Chapter 2 — The Road to the Sect
Morning came with a cold, restless wind.
The capital, usually orderly and dignified, was unusually alive. Carriages rolled through the wide avenues leading toward the northern departure grounds, their wheels rattling over stone roads polished by centuries of traffic.
Families had gathered there long before sunrise.
Some came dressed in fine silk robes, their expressions proud. Others stood quietly in simple clothing, holding tightly to sons and daughters who would soon leave for places beyond mortal reach.
Above the massive departure plaza, several enormous vessels floated silently in the morning sky.
Flying ships.
Even from a distance, they were awe-inspiring.
Each vessel hovered hundreds of feet above the ground, suspended by enormous formation arrays that shimmered faintly beneath their hulls. The ships were shaped like vast wooden palaces, their bodies reinforced with dark ironwood and layered spirit-metal plates. Carved runes spread across their surfaces like veins of light, glowing faintly as spiritual energy flowed through them.
To most mortals gathered below, the sight felt unreal.
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For Li Tian, it was the first time he had seen such a creation of the cultivation world up close.
Ships were not unheard of within the kingdom. Merchant guilds owned sturdy cargo vessels that sailed rivers and seas, and even the royal court possessed several spirit-assisted transports used for official travel. Li Tian had seen some of those vessels before.
But those ships were modest constructions—practical tools designed by mortal artisans with the aid of low-grade formation masters.
What floated above the plaza now was something entirely different.
These ships were creations of true cultivation sects.
Their scale, craftsmanship, and spiritual power far surpassed anything the mortal world could produce.
The vessel bearing the banner of the Grand Firmament Sect did not merely look like a ship.
It looked like a floating fortress of the heavens.
Li Tian watched it carefully.
A faint understanding formed in his mind.
Such a vessel did not need to descend personally into a mortal kingdom simply to transport a handful of scholars and cultivation candidates. The sect could have easily arranged other methods if efficiency had been the only concern.
But efficiency was rarely the only concern of powerful institutions.
Displays of power had their own purpose.
When a ship like this descended from the heavens and hovered above a mortal capital, it reminded every official, merchant, and ambitious youth exactly where true authority lay.
It inspired awe.
It inspired ambition.
And most importantly, it reminded the world that the path to power led upward—to the sects of the immortal mountains.
Li Tian understood the logic immediately.
If he ruled such an organization one day, he would likely do the same.
Power, after all, was most effective when people never forgot it existed.
—
He stood among a small group of young scholars near the eastern side of the plaza, his hands clasped behind his back as he quietly observed everything around him.
There were more ships than he had expected.
At least six floated above the plaza, each bearing different banners that hung proudly from their masts.
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Different sects.
The kingdom’s scholar candidates were not sent to a single sect. Instead, they were distributed across several major cultivation sects that maintained relationships with the kingdom.
Just like scholars studying at different academies.
Li Tian watched the ships carefully.
Each vessel had a distinct design.
Some were narrow and elegant, their hulls painted in pale jade colors. Others were massive and fortress-like, built for endurance rather than beauty.
One ship in particular dominated the sky above the plaza.
Its hull was deep black, its massive body reinforced with layers of spirit-metal bands. The sails were folded tightly along its towering masts, each embroidered with a single symbol:
A circular formation pattern resembling a vast celestial diagram.
Li Tian recognized it immediately.
The Grand Firmament Sect.
Even among the powerful sects of the immortal mountains, the Grand Firmament Sect stood near the very top.
He exhaled slowly.
So this was the vessel that would carry him away from the mortal world.
A loud voice suddenly cut through the noise of the crowd.
“Scholar candidates for the Grand Firmament Sect, step forward!”
Li Tian turned.
A group of armored attendants stood beside a long staircase formation array that stretched upward toward the floating vessel. The glowing steps formed a bridge of light connecting the ground to the ship’s lower deck.
Three names were called.
“Li Tian.”
He stepped forward calmly.
“Zhao Ren.”
A tall young man with sharp features moved beside him, his eyes narrowing slightly when he noticed Li Tian.
“Sun Mei.”
A young woman dressed in pale blue scholar robes approached last. Her expression remained composed, though her eyes flickered briefly between the two young men.
Only three.
Out of the ten scholars chosen by the kingdom, only three had been assigned to the Grand Firmament Sect.
Li Tian already knew the other two.
They had crossed paths many times in the kingdom’s scholarly examinations.
Zhao Ren came from an influential bureaucratic family and had placed second in several state examinations.
Sun Mei was the daughter of a respected strategist from the western provinces.
Both were extremely talented.
But in the final rankings, both had finished below Li Tian.
Neither of them had ever seemed particularly pleased about that.
Zhao Ren folded his arms and glanced at Li Tian.
“So the prodigy scholar joins us after all.”
His voice carried a faint trace of mockery.
Sun Mei said nothing, though her gaze lingered on Li Tian for a moment longer than necessary.
