Reverently Obey the Patriarch's Decree

"Master!"

"Master, can I come in?"

"Your disciple has run into a problem in cultivation and wishes to seek your guidance!"

"Ahem..."

Lin Yan stiffened all over.

Acting like he had been caught red-handed doing something bad, he hastily pulled his foot out of Zhao Xiangru's hands and clumsily shoved it into his shoe.

"Um... Xiangru, you... you can go back first."

Zhao Xiangru picked up the copper basin, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly, and quickly walked out with her head lowered.

"Master! I'm coming in!"

As soon as her voice fell, Liu Ruyan pushed the door open and walked in.

The little girl was wearing moon-white sleepwear, her hair draped over her shoulders, still carrying the moisture from a recent bath.

Her gaze swept around the room and happened to catch Zhao Xiangru walking out with a basin of water, steam still rising from the surface.

"Eldest Miss!" Zhao Xiangru hastily stepped aside and bowed.

"Hmph!"

Liu Ruyan tilted her small head up, let out a soft snort from her nose, and left her with a proud view of the back of her head.

Waiting until Zhao Xiangru's figure disappeared outside the courtyard gate, Liu Ruyan immediately turned around, ran to Lin Yan on her short little legs, and threw herself into his arms with a thud.

"Master!" she whined affectionately, dragging out her words, her voice so sweet it could drip honey.

Lin Yan helplessly rubbed her fluffy little head and said in exasperation, "Didn't you say you encountered a major problem in your cultivation? Tell me, where did you experience qi deviation?"

Liu Ruyan looked up, revealing a sly smile, her eyes curving into two little crescents. "Hehe, I tricked you, Master!"

"Your disciple hasn't encountered any problems at all!"

She climbed out of Lin Yan's arms, walked around to the back of the rocking chair, stretched out her two small fists, and began to massage Lin Yan's shoulders in a serious manner.

"I just thought that I haven't massaged Master's shoulders and legs today. If I don't do it, I won't be able to sleep tonight!"

She pounded with extra force, her small fists striking Lin Yan's shoulders one after another, while humming an off-key tune.

"Is it comfortable, Master?"

"Comfortable, very comfortable."

"Then you can't let anyone else massage you from now on."

"...Alright."

"And you can't let anyone else wash your feet, either."

"...Alright."

"And you can't let anyone else serve you tea or water."

Lin Yan, feeling both sore and numb from her pounding, couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Okay, okay, okay, from now on, I'll let our Yan'er do it all."

Hearing this, Liu Ruyan immediately raised her small chin proudly and pounded even more vigorously.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several days had passed.

The news of the battle at Qingyun Mountain completely exploded!

The news spread throughout the entire Qingyun City and even Cangwu Prefecture!

They called it a great battle, but in reality, it was a one-sided massacre!

It was just that as the rumors spread, it turned into a great battle!

"Everyone! Everyone!"

"Have you heard about the battle at Qingyun Mountain?"

"Tch, who doesn't know about it now?"

"The ten Golden Core ancestors of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Earth Blade Sect were all slaughtered, and even the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Biluo Sect was captured alive."

"The fight was so intense that the heavens collapsed and the earth shattered! The sun and moon lost their light!"

"What heavens collapsing and earth shattering? The Tianyan Sect Master just moved his finger, and all those Golden Core ancestors fell to their knees!"

"Bullshit! My second aunt's sister-in-law's third cousin was right there at the scene. I heard two massive mountains were brought down!"

"Those were spirit veins!"

"I heard two spirit veins were taken down!"

"..."

The teahouse erupted in roaring laughter.

The news seemed to grow wings, flying out of Qingyun City and spreading all over Cangwu Prefecture.

The Heavenly Sword Sect and the Earth Blade Sect were annihilated, ten Golden Core experts were beheaded, and a Nascent Soul expert was kneeling at the foot of the mountain.

The Tianyan Sect Master moved mountains and filled seas, extracted spirit veins, and raised towering buildings from the flat ground!

Any one of these events was enough for people to gossip about over tea and meals for three days and three nights. Now that they were all mixed together, the rumors became increasingly mystical.

Some said the Tianyan Sect Master was an immortal descended from the heavens, some said he was an old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years, and some said he wasn't human at all, but an ancient divine beast in human form.

By the end of the rumors, even the ant in the ant grave had become an ancient spirit bug.

In short, Qingyun Mountain was famous, and the Tianyan Sect was famous!

Countless people wanted to join the sect!

When other sects recruited disciples, they looked at aptitude, bone structure, or personal connections!

Unless one had heaven-defying aptitude or extraordinary bone structure, it was impossible for ordinary people to join a major sect!

We are all ordinary people, so why should they accept you and not my seventh granduncle's little granddaughter?

But what about this Tianyan Sect? They didn't look at aptitude, bone structure, or connections. As long as you could climb the Pavilion of Asking the Heart, you could join the sect!

Even outer sect registered disciples could share two spirit veins and learn Nascent Soul cultivation techniques!

As soon as this news came out, let alone rogue cultivators, even the disciples of those small sects and noble families in Cangwu Prefecture turned red with envy.

In the entire Cangwu Prefecture, apart from the Biluo Sect, who else had Nascent Soul cultivation techniques?

