Chapter 29: Entering the Six Ocean Sect

“Hah...to think a genius like this would appear in our Six Ocean Sect. With his cultivation, he should be ranked near the top of those who are already in the Jie Hai realm. In terms his potential, however, it’s enough to be placed within the circle of the Sect’s core disciples!” Hong Wu thought with a sigh tinged with helplessness and faint envy.

Although his status as the Thirteenth Elder may sound imposing to those outside, in reality, he was no more powerful than most of the Core Disciples within the Sect. He was ranked the weakest within the circle of Elders. As such, even though he was an “elder” in front of the disciples; when it comes to being in front of the other elders, he was no more than their private servant.

Hong Wu glanced at Huang Xue as he politely said: “With young master Huang Xue’s talent, I am certain the Sect would not mind having you enter directly as a Core Disciple! However, for one to become a core disciple, I will have to get the approval of a few elders. So for now, you shall enter the inner disciple circle! We will notify you of our decision later on. You may take this badge and head on up.”

This time, instead of merely flicking the badge over to Huang Xue like what happened to the rest, Hong Wu personally floated down to Huang Xue’s level to hand over a golden badge. Huang Xue gave the old man a simple thanks before he proceeded up the stairs.

Obviously, during this period, the large crowd remaining behind was in a huge uproar hearing the assessment of Huang Xue’s testing, and seeing the special treatment that was given to him. However, in the end, they knew that only with strength and great talent would they be able to demand the same treatments.

Gazing at the departing figure of Huang Xue, all of those cultivators who had failed the test could only give a depressed sigh, before they turned to leave. With Huang Xue’s test results, the examination seemed to have come to a conclusion. There was no one left to test anymore.

Out of the nearly two thousand cultivators who came to test, only five hundred and three of them were admitted in total...

Quickly, the originally packed stone square soon became deserted.

The Thirteenth elder sat down on top of the boulder once again. As per the Sect’s rule, he was to wait for another half an hour even after the testing was over, to receive any potential disciple who may have arrived late. This was so that in case a particularly talented disciple appeared late, the Sect would still be able to accommodate them.

An event such as this had happened before in the past, where a talented disciple was denied at the door due to him being late to the examination. Later on, that same practitioner became a core disciple at the Sun Dragon Sect, one of the four major Sects in the Long Dynasty! This had caused an uproar in the elders’ circle, leading to the creation of this particular rule today.

After waiting for some time, Hong Wu finally decided to wrap things up and leave, when he sensed a faint aura in the distant. Turning around, Hong Wu noticed a small boy who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, hiding behind a thick tree. The youth’s head would once in awhile peek out from the tree trunk before ducking right back behind it.

Hong Wu smiled as he called out to the child, infusing his voice with Qi to amplify the sound: “Little child, do you wish to take the disciple examination for our Six Ocean Sect?”

The youth shyly peeked out from behind the tree, his eyes wide with awe, before a slight nod could be seen.

“Haha! Then what are you waiting for? Come on down! I am just about to close the examination for the day.” Hong Wu laughed as he beckoned the child down.

Although he did not have any high hopes for the youth to turn out talented or even be able to join the Sect, it was still his duty as an elder to attract as much potential disciple to the Sect as possible. The more talent, the better; and there was also that slim possibility of an unknown talent being born from these assessments, such as the situation with Huang Xue.

The youth’s eyes widened another diameter before he quickly started scrambling forward from behind the tree. After a few moments, he was standing directly in front of the boulder.

At this distance, Hong Wu could see that the boy had a rather ordinary appearance, save for a small mole at the bottom right of chin. He had black hair and wore a simple kemp robe, clearly looking to not be from a prominent family. Rather, there was even a few dirt marks on his otherwise smooth face.

Hong Wu then went on to explain the rules to the child, who listened with great ardor. This brought a slight smile to the elder’s lips.

“Child, what is your name?” Hong Wu asked with a smile. He had a positive impression of this seemingly innocent youth. At least, it was quite refreshing from the usual stuck up or fearful attitudes of those previous examinees.

The small youth thought for a moment before he replied with a grin: “Luo Ke. I am called Luo Ke!”

“Alright, Luo Ke, since you have come to take exam, you may first go ahead and place your hand on this boulder. Then, inject a bit of your Qi into it. Your ninth stage Temporal Di cultivation base qualifies you to take this exam. However, if your talent is insufficient then you will have to unfortunately turn back. Well, enough of my delusional rambling, let us begin.”

“Mmn!” Luo Ke smiled as he placed his hand on the boulder…

***

Several moments later, Huang Xue finally reached the top of the mountain peak. Before him laid a large building embroidered with several red buildings and a grand gate that exuded a sense of grandiose.

Standing near the gates were two black haired youths who looked to be in their mid twenties. A strong aura faintly emanated from their bodies.

The two young man stared in surprise at Huang Xue’s white hair before one of them, a man with a chubby physique, finally spoke out first:

“Halt. All incoming disciples must first state their name and then display their identification plate before entering. If you are an elderly guest, you will have to present an invitation letter”

“Shen Huang Xue.” Huang Xue said as he held up the golden badge for them to see. When the two disciples saw the badge, their eyes went wide as their confused expression was replaced with a somewhat nervous one.

This time, the skinny youth who had been standing on the left quietly, spoke:

“Ahh, so it’s a fellow inner disciple! I shall first apologize for the our distant behavior, young master Shen. Given your illustrious status and the Thirteenth Elder’s approval of your talent, you are naturally now be one of us!”

