Upon reaching the top of Xuanwu Hills, Li Tengfei immediately caught sight of imposing buildings. A little further, two guards with the cultivation of at least the seventh level of body refinement and armed with long swords were standing guard.
"Greetings Elder Ye. Welcome back to the sect", the two guards said in unison.
It was at that moment that Li Tengfei realised he was the disciple of an Elder of the sect, which meant he had quite a status within the sect, didn't it? Walking a few steps forwarded, Li Tengfei spotted a considerable amount of people, all ranging from 12 to 30 years old and each being a martial cultivator.
"How terrifying!", Li Tengfei thought.
After a while, Li Tengfei and his master entered a hall. Behind a desk, an imposing man with a terrifying aura of the 7th level of body refinement stood.
"Greetings, Deacon Xu"
"Greetings, Elder YE. How was the mission?"
"It went well. How has the sect been doing in my absence?"
"Nothing has changed. Oh, who's that little fellow behind you? A new member? No, that's not right... a member of the sect wouldn't follow the second Elder around. Could it be... ELDER YE, YOU'VE ACCEPTED A DISCIPLE?!"
"Haha, you saw through it. This my new direct disciple; Li Tengfei. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to show him around."
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After that short conversation, master and disciple both went to take a look around until they arrived in front of a sparring arena. Within the arena two persons were sparring. One was a well-built youth who had a cultivation of the 3rd level of body refinement.
The second was a beautiful young girl who was around the age of Li Tengfei. She had long, wavy black hair and a fair complexion as well as high cheek bones. All in all, she fit the qualifications needed to be called a beauty.
Unlike all the other males present there, Li Tengfei's gaze was not filled with lust, but of admiration.
Yes, beauty was something great and everything, but for Li Tengfei, someone who is an orphan and lived on the streets for so many years, he knew the cruelty of reality. He was not lustful at all, instead, he truthfully admired the girl because she obviously had the upper hand throughout the battle. Power and strength was what Li Tengfei wanted, and that is what attracted his gaze, not beauty.
For someone like Elder Ye, he was immediately aware of this and this made him even more satisfied of his disciple. How many youths had such a state of mind nowadays?
After the sparring, Elder Ye said:
"This is Lu Mingyu. She is 14 years old , just like you and has reached the 3rd level of body refinement already. She is considered to be one of the rising geniuses of the clan. You should try to catch up to her, and believe me, you will be able to. However, you shouldn't rush it. Always remember this."
After talking a bit more with his Master, Li Tengfei decided to set Lu Mengyu as his role model as they were of the same age. Given that she was a genius, it would be a true challenge to keep up, but Li Tengfei was determined to try his best.
Next, Elder Ye brought Li Tengfei to his residence. It was a huge house that showed the wealth and status of its owner. Besides the house, there was a smaller one. It was not as luxurious but it looked very cozy. It was definitely an upgrade from living on the streets.
"Hehe, it looks like you've already spotted your new house. I built it when I first built mine, in hope of one day having someone to carry on my legacy. And that someone is you. So, I hope you will not disappoint me and cultivate hard to someday become a powerful expert, even more powerful than me."
After a slight pause, Elder Ye added "You know, Tengfei , you have great potential in you and you possess many qualities that most youths don't have nowadays. With this combination, I truly believe you will become an unfathomable existance, standing at the peak of humanity."
Of course, Elder Ye had no idea how true the words he said were.
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After the small motivational speech, Elder Ye took Li Tengfei to the library where one could find all kinds of books. Some books were about general knowledge, others about cultivation and the vast majority about techniques and skills.
Li Tengfei learnt a lot about how techniques and weapons were ranked. There was the mortal, spirit and earth level. Each of them were further divided into low tier, mid tier, high tier and peak. There were also rumors of saint level, but no one was sure if it really existed. In the Soaring Dragon sect, they even had Spirit class techniques which was quite impressive. Of course they were not available to everyone.
After reading a few books about cultivation, Li Tengfei had an even better understanding of cultivation. He swiftly retreated to his house where he tried to do as the books said.
He closed his eyes and started to focus on the energy that was surrounding him.
Nothing... he couldn't feel anything.
But of course, he would not abandon so easily. He continued with a resolute mind and a calm heart.
Two hours later Li Tengfei started to feel a mysterious energy in the air around him. It gave off an imposing aura yet had a calming effect. Li Tengfei tried to interact with that energy and all of a sudden began absorbing it like crazy.
If any expert was present, they would have realised that Li Tengfei's rate of absorbtion was way higher than any other person's. In fact, it was at least ten times faster.
After a bit, Li Tengfei started to give off the aura of a martial cultivator. He had done it! He was now at the first level of body refinement and had officially embarked on the path of a martial cultivator.
Meanwhile, his body was feeling weird and his blood was acting strangely, as if it had been stimulated. Li Tengfei thought it was normal, yet his body was giving off an increasingly more terrifying aura which he also thought was normal.
Li Tengfei remembered the words of his Master and started stabilising his cultivation. After an hour or so, Li Tengfei felt his body go cold, as if a spirit passed through him.
All of a sudden, he lost consiousness.