Chapter 102: The Xiang Jianzong Disciples' Perks Are Really Good

At dusk, Xu Xing bid farewell to his senior sister and returned to the great hall atop another mountain. He saw a tall, upright middle-aged man standing at the entrance of the hall, wearing the very first version of the Xiang Jianzong's uniform.

Upon seeing Xu Xing, a flash of excitement crossed his resolute face.

"Disciple congratulates Master on emerging from seclusion."

Xu Xing gave a slight nod: "It must have been a long wait for you."

"Master speaks too gravely." He said solemnly, "This disciple learned of Master's emergence from seclusion, yet did not go in person — I pray Master will forgive the offense."

"The rotation of star domains is a matter of great importance; how could it be delayed simply because I've come out of seclusion?"

Unlike his senior sister, the Sword Dao that Xu Xing commanded had few taboos about taking disciples, so his disciples were not few.

In those days when survival was uncertain from one moment to the next, passing on one's legacy was an extremely important matter — it represented the continuation of hope.

This middle-aged man was named Jing Hai, one of Xu Xing's earliest disciples, known to the world as the "Absolute Slaughter Sword Lord."

His cultivation was extremely high, his combat power extremely strong; he ranked among the very best in the entire Xiang Jianzong, and indeed in the entire Grand Xuan Realm.

He was the one who had previously swapped rotations with that senior sister of Chi Jiuyu's who refused to give her books.

"I shall heed Master's teachings." Another bow, then he said gravely, "Earlier, Martial Uncle instructed that the materials you requested regarding the 'Abyss' have already been compiled by this disciple's people and placed inside in advance."

"You've worked hard."

"This is simply what this disciple ought to do." The two then walked toward the interior of the great hall, with Jing Hai falling half a pace behind. "This disciple once sent an apprentice to Xuan Sword Market — I wonder if you…?"

"You mean Little Qingyang. Although we haven't formally met, his performance has been passable."

From the Master's tone, it seemed he hadn't actually met him.

This lazy, unfilial disciple!

"There's no need to rebuke him harshly over such a trivial matter."

This was hardly a trivial matter!

But since Master had spoken thus, he could only abandon certain thoughts that had just arisen.

"As you command."

Jing Hai remained his usual rigid, by-the-book self.

In years past, when the Cang Clan dominated the Central Continent, his entire clan had been captured — over a hundred people thrown into a hunting ground to be shot for sport.

Jing Hai had been young at the time; the Cang Clan looked down on such a frail "prey," so he narrowly escaped that fate.

Later, he was rescued by Xu Xing and taken as a disciple.

Perhaps because of those experiences, he usually went about things in a rigid, by-the-book manner, yet on the battlefield he fought like a madman, heedless of life and death.

Among all of Xu Xing's disciples, the one who had slain the most Cang Clan members was him.

After a while, the two arrived at a quiet chamber containing only a writing desk, a few chairs, and several bookshelves — it looked quite spartan.

Light flared from the ceiling, and the candlesticks on the desk also burst into flame.

Because no one dared touch a thing without Xu Xing's permission, everything remained exactly as it had been when he left.

Xu Xing glanced around: "I'll need to redecorate this place later."

Although the building materials of this great hall were of very high grade, with many enhancement effects, for him their use was only so much.

By comparison, Xu Xing was far more curious about the new things of the era.

"Should this disciple summon the Hall Master of Miscellaneous Affairs?"

"No need for such trouble — I'll just fix it up myself later."

Xu Xing walked to the writing desk, on which lay several jade slips, a laptop, a few crystal cards, and several ancient-looking tomes that clearly had considerable age to them.

"These are all the records within the sect regarding the 'Abyss.'" Jing Hai explained, then bowed once more. "Then this disciple shall not disturb Master further."

"You've worked hard. Go rest."

Only after receiving a reply did Jing Hai withdraw.

Yet he had only just stepped out of the great hall.

Ding! A crisp notification sound — Jing Hai took out his phone. It was black, a very old model.

If his fellow disciples hadn't created a group chat containing all of Master's and Martial Uncle's disciples, he wouldn't even have bought one.

