Chapter 45 Choice
After asking all the questions he wanted to ask, Lin Zhusheng slid down the pillar and sat on the wooden chair in the pavilion. He waved his hand to let his friend leave first and said, "It will be your turn soon. I'll sit here for a while, you go first."
He seemed to be still thinking about what the great elder had just said. Song Ming responded with an "OK" and lowered his head to open the umbrella.
The sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella gradually faded away. Lin Zhusheng stayed in the pavilion and watched the rain hitting the leaves for a while. He then reached out and took out the kitten that was sleeping in his clothes and rubbed it.
He just rubbed it without saying anything. The kitten was woken up by the rubbing. After waking up, it rolled its eyes and continued to sleep.
A kitten who never wakes up. No one wanted to chat with him, so Lin Zhusheng sat for a while, then took his umbrella, stood up, and prepared to leave.
“Pah—”
"...What's so great about him? He just relies on his face."
The umbrella was half-opened when he heard mixed footsteps amid the sound of rain. He stopped opening the umbrella and then he heard talking.
Through the green bamboo leaves, he saw two green figures standing not far away.
A sound I've never heard before. He had no habit of eavesdropping on people's conversations, so he continued to hold his umbrella open, ready to walk out before hearing more, subtly reminding the person who was talking that there was someone else here.
"If he didn't have a good background, who would care about him?"
"He's so proud of himself after only winning two games. Anyone with Song Ming's resources can do better than him."
Hearing the familiar name in the conversation, Lin Zhusheng stopped holding the umbrella and raised the corners of his eyes slightly.
"...Why don't you keep your voice down? What if there's someone here?"
"How could there be people in a place like this? I'm telling the truth and I'm not afraid of others hearing it."
"He has been a menial disciple for so long, but he never failed the test. But he suddenly passed it last time with a high score. Maybe he used his family's influence to bribe the teacher."
"Children of big families like him are really good at this kind of thing." Another person said, "It will be your turn in a few rounds, don't you want to prepare?"
"No need, I have already won two games. The next one will be against an ordinary disciple named Zhu something. It will be easy to deal with him, so don't worry. After entering the inner sect, I will worship the elder as my master. I will definitely surpass Song Ming and make him never be so proud again."
Zhu didn't listen any further and walked out of the pavilion and onto the bluestone road.
As he moved, the white umbrella stood out in the dark space, and the two people outside quickly noticed that there was another person here.
The air was quiet for a moment, but Lin Zhusheng remained calm. He glanced at the two people's faces and recognized that one of them was the fox-eyed disciple he had seen before.
It seems that he is a disciple under the same elder as Song Ming. His talent is quite outstanding among all the disciples, but since he and Song Ming are under the same elder, he is destined to be suppressed.
His brows relaxed slightly, he nodded politely and said "Excuse me".
The two disciples who were blocking the road made way for them halfway and looked over here twice with their fox eyes.
To the two people's surprise, the man did not express any opinion on the matter. He just borrowed it as he said. He walked by with an umbrella and left very calmly. He only glanced in their direction when he left.
A fleeting glance, with no clear meaning, or rather no meaning at all.
There were more than three people on this short road.
Lin Zhusheng had just left the Fox Eyes duo, and when he turned the corner he saw a familiar figure standing not far away with an umbrella.
It was the person being talked about, Song Ming, who had returned, holding an umbrella in one hand and a small bag in the other. Seeing him coming, he raised his hand slightly and said, "Gao Yu got some food from somewhere, and said he wanted to give you one. It's better to have it hot."
After taking a few steps forward, Lin Zhusheng quickly reached out to take the bag and asked in a low voice: "...Did you hear everything?"
Knowing what he meant, Song Ming nodded, "Almost."
"Don't worry about it."
Sure enough, I heard it. Lin Zhusheng quickly stood on tiptoe and patted the person on the shoulder, comforting him: "There will always be one or two people like this, don't worry about it, just know that you are fine."
He hasn't experienced this kind of thing much, but he has some experience and concluded that ignoring it is the best way to deal with it.
Song Ming lowered his head and asked, "Am I fine?"
Lin Zhusheng held up the umbrella, opened the small pocket with one hand, took out the still warm snack inside and took a bite, then nodded casually, "Of course not."
