“Greeting Elder Mao.” I acknowledged the ancient cultivator similarly to how I’d seen others treat the senior cultivator. I inclined my head, bowed, and cusped my hands in front of me. Moreover, considering the NPC’s considerable age, I found that treating the Golden Core Cultivator respectfully came naturally.

  “My name’s B-”

  “Outer Disciple Bishop.” Elder Mao interrupted me. “From the recruitment overseen by Inner Disciple Zhao and Inner Disciple Xiang in the town of Durnatel.” Elder Mao nodded at me before gesturing towards the side, where I found a small gathering of outer disciples looking at us curiously. “Wait over there.”

  “Y-Yes.” I stammered in surprise. This wasn’t how the interaction with Elder Mao usually went. Most people asked for tips before being directed to the Treasure Pavilion: One of the bigger and more elaborate buildings where disciples could borrow cultivation manuals in exchange for sect points.

  Locking eyes with Lana, I mirrored her confusion before shaking my head softly. I’d join her again later. Like me, I knew she was dying to get her hands on a cultivation method and start cultivating.

  Lana hesitated before ultimately responding to my look with a nod.

  “You also got the sword affinity?” One of the teenagers whispered as I stepped closer to the group, whose attention naturally shifted to me as the newest addition. Apart from me, there were three young men, and one young woman.

  Nodding, I answered honestly.

  “Yes, you?”

  The majority nodded, pointing out the common denominator. For some reason, Elder Mao was gathering all the outer disciples with sword affinities for an additional meeting. The purpose of which remained to be seen.

  The sun had already risen by a great degree when the long line of excited outer disciples badgering Elder Mao with questions ran out. To his credit, Elder Mao never once displayed even a hint of annoyance as he continued to answer their questions pedagogically and methodologically. At least appearance-wise, he truly looked the part as a benevolent elder cultivator.

  Needless to say, standing this close to Elder Mao and the line of disciples, I benefitted immensely from listening in on their conversations.

  Apparently, one isn’t recognized as a cultivator until one successfully breaks through the first threshold, elevating one’s self from a mortal into something pseudo-spiritual.

  Therefore, becoming a Qi-Refining Cultivator was nearly impossible for any one with less than an 8-star talent. Talent, I learnt, dictated multiple aspects of a cultivator’s ability to progress.

  The more stars you had, the longer you could cultivate without straining your meridians and dantian. Generally, someone with a 12-star talent could cultivate for six hours a day, while someone with a 14-star talent could cultivate for ten hours. Apparently, the difference only increased the more talented one was. The gap between the talented and the non-talented only increased the more you invested into cultivation.

  Additionally, talent often influenced the individual’s ability to control and manipulate qi.

  Listening to the conversations, I also learnt that there were multiple “paths” of cultivation. The most orthodox of which was to cultivate the spirit. However, there was also body and soul cultivation, which differed slightly.

  For reasons unknown, outer disciples were restricted to the orthodox path of cultivation: spirit cultivation.

  Not that it mattered too much to me; soul, spirit, or body, the idea of cultivating and becoming superhuman fascinated me endlessly.

  In fact, I felt jittery with excitement, a feeling I hadn’t felt since the last time I was in the hospital waiting-room, impatiently waiting for my youngest child to be born.

  If my ex-wife knew I was comparing the birth of my children to the feeling I got from a game, she’d probably scoff and throw me a look of repulsion, but for once in my life, I found that I didn’t care.

  We’d been divorced for nearly a decade, after all.

  When the last outer disciple bowed to Elder Mao in gratitude, the elder turned towards my group with a faint smile. After my admittance, two more had joined: one girl and one boy. Bringing the total number of new outer disciples with a sword affinity up to seven.

  “Now.” Elder Mao clapped his hands. Subsequently, the background chatter vanished as a faintly translucent barrier materialized, separating the group from the surrounding spectators. The barrier shimmered slightly in the light, looking absolutely magical.

  “A privacy ward.” Elder Mao explained. “A basic formation known by most formation masters.”

  I nodded slowly. Somehow, my hand had found its way back to the hilt of my sword without me knowing. Needless to say, the action hadn’t escaped Elder Mao’s notice who promptly chuckled in amusement.

  “Don’t worry, children.” Elder Mao smirked. “If I wished any of you harm, I wouldn’t have bothered erecting a privacy ward.”

  Seeing one of my peers opening their mouths in protest, Elder Mao continued.

  “Although murder outside a sanctioned duel is strictly prohibited in the sect, if an inner elder like me were to accidentally take the life of a group of outer disciples, I’d most likely suffer through a slap on his fingers at most.” Elder Mao clarified, not forgetting to smile meanwhile.

  “Heed this warning: Even in a sect as great as ours, safety is never guaranteed.”

  “Alas, albeit a valuable lesson, that wasn’t the reason why I asked you all to stay behind.” Elder Mao sighed. “As outer disciples with the sword affinity, you all possess one of the prerequisites to join the Asura faction. A highly-regarded coterie currently being spearheaded by Core Disciple Sun.”

  Surprisingly, even Elder Mao couldn’t help but to display a hint of subservience and awe as he mentioned the leader of the Asuras.

  “Nevertheless, even with the sword affinity, not everyone is eligible to join the Asura faction.”

  “Then why did you even ask us to stay?” One of the males, a player whom I didn’t recognize, scoffed impatiently.

  For a second, Elder Mao just stared at the offending player blankly. Then, his smile returned as if no one had said anything.

  Yet, the player who had interjected looked as pale as a sheet of paper.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “To join the Asuras, you must first prove yourself worthy of the privilege.” Elder Mao waved his sleeve, and seven books appeared. One book hovered in the air in front of each outer disciple, as if grasped by invisible hands.

  “This is a cultivation method developed by the Unfettered Swordmaster, Han Zhenya. For over a millennium, the ‘Unbound Sword Cultivation Method‘ has produced some of the most successful sword cultivators in the western continent. It is a Late-Mystic ranked cultivation method typically worth 940 sect points.”

  Several of my peers’ eyes shone at the mention of the book’s immense value. However, like a few others, I couldn’t help but frown.

  “Anyone who manages to reach the fourth layer of Qi-Refining before the age of twenty will be accepted as an Asura initiate and will enjoy the support of a faction led by a core disciple.”

  Maybe it was just my imagination, but Elder Mao’s perpetual smile, which had always come across as benevolent, suddenly seemed a bit sinister.

  “But to just hand someone a cultivation method worth 940 sect points?” The twisting mass in my gut told me not to accept this offer.

  Sure, one shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. However, it was also true that some offers were too good to be true.

  And so, three of us gratefully declined the offer, while four eagerly accepted. Their eyes already fixated to the booklets in front of them.

  This time, I definitely didn’t imagine the baleful look Elder Mao shot at me and the other two who had chosen to abstain.

  “Yeah, something’s definitely wrong here…” I hid the fear that was creeping up on me to the best of my ability.

  Fortunately, after we bowed at him in apologetic gratitude, Elder Mao didn’t hinder us from leaving.

  Though, based on the amount of sweat trickling down my spine, it still felt like I’d just survived a life-and-death battle.

  In silence, I walked alongside the two other disciples who had refused Elder Mao’s generous offer. It wasn’t strange since we were all headed towards the same place: the Treasure Pavilion.

  “Why didn’t you accept?” The other male disciple, the player who had interjected earlier, asked as we left the outdoor education facility behind us.

  “Tsk.” The female disciple, an NPC, clicked her tongue in irritation. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to become an immortal. Immortals don’t depend on others for help. Just being handed a Mystic ranked cultivation method on a silver platter like that? Please.”

  I raised an eyebrow at that comment; it seemed she knew more about the topic than I did.

  “You know what a Mystic ranked cultivation method is?” The other player interjected before I could respond. Fortunately, he took the words straight out of my mouth.

  Again, the female outer disciple clicked her tongue in displeasure, but noticing the curiosity on our faces, she acquiesced.

  “Just like martial arts, cultivation methods are ranked according to their strength and overall effectiveness.” The female disciple regurgitated off of memory. “Most cultivation methods are Yellow ranked, which obviously is the worst rank. Then there is the Mystic rank, priceless treasures for lesser sects, but commonplace in rank 4 factions like this one.”

