Li Shuang suddenly stood up, her voice respectful, "Senior Brother Lin, when I was outside, I heard of your great reputation and have long admired you. Now that we finally meet, my heart is surging with emotion..."
Lin An frowned.
Is this new disciple really this long-winded?
If it weren't for Li Shuang's potential, he might have chastised her already.
"So, could you shake my hand?" Li Shuang looked a little embarrassed. "Senior Brother is my idol of many years. If I could shake Senior Brother's hand even once, I would have no regrets in this life."
Everyone looked at Li Shuang with strange expressions.
What was this person doing?
Kissing up? Would that even work?
Seeing Li Shuang like this, Lin An's frown relaxed, and he said indifferently, "Alright."
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Li Shuang walked over.
Everyone: "???"
It actually worked!
Li Shuang reached Lin An and extended her hand.
Lin An also extended his hand.
However.
The moment their hands were about to meet, Li Shuang's hand passed directly through Lin An's.
Lin An himself seemed to not notice anything unusual, still maintaining the posture of shaking hands.
Li Shuang's heart stirred slightly, and the doubt in her mind was confirmed at that moment.
She naturally withdrew her hand, "Thank you, Senior Brother."
Li Shuang returned to the ranks of the disciples.
Cang Yin couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "He... doesn't have a physical body?"
What doesn't have a physical body?
A ghost?
Are these disciples of the Langya Sect not reborn, but rather transformed into ghosts, floating around Langya Palace?
Li Shuang shook her head.
Cang Yin was about to ask again, but Lin An's sharp gaze came her way, so Cang Yin could only temporarily give up asking.
Lin An said slowly, "My Langya Sect has strict rules. Considering you are just new disciples, for the first three days, there are only six rules. Only by abiding by the rules can you be a disciple of my Langya Sect. If you violate the rules..."
Lin An's lips curled into a sneer.
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they listened intently.
"Firstly. No matter the situation, maintain a normal tone of voice, no loud noises allowed! Loud noises! Death!"
"Secondly. Never leave the disciple dormitory at night. Those who leave, die."
"Thirdly. In Langya Sect, there is a strict hierarchy; no disrespect to your superiors. Those who disrespect, die!"
Lin An glanced at everyone and said, "Based on your progress over the years, I have made a preliminary judgment of your potential. Here, your hierarchy has already been determined. So, please be mindful of your words and actions. Additionally, your ranking in the hierarchy may change based on your every move, so please strive to improve your ranking and become a superior."
Everyone's pupils suddenly constricted.
They only knew at present whether they were ordinary disciples or elite disciples.
However.
Lin An said that his judgment of their potential came from their progress over the years!
He had already assigned their hierarchy based on this data.
The key was...
Lin An had set the hierarchy himself, but he hadn't told them!
What were they supposed to do now?
How could they distinguish who was superior and who was inferior?
Lin An had no intention of answering their questions; he continued, "Fourthly. Demonic beasts frequently escape from the Demonic Beast Pavilion at night. Capturing a demonic beast and returning it to the Demonic Beast Pavilion will earn you points and improve your ranking."
This was another rule that sent a shiver down everyone's spines.
Rule number two, Lin An had just said, "Those who leave the disciple dormitory at night, die."
But now he was implying that they should go out at night to catch demonic beasts.
Aren't these two rules contradictory?
"Fifth. Every disciple consumes one point for each day spent in Langya Palace. Points must be earned by completing tasks. Those who run out of points... will be expelled from Langya Palace."
"Sixth. New disciples are not allowed to attack each other. Those who kill each other, die."
Lin An said indifferently, "For now, these are the six rules."
After speaking.
He closed his mouth, giving them time to digest the information.
These two rules, on the contrary, made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
The first few rules, Lin An said "die" repeatedly, which sounded very frightening. But this fifth rule gave them a safe way to leave. That is... to run out of points.
The sixth rule stipulated that they couldn't kill each other, so at least for the next few days, they wouldn't have to worry about their companions suddenly attacking them.
Both of these were good news.
Someone's eyes darted around, remembering Li Shuang's flattering behavior towards Lin An just now.
This Senior Brother seemed to really enjoy being flattered.
If he also said some flattering words, he might be able to get more information.
The disciple thought this, and couldn't help but show a fawning smile, "Senior Brother Lin An, I have also admired you for a long time. I grew up listening to tales of Senior Brother, I..."
This disciple was in the middle of flattering.
Lin An suddenly erupted in anger!
Nonsense, a useless disciple with so little potential, dares to admire him!
He waved his hand, and the disciple was immediately flung far away. Faintly, there was the sound of bones breaking.
"Ah!" The disciple instinctively screamed.
Lin An sneered, and a sword light fell! That disciple instantly turned to dust!
Everyone's pupils suddenly constricted.
Li Shuang's heart leaped.
Lin An's actions were truly ruthless!
Because that disciple said a few words to him, he severely injured someone, and then used the first rule of no loud noises to directly kill them!
Everyone was filled with fear.
They didn't understand.
Why was Li Shuang fine when she spoke to him, but that disciple's fate was so tragic?
What was the difference between him and Li Shuang?
Could it be.
Just because Li Shuang was an elite disciple, and he was just an ordinary disciple?
Perhaps.
There was a hidden rule that only elite disciples could speak to Lin An?
Lin An, as if nothing had happened, said indifferently, "I'll take you to the disciple dormitory first. Remember, you must return to the dormitory before sunset! Otherwise, death!"
Saying this, Lin An turned and left.
No one dared to breathe, meekly following behind him.
This Langya Palace was very large.
Everyone was doing the same thing along the way.
Memorizing the locations of various buildings!
Since the Demonic Beast Pavilion appeared in the rules, other buildings might also appear later; they'd better remember the locations now, they would surely be useful later.
Li Shuang also silently noted down the buildings she saw along the way.
Besides some insignificant buildings, she was only most concerned about three places.
The Alchemist's Chamber.
The Weapon Forger.
The Scripture Storage Pavilion.
These three places, no matter which sect they were in, were of utmost importance and should also be their focus of exploration in the future.
As if he hadn't noticed their small movements, Lin An continued walking without looking back.
Soon.
He led everyone to a row of houses: "One room per person, pick freely. You have the time it takes for one incense stick to burn to choose your house. After one incense stick, come out and see me."
Saying this.
He closed his eyes to rest. Beside him, an incense stick slowly burned.
Everyone couldn't help but look at the row of houses.
These houses seemed to know how many of them there were.
Not too many, not too few, the number of houses perfectly matched their headcount.
Exactly sixty-nine!