The Sect's Three Tiers

The old man surnamed Ye, having concluded his transaction with Han Li, led him on the magical tool toward the main议事大殿 to report to the Yellow Maple Valley sect leader, Zhong Lingdao.

Before long, Han Li stood before a towering stone hall dozens of meters high, curiously observing the several Yellow Maple Valley disciples guarding the entrance. These men possessed far deeper magical power than his own, all of them at least at the tenth layer of the basic cultivation method. Unable to suppress a silent moment of shock, Han Li’s estimation of the sect’s strength rose another notch.

The old man surnamed Ye had told him to wait outside the hall until Sect Leader Zhong summoned him, then entered alone. This left Han Li standing in awkward isolation, a situation that drew considerable silent complaint from him.

Fortunately, after a short while, a white-robed middle-aged man emerged. He walked straight up to Han Li and said coldly, “Follow me. The sect leader will see you now.”

Without waiting for any reaction, he turned and walked back. Han Li secretly gave a bitter smile. It seemed a mere ninth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator like himself was beneath this man’s notice—he didn’t even want to exchange a single unnecessary word.

Though inwardly displeased, Han Li knew exactly how much weight he carried here. He obediently followed the man and entered the great hall.

After passing through three doors, each guarded by disciples, Han Li finally came before Yellow Maple Valley’s sect leader, Zhong Lingdao—a middle-aged man with three wisps of long beard.

Seated on either side of the hall were over a dozen people in varied attire. When Han Li entered, they glanced at him briefly. Seeing nothing remarkable about his plain appearance, they lost interest and looked away. The old man surnamed Ye and that Senior Martial Brother Wang were among them.

“Young friend is called Han Li, is that right?” Zhong Lingdao asked calmly, with an air of serenity.

“Yes, disciple Han Li greets the Sect Leader.” Han Li made a show of sincerity, stepping forward as if to perform a grand bow.

“No need for such ceremony. Since our young friend has arrived bearing an Ascension Token, this sect leader will naturally uphold the rules set by our predecessors and accept you into the sect.” Zhong Lingdao smiled warmly, like a spring breeze brushing one’s face, and lightly flicked his sleeve.

Han Li felt his body being gently lifted by an invisible, soft force as he tried to lower himself, unable to complete the bow. A chill of surprise ran through him, and his respect for this sect leader increased by several degrees.

“In principle, besides joining our sect, you are also entitled to take a Foundation Establishment Pill. However, I have heard from Junior Martial Brother Ye that you have relinquished this pill and ceded it to another. Is this true?” The sect leader did not waste words but went directly to the purpose of summoning him.

“Yes, Sect Leader. The disciple considers his aptitude too poor. Taking the Foundation Establishment Pill would be far too extravagant. It is better to let such a precious treasure go to a senior martial brother who needs it more.”

Even as he spoke these words, Han Li’s heart still ached. This was a Foundation Establishment Pill! Not one of those ordinary pills he could consume like snacks.

If such a pill were placed out in the cultivation world, it would surely provoke a storm of bloodshed. And though he relied on the mysterious small vial as his trump card, he genuinely lacked confidence in being able to perfectly replicate a spiritual pill like the Foundation Establishment Pill. Every word he spoke felt utterly at odds with his true feelings.

His heart was filled with reluctance, but on the surface, he wore a look of obedient deference that left most of those present quite satisfied.

“Good! For a young friend like Han to possess such magnanimity, this sect leader is greatly gratified. But rest assured, I will not let you make this sacrifice for nothing.” With that, Zhong Lingdao turned toward the old man surnamed Ye.

“Junior Martial Brother Ye. The Foundation Establishment Pill that Han has ceded shall still be taken by your great-nephew. However, you must compensate our young friend generously. He must be fully satisfied.” Zhong Lingdao’s tone was solemn.

“Hehe! The Sect Leader can rest easy. I will certainly make Han satisfied!” The old man, seeing the matter proceeding as smoothly as he had hoped, was overjoyed and agreed without hesitation.

Zhong Lingdao, seeing the old man’s demeanor, stroked his beard and smiled slightly. That this difficult problem could be resolved so neatly, satisfying all parties, also allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

“The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill is settled. From today, Han is a disciple of our sect. Junior Martial Brother Wang, arrange a residence for Han and also explain the sect’s rules. Let him first study with the instructional disciples. If he shows exceptional performance, he will be promoted.” Zhong Lingdao’s words were impeccably measured as he gave the order.

“Understood, Sect Leader.” Senior Martial Brother Wang rose to his full height and accepted the command.

