Dianjin Orchid

"Uncle Wang, this is Liang Yue I was telling you about," Wen Yifan said directly, introducing him. "His talent definitely meets your requirements."

She then introduced him to Liang Yue, "This is the only senior from our Sword Control Branch who abandoned the Dao for martial arts, Uncle Wang Rulin, whose Daoist title is Shouyi Zhenren."

"Zhenren Wang," Liang Yue quickly bowed.

But at the same time, he felt a little uneasy. The name sounded a bit off, not quite serious, and hard to figure out.

Thinking about it carefully... your neighbor surnamed Wang?

"Presumably, you've long heard of my name in the jianghu," Wang Rulin puffed out his chest and adopted a theatrical tone.

"That is certainly the case," Liang Yue nodded repeatedly, adding inwardly, I've never heard of it at all.

"However, these past few years, I've been cultivating diligently at Yunzhi Temple, and my cultivation has improved further. But when I thought about it in my leisure time the other day, I've been a free and unfettered person for many years, yet I have no one to inherit my Dao lineage. It's inevitably a regret in my heart," Wang Rulin said leisurely. "That's why I had the thought of finding a successor."

"However..." He changed the subject and continued, "I only need one direct disciple. I don't have the energy to teach more, as my focus must still be on pursuing the Great Dao. The day before yesterday, someone already came to find me. Her talent also completely meets my requirements, and I've already decided to take her as my disciple."

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

"Hey." Wang Rulin raised a hand to stop her and then said, "But to give my niece some face, I will still give you a chance to compete. The one with superior talent will have the opportunity to become my direct disciple. The one who loses can still be my registered disciple."

"Yes," Liang Yue responded. "Even becoming a registered disciple of a senior would be a great fortune for me."

"Naturally. My status in the Mystic Sect, I presume you've also heard of it," Wang Rulin asked, "Do you know what my nickname is?"

"This..." Liang Yue looked bewildered.

"Niece, tell him," Wang Rulin glanced at Wen Yifan.

"Okay," 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, Four Hundred and Forty-Three Jianghu Wanted Orders Holder..."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Wang Rulin coughed several times, interrupting Wen Yifan. "Niece, what are you saying? I have so many good nicknames, why do you only pick the slanders others have against me... Say the good ones."

"Good ones?" Wen Yifan seemed a little confused, thinking for a moment before saying, "There is one."

Wang Rulin said with a helpless expression, "Yes, that one."

Immediately, Wen Yifan said again, "Within Ten Zhang, Even Immortals Are Hard to Beat."

Liang Yue finally understood why Wen Yifan and Shang Yunhai had such complicated expressions when mentioning this uncle before.

Just by listening to that string of nicknames, he knew this old fellow didn't seem like a good person.

But the last one... was indeed quite imposing.

Even Immortals Are Hard to Beat.

Regardless of how many zhang it was within, it was not a title that an ordinary person could bear.

Looking at the Daoist in front of him who looked like an otherworldly expert, Liang Yue found it hard to associate any of those nicknames, good or bad, with him.

"Hehe, they're just some empty names in the jianghu," Wang Rulin finally heard the answer he wanted, and then waved his hand contentedly, adopting a humble demeanor.

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

After a moment, Wen Yifan said, "Uncle, please explain how you will test them first."

"It's very simple, just use a Dianjin Orchid," Wang Rulin replied.

"Dianjin Orchid?" Liang Yue had never heard of it and turned his head to Wen Yifan.

Wen Yifan explained to him, "That's a unique spiritual plant from Three Purities Mountain Jade Capital Peak. It can test a person's affinity with the Great Dao, which largely reflects their comprehension. However, this spiritual plant is a variant bred from the Peach of Immortality, one of the Ten Great Immortal Seeds, and is extremely rare. The Mystic Sect Yin-Yang Vein only uses a Dianjin Orchid to test the aptitude of disciples they are extremely optimistic about. Did Uncle-Master Wang actually take out two for this apprenticeship?"

"I only plan to take this one disciple in my life. What's wrong with spending a bit more?" Wang Rulin said proudly.

Wen Yifan added, "It wasn't easy for Jade Capital Peak to give you these two Dianjin Orchids."

"Who said they gave them to me?" Wang Rulin tilted his head back again. "I just conveniently took them myself!"

"..." The two were speechless again.

If you stole it, just say you stole it. Saying you conveniently took it makes it sound like no one wanted this Dianjin Orchid.

And why are you so proud?

However, being able to steal something from Jade Capital Peak itself showed 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 zhang, even dogs didn't dare to bark randomly, and if someone accidentally spat, they would quickly wipe it clean with their hand. Even the most wicked and evil people would tuck their tails between their legs when they got there.

