"Haha, no need to be so polite. This kind of classification is from ancient times, and you're not wrong to classify things according to your own professional level, but my classification of realms is more suitable for communication within the academy."
An Ruhai nodded with a smile, then thought for a moment before continuing.
" Chen Mu, I admire your talent in formations. After the apprenticeship ceremony tomorrow, you are welcome to register at my Array Hall."
If you're willing to come, I can accept you as my personal disciple!
After saying this, he nodded to the others and turned to leave.
Chen Mu didn't understand what An Ruhai said, but he figured someone would explain it after the apprenticeship ceremony tomorrow, so he didn't delve into it.
After meditating for a night on the mountaintop in front of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, Chen Mu felt that his Spiritual Power had increased significantly, which made him very happy.
This efficiency is comparable to the second level of the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array I set up in Chen Village. Now I can enjoy it without spending any money. This is truly a wonderful place.
"All new students, assemble here!"
Mo Fei's voice echoed across the mountaintop, and the freshmen rose one after Mo Fei to gather around him.
The new students were all martial arts experts, and their movements were swift and efficient; they were all assembled in no time.
"Come with me!"
A group of more than 500 people set off with Mo Fei in a grand procession. After walking for a short while, they arrived in front of a magnificent building.
The main entrance of the building is very wide, which can accommodate more than a dozen people to enter side by side. The entrance is decorated with carved beams and jade pillars, and is magnificent. At the very top center of the entrance, three gilded characters are written: Hall of Paying Homage to the Master.
"Enter through the side door first, men on the left and women on the right. Someone will guide you to bathe and change clothes. The apprenticeship ceremony will officially begin in half an hour, so hurry up!"
Under Mo Fei's guidance, all the new students entered in an orderly manner through the side doors on both sides.
Chen Mu greeted Chen Duo and Chen Duo Mingye, then led A Huo towards the left door, while they went to the right.
After Chen Mu entered, he was greeted by disciples dressed in white and guided to bathe and change clothes.
After taking a bath, Chen Mu changed into the uniform of the disciples, also dressed in white, just like the disciples who had greeted him.
"Hmm, this material is quite nice!"
Chen Mu felt quite comfortable wearing the disciple's robes. In the Wilderness, this kind of fabric was very expensive, and even he was usually unwilling to spend more money on it.
"That's good!"
A Huo nodded in agreement.
Their casual conversation drew many disdainful glances from those around them.
Although the new students here come from all over the country, most of them have grown up in privileged families and are well-behaved, so they naturally look down on Chen Mu and his friends.
As time went on, many people discovered the origins of Chen Mu and his companions. Knowing that they were from the Wilderness, they became even more disgusted with them.
Wilderness has always been synonymous with barbarity and backwardness. Although Heaven-Questioning Pavilion teaches without discrimination, it cannot control the students' thoughts. Many students are already intentionally or unintentionally rejecting Chen Mu and his group.
However, Chen Mu didn't care. They were all people who had experienced countless killings in the Wilderness, and these students were not enough to make him feel wary.
Half an hour passed quickly. After everyone had bathed and changed, they went to the main hall of the apprenticeship hall to wait.
The Hall of Initiation is very large, enough to accommodate thousands of people. At the very center of the deepest part of the hall stands a huge statue, seemingly carved from some kind of stubborn stone.
"This is our founder of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion... Yang Wentian! To enter our Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, one must first pay homage to our founder!"
The statue depicts a man holding a long spear. Despite the passage of time, one can still sense that he was a towering figure, a peerless man who looked down upon the world.
"Paying homage to the ancestral master!"
Under Elder Mo's guidance, all the new students followed his example and bowed deeply to the statue.
"By the Ancestral Master, our sect is now accepting new disciples... May the Ancestral Master bless our sect..."
Mo Fei recited a long prayer. The entire ceremony was solemn and sacred, lasting for half an hour before it ended.
After the ceremony, Mo Fei exchanged a few words with the disciples beside him, and then the dozens of guiding disciples separated, each leading a group of new students away.
Hey! You, come here!
Chen Mu turned around and saw a tall man calling his name.
"Your name is Chen Mu, right? You're the number one freshman in this year's ranking competition?"
"Yes!"
The tall man looked Chen Mu up and down, his eyes scrutinizing him.
"My name is Huang Tianjiao. I was the top-ranked freshman in the competition five years ago. Now, I'll guide you to choose your accommodation."
After speaking, he glanced at A Huo, Mingye, and Chen Duo next to Chen Mu and quickly guessed their identities.
I heard there were four of you, and the other two got second and third place respectively.
Great, then come along! I'll help you choose accommodations.
"Okay, thank you, senior brother!"
Although Huang Tianjiao's tone was arrogant, Chen Mu still had to be polite and quickly bowed to express his gratitude.
Furthermore, Chen Mu had some of his own speculations. It was probably the elders above who deliberately arranged for Huang Tianjiao to guide him.
Their purpose in doing this was simply to remind themselves that there is a first-place finisher in the rankings every year, so they shouldn't become arrogant.
Chen Mu and his companions followed Huang Tianjiao, traversing mountainous terrain and crossing an iron suspension bridge, continuing their journey down the mountain path.
On the way, Huang Tianjiao took the opportunity to explain the rules of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion to them.
"Within one month, you new disciples can freely choose an elder to be your master. If no elder is willing to accept you as disciples during this period, an elder will be assigned by the sect to teach you. Do you understand this rule?"
"Understood! Then what's the difference between a master I choose myself and one who is uniformly assigned?"
Upon hearing Chen Mu's question, Huang Tianjiao turned around and gave him an appreciative look.
"As expected of the top freshman, he got right to the point."
He continued walking forward, explaining as he went.
"Although my Heaven-Questioning Pavilion teaches without discrimination, there is still a distinction between close and distant relationships between disciples and masters."
If the master is uniformly assigned by the pavilion, one can only become the elder's disciple as a nominal disciple.
However, if you can get an elder to accept you as a disciple within a month, you can generally obtain the status of an inner disciple, and the difference between these two is significant.
Chen Mu nodded to himself, then, recalling Elder An's words yesterday that he could be accepted as a personal disciple, he inquired again.
"What are the specific differences between a direct disciple, an inner disciple, and a disciple on a nominal basis?"
"This is a bit vague, but it's roughly like this."
The facilities within the pavilion, such as the cultivation room, weapon refining room, and talisman-making room, are actually allocated to each elder. If one is a registered disciple, the time they can use them each month is generally very limited.
Disciples who are registered as disciples are generally not allowed to enter their master's residence. If they have questions to ask their master, they can only ask them during the master's public lectures.
Disciples who have entered the master's residence can usually enter the master's residence and will be answered by the master whenever they have time. They also have access to facilities with longer usage time.
Finally, let's talk about direct disciples. Direct disciples are those who are as close to their masters as father and son. The masters will provide the best support to their disciples, so of course they are the best.