Evaluation

After Zhang Qingyuan left,

Hu Family,

Study,

Hu Yong'an's eldest son, Hu Junping, looked at his father with something he wanted to say but hesitated to voice.

"Father—"

Hu Yong'an, seated at his desk savoring clear tea, raised a hand to stop Hu Junping.

He took a sip of spirit tea produced from Cloud Mist Mountain,

leaving fragrance lingering on his lips and teeth.

Only then did he look toward his eldest son at the side,

set down his teacup, and said leisurely:

"Are you wondering why your father went so far as to curry favor with Zhang Qingyuan?"

"Yes, Father. Although Zhang Qingyuan has already reached the Late Spirit Essence Realm, among Cloud Water Sect's hundred thousand Outer Sect Disciples, he is merely an ordinary one. Ordinary friendship would be one thing, but to pay such a great price—and even have my younger brother Junshan follow him into the Outer Sect, serving as an ox and horse, acting as a servant—is that really worth it?"

Having held it in for so long, Hu Junping could not help but speak.

Having followed at his father's side since childhood,

Hu Junping had also learned some of the Lineage's methods and perspective for dealing with people and judging all manner of events.

But,

the price paid this time was truly difficult to imagine.

At the earlier banquet,

the consumption of all kinds of precious spirit materials

had cost at least more than ten Spirit Stones, enough to entertain guests such as the clan leaders of other Cultivation Families.

After that,

for the price of fifteen Spirit Stones, he had even sent his younger brother Hu Junshan to the other party's side under the identity of their deceased elder uncle's son.

Such a great price—

not to mention using it to let his younger brother Hu Junshan pass Cloud Water Sect's Outer Sect examination a year later and enter the Cloud Water Sect Outer Sect,

if it were all used for his father Hu Yong'an's cultivation,

his father could at least break through into the Late Spirit Essence Realm!

Such an enormous investment of wealth

was also hard for their Hu Family

to bear!

"Ah, Ping'er, your vision is still too limited after all."

Hu Yong'an sighed,

and shook his head slightly.

Though he was somewhat disappointed in his eldest son for the moment,

this was, after all, the future heir of the Lineage. He naturally needed to teach him by word and example, instructing him in certain means of grasping the Lineage's future.

"To mortals, our Hu Family is a Local Emperor, even a retired Emperor. But in the Cultivation World, we are merely a small, humble Cultivation Family."

"And the fortunes of the Cultivation World are unpredictable, with changes arising without end. Perhaps today, someone you look down upon as trash may become a stronger figure you cannot hope to reach tomorrow."

"Therefore, we must be cautious and prudent in our dealings with others. Even the most destitute cultivator cannot be underestimated, because we do not know what they may achieve in the future, nor what heights they will ultimately reach. If we make an enemy of someone while they are weak, then once they grow strong, it may bring a calamity of extermination upon the entire Hu Family."

"Likewise, before confirming a person's value, we do not have much capital to place repeated bets. We cannot do things without certainty."

Hu Yong'an instructed him earnestly,

explaining to his eldest son the survival skills of small families and minor noble houses in this cultivation world.

Then his tone shifted,

returning to Zhang Qingyuan.

"Over the past few days, your father has had people investigate some information regarding Zhang Qingyuan."

"Born into a small family, with both parents dead, a distant collateral branch of cultivators, relying on the Cultivation Farming Inheritance."

"More than two years ago, he passed Cloud Water Sect's Outer Sect examination and, with the almost minimal cultivation of Spirit Essence Realm Third Level, barely entered the Seventeenth Branch as an Outer Sect Disciple."

"A disciple from a collateral branch, one who received little cultivation from his family's resources, was able to rely on his own efforts and reach Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level in barely more than two years—"

"Ping'er, do you know what that means?"

"A genius!"

Hu Junping gritted his teeth slightly.

Though unwilling,

he had no choice but to acknowledge the other man's excellence.

