Early in the morning, those who had passed gathered at the field." I hope everyone is here." Elder Mason said as he scanned the crowd." Ok good, it seems like you all made it in time." And with those words, a screech from up above the clouds assaulted their ears. Everyone looked up as a vague silhouette was visibly getting closer to them. With another screech that split the clouds, the body of the majestic beast came into view.
The head of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. It was the mythical hybrid from legends, the griffin. It descended slowly, its huge body casting a shadow that covered the whole field. As it got close to the ground, it hovered there for a minute, basking in the astonished gazes of the juniors before landing.
Kael stood there in a daze for a while, marveling at the sight before him. He had heard of the griffins from stories back on Earth, but those were just that, stories. Standing before the real thing, just solidified the fact that he was no longer on Earth. "Alright everyone, form a line and I will take you on top of Coco," Elder Mason said. Coco stumped his feet and said in a girlish voice," You promised you wouldn't call me that in front of everyone," she protested. Everyone who had just awoken from their stupor a minute ago was once again surprised by what they heard.
" D-did it just talk?" one of them shouted. " It's at the noble beast stage." Another one said with a look of horror on his face. Everyone quickly turned to look at Coco again, with a trace of fear and astonishment on their faces. At the noble stage is where most beasts gain intelligence, shedding their primal nature, and are capable of speech. Coco, the prideful hybrid, held her head high.
"Alright, enough of that. On your cultivation journey, you'll encounter such mythical beasts and have the chance to tame them, but only if you have the strength to do it. No beast will bow to a weak master." Elder Mason said, his previous loftiness from yesterday seemed to have dissipated. Everyone nodded with a resolute look in their eyes. One by one, they were carried up the griffin, its huge body capable of carrying all of them.
Once all of them were on top of it, it took to the skies without any warning. Kael held on tight, fearing he might fall to the abrupt ascent. And with that, they left for the sect. The griffin was fast, having left the city in just a few minutes, the terrain below shifted as they flew above the forests and plains. "What a feeling," Kael thought as they surfed through the air, the breeze hitting his face. Despite the rough start, the griffin was quite steady while flying, allowing one to sit freely without much worry. "I'll have to go and find an aerial beast once I'm strong enough," Kael thought. This experience had left a deep impression on him.
" Which division are you planning on entering once we get to the sect?" Draven, who was sitting next to him, asked." I haven't thought about it yet," he answered. He had indeed forgotten about such things. "What about you, any plans?" " I think I'll join the alchemy division. I've never been good at fighting, and my craftsmanship is even worse. Besides, alchemy is also a respected profession, so I don't think it's a loss."Draven said as he looked ahead. "I come from a small merchant family, so it would be nice if I could become a reputable alchemist and move them to the royal capital. Bandits have always been an issue back home, so at least I won't have to worry about them. And maybe my younger brother can attend the Royal Academy." Kael just nodded, he had never been good with words.
A few minutes later, the griffin reduced its speed and started to descend. A mountain came into view, with buildings built on its sides. This was the headquarters of the Emberwatch sect. Kael, who had just opened his meridians, could now feel the essence of heaven and earth and immediately felt the dense essence surrounding this mountain. It wasn't just more dense, but also purer.
"Welcome to Mount Vereth. This will be your home from now on. The essence here is naturally more dense and purer than its surroundings, but with the help of arrays, we amplified that even more. Cultivating here is five times better than cultivating outside." Elder Mason said as they landed at the sect entrance.
They got off the Griffin and followed Elder Mason inside. "Let me say this again, Welcome to the Emberwatch sect, Take care of each other while you are here, from now on you're brothers sisters." " Yes, elder," everyone responded ."Wait here, I'll go and get someone to show you around. " He said as he disappeared inside the sect."
" Who knew Elder Mason was a kind person, I guess that act yesterday was only to intimidate us," Draven said as he laughed. Kael chucked but said nothing. Elder Mason returned five minutes later with a young man in a black robe. "This is Varn, he is a senior disciple, so you must be respectful. He will show you around and explain the rules of the sect. Your accommodations are already prepared, so he'll show you where they are. I have other things to attend to, so this is where we part." Everyone bowed, and like a phantom, he left.
"Ok, everyone, I'm Varn, but you can call me senior brother. I'm from the administration hall, so if you have any trouble in the sect, you can come and look for me there. "Hello, senior brother," Everyone greeted. "Let's
Start with the divisions while I explain the rules to you."He said as he started walking. They quickly followed while listening to him explain.
"The sect doesn't have many rules. Just a few important ones. The first one is that there is no fighting between members, unless it's an official duel. Second is you will have to contribute to the sect in some way, either by taking missions, taking care of the herb garden, taking care of the beasts, and other things. In return, you'll get credit, which you can use to buy anything in the sect. There are no lectures here, so if you want guidance from one of the elders, you'll have to pay with credit. Third, desertion in the battlefield, unless ordered to retreat, will result in immediate execution." A cold silence followed as everyone drew in a sharp breath. Varn continued," And the last and most important rule is, always help a fellow disciple when they are in need. Apart from those core rules, you can do almost anything you want. The sect won't restrict your freedom."
They reached the front of alchemy hall. "Next we have the divisions.There are ten of them. Alchemy division, beast division,combat division,forging division,array division,administrative division,mission hall and cultivation hall.Alchemy division is responsible for producing our potions and elixirs, beast division takes care of the sects beasts, combat division handles training and martial techniques ,forging division handle our equipment, array division works on arrays that and researches new ones, administrative division hall handles the official duties as well as disputes in the sect,mission hall hands out missions from the sect or those who want our services and finally cultivation hall,handles the sects cultivation techniques as well as cultivation rooms, which are very beneficial when one wants to breakthrough" And with that he concluded the tour.
"you can pick one that is suited to you talents later. Now lets go and look at your accommodations." He gestured for them to follow him. They walked to the back of the mountain where simple house were built ,each had its own array to ensure privacy." Pick one,your uniforms are already inside. You'll be going by the order in which you took the test,so the first one will take the one at the furthest and and the last one will take this one right here. Your uniforms and badges are already inside. The badge is like your account,your credit will be transferred there so keep them safe. When you have time, go to cultivation hall and pick a cultivation technique. Any questions?" Vern asked,getting ready to leave.
"I'll be going then." He said as he walked back to administration hall. The group dispersed as everyone went to their houses. Kael walked with Draven since they had taken the test following each other. Kael opened the door and stepped in. It wasn't a big house with a kitchen,bathroom and a small living area suitable for one person.
Kael put his bag down and laid on the bed . "I made it, now I can focus on getting stronger without much to worry about. "Kael thought. "But first I need to go and get a cultivation technique and start cultivating. With the dense essence in this place, it shouldn't be too hard." And with that he stood up, put on his uniform and headed to cultivation hall.
Cultivation hall was huge compared to the others. It had two sections, one was a library for the techniques and the other was for the cultivation rooms. At the entry Kael showed his badge to the elder at the reception and then proceeded to go in. Cultivation techniques are divided into six tiers; common, profound,sacred,divine,forbidden and a rumored transcendent,but so far nobody had seen one of them. He had access to the common and profound level ones.Common were provided for free but beyond that one had to purchase them for himself.
Kael browsed through them.essence gathering manual,stone root body art,iron wind art,inferno burst breathing art,silent mind sutra," Since my my element is primarily fire,I'll pick the inferno burst breathing art."Having obtained a cultivation technique, he went back to his room and prepared for his first time cultivating.