Yan Liqiang had to wait slightly longer this time round. Almost an hour had passed before a man in his forties dressed in a light blue gown entered the room. He stood by the entrance and stared at Yan Liqiang.
"You are Yan Liqiang?"
Yan Liqiang stood up. "Yes, I am!"
"Come with me. I will guide you through the admission procedures!"
"Alright, thank you!" Yan Liqiang expressed his gratitude and followed the person out of the room.
"There are rules I must explain to you before you join the Divine Sword Sect!" That person spoke to Yan Liqiang with a stoic face and a businesslike manner while they walked, however, his attitude was pretty arrogant. "Every disciple the Divine Sword Sect recruits is one in a million and every single one of them are outstanding individuals. For an ordinary person to join Divine Sword Sect is an achievement as challenging as ascending the Heavens. For you to be able to join the sect today is a blessing you have raked up over your past few lives. You didn't manage to get here on your own, but by relying on that key you have brought with you to unlock the Lock of Requital instead. The sect has only allowed you to join as a favor because a drop of water shall be returned with a burst of spring. Now that the sect has already returned the favor, you will have to act like all the other disciples in the sect. Do not expect any special treatment. You will do whatever the others are doing, eat the same food, use the same things and dress the same way as them. As to whether you can achieve anything here, it will all depend on you. From now onwards, the key you have brought with you will have nothing to with anything. The sect will definitely not tolerate any mistakes and violations of the sect's law. Understand?"
"Understood. I am just an ordinary disciple after joining Divine Sword Sect, so I will have to behave according to the rules of the sect." Yan Liqiang nodded and spoke calmly.
"I'm glad you understand. There were also people who joined the Divine Sword Sect like you in the past. Those greenhorns were from small places and were ignorant of the rules. They didn't know their place here and were ungrateful enough to expect special or preferential treatment everywhere they went. They didn't work hard, had neither aptitude nor strength and made no progress during their stay in the sect for a few years. Until now, they are just going around with their label of being the Divine Sword Sect's external disciple, spending their entire lives being measly stewards who mingle with peasants at a few manors under the Divine Sword Sect!"
"Every person's path is their own choice. They have no one to blame for the consequences!"
"Hm!" The man in light blue gown snorted. "That's good if you think that way…"
After hitting Yan Liqiang with the last two lines, the man didn't say anything else. He lowered his head and continued leading Yan Liqiang along the mountain path in the Divine Sword Sect compound. After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived at a big courtyard.
The big courtyard occupied a land of more than ten mu. A signboard— Juying Courtyard [1] hung above the entrance of the courtyard. There was a building seven stories high within.
The man in the light blue gown led Yan Liqiang into that building. An elderly man dressed in gray came over hurriedly and swept his glance across Yan Liqiang before he put on a humble smile on his face. "Steward Xue, did we recruit another new disciple again today?"
"Yes. Help him with the admission procedures…"
"Understood…"
The admission procedure wasn't that complex. All they needed was to register Yan Liqiang's full name, age, clan, birthplace and obtain all Yan Liqiang's fingerprints to build a simple profile for him. He took a look at Yan Liqiang's body, then distributed two same sets of gray clothes, socks, shoes, and book titled "The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect".
Soon after, Steward Xue left Juying Courtyard with Yan Liqiang and continued walking. After more than twenty minutes of walking, they arrived at another big courtyard with a sign which read 'Commandment Courtyard', then led Yan Liqiang to a row of rooms at the back of the courtyard.
Among the rows of rooms in the big courtyard, the faint recitation of a few youths could be heard.
"The Commandments of the Divine Sword Sect. The first commandment, you shall not betray your master and ancestors and disrespect your master... The second commandment, you shall not divulge techniques and help outsiders while living in the sect… The third commandment, you shall not kill those in the same sect and dishonor your clan…"
Steward Xue pushed open the door to the room where the recitation came from and led Yan Liqiang inside.
