Setting Sail

"Don't worry. You've honored me with a stalk of 300-year-old Frost Grass. Once we reach the Greenwood Sect, I'll certainly look after you."

Lei Yangwen burst into laughter, thinking Zhao Huaian was quite the sensible one.

Of course, Lei Yangwen hadn't taken Zhao Huaian's pledge to follow his lead seriously.

He knew perfectly well that he was merely taking someone's money and doing them a favor. How could that count as a debt of gratitude for his patronage?

As for the so-called pledge to follow his lead, it was nothing more than Zhao Huaian's flattering words. How could he take them completely at face value?

As he spoke, Lei Yangwen glanced at Zhao Huaian, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

After pondering for a long while, he finally said, "You have Three Spiritual Roots, and you've honored me with a stalk of 300-year-old Frost Grass. In that case, I'll give you a reserved spot as an Outer Disciple. With that spot, you won't need to take any examinations. Just stay here at Autumn Wind Tower, and when the time comes, you can travel to the Greenwood Sect with me."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lei!"

Hearing this, Zhao Huaian couldn't help but feel delighted. He respectfully clasped his hands toward Lei Yangwen.

A stalk of 300-year-old Frost Grass had secured him an exemption from the examinations. Once he reached the Greenwood Sect, he could also benefit from Lei Yangwen's influence. All in all, it was a worthwhile trade.

"That's only right!"

Lei Yangwen nodded with a smile and waved his hand. "Go on. Stay on the third floor. There are several others staying there besides you, and their spiritual-root aptitude is no worse than yours. You can get to know one another before heading to the Greenwood Sect. It'll benefit you in the future."

"Yes. This junior will take his leave!"

Zhao Huaian nodded and quietly withdrew, a thoughtful look on his face.

That day, Zhao Huaian followed Lei Yangwen's instructions and settled into an Earth-grade Guest Room on the third floor of Autumn Wind Tower.

With Lei Yangwen's influence—or rather, with the standing of a future Outer Disciple of the Greenwood Sect—Zhao Huaian wasn't charged a single silver coin for his room or meals.

After settling into Autumn Wind Tower, Zhao Huaian asked the waiter about the others and took the initiative to meet them.

It wasn't that he was especially obedient to Lei Yangwen. These people were all reserved Greenwood Sect disciples, after all, so getting acquainted with them ahead of time would naturally be beneficial in the future.

But he only made their acquaintance. After exchanging names and getting to know one another a little, Zhao Huaian returned to his room and resumed studying his Medical Skill.

Above Grandmaster came perfection.

After these past few days of study and practice, Zhao Huaian's Medical Skill was only a little over seven hundred points away from reaching perfection.

"Perfection... I'm curious what changes a perfected Medical Skill will bring. I can hardly wait..."

Zhao Huaian murmured to himself, his eyes brimming with excitement and anticipation.

Time passed, and seven days had gone by.

Although Zhao Huaian had studied diligently for those seven days, his Medical Skill still hadn't reached perfection. He was a little over three hundred proficiency points away from advancing.

Zhao Huaian wasn't in a hurry.

A little over three hundred proficiency points wasn't much.

At his current pace, if he studied diligently every day, another five or six days would be enough to raise his Medical Skill to perfection.

During those seven days, the Greenwood Sect had also finished testing and examining the candidates it was recruiting.

"Brother Zhao, everyone's finished taking the examinations. I reckon Senior Brother Lei will be taking us back to the Greenwood Sect before long."

At Autumn Wind Tower, Zhao Huaian was eating breakfast when a handsome young man in a white robe approached with a broad smile.

Hearing him, Zhao Huaian raised his head slightly and smiled. "The examinations are over? I wonder how many people will be joining the Greenwood Sect this time."

The handsome young man in white was Liu Bohu. Like Zhao Huaian, he had Three Spiritual Roots, and after offering a gift, he too had been exempted from the examinations.

