Along the way, Ye Feiyu chatted with Qin An while casually slaying demonic beasts. Qin An remained silent, hacking at the demonic beasts with his sword.
And so, the two of them wreaked havoc on quite a few demonic beasts. Along their journey, the corpses of demonic beasts were frequently seen. Their assessment scores rose rapidly, quickly attracting the attention of the other elders.
So the other elders switched the camera to Qin An's side and began to evaluate and discuss Qin An and Ye Feiyu's performance.
Ye Feiyu suddenly fell silent as he spoke. Qin An also suddenly became more alert, gripping the bamboo sword tightly in his hand.
All around was quiet, without a single insect chirping. The wind blew through the woods, swirling up a few fallen leaves, creating the only sound.
"Brother Qin, you sensed it too, didn't you?" Ye Feiyu lowered his voice. "There's something strange here. There's a good chance there's something big inside."
Qin An nodded with a serious expression, assuming a defensive posture.
A long howl echoed from the woods. At the same time, a huge black shadow leaped out of the bushes.
"It's a Gale Leopard!" Ye Feiyu finally recognized the dark figure.
The Gale Leopard was a massive, jet-black leopard with silver markings. It stood with its mouth agape, drool dripping from its sharp teeth. Its large, bell-like eyes were fixed menacingly on Qin An and Ye Feiyu.
“His level is higher than mine. He should be at the ninth level of Qi Refining!” Ye Feiyu quickly came to his conclusion.
The Gale Leopard roared and charged rapidly toward Qin An and Ye Feiyu.
Qin An and Ye Feiyu quickly dodged to the left and right.
Ye Feiyu took out a Xuan-grade sword and began to attack the Gale Leopard together with Qin An.
Qin An found a sliver of an opening and pierced one of the Gale Leopard's eyes with his sword. The Gale Leopard, in pain, swung its paw at Qin An.
Qin An did a backflip and dodged the attack.
The Gale Leopard went berserk after losing an eye.
Ye Feiyu was gradually finding it difficult to defend himself. "Brother Qin, let's finish this quickly."
Qin An stepped onto the trees and climbed up, leaping several times until he reached the tree where the Gale Leopard was.
Then, Qin An leaped down and used the "Swift Wind Drop" move from the "Raging Wind Enters the Waves" technique. The bamboo sword, infused with spiritual energy, hardened and easily pierced the Swift Wind Leopard's head.
The Swift Leopard's limbs twitched for a moment, and then it collapsed.
"Phew, I'm exhausted." Ye Feiyu leaned on his sword, panting heavily. "It's all thanks to you, Brother Qin."
"You're really amazing! That move you just made was absolutely awesome! Are you really at the fifth level of Qi Refining? I feel like my eighth level of Qi Refining is pretty weak." As soon as Ye Feiyu was out of danger, he started chattering away again.
Qin An could only turn and leave with a cold face.
"Wait for me." Ye Feiyu hurriedly caught up. And so began a new cycle.
"Excellent swordsmanship!" An elder shouted in applause as Qin An killed the Gale Leopard with a single sword strike.
"This swordsmanship is swift and fierce, yet it is unpredictable and powerful. I wonder where it was learned from?"
"He's a promising talent for swordsmanship."
...
"Sigh." Venerable Lieyang gently nudged Shu Lan's arm with his elbow. "Did you teach your disciple swordsmanship?"
"Of course. If I didn't teach him, who else could have?" Shu Lan felt that Qin An really made her look good, and she was very pleased.
"Your teaching is truly remarkable! This sword technique is also a rare and top-tier secret manual. It seems your disciple has great potential for growth." Venerable Lieyang gave Shu Lan a big thumbs up.
"That's right." Shu Lan smiled, her eyes fixed on Qin An's reflection in the water mirror.
Venerable Lieyang smiled and continued watching their assessment.
In the following assessments, both Qin An and Ye Feiyu performed admirably. In particular, Qin An's swordsmanship caught the eye of many elders, and many secretly hoped to recruit him into their ranks.
They just didn't say it out loud. If Shu Lan knew, she would just say, "That's my apprentice. Trying to poach him? No way!" And there might even be a fight.
It's important to understand that Shu Lan's Nascent Soul stage cultivation level is already considered high-level combat power in the cultivation world. No one would be so bored as to provoke a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Soon, everyone finished their assessments.
The assessment results came out quickly. Qin An came in first, Ye Feiyu came in second, and a boy named Kong Xiang came in third.
Those who passed the test gathered in the main hall.
Qin An, Ye Feiyu, and Kong Xiangze stood at the very front of the crowd.
"Qin An." An elder called out Qin An's name. "Whom do you wish to become your disciple?"
Qin An clasped his hands in a salute and said loudly, "Qin An has come here not to seek a master, for I already have a master."
Qin An's words caused an uproar in the hall. The elder was very puzzled, "Since you already have a master, why are you participating in this assessment?"
Qin An raised his head, staring intently at Shu Lan. They smiled at each other, and Qin An said loudly, "I have come here to prove myself. To prove that my master's judgment is excellent, and that only a disciple as outstanding as me is worthy of my master."
"Well said!" Venerable Lieyang clapped his hands. Shulan nodded in satisfaction from the side.
Shu Lan leaped down from the stage and landed gently in front of Qin An. She reached out a hand to pat Qin An's head, and Qin An affectionately nuzzled against Shu Lan's hand.
When Shu Lan appeared before everyone, they were all astonished by her beauty. Shu Lan wore a white robe with gold trim, a silver crown, and her long, flowing black hair swayed gently with her movements. Her appearance was exquisitely beautiful. Truly, "A gentleman like jade, unparalleled in the world."
"Who is he?" Some of the newer disciples, who had arrived in recent years, were unaware of Shu Lan's background and asked their senior brothers and sisters out of curiosity.
"Shh, you're talking about this guy. This is the junior brother who was taken in by the Supreme Elder, Venerable Lieyang, twelve years ago. Now he is the grandmaster of all of us."
"Wow, this grandmaster is so handsome!" Several female disciples stared at Shu Lan with shining eyes and infatuated expressions.
"Show some respect, that's our grandmaster uncle!"
"Aren't beautiful women meant to be admired?"
...
Shu Lan took Qin An's hand and led him to the high platform.
Venerable Lieyang cleared his throat and said loudly, "Disciples, listen carefully. This is my junior brother, Venerable Lieyang, and the disciple of Venerable Qingyu, Shulan. He is also your grandmaster. When you see your grandmaster, you should respect him as you would me. Your grandmaster has the same rights as the Supreme Elder."
As soon as Venerable Lieyang finished speaking, all the disciples bowed and said, "Greetings, Grandmaster Uncle."
Shu Lan nodded and said, "I have something to announce."
Shu Lan took Qin An's small hand and said, "Qin An is my personal disciple and my proudest student. According to seniority, he is your uncle. You should get along well with your uncle."
The disciples were quite surprised to hear Shu Lan's words, but they still bowed and said to Qin An, "Greetings, Martial Uncle."
"From today onwards, Grandmaster Uncle Shulan and his disciple Qin An have officially joined our Star River Sect," Venerable Lieyang announced in closing.
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