Chapter 105: Newcomer to the Sect

Much like how a newly recruited staff to a company had to be trained, Yan Liqiang treated his first few days’ experiences at the Commandment Courtyard as joining the Divine Sword Sect’s orientation. And at the core of his training was that little book he received — ‘The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect’.

Every commandment, rule and the behavior every disciple in the sect had to conform to in the Divine Sword Sect, and various matters ranging from major things like cultivation and apprenticing to a master to minor things like dress code and meals were all stated in that book. The first mission of every disciple upon joining the sect was to drill the contents of that book into their heads. If one were to compare the Divine Sword Sect to any armed group, that book was pretty much like the military regulations for the Divine Sword Sect.

The few days he spent in the Commandment Courtyard was monotonous, difficult and dull.

Every morning at five o’clock, Yan Liqiang had to get up together with the other four people he stayed with. After washing up, they had to start cleaning and tidying around the Commandment Courtyard before taking their breakfast around eight or nine o’ clock.

Breakfast was brought to them by the servant disciples of the Commandment Courtyard. They had the same food for breakfast, lunch and dinner— steamed buns.

Two steamed buns for breakfast, two steamed buns for lunch and two steamed buns with some salted vegetables for dinner. So the standard daily meal for everyone was six steamed buns along with some salted vegetables. Every morning, they would receive their meal for the day. Those steamed buns were still slightly warm for breakfast, but by noontime, they had already gone cold and hard. Even so, they had no choice but to continue eating the stone-cold steamed buns for both lunch and dinner.

After breakfast, there would be a lawyer from the Commandment Courtyard to explain to the five of them the various taboos in the Divine Sword Sect or the etiquette for different situations for half an hour. They would then stay in their room to self-study and memorize those contents.

The lawyers in the Commandment Courtyard naturally weren’t like those lawyers who helped others file lawsuits in his previous life. Although the two share the same title, they weren’t the same. To put it simply, the lawyers in Commandment Courtyards were like the police or military officers in the Divine Sword Sect. They were professionals in charge of upholding discipline as well as disciplining in the sect. The people who served as lawyers in the Commandment Courtyard were all outstanding disciples within the sect and were at least at the rank of elite disciples.

After lunch, another lawyer would bring them around for a walk within the Divine Sword Sect’s monastery, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the peaks as well as the locations of courtyards and halls in the sect. After that, they would return to the Commandment Courtyard and continue with their self-study on ‘The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect’.

By nighttime, after dinner, they were allowed to exercise for a bit in the backyard of the Commandment Courtyard, practice their fist techniques, do physical training, laundry or such. About nine o’clock at night, the lights would be out on time for bedtime.

They’d then repeat the same cycle the next day…

The Divine Sword Sect’s monastery spanned a vast area of not less than a few thousand square kilometers. Everywhere in the sect was densely filled with mountain peaks of various sizes which penetrated the blue dome of heaven. At the foot of those mountains were deep ravines and valleys of different sizes and shapes. Since there happened to be 36 mountain peaks, the Divine Sword Sect named them after the 36 Heavenly Spirits among the Stars of Destiny. Since there were also numerous valleys, Divine Sword Sect gathered 72 of them and then similarly named them after the 72 Earthly Fiends among the Stars of Destiny.

Tiankui Peak, Tiangang Peak, Tianji Peak, Tianxian Peak, Tianyong Peak, Tianxiong Peak, Tianmeng Peak, Tianwei Peak…

Dikui Valley, Disha Valley, Diyong Valley, Diejie Valley, Dixiong Valley, Diwei Valley, Diying Valley…

There were a total of 108 locations and names. It was a no easy feat for a newcomer to be able to recite all the names, let alone recognize them. In addition to the ten great courtyards and the various halls within them among these peaks and valleys, if no one showed the disciples their way around to get them familiarized with the routes, it would be no joke if they got lost within the Divine Sword Sect. It wouldn’t be worthwhile if they got decapitated for wandering into the forbidden areas by mistake because they were lost.

…

After repeatedly eating cold steamed buns for a week, Yan Liqiang’s stomach started cramping whenever he saw steamed buns and it was actually the same for the rest. Even so, everyone just gritted their teeth and persevered. No one dared complain about anything because everyone had to make it past this stage.

Even though the process was quite difficult regardless of how others looked at it, at least to Yan Liqiang, he felt like the training and studies he had done over this half a month at the Commandment Courtyard was vital. That was because this kind of training and study could allow him to sufficiently understand the Divine Sword Sect in the shortest amount of time and understand the ‘game rules’ here. He was no longer in the dark or had to follow the crowd.

Yan Liqiang had been very serious about his studies. So as time passed by, his knowledge and understanding of the Divine Sword Sect deepened too.

The entire Divine Sword Sect followed a strict hierarchy. For each rank, the things they could do, the privileges they could enjoy and the obligations they had were made extremely clear to them. Nothing was left ambiguous.

