Chapter : 39 : Mythical Dragon Sect and Cloud Crane Academy :
Location : Western Region : Cloudy Mountains : Mythical Dragon Sect :
Located outside the western territorial borders of the Yu Shan Kingdom there is a piece of land covered by a mountain range that is almost entirely covered by thick clouds at the top making it impossible to see anything .
The most distinctive feature of the mountain range was that while there were various mountains in the area , there were 8 particular mountains which formed like a circle formation around a central mountain which was the tallest in the region .
However the most interesting fact about this mountains and its surrounding areas is that it is not owned by any kingdom or empire in the area .
And this is certainly not because that no one wanted those mountains for themselves .
But because these mountains are the home of the Mythical Dragon sect .
The Mythical Dragon sect had in total various branches working together .
In total the Mythical Dragon sect had 8 peaks that was situated in the 8 mountains surrounding the tallest mountain in the centre which was the headquarters of the Mythical Dragon sect .
The 8 peaks were under the control of a guardian called the peak elder .
They are responsible for the overall working and control of their respective mountain peaks and were assisted by various smaller elders and advisors in doing so .
While on the matter let's talk more about the decision making body of the Mythical Dragon sect .
As said I said before the 8 peak elders held a significant power within the decision making body of the sect .
And they were the third most powerful people in the sect .
Above them were the 4 grand elders who were direct advisors to the sect leader and it was these four elders who nominally appointed the 8 peak elders .
And the highest position of the sect was held by the sect leader.
( Author's Thoughts : Or atleast that's what most people knows . Hehehe ! But sometimes what you see may not always be true .
Wait .... Did I just did some foreshadowing ? )
The sect leader was the figure head figure of the sect and the one who leads it in both name and work .
And in a way held the power of ultimate decision making in all matters of the sect .
However that does not mean that the sect leader has the ultimate authority in everything and his words are the iron law .
No ! On the contrary the system within the Mythical Dragon sect worked in a manner that all the three parties the 8 peak elders , the Grand elders and the sect leader had a system of check on each other .
This system was invented and applied by the creators of the mythical Dragon sect so that no one can get too much authority and miss use their powers .
But anyway the Mythical Dragon sect is the premiere power in the region often gaining respect from the kingdoms around it .
It is not only because of it's strong cultivation background but also because it's the institution that creates many of the elites that will eventually rule the kingdoms or play a huge part in them .
So most kingdoms in the area tried to be on their good side rather than be on their bad side .
In fact in the entire northern regions there are only two such big power houses when it comes to cultivation strength and teachings .
The first is the Mythical Dragon Sect and the other is the Cloud Crane Academy .
Both of these organisations are independent of any kingdom or Empire around them and they don't answer to anyone .
By a formal agreement that has been signed between them and the various other powers they are not to interfere in the sovereign matters of the kingdoms and in return the kingdoms will also not interfere with their work and will stay away from their territories .
Here one must understand while both the Mythical Dragon Sect and Cloud Crane Academy were the two most important institutions for learning and cultivation in the Northern region but they had various structural and institutional differences from each other .
The first greatest difference between them is that the mythical Dragon sect followed a strict path given by the leaders and the founder of the sect and they have a special inheritance that are passed down from generation to generation .
However the cloud crane academy doesn't follow a single path or inheritance .
Instead it combines a variety of various paths and then this knowledge is taught to the students who go there .
The second difference is that the exams that one must pass to enter either the mythical Dragon sect or the Cloud Crane Academy have various level of difficulty .
The exams and qualifications you need to enter the mythical Dragon sect is on a entirely different level then the Cloud Crane Academy .
Hence the mythical Dragon sect has far less students or disciples then the Cloud Crane Academy .
In fact the ratio between the students and disciples in the Mythical Dragon sect and the cloud Crane Academy is 1 : 6 .
The great difference is primarily because the Mythical Dragon sect focuses on quality over quantity and on the other hand the Cloud Crane Academy focuses more on quantity then quality
The third difference is that the sect has a stricter hierarchy from elders to juniors then the Academy , so sometimes it can be a little restrictive in the sect then in the accademy .
But the fourth difference compensates for it perfectly which is the lineage and inheritance factor .
The Mythical Dragon sect has a far longer lineage and inheritance then the cloud crane Academy .
And in the sect if you become a elder's personal disciple then the elder will passed down his or her personal cultivation techniques to you .
But in the Academy there are no elders but teachers and public lectures and there is no method of passing down any such inheritance to the students .
Yes ! you can get various kinds of cultivation techniques from the Academy but none of them will be anything like the personal techniques taught by the elders in the sect .
However the fifth difference which is an advantage for the Academy is that here you will not be required to have any kind of loyalty to the academy after you graduate .
