Day 145, 300th Ancestry of Cultivators (Generation)
A fiery red swept from the distance; the first light of day was here. Droves of black and white robes gathered at the Hall of Elders, for the coming-of-age ceremony.
This type of ceremony was the only point of time where all cultivators were given an equal chance, here main or branch family did not matter, what mattered was talent. Well, at least that was what the higher level promoted this event as. In reality, that was far from the truth, from the beginning branch families were given less resources. On top of that some members of the main family would pick on branch families to hand over resources for personal use. If someone was thick skilled enough to raise this with someone from the main family, they would be executed as traitors that spread propaganda to slander the name of the main family.
It was the reality of the world, the weak are 'protected' by the strong, the strong always know what is better for the weak. Anyone who dares question that magnanimity is swiftly executed to set an example, your job is not to question but to be loyal to the strong if you are weak. Of course, the illusion of harmony, peace and equality as a facade had to be maintained. Which is why these sorts of statements were common across the Phantom continent.
At least these were more peaceful times, the past was full of records of clans being eliminated over a funny look or wars being waged over a weakling being 'disrespectful' to the strong. Not handing over their resources or certain family members at the whim of the strong. This was a crime even in today's time, yet now that the clans in general were more conservative, meeting each other was rare which was partially responsible for the ever-increasing class difference amongst the clans as internal feuds were rife. It was not uncommon to hear civil war amongst bigger clans as a branch family vied for control, some successful, others not so much.
This was the reason why branch family's children were assigned as outer disciples if there were cultivators amongst them. The branch families that had higher normies as children would eventually be kicked from the clan and even the cultivators amongst them would be kicked out to prevent future discord. The aim of this was to limit as many of them to that status, only those who had pure blood from the main family reserved the right to be inner disciples at birth, although a few of them would be demoted to outer disciples if they tarnished the name of the family. This led to higher number of those from the main family being inner and core disciples, later going on to be elders as well. Helping them maintain stronger control over the family, selling the dream of higher positions to the branch families.
Of course, clans were not based on just one family, the Yuzhou clan consisted of the Qing, Kong, Adam & Yolo families. The majority of outer disciples came from the branch family quarters at the outskirts of the clan, just next to the entrances. In case there were any invasions, they would be the first to battle intruders. The chosen ones from the outer disciples were given barracks closer to the centre, these were the ones who could be trained up and amount to something, potentially becoming inner disciples.
The inner disciples came from their homes, the main families lived right next to the clan halls, so it wasn't far for most of them. However, no one knew where the core disciples stayed, they were seldom seen by other clan members, but it was not their place to question.
Every few years, a coming-of-age ceremony would be hold, where the clan gathered everyone between the ages of 10 - 16 to participate. Most likely this was to filter out the promising clan members from the weak ones. The specialist divisions would be here and could chose disciples to join them, so it became more of a competition among the youth to be chosen by the 'better' divisions.
It was now approaching 5am, Roland had barely been able to get there in time. 'What kind of people were these savages, who wakes up so early in the morning!'
It was by some miracle he had gotten up in time and was somewhat presentable, if he had to do this every morning, he would die from sleep deprivation!
Looking around Roland saw many different types of people, most of them were in groups. He was amongst the minority who were lone wolfs, this had nothing to do with the fact that he had no friends at all. It was similar in his last life, at school he would see all these different types of people mingle amongst each other, yet he would be the odd ball. Not knowing how to communicate properly with them, he was naturally excluded. Perhaps it was better that way, he was not bullied, no one expected anything from him, and he learnt how to be independent at an early age.
In the sea of people, there were more outer disciples than inner disciples. The fact that the two did not mingle much and the ones that did would be full of boot-lickers could be seen by just taking a look around. 'Just what type of backwards world have I gotten myself involved with' Roland thought, 'this kind of attitude prevents genuine progress and ends up in a whole lot of bloodshed and backstabbing. I better watch my back, the ones I can least trust is other outer disciples, they would sell me out in a heartbeat to curry some favour. I need to be careful about showing my abilities, it may be best to avoid grouping up at all for me.'
The 'Hall of Elders' was less of a place for the authoritative figures to gather and more of a congregational place for the clan. It was a large open place like a shopping mall, but unlike his original world, this was a place for announcements and war preperations. There was a platform where the high elders were seated, the pressure coming off of them was being controlled, otherwise everyone present would be lying on the floor unable to move. Even despite the control, they were eminating a scary vibe which urged all of Rolands instincts to get out of there. Just standing in place was draining and mentally taxing, this must be part of the test too Roland wondered.
In another area 'Rider' was stood, looking around. He could sense the presence of Roland to the South East side, looking in that direction he smirked. There would be a tough journey for that friend of his, if he made it to the inner disciples the two could truly be friends. Trying to approach him now would only cause trouble as it threatened the hierarchy the clan had established. "Let's see what you have got Zuck, if you manage to perform well we might end up in the same division. I'll have a chance to polish your skills up and also look I'll be able to watch your back from the shadows. Hopefully you won't dissapoint me today!"