The others looked on enviously at the five, not knowing why the steward was doing this, but they knew there were definitely benefits involved.
The burly man who hated Han Yang was furious when he saw Han Yang among the five, but since everyone was present, he could only wait for another chance to get his revenge.
Han Yang and the other four walked up to the white-robed steward. The steward smiled at them and said, "Not bad. From today onward, you are members of Elite Heaven Palace."
Elite Heaven Palace? Han Yang had no idea what kind of place this was, but the expressions of the other four told him it was definitely special. They all smiled brightly—even Bella said, "This is great."
"Here are your robes. Your numbers are the same as before, but unlike others, you represent Elite Heaven Palace disciples." The white-robed steward finished speaking and sent the five off to collect their robes.
The five collected their robes. Han Yang noticed that the black robes were different from everyone else's—there was an extra character on the back: 精.
"Elite?" Han Yang wondered. Could it be that those labeled 'elite' in the newcomer assessment are sent to Elite Heaven Palace?
"If you fail the assessment, someone will arrange for you to leave. If you pass, you'll be assigned to different places." the white-robed steward said.
After he finished speaking, chaos broke out below. Those who failed the assessment started wailing—this was their hard-won chance to get in, and now they'd failed.
Meanwhile, those who passed were secretly excited—they could finally stay in Soul‑Heaven Palace to keep cultivating. Han Yang and the other four were already led away.
On the way, Bella smiled at Han Yang and said, "You refuse to be friends with me, so I insist on being friends with you."
Han Yang ignored her and kept walking. He knew her background was special and didn't want to provoke her or cause more trouble. Right now, his main goal was to quickly find a way out of the Soul‑World.
The other three were all men. One of them kept staring at Bella, clearly interested in her, while the other two watched Han Yang, looking a bit jealous.
Han Yang noticed all this and thought to himself, "Looks like there will be plenty of trouble ahead."
Once again, he saw a bunch of muscleheads with no brains, just brute strength. Han Yang felt helpless, but if he wanted them dead, it would be easy—he just didn't want to expose his true identity or power.
Seeing Han Yang ignore her, Bella glared at him. The man who'd been staring at Bella spoke up, "I'm from the Tiger Tribe. What's your name?"
Bella shot him a glare, not in the mood to respond.
The man, ignored like that, gave an awkward laugh. "The Tiger Tribe is one of the Four Great Tribes, you know. How about showing some respect?" He was clearly trying to let Bella know he was someone important.
The other two watched Bella and the Tiger Tribe guy like they were enjoying the show.
"So what if you're from the Tiger Tribe? I'm from the Li Tribe." Bella snorted coldly.
The man hadn't expected Bella to be from the Li Tribe—one of the Four Great Tribes too—so he couldn't really get the upper hand. He said, "Looks like we're both from the Four Great Tribes. How about being friends?"
"Who wants to be friends with you?" Bella was especially annoyed by the topic. She remembered what the female instructor told her: people want to be friends with her either because of her looks or her power.
The man hadn't expected Bella not only to refuse him, but to embarrass him in front of everyone. He snorted, "Am I worse than him? Why do you want to be friends with him and not us?"
That 'us' dragged the other two into it, and now they were curious about the answer too.
Han Yang muttered to himself, "Idiots."
The guide up front heard the commotion behind and turned around, "Enough talking!"
At that, the group quieted down. But Bella still wouldn't give up, pestering Han Yang to say he wanted to be friends, yet Han Yang never gave in.
So the whole way there, the atmosphere was awkward. The guide up front wondered, "Why are today's elites all so weird?"
Han Yang stayed quiet. The others, except Bella, were restless inside but dared not make a sound.
Soon, the five were brought to a palace called Elite Hall. Here, everyone was trained as an elite, and the cultivation techniques and ancient books inside were far more complete than anywhere else.
Han Yang got excited at the mention of ancient books—finally, a place to do research. With the guide's explanation, Han Yang and the others learned about Elite Hall. It was a bit like the old Genius Pavilion, but different in purpose: one was for sorting newcomers, the other for cultivating anyone stronger than average.
After the guide finished, rooms were assigned to Han Yang and the others. Their five rooms were all connected.
