It was easy to understand why the Cat-Eared Loli felt a little happy.
Sometimes, society's opinion mattered a great deal.
The Famous Righteous Sects had it easy when recruiting new disciples, while those branded as the Heretical Path had a much harder time.
A great sect could be understood as a large company. Besides management and technical backbones, it also needed a great number of ordinary employees.
Outer Sect Disciples were the ordinary employees every sect needed. Any one of them might not be particularly useful alone, but a sect simply could not do without such a group of disciples.
At the same time, they were fresh blood and the future pillars of the sect.
Among the Heretical Path, even the Three Great Demonic Sects had a somewhat bleak time recruiting disciples. They simply could not compare to the equally renowned Four Great Righteous Sects.
That was easy enough to understand. If, like in certain films, television dramas, or novels, the Demon Sect had more disciples than the righteous sects, wouldn't that be rather strange?
Of course, this situation would change somewhat once the players arrived.
As mentioned before, to players, this was merely a game. The righteous path or the Demonic Path meant nothing to them; what mattered was whether it was fun!
Many players would even think the Demon Sect looked cooler...
But that unprecedented spectacle had certainly not appeared yet. Thus, the Demon Sect did not reject newcomers like Ji Li; it even welcomed them.
Her background was clean, yet tragic. Someone so alone and without support would have an especially strong sense of belonging toward the sect.
Now, the main question was whether she possessed Cultivation Aptitude.
Mao Nanbei had no interest in handling such trivial matters. Murong Yan gave a silly smile and did it for her Little Martial Grand-Aunt.
"Miss Ji Li, relax your mind and don't think about anything. I'll examine your Cultivation Aptitude." After saying that, she extended a chubby finger and gently tapped Ji Li between the brows.
Like a raindrop falling upon still water, faint ripples spread through the air.
Sitting on Murong Yan's shoulder, Mao Nanbei stretched out her little hand and counted the rings of ripples.
"One, two, three... seven, eight."
"Eight rings!"
The way Mao Nanbei looked at Ji Li immediately changed.
"Only one ring less than mine. She's an exceptional uncut gem." She nodded slightly.
Listening to this, Lu Xun somehow felt that the main point of that sentence was in its first half...
It was easy to understand. Eight rings of ripples meant roughly "Comprehension 8."
The maximum Comprehension was 10, and 8 was already an extremely top-tier aptitude.
Even within the Demon Sect, she would absolutely be someone worth cultivating with special attention.
However, the path of cultivation did not depend on aptitude alone.
It was like how some people were naturally intelligent but had no interest in studying; their grades would still end up at the bottom.
Many times, Heaven bestowed talent upon you, but it would gradually take it back if you kept wasting it.
There were many factors to consider on the path of cultivation. It could be understood as an alternative field of study, with cultivators as scholars.
Innate conditions were important, but when those conditions were roughly equal, it came down to acquired effort.
Like in so many novels, where someone with exceptional talent leveled up absurdly fast without needing to consider any other factors—that was a little too fanciful.
Therefore, some sects placed temperament first when accepting disciples.
Of course, having good talent was definitely a good thing.
With a Comprehension stat of 8, the leader of some small sects would grin from ear to ear.
After hearing the Cat-Eared Loli's words, Ji Li clenched her little chubby fists tightly, looking somewhat excited.
Does this mean... I passed?
At that moment, Mao Nanbei tilted her head. The gesture looked adorable, with the charm of a head tilt, but her gaze was directed at Lu Xun.
Her meaning was obvious. She was curious about Lu Xun's aptitude.
Murong Yan was a kindhearted person, so she respected Lu Xun's wishes. Unlike the Heretical Path people imagined, she asked, "Is that alright?"
Lu Xun was quite easygoing about it and nodded indifferently.
He knew very well what the result would be. If they wanted to see, then they could take a look.
Murong Yan's chubby finger gently poked Lu Xun between the brows, and soon, ripples began spreading through the air as well.
No, only layer upon layer could be called ripples.
If there was only one layer... then wasn't it just a circle?
Lu Xun currently had "Comprehension 1," so naturally there was only one ring!
It looked like a hole, empty and hollow.
"Huh!?" The Cat-Eared Loli was a little dumbfounded.
It seemed Heaven was still fair. After granting him beauty beyond anyone's compare, it had not blessed him with extraordinary aptitude as well.
"Is he just an embroidered pillow?"
For some reason, the three women present all felt a little regretful as they looked at Lu Xun's face, then at the circle hanging in the air.
The next day, the group of four officially set out.
Naturally, Lu Xun and Ji Li had not slept in the same room last night. That bratty little sister had probably given up on making him her Cauldron. The reason he did not say definitely was because he feared she might covet his looks.
Mao Nanbei tied up her Nezha hairstyle again, wrapping her two cat ears in her hair so they looked like two little buns.
Sometimes, when Lu Xun looked at her little head, he had the urge to reach out and rub it. But this loli was adorably fierce, and he feared she would repeat her catchphrase: "I'll chop your head off with one slash!"
Although men had two heads, losing either one was ultimately not a good thing.
They first needed to buy some daily supplies. After all, they would need food and drink on the road.
Although cultivators could abstain from food, that was presumably only while in seclusion. Normally, everyone still ate and drank as usual.
Food was so delicious that few people could completely abandon their appetite.
On the contrary, delicious food could put people in a good mood. When one's mood improved, one's state of mind improved as well, which benefited cultivation.
Of course, all that might have been food-loving cultivators spouting nonsense with straight faces.
However, there were actually quite a few gourmets in the Cultivation World. Many great figures loved fine food and good wine, so the mortal world had passed down many interesting legends and stories.
When Lu Xun had played his main account before, he had needed to unlock a hidden quest. He frantically offered delicacies to a food-loving big-shot NPC to farm Affection Points. And sure enough, he took the direct route to the stomach and really did receive the quest!
While purchasing daily supplies, Ji Li, walking behind Lu Xun, reached out with her little chubby hand and tugged at the hem of his clothes.
"What is it?" Lu Xun asked, turning back.
Ji Li lowered her head, her eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes, then said something out of the blue:
"After we get to the Demon Sect, I'll definitely cultivate diligently."
"That's good." Lu Xun smiled and replied.
He was just a little puzzled. Why had she suddenly said that?
He did not know that after Ji Li learned last night that Lu Xun's aptitude had only barely crossed the threshold into cultivation, she had not rested well all night.
She felt cultivation was probably similar to martial arts. Her father had a disciple with very poor aptitude, and no matter how diligently he trained in martial arts, it would be difficult for him to achieve much in this lifetime.
Lu Xun might be the same from now on.
Moreover, the place they were heading to was the legendary Demon Sect. She had no idea what kind of environment it truly was.
Would it really be as people guessed, where the weak were prey for the strong?
Wouldn't that put him in great danger!?
And Lu Xun was so handsome. Would people of the same sex target him because of it...
The self-induced fantasies of someone with terminal Appearance Control were not to be trifled with.
She was now somewhat like one of Lu Xun's fans for his looks, with signs of turning into a fangirl.
Besides, Lu Xun had truly helped her a great deal these past few days, and she was grateful to him from the bottom of her heart.
So, she had actually only spoken half her sentence just now. The first half was, "After we get to the Demon Sect, I'll definitely cultivate diligently!"
There was another half she had not said aloud.
—"And then I'll protect you."
Before you continue