That night, when the three boys sat down, they all seemed eager to share their latest discoveries.
They opened their mouths at the same time, only for no noise to come out as they each intended to let the other party speak first. Wei Ping quickly recollected himself and spoke first.
“Go a-ahead, boss.”
“Okay, sure. I wanted to share that I have already discovered some results from just a day of testing. I’m not sure if this will persist, but I detected approximately 0.8% fewer toxins within the samples for all three of us.”
“T-that is quite p-precise…it means we’re t-taking in s-smaller amounts of t-toxins somehow?” Wei Ping replied with a look of realization on his face.
Li Lang nodded at the answer his assistant quickly arrived at while Long Yi wore a confused expression as he glanced between the two.
“What are you guys talking about?”
“We have a theory that our spiritual roots are what filter out the toxins. At the same time, based on the existence of unique physiques that allow spiritual roots to be trained, we believed ours could be trained as well. It’s just that we normally succumb to the toxins before our spiritual roots get enough of a workout. Now, with the Cleansing Drug, I believe we’ve solved that issue, thus allowing our Spiritual Root to grow stronger!”
“So, we’ve got the same ability as those with that particular unique physique?”
“Probably not exactly, but something very close. I can’t say definitively yet with such a small sample size, but I have a good feeling about this.”
Li Lang rambled on once more. Once he began talking about a topic he was passionate about, it was hard for him to stop. However, this time, the boys all attentively listened as this matter affected them greatly.
Once he was done, their room descended into silence as they each processed their thoughts.
“...Anyway, it’s only the first day. We’ll see if it’ll continue first. A 0.8% doesn’t sound so impressive yet, and I can’t even feel the difference yet.”
“That was the plan. Anyway, did you guys find something?”
“Y-yes! Long Yi will e-explain.” Wei Ping immediately kicked the ball to his peer.
“Okay… I did promise.” Long Yi sighed and took a sip of water before beginning. “So we looked into joining a demonic sect…or as the locals call it, an official organization or group. It seems the structure of groups here varies a lot and is way more complex than what we’re used to.”
“Yeah, it’s not hard to see that they don’t organize themselves like a traditional sect around here.”
“Exactly. Each official group is different. Some of them are like sects, passing on their secret teachings and nurturing disciples. They are the minority, but they do exist, especially with those who practice Possession Demonic Techniques.”
“And the majority?”
“The majority use a much looser structure. Some of them are bound together by like-minded ideas, like upholding order and justice. Other than that, they won’t share much with each other, all practicing different techniques and taking in their own disciples. For other organizations, they work like guilds, pooling resources together to take care of various tasks and defending vital assets.”
“So I take it you guys realized in our situation, we’d be looking toward these looser groups, then? I don’t think any of us are exactly excited to practice demonic techniques,” Li Lang inquired.
“Yes, but there was one group within Emberglow City that caught our eye that was structured more like a sect.”
“...What?” Li Lang frowned at the unexpected answer.
“Just hear me out first. You did know that everything in this Demonic Cultivator Territory is isolated from the rest of Violet Isle, correct?” Seeing Li Lang nod, Long Yi continued. “There’s a huge number of people living here as well. And when that happens, they’re bound to have a lot of children as well.”
“You’re talking about the people who were blessed with high aptitude…”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Exactly. It would be a waste for these talented individuals to practice demonic cultivation. It wouldn’t just waste their talent, but make the competition for resources more tense as well. That is why there are sect-like organizations here that are for these people. They practice orthodox techniques like us, which is why we decided they were a potential candidate for us to look at.”
“I’m guessing the other candidates are all filled with demonic cultivators, and you didn’t want to join them?”
“...Look.” Long Yi scratched his cheeks. “Just because I know most of them are normal doesn’t change the fact any of them could suddenly go crazy. They’re a looming disaster!”
“...I think you should try to change your views. Otherwise, you should consider returning to righteous sect territory. Think about what would happen if demonic cultivators heard your take.”
“...”
