After finishing his questions, Lin Zhusheng slid down the pillar and sat on the wooden bench in the pavilion, waving his hand to let his little friends leave first, saying, “It should be your turn soon, right? I’ll sit here for a while, you go ahead.”

He looked like he was still thinking about what the Grand Elder had said earlier. Song Ming responded with a “good,” lowering his head to open his umbrella.

The sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella gradually faded away. Lin Zhusheng stayed in the pavilion for a while, watching the rain hit the leaves, and reached into his clothes to rub the little cat that was sleeping inside.

He just rubbed it without saying a word, and the little cat woke up, rolled its eyes, and went back to sleep.

A little cat that could never wake up. With no one to chat with, Lin Zhusheng sat for a while, took the umbrella, stood up, and prepared to leave.

“Pat—”

“… What’s so impressive about him? He’s just relying on his looks.”

As he opened the umbrella halfway, he heard mixed footsteps in the sound of the rain. He paused his action of opening the umbrella, and then more voices followed.

Through the green bamboo leaves, he saw two figures in blue standing not far away.

He didn’t recognize the voices. Not having the habit of eavesdropping, he continued to open the umbrella, preparing to walk out before hearing more, subtly hinting to the speakers that there was someone else present.

“If it weren’t for his good background, who would care about those people around him?”

“He got so proud just from winning two rounds. Anyone with Song Ming’s resources could do better than him.”

Hearing a familiar name in their conversation, Lin Zhusheng paused his action of opening the umbrella, his eyes slightly raised.

“… Can you keep your voice down? What if someone is here?”

“How could there be anyone in a place like this? What I’m saying is the truth, I’m not afraid of others hearing.”

“He’s been a servant disciple for so long, and he never passed the tests. Suddenly passing last time with a high score? He probably used his family’s influence to bribe the teacher.”

“Those from big families are indeed the best at doing such things,” said the other person. “By the way, it’ll be your turn soon. Aren’t you going to prepare?”

“No need. I’ve already won two rounds. The next one is just an ordinary disciple named Zhu something. It’ll be easy to deal with, no need to worry. Once I enter the inner sect, I’ll take the Elder as my master and surely surpass that Song Ming, making him unable to be proud anymore.”

Zhu something didn’t continue to listen and walked out of the pavilion, stepping onto the bluestone path.

As he moved, the white umbrella stood out in the dark space, and the two people outside quickly noticed that there was another person here.

The air fell silent for a moment, but Lin Zhusheng remained natural, his gaze casually sweeping over the faces of the two, recognizing one of them as the fox-eyed disciple he had seen before.

It seemed he was also a disciple under the same Elder as Song Ming, with talent that stood out among the disciples, but being under the same Elder as Song Ming meant he would always be overshadowed.

With his brows slightly relaxed, he politely nodded and said, “Excuse me.”

The two disciples blocking the path made way, and the fox-eyed one glanced over a few more times.

To their surprise, the person didn’t comment on the situation at all. He simply said “excuse me” and passed by, leaving quietly, only glancing back at them as he left.

A light glance, ambiguous in meaning, or perhaps meaning nothing at all.

There were still more than three people on that short path.

Just as Lin Zhusheng left the fox-eyed duo, he turned a corner and saw a familiar figure standing not far away with an umbrella.

It was the person being discussed, the returning Song Ming, holding an umbrella in one hand and a small bag in the other. Seeing him approach, he slightly raised the bag in his hand and said, “Gao Yu doesn’t know where he got this food from, but he said he wanted to give you a portion. It’s better while it’s hot.”

Taking a few steps forward, Lin Zhusheng quickly reached out to take the bag, asking quietly, “… Did you hear everything?”

Knowing what he meant, Song Ming nodded, “Pretty much.”

“Don’t take it to heart.”

He really did hear it. Lin Zhusheng quickly stood on his tiptoes and patted Song Ming’s shoulder, comforting him, “There will always be one or two people like that. Just don’t take it to heart; as long as you know you’re doing well, that’s enough.”

He hadn’t experienced this kind of thing much, but he had a bit of experience, concluding that ignoring it was the best way to deal with it.

Song Ming looked down and asked, “I’m doing well?”

