Chapter 11: The Victory Assembly

The next day, Sanqing Palace.

Sanqing Palace, also known as the Sanqing Hall, was magnificent in its grandeur. It was named so because the three supreme deities of Taoism were enshrined in the front hall.

In the central position sat Yuanshi Tianzun of the Jade Pure Realm of the Azure Micro Heaven;

To the left of Yuanshi Tianzun sat Lingbao Tianzun of the Spiritual Treasure Realm of the Pure Heaven of Yu Yu;

And to the right of Yuanshi Tianzun sat Daode Tianzun of the Great Pure Realm of the Crimson Heaven.

"Martial Uncle, why... why did you come so early? It is still far from the time for the meeting."

"Hehe, when your legs aren't working well, you have to leave early, otherwise how will you make it to the meeting?"

An Zhi supported Fan Jin, helping him walk step by step up the stone stairs toward the great hall.

Earlier this morning, before dawn, Fan Jin had sent someone to wake An Zhi, asking her to accompany him to the Sanqing Palace meeting.

Although An Zhi was somewhat reluctant, she had no choice. She knew Martial Uncle Fan treated her well; not only did he give her medicine, but he also turned a blind eye to her taking the Yuhua Sword. Though she didn't know why, An Zhi felt she should go.

Furthermore, Luo Ling had stopped by the Sanqing Blessed Land on her way back last night to visit Fan Jin, and she had likely said something.

Fan Jin was indeed old; he would be exactly eighty years old after this year. It was no wonder he only left in the morning and returned in the evening. Even just walking up the stone steps in front of the Sanqing Palace gates was extremely taxing for him; he had to rest every ten steps.

When they finally reached the entrance of the great hall, a female disciple blocked An Zhi's path. Clearly, she was one of Luo Ling's people.

"I'm sorry, but by sect rules, registered disciples are not allowed to enter," the female disciple said, blocking An Zhi's way.

An Zhi felt frustrated and truly wanted to slap her, but she held back. "My Martial Uncle has difficulty walking, I—"

"No need for you to teach me," the female disciple said. With a smile, she stepped forward to assist Fan Jin. "Come, Martial Uncle, please go inside and sit first."

Registered disciples indeed could not enter the hall because An Zhi had failed her last assessment and had not been promoted to a formal disciple.

Just then, Luo Ling walked out from the hall and asked sternly, "What is the matter?"

"Senior Sister, Shen An Zhi wants to enter the hall," the female disciple reported.

Luo Ling immediately became arrogant. "How can that be? Is she a formal disciple of our Sanqing Palace?"

In front of everyone, An Zhi felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. "Se... Senior Sister, Martial Uncle Fan's legs are not well."

"Go back," Luo Ling said, clearly not wanting to see An Zhi for even a second.

"Sigh~~~~~~~~~"

Hearing this, Fan Jin let out a long sigh. He tapped his cane against the threshold of the hall and said, "Ling'er, I cannot stand for long. Let her help me inside first. She'll be out in a moment; it won't affect anything."

Clearly, Fan Jin was taking An Zhi's side. Luo Ling glared at An Zhi with even more anger, but she could only comply.

"Hmph!" An Zhi felt a slight sense of triumph as she supported Fan Jin into the Sanqing Palace.

Inside the palace, Elder Taiqing was already seated, arranging matters with the Eldest Senior Brother, Ke Dasheng. Seeing Fan Jin arrive, Elder Taiqing quickly stood up to assist him into the third seat, and then began discussing the events of the previous night.

At that moment, An Zhi's heart began to race, for she saw the person she least wanted to see.

The Eldest Senior Brother of Sanqing Palace, Ke Dasheng, was also a Seven-Coin Demon Catcher.

Ke Dasheng also noticed An Zhi. He seemed surprised at first, but his expression quickly turned into one of pleasant surprise.

"Why are you here?" Ke Dasheng asked warmly.

An Zhi avoided his gaze; she had seen through his character long ago. "I... I brought my Martial Uncle here."

"Regarding the assessment, I truly apologize to you," Ke Dasheng said.

An Zhi said nothing, feeling a sting in her nose as if she were about to cry. The memories of Ke Dasheng's flirtatious behavior from last year flashed through her mind. "It's nothing. It was just my lack of skill."

During the last promotion assessment, An Zhi actually had a chance to obtain a Spirit Seal, but she had listened to Ke Dasheng's deception, resulting in her losing both her dignity and her progress. She didn't dare speak of this matter to anyone.

"Actually, actually, there was nothing I could do," Ke Dasheng said, nearly outing Luo Ling entirely.

"It has nothing to do with you," An Zhi said coldly.

Just then, Luo Ling appeared in the hall. She glared fiercely at Ke Dasheng and An Zhi, scaring Ke Dasheng into turning away.

In truth, An Zhi knew that her zero score in the last assessment was definitely related to Luo Ling, but she didn't want to know anything now. She only wanted to work hard in silence to achieve her dreams.

