Over the next ten days, Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu came to the Forbidden Ground every night, channeling pure spiritual power into Chen Yang to help him recover.
Ten days later, Chen Yang had regained his vigor, and his spiritual power was even more abundant than before.
"Old Ancestor, everyone has arrived at the gate."
Seeing that the nurturing had ended, Yang Lingqing spoke from the doorway.
"Mhm. Lingqing, come with me."
"Yes."
The two leaped down the mountain together and landed in the Yang Family's inner courtyard plaza.
Yang Feiyun and Yang Xiaolei had already brought people to wait there. Upon seeing the two, they immediately knelt in salute.
Today was the day the Yang Family tested the clan's children. The entrance to the Yang Family estate was already packed with people.
More than a hundred adults and children had come.
The adults gazed at the Yang Family's towering gates, their eyes mostly filled with anxiety.
The children following behind them, however, were more excited and expectant.
"Lord Steward, can my child really go to Mist Mountain and become an immortal?"
The middle-aged man at the front of the line bent at the waist as he asked.
The Yang Family's old steward turned his head and smiled. "I can't say for sure, old fellow that I am. The masters of the family have said it depends on immortal fate."
"Immortal fate! Right, immortal fate!"
The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly. "My boy has been lucky since he was little. He fell into a river at five and didn't drown. He got lost in the mountains for three days at eight and still survived. This year, at exactly ten, two wild wolves chased after him during the Beast Tide and tried to bite him, but he still ran away!"
"Pfft... Zhao Dapeng, that kid of yours isn't lucky. He's simply cursed to the bone."
"Hahahaha!"
The crowd burst into laughter, easing the originally tense atmosphere considerably.
At that moment, Yang Feiyun also came out.
After counting the group, he discovered that there was one extra parent and child.
"Hm? Why is there one more child?"
Before the old steward could answer, a man in the crowd grabbed his child's hand and rushed forward. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.
"First Master! My daughter just turned fifteen five days ago. Please, show us mercy! Let her have a try too! I beg you!"
His daughter followed behind him, kowtowing so hard that her forehead struck the ground with loud thuds.
The Yang Family had clearly set the age range at ten to fourteen. Now that his daughter had just barely missed the requirement, he truly could not bear to let the chance slip away.
Yang Feiyun lowered his gaze to the father and daughter.
He remembered them. Their surname was Wu. There had originally been six people in their family. The father was called Wu San, and the girl was called Wu Tong.
The girl's three older brothers had all joined the Yang Family's Clan Soldiers and died in the Beast Tide.
The girl's mother had also been bitten to death by wild beasts while protecting her. Now, only the father and daughter remained.
By the rules, it was not allowed. But in consideration of her three brothers, Yang Feiyun decided to let the girl come in and try.
"Fine. Stop kowtowing. Get up and stand at the back."
When the Wu father and daughter heard this, tears of gratitude immediately streamed down their faces. They fiercely kowtowed several more times toward the Yang Family's gates before happily following the others inside.
After the Beast Tide, the Yang Family estate had undergone another round of renovations.
With Elder Yu's involvement, it now possessed not only grandeur, but also a touch of immortal aura.
As they passed through the covered corridors, the children craned their necks to look everywhere, letting out endless sighs and cries of amazement.
"What a huge rockery!"
"That pavilion is so tall, and wisteria is climbing all over it!"
"Look at those carvings and murals! They must be the work of immortals!"
"Really? Didn't they say immortals all live in the mountains?"
"Tch, look at you, so ignorant. The immortals in the mountains are Yang Family members too!"
"Oh, oh!"
When they arrived at the inner courtyard plaza and saw Yang Guanfeng and Yang Lingqing, everyone wisely fell silent, standing with their hands folded before them.
"Fifty-six people?"
Yang Lingqing released her divine sense and swept it over the group, discovering one extra person.
"Reporting to Immortal Master Lingqing, there is a girl who was fourteen when the order was issued, but she turned fifteen a few days ago."
Yang Lingqing turned back to glance at Yang Guanfeng. He let her decide for herself.
"Mhm, then include her."
Yang Lingqing did not dwell on it. To her, one more person or one fewer person made little difference.
"Line up according to your previous order! When your name is called, come forward!"
"Zhao Qi."
"Here!"
Zhao Dapeng's son, Zhao Qi—the child who had been unlucky from childhood to the present—walked forward.
The child looked utterly ordinary: neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. There seemed to be nothing outstanding about him.
"Hold out your hand."
"Yes, Old Ancestor Immortal Master!"
Zhao Qi rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm.
Yang Guanfeng lightly placed his hand upon it and released his spiritual power.
A moment later, a soft cry of surprise sounded in his heart.
There's such a thing? The very first one can actually make it?
Somewhat unable to believe it, he reached out and checked again. Only then did he confirm that this child named Zhao Qi had all twelve Qi Meridians intact and truly possessed the aptitude for cultivation.
"Not bad. Come stand behind me."
Zhao Qi remained rooted to the spot in a daze. His father had already anxiously rushed over and shoved him.
"The Immortal Master is speaking to you! Why are you standing there like a fool? Go!"
"Oh, oh."
Zhao Qi hurriedly nodded. After thanking Yang Guanfeng, he went to stand behind him.
Zhao Dapeng's face had turned bright red, while his heart was blossoming with joy. Faced with the envious looks from those around him, the back he had bent over farmland for half his life now straightened as stiff as a ramrod.
"Next."
"Go down."
"Continue."
"Go down."
After Zhao Qi, more than fifty children in a row had no aptitude.
Either their Qi Meridians were severed, or their Qi Meridian points were missing.
That was the normal situation. Yang Guanfeng had originally come with the expectation that not a single person would qualify.
Chen Yang watched the entire process as well. Unfortunately, his hand was not long enough to reach beneath the cliff. Otherwise, he would have wanted to give these children a "touch" too.
In the blink of an eye, all fifty-five children ahead had been tested.
Apart from Zhao Qi, not a single other person possessed cultivation aptitude.
Mhm, it looks like this is over. Still, gaining even one child with cultivation aptitude is already a profit. Old Yang's luck really isn't bad, Chen Yang thought.
Once the fifty-five had been tested, Yang Guanfeng turned his gaze toward the final father and daughter. The bloody marks left on their foreheads from kowtowing had yet to fully fade.
Wu San looked at Yang Guanfeng with a terrified expression. He felt as though he were gazing upon a colossal peak whose summit could not be seen, an immense pressure filling his chest and making it difficult for him to breathe.
Yang Guanfeng only glanced at him before his gaze passed over him.
It was perfectly normal for mortals to react this way upon meeting cultivators.
But when he looked at the girl beside the man, he found that this frail-looking girl was staring at him with an exceptionally resolute gaze.
Yang Guanfeng had seen countless people. He could be certain that this was not the ignorant fearlessness of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.
"You, come here."
Since the girl's name was not on the list, Yang Guanfeng simply beckoned for her to come forward.
Wu Tong clenched her fists, then stepped forward with determination.
Yang Guanfeng placed his fingertips on Wu Tong's arm, and spiritual power immediately flowed into her body.
After the spiritual power entered her body, he felt that its circulation was extremely obstructed.
Yet what was interesting was that although the spiritual power stumbled and staggered along its path, it was never blocked completely even once. In the end, it actually made it through.
"Lingqing, take a look."
"Yes."
Yang Lingqing stepped forward and examined her again. A moment later, she turned to Yang Guanfeng and nodded.
Though it had been extremely difficult, it had indeed made it through.
Before you continue