Nine people can potentially do something, but only one of them can actually do it. This shows just how difficult it is to master formations.
But he is not deterred. At least for now he is not deterred. He won't be deterred until he tries it.
He chuckled and said, "I should at least see how difficult it is before I give up."
Now that he settled the matter of his meeting with his supervisor, he decided to sort out the things that he received today.
The first thing he took out was the pills he got from the medicine. The pills are blood-replenishing pills.
The blood-replenishing pills will help him recover his vitality quickly when he tries to comprehend the force diagram of the sect. So he will be able to comprehend the diagram more than three times daily and reach the second mortal coil quickly.
The pills also have a passive effect, which is to subtly change his physique and make it easier for him to break through to the second mortal coil when he is done comprehending the force diagram.
Everyone else was given the same number and quality of pills. They were given ten bottles containing ten pills each. This made for a total of 100 pills.
But he was only given one bottle containing ten pills. Apparently, each pill that he got is worth 10 of the others. It has more efficacy, but it is also milder.
The single pill is more expensive than ten of the normal ones. The true value of the pill was about 15 of the normal ones.
Elder Bloodhound had said that the extra cost of the pill wasn't worth it. He had claimed that the extra cost of 5 pills was only for the convenience of the S-grade disciples.
For an extra cost of 5 pills, S-grade disciples won't have to take many pills, and the pills they take will be digested faster and have long-lasting effects. Their bodies will also accumulate fewer pill toxins.
He sighed in pity and said, "This convenience is only for the special disciples to enjoy. It is a small convenience now, but it will become bigger in the future and widen the gap between the S-grade students and others."
He was speaking as if he pitied the less fortunate disciples. But he didn't pity them at all.
In fact, receiving better treatment made him feel good. It is not just because he thinks he is the best and deserves the best, but also because being given better treatment means he will be able to grow stronger quickly and become the best even if he isn't already the best.
He chuckled to himself as he checked the next item in the box. This next item is the largest thing he received today. They are his uniforms.
The uniform is a white, full-length robe. It has four bright red skulls on it. The four skulls signify that he is an S-grade disciple, while the white color of the robe indicates that he is a member of the outer sect.
Apart from the difference in cosmetics, there is also a difference in the functionality of the different grades of robes. His robe is a top-grade rank 2 artifact. This means that it is more durable than the low-grade second skin that he bought from the beast hunting center.
Elder Bloodhound had said that the A-grade disciples were given high-grade rank 2 artifacts, while B- and C-grade disciples were given medium- and low-grade defensive artifacts, respectively.
Aside from the varying levels of investment in defensive artifacts and pills based on grade, there are also varying levels of investment in the amount of energy stones that the disciples were given for their first month.
He was given 100 energy stones, while the A-grade disciples were given 50, the B-grade disciples were given 20, and the menial disciples were given just 10 energy stones.
He can't use the energy stones until he reaches the second mortal coil and his mind becomes active, but the number of energy stones he was given by the sect helped him to appreciate the amount that the family gave to him when he left.
The last thing in his box was the redemption notes for the cultivation techniques and weapons. He doesn't know their full value yet. He won't know until he redeems it or asks someone else because Elder Bloodhound didn't tell them.
After looking through everything, he set them aside and decided to read the rule book. He wanted to get himself acquainted with the rules not only to know his rights and prevent someone from cheating, but also to know how far he could go before he was punished.
The rule book didn't start with the rules and regulations of the sect. It first started with the introduction of the sect and mentioned the mode of operation of the sect.
It was stated clearly that the founders of the sect weren't from this region. Apparently, they're from a region upstream to their location. So the founders were closer to the Ethera tree, where the mana concentration was higher.
He also saw how to make money in the book. It wasn't stated as such; he could glean that if he wanted to earn more energy stones for cultivation, he could do what was stated.
According to the mode of operation, everyone is given a certain amount of energy stones every month. The amount they receive is based on their grade, their merits, and their performance.
Merit is acquired from helping the sects. Disciples can join various service halls and work for the sects. Their time and effort will be rewarded with merit points, which they can use to exchange for energy stones and other things in the sect, such as weapons, pills, and cultivation techniques.
The alternative is performance points. Performance points are earned from elders and through performance in tests.
The elder in the various service halls, especially the lecture hall, can give disciples that they think are potential and are performing well performance points so that those disciples can grow stronger faster.