When they returned, the others were not resting at all. They spent their rest time in meditation with their eyes closed and in short sword practice.
The first match after the break was between Song Ming and an unknown disciple. His swordplay was as sharp as ever, and he obviously didn't seem to be affected by the noise he heard near the pavilion.
The two people who had been talking in the pavilion also returned to their positions. Looking at the scene on the ring, they unconsciously touched the swords in their hands.
A few scenes after Song Ming it's Lin Zhusheng's turn.
He originally didn't pay much attention to who his opponent was, but thanks to Fox Eyes' two words in the bamboo forest, he finally knew who his opponent was in advance.
The outer sect elder standing on the sidelines called his name. He stood up from his seat, leaning on a small broken wooden sword, put the sleeping kitten in his arms on his clean hands, and stepped onto the stage.
Fox Eyes came up onto the stage from the other side. When he stepped onto the stairs, his sword was already unsheathed. The tip of the sword just brushed the ground no more than one centimeter away, and a pair of eyes looked at him.
With the most basic respect for their opponents, both sides bowed and saluted.
The elder standing in the center of the arena stepped down, stood still, and announced the start of the competition.
Before his body stood up straight, Fox Eyes had already drawn his sword, and the sword light swept out. His footsteps instantly quickened, and he pointed into the air and pounced straight at the person opposite him.
The disciples below the stage and the elders on the platform could all see that he seemed to want to learn from Song Ming and resolve the game without suspense as quickly as possible.
The fierce fighting style was specifically designed to counter Wen Tun's sword. The elder on the high platform watched with interest, wanting to see whether Wen Tun's sword could continue to fight back and forth under such circumstances.
After watching it for a short time, I quickly realized that something was wrong.
Lin Zhusheng dodged the long sword by jumping up from the ground without any unnecessary movements. He turned around before landing and spun in mid-air. With his long hair flying, he used the small broken wooden sword in his hand to block the long sword that was about to be retracted after the sweep.
As he landed, spiritual energy surged, and Fox Eyes' hand holding the sword shook, and the hilt almost slipped out of his hand. The whole person slid backwards for a distance, and his eyes instantly raised to look at the ordinary person and the ordinary wooden sword opposite him.
He met a pair of slightly crooked eyes.
The subsequent developments were completely beyond our expectations. Their eyes met briefly, and then everything went white.
The flying sleeves and hem of his clothes blocked his vision. He could feel something approaching quickly and he reflexively drew his sword to block it. However, the sword came out but failed to block anything. He struck out in vain. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. A burning pain came from the solid blow to one side of his waist and abdomen.
As his line of sight shifted, he had already left his original location, moving from the center of the ring to the edge of the ring. If he crossed the line just a little more, he would lose.
From dodging to counterattacking, this series of actions was smooth and swift. Not only did Fox Eyes fail to react, but the disciples below the stage and the elders on the platform also failed to react, and their bodies unconsciously sat up a little straighter.
"?"
The group of friends were particularly puzzled. Gao Yu leaned over and asked Zhang Jing in a low voice, "Brother Lin, what happened suddenly?"
Everything was fine before, but suddenly this happened and they were confused for a moment.
Zhang Jing didn't know either. He just lowered his head and touched the little black cat in his hand. While touching it, he looked at Song Ming, who had left alone with others for a while during the break.
Song Ming supported his head with one hand, and his drooping hair just covered his eyes, so his expression could not be seen clearly. One could only vaguely feel that he was as surprised as they were.
Only the initial attack helped him seize the initiative, after which Fox Eyes fell completely into passivity.
The wooden sword appeared from nowhere, and its movement was so fast that it left an afterimage. He defended from all sides, but failed to block it once, and the sword almost slipped out of his hand.
The small broken wooden sword collided with the shiny sword blade, making a buzzing sound. The collision of sword energy brought up a strong wind, which made the hem of the clothes rustle in the wind.
The absolute suppression of strength made it almost impossible for him to open his eyes, and his arms gradually became weak. Fox Eyes gritted his teeth, and the spiritual power of his whole body surged. He bought a moment of autonomy and pointed his long sword directly at the chest of the man opposite him.
