The summer sun blazes down.
In a small village, Yuchi anxiously searches the town; he needs to find his first sect disciple.
Soon enough, his eyes light up.
Before him stands a girl carrying firewood, appearing to be about twelve or thirteen years old. Her skin is dark, and she looks bewildered, yet her innate Fire Spirit Root is as high as Grade Six?
Hmm, seeing her like this, she needs rescuing.
"Young lady," Yuchi approaches with a smile.
"Young master?" Shen Qinghan looks at the young man in front of her, bewildered. The man is handsome, with a somewhat noble aura in his eyes, clearly someone of high status.
But why is he looking for me?
"Young lady, don't you sometimes feel powerless in life, and even have trouble sleeping sometimes?" Yuchi asked solemnly.
"Yes..." Shen Qinghan paused in surprise.
"Young lady, do you feel oppressed, with many people bullying you around?" Yuchi continued to ask.
"Yes." Shen Qinghan's expression began to change.
"Young lady, now there's an opportunity right before you. Do you want the chance to attain immortality?" Yuchi stroked an imaginary beard.
"Well... not really, I still have to chop wood," Shen Qinghan replied hesitantly.
"Haha, then do you want eternal youth?" Yuchi played his trump card.
"Please, master, take me as your disciple!" Shen Qinghan instantly knelt before Yuchi.
Have I finally found a master after all these years of suffering? This is truly rare!
Yuchi, "I've lived so many years and still can't handle a little girl like you?"
He hurriedly helped her up, "Come with me, I have something to show you."
"What is it?" Shen Qinghan asked, still puzzled.
"You'll find out when you get there," Yuchi said mysteriously.
A few days later.
Shen Qinghan began to suspect she had been tricked, especially after seeing a dilapidated hut; she became quite frightened!
Her eyes welled up with fear, almost ready to cry.
"Ascension Gate."
That was the name of the sect, and the young man who brought her here was the Sect Leader.
As she looked around, there truly wasn't another person, though bird droppings could be seen.
Oh my.
This is truly a humble sect.
Yuchi had already changed into the Sect Leader's robes, wearing them loosely as if they had just been pulled out.
He stood on a rock, holding a Peach Wood Sword.
He swung the Peach Wood Sword twice, and when he saw Shen Qinghan in a daze, he calmed down.
"I know you're confused now, you might even think I'm a bad person," Yuchi said.
Could he be a bad person?
This is what a bad person looks like!
Why did he trick me into this desolate place? Could it be... he has ill intentions?
Shen Qinghan's small, dark face flushed with red, becoming nervous.
At this moment, she looked like a little boiled egg.
"From today onwards, you'll be my disciple at Ascension Gate!" Yuchi casually pulled out a secret manual from behind him.
Shen Qinghan, in a daze, hurried to accept it.
Looking down, she saw "Longevity Technique."
Yes.
It was indeed a straightforward name.
"No need for many explanations, just believe me. You'll know if this cultivation technique works once you practice it," Yuchi said with profound mystery.
"Alright!" Shen Qinghan replied reluctantly.
Yuchi, "Such a reluctant look!"
"Rest assured, there's food in that hut next to us, and this is your first test. If you can't even learn this technique..."
"Haha."
"Do you still want eternal youth?"
"I'd advise you to go back."
Yuchi slightly looked down at the girl in front of him.
Shen Qinghan was filled with doubt, but after hearing Yuchi's words, she instantly became serious!
"I'll learn!"
"Qinghan will start learning now!"
With that, she mimicked the gestures in the manual, sitting cross-legged to study diligently.
"A promising student indeed," Yuchi said satisfied.
In the corner of Shen Qinghan's vision, Yuchi crushed a Jade Talisman with his hands behind his back, and his body instantly disappeared from sight.
Shen Qinghan was startled!
She quickly kowtowed, "Sect Leader Senior Brother, take care!"
She had truly seized the opportunity to join a mystical sect, and this unnamed young man was her Sect Leader Senior Brother!
Thus.
She must cultivate diligently and not disappoint Sect Leader Senior Brother!
Shen Qinghan began to meditate, following the manual's instructions, as a faint red aura started to flow into her internal organs.
She felt a tingling pain but was also in bliss.
Sect Leader Senior Brother didn't deceive me!
This manual really works!
"Of course, it works."
Yuchi, looking disheveled, jumped down from a tree.
The Jade Talisman was just a small trick, allowing teleportation within a thirty-zhang radius, usable again after an hour.
But seeing Shen Qinghan earnestly cultivating now, he felt at ease.
Because as Shen Qinghan cultivated, he felt the breath within him rising gradually.
Thus, he no longer watched Shen Qinghan, and his form gradually faded away on the spot.
Reappearing, he found himself in a luxurious Wei Mansion, in his bedroom.
His eyes glanced at the stone bricks beneath his feet.
Beneath the bricks lay the Divine Jade.
He could traverse back and forth within the Divine Jade by meditating for ten breaths.
This consumed Dao Points.
"Dao Points, everything requires Dao Points."
Yuchi sighed, rubbing his forehead.
...
Yuchi had been in this world for a month now.
Memories of before were painful, but he was quite happy after arriving.
At least his current life was great, living in the Wei Mansion, as the youngest of three peers.
He was the little young master.
Typically, there was nothing for him to do in the mansion; he only needed to loaf around.
But things weren't that simple.
Having a moderate level of power was better because being too weak could make one a target for venting.
Yuchi was one such case.
Especially with recent business troubles in the Wei Mansion, making everyone anxious.
With no other options, Yuchi had to choose to personally take action and inherit the sect he'd gained.
It's all because they couldn't make progress.
The sect was named Ascension Gate by Yuchi; after all, this was what the people of Nine Provinces desired most.
The sect contained an Immortal Stone, which was indestructible and incredibly mysterious.
It could transform the results of sect disciples' cultivation.
It wasn't theft but rather an extra transformation during disciples' practice that went to Yuchi.
Thus, the more sect disciples, the faster Yuchi's cultivation progressed.
This was a good thing.
In practice, however, it was quite challenging to run.
The first problem was quite simple: Why?
Why would others not join larger sects but come to yours, which has no reputation?
Why would others not choose big sects, come to yours instead?
Does your sect have cultivation techniques?
Is the environment good in your sect?
Does your sect have a Grotto Heaven?
Does your sect provide elixirs?
Does your sect have a place to forge weapons?
If none of these, why would I come?
"That's why I spent over ten days looking for people before, but none were deceived."
"Shen Qinghan was good, she was easily fooled."
"Wait a minute."
"How can I call it deceit?"
"That cultivation technique is genuine," Yuchi muttered as he sipped the bitter tea.
A sect needs several essential elements.