Chương 52: A Righteous Sect, Righteous Disciples

Leaving the Outer Hall, An headed toward the stairs leading down to the base of the peak. Descending all the way down, he made his way toward the northern part of the Sect, bypassing the Trading City entirely. Arriving at these northern gates, An noticed that all the shops and workshops were closed. The place itself looked more respectable than the eastern gates, where he had bought the barrel of alcohol from the old hag a year ago.

There was no one on the street around, except small groups of outer and inner disciples walking through the gates, outside of which a massive crowd of disciples could be seen standing right in the middle of the trade road leading into the Beast Lands. Not falling behind the disciples, but keeping slightly behind everyone, he passed through the gates and came out to a huge, buzzing crowd. Most of those present were dressed in blue robes, inner disciples. Only about one in eight was dressed in grey, outer disciples.

Glancing at the faces of the outer disciples, he didn't recognize a single one. As he approached the crowd, he noticed more and more inner disciples kept glancing in his direction and examining him with interest.' What kind of nonsense is this? Why was I called here?' Walking and cursing silently, only moving his lips, An lowered his head as much as possible and moved to the side closer to the trees, away from the crowd itself, where there were far fewer disciples around.

Most of them were loners just like him, people who didn't fit into the general crowd. Sitting down by a tree, he began watching the people around, trying to understand what was happening here. Examining the disciples, specifically their Qi flows, he felt someone approaching from the side, outside his field of vision. Turning, he saw two girls in grey robes, looking nervous, constantly glancing around. As soon as they approached him, "Hello! My sister and I noticed you're alone and also an outer disciple, like us."

The taller one, with a slender figure and firm contours, large blue eyes and a gentle, soothing smile, leaned forward slightly, closer to An, since he was sitting on the ground.

"My sister is trying to say that something serious is clearly happening here, and we outer disciples should stick together! As strange as that might sound." The shorter girl standing next to her, reaching only up to her sister's chest, examined An with her expressive red eyes, constantly adjusting her black braids that kept falling onto her chubby cheeks. Pushing her flat chest forward, she also leaned forward like her sister, smirking without taking her eyes off him.

Silently, looking at the two sisters, An took a deep breath, "I'd love to join your team. But I don't think I'd be a good teammate, and in the end, I'd probably only be a burden to you." Turning his head to the side, he pointed his finger at the brand on his neck. The tall girl was about to object and continue persuading him, when she saw his brand." Oh-oh! My plaque just vibrated! Clearly something important!" She quickly turned around and, grabbing her shorter sister by the hand, began to walk away quickly."

Hmph! What a waste of time!" At the same time, the loli snorted and shook her fist in An's direction, and without resisting, quickly left with her sister. An didn't even pay attention to it. A thought had suddenly arisen in his head, ' By the way, during the ambush, when the entire surface of my body received second and third-degree burns, and when the talismans tore my flesh and ripped out whole chunks… I never thought about it, and never even noticed, but the brand always comes back in the same place…

I remember from the fragmented memories, the tool used to make the brand was an ordinary metal rod with an emblem on the end, without any energy, just fire and nothing more… Then why does the brand return during the regeneration process?'' When I'm done with this strange event… I'll see if anything can be done about the brand.' He raised his head upward and looked at the sky, where, a moment later, a cultivator appeared.

Out of nowhere, without a sound, a woman appeared, looking no older than thirty-five, with grey eyes and hair, in white robes with red accents. Hovering in the air, she looked down at all the disciples beneath her with a smile. BOOM! A sharp clap of displaced air, which stirred everyone around and made them raise their heads.

"Greetings, disciples! As many of you know, I am the Head of Dragon's Breath Peak, Li Deng!" Having introduced herself, the smile on Li Deng's face grew even wider and kinder. An immediately recognized her. This Li Deng was the one who had greeted him and the other new disciples before the Sect, right in front of the gates that determined spiritual roots. The disciples beneath her all began to gasp in surprise.

Most around, especially the outer disciples, didn't understand exactly what was happening and why the Head of Dragon's Breath Peak had suddenly appeared before them. Seeing their reaction, Li Deng nodded and waved her hand in front of herself. Immediately, a projection of a huge map appeared before her, divided into a vast number of sectors. All eyes immediately focused on the projection, studying it carefully.' This is a map of the outer ring of the Beast Lands? And it's divided into 304 sectors...

Don't tell me these are group missions and they're splitting us into 304 groups...' Sitting under the tree, An frowned and grabbed his head, realizing that a monumental waste of time lay ahead for him.

"As many of you have guessed, this is a map of the outer region of the Beast Lands! Perhaps many of you have heard that in these lands, not only the beasts that developed a taste for human flesh have multiplied, but also savage bands of bandits, raiding trade routes and slaughtering innocent mortals!" With a smirk, Li Deng changed the projection image, showing broken carts and half-eaten human bodies, as well as ruthless groups of outlaws keeping people in fear and robbing ordinary people.

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"How dare they!"

"Who gave them the right to touch mortals!"

"Those damn bandits!" The outer and inner disciples, seeing these images, began to cry out. Here and there, noble and righteous shouts could be heard. The disciples' blood was boiling, making them ready to spill for the sake of a righteous cause.

Sitting under the tree with an empty gaze, without any emotion on his face, An slowly watched and listened to the disciples around him, involuntarily replaying the situation when the bandits had cut down a child in front of the Hall of Justice officers and other sect disciples. Watching the burning eyes and puffed-out chests around him, he only smirked and lowered his head onto his hands, covering his eyes, trying to distance himself from all of this.