Over the past seven days, Zhao Huaian had studied his Medical Skill diligently, but he'd also crossed paths with Liu Bohu many times at mealtimes.

Little by little, the two had grown familiar with each other.

The others, however, were rather aloof, and Zhao Huaian wasn't very close to them.

"I heard 283 people passed the tests and examinations."

Liu Bohu sat down with a sigh, then casually grabbed a piece of flatbread and spoke.

Unlike Zhao Huaian, who could endure solitude, Liu Bohu loved a lively atmosphere. These past few days, he'd often wandered outside, returning to Autumn Wind Tower only at mealtimes.

It was precisely because he loved a lively atmosphere that he knew everything going on outside.

"Two hundred and eighty-three? That sounds like quite a lot!"

Taking a mouthful of congee and then a bite of flatbread, Zhao Huaian nodded without paying it much mind.

"That's not many. Do you know how many people came to take the examinations this time?"

Seeing how unconcerned Zhao Huaian looked, Liu Bohu adopted a mysterious air.

Zhao Huaian looked at Liu Bohu. "How many? I haven't been out these past few days, so I wouldn't know."

"More than seventy thousand! Over seventy thousand people, and in the end only 283 passed."

Liu Bohu drew a deep breath. Even now, he was still astonished.

He hadn't expected that of the more than seventy thousand people who took the examinations, only 283 would pass.

"That many? Were the examinations really so strict?"

Zhao Huaian furrowed his brow slightly and drained his bowl of congee.

"Yeah. Nearly a thousand people were initially found to have spiritual roots, but they were gradually eliminated in droves when it came to testing their temperament, age, and comprehension. In the end, only 283 remained."

Liu Bohu nodded, still shaken. At the same time, he felt a little relieved—relieved that he'd offered a gift in advance and avoided the examinations.

"At least we were lucky!"

Zhao Huaian wiped his mouth and smiled.

"Hahaha, that's true!"

Liu Bohu laughed heartily. Thinking about what had happened to those people, he couldn't help feeling rather pleased.

"By the way, what was the spiritual-root aptitude like among those 283 people?"

Suddenly remembering something, Zhao Huaian asked curiously.

"Eight had Dual Spiritual Roots."

Liu Bohu thought for a moment before saying, "I didn't make a careful note of the rest, but there should've been forty or fifty with Three Spiritual Roots. The others had Four Spiritual Roots or Five Spiritual Roots."

"So many with Three Spiritual Roots? And eight with Dual Spiritual Roots?"

Zhao Huaian was taken aback, then shook his head.

He'd thought his Three Spiritual Roots made him rather outstanding, but he hadn't expected there to be as many as eight people with Dual Spiritual Roots.

There was always someone better; beyond the heavens, there were higher heavens.

And there were another forty or fifty people with the same Three Spiritual Roots as him.

He couldn't let himself grow complacent. Once he entered the Greenwood Sect, he would have to work even harder.

But... it was a good thing.

Fortunately, he had the Heavenly Tome. Even if his talent wasn't among the very best, his cultivation speed in the future certainly wouldn't be slow.

Thinking of the Heavenly Tome in his mind, Zhao Huaian couldn't help smiling.

"All reserved Greenwood Sect disciples, return to the Training Hall at once! The Spirit Boat sets sail in the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Anyone who's late will be left behind!"

Just as Zhao Huaian and Liu Bohu were talking, a deep voice rang out in the air, lingering for a long time.

"Let's go!"

Zhao Huaian and Liu Bohu exchanged a glance, then hurried out of Autumn Wind Tower and raced toward the Greenwood Sect's Training Hall.

More than ten others were heading toward the Greenwood Sect's Training Hall as well.

All of them had been given reserved spots after offering gifts and hadn't needed to take the examinations.

After all, besides Lei Yangwen, the other people in charge of recruiting Outer Disciples had some reserved spots of their own.