Lin Chen remained silent.
Based on Su Yuwei's words, it was evident that she greatly respected and admired her grandfather. Although they addressed each other as "old man" and "Lin Tianming," this might be their unique way of interacting.
Lin Chen couldn't fathom why his grandfather had done what he did. Five years ago, when Lin Chen was only twelve or thirteen years old, his grandfather had left the family through a staged death. No one knew where he had gone after that. It wasn't until three years ago that he had suddenly shown up at the Lihuo Sect and became Su Yuwei's spiritual pattern teacher. Then, a year ago, he had disappeared again without a trace.
"You're entering the Lihuo Sect as the champion of the Da Cang Kingdom's arena. According to the rules, you will be an outer disciple." Su Yuwei asked calmly, "Are you willing?"
Lin Chen smiled. "Of course. Although I'm only an outer disciple now, there are still opportunities for promotion."
"That's a good mindset." Aunt Lian glanced at Lin Chen, her tone unclear whether she was praising or mocking him.
Lin Chen couldn't help but ask more questions. "What level have you reached in the first level of spiritual patterns?"
Spiritual patterns were divided into levels one to ten, and above level ten, there would be a complete qualitative change.
"I'm only at level three." Su Yuwei slowly averted her gaze and looked out of the carriage window, her beautiful eyes becoming increasingly languid. She resembled a kitten curled up in bed, indifferent to everything.
"Level three!" Lin Chen was shocked.
A level 3 spiritual pattern master was already considered highly skilled. In these five countries, at least, few could compare to her. Unexpectedly, not only was she the most talented person in the Five Kingdoms, but she also had such extraordinary achievements in spiritual patterns.
Lin Chen felt a little depressed every time he thought about this. If his grandfather had such profound attainments, why hadn't he taught him spiritual patterns in the first place? With such diverse skills, one's abilities wouldn't be overwhelmed. If he also knew spiritual patterns, perhaps his current achievements wouldn't be inferior to Su Yuwei's.
Of course, this was just a thought.
"Lin Chen, since you're a beginner, let me tell you something before we get started," Xu Kun said as he drove the carriage. "There are a total of seven sects in the Five Kingdoms. Our Lihuo Sect is undoubtedly the strongest among them, followed by the Wind Sword Sect. These seven sects are all third-class sects. However, in the next year, there will be a competition to determine which sect will become a second-class sect. This is also the goal that everyone in the sect is striving for."
Lin Chen nodded. Even though the Lihuo Sect was only a third-class sect, it was already the overlord in this region. If they could win the quota and become a second-class sect, their status would be even higher, potentially unifying all five countries.
The group of people drove two carriages towards the Lihuo Sect, which was located in the center of the Five Kingdoms, bordering Da Cang and Da Xu. The Five Kingdoms had a vast territory and unique climates, and the Lihuo Sect was the best among them!
One day later, the carriage entered Lihuo City.
Several cities were near the Lihuo Sect, and Lihuo City was the largest among them. Generally, casual cultivators or members of the sect's disciples lived here. There were also some young people who lived in the city for a long time and applied for the sect every year. Although they had perseverance, if they lacked talent, they would never pass the exam no matter what.
Lihuo City was very prosperous, even more so than the Imperial City of the Da Cang Kingdom. As they walked on the street, many casual cultivators saw the carriage passing by with the mark of the Lihuo Sect and looked at it with envy.
Lihuo City was built on a mountain, and a part of the area was divided separately as the Lihuo Sect. Walking along the main street to the end, one could see a road paved with white jade in the distance. Many black jade pillars stood on both sides, and in front was the gate of the Lihuo Sect.
The gate was auburn in color and magnificent, with two groups of burning flames above that seemed extremely intense. In front of the gate was a stone tablet with the three characters "Lihuo Sect" engraved on it.
The carriage stopped in front of the gate.
Su Yuwei packed up the wine gourd and got out of the carriage. After she took a few steps forward, she seemed to remember something and slowly turned back with a calm face. "I will find a way to cure the cold poison in your body."
This was said to Lin Ning'er.
Lin Ning'er was surprised. She noticed that Su Yuwei hadn't been very talkative along the way, so she hadn't taken the initiative to chat. Unexpectedly, before Su Yuwei left, she actually offered to help her cure the cold poison!
"Thank you..." Lin Ning'er lowered her head and said softly.
Although she was not inferior to Su Yuwei in terms of appearance, she was still inferior in terms of temperament. Su Yuwei had a delicate face, an indifferent and lazy temperament, and seemed to be indifferent to everything. The most eye-catching thing was her eyes, which contained an indescribable mystery and depth.
Lin Chen was also surprised. "How did you know that my sister has cold poison?" He really wanted to ask for help, but the problem was that he hadn't asked yet!
"Lin Tianming told me."
Su Yuwei turned around and walked into the sect.
"Little Senior Sister."
On both sides of the sect, some disciples quickly raised their hands and saluted. Su Yuwei had a transcendent status in the Lihuo Sect. Although she was not very old, because of her extraordinary talent, everyone who met her had to address her as "Little Senior Sister".
"Miss, how many times should the bell be rung later?" Aunt Lian chased after her and asked. "Logically speaking, he's just an outer sect disciple. Once the bell rings, it's enough to show our welcome. But judging from his talent, even if he could directly enter the inner sect, it would be more than enough. For inner sect disciples, based on their talent, the bells ring from two to four times..."
"Let it ring five times," Su Yuwei said without looking back, her voice indifferent.
Aunt Lian was stunned on the spot.
The bell... five times?
But since her lady had said so, she could only do it.
Lin Chen looked at Su Yuwei's departing figure and said thoughtfully, "It seems that my grandfather must have a good relationship with her. Otherwise, he wouldn't ask her to help my sister get rid of the cold poison."
However, one thing that Lin Chen still didn't understand was that since his grandfather was so powerful, why didn't he take action himself in the first place? Getting rid of the cold poison should be easy for a spiritual pattern master who even Su Yuwei lamented was very powerful, right?
In the end, Lin Chen could only shake his head helplessly. Combined with Su Yuwei's words, his grandfather's actions were quite puzzling. When he did this, he should have had his own considerations.
Lin Chen carried Lin Ning'er on his back and followed Xu Kun into the sect. After entering the door, Xu Kun said to the gatekeeper, "He's the champion of the Da Cang Kingdom's arena. Ring the bell to express our welcome!"
The gatekeeper looked embarrassed. "Elder Xu, Elder Lian has already issued an order..."
"Oh, then just do as she said." Xu Kun didn't think much about it.
Aunt Lian's full name was Lian Qing, and she was once the maid of Su Yuwei's mother. Su Yuwei had been by her side since she was born. Lian Qing was very strong and never smiled to anyone.
"Boom!"
At this moment, a bell suddenly rang in the sect!
Ancient and melodious!
Immediately afterwards, there was more!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Four more sounds.
Five times in a row!
The bell rang... five times!