Chapter 21: Recorded Disciple
“Yes, I am willing!” Liu Ming was naturally unable to decline a Spirit Master, even if the other party seemed like he had not put any thought into his words.
“Good, you can also stand to one side.” Gui Spirit master instructed in a carefree manner.
Currently, there were already two standing besides Gui Scholar. Besides the one he had chosen at the start called ‘Xiao Feng’, a nine Spiritual Pulse disciple, the other was a red haired Loose Practitioner named Yu Cheng.
However, the two were wearing completely opposite expressions. Xiao Feng was gloomy and depressed while Yu Cheng looked happy as he smiled at Liu Ming.
Lin Caiyun could not help but hesitate inwardly when she saw Liu Ming being picked first by Gui Spirit Master.
If it were some other faction, she would only need to ask and the other party would not reject her request for a three Spiritual Pulse disciple. However, the Nine Infant Faction did not have good relations with the other factions. In addition, they had forced out of a Earth Spiritual Pulse this time. If she once again suggested to exchange disciples, it was very likely that the other party would see it as a form of provocation.
“It’s better to forget about it!”
Lin Spirit Master weighed her options in her heart for a while before sighing lightly as she finally made up her mind.
After all, this “Bai Cong Tian” was only a Three Spiritual Pulse Disciple. It was not worth to risk angering another Spirit Master for him.
The Faction head of the Dancing Ghost Faction did not open her mouth in the end. When it came to her turn, she casually picked one of the other three Spiritual Pulse Disciples.
In the blink of an eye, the tens of disciples had been completely cleaned up by the various factions of the Barbarian Ghost Sect. The Faction Leaders then brought their newly chosen disciples and left the Ancestral Hall one after another to return to their respective mountain tops.
With Gui Spirit Master’s spells, Liu Ming and a few others were brought towards one of the mountain tops at the fringe of the mountain range through a grey cloud.
This mountain top was the base of the Nine Infant Faction, also known as the “Nine Infant Peak”. However, the buildings on this mountain top were clearly unable to match up to the other mountain peaks. Especially at the very peak; only a few huge temples could be seen.
The grey cloud suddenly scattered and Liu Ming and the rest landed on a plaza right in front of one of the temples.
Here, there were already ten or so Nine Infant Faction disciples all clad in green gowns waiting.
Right at the front of these disciples was a thirty year old man with dishevelled hair and a vermillion gourd at his waist. Seeing Gui Spirit Master, Liu Ming and the rest, the man’s eyes shone as moved forward to welcome them:
“Senior, how did it go? I heard that an Earth Spiritual Pulse Loose Practitioner appeared in the recent Opening Spirit Ceremony. Did you bring him back?”
“What do you think Junior, with such a high tier disciple, would the main faction give him to us? However, there was a good haul this time, I brought back a nine Spiritual Pulse Disciple. The few of you come and pay your respects to your Shi Shu Zhu Chi.” Gui Spirit Master let out a bitter laugh before gesturing for the new disciples to come forward.
“Our respects to Zhu Shi Shu!” Liu Ming and the rest did not dare to tally as they immediately came forward to pay their respects.
“No need for so much bowing, please stand up. Then the main division has taken the Earth Spiritual Pulse Disciple; nothing weird about that. If the main division left such a gem for us, then there would be something fishy about it.” As Zhu Chi heard these words, he first waved his hands about before his expression turned gloomy.
“This is not a good place to talk. Let us first enter before we continue our discussion.” Gui Spirit Master cut the conversion with these words.
Naturally, Zhu Chi Yuan had no issues with that and immediately accompanied Gui Spirit Master in as they both walked towards the temple behind them. The rest of the disciples quickly followed suit.
The new disciples and the original Nine Infant disciples subconsciously split into two groups as they sized each other up.
Liu Ming somewhat curiously sized up the ten old disciples in one glance.
Half of the group was male and the other half was female and most of them were around seventeen or eighteen to twenty years old. The oldest was a determined looking twenty seven or eight year man. He had a heavy aura around him as if there was more to him than the eye could see and he also gave one a steadfast feeling.
At this moment, the man also realized that Liu Ming’s attention was on him and he lightly smiled at the latter.
Liu Ming likewise returned the gesture with a good-natured smile.
Among the other disciples, only two other females also drew his attention.
One had an goose-egg-shaped face, fair skin and was rather tall. Overall she gave others an exceptionally gentle feeling. The other was had relatively thick and black eyebrows and eyes like water while she also had an exceedingly ample figure.
The appearance of these two women were extraordinary. It was easy to imagine them drawing the gazes of many young men wherever they went.
On Liu Ming’s side, besides Xiao Feng and Yu Cheng, there was also one male and female disciple. Both of which were three Spiritual Pulse disciples casually picked by Gui Spirit Master in the end.
While Liu Ming was still secretly pondering to himself, the group walked into the temple. Gui Spirit Master and Zhu Chi both sat down somewhere at the front while the rest of the disciples could not help but stand after splitting into two rows.
“Shi Chuan, these are your new juniors. This is your Senior Shi. As of now, every ordinary matters in the mountain are handled by him.” Gui Spirit Master muttered to himself for a while before beckoning towards the twenty seven or eight year old man and introducing him to the rest.
“Fellow Juniors, if you have any needs while in the mountain, you can come and find me.” Shi Chuan cupped his fist at the new disciples and said with a smile.
