Pathway To Eternity

Earlier in the year, Ju Feng had reached the age of ten. Age ten was the maximum a young cultivator must be, to be successfully accepted into any major sect. They were very particular about the age due to the fact that, it was much more easier for the soul foundation of the young cultivator to be molded in a properly suitable way of the sect. Therefore, he could no longer delay in finding a sect.

Ju Feng's grandfather, Zhang Li Qiang, who had been in charge of looking for a suitable sect for him, had located the three most powerful swords sects on Lorra. The Sword Saints sect on the Yamachi continent, the Infinite Sword sect on the Xuanpu continent and the Last Sword sect on the Ankhora continent.

The most famous was the Sword Saints due to the noble and wealthy families patronizing them. The largest in number of cultivators and biggest in size among the three, was the Infinite Swords. The debatably most powerful in terms of strength and manuals was the Last Sword sect.

All those sword sects were backed by powerfull figures. Hegemons and ancestral gods who had ascended to the heavenly realms. Even legends had it that the Sword Saints were backed by a puregod.

After a little discussions, the choice had been obvious. It could only be the Last Sword sect. Firstly, It was located on the same continent they live, with great reputation as a powerful sect. Secondly, they wanted somewhere closer to home, where they could reach quickly. Decision had been made, it would be the Last Sword sect.

Ju Feng woke up very early. The day had finally arrived. It was the day for young cultivators to undergo trials for sect admission.

He cleaned his mouth with the willow twig before chewing some mint leaves, washed his body and put on his new robe. He quickly joined his family for breakfast, they would be accompanying him to the place.

They had been told that it would be a single day trial.

They arrived on time to see the entrance full of young cultivators seeking admission. Lots of cultivators had left by the look of things and thousands were still arriving. Kids were coming from different parts of the world, but the majority are from the same continent of Ankhora.

Obviously, Ankhora was a big continent, second only to Xuanpu in size. It had more than five billion people, of which, hundreds of millions were general cultivators. But majority of these numbers were only cultivators that would die while still sensing Chi, talkless of gathering Chi. True cultivation started from gathering Chi, of which population were only few millions.

Out of these few millions, were the thousands of young cultivators who were still trooping unto the sect premises for the trials.

The setting of the sect premises were impressive. The cultivators didn't need to enter inside the sect premises for trials because at the entrance to the sect premises was a stone pillar.

An ancestral monolith! The Stone of Paths.

It was a marble monolith and on the monolith were three crystals; red[body], yellow[spirit] and blue[element]. Any cultivator having a level that was lesser than Lianchi, would be pushed back by the monolith, automatically.

The red crystal was used to measure body strength, the yellow for the Chi energy level and the blue for the elements in general. As long as the three reached the brilliance level required, the monolith would give off a sound of acceptance, then the cultivators would proceed towards the mainhall where the sect elders were waiting.

That was everything required. Simply getting the monolith to accept.

As numerous young cultivators were arriving, and were placing their palms on the stone, thousands were also leaving dejectedly due to their failures in meeting the requirements. By the end of the day, the numbers would have been reduced to final numbers for admission.

Ju Feng was in line, waiting for his turn to face the monolith. He was nervous, anxious and expectant of what the results would be.

By the time it was his turn, only a few hundreds of people were left. He approached the monolith, and placed his palms on the imprints. Immediately, all the stones lit up and the monolith gave the ultimate sound of acceptance. He felt calmness descended on him and was very happy when the acolytes directed him towards the main hall of the sect.

By late afternoon, all the one hundred disciples that passed the trial were all in the main hall. On the podium of the hall, were the sect elders who were all nascent soul cultivators of early to middle stages. And, the grandelder who was a peak stage nascent soul cultivator.

The grand elder raised his head to look at the new disciples and nodded his head.

"We welcome you all to the Last Sword sect. Here at Last Sword, we work towards the progress and welfare of all our members especially new members. It is always our sect's ideology to behave ourselves. As ethics is a very important thing we should have."

He broke off to make sure they are all following his words as he spoke.

"We all know that you all are from different parts of the world and are abiding with different rules. I believe they all share a common vision: to help young cultivators get used to outside rules. It's a fact that all of you would eventually acquire the necessary knowledge. You'll leave this place and enter the life outside."

The grand elder looked from one face to the others.

"Outside is ruled by laws, of which survival of the strongest is paramount. It is important for you to have a sense of what they are, not only for the benefits of the sect, but also for the establishment of good values for yourselves."

He paused, allowing that to sink in.

"To give you more words showing showing the importance of this. There is a rule that needs students to be courteous and compassionate. It is easy to comply with this rule, but seldom do discciples know the underlying meaning of it. Some of you may manifest stronger strength or higher cultivation level than others, you don't need to be too arrogant about it."

The grand elder made an encompassing gesture with his hand.

"You are all working towards the same goal, to be better than your best. You will need to get in contact with people of different groups when embarking on the road to workforce therefore you need to find ways to get along with other disciples, sect acolytes and sect elders."

The grand elder turned his head towards the location of the elders and acolytes who all nodded in return, before returning his gaze to the new disciples.

"Being courteous and compassionate leaves them an impression that you are a disciple with good and decent wisdom. Friendly competitions are accepted and welcomed as long as they don't threaten the lives of others and with the supervision of at least, a sect master. Once again, we welcome you all."

Spreading his arms around his sides, the grand elder continued.

"These are our sect elders, each a great leader of his or her own field. They will be guiding you attaining the necessay knowledge."

After the grand elder's speech, the sect elders introduced themselves one after the other.

"Cao Wang Xiu, house of light. Walk the way of light and see its true glory. I welcome you all."

"Tang Li Jing, house of flora. Always take a time to smell the flowers, purest sensation. Welcome."

"Bai Bambang, house of terra. Embrace terra and feel a mighty and binding power. Welcome."

"Lin Li Mei, house of water. Nothing can resist water, it contains the truths. I welcome you."

"Luo Jiu Li, house of wood. The loveliness of the woods is before sunrise. You are all welcome."

"Zhu Huojin, house of fire. Be courageous like fire, burn away impurities. Welcome to the life."

"Fu Manchu, master of shadow. Shadow is part of life, it only like its privacy. Welcome all."

"Qin Ming Yue, house of air. Don't forget to breathe, good for the body and soul. Welcome you all."

"Xia Ming Yu, house of ice. Everyday is an ice day, always have it. Nice welcoming you all."

"Liang Long, house of lightning. See the full flash of lightning and be dazzled. Welcome."

"Wu Pang Fua, house of dreams and illusion. Dream and disguise the emptiness. Welcome."

"Ren Chao, house of metal. Discover metal and discover the power of becoming. Welcome."

"Kong Shan, house of Necrosism. All things are poison and nothing without poison. Welcome."

"Hou Yusheng, house of Space-time. Distort space and it affects time. I welcome you."