Chapter 4: Inheriting the Ancestral Rhyme of Profound Heaven, Displaying Wisdom and Clarity of Excellent Material

They claimed to invite three or five Daoist friends to witness the master-disciple ceremony, yet both sides invited very few people.

Since the Wang family sent their family's Qing Qilin to learn the arts of assisting the Dao outside, naturally they did not wish to be too conspicuous; matters are accomplished through secrecy.

Thus, Uncle Rong Yuan only invited Tang Nianqiu, the Shopkeeper of Zhi Wei Fang, who would look after the two young men in Qing Xi Fang in the future.

On the side of the Red-Browed Hermit, he invited his only close friend in Qing Xi Fang, Wu Jinyan, the clan head of the Wu family, a Qi Refining Immortal Clan.

As a loose cultivator who makes a living through his alchemical cultivation achievements, the Hua Feng Ju of the Red-Browed Hermit requires reliable Jin Shi spiritual material suppliers.

The Wu family, a Qi Refining Immortal Clan, happens to have a Grade Nine Chaotic Stone Well, which has long supplied all its produced Jin Shi spiritual materials to Hua Feng Ju.

Both sides belong to a tightly interlinked upstream and downstream relationship of interests, thus forging a good friendship.

By the way, the Red-Browed Hermit also has a daughter named Zhong Ningyao, who attended today as well.

A simple ritual altar was set up in the center of the main hall of Hua Feng Ju. The chubby Red-Browed Hermit, Zhong Tianshuo, was still wearing that beautiful red ritual robe, sitting there with an air of divine ease.

The morning light was not too bright; in the dim room, several specially made Eternal Bright Candles were lit, making the few people inside look drowsy and hazy.

Seeing that the assistants had finished the preparations, Tang Nianqiu whispered a few words to Wang Rongyuan, and Wang Rongyuan looked at the Red-Browed Hermit.

"Are you ready? Shall I call them in now?"

"It's too formal, Old Wang. You're making me feel a bit nervous..."

The Red-Browed Hermit said in a low, melancholy voice.

They are all old things who have cultivated the Dao for half a lifetime; how could they possibly be nervous!

Zhong Tianshuo realized he had been trapped by Wang Rongyuan!

He finally saw clearly; originally, it was just a transaction where the Wang family provided the money and he provided the art.

But yesterday, this old thief Wang Rongyuan seized the opportunity and urged him to hold a master-disciple ceremony to make a scene.

At that time, he didn't think it through deeply and naively agreed.

A master-disciple ceremony sounds quite good; a child of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan becoming my disciple, a Qi Refining loose cultivator, would be quite a show of style.

Seeing how Tang Nianqiu and the others arranged things today, Zhong Tianshuo finally realized he was in trouble.

The ritual altar is set up, Daoist friends are invited to witness, and later there will be three bows and three prostrations...

If these two young men become his disciples in this manner...

What a huge loss!

I still need to break through to Foundation Establishment; the Wang family is trying to lock me in!

Zhong Tianshuo's current mood was like a young maiden being tricked onto a sedan chair; he was numb.

Of course, he was just a three-hundred-pound fat man, not some young maiden.

"Come, Wang Yulou, Wang Yuan, stand in the center of the ritual altar."

Tang Nianqiu, the host of the master-disciple ceremony, commanded the two young men to stand in the center of the altar, then loudly chanted.

"Wang Yulou, aged thirteen, inheriting the ancestral rhyme of Profound Heaven, displaying wisdom and clarity of excellent material."

"Wang Yuan..."

"Offer the tea!"

As Tang Nianqiu's words fell, an assistant hurriedly carried a tea tray and walked to the side of the two young men.

Yulou took the tea; Yuan paused for a moment, then withdrew his gaze from secretly watching Zhong Ningyao and hurriedly took his cup as well.

The two knelt before the knees of the Red-Browed Hermit, raised their tea cups, and shouted together.

"Master, please drink the tea!"

This was the first bow, signifying the recognition of the Red-Browed Hermit as their master.

Glancing at Wang Rongyuan, who sat beside him and held an equal high position, the Red-Browed Hermit nodded with a smile and accepted the tea.

What could be done?

As long as one has not become an Immortal, there is no true freedom; the Red-Browed Hermit, wishing to break through to Foundation Establishment, must consider gathering enough resources and support, and also consider his future status within the Red Lantern.

The rules of the Wunan Cultivation World are that loose cultivators and clan cultivators after Foundation Establishment must join the Shi Sect to contribute their strength to the stable development of the Xian Alliance.

