The stone door slid open and outside stood a tall man with a facial expression that seemed to be made of stone looking down at Shu He's figure.
"Vice-Sect Master? It's you?" Shu He spoke in surprise, he was expecting another disciple to come get him but apparently this wasn't the case.
He would have been more surprised had he not just been in a meeting with the Sect Master herself and 5 others yesterday, he didn't have time to react yesterday either, but he was struck silent that the elder he met in the Techniques Depository was actually the Vice-Sect Master.
Wu Zhong slightly nodded.
"Mm, just call me Elder Wu, it's shorter and draws less attention".
"…Right" Shu He agreed, but he found it a bit weird that the Vice-Sect Master himself is doing away with some formalities, he wouldn't complain though.
"Are you ready? We'll head right to the location to perform the oath" The elder asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready" Shu He answered, he didn't need to prepare anything but his mind and that was done the moment he accepted to make the oath.
"Then let's go" Wu Zhong didn't spare any more words and turned around, walking off.
Shu He looked at him walking away for a second before tapping the panel on the wall to close his room's door and running to follow along.
They spoke sparsely while they walked at a brisque pace, but Shu He managed to ask him where the ritual was going to take place.
"We're heading to the sect master's residence, it's atop the central peak, the same place you went for the meeting yesterday" Wu Zhong explained without turning to look at him.
"Huh? Then why did I have to wait a day to do it?"
If it was in the same location, couldn't he have just done it after the meeting was adjourned?
Wu Zhong glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"There are procedures required to access the ritual site, it took a little time to get them sorted".
"Oh" Shu He replied, clearly he wasn't going to learn much more, the silence between the two grew again for a few minutes before he remembered something.
"Right! There was a statue on top of the summit in the middle, who was that? Was he a previous sect master? If I remember correctly there was an engraving that looked similar on the gateway at the end of the Steps of Ascension as well."
"You have a good memory, they're the same person and that person is the first sect master, Yang Jie, records state he was the strongest sect master we've ever had as well as being the founder, with his hammer he could split mountains and flatten hills in a single swing" Wu Zhong happily recounted the legends of him.
"What happened to him?" Shu He asked, if he was that strong then surely he would only have succumbed to his lifespan, right?
"Records say he died of old age officially…" Wu Zhong said but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"Officially?" Shu He encouraged him to continue.
Wu Zhong was silent for a second in consideration before he spoke "I've read some records that seemed contradictory, that he hadn't quite reached the end of his lifespan when he disappeared one day, meaning he could have died some other way".
"Could he still be alive?"
"Impossible, as a mortal the longest you can live is just over 1000 years at best, it's been far longer than that; He's dead, without a doubt".
Shu He considered what Elder Wu as he scratched his head, something didn't seem right with what he just said but he wasn't sure…
It took him a minute but then it hit him.
"Is there something beyond being a 'mortal?' if there is, couldn't he have reached that stage and still be alive?" Shu He asked, pointing out the emphasis on mortal.
"Impossible" Wu Zhong rejected it immediately.
"Why? Is there nothing beyond?"
"I didn't say that, but he couldn't have reached that stage".
"But why?"
"Enough, you'll learn more once you finish the oath, until then you aren't allowed to know".
"Ah… okay…" Shu He reluctantly stopped asking about it, he would be able to learn soon anyway if it was just his status stopping him from doing so.
"What about that hammer? It looked like it was made of Spirit Metal, is that his actual weapon or a reproduction?" He asked the other question that was burning in his mind, he could tell the quality of the weapon was higher than the knife he had.
"That's the Titan's Fury, it was indeed Yang Jie's weapon, the very same one he used; The day he disappeared the statue was found erected on the summit with the hammer in hand, supposedly those that can wrestle the hammer from the statue's hands are worthy of using it, or so it goes… everyone has failed so far of course" Wu Zhong chuckled at the end, clearly he saw it as a useless endeavour.
Shu He looked towards the central peak far off in the distance.
