Chapter 89

On the other side, Wei He's token, along with the final items presented, was stripped layer by layer and ultimately submitted.

Soon, it was delivered to the desks of the heads of the inner courtyards.

These tokens would decide whether they would stay or leave. Once they left, they would not be able to obtain the subsequent training methods for enhancing their strength, nor the higher levels of various cultivation.

After enhancing strength comes bone tempering, which requires true techniques and corresponding exotic beast meat.

Once they left the sect, it meant they would not be able to temper their bones with true techniques, and would remain at the level of strength enhancement for life. Without the corresponding exotic beast meat, their vital energy and blood would become mixed and impure, making it difficult for their cultivation to progress.

Therefore, this moment could be said to be the decisive time for the future of all disciples.

Inside the head's room.

The seven heads of the inner courtyards gathered.

All inner courtyard disciples of the Wu Shi Sect would be assigned to different inner courtyards upon entry.

This would be their foundation for the future, and the head of the courtyard would be their guiding master.

The heads of the inner courtyards of the Wu Shi Sect were equivalent to the many transmission elders of a sect, with different strengths but equal status.

Their strength might not be as great as the many experts on the three main peaks, but they were the main pillars of the sect's teaching and inheritance.

They might not be as strong as they were in their youth, but the experience, skills, and knowledge of the elders were the foundation for teaching a large number of elite new disciples.

"Alright, this year's list is out. This time, it's the recommended candidates for the outpost, a total of twenty-five people. According to the tokens, let's each take a look first," said Liu Zhenyuan, the head of the New Garden Daoist, with a calm expression.

In front of the seven heads of the inner courtyards, there were red plaques placed for each courtyard.

Some heads had more plaques in front of them, while others had fewer.

Among the seven inner courtyards, Wei He's plaque was quietly placed with a few others in front of a pale-faced, handsome, and slender old Daoist.

This person was Yan Jiuzhen, the third strongest among the seven inner courtyards, known as the Jiuzhen Head.

He picked up the plaque, looked at the four lines of scratch marks on it, and then placed the ones he decided to accept to one side.

"Put the ones you want to exchange in the middle," Liu Zhenyuan said calmly.

The other six heads of the inner courtyards, three of them, threw out the plaques in their hands.

"According to the rules, the area corresponding to the token is the direction you must be responsible for, so please give the reasons for rejection," Liu Zhenyuan continued according to the rules.

"Unstable vital energy and blood, need to take medicine to break through. Unsteady mind."

"Mixed strength, too many concurrent practices."

"Unstable vital energy and blood, insufficient insight."

The three heads of the inner courtyards gave their evaluations. Among the six plaques thrown out, Wei He's was prominently listed.

The six plaques were accurately thrown by the three heads of the inner courtyards, neatly arranged in a row in front of the seven people.

Each plaque had four items: bone structure, insight, foundation, and mind. Each item had a corresponding evaluation.

On Wei He's plaque, it clearly stated: bone structure - low, insight - high, foundation - low, mind - high.

"Now, everyone take a look at each other's plaques and confirm the exchanges," Liu Zhenyuan continued.

Exchanging disciples was the final step, as different heads of the inner courtyards valued different aspects.

Some valued bone structure, some thought foundation was the most important, some valued mind, and some valued insight.

At this moment, Jiuzhen Head looked through the plaques and picked out one with high bone structure and medium-low insight.

"Qingye Head, you're still the same, not even looking at high bone structure," said a woman in a green robe, with a beautiful and gentle appearance, who was sitting opposite.

She also picked out a plaque.

The name on it was: Xie Ling - insight high, mind medium, the rest medium-low.

"I have always valued insight and mind. Without these two, even the strongest bone structure and foundation are meaningless," Qingye said with a smile.

Many years ago, the Chong Brother she secretly admired had outstanding bone structure, but in the end, he caused a major disaster and fled to Yunzhou due to various mental issues.

So now, whenever she thought about this, she would take it as a warning and prioritize insight and mind.

Jiuzhen Head was different. He was a genius in insight, rising rapidly in his youth, almost breaking through to a new realm.

But because of his weak bone structure, he fell short by a hair, and thus, he valued bone structure even more, prioritizing it when choosing disciples.

"Without a strong bone structure, no matter how good your mind and insight are, your cultivation will not progress, and you will eventually miss your chance and be killed," Jiuzhen Head said coldly.

"Brother Jiuzhen's words are also reasonable," Qingye said, not arguing with him.

Soon, after another round of selection, three plaques remained, including Wei He's.

These three plaques were all rejected due to low bone structure.

In the past, three-blood warriors with tokens were considered to have traveled a long distance, and after a long period of assessment at the outpost, they were considered seeds for cultivation.

So there would usually be no rejections, but this time... there were three rejections.

The three rejections meant they had to return to where they came from.

"Three left, anyone want them?" Liu Zhenyuan asked again.

No one spoke.

Low bone structure usually had a few reasons: excessive use of potent medicines, extremely poor foundation, or concurrent practice of multiple techniques leading to mixed vital energy and blood, or severe hidden illnesses.

Or all of the above.

After a moment of silence, Liu Zhenyuan nodded.

"Then, the meeting is adjourned."

He stood up, his shadow flashed, and he disappeared from his seat in an instant.

The other heads of the inner courtyards also stood up and left.

"Brother Jiuzhen, wait a moment," Qingye suddenly stood up and spoke.

