After passing through the gate, Yuan was transported to a gathering area somewhere in the outer areas of the Dragon Essence Temple.
"What? You have passed the exam already? What’s your name? And let me see your token."
The sect elders in charge of the new disciples were dumbfounded when they saw Yuan appearing from the gates, as the other participants are still in the final examination trying to comprehend their techniques, and even if some of them have already managed to comprehend 10 percent before the seven day period, they would always try to study the technique as much as they can before their time is up.
"Here you go. My name is Yuan."
Yuan showed the sect elders the token that proved that he’d indeed passed the examination.
Once the sect elders confirmed the integrity of the token, they said to Yuan, "Very well. Come with me to gather your uniform and identification token."
Yuan proceeded to follow the sect elder into this building where he was handed three sets of Outer Court disciple uniforms.
"How old are you and what is your cultivation base?" The sect elder then asked him.
"18 years old, seventh level Spirit Apprentice," Yuan responded.
"Seventh level Spirit Apprentice? That’s pretty high for your age, and you are already qualified to take the Inner Court disciple examination. However, you must be a disciple for at least a month before you can take the exam."
After recording Yuan’s information into a logbook, the sect elder handed Yuan his identification token and another item before speaking, "This is the Dragon Essence Temple’s rule book; it contains everything you can and cannot do as a disciple of the sect. If you break any rules, you’ll be sent to the Disciplinary Hall for punishment. If you break enough rules or one major rule, your disciple status will be renounced and you will no longer be a disciple of the sect, and worst-case scenario, you’ll have your cultivation crippled before being thrown out with death even a possibility. Therefore, I highly urge you to read and memorize the entire rule book."
"I understand," Yuan nodded.
"Also, there will be a small lecture that will be held later that all newly accepted disciples must attend before they are allowed into the sect, as it will teach you more about the sect and things you are expected to do as a disciple. However, since you have finished the examination much faster than others, you’ll have to wait a few days until the disciple examination ends."
The sect elder then pointed to a long building with many doors not too far away from them and said, "You can stay in one of those rooms until then. The lecture will happen in seven days when the examination officially ends. Take this time to read the rule book."
"Okay. Thank you, Senior." Yuan bowed to the sect elder before going into one of the rooms.
Once he was inside the room, Yuan looked at the small place with a speechless look on his face.
There was barely any free space in the room, and besides a small bed that could not really be called a bed because it was completely made of stone, and the toilet, there was nothing else in the room.
"I am supposed to live here for an entire week? This is ridiculous!" Yuan sighed loudly before sitting on the cold, hard ’bed’. Luckily for him, he can simply log off the game and wait in the real world inside his comfortable room. However, such a thing was impossible for the people of this world, and Yuan pitied them.
"Congratulations on passing the disciple examination and becoming a disciple of the Dragon Essence Temple, Brother Yuan." Xiao Hua’s voice suddenly resounded inside Yuan’s head.
"Oh, Xiao Hua. Thank you. And it feels like it’s been forever since I last heard your voice," Yuan said.
"Xiao Hua is always with Brother Yuan, and she’s always watching him," Xiao Hua said.
"Congratulations, Young Master; it seems like you have learned another powerful technique," Feng Yixiao’s voice resounded next.
"Thank you, Feng Feng."
Because most of the events had happened inside Yuan’s mind, neither Xiao Hua nor Feng Yixiao knew about the Great One or anything that happened inside the special space.
After talking with Xiao Hua and Feng Yixiao for a few minutes, Yuan retrieved the Dragon Essence Temple rule book and began reading through it thoroughly, not daring to miss a single sentence, as he didn’t want to accidentally break any rules.
"No fighting between disciples. If you have a problem with another disciple, settle it on the stage after notifying a sect elder. Offenders will be punished with 3 months of solitary confinement in the Disciplinary Cave."
"Murder, rape, and other similar disgraceful behaviors will not be tolerated in this sect. Offenders will have their cultivation crippled and their disciple status renounced."
"Any degree of betrayal towards the sect will be punished with execution by beheading!"
Yuan spent almost the rest of his time playing to read and memorize the rule book that had a little over 100 pages.
Once it was time for dinner, Yuan logged off the game and waited for Yu Rou to return.
"Brother, are you still playing the game?" Yu Rou asked him after entering his room.
"I’m here, Yu Rou, and I would like to apologize for missing dinner and breakfast. I got too caught up with the disciple examination that I forgot about the time," Yuan said in an apologizing tone.
"Don’t worry about it, brother. I’ll forgive you since you appeared on the announcement again after learning an Ancient-rank skill. Tell me all about it when I come back with your dinner, okay?"
"Okay."
Yu Rou then left the room to prepare for his dinner.
Half an hour later, Yu Rou returned to his room, and Yuan began telling her about everything he’s experienced in the examination, including his encounter with the Great One and its Legacy.