Chapter 31: A Small Interlude

  Just as he was hesitating, a junior disciple from the Qingyang Gate's foundation-building period came over to the testing disciple and said in a low voice, "Senior brother, Senior Uncle has instructed that this year's new recruits are generally of a higher level than previous years, and the number of people we can accept is almost full, so he wants you to be stricter with your standards."

  Although his voice was low, Lin Feng stood right next to him and heard it clearly. In an instant, he understood that there was no hope for himself.

  As expected, the examiner nodded and sent him away, then turned to Lin Feng with a slightly sighing tone: "Not qualified, next one."

  Lin Feng didn't have much hope to begin with, and after hearing the words of that messenger cultivator, he had already expected this outcome, so there wasn't much disappointment on his face. This is what the cultivation world calls fate; if fate had arrived, even if the messenger cultivator had come a step later, it's possible that the assessing cultivator would have taken Lin Feng in as a disciple. As for how things would be arranged afterwards, never mind that for now - at least Lin Feng would have had an opportunity. But now it was clear that fate hadn't arrived yet, and Lin Feng had lost his last chance.

  But thinking about it, this is also inevitable. Although the Qingyang Gate is one of the top two major gateways, the resources for cultivating immortality are limited and not unlimited. Therefore, the number of people who enter the gate each time is also limited. If too many people enter the gate, it will inevitably reduce the supply of immortal cultivation resources, leading to a decline in the overall level of these new recruits, which will eventually affect the strength of the entire sect.

  So every time there is a selection, Qingyang Gate records a large amount of data, and uses this to judge the level of new disciples. If their qualifications are generally poor, they will take in fewer; if they are generally good, they will take in more. However, taking in more also has its limits. Lin Feng's luck was relatively bad, and this time the new recruits had generally good qualifications, but there were indeed a few too many, so someone like him who could be taken or not would naturally have to be given up.

  Lin Feng vaguely understood the truth in it, so he didn't have any complaints. He nodded to the testing monk to show his understanding and then turned around and left the copper mirror, walking away.

  But just as he turned to leave, a sarcastic voice suddenly rang out: "A Five Elements waste spirit root with only four layers of Qi refinement, and yet you think you can enter the Qingyang Gate with your mere apprentice-level alchemy skills? The Yang family really knows how to dream big!"

  Lin Feng suddenly turned around and saw a young man in magnificent attire among the selected crowd, with a provocative expression on his face. Needless to say, the person who spoke these words was him.

  "Who are you?" Lin Feng's expression was cold and unyielding as he stared at the fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, confident that he had never seen this person before, yet unsure why he was filled with such hostility towards him.

  "Listen up, Yang family's waste, I am Deng Bin of the Mengyang Deng family, with a spiritual root of 72 points, slightly inferior to your 95 points. However, I have a unique spiritual root, not something that you five-element wastes can compare to, haha!" Deng Bin arrived earlier than Lin Feng and the others, and had already passed the test. As soon as Lin Feng and the others arrived, he recognized several of them as Yang family members, with the intention of provoking them but couldn't find an excuse, after all, this was Qingyang Gate's territory, and he didn't dare to act rashly.

  Enduring for a long time, he saw that the Yang family had only produced a Spiritual Root of sixty-five points, and so his mind was stirred.

  The Xiu Zhen realm divides the spiritual roots into four segments. Below 60 points is considered to be of poor quality, making it difficult for them to achieve success in their cultivation, and they make up the vast majority of people with spiritual roots. Between 60 to 70 points, it's possible for them to achieve some success through hard work, and for Qing Yang Men, this range is considered acceptable but not necessarily worth recruiting. There are many people in this range, and Qing Yang Men sends its high-ranking cultivators to select disciples from this group, choosing those who are diligent, hardworking, and intelligent, such as Wu Lin Pu.

  As for those with 70 to 80 points of spiritual roots, they are considered to be of excellent innate quality. After being selected, most of them will be taken in by the sect's intentional disciples during the foundation-building period and become inner door disciples. If they're lucky, it's not impossible for them to be noticed by an elder in the golden elixir stage. So although these people were also selected, among those who were selected, they are already a cut above the rest. This is also why Deng Bin was so arrogant, knowing that Yang Wu Lin was also selected but didn't put him in his heart, and still dared to speak out and attack Lin Feng.

  As for the Yang family, there is still a Zhao Chun who has not been tested, but he doesn't take it seriously. With Zhao Chun's small fat body and silly expression, he looks like he doesn't pose any threat to Deng Bin at all.

  Lin Feng glanced at Deng Bin, who was only slightly higher than him in terms of cultivation level, probably around the sixth layer of Qi Refining. He couldn't help but snort in disdain. To think that after obtaining the middle-grade Qi Gathering Pill, Lin Feng's daily intake of one middle-grade pill had increased his cultivation speed by five or six times compared to before. Even when compared to Zhao Chun, he was far superior. If not for the fact that his cultivation time was a bit shorter, he might even be comparable to Zhao Chun now. But Zhao Chun was currently at a level close to the eighth layer of Qi Refining, far surpassing Deng Bin by more than just a little. In comparison, Lin Feng naturally looked down on Deng Bin's sixth-layer level with disdain.

