Chapter 212 Cultivation Path A (Part 6) Path A's combat power is maxed out...
Song Ce sighed, stopped a few steps away from the little beggar, knelt down, and asked gently, "Are you alright?"
Hearing this, the little beggar timidly raised her head. Her long, dry, yellow hair was tangled together, but her eyes were dark and bright. The moment their eyes met, the little beggar hurriedly lowered her head again.
She vaguely felt a gentle breath, and then a hand with distinct knuckles reached out to her.
The little beggar seemed startled by this sudden action, and kept kowtowing to Song Ce.
"Please spare me, immortal! Please spare me, immortal!"
Helpless, Song Ce had no choice but to reach out and pull the little beggar up from the ground.
It was already late autumn in Tianshui City, but the little beggar was only wearing a pair of ill-fitting, tattered shoes, and his exposed forearms were already turning blue from the cold.
Song Ce sighed and took out a cloak from his storage bag, draping it over the little beggar's shoulders.
The little beggar trembled violently, but dared not raise his hand to touch it. He just lowered his head and stared intently at the worn-out toe of his shoe.
"May I have your name?"
After a long while, the little beggar replied in a voice barely audible, "...Replying to the immortal, my name is A-Cao."
"Ah Cao." Song Ce repeated the name and smiled, "Are you hungry? Come on, I'll take you to eat."
Ah Cao was stunned, her throat involuntarily moving. She stood frozen in place, not moving for a long time.
Seeing this, Song Ce had no choice but to extend his hand to her, "Come on, follow me."
A-Cao stared blankly at the immortal before her, then hesitantly reached out her small, frozen hand and gently tugged at his robe.
Not far from the alley, there was a noodle shop. Song Ce found a wooden table against the wall and sat down. A Cao followed him to the table. Soon, two bowls of hot noodle soup, coated with scallions and the aroma of lard, were brought over by the waiter.
"Sir, please enjoy your noodles."
The waiter smiled as he placed the noodles on the wooden table. His gaze swept over the dirty Ah Cao, paused, and then he subconsciously glanced at the ethereal Song Ce. In the end, he didn't dare to say anything more.
Song Ce pushed one of the bowls in front of A Cao and said gently, "Eat it quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold."
Ah Cao stared at the hot noodle soup in the bowl, her eyes suddenly reddening. Since she came here, she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten something so hot. She picked up the chopsticks with trembling hands, but her frozen hands couldn't hold them steady, and with a "clatter," the chopsticks fell to the ground.
She was so frightened that her face turned pale. She hurriedly knelt on the ground to pick it up, her forehead about to bang on the ground again.
"An immortal..."
"Don't kneel." Song Ce reached out to support her arm and handed her a new pair of chopsticks: "Just change to a different pair."
When A-Cao took the chopsticks, her whole arm was trembling. She buried her head and ate the noodles in big mouthfuls, tears falling into the bowl and being swallowed down with the noodles.
Soon, A-Cao finished her bowl of noodles completely, even drinking the broth. She stood frozen in place, holding the empty bowl, not daring to put it down or look up, only able to steal glances at Song Ce out of the corner of her eye.
"Would you like another bowl?" Song Ce asked.
Ah Cao shook her head vigorously and said timidly, "No, no need, thank you, Immortal."
After the meal, Song Ce randomly found an inn, let A Cao clean herself up and change into new clothes, left her a health-preserving pill, and told her to rest well in her room.
The next morning, Song Ce was meditating in his room when he heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
A-Cao stared blankly at Song Ce, suddenly unsure of what to say. After a long while, she knelt down with red eyes, touching her forehead to the ground, tears falling drop by drop onto the floor in front of her, crying silently.
"Immortal... I want to follow you to repay your kindness! I'm willing to be your slave, your servant, or your beast of burden! Please!"
Song Ce glanced down at A Cao and said softly, "Saving you yesterday was just a favor, and you don't need to repay the debt. I travel around and have no fixed abode, so it would be inconvenient to take you with me."
“I’m not afraid!” Ah Cao immediately interjected, saying urgently, “Immortal, I can do laundry, cook, and gather firewood. I can do anything and will never cause you any trouble! Please accept me!”
Looking at the thin child before him, Song Ce's heart softened in the end. After all, in the world of cultivation, meeting was a kind of fate.
He remained silent for a while before saying, "Alright, I see you also have spiritual roots, why don't you come back to the sect with me first!"
"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Immortal!" Ah Cao quickly kowtowed, her eyes filled with joy.
After traveling at various stops, Song Ce successfully established his foundation in less than half a month and returned to the Yuheng Sect.
Tomorrow is the day of the sect's assessment for entering the inner sect. Song Ce took out a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills and went directly to the Elder Hall with A Cao to request an audience with Elder Liu.
Upon seeing that it was Song Ce, Elder Liu put down the magical artifact in his hand and chuckled, "It's Song Ce! Tomorrow is the sect assessment, what brings you here now?"
Song Ce cupped his hands in a salute, stepped aside to let A Cao walk in front of him, and said gently, "To be honest, I have come here to ask you for a favor."
Elder Liu paused upon hearing this, his gaze falling on Ah Cao: "What do you want?"
"Elder, this child is called Acao. I found her on my way back to Mount T." Song Ce placed the bottle of Qi Gathering Pills on the table and continued, "I humbly request that you allow her to stay in the sect. What do you think?"
Looking at the Qi Gathering Pill on the table, Elder Liu subconsciously reached out and poured out one. The unique, slightly sweet fragrance of the Qi Gathering Pill wafted out. Judging from its appearance, it was actually a bottle of high-grade pills.
