Incense smoke rose from the incense burner in front of Qing Yang Zi.
All the smoke and his white Daoist robe made him look like an immortal.
"You can now come up to me one by one. I shall check your cultivation root with the inquiry stone."
Qing Yang Zi raised his hand, and on his palm was a piece of stone with some scriptures carved on it.
From where he was sitting, Lin Fan could see that there were also some patterns from the Six Yao on it.
He wondered how it would work to identify the cultivation roots of these enrollment seekers.
It didn't take long for him to find out. One of the men sitting in front stood up and walked up to Qing Yang Zi.
When the man got near, the stone lit up with an orange glow; part of the glow then formed into the shape of a hammer.
"Artifact forging root."
The man wasn't too pleased but still squeezed out a smile, bowed to Qing Yang Zi, and thanked him.
Other men following him weren't as lucky; they didn't have any cultivation root and had to make a choice to either join as menial disciples or give up and go back home.
Being a menial disciple would mean that they wouldn't get many cultivation resources and teachings.
Their daily duties would be doing mundane chores to keep the Qing Feng sect running.
Most of them declined.
Among those who accepted, they would just stick around for a few years, and when they left Qing Feng sect, they would open training schools making use of their reputation for time spent in Qing Feng sect.
Amidst all the sighing from their disappointment, the next one up was Tan Rui.
When he came near to the stone, a red glow lit up; slowly, the glow formed the shape of a sword.
"Sword cultivation root."
Tan Fei, standing behind Qing Yang Zi, gave Tan Rui a slight nod.
All of those waiting or having finished their test looked upon Tan Rui with envy.
Sword cultivator, the best in Qing Feng sect.
The current and past sect masters were from the Sword Peak; the lineage of sword cultivators went back a long way in Qing Feng sect.
Tan Rui's presence in the limelight was, however, short-lived.
When Ho Ming went up, the stone lit up in a red glow again, but this time, the glow formed into two swords.
"This is a good year! Double sword cultivation root," Qing Yang Zi smiled and stroked his long beard when he saw the two swords formed.
"Double sword cultivation root, what does that mean?" Ho Ming asked with a confused look, not knowing what it meant.
"It's a rare cultivation root; one out of a thousand would have it.
"Most sword cultivators can only learn one sword cultivating technique. Those with double sword cultivation root, however, can learn two cultivating techniques.
"Don't worry, Qing Feng sect will provide you with all you need."
Qing Yang Zi patted Ho Ming on his shoulder.
Ho Ming looked back at Lin Fan with joy; he hoped that Lin Fan would be able to join him at the Sword Peak now.
With a huge smile, Lin Fan acknowledged Ho Ming, but his heart wasn't really in the Sword Peak.
His Beast Abilities didn't fit the sword cultivation techniques, and most importantly, he knew he most likely didn't have Sword cultivation root.
Having that thought in mind, Lin Fan stood up and got near to the inquiry stone.
The others watched with a vicious stare.
They thought about what Lin Fan had accomplished along the way; jealousy and envy simmered inside them.
A gust of wind blew; the stone shone brightly in a glow of bright blue light.
Qing Yang Zi's eyes widened as this was the first time he'd seen this.
Then the blue light formed shapes of beasts: a wild rabbit jumping, a wolf howling, a fire deer shooting fire from its antlers and a boulder bear charging.
Finally, it all died down, and there was silence.
What in the world was that?
Everyone thought in their mind.
Qing Yang Zi frowned and stroked his long beard with his other hand.
"So... What's my cultivation root?" After a few moments, Lin Fan broke the silence and asked.
"I, eh... it's something I've never seen before. I might have to check the manuscripts in the library to find out. But as of now, you pass."
Qing Yang Zi gave an awkward laugh, as being the sect master, he was seen to be an all-knowing elder.
With his experience dealing with business, Lin Fan also joined in to alleviate the awkwardness.
When the laughter died down, Lin Fan asked, "And which of the peaks should I join?"
Hearing this question, Tan Fei stepped forward and said, "Sect master, with all the current spending, I think it might not be wise to accept this young man with such a dubious cultivation root.
"If you take him in, including him with the ten new disciples that we accept today, the Alchemy Peak might not be able to supply enough pills and elixirs for all of them.
"We have to make a choice, I'm afraid."
He stole a glance at Lin Fan and gave out a smirk.
If we can't deal with you using force, I shall deal with you using other methods.
Qing Yang Zi stroked his beard furiously as he tried to think of a way to counter Tan Fei.
His hands were, however, tied as he needed the income from the Alchemy Peak to ensure he had funds to keep Qing Feng sect going.
Tan Fei and the Tan family had gained substantial influence throughout the years.
"The Physiques Peak will take him!" Zhang Xi, standing on the other side of Qing Yang Zi, chimed in.
This was her chance to get a new disciple into the Physiques Peak.
Tan Fei didn't relent and said, "But with the low contributions from Physiques Peak, I don't think we can help with the pills and elixirs for Physiques Peak anymore if you take him as a disciple."
"Even as an outer disciple?"
