Expert's Solo Draw Technique

Wu Ming's desire to take a master was truly heartfelt.

As a first-clear specialist who championed civility and new trends, Wu Ming always maxed out his integrity. To accept a life-saving grace and walk away without repayment would severely damage that integrity—and in the future, his gacha pulls would surely hit hard pity every time. Now that he had nothing to his name, there was only one way to repay this debt of life!

"Master above, accept this disciple's bow!"

Before Gu Bai could digest the question marks over his head, Wu Ming had already struggled to jump off the bed and knelt to bow!

But before his knee touched the ground, Wu Ming felt an icy iron clamp seize his nape, and his whole body was lifted up.

Behind him, Zhu Ying's cold voice scolded: "You sure know how to daydream! Being saved once isn't enough—you dare covet the Immortal Arts of the Gujian Sect?! Utterly shameless and greedy!"

Wu Ming explained earnestly: "Senior Sister misunderstands. I only want to better repay the life-saving grace."

"Who's your Senior Sister!? And who repays a life-saving grace by begging to become a disciple?!"

Wu Ming answered frankly: "I would! Once I enter the Gujian Sect, I'll cultivate with all my might, attain immortality, and repay the sect!"

"...Master, this one's mind is probably poisoned by the Mountain Spirit's miasma, babbling nonsense. I think it's best to toss him out of the mountain gate soon!"

By now, Gu Bai couldn't help but chuckle: "Heh, Ying'er, why bother getting angry at a child? Wu Ming's words may be a bit naive and fanciful, but his sincere heart is plain to see. Don't be too harsh on him. This child has a pitiful background, suffered from the Mountain Spirit's miasma, and barely escaped death not long ago. Wanting to seek a master and learn some life-saving skills is only human. Besides, our Yan Mountain is remote—we might not see a stranger for half a year normally... yet he met Lingxi and was brought back to be treated. That's fate with our Gujian Sect."

Zhu Ying muttered: "I'd call it bad fate..."

Wu Ming raised an eyebrow and moved to perform the disciple bow again.

The old man smiled wryly and said to Wu Ming: "However, the Gujian Sect is in the desolate borderlands of Qiongzhou, with a withered gate. It's hardly a good place for Immortal cultivation. If you're set on the Immortal Path, you should seek a proper sect."

Wu Ming said eagerly: "A withered gate is perfect! Low starting point means more room to grow—better for repaying the life-saving grace and writing a commoner's guide. Bringing coals in a snowstorm beats adding flowers to brocade!"

Gu Bai couldn't hold back a laugh: "What a silver-tongued lad. By your reasoning, I really should take you as my disciple..."

Zhu Ying shot him a cold glare.

The old man coughed and said: "But the Immortal Path is no child's play. To step onto it, you must undergo a strict trial to prove your Immortal Fate..."

Before he finished, Wu Ming's eyes lit up with excitement: "An entry trial, right? Great! Is it testing Spirit Roots, questioning the Dao Heart, or slaying demons? Or maybe a battle royale works too!"

Caught off guard by this preemptive barrage, Gu Bai was momentarily at a loss for words. He turned aside and said: "Ahem... Ying'er, you handle this."

Zhu Ying was stunned: "Me?"

"You're the Senior Sister of the Gujian Sect, always teaching on my behalf and conducting assessments..."

"...So the capable one does more work, huh." Zhu Ying shot Gu Bai a fierce glare, but still took on this thankless task of playing the bad cop. After a long, serious thought, she asked: "How about the Three Trials of Spirit Signs?"

Gu Bai pondered a moment and nodded: "Fine."

Zhu Ying then looked at Wu Ming and explained coldly: "The Gujian Sect's entry trial is very simple. I hold ten paper slips here, and one of them is a Spirit Sign."

As she spoke, the woman flipped and clenched her right hand, and ten identical white, slender paper slips appeared in her grip.

"Draw the Spirit Sign three times in a row, and I'll allow you to call me Senior Sister."

"Deal!" Wu Ming nodded firmly, then carefully observed the paper slips in Zhu Ying's hand.

After a moment, he fell silent.

On the other side, Zhu Ying shook her head inwardly, looking at Gu Bai with an "I told you so" expression.

The Three Trials of Spirit Signs seemed absurdly simple, but it was actually a widely used method among the Immortal sects of the Nine Provinces to test Immortal Fate. So-called Spirit Signs, as the name implies, contain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. To those with superior Spirit Roots, they shine like flames in the night—no thought needed, just instinct to pick the right slip. For those with weaker Spirit Roots, it's harder to see clearly, but a natural affinity remains; with careful perception, one can always sense the difference between a Spirit Sign and an ordinary one.

This method wasn't valued by the great sects, as it only did the roughest Spirit Root identification—neither discerning attributes nor accurately judging grades.

But now, even this crude test seemed enough to stump this overly confident youth, whose mind was likely still clouded by miasma!

