Chapter 48: New Chapter
Inside the small room, Zed and the others were sitting on a soft pillow seat while patiently waiting for the next words of the man in front of them.
Taking a deep breath, the master began to speak. "Let me first introduce myself." His body straightened as he spoke in a dignified manner.
"I am the 240th sect leader of the Cleansing Jade Sect, Zhong Guanting."
His words seemed to carry a unique sense of authority, making the others feel the need to bow down and give him respect. However, his aura wasn't dominating or overwhelming. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
He sounded kind and welcoming which made Zed and the others feel less apprehensive.
After learning of his identity, Meixiang elegantly bowed.
"Greetings to the Sect Leader."
This was customary etiquette for a noblewoman, and she performed it flawlessly. The Sect Leader, Zhong Guanting, held a great impression of the lass from royal descent.
The other three youths followed her example and bowed down as well.
Zhong Guanting accepted their greetings with a nod. Meixiang and the others rose from their bows and observed the sect leader.
They found it hard to associate the person in front of them as the sect leader since they thought that the sect leader would be more domineering and intimidating. Instead, what they met was a friendly uncle that lived in the neighborhood.
Just as Zed and the others were observing him, the sect leader was also observing them. After some time, He wore a calm and gentle smile while proceeding to speak.
"Now that I have introduced myself, I would like to clarify that all of you are now accepted as disciples of the Cleansing Jade Sect."
Zed and the others did not show much reaction since this was within their expectations. Nevertheless, they still remained humble and briefly thanked the Sect Leader.
The Sect leader nodded in approval while inwardly praising their attitude. "Mhmm... Now I will briefly explain the structure of the Sect so listen carefully."
Facing the attentive gazes of the youth, the Sect leader continued. "Within the sect, there are countless disciples and they are divided into three hierarchies. The higher the position, the more privileges they receive from the sect.
Normally, if one were to enter the sect, they would've start from the very bottom which is as an Outer Sect Disciple. They are offered a place to live in, and two meals per day."
"However, they are not given any resources from the sect and they are in charge of maintaining the sect's properties. If they want to be promoted, they need to earn merits or cultivate and reach the cultivation stage required to become an Inner Sect Disciple.
The minimum cultivation stage required to be an Inner Sect Disciples is the Infant Core Formation Realm. By becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, he or she is now eligible to earn resources from the sect. They are constantly given monthly cultivation resources such as pills, herbs, and primordial stones."
"?"
Seeing the confused looks on the youths' faces, The sect leader confirmed that they indeed had not yet been taught about the cultivator's society.
He dug within his robes and took out a small stone that was the size of his thumb. Meixiang and the others looked curiously at the stone.
They noticed the peculiarity of the stone which was the faint blue, glowing markings surrounding the small stone.
"This is a primordial stone. They contain a small amount of qi and cultivators often use them to replenish their qi. Some even use them to break through to the next stage."
Meixiang posed a question. "Sect leader, what is the difference between primordial stones and beast cores?"
The Sect Leader's brow raised. "Oh, you have learned about beast cores?"
Looking at their expressions, it seemed that they indeed knew what beast cores were. The Sect Leader did not think too much of it and explained.
"You see, beast cores and primordial stones have similar properties, but beast cores may contain a better quality depending on the beast it came from. Primordial stones, on the other hand, contain a small and fixed amount of qi."
"Another difference between the two is that beast cores are scarce in amount. They are often used as an additional offer between trades. Meanwhile, Primordial stones are mineable resources, so they are used as a currency between cultivators."
"I see..." Meixiang understood the leader's explanation.
"Here, try it for yourselves"
The Sect leader threw them each a primordial stone. They all swiftly caught it and examined the small stone in their hands.
"Simply absorb the qi inside."
Following the Sect leader's words, they absorbed the qi and found a small amount of qi had entered their body. Since their qi was full, the excess qi reinforced their cultivation by a negligible amount. Still, that was enough for them to confirm that they worked in a similar way to beast cores.
"The Sect Leader says this is mineable?" Zed asked.
The Sect leader affirmed and added, "There are several Primordial stone mines, but all of them are under the jurisdiction of a first-rate sect like ours or the Imperial state."
Without pausing, the Sect Leader continued, "I will explain more about the other sects between the two factions along with the Imperial state later on."
Meixiang who was about to ask a question, closed her mouth and listened to the Sect leader.
"Let us return to the hierarchies of the sect. While the Inner Sect Disciples are provided with resources from the clan, they are also given responsibilities and are required to finish a quest once a year."
"They can also accept quests on their own volition, and receive merits upon accomplishment. Merit points can be exchanged for many items such as cultivation resources, martial art techniques, alchemy materials, and more."
"Rare materials and treasures that are brought from outside can also be exchanged for merit points."
The Sect leader continued, "Lastly, the highest position for disciples are Core Sect Disciples. These disciples are directly supported and taught by an Elder. As for becoming a Core Sect disciple, they must participate in the tournament within the sect that occurs once every twenty years."
"There, the participants will show their prowess and potential, and they try to attract the attention of the elders who will be watching the tournament."
"The other way to become a Core Sect Disciple is to personally get invited or sought out by an Elder. Regardless of their cultivation, as long as they are invited under an Elder, they are considered Core Sect disciples."
"But you must understand." The Sect Leader spoke in a serious tone. "Elders can only take a maximum of three disciples. Which is why they have to be careful and ensure that the talent they choose will grow."
"There have been some instances in the past where not a single disciple was chosen from the tournament."
"I see..." Zed muttered to himself.
They finally had a clear understanding of the hierarchies between the disciples. At the same time, they also understood how hard it was to become a Core Sect Disciple.