Then his wrist was twisted, and one of his shoulders was locked tightly. His knee was kicked sideways, and his center of gravity dropped sharply. He rolled on the ring, and the long sword slipped out of his hand, flew high into the air in a circle, and then fell straight down.
It fell right in front of his brow.
The back of his head rested on the solid ground, and his body was briefly paralyzed when he fell to the ground. For a moment, he watched the sword fall with his pupils dilated.
At the moment before the tip of the sword completely fell, the hilt was firmly grasped by someone.
The shiny long sword turned a circle in his hand, and finally embedded itself firmly into the solid ground beside the side of Fox Eyes' neck, making an ear-numbing friction sound. The flying sword energy spread out, affecting the disciples in the stands at a distance, causing their robes and hair to flutter.
Holding the hilt of the sword in one hand, Lin Zhusheng half-knelt on the man with one leg propped up. He leaned down, facing the trembling pupils of the fox eyes, leaned forward to close the distance, and whispered in the man's ear: "You can't even beat an ordinary disciple like me, how can you still want to surpass Song Ming."
His voice was completely different when he spoke with a smile and when he spoke without emotion. The fox eyes looked at him with the pupils sideways.
He stopped there and tucked his hair behind his ears. Lin Zhusheng stood up with the small broken wooden sword as support. He put a smile on his face again, bent down and stretched out his hand to the person lying on the ground.
Fox Eyes didn't dare to resist at all. He stood up on his elbows and took the hand he extended.
His hands were unexpectedly thin, but they had every bit of strength. He easily helped him stand up, then let go.
The long sword that was embedded in the ground was pulled out and returned to his hand. When he took the sword, he heard someone say with a smile: "Song Ming is a very good person. Please get to know him better before making a judgment next time."
The more I think about it, the worse it gets. A protective person like Lin is not suitable for retreating at all. Problems must be solved on the spot.
Hurryingly putting the sword back into the scabbard, Fox Eyes said okay.
At the end of the game, the result was obvious. The two contestants saluted each other and then left.
It was not until both men stepped down that the presiding elder finally came to his senses and announced the winner.
No one expected this ending. In the silent stands, Song Ming was the first to speak and couldn't help laughing.
This laughter was very conspicuous in such a quiet moment. Gao Yu turned his head and saw Song Ming, who was usually lazy and expressionless, leaning back on the seat with a smile on his face, with the corners of his mouth raised.
Not understanding what he was laughing at, Gao Yu asked directly.
Song Ming waved his hand, "Nothing, I just remembered something funny."
——Don’t worry about it.
This person told him not to worry about it, but he did it himself.
The corners of his eyes, which usually drooped, raised up, he raised his hand to cover the corners of his mouth, and watched the figure approaching in the distance.
The elders on the high platform finally realized that they had been tricked by a disciple.
Being able to act without them noticing is also a skill.
They said, how could someone who could make the sect leader take the initiative to offer to be a disciple during the sect competition have no talent?
Several elders watched the man jump off the stage and run back to the stands. They turned their gaze to the Sect Master and asked again, "Does the Sect Master want to accept this young friend?"
The leader nodded, "Yes."
As long as he wants to collect it, the matter is almost certain. The sect leader's disciples sound much more impressive than the elder disciples, not to mention that there is Ling Xujun Wen Baizhou, the most popular disciple above them. Just because of Ling Xujun's existence, many disciples took the initiative to choose the sect master's peak.
The other elders then looked away with regret.
The great elder looked over, then finally lowered his head to drink a sip of tea, his old eyes drooping.
An inner sect competition lasted until dark, and finally ended when the sky darkened and the lights in the training ground came on.
The last round happened to be Gao Yu, who barely qualified with a record of two wins out of three games. The six-member team lived up to the fact that Master Lin and Master Song had served as sparring partners for a few days in the past few days, and all members made it to the shore.
The list of disciples who are qualified to enter the inner gate will be compiled tomorrow, and the selection of elders will also be officially carried out tomorrow. The qualified disciples will have a whole night to think about which elder to choose.
Lin Zhusheng spent the whole night thinking before going to sleep. He took a shower after exercise so that he could sleep better. The next day, Zhang Jing dug him out of bed as usual.
Thinking he was going to be late again, he stuffed his clothes into his pocket while washing himself, took the hairpin and was about to take out his big sword and run, but was stopped by Zhang Jing before he could run.