So this Senior Martial Brother Wang immediately led Han Li out of the hall, beginning to explain the various regulations of Yellow Maple Valley and some basic introductory knowledge. Han Li listened with concentrated attention the entire way, gradually forming a preliminary understanding of Yellow Maple Valley.

Yellow Maple Valley had a total of over ten thousand disciples. Those at the Qi Condensation stage accounted for more than ninety percent of this number. Only a few hundred were Foundation Establishment disciples—these were the backbone of the sect.

Above them were the grandmasters of the Core Formation stage, numbering only a handful. These individuals were essentially in seclusion year-round, no longer concerning themselves with internal sect affairs. Unless a matter threatened the very survival of Yellow Maple Valley, even Sect Leader Zhong himself could not easily meet them.

As for the sole Nascent Soul cultivator in the sect, he was a grand-master uncle of Zhong Lingdao’s generation. Said to be over nine hundred years old, not only was his magical power unfathomably deep and his Dao arts profound, but he could also send his Nascent Soul out of his body to wander thousands of miles. He was a living, breathing land immortal. However, this elder was no longer within the valley, nor even within the Yue Kingdom’s borders. He was traveling through other states, and no one knew when he would return.

With so many Qi Condensation disciples in the valley, it was naturally impossible for every one of them to take a Foundation Establishment Pill. Only the most excellent and gifted disciples were granted that honor.

Thus, every ten years, disciples under the age of thirty underwent a series of selection trials, the intensity of which was in no way inferior to the external Ascension Assembly. Only those true cultivation prodigies who had advanced their basic cultivation method to the eleventh or even twelfth layer could emerge from the competition and obtain the qualification to take the Foundation Establishment Pill.

And even among the several hundred best disciples thus selected, after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill, only twenty or thirty would succeed in establishing their foundation and entering the Foundation Establishment stage. The rest would at most see their magical power advance another step, reaching the peak of their basic cultivation method, but still remain at Qi Condensation.

Naturally, the disciples within the valley were divided into three major tiers.

The lowest tier consisted of those who had never even taken a Foundation Establishment Pill. These were the most numerous within the valley and also the shallowest in magical power. Not only were they assigned the most miscellaneous duties and had the least time for cultivation, but they also held the lowest status. Though they bore the rather imposing title of “Manager Disciples,” their reality was far from respectable.

Slightly higher in status were those who had taken the Foundation Establishment Pill but had not broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. These individuals had essentially reached the peak of their basic cultivation method. Their magical power was a full tier stronger than the Manager Disciples, and they could even use some simple intermediate-level techniques. Thus, they assumed the responsibility of leading and managing the many Manager Disciples and were commonly called “Supervisor Disciples.”

The highest status and best treatment went to those who had successfully entered the Foundation Establishment stage. These favored children of heaven could be considered true cultivators, real practitioners who had stepped onto the immortal path.

After successfully establishing their foundation, these disciples were permitted to search for a spiritually abundant location within the entire Taiyue Mountain Range, establish a cave dwelling of their own, and cultivate independently. They were exempt from all miscellaneous duties and could focus solely on cultivation. Furthermore, each year, various rare materials and a large quantity of spirit stones were allocated to them to accelerate their progress. Their only obligation was to render aid when the sect faced a great enemy—disobedience was not permitted.

Beyond these disciples, Yellow Maple Valley also had various administrators who wielded the true authority of the sect.

These administrators emerged from among those disciples who, after entering the Foundation Establishment stage and cultivating for some time, recognized that they had no hope of reaching the Core Formation stage. They voluntarily gave up further cultivation and took charge of managing the valley’s miscellaneous affairs. The old man surnamed Ye and the dozen or so people present at the meeting in the hall were all such administrators.

Strictly speaking, even Zhong Lingdao the sect leader was a type of high-level administrator, the one responsible for the overall coordination of the entire sect—an administrator of administrators.

What truly decided the sect’s survival or destruction were those Core Formation-stage cultivators and above, who concerned themselves with nothing beyond cultivation. It was precisely because of their existence that evil heretics dared not come knocking. Only thus could Yellow Maple Valley stand to this day as one of the Seven Great Immortal Sects. Otherwise, it would have been utterly destroyed countless times over by those deep-arcaned evil beings.

Of course, none of the above was Senior Martial Brother Wang’s original wording. It was Han Li’s own silent summarization, pieced together from indirect questions and the man’s responses.

This gave Han Li a clear understanding of his environment and his own standing within it, which would prove quite helpful in his future interactions with fellow disciples.