Backdoor

3 months later...

Rumble!

High up in the sky, dark clouds hung low with the occasional lightning. The clouds obscured the top of a mountain peak, which jutted out like a huge spear made of stone.

Suddenly, a golden light burst through gaps within the dark clouds, making it seem like an immortal was descending from the Heavens.

Above the clouds, golden light enveloped Bai Hu's figure like a soft blanket. Huge amounts of qi were sucked into his Dantian with every breath he took and the golden pillar behind him had now solidified completely and was no longer unstable.

After 3 months of arduous seclusion, Bai Hu has finally solidified his realm at the first Foundational Pillar.

He waved his hand and all the pill bottles, Formation plates, and other miscellaneous items were sucked into one of his spatial pouches. The Formation was dispelled to reveal bright sunlight, a direct contrast to the dark clouds below.

Bai Hu took out his flying treasure and was just about to step onto it when he paused for a moment. He then put away the sword and took a deep breath.

Willing his qi to move in a certain pattern through a meridian pathway, Bai Hu took a step forward.

And off the cliff.

Whoosh!

First he felt the roaring wind all around him, then the mist-like texture of the clouds that contained a slight static feeling, and then all he felt now was the winds around him and the feeling akin to stepping onto soft, mushy ground.

Bai Hu looked down and found himself standing in midair.

It was one of the things that he looked forward to the most when breaking through to the Foundation realm, the ability to fly without the aid of a flying treasure.

With a single thought, Bai Hu disappeared from his spot in the sky and appeared a few moments later on solid ground.

The smile on his face was evident that he was quite satisfied.

"My flying speed now is incomparable to even my top speed before breaking through. If I use my lightning and wind element to boost it, even a mid level Foundation cultivator won't be able to catch up"

He then walked over to a part of the Formation surrounding Thunderwind Peak and opened it.

A message talisman flew through the gap and into Bai Hu's hands. It burned itself up and the ashes flew up to form a line of text.

'The Grand Elders ask for your presence. Go to Windfall Peak when you have the chance'

Bai Hu had an idea about why the Grand Elders would call for him and took out his flying treasure. His current level was not good enough to fly without a flying treasure as the qi consumption of the act was tremendous.

30 minutes later...

"Halt!"

A man dressed in gray robes stopped Bai Hu in his tracks.

"Show your identification token"

Bai Hu complied with the guard and took out his token. The guard then took out a circular disk from the inside of his sleeve and waved it over his token.

Weng!

A white light shone from the object and the guard nodded, "You may enter"

He stepped aside and Bai Hu finally had a chance to take a closer look at the building in front of him.

It was a huge, grand building that was heavily decorated in gold designs. To say it was luxurious was an understatement, and words cannot describe how grand and especially expensive the building was.

Bai Hu entered and was met with hallways containing ever more lavish decor. A guard came and beckoned for Bai Hu to follow him. Through several other guards and checkpoints, Bai Hu finally came face to face with a huge imposing door.

'Its like someone made sure that everything about this building was huge'

The guard that led him here had left, leaving Bai Hu to fend for himself. He steeled himself and made himself known.

"Outer Disciple Bai Hu requests for an audience"

It didn't take long until he got a response.

"Enter"

Bai Hu pushed open the door and was met with a dark room.

This room was a direct contrast to the outside, and was home to only an old circular table and a dozen chairs, all occupied by their respective owners.

After he'd stepped in, Bai Hu found 2 other people next to him, both emitting the aura of a newly advanced Foundation cultivator.

"Finally, you've all gathered"

Bai Hu tried to remember the exact identities of the Grand Elders from left to right.

The first Grand Elder looked to be the oldest and wore a pitch black robe with no designs. He had a scholarly look and his long white hair was tied into a bun. This is Grand Elder White Feather who cultivates the Grand Crane Spirit Art.

Next was an old woman with reddish hair. Her back was hunched over and she held on tightly to a black wooden cane. She is Grand Elder Red Phoenix who cultivates the Great Nirvanic Bird Art.