'So a weapon from someone that strong, from long, long ago is just sitting up there waiting for someone to take it?... it feels like a 'sword in the stone-esque' situation honestly'.
Their walk carried on, many disciples glanced at the pair from the distance recognition Wu Zhong and looking quizzically at Shu He besides him, some seemed to recognise him showing how much of an impact his antics on stage were.
They waded their way through people coming to greet the Vice-Sect Master and other Elder's coming up for a chat until they reached the two grand waterfalls and stepped into the elevator going to the top.
As they walked towards the large set of buildings that was the Sect-Master residence Shu He couldn't help but glance at the stainless statue of the Yang Jie in the centre, deeply impressed by the detail of the statue and its likeness, he inspected the hammer with his 'sight' and saw that it seemed to naturally draw Qi towards it, it was definitely a higher quality than his knife; He couldn't help but consider whether it could handle the golden Qi at full force.
Wu Zhong led him Into the residence, or rather into the garden behind it, it was a beautiful place with many different kinds of flowers in bloom, crystal clear lakes filled with fish and a small pagoda in the centre.
Shu He was enthralled by the different kinds of flora around, they were teeming with Qi, and he hadn't seen them before so they were clearly spiritual flora, he could smell different kinds of scents wafting from them as they stepped through the tranquil garden.
There wasn't anyone else here, surprisingly, he had thought there'd be some servants in such a large place at all times let alone the sect master herself.
"Is the sect master not here?" He asked.
"She's rarely in her residence, the Sect Master likes to rest atop the Summit of Trials…" Wu Zhong paused for a second "That's one of the areas you'll get access to as an Inner Disciple, by the way."
"Oh! Sounds grand" Shu He spoke, he didn't have much context to go off.
"It's similar to the Steps of Ascension, just much harder and higher".
"Oh… sounds tough." Shu He remembered the feeling of his body being crushed under the 'weight' of that test; he would have to be cautious at this Summit of Trails.
Soon they reached the centre of the garden and stood before the small pagoda, it was made of finely crafted wood and seemed like a great place to meet and have a calm tea party.
'But… is this where we're meant to be? Is there a hidden passage?'
He looked around with his 'sight', he couldn't see any hollow areas so it's either quite deep underground or there's some other entrance elsewhere, he can see many formations glimmering around the garden as expected of the sect master's residence, but he didn't understand them so he couldn't tell what they do.
"Stay there for a second" Wu Zhong spoke as he stepped forward before taking out a steel token, similar to his disciples token but more ornate.
He held it in his hand, and with the same hand made a hand sign before speaking "Open".
With a rumble the ground started shifting while also glimmering with Qi.
*DRRRRRRRRR*
A loud scraping sound echoed as the pagoda began moving upwards, the ground beneath was dirt for about a few centimetres before it became solid rock which move higher and higher, it wasn't until about three meters of solid stone had been shifted that an opening appeared, inside was a stairwell that joined deeper in with another tunnel.
*DOOOON*
The mechanism seemed to have locked as the movement stopped, the dirt clouds wafting through the air quickly settled into the water which became dirtied, yet just like magic the water seemed to clean itself becoming crystal clear in a matter of seconds.
Shu He couldn't help but smile a little as he watched all this happen, by now he wasn't too impressed, but he still liked seeing secret passages and such appear, there was some weird excitement to it.
"Follow me, hurry it will close soon" Wu Zhong walked into the opening without delay, Shu He strode in along with him, the passage was dark at first but then became lit with brightstone lamps, after a minute a rumbling was heard behind them as the entranceway closed itself.
"Do all new Inner Disciples go through this?" He asked curiously, surely it was a bit too much work doing this every time.
"Not exactly, we don't usually promote disciples one at a time individually, we do it in batches every 4 years or so and they'll all come here together".
'Makes sense, if only an elder or specific elder can come here it'd be annoying having to do it every time someone was to be promoted'.
They kept walking down the passageway that was ornately decorated, it was very much reminiscent of the passageway he had entered in the first test when he entered the sect so he couldn't help feeling a little nostalgic, despite it having only been a few months.
