All of the visiting clans continued to offer more and more gifts. In fact, it got to the point where Bai Xiaochun was getting a bit nervous. Eventually, he truly wanted to refuse, and yet wasn’t able to.
“Fine, I guess I’ll accept…. Not accepting isn’t really an option, huh?” For seven or eight days in a row, he continued to receive the clans and accept their gifts. Every morning at dawn, he would walk out to find a whole host of people waiting for him.
Three more days passed. When dawn broke, Bai Xiaochun pushed open the main gate, whereupon his jaw dropped. Shockingly… not a single person could be seen. Everything was peaceful and quiet; as far as the eye could see, the area was empty.
The only things he could see were some five-colored phoenixes, flying gracefully high above. The phoenixes were the beloved pets of Elder Zhou, and often soared above Fragrant Cloud Peak around dawn. They would usually fly together in a flock, and were especially beautiful. Many disciples were jealous of them.
Bai Xiaochun rubbed his eyes and looked around. Thinking that perhaps he had opened the gate incorrectly, he went back in, closed it, and then tried again. However, the result was the same.
“What’s going on?” he thought, shocked. He quickly went off to find Hou Yunfei to ask for an explanation.
Hou Yunfei sighed and looked at Bai Xiaochun. “Last night, the sect leader issued a Dharmic decree. As your Elder Brother, he notified the cultivator clans… that according to sect rules, you can’t accept a Daoist partner within the next hundred years. Therefore… everyone had no choice but to leave.”
Bai Xiaochun’s jaw dropped. Feeling very wronged, he said, “No more income…. No more marriage….”
Hou Yunfei wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. A moment later, though, he thought of something, and said, “Xiaochun, a friend of mine from Green Crest Peak told me that you and Shangguan Tianyou have a beef with each other. Is that right? Well, just be aware that Qian Dajin isn’t important at all. However you choose to deal with him, the sect will tacitly agree. But things aren’t so simple when it comes to Shangguan Tianyou!”
“What do you mean ‘not so simple?’” Bai Xiaochun asked. “Is he more important than me or something?” Having been a member of the Spirit Stream Sect for so many years, Bai Xiaochun was well aware of how the sect tried to train its disciples. They pushed them toward greatness, prohibited deadly conflicts, and encouraged both cooperation and competition. Sect rules governed basic behavior. The elders of the various mountain peaks, as well as the Peak Lords themselves, provided assistance and training. And the Hall of Justice was a looming threat to deter bad behavior. The sect essentially had all aspects under control.
Of course, considering that between the north and south banks the Spirit Stream Sect had several hundred thousand disciples, it was obviously impossible to micromanage everything. Disciples would have conflicts and fights, and certain improper attitudes were impossible to control. However, the rewards and punishments in place were clear, and anyone who violated them would be strictly dealt with!
Bai Xiaochun had performed an incredible service for the sect, possessed profound skill with plants and vegetation, and could unleash extraordinary battle prowess. The sect was naturally aware of that, and valued him greatly. Of course, they didn’t cater to his every whim like a servant. If people insulted or provoked him, they wouldn’t leap out to protect him…. No disciple enjoyed such treatment, neither Shangguan Tianyou nor Bai Xiaochun.
Because of that, Bai Xiaochun was of the belief that Shangguan Tianyou, an arrogant, famous Chosen who other Outer Sect disciple went so far as to call Young Lord, was still not worthy of his own attention.
After a moment of thought, Hou Yunfei responded, eyes shining as he told Bai Xiaochun everything he knew: “Shangguan Tianyou has great ambitions. He hopes that one day he will be able to enter the legendary Legacy Echelon. As such, he has continuously kept his cultivation base suppressed, keeping him between the Outer and Inner Sects. When the next trial by fire for Chosen from the north and south banks comes, he wants to take first place, and enter the Inner Sect at the top. That will earn him the chance to enter the Legacy Echelon. Were it not for that, he would have long since applied for an ordinary trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect. After all, anyone who reaches the eighth level of Qi Condensation may do so.”
Shocked, Bai Xiaochun asked, “How come everyone wants to get into the Legacy Echelon? Xu Baocai told me that Zhou Xinqi, Lu Tianlei, and everyone else wants to.”
“Members of the Legacy Echelon have a similar status to Prestige disciples. However, it’s a different branch within the Spirit Stream Sect. You see, the Spirit Stream Sect is different from other sects. We have two branches, one of which focuses on protecting the sect, and one of which focuses on increasing its glory and power!
“Everyone from the servants to the disciples in the third level of Qi Condensation are lumped together in one lower group. Those from the fourth to the eighth level of Qi Condensation constitute the Outer Sect. At the eighth level, you can apply for a trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect.
“If you can reach Foundation Establishment… then you can become a Foundation Establishment elder, and maybe even a Peak Lord. After two sixty-year-cycles pass, if you break through to the Gold Core level, then you can become a Prime Elder, responsible for protecting and managing the sect. That is the first branch.
“The second branch is the Legacy Echelon!
“There is only one way to get in, and that is… to break through to the Gold Core level before two sixty-year-cycles pass. From then on, you will become a tool to ensure that our sect earns an even greater position in the cultivation world, that it acquires… even more powerful resources and wealth! Anyone who takes first place in the Chosen battles will be in line to enter the Legacy Echelon. I’m not really sure about the exact details, but I do know that there are rules about the whole thing!
“The only thing is, reaching the Gold Core level before two sixty-year-cycles pass is very, very difficult…. Of the members of the previous generation, the only person who has even come close is Peak Lord Li Qinghou. That’s why the sect favors him so much!”
Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. This was his first time hearing an explanation of the Legacy Echelon, which also gave him a much clearer understanding of the sect itself. Soon, he left, and as he made his way off, he continued to ponder the matter.
“Legacy Echelon…?”
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Chapter
73: Who Did This!?
Sighing, Bai Xiaochun left Hou Yunfei’s residence and returned to his own courtyard. He looked up at the sky, then around at the surrounding scenery, and thought about the cultivator clans. In his opinion, his Elder Brother Sect Leader had acted a bit domineering, and yet… even though it was now impossible to collect any more gifts, at least there was no need to return the ones he had already taken.