Vermilion Bird Hall's Decision
The day after the competition ended, the Inner Sect Affairs Hall sent someone to notify the top ten disciples to gather at the Affairs Hall and fill out a wish form.
When Ye An arrived, there were already several people standing in the Affairs Hall.
Zhou Heng stood by the doorway, his back against the wall, holding nothing in his hands.
Zhou Heng – the top performer in the Inner Sect Grand Competition, a Late Meridian Opening, with solid cultivation, his ambition is most likely to be the leader of the Four Halls, the White Tiger Hall.
Gu Qingyue stood on the other side, her face aloof, and did not greet the others.
Ye An only knew that she came in second in the competition; as for where she chose to go, Ye An didn't care much.
The rest of the people were scattered in twos and threes inside the hall, talking in hushed tones about the advantages and current situation of each hall.
When Ye An walked in, no one paid him any special attention; they only glanced at him briefly as he passed by before looking away.
The steward came out from the back room with a stack of papers in his hand, and handed them out to everyone one by one. Before distributing the papers, he had everyone line up and examined each of them by feeling their bones.
An elderly man in a gray robe sat beside the counter, pinching each person's wrist bone down to their shoulder blade and then down to their spine, calling out numbers as he did so, while a steward beside him took notes.
When it was Ye An's turn, the old man's fingers paused on his wrist for a moment, then pinched it again, and asked, "Have you ever taken any pills to enhance your Root Bone?"
"The Grass Return Pill." There was no point in hiding it, Ye An said truthfully.
The old man nodded, and the steward beside him took notes.
Ye An took the paper, glanced at it, and saw that the format was already written on it: name, age, cultivation level, Root Bone, and original Inner Sect academy number.
Then the old man spoke in a voice that everyone present could hear:
"Fill out your first choice clearly and return it. The Four Halls will decide whether to accept you based on your information. If your first choice is not selected, you will have to wait for the remaining slots to be allocated. If the Four Halls you are ultimately admitted to do not meet your wishes, you can break through to the Qi Condensation and choose again..." The old man finished explaining most of the rules in one breath, resolving many of the people's doubts.
Ye An has been practicing finger techniques since Anping County, and his intention is naturally to join the Vermilion Bird Hall, because the Vermilion Bird Hall's specialized Cultivation Method corresponds to Martial Techniques.
The Azure Dragon Hall specializes in fist techniques, the White Tiger Hall Swordsmanship, and the Black Tortoise Hall in palm techniques.
The Four Halls taught different Cultivation Method Martial Techniques, but Martial Techniques and the Cultivation Method were at the same level.
Without hesitation, Ye An wrote "Vermilion Bird Hall" in the wish column, handed the paper back, and stood outside the hall to wait.
The wind outside the hall was cold, rustling the tree canopies on both sides of the stone steps.
However, for martial artists who have opened their Meridian Opening, the use of Internal Energy to nourish their bodies is not a major problem.
Ye An leaned against a pillar and waited for the results from the Four Halls to come back.
Vermilion Bird Hall.
The first thing to appear in the frame is a cool and aloof female disciple.
She stood under the veranda in front of the Vermilion Bird Hall, her figure slender and tall, dressed in a plain white dress with tightly fitted cuffs that revealed a slender, white wrist. Her eyebrows and eyes were rather light, as if a painter had left out a layer of ink when putting brush to paper, making her blend into the sky outside the veranda.
Her features weren't sharp, but they gave off an unapproachable vibe.
This female disciple is the Chief Disciple of the Vermilion Bird Hall, named Jiang Tingxue.
Her outstanding appearance was only one of her advantages; her progress in finger techniques was faster than all the other disciples in her batch. Therefore, Zhu Qingli personally taught her and never had another teacher.
Jiang Tingxue retrieved this year's list of wishes from the Outer Sect, returned to the hall, crossed the front porch, and entered Zhu Qingli's quiet room.
She entered the room with light steps, and the list in her hand was creased and had smooth edges, as if she had just picked it up from the table.
