Chapter 24

At the foot of Dan Yun Peak, twenty disciples had already gathered. Qin Fengming, who was short in stature, stood among them, looking rather slender. However, the attitude of the others towards him was extremely warm, even Lin Yongfeng, who had won first place, nodded and smiled at him.

After several rounds of competition, the others no longer had any contempt for Qin Fengming.

Not long after, Elder Wang appeared before the group. After a brief inspection, he led everyone towards a distant mountain peak.

Wang Yue Peak was even taller and more majestic than Dan Yun Peak, with dense forests and rugged rocks. When they arrived at the peak, dozens of people were already standing on the square at the top, with an old man in white robes standing majestically in the center.

"Ha ha ha, I have kept Hall Master Li waiting for a long time. These disciples are the top twenty from this competition. I have brought them here, completing my task. From now on, Hall Master Li will need to take good care of them."

Hearing Elder Wang's words, the old man in white robes immediately smiled, clasped his hands, and politely replied, "This is what I should do. It's a great honor for Elder Wang to come in person. Please come inside for some tea. These disciples can be left in my care."

The two seemed to be acquaintances but not close friends. After exchanging formal greetings, Elder Wang followed an Elite Hall disciple into the hall.

After Elder Wang disappeared, the old man in white turned to Qin Fengming and the others, his eyes filled with authority. He scanned the group and then said,

"You twenty, from this moment on, are officially elite disciples of Xiazhu Valley. There are many houses in the rear of Wang Yue Peak. You can choose any one of them. You can find a quiet place to practice martial arts on your own, but when there is a matter, you must follow the orders of the sect. Do you understand?"

Qin Fengming and the others were extremely respectful, all bowing and answering in unison, "We understand, Master."

Looking at the group, Hall Master Li's expression softened. He pointed to the five elders beside him and continued, "These five are the elders of the Elite Hall. Each of them has extremely profound martial arts. If you have any questions about martial arts, you can seek guidance from the five elders and me."

At this point, Qin Fengming already understood that the Elite Hall was very different from the Hundred Refinements Hall. The Hundred Refinements Hall was where disciples began their cultivation and first learned martial arts, so they needed dedicated instructors to teach them carefully.

However, the Elite Hall had a different nature. It was a place for disciples who had already achieved a high level of martial arts. These disciples already had deep martial arts skills, and what they lacked was only further refinement.

Therefore, fixed instructors were no longer as important.

"Our sect will reward each of you who have won. Soon, follow me to the Scripture Hall to choose a secret manual that is useful to you. Now, go and collect your items and choose your residence. In half an hour, gather again to go to the Scripture Hall together."

After the old man in white finished speaking, he turned and no longer paid attention to the group, leading the five elders into the hall behind him.

As the old man in white and the others left, two young men in purple robes came out. After looking at Qin Fengming and the others, they said calmly, "Junior brothers, please follow us to collect your items."

Without hesitation, they turned and walked towards a side hall.

The items Qin Fengming received were only three sets of purple robes and thirty taels of silver. There were no other items. After packing the items, the group walked to a dense forest in the rear of Wang Yue Peak.

In the dense forest, there were no fewer than a hundred houses scattered about. These houses were built in the forest. Qin Fengming roughly estimated that there were at least a hundred houses. Each house had its own courtyard, which was far better than the treatment in the Hundred Refinements Hall.

"These are your new residences. You can choose any house to live in from now on."

Seeing this, everyone was delighted. Qin Fengming did not picky and walked into a courtyard near the edge, pushed open the door, and entered the room. He found that the three rooms were connected, with a bedroom, a living room, and a study. All the living necessities were complete.

Seeing this, he was greatly excited. The treatment of elite disciples was indeed worlds apart from that of the Hundred Refinements Hall.

After half an hour, Qin Fengming and the other twenty disciples gathered again on the original square.

"I believe you have all found your residences. The remaining task is to follow me to the Scripture Hall to receive your rewards. This time, each of you can only choose one secret manual. If anyone violates this rule, they will be severely punished."

Standing on the square, Hall Master Li appeared as promised, looking at the group and speaking with authority. After finishing, he walked towards the rear mountain.

It took about an hour for Qin Fengming and the others to reach a dense forest in the rear mountain.

Looking up, they saw a grand hall in front of them. The hall was built on the mountain, tall and majestic, with a grand and imposing presence. Four young men in purple robes stood at the entrance, bowing to Hall Master Li as he arrived.

Nodding to the four young men in purple robes, Hall Master Li did not speak but walked up the steps.

Seeing this, none of the disciples dared to make a sound and followed closely behind.

Pushing open the door and entering the hall, Qin Fengming found several long tables on the first floor, with many books on the tables.

"The books on this floor mainly introduce herbs, medicine, and alchemy. If any of you can master one of these books, becoming a renowned physician is not uncommon. If you are interested, you can choose one."

After a moment, no one moved. Hall Master Li nodded and turned to walk up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor had a similar structure to the first, with several tables and many books.

"The books on this floor are about various martial arts, weapons, fist techniques, and palm techniques. There are also many secret manuals of martial arts that have been lost in the江湖 for a long time. You can now choose freely, but remember, each of you can only take one."

As Hall Master Li spoke, several disciples immediately stepped forward, gathering around the tables to carefully search through the books.

At this point, Qin Fengming and two other disciples had not moved. It seemed that none of them were particularly interested in these martial arts manuals.

Qin Fengming, who had not moved, noticed that there were stairs leading to the third floor on the side of the second floor. Given that the first floor was for miscellaneous studies and the second floor for martial arts manuals, the third floor must contain even more precious books.

Seeing that Qin Fengming and the other two had not chosen, Hall Master Li smiled and said, "The books on the third floor are about internal martial arts and secret techniques of hidden weapons. If you are interested, you can go and take a look."

Hearing this, Qin Fengming and the other two were delighted.

As expected, when they reached the third floor, Qin Fengming found that the vast third floor had only two tables in the center, each with only a dozen or so books. This was a stark contrast to the two floors below.

The two disciples each found an internal martial arts manual and walked down the third floor with joy.

Qin Fengming flipped through several books but found none that pleased him. Suddenly, a book titled "Detailed Explanation of Mechanisms" caught his attention. After a quick look, he was delighted.

He carefully put the book in his chest and also walked down the third floor.