The next month passed rather uneventfully. During the day, I performed various tasks such as cleaning, delivering meals and messages to guests, and changing and washing bedding after guests left. The inn featured a restaurant with a small bar area where I had my meals. One day, I witnessed a fight break out between two patrons, but their excessive alcohol intake caused them to pass out snoring on the ground halfway through. I couldn't even figure out what they were fighting about.
I observed that Tamara's primary role was to put a smile on people's faces as they walked through the door, and she jumps up giving them an enthusiastic greeting. While she may not have been particularly bright, she excelled at making people feel welcome.
At night, Kitty had me practicing the skill of breaking down objects into energy without consuming them. The concept was to inject the energy I already possessed into the object, dissolving it into its base energy and then reclaiming everything I expended, plus the newly acquired energy. It took me about three weeks to master the technique on small objects while keeping my palms undissolved and preventing them from appearing sunburnt.
This practice finally earned me my first active skill, "Devour." Kitty informed me that as I acquired more energy, I would be able to devour larger objects and at a faster rate.
Another issue I needed to address was that no one in this world could sense my energy to determine my level, as it was significantly different from the astral energy used by this world's practitioners. Kitty taught me how to mimic the astral energy cultivation, which granted me my first passive skill, "Astral Energy Cultivation Mimic." I could use it in this world and turn it off in the next if the power was different.
I learned that the currency in this world called "Astrals," consisted of silver coins embedded with a special circuit containing astral power to prevent counterfeiting. After I purified them, they contained some extra energy due to these circuits, though it wasn't a significant amount. Nevertheless, it was better than regular objects.
I discovered that it was more advantageous to trade my coins for astral crystals, which held significantly more energy than the coins. Apparently, some animals in this world produced crystals by absorbing astral energy, similar to humans. However, unlike humans, whose third step involved condensing the energy, animals achieved this on the first step, resulting in smaller crystals. Different animals produced crystals of varying grades, ranging from 1 to 5. When mortals used these crystals they were for forging and medicine, but the sects had many other uses for them that I would need to explore later.
I also learned that the butterfly that had been hanging around me was extremely rare and would have contained a rank 5 crystal, worth enough to feed a mortal family of three for ten years. Thinking about how much energy it contained, if Kitty ever took on human form, I'd be tempted to strangle her for not informing me of this valuable information.
On the day before the sects began recruiting new members, after I finished my work, I had saved up enough to purchase a grade 2 crystal. After absorbing it that night, I had accumulated 9.2 energy, which allowed me to mimic the middle stage of the Astral Refinement realm. Considering my age and the fact that even geniuses could only reach the Supreme Attainment realm, I expected that gaining entry into a sect should be relatively easy.
The following morning, I said my goodbyes to Lorrie and Tamara and set off toward the city gates. It appeared that I wasn't the only one heading in that direction, as there were more people than usual moving in the same direction.
Upon exiting the city gates, I saw several sects with stalls and banners advertising their names, as well as requirements and benefits for different stages. The atmosphere was tense, with disciples from different sects glaring menacingly at each other. Most sects wore robes of various colors to distinguish themselves from the other sects. Each disciple had an armband on their bicep, which likely signified their rank within the sect or cultivation level.
I figured the stronger sects with more resources would have stricter entry requirements, so I decided to examine those first.
In black, there was the Dream Sect, requiring at least middle stage Foundation Establishment.
In magenta, the Twin Moon Sect had beautiful girls at their booth, but they only recruited women at late stage Foundation Establishment.
The Starry Sect, dressed in white, sought individuals at middle stage Foundation Establishment.
The Sky Sect in cyan also required middle stage Foundation Establishment.
The Blood Moon Sect in red needed late stage Foundation Establishment.
Finally in yellow, there was the Sun Sect, also with a requirement of late stage Foundation Establishment.
Various other sects had requirements of early stage Foundation Establishment or none at all, which I deemed not worth considering.
Unfortunately, I learned that the Twin Moon Sect only recruited women, which left me heartbroken. This ruled them out as an option.
This left the Blood Moon Sect and Sun Sect. I wasn't a fan of the yellow robes worn by the Sun Sect, so I decided to go with the Blood Moon Sect.
I approached the Blood Moon Sect's booth, where five members were present, four of whom had two stripes on their armbands, and one had just a single stripe.
A member with two stripes attempted to stop me, claiming, "We don't take mortals, only those at late stage Foundation Establishment and higher." His tone dripped with disdain, as if he considered himself superior to me. He seemed to be at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. Generally, one can sense those who are three stages above them, but this rule doesn't apply if someone is in a higher realm. In such cases, you can only sense the early stage of that realm. This guy must have assumed there couldn't possibly be anyone at the middle stage or higher since that would exceed his talent by too much. So, instead of asking questions first, he opted for rudeness.
However, the member with one stripe yelled at the guy who tried to stop me. "Jamison, do you want to die? He's at middle Astral Refinement. Or would you like him to prove it by killing you? Stop being rude to people." This guy was just a step away from the middle stage of Astral Refinement, so he could sense my realm. It seemed this wasn't the first time such an incident had occurred.
The member with one stripe hurried over, grabbing Jamison by the back of his head and pushing him his face into the booth. "I'm Nicholas; please forget this rude guy. Would you like to join my Blood Moon Sect?"
I inquired, "Perhaps. What do you offer for someone at the middle stage of Astral Refinement?"
Nicholas offered attractive conditions, including one level 2 crystal each month, various pills (though I think I'll opt to trade these for crystals, as I can get pills from the system), one rank 3 crystal for every stage advancement in the Astral Refinement realm, even for stages achieved before joining the sect. I'd also have access to some of the sect's library, where techniques were stored.
After deciding to join, I was sent to the carriage that would take us to the sect.
After waiting for about an hour, a commotion erupted outside. When I peered out, I could see members of the Blood Moon Sect and the Sun Sect in a standoff, yelling at each other about who would win the inter-sect competition. Before long, the exchange of words escalated into an exchange of fists.
I found it thrilling to watch, as I had never seen astral practitioners fight before. The Foundation Establishment members looked like ordinary mortals engaged in a brawl, but their blows were much stronger and their movements significantly faster.
The real show, however, was the clash between the Astral Refinement members. They were much stronger and faster, and their punches created a distinctive noise as they passed through the air.
Several minutes into the fight, the Foundation Establishment members were sprawled on the grass, completely exhausted. It was unclear who had won and who had lost, but their faces bore the bruises as proof of the fight. On the other hand, the Astral Refinement members were less evenly matched. The Blood Moon Sect member appeared to be running out of energy, and his ability to block attacks diminished. Both parties were slowing down however. After a few more rounds, the Sun Sect member stood over the fallen Nicholas, boasting about how he would defeat him in the competition if he was unlucky enough to cross paths again.
Shortly thereafter, the carriage finally left for the sect. The ride was far from enjoyable; the rough terrain caused my ass to collide with the hard wooden seats on every little bump, and the constant rocking back and forth made me feel seasick. I suffered from aches in my back, butt, head, and stomach while missing the comforts of modern vehicles.
Upon our arrival at the sect, we were directed to the quarters for new disciples and informed that someone would come find us in the morning.