Early the next morning, Message Birds were released, their cries ringing through Jincheng.
This was the custom for Quanzhen's mass recruitment. Each Message Bird would circle Jincheng three times before flying toward the cultivator to whom it would bring good news. There would be none of the mortal world's thronging crowds, clanging gongs, pounding drums, and rewards for bearers of glad tidings.
This was Xiuzhen, after all. The standards were much higher, and it had already left the mortal realm far behind. Nor did anyone hope to win the envy of their neighbors.
Some Message Birds descended straight into Jincheng, while others flew into the distance. Particularly many landed in the outer courtyard of the Jincheng Sword Manor-dozens of them, like a flock of sparrows descending to feed.
There were over sixty people in the outer courtyard, and more than fifty Message Birds... Hou Niao gave an inward, faintly mocking smile. They were certainly throwing the doors wide open. Why even test their sword gall? They might as well simply say they would turn no one away.
Had the situation in the Shan Kingdom deteriorated so far that they needed to recruit on this scale?
That was not his concern. A Message Bird descended toward his courtyard, a wondrous sight, but Hou Niao knew this came from a wisp of his aura taken when he first met Commandant Li. To minor cultivators like them, it was inconceivable, but to higher cultivators, it was perfectly commonplace.
He extended his palm. The Message Bird landed on it, then transformed into a dark, bird-shaped sword token... This was no actual bird, but a Xiuzhen puppet.
On the front of the sword token was a sword cleaving through wind and waves, with the two small, archaic seal-script characters for "Quanzhen" beneath it. On the back were his names: Hou Niao, Hou Tianquan.
He curled his lip. He also had a childhood nickname, Hou Xiaoshi. Why had they not engraved that too?
The outer courtyard began to bustle. Almost everyone had received one; everyone had passed... except for the few unlucky souls who had died during the previous expedition outside the city to exterminate demons.
So one's prospects were ordained by Heaven, but really depended on luck.
The cultivators emerged in twos and threes, heading straight for the Sword Manor to pay their respects to their examining master. In this, it somewhat resembled the mortal imperial examinations. It hardly amounted to "a teacher for a day, a father for life," but they would certainly bear the brand of the Jincheng Sword Manor. This was, in fact, one faction within the Shan Kingdom's Quanzhen Sect: the Jincheng Lineage.
Hou Niao trailed behind. It was like scholars entering a hall on a sacred pilgrimage: those with good results strutted at the front, while the thick-skinned mingled in the middle, passing themselves off as musicians who could not play. Only two sorts followed behind: those who truly lacked confidence, and those dogs that bit without barking...
Thus, their cultivation levels could actually be seen from the order of the procession. The few at the Bridge Linking Realm led, followed by those at the Grain Avoidance Realm, the Foundation Cultivation Realm, and the Qi Gathering Realm... More people kept joining the procession. These were other cultivators scattered throughout the city, who probably knew when the results would be announced and had come in advance.
Gradually, they gathered a hundred or so people-a very impressive number for a kingdom or a province.
Unexpectedly, the two women from the Dugu Household were also at the back, though they were there deliberately...
"Thank you for drawing your blade to help, Junior Brother Hou. The Dugu Household will remember this kindness..." Dugu Lan's beautiful eyes roved over the minor cultivator before her. She simply could not work out how a mere Qi Gathering cultivator had killed someone already in late Foundation Cultivation. The confusion had erupted too quickly, and everyone involved had kept their lips sealed...
Hou Niao kept his gaze straight ahead. "It had nothing to do with the Dugu Household. They came looking for trouble with me. He was just a drunken fool. There was no honor in defeating him, and killing him left me ashamed. Next time something like this happens, I'll make him a bowl of sobering soup."
Xiao Qiang spoke softly and sweetly. "Junior Brother, you're a remarkable hero, yet you keep a low profile and refuse to claim credit... Once we're fellow disciples, I hope we can visit each other often. My swordsmanship is poor, so I'll need plenty of guidance from you."
