Way of the Knights

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"Congratulations to you all. The ten of you are now formally Outer Disciples of our Ancient Elysium Sect. And since that's the case, I'll be your Senior Brother from this day onwards..."

Henry's words shocked the remaining participants. Some of them looked cautiously around, trying to assess the situation. But it seems that aside from a few, the rest were also surprised that they were welcomed by the Envoys of the sect. 

"Let me explain in order to clear the confusion." Henry spoke, "Out of the remaining forty or so participants, only the ten of you got in. This isn't because there is a limit on how many of you we can receive, it's because only the ten of you remained. Meaning that the others who went in with you before, are all dead."

Now that was another shocker for the remaining participants. But they soon got reminded of what they experienced inside the Devil Emperor's Pagoda and suddenly felt that it all made sense. 

Looking at their miserable appearances currently, it was clear that whatever happened within the pagoda was something that they won't be able to forget. Well, all of them except for Raven. 

In truth, due to his current condition, he unknowingly fitted in with the overall looks of the remaining participants. He didn't what to feel about this at all. This wasn't something that he planned, all of it were just purely coincidence. 

"The sect did not urged them nor invited them to participate. They joined the disciple recruitment at their own will. I believe that before you entered the Devil Emperor's Pagoda, the assigned Elder to you reminded you that there is a risk of dying, yet all of you still entered. Therefore, our sect won't be held accountable for their deaths."

What Henry said makes sense. Before they entered, they were given a choice to forfeit due to the risks of the Smelting Trial, some who were luckier even got to be disciples of the Twin Star Academy and obtain additional benefits. But of course, there are some people who weren't tempted by such offer and still ended up entering the pagoda even after knowing the risk. All in all, they made their decisions, which is why the sect won't be held accountable for their deaths. 

"And now, since it's only you ten who managed to remain alive until the end, that's enough for you to qualify." Henry told them, "Actually, I was expecting to return with at least twenty more disciples with me, unfortunately only you guys remained so you'll do."

There was a noticeable pity and a condescending feeling on his tone, causing the remaining disciples to have mixed reactions. Raven on the other hand remained calm and only listened.action

"Since you people are disciples of the sect. You'll receive some welcoming gifts from us." After saying this, Henry waved his hand, causing several beams of light shooting towards the participants. 

No one dodged since they felt no killing intent from these beams of light. When the light got close to them, it stopped and turned into items. 

Raven held out his hand and the light turned into a set of clothes that fell onto his arms, he also received a pile of books and a couple of maroon colored bamboo jade slips. 

"Those clothes is the uniform of our sect. From now on, unless you were ordered to do so or you are in an undercover mission, make sure to always wear your uniforms. These clothes possesses unique qualities but more importantly, it is a sign that you belong to our sect. Just wearing them will allow you to enjoy numerous benefits."

"Additionally, make sure to never lose your badge." Henry reminded sternly. "Those badges that we wear are the main tool for our communications. It's also one of the ways on which we could prove your identity. The rest of the badge's functions are listed on the books that you received."

"Speaking of books..." Henry continued, "Make sure to memorize the books I handed to you. That'll help you understand the sect even better. Additionally, it will help understand our rules and the punishment you'll receive should you break the said rules."

"The jade slips on the other hand, are my gifts to you." Henry informed, "Each jade slip has different benefits. One will allow you to enter any Law Cultivation Environments for 14 days. One will allow you to pick Monarch-ranked Battle Arts. One can serve as a pass, gaining you entry to listen to the sermons of our Chief War Gods. And the last one will be useful once you become Inner Sect Disciples, so make sure to keep them well."

The new disciple listened very closely and remembered everything that Henry told to them. Raven placed his stuff inside his spatial ring and waited for further instructions. The rest of the remaining participants also had the same idea.

"Alright, now that the ceremony is out of the way, then let's proceed to the next topic." Henry informed, "I know that you guys want to rest badly so I'll make this quick."

"Who's going to join the Tournament?" Henry asked, causing the new disciples to be taken aback. Henry looked at them one by one and said: "Like I said before, surviving the Smelting Trial will already allow you to enter the sect, and I have no plans on taking that back. Nevertheless, you may also want to participate on the Tournament as well."

Listening to him speak, one of the disciples raised his hand asked: "Will there be prizes for the Tournament? If there is, what are they?" 

Henry smiled and said: "Yes, there will be prizes for the tournament. I'll bestow you a ticket which you can use to exchange for a Spiritual Treasure that suits you. As for the value of the Spiritual Treasure, it'll depend on your ranking on the Tournament. I'll have you know that the first place will receive a ticket which could ne exchanged for a Perfected Deity-ranked Spiritual Treasure."

As soon as Henry finished revealing this, the eyes of the disciples turned incredibly fierce and competitive. This caused the whole room's atmosphere to change. Some of the disciples unconsciously looked towards their fellow disciples with gazes full of competitiveness. Even the cold and aloof looking disciples were now releasing some fierce and competitive aura around them. 

Meanwhile, compared the nine other guys who can't wait to rest and prepare to scuffle. Raven on the other hand remained impassive and disinterested. Only Jason, who's not too far away from him, noticed this and had some wild guesses within his mind. 

"So? Are you all going to participate?" Henry asked with a smile on his face. "Those who would like to participate, raise your hand."

The participants raised their hand, expressing their willingness to join. Henry looked at them one by one with a smile plastered on his face. That's until he saw one of them who didn't raise a hand. 

It was Raven. 

Henry stopped and looked at him intently. His expression seems to be asking many questions but since he didn't ask any, it only caused the atmosphere to turn awkward. In the end, he only asked Raven this question:

"Are you sure you don't want to participate?" 

Raven simply nodded to answer, causing his fellow disciples to look at him weirdly as if they're staring at someone who went insane. 

"Alright. You may spend your time however you like. You'll receive a message through your badge when its time for us to leave. Don't wander too far, we won't wait for you." Henry reminded. 

Raven wanted to reply that he's not a kid and obviously understand that even without Henry's reminder, yet he only nodded calmly and didn't say anything. 

"Well then. You guys must be tired from all of that fighting. This place has many rooms, choose whichever you like. The Tournament will start five days later, make sure all of you had completely recovered. That's all." 

As soon as he finished saying his piece, Henry and the Elders disappeared from everyone's view. 

Once they're gone, Raven's shoulders slightly fell. This isn't due to stress but to exhaustion. He's barely hanging on to his consciousness due to how tired he was. He hadn't got the chance to recover all of his Cosmic Energy before exiting, which was a miscalculation on his part. He lost track of time and paid for it. 

He dragged his exhausted body towards one of the rooms and stared at it for a while. He was about to enter it when a hand suddenly grabbed him by his shoulders, causing his body to turn around. 

"Why aren't you participating?" It was Jason who stopped him. Raven wasn't shocked. He was aware that Jason was looking at him weirdly even before his decision to not participate was finalized. 

Raven just rolled his eyes and said: "I'm exhausted."

Jason raised an eyebrow and asked: "That's it?"

"Yeah." Raven gently patted Jason's arm away from his shoulders and opened the door to his room. Before entering, he said: "It'll take me longer than five days for me to make a full recovery." 

After saying that, Raven closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. He slumped over the soft covers and grumbled.

"Why would I join something that will cause me to be targeted by others? That's just stupid." 

This was the last thing he said before falling asleep.