Over the next week or so, I continued to train relentlessly. I also trained my magic carp, who didn't seem as enthused. He didn't complain, though – well…he couldn't complain, given that he was just a fish – and stuck with my Spartan training as best as he could, doing his best to swim around.
As for me, I did the usual 100 pushups, 100 sit ups and 10km run, all the while praying that I wouldn't go bald. At least I would become the strongest cultivator in existence, able to kill every enemy in one punch. Of course, I had to continue this for 3 years straight.
There was also the concern that I would be punished for not performing this daily task and be sent into another dimension where gigantic bug-like creatures would chase me around in a desert for 4 hours. Fortunately, it wasn't as if only I level up.
After my exercise, I went to check on Magic Carp. Unlike me, he didn't have to do the 100 pushups and 100 sit ups, but I made sure he swam 10km everyday. It was to train his swimming ability, until he became capable of climbing a waterfall.
Damn. If only I had a Hidden Machine, then I could teach him the move waterfall. Wait, even if I did have the Hidden Machine for that, it wasn't as if Magic Carp could learn waterfall. He could only learn Bounce, and that was after nearly five generations of not being able to learn any moves from Technical Machines.
Okay, I think nobody knew what I was talking about right now. I had gotten way too deep into the summoning aspect.
"Ugh…how many more levels to go?" I grumbled to myself. Magic Carp just needed to reach level 20 before he could climb a waterfall, but I didn't know what level he was at right now. It wasn't as if I had an encyclopedic gadget that gave me stats, levels and even the amount of Hit Points that my summoned spirit beasts had. If only reality was that convenient…
"All right, we're done for the day. Good job, Magic Carp."
I attracted curious stares from onlookers and passers-by when I knelt beside the river by the park and recalled Magic Carp. Even if they caught sight of him, they would just dismiss him as a normal fish. And they wouldn't notice if he disappeared from sight when I dismissed him from this dimension.
At least that was what I thought until an old man came up to me.
"That's a nice fish you have, young man."
"Not at all, sir." I bowed my head. Without even looking at him, I immediately knew that he was a cultivator. With my enhanced qi perception, I could detect the immense amount of qi emanating from his body. Looking at him, I could almost envision an inferno blazing around him, almost blinding to my sixth sense.
The old man didn't look that old, though, even though he was in his mid-sixties. His hair was mostly black, with streaks of grey in them. His face was broad and wrinkled, with his large nose being his most prominent feature. His frame was sturdy, tempered by decades of martial arts and stunts.
The old man must have seen the recognition in my eyes, for he smiled knowingly.
"You're not bad, young man. Already at the Earth realm, eh? You still have some ways to go, but if you continue working hard, you'll be able to reach the Heaven realm in no time at all. Once you do so, you'll catch up with the elite of your peers."
Whoa. So I was still behind many cultivators my age. The old man must have seen me looking a little despondent, for he shook his head.
"Oh, to clarify…Earth realm is about average. Most cultivators your age are at the Earth realm, so you're actually not bad in that aspect. However, the elite cultivators are at Heaven realm. The very top, I mean. And they'll probably reach the Yellowed Lands realm in a couple of years' time, given the pace of their progress. But one things at a time, eh? You need to attain Heaven realm first."
"Understood, sir. I will do my best." I bowed my head humbly. I wondered if he was here to advise me on what I should do.
However, his next words took me by surprise.
"Do you have any interest in joining the Divine Dragon Sect?"
"Huh? The Divine Dragon Sect?" I blinked in shock. "No, sir. I actually applied for it a few months ago, but Elder Ye Wu Tian already rejected me."
"What? Ye Wu Tian did?" The old man looked annoyed. "Is he blind?"
"No, sir. As you can see, my spirit beast is merely a magic carp. It's among the lowest ranked spirit beasts. I just don't have the talent for summoning."
"Well, it's true that the magic carp isn't ranked very highly, and in his current form, he is admittedly useless. But he is also the spirit beast with among the most potential." The old man groaned. "How could Ye Wu Tian let go of a good seedling like this?!"
"Good seedling?" I repeated incredulously. Did this guy believe in the same thing as I did?
Apparently so, for he nodded. However, the old man didn't elaborate.
"If you're still interested, I'll let you join the Divine Dragon Sect." The old man smiled and reached into his robes, producing a golden token. He passed it to me. "With this, you're officially an outer sect disciple of the Divine Dragon Sect."
"Huh? What? But I…"
"I can teach you personally if it comes down to it." The old man nodded toward Magic Carp, who was still floundering about in the riverside. "I know a few techniques that might help you speed up your magic carp's progress."
"Thanks," I replied, feeling amazed. "But is it really all right? What about Elder Ye and the other elders in the sect? Are you sure you can give away your sect's token just like this?"
Now that I was holding the golden token, I could see what it was like clearly. It was an oblong amulet with an image of a majestic dragon etched into its surface. The dragon's serpentine body was coiled and it was depicted as soaring in the heavens. The three characters for Divine Dragon Sect were carved into the side.
