"Take care Rong'er, you must succeed, the future of this tribe depends on it."
A large burly man was giving his son a pat on the back, this man was the Tatar Tribe's Chief and he was talking to his son Yang Rong.
"Don't worry father I'll be sure to get in, the sect is really close so I'll come to visit often!"
The youth laughed out loud while smacking his chest that had gotten quite wide within the years. He wasn't alone here, there were many other youths at the Qi condensation level gathered. People from the village were seeing them off as finally, the honorable sect that they owed their lives too was opening up their doors.
Cheng Yun was also there, the boy was one of the first people that Matt had come across in this world. The two youths and some of their tribe members were packed up and ready to make the walk towards the United Element Sect's location.
The sect had set up their main headquarters in the nearby forest. This caused some trouble with the beasts that fled in all directions, but the sect was nice enough to reimburse the tribes for the loss of food.
After some years they had finally announced that they would be accepting new disciples. They were divided into age groups depending on the realm someone was in. For instance, they didn't accept anyone above the age of 25 that was still a Qi condensation practitioner. This left most of the people in these lower lands without any hope. Only the youngsters would be allowed to participate in the Sect trials.
Cultivators of the foundation establishment level were also tested, they would receive higher positions also depending on their age. There was also a cap there that ended at fifty. It was obvious from these limits that the new sect was looking for youthful cultivators. There were a couple of theories out there why it was like this. The most feasible one being that they didn't want talentless old cultivators in their midst.
The trials would be taking place in a week. The Tatar Tribe was located a day away from the United Elements sect. The tribe people were going there a bit early as they just couldn't wait any longer. They knew the woods like the back of their hand and would probably arrive even sooner.
"Take care."
"Make us proud!"
"For the tribe!"
People were waving and hugging the youths that were below the age of 25. There were no tribesmen that were at the foundation establishment level. There was quite a bit at stake here, the future of this tribe was on the line here and the youths knew this.
The Tatar Tribe wasn't the only one around here. There were many similar tribes in villages scattered all over this massive forest. Everyone knew that if even one person gets accepted in as an outer sect disciple it would be enough to protect them.
This was how things worked in this world. If the other tribes managed to land a spot in the new powerful sect they would be able to toss their weight around. There were long-lasting grudges between some of the tribes. They also battled with each other for resources and food on a regular basis.
Cheng Yun and Yang Rong that was in no way related to the Dark Palm Sect leader finally left the village. They had about twenty people in their group all trained and previously tested by their village elders. The sect didn't really specify anything besides the age limit but no one was willing to let untrained kids participate in the trials. The sect might take offense if they send juniors of low cultivation bases and low skill.
"Brother Rong, do you think we will succeed?"
Cheng Yun asked while the group moved through the woods. The two didn't use to see eye to eye all those years ago but they have gotten past it. The reason the two were so close now and considered themselves brothers, was Zhang Dong. He had saved both of them and the two bonded over it.
"Of course we will succeed, the mighty senior even blessed us with his presence twice already!"
Rong was pumped and believed that there wouldn't be any problems. He had been training for all those years, even hogging most of the bathhouse that Zhang Dong cultivated in to get faster breakthroughs.
"You are right… he might favor our tribe! I wonder what the inside of that sect looks like, we never got far enough to see anything…"
The two were caught by some United Element elders sometime ago when they tried seeking it to ask Zhang Dong to accept them as disciples. They were punished harshly by the tribe elders after returning home. It was seen as quite the disgrace at the time, their parents were even worried that the tribe might be annihilated if they offended someone from that overpowered sect. Luckily nothing like that occurred, the sect apparently was quite honorable and didn't act out in anger against weaker factions like this tribe.
"I bet everything inside is covered with white and green jade! You can hear calm zither music and beautiful elder sisters fly on their swords every day, their long hair just dancing in the wind!"
The two blushed and drooled a bit. They were still young men and were hoping to find a partner in the sect. Cultivators that practiced body refining techniques tended to be more beautiful than your regular people. They got a glimpse of some beautiful elder sisters when they came to pick up the remnants of the Dark Palm sect.
"What if we manage to catch the eye of Fairy Xue?"
"Huh? Do you think Fairy Xue will look twice at an ugly bastard like you? She will be mine!"
