"Greetings, Senior Brother Wu. What brings you to the Recruitment Hall today? It's rare to see you here. Did someone from your 's younger geion join the sect?"

  The young man who spoke had bck hair and bck eyes, his features average, his dark green robe simple and without any patterns. In trast, Senior Brother Wu had blond hair and green eyes, his dark green robe embroidered with intricate leaf patterns, signifying his status.

  Hearing the question, Wu Qi chuckled, a bright smile on his face.

  "Hahaha! Fellow disciple, who are you calling Senior Brother? I am merely at the middle Glowing Boage, just like you."

  Then, with a dramatic sigh, as if he were menting some great injustice, he added,

  "But does that mean I am not allowed to visit Fellow Disciple Ye Jian in the Recruitment Hall? Surely, I don't need a special reason to be here?"

  Ye Jian, unfazed by Wu Qi's theatrics, simply snorted in annoyance.

  "What do you want, Wu Qi? I don't have the energy to eain you today. And even though you are the third young master of the Wu , you should know that you 't order me around as you please. Even if our Ye is under your 's trol, that doesn't mean I am at your bed call."

  "Hahahaha! Fellow Disciple Ye, you jest!" Wu Qi ughed heartily, waving a hand dismissively. "Me? Trying to trol you? I am a righteous cultivator! I would never resort to suderhanded methods,such things are what demons do!"

  His ughter eventually faded, and with a small sigh, he spoke again, his tone now more serious.

  "Don't worry, Fellow Daoist. Today, I'm not here on personal business. The Third Grand Elder has ordered me to wele the newly arrived disciples."

  "The Third Grand Elder?" Ye Jian raised an eyebrow before nodding in uanding. "If it was Third Elder Wu Bin's order, then you may as well wait here with me."

  Hearing this, Wu Qi grinned widely, his expression filled with amusement.

  "Hahaha! Thank you, Fellow Disciple Ye! If I had to wait here alo would be unbearably dull. But with you keeping me pany, the time will pass much faster."

  And so, both Wu Qi and Ye Jian stood a few meters away

  The Recruitment Hall fell into silence, with only two figures standing motionless. The stillness persisted until the four ritual ptes embedded ieleportation formation began to glow with a deep violet hue.

  A thick violet mist emerged from the formation, swirling and coiling befradually taking the shape of thirty human silhouettes.

  Moments passed.

  Slowly, the mist faded, revealing the figures of thirty newly arrived disciples.

  Watg their expressions, Wu Qi suddenly burst into ughter, uo tain his amusement.

  "Hahaha!" He grinned. "Ah, juniors, you all look terrible! Did the teleportation formatio you well?"

  Ihe effects of the teleportation had left many of them in poor dition. Even Yua a sharp pain twisting in his stomach.

  Some disciples immediately doubled over, vomiting onto the ground. Others ched their jaws, enduring the disfort with pale faces and unsteady postures.

  It took nearly ten minutes before the effects began to subside. The vomiting stopped, and the nausea gradually faded from their bodies.

  Seeing that everyone had mostly recovered, Wu Qi fshed a bright smile and stepped forward.

  "Greetings, juniors! I am Wu Qi, and I have e uhe orders of the Third Elder to escort Krieger and Alex. So, the two of you, please step forward."

  Hearing their names called, both Krieger and Alex stepped forward without hesitation.

  Wu Qi examihe two of them, his gaze filled with approval. He gave them a firm nod before speaking once more.

  "Alright, we'll head directly to the Third Elder. Along the way, I'll expin a few things about the sect. e, let's go!"

  Then, turning to the remaining disciples, he waved casually.

  "As for the rest of you, I hope to see you all as inner sect disciples someday! Farewell for now!"

  ""Uood!"" Both Krieger and Alex responded before following Wu Qi out of the Recruitment Hall.

  With their departure, Ye Jian stepped forward, his expression indifferent as he addressed the group.

  "So, juniors, from today onwards, you are all officially and unofficial disciples of the Howling Wi. As such, each of you will be given aification ste. I will now call out your names,when you hear yours, step forward and take your ste."

  His voice was cold aionless, showiher favor nor disdain.

