Written by-Silver crown
Ch-16 Seven peaks of the oceanic sect
Many salivating meals appeared along the table. However, I blinked my eyes when I saw the dishes appear at my side. It wasn't because these foods are bizarre and not to my liking. It was only a simple set of meals that gave me a nostalgic feeling.
Brown rice congee, a bowl of vegetable dumplings soup, and a plate of bean cake. It smells like home.
'Ah, why did I leave my village?' I thought. I feel regret about my past actions.
"Let's eat," Zhao Chi said.
He picked up a pair of chopsticks and grabbed a mouth full of rice noodles. After having a few bites, he scooped up a spoon of clear broth. He blew the stream a little bit.
"Slurp, Tsk..."
"Noice."
Zhao Chi was enjoying his meal and eating with relish. On the other hand, I was staring at a bowl of congee like a statue.
"Growl..."my stomach growled again.
It drove me out of my deep thought and reminded me that I was quite famished. I grabbed a wooden spoon and took a spoonful of brown rice congee. It was hot and burned my tongue when I put it into my mouth. It tastes a little bit better than grandma's cooking. However, I miss the latter.
I lowered my head and ate spoonful after spoonful. I wipe away the tears streaming down my cheek. It didn't take long to finish our meal.
After we finished our meal, the magical table didn't disappoint my expectations. Empty bowls, utensils, and empty plates disappeared into the table. In their place, a towel and a tea set emerged at our sides. I wiped my face and hands with a warm towel.
Zhao Chi poured fragrant tea into China. Holding the cup up to his chin height, he made a toasting gesture towards me. I also hold up my teacup high and make a 'Ganbei' toast. It was the same as we did during our voyage. But our moods and positions were different from those days.
I drank the tea in one swig. It is only warm compared to the meal I have eaten. It is a great tea. After drinking, my mouth felt refreshed. A lingering feeling of mint and a faint scent of glutinous rice left a unique aftertaste inside my mouth.
"It's a shame that Sanlang wasn't here," Zhao Chi said.
"We used to toast a lot during our meals right?"
"He was assigned to Orca peak." "Remember those seven phantoms and ships that appeared at the sect gate?"
"They represent seven apexes inside this sect."
"Speaking of apexes, you can see which apexes you have been assigned on your banner."
I checked the banner on my waist. I only noticed my blue wristband becomes black. Instead of a beach and waves, there is a white embroidery of a turtle shell in a circle.
"I thought you would be assigned to Hydra(Xiang Liu) or the same peak as me."
"Maybe you were influenced by your nickname. Ha Ha." Zhao Chi said while laughing.
"Ha Ha, maybe it was."
"Could senior brother enlighten me why we are assigned to different peaks?" I asked.
My self-taught conversation technique is; You need to reply to another person's words before you go for what you need. It conveys to my conversation partner that I'm listening and appreciate his words.
"Sure,"
"Before that, I have to explain what these peaks are."
I listened attentively to his explanations about different peaks. Luckily, Zhao Chi wasn't a chatterbox. He didn't beat around the bushes and explained in short and simple terms.
Inside the sect, there are eight main peaks. They are not mountains but more like a division of the Oceanic sect for pursuing different Dao knowledge. After successful recruitment, labor disciples were assigned to different peaks.
Aside from the main peak exclusive for Sect Master, the others stand for teaching different parts of the immortal way.
The red and beautiful Golden fish is called the Soaring fish peak (Arowana-Lucky fish). Although it is illustrated first in phantom order, it is a seventh peak. Disciples from the Soaring fish peak are very good with weaponry and swordsmanship.
Most people assigned to that peak have an additional buff or a blessing called a lucky bastard. They are a group of people living up to their nickname. Many lucky encounters were found by those guys. The rab-dog is assigned to this peak.
The orange color octopus is a seven-eyed Kraken peak. It simply pursues art. Yes, It's art, not explosion. The restaurant we are currently eating at is owned by that peak. According to Zhao Chi's explanation, It is a den of smart-asses and innovative people. If my guess wasn't wrong, my cousin sister might be assigned there.
The yellow unidentified creature is an orca peak. Its full name is celestial Formation whale. As the name prescribes, it pursues formation and talisman (Fulu). Sanlang was assigned there.
The green one is the primordial Chaos Pig. It wasn't a capybara like I thought. Craftsmanship and alchemy are their main subject. Surprisingly it didn't include building structure. They are like engineers and inventors in simple terms.
However, my impression of this peak greatly diminished after knowing fatty Mantou was assigned that peak. Most of the disciples might be arrogant and proud pigs who held their eyes on their heads.
The blue serpent dragon is an azure dragon peak. It pursues spiritual techniques. Most of their ways and ability are sugarcoated by Zhao Chi. Of course, it was his peak. How would he bad mouth about it? It is the first peak, so it was undeniably strong.
The nine-headed Hydra(Xiang Liu) peak claimed the remaining indigo color. But their representation of sect uniforms ranged from indigo to violet color. There is a reason for this.
Humans' eyes can see and distinguish merely a limited kind of color. Most humans can distinguish between indigo and violet. However, the sect is not organized with only humans.
According to my inquiry. Zhao Chi explained how the oceanic sect accepts disciples. Although there are some other details he explained, they mainly focused on two facts. They must have an ancestor lineage of Titania and must appear in their recruitment compass.
Many humanoid species inside the sect couldn't distinguish these two colors. Plus, the last peak is called a black tortoise. So, inside the sect, the black tortoise color becomes black and grey to be distinguishable.
The last two peaks have a deep relationship. Nine-headed Hydra and black tortoise. The former practice pills and elixir alchemy whereas the latter practice body cultivation. At Hydra peak, there was a group of Saint and sadistic. Complimentary to a group of martyrs and masochists in the black tortoise peak.
Hydra peak disciples used disciples from black tortoise as lab rats or pill rats. Vice-versa those from the black tortoise need medication or stimulants provided by Hydra to cultivate their bodies. It is one of the symbiosis relationships inside the sect. The elder I saw in heaven purging is from the Hydra peak. I can guess how much the Health care department in the cultivation world has advanced.
Although our conversation took long enough to empty our teapot, it was the gist of Zhao Chi's explanation. Zhao Chi was about to sip his tea but the cup was empty.
"We got a little longer in our talk. Since you fainted yesterday, you haven't claimed your necessity provided from your peak."
"Tomorrow, the sect will be announcing who your supervising disciple is."
"Depending on your merit point you should be assigned to one of the elite disciples from the top hundred rank."
"I've been assigned as your temporary mentor to guide you around the sect for today."
"Let's go to the black tortoise peak first and claim some necessity provided for you."
With that being said, Zhao Chi placed his sect token on the table. The tableware and bamboo curtain disappeared as soon as the token touched the table. We sat up and walked out of the restaurant with steady steps.