After the examination's conclusion, those that had passed were promptly guided away by their new sect-mates and elders. Meanwhile, those that failed were guided to a side hall to be sent away through a teleportation array.

While no stories had ended here, many had reached a point of stagnation. A few, though, were only starting. These few people would never give up on their goals and would continue to strive despite their failure.

Yueshi and the others continued to speak as they were guided toward the outer court.

All of them had great expectations for what was coming. They were sure that it would not be all roses, but this place had been their goal, so, whatever came their way, they would face it without hesitation.

Finally, after walking for what seemed a long time, they arrived at where they would be staying, and it was nothing short of beautiful, humungous, and… well, overall mystical.

The examination hall inside of the mountain was enormous, but it only occupied a little corner of the sect's land. The outer court was vast and built in a valley between sky-reaching mountains, and was filled with all sorts of buildings.

As they descended the mountain, they could see lots of open fields destined for training, and oftentimes, one would see flashing lights and explosions - amidst other things - as the disciples sparred among themselves.

"Don't be surprise yet." Yuan Yue elbowed him on the side and then pointed at the sky-piercing mountains. "Once you go to the Inner Sect, the vision will be even more glorious."

Her voice was filled with confidence. It was as if she thought that it would not take that long for that. Well, most thought the same. However, it was still a bit awkward to have someone believe that much in him.

Leaving that aside, Yueshi smiled as he took another glance at the outer court.

This entire place reeked of cultivation, its aura screaming that this was a paradise for pursuers of the immortal path. Even the qi in the atmosphere seemed to be denser and the air purer, filling him with vitality.

It was now quite easy to understand why people were so desperate to join the sect.

The one guiding them, an outer court Elder, smiled at their expressions. He had seen people react like that many times; however, it never got boring.

When he first came here, he was also surprised and excited about the atmosphere surrounding this place, now it was his time to watch others acting like that.

"Don't just stand there dumbly. We still have much to see." Speaking so, the Elder continued to walk and the new disciples followed after him.

As they approached, the new disciple's expression turned even more fanatical and excited; they could see other disciples sparing and fighting, using cultivation technique after cultivation technique.

People like Yueshi, Xuehua, and Wu Feng had never studied a cultivation technique, and there were many like them in the group. Those more experienced, though, could see that those techniques were not bad - better than anything their backers had.

Even Ling Tian Tian, the genius from the Ling Family, only cultivated two or three techniques, to not talk about people from less powerful and influential families in other cities.

"The outer court is divided into several areas. This is the residential area, where you all will be staying from now on." The guiding elder spoke as they approached a multitude of big and small houses.

"If you have enough cultivation points, you can exchange it for a big mansion – though that would be a waste. However, as newcomers, your room will be fairly small." He then guided them to what seemed like a recently built area, full houses with three to four rooms.

Yueshi and Xuehua exchanged glances and he smiled awry. If a house with three to four rooms was small, then what could their house in Flying Snow City be considered?

"You can choose your own houses later, and since they have been built while we were on our way, there are enough houses for everyone."

Not taking note of Yueshi's strange expression, the Elder continued to guide them over the other areas.

As they continued to walk, they soon saw an enormous, pagoda-like building.

"This is the Thousand Deities Refining Pagoda, and it is a special training ground. If you want to enter, you must pay with contribution points." The elder looked toward them. "If you are aiming to become strong, this is a place you will visit a lot. Here, you can fight with all sorts of enemies to train your martial arts and cultivation techniques."

Yueshi gazed at the towering building, making a mental note to come back later and as soon as possible.

His spear arts had become fiercer during his fight with Ling Tian Tian, and after exchanging pointers with her, there were many things he wanted to test and try.

As they continued to move around, the elder pointed to them the most important places in the outer court.

There was the library where all sorts of books and documents were stored, telling the history of the world and also about the sect and the current state of global affairs.

And there was also the disciples' holy temple - the Cultivation Tower - where a myriad of cultivation techniques, circulation methods, and so on were hoarded.

However, while one could enter for free in the first, one had to pay to enter the second; moreover, each time they entered they could only choose a single manual.

There was, also, training grounds that focused on certain aspects or elements.

Other than that, an important place they saw was the disciples sparring grounds, where one could meet other disciples to exchange pointers, and the life and death arena.

Despite its name, the sect did not allow disciples to kill each other – not in the light, at least. In the life or death arena what one bet was not one's life, but their qualification as a disciple of the Star Sea Sect – if one lost, he would be immediately expelled.

Last, but not least, there was the Starry Sky Pavilion, responsible for issuing missions to the disciples and exchanging items.

It was mostly through missions that one could acquire contribution points to enter the Thousand Deities Refining Pagoda and other training grounds, as well as acquiring manuals and weapons.

Also, in the Starry Sky Pavilion, one could exchange points for all sorts of cultivation resources necessary for certain techniques, weapons, pills, and other items. With enough points, their cultivation speed could be increased by several folds.

