Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters

Three days later, Zhang Tie sat intently in the room next to his master's, reading the comprehensive manual of talismans he had acquired from his last trade. It truly was a rare treasure. Suddenly, his master's voice reached him. He quickly put down the scroll in his hand and hurried out the door.

Raising his gaze, he saw a giant fairy crane flying high overhead. The crane's back was dozens of meters wide, and over a hundred people were actually standing upon it. That voice had come from right there.

At that moment, a streak of white light flashed by in an instant. Zhang Tie soared up instantly and arrived atop the fairy crane in the blink of an eye. He steadied his nerves and happened to spot his master. "Greetings, Master." Zhang Tie hurried forward, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed. True Man Miao nodded with satisfaction and said no more.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the massive fairy crane slowly landed on a huge peak.

True Man Miao waved his hand, setting everyone down. The crane rapidly shrank and then vanished into True Man Miao's Spirit Beast pouch. The newcomers looked on in wonder, their faces full of envy.

"Wait here. Someone will come to arrange things for you afterward. Zhang Tie, come with me," True Man Miao said. With that, he waved his hand to lift Zhang Tie, and they soared away rapidly. Before long, they reached a mountain peak, and the two slowly descended at the entrance of a cave.

The stone door of the cave stood wide open, and Zhang Tie followed closely behind True Man Miao as they walked straight inside. The moment he entered, the sight within the cave shocked him. Night-shining pearls were embedded in the cave's ceiling, casting a brilliant radiance. The sides of the cave were actually entirely filled with Spirit Stones, densely packed and countless, numbering at least tens of thousands. Zhang Tie could not help but swallow hard.

Walking deeper in, they reached an extremely spacious hall. At this moment, his master was sitting upright in the center position, with three people standing on each side. On the left were three men, while the right side consisted of one man and two women.

"Zhang Tie, these are your senior brothers and senior sisters. In the future, if you have any questions you don't understand, feel free to consult them," True Man Miao said to Zhang Tie.

"Yes, Master," Zhang Tie replied, bowing.

"This is the new disciple I took in this time. Although he is only twelve years old, he has already reached the Meridian Casting Realm and will represent the sect in the Secret Realm Grand Competition in the future. Over the next few years, all of you senior brothers and senior sisters must take good care of Junior Brother Zhang, understand?" True Man Miao said.

"Understood, Master!" the six of them replied in unison. True Man Miao smiled with satisfaction and continued, "Zhang Tie, cultivation in the body-refinement realm is extremely slow. If you need any resources, just speak up, and the sect will certainly do its utmost to provide for you. Feel free to ask. As for the reason behind this, your senior brothers and senior sisters will explain it clearly to you shortly."

Although Zhang Tie still had some doubts in his heart, he earnestly said, "I need Spirit Beast blood, at least second-tier or higher. The higher the quality, the better, and the greater the quantity, the better." Zhang Tie had originally wanted to ask for some cultivation pills and Spirit Stones as well, but after a brief thought, he held back.

"Very well. Someone will have them delivered to you later. Alright, take Zhang Tie to find a cave dwelling, and take this opportunity to get acquainted with one another," True Man Miao said with a wave of his hand.

With that, everyone bowed in gratitude and departed.

When they arrived outside the cave dwellings, the leading man waved his hand to summon a flying boat and said, "Junior Brother, let's find you a cave dwelling first, and then we can talk in detail."

"Very good. I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother," Zhang Tie replied. Everyone boarded the flying boat, and it immediately took off. At that moment, the man from earlier spoke again, "I am Mo Feng, your Eldest Senior Brother. This is the distribution layout of the vacant cave dwellings in Master's territory, and you can choose whichever one you like."

Zhang Tie took the map and saw over forty large and small locations marked on it. Most of them bore markers indicating they were already inhabited, leaving only about ten vacant ones.

Zhang Tie looked it over carefully for a moment, pointed to a rather secluded spot, and said, "Eldest Senior Brother, I choose this one." Mo Feng looked at it and nodded, saying, "Alright, we are heading there now." With that, the flying boat changed direction and flew toward the cave dwelling Zhang Tie had chosen.

Before long, the flying boat stopped in front of a cave dwelling. Below the dwelling was a large river, with a waterfall that seemed to tumble straight down from the sky. The surrounding trees were lush and green, and the environment was quiet and beautiful.

Everyone stepped off the flying boat. They saw Eldest Senior Brother channel a surge of spiritual power into his palm and then wave it forcefully toward the cave dwelling. A gust of fierce wind surged inside, and within moments, a small tornado flew out from the cave, instantly sweeping away all dust and debris. Eldest Senior Brother Mo Feng walked in first, and the group quickly entered the main hall of the cave dwelling. Eldest Senior Brother waved his hand once more, causing a stone table and eight stone stools to appear right in the center of the hall, followed by a pot of tea and seven cups appearing on the table.

Everyone sat down successively. A spark of fire appeared on Eldest Senior Brother's fingertip, suspending the teapot above it, and then he said, "Let's all introduce ourselves to the Junior Brother."

"I am Duan Feng, your Second Senior Brother," said an elegant man just as the voice faded. He had a slender and graceful figure, a complexion like white jade, eyes like bright stars, and slender, willow-like eyebrows that slanted slightly upward, exuding a touch of heroism. He wore a white long robe embroidered with cloud patterns that fluttered in the wind, and his hair was bound with a white jade hairpin.

"Greetings, Second Senior Brother," Zhang Tie replied.

"I am Su Li, your Third Senior Sister. Aside from cultivation, I am also skilled in the Dao of alchemy. If you have any needs, you can come to me," said a tall maiden with a cool temperament, an oval face, a straight nose, and thin, rosy lips. A waterfall of dark hair cascaded down to her waist, and she wore a light blue long dress embroidered with simple, elegant orchids.

"Then I thank Third Senior Sister in advance," Zhang Tie replied.

"I am Lei Hu, your Fourth Senior Brother. Although Junior Brother is young, your cultivation is not low. When you have time, let's have a spar," a sturdy man with bulging muscles, a square face, a wide mouth, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a scar between his brows said to Zhang Tie.

"Greetings, Fourth Senior Brother. Please give me plenty of guidance in the future," Zhang Tie replied.

"I am Lin Yan, your Fifth Senior Sister. When you go down the mountain to play in the future, remember to call me," said a petite maiden with snow-white skin, a dainty nose, cherry lips, and long, dark hair braided into two plaits hanging over her chest. She wore a pink dress.

"Greetings, Fifth Senior Sister," Zhang Tie replied once more.

"I am Ye Chen, your Sixth Senior Brother. Although my cultivation is not as high as yours, who told me to enter the sect before you? Haha," a young boy with a round face, large eyes, a small, straight nose, short hair, and a set of green Taoist robes said with a smile.

"Sixth Senior Brother is right," Zhang Tie replied.

"That's right, Junior Brother Zhang. Remember to take this token to the sect's External Affairs Hall to process your Identity Token, and then collect your personal disciple supplies and resources. This is the map of the entire sect," Eldest Senior Brother Mo Feng said, reaching into his storage pouch to take out a red token and a map, which he handed to Zhang Tie.

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother." Zhang Tie reached out and took the token and map. The token felt slightly warm to the touch; one side bore the pattern of a fairy crane, while the other side bore the two characters "Jingling." Zhang Tie put away the token and map, thanking Eldest Senior Brother once again.

Next, each of the senior brothers and senior sisters gave Zhang Tie one of their sound-transmission jade talismans, and then they drank tea while chatting amongst themselves.