  One by one, he called out names, handing each disciple a small, smooth stoe infused with spiritual essence.

  After a few minutes, all twe remaining disciples had received their identification stes.

  Yuan examined his own.

  It was a bright green stone, simple in desig firm to the touch. One side bore the engraved words "Howling Wi", while the other was carved with "High Outer Disciple: Yuan" in precise, flowing script.

  After distributing all the stes, Ye Jian spoke once more, his tone as indifferent as before.

  "In a few moments, some outer disciples will arrive to guide you around the outer sect region. Wait here until they e."

  Without saying anything further, he turned ahe hall.

  As he predicted, within minutes of his departure, a group of outer disciples arrived, theire bright green robes fluttering as they stepped forward to greet the new recruits.

  The guide assigo Yuan was a middle aged man with bck hair and brown eyes. He wore a pin bright green robe, signifying his status as an outer disciple.

  With a polite tone, he saluted and introduced himself, "Greetings, fellow disciple. My name is Empty Lake, and I will be yuide today."

  Yuan, maintaining his usual bright smile, returhe salute. "Hello, fellow disciple Empty Lake. I am Yuan. I hope you give me a clear uanding of our sect!"

  Empty Lake smiled in respoheured for Yuan to follow as they left the Recruitment Hall.

  "Alright," Empty Lake began, "we will start with the hierarchy of the sect. First and foremost, the highest authority belongs to the Sect Head Wang. Beh him, we have the three Grand Elders. The First Grand Elder, who is the Head of the Discipline Hall, is Grand Elder Hei Jun. The Sed Grand Elder, overseeing the Cultivation Hall, is Grand Elder Leisure. And stly, the Third Grand Elder, who leads the Defense Hall, is Grand Elder Wu Bin."

  Three Grand Elders… and the most iial halls were the Discipline Hall, Cultivation Hall, and Defense Hall.

  Yuan nodded slightly, abs the information.

  Seeing Yuan's aowledgmey Lake tinued, "Then there are the Nine Elders. Three elders serve uhe Discipline Hall. The Cultivation Hall only has one elder, while the Defense Hall has two. The remaining elders are stationed within the sect, assisting core and inner sect disciples with their cultivation or managing their respective halls."

  Nine elders… that was quite a small number for a sect of this size. And judging by the structure, the Grand Elders were likely peting to recruit elders into their respective halls.

  ", we have the six main halls of the Howling Wihe Discipline Hall, Cultivation Hall, Defense Hall, Pill Hall, Martial Hall, a Hall."

  Empty Lake paused momentarily before eborating further.

  "Each of these halls has its own sub halls. For example, uhe Discipline Hall, there is the Recruitment Hall, the Judge Hall, and the Arrest Hall. The Cultivation Hall has only one sub hall the Library Hall. The Defense Hall is has three sub halls the Gate Hall, the Information Hall and the Guards Hall. The Pill Hall sists of the Herb Searg Hall and the Garden Hall.As for the Martial Hall, it has multiple sub halls dedicated to different ons and teiques the Sword Hall, Spear Hall, Fist Hall, and Axe Hall. Finally, the Merit Hall has two sub halls the Mission Hall and the Reward Hall.These are all the main halls and their corresponding sub halls within our sect. Do you have any questions about them?"

  Yuan pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that was quite informative."

  Empty Lake nodded in approval and resumed walking.

  As they tinued dowone paved street, Yuan observed the surroundings. They were heading toward a residential area filled with simple yet well structured buildings.

  "So, fellow Daoist, we have now left the Recruitment Hall's area. Before us are the housing buildings for all outer disciples and high outer disciples," Empty Lake expined as he guided Yuan forward.

  Yuan took in the sight before him,the living quarters were vast, stretg across a rge se of the sect's grounds. The sheer number of buildings suggested a rge disciple popution, prompting him to ask, "Oh? How many disciples live here?"

  Empty Lake stroked his briefly before answering, "Hmm, we have around 2,500 outer disciples, about 500 inner disciples, and 100 core disciples. So, in total, the Howling Wind Branch Sect houses approximately 3,100 disciples."

  Yuan nodded slightly, deep in thought.

