"First, I’ll take you to register and get your Identity Tokens. You’ll need these tokens to move freely within the Sect. Remember, you must carry your Identity Token with you at all times."

Zhao Qing walked ahead, his voice carrying clearly to each person’s ears.

He led the group to a pavilion, where he opened a register and began calling names. Each person went inside as their name was called.

Everyone who went in came out holding an Iron Token, a booklet, and a porcelain vial.

The booklet contained the rules of the Purple Sun Sect, along with some information about the sect itself.

As for the porcelain vial, it contained three Qi Replenishing Pills, which were given to all new disciples.

Many faces were lit with excitement. They felt their futures on the Martial Dao were bright. They believed that in such a generous sect, the resources would be even more abundant once they officially became Inner Sect Disciples.

Some of the more impatient ones swallowed a pill on the spot.

After an hour, everyone had completed their registration and received their Identity Tokens.

"Familiarize yourselves with the sect rules as soon as possible, so you know what is and isn’t allowed.

Before you came here, your respective Martial Arts Halls already taught you the methods for Qi Cultivation Gang and Muscle and Marrow Cleansing. The Sect will not be teaching you another Heart Method.

You can take your Identity Tokens to the Outer Sect’s Hidden Skills Hall to claim one Martial Technique. If you want more, you’ll have to earn contribution points and exchange them."

Zhao Qing led the group through a flower garden and around a Peach Grove. A complex of courtyards appeared before them—the living quarters for Outer Disciples.

As they drew closer, they saw that while the area wasn’t large, it was fully equipped with teahouses, restaurants, and shops.

Zhao Qing pointed to a clothing shop. "Outer Disciples of the Purple Sun Sect are required to wear a uniform. You can come here later to purchase your own."

Those who had just been thinking the Purple Sun Sect was generous suddenly felt a pang of disappointment. They hadn’t expected to have to buy their own uniforms.

’No wonder Master said you can’t get anywhere without money. I bet we even have to pay for our own food.’

If the uniforms cost silver, meals surely would too.

’Still, we’re here to slave away for three years. The Sect must have plenty of tasks for disciples to earn money, so I shouldn’t have to worry about my silver running out.’

Zhao Qing stopped before a courtyard, opened his register, and called out three names. "You three will live here," he said. "Go inside and find any empty rooms."

The three of them cupped their hands in thanks, then picked up their bags and went inside.

Zhao Qing continued leading the shrinking group, calling out names along the way. Two or three people would enter a courtyard, and the group would move on.

Soon, it was Xu Yang’s turn. To his surprise, the other two names called were also disciples from Weiyuan Hall: Sun Tao and Jiang Ping.

The three of them were a little surprised. After thanking Zhao Qing, they stepped into the courtyard. The first thing they saw were two men sitting in the yard.

Both men were as burly as bears.

"More newcomers!" one of them said, standing up with a smile. "We’re from the last batch of disciples. You can call us senior brothers."

Xu Yang and the others cupped their hands. "Greetings, Senior Brothers."

"I’m Xu Cheng, and he’s Wan Hai."

Just then, a door opened, and a man walked out, smiling. "The courtyard is finally full! Now we’ll have some people to talk with.

I am Jiang Fan, a Dragon Ascending Disciple from this year’s batch, just like you. I’m from the Commandery City."

Jiang Fan was an enthusiastic person. After introducing himself, he chattered on, introducing everyone else in the courtyard. Even though four of them were absent, he rattled off their names and backgrounds for Xu Yang and the other two before pulling them along to pick their rooms.

In truth, there wasn’t much to choose from, as only three empty rooms were left.

Xu Yang simply picked one and went inside.

The room was small and sparsely furnished. Besides a bed, there was only a wardrobe and a table. The bed was just a bare wooden frame.

An oil lamp sat on the table, but it was empty. Xu Yang set down his bundle, took out the silver inside, and secured it on his person before heading back out.

He needed to buy toiletries, and he had to get his Outer Disciple uniform from the clothing shop. There was still a lot to do.

By nightfall, Xu Yang had finished all his shopping. He changed into the standard Outer Disciple uniform: a cyan martial arts outfit.

In the courtyard, Sun Tao and Jiang Ping had returned and were chatting with Jiang Fan, Xu Cheng, and Wan Hai. The occupants of the other four rooms still hadn’t appeared.

Jiang Fan had mentioned earlier that they were out on Sect missions and wouldn’t be back for a few days.

"Brother Xu, come join us!" Jiang Fan called out.

"Alright!"

Xu Yang took the things he’d bought to his room before coming back to sit down.

At first, Wan Hai and Xu Cheng gave the three newcomers some pointers, like things to watch out for and how to choose Sect missions. After a while, however, the two began to subtly inquire about their family backgrounds.

When they learned that Jiang Ping’s family was a prominent one in Qingyuan, both of them became extremely enthusiastic, puffing out their chests and telling Jiang Ping to come to them if he ever needed help.

Sun Tao also mentioned his family. The Sun Family wasn’t on the same level as the Jiang Family, but they were still a well-to-do household.

Wan Hai and Xu Cheng were just as warm toward him.

Only Jiang Fan seemed unconcerned with such matters of family background.

When they heard Xu Yang came from a farming family, the attitudes of Wan Hai and Xu Cheng cooled considerably. Jiang Fan, however, continued to call him Brother Xu just as warmly as before.

"It’s tough to survive alone in the Sect. From now on, Xu Cheng and I can take you with us on missions."

Wan Hai said, "With senior brothers guiding you, you can avoid a lot of mistakes and learn a great deal. When Xu Cheng and I first joined, we didn’t know anything and went through a lot of hardship."