"Li Si, Bright Saber Hall."
"Wang Wu, Bright Saber Hall."
"Pang Liu, Bright Saber Hall."
Li Daoqi read out seven names in one breath, all of them assigned to Bright Saber Hall. It was not until the eighth name that someone was assigned to Great River Hall.
After staying here for three months, Lin Xiao also knew the divisions of responsibility among the Great River Gang's four halls.
The Great River Gang's four halls were Elite Hall, Great River Hall, Bright Saber Hall, and Assassination Hall.
There was no need to explain Assassination Hall and Elite Hall: one specialized in assassinations and killings, while the other could only be joined by elites. New gang members could generally join Great River Hall or Bright Saber Hall. Bright Saber Hall had the most members in the Great River Gang, but it also held the lowest status, because anyone who failed to meet the standard during the three-month rookie training was assigned to Bright Saber Hall without exception.
Great River Hall, meanwhile, stood between Elite Hall and Bright Saber Hall. If Bright Saber Hall was the bottom rung and Elite Hall was the reserve pool for the upper echelons, then Great River Hall was the gang's backbone and core.
One name after another was called. Most were assigned to Bright Saber Hall, with only two sent to Great River Hall. Not a single person was assigned to Elite Hall or Assassination Hall.
Soon, it was Lin Xiao's turn. Li Daoqi glanced at him and said:
"Lin Xiao, Great River Hall!"
He immediately cupped his fists in salute and strode behind the burly man in martial attire from Great River Hall, becoming the third newcomer assigned to that hall.
This came as quite a surprise to the other newcomers, but to Lin Xiao himself, it was only natural. After all, both the Three Rivers Heart Method and the Three Saber Techniques he had displayed had been cultivated to the second level.
He did not want to stand out too much, but neither could he keep too low a profile. At the very least, he had to show enough ability to secure somewhat better treatment. Bright Saber Hall was essentially a cannon-fodder hall. Those assigned there handled the hardest, most exhausting, and most dangerous work. Escorts, patrols, guard duty, and other minor errands were all handled by Bright Saber Hall, and its members had no freedom either. Once inside, nothing he wanted to do would be convenient.
Elite Hall, on the other hand, would have been too conspicuous. Its members were constantly under the eyes of the gang's upper echelons, making everything they wanted to do inconvenient.
Great River Hall was the best choice. It stood between the two: the future backbone and middle tier of the gang, valued enough that he would not be treated as cannon fodder, yet not constantly watched by others.
The names continued to be called. Soon, only the last person remained—Lin Yiqing. He seemed to know where he would be going. He held his head high, his face filled with confidence and anticipation. Li Daoqi also looked at him approvingly and said:
"Lin Yiqing, Elite Hall!"
As expected, it was Elite Hall. It was only natural, considering he was the sole genius who had cultivated the Three Rivers Heart Method to the third level within three months. He had long since caught the attention of the gang's upper echelons, so entering Elite Hall was inevitable.
Li Daoqi said a few more polite words before leaving, but the one who departed fastest was the burly man in martial attire from Assassination Hall. More than forty people had been selected, yet not one could join Assassination Hall. It was rather strange.
The burly man from Elite Hall wore a kindly smile as he said a few words to Lin Yiqing and led him away. As they left the courtyard, Lin Yiqing glanced back at Lin Xiao, his eyes brimming with smugness.
Then the burly man from Great River Hall turned around and said to the four youths, including Lin Xiao:
"Follow me."
The four immediately followed. One of the youths, Xu Bing, sidled up with great familiarity and asked in a low voice:
"Big Brother, could you explain the gang's rules to us?"
The burly man in martial attire laughed.
"Of course. That's precisely my responsibility. Our Great River Hall may not compare with Elite Hall, but it's definitely a great deal better than Bright Saber Hall. You're lucky to have been assigned here. Once you enter the hall, each of you will receive ten taels of silver a month. Even when you're assigned missions, you'll start as a minor leader. You won't have to start as a lowly runner like those in Bright Saber Hall."
