The next morning, Li Mingfu swallowed a ration pill before heading toward the public lecture hall.
The hall was already crowded with new outer sect and inner sect disciples.
Everyone had gathered to listen to the Peak Master's lecture.
Li Mingfu quietly chose a seat in the far corner and sat cross-legged.
His eyes casually scanned the room while his ears focused on the whispers around him.
Some talked about cultivation.
Some bragged about their backgrounds.
Others quietly speculated about the mysterious Peak Master of Shadow Weave Peak.
Li Mingfu listened carefully, hoping to catch any useful information.
After a while, a terrifying pressure descended.
It was like an invisible mountain pressing down on everyone's shoulders.
"Ugh!"
Several disciples immediately collapsed to the ground.
Others trembled violently as they struggled to remain upright.
Li Mingfu's body stiffened, but he endured it far better than most.
His body trembled slightly, yet he managed to slowly raise his head.
Standing at the front of the hall was a middle-aged man.
He wore dark robes embroidered with faint silver threads that seemed to shimmer like shadows under moonlight.
His calm eyes looked down upon the hall as if examining insects.
Li Mingfu quickly glanced around.
Only a handful of disciples managed to look up.
The middle-aged man nodded slightly.
Then the pressure vanished.
The disciples gasped in relief as the invisible weight disappeared.
An elder immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Greetings, Peak Master."
All the disciples quickly followed.
"We greet the Peak Master!"
Li Mingfu bowed along with everyone else.
He recognized the man immediately.
This man was known as Mo Yingxiu, the Peak Master of Shadow Weave Peak.
Mo Yingxiu was famous for his mastery of shadow techniques and clone arts. Among the many assassins of the sect, his abilities ranked near the top.
Mo Yingxiu calmly waved his sleeve.
"Sit."
The hall quickly became quiet as everyone sat down.
Mo Yingxiu's voice echoed calmly through the hall.
"Welcome to Shadow Weave Peak."
"This peak is the strongest and most successful within the entire sect."
He flashed a quick, faint killing intent through his eyes.
Li Mingfu and the new disciples felt a chill run through their bodies.
"Although we are an assassination sect, we stand openly because we are strong."
"Those who have challenged us…"
"Are already buried six feet under."
"Our peak focuses on stealth and assassination."
"We come and go as we please."
"We kill without being seen."
"We are only seen… because we choose to be seen."
His words were calm, yet every sentence carried immense confidence.
"Study hard. Cultivate diligently."
"According to sect regulations, you have ten years of free cultivation before mandatory missions."
"You may also take missions earlier if you wish."
Mo Yingxiu paused slightly.
"Remember. Our sect is neutral."
"We follow the highest bidder."
The disciples exchanged glances but remained silent.
"There is also a ranking system within the sect."
"You will later enter the Ranking Tower."
"There are two rankings."
"Inner Sect Ranking."
"Outer Sect Ranking."
"The rankings are determined by strength and not cultivation."
"Every year, the ten lowest-ranked inner sect disciples will face the top ten outer sect disciples."
"If the outer sect disciples win, they will replace them."
Mo Yingxiu's gaze swept across the hall.
"You new disciples have ten years before this concerns you."
"Those of you in the inner sect should treasure this time."
"If you fail to improve after ten years…"
"You will be demoted to the outer sect."
He then turned slightly toward the outer sect disciples.
"And those of you in the outer sect…"
"Challenge the rankings."
"Prove that you are not inferior."
"Remember to read the sect rules and regulations."
"The sect is fair."
Mo Yingxiu folded his hands behind his back.
"That is all."
"Cultivate well."
"Kill well."
"Survive."
The moment he finished speaking—
His figure disappeared.
The hall erupted with whispers.
An elder stepped forward.
"You have heard the Peak Master."
"You have ten years."
"Appreciate the sect's generosity."
"After ten years, things will become far more difficult."
"But there will also be greater rewards."
He waved his hand toward the exit.
"Now go and remember."
"There are lectures every morning."
The disciples stood and slowly left the hall.
Li Mingfu followed the crowd back to his villa and entered his cultivation room.
"I've already read the sect rules," he muttered.
"For the next few years, I should focus on cultivation and attending lectures."
He sat down and began circulating his Qi.
Hours passed.
His meridians gradually began to hurt.
