Master-Apprentice Ceremony (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Within the Mountain Moving Hall, a discipleship ceremony, which seemed complicated but wasn't actually that involved, was drawing to a close.

The sect's patriarch was called the Mountain Moving Taoist.

Lin Jue and the young girl knelt on the prayer mats before the patriarch's statue, their expressions solemn.

A colorful civet cat lazily sprawled at the patriarch's feet, watching their actions with curiosity while also finding it boring, already starting to yawn.

Cloud Crane Taoist stood at the very front.

"From today onward, you will be the twelfth generation inheritors of my Floating Hill Temple. Although I met Qing Yao first, you are only officially becoming my disciples from this moment on. If we speak of destiny with me, Lin Jue came first. Therefore, you two will be ranked by age, Lin Jue will be the Senior Brother, and Qing Yao will be the Junior Sister."

"Your disciple understands."

Lin Jue said calmly.

"Your disciple understands."

The young girl behind him echoed him.

Seven other Daoists sat on either side.

These seven seemed relatively normal at first glance. However, the first middle-aged Daoist on the left, who was the Senior Brother, perhaps had just returned from digging soil, his feet covered in mud. Another was drowsy, one reeked of alcohol, and another was tilting his head, playing with the tail of an orange cat beside him, his expression seeming even more bored than the cats on the altar.

Only Cloud Crane Taoist appeared most solemn.

"Our temple cultivates the Yin Yang Spiritual Law and walks the Great Way of Yin Yang. Besides these, the patriarch left seven kinds of magic in our temple back then: Alchemy, Bean Soldiers, Beast Taming, Medical Arts, Spirit Writing, Performance Art, and Crushing Stone.

"Later, as our temple's inheritors traveled the world and made connections, the magic in our temple far exceeded these seven. However, we still continue the tradition, with these seven as the main focus.

"Therefore, throughout the history of our temple, most generations have only accepted eight disciples. The first disciple, who will inherit Floating Hill Temple in the future, must learn all seven. The other seven disciples each primarily cultivate and must learn one of them.

"This time is an accident. I, this humble Daoist, originally planned to take one last disciple when I descended the mountain, but I didn't expect to meet the two of you."

The old Daoist swept his gaze over them:

"Although this is an exception, the traditions left by the patriarch must still be followed. As I am getting old and my health is declining, teaching two people at once will inevitably be a bit taxing. One of you two will be chosen to inherit this last art, the Crushing Stone method, which I will personally teach. The other can learn anything they wish; you can find one of the Senior Brothers, you can come to me, or you can learn Crushing Stone from me.

"Is anyone willing?"

The old Daoist asked them.

The discipleship ceremony had reached this point, and finally, there was one matter for them to decide.

Everyone knew that being personally taught by the master was undoubtedly a better thing. Therefore, this "willingness" naturally wasn't about being willing to learn from him, but about being willing to give up the opportunity.

The young girl lowered her head in silence.

However, Lin Jue felt her gaze was secretly on him.

"..."

Lin Jue couldn't help but find it amusing.

No wonder this little girl had appeared so diligent and no less capable than him all along, rushing to do any difficult or tiring work with him. She had met their master a few days before Lin Jue did, and likely already knew or guessed these things. Perhaps from that moment on, she had harbored the thought of competing with him, her "Senior Brother," in terms of performance.

It was only natural.

Perhaps in her eyes, his actions of picking firewood to make a fire, fetching water, and asking for directions on the road were driven by the same thoughts as hers.

Later, she even started competing with him.

Thinking further about how she often observed him on the road, how she gritted her teeth and followed him when he climbed mountains without stopping, and how when he moved a large rock that had been washed down by the summer rain, she, while shocked, also gritted her teeth and used all her strength to move another rock, often exhausting herself greatly, Lin Jue suddenly found it amusing.

What a clever little girl.

But why would he compete with her?

"Master, Junior Sister is younger. Please give this Crushing Stone method and the opportunity to be personally taught by Master to Junior Sister."

"Have you decided?"

Cloud Crane Taoist's voice came from the front.

"I've thought it through."

Lin Jue couldn't help but look to the side.

He happened to meet the little girl's surprised eyes.

She seemed utterly disbelieving.

Seeing this, Lin Jue couldn't help but wonder—

What was this little girl thinking now? Did she think he was feigning retreat to advance? Or was she wondering why he had competed with her so fiercely on the road if that was the case?

"Good! This is the style of my Floating Hill Temple!" Cloud Crane Taoist said. "Since that is the case, you may choose any one of these seven kinds of magic at random, or others are fine too, but you must learn one of the seven. Whichever you choose, find the corresponding Senior Brother. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, your master. However, I must say, although I am older and have practiced for more years, my learning has been quite scattered. In terms of mastery in any one area, I may not be much stronger than your Senior Brothers."

"Your disciple understands."

"Good lad," one of the Senior Brothers also said, the one who seemed to be hungover from drinking. "My Bean Soldiers can scatter beans into soldiers. If you want to learn this, you can come find me tomorrow afternoon. If you want to drink, you can also come find me. Don't come in the morning; I haven't woken up yet in the morning."

"If you want to learn Alchemy, come find me."

The Senior Brothers all seemed quite enthusiastic, speaking one after another.

"Thank you, everyone, Senior Brothers."

Lin Jue sincerely expressed his gratitude.

"According to tradition and custom, upon entering the Daoist faith, one should take a Daoist name. Usually, if it's two characters, a character is added in the middle, and if it's three characters, one character in the middle is changed. We are the Spiritual Law School, and the Talisman School and Pill Cauldron School view us more as an unorthodox sect. Our rules aren't as strict, but we still take names."

