Iron Ox Village.
It was a medium-sized village of roughly a hundred households, named for its family of hereditary blacksmiths and the dozen or so water buffalo it kept.
It was also the village closest to the Evergreen Sect.
Lin Feng rode the wind to the outskirts, then walked into the village.
The elderly men and women gathered at the entrance had not seen Lin Feng arrive on the wind. Seeing him walk straight toward the village, an old man greeted him warmly. "Stranger, where are you from?"
In the past, Lin Feng would have given these elderly men and women a wide berth.
But things were different now. He was what these elderly villagers called an immortal!
Lin Feng smiled faintly. "I am a sect master from the mountain. I have come down solely to recruit a few disciples to cultivate under me."
At those words, the elderly villagers began looking Lin Feng up and down.
Then an old woman questioned him. "Young man, we people of Iron Ox Village aren't so easily fooled. The last wandering Daoist who came to swindle our village is still buried on the back mountain!"
Lin Feng offered no explanation. He rose straight into the air and, under the elderly villagers' astonished gazes, flew a lap around the village before landing before them again.
"Oh, heavens above! An immortal really has descended upon our Iron Ox Village! This old woman offended you just now. Please forgive me, immortal!"
The old woman who had questioned Lin Feng was the first to fall to her knees, and the other elderly villagers knelt with her.
"Immortal, my grandson has been extraordinary since he was little. I'll fetch him right away. Please see whether he has the talent to cultivate under you!"
Another quick-witted old man spoke rapidly as he kowtowed to Lin Feng.
Lin Feng gave a slight nod.
In an instant, they scattered like birds and beasts. The elderly villagers who had been pointing and commenting just moments earlier now rushed home, their faces alight with excitement, afraid that a moment's delay would let someone else's child enter the immortal's tutelage first.
Before long, half of the village's hundred-odd households had arrived, each proclaiming that their child had been extraordinary since childhood.
Lin Feng looked at the children and youths.
Now, in Lin Feng's eyes, the entries each child possessed appeared above their heads.
For instance, a white entry floated above the somewhat frail-looking youth closest to him: Weak Constitution. It was his only entry.
Lin Feng examined them one after another, shaking his head repeatedly and unable to keep from sighing inwardly.
Mortals with the aptitude to cultivate were not so easy to find, even those with a Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root.
But with the Entry System, he could directly see whether someone possessed a spiritual root or a special constitution.
As long as mortals with spiritual roots existed near his sect, his chances of overlooking them were far lower than those of other sect masters.
Soon, Lin Feng had examined every child and youth in Iron Ox Village. Not one possessed a spiritual root, and there was not even anyone with three or more entries.
In Lin Feng's view, even if someone lacked the aptitude to cultivate, he still intended to accept them as long as they started with enough entries.
A lack of talent did not matter. With enough entry slots, he could replace their entries over time.
Seeing that Lin Feng's expression no longer held its initial anticipation, someone from Iron Ox Village could not help asking, "Immortal, could it be that not a single person in our Iron Ox Village has the aptitude to cultivate immortality? Would you take another look?"
Those words instantly brought Lin Feng to a realization.
Since he was already here, and none of the children or youths had the aptitude to cultivate, he might as well check whether Iron Ox Village's middle-aged and elderly residents had any talent for cultivation.
As the saying went, never scorn the middle-aged and elderly for being poor!
The elderly could cultivate immortality too!
This time, Lin Feng turned his gaze toward Iron Ox Village's middle-aged and elderly residents.
Soon, Lin Feng's eyes lit up!
Then, his gaze burning, he approached an elderly man who looked past fifty and asked, "Sir, would you be willing to come with me to cultivate immortality?"
The old man was visibly taken aback. Once he recovered, delighted surprise appeared on his face. "An old man like me still has the aptitude to cultivate immortality?"
An old woman beside him could not help muttering, "Exactly. Old Tie is already this old, and he can still cultivate immortality?"
"Old Tie, if you dare go off to cultivate, won't that wife of yours skin you alive?"
The elderly man called Old Tie ignored the old woman's teasing and instead looked at Lin Feng with a burning gaze.
Lin Feng, too, stared in astonishment at the entries above Old Tie's head.
In his eyes, Old Tie was nothing short of a peerless genius!
Above Old Tie's head were no fewer than six entries! Among them were even a green entry and a blue entry!
[White entry: Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root.] [White entry: Healthy Constitution. Physically stronger than ordinary people and less susceptible to minor mortal illnesses.] [White entry: A Little Green on the Head.] [White entry: Swallowing Insults.] [Green entry: Growing Stronger with Age. The older he grows, the more vigorous and robust his body and mind become.] [Blue entry: Spirit Tempering and Weapon Forging. Equipment produced through artifact refining gains a slight increase in base hardness and spiritual energy compatibility. When refining magical artifacts of upper grade or below, the success rate increases by an additional 15%, and finished products have a chance of carrying a faint spiritual energy circulation effect.]
Although two of the white entries did not count as positive bonuses, four of his six entries were beneficial. This was simply a genius!
At least, to Lin Feng, who possessed the Entry System, he was a peerless genius!
Lin Feng drew a deep breath and asked, "Sir, have you hardly ever fallen ill throughout your life? And do you feel more energetic the older you get?"
Elder Tie nodded emphatically at his words. "Immortal, you're right. This old man has never been sick in his life, and these past two years, I've felt stronger the more I work. Our Tie family's ironware is sold in all the surrounding towns!"
Lin Feng nodded again. The entries did not lie. "Sir, would you be willing to come cultivate immortality under me?"
Elder Tie was just about to speak when a burly woman suddenly charged out of the crowd, grabbed him by the front of his clothes, and roared, "You old bastard! You want to abandon me and our two children and go enjoy yourself, do you? You heartless wretch!"
The people around them chimed in, pointing and commenting about Elder Tie. Clearly, none of them wanted to see him go off to cultivate immortality.
Elder Tie's face flushed red, and he hesitated.
Seeing this, Lin Feng decided to stoke Elder Tie's fire.
"Sir, can you guess why you have the aptitude to cultivate immortality, but your two children don't?"
At those words, the burly woman froze, then looked viciously at Lin Feng. "Where did this sorcerer come from? How dare you drive a wedge between husband and wife!"
"Neighbors, come and look! We can't let this sorcerer bring disaster upon our Iron Ox Village!"
But the burly woman's words drew no further support. Everyone quietly took two steps back, their gazes shifting continually between Elder Tie and the burly woman.
Elder Tie finally caught on as well. Pointing at the burly woman, he began cursing:
"I noticed long ago that neither of my sons looked like me! I always said that everyone in our Tie family was born knowing how to forge iron, so why did my sons know nothing about it?"
"Before, I only had my suspicions! But after the immortal's pointer today, and the villagers' reactions, I finally understand!"
"You filthy old slut! You actually dared put a green hat on me! Spend the rest of your life on your own!"
"Today, I'll divide my Tie family's property among my fellow villagers! I, Old Tie, am going off with the immortal to cultivate immortality!"
After swallowing insults all his life, he had finally stood his ground for once today.
The burly woman, however, looked as though she had lost both parents, staring at Lin Feng with a face full of resentment.