The state of this cave brought back a familiar feeling.
"So much ti has passed," He murmured under his breath, taking in a deep breath to savor the scent of wet stone.
Every now and then, a wave of breeze would pierce through the narrow gap, blowing against his face.
Shi Jing quickly organized the cave space. Most of the items on him is stored in the heaven-grade pouch.
Fortunately, he didn’t bring that much with him from the Ming estate. Just clothes and basic necessity.
As he inspect the content of his storage pouch, the sword demon fragnt made his heart raced.
"Hopefully I can find so clues to this fragnt in the sword cloud manor."
Shi Jing was a minimalistic person. With a thin bamboo mat as his bed, it was enough to be considered ’ho’.
After everything was in place, he descended the mountain.
With his cultivation, this was easy.
He wandered through the street.
Everyone he t wore a long robe with cloud embroidery. The only difference was the color of the robe and the number of clouds carvings.
"Is it white for outer disciple, blue for inner. While purple and gold being reserved for the elders?" He thought as headed toward the area given to him by Elder Chen Lian.
Soon, he finally arrived. The giant pavilion stood way above his height.
As he look up, he could see the signboard that says "Sword Cloud Repository".
Seeing this sign, he smiled then walked past the doorway.
"Welco in!"
A cheerful voice greeted Shi Jing as he stepped through the doorway.
The interior of the pavilion was far more spacious than it appeared from outside, with towering shelves lined with various cultivation resources, weapons, and robes of different colors.
Behind a polished wooden counter stood a middle-aged man with a goatee, wearing the blue robes of an inner disciple.
His eyes sparkled with the shrewdness of soone who had spent years managing exchanges and transactions.
"Greetings, senior brother. I am here to collect my monthly spirit stones and outer disciple robes," Shi Jing said with a respectful bow.
The man nodded and reached for a thick ledger. "Of course, of course. What is your na, junior brother?"
"Shi Jing."
The man’s brush froze mid-air as he was about to write. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked up at Shi Jing with newfound interest.
"Shi Jing? THe Shi Jing who have esteed Feng letter of recomndation?" The man’s voice carried a hint of excitent as he set down his brush.
Shi Jing was sowhat taken aback by the reaction. He didn’t expect the words to travel that fast.
"That would be , senior brother."
"Ah! What fortune, what fortune!" The man hurried around the counter and clasped Shi Jing’s hands warmly.
"I am Zhao Ping, the supervisor of this repository. I’ve heard quite a bit about your talent at the entrance."
"Junior brother, you have already gathered a na for yourself on your first day!"
Shi Jing maintained his polite composure, though he felt slightly suspicious of the sudden enthusiasm.
"Senior Brother Zhao is too kind. I was rely lucky."
"Modest! Modest indeed!" Zhao Ping laughed heartily.
"Listen, junior brother Shi, soone with your talent is destined for great things in this manor. Perhaps... perhaps we could beco friends?"
" I’ve been managing this repository for years now, and I know all the ins and outs of the manor. Any guidance you might need, any special resources you might require, just let old Zhao know!"
The man’s intentions were transparent, but not entirely unwelco.
Having connections within the manor could prove useful, especially for soone still finding his footing.
Seeing this, Shi Jing guard relaxed slightly.
"I would be honored to have Senior Brother Zhao as a friend," Shi Jing replied diplomatically.
Zhao Ping’s face lit up with genuine pleasure. "Excellent! Now, let get your things."
He hurried back behind the counter and began gathering items.
"For outer disciples, the monthly allocation is fifty spirit stones."
He placed a small but heavy pouch on the counter. Even from a distance, Shi Jing could feel the pure spiritual energy emanating from within.
"And here are your outer disciple robes," Zhao Ping continued, setting down a neatly folded stack of white robes embroidered with silver cloud patterns.
"Three sets should be sufficient for now. The cloud embroidery indicates your status - one cloud for outer disciples, two for inner disciples, and so forth."
Shi Jing examined the robes briefly. The fabric was of good quality, far superior to anything he had worn at the Ming estate.
The silver threading seed to shimr with a faint spiritual resonance.
It seem his guess from before wasn’t entirely wrong.
But ranks are determined by number of clouds, then can he assu that the color was based on cultivation?
"The spirit stones..." Zhao Ping leaned in quietly.
"Normally outer disciples receive forty per month. But for soone of your caliber, I managed to secure the full allocation of fifty. Consider it a token of our new friendship."
"Once you reached the Qi-Refinent realm, you can receive an earth-grade cultivation art!"
"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhao. Your kindness won’t be disregarded."
"Think nothing of it!" Zhao Ping waved dismissively, though his pleased expression suggested otherwise.
"Oh, and junior brother, if you ever need access to higher-grade cultivation resources or perhaps so... discrete information about the inner court competition, don’t hesitate to visit old Zhao."
As Shi Jing gathered his belongings, he couldn’t help but reflect on how quickly his reputation had spread.
While he appreciated the benefits it brought, he also understood that such attention was a double-edged sword.
"I will keep that in mind, Senior Brother Zhao. For now, I should return to my place and familiarize myself with the manor."
"Of course, of course! Don’t let keep you. But rember," Zhao Ping’s eyes glead with anticipation.
"When you beco an inner disciple - and I have no doubt you will - old Zhao will be here to celebrate with you!"
With a final bow, Shi Jing departed the repository, the weight of the spirit stones and the implications of his growing reputation both settling heavily in his mind.
"I just hope Elder Wang doesn’t visit in the middle of the night one day..."
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