Inner sect disciple

Watching an immortal drift down from the sky, Jiang Yang witnessed the existence of cultivation for the first time and learned the renowned name of Rain Xiang Mountain.

The immortal announced the news to the entire city through his Spirit Sense: children aged six to twelve could come for testing and selection. Even an "illiterate" like Jiang Yang, who could not understand the language, understood its meaning.

His mind rang with a sudden buzz. Gunpowder, glass, soap—he threw them all to the back of his mind. Gazing at the immortal atop the gate tower, robes fluttering in the wind, he immediately became single-mindedly intent on seeking immortality and pursuing the Dao.

The whole city was already boiling with excitement. Families brought their children, some on foot and others in carriages. The location was easy to find: right beneath the gate tower. Latecomers would not be waited for. Jiang Yang followed the stream of people over.

Spiritual roots were precious; calling them one in a thousand was no exaggeration. They were the foundation of everything and did not change with differences in status, so even though Jiang Yang was merely a little beggar, nothing prevented him from stepping forward to have his Spirit Root tested.

Fortunately, Jiang Yang possessed a Spirit Root. After the examiner felt his bones, Jiang Yang learned his own age for the first time: his bone age was eleven and a half, just barely meeting the requirements. Any older, and he would have missed the best age to begin cultivating.

After that, he and several other fortunate children from the same batch were taken back to Rain Xiang Mountain and assigned to the Lower Court on Falling Rain Peak.

Standing before the table, Jiang Yang slowly came back to himself and murmured:

"I wonder how that little fool is doing... Please don't starve to death."

At the time, the two of them had split up to beg, and the people from the immortal Sect had arrived so suddenly that everything happened before he could say goodbye.

Though they had not spent long together, if that little fool listened well enough and did not encounter a year of great calamity, the few tricks he had taught should have been enough to stay alive.

Suppressing his worries, he pushed open the window of his tiled-roof dwelling. The drizzling rain dampened the sill, bringing a touch of refreshing coolness.

In just two or three short years, Jiang Yang's circumstances had changed as dramatically as heaven overturning earth. He had transformed from a nameless beggar into a cultivator who had entered Qi Refining.

Now, besides the joy of his breakthrough and the delight of his birthday, he also had the secret pleasure of unraveling the peach branch's mystery. Most importantly, all this gave him greater assurance and confidence, setting his spirits soaring.

Gazing at the magnificent view of drifting clouds and mist outside the window, Jiang Yang's expression brightened, and he could not help reciting aloud:

"In my early years, I already knew the affairs of the world..."

After reciting only half a line, Jiang Yang shook his head with a laugh. Though youthful spirit surged within him, he was still far from the point where he could let success go to his head.

He had only just crossed beyond the hundred meridians Fetal Breathing realm and entered the qi refining realm. The road ahead stretched unimaginably far; he still needed to guard against arrogance and impatience.

For now, there were three urgent matters to attend to: first, moving; second, his stipend; third, his duties.

Falling Rain Peak was a peak for miscellaneous affairs. Now that Jiang Yang had left the Lower Court and become an inner sect disciple, the rules required him to move to Morning Rain Peak, where the inner sect disciples gathered.

Lower Court disciples like them, who had no background, received the Sect's training free of charge. But if they failed to break through within the allotted time, they could only become servant disciples and labor for the Sect for sixty years to repay its kindness in raising and nurturing them. Only after those sixty years could they decide for themselves whether to stay or leave.

A sect was no charity hall; everything had its reasons.

After all, branch Courtyard disciples like him could be described politely as having clean backgrounds, or bluntly as possessing nothing but their own bodies. Apart from repaying with their labor, they could not shake out even a scrap of value. Having eaten at the sect's expense, they could only serve it faithfully.

Although full disciples and servant disciples were both called disciples, the difference between those two words meant a gulf as vast as heaven and earth in their treatment. The former were Sect disciples with some hope of becoming direct disciples, while the latter had their cultivation supplies cut off and could only be reduced to servants laboring for the Sect.

Within the allotted years, and with the sect investing only a small amount of resources, they had to advance from ordinary mortals to opening all hundred meridians, nurturing Fetal Breathing, and reaching Qi Refining. Most of those bewildered children did not yet understand how difficult that was, nor did they know what seeking immortality and pursuing the Dao truly meant for them.

Some strove so hard that they forgot food and sleep; some, whose understanding had yet to awaken, muddled through in a haze; some with poor aptitude lost heart; some lacking resolve merely drifted along. The myriad faces of life could not be listed in full.

Jiang Yang had the advantage of wisdom from his previous life. Unaffected by outside influences, he had cultivated step by step until now. He was not the fastest among those his age, but he ranked near the top in this branch Courtyard. At least, he had not heard of anyone from his batch advancing faster than he had.

