Passing through the portal arch, Rand tried to show as much shock as he could muster.
"Not bad, huh? We covered a lot of kilometers in one step. Not every sect has something like this, as most can't afford it. And we have a portal arch near every important point. Very convenient," George proudly enlightened his new junior.
Who could have thought a few years ago that a prince of a mighty empire would have to marvel at such a trifle?
"Incredible, Senior. I thought only heroes in legends could do such things, but in the sect, anyone can use it, even someone like me."
"Don't belittle yourself. With your talent, you'll soon reach the rank of disciple and catch up with me. And if you try hard, you might even surpass me. And in the future, many more amazing discoveries await you, so be prepared."
"Senior, can I ask a question?" Rand continued his role-playing of a curious novice and, after a nod, asked:
"As I understand it, our sect has four ranks: novice, disciple, elder, and sect master, is that all? And what's the difference between a novice and a disciple?"
"Not quite, and the answer to your second question lies in the answer to the first. Our sect has ten ranks, awarded depending on the cultivator's stage and age. So, wait, no one has told you much about cultivation yet, right?" and after receiving an affirmative answer, he continued, "Then you probably won't fully understand. But I think you'll grasp the main essence of the hierarchy, and later your master will explain about Qi, cultivation, stages, and ranks."
"In our sect, everyone starts as a novice, which designates those who live in the outer sect. Their cultivation ranges from almost none, like yours now, to the peak of the Qi Condensation stage. Later, if a disciple surpasses the Qi Condensation stage and reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, they become a disciple. If a hypothetical disciple is very talented and manages to reach the Core Formation stage, then they become a senior disciple. They are also called the future pillars of the sect, and this rank is largely equivalent to the rank of elder. These three ranks are intended for people under fifty years old. If they are older, their ranks transform: a novice becomes a servant, a disciple becomes an adept, and a senior disciple, depending on their success in cultivation, becomes a deacon or an elder. Above the elders are the magisters, and above them are only the sect masters and the grand elder. The latter three are true cultivation titans who have reached the Nascent Soul stage, but let's not talk about them for now. There are also personal disciples of the elders, magisters, and so on, who are separate from this system but mostly adhere to the same rules as everyone else. That is, a novice can be a personal disciple of an elder, but their status doesn't change because of that, although relationships within the sect may differ because of it. There are also rumors about the Ancestor, who has reached unimaginable heights of cultivation, hiding in the depths of the volcano, but it's mostly a tale for novices like you," he concluded with a smile. Then, pondering over his story, he added:
"I seem explained it not very clearly and confused you a bit. Our system is indeed not really simple."
"No, senior, I now more or less understand the essence of the rank division. The stronger and younger you are, the better," Rand replied, already regretting a bit that he asked such a question in the first place. He should have asked a question with a shorter answer.
"Very well. That's indeed true. I would like to continue our conversation, but we have already arrived," said George, pointing to the building in front of them, on which three words were inscribed: Outer Sect Repository.
Entering it, Rand saw a vast, but practically empty hall with several tables, and only one person, who appeared to be in his twenties, was sitting behind one of them.
"Good evening, I have a newcomer here by the order of Elder Minos, please issue a novice's set."
"But isn't it too early for new disciples? Aren't they supposed to arrive only tomorrow?"
"This one," said George, pointing to me, "is a special case. He is a new disciple of Elder Byron, so let's skip unnecessary talk and your usual stealing tactics."
"We never steal anything, Senior," hastily rejected all possible accusations the novice. To which George only snorted in response. "But now I'll quickly bring everything in the best condition." After these words, he rushed out through the door behind him and returned in just a couple of minutes with a small but fully filled bag.
"Here is a set of two standard sect robes, ten small spiritual stones, encyclopedias about the sect's structure and the world, and a few other useful things for a young novice. And as a bonus, a spatial pouch. Although it's supposed to be issued a bit later, I think it's okay to give it to a disciple of an elder now. I think I haven't forgotten anything. Oh yes, your residence is number two hundred twenty-eight in the outer perimeter. Here's the key. Do you need directions?"
Rand took the bag and the small wooden stick, which served as a key, from the disciple, then looked at George, expecting him to answer this question himself, and he didn't disappoint.
"No need, others will show him the way." After that, he turned to Rand and said, "Your master is already on his way here, so my duties are coming to an end. See you later, junior, and I hope next time you'll be a full-fledged cultivator." After bidding farewell to Rand, he immediately began to leave, accelerating with each step and soon he disappeared from sight.
