The Hall of the Stars, Purple Tenuity Pavilion.
After hearing Ding Songyan's account, Tao Wenshu, wearing her Iron Crown, said gently:
"That certainly merits discussing with the elders."
The sect leader of the Xiaoming Sect then picked up a longsword lying across her desk and handed it, scabbard and all, to Ding Songyan.
She said with a smile:
"This is the reward I promised you. It was forged from a little Kunwu Copper, three taels of Dragonhead Iron, a piece of northern dark ice essence, and Dingjiang Forged Steel. Though it cannot compare to peerless divine weapons such as the Eight Kunwu Swords, it is still extraordinary. It cuts through iron like mud and chills whatever it touches to the marrow, complementing the 'Winter' of your 'Dividing the Four Seasons.'"
After formally accepting him as her disciple, Tao Wenshu had told Ding Songyan that, besides the prize he had previously negotiated, the sect would give him three rewards:
First, submitting the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas would serve as grounds for granting him Martial Grandmaster status, reflected in his food, clothing, lodging, and travel arrangements.
Second, he would receive a longsword surpassing ordinary fine weapons and suited to him. Gathering the materials and commissioning its forging would take time.
Third, when Ding Songyan explored his own method of Opening Orifices, he could borrow the Opening Orifices, Meridian Condensation, and Organ Dressing chapters of the Celestial Stars Scripture and the Illuminating the Long Night Scripture from the elders responsible for transmitting techniques, using them as references. However, he could not take the scriptures away, and any subsequent contemplation had to rely solely on his memory; he could not commit them to writing.
This was a privilege even Tao Wenshu had never received as sect leader. Normally, those portions of the