Anton moved forward to the disciple- sixth level of Body Foundation, by the feel of him- keeping his voice as steady as he could despite his misgivings. “I’m sorry. I was told that as long as I reached the third level I would have a chance to join, despite my age..”

The disciple looked at him askance. “Of course that’s true. But you… are at the fourth level. So… follow me.”

Anton did so, and soon they were outside the building where people were gathered. He saw some of the potential recruits off to the side, sparring with each other and performing other tests. However, they continued past them. “Where are we going, young man?”

“What do you mean?” he looked over his shoulder and asked. “We’re going to the sect, obviously.”

“...Why?” Had he done something wrong by cultivating to the fourth level? Anton hadn’t seen any warnings about that.

“So that we can set you up with your plot and introduce you to things.”

That… didn’t sound bad. “What about the test?” Anton asked.

“What about the test? I doubt it would do you much good to take it. You didn’t cultivate all the way to the fourth level just so you would have to take the test.” The young man continued walking. “We can always find a use for people who made it to the fourth level alone. Uh… were you not told that?”

Anton shook his head. “No, I merely continued cultivating on the road while I traveled… so I reached the fourth level.”

“You must be from quite far then.”

Anton nodded. “I am from the far east of Graotan. I was sponsored by Vincent.”

“Oh yeah? I was too!” The young man nodded, “Not that I’m alone in that respect. About half of those from a background outside of cultivation that join seem to have been sponsored by him. Maybe that’s an exaggeration but… he’s usually moving around on missions, so he finds quite a few people.” The young man extended his hand, “I’m Sterling, by the way.”

“Anton,” he shook the young man’s hand, feeling the interplay of the energy that gathered about them. “It is good to meet you.”

Anton was quite used to walking, but he found the pace of Sterling hard to keep up with. The young man seemed to notice, slowing down to a quick but manageable pace. Anton could see why he would be in a hurry. The road into the sect continued quite far up the mountain. Half an hour of brisk walking later and Anton wished he had already tempered his muscles or bones. Yet with the basic tempering of his entire body, he felt young enough that it might be good for him to push himself somewhat. That said, he decided he would need to temper his muscles next.

As they climbed the increasing slope, Anton felt himself reinvigorated by the denser natural energy in the area. It wasn’t a difference he could have noticed before cultivating, nor taken advantage of. Now he was practiced enough to slowly circulate his energy while moving. The very slow influx of energy into his muscles relieved any fatigue he might have felt from the climb.

Along the way they passed a number of modest homes, quite a bit smaller than where Anton had lived… but he imagined they didn’t house so many people either. Finally they began to near the complex he had spotted from so far down the mountain. “This is the central area. Most everything you need can be handled here.” Sterling waved to the guards at the gate. “I have a new recruit.”

The gate guards nodded in return. Just like Sterling, they were young. However, they were clearly past the tenth star… somewhere in Spirit Building. “Fourth star huh,” one of the guards commented. His tone wasn’t unfriendly, but Anton felt there was something more to it. What was it about fourth star people that was so bad? He didn’t have to take the test. Beyond that, he wasn’t sure. He’d have to think more about it later.

Inside the complex, Sterling showed Anton various places. “There’s the armory. You can exchange contribution points for weapons and armor there. The technique library is important as well. You can stop by there to check out the options later. Of course, if you… when you reach Spirit Building, you’ll need to pick up the complete version of Ninety-Nine Stars to study.”

Anton didn’t miss the stumble. Was it that hard to get to Spirit Building? He couldn’t be sure, since he was only less than halfway through Body Foundation. He did notice that each stage was harder as each subsequent star took more energy. “Can I see the technique before that?”

