Shu Xing entered the hall, and Bai Linghu was called a few minutes later. Shi Lang thought briefly and asked, "Elder, can you tell me a little about the forces? I have no idea what it is like here."
Elder Ji smiled and said, "The Spirit Heart Sect is one of the strongest forces in the eastern barrens. There are two other sects, and they are called the Eastern Triage. They are called Dragon Sword Sect. They only admit sword cultivators and have the least number of disciples. Another is Snow Maiden Peak. They are the only women cultivator sect, and they live in the coldest frozen region in the eastern barren."
Shi Lang smiled and scratched the back of his head while saying, "I seem to be living under a rock. I have no idea about the things in this world."
Elder Ji nodded and asked, "What have you been doing all these years, Xiao Lang?"
Shi Lang replied, "My cultivation talent was ordinary, so I practiced sword. Then I used my sword energy to change my body slowly, and that was when I developed the lightning attribute."
Elder Ji was shocked, and she could not believe that someone could go to these levels to exceed in cultivation. The nature of sword energy was too destructive and gave the normal cultivators dread. Yet someone could refine their body and stay sane after the process. That was impressive.
Suddenly, a dull gong sounded from the hall, and Elder Ji said, "Xiao Lang, follow me."
Shi Lang nodded and followed her inside the room. He did not look around like a hilly billy, but his sense of things gave him a three-dimensional map of everything around him. The young man did not fluctuate much and stood behind Elder Ji as they came before eight old men and women.
Elder Ji said, "Xiao Lang, introduce yourself."
Shi Lang bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Disciple Shi Lang greets the elders."
The people nodded with faint smiles on their lips. An old man with a robust physique said, "Young man, I heard you shocked Xiao Ji with your skills. Show us some things too."
Shi Lang smiled, facing the old man, and said, "It will be my pleasure, Elder."
That said, Shi Lang channeled his spiritual energy, which soon materialized into lightning sparks on his body. The old people were surprised, and a middle-aged man said, "The aura is very tamed."
Shi Lang smiled and grunted; the sparks enlarged, and the destructive aura was unleashed. The elders nodded, and Shi Lang retracted his energy. The next moment a sharp tingling sound echoed in the surroundings. A middle-aged woman stood up from one of the chairs and said, "Sword Intent."
This shocked the other people, and they all gazed at Shi Lang. A calm voice sounded, "You seem to have more than enough skills to be a core disciple."
Shi Lang bowed and said, "Thank you for your praise, Elder."
The man smiled and said, "I am the Sect Leader, Ling Ye. These are my fellow senior brothers and sisters. They all pursue a specific branch of martial arts, and none of the people would claim to be the first if they admit to being the second."
Shi Lang nodded, and Ling Ye said, "I have a feeling that you are still holding back a lot of things, but it is good to act cautiously and always keep a surprising element up your sleeves."
The young man nodded, and the middle-aged woman said, "Unlike earlier, Xiao Lang already has a specialization. His spiritual attribute is lightning, and his sword intent has reached small success. So, none of you qualify to be his master. Even though I am not qualified to be his master, I was thirty when I realized sword intent, and this child has already mastered it in his twenties."
The people were all sighing at his talent, and Shi Lang sighed and said, "Elders, may I say something?"
Ling Ye nodded, and Shi Lang said, "I hope you all can keep it a secret. I am an ascender."
The court was silenced, but all the Immortal King-level figures were these people. They regained their composures and asked for the details. Shi Lang narrated the story and also told them about Tian Long. The people were surprised, but then Ling Ye said, "Well, Senior Tian Long did say that you would be coming over, but he did not say you would be this awesome."
Shi Lang bowed in modesty. Ling Ye said, "Although you come with the recommendation of Senior Tian Long, you will be treated like any other sect disciple. Do you agree?"
Shi Lang nodded and said, "I agree, Sect Master."
Ling Ye said, "Junior Sister Mei Lingyao will take you to the sword peak. You will be told of other arrangements later. Your status will be of a core disciple."
Shi Lang was surprised and said, "Sect Master, if possible, I would like you to hold back the status of the core disciple for now."
Ling Ye asked with a confused reaction, "Why so?"
The terran replied, "The present core disciples have been working hard and have all earned their positions with effort. It might not look well if I am served everything on a platter. I do not mind working from the bottom."
Ling Ye and the rest were surprised, but then an old voice echoed in the hall, "Xiao Yao, take him to the sword peak, give him the status of an outer disciple. If he can qualify in the inter-sect tournament within one year, he will be promoted to the core disciples. Then he can go out of the sect. Otherwise, he must stay in the sect for ten years."
Shi Lang was surprised, but then he nodded. Mei Lingyao nodded and replied, "As you command, Uncle Master."
Shi Lang did not sense anyone probing him, but he was sure this old voice belonged to someone in the Immortal Sovereign realm. Mei Lingyao said, "Come along, Xiao Lang."
The terran nodded, and then after greeting the elders, he left the hall. Ling Ye smiled and said, "The sect is about to liven up. Make sure that you keep this news sealed."
The elders nodded, then dispersed to deal with their daily matters.
...
Shi Lang and Mei Lingyao came out of the Elder Hall, and the guard disciples greeted the lady. The lady nodded subtly and said, "Xiao Lang, three months later, the sect will hold the promotion contest for all the outer disciples. You have to be ready by then. If you need anything, tell me."
Shi Lang smiled and replied, "Elder, a place to cultivate peacefully will do."
Elder Mei nodded and said, "You are selected directly by me, so the minimum you can do to address me is, Teacher."
Shi Lang did not hesitate and said, "Teacher."
The lady nodded and took out a spirit sword from her space ring, and she said, "Do you have a spirit sword?"
Shi Lang took a low-grade spirit sword and jumped on it to fly away with the lady. Elder Mei said, "The Spirit Heart Sect has nine peaks in total. They are the sword peak, the spear peak, the forging peak, the discipline hall, the pill refinement hall, the body tempering peak, the peak of the liberal art, the arena, and the holy peak, where the sect master resides."
Shi Lang nodded, and Elder Mei continued, "Other than this, the valley has many more places to train. You can explore them on your own. I will arrange for you to live in a courtyard in my palace."
The terran nodded and said, "Thank you, Teacher."
Soon they arrived at the sword peak. The lush green mountain was brimming with spirit energy. Shi Lang could not help but suck in a deep breath and followed the lady to the palace at the top of the peak. Elder Mei said, "This place has a spirit gathering array engraved at the bottom of the mountain. The aura is stronger here, and you can cultivate it easily. Elder Ji will register your status, and she will bring you the tag and uniform later on. However, if someone questions you, take this spirit, jade."
She handed him a piece of jade with a sword engraved. Shi Lang thanked her before Mei Lingyao showed him to a courtyard next to hers. She said, "Here you can train in peace. This courtyard belonged to my disciple, who died fighting a demon a few years ago. I hope you do not mind that."
Shi Lang bowed to her and said, "I am grateful for everything, teacher."
Elder Mei said, "Go in. I will send a maid over in a bit."
Shi Lang nodded and entered the courtyard. The terran used his spirit energy to clean up the dust and his sword energy to unroot the weeds. He cleaned up the house in a few minutes and found the place was picturesque. Just at this moment, someone entered the house, and Shi Lang reacted quickly and yelled, "WHO?"
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