Eryn and Elias glanced up at the mighty gates, the entrance to Teacher Li's sect: the Infernal Spirit Sect.
It loomed above them, and it was held up by sturdy, dark red pillars that had black-colored thorns twisting up to the top.
The two guards that stood on each side of the entrance bowed at the sight of Teacher Li and Elder Sima, then went to shoot Elias and Eryn strange looks.
As the two head figures lead them inside, Elder Sima started to talk. "Hm, so this is the Infernal Spirit Sect, in which Teacher Li belongs to. We decided to stop here, since it's quite late. Mystic Sky Sect is quite a distance away..."
The twins scanned their surroundings. For some reason, everything about this place felt...depressing. The walls were gloomy and the air was silent, this place seemed a little too empty to be considered a second-rank sect.
Elder Sima glanced at them from the corner of his eye. So...they've noticed.
He shared a look with Teacher Li.
Teacher Li cleared his throat. "It's quite late, I'm sure you have many questions to ask. But that will have to wait for tomorrow. We have a lot of explaining to do."
Elias glanced at the tall and bony teacher. His voice almost sounded sad when he said that. Something must've happened to these sects...
Teacher Li forced a smile. "We have plenty of open courtyards for you to choose from. They're not necessarily divided by gender. You can live in separate houses in the same courtyard."
The twins bowed. "Thank you very much, Teacher Li."
Teacher Li rubbed his chin. "Er, Elder Sima, I need to check up on my disciple, do you mind if-"
Elder waved a casual hand. "Of course, off you go."
"Many thanks."
The teacher left, leaving Elder Sima to lead the twins to an empty courtyard.
They walked left and right, through different halls and courtyards and training grounds, but they still haven't reached their destination.
Eryn heard the old man muttered to himself.
"Hm...I thought...hm?...huh?" was all she heard from him.
Eryn glanced at her brother and mustered a smile. It turns out Elder Sima wasn't familiar with these grounds.
"Er, sorry, kids. I seem to have lost my direction. This is only my fifth time here..." he admitted. He turned left. "Huh, must be this way."
Elias and Eryn followed him without complaint, after all, they didn't even know where they were going either.
Finally, they seemed to reach an entrance, which led to a cluster of a few small houses.
"Ah, here it is!" Elder Sima exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "This is good enough, I suppose. These will be your quarters, for the time being, is that alright? It seems a bit...shabby."
Elias and Eryn glanced at the courtyard. The cobblestone path seemed cracked and dirty, the grass was unattended, and the red paint on the homes were getting quite dull. Still, it was perfect.
Eryn smiled. "Of course, we are not picky people. It's perfect," she said.
Elder Sima smiled broadly. "Good, good. Nice kids...Alright, tomorrow morning, I will be here waiting. Then, we'll start," he declared.
The twins bowed once more. "Yes, thank you. We'll be going inside now."
Elder Sima watched the two go inside before turning to head for the main halls, his thoughts turning inside his head.
He scratched his beard as he went through the dark.
"Hm...so Elias has a sister," he muttered his thoughts out loud. "Ah, I don't remember catching her name. Of all situations, there is no information on her."
He scratched his head. "After the discussion tomorrow, the next step should be testing their power."
He nodded to himself happily. "Such great kids...polite and capable!"
_______________
Elias woke up early in the morning, blinking groggily at the sunlight peeking through the cracks of the window.
He scratched his head and glanced down at the blanket and the dusty walls.
He blinked.
Where am I again?
Then he remembered. He wasn't in the Xia's residence anymore, he was in a sect that they were brought to late last night.
He grumbled as he pushed himself out of bed and threw back on his outer clothes, tying his two belts tightly around his white robes.
His black pendant hung at his side.
He glanced down at his burnt wrist guard.
"Eh."
He took off the blue decorated cuffs and threw them aside, letting his long sleeves come apart and fall loosely down his arms. He wasn't used to the airy feeling, but he didn't want to keep wearing the burnt cuffs.
He trudged out the doors into the morning sunlight and felt at his hair, still feeling tired. A few thick strands had fallen out of place, hanging in way of his eyes.
"Tch."
He pulled at the hair crown and the rest of his locks came tumbling down. "Stupid," he muttered, fixing his hair into his desired ponytail.
