Chapter 3 - Star Sect

On the journey towards the Star Sect, the Sect Xing Lao belonged to, they both get to know each other a little bit more.

Though, it's mostly Xing Lao teaching Long Ren the basics of the cultivation world and adding little bits of propaganda to enhance the Star Sect's image in Long Ren's mind.

All in all, Long Ren now more or less knew the very basics of the cultivation world.

The most important ones are the ranks.

Ranks are divided into the First Layer up to the Tenth Layer. Failed cultivators like Burly are usually called zero scum, as they can't even reach the most basic first layer.

'And yet that zero scum could dominate a village of about 50 people…' Long Ren thought to himself.

Attributes are divided into several main ones and some unique ones. And surprise surprise, Spatial or Space attribute is amongst the unique ones.

The main ones are divided into Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind, while derivatives of those, such as Ice, Sand, etc are categorized into Unique Attributes.

Of course other than the main ones and their family, there are other attributes that are also counted as Unique Attributes such as lightning, sound, time, space, etc.

Every cultivator has a certain affinity toward certain attributes.

A decent cultivator has a decent affinity toward 1 or 2 attributes. A talented cultivator has a high affinity towards 1 attribute and decent on others, while a prodigy usually has 2 or more high or perfect affinity toward certain attributes.

But of course, Unique attributed cultivators are usually stronger than non-unique ones. One is because it is harder to counter them as few have ever fought against them. And two, they are just inherently stronger.

After a couple of days of traveling together, Long Ren regarded Xing Lao as a decent person. At least Xing Lao has treated him nicely and acts truly as if he cares about Long Ren.

Though his wall of skepticism won't be easily broken down, as those 2 years had already left their scars on his heart.

One thing Long Ren realized tho, is that cultivators, how to say….treats their beards as if it is their wife.

Long Ren would have never thought, of all the cultivation myths, for this one to be true. It seemed very weird when Long Ren read about this in his previous life, and now, it just became even weirder.

If anyone looked closely at Xing Lao's beard, they can see that each individual strand is treated with a stupid amount of great care.

This begs the question, "Who the f*** made such a great conditioner for beards in this cruel world?!' (A/N: IDK what people use to make their beard glossy and soft and neat, LMK in the comments here xD)

Now Long Ren wonders whether cultivators cultivate their body or beard primarily because all Xing Lao had done on this journey is brushing his beard….

'Do all male cultivators grow a beard as long as his as well? Do I need to?!.... DEFINITELY NO!' Long Ren made a mental promise to himself that no matter what, He won't be peer pressured to grow a long beard, even if that is the fashion of this world…

Finally, the caravans arrived at the star sect, where Long Ren saw a magnificent scene like nothing he had ever encountered before.

The star sect was located amongst the mountains, giving it a grandiose feeling as it surrounds itself with the beauty of nature.

Chirps of giant birds rang through the air as the winds of nature brushes against his torn-down clothes.

Some mountain peaks could be seen, while others were hidden by the surrounding clouds.

To say this was beautiful is a massive understatement.

Long Ren, with his proctor's guidance, left the caravans, said their goodbyes, and went to the sect's entrance gate.

The Star sect encompasses a massive amount of land, making it infeasible for it to only have 1 entrance

There are four main entrances that can be passed by the common masses. While many hidden entrances exist, it is only known to a few.

The entrance Long Ren is currently passing is the North's entrance. 2 Cultivators guarded the entrance, which Long Ren assumed to be a disciple of the sect.

As soon as Long Ren's duo reached the 2 guards, Xing Lao took out what Long Ren assumed to be his identification badge.

Seeing the badge, the 2 guards politely bowed and gave their greetings with pure admiration in their voices.

"Greetings! Grand Elder Xing Lao, welcome back to the sect!"

Xing Lao only nodded to their greetings, and as the gates were opened by them, Long Ren was too captivated by what he saw to hear Xing Lao's title.

He saw such a city-like environment, bustling with humans and activities with each of them having their own agenda

Many people were moving about the grounds, greeting each other politely, moving towards their destination, and doing more.

Seeing this, Long Ren realized just how small his tiny village really is.

Although he knew at first that his village is small due to Earth, knowing and seeing a real comparison felt different. It leaves a much bigger impact.

