Chapter 1. City of Fire.
A young guy of fourteen or fifteen years old walked along a sandy road under the scorching summer sun, which literally burned everything under its gaze. And what he had been enduring this terrifying heat for was already within his sight.
"At last, I've reached it," Rand exclaimed in his mind.
After many days of travel, he had managed to reach the City of Fire. The city itself was nothing remarkable. It did not stand out, neither in its immense size nor in great wealth. Surprisingly, what distinguished it among the multitude of similar cities and what gave it its name lay beyond its borders. On a lonely volcano to the north of the city stood the sect of the Fire Dragon, one of the three great sects of the empire.
The purpose of his journey.
"Move along, faster, faster, you're holding up people behind you," was the first thing Rand heard as he approached the small gates of the city. They were more like small doors, looking rather unimpressive compared to the grand main gates of the city nearby. But a passing caravan that stretched for miles completely blocked the main gates, so Rand, like many others, had to settle for the small ones.
After a long wait, finally, it was his turn. Rand approached the group of guards, and one of them, giving him a disinterested glance, asked the standard questions, the same as to everyone before him.
"Name?" the guard asked, preparing to write in his journal.
"Oberin," Rand replied.
"Where are you from?"
"From the Village of Lar."
"So, Oberin Al'Lar?" the guard rudely clarified his origin, as many common folk take the name of the village as their surname. If he were noble, he would have considered such a question an insult.
"Correct."
"Cultivation stage?"
"I have none, just a regular mortal."
"Purpose of visit?"
"Joining the sect." Hearing this response, the guard glanced at him again, took note of his modest attire, and smirked slightly, as if he wanted to laugh but restrained himself.
"Duration of stay?"
Here Rand hesitated slightly. The sect's recruitment was supposed to start exactly in three days, but most applicants didn't know the exact start date, only roughly that it would be at the beginning of the month, and Rand currently had no intention of standing out from the crowd. In his position, drawing attention to himself even with such a minor detail was unwise. So, he replied briefly:
"Seven days."
With that, the guard's questions ended. He recorded all the answers in his journal, which then momentarily glowed golden, and from nowhere, another small sheet appeared on it, which the guard handed to Rand. To the touch, it felt more like a thin sheet of metal than paper. It contained all of Rand's answers, as well as his description and a small portrait, as if painted by a very skilled artist. His pensive contemplation of the sheet was interrupted by the demanding voice of the guard:
"You owe one silver. After seven days, you must leave the city or come to the central guard post for an extension. If you attempt to stay in the city without an extension or if you lose the visitor's sheet without notifying the guard, you will be treated as a criminal, and appropriate action will be taken against you. Is that clear?"
Rand took out his nearly empty purse and, smiling slightly, handed the coin to the guard, saying:
"Yes, everything is clear..."
But the guard didn't consider him worth spending an extra second on and didn't listen to him anymore. Swiftly taking the coin, he loudly said:
"Move along, faster, I don't have time for you."
Rand tucked the sheet into his travel bag, then passed by the guard post and finally entered the City of Fire. As the small gates disappeared into the distance for a moment, his amiable expression quickly turned into one of anger.
"Arrogant fool. Some guard dared to interrupt me and didn't even let me finish. A month ago, he would have bowed at the sight of me... Although I can't blame him. I do look like a pathetic ragamuffin right now, too full of myself and dreaming of joining the sect. In general, this appearance is what I aimed for, and his reaction indicates that I'm playing my role quite well."
Three weeks ago, a coup occurred in the empire, orchestrated by his uncle who returned from distant lands, and Prince Rand's life turned completely upside down. In one night, he lost everything: his entire family, home, status, wealth, and could have even lost his life if not for a loyal servant and chance.
"I had to set the plan in motion before the preparations were complete. But it should be enough. The assessment of that guard was essentially correct; for most, the chances of joining the sect are practically nonexistent. Such people can be laughed at. It's a pity for him that I'm the exception."
His admission was guaranteed. Not only was his talent, albeit partially sealed, still immense for ordinary people, but also his identity as a homeless boy from a small village was practically the dream of any sect. Great talent and lack of connections with influential people and clans.
"I even had to assume the guise of that foolish lad, but it was worth it."
After leaving the palace, he urgently needed to change his appearance because not only were the searchers of the current emperor, his uncle, not sleeping, but it was also necessary for the perfect admission. Fortunately, the entry into the Fire Dragon sect had been planned for several months, long before his uncle's return. And his unexpected appearance only forced the plan into action before full preparation was completed.
The prince's admission to the sect, although possible, after all, who could refuse the emperor's son? But there would be plenty of obstacles in obtaining the strongest techniques, advancing in ranks, and most importantly, obtaining dragon's blood, which was necessary for most of the sect's arts.
Some might think that every sect would dream of having a prince join its ranks to increase its already huge influence in the empire. The problem was that in such a case, the empire's influence on the sect would simultaneously increase, and then absorption by the empire wouldn't be far off. This had happened many times in history. For a similar reason, sects didn't like influential families and clans. So, any sect would view such a prospect with great caution. And especially a great sect. Because the more wealth you have, the less you want to lose it.
