Marcus Alexilis continued to expand upon & carefully explain the hierarchy of the Sect.
Some questions raised by the new Disciples including Sargon were well explained with patience & clarity by the Senior Sect Brother Marcus Alexilis.
Sargon then further asked about some doubts & hidden things from Rockarna Hanim whose family were attached to the Sect & now he had a clear understanding of the Sect.
In Short Courtyard Disciples was a status given only to the new Disciples like them who had just entered the Sect. It was a temporary Status valid for only 2 years.
Here , it was also a testing ground to see how much of Talent can the disciple squeeze out.
After all, although their aptitude & talent were seen from the First 3 Trials & and the additional function of Bridge to fully pierce through quality & Nature of their Body Roots.
This talent was however still an illusion, still only a potentiality ? And depending upon the Hardworking Character of the Disciples & the Forces or Family that backed them up it was almost a surety that the Final Released Talent & Potential Talent would differ.
What Luck could one gather in the future ? After all the illusory Lucky Encounters also is a part of one's background & Way.
So if someone performs outstanding in these 2 years perhaps they could even be accepted by an Outer Elder, whose status mind you except lack of access to some core techniques was higher than those of the Senior Inner Disciple that was explaining to them.
Being taken as an Disciple early meant that one would soar high with one step. The major advantage being someone to guide them & support & train them can exponentially increase their growth rate.
Perhaps the Disciple would outshine the Master & become a Core Disciple ?
Well anyways that was the dream of the many.
After the temporary 2 year status where they weren't burdened by Sect Mission was over they would go on to become an Outer Gate Disciple for 6 years, where they had to complete minimum compulsory Missions to get Sect Points.
If in these 6 years , they couldn't get enough Sect Points during these 6 years,they would be deemed unfit to be nurtured & would be abandoned to become a Secular Disciple.
Also if after the end of the 6 year period they have not achieved the 3rd Phase of the Houtian Realm, they would also become a Secular Disciple.
After all most of the people outside with poor background or no talent would be forever stuck at First or Second Phase only barely would they break the barrier between 2nd Phase & 3rd Phase.
The barrier between 2nd Phase & 3rd Phase is the first Major Hurdle to pass through & if you can't even pass through this Initial Hurdle after total 8 years of Sect Nurturing you [2 years Courtyard + 6 years Outer Gate Studentship period ] it can be basically said that you have both low talent, low luck & low willpower & you would never break through from 1st Inner Realm to the 2nd Outer Realm.
Secular Disciple would have to go out of Sect permanently where they would take care of the ground-works of the Sect outside the Sect, perhaps work in shops, guard some mines , or become an Escort Guard for transportation,etc.
They wouldn't be accepted back into the Sect, that is why they were also known as Abandoned Disciples , only in extreme cases where they have achieved the Evolution of Energy & upgrade their Realm from Inner Mage to an Outer Magus who can refine outer energies, would they be accepted back onto the Sect.
To Understand this first of all one needs to understand the Cultivation Power System of Nashirah which although similar to Darth Reliance PowerSystem , came with a lot of distinct differences.
There are 3 Major Known Realms/Level of Cultivation known to almost everyone, beyond that there are only rumors of it.[inside the square bracket are the Phases equivalent to Senior Darthnorth's Cultivation System]
1) Inner Houtian Awakening Realm [Qi Condensation Realm]- where one is given the title of Mage & controls one's Internal Mortal energies.
Divided into 4 Phases:
Apprentice Mage Phase [Martial Learner Phase]Novice Mage Phase [Martial Artist Phase] Journeyman Mage Phase [Martial Master Phase]Adept Mage Phase [ GrandMaster Transition Phase equivalent to Senior Darthnorth's Cultivation Power System which was not explicitly given the status of solid Phase as per their Ontology]
2) Outer Houtian Transformation/Evolution Realm [Qi Transformation/Refining Realm] - where one is given the title of Magus & controls External Natural Earthly energies.
Divided into 5 Phases:
Ascended Magus Phase [Ascended Martial Phase]Mystic Magus Phase [Mystic Martial Phase]Sacred Magus Phase [Transcendent Martial Phase]Innate Earth Magus Phase [Royal Transition Phase not classified fully as a True Phase in Senior Darknorths Power System ]Innate Sky Magus Phase [Imperial Transition Phase]
3) Dao Foundation Realm[Zifu Foundation Realm] - where one is given the title of Foundation Paragon & controls pre-celestial Heavenly Energies by virtue of which extends his lifespan by 120 years to 200 years. Whose Phases or Sublevels are not known except the Initial Star Foundation Phase.
