Chapter 128 - Convincing the Elders (1/2)

Qiu Ling followed the Elder with a bright smile on his lips. Each step now took him closer to his beloved. Ah … It wouldn't take much longer. Just a little bit. He only had to attract that Grandmaster somehow.

The Elder turned to Qiu Ling while they walked through the outer sect. ”Boy, how much do you know about our Yun Zou sect?”

”Enough.”

”Haha. It's good to be self-assured when young.” Elder Suo laughed and patted his shoulder. ”Have you heard of Elder Kong?”

Qiu Ling contemplated if he could get away with a lie but finally dismissed the idea. It was better to be straightforward and maybe use this opportunity to make his intentions clear. ”No. But I've heard of Grandmaster Zhangsun Xun Yi.”

The Elder choked. His chest heaved up and down in a coughing fit and he had to pat it vigorously to calm his breath down. Youngsters these days! Having self-confidence was a good thing. But wasn't this a little too much? What did he concern himself with the grandmaster? Even the Elder himself couldn't see that man whenever he wanted. In fact, he had never seen him outside of the assemblies the righteous sects held once in a while.

But, well, he also couldn't fault that youngster. Even though most people had never seen the grandmaster he was still a widely known figure. If not for him, their sect wouldn't even be a first tier sect. Holding someone like that in high regard was quite normal.

The Elder patted Qiu Ling's shoulder once again. ”Grandmaster Zhangsun sure is famous. It's no wonder you have heard of him. But for you, Elder Kong is the more important person.”

Qiu Ling frowned. ”Why that?”

”Well, just as I am in charge of the practitioners here in the outer sect Elder Kong supervises the practitioners in the inner sect. I can recommend for you to be taken into the inner sect but it will depend on Elder Kong if you'll indeed get a place there. After all, you already missed the time when we normally take in our disciples. He'd be doing you a favor.”

”Mn, I understand.”

”Alright. Then I'll take you to the inner sect now. Please remember: Elder Kong is very strict. You'll have to make a good first impression if you want him to acknowledge you.”

Qiu Ling nodded. It couldn't be that hard to make some mortal recognize his might, could it?

The Elder smiled and turned back to the front. Silently, the two made their way up one of the mountains.

Qiu Ling observed his surroundings more closely: The sect consisted of a valley and a few peaks surrounding it. The valley had been quite crude with just a few houses and some people around that were mostly doing chores. None of them looked more powerful than the normal people in the capital.

Now, on the road leading up the mountain, he saw lots of disciples in white, embroidered robes that practiced the sword and were actually giving of a faint aura of power. It seemed these were the inner sect disciples Fu Min had told him about. It was peculiar though, there were fewer disciples here than in the outer sect. Shouldn't the sect try to take in as many talents as they could?

In fact, it was no wonder. Qiu Ling just didn't know about it: The outer sect had cultivators and practitioners mixed together while they were distributed to the individual peaks in the inner sect. If one tallied up all the peaks of the inner sect there would be more inner sect disciples as one of the peaks would let one imagine. And, of course, it wasn't that easy to find talents. Especially since the Yun Zou sect wasn't the best choice. Those disciples with great aptitude, wouldn't they go somewhere better?

They certainly would. The reason for that was splendidly displayed when Qiu Ling and the Elder finally arrived at the top of the mountain. A magnificent palace … was what Qiu Ling had expected. Instead, he found a run-down hut.

Yeah, the Yun Zou sect wasn't the best sect. And one of the reasons for that was that it lacked resources.