Chapter Thirteen: The Azure Dragon Hall

  The snow-covered mountains shine with a silver light under the sunset.

  The Red Lotus Temple on the emerald water did not have a single snowflake, but its enchanting crimson stood out strikingly against the pure white snowy sky.

  Viewing the Red Lotus Temple up close, due to the angle of view, it is actually difficult to see the lotus-shaped structure of the Red Lotus Temple. Only red walls, red tiles, and buildings can be seen, all made of good red wood.

  As you approach closer, you can see that beneath the Red Lotus Temple are thousands of stone pillars with diameters of several feet, extending into the water and supporting the temple in mid-air.

  Honglian Temple is divided into three layers from the outside. The outermost layer has twelve petal-shaped sections, which are further divided into twelve regions corresponding to the earthly branches of zi, chou, yin, mao, etc.

  The eight petals in the center are divided into eight areas according to the Bagua direction: Tian, Di, Feng, Lei, Shui, Huo, Shan and Ze.

  The five central regions are divided into Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu and Qilin.

  Gao Huan's master was the first Fa Xiang of the White Tiger Hall, with a revered status and actual power, being the top figure in the Red Lotus Temple. Gao Huan was just an inner disciple, with a status only slightly higher than that of a miscellaneous servant, and could only move within the character area.

  The twelve districts of the earthly branch, generally speaking, are inhabited by miscellaneous servants and Red Lotus guards. Miscellaneous servants wear gray clothes and are responsible for all miscellaneous tasks, such as cooking, washing clothes, etc., with the lowest status.

  The Red Lotus Guards wear crimson robes and are responsible for security and law enforcement. They are the mainstay of the Red Lotus Temple.

  The Bamun district is divided into three types of disciples: those who wear black clothes are the inner disciples, those who wear red fire clothes are the law enforcement disciples, and those who wear green clothes are the servant disciples. The Honglian Temple's inner disciples have always maintained a scale of around 300-400 people. According to the time they entered the temple, they are also divided into different activity areas.

  As for the five regions of Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu and Qilin, they respectively correspond to the five halls of Honglian Temple, where the true transmission disciples, protectors, first seats and other sect elites reside.

  The Wan Jie Cave is the ancestral hall of the sect, a forbidden place where Lian Pong is located. Only the Sect Master Yu Le Zhen Jun has the right to enter. Unless it's the New Year's Grand Festival and the End-of-Year Grand Competition, inner disciples and true transmission disciples will occasionally enter the Wan Jie Cave for a showdown.

  The entire Honglian Temple has approximately two thousand people, including more than 700 gray-robed miscellaneous workers and Qingyi executive disciples, more than 200 red-robed law enforcers, more than 400 Blood Lotus guards, more than 300 inner chamber disciples, more than 100 true transmission disciples, more than 100 Dharma protectors, and dozens of strong temple elders and first seats.

  The Honglian Temple has a clear hierarchy, strict rules and regulations, with a well-established management system. Everyone has their own position and responsibilities. Although it is called a sect, its rules are even stricter and colder than those of the military.

  Gao Huan returned to the temple and the first thing he did was go to Qinglong Hall to report.

  Tianlian Sect has five halls, Qinglong Hall is in charge of managing all the finances within the temple. Baihu Hall controls the temple's security forces. Zhuque is in charge of punishment and law enforcement. Xuanwu Hall is responsible for teaching martial arts, magic, and selling various weapons and magical instruments. Qilin Hall is in the middle, overseeing all miscellaneous affairs within the temple.

  Disciples who go out for autumn hunting must hand over their harvest to the Qinglong Hall, which is responsible for assessing its value and giving corresponding rewards. The so-called reward is also a kind of specially-made silver money, similar in style to copper coins, divided into four types: red gold, gold, silver, and copper, which are privately minted by the Tianlian Sect as circulating currency.

  Only true disciples and guardians or higher have the qualification to use red gold coins, while other gold, silver and copper coins are freely circulated within the temple.

  Inside the Tianlian Sect, there is a strict hierarchy, with different levels and identities receiving corresponding treatment. For example, Gao Huan, an 18-year-old inner disciple, enjoys the same treatment as other 13- or 14-year-old inner disciples.

  Whether it's practicing martial arts or magic, external objects are needed to support them. Practicing martial arts requires medicine, food to regulate bodily functions, guidance from famous teachers, good training equipment and so on, all of which require a lot of resources.

  Practicing magic requires even more, drawing talismans with demon beast blood, refining magical instruments with demon cores, and many other things. A practitioner's required resources are ten times higher than that of a warrior of the same level.

  It is said in ancient times, those who cultivate the Tao must have a good match, and Gao Huan is no exception.

