After a few seconds of silence, Vlad seemed to find a newfound resolve from somewhere. He shot his head up, emitting a passionate glow from his crimson eyes as he stared straight into Qing Yulan's soul.
She quivered a little at the sheer intensity of his gaze, but still met it with her own clear blue eyes all the same.
"Even if I'm never able to remember who I once was or how I ended up, I still know I'm Vlad! And in this world, I don't plan to helplessly sit around waiting for death to come and take me away. So please, benefactors, won't you tell me more about this world – about cultivation and this place – so I can understand for myself why I exist!"
'This should do it,' he thought to himself while gauging their reactions.
"This…" Qing Yulan and Fang Tian both hesitated. One had more patients to go and check up on, while the other had to put more effort into cultivation so as to not fall behind his sect brothers.
However, when faced with that pure, passion-driven gaze, they couldn't find it in themselves to tell him no. And so, they informed him of all the important things that he should know if he planned to make it in this world.
After they finished talking, Vlad could pretty much summarize everything they said.
First off, the place they were in was called the Seven Swords Sect. Specifically, they were in a tiny section of the Sect called the 'Entry Area', which was where all the Sect's Entry Disciples resided. The Entry Sect housed tens of thousands of Disciples, all ranging from the 1st Layer of the Body Refinement Realm to the 6th Layer.
Above the Entry Sect was the Outer Sect, where there were substantially less Disciples – only numbering in the thousands – but were far superior in quality, with not a single one below the 7th Layer Body Refinement Realm. There were even a few of the most Senior Outer Disciples that were nearing the Profound Realm, being powerhouses that could rule entire towns if they wanted to.
Even higher than the Outer Sect was the Inner Sect, which was where every single Disciple had a cultivation base of at least the 1st Layer Profound Realm. This part of the Sect was over ten times larger than the Outer and Entry Sects combined, but had drastically less Disciples, with there being only three hundred or so that held this prestigious position.
Moreover, the Inner Sect was located not on the ground… but up in the sky.
It was similar to a floating continent, existing above and beyond the reach of all the lesser members of the Seven Swords Sect.
As for what was higher in position than the Inner Sect, Qing Yulan and Fang Tian weren't too keen on the details as it was far above what they were permitted to know. However, if this was following the trend of your typical Xianxia novel, then the next Disciple Position was definitely the Core Sect, and from how a great mass of clouds obscured the skies above the Inner Sect for hundreds of miles, it was highly possible that the Core Sect existed as a floating landmass even further up.
"So exciting," Vlad quietly muttered to himself, barely containing the excitement welling up inside him.
He couldn't wait to begin devouring and evolving again!
Only then could he amass the capital he needed to completely explore this Sect, and maybe even one day explore the world outside!
From the informative Fang Ting and Qing Yulan, Vlad also learned of all the cultivation ranks they were aware of, which was admittedly only three.
Body Refinement Realm – The Realm in which the Cultivator has to continuously refine their body to progress, including but not limited to the Viscera, Skin, Bones, and Organs.
After achieving the 12th Layer of the Body Refinement Realm – with a physical strength nearing 100,000 pounds – you can begin to tackle the bottleneck that stops most aspiring cultivators from further progressing.
Namely – sensing Spiritual or Refined Energy in the atmosphere.
Only when one can sense the countless magical particles that populate every corner of the world can they be considered a Profound Realm strongman.
Amassing and refining more Refined Energy inside something called a "Dantian" was how a Cultivator advanced through this Realm. And from how Qing Yulan described it with multiple sighs, it was apparently extremely tedious and difficult to refine enough Refined Energy inside your Dantian for a minor stage breakthrough to be made possible.
Nevertheless, if one was talented and fortunate enough to make it to the 12th Layer of the Profound Realm, then they could bang their heads against the unfathomable wall that was the – Earth Realm.
To roam the land as a powerhouse and obtain the ability to crush villages with a casual gesture – that's the Earth Realm.
It's also an impossibly challenging Realm that 99.9% of Cultivators will never even see the skirt-hem of in their lifetime.
Even some of the Seven Sword Sect's Elders have not yet reached the Earth Realm after centuries worth of cultivation, proving just how elusive the Realm was.
"As for above the Earth Realm…" Qing Yulan stopped talking, as even she wasn't too keen on the details. She only knew that the Earth Realm was not the end and that there were a few such unfathomable existences residing within the very Sect they lived in.
Qing Yulan and Fang Tian didn't tell Vlad much other than the fact that he could apply to officially join the Sect by going to the Entry Sect Registration Office. Otherwise, he would have to quietly leave the Sect in the dead of night, praying that no one realized he had been there.
Fang Tian also enthusiastically mentioned how there were many ways to acquire resources and become stronger by joining the Seven Swords Sect. One such method was what that Xue Yin female disciple who was cheated on spoke about – Sect Missions or Tasks.
Complete the Task, dangerous or otherwise, bring back proof of completion, and receive Sect Contribution Points. Use those points to exchange for cultivation resources, such as Pills, Elixirs, and Technique Manuals.
'If I can devour any manner of living beings, I wonder if I can devour non-living things like Pills as well…'
Vlad's stomach started to growl just imagining all the Energy he could obtain from devouring a Pill.
Anyway, for the time being, he figured he might as well stay in the Sect and milk it for all it was worth.
'I can just treat it as a little pit stop on the grand adventure that is going to be my life.'
If anyone else heard what he was thinking, they'd surely violently cough up blood before beating him half an inch of his life.
Milk a Sect housing Beyond Earth Realm powerhouses – who the hell did this guy think he was!?