West Mansion, Dui Palace.
Including Tang Yi and his group, a total of eight candidates joined the Dui Palace this year. This meant that if Tang Yi’s group hadn’t joined, only two people would have entered the Dui Palace. No wonder the palace was in decline. Out of more than two hundred candidates who passed the examinations, only one percent chose to join. It would have been a miracle if it had managed to prosper under these circumstances.
Under Murong Liu’s guidance, the group of eight received their Dui Palace disciple Tokens, had their personal information registered, and were assigned official residences. From this day forward, they were officially considered disciples of the Dui Palace of the Outer Mansion.
Of course, their official residence wasn’t the Yongling Courtyard assigned to them upon their arrival. Instead, it was the Celestial Fragrance Courtyard, located near the Dui Palace’s central great hall. Its name had a rather feminine air to it.
After completing all the induction procedures, everyone was exhausted. Even Tang Yi didn’t try to flirt with Mu Xianling, nor did he demand that she act as his servant.
The night passed uneventfully.
「The next day.」
By the next day, Tang Yi’s name had spread throughout the entire West Mansion Outer Mansion. His heaven-defying achievements and his victory over Yuh Jili were sources of continuous shock and amazement.
Even the fact that the Eight Palaces had vied for him, and his ultimate decision to join the Dui Palace, became a hot topic of conversation.
In short, Tang Yi was famous!
None of this concerned Tang Yi, however. He and the seven other new disciples had been brought to the Central District of the Dui Palace. Led by an Elder, they entered the Holy Hall that was floating in mid-air.
This Holy Hall was the central great hall of the Dui Palace and was extremely imposing. It was divided into an Inner Hall and an Outer Hall. The Inner Hall was the residence of the Dui Palace’s three Hall Masters and was strictly off-limits, while the Outer Hall was where official business was conducted.
Currently, Tang Yi and the other seven disciples stood in the great hall of the Outer Hall. Before them stood three Hall Masters and five Dui Palace Elders, Elder Fang Qingyang among them.
"All eight of you have joined our Dui Palace, which makes you one of us," Murong Liu announced, his voice resonant. "I already went over the rules and regulations with you yesterday, so I won’t repeat myself. I’ve summoned you today to impart the Dui Palace’s Spiritual Power Cultivation Method. Our palace’s primary focus is Spiritual Power. Only by learning its Cultivation Method can you be considered a true disciple of the Dui Palace."
Hearing that Murong Liu was about to bestow a Cultivation Technique, the other seven disciples grew excited, Tang Yi being the sole exception. Even Mu Xianling and Bai Ye’s eyes shone brightly, filled with anticipation.
At that moment, Murong Liu changed the subject and turned to Tang Yi. "Tang Yi, although you performed exceptionally in the House Entrance Examination, ranking first among all the candidates, we in the Dui Palace do not offer preferential treatment, nor will we give you any private instruction. Every disciple is treated equally. Therefore, you will receive what they receive, and you will cultivate what they cultivate. You have no objection to this, do you?"
"Now that I have joined the Dui Palace, I am one of its disciples. Of course, I should be treated the same as everyone else. I have no objections. I will defer to the judgment of the Hall Masters and Elders," Tang Yi replied humbly.
Tang Yi’s words greatly pleased the three Hall Masters. Murong Liu nodded, feeling gratified. "Good. In that case, I’m glad you’re not worried about us holding you back. Now, Master Guo will explain the marvels of Spiritual Power cultivation and then lead you through one session. After that, you will have to cultivate on your own."
After Murong Liu finished speaking, Guo Yangyun gestured to an Elder. The Elder promptly stepped forward, produced eight booklets that had been prepared beforehand, and distributed them to Tang Yi and the other seven disciples.
Then, Guo Yangyun began, "Before I guide you in your cultivation, let me give a brief explanation. The booklet you are holding is our Dui Palace’s Spiritual Power Cultivation Method, the Gathering Spirit Technique. It is the one and only Spiritual Power Cultivation Method in our Dui Palace. Myself, Master Muu, Pan Hall Master, and every other disciple of the Dui Palace all cultivate this very technique. There are no exceptions."
Upon hearing this, Tang Yi and the others looked down. Sure enough, three words were written on the cover of the booklet: ’Gathering Spirit Technique’. The booklet itself looked to be merely a hand-copied manuscript with very simple binding.
Guo Yangyun continued, "The Gathering Spirit Technique is a Cultivation Method that an Elder Ancestor of our West Mansion happened upon by chance long ago. In addition to this technique, the statue in the Spirit Awakening Hall was discovered at the same time. It is thanks to these two discoveries that Martial Artists capable of cultivating Spiritual Power appeared in our West Mansion, which ultimately led to the existence of the Dui Palace."
"Alright, everyone, please turn to the first page. I will now explain how to cultivate..."
Guo Yangyun then began to explain the technique in earnest.
Unbeknownst to the others, however, Tang Yi had no intention of listening to Guo Yangyun’s explanation after hearing the introduction. After all, he was different. He couldn’t learn Cultivation Techniques or Martial Techniques through normal practice. Furthermore, in his eyes, the Gathering Spirit Technique booklet appeared completely different.
Information about the Gathering Spirit Technique materialized before his very eyes.
Name: Gathering Spirit Technique (Hand-copied, Incomplete)
Description: A Spiritual Power Cultivation Method from a mighty ancient being. Its original Level was Saint Tier Upper Grade. Due to being 99% incomplete, its quality has dropped to Profound Tier Upper Grade.
Effectiveness: Upon use, the Player’s Mental Power increases by 1,000 points, and the Spiritual Power cultivation channel is unlocked.
(Note: This item cannot be used more than once.)
Tang Yi’s heart leaped with joy when he saw the effect. ’A single booklet can increase my Spiritual Power by 1,000 points! This is incredible!’
’Everyone here has a copy. If I could get my hands on all of them and use them, wouldn’t my Spiritual Power increase by 8,000 points?’
’And it’s just a hand-copied version. If I made a few more copies, couldn’t I gain even more?’
’This is totally cheating!’
But when he saw the final note, his excitement vanished.
As expected, the system wouldn’t let him cheat so easily. ’This thing can only be used once.’
Still, Tang Yi was happy to gain 1,000 points of Spiritual Power from a single booklet, but he also found it extremely strange.
’This is clearly a hand-copied book, and it wasn’t a Cultivation Method granted by the system, but I can actually use it!’
He had tried this with other Martial Arts Techniques and Methods in the past. But no matter how he looked at them or scanned them with his Celestial Eye Technique, they remained just books, showing no Attributes at all. Tang Yi couldn’t practice them, nor could he ’use’ them.
’But this one has Attributes and is usable. It’s incredibly strange.’
’Why would the system recognize this crudely bound, hand-copied manuscript, but not other, more exquisitely bound books? What’s the reason?’
Of course, this was the first time something like this had happened, so Tang Yi didn’t know the reason. He figured he might understand it after encountering more instances like this in the future.
For now, Tang Yi glanced at the Gathering Spirit Technique in his hand, gave it a moment’s thought, and then pressed ’Use’ on the interface...

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