Following George, Rand headed for the exit of the Repository, carrying the light bag. And on the approaches to the Repository, his newly-made teacher was already walking towards him.
"How did it all go?" Byron inquired upon seeing Rand.
"Great, I never thought I'd see something like a portal arch, it's just so incredible," village boy Oberin couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about it, which unfortunately meant Rand couldn't either.
"Ah, how good it is to be young, miracles and revelations await you everywhere. But yes, when I was about your age, that also amazed me. To cover a vast distance in one second without needing any cultivation or technique..." The elder was momentarily lost in pleasant memories.
"And I also had a conversation with Senior George; he told me a bit about the sect's structure, and here a senior novice gave out a few things.," Rand continued his recounting of events, pulling the elder out of his stupor.
"Hmm, they didn't try to deceive you with the number of spiritual stones, and they even gave you a spatial pouch. That's good. Luckily, the lad who was with you knows his stuff. You can read the book; it should fill in some gaps in your knowledge. But most of the items in this bag are junk; when we get to my home, I'll give you something better. In fact, that's where we're headed now, and we can talk along the way. I love chatting while walking."
"Surely, you must have a lot of questions, and now that you're finally a member of the sect, I can answer them without any problems."
‘The questions I'd like to ask you, old man, you'd never answer,’ Rand thought, but the village boy in his position would indeed be full of enthusiasm and questions, so he had to keep up the charade.
"Teacher, what is cultivation and the practice of martial arts? I've heard a lot about them, but coming here, I've already realized that much of my knowledge is incomplete or even wrong."
"That's a good question because it touches on the very foundation of our world, and you would hear the answer to it in a couple of days at the first lesson for novices, but I don't think it would hurt to tell you about it now. To answer the question of what cultivation is, first, you need to understand what Qi is. In ancient times, it was called the energy of heaven and earth, permeating all things. It's in everything: from the grass under your feet to the air you breathe. Even in you right now, in your mortal body, there's a small amount of Qi. Some call it the energy of life, but that's not entirely accurate, although it does give life. Qi can also be found in completely lifeless things. Qi embodies the energy of the world itself. And it can take various forms: darkness, light, fire, air, life, and many others. And the most incredible thing is that it can transition from one form to another almost instantly. Are you keeping up with my thoughts?"
"Yes, Teacher, Qi is the energy surrounding us, giving life to everything, but it's just one of its many functions," Rand replied to the question.
"Well done, you've grasped the essence. Now we can move on to your question. The word 'cultivation' has many meanings, but the main one is only one that matters to us right now. Cultivation is the path of enriching the body with Qi energy. The Practitioner cultivates himself with Qi to gain strength, longevity, incredible abilities that mortal minds can't even conceive of, and this is far from the limit. In ancient times, cultivation was called the path to immortality. People cultivate using methods. You'll learn more about this in a couple of days at the general lesson; it's not that important for answering your question right now. As for martial arts, if cultivation is the method of enriching oneself with Qi energy, then martial arts are one of the primary ways of using it. For example, here's a martial art, the technique of the Fire Sword." From out of nowhere, Elder Byron appeared with a sword woven from "flames" in his hands. He waved it several times, and then it disappeared just as unexpectedly as it appeared, and the elder continued his story.
"That's a brief answer to your questions about cultivation and martial arts. Don't worry if you didn't understand something. You'll hear about it so much in the near future that you'll even get tired of it."
"Teacher, in my village, they said that everyone in our sect can turn into a dragon. Is that true?" Rand asked his second "mandatory" question.
"Haha, I honestly thought a question like that would be the first one from you. Usually, youngsters like you are only interested in that," he chuckled, then said:
"Not everyone, but yes, our sect specializes in transforming into dragon-like beings," he said, pausing and muttering a few words to himself and continued for Rand: "Ah, the girl chose the right time to fly around here,"
"Do you remember, before we flew on the boat, I told you that usually members of our sect fly differently? Well, about that, turn around and look up."
Following Elder Byron's words, Rand turned around and looked up, seeing a huge shadow looming over them at incredible speed. But upon closer inspection, Rand realized it was one of the sect's disciples, with large membranous wings unfurled behind her.
The disciple hovered above them for a few seconds, as if allowing Rand to observe her, then bowed briefly to Elder Byron before flying off on her own business.
"What you just saw is called partial body transformation. It's when we don't fully transform into our beast aspect but only take on some part of it. It's easier to achieve than full transformation but still requires significant progress in our main technique. And let me guess, your next question will be something like: 'What technique is this, how can it turn you into a dragon, and how soon can you become one of them,' am I right?"
