After arriving, Luo Bing volunteered to show him around the sect and take him to register.
Whilst they toured, Elder Huo would inform the elder of the Disciple Hall to prepare his registration.
The technique would be considered a gift from Luo Bing's own pocket, so the sect wasn't entitled to it.
He could earn spirit stones by sharing it, though.
He could also sell it to the Elder Alliance or the United Treasure Pavilion if they didn't already have it in their registry.
On their way, Luo Bing wasn't as coquettish and behaved more naturally now.
"Look, Wuji, that's the Combat Court! There are many dueling platforms that can handle even peak Foundation Establishment combat." Luo Bing introduced.
"Is that very impressive? Just how powerful is Foundation Establishment?" Wuji had only seen some flying and spatial shenanigans up to this point. He wondered how destructive cultivators were.
Luo Bing showed a wry smile and said, "I can show you if you let me carry you in my arms." She blushed but still said it.
This made Wuji kind of mad, 'If you know you're being ridiculous, why are you still doing it? Is something wrong with this girl?'
It was only natural, Wuji hadn't seen himself in a mirror yet, but the Daoist robes combined with his breakthrough and original appearance made him look outstanding even for a cultivator.
Luo Bing was a young core disciple, so she wasn't as steadfast as a legitimate female cultivator should be—partially due to her eccentric master.
In response to her request, Wuji obviously said yes.
He was princess carried as they flew to a distant coast, where Luo Bing made quick work of half a small mountain.
Where there was a mountain was now a cliff.
Wuji was simply shocked!
"Aren't you just a 3rd phase Foundation Establishment cultivator? Doesn't this mean Elder Huo could easily level a sizeable mountain?"
"Hahaha! Of course he can. So, are you impressed?" Luo Bing was weirder and weirder the more Wuji stayed around her.
He wanted to get away, but he still said, "Yes, you were amazing. But we should be returning to the sect by now, right?"
Luo Bing seemed a bit dejected and said, "I know it must seem like I'm exaggerating, but my master told me to be decisive when I want something. Xiao Wuji, what do you think of me?"
This straightforward process was too much for the young monk apprentice at the moment.
'Is this normal among cultivators? Wait, didn't that lady try to buy me directly? Isn't Luo Bing much more restrained?' Wuji even confused himself.
His limited life experience gave him a twisted perception of the opposing gender.
They seemed quite perverted, but then he remembered the stories of what pirates did and realized human beings are simply too filthy.
This whole reflection occurred in a flash before he responded, "Look, I'm not sure what you expect of me, but I don't think I'm the right person for this. I'm sorry."
"You really don't want to be my little brother? Not even if I invoke the favor you owe me?" Luo Bing sincerely asked one last time.
And Wuji sincerely realized he might be the filthy one. Was he too arrogant? Didn't it seem like she was interested in something else? Embarassed, he said, "Oh, I didn't realize that's what you meant. If that's the case, I'm okay with it. It doesn't have to be a favor." Isn't it great to be a little brother?
Luo Bing realized what he meant when he said he misunderstood and immediately blushed with a beet red tone. "No, I'm definitely not that type of person, Wuji. Don't misunderstand, I just absolutely love your white hair!"
"Mhm." Wuji quickly nodded so they could move on.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends so I can brag about you. Wait, I still need to show you some other places." Luo Bing was definitely weird, but she was trustworthy.
She flew him back to the sect grounds like a princess once again, then showed him the rest of the sect.
There was an Alchemy Hall that sold pills at a discount and an Artifice Hall that did the same with artifacts.
The Bamboo Valley Sect didn't have formal array or talisman halls, but they did have some elders that taught those disciplines to disciples interested.
These disciples or the elders could sell you talismans or arrays if asked.
As for appraisal, there was none of it.
Most serious appraisers were scouted by the United Treasure Pavilion as they were the only organization with advanced appraisal capabilities and techniques.
Most sects didn't bother to try learning the craft and just hired the nearest United Treasure Pavilion to do it for them when needed.
This didn't mean large organizations and the Elder Alliance didn't have their own appraisers—but their best appraisers weren't as good as the ones in the United Treasure Pavilion.
After showing him the dorms and the different training grounds, Luo Bing explained some of the basic rules before an outer disciple finally came to call them to the Disciple Hall.
