Chapter 225: Changing Rooms, First Lecture

Golden Core Stage spells are somewhat lacking, but there are still surprises among them.

Chen Shicheng saw the skill that would let him smoothly enter the Scripture Pavilion, clicked it without hesitation, and then the skill's description appeared in his jade pendant, along with the Transmission Elder's class schedule.

After selecting the skill, Chen Shicheng finally returned, satisfied, to the lodging assigned to him.

But as soon as he opened the door, he fell into silence. When he first arrived, he had rushed to check the skill and overlooked the furnishings; looking back now, this is a somewhat shabby room under ten square meters, with only a bed and a chair. The bedding gives off a musty smell, and the chair is missing a leg, making it hard just to stand, let alone sit someone.

"Alas, going from extravagance to frugality is hard. Farewell, my Cloud‑Rolling Pavilion!" Chen Shicheng gave a wry laugh, decided to wrong himself for two days, and treat it as recalling hardship to appreciate sweetness.

Knock knock knock

But just as he decided to leave his game character here to suffer while he went offline to enjoy himself, the door behind him was suddenly knocked on.

As a newcomer, he didn't know anyone here—who would come knock? Chen Shicheng opened the door doubtfully and saw a man in the same green Dao robe standing at the doorway, but unlike his plain version, this man's cuffs had an extra white trim.

"Are you a new disciple? I'm the manager‑disciple in charge of the dormitory area; you can call me Senior Brother Liu."

The disciple who called himself Senior Brother Liu spoke while sizing up Chen Shicheng's attire, then asked tentatively, "The room assigned to you is free, though it may be a bit run‑down; if you're not satisfied, you can pay extra—we also provide dedicated dormitories for formal and inner disciples."

Chen Shicheng instinctively wanted to refuse; his main goal was the possible materials in the Scripture Pavilion, and learning the skill was just a side benefit—how could he possibly keep wasting money here?

But just as the words reached his lips, his heart stirred, he swallowed them back, and then casually asked, "Besides interior comfort, what other differences do these rooms have?"

"There are quite a few."

Seeing Chen Shicheng's intention to change rooms, Senior Brother Liu launched into a fluent explanation: "Besides the interior décor, the rooms of inner and formal disciples are located in a quiet area, protected by a formation, making them extremely safe—no one can enter without your permission."

"And you should have finished picking your skill—don't you want a front‑row seat when listening to the lecture? Those two rooms are very close to the lecture hall, guaranteeing you can seize the initiative."

"Is that so? Then I'll have to think it over." Chen Shicheng nodded as if interested, then casually asked, "I've heard our Zixiao Palace also has a Scripture Pavilion; I'm curious—where exactly is it?"

"Scripture Pavilion?"

Senior Brother Liu blinked, then hurriedly said, "Ah, the inner disciples' rooms—just open the window and you can see the Scripture Pavilion's tower top; if you're interested, we can go take a look together, but the price…"

Watching Senior Brother Liu keep rubbing his two fingers, Chen Shicheng rolled his eyes inwardly but showed no outward change, then waved his hand generously: "Money's no problem!"

"All right, junior brother, this way please!"

Senior Brother Liu led the way with a smiling brow, soon passing through several gates to arrive at a tranquil little courtyard.

Greedy as he may be, Senior Brother Liu wasn't lying—upon entering the courtyard, Chen Shicheng saw a golden tower top glinting in the sunlight not far away, undoubtedly the Scripture Pavilion. So, before Liu could even describe the benefits, Chen Shicheng shoved ten taels of gold into his hand.

"First pay ten taels; any excess will be refunded, any shortfall made up."

"Refreshing! I'll go register your room change right now."

With the gold in hand, Senior Brother Liu didn't hesitate, turned and quickly left the inner‑sect disciples' courtyard.

Soon, Chen Shicheng's waist‑worn jade pendant vibrated; he glanced at it and saw that the permissions column now added an inner‑disciple dormitory zone, which also added a bit of convenience for his upcoming actions.

After confirming that Senior Brother Liu had truly handled the money, he didn't linger, briefly inspected the inner disciples' living quarters, then hurriedly followed the directions toward the lecture hall.

According to the Transmission Elders' class schedule, the Golden Core Stage cultivation method would start in ten minutes; he didn't want to miss the daily two‑hour lecture.

Since he was staying in the inner‑disciple dormitory, when he reached the lecture venue there weren't many people in the room.

Unfortunately, as a temporary disciple among the outer disciples, he wasn't entitled to a seat—no matter how early he came, he could only find an empty corner in the back row to stand.

But for Chen Shicheng this didn't matter at all—standing was fine; listening while standing didn't make him drowsy, and the effect was the same.

Soon the empty hall filled with disciples in Dao robes; no one paid attention to Chen Shicheng standing in the corner, all holding their breath, adjusting their condition to peak so as not to miss the elders' instruction.

Three minutes later, a faint footstep sound came from outside; all seated disciples opened their eyes, rose, and respectfully bowed toward the entrance.

Chen Shicheng blinked, followed suit, bent over and bowed.

Until the footsteps reached the front, after they sat on their mats, the disciples then straightened up, sat down, and listened intently to the elder on the stage; the hall fell utterly silent, everyone immersed in study.

But there was no heavenly blossom rain here; the elder, as if finishing a task, droned on about the lengthy and foul‑smelling skill precautions, plus a few minor cultivation tricks.

If he were still in school, Chen Shicheng might already be half‑asleep, his mind a mush.

Moreover, he'd come just to watch the spectacle; the Lian Xi Technique lesson was already halfway through, and having joined the path midway, he could hardly understand it.

But he hadn't expected that his max‑level skills already numbered over a dozen; by analogy, even though he hadn't started Lian Xi Technique from scratch, he instantly became engrossed, and his understanding of the skill shot up.

Moreover, the relic in his bosom began to emit strange waves, clearing his mind, and the elder's sleep‑inducing content was absorbed by him in an extraordinarily peculiar way. (End of chapter)