Chapter 5

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"Senior Brother, these are the disciples recommended from the outer sect to enter the inner sect!"

In a rather simple grand hall, a dozen or so young boys stood neatly in line. In front of them were five middle-aged men with an aura as deep as a well, sizing up the young boys below.

Ling Feng was also among these young boys.

After Wang Danfeng delivered Ling Feng to the hall, he left immediately.

As an elder of the outer sect, even with his status, he could not stay in the inner sect for long.

At this moment, the middle-aged man with a long beard raised his eyes and glanced at the new disciples in front of him, nodded slightly, and pointed to a young boy standing first on the right, saying calmly, "You, step forward."

The young boy stepped forward as instructed, his face clearly showing some tension, "Disciple Meng Chen, greetings to all the Peak Masters!"

"Hmm, this boy is not bad, let him join your sect, Senior Brother."

A middle-aged man in a black robe glanced at Meng Chen and then respectfully smiled at the long-bearded man.

The black-robed man was named Li Liang, an elder responsible for the recruitment and allocation of disciples. The long-bearded man was named Yang Wei.

Although Yang Wei and Li Liang were of the same generation, Yang Wei was one of the nine peak masters of the Wenshan Sect, holding a higher position than Li Liang. Therefore, Li Liang, to curry favor with him, naturally sent the most promising disciples to Yang Wei.

"His talent is not bad, let him join my Feixing Peak." Yang Wei nodded slightly.

Meng Chen immediately showed a look of joy and bowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!"

"Still quite quick-witted." Yang Wei stroked his beard and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Stand behind me."

"Yes!" Meng Chen respectfully walked to Yang Wei's back, his face full of excitement.

"Next one." Yang Wei said calmly again.

Then, the young boys standing behind stepped forward one by one.

Yang Wei, who clearly held a very high status, basically took all the best-talented disciples, while those with slightly inferior talent were generously "given" away by him.

The other peak masters, though secretly resenting Yang Wei's cunning, dared not speak out.

Yang Wei's strength in the Wenshan Sect was second only to the sect leader and a few secluded grand elders. Who would dare to compete with him for disciples?

In this way, the best talents were all selected by him, and how could the other sects have a chance to surpass the Feixing Peak lineage?

"Next one!" Li Liang called out calmly.

Ling Feng took a deep breath, it was finally his turn!

Ling Feng stepped forward and bowed, "Disciple Ling Feng, greetings to all the Peak Masters."

Li Liang sized up Han Xiao, frowned, and then grabbed his wrist, examining him for a while with his eyes.

Ling Feng felt a bit nervous inside, as this step was not part of the process for others.

Finally, Li Liang let go of his hand and shook his head, "Bone age eighteen, cultivation at the first level of the Condensation Realm. Average talent, barely passed!"

This level, though good for ordinary people, was purely a waste in a martial arts sect like the Wenshan Sect!

In martial arts sects, advancing to the Condensation Realm at fourteen is common. Being at the first level of the Condensation Realm at eighteen would place one in the lower-middle ranks even in the outer sect.

The peak masters in the hall all shook their heads. It was better to have no disciples than to take in such a waste.

Ling Feng gritted his teeth, wanting to explain but not knowing where to start.

Should he tell them that he advanced from a completely untrained ordinary person to the Condensation Realm in just thirty breaths?

The secret of the Heavenly Son's Eye must not be revealed to anyone!

So, he could only remain silent, and had to remain silent!

"Hmph!" Yang Wei's eyes narrowed slightly, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face, "Since he barely passed, send him back to the outer sect!"

"This..." Li Liang's face showed a hint of difficulty. His eyes rolled, and he leaned close to Yang Wei's ear and said with a smile, "Senior Brother, have you forgotten? Our Wenshan Sect has another lineage, though not among the nine peaks, it still needs to send one average-talented disciple to that old ghost each year. This boy's talent is already as average as it can be, why not send him to that lineage?"

He had received a favor from Wang Danfeng and could not let Ling Feng be sent back to the outer sect, otherwise, he would not receive such favors in the future.

As for which master Ling Feng would follow, that was not his concern.

"That lineage..." Yang Wei pondered for a moment, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes!

Li Liang smiled coldly, "Once he is in that lineage, he will likely leave on his own within a few days."

"Fine, then follow the old rules and send him to Duanmu's lineage."

Yang Wei snorted, thinking to himself: Duanmu, if you have the guts, hide that sword scripture forever! I will send you a disciple with extremely poor talent every year and then send someone to force him to sever the master-disciple relationship with you! I don't believe you will be content to see that sword technique lost forever!

Ling Feng was slightly surprised, not knowing what the two powerful figures were discussing.

In any case, he felt that this was definitely not a good thing!

"Hem!" Li Liang cleared his throat, stepped forward, and said calmly, "You are Ling Feng, right? From now on, you will follow Senior Master Duanmu... Senior Master Duanmu, and cultivate diligently!"

"Senior Master Duanmu?" Ling Feng was taken aback. He was assigned to a senior master of the peak masters? Wasn't his talent average?

Though he was puzzled, he still bowed and said, "Yes!"

"Hmm. Zongyuan, take him to Xiaozhufeng." Li Liang instructed a disciple beside him.

"Yes!" A young man of about twenty stepped forward, bowed to Li Liang, and then looked at Ling Feng with a very "sympathetic" gaze, saying calmly, "Follow me!"

Ling Feng felt even more puzzled by Zongyuan's gaze.

Xiaozhufeng was definitely not a good place!

...

Soon, the young man named Zongyuan led Ling Feng to a bamboo grove.

Inside the bamboo grove, there were only a few bamboo houses forming a small courtyard. Although they were much simpler compared to the grand and magnificent buildings along the way, they had a unique charm.

It was a place for cultivation and self-cultivation.

"Senior Brother, who exactly is Senior Master Duanmu?" Ling Feng finally couldn't help but ask.

On the way, Zongyuan had not said a single word, always keeping some distance from Ling Feng, as if afraid of being bothered by him.

"Don't know!" Zongyuan walked to the bamboo house and called out, "Senior Master Duanmu, this is the disciple allocated to you this year! I have brought him to you!"

After saying that, Zongyuan left the place as if avoiding a disaster, without a moment's delay.

Ling Feng frowned, was the person living inside really so terrifying?