"The Sect Leader has arrived!"

Following the loud shout of a disciple, Daoist Yu Xu approached the hall with a steady pace, his hand stroking his beard.

Seeing the Sect Leader arrive, everyone stood up, except for Fan Jin, who remained seated.

Daoist Yu Xu, the current Sect Leader of Sanqing Palace, was a Nine-Coin Demon Slayer. He possessed profound cultivation and had slain countless demons. His only wish now was to become a Ten-Coin Demon Slayer within his lifetime, but as he aged, it seemed he was passing his prime for advancement.

"Sect Leader, an outsider may have appeared on our Sanqing Mountain," Eldest Senior Brother Ke Dasheng stepped forward to report.

Daoist Yu Xu nodded. He looked at Elder Taiqing and said, "Elder Taiqing has already reported the matter to me. It is not strange to have outsiders; in the past, demon catchers and cultivators often visited Sanqing Mountain."

After a moment of thought, Daoist Yu Xu continued, "Thirty years ago, didn't Junior Brother Fan go to Mount Emei in Bashu to slay demons? And didn't Luo Ling go to the South Sea Sect last year? There is no need to be nervous."

Daoist Yu Xu was trying to calm everyone down. To him, his subordinates were a bit troublesome; they made a huge fuss over such a small matter. He had just finished his seclusion only to be promptly summoned to the hall by them.

However, seeing that the disciples were acting out of concern for Sanqing Mountain, and considering that he had been in seclusion for five months without attending to affairs, he felt a bit apologetic and comforted them: "But to cause trouble all the way at the practice grounds of our Sanqing Palace's back mountain is indeed a bit excessive."

Upon hearing this, An Zhi, standing in the last row beneath a large pillar, was startled. She hadn't expected to become famous.

"Sect Leader, this person has quite a background. Last night, they killed three fourth-rank spirits at the back mountain practice grounds in succession. This person is at least a Six-Coin Demon Catcher or higher," Luo Ling reported the events of the previous night.

Ke Dasheng added, "Sect Leader, while visiting guests are normal, this guest lacks manners. Not only did they arrive without greeting us, but they went straight to our Sanqing disciples' practice grounds to cause trouble. This is clearly aimed at us."

An Zhi found the story more and more exaggerated. He certainly had a silver tongue, even reasoning to such an extreme level. She felt a small sense of pride.

"Regarding this matter, I shall trouble Elder Taiqing to handle it personally. If it is a rogue demon catcher, handle it according to the mountain rules. If it is a deliberate act by a major sect, then it must be handled with caution," Daoist Yu Xu instructed.

Elder Taiqing stood up to accept the command. "Understood."

Daoist Yu Xu asked, "How are the current disciples? Are there any ready to be sent down the mountain?"

The assessments for the registered disciples of Sanqing Palace had been underway for several days. Those who passed were assigned masters, while those who failed were reassigned—much like Shen An Zhi, who had been assigned to perform chores at the Sanqing Blessed Land.

Luo Ling was the first to report. "Reporting to the Sect Leader: there are twelve registered female disciples. Seven failed the preliminary assessment. Five, including Li Tongyu, have entered the Master Training Tower to wait. The seven others, including Shen An Zhi, lacked sufficient aptitude and have been assigned to various locations for assistance."

Daoist Yu Xu nodded upon hearing this and whispered something to the elders beside him.

Shen An Zhi felt terrible. Her fists were clenched so hard they were sweating. In such a large gathering, Luo Ling wouldn't give her even a shred of face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evening,

The victorious assembly of Sanqing Palace ended just like that. An Zhi returned in silence, supporting Fan Jin. Fan Jin seemed to sense her unhappiness and comforted her along the way, but An Zhi could not let the matter go.

Returning to her pavilion, An Zhi angrily threw her clothes onto the floor.

"Shebao, I want to see the Grandmaster. I want to cultivate," An Zhi said angrily to the spirit snake coiled in the winnowing basket opposite her.

The spirit snake had slept all day and crawled out of the basket with high energy. "Ha, alright, alright, alright."

Then, the two antennae on the spirit snake's head rubbed together, emitting a bright light. An Zhi felt a sudden dizziness and then passed out.

In a dream,

An Zhi saw Meng Hong again. She ran toward him eagerly and asked, "Grandmaster, is there any way to progress quickly?"

Meng Hong stopped his cultivation, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Only through leveling up. The more demons you kill, the higher your level, and the stronger your abilities will become. What you need to do now is to ignore everything and simply cultivate in silence."

An Zhi said somewhat dejectedly, "But I was called out in the great hall today."

Meng Hong smiled. He patted An Zhi's shoulder encouragingly. "One must find courage through shame. Cultivate silently. When the day comes that you amaze the world with a single feat, they will look at you with new eyes..."

...

(End of Chapter)