Because he harbored some doubts, Joe Di thought that once he and Garrett Lance joined the sect, Elder Yu would surely come to see them again. As long as Elder Yu came looking for them, Joe Di could find out why the elder had made an exception to admit them.
What puzzled Joe Di was that when the three days were up and the sect's disciple recruitment ended, he still hadn't seen Elder Yu.
After Garrett Lance boarded the massive immortal ship artifact, he curiously touched everything, still caught up in his excitement.
Joe Di kept looking for Elder Yu, but even as the immortal ship took off, he never saw the elder again.
The immortal ship was incredibly fast, yet even so, it flew for a full day and night before stopping at a vast plaza.
"Brother Joe, this place truly is like a fairyland!" Garrett Lance followed behind Joe Di, gazing at the majestic aura of the sect and growing excited once again.
Previously, joining the Starstream School had made him excited for days, but after the immortal ship took off, he ended up sleeping for a whole day and night. Now, getting off the ship, he felt fully rested.
Joe Di had never seen a cultivation sect before. Though he wasn't as excited as Garrett Lance, he was still deeply moved.
Standing on the wide plaza, the words 'Starstream School' seemed to float amidst the clouds, exuding a majestic aura. At the end of the plaza, a broad bluestone path stretched straight toward the base of those three characters. Joe Di couldn't see anything inside the Starstream School at all, guessing it was protected by a grand sect formation.
From what he knew, the Starstream School was barely considered a second-tier sect. That alone showed how imposing a top-tier sect must be.
An older male cultivator, dressed in a steward's robe, stood in the plaza and called out to those who had just disembarked, "All outer disciples, follow me now."
As the crowd parted, Joe Di noticed that the Starstream School had recruited at least over a hundred outer disciples this time. With the plaza now relatively empty, he still didn't see Elder Yu.
Unable to hold back, Joe Di stepped aside and approached the cultivator who had tested their spiritual roots, bowing as he asked, "Senior brother, may I ask why Elder Yu hasn't appeared?"
He and Garrett Lance had been admitted as exceptions by Elder Yu, yet the elder hadn't sought them out since. Naturally, Joe Di felt uneasy.
"Three days ago, Elder Yu received an urgent report and left for the Nexus with elders from several major sects." The testing cultivator glanced at Joe Di, replied casually, and then turned away.
As a cultivator responsible for testing spiritual roots, he disliked those like Joe Di, who had poor roots and only gained entry through connections. If Elder Yu weren't so formidable, he wouldn't have bothered responding to Joe Di at all.
Joe Di wanted to ask what the Nexus was, but seeing the tester's attitude, he knew it would be pointless.
The bluestone path beneath the words 'Starstream School' didn't look long, yet following the steward, Joe Di and the others walked for a full half hour before entering the sect and arriving at a grand hall.
Several cultivators were already seated in the grand hall. Although Joe Di's meridians were damaged and he couldn't extend his divine sense, he could still feel that each of these cultivators was incredibly powerful—far beyond his own strength.
As soon as they entered the grand hall, Joe Di felt several waves of divine sense sweeping over him again and again.
A male cultivator in a brown robe stepped forward in the grand hall, standing before the group of newly arrived disciples. He announced in a clear voice, "My name is Zachary King, the outer sect steward. From now on, I will be in charge of your affairs. Welcome to Starstream School. Before discussing the rules, I must first congratulate four of you. You are the luckiest, as you will be accepted as direct disciples by the four Peak Masters of Starstream School..."
A buzz of chatter spread through the crowd, leaving Joe Di a bit bewildered. Over the past three days, he'd learned that all new disciples of Starstream School should be outer disciples. So why were there direct disciples now?
"Quiet down," Zachary King barked. Once everyone settled, he turned to the four cultivators who had stood up and bowed, saying, "Will the four Peak Masters please select your direct disciples."
The first person on the left was a male cultivator as thin as a bamboo pole. He glanced at the jade slip in his hand, then looked up and asked, "Who is Anton Fang...?"
Joe Di thought to himself that this was indeed the case. He knew Anton Fang was the recruit with the best spiritual roots this time—a pure fire spiritual root.
Anton Fang was short, with skin so fair he almost looked like a woman. Hearing his name called, he happily strode forward and knelt obediently, "Disciple Anton Fang greets Master."
