《Parasitic Sword Monarch.》Chapter 48: Swan Queen Hall.
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Xue Qiuling and her group raised an eyebrow at the rapid changes in Yin Long's expression, only Lan Yun able to understand the thoughts that were probably racing through his mind. He had just accepted it in the past, but now that he saw how Old Instructor Meiyu aged despite having reached the very end of his lifespan, there was no way he wouldn't get a little suspicious and curious about the ageing of his own parents.
But Yin Long didn't say anything as his expression returned to normal so Xue Qiuling and the others didn't pry into it and continued leading Yin Long and the others into the dojo. Stepping over the threshold of the sect was like walking through a curtain of water, space around the group rippling faintly as the world before their eyes expanded. But the expansion wasn't as great as Yin Long expected, it didn't alter the size of the four rectangular buildings and instead only made it so that the space between the stone wall and the buildings grew larger.
This made it so that the few trees between the wall and the buildings turned into a small and humid forest where the disciples could train. But this alone was far from enough to warrant the use of spatial compressing arrays so Yin Long and Lan Yun guessed that the buildings themselves were also covered in the same arrays, they just wouldn't notice it until they actually entered the buildings.
The group followed the winding path that cut through the verdant forest and led to a pair of large wooden gates engraved with a myriad of images that depicted various weapons. Another group of three was leaving the dojo through the gates just as Yin Long's group arrived there, the leader of the group sweeping Yin Long and Lan Yun with his gaze before locking eyes with Xue Qiuling.
"Hot damn, Old Instructor Meiyu wasn't joking. You went out to pick up some resources and somehow ended up coming back with new disciples. That girl should be the new disciple for our Eagle King Hall, no? Or is the boy ours?"
The group consisted of three men and the leader was a youth who looked to be in his mid-twenties, his shoulder-length black hair had a few stray strands that hung over his delicate face and blue eyes. The youth was a bit strange because while his body was slim, his arms were rippling with muscles that made them look as if they were carved from stone. The youth was just standing there, but his mere presence brought with it a great oppressive force that bore down on Yin Long's group. The youth was quite a bit stronger than Xue Qiuling, having already reached the 9th Immortal Door, but she didn't falter in the slightest when faced with him.
"The boy belongs to our Swan Queen Hall, the girl, however, is yours, we won't be able to teach her properly. Junior Brother Long, Junior Sister Yun, this is Senior Brother Kuan Xiao, he is the head disciple of the Eagle King Hall. Our Dojo is separated into three Halls, the Eagle King Hall that focuses on heavy weapons, the Swan Queen Hall that focuses on light and flexible weapons, and the Heron Lord Hall that focuses on ranged weapons. Junior Sister Yun, you are more suited to the Eagle King Hall so Senior Brother Xiao is better suited to showing you around."
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Xue Qiuling introduced the youth, Kuan Xiao, and gave a very cursory explanation of how the dojo was split up. It only made sense to at least somewhat separate the various weapon types, after all, it wasn't really useful for a spear user to know how to fight with a bow or chakrams.
Lan Yun inspected the group from Eagle King Hall with a raised eyebrow for a second before leaning right up to Yin Long's ear and whispering a few quiet words while slipping him a grape-sized wooden orb covered in minute carvings. She flashed him a seductive smile and winked at him before walking over to Kuan Xiao, her expression turning a touch colder when she arrived at his side and gave him a curt bow.
Kuan Xiao swept her with a neutral expression on his face, his gaze drifting towards Xue Qiuling again as he swiped his interspatial ring and tossed her a crimson jade talisman shaped like a palm-sized wing. He also took out another such talisman and handed it to Lan Yun as he turned around and led her into the building, speaking in a casual and somewhat distant tone the entire time.
The group entered the building and vanished, a slight ripple running through space around them and confirming Yin Long's earlier guess. Xue Qiuling took her gaze away from the gate and tossed the jade wing to Yin Long, who caught it and inspected it carefully by using his law of space and a bit of his Qi. He separated a bit of his consciousness and inspected the array contained within the wing, Xue Qiuling gesturing for him to follow her into the building.
"Come along, I'll show you to your dwelling in Swann Queen Hall and introduce you to the instructors you'll be dealing with. We've been on the move for a while so I want to take a shower, I'll show you around properly tomorrow or the day after, I guarantee that you won't be disappointed with what we have to offer."
Yin Long followed the group into the building, once again feeling as if he was walking through a screen of water as space around him rippled. And just as he expected, the inside of the building was many times larger than its outside, what should be a small hallway splitting off to the right and left expanded so much that it seemed more like a large hall. The large hall was filled with several seating areas and what looked like stands that were clearly run by disciples looking to sell some of the things they had picked up.
