The crane gracefully flew to the resident stables house, Li Meirong descended from Furifuri"s back, nearly falling off in the attempt. She managed to gather her footing right before her b.u.t.t was about to hit the ground.
A few servants were handling all the mounts that arrived for the ceremony, from the distance they saw the girl"s clumsy fall and snickered as they covered their mouths.
Li Meirong was too far and too busy to notice, as promised she spread out all the grains from the bag and laid it on the ground in an accessible distance for Furifuri to gather it comfortably.
The fair skinned girl with raven hair walked to the a.s.sembly hall where the ceremony took place.
There were a lot more disciples gathered than she expected. Plenty of seniors arrived as well, and the grandmasters were seated high at the edge of the hall. Each of them appeared fearsome and awe inspiring.
Li Meirong hurried to where the other newcomers were standing right outside the grand halls, waiting patiently to be called upon. She squeezed her way through the crowd of resident disciples who came to view the spectacle.
She felt a hand clutch hers through the crowd and was happy to see Shu Qianqian"s adorable features.
"Sister Meirong!!!" Shu Qianqian screamed and she gave her a hug strong enough to suffocate.
"Sister Qianqian…Breathe..Can"t.." Li Meirong Struggled for air.
Shu Qianqian let her go and dragged her forcibly through the crowd. With Shu Qianqian"s domineering att.i.tude, the disciples made way for them to go through.
The girls reached the rest of the new recruits. Mo Cheng and Mo Jing walked towards them.
Now that they all had a moment to breathe, the trio gazed at Li Meirong, their mouths agape.
"Sister Meirong…You"re actually this beautiful.." It was Shu Qianqian who spoke first.
Shu Qianqian didn"t hesitate to grab Li Meirong"s pales cheek and squeeze.
It was soft like tofu!
"Ahem, I"m glad the medicine worked, I wanted to give you a surprise. Are you happy?" Mo Cheng coughed and retrieved his n.o.ble bearings, his cheeks slightly reddened, Mo Jing coughed as well and looked sideways.
Li Meirong moved Shu Qianqian"s hands down and bowed in grat.i.tude. "Thank you for your a.s.sistance fellow brother Mo."
"This is nothing, you saved our lives. We were paralyzed by that awful creature, but we were actually conscious throughout the whole ordeal." Mo Jing admitted. It was an awful experience he never even wanted to think about again. Both himself and Shu Qianqian shuddered.
It was Mo Jing who told his brother how Li Meirong grabbed him literally out of the bowels of that monster. A very impressive feat.
Mo Jing had his reservations about Li Meirong, but from that moment on, he swore he would be her true friend.
The said awful creature was meanwhile resting peacefully inside Li Meirong"s sleeve. Oblivious to all the slander he was receiving.
I have to make sure they will never discover Chou..
Was what Li Meirong was thinking at the time.
After their greetings and pleasantries, the companions set their sights on the grandmasters.
There were several divisions to be cast in.
The sword bearers were the martial artists. The fighters. Training and honing their techniques of both pen and sword, and mastering their offensive attributes. They were the strongest of all divisions.
The armament division specialized in weapon making. Tinkering day in and day out. One had to have a specific affinity to excel in this division.
The pill refiners were a coalition that was part of the healer"s peak. Pill refiners didn"t necessarily hone their skills for healing, and so it was made to its own separate sub division.
The healer"s peak usually took in disciples with supportive attributes, and those who want to contribute their aid to others in battle, instead of acting as the physical force. It would be prudent to mention that while the healer"s peak specialized in an a.s.sisting role, they also taught the art of poison and brewing potions. Making them both helpful allies but also deadly opponents if need be.
The bestiary coalition"s division inhabited disciples who felt kins.h.i.+p with spirit beasts, or those who would dare to tame demons. They focused their strengths in bonding with familiars and working as a team with their pet companions.
The final division was the herb caretakers. It was considered an outer sect disciple job, but actually it had a lot of merit on its own, if one succeeded in excelling there, the skies wouldn"t even be the limit. Only disciples that had the earth attribute were able to join this division. They had to learn about herbs, agriculture, farming, and also how to communicate with the plants and deal with pests, disease, and drought. The herbs were required both for certain armaments and was an extreme necessity for healer"s peak, for healing, poison making, and pill refining alike.
The ceremony pa.s.sed by fast, majority of the newcomers were received merely as outer sect disciples, some dual attributes were taken into divisions, and naturally the single vein disciples who were only Mo Cheng and Mo Jing were highly sought after.
Both rarities were the new pride of the sect. Mo Cheng was taken as a succeeding disciple under the sword bearer division, Shu Qianqian followed the same division. Mo Jing was taken as a succeeding disciple for the herb caretakers division.
While each division specialized in different aspects, all shared one goal. To cultivate and grow stronger.
Li Meirong entered the hall to be a.s.sessed, she had her gaze lowered to the ground as directed.
As she walked through the grand ceremonial hall, gasps were heard from the crowd. Many disciples had their breath caught by the beauty who pa.s.sed through. She was a stunning vision to behold. She wore the same garment as the rest of them, but on her it looked like an immortal who mingled with the commoners. Her jade-like skin glowed, the hair which cascaded down her back was so dark it had a blue sheen to it. With eyes that were large and s.h.i.+ning like obsidian jewels, and l.u.s.trous red lips, her body was still developing yet it already had a sought after desirable womanly shape. She was quiet and demure yet she walked with gracefulness and elegance.
When she reached the grandmasters in charge of the divisions, she knelt down and cupped her hands upfront as a show of respect, imitating the previous disciples.
A succeeding disciple stood at the side and held a scroll which contained the information of the new disciples. He read Li Meirong"s attributes aloud.
"Li Meirong. Multiple Attributes. Average talent."
The grandmasters kept quiet. n.o.body took note of her.
Li Meirong could hear some of the attending senior disciples laugh at the back.
"I heard she"s a furnace…"
"She was all scarred up, but now that she fixed her face, this young master wouldn"t mind to take good care of her!"
"It"s still shameful, only the servant quarters would be fit for her.." A female disciple spoke with undisguised contempt.
Indeed, Li Meirong was quite a beauty, but in a cultivator"s perspective, beauty means very little in a land where strength is everything.
She kept quiet throughout the a.s.sessment. The scornful words were heard by all.
"Master, why are they talking badly about you?"
Li Meirong heard Chou"s drowsy voice asking, but she couldn"t respond at the moment.
I was given very bad specs upon my rebirth, that"s why.
The succeeding disciple who held the scroll glanced her way, he coughed lightly and continued.
"Well then, distributing Li Meirong as an outer sect disciple-"
"Wait!"
The succeeding disciple was about to designate Li Meirong right before he was stopped. A powerful voice reverberated through the crowds, causing all the attendees to straighten their posture and be silent at once.