The silver masked man stood above him, moonlight edging his mask with a sharp light. His posture was confident but casual, almost lax. Still sharp - but a far cry from the cold, blade-like aura earlier.

Van scrambled to his feet.

Blackheart growled aggressively, teeth exposed, but Van pulled at his ruff. The man was not someone the wolf had the ability to chew.

"Thank you, Sir Immortal," Van replied cautiously.

The masked man considered him.

"You have an unusual grit within you that is hard to find. Training the body is not easy or painless…you have been lucky to encounter a treasure in this type of lowly place."

Van tried his hardest to not react to the word 'treasure.' The masked man was watching his expressions carefully.

"…It is quite admirable."

A small coin-like object flew towards him.

Van caught it. It was a metal disc with a pattern of spiraling leaves along the edges.

"The Cedar Sect," the man explained coolly.

"They have a small outpost in Clear Water town. A friend says they are looking for strong-bodied servants to bring back to the capital."

Van's mind was blank. The token was heavy and solid in his hands.

A sect? Was that for like a religion of some kind? Why was this man inviting him to be a servant of a sect? From the man's tone of voice, he evidently felt like he was giving Van a great boon.

"Normally you need to undergo some strength and apt.i.tude testing, but with that token, you can be considered a person of the Cedar Sect already," the masked man continued without pause.

"Moreover, that stamp on the edge is my personal stamp. With that, you have some room to haggle for a better role at the sect."

The masked man paused, expecting fervent thanks.

He received nothing but a vacant stare.

The masked man frowned unhappily.

"What, do you think you can have gotten into another immortal sect on your own meagre ability? Your meridians alone mean that you would never be accepted!"

He softened his tone.

"I saw your strength of mind and body and felt you had the right qualities to become a reliable servant for a great immortal sect. Hence I gave this token to you."

Van didn't whether he should laugh or cry. Here was this full-grown man trying to convince him that being a servant was a glorious matter!

Seeing Van beginning to shake his head, the masked man hurriedly added:

"Although being a servant doesn't sound glorious, the servants of great sects get to live on spiritual power-rich ground and are treated well. Furthermore, those servants who achieve the circulation of inner energy and advance to the third level of Qi Distillation are promoted to outer sect disciples. Outer set disciples are trained in the sect's inner arts and have access to greater cultivation resources."

Van acted as confused as possible. It wasn't hard, because although he knew about Qi Distillation and inner energy, he hadn't the foggiest clue about sects or what the heck a disciple was.

The masked man kept lauding the benefits of being able to become a disciple of a sect.

In the end, a blank stare greeted him.

"What's qi?"

"What's a sect?"

Mark One felt an incredible headache coming on.

The next half-hour continued in this fas.h.i.+on until the tall man was exhausted. The boy knew nothing! Although it was expected of a tiny village like this one, it was still astoundingly annoying for a cultivator like him to have to explain every little term to a pleb.

However, Mark One was now satisfied. He was nearly ninety-nine percent sure that Van could not be some hidden disciple of a rebel sect. During the fight earlier, Mark One had stayed to see if the heat of battle would cause Van to reveal any secrets. However, the boy was able to defeat Blade using the power of his strengthened body only. Since the treasure Van encountered couldn't have been very high-leveled, this meant that the boy had endured hards.h.i.+p over many years to achieve this kind of bodily strength. Mark One was indeed admiring of this. However, he had other reasons for offering this token to the boy.

Van accepted the token. It seemed joining a sect did seem to be the next logical step in his journey to become strong. It also satisfied his desire to leave the village.

Mark One regained his sharp, aloof aura.

"This humble one thanks Sir Immortal." Van performed a full bow, "But I have one reservation."

"Oh?"

"If I enter the Cedar Sect as a servant, will I be allowed to bring someone in?"

The masked man shook his head wryly.

"Not unless they also had the qualifications to become a servant for the sect."

Van frowned, his little sister was only five years old – how could she possibly work as a servant?

"But it would be easy enough if you became an inner disciple. Inner disciples have their own abodes within the sect and can, of course, bring in as many people as they like. As long as they are cleared by the Elders of the Sect."

Van's frown cleared.

Mark One thought it was funny that Van was so easily appeased by this. This village b.u.mpkin probably thought that becoming an inner disciple was easy! However, he was happy to let the young man delude himself into joining the Cedar Sect…

"The Cedar Sect representative will be in Clear Water town for four more days from the end of today. He will be expecting you."

Van nodded.

"Very good."

Silver Mark One felt that his mission was completed to satisfaction. He had thoroughly investigated the five villages in the area and none of them were out of the ordinary. The only outlier was this young boy. Though Mark One was ninety-nine percent confident that Van was just an ordinary boy with a little luck, he was not in the habit of being stupid – so he gave Van this token in hopes that placing him in the Cedar Sect would allow him to keep a watchful eye over him.

"Entering an immortal sect, even as only a servant, is a privilege and status countless people would envy you for. Do not waste my good intentions."

With that, Mark One made to leave.

Van stopped him, "Excuse me, Sir Immortal. Might I know who you are?"