"Master, this is the list of disciples who are among the top ten in this year's Inner Sect Grand Competition and intend to join our sect. Please take a look."
Zhu Qingli stood up from the futon, took the list, and began to look down from the first line.
She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-nine years old, with long, slender fingers and rough fingertips. When she was silent, her face appeared younger than her actual age, but in reality, she was over forty, just well-maintained.
Her gaze swept over the three names on the list in turn.
Gu Qingyue, eighteen years old, Late Meridian Opening, under the Root Bone nail.
Tian Xiaoshan, nineteen years old, Mid-Meridian Opening, Low-B Grade Root Bone B.
Ye An, seventeen years old, Mid-Meridian Opening, originally with Root Bone of High-Grade C, previously took Grass Return Pill, now with Root Bone of Low-B Grade.
"Gu Qingyue is good." Zhu Qingli didn't hesitate, made a mark next to the name, and confirmed that she would accept it. Then her gaze fell on the remaining two names, but she didn't write them down immediately.
Jiang Tingxue stood to the side, seemingly noticing her master's slight hesitation. After a moment, she spoke, "Master is hesitating?"
"Who do you think should be chosen between these two people, Tingxue?"
Jiang Tingxue didn't answer immediately, her gaze lingering between the two names: "Tian Xiaoshan is at the Mid-Meridian Opening realm, nineteen years old, with a Low-B Grade- Root Bone. His progress is steady, but there's nothing particularly outstanding. Ye An is also at the Mid-Meridian Opening realm, only seventeen years old this year. Originally, his Root Bone was High-Grade C. To reach the Mid-Meridian Opening at this age shows that he has spent more time cultivating than most people, demonstrating his unwavering determination." Her tone was unbiased, simply stating the differences she observed.
As for her master's questions, Jiang Tingxue didn't think much of them; she only knew that she would answer whatever her master asked.
Zhu Qingli didn't reply, her gaze lingering on Ye An's name.
She knew in her heart that Ye An was a more worthy choice than Tian Xiaoshan, but she did not write it down immediately.
Jiang Tingxue noticed that Zhu Qingli's gaze lingered on Ye An's name for a longer period of time, but she didn't make any move, so she didn't ask any further questions and stood quietly to the side.
Tian Xiaoshan was the descendant of an old friend of hers, and they had some past ties. If she didn't choose Tian Xiaoshan would probably go to the Black Tortoise Hall. As the last of the Four Halls, the Black Tortoise Hall had fewer resources than her Vermilion Bird Hall. However, even if Tian Xiaoshan went to the Black Tortoise Hall, he would still have resources to obtain, so the difference wouldn't be significant.
Zhu Qingli remained silent for a while before finally putting pen to paper.
She circled Ye An's name and marked Gu Qingyue and Ye An's names, saying calmly, "Let's choose Gu Qingyue and Ye An."
Jiang Tingxue nodded. "Yes." She took the list and turned to walk towards the door. She walked slowly and lightly, just as she had come.
"Wait a minute." Zhu Qingli's voice came from behind, and Jiang Tingxue in her tracks.
Zhu Qingli sat on the futon, her pen still in her hand. "Replace Ye An's name with Tian Xiaoshan."
After much deliberation, she ultimately chose to stay with the person she had once shared a relationship with.
Jiang Tingxue had no questions and no emotions, she simply nodded. She had always done whatever her master told her to do without asking any questions.
As for why she chose Tian Xiaoshan instead of Ye An, Jiang Tingxue hadn't thought about that at all.
He silently lowered his head, crossed out the mark next to Ye An, marked the one next to Tian Xiaoshan, closed the list, and turned to leave the quiet room.
Silence returned to the hall. Zhu Qingli sat back on the futon, looking at the crossed-out name, without sighing or making any other move.
Let's just consider this past relationship over and done with it.
As for Ye An, what a pity.
She closed her eyes and stopped thinking about it.
Jiang Tingxue walked out of the stone steps outside the Vermilion Bird Hall without stopping. The door to the quiet room behind her closed gently, making a barely audible sound, as if something had been shut, or perhaps just the wind had blown it shut.