Li Mingfu slowly opened his eyes and smiled.
"Eight threads…"
"Two more and I'll officially return to Qi Refinement Stage One."
After cultivation, he took a short nap.
Then woke up and cultivated again.
He only stopped when he realized the sun already risen in the sky.
Li Mingfu got up and stretched, then started to walk to the lecture hall.
In the lecture hall, an elder was already waiting.
When the lecture time arrived, the doors slammed shut.
Anyone who arrived late was locked outside.
The elder began explaining stealth techniques.
How to control Qi.
How to walk silently.
How to run without leaving traces.
How to track targets.
Li Mingfu listened extremely carefully.
Although the concepts sounded simple, applying Qi made the techniques far more complex.
The elder lectured from morning until evening.
When the lecture finally ended, the elder left immediately.
One of the inner sect disciples standing near the front spoke loudly.
"Anyone who wants to practice can follow me to the training field."
"I'll demonstrate the techniques."
About half the group followed him.
At the training field, the new inner sect disciple demonstrated their movement techniques.
Li Mingfu carefully copied every motion.
To his surprise, only a few disciples were able to replicate the movements correctly.
After practicing for a while, Li Mingfu took a break and looked around.
Something felt strange.
Most disciples were moving differently.
Although they were using Qi on their feet, their movements were completely different from what the inner sect disciple had demonstrated.
Li Mingfu walked over.
"Hello, Senior."
The inner sect disciple looked at him.
"Yes?"
Li Mingfu asked, "Why is everyone practicing differently?"
The inner sect disciple laughed.
"That's because they're practicing their own movement techniques."
"They're simply applying Qi to their feet to move quietly."
He demonstrated again.
"What I'm performing is just a basic movement technique you can exchange for in the sect library."
Li Mingfu blinked.
"The sect library?"
The inner sect disciple looked confused.
"Did you not read the introduction books?"
"I did," Li Mingfu replied.
"Well," the inner sect disciple said, "the introduction explains that you can exchange for two cultivation techniques every month."
Li Mingfu froze.
"I totally forgot."
He quickly bowed.
"Thank you, Senior!"
Then he ran off.
The inner sect disciple laughed and reminded the others.
Several disciples who had also forgotten immediately ran off as well.
Since Li Mingfu couldn't fly yet, he had to run.
He ran as fast as he could toward the sect library.
It took him nearly an hour of constant running.
When he finally arrived, he realized something surprising.
"I'm barely tired."
Qi really strengthened the body.
He wasn't sweating or panting, only slightly fatigued.
Li Mingfu walked inside.
An elder sat behind the front desk.
"Identification card."
Li Mingfu handed it over.
The elder glanced at it and returned it.
"You may choose two techniques from the first floor."
"Remember. Sword flight is only possible after reaching Qi Refinement Stage Five."
Li Mingfu bowed.
"Thank you, Elder."
He walked into the massive library hall.
The first technique he wanted was a movement technique.
He browsed through the shelves.
According to the introduction book, most techniques on the first floor were Yellow Grade.
The grading system went from weakest to strongest:
Yellow.
Black.
Earth.
Heaven.
Each grade was divided into Low, Medium, High, and Top.
Li Mingfu thought about his own cultivation technique.
"Thousand Thread Qi Weaving Art…"
"It says Yellow Grade…"
"But it feels more like Heaven Grade."
He shrugged.
"Whatever."
He continued browsing movement techniques.
Soon, he felt overwhelmed.
"There are way too many…"
Then he remembered something.
His heaven-defying luck.
"That luck helped me find the Thousand Thread Qi Weaving Art…"
"Let's try it again."
Li Mingfu pulled out a coin.
He picked up a movement technique book.
Then flipped the coin.
Heads or tails.
Other disciples glanced at him strangely but ignored him.
Hours passed.
Li Mingfu kept flipping his coin while randomly picking books.
Eventually, an elder walked by.
"Hurry up. The library is closing soon."
"I'm almost done," Li Mingfu said.
The elder walked away.
Li Mingfu flipped the coin again.
Heads.
His eyes widened.
He quickly pocketed the coin and grabbed the book.
Then he rushed to the front desk and handed it to the elder along with his identification card.
The elder scanned both.
"You have one month."
"Return the book before then."
Li Mingfu bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Elder."
With his new technique in hand, he left the library.