After the judgment from the Illusory Heart Mirror was finished, Ace was accompanied by one of the young men from Judgement Palace into a room. Fatty and Greed were no longer with him as Elder Li personally guided them.

The two he met by chance were geniuses that the heavens favored.

'So both of them were geniuses? Well, that's something you don't see on normal days.' He thought after they were separated. Ace wasn't saddened, even if he's not called a genius.

Ace's body was average in quality, same as his comprehension of words and mysteries was nothing to be proud of. He could use a bow, but he preferred to use his fist just like his father.

A man must use their body to fight, as his father claimed.

Besides, he was unique in his own right; his Soul Seed was different after all. The Soul Seed inside his body was not ordinary; based on its appearance alone, Ace knew how different he was from the others, and with the System inside his head, Ace didn't want his secrets getting discovered.

"Hand me your medallion." The young man demanded.

The young man fiddled with his black medallion before giving it back.

When Ace took the black medallion from the young man, a voice spoke inside his head.

[Ding… acquired Black Medallion of the Outer Circle.]

[Black Medallion of the Outer Circle: Crafted using high-quality minerals that change color in response to the holder's cultivation level. Proof of outer discipleship to the Immortal Demon Sect.]

'Is this... from that System?' seeing a new message written before him, Ace could not help but be befuddled, 'Does this mean the System's function is not just leveling?'

His mind wandered.

The mystic of the System brought him untold confusion.

"-Id."

'I wonder, what else can the system do?' he asked himself.

"Kid, did you hear me!?"

"Ahh! Y-yes!"

Ace jumped back as a hand grabbed him from the back.

His face paled as he saw the young man from the Judgement Palace look at him with pity, "Look, kid, not everyone is blessed by the heavens, but that doesn't mean you can't catch up to them. If you try hard enough, you can stand on the same level as your friends one day."

"Tha-thank you?" such was the only response he could muster.

"Anyway, as per Sect regulations, I linked your medallion to the Sect Records. As of today, you are now an official Outer Circle disciple of our sect. The current color of your medallion is black, but that is because your cultivation is at Core Formation; after you advance in your cultivation, it will change to a corresponding color." The young man then took a slip from his sleeves and passed it on to Ace.

"I see."

"Here, take this." The young man handed over a leather bag and a red paper slip.

[Ding… acquired Immortal Demon Sect Outer Circle Disciple Start Bag.]

[Immortal Demon Sect Outer Circle Disciple Start Bag: the essential items given to every Outer Circle Disciples of the Immortal Demon Sect.]

[Ding… acquired Martial Pavilion Red Slip.]

[Martial Pavilion Red Slip: A ticket to get a Martial Technique from the First Floor of the Martial Pavilion.]

Ace looked inside and saw various things that he needed, like clothes. It also contained a white bottle, the address and location of his new house, and some low-quality crystal essence, and the red paper had the words [Martal Pavilion] written on it.

"Take that red slip to the Martial Pavilion to pick a Martial Technique. The red slip can only provide you a single book so decide well. The map to the Martial Pavilion is illustrated on the back of the red paper."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The young man beckoned Ace out of the Judgement Room and was sent to fend independently.

"You can get your food in the Cafeteria every Noon and at the 18th hour. Lessons are not mandatory, but you can go to the Scholastic Demon Hall and apply for classes if you want to. Good luck on your journey, Junior."

After thanking the young man who guided him, Ace was left to decide what he should do. Fatty Yuan and Greed will most definitely enter the inner circle of the sect and join the ranks of the geniuses.

'I first need to get a Martial Technique, find my lodgings on my own, and find out more about the System.' He finally made the decision after calming himself.

After Ace leveled up the previous day, he discovered many new things, like how his body was referred to by the System as 'Character.'

'Ding… character level up' was said after the experience points reached one hundred. The System inside his head remained a mystery.

For Ace to improve, he was aware he must first understand the System, but the thought was overwritten by his drive to get his first Martial Skill, so he checked the red paper and looked at the map written on the back.

Ace followed the map and passed different places but, oddly enough, didn't see many disciples on the way. Ace used what was left of the morning to find the Martial Pavilion, and just when the sun hit its highest point, Ace finally stood in front of a Towering Pavilion.

He confirmed that he was in the right place after seeing the carved sign of the Martial Pavilion.

'Finally, I can learn proper Martial Techniques.'

Taking a deep breath, Ace entered the Pavilion with excitement and expectations.

The inside of the Martial Pavilion was spacious and had a simple design, but its black walls gave it heavy pressure.

Walking up to the attending disciple behind the reception desk, Ace showed him the red paper slip.

After checking the red paper slip, the female attending disciple raised her brows, "Are you new here?"

Ace nodded.

"Sigh, listen well, I'm only going to explain this to you once. Pick one book to be rented, bring it to me, and you can take it out for free this time. Next time, you will need Crystal Essence as compensation. You got that?"

"Yes, thank you."

The female attendant then pointed to the rows of bookshelves behind her, "Pick one and take it back to me. Do it quickly, will you?"

"Thank you."

