Chapter 39: The Wubei Sect's rules

Elder Tang and some servants lead the new disciples to a huge building. It was only one story high but it was very large.

When they were finally lined up in the courtyard, Elder Tang spoke again.

"You must be tired, so I'll try to be short. You are not officially first-years as the ceremony for the first-years to become second-years is in a few days. But, you already have access to all the same facilities as the first-years. In your room you'll find a plan of our sect. It is forbidden for any outer disciple to enter either the inner yard or the summit of the peak. The inner yard is reserved to the inner disciples so you should not see them often. The summit of the peak is the residence of some elders, the chief elders and the sect leader. Now, I'll quickly explain your next week. The first four days, you are free to do whatever you want, but I suggest you go pick a weapon in the armory pavilion. You'll have a temporary token to allow you to choose any weapon under 1-star Human rank."

When he said these words, many disciples got excited, especially the commoners. The training weapons were 3-star Earth rank, but now they could get a weapon that was 5-star Earth rank.

"You could also visit the different pavilions. We have many of those: the martial art pavilion, the array formation pavilion, the alchemy pavilion, the blacksmith pavilion, the cultivation pavilion. We also have a number of art and cultural pavilions such as the tea pavilion, the calligraphy pavilion, and so on. You may also wish to pass by the library. As first-years you are entitled to read some books and manuals and can even borrow two of them, under specific conditions the librarian will tell you."

"After that, the fifth day will be your first training. You will need to go to the first-years training grounds where an instructor will wait. You must be there when the sun rises. I highly suggest you not to be late or you might discover the disciplinary pavilion. And that's not something you want to deal with."

"The following two days, you'll be able to rest, and you'll need it trust me. Finally, the first day of the next week, you'll receive your first-years emblems. With your emblems, you'll learn all the information you need to. It's a lot, so I'll not annoy you with anymore information."

Elder Tang gave a signal to the servants.

"Each one of you will also be attended by an appointed servant. These servants may become your junior brothers and sisters in the near future, so treat them with respect. They also have their schedule but during this week they should be able to attend to you all day long. I'll say it again just in case, our Wubei Sect values its reputation, so do not mistreat your servants in any way. You also have a small pamphlet with the map of the sect in your rooms. That will be all."

The disciples bowed as Elder Tang left. Fifty-seven servants came to the new disciples. They were all between twelve and fifteen, boys and girls. Their uniform looked very similar to the uniform of the disciples, but its color was a little different. There were also some brown patterns to identify them.

At Cao Yun's side came a young girl who kept her head down. She was maybe the oldest one among the servants. Cao Yun had no way to recognize her, but she was Huang Cixi. Her demeanor was very subservient as she kept her head down.

After asking her grandfather to send her to the Wubei Sect, she became a servant as her cultivation was still too weak, only 2nd-grade Mortal. Using the influence of her Huang family, she was able to ask the sect to hide her identity. It was pretty common actually. Some rich boy or girl who wanted to join the sect did not necessarily want to be recognized when they were just servants.

Using this as an excuse, she also asked a favor from her grandfather. Her most distinctive feature was her pure white hair due to her bloodline. Using some strange technique, he put a seal on her blood and her hair became a very light brown. If she wished for it, this seal could be broken at any time. As a Mortal cultivator, it did not really change her fighting ability, so it wasn't a problem at all.

After that, she did everything she could to be paired with Cao Yun. There also was a competition among servants to choose the disciple they would serve. During the competition she won and chose Cao Yun. She knew this boy had killed both her brothers. Despite her resentment, she was able to hide her feelings so well that no elder saw through her.

"Young Master Chen, would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Just an instant, please." Cao Yun bid farewell to Ren Chao and some other disciples he got along pretty well. He also bid farewell to Sun Liao.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Mei Yuzhi, Young Master."

Cao Yun was accustomed to have a servant with him so it did not faze him as it did for other disciples who used to be commoners. He quietly followed the young girl to his room.

The room was very spacious and it even had a space for his servant to live as well. There was a small chamber with a bed, a desk, a space to practice martial arts with some training gears. No wonder the building was so huge. If there was a hundred or more rooms like this one, it really needed to be this big. Hell there was also courtyard.

"Are all the rooms this big?"

"No, Young Master, the rooms of the top ten are at least 25% bigger."

"Well, that's still big for the other rooms." He quickly looked around and saw that the servant quarter seemed to have already been used. "Did you set up your things yet?"

"Yes, Young Master. But I can change it if it's inconvenient to you."

"No, no, it's fine. It's your space after all. And please, stop calling me 'Young Master' all the time. Especially when we're alone, no need to stand on ceremony so much."

"I understand."

On the study, there was a small pamphlet, a folded paper and a wooden token. When Cao Yun got near, Huang Cixi explained.

"These are the materials Elder Tang talked about. The pamphlet explains the rules of the sect, the paper is a map of its facilities and the wooden token will give you access to the pavilions and the armory while you await your first-year emblem."

"I see. Thank you. I don't think that I'll need you for the time being. Just warn me when dinner is ready, please."

"Of course. I'll leave you alone for now."

Huang Cixi retreated within her own quarters which were separated by a wooden screen.

The first thing Cao Yun did was read the rules. By flipping the pages he understood why he had not seen a single third-year, there was some kind of special retreat during the third year. The rules stayed vague on the matter as it seemed to be a well-kept secret of the sect.

Every month, the disciples would receive different resources to help them based on their performance. To evaluate this performance, there were several scrolls. The main scroll was based on the points they had already received during the entrance exam. By performing duties for the sect, like taking the role of a servant in special occasions, a disciple could earn some points, and even some resources. Another way was simply to progress in your cultivation or your training. The instructor could allot points to the disciples according to their merits.