"Yes. Not even as an outer disciple."
"Wait," Qing Yang Zi stopped them and interjected.
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"If he can't join as outer disciple, then maybe he can join as a menial disciple."
Qing Yang Zi looked at Lin Fan.
His voice then came into Lin Fan's mind, and no one else except Lin Fan could hear him.
"That's the best I can do. Don't worry, I will pick a menial disciple's position far away from troubles, near the Qing Feng woods at the back of the mountains."
When Lin Fan heard about the woods, he thought about it for a moment and nodded his head.
It was perfect for him to gain new abilities by hunting beasts, once his Physiques Level was sufficient.
After getting Lin Fan's agreement to his arrangement, Qing Yang Zi continued and said, "What about joining as a menial disciple? There's a position to collect firewood in Physiques Peak, and the old man there, Ho Jie, needs a replacement."
Tan Fei kept quiet, as menial disciples don't receive any pills or elixirs, and they perform daily chores to run the sect.
He would be seen as unreasonable if he kept at it.
The other onlookers silently smirked as they heard Lin Fan was going to be a menial disciple.
Finally, the heavens have eyes, they thought.
Young lord Tan Rui joining the Sword Peak as an inner disciple and Lin Fan joining Physiques Peak as a menial disciple.
No other better ending they could have asked for.
"Great, that settles it then. See, harmony in the Dao is of utmost importance. Zhang Xi, you take over as I've got other things to take care of."
Qing Yang Zi gave out a hearty laugh and left, with the others giving him a bow.
"I told you I will get you to join the Physiques Peak," Zhang Xi said, patting Lin Fan on his back. "Do what you need to, and I will be back to fetch you to your new position in an hour."
She left, and Lin Fan wasted no time and sought out Ho Ming.
"Ho Ming, when you are in Sword Peak, be careful of Tan Rui. I will deal with him soon, so stay low for now."
"I will, but you... I heard from the others just now, if you don't have the pills and elixirs, it's hard to cultivate," Ho Ming said with a worried look.
"Don't worry about me, I will figure something out."
Lin Fan knows that if the pills and elixirs can't be had from the sect, he always had the option to work hard and procure them for himself.
Such a small obstacle was nothing to him.
When the disciples came to take the ten new disciples to their respective peaks, they bid farewell to each other.
"If you face any problems, feel free to come and find me."
"I will," Ho Ming waved and went on his way to the sword peak.
After he left, Zhang Xi came and led Lin Fan to his quarters.
On the way, she introduced Lin Fan to the Physiques Peak.
"My father, Zhang Yi Nian, is the peak lord, now in secluded cultivation.
"I'm in charge while he is away.
"There's also senior martial brother Sun Hai helping me, you left a pretty good impression on him.
"The other two disciples in Physiques Peak are out on a mission, so you wouldn't see them so soon.
"But now, I shall bring you to the woodshed. Old Ho Jie will take care of you there.
"I will try and help you whenever I can, but there are eyes and ears all around, so there's a limit on how much I could do."
Lin Fan listened and took note of what Zhang Xi had said.
She took out a piece of wooden slab, carved with Lin Fan's name, and handed it over to Lin Fan.
"Here, take this.
"It lets others know you are a menial disciple and records your contribution points.
"Every day after you finish your task, go to the Head of Miscellaneous Duties to register your contribution points.
"You can use the contribution points to exchange for resources like pills, manuscripts, and weapons."
Lin Fan inspected the wooden slab, which was rectangular with a red cloth tied to it through a hole.
"Here, let me show you how it's done. I will transfer ten contribution points to you," Zhang Xi said, taking out another wooden slab and placing it next to Lin Fan's.
A white glow appeared on her wooden slab, and it went to Lin Fan's and disappeared.
"Hold the wooden slab and focus, you should be able to see the balance inside," Zhang Xi explained further.
With the wooden slab in his hand, Lin Fan focused his mind on it, and the white glow appeared again, forming the number ten.
"Are the transactions tracked and tied to individuals?" Lin Fan asked.
"No, that's why I gave you one with ten contribution points. Wouldn't want that Tan Fei breathing down my neck," Zhang Xi replied, shaking her head in disgust at the mere mention of Tan Fei's name.
Hearing that the contribution points aren't tied to individuals, Lin Fan started to have some ideas.
Can't waste the contribution points if someone accidentally dies, can't we. In the name of reuse and recycle, he shall make it his mission to not let these contribution points go to waste.
The journey was long and took them half an hour to reach Ho Jie's living quarters.
It was right on the edge of the Qing Feng woods, up north from the central square.
Lin Fan looked at the living quarters and he felt right at home.
A very small wooden hut made from wooden planks and mud bricks stood next to the firewood shed.
It was pathetically small, even the firewood shed was bigger than the wooden hut.
When they entered the wooden hut, there was only a table and a few chairs.
In the sleeping area, two beds were placed.
Even though the wooden hut was sparse and didn't have much, it was kept clean and dust-free.
When Lin Fan and Zhang Xi were checking out the sleeping area, a man entered the wooden hut.
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