A Chaotic World

Chapter 326: Factions of the Divine Storm Sect

Headquarters of the Divine Storm Sect Divine Storm Palace.

Lu Tianzi found himself seated around a table in a beautiful garden, in the company of Nanlan Qianxue and Mengxi.

As a core disciple of the Divine Storm Sect, Mengxi was entitled to her own estate within the palace grounds, complete with multiple houses and a lovely garden.

This was where they were at right now.

Looking around him, Lu Tianzi could not help but marvel in his heart.

The palace was shrouded in layers upon layers of formations, forming such a complicated network that it was almost impossible to isolate any one formation within. Even Lu Tianzi with his Limitless Mirror Eye had little confidence of being able to unravel these formations.

It was only with Mengxi leading the way that Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue were able to enter without problem.

The moment they stepped past the walls of the palace, Lu Tianzi had felt the obvious disparity in the density of World Origin Energy around them.

Probably because of the many formations in place, World Origin Energy was far denser within the walls of the sect grounds, giving a huge boost to any of the sect members cultivating within.

In such a nourishing environment, members of the Divine Storm Sect would be able to advance easily even if they only put a minimal amount of effort into cultivating.

Even without considering the high inherent talent of the sect members, the conditions that they were given was simply far too superior as compared to others.

This kind of unfair advantage was exactly what made powerful influences so attractive to martial artists all over the world, making everyone yearn to enter a top influence!

Of course, this also meant that the selection process would be much more stringent than others.

To be selected to join the Divine Storm Sect, sect members were almost certain to possess a talent far above their peers. Such talent couple with the nourishing environment that they were constantly exposed to, it would be far too difficult for other martial artists to match them at the same level!

Not just that, but when Mengxi was leading them through the long corridors and beautiful gardens earlier, anyone they met on the way greeted Mengxi with respect and awe.

This was testament to Mengxi's lofty status within the Divine Storm Sect.

Because of that, Lu Tianzi was even more certain that Mengxi had to be a core disciple of the Divine Storm Sect.

To be a core disciple within the powerful Divine Storm Sect, Lu Tianzi could only imagine just how strong Mengxi's true combat capabilities must be.

More likely, what she showed back at the Redstone Restaurant was nothing but the tip of the iceberg!

"So Brother Tianzi, what do you know about the Divine Storm Sect?" Mengxi asked.

"To be honest, I don't know too much about it," Lu Tianzi answered frankly. "What I do know is that the Divine Storm Sect controls a vast territory with countless influences under its wing, be it directly or indirectly so. To be a core disciple in such a sect, Lady Mengxi is truly incredible."

"Heh, I guess that's what most common people see of us," Mengxi chuckled.

She was not at all surprised that Lu Tianzi had managed to guess her position in the sect. It was rather obvious from how she had stood up against Chengban back in the Redstone Restaurant.

"However, things are not as nice and pretty as it seem on the surface," Mengxi continued. "You might already know this, but the lands under the Divine Storm Sect are divided into those that are north of the Divine Storm City and those that are South of the Divine Storm City, also known as the Northern Territories and the Southern Territories. This inevitably created two separate factions in the Divine Storm Sect, each wanting to obtain more resources and power for themselves. Chengban whom you met earlier belongs to the Northern Faction."

"And Lady Mengxi must belong to the Southern Faction?" Lu Tianzi caught the drift.

"That's right," Mengxi nodded. "Since the Southern Territories is larger, the Southern Faction has always been the more influential of the two. However, this is changing along with the rise of the First Disciple Dongquan Juewei. His talent is unprecedented in the history of the sect, and the sect leader has taken him in as a direct disciple because of that. Right now, he is seen as the most likely person to inherit the sect leader's position in the future. As someone who originated from the Northern Faction, his rise in status naturally led to the rise of the Northern Faction. That is why those of the Northern Faction are starting to get more and more arrogant in recent years."

"Is this Dongquan Juewei the one who is getting married soon?" Lu Tianzi asked.

Even before they arrived at Divine Storm City, they had already started hearing from Bocheng about the wedding of direct disciple of the sect leader, so Lu Tianzi could not help but link the two together.

"That's right," Mengxi answered. "That's the reason why so much effort is being put into the preparation of the wedding."

"That explains," Lu Tianzi nodded. "So, what is it exactly that Lady Mengxi wishes to say?"

With the lofty status that Mengxi possessed, there was simply no need for her to personally tend to the two of them who came to collect their rewards from Divine Storm Sect.

Even if she wanted to help them purely out of goodwill, there was no reason for her to tell them about the differences within the sect.

Lu Tianzi felt that there was surely more to what Mengxi had to say.

"Since Brother Tianzi is so straightforward, I shall not beat about the bush either," Mengxi smiled. "What do you think about joining the Divine Storm Sect?"

"Join the Divine Storm Sect?" Lu Tianzi revealed a look of surprise, as did Nanlan Qianxue beside him.

He had thought that Mengxi might have a favour to ask of him, but he never expected the other party to directly invite him into the sect.

Wasn't an influence like the Divine Storm Sect supposed to be stringent about recruiting members?

Or did a core disciple really have that much say within the sect?

