"The Eleven Halls of the Five Elements, each one unique," Xiaojin sang with a smile.
"Eleven halls? Aren't there ten? Oh, and the Sacred Hall, right?" Wan Lei suddenly realized.
"No, no, no, the Sacred Hall isn't part of that. That's for the elders and the saints, nothing to do with us disciples. The Five Elements Hall has a total of eleven branches: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Sword, Demon Core, and the Illusion Hall."
"The Illusion Hall? Where is that?"
"The Illusion Hall isn't at headquarters, not even in the Immortal Realm. That's a long story. When the Five Elements Hall was first established, it had ten halls, but no Wind Hall. However, illusion techniques weren't mainstream, and there were fewer practitioners. Furthermore, the Hall Master of the Illusion Hall married into the Ghost Realm, so the Illusion Hall relocated to the Ghost Realm. The ghostly energy and souls of the Ghost Realm are more suitable for cultivating illusion techniques. The original Illusion Hall of the Five Elements Hall was converted into the Wind Hall because the Immortal Venerable began to place importance on the wind attribute."
"Oh, I see. No wonder they call it the Ten Halls of the Five Elements."
Speaking of this, Xiaojin became interested. "The Hall Master of the Illusion Hall was also a remarkable woman, possessing the rarest dream-attribute soul. She was the granddaughter of a Celestial Venerable, the youngest princess of the Great Tang Empire's Human Emperor, the current Tang Emperor's full sister, and the former wife of the Ghost Realm's Ghost Emperor. Most importantly, she was a founding elder of the Five Elements Hall and the only person in the Immortal Realm to achieve sainthood through illusion techniques. Especially her appearance, she was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful..."
"You've seen her?"
"No, I haven't."
"Then how can you speak so truthfully?"
"With all those identities combined, even if she were an ugly monster, she would still be a peerless beauty."
"Hmph."
As they chatted, they arrived at the peak of the Thunder Hall. The sky had already darkened, it was dusk. The setting sun in the west only showed a sliver of its edge, its fiery glow like a blushing cheek.
Wan Lei disembarked from the flying ship. Xiaojin said he'd ask him out some other day and then flew away. Accompanied by many disciples, Wan Lei proceeded to the office behind the Thunder Hall to collect his belongings. A female disciple of the Thunder Hall in the Taiheng realm stood out among the others. After introducing herself, Wan Lei learned her name was Lei Xin. Lei Xin was quite attractive, tall and broad-shouldered, with a very forthright personality. Wan Lei felt an urge to become sworn brothers with her. Lei Xin had watched Wan Lei's progress through the trials and was now enthusiastically helping him with the paperwork. As Wan Lei collected his items, he listened to Lei Xin explain the affairs of the Thunder Hall.
"Since you've just arrived at the Five Elements Hall, you might not be aware, but our disciples are not divided into registered or legacy disciples. All disciples are equal. The only way to differentiate them is through their ranking in the Tower of Fortune. New disciples who come to the Five Elements Hall can choose to take a master, whether they are in the Wuliang realm or Golden Immortal realm. Masters can teach disciples, but it all depends on mutual consent; no one can be forced. I think, with your Origin-level aptitude and record-breaking achievements, the elders will be scrambling to take you as a disciple tomorrow. At that time, don't agree to anyone, understand?"
"Why not?" Wan Lei blinked.
Lei Xin chuckled and whispered, "With your talent, becoming a disciple of those people would be a colossal waste. You should become a disciple of our Thunder Saint. A direct disciple of a Saint is far more formidable than a disciple of those elders. It's just that our Thunder Saint is currently fighting in the Bitter Sea Battlefield and hasn't returned yet. But don't worry, his rotation period is almost up, and he'll be back soon. I'll introduce you then, and your apprenticeship will be a done deal. I refuse to believe Lord Thunder Saint would let such a raw gem like you slip through his fingers."
"Oh, I see."
"However, during this time, you can also attend classes to learn cultivation knowledge and not waste your time. Just wait for the Thunder Saint to return. Oh, your clothes have arrived! Hurry up and change, let's see how handsome you look."
Just then, Wan Lei's clothes were delivered. Lei Xin enthusiastically unfolded the clothes and handed them to Wan Lei, pushing him into the inner room. Wan Lei was bewildered. He had intended to change his clothes after returning to his cave dwelling, but the senior sister was too enthusiastic, and he didn't have a cave dwelling yet. So, he changed in the utility room. The collarless short-sleeved top, loose trousers, and long boots – he had to admit that these Five Elements Hall outfits would make even the ugliest person look spirited.
Emerging from the utility room, Wan Lei looked in the mirror and was greatly astonished. "Holy cow, who is that inside? So incredibly handsome!"
"Why are you letting your hair hang down? It doesn't look energetic. Tie it up." Lei Xin handed Wan Lei a sky-blue hair tie with a jade ornament. Wan Lei tied his hair into a high ponytail and looked in the mirror again. He was already tall and handsome, and with this outfit on, he looked even more dashing. Moreover, he preferred wearing blue clothes, and the Thunder Hall's attire was sky blue, making him appear even more sunny and handsome. After finishing, Wan Lei tightened the jade belt around his waist and took out a jade pendant to hang on it. The jade pendant was exquisite and could resist divine sense attacks to a certain extent. But mainly, it looked good.
Wan Lei's appearance captivated some of the female disciples of the Thunder Hall, but they were all too shy to approach and leave their spirit inscription numbers.
"Alright, everyone, make way." A staff member from the office held a camera and took a photo of Wan Lei with a click, then returned to the desk.
"What's this for?" Wan Lei asked, puzzled. Was it because he was too handsome that they couldn't resist taking a commemorative photo? But couldn't they get a girl to take it?
"It's to make your disciple identification. It's like an ID card. You need to wear your disciple attire and have the Five Elements Hall emblem in the photo. With this ID, you can walk around with impunity when you go out." Lei Xin explained.
"Is that so?" Wan Lei looked down at his chest, where there was also a five-pointed Five Elements Hall emblem within an outer circle, with a thunder symbol inside. He felt a bit wistful. In the past, seeing this emblem meant an enemy was coming. Now, this emblem was on his person. Had he become one of the people he used to hate the most?
After collecting the spirit stones and pills given out quarterly, they left the office and saw a small flying ship parked at the entrance. "Senior Brother Wan, this is your flying ship. Once you swipe your disciple identification, it's yours." The person handing it over then turned and left.
"Come, come, put it away for now. I'll teach you how to pilot it tomorrow. Let's go choose a cave dwelling first." Lei Xin, as usual, was very enthusiastic. By this time, most of the other disciples had dispersed, and only Lei Xin was accompanying Wan Lei to handle matters. Wan Lei stored the flying ship in his storage bag and followed Lei Xin towards the cave dwelling, which was somewhere unknown. Seeing Lei Xin's enthusiasm, Wan Lei suddenly felt a pang of guilt, feeling as though he had wronged her.