The room was a huge living quarter which could fit eight beds side by side. In front of every bed was a desk and a chair. When Yan Liqiang entered the room, there were four youths between fifteen and twenty, dressed in gray and seated on the chair in front of their bed. Each of them was reciting the "The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect" in their hands aloud while nodding.
All the four people stopped at the same time when they saw Steward Xue enter the room. They hurriedly stood up and stood respectfully beside their respective desks.
Steward Xue pointed at one of the beds in the room. "You will sleep there. For half a month, stay here and learn "The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect". When you have learned the rules and know how what you can or cannot do in the sect, only then will we arrange your next destination!" After he finished his explanation to Yan Liqiang, Steward Xue took a single glance at one of the young men standing at the side. "Ma Liang..."
"Here!" The oldest among the four hurriedly took a step forward in response.
"He's a newcomer. Teach him the rules!"
"Understood! Leave it to me, Steward Xue…"
After Steward Xue snorted, he turned around and left without saying anything else.
As soon as Steward Xue left, the gazes of the four people in the room instantly fell on Yan Liqiang. Every single one of them looked at Yan Liqiang up and down in curiosity. The other three kept quiet as Ma Liang came over with his head lifted and looked at Yan Liqiang arrogantly. A look of envy flashed across his eyes. He was quite annoyed by Yan Liqiang, regardless of his age or extremely handsome face. "What's your name?"
"Yan Liqiang!"
"From where?"
"Hu Province!"
"It's not easy to get into the Divine Sword Sect. We were all selected from the different branches of the Divine Sword Sect. How did you make it here?" Although the youth by the name Ma Liang had a smile on his face, Yan Liqiang wasn't sure what he was thinking.
Yan Liqiang gave him a small smile and his talent in pretension once again exploded. "Oh, it was nothing. My grandfather happens to know one of the Elders of the Divine Sword Sect. It took only a word from that Elder to get me in here. Two hours ago, I wasn't even part of the Divine Sword Sect…" He replied casually as if it was nothing.
Ma Liang's countenance contorted, immediately looked as though he was choking. Yan Liqiang ignored him and walked to his bed, holding the clothes in his hands. He came before his bed without consulting anyone and placed his stuff on the desk before he started to tidy everything up.
"Um… which Elder recommended you here?" Ma Liang wasn't willing to give up and continued pressing harder on the topic.
"Sorry, Steward Xue just ordered me to avoid mentioning the name of that Elder or try to earn myself any special treatment in the sect. I was told to keep a low profile and act like an ordinary disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. Brother Ma, you can just treat me like any other ordinary disciple. Please don't give me any special treatment either, otherwise, Steward Xue will be upset if he knew!"
"W-Well, I only asked out of curiosity…" Ma Liang's face was all smiles. His attitude towards Yan Liqiang instantly took a 180-degree change, as he was suddenly brimming with enthusiasm. "Brother Liqiang, if you have any doubts, you can ask me anything! Oh right, now that you are part of the Divine Sword Sect, you will have to get changed. Only the core disciples, Elders and above can wear whatever they like. There are dress codes for everyone else within the mountain gate of the sect. We can't just wear whatever we please…"
"Fine, I will get changed now…" Since it was all men in the room and he reckoned that he would be staying with the same bunch of people for the next few days, Yan Liqiang didn't bother to hide anything. He stripped in front of everyone and changed into the gray clothes he had just received earlier.
The gray clothes were of made of cotton fiber. Although the quality of the fabric wasn't that great, it wasn't too bad either. After getting dressed and tying a gray belt around his waist, Yan Liqiang was in the same attire as Ma Liang and the rest.
"Hahaha, as expected of Brother Liqiang. A handsome man indeed looks good in anything!" Ma Liang didn't forget to flatter Yan Liqiang from the side.
"Does wearing this attire make me a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect?"
