After going back to his house, Yueshi immediately took a bath. While he did not mind others seeing him in a sorry state, something about letting Xuehua see him like that bothered him a lot. It was only after he made sure that he was spotless clean that he knocked on Xuehua's door.
Unfortunately, washing himself clean did not solve the problem of his sore muscles, and he could swear they were twitching in complaint right now. Despite trying, he also couldn't erase his dead tired expression. There was no doubt that his sister would notice it.
But there was nothing he could do about that. After all, telling her he would not be joining her for dinner would probably bother her even more than him overworking himself… right?
While he was thinking about that, he was also knocking on the door. It did not take long for someone to open it, and, to his surprise, it was Yuan Yue instead of his sister.
"Hm? Are you disappointed that it is not your beautiful big sister?" She teased, sending him a mischievous smile. Yueshi rolled his eyes at her and smiled.
"No. Just wondering what my amazingly cool and awesome disciple sister is doing here." He rolled his eyes slightly at her.
Still, he had to admit she looked really cute with her eyes turned into two crescents while she smiled. It was as if her gaze was telling him 'he-he, good that you know how great I am'.
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I will tell you~" She leaned to the side, blocking his path, and puckered her lips in a thin smile. "The truth is that I and your sister have that kind of rel..." Her words were stopped by a strike to her head.
Both Yuan Yue and Yueshi turned to look at Xuehua, the perpetrator. The older girl was shaking her head and massaging her temples as if wondering where she went wrong to have to deal with something like this.
Ignoring the two children, Xuehua turned and walked inside again.
"The truth is, after eating your sister's food, there is no way I can eat the things that I cook by myself." Yuan Yue admitted, walking inside by his side.
"Well, that is to be expected. It is my sister that we are talking about", Yueshi bragged with an innocent smile. Then, he gave Yuan Yue a once-over. "How could you even compare with her?" He completely lacked the self-control to not tease her.
"Bah! When we met, I never expected you to be such a braggart!" Making a disgusted face, Yuan Yue put some distance between them.
Yueshi laughed at that, and she ended laughing too. They both knew when the other was talking seriously or not, so they could freely joke like that all they wanted. Yueshi found that mysterious, to a certain degree, since it had been barely a few days since they met.
Still playing around in a carefree manner, the two soon sat by the table. Yueshi could hear and see his sister busily moving around in the kitchen, but he knew that, given his current state, she would refuse his help for sure. Therefore, he just sat there and chatted with Yuan Yue.
The dinner that night was harmonious and full of mind-blowing dishes. After their meal, the three of them spoke about nothing special, instead, they chatted about all sorts of small and insignificant subjects.
The seconds turned into minutes and the minutes into hours. When it was finally time to wrap things up, Yueshi went back to his own house, and Yuan Yue decided to spend the night at Xuehua's place.
And although he would never admit it, Yueshi was a bit envious of that.
While bidding farewell, he could not help but grin as he watched Xuehua and Yuan Yue – one smiled gently and another playfully as they enjoyed themselves.
He found it hard to understand how they got along so well despite their differences, but he was, honestly, happy for them.
Well, to truth was that, as long as Xuehua was happy with it, he would be glad about anything. That was proof of how much he had grown to like and care about her.
--- - -
Peace was good and all, but no world was a sea of roses.
While the Star Sea Sect prohibited their disciples from killing each other, they did not interfere in non-life-threatening fights.
No, it would be better to stay the encouraged the disciples to challenge and hinder each other to see who was better, increasing their drive. At the same time, cooperation was also encouraged and the disciples were allowed to form associations.
In short, associations were gathering places of certain groups of disciples. They would exchange pointers, help each other and go do tasks together.
It was rare for members of one association to do tasks with someone from another; they rare even exchanged pointers, for when members of two associations crossed fists, one would always end injured.
And when newcomers arrived at the sect, the associations were at their busiest time while trying to recruit them.
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If it was not for the seven days grace stipulated by the sect, the newcomers would have long been flooded with invitations – the newcomers that mattered, that is.
Right now, in a big meeting hall, a few dozen people were sitting together in a circle. They were the ten strongest people from the Starlight Association, one of the top three in the outer court.
"The seven days of grace are coming to a close. So, which ones amongst the new disciples do you think we should rope in?" A young man asked with interest.
"There are quite a few strong newcomers this year." A woman spoke to his left, her voice enough to cloud one's judgment.
"The first place and the second place are both an obvious choice. Rong Yueshi is a great genius, a black-grade talent, no less. Ling Tian Tian falls short in talent, but her accomplishments are also great. However…" The woman stopped there as if trying to find the right words.
"However, both of them are full of pride and will not bow easy." A fat man spoke. "Even our power is meaningless for them because, in the eyes of true geniuses, the only reason for us to be stronger is that we have been here for longer."