Just upon the entrance alone, he could not guess the size of the sect as even his view of the horizon is still filled with the sect's properties. Who knows how big this sect really is.

Actually, someone beside him does know.

"Elder Xing Lao, just how big is this sect actually?" Long Ren asks Xing Lao, while still following his steps

Xing Lao pondered while petting his luxurious beard slowly and sagely, trying to look as good as possible.

"Though I don't really know the exact size of our sect, I think it can fit around four hundred to five hundred of your villages easily. Our sect is the overlords of our region for a reason after all." (A/N: arbitrary number, don't even comment on if its reasonable or not xD)

Long Ren nodded in response. Xing Lao really helped as he explained in comparison to his village.

Then it got Ren thinking, what units of measurements do this world use… Long Ren secretly hoped it was not burgerland's

…

After some time of walking, the duo reached a place bustling with activity.

It is a 5-story building built in the shape of a pagoda. Its size is big, very big as the lowest floor can accommodate over one thousand people easily, though the size or area of each floor decreases the higher it goes.

Xing Lao went towards one counter of the building, guiding Long Ren while explaining and doing whatever formalities he needed to do.

As he listened closely, Long Ren knew now that Xing Lao is registering him as a disciple of the sect while trying to get him a place to stay at.

Usually, Xing Lao did not need to do any of this, as his job was to only scout any talents that are available near the sect and leave them in the hands of the corresponding persons.

As a Grand Elder, Xing Lao did not need to do these types of menial tasks that rarely bear fruit, but Xing Lao wanted to try and have fun.

This time however was an exception. His journey actually produced fruit, a good one at that. Long Ren's talent is quite high and unique, in the sense that less than 0.5% of people with any cultivation talents can have it.

Although the Star sect is the overlord of the region and this type of talent isn't heaven-shattering by any means, having an extra boost of power, even if it's still a seedling, is very welcome.

Especially if that seedling hasn't been contaminated with any impure thoughts of the sect's rivals.

What about making him loyal to the sect and only to the sect? Of course, they have their own ways.

They haven't survived as overlords for so long by just relying on the belief that all their disciples would defend the sect unconditionally.

Manipulative? Maybe. Despicable? Only the winner had the final say.

Back to Xing Lao.

This talent in itself is enough to warrant Xing Lao to work an extra mile and leave a good impression on Long Ren.

Xing Lao would get rewarded for it, even if his original thoughts were only to help a talented young one.

Xing Lao wanted to take Long Ren as his personal disciple, as he had none right now.

Long Ren's personality isn't bad, though he talks to him with barely any amount of respect.

But it's honestly refreshing for an elder with a high position who is too accustomed to it, such as him.

Xing Lao decided to take Long Ren as his personal disciple in 1 year. So, to build up trust, Xing Lao treated Long Ren very nicely. Besides, being nice costs nothing.

As for why wait one year? Xing Lao wanted to see whether Long Ren had the dedication to improve his cultivation. Many talents are just that, talents. Without hard work, those talents can't bloom into their full potential.

Xing Lao does not want a lazy disciple, he wants a successor.

After filling out some mumbo jumbo forms and giving his preferences, the duo left and went deeper into the sect.

After a while, the duo reached a house at the edge of the area, with it having a good amount of distance from the neighboring house.

Quite a secluded area, something Long Ren personally asks for. To have a good night's sleep, there needs to be zero to minimize distractions.

The house looks simple and comfy. It is but a small humble house with nothing to brag about. But, it is definitely a huge upgrade from his run-down rent house from the village.

Although it could be called small, it is only in comparison to the other, way bigger compounds he saw along the way.

For Long Ren to live by himself, is more than enough. He could probably live with another person together and still feel the house is too big. (A/N: You know it, I know it... We all where this is going [>:3] Guess which chapter this is gonna happen)

"Here is the identification rune for your house, just drop your blood onto it and it will only let you or the people you choose in, otherwise, there will be a barrier to block anyone below the 7th layer from going in." Xing Lao said while giving Long Ren a piece of stone and a small unappealing ring

Long Ren, seeing the unappealing ring, felt excited, he knew what it was supposed to be.

A Storage Ring!!!

Even if he feels excited on the inside, he chooses to put on a calm exterior and equipped the ring nonchalantly while biting his thumb hard to drip a drop of blood on the small rune, marking it as his.