The eight ranks within the Divine Sword Sect in ascending order were external disciple, inner disciple, elite disciple, direct disciple, core disciple, elder, grand elder and sect master. Among the five disciple classes, each was divided into upper, middle and lower class. Rumor had it that the ranks above elder, which were the grand elders and the sect master, were equal. However, since the grand elders cultivated in seclusion all year round, they didn’t get involved with the affairs of the sect. Thus, the Sect Master wielded absolute authority over the entire Divine Sword Sect.

With that, everyone in the Divine Sword Sect was categorized into a rigidly-stratified hierarchy of 18 levels. Disciples like Yan Liqiang who had just joined Divine Sword Sect’s main branch were all categorized in the lower class of the external disciples, at the bottom of the pyramid.

The Sect Master of the Divine Sword Sect stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Nicknamed the Sword King, rumors had it that Luqiu Mingyue’s cultivation had already advanced to a Martial King thirty years ago and he became a senator in the Great Han Empire’s Senate.

The number of grand elders among Divine Sword Sect was classified information. Not only Yan Liqiang, even the core disciples had no knowledge of such information.

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Under Luqiu Mingyue were the 17 elders of the Divine Sword Sect. Each of them had their own respective duties and power of authority. Among the many ranks of disciples below the 17 elders, a few most outstanding disciples were renowned within the sect. It had only been less than two days since Yan Liqiang’s arrival and he had already heard about the title given to those most outstanding disciples— they were known as the ‘Seven Heroes, Three Braves and The Unrivaled’.

The Seven Heroes were well-known individuals among the elite disciples and direct disciples of the sect. The Three Braves were the three most outstanding figures among the core disciples while The Unrivaled was publicly recognized by millions of disciples as the top candidate of the sect. That person was claimed to have the most potential to take over the duties of the Divine Sword Sect’s Sect Master in the future. She was a woman named Ni Wushuang [1].

In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang had stayed 15 days in the Commandment Courtyard. He learned all there was to learn, knew and memorized all the things he was supposed to know and memorize…

In the early morning of the 16th day, Steward Xue, whom Yan Liqiang had not seen for half a month, showed up once again. He handed him a metal waist tag with his name engraved on it, which symbolized his identity as a disciple in Divine Sword Sect.

Half a month ago, Yan Liqiang didn’t even know the meaning behind the light blue garb Steward Xue was dressed in. But now, he knew that the color Steward Xue wore indicated his position in the Divine Sword Sect— a middle-class elite disciple of the sect.

“Keep this waist tag. Next time you will need to use it to access particular locations within the Divine Sword Sect. I believe you know what consequences you will face if you lose this waist tag!”

“I do! Thank you, Steward Xue!”

Yan Liqiang cautiously put away the waist tag.

Today Yan Liqiang was the only person left in the Commandment Courtyard. Ma Liang and the rest had been there four days earlier than the day Yan Liqiang joined the Divine Sword Sect. Hence, they had completed the ‘training orientation’ four days earlier than him and had already left the Commandment Courtyard.

In those days, Ma Liang’s attitude towards Yan Liqiang had switched from arrogance to deference. He had been indirectly trying to pry information on the ‘connection’ that Yan Liqiang had in the sect. But, of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t divulge any information.

“Come with me.” Steward Xue said emotionlessly.

Yan Liqiang carried the small bundle he had packed on his back and left Commandment Courtyard with Steward Xue.

Half an hour later, Steward Xue directly sent Yan Liqiang to the Gray Hall at Dimo Valley then left after giving him a brief explanation.

…

The Gray Hall was a dedicated unit of the Divine Sword Sect tasked to make arrangements for the external disciples of the sect. All the external disciples were dressed in gray, thus this place was named the Gray Hall.

After Steward Xue left, one of the staff members dressed in black with the surname Huo from the Gray Hall looked at Yan Liqiang with a fake smile on his face. “You are Yan Liqiang?”

Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Are you familiar with what the Gray Hall does and the rules here?”

Yan Liqiang gave him another nod. Apart from cultivation, the external disciples in the main branch of the Divine Sword Sect were responsible for a large quantity of daily odd jobs in the sect. They were pretty much half a laborer in the main branch of the Divine Sword Sect.

“Good. From tomorrow onwards, you will be responsible for all the toilets on Tianqiao Peak.”

Yan Liqiang was stupefied. He never expected the first job he received upon coming to the Divine Sword Sect would actually be ‘a toilet chief’. What the f*ck? Just how rotten was his luck?

“What’s that? Didn’t you hear what I just said? Or are you being picky about dirty jobs like cleaning the toilets and refusing to do it? You still dare to be picky?” The expression on Servant Huo’s face instantly hardened, as if he was waiting for Yan Liqiang to jump up and say ‘no’.

A thought flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind and his face immediately broke into a smile. “I heard you, Servant Huo. I will start cleaning the toilets on Tianqiao Peak tomorrow!”

“This is the key to your living quarters. It’s just beside the farmland at the foot of the mountain, right below Tianqiao Peak. There’s a room number on the key, you will find the room when you reach. If I hear anything about you not cleaning the toilets properly from any dissatisfied seniors on Tianqiao Peak, I believe you know the consequences!”

Yan Liqiang accepted the key and bowed to that bullsh*tting servant before he left without saying anything else…