The setting sun lit up in the western sky, making the clouds look like passing dragons.

When Xu Xiaoshou walked out of the library, he was startled by the emptiness stretching out before him.

​​

"What happened?" he thought.

"Why is all the grass gone already?

"Did someone come here to mow the lawn or something?

"Boy, some work they did!"

After taking his time to make sense of the directions, he went deeper into the Inner Yard instead of going out into the Outer Yard.

He'd very reluctantly chosen to make the trip to the library, but due to the rules between him and that old man, choosing not to make said trip would've brought about dire consequences.

However, none of the trouble he'd anticipated had come to be. Elder Sang had actually become a lot more easygoing, so much so that he hadn't minded the blood he'd spilled. Xu Xiaoshou never would've dared to imagine that possible.

"I guess that's the difference between outsiders and those you consider your own…"

He was feeling rather puzzled, but he was sure of one thing—Elder Sang had definitely become a lot nicer after they became master and disciple.

"Well, I should say that he treats me entirely different now," he thought.

"People are really weird creatures…"

Xu Xiaoshou mulled this over for a bit before he stopped thinking about it altogether.

It was a good thing that the elder would never go about torturing him. As such, he could do away with the thought of escaping the spirit palace for the time being.

As for what would happen in the future…

"Well, I'll think about it when the time comes," he thought.

"At least from the looks of things now, that old fart sure has a brilliant personality. And, if I'm being honest about it, he really goes to the extreme.

"Whether he's being uncaring toward others or protecting his own, he really seems to go all in.

"He almost ended up getting me killed when we hardly knew each other, but now that we've become master and disciple…"

He touched the ring for a bit.

36 seventh-grade Origin Court Pills, a complete version of the 10 Sections of the Finger Sword, a slot to enter the Tianxuan Gate, and a ring full of herbs.

He'd never dreamed he would get so much just from risking his neck to see that old man.

It was the complete opposite of what he'd expected.

"Hmm, there's also that eighth-grade smaller tub." He went about listing what he'd gotten.

While the tub he'd gotten was only about half the size of the massive three-legged one, it was nonetheless large enough to fit four to five people bathing in it. That smaller tub was still several times larger than the other normal-sized cauldrons.

"Eighth-grade eh…"

He then drew his Hiding Pain, noting that the sword was only at Ninth-grade.

"Can't do, man. You gotta keep up with my progress, dude."

He rubbed the black sword for a bit, and it actually shook slightly, seemingly weeping.

"What's going on?" he thought.

"Are you really gonna develop intelligence now?"

He was astonished. This was the first time he'd seen Hiding Pain exhibit such an emotional side other than when it tended to act against its owner.

Yet, when he thought about the Epitaph of City Snow, he sighed right away. Comparisons did indeed come with demerits, after all.

"Ninth-grade shouldn't be able to develop intelligence of any kind, I guess…"

He simply stuffed the sword back into his ring, his face deadpan, then took out the token that he'd gotten from the elder. This token was currently the most important thing in his possession.

With this thing in his hands, he could finally pick his own place like the rest of the Inner Yard disciples.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the Inner Yard was far higher than that in the Outer Yard. He deemed that prolonged exposure to such ambient spiritual energy would enable him to get used to Breathing Technique at Innate Level. Then he could relax and let his body train on his own.

He still had to keep all of his pores shut tight while walking inside the Inner Yard.

If he were to relax his body, he would end up spasming all over despite doing little else other than walking.

"This token couldn't have come at a better time..."

He recalled that dilapidated place of his at the Outer Yard with only a guest room left. With the token pass in his hand, he could finally leave that behind.

And he wouldn't even need to pay for repairs. What a bargain indeed.

"Which place should I pick, eh?" Xu Xiaoshou was feeling rather troubled.

The Inner Yard was just as huge as the Outer Yard. However, there were few people around. The number of disciples inside was less than 10 percent the number of those in the Outer Yard.

As such, theoretically, everyone could get themselves a huge place.

With the exception of those designated training places that were protected by barriers, all the other places were by and large off-limits for training purposes. That much was different from the Outer Yard.

One's comprehension of the celestial ways became clearer after reaching Innate Level. This was because one could no longer train outside someone else's door, as others might come to enlightenment at the same time as oneself. Being in such close proximity meant it was entirely possible for both individuals to interfere with each other, thus nullifying each other's effort.

That was a big deal, as it meant killing each other's chances.

He picked a quiet path and walked as far as it could take him. He would still prefer a compound of his own to be somewhere more secluded.

The guest room back at the Outer Yard was quite a good place, as few ever came to bother him there.

…

Xu Xiaoshou saw that, despite having walked quite a distance, there was still no one around and couldn't help but be in awe that the Inner Yard really had such few people around.

He'd seen several places so far, but none of them were vacant. All the places he'd passed through had already been claimed by people.

He stopped at the end of the road.

The place was incredibly secluded and fit his requirements very well as far as getting his own place was concerned.

However, the place seemed to have been severed by a huge blade, as it was literally cut in half. Its protective barrier was even shattered.

"Well…" Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded.

"There was an underground fight, I guess."

"While the Inner Yard doesn't forbid members from killing each other, shouldn't they have at least taken it to the ring?

"What's the deal with cutting someone else's place in half?

"I guess that's the Inner Yard for you. Terrifying indeed…"

Seeing this strengthened his resolve to train while laying low all the time, and he immediately walked in the other direction.

"Bad Feng Shui indeed. Definitely not a place for setting up my own place."

…

He then saw yet another landscape unfold before his eyes, looking like paradise.

His eyes lit up because, before he saw the place, he actually spotted a woman dressed in blue bowing down.

"Great! Finally someone I can ask for directions from. If I'd gone looking for it with just that bit of info the old fart gave me, I probably would've ended up looking for it until dawn."

He felt like he'd finally run into someone normal after being inside the Inner Yard for so long, and that someone was very alluring.

The woman was wearing skimpy clothes that exposed her supple-looking shoulders. She raised her hands high as she stretched herself for a bit, revealing her curves.

Xu Xiaoshou was just about to call out to her when the woman suddenly turned around dismissively. Yet, before she finished turning a head around, she seemed to pause for a bit before turning to look at him, stunned.

"She knows me?"

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled. She looked like she'd seen a familiar face.

"Xu Xiaoshou?"

As expected, a surprised voice was heard. It sounded so alluring that he felt like he'd just gotten electrocuted.

He raised his eyebrows and went up to her. "You know me?"

The woman smiled and then chuckled, "Well, who doesn't know the renowned champion of the Wind and Cloud Contest, eh?"

Xu Xiaoshou then felt rather embarrassed. He'd never expected to find fans of his in the Inner Yard. Especially not one who was so good-looking.

"I try to keep a low profile."

The woman looked him up and down with her beautiful eyes, which then flickered with killing intent. "A disciple of the Outer Yard trespassing into the Inner Yard. I could actually act on my own accord and haul you to the enforcers, you know?"

Xu Xiaoshou was rather amused, thinking that fans from the Inner Yard were indeed something else altogether. He wondered just how many people she'd killed.

Even a joke felt like the real deal.

This faint killing intent really was something indeed.

"That's not important." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand dismissively and asked, "Do you know of any nice places around here? I've been looking for quite a while, but, I guess from being unfamiliar with the places around here, I've had a hard time finding one."

"Oh? You're trying to find a place of your own here?" The woman was amused.

Xu Xiaoshou nodded, finding her amusement peculiar. He then added, "Rest assured, I'd definitely return the favor.

"Signatures or whatever. I could give you 10 of that."