On the way to Tianshui Peak, Li Guanqi encountered many disciples who had joined the sect in the same intake.
Young men and women wore brand-new sect robes, their faces brimming with bright hope for the future.
Gathered in twos and threes, chatting and laughing, they made their way toward Tianshui Peak.
Tianshui Peak lay toward the west of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
The positions of the five main peaks were also arranged according to the Five Elements.
Only the main peaks of the wind, lightning, and ice attributes stood apart on their own.
Just as Li Guanqi was envying the others huddled together and laughing, two figures suddenly hooked their arms around his neck from behind.
"Hahaha! Guanqi, who would have thought you'd choose the lightning spiritual root!"
"Right? And to think you actually have a one-in-ten-thousand saint-grade spiritual root!"
"Entering the inner sect straightaway—talk about rocketing to the sky in a single bound!"
A smile curved Li Guanqi's lips. The newcomers were none other than Lin Dong, who had joined Tiantu Peak's inner sect, and Li Sheng'an, who had entered Tianjin Peak's outer sect.
Li Guanqi smiled slightly. Over the past couple of days, he had also asked around about how the two of them were doing.
"Lin Dong, you didn't do badly either. An earth-attribute heavenly spiritual root means you're bound to have a great future ahead."
Honest and stout, Lin Dong scratched his head and grinned. "Green smoke rising from the ancestral grave—pure ancestral blessing."
Beside him, a look of quiet satisfaction immediately surfaced on Li Sheng'an's face.
Muttering to himself, he said, "With my mixed spiritual root, I'm lucky enough just getting into the outer sect."
The three of them made their way up Tianshui Peak together.
Along the path, fully ninety percent of the Tianshui Peak disciples turned out to be women.
Many senior martial sisters stood on rooftops or high vantage points along the way, constantly chatting and teasing the new disciples of this year's intake.
"Wow, Senior Sister, did you see that blind kid carrying a stone on his back?"
"I hear he's the only disciple accepted into Tianlei Peak this year, and he has a saint-grade spiritual root that's even stronger than Eldest Senior Brother Wu Bing's!"
Listening to the chattering junior sister beside her, a delicate, fair-faced woman merely smiled faintly.
"Li Guanqi... To think a blind youth would have such an elegant, scholarly name.
"His natural talent is second to none across the entire Qingyun Continent, though.
"All right, time to go practice."
A bustling crowd gathered in the great hall of Tianshui Peak.
Each person was provided a meditation mat to sit cross-legged upon.
The seating arrangements were strictly ordered; the cultivation world placed heavy emphasis on status and hierarchy, where strength was revered above all.
Li Guanqi had wanted the three of them to sit together, but Li Sheng'an hurriedly protested, "No, no, that won't do! You're now the closed-door disciple of Tianlei Peak's First Elder.
"That makes you a direct disciple—ranked even higher than the core disciples under an elder!
"You have to sit right at the very front!"
Li Guanqi looked around and noticed the awkward expressions on the faces of those nearby. With a sigh of resignation, he had no choice but to walk to the very front.
There was only a single, isolated meditation mat placed there. Behind it sat the newly admitted inner sect disciples, and further back were the outer sect disciples.
This time, when the Great Xia Sword Sect opened its mountain gates, it had accepted three hundred and ninety-two disciples in total, which counted as one of its larger intakes.
Among them, just over sixty disciples were admitted directly into the inner sect for cultivation, four of whom possessed heavenly spiritual roots.
Yet even with a heavenly spiritual root, one was not guaranteed to be taken in by an elder as a personal disciple.
Li Guanqi sat cross-legged on the floor. Before him stood a low table, behind which was another meditation mat.
*Whoosh!*
A light breeze swept past, and a woman in ice-blue robes appeared out of thin air behind the table.
This stern-faced woman was none other than the Third Elder of Tianshui Peak, Lan He, a cultivator at the late Core Formation realm.