"That's right, a genius!"

"A genius even more outstanding than a genius!"

"Not long after breaking through to Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level, he faced an adult Crimson Fiend Yao Python without suffering a single scratch, and even killed it in return. How many among Cloud Water Sect's hundred thousand Outer Sect Disciples could accomplish such a feat?"

Faced with his father's question,

Hu Junping fell silent.

Cloud Water Sect's hundred thousand Outer Sect Disciples certainly included many geniuses, but cultivators capable of killing an adult Crimson Fiend Yao Python at Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level were indeed few.

Those capable of reaching such a level

were either geniuses whose names shook the Outer Sect,

or disciples of Great Families who understood powerful Techniques and Martial Arts.

For Zhang Qingyuan, born from a collateral branch of a small family, to grow to such a degree in barely two years truly made him a genius among geniuses!

"At the earliest, three years; at the latest, six or seven. Zhang Qingyuan passing the Outer Sect Grand Competition and entering the Inner Sect is practically as certain as nails in a board."

"If we can secure the friendship of an Inner Sect Disciple in advance, what do a few dozen Spirit Stones amount to?"

"Our Hu Family's ancestor was able to occupy Azure Mountain Town's Spirit Spring and establish this inherited family estate precisely because he had ties and connections with an Inner Sect Disciple of Cloud Water Sect back then!"

Hu Yong'an spoke with deep earnestness,

and sighed faintly.

"Father, I understand."

Hu Junping answered respectfully. He had already understood his father's intentions.

After continuing their conversation for a while,

he left the study at Hu Yong'an's gesture.

Sitting alone in the study,

Hu Yong'an suddenly sighed,

leaning back in his chair.

"A genius... this is a genius..."

he murmured softly,

his gaze fixed on the ceiling, somewhat unfocused.

Back then,

his father had also sent him to train in Cloud Water Sect's Outer Sect, hoping that he could enter the Inner Sect and improve the Hu Family's standing.

Yet,

with the support of his father and family,

after ten years,

Hu Yong'an had only barely broken through to Spirit Essence Realm Sixth Level. Even in the entire Outer Sect, he had merely been an ordinary member.

Facing competitors as numerous as clouds, all of them stronger,

failure and elimination

were the most normal things in the world.

In the end, he could only return to his hometown in disgrace and take over his father's burden.

As an ordinary failure,

when it came to those geniuses who were Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level, Spirit Essence Realm Eighth Level, or even Spirit Essence Realm Ninth Level at the drop of a hat, and who could casually pass the Outer Sect Grand Competition to enter the Inner Sect,

in his heart,

how could he not envy them?

Zhang Qingyuan's arrival

had awakened memories of those peerless geniuses from his generation who had commanded wind and rain.

Killing a Crimson Fiend Yao Python while at Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level—

such strength

was simply identical to the path of growth taken by those exceptional geniuses who had commanded wind and rain in the Outer Sect back then.

It was precisely because of this

that Hu Yong'an had lowered himself, going so far as to shamelessly fawn over Zhang Qingyuan,

building good relations with him.

The path of cultivation

ultimately depended on talent!

Geniuses like Zhang Qingyuan

might not appear very remarkable in the early stages,

but before long, they would surely shine with dazzling brilliance.

This was the judgment of the discerning eye Hu Yong'an had developed over many years.

Zhang Qingyuan did not know

that he had received such a lofty evaluation in Hu Yong'an's heart.

Perhaps

he had always believed himself to be nothing more than a somewhat luckier Outer Sect disciple of Cloud Water Sect.

After all, within the Seventeenth Branch,

nineteen people stood ahead of him,

let alone in the entire Outer Sect.

Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level

was merely a slightly above-average level.

It was only that

one's position differed,

and so did one's perspective.

While he was climbing and looking up toward higher mountains,

was not the place where he stood likewise a towering mountain that more ordinary cultivators like Hu Yong'an could only look up to?