Chapter 7

Just like last time, the task of sending back the young people who were not selected, including Ding Qi, was also handled by Li the Steward. The only difference was that this time, there was another member of the Qingyun Sect on the carriage.

This person's status within the sect was clearly much higher than that of Li the Steward. Even higher than Wei the Hall Master and Shi the Guardian. Li the Steward had never been so respectful to the two of them.

The children looked at this middle-aged man, whom Li the Steward called Elder Guan, with awe, and no one dared to get close. Elder Guan had a rather ordinary appearance, but he always gave people a sense of "do not approach." This made the children in the carriage somewhat afraid.

The Qingyun Sect was one of the major sects in Jingzhou, with a large number of disciples. Apart from the highest-ranking Sect Master, there were also three levels of high-ranking officials: Elders, Guardians, and Hall Masters, who were responsible for the detailed management of the sect.

Elder Guan was a sect elder, whose status was second only to the Sect Master and Deputy Sect Master.

Elder Guan did not care about the children's attitude at all. On the way, he only occasionally spoke a few words to Li the Steward, and the rest of the time, he had a cold expression.

"If it weren't for this critical time of the Sect Master's succession, this boy might have been exceptionally admitted to the inner sect by Sect Master Sha. Now, it can only be said that this boy has no connection with our Qingyun Sect."

When Elder Guan first got on the carriage, he had taken a few more looks at Ding Qi, but that was all.

Since Ding Qi could no longer join the Qingyun Sect, to Elder Guan, he was just a stranger, and he did not care any further.

Then, he began to think about other matters.

"This time's competition for the Sect Master's position..." Thinking about the recent competition for the Sect Master's position, Elder Guan's eyes flashed with a keen light, and he seemed to be deep in thought. He then narrowed his eyes, as if meditating, and only his body swayed slightly with the carriage.

As the carriage continued on its way, children were continuously sent back. By the second day, the carriage was already approaching Liangcheng, and the carriage had become quite spacious.

At noon on the second day, Ding Qi and the others finally arrived in Liangcheng, and the carriage stopped in front of the blacksmith's shop.

Elder Guan was the first to get off the carriage, looking around at this property of the Qingyun Sect. He had come to Liangcheng on official business from the sect. He was only here to check things out and to turn Ding Shan into a supporter of Deputy Sect Master Sha.

Ding Shan had been staying in the house behind the blacksmith's shop for the past two days, waiting for the results of the assessment. Hearing the sound of the carriage, he quickly came out of the blacksmith's shop.

When he saw Ding Qi and Li the Steward appear together and noticed the ashamed look on his nephew's face, Ding Shan already understood the result and sighed helplessly. Fortunately, he had been through many storms in his youth and was used to such situations. Moreover, knowing the one-in-ten selection rate for the inner sect, he had already anticipated this result. After a brief disappointment, he regained his composure.

Seeing Li the Steward get off the carriage, Ding Shan planned to entertain him briefly and then ask about the details of the assessment. However, Li the Steward's introduction temporarily prevented him from doing so.

As an outer sect member, Ding Shan naturally could not recognize high-ranking officials like Elder Guan. After Li the Steward introduced him, Ding Shan was shocked to learn that this ordinary-looking middle-aged man was actually a sect elder, second only to the Sect Master and Deputy Sect Master. He became uneasy, wondering why such a high-ranking person would appear before him.

"Could it be that Little Qi caused some trouble in the sect these past few days?" Thinking of this, Ding Shan's heart trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Fortunately, after welcoming Elder Guan and the others into the house and understanding their purpose, Ding Shan realized it was not the terrible situation he had imagined, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

During this time, Ding Qi, following Ding Shan's instructions, served tea and water to Elder Guan and the others. After two days of continuous travel, Ding Qi was quite exhausted and wanted to rest, but he felt quite depressed.

During this period, Elder Guan thoroughly inquired about the Qingyun Sect's property in Liangcheng, even asking if anyone from the Qingyun Sect had used the sect's name to demand tributes. This made Li the Steward break out in a cold sweat, secretly grateful that he had not accepted the money bag from Ding Shan last time.

Li the Steward knew that during this critical time of the Sect Master's succession, the sect was very strict about accepting tributes. If caught, there would be severe punishments.

That was why Li the Steward had not dared to accept the gift last time.

The noon hour passed quickly, and Li the blacksmith and Zhang Tao returned from their lunch outside.

After learning about Elder Guan's identity and paying his respects, Ding Shan originally planned to have them stop working for the afternoon to avoid disturbing Elder Guan. However, Elder Guan said he wanted to check the real operating situation of the blacksmith's shop and asked them to continue working as usual.

Watching Zhang Tao skillfully start the furnace and Li the blacksmith begin hammering, Elder Guan narrowed his eyes and watched with great interest.