This had to be a super expensive token. Not only that, I could feel qi emanating from it. It wasn't any ordinary object – it was a spirit artifact. And its qi was binding to me, the token recognizing me as its owner.
I understood the precaution. This was to prevent imposters from stealing the token and passing off as Divine Dragon Sect disciples.
"They don't have the authority to overrule my decision," the old man replied with a grin. Then he rubbed his chin. "I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh on Ye Wu Tian. Of course he wouldn't know about the potential of a magic carp. Very few people know about the legend, after all."
My jaw dropped. If the elders of Divine Dragon Sect didn't have the authority to overrule this old man's decision, then it could only mean one thing. This guy was…
"I'm Cheng Long, the leader of the Divine Dragon Sect." The old man grinned and did a dramatic bow. "I suppose I'll be your master now."
"This disciple greets master." I lowered my head politely. "I will do my best to learn summoning techniques from you."
"Good, good. Let's not waste any time then." Cheng Long reached into his robes and passed me a thumb drive. I stared at it blankly and finally accepted it, shooting my new master a curious look. He grinned. "The techniques are stored inside there. They are encrypted, so you'll need a password."
He then poked me in the forehead. I blinked and suddenly felt a current of golden qi flow from his finger into my brain.
This was the "password" that I needed to unlock the encryption in the thumb drive. It was a spiritual one, a technique I could use by infusing my computer or smartphone with qi (because I could copy the data over to my smartphone or an SD card).
"Thank you, Master." Still, I couldn't help but be astonished. Cheng Long snickered when he saw me trying to digest the whole thing.
"Even we cultivators have to keep up with the times, you know? Everything is digitalized data these days. Of course we'll take advantage of new technology and even combine it with our cultivation techniques. We can't stay stagnant forever. Instead of carrying around physical books and scrolls, our most important techniques are now stored as digital data. Best of all, we can protect them with security programs and passwords, like the one I just gave you."
"That's amazing."
"You haven't seen anything yet. I heard the six universities in Xing Hao Island are beginning to implement augmented reality and smartphones in their training programs." Cheng Long shook his head and sighed. "So much has changed during my time."
Whoa…I couldn't imagine what sort of technology cultivators would be using. Also, Xing Hao Island? Where had I heard that before?
"The address of our sect's base should be in there too." Cheng Long gestured toward the token. "When you are ready, pick a date and visit the sect. We'll hold the official disciple acceptance ceremony then."
"Yes, sir."
"Pack your stuff, you'll be staying in the sect…"
"Uh, Master…about that…" I raised a hand. "That might be a problem. I am going to enroll in a university next month or so, after I receive the results of my Gao Kao. I don't know if I'll be able to move into the sect grounds."
"Oh, that's even better!" Cheng Long brightened up. "I'll send you a recommendation letter. If you are going to enroll in a university, pick Imperial Valley University. That's the university famous for producing outstanding summoning cultivators. If you're enrolled there, then I can set my mind at ease. They'll probably train you better than me. All you need to do is practice the techniques in that thumb drive along with the advanced summoning techniques they teach you."
"Understood, Master." I had never heard of Imperial Valley University before, but I planned to Google it later. I had powerful Google Fu, after all.
"But you should at least pay the sect a visit before you enroll in the university," Master instructed. "For the official ceremony."
"Yes, Master."
"All right. I'll be leaving now. I'll have to return to the sect to handle some matters." Cheng Long turned away and waved his hand. "You go get your affairs in order. I'll see you soon. And good luck with your exams – I hope you get good results."
"Thanks."
I watched Master depart and then stared at the thumb drive in my hand. It continued to throb with qi, and I knew there was some powerful technique stored inside it.
Huh, I didn't expect cultivators to be so hi-tech nowadays. Interesting.
Dismissing Magic Carp, I began to jog home. As I did so, my smartphone buzzed. Curious, I picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Shu Cong? This is Na Lan Yan Ran."
"How can I help you?" I was immediately on my guard. Nothing good would ever come out of talking to someone as arrogant and stuck up as her. I still remembered how she insulted and looked down upon me. I prayed that Kai Li Si was mistaken about her being my fiancée or something. That would be one hell of a sick joke.
"Don't you remember? My grandfather wishes to speak to you."
Now I realized that I had indeed heard of Xing Hao Island before. That day, in the hospital, Na Lan Yan Ran mentioned it.
"Is it about my choice of university?"
"That's right. So you remember." Na Lan Yan Ran sounded slightly annoyed. "Whenever it's convenient for you…"
"I'll try to come today," I said immediately. There was little point dragging this out, so I might as well get this talk done and over with. However, I glanced at the time on my smartphone and grimaced. "Uh, not right away. I have an appointment in a while, so I'll go over once I'm done with that."
After hearing Na Lan Yan Ran acknowledge my explanation, I hung up and quickly jogged home. I needed to shower and grab a fresh change of clothes before meeting my friend…and I hoped I wouldn't be late.