“Respected Immortal, please, save my grandchild!”
“Great Master, my family’s child is a once-in-a-hundred-year genius in our village! Please take a look!”
William was highly uncomfortable with constant pleading as he followed Lan Yin through the gathered crowd. He didn’t think he could ever have the uncaring expression that Lan Yin currently possessed when a woman old enough to be over a hundred got on her knees to beg. And that was a common sight.
“My daughter will make a great companion for the Young Master! Great Immortal, please consider her.”
That was the first time William was mentioned in the pleadings, and it automatically got his attention. When he looked over, he was startled to see that the girl had to be younger than him. He quickly looked away and ignored the cascade that the man had started. Those who brought a girl shouted loudly, proclaiming how their daughter, granddaughter, or sibling was the best.
“Senior Lan, why did we land this far from the gate?” William grumbled as he tried to hide how revolted he was to spare these girls hurt feelings. He knew what it was like to get embarrassed as a kid.
“These girls aren’t to your liking?” Lan Yin asked without looking at him.
“No,” William emphasized, “They are far too young.”
Just because he had a thirteen-year-old body didn’t mean his mental stage had changed. Just the thought of such a situation made him shudder in disgust.
“So Little Li was right,” Lan Yin glanced at him with an almost unnoticeable smirk, “She was worried you took too much of a liking toward her.”
“What?” William asked dumbly.
“Don’t worry, Little Wei Liang,” Lan Yin assured, “She won’t hear it from me, but Little Li is quite favored in my Sect. It will be challenging if you want to fight for her hand.”
William tried to protest against such a ludicrous thought. “Sister Li has been kind, but I’m too young for those thoughts, Senior Lan!”
“Hm,” Lan Yin nodded placatingly, “I understand.”
William sighed and didn’t continue with the topic as they reached the gatehouse.
[Trait Added | Passive Healing - Gain 1 HP per day]
He stared in surprise at the alert for a second before wondering what he had done to deserve something so useless and how he got the trait in the first place. He looked around to see if there was anything eye-catching, but there was nothing other than the stunning entrance gate made out of what seemed to be a single piece of jade.
William vaguely remembered that jade was supposed to have some healing properties. Still, surely the gate couldn’t be the cause of the trait. He stared at the children kowtowing a short distance away and wondered if they weren’t begging but were instead thanking the Sect.
“Senior Sister Lin! What are you doing out here?”
[Name: Qin Yu | Level: ?]
“Brother Yu,” Lan Yin greeted, “Elder Huang recommended this boy for testing. He had to be recorded as a visitor before entering.”
“Elder Huang?” Qin Yu repeated with surprise and leaned closer to William, “Is he another Li Xinyue?”
William shuffled backward when Qin Yu’s face got too close.
“I think he’ll be the complete opposite of Little Li,” Lan Yin corrected with a chuckle.
“Really!” Qin Yu blinked and narrowed his eyes before smiling brightly, “We haven’t had one of those in a long time! You can head in, Senior Sister Lin!”
“I will, but record Wei Liang’s name, Brother Yu,” Lan Yin reminded with a roll of her eyes, “That’s why I bothered to stop here.”
“Ah, sorry! I was too excreted that we could possibly have a Sentinel.” Qin Yu exclaimed before running to the gatehouse.
William blinked at Qin Yu’s retreating back before giving Lan Yin a questioning look. “Did Senior Yu just say…”
Lan Yin sighed, “Yes. The Elders have tried to correct his mistakes multiple times, but he keeps saying the wrong words. Ignore it.”
William was under the impression the cultivators had excellent memories, but that might be false with this being the case. He kept his mouth shut when Qin Yu exited the gatehouse.
“It’s done, Senior Sister,” Qin Yu said with a smile before turning to William, “And good luck, little brother. You can become a man of great statue if you join the Sect.”
William opened his mouth to thank him but was scared that the weird way this world worked might make Qin Yu’s words come true. He certainly didn’t want to become a statue.
“Wei Liang is stunned by the sights, Brother Yu,” Lan Yin interjected when William stayed silent for too long, “Don’t mind his muteness.”
“I understand,” Qin Yu nodded with an empathetic look.
“Come, Little Wei Liang,” Lan Yin gently pushed him to walk, “We need to get going.”
William did as Lan Yin insisted but still gave Qin Yu a wave. They passed the kowtowing children and, shortly after, passed the gate. A tight passage between two mountains snaked into the depths, which he assumed would reach the courtyard he glimpsed from the spirit boat.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation build up inside him. He was finally going to see the inner workings of a sect and learn more about cultivation.
[Trait Removed | Passive Healing - Gain 1 HP per day]
The trait removal almost confirmed that the gate, or something near it, caused the passive healing.
“Senior Lan, it felt like I was getting healed back there,” William said while pointing back at the gate, “It was barely anything, but it was there.”
Lan Yin looked at him in surprise. “You did? That’s impressive sensitivity you have there. The effect is only significant for mortal children.”
William did notice that most of those children were level one, with the highest being level three. With what he remembered his health being at those levels, one point a day would have been significant.
“That is a kind thing for the Sect to do, Senior Lan.”
Lan Yin shrugged. “The Sect occupies a territory within the Tianxia Empire. Keeping the tiger happy is the healthy choice.”
That told William that the Tianxia Empire was more powerful than the sects within its border. Powerful enough for the Jade Healing Sect to be freely generous to the mortals that travel to the gates.
They walked the narrow passage until it ended to reveal the beauty he had seen from the sky. A vast courtyard lined with manicured gardens and elegant, pagoda-style buildings made of white jade. The buildings are arranged in a symmetrical pattern, with the largest and most impressive structure situated at the center of the complex.
And more surprising than the stunning view of the structures was the multitude of disciples wearing robes similar to Lan Yin. They were all smiling… and generally happy looking.
William certainly wasn’t significant enough to put on a big show. He was just some random kid that Huang Jingyi recommended to Lan Yin. Which meant that this was daily life for these disciples.
“The building in the center will be where you stay until fully healed. It’s the clinic for the outer disciples.”
“This is the outer court?” William asked in shock, taking in the view with different thinking. What was the inner court like if this was what the outer disciples enjoyed?
“It is,” Lan Yin confirmed as she nodded to the disciple bowing to her as they passed, “It’s not that impressive, but the only goal for outer disciples is to reach the Foundation Establishment realm and to learn the working of the mortal body.”
William looked around again and noticed this seemed strangely similar to a college campus. “… Are they carrying around books?”
“Of course they are,” Lan Yin chuckled, “Did you expect a master for each disciple? Those are only reserved for core disciples or special cases like you.”
William let himself feel the rush of getting praised before crushing it. Getting cocky would turn him into a Young Master instead of a protagonist. And he never intended to become a stepping stone.
“Go inside,” Lan Yin stopped outside the doors of the large clinic, “Other than the Elder in charge, members of the Sect above the Qi Gathering realm aren’t allowed entry.”
William looked at Lan Yin in confusion, not understanding the strange rule, before shrugging and walking into the clinic. His goal right now wasn’t to understand the rules but to get fully healed so he could take this test and start cultivating.