17 - The mission

"I won't accept that!" Tianming's thunderous voice resounded through the arena, his eyes jumping from the wooden token in his hand to the golden one in Qingyi's hands.

Many gazes immediately fell on him. Was that guy crazy? Didn't he see what happened to the recruit at the beginning of the Sect selection?

"Do you have a problem with my judgment, Young Master Tianming?" Elder Tian's eyes were cold, but he didn't go any further than that.

"Yes!" The young master stepped forward. "I am a son of the Xu family! I won't accept a filthy peasant getting my token!"

"Your token? Who says anything here belongs to you?" A thread of murderous intent emerged from Tian, his heavy aura falling on Tianming and forcing him to lower his head.

But even so, the young master didn't give up.

"My big sister is an elder of the Sect, I demand an explanation!" He roared, his eyes bloodshot.

The elder froze, almost losing control, but in the end, he sighed heavily.

It wasn't worth it. It was better to let someone else from the Xu family deal with it.

"I'll talk to Elder Xu Qingxue about your case."

"You'd better!" Tianming growled.

Elder Tian ignored the insolence. He had more important matters to attend to.

"The outer disciples will guide you to your quarters. Everyone is released." He announced, his eyes focusing on Long Qingyi. "Long Qingyi, follow me."

"Yes, elder."

Soon, they started walking, leaving the arena and walking down the large central street that cut through the Sect to the base of the mountain.

Qingyi watched the hundreds of disciples on the street with interest, all of whom immediately interrupted their work to greet Tian.

"That golden token should go to Xu Tianming," the elder commented, ignoring the disciples' greetings. He stopped his steps, turning to Qingyi. "Do you know why I gave it to you instead of him?"

"This humble disciple doesn't know, elder," Qingyi shook his head.

Elder Tian didn't give him an immediate answer. Instead, he asked another question: "And what do you think of Xu Tianming?"

"He..." Qingyi hesitated, wondering what answer the elder would like to hear. After long moments, he finally opened his mouth. "He's pathetic," he said, lowering his head.

"Hm..." Elder Tian scratched his beard. "And what do you think of that girl, Hua Feiyan?"

"A beautiful flower, but whose nectar is made of poison."

"A good answer..." Elder Tian winked, looking pleased. "And what do you think of yourself? Of Long Qingyi?"

"Uh? I beg your pardon, elder, but I can't understand..."

"You don't have to understand, just answer honestly." Elder Tian cut him off.

Qingyi stopped and reflected, still confused as he spoke: "I'm nothing, elder. I'm just a man raised by a master to follow his teachings and make the world a better place."

"Exactly, and that's why I gave you this token. I'm glad you understand me." Elder Tian smiled and started walking again.

'Understand? Understand what? What the hell is that old bastard talking about? I don't fucking understand!' A thought popped into Qingyi's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

He hated wise old men for that. His master was exactly the same - they'd talk any random bullshit and expect him to understand perfectly.

Soon, they entered a closed forest, and a doubt arose in Qingyi's mind.

"Will the elder allow me a question?"

"Yes."

"How big is the Sect's territory?"

Elder Tian thought for a moment before answering: "If you're talking about the total controlled territory, the whole duchy belongs to us. If you're talking about the walled area, I'd guess around five hundred square kilometers."

"five hundred square kilometers?" Qingyi blinked, looking around and realizing that even after walking so far, the mountain had barely come any closer.

"We have more than ten thousand outer disciples, as well as areas for cultivation, combat and even hunting. Don't be so impressed by those numbers," Elder Tian laughed, finally arriving at a large wooden residence on the edge of a small lake.

It was a huge, luxurious two-storey oriental house, built entirely of black wood and surrounded by protective arrays.

Elder Tian stopped his steps.

"This will be your new residence. Only your token will be able to open it. Your monthly resource quota will be delivered directly to your token as long as you are within a thousand kilometers of the Sect." He explained, leading Qingyi through the large central hall.

"Thank you very much for your guidance, Elder Tian." Qingyi bowed as he clenched his fists, receiving a mysterious smile from the old man.

Qingyi was still confused as to why Elder Tian had guided him there.

He was pretty sure that any external disciple could have done the job. Why on earth would an elder, of all people, lower himself to that level?

"I know exactly what you're thinking." The elder's voice almost made Qingyi's heart stop.

What did that damn old man mean by that?

"I have a mission for you. This is the third day of the seventh month. At the end of this year, in exactly five months, it will be the inner disciple selection test. I hope you don't just pass, I want you to come first and claim the spiritual root enhancement pill."

"Elder... that's..." Qingyi frowned.

He needed to be at least at the first stage of the foundation to take part in the selection of inner disciples, but many there would be at the second or third stage.

Of course, it wasn't difficult for him to close that gap with the system, but that old man didn't know about the system.

Did he really expect someone at the sixth stage of the Qi Refinement Realm, with only a fifth-level spirit root, to reach the foundation realm in five months? That was simply absurd.

"I know it's difficult, and I can't take you as a direct disciple, but I can allow you to attend my classes when I go to teach my daughter." Elder Tian spoke, noticing Qingyi's hesitation.

A smile came over his old face when he saw Qingyi's face light up.

Who would deny being taught directly by a Sect elder? There were weekly classes with instructors, but they were far from being like the elders.

'Fuck your lessons, do you have a daughter?' Qingyi raised his face, just imagining the amount of lust points that the daughter of an elder of such a large Sect could give.

Of course, he could be caught and castrated by the elder if he wasn't careful, but high risk, high reward.