Ace ambled and entered the forest of bookshelves of the lowest levels.

He took a book from one of the bookshelves, opened it, and began reading. Ace read one of them but found that all were basic introductions to the actual Martial Technique.

"<> a technique that lets the practitioner burn their enemies by using only one finger. With this technique, you would easily burn through the wood. "

"<> rip your opponents to shreds by strengthening all your fingers until they are comparable to a tiger's claw. It has three levels of mastery but once trained to the peak, one will be able to dig through a mountain by using only your bare hands."

"<> a movement technique that will let you move in the air as if you are dancing on the biggest stage."

Ace shook his head as he couldn't find any appeal to the Martial Skills he had just read. Its names and descriptions were all domineering, but nothing stuck out to him enough that he wanted to train in that skill.

'If I can't find any offensive Martial Skill, I'll go with body tempering, or should I just use defensive techniques?' He thought as he considered many possibilities, but when he was about to go over to the section where the body tempering techniques and the defensive techniques were placed, Ace saw a thin red book resting in the middle of the shelf.

Ace took that book and saw the worn-out, almost ancient-looking cover with four words, '<>.'

"<>: create a serpent out of flames and burn everything to ashes; in the early stages, the Flame serpent will only be as big as half an arm, but after reaching its peak, it will become a meter long serpent that will burn anything."

The description was too over the top, but Ace could not care less because he was attracted by the idea of summoning a serpent made of flames and devouring everything and fighting with it. One man controlling a serpent made of flames while flying in the sky was the awe-inspiring image Ace drew inside his head.

Ace went to the reception with much glee and excitement and passed it to the attending disciple.

"One last thing, if you want to borrow another manual in the future first return the one you first borrowed, then you can proceed to find another Martial Skill that suits you after paying with Crystal Essence. I almost forgot, as a new recruit, you can review your chosen Martial Technique once and decide if you want to change it for something else. After three days, and you haven't decided yet, the privilege will expire." the attendant explained before leaning closer to Ace, "Between you and me, I'd copy the first one first and then get a new one."

She laughed before handing the true <> manual.

"I will keep that in min~" At that instant, when Ace's fingers touched the manual, he heard an echo in his head!

'Ding… acquired <>… learn?'

A translucent flying board appeared in front of him like before. However, unlike the previous boards, this one was actually trying to interact with him.

The voice announced what was happening, and Ace stood there unmoving. In other people's eyes, Ace was just looking at the manual he was holding when in fact he was looking at the translucent board.

"Are there any problems?" the attendant asked in concern.

"Yes, learn." Ace mumbled under his breath, and information on how to utilize the <> appeared inside his mind; and he didn't even need to spend a single second, but he was able to comprehend its deep meanings as if he had been practicing it for years.

'Ding… Learned <>… 1st level (0/50).'

"Junior brother, are there any problems?" the receptionist once again asked in concern.

Ace noticed the attendant's concern and chose to speak with a laugh, "Hahaha, senior, can I please change my choice now? I just changed my mind that I actually want a body tempering technique first, so can I change this <> for one?"

Ace asked as he tried to make his lie believable as much as possible. The receptionist smiled and answered him.

"Really? Now? I'd say it's a waste, but it's your choice."

This attendant has been stationed here for two years already, and, for the first time in a long time, she had not seen someone as wasteful as Ace, 'He'll regret it later.'

Ace nodded his head and returned the manual to the attendant.

After giving the book, Ace hurriedly went to the place where body tempering techniques were placed, tried to calm himself down, and checked the System.

Name: Ace

Level: 1

Experience Points: (0/200)

Stored Experience: 0

Martial Technique: <> 1st level (0/10)

Cultivation: Core Formation (To be unlocked: Minor Saint)

Career: Cultivator Lv. 1

Extra Career:

'I-it changed!'

Ace had seen the change that occurred to the System the previous day, and he was surprised to see those changes. From what was written on the System, Ace already had an idea that this System may not be a bad thing for him after all and that it might have been something good, but instantaneously learning a Martial Technique like that was simply cheating.

At that moment, Ace wanted to go and try the <>, but he suppressed the urge after thinking that there were too many people. Ace turned around and checked the body tempering arts to take his mind off the <>.

Ace was prepared to spend a long time browsing through the many Martial Techniques, but after randomly picking a Martial Technique from the abundant body tempering arts present, Ace already found the one he was trying to find.

He quickly returned to the attendant and handed over the Martial Technique he replaced the Flame Serpent with. The attendant saw the Martial Technique he had taken and nodded her head in agreement with Ace's taste. Though she still thinks what he's doing was a waste, at least now she understands why Ace had a change of heart.

The receptionist handed Ace the manual and said, "Oooooh, you actually chose a decent one."

Ace nodded his head and took the manual from his hands;

'Ding… <>… learn?'

"Learn."

"Ding… Learned <>… (0/50).'

Like the <>, Ace absorbed the knowledge and comprehension in the manual with a single touch. As Ace was heading out of the Martial Pavilion, his face possessed the brightest smile out of everyone.

'Two Martial Skills learned!' Ace was smiling from ear to ear.