much older than Tian for all his voice rasped and pricked his ears.
“A long time has passed. I have no problem understanding that. But since the Silver and Red of the True Disciples of the Eight Directions Palace hasn’t changed in three hundred thousand years, I trust you ants can recognize it! Answer me! Just what has happened on this mountain?”
Tian bowed apologetically. “Junior was blind! The only symbol of the Eight Directions Palace I know is the geometric brocade trim-”
He felt the growing brainpower retract like a gecko’s tongue back into Suneater’s skull. “You are acquainted with an Inheriting Disciple. Or you have seen one, at least.” Tian had a sense of a slow exhalation. “It makes more sense now. This mountain must have been given to an Inheriting Disciple as their cultivation ground, and they issued you different uniforms to make it clear you aren’t part of the Palace. Mortals like you simply haven’t lived long enough or cultivated high enough to know anything. Haaah.”
The stream once again filled the cavern with noise. Tian and Hong stood quite still.
“Well. I’m awake now. Who is your master? Or senior servant, or whatever. Which immortal servant of the Inheriting Disciple do you serve?”
Tian and Hong shared a look. “Elder Rui?”
Suneater snorted. “This Rui might be older than you, but he is certainly no Elder. Come forward. A little more. Yes, that should do. How long have you served the sect?”
Hong answered “Six years, True Disciple.”
Tian had the uncanny feeling that the immoble skeleton just slapped his hand over his face. “Six years. Yes, this is all making much more sense. Well, I guess that means you are a little promising after all, with this level of foundation you might reach as high as a Lay Disciple. If you applied yourselves. But I grow thirsty. What can you offer me?”
There was more than a hint of malice in Suneater’s voice, but Tian determinedly ignored it. “I’m told that, while my tea is of mediocre quality, my tea service is quite acceptable. At the very least, the other Spirit I served tea to enjoyed it.”
There was a startled pause. “Really.”
“Junior wouldn’t dare lie to the True Disciple. She drank the qi rather than the liquid, of course.”
Suneater snickered. “You know what? Sure. I’ll play along for a bit. Your tea won’t be fit for a human to drink. Brew this.” A tong of tea flew out, still wrapped in bamboo and bound with sisal twine. Tian undid the knot, opened the leaves, and was practically knocked over by the sudden burst of tea qi. Aged white tea, of an age and potency he had never before encountered.
Tian quickly set out his little table and tea tray. He generally didn’t invest a lot of effort into using the six gentlemen tools, but now seemed like the time to use his full effort. The kettle was heating nicely. His tea pets were in for a serious treat.
The top tea cake had already been broken up a little, so Tian didn’t hesitate to carefully chip off a piece. He used the tongs to place the tea in a little bowl. The water had come to a boil- Tian poured the boiling water over the tools, the cups and the tray itself. Once all was ready, he loaded the tea into the lidded cup and-
“Oh, I see. Not bad for a mortal. Especially a bullied child like you.” Suneater snickered again. The sound grew more unpleasant every time.
“Bullied, True Disciple?” Tian’s hands never stopped working. The wash was offered to the tea pets. Tian would have sworn he heard them groaning with appreciation. Then the next steep began. The medicinal aroma, the warmth and sweetness rising from the tea, was intoxicating.
“Oh please. You have a bit of scrap rock for a tray, clay cups that look like they were made by a toddler, and those tools! Boy, is there no one who will stand up for you? Even your tea pets, if you can call them tea pets, are starving. They are like the embryos of tea pets. Barely a hint of tea qi in them. If this isn’t every sign of a senior stealing your spirit stones and breaking your things, I don’t know what is.”
Tian carefully poured the tea through a strainer and into the friendship pitcher. The color was a rich gold, with tiny dancing flecks of white within it. The aroma was transcendent- medicinal, but unmistakably tea.
“Please, True Disciple Suneater. I would value your opinion of my skills.” He offered the tea cup. He felt something curl around it and carried it through the air to Suneater.
“You offer the five elements, and most particularly… the human, yin aspect of fire? Really?”
“Yes, True Disciple. It is the flame I have lit in my heart.”
“You really are the perfect person to bully. I suppose that’s why you and the troll dual cultivated. Who else would have her?”
Tian and Hong froze.
“Not even proper dual cultivation. I can taste the primordial yang and yin on you two. It seems my luck hasn’t abandoned me entirely. Two mortal servants from outside the sect have been subsisting on whatever scraps they can scavenge from the trash left by the Inheriting Disciple. Bullied, abused, despised, and clearly sent to your deaths if you were told to break the seal on a secluded cultivation chamber marked with the symbol of a True Disciple.”