  3,100 disciples for a branch seeither small ne. It was a medioumber, which could mean two things: either this branch sect wasn't particurly powerful, or if it was, then the mai itself was much weaker than he had initially expected.

  But these were questions that could be answered over time. For now, his priority was advang to the Blood Purification Stage.

  "In these housing buildings," Empty Lake tinued, "disciples are only expected to sleep here and then proceed to their assigasks. That means the housing quarters themselves aren't particurly important. The only signifit structure here is the Red Pavilion at the ter of the residential area,that's where the Outer Reward Hall is located."

  "As for the Mission Hall, it isn't situated here, it's located a bit further north. But don't worry,you'll familiarize yourself with everything iime. For now, I will take you to your assigned housing. Tomorrow, one of the older outer disciples will guide you through the daily tasks and responsibilities. My role is simply to escort you to your residend provide an expnation of the sect's hierarchy and halls."

  With a polite smile, Empty Lake looked at Yuan before tinuing to talk about the everyday tasks outer disciples were required to perform.

  As they walked, Yuan listetentively while his surroundings.

  Eventually, they arrived at one of the rger pavilions situated in the southern part of the sect's grounds.

  "Okay, this is the South Pavilion fh outer disciples," Empty Lake said, stopping in front of the structure. "Before I leave, let me expin the housing arras for outer disciples.First of all, there are three other pavilions the North, West a Pavilions. These three pavilions are reserved for outer disciples who pay with their ow points for better living quarters. However, the South Pavilion is exclusively fh outer disciples. Currently, there are about 300 high outer disciples living here."

  "As for the bes of living in a pavilion rather than a standard outer disciple house? Those who reside in the pavilions have the privilege of cultivating longer. Normally, an outer disciple has to plete three tasks per week, but those who reside in a pavilion only o plete three tasks per month. Because of this, they have signifitly more time to focus on cultivation.

  "However," Empty Lake tinued with a chuckle, "the price for staying in a pavilion is quite high. Not many disciples afford it,only a select few."

  "Additionally, each pavilion has its own unique bes."

  "The West Pavilion is most only rewarded by the Reward Hall for outstanding mission performahe sect assigns difficult tasks to disciples, and those who plete them receive the privilege of staying in the West Pavilion. Because of this, it has the highest number of disciples among the four pavilions."

  "The North Pavilion is located close to the forbidden Mist Region, and due to its proximity, it is enveloped in a natural ist that helps cultivators refiheir energy. Many disciples choose to stay there to aid their cultivation."

  "The East Pavilion is u has a special formation pced by a well known formations master, allowing those who live there to calm their minds and focus better when learnieiques. However, because of this adva is also the most expensive pavilion among all four."

  "And stly, the South Pavilion, where we are now. Although it houses many high outer disciples, it is by far the quietest p the eer sect region. Because of this, it is the best pce for those who prefer solitude and uninterrupted cultivation."

  Empty Lake then turowards the entrance of the pavilion.

  "Now, let me show you to your room."

  Walking behiy Lake, Yuan finally arrived at his assigned room. The South Pavilion itself was simple in design,a rge structure with numerous doors lined along its halls. His room was number 218.

  Stopping before the door, Empty Lake turo him with a polite nod.

  "This is your room, fellow disciple. I hope you settle in well. If you need anything, you find assistance from the outer sect attendants. Good luck with your cultivation."

  With that, Empty Lake left, and Yuan was alone once more.

  He pushed open the wooden door, stepping ihe room was small and pin, with only the bare essentials. A single bed sat in the er, o a mp, providing the only source of light. There wasn't even a window.

  On top of the bed y a bright green robe, the standard attire of the Howling Wi's outer disciples.

  Now truly alone, Yua out a deep sigh.

  His mind drifted back to everything he had experienced up until now.

  Elder Viktor.Emilia.The Barony of I.

  Although it wasn't mu the grand scheme of things, he had seen and learned far more than he ever had in his previous life.

  But now, none of that mattered.

  Without hesitation, he ged into his bright green robes and then sat cross legged on the bed. Closing his eyes, he calmed his breathing, sileng all stray thoughts.

  Now was not the time for refle.

  He had work to do.

  Without wasting another moment, he began cirg his Fme Poison sing Demonic Beast Teique.