In the blink of an eye, Ye Ling had been in this world for over a month.
During that time, he devoted the vast majority of his energy to studying the Six Arts.
Unfortunately, aside from the Talisman Dao, where he could be considered fairly accomplished, he had only grasped the bare basics of the other five arts.
There was no helping it. Most likely because the one teaching him was Ai Yueli, who specialized in the Talisman Dao, he had failed to trigger any system tasks related to the other five arts.
On top of that, after suffering a heavy blow from him earlier, Ai Yueli's teaching style had changed. Lately, she simply taught whatever she knew, and whenever he asked questions, she would tell him to try things out himself. Who knew, maybe he'd succeed by chance?
However, without his master's "recognition," the system's power remained dormant. As a result, even though he went through all five arts from start to finish, he gained very little.
He hadn't even had the opportunity to complete the system's assigned tasks.
Even so, despite pouring all his effort into the Six Arts, after a full month his cultivation was still firmly stabilized at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
"Ling'er."
As they spent more time together, and also to distinguish him from Bai Yiyi, Ai Yueli had changed the way she addressed Ye Ling, from "disciple" to "Ling'er."
"Fourth Master."
Ye Ling set down what he had been tinkering with and turned to look at Ai Yueli behind him.
Ever since coming up with the idea of a Spirit Brain, he had spent all his spare time over the past month assembling it.
Unfortunately, his understanding was still superficial. The symbolic structures were already close to what he wanted, but the carrier and hardware were nowhere near adequate.
At this rate, it seemed he would have to wait until his remaining Martial Aunts returned and officially became his masters before this project could truly move forward.
Looking at Ai Yueli, he asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Ling'er, this matter should have been handled by me personally," Ai Yueli said. "But recently, I've had some new insights, so I plan to enter seclusion for a while."
She took out a token from her Storage Ring and handed it to Ye Ling. "That's why I want you to take this token and go down the mountain."
"This is…?"
Ye Ling accepted the token and saw that it bore only a single character: "Heaven."
[Heavenly Gate Sect Token]
[Description: Heavenly Gate Sect Credential]
It looked like nothing more than an ordinary token. The system provided no further explanation.
"The Heavenly Gate Sect Token is a token of our Heavenly Gate Sect," Ai Yueli said.
She then took out a jade slip. "These are the examiner's rules. Take a look."
"Examiner?"
Ye Ling felt his thoughts descend into chaos once again. He accepted the jade slip with confusion, and after scanning it with his mental force, he quickly understood its contents.
It was a very ordinary set of examination rules for a Talisman conference. There was nothing special about it. In fact, to Ye Ling, the rules felt rather crude, with plenty of room for improvement.
"Ling'er, when you're down the mountain, you often see various sects holding recruitment examinations, don't you?" Ai Yueli asked.
"Mm."
"Similar to those, we Talisman Practitioners have our own assessment system. Only those certified by the Talisman Masters Alliance are considered qualified Talisman Practitioners."
"Fourth Master… you mean…?"
Ye Ling's expression turned a little strange, but he understood.
"Yes," Ai Yueli nodded. "Our Heavenly Gate Sect's responsibility is to act as examiners."
She patted Ye Ling on the shoulder. "Your attainment in the Talisman Dao is already solid. You're more than qualified to serve as an examiner for the talisman assessments down the mountain."
"Oh, right. Although it's unlikely anything will happen, our duties also include protecting the examinees. Take this jade pendant with you for now."
As she spoke, Ai Yueli handed Ye Ling another jade pendant.
It was identical to the one Bai Yiyi had wanted to give him. However, Ye Ling was still reeling from everything he'd heard and didn't even reach out to take it.
"Take it. This time, I'm not testing you," Ai Yueli said.
She placed the jade pendant directly into his hand before adding, "But this isn't a gift. Remember to return it when you come back."
"I understand."
Ye Ling's expression was complicated. He knew this was Ai Yueli acknowledging him, yet he couldn't help feeling a bit dejected.
Wasn't I supposed to go to the assessment and show off?
How did I end up becoming the examiner instead?
If I'm the examiner, how am I supposed to show off?
[Side Quest Triggered]
[Side Quest: Is an Examiner Like This Reasonable?]
[Quest Requirement: Obtain 50,000 Emotion Points through your role as an examiner]
[Quest Reward: Examiner's Judgement Brush (High-Grade Spirit Artifact)]
So it's still about showing off?
As long as the artifact's good enough, I'll show you how it's done.
Ye Ling, who had been feeling reluctant just moments ago, immediately perked up when he saw the quest.
"Leave it to me!"
He patted his chest and confidently agreed.
"Mmm… then I'll leave this matter to you."
Although she had no idea why Ye Ling had suddenly become so fired up, Ai Yueli genuinely breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, I've sent him away.