  To improve treatment, one is to have special contributions, and the other is to stand out in martial arts competitions, showing extraordinary talent and potential. Only then will the sect give special attention.

  Apart from this, one can only rely on his own strength to change the situation. Gao Huan has been low-key all these years and naturally cannot get the appreciation of the sect. The resources given by the sect are far from enough, and Gao Huan still needs to take care of Fei Xue, so he has to use all kinds of means to struggle for survival.

  Fortunately, Fei Xue showed extremely high cultivation talent, and the sect has been continuously improving her treatment over the past two years. Fei Xue's strength also gave Gao Huan more means to adapt.

  For example, this year's autumn hunt in the mountains was also when he and Fei Xue made arrangements for her to lead Peng Xiu and others to "accidentally" meet him. This deal also solved the resource problem for the next few years, saving Gao Huan a lot of time and effort.

  The Azure Dragon Hall is located in the Eastern District of the Sixth Central District of the Red Lotus Temple, with two blood-robed guards standing beside the gate, each wearing a sleeve with an embroidered azure dragon, representing their identity as Azure Dragon Hall guards.

  Gao Huan, familiar with the gate and road, verified his identity by presenting his waist card. Due to his tall and sturdy physique, as well as his gentle and introverted personality, he was extremely rare in Honglian Temple, and also the oldest among hundreds of inner disciples. The guards of Qinglong Hall had a deep impression of him.

  "In another hour, you will have to report to Zhuque Hall." Feng Bin, the guard of Qinglong Hall, said with a smile.

  Feng Bin is older in age and has a more gentle attitude towards people, Gao Huan is quite familiar with him, so Feng Bin would joke around with him like this.

  Gao Huan nodded and said in a hoarse voice, "Thanks for your concern, Uncle Feng. I was delayed by something this time and almost didn't make it."

  "Feng Bin waved his hand and said: 'Go in and report quickly, don't be late.'"

  Gao Huan slightly bowed and entered the Qinglong Hall with big strides. As he watched Gao Huan's back enter the hall, another guard standing at the door, Zheng He, sneered: "This good-for-nothing will probably not pass this year's grand comparison. Old Feng, why bother talking nonsense with him..."

  Feng Bin's old face revealed a hint of playfulness, and he said slowly: "No harm to each other, saying a few more words is good for people. At my age, I don't need anyone to be afraid of me anymore. Besides, I've watched Wu Kong grow up, and it's not just luck that he's made it this far."

  Zheng He didn't think so, but he also didn't want to argue with Feng Bin about this. The topic shifted, and he invited Feng Bin to go drinking later. People are like this, easily misled by rumors. But how Zheng He viewed Gao Huan had nothing to do with him. Although Feng Bin valued Gao Huan highly in his heart, he just smiled calmly and didn't explain further.

  Gao Huan couldn't hear the conversation behind him, but his attitude towards things was quite similar to Feng Bin's. He tried to be kind to people who didn't pose a threat to his interests. To others, however, this appeared as Gao Huan being weak and easily deceived.

  Inside the Honglian Temple, strict rules are enforced. Although competition is encouraged, disciples are not allowed to engage in private fights. Gao Huan may appear weak and easy to bully, but he doesn't get bullied often. He once had an experience of consecutively refusing ten challenges. It was also from that incident that his reputation as a useless person became well-known.

  He doesn't bully others but won't be bullied either, he has no malice towards people yet isn't afraid to assume the worst about them. This is Gao Huan's attitude towards dealing with things.

  The Qinglong Hall has many rooms, it is the place where the sect sells elixirs, weapons, materials and other resources. The place that Gaohuan needs to report to is the Qinglong Grand Temple, find the elder in charge, sign and report.

  The elder in charge of the side hall was Zhang Hong. Zhang Hong's hair and beard were all white, his face was clear and thin, wearing a blue shirt, with a bit of Confucian elegance. Seeing Gao Huan, Zhang Hong revealed a warm smile, "Wu Kong, you're just in time."

  Gao Huan bowed and asked, "Have you seen Old Zhang?" He also said, "I encountered some trouble on the road and almost didn't make it."

  The Qinglong Hall is a place where people are relatively calm and gentle because of the daily transactions. Zhang Hong also appreciated Gao Huan's sincere and warm personality, and said seriously: "The big comparison is imminent, if you don't have confidence, I will transfer you to Qinglong Hall as an apprentice, how about that?"

  Gao Huan bowed deeply again and said sincerely: "Thank you for Zhang Lao's concern, but I still want to try my luck."

  Zhang Hong looked up and down at Gao Huan, a hint of surprise flashing across his face before he smiled again: "Your vital energy is overflowing, your cultivation has progressed very quickly."