Noticing his surprise, Mengxi's smile widened as well. "Even though your cultivation level is still low, I can tell that your talent is not far below mine. As long as you join the Divine Storm Sect, you will gain the resources necessary for advancing in cultivation. If you ever manage to become a core disciple, your status will no longer be the same. At that time, not even someone like Chengban will think of touching Sister Qianxue without your permission."

"And in return, I will have to join the Southern Faction?" Lu Tianzi asked in return.

"That's right," Mengxi answered matter-of-factly. "Our Southern Faction is in need of talents to maintain the current balance of power. If Brother Tianzi is able to become a core disciple, the Southern Faction will surely shower you with resources, such that the rewards that you have come all the way for today are simply nothing in comparison. Personally, I think this is an offer that has only benefits for you. Don't you think so too, Sister Qianxue?"

"I will leave it to Tianzi to decide," Nanlan Qianxue answered with a polite smile.

"Naturally," Mengxi turned her attention back to Lu Tianzi. "It's all up to you."

"How about for Qianxue? Will she be able to join as well?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"If she passes a test, I don't see why not," Mengxi shrugged nonchalantly. "After all, even you will have to go through the test after you make your decision."

"I see," Lu Tianzi rubbed his chin in contemplation. "It does sound like a tempting offer, but I would like more time to consider if possible."

It was indeed as Mengxi said.

Joining the Divine Storm Sect was something that seemed to come with nothing but benefits.

Lu Tianzi had seen for himself just how respectful Town Lord Dongwei of Bog Town had acted towards an inner disciple like Bocheng. If he managed to become a core disciple of the Divine Storm Sect, he could be rather assured of his safety while venturing out with Nanlan Qianxue in the future.

On top of that, with their earlier dispute with Chengban, the latter would surely try to make things difficult for them in the future.

Lu Tianzi was not afraid of Chengban himself. But with Chengban's status as a core disciple of the Divine Storm Sect, things could get really tricky if Lu Tianzi wanted to deal with him.

However, if Lu Tianzi was on the opposing faction, Chengban's influence over him would surely be greatly reduced.

Yet despite all that, Lu Tianzi was unwilling to rush into a decision.

Currently, most of what he knew about the Divine Storm Sect was from Bocheng and Mengxi. That was simply too little information for his liking.

If possible, he wanted to at least learn more from other sources before coming to a decision.

"Definitely," Mengxi answered with a smile. "The wedding will be in two days' time. Take your time to think about it until then. If you need more time, so be it as well. As long as you remain here in my residence, Chengban won't be able to touch the two of you."

Mengxi was not worried at all.

In her eyes, there was no way that Lu Tianzi would reject her offer.

After all, who in their right minds would reject an opportunity to join the Divine Storm Sect?

***

In another corner of the Divine Storm Palace, Bocheng was standing with his head hung low.

Before him sat a man who looked to be his in mid thirties, wearing grey long robes and had his black hair tied neatly into a high ponytail.

This man casually sipped on his tea, as though completely oblivious of Bocheng's existence.

Even so, Bocheng did not dare utter a word of complaint, and could only wait patiently.

After half an hour, the man finally put away his tea and directed his attention towards Bocheng.

At that instant, Bocheng immediately felt a deep pressure bearing down upon him, and involuntarily trembled in response.

"So, you are saying that lass Mengxi brought them away?" the man asked.

"Yes, Elder Donghe" Bocheng replied hesitantly. "She said that Senior Apprentice Chengban will come back for them again if she left them in my care."

The man seated in front of Bocheng was none other than the one who had handed him the task of bringing Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue back to Divine Storm City Elder Donghe.

This was supposed to be a troublesome but simple task, but who would have expected that Bocheng would actually fail to see it through to the end?

Yet instead of getting angry, Elder Donghe let out a helpless sigh.

"That lad Chengban is really getting out of hand," Elder Donghe lamented. "To think that he would try to stir trouble right before Juewei's wedding. It is fortunate that nothing big came out of it this time, so we can still keep the matter under wraps."

"He still destroyed quite a bit of the Redstone Restaurant though" Bocheng reminded unhappily. "Are we really just going to leave him be?"

Not only did Chengban cause him to fail his mission, he even punched him in front of everyone.

Bocheng might still be able to feel the pain in his abdomen, but being humiliated in public felt even worse.

Despite that, it seemed that Elder Donghe was willing to overlook Chengban's actions.

How could Bocheng feel good about this?

Sensing Bocheng's thoughts, Elder Donghe shook his head in disapproval. "Bocheng, you should know the difference between you and Chengban. The reason why he can become a core disciple is because of his raw innate talent. During this critical juncture where our Northern Faction is attempting to wrestle power from the Southern Faction, we cannot afford to punish him too heavily unless he commited something extreme. Otherwise, it might just cause us to lose an important bargaining piece in front of the sect leader."

"I understand" Bocheng muttered under his breath, his fists clenched tightly in indignance.

He naturally understood the difference in their status as well.

But deep down in his heart, Bocheng could not help but hope that Elder Donghe would stand up for him this once.

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking on his part.

In this world where individual strength determined one's place in society, it seemed that he was fated to be stepped upon by Chengban all his life, or at least as long as he remained in the Divine Storm Sect!