...Hopefully, he'd soon abandon his unrealistic notions and head down the mountain to find an honest living!

Just as Zhu Ying was about to make her final judgment and withdraw the slips, Wu Ming ended his contemplation.

He turned to Gu Bai and asked with a smile: "For the Three Trials of Spirit Signs, as long as I pick the Spirit Sign, any method is allowed?"

Gu Bai was taken aback and looked at Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying raised an eyebrow and replied: "Yes, any method—even luck... as long as you can pick it!"

With that, she gripped the paper slips tighter, sneering inwardly. The Three Trials of Spirit Signs might seem passable by luck, but fortune and fate are inseparable. Someone utterly devoid of Immortal Fate could never rely on pure luck to succeed!

Meanwhile, Wu Ming nodded lightly, said nothing more, walked straight to the bedside table, picked up a small candlestick, and turned to look at Zheng Lingxi, the owner of the Tree House.

"Senior Sister Lingxi, may I borrow the candlestick on the table?"

"Huh? Ah, y-yes, you may!" Zheng Lingxi, who had been quietly watching the show, was startled when her name was called and nodded in confusion.

Wu Ming then lifted the candlestick and said to Gu Bai: "Master, may I trouble you for a light."

Gu Bai, curious, blinked, and a flame lit on the candlestick.

Wu Ming raised the candle and approached Zhu Ying: "Senior Sister, pardon my rudeness."

The next moment, he brought the candle to the paper slips. Under Zhu Ying's widening eyes, he calmly set all the slips ablaze, then immediately pointed to one that glowed with a faint light as it burned, and said: "That's the one."

Zhu Ying's eyes went wide. It took a moment before she looked away with a soft click of her tongue, utterly unconcerned by the mundane flame burning in her hand. With another flick of her palm, she withdrew all the sign papers and nodded reluctantly. "...Hmph, fine. I'll say you passed this round."

Gu Bai couldn't help showing approval. "Not bad. Since you couldn't tell the difference between spirit signs and ordinary ones, you burned them instead. A very flexible approach, and what's rarer is the audacity. But did you ever consider what you'd do if they didn't burn?"

Wu Ming said, "If they didn't burn, I wouldn't make a judgment and would think of another way. After all, as long as I didn't speak, I wouldn't be wasting my chance, right?"

"Haha, you're quite slippery... Ying'er, what do you think?"

Zhu Ying snorted coldly. "Cheating and playing tricks... There are still two trials left in the Three Trials of Spirit Signs. I'd like to see what other schemes he has!"

As she spoke, the girl flipped her palm again, and the burnt remnants of the paper signs suddenly transformed into ten glossy bamboo slips. As if afraid Wu Ming wouldn't understand, Zhu Ying deliberately explained, "You won't be able to burn these bamboo slips."

Wu Ming nodded and asked, "Is this the second trial?"

"Yes. Choose."

Wu Ming reached out, pinching one bamboo slip between his thumb and forefinger, but he didn't pull it from Zhu Ying's palm right away. Instead, he carefully observed her expression.

The corner of Zhu Ying's mouth twitched slightly, as if she were sneering, but she quickly restrained it and remained motionless.

Wu Ming then set down that slip and reached for another, focusing his gaze even more intently on Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying still showed nothing.

Wu Ming didn't give up. He tried a third time, a fourth... until the ninth attempt, when he finally caught a barely concealed shift on her jade-like face.

"Alright, I understand." Wu Ming immediately withdrew his hand and, meeting Zhu Ying's barely restrained mocking gaze, announced his judgment.

"I choose the third one."

Zhu Ying's smile froze at that moment, as if someone had exposed her scheme just as it was about to succeed. A hint of anger mixed with embarrassment, and even more disbelief: "You choose the third!? Not the ninth?"

Wu Ming smiled. "Yes, the third."

Zhu Ying was silent for a long time before finally opening her hand. Among the ten bamboo slips, one had its tip wrapped in red lacquer, glowing with a faint spiritual light. And coincidentally, it was the third slip Wu Ming had chosen.

"How did you figure it out?" Zhu Ying asked, deeply unwilling. "My expression shouldn't have given anything away."

Wu Ming said, "Senior Sister has a deep mind and doesn't show joy or anger on her face. This junior brother truly couldn't read anything from you... However, I was actually watching another senior sister all along."

Zhu Ying froze, then suddenly turned her head. Not far behind her, Zheng Lingxi looked flustered. Seeing Zhu Ying glare at her, she immediately covered her eyes with her hands, starting a game of hiding her ears while stealing the bell.

Zhu Ying naturally realized the problem: when Wu Ming had been touching the slips one by one, he appeared to be observing her reaction, but in truth, he had focused his attention on Zheng Lingxi. And that scatterbrained junior sister of hers, despite being at the Foundation Establishment Realm, could obviously tell which slip was the spirit sign—and had written the answer all over her face!

