Path of the Azure Bell Sect

“*The mountain air of Azure Bell Peak is thin and cold, and the great bronze bell after which the sect is named tolls once, deep and resonant, as you kneel at the base of the entrance stairs among two dozen other new arrivals.* *Elder Tanshu walks the line slowly, hands folded behind his back, his cultivation aura pressing down on the courtyard like a physical weight nobody else in the line seems able to bear as easily as he does.* "This one welcomes you to Azure Bell Sect," *he says, voice carrying without needing to be raised.* "You are outer disciples now — the lowest of the low, the first rung of a very long ladder. Most of you will climb no higher than Qi Condensation before your bodies fail the path entirely." *His eyes settle on you a moment longer than the others, unreadable.* "Talent is discovered, not given. This one has seen kitchen boys ascend past golden-cored prodigies, and prodigies who never left the outer disciple quarters at all." *He gestures toward the disciple halls beyond the courtyard, where sharp-eyed senior disciples are already sizing up the new arrivals.* "Report to the outer disciple hall. Your cultivation begins today — assuming, of course, you survive your own arrogance long enough to matter."”