The two elders playing chess also took their gaze off the board and focused on Ye Changkong. It was quite rare for a servant disciple to become an outer sect disciple. Usually, it only happened once a year. Today, they had come across one and naturally wanted to take a good look at Ye Changkong.
After a long while, the elder in black finally shifted his gaze away from Ye Changkong and said to the other two elders, "Which one of you is willing to take him as your disciple? After all, he's a talent from the servant hall."
The elder in black's words implied that he didn't think highly of Ye Changkong. He did not want to discourage Ye Changkong and affect his martial arts heart. After all, disciples who emerged from the servant hall had all put in tremendous effort and sweat, possessing strong willpower and perseverance in pursuing martial arts.
"If I'm not mistaken, you will soon turn sixteen?" The oldest grey-robed elder said to Ye Changkong.
"Yes, in half a month, I'll be sixteen," Ye Changkong answered truthfully.
"So, it means that you barely squeezed into the outer sect by meeting the age requirement," the grey-robed elder shook his head. "As the first peak of the outer sect, Tianyun Peak's disciples are all exceptionally talented, and you aren't suitable."
The elder in black sighed. Obviously, none of them believed in Ye Changkong.
From their words, Ye Changkong learned the identities of the three elders – they were the elders of the strongest three peaks in the outer sect: Tianyun Peak, Diyund Peak, and Renyun Peak.
It was expected that he couldn't be admitted to any of the three peaks in the outer sect. After all, his age and cultivation level stood against him. As Elder Lin Xuan from Yuntian Peak had said, Ye Changkong was barely passing the age requirement for the outer sect. If he was half a month late, he would never get into the outer sect in his whole life.
In any case, such talents were naturally not appreciated by the three elders.
The elder sitting in the main seat, Elder Situ Qingfeng, said to Ye Changkong with a smile, "Little guy, would you like to join the Lingqi Hall or the Dan Medicine Hall? Maybe you have some talent in refining tools or alchemy?"
Ye Changkong shook his head. Even if he had talent in alchemy or tool refining, he didn't want to join the Lingqi Hall or the Dan Medicine Hall. The reason being he would need to devote most of his energy to refining tools or alchemy. He would not know when he could catch up with Chu Yifan and Lin Yueqing's footsteps.
"Very well then."
Elder Situ Qingfeng took out a light blue jade plaque and carved Ye Changkong's name on it with spiritual power before handing it over to him, saying, "This is your identity jade plaque. You will need it to register when entering and leaving various peaks in the future."
Ye Changkong received the identity jade plaque and Elder Situ Qingfeng also gave him a jade bottle. "As a scattered outer disciple, you'll only receive one bottle of green spirit liquid distributed to new disciples."
"Thank you, Elder," Ye Changkong replied, without any objections.
"Go ahead and choose martial arts and cultivation techniques from the library," Elder Situ Qingfeng said, waving his sleeve. "Don't be discouraged. As they say, hard work can make up for one's shortcomings. As long as you are willing to work hard, there is hope for you to enter the inner sect in the future. The grand competition of the inner sect is in two months, and I hope you can perform well."
After completing the handover, Ye Changkong left the elder's residence without any hesitation.
As he walked towards the library, he heard Qin Yaorao's spiritual voice in his ear. "They are a bunch of ignorant people with shortsightedness and cloudy vision. Such a precious gem was put in front of them, yet they couldn't see it."
Ye Changkong shrugged nonchalantly. It wouldn't take long before they would regret their judgment on him.
Since he had integrated some of Qin Yaorao's soul talent, he could clearly feel that his martial arts talent was more than ten times greater than before. He believed that as long as he worked hard, he would eventually shine in Qingyun Sect.
Shortly after, he arrived at the entrance of the library. The manager of the library wore a white robe and had white hair. Everyone in the outer sect called him Elder Qi.
"Greetings, Elder Qi." Ye Changkong slightly bowed to show his respect and handed over the identity jade plaque.
"The servant disciple who recently became an outer sect disciple?" Elder Qi took the jade plaque, infused it with his spiritual power, and immediately displayed information about Ye Changkong on the plaque.
"Yes, Elder Situ Qingfeng told me to come here to choose martial arts and cultivation techniques," Ye Changkong replied.
"Elder Situ has already informed us of your arrival. You may enter now. As a scattered outer sect disciple, you can only select one martial art and one cultivation technique. Furthermore, the second floor is restricted to forbidden areas and off-limits to you." Elder Qi gestured for Ye Changkong to enter.
Then he added, "An outer sect disciple must leave the library after three hours, whether they memorize the selected materials or not."
Ye Changkong did not immediately enter, but asked, "Elder Qi, I have an ancestral technique and do not need to choose a technique in the library. Can I choose two martial arts instead?"
"A technique from a small insignificant clan can hardly be compared to those at Qingyun Sect," Elder Qi raised an eyebrow, his tone filled with disdain.
However, he did not say much and impatiently said, "If you feel that your ancestral technique is better than what's available at Qingyun Sect, then it's up to you."
Ye Changkong nodded and stepped slowly into the library.
However, not long after Ye Changkong entered the library, outside the outer sect gate, a thin disciple was bowing and currying favor with Zhang Tie who had just arrived in a hurry. "Senior Brother Zhang Tie, that kid has already gone into the library."
"Choosing techniques or martial arts in the library shouldn't take more than three hours," Zhang Tie said with killing intent flashing in his eyes. "He Cheng, make sure you keep an eye on him and notify me as soon as he comes out. I want to break his neck with my own hands!"
"Yes, Senior Brother. Rest assured, I'll keep an eye on him," the disciple named He Cheng promised with a pat on his chest. (To be continued)