There were a few other buildings worthy to mention but that they did not visit.

The last place to where the elder guided them had two monoliths; on one, at the very top, the words 'outer court's heavens chosen' were engraved, following that there were a hundred names inscribed.

The second had 'newcomers ranking list' engraved, also followed by a hundred names – including Yueshi's.

According to the elder, this monument was a symbol of honor, and anyone with his name written in any of the two was a great talent.

Since there were thousands upon thousands of outer court disciples, one could only imagine how hard it was to be amongst the top hundred.

Moreover, since the sect accepted new disciples every year, Yueshi's name, as well as the others, would only stay on the newcomer's monolith for a single year.

From then on, they would be competing with the older disciples to enter the outer court's heavens chosen.

After he ended with the sightseeing the elder left, and the big group eventually separated.

"So, what will you be doing now?" Yuan Yue asked. Their group was now composed of the Flying Snow Dojo's members.

"Probably going to go pick a cultivation technique." Since the first one was free, Yueshi wanted to deal with that as fast as possible.

"Hm. Then I will see you later. I do need a good rest right now…" Saying so, she yawned. After fighting three battles under the torturing pain of the poison, she was exhausted.

Yueshi then looked at Wu Feng and the others. "We are going to rest too. Cultivation techniques are appealing, but we need to recharge first."

Yueshi then bade them farewell as they parted ways, only him and Xuehua moving toward the Cultivation Tower. His mind was afar, though, as he wondered if the Sect could cure Yuan Yue.

"Do not worry. We can always find a way." Just as he was thinking about it, Xuehua spoke from the side.

Wondering how she knew what he was thinking, he saw her point at her eyebrows, only then did he notice he was frowning

hard.

"He-he, you really are the one that knows me the best." Laughing he looked forward once again. "Any plans for the future, oh great seer?" His tone was merry as he half-joked.

"I will be taking over the world" and the answer came in such a serious tone that it caught him completely by surprise.

Looking at her, he made a doubtful face. Xuehua giggled, before opening her mouth to say. "How did that sound? Haha, I will cultivate, obviously. Once my points end I will probably be going on missions, too."

Yueshi wanted to roll his eyes at her words, however, he just nodded. It was rare for this sister of his to crack a joke. "When you go on a mission, I will go too, since sooner or later I will also have to go on one."

"Your sister can take care of herself, just worry about yourself." Patting his head, she softly spoke. "Just focus on cultivating, then, when you are out of points we can go on a mission together."

Yueshi knew for a fact that, no matter what he said, she would refute.

He also knew that, just as she worried about him, he also felt worried about her. With a reassuring smile, he nodded toward his sister. Inside, however, he had other plans.

'I can always spend my points so fast that they will be zeroed before she can even think about going somewhere dangerous.'

The two of them continued to chat and, eventually, they arrived at the tower-like building. Quite a few disciples were coming in and out of it, and Yueshi recognized many of them as new disciples.

There was also an old woman sitting lazily to the side of the entrance, and although she just sat there silently, Yueshi could feel she was stronger than anyone he had met so far.

Yueshi even saw a disciple come to return a cultivation manual he had borrowed - only for the woman to snap her fingers and the scripture turn into a ray of light, shooting straight inside the tower.

When the two approached, the elderly woman glanced at them.

"As new disciples, you are only allowed to take manuals from the first floor for free." She spoke calmly. "If you want to take anything from the second floor onward, you will have to pay. The lowest price is one thousand contribution points."

They nodded, acknowledging her words before bowing and entering the tower.

Since it would be his first time coming into contact with a cultivation manual, Yueshi decided against using his points to take something from the second floor.

After going inside, the two decided to go separate ways and search for something that fit them.

As Yueshi looked around, he noted that no cultivation manual was directly stored on the stands, only slabs with their names and an introduction to them were showcased.

Since one was allowed to stay inside for a long time, Yueshi took his time searching for a cultivation technique or circulation method of his interest.

'Blazing Dragon Punch Cultivation Technique uses qi of the fire element to set one's fists aflame, without damaging them.' The first cultivation technique he saw made him shake his head, it was too simple and weak.

'Fire Deity Circulation Method, turns the qi of the user in fire element qi, also making one draw in only qi of this same element. Increase one's affinity with fire-based cultivation techniques'; the second was also merely so-so.

However, Yueshi was neither worried nor disappointed and continued to look around.

'Nine Clouds Footwork', 'Flaming Monarch Spear', 'Swift Sand Steps', 'Heavenly Slash'… like that, Yueshi read through many cultivation manuals, however, finding one of his interest was just too hard.

Fortunately, the tower had thousands of manuals stored on the first floor. Even if it was hard, it was impossible to not find one.

Allchemic

Okay... you can admit it. This one was a fairly boring one. Sorry for that. Still, I will be honest and say that I love any and all interactions between Yueshi and Xuehua. In my mind, it is always so cute~ '3'. That aside, hope you have enjoyed a bit, and please check again tomorrow for more!