Dragon Valley Sect
The central urban area of Dragon Valley City is home to three major sects: Dragon Valley Sect, Ten Thousand Hall Sect, and Hongyang Sect. In addition, there are countless smaller sects and cultivation families. The Dream Heaven Small World comprises eight major cities, with Dragon Valley City being one of the largest. Besides these, there are seven other cities including Crescent Moon City, Xuanwu City, Taiping City, and Immortal Island City, all of which are home to numerous sects and cultivation families of varying sizes.
Zhao Xiyue was originally a disciple of the Dragon Valley Sect in Dragon Valley City. Her father was the sect leader, and her mother, brother, and sister were all elders. This time, she accompanied Huo Quan, leading five disciples to the Dragon Valley Sect in Dragon Valley City. The five disciples were Lin Shi, Xu Xingran, Huo Linglong, Huo Qing, and Lu Weizhong, two of whom were female disciples. Huo Qing was Huo Quan's nephew from the same clan. Except for Lin Shi, who had already reached the Golden Core stage, the other four disciples were all at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Huo Quan and Zhao Xiyue used the Seven Peaks Sect's flying boat to transport the five disciples to the Dragon Valley Sect. Before entering the central area of Dragon Valley City, Lin Shi's cultivator identity badge was updated with the sect's name, while the other three disciples were registering their cultivator identities in Dragon Valley City for the first time. As for Huo Linglong, she frequently traveled between the Seven Peaks Sect and the Dragon Valley Sect with her parents, and the guarding cultivators already recognized her.
As Zhao Xiyue watched her four disciples register their identity badges in a small room at the entrance of the central district of Dragon Valley City, she softly instructed them, "The eight cities of the Dream Heaven Small World, although they compete with each other, also have a lot of exchanges. Once you register your cultivator identity in one city, it will serve as a universal identity document in the others."
"Disciple understands!" Lin Shi and the other three responded in unison. Huo Linglong nodded vigorously, looking charming and adorable.
The gatekeepers of Dragon Valley City recognized Zhao Xiyue and Huo Quan, and consequently, they treated Lin Shi and the other five disciples with extreme respect. The five Dragon Valley City guards on duty stood respectfully with their hands at their sides when facing Zhao Xiyue, not daring to even glance at her. They only dared to give her disciples a quick look before hurriedly memorizing their appearances and names.
After the identity badges were registered, Zhao Xiyue had her and Huo Quan follow her, riding on the beasts brought by the city guards. They then swaggered leisurely from the city gate, passing through the streets and alleys, heading towards the Dragon Valley Sect located in the west of Dragon Valley City.
The riding beasts were pure white, resembling the legendary Qilin, with a goat's head, wolf's hooves, a deer-like body, and a dragon-tail-like tail. Their white bodies were covered in dragon-scale-like totems, and a single horn stood tall atop their round heads. They were approximately two meters long and tall. When standing, they looked majestic. When running, they were incredibly fast, like lightning. Yet, they were exceptionally docile, willingly crouching down to allow cultivators to ride on their backs. They wore collars around their necks, prominently displaying the Dragon Valley Sect totem and their names.
To put it bluntly, riding a beast is a symbol of status. Even scions, ladies, and other members of aristocratic families who lack cultivation aptitude or cultivation level, can command respect from ordinary mortals and cultivators simply by riding a beast. Offending them is tantamount to offending the families behind them, and one can expect a furious revenge.
When Lin Shi last briefly visited the central area of Dragon Valley City, she was strolling alone when she was immediately targeted by a group of mortals and cultivators, most of whose gazes were direct and malicious. This time, Lin Shi sat upright on the back of her riding beast, dressed in ordinary clothes, still possessing her beautiful face, yet few mortals or cultivators dared to stare at her directly. Even when their eyes accidentally met, they quickly looked away, completely daring not to reveal any malice, jealousy, or admiration.
