The moment the door closed behind him, the pressure that had filled the room vanished.
Only then did Tianwen allow his eyes to grow cold.
The corridor outside the Second Elder's residence was quiet. The subordinate who had been summoned earlier gave him a polite nod and gestured for him to follow. Tianwen walked behind him in silence.
That damn Old fox
Every word Zhang Wei had spoken replayed in his mind. Every single sentence he said has a purpose, to understand him, to put pressure on him, to lead him to a dead end. Not a single action had been meaningless.
From the initial probing question… to the deliberate display of killing intent…finally to successfully forcing a death sprout on him. Everything wrapped in righteousness.
His thoughts flowed calmly, without the slightest ripple of anger.
Hatred is useless, it only clouded judgment.
Now he thinks that even the assigning to the First Space Ka Strategic Division might be a calculated move. It might be to ensure Tianwen remained under constant observation.
The registration hall was a large circular structure bustling with family members. Lines formed before several stone counters where elders and stewards processed identity slips, division assignments, and resource tokens.
Tianwen completed everything with efficient precision. It did not take much time to complete the registration. After the registration a jade slip was handed to him, marking his status within the First Division.
The jade slip felt cool in his palm.
First Division.
Strategic core.
Walking back to his residence, Zhang Tianwen recalled everything that happened and finally decided to deal with everything patiently as these are not things which could be resolved easily.
Yes, Zhang Wei had schemed against him.
Yes, a Death Sprout lay hidden beneath his skin.
Yes, he was being observed.
So what?
In his previous life he had been powerless to change his circumstances. Now he had been given a path to power. It might be a dangerous path, but it is a real one.
Complaining about the problem did not solve the problem. Growing strong enough to deal with all the problems did.
His eyes only contained a quiet, immovable resolve that sank deep into his bones.
....
A new day began beneath a clear sky washed in early light.
Outside a walled residence in the inner courtyard, two young men stood beside the closed gates. The stone path beneath their feet still held the coolness of dawn.
They'd just spoken earlier — just the usual names, brief and polite introductions.
The youth beside Tianwen introduced himself earlier as Zhang Qingshan, a main family descendant whose father is a rank 3 cultivator. His bearing was casual and measured, neither overly warm nor cold. At least for now he looked like a polite and innocent guy.
Both of them faced the same courtyard gate. Waiting.
Yesterday when he completed the procedures for First Space Ka Strategic Division, the steward told him this address and asked him to come here at this time.
When Tianwen arrived, Zhang Qingshan was already there.
When they talked, they also understood about each other's situation, almost the same, both are newly assigned to the 1st space ka division.
Suddenly a tall man arrived from outside rushing, his aura dense and stable, the pressure of a Rank 3 cultivator restrained with practiced ease.
He paused when he saw them and immediately opened the gate and talked to them.
"My apologies for making you wait. I had to finish some procedures."
His tone was straightforward, without much arrogance, but it still contained authority.
"You are the two newly assigned to the First Space Ka Strategic Division, correct?"
They both nodded.
"Come in."
The man gestured for them to sit.
Both Tianwen and Zhang Qingshan obeyed, their movements precise and measured.
Seeing this, the man chuckled lightly.
He took the seat across from them.
"My name is Zhang Lin yuan " he said. "Rank three cultivator. A member of the First Space Ka Strategic Division. For the next year, I will be responsible for guiding you, you can just call me senior." Seeing both of them silent, Lin yuan continued "This will be your learning period. After one year, you will officially enter the division's active roster and carry out two missions per month as your duty."
He leaned back slightly, studying their reactions before continuing.
"The First Division is one of the most renowned branches in the entire clan. Entry is extremely difficult."
His gaze moved between them.
"The fact that you are sitting here means two things—firstly exceptional talent and the backing of powerful elders."
"secondly both of your kas are pretty good for cooperation and 7th elder decided to form a small team including you two and Zhang Hao of branch family, he is currently on a mission for which he went outside"
A flicker of understanding passed through Zhang Qingshan's expression.
Tianwen is a bit surprised thinking that this division might have higher thresholds. He did hear that space related kas are rare, so as the demand is usually high, treatment is also good but he did not know how good the status and salaries are. As for his teammate and backing of elders this senior is talking it should be second elders' arrangement"
Lin yuan smiled faintly.
"The income here far exceeds that of ordinary divisions. Spirit stones, contribution points, access to advanced kas, —everything needed for your cultivation will be available."
Then his tone deepened.
"But do not let that make you complacent. There are currently thirty-eight members in the division, excluding you both. Thirty-four of them are rank three or above. And even the Seventh Elder" Zhang Lin yuan added, his voice lowering slightly, "a rank five peak cultivator is part of our division."
"This is one of the clan's core forces — used for protection, information gathering and emergency mobilization. So basically, all the tasks we do are extremely important."
"Usually newly awakened people first enter second, third or fourth divisions first where they face many problems like in fourth division there is almost 90% death rates, third division contains people with weak talents or totally space related support kas, second division is pretty good but still with the politics involved there are many cases of unusual deaths. Only after going through all these, if they perform well and are trusted by the family they will be promoted to the first space ka division."
"So basically, all the tasks we do are extremely important. As these talented people from different places come together and join our team, you should be ready to integrate with them and not make anyone look down on our division. Of course, missions you need to do will only be similar to your strength, no need to worry too much."
"Alright enough about these things, now we shall talk about cultivation today. You guys might have already practiced combat techniques for 15 years which family provided from a young age, so there is no need to teach them specifically, but cultivation is different. Now I'll give an introduction about cultivation and how to cultivate. Then with the spiritual stones which I will give later it should not be a problem for increasing the cultivation as quickly as possible."