The part of Yin Long's consciousness that wasn't inspecting the jade wing spotted Lan Yun's back as she and her group headed to the hallway located on the left side of the room. With her group heading there it was likely that the Eagle King Hall was located over there, Yin Long guessing that the Swan Queen Hall was probably located on the right then. The arrival of his group attracted a few stares, or to be exact, Xue Qiuling was the one who attracted the stares. But she was clearly used to the stares, ignoring them as she confirmed Yin Long's guess.
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"As you saw, this dojo consists of four buildings, with this one being the first one. This first building contains things like the general library, the stores, the mission central, and just some general calm places you can hang out if you want a change of pace. That hallway to the left leads to the second building, the Eagle King Hall, there's nothing stopping you from heading there but there's a fair bit of competition between the halls so you might receive a few ugly stares. The hallway to the right leads to our Swan Queen Hall, the door at the opposite side of the room leads to the hollow centre that you saw, that's where we keep our various training grounds and more specialized cultivation chambers. The Heron Lord Hall is located on the other side of the training grounds, but you can also reach it from our Swan Queen Hall or the Eagle King Hall. Come, follow me."
The four other men split off from the group as Xue Qiuling started leading Yin Long towards the right, bringing him into a long and slightly narrow hallway where the walls were dotted with doors marked with what was beyond them. It took them almost half an hour to walk through the entire hallway and reach the end, Xue Qiuling seemingly remembering something just as they reached the door that would lead them into Swan Queen Hall. She turned to Yin Long and pointed at the jade wing he was still holding, but he cut her off before she could finish her sentence.
"Oh right. You might have already guessed that this jade will later be used to signify your membership of this dojo, it allows us to determine whether or not you are alive, but it also lets..."
"It also lets you see my position, no?"
Yin Long twirled the jade wing between his fingers as he spoke, his expression not changing. He had inspected the entire array within it and used some of the things Lan Yun had taught him about the arrays his own clan used to determine the general use of the jade wing. Xue Qiuling was somewhat taken aback by Yin Long's casual deduction, letting out a light breath as she praised Yin Long.
"...Yeah, I'm amazed you managed to figure it out that quickly, you must have some experience with arrays. You really are a treasure trove, aren't you?"
Quick-witted in combat, ruthless in combat, skilled in combat, and a pair of eyes that were so calm and unwavering that they caused her heart to beat slightly, the more she saw of Yin Long the more of her interest he aroused. But Yin Long only shrugged his shoulders casually in the face of Xue Qiuling's praise, storing the jade wing into his interspatial ring.
"No, it's nothing special, I only managed to discover the function a minute ago. Lan Yun probably discovered the function the moment she was handed the jade, she's always been clever and able to spot hidden things."
Lan Yun carried the job of information gathering when they worked as the darkness of the Lang clan, she had exceptionally keen senses when it came to things like this. After all, the first thing she had done when they met was something similar to this, using a secret technique to draw out the unique mark that would show which factions the assassins that attacked Yin Long back in the forest were from. Xue Qiuling smiled faintly at Yin Long's casual words, pushing open the door in front of them as she spoke, receiving a quick reply from Yin Long.
"You seem quite close, you must have a high degree of faith in her."
"I do. She's been at my side for several years through thick and thin without complaints. She's skilled in a number of different things and is quick to pick up on new things, she's far more flexible and well-rounded than me, I trust her more than I do myself."
Yin Long's words were pure and calm, these were his most honest thoughts. Lan Yun was talented and had been taught how to perform a wide variety of tasks by Yin Long's mother, she was different from someone like him who's only good point was his sword. Xue Qiuling smiled somewhat strangely in the face of Yin Long's honest words, a very faint light of jealousy flashing through her pupils as she and Yin Long stepped through the door.
The first thing Yin Long noticed as they stepped into the Swan Queen Hall was the Qi floating all around him. The density was a fair bit weaker than the density of the Qi he could get in some of the training rooms of the Lang clan, but the Qi here had one extreme advantage over the Qi in the Lang clan, attribute.
The Qi within the Lang clan didn't have any attribute, but the Qi here was stained by the weapons that the dojo focused on. The Qi was tinged with the law of swords, spears, smaller axes, daggers, it had already reached an extent where the Qi felt slightly sharp and stinging on his skin. If he cultivated here he would get twice the result for half the effort, even with the unique cultivation technique he was working on creating for himself. Xue Qiuling noticed Yin Long's surprised and slightly delighted expression, a pleased smile surfacing on her face as she spread out her hands.
"Welcome to Swan Queen Hall, the third greatest haven for all sword wielders in the entire Starblood Province!"
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