The Undying Immortal System-Chapter 422 – Life 110, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1
Before creating a new Nine-Star Sect, we first needed to round out our team by recruiting two mortals who had yet to start cultivating. And, since I was planning to use this sect as a way of strengthening both the Su and Shi clans, it only made sense to recruit a youth from each of these clans.
I could have just reached into my inner world, pulled out a few kids at random, and let Meng LuYao check them for the proper talents. However, even setting aside the inevitable chaos that this would create, I didn’t like the idea of choosing our new team members in such a haphazard manner.
Whoever joined us would likely become the leader of their clan, so we had a duty to select them with the utmost care and deliberation. Therefore, after returning YuHua to the cabin on the Plane of Woody Earth, I sent YuLong and Meng LuYao into Chang’an to recruit our two new team members personally.
YuLong and Meng LuYao appeared on a dirt path that cut through a field of recently sown wheat, where the scents of freshly tilled earth and new plant growth drifted through the air. Above them, the clear blue sky was lit up by a bright halo that hung suspended in the empty air. Off to their left, more than a dozen kilometers away, an ugly crystalline cylinder marred the beautiful landscape. To their right, a wall of dense, swirling mists blocked them from seeing whatever lay beyond.
YuLong raised an eyebrow. “Is this… real?”
Meng LuYao spent several long seconds considering how to respond. “What do you mean by ‘real’? Fang’s still using the same sky and mist illusions that Yan and I created. He hasn’t even swapped out my halo-like sun. The ground should be real, though. And that pink crystal over there should be Chang’an City.”
Silently cursing my lack of the qi needed to create an avatar, I scrawled a quick explanation.
That’s right. This is where that 100-story bunker used to be. After the beast invasions started, the bunker became a death trap, so the clans flattened it, turning the whole area into an open grassland.
Nowadays, most people live in the city, but with the tight housing situation they got there, a few of the smaller clans have started building fortified estates out on the plains. This makes them more vulnerable to beast attacks, but it also gives them more freedom to continue growing their clans.
The Shi Clan’s estate is about a kilometer away. Just follow the path in front of you.
After they had both read my note, the pair nodded to each other and started walking.
To any of Chang’an’s residents, the idea of two mortals casually strolling through the countryside would have sounded absurd. Even without an active invasion taking place, there was always the risk that a demon beast had burrowed into the ground and was waiting to pounce on any unwary travelers.
For YuLong and Meng LuYao, though, such concerns were entirely unnecessary. I had already checked the area I sent them to, and there was nothing that would cause them any trouble—neither human nor beast.
As the pair crested a final rise, the stone walls of a fortified compound rose up in front of them. The dirt path that they had been following merged into a broad, paved road, which led straight to the compound’s firmly shut gates.
The instant YuLong and Meng LuYao laid eyes on this compound, they were spotted by guards atop its walls. Noticing that the pair had emerged from the Shi Clan’s fields rather than coming down the main road, the guards’ expressions hardened with clear displeasure.
When the pair closed to within a couple of dozen meters of the walls, a guard’s voice rang out from above. “Halt! Who goes there? State your name and business with the Shi Clan.”
Neither YuLong nor LuYao paid this any attention, neither one breaking their stride. They just continued walking forward, straight toward the sealed gates, utterly indifferent to the guard’s shouted commands.
When they were only two steps away, I focused my mind, yanked them out of my inner world, then threw them right back in—placing them inside the walls of the fortified compound.
Seeing this, the guards showed clear signs of shock, but they were well-trained. As three of the men jumped down to confront the pair, the fourth ran over to a formation plate. This activated both a series of defensive formations and a blaring alarm, drawing the attention of everyone in the compound.
After the three guards who had leapt off the wall reached the ground, they immediately charged at YuLong and Meng LuYao, intending to subdue them. Since these guards were all Martial Masters and my friends were only mortals, this shouldn’t have been difficult. However, halfway to their targets, the guards suddenly vanished as I teleported them to the opposite side of the compound.
Not having expected this, YuLong let out a barking laugh that caught the attention of the soldiers who had started pouring out of the nearby barracks. Having seen what happened to the three guards, these newly arrived soldiers decided not to rush forward. Instead, they formed a semicircle aimed at trapping my friends against the compound’s walls.
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Once this barricade was in place, a man wearing a black uniform with gold trim signaled for the alarm to be deactivated. He then stepped forward to confront my companions. His stance showed that he was ready for a fight, but he didn’t appear eager to start one.
“Who dares to cause trouble in the Shi Clan. State your business, or–”
When the man’s eyes landed on Shi YuLong, they widened in a strange mix of shock, horror, and excitement. Then, after freezing for just a second, he dropped to his knees and slammed his head against the ground in a forceful kowtow.
“Dr… Dragon Ancestor, you’ve returned. Apologies for my insolence.”
When the surrounding guards and soldiers heard these words, they were just as shocked as their captain. But within seconds, they all dropped to their knees and kowtowed.
Meng LuYao couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she looked over at YuLong. “
Dragon
Ancestor?”
“No clue,” said YuLong, shaking his head. He turned back to the guard captain. “Tell your Patriarch that I need to see him.”
