The three of them lingered for a while longer, trading stories as they emptied cup after cup of wine. Only when their faces flushed and their steps grew unsteady did they finally part ways for home.
After returning, Lu Sheng slept soundly through the night. With nothing pressing to attend to, he remained at home, waiting for Crimson Whale Sect’s posting arrangements. He could more or less guess the truth: the elders’ so-called “meeting” was nothing more than a background investigation to ensure he wasn’t a spy planted by a rival sect.
Only after such scrutiny would he be recognized as a true member of the Crimson Whale Sect.
He felt no anxiety over it.
Days slipped by without fuss. In the blink of an eye, three quiet days passed.
This time, Elder Wang, Elder Ouyang, and a Deputy Sect Master arrived together to visit him.
Deputy Sect Master Chen Ying, Elder Wang’s senior, was the second-ranked expert of Crimson Whale Sect—a man the pugilistic world knew as the Eagle Claw King. His eyes carried a gentle, fatherly warmth beneath white brows, and his mustache matched the snowy hair on his head. Yet his body showed none of the frailty of age; he was built like a veteran warrior in his prime. The blue-black ridges of his knuckles jutted sharply from his broad hands, as though he wore natural metal gauntlets. The sight alone was enough to unsettle.
When he stepped through the doorway, he greeted Lu Sheng with a kindly smile.
“Pardon our intrusion! Junior Brother Lu, old man Chen and the others are here to inform you of your posting arrangements.”
Lu Sheng instructed Little Qiao to prepare tea, then sat with the visitors.
“I wonder what posting arrangement Deputy Sect Master brings me today?” he asked lightly, appearing completely unfazed by their personal visit. After all, Elder Wang was an Internal Affairs Emissary—though his martial prowess might not match those of External Affairs, he was still an Intent Proficiency expert. Defeating him in just a few moves was no simple feat.
For any sect, encountering an expert of such caliber—especially at such a young age—would be nothing short of a dream.
“Given Brother Lu’s ability, we have unanimously agreed to appoint you as an External Affairs Emissary. If it’s possible, we invite Brother Lu to head to the Headquarters together with us to meet with all the Elders, the Internal and External Affairs Emissaries, and the Sect Master. Then, you can officially assume your position,” Chen Ying said with utmost politeness.
Before coming here, he had already looked into Lu Sheng’s past. The results made him abandon any thought of taking the young man as a disciple. Lu Sheng’s records clearly mentioned the night his family encountered a wailing ghost—an incident resolved only through his own intervention and that of a traveling Taoist.
Though details were scarce, surviving such a severe Black Calamity was already impressive. Coupled with his astounding abilities… this man was no ordinary talent.
“Head to the Headquarters? Can I do that now?” Lu Sheng asked, uninterested in formal pleasantries. His purpose in joining Crimson Whale Sect was simple: to learn stronger martial arts. That required access to the Martial Proclamation Library, and access required contributions. Before that, he needed an official position.
“Of course.”
Chen Ying accepted readily. Moments later, the group rose and departed Lu Sheng’s residence, making their way toward the Crimson Whale Sect Headquarters outside the city.
Lu Sheng and Chen Ying shared a carriage for the journey. Chen Ying spent the entire time gazing out the window, silent and contemplative. Lu Sheng was no chatterbox either; he closed his eyes and quietly cultivated his inner Qi.
From a glance, he could tell Chen Ying was also a practitioner of both inner and outer force. The man’s eyes gleamed with vitality—clear proof of powerful inner Qi. Yet Lu Sheng could not gauge how he would perform in true combat. He made a mental note to test him someday.
After a long stretch of silence, Chen Ying finally spoke.
“Little Brother, what are your views regarding the present Song Dynasty?”
“Song Dynasty? My views?” Lu Sheng gave a faint laugh. “Nothing much. I don’t know enough about the current government. To be honest, after witnessing a Black Calamity in Nine Links City, I realized just how useless the so-called yamen authorities are.”
Chen Ying turned to him, shaking his head gently.
“Junior Brother, that’s actually a misjudgment on your part.”
Lu Sheng’s expression didn’t change. “How so?”
Chen Ying coughed twice, then continued slowly once he had regained his breath.
“Has Junior Brother ever heard of something called Aberrations?”
“Aberrations?” Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “I’ve only encountered extremely powerful and strange ghosts. Is that what Deputy Sect Master means by Aberrations?”
“No… to be frank with you, our Crimson Whale Sect has handled many ordinary supernatural matters. But those are merely ghosts, or Black Calamities,” Chen Ying said, his gaze growing solemn as if old memories were resurfacing.
“I remember one year when I traveled with the Sect Master to the Central Plains for the Martial Alliance Rally. On our way back, we encountered a Daoist. He spoke with the Sect Master for a long time and shared something with us.”
Chen Ying paused briefly before continuing.
“That Daoist said that ghosts and Demonic Ghosts, no matter how terrifying, are still just ghosts. Even an ordinary mortal who has reached a high realm in cultivation could deal with such filthy things.
But above ghosts exists something else—Aberrations. This is a realm that ordinary mortals cannot even hope to touch. He warned the Sect Master that ghosts and small demons are weak, scattered in mind, dim-witted and senseless. But their advanced forms—ghosts becoming Aberrations, demons becoming Devils—are entirely different. No matter how much mortals cultivate, we cannot stand against them. If you ever encounter one… the only way to survive is to RUN the moment you see it.”
“Aberrations… and Devils…” Lu Sheng’s expression darkened. He recalled that Duanmu Wan had spoken of ‘demons’ and ‘devils,’ but not Aberrations. Whether she had omitted it on purpose or for some other reason, he could not tell.
“Yes… our Crimson Whale Sect may look formidable,” Chen Ying muttered, “but even we can only deal with ghosts and minor demons. As for Aberrations or Devils… we have only encountered one, ever.” His face twitched slightly, as though even the memory chilled him.
Lu Sheng leaned forward faintly.
“What happened?”
He already had a feeling the outcome had been disastrous.
A shadow crossed Chen Ying’s features. He stared at Lu Sheng as though the weight of that memory pressed on his chest.
“Crimson Whale Sect originally had four Deputy Sect Masters.”
Lu Sheng’s heart tightened. He knew that now there were only two.
Chen Ying continued, voice dull with helplessness.
“Our old Sect Master… he was gravely injured. He fell from the peak of his strength and now lives burdened with ailments. Worst of all, because of this, his sons are locked in constant struggle, fighting for control of the Sect. But how could they understand? What use is controlling the Sect when we don’t even know what sort of Aberration caused such devastation… even after losing so many men?”
Lu Sheng said nothing. As a new member of the Sect, this was far beyond anything he had the right to comment on.
The two of them sat in silence, facing each other as the carriage rattled onward. Before long, the coachman called out from outside,
“Sect Master Chen, we’re at the Headquarters!”
Chen Ying let out a breath, composed himself, and stepped out of the carriage with a smile.
“Come take a look! The Crimson Whale Sect Headquarters may not be what you imagined. It’s impressive, certainly—but also a bit strange.”
Lu Sheng followed him down, only to have his steps halt in surprise. Before them stretched Cypress Pine Lake, still and shimmering. At its center rested an enormous black-and-red vessel, floating motionless like a slumbering leviathan.
Sunlight poured from the clear sky onto the crystalline lake, illuminating the colossal structure. The white flag atop its highest mast fluttered proudly, bearing two massive blood-red characters:
Crimson Whale
The entire vessel was oval-shaped, rising eight stories high from its deck. Thick black metal chains—each as broad as a grown man’s thigh—encircled it, anchoring the behemoth securely. Yet even those chains looked like mere strands of hair compared to the ship’s enormous bulk.
“This is the ‘Crimson Whale.’ Impressive, isn’t it?” Chen Ying said from beside him.
Elder Wang hurried over with a mutter.
“Impressive as it is, it can’t really be called a ship anymore. This giant can’t be sailed at all.”
He pointed at the expanse of water.
“This lake is over ten li wide, and the ship itself takes up a tenth of that. Try to move it, and you’ll smash into reefs the moment you touch shallow water. What’s the point of sailing it?”
This was Lu Sheng’s first time seeing a structure of such impossible scale—larger even than an aircraft carrier. He had once calculated that a single li in this era was roughly six hundred meters. By that measure, the width of the ship itself exceeded six hundred meters. It was gargantuan.
Chen Ying chuckled.
“Actually, it wasn’t built to be a ship. It’s a water fortress.”
He gestured ahead.
“Come on, the people inside have already come out to receive us.”
Along the long path linking the dock to the massive vessel, sect members stood guard in two neat rows. Swordsmen were stationed at intervals, their eyes sharp and vigilant.
At the sloping stairway leading up to the deck, more than ten men and women had gathered, all watching their approach.
Chen Ying strode forward with a booming laugh.
“Greetings, Sect Master Chen,” the group greeted in unison. “Sect Master has been waiting for a long while.”
Chen Ying wasted no time. Leading Lu Sheng and the others in a straight line, he guided them up the sloping stairs, past the guards, and onto the vast deck of the Crimson Whale. From there, they made their way toward the ship’s main hall.
The main hall resembled a solemn shrine. At its highest seat sat a frail-looking old man with pale, grizzled hair. Though his figure appeared weakened, he wore black-and-red athletic robes and a dark-golden glove on his right hand, giving him a sharp and commanding presence. His eyes were like those of a tiger—bright, fierce, and filled with surging inner Qi.
The moment Lu Sheng stepped inside, he felt at least five distinct gazes lock onto him.
There were many others in the hall as well, each observing him with varying degrees of curiosity. But none of their mental presence could compare to these five. Their gazes were like piercing needles, sharp enough to make one’s skin tingle and numb. Without question, each of them was a renowned expert, accomplished in both inner and outer force.
Lu Sheng did not bother to conceal his own radiance. His eyes gleamed as he returned every one of those stares, unflinchingly.
Inwardly, he felt a surge of excitement. To encounter so many experts of his own level all at once—this was a rare opportunity. He and the five others were all at the Spirit Focus realm. In a battle, the outcome would depend on movement, strength, experience, and tactics rather than cultivation alone.
Sensing the hunger for battle flickering in Lu Sheng’s gaze, three of the five quickly averted their eyes, pulling back as if burned. They lowered their heads at once. Every sect feared a battle maniac—one who challenged others relentlessly. They had already suffered enough under a previous Deputy Sect Master who constantly sought out sparring matches, dragging countless members into unwanted duels. No one wished for another troublemaker of that kind.
The five experts included Sect Master Hong Mingzi and Deputy Sect Master Gongsun Zhanglan. The remaining three were External Affairs Emissaries—those who had immediately withdrawn their gazes.
Lu Sheng felt somewhat annoyed at their retreat, but it hardly mattered. Two remained.
He lifted his gaze to the highest seat—to Sect Master Hong Mingzi himself.
The old man smiled.
“Indeed—such heroic bearing. A dragon among men!” Hong Mingzi’s voice sounded frail, yet every syllable carried strength and vitality.
“The reason our Crimson Whale Sect can dominate the North with unwavering might is because of fine young men like Junior Brother Lu, who bring fresh blood into our ranks.”
Deputy Sect Master Chen Ying moved forward to take his seat.
“Everyone here has now seen him. What are your thoughts?”
A disciple stepped forward to guide Lu Sheng to a seat along the side.
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