I headed up to the sect once again, I've spent a pretty damn long time out in the woods, and from the look of things, nothing seemed to have changed here besides the two students who were guarding the sect entrance.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!" one of them spoke.
I held up the sect's token and spoke, "Ling Cao, Outer Disciple," I replied.
The two frowned, "We've been stationed there for more than a week, it's forbidden for Outer Sect Disciples to be out of the sect for more than a day! You, wait until I call an elder, if you're a fake, we'll execute you on the spot!" the disciple said with all the threatening his post-puberty voice could muster.
It didn't take long for an elder of the sect to appear at the entrance, it was a woman, old enough to be a hundred years old grandma, and clearly didn't look too pleased being summoned here.
"If you don't even have the ability to judge who is from the sect and who is not, then what is the use of bringing you here? Useless trash" spoke the older woman.
"Ling Cao, you seem to have disappeared for a long while… six months, where have you been?" she asked, with a gaze that seemed to penetrate my soul.
"I've been training, and improving myself," I said.
"Hm… I feel not the slightest hint of Qi from you, what did you do?" she asked.
"A personal Secret," I replied.
"Then, you're not a mortal?" she asked.
"Why would you presume that?" I replied.
"Answer my question, did you lose your cultivation base and come back crawling here?" she asked.
"No, I told you, I'm still a cultivator, and I have been improving myself," I said.
"Is that so…" she said then took a step forward.
It was like a flash of light as she disappeared from where she stood and appeared right in front of me with a palm shooting towards my chest, the blow seemed brutal but I could feel that it wasn't meant to kill, it was however meant to break a few bones if I were to receive it head-on.
I lightly tapped my right foot on the ground and pivoted my entire body aside from the palm swing, then like a viper sent two jabs towards the old woman's side.
She didn't seem too phased by the sudden retaliation and managed to easily grab both my hands stopping my attack.
"Impressive, but still too weak-" she spoke however, I still had a foot above the ground and then I took a step.
The moment my foot was on the ground, I was able to use the Momentum technique and channeled only two steps worth of Momentum all the way to my arms.
The shockwave rose like a bulldozer and shot from my 'grabbed' arms into the old woman's own arms.
An explosion of force blew up from the woman's arms and the sleeves on her robes blew up in tatters.
"How…did you learn the Ancient Step?!" she spoke.
"Oh, so that's what it's called… well, just from practicing the Ancient Movement Technique," I said.
"You managed to infer an offensive pattern based on a movement technique? And they said that you lost your talent root… no…you still don't have your talent root… did you make a deal with the devil or something?" she asked as she removed her arms. Her question was rhetorical but I still answered.
"Perhaps the devil was me all along," I said.
"Good, impressive even, go, I'll be personally responsible for your reallocation to the inner sect, get your belongings, and wait at the inner gate. You two, get the hell out of my sight," the older woman spoke and the two guards removed themselves from where they stood not to incur her wrath.
Since I had no belongings to speak off in the sect, I decided to head directly towards the inner sect's main gate.
I arrived in less than half an hour and had to wait in front of the inner sect.
The inner sect, almost every sect if not all of them have it, it's the main portion where the real disciples reside in. it's where they receive sermons, where they learn, train, and are cared for and treated well. The inner sect is usually ten to twenty percent of the total capacity of the sect in students. Since only the best can become inner sect disciples.
I waited at the front of a massive gate that hid the inner part of the sect away from view.
There was no one guarding this gate, and it would be foolish for anything to try and go past it. It was being watched by elders themselves, and if any unworthy disciple were to set foot there, a world of pain will await them.
I waited, however, in front of the gate, for an hour, two, and even more, until the day ended and I was starting to feel pissed.
If this was an attempt at demeaning me, by the old woman herself who I have gotten to think of her positively, then I'll be very disappointed in her.
Once it hit midnight, I decided that it was not worth waiting anymore and turned to leave.
As I was walking away, "Is this the extent of your patience?" spoke a voice.
Turning, it was the same woman, "Patience? My patience ended when you were an hour late, anything above that was out of respect to your person, and I decided to leave before I lose all respect I held towards you," I spoke.
"Quite a sharp tongue you have, no matter, I didn't mean to keep you waiting, your presence has caused a lot of problems in the inner sect thus I was held there until this dark hour. Get in, you're approved to the inner sect, but do know, that a lot of people are dissatisfied with your presence there again," she said.
"I can handle a few snotty brats," I said.
"A few months ago, you couldn't. Still, it's not just the snotty brats this time, even some elders are dissatisfied with your presence, don't act too arrogant. And do be careful," she spoke.
I felt something coming towards me at a pretty fast pace and managed to catch it before it smashed into my face.
It was a small holding bag.
I didn't need any explanation to understand what this was for.
There was a set of clothes inside it
The gate of the inner sect cracked open, then it spread wide for me to enter. I took the first few steps and could already feel the difference between the two steps.
The inner sect itself seemed to be coated with a formation that was carefully compacting Qi and small amounts of Saint Qi inside it, whereas the outer sect was nothing more than your everyday normal land with natural qi.
The inner sect had a different feeling to it. It looked far bigger than I thought, where several high mountain peaks could be seen from beyond the gate.
One of the peaks, the largest seemed to hold a great amount of Qi by itself. And from Ling Cao's memories, I knew that it was the Ancient Sect's main mountain, the Ancient Mountain where the Core Disciples reside in, and where the sect elders would usually gather.
That place, this kid was once a part of, even if it was for but a few days, due to his incredible talent, he was a part of that mountain, yet once he lost his Talent Root, he was discarded like garbage.
But now, I'm back, and I'm not the same as that guy. He died trying to change his life, respectable, but now I'm here, let's see who'd dare and make trouble.