Many people didn't even have the psychological fortitude to dare to steal there, let alone the skill.

"But my niece is right, Dianjin Orchids are incredibly precious. I really can't waste them on ordinary people." Wang Rulin turned back and said, "How long did you study the Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique I gave you before?"

It seemed he intended to use this to first judge whether Liang Yue was worthy of using a Dianjin Orchid to test his aptitude.

Liang Yue answered truthfully, "Three times."

"Three... hmm?" Wang Rulin was about to smile but suddenly froze, then leaned forward. "How many?"

"Three times," Liang Yue replied again.

"Wait a moment." Wang Rulin immediately got up.

The two waited for a while in the main hall and saw Wang Rulin return, holding a pot of vibrant flowers in one hand.

The petals of this flower were soft, tender yellow tinged with white. There was only one flower on each stem, opening in layers to form a large cluster. It looked lustrous and vibrant, subtly carrying a refreshing fragrance. Smelling it made one feel clear-headed and dispelled turbidity.

As expected of a spiritual plant, an immortal plant.

However, planting it in this broken, mud-fired pot felt somewhat like a waste of heavenly resources.

Liang Yue secretly grumbled in his heart, You already stole the spiritual plant, what's the big deal about conveniently taking a better flower pot too?

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

Liang Yue did as he was told.

Wang Rulin pulled his arm over, and with a swipe of two fingers on his right hand, shhh, Liang Yue's wrist was cut open, and a drop of fresh blood fell down.

Hiss—

The drop of blood landed in the center of the Dianjin Orchid's petals, suddenly emitting a sizzling sound. All the petals of the Dianjin Orchid trembled, closing together one by one, and in an instant, turned into a large clump of closed flower buds.

Wang Rulin handed the still-bleeding arm to Wen Yifan and asked, "Niece, can you stop the bleeding?"

"Eh?" Liang Yue's eyes widened.

You can't stop the bleeding and then just cut someone's wrist, can you?

Anyway, you only need one drop, so wouldn't pricking a fingertip be the same?

Wen Yifan's expression was also slightly helpless. She extended two fingers and quickly tapped three of Liang Yue's acupoints. With three whooshing sounds, white light flashed one after another.

"I don't know the medical divine abilities of the Pill Cauldron Branch either. I can only temporarily seal his acupoints to help stop the bleeding. A martial artist's body recovers very quickly, so it should heal in a moment," Wen Yifan also said.

"As expected, the true qi is dense and gentle," Wang Rulin laughed. "If my martial dao astral energy were to hit his acupoints, I'm afraid it would pierce through his internal organs."

Whatever.

Liang Yue closed his eyes.

Just don't kill me, you two.

Wang Rulin moved the pot of Dianjin Orchid back into the sunlight in the courtyard. He returned and said, "Wait for an hour or so, and we'll know the result."

Liang Yue was a little nervous and asked, "How do we see the result?"

"The Dianjin Orchid will use the spiritual energy in that drop of blood to communicate with the Great Dao and grow its own Dao-carrying immortal vines," Wen Yifan explained. "The more vines it grows, the stronger your aptitude is."

"Ordinary mortals definitely won't grow even one. If it grows one immortal vine, it can be called a talent; if it grows two immortal vines, it can be called an earthly talent; if it grows three immortal vines, it can be called a genius. But this is just the threshold to enter the Mystic Sect. I hope my successor can grow four immortal vines! That is the true potential of a heavenly prodigy," Wang Rulin said emphatically.

Wen Yifan asked, "Uncle-Master Wang, how many vines did the disciple you mentioned who came before grow?"

"Three and a half," Wang Rulin sighed and said, "Her aptitude is excellent, her comprehension is outstanding, and she is also quick-witted. If she works hard, she might not be unable to catch up with the pace of her peers among the heavenly prodigies. But compared to you top heavenly prodigies on the Young Phoenix Ranking, she is still half a step behind in foundation."

"Talent isn't everything either," Wen Yifan comforted.

Wang Rulin smiled again, "Heh, Niece-Disciple, you were born with an Immortal Body. It's not appropriate for you to say that."

Wen Yifan glanced back at the Dianjin Orchid over there, calculating in her heart. If it was three and a half vines, she wondered if Liang Yue's aptitude could win.

Four-vine orchids, representing heavenly prodigies, are rarely seen on Three Purities Mountain, appearing only once every few decades. They are definitely not easy to come by. Anyone with a three-vine orchid can already be called an immortal cultivation seed.

Liang Yue's mood was naturally more nervous, like waiting for results after a major exam.

Wang Rulin seemed to notice his unease and smiled, "Relax. While we wait, I'll give you a lesson first."