White fluffy clouds dotted the azure blue sky as the sun beamed beautifully, casting a golden glow upon the Gracious Mountains. The dappled sun shone through the trees, creating mysterious shadows across the Nine Peaks. The whole Gracious Sword Sect was now awake.
The Resource Hall was bustling with new Inner Court Disciples from different peaks.
Many disciples were standing in an ordered fashion to get their token and robes from the counters on the other side of the hall. While some, who had now received their things, were standing in groups, chattering, whispering and discussing the hunt and the top disciples.
Not much time had passed by since these disciples saw two outer court disciples cross a counter and go towards the gate behind it.
Early on many didn't notice this incident, but when Mu Xing came out of that gate, almost everyone's attention was now focused on him. Gazes filled with envy, hate, surprise, indifference, and jealousy landed on him at once. However, his expression remained unchanged.
Mu Xing was from Xin Royal Kingdom's Crimson City. A place which was known more as a market place than anything related to cultivation.
The clans of Crimson City are known for their wealth and connections. And being born in one of the top three clans, the Mu Clan, Mu Xing had the advantage of good cultivation resources since birth. This also gave him an arrogant nature and made him egoistic. However, his cultivation speed and sword talent compensated for this nature when he was proclaimed as the number one cultivator in terms of talent in the younger generation of the Crimson City.
A few months back when Elder Lai Chang had visited the Su Clan, one of the top three clans of the city, for some reason unknown to him, Mu Xing's father was also coincidentally present at the Su Clan. As a courtesy and interest in the number one cultivator of the younger generation, Elder Lai Chang also visited the Mu Clan where he found Mu Xing performing some sword moves. This meeting was of course not because of fate or heaven's will. Mu Xing's father had already instructed him about what to do.
It didn't take long for Elder Lai Chang to notice his talent and cultivation. After some chat with his father, Elder Lai Chang formally invited Mu Xing to be an Outer Court disciple at the Gracious Sword Sect.
His father, Mu Shichuan, was ecstatic and before even Elder Lai Chang could finish his sentence, agreed immediately. He was more than happy to send his son to be a disciple of Gracious Sword Sect. Within a few hours, the whole Crimson City now knew that his son was going to be a disciple of the Gracious Sword Sect.
Fast-forwarding a few days, even though Mu Xing had become a disciple at Gracious Sword Sect, he still had a smooth way through the outer court, unlike other disciples due to his talent and good cultivation.
However, he didn't spend much time in the sect. As soon as Elder Lai Chang introduced him to the Martial Mission Hall, he started taking missions and accumulating enough points to exchange them for resources.
And to test his strength, he would then challenge the top outer court disciples of his peak, completely dominating them with his sword moves alone.
His aim was to comprehend the fabled Sword Intent and be the most powerful cultivator in his city, bringing his clan to the top, completely suppressing the other two clans, the Su Clan and the Wang Estate.
And when the time for the Inner Court Entrance Hunt came, he knew it was his chance to shine even brighter. And he did.
Ranking at the number one position, he was the undisputed top disciple of the Fifth Peak.
All was going smooth and easy for him until he heard results of other peaks.
He was shocked after hearing about Xiao Ming's cultivation and his battle with Hu Xing. However, what really disturbed him was a different disciple. Outer Court Disciple Bai Qing'er of the Third Peak.
When he heard of her sword talent, what came in his mind was not a sense of rivalry but all he felt was uneasiness.
He had never had a rival ever since his birth. Neither did he ever face any obstacles in his cultivation path. But now, a disciple who he hadn't even seen in his life had affected his heart. This was the source of his frustration.
He couldn't talk openly about his thoughts to Elder Lai Chang, fearing that he would lose the support he was indirectly receiving. And also because he didn't wish to present himself as a weakling or someone is incapable of having a rival.
…
When Mu Xing came near the counter, the new Inner Court disciples were focused on him. After a moment of silence, a new wave of whispering and chattering began.
"So the notice hanging there is indeed not a prank. The Top disciples are being given special treatment this time."
"Yes, this time it is different. My cousin who became an Inner Court disciple in the last hunt told me that the top disciples of his batch got special robes with flaps on the left shoulder. But he didn't tell me about them being asked to go on the upper floor."
"What do you think could be the reason this time? You should know that even the disciples ranked in the Gracious Sword Rankings are not allowed to go to the Upper Floor unless they are ranked in the Top Ten."
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A/n: Just in case you missed: Mu Xing is from Crimson City; which was also introduced in the prologue and is the home town of Wang Yao.