Jade sat at her desk which was covered in brochures and leaflets. On her computer screen were multiple tabs open each displaying a different sect. She was trying to work through all her options. But her mind kept wandering to the news article she had found this morning.

The next great general; it was an article describing the demon attack in the plaza. And it hailed Ethan as a great hero that is walking in his father’s footsteps. Destined to become a general just like his father.

There was no mention of Jade at all. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She felt slighted that they just completely ignored her, not even mentioning that she was there. On the flip side she was glad that her home wasn’t invade by dozens of reporters trying to get the next big scoop on this story.

She sighed and went back to her choices. She set some parameters for sects she would like to join. They need to have a local branch in Wonju city. She did not want to leave her mother behind. They need to have an established alchemy branch. Although she wasn’t sure if alchemy was going to be her main profession, she would like to have the option.

Additionally, she wanted to have as much freedom in cultivating as possible. Some of the sects were very strict on cultivation practices. The last thing she needed was someone constantly checking in on her progress. The more modern sects used a system that was based on cultivation stage progression. Once you have reached a certain stage like Tier 1 late stage for example, you could take an exam based on your curriculum. Once you pass it the level of classes, resources and your influence in the sect would increase.

This of course goes hand in hand with their very own academies that provide the previously mentioned curriculum. In the past 300 years the empire has tried to centralize academies. Therefore, there where now some academies that are a collaboration of many different sects. This has turned out to be a great success. These schools were now the most prestigious places of education that you could attend.

They were also very hard to get into and cost quite a lot of money. A person of her background would usually not have the resources to attend such a school. But with her talent at the high boundary, she could easily get a scholarship. This would further remove her from the sect she chose unless she decided to bind herself more on her own accord.

So far there were three sects she felt would work out for her.

The Harmonious River sect was a sect that set importance on water and nature aspects of cultivation. They had an alchemy branch that specialized on calming agents. Such as the calming incense she used in her cultivation session. Their campus was located at the north end of the city were the river intersected with the city.

The Soaring Monkey sect was a martial sect that valued independence over most things. They offered very little in the sense of actual classes, with no academy of their own. But they did have an alchemy branch that was comparably young, only 120 years. This would mean quite a lot of opportunity to rise in the ranks. Their focus was recovery and body strengthening medicines.

The Dawn Lotus sect. Although this one was rather small in Wonju, their main branch in the capital was quite established. They are rumored to be a subsidiary sect of the Holy Lotus sect. Which was the sect that was founded by the first emperor as a place to raise his subordinates’ descendants. The obvious benefits were that her mother was already part of that sect and recruiting her into the sect would increase Maras standing in the sect. This would then help Jade by giving her a modicum of backing in her sect. The disadvantage was that they might not have as many resources to give to her as bigger sects might.

Although important this decision did not have to be made today. It currently was May and academy lessons did not start before September. She still had four months of time to decide. After she finished her mandatory schooling in April her original plan was to get some experience with alchemy by working as an assistant in a non-sect alchemist shop that was run by a friend of her mothers.

But now she wasn’t sure what to do anymore. She wanted to learn more about cultivation and her concept. But good teachers were expensive or not available outside of sects. Her mother was working most of the time so she could not help her much outside of her off days. And blazing forward on one's own effort only went so far.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by the ring of the doorbell. Jade went to the video intercom wondering who would visit in the middle of the day. On the screen she could see a middle-aged man with black hair that was propped up in a traditional bun. He wore a muted green sect robe with a finely embroidered lotus pattern that went down to his feet. The robe was tied together in the middle by a brown belt.

He looked into the camera with a warm smile slightly bowing towards the camera.

“Is this the residence of the Saelee family? My name is Namoru Ogabu. I am here to speak with miss Jade Saelee.”

“You got the right place. But what is this about? We were not expecting any guests.”

“My apologies for arriving unannounced. I am a recruiter for the Holy Lotus sect and I would like to talk to miss Jade about her future.”

Jade was silent for a moment not sure what to say to this man that just showed up here claiming to be sent by one of the most prestigious sects in the empire.

“Do you have a cultivator ID that could verify who you are. I am sorry for asking you this, but I would rather have some assurance before letting some I do not know into my home.”

“Of course, I am happy to provide some identification.”

Namoru waved his hand and a small ID card appeared in his hand and held it up to the camera. Jade scanned the card and noted down the details on notepad next to the door. It did look authentic but Jade was still unsure.

“Do you mind waiting a couple minutes. I would like to verify your identity.”

Without waiting for a response Jade went to her computer opening the webpage for the Holy Lotus sect. She checked their listed names of recruiters employed by them. He was here, same name, same picture. She returned to the door; the man was still there waiting patiently.

“Sorry about that. It seems that you are who claim to be. Still would it be possible for you to return at a later point. I would like my guardian to present for this meeting.”

“This will not be a problem miss Saelee. When shall I return? I would also like to leave some information material behind if you don’t mind.”

“You can come back later tonight at seven. My Guardian will be home by then. Just leave the material in the mailbox to your left.”

“Then I will be returning at the appointed time. Thank you for your time miss Saelee.”

He waved his hand again creating a large envelope from nothing and slitting into her mailbox. Jade could now see the ring on his finger that was probably a spatial ring. An expensive item that acted as a gateway to a storage container located in another dimension.

Once the man was gone Jade slid down her door to the floor. Her heart was still beating wildly from that interaction. What did that man want here? Was he really just here to recruit her? It seemed unlikely even her high potential wasn’t enough to get the attention from this kind of sect.

And why did he not make an appointment. Rather how did he know so fast anyway, she though it would take at least a week for her to get the first propositions. It has barely been a full 24 hours since her awakening. Many questions plagued Jade as she sent her mother a text message to get here as fast as possible.