Suneater started laughing, merry and cruel. “Your tea service is shit! You have ruined my good tea leaves, and tried to make up for it with your piddling, pathetic insights into things far, far beyond your station. You dare offer compassion? To me?! Mortals will barely fill the cracks between my teeth, but you are better than nothing.”
The tea cup shattered in the air, the dust and liquid swirling away. “The two of you will make a nice little snack. Just the thing to clear out the taste of rotten tea.”
Comments
StrollingEye
The friction of the Elder against Tian is going to be so interesting to see resolved, and if the elder is not lying, then it's going to reveal great insights into the past.
ghostb1tch
Oh boy, this ghost chose to go after the only two people in the entire realm with plot armor.
Baines
she only challenged his life, quite nice of her really
Harimeow
Oh how rude. Thousands of years old and hasn't learned any manners. Look out you old bag of bones
Ranger Science
This is the first anyone to not like Tian’s tea, no? …totally a heretic
Noroh
Tian has always been trash. He was born with trash luck to trash parents with trash talent. He grew up with Gramps in the trash, and the first technique he ever cultivated was trash aa well. In the grand scheme of things his monastary is trash, his tea is trash, and some of his tea pets were literally found in the trash. The only thing Tian has ever had that has not been trash has been his found family. I do not know what Tian will do to overcome this Hungry Ghost but I believe he will do it with righteous fury at the scorn directed at his Sister.
Ben Sheahan
Is this guy actually a dick? Or is he just messing with them. Could be he wants some entertainment and seeing what they’ve got in combat could be all he’s after.
Al
This guy seems like an absolute schmuck compared to the mistress of the six turns cavern. Hard to call him the first 'real' cultivator unless you're talking about his shit attitude. But even then Tian met that little twerp early on in the Redstone Wastes arc that was similar.
JKlarinet
Tian = Sky. Suneater = Tiangou. Uh Oh. Another way to say it is that Tian shows up, says “I am Tian.” And this guys says, “I will be known as Tian-eater.”
Gerald Ransom Jr
Good point
Gerald Ransom Jr
HA he is isn’t he?
Pedro Henrique
I think based on what we have seen that he and the skeleton saintess were part of an overlord sect that ruled over many diferent sects and kingdoms, a sect that has long since disbanded. The origin of the Crane sect was a literal migratory cultivating crane, who briefly stoped on the Mountain, taught the creator of Advent of Spring for a bit, and then left to continue on their journey.
Gerald Ransom Jr
“Now wait a minute bucko” Tian Probably
Pedro Henrique
It would be weird if there were less than 6, probably 9 since its the "standard" in most xianxia novels.
habu987
Has it been established, or mentioned in the comments via WoW, how many cultivation realms there are? I'm assuming this has a structure along the lines of ISSTH where there are a number of different cultivation realms, though hopefully not the 12 or however many realms ISSTH had. We can certainly infer from Grandpa's comments here and there that neither the Earthly nor Heavenly realms are anything to write home about. As such, I'm assuming that the Heavenly realm is pretty low on the totem pole, but I wonder just how low it is.
Chad L.
Uhoh. He insulted Hong. Now he gets the smack.
Oka
Grandpa would surely have something interesting to say on them meeting their first "real" cultivator?
LinkRue
So... he's a failed student of a past sect that was probably conquered by the original founders of thr Crane sect... that's not good.
Thomas Lawless
Even the antagonists are throwing shade about their lack of dating. Perhaps he should join the patreon.
Fayhem
I don't want to be controversial, but I think Senior Shiteater might be a prick.
JackassofAllTrades
I think this might be another Heavensieve/Starsieve situation
Zephyr
I wonder what relation the Eight Directions Palace has with the Saintess' Five Direction Palace? The geometric pattern Tian recognized is the same pattern he saw on her storage ring and on the War King Cho's robe back in the five element courtyard temple. Edit: Re-reading the old Saintess chapter she does mention how her friend tried to marry her off to a Saber Cultivator... and this skeleton does have a sword.... I wonder if this is him! “Endless trouble! She nearly got me married. Ayah! And then she had the gall to tell me I would have been well matched. Well matched! To a saber cultivator! Have you ever heard of something sillier than that?”
atmosphericturtle
He’s just jealous he couldn’t pull a tomboy baddie once in his long miserable life 😂
Austin Cagle
Well, time to earn your "fortuitous encounter
Kain
“Not even proper dual cultivation. I can taste the primordial yang and yin on you two.” I just realized he called them virgins lol.