He glanced at the courtyard entrance as he patted down his long bangs.
Elder Sima hadn't arrived yet, maybe he was too early.
Whatever.
Elias rolled his shoulders, thinking.
Yesterday, Elder Sima said their sect needed help...what sort of help? Why did it involve him? And why didn't he come looking for both him and Eryn? Why did he only come looking for him?
Perhaps...they didn't know about Eryn?
Right, Elder Sima said he was at the trials, meaning he saw Elias fight. Maybe that's how he came to know him.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" a voice suddenly pierced through his ears.
Elias looked up to see a band of four boys his age coming towards him. All of them wore smooth black and red robes, which he presumed to be the uniform of this sect.
Elias felt a strong wave of energy coming towards him as they stepped closer.
Drachnai stirred inside his mind. 'Eh, not bad...but if they can't conceal their aura, it's not good enough,' he rumbled. 'Hmm, Teacher Li must not have announced the sect of your arrival yet.'
Elias blinked at them as they stopped a couple of feet away. "Greetings," he said, not knowing what else to say.
The black-haired guy in the front was quite muscular, and he glared at Elias with his brown eyes. "Greetings, my *ss!" he spat. "Speak! Who the hell are you and how did you break into our sect? I'm reporting you to the elders, don't you think about getting away!"
Elias leveled his gaze, unmoving. "How rude," he said. "I didn't do anything and yet you barge into my courtyard so early in the morning, threatening to kick me out."
The boy took one step forward and pointed a finger at Elias' bored look. "Are you not afraid? Let me tell you, once the elders get you, I'll make sure they let Brother Shane beat you to a pulp as punishment!"
Elias raised his eyebrow. "Shane? Shane Wang?" he repeated.
The boy sneered. "Oh, so you know him? Well you better watch it since Brother Shane is one of the top disciples here! He's strong, way stronger than me!"
"Psh." Elias snorted. "Top disciple? That's funny. I still remember the look on his face when I was about to squeeze the living daylights out of him."
The boy's scowl deepened. "What?!" he shouted. "What did you just say?"
Elias glanced at him. "I said what I said."
The ground trembled. "There's no way Brother Shane could be defeated by the likes of you," he snarled. "State the reason why you're here. Do you still want to mess with him? Is that why you're here?"
Elias frowned. "Why would I bother with him? Let me tell you. I was invited here, don't start with your wild conclusions now."
"I don't believe you-"
"Nicolai Zhen! What do you think you're doing?" a voice boomed.
The group of four turned around in surprise.
Teacher Li stood at the door with his hands behind his back, glaring at the four disciples.
"Teacher Li!" Nicolas Zhen shouted. He rushed over to the teacher's side and pointed at Elias. "There's an intruder here and he has the audacity to show his face!"
The old man shrugged him off and hit him across the back of the head, angry. "Who said he is an intruder?" he thundered. "Are you asking to be punished? If he were, would he bother to just stand there and watch you display your power?"
The boy rubbed his head, his expression in shock.
His fellow disciples were also just as surprised.
"B- but Teacher Li, then-"
"Shut up!" he yelled. "Such disrespectful disciples! What has gotten into you all? Have you all been influenced by that no-good Shane Wang? This here is our guest!"
Elias stood there as he watched the four of them get scolded at, too astounded at the temper of the frail-looking old man to even notice Eryn walk up next to him.
"What's going on?" she asked, confused to see four boys standing in their courtyard and startled to see Teacher Li screaming his head off.
Elias only shrugged. "Nothing."
"You're all punished to clean the whole property!" shouted the mentor. "Sweep the entire sect and clean every hall and courtyard! After that you will organize all the weapons in the training grounds!"
The four disciples cowered. "Yes! Yes!" they stammered.
Then they fled the scene.
Teacher Li cleared his throat and straightened his collar. He glanced up and saw the twins staring at him with their mouths open. "Hmm...yes, yes," he said more calmly, nothing like the roaring monster he was earlier.
He waved at them as if nothing happened. "Come on, I know Elder Sima said he'd come today, but he went to talk with Grandmaster Qin."
Elias and Eryn followed him out.
That word...grandmaster...
Elias chewed on his lip and reached for the pendant hanging from his belt.
Could the grandmaster who gifted them the crystals belong to one of these sects?