Entering Into The Sect

It was more than 550 square kilometers large. That was how vast the entire Self-Mutilating Honores Sect had become over the years; they may not have the largest amount of territory in their hands, but they had the most impressive, luxurious, and populated specific organization's territory in the entire world. Nobody would even dare claim being 2nd to this sect!

And the gates of each side of the sect were appropriately as large and dignified as the place they were built on. And Ciemnosc could see that as he was right in front of the southern gate that leads to the sect’s territory, he was walking beside a queue that wasn’t long but took a long time for it to allow those in the queue to take a step forth.

As he could feel the many gazes landing on the Grand Elder’s back, Ciemnosc had the freedom of being invisible for once. His handsomeness wasn’t a joke after all. Even young women thirst for him eh. In any case, wherever Ciemnosc looked, there would be dull crimson colors about everywhere as the main color and an obscure brown color as the secondary color.

Meanwhile, even when the Cloudless Eagle was descending, he could see most of the buildings within the sect’s territory. And it was beyond majestic. It was nothing like the poor Ciemnosc boy had ever seen in his entire life! It was larger than any city, streets with a cleanliness and ‘advanced’ sensation that he hadn’t seen before in his life and even more so with some vehicles coming in and out from all possible places but mostly from the main, thin roads at the center which had an oval-ish ‘0’ that was almost 380 km long.

It’s not like he could know that. But the Grand Elder who was more than glad of taking him in and without even being asked began saying so many things about the sect was the reason why he could know it all about it in detail.

Right now, as he came closer and closer to the walls that weren’t as tall as those from the cities he had seen but had a much greater thickness, he realized that one needed to go from where the walls end and the gate starts another 30 meters or so in between the walls before actually reaching the gate.

Because the gate was actually 200 meters tall, while the walls were about 30 meters tall at most, and in comparison - that was too fucking much. The gates were barred by unknown metallic materials, and their thickness was of merely 20 meters, just a tenth of its whole height, which was a lot to say. Meanwhile, the walls were actually 80 meters thick.

It was crazy alright, but this is what could be expected from the most powerful organization in this entire little rock.

However, it also seemed that just at the point where the walls ended, there was a kind of barrier protecting any passing from there, there were also some cultivators guarding the entrance to the passage in between the walls. When Ciemnosc and the Grand Elder arrived before those guards, they clasped their hands and…bent the shit out of their backs until they were 10 meters into the wall.

Naturally, even Ciemnosc was amazed to see actual Link Consolidation Realm cultivators acting as guards and being so utterly respectful, and fearful of the Grand Elder. In the Arielende Sect, the so-called ‘grand elders’, and ‘sect master’ were but the kind of team leaders in a project where they managed dozens of people, but nobody really ever listened to them directly…

“See that gate, Ciemnosc?” The Grand Elder asked Ciemnosc, who in return looked up with obvious awe in his eyes at the tallest shit he had ever seen, saying back in a little voice. “Yes, Grand Elder.”

“Err, what did I tell you to calm me?” The Grand Elder made Ciemnosc jolt his neck back, a bit speechless before he lowly muttered, “But you said that only if I would like to-”

“Ahem,” the Grand Elder interrupted the boy’s antics, which made the boy then stand up straighter and speak in his cute voice, “Jing Zhu!”

“Mnm, very well done boy.” Nodded the grandma-like grand elder of the strongest sect in the world, adding in the next second with a flick of her left sleeve, with a patient voice. “They don’t seem to be able to stop anyone from entering, but that’s only for the eyes and Spirit Senses of those who can’t understand arrays.”

‘Arrays again.’ Ciemnosc’s eyes flashed when he heard that new word once again. Meanwhile, grand elder Jing Zhu continued, “If someone who isn’t part of the sect intends to cross over without belonging to my sect, they will be pulverized. And even if they manage to resist the array’s prowess, they’ll be swarmed over by the disciples and elders of the sect.”

Looking down at Ciemnosc, she said with a rather more proud and even slightly bragging tone, “For tens of thousands of years, nobody has ever dared to send an attack into our sect’s territory.”

“But don’t worry, Ciemnosc. As you’re coming with me, even if the Sect Master or the Grand Ancestor wants to impede me, I will still be able to get you into the sect and become a disciple directly.” Her words were now full of resolve though, and nothing that could exist in the world would be able to stop her; such was the way Ciemnosc felt when looking at her say those words while looking at the gate.

“Will I become a core disciple then? Right away!” Ciemnosc tempted the grand elder, who then turned her head around and with her head low asked him back, “How long since you broke through the Spiritual Condensation?”

Her tone was inquiring, but it was also a bit sharp, as if trying to take the conceited little boy a notch or ten. Ciemnosc shrunk his neck a little and then said with his eyes upturned, “A few days before you came to my sect and murdered everyone?”

‘Months?’ But he thought otherwise inside his dishonest head. Jing Zhu nodded her head a bit gently towards him, then turned around and spoke out clearly, “Outer disciple it is, then.”

