Inside his assigned residence, Solanky sat comfortably on a sofa and began reading the sect manual.
The manual contained all the fundamental knowledge every new disciple needed. It explained the various methods available for cultivation, including augmented virtual reality training sessions where disciples could hone their combat skills and spar with one another. It also detailed how disciples could purchase cultivation resources from the sect, request special materials, earn wealth and contribution points, identify forbidden regions that newcomers were prohibited from entering, and access the sect's reward system.
After finishing the manual, Solanky walked toward the training area of his residence.
The residences assigned to new disciples covered an area of five square kilometers, with nearly two-thirds of the space dedicated solely to cultivation and training.
As he entered the training quarters, his eyes landed on a shelf tucked neatly into one corner of the room. Several sophisticated gadgets were carefully arranged upon it.
Walking closer, he picked up a transparent helmet engraved with countless intricate runes.
He immediately took out the sect token Venerable Leo had given him and gently tapped it against the helmet.
The token emitted a faint glow.
A translucent screen instantly appeared before him.
It explained that the helmet served as the medium through which disciples could enter the sect's augmented virtual reality system whenever they wished to train, spar, or challenge other new disciples.
After understanding its purpose, Solanky carefully returned the helmet to its place and walked toward the center of the training hall.
Only then did he notice that the entire floor was covered with countless engraved formations.
Within the grooves of those formations were embedded traces of high-grade crystals that continuously radiated spiritual energy.
Solanky slowly sat down.
He steadied both his breathing and his thoughts, allowing himself to gradually adapt to his completely unfamiliar surroundings.
After some time, he stood up and attempted to manipulate the surrounding elements using his elemental control.
The moment he did so, he frowned.
His control over the elements had been drastically suppressed.
Compared to what he could accomplish in the Lower Realm, he could now exert barely twenty percent of his former control.
He helplessly shook his head.
"Life is truly difficult for weaker beings in the God Realm."
He sighed softly.
"It feels as though everything here has a higher threshold. Perhaps it is because of the laws governing the God Realm itself."
He could only accept the reality before him.
The other new disciples gradually reached the same conclusion.
The overwhelming strength they had proudly displayed in the Lower Realm was now greatly restricted.
Unable to change anything, they focused instead on familiarizing themselves with their new residences and studying the information contained within the sect manuals.
Thus, the first peaceful day inside the Sky Hybrid Sect quietly came to an end.
Soon, a new day arrived.
High above the enormous continent where the new disciples resided, a gigantic winged humanoid figure slowly emerged from the void itself.
His enormous gaze swept across the entire continent.
Standing respectfully beside him was Venerable Leo.
Leo bowed slightly.
"Everyone, come outside and greet the Second Sect Master."
Immediately, all the new disciples, including Solanky, hurried out of their residences.
They lined up respectfully before their homes before bowing in unison.
"Greetings, Second Sect Master."
The towering figure nodded calmly.
"Welcome to the Sky Hybrid Sect."
His voice echoed across the entire continent.
"I trust every one of you has finished reading the sect manual."
"Yes, Sect Master."
The eight hundred disciples answered together.
The giant figure slowly shrank from several kilometers in height until he stood only six feet tall.
As he descended through the air, everyone clearly saw that three distinct pairs of wings stretched majestically behind his back.
His entire body emitted a brilliant white radiance.
Stopping halfway through his descent, he introduced himself.
"My name is Zuloch."
"I am the Second Sect Master of the Sky Hybrid Sect."
"I have personally come on behalf of the other two Sect Masters to welcome all of you."
With a casual wave of his hand, a fragment of rock materialized from nothingness.
Before anyone could react, all eight hundred new disciples found themselves standing upon it.
Everyone was stunned.
Not a single person had felt themselves being moved.
It was as though they had already been standing upon the floating rock from the very beginning.
Solanky was equally astonished.
However, unlike the others, his shock came from something entirely different.
The instant the rock fragment had been created, his bloodline sensed an extremely subtle fluctuation within space-time itself.
Zuloch looked at the expressions of the new disciples with satisfaction.
"Now..."
"I will take all of you to the Main Hall."
"There, you will meet the other Sect Masters as well as some of your seniors."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zuloch expanded until he reached a height of nearly one kilometer.
