Chapter 62

The next morning, Qin Lie woke up and found himself lying in the small house made of spirit boards.

He couldn’t remember when he had passed out. He vaguely recalled Li Mu telling many interesting stories from the outside world. He didn’t seem to have drunk too much, but he was thoroughly drunk.

Li’s shop was very quiet, with no noise around. After washing up, he wandered around the courtyard and found that Li Mu and the large wolf dog named Xiao Bing from last night were not there, and he didn’t know where they had gone.

Surprisingly, although he was completely drunk last night, he didn’t have a splitting headache this morning.

On the contrary, he felt extremely energetic, his eyes sparkling.

"The Crimson Wave Continent, a vast and boundless spiritual domain, with numerous powerful forces standing tall... "

In the small courtyard, Qin Lie stood under a tree, recalling Li Mu’s words from last night, lost in reverie. "It turns out that places like the Sengluo Hall and the Seven Kill Valley are not the top forces on this continent and need to rely on two other forces of the Crimson Copper level."

He felt his own insignificance.

"Everything must start from the ground up!" Looking in the direction of the Star Cloud Pavilion, Qin Lie said firmly, his eyes resolute.

Immediately, he followed Li Mu’s advice from the previous day, left Li’s shop, and headed south to the Star Cloud Pavilion.

After more than an hour.

He arrived at the location of the Star Cloud Pavilion in the southern city. He explained his situation to the guards at the gate, saying that his name was Qin Lie and he had come to report to the Star Cloud Pavilion.

"Please wait a moment. I will inform Young Master Kang Zhi. He instructed us to tell him if you came," one of the guards said respectfully.

Qin Lie nodded.

The guard hurried away.

Soon, the chubby Kang Zhi and Han Feng arrived together, and upon seeing Qin Lie, they laughed. "You finally decided to report to the Star Cloud Pavilion! I really don’t understand you. What were you doing at Li’s shop? It’s just a spirit material shop; what could it give you?"

"Qin Lie, I’ll take you to my father’s place," Han Feng said warmly.

"Alright." Qin Lie walked into the Star Cloud Pavilion with the two of them.

The Star Cloud Pavilion was a cluster of tall stone buildings. Many martial artists were entering and exiting the stone buildings, each holding a token and saying something at the registration desk.

"Look, this is the training ground. It has many rooms. Some rooms are gravity chambers, some have denser spiritual energy, and others are suitable for calming the mind. Some rooms have thick and sturdy walls for combat. The martial artists of the Star Cloud Pavilion can use different training rooms through contribution points..."

Han Feng pointed to a building complex covering nearly a hundred acres and explained to Qin Lie, "The martial artists of the Star Cloud Pavilion register with their tokens and then choose specialized training rooms to refine their spirit techniques and skills, and to enhance their combat experience, all within this training ground."

Qin Lie listened and nodded in approval, secretly admiring the Star Cloud Pavilion, which was indeed not comparable to the Ling family.

The Ling family only had a martial arts arena, which, apart from its large size, had no other special features and lacked independent training rooms, making it difficult to significantly help martial artists in their cultivation.

"The building on the left is the Scripture Hall, which contains various books about martial arts realms, as well as some low-level spirit techniques and skills. For many beginners in martial arts, they can gain a general understanding of cultivation through these books. Yes, detailed explanations about realm divisions, the levels of spirit weapons, spirit stones, and spirit techniques can all be found in the corresponding classics."

Han Feng smiled and then added, "Of course, most of them are common knowledge. The spirit techniques and skills displayed are all below the sixth rank of the Mortal level. After all, the Star Cloud Pavilion is only a Green Stone-level force, not a place like the Sengluo Hall, so the classics and scriptures it preserves cannot be too precious."

"Can I also borrow and read books through contribution points?" Qin Lie’s eyes showed delight.

He knew little about the various realms of martial arts and the knowledge of refining weapons, and many common knowledge issues were unfamiliar to him. This led to his worry about breaking through the Eighth Heaven of Body Refinement after his acupoints were infused with lightning power.

What he didn’t know was that as long as the acupoints were penetrated by energy, whether it was spiritual energy or not, it was considered a breakthrough to the Eighth Heaven of Body Refinement.

—This was confirmed by the Ling family’s realm-measuring stone.

The reason for his confusion was his lack of knowledge about the basics of the Body Refinement realm, which made him anxious and uncertain for a while.

The Scripture Hall of the Star Cloud Pavilion contained introductions to the basics of martial arts, which made him secretly delighted. He decided to visit the Scripture Hall several times to understand the knowledge a martial artist should know, to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

"Of course, all the books in the Scripture Hall can be borrowed with contribution points," Han Feng confirmed and then added, "However, high-level spirit techniques require a very high number of contribution points..."

"The building facing the Scripture Hall, um, on our right, is the Spirit Material Hall. It contains some spirit materials and medicines. Of course, the most precious are the spirit weapons, but the ranks of the spirit weapons inside are not particularly high, generally below the fifth rank of the Mortal level, definitely not as high as those in the Spirit Weapon Hall. They can all be exchanged through contribution points..." the chubby Kang Zhi introduced.

As they walked, Kang Zhi and Han Feng explained the details of the Star Cloud Pavilion, focusing on the training ground, the Scripture Hall, and the Spirit Material Hall, which martial artists frequently visited. This gave Qin Lie a clear understanding of the Star Cloud Pavilion and made him secretly amazed, finally understanding why Ling Feng and others were desperate to join the Star Cloud Pavilion.