The others mused over it and then nodded in agreement.
They had once been newcomers too and they also had been called geniuses. So they knew perfectly well how they thought.
"In that case, we should rope in the seventh-ranked one, Rong Xuehua." An elegant-looking youth spoke up. "She also has black-grade talent, moreover, her temperament is less wild. Not only that, our scouts have informed us that the relationship between the siblings is great; if we can rope her in, we will have greater chances of moving Yueshi's heart."
The others thought for a moment. Knowing this elegant youth's disposition, they were sure that his motives were not as simple as roping both siblings into the alliance.
However, they couldn't be bothered by his hidden motives, even if some were dissatisfied.
After that, they continued to talk and debate; there were many new disciples, however, they would only pick the best.
But, that did not mean they would only choose from amongst the top hundred. They were also taking in the new disciples' dispositions, potential, qualities, and so on into account.
Like the twins Yuyi and Yueli. Everyone agreed that, while they were not ranked in the top ten, they had great potential.
In a one-on-one battle, they were a bit lacking, but if the two girls cooperated their strengths would increase by leaps and bounds. That was something they knew from reading past records.
Twins that fought together always exhibited a greater amount of power than when they fought alone.
Moreover, there were a few cultivation manuals that required two people with great synchrony between them to cultivate together – as twins, the two girls satisfied such criteria.
Those sorts of manuals were marvelous and rare, and their powers and potential absurd!
It wasn't only the Starlight Association that was thinking about this subject, though.
The strongest associations were aiming for the best out of the bunch, while the weaker ones were planning to rope in anyone willing to join them.
While the examination was hard, the sect had existed for many years and currently had a lot of disciples. Because of that, there were hundreds of associations - with varying degrees of power and influence.
Yueshi and the others were not expecting what was coming, and while some associations would take a calm, mild and friendly approach, others would be forceful in their recruitment – their mentality along the lines of 'or you join us, or we will cause trouble for you!'
Just like that, a storm was brewing.
Today was exactly the eighth day after Yueshi and the others joined the sect.
Having slept late last night, Yueshi was dead tired, but the bustling sound coming from the outside did not permit him to sleep even a bit more.
Wondering about the loud ruckus, he changed his clothes before leaving the house.
What he saw there was nothing sort of surprising.
The residential zone was rarely as cramped as it was today; moreover, this area had been built just recently and specifically for the new disciples.
As new disciples, they were at their busiest right now and no one would spend time goofing around the residential area. Yet, right now, he could see many familiar faces all around.
Not only that, there were a bunch of other disciples speaking and chatting merrily; if that was not enough, stall-like structures had been built here and there - banners flapping in front of them with all kinds of domineering and silly names.
'Heavenly Dynasty Association', 'Flying Sword Association', 'Ten Thousand Deities Association', 'Holy Pan Association', 'Rice Man Association' and so on… Yueshi was truly mesmerized by the many names written in different colors as well the tumultuous scene before his eyes.
As someone of a poor background, he had little to no information of the inner workings of the sect. What he knew was that it had many cultivation manuals and cultivation grounds and housed and nurtured a lot of strong people.
Minute details were never, with a heavy emphasis on the never, told to the poor people.
Suddenly, Yueshi felt someone put an arm around his shoulder.
Looking to the side he saw a youth standing there, a flattering smile on his face. He was fairly handsome, and Yueshi was sure he could use his looks as a way to get money if that was what he wished for.
Not that such a thing was important. Instead, he was more curious about what was going on.
"This good brother, you seem to be a bit lost, huh?" His voice was friendly and energetic, and as he spoke he walked forward, taking Yueshi with him. "Then let this senior brother tell you what this is all about…"
Following that, the young man spoke about the associations' massive recruitment of new disciples every year, taking his time to tell about the importance of joining a good association and meeting good-natured people that were willing to help him out on his arduous path.
The guy was flamboyant as he waved his hands around, telling Yueshi that, if he wanted to complete dangerous tasks in the future, taking a few brothers and sisters from the association was the easiest way to increase his chances of success.
As the young man spoke, Yueshi felt that there was something amiss with his words; however, he just waited, paying attention to the other's words.
The youth seemed to be pleased with his reaction, speaking more and more as he carried Yueshi with him. He did not seem to know about the concept of personal space, or that his actions were fairly… no, extremely rude.
Finally, haven spoke his fill, the young man looked at Yueshi. "That is why, my dear brother, I recommend that you join my association, the Verdant Green Association. We are one of the best out there and can help you a lot in the future!" He was very passionate with his speech, to the point Yueshi could not interrupt him.
Just as he finished speaking and Yueshi was going to say something, someone cut in.