When the edges of the illusion cleared, Theron found himself standing in a farm, but quite an odd one.
There were the normal things one might expect. There were acres of crops and vegetation, stables for horses, pens for pigs and the like, all while the stench of livestock had grown exponentially.
Wet fur, manure, freshly cut grass, and rain—the scent bombarded Theron one after another.
Then he saw the workers. Many were young, but there were some old among them, sweating away on the fields as the weather became slowly more humid.
To the side, there were a few overseers, chatting away on plow machines or rocking their chairs. It was they who saw Theron’s appearance first, but Theron’s attention had already turned away from them and toward what truly made this place odd…
The enormous wall of steel.
It was tall enough to make any man feel small, skyscraping beyond the heights of even the Nightingale Pagoda; it must have been at least 50 or 60 meters in height alone. That certainly didn’t account for how deep its foundation went underground.
And then came the series of doors that was akin to the cherry on top.
They seemed so… out of place for such an enormous structure. Why would there be such a flaw in an otherwise robust defensive system?
’I see… the wall is just there for show, for grandeur. The real defenses of the Sect are only activated when the formation is. There’s likely a more complex defense and attack formation hidden within the concealment formation.
’Those openings in the steel wall become obsolete at that point. So why not leave a convenient little entrance for the worker disciples of the Sect?’
"Hey, you!" A middle-aged man sporting a belly with enough rippling waves to rival an ocean called out. "What are you doing here?"
Theron opened his mouth to reply before he paused for a moment. Changing his mind about what to say, he finally spoke.
"I’m here for the disciple entrance exam."
The middle-aged man looked to the side toward one of the worker elders and burst into laughter.
"Kid, you’re about half a year too late for that. Recruitment took place ages ago."
Theron scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry, senior. I received a recommendation letter three months ago and that helped direct me to the Sect, but I don’t have very much money or status where I’m from, so it took me a very long while to get here. I wasn’t sure if the recommendation letter would still hold true, so I came here hoping to take a test. I didn’t know I already missed the window." ṘἈℕ𝐨ʙĘ𝙎
Theron looked quite dejected, but the middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.
"A recommendation letter, you say? Three months ago? From who?"
"I received it from Elder Harlo of the Outer Sect."
The middle-aged man’s nerves seemed to calm after hearing this. Recommendation letters were rare, but one from the Outer Sect wasn’t as big of a deal. If it had been an Inner Sect Elder, then they’d probably have to hurry and build a bridge for Theron to the Sect even if it meant lining up their backs for him to step on.
"… You’re saying you got here by accident?"
"Mm. Well, this isn’t the entrance for you."
"Is it possible to point me to the right way?"
"I’m just a little worker elder, I don’t know about these things," the middle-aged man waved a hand dismissively.
"I see… sorry for bothering you, then. Other seniors, is there anyone of you that might know of something that can help me?"
The older men and women just blinked, their gazes quite blank.
Theron’s smile remained a little sad and gentle.
"Are there never any elders that come to inspect? Is there any way I can wait here until one of them shows up?"
"Well, you can wait," a kindly middle-aged woman spoke up, "but there’s no promise of how long. Inspections don’t happen very often so long as quotas are met."
"I see. Thank you. Where do they usually come from?"
The middle-aged woman paused as though trying to recall, and then her eyes lit up as she pointed toward the wall. But rather than the doors, her finger had gone almost to the clouds.
"Usually, they fall from up there."
Theron looked up to the smooth silver wall.
"Is there no other way to join the Sect?" Theron asked.
"Without a recommendation letter? I’ve heard of rumors of a way, but I can’t confirm," the middle-aged man with a belly spoke.
"And that is?" Theron asked curiously.
"Well, like I said, they’re just rumors. But there is a challenge in the Luminescent Moon Sect. Problem is that you actually have to be inside of it to do it."
"And where is that?" Theron asked another question.
"It’s located in the Inner Sect as far as I know."
"What a ridiculous rumor," a man sitting on top of a plowing machine called out. "If it’s a chance to enter the Sect, why is it located in a place only actual disciples can get to?"
"Fuck you, didn’t I say it was just a rumor three times? What are you busting my balls for?"
"Maybe because your lazy ass never does any work. How many sizes did your gut grow in the last half month?"
"Not enough for your wife to stop liking it."
"Say that again, you fat bastard!"
Theron had already tuned out the bantering old folk. At some point unknown to them, he had walked to the wall, looking up the sides of its sheer cliff.
In the cultivation world, there were only a few ways to fly.
To be a Wind Mancer with exceptional talent and bloodline. To be a Soul Mancer with a special treasure. To be a Spirit Mancer with a unique contracted spirit or bird beast.
There were probably countless other exceptions and unique possibilities, but none of them were ones Theron uniquely fell into.
But he didn’t need to fly this time.
’Breaking into a Sect might be interesting.’
Theron’s quads flexed, his eyes flashing with a concentrated light.
He leapt into the air, the tips of his feet sliding against the smooth silver wall a full five meters up.