The Sect Master's Summons, Accepted as a Personal Disciple!

The next day at noon.

A hangover headache made Lin Tianhu press his temples, but his mood was excellent.

Thinking that in three days, he would take on a peerless genius unseen in ten thousand years, and the rise of Outer Blade Hall was just around the corner, this minor discomfort meant nothing.

He pushed open the door and was about to head to the hall to handle affairs.

"Hall Master, good morning!"

A passing disciple bowed respectfully, but his face carried an unmistakable look of gossip. "I heard you're going to take on a disciple? A new junior brother who only joined a few days ago?"

Lin Tianhu clasped his hands behind his back, nodding with great satisfaction, putting on the dignified air of a hall master.

"Not bad, you're well-informed. In three days, this hall master will hold a formal disciple-taking ceremony before the entire hall."

The disciple's excitement grew even stronger. He lowered his voice and leaned in. "Hall Master, then... is that rumor true? I heard that new junior brother is a heaven-defying prodigy, that he cultivated Positive Yang Force to the fourth layer in just seven days, becoming a third-rate master outright?"

The smugness on Lin Tianhu's face froze instantly.

He whipped his head around, staring at the disciple.

"How do you know about this?"

Aside from himself and Li Feiyu, only Vice Hall Master Ma from last night knew.

Vice Hall Master Ma was from the Inner Sect; news couldn't have spread to Outer Sect disciples this fast.

The disciple was startled by his sudden harsh reaction and answered instinctively, "It was... Senior Brother Li who said it. Last night, he told several people, and now it's all over the Outer Sect!"

"Li! Fei! Yu!"

Lin Tianhu ground out the three words between his teeth, fury surging straight to his skull.

"That bastard—I knew his damn loose lips couldn't be trusted!"

Forgetting all about hall master dignity, he cursed, swung into a long stride, and stormed furiously toward his hall, ready to drag out that useless troublemaker and give him a proper lesson.

But just as he charged into the hall's courtyard, before he could call out—

A young man in Inner Sect disciple robes approached and gave him a respectful bow.

"Hall Master Lin."

Lin Tianhu's rage was choked back. He recognized this man—the Sect Master's trusted disciple.

"What is it?"

The Inner Sect disciple spoke with neither arrogance nor servility: "By the Sect Master's order, I invite Hall Master Lin to the Council Hall for an important discussion."

Lin Tianhu's heart sank.

So it had already reached the higher-ups.

The disciple paused, then added another sentence—one that made Lin Tianhu's heart plummet completely.

"The Sect Master also specifically instructed that you bring your hall's newly accepted disciple, Han Feng, along with you."

It was over.

Things had spiraled completely beyond his control.

A moment later.

Lin Tianhu, his face dark as thunder, led a still dazed and bewildered-looking Han Feng into the highest power center of the Seven Profound Sect—the Inner Sect Council Hall.

Han Feng was indeed putting on an act, but his heart was also thumping a little.

This scale was bigger than he'd anticipated.

At this moment, the vast hall was filled with seated figures, shadows shifting.

Nearly all the hall masters and vice hall masters of the Seven Profound Sect's Inner Sect were gathered.

The moment he entered, he felt dozens of gazes lock onto him like searchlights, sweeping him from head to toe.

Those looks carried scrutiny, astonishment, and a barely concealed fervor.

It felt less like they were looking at a person, and more like they were eyeing a flawless piece of jade, a rare and priceless treasure.

Lin Tianhu instinctively stepped forward, shielding Han Feng behind him, eyeing this pack of old foxes warily.

But his gesture was utterly useless.

A chubby, smiling man—the Hall Master of Four Seas Hall—had already risen from his seat and walked over.

"Brother Lin, don't be so stingy. I heard your Outer Blade Hall recently dug up a good seedling? Bring him over, let your brother have a look too?"

Before he finished, another man—lean, sharp-eyed, a half-century-old elder—stood up from the other side. It was the Hall Master of Flying Bird Hall.

"Young friend, don't be afraid. Come over, let this old man examine your bone structure."

"That's right, that's right, Old Lin, why hide him away?"

"A fine talent like this, stuck in your Outer Blade Hall full of brutes—aren't you just wasting him?"

In an instant, several hall masters slowly gathered around, chattering and pointing at Han Feng, sizing him up, completely ignoring Lin Tianhu as if he were air.

Cultivating the fourth layer of Positive Yang Force in seven days!

What did this even mean?

This was a miracle that even the founding patriarch, if resurrected, might not be able to achieve!

If such a disciple could be taken under one's wing and carefully nurtured, within ten years, the Seven Profound Sect would surely gain a top-tier expert!

With such an incredible stroke of fortune, who wouldn't be envious? Who wouldn't be tempted?

Lin Tianhu's eyes were wide, his lungs nearly bursting with rage.

These bastards... how did all these bastards find out?

That little brat Li Feiyu!

When I get back, I'll not only skin him alive, but I'll also break his bones and boil them into soup!

Just as his fury was about to boil over and he was ready to argue with this group, a guilty voice sounded beside him.

"Cough... Old Lin."

It was Vice Hall Master Ma, who had been drinking with him the night before. He now wore an awkward expression, not daring to meet Lin Tianhu's eyes.