BOOOOM"GREY! I FINALLY BROKE THROUGH TO NASCENT SOUL!"
"Yey… good on you." Simon flapped plainly with a tired expression. Now come on, we are leaving with a new batch of disciples today.
"I"m not going to let us waste any more time here. The plan is to grind until we are powerful enough to get the vice-leaders out of whatever predicament they are in and then leave with power that is enough to hold back the Reap Guild"s forces."
"Any more delay and we will be crushed like an ant under a foot. I really do not wish to drag you out for being too slow. It would annoying to lug around more baggage."
"Hmmmph! I just broke through, you should be much more encouraging! This is depressing enough to make me want to train less! What would happen if I train less and can"t fight later on? You will have one less amazing teammate to fight those powerful bandits and thugs. That would be very bad, no?"
"That"s your problem though. I"ll let Black have a go at you for not meeting your breakthrough quota. And who said you would be able to survive in this world? Just because you are a nascent soul, doesn"t mean you can live all suns.h.i.+ne and rainbows for the rest of the year! There are things here that can f**k you up." Simon banged on a table and yelled.
"Like what?" Blue crossed her arms, somewhat defiant.
"Ever heard of people at the Immortal stage? There are not a lot, but there are enough to give you a fright."
Simon had to put some pressure on Blue. For starters, she was the one that first put pressure on him to go on this adventure and breakthrough quickly, but now he is the one that is taking the lead and doing the most work. It felt annoying to say the least.
In the living room that they always talked in, he could feel much tension.
"Fine." Blue pouted and packed her belongings into her spatial storage.
Today would be the fateful day where Simon and Blue leave this very hospitable sect and finally start their tenures as elders of the Divine Tempest Sect. If all goes well, they might even break through to the Immortal stage sooner than expected. Considering the rich energy in higher ranked sects, Simon felt content in leaving sooner rather than later. Every single minute spent here would be a minute wasted.
In a race against time to become the most powerful they could possibly be, the two had to make sacrifices. One of these sacrifices is saying goodbye to their luxury condo. This house had kept them warm and comfortable for perhaps two weeks already. Although it had not been their home for long, they grew to feel attached to it. There was a TV, fridge, flus.h.i.+ng toilet, stove… everything. It just felt rather gloomy considering that they did not actually know what the Divine Tempest Sect would be like.
Perhaps they would be stuck inside caves like in those other cultivation novels, living their lives as literal cavemen. Perhaps they would have to live without technology in a simple one bedroom unit. They did not know. They only hoped that the hospitality would be the same if not better.
This sect had placed a very high scale for standards in their hearts. A home would forever be rated from 0 to sect condo.
And now it was finally time to leave.
"Grey, I"ve packed everything up. What about you?" Blue walked out of the condo and saw Simon leaning beside the door.
"I did that like three days ago. I was just waiting for you this entire time. Now come on, let"s go. Brother Wu said that he would present my new disciples today as well as guide us to our new home for the foreseeable future. Who knows, you might enjoy this new sect?"
"Yeah yeah. This place can"t really be replaced in my heart." Blue waved goodbye to the condo and left with Simon, proceeding to the main gates of the sect, where four other figures were standing.
One of these figures was obviously Wu Zhong. Dressed in purple robes and a sniper rifle strapped to his side, Wu Zhong looked as if he was ready to hunt deer. The only thing that seemed a bit off about his equipment would be that his scope was placed at the end of the barrel of his gun. It might be a mistake, or it could be intentional; but either way, it looked incredibly stupid to anyone that had seen a proper sniper rifle before.
One of the other figures was a fat man with yellow robes, wearing a bulletproof vest over his clothes. However, it did not take long to notice that the fat man had no arms or legs, only travelling by rolling on the ground like a bowling ball.
Next was a man with a very long moustache, dressed in a white robe. His weapon of choice seemed to be a sas.h.i.+mi knife and a soup ladle. Along with this ridiculous setup, he also had a tradition chefs hat that one would see in cartoons back on Earth.
The last man had a broomstick. With blue robes and a full face of facial hair and an imposing muscular build, the man looked more like the man that would clean the blood off the ground while a fight was still happening.
"I am Fatty Chen, I greet master!" The Fatty kowtowed.
"I am Chef Hong, I greet master!" The chef kowtowed.
"I am Janitor Kong, I greet master!" The janitor kowtowed.
"Very good, very good… I will train them up to become formidable warriors. You may even have the chance to travel with me in the future, should you please me with your hard work and results." Simon smiled warmly, greeting his disciples as well as addressing Wu Zhong.
"You have a strange eye for recruitment. I look forward to seeing how you train these three. As an Elder of the Divine Tempest Sect, I hope you realise that your reputation now contributes to ours, so do not be reckless."
"I understand your advice. I will train them well and help them reach Core Formation within a month."
"!!!"
"Master! How can we reach the fabled realm of Core Formation within a month when we cannot even progress a layer in a Foundation Building after years? Do you really have a way to make use not useless? I, Fatty Chen, will not bring dishonour to my master"s name. Please instruct me! I entrust myself to you!" The fatty banged his head against the ground and exclaimed with pa.s.sion.
"If I can become more than a mere chef, I can finally prove myself as a real cultivator! A chef can satisfy the immortals, but an immortal can be satisfied by the chef! I, Chef Hong, wish to follow master and become a great immortal under the heavens!"
"I am but a janitor, but I will never give up in the face of adversity! I will sweep master"s enemies" blood and paint the sky red! If I can become useful, I will work as hard as I possibly can!"
Simon nodded.
The scene was good, a sunny day and midday in fact. Nothing felt out of place and these new disciples met his requirements. For now, he would test them and see if they are truly hard working.
"Good, Fatty Chen, take this cultivation art." Simon handed the fatty a book.
"Momentous Wrecking Ball Cultivation Art!! I will train this technique with all my heart and become the greatest disciple of master!" Fatty Chen slammed his head against the ground and kowtowed again.
"Chef Hong, take this."
"Flowing Wok Cultivation Art!! I will train this until the day I die! I promise to never embarra.s.s Master!" Chef Hong did the exact same thing as Fatty Chen.
"Janitor Kong, take this Cultivation art."
"Spiritual Dust Cultivation Art!! I will take your teachings to heart and become your broom! No one shall ever get away with insulting my master! I shall become your greatest disciple and never fail you!"
While all of this may seem exaggerated and plain stupid, it really wasn"t. The fact is that Simon placed his trust in a bunch of useless people and decided to show them secret techniques because he valued their hard working and honest natures. To them, he was more than worthy of being their master. They would even call him grandfather despite the clear age difference. A man like Simon, they were ready to place their in.
To defy the heavens, they would work together to overcome many challenges. And the very first is their journey to Core Formation.
"Now come along. I will show you the way and bring you on my flying bullet. We shall be entering the Divine Tempest Sect within the next hour, so just hold tight and do not vomit. I do not wish for any complaints during this trip." Wu Zhong smiled.
"Next stop: Divine Tempest Sect."