“Don’t b-be too harsh o-on him, boss. It’s n-not easy to c-change your mindset s-so quickly.” Wei Ping interjected.
“As long as he knows. Anyway, I take it that we’ll be going to check out this orthodox sect of yours tomorrow?”
“Y-yes. They are m-more casual here, and a-accept new disciples throughout t-the year.”
“Understood, then let’s call it here for tonight. We can discuss the other groups if this one doesn’t work out.”
----------------------------------------
The next morning, the trio arrived before a large gate. Stone walls surrounded the entire compound, and two tall buildings could be seen standing over seven stories. There was ample land to fit more than the two buildings, but the walls had obscured any onlookers from peering inside.
At the top of the splendid red gate was a wooden sign with the name ‘Peerless Gate’ written on it.
Li Lang boldly strode toward the gate and rang the bell just beside the gate that served as a door knocker.
After ringing it three times, a figure swiftly emerged from the door. It was a young man wearing yellow robes. He silently scrutinized the three kids before the gate for a few moments and wore a frown.
“What do you kids want?”
“We’re here to see if your Peerless Gate was recruiting.”
“You guys look a bit old for that.” The man directed a meaningful glance over at Long Yi.
“...I’m the youngest among us. I just turned eleven not long ago.”
“Eleven? Are you guys from some remote village or something? You’re supposed to come get your aptitude measured when you turn ten. In the first place…”
As the man explained, he held open the gates for the three boys to enter. They stepped into a wide stone path that led up to the large building that the two buildings both connected to on the ground floor. The lobby was wide and spacious, and the man guided them to a room in the back.
On the way there, various other people could be seen walking to and fro, all wearing the same yellow robes as their guide.
When they entered the room, all three of them immediately realized the reason they were taken there.
“Sir, we’ve actually measured our aptitude before. The two of us here have grade one aptitude, while Long Yi here has grade three.”
“What? Then what are you two doing here, then? Just to tag along with your friend?”
“No…We’re looking to join the Peerless Gate as well, if that is possible.”
“...Kid, why in the world do you want to do that? This place is for studying orthodox cultivation techniques. You won’t be able to make progress in your lifetime if you only have grade one aptitude.”
“We know that, but we’ve already been practicing orthodox techniques for a while now and don’t plan to stop.”
“What…? From where?” Their guide was visibly taken aback.
As Li Lang and his group planned to join the group, he found no reason to be lying or beating around the bush.
“We’re from the Yellow Qilin province. We were originally members of an orthodox sect.”
“I see…Well, regardless, you guys only have grade one aptitude. People like you are unsuited to be in our organization.” He turned to Long Yi. “As for you, you’re more than welcome to join, but there’s nothing I can do about your friends.”
“...No, thank you. I’ll be sticking with them for now.”
“You’re wasting your talent by doing that, you know? There’s no other organization in Emberglow that can make use of your talents!”
Seeing how the man had started to disregard Li Lang and Wei Ping, the group swiftly made their exit while the man continued to pressure Long Yi to stay. It was only when they passed the gates that the man backed off, walking away while shaking his head.
“Dumb kids….”
The three occasionally glanced back at the compound and only conversed when it was out of sight.
“Well, it could’ve gone worse.” Li Lang muttered. “At least the people here don’t immediately belittle us once he learned of our aptitude.”
“T-they wouldn’t d-dare. Most of t-the demonic cultivators h-have poor aptitude as well. They w-wouldn’t want to o-offend them with c-careless remarks.” Wei Ping replied, as he put a hand on his chin.
“But this means it’ll be a lot harder for us to gain access to orthodox cultivation techniques, martial arts, and Qi arts,” Long Yi added.
“We’ll have to stick with whatever is available in Bloodwave Conclave’s bazaar,” Li Lang replied.
“In the first place, even if we all got accepted, how would you explain to them when you suddenly make rapid progress thanks to your Cleansing Drug? They’d definitely question you.”
“...You’re right. Maybe when people ask, we should pretend to be demonic cultivators instead?”
“What?!”
At Li Lang’s suggestion, his companions immediately looked at him in shock.