Dianjin Orchid

"Martial Uncle Wang, this is Liang Yue, the one I told you about." Wen Yifan got straight to the point as she introduced him. "His talent absolutely meets your requirements."

She then introduced the other man to Liang Yue. "This is the only senior of our Sword Control Branch who abandoned the Dao for martial arts—Martial Uncle Wang Rulin, Daoist title True Person Shouyi."

"True Person Wang." Liang Yue hurriedly bowed.

Yet inwardly, he felt a little uneasy. Why did that name sound so improper? The more he thought about it, the less it held up.

Thinking it over... a Wang surnamed neighbor from your family?

"I presume you have long heard of my illustrious name in the martial world." Wang Rulin puffed out his chest and put on airs again.

"Of course." Liang Yue nodded repeatedly, adding inwardly, I've never heard of it at all.

"But over these recent years, I have devoted myself to cultivation at Yunzhi Temple, and my cultivation has improved further. Yet one day, in a moment of leisure, I realized that after drifting like an idle cloud and wild crane for so many years, I had not a single person to inherit my lineage. It was hard not to feel regret in my heart." Wang Rulin spoke at length. "That was when I began entertaining the thought of finding an heir to my mantle."

"However..." His tone shifted as he continued, "one personal disciple is enough for me. Any more, and I would not have the energy to teach them; after all, I must still devote my mind and strength to pursuing the Great Dao. The day before yesterday, someone already came to find me. Her talent also fully met my requirements, and I had already planned to accept her as my disciple."

"Martial Uncle Wang..." Wen Yifan seemed about to say something.

"Eh." Wang Rulin raised a hand to stop her, then said, "But for the sake of giving my martial niece some face, I will still give you an opportunity. The two of you may compete. Whoever has the superior aptitude will have the chance to become my personal disciple. The loser may still become my Nominal Disciple."

"Yes." Liang Yue answered, "To become a Nominal Disciple of a senior like you would already be a great fortune for me."

"That is only natural. You must have heard something of my standing within the Mystic Sect." Wang Rulin asked, "Do you know what my nickname is?"

"Well..." Liang Yue looked blank.

"Martial niece, tell him." Wang Rulin shot Wen Yifan a glance.

"Alright." Wen Yifan nodded, then blurted out, "Mystic Sect's Number One Shameless, Human Backstab Ranking Leader, Treacherous and Cunning Young Man, Wall-Facing Temple Lifetime Banned Person, holder of four hundred and forty-three martial world kill orders..."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Wang Rulin coughed several times, cutting Wen Yifan off. "What are you saying, martial niece? I have so many good nicknames—why did you specifically choose the slander others made up about me... Tell him the good one."

"The good one?" Wen Yifan seemed somewhat confused. After thinking for a while, she said, "There is one."

Wang Rulin wore a helpless expression. "Yes, that one."

Immediately afterward, Wen Yifan said, "Within ten zhang, Gods and Immortals are Hard to Beat."

Liang Yue finally understood why Wen Yifan and Shang Yunhai had both worn such indescribable expressions whenever they mentioned this martial uncle.

Just hearing that string of nicknames made it clear this old fellow was no decent man.

But that last one... was truly rather imposing.

Gods and Immortals are Hard to Beat.

Never mind within how many zhang—no ordinary person could bear a nickname like that.

Looking at the Daoist before him, who appeared to be some transcendent master removed from worldly affairs, Liang Yue found it difficult to connect any of those nicknames, good or bad, to him.

"Hehe, they are merely some empty reputations from the martial world." Having finally heard the answer he wanted, Wang Rulin waved a hand with a suitably humble air.

"..." Liang Yue and Wen Yifan were both speechless.

After a short while, Wen Yifan said, "Martial Uncle, explain first how you intend to test them."

"It is simple. We can use Dianjin Orchid." Wang Rulin replied.

"Dianjin Orchid?" Liang Yue had naturally never heard of it, so he turned to Wen Yifan.

Wen Yifan explained, "It is a spiritual plant unique to Jade Capital Peak of Three Pure Mountains. It can test a person's affinity with the Great Dao and, to a great extent, reflect their comprehension. However, this spiritual plant is a rare variant propagated from the Peach of Immortality, one of the Ten Great Immortal Seeds. The Mystic Sect Yin-Yang Vein only spends a Dianjin Orchid to test aptitude on successors they think exceptionally highly of. Martial Uncle Wang is actually taking out two of them for this disciple selection?"

"I only plan to take one disciple in my entire life. What is wrong with spending a little more?" Wang Rulin said proudly.

Wen Yifan added, "It could not have been easy for Jade Capital Peak to give you these two Dianjin Orchids."

"Who said they gave them to me?" Wang Rulin raised his chin again. "I simply took them while passing by!"

"..." The two of them were speechless once more.

If he stole them, he should just say he stole them. Calling it simply taking them while passing by made it sound as if no one wanted the Dianjin Orchids.

And what was he so proud of?

Still, being able to steal something from Jade Capital Peak itself spoke for his strength. That was the ancestral court of the Mystic Sect Yin-Yang Vein, the residence of the Master of Profound Heavens!

