Chapter 17 - The Stone Tablets

"That building over there is the cafeteria for Outer Court disciples like me. The Inner Court disciples eat at a separate building." Mo Zhou explained as he guided Yuan around the Flying Sword Sect.

"Un. Un." Yuan nodded his head in excitement.

"Do you see that open area over there? That is where disciples go for lectures from Sect Elders once a week."

"That tall building is where disciples train to sharpen their sword techniques," said Mo Zhou as he pointed to the pagoda that was in the distance.

"What a unique shape for a building…" Yuan silently admired the elegant tower.

"Do you think I can go inside for a closer look?" he then asked Mo Zhou, who quickly shook his head in an apologetic manner.

"I'm sorry, Daoist Yuan, but visitors are not allowed inside any building with a ceiling…"

"Che. What a stinky place. How will you attract new disciples if you block off everything?" Yuan shook his head in pity.

"Uhh…" Mo Zhou didn't know how to refute his ignorant statement and could only smile awkwardly. Because normally, one wouldn't tour around a Sect before deciding whether they want to join or not.

"Forget it." Yuan suddenly said. "Let's continue with the tour."

Mo Zhou heaved a sigh of relief when Yuan didn't continue the topic.

"Okay, then let me show you what disciples of the Flying Sword Sect deem as the most important thing in this Sect!"

"Ohh?"

Hearing his words, Yuan instantly became curious about this place.

After walking for a few minutes, they stopped in front of three tall stone tablets sitting beside each other.

These three stone tablets were perfectly rectangular and had dozens of names engraved on it, resembling a memorial for the dead. However, unlike the other two, the middle stone tablet only had a few names on it, and they were much bigger and sharper than the rest.

"What's this? A memorial for the dead?" Yuan opened his mouth to ask without thinking.

"Wha—" Mo Zhou looked at him with a scared look. He then looked around to see if anybody was there to hear his words.

After seeing that the place was empty, Mo Zhou heaved another sigh of relief.

"Daoist Yuan, even though I am aware of your ignorance about Sects, what you'd just said had greatly offended not only me but also every disciple in this Sect!"

"What?" Yuan looked at him with a baffled expression.

"This is not a memorial for the dead but a ranking for the entire Sect! Every name on these three tablets represents a genius within the Sect and they are all respected by the thousands of disciples in this Sect! If others besides me had heard your words, they would've jumped at you with their swords raised, as that was extremely disrespectful to the individuals that have poured their sweat and blood just to be on that ranking!"

"I-Is that right? I had no idea, but I will still apologize for my rude remarks... Sorry." Yuan said in an apologetic tone.

Seeing his sincere apology, Mo Zhou nodded with an approving smile. "It's fine. I know you didn't mean it."

He then turned to the three stone tablets again and said: "Every stone tablet except the middle one holds forty-five names, with the middle having only ten, adding up to a total of one hundred names."

"These hundred names are the names of the strongest disciples within the Flying Sword Sect— not including the Sect Elders and the Patriarch. And every single one of them receives the Sect's full backing, allowing them to enjoy almost an unlimited amount of resources provided by the Sect. Ah... and everybody in the middle stone tablets is given the title 'Core Disciple'."

Mo Zhou's eyes sparkled with admiration as he stared at the three stone tablets, especially when his gaze met with the middle one, seemingly mesmerized.

"Every disciple in this Sect— including me— have one true goal… to have our own names engraved on the stone tablet."

Suddenly, as Mo Zhou ended his words, the last name on the third stone tablet disappeared. And a few seconds later, another name engraved itself on the very same spot.

When Mo Zhou saw this, his eyes flickered with an exciting light.

"Look! Someone just replaced the 100th name!"

"Eh? How did the names on the tablet change itself? Aren't they engraved into it?" Yuan was more curious about the phenomenon than the event itself.

—

After staring at the stone tablet for a few moments, Yuan suddenly noticed the name 'Ren Fuchen'.

He pointed to the first stone tablet and asked Mo Zhou in a curious tone: "Hey, that Ren Fuchen… is he the same as the Ren that you had offended?"

When Yuan mentioned Ren Fuchen, Mo Zhou's complexion noticeably paled.

He then nodded in a dispirited motion, confirming Yuan's curiosity.

"His name is ranked… 14th. He's the 14th strongest disciple in this place?"

Mo Zhou nodded again but even slower this time.

"What about the girl you were courting? Is she also on the ranking?"

Hearing his question, Mo Zhou silently pointed to the last name engraved on the middle stone tablet.

"Xing Aiying… ranked 10th…" Yuan then turned to look at Mo Zhou with a surprised look. "You actually courted someone that has her name on the ranking — the middle one, no less? How bold and aspiring!"

"..."

Mo Zhou could only smile bitterly at Yuan's words that were seemingly filled with admiration and praise.