Chương 111: Chapter 108 – On the Edge of Greatness

The ex-disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect were led to a small hall inside the building to be initiated into the Azure Mountain Sect. Ren looked around at the lavishly decorated hall that somehow still managed to remain tasteful.

'I wonder how they will test us. We didn't enter the array at the foot of the mountain, so will we have to prove our prowess by punching a rock like we did before?' Ren looked around curiously and noticed the floor was painted with strange materials forming a large talisman or array. Once they were all in the hall, the array lit up on the ground under them. Senior Zhen Nan examined a slate he held in his hands, all while stroking his beard. Then he read out 20 names, including Ren, Hua, and Jian Feng.

"Huh, that's it? That was easy!' Shocked as he was, Ren was just too selfishly relieved that he and Hua qualified to enter the inner sect. It turned out not even all 25 top contenders of the Heavenly Sword Sect were worthy. When the others protested, a single sharp look from the senior silenced them. Even an outer sect manager's presence was more intense than their core formation elders.

After commanding the others to wait, the senior flicked his sleeve and led the 20 new inner sect members of the Azure Mountains to another, smaller hall.

"Inner sect disciples of the Azure Mountains have the privilege and responsibility of owning territory. The founders believed that responsibility inspires disciples to find ways to turn every resource into their strength, thus nurturing talented cultivators capable of thinking independently. This territory will also symbolize your ties to the sect. Just as the sect nurtures you, you must in turn protect it when needed.

Remember, the sect is not here to coddle you, so if you fail to make the most of this opportunity, you will not receive another one." Ren could see the clear influence of the main sect on their branch sect. The principles and methods were the same, if executed on a grander scale. And that statement about needing to defend the sect didn't sound like grandiose rhetoric but a very real possibility. Consulting the slate he held, the senior began giving out tokens to each disciple.

When it was Ren's turn, he thought he detected recognition in the senior's eye. The man paused, looked him up and down, and said,"Hmm. A damaged dantian, not unexpected after a breakthrough, but what a weak foundation you have. The array barely detected anything of worth despite giving you a slightly higher than normal rating. And what an uneven amalgam of body cultivation methods… and partially refined by lightning? How did you manage to create such a mess?! Hmm... This territory might be too much for you.

Perhaps this one would be more suitable…" He changed the token he was about to give out. He looked pleased with himself, as if he had done Ren some great favor. He continued handing out tokens, but instead of examining his token, a suspicious Ren observed that the senior did the same for 7 other disciples, including Hua and Jian Feng, coming up with different reasons to give a different territory for each.

Five of them were prominent members of cultivation families like Jian Feng, but Ren couldn't explain his and Hua's inclusion. Ren had a bad feeling because only the two of them and another boy had received a negative reason from the senior. Assuming that the cultivation families might have bribed the Senior to ease the way for their scions, then was it possible that someone had intentionally tried to make things difficult for them?

'Is the changed territory assigned to me somehow problematic?' Ren clenched his fists in silent frustration, not daring to protest. Thinking of it in another way, the elder had just sown negative karma with Ren if he meant him harm. While Ren for the most part still wanted to be left in peace, recent events had changed his stance somewhat. He would no longer let others cause him harm without resistance.

This place wasn't the same as the Heavenly Sword Sect, and as he had later learned, even that place was rife with messy plots he had been ignorant of.

'Through the calamity and with my own breakthroughs, I've witnessed for myself that karmic consequences are very real. Maybe not right away, but karmic debt like this must be resolved, or it will continue to weigh down on me. But that can wait. I need to first find my footing in this new land.' Once the senior was done, he returned to the front and addressed them.

"As inner sect disciples, you will receive a stipend of 200 spirit stones every month. Coming from the wastelands, I suppose you will have to adjust your sense of wealth. Don't think you can get by with this paltry amount for long. Cultivate diligently, climb higher, and you will realize there are heavens beyond the heavens. Come now, there is some basic information you must all receive." Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He led them back to the first hall where the others waited and flicked his sleeve, and a jade slip soared out and landed in everyone's hands.

"These are your identification tokens. They contain the basic knowledge you need to thrive here. You may study them later, but let me first make this easy for you to understand. There are two things you need to know.

"First, the hierarchy. Above us all is the Sect Master of the Azure Mountains, a cultivator whose strength is far beyond our understanding. It is thanks to such great personages like the Sect Master and the Vice Sect Master that our sect is protected. Below them are the 7 Halls. They oversee the various departments that allow our great sect to function. The missions they hand out are the lifeblood of our sect.

