In the heavens, the sun is moving towards the west. Declaring the end of the day
Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh!
In the sky an orange streak of light moves at a very fast speed. The streak of light is from a giant sword in that sword three individuals two male one female are standing upright
The sword is moving very fast in estimation it is moving at the speed of thirty miles an hour.
"Senior brother, the sun is setting. How long will it take for us to reach Maple City?"
"Junior brother, don't worry, after we cross this forest we will reach Maple City in just an hour."
"An hour… how tedious. If not for those damn fools unable to find a single child twelve years ago..."
The Junior brother wearing a green uniform says with anger and annoyance.
Twelve years ago a heavenly omen appeared in the Divine Continent. The flying sword sect acted fast and dispatched some disciples.
But they were unable to locate or identify the cause of the omen. Those disciples who failed were punished and are currently being detained.
"Don't be angry, brother. I heard Maple City is a beautiful and famous place. I have always wanted to see it."
The third disciple says in her sweet voice. She is the youngest of them all. The anger on the face of the second disciple vanishes as he gives her a smile.
"Junior sister, you haven't been a cultivator for long and are still young and full of curiosity toward mortal things."
"Is there something wrong with that?" She asks in confusion.
The second disciple shakes his head. "Of course not junior sister but now you should remember you are a cultivator and those mortal things are beneath us."
"We should not dwell on them and focus only on our cultivation. Our time is a hundred times more precious than theirs, we should not waste it."
She nods her head. "I was being naive senior brother. You are right those mortals are not worth our time. We should complete our task and hurry back to cultivate."
The second disciple nods with satisfaction.
"You two should sit on the flying sword and meditate. I will call you when we reach Maple City."
"We understand."
Both of them say in unison and sit cross-legged and close their eyes. The eldest disciple looks at his juniors' mindset with satisfaction.
Soon the flying sword passed through the forest and in about an hour a vast city appeared in front of the eldest disciple.
"Get up, Maple City is in sight."
The two disciples open their eyes as they look at Maple City.
From the sky, they look like a giant circle on the ground, a big stone fortress encircling the outer poor sector. And many mortal soldiers are guarding it.
As the orange streak of light flies above them the soldiers look at it with awe.
"What is that light?"
"Is someone attacking us?"
The new soldiers look at it with fear in their eyes.
"Don't make a fuss, those are the mighty cultivators from the flying sword sect. Every three years they come here to recruit disciples."
"Cultivators… I wish I were also one of them."
"Who doesn't want to become a cultivator and soar above the sky. But talentless mortals like us can only dream."
The mortal soldiers on the wall look at the flying cultivators in envy, jealousy and worship. For them being a cultivator is like a dream.
It is right in front of them but as they try to reach it it disappears like a soap bubble.
Cultivators are more sensitive than mortals. The youngest disciple feels the envy and jealousy and a sort of arrogance wells up in her heart.
Soon the sword passed through the rich sector and stopped in front of the main sector.
The main sector is different from the poor and the rich sectors. Instead of mortal soldiers actual cultivators are guarding it.
The cultivators look at the flying sword and open a hole in the formation. They have already been notified beforehand of their arrival.
The flying sword moves again and soon they reach in front of a massive manor of the city lord.
The manor is very large, spread over ten miles and there is also a formation on the manor. Although not as strong as the one encasing the main sector but still a significantly strong one.
The senior disciple lands his flying sword and gets down, his juniors follow behind him.
As they all get down the flying sword shrinks to the size of a toothpick and flies into the sleeves of the eldest disciple.
Soon the door opens and an old man wearing a black robe greets the three of them.
"Welcome esteemed cultivator of flying sword sect. I am Old Liu, a steward of the city lord's manor. I am here to welcome you."
The faces of both the youngest and the second disciple contort and the senior disciple narrows his eyes.
"Thank you for welcoming us Old Liu. I am Ye Lei, an outer disciple of the flying sword sect."
The two disciples are taken aback by his attitude. Especially the second disciple.
Their senior brother is an arrogant man. Since the city lord has sent a lowly steward to welcome them. With his personality, he should have lost his temper.
"Please come inside the city lord has prepared a banquet for you."
He looks at the sky. The sun has set long ago and night has fallen. And the three have travelled for a long time.
"Please lead the way." The senior disciple says with a smile on his face.
