Hong Lin and I exchanged gazes before walking to the so-called senior's; do they want to harass us? It is possible they want to assert their dominance and make sure to keep us in check.

"Hehe.. from now on, whenever you meet us. You should refer to us as a senior brother," once we arrived at the group. One of the 'senior brothers' started. "And as a senior brother, I must make sure my juniors have a good time."

"Let this senior brother tell you a secret," another one with a silverish pin holding his hair continued. "The outer-sect has factions headed by the most talented disciples," with that, I could already guess where the conversation is going. There is probably a faction war, and they want to recruit us to theirs'. "To survive, you must belong to one."

"We are here to invite you to our young master's faction," the others nodded, and their gazes settled on us awaiting our decision. To join a faction means cultivating under the leader's whims. I don't think I will be joining one any time soon.

"Why should we join?" The surnamed Nangong asked with visible annoyance. She's probably used to life at the top, so it must be hard for her to accept working under others.

"I already told you, to survive, you must join our faction, or you'll NEVER acquire resources to cultivate," the senior's voice was more stern than before; the others, too, eye us with annoyance.

*Sigh*

This is going to be troublesome; their words are easy to understand. If we don't join their faction, they will hinder our cultivation in any way they can. They probably experienced the same. Maybe I should join and see how things go on from there. But first, I need to confirm something.

"What do we need to do to join? And what will happen after we join?" If I am to join, then I need to know what I'm signing up for.

"A reasonable one, to join you'll have to hand over a portion of your stones as payment," the speaker then eyed the spirit stones most of us carried in our hands; for me, I had them in a small pouch tied to my waist. "Only ten will do," the boy spoke as if he was doing us a favour.

"Hong Lin, will you be joining?" I turned my head to him and asked, from the idiot's words. I somewhat understand how their so-called factions work; the people who benefit the most are at the top. The lower members will put in work but in turn, only get scraps. It is slavery with extra steps.

"What will you do?" Hong Lin shot a question back at me.

"I won't be joining," I answered him. If the conditions were fair, I would probably consider it but slaving off won't do. 

"Me too," I had already predicted his answer, so after he did, I motioned for us to walk off.

"You are not willing?" One of the senior brothers asked in surprise. Well, what did they expect? They are incompetent idiots, if they wanted to convince us to join. They should have listed only benefits to us. They should have then taken us to their headquarters and explained why they needed the stones; maybe something like 'it so for your protection against other factions.' That way, most of us would consider joining up from that point. It would seem that they only have our interest as a priority.

"Hehe... don't bother about them, they will come crawling back at us," as we walked away. The seniors voiced their contempt, and a matter of factly attitude, I could care less about what they will do in the future. But if they try to block my path, I'll have to crash them. So far, the only rule I've heard is not to fight, so anything else should go.

"Let's visit the mission hall and see how we can earn points," Hong Lin proposed to which I nodded. How are they going to stop us? The only way to gain resources now is going to the mission hall, as the elder said, so it is according to reason that the factions have a way to prevent us from taking missions. 

Locating the mission hall was harder than I thought. Luckily, the various buildings had plaques hanging at their entrances, so we didn't have to ask for directions. The hall is bustling with activity; most white-robed disciples meditate around the building while others are at a large mission board.

Our arrival attracted some gazes since we weren't wearing the official outer-sect robes. We ignored them and approached the mission board. One glance at the board, and I discovered a problem; it is empty? Is nothing listed on the board?

"Boy, there is an order in things. If you don't belong to a reputable faction, scram!" I turned to the burly man with short hair. Unlike most, he's wearing a short-sleeved robe showcasing his bulging muscles.

"What if we don't?" Hong Lin stepped forward with burning eyes. I had forgotten he's usually temperamental.

"Hehe... pretty boy, if it wasn't for the sect rules. I would have already wiped the floor with your stupid face," the man inched closer to Hong Lin. His constant aiming for his face showed just how jealous he was. The fact that his face is not pleasant to look at isn't helping.

"Hong Lin, ignore him. Right now, you are still weak. What will you do if he attacks?" I whispered at him, my words somewhat calmed him, and he finally got out of his trance and realized his position.

"Who said you can go just like that?" The burly man looked straight at my waist, and I immediately knew what he was about to say next. "You guys are new here. Hand over those stones or I, Kong Lin, will do all I can to make your life miserable. Don't think just because the sect rules protect you guys I can't handle you, I can forcefully take your stones, and the most they will do is to lock me up in the ice prison for twenty days," Kong Lin raised two fingers and with his words, a mysterious pressure descended on us.

