The Tian Long Temple was one of the largest temples in Cheng Shi City, famous as both a tourist attraction as well as a place for ceremonies. Since, technically, we weren't allowed to practice religions, Tian Long Temple preserved its place in the city as a site of historical and cultural significance, often offering its grounds as a venue for formal ceremonies such as weddings and the like.
It was currently maintained by a few priests, or at least staff dressed in priestly robes. They usually just kept the interior clean and sold stuff to make a living. Given the huge number of tourists, I would say they made a decent wage.
I arrived at the appointed time, looking around and watching the tourists wandering about in their large groups and taking photographs. Not many locals came here, not unless there was a big ceremony taking place.
Hoping that I didn't look weird, being a single local all by myself, I strode over to one of the statues, which was sculpted to depict a fierce-looking Asura deity with weapons and the like. While I did so, I sensed someone approaching.
"You must be the contact from the Divine Dragon Sect," I said without turning around, my eyes still on the statue.
"Indeed. I'm surprised that you know about us. Especially on as young as you are."
I finally turned around and bowed my head respectfully to the middle-aged man who had chosen to shown up. He was dressed in black and white clothing that looked pretty old fashioned. I estimated him to be in his late forties or early fifties.
"We finally meet face to face, senior."
"That's right. We have only exchanged emails previously. It is good to see you in person."
The middle-aged man stroked his beard and chuckled. I raised my head, but kept my hands cupped respectfully.
"It is an honor to meet you."
"How do you know I'm the contact?" the old man asked, amused. "I thought I managed to conceal my presence pretty well."
I pushed my glasses up my nose and stared at him. I could almost see the golden wisps of qi that emanated from his body, a sturdy aura that continued to leak out despite his best attempts to suppress it. The other party noticed my scrutiny and he nodded in approval.
"Ha ha, so you did sense me, after all. I thought I was being careful, but I've underestimated your qi sense." The old man studied me. "Hmm, you have already reached the Black Realm. I can't say that is very impressive for someone your age."
"I guess so, senior. I am not very familiar with the realms. I've only just started about a year ago."
I didn't know what realm or level I was at. It wasn't something that intuitively came to me. Kai Li Si didn't exactly teach me how to measure qi or classify it. Like, how much qi equals Yellow Realm, and how much equals Black Realm? Was there a fixed number or quantity of qi to indicate the realms? It was sort of measuring dan in karate or martial arts. You couldn't tell a person's belt or dan just from looking at him or her, or even your own. You would need to take a test to confirm your level.
Honestly, while I was aware that I was stronger than when I was about a year ago, I had no idea that I had gotten to the Black Realm.
"Only a year? You reached the peak of Black Realm in under a year? Who was your master?"
The middle-aged man's tone was mild, but I could detect a spike in his qi and sense a tremendous pressure that weighed down upon me. At the very least, I could tell that he was much stronger than me. He was also regarding me suspiciously – after all, I was an unknown cultivator with an unidentifiable background. It was only natural for him to be wary.
"Kai Li Si." I decided to be honest. The middle-aged man's brow rose in confusion.
"I've never heard of him before. Which sect are you from?"
"Heaven and Earth Sect."
"…huh?" the old man evidently had never heard of the Heaven and Earth Sect before. That made sense, considering that the Heaven and Earth Sect was actually from another world.
Once again, I was reminded of the enormity of my task. How was I supposed to master the rest of Heaven and Earth Formula if I couldn't get to the Celestial Realm? How was I supposed to get there? Was I supposed to allow myself to get killed so that I could reincarnate or transmigrate there? How reliable was Kai Li Si? Was he telling the truth?
I didn't think Kai Li Si lied to me, but it was possible that he had been deceived. By my future self, perhaps?
Well, no use worrying about all that now. I focused on the situation before me, straightening up and nodding.
"The Heaven and Earth Sect," I repeated. The old man stared at me quizzically before he shook his head.
"Never heard of it before."
"Understandable. We're a pretty…obscure sect."
All I had learned so far was Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths, Soul Crushing Strike and…that was it. Kai Li Si tried to teach me Seismic Step, but I was still far away from learning that. He told me that there were more, techniques that my future self mastered, but I still had no idea how to access those techniques.
However, I couldn't just wait around doing nothing. Until I found those other Heaven and Earth techniques, I had to find alternatives. That was why I was approaching the Divine Dragon Sect in the first place.
"It's unfortunate, but my teacher died. He was murdered by a demonic cultivator." I took a deep breath and stared at the old man, trying to control my emotions. "The secrets of the sect's martial arts died with him. That's why I'm…looking for new cultivation techniques to learn."
"Ah, so an orphaned disciple. Considering how you've only cultivated for a year, it's understandable that you don't have many techniques." The old man nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear about your master."
He then stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"So you contacted me in hopes of joining the Divine Dragon Sect?"
"That's right, sir."
