31 The Past Catches Up

Elder Yu led Jack on a somewhat familiar path up the Eternal Rest Mountain. Jack had to pass it several times in the past when a more important member of the Sect died and the Elders requested their presence for the last rights. Then, as with now, he had to change into his ceremonial uniform.

As they neared the top of the mountain, trees became sparser and large estates became more common.

Suddenly the path began to straighten out and Jack stepped onto a large plateau just under the very top of the mountain.

A small town bustled on the plateau. Here Jack saw much more disciples than servants, and even the servants had better clothing and looked much more fed than the ones at the bottom of the mountain.

The Elder walked calmly towards one of the larger buildings at the end of town. Wherever he passed the crowd melted away. Some disciples glanced at Jack and nodded lightly to him, while others ignored him.

He felt that the ones that greeted him had the same cultivation as him, while he couldn't read the ones that only had eyes for the Elder.

"Looks like an Elder's taking an official disciple." as Jack concentrated on his hearing he heard a few murmurs from the crowd.

"Lucky bastard, we have to become an inner disciple to get an official teacher, while that scum down the mountain just has to cultivate to the fourth grade." Jack hid a self-mocking smirk as he thought 'Looks like things look greener on the other side everywhere.'

"I would rather work my way up to inner disciple than have that maniac become my teacher." Another voice whispered and Jack had to stop himself from nodding in agreement.

Jack stopped focusing on his improved hearing as they reached the large grey building. A sign that read "Eternal Rest Branch" loomed over the main doors. It exerted an unnatural pressure that made Jack avert his eyes as soon as he read the words.

'Some kind of special writing technique or just a lot of attributed spirit energy pumped into them?' Jack thought as he followed Elder Yu into the building.

Inside, a reception desk with two disciples, one male, and one female, sitting behind it welcomed them, while hallways and rooms filled with bustling servants and supervising disciples surrounded them with noise.

"Welcome, Elder Yu! What can we help you with today?" the pretty female disciple asked as they both stood up and bowed slightly in greeting.

The Elder gave them a slight smile in response and said "I'm here to register a new personal disciple that just rose from the ranks of my servants, and I want to reserve a spot for my other personal disciple, Du Angliang, in the back mountain."

The female disciple gave them a professional smile as she said "Of course. Give me a few breaths worth of time and I'll have everything ready for you. Excuse me." She turned from the table and started yelling at the servants to bring her the items that she needed.

Jack blinked a few times as he watched the bustling workers around him and had an epiphany 'Looks like even if you're a mystical sect in another world you can't avoid red tape.'

A few minutes later the female disciple returned with two pouches and two scrolls in her hands.

She set them in front of Jack and Elder Yu as she said "Here are your things." She opened one of the scrolls, took out a brush that had sigils carved into its handle, turned to Jack and said "Please drop some blood on the brush and sign here." she finished with pointing at a free spot on a list of names. The name before where Jack had to sign his read Du Angliang.

Jack nodded his head, took out a knife he used for daily necessities, opened a cut on his forearm, dipped the brush into the blood, and signed his name with the now slightly shining brush in the blocky symbols that his parents had the village chief design. The female disciple glanced at the signature as a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes and said "Very good, Song Tanda." She took the brush, turned towards the Elder, and said "Elder, please imbue it with your spiritual mark.

Elder Yu touched the still wet blood and released a pulse of spiritual energy. Jack's name shined in a grey light for a second before it merged into the scroll.

The female disciple said "Excellent." As she rolled the scroll back up, gave Jack a pouch with a few round things in it, and said "This pouch contains your identification medallion and the entrance tokens for the martial hall and library in Tranquil Lake Town.

When Jack opened the pouch and looked at the three round metallic stones he couldn't hide the slight smile that crept onto his face. The materials in that pouch contained 70% of the reason that he wanted to become Elder Yu's disciple. He closed the pouch, thanked the disciple, and stored the pouch into his robes.

The female disciple turned towards the Elder and opened the second scroll while saying "Please enter the name of your disciple here, Elder." as she gave him a different special brush.

Elder Yu imbued some of his spirit energy into the brush and wrote the name "Du Angliang" in bright gray letters on the scroll.

The female disciple thanked the Elder and gave him the second pouch while saying "I'm sure you know what to do with this."

Elder Yu nodded his head and said "Indeed, I do. Thank you for your assistance." After that, he turned around and walked towards the exit.

Jack almost couldn't stop staring at the back of the Elder as they exited the building. Before he could ask he heard Elder Yu's voice echo in his ears "Never offend the paper pushers, Tanda. Let that be my first lesson to you as your official teacher." Jack solemnly nodded his head and followed in the Elders footsteps.