"These gray clothes are the attire for external disciples of the sect, or more accurately, the 'odd jobs disciples'. In a few days time, we will leave and take up odd jobs on the mountain…"
Yan Liqiang had to wait slightly longer this time round. Almost an hour had passed before a man in his forties dressed in a light blue gown entered the room. He stood by the entrance and stared at Yan Liqiang.
"You are Yan Liqiang?"
Yan Liqiang stood up. "Yes, I am!"
"Come with me. I will guide you through the admission procedures!"
"Alright, thank you!" Yan Liqiang expressed his gratitude and followed the person out of the room.
"There are rules I must explain to you before you join the Divine Sword Sect!" That person spoke to Yan Liqiang with a stoic face and a businesslike manner while they walked, however, his attitude was pretty arrogant. "Every disciple the Divine Sword Sect recruits is one in a million and every single one of them are outstanding individuals. For an ordinary person to join Divine Sword Sect is an achievement as challenging as ascending the Heavens. For you to be able to join the sect today is a blessing you have raked up over your past few lives. You didn't manage to get here on your own, but by relying on that key you have brought with you to unlock the Lock of Requital instead. The sect has only allowed you to join as a favor because a drop of water shall be returned with a burst of spring. Now that the sect has already returned the favor, you will have to act like all the other disciples in the sect. Do not expect any special treatment. You will do whatever the others are doing, eat the same food, use the same things and dress the same way as them. As to whether you can achieve anything here, it will all depend on you. From now onwards, the key you have brought with you will have nothing to with anything. The sect will definitely not tolerate any mistakes and violations of the sect's law. Understand?"
"Understood. I am just an ordinary disciple after joining Divine Sword Sect, so I will have to behave according to the rules of the sect." Yan Liqiang nodded and spoke calmly.
"I'm glad you understand. There were also people who joined the Divine Sword Sect like you in the past. Those greenhorns were from small places and were ignorant of the rules. They didn't know their place here and were ungrateful enough to expect special or preferential treatment everywhere they went. They didn't work hard, had neither aptitude nor strength and made no progress during their stay in the sect for a few years. Until now, they are just going around with their label of being the Divine Sword Sect's external disciple, spending their entire lives being measly stewards who mingle with peasants at a few manors under the Divine Sword Sect!"
"Every person's path is their own choice. They have no one to blame for the consequences!"
"Hm!" The man in light blue gown snorted. "That's good if you think that way…"
After hitting Yan Liqiang with the last two lines, the man didn't say anything else. He lowered his head and continued leading Yan Liqiang along the mountain path in the Divine Sword Sect compound. After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived at a big courtyard.
The big courtyard occupied a land of more than ten mu. A signboard— Juying Courtyard [1] hung above the entrance of the courtyard. There was a building seven stories high within.
The man in the light blue gown led Yan Liqiang into that building. An elderly man dressed in gray came over hurriedly and swept his glance across Yan Liqiang before he put on a humble smile on his face. "Steward Xue, did we recruit another new disciple again today?"
"Yes. Help him with the admission procedures…"
"Understood…"
The admission procedure wasn't that complex. All they needed was to register Yan Liqiang's full name, age, clan, birthplace and obtain all Yan Liqiang's fingerprints to build a simple profile for him. He took a look at Yan Liqiang's body, then distributed two same sets of gray clothes, socks, shoes, and book titled "The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect".
Soon after, Steward Xue left Juying Courtyard with Yan Liqiang and continued walking. After more than twenty minutes of walking, they arrived at another big courtyard with a sign which read 'Commandment Courtyard', then led Yan Liqiang to a row of rooms at the back of the courtyard.
Among the rows of rooms in the big courtyard, the faint recitation of a few youths could be heard.
"The Commandments of the Divine Sword Sect. The first commandment, you shall not betray your master and ancestors and disrespect your master... The second commandment, you shall not divulge techniques and help outsiders while living in the sect… The third commandment, you shall not kill those in the same sect and dishonor your clan…"
Steward Xue pushed open the door to the room where the recitation came from and led Yan Liqiang inside.
