The elder looked down at everyone and smiled.
"I am sure all of you know where you are right now. The Seven Sword Sect is the most powerful sect in the Xianghu Province.
The Sect is divided into the Outer Sect, the Inner Sect, and the Core. All of you are a part of the Outer Sect. Every year, there will be a trial, and if you pass that trial, you will be allowed to enter the Inner Sect.
But to pass the trial, you usually have to enter the Qi Foundation Stage."
As he said this, many looked up with confusion.
"Of course, don't worry. Cultivation is split into stages. The first four, are Muscle Tempering, Bone tempering, True Tempering, and Qi Tempering. And each of these stages can be divided into four levels of completion."
"Now, most of you here have already reached the Muscle Tempering stage, while some of you have never cultivated properly before. Do not worry. The sect will provide you with the resources you need to grow stronger."
At this point, Li Feng raised his hand.
"How will we know what our cultivation is, Elder?"
The elder smiled.
"You will know. The increase in power that you feel is substantial, not incremental. But all that will be covered tomorrow, when you meet the teachers." He shook his head.
"For now, we will focus on acclimating to the sect itself. There are many things that you new ones need to know as Seven Sword Sect disciples." He laughed as he slowly descended back onto the ground.
As his feet touched the ground, he started walking into the sect that everyone could see.
There were buildings everywhere, but not many people were walking around. Some of them were looking at Li Feng and the other new disciples, but they ignored it quickly.
"Old disciples?" Li Feng wondered.
"There are limited resources in the world, so you cannot expect free resources wherever you are." The elder said.
"So every month, there is a ranking. For each division of the sect, a ranking is made. The Outer Sect rankings are tallied on the third of every month."
"That means that there is almost a month before the rankings are tallied again. So we are given a month to adjust and prepare for the rankings." Li Feng made a note.
"I will let you explore how the rankings are, well, ranked. Let us move on." The elder said as he looked to the side,
"These are residences. You will be allotted residences later. The best residences, of course, are given to those with a better ranking. And the better residences have a higher Qi Density, so it will let you cultivate faster."
"The treasury can be accessed once a month for skill books. To access the treasures, you will need special permission. All of you will be allowed to go in….."
The elder continued his monologue as he started walking deeper and deeper into the outer sect.
Li Feng looked around at the giant sect, and his eyes lit up with surprise.
The sect was bigger than he thought it was going to be, and to think that this was just the outer sect!
Surely, the inner sect was more selective, and would be smaller than the outer sect, but to think that there were three divisions of this scale!
His ears perked up when he heard about the treasury that he could visit once every month.
"Finally, something that I can finally use. I need to take a look at the skills once I get the chance." Li Feng told himself.
The remainder of the visit went as expected, and the boring monologue came to a halt when the elder stopped right in front of a giant building.
It was shaped like a colosseum, but Li Feng couldn't understand why a sect would have a building like this.
"Here we are. Let us go inside, shall we?" The Elder smiled once again.
He seemed to be in a very cheerful mood.
There were no doors, and it was a simple walk into the colosseum itself.
Inside was a giant ground that spanned maybe a few hundred meters in length?
There were seats all around the ground, but none of them were populated.
Li Feng looked at the front where a selective box had a few people in it.
All of them were old men and women, with white hair prominent among them.
"The elders. This must be the time they are selecting disciples of their own." Li Feng suddenly realized as his eyes darted toward Qin Bo.
Without a doubt, Qin Bo and the veiled woman would be hot targets for these elders.
"Would it be beneficial for me if I was taken? I can only hope, I suppose?" Li Feng thought to himself.
He pat his robes once more, feeling the inscriptions of the bronze token through the coarse cloth.
"Will I get to meet this elder? He doesn't seem to be here." Li Feng thought to himself.
He looked at each of the elders. In the center seemed to be the most important one of them all. He was standing up, with a long beard that swayed with the wind.
The disciples around Li Feng were also looking up. They were quiet, knowing that they couldn't afford to offend the elders in front of them.
"So this is the new batch of disciples." In the box, an elderly woman said softly.
Her words were definitely not audible to the disciples below them.
"Those two, I just confirmed. Their parents sent them here. Looks like the palace still doesn't trust us for that task." Another elder said.
"Regardless, they are still disciples now. Who wants to try their hand at taking them in?" The woman chuckled.
"Why don't you ask the girl. Surely, she will be delighted to be your disciple." The elder who just spoke shook his head.
"All of you, calm down. The decision is theirs. If the Heavenly Fate wills it, then you will be paired with a good disciple." The elder who stood up turned around and said.
Turning back around, he took a deep breath. With a loud voice that everyone could hear, he said, "Well then. Let us begin!"
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