On the flying boat, only Alaric Ye, Mysterious Spirit Daoist, and Emily Lin remained.
Mysterious Spirit Daoist instructed Emily Lin, “Emily, take him to the Miscellaneous Hall and have him go through the entry procedures like the other children.”
Emily Lin respectfully responded, “Yes, sir!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Mysterious Spirit Daoist transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the night. Due to the vast difference in strength, Alaric Ye couldn’t even see how Mysterious Spirit Daoist left the flying boat.
Alaric Ye respectfully bowed in the direction where Mysterious Spirit Daoist vanished.
“Farewell, Uncle Master.”
Mysterious Spirit Daoist had previously given Alaric Ye some elixirs, for which Alaric felt deeply grateful.
Emily Lin seemed still overshadowed by the trauma of her younger sister being captured by demonic cultists. She had no mood to converse with Alaric. Grabbing his arm with her delicate hand, Alaric felt like a little chick being effortlessly lifted by this seemingly fragile girl. Then, Emily leaped onto a flying sword with Alaric, quickly disappearing into the night.
As they flew at high speed, Alaric felt the wind whistling past his ears, making it impossible to open his eyes. At the same time, the intoxicating fragrance of the girl enveloped him, causing his heart to race slightly.
Since childhood, Alaric had only smelled such a pleasant scent from a distance, from noble ladies. He had never been this close to it before.
However, Alaric didn’t think much of it, simply finding the scent pleasant.
Before long, the flying sword slowed down, and Alaric could finally open his eyes. Emily had brought him to a bustling square, where several disciples in Top Xuan Sect robes stood guard around the perimeter.
Alaric saw hundreds of boys and girls around ten years old gathered there. Some wore luxurious clothes and carried Black Iron swords, while others, like him, wore tattered, patched-up clothes.
These children were all detected by the Great Xuan Dynasty to possess Spiritual Roots and brought to the Top Xuan Sect.
Emily Lin landed gently in the square with Alaric, attracting many glances.
“Junior Brother Ye, wait here. A steward from the Miscellaneous Hall will come to take you through the entry procedures shortly,” Emily said.
Before Alaric could thank her, Emily flew away on her sword, disappearing into the night.
Alaric moved to the back of the crowd, where most of the commoner children were. The front of the square was mostly occupied by children from noble families.
The boys and girls were all very excited, much like the young masters and ladies Alaric had encountered when he first boarded the flying boat. Their journey back to the Top Xuan Sect must have been smooth, without any attacks from demonic cultists.
From time to time, more children were brought to the square by Top Xuan Sect disciples. By the time the number of children reached six or seven hundred, dawn was breaking. A large group of disciples in Top Xuan Sect robes descended slowly from the sky on their flying swords. Leading them was an elderly man with white hair, who looked at the children with a kind smile.
“Children, I am the steward of the Miscellaneous Hall. Line up properly. Once you pass the test of the Demon Revealing Mirror, you will receive your identity jade token and officially join the Top Xuan Sect as miscellaneous disciples.”
The boys and girls quickly formed a long line. Alaric now understood why the noble children were at the front of the square—they could pass the test first and enter the sect before the commoner children.
Alaric wasn’t in a hurry and lined up at the end of the queue.
The white-haired steward nodded slightly. Suddenly, a flash of spiritual light appeared in his hand, revealing a bronze mirror emitting a silvery glow.
Buzzing, the mirror flew from the steward’s hand, its reflective surface facing downward.
Whoosh!
The steward pointed at the mirror, and a water-blue light shot from his fingertip into the mirror, causing it to shine brightly and expand to the size of a dustpan.
“Demons and evil spirits, reveal yourselves! Go!” the steward commanded softly.
The mirror shone brightly, flying over the heads of the boys and girls, just a few inches above them.
Alaric felt a bit nervous.
This mirror seemed specifically designed to detect demonic energy and evil spirits, to prevent demonic cultivators and shape-shifting demons from infiltrating the Top Xuan Sect.
He had previously interacted a lot with Little Strong and Little White.
Little Strong could strip rogue cultivators of their pants, and Little White could read and write. Undoubtedly, they could both be considered demons.
Alaric didn’t want the Demon Revealing Mirror to discover the secret of the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor.
However, it was clear he was overthinking it.
The mirror passed over his head without pausing or emitting any special light, allowing Alaric to pass the test smoothly.
At the front of the line, the boys and girls who had passed the test stepped forward to register, receiving their identity jade tokens from the steward, along with a light blue robe, a Universe Bag, a stack of thick books, and a Black Iron sword.
Since Alaric was at the end of the line, by the time he reached the steward, it was already mid-morning.
The steward stroked his beard and smiled warmly at Alaric.
“You must be Alaric Ye, the one saved by Mysterious Spirit Daoist?”
“Yes, steward, I am Alaric Ye,” Alaric replied respectfully.
The steward nodded, finding a jade token inscribed with “Top Xuan Sect Miscellaneous Disciple, Alaric Ye” from a pile and handed it to him.
“Drip your blood to recognize it as your own!”
Alaric quickly bit his finger and squeezed a drop of blood onto the jade token. The token glowed faintly, and Alaric felt a strange connection with it.
“From this moment, you are officially a disciple of the Top Xuan Sect. You must adhere to the sect rules, cultivate diligently, and take it upon yourself to slay demons and uphold the righteous path.”
Alaric bowed deeply, “Disciple Alaric Ye will heed the steward’s teachings!”
The steward smiled, “Good child, go and collect your items from the other senior brothers and sisters.”
Alaric went behind the steward, first approaching the senior brother distributing the Top Xuan Sect robes. This senior brother had a sharp eye, accurately handing out well-fitting robes without needing to measure, clearly experienced in this task.
“Junior Brother, these are your two sets of robes. Our Top Xuan Sect robes can repel mosquitoes and miasma, stay clean in wind and sand, and are impervious to mundane fire and water. However, these abilities require you to reach the first level of Qi Refining to activate. The stronger your cultivation, the more powerful the robes’ abilities.”
“When you grow, you can come to the Miscellaneous Hall to exchange for larger robes, but you must return the ones you’ve worn. If you want higher-grade, more powerful robes, you’ll need sect contribution points to exchange at the Contribution Pavilion. Your identity jade token can record your contribution points.”
Alaric accepted the new robes, bowing to the senior brother distributing them, feeling extremely excited.
These were undoubtedly the most expensive and best-looking clothes he had ever owned.
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