“Respected Elder, Yang Lingshu accepts.”

“Good!”

Elder Gu raised his eyes toward the horizon. “Senior Brother Mo, he’s agreed. Take him now.”

_Whoosh—_

As Elder Gu’s words faded, a swirl of mist engulfed Yang Lingshu’s body.

Drifting upward under the awed stares of the crowd, he vanished into the mountain’s embrace.

_As expected of the Young Master._

Lv Fangxuan silently praised before climbing the Questioning Platform.

When his palm touched the Treasure Pearl, a vivid azure glow erupted—slightly dimmer than Pan Qi’s earlier radiance.

“Third-rank excellence. You may enter the Inner Door. Well done.”

Elder Gu stroked his beard. “State your name.”

“This humble one is Lv Fangxuan, Young Master Lingshu’s companion cultivator.”

“A companion cultivator?”

Elder Gu’s eyebrows lifted. Few small families bothered with such arrangements, let alone mere Gathering Qi clans.

_The Songshan Yang Family’s leader must harbor grand ambitions._

“I’ve served Young Master Lingshu since beginning my Path of Cultivation.”

“Hmm. As his shadow, you’ll lodge beneath Elder Mo’s peak for easier summons.”

Elder Gu added, “Though the Inner Door’s training grounds lie far from there. Prepare for lengthy daily treks.”

Lv Fangxuan bowed eagerly. “Gratitude, Elder. Distance matters not if it serves my Young Master.”

Guided away by an earth-aligned senior sister in golden robes, he joined the selected group.

Over a hundred children followed, their futures measured beneath the Treasure Pearl’s glow.

While Wanhuamen welcomed new disciples, another Qualification Assessment unfolded beneath Moonwatch Cliff’s shadow.

Ten years and eleven months had flowed since Zhao Qi and Wu Tong ascended the mountain.

Tonight, farmers along both riverbanks rejoiced—their backbreaking labor finally yielding golden harvests.

“Master.” Zhao Qi presented the scroll. “Five hundred ninety-six candidates verified: twenty-four Song Mountain Master family youths, two hundred twelve clan kin, three hundred sixty southern bank adoptees.”

Yang Lingqing accepted the list. The decade-old promise had swollen their ten-year-old population from dozens to hundreds.

“Not overly long, yet not brief either.” She turned to Wu Tong, parchment snapping shut. “Sister-in-law, your presence is required below the peaks today.”

“Master, you flatter me; it was all part of my duties,” Wu Tong responded.

Zhao Qi and Wu Tong, as the Yang Family’s first-generation external cultivators, held special significance for the people at the mountain’s foot.

Their joint descent today would further cement the Yang Family’s authority in the people’s hearts.

“I want to go too!”

As the three discussed matters in the courtyard, a small head popped out from the doorway.

Yang Yuanhong had learned of today’s event from Master Zhao yesterday, so he’d risen early to meditate properly.

When Yang Lingqing’s gaze fell on him, he ducked his head and mumbled, “I finished my full meditation time today. No shortcuts!”

Yang Lingqing glanced at Wu Tong. Receiving a nod, she agreed.

“Remember this: sit by my side, no loud talking, no wandering. Break these rules and you’ll be confined for a year.”

“Yuanhong understands! I’ll obey!”

When the time came, the three brought Yang Yuanhong down the cliff.

In the Yang Family’s back yard, family soldiers stood in three disciplined rows.

Yang Feiyun, Yang Tieli, and other top officials had gathered.

Dozens of solemn-faced children crowded the large courtyard’s southern side, awaiting assessment.

Before them stood a high platform bearing three red chairs.

_Whoosh—_

The crowd blinked as three figures materialized on the central seats.

“Hail the Master! Hail the Masters!”

Led by Yang Feiyun, the crowd knelt and chanted until the echoes faded beyond the estate gates.

“Rise.”

Cradling Yang Yuanhong, Yang Lingqing flicked her free hand.

The earth rippled like living flesh, surging upward to form a staircase to the platform within moments.

Zhao Qi chanted an incantation, scattering golden light that made the steps glitter.

The children stared wide-eyed at this divine display, wonder burning in their gazes.

“Father, call them up according to the registry.”

Yang Feiyun bowed and began announcing names.

Twenty-four Yang Family children stepped onto the golden staircase first for testing.

Yang Lingqing watched intently. Among three generations of Yang cultivators, only Yuanhong showed confirmed talent.

If disaster struck the Ling generation, the family needed at least one more capable heir.

“Step down.”

“Step down.”

…

The Yang Family children climbed the steps with hopeful anticipation, only to descend one after another in disappointment.

Twenty children had been tested, yet none possessed cultivation potential.

Sitting on Yang Lingqing’s lap, Yang Yuanhong sensed the faint shift in his aunt’s heartbeat.

“Aunt, don’t fret. Someone will have potential.”

He rose as if restless, leaning close to whisper reassurance into her ear.

Yang Lingqing’s lips curved slightly as she ruffled his hair.

Three more children later, Yang Feiyun announced the final Yang Family candidate.

“Number twenty-four, Yang Liu.”

“Here!”

A delicate little girl ascended the platform after answering with a youthful voice.

She shared lineage with Yang Lingrui, who was technically her uncle in family hierarchy.

“Disciple Yang Liu pays respects to the Master.”

“Raise your hand.”

Yang Lingqing’s smile widened as she touched the girl’s wrist.

“Acceptable. Stand behind Master Wu.”

Overjoyed, Yang Liu bowed deeply. “Gratitude, Master!”

True to Yang Yuanhong’s words, one child among the twenty-four possessed complete Qi meridians.

Yang Lingqing assessed Yang Liu’s potential as surpassing Zhao Qi’s yet falling short of Yang Lingshu’s – a middling talent.

Still, aided by the family’s Immortal Master, this was adequate.

“Proceed,” Yang Lingqing murmured, signaling the clan brothers’ turn.

With numbers swelling, three children now approached simultaneously, monitored separately by Wu Tong and Zhao Qi.

Results proved unexpected – not one of the 212 clan youths displayed intact Qi meridians.

This outcome didn’t surprise Yang Lingqing.

Mortals without cultivator ancestry rarely bore gifted offspring.

Hope lingered with the remaining 360 southern bank adoptees – potential external recruits still possible today.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep