James contemplated Nathan's words. He wasn't naive to think he could do whatever he wanted, ignoring social rules and edicate at will. He wasn't a regular 10 year old kid, he still have the mind of someone in his twenties.
'He has a point, maybe I was starting to become a bit arrogant, thinking I could have everyone around me follow my way of thinking. This world respects power above everything and i'm just at the beginning of my cultivation journey. I suppose i'll need to act with more caution in the future and if anything happens…well cultivators can live a long time.'
"You're right Nathan, thank you for the warning, i'll be sure to be more cautious with my actions in the future."
Nathan looked surprised that James had acquiesced so easily. He expected more areogance or push back from him since he was still very young and clearly had the talents of a prodigy.
"Good, i'm glad you understand. Also don't worry, as long as the other cultivator isn't some old monster, we and the sect will have your back."
Nathan gestured over towards the rest of the disciples with a smile. The other disciples then began to smile, some flexed their arms to show their strength and others approached to introduce themselves. The conversations then began to flow as James became familiar with everyone. There were disciples from the other 3 peaks, the Martial Peak, Alchemy Peak and Smithing Peak whom James was a bit excited to meet since he hadn't met many people from the other peaks. James was also eager to learn a secondary profession now that he was in the Foundation Establishment realm and who better to ask about them then disciples of the peaks specializing in them.
Most disciples present were chosen by the Elders of the Main Peak due to their good ranking in the competiton held a month prior. After speaking with many disciples at the scene, James learned that the cultivators in his sect are actually very easy to get along with. James was originally worried that the scene at the younger generation gathering was just a fluke and that without him proving his strength over others, they would all have terrible attitudes.
They all talked merrily together for almost another hour before they all noticed several figures flying towards them from the sect's Main Peak. Soon, the Sect leader arrived with 3 other Elders.
"Good everyone is here and it looks like you're all getting along. We'll be leaving now, please climb aboard."
The Sect leader then took out a small wood boat from his sleeve, threw it and watched as the boat expanded. After a dozen seconds, the boat grew large enough to hold several hundred people comfortably, more than large enough for the couple dozen present.
"Everyone aboard! We will be taking the magic boat as it will speed up the 3 day journey to last just 1 day. While the boat has mana formations for protection, I would still ask you all to be on alert until we make it to the competition site. The skies can sometimes be far more dangerous than the land."
With that, the Sect leader lead the way and walked aboard the magic boat with the Elders. After that, the disciples moved and one by one walked on to the massive vessel. James was mesmerized by the sight of the small wood boat growing to the size of a small cruise ship. As he walked onto the boat he saw various magic circles roatating and moving along the outer surface if the boat.
'So this is a magic artifact. I've read about them in some sect records before. They are created by powerful experts who have high attainments in both the Smithing and Formations secondary formations. I have so many ideas of things I could make…I should look into formations first since they are useful in all kinds of situations. I'll have to ask master to teach me the basics when I get back from this trip.'
Once all the disciples stepped aboard, the boat floated up and flew off into the distance. There was a barrier around the edges of the boat preventing the wind from blowing everyone aboard off. James walked to the front if the boat and watched the land below as they oassed above. From seeing the scenery below, James could tell they were going insanely fast, much faster than an airplane from his previous world.
'If this boat makes the journey only 1 day instead of 3 but we're moving this fast…how was the Sect leader originally planning to get to the location? There's no way we could move even a tenth as fast as this boat while on foot.'
James then moved inside the boat's interior. With it's size, there were more than enough rooms for everyone to have their own space. He planned to spend this time relaxing as he's been training almost non-stop over the last couple months. He wanted to rest his mind to prepare for the upcoming tournament. He wasn't sure what he would be facing but he was sure there wouldn't be any easy fights.
11 hours later…
James was meditsting in his room, enjoying the rare moments of rest when suddenly…
*BOOM*
The room shook. James' eyes shot open, he got up and rushed out if his room to see what was going on. When he made it out into the corridor…
*BOOM*
He now knew it was the entire ship that was shaking. James knew nothing good was happening and most likely they were under attack. He proceeded to the outside deck to check on the situation and was stunned at what he saw. Surrounding the boat were dark black clouds and hundreds of cultivators in all black wearing masks. The surrounding cultivators were launching spell after spell at the boat's outer barrier. Firery explosions ciuld be seen here and there accompanied by a booming sounds and vigorous shaking of the hull.
"Disciples of the Drifting Clouds sect, hear your Sect leader! Prepare for battle! We are currently under attack by Demonic cultivators!"