Chương 34: Chapter 33

Seated at the stone table, Theron smiled in amusement. He was a hundred and fifty-four years old and had reached Tier 8 Foundation Establishment. Once he completed Tier 9, he could attempt to form his Golden Core. Getting that far was another matter. Even in a Golden Core sect, he would need enormous quantities of resources and Contribution Points just to improve his chances of success by twenty or thirty percentage points.

Training apprentices was one of the duties the Moonwatch Sect assigned to its late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Each disciple they raised to Foundation Establishment earned them Contribution Points. Many had responded by taking on as many promising disciples as they could. Theron had a simple selection process. First, a candidate needed three Grade A ratings in the entrance examination. Then he sent one of his existing disciples to collect them.

If the pair returned within two hours, he took that as a preliminary endorsement of the newcomer's character. The final check came when he opened his courtyard gate. The wave of qi he released let him assess the visitor's cultivation foundation. If it passed through them readily, their aptitude was good enough to work with. Anyone who met all three requirements was accepted on the spot and sent off to cultivate. He would begin teaching them personally once they reached late-stage Qi Refining.

Elara knew none of this. From her perspective, a Foundation Establishment cultivator had just accepted her as a disciple with astonishingly little ceremony. The Contribution Points on her identity token increased from fifty to a hundred. Before she had quite processed what had happened, Celia was leading her out of her new master's courtyard. One thought kept circling through her mind. That's it? Offer him tea, collect fifty Contribution Points, and we're done?

You're a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Master. Couldn't you at least spare a High Arcane-grade artifact? Celia smiled at her bewilderment. She had spent the past several years welcoming her grandfather's new disciples. Elara's reaction was nothing new. They headed down Azuremoon Peak's southern slope, toward the many small courtyards near its foot. Each contained a tidy brick cottage with a tiled roof and a small patch of spirit fields.

Farther down were the servant disciples' courtyards, with several docks lining the lakeshore below.

"The General Affairs Hall has an office at the foot of the mountain," Celia explained.

"If you need a message delivered or help with a task, speak to the disciples stationed there." She led Elara into the outer disciples' residential area and pointed out a courtyard.

"The whole property is a little over a sixth of an acre, including roughly an eighth of an acre of spirit fields. It's yours from now on." Elara looked around. It reminded her of a little farm cottage rented out to vacationers. Aside from the house and a courtyard with room to sit and relax, most of the property was divided into planting plots. Their layout wasn't random. On closer inspection, she could see that they followed the natural flow of spiritual energy through the soil.

"Thank you for showing me around. Would you like to come in for a while? There are a few things I'd like to ask." This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"I'd be happy to." Her grandfather had put Celia in charge of welcoming his new disciples so she could build connections. She had no intention of simply leaving Elara at the gate. Once inside, she patiently explained what Elara needed to know about living and cultivating in the sect. Gradually, Elara began to understand where she stood. She might have drawn plenty of attention in Valehaven, but here, she was far less remarkable.

The Moonwatch Sect had more than five thousand outer disciples, nearly four hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, and no fewer than nine Golden Core masters. Its ultimate ambition was to help those Golden Core masters form Nascent Souls. In the larger scheme of things, outer disciples were expendable. Even those with good aptitude and a talent for the arts had to reach late-stage Qi Refining first.

Once they had also mastered the required cultivation methods and arts, they could compete for a place among the inner disciples. Until then, their lives revolved around cultivation and work. Yes, work. Cultivation needed no explanation. Every cultivator had to do it. Work meant taking sect assignments to grow spirit plants or produce pills, talismans, artifacts, and other useful goods.

The sect traded those goods for resources, much of which went to its late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and Golden Core masters. That was how the Moonwatch Sect functioned. Oddly enough, Elara found the explanation reassuring. As a Spirit Gardener apprenticed to Theron, she would belong to the Hall of Spirit Gardening. She would exchange Contribution Points for seeds, grow the plants, and turn in her harvest for more points. Those points could then buy cultivation methods, arts, and resources.

For most outer disciples, that meant years of thankless labor. Elara had a few advantages. Her new-player bonus granted her reward orbs whenever she brought spirit plants to maturity. She also had the Dao Realm. As she grew stronger, she could challenge the Stairway of the Great Dao for more rewards. Between trials, her daily visits would give her time to practice her arts and cultivation methods. Best of all, farming was safe! She had no idea when Gathering Shadows would begin.

The prospect of demonic cultivators running rampant outside was one of the main reasons she had worked so hard to join the Moonwatch Sect. She was perfectly happy to keep her head down among the outer disciples for a while. Celia's opinion of her rose as she watched her take it all in. Young prodigies who found a late-stage Foundation Establishment master the moment they joined the sect could be proud and difficult. Elara had readily accepted that she was still only one disciple among many.

That suggested a level head.

"Is there anything you'd like to know about cultivation methods?" Celia was inclined to help her a little more. Elara took the opening at once.

"I hope you won't laugh, but I grew up as an independent cultivator. You could fill a book with everything I don't know about how the sect passes down its teachings." Celia laughed softly.

"You have a way with words."

"Glad my ignorance is good for something." Elara grinned. Only then did she realize she had slipped into the sort of banter she used back on Earth. She listened eagerly as Celia explained how disciples acquired cultivation methods in the Moonwatch Sect. For now, Elara was an outer disciple of Azuremoon Peak's Hall of Spirit Gardening—and one of Theron's apprentices expected to find their own footing.

Her best option was to have her spirit roots and physique assessed, then choose a suitable Rank One cultivation method for a Spirit Gardener and a Rank One gardening art. After learning both, she could take the Rank One Spirit Gardener certification examination. Passing would qualify her for more advanced assignments and give her access to better spirit plant seeds. Those would help her earn more and further her cultivation.

As for whether her spirit roots would be compatible with a Spirit Gardener's cultivation method, her talent for the profession was already an encouraging sign.

"If your spirit roots have an affinity for wood-aspected qi, I recommend the Verdant Moon Method," Celia said.

"The Rank One teachings only cover Qi Refining, but they let you refine the spiritual energy in moonlight. If you become a core disciple later, the foundation you build will also make it easier to switch to another method." Elara supposed she shouldn't be surprised that so many of the Moonwatch Sect's cultivation methods had "moon" in their names. Celia's recommendation was a Rank One, Arcane-grade method with both wood and yin aspects.

After asking several detailed questions, Elara decided it was the one she wanted. There was just one problem. The price. A Rank One, Basic-grade cultivation method, such as the Greenwood Method or the Evergreen Method, cost only ten Contribution Points. The Rank One portion of the Verdant Moon Method cost ninety. Buying that and a Rank One gardening art would leave her with nothing. How was she supposed to buy seeds? And without anything to grow, how would she earn more points?

There was another option: private commissions from fellow disciples. Celia had recommended the Verdant Moon Method for two reasons. First, Elara's three Grade A ratings suggested she had the talent to learn it. Second, Celia wanted to see whether she could bring the newcomer into her own circle. If their newest fellow disciple ran out of Contribution Points, the more established disciples could always commission her to grow spirit plants for them. Working together would give them time to get to know one another.

If Elara advanced as quickly as they hoped, she would earn a place in their circle. If she fell short, she could still be useful as a subordinate—someone they paid to do the work. Elara, however, had someone else in mind. Alistair Li.