Elder Liu narrowed his eyes and then smiled, "Why not? The child is still young. If she focuses on cultivation in the future, she might achieve great things."
"Thank you, Elder!"
Seeing Ah Cao's eyes light up instantly, Song Ce smiled gently and instructed softly, "From now on, you will listen to Elder Liu's arrangements and behave well, understand?"
Ah Cao gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with her small hands and asked softly, "Can...can I really stay?"
Elder Liu laughed heartily upon hearing this, “Of course it’s true. Since you have a connection with your Senior Brother Song and possess spiritual roots, you may stay. Since we have nothing else to do today, I will personally take you to settle in!”
Upon hearing this, tears welled up in A-Cao's eyes again, and she quickly knelt down to express her gratitude: "Yes! Thank you, Senior Brother Song! Thank you, Elder!"
Seeing Elder Liu lead A Cao away, Song Ce didn't linger and headed towards the courtyard.
After resting for a night, Song Ce followed the newly initiated outer disciples to the assessment and competition platform.
For a low-ranking sect like the Jade Balance Sect, the sect assessment is not held once a year, but only once every three years. The pairings during the assessment are determined entirely by drawing lots, so there is an occasional chance of the first-place winner being drawn as the last-place winner.
The assessment consisted of two rounds: screening and competition.
As a melodious bell rang, all the outer disciples below the arena fell silent. A short while later, a young man dressed in a dark red silk robe slowly walked out of the main hall. Although his hair and beard were all white, his appearance was handsome and youthful.
The young man stood on the competition platform and addressed the disciples below, saying in a loud voice: "Everyone, I am Nan Yuanyi, an outer elder of the Jade Balance Sect. The path of cultivation is filled with countless adventures and hardships, and only those with unwavering will can endure it. Therefore, the first test is to pass the Mirror of Inquiry."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nan Yuanyi flicked his sleeve, and a stream of light, pale golden, flew out from his wide sleeve. In an instant, the stream of light transformed into a huge bronze mirror gleaming with a bluish light, standing in the center of the arena.
The disciples below could not contain their nervousness and began to whisper among themselves.
At this moment, a male disciple, confident in his cultivation, leisurely floated onto the stage. He raised his hand and encountered no resistance, easily passing through the Mirror of Inquiry. He couldn't help but laugh arrogantly and said loudly, "Fellow disciples, I'll go first."
With the first person to try it out, the other disciples couldn't resist and went up on the stage in twos and threes. Some passed smoothly like the first male disciple, while others were bounced back by a golden light as soon as they touched the mirror. Song Ce counted, and at this point, only forty-two people had successfully passed through the Mirror of Inquiry.
Elder Nan Yuanyi's gaze swept across the audience below, and he announced with a smile, "The first round of selection is over, with forty-two participants advancing. Next, the second round of the competition will begin with a draw—"
The disciples instinctively looked in the direction Nan Yuanyi pointed, where there was a huge divination stick container floating in the air.
"Those who draw the same number will be opponents, and the winner will be promoted to inner disciple."
After hearing this, the disciples who had passed the test stepped forward one by one. When it was Song Ce's turn, he casually pulled out a wooden slip and looked down. There was a bright red character engraved on it: "One".
It's the first group... their luck is unbelievable.
Just as Song Ce stood by the number one platform, he saw a burly disciple in blue robes stride over, with the character "壹" engraved on a wooden plaque at his waist.
The disciple in blue robes walked onto the stage carrying a heavy iron sword, cupped his hands in greeting to Song Ce, and said, "My name is Zhao Hu. Please enlighten me."
Song Ce smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "My name is Song Ce. Please enlighten me."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Hu had already swung his knife at him. The blade, carrying a fierce momentum, aimed straight for his face.
With a light tap of his toes, Song Ce compressed the surrounding spiritual energy into a string with his fingers, precisely blocking the attack and using the string to bind Zhao Hu's limbs.
Zhao Hu felt his body stiffen, and the iron knife nearly slipped from his hand. He looked at Song Ce in astonishment and exclaimed, "You, what kind of technique is this?"
Song Ce did not answer. Taking advantage of the moment, he stepped forward, gently pinched the blade in front of him with two fingers, and twisted it in the back of his hand. In an instant, Zhao Hu flew out along with the blade and crashed heavily off the dueling platform.
The disciples below the stage were immediately in an uproar, "This...this is it?"
Someone in the crowd let out a soft exclamation, which was immediately followed by cheers from all sides.
It's important to know that Zhao Hu arrived at the Jade Balance Sect two years ago. His strength at the ninth level of Qi Refining wasn't weak among the outer disciples; it usually took dozens of rounds for his contemporaries to determine a winner. No one expected that this newcomer, who had only been there for a few months, could win so easily.
Seeing this, Nan Yuanyi's eyes flashed with approval, and he announced loudly, "Second round, first group, Song Ce wins—"
Song Ce cupped his hands in greeting to the audience below the stage, then turned and walked off the stage.
When it was the second group's turn to compete, a muffled thud suddenly came from the stage. It turned out that the yellow-robed disciple had been injured in the arm by his opponent's poison technique, and in pain, he threw down his weapon and admitted defeat.
Two inner disciples waiting below the stage immediately leaped onto the stage and helped the injured disciple down.
"This is the way of cultivation. Even in the sect's assessment, a slight mistake can lead to injury. Please remember to act within your capabilities in this competition," Nan Yuanyi said calmly.
"Yes, Elder Nan!"
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Author's Note: [Rose]
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