Chapter 198: 184 Selected (Second Part)

The two chatted for a while longer, and Zhang Rongfang discovered that Zhang Qingzhi’s background seemed quite remarkable.

Judging from his demeanor, he was an amiable person who paid great attention to the feelings and emotions of others.

Moreover, when interacting with the other Daoists of Celestial Treasure Palace, their attitude towards him was notably nuanced.

Especially from some of the older Daoists, it was clear that they had a special appreciation for Zhang Qingzhi.

After finishing their chat and returning.

After a light lunch at noon, a few more people arrived in the waiting hall, clearly all here for the mentor-seeking event.

At two in the afternoon, finally. Including Zhang Rongfang, a total of nine people were led in single file to a secluded meditation room within Celestial Treasure Palace.

The meditation room was large, the size of two basketball courts.

Surrounded by white walls, the ceiling depicted a colorful painting of various deities worshipping a Celestial Venerable.

In the center of the room, there were three meditation cushions.

Sitting on the cushions were three elderly Daoists, all with white hair, exuding an ethereal aura.

Zhang Qingzhi led the group into the meditation room and waited quietly by the side for the outcome.

Everyone handed their Dao discs to a Daoist standing nearby, who then presented them to the three mentors for individual examination.

“I am Daoist Han Ru, whose Dao title is Spirit Light, looking for one Alchemy Daoist Official. Interested parties may come forward to take the test,” announced the Kun Dao on the far left.

She leisurely took a wooden plaque from her back, which listed the points that needed to be assessed.

“I am Daoist Zhou Xingzu, whose Dao title is Pingyang, recruiting two Supervisors for the Medicine Garden. Interested parties may come forward,”

The elderly Daoist in the middle spoke leisurely.

The remaining Daoist appeared to be the oldest.

“I am Daoist Yan Qingguang, whose Dao title is Fei Yang, seeking one Agricultural Supervisor.”

The three hardly glanced at the crowd, said their piece, took out wooden plaques from behind them, placed them in front, and continued meditating on Cultivation of Literature.

Leaving the group to look at each other and study the assessment criteria on the plaques.

Zhang Rongfang shook his head inwardly.

He came here looking for the secret medicine, Mysterious Qilin Jade Marrow, not to become someone’s servant.

He didn’t have the luxury of time to waste on this.

*

*

*

Amidst the grand Celestial Dao Palace.

Yue Dewen walked slowly, hands behind his back, leisurely inspecting various corners of the palace complex.

His face always carried a benign smile, cheerful like a wealthy idle gentleman or a shopkeeper.

His plump belly was soft like a ball, often patted by himself, producing a dull thunk sound.

Such a figure, walking down the street, no one would associate him with the present Sect Leader of the Great Dao Teaching.

Yet he was precisely that.

Since he took charge of the Great Dao Teaching, the entire sect had developed rapidly, thriving.

Also, because he did not fight with others, he advocated loyalty and patriotism, focusing solely on Cultivation of Literature.

Thus, he gained much appreciation from the Spirit Emperor, who provided him with considerable support.

Though the development was good, Yue Dewen always harbored a worry in his heart.

Within Celestial Treasure Palace, the shade of trees formed paths.

He walked with hands behind his back, dressed in purple Daoist robes, waist adorned with a jade branch lock text belt, chest decorated with a yin-yang taiji sculpted dragon-phoenix bronze mirror.

The edges of the bronze mirror were inscribed with the dense scriptures of Longevity Supreme Mysterious Scripture.

By appearance, his outfit sufficed for the position of Sect Leader.

But….

“Old Dou….” Yue Dewen looked up at the sky and sighed, “Tell me, we’ve screened Dao children of appropriate ages nationwide, tens of thousands of sect members have diligently cultivated Literature for years, how come we still haven’t found a second Xiaozhi?”

“You’re asking me, how would I know?” A cold and stern old voice came from somewhere.

“I’ve tossed that kid to greet guests; after two years, why is he still the same as ever???” Yue Dewen sighed heavily, his face revealing sadness.

“So you better continue looking for a second disciple. Don’t pin all your hopes on that kid.” The cold old man responded.

“The Three Pristine Ones above, is this truly heaven’s intent to doom my Great Dao Teaching? I’ve been Sect Leader for so many years, and I haven’t found a single Golden Core under twenty-five.

How will I face the lineage of Sect Leaders underground?” Yue Dewen shook his head and sighed.

