After a stick of incense burned, Huan Cheng stood atop the city wall, watching as Mo Lin and Jiang Yueye left the city. Mo Lin looked up at him, and Huan Cheng looked down at Mo Lin. The two exchanged glances for a long time before Mo Lin turned and disappeared into the forest path.
As Mo Lin left, Huan Cheng turned around and shouted to the gathered crowd inside the city, "Everyone, go back."
The soldiers below began to disperse the crowd.
Watching the crowd gradually disperse, Mo Lin muttered to himself with a blank expression, "I’m afraid this Cangwu City might be the only city without the Hundred Sects Alliance. It’s hard to say if that’s a blessing or a curse."
Huan Shan, standing beside him, spoke up, "Father, even the Demon King has perished in the Immortal Sect, what else do you have planned? By the way, Father, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you."
"Speak directly if you have something to say."
"I... want to join the Immortal Sect."
Huan Shan was stunned for a moment upon hearing Huan Cheng’s response and then looked up at his father in disbelief.
From as long as he could remember, his father had always instilled in him the idea of becoming a City Lord and had spent a lot of effort training him to become an excellent City Lord. In Huan Shan’s view, if he gave up becoming a City Lord, it would mean letting all his father’s efforts go to waste. He believed his father would never let him join the Immortal Sect.
But to his surprise, his father agreed.
Then, he heard another sentence.
"Go bid farewell to your mother today, and at dawn tomorrow, I’ll see you off up the mountain!"
Huan Shan nodded joyfully.
The next morning, Huan Cheng rode a horse and led Huan Shan to the Immortal Sect, where Huan Shan carried many items in his hands, resembling someone going to pay a New Year’s visit. At this time, Wen Ping had just come out of the Ten Layers Tower, and the two met right in the square. Huan Cheng smiled and said, "Good kid, you’ve now become the guardian of Cangwu City; your reputation has even surpassed mine as the City Lord."
"Uncle, you didn’t come up the mountain just to say that, did you?"
Starting with praise makes one feel uneasy.
Huan Cheng chuckled and said, "More or less. But today’s main purpose is to leave my son with you."
"Have you decided not to be a City Lord anymore?"
Wen Ping glanced at Huan Shan, who quickly nodded.
Wen Ping continued, "Alright, let’s do it this way. Uncle, you can rest assured leaving your son with the Immortal Sect. I guarantee that in a few years, he’ll be able to outperform you. But please pay the entry fee first."
Huan Cheng found Wen Ping’s joke quite entertaining initially, but upon hearing the entry fee, he looked at Wen Ping in shock, "Kid, you’re pulling this on me too?"
Wen Ping replied, "Uncle, without the entry fee, I can’t accept Huan Shan. This is unrelated to personal connections; the entry fee is 1,000 Gold Coins, it’s a rule of the Immortal Sect."
"You rascal, always finding ways to cheat my money."
Huan Cheng sheepishly pulled out a money bag, took out a Gold Ticket worth a Thousand Gold, handed it to Wen Ping, and then snatched the gift box from Huan Shan’s hand.
Huan Shan hurriedly shouted, "Father, this isn’t..."
Huan Cheng responded immediately, "This is something I bought to eat myself."
Upon hearing this, Huan Shan gave a helpless smile and shrugged at Wen Ping.
Once Wen Ping had the Gold Ticket in hand, he didn’t care whether the gifts Huan Cheng brought were for him or for him to take back to eat. He simply said, "Huan Shan, from now on, you are a named disciple of the Immortal Sect."
Huan Cheng turned his head and questioned Wen Ping, "Kid, I spent a Thousand Gold, why is my son just a named disciple?"
There’s an unwritten rule about named disciples in the Sect.
No orthodox teachings, no essential skills imparted.
No guidance given, it’s all self-reliant.
Unless there’s no other choice, nobody wants to be a named disciple.
Wen Ping naturally understood this too but offered no explanation and just said, "The standard for disciples of the Immortal Sect is the Body Refinement Fifth Layer at fifteen years old. Uncle, accepting Huan Shan is already an exception."
"Hey, you kid even look down on my son’s talent."
Seeing his father about to argue with Wen Ping, Huan Shan intervened and began to gently push Huan Cheng downwards, "Dad, it’s alright. Do you think Wen Ping would ever mistreat or abuse me? Go, go home, take care, goodbye, safe travels..."
After sending off Huan Cheng, calm finally returned to the Immortal Sect.
It was at this time that the Heaven and Earth Transformation in the Immortal Sect was finally completed, and a cool breeze instantly spread over the summer heat at the top of Yunlan Mountain.
Though the heat meant nothing to body refining cultivators, who wouldn’t want to feel cool and refreshing in this scorching weather?
Initially wanting to take Huan Shan directly to settle in the dormitory area, Wen Ping recalled there was a well at the kitchen, the water from which they drank daily.
Driven by curiosity about the spiritual water, Wen Ping first went to the ancient well.
He tossed the bucket!
Seeing it reach the bottom, Wen Ping quickly pulled it up, bringing up half a bucket of well water.
The well water appeared ordinary at first glance, nothing special. Wen Ping scooped some with a ladle and took a sip to his mouth. The unique sweetness instantly swirled around in his mouth. The well water had always been sweet before, but never with this kind of pleasant sweetness.
Wen Ping quickly drank a large mouthful, feeling the cool well water enter his stomach, his whole body shivered with a sense of finally quenching a long-standing thirst.
That sweet sensation swept through his mouth, further intoxicating him.
Tasting the first sip made him want a second.
After finishing the ladle of water, Wen Ping couldn’t help but exclaim, "Good water!"
At this moment, a voice from the system arrived quietly, "Host, this spiritual water can only be drunk three ladles a day by the Sect Leader, two by the Elders, and one by the disciples."
"Seriously, you’re setting rules even for drinking water?"
"For the host’s sake, if people drink it indiscriminately, it’ll revert to ordinary well water. The taste might not change, but it won’t be cherished anymore."
Wen Ping nodded, understanding the system’s intention.
Yes, this one is control-minded!
A control-minded system is terrifying!
At this moment, Huan Shan laughed beside him and said, "Sect Leader, isn’t this a bit exaggerated? You’ve been drinking this water for 18 years, and you’re just now realizing it’s good?"
"Yeah, I’m actually a bit thirsty."
Wen Ping scooped a ladle full from the bucket and handed it to Huan Shan.
Huan Shan raised it immediately, drinking it in a bold man’s style. Just after two sips, he stared wide-eyed in shock.
"It really is good water."
"Heh heh." Wen Ping chuckled, taking the ladle from his hand.
"This is even sweeter and fresher than the water from the ancient spring I found deep in the forest. Hey, let me have another ladle; this water is really nice."
"I just called you Sect Leader, and you don’t even look after me, won’t even let me drink water."
"The Immortal Sect’s rule: a disciple can only drink one ladle of water a day."
"There’s actually such a rule?"
"There are many rules; once you’ve been at the Immortal Sect long enough, you’ll understand." With that, Wen Ping picked up the ladle again, drank another ladleful with gulps.
"How come you get to drink more?"
"I am the Sect Leader, after all."
Huan Shan was left speechless and had nothing further to say.