John arrived at the Heavenly Lightning Sect before midday, and headed straight towards the Heavenly Lightning Courtyard, which was where the sect carried out all its important public sect business.
Upon arriving at the sect, John raised his eyebrows slightly at the scene before him.
'It seems as if the entire sect has gathered here in this courtyard. Is the sendoff process really such a big deal?'
Regardless of the reasons, John quickly landed in the middle of the courtyard, which was where many of the other members of his disciple class stood. There were roughly one hundred disciples gathered, which consisted of the five Direct Disciples of the sect, all the Core Disciples, and the most talented Inner Disciples. John even spotted Chase and Adam amongst them.
He didn't really know the exact criteria the sect had for approving which disciples were worthy of going to the main sect or not, but he was confident Adam and Chase were more than talented enough. His guess was right, and the two of them approached him as soon as he landed.
"You're finally here huh? I'm pretty sure you're the last one to arrive," Adam said while shaking his head as he walked towards John. "What would you do if we left without you?"
"Left without him?" Chase piped up as he approached as well. "I'm pretty sure the only person the sect would not leave without is him. The rest of us are probably all discardable when compared to him," Chase said in a slightly self-defeated manner.
"What are you talking about?" John said with a smile as he patted Chase on the back. "You're just as valuable as I am. Good Pill Experts are hard to come by, and ones with Wood Constitutions are even more rare. The sect probably places you just as high as me in terms of value."
"Right, right," Adam chimed up with a smile on his face as he replied with closed eyes. "Us three are the most valuable disciples to the sect. There's no way they would leave without any of us."
Adam's eyes slowly opened as he heard no response, and all he saw was John and Chase looking at Adam as if he were stupid.
"Did I ever mention you?" John replied with a look as if Adam was stupid. "If it wasn't for me dragging you through all those trials, you wouldn't even be in the sect today, let alone going to the Divine Martial Continent."
"What? How can you say such a thing," Adam nearly yelled out back at John.
"Did I say anything false?" John replied with a straight face.
Adam was about to argue back, but quickly realized John only told the truth. He truly had been dragged forward in both status and talent by John, and he wouldn't really be the same person today if not for him.
"Fine, I admit you're right," Adam replied. "But before long, I'll prove myself as a valuable member to this team, just you wait!"
Adam's eyes burned with determination, causing John to nod his head slightly in approval. He was mostly jesting with Adam, as he needed to knock him down a peg. It seems as though it had worked, and he had lit a fire under Adam, which was something that rarely happened.
While John, Chase, and Adam conversed, the rest of the Heavenly Lightning Sect gathered in the courtyard around the youths. A buzzing atmosphere filled the crowd, as discussions broke out amongst the sect members regarding this year's discipleship being sent to the Divine Martial Continent.
"Thank you for gathering here today," a voice boomed over the crowd, and all eyes turned to look at Thunderzen who had emerged from the Heavenly Lightning Palace. "Just like a few days ago, today is an important day for this sect. It is the day we send our best disciples to the main branch of the Heavenly Lightning Sect, to learn and prosper, and bring pride to our branch here. We have high hopes for this year's class."
Thunderzen's gaze swept over the crowd and youths, and paused on John for a moment as a smile formed on his face.
"I'm afraid there isn't much fanfare to this event other than sending you all off. All I can say is I wish you all the best of luck, and bid you farewell."
"Farewell!"
A booming cry echoed out in unison from the crowd, shaking the very ground with its might. John felt himself get ever so slightly emotional, as he could tell he had the support of the entire sect, as well as the hopes of all on his shoulders.
A ship suddenly appeared in the sky above the group of youths, with Lilian standing beside it.
"Hop on," Lilian instructed, as she had been the one to summon the ship from her spatial ring.
'I guess my master herself is escorting us to the Divine Martial Continent.'
John inspected the ship closely, and raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. The ship was not the ship his master had used to get him to his homeland, but the ship Thunderzen had used when he arrived at the Bloodfiend Sect.
'It seems as though they have traded ships for this situation. They must place quite a bit of importance on it if Thunderzen is giving Lilian his much more valuable ship for this trip.'
The youths all obliged, and flew up to the ship hovering in the sky above them. John was the last one to fly up, and his gaze swept over the crowd one last time, before eventually resting on Thunderzen who stood at the top of the stairs leading to the Heavenly Lightning Palace.
"Good luck," Thunderzen's voice transmission sounded in John's mind. "And be careful. The Divine Martial Continent is far beyond the Yuan Continent in terms of power and talent. Although you will still flourish without a doubt, you must have your guard raised at all times. But above all, be true to your cultivation heart, and do not waver from the path you have set out for yourself. Only by doing this can you rise to the top of the martial world."
John nodded his head upon hearing Thunderzen's words, and bowed slightly towards him. Thunderzen had done so much for John, and he was eternally grateful for each and every single thing Thunderzen had done for him.
After bowing to the Sect Leader, John flew up to the ship above and quickly entered it. The ship's interior was incredibly spacious and luxurious, even more so than the ship Lilian had used a month ago. The interior was easily large enough to carry several hundred people, and there were even dozens of rooms within to house individual people.
Lilian boarded the ship last and quickly inspected everyone inside to make sure none were missing. Upon confirmation of the youths on the ship, she walked to the front of the ship, which contained the piloting module. Her hand pressed down on a formation disk on top of a pedestal, and the ship quickly flew higher in the sky before speeding off to the east at incredible speeds.
John, as well as the rest of the disciples, felt a wave of emotion was over them as they watched the ship speed away from the Heavenly Lightning Sect. It was where they had spent the last year of their lives, and each and every single youth felt incredible attachment to it.
The ship flew at incredible speeds, much faster than the ship John had been on previously. John watched the Yuan Continent fly by below, before his gaze shifted to his master who now stood in the center of the ship. She waved her hand, and over one hundred scrolls suddenly appeared in the air, before each one shot towards a disciple.
"Read this," Lilian instructed as each disciple caught a scroll and unfurled it.
John did the same, and quickly perused through its contents.
'Hmm? This scroll contains information regarding the Divine Martial Continent. The nearby allies and enemies to the Heavenly Lightning Sect, nearby danger zones and more. How useful.'
John, as well as the rest of the disciples, read each and every word of the scrolls and etched all the information into their minds. Such information was incredibly important, and would certainly be useful for them in their cultivation journeys to come.
After reading through his document, John put it away and walked over to his master, who stood at the helm of the ship. Lilian glanced at John as he approached, before looking forward once more.
"What is it?" Lilian asked as John stood next to her, as she could tell he had a question on his mind.
"I've always wanted to ask this question, but never really got around to it," John replied. "How come Sect Leader Thunderzen, Sect Leader Earthfist, and Allfiend go by such names. Surely those aren't their natural birth names, why do they all go by such strange names?"
It was something that had always seemed strange to John, and was something he wanted to know the truth behind.