"Master Lei Yinglo, the elders will see you now."
"Mhm."
A rough-looking man dressed in a dark robe nodded at the lady that greeted him. The woman's eyes focused on his face which had a lot of scarred tissue. It was as if he was mauled by some beast and barely came out on top. There were ways of removing such wounds but perhaps the injuries were done by a ferocious demonic being which would hinder healing.
"Good day, Demon hunter Lei Yinglo, your reputation precedes you…"
"Is there a problem?"
The man was led into a smaller chamber where five elders were waiting. Four of them were at the early stage of the nascent soul level but the one in the middle was a lot stronger. His demeanor was cold and for some reason, he didn't seem to favor the man that just entered through the door.
"You might not recall it but I was there when you faced off against our Patriarch… you seem to have gotten stronger since then."
"Is that so? I feel we resolved that dispute a long time ago."
The scared man tried not to react to the question too much but on the inside, he was in a state of slight panic. Lei Yinglo was Zhang Dong's alter ego, a famous demon hunter that once traveled through the lower regions to help him gain resources without involving his clan. His notoriety among the smaller clans was something real but after ascending to the nascent soul level, he didn't really use this name much.
'Why is Zhang Zhi here, wasn't someone else doing the interview? Should I inform him about this… but those four elders might find it odd…'
Zhang Dong found himself in a job interview for his own sect. The war for the Empire had started and a decision was made to recruit people from the outside. Integrating people from clans or sects from the outside was normal. The Long Clan was doing the same thing and offering the cultivators resources for their help. It was a big chance for them to be accepted as an outer elder or disciple of a large superpower.
To not make it too obvious Zhang Dong decided to hide his true identity. Some people were aware of this persona's real identity but it didn't really matter. This was just to let him participate out on the field without his identity being known to the enemy. His aids weren't totally against it as long as everyone thought that he was back at the sect and ready, it was fine.
The danger of him hanging around the battlegrounds came from giving away his true position. His enemies would certainly send out a powerful force to take him down if his position was exposed. While he was confident in defeating everyone besides the Overseer, he was not invincible. There was also a possibility of some immortal-level weapons being in the hands of the Long Clan. If a trump card like that was ever used, then even his slightly above nascent soul level power wouldn't help him.
To remedy this problem he initiated a new scheme. The council of elders brought up the issue of the Long Clan recruitment drive and he sanctioned it all. Now his people were allowing masters from the whole empire to come to them and fight with them. While there was usually a chance of a spy making their way in, thanks to his faction system it could be seen through. Already they had a handful of pretenders rotting in the dungeon for attempting this feat.
'Well, not like I'll fail the check.'
"Senior Zhi, is there a problem with Master Lei Yinglo? Our records show that he is a reputable senior who had lived to fight demons."
"Reputable? A man that sells his sword for money."
"S-senior Zhi?"
One of the side elders started panicking as he was looking between Zhang Dong in his disguise and Zhang Zhi. In the past, his demon-hunter persona partook in a little squabble against himself. The recollection of the scene was something that could make him blush. Back then he pretended to have a battle with Lei Yinglo that ended in a stalemate. Zhi was his biggest fanboy and was there during the confrontation. He probably felt a certain way when confronting the man that raised his weapon against his leader.
"Please Master, Yinglo place your hand on the measuring device."
"This orb? What does it do?"
"It will measure your aptitude for battle, it's a simple Qi measuring device."
This was of course a big fat lie. The orb had a connection to the system and could measure a person's natural alignment. It would present the elders with a page with his stats as well as his alliance. If he was a member of a demonic sect or the Long Clan would also show up. The people that were untrustworthy or too weak had two fates. They would either get kicked out or be led to a room with a trapping formation. After getting suppressed they would end up at the correctional facility. There they would be interrogated to reveal their secrets.