Lin Zhusheng held the umbrella, using one hand to open the small bag and took a bite of the still warm food inside, casually nodding, “Of course.”

When they returned, everyone else was completely not resting, spending their break time either meditating with their eyes closed or practicing swordplay for a short while.

The first match after the break was Song Ming against an unknown disciple, and his swordplay was as sharp as ever, clearly not affected by the voices he had heard near the pavilion.

The two people who had been talking in the pavilion also returned to their seats, watching the scene on the arena, unconsciously touching the swords in their hands.

After Song Ming, it would be Lin Zhusheng’s turn.

He hadn’t really paid attention to who his opponent was, but thanks to the fox-eyed disciple’s two sentences in the bamboo forest, he finally learned in advance who his opponent was.

When the outer sect Elder called his name, he stood up from his seat, propping up his little broken wooden sword, placing the still-sleeping little cat in his arms onto a clean hand, and stepped onto the stage.

The fox-eyed disciple stepped onto the stage from the other side, and as he ascended the steps, his long sword was already drawn, the tip barely brushing the ground, his eyes fixed on Lin Zhusheng.

Maintaining the most basic respect for his opponent, both sides bowed to each other.

The Elder standing in the center of the arena stepped down, and after standing still, announced the start of the match.

In the moment before his body stood straight, the fox-eyed disciple had already drawn his sword, the sword light sweeping out, his steps quickening as he lunged forward, directly charging at Lin Zhusheng.

Both the disciples below and the Elder above could see that he seemed to want to imitate Song Ming, aiming to resolve the match with the fastest speed and no suspense.

His fierce fighting style was particularly effective against slow swords, and the Elder above watched with great interest, wanting to see if the slow sword could still manage to exchange blows in such a situation.

However, after watching for a short time, he quickly realized something was off.

With a leap off the ground, without any unnecessary movements, Lin Zhusheng dodged the sweeping long sword, adjusting his body mid-air, and as his long hair flew, he used his little broken wooden sword to block the long sword that was retracting after the sweep.

As he landed, spiritual energy surged, and the fox-eyed disciple felt a jolt in his hand gripping the long sword, almost losing his grip, sliding back a distance, his eyes widening as he looked at the seemingly ordinary person and the ordinary wooden sword in front of him.

He met a pair of slightly curved eyes.

What happened next completely exceeded expectations. Their gazes met briefly, and then everything went white.

The fluttering sleeves and hems obscured his vision, and he could feel something rapidly approaching. Instinctively, he raised his sword to block, but nothing was there to stop it, and when he realized what was happening, it was too late. A solid impact on his side brought a burning pain.

As his vision shifted, he had already left his original position, moving from the center of the arena to the edge. Just a little more and he would lose.

From dodging to counterattacking, this series of actions was smooth and swift. Not only did the fox-eyed disciple fail to react, but the disciples below and the Elder above also didn’t react in time, their bodies unconsciously straightening up.

“?”

A group of little friends was especially confused. Gao Yu leaned over, quietly asking Zhang Jing, “What’s up with Lin Ge all of a sudden?”

He had been fine before, and suddenly this happened, leaving them all puzzled.

Zhang Jing didn’t know either; he just lowered his head to pet the little black cat in his hands, glancing at Song Ming, who had left for a while during the break.

Song Ming was propping his head up with one hand, his long hair hanging down just enough to cover his eyes, making it hard to see his expression, but they could vaguely sense he was a bit surprised, just like them.

Only the initial strike had given him the initiative; after that, the fox-eyed disciple was completely on the defensive.

The wooden sword, appearing from nowhere, moved with such speed that it left afterimages. He defended from all sides but failed to block even once, and the long sword nearly slipped from his grip.

The little broken wooden sword clashed with the shiny sword blade, producing a buzzing sound. As the sword energies collided, a gust of wind blew up, causing the hems of their clothes to flutter.

With absolute strength suppressing him, he could barely keep his eyes open, and his arms were gradually losing strength. The fox-eyed disciple gritted his teeth, his entire body’s spiritual energy surging, giving him a moment of autonomy, and he aimed the long sword directly at Lin Zhusheng’s chest.

Then, with a twist of his wrist, his shoulder was firmly locked, and a kick swept at his knee, causing his center of gravity to drop sharply. He rolled on the arena, losing his long sword, which flew up into the air and then fell straight down.