  I digested the information immediately.

  “Above the Mystic rank.” Even the arrogant girl sighed in envy. “There is the Earth rank, typically reserved for inner and core disciples. And finally, above the already impressive Earth rank, there is the fabled Heaven rank.”

  The girl scoffed at us.

  “I doubt even the White Tiger Sect possesses more than one or two Heaven rank cultivation methods. And they certainly will not trade them for some measly sect points if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  With the other player occupied by his own thoughts, I decided to interject.

  “How do you know all of this?” I questioned, curious to gauge the validity of her claims. “Aren’t you an outer disciple too?”

  “I might be an outer disciple, for now.” The girl snarked as she looked at me down her nose. “But please don’t lump me in with the likes of yourselves.”

  “My name is Meng Ai, the fourth daughter of Meng Cai, and a scion of the Meng Clan.”

  “Oh shit.” I hurriedly suppressed myself from groaning. This was the brat Hou Wen asked me to look after?

  “Not some lousy peasant with futile dreams of cultivation.”

  “Yeah…” I slowly distanced myself from the arrogant young lady. “Sorry Hou Wen… but this arrogant nutcase is on her own.”

  …

  We arrived at the Treasure Pavilion without much fanfare. The popular building was bustling with activity, with both older and younger outer disciples leaving and entering its gates.

  Notably, all the disciples wore robes with details indicating they were outer disciples.

  “Come to think of it… where are all the inner and core disciples?” I mused as I entered the building, unable to spot where Lana had disappeared to.

  Unlike the outside, the interior of the Treasure Pavilion was as silent as the grave. While both chatter and laughter were prevalent outside the gates, inside, everyone was on their best behaviour.

  Meng Ai left without so much as a good bye, and I parted ways with the male player not long after. He seemed like an alright guy, but during our short walk together, I had quickly ascertained what kind of person he was. He was one of those people who always thought their opinion was the best one. And I had exposed myself enough to their ilk during my old work, I didn’t want to go through the same experience in Cultivation Online too.

  I had to hand over my outer disciple badge to one of the managers in order to gain access to the first floor.

  “As a new outer disciple, you are permitted to borrow one cultivation method from the first floor of the treasure pavilion.” The manager droned. “Note that before you may leave with a copy of your desired cultivation method, you must swear a standardized oath to Heaven that you will not consciously or unconsciously divulge the contents of your cultivation method. A crippling of your meridians and expulsion from the sect is the most lenient punishment. However, the execution of both the offender and their relatives is more common. The scroll copy must be returned within thirty days. Failure to do so will result in the aforementioned consequences being applied.”

  “You have one hour to choose a cultivation method. Note that your first entrance is free, but your next visit will be charged ten sect points as an entrance fee.”

  My eyes widened at the price of just entering the cultivation method hall.

  “I wonder what will happen if a player breaks a heavenly oath…” So far, I hadn’t found any information online about cultivation methods being leaked, but I reckoned it was only a matter of time before it happened.

  The first floor of the treasure pavilion was massive.

  “And to think this is only half the floor…” I marveled at the massive pillars supporting the decorated roof above me.

  The second half of the treasure pavilion contained martial art techniques and whatnot. Needless to say, it was on my to-do list.

  Scattered around the room, outer disciples were scouring through the shelves of booklets containing a myriad of different cultivation methods. Some booklets were thin, while others were tomes of ridiculous sizes.

  “To think… these are all Yellow ranked cultivation methods…” I remarked as I read through some of the titles.

  Daylight Remembrance Cultivation Method (Low-Yellow).

  Liao’s Crackling Earth Cultivation Method (Low-Yellow).

  …

  After nearly half-an-hour of searching, I finally found the shelf that contained what I was looking for.

  Sword Cultivation Methods

  Li’s Cloudless Sword Method (Mid-Yellow)

  Falling Snow Sword Method (Mid-Yellow)

  Rain Dance Sword Method (Mid-Yellow)

  Demon Obliterating Sword Method (Late-Yellow)

  Auspicious Breeze Sword Method (Late-Yellow)

  Wang’s Imperial Sword Method (Late-Yellow)

  …