It was also possible to earn points by gathering resources in the mountains but first-years were forbidden from leaving the sect. So only the second-years and higher could exchange demonic beasts cores or medicinal herbs for points. It would probably be the main way Cao Yun would use to earn points in his second year.

The other scrolls were more specific, like the fighting scroll. In line with its name, it ranked the disciples according to their fighting abilities. To rank higher, you just had to beat a higher ranked disciple. The ranking tournament was every other month. You had to issue your challenge at least two weeks prior and it was forbidden to challenge a lower ranked disciple. There were also specific rules in case someone received many challenges at the same time to allow for some rest. If you beat someone, you just took their rank and they would fall one rank below.

Other scrolls were the pill forging scroll ranking the alchemists by the highest pill they forged, the blacksmith scroll, the formation scroll and so on. There were also art and philosophy scrolls. The Wubei Sect valued strength of course, but it also insisted on the importance of studying beauty and elegance, spirituality and philosophy. The official goal of the Wubei Sect was to elevate mankind.

Cao Yun also read many rules concerning the uniform, the emblem, the hours of the different facilities, ... It took him an hour to read and remember everything. With his stronger intent, his focus was better and thus his memory as well. All the rules were now in his mind and he could literally quote them perfectly.

Mei Yuzhi, aka Huang Cixi, was watching him from her quarters. Of course he had noticed thanks to his strengthened mind but he only thought she was curious as he was her new master and he also was ranked first in the entrance examination.

Cao Yun sat cross-legged on the floor and started to cultivate. First he circulated his Qi according to the 'Cultivation of Wrath'. In the last few days, he had mostly focused on his martial arts and he got worried that his cultivation would lag behind. After a dozen of circulations, he felt as if his second meridian was about to open. After the Lung Meridian, the next one to open would be the Heart Meridian.

By using his 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars', he had circulated some Qi in his meridians and it helped open them a little bit. Luckily, these ten days had not delayed him by too much. In less than four months, he would probably be able to open each meridian. The average cultivator needed around fifty days to open one meridian, he would do so in ten days. Of course, there were other cultivators who could be faster than the average one, but Cao Yun's speed was really impressive.

Using the time he had left before sleeping, Cao Yun went inside his sea of consciousness. There was very little change apart from the Zhi character appearing more sturdy and the Horn Star shining a bit brighter.

Cao Yun first circulated Yi the Earth Intent and focused on Zhi. He had achieved True Success and was aiming for Perfection by the end of the month. He could probably begin the cultivation of the next character but a steady progression was a better choice. After all, the Perfection stage Yi had allowed him to advance within Zhi way faster. If he had Yi and Zhi both at the Perfection stage, cultivating the other three characters would be easier and easier. He probably could achieve Perfection in the first layer 'Discipline the Five Children' before the end of the year.

During the trial his Drop of Wrath had almost driven him mad. For a time he thought he had it under control with Yi, but this was clearly a time bomb inside his body. Cao Yun could not afford to be complacent with his mind cultivation.

Finally, he focused on the Horn Star. Within his sea of consciousness, he repeated the first move he had derived from it as well as the basics of the spear. He could sea the star reacting to his moves and could thus determine whether he was on the right track or not. After repeating it in his mind for some time, he tried again his move in real life.

The day had been very long and dinner was ready. Huang Cixi served Cao Yun in his chambers. As she was about to exit the room, Cao Yun asked her if she wanted to eat with him. She agreed.

They talked for some time, Huang Cixi already had a backstory prepared just in case. What she said was mostly true but she just lowered the status of her family and both her brothers had been killed fighting demonic beasts, not Cao Yun himself.

Hearing her story, Cao Yun remembered when he lost his family and became more attached to this girl. She had gone through terrible hardships but she did not lose her courage and kept on fighting.

It was time to sleep. As his mind cultivation advanced, Cao Yun realized that he needed less and less sleep to recover every night. He could probably sleep less than five hours and still be fine the next day. He had heard from his parents that the patriarch did not sleep at all, he could recover just by meditating. But before becoming a Spirit Warrior, Cao Yun would need a lot of time. His own father took a little more than thirty years. Cao Yun could not imagine taking this step before he turned 40, which meant his revenge would take a very long time, but he was ready for it.

-

During the night, Huang Cixi woke up and looked at Cao Yun. This time he was completely unguarded as he slept in the Wubei Sect. There probably wasn't a more secure place except for the Imperial Palace. The young woman watched him peacefully sleep.

This quiet face was the last one both her brothers had seen. Even though she didn't like Huang Longwei much, he was still her brother. This quiet face had single-handedly destroyed her family, killed her two brothers and ended her father. She was supposed to hate him.

However, she still had some family. If she dared to harm Cao Yun in the Wubei Sect, the entire Huang family would be involved and most likely the Emperor would intervene as well. Her family would then lose its prestige and fall in disgrace. The Wubei Sect was the most respected martial sect after all.

Now that Cao Yun was a disciple, killing him would be way more difficult. That's why she wanted to serve by his side. She would gain his trust and discover everything about him. Either she found out something she could use to have him lose his title or she would find a way to get rid of him discreetly. Either way, she would play the nice and submissive servant for as long as she could. Even if she had to wait a hundred or a thousand years, she could break through all the cultivation grades to expand her lifetime and be able to kill this murderer. But... was it really what she wanted to do?

Within many conflicting thoughts, she stepped back. As she remembered Huang Lixin playing with her, she went back to sleep.