To be honest, despite his seemingly interested appearance, Elder Guan's mind was not on the blacksmith's work. He was considering how to pressure Ding Shan into becoming a supporter of Deputy Sect Master Sha.

If Ding Shan knew what Elder Guan was thinking, he would not be smiling and accompanying him as he inspected the blacksmith's shop. He would probably be so shocked that his eyes would pop out.

"Hmm!"

As Elder Guan was lost in thought, casually watching the blacksmith's bench, something strange seemed to happen. He frowned and let out a light "hmm."

Elder Guan widened his eyes and looked at the blacksmith's bench, more accurately at Zhang Tao, who was assisting, with an expression of having discovered something incredible.

"Come here," Elder Guan called to Zhang Tao.

Hearing Elder Guan's voice, Zhang Tao was taken aback, thinking he had misheard. After all, in Zhang Tao's mind, a high-ranking person like Elder Guan would not speak to him. Zhang Tao looked at Ding Shan and Li the blacksmith, who were both urging him, and realized that Elder Guan was indeed calling him.

Zhang Tao, looking timid and shy, walked towards Elder Guan.

Ding Qi, standing nearby, was also quite curious, wondering what Elder Guan wanted with Zhang Tao.

Seeing Zhang Tao standing in front of him, Elder Guan said in a warm voice, "Show me your hand."

Zhang Tao glanced at the warm-looking Elder Guan and finally extended his hand as instructed. Seeing Elder Guan's demeanor, Ding Qi understood what was happening.

Elder Guan was clearly checking Zhang Tao's cultivation potential.

Ding Qi looked at Li the Steward with a strange expression, trying to read something from his face. However, Li the Steward was also looking at Elder Guan with a strange expression, clearly not knowing what Elder Guan was up to.

"Could it be one of those rare cultivation physiques recorded in the sect's records?" Elder Guan muttered to himself.

This time, Elder Guan's check of Zhang Tao's cultivation potential took quite a long time, about the length of a cup of tea. During this period, Elder Guan's brows would occasionally furrow, and his expression would change frequently, sometimes joyful, sometimes worried. At times, his gaze towards Zhang Tao gave the impression of looking at a rare treasure.

"No, with my experience, I cannot determine... But if it is the type of physique recorded in the sect's ancient records... That would be a big deal. It seems necessary to have Sect Master Sha personally check it in the sect." Finally, Elder Guan said to himself.

Having made up his mind, Elder Guan released Zhang Tao's hand. Ding Qi, his childhood friend, breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been granted a reprieve.

Elder Guan's rather strange behavior, which seemed odd to ordinary people, had already made Zhang Tao very uncomfortable.

Next, at Elder Guan's indication, Ding Shan sent Ding Qi and Zhang Tao to the back yard to play, as if he needed to discuss something.

Zhang Tao, who was already somewhat afraid of Elder Guan, was naturally very happy. Ding Qi, who did not like serving tea and water, was also relieved.

In the back yard, when Zhang Tao learned that Ding Qi had not been selected, he repeatedly consoled him. Ding Qi, who had already come to terms with the matter, was not too concerned. His curiosity was now focused on Elder Guan's strange behavior earlier.

However, an hour later, Zhang Tao was called back by Ding Shan. After a half-hour discussion with Ding Shan and Elder Guan, Zhang Tao actually got on the carriage that Elder Guan had called and hurriedly left Liangcheng, heading for Qingyun Mountain.

Elder Guan, who had not even had time to try to win over Ding Shan, left in a hurry, as if he had something extremely important to attend to.

A few days later, news came that Zhang Tao had become a core disciple of the Qingyun Sect, a position higher than inner sect disciples. This news left Ding Qi quite astonished.

Later, Ding Qi learned the general course of events from his second uncle.

It turned out that the Qingyun Sect's records mentioned a unique cultivation physique called "Fire Qi Penetrating the Body." This physique was highly beneficial for cultivating the unique martial arts of the Qingyun Sect. When Elder Guan came to the blacksmith's shop and saw Zhang Tao assisting, he felt that the light from the furnace seemed to faintly penetrate Zhang Tao's body. This phenomenon was somewhat similar to the unique physique described in the sect's records.

Moved by this, Elder Guan carefully examined Zhang Tao's physique and found it increasingly similar to the unique physique described in the records. However, since this physique only existed in the records, Elder Guan could not confirm it.

In the end, Elder Guan took Zhang Tao to the Qingyun Sect for verification.

The rest of the story is what Ding Qi already knew. After verification, Zhang Tao was indeed found to have that unique physique and was therefore exceptionally promoted to core disciple.

Learning the details of the events, Ding Qi was quite moved. In his over ten years of life, he experienced the feeling of the unpredictability of the world for the first time. He was also extremely envious of Zhang Tao's good fortune, despite being a reject himself.