"Trash like you should die," Just as the mysterious pressure was getting too overbearing, a feminine voice descended and with it, the pressure vanished. I turned and looked towards the voice; a beauty rivalling Zhu Ling stood, inky-black hair draping over her milky-white nape. Black pupils curiously gazed in our direction. This isn't a time to check out beauties. I shrugged and looked towards Hong Lin. He is breathing like an enraged beast, and his eyes are distant.

"Hong Lin, are you ok?" I patted his shoulder, jolting him out of his abnormal situation. I then looked at Kong Lin, the barbarian man who has his robes tattered, and he is kneeling on the ground in an embarrassing state. Did she do this? I looked towards the new arrival and wondered, I don't know how strong the Kong Lin guy is, but to put him in such a state with just some words proves the girl is strong. Just now, was I about to be bullied? If the girl didn't appear, what would I have done? Would I hand over the stones or cry to Jiang Yan like a little girl? I need strength! I looked at Kong Lin and swore to do all in my power to cultivate. Apart from that, I'm not planning to let him go like that. Should an opportunity present itself in the future, I will work to settle this grievance. No, even if the opportunity doesn't present itself, I will work to ensure it does.

"Quite the face you have there," the girl approached us and said. I corrected my composure; my face had become unsightly.

"Thank you for your help," I said to the girl while motioning for Hong Lin so that we could get out of the limelight. I don't know if I'm mistaken, but the look the girl gives me is that of a predator eyeing defenceless prey. I don't know why she decided to intervene, but I don't think she has our best interest in mind. Hong Lin was quick to follow. We walked away hurriedly.

"Get up and follow me," as we departed, the girl, I assumed, said to Kong Lin.

"Jiang Ming, I'm going to cultivate and grow stronger," Hong Lin had a determination I had never seen in his eyes before. It seems Kong Lin was necessary to fuel his thirst for power. We silently walked back to our courtyard. I took advantage of the silence and engaged myself in self-discussion. One's fist is the real truth, after a long reflection. I came up with the mantra. The only thing that stopped Kong Lin from brutally beating us over nothing was the sect. What would have happened if we met him outside the sect? I can't be comfortable knowing someone can attack me out of nowhere. I can't stay still knowing if that guy wished to snatch Zhu Ling from me. I could do nothing about it.

Unconsciously, we arrived at the courtyard. I walked to my room, and Hong Lin walked to his. I sighed and sat in a lotus stance on the bed. I poured the stones in the small pouch before me and concentrated. I summoned my qi and circulated inside one of the stones just like the elder instructed.

"Huh?"

I opened my eyes from my meditation and eyed the stone. It is empty? The stone is indeed emptied from all its energy but not an ounce entered my dantian. I picked another one and tried to absorb it; this time, with my eyes open.

The qi in the stone didn't flow to my dantian but rather to my locket? I grabbed the glowing locket, and immediately, a familiar scene displayed before me. I am no longer in my room. I'm here again!

I turned my head, and just beside me, the gigantic stone stele appeared. I walked towards it and cautiously reached my hand, contrary to my expectations; there are no dragons this time. I touched the stele, but it was no longer hard. It is viscous and malleable like glue, out of curiosity. I pushed my hands deeper. The stone swallowed my hand whole.

"Shit," I panicked and tried to pull my hand out to no avail. I was about to exert all of my strength when something happened. I felt the stone grow warm. I stopped struggling as the warmth started to penetrate my skin and enter my insides. The energy flowed through my meridians and entered my dantian.

"What is this?" I wondered. The energy isn't harmful, at least for the moment. It is the same as absorbing qi from the spirit stones, just as I enjoyed the feeling. It stopped, no more energy flowed to my body, I yanked my hand, and this time it wasn't stuck.

I back-stepped from the stele and gave it a suspicious look. Its design made me connect it to my locket. I looked at my chest, but there was nothing. Am I inside the locket? I don't know why I thought such a ridiculous thing, but the more I entertained the idea, the more it seemed reasonable.

"But how is it possible?" I looked around the vast grassy plain. I picked a far away position and thought of going there. Just like before, I appeared in the area. It is more like teleportation. I tried again, and the result was the same. I concluded. 

"This place is like my mindscape, but unlike my mindscape where I can do anything I want. Here I am limited; I can't conjure anything out of nothing. I moved back to the stele and scrutinized it. I could see a faint illusion drawing of two serpentine dragons coiling around each other.

Suddenly, I saw the majestic beasts of legend materialize before me. I could feel a sharp gaze on me before they turned into two wisps, black and white. And shot towards my glabella before I could move. I heard it again.

"Yin and Yang, joyous unification."

Junior_elder

Thanks for 100 readers. Let's go for the next mile stone; 400