Along the way, everyone they passed by stopped and jeered at them. Anyone who saw them made fun of them.
Someone shouted at them, "Run, chicken boy, run."
Elder Bloodhound said that it was a tradition. Newcomers were to run around the sect instead of taking an airship. They would run while the older members of the sect made fun of them. Apparently, it was a rite of passage.
When they reached the personnel hall, they lined up and turned in their identity cards. After they were verified, they were given new identity cards and a large box containing some of the things they needed as new members, such as the rule book, abode key, some energy stones, and some uniforms uniform.
The rule book they got was the same, but the amount of energy stones, quality of the abode, type of uniform, and the identity card they got were different. What each of them got depended on the grade of invitation they received.
After all of them were done with the personnel hall, Elder Bloodhound took them to the medicine hall next, where they got pills. The amount of pills they got was also dependent on their grades.
They put the box of pills into their box and then ran to the next destination. The next destination was the weapon-forging hall.
They passed the plant raising and the animal rearing all. They didn't stop at this place because they didn't have anything to do there. Elder Bloodhound only pointed out these places to them.
When they reached the weapon-forging hall, they were given a redemption card, which they could use to redeem a weapon in the future. The grades of the redemption cards were based on the grade of the invitation too.
After the weapon-forging hall was the techniques library. As new members, they got redemption cards too.
They couldn't use the redemption cards yet because they needed to be informed before they could make the decision about what they should get. This decision is important because it will determine how well they start in the sect.
After they got the redemption card, they put it into their box and continued on their way. As they ran from place to place, they saw many towns and many people. It was after running for hours that they realized just how big the sect was.
The outer sect was as big as the kingdom outside. There were many cities on top of, around, and in between the mountains.
The cities and towns were mostly markets where sect members met to exchange things. Some towns also served as temporary places of residence for sect members that had to tend to farms.
Everywhere they went, people would point and jeer at them. Some even threw spirit stones at them to catch. When someone stopped to catch something and was run over by those behind him, the crowd of people laughed.
They went to a lot of places, and it took them eight hours to finish their trip. The last place they had to go to before they went to their accommodation was the lecture hall.
The lecture hall was the biggest hall they had seen along the way. When they got there, they noticed that classes were already going on and a lot of rooms had already been filled.
Elder Bloodhound said to them, "Your current goal is to reach the second mortal coil. To do that, you need our force diagram and the right blood essence to use together with the force diagram. You can only get those things here."
"You must come here for your class. Ask the receptionist in front about what room you should go to. You will be counseled by an elder about this. They will pick what technique and blood essence for you to use."
"After you reach the second mortal coil, you will stop being a white sheep or a chicken boy." He chuckled after saying this.
"Then you can return to the technique hall and the weapon-forging hall to redeem your cards. This will make you bonafide members of the sect."
"What you need to do now is check the timetable so that you will know when your class is. You either come early to your class or you don't come at all. Tardiness is a taboo in the lecture hall."
"If you're in the S-grade, there is no timetable for you. You need to meet the receptionist so that she can get the contact of your supervisor. Then you can make an appointment with your supervisor."
Everyone listened attentively to what he said even though they were tired and breathing hard. Then they went to check the timetable.
Only Arthur went to meet the receptionist. Apparently, he was the only one in the group who was at the S-grade. This immediately drew a lot of attention.
When he returned, Elder Bloodhound asked him, "Young man, what is your name?"
He said proudly, "Arthur Red Mane."
He didn't mean to express pride. It was an involuntary action. His need to dominate others made him puff up his chest and raise his head unconsciously when he said his name.
Elder Bloodhound was just asking for his name in order to take note of his identity. But when he heard the name, he immediately recognized it.
His red eyes widened in realization. He said, "So it is you. I didn't think I would get to see the best performer for this round of sect examination."
The way he looked at Arthur changed. The pupils of his eyes even glowed and the tattoos on his body began to shift their position as he began paying more attention to Arthur.
He said, "Hmm. It seems you do have divine strength. You will fit nicely here."
He wouldn't have paid this much attention to anyone in the S-grade. He would have surely paid attention to them because there had to be something special about them. But Arthur warranted more attention from him because he had heard a lot of things about Arthur.