The old Daoist continued speaking, waving his hand to shoo away a colorful cat that had climbed onto the statue of the Mountain Moving Hall's founder.

"This year, it's the 'Fang' generation's turn.

"Your Daoist name will be Lin Fangjue.

"Qing Yao's Daoist name will be Liu Fangyao.

"Remember these names. Normally, no one will call you by them, and we don't use ornate language in our writings, so you won't need them.

"As for your Daoist titles, you can choose them yourselves when you're older, have achieved some cultivation, and can clearly see your own actions, heart, and accomplishments. Then, you can choose a title based on those."

The old Daoist waved his hand.

"The disciple-taking ceremony is now complete. There are two rooms; you can each choose one. We'll have the tailor make your Daoist robes in a few days. You'll have two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, signaled by the bell. Additionally, before dawn every morning, you must attend morning class in the Mountain Moving Hall for scripture chanting. If there are other matters or if you need to learn any magic or receive teachings, I will call you. Your Senior Brother will explain the rest."

"Understood."

"Understood!"

The young girl mimicked Lin Jue, but her attitude was more earnest than his.

The old Daoist turned and walked inside.

The other senior brothers didn't disperse. Instead, they stood around the newcomers, observing them like curiosities.

"Do you remember our names?"

"How old are you?"

"How did Master find and accept you as disciples?"

"Stop it, stop it! Don't scare the junior disciples," Senior Brother Lu Wu said gently to them. "Ignore them. Come with me first, and let's choose your rooms."

Floating Hill Temple had more living quarters than guest halls, all located on either side of the temple. Two rooms had been cleaned out by the senior brothers:

One was a proper living quarter. As the old Daoist had said, Floating Hill Temple's tradition was to have one master and eight disciples per generation, so the number of living quarters was fixed. This room was clearly more refined. Besides a bed, it had a wardrobe, a bookshelf, a desk, and a chair, along with hooks for clothes. It should be quite comfortable to live in.

The other room seemed to have been converted from a guest hall. It only had a bed and a table that looked like it had been placed there temporarily.

"You can choose yourselves."

Senior Brother Lu Wu left the choice to them.

But what was there to choose from?

The Junior Sister looked at Lin Jue, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth, about to offer the nicer room to him, but Lin Jue had already walked into the second room with his book basket on his back.

"Alright, you can have this room. But don't worry, if you need any tools, just ask your Sixth Senior Brother. He can make them for you, and they might even be better than ours," Senior Brother Lu Wu said. "Don't be afraid to bother him; he enjoys woodworking and joinery the most."

"Just call for me," a Daoist who looked to be in his early twenties said.

"Thank you."

Before their disciple-taking ceremony, the old Daoist had mentioned each of their senior brothers' names.

Sixth Senior Brother seemed to be Huang Shiyu, who primarily studied Spirit Writing.

Second Senior Brother was Yan Xuanyi, who appeared quiet and focused on alchemy; Third Senior Brother was Li Miaolin, smelling of alcohol and specializing in Bean Soldiers; Fourth Senior Brother was Hu Mengjin, who studied the Method of Gathering and Taming Beasts, and the cloud leopard sleeping in the temple today was said to be his friend;

Fifth Senior Brother Jing Qi studied medicine, though it was unclear how it differed from the medicine practiced by ordinary doctors in the village below; Seventh Senior Brother was Le You, who specialized in Performance Art.

"We're all brothers, no need to be polite."

Senior Brother Lu Wu then explained some of the temple's rules and Spiritual Law School matters, pointing out the dining hall and kitchen. He also instructed them on how to address and greet visiting pilgrims and other Daoists, and what their daily tasks would be. He didn't go into great detail, but his explanations were thorough.

The other senior brothers also stayed, watching them. The temple's atmosphere seemed quite warm and welcoming.

Lin Jue felt calm and collected, naturally remembering everything.

The young girl, like anyone her age in a new place, felt unsettled and nervous, so she couldn't remember anything. She just pretended to have remembered.

"You can rest now."

"Remember, the bell at night means dinner."

Only then did the senior brothers begin to disperse.

Lin Jue and the Junior Sister exchanged a glance and a slight smile before returning to their rooms.

He placed his book basket by the wall, surveyed the room, took out several books, including some ancient texts, and placed them under his pillow. He then put his cleaver and whistle stick by the wall, took out his clothes, folded them, and placed them beside the pillow. The remaining dry rations were placed on the table. With a few personal belongings, a sense of his own presence, the simple room felt somewhat reassuring.

What was there to dislike about it?

This room was much more spacious than the one he had in Shu Village.

Lin Jue simply lay down on the bed.

However, his mind couldn't help but ponder.

It seemed cultivating the Dao was not a simple matter, and cultivating in a Daoist temple involved various chores. But ultimately, it was much better than anxiously searching for a path to cultivation alone and wandering aimlessly without roots or guidance.

However, according to his newly accepted master, he didn't have many years left to live. And Floating Hill Temple's tradition was that once the master died, the other disciples had to leave the mountain. Their future prospects were uncertain, as only the eldest disciple could remain on the mountain to inherit the temple, become the abbot, and then take their own disciples to pass on Floating Hill Temple's spells.

Thinking about it this way, he could stay on the mountain for a few years.

"Accept what comes and make the best of it."

Lin Jue made up his mind, resolving to learn all of Floating Hill Temple's cultivation spiritual laws and magic within these few years.