Zhu Ying was both exasperated and amused. She shot Zheng Lingxi a fierce glare and said, "Get out!"

Zheng Lingxi, as if granted a pardon, nodded quickly, clutched her waist pouch, and flashed out of their Tree House to take refuge. A moment later, she peeked back over the windowsill, poking half her head in with her pointed ears twitching... only to be scared off by another icy glare from Zhu Ying.

Finally, Zhu Ying flipped her palm again, gathering the ten bamboo slips back into her hand.

"This is the last trial. Choose. If you pick right, you can really call me senior sister."

Wu Ming nodded with a smile. "Alright, then I won't hold back."

With that, he casually reached out and pinched one bamboo slip. Without pulling it out, he declared, "I choose this one."

Zhu Ying was taken aback. "...Are you sure?"

For an instant, hesitation flickered across her face, as if she wanted to give Wu Ming another chance.

But Wu Ming nodded firmly. "Yes, this one."

"..."

In the silence, Wu Ming only grew more resolute. Zhu Ying's hesitation gradually faded, replaced by a hint of disappointment and a touch of mockery. But just as she was about to announce the result, Wu Ming naturally turned to Gu Bai and asked.

"Master, may I ask if my choice is correct?"

The next moment, Zhu Ying tried to release her hand to reveal the answer, but found she couldn't open it.

Master Gu Bai had somehow placed his hand on her shoulder, like a towering mountain, suppressing her so she couldn't move, even the flow of her True Essence stagnating...

This pressure lasted only a brief moment before Gu Bai withdrew his hand and let out a long sigh. "That's right. The one you chose is indeed the spirit sign... Alright, Ying'er, put the slips away and welcome your junior brother into the sect."

Zhu Ying blinked, utterly confused. Then she suddenly opened her hand, and saw that among the ten bamboo slips, the one Wu Ming had pinched between his fingers was glowing faintly, radiating spiritual light!

"This..." Zhu Ying's eyes went wide, her throat growing dry. As the examiner, she knew perfectly well which slip was supposed to glow... and it was definitely not the one Wu Ming had chosen!

The only person who could have swapped it right under her nose was Gu Bai.

For a moment, Zhu Ying felt not only confusion but also a hint of grievance. She gritted her teeth, threw down the bamboo slips, grabbed Gu Bai's robe, and dragged him outside.

"Master, why!?"

Gu Bai just smiled. "Wasn't it so you could relax a little? When that kid picked randomly, you looked pretty disappointed, didn't you?"

"I'm not joking!"

Seeing his disciple furious, the old man quickly turned serious. "Actually, you should have realized by now. These Three Trials of Spirit Signs couldn't stump him. Even if I hadn't helped him in this round, he would have found another way."

Zhu Ying was silent for a moment before arguing, "But it was all just trickery and cleverness! Where's the real skill!?"

Gu Bai countered, "Passing three trials without using any real skill—isn't that a skill in itself?"

"...It's only because the Three Trials of Spirit Signs are too simple that he had a chance to exploit them."

"And yet, out of ten thousand methods, we happened to choose the Three Trials of Spirit Signs, and he happened to break through all three like a hot knife through butter. If that isn't an Immortal Fate, what is? When I first mentioned the trial, I only wanted an excuse to make him back down. But after seeing his performance with my own eyes, I have to admit—this boy might indeed share an unbreakable Immortal Fate with our Gujian Sect."

Zhu Ying said again, "But he really seems unable to see the spirit signs. Is that still acceptable?"

Gu Bai said, "The grand path of immortals encompasses all things, and the road to the heavens is by no means limited to 'talent and aptitude' alone. On this point, you and Ling Xi should understand better than anyone."

Zhu Ying's expression darkened slightly. She hesitated, then finally spoke: "Master, so you've truly set your sights on this person? He may indeed share a thread of Immortal Fate with our Gujian Sect, but his origins are strange, and his temperament is far too... erratic. If he turns against us later, wouldn't that be raising a tiger to invite disaster?"

Gu Bai couldn't help but smile. "Though your master has wasted away a lifetime, I still have a pair of eyes that can read people. Little Wu Ming has a lively mind and harbors many secrets difficult for us to fathom, but his true heart is as pure as Ling Xi's. There's no need to worry that he'll repay kindness with enmity."

"As pure as Ling Xi?!" Zhu Ying found it utterly baffling. "Master, have you really gone senile in your old age?!"

Gu Bai laughed heartily. "Your master has long been old. From now on, the Gujian Sect will rest on the shoulders of you three disciples."

As he spoke, the old man gently patted the girl's shoulder. Though Zhu Ying still harbored doubts, she no longer hesitated.

"Fine, then... I'll acknowledge him as my junior brother."

At the same time, inside the Tree House, Wu Ming suddenly heard a system notification.

"You have completed the Gujian Sect initiation and apprenticeship guide. Reward: one thousand Spirit Crystals for creative inspiration..."