"Disciple Liu Yu pays his respects to Uncle-Master Geng!"
"I have come because my cultivation has reached the seventh layer of qi refining, meeting the requirements for promotion to the inner sect."
"So I came specifically to complete the formalities. Sorry for the trouble, Martial Uncle!"
Geng Yuanzhang casually took the wooden token, his slightly clouded eyes scanning the information on it.
Then he rose and began searching the bookshelf beside him.
Before long, he pulled out a thick register and leaned back in his grand armchair to leaf through it.
"Oh? You came from the Outer Courtyard?"
"Wood-fire-earth three spiritual roots. Entered the outer sect at sixteen, at the third layer of qi refining."
"Mm, not bad."
"Reaching the seventh layer of qi refining in five years-that cultivation speed is rather unusual for someone with three spiritual roots."
Geng Yuanzhang murmured to himself.
He had cultivated to the late stage of foundation establishment and was now over two hundred years old. His body had begun to deteriorate, leaving him with no hope of forming a golden core.
So he had voluntarily taken this leisurely post, treating it as a kind of retirement.
He, too, was a cultivator from the Origin Sun Villa and knew full well that disciples like them had no lineage or elders to look after them. They had to fight for every cultivation resource themselves.
Cultivation was terribly difficult for them.
That was why he was a little curious about how Liu Yu, with the ordinary aptitude of three spiritual roots, had risen from the third to the seventh layer of qi refining in five years.
"I have some talent for alchemy and have gained a little insight into the craft. I can proficiently refine two or three kinds of pills."
"So I have never lacked pills for cultivation."
Liu Yu's heart tightened at those words, but his expression remained unchanged. Not daring to hesitate, he answered immediately.
His tone was as usual, his pace neither fast nor slow, as he openly explained the "reason."
Geng Yuanzhang nodded lightly at this, showing no intention of probing further.
Alchemy was indeed one of the most lucrative of the hundred cultivation arts. If this junior was an alchemist, then he truly would not need to worry about cultivation resources.
If only I had mastered one of the hundred cultivation arts back then.
I would not have squandered my years and ended up with one foot in the grave. What a pity.
He sighed inwardly and shook his head.
When people grew old, they really did tend to dwell on all sorts of nonsense.
At twenty-one, Liu Yu had reached the seventh layer of qi refining and had made some achievements in alchemy. Though he had only three spiritual roots, he still had a fair chance of reaching foundation establishment and was fully qualified to enter the inner sect.
With that thought, Geng Yuanzhang put away the wooden token identifying him as an Outer Disciple and took a blank jade token from his Storage Bag.
These jade tokens were made by the Primordial Yang Sect using a special method and were extremely difficult to forge.
A specially made magical artifact could distinguish genuine tokens from fakes, preventing impersonation.
Geng Yuanzhang raised his right hand toward the jade token, bringing his index and middle fingers together. A three-inch yellow beam emerged from his fingertips.
It looked somewhat like a short laser blade from a science-fiction film. With a movement of his fingers, he began engraving Liu Yu's identity information.
Tiny fragments continually flaked off the jade token beneath the yellow beam, at a pace neither fast nor slow.
Before long, the engraving was complete.
Geng Yuanzhang formed several hand seals, entered the information into it, and handed the jade token to Liu Yu.
"All right. Drip a drop of blood essence onto the jade token and leave your mark on it. That will complete the ownership binding."
Liu Yu accepted the jade token with both hands. Following the instructions, he bit the tip of his tongue, squeezed out a drop of blood essence, and let it fall onto the token.
The instant the drop touched the jade token, it rapidly seeped inside. The token emitted a faint white glow, which gradually faded.
Seeing this, Geng Yuanzhang took out two sets of white robes for Primordial Yang Sect Inner Disciples and placed them on the counter, speaking solemnly with an air of ceremony:
"Your change of status is complete."
"Martial Nephew Liu, from this moment onward, you are an Inner Disciple of our Primordial Yang Sect."
"Remember to cultivate diligently and never slacken. Remain loyal to your sect and never betray it. You must not tarnish the sect's mighty reputation!"