William Johnson
So this guy clearly sucks, but maybe he's just cranky because... “You really are the perfect person to bully. I suppose that’s why you and the troll dual cultivated. Who else would have her?” Kill him with fire! So that aside, Eight Directions Palace is not Five Directions Palace. Tian seems to think this is guy is from the same sect as the Saintess, is this a typo or is this a different but possibly related group?
atmosphericturtle
Lil bro needs to be put in his place 🥱
atmosphericturtle
OH… I wonder how they’ll get out of this one? Wandering senior? Life saving treasure? Maybe even Grandpa (when will he come back 😭😭😭)?
Potato
Honestly it sounds like he's just a really old dead Heavenly Realm cultivator that's more than likely weakened from not being able to do much in his cave. I feel like Tian and Hong should be able to win / get away at least. The bigger concern honestly is emotional impact as Hong is already insecure about her appearance but no one has really straight up called her a troll to her face (that we know of) and just hammered into her insecurities. Hopefully, Hong can use this to truly get over her insecurities regarding her appearance.
JackassofAllTrades
“Honored name, eh?” The laugh wasn’t pleasant, but it didn’t seem hostile. “Maybe in this era, my name shall be honored.”- This guy was absolutely nothing special back in the day
Andrew Goebel
What's wrong with the 5 elements arc?
Raymond Mouton
Thanks for the chapter.
JackassofAllTrades
Arrogant, Cruel, and Greedy. Eight Directions Palace didn't much value the three treasures I guess.
Peter Baird
🫣
Summer Coff
I think it's probably more like he comes from a sect that disappeared and fell out of prominence before the Ancient Crane descended.
Julia
Wow, what a dick.
Isak Mark
TBH, I would also be pissed off if someone broke into my immortal cave(mom's basement) and managed to fuck up making me tea(my precious instant ramen noodles.)
Logrus
I hope this spirit is just delusional. I'm really not a fan of the "world is extremely weak and pathetic in the broader universe" trope.
antpocas
I don't think that the sect that used to rule the mountain treated its earth realm disciples better, it was just a significantly stronger sect than the 6th rate Ancient Crane Monastery, so even its least promising disciples had more resources than Tian Zihao and Hong Liren. It might have been a demonic sect too, from how the skeleton is acting.
Ano Ano
This guy is pretty condescending for someone who became a skeleton. Only chumps become nothing but bones and chi.
Aadi Narayan
He doesn't have eyes so it makes sense he can't recognize Mount Tai, but that still doesn't forgive it.
Andrew Goebel
Sunshitter?
Joshua Flowers
The rest were porcelain, or clay, but this one… this one was ivory
Veridescent
The embryoic comment on the tea pets is interesting. Also the eight gates and the eight directions? Another nice mix of metaphycis
darkmuch
*young* master lol.
Zenopath (AEV)
“That isn’t an Ancient Crane Monastery uniform robe,” Hong murmured. And… don’t the bones look a little… off?” - missing quotes
Nil
I don't particularly like Suneater, he sounds like a prick. Also his story confuses me. He speaks with he self-importance of someone beyond the Heavenly Realm, maybe even the realm beyond that if he is a "True Disciple" of a sect who treated earth realm disciples so much better than Tian and Hong, given his bullying comment. Yet he acts so juvenile. The version I like more is that he is a Heavenly Realm cultivator who stayed in that cave for so long he deluded himself about all of his exposition. His seal also got weak enough to be broken by Liren in one strike.
Alamand
Well, tian and Hong have run into their first true silk pants young master. Not really their fault for offending them since even blinking wrong could set them off.
Pinpenny the great lithian
I think this senior misspelled shit when he was telling us his name.
Hunter8k
One of my fav tropes… current world (or what we know of it) being shit. Just need to fix the five elements arc and sky pride is close to a S tier reccomendation
Pickle
oh no, we've found out what happens when a Young Master becomes an Old Monster.
habu987
Chapter 8: Tian Pimp Slaps a Skeleton for the Audacity of That Bitch
Nicknick
I have to imagine those bones are pretty cursed
David Bailey
Yes.
PhDoug
It seems we've found another rock thrower... And we know what Tian does to rock throwers
Chris Fey
I don’t know what will anger Tien more. Insulting his tea service or calling his martial sister a Troll.
Gardor
I wonder if this guy has like, a next step. It doesn't seem like spirits are very mobile or able to revivify themselves, is this a potential possession plan?
D2FU
And that is how Tian acquired his most interesting teacup….
Pagrek
Understand, Senior, that those words mean war. To insult the Tea Venerable’s tea service! It is true they have eyes, but cannot recognize Mount Tai!
Gojira
And the other lich thought him mad when he called her kind
Nicknick
This guy is a dick
Trotske
Thanks for the chapter!
Robert Mullins
A Horror title, if this story ever had one.
Rowdy
Hey, this guy's a jerk!
