Joining the Sect

The courtyard was a simple disguise.

The Umbrella Sect's Mount Wei City branch was hidden underground in a narrow cave resembling an emperor's mausoleum.

In the thick darkness...

Underground water flowed, while fire basins on both sides burned like crimson bears.

Red and black intertwined, casting the rock-paved passage in flickering light and shadow.

Qi Yu walked down the steps, encountering six figures approaching from the opposite direction.

Four men and two women, their expressions tense as they carried a stretcher.

The stretcher was nearly ten feet long, and the firelight outlined a massive bulge upon it. The unevenness almost filled the entire frame, clearly indicating the enormous size of whatever was being carried.

The six walked with their heads bowed, not daring to breathe, for fear that even the slightest jolt would overturn the stretcher.

As they moved, a giant hand slipped from the edge of the tarp. The hand was more than three times larger than a normal person's. Its rotten fingers hung limply like dying snakes, and the dark red scabs on its fingers emitted a pungent smell of sulfur.

Qi Yu's heart stirred. He already knew what was on the stretcher.

It was the corpse of a Yao or Mo!

He had never forgotten how he acquired his Skill Points.

First, diligent cultivation;

Second, touching Yao or Mo.

Such an opportunity...

Such an opportunity!

His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Immediately, he suppressed his racing heart, his expression unchanged, and continued forward.

Just as he was about to brush past the six, he suddenly shifted his steps, blocking the path of the group.

The leading disciple was caught off guard and stopped abruptly, causing the others behind to stumble to a halt.

A small, thin female disciple on the flank couldn't stop in time, and the stretcher slipped from her grasp. She was so terrified she almost screamed.

Snap!

A large hand steadily caught the stretcher before it could fall.

As he steadied it, a faint metallic sheen appeared on Qi Yu's thumb. He then pressed inward as if by accident.

The touch was scorching hot, like pressing on embers in a dying fire.

His movements were swift, a touch and a release. His fingertip was unharmed.

"Be careful."

Qi Yu said.

"Thank you, thank you..."

The female disciple was still shaken, her voice trembling, her eyes already red-rimmed.

The disciples who had been stopped merely lowered their heads in silence, not daring to utter a word. Those who came and went within this Umbrella Sect branch were not people their lowly followers could afford to offend.

Ding Yi, standing nearby, quietly explained, "The Holy Church offers free medical treatment far and wide, attracting believers. These people, most likely, come to serve after receiving divine grace..."

On the other side, the slender female disciple hurriedly reached out to take the stretcher.

In the firelight, her arm was pale, so thin that veins were visible, devoid of color. The "0~1" displayed above her head indicated she was clearly an ordinary person.

In the [Abandoned World], Mo bodies often carried toxins, the most common being fire poison...

Fire poison was something that experts could withstand, but ordinary people and even ordinary martial artists found it difficult to resist.

Furthermore, Mo corpses could mutate after death...

Therefore, transporting Mo corpses was assigned to ordinary disciples.

Using ordinary disciples was clearly more cost-effective, as their deaths wouldn't matter.

"Xiao Zhi?"

Qi Yu's gaze fell on the side of the female disciple's lowered face, and he was surprised.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that this woman looked exactly like the prostitute named "Xiao Zhi" from the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pavilion. However, her eyes held a touch more youthfulness and fear.

The female disciple looked up at the sound, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, before gently shaking her head: "Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else... Xiao Zhi is my older sister. My name is Xiao Ying."

Qi Yu nodded slightly, firmly handing the stretcher back to her, and said in a deep voice, "Be careful."

A single fallen leaf signals the coming of autumn.

The Umbrella Sect used the guise of free medical treatment and dispensing medicine to broadly recruit followers, and then trained these helpless women into prostitutes, using them for dangerous and arduous labor like this...

But in a way, wasn't this also a different path to advancement?

Like a poor scholar joining a wealthy family, starting from the most lowly chores.

"Thank you, sir..." Xiao Ying lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping the stretcher handles, and stumbled forward to continue with the group.

Ding Yi exclaimed, "Young Master truly has extensive connections."

Qi Yu replied, "I met them at the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pavilion, what connections can that be? Next time, I'll bring Commander Ding along."

Ding Yi: ...

Like a minor interlude, no one noticed anything.

Except for Qi Yu...

He glanced at his status panel.

The "0" in his [Skill Panel] suddenly jumped and became "32".

If he guessed correctly, that monster just now should have been a "Paper-Grade" monster, equivalent to Eighth Rank.

If his guess was not wrong, that monster corpse just now belonged to "Paper-Grade," corresponding to the Eighth Rank martial realm.

