"You must be surprised that you don't have to go with the others," Elder Byron asked as they walked along one of the many streets of the city towards the gates.
"Yes, sir," Rand replied.
"You no longer need to address me or anyone else as sir. Although the ceremony for accepting disciples has not yet taken place, you can already call me teacher, and after the ceremony, master. You can address others by name or title, for example, elder. If you are addressing someone with a higher cultivation level, you can call them senior, and similarly, for those with weaker cultivation, you can address them as junior, although it's a bit early for you to think about that. There are a few more nuances, but you will learn them all in time. Is everything clear?"
"Yes, teacher," Rand said, giving the old man the response he wanted to hear.
"Good. Now, tell me more about yourself, and don't worry; although I read some information about you from the visitor's sheet in your bag. Don't ask how for now. You'll find out soon enough. But let's get back to our conversation. The knowledge I possess about you is completely insufficient for a future master. After that, I'll tell you a bit about myself, about how the sect is organized, and what awaits you in the future."
"My name is Oberin. I'm from the village of Lar, a small village north of the city, three days' walk away. It's located on the River Mala. I'm fourteen years old, I can read and write, and I was an apprentice to my father, a blacksmith. But my parents died from a beast attack last winter. Since then, I promised myself to become stronger so that such a thing never happens to anyone close to me again... That's why I came here, as I heard that through cultivation, one can achieve incredible power, and the Fire Dragon sect trains the strongest cultivators... I don't know what else to add," Rand said. When he mentioned his deceased parents, his eyes even reddened, and he visibly struggled to talk about it, but within a couple of seconds, he composed himself, showing his resilience, which earned him an approving nod from the elder.
"Your story is very sad; my condolences for your parents… As for the strongest cultivators in our sect, you're right, few can stand on par with us."
At that moment, while the elder pondered over what to say next, Rand finally decided to ask the question that had been tormenting him for the past few hours:
"Teacher, may I ask a question? I don't possess anything outstanding, so I don't understand why did you want to choose me out of so many talented people?"
Rand felt like his words had taken the elder out of some contemplation, and he responded with a slight delay:
"Regarding your question, you pleasantly surprised me. Most people in your position would be shocked by what happened and would be quite uncommunicative with an almost stranger. Very good. You possess an impressive talent. In terms of cultivation terminology, you have a high degree of affinity with Qi; you can easily sense Qi energy and absorb it. However, this alone wouldn't be enough for me to choose you as my personal disciple. You possess the innate Pure Lotus Body, a mighty gift, and it's precisely because of this that I chose you. Thanks to it, you'll reach high stages in cultivation much faster, and basic techniques will come to you more easily than to many others. And that's enough to become a disciple of any elder, but I was lucky enough to see you first. Have I answered your question?"
"Yes, teacher, thank you for your detailed explanation," Rand replied, although he felt inside that this old man Byron was withholding something critically important.
"Very well," the elder said, as if gathering his thoughts. "I promised to tell you about myself. As I've already mentioned, my name is Byron Gerano, and I hold the position of elder within the sect. My cultivation is at the peak of the Core Formation stage, one step away from the Nascent Soul stage." He said the last words very proudly. "I know a lot of techniques, and even if in the future you want to study something unknown to me, I'll be able to help you with it. I also have a daughter, Moraine; you may have seen her on the platform, she was one of the disciples. You'll get to know her very soon, and I hope you'll become friends."
"In one step away from the Nascent Soul stage, ha," Rand thought. "It is one step that you'll never overcome in your remaining life, old man."
"In general, with my support, you'll be able to unlock all your potential and reach the same heights as your teacher. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're going to see my good friend, Elder Minos, now. He'll ask you a couple of things; remember, answer him only honestly, and then everything will be fine. And after that I'll tell you a bit about how the sect is organized and, as promised, what awaits you next."
After those words, they walked in silence for some time along the bustling evening streets of the city. People, upon seeing Elder Byron, or rather his crimson robes, would part, creating a void several meters around the walking pair.
At one moment, a young woman attempted to approach them and ask for something related to saving her husband from an unjust execution, but before she could finish her story, she was immediately dragged away by the townsfolk, many of them humbly apologizing for bothering a cultivator from the sect.
Elder Byron, seemingly in a good mood, forgave them.
"You probably want to ask why I didn't help that poor woman," the elder suddenly asked when the woman and her entourage had disappeared from view.