The next 3 people Bai Hu could not recognize, but they had peculiar features. One was a bald and muscular old man, the other was a shriveled and pale old man and the last was an ordinary looking old woman.

The last of the 'old' Grand Elders was the Head Elder, who wore the typical Daoist robe and held a horsetail whisk.

Bai Hu could not recognize the rest of the Grand Elders, not because he had slacked off in his studies, but because they have never really made an appearance in public.

"Now you 3 must be wondering why we old fellows called you here," the Head Elder started.

Bai Hu glanced at the 2 other people and assessed them.

The one closest to him had a scholarly air and was dressed like one too. His fair skin suggests that he wasn't a frontline battler but someone who stays back.

Not only that, but he seemed quite friendly, smiling when he noticed Bai Hu looking at him and bowing slightly in greeting, which Bai Hu returned in kind.

The other man had a tall and lean build. His clothes reminded Bai Hu of the traditional martial artist style clothing and strapped to his back was a seemingly simple steel sword. Unlike the more approachable scholarly man, this person emitted a sharp aura, but still gave Bai Hu a slight nod.

The Head Elder continued after seeing the 3 disciples greet each other, "As you can see, the 3 of you are talented seeds who have all broken through to the Foundation Stage. With your talents, passing the Inner Court Examination will be a piece of cake. Thus I have a proposition for all of you"

This made the 3 of them glance at each other as they understood what the Head Elder was saying. If the 3 of them fought, it would not be clear who the winner would be. Making them participate in the exam would be a waste of time when they could let other people have a greater chance at joining the Inner Court.

""We'll listen to the arrangements of the Grand Elders""

The Grand Elders nodded in satisfaction and Grand Elder White Feather took out 3 information jades.

"We've decided that you 3 will work together in a mission outside of the sect. We hope that you'll form a bond and work together to gain experience. All the information you need are in those jades"

Bai Hu and the other 2 pressed the jade against their foreheads and read the information inscribed in the jade. It only took a few moments for Bai Hu to organize all the information.

What the Grand Elders wanted them to do was to go to the Hei Long Province and handle the jobs there for 2 years. The jobs include recruiting talents, gathering the necessary amount of materials from spirit farms, and investigating the disappearances of a few disciples in the Hei Long Province.

Bai Hu didn't have a problem with this job because he had planned to take a mission outside the sect anyways. He can only see if the other 2 would comply.

Sure enough, Bai Hu could tell that they had no problems with this mission after taking a quick glance.

Then, they simultaneously bowed, ""We'll listen to your arrangements""

The Grand Elders nodded in satisfaction and Grand Elder White Feather told them that if they perform well, they would be able to pick one of them as their mentor.

After a while, the trio finally left the luxurious building housing the Grand Elders.

The scholarly man was the first to break the ice.

"Since the 3 of us will be working together, how about we introduce ourselves?"

Bai Hu agreed and the other guy nodded.

"I'll start then, my name is Zhang Yun Guang, and I'm the grandchild of Grand Elder White Feather. I specialize in magic spells"

Bai Hu was quite surprised that the young man in front of him was the grandchild of Grand Elder White Feather.

'I really need to catch up to the latest information in the sect. Too bad Long Sun is in seclusion'

Bai Hu cupped his hands, "I'm Bai Hu and I have a kind of mutated spiritual root that contains lightning and wind. I guess I'm also more of a close quarters combatant"

Both Zhang Yun Guang and the other man reacted in surprise when they heard that Bai Hu has spiritual roots that contain lightning and wind elements. After all, these 2 are some of the rarest and most powerful elements one can have.

"My name is Cheng Xia," said the last guy.

"I just an ordinary disciple that is good with a sword, and I think we should head to the arena for a spar"

After hearing Zhang Yun Guang's identity and Bai Hu's special roots, Cheng Xia's sharpness seemed to have grown like an unsheathed sword.

Bai H's eyes glowed hearing the challenge, "I've got no reason to decline"