Young Master of the Middle Reaches

"To prevent anyone from practicing in advance, the content of each assessment is never fixed, and the difficulty varies as well. So whether one can become a fitter depends on one's relative ranking in that particular assessment."

"I know that."

"This is a unified rule set by the major sects. For Human-grade fitters, the middle reaches have more promotion slots, but the overall standard of the middle-reach candidates is also quite high, and the competition is fierce. All in all, advancing in the middle reaches is still harder than in the lower reaches."

"So they came to the lower reaches to exploit a loophole?"

"Precisely. Those who insist on coming down to the lower reaches for promotion do not possess particularly great attainments themselves. But you must understand—whether it is spiritual energy, puppet diagrams, or spiritual materials, the resources related to the puppet arts that middle-reach cultivators can access are far beyond anything the lower reaches can compare with."

Lu Li nodded slightly. The fact that lower-reach sects could only extract spirit ore from wastewater discharged by the middle reaches was enough to reveal the regional imbalance in the development of the puppet arts.

Those people might not stand out in the middle reaches, but coming to the lower reaches to bully them and seize their promotion slots was more than easy enough.

"So, does that mean that young master from before was very formidable?"

"You mean his background? Hah, not really. If the children of truly great aristocratic clans wanted to obtain two seals, then even if they were mud that could not be plastered onto a wall, they would not need to take any assessment at all. It would take no more than a word from an elder in their family. Since that fellow from the Zou Family came to the lower reaches, no matter how powerful the force behind him is, it cannot be all that powerful."

Elder Duan paused before continuing.

"Of course, I'm not saying this to tell you to stir up trouble. These people cower and scrape in the middle reaches, but once they come to the lower reaches, they can strut about in arrogant splendor. In their eyes, people from the lower reaches are all lowborn rabble. If you can avoid provoking them, you'd best avoid it."

Lu Li nodded blankly, though it was unclear whether he had taken her words to heart. He merely continued studying the information in the jade slip, his understanding of the latter two sections of the Stamping Art growing ever deeper.

"If you want to defeat these fellows, it will be harder than climbing to heaven. Your master can help you."

"Get lost, you old fossil. Don't think I don't know what you're scheming."

The assessment site had been set at the mining grounds in the city center. Disciples and deacons from White Moon Palace were responsible for proctoring it. The disciples bustled about in the plaza below, while several deacons stood on the balcony of Drunken Fragrance Tower beside the plaza, overlooking the entire scene.

Zhong Wenbai was one of the many deacons overseeing that day's assessment. At that moment, he stood on the third floor of the pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back.

A middle-aged man walked up behind him, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Master Zhong, have you been well?"

The newcomer was Mo Zheng, the current head of the Mo Family.

"Oh, so it is Family Head Mo. A pleasure, a pleasure. Please."

Zhong Wenbai returned the cupped-hand salute, then pointed to a wooden chair nearby, inviting the other man to sit.

"Family Head Mo, your bearing remains as impressive as ever. If I remember correctly, your daughter is taking this month's Dual-Seal Assessment. You are being far too formal. For such a trivial matter, you need only send me a message. Why compete with that rabble of commoners?"

"My daughter has been spoiled and willful all her life. Letting her temper herself a little more will benefit her future growth as well... How many Heaven-grade slots are there this year? And how many middle-reach children have come down?"

Zhong Wenbai nodded. Just as he raised his left hand, a disciple hurried over and presented a jade slip before bowing and withdrawing. Zhong Wenbai discreetly accepted the jade slip, skimmed through it, and said, "There are twenty-three people registered for all six assessments in succession. As for the Heaven-grade slots allocated to Maple Fragrance City this month, twenty remain."

Seal-assessment qualifications were divided into examination districts according to river basin. If one obtained a Human-grade seal in a particular river basin, then the subsequent Earth-grade and Heaven-grade assessments also had to be taken in that same basin.

When middle-reach children came to the lower reaches to snatch promotion slots, they often registered for all three grades—Heaven, Earth, and Human—at once, hoping to clear them all in one breath.

Thus, by selecting those taking all six assessments in succession, one could roughly determine their total number. Zhong Wenbai's gaze swept over Mo Shuhan's name. That girl had registered for the Heaven-grade fitter assessment this year. Half a year ago, she had already obtained the seals of Heaven-grade welder and Earth-grade fitter.

This assessment was also the final step before she became a puppet master.

After giving it a rough look-over, Zhong Wenbai passed the jade slip to Mo Zheng. Mo Zheng sent his divine sense into it and scanned the list of Heaven-grade fitter candidates one by one, his brows gradually drawing together.

"Zou Family, Yan Family, Fan Family... Hm?"

When Mo Zheng saw the name Deer Pear at the bottom of the list, surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I saw an interesting junior. Her surname is Deer, and she has registered for all six assessments at once. I do not recall that surname being common in the Spirit Blood River Basin. Could she be from another river basin?"

"Perhaps she is some ignorant, unknown junior. No need to mind her. Still, it must be said that all these young masters and young ladies have gathered in our Maple Fragrance City. This assessment will likely be the most fiercely contested one this year... no, in the past decade."

At that, Mo Zheng nodded faintly. Zhong Wenbai changed the subject and added, "Well, in truth, it is only a Heaven-grade seal. If your daughter truly needs one, Family Head Mo, why go to such lengths? You need only send me a message..."

"There is no need. Once a favor is owed, repaying it is always troublesome. Let her train among those of her own age. Even if she fails the assessment, gaining some experience would still be good."

Zhong Wenbai was initially taken aback, but he quickly understood the implication behind those words.

With war between the two sects imminent, both sides were drawing in the surrounding family powers. The Mo Family was currently neutral, and its stance had always remained unclear. If they took the back door and accepted a favor from White Moon Palace, it would be tantamount to choosing a side.

"Family Head Mo truly understands reason. I was the one who failed to think it through."

No sooner had he spoken than another disciple arrived at just the right moment, carrying a pot of warm wine. He poured a bowl each for Mo Zheng and Zhong Wenbai. The two each took a small sip, then, intentionally or otherwise, turned to look toward the plaza below.

The first assessment was underway—the Human-grade fitter assessment. Some people sighed in despair, others scratched their heads in agitation, and some had even collapsed directly onto their desks, abandoning all struggle.

Zou Bufan methodically dipped his brush in ink. Listening to the sighs around him, he could not help swinging one leg over the other and puffing out his chest.

"Ah, ah, I expected it before coming, but these country bumpkins from the lower reaches really are mud that cannot be plastered onto a wall."

Though the youth seemed to be muttering to himself, his voice was clearly meant for everyone nearby to hear. It infuriated those around him so much that they wished they could rush over and slap him twice.

Yet when they saw the splendid robes he wore and realized the vast gulf in status between them, they could only swallow their anger. None dared offend him, so they pretended not to hear.

Zou Bufan flipped through the test papers with a rustling clatter, his eyes occasionally darting toward several other children of aristocratic families in magnificent robes in the distance. Compared to the people around him, those few who had likewise come from the middle reaches were the opponents worth his attention.

To them, the Human-grade assessment was not worth mentioning at all. Yet if he could finish faster than those peers in his group and earn a higher score, it would still be something to take pride in.

And if he could become first among his generation, would that not be a wonderful thing?

Until a young girl abruptly stood up.

"Handing in my paper!"