"This way to the Quartermaster's Hall, Master Tie Yuan," Lin Feng whispered, trying not to disturb the quiet.
"We must go to the Main Hall first. We need to register your Wolf Token personally. It is a formal procedure to log your name and mark into the sect's official records. Then we will be able to claim new robes and weekly stipend."
T-800 still didn't acknowledge Lin Feng because his sensors were logging everything down in his memories. He kept on walking as they crossed a packed dirt training ground.
Several sect members were practicing combat forms, their weapons clashing with loud metallic rings, grunting and yelling sometimes.
The mood was tense as if they were eagerly waiting for a chance to burst off.
Suddenly, they all stopped and turned to stare as T-800 passed, their Penance Marks itching from his proximity.
T-800's twenty-stroke brand was a clear announcement that he is a real adversary in their presence.
A person who would not hesitate to kill them and earn their Penance Mark, their brand as his own to show off.
Lin Feng got spooked by their gazes at him and T-800. He was no fool, he knows that they all are looking at his new master as an open defiant killer among them who has no fear against the Penance Mark, against this curse.
In any other day they would have ignored it but today, it was an open challenge to all of them.
As they reach the middle of the training ground. Suddenly, they all took an aggressive stance towards the T-800, pointing their weapons and all at him.
"STOP! He is the new Enforcer Tie Yuan…recruited by Head Enforcer Wei Tuan."
His words were ignored by all of them as if they didn't hear him at all.
T-800 stand still against all of them, he was tall and menacing despite no emotions on his face as if he is looking down on them.
Before the match could lit and situation explode two characters entered the training ground shouting at their top of their lungs.
"YOU DOG OF A SPY! MY MEN DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR LIES!"
"SHUT UP! YOU LAZY PIG! YOUR MEN DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR LAZINESS IN TRAINING!"
"YOU!"
"YOU!"
Before anyone could understand, both of them who looked like Elder's rank and demeanor pulled out their Sword and attacked each other.
"I WILL TAKE YOUR HEAD FOR SUCH SLANDER!"
"I WILL GUT YOU ALIVE FOR REVEAL THE TRUTH TO EVERYONE!"
CLANG!
The clash of two weapons imbued in Qi sent a shockwave outwards.
Disciples scrambled away to make space as the two Elders, both clearly above the Foundation Realm, started hacking at each other like mad dogs.
Their swords flashed, sparks flying, Qi pressure rolling out so strong that weaker Qi Condensation disciples fell to their knees gasping for air.
Lin Feng almost screamed. "Elders fighting?! Inside the sect grounds?!" hiding behind T-800 for protection, he was the weakest of all, a mortal.
T 800 just stood there, still as a statue. His sensors registering and logging everything. Energy fluctuations, heat signatures, air pressure, everything was logged.
"Pull them apart before they destroy the whole yard!" someone shouted from the edges. But nobody dared move.
Then a sharp sound louder that their sword clash, a deep, metallic bang, like thunder slapping the earth.
"ENOUGH!"
The voice came from the far gate. Everyone froze instantly.
A tall man in black armor walked in, his steps heavy and slow like he was carrying heavy weight. His face was covered in scars, his eyes cold and sunken.
"It's Elder Jin…" Lin Feng whispered from behind to inform T-800.
Behind him walked a lady, quiet but her presence felt like a knife pressing against everyone's throat.
"...and that's Elder Mei."
Both of the fighting Elders froze in mid swing, their swords trembling as if their breath had been forcefully cut off.
Jin's gaze swept across the field. "Fighting among your own while the Sun Lizards are bleeding us dry on the frontlines? You worthless idiots."
"Drop your weapons." He lifted a hand like if they hesitated for a moment, he would take their life instantly.
Neither of the two dared to resist and dropped their weapon instantly.
"You shame the Shadow Wolf Sect," Elder Jin's voice was flat and yet full of threat.
"Both of you, stripped of command. Report to the Blackvein Mines for labor duty. Effective immediately."
His words, the announcement slapped both of them as the blood on both of their faces drained with shock.
One of the Elders, the fatter one, tried to speak, trembling. "Elder Jin, please! I was provoked."
"Shut your mouth before I rip the mark off your skin until it's on your face," Jin snapped, his spiritual pressure pressing down so hard that cracks appeared in the dirt under their feet.
The man went silent instantly in terror.
Then Elder Jin's eyes caught the sight of T-800. He paused. His brow furrowed. That mark. Twenty strokes? And that too on Shoulder.
A faint amusement sparked in his eyes.
"Who is this one?"
Lin Feng stepped up fast and bowed. "Reporting to Great Elder Jin! This is Tie Yuan, the newly recruited Enforcer. Head Enforcer Wei Tuan accepted him this morning."
"He has broken the Strength Stone with his bare hands, showing power equivalent to Foundation Realm ninth stage!"
The words spread fast. Murmurs rippled through the onlookers. Ninth stage? Bare hands? Higher than Head Enforcer? That was almost monstrous.
Elder Jin's eyes narrowed and as if Lin Feng understood the rising suspicion.
"Worry not, Master Tie Yuan has gladly accepted the Infernal Centipede."
"Did he?"
He stepped closer, scanning T-800 with his spiritual sense, but his probe hit a dead wall.
"Ninth stage? Without Qi fluctuations?"
It was like staring into a void. No life aura. No Qi. Nothing.
"Strange..." Jin muttered but he did sense the Infernal Centipede in the chest so whatever doubts and suspicions he had, he found all of them irrelevant.