A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 5: Doctor Mo

After a while, Han Li suddenly felt a tight grip around his waist, and his body lightened as he was automatically lifted upward.

Han Li turned his head and saw that it was the senior disciple who had been closely following him. The senior held him with one arm while skillfully climbing upward with his other hand and legs. Han Li also noticed that the sun was hanging high in the middle of the sky.

It turned out that he still hadn’t managed to complete this part of the journey. Han Li felt a bit sad—he had tried so hard, yet he still couldn’t compare to the others.

In the blink of an eye, they reached the top of the cliff. Before them sat six children cross-legged, resting. Wu Yan was speaking with a plump, well-dressed man in a deep blue robe, who looked to be in his fifties and carried himself with a dignified air. Master Yue and Guardian Wang stood beside him, along with a few others. They were all waiting for the young senior disciples to bring up the slower children one by one.

After a while, all the children had been brought up. Master Yue stepped forward solemnly to address the group.

“Seven have passed this time. Six of them will enter our Hundred Refinements Hall and officially become inner sect disciples,” he said slowly.

“The other is Wu Yan, who reached the cliff first. His outstanding performance grants him direct admission to the Seven Mysteries Hall to study our sect’s secret techniques.” Master Yue glanced back at the robed elder, who nodded in approval while stroking his beard.

“As for the rest...” Master Yue sized up the remaining children, stroking his chin thoughtfully before continuing, “Zhang Tie and Han Li, although you both did not reach the cliff top on time, your performances were impressive. You seem capable of enduring the hardships of martial training. You two will remain with some instructors in our sect to lay the foundation. After six months, you will be re-assessed. If you pass, you will officially become inner sect disciples; if not, you will be assigned as outer sect disciples.”

Han Li glanced at the other boy who had stepped forward—Zhang Tie—the one who had been trailing right behind him, hanging on the rope, nearly reaching the top.

“Guardian Wang, give the rest some silver and send them all home,” Master Yue said coldly, staring at the remaining children.

“As you command!” Guardian Wang stepped forward and respectfully took the unqualified children down the cliff.

“Zhang Jun, Wu Mingrui, you two will take these qualified disciples to the hall and hand them over to Deputy Hall Master Gu and Instructor Li,” Master Yue ordered.

Two more young disciples stepped forward to lead Han Li and the others, dividing them into two groups and heading down the cliff. One of them was the cold senior disciple.

As they descended, Han Li couldn’t help but glance at Wu Yan, who was still talking with the blue-robed elder, showing no sign of leaving.

“He’s different from you all. He was sent directly to the core disciples of the Seven Mysteries Hall. Once he masters the skills, he’ll at least hold the position of a Guardian,” said another thin-faced senior disciple, seemingly reading Han Li’s questions. However, his words carried a trace of envy and jealousy.

“Isn’t it just because he has a cousin-in-law who’s the vice sect leader? If it weren’t for his cousin being married to Vice Sect Leader Ma as a concubine, would he even meet the age requirement to join the Seven Mysteries Hall?” said the cold senior disciple, whose words sent a chill through the air.

“Zhang Jun, don’t be reckless. The vice sect leader is not someone we can casually talk about. If other sect members hear this, we could both be punished and forced to meditate in regret!” The thin-faced disciple was shocked by the cold senior’s words, quickly looking around. Seeing only the few children present, he let out a sigh of relief.

The cold senior snorted, clearly a bit cautious, and stopped speaking. Han Li then learned this cold senior’s name was Zhang Jun.