After exchanging a few words, Du Changsheng finally settled on addressing him as "Senior Yuan."
After all, Yuan Jinsheng was rumored to be over a hundred years old, older than Du Changsheng's father, grandfather, or even great-grandfather. It felt inappropriate to call him "uncle" or "elder," but calling someone who looked not much older than him an "old man" would be awkward. So, "Senior" seemed to fit.
Yuan Jinsheng was a burly man, not one to pay much attention to appearances. Even when wearing the refined, scholarly robes of Lingxian Sect, his broad frame and muscular build made him look somewhat out of place.
He had rolled up his wide sleeves and tied them behind his shoulders, revealing the tight white sleeves underneath.
The usually elegant sect robes somehow looked a little rough and untidy on him.
Oddly enough, his appearance blended in with the villagers of Shuishui Village, unlike the other neatly dressed disciples of Qingyun Peak who stood out in the crowd.
Having done this kind of work before, Yuan Jinsheng quickly integrated into the team of workers.
With the disciples of Lingxian Sect helping out, the construction of Shuishui Village progressed at an astonishing speed, impressing all the onlookers.
People from nearby villages who came to help were amazed at how quickly things were being built. It was far beyond what they were used to, like when they worked on government labor projects building towns, bridges, or roads using only manual labor.
At this rate, regardless of how grand the construction plans for Shuishui Village might be, it seemed it wouldn't take long before the entire village was completed.
By dusk, the workers began to wrap up for the day and head home for dinner.
The disciples of Lingxian Sect also went to Du Changsheng to have their day's work verified and stamped. The stamp was produced by the Artifact Refinement Hall and had no other purpose than being a token that the Miscellaneous Hall could recognize as authentic.
It wasn't because the sect didn't trust its own disciples, but as a managing body of the sect, it needed proper procedures to prevent issues down the line.
Having such systems in place could prevent misunderstandings and conflicts, avoiding situations where lax rules would lead to gradually deteriorating attitudes. This way, any real problems could be dealt with before they escalated.
After getting their work verified by Du Changsheng, the disciples happily made their way back to the sect.
Yuan Jinsheng was the last to get his stamp.
After stamping his token, Du Changsheng leaned in and whispered somewhat mysteriously, "Senior Yuan, could you do me a favor and pass a message when you return to the mountain? Tell Brother Nan... I mean, your Elder Liu, to bring Brother Xiao... I mean, your Sect Master, to come down to the village sometime in the next few days when they're free."
Hearing this, Yuan Jinsheng didn't ask any questions and simply nodded in agreement. "Sure, I'll let Elder Liu know when I get back."
"Great! Thank you, Senior Yuan," Du Changsheng replied, visibly pleased as he bid him farewell.
In fact, Du Changsheng's father, the village chief, had an artifact that could directly contact Elder Liu Yunan. However, his father said it wasn't an urgent matter and didn't want to use the artifact unnecessarily.
So, Du Changsheng decided to ask one of the sect disciples helping in the village to pass on the message.
After bidding Du Changsheng farewell, Yuan Jinsheng made his way back to the entrance of Wenxin Road. Remembering the man he had seen earlier in the afternoon, he instinctively glanced up the path.
Sure enough, he spotted the same figure from noon.
Earlier, Elder Liu had replied to Yuan Jinsheng's transmission, explaining that the person had some special background, and the sect master had personally opened the restriction on Wenxin Road to allow him to take the trial.
Elder Liu hadn't gone into detail but had mentioned that if the person passed the test and joined Lingxian Sect, an explanation would be given to everyone.
To Yuan Jinsheng, this once again proved how considerate the sect was toward its disciples. In his previous service to the imperial court in Huanyou Kingdom, he had grown accustomed to the ways of power and influence, where transparency was rare.
Even in many large sects, decisions were often made without informing the members, let alone providing explanations.
Moreover, although he couldn't sense the stranger's cultivation level, Yuan Jinsheng could tell that the person was definitely not an ordinary mortal, as his aura suggested the use of some artifact to conceal his cultivation.
From this, Yuan Jinsheng deduced that although the sect master had granted the man special permission for the trial, the decision was likely for the benefit of the sect. This was no mere case of favoritism.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Yuan Jinsheng quickly walked past the man, preparing to return to the sect.
However, just as he was leaving, he sensed a slight movement from the figure who had previously been standing still.
Without needing to turn around, he could tell—the man had awakened.
He had passed!
In such a short time?
Moreover, Yuan Jinsheng could feel that the man hadn't been rejected by Wenxin Road.
This meant that the person had successfully passed the trial.
A flood of thoughts rushed through Yuan Jinsheng's mind.
The elders had mentioned that some people passed through Wenxin Road quickly, while others took longer, and their group had been a special case.
But there was one thing they all agreed on: the higher a person's cultivation level, the more time they usually needed to complete the trial.
Yet, here was someone who clearly had some level of cultivation and had passed Wenxin Road in such a short amount of time...
Though, of course, not quite as fast as Elder Sun, whom all the Qingyun Peak disciples revered. The elders often recounted how Elder Sun had walked through Wenxin Road as if it were nothing, passing the trial without any hindrance.
The disciples had only recently gone through the trial themselves, and they all understood firsthand how formidable Wenxin Road was. To hear that someone could pass through it unscathed was astonishing.
Among their batch of new disciples, Bai Shu had been the quickest to complete the trial.
Even so, it had taken him most of a day.
But Bai Shu had been an ordinary mortal at the time.
And now, there was someone who, despite having some level of cultivation, had passed Wenxin Road in just half a day...
Despite witnessing the man's awakening, Yuan Jinsheng refrained from stepping in to greet him. With a swift movement, he entered the sect gates before the person fully regained their senses.
Since this person had been granted special permission by the sect master and Elder Liu had already informed the others, Yuan Jinsheng figured that all subsequent matters regarding the new disciple's integration into the sect had already been arranged. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to interfere.
Once back within the sect, he immediately sent a transmission to Elder Liu Yunan to report the situation.
What Yuan Jinsheng didn't know was that the newly awakened He Yi had already sensed the presence of a Golden Core cultivator nearby.
Lingxian Sect had provided each of its disciples with a Peach Leaf Pendant, which concealed their cultivation level. The sect had also explained the reason behind this: they didn't want the outside world to become aware of their rapid cultivation progress, especially since it wasn't tied to spiritual roots.
However, Yuan Jinsheng, being a Golden Core cultivator before joining Lingxian Sect, didn't feel the need to hide his cultivation unless his progress significantly increased, as doing so might have the opposite effect of drawing unnecessary attention.