You two, in the Outer Court Robes, show me your new token."
Ye Tian Yun and Zheng Xiang turned towards the voice and found an Elder staring at them. Leaning on the chair, still in the same posture with his legs on the table, the Elder was staring at them in a deadpan expression with his eyes loosely opened.
Ye Tian Yun stared back at this weird old man, before shrugging and taking out his new Inner Court disciple token.
Zheng Xiang did the same and they both handed over their tokens to the Elder.
The Elder observed the 'special' tokens, however the reaction of shock which both the disciples in front of him were expecting, didn't come.
Both Ye Tian Yun and Zheng Xiang were expecting a look of surprise and then some praise from this elder, however, he just returned the token back and gestured towards them to enter the library.
By the time both of them took back their tokens, hubbub of snoring once again started to buzz in their ears. The Elder was now asleep, again.
Both of them smiled wrily and entered the Martial Book Pavilion.
"The Fabulous First Floor does live upto it's fame," Zheng Xiang took a deep breath when he saw the interior decor of the hall.
There were flowers, embroidered walls, huge paintings depicting heaven shaking battles between cultivators. The floors were made of colored tiles arranged in jagged patterns. Polished stone pedestals held golden and silver statues portraying legendary cultivators. Everything in the hall was rich and lavish
Then there were rows of racks and stacks containing cultivation manuals, sub divided into categories depending on the weapons used.
Even though after all this the hall felt full, there was still a lot of space to move around.
Many new Inner Court disciples were carefully choosing their first cultivation manual. The hall was silent, with only a few disciples talking in whispers. Most of them were only focused on choosing the cultivation manuals.
With one out of Rank 1 and Rank 2 cultivation manual to choose, most of the disciples present here were trying to look for a good Rank 2 cultivation manual, however only few disciples who truly understood their own situation were looking for Rank 1.
In cultivation, just because a disciple practices a higher ranked cultivation manual doesn't mean that he is powerful than those who practice lower ranked manuals. The only way practicing higher ranked cultivation manuals is beneficial is when the disciple has a very solid foundation in his cultivation.
A higher ranked cultivation manual may give a lot of boost in power, however in return it also demands the disciple to possess a lot of talent, perseverance, dedication and steady will. This is also one of the reasons why low cultivation disciples are not allowed to have their hands on high ranked cultivation manuals of Rank 3 or 4. Only the truly talented ones are allowed and they are the top disciples of the Outer Court of all the Peaks.
...
At the centre of the hall there was a circular table, behind which were standing the managers of this pavilion.
This circular table was like a counter at which the disciples had to report about which cultivation manual they have chosen to practice. And then the managers would keep a record of everything and submit it to the Elder-in-charge.
Ye Tian Yun and Zheng Xiang started moving towards the counters. However, before they could reach, Ye Tian Yun suddenly stopped and started to look around.
Zheng Xiang, who was walking beside, also halted and asked, "Brother Fang, what happened?"
Ye Tian Yun then pointed his finger towards a board. Zheng Xiang observed the board and found a notice stuck on it. It read:
[The Martial Book Pavilion's First Floor has Rank 1 and Rank 2 cultivation manuals. If you're ranked in the top three of your peak in the Inner Court Entrance Hunt, then report to the managers with your tokens at the counter on this floor.]
Ye Tian Yun read the notice and said, "It's a good thing we noticed this board. We won't be embarrassed this time."
Zheng Xiang who was also staring at the notice board, nodded his head in agreement.
Soon, both of them reached the counter. Handing out their tokens to the manager present at the counter, Ye Tian Yun said, "We just read the notice. Here's our token."
The manager looked at the tokens and smiled, "Ah, congratulations on being the top disciples of your Peak."
This simple sentence once again put everyone's attention on Ye Tian Yun and Zheng Xiang. However, this time it was just for a brief second before the disciples resumed their search for a good cultivation manual.
Ye Tian Yun looked at the name tag on the manager's chest and replied, "Thank you, Manager Hao."
The manager in front of them nodded and pointed at the nearby table area, "Come to the other side of this counter. Just tap on the table, it will open up. Then go to the room behind me, you will find a way up to the Second Floor."
Ye Tian Yun nodded and tapped on the table where the manager had pointed, the table opened up, making a way for him to pass through.
As for Zheng Xiang, he had a confused look on his face as he asked, "Room behind you? I don't see any room, I only see this round table with you standing behind this counter."