'Heavenly Lightning Sect? Isn't that the sect Leah and Elliot said they were from? Then...that means I'm in the Yuan Continent Holy Lands!'
Although he had expected to find himself quite far from home based on everything he had just seen, John was still shocked to find out his exact location. Based on what his father had told him, returning was most likely going to be a problem. But he needed to return, due to the Crimson Valley Sect's plan, as well as Parker's betrayal.
"Like I said, I was kidnapped, and it appears my kidnappers have taken me very far from home...How does one get back to the…"
John stopped as he tried to explain where he was from. It was known as the Yuan Continent back home, but he was sure that to these people here, they knew it as something different.
"Back to the what?" the man asked in confusion as John stopped halfway through his sentence.
"Uh...we call it the Yuan Continent."
"This is the Yuan Continent," the man responded in confusion.
"Isn't this the Yuan Continent Holy lands though?" John asked.
"Well, yes, but this is both the Yuan Continent, as well as the Yuan Continent Holy lands. The Holy Lands refers to the area controlled by the four great sects, while this and the rest of the continent is the Yuan Continent," responded the man.
John scratched his head as he thought of a better way to describe home.
'It seems as if everything not in the Holy Lands is just called the Yuan Continent generically, so I'll have to be more specific.'
"Hmm, lets see. The area I'm from is controlled by the Varis Clan, Fenix Clan, Flowing River Sect, Ronan Clan, and Crimson Valley Sect. Do you know of that area?"
The man wracked his brain in thought before shaking his head.
"No, I don't think I've heard of any of those….Wait, I think I've vaguely heard of the Fenix Clan before. There was a promising young junior many years back that stemmed from there, but he disappeared without a trace. I always wondered what happened to him."
John's eyes lit up as the man recognized his clan. Although he had no idea who he was talking about, this was still good news.
"Yes, that area where the Fenix Clan is from. How do I get back there?" John asked in an excited tone.
The man shook his head before replying.
"You best think twice about returning there anytime soon. That place is nearly one hundred thousand miles away. Not only that, but many danger zones exist between us and them. And then there's the Great Desert, which swallows Core Formation experts left and right, and even Meridian Forging Experts need to be careful. I'm afraid as you are right now, you won't be able to return at all."
The man's explanation completely extinguished John's hopes. Since his father had made the trip twice, he figured it might be somewhat easy, but it appears that this wasn't the case.
"Isn't there some other way? Like hitching a ride on a caravan or something? Surely someone must make that trip often?" John asked, but he knew the answer was most likely a resounding no.
"No, I'm afraid not. That place doesn't have much to offer to the Holy Lands, and so many don't go there due to the immense risk and minimal reward."
John hung his head in disappointment.
'I need to get word back to the clan before it's too late. Either I need to get my cultivation to the Meridian Forging Realm before heading back, or I need to try to send a message somehow. Getting to the Meridian Forging Realm is just a matter of time, but by the time I do so, it might already be too late. As for a message, I don't even know how to go about that yet.'
He continually wracked his brain for solutions, but was unable to come up with any.
'I'll have to get accustomed to this land first, and figure out what it has to offer, before I can make any plans.'
John thought about Leah and Elliot, and the badge they gave him quickly appeared in his hands.
'Maybe they can help me.'
The man noticed an item appear in John's hands, and his eyebrows raised slightly once he noticed what it was.
"How did you come by that item?" the man asked curiously.
"I ran across two people my age, a boy and a girl, who claimed to be from the Heavenly Lightning Sect. The girl ended up giving me this badge, and said to use it to meet them if I was ever in the area. Would I be able to go and see them?"
"Hmm? If she gave you this badge, she must think quite highly of you. Let me see the badge."
John handed over the badge, and the guard inspected it before another item quickly appeared in his hands. The man stood there in silence for some time before he handed the badge back to John.
"I'm afraid those two are out on a sect mission, and won't be returning for another six months. Without them in the sect to personally escort you, I cannot let you into the sect," the man responded as he shook his head.
John's hopes were quickly squashed. He was hoping that sect members like them could help him, but that wasn't going to happen either.
'I'm a nobody in this land, and I'm sure my accumulated wealth is beneath the notice of a place like this. The only way for me to get real help is to make a name for myself, make myself important enough that others will want to help me...I wonder…'
John once more turned to the man and asked him a question.
"Then, is there a way I could join your sect?"
"Hahaha,"
The man was unprepared for such a question, and couldn't help but laugh at John's naivety. He quickly noticed the serious look on the boy's face, and regained his composure once more.
"Boy, I can obviously tell that you're not from around here based on your desire to get back to that faraway land, so I'll forgive your ignorance. Let me explain. The Heavenly Lightning Sect is one of the four great sects of this land, and tens of thousands of juniors try to enter it each year."
The man paused for a moment to see if John was getting the picture, but his resolute face remained unchanged. He slightly shook his head and continued.
"I can tell you're about fourteen or fifteen years old."
"I just turned fifteen a few weeks ago," John responded with a head nod.
"Well, of those tens of thousands of juniors joining the trials to enter the Heavenly Lightning Sect, the lowest of cultivation's are at your realm, the Late Mist Creation, while the majority are in the Qi Condensation Realm. To put it bluntly, you are far too weak to join the sect."