Coming at the present, the disciples heard the panda's voice and curiously looked at him.
They had played the game for some time and knew there were no beasts or pets in Eternal Ascendancy. So where did this little panda come from?
They didn't know the game was created by their own master, who could give beasts or pets like this to his sister—their sect leader and young miss.
For them, this was a futuristic game capable of impossible things.
They had already become quite adaptable, so they took everything with only mild shock.
Still, they were surprised by the panda. No one had ever seen any other living thing in the game before.
But then they remembered this sect belonged to their young miss—how could it be normal?
Out of the five disciples, Vera murmured, "It looks like Master has some connections inside Eternal Ascendancy…"
The other disciples nodded in agreement. Otherwise, how could the young miss get such special treatment?
They knew she was strong, but not strong enough to influence the game itself. Only their master could do that.
Then the disciples left the floating island and began roaming around.
They saw the other nine guardian beasts.
These nine were not pandas. Even though they were all in baby form, they looked dangerous—nothing like the cute panda.
They were fantasy creatures.
A dragon, a phoenix, an ice phoenix, a white tiger, a golden crow, a black tortoise, a single-tailed fox, and lastly a beautiful purple butterfly—exactly like the ones on Sanya's room ceiling at Dark Haven Fortress.
___
These were all the fantasy creatures Sanya knew. She wasn't an experienced novel reader, or she would have chosen many more and even stronger ones.
Sanya could directly buy beasts or even customize and create completely new ones.
But she only created the purple butterfly beast herself. Every other beast was bought from the beast section in the store.
This section was only visible to owners of special AIs. So other normal players doesn't even know about this section at all.
Of course, buying and customizing beasts was on a whole different level—with very different costs. Customizing was naturally far more expensive.
Not only the initial purchase of a beast, but its later expenses were also huge. Buying a breathing technique or cultivation system tailored for the beast cost an enormous amount.
But for Sanya, there was no expense at all.
She could buy or create more beasts whenever she wanted.
For now, she had enough guardian beasts.
____
The disciples visited every place except the central mountain, they understood that the main peak was the sect leader's mountain—they couldn't go there casually. The elders' mountains were also restricted, but since they were empty for now, they were able to explore them.
Just as they finished visiting the last place, they all received a notification on their sect tab in the player status window.
They opened it and saw an announcement from the sect leader herself:
CURRENT SECT MEMBERS ARE PROMOTED TO SECT ELDERS. GO TO THE TASK HALL AND RECEIVE YOUR TASK.
Seeing this message, the disciples were happy. They had just joined the sect and were already promoted to elders. They knew this was because the sect was new and in need of elders. Later, it would be very difficult to reach this position.
So they had to hold tightly to this chance and not lose it through any wrongdoing.
They understood the value of this position. It would not only bring them good fortune but also let them meet the sect leader personally.
Ordinary members would clearly have difficulty meeting her.
But they could.
They then went to the task hall and received their tasks.
All five disciples had the same task for now: recruit sect members. There were no specific requirements—anyone could join.
But they had to make sure the recruits didn't know about the cultivation system benefits or any other special advantages. Most importantly, they couldn't reveal Roxa's identity as a sect leader or even as a member.
Otherwise, players would flood the sect.
If her name spread, players would rush in thinking: "Roxa is a cultivator—if we join her sect, we can get her breathing technique or some special opportunity." Sanya didn't want to be seen as a golden chicken—someone people only approached for rewards.
She also didn't want her sect to become a center of attraction yet. It was still new and needed loyal members who would support and build it, not opportunists who came only for the cultivation system or breathing technique and then left, or worse—spies from other sects or Concords who joined just to steal information and benefits.
She had already heard about Concords recruiting players from rival nations to turn them into spies. She didn't want that to happen to her sect.
If such people came and left quickly, the sect would have no strong foundation. It wouldn't grow properly.
So she decided.
She would only make these benefits public once the sect had a solid foundation. For now, only those who had already joined would receive them.
But if there were no visible benefits, why would anyone join?
Simple—the elders could show their own gameplay and impress others. When players saw how skilled the elders were, they would want guidance to become better players themselves.
And once recruited, the elder who brought them in was responsible. If the new member did something wrong, the elder would also bear the consequences.
So they couldn't just recruit anyone. They had to be careful.
Of course, they would get rewards for each successful recruit—points, resources, or sect contribution that would help them grow stronger.
The disciples looked at each other, understanding the weight of the task.
They nodded to one another and left the task hall, ready to begin.