Chapter 24: Hun Tian Yi Hall

In the southeast corner of the Tiandi Alliance, a three-story wooden building that occupied ten mu and looked classical and elegant.

"Lord Li, this is Hun Tian Yi Hall."

Ding Liang said.

Li Rui looked up at the wooden building.

"It's a good place for self-cultivation."

He was very satisfied with the environment of Hun Tian Yi Hall; located in a corner, the disputes of the Tiandi Alliance almost couldn't reach here, far from the world.

Hun Tian Yi is water.

Therefore, many places for storing books are named Hun Tian Yi, such as Hun Tian Yi Tower, Hun Tian Yi Pavilion...

Li Rui waved his hand: "Sending me here is enough; pass a message for me, thank Brother Wu, and I will invite him to drink another day."

"Alright."

Ding Liang bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

Wu Tu attached great importance to Li Rui and specifically told Ding Liang to serve Li Rui well, so Ding Liang only felt relieved to leave after Li Rui spoke.

Li Rui walked alone to the bottom of the Hun Tian Yi Hall building; the area in front of the building was very quiet, with no one around, and green leaves covered the ground.

Walked into the wooden building.

Antique wooden bookshelves, with countless books neatly arranged on them.

He saw a young disciple wearing the Tiandi Alliance's black uniform lying on a wooden table, bored.

Li Rui walked to the young disciple's side.

"Is this Hun Tian Yi Tower?"

The young disciple didn't even lift his head and threw a piece of paper from his hand: "Fill it out according to the above, there is a pen over there, hand it to me after filling it out, and wait to collect the books."

As he spoke, he skillfully pointed to the table on the other side.

On the table were pens, ink, and an inkstone.

Li Rui: "My name is Li Rui."

"Don't say your name is Li Rui, even if your surname is Zhang, it doesn't..."

"Li... Li Rui?"

The young disciple lifted his head abruptly.

He then remembered that the new Hall Master was coming to Hun Tian Yi Hall yesterday, it seemed... his name was Li Rui!!

"Hall... Hall Master."

The young disciple stood up abruptly, his hands behind his back, looking like a student who had done something wrong.

Li Rui waved his hand: "Why are you the only one here? Where are the other two?"

The young disciple explained: "Senior Brother Liu went out on business, and Junior Brother Liang is on the second floor."

"So you are Zhou Shulin?"

Before he came, Ding Liang had already told him that there were three disciples in Hun Tian Yi Hall.

Liu Tong, Liang He, and Zhou Shulin.

"Yes, yes."

The young disciple nodded repeatedly.

Li Rui: "Alright, you continue sleeping."

"..."

Zhou Shulin was conflicted; should he sleep or not?

Li Rui walked past Zhou Shulin and wandered around the first floor at will. Hun Tian Yi Hall was large and had many books, but most of them were unimportant miscellaneous books.

It was said that one of the three Alliance Leaders who founded the Tiandi Alliance was originally a scholar who practiced martial arts after failing the examination.

Perhaps he felt that one must have culture to mix in the Jianghu.

So every Tiandi Alliance branch had a Hun Tian Yi Hall for storing books.

Li Rui then walked up to the second floor with his hands behind his back.

Compared to the first floor, the second floor was much more simplified.

Here were placed basic martial arts techniques. Li Rui flipped through a few at random; they were not more advanced than the Eight-Section Brocade and were all rotten street goods.

As for the third floor...

He couldn't go up either.

Yes, even he, a Hall Master of Hun Tian Yi Hall, couldn't go to the third floor.

The third floor was the essence of the entire Hun Tian Yi Tower, storing martial arts secret manuals collected by the Tiandi Alliance over the years. Of course, they were all copies, but they were also worth a fortune.

To go to the third floor, one must have the Helmsman's handwritten letter, and then people from both Hun Tian Yi Hall and the Law Transmission Hall could enter together.

If anyone dared to steal the martial arts on the third floor, it would be considered treason against the alliance and would face endless pursuit.

"No wonder no one is willing to be the Hall Master of this Hun Tian Yi Hall."

There was no profit to be made; it was just a high-level gatekeeper.

As he walked, he met another subordinate in a row of bookshelves.

"You are Liang He?"

A still immature teenager heard the voice and hurriedly climbed up: "Are you Hall Master Li?"

Li Rui smiled slightly: "Quite smart."

Those assigned to Hun Tian Yi Hall were roughly divided into two types: those with connections but poor root bones, and those without connections but with decent root bones.

As for those with poor root bones and no connections, they were all thrown to watch the venues and had no chance to enjoy leisure in the hall at the headquarters.

Zhou Shulin and Liang He, whom he hadn't met yet, were the former.

One was the nephew of Vice Helmsman Zhou, and the other was the brother-in-law of Vice Helmsman Qian.

The most miserable one was this Liang He.

According to Ding Liang, this Liang He was originally in the Civil and Martial Hall, but later offended the Hall Master there and was kicked to Hun Tian Yi Hall.

Liang He shyly hid a book titled "Records of Heroines of Yunzhou" behind his back.

Li Rui didn't expose him and patted Liang He meaningfully: "Little He, if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub? Just looking is useless."

"..."

Liang He was speechless.

Li Rui finished touring the second floor of Hun Tian Yi Hall.

Only then did he return to the first floor, to his independent room, satisfied.

Being a Hall Master is indeed comfortable.

In Hun Tian Yi Hall, there was almost nothing he needed to worry about.

Most daily affairs were handled by Liang He and Zhou Shulin, unless they encountered a bold thief who dared to sneak into the Hun Tian Yi Pavilion to steal techniques.

But Li Rui was confident he could handle it.

Because the techniques on the third floor could at most attract Ninth-Rank martial artists; as for Eighth-Rank martial arts techniques, only the Tiandi Alliance headquarters had them, so at most it would attract Ninth-Rank experts, and he had support from other experts at the headquarters, so there was no need to worry.

Dusk was approaching.

Hun Tian Yi Hall left only Liang He on duty.

However, Li Rui's residence was only separated from Hun Tian Yi Hall by a wall, and any movement in the Hun Tian Yi Hall building could be heard, plus the Tiandi Alliance guards patrolling at night, ensuring everything was foolproof.

Li Rui walked into the residence.

A four-courtyard mansion was more than enough for him to live in alone, even appearing deserted. Generally, the residence of a Tiandi Alliance Hall Master would have two or three maids and servants to serve.

But Li Rui didn't intend to spend that unjust money.

And he had too many secrets; if they were leaked, it would only add trouble.

Everything was available in the residence, and the old things he brought from the Zhu household looked out of place.

Finally, he put the things he brought into a large wooden box.

"The Tiandi Alliance's bed is indeed soft."

Li Rui slept very comfortably this night.

Morning.

Li Rui's biological clock made him wake up before the Chen hour (7-9 AM) to practice his saber.

He had a Martial Bone and secret techniques.

But that was no reason for him to slack off. In a few days, he would truly be seventy; in ancient times, he didn't know how many years he had left to live.

Li Rui drew the standard Tiandi Alliance saber he received yesterday.

The Hall Master's saber was still much better than the ordinary disciples' sabers; although the craftsmanship was average, it was good in the materials used, and the handle was wrapped in a layer of cowhide, so it wouldn't hurt his hands.

A large courtyard.

Li Rui practiced his saber alone in the courtyard, no longer needing to worry about others peeking.

His saber danced faster and faster, finally turning into fluttering phantoms.

Refreshing!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 25 =====