ragginovel Chapter 41 Heaven and Earth, Dark and Yellow; Sun, Moon, and Constellations
Chapter 41 Heaven and Earth, Dark and Yellow; Sun, Moon, and Constellations
The second day after the opening ceremony is the day for new disciples to choose their spells. All new disciples can choose any spell below the Earth Rank from the Treasure Pavilion to practice.
Zhou Li, Xia Minghui, and Shen Qing had already made an appointment to go to Zongde Hall together that day to select magic techniques.
He still arrived on a paper crane. Every time he rode this paper crane, Zhou Li was filled with anxiety, fearing that a mountain gust of wind would blow him away.
He steadied himself and looked up at the magnificent building before him.
The sect's main hall is built against the mountain, reaching towards the sky, supported by nine massive dragon-shaped pillars that require several people to encircle.
The hall's gates are tall and wide, carved from a single piece of warm jade that has been stored for millennia, rather than from gold or wood. Above the lintel, the four ancient seal characters "Xuan Yuan Zheng Fa" (玄元正法) are imbued with the natural charm of Taoism, signifying that this hall is the central hub of the sect and the source of all laws.
Since joining the sect, this was the first time Zhou Li had set foot in such a solemn place. Even with his calm and composed nature, he couldn't help but feel a sense of insignificance and awe.
"Senior Brother Zhou!" A clear voice called out. Xia Minghui and Shen Qing were already waiting in front of the hall. The two had become acquainted yesterday.
"Junior Brother Xia, Junior Sister Shen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Zhou Li bowed in greeting.
"Brother Zhou, you're too kind. We just arrived too."
The three of them passed through the hall gate, and the space suddenly opened up. Disciples were either walking hurriedly or stopping to chat, making it much more lively than outside the mountain gate.
The group arrived at the central hall, where there was a key area on each side.
The plaque on the left has a black background with gold characters that read "Discipline Hall" in sharp strokes; the plaque on the right has a blue background with white characters that read "Zongde Hall" in rounded and upright characters.
Their destination was this Zongde Hall.
Upon entering Zongde Hall, one is immediately struck by its hidden depths. The most eye-catching feature is the two enormous screen walls on the left and right, both made of black jade. On the left wall is a large character for "merit," and on the right wall is a character for "planning."
Beneath the two screen walls stand four jade steles, each about ten feet tall.
Beneath the wall with the character "功" (merit), four steles are inscribed with the four ancient characters "天地玄黄" (heaven, earth, black, yellow); beneath the wall with the character "筹" (plan), four steles correspond to the four characters "日月辰宿" (sun, moon, stars, constellations), their radiance flowing and their precious aura shimmering.
At this time, disciples came and went in an endless stream. Although there was a lot of noise, it was not noisy and the order was well maintained.
"Wow, so many people!" Shen Qing couldn't help but exclaim softly.
As the three were observing, they suddenly saw a Taoist priest dressed in the robes of an inner disciple, with lively eyes, quickly approach and bow to them.
"Given your unfamiliar faces, you must be new to Zongde Hall. I am Wu Liang, here to enlighten these novice scholars. May I explain the mysteries of Zongde Hall to you?"
His eyes darted between the three men, revealing a shrewdness that suggested he was adept at handling situations.
Shen Qing was delighted to hear this and said, "That's wonderful! I was just worried about not having anyone to guide me. Thank you, Senior Brother Wu."
"Junior Sister, you flatter me." Wu Liang's smile widened. "Everyone, look at this wall with the character 'Merit' on the left. This is where we disciples earn merit points. Below it are the four steles 'Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow,' each with its own mysteries."
He cleared his throat: "This 'Heaven' stele is a decree issued by the central authority of the sect. It is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Only those with great power dare not take on it lightly. However, once successful, the reward is extremely generous."
"Looking at this 'Earth' character stele, it contains assignments issued by the heads and elders of each peak. These assignments are mostly to various secret realms and blessed lands, to find all kinds of rare and precious materials, or to assist in refining top-notch pills and artifacts. Although these tasks are not as dangerous and unpredictable as those on the 'Heaven' character stele, they still require real skills and knowledge, and the rewards are equally considerable."
"The 'Xuan' and 'Huang' characters on the stele are for commissions of bounties placed by cultivators. If you have any needs in the future, you can also post bounties on these steles and invite fellow cultivators to help."