Within a hundred li of the place, even dogs did not dare bark at random. If someone accidentally spat on the ground, they had to hurriedly wipe it clean with their hand. Even the most wicked villains had to tuck their tails between their legs there.

Daring to steal in that place—many people did not even possess the nerve for it, let alone the skill.

"But my martial niece is right. Dianjin Orchids are incomparably precious. I truly cannot waste one on a mediocre person." Wang Rulin turned back and asked, "That Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique I gave you before—how long did it take you to comprehend it?"

It seemed he intended to use that first to judge whether Liang Yue was worthy of spending a Dianjin Orchid to test.

Liang Yue answered truthfully, "Three times."

"Three... hm?" Wang Rulin had just begun to smile when he froze. Then he craned his head forward. "How many?"

"Three times." Liang Yue answered again.

"Wait here a moment." Wang Rulin immediately rose to his feet.

The two waited in the main hall for a while before Wang Rulin returned, carrying a pot of brilliantly colored flowers in one hand.

The flower had soft, long petals, pale yellow shot through with white. Each stem bore only one bloom, yet the layers upon layers of petals unfolded into a large cluster. It gleamed with a lively sheen and carried a faint, refreshing fragrance. Merely smelling it made one feel clear-minded, as though all murky qi had dispersed.

It truly deserved to be called an immortal spiritual plant.

It was just that planting it in such a battered earthenware pot felt somewhat like throwing pearls before swine.

Liang Yue grumbled inwardly, You already stole the spiritual plant. What would it have cost you to swipe a better flowerpot while you were at it?

Wang Rulin set the pot of Dianjin Orchid on the ground and said to Liang Yue, "Hold out your hand."

Liang Yue did as instructed.

Wang Rulin pulled over his arm and slashed with two fingers of his right hand. With a hiss, Liang Yue's wrist was cut open, and a drop of blood fell.

Sizzle—

The drop of blood landed directly in the center of the Dianjin Orchid's petals and suddenly gave off a crackling, scorching sound. Every petal of the Dianjin Orchid trembled, folding inward one by one. In the blink of an eye, the bloom became a large, tightly closed bud.

Wang Rulin passed Liang Yue's still-bleeding arm to Wen Yifan and asked, "Martial niece, do you know how to stop bleeding?"

"Eh?" Liang Yue stared wide-eyed.

You cut someone's wrist when you do not even know how to stop bleeding?

You only needed one drop. Wouldn't pricking a fingertip have done the same thing?

Wen Yifan also looked slightly helpless. She extended two fingers and tapped three acupoints on Liang Yue's body in succession. Three white flashes streaked past with three whooshes.

"I do not know the healing divine arts of the Pill Cauldron Branch either. I can only temporarily seal his acupoints to stop the bleeding. A martial artist's body recovers quickly, so it should heal shortly," Wen Yifan said as well.

"Your true qi is still dense and gentle." Wang Rulin laughed. "If my martial arts astral qi entered his acupoints, I fear it would pierce straight through his internal organs."

Whatever.

Liang Yue closed his eyes.

Just do not play me to death, you two.

Wang Rulin carried the pot of Dianjin Orchid into the courtyard and placed it beneath the sunlight. When he returned, he said, "Wait half an hour or so, and we will know the result."

Liang Yue was somewhat nervous. "How will we tell the result?"

"The Dianjin Orchid will use the spirituality in that drop of blood to communicate with the Great Dao, then grow its own immortal vine that bears the Dao," Wen Yifan explained. "The more vines it grows, the stronger your aptitude."

"Ordinary mortals certainly cannot grow even one vine. If it grows one immortal vine, that may be called human talent; two immortal vines, earthly talent; three immortal vines, heavenly talent. But that is merely the threshold for entering the Mystic Sect. I hope my heir to the mantle can grow four immortal vines! Only that carries the bearing of a true Heaven's Chosen." Wang Rulin spoke heavily.

Wen Yifan asked, "Martial Uncle Wang, how many vines did the disciple you mentioned from before grow?"

"Three and a half vines." Wang Rulin sighed. "Her aptitude is excellent, her comprehension exceptional, and she is clever as well. If she works hard, she may not be unable to catch up to the Heaven's Chosen of her generation. But compared with top Heaven's Chosen like you, who rank near the top of the Young Phoenix Ranking, she is ultimately still half a step short in foundation."

"Talent is not everything," Wen Yifan consoled him.

Wang Rulin laughed again. "Heh, martial niece, you were born with an immortal body. It is hardly appropriate for you to say that."

Wen Yifan turned and glanced at the Dianjin Orchid, calculating inwardly. If it was three and a half vines, she wondered whether Liang Yue's aptitude could surpass it.

Four Vine Orchid, the mark of a Heaven's Chosen, was rare enough to appear only once in several decades even on Three Pure Mountains. It absolutely would not appear so easily. Anyone with Three Vine Orchid could already be called a seedling for immortality.

Liang Yue was naturally even more anxious, as though he were waiting for his results after taking a major examination.

Wang Rulin seemed to see his discomfort and smiled. "Relax. While we wait, I will give you a lesson first."