Chapter 40: Chapter 38: True Disciple Candidate
However, Du Youqian had no intention of appearing too calculating in front of his master.
’Being "thoughtful and comprehensive" or "infallibly strategic" isn’t always a good thing,’ he thought.
’As a disciple, you should just focus on learning your skills and cultivating diligently. Who needs you to be thoughtful and infallibly strategic?’
’Just what are you thinking about, what are you scheming? You’d better come clean!’
Deciding to hide his true abilities, Du Youqian smiled. "Disciple guesses this must be a rival of yours, Master. Maybe he’s here to cause trouble because you stole his girl?"
Du Youqian said this in a joking tone. Ma Chongyu didn’t press the matter, just chuckled and said, "So there are things you don’t know."
"There are many things this disciple doesn’t know, which is why I need my master’s guidance."
Ma Chongyu chuckled and scolded, "You little rascal. Speaking of which, this matter actually concerns you. Come with me."
With that, he stood up and walked out of the Alchemy Room.
Following his master, Du Youqian carefully sized up the visitor.
People often have a stereotype: that hot-tempered, boorish men tend to have faces as red as dates and beards as sharp as halberds.
But this man looked quite refined and scholarly, even a bit thin and weak, with sunken cheeks that made him seem malnourished.
He was also dressed in coarse hemp clothes, with a red cloak over them.
Despite this attire, he gave off no sense of being "majestic and imposing." Instead, he looked as if a strong gust of wind could blow him over.
As Du Youqian sized him up, the man curiously sized up Du Youqian in return, finally offering a smile as if he was quite satisfied.
Ma Chongyu said bluntly, "What’s with all this ruckus so early in the morning?"
The man spoke with a resonant voice that didn’t match his frail frame. "Junior Ma, that was a low blow. You snatched a promising seedling from our Treasure Hall without a single word."
Ma Chongyu sneered. "Senior Brother, if that’s all you’ve come to say, I can’t be bothered with you. Go complain to the Sect Leader yourself and see if he’ll even listen."
’Listening to their tone, Du Youqian felt that his master and the man actually had a very good relationship. Even their pointed back-and-forth seemed more like a form of friendly banter.’
The man also laughed. "Junior Ma, let’s talk nicely."
"You’re the one who didn’t start off talking nicely."
"I was too angry to talk! Not only did my subordinates laugh at me, but the Hall Master himself gave me a harsh scolding."
Ma Chongyu’s smile vanished. "Don’t expect any sympathy from me. You deserved it. I told you a long time ago to spend some time organizing your hall’s personnel, and what did you say? You said artifact refiners are all a bunch of rough brutes with no schemes in their heads, so there was no need. Now look back. Are they really just a bunch of rough brutes?"
The man forced a smile. "Alright, consider this Senior Brother wrong, okay? Junior Ma, you have to think of a solution. Since this kid has a talent for Artifact Refining, we can’t let it go to waste."
Ma Chongyu’s voice suddenly rose. "But his talent for Alchemy is even better! He’s been studying with me for less than a month and he’s already approaching Tier One Middle Grade. Forcing an Alchemy genius like him to waste time on Artifact Refining would be like destroying a divine weapon with your own hands!"
"Tier One Middle Grade?" The man was shocked. "Junior Ma, this is no time for jokes like that."
Ma Chongyu sneered, "Senior Brother, do you really think I’d joke with you about this?"
The man looked at Du Youqian again in disbelief but still couldn’t see anything unusual. He lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
After a long moment, he raised his head again, his voice booming like a great bell. "Junior Ma, you know the situation in the Treasure Hall. You could say we’re in a crisis of succession, with no one to carry the torch. I heard that this child showed exceptional talent for Artifact Refining even back in the Mortal World. Though he was only forging mundane Divine Soldiers, his methods were ingenious and his fundamentals were solid. It must be the awakening of wisdom from a past life. Therefore, I will absolutely not give up on this child. Even if I have to take this case all the way to the Sect Leader, I will not back down."
Ma Chongyu smiled. "Disciple, go practice for now. Your Martial Uncle and I have something to discuss."
Without a word, Du Youqian bowed and excused himself.
’But he knew in his heart that his master wouldn’t actually stop him from learning Artifact Refining.’
’From the very beginning, his master’s words had hinted at this.’
’His refusal now was probably just a negotiating tactic to squeeze out some benefits.’
He returned to the Alchemy Room and began practicing Alchemy with his full concentration.
His greatest gain in this past month was the massive improvement in his acting skills.
He had perfectly portrayed the role of a talented young man with an outstanding aptitude for Alchemy and solid fundamentals, but who lacked high-tier knowledge. Every step of his progress felt natural, never abrupt.
It only made Ma Chongyu exclaim "Genius!" without arousing any suspicion.
When Ma Chongyu returned, his expression was calm. He didn’t say anything to Du Youqian, simply continuing with his lesson.
After the lesson, just like any other day, he blandly told Du Youqian to go back and practice and reflect diligently, then waved him away.
It was unclear what agreement he had reached with the Vice Hall Master of the Treasure Hall, but they did a good job of keeping it under wraps.
A few days later, when Du Youqian finally learned the contents of the agreement, he found himself thrust into the eye of the storm.
"Master, this isn’t good, is it?" Du Youqian, looking troubled, went to Ma Chongyu for an explanation.
Ma Chongyu put on a stern face. "What’s not good about it? I think it’s great. The Pill Furnace Hall and the Treasure Hall will jointly focus our resources on training you. As long as you meet the requirements, you’ll be granted Top Grade Spiritual Artifacts and High Level Techniques and Secret Skills that Cultivators of the same level wouldn’t even dare to dream of. What’s there to be unhappy about?"
’Damn it all to hell,’ Du Youqian cursed inwardly.
’If you’re going to train me, then just train me. Why make such a big, public show of it?’
That morning, the Pill Furnace Hall and the Treasure Hall jointly announced that they had designated Du Youqian as a True Disciple candidate.
Instantly, the entire Sect was in an uproar.
Although the Zhongxuan Sect was just one of the Minor Sects, a Fourth-class Sect where the highest-ranking members were only Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivators and there wasn’t even a single Fake Pill Cultivator, it was, after all, a Sect with an inheritance stretching back several thousand years, not some unsanctioned Wild Fox Zen.
Many of its rules were still quite orthodox.
For example, the entire Zhongxuan Sect had only a handful of True Disciples.
On average, a new True Disciple was added only once every fifteen years or more.
These few True Disciples held immense power, and each one was essentially guaranteed a future position as Sect Leader or Supreme Elder.
True Disciples also had the right to attend, discuss, and vote on important Sect matters.
The weight of their words was equivalent to that of a Sect Elder.
Because of this, every True Disciple was practically a titan within the Sect, so their selection was always handled with extreme caution.
Candidates had to be evaluated on multiple fronts, including their cultivation, moral character, potential, and interpersonal skills.
The observation period often lasted for several years, or even decades.
In the several hundred years before this, there had never been a case in the Zhongxuan Sect where an obscure disciple who had joined only a few months prior was named a True Disciple candidate.
What’s more, this disciple only had a Lower Grade Spirit Root and his cultivation was merely at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.
When the Pill Furnace Hall and the Treasure Hall made their joint announcement naming Du Youqian a True Disciple candidate, they also revealed another piece of news.
And that piece of news truly roasted Du Youqian over an open fire.
