Are righteous sects this dangerous?

Chapter 6: Good Heavens... Are Prestigious Sects This Dangerous?

"Senior Brother, you know me, I..."

"Alright, alright, Senior Brother won't urge you to improve anymore." Lu Bogui smiled and shook his head.

Seeing Lu Bogui's disappointed expression, Jiang Beiran also felt helpless. In truth, it wasn't that he didn't want to improve, but the system's options prevented him from doing so.

When he first arrived at the Returning Heart Sect, Jiang Beiran had passed the talent test and become an Outer Disciple, gaining the qualifications to learn the Returning Heart Skill and One Word Swordplay.

According to the rules of the Returning Heart Sect, as long as an Outer Disciple mastered the Returning Heart Skill and learned the first stance of One Word Swordplay, they would pass the first trial, become a Formal Disciple, and gain the qualification for Apprenticeship.

What is Apprenticeship? This requires first discussing the Twenty-Four Halls established by the Returning Heart Sect. Each of these Twenty-Four Halls has its unique characteristics, encompassing everything from chess, Go, calligraphy, and painting to sabers, spears, clubs, and staffs. Outer Disciples could choose based on their strengths or preferences.

When Jiang Beiran first heard of this, he was somewhat surprised. He wondered if all sects in this world educated their disciples according to their aptitude, or if the Sect Master of the Returning Heart Sect had particularly forward-thinking ideas and understood the importance of diverse talents within the sect.

Once an Outer Disciple passes the first trial and gains the qualification for Apprenticeship, they can choose a Hall they like from the Twenty-Four Halls to become a disciple of. As long as the Apprenticeship is successful, they can learn more advanced cultivation methods and martial arts within that Hall. If their talent is high enough, they might even be taken in as an Inner Disciple by a Blue Banner or Black Banner member of the Hall, or even the Hall Master, enjoying absolute one-on-one elite education.

The Returning Heart Skill and One Word Swordplay were both the most basic introductory techniques, so naturally, there was no one-on-one elite teaching from a Master. Hundreds of Outer Disciples would sit in the Lecture Hall, and their lecturer wasn't some seasoned master, but a seemingly very young Senior Brother.

During class, Jiang Beiran noticed that in addition to their batch of "Newcomers," there were also some "Veteran Students" who seemed to have been there for a long time, also attending the lecture.

The course consisted of four sessions per week, and after two weeks, it was all over. Before leaving, the Senior Brother told Jiang Beiran and the others that the rest depended on their own practice and comprehension.

When it came to self-practice, Jiang Beiran discovered that his talent was exceptionally high. Among hundreds of Outer Disciples, he was the first to master the Returning Heart Skill. However, just as he was about to find Qing Gang, who was in charge of managing them, to report, three options suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Option 1: Immediately tell Qing Gang that you have mastered the Returning Heart Skill. Completion Reward: Calm Meditation Overlord Claw (Mystic Middle Grade)]

[Option 2: Silently continue practicing. Completion Reward: Black Dragon Iron Spine Arrow * 20 (Yellow Low Grade)]

[Option 3: Do nothing. Completion Reward: Random Basic Attribute Point + 1]

'Good heavens... Is it this dangerous?'

Seeing that the first option directly offered a Mystic Middle Grade reward, Jiang Beiran was a bit stunned. After all, such a reward could practically be equated with a death sentence.

'Could it be that the nail that sticks out gets hammered?'

Because he had a very good impression of Lu Bogui, and considering how Lu Bogui often spoke of how good the Returning Heart Sect was on their way there, Jiang Beiran had always imagined the Returning Heart Sect to be a righteous and prestigious sect from top to bottom.

But now it seemed that merely revealing some outstanding talent could lead to a fatal danger.

However, Jiang Beiran thought about it and felt it made sense. Even in the 21st century, with a mature judicial system, cameras everywhere, and powerful tools like facial recognition, people still dared to commit murder. How much more so on the Fantasy Continent, where fingerprint technology hadn't even developed yet.

If someone truly wanted to kill you, poisoning your food, giving you a push from behind on a mountain path, or even stabbing you directly while you're using the latrine in the dark – these were all ways to ensure no proof of death. It was estimated that catching two or three culprits out of 100 such cases would be considered the work of a Peerless Detective.

However, while Jiang Beiran could understand the danger of the first option, the second option, where silently practicing would also bring disaster, left him somewhat bewildered. But it didn't matter, because he had already chosen option three.

Jiang Beiran obediently became a salted fish. Most disciples in the same dormitory area woke up at Mao Hour to practice, but he would wake up an hour or two later.

When others finished practicing their swordplay and were about to meditate, he would follow along and pretend to do so for a while.

Over time, he became considered trash by most Outer Disciples. Sometimes, Jiang Beiran could even hear them deliberately mocking him while he was eating.

"I don't know how someone like this passed the talent test."

"Exactly. He sleeps until Si Hour every day. Even my pig doesn't sleep that much."

"Forget it, let's not talk about others like this. It's not their fault if their talent is poor."

Facing such mockery, Jiang Beiran felt no ripple in his heart, even wanting to laugh.

This is just a trash-tier start, isn't it? Stable!

This kind of "studying" continued for two weeks. Finally, a handsome male disciple named Wei Chang took the lead and told Qing Gang that he had successfully practiced the Returning Heart Skill and the first stance of One Word Swordplay.

Under the envious gazes of everyone, Wei Chang waved goodbye to his fellow disciples of one month and prepared to undergo his Apprenticeship.

Another two weeks passed. Most of the Outer Disciples from the same batch had almost passed the test. Only thirteen disciples, including Jiang Beiran, remained in the Lecture Hall, having not yet passed.

One early morning, without any prior notice, Jiang Beiran found a batch of new Outer Disciples arriving at the Lecture Hall.

This batch of new students is quite good...

In just over a month, another hundred Outer Disciples had been recruited. This gave Jiang Beiran a more concrete understanding of the Returning Heart Sect's scale.

However, the other Outer Disciples from his batch did not have the leisure to think about this. Their expressions turned ugly when they saw the newly arrived Outer Disciples, because they knew that at this moment, they had become the "repeat students" they used to mock.

Afterward, Jiang Beiran didn't "repeat" for too long. By the end of the first month after the new batch of Outer Disciples arrived, and with only a few of his peers who had "repeated" with him remaining, two options appeared before him.

[Option 1: Continue to stay in the Lecture Hall. Completion Reward: Azure Sky Palm (Profound Grade Low Rank)]

[Option 2: Pass the test. Completion Reward: Random Basic Attribute Point +1]

It was rare to have only two options. Jiang Beiran didn't bother thinking about why Option 1 had such a good reward and directly chose Option 2.

He found Qing Gang in the hut outside the Lecture Hall and told him that he had practiced the Returning Heart Skill and the first stance of One Word Swordplay.

Without much reaction, Qing Gang nodded at Jiang Beiran, had him demonstrate the first stance of One Word Swordplay, and then placed his palm on Jiang Beiran's chest, instructing him to circulate the Returning Heart Skill.

The moment he circulated the Returning Heart Skill, Jiang Beiran suddenly thought that if he had chosen to continue practicing in secret, Qing Gang would definitely have discovered his Conceal Strength now, and he didn't know what subsequent events would have unfolded.

Feeling Jiang Beiran struggle through circulating the Returning Heart Skill once, Qing Gang nodded and said to Jiang Beiran, "Good, you've passed the test. You are now a Formal Disciple of our Returning Heart Sect. You can proceed with your Apprenticeship."