Chapter 34

The old man in blue saw the five people gather under the jade wall and did not stop them. Instead, he smiled slightly and walked to the side, folding his arms to watch.

Every new disciple entering the Inner Courtyard would have this kind of behavior, which was nothing to be surprised about.

At the spot, the five newly promoted Outer Courtyard disciples remained, still watching under the jade wall.

At some point, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei walked up behind Tang Gu again.

He leaned close to Tang Gu, who was intently watching the rankings on the purple jade wall, and with a cold smile, suddenly whispered, "Tang, did you take the secret manual I had?"

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Gu was suddenly startled. He then turned around and saw the resentful expression on "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei's face. However, Du Pengfei seemed to be afraid of others noticing, so even when he spoke, he deliberately covered half of his body to block others' view.

Seeing this, Tang Gu instantly became certain that Du Pengfei might be even more unwilling for others to know about this matter.

Thinking about this, he immediately smiled slightly and looked at "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, asking, "Do you have any evidence that I took it?"

"Hmph!"

"Iron Sword" Du Pengfei gave him a dark look and sneered, "Tang, do you think I don't know what you're up to? Yes, the Thunder Water Mad Snake Finger is very powerful, and it's natural for you to be greedy. But you should know that some things can be taken, and some things cannot."

Seeing that Tang Gu still showed an indifferent expression, Du Pengfei's eyes turned slightly angry, "I know you won a match and are feeling elated, but do you think you can be arrogant from now on? Yes, I lost my position as the family heir and my dignity, but Du Zhongjing, as the Du family heir, must reclaim the secret manual of the Thunder Water Mad Snake Finger from you. He is already one of the top ten disciples in the Inner Courtyard. You saw him today. If you hand over the manual now, it can still be resolved peacefully. If you don't, hah, you'll really regret it when he comes after you!"

Hearing this, Tang Gu's expression remained unchanged, and he just turned around, "Is that so? Then I'll wait."

Seeing this, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with deep hatred. If this were not the Inner Courtyard and if he had enough strength, he would really want to draw a sword from his chest and stab it into Tang Gu's back right now.

Unfortunately, he knew that although it seemed no one was around, there were actually many pairs of eyes watching in secret. If he made any move, not only would he fail to kill anyone, but he would be killed by the Inner Courtyard's law enforcement disciples, and no one could say a word against it.

"You wait."

He silently stepped back, no longer trying to persuade Tang Gu. He knew he was finished, but even if he was finished, he would still expose this matter completely. When Tang Gu faces the top ten disciple of the Inner Courtyard, "Silver Sword" Du Zhongjing, he will have a harder time than Du Pengfei.

...

"Alright!"

After a while, the old man in blue clapped his hands, startling the five people out of their shock, "Today, you can just take a look around. In the future, you will have many opportunities. If you can enter the top ten disciples of the Inner Courtyard early, there will be great benefits. I won't say more."

"Alright, now follow me to the Inner Courtyard's armory. I will personally lead you to choose secret manuals and receive all the items for Inner Courtyard disciples."

"Yes."

The disciples, upon hearing this, instantly woke up from their shock at the top ten rankings. They were all excited, as they were about to receive first-class cultivation techniques and martial arts, which would be the foundation for their future in the Inner Courtyard and even beyond Stone Rock Town.

The old man in blue led the five people around a corner, through a very winding and secret corridor, and finally arrived at a four-story iron tower.

After showing the pass token, the old man in blue led them inside. They saw rows of bookshelves arranged in a grid. These five were all elite disciples who had entered the Outer Courtyard's armory, but upon entering this legendary Inner Courtyard armory for the first time, they were all stunned.

What they saw were secret manuals shimmering with five colors, emitting various auras—some thick and solid, some sharp and fierce, some small and delicate, some ancient and simple.

The old man in blue led them to the second floor and stopped in front of a row of dark yellow, ancient wooden shelves.

He introduced, "These are all first-class cultivation secret manuals, a total of twenty-eight types, all cultivation techniques. There are the Yuan Qi Embracing Simplicity Technique, the Great Path Moon Breaking Technique, the Cang Lang Water Flowing Technique, the Fierce Fire Burning Technique, and more, covering all five elements. You can choose for yourselves. After you choose, I will take you to receive the martial arts secret manuals!"