  Gao Huan knew that he had absorbed the essence of Huoyan flesh, although he had advanced to the third stage and sensed the yuan energy, but for a while, he was still unable to fully digest the refined energy. A strong person like Zhang Hong could see it at close range with one glance.

  "Can't escape your notice, this time out, fortunately made some slight progress." Gao Huan replied respectfully. Zhang Hong appreciated him, but after entering the Qinglong Hall, he couldn't focus on practicing martial arts anymore, which was unacceptable to Gao Huan. In this world, power is everything.

  Besides, Gao Huan also has the qualifications to go further. It's absolutely unreasonable to find a place to muddle along now.

  "Alright, young people should have the spirit of striving to be the first. After a pause, he said: "You go inside to hand over the things first, it's going to close soon."

  Gao Huan nodded and entered the adjacent room responsible for collecting prey. There were two people chatting idly behind the counter, Gao Huan came in, and neither of them raised their heads. One of them impatiently said: "Hurry up..."

  Gao Huan didn't say much, and directly poured the fire crystal stones onto the counter. More than 200 catties of fire crystal stones piled high on the counter, shining with a bright red light.

  The two were shocked by the light and didn't come to their senses until a while later. They were in charge of collecting the autumn harvest results of the lower-level disciples. Generally, the inner disciples would bring back a few low-grade demon cores. One person brought back over 200 kilograms of fire crystal stones, they had never seen anything like it before.

  So many fire crystals also made the two men more polite. One person was responsible for appraisal and weighing, and one person was responsible for registration.

  "Although there are many fire crystals, most of them are of lower quality." said the triangular-eyed disciple.

  Gao Huanxin knew that the other party wanted to lower the price, and with so many fire crystals, they could make a big profit by slightly lowering the grade. There was nothing he could do about it. It was troublesome for Zhang Hong, but he owed too many favors, which wasn't necessary.

  Just as they were talking, Zhang Hong walked in from outside. Seeing the fire crystal on the counter, Zhang Hong also showed a hint of surprise. He smiled and said: "Wu Kong, you've got quite a harvest this time..." Zhang Hong picked up a piece of fire crystal and looked at it for two seconds before lightly praising it: "Not bad quality." After finishing speaking, Zhang Hong turned around and left, looking like he had just come in to take a stroll.

  The two deacons' faces changed, and their tone also changed, "Just saw that there are many top-grade ones in it, and there is a piece of fire crystal stone heart, this is very precious..."

  At the final settlement, more than 200 catties of fire crystal stone were exchanged for 2,000 gold coins, which is equivalent to 2,000 taels of gold. One gold coin is equal to ten taels of silver. The tiger bone and bear gall paste used by Gao Huan cost only two taels of silver per bottle, the low-grade Congyuan Dan was worth five taels of silver, and the high-grade Congyuan Dan cost only one tael of gold.

  All the property on Gao Huan's body is not worth two taels of gold. Two thousand taels of gold are absolutely a huge sum for him. So much money can't be carried with him, Gao Huan only took one hundred yuan, and the rest were stored here.

  Gao Huan kept the fist-sized pure fire crystal heart and didn't sell it. When they arrived at the side hall, Gao Huan bowed to Zhang Hong again, "Thank you, Old Master Zhang, for your support. I'm incompetent and have no way to repay you, so I can only give you this small thing as a token of my appreciation." As he spoke, he presented the fire crystal heart to Zhang Hong.

  Zhang Hong waved his hand, "No need for this, having this heart is enough."

  Gao Huan said sincerely: "It's just a small token of goodwill from me, I hope Old Zhang won't despise it."

  Zhang Hong was pleased with a few words, seeing Gao Huan's sincerity, and happily accepted it. The fire crystal had a good quality, but for Zhang Hong, it was just a small thing. What made him happy was Gao Huan's understanding and reasonable attitude.

  Gao Huan had also mixed in the previous life's society, a society that valued human relationships. Although Gao Huan's emotional intelligence was average, it was truly exceptional in this world. The principle of courtesy and reciprocity was the simplest. Zhang Hong may have helped casually, but Gao Huan couldn't take it lightly.

  Sending a fire crystal stone heart expresses gratitude and makes some feedback, communicates emotions, and deepens the relationship between both parties.

  Inside the Tianlian Sect, various poetic classics, astronomy and geography, etiquette knowledge are also taught, but for the struggling disciples who are fighting for survival, who would take these things seriously? So, among a group of brave and fierce young people, Gao Huan is so special.

  (During this new book period, I'd like to ask everyone to click, recommend and collect more, which is really important to me. Thank you for your support!)