"What do you mean?" Shu He asked, still having a hard time believing what he was hearing.
"Exactly as I said, we want to promote you to an inner disciple; Of course not immediately, there're a few things we need to do before that".
"But I barely joined the sect a few months ago, I have no achievements to my name! I don't even know what the requirements to become an inner disciple are!" Shu He questioned, he couldn't help doing so, having such a boon sprung on him for little reason was disconcerting.
"I think dealing with a traitor in the sect is enough of an achievement, no? You made quite a show of it as well." Rong Jia crossed her arms as she smirked slightly.
"…Is that what this is about?" Shu He had picked up on the implications behind her words.
"Indeed it is" She nodded.
Shu He had killed a fellow sect member on stage in front of hundreds of others, of course that wouldn't be the story that would be travelling around the sect on whispers, it would be the involvement of Jin Bao with the black sects, his branding as a traitor and subsequent execution at his hands.
Of course, the question would then be 'Why would they leave it in a mere outer disciple, why didn't they stop the tournament if they knew?'
On top of that was the most worrying thing for Shu He of them all, in that fight he had lost himself in the moment and exposed his potential, granted most disciples won't know enough details to deduce anything but the more sharp-eyed ones will figure it out.
"Will the status of inner disciple be able to protect me?" He questioned, he didn't know the first thing about the differences between and outer and inner disciple.
"It will provide you with some cover, an inner disciple is considered truly part of the sect" She explained.
"Outer disciples aren't?" Shu He asked, confused, what was the difference?
"I'll explain" Wu Zhong stepped forwards, Rong Jia glanced at him before returning to the steel throne where she sat peacefully leaning to the side on her elbow.
"Outer disciples are essentially seedlings in the sect, we 'plant' the potential sprouts and feed them some water and provide them with a decent environment, however we don't do much more for them."
"One they show signs of sprouting and growing healthily, we dedicate more and more resources to them, giving them more specified treatment, that is what Inner Disciples are".
"Core disciples are the seedlings that have grown fast and strong, they are the ones with the most potential and are most suitable for our sect."
"As an inner disciple you will be able to access more of our advanced cultivation facilities, the ability to purchase more items from the Covetous Dragon Pagods, permission to learn scrolls from the second level of the Technique Repository among other benefits, you'll also get 50 points per month by standard, the biggest benefit would be the ability to create your own home in the sect wherever you desire, as long as it isn't in restricted locations".
Shu He listened and swallowed the words he was listening to, everything sounded good to him however he truly didn't understand how good these benefits were, he hadn't even reached his limit as a cultivator with the outer disciple restrictions so currently the inner disciple benefits sounded overkill.
However that didn't mean he didn't want them.
The one he was most interested in was the last one though.
"My own home?" He asked for more specifics.
"Yes, this thing here is a territory stone" Wu Zhong pulled a small, pointed stone out of his robes, it glimmered with dormant light ever so gently "Just pop it into the ground anywhere on the sect and as long as it isn't within a restricted area, a 'territory' will be created with a size of 10 meters cubed".
"What does that territory do?"
"You see-" Just as Wu Zhong was about to explain-
"-Ahem, I'm the one that manages them, shouldn't I be the one to explain?" Da Ru interrupted.
"…Fine" Wu Zhong stepped back, slightly disappointed.
"We haven't met before this have we, Disciple Shu He? I'm Da Ru, the Elder in charge of the Formations Division and also the one in charge of managing the sect's grand formation". He stepped forward puffing his chest out, rustling his long white beard.
"Disciple greets Elder Da… when you say grand formation, do you mean all the unique technology around this sect?" Shu He's eyes sparkled "Did you create all that?".
"Uh- ah, no, I may be old, but the grand formation has existed since the sect was founded, it was one of the genius founders of the 5 sects that made them… but I can still fix, update, and maintain them! One day I'll be as good as the founders!"
"Ah… okay…" Shu He answered.
'Why is this old man trying to justify himself to me?' He thought.
"Ahem- Anyway, a 'territory' granted by a territory stone is useful because you can set permissions on who can enter it, those without permission will be blocked by a barrier- of course someone like me, Wu Zhong and the Sect Master would be an exception, but a lot of elders can't freely breach the barrier either, it's great for privacy, even more so than the rooms you have now".
"Next is the shaping function, if you use your token you can interact with the formation of your territory to create a house or cultivation shelter for yourself, whatever you prefer, you can do whatever you want within the confines of your home, the only thing you need is the materials, you can use whatever is in the area when you create your territory or you can bring some to use, then you just need to create an image in your mind and activate the shaping function through your token!". He finished explaining enthusiastically.
