Just as Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe were discussing whether to plant more ingredients for Laughing Gas Pills on Wood Spirit Peak, Zheng Huaiyuan returned.
Having broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, Zheng Huaiyuan looked completely different from before, his white hair flowing, his bearing that of an immortal.
"From now on, this will be our home. Below the three-thousand-zhang mark on Wood Spirit Peak, you can plant whatever you like."
Wood Spirit Peak had now expanded greatly. With a sweep of his hand, Zheng Huaiyuan allotted a third of it to Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe.
The two were excited for a while, then realized that turning all of it into spirit fields would be backbreaking work.
The area below the three-thousand-zhang mark was now several times larger than the old Wood Spirit Peak. If the two wanted to fill it with medicinal fields, they would need years to finish.
"Don't worry. I just visited the Ninth Elder, who said I'll have a certain quota of missions to issue every year now. You can plan what you want to plant first. Next year, I'll issue missions and recruit people to do the work."
Seeing their mournful faces, Zheng Huaiyuan laughed heartily.
"Thank you, Master!"
Overjoyed at his words, Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe hurriedly bowed in thanks.
"Although you've entered the inner sect now, your status is still that of outer disciples. You'll still need to take part in the outer sect selection at the end of the year. Once you return from the Spirit Medicine Realm, you can officially become inner disciples."
Zheng Huaiyuan had specifically confirmed this with Qi Yue. He did not want his becoming an inner sect elder to hold back his disciples' future cultivation.
The concentration of Spiritual Qi alone revealed the gap between inner and outer disciples. The prospect of suddenly having his two disciples compete with a group of inner sect geniuses for places left his heart bobbing up and down with uncertainty.
Another month passed amid all these twists and turns. Ling Ziling had no idea that an earlier order of hers had caused Zheng Huaiyuan to enter the inner sect ahead of time, bringing Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe along with him.
That day, Ling Ziling ended her cultivation early. As soon as her simulation points passed three thousand, she began a simulation.
"Simulate Lin Wan'er!"
Lin Wan'er was also a disciple Ling Ziling had taken in during her very first simulation. Unlike Wu Yuehua and Ye Tian, Lin Wan'er had the Sixth Elder of the Azure Feather Dao Sect for a grandfather. Her noble background made up for her insufficient innate aptitude.
[Age 0: You were born. Your grandfather was the Sixth Elder of the Azure Feather Dao Sect, and both your parents were Golden Core experts.] [Age 5: Your grandfather examined your aptitude. You only had a high-grade Water Spirit Root, which left him somewhat disappointed.] [Age 6: Your grandfather gave you a pill every month, saying it could improve your aptitude.] [Age 12: Your Water Spirit Root made a breakthrough, becoming a supreme-grade Water Spirit Root. You also began cultivating under your grandfather.]
Using resources to improve the aptitude of younger generations was very common in the Southern Region. The Azure Feather Dao Sect only used pills to improve aptitude. She had heard that some demon sects specifically captured disciples with good aptitude and refined them alive into pills to seize their aptitude.
Thus, Ling Ziling was not at all surprised by the Sixth Elder's actions.
Spirit Roots improved through acquired means still fell somewhat short of innate Spirit Roots, but that gap could also be made up for.
[Age 13: You had grown into a graceful young lady. Coupled with your illustrious background, this led many senior and junior brothers to begin courting your favor. You enjoyed this life very much.] [Age 14: You broke through to the Qi Refinement Peak and took part in the sect selection. Thanks to your grandfather's guidance, your strength far surpassed your peers. You defeated a host of geniuses and took first place.]
"Hm? This time it was the disciple Lin Wan'er. I remember Ye Tian took first place before. It seems my recent actions have already begun affecting some things."
Ling Ziling rubbed her chin. This could not be called a bad thing. Only with variables in the future could she find a way to save the Dao Sect through them.
Besides, given what she knew of Ye Tian, having his edge blunted a little before entering the Spirit Medicine Realm was actually a good thing.
[Age 15: You entered the Spirit Medicine Realm and discovered spirit medicines everywhere, so you began gathering medicinal ingredients. You encountered many geniuses from other regions and discovered an enormous gap between you, dealing you a heavy blow.]
Ling Ziling frowned at this. Being trounced by other geniuses in the Spirit Medicine Realm had instead stirred Ye Tian's fighting spirit. Why had Lin Wan'er, a fellow genius, suffered such a heavy blow?
The path of cultivation depended not only on talent, but more importantly on the resolve to press bravely forward.
If she could not face the gap squarely, Lin Wan would never go far on her future path.
[Age 15: On your way back to the sect, you came under attack by a demon sect. The Seventh Elder was no match for the enemy. Unexpectedly, the sect master arrived and slew the demon sect elder. Having witnessed the sect master's might, you pestered your grandfather after returning, wanting to become the sect master's disciple. Your grandfather could not dissuade you, so he promised that if you distinguished yourself in the sect tournament, he would plead with the sect master to take you as a disciple. For this, you began cultivating diligently.]
Ling Ziling's brows knitted even tighter. It seemed Lin Wan'er was not a very good candidate for a disciple. She lacked a clear understanding of herself, and people like that would not go far on the path of cultivation.
"It looks like I'll have to reconsider whether to take Lin Wan'er as a disciple at the sect tournament in a few years."
[Age 18: At the sect tournament, you successfully distinguished yourself and took second place. With your grandfather's help, you were indeed accepted as the sect master's third disciple. The second disciple was Ye Tian, who had placed first in the tournament.]
"As expected. By comparison, even if Ye Tian fell behind in the selection, he could still rally and catch up later."
Approval showed in Ling Ziling's eyes. In the simulations, Ye Tian was an outstanding choice in both aptitude and character. No wonder she took him as a disciple every time.
[Age 29: You broke through to Golden Core. Ye Tian invited you to leave the sect to gain experience, but you refused, believing yourself unsuited to fighting and killing. Sure enough, Ye Tian returned gravely wounded. Your senior sister Wu Yuehua left the sect to avenge him, slaying ten demon sect geniuses in succession and making a resounding name for herself!]
At this point, Ling Ziling no longer really wanted to keep reading.
Even after breaking through to Golden Core, this Lin Wan'er still seemed to be a flower raised in a greenhouse. Only her cultivation had grown; her character had not improved at all.
Even if the sect devoted great effort to nurturing someone like this, the final result would not even measure up to an ordinary disciple.
[Age 65: You broke through to Nascent Soul.] [Age 83: Ye Tian slew the son of the Blood Demon Sect's sect master, raising the curtain on the war between the righteous and demonic paths. Unwilling to leave the sect to fight, you began learning pill refining. The Ninth Elder assigned you to Wood Spirit Peak.] [Age 84: You discovered that you truly had no talent for pill refining. Your pill-refining skills could not even compare to those of a disciple at the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage. In a fit of anger, you destroyed many medicinal fields on Wood Spirit Peak. Your grandfather provided some compensation and hushed the matter up.] [Age 88: The war between the righteous and demonic paths escalated, and you ultimately went to the battlefield. Your grandfather entrusted you to the First Elder's care. You came under attack by a demon sect, and the sect master appeared to rescue you. Unexpectedly, this was a demon sect ambush. The sect master was gravely wounded, the First Elder retreated in defeat, and the Dao Sect began a strategic withdrawal.]