“...” Pouty, Ciemnosc dropped his shoulders and followed her into the sect. Jing Zhu chose to let the boy have some silence, it would be better to let him see around so that he could understand that everything was going to be much different than before. That everything he had seen so far was really, just, nothing.

Seeing cars passing by, having a metallic-armored-looking outer appearance and going to 200 km/h speeds like it was the regular; observing a few elders whose feet were dangling in the air as they floated through the air and entered some of the tallest buildings either nearby or much farther away.

Looking at many people in the making of tools, smithing, and even cooking Creatures’ meat in the middle of the wide sidewalks where more than a dozen people could walk hand in hand and still have remaining space for maneuver, and even looking at a few huge places where there were immense cheers sounding from kilometers away of a ‘opening’ circular-ish shape which could be nothing more but a stadium.

Ciemnosc was really slowly falling and becoming self-absorbed as he looked at it all with his very own, small and young darkest eyes; the indifference they carried was there. But the enormous excitement within them still made him look like the child he is. Such that the grand elder and several passersby that were coincidentally looking at him made them either smile intuitively or straight away becoming dazzled.

“You see Ciemnosc. In our sect, it is not about your cultivation, but about how strong you really are. Unfortunately, there has been some neglect towards the other occupations that can be brought along with cultivation for the last hundreds of years.” Suddenly, Jing Zhu seemed to become slightly down as she spoke of this but then continued with a less distracted tone.

“Little Ciemnosc, if you really wish to become a core disciple that badly, then beat someone at the Phrenic Realm 1st stage and you’ll become an inner sect disciple. All you have to do afterwards is to beat someone at the Spirit Gathering Realm 1st Stag. That is all you’ll need for just that.” The grand elder and Ciemnosc started walking side by side. She was only 2 heads taller than him, looking like a son and old mother instead.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“But I also want to learn more, more! I wanted to really know about plants and stuff! I also want to know how to craft better items, tools too! I want to understand Creatures better, and I’ll also like, like to-” Ciemnosc went on as they walked. Ciemnosc didn’t know where they were going, using his undetectable ‘awareness’ to look for everything that caught his attention. And also in case, he could get clues as to where they were going.

“Sigh, this is what I feared.” Jing Zhu said, her forehead creasing with many wrinkles as she stopped in her tracks and looked at Ciemnosc, holding his clean body’s shoulders with her palms. “Listen, Little Ciemnosc. I know what you want, and if it were for me, I’d spoil you with such things as much as you wanted, I trust you’ll have good judgment for that matter. You’re not a naïve kid nor a growing idiot. But I’m the grand elder of the Self-Mutilating Honores Sect and can’t really do all of this for now. If you’ll wait for me to be free of some heavy…and important things, I will be able to give you all of that.”

“...” Ciemnosc stopped his little antics. He became serene, and he tilted his head as he looked up at her. He said with a soft voice, “Then, how long should I wait? How ‘long’ are we talking about?”

“Don’t worry,” Jing Zhu gave out a comforting little smirk from the left corners of her mouth, her tone equally comforting. “There will be many ways you can hone your skills and cultivate better than you’ve ever had the chance to. Between missions and more missions that the sect might get you busy with, I know of a person. I don’t really know him myself. But he is the one and only ‘free’ Craftsman that can let you learn a few things from those that are currently available.”

“...Grand elder Jing Zhu, are you expecting me to do something?” Ciemnosc asked, at last, making Jing Zhu smirk but, this time, with praise at his seemingly careless question. Pinching his slightly pale nose a little, she scrunched her nose up for a moment before giving in. “Give and take. I am always a give and take, Little Ciemnosc.”

“...” Jing Zhu wanted to say more about that phrase, but when she saw Ciemnosc’s eyes…she realized; it was not necessary. Hence, she resumed their walking and moved towards a certain general direction among the streets. Taking her time to spend it for the sake of knowing each other just a little bit.

“Just like any other person, I can dream; but my aspirations aren’t personal.” She looked down at Ciemnosc while her steps slowed down. Coincidentally, they arrived before an insufferably large enclave that read the words flatly: ‘Outer Sect Disciple’. She then finished her words from just now, “What I wish for is for our sect to not fall to their own ambition, because of its own people.”

“...” Ciemnosc looked at the back of her head, saying nothing in return. Jing Zhu turned around and took a few items from another little bag. One was a nonagon bright crimson device the size of 2 fists of Ciemnosc with a notorious label left in blank in the middle with the shape of a small rectangle.

“This is an Identification Token. Each disciple of our sect must wear one, even the Servants. Our elders and even our own Ancestors also carry their own. It won’t say your name nor any important information in case someone dies at the hands of an enemy organization. But it will be read by another person’s Spirit Sense with the same kind of token from the Self-Mutilating Honores Sect. They will be able to know your name, status, and the last realm of cultivation known by the sect.”