So, there were 3 major hurdles, also known as Great Three Houtian Hurdles before one could even dream of Dao Foundation Realm.
The first being the Hurdle of jumping to 3rd Phase,where one has to jump over Dragon's Gate by reversing the energy flow cycle to find the True Life energy within the Body.
Only 1 out of every 3 individuals pass through the hurdle.
Second & the Most Difficult one, being jumping Realms i.e. jumping from 4th to 5th Phase , evolving or transforming the Internal life energy to refine & transform the Earthly energies around the body, going from Gaseous Mana Structure to Liquid Drop Mana.
Only 1 out of every 15 individuals pass through the Hurdle & be referred to as Magus.
Third & Last being the hurdle to feel the connection & magnetism between Heaven & Earth & to refine & control the Innate Energies of the Earth & able to control & fly through Flying Swords & the likes or temporarily step on Air without external aid.
Only 1 out of every 6 individuals can break through & understand the Innate Mystery of Heaven & Earth.
So one can imagine that once one evolves one's energies & liquidifes one's mana, his status will be vastly different.
Even in the Violet Valley Sect which boasts of having 10,000 Outer Disciples Mages there are barely 1,000 Magus (including Disciples & Elders) in the Sect so it is no wonder that these abandoned disciples would be re-integrated back to the Sect as Elders or even Inner Disciples.
Among them there are only 180 Innate Magus in the Sect which have fierce competition among themselves to seize the Once in a Lifetime opportunity to build a Foundation using the Foundation Building Pill.
So it speaks to the volume of the difficulty of evolving one's energy & transforming & manipulating the energies of the Earth.
Once those Outer Gate Disciples have passed the test & stay at the Sect they are also known as Outer Gold Disciples. Most of them would however stay in this place for the rest of their uneventful life.
These Outer Gold Disciples usually form Gangs or Clubs & complete the mission to search for opportunities to break through their Realm or to lord over the Outer Disciples.
In the event that they can transform the outer energies of the earth before the age of 24 to 30 years they can be given the status of Inner Hill Disciples , if they break through the Outer Houtian Transformation Realm later, they would be appointed as Outer Elders.
For Now, Marcus Alexilis only explained up to these Points as it was the Tallest horizon these new Courtyard Disciples were close to. Rest, if you are curious you could search for the gossip yourself.
Even he himself was only the top-ranked Inner Disciple after all & it was beneficial to not tell these youngins too much lest their Dao-Hearts become confused with appearances.
Let the Water flow freely in the river.
Nonetheless, Sargon got some insider information from Rockarna Hanim that there was a further Core Peak Disciple,who were classified as talented Foundation Building Seeds, whose status was far low compared to Inner Elder who had already established their Foundation.
They were equivalent to the Holy Sons & Holy Daughters of the Powerhouse in the central Mainland of 3 Continents.
Most of them had either a Special Physique, special Body Root or Genius Mind or were extremely talented in one of the Hundred Immortal Occupational Arts.
There was a similar but not that exaggerated prerequisite of having to touch upon Innateness before the age of 36 years.
Even if it costs the Sect 2 Foundation Building Pills, it wouldn't hesitate to offer it to them. But they wouldn't perhaps invest 3rd Pill, because each one at market cost an Huge amount of Medium Grade Profound Spirit Stones for a Single Pill.
So Sect Disciples in board be categorized into the Following Categories:
Courtyard Disciple: Temporary 2 years Status Outer Gate Disciple: Temporary 6 years StatusAbandoned Secular Disciple : could not complete minimum sect requirementsOuter Gold Disciple: Permanent Status & only expelled in the case of committing Great SinsInner Hill Disciple: Glorious Disciple with some respect & autonomy.Core Peak Disciple: Foundation Paragon Seeds.
Similarly the Elder system can be broadly classified into :
Outer Deacons: Those Outer Gold Disciples who failed to break into the Outer Houtian Transformation Realm & are quite Old. They usually focus on works outside the Sect-area, guiding the Secular Disciples.Outer Elders: Those who passed the threshold & entered Transformation Realm quite late. They usually focus on maintaining the order & prosperity of the Outer Sects.Inner Elders: Those who have established their Immortal Dao Foundation.Core Elders: Those who have the core Inheritance of one of the Five Regions of the Sect.
Talking about the Geographical Structure & Origin of the Violet Valley Sect, it is said that this State & the Inner Sect Region of 2 Central & Eastern Counties at past were controlled by the Guardian Mirkwood Order, a faction who supported the Royal family of the then Kratos Kingdom.