Tang Gu and the other four looked over and indeed saw various cultivation techniques, including the "Yuan Qi Embracing Simplicity Technique," "Great Path Moon Breaking Technique," "Cang Lang Water Flowing Technique," "Fierce Fire Burning Technique," and others.

There were also "Vajra One Body Technique," "Wilted Wood Technique," "Thick Earth Profound Technique," "Sun and Moon Great Skill," "Six Intentions Changing Qi Technique," and more... various cultivation techniques.

For a moment, the five were all dazzled.

In the end, Li Youxue chose the fastest, picking the "Cang Lang Water Flowing Technique," which matched her attributes and had the fastest cultivation speed.

After that, Yan Shan, Xiao Qingbi, and Du Pengfei also finished their choices, leaving only Tang Gu.

He looked around and indeed found a few secret manuals that caught his interest. Clearly, all twenty-eight secret manuals here were first-class, and none were ordinary. Choosing any one of them would not be a loss.

Under the urging of the others, he was about to reach out to take the third layer's pale black secret manual, the "Great Path Moon Breaking Technique."

This technique had an extremely fast cultivation speed and could absorb the essence of the moon. Once cultivated, it would contain a sharp and fierce aura in the inner breath, greatly benefiting sword cultivation.

However, at that moment, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of a dusty pale yellow secret manual in the corner of the bottom shelf, quietly lying there.

"What is this?"

Curious, he tried to pull it out, but it didn't budge, half stuck in the crack of the shelf. It seemed no one had looked at it for many years.

Afraid of accidentally tearing the secret manual, Tang Gu gently tapped the shelf and finally pulled it out.

What he saw was an extremely old, yellowed, and worn secret manual. The pages were curled, and it was clear that even those who had seen it before didn't care and had thrown it around carelessly, leading to its current state.

Tang Gu focused on the five large characters on the cover of the secret manual: "Xuan Huang Qi Lian Technique!"

"Xuan Huang Qi Lian?"

Tang Gu's heart stirred. He opened it and looked at it for a moment, then quietly brushed off the spider webs and dust, put it back in his chest, and the other four looked at him in surprise, some even with ridicule in their eyes, but no one said anything.

The old man in blue, however, looked at Tang Gu with a bit of surprise but did not explain anything. He then led the five to another red wooden bookshelf.

This time, there were no surprises. Each of the five chose a martial arts secret manual. Du Pengfei, because he had a silver martial card, could choose an additional one, so he picked an extra martial arts secret manual.

The five, led by the old man in blue, exited the second floor of the ancient tower and went to the first-floor hall, where they quickly copied the secret manuals they had brought. They then left the ancient tower and returned to the previous white jade square.

After that, the old man in blue led the five to the Internal Affairs Hall to receive two sets of Inner Courtyard disciple robes, an Inner Courtyard disciple blue iron token, and a scroll of Inner Courtyard disciple rules.

The Inner Courtyard disciple robes were not much different from the Outer Courtyard's, except they were moon white in color, made of higher-quality material, soft and smooth, with a faint silver glow.

The small sword on the chest was replaced with a real silk embroidered one, shining silver, with two intertwined lines, one more than the Outer Courtyard disciples.

The Inner Courtyard disciple blue iron token recorded the disciple's name and ranking and was the pass to enter the Inner Courtyard. If lost, it could be replaced, but it would definitely be very inconvenient.

Finally, the old man in blue led the five to each find a wooden house to live in. This was a benefit for Inner Courtyard disciples, which Outer Courtyard disciples could not enjoy. From then on, each of the five had their own house in the Inner Courtyard and could live there at any time without having to run back and forth every day.

After that, the old man in blue bid farewell and left. It was already dark, and the five each closed their eyes to rest in their small houses. Some were eager and immediately opened the two new secret manuals they had received, unable to wait.

Tang Gu was no exception.

He first returned to his small thatched house, tidied up his things. There wasn't much—just a small marten, some old clothes, and the precious Purple Bone Sealing Spirit Ball, which he always carried with him.

After moving everything over, Tang Gu directly moved into the small wooden house, finally having a place he could truly call his own.

Later, by the oil lamp, he took out the two secret manuals he had received from the armory during the day and quietly read them.

One was dusty and yellow, the "Xuan Huang Qi Lian Technique," and the other was ice blue, with a strange pattern on the pages, the first-class martial arts secret manual he had chosen.

"Water to Ice!"

PS: Second update, please give 1 recommendation.