Jia and I stepped off the teleportation formation at the Blooming Violet sect and my jaw was on the floor in astonishment. Surrounding us on all sides were towering peaks coated in lush greenery, the clouds not reaching their tops. The teleportation formation was gated around all sides of it to prevent those arriving from falling off the mountain peak it was situated on. Flocks of birds squawked and flew across the horizon in the distance and the air was thin, but unimaginably fresh.
I looked over to Jia to see if she shared in my excitement and to my glee she was. She was looking around at the mountains and clouds with wide eyes.
“Alright new outer disciples, find the inner disciple of the petal to which you've been assigned and follow them. They’ll show you to your dorms and the various facilities of the sect.” A middle-aged man standing at the center of the formation said to us.
Jia, I and two other disciples met up with a stunning beauty in deep purple robes, the symbol of the Blooming Violet sect emblazoned prominently on her chest, one of the petals glowing a bright purple to my eyes. She had peach blonde hair and kept it in a neat braid behind her head. Her bright azure eyes seemed to look straight into my soul as she looked at me and smiled.
“Look at all you little cuties! I love your blue hair by the way! That color matches so well with the petal’s color scheme in my opinion, maybe I’ll dye my hair. My name is Cassandra. I'm a cultivator from off world, but I came here to Dou Can and, like you cuties, got accepted into the sect! Welcome to all of you. Follow me and I’ll give you the rundown of the place.” She said first pointing to me and then giving the same amount of excited attention to each of the cultivators in front of her.
We walked and traded small talk as she showed us the various buildings used by everyone in the sect. The mission hall was where we could go to be assigned, or take, missions for the sect. Completing missions would result in receiving sect points. Apparently, we could use these points to buy various things from some of the stores in the sect.
The pill hall was a tall building that smelled intensely of herbs and medicine. Elder Du Guan was the elder in charge of the pill hall. We could buy pills to assist in cultivation, healing, or even body cultivation. Pill assisted breakthroughs in body cultivation were much more common than traditional body cultivation. I asked Text, and the immortal who created the inheritance was only interested in traditional cultivation. If I wanted to learn how to create pills, I would need to put in the work the old-fashioned way. It was something to consider for the future.
Next up was the disciplinary hall, led by elder Chin Lao. If we broke any of the sect’s rules or fought with other disciples except in a spar, we would be brought to the disciplinary hall to be punished.
Next was the Elders’ Hall. This was where the elders got together to make important decisions about the sect. Cassandra said it was unlikely we would be called to the Elders’ Hall, but it wasn’t impossible.
The next place was the treasure pavilion. We could come here with the requisite number of sect points and trade them for various treasures collected by the sect. This encourages disciples of the sect to take on missions and gain sect points. Cassandra said that they even have some nascent soul level treasures in the pavilion, but of course the amount of sect points needed to buy them was astronomical. The treasure pavilion was also where we could take treasures to trade them in for sect points.
It might be a good idea to trade in my tier 4 monster core and see if I could get enough treasures to make another new technique.
Lastly was the technique pavilion, similar to the treasure pavilion this was a palace where we could spend sect points. This building was multi-tiered and built like a library. By spending sect points, we could pay to borrow technique scrolls/books. We would eventually have to return the scrolls or pay a premium to the sect in gold or sect points. Outer sect disciples could only access the books and scrolls on the first and second level of the pavilion with the higher floors relegated to the ranks of inner sect disciple and core disciple.
“Cassandra, what’s the difference between outer sect, inner sect, and core disciple?” I asked, still not understanding despite Jia trying to explain it to me multiple times over the last few days.
She thought for a few seconds before beginning her explanation.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“And outer sect disciple is the lowest rank of disciple. You’re given more privileges than the servants of the sect, but only the bare minimum. After training you can try your luck in the sect competition. Each year we hold a competition where outer sect disciples can show their growth, and should you become strong enough, the elders can elevate you to an inner sect disciple. You’ll have access to areas of the sect currently off limits to you, like the higher levels of the technique pavilion.
