Chapter 1978: Acknowledging a Teacher, Offering Wine
The division of disciples in the True Spirit Realm was similar to the Great Realm of Cultivation. There were unofficial disciples, serving disciples, outer disciples, inner disciples, true disciples, and core disciples.
Needless to say, unofficial disciples were disciples that haven’t officially joined the True Spirit Realm. Almost all unofficial disciples of the True Spirit Realm were in the Soaring Dragon Realm. They were lower realm cultivators who were under observation.
Serving disciples were the lowest rank of sect disciples. Rather than being called disciples, they were more akin to servants. They did the lowest level of work in the sect. But they could also be promoted to be outer disciples or inner disciples.
Outer disciples were the official disciples of the sect. Outer disciples were typically the second most populous group in a sect, with serving disciples having the most members. Outer disciples weren’t very strong and weren’t under a specific master. Generally, the sect would arrange for someone to conduct a lecture for outer disciples every 10 to 15 days. Outer disciples would take missions to gain contribution points which could be exchanged for sect resources or cultivation methods.
Inner disciples were a step higher from outer disciples. Inner disciples would have their own master. In the Tyrant Blade Sect, only elder-level disciples could take in inner disciples as their own apprentice. However, whether an inner disciple gets the true inheritance of their master or not depends on their talent and how much their master liked them.
True disciples were those who were above inner disciples. These disciples were the people who have taken the legacy of an elder. The elders would give emphasis on training their true disciple. People who reach this stage would generally have limitless future paths. At the very least, they would become elders of the sect.
The core disciples held the most important place in the sect. To become a core disciple, one would need to be an apprentice of someone with high status. If they were a disciple of an ordinary elder, then they would never become a core disciple. One would also need insane talent to become a core disciple. If their talent wasn’t good, even if they were the disciple of the sect master, they still wouldn’t become a core disciple. Lastly, one would need to be strong. If you weren’t strong enough, then it was impossible to be promoted to become a core disciple. Core disciples were the foundations of sects. A core disciple wasn’t only defined by their strength. They would also need to partic.i.p.ate in managing the sect. It can be said that the sect’s core disciples would be at the head of their own generation in the sect. Because of this, sects place great importance towards core disciples.
Lin Ling and Xiang Ying were currently inner disciples. The two of them wors.h.i.+p an elder as their masters. Their masters also held a high status in the sect. If they obtained the true inheritance of their masters, then they might become core disciples in the future.
Despite their status, Lin Ling and Xiang Ying didn’t dare show off in front of Zhao Hai. It wouldn’t be long before Zhao Hai entered the inner sect. Moreover, Zhao Hai was already promised by the Yin Yang Elders to take him in as their disciple. Once that happens, Zhao Hai’s status wouldn’t be any less than Lin Ling and Xiang Ying. Zhao Hai’s status might even be higher than them. But at the same time, the two didn’t flatter Zhao Hai. They just introduced the Tyrant Blade Sect to him. They treated Zhao Hai as a close friend.
The two already saw Zhao Hai’s potential. Even if Zhao Hai was a rotten piece of wood, he would still become a work of art in the hands of the Yin Yang Elders. And Zhao Hai wasn’t a piece of rotten wood.
Time continued to pa.s.s. The corpse mountain of the Osmanthus Crystal Realm has practically been eaten up by the beasts. Scavenging beasts were aplenty in the Soaring Dragon Realm. The mountain of corpses was a buffet to these beasts. Naturally, they wouldn’t leave it behind. Before long, cultivators of the Soaring Dragon Realm stopped going to the corpse mountain. Otherwise, they would be surrounded by the hungry beasts.
Regarding this situation, the cultivators of the Soaring Dragon Realm didn’t have any reactions. Cultivators needed to progress and reach a higher level or else they would die. There were a lot of cultivators whose corpses were left behind when they died. Besides Buddhist Cultivators, no cultivator paid great respects to corpses of the dead.
A lot of Buddhists cremate their corpses. Before dying, they would request their disciples to enshrine their relics. Naturally, there were also Buddhist and Daoist Cultivators who attach great importance to their remains. They would prepare tombs for themselves and then have their belongings buried with them. Powerful formations would guard these tombs. However, such tombs were usually dug up by tomb raiders. It was very difficult for these tombs to last a long time.
Although the corpse mountain disappeared, its message continued to reverberate throughout the Soaring Dragon Realm. By this point, cultivators in the Soaring Dragon Realm would never dare to annoy the Tyrant Blade Sect. Otherwise, they would risk being destroyed.