Once everything was settled, they were free to move about. If they wanted to study, they could go to Elite Hall, where cultivation techniques and ancient books were stored for self-cultivation.
Han Yang wasn't about to miss this opportunity. After getting familiar with his room, he headed to the place they'd just mentioned. When he arrived, he found it had several floors and a manager—an old man.
The old man looked so frail, it seemed a gentle push would topple him.
"You're new, aren't you?" The old man smiled at Han Yang.
"Yes." Han Yang nodded. He wouldn't underestimate anyone here—especially an old man in such a precious place. It was a bit odd.
"Go on in, just explore the first floor for now. The second floor—wait until you're strong enough. Same for the third. The fourth floor needs the Elite Heaven Palace Lord's permission, but none of you have that kind of strength. If you can reach the second floor, that's already impressive." The old man smiled.
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The old man's words only made Han Yang want it more, but he held back and smiled, "Thank you, senior."
Then Han Yang walked inside alone.
The old man watched Han Yang's back and smiled, "Looks like there's a promising seed in this batch."
Han Yang entered the first floor and found it wasn't very big—barely enough for a dozen people. He thought, "No wonder Elite Heaven Palace has so few people, only a dozen or so here. And the books and cultivation techniques can't be copied."
Han Yang had planned to copy them to read later, but that wouldn't work—he'd have to stay here. So he started searching for anything related to the Soul‑World.
But then, disaster struck—aside from the pictures, Han Yang couldn't understand any of the words. He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, I forgot to learn the language."
Just then, a few people walked in. Han Yang looked up—it was the other four who'd come in with him.
As soon as Bella saw Han Yang, she walked over. The other three exchanged glances.
"Didn't expect you'd come so soon," Bella said with a smile.
"Just came since I had nothing else to do," Han Yang replied, then kept pretending to read.
Seeing Han Yang wasn't as cold as usual, Bella felt smug. The other three either couldn't stand it or were just annoyed—they all snorted and went about their own business.
Han Yang kept searching, only able to look at things with pictures. He couldn't read the words, so he had to rely on the images to understand.
"Most of these are just text. Looks like I'll have to find someone to copy the language for me." Han Yang decided he'd need to learn the language first.
"Why are you reading so fast?" Bella asked, curious as she watched Han Yang flipping through the books.
"It's nothing." Han Yang didn't want to admit he couldn't read, or she'd laugh at him—or worse, try to use it as an excuse to be friends.
Han Yang went back to his own business. After a while, he left. Bella followed him out, while the other three exchanged glances and kept to themselves.
"Weird, why did he leave so soon?" The old man wondered as he saw Han Yang leave so quickly.
"Hey, don't leave so fast—can't we be friends?" Bella said angrily.
Han Yang's ears were about to curl up from all the nagging. He ignored her and kept walking. Bella called after him, "As long as you don't agree to be my friend, I'll pester you every day so you can't study anything!"
Bella's threat made Han Yang stop. He didn't want to be watched all day. He turned and stared at the stubborn girl, "If you want to be friends, that's fine. But friendship is about mutual respect, not just satisfying your own desires. Got it?"
Bella was embarrassed by Han Yang's words. She'd wanted to be friends just to break his aloofness, but now she was determined—she had to be friends with Han Yang, no matter what.
"Nothing to say? Go think about why you want to be friends with me, then come back." Han Yang sighed and walked away.
Watching Han Yang leave, Bella felt like she was being lectured by an old man. She grumbled to herself, "Seriously, it's just being friends—why make it so complicated?"
Han Yang returned to his room, wondering how to get a language system. After thinking it over, he decided to ask the Elite Heaven Palace manager.
So Han Yang found the manager who'd brought him here. The manager smiled when he saw Han Yang, "Need any help?"
"Senior, here's the thing: I didn't learn many characters as a kid, and most of the library is in text. I don't really understand it, so I wanted to ask if there's anything that combines language and writing so I can read it?" Han Yang asked.
The manager smiled, "That happens a lot—many people haven't systematically learned the characters, so it's normal not to understand. Here, I happen to have a backup. It matches each character with its language counterpart. Just memorize it and you'll know what each word means."
"Thank you, senior," Han Yang said with a smile.