There, the process was quite quick. Wuji received a jade token with his name and the word outer written on it.
The rectangular token also had a white tassel tied to it. The disciple in charge of registration said, "That badge is your key to everything you might have access to in the sect. Your dorm room, the sect gates, the library floors, etc. If you lose it, you have to come here to disable your lost one and get a replacement. It's annoying for everyone involved, so don't lose it. That's it. You just need to find room 505 in the outer disciple dorm. There are no obligations as a disciple besides doing one mission per year and participating in anything the sect demands, but if you've reached a bottleneck you should probably do some missions for resources instead of wasting your time." This disciple wasn't too bad. They were blunt but well-intentioned.
"Thank you." Wuji cupped his fists and tried to run to his dorm room, but he was caught by Sister Bing and had to talk to her friends for two hours before finally taking his leave.
Upon arriving at his dorm room, Wuji was quite pleased.
There was a bed, a table, a closet, and a clean, fully functional bathroom with running water.
Disciples were responsible for washing their sheets and towels. They could purchase more or pay for laundry work as well.
If they reached Foundation Establishment, cleaning became as simple as a thought, of course.
Wuji comfortably slept for an undetermined amount of time before waking up.
He was filled with determination as he seriously inspected the Myriad Jade Scripture, now carefully reading the instruction for cultivating the first layer aimed at the Qi Gathering stage.
'Fascinating! So this is cultivation, how mysterious.' Wuji was shocked by the principles of the Myriad Jade Mantra.
By chanting a mantra using one's qi, one could resonate with Dao Treasures made of jade and make the reflection of their expelled qi alter the nature of the qi inside their body, thus nurturing it's density and purity.
But the most impressive part is that, while this process didn't make your qi liquid, thus awakening divine sense, it somehow allowed the cultivator to achieve a different type of divine sense!
This unique divine sense would then qualitatively and quantitatively improve the cultivator's divine sense in future stages of cultivation.
'Who came up with this? How does one create such techniques?' Wuji could only marvel at the ingenuity of his predecessors.
'Once I reach the Nascent Soul, must I create my own techniques, too?' Wuji pondered, 'Well, I'm getting way ahead of myself. Let's practice this mantra for now.'
Taking out his flute and laying it on his lap, Xiao Wuji followed the instructions of the scripture.
Although he didn't feel anything initially, he immediately noticed a force affecting his qi after he had chanted the entire mantra once.
'It must be the tempering effect. Success!'
He proceeded to chant the mantra for several hours—he was somewhat used to such training as an apprentice monk.
When he thought of the temple, Wuji's chanting faltered.
He decided to take a break and visit the Meal Hall to clear his mind.
After arriving there, Wuji realized that if Luo Bing hadn't given him some money for food, he'd have to scavenge.
'I don't know why she wanted to make me her little brother, but being taken care of sounds good to me. I don't mind doing her a favor or two, either.' Wuji wasn't ungrateful, so as long as she meant well, he wouldn't disappoint her either.
He went back to his room after eating and continued cultivating diligently.
---
One year later.
Wuji sat cross-legged in his dorm, eyes calm but heart expectant.
He was about to break through to the 2nd phase of Qi Gathering.
This progress was only possible due to his abnormal entrance onto the 1st phase with the heavenly baptism—which left him about half the way into the 1st phase.
Today, he felt like his breakthrough was coming.
It wasn't anything spectacular. The only thing that happened was that once his qi reached a certain threshold, it suddenly compressed and became denser again.
'So I need to compress it seven more times to reach the 9th phase and one final time to reach Foundation Establishment? What's so hard about this? Isn't it just a matter of time?' Xiao Wuji had heard of bottlenecks and cultivation struggles from his fellow disciples throughout this last year, but he simply couldn't relate.
Although his progress wasn't the fastest, it was consistent.
For example, it wasn't abnormal for a core disciple to have reached Foundation Establishment within only 5-10 years of cultivation.
If his progress didn't falter, he should take about 15-20 years to reach it in his estimation.
Every phase got progressively more difficult to progress in, but he was confident in his stability for now.
'Is this the power of the Myriad Jade Scripture? Jade represents purity and stability, after all.' Wuji wouldn't be sure until he reached higher stages, but he was excited for his own future.
The heavens that blessed him once would not let him walk an unchallenged path forever, though.