And from the early stage of Eighth Rank to the peak of Eighth Rank, the required cultivation for [Spirit Serpent Skill Mastery (0/16)] and [Spirit Serpent Killing Technique Two Forms (0/16)] totaled exactly thirty-two points.

This meant that just by touching that "Paper-Grade monster" for an instant, he had directly seized cultivation equivalent to the peak of Eighth Rank!

However, different cultivation methods, different Paper-Grade monsters, it could only be said that this Paper-Grade monster was "Spirit Serpent Skill level"...

The large influx of skill points truly gave Qi Yu a festive feeling, like celebrating the New Year.

Originally, he felt a bit resigned about joining the Umbrella Sect, as the Qi Family was also forced by the circumstances.

But now...

It's so good.

Walking across the stone bridge spanning the underground river, an open plaza with a massive rock dome opened up before them.

Dozens of figures were scattered throughout, their auras obscure and unclear.

Dad had told him.

Joining the Umbrella Sect as a disciple was actually a simple matter. As long as there was an introducer, they would be brought into the sect, recite the doctrines, and then be assigned to a department.

Disciples, as the most basic unit of the Umbrella Sect, were divided into three categories.

The first category: carrying out sect missions. This was the most common type and had the strictest rules.

The second category: participating in sect gatherings and spreading doctrines. These individuals generally possessed some strength.

The third category: making contributions. These were generally wealthy individuals, like Qi Changshun and Qi Changfu.

After disciples offered sacrifices, they could request the Black Umbrella or a Disciple to act, or they could choose to receive a cryptic baptism...

After the cryptic baptism, they would possess a certain divine power based on their aptitude and realm. These were the Disciples.

If a Disciple was chosen by a female disciple of the Black Umbrella, they would become her partner, and their divine power would transform into a solidified membrane.

The Black Umbrella was the core strength of the Umbrella Sect, as well as its combat force.

The External Affairs Envoy and Internal Affairs Envoy represented another path. The former was mainly responsible for promoting doctrines and expanding the holy land, while the latter was responsible for managing property and logistics.

It was said that this path... would grant divine power as one's status increased.

His cousin hadn't received it yet because she hadn't truly become an Internal Affairs Envoy.

Master Chen possessed a membrane not because he was a Black Umbrella, but because he was an External Affairs Envoy.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Qi Yu felt many gazes upon him.

Some were scrutinizing, some curious, and some... held undisguised covetousness.

He understood.

The reason so many people had gathered in this branch's underground cave today was definitely not for an ordinary induction ceremony.

Some of them had come to watch the excitement upon hearing the news; some were prepared to... choose him as their partner here.

Qi Yu stepped into the rear plaza and saw Master Chen on the high platform.

Master Chen nodded slightly at him and pointed to a stone-carved circular altar in the center.

Ding Yi tacitly stopped behind him.

Qi Yu walked towards the altar while observing.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the crowd—Han Yan.

The burly man, as strong as a bear, actually waved at him, a hint of enthusiasm on his face.

Qi Yu's gaze swept past.

Immediately, he saw his cousin again.

Qi Zhao had entered at some point and was sitting in the front row, leaning over to whisper something to the person next to her.

Abruptly, his pupils constricted.

Those were several humanoid silhouettes in the right corner, blending into the darkness, extremely indistinct, impossible to see clearly.

After about half an incense stick's worth of time, more people continued to enter from the back.

About half a stick of incense later, everyone had arrived.

Master Chen ascended the high platform and signaled the start of the ceremony.

Qi Yu followed the instructions and loudly recited some obscure doctrines.

As the last syllable fell, a pure white umbrella shadow, shimmering with light, materialized above his head.

White umbrella, lower-grade aptitude.

Gray umbrella, mid-grade aptitude.

Black umbrella, upper-grade aptitude.

Aptitude was mainly linked to piety.

After each believer recited the doctrines, their aptitude would manifest.

Master Chen's expression flickered slightly, but he wasn't surprised. The Qi Family was always like this... they only joined the Umbrella Sect to find a patron, so they weren't very pious.

However, that didn't matter.

Whether a man's aptitude was good or not didn't affect the abundance of his Yang energy, nor did it affect his usefulness to the Black Umbrella.

In fact, to some extent, men with lower-grade aptitude were even more welcomed by the Black Umbrella.

Master Chen smiled and said enthusiastically, "Little Yu, starting today, you are a disciple of our Holy Sect, serving the Myriad Umbrella God together. Since your martial arts talent is outstanding, you naturally won't just be a mere believer in our sect.

Since you call me 'Uncle,' then Uncle will introduce you to a suitable Black Umbrella as a partner. Likewise, you can also ascend to the ranks of the Black Umbrellas."

As he spoke, without waiting for Qi Yu's response, he clapped his hands.

From the corner on the right, a human silhouette slowly walked out