73 Yuan clan (1/2)
Once dawn rolled around, Yuan Luoyang picked up Li Yang and the two girls that had become outer disciples alongside him, bringing them deeper into the forest. As cultivators, they were far faster than the average person, so they quickly reached the mountain located at the center of the forest, passing by some smaller mountains that were hidden using arrays, most likely training grounds.
The foot of the mountain was paved with a thin layer of dark yellow stones that released a constant stream of faint warmth. There were a few small houses around the foot of the mountain, with more buildings appearing higher up the mountainside. The place where Yuan Luoyang brought them was one of the open areas located between the buildings, probably a small plaza where disciples could gather to sell some of their items.
Li Yang could see a few disciples clad in the yellow robes of the Yuan clan, but they only sent a quick glance at Li Yang and the two girls, quickly returning to their own business, with only a select few sticking around to check out the new disciples.
Standing in the middle of the small plaza was the elder with the half brown and half cyan hair, 10 other youths, as well as one unfamiliar elder that released a strong pressure. Yuan Luoyang brought them to the front of the elder with the strange hair, the elder giving her a nod and then addressing the new disciples, introducing the unfamiliar elder next to him.
”Good, you have all arrived. This is Eighth Elder Yuan Qigang, he is the one who will officially initiate you into the clan.”
Yuan Qigang had a tall body, his back completely straight and upright. His hair was a bright white in color, but it looked like fine silk, swaying in the wind. He had long eyebrows that were as white as his hair, and deep brown eyes. Yuan Qigang nodded at Li Yang and the others, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out an orb made out of yellow jade.
”Alright children, come up to me one by one, state your name, age, as well as your laws. I will then extract some of your blood and store it into a jade like this, allowing us to know if you were to perish. I will then mark you with the mark of our clan, allowing everyone from the other clans and sects to know that you are already members of the Yuan clan.”
Yuan Qigang released a mighty pressure, but Li Yang could tell that he was actually doing his best to hold the pressure back so as to not scare them. He simply didn't seem to be used to hiding away the pressure that his cultivation brought about. After Yuan Qigang finished talking, Li Yang and the others quickly walked forward and did as they were ordered.
”Cheng Xun, 26, the law of motion and the law of wind.”
”Qiao Ping, 21, the law of plants and the law of wood.”
”Li Yang, 14, the law of fire, the law of ice, and the law of lightning.”
Li Yang wasn't quite 14 yet, but half a year or so made no difference to him. Yuan Qigang and the others were rather surprised at Li Yang's age, especially Yuan Luoyang and the 10 other youths waiting behind Yuan Qigang. If it was someone who was diligently raised by a clan, it wouldn't be much to have Li Yang's strength at his age. But Li Yang was simply a child from some village, so it was quite shocking for him to have his achievements at his age.
After they stated their information, Yuan Qigang tapped the air with his finger, a drop of blood pushing itself out from the fingers of Li Yang and the two girls. Two more orbs of yellow jade appeared within Yuan Qigang's hand, each drop of blood dripping down on a different orb.
Once the blood dripped onto the orbs, it sank into them, causing the jade to light up with a faint light. The orbs cracked down the middle, splitting into two parts. One part flew into the chests of Li Yang and the girls, while the other half stayed with Yuan Qigang. When the jade sank into his body, Li Yang felt a faint stream of energy seep out from the jade and into his head. With the energy settling in his head, he was now able to sense a similar energy within the other people around him, marking them as people from the same sect. After Li Yang and the two girls got used to the sensation of feeling the others around them, Yuan Qigang clapped his hands and spoke up.
”Congratulations, you are all now official members of my Yuan clan. In the future, I hope that you will consider it a second home where you can lay down your burdens and ease your weary bodies. Teng, I will leave the dividing of the manpower to you.”
The Teng that Yuan Qigang spoke to was the elder with the strange hair, Yuan Teng. After Yuan Qigang tossed the remaining responsibility to Yuan Teng, he said his farewells to the disciples, flying into the air and toward the peak of the mountain. Once Yuan Qigang vanished from sight, Yuan Teng waved the 10 youths standing behind him over, introducing them.