The old man sighed and turned away. "It's not that I don't want to help you, young man, but you must know that the Divine Dragon Sect doesn't accept just anybody. We will consider your application, of course, but whether you can gain admittance or not is entirely up to you."
"I understand, sir. What do I need to do?"
"Firstly, I should explain to you a little about our sect." He peered at me, and then smiled. "You practice the conventional cultivation arts, don't you?"
"…I guess?"
The old man frowned. "What exactly did your master teach you?"
"Not much. Breathing methods, evasion and a punch." I lowered my head. "He only taught me for ten days or so before he was killed. He didn't have enough time to teach me anything."
"I see." The old man rubbed his forehead and sighed. "I'll give you a brief explanation then. There are several types of cultivators. Body cultivators, who temper their bodies to become as hard as steel and unbreakable as diamond. They usually rely on brute force. Then you have the spirit cultivators, which is the more conventional type. In other words, you and your master, who mastered breathing methods to master the use of spiritual qi and execute mystical techniques. Most people start from spiritual cultivation because it opens up the most paths – alchemists, array masters, physicians. All of these professions require a solid comprehension of the use of spiritual qi."
I nodded and listened.
"Then there's a third type of cultivator – summon cultivators. That's the type of sect my Divine Dragon Sect is. We summon spirit beasts."
Raising his hand, he summoned a huge dragon, which coiled around him. I ogled at him, and then glanced about to see if the visitors in the temple saw the dragon. What was he doing, summoning a spirit beast in public?
To my surprise, the visitors were gone. All that was left were a bunch of priests, sweeping the temple, and none of them wre shocked by the sudden surprise of the dragon. A few of them glanced at our way, looking amazed, but there was no astonishment or panic.
This wasn't the first time they had seen a spirit beast.
"Tian Long Temple…it's…"
"It's a cover, a front for our sect. One of many, in fact." The old man grinned. "As you know, we are supposed to keep all these cultivation stuff a secret from the public. But here, in Tian Long Temple, we can use our powers freely, and practice without having to worry about being spotted by other people."
"Wow." I nodded, awestruck by the dragon…by the implications of everything.
There really were hidden cultivators in this world. To think that they were actually just out of sight, concealed right under our noses…I never thought that the famous Tian Long Temple was one of the hideouts for the Divine Dragon Sect.
"We practicing summoning techniques, as you can see." The old man continued. "The Na Lan family does too, in fact. Na Lan Yan Ran, the heiress to the Na Lan clan, is capable of summoning a phoenix. Well, it's a chick now, but it'll surely mature into one of the most powerful spirit beasts when given time."
Oh, right. I had heard that Na Lan Yan Ran was engaged to the first disciple of the Divine Dragon Sect. Speaking of which, that contradicted what Kai Li Si told me. He claimed that she was engaged to me after I met her grandfather, but she already had a fiancé in this timeline. Again, I reminded myself that Kai Li Si might not be telling me the truth. That he might be deceived.
"So if you want to join our sect, you'll need to display talent in summoning," the old man told me. I took a deep breath and nodded.
"Understood, sir. What do you need me to do?"
"Well, first of all…I should introduce myself. I'm Ye Wu Tian."
"What?!" I was taken aback. Ye Wu Tian glared at me.
"Is there a problem?"
"No…sorry, I didn't think you actually used your real name in the contact information or email. I thought it was a cover."
"Nah, there's no need for me to hide my identity in my email account." Ye Wu Tian waved my concerns away. "I only issue my name card to people I can trust. If the Na Lan family thought you are trustworthy enough to tell you about me, then I will trust their judgment."
"Thank you, sir." I bowed my head slightly.
"All right. I'll lead you to the dragon pool. We'll begin the test from there."
"Test, sir?" I asked, feeling a bit apprehensive. Ye Wu Tian nodded somberly.
"First, we'll have to test your potential as a summoner. I know you're a spirit cultivator, but that's fine. Many cultivators are hybrids. Of course, some will have more affinity for certain types of cultivation than others – you don't seem like you're a good fit for body tempering techniques, for example. But there's no law that says you can only practice one type of cultivation technique."
That was right. To be honest, I couldn't help but look forward to joining the Divine Dragon Sect and learning summoning techniques. I continued to watch the relatively small golden dragon continue to hover above Ye Wu Tian, awestruck. I wanted a dragon of my own, if possible. Summoning my own dragon and commanding it to battle was a childhood dream. I still recalled how I played all those pocket monster games as a kid. Gotta catch 'em all!
"This way."
Ye Wu Tian led me through the gates of the Tian Long Temple. To my surprise, I came across a gate that I had never seen before, one that was never featured in brochures. Chuckling at my astonishment, Ye Wu Tian confirmed my thoughts.
"Yeah, this is a secret gate to the interior of our sect."
The doors swung open to admit us, and I gasped when I saw what was inside.