"Now what should we do?" Lingluo asked, stretching lazily as she leaned back in her chair.
"Maybe we should check out the peaks?" suggested Yu Xueqing.
"That’s not a bad idea," Yu Xuan nodded thoughtfully.
"But we just arrived yesterday," Yu Bo interjected. "Shouldn’t we explore the sect grounds first?"
"We could do that too," Lin Fan added, ever the flexible protagonist.
Mo Lin raised an eyebrow. "It’s all huge anyway. Might as well wander a bit."
Yu Xuan leaned back, casually tapping his medallion. "We still need to figure out how the point system works. Our food and rooms are only free for a month, after that—sect points for everything."
Everyone quieted at that.
The information had been made clear through the medallion the day before: after the one-month grace period, everything—lodging, meals, training resources, missions—would cost sect points. Even basic cultivation resources would have to be earned.
Yu Xuan thought it was so game-like giving them growth period, or the newbies would be killed for XP.
"And the best way to understand how to earn those points," Yu Xuan continued, "is by asking the senior disciples already living here."
"That means... social interaction," Mo Lin groaned.
"You’ll live," Lingluo snorted.
They were just about to wrap up their breakfast and begin their sightseeing and investigation of the sect...
Everyone’s medallions pulsed with light at the same time.
Not just theirs. Every disciple present in the Nourishment Hall saw their medallion glow faintly for a second — and then a stream of information flowed directly into their minds.
The message was short and clear:
All new disciples must gather near one of the registration crystals within the hour. A senior disciple will arrive shortly to explain sect protocols, systems, and expectations. Attendance is mandatory.
Yu Xuan blinked. "...Well, there goes the sightseeing."
"Just when I was getting into the mood," Mo Lin sighed dramatically.
"No escaping fate," said Ming Tianmei trying to sound mysterious, then standing up.
Everyone else groaned, but agreed.
"We’ll explore later," Yu Xueqing said, standing as well. "Let’s get this over with."
The group made their way through the sect pathways, following the map embedded in their medallions. Despite its vastness, the guidance system was quite intuitive.
After twenty minutes of casual walking and occasional complaints from Mo Lin about sore legs, they arrived at one of the central squares where dozens of large registration crystals were placed.
Settling in near one, they passed the time with light chatter, waiting for the senior disciple to arrive.
Along the way, Yu Xuan and his group passed by the dragons they had clashed with the previous day.
The horned beings were gathered near another registration crystal, seated proudly as if the whole world owed them space. But surprisingly, they didn’t make a fuss this time.
Yu Xuan’s group chose to ignore them, and the dragons, for once, returned the favor. It seemed neither side was eager to stir unnecessary trouble — at least not today.
Soon, more disciples began gathering near their own registration crystal. Small groups from different realms, clustered together, each with unique appearances and auras.
As they waited, Yu Xuan struck up light conversations with a few nearby disciples.
One in particular stood out — a slightly chubby young man with an easygoing smile and a spark of mischief in his eyes.
When Yu Xuan introduced himself, the other boy puffed his chest and grinned. "You can call me Fatty Fu! Everyone does."
Yu Xuan couldn’t help but chuckle. ’He’s definitely the money guy for some poor protagonist.’
They chatted briefly about their respective realms before a flicker of light caught everyone’s attention.
A man in white-and-gold robes approached, radiating calm authority and a friendly demeanor. Three golden lines ran down his sleeve, they did not know what it represented.
The group, now numbering over seventy, quieted down.
The disciple looked them over and laughed, genuinely relieved.
"Ah, thank the heavens. Only seventy-three of you. I don’t want to handle a large group with nearly thousand disciples present" he said, looking near the crystal where another Inner Disciple with a grim look was nearly surrounded with thousand people.
He took a step forward, raising a hand in greeting. "Hello, everyone! I’m Yang Ye, Inner Disciple of the Order Heaven Peak. Nice to meet you all."
His tone was light and casual — almost too casual.
"Today, I won’t take up too much of your time," he said, glancing around at the slightly tense crowd. "Honestly, trying to give you all a grand tour today would be a mess — you’d probably forget everything by tomorrow anyway."
A few laughs broke out.
"So, how about we meet tomorrow, same time, same place, and I’ll walk you through the important stuff then?" He smiled like a fox trying to avoid paperwork.
Some of the disciples narrowed their eyes, suspecting a scam. A few even whispered about switching to a different guide.
But then Yang Ye added, "Before that, let me register your medallions I don’t want you getting marked as missing."
Resigned sighs filled the group, but everyone obediently raised their medallions.
A faint golden light flickered from Yang Ye’s own medallion as he synced their information. His expression was calm — until his eyes froze mid-way.
"Seventy-two... seventy-three? Wait..."
His brow twitched. "One inner disciple?"
He blinked and looked up. "Uh... who here is Yu Xuan?"
Yu Xuan, standing right near the front, raised his hand. "That’s me, Senior Brother."
Yang Ye looked him over — the delicate features, the composed gaze, the unfairly beautiful face.
"...Are you really male?" he blurted.
A shadow passed over Yu Xuan’s face.
Yang Ye coughed awkwardly. "Ah—my bad, my bad! No offense, Brother Xuan. You’ve got a... bright future ahead."
He gave a thumbs-up and quickly changed the topic.
"Well then! Tomorrow, same place, same time. Be there. I’m out!"
And with that, Yang Ye ran off in the direction he came from, clearly not wanting to dig a deeper hole.
The group was left blinking in silence.
"...Well," Mo Lin muttered. "That was something."
Yu Xuan sighed. "I’m getting used to it. Barely."