It was falling right towards his brow.

As the back of his head hit the solid ground, he felt a brief paralysis in his body. For a moment, he watched the long sword fall, his pupils dilating.

Just before the sword tip completely descended, the sword hilt was firmly grasped by someone.

The bright long sword spun in his hand, ultimately embedding itself against the side of the fox-eyed disciple’s neck into the solid ground, producing a sound that made one’s ears tingle. The released sword energy spread out, affecting the disciples in the stands, causing their robes and hair to flutter.

With one hand gripping the sword hilt, Lin Zhusheng knelt on one leg on the person, leaning down, facing the fox-eyed disciple’s still trembling pupils, and whispered in his ear, “If even I, an ordinary disciple, can’t be beaten, how do you expect to surpass Song Ming?”

His voice was completely different when he spoke with a smile compared to when he spoke without emotion. The fox-eyed disciple turned his pupils to look at him.

He stopped at just the right moment, casually tucking his hair behind his ear. Lin Zhusheng stood up with the little broken wooden sword, putting a smile back on his face, and bent down to extend a hand to the person lying on the ground.

The fox-eyed disciple didn’t dare to resist, propping himself up on his elbows to grasp Lin Zhusheng’s outstretched hand.

His hand was surprisingly thin, but it had the strength it should have, easily pulling him up, then letting go.

The long sword embedded in the ground was pulled out and returned to his hand. As he took the sword, he heard someone say with a laugh, “Song Ming is a really good person. Next time, please understand before making judgments.”

Taking a step back, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was inappropriate. A protective nature was indeed not suitable for retreating; if there was an issue, it had to be resolved on the spot.

Hastily putting the long sword back in its sheath, the fox-eyed disciple said, “Okay.”

The match ended, and the result was obvious. Both sides bowed to each other, then exited the stage.

Until both of them had left the stage, the hosting Elder finally came back to his senses and announced the winner.

No one expected this outcome. In the quiet stands, Song Ming was the first to speak, unable to hold back a laugh.

In such a quiet moment, his laughter stood out, and Gao Yu turned his head to see Song Ming, who usually looked lazy and expressionless, leaning back against his seat with a smile on his face.

Not understanding what he was laughing about, Gao Yu directly asked.

Song Ming waved his hand, “It’s nothing, just remembered something funny.”

— Don’t take it to heart.

This person told him not to take it to heart, yet he had taken action himself.

With the corners of his eyes slightly raised, he raised his hand to cover his mouth, watching the figure approaching from afar.

The group of Elders on the high platform finally realized that they had been played by a disciple.

To be able to perform without them noticing was also a skill.

They said, how could someone who made the sect master take the initiative to accept disciples during the sect competition not have talent?

Several Elders watched as the person jumped off the stage and ran back to their seats, shifting their gaze to the sect master, confirming again, “Is the sect master planning to accept this young friend?”

The sect master nodded, “Yes.”

As long as he wanted to accept, it was almost a sure thing. Being a disciple of the sect master was much more impressive than being a disciple of the Elders, especially with the most favored disciple, Ling Xujun, around. Just because of Ling Xujun’s presence, many had already chosen to be disciples of the sect master’s peak.

The other Elders then regretfully withdrew their gazes.

The Grand Elder looked over, finally lowering his head to take a sip of tea, his old eyes drooping.

The inner sect competition continued until dark, and it only ended when the lights in the training ground were lit.

The last match happened to be Gao Yu, who barely qualified with a record of two wins out of three matches. The six-person team didn’t let down Lin Shifu and Song Shifu, who had been their sparring partners for the past few days, and all made it through.

The list of disciples who qualified for entry into the inner sect would be organized tomorrow, and the matter of choosing an Elder would also be officially conducted tomorrow. The qualified disciples would have the entire night to think about which Elder would be suitable to choose.

Lin Zhusheng spent the entire night thinking about this while sleeping. After exercising, washing up and sleeping made for a better rest. The next day, as usual, he was dug out of bed by Zhang Jing.

Thinking he was going to be late again, he casually stuffed his clothes while washing up, grabbed a hairpin, and was about to pull out his big sword and run. But before he could take off, Zhang Jing stopped him.