He gently lifted the enormous rock fragment into his palm.
With a single flap of his six massive wings, he shot through space.
His speed instantly reached ninety times the speed of light.
Remarkably, despite traveling at such unimaginable velocity, the rock fragment remained perfectly stable.
The surrounding space-time experienced no turbulence whatsoever.
Solanky watched everything carefully.
He knew such a feat was extraordinarily difficult even for Dimensional Gods.
Normally, a Dimensional God had to constantly monitor the surrounding space-time and make continuous adjustments whenever their speed changed.
Yet Zuloch maintained absolute stability without the slightest effort.
Using his Eye Observing Technique, Solanky carefully examined the rock fragment beneath his feet.
His eyes widened.
The fragment itself had somehow become an extension of Zuloch's hand.
He silently marveled.
"So... this might be the Mysterious God level."
Not long afterward, an unimaginably magnificent palace appeared before them.
The palace floated peacefully within space.
Upon its surface were countless universes revolving around it like ornaments.
Zuloch smiled.
"We have arrived."
"This is the Main Hall of the Sky Hybrid Sect."
He glanced toward the new disciples.
"Although our sect imposes very few rules, remember this."
"The Main Hall is strictly forbidden to anyone below the Dimensional God level."
"The pressure within this place alone is enough to kill even a God of Gods."
The disciples were thoroughly shocked.
Before they could recover from the revelation, an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon the area.
Zuloch smiled knowingly.
"So... Third Brother."
"You arrived before me."
"Interesting."
The disciples hurriedly looked around.
Yet despite searching in every direction, they could not see another person.
Even so, every one of them instinctively sensed that an unimaginably powerful existence was observing them from another parallel dimension.
Solanky distinctly felt that the mysterious being's attention had settled directly upon him.
A moment later, a massive ape-like man stepped out from a separate dimension.
He wore an elegant golden robe that contrasted with his thick fur.
His sharp eyes slowly swept across the eight hundred disciples.
When his gaze landed upon Solanky, it lingered noticeably longer.
He recognized the races of every other disciple present.
Only Solanky's race remained beyond his understanding.
That mystery immediately sparked his curiosity.
The ape-like expert smiled.
"My name is Okafor."
"I am the Third Sect Master."
Together, Zuloch and Okafor entered the Main Hall while carrying the new disciples upon the floating rock fragment.
Their destination was to meet the First Sect Master, whom every disciple respectfully addressed as Ancestor.
The instant they crossed into the palace, everything changed.
Time stopped.
Space froze.
Reality itself became motionless.
Even matter seemed to lose all movement.
The only figure that remained untouched by the frozen world was a woman with flowing crimson hair seated gracefully upon a magnificent throne.
Zuloch and Okafor respectfully bowed.
"Big Sister."
"These are the new disciples."
A gentle smile appeared upon the red-haired woman's face.
She slowly extended one elegant hand.
Instantly, the enormous floating rock drifted toward her before landing softly upon her palm.
The disciples were left speechless.
Although the woman stood only six feet tall, the surrounding space distorted as the rock approached her.
The fragment, which possessed a diameter of thousands of kilometers, somehow appeared no larger than a tiny coin resting in her hand.
The First Sect Master looked toward her two younger siblings.
"You may leave."
"I wish to personally examine the potential of these new disciples."
Zuloch and Okafor nodded without objection before disappearing.
The crimson-haired Ancestor gently released the rock fragment.
It floated silently in mid-air.
With a single thought, she transformed it into an enormous dragon stretching nearly two thousand light-years in length.
The overwhelming sight stunned every new disciple.
Only Solanky remained comparatively calm.
After all, he had already witnessed Elena's dragon form.
Unable to suppress his amazement, Solanky blurted out,
"A Primordial Ancient Dragon."
The Ancestor's expression instantly changed.
With a gentle breath, she released a wave of energy that swept over the other disciples.
One after another, they peacefully fell into a deep sleep.
Only Solanky remained awake.
The Ancestor's fiery eyes locked onto him.
"How do you know about my race?"
Her voice echoed like heavenly thunder.
"Speak."
The very space surrounding Solanky began cracking apart like shattered glass.