"After consulting with the Peak Heads, we unanimously decided to deal with this once and for all! But Sect Leader Gu Bai proposed turning this into a training exercise for the future generation of our Sect. For you! For you, who will lead and guide the future generations! For you, who, with your righteous example, will show the true path! The Righteous Path!" Spreading her arms to the sides, the sectors on the map became more distinct.

"We chose you specifically for this honor! The honor of ridding our Sect of threats! Ridding mortals of suffering! Showing our name! The Heavenly Soul Sect! A name that makes injustice and immorality tremble in fear!" Looking down, her voice grew louder and brighter, each word like hypnosis descending upon the crowd. The disciples, hearing her speech, began to get more and more worked up, barely holding themselves in place. Their eyes began to burn as they instinctively reached for their weapons.

"Each of you will be assigned to a group of ten people! You will receive your group number on your plaque! Once you receive your number, proceed to the altar that will teleport you to your sector! And remember! Your lives are most important to the Sect above all! Don't do anything stupid, and be careful!" She suddenly paused, looking around at everyone with a warm smile." Oh! I almost forgot... The ten groups that bring the most benefit and glory to our sect will be generously rewarded!"

As soon as the disciples heard about the reward, their faces changed from righteousness to greed. With eyes burning with the desire to obtain this reward, they looked toward where teleportation altars were beginning to appear out of nowhere. Woosh! Woosh! Woosh! One by one, the runes on the platforms began to glow, and the altars began to hum and vibrate. Woosh! BOOM!

While some looked around and tried to understand exactly what to do, some disciples were already running onto the platforms and teleporting away immediately. Sitting by the tree, An took out his plaque and read the information from it, seeing that he had been assigned to group 214. He stood up and slowly walked toward the altar with the others. After some time, the queue reached him. Stepping onto the altar, he closed his eyes. Woosh! BOOM! After the flash passed, An opened his eyes.

Before him stood nine people, two of whom he knew very well.' Is this for real right now?' Almost rolling his eyes, he walked closer to the group." Oh! I remember you. You're that rising star who recently started thinking you're the center of the universe... What was your name again... Right! Mo Fan!" A tall guy with a smirk on his face examining the disciple before him with his blue eyes.

Running his hand through his snow-white hair and adjusting his blue uniform with gold and red patterns, he stepped closer to Mo Fan." Oh, and who is this charming sister next to you?" Seeing the girl standing next to Mo Fan, the guy turned to her.

"My name is Shepor Dunt, and what is yours, madam?" Bowing slightly, with a snow-white smile, Dunt looked directly into her intoxicating golden eyes.

"Mi Mili, inner disciple, Dragon's Breath Peak." The girl, who looked about twenty, tucked the locks of her black hair away from her perfect face, and took a step closer to Mo Fan, all the while looking coldly at this Dunt.' She's going by Mi Mili now... And she's using some kind of disguise? Even her appearance has become a bit more grounded, not to mention the color of her eyes and hair… Damn it! And how did I even end up in this group...' An, his temples throbbing, sat down on the ground and took a deep breath.

Next to Mo Fan, the protagonist of this world, stood Miss Mili, daughter of Ridegold the Great, the very same one who had cornered him in the alley. Watching a scandal flare up in the very first seconds, his headache only grew worse, and he was even afraid to think about the future problems in this mission.

"Charming Sister Mi, how did it happen that you're standing so close to our rising star of the Heavenly Talent List?" With a malicious smirk, without even looking at Mo Fan, Dunt stared into Mili's eyes. Mo Fan was about to say something when everyone around felt a vibration from their plaques.' Coordinates of several bandit outposts and information on various dangerous beasts we should try to eliminate... Oh! Our sector is 1800 by 1800 kilometers... Wow!'

Reading the information on his plaque, An almost whistled in surprise. He hadn't expected their sector to be so huge.

"Alright! Listen to me! We need to first scout the territory we're in! Make sure we control a small section, from which we'll be operating!" Shepor Dunt immediately took the reins. Seeing this, Mo Fan remained silent, not paying any real attention to him. Looking around and seeing that no one was contradicting him or fighting for the leadership position in the group, Dunt, with a victorious smile, began looking for who to choose from the group for reconnaissance.

"You! Over here, quickly!" Shepor Dunt pointed his finger at the only outer disciple, and gestured toward his feet. Sitting on the ground, An simply looked at him and did nothing.

"Damn commoner! How dare you disobey!" Dunt barely touched the sword at his belt when he felt a gust of wind before him, and immediately felt a chill at his neck.

"Who gave you the right to insult other disciples? And since when did you decide you could give orders to anyone here?" Standing to the side, Mo Fan held his sword at his neck." Ugh." Sweat began to run down Dunt's forehead, and he barely managed to swallow his saliva. Seeing that Shepor Dunt didn't actually pose any threat to those around him, he smoothly sheathed his sword, pulling the blade away from Dunt's throat.

"Don't worry, junior brother, no one here will touch you, I can prom..." With a kind smile, turning around, Mo Fan suddenly froze, realizing that the junior brother who had been sitting on the ground a moment ago was nowhere to be seen." Eh? Where did he disappear to?"

"Did you see how he vanished?"

"No, I didn't even feel anything..." Mi Mili, standing nearby, frowned, looking at the spot where An had been sitting.

"How? He couldn't have hidden from my..." Mo Fan, with a puzzled and furrowed expression, began to mutter, but quickly caught himself and shut his mouth.