Pathway

Ju Feng, alongside his mother and grandparents, arrived at the entrance of the Last-Sword sect premises. It was the day the Last-Sword sect officially set for their admission, with the teaching and learning process to start the following day. There were two sect acolytes standing in front of two metal golems, welcoming and directing the new disciples what to do and where to go.

Several minutes later, after his time delaying conversation with his mother and grandparents, he finally bade farewell to them. Upon entering the sect premises, he noticed that the monolith was no longer there, but took in the sheer size of the area.

Heavens tears!

How did he forget about the utter size of the premises of this sect? Probably due to the fact that he had only entered once before, and that was the day of the trial when he had been too anxious to notice everything. But now, he actually had the chance to observe it keenly, and it was extremely big. Hundreds of miles in size, covering mountains, hills and valleys.

Entering the premises, Ju Feng was directed towards the main hall by the acolytes who were having a good, but busy day. He was very apprehensive by the time he reached the main hall since it was the first time he would be living away from home. He was feeling the anxiety of missing his family, but was acting relaxed on the outside. Ju Feng knew he had to maintain his inner peace after remembering the words of his grandfather.

"Who was not everyday conquering some fear had not learned the secret of life."

He would pretend he had been doing this since he was born. Since he was born? That didn't really sounded sane, but still sounded good. He would take these words. When he reached the main hall, he was sent in the direction of the acolyte scribe who was scribbling on a parchment.

"Your identifications badge."

"Yes, senior. Here it is."

Ju Feng presented his badge, and his identity was confirmed.

"You will need to swear the blood oath of allegiance, of justly fair actions, and of good conduct and behaviour. If this bode well with you and you accept, we will proceed. If not, you may turn back now, and forget about this."

"Blood oath?"

Ju Feng paused for a second to think about the oath of blood. He would forever be bound to any blood oath taken. But after thinking about the words included, he nodded.

"Okay, if those are the words involved, I can live with that. I accept."

"Place your hands on the stone of oath, and repeat after me."

Subsequently to the swearing of the oath, he paid his twenty five gold coins for admission, and received a welcome bag before he was sent to the dormitory. It contained two sect's robes and a manual of conduct. More robes could be purchased from the sect at a bit expensive price. The reason for this? Disciples would be able to appreciate what they have in life and maintained it.

Fair enough. He wouldn't need more than two anyway. He could even live with one.

On his way to the male disciples' dormitory, Ju Feng checked the manual of conduct and was fine by what he saw. They were reminder of the oath of allegiance he swore. He could definitely live with this. No problem for him at all. Trust and truthfulness, as long as you have them, life will be much easier and better. He sighed, and continued towards the dormitory.

He came to the desk of the senior acolyte in charge of the general dormitory.

"Your badge."

"Yes senior, here."

Ju Feng replied, giving the acolyte the badge in his hand.

"Ju Feng. Section two, room sixty eight. Welcome, young disciple."

"Thank you senior."

The male disciples dormitory was divided into four sections with huge corridors, with each section containing one hundred rooms. Acolytes were assigned to supervise each section in maintaining orderliness and cleanliness on the section. The acolytes would also be dealing with the issues and problems of the disciples directly before informing the elders if it was too big to handle.

He saw an acolyte on the corridor who directed him to section two. It took a few minutes to locate his room. As a new disciple of two elements affinity, he would be having the room all to himself.

Ju Feng entered the room, closed the door behind him and lay on the bed to relax his apprehensive mind. At long last, he was here. HERE! He was very happy, yet a bit sad. Quite sad. Life away from home, but he knew it was something he had to do. If he truly wanted to be strong enough, then, he would have to live with minor forms of sacrifices.

After resting his mind a bit, Ju Feng felt relaxed as he sat up. Left for his body, not much things could make him tired easily. He looked around the room, and could see the whole place clearly. Apart from the bamboo bed, it had only a single chair and a single table. That was all. Well, that would do just fine by him. He removed the new sect robes from the bag, and folded them before putting them to the sides by the corner of the room. Afterwards, he sat in a lotus position to meditate for few hours, and by the time he opened his eyes, it was already leaning towards late afternoon.

Heading towards the sect library, Ju Feng decided to see if he could find any manual to study. The libraries in the sect were divided into two. The opened library was for the general disciples while the closed library was meant for the sect elders and core disciples. Although there were good technique manuals for martial arts and cultivation in the general library, the most powerful manuscripts were inside the closed library. Only for the chosen ones.