Ever since that night when she exposed Bai Yiyi's little crush on Ye Ling, Bai Yiyi had become like a completely different person. She would secretly hide in places Ye Ling couldn't notice, watching him and smiling foolishly to herself.
Seeing all of this, Ai Yueli didn't know what to say. But she knew one thing for certain: Ye Ling had to leave for a while. Otherwise, that silly girl Bai Yiyi would sooner or later suffer qi deviation.
She planned to take advantage of Ye Ling's absence to give Bai Yiyi an intensive crash course on relationships. She couldn't let that foolish girl keep being foolish forever.
"What about Master?" Ye Ling asked casually, having already gone through the examiner's rules in his mind and formed a plan.
"Preparing your travel supplies…"
As Ai Yueli was speaking, a figure came jogging over from afar like a gust of wind.
"My good disciple, keep this jade pendant close to you."
Bai Yiyi stuffed the jade pendant, still carrying her warmth and faint fragrance, straight into Ye Ling's chest.
"Sect Master, I've already given him my jade pendant. You don't need to give yours."
Seeing Bai Yiyi's actions, Ai Yueli's headache flared up again. She pressed her slender, pale index finger against her temple.
"One more won't hurt."
Bai Yiyi turned back and flashed Ai Yueli an extremely radiant smile.
"We're staying in the Heavenly Gate Sect anyway. My good disciple needs it more."
After that, she looked at Ye Ling again and added, "But remember to return it to me when you come back, okay~"
"Understood."
Ye Ling nodded, forcibly suppressing the urge to pat Bai Yiyi on the head.
No matter how many times he looked at her, Bai Yiyi was still unbearably cute. She might be a little foolish, but she was foolish in an endearing way, the kind that made one want to hold her in their arms and dote on her.
Unfortunately, Bai Yiyi was incredibly powerful. At the very least, until his cultivation reached the Great Ascension stage, such beautiful fantasies were things he didn't dare indulge in.
"Forget it…"
Ai Yueli shook her head. She didn't want to waste any more energy on this and said to Ye Ling, "Ling'er, the teleportation array is ready. You should go."
"My good disciple, remember this. If anyone dares bully you out there, beat them if you can. If you can't, come back and tell us. We'll beat them for you!"
Bai Yiyi held onto Ye Ling's hand tightly, her wine-red eyes filled with reluctance.
"Mm. Don't disgrace the Heavenly Gate Sect," Ai Yueli added from the side, nodding in agreement. A sharp glint that Ye Ling had never seen before flickered in her beautiful golden eyes.
"Don't worry, Master."
Ye Ling actually quite enjoyed this atmosphere. It was just a pity that he had already read the examiner's rules and knew this trip would only take two or three days. There was really no need for things to feel so momentous.
"I'll be back soon."
To be honest, he hadn't taken this task seriously at all.
If he needed to retreat, the Nine Heavens jade pendant could bring him back at any time. If he chose to press forward, his current strength was nothing to scoff at either.
As Ai Yueli had said, with his mastery of talismans, even though his cultivation was only at mid–Foundation Establishment, ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
This assessment itself was merely a Qi Refinement–level talisman examination. The chief examiner was only at Golden Core stage. Even a genius among Golden Core cultivators would, at best, be evenly matched with him.
Don't be fooled by how Bai Yiyi treated Nascent Soul cultivators as if they were nothing. Down the mountain, Nascent Soul cultivators were considered major figures, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
As for cultivators who had grasped the Dao, they were even rarer. Most of them stayed in seclusion, devoted to bitter cultivation, and would not appear unless a great calamity arrived.
So with Ye Ling's current strength, while he couldn't exactly swagger around unchecked, there was no one who could bully him either. In fact, it was more likely that he'd be the one bullying others.
And really, what were the odds that he'd run into a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator the moment he went down the mountain?
Even if he did, he wasn't afraid at all. He was actually a little curious whether a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator could withstand a savage beating from the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden's avatar.
With countless trump cards in hand, Ye Ling felt unbelievably steady. It wouldn't be easy for anyone to break through his defenses.
A dragon flying straight into his face. How could he possibly lose?
But then—
"Da… Daddy!"
When a little girl, delicate and adorable like a porcelain doll stepped out of a painting, opened her mouth and called him that, his mental defenses instantly collapsed.
What was even worse was that the little girl's hand was being held by someone he knew.
Leng Qingqiu.
Leng Qingqiu, even trying to frame someone requires a sense of basic decency!
I don't remember the Mighty Strength Fist having the ability to get someone pregnant, and you letting a child grow this big in just one month is way too fast, isn't it?
Ye Ling panicked.
He hadn't forgotten that there was still a broken engagement hanging between him and Leng Qingqiu.
What if this child was some product of the System forcibly twisting reality?
The terror of the System's power was something he understood all too well.