Rand didn't want to hear any questions or answers about things he had known since he was a child, and he was quite tired. The day had been very difficult and eventful for his mortal body and mind, but he couldn't break character, so he responded as cheerfully as he could.
"Teacher, you're just reading my mind."
"Hehe, the main asset of our sect is not this volcano, not the mountains of spiritual stones, and not even the multitude of powerful treasures, but the cultivation method, which at the initial stages allows us to purify and perfect our blood and then merge our blood with another, more powerful one. As you'll soon learn, almost all the power of spiritual beasts is contained in their blood, and with this technique, we take it for ourselves. Our transformation path is largely based on it, and its name is the Mythical Blood Cultivation method. Also..."
At that moment, Rand's mind was swirling, but not with the thoughts that should have been in the mind of a young novice according to Elder Byron's plan: "This old man keeps blabbering on and on, he just can't stop. He could have at least answered briefly, like most teachers do, to make the students ask clarifying questions. He's been talking about something that could be explained in ten minutes for over an hour." And amidst these tired thoughts, Rand had a brilliant idea of how to end this torment, and he immediately decided to put this newly hatched plan into action.
Suddenly, the young man stumbled on level ground and hit his head on the rocky floor, and Elder Byron, so engrossed in his monologue, even with his superhuman reaction, momentarily froze, thus delaying his response to his student's distress.
Jumping instantly to his side and scanning him with his spiritual senses, he sighed in relief, not noticing any serious injuries. From somewhere, he produced a faintly glowing pill, handed it to Rand, and said:
"Oberin, you have a few scratches. Here, take this pill, and the pain will quickly subside, and the wounds will heal. You seems to be very tired, that's why you stumbled. Looking at your body, I'm even surprised you're still standing; you have a strong will. Sometimes I forget how quickly mortal bodies tire. And you've been standing under the blazing sun all day without sitting once. By doing that, you even earned the respect of the disciples, and if you had gone to the second stage of the trial, you would have received a small bonus. And then you've been through so much..." Rand was already afraid that this old man would start his endless tale again, but the next words pleased him:
"Enough walking for today. Get in the boat; we'll fly to my house now, and first of all, I'll let you rest and sleep."
Passing through the portal arch, Rand tried to show as much shock as he could muster.
"Not bad, huh? We covered a lot of kilometers in one step. Not every sect has something like this, as most can't afford it. And we have a portal arch near every important point. Very convenient," George proudly enlightened his new junior.
Who could have thought a few years ago that a prince of a mighty empire would have to marvel at such a trifle?
"Incredible, Senior. I thought only heroes in legends could do such things, but in the sect, anyone can use it, even someone like me."
"Don't belittle yourself. With your talent, you'll soon reach the rank of disciple and catch up with me. And if you try hard, you might even surpass me. And in the future, many more amazing discoveries await you, so be prepared."
"Senior, can I ask a question?" Rand continued his role-playing of a curious novice and, after a nod, asked:
"As I understand it, our sect has four ranks: novice, disciple, elder, and sect master, is that all? And what's the difference between a novice and a disciple?"
"Not quite, and the answer to your second question lies in the answer to the first. Our sect has ten ranks, awarded depending on the cultivator's stage and age. So, wait, no one has told you much about cultivation yet, right?" and after receiving an affirmative answer, he continued, "Then you probably won't fully understand. But I think you'll grasp the main essence of the hierarchy, and later your master will explain about Qi, cultivation, stages, and ranks."
"In our sect, everyone starts as a novice, which designates those who live in the outer sect. Their cultivation ranges from almost none, like yours now, to the peak of the Qi Condensation stage. Later, if a disciple surpasses the Qi Condensation stage and reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, they become a disciple. If a hypothetical disciple is very talented and manages to reach the Core Formation stage, then they become a senior disciple. They are also called the future pillars of the sect, and this rank is largely equivalent to the rank of elder. These three ranks are intended for people under fifty years old. If they are older, their ranks transform: a novice becomes a servant, a disciple becomes an adept, and a senior disciple, depending on their success in cultivation, becomes a deacon or an elder. Above the elders are the magisters, and above them are only the sect masters and the grand elder. The latter three are true cultivation titans who have reached the Nascent Soul stage, but let's not talk about them for now. There are also personal disciples of the elders, magisters, and so on, who are separate from this system but mostly adhere to the same rules as everyone else. That is, a novice can be a personal disciple of an elder, but their status doesn't change because of that, although relationships within the sect may differ because of it. There are also rumors about the Ancestor, who has reached unimaginable heights of cultivation, hiding in the depths of the volcano, but it's mostly a tale for novices like you," he concluded with a smile. Then, pondering over his story, he added:
"I seem explained it not very clearly and confused you a bit. Our system is indeed not really simple."
