Cleaning up after his breakthrough was a less pleasant task, but he’d at least kept the foul fluid contained inside the bathtub. With the cleaning supplies already stocked in the room, it wasn’t too bad.

Then again, this wasn’t the stage where the primary cleansing process happened. How much worse would it be in the second sage? The very thought sent a shudder through Kevin’s body.

Perhaps the sect had special breakthrough rooms to manage the process better. It would be something to look into once he reached the ninth grade and was nearing his second-stage breakthrough.

The evening was almost over by the time he’d finished, so any further cultivation practice would have to wait. Instead, he spent a little time admiring the improvements from the third grade before heading to bed.

Every part of him had gained another minor improvement, from his senses to his strength, reflexes, and even cognition. The feeling was addictive, with every action and movement he took being a fraction easier than the day before.

He could get used to improving like this, and with a sustainable cultivation practice, he finally could.

That night, Kevin slept like a baby, the growing stress of being blocked fading away like it had never existed. Even his sleep felt better, and he woke up ten minutes before the alarm he’d set.

With his breakthrough complete, he took some time before breakfast to explore his new home. His apartment had almost as much floor space as his whole flat back in Ostale, and with no dining area, kitchen, or laundry, the rooms it did have were much larger.

The whole design was centered on the lounge room he’d used the night before, with the bathroom, bedroom, and office coming off it. Each room was pre-furnished with all the necessities, along with a few useful items.

In the bedroom, there was a hamper with a note that it should be moved into the hallway for laundry collection twice a week, while the desk in the study held a small pile of papers. Looking through them, he found a map and a series of pamphlets advertising the sect’s services.

As he’d hoped, the sect had both public and private cultivation rooms aspected toward particular elements. Lacking the merit for a private room, Kevin noted a garden aspected towards Earth and a courtyard toward Fire.

Both would be excellent candidates for testing his theory that correctly aspected Qi would speed up his energy gathering tattoo.

There was also a pamphlet on the assignment building, which detailed its services, including the class selection hall. This was a relief as he’d forgotten to ask May where he had to go today.

It didn’t look like he needed anything for his room; even the bathroom had the essential cleaning products pre-stocked, so he finished his exploration and headed down to breakfast.

The dining area was only a quarter full when he arrived, and Kevin quickly found a seat. With his eagerness to start selecting classes, he hadn’t planned on talking to anyone; however, a voice called his name before he’d even picked up the breakfast menu.

“Kevin! How are you doing this morning?”

The voice sounded familiar, and when Kevin looked up, he recognized Gerard walking over. “I’m great,” he responded, smiling at the other man. “How about you, Gerard?”

“Good enough,” Gerard shrugged, sliding into the other seat on Kevin’s two-person table. “Pumped for selecting classes, but a little nervous to see the competition, if you know what I mean,” he continued, jerking his head across the room.

His target was easy to pick out, the table glowing with the combined power of the four occupants in the Energy Gathering realm. They might not have been the strongest examples of that realm he’d seen, but seeing them in the outer sect was still impressive.

“I hear they’ve been here for two years now, and they’ve failed to get into the inner sect three times,” Gerard whispered, leaning in. “It’s hard enough to imagine competing with them. What kind of monsters made it through?”

“Talented ones, I imagine,” Kevin responded dryly, keeping his nerves hidden. Three times in two years had to mean they were now on six-month cutoffs—no doubt they’d be there in another six months when he was due.

That wasn’t a huge issue if it was just a straight point comparison. He had no misconceptions about getting into the inner sect the first time, but who knew if that was the case?

Given the kind of world this was, he could see there being some kind of big tournament or skill-based competition to gather last-minute merit. With his short time frame, that could be the key to making it.

Unless he got knocked out by some Energy Gatherer in the first round. He would have to push even more than he thought on his cultivation practice. An entire realm might be impossible in that time frame, but closing the gap in any way could only help.

“Anyway, that’s not why I came over here,” Gerard continued, his face lightening as he leaned back. “A few of us have started organizing a meetup after dinner. A way to get to know each other before any rivalries or feuds have formed.”

“We got permission to use a function room on the second floor, so it’s an easy trip,” he finished with a chuckle.

“Sounds good, I’ll be there,” Kevin responded with barely a moment’s thought. He’d have everything urgent completed by then, and Gerard was right that meeting some of the other new students would be worth it.

A few new friends would be nice; he already missed everyone from Ostale. Further, it would be a chance to scope out some of his fellow disciples. He was already familiar with how cultivators handled problems, and it wasn’t with peaceful communication.

The earlier he could figure out who might be in trouble, the earlier he could avoid them.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Great, I’ll see you there,” Gerard grinned, standing without looking at the menu. With a nod, he wandered off to another table, calling out to the occupants as he went.

Shrugging at the man’s behavior, Kevin put the gathering aside and focused on getting a meal.

He could worry about how he wanted to play it after class selection.

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The assignment building was near the compound’s center and towered over its neighbors as one of the largest in the outer sect. A constant stream of people was going in and out of the main entryway, leaving it open.

This was the first time Kevin had been such a busy sect building, and he had to wonder how the strange navigation system would handle it. Joining the back of the fast-moving line, he got a good look at the doorway.

All he could see was a shadowy void that seemed unchanging even as different people placed their hand on one of the two symbols on either side of the frame. The effect had to be locked to the people entering somehow.

This was a mystery, given that May had taken him with her multiple times the day before. Perhaps she had been doing something special after all that allowed her to bring another person?

Either way, the enchantments behind the effect were impressive work. Handling so many people traveling to different parts of the building must have required extensive planning and design.

Would it be a formation or an array? Kevin rubbed his chin as he followed the people ahead through the line. It affected people crossing the door’s threshold, making it a boundary effect.

