3 Recruitment, and some pain.

A group of fourteen appeared in front of the massive Grigory Sect, riding atop a cart pulled by a large, raptor-like beast of burden. Among them, most of them were laying back, covered in bandages and focusing their internal energy to help their recovery.

At the forefront, an elderly man, and a young man. Neither one was wounded, nor were they tired. So of course, they were the two in the front, keeping lookout.

...

I looked up from my bored state, and I was immediately impressed. An immense gate, made of some red, sturdy looking wood. Engraved upon the face of the door, a massive angel was watching out, faceless and winged.

"That's one hell of a gate." I was honestly speaking. In my last life, I'd never seen anything even close to being as massive.

"Ah, that it is. She's the pride and namesake of our sect. The Immortal Watcher, and eternal guardian. The Grigory. Once a cultivator, she was beyond compare. And then, she chose to ascend. And that was the last we know of her. But in her time in this world, she was like a living saint. Healing the sick, protecting the weak... Oh, how I wish I was able to witness those days." The old man seemed to depress for a moment, before he perked up again.

"Bah, no matter. What is important right now is you! You're not yet a cultivator, but I'm going to enroll you as an outer disciple, like all others normally do. However, you will need to start training immediately. Unfortunately, you did not join during a normal recruitment event. So you will not have a mentor."

I frowned at this. So I'm getting fucked over, royally? Without a mentor, I've got no backing. No help with figuring out how I should cultivate. So I'm screwed.

[Uh-hum. Have you forgotten about me already?]

Oh! Ooooh. Huh. I guess I've got something better than just some random dude as a mentor. Sorry about ignoring you.

[Hmph. Well, I forgive you. After all, I am you.]

Thanks, I guess. So... I guess, I dunno. Show me what you can do?

[Very well. First up, your progress tracker.]

Suddenly, my mind started to picture a screen, like a scroll of a computer, as words slowly appeared.

[Stat Page]

[Cultivation Realm: Unformed.]

[Realm Stage: N/A.]

[Internal Energy: Mortal, Void.]

[Cultivation Technique: N/A.]

[Martial Techniques: N/A.]

[Energy Techniques: N/A.]

[Innate Power: Warframe Arsenal.]

[Spiritual Beast: Unformed.]

[Spiritual Root: Unknown.]

[Inventory: ×1 Silver Lottery Voucher, ×1 Newbie World Guide.]

Woah. That's definitely useful. But... Is that power what I think it is?

[Indeed. I am based upon your subconscious, after all.]

Wow. Okay, damn. This might end up being pretty fun. I mean, warframes? Come on. They were worn by the most powerful warriors, with command over reality itself. It's just... Like, how would someone not get excited?

[Shall I continue?]

Yeah, sorry Eris. Just a bit excited about it.

[Well, then I feel that would be a fine place to continue.]

[Warframe Arsenal]

[First Slot: Empty.]

[Second Slot: Empty.]

[Third Slot: Empty.]

[Further Slots Locked.]

Suddenly, the cart I was in shook, coming to a stop. Looking up, I dismissed the image of the screen from my mind. The massive gate was directly in front of us now, and it was split down the center as it started to open up. Past the gate, I saw a large group of a few hundred people. In their ranks, they all wore the same simple, solid green robes. However, I noticed some differences. A few robes had black lining on the collar and wrists. About five or six among them had gold lines replacing the black. And most unique of all, one man at the front of the group had his linings replaced with white.

I turned to look to my own group. Sure enough, they all had black lining upon their robes. And as for the old man? He had the white lining. I figured it out pretty quick. Lining signified rank. Then that meant the buff man at the front was also an Elder.

The Eleventh Elder climbed down from the cart, patting the beast of burden as he passed it. Behind me, several of the plain disciples were helping to move the most wounded of the group. Oddly, the black man, who's name I learned was Micheal, was not being helped. Instead, he just approached me.

"I know what we're doing is sort of... well, definitely rude. And I'm sorry for that. But we can't let a potential asset like you go. Don't worry though. I'll cover ya, if you need any help." And with that, he handed me three books, before walking away.

I looked down at my hands for a minute, before reading the titles. Introduction to Cultivation. Grigory Sect Rules, Regulations, and Places to Know. And most importantly, Mortal Body Forging Technique. I'll be damned. Not even in yet, and I get some decent help. Even got one of those cultivation manuals.

I guess this won't be too hard.

...

I am going to punch that bastard in the face as soon as I see him again!

It's been three days since I first arrived in this world. Since getting to the sect, it's mostly been getting me organized with a place to sleep, and me reading those manuals Micheal gave me. Those first two books, I'll admit, were really damn useful. I mean, I didn't even know I was constantly sensing my own energy, let alone that I could stop! You ever suddenly stop feeling your own body? It is trippy as hell!

But then I got to the meat of it. The technique manual. It was a gift from an inner disciple. It was also Low-Mystic rank. That's one full rank higher than the Low-Mortal rank, which is the rank of the technique all outer disciples are given to practice. Should've been great, right?

FUCK THAT.

Apparently Mortal Body Forging is one of the most painful and hard to practice techniques known! It's specialized for brute force, so it uses internal energy to shred and rebuild your body stronger! Now I know I've been through that before, but this was worse! Because it wasn't all at once. It was slow, creeping through my body inch by bloody fucking inch.

Ugh... Alright, calm down, me. I had learned its... faults... from my neighbor, after he found me curled up in pain. But he also told me that no method causes unjust pain. The amount of suffering almost always directly equals the power gained. I want to call bull, but I can already feel the difference.

According to the book, it's incredibly easy to break through to the Body Refinement Realm. Hell, most farmers in this world are in that stage. So I should break through soon. That's a plus.

And my neighbor, Chen Bao, told me some nice stuff. Apparently, Micheal is one of the strongest Inner Disciples around, and this technique was his starting point. Maybe he was really trying to be nice? Still... he at least deserves one good punch for the trouble.

And so... I went back to my bedroom, my mind unnaturally firm in my decision. I don't remember the last time I truly felt dedicated to something. Maybe this whole experience is doing me some good?

So I sat myself down, took off my shirt, and began to cultivate.