I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Chapter 615: Chapter 563: Clash of Dragon and Tiger

Inside the Zhuge Family’s inner city, on the western Guixia Island.

The current Family Head of the Zhuge Family, Zhuge Shou, with his imposing stature and dignified appearance, stood by the riverside, facing the western river. The city walls were hidden, providing an expansive and unobstructed view.

Behind him, three others stood silently, without any interaction among them.

Moh Baichun awkwardly glanced around. As the introducer, she had to witness today’s assessment, but she was unaware of why Master Zhuge invited these two distinguished individuals here.

To her left, dressed in a lake blue long robe, with features as if painted by brush and ink and unparalleled elegance, was Zhuge Ziyin, the well-known and indisputable Nascent Soul senior brother of the Zhuge Family, one of the only two from the Yin Yang Family.

This guy was also hailed as the most handsome man across the Nine Rivers Realm and the entire Tianshi Star Alliance’s thirty-nine realms. When Moh Baichun first joined the Zhuge Family, just a glimpse of his side profile left her awestruck and flustered.

However, this man was truly an iceberg, not out of arrogance but because he was stoically silent and especially averse to women approaching, possibly due to the trauma from past experiences where he was fervently pursued because of his looks.

In the three to four years Moh Baichun had been with the Zhuge Family, she never saw Zhuge Ziyin change expressions, nor heard him speak more than five times, each time uttering no more than three words.

Consequently, she decisively shifted her target to the charming and silly younger brother Zhuge Ziqian. In this generation of the Zhuge Family, all share the ’Zhuge’ character in their names but are not necessarily born to the same mother.

Moh Baichun stared hard at Zhuge Ziyin’s peerless side profile, always feeling that his side view was more attractive than his frontal, noticing his slight frown. Quickly, she looked away toward the elderly man on the other side.

The old man bore an arrogant demeanor, his eyebrows and the tips of his beard exuding contempt as if he looked down on everyone, with a cultivation level at the Late-Stage Nascent Soul.

He was one of the Guest Elders of the Zhuge Family, Elder Fann, who had been with the Zhuge Family for over thirty years, and Moh Baichun had heard many stories about him.

He was reputedly a formidable figure with skilled techniques in the art of armor making, with most of his creations being masterpieces. Initially, in the first twenty years after joining the Zhuge Family, he diligently learned and improved his skills.

Over time, his skills even surpassed those of the elder Zhuge Family’s armor makers, leading them to humbly seek his counsel. Gradually, he developed an undefeated arrogance, looking down on everyone, often rebuking disciples seeking knowledge under him.

More excessively, if he explained something unclearly, he would scold any disciple who sought further clarification harshly, often using punishment as an excuse to delegate his armor-making tasks to them.

He frequently delayed delivery deadlines, was arrogant due to his talent, and indulged in laziness. Such behaviors were numerous.

Moh Baichun felt that today Master Zhuge might plan to deal with him.

While the Zhuge Family is generous and respectful to the talented, they are by no means fools easily taken advantage of.

Not to mention anything else, just look at Zhuge Shou now. His left chest, shoulder, and entire arm were made of armor, indicating a fanatical dedication to his craft.

In his youth, he fought on the frontlines against the Human and Demon Clans in the Taiwei Star Alliance for nearly a century, from the Early-Stage Golden Core to the Early-Stage Nascent Soul.

The most impressive incident was when he infiltrated the rear of the Demon Clan alone, setting up mechanisms ahead of time to control thousands of armors, annihilating nearly ten thousand demon reinforcements, ensuring a victorious counterattack by the Taiwei Star Alliance to reclaim lost territories.

During that battle, Zhuge Shou was severely injured, losing the left side of his body, found only barely alive, nearly devoured by a horde of Demon Octopuses.

Nascent Soul Cultivators can reconstruct their bodies, but Zhuge Shou, to enhance his combat power, chose to combine his body with armor, replacing his lost arm with a thousand-mechanism arm.

Truly a hero with a spine of steel!

Such a person would never tolerate someone like Elder Fann, who is lazy and arrogant, staying in the Zhuge Family, corrupting the disciples.

"Family Head, Fellow Daoist Wangshu has arrived."

