Two days later.
In the middle of a dark and dusky night, the gloomy clouds silently shifted below a magnificent sky palace.
...survive in darkness, life passes…
...survive in darkness, life passes...
...survive in darkness, life passes…
Covered his satin sheets that glistened with astral light, Wei Wuyin tossed and turned in his bed with tightly furrowed brows and lips that whispered endlessly.
"Ah!" His figure abruptly awoke from his sleep, exclaiming in frightful horror and heartrending pain. His pupils were like tremors as they were unable to focus amidst their ceaseless shaking and cold sweat drenched his body almost as if it had just rained.
"Haa...haaaa...haaaaaaaaa…" Heavy pants and breaths resounded as he slowly regained his sense of reality.
"A nightmare…again..." his heart felt horrible and his mind was in utter chaos, seeking reprieve in his memories and realization of his current, safe and secure reality. Lifting his hands, he realized they were trembling and even with his cultivation, he couldn't do anything to stop it. He felt powerless.
That day, when he forcefully deciphered the descriptions of Hell, he had experienced an ungodly and unimaginable amount of tortuous, life-agonizing pain that seeped into every crevice of his mind, body and soul. It was unrelenting as it plagued him in his dreams, and even during the normal day, he had to suppress this feeling of lingering agony.
"Will it never end…?" Wiping the cold sweat from his brows, he felt uncertainty in his heart. The Calamities of Hell was divided into eighteen different levels, and seemed to be a sharp, ruthless guillotine bearing down on his neck. Every breath, every heartbeat led to an inevitable event that could effortlessly claim his life.
It was a horrifying life to live.
Before, he had mostly brushed it off with his nonchalant attitude that accepted death. It was his heart covering his fear, but now that he was determined to face and overcome the trial, the fear was ceaselessly springing forth.
He sat up on the edge of his bed, looking at his right arm.
Karmic Luck Value: 585.7.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Suppressed - 40 Years.
'I still have forty years left. Unfortunately I can't trigger the trial at this very moment.' Sighing endlessly, he touched his heavily beating chest. The key to overcoming the Second Calamity was in his heart and mind. He felt at least seventy percent certain that he would not perish.
Unfortunately, he had no way to speed up the Calamity of Hell, so he was plagued by these horrors.
'What the hell am I thinking? If I experience the Second Calamity now, wouldn't I have to experience the third sooner?' He clenched his right fist and realized the faultiness in his thinking. In life, it was better to have an extra moment of it than to not. Rushing would only ensure failure.
Furthermore, he could use this buffer to enhance his cultivation base. The further he reached, the closer he would get to the Realm of Sages, wherever that was. Every step, no matter how small, was beneficial.
'But I can't rush that either. I need to ensure my cultivation base is the best it can be before I reach the Realm of Sages. After all, the Soul of True Sin is merely a buffer for the eradication forces of Hell towards my existence. I can only be certain if my strength is reliable and firm.'
Taking a deep breath of rich astral essence infused air, he felt greatly comforted and soon relaxed. The trembling of his hands came to a stop and his body no longer felt constricted and cold.
For the last two days since he arrived at this Sky Palace of his that lingered atop the Sky Layer, he had remained here to slowly cultivate and digest the rules regarding the sect.
'The hierarchy of this sect is rather strict. No wonder Xiang Ling kept saying that unless one had a backing of a greater ranking member, they would be forced to adhere to the orders of higher ranking members. This is an actual rule of the sect.' As he pondered, this bit of information truly caused him to rethink things. This sect was by no means the same as the Scarlet Solaris Sect.
This was because of their strict adherence to subordination. The entire sect was like a loose military system, infused with sect traits. Rankings for authority can be given a numerical designation for ease of understanding.
Those disciples at the Null Disciple rank were literal slaves without any authority. They were forced to handle the most trivial matters for half the day, every day. They were sometimes assigned to Mortal Common disciples to handle basic matters, such as delivering messages.
They could be said to be the number 0. Their status was worth absolutely nothing.
Nascent Dust disciples were very low as well. They didn't have to do compulsory tasks, but they had to complete at least one daily task each and every day or suffer punishment. After three failures, they would be crippled and sent out of the sect.
It was an insanely harsh punishment that seemed extreme, but the tasks weren't that difficult and they could even work under Mortal Common and Earthly Elite disciples to fill their daily quota. This was mostly to incentive them to join factions.
As for their numerical value, they could be given 0.5. They were considered half-disciples at most.
