"Yang Chen? Yang Chen!"
Hearing the calls by his ear, Yang Chen jolted all over, and his unfocused eyes gradually regained clarity.
"Stop spacing out and hurry up, follow them."
A tall, skinny youth spoke quickly. After saying that, he immediately followed the dark mass of people ahead toward the distance.
"Where is this...?"
Watching the tall youth leave, a trace of bewilderment flashed through Yang Chen's eyes. If he remembered correctly, he should have been asleep at home right now.
Suddenly, a wave of agonizing pain struck him.
Yang Chen let out a muffled groan, clutching his head as he crouched down. Chaotic, jumbled memories surged in like a tidal wave, nearly bursting his head apart, as though someone were viciously driving needles into his skull.
"Feng Country..."
"Yuzhou..."
An ocean of memories forcibly crashed into his sea of consciousness. Fortunately, the pain came quickly and went just as quickly. After only a few breaths, it vanished without a trace.
Yang Chen crouched on the ground, gasping for breath, his face bloodless. Yet the additional memories in his mind made him understand his current situation.
"Yang Chen, hurry up and catch up!"
Just as Yang Chen was lost in thought, the tall, skinny youth's voice came again. This time, there was a trace of urgency in his tone.
"Coming!"
Yang Chen took a deep breath and hurried after him.
"What happened to you? Your face looks terrible."
Once Yang Chen caught up with the group, the tall, skinny youth, Zhu Xi, frowned and asked.
"I'm fine."
Zhu Xi neither confirmed nor denied it. Rather than pressing further, he comforted him, "If anything happens, remember to tell me. We're both from Fulong County, after all. We ought to support each other."
"Alright."
Yang Chen nodded, then fell silent.
His mind was in terrible shape right now. To avoid exposing any flaws, he could only keep conversations as brief as possible.
As he followed behind the group, however, his thoughts churned like a raging sea.
He had transmigrated, taking over the body of someone with the same name, a mere sixteen years old.
He was highly adaptable when it came to transmigration. Though being transported to another world had caught him off guard, he was actually quite willing to accept it.
Before transmigrating, he had been a dispensable outcast of society, with no family to call his own. Being able to come to another world and live a second life was a profit no matter how he looked at it.
Yet his heart was far from calm, because this world was dangerous.
This was a world where martial strength reigned supreme. Flying through the skies, burrowing through the earth, splitting mountains, and severing seas were no legends—they truly existed.
In other words, whether ordinary people could die peacefully of old age depended entirely on luck.
If one wanted to control one's own fate, the only path was to step onto the martial road and continually cultivate to strengthen oneself.
Thus, everyone in this world shared the same goal: pursuing the Martial Dao.
And the original owner of this body had been one of the countless masses, fortunate enough to pass the Sun Moon Sword Sect's examination today and become a Labor Disciple of that ancient power.
Their current location was a mountain peak within the Sun Moon Sword Sect's territory, known as Nineteenth Servant Peak.
Though he was merely a Labor Disciple, Yang Chen was still overjoyed.
The Sun Moon Sword Sect had deep foundations. He did not know exactly how powerful it was, but in the original owner's homeland, Feng Country, it was an existence above all else.
Becoming a Labor Disciple of such an overlord-level force was already an opportunity countless people could only envy from afar.
Because it meant that one day, he might come into contact with even more profound and unfathomable cultivation methods, gaining more chances to rise than martial artists outside the sect.
"From today onward, you are disciples of Area 8 of Nineteen Peaks. Everyone, line up and collect your full set of supplies for new disciples in order."
Before he knew it, Yang Chen and the others had arrived in a residential area.
He suppressed the many thoughts in his heart and obediently joined the back of a line to wait for his supplies.
While waiting in line, he did not forget to observe his surroundings.
There were at least four or five hundred Labor Disciples here like him, both male and female, all around his age.
Several hundred people were divided into three lines. At the front stood three tables, where three cold-faced youths in green robes were distributing supplies for newly admitted disciples.
After watching for a while, the thoughts Yang Chen had suppressed rose up again. He could not help wondering whether he, too, might one day fly through the skies and burrow through the earth.
