After Wang Long left, Li Xiuchang did not immediately study the Beginner's Guide.
Instead, he familiarized himself with every inch of his new residence, from top to bottom and inside out.
The surroundings were nice and spacious, and even the furniture was fully equipped. Although no one had lived in the house for a long time, not a speck of dust could be found.
The second floor mainly consisted of bedrooms and storage rooms.
The first floor had a cramped cultivation room that could hold only one person, as well as an exceedingly spacious Quiet Room.
There was also a small bedroom on either side, which should have been reserved for apprentices who would later help with odd jobs.
After taking a tour of the house, Li Xiuchang arrived at the Quiet Room on the first floor, sat upright before the table, and opened the Beginner's Guide.
Two blunt and clear lines of text were written on the title page:
"Upon entering the sect, a new disciple's foremost task is not cultivation, but study.
"Understanding the cultivation world and understanding our Immortal Dust Sect is your first test!"
Li Xiuchang was slightly taken aback. Somewhat surprised, he continued reading...
A moment later, he shook his head helplessly. He had never expected that even after transmigrating and becoming a cultivator, he still could not escape the whole business of memorization and examinations.
The Beginner's Guide gave a general introduction to the distribution of powers in the Immortal Shade Realm and explained some basic cultivation knowledge.
However, most of it was devoted to introducing the Immortal Dust Sect, explaining the inner and outer sects, and listing every single sect rule.
A new disciple's first task upon entering the sect was to memorize the sect rules by heart, then go to the Reception Area to take the sect-rules examination.
Only after passing the examination could one obtain a cultivation technique and begin cultivating.
Li Xiuchang had not taken it particularly seriously. As far as he was concerned, sect rules were nothing more than the usual things: do not damage public property, prohibit fighting and brawling, and so on.
But when he carefully read the first rule, his brows immediately drew tight.
"Rule One: Selling Immortal Brew, Aphrodisiac Pills, Mass Destruction Formations and talismans, offensive magical treasures... to disciples under eighteen is prohibited."
Li Xiuchang continued reading, his brows knitting even more tightly.
"Rule Two: When riding flying swords or flying boats within the sect, one's speed must not exceed five hundred li per hour. Exceeding the limit by twenty percent will incur a fine of one spirit stone; exceeding it by fifty percent..."
"Rule Three: Immortal Brew Masters are forbidden to smoke! Fire and smoking are strictly prohibited in the Immortal Brew storage rooms, Medicine Garden, Library Pavilion, and Spirit Beast Breeding Area. Violators will be severely punished!"
"Rule Four: After finishing alchemy or artifact refinement, extinguish the flames promptly..."
"Rule Five..."
There were more than ninety sect rules in all!
After Li Xiuchang finished reading, he could not help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
It was said that every rule had a bloody lesson behind it. What, exactly, had the Immortal Dust Sect been through?
To have inherited its legacy to this day and even become one of the few great sects in the Immortal Shade Realm, it certainly possessed tenacious vitality.
The sect rules were more complicated than Li Xiuchang had imagined, and harder to memorize as well.
But driven by his yearning for a cultivation technique, Li Xiuchang summoned the same fierce determination he had shown when preparing for the gaokao in his previous life and managed to memorize them all in less than a day.
While the rules were still fresh in his memory, he hurried out and prepared to go to the outer sect Reception Area to take the examination.
He had barely gone a few steps when he saw someone standing in front of a house in the Eastern Geng District.
"I've run into a neighbor..."
Li Xiuchang was about to go over and greet him, but after approaching a few steps and seeing the man's appearance clearly, he froze.
The man was an old man with snow-white hair and a face full of wrinkles. Perhaps because he was a cultivator, however, his back was ramrod straight rather than hunched. His eyes were not clouded, either, but clear and bright.
"Senior..." Li Xiuchang instinctively began to address him as Senior, but then realized that although this man was old, he should also be one of the four outer-sect disciples living in the Eastern Geng District.
As outer-sect disciples of equal standing, they were peers according to the Immortal Dust Sect's rules. Calling him Senior would be somewhat inappropriate.
He thus changed his words. "I am Li Xiuchang. May I ask how I should address you, Senior Brother?"
The old man turned his head and glanced at Li Xiuchang. He revealed a kindly smile and gave a slight nod, but said nothing.
Li Xiuchang was momentarily at a loss.
He smiled at me, but he's ignoring me. What is that supposed to mean?
Sure enough, Senior Brother Wang Long had not been talking nonsense. The Senior Brothers in the Eastern Geng District were all a little strange.
Li Xiuchang did not make a fool of himself by lingering. He bade the man farewell and left.
Only after arriving at the entrance to the Eastern Geng District did Li Xiuchang remember something. The outer sect Reception Area was not close at all. He could not fly and had no means of transportation, so walking alone would probably take nearly two hours!
It was not that he was afraid of getting tired. He was afraid that by the time he reached the Reception Area, he would have forgotten thirty or forty percent of the sect rules he had painstakingly memorized.
