Perhaps the senior brother in charge of dormitory assignments knew that Alaric Ye was receiving special attention from the steward and the Mysterious Spirit Daoist, so he specifically gave him a dormitory with a window.
Alaric also noticed that many senior brothers and sisters seemed to have heard about him. It must be because the incident with the Blood Shadow Sect had caused quite a stir, making him, the sole survivor, a subject of much attention.
Opening the window, Alaric could see the vast sea of clouds halfway up Mount Tai, the ancient and exquisite Immortal Family buildings, and a plaza where senior brothers and sisters in Top Xuan Sect robes were practicing swordsmanship and martial arts.
After admiring the scenery outside for a while, Alaric gently touched the silk quilt he had never experienced before. It felt incredibly comfortable, even making his soul tremble.
As a servant, he had only ever worn coarse cloth. Silk was something only the wealthy and noble could afford in the mortal world, but now it was within his reach…
It was like a penniless beggar suddenly falling into a cave full of gold and silver treasures.
Excited, Alaric dove into the quilt, burying his face in its softness, savoring the floral and herbal fragrance.
Not stopping there, Alaric curiously inspected all the items in the dormitory, finding them to be of exceptional quality. The stools and chairs were not made from ordinary wood but were incredibly sturdy.
Although these items had had many owners before, no one had left any marks on them.
This might be related to the sect rules; damaging furniture might require compensation.
Half an hour later, Alaric’s excitement had subsided a bit, and he was fully familiar with his small dormitory. He stepped out of the dormitory and looked around.
The dormitory building for preparatory miscellaneous disciples had ten floors, built from solid stone and wood. It was an unimaginable structure in the mortal world but seemed quite ordinary in the Top Xuan Sect.
Alaric lived on the sixth floor.
Opposite his dormitory was another dormitory building, facing away from his. Alaric could vaguely see pretty girls opening windows and curiously looking at their dormitory.
It seemed that the opposite building was a preparatory miscellaneous disciples’ dormitory for female cultivators.
According to the senior brother’s introduction, the official miscellaneous disciples’ residences were much more spacious, usually located close to their work sites. Each official miscellaneous disciple had a separate house, and some even had their own courtyards.
After all, the Top Xuan Sect, with tens of thousands of cultivators, occupied an area larger than a city with a population of over a million. Land resources were quite abundant.
This filled Alaric with anticipation for becoming an official miscellaneous disciple.
As Alaric curiously looked around at the door, a chubby boy dressed in luxurious silk, looking about thirteen years old, walked out from the room on his left.
The boy smiled and greeted Alaric, “I am Elijah Wang. My family does a bit of small business. We’ll be neighbors from now on, so let’s look out for each other.”
Just then, another boy, handsome and cold-eyed, dressed in a luxurious golden robe and looking about eleven or twelve years old, walked out from the room on Alaric’s right. He also cupped his fists slightly towards Alaric.
“I am Zachary Song. My family mainly manages state affairs.”
Alaric was slightly surprised. He felt that these two were either rich or noble, with very unusual backgrounds. Smiling, he cupped his fists and said, “I am Alaric Ye. My ancestors have been servants for generations. Please excuse me.”
Alaric did not hide his background. After all, the others had introduced themselves, and he was still wearing tattered coarse cloth, with a small part of his buttocks exposed. No one would believe he came from a wealthy family.
Moreover, in his view, once you became a disciple of the Top Xuan Sect, no matter how noble your mortal background, everyone was equal now. If anyone looked down on him because of his background, Alaric would just ignore them in the future.
Elijah Wang and Zachary Song were both slightly taken aback when they heard Alaric’s self-introduction. They looked at Alaric deeply, not showing any disdain but rather some surprise.
What Alaric didn’t know was that the senior brother who assigned him the dormitory had placed him in the area for the children of noble families, and it was the top-tier area.
But he himself was of the lowest servant background, making Elijah Wang and Zachary Song think Alaric was not simple.
At least in the Top Xuan Sect, one needed connections to get such special treatment.
Elijah Wang seemed to know Zachary Song. After cupping fists, they did not introduce themselves.
Elijah Wang laughed heartily, “Today at noon, I’ll be the host and treat you two brothers to a meal. Let’s get to know each other better and look out for each other in the sect.”
Alaric was slightly taken aback, “Treat?”
Elijah Wang laughed, “Brother Alaric, do you think the Top Xuan Sect only has a cafeteria for communal meals? Here, as long as you have money… to be precise, as long as you have Spirit Stones, you can have a feast in the sect’s restaurant!”
As he spoke, a flash of light appeared in Elijah Wang’s hand, revealing a crystal-clear, faintly blue-glowing, fist-sized, oval jade stone.
Alaric keenly sensed that this jade stone contained abundant Spiritual Qi. If one practiced near it, the efficiency of absorbing Spiritual Qi would be much higher than usual.
This was the currency used by Upper Immortals, Spirit Stones!
In the Cultivation World, Spirit Stones had extremely wide applications.
On the flying boat, the senior sisters had taught Alaric a principle.
Although Spirit Stones were not omnipotent in the Cultivation World, without them, one could hardly move an inch. Earning Spirit Stones was not easy.
From the fact that official miscellaneous disciples only had a monthly salary of two Spirit Stones, one could see how precious they were.
Alaric couldn’t even measure the value of a Spirit Stone in terms of gold and silver treasures. He also thought that the value of this Spirit Stone might be much higher than his Black Iron sword.
And Elijah Wang was so generous. Was his family really just doing a bit of small business? It must be a huge business.
Elijah Wang was willing to spend Spirit Stones to treat him and Zachary Song to a meal, showing his sincere desire to establish a friendship with them.
Alaric felt a bit pained.
If you want to be friends, just say so. Give me the Spirit Stone to increase my cultivation, and we’ll be best buddies… everything can be discussed.
But of course, he couldn’t say such things directly. It would make him seem too ignorant. Alaric had been looked down upon since childhood, and now that he had risen to the top, he didn’t like being despised anymore.
Zachary Song calmly replied to Elijah Wang, “See you at noon then.”
After speaking, Zachary Song closed his door, not sure what he was going to do.
Only then did Alaric remember that Zachary Song’s family was involved in managing state affairs. Initially, he was a bit confused, as Alaric had just learned to read and had limited knowledge. But now, thinking carefully…
Managing state affairs… wasn’t that the royal family?
Zachary Song turned out to be a prince of the Great Xuan Dynasty!
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