Chapter 9 - Mid-Week Review

Aster Wen woke up to a bell ringing within the sect's ground. He walked outside and saw some older disciples walking towards another area of the sect, and some new disciples looking just as confused as him. Catching up to one of the older disciples, he asked what was going on.

"Senior Brother greets Junior Brother. Every first week of the month, there's a mid-week review of the disciples' progress," he said.

"Junior Brother thanks Senior Brother for the information," Aster Wen said.

Following behind, they soon made it to a large pavilion that rested in the center of the sect. There were a few elders of the sect gathered as well. After everyone was gathered, the elders began to explain the mid-week review to the newcomer disciples.

"Welcome, everyone. To the disciples, the reason we are gathered here today is for the mid-week review. Despite its name, there is only one mid-week review every month. That would be the first week of every month. This is to review the progress of the disciples and mark their progress. Make no mistake, this review is not to punish anyone, there will always be those who fall behind, but that doesn't mean they can't still accomplish great things. We hope the mid-week review inspires people to go further and try harder, instilling competition between disciples, while also strengthening our loyalty towards each other. Now, you might notice that despite how many disciples our sect has, this pavilion isn't full. Once you are a disciple for four years, you are to go out into the world on your own. You will still be considered a disciple of Lone Phoenix Sect and can come back any time. We ask that when you are to go out, you keep your identity as a disciple of Lone Phoenix Sect a secret, and don't join other sects if they try to poach you. This is the reason why none of you have heard of Lone Phoenix Sect disciples outside the sect. Now that explanation are over, we will first review the new disciples of the sect and see their progress," one of the elders explained.

"Disciple Aster Wen, first year, please step forward," an elder said.

Stepping forward through the crowd, he arrived in front of the elder.

"Disciple Aster Wen, what is your cultivation?" the elder asked.

"Disciple Aster Wen greets Elder. My cultivation is Foundation Body, first stage." He greeted the elder by putting his hands together.

"Oh? When did you advance?" The elder asked.

"Two days ago, Elder," he said.

"Did you buy or refine the pill yourself?"

"I refined the pill myself, Elder."

"On what attempt did you succeed?" The elder asked.

"I succeeded on my first attempt of refining the pill, Elder," he answered.

"What? Disciple Aster Wen, you better not be lying to your Elder," the elder narrowed his eyes.

"Elder, I assure you, I am not lying. You can ask the clerk at the contribution hall. The time it took from me exchanging for the manual, to when I returned it with a pill, was only enough time to have refined one pill." He put his hands together again.

He had one of the other elders go to the clerk to verify his statement.

"Alright, I'll continue asking you questions while he's gone to verify your statement. Did you exchange for a martial technique?" the elder asked.

"I exchanged for the Looming Blossom Martial Technique, Elder," he said.

"How many contribution points do you have left?"

"I have one hundred thirty-five contribution points, Elder."

"You've spent three hundred twenty contribution points, and you still have that many left? How?" the elder asked.

"Disciple Aster Wen has been taking solo hunting tasks of monster beasts at the Foundation Body fourth stage and under. I also had killed nine Tyrant Salamanders, and told the clerk I thought there might've been something wrong with them, so they sent people to investigate, Elder," he explained.

"I see. You've been hunting monster beasts above your cultivation level. Now it makes sense. I imagined you've noticed there hasn't been a big difference in strength between all of them?" the elder asked.

"Yes, there hasn't been a big difference in strength. There are also strategies to take down the monster beasts. I used the same strategy to take down a Sky Covering Giant Squirrel and a Four-Faced Elk, Elder."

"Good, good. Yes, to everyone here, in the lower stages of the Foundation Body stage, there isn't a big difference in strength. We don't tell the disciples this unless one of the disciples themselves discover it. If one does, this knowledge brings up all the disciples in the sect at the moment. However, one a monster beast gets to the Foundation Body sixth stage, there does start to be a strength difference and killing a monster beast even one minor realm above you becomes much more difficult, if not impossible. There aren't beasts above the Foundation Body sixth stage on the mountain, so that won't be a problem. But for those you will leave next year, you must remember this. Only fight a monster beast one minor realm above you if you are confident you can, and have multiple plans beforehand," the elder explained to the crowd.

"Thank you, Elder!" the crowd bellowed.

The elder who went to verify Aster Wen's statement came back to the pavilion.

"I have confirmed Aster Wen's statement from the clerk. He did indeed only have enough time to refine one pill before handing the manual back," the other elder said.

"Wonderful. It seems we have a real genius in this year's batch. Remember to work well," the elder said.

"Thank you, Elder. If I may ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"How would you say I compare to Kai Lian?" Aster Wen asked.

"Kai Lian, huh? I cannot say for now. I'd say your progress is just under him so far. But you might be able to overtake him by next month. Of course, he's been out in the world for two years, so it'll be a long time for you to catch up to him. But from the disciples of the last five years, you are the only one who might be able to catch up to that boy," the elder told him.

"Disciple Aster Wen thanks Elder for the kind words." He put his hands together.

"You may take your leave. At the top of the disciples of your year, you don't need to stay around in this mid-week review. But we will have you stick around in the next one," the elder said.

"Then I will take my leave. Thank you, Elder."