Li Tian simply inclined his head politely.
“We will be studying under the same sect now. It would be wise if we cooperated.”
Zhao Ren snorted quietly.
Before he could respond, another voice interrupted them.
“Enough chatter.”
A young cultivator stood near the base of the staircase formation.
He wore the gray robes of a sect disciple, though the aura surrounding him made it clear that he stood far above any mortal present.
His gaze swept across the three scholars with open indifference.
“You three are scholar candidates. Nothing more.”
His voice carried the lazy arrogance of someone used to authority.
“Remember your place once you board the ship. Do not wander where you do not belong. Do not provoke the cultivator candidates. And most importantly…”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Do not embarrass the sect.”
Zhao Ren stiffened slightly but said nothing.
The disciple’s gaze lingered on them one last time before he waved his hand.
“Board.”
The glowing staircase brightened.
Li Tian stepped forward first.
As his foot touched the first step, he felt a faint vibration beneath his shoes—the humming resonance of a formation array powered by spirit stones.
He glanced down briefly.
Even a simple transportation formation like this required enormous resources.
Millions of spirit stones could be consumed during large-scale teleportation.
That was why the sects relied on flying vessels for long-distance transportation instead.
Teleportation was fast—but prohibitively expensive.
Ships, while slower, were far more efficient when moving hundreds of passengers across great distances.
Li Tian climbed the glowing staircase slowly, observing the ship with quiet fascination.
Up close, the vessel was even more impressive.
Its hull stretched nearly two hundred meters in length, reinforced with layered spirit-metal plating. Complex formation arrays had been carved into the wood and metal alike, channeling spiritual energy through carefully designed pathways.
He could feel the energy humming faintly beneath his feet.
This ship alone must have cost an unimaginable fortune to build.
But for a sect like the Grand Firmament Sect, such vessels were merely tools.
Many of the materials used to construct them came from the mountains surrounding the sect itself—rare spirit woods, metal ores infused with spiritual energy, and beast materials harvested from powerful creatures.
Sect artisans crafted these vessels in specialized workshops.
Some sects even sold similar ships to powerful merchant organizations or kingdoms.
Of course, the price would be astronomical.
Li Tian stepped onto the main deck.
The interior resembled a floating fortress.
Rows of cabins lined the inner walls of the ship, while large formation pillars rose from the center deck, glowing faintly as they circulated spiritual energy throughout the vessel.
Several young cultivators moved across the deck, their robes marking them as sect disciples responsible for maintaining the ship.
None of them paid the three scholars much attention.
To them, these mortals were little more than temporary passengers.
A commotion erupted near the opposite side of the deck.
Li Tian turned slightly.
A large group of young men and women were boarding from another staircase.
Cultivator candidates.
Unlike the scholars, these individuals had already passed basic talent tests within their regions. If they succeeded in the sect’s entrance trials, they would become true disciples.
Their attitudes made the difference obvious.
Several of them laughed loudly, speaking with open confidence.
One of them glanced toward the scholars.
“Look,” he said loudly to his companions. “The scholars arrived.”
Another cultivator smirked.
“Bookworms.”
A third one shrugged.
“They’re just future clerks.”
The group laughed.
Zhao Ren’s expression darkened immediately.
His fists tightened.
Sun Mei frowned slightly but remained silent.
Li Tian simply watched them calmly.
After a moment, he turned back toward his companions.
“We should remain cautious.”
Zhao Ren glanced at him irritably.
“You intend to endure that quietly?”
Li Tian’s expression remained calm.
“We are scholars entering a cultivator sect.”
He gestured subtly toward the cultivators across the deck.
“They hold the power here. Not us.”
Sun Mei studied him carefully.
“And what do you suggest?”
Li Tian folded his hands behind his back.
“We remain united.”
Zhao Ren raised an eyebrow.
“United?”
“Yes.”
Li Tian’s voice remained steady.
“If we divide ourselves now, we will become easy targets.”
He paused briefly.
“But if we cooperate…”
His gaze shifted toward the towering masts of the ship above them.
“…we may at least survive long enough to understand the world we have entered.”
For a moment, neither Zhao Ren nor Sun Mei spoke.
Then Sun Mei nodded slowly.
“That is reasonable.”
Zhao Ren hesitated before letting out a quiet breath.
“…Fine.”
He looked away.
“But don’t expect me to like it.”
A loud horn suddenly echoed across the deck.
One of the sect disciples shouted from the upper platform.
“Prepare for departure!”
Formation arrays across the ship began to glow.
Spiritual energy surged through the vessel as the massive ship slowly rose higher into the sky.
Below them, the capital city began to shrink.
Li Tian stepped toward the railing and looked down.
The streets of the kingdom where he had spent his entire life were already becoming distant lines of stone and lantern light.
Beyond the city walls, mountains stretched toward the horizon.
And somewhere within those mountains…
His true journey awaited.
The ship turned toward the distant peaks and began its long voyage into the world of cultivators.