“It will become yours once you go through the procedures, the man inside and in charge right now is of mine.” Jing Zhu pushed Ciemnosc’s back a little, to which he followed on by moving on his own towards the large entrance consisting of 2 buildings connected and a gate clearly made of metal but had a lateral stripped-like design.

Jing Zhu now had a really worried face as he looked at his back, and Ciemnosc looked back at her just to see this scene. He couldn’t just see it. He could even smell the willingness but incapability that she was forced upon by a few situations he still didn’t know about.

At that moment, something seemed to shine from her bag, and it seemed important seeing how startled she became by it happening, then hurriedly opened her little bag and took out her own Identification Token before flooding it with her Power Energy in a frenzy.

“...” Cutting what seemed to have been a call, her anxiousness only became stronger, and in a way, she and Ciemnosc felt like their time to at least just talk was shortened unnecessarily. As if a whole blanket was left in the middle of their story together, possibly ending already as if it had become tragic, a farewell that wasn’t supposed to have come.

Step step step step.

Ciemnosc turned his head back to his front. The large enclave was just crossing over the street. He took a mildly long look at it before once again returning his eyes to where Jing Zhu…was.

‘...’ Ciemnosc became real silent all of a sudden, once again he was a loner, knowing very well he was feeling that vacancy of ‘something’ on his shoulders, which slowly spread down his back to his hip bones at the back and through his vein and skin. He took a smallish breath in and stepped towards the large enclave, the traffic lights indicating he could now walk through the wide streets safely.

Step, step step step step.

Knock knock!

“Who is it?” A voice came from the casement after Ciemnosc knocked with his upper knuckles at the gate, which was right to his left on the wall.

“...” Ciemnosc faced the casement but though his lips did a bit of dancing, his words didn’t come out. The person from inside the building at the right of the gate then became impatient, of course, and said with an irritated, annoyed tone and as if he was being cockblocked in his 17s“Who is it?! Kid, you don’t know what kind of severe crime your commit- cough, you’ve just committed! Beating you to death wouldn’t eve-”

“Ciemnosc.” The boy with darkest eyes said, his still cute and sweet voice also carried hoarseness, and his one single word was spoken without the slightest trace of warmth, ultimately cold.

“Ah-... Ahem, it’s you, kid… Say so earlier… Okay, just pass me your Identification Token first, give it to you later when I get to i-” The owner was slowly getting calmer as he began speaking again, after choking on his own throat for no reason at all. But Ciemnosc then interrupted without caring for any possibility. “Come out and do your job, or I go in and make a job out of you.”

Despite the true ambiguity of Ciemnosc’s words, the voice within the right-sided building from the gate facing outside went silent. He definitely did not take those words as lewd and much less as funny.

“Last chance, check my little amount of cases and bags again, and you’ll be forced to use your Spirit Sense for the rest of your life.” Ciemnosc’s tone was now calm, very calm and quiet; as for the voice inside, it had gone away since long ago.

Clenk, screech~.

“Come in,” a low, timid voice came from the gate that just now opened. It was indeed the very same one that was in the right-sided building.

Instead of walking forth and entering the enclave right away, ignoring the anxiousness hidden under the timidness, Ciemnosc remained on the spot and slowly extended his left hand out, but only halfway in the end. The other half would have to be traversed by the other person, as Ciemnosc had in his hand his-to-be Identification Token.

“Tsk,” the other person clicked the left corners of his mouth before extending both his hands, grabbing at Ciemnosc’s wrist and trying to pull him in, but breaking his pinky fingers right away. “!!...”

“Aggh, urgh… Agh! There, there you go, now get the fuck in and find any dorm if you can. Heh! Good luck with that~.” From the hands of the other person, a strange gauntlet that carried a hint of ‘something’ that reminded Ciemnosc of Jing Zhu was emanating from it was worn by the other person; it had the main color of gray but the outlining as a kind of liquefied bright green.

As the other person seemed to be doing something to his Identification Token-to-be, Ciemnosc could feel the ‘something’ that reminded him of Jing Zhu disappears into the blank label of his Identification Token. The moment it all disappeared into the blank label, indiscernible lines, similar to a sliding snake overly painted appeared all over the label; changing from the direction they were ‘facing’ every few seconds.

“Thank you,” Ciemnosc said, no sarcasm included, but the other person once again clicked his mouth. Making one step into the enclave, at last, Ciemnosc ignored how beautiful it all looked as first things first and looked instead into the eyes of the other person. The latter then said, his upper teeth showing like a small animal trying to deter a hunter. “What you lookin’ at? This isn’t for you, kid.”

But what Ciemnosc was isn’t a big animal; he is a monster. “It would be a shame if I just leave without thanking you properly, right? Where do you sleep? In case I lose some parts of your body and have to return them later.”

The other person was a mere Link Consolidation Realm 3rd stage cultivator, an ‘okay’ outer sect disciple that wasn’t too far away from the 10,000th rank among the outer disciples or so; at best.

…