”Standing behind me are several provisional disciples as well as one other outer disciple, Jiang Chen. In the future, these provisional disciples will be considered your servants, so take good care of them. If you feel like it, you can also teach them a little about cultivation. Jiang Chen will guide you around the clan, as well as explain anything that you will need to know. He joined the clan before you, so you must refer to him as Senior Brother Chen.”
Jiang Chen had a bit of a short stature and was a bit chubby, but he had smooth and delicate skin, almost like a woman's. He had black hair that hung down to his ears, the hair tied into a neat bun at the back of his head. After briefly introducing the 10 people behind him, Yuan Teng turned to Jiang Chen.
”Junior Chen, I trust that you know your duties?”
Jiang Chen had already expected all the responsibility to be dumped onto him so he quickly put on a smile, giving Yuan Teng a bow and assuring him.
”Please don't worry, Elder Teng, I will educate them well, so you can rest easy.”
Yuan Teng nodded his head in appreciation, giving Li Yang and the others one last quick glance before he flew into the air and vanished up the mountain. As an esteemed elder, he found it beneath him to guide around a bunch of outer disciples. Jiang Chen let out a loud sigh after Yuan Teng vanished from sight, rolling his shoulders and speaking up.
”Alright, now it's just us. Jeez, standing in front of the elders is always so suffocating. Rivergrass, Ji Shun, and Blackstone, the three of you can follow Junior Brother Yang in the future. Cloudfall, Shentu, Liang Su, the three of you can follow Junior Sister Ping. Riverflow, Rainsong, Fireheart, the three of you follow Junior Sister Xun. Listen to their orders and do your best to aid them.”
Jiang Chen swiftly divided up the nine provisional disciples, not even bothering to check what they or Li Yang and the others wanted. Of the three that were given to Li Yang, Rivergrass and Ji shun were women, while Blackstone was a man. Looking at the three that were handed to him, Li Yang could easily tell why they were only provisional disciples.
Rivergrass seemed to be in her late thirties, had deep blue hair and graceful features, and light blue eyes. Ji Shun seemed to be in her early thirties, had smooth and somewhat pale skin, chestnut brown hair, and black eyes. Blackstone seemed to have already reached his forties, had pitch black hair, slightly scarred skin, and black eyes, perfectly fitting his name. Li Yang was unable to sense the clan energy from these three, so it seemed that provisional disciples weren't counted as actual disciples.
All three of them had reached the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, only a small step away from the Ascending Heaven realm. Blackstone didn't seem to be all that content with ending up under the care of Li Yang, but as a provisional disciple, he could only swallow his discontent. If he did end up becoming too rebellious, Li Yang would simply have to beat him into shape.
After the provisional disciples lined up behind their future caretakers, Jiang Chen gave a nod of his head, giving Li Yang and the two girls a light reminder.
”They are only provisional disciples but do your best to take good care of them, keep the abuse to a minimum. Just like Elder Teng said, I am Jiang Chen, or Senior Brother Chen to you. Let's bring the provisional disciples to your houses, and then I can start the guiding.”
As newcomers, Li Yang and the two girls listened to Jiang Chen's suggestion, all of them quickly heading through the forest and to their houses by the lake. After Li Yang let his three servants enter his house, Jiang Chen furrowed his brows slightly, pointing at Li Yang's wolfskin robes.
”Junior Brother Yang, I suggest you change clothing, otherwise you might attract some trouble.”
Li Yang slightly raised one of his eyebrows, glancing at his own robes. He still wore the custom ordered robes that looked like violet wolfskin, having gotten a bit attached to them. There was also the fact that Jinwu and Shenlong were used to these robes, so if he was to change robes, he wanted to at least be given a good reason.
”Are robes like these against the rules of the clan?”
Li Yang didn't want to stir up too much trouble, he just wanted to acquire resources and raise his strength before the competition. Jiang Chen's expression turned complex for a second, but he shook his head to Li Yang's question, explaining the reason for his statement.