Chapter 103

Xu Yang shook his head secretly and wasn't as optimistic as Sun Tao and Zhang Yong.

The news about the Purple Sun Gate being so inscrutable to the outside world must have a hidden reason.

The martial arts examination is held every two years, and each time there are at least fifty people who ascend the dragon, but there haven't been many people who have returned from the Purple Sun Gate. Could it be that these people who joined the Purple Sun Gate didn't return to Qingyuan County in the end?

"It’s not that they didn't return; it’s likely they all died outside."

Fifty people every two years, five hundred people in twenty years, but in Qingyuan County, one rarely hears of Dragon-Ascending geniuses who left returning.

Of course, it could also be that he was overthinking; after all, the available information was too little.

However, the heart of vigilance could not be let down. After entering the Purple Sun Gate, he should try to be low-key.

A few days later, everyone galloped into a magnificent mountain range. The great mountains were like giant dragons lying horizontally, mist steaming like clouds, and ancient trees over a hundred years old could be seen everywhere. A wild and ancient aura rushed toward them.

For a time, everyone felt that even the air was much sweeter.

"Hurry up, we’ve entered the territory of the Purple Sun Gate!" Li He let out a long whistle and waved the horse whip in his hand.

Everyone was greatly encouraged and followed, kicking up dust all over the sky.

After galloping for another half an hour, everyone finally saw some palaces built on the mountainside or mountaintops in front of them. They were magnificent and imposing, like a heavenly palace hidden between the clouds, with white cranes dancing and giant birds circling.

Besides the palaces that looked like heavenly palaces, between the mountains and valleys, everyone also saw a city standing on the earth. Looking at the scale, it was even larger than the Qingyuan County city.

"Is the Purple Sun Gate a city?" someone asked in surprise.

If the people in this city were all disciples of the Purple Sun Gate, how many people would the Purple Sun Gate have? Twenty thousand or thirty thousand?

"This is Qingyang City. It was originally just a small village, but after many years of development, it became a city that cannot be heard of outside. Inside live the descendants of the past disciples of the Purple Sun Gate or the families of the contemporary disciples.

If you can gain a foothold in the Purple Sun Gate in the future and marry and have children, your family can live in Qingyang City."

Soon everyone arrived at the mountain gate of the Purple Sun Gate. On a strangely shaped giant rock, the three vigorous and powerful characters "Purple Sun Gate" were carved.

"Dismount, don't walk around randomly, and follow me."

Li He was the first to jump off his horse and waved his hand to brush off the dust on his body.

"What about the horses?" Zhang Yong said.

He had spent ten taels of silver on this horse; it was a pity to just throw it away, but looking at it, the Purple Sun Gate didn't have a place for him to raise horses.

"Don't keep the horses; just bring your luggage. You won't need them in the future!" Li He shouted again.

Many people showed expressions of heartache, but they had no choice but to follow suit.

Xu Yang was also somewhat reluctant. A horse worth seven or eight taels—he didn't want to just throw it away. Killing it for meat would at least be enough to eat for ten or twenty days.

There were disciples guarding the mountain gate here. Li He stepped forward to show the official document, and everyone was allowed to enter.

Following Li He, they walked for a while along the road paved with bluestone. A vast lake appeared before their eyes. Some people were boating on the lake, and some were fishing by the lake.

Beside the lake was a square with palaces built on it.

Li He led everyone to the front of the palace, and he entered the palace alone.

Soon, he walked out with a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a deep aura, holding a book.

"My name is Zhao Qing, one of the outer sect deacons of the Purple Sun Gate. Everyone, follow me."

After saying this, he turned and left directly.

"Go, listen to Deacon Zhao’s arrangements." Li He waved his hand and turned toward another direction.

Everyone cupped their hands and bowed to Li He, then followed Zhao Qing closely.

"I will first take you all to register and receive your identity tokens. Only with these tokens can you move freely within the sect. Remember, you must carry your identity token with you at all times."

Zhao Qing walked in front, yet his voice was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears.

He led the group to a pavilion, opened the register in his hand, and began calling names; one by one, they went inside.

Every person who came out held an iron token, a booklet, and a porcelain bottle.

This booklet contained the rules of the Purple Sun Gate and some general introductions to the sect.

As for the porcelain bottle, it contained three Qi-Boosting Pills, issued upon entry.

Many were filled with excitement, feeling that their martial path was promising. Such a generous sect would surely provide even more resources once they officially became inner sect disciples.

Those with impatient temperaments swallowed one pill on the spot.

After half an hour, everyone had completed their entry registration and received their identity tokens.

"Study the sect rules as soon as possible and know what should and should not be done.

Before you came here, the martial arts halls you were in already taught you how to refine Qi into Gang and how to temper your tendons and marrow. The sect will not teach you internal cultivation methods again.