Later when Kratos, a legendary Demonfolk General who took on the Mission from eastern continent Zonan Empire to attack The Kingdom betrayed the Empire & occupied the Kratos Kingdom & instigated a rebellion to establish a Republic in the Kingdom .
Since he had Strength & Royal Family then was weak & rumors about their corruption started to be widespread , there had been a huge war during the times of The Great Chaotic World War.
Since Guardian Mirkwood Order insisted on supporting the royalty, after the war was over, the Royal Lineage exterminated & The Republic Started most of those royal Support factions were now left defenseless.
At that time, there was no Violet Valley Sect but only the Violet Valley, a Valley of Powerful Group of Rogue Cultivators & some Foundation Paragon Families who were the elites of the Valley.
So there was bound to be fractures as they were only united by the Goals of defending their Spiritual Lands without which Cultivating is akin to crawling like a Snail while others who have Spiritual Lands run like Rabbit.
But there was more disunity than unity , especially among the top 2 Factions,One of Alchemy & another of Lightning Mages.
There was a legendary Leader among the mist, who came from a Neutral Foundation Building Family who made peace with Alchemy Faction & Lightning Mages Family.
He then focused & diverted all their attention on weakening Mirkwood Order , just like some Japanese Shoguns focused their internal warfare of the Samurais , uniting them & frequently raided Lands of Korea & coastlines of China as if it was their Stress-release ground.
In polite terms it can be called sublimation & focusing energies on the right target , in poor terms it can be called Pushing cart before the Horse. It depends on time & perspective whether it will turn into a good thing.
Coupled with Valley Master's legendary Strength & his diplomatic alliance with Darvik & darkelf Family & Minor Sect around & after incorporating a decently powerful Vassal Family of Physical Cultivators of Mirkwood Order he engaged in smart conflicts & finally won the war.
Did the Impossible, gained a Foothold in the Mirky Guard state & later changed both their & states' name from Viollet Valley to Viollet Valley Sect & State was renamed Violet Order State.
There are many rumors about his High Vision , & Cruel but generous Temperament .
Some even say that he had the backhand under the table support from the Republic's First 3 Great Senators.
Some say even the Ancient Hidden Continental Sects were involved, which mostly seemed like a propaganda spread by the Sect itself to enhance its' legitimacy & smoothen its' change of Dynasty initially.
The Violet Valley Master is revered & worshiped as the First Ancestor of the Sect. It was under his reign that the Violet Valley Sect was organized & some of his rules & policies stand till this day.
The Main Geographical subdivision also happened in his reign, which are listed as follow :
Central Violet Region:- Where the Lightning faction took over & later after the death of First Ancestor , won the Sect Politics & Sect Leader for two times until recently they gave up family dominance due to pressure from Sect.
It is the Central Concave Valley filled with Violet Vegetation & rare Mountainous Huge Peaks.The Largest Peak is from where Sect Leader governs the Sect.
Eastern Angekok Region :- Where the Alchemy Faction took over & is still the faction which can still be head to head competition with the Central region, although now is harmonious with the lightning Faction.
It is a Hilly region surrounded by Fogs above & filled with Golden Soil & Mud below most suitable for growing Herbs.
Northern Eminence Region:- Initially led by the Physical Cultivator Family, now is the Most Secular & is dominated by the Teacher-Disciple Faction of the Sect.
It is the most mountainous out of all the regions from which Rivers rich with minerals flow down the Eastern to Southern Region.
Western Kahuna Region :- It was & still is vastly dominated & led upon by the Darvik & Dark Elf Families . However this is also the most united Region among all 5 regions.
It is the most Dense Forest region, which was artificially constructed. There are all kinds of Beasts, Steeds & Ant Hives living & domesticated here.
Southern Uprising River Region :- This is the most calm , peaceful & serene of all the Regions, dominated by the Master-Disciple Faction. It specializes in producing weapon Refiners & Sword Cultivators .
It is also the region which is responsible as per the Republican government for the production of the Goldex, a High Gold used for the minting Gold coins which is still the primary currency of the Republic.
It also has Spirit Stone House, which uses the Spirit Sands & small Spirit Crystals from Mines to produce low grade Acquired Spirit Stones with the efforts of the Refiners in the Sect.
After understanding the basic common knowledge of the Sect , Sargon & his crew were guided to the Courtyard Assignment hall by Senior Sect Brother Marcus Alexilis.
"You young chicks will be under the jurisdiction of this Courtyard Hall for the two year Training Period. If you have perhaps formed some bonds with your fellow Sect members & want to stay under the same Courtyard Dormitories it is better to stay as a group together in the queue to provide your basic information. ", Senior Brother Marcus explained in detail.