"If it's just for that…"
His hand landed on the device that was connected to his own system. Before anything appeared for this group of elders he was able to alter everything. What would normally show his true name of Zhang Dong and position of Patriarch was changed.
Name:
Lei Yinglo
Cultivation Level:
Nascent Soul (Great Circle)
Faction:
None
Alignment:
True Neutral
Power Rating:
S
Main Weapon:
Sword
Animosity Rating:
Neutral
Risk of betrayal:
Very Low
It was a bit more basic compared to what he could see himself but it gave the people an idea of where his alliance lay. This was what he was aiming for, to seem like someone that was more neutral in his approach. From the statistics, they could see that he was not part of the Long Clan and not part of any faction either. That was his persona, a sellsword with some values. The risk of betraying them implied that he wouldn't go against the people that hired him and stayed true to the contract. This coupled with his power rating of S, his employment was guaranteed.
'Do you see this brothers… I haven't seen such high numbers on any of the other participants
'This man… he will be a great asset to our army and the whole sect, we should recruit him before he wanders over to the Long Clan… this is a chance!'
'What you say is true but what does senior brother Zhi think?'
'I don't trust him fully but the device was made by the Patriarch and was never wrong before…'
'You speak the truth senior Zhi, this is a big chance!'
If they knew that their Patriarch was listening to their hidden conversation they would probably lay an egg. It was clear that he would be a strong ally but also a ferocious enemy. He made his neutrality obvious which would push them to make a decision faster. Someone with these kinds of stats could potentially go to their enemy if they denied his involvement.
"We have made a decision."
"You have? This fast?"
"Indeed, for such an expert like yourself, the decision is obvious, we welcome you within the ranks of the United Element's sect."
While Zhang Zhi remained seated the other elders began to stand up and talk. All of them had access to the faction rating system to an extent so they knew that a Power Rating of S was not a simple feat. That he was a nascent soul master at the great circle stage also added to his prestige. To these early-stage masters, this was something that was commendable. All of them hoped to reach this stage one day and become pillars for their sect.
"I see…"
"Please come this way, one of the juniors will escort you to your new accommodations and explain everything in detail. They will present you with the proper paperwork as well."
"Then I shall excuse myself."
Finally, after getting stared down by Zhang Zhi he was able to leave this testing chamber. While other participants didn't know, this chamber connected to a separate location through a hidden teleportation gate. Once a person stepped through they were far outside the sect's premises. It was a safety measure that would guarantee the safety of the juniors and regular city residents. Even if a fight broke out and the chamber was destroyed it would not injure anyone that wasn't involved.
'I'm lucky to be a nascent soul master, the others will be judged in a harsher manner.'
When outside he found himself in a corridor that led to his temporary quarters. A good-looking woman guided him towards them while he peeked through the walls where some of the tests continued. He could feel some of the core formation experts and foundation establishment juniors giving their best. Only if they proved themselves to have the minimum required strength for their position would they be accepted just like he was.
Stats and systems were a fine way to get a general idea of a person's capabilities but they weren't everything. Only when going through hard tasks that pushed a person to their limits would their true character emerge. They needed to pit people against ferocious beasts to see if they wouldn't crumble under pressure. Some of the candidates had the assumption of this being an easy gig. They just wanted to reach a new level with the help of an established sect without putting in the proper work.
He couldn't really fault them for their reasons but he couldn't accept people like that either. Where people could die from a mistake or due to a cowardly decision, he needed to minimize the window of mistakes. While he was asking people to potentially die for his sect, they were given a chance to walk away. Only after they finally chose to join up this choice would be taken away as they were now part of their army.
'Hm… this isn't bad… They really gave me the VVIP suite.'
Finally, he had joined up and now needed to wait for his first assignment. Soon someone would walk through that large door to take him to his first mission. Even though he was the Patriarch he had no idea what that mission would be nor did he have a reason to affect the outcome. It was now up to his people to show him how they progressed through the years and show that they could survive without him making all the decisions for them.