To date, throughout the Great Dao Teaching, he’s only found one Zhang Qingzhi, now twenty-two, having reached Golden Core cultivation.

Although purely a Literary Cultivator, with protection from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion experts, there are no issues.

But Zhang Qingzhi is terrifyingly talented, which is daunting, yet he has a major issue.

If this issue isn’t resolved, in the future….

Yue Dewen felt deeply helpless.

If it weren’t for the sect’s unique techniques requiring this strict condition, he wouldn’t be in this bitter position.

“Recently, the Eastern Sect and Western Sect are at war; how’s the situation? Will it affect our Celestial Treasure Palace?

Our Celestial Treasure Palace is full of weak Daoists, we can’t endure a fight. If any Divinity Transformation master gets hurt, the Twelve Pavilion Masters of your Snow Rainbow Pavilion will bear national responsibility!”

Collecting his thoughts, Yue Dewen casually asked.

“Hehe…” The cold old man couldn’t be bothered to respond.

“Old Dou, as the Pavilion Master, third Grandmaster in the world, first Spirit General of the royal family, can’t you pull some sponsorship for your old friend? The Eastern Sect is so brutal, if they launch a deadly counterattack, injuring our Celestial Treasure Palace… you can’t shoulder this blame.” Yue Dewen said righteously.

“Only a fool would believe you!” Having been friends for decades, Old Dou had long stopped believing any words from him.

“I’m serious,” Yue Dewen protested, “Fifty years, I’ve been Sect Leader for fifty years, in all these years, when have I lied?”

“You’re still second in the world, aren’t you?! Who besides Damir can beat you?? Do you have any shame saying this?” Old Dou retorted.

“But I’m no Spirit General, am I? Look, this old Daoist is ninety-six this year; with only some Divinity Transformation cultivation, at most I’ll live for another ten years.

An insult to heaven, His Majesty still won’t allow me to become a Spirit General; he’s taking my old life….

I also want to live like Old Dou, like an old tortoise….”

“You’re the tortoise, damn you!!”

“Don’t swear! Swearing is wrong, you being the Grandmaster should have magnanimity.” Yue Dewen flicked the earwax he picked, sending it flying several meters away.

“You cursed me first!”

“Alright, alright, I won’t bicker with you. My Great Dao Teaching values harmony and the way of nature, harmony exists in one’s heart. Quarreling with a crude martial man like you lowers my class.”

“Damn you and your filth!”

Old Dou got infuriated again, cursing Yue Dewen furiously.

After Yue Dewen vented the pent-up frustration in his heart, he felt much more at ease. He completely ignored his old friend’s rambling curses, humming a little tune, leisurely continuing to patrol the safety of the Daoist Palace.

Yes.

He had nothing much to do all day. Besides cultivating the Cultivation of Literature, he would wander around, ensuring the safety of the Daoist Palace.

On the surface, he was the weak and powerless Sect Leader of the Great Dao Teaching.

In reality, he was currently the second greatest Grandmaster under Damir, the Imperial Tutor of the Great Spirit.

The people from Zhenyi Sect and the Black Ten Sect were nothing to him.

Aside from those Spirit Generals who practiced deity worship, the rest were not his match.

Of course, even though a Grandmaster is mighty, it’s also tough to defeat Spiritual Veins.

But it doesn’t matter; after all, he is the special selection of the royal family, right?

Apart from his identity as a Grandmaster, he is also a Longevity Zhenren specially granted by the royal family. Numerous royal family members frequently come to consult him about the Way of Longevity.

Therefore, if he wants a certain Spiritual Vein dead, he just needs to make a request.

Leisurely strolling to the Sword Void Hall, Yue Dewen looked through the open window and immediately saw the Daoist questioning ceremony going on inside.

This kind of questioning ceremony is usually reserved for many Daoists who come from various Daoist Palaces to further their studies.

These Daoists hail from all regions, are accomplished in cultivation, have aspirations, are capable, and can get things done. They are generally well-received by the various halls and departments of the Celestial Treasure Palace.

Of course, they also have their shortcomings.

The shortcoming is that these external Daoists are generally quite advanced in age, with limited potential.

However, looking through the window, as Yue Dewen glanced at those participating in the questioning, he suddenly noticed that his disciple Zhang Qingzhi was also there.

He immediately felt a rush of anger.

Inside the hall at this moment.

Zhang Rongfang was pondering whether or not to reveal his real level of Cultivation of Literature.