Liu Ming and the rest did not dare to delay as they one by one bowed in return.
“In our factions, besides the two Spirit Masters, Zhu Shi Shu and me, there is still one more called Zhong Shi Gu. However, she is currently in seclusion for a breakthrough so all of you would be unable to see her. Additionally, Senior Zhu and I have limited energy and thus we are unable to take every single one of you as personal disciples. We will only take on Xiao Feng and Yu Cheng, the rest of you will be considered as Recorded Disciples.” Gui Spirit Master’s gaze swept across Liu Meng and the rest as he slowly explained.
TL: Shi Gu = female version of Shi Shu
At these words, Liu Ming felt somewhat depressed in his heart but he did not let it show on his face.
The other two three Spiritual Pulse youths showed disappointed expressions but naturally did not dare to speak back.
“All of you need not worry. Whether you are a Recorded Disciple or a Personal Disciple, you will only learn the most basic techniques of the sect at the initial stage. There is not much difference even if we personally impart these techniques as your progress will mainly depend on your own comprehension. Even though the few of you are somewhat lacking in the talent department, as long as one shows that he or she is exceptionally gifted during training, Gui Shi Shu and I can also once again take you on as a personal disciple. If you have any problems in your training, you can first approach your Seniors and if they are unable to answer your queries, then come and find the two of us. However, there are not many Spirit Masters in our faction, the three of us also need time in seclusion for training and we also need to frequently go away to complete missions assigned by the sect. If all three of us are somehow not at the mountain, there is still an Wisdom Hall set up by the sect. Every half a month, a Spirit Master will be there to pass on his own specialized techniques and at the same time answer any questions the attending disciples have. You can also go there, I believe that it would certainly be an excellent experience for you.” Zhu Chi supplemented from one side.
“Good, from now on, you will slowly understand about the matters of the sect. Shi Chuan, you will first bring these three disciples down to the Duty Hall to take their things and then arrange living quarters for them. Also remember to inform them about the rules and taboos of the sect.” Gui Spirit Master nodded as he gave out instructions.
“The three Juniors, please!” Shi Chuan nodded and gestured respectfully to Liu Ming and the other two.
After which, he brought the trio towards the door and left.
In the instance when they walked out of the door, Liu Ming faintly heard Gui Spirit Master command the remaining disciples:
“Besides Xiao Feng and Yu Cheng, the rest of you can also leave. In another two months, it would be time for the small competition. All of you need to be more diligent in your training such that you can win honor for our faction!”
Naturally, the acknowledging sounds of the disciples followed.
“Three Juniors, follow me. I will first help arrange your dwellings before we go to the Duty Hall. Oh, that’s right, I still do not know your names!” Shi Chuan brought the trio out of the entrance while he asked with a smiling expression.
“Senior Shi is too courteous, I am called Bai CongTian!”
“Xue Shan”
“Wan XiaoQian”
Liu Ming and the other two hastily answered.
Xue Shan had a rather sturdy figure and a dark complexion while Wan XiaoQian, who could not considered good-looking, did have a trace of a firmness that was rarely found in woman between her eyebrows.
“So its Junior Bai, Junior Xue and Junior Wan. Our faction has only ten or so disciples. Compared to the hundreds that the other seven factions have, our numbers are rather lacking. Furthermore, according to our the rules of our sect, any disciple over the age of thirty is not allowed to continue staying on the mountain. They need to find their own cave dwellings outside, thus there are not many disciples living in the mountain and the dwellings we have here are rather plentiful. The three of you can go ahead and take your pick of the dwellings, this can count as one of our faction’s few luxuries.” Shi Chuan gently smiled.
“From Senior’s tone, can it be possible that there is something we have to pay special attention to when we pick a dwelling?” As Liu Ming heard these words, a thought flashed in his head and he turned to inquire his Senior.
Xue Shan and Wan Xiao Qian exchanged a glance at Liu Ming’s words.
“Junior Bai is indeed a smart person. For normal training, it is better to chose a dwelling where the Yuan Qi is thicker. Although most of the dwellings are constructed in such areas, there are still minute differences between them. In addition, according to the different techniques a disciple chooses to practice, different dwellings would be more suitable. For example, if one practises a Light or Strength attributed technique, he would naturally want to dwell in a place where the sun will be able to shine anytime during a day. Those that pick a technique that is more Dark attributed will have an opposite opinion. They would love to stay underground where all twenty four hours will be spent away from the sunlight. This way, they will save effort and obtain better results during their training.” Shi Chuan opened his mouth to lecture.
“So that is how it works!” Liu Ming and the two suddenly exclaimed in a flash of understanding.
“However, since the three of you have just started training, you need not think too much on this matter. As long as you choose a place where the Yuan Qi is relatively thicker, your training progress will be slightly faster.” Shi Chuan once again explained.
“Many thanks to Senior Shi for your advice!” Xue Shan somewhat gratefully replied.
“Heh heh, we are already disciples from the same sect. You three need not be so courteous. Although our faction is weaker than the other factions, our disciples are always rather united because of that. Compared to the other factions, we end up with less of those messy and annoying situations of in-fighting. Since the three of you have joined our faction, you can be at ease and concentrate on your training. Alright, I will bring all of you to the empty dwellings to take a look around. If you see any place that you fancy, feel free to speak up.” Shi Chuan had reached the plaza they had initially arrived at when they came to the Nine Infant Peak and soon after started to chant some phrases, in preparation to cast a spell.