Runa had been pretty clear boundaries were the domain of formations, so it was probably that. However… the symbol that triggered it affected the door frame, which was more like an array.

Perhaps it was a combination of both categories? Was that possible? There was so much about the technology here that he lacked even the basic knowledge to understand. At some point, he’d have to do some research for his peace of mind.

The line moved swiftly, and Kevin was soon keying the doorway to the class assignment hall, as specified in the pamphlet he’d brought along. The shadowy boundary shifted as he did so, revealing a massive room filled with people.

Moving forward to leave room for those behind him, Kevin stepped inside before taking in the whole sight. Two lines with a few dozen disciples led towards a pair of reception desks, which sat in front of a series of doorways.

The right desk was directing someone at this moment, and he watched as they walked over to the third door from the right. Much like the initial sect interview, it seemed that there were several people set up to handle class selection.

Given the number of people present, this was good planning by the sect; he’d hate to wait for all the people here to be seen one by one. Happy with how fast the lines seemed to be moving, Kevin joined the left line and settled in to wait.

A few of the new outer sect disciples here were familiar faces from his testing group, while the rest had presumably been in the others. All were in the Body Cleansing realm, mostly somewhere in the second stage, by his best guess.

It was an intimidating gap, but not nearly so large as the one to the Energy Gathering cultivators from breakfast. Of course, most of these people wouldn’t be his competition for the first cutoff.

They would be slated for a year from now, while he’d be compared to those who’d already been here for six months or more. Hardly the most comforting thought, but one he forced aside for now.

He didn’t need to come out on top; he just had to cross the minimum threshold.

----------------------------------------

The wait was less than fifteen minutes before he reached the front of the line.

“Name?” the young woman behind the desk asked in a bored tone, not even looking up from the sheet of paper in front of her.

“Kevin Blake,” he responded.

Running a finger down lines of text, Cathy, going by her name tag, scribbled something a third of the way down the page. “Found you, Kevin Mathew Blake. Please wait for now, and I’ll send you in once an adviser is free.”

“Thanks, Cathy,” Kevin responded, getting an actual nod from the woman at using her name. Ready for the delay after seeing so many others go through the process, he waited until she directed him toward the fourth door from the left.

The office behind the door was plain by cultivator standards, putting it at about the level of most high-powered lawyers or corporate VPs he’d met. A Core Formation cultivator glanced up from the desk as he entered.

Looking to be in his thirties, though likely older, the man was dressed in white silk robes with the sleeves rolled up to reveal five golden bands on each arm. They glowed with power to Kevin’s senses, each almost on the same level as their owner.

Past the glare of his jewelry, the man’s short blond hair and perfect face were pretty standard as advanced cultivators went. His silk clothing lacked anything as mundane as a name tag, but a silver stand on the desk listed his name as ‘Foster.’

“Kevin Blake?” Foster asked, raising an eyebrow as he shuffled papers on his desk. When Kevin nodded in response, he continued. “Excellent. I’m Senior Disciple Foster on temporary assignment to handle the increased workload.”

“Please take a seat while I glance over your file,” the man finished, waving a hand at the chair across from him.

“Thank you,” Kevin responded, giving a brief bow before hurrying over. From how the man’s eyes were already racing over the pages before him, he didn’t expect a long wait.

Moments after he’d taken a seat, Foster looked back up with a frown. “I see there’s a note about cultivation blockages here. Have you had that seen too?”

“Yes,” Kevin nodded, a grin spreading across his face. “I’m sorted for now, though I’ll need something else at the second stage.”

“That’s good,” Foster sighed, relief flashing across his face. “Make sure you see someone in the admin building when you need more help. We wouldn’t want you stuck if there’s a reasonable solution.”

Before Kevin could question what level was reasonable, the man hurried on. “I also see you’re marked as first stage, second grade here. Has that changed in the last day?”

Kevin’s grin shifted into a self-satisfied smirk. “Yep, I had a breakthrough last night after the blockage was fixed.” It still felt amazing to even think about it, let alone tell someone out loud.

“Congratulations,” Foster responded. “Let’s take care of that now, then. I’m sure there are merit forms around here somewhere.” The last sentence was muttered as he slid open desks at lightning speed, creating a sound almost like sawing wood.

“Got it, let’s see… Single grade advancement in the first stage of Body Cleansing… Ten merit.” Foster’s pen flowed across the page, forming words faster than Kevin’s eyes could track.

Finished within moments, the older man glanced over at three paper trays to his right before sliding the document into one of them. It was hard to see from the angle, but Kevin was pretty sure the page vanished the moment it was released.

“I get merit for advancing?” Kevin asked, blinking at the sudden turn of events.

“Of course,” Foster responded with a shrug. “Merit is a measure of your potential as much as your contribution to the sect. Ten points for each grade in the first stage, more if you break through to the second.”

“Neat,” Kevin grinned before the expression faded away. This was as good a time as any to find out how hard the path ahead was. “And how much do I need to make the next cutoff?”

“Ah… good question,” Foster laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “You’re the first person who’s asked, but then the others all have a year to worry about it. I can see how you might be more pressed with only six months.”

“It’s not really my department, but I can send a request off.” A blank sheet of paper appeared before Kevin could blink, a message scrawled across it with blinding speed. A moment later, it had joined its departed brethren in the same tray.

Perhaps it led to the merit department? Teleporting paperwork seemed pretty extravagant, but he supposed it would help, given their lack of a computer network.

“With luck, I’ll have an answer by the time we’re done here,” Foster smiled as he looked back from the tray. “So, let’s work on your class selection in the meantime. I have some notes from Elder Ming to work through here.”

“Right,” Kevin responded, heart speeding up as he leaned forward.

He’d promised to handle whatever they needed to get into the sect; it was time to find out exactly what he’d signed up for.