Book 1: The Heavenly Mountain Sect

Niva decided that her hatred for Mother Luneil extended to the moon’s entire family. Solune’s radiance had rubbed her the wrong way for too long.

She wanted to list a few more of the sun's offenses, but a voice interrupted her fixation.

“We live on the edge every single day," Dino said as he lounged in his seat and looked at the almost-city-sized sect in the distance, "while the upper echelon lives in paradise. Go figure.”

Dino’s comment brought her attention back to the inside of the carriage, which resulted in the tapestry catching her eye again.

No matter how many times I see it, it really is beautiful.

She had never seen something so luxurious in her fifteen years of life. Silk flower-patterned drapery covered the entire carriage the sect sent to retrieve them. It almost made her forget to respond to Dino’s remark.

“I suppose,” Niva said when she caught herself, “the setting is a stark contrast to Crayton.”

Nothing could have been more true. Mountains, rivers, a lush green forest, and the large sect situated in the middle blended perfectly to form a place of harmony. Solune added to this by blessing the land with her rays. She warmed everything in her presence to the core, which inspired unadulterated worship in those sensitive to her touch.

The sun’s presence inspired the opposite in Niva. However, she pushed down on her negative welled-up emotions. She couldn’t change anything yet anyway.

“An understatement,” Dino said, “if I’ve ever heard one. I love my city, but Crayton and the rest of the border municipalities are cow dung compared to this.”

Although Niva thought comparing the border cities with the Central territories was like comparing apples to oranges, she agreed. “At least we get to live here ourselves.”

“But, for how long? Don’t get used to it. We’ll be back before you know it.”

“There’s always a possibility we get contracted,” Niva said, which elicited a scoff from Dino.

Dino got interrupted in the middle of his response by their carriage coming to a stop. “We’re here,” their driver called from outside.

Dino opened the door to the carriage, stepped out, and offered Niva his hand. She rolled her eyes but took it anyway.

“Can’t let anyone say that I’m not a gentleman.”

She ignored him and quickly scanned her surroundings after she touched the ground. The driver had dropped them off in the village in front of the sect, so they still had to walk quite some distance.

"A warning," their driver said as he took out some titbits for his horses, "If you're late, you won't be allowed in. As a result, you will have to make your own way back home."

The horses their munching pulled Niva’s attention to them. She met the gaze of one of the animals and found that its eyes radiated an intelligence only found in awakened beasts.

She didn't want to be rude to the animal that had carried her for hours, however. So, she quickly broke eye contact and tuned into Dino's conversation.

“Thank you for the ride, sir,” Dino said, “We will leave immediately.” They both made a half-bow to their chauffeur.

“My pleasure,” their driver said as he left them to their own devices, “If you simply follow the signs, you’ll easily find the entrance hall to the sect.”

“Let’s go,” Dino said. He slung his sack over his shoulder before setting a brisk walking pace.

She readjusted her satchel and hurried behind him.

There are more people than I expected, Niva thought as she avoided three children that ran into her path.

She couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Not many spirit beasts inhabited this part of the land, but that didn't mean it was safe. A Dire wolf stumbling into the village would still spell disaster. Her confusion caused her curiosity to get the better of her.

"Why are so many people willing to risk staying here?" Niva asked.

Dino pointed towards a small store to their left that explained the smell of herbs in the air.

Greenery littered the store, and a sign on the front read: High-quality herbs available. Prices start at two low-quality spirit beast cores.

"Ah, beast cores. I see."

Many people sought after beast cores because they were necessary for everything ranging from formations to upgrading weapons. Disciples acquired many of them during their time in the sect, but they had nowhere to sell them. That, combined with their lack of other materials, made trading with students very beneficial.

"We should hurry, though. You can explore later." Dino said as he started a run.

Niva didn't want to lose Dino in the crowd, so she immediately broke into a sprint as well after taking her eyes off the stall.

