Ming Yue stepped off the flying sword and dropped into a puddle on the ground, drenched in cold sweat. She silently swore to herself she would never get on on one of those things ever again. She had always been terrified of heights, and if she knew this was the method they'd travel by before setting off, she would've refused to come along.
"Where are we?" She asked after having recovered a bit. She looked around and the two of them had landed on a plateau, halfway up a mountain. A few meters to the north was a steep drop and right behind her was a large ancient-looking stone gate and a path continuing up the mountain.
"We're at the gate, just outside The Righteous Sword sect. But before we can enter, we have to do something..."
Jun Xi produced a silver ring out of nowhere and began forming various hand seals over it.
Ming Yue's eyes caught sight of the silver ring and immediately silly thoughts began forming in her mind. "Isn't this too soon?" She squealed with delight and cupped her reddening face with her hands.
Jun Xi noticed her weird behavior in the corner of his eye and shook his head, wondering what's going on inside the girl's head this time.
He finished the last few hand seals and an octagonal shape of light was sucked into the ring.
Seeing him coming over, Ming Yue, still sitting on the ground, bashfully presented her hand to him like a girl being proposed to.
"Put this on. It will protect you from the sect's formation." He said, turning her outstretched hand over and placed the ring in her palm.
"Eh? What do you mean?" She asked, while admiring the ring, though with slight disappointment.
"The sect is protected by a formation and will attack when it senses demonic aura, such as yours. If you don't wear the ring, you will experience excruciating pain and with your non-existent cultivation I doubt you will survive for long. Oh, and also make sure no one inside the sect finds out you're a demon, or they might kill you."
"Eh!? Do we have to go? Can't we go somewhere else?" She pleadingly pulled at the sleeve of his robe, no longer having the desire to enter the sect.
"No." He said firmly and absolutely.
Ming Yue sighed and reluctantly put the ring on her finger. "Please keep me safe, little ring." She said while gently petting it with a finger.
***
The Main Hall of the Righteous Sect.
Ming Yue curiously looked around. This building was impressive to say the least, with a ceiling height that made anyone who'd enter it feel like an ant.
Three old, white-bearded men greeted them as they entered.
"First Elder. Second Elder. Third Elder." Jun Xi clasped his hands and made a small formal bow as he greeted his elders.
"Jun Xi. Hope your journey was safe and successful." The old man furthest to the left said. He was the Third Elder of the sect.
"This junior was lucky." Jun Xi said and produced a medicinal plant out of nowhere.
The Third Elder took the medicinal plant and carefully began to inspect it. "Good. Good. Very good! Now we can finally treat our junior sister." The Third Elder said while nodding his head.
"Yes, very good." The other two elders agreed in a choir.
The Third Elder stored away the medicinal plant and turned toward Ming Yue. "And who's this?"
"This is your junior's new disciple, Ming Yue." Jun Xi replied. "Ming Yue, bow to your elders." He said and helped her bow by pushing down her head.
The Third Elder suddenly looked like he had swallowed a fly. "This... this..." He couldn't get his words out and his face began contorting and turning slightly red.
"This isn't quite right. Is it?" The Second Elder helped finishing Third Elder's words.
"Right! Right! This... this isn't quite right. Who is this girl? She's not even a member of our sect. How could she become your disciple?" The Third Elder finally got the fly out of his mouth and ranted on.
"Third Elder, are you going to break your promise?" Jun Xi asked, his eyes turning serious.
The Third Elder began coughing.
"Then, since our business are finished we'll take our leave." Jun Xi said, and he and Ming Yue left the hall.
As they left, a glint appeared in the eye of another old man sitting in the head chair further down the hall. Unknown to everyone in the hall, he had kept a close eye on the girl. This old man was no one else but the sect's patriarch.
"What's this promise?" The Second Elder asked.
"The boy was so adamant against taking on a disciple that I promised if he'd take one on, he could take anyone, no questions asked. However, how could I expect he'd pick some random, unknown girl from outside the sect?" The Third Elder lamented.
The other two elder's nodded at his predicament and comfortingly patted his back. The Third Elder had made it his personal mission to make Jun Xi take on a disciple. However, for hundreds of years the damn boy had ignored him.
***
The Training Fields.
A beautiful girl dressed in pink was gracefully brandishing a sword in a series of complicated moves. As she flew around, she looked like a fairy that had come down from the heavens.
Two young girls were watching her with dreamy eyes as they discussed.
"Once First Senior Brother returns from his mission, he will definitely take on Sister Fu Ping as a disciple." One of the girl's said.
The other girl nodded her head. "I think so too. Only sister Fu Ping can match First Senior Brother when it comes to looks and martial arts. They are a match made in heaven!"
A stealthy smirk appeared on Fu Ping's lips as she continued practicing her sword moves.
"Have you guys heard?" Suddenly a young boy came running into the training fields while shouting and waving his hands excitedly. He ran to a group of boys that had gathered as they rested from the training. "First Senior Brother has returned from his mission and he has brought his new disciple. And guess what, she's a pretty girl!"
Fu Ping suddenly missed a step and fell face flat onto the ground.
"Sister Fu Ping!" The two girls who were watching her, hurriedly ran over to her, faces full of concern.