''All of you, get on'' Elder Lu said and although these kids were a bit afraid of sitting on such a big beast, eventually everyone climbed on top of it.
When everyone was finally on it, Elder Lu patted the bird's head as he said ''let's go''.
The bird's eyes snapped open as a terrifying pressure crushed on the people inside the royal palace of the 'Sky Fortune Kingdom'.
The bird then stretched open its giant wings of a wingspan more than 45m(147ft) and as it flapped them, strong gusts of air hit the ground and blew away everyone in its perimeter that had dared to stand underneath it.
Elder Lu was standing atop the bird's head as he explained to these soon-to-be disciples of his sect
''This is a red-winged condor, a rank 3 magic beast. It can even fight head-on against a Heaven grade expert so it's power is truly terrifying.''
The people sitting atop the condor were startled. A rank 3 magic beast? Nobody had ever seen one in the Sky Fortune Kingdom. Even if there was any, it was probably deep inside the Blue Forest if anywhere, but no one had ever seen it or at least lived to tell the tale of it.
The condor didn't fly in a straight line but instead kept flying higher and higher. These kids had never reached such an altitude before in their lives and most of them could feel their legs trembling atop the condor's back.
Elder Lu looked at these kids and said
''All of you can be considered as outer sect disciples of my 'floating cloud sect' now so I guess I should tell you a few things. First of all, it is only now that you kids will enter the 'true cultivation world'.
Take a look at the scenery below you.''
The condor had already flown up so high that every person seated on its back had a panoramic view of the scene below them.
When everyone looked down they had noticed that the place they were looking at was so big and their altitude was so high that they couldn't even spot the Sky Fortune Kingdom anymore.
Elder Lu then said
''Do you see this? There are over 170 'kingdoms' down there. But what you people don't know is that these are only 'mortal kingdoms'.''
This number astonished everyone from the Sky Fortune Kingdom. Their own kingdom was already so big, and they were now being told that there were more than 170 other Kingdoms on par with their own Sky Fortune Kingdom? Their minds couldn't accept this shocking revelation that easily.
''Elder what do you mean by mortal kingdoms?'' This time it was a short girl with an immature face and her hair fixed in a ponytail who asked this question.
Elder Lu then said
''It means that these 'kingdoms' of yours are mainly comprised of mortals who haven't even embarked on the path of cultivation. This entire 'continent' that you think your 'kingdom' is on, is in reality just a tiny mortal island in the face of my 'floating cloud sect'.''
If these people were shocked before, when they learned that there were 170 more kingdoms on this continent, then this time they were truly speechless.
Even Shun Long was shocked, as his mind couldn't process yet the enormity of the 'floating cloud sect'.
Elder Lu then continued sounding completely apathetic about it
''That's why I said that you will only now have the chance to actually enter the 'true cultivation world'.
My 'floating cloud sect' is in charge of this island and every 3 years we come down and search for the talented people of every kingdom, allowing them to become outer sect disciples.''
''Elder, may I ask what do you mean when you say that you <<come down>> every 3 years?'' the spiky-haired kid asked again.
Elder Lu then answered the question with a question of his own
''Have you ever wondered why there are so few Heaven grade experts on this island? Even your 'Sky Fortune Kingdom' didn't have a single Heaven grade expert.''
Not just the spiky-haired kid, nobody there knew the answer to this question.
Elder Lu seemed to obviously have expected that as he continued
''Heaven grade experts can fly, and they can also absorb the qi in the air around them when they cultivate. Earth grade experts can absorb the qi from the earth, in a certain radius around them when they cultivate, whereas cultivators in the qi condensation grade can only absorb the qi in the air that comes in direct contact with their bodies, they can't actively seek qi in the air or in the ground as the Heaven or Earth grade experts do.
When cultivators in your island reach the Heaven grade, they will notice a barrier high up in the air. This barrier is the dividing line between the 'Mortal world' and the 'cultivation world'. Aside from your island, there are many other islands in this sea, many of them belonging to other powerful sects similar to my 'floating cloud sect'.
When cultivators from any island reach the Heaven grade and fly high enough up in the sky, they can use their energy and pass through the barrier, to enter the 'true cultivation world' where my 'floating cloud sect' and the other sects are.''
Shun Long was truly stunned this time.
He didn't expect that he would learn such secrets so soon after leaving the 'Sky Fortune Kingdom'.
He now understood why the crown prince of a kingdom would act so subserviently towards the members of the 'floating cloud sect''.
At the same time, Shun Long also rejoiced in his choice to leave the 'Sky Fortune Kingdom' and enter the 'Floating Cloud sect'.
Shun Long had sworn to become strong enough to protect his own life, never allowing others to control him, but if he had chosen to stay in the 'Sky Fortune Kingdom' wouldn't that mean that he allowed the 'Floating cloud sect' to have absolute control over his life? If they could control the crown prince, then they could definitely control everyone else in the kingdom.
The red-winged condor finally arrived at the place where the barrier was located in the sky.
He stopped in front of it and Elder Lu suddenly warned everyone
''Prepare yourselves!''
Shun Long grabbed the condor's feathers tightly as he could sense it gathering its energy.
A few breaths later, the red-winged condor's wings were shining brightly with a red light as it exploded forth with an astonishing amount of speed, instantly piercing the barrier.