Inner sect disciples are afforded much more respect and responsibility within the sect. They often help during the sect admissions tests or in the various pavilions and buildings in the sect assisting the elders in their administration.
Core disciples are different from inner disciples. They’ve either shown incredible prowess or some other serious accolades in order to be accepted by a petal elder as a core disciple. These disciples learn from their petal’s elder, and are widely considered as future prospects for new elders of the sect. Does that answer your question?” She answered.
“Yes actually, I’m glad you’re good at explaining things!” I told her. Jia looked at me aghast.
“That was the explanation I gave you two days ago! Word for word!” She said, poking me in the ribs. I laughed at her prodding and poked her back.
“Well it’s good to see you two are good friends already, that makes pairing you up in the dorm rooms much easier!” Cassandra told us.
She brought us all to the bottom of a long set of stairs leading up one of the myriad peaks surrounding the main sect grounds.
“Finally, this here is the way up to our flowing petal peak. It’s where you kiddies will call home while you’re at the sect. It’s a long walk but once you’re stronger you’ll be able to fly on swords and make your way around the place quicker.
We began the long walk up the peak’s steps and Cassandra told us about the history of the peak.
“The flowing petal peak was created by elder Bian Ma when she rose through the ranks of the inner disciples of the sect. She was extremely proficient in water techniques, and her peak grade spirit root gave her an advantage in cultivation that few can boast. One day she decided to leave the sect, leaving control of the peak to elder Niang Jin who presides over the peak to this day. The flowing petal peak values serenity and calmness in actions above all else, allowing yourself to go with the flow of things and not rush to judgment. You should all strive to embody these values in your cultivation and make the peak elder proud!” She said.
We traded more small talk with Cassandra as we walked, she told us about some of the missions she had recently gone on for the sect and some recent drama in the sect. Finally, we reached the top of the peak. It was much larger than I had anticipated, fitting multiple of the Cheng Lian city lord’s manor on just this level of the peak. Of course there were multiple buildings down the mountain on the stairs as well. Cassandra led us to a large squat building near the center of the plaza.
“Here are the dorms. Lian Jia and Astra, you’ll be bunking together, and Sian Mi and Yuan Tal will be bunking together. The other outer disciples will be showing up later and peak elder Niang will give an opening speech welcoming you all to the peak! It’s sure to be a grand affair!” She told us before showing us to our individual rooms and then leaving us to get settled.
Jia and I unpacked, I put all of my worldly possessions into my trunk but left the antique cat I bought back on Setria 9 on the side table next to my bed. I looked at it and remembered back to my time on Setria 9.
We gossiped for a while about what life in the sect would be like but before long we heard a knock at our door. We opened it to find a disciple with the same emblem on their chest that Cassandra had.
“It’s time for the orientation speech. Please make your way to the plaza and find a spot to sit down. The peak elder will be out soon to give her speech. Welcome to the sect. The disciple gave us a smile and then made their leave. We walked out to the plaza where a large number of bright eyed and bushy tailed disciples were waiting. I could tell they were new because they were still looking around in awe at the surrounding environment and at the new situation they found themselves in. We joined in the gossiping with nearby disciples, making new friends.
“Welcome new disciples!” The familiar voice of elder Niang sounded out across the plaza. The plaza went silent with the conversations dying down.
“I’d like to personally welcome you all to the Blooming Violet Sect’s Flowing Petal peak! We are the peak of calm serenity and I hope you all will conduct yourselves in a manner that would make me proud. Cultivate, grow stronger, push past your limits, and become the best you you can be! I’ll be watching you all closely,” Did she look at me when she said that?
“And I hope that you all will grow stronger under the tutelage of the instructors and your fellow cultivators. Let your seniors know if you need anything. I hope to see you all participate in the sect competition and make a name for yourself in the sect!” She finished.
I looked around and gauged the general feel of the crowd. Most of the new disciples seemed excited to have heard from the elder and I couldn’t disagree. I was feeling a thrill at the possibilities for the future and couldn’t wait to see where I went from here.