Joining A Peak

"Next is Strength Peak. It is related to body cultivation techniques. I heard that you are quite strong physically; you can try them if you want.

After Strength Peak is the Array Peak. It is related to arrays, basically if you had good comprehension abilities you can join them. There's not much else to say about it.

Similarly, Weapon Peak is related to refining weapons or defensive armors, while Talisman Peak is related to learning the art of making talismans.

Let me make it clear for you one more thing: you can join any peak of your choice, but that doesn't mean that you can't visit other peaks to learn from them.

You are free to go to any peak and learn their techniques, you don't even need to take permission. But not many do that, as cultivating itself is a very time-consuming process, so many people can't even think of taking on more than one profession.

If you think you can do it, then you are allowed to learn as many professions as you can; no one will stop you. So tell me, which peak do you want to join?"

When Jiang Hao heard that, he thought for a moment.

Spirit Peak was out of the question for him. He didn't need any cultivation techniques. After all, he doubted that there existed any Heaven-grade cultivation techniques in the Lower World, much less in Mountain Sword Sect.

He didn't want to join Strength Peak for similar reasons, as he didn't need any body cultivation techniques.

Elder Huan was right. Sword Peak really was the best place for him, as no one would disturb him there.

But it also didn't sound right to blackmail Senior Sister Ming Yue's master for it. And if he joined the inner part of Sword Peak, it wouldn't be any different from other peaks.

Since his physique was the Heaven Refining Physique, joining Alchemy or Weapons Peak sounded like a good idea. And since he already knew Elder Huan, it would be a lot better for him to join Alchemy Peak.

Also, Alchemy Peak dealt with spirit herbs and other valuable resources. It might be even easier for him to get his hands on them.

He didn't care about other professions for the time being. His reason for joining the sect was to learn knowledge about this world. But Now that he had gotten himself into this mess, the moment he left the sect, he might be followed by many enemies.

It looked like he might have to use the ring to teleport away in the future. It wouldn't be a problem in the short term, but it would reveal that he had something that could allow him to leave the sect undetected.

If possible, he wanted to hide this fact as long as he could. He was very weak right now, after all. Even Senior Hu Tian had died because of treasure, and he was one of the strongest in his world, while Jiang Hao was only at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm right now.

Let's see how long I can last in this sect, he thought internally and looked at Huan Caiyi.

"Elder Huan, I would like to join Alchemy Peak."

When Huan Caiyi heard that, she was surprised.

"Are you sure? It will be a waste of your talents. Let me tell you, even the sect master might want you as a personal disciple when he gets to know about your test results."

"Elder Huan, I will be direct—I don't want to recognize anyone as my master."

When Huan Caiyi heard that, she was surprised again. Every disciple here wanted to acknowledge a peak master as their master. The benefits of being a direct disciple were so good that no one would say no if a peak master wanted to take them as a direct disciple.

She herself had never taken a direct disciple, as she didn't want to take one. She once wanted to take Ming Yue as a disciple, but Zhi Hui also wanted to take her as a disciple, so she let it go.

When she looked at Jiang Hao, he looked serious when he said that, so he really didn't want to be a direct disciple.

Well, it won't matter anyway. If he joins my peak, who would have the guts to ask him to become their direct disciple? They have to ask me if I want to let him go.

"Fine, from now onwards, you are a core disciple of Alchemy Peak. Forget it—you will be a direct disciple instead since those positions are empty anyway."

Jiang Hao didn't care whatever status he got, so he just nodded.

They finally reached a building. It was quite big.

"It's the Treasury Pavilion of the whole sect. Every peak has its own Treasury Pavilion, so I doubt you will need to come here again, as only the most important treasures are stored here."

Jiang Hao made a note of everything Huan had said till now.

They entered the pavilion. It was almost empty, with only a single old man sitting at the reception with closed eyes.

"Hmm... What a rare surprise to see you here," said the old man the moment they reached him.

"Is it? It's not like I can't come here," Huan Caiyi replied calmly.

"I don't think there is any spirit herb here that will catch your eyes."

"You shouldn't be worried about that. I am not here to loot you anyway. Give me the direct disciple robe for this junior here and also the sect token."

"Hmm... which peak master has taken a new disciple? Is it Zhi Hui? Because I doubt you would run an errand for anyone else."

"Che!... What has that got to do with you? Well, since you asked, he is the direct disciple of Alchemy Peak and In-name disciple of mine."

"Eh?... Really? You are saying Alchemy Hall finally has a direct disciple? That really is news worth celebrating."

"Stop with your sarcasm, old man. Give me the robes and token."

"Fine, fine... young ones these days are always in a hurry."

Jiang Hao just stood there calmly and listened to their bickering.

The old man went inside.

"Don't be fooled by his old appearance. He is one of the strongest people in the sect."

Jiang Hao wasn't surprised because he had already sensed it.

After some time, he came back with two pristine robes of light blue color and a token in his hand. He threw both of them to Jiang Hao, sat again on his chair, and closed his eyes before speaking.

Huan Caiyi beckoned him to leave, and as they were about to leave the entrance, they heard from him again.

"By the way, how far did he go in the Test of Will?"

Huan Caiyi stopped and looked at the old man with a mischievous smile.

"Not so far, He was only able to touch it."

After saying that, she left, and Jiang Hao followed her.

"He was able to touch it? Touch what, the 60-meter mark?"

Jiang Hao heard the old man's voice, but Huan Caiyi didn't stop and kept walking, so Jiang Hao also followed her.

"Listen, the results of your tests are publicly available, so everyone will know it soon. But don't ever mention your spirit roots to anyone. Let them make wild guesses or ask those guards.

Even the elders and sect master shouldn't know about this. Although the sect master is not a spy, who knows if there are some elders who are in cahoots with other sects?

Having spies in the sect is a very normal condition, so it's better to avoid revealing it.

The reason for this much vigilance is because we already have a supreme genius like Ming Yue. Although we haven't announced it publicly, other sects already know about.

And now that we have you, others will become jealous and threatened. Having one supreme genius is already pressure on Mountain Sword Sect, but having two? You can already guess the results.

Not to mention, your spirit root is a Fire Spiritual Root. If Blazing Valley Sect finds out, they will be too envious of it. They might even demand you from us, after all, since Mountain Sword Sect already has one supreme genius.

Of course, we won't give you away. Even if the pressure is too high, Mountain Sword Sect has the foundation of countless years, so we will be able to handle it.

But the other sects will definitely try to eliminate you. Defending you from outsiders is an easy task, but what about those spies in the sect? They might give up their own lives to eliminate you, and that will be the most dangerous for you.

So, hiding your spiritual roots is the most efficient solution. Although even without knowing about your spiritual root, they might still target you—your test results are just that terrifying—but the enemies they send will be much weaker in that case."

Jiang Hao nodded when he heard that.

They had covered quite a distance when the spirit eagle came back again.

"Isn't she majestic? Her name is Meiying. I met her when she was badly injured. I treated her until she became well enough to take care of herself and told her to leave, but she didn't want to leave, so I let her stay with me for the time being, and we entered a blood contract of equality."

Jiang Hao already knew about every type of contract, so he understood what she was talking about.