Chapter 119: Recognizing True Worth at a Glance

This answer caught everyone completely off guard.

Yan Shu looked at Liu Zhiqin with suspicion, wondering if he was telling the truth or simply trying to prevent Xiao Jihan from being expelled from the Xuantian Sect.

Wen Youhe, also unaware that the matter involved Liu Zhiqin, glared at him and turned to Xiao Jihan. "Is what your Third Senior Uncle says the truth?"

Xiao Jihan nodded. "Yes."

Xiao Jihan was a man who loathed owing others favors; since he had nodded, the matter was undoubtedly true.

Wen Changhe slammed his hand against the table in anger and glared at Liu Zhiqin. "You are utterly foolish! It is one thing to study forbidden medicine in private, but to record it in a manual and intend to give it to a disciple?! If others found out about this, what would they think of our Xuantian Sect?!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Liu Zhiqin lowered his head and remained silent.

Beside him, Bing Shien tried to intervene, "Senior Brother, calm your anger. You know how the Third Junior Brother is—he loves tinkering with things. The more you forbid him from doing something, the more he insists on doing it in secret. He was just muddled for a moment and forgot about it."

"Yes, yes, I forgot," Liu Zhiqin hurriedly agreed. "I wrote that manual two hundred years ago."

"You still have the audacity to justify it!" Wen Youhe was thoroughly infuriated. "Get out! Gather the disciples and wait outside the city!"

Liu Zhiqin scrambled to leave.

Once the door was closed, Wen Youhe’s anger subsided slightly. He turned his gaze to Xiao Jihan. "How much Beast-Attracting Powder have you sold?"

Xiao Jihan produced a porcelain bottle and handed it to Wen Changhe. "I only refined three bottles in total. One was sold to Sun Changfeng, one was used on him, and this is the last one remaining."

Wen Changhe took the bottle, checked its contents, and returned it. "Although the formula for the Beast-Attracting Powder was obtained inadvertently through your uncle, you should know that it is a forbidden substance; otherwise, you wouldn't have taken it to the black market to sell. Considering this is your first offense and no major harm was done, I will not punish you severely this time."

Hearing this, Yan Shu let out a sigh of relief. Her greatest fear was for Xiao Jihan to come into conflict with her senior brothers, leading to the outcome described in the original book.

However, her relief was short-lived. Wen Changhe continued, "Though I will not punish you severely, you cannot go unpunished. Yan Shu is still but a child herself, and she may struggle to guide you properly."

"This jade slip contains the rules of the Xuantian Sect and the generally accepted prohibitions of the cultivation world. You are to transcribe it ten times within ten days! After ten days, bring it to the main hall for me to inspect."

Seeing the jade slip, Yan Shu shuddered. The rules of the Xuantian Sect were few, but the so-called "universally accepted prohibitions of the cultivation world" were endless. She recalled how she—or rather, the original owner—had been tortured by this very thing when she was a child.

Although the original owner was gone, her memories remained, making the sight of the jade slip terrifying to Yan Shu.

Xiao Jihan acknowledged the order and reached out to take it, but Wen Changhe pulled his hand back. "Forget it. If Shuer is just a child herself, how can she guide you? Now that you have the relationship of senior sister and junior brother, it is even harder for her to discipline you. From today on, you will move to the main hall, and I will mentor you personally."

This was equivalent to taking Xiao Jihan away from her.

That wouldn't do! If the male lead wasn't around, how was she supposed to build favorability? Furthermore, she could see that her Eldest Senior Brother was a rigid disciplinarian who loved to control others. Could the male lead even be controlled? If things went wrong, the two would surely end up despising each other.

She quickly interjected, "Senior Brother, he is the personal disciple I took in; there is no reason for you to take over his training. Besides, he is doing quite well right now, aren't you?"

She lacked confidence as she spoke, glancing at Xiao Jihan with a guilty conscience, waiting for his decision.

[Favorability: 19 (Initial Acquaintance)]
[Favorability: 20 (Initial Acquaintance)]

Xiao Jihan bowed to Wen Youhe. "I am grateful for the Sect Master's kindness, but my Senior Sister has guided me very well. I am currently on the verge of advancing to the Soul Formation stage."

The moment these words were spoken, Wen Youhe, Bing Shien, and Shi Wanqing were all stunned. Even Yan Shu was surprised.

Unlike the shock felt by her senior brothers, she was surprised that Xiao Jihan was willing to expose his greatest secret before them.

Shi Wanqing blurted out, "How is that possible? How long have you been cultivating? And you are a pseudo-spirit root with four attributes!"

Wen Youhe and Bing Shien said nothing, but their expressions made their disbelief clear.

Xiao Jihan looked at Yan Shu. "All of this is thanks to Senior Sister. She discovered the unique nature of my spirit roots and requested the Medicine King to refine the Heaven-Severing Pill for me, using the method of channeling lightning into the body to temper my roots."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of Wen Youhe, Bing Shien, and Shi Wanqing all turned toward Yan Shu.

Yan Shu rubbed her nose, feeling guilty. She hadn't discovered the uniqueness of his spirit roots, she hadn't suggested tempering them, and she certainly hadn't asked the Medicine King to refine the pill.

The only contribution she had made was scolding him severely, which had attracted the heavenly lightning.

Wen Youhe looked at Yan Shu and asked, "Is this true?"

Yan Shu coughed lightly and rubbed her nose. "Yes, it is true."

Wen Youhe remained silent, watching her quietly for a moment before suddenly reaching out toward Xiao Jihan.

Xiao Jihan did not evade, allowing him to grab his wrist and inject spiritual energy into his body.

After a moment, Wen Youhe released him, his expression complex. "You are indeed only a step away from the Soul Formation stage."

This was an admission that they had all been wrong, and that Yan Shu, who had stubbornly insisted on taking in a four-attribute pseudo-spirit root disciple, was the only one with the true insight to recognize talent.

Even though Wen Youhe felt it was inappropriate for Xiao Jihan and Yan Shu to remain alone at Wushang Peak, he could no longer find a reason to call Xiao Jihan away.

He fell silent for a while before handing the jade slip to Xiao Jihan. He said with double meaning, "In that case, you may remain at Wushang Peak. But you must understand clearly what you should do and what you must not do!"

Xiao Jihan took the jade slip with both hands and replied calmly, "Yes."

Wen Youhe waved his sleeve. "Very well, you may leave."

Xiao Jihan and Yan Shu responded and turned to leave the room.

Once they were gone, Shi Wanqing could not contain his excitement. "Eldest Senior Brother, Xiao Jihan is actually so formidable! I thought Junior Sister's aptitude was already heaven-defying, but I never expected that a pseudo-spirit root disciple she picked up at random would have even greater talent than her!"

"How long has he been cultivating? Eighteen years at most? Going from Qi Refining to Soul Formation in eighteen years—no one would believe it if they heard it! Junior Sister's eye for talent is truly sharp!"

Bing Shien, who knew the inside story, lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Wen Changhe frowned. "More than his cultivation, I am concerned about the true nature of his relationship with Junior Sister. If I heard correctly, when he answered about his relationship with her earlier, he mentioned the word 'Dao.' Dao what? Fellow Daoist? Or Dao Companion?"