Chapter 70: Opportunity to Enter Qingyun Sect

Xu Zhengyan, filled with emotion, exclaimed, "Jiang Fan! Give it your all!"

After all they had been through, he now placed his complete trust in Jiang Fan. He couldn't feel at ease entrusting his daughter to anyone else; only with Jiang Fan did he feel utterly at peace. Therefore, if Jiang Fan could join Qingyun Sect, it would be for the best.

Xu Youran nervously clutched the corner of her skirt, even more anxious than when her own spiritual root was tested.

Jiang Fan also took a deep breath, knowing that the moment to decide his fate had arrived. If he couldn't enter Qingyun Sect, he feared he would hardly have a promising future in this life. He also wouldn't be able to accompany Xu Youran on her journey forward. Thus, he held nothing back, publicly releasing his vast spiritual energy at the third level of Foundation Establishment.

Li Qingfeng observed with an expressionless face. He had already prepared in his mind how to phrase things to both dissuade Jiang Fan from entering Qingyun Sect and prevent Xu Youran from being too upset, making her willingly return to Qingyun Sect with him.

Suddenly, a wave of spiritual energy from the Foundation Establishment realm startled him. Sensing the source of the energy, he couldn't help but stand up in surprise: "Third level of Foundation Establishment?"

How could someone without a spiritual root cultivate to the third level of Foundation Establishment? He couldn't help but suspect the disk was faulty and had misidentified the talent. A Foundation Establishment cultivator at the third level at such a young age would be considered a top prodigy even in Qingyun Sect! He took out a new disk and said expectantly, "Test your spiritual root again."

Jiang Fan nodded, also full of anticipation, and performed the test again. However, the result was still "no spiritual root." Li Qingfeng stared at those three words, puzzled for a long time, unable to comprehend how Jiang Fan had broken through to such a high realm. Could it be some incredibly potent illicit elixirs or methods that overdraft one's potential, as spoken of in legends? After much thought, this was the only possibility. Such heterodox methods, which require sacrificing one's life, came with severe drawbacks. He immediately dropped the idea of taking Jiang Fan in.

But Xu Youran pleaded, "Master, Jiang Fan's kindness to me is as vast as a mountain. If he cannot go to Qingyun Sect, then I won't go either."

Li Qingfeng was helpless. After much deliberation, he proposed a compromise: "Alright, I'll give Jiang Fan another chance. Before we depart, I will have my disciple, Zhong Qizhen, assess his strength. If he can withstand ten moves from Zhong Qizhen, I will acknowledge that he has the strength to enter Qingyun Sect. How about that?"

Xu Youran's face instantly paled. Zhong Qizhen was an old disciple who had followed Li Qingfeng for many years. His cultivation had reached the fourth level of Foundation Establishment. The cultivation techniques he practiced were far superior to the Yellow-grade mid-tier ones found in Lone Boat City. Jiang Fan was one level behind in cultivation, and several levels behind in techniques. Even three moves would be extremely difficult, let alone ten? It was clear Li Qingfeng had no intention of letting Jiang Fan enter Qingyun Sect.

However, Jiang Fan's eyes lit up. No matter how difficult, it was at least a rare opportunity. He quickly picked up his brush and wrote, "I accept the challenge."

Li Qingfeng smiled and nodded, "Good! If you don't pass, don't blame this elder for not giving you a chance. Also, I hope you can persuade Xu Youran not to let fleeting emotions hinder her lifelong cultivation."

Jiang Fan nodded and wrote, "Understood!"

After Li Qingfeng left with a smile to search for the ninth-grade spiritual root, Xu Youran stamped her foot in agitation: "Xiao Fan, how could you agree to that? Zhong Qizhen's cultivation is so profound; how can you possibly withstand ten of his moves?"

Recalling the profound-grade high-tier palm technique, "Roaming Dragon Palm," which he hadn't yet cultivated, a hint of confidence appeared in Jiang Fan's eyes. "Given three days," he wrote, "I am confident I can fight him." He spoke of fighting, not just enduring ten moves.

How could Xu Youran believe that? She sighed and said, "Then try to get on good terms with Zhong Qizhen. Hopefully, he'll go easy on you during the assessment."

Jiang Fan agreed outwardly. As soon as he left the house, he prepared to head to the Ascending Dragon Path. To quickly master a palm technique, the best method was naturally real combat.

Unexpectedly, as he reached the main entrance, he saw Zhong Qizhen, whose face still bore a slap mark and was full of vexation. "Why did you hide Xu Youran's matter? You made my master slap me! You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

Jiang Fan looked bewildered. He picked up his brush and wrote, "Who was it that looked down on others and immediately wanted to kick me and my wife out without a word? No one forced you to do that, did they? You got slapped, and instead of finding fault with yourself, you blame others? No wonder your master called you foolish."

Zhong Qizhen clenched his fists in anger and snapped, "How dare you speak to me like that?"

Jiang Fan was fearless: "Want to fight me? Who's afraid of whom!"

Zhong Qizhen truly wanted to pin him to the ground and give him a good beating. But having just incurred his master's wrath, he dared not cause trouble at the Xu family's entrance. He glared at Jiang Fan hatefully: "After I finish my blind date and deal with my current affairs, I'll properly teach you a lesson!"

Jiang Fan's eyes showed thought. A blind date? Speaking of which, Chen Siling also had a blind date recently, and Chen Yuqiu even asked him to vet the person. Why were so many people going on blind dates lately? Without thinking further, he turned and headed straight for the Ascending Dragon Path.

To avoid trouble, he still put on the Mask of Shadow Guard One and rushed inside, ascending continuously. Upon reaching the ninth level, he suddenly heard strange muffled shouts in his ear: "Jiang Fan, I'll kill you! I'll chop you into pieces! I'll hack you to death!"

Frightened, he quickly withdrew from the illusion. He looked closely. Xu Yining stood on the ninth level with tear-streaked cheeks, constantly fighting against Chen Zhengdao's projection in the illusion. Yet, she kept muttering Jiang Fan's name. "Is she crazy?" Jiang Fan thought, his face darkening. Chen Zhengdao's phantom was not so easily defeated. Before long, she was defeated and withdrew.

With red eyes, she was about to rush back into the fight, but suddenly noticed someone standing beside her. She turned her head and saw the mask etched with the character "One." A look of surprise instantly appeared on her face. But remembering what she had been muttering, her face flushed crimson: "You... you heard all that?"

Jiang Fan's mouth twitched. "I don't interfere in your affairs," he said casually.

Xu Yining hastily explained, "There's nothing between him and me, don't misunderstand." She was so nervous she didn't know what to say. She had never expected to see Shadow Guard One again, but to meet him in such a way was truly embarrassing.

Seeing her tear-streaked face, Jiang Fan thoughtfully asked, "Do you... want to cultivate movement techniques?" Ever since he obtained the jade bead, deciphered cultivation techniques from it, and discovered the astonishing gains beneath the stone statue, he had felt a twinge of guilt. These were actually left by that senior for Xu Yining, but he had taken them all. Perhaps he should teach her movement techniques to make amends.

Xu Yining's face immediately flushed crimson: "You'll teach me movement techniques? Really?"

Without another word, Jiang Fan took her hand and closed his eyes. Xu Yining's heart instantly raced, her face turned bright red, and her lips pressed together in embarrassment. She also closed her eyes. The two of them then simultaneously entered the illusion where Chen Zhengdao resided.

Jiang Fan said, "I am going to teach you 'Lone Swan Skimming Shadow.' It has many difficult points, so watch carefully and learn diligently." He taught her hands-on. Xu Yining's comprehension was excellent; she showed improvement after half a day. "First, cultivate this section, and I'll return tomorrow to continue teaching you."

After saying this, he went to challenge the twelfth level. The projection here was much stronger; despite being at the same third level of Foundation Establishment, it surprisingly suppressed Jiang Fan. In just over a hundred moves, it defeated Jiang Fan. Of course, this was because Jiang Fan deliberately did not use his purple sword or movement techniques. He only used the Roaming Dragon Palm, constantly honing his palm technique.

At dusk, he walked back, dragging his weary body. Passing by the Treasure Pavilion, he saw a sign recruiting soul master apprentices at the entrance, which reminded him that he had forgotten an important promise. He immediately rushed to the Chen family. Of course, he didn't forget to change his attire.

Soon, in the backyard of the Chen family, Chen Siling respectfully said, "Senior, all the qualified apprentices we've recruited recently are here."

Jiang Fan scanned them one by one. When his gaze fell upon an elderly man, cleanly dressed and with a kindly face, he paused slightly. He felt that this old man looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"What is your name?" Jiang Fan asked.

Qin Wenyuan showed respect and smiled, "Reporting to milord, my name is Huang Wenyuan."