One of the elders returned with a scroll for Repelling Sword Strike and handed it to me. I bowed to the elders and left. I didn't go to the Concentration Garden right away. Instead, I went to my room to brush up on the section of the Guide concerning it, since it had strict rules associated with it compared to most places in the Outer sect. The biggest taboo was of course noise, especially talking. If you said so much as a word while in the garden, you'd be barred from entering it from anywhere from 2 weeks on a first offence to one or more years.
The garden was also possibly the most beautiful place in the sect. It was centered around a picturesque lake with several streams running into it and from it. The lake was surrounded by flowers, and further out it was circumscribed by a footpath. On the side of the path opposite the lake was where the disciples contemplating techniques could sit—there were many benches but they were nearly always full, so many sat on the ground, or on mats that they were permitted to bring.
I had one such mat with my camping equipment, and I found a spot to lay it on with little trouble. I took a deep breath, and dove into learning my second technique. The garden was enchanted with an array that blocked all sound from outside, so the sound of running water and the trills of birds was broken only by the footsteps of disciples coming and going, and little at that.
Like the dueling courts, it was also another place in the sect that wasn't open at night. So, at close to sundown, I visited the Invigoration Pavillion for food, then went to my room to continue studying the Repelling Sword Strike until dawn, when I'd get a quick breakfast then return to the garden.
On the 5th evening, Shokoya joined me. "How's the new technique going?"
"Pretty well. I see what they mean about the study rooms at the Codex being superior to the Garden, but it's less complicated than the last so it should take me about the same amount of time to start putting it into practice."
"You might want to consider interrupting your study the day after tomorrow, if it wouldn't be a big deal. There's a lecture from a Grand Elder scheduled for then."
"It's gotta be too late for me to get a lecture pass, though?" The Lecture Hall could accommodate several thousand Disciples, but the schedule was set for at least 2 months in advance, with most lecture audiences filling at least two weeks in advance. According to Shokoya, quite a bit of betting took place in the dueling courts, so it wouldn't surprise me if the first come, first serve tickets often changed hands that way leading up to it.
"Actually, I got an extra one for you at the dueling courts a few days ago," said Shokoya, "apparently a disciple accepted a ticket for a bet without confirming which lecture it was for first. This particular Grand Elder's lectures are a little infamous, apparently. I mentioned I've never actually been to one of their lectures and he threw the ticket at me like trash, saying, I believe it went something like 'you take it then. Every disciple should go to her lecture once, if only to understand just how strange she is.' I didn't bother telling him I already had a ticket for myself, for obvious reasons."
"Well, I'd hate to leave a seat empty or put you on the spot trying to pass it off to someone else." I grinned, to accentuate that I was joking. "This sounds interesting. What time, the day after tomorrow?"
"See for yourself." Shokoya handed me the lecture ticket.
"1:30 PM. I'm so glad I bought a watch before getting that last escort mission started. And an alarm clock for my room." I was also thinking about getting a wall hanging of some kind so my room would look a LITTLE decorated now that I'd gone that far, but as if I was going to bring that up.
It was a pretty nice watch, too. 120,000-ish gold was a pretty awkward amount to have, too much for normal things but not enough to buy much a cultivator would find useful. So, I'd been generous with my budget, spending a couple thousand at a luxury items shop. I'd gone for durability, and while it probably wouldn't stand up to being worn while fighting magical beasts, it should survive a wilderness expedition pretty well. Shokoya had timepieces by now too, though instead of taking a mission outside the sect, he'd had his clock and watch delivered along with the other requested outside-sect goods that arrived to the sect monthly.
I'd never looked into the Lecture Hall much, so I decided I'd take basically that whole day off, including not skipping the midday meal for once. I got their early, having had an idea to at least check if there were any elders who specialized in archery that I could attend lectures from. A disciple helped me out there. "Yes, Elder Gong gives lectures on archery. He is next scheduled in the Lecture Hall in 47 days, so there are still plenty of seats available."
I graciously accepted a ticket and hung around a little awkwardly waiting for Shokoya. Once we'd met up, we had no trouble finding seats next to each other. In a few more minutes, a woman in Grand Elder garb made her way to the lectern at the center, and the room fell silent.