Chapter 79: 79. Chapter 79

79. Chapter 79

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"First, you need a new set of clothes."

Following behind the Sword Attendant Boy and listening to his "tap-tap" footsteps, Atian was unexpectedly distracted. The scenery before her eyes was so different; whether it was the pavilions and towers amidst the swirling clouds or the Sword Cultivator disciples who occasionally cast curious glances, everything clearly told her—her life was already completely different.

No, it should be said that her life had returned to the right track.

A curve tugged at the corner of Atian's mouth, looking like mockery or perhaps cold sarcasm. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had returned to a look of curiosity.

In all fairness, the Beihai Sword Sect could completely satisfy any ordinary person's imagination of an immortal sect. Whether it was the Martial Arts Arena floating in mid-air or the towering main hall, these were wonders not seen in the mortal world. Even she, someone who hadn't yet been initiated, could feel the awe-inspiring Sword Intent contained within.

It's amazing, it really is amazing.

This is the place where you should stay.

She felt the blood in her entire body flowing rapidly, every bone emitting a silent cheer. The nature she had suppressed for over ten years was quietly awakening, secretly letting out its first breath.

This is a bit troublesome.

Atian thought nonchalantly while pressing her hand to her heart, yet she didn't seem too bothered.

The living quarters specifically opened for disciples were located at the southernmost side of the Floating Island. From afar, one could see rows of yellow houses. They were not arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, but rather twisted together to form a "small mountain," as if someone had randomly piled these houses together after getting drunk.

The Inner Affairs Hall, which distributed daily necessities and assigned rooms, was located at the foot of this "small mountain." The monk in charge had a rather blessed appearance, especially that round, chubby belly that made one want to pat it.

"Oh my, a newcomer has arrived on the island again," the fat monk said, eyeing the two with a smile. "I am Guo Huai, the Grand General Manager of the entire island. You may call me Uncle-Master Guo."

As he said this, he rummaged through a mountain of miscellaneous items behind him and fished out two sets of clothes, handing one to each of them.

Guo Huai claimed to be the Grand General Manager of the Beihai Sword Sect, but Bai Tian didn't dare to truly treat him as just a manager. Along the way, she had already figured out the general situation of this non-mainstream Xiuxianmen, the Beihai Sword Sect, from the Sword Attendant Boy's intermittent, erratic explanations.

Perhaps to restrain this group of lawless cultivators, the cultivation world was a place that placed great importance on seniority and qualifications. Every form of address was a symbol of status and could not be used carelessly. Since the Beihai Sword Sect had no Supreme Elder, the ranking of seniority followed the Sect Master. Before the current Sect Master's Ascension, cultivators of the same generation all honored him as Senior Brother, while disciples who entered during his reign were all counted as the next generation.

Therefore, the Beihai Sword Sect would always only have two generations existing at the same time. At the same time, because seniority could only be recalculated upon the Sect Master's Ascension, it was not unusual for people of the same generation to have an age difference of several hundred years.

What? You ask what happens to the other Elders who haven't ascended if the Sect Master ascends?

No, that doesn't exist.

If the Sect Master, who is entangled in miscellaneous affairs all day, can ascend, and the Elders who can practice to their heart's content haven't ascended, how useless would you say they are?

Such people, in the cultivation world with its astonishing elimination rate, generally don't live long enough to become Elders.

Guo Huai letting Atian and Song Zhicheng call him "Uncle-Master" indicated that he was of the same generation as the Sect Master and was indeed one of the Elders standing at the top of the Beihai Sword Sect's pyramid.

The Sword Attendant Boy's introduction also confirmed Atian's guess: "This is the Deacon Elder of the sect, publicly acknowledged as the number one person struggling to find a partner."

"What?"

The last half of the sentence was too shocking, and Song Zhicheng couldn't help but exclaim, though his own second half wasn't much better.

"Does the sect not issue wives?! I heard that immortals are all issued wives!"

"Are you mentally retarded?"

Atian was momentarily startled, thinking she had spoken her inner thoughts aloud, only to hear the Sword Attendant Boy continue: "What kind of misunderstanding do you have about this sect full of old bachelors?"

"In terms of the number of bachelors in the entire cultivation world, besides that group of monks at Fahua Temple, it's right here!"

A bolt from the blue!

Suffering a fatal blow, Song Zhicheng withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. When mortals yearn for immortals, they always harbor the most simple and beautiful dreams, such as being full or being warm. Although the dream Song Zhicheng harbored was a bit different, it was still a simple dream after all.

Now, his simple dream had been ruthlessly shattered.

"I've been deceived..." he sat down on the ground powerlessly, "... I've been deceived!"