“There’s still time,” Zhang Jing leaned against the desk, scanning him up and down, and said, “I just wanted to say I called you up early so you could at least look presentable at the apprenticeship ceremony.”

Lin Zhusheng scratched his messy hair, so he put down the big sword, squinting his eyes as he randomly put on clothes.

Great, there was no difference between being prepared and not being prepared; his clothes were still a mess, the only difference being that his bedhead was slightly more presentable.

Zhang Jing couldn’t stand it and wanted to help, but he instinctively felt that might ruin their friendship, so he chose to ignore it and turned away, not looking at Lin Zhusheng’s bizarre outfit.

Lin Zhusheng went to the apprenticeship ceremony in his bizarre outfit.

The apprenticeship ceremony was held in the inner sect, and the venue was like an enlarged version of the Quiet Contemplation Hall, exuding a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

Logically speaking, today was a solemn day.

Early in the morning, sunlight rose from the distant mountains, shining brightly and illuminating the hall. The intricate wooden carvings on the beams were fully revealed in the light, and the Elders, who usually had no specific dress code, had changed into their Elder robes, dressed in neat moon-white garments.

Today was probably the day when the Elders and their first disciples were the most gathered. Except for the Grand Elder, who still had no direct disciples, all the first disciples of the sect master and Elders were present.

Morning mist floated, and the blue garments swayed through the air. When the person walking beside the sect master appeared, many looked over, only able to see a pair of unwavering eyes and the cold gleam of a sword sheath at the waist.

The senior brother was also here.

Among those present, the most eye-catching and pleasing to the eye was indeed the senior brother. Lin Zhusheng fiddled with his belt, which he didn’t know how it got tangled, and followed the crowd to look over.

Knowing that this wasn’t a good time to greet anyone, he only glanced, but just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, the person with unwavering eyes looked over, as if having some special ability, directly locking eyes with him.

Their gazes met, silently greeting each other, and then the person shifted their gaze away, clenching their fist against their lips, as if nothing had happened, still the same Ling Xujun who was humble and distant to other disciples.

In the inner sect competition, besides the two wins out of three rule, the Elders would also score based on performance during the matches. The top ten with the highest scores from all three matches could choose which Elder to apprentice under, while the remaining disciples would be randomly assigned.

If the Elders wished, they could also choose to accept the randomly assigned disciples.

Without a doubt, the first place was Song Ming. Lin Zhusheng, having performed well in two matches, saved his score in the last match, ranking ninth and earning the opportunity to choose.

Right behind him was the fox-eyed disciple he had accidentally beaten up yesterday, standing not far ahead, occasionally glancing back at him, only to quickly turn away when caught.

While others were making their choices, the little cat peeked out from his clothes, whispering, “That person will be an inner sect disciple in the future, and also someone who needs to gather favorability.”

To achieve full completion, one person’s favorability was essential.

And this person had just publicly rubbed him on the ground yesterday.

The social genius, Lin Shifu, didn’t care much, saying, “If the favorability is lost, we can find a way to recover it.”

He wasn’t worried about this aspect; he had managed to recover the senior brother’s favorability even after it had hit rock bottom. Favorability could be salvaged, but the opportunity to beat someone up might not come again.

The disciples at the front had genuinely pondered for a whole night after returning, deciding to act quickly. Song Ming chose the second Elder, who was also researching pharmacology, and was accepted as a direct disciple on the spot.

Including Song Ming, two of the eight disciples in front had been accepted as direct disciples, which was an astonishing ratio compared to previous years when sometimes there wasn’t even one direct disciple.

Whether or not they were direct disciples didn’t matter; as long as they could enter the inner sect, that was enough.

When it was Lin Zhusheng’s turn, he stuffed the little cat into his arms and stepped forward.

As he approached, several Elders looked towards the sect master.

In front of the sect master, among the many ordinary disciples’ jade tokens in the redwood box, there was also a jade token for a direct disciple, and it was obvious who it was reserved for.

The scheming sect master had even specially brought Ling Xujun, who usually didn’t participate in these activities, to tempt them from all angles.

Lin Zhusheng strolled past several Elders, stopping just before reaching the sect master.

He stood firm in front of the Grand Elder.