'I really am skipping ranks too quickly, if it takes 4 years at minimum to normally become an inner disciples I'm more than 3 and a half years early!'
He couldn't help but notice that they passed through gates on the way here, except those gates were already open like someone had come before them.
'Are these the reason he said there were preparations that needed to be made?' he thought as they walked in silence.
Soon enough they reached an open room, it was very pale in colour, everywhere seemed grey and it was very open, there were pillars in the four corners holding up the roof and in the centre was a large statue.
They stopped for a moment, taking in the surroundings before walking onwards towards the statue.
'After everything before, this place feels a bit plain…' He thought until he felt shivers crawl up his back as he looked to a pillar near the statue, what he saw made him jump in fright.
There was a man there sat cross legged, his eyes were covered with a silver cloth and his torso was exposed, his skin was clinging tightly to his bones as it was pale as paper, one might think that they might be mummies yet not Shu He, he had just seen one of them look directly at him!
"What-" The words leaked out of his lips.
"Pay respect to our seniors" Wu Zhong bowed; Shu He followed suit after calming his heart down.
The pale figure turned his head again, back into a straight pose like he was sleeping.
Shu He looked around and saw, there wasn't just one but four, one sitting in each cardinal direction around the statue.
"Who are they?" Shu He whispered.
"The great protectors of this sect" Wu Zhong answered, a hint of reverence in his voice.
Great Protectors, that was enough for Shu He to understand just how important they were, he didn't ask anymore questions, he just stood in reverence for a period.
He could tell with his sight, these four had a Qi flow similar to the sect master herself, maybe even greater.
They walked over to the statue, now that Shu He could get a closer look it was a combination of a large carving of a monstrous looking 'person', in its mouth it held a scroll that was open with writing on it, below the two palms were cradling a bowl that contained a crystal-clear liquid.
"This is where you'll take the oath, read the lines and then cast your blood into the bowl". Wu Zhong said before standing to the side.
Shu He felt his heart tighten slightly; everything now was up to him.
He stepped forward and looked up at the statue, he felt like he was before a titanic presence staring him down, judging him.
He used his 'sight' to observe it, but the statue seemed completely normal.
'I'm just feeling nervous then…' He couldn't help but shake his head, why was he getting scared?
He glanced at the bowl; he couldn't tell what was inside however from where he stood it looked like nothing more than pure water.
He then looked at the bowl and frowned a little.
'Something is there?'
It was vague, he couldn't tell what it was or what its shape was, nor its colour or form, like he was trying to make out shapes from mist.
'This bowl isn't normal…' He concluded, it was probably the bowl specifically that was the catalyst for the oath, or so he assumed; He didn't know much about oaths after all.
After he finished looking around, he looked at the tablet that was sitting in front of him, all that was left for him was to read it and give his blood.
He breathed in and out, calming himself, and then he opened his mouth to talk.
"I, Shu He, declare the following".
"I will, from henceforth, am an ally of the Titanic Steel Sect".
"I will never betray the sect in any capacity".
"I will never have malicious intentions towards the sect".
"I will never maliciously harm another member of the sect".
"I will never harm the sect or its members on another's behalf".
"I will work for the betterment of the sect".
"I will uphold justice for the sect and strike down those who perform abhorrent acts".
"With these words, I give my oath".
He bit into his thumb, holding it above the bowl as a drop of blood formed and fell, it dropped in to the pool of water before it suddenly shimmered and dispersed in to nothing.
However for Shu He that wasn't the end, suddenly his sight lit up light lights as he felt something change, at first he thought this was the oath taking place and it wasn't unusual but then he realised it was something more.
He looked at the bowl, that sensation of vagueness was no longer there, he could see something.
A LOT of something.
They were like infinitely small strings of gold, all attached to the bowl and reaching out, through the walls as if nothing could impede them, there were so many Shu He couldn't even begin to count them.
But he could tell one thing, he watched as a string formed between him and the bowl, it went into his chest, but it wasn't actually attached to it, it went deeper, even past his core of cultivation.
'My soul…?'