Chapter 14: THE OATH OF AN AGGRIEVED SOUL
Goldy was hiding in a small crack in the pavement by the faded hexagram.
As weakened as he was, the slightest physical contact with a being on the cusp of the Ageless Realm would be enough for the Karmic protection obscuring him to fade. He was waiting there patiently to reduce the risk of being discovered by the Reverend Stage elderly. In between the yawns, he'd occasionally peek at the happenings.
The small snake stretched as he muttered knowingly, "With this, all troublesome suspicion should be gone. Undoubtedly, that elderly human will have to do his best to rope Cheng Hao in from now on. Just like so, we've found ourselves a strong backer." He yawned, "Not that we would have lacked them after the Awakening Apparition showed off that bastard's talent to the whole Sect. However, though we wouldn't have lacked investors then, we would have unavoidably been caught amidst the friction of the higher-ups from the get-go. This way we get to keep it on the low for a while longer, so good on the lad to recognise that."
Meanwhile, Old Lao stole a glance at Cheng Hao again. The indecisive old man seemed to have at least somewhat resolved his internal conflict.
"...Ahem, indeed, indeed," he coughed once to clear his voice as he determined to wait a bit longer to make the most important decision,.
Then, just like he had done many times before these last few days, he truly immersed himself into the role of a groundskeeper. He smiled and then began to speak ceremoniously: "Well, little Junior Cheng Hao, I formally congratulate you on joining the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect. Unfortunately, this is but the beginning. You might have joined the Sect in name, but are only one of the millions of Vacant Sect disciples within these walls. If you wish to truly make waves in this Sect, then your first goal should be to become an Outer Sect disciple."
"Every year, there will be contests between Vacant disciples to enter the Outer Sect. You will have exactly two chances every year, and each one takes place roughly a month after the Sect stops accepting new disciples for the semester. This time, the session will begin exactly thirty-five days from now, and end three days later." Old Lao explained.
At Old Lao's words, Cheng Hao could only listen 'intently'. Unlike before, however, this acting of his was half-assed at best. He believed any other child would act similarly annoyed, so he could let his true thoughts show for once.
Clearly, nothing the old man had divulged was news to him: he had already thoroughly investigated many of the details regarding the Sect he had chosen to join beforehand. That was a given.
Although the old man could not read his mind, after coming to know of the youth's tendencies, Old Lao didn't even need to rouse his Reverend Will to know the expressions the child was showing were far from genuine. The groundskeeper chuckled inwardly: he was using this time to make an important decision, as well as poke fun at the child that had clearly researched all this beforehand.
If anything, it was a childish way of getting back at him after the scare the golden-eyed youth had given him earlier.
The groundskeeper continued, "Youth, be sure to remember that, although the castle housing our sect might be enormous, you can only go to certain places: a Vacant Disciple can freely walk inside the area located between the Seventh and Sixth Wall. This particular area is also referred to as the Sixth Ring, and you are free to explore it as you wish, but you can't be found any further within than the Sixth Wall. Penalty: Decapitation! There are very few resources and cultivation techniques that you can acquire with your current status, so I suggest you climb higher as quickly as you can."
Cheng Hao finally nodded genuinely. What the old man was hinting at was that security between walls was rather lax. He had specifically noted 'found any further within than the sixth wall' rather than 'caught while trespassing', meaning that there would be checks within the rings, but little attention on the garrison themselves. In regards to the outer walls, at least. This was actually rather useful information that might have taken some digging around to find otherwise. He had been thinking of sending Blindlight over, given the Primordial's innate ability to conceal himself from most mortal gazes.
Instead, it looked like his snake sidekick would be spared those few nights of little sleep. Or maybe…
'…Tch, he was actually paying attention. Unlucky.'
The old man soon opened his mouth and spoke once again with increasing gusto, "Similarly to how a Vacant Disciple can go anywhere in between the Seventh and Sixth Wall, an Outer Disciple can freely explore both the Sixth and the Fifth Rings; from the Seventh Wall, all the way to the Fifth, but not any deeper. The penalty for infringing that rule is the crippling of one's cultivation base. A higher tier of resources and techniques are acquirable in the Outer Sect, as well as the possibility to form and join an Alliance. The Sect will benefit the Alliances that complete requests and missions by increasing the resources granted periodically to them. You might be able to learn more about such details later."
'...Uh? This one slipped by me. Was it something about the alliance?'
…Wait, was there really no hidden clue? Was Old Lao purposefully going into the details on the basics? To waste his time and annoy him?
Childish, childish, childish!
'This geezer…'
Cheng Hao's eyebrow twitched noticeably at the old man's shameless teasing.
"Next, an Inner Disciple can go anywhere from the Sixth to the Fourth Ring. The penalty from going any deeper is slightly more forgiving. Just the inability to cultivate for ten to twenty years. With the status of an Inner Disciple, even better resources can be acquired, and the first few higher grade scriptures in the treasuries of the Sect can be found and cultivated here!"
'...Sure.'
"Even higher status than Inner Disciples are Core Disciples! They can roam pretty much anywhere in the castle, except for the innermost First and Second Rings, which are reserved solely for the Core Elders and the leading positions. Inner and Core Disciples, the latter in particular, can also search for a master to get them under his wing..." At that, the old man's eyes gleamed knowingly as he hinted at the annoyed child.
So he was looking for a disciple. Cheng Hao was sorry in advance.
'...But I might reconsider it if you shut up right now.'
"Finally, we have reached the highest status that a disciple can reach; the Twin Star Disciples!" The old man's expression turned unprecedently sombre. "They can only be two and only two, The Vesper and the Sirius. In the sect, as of now, there are no Twin Star disciples. As a matter of fact, they have only ever appeared in the whole history of the Sect once. That was around seven hundred years ago. The requirements are just that strict: not only do they depend on effort and talent, but they also rely a great deal on luck."