“Of course, Dragon Ancestor. At once.” The captain flicked a finger, sending one of his soldiers scrambling away. “Please, follow me. I will take you to the Hall of Ancestral Worship, where you can wait for him.”
After glancing at Meng LuYao, YuLong shook his head. “No need. Take us to where we can observe the training of your youths. We would like to observe the clan’s youngest cultivators.”
This only made the guard captain even more excited. “Ye… Yes, Ancestor. At once. Please, follow me.”
The captain brought YuLong and Meng LuYao to a covered pavilion that overlooked the compound’s training yard. When they arrived, the older cohort that had been using the field was quickly escorted away, and a couple dozen 16-year-olds were brought out to replace them.
Upon seeing them, YuLong frowned. I had, apparently, overlooked a rather important piece of information: the calendar of the Nine Rivers Continent didn’t align with that of my inner world. When I died, I was sent back to a specific point in time, while time within my inner world marched on, unaffected. This caused the calendars of the two worlds to fall out of sync.
Because of this, the 16-year-olds who walked onto the training yard were
not
newly awakened mortals. Even the weakest had already reached Martial Disciple 3.
“Is this going to be a problem?” asked YuLong, addressing his question to the empty air.
I responded with a quick note.
It’s not ideal. To qualify for the highest tier of rewards, all of our sect’s founding members need to be mortals who have never cultivated. We can still make this work, though. We just won’t be eligible for certain benefits.
YuLong nodded in thought as he passed my message to Meng LuYao. Then, he looked at the guard captain. “Is this all of them? All of the newly awakened youths?”
“Yes, Ancestor.” The guard beamed with pride, unaware of any problems.
YuLong returned his focus to the children below as he, LuYao, and I all began working to figure out which one would be the best fit for our team. A few minutes later, a pair of old men cautiously made their way to the pavilion, taking a long moment to study my friends from a distance before approaching too closely.
Noticing their arrival, YuLong turned to greet them. “Is one of you the current Patriarch?”
When they saw YuLong’s face straight on, both men sucked in a deep breath and gave a deep bow.
“Yes, Dragon Ancestor. I am Shi ZhenBo, the current Patriarch. This is Shi ShunLai, our Grand Elder.”
YuLong lowered his head. “Greetings. As you seem to already know, I am Shi YuLong. This is my friend, Meng LuYao.”
Hearing this name, both men—and the guard captain—dropped to their knees.
“Apologies, Reverend Elder,” exclaimed ZhenBo, as he slammed his head down upon the stone ground. “We failed to recognize you. Thank you for blessing us with your holy light.”
YuLong looked at her askance. “Reverend? I thought it was Revered.”
Meng LuYao just shook her head. “I’m as lost as you are, your Dragonness.”
Clearing his throat, YuLong waved at the three men. “This is unnecessary. Please, stand.”
“Yes, Ancestor,” said the Patriarch, getting to his feet. “What do you need of us?”
YuLong let out a slight sigh. “We just… LuYao and I, we’re forming a new team. We’re going… elsewhere, to train and grow stronger. If things go well, then, hopefully, anyone in the clan who wants to will be able to join us.”
The eyes of the Grand Elder widened. “It’s true, then? You’re taking us to join the ranks of the five Supreme Clans?”
YuLong’s eyes darted to Meng LuYao, who gave a subtle shake of her head.
“I’m not sure,” said YuLong, slowly. “What do you mean, exactly? What are the Supreme Clans?”
“The rulers of Chang’an,” explained the Grand Elder. “The five clans whose ancestors guard the gates to the Hall of Knowledge. Centuries ago, Elder GuangLi, the last of the elders to survive the Cataclysm, left us a memory orb containing knowledge of your appearance. He said that, upon your return, you will usher in a golden age that will make us the equal of the Li, Jiu, Ning, and Zhuge Clans. We need only stand ready to assist you.”
YuLong grimaced and muttered a curse under his breath. “Fang, what are they talking about?”
Not wanting to send YuLong a note in front of the Shi Clan’s Patriarch, I decided not to respond.
After another soft curse, YuLong returned his focus to the men in front of him. “We shall see. If all goes well, then in the future, you will indeed be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone in Chang’an. For now, though, my only goal is to form a small team of elites.”
He gave the two older men a piercing glare. “Your guard captain tells me that all of your newly awakened youths are on the field below. Is this true?”
Both the Patriarch and the Grand Elder responded almost instantaneously. “Yes, Ancestor.”
YuLong shook his head. “I would prefer to recruit someone who has yet to start cultivating. How long before next year’s cohort is awakened?”
“That… This group started their training four months ago,” the Patriarch replied. “We can awaken next year’s cohort slightly earlier, but they won’t turn 16 for another seven months yet.”
When YuLong dropped his head in thought, the guard captain took a tentative step forward. “Uh, sir, you’re looking to recruit a mortal?”
Both the Patriarch and the Grand Elder frowned at the interruption, but when YuLong showed signs of interest, they didn’t interrupt.
“It’s… These youths are our cultivators—not the children without affinities, not those who didn’t awaken. If you are looking to recruit a mortal…”
Not giving YuLong a chance to respond, Meng LuYao clapped her hands. “Perfect! Please, show us to these mortals. I can’t wait to see what your clan’s been hiding.”
Chapter 422 – Life 110, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1
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