Having come to this world and joined the Sun Moon Sword Sect, he naturally wished to become a supreme figure who could suppress mountains and rivers with a single fist and look down upon the world.
"Keep it up!"
Yang Chen silently encouraged himself.
The line gradually moved forward. After an unknown amount of time, it was finally his turn.
"Name?"
The green-robed youth before the table asked coldly. Having observed for quite some time, Yang Chen already knew the rules and respectfully replied, "Yang Chen."
The green-robed youth carefully checked the register. After confirming that everything was correct, he picked up a set of new disciple supplies from the table and handed it over, while reminding him:
"Wait to the side. Steward Lin will speak shortly."
"Alright."
Yang Chen took the supplies and walked to one side, patiently waiting.
Today was their first day in the sect. None of the disciples knew one another, and few of them spoke as they stood there separately.
Zhu Xi did say a few things to Yang Chen, but seeing that Yang Chen had little desire to talk, he did not say much more.
After a long while, once everyone had collected their sect-entry supplies, the three green-robed youths made the tables and chairs before them disappear as if by magic, then turned respectful gazes toward the distance.
Following the three men's gazes, Yang Chen saw a handsome and elegant youth in white slowly approaching.
He appeared to be walking slowly, but he was actually incredibly fast. One moment, he was still dozens of zhang away; the next, he had arrived before the crowd.
Quite a few disciples, including Yang Chen, rubbed their eyes, shock filling their gazes.
Once the white-robed youth approached, a green-robed youth with a feminine face respectfully said, "Senior Brother Lin, all supplies have been distributed."
The white-robed youth nodded slightly, sweeping his gaze over Yang Chen and the other young men and women with their still-youthful faces.
"I am Lin Chuan, the steward of Area 8 on Nineteenth Servant Peak."
Facing hundreds of pairs of eyes, the white-robed youth's calm voice carried clearly. "First, congratulations on passing the Sun Moon Sword Sect's examination and becoming Labor Disciples. This is a brand-new beginning, and I sincerely hope that all of you will achieve success in your studies and cultivation."
"Today is your first day in the sect. By custom, I will go over several matters requiring your attention."
Yang Chen and the others immediately focused, afraid of missing any crucial information.
"First, I do not care what identities you held before entering the sect. Whether you were villagers from the mountains or descendants of princes and nobles, once you arrive at the Sun Moon Sword Sect, you must obey this sect's rules. Any act that challenges the sect rules will be severely punished. At best, you will be expelled from the sect; at worst, you will be executed on the spot. Remember this well."
Lin Chuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Though his voice was not loud, it landed precisely in everyone's ears.
Upon hearing this, every disciple pressed their lips together tightly. Yang Chen did the same. He knew well that this world had strict hierarchies, and that all status and position were closely tied to strength.
Right now, he was merely an insignificant Labor Disciple. Therefore, obeying the sect rules was an iron law.
Lin Chuan paused, giving everyone ample time to digest the information.
"Second, Labor Disciples must complete the tasks assigned by the sect every day. There will be a task review every month. If you fail to complete a task once in a month, next month's cultivation resources will be halved. Fail twice, and next month's resources will be deducted entirely. Fail three times, and you will all be expelled from the sect."
The moment these words fell, many people's expressions changed. Some even grew panicked, afraid that they might one day fail a task and suffer punishment.
Lin Chuan took in this scene and calmly said, "Lastly, you have five years. If you cultivate to the Blood Martial Ninth Level within five years, you may have an opportunity to advance to the Outer Sect. This opportunity comes once each year."
"If any among you can cultivate to the Blood Martial Ninth Level within one year, that means you will have five opportunities!"
"After five years, everyone who has not cultivated to the Blood Martial Ninth Level or has failed to advance to the Outer Sect will be regarded as having voluntarily given up their status as Labor Disciples of the Sun Moon Sword Sect."
"Do you all understand?"
"Understood!"
Slightly disordered replies rose one after another.
Lin Chuan glanced at everyone and said indifferently, "Since you understand, you may disperse. Gather here tomorrow at a quarter past the Rabbit Hour. Tasks will be assigned to you then."
At the request of our many readers, we now offer an ad-free VIP membership feature.
Click to view
Before you continue