Lin Shi was both surprised and amazed, and sighed at the sayings like "It's good to have a big tree to lean on" and "Serving someone according to their status."
Lin Shi rode his mount, following behind Huo Quan and Zhao Xiyue, leisurely circling for half an hour before finally entering the gates of the Dragon Valley Sect. Once inside, they switched to a flying boat and went directly to the residence of the sect leader and his wife.
Lin Shi and the other four disciples accompanied Zhao Xiyue to pay their respects to her parents, brother, sister, and other influential figures in the Dragon Valley Sect. Afterwards, Zhao Xiyue and Huo Quan stayed at the Dragon Valley Sect for about half a month before returning to the Seven Peaks Sect. Lin Shi and the other four disciples then donned the robes of Dragon Valley Sect's nominal disciples and settled down there.
The Dragon Valley Sect's architectural complex covers a vast area, containing over three thousand independent courtyards. Viewed from mid-air, the Dragon Valley Sect's buildings are majestic and awe-inspiring. Built against the mountainside and near the Dragon Valley River, the sect boasts a massive sword-training arena at its very center, capable of accommodating at least thirty thousand people. The sect has a large number of disciples: hundreds of direct disciples and inner disciples, hundreds of outer disciples, and at least one or two hundred registered disciples. The sect leader, elders, guest ministers, and stewards number over a hundred.
Compared to the Dragon Valley Sect, the Ten Thousand Hall Sect and the Hongyang Sect in Dragon Valley City are roughly the same in terms of architectural complexes and the number of sect members. The three major sects compete with and check each other in Dragon Valley City, forming a tripartite balance of power.
Huo Linglong was assigned to live next to the inner disciples' courtyard, which was adjacent to the sect leader and his wife. The surrounding area was mostly occupied by the residences of the elders and their disciples. Most of the clan members without cultivation lived in residences outside the sect.
The Dragon Valley Sect has a long history and a well-established system for managing its disciples. They maintain a strict distinction between inner, outer, and registered disciples, with completely different living arrangements. Inner disciples are the sect's key focus, enjoying the best resources and bearing the heavy responsibility of the sect's legacy. They reside in independent courtyards near the sect's core, which are more spacious, scenic, and have more abundant resources. Outer disciples are promising cultivators who have passed the entrance examination. They enjoy better cultivation resources and live slightly further out, but generally in independent courtyards. Registered disciples are typically cultivators who haven't passed the entrance examination but possess potential. They enjoy limited resources and share the outermost courtyards with other cultivators.
Lin Shi, Xu Xingran, Huo Qing, and Lu Weizhong already belonged to sects; they weren't switching to the Dragon Valley Sect. Their arrangement was merely an inter-sect exchange and learning activity, and it was only because of Zhao Xiyue's status that they were allowed to stay in the designated disciple quarters. Xu Xingran, Huo Qing, and Lu Weizhong, being male cultivators, were assigned to a separate courtyard by the disciple manager. Lin Shi was randomly assigned to a separate courtyard, sharing it with three other female disciples.
The three female cultivators living in the same courtyard as Lin Shi were named Wang Sujun, Xue Yingying, and Zhang Qianqian. They were all at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and had been recommended by people with connections within the Dragon Valley Sect. A male cultivator named Yuan Tianyi, Zhang Qianqian's cousin, who was also at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, frequently visited them.
Aside from Wang Sujun, who appeared ordinary-looking with a sharp and mean-spirited expression, the other two female cultivators were pretty and gentle-looking. Yuan Tianyi appeared thin and frail, and although he often smiled politely, he always gave off an air of disdain. However, he wasn't very tall, nor was he particularly handsome, so he couldn't usually project an arrogant, haughty demeanor.
On the day Lin Shi moved into the courtyard, all three female cultivators living in the same courtyard were there. As soon as Wang Sujun saw Lin Shi's beautiful face appear in the courtyard, she rolled her eyes at her and, without saying a word, slammed her door shut and went inside to cultivate on her own.