The sender was… Junior Sister.

Jing Hai put the phone back.

He didn't need to look to know what was inside; over the past two days there had been more than one or two such messages. They were nothing more than matters concerning the rotation swap.

…………

The Outer Sect Scripture Pavilion of the Xiang Jianzong, first floor.

After treating Zhang Yunlu to a lavish meal, Chi Jiuyu escorted her here.

They swiped their identity jade tokens and successfully entered.

"Alright, from here on you'll look around on your own. I'll come find you tomorrow." Chi Jiuyu said in a very small voice.

No loud talking inside the Scripture Pavilion! "Thank you."

"What's there to be polite about? You're the second-in-command of our 'Future Sect Leader Alliance.'"

Perhaps she got a little carried away — her voice slipped slightly beyond her control, and an old woman who had been dozing with half-closed eyes suddenly opened them and looked at her.

"I'm off, I'm off."

Chi Jiuyu ducked her head and hurriedly ran out of the Scripture Pavilion.

'She actually gets scared?'

Watching her leave, Zhang Yunlu didn't think much of it and turned to continue walking inside. Chi Jiuyu had, on the way here, pointed out which ones she should read.

She prepared to find them one by one.

"'Treatise on the Three Grades of Foundation Establishment,' 'New Compilation of the Theory of the Human Body as Lesser Heaven and Earth.'" A withered voice suddenly sounded by her ear.

Zhang Yunlu paused, then turned to look at the old woman reclining in her chair with closed eyes.

After a moment of thought, she bowed deeply and whispered in a tiny voice: "Thank you, Elder."

No response came.

But Zhang Yunlu still waited a while before turning and walking inside.

Although the sky was already late, many people remained inside; everyone moved with quiet steps, so the place was utterly silent.

The first floor of the Transmission Hall housed cultivation methods, techniques, and sword arts for Qi Gathering and Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with the insights left by elders during their own Foundation Establishment.

Sword arts like the "Flowing Cloud Sword Art" were so numerous on the first floor that they seemed as countless as grains of sand.

However, to select cultivation methods on the second floor, one had to pay a certain number of Contribution Points—but the price was remarkably… affordable.

The Xiang Jianzong nurtured its disciples differently from middle schools: each disciple had the right to choose their own cultivation path; whether or not to practice cultivation methods was entirely up to personal will.

Zhang Yunlu walked deeper among the bookshelves and display stands.

She found not only books here, but far more sealed crystal cards, and occasionally a jade slip.

This was normal: crystal cards were more convenient than paper books and cheaper to produce than jade slips.

Because each section had signs, Zhang Yunlu quickly found what she wanted.

Three crystal cards: two recommended by Chi Jiuyu, and one she chose as a reference sword art.

The two books were the "Treatise on Three Levels of Foundation Establishment" and the "New Compilation of the Theory of the Human Body as a Microcosm," mentioned just now by that voice.

Holding the books and crystal cards, Zhang Yunlu left the archive area and entered the nearby reading room.

The reading rooms of the Transmission Hall were small semi-circular chambers; to respect disciples' privacy, each had only one window made of one-way glass.

Pushing open the door, she saw a long table inside, each equipped with a crystal card reader, and seats of exceptionally soft, comfortable sofas.

Air-conditioning arrays were installed on the walls, allowing constant adjustment to a suitable temperature.

Behind the long table stood a glass cabinet filled with drinks and snacks, refreshed daily at scheduled times.

After glancing around, Zhang Yunlu noticed the room was extremely quiet—likely due to some sound-dampening array.

Most importantly, everything on the first floor of the Transmission Hall was free, just like the outermost layer of the cafeteria.

The Xiang Jianzong's benefits for its disciples were truly excellent.

Placing the crystal cards and books on the long table, Zhang Yunlu stepped forward, took a bottle of water from the glass cabinet, and then saw a bold, red, capitalized sign.

【Do not urinate or defecate anywhere in the reading room. Violators will be fined 100,000 Contribution Points.】

Urinate or defecate… anywhere?

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(End of chapter)