"There's no other way. At worst, I'll review them once more outside the Reception Area."
Just then, a flying boat above suddenly slowed down and gradually descended. A pockmarked man on the boat called out warmly:
"This fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. You must be a Junior Brother who just entered the sect, right? Are you going to the Reception Area?"
"That's right." Li Xiuchang nodded.
"I'll give you a ride. How about one spirit stone for the trouble?"
Li Xiuchang was dumbfounded. He had never expected the Immortal Dust Sect to have "flying-boat taxi drivers."
"This... Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but unfortunately, I'm rather short of money. I haven't even seen what a spirit stone looks like." Li Xiuchang tactfully declined.
He had just entered the immortal sect and had no concept whatsoever of a spirit stone's purchasing power. Besides, he was unwilling to waste one merely to save himself some walking.
"It's fine. You can owe me for now. Once you pass the sect-rules examination, you'll receive a batch of spirit stones. You can pay me back then." Pockmarked Senior Brother still refused to give up.
"You've got some nerve, daring to swindle someone from my Eastern Geng District?" a voice suddenly came from behind Li Xiuchang.
He turned around and saw a man dressed entirely in white walking out of the Eastern Geng District.
Li Xiuchang ransacked the memories of two lifetimes and confirmed that this white-clad man was probably the handsomest man he had ever seen across both lives.
He normally would never admit that someone else was more handsome than him, unless there was truly no room left for argument.
"Senior Brother Zhang." When the pockmarked disciple saw the man in white, a bitter smile appeared on his face. His tone was respectful as he said, "You're overstating things by saying I'm swindling him. One spirit stone for the whole trip—I'm merely earning a little hardship money."
Seeing that Senior Brother Zhang remained silent and only stared at him, the pockmarked disciple said helplessly, "At worst, I won't charge for this trip. Consider it a favor for a new Junior Brother..."
Senior Brother Zhang finally waved his hand. "There's no need. Why would anyone from my Eastern Geng District need an outsider's care? I'll make the trip myself."
The pockmarked disciple looked as though he had received a pardon from heaven and hurriedly took his leave.
Li Xiuchang quickly cupped his hands and thanked Senior Brother Zhang. "Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang, but I wouldn't dare trouble you to escort me. I can walk to the Reception Area myself."
Facing Li Xiuchang, Senior Brother Zhang revealed a somewhat amiable smile. "I happen to be heading out to take care of something. I'll be passing that way, so I'll give you a ride. It's no trouble."
Since Senior Brother Zhang had put it that way, Li Xiuchang did not refuse again and boarded Senior Brother Zhang's flying boat.
"We haven't had a new disciple move into the Eastern Geng District for many years. Why did you choose this place..."
The flying boat did not move quickly. Along the way, Senior Brother Zhang took the initiative to chat with Li Xiuchang.
The two exchanged words back and forth, and after their conversation, they gained a basic understanding of each other.
Senior Brother Zhang's name was Zhang Wanzhi, and he had been in the sect for more than eighty years!
He seemed to be the same kind of "reliable Senior Brother" as Senior Brother Song Yu.
Although the Immortal Dust Sect's rules had Li Xiuchang address them as Senior Brothers, in reality, if they were outside, they would absolutely be Senior-level figures to a cultivation novice like Li Xiuchang.
So it isn't necessarily true that all the Senior Brothers in the Eastern Geng District have strange tempers. Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi seems quite easy to get along with.
When the subject of strange tempers came up, Li Xiuchang suddenly remembered the white-haired Senior Brother Cang whom he had encountered when he had just left the house.
He tactfully asked Zhang Wanzhi about that Senior Brother Cang.
After all, they were neighbors. Knowing a little more could do no harm.
Even now, Li Xiuchang still could not make sense of it. What, exactly, did that Senior Brother Cang mean by smiling at him with a face full of goodwill while ignoring him completely?
"You mean Junior Brother Gui?" Zhang Wanzhi knew whom he was talking about as soon as he heard Li Xiuchang's description.
"Junior Brother?" Li Xiuchang wondered if Zhang Wanzhi had gotten something wrong.
Although a cultivator's age could not be judged by appearance, there was no way Senior Brother Cang looked younger than Zhang Wanzhi.
Zhang Wanzhi seemed to guess what Li Xiuchang was wondering and explained, "That's right. Although Junior Brother Gui looks old, he is actually the youngest in our Eastern Geng District, and he also entered the sect most recently. Of course, that's counting only those who came before you."
Zhang Wanzhi counted on his fingers, then added, "Junior Brother Gui has been in the sect for less than forty years, I believe."
"Forty years?! Even if Senior Brother Gui entered the sect at eighteen, he'd only be in his fifties now. How could he..." Li Xiuchang could not understand.
"It's a long story." Zhang Wanzhi paused, a strange look appearing on his face. "Do you know Divination Arts?"
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