After seeing Huang Xue’s identity, the two youths began to treat the former with much more reserve and respect. After all, to be able to enter the Sect’s inner circle as a freshman...it was almost guaranteed that the person before him would become a powerful figure in the sect later on. Not to mention, the other party was from one of the majorest clans, the Shen Clan!

It was naturally best not to offend such a person, unlike those other mediocre freshmen.

“Let me introduce ourselves. I am called Hu Dang, while he is called Chen Fang.” The skinny youth indicated to the chubby disciple beside him. “We will be your guide today and tell you a bit about our sect before letting you off to train as you will.”

“To start with, since you are an inner disciple, let me tell you the benefits the Sect will give you. Every month, you will receive fifty Qi Stones to cultivate or spend with. You will also be provided with one Heart Ginseng and a Serene Mind Pill for your medicinal and Qi replenishing needs, Ordinary outer disciples will only receive ten of such stones per month.

Besides these physical awards, inner disciples also have greater freedom within the Sect. You can basically tread anywhere as long as you do not touch the Elder’s residences, the Sect’s forbidden zones, or the core disciples’ sites. Moreover, in the Six Ocean Sect, the status of an inner disciple is quite special.

You see, we are the equivalent of a minor elder in the Sect. In other words, we have the authority and sway over all the normal Outer disciples, and our identity is greater than or the same as even the head elder of those Outer Disciples!”

Hu Dang explained as he slowly led Huang Xue through the gate. The latter listened quietly the entire time.

Finally, Huang Xue asked: “You said the Sect has forbidden zones...I wonder, could these two brothers elaborate a bit more about that?”

Hearing the tone that was neither overbearing nor submissive coming from Huang Xue, the two youths had a satisfied expression on their face. It seems the other party was not as arrogant as they thought he would be, especially since the youth was from a great major family...

“I will tell you about them, young master Shen.” Chen Fang said as his fat body jiggled along the way.

“For us inner disciples, there are only two forbidden zones we are not allowed to enter in the Six Ocean Sect. These zones are the Northern Ground and the Eastern Tower. Those two areas are only accessible by core disciples and are said to be their exclusive training grounds! Brother Shen have to take not to trespass into those areas without permission!

As for other places, like the Medicine Hall and Weapon Tower, those are usable by all disciples for their material needs. If young master Shen wishes to train, you may enter the Vortex Ground which is where disciples would go to meditate. The Qi pressure there is great for nourishing one’s dantian and improving one’s cultivation!

Other than those, there is the main hall of the Sect, which is located there.” Chen Fang explained as he pointed over to an imposing building with small gray steps leading up to it. Several disciples were going in and out of there constantly; some with white parchments in their hands, some without.

“If you go inside the Sect’s Main Hall, you will be able to see the current ranking of disciples of our Sect on the back wall. There will also be a wall reserved for missions. Those are requests sent in either by normal commoners, or those who are wealthy, seeking the help of our disciples. They are a good way to help hone our experiences in the outside world, and it’s a quick method of earning some Qi stones!” Chen Fang continued.

Then, seeing that Huang Xue was not responding, Hu Dang quickly stepped in and concluded:

“Now, that is the general rules and layouts of the Six Ocean Sect. If you have any issues or questions in the future, you may go to the Main Hall and seek out an elder there. I am sure with your status, they would not deny you.

And finally, because you are a inner disciple of the Sect, you are given your own residence at one of the Six Ocean Sect’s thousand mountain peaks! After you found a peak to your liking, simply hang your golden badge in front of the house there, and no one will bother you on that peak. You may simply go ahead and occupy any one of those unoccupied mountain peaks around us, and you will not have to live in small cottages like the outer disciples.”

Huang Xue looked around him as he thought for a moment, before he turned to two youths and gave them a simple salute. “Thank you two brothers for helping this one out. If in the future, you two need something that is within my ability to achieve, I am willing to lend a helping hand.”

Chen Fang and Hu Dang’s face immediately lit up with joy. To them, having someone of great talent like Huang Xue owe them a small favor in the future was almost equivalent to having a life saving treasure. They were, after all, not the brightest of the inner disciple circle; as such, they often had to rely on the other talented students to support them along the way.

“Haha, it is something that commoners like us should do for you, young master Shen!” Hu Dang gushed as he quickly returned the salute.

“Right, right! You are being too humble, young master Shen. This much is simply nothing!” Chen Fang chimed in as he gave a salute as well.

Huang Xue smiled and gave a slight nod. “Then, if there’s nothing else, this one shall be on his way.”

The two youths nodded in response, before Huang Xue turned and left the Sect ground in search of his own mountain peak.

Watching Huang Xue’s silhouette disappear into the distant mountain, Chen Fang could not help but give a sigh.

“Although this young master Shen came from a major family, there was very little arrogance in his attitude. That was already quite something. Being able to rely on a person like this, should definitely benefit us in the future!”

“Cut the crap!” Hu Dang growled as he smacked Chen Fang’s head. With a voice tinged with disdain, he scolded the latter:

“What do you know about the Shen Clan? Huh? Do you really think someone of that level will care befriend people like us? We being able to receive a small favor from him was already unexpected and you fatty still want more?! If you want to die, then go ahead yourself, but don’t say such crap and drag me in with you!”

Cheng Fang was startled before he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Hu Dang turned and looked into the distant before he too, gave depressed sigh. Why could I not be one of those sons of Heaven who are truly blessed...aiii….