The only objective of the Cloud Crane Academy is to train and teach strong students to maintain their reputation and collect monthly tuition fees from them .
After you leave this Academy they are not responsible for you and it won't matter to them what you do .
The sect however has a far stricter rule on this matter.
While the students who enters the sect are not necessarily bound to the sect .
But they still have a primary responsibility to protect the sect even after they have graduated or left the sect .
Obviously this doesn't mean that you will have to remain in this sect or work for it for rest of your life .
After all it is impossible for people like the royals , nobles and others because they have duties towards their own kingdoms and cannot be tied to the Mythical Dragon sect .
But still once once you enter the sect no matter if you are a noble or Royal or just a commoner you will have to agree on a condition that in the future you are never to turn against the sect and become there enemy .
And while this is just a formal agreement that can be broken and had been broken multiple times in the past they still puts a measure of security for the sect .
And after that there are also other rules in the sect that we will know in the future chapters .
But in short the mythical Dragon sect offers greater cultivation learning , personal techniques and greater inheritance to the students then in the Cloud Crane Academy .
But on the other hand they have far stricter hierarchy and various other rules then the Cloud Crane Academy which sometimes can be very restrictive .
On the other side the cloud crane Academy provides a system which is more like of a general education and cultivation knowledge with almost no inheritance to pass down to the students .
But at the same time the students have to follow a lot less rules and once you graduate you have nothing to do with the Academy which gives you far more freedom than in the Mythical Dragon sect .
So at this point some of you might have the question .
Why would Xiao Ming decide to go to the mythical Dragon sect rather than the Cloud Crane Academy .
After all from the description above it was quite clear that the Academy gave more freedom and had a lot less strict rules then the mythical Dragon sect .
Well ! Xiao Ming had several reasons for that .
The first reason was that the Xiao clan had much more influence in the Mythical Dragon sect then in the Cloud Crane Academy .
In fact traditionally throughout various generations the Xiao clan members have joined the mythical Dragon sect and many of them are even now senior students or working sect members there .
This meant that if Xiao Ming went to the Mythical Dragon sect now he would have a far greater familiar advantage then in the Cloud Crane Academy .
The second reason was the Alchemy division of the Mythical Dragon sect .
As already said before the Mythical Dragon sect had a great Alchemist who even was senior to the fifth elder Xiao Mei .
This was another attracting factor for Xiao Ming to choose the Mythical Dragon sect over the Cloud Crane Academy .
But perhaps have the greatest reason behind his decision for not joining the Cloud Crane Academy was the insider information he learned from the second elder .
Yes ! while he had always preferred to go to the Mythical Dragon sect even before the arrival of the system it was not a permanent decision .
In fact after the system arrived he had also considered going to the cloud crane academy considering its much more free institution .
But when he discussed this matter with the second elder , Xiao Peng give him some information that changed his mind .
According to the second elder there was something fishy going on within the cloud crane academy.
Although they were not sure as to what exactly was going on .
But for some reason there has been a increase in activities of various unknown forces in the academy .
And the most alarming part was that many fractions and powers who opposed the Yu Shan Kingdom have been increasing their influence in the Cloud Crane Academy for some time making it extremely difficult for the students who go from the Yu Shan Kingdom .
The second elder also said that it was because of this reasons that the clan secretly asked all there members who were in the cloud crane academy to try to be careful and if they fell danger they should leave the academy as soon as possible .
Well let's say that after learning about this situation Xiao Ming give up all his ideas of joining the cloud crane academy .
After all is way better to join the mythical Dragon sect which would provide him with greater safety more familiarity due to the presence of the Xiao clan .
At the same time he will also get more knowledge and a better Alchemy division to work in .
But this brings us to our current situation right now as we look inside the situation Mythical Dragon sect .
Location : Central Mountain Peak : The Grand Meeting Hall Of The Mythical Dragon Sect :
At this moment in the grand meeting hall of the Mythical Dragon sect was full of life as various important members of the sect including the 8 peak elders and the 4 grand elders were present there .
All of them look tense as they waited for the sect leader to arrive and start the meeting .
" Crack ! Open . " - then suddenly with a loud sound the main door of the hall opened as a middle aged man in the clothes of the sect leader walked in .
Seeing him everyone in the room fell silent as the man took the central seat of the hall .
" Today I as the sect leader of the Mythical Dragon sect welcomes all of you to this meeting . "
After sitting on his seat the man looked around the room and finally spoken is voice Deep and heavy carrying a mix of pressure and authority .
" But before starting the meeting I would like to say one thing to you all. " - as he said that his eyes became sharp .
" Whatever we discuss today here in this room shall not go outside . "
To Be Continued .