Even in the Biluo Sect, only core disciples could practice Nascent Soul techniques. If you weren't a genius or a direct descendant of a noble family, ordinary people shouldn't even dream about it!

For a time, quite a few cultivators from small sects and families came to try their luck, but without exception, the highest among them didn't even reach the tenth floor!

The threshold of this Pavilion of Asking the Heart was far higher than they had imagined!

Over the past few days, those who could climb to the fortieth floor and become registered disciples were few and far between.

And those who could climb to the sixtieth floor and become official outer sect disciples were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

...

On Qingyun Mountain, in a small courtyard.

Zhao Feng stood under the old locust tree, his back straight, holding a roster in his hands. The expression on his face was both excited and solemn.

"My Lord, over the past few days, a total of more than one thousand three hundred people have come to take the trial at the Pavilion of Asking the Heart!"

"We have accepted forty-seven handyman disciples who climbed above the twentieth floor, twelve outer sect registered disciples who climbed above the fortieth floor, and as for those who climbed above the sixtieth floor..."

He paused, opened the roster, his voice carrying an irrepressible excitement.

"Three people!"

Lin Yan leaned back in his rocking chair, chewing on a green tangerine, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

It had only been three or four days, yet there were actually three people whose initial loyalty exceeded 60%!

Sure enough, as long as the base number was large enough, anything was possible!

"Oh? Which three?"

Zhao Feng flipped open the roster and cleared his throat.

"The first one is the daughter of the Valley Master of Sunset Valley, Su Wanqing. Eighteen years old, Qi Condensation realm fourth level."

"Sunset Valley was originally a major power near Qingyun City. However, a few years ago, the Heavenly Sword Sect launched a surprise attack while the Valley Master was in secluded cultivation and wiped out the entire Sunset Valley."

"Su Wanqing was rescued by an old servant who fought to the death. To think that she had been hiding in Qingyun City all these years."

"The second is Liu Bai. Nineteen years old, Qi Condensation realm third level."

"Half a year ago, an elder of the Earth Blade Sect forcefully took his sister to be his concubine. His parents resisted and their entire family was executed. He was the only one who escaped."

Lin Yan nodded, saying nothing.

No wonder their initial loyalty was so high!

"What about the third one?"

"The third one..."

Zhao Feng's expression grew a bit more solemn. "An abandoned disciple of the Biluo Sect, Li Tianxing. Thirty-two years old, early Foundation Establishment realm."

"This person reached Foundation Establishment at the age of twenty-five and was known as one of the most outstanding disciples of the Biluo Sect in the past century."

"But three years ago, for some unknown reason, he was expelled from the Biluo Sect. They even issued a wanted poster, hunting him down all across Cangwu Prefecture."

Zhao Feng paused, speaking with some concern, "My Lord, this person has extremely high talent, but his past is complicated and his temperament is hard to fathom. If we take him in, could it..."

He wasn't worried about offending the Biluo Sect; after all, their Nascent Soul stage elder was still kneeling at the foot of the mountain.

Zhao Feng was only worried about this Li Tianxing's temperament!

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Yan waved his hand dismissively and tossed the orange seeds in his hand to the side.

"Being able to reach the sixtieth floor of the Heart-Questioning Pavilion proves that he has an affinity with our sect. Nothing else matters!"

"Let them come up."

Zhao Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied, "Yes! This old servant understands!"

He turned and walked out of the courtyard. Before long, he returned leading three people.

Walking at the front was a young woman, around eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a plain white dress with a black sash tied around her waist.

Her hair was pinned up with a wooden hairpin. She wore no makeup, her face was delicate and pretty, and her brow carried a hint of stubbornness.

Behind her followed a young boy, thin as a bamboo pole, wearing gray cloth garments that had been washed until they were faded white.

At the very back was a man in his early thirties, with a slender build and a square face, wearing a half-worn cyan Daoist robe.

The three of them walked up to the old locust tree and lined up in a row.

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

Lin Yan nodded.

"Are you willing to join my Tianyan Sect?"

The three answered in unison, "We are willing!"

As soon as the words fell, a series of notification chimes rang out in Lin Yan's mind.

Ding! Detected target Su Wanqing. Initial loyalty: 63 percent. Can be recruited as an inner or outer sect disciple.

Ding! Detected target Liu Bai. Initial loyalty: 61 percent. Can be recruited as an inner or outer sect disciple.

Ding! Detected target Li Tianxing. Initial loyalty: 68 percent. Can be recruited as an inner or outer sect disciple.

Lin Yan now had a clear idea.

"From today onward, the three of you are outer sect disciples of the Tianyan Sect!"

The three of them shuddered simultaneously and hurriedly knelt to express their gratitude.

Ding! Outer sect disciples plus 3. Reward obtained: Outer sect disciple trait extraction chances x3, Sect points plus 300.

The corners of Lin Yan's mouth curled up slightly.

Starting today, he would be getting eight years' worth of cultivation base every single day!

"Go carve out your own cave dwellings halfway up the mountain. Normally, you will assist Deacon Zhao in handling outer sect affairs. You may go."

The three knelt and kowtowed.

"We shall strictly obey the Sect Master's decree!"