Mark One could care less whether an insignificant mortal knew, so he spoke carelessly:

"Silver Mark One. Of the Divine Sense PaG.o.da."

Van burned the names into his mind.

"Thank you, Sir Immortal. I will not waste this opportunity."

Behind his mask, Mark One smirked.

The next moment, he was gone.

Van stared at the dark s.p.a.ce where he had been. Blackheart rubbed his head against Van's torso.

The young man knew that Silver Mark One must have had impure intentions when giving him this token. He did not give him this token out of kindness of heart or pure admiration.

Van suspected that him entering Cedar Sect was a way for Silver Mark One to keep an eye on him. It seemed that the masked man was not one to carelessly overlook clues. If he did not enter the Cedar Sect, the man's suspicions would certainly be raised. Perhaps Van would be suspected of having a secret to hide.

But Van slowly smiled. He was not afraid.

It would be all the sweeter to rise from under his enemy's nose - and he wasn't about to reject entering an immortal sect – an opportunity like this does not come along often.

The only problem was that he could not bring Finn with him until he became an inner disciple.

Despite Silver Mark One not saying anything, Van did understand that this would not be the easiest feat in the world. But he had confidence that he could do it! After all, he still needed to become strong enough to help Jet find the mysterious man he was looking for.

________________

Finn wailed as pearl-like tears fell from her eyes. Her small face was scrunched up and red.

They were standing in front of the village gates - Van, Finn, Sherpa and Leif. Van stood beside Blackheart, a small bundle of personal items slung over his right shoulder.

Finn was in Sherpa's arms, screaming up a storm.

"You p-pwomised!"

Her intense upset caused her to wail with a lisp.

Van felt his heart ache. He walked forward and wiped the tears from her eyes gently. Finn's sobbing intensified. She cried until she was hoa.r.s.e. She grabbed onto his tunic with snotty hands.

Even Leif, normally stoic, had an expression of pity for the little girl.

"I'm sorry," Van said, his heart breaking at the sight of his beloved little sister's inconsolable sadness and fear.

Slowly, her wails quietened to hiccupping sobs. He soothed her by patting her back. Her trembling eventually died down. Limply, she rested in Sherpa's arms, worn out and tired.

Then through her sweaty blonde fringe, she peered angrily at him.

"Still hate. Stupid brother. Don't come back."

Her transformation from pitiful waif to terrifying tigress was highly amusing.

"I promise you Finn, I promise to the Heavens above, I will not leave you behind,' Van said solemnly, "But I want to become strong. Strong enough to protect you, and strong enough to find our parents. You want that too, don't you?"

Finn reluctantly nodded – she knew finding their parents was important to her brother. But to Finn, her big brother was many times more important to her than the foggy impression of two parents whom she had not seen since she was a few months old.

Van pushed the hair from her face.

"I promise that within five year – no, within one year, I will return and take you to live with me. Okay?"

He determinedly switched his original goal of reaching inner disciple in five years to one. For her, he could do it.

To Finn, whose entire life consisted of only five years, one year sounded like an infinitely long time. She almost started crying again but bit her lip.

"Nn," She jerkily nodded her head and then hid her face in Sherpa's neck, not wanting Van to see her expression.

Van showed a conflicted expression. He knew he shouldn't drag out their farewell, but his heart was tied to his sister's happiness and well-being.

He looked to Leif and Sherpa.

He trusted them to look after Finn and keep her safe.

Sherpa was a foregone conclusion, her longing for a child had transferred onto Finn, and she genuinely treated Finn as if she were her own daughter. Leif quite liked Finn's bright and fun personality but had had no wish to shelter two children under his roof – one of them being a sullen-looking boy with a bad temper. Now, having seen for himself that Van was not the type of person he had suspected him of being and seeing Van's determination to do right by his sister, Leif no longer had any objections to Van's character. He was quite admiring, even.

Since they heard Van was going to become a servant in an immortal sect, they had even fewer reservations. Although being a servant did not sound glorious, it was not an ordinary, run-of-the-mill sect – it was an immortal sect! I.M.M.O.R.T.A.L. How glorious was that? Immortals could change the skies with a flip of the hand and split the seas with a stomp of the feet!

In actuality, Finn would be kept quite safe. Van had chosen a strong-looking male-female pair of wolves and instructed them firmly to keep her safe. To impress this on them, he had briefly channelled his fleshly power to give off a strong, authoritative aura. However, this was mostly pointless, as the wolves already took his every word as holy gospel. They wagged their tails and licked his hand, showing him with their eyes [We understand, Big Boss!] Van was satisfied with this.

Van nodded to Sherpa and Lief.

"I will be leaving Finn in your hands. Please, take care of her."

Sherpa nodded, "We will. Do not worry."

With a complex look in her eye, she wished him a good journey.

"All the best, and good luck to you Van," Leif said.

Hiding his wet eyes, Van nodded. Quickly, he swung himself onto Blackheart's back. He hardened himself against the urge to turn around.

After a few hundred meters, four dozen wolves emerged from the forest and ran behind Van.

When he finally looked back, the village could no longer be seen.