Du Liang looked at Ye Chu and was utterly astonished to hear him speak with such robust vitality. When Du Liang had first rescued him, Ye Chu body had been covered in wounds, and his aura had been extremely weak. Du Liang had actually believed Ye Chu would not survive, but he never expected that in merely seven days, Ye Chu would recover to this extent. It was truly baffling.
“Did you take some kind of miraculous pill? How did you recover so quickly?” Du Liang asked Ye Chu curiously, thinking that only this reason could explain Ye Chu current state.
Ye Chu smiled. He was also slightly surprised by how quickly his body had healed, but he did not dwell on it. Instead, he changed the subject and said to Du Liang, “Did you not tell me yesterday that you were going to attend the selection for formal disciples? Why have you not gone yet?”
“I am going now, and I wanted to ask if you would like to come along.” Du Liang said with some excitement, staring at Ye Chu. “If I can become a formal disciple of Tianxiao Pavilion, it will bring glory to my ancestors.”
“No problem.” Ye Chu looked at Du Liang and smiled. Du Liang strength had reached the Spirit Entry Realm. If he were in a place like Yao City, it would go without saying that he would be considered a figure on the level of a State Preceptor. However, within the circle of cultivators, he had only just taken the first step.
In a place like the centre of the Qing Domain, where spiritual energy was so dense and resources were limitless, Du Liang had only cultivated to this level. His talent was not exactly poor, but it could only be considered average. There was nothing extraordinary about him, which was precisely why he had served as a handyman disciple for Tianxiao Pavilion for ten whole years. For those ten years, he had been tending to this peach grove. He had only happened to find the unconscious Ye Chu and rescued him because he was returning home to visit his parents.
Du Liang aspirations were not grand. He simply wanted to become a formal disciple of Tianxiao Pavilion. Although both handyman disciples and formal disciples were recognised by the pavilion, their treatment differed like heaven and earth. Handyman disciples usually performed menial tasks, such as Du Liang tending the peach grove.
Meanwhile, Tianxiao Pavilion provided formal disciples with monthly cultivation resources, and sometimes even Green Origin Pills were granted to them.
“Do I really have a chance?” Du Liang asked nervously. “I have been at Tianxiao Pavilion for ten years, but I went to the selection five times and failed all five times. I do not know about this time…”
“You will succeed this time.” Ye Chu looked at Du Liang and smiled as he spoke.
“I hope your words bring me good fortune.” Du Liang smiled somewhat shyly. “If I can become a disciple of Tianxiao Pavilion, when I return to my hometown, everyone will look at me with new respect. Hmph, will that dog of a squire still dare to bully my family?”
Seeing Du Liang clench his fists, Ye Chu also smiled. From what Du Liang had told him, Ye Chu knew that this mountain was a branch pavilion of Tianxiao Pavilion, presided over by a monarch. The current recruitment for formal disciples was also being conducted by this branch. Strictly speaking, it did not count as being a true formal disciple of the main Tianxiao Pavilion.
Only formal disciples at the pavilion core of Tianxiao Pavilion could truly be considered formal disciples. However, for Du Liang, becoming a formal disciple of the branch was more than enough.
After all, Tianxiao Pavilion was a sacred site in the Qing Domain. The chances of becoming a formal disciple at the pavilion core were virtually nonexistent.
When Ye Chu arrived at the square where Tianxiao Pavilion was recruiting disciples, it was already packed with people. Countless cultivators had rushed here, hoping to become disciples of Tianxiao Pavilion.
Seeing the sea of cultivators, Du Liang felt even less confident. He looked towards Ye Chu, but saw Ye Chu nodding at him. “Go and try. How will you know if you have a chance unless you try?”
Hearing Ye Chu say this, Du Liang finally gritted his teeth and stepped forward to collect his testing number token.
While Ye Chu and Du Liang waited for their turn, Ye Chu aimlessly surveyed his surroundings but did not discover any particularly powerful figures. The strongest cultivator Ye Chu spotted was a monarch sitting on a raised platform at the square, looking down from above without descending.
Sitting aside and waiting, Du Liang watched as the number of cultivators ahead of him dwindled, while more and more failed to even pass the first trial. This made Du Liang even more nervous.
“Good heavens. Senior brother Liu Zi actually failed again.” Du Liang watched a young man fail, and his face grew extremely gloomy. Senior brother Liu Zi had arrived two years earlier than him, and his talent and strength were no worse than his own, yet he had failed at the very first trial. This…
The confidence Du Liang had painstakingly built up instantly collapsed.
Ye Chu found Du Liang reaction amusing and glanced ahead. The first trial was actually testing the aptitude of the Qi Sea. Ye Chu observed that everyone who passed the first trial was quite capable, almost all belonging to the type of cultivators who possessed the aptitude to condense Intent Patterns. With Du Liang talent, condensing Intent Patterns would be very difficult.
Seeing Du Liang so apprehensive that he did not dare to step forward for the test, Ye Chu offered a few words of comfort. At some point, a cup of water appeared in his hand. He handed it to Du Liang and said, “Stop worrying. Drink this water first. I am afraid you will become so nervous that you will suffer from dehydration and collapse.”
Du Liang smiled awkwardly, took the cup Ye Chu handed him, and drank it in one gulp. As soon as it went down, Du Liang felt a cool, clear sensation permeate his limbs and bones. This feeling made him pause for a moment, but when he tried to perceive it carefully, he found it had vanished. This left Du Liang bewildered, wondering if it had just been an illusion.
“What the hell.” Du Liang shook his head, stopped overthinking it, and watched as cultivator after cultivator failed, his heart filled with anxiety.
After waiting a bit longer, it was finally Du Liang turn. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and stood up abruptly.
Ye Chu found it amusing, patted his shoulder, and said, “No need to be so nervous. Just relax. You will pass.”
Watching Du Liang act as if he were heading to a battlefield, Ye Chu laughed. He toyed with the cup Du Liang had drunk from in his hand, thinking that given Du Liang constitution after consuming Holy Liquid, if he still could not pass, then Tianxiao Pavilion requirements for recruiting disciples would truly be defying heaven.
The water Ye Chu had just given Du Liang to drink contained a single drop of Holy Liquid. He had not given him more because he feared Du Liang body could not handle it.
Yet even a single drop was enough to bring earth-shaking changes to Du Liang.
Du Liang walked to the centre and held a translucent crystal in his hand. Ye Chu did not recognise the crystal, but he could sense that it was designed to detect a person constitution. It was a magical item.
Du Liang held the crystal, waiting for his fate to be pronounced.
To his surprise, the crystal actually erupted with dazzling light. The radiance was so bright it almost hurt his eyes. Nobody had expected this result, especially the dejected senior brother Liu Zi. At that moment, he looked at Du Liang as if he were seeing a ghost.
He knew Du Liang well and knew exactly what kind of person he was. This man was even worse than him. How could he possibly make the crystal emit such brilliant light?
Everyone knew that the brighter the light emitted by the crystal, the stronger the person aptitude. Given the light currently surging from the crystal, Du Liang definitely possessed the aptitude to condense Intent Patterns.
This made the cultivators who knew Du Liang background stare with wide eyes. Even Du Liang himself could not believe it. He stood there blankly, holding the crystal, looking utterly stunned.