Hou Niao was deeply embarrassed. A Foundation Cultivation Realm cultivator asking a little Qi Gathering cultivator for guidance? It was nothing more than recruiting support for her household's influence.
"We can discuss things and improve together. Once we've entered the sect, we'll all be brothers and sisters. There are hidden dragons and crouching tigers among us. Surely I shouldn't bring out my paltry skills to make a spectacle of myself?"
This woman had the ability to bring calamity within his own walls. He had plenty of secrets himself and did not dare get involved.
Besides, she was merely trying to recruit him, not favoring him with her affections. Even if she truly were interested, he would not fall into that pit. If he liked flowers, there were plenty growing wild beside the road. If he really picked this one, would he not have to tend an entire garden?
He had heard that the Xiao Household in the neighboring province was an even larger Xiuzhen family than the Dugu Household.
The cultivators arrived at the Sword Manor in a grand procession. Well, they had actually just walked into a wealthy district without enclosing walls. Led by Quanzhen cultivators, they reached its center, where an enormous hall appeared before them. Tall and imposing, built entirely of stone, it looked like an enlarged version of the Sword Abode in Right River Town.
The Quanzhen Demonic Sect really did seem to favor this rustic stone style.
They filed inside. At the far end of the hall, three cultivators occupied elevated seats, with dozens of elders standing on either side. Even someone as poorly informed as Hou Niao knew that these three were Jincheng's chief officials. In the central seat was Governor-Marshal You Sunzhi; on the left was his examining master, Commandant Li Chuping; and the imposing man on the right was, of course, Palace General Gao Jianli.
The elders on either side were also Jincheng's higher cultivators at Profound Connection and above-the core strength of the Quanzhen Sect in Great Wind Plains Province. He did not know where such a force stood across the continent as a whole. But it seemed it might perhaps be a little stronger than the Anhe Kingdom?
The Anhe Kingdom's Daoist Sect had concealed itself too deeply. They remained behind the scenes, and with his status back then, he had not actually been qualified to learn about them.
Below the principal seats, dozens of Quanzhen disciples stood on either side in formations like outspread goose wings. Hou Niao could not distinguish their cultivation levels. In any case, they were at the Bridge Linking Realm or the Grain Avoidance Realm. Probably even Foundation Cultivation Realm cultivators had no right to stand here, much less those at Qi Gathering.
He did spot two familiar faces, Daoist Wang and Senior Brother Zheng. It seemed they held some standing in Jincheng?
They were still arranged by cultivation level, with Bridge Linking at the front and Qi Gathering bringing up the rear. This was an established convention. In the Xiuzhen world, cultivation level was the unassailable truth.
Daoist music was played, the totem raised, the sacred sword enshrined, the patriarchs invoked... The sect's rules were proclaimed, its doctrines clarified, its history recalled, its future envisioned... Although the Quanzhen Sect, as a Demonic Sect, had already simplified these matters considerably, there was still a heap of elaborate ceremony. Yet beside the Daoist Sect, it was a minor sorcerer in the presence of a great one. Apparently, the Daoist Sect's entrance ceremonies alone took three full days to complete.
There in the great hall, the cultivators bowed to Heaven, to the sword, and to the patriarchs. In due course, the rites concluded, and everyone was delighted.
With Jincheng throwing open its sect gates this time, a hundred or so new disciples had been admitted-a substantial harvest. How many of them would ultimately make their way through was another matter. But whether they did or not, at least the local government offices at every level would be greatly reinforced. That was a benefit they would see immediately.
There were also battles against demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters-dangers these people would have to face.
Having entered Quanzhen, they naturally received a welcoming gift: a Treasure Gourd each, with a universe within, capable of holding heaven and earth. Of course, theirs were the most basic Treasure Gourds, probably capable of holding a few daily necessities?
Most cultivators were familiar with these and already wore their own, but to Hou Niao, this was something new, a curious marvel.
His experience was still too limited.
...Small though the gourd, it held heaven and earth, accompanying him through clouds for myriad miles. Put away, it escaped the gaze of ghosts and gods; brought into use, it could share spring with all things.