144: Join a guild, find a place to live!

After reviewing the benefits offered by the five major guilds, Chu Yixing and Yu Yue, the the five people, discussed among themselves again.

"The team benefits are all pretty similar. As for personal benefits, I'm fine with any of them. What do you all think?" Han Ruoxue said, looking at the benefits list.

"I had originally decided to go with Chiyan Guild, but now I'm leaning towards Giant Rock Guild. That unannounced Instance and secret realm map are very appealing," Chu Yixing said to everyone.

"I'm also leaning towards Giant Rock Guild. The [Staff of Cloning]... cloning, yeah, it sounds really cool," Xu Bai only saw the words "cloning."

"Clear Spring Guild, Chiyan Guild, or Giant Rock Guild... I'm still used to a war hammer," Ji Linghan glanced at the benefits table.

"Giant Rock Guild it is. The equipment defense offered by other guilds is too restrictive. As for pets, I have one now, and raising one is enough. We can talk about more later," Yu Yue considered for a moment and said.

"Then it's Giant Rock Guild. They have flying vehicles and teleportation arrays, so distance isn't an issue. Plus, the guild headquarters are in the imperial capital, which makes it convenient for us to return to the academy," Chu Yixing finally decided.

After their discussion, the the five people looked towards the main stage, deciding to wait until the other students had chosen their guilds before approaching.

About ten minutes later, there was no one left at the main stage. Chu Yixing and the the five people walked over, first thanking the other four guilds, then standing before Vice Guild Leader Jiang of Giant Rock Guild.

"Guild Leader Jiang, after our discussion, we've decided to join Giant Rock Guild."

The person in charge of Giant Rock Guild immediately nodded, pulled out the system contract, and after signing it, quickly brought Chu Yixing and the the five people into the guild, afraid that if he was a step too slow, they would be snatched away by others.

"[You have joined the guild "Giant Rock." The [Guild] panel has been activated. Please check it yourself.]"

"[You have joined the guild "Giant Rock." The [Chat] channel has been activated. Please check it yourself.]"

"[Your guild position has changed. Please go to the [Guild] panel to check.]"

"[Your guild department has changed. Please go to the [Guild] panel to check.]"

...A series of system prompts sounded in Chu Yixing's ears. Chu Yixing temporarily suppressed his curiosity and did not immediately check.

"Welcome, five students, to Giant Rock Guild. I am Jiang Wentao of the guild. I will take you to the Courtyard House arranged for you shortly."

The Dean walked over and said to Chu Yixing and the the five people, "Be careful, and strive to reach second-tier before the Myriad Races Hegemony. Additionally, the academy and the country will provide extra rewards for your excellent performance in the National War, which will be distributed through the [Academy] system's item bar next week."

Chu Yixing and the the five people nodded and followed Guild Leader Jiang to the Courtyard House.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Courtyard House, Guild Leader Jiang recorded the the five people's fingerprints into the Courtyard House and then left them to explore the Courtyard House on their own: "This Courtyard House is the residence the guild has provided for you. I need to go find the Guild Leader, so I'll be leaving now. Here are the Courtyard House's manual and structural diagram; you can take your time to look through them. Also, regarding your benefits, everything except the customized equipment will be implemented before tomorrow. Customized equipment will take seven to ten days."

The the five people looked at the Courtyard House before them. It was located next to the guild headquarters and the teleportation plaza, surrounded by other similar ancient, unassuming Courtyard Houses, about twenty of them, forming a "community."

The main gate of the Courtyard House was made of thousand-year profound ironwood, and the bronze beast-head door knockers on the gate actually contained two formations: one for identifying malice and one for a trapping formation called "Drawing a Circle to Confine Oneself." Unauthorized intruders would trigger the formation's identification. If no malice was detected, a notification would be sent to alert the residents inside that someone was visiting. If malice was detected, the other formation, "Drawing a Circle to Confine Oneself," would be triggered to trap the intruder and issue an intrusion alert.

Chu Yixing and the the five people entered the main gate, and the first thing that caught their eyes was a glazed screen wall. Instead of traditional patterns, the screen wall featured a flowing star map. This was a trapping and killing formation, the "Seven Stars Formation." If the "Drawing a Circle to Confine Oneself" at the entrance failed to stop a malicious intruder, then this trapping and killing formation would be the second line of defense.

Bypassing the screen wall, what came into view was a ground paved with bluestone slabs, inscribed with runes. These runes connected to the eaves of the roof, whose tiles were solar tiles, also engraved with spirit-gathering formations. Through the connection of various runes, the entire courtyard was provided with energy.

In the courtyard, there was a water feature pond. Normally, it was just an ordinary water feature pond, but once intruders bypassed the first two formations and entered the courtyard, this water feature pond would transform into "Ice Trap" mode, controlling and attacking intruders with ice-based abilities. It could also be transformed into a "Healing Hot Spring" via the control hub nearby.

The pillars of the corridor were also carved with runes. When the water feature pond transformed into "Ice Trap" mode, these runes would instantly activate automatically, forming a defensive barrier, a "Light Shield," enveloping the core area of the entire residence.

Passing through the corridor, one arrived at the main hall, the core area of the Courtyard House. The main hall retained traditional furnishings such as grand armchairs and an eight-immortals table, but one wall had been converted into a holographic projection, capable of displaying maps of the imperial capital and even the entire country. Giant Rock Guild's unique "World Dark Side Map" was also loaded into it. On the other side was a huge bookshelf, featuring both ancient texts and modern large-screen displays.

Of the wing rooms on either side of the main hall, one was converted into a cultivation room with a skill training ground, while the other was a meditation room, equipped with five small soundproof formations to prevent mutual disturbance.

Behind the main hall was the main house, where the the five people resided. It was divided into five independent luxury suites, whose style and layout could be changed at the owner's request.

Xu Bai chose the farthest right room, Han Ruoxue chose the second from the right, Ji Linghan chose the farthest left, Yu Yue chose the second from the left, and everyone left the middle room for Chu Yixing.

In a corner of the main house's courtyard, there was a very discreet entrance, protected by a concealment formation. The entrance led to an ultimate training ground hidden a hundred meters underground. The ultimate training ground was equipped with multiple spatial formations and reinforced super facilities, strong enough to withstand the full attacks of peak third-tier professionals.

The ultimate training ground could also simulate various extreme environments such as cosmic void, lava hell, and extreme cold ice plains, and was equipped with top-tier damage absorption and instant repair formations, making it a place for testing new moves, refining tactics, and maintaining condition.

Behind the main house was the rear auxiliary building, which had been converted into a modern kitchen and dining room. The kitchen was fully equipped and also had living puppets that could cook and prepare ingredients for the the five people. Next to it was an entertainment room, integrating the latest audio-visual games and indoor sports equipment.

Chu Yixing and the others finished examining the entire structure of the Courtyard House and returned to their respective bedrooms in the main house, preparing to study the newly activated [Guild] panel.

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