A world where might makes right. A world of Jade and Gold, of Phoenix and Dragons, of Pills and Talismans, of Martial and Spiritual arts.
A world where diligent training yield strength, meaning freedom. A world where loneliness means death, meaning social chains.
A world still unfair, as the ones reaching the heavens are most likely born rich - be it political riches of the aristocrats, power of secret knowledges and hidden realms of clans, or lucky enough to be born one-in-a-thousand genius.

This was not the case of Quiet Word - that is, (You).
Your current skill level being on par with said genius of your age? Lucky encounters and a knack for navigating social situations.
You know a fair amount of technic for such a young cultivator, but your strength lies in the impressive amount of Bonded Spiritual Beasts - A no-longer Hawk spirit, a Horse spirit, a Snake spirit and a Wolf spirit.
Speaking of that last one, you didn't told a world about him to anybody. As a scion of the Primordial Wolf spirit, its father warned you of its worth and how people could want to rip it away from you.
Said worth comes from its ability to Fuse without restriction - fusion being a secret of the higher ranking of your sect, secret you have almost completely rediscovered on your own. Alright, the Primordial Wolf might have helped you on that point.

Recently, you discovered a dao more than well suited to you : the way of the Rising Phoenix. Your Hawk spirit evolved into titular Rising Phoenix, the Hawk's Wide Ballet turned into the Rising Phoenix's Wide ballet and you discovered a new mind tempering technique in the Poem of the Rising Phoenix. You are half a step away from opening the Mouth Aperture, the latest small realm before 2nd stage. This is mainly thanks to insane gain reached while you were in your first ever seclusion. Right now, you are getting ready for the Yearly Tournament.
Said Yearly Tournament you fully expect to win brightly : one of your trump is strong enough to take down anyone barring Dhundan.