The main issue was finding the right way to explain it.

If he could somehow explain how he achieved the Golden Core Stage at his age, then… life would certainly get a lot easier.

But alas, there was no such way. Thus, he could only choose to downplay his cultivation, claiming he was at the Five Transformation Core Formation Stage, which should be acceptable.

Didn’t Zhang Qingzhi just say it earlier? At this age, the most outstanding genius in Celestial Treasure Palace is currently at the Five Transformation Core Formation Stage.

But with this approach, would it affect his plans for rapid advancement later?

Zhang Rongfang felt uncertain.

The information he had was still too little.

In such a desperate world, he had to be extremely cautious, especially as they were so close to the Spirit Court here.

If anyone found out about his anomaly and captured him for experimentation…

Thinking of those bizarre and mysterious cults, idols, and Spiritual Veins. Who knows how many secrets this world still hides?

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang was still undecided about revealing his cultivation.

He glanced at the three questioning masters.

Instead of directly going for the assessment, he moved towards Zhang Qingzhi, who was waiting on the side.

He had already noticed that this person was very easy to talk to. It was best to make use of him as much as possible.

“Dao Brother, you just said that reaching the Core Formation Stage at my age could be considered a talent, right?”

With a naturally familiar demeanor, he leaned in and whispered to Zhang Qingzhi.

Zhang Qingzhi felt that he wasn’t that familiar with him, but he was always quite shy, so he couldn’t just ignore him.

After all, the two had just been chatting for a while.

“Indeed, so what? Is Junior Brother looking to pursue the Cultivation of Literature path?”

“Exactly.” Zhang Rongfang nodded seriously, “Then can I ask… what benefits come with having good talent in Cultivation of Literature, when the stage is high?”

“Benefits?” Zhang Qingzhi thought for a moment, “Does having less work and more pay each month count?”

“It counts! Of course, it counts!” Zhang Rongfang clapped his hands. He looked around, “Are there any other advantages?”

Zhang Qingzhi looked at him helplessly.

“You can freely communicate with other major cultivators about Cultivation of Literature daily, does that count? Occasionally, you might get invited to noble families’ health tea gatherings outside. Of course, there will be money and benefits.”

“What about in terms of safety? We Literary Cultivators are quite frail; if something happens, what should we do?” Zhang Rongfang asked again.

“Of course, there will be dedicated experts for protection. Our Celestial Treasure Palace always has experts from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion stationed year-round. However, we generally have no access to them.” Zhang Qingzhi replied somewhat helplessly.

Zhang Ying keeps asking question after question, without even stating his intentions.

“Is that so?” Zhang Rongfang pondered. “If I, at the age of nineteen, am also at the Core Formation Stage, what would the treatment be?”

He still went ahead and asked.

Finally, he asked.

Zhang Qingzhi glanced at him.

“Junior Brother, stop joking with me. No one would believe that kind of identity badge.

You’re already thirty, stop pretending to be nineteen.”

He shook his head helplessly.

“At thirty in the Core Formation Stage, with fourth-grade martial arts, after further study, you could still have a good career. But Junior Brother, be careful not to forge your identity for profit.”

Zhang Qingzhi kindly advised.

He had, in fact, already hinted at this during their conversation in the small forest earlier.

But the other party didn’t seem to react.

Finally, he outright voiced it now.

“…..” Zhang Rongfang’s smile immediately froze on his face.

He looked at the other’s face and then touched his own.

“If I said I’m actually at the Golden Core Stage, would you believe me?” he asked, lifting his head to look at Zhang Qingzhi.

“Brother, let me be frank, you’re basically thirty if not near forty, aren’t you? Being at the Golden Core Stage is quite good. I’ll ask around with our senior uncles, and you should be able to get a good position. But at your age, don’t mess around too much.” Zhang Qingzhi patiently advised.

“…” Zhang Rongfang closed his eyes. Did he really look so much like a middle-aged man?!

“But I really am nineteen….” He looked into Zhang Qingzhi’s clear eyes, wanting to emphasize once more.

However, the words suddenly couldn’t leave his mouth.

Because he suddenly remembered the vast amount of cultivation memories that rushed into his mind each time he added points in his attribute panel.

…If those memories were indeed consuming time in cultivation, then the traces represented by his physical age might also be true!

’Could it be that I am really thirty, close to forty???’

Zhang Rongfang suddenly had this terrifying thought.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep