"huh..."
'So this is the fabled Shuangdao sect.'
While gazing up at the entrance to the Shuangdao sect, Leon was amazed by the sheer scale of the massive sect that sat on the peak of the mountain he had just ascended.
Leon glance towards the side of the gate, recognizing a strange figure posting a notice next to the gate.
'This is probably a great way to gain intel on the happenings within the sect which could make my mission a lot easier and less risky.'
Walking over to the postings due to his curiosity and understanding his severe need for intel, Leon gazed at the listings board.
'huh, what the hell?'
The posting that had just been nailed to the board stated the head of the sect was currently missing, and any individual that happened to have any information regarding his whereabouts would be greatly rewarded.
'Well I guess it will be easier to grab the sword right under their noses while the leader is away. This is definitely the best moment to begin the operation.'
Blowing into his clenched hands in a surprised manner, Leon pondered over his stroke of fortune upon his arrival at the sect.
Approaching the massive open red and golden gates that led to the sect, Leon was still amazed by the sheer scale of the what they contained.
Disciples of different countries and backgrounds were seen busily rushing back and forth between the many grandiose buildings that were contained within the massive stone walls.
Only gazing at the sect from the outside already gave an imposing feeling of awe and yet when peering through the open gates Leon couldn't help but be amazed by how big the Shuangdao sect really was.
'Before stealing the sword I might want to stay here for awhile and revise my plans a little to spare sometime for learning cultivation.'
Ever since Leon had witnessed the god-like power wielded by the mysterious and elusive martial artists and cultivators of his past life and from his previous meetings with the sword fiend, Leon had dreamt of attaining such earth defying power.
After standing there in his awestruck state for a couple seconds to fully perceive and appreciate this amazing view, he decided it was time for him to officially register as a disciple.
Locating the reception hall of the massive sect was slightly harder than Leon had previously imagined, and it took him quite some time and a couple annoyed glances from some passing disciples he questioned before he found it.
The reception hall of different sects were usually where new arriving guests that wished to become disciples gathered to become recognized and join the sect; Leon was not an exception.
As he climbed the white marble stairs to enter the small yet towering red building, Leon caught sight of these many youths that had gathered to receive benefits and enlightenment by becoming disciples.
'Unfortunately for them most will start out as outer disciples having to perform different maintenances for the sect and even serve some of the inner disciples.
However, since I've passed all the trials of the eight immortal gates I can avoid this process luckily and hopefully become an inner or even an exalted disciple!'
The difference between an inner and exalted disciple was quite vast considering the exalted disciples had access to more resources and techniques as well as the chance to catch the attention of an elder.
Often times promising disciples in the exalted status would be taken as personal disciples by many of the powerful elders of the sect and would gain even further resources and enlightenment through their tutelage.
Knowing these advantages was precisely the reason Leon had challenged and pushed himself so much to beat the eight immortal gates; hoping to gain further recognition and possibly even gain these elders' attention.
'If I was able to become one of the elders' personal disciples my power could grow exponentially and give me further trust between myself and the sect. With that trust it would become a lot easier to steal the sword along with possibly stepping onto the path of cultivation!'
As these thoughts continued to bounce around his mind he proceeded to make his way towards the small line of youth that were waiting near a counter, hoping to be able to attain a high status within the disciples of the Shuangdao sect.
The line slowly began to push Leon closer and closer to the counter until there were only a few people left in front of him before some angry and annoyed voices could be heard from the back of the line.
While Leon had been waiting, the line had gradually increased in size and now even started a couple paces away from the stairs of the reception hall as more youths continued to pour into the increasing line.
One of these students wore very expensive clothing that donned a unique insignia of a bird and had begun barging through the line of youths to reach the reception counter.
Many youths complained but immediately shut their mouths when they noticed the insignia of the strange bird recognizing the great figure they could've potentially offended and quietly let him pass.
As usual, Leon couldn't be bothered by the appearance of the youth and paid no attention to his actions until he stood before him.
"Make way!"
"Make way!"
"The great young master of the Zhen family is arriving!"
Multiple youths had begun to follow behind the young master in hopes of riding the back of his coat tails to cut further in line towards the counter and had begun announcing the presence of the youth.
However, their advancement was halted a little before the counter and had caused some confusion among the youths considering the status of their mobile mountain in front of them.
Many voices began to ring out behind Leon as he finally became aware of the youth that was trying to pass him, but unlike the previous youths that the Zhen family's young master had passed, the one in front of him had not budged.
Used to his imposing and entitled way of living, the Zhen family's young master had become irritated with the seemingly ignorant Leon in front of him as he continuously tried to pass him.
However, every time his attempts failed as the youth continued to block his passing without turning his attention towards him as if he was nothing but an annoyance.
Leon of course had noticed this young master but was not willing to let this small privileged kid barge in front of him like the previous youths had and proceeded to block his passage.
'Look at this kid trying to act all imposing and arrogant. Let's see if your strength is equivalent with your status.'
Having fought countless people in his past and now present life, Leon was more than confident in his abilities and was not about to let some kid walk over him.
The Zhen's family younger master was no longer able to contain his anger as his path was blocked yet again by Leon and he voiced his annoyance.
"Either this ant in front of me moves or has his limbs broken! I can't imagine any other person that is as ignorant as you for blocking the passage of the Zhen family!"
Hearing the complaint from behind him, Leon only smirked before turning around and shrugging before letting out a sigh.
"It seems the Zhen family must not have very good eyesight or insight. To imagine that the descendants of the family have become blind! It must be very frustrating and unfortunate for their ancestors."