Although Zhong Tianshuo had a good relationship with the guardian cultivator of the Red Lantern in Qing Xi Fang.

But that person was no ordinary individual; he was even willing to call Zhong Tianshuo "younger brother"—this was not a simple title, but a matter of eating habits!

That guardian cultivator belonged to the tiger and wolf kind who ate people without spitting out the bones and could even lick the soup clean!

His faction, the Red-Browed Hermit dared not join!

Instead, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor of the Wang family had become a disciple of a Purple Mansion Great Cultivator within the Red Lantern, holding a position among the True Transmissions.

Contemplating future matters, Zhong Tianshuo drank two sips of tea with complex feelings, then placed it on the nearby tea table, looked at the two young men, and said in a gentle voice.

"Get up, get up."

Seeing that the first bow was nearly complete, Tang Nianqiu chanted.

"Excellent Technique should not be lightly bestowed; it is not right to receive it without due; one must present the gift of tuition!"

Old Zhong, our Wang family does not let the children follow you for free; we give money.

Yulou and Yuan each took out the tuition gifts prepared by their clan uncles from their robes, knelt again before Zhong Tianshuo's knees, and bowed, saying.

"Master Zhong is above, we hope you do not disdain this meager storage of grain!"

This was the second bow; the first bow recognized the master, the second bow presented the tuition to the master.

Looking at the shoulder bone of the Grade Eight Spiritual Donkey in Yulou's hand and the two pieces of Grade Nine Cold Bin Iron in Yuan's hand, Wu Jinyan thought to himself:

"Meager storage of grain? You have the nerve to say that!"

The Grade Eight donkey shoulder bone was a top-grade material, worth at least two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

The Grade Nine Cold Bin Iron belonged to spiritual iron; such materials were even more valuable than spiritual bones. They looked no bigger than a fist, but one piece was worth over a hundred Spirit Stones.

Grade Nine and Grade Eight clearly differed by one rank, yet Cold Bin Iron was just as expensive as the Grade Eight donkey bone!

The spending power of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan was indeed great; it made Wu Jinyan feel somewhat envious.

Somewhat surprised as he accepted the tuition gifts his two disciples had prepared, Zhong Tuanshuo's last little grudge against the wily Wang family vanished completely from his heart.

Good children, indeed!

An eighth-grade donkey bone — he could use it to properly test the crafting of bone-type ritual implements.

"Good, good, good — all good children. Rise."

Yulou and Wang Yuan stood up, while Zhong Tuanshuo voluntarily began the third step of the master-acceptance ceremony. He looked toward his old friend Wu Jinyan and asked,

"Jinyan, do you think I should take these two as disciples?"

This was the prelude to the third bow — the master would put on a show of asking the witness's opinion, and everyone would join in praising the one bowing, counting as the elders' witness and blessing.

"Brother Zhong, your Daoist arts and attainments need to be passed down, and these two are precisely the finest inheritors!"

Wu Jinyan gave a slight nod of approval.

"Fellow Daoist Tang, you know your family's children best — do they have any shortcomings?"

Red-Brow Hermit asked Tang Nianqiu again. He addressed Wu Jinyan as Jinyan, but Tang Nianqiu as Fellow Daoist — the closeness and distance hidden beneath the surface, though in truth it hardly mattered.

After all, Tang Nianqiu certainly wouldn't dare mention any shortcomings.

Although he harbored quite some opinion about the Wang clan's tilting of such enormous resources toward its direct-line descendants, he didn't have the guts to actually say so.

Loosening his face — whether it had been taut from officiating the ceremony or from the discontent in his heart — Tang Nianqiu said solemnly,

"Young men's dispositions are not yet set; even if they've done some foolish things, it would be no surprise. But with a fine teacher like Fellow Daoist Red-Brow to instruct and polish them, they will surely become true jade in the future."

Wang Rongyuan nodded inwardly.

Nianqiu is good — he's smoothing things over for that good-for-nothing Wang Yuan!

From the moment he had stepped into Edge Blade Residence, Wang Yuan had stolen more than one glance at Red-Brow Hermit's daughter Zhong Ningyao.

But in this main hall, even the hired hands had higher cultivation than him — one could say that anyone with the slightest attentiveness had noticed Wang Yuan's problem.

A young man, his disposition not yet set.

Uncle Rongyuan observed Yulou again, and found Yulou with lowered brows and downcast eyes — the very picture of a well-behaved child awaiting an elder's inquiry.

Fortunately, Yulou truly was a true Qing Qilin!