"No, senior, I now more or less understand the essence of the rank division. The stronger and younger you are, the better," Rand replied, already regretting a bit that he asked such a question in the first place. He should have asked a question with a shorter answer.
"Very well. That's indeed true. I would like to continue our conversation, but we have already arrived," said George, pointing to the building in front of them, on which three words were inscribed: Outer Sect Repository.
Entering it, Rand saw a vast, but practically empty hall with several tables, and only one person, who appeared to be in his twenties, was sitting behind one of them.
"Good evening, I have a newcomer here by the order of Elder Minos, please issue a novice's set."
"But isn't it too early for new disciples? Aren't they supposed to arrive only tomorrow?"
"This one," said George, pointing to me, "is a special case. He is a new disciple of Elder Byron, so let's skip unnecessary talk and your usual stealing tactics."
"We never steal anything, Senior," hastily rejected all possible accusations the novice. To which George only snorted in response. "But now I'll quickly bring everything in the best condition." After these words, he rushed out through the door behind him and returned in just a couple of minutes with a small but fully filled bag.
"Here is a set of two standard sect robes, ten small spiritual stones, encyclopedias about the sect's structure and the world, and a few other useful things for a young novice. And as a bonus, a spatial pouch. Although it's supposed to be issued a bit later, I think it's okay to give it to a disciple of an elder now. I think I haven't forgotten anything. Oh yes, your residence is number two hundred twenty-eight in the outer perimeter. Here's the key. Do you need directions?"
Rand took the bag and the small wooden stick, which served as a key, from the disciple, then looked at George, expecting him to answer this question himself, and he didn't disappoint.
"No need, others will show him the way." After that, he turned to Rand and said, "Your master is already on his way here, so my duties are coming to an end. See you later, junior, and I hope next time you'll be a full-fledged cultivator." After bidding farewell to Rand, he immediately began to leave, accelerating with each step and soon he disappeared from sight.
Following George, Rand headed for the exit of the Repository, carrying the light bag. And on the approaches to the Repository, his newly-made teacher was already walking towards him.
"How did it all go?" Byron inquired upon seeing Rand.
"Great, I never thought I'd see something like a portal arch, it's just so incredible," village boy Oberin couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about it, which unfortunately meant Rand couldn't either.
"Ah, how good it is to be young, miracles and revelations await you everywhere. But yes, when I was about your age, that also amazed me. To cover a vast distance in one second without needing any cultivation or technique..." The elder was momentarily lost in pleasant memories.
"And I also had a conversation with Senior George; he told me a bit about the sect's structure, and here a senior novice gave out a few things.," Rand continued his recounting of events, pulling the elder out of his stupor.
"Hmm, they didn't try to deceive you with the number of spiritual stones, and they even gave you a spatial pouch. That's good. Luckily, the lad who was with you knows his stuff. You can read the book; it should fill in some gaps in your knowledge. But most of the items in this bag are junk; when we get to my home, I'll give you something better. In fact, that's where we're headed now, and we can talk along the way. I love chatting while walking."
"Surely, you must have a lot of questions, and now that you're finally a member of the sect, I can answer them without any problems."
‘The questions I'd like to ask you, old man, you'd never answer,’ Rand thought, but the village boy in his position would indeed be full of enthusiasm and questions, so he had to keep up the charade.
"Teacher, what is cultivation and the practice of martial arts? I've heard a lot about them, but coming here, I've already realized that much of my knowledge is incomplete or even wrong."
"That's a good question because it touches on the very foundation of our world, and you would hear the answer to it in a couple of days at the first lesson for novices, but I don't think it would hurt to tell you about it now. To answer the question of what cultivation is, first, you need to understand what Qi is. In ancient times, it was called the energy of heaven and earth, permeating all things. It's in everything: from the grass under your feet to the air you breathe. Even in you right now, in your mortal body, there's a small amount of Qi. Some call it the energy of life, but that's not entirely accurate, although it does give life. Qi can also be found in completely lifeless things. Qi embodies the energy of the world itself. And it can take various forms: darkness, light, fire, air, life, and many others. And the most incredible thing is that it can transition from one form to another almost instantly. Are you keeping up with my thoughts?"
