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On his way to Heavenly Water Peak, Li Guanqi encountered many fellow disciples who had joined the sect at the same time.
Young men and women, dressed in the brand-new attire of the sect, had their faces brimming with anticipation for the future.
In groups of twos and threes, they chatted and laughed as they made their way towards Heavenly Water Peak.
Heavenly Water Peak was located to the west of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
The positions of the five main peaks were also planned according to the attributes of the five elements.
Only the Wind, Thunder, and Ice elemental main peaks stood alone.
Just as Li Guanqi envied the others for their camaraderie, two figures suddenly wrapped their arms around his neck from behind.
"Hahaha! Guanqi, who would have thought you'd choose a Thunder elemental Spirit Root."
"Exactly, and to think you're one in ten thousand with a Saint-Grade Spirit Root!"
"Being directly admitted to the Inner Sect, you're truly soaring to the skies."
A smile crept onto Li Guanqi's lips; the newcomers were Lin Dong, who had joined the Inner Sect of Heavenly Earth Peak, and Li Shengan, who had joined the Outer Sect of Heavenly Gold Peak.
Li Guanqi smiled slightly, having recently inquired about the two's circumstances.
"Lin Dong, you're not doing too badly yourself, with a Heavenly Spirit Root of the Earth element, you're bound to have a great future."
The honest Lin Dong scratched his head and grinned, "Must be the ancestors' blessings from our family's grave."
Beside him, Li Shengan's face showed a hint of satisfaction.
He said to himself, "For someone with a mixed Spirit Root like me, it's already good enough to be in the Outer Sect."
The three of them ascended Heavenly Water Peak together.
Along the way, it turned out that ninety percent of the disciples on Heavenly Water Peak were female.
Many senior sisters stood on rooftops or higher ground, constantly chatting and jesting about the new disciples who had just joined this year.
"Wow, senior sister~ did you see that blind guy carrying a stone on his back?"
"I heard he's the only disciple Heavenly Thunder Peak took in this year, and he has a Saint-Grade Spirit Root even more powerful than Senior Brother Wu Bing!"
The pretty-faced girl, listening to the chirping of her junior sisters, simply smiled faintly.
"Li Guanqi, to think a blind man would have such an elegant name."
"His talent is indeed unparalleled across the entire Qingyun Continent."
"Alright, time to practice."
The bustling crowd gathered in the grand hall of Heavenly Water Peak.
Each person had a meditation cushion, sitting cross-legged.
The seating arrangement was also quite particular, as the world of cultivation places great emphasis on hierarchy, with the strong being revered.
Li Guanqi wanted to sit with his two friends, but Li Shengan said, "That won't do, your status now is as the closed-door disciple of the Great Elder of Heavenly Thunder Peak."
"That's a position even higher than the core disciples under the Elders."
"You should be seated at the very front!"
Li Guanqi looked around and noticed the unnatural expressions on the faces of those around him. With no choice, he walked to the very front.
The cushion there was solitary, with the Inner Sect disciples behind him, and further back, the Outer Sect disciples.
This time, the Great Xia Sword Sect had opened its doors wide, taking in a total of three hundred ninety-two disciples, which was considered a large intake.
Among them, over sixty were directly admitted to the Inner Sect for cultivation, including four with Heavenly Spirit Roots.
Even with a Heavenly Spirit Root, not all were valued by the Elders to become their disciples.
Li Guanqi sat cross-legged on the ground, with a desk in front of him and also a meditation cushion.
Swoosh!
A breeze swept through, and a woman in an ice-blue robe appeared out of thin air behind the desk.
The stern-faced woman was Elder Lan He of Heavenly Water Peak, in the late Golden Elixir Realm.
Elder Lan's beautiful eyes saw many empty cushions and her expression immediately darkened.
With a wave of her hand, the doors of the grand hall slammed shut, and the disciples running towards it suddenly looked bitter.
They dared not knock on the door and could only obediently stand outside.
Elder Lan gently lifted her robe and slowly sat down on the cushion.
"Late on the first day of class! Then stand outside!"
"Class begins!"
The disciples in the hall straightened their backs, not expecting Elder Lan to be so true to her word.
No matter whether you were an Inner or Outer Sect disciple, if you were late, you were not getting in.
At the same time, everyone formed their first impression of the Sword Sect.
"Do as you say!"
Elder Lan was beautiful, but as a teaching Elder, her eyes always carried a hint of authority.
Elder Lan spoke softly, "You must all think that entering the path of cultivation is very exciting."
"But the first lesson I want to teach you today is not to trust others lightly!"
Buzz!
The disciples below began whispering among themselves as soon as these words were spoken.
After a moment, Elder Lan continued, "When you reach a certain level of cultivation, you'll understand that those who call you 'fellow daoist' in normal times will be the ones to abandon you in critical moments."
"You don't need to understand this now, just keep it in mind."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the hundred-meter-wide hall to hear.
Then, a jade token flashed in Elder Lan's hand.
Elder Lan held up the jade token and said softly, "I'm sure you've all received your own Identity Jade Token."
"From today onwards, make sure to always carry it with you!"
"Because it will accompany you for life!"
Her words were heavy, but every disciple who left the Great Xia Sword Sect knew what they meant.
"The jade token has many uses, the most important within the sect being contribution points."
"The points will also be recorded in the jade token, which has a tracking ability to see the location of other fellow disciples when necessary."
"You can also use the jade token to check the items in the Treasure Pavilion, and watch other Elders' lectures."
"In short, take good care of this jade token! Once you enter the Qi Refining stage, you will naturally be able to unlock these functions."
Everyone took out their jade tokens and examined them closely, not expecting such a small token to have so many functions.
However, what Elder Lan said next completely shook everyone's worldview!
Elder Lan spoke softly, "Do you know where we are?"
Someone said, "The northern region of Qingyun Continent."
Before the words fell, another youth with slightly red eyes said solemnly, "The Great Xia Domain, the northern region of Qingyun Continent!"
Elder Lan was slightly taken aback when she heard this voice, then a look of realization flashed in her eyes as she looked at the youth.
She said softly, "So it's the young master of Zhuyang Mountain, Zhong Lin."
"That's right, we are indeed in the Qingyun Continent, which belongs to the Great Xia Domain."
"This world is what's known as the Human Spirit Realm, also known as the Lower Realm."
"The Human Spirit Realm is divided into Six Domains, the rest you can explore on your own in the future."
"I'm telling you this to let you know that besides the Human Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm, there is another realm!"
"The Netherworld!"
"It's precisely because of the existence of the Netherworld that over countless millennia in the Human Spirit Realm, many powerful cultivators have possessed others, and there are also those with memories of their past lives who have reincarnated!"
Li Guanqi was startled and thought to himself, "Reincarnators?"
"During the Spirit Root test earlier, the law enforcer had killed two possessors!"
"And now there are even reincarnators with memories of their past lives?"
"If you don't enter the path of immortality, you might never know of such things in a lifetime."