Zhuge Ziqian led Jiang Yuebai over the corridor bridge, bringing Moh Baichun back to herself, who nodded and smiled at Zhuge Ziqian, who also glanced over.

Zhuge Ziqian introduced Jiang Yuebai to everyone present, stating names and extending polite greetings.

Jiang Yuebai noticed that the Zhuge Family Head, Zhuge Shou, was a Peak Nascent Soul Cultivator and figured that like other sect families, Divinity Transformation Cultivators served as Supreme Elders for secluded cultivation.

Jiang Yuebai had heard that the Zhuge Family also had a Refining Void Ancestor who has been isolated from the world for over a century, at a critical point in Cutting Illusion.

When Zhuge Ziqian introduced Zhuge Ziyin, Jiang Yuebai was momentarily stunned by his exceptional appearance, though compared to the breeze-like charm of Shen Mingjing she encountered under the Taixuan Mine, Zhuge Ziyin still lacked that refreshing presence.

Too cold, with a look as if someone owed him eight million Spirit Stones. When she paid respect, he remained motionless, silent, revealing an expression of disdain.

Even Zhuo Qingfeng wasn’t this troublesome back then!

The other old man, named Elder Fann, was quite amiable, chatting with her amiably.

"Young Daoist, possessing an Early-Stage Nascent Soul cultivation at such a young age, your future is limitless. Where did you cultivate before?"

Before Jiang Yuebai could answer, Zhuge Shou lightly coughed.

"First, the Zhuge Family appreciates Fellow Daoist Wangshu’s favor. Talent selection is a significant matter for the Zhuge Family; therefore, I personally oversee each Guest Elder’s assessment."

Jiang Yuebai nodded in acknowledgment, sensing that Zhuge Shou was an upright individual, leaving a favorable first impression.

Zhuge Shou glanced at the cheerful Elder Fann, "The Zhuge Family has a rule that Guest Elders face a triennial minor assessment and a quinquennial major assessment. Those who fail cannot be retained as freeloaders; the Zhuge Family nurtures only elites, aiming for mutual success."

"It just so happens that today is Elder Fann’s quinquennial assessment, so I would like Elder Fann to be assessed alongside this Fellow Daoist Wangshu. Additionally, while Ziyin belongs to the Yin Yang Family, he has been interested in the art of armor making since childhood and wishes to test his skills. Would Elder Fann mind?"

Jiang Yuebai glanced around, sensing the undercurrents. Wasn’t this supposed to be her assessment?

Now it felt like Zhuge Shou wanted Zhuge Ziyin, an outsider to the art of armor making, to outshine the insider Elder Fann.

So, had she stumbled into a battle arena between dragons and tigers?

What was she, then?

A cat?

Elder Fann’s eyebrows twitched slightly, yet he smiled, "No problem, no problem. It’s fine to be assessed together. If Ziyin has any questions, I am happy to advise. If the Zhuge Family produces another genius in both Yin and Armor, remember to credit me, the old man."

Beside them, Moh Baichun and Zhuge Ziqian exchanged a helpless glance.

Only now did they understand Zhuge Shou’s intentions. If Elder Fann, during the assessment, couldn’t even beat Zhuge Ziyin, an amateur in armor making, he wouldn’t be able to stay.

If he voluntarily left, it would benefit both parties and preserve harmony. The Zhuge Family might even offer compensation to retain a friend rather than gain an enemy.

After all, Elder Fann’s skills were commendable, but his character wasn’t suitable for guiding Zhuge Family’s disciples, as he could lead them astray.

Zhuge Shou undoubtedly saw this clearly.

The reason for sending Zhuge Ziyin, perhaps, was because among the current Early-Stage Nascent Soul armor masters in the Zhuge Family, few could surpass Elder Fann.

Zhuge Ziyin was a genius, confident in himself, willing to give it a try.

Zhuge Shou looked at Jiang Yuebai once more, "Fellow Daoist Wangshu, please do not mind; as long as you meet the passing criteria in today’s assessment, you’ll pass. It does not conflict with their assessment."

Jiang Yuebai nodded, unconcerned, as long as the two didn’t interfere with her mission to join the Zhuge Family, she didn’t care if they rolled and scuffled on the ground.