Nangong Cheng and Qian Xiaogong both froze and looked at Tong Hou. After a moment, the three of them understood that they had all been brought here against their will.
The situation was completely foreign to them. Of the three, Nangong Cheng was supposed to have the closest connection to all this.
Elder Huang glanced at him. "Just place your hand on the contract in front of you," he said. "Once you sign it, you’ll be considered a probationary member of the Alliance."
"Probationary member?" Tong Hou asked, confused.
Elder Huang chuckled. "You didn’t think the Alliance was begging you to join, did you? The only reason you’re able to meet me is because someone, either openly or in secret, thought you were promising.
They submitted a review application, and after its own review, the Alliance gave its preliminary approval. That’s all.
That’s why I brought you here. Once you sign the contract, you will become One-Star probationary members of the Alliance.
Internally, the Alliance is divided into four levels: Celestial, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each level is further divided into Five Stars.
Yellow-Level One-Star is the lowest, and Celestial-Level Five-Star is the highest.
After you sign, you’ll barely be considered Yellow-Level One-Star members. Only after you gain the recognition of the local Steward can you be considered official Yellow-Level One-Star members of the Alliance."
"Local Steward?" Tong Hou asked again.
Elder Huang nodded. "Each region has a Steward who is responsible for that area. And all of you belong to the Celestial Spirit New District.
Therefore, once you sign and receive the approval of the Celestial Spirit District’s Steward, you’ll become official members.
However, Celestial Spirit is a new district, and your applications were all submitted by Zhang Wu. So, once you sign, you’ll probably become Yellow-Level One-Star members directly.
As for the benefits of being a Yellow-Level One-Star member, you’ll find out in due time."
Tong Hou pondered for a long while before decisively reaching out and pressing his hand directly onto the contract before him.
Seeing this, Elder Huang glanced at Tong Hou again. ’This guy really is a man with a story!’
As Tong Hou’s palm made contact, a handprint appeared on the contract. Then, the contract suddenly burst into flames, turning into specks of fiery light in an instant before vanishing from sight.
The three of them stared nervously, only to find that after it burned, nothing else unusual happened.
At that, Tong Hou let out a slight sigh of relief, while Qian Xiaogong and Nangong Cheng’s eyes flickered with thought.
After a moment, it was Qian Xiaogong who spoke first. "If I join the Alliance, can I really make a name for myself through my own Cultivation?"
Elder Huang glanced at Qian Xiaogong. "What do you mean by ’make a name for yourself’? If you’re referring to your mother’s level of Cultivation, you have nothing to worry about.
As long as your Spirit Root is over fifteen points and you can embark on the path of cultivation, achieving Three Talents Cultivation won’t be difficult if you work hard in the Alliance."
Upon hearing this, Qian Xiaogong decisively reached out and pressed his hand on the contract before him. It, too, vanished in a flash of fiery light.
Finally, only Nangong Cheng was left. He frowned, neither refusing nor acting.
Seeing this, Elder Huang shook his head. "So indecisive. You can just refuse. I’ll just strip away this memory and send you back.
With your level of aptitude, you’re not good enough for the Alliance to be crying and begging you to join. If it weren’t for that kid Zhang Wu putting in a good word for you, I couldn’t be bothered with you."
Hearing this, Nangong Cheng looked at the now-impatient Elder Huang, hesitated, then extended his hand and pressed it onto the contract.
As the last contract dissolved into fiery light, Elder Huang spoke, "Well then, that settles it. I still have many matters to attend to."
With that said, he waved his hand and tossed them all out.
In a daze, the three of them found themselves back in their own rooms.
Before Tong Hou had time to react, an illusory book appeared before him.
The book was simple and ancient, filled with the marks of time. On its first page were the words: Book of All Living Beings (Tong Hou’s Exclusive).
At the same time, a set of instructions and a stream of information appeared in his mind.
’To make a contact request, silently recite the Spell Order. To request aid, recite it aloud while clasping your hands before your chest as if holding a ball. To summon the Book of All Living Beings, recite it while holding your hands flat before your chest as if holding a book.’
The surge of information left Tong Hou slightly stunned. The Book of All Living Beings then began to flip open on its own, and more information appeared before his eyes.
After Tong Hou finished receiving the information, a prompt appeared.
"Please choose a codename. This is to be used within the Alliance when it is inconvenient to reveal your true identity. By convention, it should be based on your Core Rune."
Tong Hou paused for a moment, then said, "Then I’ll go with ’Sacrificial Chess’."
"Codename generated. Tong Hou (Sacrificial Chess), Yellow-Level One-Star member of the Alliance."
The prompt was accompanied by some important notices.
Tong Hou was stunned for a long time before he finally processed all the information. He put away the illusory book and muttered, "The Blue Sky Alliance, an ancient power? If this is real, it seems like a pretty good opportunity!"
Qian Xiaogong and Nangong Cheng were experiencing the same thing as Tong Hou.
Qian Xiaogong chose the codename ’Xiangteng’. After learning everything, his expression remained unsettled for a long time. In the end, he didn’t dare run out of his room to find Qian Ruyan. Although he was only a half-grown child, he had, after all, been raised on a great many Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.
While he wasn’t as supremely precocious or demonically intelligent as someone with an Immortal Spirit Root, his mind was still far more developed than that of other children his age.
Nangong Cheng, on the other hand, was stunned in his room for a long while. With a flip of his hand, two "Oratory: Word Spirit" Spirit Nurturing Beads appeared in his palm. He looked at the Spirit Nurturing Beads and said, "It seems I really do owe Fellow Daoist Zhang Wu two massive favors."
...
After tossing the three of them out, Zhang Deming’s form changed back to his original appearance, and he let out a long sigh of relief.