"What is it?" Jiuzhen stopped and turned around.

"These two, you can reject the others, but please consider them," Qingye reached out and took out Wei He's and another person's plaques, placing them in front of Jiuzhen.

"The first is Wei He, recommended by Brother Zheng, and he is from the Yunzhou area you are responsible for. The second is Zhou Xinyi, a descendant of Sister Tian."

"Brother Zheng... I didn't expect to see his traces after so many years. Sister Tian also left for a distant place, and it's rare to see her after so many years," Jiuzhen took the two plaques and carefully examined them.

The two had similar evaluations, but Zhou Xinyi's foundation was marked as medium-high, while Wei He's was low.

This meant that Zhou Xinyi had good support behind her, whether in terms of wealth or connections, which were part of her foundation.

Jiuzhen hesitated for a moment.

"Since they are related to Brother Zheng and Sister Tian, let's each take one," he said, reaching out to take the plaques. His hand paused in mid-air and then picked up Zhou Xinyi's plaque.

Logically, Yunzhou, where Wei He was from, should have been his responsibility.

But he deliberately avoided taking it, because compared to the two, Zhou Xinyi's conditions were much better.

Foundation determined the resources available for martial arts and cultivation, rather than relying on personal effort to collect them.

But this was not the most critical point.

The critical point was that Wei He practiced three techniques concurrently and used potent medicines to break through. This level of talent might be considered average in ordinary sects, but in the Wu Shi Sect, which was full of geniuses, it was extremely low.

Now, if he could break through with potent medicines, could he rely on them for life?

Mixed vital energy and strength, and encountering bottlenecks in the future, could lead to a lifetime of stagnation.

As for the connection with Brother Zheng, it had indeed helped him many years ago, but it was just that.

Jiuzhen's action made Qingye shake her head. When Brother Zheng took care of Jiuzhen so much, this was the result.

Now, the outpost in Yunzhou had long been withdrawn, and Brother Zheng had not sent tokens for many years. Now, finally sending a disciple, Jiuzhen treated him so coldly.

"Then, I'll take my leave," Jiuzhen seemed to feel uncomfortable and quickly turned to leave.

Qingye stood alone in the room, sighed lightly, and prepared to leave.

But as she was about to leave, she saw the two remaining plaques on the table.

Her heart softened. The disciples from the outpost had traveled a long distance, enduring many hardships to reach the main sect. If they knew this was the result...

But low bone structure almost meant they could not temper their bones, and accepting them would be a waste of resources.

"Fine."

Qingye ultimately did not change her mind and quietly left.

***

***

***

Wei He stood quietly in the courtyard, gazing at the rising sun. His vital energy and blood flowed smoothly, warming his entire body.

He had been in this world for three years.

He had never stopped striving for independence and strength.

But this trip to the Wu Shi Sect, he finally felt a sense of peace and harmony.

No need to worry about unexpected events at home, no need to worry about dangers, bandits, or cults.

No need to worry about daily necessities, everything was stable and safe.

"Is Wei He here?" Suddenly, the courtyard gate was knocked.

Wei He quickly went to open the door.

Outside stood a young Daoist, carrying a wooden sword, with a cold expression.

"Pack up and come down the mountain with me."

"Down the mountain?" Wei He was startled, "May I ask, Brother, what's going on? Shouldn't I go to the Jiuzhen Courtyard?" He had heard some news in the past few days.

He knew that Yunzhou was the responsibility of the Jiuzhen Courtyard.

"The Jiuzhen Courtyard doesn't want you, and no one from the other courtyards wants you. Why stay on the mountain?" the young Daoist said coldly.

"How can this be...!?" Wei He felt a chill in his heart. He had given his token, so many gold tickets, and even exotic beasts, and in the end...

"Stop complaining, let's go."

The Daoist led Wei He out of the courtyard and soon arrived at another pure white courtyard.

In the courtyard, on a large stone, sat the white-haired old man who had assessed them.

Seeing Wei He enter, the old man's terrifying vital energy and strength quickly subsided, and he squinted his eyes.

"Is it Wei He? Since you have enough strength, no one above wants you. Now, I'll give you two choices.

One, go to the outer courtyard and work diligently to accumulate incense. This way, you can still enter the sect, but you'll need to show more respect.

Two, leave the mountain now and return to where you came from."

Wei He was speechless, feeling a sense of frustration and blockage in his heart.

This was treating him like a fat sheep, to be slaughtered again and again!

"Brother, is there no other way?" He clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

"There isn't. If it weren't for your sufficient respect, you wouldn't even have the chance to stay in the outer courtyard," the old man lied.

Not being accepted by the inner courtyard and staying in the outer courtyard was not his decision, but a right of inner courtyard disciples.

But he used it to seek personal gain, claiming it as his favor.

"Understood... Wei He understands."

Wei He's expression was calm as he straightened up.

"It's my lack of talent that fails to meet the standards of the masters. Thank you for your guidance, Brother. I choose to leave the mountain."

"Are you sure?" the old man raised an eyebrow.

"Sure."

"Take him down," the old man lost interest in further discussion and waved for someone to take Wei He away.

Wei He said nothing, walked out of the courtyard, and left the large Daoist temple area.

As he followed the mountain path down, he suddenly turned back and looked at the huge three characters on the temple gate: Wu Shi Sect.

Staring deeply at the characters "Wu Shi," Wei He no longer lingered and turned to leave with large strides.