"What? Player Yuan is currently in the Jaded Garden? How is that possible?"
"I am serious! I witnessed him spar with Elder Xi and win! He was even wearing his signature black mask!"
"But why would Player Yuan come here? Maybe he wants to join this faction?"
"That would be incredible if that was true. Imagine being in the same faction as Player Yuan! We'll become an unstoppable force!"
The disciples of Spiritual Elites were both baffled and excited by the news, and all of them wanted to meet Player Yuan for themselves, but that was much easier said than done, as he was currently being escorted by all six grand elders.
If they bother them, they would risk getting kicked out of the faction.
"Welcome to our Immortal Caves, Daoist Yuan." Senior Xi said to him as they approached this small mountain that had a couple of cave entrances around it.
Yuan took a deep breath, sucking in the fresh Qi from the place.
"You're right. This place has an incredible amount of spiritual energy." Yuan said to them.
"Let me show you inside the Immortal Caves." Senior Wang said as she approached one of the cave entrances.
Yuan followed her, and the closer they got to the cave, the stronger the spiritual energy became.
"Wow… This is an immortal cave?"
Yuan was speechless upon seeing the decoration inside that was the opposite of his expectations.
He'd expected the place to be a gloomy cave with nothing but rocks, but to his surprise, there was an entire room filled with furniture inside the immortal cave! And there was even a door!
"This is a modern-day immortal cave." Senior Wang said with a smile on her face.
"You probably expected something more boring, but cultivators in our day and age cultivate better in this kind of environment." Senior Wang said with a smile on her face.
"Look, there is even a bathroom in here."
After showing Yuan around the place, Senior Wang said, "If you join us, we can give you one of these immortal caves."
"Normally, only grand elders and the family heads are allowed to stay inside an immortal cave permanently, but we will make this an exception for you."
"I will consider it," Yuan said.
"Hmm…"
Senior Wang began pondering when she heard his voice that carried a hint of disinterest.
"How about this Daoist Yuan. You can stay here for a month— or even a week as a disciple. You will gain access to the Immortal Caves and some of our techniques as if you are an official disciple, but you have no obligations to join us. And once your time as a trial disciple is over, you can decide whether you want to join us or not."
"A trial disciple?" Yuan raised his eyebrows. He didn't think they'd go this far just to invite him into their faction.
"What if I learn all of your techniques and decide not to join?" Yuan then asked.
"Of course, we have already considered this possibility, and we're willing to take the risks." Senior Wang said, as the grand elders have spoken about this matter way before Yuan even arrived.
Furthermore, while she didn't say it, she didn't believe that Yuan would be able to learn their techniques so quickly.
While Yuan's cultivation speed is, without a doubt, heaven-defying, that didn't mean he was also as talented when it comes to comprehension.
Most of their disciples needed many months to learn a single technique, and even their top geniuses required at least a week to learn a new technique.
"What do you think?" Yuan turned to ask Meixiu.
"I don't really care. Do as you wish," she calmly responded.
Yuan pondered for a moment before nodding his head, "Alright, we'll stay here for a week. After all, it would be a shame if I left so quickly after traveling so much."
"Great! Then starting today, you will be part of our Spiritual Elites! We'll get your uniforms later, but if you don't want them, just let me know."
"It's okay, we have our own clothes," Yuan said.
Although he agreed to join their faction temporarily, he didn't want to accept their uniform since that would make him look too much like an official disciple and could even potentially create some misunderstandings.
Sometime later, they left the immortal caves and Senior Wang spoke with the other grand elders regarding Yuan's decision to join the faction as a trial disciple.
Of course, the grand elders were very ecstatic to hear this.
Even if Yuan was only a trial disciple and he decides to leave in a week, they will still have a connection with him at the very least.
"Daoist Yuan, which immortal cave would you like to use for your time here?" Elder Xi asked him.
"I don't really care. Whichever one is available, I guess."
"The immortal cave I just showed you isn't occupied by anyone at the moment. You can use that one if you like." Senior Wang said.
"Okay." Yuan nodded.
Senior Wang then retrieved a jade medallion from her clothes before offering it to Yuan.
"Take this. If you run into any trouble within the Jade Garden, you can use this medallion. Only those approved by the grand elders are allowed to carry this, and anyone that dares to challenge the medallion means they're challenging us, the grand elders."
Yuan accepted the medallion without any hesitation.
"Then we will leave you alone now. If you need anything from us, you can find us at our family living quarters. Only family members are allowed to approach these living quarters, but you will be fine as long as you have the medallion on you." Senior Wang said.
"Once again, you may be a trial disciple, but you will have access to things that even normal disciples cannot reach. I hope you will enjoy your stay here."
"Thank you." Yuan nodded.
The grand elders left the scene shortly after, leaving Yuan and Meixiu alone.
"Why did you agree to stay here?" Meixiu suddenly asked him.
"During my spar with Elder Xi I realized that I don't have any combat experience in this body, so I want to acquire some of that experience in this place. After all, I cannot dodge forever, and there are a lot of interesting things that I want to try out in this place," he said.