Chapter 49: Under the Same Sky, Different... People

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Under the Same Sky, Different... People

Lin Qingqing heard a man’s warm and mellow voice. Turning her head, she saw it was the young Sect Leader, standing with his hands clasped behind his back before the Spirit Official Hall.

Chen Sha watched the talented young girl so highly praised by the Elder Sword Champion Wuu Liusheng, a bit of curiosity stirring within him.

’Just how talented is she?’

Lin Qingqing met Chen Sha’s gaze and felt herself blush. Her voice grew a little quieter as she said:

"My name is Lin Qingqing. My father sent me to Dao Yi Mountain to seek a master. I wish to enter your tutelage and become your disciple."

Song Yu observed Lin Qingqing’s demeanor. Based on her earlier interaction concerning the Elder Sword Champion, he could tell that the girl was someone who valued gratitude. He silently approved. ’This is a disciple worth accepting.’

However, the final decision was ultimately up to Chen Sha.

After Lin Qingqing finished speaking, Chen Sha looked toward Lin Baibai and Qii Zhengyi, who stood a short distance away.

"Are they here for the same reason?"

The Lin family’s eldest son summoned his courage, stepped forward, and bowed to Chen Sha. "Junior Lin Baibai greets Sect Leader Chen. Qingqing is my younger sister. Both she and I have come to the mountain to seek a master, bearing a letter from our father."

Chen Sha merely nodded at his words and turned his gaze to the young man in plain clothes with a sword on his back.

Qii Zhengyi said solemnly, "I am Qii Zhengyi. I have no letter of introduction; I came because I admire the sect’s reputation."

This young man did not immediately declare his intention to become Chen Sha’s disciple. For him, it was enough just to be accepted into the sect, drawn as he was by Dao Yi Mountain’s fame.

Chen Sha looked over the three of them one by one. He knew that Song Yu and the other senior brothers and elders were also watching him.

"If you simply wish to join Dao Yi Mountain, that can be arranged."

He continued, "However, if you wish to become my personal disciple, it doesn’t matter whether you have a letter of recommendation or not. You must meet my criteria for accepting disciples. Only then will I take you in."

Lin Qingqing blurted out, "I want you to be my master!"

If not to learn the world’s greatest Divine Skill at Dao Yi Mountain, why else would she have come? Furthermore, Chen Sha’s youthful, handsome appearance and unparalleled Power perfectly matched the young girl’s fantasy of what a "master" should be.

When Lin Baibai heard Chen Sha shut down his implied advantage of having a "letter," his heart skipped a beat. Mustering his courage, he asked:

"May I ask what your requirements are for accepting disciples?"

Song Yu and the others also looked at Chen Sha with curiosity and anticipation.

They naturally knew that accepting disciples into the Sect Leader’s lineage was no small matter. The previous master, for example, had only accepted the six of them, who became the six core disciples of Dao Yi Mountain’s direct line. All others were from the branch lines under the elders.

Chen Sha began to explain slowly:

"To become my disciple, I prioritize two things above all: first, talent, and second, character and temperament."

He needed to strengthen the current Dao Yi Sect, and he couldn’t do it alone. It was essential to cultivate disciples. And in the path of martial arts cultivation, the importance of talent went without saying.

If all the disciples of his lineage were geniuses, one could only imagine how quickly the sect would grow.

Therefore, Song Yu and the others nodded silently in agreement. These two requirements were perfectly reasonable.

They just didn’t know how Chen Sha intended to judge who met these two standards. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Chen Sha stood with his hands behind his back and said:

"Since the three of you came together, I will give you all a single test. First, I will assess your martial arts talent. If your talent passes, I can accept you as Named Disciples. Afterward, there will be a test of your character and temperament. Only after passing both can you be formally accepted as my disciples."

The moment Lin Baibai heard that talent was the first criterion, he knew his sister was a shoo-in. ’And while my talent might not be as good as my sister’s,’ he thought, ’I must be better than that Qii Zhengyi who just tagged along.’

He immediately took the initiative and asked, "How will you test our talent?"

Chen Sha said, "I have two martial arts here, both are Superior Martial Arts of the Grandmaster Level—one Fist Technique and one Palm Technique. I will teach each of you a single stance. Anyone who masters this one stance within seven days will be considered to have superior talent. If it takes a month to master, your talent is secondary, but I can still accept you. However, if you exceed the one-month limit, then there is no master-disciple fate between us."

With that, he had an attendant Daoist bring a brush and paper. He then wrote down the movements and power-channeling methods for one stance each of the Void Clarity Fist and the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms on several sheets of paper and handed them to the three aspirants:

"Of these two techniques, one is as firm and yang as a dragon, the other as soft and yin as water—one hard, one soft, one yin, one yang. You are two men and one woman. The men will practice the Palm Technique, and the woman, the Fist Technique. This should play to the different strengths of men and women."

The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms was not a particularly difficult martial art to begin learning. Having obtained the complete secret manual for the Palm Technique, Chen Sha knew that it could be practiced even without True Qi, relying instead on Outer Sect Firm Strength. It was known as the firmest palm technique in the world.

Guo Jing was widely considered to have average talent, yet he managed to master the basics within a few months and subsequently defeat the First-class Expert Ouyang Ke. Although he had the dedicated guidance of Hong Qigong, it was still proof that this Palm Technique was easy to begin learning.

And yet, Chen Sha set a strict seven-day limit. The reason was simple: unless he was recruiting a disciple like Guo Jing, who possessed a protagonist’s halo—someone with average talent who stumbled upon all sorts of opportunities upon entering the Jianghu, like Ma Yu imparting his power, Hong Qigong teaching him the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, drinking snake blood to increase his Inner Strength, and later learning Zhou Botong’s Dual-Wielding and the complete Nine Yin Scripture, the strongest martial art of the time.

That was the kind of treatment reserved only for a protagonist.

If you weren’t a protagonist, then without great talent, you were really just another Demon Horn in the Jianghu.

In the sect’s heyday, such a person could have been accepted as long as their character was good. But now, with the Dao Yi Sect down to a mere handful of members, how could he accept someone mediocre?

As for the Void Clarity Fist, it was, strictly speaking, more difficult to learn than the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Zhou Botong’s own Fist Intent was encapsulated by the two words "void" and "clarity," requiring an extremely high level of comprehension.

But seeing how highly Wuu Liusheng praised Lin Qingqing’s talent, he decided to secretly test whether the girl’s gifts were truly that outstanding.

The three of them accepted the secret manuals. Although each contained only a single stance, the recorded movements and power-channeling methods were extremely profound.

Even though the siblings came from the Southern Martial Arts Alliance Leader’s Family and had a rich heritage of martial arts, the young man couldn’t help but be shocked. ’Using Grandmaster-Level martial arts just to test our aptitude? Is this the true depth of the Dao Yi Sect?’

Lin Qingqing, on the other hand, was ecstatic. ’I was right about this sect and master! They’re using a Superior Martial Art of the Grandmaster Level just to test for talent!’

’Once I’m formally accepted, learning the Great Yellow Court will be no problem at all.’

As for Qii Zhengyi, he was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. Although he knew a little bit of martial arts, it was only at a third-rate level. Hearing he was being given a stance from a Grandmaster-Level Palm Technique was like discovering a priceless treasure.

"I’ll say it again: you have one month. Whether you can become my disciples depends on how much talent heaven has bestowed upon you."

Chen Sha said this, then turned to Song Yu. "As for their accommodations, First Senior Brother, please arrange them. It would be best if they are close to me, so they can come and ask if they have any questions during their training."

Although he called it a test, he couldn’t just hand them a few sheets from a secret manual and let them practice on their own. That would be the mark of a hands-off boss. Since he was determined to take on disciples, he had to treat them with sincerity. It was a master’s duty to answer his students’ questions and clear their doubts.

"Mm."

Song Yu nodded, indicating that he would handle it.

"Alright then. The three of you, come up the mountain with us."

Chen Sha explained, "The true headquarters of our Dao Yi Sect is at the summit. The buildings at the foot of the mountain are just ordinary Daoist Temples for the common people to offer incense."

The three of them clutched the pages of the secret manuals, tucked them away carefully, and followed behind Chen Sha, slowly ascending the stone steps toward the summit.

From a short distance behind him, the young girl watched Chen Sha’s profile. He was incredibly handsome. Compared to Li Jianzhou, whom she had met in the Daoist temple in the Kaolao Mountain area, both were exceedingly good-looking men.

But in Lin Qingqing’s opinion, the young Sect Leader was even more handsome than Li Jianzhou. He possessed an air that Li Jianzhou lacked—a sense of noble and graceful dignity.

’That’s not right. How could I have forgotten to tell Master about meeting Li Jianzhou on Kaolao Mountain?’

Lin Qingqing immediately hurried to catch up. "Master, Master! I just remembered! On our way to Dao Yi Mountain, in the Kaolao Mountain area, we ran into that person you defeated and expelled from the sect."

Chen Sha stopped in his tracks.

Song Yu and the accompanying elders also spun around abruptly to look at Lin Qingqing.

’What did this child just say?’

Lin Qingqing was startled by the group of elders who had all stopped and turned to look at her.

After halting, Chen Sha looked at Lin Qingqing and asked, "Are you saying you met Li Jianzhou?"

Song Yu and the others wanted to ask, but didn’t dare to speak.

To their surprise, Chen Sha asked the question for them:

"How is he?"

How could Lin Baibai let his sister steal this chance to make a good impression? His sister’s talent was exceptional; she was already practically guaranteed a spot as a disciple. He, on the other hand, needed to do more to prove himself. He immediately jumped in to say:

"We were resting in the Kaolao Mountain area at the time and came across a dilapidated Daoist temple. He was inside, and then..."

The Lin family’s eldest son then recounted everything that happened that night, not forgetting the most important detail at the end. "Although the man is crippled, he was able to kill a saber expert who came seeking revenge by spitting a blast of qi. Elder Wuu, who was with us, said he is practicing a strange First-Grade Martial Art, the *Divine Silkworm Scripture*. If he reaches Great Success in the future, not only will his martial arts advance further—he might even reach the First Grade Innate Realm—but even his severed arm and leg could be reattached..."

After speaking, he glanced cautiously at Chen Sha, trying to gauge the young Sect Leader’s reaction to this news.

Chen Sha’s expression didn’t change at all. Instead, he muttered to himself:

"*Divine Silkworm Scripture*... emerging from a cocoon like a butterfly, regenerating severed limbs... It seems he used my hand to force himself into a corner. By deliberately crippling his own martial arts, he could spin a cocoon around himself and be reborn like a divine silkworm. That Old Fifth... to be so ruthless to himself, yet not recklessly so... I have to admire that."

Chen Sha looked up at the midday sun.

’If I were in his position back then, could I have been so ruthless to myself?’

...

「Zhao Country.」

「Jinzhou.」

「Changning Town.」

In another dilapidated Daoist temple, the sun was dazzling on a clear day.

A young man with a missing arm and a crippled leg, his hair and beard unkempt, had an exceptionally powerful Life Qi surging in the depths of his eyes. He too was looking up, gazing at the same sun.

’In another place under this same sky... after I’ve been gone for so long... I wonder how they’re all doing.’