Pulling them from their thoughts, the Sect Leader continued to speak. "As the Sect Leader, I am exempted from the rules for the elders, and I can confidently say that I am able to take you all in as disciples."
"The only question that remains is... Are you all willing?"
Right after he spoke, the four youths immediately bowed to the floor. It seemed that he did not even need to wait for an answer as the four youths spoke simultaneously: "Disciple greets master."
The Sect Leader nodded in satisfaction.
-
They were led outside the building, and what met them was an unimaginable sight.
Completely stupefied, Zed's mouth gaped.
Meixiang and the others had a similar expression after seeing the view in front of them.
Countless stars stretched across the dark space. The sun could be seen shining, not above them, but instead, far to their right.
Similarly, the large moon that usually took up a huge amount of space in the sky was now beside them.
This time, the big bright moon took up almost half of their view.
Lastly, below them was an enormous spherical planet. Looking at the planet below, Zed could find its similarities to the planet he lived on in his previous life.
What he was sure though, was that the planet below them was thousands, if not, a million times larger than his previous world.
Just seeing the distance between numerous small fleeting continents as well as the large bodies of water made Zed realize why it was so hard to find other civilizations.
Another thing of note was that there were several unique features on the planet, such as; continents flying above the planet leaving a huge crater beneath, making it seem like a chunk of the planet was missing.
Similarly, small islands could be seen floating above the planet's stratosphere from time to time.
Unfortunately, Zed and the others were too far to see whether there were inhabitants on these islands.
There were also several unique looking lights that looked similar to the auroras that kept flowing freely in the planet's atmosphere. They moved with a direction, almost making it seem as if they were alive.
Lastly, there was a huge continent on the planet that was completely dark in colour. Dried, withered, and dying were the correct words to describe that particular contonent. It was as if the healthy and lush planet had cancer.
Zed and the others took a good look at the planet for more than half an hour and the Sect leader simply did not disturb them as they studied and observed the planet below them.
After a long silence, Zed was the first one to speak. "M-master... is this... Planet Xianxia?"
Zed glanced towards their master and the latter confirmed it.
"I do not understand this term "Planet" but if you are speaking of the world below us, then yes, that is the World of Xianxia."
Meixiang and the others could not help but feel overwhelmed after seeing the world they lived in, in its entirety.
After hearing Zed's question being answered, Meixiang and the others also asked their questions.
While listening in their conversations, Zed studied the place where they were standing. Zed found out that they were currently on a large floating island.
Numerous tall and large trees built up the long forest. Natural creeks and river streams could also be seen within the forests.
The house they were standing on was built on top of a mountain so Zed could see the entire vicinity of the floating island.
The view reminded him of their previous home, except this time, they no longer had the concept of day and night, since the island they were staying on was floating on the planet's exosphere. They could see both the sun and moon while they were revolving around the planet.
"Follow me."
Zed was brought out from his thoughts after hearing his master's voice.
Their master led them towards stone steps that were placed on the cliff of the mountain. If one was not careful, they might slip and fall from more than 30-40 floors in terms of a modern building.
The forests were brightened up by scattered faint blue lights. They seemed like fireflies from afar, but they remained in a stationary position, so Zed and the others thought that they weren't the familiar insects they knew.
Eventually, they arrived at a large, even ground, in the middle of the mountain. There they found a huge dark cave with a stream of water flowing from inside the cave and towards the outside where the end of the stream fell off the cliff onto the ground, making a small waterfall.
Looking at the cave for a while, their master faced them and said. "This is the cave where your senior sister lives."
"As the Sect Leader, I do not have much free time in my hands, and so I can only offer guidance from time to time."
The corner of his lips slightly curved upwards as he sighed.
"Which is why I'm quite proud of your senior sister. Despite my lack of teaching, she managed to reach that stage by herself."
"She honed herself to the peak and never slacked off in her cultivation. I never had to urge her, nor discipline her since she had the will to pursue the path of immortality."
"Which is why..." He grimaced. "She is currently unable to break through."
His face seemed to be self reflecting, but he quickly snapped out of it and continued to speak to the youths.
"Anyways, the interior of the cave is very spacious which should be enough to accommodate you all. Your senior sister will be the one to introduce you and tour you around this island as well as explain further matters about the sect."
Suddenly, a brief light glowed from within his robes and he hastily took it out. It was a talisman that glowed in yellow light.
He sighed and made an apologetic face to his disciples. "It appears that my presence is needed. Don't worry, your senior sister will arrive here shortly."
"In the mean time, you may be free to explore the cave and choose a room of your own."
"Again, I apologize, as I have mentioned earlier, as the sect leader, I am often needed to handle matters within the sect."
"I apologize for not making a satisfactory welcome to you, my new disciples. I have not even learned of your names yet.""
The talisman began blinking faster which made the sect leader feel a hint of urgency.
He unnoticeably clicked his tongue before looking at his disciples once more.
"But worry not! We will get properly acquainted after I handle this matter. Therefore-"
Blink! Blink! Blink!
The sect leader did not manage to finish his sentence as he was briefly covered in yellow light and was immediately teleported away.
The group of youths could only look at each other for a while before accepting their current situation.
Seeing the worried, troubled look on their master's face, they realized that he was truly helpless as the sect leader.
They figured that he must be living a busy life, regardless of his own will. Nevertheless, they knew that, there must be a price for taking the mantle of the Sect Leader of the Cleansing Jade Sect.
They weren't discouraged nor upset about the conditions of studying under their new master. In fact, they quite welcomed it since they would be less restricted in showing what they could really do.
As for additional information about the sect and the... Xianxia World, they decided to ask about it from their senior sister.
But for now, they entered the cave while thinking that they had also entered a new chapter in their lives.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary