A Keen Judge of Character! He Should Be Locked in a Little Black Room

"Xin Lan, what did you need Grandpa for?" Ye Zhong wore a kind, gentle expression.

But he had already decided that the moment Ye Xinlan left, he would find Ye Qingzhou and give him a sound thrashing.

Even if he was his younger male cousin's own grandson, he couldn't do that to his only granddaughter by blood...

"Good news, wonderful news." Ye Xinlan took a deep breath, calming the excitement she felt after rushing over with a movement Dou Technique, and answered, "Grandpa, I found a true genius in the clan. His cultivation talent is far above mine, and his soul talent might be above mine too."

"Oh?" The corner of Ye Zhong's eye twitched, but he forced himself to keep smiling. "Xin Lan, this person wouldn't happen to be named Ye Qingzhou, would he?"

"Grandpa, you already knew?" Ye Xinlan froze, then immediately nodded. "It's Cousin Qingzhou. His talent is even greater than mine."

That Ye Qingzhou! He's actually fed my granddaughter an enchantment potion and bewitched her this thoroughly.

He had personally examined every member of the Ye Clan's younger generation at birth.

When it came to soul talent, Ye Xinlan was the undisputed number one.

"What makes you say that?" Ye Zhong asked patiently.

"Grandpa, you don't know..." Ye Xinlan immediately told him how Ye Qingzhou had grasped the basics of the Crimson Flame Bodhi Scripture in a single night. Then she said, "Grandpa, you said the Crimson Flame Bodhi Scripture was no ordinary method. It's an Earth Tier Cultivation Method our Ye Clan ancestor created after borrowing a Heaven Tier Cultivation Method. The Earth Tier portion was left in the Little Pill Tower."

"In the Ye Clan, I'm the only one who has passed the ancestor's Soul Imprint test and successfully grasped the basics."

"But yesterday, when I went to the Scripture Repository to get the cultivation method, I found that Cousin Qingzhou had beaten me to it."

"So I thought I'd cultivate it with him today. If we could both grasp the basics, it would be good for the Ye Clan."

"I never expected..."

"And that's not all. With Cousin Qingzhou's guidance, I mastered thirty percent of it in just half a day. A few more sessions, and I'll be able to switch cultivation methods within three days."

Ye Zhong: !

"Xin Lan, you mustn't lie to Grandpa about this." Ye Zhong suppressed the excitement in his heart.

With his experience and standing, he naturally knew that the soul talents of certain extremely rare, special geniuses could mutate as they grew.

If Ye Qingzhou truly had the remarkable talent Ye Xinlan described, he was very likely one of those geniuses.

That would make him a qilin child bestowed upon the Ye Clan by the heavens. They had to make him a priority and nurture him.

Everything was for the Ye Clan's position in the Pill Tower.

"Grandpa, how would I dare lie to you about this?" Ye Xinlan said excitedly. "Besides, you'll know as soon as you investigate."

"Good, truly good! This is wonderful!" Ye Zhong clapped his hands and laughed. "Xin Lan, if this is true, you deserve the greatest credit. Thanks to you discovering my grandnephew Qingzhou, a genius like him won't be buried in obscurity."

Ye Zhong was not joking.

He was the clan's grand elder and a Dou Zong expert of the Ye Clan.

Ye Xinlan was his own granddaughter, exceptionally talented and favored by him, so she could come and see him.

But an ordinary person might go years without meeting him, and even if they did, they would only see him from afar.

If Ye Qingzhou slowly revealed his talent and worked his way up through the clan's assessment system, it might take years or even longer for word to reach him.

That would waste a genius's early years of growth.

The elder who had happened to come report on clan affairs and share some gossip today: "..."

Grand Elder, you looked ready to devour someone just now. That's not what you were saying then.

"Grandpa, hurry and look into Cousin Qingzhou's situation." Ye Xinlan moved close to Ye Zhong and urged him coquettishly.

A genius like Ye Qingzhou ought to receive treatment befitting a seed candidate in the clan. Only then would he have a chance to compete with the chosen of heaven from the other four great families.

"No rush." Ye Zhong had calmed down instead. "Talent is important, but disposition and character matter even more. Grandpa needs to assess him first."

"Xin Lan, don't let anything slip. Keep interacting with him as you did before."

"Grandpa, there definitely won't be any problem with Cousin Qingzhou," Ye Xinlan argued on Ye Qingzhou's behalf.

Although they had only truly grown close over the past two days, Ye Xinlan simply felt that Ye Qingzhou could be trusted.

"Grandpa has his own plans. You may go now." Ye Zhong smiled and patted Ye Xinlan on the head.

After Ye Xinlan left, Ye Zhong's expression turned serious. "Fourth Elder, find out who's spreading rumors about Xin Lan and Ye Qingzhou. Once you find them, punish them severely."

"Also, investigate Ye Qingzhou's experiences over the years and assess his sense of belonging to the clan and his character."

"Yes, Grand Elder." The Fourth Elder accepted his orders and withdrew.

Once he was alone in the room, Ye Zhong's expression darkened. "Xin Lan's talent is good, but only within the Ye Clan. Even if the clan makes him a priority and nurtures him, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to help the Ye Clan hold on to its position in the Pill Tower."

"Once we lose our place among the Pill Tower's Five Great Families, countless factions eyeing us like tigers will pounce. The Cao Family and the Bai Family, ranked near the bottom of the Five Great Clans, will surely lead the charge."

"Unless we have a disciple with the talent of the Cao Family's demoness or Dan Chen of the Dan Family, our chances are slim."

"Ye Qingzhou, will you be such a disciple?"

Ye Qingzhou knew nothing of all that had happened.

After Ye Xinlan left, he began earnestly practicing his Dou Technique.

He continued until only thirty percent of his Dou Qi remained. After eating dinner, he returned to his secret chamber. Rather than rush into cultivation, he began studying the notes on fifth-tier alchemy.

He kept at it until after midnight.

The diary appeared on its own, and a strange light radiated from the ancient-looking book, enveloping his body.

The next instant, Ye Qingzhou felt a warm, abundant force surge from deep within his dantian, flowing slowly through his meridians and into every limb and bone.

The Crimson Flame Bodhi Scripture was circulating on its own, and his understanding and mastery of the cultivation method noticeably improved in an instant.

When he had guided Xin Lan that morning, explaining the cultivation method's circulation route to her had also given him a chance to review it himself. He had grown more familiar with the order in which the Dou Qi circulated and the rhythm of its various crucial points.

Immediately afterward, numerous insights into practicing the Dou Technique surfaced in his mind. They were scenes of him practicing the Fire Python Heavenly Dance Spear Technique in the training ground that afternoon. Every move and stance replayed before him: every exertion of force, every turn of his wrist, and every path his Dou Qi had taken was crystal clear.

If he had only reached ten percent of the basics that afternoon, he had now gained another ten percent, yet his overall mastery could reach thirty percent.

"At this rate, I only need to practice another two or three days. With the diary doubling my gains, I'll definitely grasp the basics."

Besides his proficiency in the Dou Technique, the knowledge he had studied that afternoon from the fifth-tier alchemist's notes had also become exceptionally clear.

Although he had yet to put it into practice, he remembered the points more clearly. Once he began refining pills for real, he might improve faster.

Besides that, Ye Qingzhou also felt slight improvements in his Dou Qi, physique, and soul power.

If those gains had been spread evenly throughout the day, they would have been only slightly better than nothing to him.

But appearing all at once, they were somewhat noticeable.

"Great! It really isn't just a simple doubling of my gains!"

Ye Qingzhou's gaze sharpened, and he looked down at the diary.

This thing was so good that he would keep writing everything down.

Meanwhile, in the Little Pill Tower.

Cao Ying had no mind to refine pills at all. She stared at the diary copy, her face full of resentment. "Why hasn't this thing updated yet? Don't let me find out who the owner is, or I'll catch you and lock you in a little black room."