It's Over

"Tell me, how did the three people I had you observe turn out? Did their character pass muster?" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both shook their heads with regret. "Out of the three, only one passed the character test." "Only one?" Senior Brother Dai's brow furrowed slightly in perplexity. Was his judgment really that poor? "Take that mortal named Xie An, for example. He was actually Venerable Wuji, Xie Jiu, in disguise! For an almighty cultivator to pretend to be a mortal—it really is utterly shameless!" "Oh? Such a thing happened?" Dai Bufan was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the two of them to be so unlucky as to run into a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator posing as a mortal. Could it be that after getting beaten up by Senior Sister Yun last time, his Dao heart still hadn't recovered? "What about the one called Tao Tingfeng?" Meng Jingzhou shook his head and said with regret, "Tao Tingfeng won't do either. That kid flouted the laws of the land, openly violated the penal code, harbored a robber, and even helped stash the stolen loot. When we left, he was being taken away by the Luoshui Guards." "So the only one whose character passed is Gu Junye?" "That's right! This Gu Junye is an exceedingly rare and promising seed. Not only does he strictly abide by the law, he also knows how to use the law as a weapon to protect himself. He studies diligently during class, uses every bit of spare time after class to exercise his body, and is very filial, listening obediently to his mother." "He fits the standard you laid down to the letter, Senior Brother Dai—living honestly and behaving himself while cultivating steadily and conscientiously." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou heaped lavish praise on Gu Junye. "His mental state is excellent too, calm in the face of unexpected events. Even when we told him he could take part in the Dao Seeking Sect's entrance test, he didn't appear overly excited." "We also discovered that Gu Junye holds himself to the standards of a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator. With the whole world in his heart, he made it clear to us several times that he intends to save all living beings." "And he doesn't hide it either; right in front of his classmates and teacher, he openly declared this aspiration to us." Dai Bufan nodded. "With such character, he truly is a rare, promising seed." "By the way, Senior Brother Dai, didn't you mention before that if we found someone outside the list who met our sect's recruitment criteria, we could recommend them to you as well?" "I did say that. You found someone?" "You could call it an unexpected harvest from this trip. It's just that his background is a bit complicated. He's a Great Yu cultivator who, for certain reasons, dispersed his cultivation to start anew." Lu Yang vowed solemnly, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Dai, his moral character is guaranteed! He definitely meets our Dao Seeking Sect's recruitment criteria! On top of that, he's famous—you definitely know him, Senior Brother Dai." "A Great Yu cultivator who dispersed his cultivation to start anew?" Dai Bufan hesitated slightly, finding it a bit hard to decide. *You two brats certainly know how to pick them. If you aren't careful with someone like that, they could easily turn out to be a traitor.* "Fearing that you might feel uneasy, Senior Brother Dai, we brought him right back to the sect." "Then bring him in so I can have a look." "Right away!" Before long, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou led a clean-featured youth before Dai Bufan. The youth was even smiling somewhat shyly. "Senior Brother Dai, guess who this is?" "Who?" Lu Yang introduced him triumphantly, "This is our Dao Seeking Sect's founding patriarch, Daoist Xiantian, Qi Tongtian." Senior Brother Dai's eyes rolled back, and with a loud thud, he collapsed to the floor, knocked out cold. "Wh-what happened to him?" Daoist Xiantian asked, a little panicked. Meng Jingzhou said in all seriousness, "His mental fortitude is probably lacking. He's never seen the founding patriarch before, so he got overwhelmed by excitement."