"A little," Rand replied, completely indifferent to the fate of the woman.
"There are several reasons for that. Firstly, cultivators from the sect can only intervene in imperial matters in the most extreme cases. The fate of that woman's husband, as far as I understood, was in the hands of the guards, and therefore beyond my jurisdiction. And secondly, who knows what crimes he was sentenced to death for, hardly for any good deeds. It's not worth helping every stranger, even if it's within your power. Many young people try to play heroes, but they always end up badly. Of course, if it were your relative or any other member of the sect, then I would have intervened."
"Thank you, teacher, for your kind words and wisdom," hearing Rand`s reply, and the old man smiled broadly.
At that moment, Rand thought that he wasn't showing enough curiosity typical of young people his age, so he asked:
"Teacher, where did the others go, and what trials await them?"
"Michael and the other disciples will take the prospective novices to an illusory formation. You'll soon learn what it is and how it works. In short, they will be tested there on various qualities. From the ability to solve complex life problems to combat skills. The candidates will spend only one day in the formation, but it will seem to them like much more has passed. And they won't be sure they are in the formation, not the real world. Or rather, they will be made to forget about it. They will think that everything happening there is real. And by observing their actions and decisions, the observers will be able to assess their qualities. If memory serves me right, last year the candidates had to escape from a city besieged by demons. At first, most of the candidates were in a complete panic. One of them even died of fear. It was a very amusing sight," the elder chuckled, recalling the humorous incident, and then looking at Rand, he continued:
"After the completion of this trial, those who pass it, just like I'm taking you now, will be taken to Elder Minos. There... there won't be anything scary, just a few questions, and that's it, a formality, not a trial," he added, seeing a slight shade of fear on Oberin's face at the mention of the candidate's death. "If you're worried that the illusory trial might be cruel, then you're right. It is, but only under such conditions can we discover the true character and adaptability of the candidate and weed out those who are too weak in spirit and unambitious. Real death in the illusion is not provided for; usually, those who perish in it simply start over or the trial ends if the curators decide that's enough. The case I told you about is a big rarity," Byron added after these words, taking a short pause.
"Why, old man, didn't you want to assess the character of your future disciple with such a wonderful illusory formation? Do you not care about my character? Or is there something else?" Rand thought, but decided not to ask such irritating questions.
And as if reading Rand's thoughts, the old man continued:
"I decided to exempt you from this trial because you are destined to become a powerful cultivator, and all these trials you will encounter in the future in real life. So they're a waste of time for you."
There was something he wasn't saying, Rand understood that immediately. His words could truly convince only a regular foolish guy from a village like Oberin.
"Teacher, you have a high opinion of me," Rand finally dared to say, hoping that this old grump would tell him something else that would allow him to reveal the true reason for his acceptance as a disciple.
But at these words, Elder Byron just smiled and nodded. At that moment, they had just left the city through the northern gate. The guards not only let them through without a queue but also bowed continuously, and at the end, they even wished them a safe journey.
The Elder suddenly stopped and spoke:
"It's still a few hours' walk to the sect, and to save time, we'll fly from here. We could have flown directly from the square, of course, but I wanted to talk to you and show you the attitude of mortal civilians towards sect members."
After these words, he took out something like a small toy boat from somewhere.
"It's been a while since I've used this treasure. Usually, I, like most other members of our sect, fly a bit differently, but I think this boat will be better for your first flight. Get in," he said, tossing the toy in front of him, and it suddenly started to grow until it turned into a real five-meter boat. Without any surprise, the Elder got into it and gestured for Rand to sit next to him. Rand, trying to look as shocked as possible, followed the instructions and cautiously climbed into the boat.
The Elder, observing his reaction, chuckled:
"Ahahaha, surprised? This is nothing; in the future, you will encounter even more surprises."
As soon as he sat down, the boat began to rise slowly into the air, and when it reached a height of several dozen meters, it suddenly accelerated. At that moment, Rand showed fear appropriate for someone who found himself in the air for the first time.
"Don't be afraid, my future disciple, flying is completely safe, and flying with me is even safer. It won't be a year before you'll soar into the sky on your own. And don't hold on to the boat so tightly; the wind won't blow you away. If you calm down, you'll realize that you can hardly feel the wind in the boat."
After these words, Rand allowed himself to relax, and the former, future cultivator, together with his newly minted teacher, flew off into the distance.