Of course, becoming a full disciple did not mean he was set for life and could enjoy the Sect's cultivation supplies with an easy conscience.

After promotion to full disciple, he could receive an annual stipend, but corresponding assignments came with it. Completing one each year was mandatory. Those assignments were not necessarily bad things; from what he knew, most involved tending spirit beasts, caring for spirit herbs, attending Pill furnaces, managing flames, and similar work.

If nothing else, the chance to learn even the rudiments of cultivation's hundred arts was something ordinary rogue cultivators sought in vain. If he showed a little talent and earned recognition, he might even stumble into great fortune and catch a grandmaster's eye.

With these thoughts, Jiang Yang strolled out of his tiled-roof dwelling. The sky remained gloomy. Standing on the stone steps at the mountain's foot, he looked up at the towering heights shrouded in mist, with terraces and pavilions faintly visible among the clouds. The fine rain had not stopped, washing over the entire peak, and every breath felt incomparably fresh.

Stretching, Jiang Yang formed a hand seal to cast the Lightness Technique on himself, then headed to the summit to collect his inner sect disciple's stipend and gear, and ask around for news while he was there.

After reaching the summit and entering a pavilion, Jiang Yang used his Spirit Sense to inscribe his identity token. Before long, he walked out carrying a palm-sized gray cloth bag. None of the familiar scenes of withheld supplies or deliberate obstruction occurred; he collected everything with ease.

Although full disciples were still at the bottom, most cultivators started there. They were also the foundation of a Sect, so the allocation of resources had always been a matter of paramount importance, and no one dared tamper with it.

Racing all the way back to his dwelling, Jiang Yang looked rather excited. Although he had already seen and learned about Storage Bags in the branch Courtyard, this one before him truly belonged to him.

Holding it, he sent out a thread of Magic Power to inspect it. The space inside was small, only a foot across. With a nudge of his Spirit Sense, he swept a Spirit Stone out of it. It was quite amusing.

Now that he was a full disciple, his annual stipend consisted of fifty low-grade Spirit Stones and one bottle of Essence-Nourishing Pills for cultivation during Qi Refining. Compared with the standard monthly allotment of one Spirit Stone and one Essence-Establishing Pill in the branch Courtyard, it was far more than a severalfold increase. Back then, however, he had only needed to cultivate in peace without concerning himself with worldly affairs; now he would have to make time to complete Sect assignments.

Next, Jiang Yang took off his novice's gray clothes and changed into the plain deep-blue brocade robe that marked a full disciple. He hung the Storage Bag on the left side of his waist, concealing it beneath the hem of his robe, and his Identity Token on the right. Enjoying the unfamiliar feeling, he took a couple of steps around the room before sitting down again.

This most basic kind of Storage Bag could not bind itself to an owner. Anyone who obtained it could wear it down with Magic Power and force it open to claim it, so he needed to keep it close to his body.

Last came the bottle of Essence-Nourishing Pills. Jiang Yang took it in hand. The jade bottle felt warm and smooth, and when he pulled out the stopper, a fresh medicinal fragrance wafted out. He poured the pills into his palm and counted them: exactly twelve, no more and no less.

In the branch Courtyard, Jiang Yang had only been encouraged to cultivate and had never been allowed contact with the actual items beyond that. Thus, while he recognized these pills, this was his first time actually holding them.

“These Essence-Nourishing Pills use Crimson Sun Grass, Nettlethorn Seed, and Heaven-Restoring Fragrant Leaf as medicinal ingredients. The sovereign and minister ingredients complement each other, refining and nourishing essence. They are precisely suited to Qi Refining Elixir.”

Jiang Yang turned the jade bottle in his hand, recalling the basic introduction to these Elixirs. It was all knowledge he had learned in the Lower Court; without it, he would not even have recognized the Elixirs when they reached his hands.

“Twelve in a bottle, so that averages out to one pill a month. Still a tight allowance...” Jiang Yang murmured to himself.

In the Lower Court, he had eagerly awaited that single monthly Essence-Establishing Pill. Now that he had passed beyond Fetal Breathing and become a full disciple, he found that things had not improved all that much.

Everyone knew the wonders of Elixirs, but not everyone could afford them. Only because Rain Xiang Mountain was a large and powerful sect, supporting enough alchemists, could even its lowest-ranking disciples receive Elixirs. In truth, they already had it better than cultivators in most small sects.

"I'll still need to find new sources of income and rein in expenses."

Jiang Yang had only a vague intention in mind; exactly how to go about it would have to wait until he saw more.

Clearing away his stray thoughts, Jiang Yang exhaled and turned to look at the tiled-roof dwelling he had lived in for several years. After returning with his identity token, he had been busy with one thing after another. Now that he had a moment free, he could move.

In just three short years, Jiang Yang had grown accustomed to living here. Suddenly faced with leaving, he ran a hand over the table, feeling rather reluctant to part with it.