"Go change into your Inner Disciple robes in the side room, then offer a stick of incense to the patriarchs. After that, you may leave."
At these words, Liu Yu immediately entered a side room, changed into the white robes of an Inner Disciple, and examined himself in the mirror.
"Not bad."
He nodded in satisfaction.
He was still the same person, but dressed in white robes, he now had a touch more otherworldly grace.
It seemed that his every movement finally carried a hint of an immortal cultivator's bearing.
The Primordial Yang Sect claimed to have as many as twenty thousand disciples in the qi refining period, but Outer Disciples accounted for eighty percent of them, while there were only a little over a thousand Inner Disciples.
The disparity was clear.
Dressed in his white robes, Liu Yu walked up to the red offering table under Geng Yuanzhang's supervision.
He knelt on a prayer cushion and performed several formal bows before the portraits of the nascent soul patriarchs of successive generations. Then he lit a stick of incense and placed it in the incense burner, completing the ceremony.
Liu Yu carried out every step of the ceremony meticulously, not daring to be careless.
If anything went wrong, a charge of disrespecting the patriarchs was not something an ordinary disciple could bear.
"Sorry for disturbing you, Uncle-Master Geng. I shall take my leave!"
Having achieved his goal of entering the inner sect, Liu Yu did not wish to linger. He bowed to Geng Yuanzhang, then turned to walk out.
But just then, a voice sounded again, making him stop.
"Wait."
"Take my token to the General Affairs Hall and have them assign you a cave abode on Green Spirit Peak for your cultivation."
Geng Yuanzhang spoke then, tossing over something shaped like a silver leaf.
His lifespan was nearing its end, and he had little time left. Seeing a promising junior emerge from the Outer Courtyard branch, he could not help wanting to lend him a hand.
Just as his own elders, now long dead, had once done.
When you grow old, you really do start letting your thoughts run wild!
Geng Yuanzhang waved a hand without saying anything more, signaling for the junior before him to leave.
Liu Yu caught the silver leaf. Hearing those words, he had many questions and could not understand why the other man was helping him.
But seeing Geng Yuanzhang's gesture, he opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing further.
He merely bowed respectfully once more and slowly withdrew.
Liu Yu walked out of the Rectified Origin Hall and encountered the two Outer Disciples again.
They stood guard on either side of the main entrance to the Rectified Origin Hall, both wearing complicated expressions, envy showing in their eyes.
As Liu Yu passed, they called him Senior Brother in unison.
Even though their cultivation was one layer higher than his, Outer Disciples were lower in status than Inner Disciples and had to address them as Senior Brother.
This was a difference in standing, a rule of the sect.
Having successfully entered the inner sect, Liu Yu was in excellent spirits.
At their greeting, he gave them a slight nod and headed toward the General Affairs Hall.
He had a vague guess as to why Uncle-Master Geng had stationed two Outer Disciples at the eighth layer of qi refining to guard the entrance.
Perhaps he wanted to offer newly promoted disciples a little lesson!
By now, the sky had gone completely dark, yet there were still plenty of cultivators coming and going along the paths.
Liu Yu followed the passageways between the halls and pavilions, walked straight into the General Affairs Hall, and swept his gaze around.
He found an inner sect senior brother who looked stern and stiff-Senior Brother Qian, who had previously assigned him his miscellaneous duties.
By now, the two had dealt with each other many times and gradually become familiar.
"Senior Brother Qian, I have just entered the inner sect. Sorry for the trouble, but could you arrange an inner sect cultivation abode for me?"
Liu Yu came straight to the point, stating his purpose directly.
As he spoke, he glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he took out ten spirit stones and discreetly handed them over.
He had not let his promotion to the inner sect inflate his ego and make him disregard the unspoken rules.
Senior Brother Qian naturally recognized Liu Yu.
In just three short years, the once utterly unremarkable Outer Disciple had entered the inner sect. He was greatly surprised.
But as soon as he heard that Liu Yu wanted an abode assigned, Senior Brother Qian's expression immediately grew much warmer.
There was considerable profit to be skimmed from assigning abodes, far more than from assigning miscellaneous duties. There was no reason to pick a fight with spirit stones.
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