Mortal Common disciples were all Astral Core Realm experts or Lord Alchemists. They were given a solid 1.
Earthly Elites were valued at 2.
Sky Nobles were valued at 3.5.
Heavenly Kings were valued at 4.5.
As for elders, even they weren't exempt from the rule of hierarchy and compelled to follow the orders, even if the order came from a disciple.
Mortal Captains had 1.5-2.5. Those at the First Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the World Sea Phase, were valued at 1.5. At the Second Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Sky Ruler Phase, they were valued at 2. At the Third Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Soul Idol Phase, they were valued at 2.5.
This meant his status as a Sky Noble exceeded all Mortal Captain elders, and his order was absolute law. Of course, there was the matter of jurisdiction. If he was outside the Extreme Creation Mountain, he was given a minus 0.5 in value, so his authority was lesser, but he didn't have to listen to those with his previously equal authority either. This applied to everyone.
The three main mountains, the Extreme Origin Mountain, Extreme War Mountain, and Extreme Creation Mountain were the only ones subjected to these values. While demons in the Extreme Demon Mountain also were required to follow this rule, they were closed off with only a few demons amongst them. Most demons were under the other three mountains besides the exclusive or weaker ones that are looking for peace.
The Extreme Monarch Mountain only had elders, and within its confines, only the authority of Imperial Sages was legitimately recognized. It was essentially a neutral zone, but disciples couldn't stay unless assigned there.
As for Heavenly Commanders, they were rank valued at 3.5. These were high level elders, but they were below Heavenly Kings, even in their own territory.
Imperial Sage: 4.
Prime Imperial Sage: 6.
Grand Imperial Sage: 10.
These values were concrete and inviolable.
To give an example, if Wei Wuyin left the sky palace and descended, as long as it was an Earthly Elite disciple or lower, he could have them do a handstand for an entire seven days. While he can't bring intentional harm to them, he could assign them tasks or tell them to fuck off and they had to.
If they had grievances over his orders, or refused to do so, they could lodge a complaint in response. If reviewed and accepted, the one delivering the order would be subjected to punishment ranging from demotion, crippling, and even death. They were similarly strict against the wild abuse of power.
However, if the complaint was rejected. Their actions were tantamount to insubordination and they wouldn't be demoted, but imprisoned, expelled from the sect, crippled, and/or executed on the spot.
It was just that harsh.
That was authority.
Of course, there were some exceptions and that's where factions come into play. According to the sect's rules, factions were group organizations developed by Sky Nobles, Heavenly Kings, and Imperial Sages.
Those not at these ranks, such as Prime Imperial Sages, Elders or lesser rank disciples, were unable to create their own faction. If they did, it'll be immediately disbanded and those participating would be heavily fined or imprisoned.
Those who decide to be a part of a faction received an unexpected but immediate benefit: while their authority doesn't rise, no one at their Faction Leader's authority had the right to give them any orders or assignments.
For example, Wei Wuyin's subordinates wouldn't have to follow any disciple besides a Heavenly King's direct order, and any Imperial Sage not of his mountain was similarly unable to order his faction members around.
After learning this detail, he was more intrigued at how complex the web of backing and connections were in the sect. It had to be very ferocious as joining a faction was a must unless you wished to be actively targeted and controlled by those with higher authority.
Unfortunately, if you join a faction, you were at the complete and utter mercy of your faction leader. Regardless of their order, you were forced to follow under the threat of certain death. After all, you chose that faction.
This meant any faction leader could gather all their females or male members and strip them naked, slowly enjoying every last one to their liking or force them into an orgy. If they refused, the gallows awaited.
Similarly, if they ordered you to castrate yourself or remove an eye, it was a fate you couldn't avoid except in death. So to safely join a faction, it was paramount to understand the faction leader's personality and intentions.
Of course, you can send in an order of withdrawal from said faction, but it must be approved by a Prime Imperial Sage personally or your Faction Leader. This was a difficult thing to do and can take a considerable amount of time to process and be approved. After all, Prime Imperial Sages were busy figures.
Wei Wuyin reviewed all this information and slightly smiled. From the outside, the sunlight was slowly piercing through the gloomy and dusky darkness of the night. As the light seeped into his silver eyes, brilliant ambition that had once fallen had emerged once more.
"I'll make my own faction, to obtain a foothold in this new, grander world." His heart was set. No one knew that this simple decision made after a harsh nightmare was going to shake the Myriad Monarch Sect and the entire Tri-Vision Starfield for generations and generations to come.