“You can. It won’t do much good until you’re at least at the ninth star, heading towards Spirit Building. Oh, but you’ll have to be with the sect for a year before you can look at it. We don’t want people coming in to take our cultivation technique if they’re going to go rogue.” Sterling paused, “It’s okay to leave the sect and even continue practicing Ninety-Nine Stars, but we can’t have any evil cultivators going around using our technique. It’s bad for those who they would harm and our reputation.” Sterling continued to point out more buildings. “There’s the lecture halls. Check the schedule every month, the elders have many helpful insights to give, even to… those with years of practice. The sparring rings are there, with formations to protect people from serious injury. Occasionally we have competitions as well.” Sterling gestured to a wing of the complex, “There is where most of the elders stay. You’re not forbidden to go there, but I would suggest not disturbing them without a reason.” Sterling thought for a few moments, “Oh we need to show you the job hall and the rewards hall. Unless you brought money with you, you’ll need the contribution points you can get through various methods. The managers at the rewards chamber will also be assigning you to your plot of land, and give you your badge.”

The complex they were walking through was still almost the size of a city. Maybe not one so large as Edelhull, but the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars was spread out over quite a large area. It had taken over an hour to reach the central complex. If he was going to be visiting often, Anton would need to make better time. Muscle tempering would help with that.

At the desk of the rewards hall was a woman Anton presumed was an elder… though it was strange to call people who were younger than him an elder. Or was she younger? Cultivation had some effect on extending age, but the woman was barely grey and light on wrinkles. Could that make up for forty years of difference? Anton didn’t know, because all his information had come from things he’d overheard from before he was a cultivator… and instructions specifically to allow him to cultivate the Ninety-Nine Stars. “New outer disciple here, Elder Lois,” Sterling gestured to Anton.

The elder nodded. “Very well, one moment.” She moved away from the desk into a room behind her, coming out with a palm-sized token and a small map. “I’ve circled your plot on the map. Do take good care of it. If you topple the house, you’ll have to rebuild it. It doesn’t sound like something I’d have to tell people, but every couple of years…” she shook her head. “Well, I imagine you might be less inclined to recklessness at your age.” She placed the token in Anton’s hand, pouring some of her energy in it. “Now put some of your energy in.” Anton did so, and he felt a slight connection to it. “Great. That’s your identifier. Keep it on you, especially if you’re leaving sect grounds. Don’t lose it or destroy it, et cetera. They’re not too expensive to identify Body Foundation cultivators, but it’s best to start good habits. The ones to uniquely identify Spirit Building and higher require more to verify people properly.”

“Thank you, Elder Lois,” Anton bowed his head. While it might have felt weird to call someone potentially younger than him ‘elder’, he didn’t mind being respectful. It didn’t hurt him, and having people think well of him was always good. Besides, he didn’t spend so long teaching his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren how to be polite to then flaunt those teachings.

Inside the job hall, Sterling explained the system. “It’s pretty simple. It’s generally organized by difficulty. A fourth star cultivator like yourself can probably handle anything up to about this point, though the combat missions might be a bit dangerous without equipment. Some of the jobs change out, but they’re always looking for people to help with labor. It’s not glamorous, but you can get contribution points for helping out the sect in any way.”

“Including introducing new outer disciples to the sect?”

Sterling nodded, “That’s one of them. Maybe you’ll do this yourself some day. If you have experience refining pills or equipment, those are the best pay… but it’s no good for those who don’t have the knowledge. Farming jobs are quite steady, as there are crops for every season. You can also help in the library, though those positions usually fill up pretty fast. I might try out a number of things and see what fits you. If you’re interested in refining pills or equipment, taking any jobs working with the herbs or around the smithies, even labor, will give you a leg up. I took a variety of jobs before I got enough equipment to hunt wild beasts. The sect grounds are quite large, and certain beasts are attracted to the high natural energy and the fields. Inner disciples generally take care of the stronger beasts, leaving the weaker ones for the outer disciples, though be warned you might encounter numerous weaker beasts. If you aren’t prepared…” Sterling shook his head. “Sometimes, cultivating peacefully for a while is the right move. Now then, let’s find that plot.”