Xue Yingying and Zhang Qianqian seemed friendly, and quickly came over with smiles to greet Lin Shi, explaining, "Su Jun isn't a bad person, she just has a bad temper sometimes. She just happened to be in a bad mood today, she wasn't deliberately giving you a hard time."
"I understand." Lin Shi smiled slightly, appearing to believe their explanation, but in her heart, alarm bells were ringing.
They don't seem like good people! I should be more careful in the future! Lin Shi thought to herself, but still greeted Xue Yingying and Zhang Qianqian politely.
Upon their first meeting, everyone was wary of each other, exchanging only polite words before parting ways. Afterward, they each stayed in their own rooms to cultivate or attend to other matters.
In the months that followed, the four people in the courtyard got along well, but they rarely met.
Lin Shi set her sights on the vast collection of books in the Dragon Valley Sect. She spent her days visiting the first floor of the collection pavilion, examining the books, techniques, sword manuals, and other texts she was permitted to view. The second to fourth floors of the collection pavilion were only accessible to inner and outer disciples. Rare secret manuals were reserved for those personally passed down to inner disciples by the sect leader or elders.
Sword Pavilion and similar places are not open to registered disciples. However, the alchemy room, weapon forging room, and array forging room are open to registered disciples. The sword training ground also has limited swordplay competitions, which registered disciples are allowed to participate in.
Besides browsing various ancient texts on the first floor of the collection pavilion, Lin Shi spent her time in the alchemy room, weapon crafting room, and array crafting room refining practical pills and items. She occasionally went to the sword training ground to spar with others, but unfortunately, she never had the chance to fight against inner disciples. Occasionally, she would spar with outer disciples, but almost always only against those on the probationary list. Most probationary disciples had average potential and low cultivation levels, so Lin Shi felt that sparring with them was pointless. Therefore, she often watched the inner disciples engage in brief, pointless sword duels in the training ground.
Besides these daily matters, Lin Shi would occasionally go to the back mountain and pool of the Dragon Valley Sect to take a walk, or fly on his sword, so as not to become rusty. However, since the Dragon Valley Sect was full of people and things, he would always run into other people.
Lin Shi's outstanding appearance attracted a group of idle and uncultivated disciples from various cultivation families for a period of time, as well as some nominal disciples and outer disciples. The inner disciples, however, were busy with their cultivation and looked down on the nominal disciples who only had good looks but were otherwise mediocre, so no one had any interaction with her.
"Young Master Zhao, I'm sorry, I need to go back to cultivate. It's inconvenient for me to go to the grove with you, nor is it convenient for me to stroll around the central area of Dragon Valley City with you." Lin Shi said similar things many times. Later, when he got tired of talking, he tried to stay in his room to cultivate alone and no longer went out.
The scions of prominent cultivation families without any cultivation, along with some nominal and outer disciples of average background, appearance, and cultivation, quickly ascertained Lin Shi's background through various means. Realizing she was not easily fooled, they gave up and stopped pursuing her. They soon shifted their focus, either chasing after female cultivators from wealthy and influential families or those with high cultivation and beautiful appearances.
"These men are so stingy. They say they like you, but every time they come to see you, they try to take something from you. It's either spirit stones, spirit plants, or they try to trick you into losing your virginity to them so they can give you cultivation resources in return, or use you as a cultivation vessel to help them cultivate and share their cultivation level. It's outrageous!"
Huo Linglong would often come to chat with Lin Shi, and that's how she witnessed the antics of the various scions of cultivation families, disciples, and outer disciples who had been relentlessly pursuing Lin Shi for the first few months. As a previously naive female cultivator, she frequently observed these antics and the power struggles within the Dragon Valley Sect. Within a year, she had gained a keen understanding of human nature, becoming much more shrewd, and her cultivation level steadily increased—which was undoubtedly a good thing.
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