It didn't take much longer for them to arrive at a bigger building after crossing the fence. The inner court, while big, seemed to be far smaller than the outer court. That did make sense.
Anyways, they reached a bigger building that seemed to have a few floors and took quite a lot of space. The silver robed Elder called it the Inner Court Management Building. It was where all the supplies were gathered.
They entered it and Jin was, once again, surprised at the beauty of the place. It was neat and stylish without being too much. There were a few silver robed elders walking here and there or just chatting on the sides with each other.
He was unable to spot any disciples though.
Noticing the curious gazes while he walked, the silver robed elder told him: "Did you notice how there weren't any disciples? That is because this is where we, elders, manage the inner court. Disciples only come here when they have particular demands related to their living conditions. Considering that it isn't the date for promoting new inner court disciples, there are none expected to come"
Indeed.
If this place pertained solely to the logistics of the inner court, there were no reasons for disciples to be here. Or not many. And it was quite obvious for there to be many more elders. Since the silver robed said that the promotion from outer to inner disciple wasn't due to be soon, it meant that those inner court disciples at the moment had been promoted some time ago. As such, they wouldn't need to come here. And, considering that there were no new additions, well, there would not be much disciple traffic in here. It might be getting quite hectic when it was the time though.
All of this didn't require Jin to ponder over that deeply though. He was after all a new disciple, nothing more. How the sect logistics were organized wasn't knowledge he was in desperate need of. So, he decided to leave it aside.
As they reached the counter, a few elders behind it started a talk with the one that led him. He was once again greeted by new faces and introduced to them.
As the chat went on, the silver robed elder explained what he needed: "Can you give him the inner court welcoming pack along with the outer court one ?" to which a different elder answered: "Since he's skipping a whole grade, he does deserve it, yes" and a different one added: "I think he would also need the starting pack since he hasn't even formed a core yet" to which the silver robed elder nodded.
A few elders then disappeared through a backdoor inside what might just be the warehouse of the department. They would have to wait for them to come back.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Still, Jin was quite surprised at the names of the bundles he was getting. What's with this naming sense? He found it weird. The reasons why seemingly ‘cool’ names were given to things was to bring people to be interested in them and earning them. Even if the contents were the same, it felt better to get a ‘Dragon Pack’ than ‘Starter Pack’…
Jin’s surprise was shown over his face. A few elders chuckled and one decided to explain: "Finding the names weird? They do make it easier for us though. What we give to every disciple differs according to their grades. In general, we only distribute the inner court welcoming pack when we welcome new additions" to which another added: "Grouping the gifts together makes it faster to give them out later on and there are close to mistakes"
Finally, Jin couldn't help but ask: "But those names though?" to which most of the elders laughed and one jokingly answered: "Why? Did you think we would call it 'Dragon Rising through the Clouds pack'? Ahahah”
He was being mocked like a child yet thinking back upon it, they were right to do so. Those things were destined for new inner court disciples to make them feel welcome. It was thus called Inner Court Welcoming Pack.
Simple and straight-forward.
Was it him being brought back as a kid that revived his youthful fantasies? Or was he swayed by the environment and previous stereotypes? Regardless, the names did make sense though it lacked any interesting aspects. In the end, it was simple but realist.
He did not dislike it. And it did not matter that much either.
After a round of joking, the elders simply told him it didn't matter that much anyways confirming his thoughts. Those were just simple gifts to help the new additions to settle in.
Soon, the elders came back with the bundles he was to be given. Twenty boxes, two big cardboards and a disciple robe. He was told to first go change.
Since this place was where uniforms were first handed out, there were a few changing rooms. He went inside one and took off his old clothes. His family had been poor so he had been given baggy clothes that would fit him for years. He was still close to outgrowing them. More than anything though, they were worn down. He had been wearing them for a long time after all.
Once he was done changing, he put the old clothes in his small bag and exited.
He looked like a new kid.
Clothes did make the cultivator. The white robe looked particularly nice on him, contrasting with his tanned skin. He had been living outside for years so his skin was tanned slightly. His brown eyes and long brown hair were nothing unusual around and those could go with everything when it came to clothes. It was quite obvious that he needed to work on his hair though. A haircut and some showering were both required.
The elders teased him a little about that yet didn't go too far and were soon congratulating him and welcoming him not only in the sect but also to its inner court.
As he looked down at the robe, he noticed that the belt was orange opposite to the elder that led him here who had a yellow one. As he thought a bit longer, he recalled that the examiners had yellow belts too. He asked about it and was answered: "Yellow is the symbol of the outer court, orange of the inner court and red for the core section. If you see different colors or uniforms, they belong to those who hold even higher ranks but you're unlikely to meet them so don't bother"