"First off, the two must have both joined the Sect before their tenth birthday."
"Second, they must have reached the Superior stage before their fifteenth."
"Thirdly, when acting together, they must equal a Core Elder of the Sung stage before their seventeenth!"
At that, even Cheng Hao frowned: Superior stage before one's fifteenth birthday? Be a match to a peak Sung stage cultivator by seventeen years old? Plus, they had to have appeared roughly at the same time? Naturally, if it were just him, Cheng Hao could achieve the first two requirements without breaking a sweat.
However, his situation was, for a lack of an apt term, unimaginably unique. If others were to try their hands at it...
It would already be great if they could appear even once every few thousand years.
'And two such talented people have to appear together…'
These requirements were extremely strict, no wonder they only ever appeared once. Clearly, the Founder had ulterior motives when he came up with them...
"However," the old man continued as he raised his finger admonishingly, "the benefits are worth the efforts. Complete assistance from the Sect for even the most trivial of things! Neigh-unlimited resources from the Sect's hidden treasury, left by the Founder, rumoured to harbour his secret to break past Mortality into a higher Realm."
'Ah, so that's the bait.'
As a leading figure in the matter of managing a Sect or Clan, Cheng Hao immediately recognized the Mysterious Light-Shadow Ancestor's vision to have the whole world gravitate around his Sect's Twin Stars.
'A bit rustic maybe, but ingenious nonetheless.'
"Not to forget…," Old Lao's eyes of molten bronze glanced over expectantly, "Fourth; the right to accept either of the Sect Protectors ranked first and second, who in terms of status and might are only below the Sect Head, as Master! And lastly, and most importantly, once both Twin Stars have reached thirty-three years of age, they shall duel."
"The victor shall attain the title of Sirius, the star that shines the brightest, and become Sect Head."
"The loser would take up the mantle of the Sect's Grand Protector, higher in status than even the First Protector. They'd be Vesper, star of the changing sky!"
"Six hundred and some years ago, the Sirius attained the Peak Reverend Stage, and even the Vesper just fell short. To their deathbed, they were unparalleled in the lands, and aside from the Founder, they are to date the most respected and renowned figures in the history of the Western Continent, as ossibly the whole world!"
"So long as one successfully becomes a Twin Star Disciple, their future is bound to be full of nothing but success and excellence! For one, his eminence Lord Sirius..." he left on a tangent about the young genius that shook the world six hundred years ago.
Of course, the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect's Twin Stars were famous even among the mortal populace as a widely spread legend. Even Cheng Hao, as in villager youngling Cheng Hao, was somewhat aware. Let alone the current Cheng Hao, who was on the verge of crying.
Withholding the urge to skewer the old man with the golden essence blood, his eyes were all teared up.
At that, Old Lao seemed to have been reminded of something important. "Oh, lest I forget: Elders! They are disciples that have stayed stagnant for more than fifteen years at a certain rank. A Vacant Disciple that stays for fifteen years in the Vacant Sect and fails to join the Outer Sect will become a Vacant Elder. An Outer Disciple that stays for fifteen years in the Outer Sect and fails to join the Inner Sect will become an Outer Elder. An Inner Disciple that stays for fifteen years in the Inner Sect and fails to join the Core Sect will become an Inner Elder."
"This changes in the Core Sect: there, disciples need just ten years as a Core Disciple to apply for the Core Elder position."
"Naturally, with this system in place, Elders normally won't be able to increase their ranking for the rest of their life. Unless they became a Protector or the Sect Head, of course. A notable exception would be completing some absurd missions, or having contributions the likes of skillfully fostering multiple, capable disciples. By then, appeals can be made, but the final decision would lie in the Upper Council's hands."
"For that reason, the status of Elders is normally higher than that of Disciples, but a Disciple that is even just one or two ranks higher than an Elder would often have a higher standing in the Sect's hierarchy."
"After all, the status of Elder only takes into account the fifteen years spent stagnant in a particular Denomination, and not one's actual strength or talent. Even Core Elders can't be said to have an unshakeable standing before Core Disciples. Ten years for someone talented enough to become a Core Elder might not catch up to a newcomer prodigy's five."
"However, the flowing of the years is not to be understated. Experience. Connections. Accumulation. These all come together to complete a cultivator's strength. Sure, stillwater of fifteen years in the Outer or Inner Sect is incomparable to years of fierce competition in the core circles. However, that time is nevertheless enough to be bequeathed the title of Elder."
With a scoff, he added knowingly, "Hierarchy is, ultimately, for those with poor judgement. However, those with good eyes still decide to play by its rules. If anything, it's because they can make good use of it, and discard it when it doesn't go their way. It's a shackle. It's a deceptively fickle one at that, but it's very useful exactly because of it. One that will be the first to go and the first to be reinstated in every new regime- Ah! Silly old me, side-tracking again. I Almost forgot about telling you all about the cultivator bazaar!"
'...mark my words, fallen companions that brighten up the night sky.'
Cheng Hao somberly looked up.
'A day will come when I stuff Blindlight in that blabbering mouth.'
…The child's thoughts had inevitably long derailed.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
theonionjunktion
theonionjunktion First milestone for the week: 10 powerstones for a 3rd chapter - met. If you'd like a fourth chapter that's 20 powerstones, so make sure to vote!
This chapter was more about illustrating the structure of the Sect: the feared info-dump, a necessary evil. Hopefully, it was entartaining enough to make it bearable.
Oh, we're just shy of 20 collections as well, so make sure to add IAT to your library if you haven't already for yet another extra chapter.
Thanks again for your support,
TOJ Cookie
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