"Yes, Teacher, Qi is the energy surrounding us, giving life to everything, but it's just one of its many functions," Rand replied to the question.
"Well done, you've grasped the essence. Now we can move on to your question. The word 'cultivation' has many meanings, but the main one is only one that matters to us right now. Cultivation is the path of enriching the body with Qi energy. The Practitioner cultivates himself with Qi to gain strength, longevity, incredible abilities that mortal minds can't even conceive of, and this is far from the limit. In ancient times, cultivation was called the path to immortality. People cultivate using methods. You'll learn more about this in a couple of days at the general lesson; it's not that important for answering your question right now. As for martial arts, if cultivation is the method of enriching oneself with Qi energy, then martial arts are one of the primary ways of using it. For example, here's a martial art, the technique of the Fire Sword." From out of nowhere, Elder Byron appeared with a sword woven from "flames" in his hands. He waved it several times, and then it disappeared just as unexpectedly as it appeared, and the elder continued his story.
"That's a brief answer to your questions about cultivation and martial arts. Don't worry if you didn't understand something. You'll hear about it so much in the near future that you'll even get tired of it."
"Teacher, in my village, they said that everyone in our sect can turn into a dragon. Is that true?" Rand asked his second "mandatory" question.
"Haha, I honestly thought a question like that would be the first one from you. Usually, youngsters like you are only interested in that," he chuckled, then said:
"Not everyone, but yes, our sect specializes in transforming into dragon-like beings," he said, pausing and muttering a few words to himself and continued for Rand: "Ah, the girl chose the right time to fly around here,"
"Do you remember, before we flew on the boat, I told you that usually members of our sect fly differently? Well, about that, turn around and look up."
Following Elder Byron's words, Rand turned around and looked up, seeing a huge shadow looming over them at incredible speed. But upon closer inspection, Rand realized it was one of the sect's disciples, with large membranous wings unfurled behind her.
The disciple hovered above them for a few seconds, as if allowing Rand to observe her, then bowed briefly to Elder Byron before flying off on her own business.
"What you just saw is called partial body transformation. It's when we don't fully transform into our beast aspect but only take on some part of it. It's easier to achieve than full transformation but still requires significant progress in our main technique. And let me guess, your next question will be something like: 'What technique is this, how can it turn you into a dragon, and how soon can you become one of them,' am I right?"
Rand didn't want to hear any questions or answers about things he had known since he was a child, and he was quite tired. The day had been very difficult and eventful for his mortal body and mind, but he couldn't break character, so he responded as cheerfully as he could.
"Teacher, you're just reading my mind."
"Hehe, the main asset of our sect is not this volcano, not the mountains of spiritual stones, and not even the multitude of powerful treasures, but the cultivation method, which at the initial stages allows us to purify and perfect our blood and then merge our blood with another, more powerful one. As you'll soon learn, almost all the power of spiritual beasts is contained in their blood, and with this technique, we take it for ourselves. Our transformation path is largely based on it, and its name is the Mythical Blood Cultivation method. Also..."
At that moment, Rand's mind was swirling, but not with the thoughts that should have been in the mind of a young novice according to Elder Byron's plan: "This old man keeps blabbering on and on, he just can't stop. He could have at least answered briefly, like most teachers do, to make the students ask clarifying questions. He's been talking about something that could be explained in ten minutes for over an hour." And amidst these tired thoughts, Rand had a brilliant idea of how to end this torment, and he immediately decided to put this newly hatched plan into action.
Suddenly, the young man stumbled on level ground and hit his head on the rocky floor, and Elder Byron, so engrossed in his monologue, even with his superhuman reaction, momentarily froze, thus delaying his response to his student's distress.
Jumping instantly to his side and scanning him with his spiritual senses, he sighed in relief, not noticing any serious injuries. From somewhere, he produced a faintly glowing pill, handed it to Rand, and said:
"Oberin, you have a few scratches. Here, take this pill, and the pain will quickly subside, and the wounds will heal. You seems to be very tired, that's why you stumbled. Looking at your body, I'm even surprised you're still standing; you have a strong will. Sometimes I forget how quickly mortal bodies tire. And you've been standing under the blazing sun all day without sitting once. By doing that, you even earned the respect of the disciples, and if you had gone to the second stage of the trial, you would have received a small bonus. And then you've been through so much..." Rand was already afraid that this old man would start his endless tale again, but the next words pleased him:
"Enough walking for today. Get in the boat; we'll fly to my house now, and first of all, I'll let you rest and sleep."