Shu He listened intently, he then asked "Is there no limit to what kind of materials we can use? What about the facilities within like showers?"
"Mortal materials are the restriction, if you want to use anything higher level you need to request permission from one of us elders and have it done manually; As for those kinds of facilities, you can designate their location afterwards and the formation will set them up quickly".
"How convenient… is this formation stone restricted to the sect?"
"Unfortunately so, it's all part of the grand formation; Though you can find talismans and charms that can perform similar functions".
"Hmm…" Shu He noted that to his mind, he wasn't someone who had ever camped outside before past a couple times he accidentally stayed out far too long when he was younger, so such things would be nice to have.
'The benefits are great… but there's one thing…'
He turned and looked towards Rong Jia.
"I have two questions".
"Go ahead" She waved her hand casually.
"What benefits does the sect get out of this? I don't believe me getting rid of Jin Bao justifies giving me an early promotion."
"And… what are those 'few things' you mentioned before?"
Rong Jia merely smiled.
"You don't need to worry, we don't have any ill intent; We're a sect, we invest in disciples that could be valuable for us in the future" she explained as she gently pointed towards Shu He "And you've shown that you have the potential to be VERY valuable."
Shu He couldn't help but let out a wry grin.
"And for the second question, it has to do with the first; You'll have to perform a lifeblood oath, you must swear to never betray the sect and to never have any malicious intent towards the sect".
"A blood oath…" Shu He had some bitter taste left in his mouth from that scroll he had received from Old Yun, he still didn't know what he had gotten himself in to, now he was being asked to perform another one.
'But… these conditions don't seem too bad; I'll need to double check so I'm not duped though'.
"Along with that, you'll be sent on a mission for a while as a 'promotion exam', It'll be suitable for your level so don't fret too much, but don't let your guard down" She casually dropped on him.
"A mission? I've barely even gotten my feet planted in the sect, I still need to finish joining some divisions and learning some things.." He couldn't help but complain a little bit.
"That's fine, we'll give you six months before then, you'll have a status as a inner disciple in name only until then though." She explained.
Shu He sighed.
'So that oath is un-negotiable, they want to tie me to the sect as soon as they can because of the potential I showed'.
"Alright, I agree to the conditions".
He didn't know if he even had a choice, what would they do if he said no? Let him walk freely? Maybe, but in all honestly Shu He had no ill-will towards the sect, rather it was the opposite as he had begun to plant his roots here, it wouldn't harm him to solidify them.
"Very good, then all that is needed to have been said, has been said. Go ahead and leave for now, I'll send someone to you tomorrow about performing the oath". Rong Jia stated, waving him away.
"Yes, Sect Master" Shu He bowed in curtesy before he turned to leave, his head filled with thoughts.
Soon, the stone doors closed behind locking his small figure out of the room, the warm atmosphere seemed to drain as the expressions on all the elders flattened.
"Are you sure this was the right move, Sect Master?" Su Wen asked, his eyes cold as he stroked his moustache.
"I agree with Elder Su, the power he displayed during that fight was far too great for someone of his level even if it was used through a spirit weapon, it seemed highly unstable as well as he received a lot of backlash; He could be dangerous to have around" Mu Kai who had remained silent stated while scratching the stubble on his chin.
"That power was certainly quite a show, I felt I might not have been able to block it with my instant barriers so I had to redirect it, but just because it's dangerous now doesn't mean it always will be" Da Ru adjusted his monocle as he explained.
"Hah, Mu Kai is quite young still but Su Wen, why are you saying such cowardly things; We should welcome someone with such potential with open arms, he just needs to be hammered in to shape" The grey-haired Zhi Wu scoffed at the other's caution "Don't you agree Vice-Sect Master?"
"…Caution should always be taken, but we shouldn't stifle a child with it, give him some room to stretch his wings and he'll appreciate it after he has grown." The again stone-faced elder spoke, the others nodded their heads after agreeing with him.
"Indeed, it's not wrong to watch them carefully, but helping a stumbling child run and fly will be more beneficial for us in the future". Rong Jia stated "Then, that's it for now, I'll entrust the oath with you Wu Zhong since you seem fond of him".
Wu Zhong nodded silently.
"Then, you're all dismissed."
With that, the four of them left the room, leaving only Rong Jia behind, she steadily laid back on the metal throne and breathed out, sighing.
"This new batch of disciples are a real headache…" She said, for only the silence in the room to hear.