A grown man actually sat on the ground and cried like that, leaving Atian dumbfounded. She couldn't help but cast her gaze toward the one with the highest seniority present, and then she saw a fat man who was equally heartbroken.

"Damn it... these words must have been taught by Junior Sister Luo," Guo Huai muttered while clutching his chest. "... Struck in a sore spot, why hurt me like this? Clearly, the others are no better off; even Senior Brother Grandmaster is still single..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly looked up at Atian, then buried his head and cried bitterly, "Boohoo... I also want a child bride..."

As the only person in the room who could understand this meme, Atian patted his thick shoulder to show comfort.

As a successful cultivator, Guo Huai's ability to withstand blows was extremely outstanding. His withering lasted only a moment before he wiped away his tears to distribute rooms and other supplies to the two new junior disciples.

"There is an empty room in the northeast corner of the first floor, so it will go to Junior Nephew Song. As for Junior Niece Bai, go to the second room on the twentieth floor."

Once Song Zhicheng heard this, he stopped being depressed and even forgot his self-reference of "I": "Why is she on the twentieth floor and I'm on the first?"

Guo Huai looked world-weary. "Because the female cultivators of the Beihai Sword Sect haven't even filled up the twentieth floor."

Looking up at the twentieth floor, which only had five rooms, and habitually scratching his foot, Song Zhicheng wisely kept silent.

However, he wanted peace, but someone wouldn't let him have it; to be precise, there was a Sword Rack that wouldn't let him have it.

"Since the two of you have been registered, you are officially members of the Beihai Sword Sect. The friendly guidance ends here; please carry out the next task on your own."

The following matters were simply horrific. The Sword Attendant Boy maintained an expressionless face while ordering Atian and Song Zhicheng around. The two of them ran across the entire Beihai Sword Sect on their own two feet. Even when they raised objections, they only received "I am just a Sword Rack, I cannot walk" or "Know your place! I am the Sword Rack in the Sect Master's room!", the former specifically for Bai Tian and the latter for Song Zhicheng; the differential treatment was very obvious.

Guo Huai comforted the bearded bandit who was about to steam with anger like this: "Just endure it, female Sword Cultivators are the treasures of the entire cultivation world."

It was already evening when Atian arrived at Shengxian Town with Zhao Kuo. Even without counting the time in the Sword Washing Pool, after such a toss, it was already pitch black, which further increased the difficulty of finding the way. By the time she finished running this circle and returned to the Sword Attendant Boy, she was almost drowned by the fatigue surging in like a tide.

Aside from her astonishing attack power, she considered herself no different from an ordinary young lady of a noble family. And a young lady of a noble family who never stepped out of the house would certainly not have the opportunity to strengthen her physical fitness. Encountering the Beihai Sword Sect, which didn't play by the rules, she naturally had to accept her fate.

However, the benefits of the Beihai Sword Sect doing this were also obvious. At the very least, she felt that she would definitely not get lost on the Floating Island in the future. Although the initiation task had the suspicion of being torturous, it really allowed them to understand this place in the fastest way.

Wiping away the sweat from her forehead, Atian, who was somewhat physically exhausted, gritted her teeth and walked to the Sword Attendant Boy and Guo Huai, who were waiting in place.

Facing the weary-looking girl, Guo Huai frowned, but in the end, he glanced at the Sword Attendant Boy, patted his round belly, and said nothing.

"The last item," the Sword Attendant Boy's emotionless voice rang out, "pay respects to the Senior Brother."

Pay respects to the Senior Brother?

Atian was stunned.

In the entire Beihai Sword Sect, there was only one person who could be called Senior Brother, and that was the leader of this generation of disciples. As a newly initiated disciple, paying respects on the first day of entry was also the proper thing to do. However, this was not such an easy matter for her.

The Senior Brother of the Beihai Sword Sect, Bai Xinli.

Her husband, whom she had not seen for fifteen years, Bai Xinli.

And now, she was going to pay respects to him.

To go and pay him a visit in such a state—reeking of sweat, hair disheveled, and face deathly pale.

As a young lady of a noble family, Atian felt she was going to go insane.

Su Ying was in a rush to attend her morning class and gave her a lift on the way out of the dormitory; as one of the only two people on the entire Floating Island able to enjoy the leisurely morning light, she was not surprised to see Song Zhicheng buried in his food in the empty cafeteria.

"Morning, Senior Brother Song." She called out Song Zhicheng's new title with good adaptability, sat directly in another seat, and pulled one from the small mountain of stacked steamer baskets to place in front of herself.

"Ah," the man whose name was called looked up, a half-eaten bun still in his mouth, "Junior Sister Bai, morning."

"……Excuse me, who are you, sir?" Bai Tian was completely stunned when she saw the man's face.

"What's wrong? I'm Song Zhicheng!" The man wore a bewildered expression.