Therefore, it was necessary to act like an ordinary person, unconnected with influential people and clans, otherwise the sect wouldn't truly invest in your advancement, no matter how talented you were. Any organization primarily needs devoted people. Talent comes second. So even if you have the potential to reach high levels of cultivation, but there are doubts about your loyalty, then for the sect, you will be mostly useless, and your fate will at best be that of a follower or disciple for the rest of your days without hope of promotion.
The treatment of the prince for appearance's sake would probably be slightly better than that of just another noble's son, but not by much.
So, he originally planned to pretend to be an incredibly talented "peasant" to get everything possible from the sect. And he had already found a suitable village boy of his age and similar build.
He assumed his guise using a high-class transformation potion. But he didn't just steal his appearance; even his memories didn't remain with him, thanks to a talisman from his father's treasury, after which the boy, who had lost his face and memory, of course, had to be eliminated. Now, even when they start checking his identity, they won't be able to uncover his legend. Because he has both the face and even the knowledge of this boy. Perhaps to some, this might seem cruel, but if life in the palace taught him anything, it's that all means are fair to achieve your goal. Those who try to be kind and take the indirect path are weak, and even if they don't perish, they won't be able to achieve anything great. And this principle is not limited to the intrigues of the imperial court; the world itself is arranged in such a way and often reminds those living in it of this. After all, in this world, the strong devour the weak.
His father was strong, and everyone groveled before him; any wish of his was law. Did he require sacrificing several thousand people to enhance his children's talents with the help of secret techniques? He received them in an instant, and no one dared to speak a word about his cruelty. They only praised his wisdom and the great benefit this deed would bring. Then came his uncle, beheaded his father, and slaughtered half of the imperial court and the city besides. Now they blessed him as a mighty, great emperor, the savior of the nation. This world is ruled by power, and the strong change it to suit their desires.
But these musings would lead to nothing now.
Entering the city, he saw only unremarkable streets without any cobblestones and two or three-story buildings, which looked very unremarkable for a city located near one of the three great sects of the empire.
For example, the city near the Heavenly Sword sect - the city of Longsword - surpasses this "little town" in size tenfold. The houses there rarely are lower than four stories, and all the roads are paved with expensive jade stones, which also illuminate the road at night. Compared to it, the City of Fire is not even worth mentioning.
But much of this is due to the different policies of the sects. The Heavenly Sword sect requires a huge variety of resources, including human ones. Therefore, they have to maintain the city properly for trade development and greater profit. While the resources needed for the Fire Dragon sect are relatively scarce and often quite specific.
Entering the first tavern he came across and choosing the cheapest room, Rand finally managed to be alone.
The first stage of the plan involved acquiring a suitable identity and arriving at the Fiery City. And without any major incidents, it was executed.
The next stage is admission to the sect.
There are several main methods of admission:
The first and primary method is to come for trials and prove that you possess the necessary minimum of talent. As far as Rand knew, this procedure was quite simple. But there were, of course, a huge number of applicants. After all, the Fiery Dragon sect, although the weakest of the three great sects, still had its undeniable advantages.
The second option is to have a recommendation letter from a sect member and also undergo these trials. With such a letter, you can skip the queue, and the admission standards there are usually slightly lower.
And the third option is to pay a huge sum of money and be admitted without any tests. This option is usually used by minor nobility and newly wealthy commoners who are not particularly concerned about the future of those admitted to the sect.
There is also the option of becoming an immediate disciple of a sect elder or someone higher up, without any tests or trials, but such cases are extremely rare.
And the last option, which happens only once in history, is to use the "Dragon's Decree" for admission. This is a quite ordinary talisman, not possessing any special properties, but the significance attributed to it in the sect matters. In fact, it is given for great merits, and it allows you to wish for something that the sect has or can do. Of course, within reason. Anyone who possesses the talisman can apply it, not just the one who received it. Many hundreds of years ago, there was even a curious case where several heirs of a person who received the talisman for merit killed each other over it, and the last survivor of this fratricide was a servant of one of them, who then joined the sect with the talisman, and the sect allowed him to use it. Throughout history, only a few such talismans have been issued to non-members of the sect, and one of them eventually ended up in the imperial treasury. And after some maneuvering, it ended up in Rand's hands. But to use it for admission would be the act of a complete idiot, and Rand had other plans for it.
Of course, Rand aimed for the first option. He had more than enough talent to not need the second or third option. And to become a disciple of an elder immediately... It was impractical, and initially, it would bring more problems than benefits. There is a rule in the sect that a master should not overwhelm their disciple with resources for cultivation, as it creates weak, dependent disciples. Of course, they can give something to their precious disciples, but not beyond the allowed limit. The disciple must earn most of the resources in the sect themselves. In the future, he planned to become a disciple of one of the sect's pillars, but at first, it was not necessary at all.
With admission to the sect, there shouldn't be any problems; the first real trials would arise afterward.
"How much easier it would be if I could continue cultivating in the palace... Although it was a place full of intrigue, distrust, and deceit, it was still familiar, the evil that was somewhat native to me. But fate did not allow this to me. And it's not even the fault of the uncle who returned from the underworld, desiring revenge and power.
Because ever since I found that treasure, it was destined for me to leave the palace and come to this sect.
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