The steward turned around and began walking. As the smile on the face of the senior disciple vanishes.
"You two listen after we get inside, be careful and don't do anything that can cause a problem and don't order anyone around and don't be arrogant."
The senior disciples say in a serious tone.
"Why senior brother?" The youngest disciple says that due to the worship-filled gazes of mortals outside she is filled with a sense of superiority.
"We are cultivators of the flying sword sect. And they sent a lowly steward to welcome us. The city lord should kneel down and apologise for disrespecting us."
The senior brother turns around and looks at his junior sister with emotionless eyes. She takes a step back in fright.
"Junior sister since this is the first time you left the sect you don't know about Maple City."
"The city lord of Maple City is a Rank 4 Master cultivator. When you meet him, be respectful?"
The junior sisters widened in surprise. She is the pampered granddaughter of an outer sect elder of the flying sword sect; a mighty and respectful cultivator is only a Rank 3 Master.
But a mere city lord of a mid-ranked city has such strong strength and high cultivation.
She can't believe her ears. She can feel something crumbling in her heart.
"And junior sister, that steward Old Liu is not someone we can disrespect. He is also a strong cultivator that I can see through."
She wants to ask how it is possible. He is a Rank 2 cultivator and he can't see through a mare steward.
But she swallows those words. She can see that her senior brother is serious. So she doesn't ask anymore.
The world of cultivators is the world of the strong. Where the strong survive and are devoured. And as a mere Rank 1 cultivator she is at the bottom of the pyramid.
The senior and the second brother enter the gate and follow behind the steward. And she quietly followed behind them.
The manor is ridiculously big. After walking for half an hour they finally reached in front of a hall.
"Please enter, the city lord is waiting."
The senior disciple nods, "Thank you for leading the way for us."
Old Liu bows slightly and leaves. The three of them look at each other and enter the hall.
The hall is grand and luxurious. Filled with many antiques and precious objects. On the right side, three tables are placed for three disciples.
On the far end of the room on a table, a handsome man is sitting. He has flowing silvery-white hair and sharp amber eyes.
And the most striking thing about him is the blue flame-shaped mark on his forehead.
"Greetings fellow cultivators, I am Cui Wan, lord of Maple City."
He says in a calm and polite voice. The three disciples also cupped their fists for greeting.
"Thank you for your hospitality, city lord I am Ye Lei. On behalf of the flying sword sect, I have come here to recruit new disciples."
"Please take a seat." He nods his head and says.
The three of them follow his instructions and take their seats.
Clap!
With a clap, servants enter the hall and place extravagant food on the table.
The three disciples can not help but be surprised. The food on the table is just so high quality.
Cui Wan looks at their faces and gives a faint smile.
"Please have a bite. I have specifically ordered my servant to make this meal from the finest ingredients."
The three disciples may be cultivators and don't need to eat as regularly as mortals but the delicacies on the table are too sweet to resist.
"Since the city lord has prepared a meal for us, how can we refuse?"
Ye Lei takes a bite following him the rest two also start eating.
"Delicious… this meat… is from a beast at least eight years old."
"Oh! Cultivator Ye really has vast knowledge. You can discern the type of meat with just a single bite."
"City lord, you are praising me too much. I have amassed a little knowledge due to my experience."
Cui Wan looks at Ye Lei and signals to his servant.
A few seconds later a servant entered the room with three pouches on a tray. And place those three pouches on the table of the three disciples.
Ye Lei looks inside the pouch. His eyes widened in surprise.
"City Lord this…"
"Take it this is a token of my gratitude."
"But this is too much."
Cui Wan chuckles and says "Cultivator Ye for us cultivators nothing is too much. You should not throw away the wealth that has entered your door."
As he sees Ye Lei hesitating he says.
"And that ring please bring it to the peak master of Falling River Peak, I have already notified him."
Hearing the term the peak master and the three disciples put the pouches on their storage ring.
A peak master is a top existence in the Flying Sword Sect. Someone like them is not worthy enough to even look at their figure.
But now with the help of city lord Ye Lei can make a connection with him. He is both happy and surprised by how grand the connection of the city lord is.
"Now let's continue the banquet."
The three disciples stop thinking and begin to enjoy the banquet. And in between they even exchange words with the city lord.