Dino and Niva stood before the building where all the new disciples gathered. Immediately after Niva stepped into the great hall, she noticed a change. The air inside the hall differed from that outside it.

It prickled her nose, and she felt her mind become clear. She closed her eyes, lifted her head, and inhaled deeply. When she opened her eyes, she spotted what she thought caused the special effect. A large upside-down lotus flower grew out of the ceiling. Its petals were colored a light purple. Moreover, when Niva focused her eyes, the space around its pistil fluctuated slightly.

Interesting.

She left the lotus flower behind her and regarded the walls. They were largely unadorned, except for some wall-mounted candelabra every few steps. As a result, this created an effect she thought impossible at first; the hall appeared more spacious than the outside let on.

Instead of making her feel uncomfortable, the grandness of the hall brought her a sense of peace.

Meditating here must be an experience.

A tap from Dino brought her out of her thoughts. He pointed at the center of the room. Specifically, he pointed at the rows of students, which covered the middle of the hall entirely.

Because they were one of the top sects in the Pure Lands, the Heavenly Mountain Sect had no shortage of yearly applications. This year was no different. The first-year group was large; Niva guessed that their total number equaled around two hundred. Some of the group watched the newcomers.

Their position in the doorway drew attention, so Dino and Niva quickly joined a row of disciples in the back.

Niva surveyed her competition. A disciple in one of the middle rows immediately caught her attention.

That guy’s a mountain, she thought, and a wide one at that.

He made his decently sized shirt look small. The disciple’s stature made Niva recall that there would be martial arts training during her stay in the sect. She imagined a scene where the disciple rushed her in battle and shuddered.

She quickly moved her eyes away from the giant-sized disciple and searched for other targets of interest. She didn’t search for long; three disciples stared at each other from across the room in a two-on-one fashion. What made it more interesting was that it was a conflict between two of the five most distinguished clans on Cella.

The one wearing a purple robe is from the Hotu clan. That means the one in red is from the Chiru clan, I think.

The Hotu and Chiru clan descendants gave each other looks of hate and disgust. Niva couldn't decipher the intent behind the glance of the disciple next to the Chiru clan cultivator because bandages covered his entire body.

She didn’t understand why anyone would do that. Maybe they were hiding burn marks? Or perhaps a corrupted spirit beast mangled them.

Despite finding the entire situation amusing, Niva left the spectacle behind her. She turned toward Dino. He glared at a disciple with tattoos covering the entirety of her arms and head.

Niva squinted. From one of the border tribes. She wasn’t vengeful towards them; she directed her hatred at the mother and her believers. But that didn’t mean she was fond of them.

Before she began eyeing the border tribe woman as well, the door at the end of the hallway opened. A short man, who wore a long and flowing robe, walked in. Judging by the pressure that suddenly covered the room, this person was an Elder.

The Elder’s face radiated sternness: he kept his eyes narrowed and his mouth curved downwards. And somehow, the creases in his face gave even more weight to his presence.

The man arrived in front of the neatly arranged rows of disciples. He ran his eyes over all of them before he spoke.

“My name is Tai Sun. Henceforth to be referred to as Elder Sun. For those of you not fully aware, I’ll repeat the admission condition. Know that if you don’t accept it, you can still leave.

“After you start practicing the Heavenly Mountain Sect Cycling technique, you have three months to reach either the early stage of the Gron realm or the early stage of the Sisal realm. If you do not reach one of these stages within the time limit, we will brand you a figi: your cultivation will get destroyed, and we will send you back home. Consequently, the path of the immortal will be closed off to you, forever."

The Elder paused to allow his words to sink in when one of the disciples in the middle rows raised their hand.

“Speak,” said Elder Sun.

“Why exactly is our cultivation getting destroyed when we leave?”

The disciple flinched. Almost the entire room looked at him as if he was an idiot. If the Elder thought so too, then his face didn’t show it at all.

“This is the first thing the schools teach. How come you don’t know?” asked Elder Sun.

