After saying his goodbyes to Liz and Faldon, James headed down the mountain to the sect's main gate where all the participants were meeting. When he got there, James saw a group of disciples he didn't recognize but their distinctive robe colors let him know that they were all Core disciples.
The status distinction for cultivators, while officially starting as soon as they enter a sect, it is generally accepted that it is only strictly enforced as of the Foundation Establishment realm. Those in the Mana Gathering realm are usually new to a sect and relatively young, as such, any disputes in the Mana Gathering realm are usually treated as fights among children. This is due to the fact that most cultivators in the Mana Gathering realm are between the ages of 10 and 15 years old. Upon entering the Foundation Establishment realm, a cultivator's sect will provide them with new sect robes depending on if they are Outer, Inner or Core disciples. Outer disciple uniforms will tend to have a grey with white color scheme. Inner disciples will wear yellow with white colors and Core disciples will wear blue with white.
There are also uniforms for special statuses like an all black robe for the top cultivator in a given cultivation realm in their sect or a black with gold uniform for Elders. An example of this would be Galron, he was the acknowledged top disciple of the sect in the Mana Gathering realm. Once Galron establishes his foundation, he'll need to stop wearing the black robes and switch to whatever colors the sect provides him based on his status within the sect.
Each sect will rank their disciples differently, however, the Top disciples that get to wear the black robes must meet similar criteria no matter which sect it is. The given disciple must be able to beat any of his/her peers in combat and must be proficient in at least 1 secondary profession. Usually the top disciple will have unparelled talent compared to their fellow sect disciples but there are exceptions.
The Sect leader had debated on handing thespot for the Top disciple of the Foundation Establishment realm to James after the Tribulation incident but ultimately decided it would be safer to keep him hidden for now. Top disciples are scrutinized by competing sects and it becomes exceedingly difficult to hide their information since they become public figures. They are sent out to handle relation related missions with friendly sects and as such end up showcasing much of their skills to outsiders.
James was actually relieved that he was left alone to cultivate in peace since he did not have a need for other's validation, he simply wished to enjoy his calm peaceful life of cultivation with his master and senior sister.
Jame approached the group of disciples. Since he was a Direct disciple of a Peak master, he was wearing the Core disciple's robe as well. He did not recognize anyone since all the sect disciples he'd met at the younger generation gathering were still in the Mana Gathering realm. The surrounding cultivatiors were curious seeing such a young Core disciple since he appeared to be only around 10 years old. They were quite puzzled since they had never heard of their sect having a genius talented enough to reach the Foundation Establishment realm at such a young age.
At this time, a cultivator with short blonde hair and a small scruff beard stepped out. He was also wearing the usual Core disciple robe but the disciples he was talking to just before were exceptionaly polite to him.
"Hi, you must be James, my name is Nathan, I heard about you from my junior brother Galron. First off I want to thank you for showing him that status isn't everything, ever since he got back from that gathering, he's been far more motivated to improve. Our master, the Vice-Sect leader, even praised his new mindset, saying that if he could continue like this, he would one day become a true powerhouse.
With that said, I need to remind you to show the proper respect when talking to a Top disciple in the future. It was forgiven when you were in the Mana Gathering realm since you were still new to the cultivation world but now that you're in the Foundation Establishment realm, you'll be expected to conform like everyone else.
Please don't take this the wrong way, i'm not saying this because I have a vendetta against you or anything, i'm telling you this more as a warning. Within our sect but especially when dealing with other sects, you could get into a lot of trouble not showing the proper decorum and respect to those of higher status."
James was taken aback how agreeable Nathan was acting. As soon as he heard he was Galron's senior brother, he expected him to try and show him his place or try to suppress him.
"Hi Nathan, nice to meet you, thanks for the warning. You don't need to worry, I never go out of my way to start a conflict with anyone. I just want to live my life in peace and when someone decides to throw their small ego around to make themselves feel better, only then will I say something. As long as people leave me and those in my life alone, I have no reason to go against the status quo."
"James, what i'm saying is, even if a Top disciple spits in your face, you should accept it with a smile. This world is a lot less friendly than you know. You're young and probably haven't had to even go out on your first mission yet. It's common to run into an unreasonable cultivator in the outside world and for them to turn out to be a power expert. If you were to run into one of them and were smart and cautious originally, then you'll have a much higher chance of making it out of that situation alive but if you were stubborn and insisted on upholding justice then you won't even know how you died. Our sect may seem powerful with Nascent Soul cultivators but the truth is we're only considered a minor sect.
Your master must have told you to mention you were a disciple of our sect if worst comes to worst but the only times this would help would be to scare off some lower realm cultivators. If you're up against a Soul Formation expert or even some high level Nascent Soul cultivator, they won't be scared off by just mentioning our sect."