Rong replied to Yun while laughing, the two started pushing each other in good faith. The other one just smirked as he retaliated. Zhang Dong's disciples were quite famous among the younger generation. Liu was considered to be the epitome of a young man while Xue was of a woman, they were seen as perfect disciples both in looks and cultivation. Everyone wanted to meet them and call them senior brother and senior sister.
"I wondered why it stunk so much, it were some smelly brats from the Tatar Tribe."
Rong's and Yun's wrestling was interrupted by some voices. They looked to the voices and spotted some people wearing pelts.
"Scum from the Black Scar Tribe!"
"Who are you calling scum? You trash!"
The two groups faced each other. Both sides had a similar number of people. This was one of the tribes that were in opposition to the Tatar tribe. They lived close to each other and always competed for game or other resources, sometimes there were even bloody battles.
"Brother Rong, we shouldn't if we battle them here, we might not make it for the sect trial…"
Cheng Yun positioned himself behind Yang Rong and tried pulling him back. On the other side, the Black Scar tribe was acting in a similar way. Their two leaders were at their throats but the others knew that it would be better to conserve their strength for the tests.
"You are lucky that we are close to the esteemed sect grounds! After I secure my spot as an inner disciple I will make your tiny tribe pay for all its done!"
The groups started barking insults at each other but luckily no one was willing to fight just yet. They weren't willing to lose their chance of getting into the powerful sect. A small injury could very well cause them to fail one of the tests. It was unknown when the next trials would take place, they could be too old to participate if they don't make it in now.
"You an inner disciple? Hah. You won't even qualify as a servant!"
"We will see, you should pray to not meet me at the trial!"
The two leaders of the tribes glared at each other before moving away. There was still some more walking to be done but with the other tribe now with them, Yang Rong decided to increase the pace.
A little competition took place as the Black Scar tribesmen realized that the people from the Tatar tribe were trying to get to the renowned sect first. They started off slow by speed walking but soon enough it turned to running. Everyone was giving it all as they sped towards the sect grounds at full throttle.
With the speed increase, it didn't take them that long to get there. They realized that they were someplace new the moment they got there. The forest vanished and they could see flatland and grass that stretched out for kilometers.
The United Element sect workers cleared a lot of the forest around the area that Zhang Dong designated as the center. The trees were uprooted and the ground was covered with green spirit grass. Through the grass a brick road path was going through, in the distance, the youths could see massive walls stretching far. There was even a moat before that wall and a drawbridge at the entrance.
"We are here, it's 'New Spirit Spring City.'"
Cheng Yun said while panting, tired from all the sprinting he was doing for some hours.
"Yes, the sect is past the city and further in!"
The sect was established first, the whole area was sealed off with a grand formation and walls. Still, there were many residents from the old Spirit Spring City remaining. Zhang Dong gave the people two options.
The Zhang Clan would be relocating which was a given. They would welcome them to establish the city here if they wished or move back to the old one. The previous one was destroyed during the quick war that took place. Some of the costs would be covered by the sect and the people could rebuild.
A staggering majority wished to remain with the new sect. The people felt that the sect leader was an honorable man which was proven during the battle that took place. They let all the residents evacuate and were even willing to pay for their losses. Who else than the United Element sect would do such a thing? No one!
They would be lucky if some other overbearing sect would even let them live in one of their towns if they paid them for it. This one would be letting them stay with fewer strings attached. They still would need to pay taxes but they would be given enough time to set up their shops and businesses for that.
The youths looked at the giant walls, they were at least fifteen meters tall and there were even larger guard towers connected to them. They also noticed that they weren't the first people to arrive. There was already a big line to the large main gate and it was moving very slowly. Above them flying ships and cultivators were whizzing past them and they could even see some of the robes that the United Elements sect wore.
"Hey look there! That person is flying on a big jade sword! He is wearing a blue robe, it must be an inner sect disciple!"
The youths came informed. They even knew about the types of robes that the disciples were wearing, a blue one represented an inner sect disciple which was quite an honor. After getting past the trials they didn't expect to get anything but a gray robe of an outer sect disciple.
This wasn't a problem as they knew that you could rise in ranks. How did they know all of this? The sect released some information before the recruitment drive, some of their disciples traveled the lands in hopes of attracting promising young students and maybe some older masters that were looking for a new home.
"Brother Rong, we should get in line before those bastards from the Black Scar tribe get there before us!"
"You are right Brother Yun, we must be there before them, brothers and sisters run for it!"
Everyone ran towards the long line with smiles on their faces. The only thing on their mind was successfully entering the big glorious sect.