The bamboo-thin cultivator nodded in satisfaction and, with a casual gesture, led Anton Fang out of the grand hall.
Everyone gazed enviously at Anton Fang as he left. To become a direct disciple upon entering was a privilege reserved for the rare few with exceptional spiritual roots.
Next to step forward was a Daoist nun carrying a longsword. Her gaze swept over the crowd before she announced, "Shannon Wei, come forth. From now on, you will be my disciple at Lotuspeak."
"Thank you, Master." A young woman in a red dress excitedly ran forward and knelt.
The third disciple, Jason Jin, was chosen by the Woodpeak master, while the fourth, Peter Ping, was selected by the Waterpeak master—just as Joe Di had expected.
Shannon Wei, Jason Jin, and Peter Ping all had dual spiritual roots, with one of them possessing a pure root.
Once the four direct disciples had been led away, Zachary King raised his voice, "Everyone quiet down! The quality of your spiritual roots is nothing to envy. While those four may have brighter prospects as direct disciples, you still have a chance to become inner sect disciples. Just like Anton Fang, it's not impossible to be chosen as a direct disciple of an inner peak, or even become a core disciple."
At this moment, whether they understood or not, everyone listened quietly to Zachary King's words.
Zachary King continued loudly, "Just joining Starstream School doesn't mean you'll automatically become an inner sect disciple. Our rules are clear: no matter how good your spiritual roots are, if you're not chosen as a direct disciple right away, you're only an outer disciple. If an outer disciple fails to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining within three years, they will automatically become a menial disciple or be expelled from the sect."
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Zachary King's words made many who were still unfamiliar with the rules feel a jolt of anxiety. Apparently, entering Starstream School didn't mean they could just relax. Fortunately, they didn't yet grasp what reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining in three years truly entailed—otherwise, they'd be even more nervous.
"Any outer disciple who succeeds in Foundation Establishment may apply to become an inner sect disciple..."
Joe Di thought to himself that becoming an inner sect disciple was indeed difficult. In his experience, Foundation Establishment was no easy feat. The Di family's ancestor had left Jiguo to pursue Foundation Establishment, but no one knew where he ended up. As for whether he succeeded, Joe Di had no idea.
"Once you become an inner sect disciple, you may apply for a private cave dwelling." Seeing the crowd's relieved expressions, Zachary King sneered inwardly and added, "So far, less than five or six percent of Starstream School's disciples have achieved Foundation Establishment. That means, among all of you here, only five or six will likely succeed."
Zachary King's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone. According to his explanation, after excluding the four direct disciples most likely to achieve Foundation Establishment, only two or three out of the remaining hundred might succeed...
Zachary King clearly paid no mind to their feelings and continued, "Now, accommodations will be assigned according to the quality of your spiritual roots..."
Zachary King spoke for over an hour before Joe Di and Geng Jihua finally received their basic cultivation supplies: two outer sect disciple robes, an identity token, a copy of the Starstream Technique for Qi Refining, and a low-grade magical longsword. Joe Di couldn't help but miss his kitchen cleaver—it must have been taken by that woman from Tiangang Palace.
As for spirit stones, they were distributed once a month—one per person each time. Other than that, spirit stones could only be earned through sect tasks.
With Elder Yu absent and no one to look after them, Joe Di and Geng Jihua were inevitably assigned to the worst area for outer sect disciples.
Joe Di didn't mind his new accommodations; the spiritual energy here was far superior to anything on Earth.
"Brother Jiu, should I come get you tomorrow morning?" Geng Jihua glanced at his own quarters, then ran over to Joe Di's. Ever since joining Starstream School, he hadn't been able to calm his excitement.
Joe Di understood what Geng Jihua meant—tomorrow morning was the first lesson for outer sect disciples: an introduction to cultivation.
"I'm not going. You go ahead. I also need to rest for a few days. Remember, don't disturb me while I'm resting," Joe Di said.
Joe Di wasn't skipping just because he'd already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining—he could now perform a full circulation of his cultivation technique. He'd just tried it, and when he circulated the Da Xing Gate Manual, his meridian recovery speed increased several times over.
So the first thing Joe Di needed to do wasn't attend class, but to quickly restore his meridians and cultivation base.