Just then, Lin Xiao heard the burly man from Bright Saber Hall behind them roar:
"Everyone, silence! Line up and follow me. When we go to the gang later, don't run around. Otherwise, you'll be dealt with according to the gang's rules and laws!"
Lin Xiao: ...
The difference really was enormous. Even their attitudes were completely different. The other youths had also heard that bellow, and their faces revealed the same expression as his.
The burly man from Great River Hall was named Gu He. He had joined the gang seven or eight years ago and was now part of its middle ranks, with dozens of men under him. He led Lin Xiao and the others through one alley after another to a courtyard enclosed by tall walls. According to his explanation along the way, this entire area belonged to the Great River Gang, and the courtyards before them belonged to Great River Hall.
Next came the hall induction. They would pay their respects to the deputy hall master. The hall master was busy and was not at headquarters, and newcomers had no qualifications to meet him anyway.
The deputy hall master was a portly, fair, perpetually smiling man who looked like the Budai Buddha. After encouraging them with a few words, he bestowed waist tokens, assigned each of them a private room, and gave them two sets of uniforms, a fine-steel saber, and ten taels of silver in advance.
That was only the treatment for now. Every month, the gang would issue a set of uniforms and other benefits, while missions came with additional rewards. Compared with Bright Saber Hall, it was vastly better.
The fine-steel saber was made of excellent material. Its blade was one meter and thirty centimeters long, its spine was three centimeters thick, and its hilt was roughly thirty centimeters long. It was hard and sharp. Lin Xiao tried a Rushing Waves Slash, yet the blade did not budge in the slightest. It was nothing like a poor-quality saber, whose blade would wobble lightly after a single strike.
Seized by a sudden impulse, Lin Xiao tried using the five forms of the Three Rivers Saber in succession. The room immediately rang with the whistling sound of the blade cleaving through the air.
Rushing Waves, Galloping Waves, Ebbing Waves, Surging Waves—each form was more powerful than the last. Especially the final form, Furious Waves. When he poured what little inner force he had into a full-power slash, he faintly saw a layer of light flash across the blade, almost like saber aura.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A sudden knock sounded at the door. Lin Xiao put aside his thoughts of studying the saber, sheathed it, and opened the door. Standing outside were the three youths who had entered Great River Hall with him: Xu Bing, Xu Ji, and Ji Zitao. The most outgoing of them, Xu Bing, smiled and said:
"I just asked Big Brother Gu about it. We from Great River Hall can usually enter the city, as long as we return on time before the Hour of the Rat. We haven't been in the city for several months. How about we go have a proper meal?"
Lin Xiao thought it over. Since he wanted a change of taste as well, he agreed.
There was no helping it. Although they had been provided with sumptuous food every day for the past three months, anyone would grow tired of eating it daily. Most importantly, the food from the communal cauldron tasted the same every day. After three months, none of them had much appetite left.
Besides, Lin Xiao also wanted to see the customs and atmosphere of this world and find out what the ancient era was really like.
After greeting Gu He, the four of them could leave with their waist tokens.
They had originally wanted to invite Gu He along for a meal to build a closer relationship, but unfortunately, he had a mission and could not get away.
The Great River Gang's headquarters was not inside the city, but rather a massive complex outside it. Its area was comparable to that of a small city—in fact, it was a small city. There was simply no one inside besides members of the Great River Gang, and there were no merchants or businesses either. If the gang's disciples wanted entertainment, they could only go to nearby Linshui City.
Lin Xiao stood at the city gates and looked for quite a while. He recognized the characters, but Linshui City left him without the slightest impression. As far as he knew, ancient China had never had a city called Linshui City.
Perhaps this was merely a low-martial world resembling ancient China.
Within the Chaos Void Sea, because several Great Universes had collided and shattered during the End of Era Cataclysm, the myriad worlds scattered through the void were not all styled after ancient China. Some worlds bore the styles of other Great Universes that had collided with and shattered alongside the primordial wilderness.
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