Dedicate yourselves and you will find that the Azure Mountains rewards those who prove themselves beyond their wildest dreams.

"The second thing you need to know is that the vast region the sect rules over is connected through a grand teleportation formation called the Sword Phase Formation. It is tied to the Sword of the Celestial, allowing us to reach our borders in the shortest time. Without this formation, at your stage, you will find yourselves flying for months just to meet your neighbors. The tokens have the coordinates embedded in them. But there is a cost.

Each use of the Sword Phase Formation costs 1000 spirit stones that you must provide." At that, not even the Senior's intimidating presence could suppress the agitated murmurs. That was a daunting amount even for some as well off as him. After the windfall he had raked in selling his items at the monastery, Ren earned almost 60 mid-grade spirit stones. Of those, only 50 remained after powering the beast pouch containing his Myriad Path Tortoises.

All his worldly wealth meant he could only use the formation 5 times?! Ren also wondered why the senior only mentioned the regular low-grade spirit stones instead of saying 10 mid-grade spirit stones. The room eventually quietened when the Senior directed a furious glare at them.

"Now before I send you off to your new homes, know that the sect has nearly unlimited resources to help those who wish to elevate themselves. There are lectures of all kinds held in the Hall of Learning, so make sure to attend them. The merit points you earn doing missions for the 7 Halls can be exchanged for time in cultivation heavens so powerful that they can make a carp leap over the dragon gate, directly accelerating your cultivation speed many times over. Cultivate diligently. Work Hard.

And good fortune to you all!" He gave a formal salute to the suddenly fired-up crowd. Then after pointing them to another room where the Sword Phase Formation awaited, he turned and left with a swish of his beautiful robes. Ren and Hua finally had a moment to talk in peace. Since their hasty flight from the monastery, they had been unable to have a proper conversation. Looking at his brother's face, Ren suddenly missed his old life, those peaceful days of farming and forging, hunting and sparring.

He missed those fun drinking sessions with his friends while he cooked up some new dish to try on them. Sensing Ren's distress, Hua comforted him with heavy pats on the back, saying, "I know it's been really difficult lately, but we'll be alright. You heard that other ships from the sect have arrived, right? Mei Ling and Xi Yuan are surely fine. We'll meet up with them again soon enough!" Ren didn't dismiss his sorrow right away and instead let himself feel it fully.

He took a moment to acknowledge the loss before he sucked in a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

"Thanks Hua. You're right. This tiger we've climbed on won't be so easy to get off of. We just need to keep advancing. We'll find time to relax soon enough. In the meantime, have you looked at what territory you were assigned?" They both examined their token, and the details of their territory were revealed to them. Ren looked up to see a beaming smile take shape on Hua's face. He was practically vibrating with excitement! His hand jerked toward the sword on his back.

"My new home is called the Ten Thousand Demon Valley. It says that it's a border territory where the overflow of demonic entities fleeing from the battlefield of the Heavenfall Brigade crosses into our region in a perpetual tide. I wonder who they are that the mere runoff from their fight is given such an impressive name. But it's said to slow down once a month or so. I'll try and visit you then! Why would they leave such a great place lying vacant?" Ren's eye twitched at his brother's cheerful tone.

If someone sought to harm his brother by assigning this territory to him, then they had chosen the worst possible method to do so. Ren doubted it even occurred to Bao Hua to ask for help from anybody, even his master. But judging by how Hua spoke of that elder, he was a sword maniac who would wholeheartedly approve of such a territory and call it a blessing. Then again, Ren had another reason to suppose this was a positive development. His breakthrough.

Every time he broke through, those he was connected to received a burst of good fortune and unexpected opportunities. If this outcome had been influenced positively by Ren's Karmic cultivation then he was glad. It brought him even more joy because it was the best possible timing for an extra heaping of good luck. Not just for Hua, but for all those he was connected to, who would be joining the sect around this time! Hopefully they would build further on this advantage and have an easier time adjusting.

As glad as he was for them, Ren wanted to wail at his own fate. Why couldn't he have some of that refined merit? Why did he have to get stuck with the refined sin? Swearing to find an answer to that soon, Ren gulped heavily and recalled the information on his token. A perilous mountain with 3 peaks separating a Sacred Ground and a Forbidden Region. The Edge of Ecstatic Salvation and Eternal Damnation, or ' The Edge' for short. Put even more simply, his new home.