Chapter 29: Expanded Recruitment
Zeng Yan was a sword cultivator, used to fighting and killing. Although she was a cultivator, she carried the rough, free-spirited air of the martial world and didn't bother with small formalities. So she didn't think much of the hug. Coincidentally, Lu You was a transmigrator and didn't take it seriously either. In his previous life, even sleeping with a girl didn't necessarily make her your girlfriend, let alone an excited hug.
There was none of that "soft jade in your arms" feeling. Lu You deliberately put on a frightened expression and said, "If even a legacy tomb is this dangerous, then cultivators like me with mixed spiritual roots really have no chance to defy fate. Luckily I've got Senior Sister backing me up. Senior Sister, surviving great danger means great fortune ahead, so I'll just follow behind you and rise along with the chickens and dogs."
"Junior Brother, this doesn't seem to be a legacy tomb," Zeng Yan suddenly lowered her voice and whispered. "After we escaped the ancient tomb, someone cracked it open, and all the evidence was destroyed. Still, the Golden Core elder who inspected the tomb before was punished."
"A legacy tomb is meant to select inheritors, it wouldn't be this vicious. And we saw the core of the formation. That tomb was clearly meant to suppress something evil. If not for a Golden Core cultivator called Dongfang Bubai entering the tomb, the Verdant Cloud Sect might have been wiped out. Even the Golden Core elder who inspected the tomb should have noticed something off. So this time, there must be something fishy going on. It's just that I've only just entered the inner sect, so I don't know the inside story yet."
Zeng Yan didn't treat Lu You as an outsider and told him everything about what happened in the tomb, even sharing the analysis of the few Foundation Establishment cultivators. The general conclusion was that the Golden Core elder might have been connected to demonic cultivators and had deliberately tricked sect disciples into going in as blood sacrifices. As for the specifics, they would have to wait for the sect's investigation.
"Just punished?"
Lu You's heart sank.
They had only punished the elder who checked the formation, this meant the waters ran deep. The two Golden Core elders who were supposed to oversee things must also have had problems; otherwise, they wouldn't have encouraged rogue cultivators to take part. But the Evil Eye had been taken by him, the ancient tomb had been destroyed, and the crucial evidence was gone. The sect wouldn't possibly offend Golden Core cultivators over a few Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples. If Bai Zihua didn't have powerful backing, even the first Golden Core elder probably wouldn't have been punished.
These thoughts flashed through Lu You's mind in an instant. In the next moment, he cupped his hands toward Zeng Yan in congratulations. "Congratulations, Senior Sister! I didn't expect you to be exempted from labor service and to skip the outer sect entirely, becoming an inner disciple in one step!"
Cultivators lived long lives, even those at the Qi Refining realm could live to a hundred. So in the sect's eyes, selecting prodigies wasn't that important; cultivating loyalty was the top priority.
All disciples, whether talented or not, had to start with three years of farming and menial work to temper themselves. After that, their spiritual roots would be tested and they'd enter the outer sect, then gradually work their way into the inner sect. This way, the outstanding disciples of the sect all climbed up step by step, leaving traces of their effort everywhere. They felt a stronger sense of belonging to the sect. Even if the outside world tempted them, they would be reluctant to abandon the hard-won path they had built, making betrayal less likely.
As for whether this wasted geniuses' time, the sect didn't care. Foundation Establishment cultivators lived about two hundred years, Golden Core five hundred, Nascent Soul a thousand. True geniuses sought longevity, not quick gains. If a disciple truly had the ability to attain the Dao, then a mere three to five years meant nothing to a cultivator.
So Zeng Yan becoming an inner disciple directly was only partly due to her talent in the sword Dao. A larger part of it was compensation from the sect for the danger she had endured.
"Junior Brother, are you going to miss your Senior Sister at all?"
Zeng Yan suddenly laughed. After becoming an inner disciple, she would move to live in the sect. Lu You, a menial disciple, couldn't even see outer disciples like Han Tian more than once a year, let alone an inner disciple like Zeng Yan. The two of them might never get another chance to meet.
"Of course I'll miss you, but I'm even happier for you," Lu You said as he turned and went down into the cellar, cheerfully taking out two bottles of spirit wine. "To gain a true confidant, even the ends of the earth feel close at hand. Senior Sister, don't ruin your junior brother's Dao heart, I'm dreaming of immortality here. Who knows, maybe one day fate will smile on me and I'll enter the inner sect too, and we'll end up living next door to each other."
"Tch, with your level of courage, how could you ever defy fate? Just stay here farming—you'll have trouble even reaching Foundation Establishment." Zeng Yan didn't treat Lu You as an outsider and teased him mercilessly. Snatching the spirit wine he handed over, she took a big gulp and continued, "I'm just a Qi Refining sword cultivator, yet I jumped straight into the inner sect, and I'm a woman, too. Who knows how people in the inner sect will gossip about me? The inner disciples around me are all at Foundation Establishment. Back here, living near you, at least someone worried about me entering an ancient tomb, someone who was so poor his pockets were cleaner than his face yet still handed over his entire savings to me. Once I'm in the inner sect, who knows whether I'll get bullied in the first few years."
Uh... Lu You broke out in a sweat and silently reminded himself: next time a woman asks whether you'll miss her or feel sad, you must answer yes, firmly say you'll be sad, otherwise the follow-up is way too hard to handle.
Zeng Yan was a sword cultivator who killed without blinking, and her talent in the sword Dao had earned her a special promotion into the inner sect. Who would dare offend her? Weren't they afraid she'd break through in cultivation and chop them down someday?
"Senior Sister..." Lu You took a big gulp of spirit wine. The spicy burn stung his eyes until they watered, as if he were about to cry from hearing about Zeng Yan's situation.
"So," Zeng Yan said, flicking him hard on the forehead, "this time you absolutely can't keep being timid, refusing to fight for anything or compete for anything."
"This time, when the sect entered the ancient tomb, a lot of people were lost. On top of that, the farming season just ended, and many cultivators who went out to work the fields still haven't returned. The sect is short on manpower, so they've exceptionally opened up a round of expanded recruitment."
After drinking, Zeng Yan's eyes sparkled. "This recruitment will select people through matches. The top ten winners can directly become outer disciples. The rest who perform well also have a chance to receive outer-sect positions. Junior Brother, you must take part this time. Once you enter the outer sect, if Senior Sister has any trouble, I can come find you to talk things over."
Both outer disciples and inner disciples lived within the sect grounds. Only menial disciples lived out in the spiritual fields and weren't allowed to enter the sect freely. So as long as Lu You entered the outer sect, even if there was still a gap in status between him and Zeng Yan, no one would stop them from seeing each other.
"Senior Sister, with my little bit of ability, how could I possibly win in the matches?"
Lu You spread his hands helplessly. If he could throw talismans around freely, he wouldn't even fear Foundation Establishment cultivators. But in an open recruitment competition, how could he reveal his identity? If it was just comparing cultivation, fists, and sword skills, Lu You felt that anyone with higher cultivation than him could pin him down easily.
"That's why you should be grateful that you've got a good Senior Sister."
Zeng Yan drew the sword from her back with a sharp clang, then slammed it down onto the table with another heavy ring.
The sword gleamed with flowing light. It was clearly not the ordinary weapon Zeng Yan had used before—it was plainly the treasured artifact that had belonged to Bai Zihua.
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