The room was a huge living quarter which could fit eight beds side by side. In front of every bed was a desk and a chair. When Yan Liqiang entered the room, there were four youths between fifteen and twenty, dressed in gray and seated on the chair in front of their bed. Each of them was reciting the "The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect" in their hands aloud while nodding.
All the four people stopped at the same time when they saw Steward Xue enter the room. They hurriedly stood up and stood respectfully beside their respective desks.
Steward Xue pointed at one of the beds in the room. "You will sleep there. For half a month, stay here and learn "The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect". When you have learned the rules and know how what you can or cannot do in the sect, only then will we arrange your next destination!" After he finished his explanation to Yan Liqiang, Steward Xue took a single glance at one of the young men standing at the side. "Ma Liang..."
"Here!" The oldest among the four hurriedly took a step forward in response.
"He's a newcomer. Teach him the rules!"
"Understood! Leave it to me, Steward Xue…"
After Steward Xue snorted, he turned around and left without saying anything else.
As soon as Steward Xue left, the gazes of the four people in the room instantly fell on Yan Liqiang. Every single one of them looked at Yan Liqiang up and down in curiosity. The other three kept quiet as Ma Liang came over with his head lifted and looked at Yan Liqiang arrogantly. A look of envy flashed across his eyes. He was quite annoyed by Yan Liqiang, regardless of his age or extremely handsome face. "What's your name?"
"Yan Liqiang!"
"From where?"
"Hu Province!"
"It's not easy to get into the Divine Sword Sect. We were all selected from the different branches of the Divine Sword Sect. How did you make it here?" Although the youth by the name Ma Liang had a smile on his face, Yan Liqiang wasn't sure what he was thinking.
Yan Liqiang gave him a small smile and his talent in pretension once again exploded. "Oh, it was nothing. My grandfather happens to know one of the Elders of the Divine Sword Sect. It took only a word from that Elder to get me in here. Two hours ago, I wasn't even part of the Divine Sword Sect…" He replied casually as if it was nothing.
Ma Liang's countenance contorted, immediately looked as though he was choking. Yan Liqiang ignored him and walked to his bed, holding the clothes in his hands. He came before his bed without consulting anyone and placed his stuff on the desk before he started to tidy everything up.
"Um… which Elder recommended you here?" Ma Liang wasn't willing to give up and continued pressing harder on the topic.
"Sorry, Steward Xue just ordered me to avoid mentioning the name of that Elder or try to earn myself any special treatment in the sect. I was told to keep a low profile and act like an ordinary disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. Brother Ma, you can just treat me like any other ordinary disciple. Please don't give me any special treatment either, otherwise, Steward Xue will be upset if he knew!"
"W-Well, I only asked out of curiosity…" Ma Liang's face was all smiles. His attitude towards Yan Liqiang instantly took a 180-degree change, as he was suddenly brimming with enthusiasm. "Brother Liqiang, if you have any doubts, you can ask me anything! Oh right, now that you are part of the Divine Sword Sect, you will have to get changed. Only the core disciples, Elders and above can wear whatever they like. There are dress codes for everyone else within the mountain gate of the sect. We can't just wear whatever we please…"
"Fine, I will get changed now…" Since it was all men in the room and he reckoned that he would be staying with the same bunch of people for the next few days, Yan Liqiang didn't bother to hide anything. He stripped in front of everyone and changed into the gray clothes he had just received earlier.
The gray clothes were of made of cotton fiber. Although the quality of the fabric wasn't that great, it wasn't too bad either. After getting dressed and tying a gray belt around his waist, Yan Liqiang was in the same attire as Ma Liang and the rest.
"Hahaha, as expected of Brother Liqiang. A handsome man indeed looks good in anything!" Ma Liang didn't forget to flatter Yan Liqiang from the side.
"Does wearing this attire make me a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect?"
"These gray clothes are the attire for external disciples of the sect, or more accurately, the 'odd jobs disciples'. In a few days time, we will leave and take up odd jobs on the mountain…"