When Lan He's beautiful eyes saw that many meditation mats remained empty, her expression instantly darkened.
With a wave of her sleeve, the hall doors slammed shut with a boom. Outside, the disciples racing toward the hall suddenly looked miserable.
None of them dared knock; they could only stand obediently outside.
Lan He lightly lifted the hem of her robe and slowly took her seat on the meditation mat.
"Daring to be late on the very first day of instruction! Then you can all stand outside!
"Class is in session!"
The disciples in the hall straightened their spines one after another. No one had expected Elder Lan to be so true to her word.
Whether inner sect disciple or outer sect disciple, anyone who was late was barred entry without exception.
At the same time, everyone formed their first impression of the sword sect:
*They mean what they say!*
Lan He was remarkably beautiful, but as the lecturing elder, her eyes always carried an edge of stern authority.
She spoke in a calm voice. "No doubt all of you believe that entering an immortal sect to cultivate is an immensely thrilling thing.
"However, the first lesson I have to teach you today is this: never easily trust another person's heart!"
*Commotion broke out!*
As soon as those words fell, a buzz of whispers and murmurs broke out among the disciples below.
A moment later, Lan He continued, "Once you reach a certain cultivation realm, you will understand. Those who call you 'Fellow Daoist' day in and day out will invariably say, when push comes to shove, 'Better a fellow Daoist die than this humble Daoist.'
"You don't need to understand this now. Just carve it into your hearts."
Her voice was not loud, yet it rang out with crystal clarity to everyone inside the hundred-zhang hall.
Then, with a flash of light in Lan He's hand, a jade slip appeared.
Raising the jade slip, Lan He said softly, "I assume each of you has already received your identity jade slip.
"From today onward, make sure you keep it on your person at all times!
"Because this is something that will accompany you for the rest of your lives!"
Her words carried immense weight, yet every disciple who had ever walked out of the Great Xia Sword Sect knew exactly what they signified.
"This jade slip has many uses. The most important thing in the sect is contribution points.
"Your points will be recorded in the jade slip. It also possesses a locating capability, allowing you to see the positions of your fellow sect disciples when necessary.
"You can also use it to browse items in the Treasure Pavilion, and lectures held by other elders can be viewed through it as well.
"In short, you must keep this jade slip safe! Once you step into the Qi Refinement realm, these functions will naturally become accessible to you."
Everyone pulled out their jade slips and examined them closely, astonished that such a small object possessed so many capabilities.
Yet Lan He's next words thoroughly shattered everyone's worldview!
Lan He asked softly, "Do you know what place this is that we inhabit?"
Someone spoke up, "The Northern Territory of the Qingyun Continent."
Before the words could fade, another youth, his eyes faintly tinged with red, said in a deep voice, "The Great Xia Domain, Qingyun Continent, Northern Territory!"
Hearing this, Lan He visibly paused for an instant, then looked at the youth as a flicker of understanding crossed her eyes.
She murmured, "So it is the Young Master of Mount Yuyang, Zhong Lin.
"Indeed. We reside on the Qingyun Continent, and the Qingyun Continent belongs to the Great Xia Domain.
"This world is what is known as the Human Spirit Realm—the so-called lower realm.
"The Human Spirit Realm is divided into Six Domains; as for the rest, you may explore them on your own in the future.
"The reason I mention this is to tell you that aside from the Human Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm, there is yet another realm!
"The Yellow Springs Realm!
"And precisely because the Yellow Springs Realm exists, over the countless tens of thousands of years in the Human Spirit Realm, many mighty cultivators have seized bodies or reincarnated with their past-life memories intact!"
Li Guanqi was taken aback, thinking to himself, *Reincarnators?*
*Back when our spiritual roots were tested, the Disciplinary Arbiter killed two body-snatchers on the spot!*
*And now there are even reincarnators who carry the memories of their previous lives?*
*If I hadn't entered an immortal sect, I probably never would have learned of such things in my entire life.*
Chapter 19