Awakening of the Ancient: Rise of the Fallen

"Alright. Let's continue," Xuan Yu changed the topic as he resumed walking.

Some more time passed away before they got to another big building.

"This place is another one of the important places of the inner sect. It's the Skill Pavilion. You might've seen the Skill Pavilion of the outer sect, this one is similar, but it contains way more martial skills. It even has Gold Grade skills and Earth Grade skills. You can get the skills from here but you would need to pay the contribution points and a person can only get 3 skills from the Skill Pavilion of the Inner Sect in their lifetime," Xuan Yu said.

"So, you must choose carefully before you select the skills. After getting 3 skills, you won't be able to get any skill from there, no matter how many contribution points you have," Xuan Yu added.

"True. We need to think carefully and not lose ourselves in our haste. It would be good to wait for a little and collect enough contribution points before going there to get a skill," Wu Tian said.

"Right,"

They again began their exploration. Xuan Yu showed them many other places that were an important part of the inner sect, but the Skill Pavilion, the practice hall, and the Ranking Pavilion were the 3 core places of the inner sect.

"Alright. That was everything that you need to know as the new disciples. Those are the Courtyards where you will be staying. Let me tell you the ones that belong to you," 

"Courtyard No. 5412 is for Xu Ming. Number 5413 is for Wu Tian. Number 5414 is Zi Zhenfeng's courtyard..." Xuan Yu kept calling out names and soon he assigned them to everyone.

"Alright. I'll take my leave now. Remember the rules and don't break it and that's all," He said before he left.

"We're finally the Disciples of the inner sect. Now we can only rise and never look back. This is just the beginning. I think I'll enter secluded cultivation and only come out after breaking through," Zi Zhenfeng said as he walked towards his courtyard with Xu Ming and Wu Tian.

"Me too. I can also feel that a breakthrough is near," Wu Tian said, smilingly.

"What about you, Xu Ming?" Zi Zhenfeng inquired as he looked towards Xu Ming.

"I will go to the skill pavilion and increase my strength," Xu Ming replied.

"That's great as well. But don't forget, you can only select 3 skills. You should wait till you have more contribution points," Zi Zhenfeng reminded him.

"Yea, I will remember that," Xu Ming smilingly said before he separated from them and entered his courtyard.

Xu Ming entered the courtyard which was much bigger than the courtyard of the outer sect. The Outer Sect courtyards only had 1 room and 1 Hall, even though they were big. On the other hand, the Inner Sect courtyard had 3 rooms and an even bigger hall. it was all for a single disciple and just like the outer sect, he didn't have to share his courtyard with anyone else.

"Qi Crystal," Xu Ming picked up and observed the Qi Crystal.

"Too bad that I can't use it. It would have been great if they had given me Origin Crystals instead, but I'm not even sure if they know what they are. The chances of Origin Crystal existing in this world are too low," Xu Ming sighed as he put the Qi Crystal back in his storage ring.

He chose one of the 3 rooms as his bedroom and entered it. He sat in a meditative position as he began cultivating.

Audit the Qi was denser in the Inner Sect compared to the Outer Sect, The Origin Energy was more or less the same.

He cultivated throughout the night and only woke up when it was morning.

He stopped cultivating and sat up. He got ready after a shower before he left his courtyard.

What Xu Ming needed the most right now was something that could help him comprehend the Sword Intent.

He left his courtyard and walked through the inner sect to get to the Skill Pavilion.

He entered the Skill Pavilion and walked up to the Elder that was sitting some distance away from the entrance.

"Ah, excuse me, Elder. Can you tell me if I can find something in the Skill Pavilion that can possibly help me understand sword intent?" Xu Ming asked the Elder.

"I've never seen you before, are you new?" The Elder inquired.

"Yeah, I'm new to the inner sect," Xu Ming replied.

"So you want to comprehend the Sword Intent? There are not many people in the sect that decide to truly walk the path of the sword," The Elder told him.

"I want to learn it. Is there something that can help me?" Xu Ming inquired.

"Although our sect isn't famous for its Swordsmen, we did have a few great swordsmen throughout our history. There's a book that was written by a person that was known as the greatest swordsman of his time. He did write his understanding about his journey with the sword and his sword intent,"

"You can get that book. Keep in mind that it's only about his understanding and it might not help you in the least. Comprehending the sword intent can not be taught, but the book can show you a possible path. That's the one I would suggest to you if you are really serious about it," The Elder said.

"I will take that," Xu Ming told the Elder. 

When he came here, he wasn't even sure if he could find something like this in the sect, but a book written by someone that managed to comprehend Sword Intent was indeed the best for him.

"I don't think you can get it. You're a new disciple, so you might not have enough contribution points to exchange for the book," The Elder said as he glanced at Xu Ming.

"How much does it cost? I have 200 contribution points from when I completed the mission on the outer sect and 10 points from my monthly allowance," Xu Ming informed the Elder.

"That book is worth 500 contribution points so you will need 390 more to get it," The Elder told Xu Ming.

"390 contribution points? Shouldn't it be 290 contribution points?" Xu Ming inquired.

"No, you need 390 more. The Contribution Points that you collected in the outer sect are only worth half its value in the Inner Sect. So you only have 110 contribution points," The Elder explained.

"Oh, alright. Thanks for the explanation. I'll be back after collecting enough points as fast as I can,"  Xu Ming responded as he turned back.

"You don't have to be in a hurry. Take you time and don't hurt yourself," The Elder reminded Xu Ming before he left.

"Sigh, most people that come here are after martial skills or sword skills. It's been so long since a person came here asking about Sword Intent," The Elder muttered as he smiled.

*****

Xu Ming left the Skill Pavilion and walked towards the Mission Hall.

"The only possible way to get enough contribution points is to complete a mission. If I waited for monthly allowances, it would take me over 3 years," Xu Ming muttered.

He reached the Mission Hall and walked to the Elder that was In-Charge of the Mission Hall.

He asked for suitable missions that can help him get 400 or more points.

"More than 400 contribution points? You would need to take a Rank B Mission for that," The Elder said as he showed the available missions to Xu Ming.

"This is the easiest mission in the Rank B category and it gives you exactly 400 contribution points. How about it?" He showed a mission paper to Xu Ming.

"A mission to enter Profound Beast Valley and bring 20 dark seed fruits?" Xu Ming read the mission.

"Yes. The mission is to bring the Dark Seed Fruits that are only found in Profound Beast Valley, but as it's a Grade B Mission, you can already guess that it won't be easy. The Profound Beast Valley is inhabited by various powerful Beasts. You can even find an Earth Realm Beast if you're unlucky," The Elder told him.

"Don't worry about that though. The chances of that happening are really low. The Higher Realm beasts live in the depths of the Profound Beast Valley and the Dark Seed Fruits can be found on the edge of the Profound Beast Valley. You can meet Initial Gold Realm beasts there, but the chance of finding the stronger beasts are next to nothing," The Elder explained.

"Initial Gold Realm beasts? Alright. I'll take the mission," Xu Ming said.

****

Back in the outer sect, the girl that called herself Xu Ming's wife was walking towards the Outer Sect Mission Hall with puffed up cheeks.