"There's still time," Zhang Jing leaned back on the desk, looked him up and down, and said, "I just wanted to wake you up earlier, so that you can at least dress like a decent person for the apprenticeship ceremony."
Lin Zhusheng scratched his messy hair, then put down his big sword and put on his clothes with squinting eyes.
Very good, there was no difference between him being prepared and not being prepared, his clothes were still as messy as ever, the only difference was that his messy hair was a little smoother.
Zhang Jing couldn't bear to see it and wanted to lend a hand, but he intuitively felt that doing so might ruin their friendship, so he chose to turn a blind eye and turned his head away from the strange thing on the man.
Lin Zhusheng went to the apprenticeship ceremony with all his strange clothes.
The apprenticeship ceremony was held at the inner gate. The venue was like an enlarged version of the Jingsi Hall, and the whole atmosphere was solemn and dignified.
Normally, today is a solemn day.
In the early morning, sunlight rose from the distant mountains, shining brightly, illuminating the lobby. The intricate wood carvings on the beams were fully revealed in the light. The elders, who usually had no specific requirements for their attire, changed into elders' uniforms, their moon-white clothes neat and tidy.
Today is probably the day when the most elders and their first disciples are present. Except for the great elder who still had no personal disciple, the first disciples of the other sect leaders and elders were all present.
The morning mist floated, and the hem of a clear blue robe swayed in the air. When the person walking beside the sect leader appeared, many people looked over, but could only see a pair of eyes that did not look away and the cold and sharp light of the scabbard at the waist.
The eldest brother is here too.
The most conspicuous and eye-catching person among those present was indeed the eldest senior brother. Lin Zhusheng fiddled with his belt which he didn't know where it came from, and followed the crowd to look over.
Knowing that this was not a good time to say hello, he just glanced over. Just when he was about to look away, the man who was not looking away looked over at him, and as if he had some special ability, he looked directly and accurately into his eyes.
Their eyes met and after a silent greeting, he looked away again, clenched his fist to his lips, as if nothing had happened. He was still the humble and distant Ling Xujun to other disciples.
In addition to the best-of-three competition, the elders will also score people based on their performance during the competition. The ten people with the highest average scores in all three games can choose which elder to become their disciple, and the remaining disciples will be assigned randomly.
If the elder wishes, he can also take the initiative to choose to accept a randomly assigned disciple.
The first place is undoubtedly Song Ming. Lin Zhusheng performed twice and saved his score in the last show, ranking ninth and getting the opportunity to choose independently.
Behind him happened to be Fox Eyes, whom he had accidentally beaten up yesterday. He was standing not far in front of him, and would turn back to glance at him from time to time. When he noticed him, he turned back quickly.
While the others were choosing, Kitty quietly poked her head out from under his clothes and whispered, "That person will be an inner sect disciple in the future, and he will also be someone who needs to collect favorability points."
If you want to achieve all the achievements, you cannot do it without the favorability of one person.
Then this person pinned someone to the ground and beat him up in public yesterday.
The social genius Master Lin didn't really care and said, "If the favorability is gone, we can still find a way to save it later."
He was able to restore the favorability of the eldest senior brother from its lowest point before, so he was not worried about this. Favorability can be saved, but once the opportunity to beat someone up is lost, it may not come back again.
The disciple in front of me really thought about it all night last night and made a quick decision. Song Ming chose the second elder who was also studying pharmacology, and was accepted as a disciple on the spot.
Including Song Ming, two of the first eight disciples were accepted as personal disciples. Compared with previous years when sometimes there was no personal disciple at all, the ratio is quite astonishing.
It doesn’t matter whether he is a direct disciple or not, as long as he can enter the inner gate.
When it was his turn, Lin Zhusheng stuffed the kitten into his arms and walked forward on his two legs.
As he stepped forward, several elders looked towards the clan leader.
Among the many jade tokens of ordinary disciples in the mahogany box in front of the sect leader, there is also a jade token for a personal disciple. It is obvious who it is for.
The scheming sect leader even specially brought in Ling Xujun, who usually did not participate in these activities, and tempted him from all sides.
Lin Zhusheng strolled past several elders and stopped just in front of the sect leader under the gaze of everyone.
He stood in front of the table of the great elders.
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