With your identity tokens, you can go to the Outer Sect Scripture Hall to claim one martial technique. If you want more, you must wait until you have contribution points and exchange them."

Zhao Qing led the group through a flower garden, turned past a peach grove, and a cluster of courtyards appeared before them—this was the living quarters for outer sect disciples.

As they approached, they saw that although the place was small, it had everything one needed: tea houses, restaurants, and shops were all present.

Zhao Qing pointed to a clothing shop and said, "Our Purple Sun Gate outer sect disciples are required to wear a uniform. You may come here later to purchase your outer sect disciple attire."

Those who had previously thought the Purple Sun Gate was generous suddenly felt a bit sour; they hadn't expected to have to pay for their own uniforms.

"No wonder Master said that without money, one can't take a single step. I'm afraid even eating will cost money."

Clothing, food, and shelter—clothes cost money, and it was likely that food would cost money too.

However, since they had to serve as beasts of burden for three years, the sect shouldn't lack tasks for disciples to earn money, so there was no need to worry about running out of funds.

Zhao Qing walked to a courtyard, opened his booklet, called three names in succession, and said, "You three will live here. Just go in and find an unoccupied room."

The three bowed in thanks, picked up their luggage, and walked inside.

Next, Zhao Qing led the group along, calling names as they went. Each courtyard received either two or three people, and the crowd grew smaller and smaller.

Soon it was Lu Ren's turn. To his surprise, the others called with him were all disciples from the Weiyuan Hall: one was Sun Tao, and the other was Jiang Ping.

All three were somewhat surprised. They bowed to Zhao Qing in thanks and stepped into the courtyard together. The first thing that caught their eyes were two men sitting in the yard.

Both men were burly, looking like bears.

"Newcomers again!" one of them stood up with a smile and said, "We are disciples from the previous batch. You can call us Senior Brothers."

Lu Ren and the others bowed, "Greetings, Senior Brothers."

"My name is Xu Cheng, and his name is Wan Hai."

At this moment, a door opened, and a man walked out, laughing, "The courtyard is finally full; there will be someone to chat with from now on.

I am Jiang Fan, a 'Dragon-Ascending' disciple from this batch, just like you, from the county city."

Jiang Fan was an enthusiastic person. After introducing himself, he chattered on, introducing everyone else in the courtyard. Even though four people were not present, he reported their names and backgrounds to Lu Ren and the others, then pulled them along to pick their rooms.

In truth, there wasn't much room for choice, as only three vacant rooms remained in the courtyard.

Lu Ren picked one at random and moved in.

The room was not large, and the furnishings were simple. Besides the bed, there was only a wardrobe and a table. The bed had nothing on it but the wooden boards.

There was an oil lamp on the table, but it had no oil. Lu Ren put away his bag, took out the silver he had kept close to his body, and turned to walk back out.

He needed to buy toiletries, and he also had to go to the clothing shop to buy his outer sect disciple uniform; there was still much to do.

By nightfall, all the necessary items had been purchased, and Lu Ren had changed into the uniform cyan martial attire of an outer sect disciple.

In the courtyard, Sun Tao and Jiang Ping had already returned and were chatting with Jiang Fan and the others. The owners of the other four rooms still hadn't appeared.

Jiang Fan had previously explained that these people were out on sect missions and wouldn't be back for a few days.

"Brother Lu, come over for a chat!" Jiang Fan invited.

"Alright!"

Lu Ren put the things he had brought back into his room before returning to sit down.

At first, Wan Hai and Xu Cheng gave Lu Ren and the others some pointers on precautions, such as how to select sect missions. After a while, the two began to subtly inquire about the three's family backgrounds.

Upon learning that Jiang Ping's family was a wealthy household in Qingyuan, the two became extremely enthusiastic, patting their chests and telling Jiang Ping to come to them if he needed anything.

Sun Tao also mentioned his family background; the Sun family was not as prominent as Jiang Ping's Jiang family, but they were still a wealthy household.

Wan Hai and Xu Cheng were equally enthusiastic toward him.

Only Jiang Fan didn't care about such family backgrounds.

When they heard that Lu Ren came from a farming family, Wan Hai and Xu Cheng's attitudes cooled significantly, though he still addressed him as "Brother Lu."

"It's very difficult to go it alone in the sect. In the future, Brother Xu and I can take you along on missions."

Wan Hai said, "With senior brothers leading, you can avoid many pitfalls and learn many things. When Brother Xu and I first entered, we didn't know anything and suffered quite a bit."

Xu Cheng narrowed his eyes, "We two have been in the sect for two years and have rich experience in missions. We can tell at a glance which missions are dangerous and which are safe."

Jiang Ping felt tempted, and Sun Tao had a similar reaction.

Having familiar senior brothers to lead the way could indeed help them avoid many detours.

Wan Hai said, "How about this: in a few days, Brother Xu and I will take on a group mission to help you earn some contribution points and complete this month's quota."