  But before he could speak, a voice more beautiful than the oriole's song came from behind the crowd of selected disciples: "Cultivation, talent is important, but whether one can succeed depends on perseverance, willpower, as well as alchemy, skills, and even opportunities. Throughout history, many talented cultivators have fallen halfway, while those with mediocre talent who have achieved success are not uncommon. How can you determine someone's future based solely on their spiritual roots, Brother Deng?"

  As the voice spoke, a girl in a light green dress with fluttering sleeves emerged from the crowd. Her elegant and refined appearance made people's eyes shine brightly. Compared to her words, which certainly delighted Lin Feng's heart, seeing her face was even more exhilarating for him.

  One word, beauty.

  Masters, due to their innate spiritual roots and long-term practice of breathing exercises, have undergone a transformation in their spiritual energy, causing their physical bodies to gradually become perfect. Therefore, most masters are handsome and beautiful, with slender figures, each one considered a beauty among ordinary people. For example, Lin Feng's senior sister Zhou Lan was born with a delicate and lovely appearance, considered a little beauty. And the female masters who came to participate in the selection today were all either charming or elegant, or gentle or heroic, each one considered a rare beauty. However, when all these beauties stood together, they would pale in comparison to this woman.

  This girl, at first glance, seems to have a beautiful face, skin as white as snow, and a slender figure. She is probably only thirteen or fourteen years old, but she looks even more mature than a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old woman.

  Taking a closer look, the woman's eyes are as black as lacquer, like a bright star in the sky; her nose is high and straight, like a piece of warm jade carved by a skilled craftsman, smooth and delicate, yet with clear contours; her lips are red like cherries, moist and luscious, and every smile and frown captivates people's hearts.

  Her snow-white neck is smooth and slender, highlighting her noble and elegant temperament; the girl's newly developed breasts, her waist that can be grasped in one's hands, her long and plump legs, all prove that old saying: a little more and it shows fat, a little less and it feels thin.

  At this moment, everyone present was attracted by the beauty of this woman, and what she said was no longer important. Most people nodded unconsciously, as if the words that came out of her mouth were absolute truth, regardless of right or wrong.

  Lin Feng was initially in a daze, but this woman spoke up for him and he couldn't ignore her kindness. After a moment of stunned silence, he hastily said: "Thank you, miss, for speaking up for me. As you said, the path to immortality is indeed important, but opportunities are also crucial. I've never paid attention to such petty and jealous remarks." Lin Feng had the precious jade in his possession, which gave him immense confidence as he spoke from the heart.

  The girl at the Qingyang Gate looked at Lin Feng with appreciation and said, "No need to thank me, I'm just stating facts. What's rare is that Daoist has a broad mind and a high vision, it seems that his future path of cultivation will be smooth sailing."

  "Thank you for your kind words, young lady. Lin Feng will definitely work harder."

  Two people asked and answered, as if no one was around. Deng Bin stood aside but was ashamed and angry, wanting to speak out to scold, but because of the girl's reason he didn't dare say much. After all, he had just entered Qingyang Gate and hadn't even stood firm on his feet, yet he had already offended a disciple of Qingyang Gate. If other disciples saw this, his future days would be difficult.

  Moreover, he is not stupid either. His previous words have already shown a certain strength. In the future, more than half of them will enter the inner gate. At this time, this woman still dares to speak and reprimand him in front of the high-ranking masters who are in the foundation-building period without speaking out, it is clear that she has nothing to fear, her identity and status can be seen as extraordinary. Therefore, Deng Bin now not only has to eat bitter melon silently but also has to show a humble attitude of listening carefully.

  As expected, the Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of testing finally chimed in and said: "Sister Xue's words are indeed insightful, it can be seen that her Dao realm has made tremendous progress, congratulations are in order!" His tone was unexpectedly laced with a few hints of flattery, revealing that this woman's status was not simple.

  "Disciple dares to overstep boundaries, hoping elder brother will forgive the crime!"

  A woman with the surname Xue had a respectful demeanor, but the foundation-building period cultivator waved his hand nonchalantly and said: "Sister Xue has exceptional innate talent, and among the entire cultivation world, she is also one of the top. Teaching these novice disciples who have just entered the sect is their good fortune, what's there to be humble about?"

  Deng Bin's face turned bright red with shame, his innate talent of 72 spiritual roots was nothing but a junior apprentice in front of this woman. This remark was undoubtedly like a loud slap on his face, making him feel ashamed and angry. However, his anger did not dare to vent on the obviously extraordinary Xue surname woman, nor did he dare to vent it on the foundation-building cultivator Lin Feng, so Lin Feng became the object of his deep hatred. But now he couldn't show it, and could only bury his resentment deep in his heart.

  "Master's praise is undeserved." The Xue surname woman said with a bow.

  "Alright, alright, let's not talk too much now. Let's hurry up and test it out. I don't want to be punished for not completing the task on time."

  The woman nodded and retreated, continuing to stand behind and pay attention to the progress of the test, while the foundation-building cultivator shouted: "Next one, come forward!" and continued with the selection.

  Lin Feng is currently 15 years old, and it's the age when emotions start to awaken. Watching that slender figure disappear into the crowd, he couldn't help but wish she would turn around and look at him again. Unfortunately, that figure never turned back, leaving Lin Feng feeling empty and hollow, as if he had lost a precious treasure.