Technically Kai was setting foot on Cloudspire for the first time, but that was nothing special: the coast was sand and rock, like everywhere else in the world. He was far more interested in the fact that he was being ushered directly to the Bloodcoral sect headquarters.
All of the outer walls were made from rough yellowed rock he suspected was a type of coral, while the largest buildings seemed to have been forged from vast shells. The pearlescent walls gleaming in the sun were impressive... but he was mainly wondering what kind of monster or beast left shells that large. Another question to ask eventually, though for now he was keeping his mouth shut so he didn't expose his full ignorance.
"The others will show you around our headquarters," Cor Li Xan was saying, "but I wanted to formally introduce you. For a start, let me give you your command medallion. It doesn't make you an inner disciple yet, but we wouldn't insult a cultivator of your strength."
Kai accepted the medallion, which was a circle of red coral polished to a shine and attached to a rope, as if to hang around his neck. He took it reverently, of course, but had no idea what he was really looking at. It must have shown in his face, because Cor Li Xan chuckled.
"I take it you haven't been a member of a sect before?"
"Not really," Kai said. "You said this doesn't make me an inner disciple?"
"We work with many allies and mercenaries, so our sect doesn't work the usual way." Cor Li Xan gestured out past the coral walls, where there were various untrained people moving carts of materials. "Someone who wants to join our sect starts as an outer disciple, which means they have to prove themselves. That filters out all those who don't have any discipline. If they prove talented or trustworthy, they're given a medallion like this, which marks them as a real member of the sect."
"So I get one right away by virtue of my strength?" Kai examined the smooth surface and noticed that there were two triangular crystal marks along one edge, too precise to be as natural as the coral itself.
"You've noticed the markers. All Body Refinement cultivators are given one for their cultivation base, Nascent Foundation cultivators receive three, and Earth Souls receive five. You become a true inner disciple, a real member of the sect, once you gain four of them. You started with one for your cultivation, and one for playing such a major role in the Great Cetae hunt."
"So an Earth Soul could join immediately?"
"Earth Souls are not common, even in the great cities. If one truly wanted to join with us, yes, they would immediately receive entrance." Cor Li Xan pulled out a medallion from under his shirt and held it up, revealing twelve crystalline marks evenly spaced around the edge. "The sect leaders have twelve, but if you want a comfortable life, the important threshold is eight marks. We have luxuries that would blow away anything you've seen on Rosemount."
"I don't have enough strength for comfort yet," Kai said in order to dodge that conversation. "Do the marks in between matter?"
"Oh, they definitely do. This isn't merely a rank, the medallion has powers of its own. Without the first mark, you can't open the outer gates of the headquarters, for example, and have to wait for the inner disciples to permit you inside. But someone else can tell you about all the others."
The magical cloth didn't respond to him at all, because it was too late: when he pulled up the robes, they seemed to have entirely consumed the cloak he'd been given. Now he would look entirely like a barbarian... or so he thought, until the Beggar King's Robes rippled in his hands. In a few seconds they had transformed into Bloodcoral sect robes.
"I take it back," Kai said with a smile as he pulled them on. Perfect fit, as always. "Eat your heart out, Primal Loom."
Cultivator robes didn't exactly suit him, but at least the Beggar King's Robes were always comfortable to move in. Presumably if he was in a difficult enough battle they would shift further, and of course if - or when - they got torn apart, the robes would regenerate. He wondered if he should thank the magic cloth, but now that they had eaten the foreign cloth, the Beggar King's Robes seemed completely lifeless.
The next day, Kai decided that he needed to be more proactive. Far too many of the sect members he saw seemed to be doing nothing but light training and cultivating, as if they intended to spend their entire lives in the Bloodcoral sect. This might be a good place for him now, but it would never be anything more than a temporary stepping stone, so he needed to find a way to jump up the ranks as quickly as possible.
As he moved through the complex, his spirit searched for cultivators with actual strength while his eyes examined medallions. Not everyone wore theirs over their robes, and many in full Bloodcoral attire might not be wearing them at all, which was probably some cultural norm he didn't understand. Irrelevant for now.
His search was briefly interrupted when he noticed a group of Body Refinement cultivators all engaging in some kind of training he didn't know. There was a bright red chunk of coral sitting on a metal plate, then one of the cultivators would strike the plate with their spear. The qi transferred from one to the other, launching the coral into the air. Clearly the goal was to launch it as high as possible, so he just tried to figure out the balance of qi control, Physique, and skill.
"What are you looking at, tribesman?"
One of the cultivators called out to him and Kai realized that he had been staring. He wasn't sure what to do, so he bowed, since that seemed to be a catch-all response. "I'm sorry, I'm just not familiar with this training."
"Training?" Another of the cultivators sneered. "This is basically just a game. Do you train by smashing things out in the wasteland?"
The cultivator's companion tugged at his robes, looking at Kai nervously. No doubt coming to the same conclusion that Kai had: these cultivators only had Power in the 100-150 range, so if they could see past his shroud at all, they must know that he could crush them all. Yet there was some scorn mixed in with the nervousness. They'd assumed that he was a barbarian from the wastelands, either because that was the logical assumption or just because he exuded barbarian energy somehow. Come to think of it, he'd forgotten to shave...
"You want to try?" One of the cultivators, a young man slightly stronger than the others, held out a blue spear. "I warn you, this is a test of controlled power. Big muscles won't do you any good here."
That was a challenge, no matter what culture they were in. Kai stepped forward and grasped the spear.