To his surprise, Elder Yu didn't take Jack back to his estate after the registration. Instead, he led him towards a three-story red pagoda that stood a few buildings away from the Eternal Rest Branch office.

It held no signs, but the building itself had a more oppressing feeling than the Eternal Rest Branch's sign. Jack had to keep his gaze down on the ground as he approached it.

"This is the Spell Pagoda. You can only enter it once a year with your identification medallion and select only one spell each time you enter." the Elder's voice resounded in Jack's ear.

As his eyes widened Jack thought 'So that's how he got it.' as he recalled the spiritual energy whip that Du Angliang used frequently.

When they entered, a dozing middle-aged man opened his eyes from his seat behind the counter that stood to the side of the doors and said "Old Yu, what brings you here?" He looked behind the Elder and noticed Jack as he asked "A new disciple?"

Elder Yu nodded his head as he chuckled and said "Of course, old Mu. Why would I bother with your ugly face otherwise?"

Elder Mu chuckled as well and turned towards Jack "Well, boy. Give me your identification medallion."

Jack quickly took out the metallic stone from the pouch that the female disciple gave him and handed it over to the Elder.

Elder Mu looked at the stone in his hand for a second before he turned towards Elder Yu and asked in a serious tone "Is he stupid?"

Elder Yu chuckled, turned to Jack, and said "You have to imbue the identification medallion, Tanda."

Jack's face flushed with shame as he took the stone back and pushed his spirit energy into it immediately. When it started to faintly glow he placed it back into Elder Mu's waiting hand.

With a surprised arc of his brows, Elder Mu looked towards Elder Yu and asked "Did he not just breakthrough? How did he imbue it so quickly?"

Elder Yu looked down at Jack with slight fondness in his eyes, which both Jack and Elder Mu knew he faked and said "Go and select your spell, Tanda. Let me catch up with Elder Mu. Make sure to stay on the ground floor."

Jack bowed with clasped hands towards both Elders and entered a large room that held shelves on each side of it, and even a few in the middle of the room. Only one corner of the room stood empty of shelves, and it held steps that presumably lead to the first floor.

For a second he didn't know where to begin. Every shelf held dozens of scrolls, and each of them could potentially change his, and more importantly, his friends' lives.

Jack exhaled a long breath and started from the first shelf on the right.

An hour later Elder Yu entered the room with the scrolls and found Jack sitting on the floor with a few scrolls next to him.

Jack immediately rose to his feet and greeted the Elder.

Elder Yu waved it off and said "I am going back down the mountain, come see me when you make your choice."

Jack promised that he would and escorted the Elder out of the building, before going back to the room and continuing his study of the scrolls. None of them held the real techniques and proper spirit energy flows that one had to use them when training in them, only simple drawings and short explanations.

Seven hours later he finished reading the last scroll and placed it back on its shelf.

Jack looked around the room and saw four scrolls placed on the ground in front of their shelves. Jack thought that those had the most potential out of all others.

He walked over to the first one, opened it, and after a long deliberation decided to place it back on its shelf.

Deciding between the second and third one proved too difficult so he delayed it and went for the fourth. As he studied all of them once more, he stopped hesitating and decided on the second one.

He returned the others to their shelves and walked out of the room with the second scroll held firmly in his hand.

Jack walked up to the counter, greeted the Elder, and placed the scroll in his hand.

Elder Mu opened the scroll, raised his brows in surprise, closed the scroll, and opened a drawer at the top of the counter. Jack saw the glint of numerous metal tiles that had sigil engravings from the drawer as the Elder ruffled through them while he searched for the right one.

A dozen seconds later he exclaimed "Ha!" and took out a tile that looked identical to the others in the drawer to Jack's eyes. The Elder took Jack's identification medallion and inserted it into a small indentation in the tile for a second. With a flash, the glow from the medallion disappeared and the Elder returned the tile back into the drawer.

Elder Mu nodded with satisfaction as he said "Here you go." and handed the identification medallion back to Jack.

With a confused face, Jack asked "Elder, how does this work?"

Elder Mu waved a disinterested hand at Jack as he said "I'm not your teacher. Go ask old Yu."

Jack could only laugh bitterly in his heart as he thanked the Elder, bowed, and left the Spell Pagoda.

He followed the route back that Elder Yu took him in previously so he wouldn't get lost.

Just as he passed the Eternal Rest Branch building, Jack saw something from the corner of his eye that made him freeze on the spot.

His head snapped towards the entrance of the building and saw a large silhouette entering it.

Cold sweat showered Jack's body as his brain started spouting out every curse that he could think of while a painful flashback played in his mind's eye.

A few seconds later he calmed himself down enough to continue on his path in a faster pace while he thought 'Have to speed things up; I'll give it a month, two at most before we have to disappear from this doomed place.'