As long as one became a member of the Star Cloud Pavilion, they could freely enter the training ground, the Scripture Hall, and the Spirit Material Hall using contribution points, enjoying the resources of the Star Cloud Pavilion to enhance their cultivation and realm.

This was clearly much better than staying in Ling Family Town to cultivate.

As they talked, they soon arrived at Elder Han Qingrui’s place. Han Feng called out at the door, "Father, I’ve brought Qin Lie to register."

"Hehe, come in quickly," Han Qingrui said with a smile.

"Uncle Han," Kang Zhi greeted warmly, then pulled Qin Lie and said, "Qin Lie, call him Uncle Han."

"Uncle Han," Qin Lie said.

Han Qingrui nodded with a smile, looked at Qin Lie, and said, "You’re a good young man, yes, a very good young man. Although you’re new to the Star Cloud Pavilion, Uncle Han has long heard of your name."

"Uncle Han, you flatter me," Qin Lie said humbly.

"Your identity token, I’ve already prepared for you. Here, take it," Han Qingrui handed over a greenish-brown iron token. The front had a star cloud pattern, and the back was engraved with Qin Lie’s name. "I was originally going to engrave Ling Lie, but later I found out you used an alias, so I wasted another token."

"You kept your name hidden from us at the time, that wasn’t very nice!" Kang Zhi huffed.

"This is the Star Cloud Token," Qin Lie said with a smile, taking out another token and handing it to Han Qingrui.

The Star Cloud Token was specially made by Tu Shixiong of the Star Cloud Pavilion for Tu Mo and Tu Ze, a symbol of identity and a pass to enter the Star Cloud Pavilion. However, he no longer needed the Star Cloud Token, and it was also very important to Tu Ze, so he handed it over.

Han Qingrui nodded, took the Star Cloud Token, and then pondered for a moment, saying, "Qin Lie, generally, new members of the Star Cloud Pavilion can choose to follow an elder to determine their future direction. The Star Cloud Pavilion has five elders. I am responsible for internal management, task distribution, the collection of tributes from subordinate forces, and the arrangement of spirit materials, as well as the statistics of members’ contribution points..."

"Elder Ye Yangqiu is in charge of the law. Anyone in the Star Cloud Pavilion who violates the interests or rules of the Star Cloud Pavilion will be punished by Ye Yangqiu."

"Elder Du Haitian is generally responsible for the collection of spirit materials and the capture of spirit beasts, helping the Star Cloud Pavilion find new mines."

"Elders Chu Yan and Wei Xing are mainly responsible for external battles, suppressing the Ice Shattering Manor, and infiltrating other forces."

Han Qingrui looked at him and explained, "The five of us each have our own responsibilities, handling different tasks. My responsibilities are relatively safe and easy, with little risk of casualties, but it’s also difficult to earn high contribution points. Elder Ye Yangqiu’s situation is similar to mine, with few casualties and a low need for new members, making it difficult to earn contribution points."

After a pause, he continued, "The ones who always need a large number of new members are Elders Du Haitian, Chu Yan, and Wei Xing. Their tasks are external, often involving dangerous activities like hunting or combat, but they can also easily earn contribution points. New members can freely choose to serve under any of the five elders. Have you thought about it?"

Qin Lie was slightly stunned. Through Han Qingrui’s explanation, he gained a new understanding of the Star Cloud Pavilion.

He secretly admired the Star Cloud Pavilion for its clear rules, with each elder having specific responsibilities, managing the Star Cloud Pavilion in an orderly manner.

—This was what a force should look like.

"Qin Lie, you definitely can’t choose Du Haitian or Wei Xing. Du Haitian has a grudge against the Ling family, and Wei Xing... both are under Liu Yuntao, who doesn’t get along with my father," the chubby Kang Zhi said, his eyes gleaming. "My father and Uncle Han, as well as Uncle Chu Peng’s father, are on the same side..."

Last night, Li Mu had also explained the situation of the Star Cloud Pavilion. Li Mu told him that Tu Ze’s brother, Tu Mo, was now in the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm and was said to be about to enter the Wanxiang Realm. Tu Mo had openly and secretly expressed that once he broke through to the Wanxiang Realm, he would report to the Sengluo Hall to find his father, Tu Shixiong.

Tu Mo’s father and mother were now in the Sengluo Hall, and Tu Shixiong was a leader in the Sengluo Hall. Tu Mo’s transition would be smooth.

As for Tu Ze... his realm was still too low, and he was not yet capable of leading the Star Cloud Pavilion. He would follow his father’s wishes and continue to stay in the Star Cloud Pavilion to hone himself.

When he reached a sufficient realm in the future, he might take over the Star Cloud Pavilion. Like his brother Tu Mo, he would join the Sengluo Hall after breaking through to the Wanxiang Realm to reunite with his father and elder brother.

Once Tu Mo left, the position of the Star Cloud Pavilion’s leader would be vacant, and one of the two deputy leaders, Kang Hui and Liu Yuntao, would have to step up.

Kang Hui was Kang Zhi’s father, and he had a good relationship with Chu Peng’s father, Chu Yan, and Han Feng’s father, Han Qingrui. Liu Yuntao had rallied Du Haitian and Wei Xing, while Ye Yangqiu remained neutral, not favoring either side.

Kang Zhi’s words made Qin Lie understand his meaning, but he had already made his decision before coming—his goal was Yao Tai.

"Uncle Han, I want to follow Master Yao Tai and be his assistant in refining weapons. What do you think?" Qin Lie said seriously.

"Master Yao Tai?"

Han Qingrui, Han Feng, and Kang Zhi all looked surprised, their eyes filled with a strange expression.

...