Half a month later, the Yin Yang Elders finally returned to the Soaring dragon Realm. Upon their return, Lin Ling, Xiang Ying, and Zhao Hai paid them a visit in the branch hall’s second floor.
With the ident.i.ty of the Yin Yang Elders, separate residences were prepared specifically for them. It was also the best accommodations in the branch hall. However, the two old men didn’t want it. For them, any place was the same. They were in the Soaring Dragon Realm to temper their mind, so they always stayed on the second floor of the branch hall.
When the group of three entered the second floor, they immediately gave a salute to the two elders before standing on the side. The Yin Elder looked at the three and said, “The sect has already dealt with the incident. Little Hai, although your actions were quite reckless, the sect is still in agreement with what you did. Take this, it’s the ident.i.ty token for an inner disciple.” After he said that, the Yin Elder took out a metal token and handed it to Zhao Hai.
Seeing this metal token , Zhao Hai couldn’t help but stare. This was because the metal token was very special. It might as well be a throwing knife. It looked like a short blade with Zhao Hai’s name inscribed into it.
After Zhao Hai received the ident.i.ty token, the Yin Elder continued, “The ident.i.ty token is special to the Tyrant Blade Sect. It’s given to inner disciples. Not only can it be used as a portable transmission formation, it’s also a locator. As long as you keep the ident.i.ty token on your body, the sect will know where you are. After inner disciples accept a teacher, his master can seal an attack containing ten strikes of their strength inside. During crucial moments, it could be used to save the disciple’s life. Inside your token, old Yang and I placed five attacks each. If you encounter any danger, you can release them one by one. But if it’s too dangerous, you can release both of our attacks. This will be equivalent to a full blow from the both of us.”
Zhao Hai suddenly felt that his metal token had become heavier. As he received the metal token, he bowed towards the two elders and said, “Masters, thank you very much.”
The Yin elder nodded and said, “I have already submitted your name to the sect. You will be mine and old Yang’s disciple in the future. The two of us are already old, so we don’t need superficial ceremonies. Do you have any spirit wine? Take some out and give each of us a cup. Then from now on, you will become our disciple.”
Zhao Hai complied and then took out a tray. On the tray was a jade bottle and two cups. Zhao Hai took the jade bottle and poured liquor on the cups.
This bottle of liquor wasn’t common wine. It was the best wine that the s.p.a.ce produced. Moreover, Zhao Hai placed it under time acceleration to improve its flavor. It can be said that this wine is now equal to liquor stored in thousand-year old kegs. It was priceless.
The liquor has turned golden. Moreover, it was very viscous. As Zhao Hai poured it out of the bottle, it looked like a golden string being poured onto the cups.
As Zhao Hai was pouring the wine, the room was immediately filled with a mellow fragrance. Just a whiff of it would make people feel intoxicated, it was as if smelling it would make you drunk.
The other people in the room looked at the jade bottle in Zhao Hai’s hand as if it was a treasure. In fact, in their minds, the jade bottle should be a rare item. Even if the liquor inside was used up, the jade bottle would still fetch a good price.
As they smelled the fragrance of the wine, the Yin Yang Elders as well as Lin Ling and Xiang Ying immediately felt their spiritual qi speed up. The circulation of their blood increased. Naturally, all of them were able to notice this. They also understood the value of the wine. To be honest, even if this wine was placed in the True Spirit Realm, it would still be considered a treasure.
After some time, Zhao Hai filled the two cups to the brim. Then he held the tray towards the two elders, he gently knelt down and said, “Masters, please take these cups.”
The Yin Yang Elders looked at each other, bright smiles on their faces. Then they took the wine cups that Zhao Hai handed over and drank it. They closed their eyes to savor the flavor of the wine. Their faces showed how infatuated they were.
After some time, the two elders opened their eyes. Then at the same time, they exclaimed, “Good wine!”
They placed the cups back on the tray and asked Zhao Hai to stand up.
The Yin Elder looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, although your wine is very good, you shouldn’t show it casually in the future. Otherwise, people would have thoughts about you.”
Although Zhao Hai’s wine was very good, the Yin Yang Elders had hearts of stone. Both of them knew that cultivators shouldn’t indulge in pleasure. Therefore, even if the wine was good, they didn’t drink more nor did they ask for a bottle.
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “I understand. There’s no need to worry, I only have very few bottles of this wine. In fact, I only have one bottle left.” After he said that, Zhao Hai took out a bottle and handed it over to the Elders as he said, “Masters, I’ll offer this bottle to you. Don’t decline. It’s just wine. You can drink it whenever you like.”