After introducing the wall with the character "功" (gong), Wu Liang then went to the wall with the character "筹" (chou) on the right.
"As for the wall on the right with the character '筹' (chóu), it is used to exchange merit points for what is needed. Below it are four steles representing the sun, moon, and constellations, encompassing everything!"
"The 'Sun' character stele is dedicated to ancient texts, the sect's millennia-old heritage, and countless techniques, supernatural powers, and essential insights are all gathered here. It is the foundation of our cultivation!"
"The 'Moon' character stele governs magical treasures, whether offensive or defensive. These two steles, the Sun and the Moon, together form the 'Scripture Treasure Pavilion,' the sect's repository for scriptures and treasures."
"The 'Chen' character stele behind contains various alchemical artifacts and talisman arrays, while the 'Su' character stele encompasses a wide variety of spiritual herbs, materials, and even spirit beasts—it has everything."
Wu Liang spoke eloquently and clearly about Zongde Hall, concluding with a smile, "Today, all of you new disciples may choose one magic manual below the Earth Rank, which can be selected from this 'Sun' character stele. Do you three understand?"
"I see. I really don't know how to thank you, Senior Brother." Shen Qing said sincerely.
"Junior sister, you're too kind," Wu Liang said with a smile, extending one hand with his fingers spread wide, revealing a hint of mercenary arrogance. "Here you go, Chenghui, five merit tokens."
"Uh, what?" Shen Qing's smile froze, thinking she had misheard.
Xia Minghui was also taken aback: "Gongchou? What does Senior Brother Wu mean by this?"
Wu Liang's enthusiasm instantly faded: "Fellow disciples, you don't think I'm just doing this for nothing, do you? The path of cultivation emphasizes competition above all else. We must compete for spiritual energy, for opportunities, and naturally, for merit points as well!"
"I've wasted so much time talking to you all this time, naturally for the sake of this real and tangible achievement!"
Xia Minghui asked, puzzled, "If you're after profit, why don't you take on some commissions from the Xuan or Huang Steles? Even one of those would easily earn you more than five merit points. What can five merit points do with all this haggling with us?"
"Junior brother, you're mistaken!" Wu Liang shook his head smugly. "What day is it today? It's the big day for new disciples to choose their spells! All the junior brothers and sisters who have just entered the sect will be here. I'll find a few more 'unlucky souls'... uh, destined souls' here, and soon I'll have hundreds of merit points in my account."
"In a day, we might even collect enough merit points to craft a magical artifact! This business is incredibly profitable with no investment!"
"You..." Xia Minghui was so choked up that he couldn't speak.
"What? Trying to renege on your debt? The Discipline Hall is right across the street. If you alert the senior disciples there, you'll be in for a world of hurt."
Upon hearing the words "Discipline Hall," Xia Minghui instinctively shivered, and a clear look of fear appeared on his face.
This reaction further solidified Wu Liang's resolve. He straightened his back even more and made a show of shouting, "Oh dear, it seems my fellow disciples want to experience the power of the Discipline Hall? Then I have no choice but to..."
"Senior Brother Wu," Zhou Li, who had been silently observing, suddenly smiled slightly, interrupting Wu Liang's performance, "I'm afraid you'd rather not go to the Discipline Hall, wouldn't you?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Liang's pupils contracted, a fleeting hint of panic flashing across his face. He forced a smile, "Junior Brother, what makes you say such a thing? How could a humble Daoist be afraid of the Discipline Hall?"
Even so, his straight back softened almost imperceptibly by a fraction.
Zhou Li didn't want to get entangled with him, and said calmly, "Let me ask you, what else does your business include?"
Seeing that Zhou Li didn't delve into the matter, Wu Liang's mind started working again: "Junior brother, it's not that I'm looking down on you, but as a new disciple, do you have enough merit points to begin with..." Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Li tossed the disciple's token to him.
Wu Liang subconsciously reached out and caught it, glancing at Zhou Li suspiciously. He then activated his magic seal, channeling a wisp of spiritual energy from his fingertip into the jade tablet.
"Hiss—!" Wu Liang gasped, his eyes widening in shock. "A thousand merit points? How is that possible?!"
Suddenly, Wu Liang seemed to remember something, and he looked up sharply, turning his gaze back to the handsome, calm young man in blue robes before him.
His arrogance and conceit vanished instantly, replaced by utmost respect: "I was blind to your greatness, that you are actually the top scorer of this year's examination standing before me."