The queue extended for as long as you could imagine. Children ranging from ages 10 to as old as age 16 were in this queue. Males and females were in this line, most of them with their parents, with the males having a higher population. From where they stood, they couldn't see the end of this line.
Gu Taixu could notice some people moving around rapidly. They wore azure robes which fluttered as they moved in the crowd, placing hands on the heads of prospective students. They had a badge with characters that read; Heaven Profound Martial Academy. Gu Taixu guessed that they were inspectors. They were 7 in number, 5 males and 2 females. They were moving towards the back region at that moment. One of the females came towards Gu Taixu. She was slim and elegant with a white skin and a graceful figure. As she moved gently, all eyes focused on her. She was a true beauty to behold. She had bright blue eyes and brilliant flowing hair that was as black as night. Her rosy cheeks and bright pink lips complemented her dazzlingly beautiful face. To Gu Taixu, this was the most beautiful lady he had ever seen. His expression faltered for a moment but he regained his consciousness when she was just a few metres away. With a shamed expression, he lowered his head. She flashed him a disarming smile. Gently, she put her hand on his head. Immediately, Gu Taixu felt a strong penetrating but gentle energy flowing. After passing through him, the energy flow divided to his dantian and his soul.
"Huh..." The woman muttered as her brows furrowed a bit. She seemed to face an obstruction. She seemed to overlook it, though. She commented,
"Cultivation level, ascertained, soul level, ..." She spoke then paused. Gu Taixu gasped inwardly. She must have detected the Dragon Eye in the soul level. Ah-h-h-h. He realized he worried for nothing but ...
"You passes. You can proceed to the registration hall." She said expressionlessly.
"Oh." Both father and son breathed in relief. Both proceeded to the main office and completed Gu Taixu's registration process. In no time, Gu Taixu was a registered student of Heaven Profound Martial Academy. He was given a pair of blue robes and stockings with shoes. The robes had the Martial Academy's insignia embroidered on the chest. The symbol was a book enshrouded in divine light. He was also given an identity card and a stone room to occupy. The stone room was situated at the outer periphery of the residences area. The outer periphery was occupied by other outer disciples; the inner periphery was occupied by other inner disciples while the central area was reserved for the core disciples, instructors and elders. In the meantime, he settled down in his room.
Later, he went out to the sparring grounds. It was an array of 21 regions. 11 regions surrounded the 7 inner regions which surrounded the 3 remaining regions. This illustrated reserved zones for the outer, inner and core disciples respectively. Few spars were going on in the outer zones but the others were completely empty. After the training grounds, there were two buildings side by side. The one on the left was captioned, "The Depository of Scriptures" while the other was, "Martial Arts Library". Currently, very few people were in around the region of the Depository of Scriptures but the Martial Arts Hall was quite a bustling place.
The Depository of Scriptures was a three storeyed pagoda while the other was a higher five storeyed pagoda. From Gu Taixu's view, the first two floors were quite full. Students were moving in groups and chattering moderately. Gu Taixu advanced towards the building at a moderate pace. His problems at the moment weren't martial art techniques but he needed to gain knowledge of a thing or two from his newfound environment. He was unceremoniously blocked by the outstretched hand of a grumpily waiting elder.
"Identity card?" He snorted. Gu Taixu put his hand into his pockets and retrieved it, then presented it to the elder. The elder made a face at it, snorted and indicated for him to come in.
Whoa, an old hag with an attitude? Gu Taixu thought as he went in. Unknown to him, the freaky elder smiled meaningfully. Unperturbed by the gatekeeper's unfriendly behaviour, he marched into the first floor without a care. As he stepped in, he realized that he had grossly underestimated the number of people on this floor. They could be counted in several hundreds. It was packed to the extreme that he could hardly move around. This floor comprised of just low grade and incomplete mid grade skills. Observing this, Gu Taixu moved to the second floor.
Most of them were Mid grade skills and High Grade skills. Some incomplete High Grade skills were here too.
"Wind Splattering Kick, Blazing Meteor Line, Rising Wind Punch, Blazing Crescent of Fury, 6 Solar Palms." Gu Taixu muttered not the least bit interested. He observed, looking around. This place was not as crowded as the first floor, but the students here were quite a number.
"Hey, Guy, how do you do?" A male voice sounded beside him.
"Uh. Hello" Gu Taixu answered.
He turned to see a group of three, two boys and a girl walking towards him. They all wore blue robes. Outer disciples, Gu Taixu guessed.
"You are a new student, right?" The male asked.
He was a tall figure about a head taller than Gu Taixu and had exceptional, shimmering black hair with shades of yellow. He looked 17. Besides him were a boy and a girl who looked like siblings. They both had red hair and seemed aloof as though they were from a higher race.
"Yeah."
"I was quite impolite. Let me introduce myself. I am Young Master Chen Yilin of the Chen Family. These are my friends, Young Master Li Tianyi and Young Miss Li Youlian of the Li family." He said as he gestured, "Our families are outside the Chu Zhou province, so I guess you may not know them."
The other boy seemed 16. As Chen Yilin introduced him, he waved. The other girl looked younger and she had a sick expression.
"Thanks. I'm Gu Taixu", he said ignoring her, "Gu Clan obviously."
"So you're from here."
"Yeah, these parts."
"So what was the former academy you attended."
"..." Gu Taixu was about to reply when the girl interrupted.
"Big Brother Yilin, why do we have to waste our time with this newbie who you don't even know?" She said raising her eyebrows.
"When you talk with your friends, I don't interrupt you even when the discussion is going nowhere, so do same for me."
"What?" The girl exclaimed, thoroughly surprised.
"So," Chen Yilin said turning his attention back to Gu Taixu, "what level are you?"
"I'm just a Level One." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Li Tianyi turned expressionless while Li Youlian had a disdainful expression which suggested a "you see".
Chen Yilin seemed to care less with an "Oh."
"I guess you are trying to find techniques." Without waiting for an answer he continued,
"It's best of you go to the first floor to search. The skills up here might prove a little too difficult for you. Low grade skills for beginners are there." He advised ruefully.