“My school never mentioned it, Elder Sun.”

The Elder stared at the disciple. “You’re from one of the border cities?”

“Yes, sir.” The surrounding students whispered among themselves, and the disciple reddened a little.

Dino and Niva both grimaced. This kid is making us look bad, Niva thought. What backwater border city doesn’t teach students this?

“Which one?”

“Ahan, sir.” The room went silent at the statement. Moreover, most disciples immediately changed their attitude. Looks of disgust and mockery turned into ones of respect and understanding.

“I suppose you cannot be blamed, then.” Elder Sun said.

Murmurs of agreement resounded from the students. Ahan was the closest to the frontlines. Which meant the Beast Alliance put the city under immense pressure every single day. It made sense that their schools didn’t teach the students the minutiae.

“The essence density in our world is sparse. This means that there can only be a limited number of cultivators. As a result, even though it is merciless, we do not allow loose immortals. Talentless individuals need to make room for the ones who will protect our lands from the beasts lurking beyond our borders.”

The disciple bowed. “Thank you, Elder Sun.”

“Back to the matter at hand, if you reach these thresholds within the time limit, you will be allowed to stay within the sect and cultivate freely till the year is up. Afterward, we elders will grade your performance and discuss the investment you are worth in your second year.”

“You now have 1 minute to decide if you want to leave or remain.”

No one left. The lure to become a cultivator was immense. Some wanted to answer the call and reach the heights of the war hero, Ephraim. While Others were simply in it for the prestige: the most valuable mortal was but dirt to the lowest of the lowest cultivator.

“Good. Then I wish all of you the best of luck. May you bring pride to the Heavenly Mountain Sect.” The Elder started walking away, but he stopped to regard the disciples again.

“I almost forgot, but every year a few students who see that they won’t make the time limit try to flee the sect in hopes of keeping their cultivation intact.”

Everyone expected the Elder to give more clarity, but he instead said only one word.

“Don’t.”

The non-threatening pressure that already covered the room turned into one of barely restrained violence and bloodlust. Niva’s lungs constricted, which caused her to sway on her feet. She saw disciples kneeling on the ground in her peripheral view while shrieks echoed throughout the hall.

The message couldn’t have been any clearer. Nothing good would await those who tried to flee.

Feelings of suppression and thoughts of death left together with the Elder when he exited the hall.

The entire room let out a sigh.

A short, senior woman entered Niva's vision shortly after Elder Sun left. Her demeanor showed the other side of the coin. Instead of the stern and disapproving look, she held a heartwarming smile on her face. She looked like a grandmother ready to dote on her grandchildren.

The Elder chuckled as she took center stage. "I apologize for Tai's display. Just know that he is trying to do you all a favor. No one likes to see bad things happen to teenagers because of their greed.”

The woman's smile faltered when she noticed a few disciples who failed to keep the contents of their stomachs inside, but it returned shortly after. "When I have finished laying out some of the rules, you will have an hour to find your housing. It's on a first-come-first-served basis. Afterward, you will all go over to your essence theory class to gain the Heavenly Mountain cycling technique.”

The Elder waited for the disciples to recover and pay attention before she continued.

”Rule number one, there will be no fighting during the first three months. Those caught in the act of violence will all be expelled and have their cultivation crippled. There are no exceptions.

“Rule number two: when you are attending an Elder’s class, their word is the law. Every Elder is different. An Elder can ban you from attending their lectures for a reason you think is unfair, but that is how it will be. The Elders do not interfere with each other’s lessons.

"And finally, you are only allowed to leave the sect grounds with a permit. We give those out when you are taking on a Sect mission, for example. We regard disciples found outside of our lands without a permit as escapees. So, be careful.”

Her heartwarming smile grew even wider at her last statement, which made the ominous flair around it even worse.

“Now then, those in the front rows can leave the hall first, in an orderly fashion, and start searching for their lodgings.”

Our punishment for being late, Niva thought. The two of them would be fighting for scraps.