589: Introduction_3
Yu Er’s eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded like a pecking chicken, saying:
“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”
Afterward, an instructor from Taixu Gate came down to meet Mo Hua.
“This is your Senior Brother Xu, also a disciple of the Shangguan Family, but he joined two terms before you. After you join, you can ask him if there’s anything you don’t understand,” Wenren Wan introduced to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua glanced at the instructor and saw him wearing a Taoist robe woven with dark and white threads, the robe adorned with the pattern of Taixu, exuding gracefulness and a friendly smile, which made him seem quite approachable. So, Mo Hua clasped his fists and said,
“Senior Brother Xu.”
...
Shangguan Xu also courteously returned the gesture.
Afterwards, Wenren Wan took Yu Er by the hand and left.
Yu Er, while walking away, kept turning back, waving goodbye to Mo Hua with reluctance.
Once Wenren Wan and Yu Er had left, Mo Hua followed the instructor named Shangguan Xu, one after the other, up the mountain.
Taixu Mountain was very tall.
And the gate of Taixu Gate was halfway up the mountain.
So, from the base of the mountain to the gate, there was quite a distance to cover.
Shangguan Xu had profound cultivation and his steps were steady, whereas Mo Hua had exquisite movement techniques and trod lightly. They walked together for a while, and Mo Hua, finding it a bit boring, started chatting with Shangguan Xu.
Initially, Shangguan Xu was a bit distant, but seeing Mo Hua’s innocent and outright sincerity, he also took a liking to him.
Moreover, after the admission, he would be his junior brother.
Although only a junior brother from the Outer Gate, they still shared the bond of the same sect.
So, Shangguan Xu was quite open and answered all questions exhaustively.
After they became more familiar with each other, Mo Hua chatted non-stop on the latter part of the journey:
“Senior Brother Xu, is the sect very strict with its rules?”
“If I violate the sect rules, will I be expelled from the sect?”
“If not expelled from the sect, would I be confined, or would I be punished by guarding the gate or sweeping the floor?”
“Senior Brother Xu, if by chance, accidentally, by some coincidence… I learn something secretly, would it violate the sect rules?”
“…Of course, I don’t really intend to learn secretly; I’m just asking…”
“Also, what does the Sect Leader look like, and do the Elders have bad tempers?”
…
After hearing these questions, Shangguan Xu couldn’t help but laugh and cry, yet he still answered each and every one of them:
“Don’t worry, the rules of Taixu Gate are, relatively speaking, not so strict…”
“Unlike the Four Great Sects…”
“Within the Four Great Sects, disciples must abide by strict norms in every aspect of their behavior, following proper rites; they can’t be late for their daily wake-up and bedtime;”
“Whatever the instructors and elders teach, you must learn. If you don’t learn well, you will be scolded, or even made to apply for withdrawal from the sect;”
“The Four Great Sects also have many assessments…”
“If you do well in the exams, you are treated well; if not, you receive cold looks.”
“Cultivation, Formation, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Refining Rune… etc.; all these require assessment, and there’s no room for negligence; the rules are very harsh…”
“There’s a minor exam every ten days, a major exam every month, and the exams rank the disciples in third, sixth, or ninth class…”
“So, the disciples of the Four Great Sects must be ‘diligent’…”
…
Mo Hua listened until his scalp tingled, “Is it really that exaggerated?”
Shangguan Xu nodded, “Yes, that’s why they are known as ‘Four Great Sects,’ they strive to excel in everything. The disciples they nurture are truly exceptional…”
Shangguan Xu sighed, feeling some admiration as well as envy, and then his tone became more relaxed.
“Of course, our Taixu Gate is much more lenient…”
“There are quite a few legacies within the sect, and you can learn whatever you want to learn. Even if you don’t learn well, you won’t be too harshly reprimanded, even getting a ‘D’ is fine…”
“Of course, you should still please the teaching instructors or the elders; otherwise, if you really anger them, it won’t be good…”
“When learning spell points…”
“Besides the truly Sect Protecting spell points, most spell points at the Outer Gate can also be learned, because, after all, this Sect is about passing on the teachings and imparting knowledge, and there’s not such a great divide between insiders and outsiders…”
“You learn it, it’s your own skill.”
“Of course, excluding the Sect Protecting Ultimate Techniques…”
“On normal days, there aren’t too many rules; just attend classes on time, complete your assignments punctually, and for the rest of the time, it’s quite ample—the Sect won’t be too restrictive…”