Written by - Silver Crown
Ch - 19 Mentorship ceremony
I was able to sleep soundly after a busy day. The next day, early in the morning, I was woken up by a knock at the door. When I opened the door, I saw two youths wearing grey sect uniforms. They said they are senior labor disciples from the black tortoise peak. They are from the first batch before us. Theirs is four years more senior than our batch inside the sect.
The reason why they came here was an elder ordered them to guide me to the assembly spot.
They are not unreasonable people. They patiently waited outside and gave me some time to prepare. I don't know whether they are frauds or not. But according to their look, they don't seem to be lying.
Besides, they didn't come inside the house even though I left the door open. I quickly freshen up and changed into a sect uniform. I checked two of them while packing up the things I might need inside my cloth. They are talking to each other without caring about the drama I'm making.
One of them noticed my glance. Seeing I'm doing unnecessary chores, he pointed out some necessary stuff to bring. Surprisingly, they are good people.
I wonder when I will meet my BM (Bully Maguire) in this sect.
'You will get damn spirit stone if you cross the door'.
Did I skip the usual cliche scenario with a talisman called Zhao Chi? I dropped one small bag of stones out of my cloth from the original two. Of course, only two or three at the top are spirit stones and the remaining were just pebbles.
I said a few words of apology for making them wait and closed the door. They took me to the assembly point.
We talked for a bit and introduced ourselves along the way. Their names are Taro and Kumar. The one with an angular forehead is 'Taro' and the other one with a plane look and v shape jawline is 'Kuma'. Maybe because of our language differences, they didn't find my name funny. I need to think of a good courtesy name before things get out of hand.
As Zhao Chi explained, the oceanic sect recruits people that come from different regions. Their only requirement is to have a kind of ancestor lineage. It wasn't surprising to find people who talk different languages.
The sect has its own common language too. Martial art manuals, signboards, maps, and everything inside the sect are written in the sect's common language. As long as the disciple is bonded with an activated banner or had a sect token provided by the sect administration office, he could understand the sect language easily like he had learned it from birth.
However, the laborers and new disciples haven't been used to it yet. They like to talk in their mother languages while speaking to each other.
Communication will be difficult if everyone talks in various languages. To cope with the language problem, the sect gives new disciples an amulet. It was a rectangular ornament that has the size of two fingers with a complicated circuit on it. You can either equip it on your clothing or hold it in your hand. As long as it has some sort of contact with the body, it will automatically translate different languages into a sect's common language.
Once again, I was marveled by their super technology. I have only seen this kind of thing in a movie in my past life. It was quite amusing to hear both the common language and their native language at the same time from the same mouth.
When we arrived at the assembly spot, there were only a few people who arrived before us. A man wearing an elder robe and two other people who looked like the instructor were standing at a podium of the field. The assembly field looks like a racing track in the Olympics. The podium is located on one side of the track. I wondered why only a few disciples are standing in this field.
'Hold up. Wait a minute. Something isn't right.'
'Why there is no baldy here.'
There are only a hundred or fewer people in the field and they all have hair. Two seniors left me standing on the field. They went to the stage to report to the elder. The disciples standing on the field are looking at me with curious glances.
'These people shouldn't be new labor disciples, Right? If they're, why is the number so low? There is no way they would receive only this amount from seven ships. They must be senior labor disciples like Taro and Kuma.' I thought in my mind.
Before too long, the first batch of baldies arrived at the field. They are a group of boys and girls separated side by side from each other in roles. They are led by some senior disciples.
"Hey, you. Line in my role" one of them called me out.
As we stood in front of the stage, the elder started his speech.
"Welcome from the Black tortoise peak. Although you got some explanation about your situation yesterday, Many of you will be wondering why you are here and confused about everything."
"It should be. You all came from different places. You got dragged out of your daily life and family."
"Don't worry. I will explain everything."
"The main reason you are here is because you are blessed. That is right."
"You guys are blessed from birth. You all are chosen among your people. Your body can cultivate superpowers and have a chance to become immortal. If it's not enough, your luck is superb enough to survive in the voyage across the ocean."
"But even with the insane amount of luck, your lives are miserable."
"However, that was your past before you got recruited by us. You all lived like rats, being bullied by someone who held more power and status from birth."
"Whether you will live tomorrow, whether you will have a meal after a day of struggle, all these have been decided by the hands of others. It's because you hold no real power in the mortal world. So your lives are weak and pathetic. You have no choice but to be in servitude."
"Some of you came from great families but fell from grace. I even heard someone wanted to change his life through some method."
"But, have any of you heard of anyone who succeeds through his own effort?"
"Without a prominent background, even if you succeed, you are just a pebble they will lay on their way."
"It is different in this Sect. Your success only depends on you. No matter what your background, no matter how useless and powerless you once were. It can be changed as long as you have a strong desire and do not give up."
The elder continued his propaganda speech. He used the darkness of our nation's ruling class as a background color to highlight the sect's good points. He is twisting the fact as if it isn't his sect that conscripts us without caring about our consent. He is describing it as a behavior of a savior that saves our lives from endless pain. This might be the reason why they only recruit teenagers. Cause they are naive enough to shape us and mold us to their liking. I was used to this kind of speech in my previous life. They all talk great but their actions aren't as great as they talked. After being a victim for many years, I had low expectations for everything they promised. Looking at the elder exuberant hand gestures, facial changes, and frantic speaking style, I saw him more and more like a con artist.
'Will the people who survived and lived on the street believe his words?'
I looked around and found many people, especially girls looking at the elder with fanatic expressions. There are only a handful of people with doubt in their eyes. Well, since I'm not a devil. Let them have their sweet dreams.
'Let's continue to hear what the elder is saying.' I shifted my attention back to the speech.
"The sect will give you accommodation, living necessities, and a chance to change your life. However, we are operating a sect. Not a charity organization that helps a bunch of goods for nothing."
"There is nothing free in this world."
"The sect has its own agenda to nature you as a cultivator. I won't explain what the sect agenda is further but nothing will change even if you find out about it yourself."
"The important thing is to make effort in everything you do."
"Since you got assigned here, it means you have the potential to cultivate the arts of the Black tortoise peak. (Bloodline art, body forging, hand-to-hand combat, and indomitable defense art)."
"But we wouldn't teach you for a moment. Your worldviews are too shallow. Entrusting you with the power you can't bare will only lead to your demise."
"The disciples standing in front of you are the elite disciples of this peak. Unlike you guys, they are born into a family of cultivators."
"They will be your mentor and show you the rope for some time."
"Remember, you all are labor disciples, not ordinary disciples. You will do the duties assigned to you and learn about the world under them for six years."
"Are you clear?"
"Yes," the crowd of bald people replied haphazardly. I knew that the elder will make sure to get a unanimous answer. And sure he did. We have to shout at least three times to give him a satisfactory reply.
"So without further ado, let's start the mentorship appointment ceremony."
When the elder speech ended, he stepped back into the stage. The two people who looked like instructors took the stage. They are giving scrolls to the elite disciples that arrived orderly to their positions.