The young boys and girls were surprised to hear the Giant Man’s words. However, there was a trace of fear in their eyes as well.

　　Shi Mu seemed to have liked his words.

　　“Another thing to keep in mind — we encourage competition, but you have to obey some rules. I would encourage you to read the Sect’s rule. You shall be receiving later them later. You’ll thank me later if you memorize every word of it. Also, newcomers don’t compete with senior disciples. Everyone gets one year to learn. No one will challenge you, or force you into a competition for that one year. Ask for help from the Law Enforcement Hall if anyone tries to do otherwise. It will be another story if ‘you’ pick a fight with someone or make an appeal without any proof.” Wild Zhou’s last sentence had a meaningful tone to it.

　　These youngsters had been chosen by the Black Turtle Sect. They obviously weren’t stupid. They quickly understood the meaning behind those subtle changes in his tone, and the faces of many youngsters were coloured in fear thereafter.

　　“Disciples are grouped into three grades in our sect. Each grade contains its own ranks. Resources are given to you according to your grade and rank. You can only challenge disciples from your own grade in the seasonal matches. However, you can challenge anyone you want in the annual competition. Even the top graded disciples can challenge the lowest ones. And don’t get lazy if you’re placed in the lowest grade. People often start to believe that they worthless if they get placed in the lowest grade. They start to believe that they’ve no lower place to fall into. But that’s not true. We have a number of labourers who were once a part of the lower grades… Our leaders choose the thirty strongest men from the labourers to replace the weakest thirty of the lowest grade every year after the competition. Hehe! So there’s a possibility that one of you will lose his or her position and end-up doing manual labour,” Wild Zhou grinned with a cruel look of his face.

　　Shi Mu trembled when he heard these cold-hearted rules.

　　The Black Demon Sect’s rules were awfully ruthless. These rules were so fierce that even the laziest disciple would have no choice to strive and increase his cultivation in order to survive.

　　The other teenagers had already gone green with fear.

　　“This is the best advice I can give you — read the handbook for the details on matches and competitions. Pay special attention to ranks, challenges and allocation of resources; don’t just flip through it. Got it?! Now I’ll let any three of you ask me their questions. Let’s begin,” the Giant man declared as he strokes his jaw.

　　“That’s nice. I want to know brother Zhou’s cultivation level… what grade are you classified into, and what rank you hold?” a young and loud voice was heard.

　　Shi Mu waited to hear the answer with rapt attention.

　　This question was quite tactical in Shi Mu’s opinion. It would give the new disciples a rough idea about the standards in the Black Demon Sect.

　　Wild Zhou burst into laughter. “Trick question. But I don’t mind answering. I’m at the intermediate stage of Hou Tian level. I’m ranked 49 in the Second Grade of disciples.”

　　“How many disciples are there in the Sect? And what’s the quota for each the number of disciples inside each rank?” the melodious voice of young maiden was heard; she seemed quite shy and nervous.

　　“The numbers differ greatly. There are ten disciples in the Top Grade. They could be compared to the most favoured disciples of the other Sects. The Second Grade had 108 disciples. I’m not very clear about the Third Grade, but I reckon there must be about a thousand. But we’ve had many more candidates showing up at our doors over the last couple of years. Therefore, the number may increase to two thousand in the next few years,” the man answered. His hand was still stroking his jaw.

　　The youngster started to murmuring to themselves. Most of them were trying to ascertain their own positions based on the Wild Zhou’s answers.

　　“Brother Zhou, does the Sect have any special preferences for Blood Warriors? After all, they are more gifted and powerful than ordinary disciples…” Shi Mu asked the next question out of nowhere.

　　It drew attention of the other candidates. Everyone lifted their gaze towards Wild Zhou, and stared at him with unblinking eyes.

　　“Special preferences? Can you imagine the number of blood warriors among the thirteen Master of the peaks, eight Elders, and the two vice bosses in our sect? Just three! The strongest person in our Sect is an Elder. He isn’t a blood warrior. He’s not naturally gifted either. But he has already reached the Earth Layer. He has worked his way up with sheer hard work. But that doesn’t mean that our Sect turns a blink eye towards the natural talents of Blood Warriors either. The Xian Tian Masters often spectate the annual competitions. They are usually looking to take disciples. Many Blood Warriors rise to fame in these competitions. And some are accepted as disciples by these Xian Tian Masters. The Sect also has a special collection of techniques for Blood Warriors. They are stored in the Blood Chambers. But you’ve to pay twice the number of Flaming Demon Tokens in order to learn those techniques,” the giant man answered lightly, and then waved his hand.

　　“Brother Zhou, thank you for the information.” Shi Mu nodded.

　　The other youngsters also ingrained the words “Blood Chambers” in their minds.

　　“Your three questions are over; let’s move on. Do you see the stone houses over there?” Wild Zhou pointed to the small houses which were located farthest from the mountains. “That’s the residence for new disciples; most of them are empty. Choose one to live in. Now, let’s get you your uniforms and a year’s ration of resources. Follow me.”

　　He picked up his mace and led them away from the square.

　　Quarter of an hour later…

　　Wild Zhou stood in front of the young candidates. They all held their packages in their hands.

　　He looked at them as he coldly said, “One last advice before we part ways — The Flaming Demon Tokens are the most important thing; no matter your grade or resource accessibility. You shall be given one each month. You can exchange them to learn any technique you wish to. You won’t anywhere without those Tokens in this Sect and people will trample over you,” the man threw his mace over his shoulder and left with a sense of nostalgia about his walk.

　　A young girl couldn’t help but stare at Wild Zhou as he left.

　　Shi Mu stroked his parcel thoughtfully. He then took the lead and started to walk towards the houses Wild Zhou had pointed towards.

　　The others were quick to notice this, and suddenly came to terms with their reality. Everyone started to follow after him. Some even became impatient and broke into a run.

　　—

　　Notes:

　　The name of this Kingdom is ‘Yan’. Yan means flame. Hence, there are multiple references to flame in the terminologies of this Kingdom.