Leon released his provocation causing the young master of the Zhen family to become extremely enraged at the insult of his ancestors and began to become more violent in his speech.
"I guess words can't get through to you considering you ignorantly abuse them. Seems only violence works for people like you..."
Nearing the end of his angry voice the Zhen's young master quickly took a stance resembling that of a martial technique and lunged towards Leon with his right arm extended while aiming towards Leon's abdomen.
'Looks like he has some skills due to his family's status and privilege allowing for him to gain some techniques. However, he has no experience and is clearly a beginner when it comes to fighting other people.'
Quickly ascertaining his opponent's strength and weaknesses, Leon felt no need to go all out with this novice.
'I don't think it's even necessary for me to use silent strides. That would probably be overkill anyways considering his age and inexperience.'
After noting these points, Leon quickly reacted to the martial technique by stepping towards the youth instead of dodging and slightly moved to the side as he pushed the side of the Zhen's young master's fist with his right hand.
Since he avoided the blow by a utilizing a counter Leon decided to only slightly injure the youth just to display the clear distinction of power between them.
Using his free hand and right leg, Leon kicked at the knee joint on the young master's right leg, dislocating his joint and causing imbalance in his form, while laying his hand flat on the nape of the young masters neck rendering him unconscious.
The exchange only lasted a few moments with Leon only using three moves to immobilize his opponent and the latter lying on the floor at the feet of the youths who had followed him.
Glaring at the youths behind him, Leon unleashed a little of his bone chilling aura before speaking.
"Get back in line! Everyone waits their turn like the rest. Status is not something that allows you to surpass others. Once you are a disciple your worth is determined only by your strength!
I assume most of you should already realize this by now, so get back in line unless you want to take a nap at the reception hall like this young master!"
Coupled with his aura and previous display of dominance, the other youths could only lower their heads knowing he was right and returned to their positions in line.
The time that passed during the exchange had left only one youth remaining in the line in front of Leon before the reception counter and soon it was his turn.
Approaching the elder that was in charge of the counter, Leon bowed to show his respects before revealing the first disciples insignia to him.
A look of surprise was soon revealed on the elder's wrinkly face as he observed the insignia before taking it from Leon's hands to determine its authenticity.
'Sure enough this kid beat that brat. Although he isn't very strong since he only has the first few techniques eligible for peak inner disciples this kid still managed to surpass him.'
Glancing back at Leon after accepting the insignia's authenticity, the elder gave a small smile before handing him a silver token that emitted a small white halo.
"This is a token signifying the sect recognizes you as a peak inner disciple. To advance in the hierarchy you must either challenge disciples ranked in the exalted status or collect merit points that can be gained through various missions and actions issued by the sect.
However, obtaining merit points to advance your position can only be used to enter the exalted status. After that you must challenge those above you to continue proceeding.
Although to advance in your current position I recommend obtaining merit points to exchange for some martial techniques to further your battle prowess."
'It seems I can use these merit points to exchange for techniques and resources. I shouldn't waste them on gaining a higher position when I can always become stronger by buying techniques and then challenge those above me.'
Leon nodded his head accepting and agreeing with the information and advice the elder gave him as he continued.
"Challenging higher ranked disciples requires strength and experience. Although, after watching your little dispute with that ignorant child earlier proves you have some experience at least.
However, the higher ranking disciples will have experience as well so that's why I suggest you gain some more techniques to shorten that gap."
Bowing again seeing that the elder was finished with his advice, Leon gazed at the silver token before putting it in his pocket and exited the reception hall.
The streets within the sect were still as busy as when he had entered, so it was slightly difficult to traverse them again as he searched for another important building he needed to visit.
'Now that I am a peak inner disciple I have access to better lodging then the outer disciples at least but I still need to find it.'
After questioning a couple disciples again, Leon found the building that issued living quarters and quickly ran inside to the front desk.
A woman that looked no older than her early twenties was operating the front desk and wore a plain red and golden uniform that was similar to the primary colors used throughout the sect.
Noticing that Leon was approaching the desk, the young woman gave a warm smile and welcome before gesturing for his token to assign his living quarters.
The young receptionist seemed to concentrate slightly before some information appeared on the surface of the token that surprised Leon.
Seeing the surprised expression of the new disciple, the young woman gave him an answer before he was able to ask the question while grabbing a key from under the desk.
"The disciple tokens are devices that hold information about their respective owners and can be accessed by releasing a small amount of internal energy into them.
I needed your information to assign you the correct living quarters. You wouldn't want to live in the poor accommodations of the outer disciple quarters as a inner one would you?"
The young receptionist chuckled a little while saying her last sentence before guiding Leon to his new quarters.
Leon followed the cute receptionist until they finally reached his accommodations which happened to be one of the nicer habitations of the inner disciples since he was acknowledged as a peak inner disciple.
The receptionist opened the door before handing him the key and gave a small respectful bow before returning to continue her duties.
The different habitations that the disciples lived in varied on their rank and strength within the sect, and Leon was considered to be one of the top inner disciples so it wasn't a surprise that his living conditions were better than most newly accepted disciples.
'Now I can amass more techniques and strength before I continue with my infiltration mission. I should probably complete a couple tasks and missions to start accruing some merit points to exchange for some techniques like the elder suggested.
But for now I need some rest considering I've been traveling and fighting for awhile and need to be at peak performance before I attempt any missions or rank advancements.'
Leon easily found his bed in one of the few rooms of his habitation and was content with its soft yet firm mattress as he fell asleep while planning for the best way to improve his strength and amass a substantial amount of merit.