Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Shen Jinghan stopped and turned around, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

After a long while, he sighed somewhat embarrassedly.

"To tell you the truth, apart from my master Xiao Xuan, our sect actually only has... three disciples in total."

"What? There are only three disciples?" Xia Jin thought she had misheard something, and her expression became somewhat strange.

"That's right, it's three people." Shen Jinghan nodded. "Me, Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister. If we add Master, that's four people in total. If Brother Xia can successfully join, then it will be five people."

Xia Jin's lips twitched slightly.

Three people.

Including this guy's master, there are only four of them.

Although the Cloud Academy is divided into two major sects, even if a sect is in decline, it shouldn't have only four people from top to bottom.

He suddenly had a strong feeling that he might have been tricked.

Xia Jin remained silent and did not say anything.

"Let's go," Shen Jinghan said, seeing that Xia Jin didn't speak, and didn't try to persuade her further. "Let's see Master first. Although Master seems a bit unreliable, he is still very capable."

"Very capable?" Xia Jin raised an eyebrow slightly and continued walking forward with Shen Jinghan.

Soon, the two of them arrived directly at the back mountain of the Taoist temple.

As soon as Xia Jin stepped into the back mountain, she smelled a rich aroma of meat.

What the hell? Why does this smell here?

Shen Jinghan, walking ahead of Xia Jin, was already used to it. Instead, he smiled and shook his head, saying, "Looks like Master is sneaking food again!"

Xia Jin looked at the other person suspiciously, followed them for a few more steps, and then stopped.

In the center of an open space not far away, there was a simple stone table.

There were already some cleanly gnawed chicken bones on the stone table.

Next to the stone table, several chickens were roasting, making a sizzling sound.

An old man was sitting there.

The old man had gray hair that was disheveled and hung loosely over his shoulders, like a bird's nest. His beard was even more outrageous, spreading from his cheeks all the way to his chin, so thick that it almost covered most of his face.

At this moment, the old man was sitting cross-legged on a rock, holding a roasted chicken that was golden and shiny in one hand and a pot of wine in the other. He was eating heartily, his mouth full of oil, and he was very content.

Xia Jin's lips twitched involuntarily as she looked at the scene before her.

This must be the master that Shen Jinghan mentioned, right?

Shen Jinghan strode forward, smiling as he called out, "Master!"

The old man, who was gnawing on a roast chicken, frowned and looked up when he heard the sound.

He saw Shen Jinghan first, a hint of impatience flashing in his cloudy old eyes. With a mouthful of chicken in his mouth, he mumbled, "What are you doing here instead of practicing your skills? Are you slacking off again? Let me tell you, if you don't master the mental cultivation method I specially made for you, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Shen Jinghan shrank back after being scolded, but still stood there with a smile, showing no intention of leaving.

"Master, wait!! I came to find you because I have something to discuss!" Shen Jinghan pointed behind him, "Look, I brought someone with me."

The old man finally managed to swallow the chicken, only then noticing that there was another person standing behind Shen Jinghan.

His gaze passed over Shen Jinghan and landed on Xia Jin, giving her a once-over.

With just one glance, Xia Jin felt an invisible pressure bearing down on her.

It felt as if I had been completely seen through.

The old man's gaze lingered on Xia Jin for a few moments before he looked away and continued to gnaw on his roast chicken.

"Who is this kid?" he asked casually. "Don't tell me he's one of your cronies. I've told you before, don't bring people here without permission. I'm just in a good mood today, otherwise I would have given you a good talking to."

Seemingly recalling some terrifying experience, Shen Jinghan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and quickly said, "No! Master, this Brother Xia is also a first for me. He came up from the mountain gate, along those steps, saying he wants to join our sect. I thought it was his first time here, so I specially brought him over for you to meet!"

"If you think it's okay, then our school will at least have one more junior brother!" Shen Jinghan scratched his head, a fawning smile on his face.

Upon hearing his words, the old man suddenly stopped eating the roast chicken.

The roast chicken even trembled in his hand and almost fell to the ground.

He slowly raised his head, and a sharp light suddenly flashed in his originally cloudy old eyes.

"What did you say?" The old man's voice changed. "You said this kid used those steps? He came all the way up from the mountain gate?"

"That's right, Master, I haven't lied to you at all!" Shen Jinghan nodded vigorously. "I personally witnessed this Brother Xia climb all the steps! He even took the last one!"

The old man did not speak.

He slowly stood up.

Xia Jin, however, felt an increasingly powerful aura emanating from him, like an ancient beast slowly awakening from its slumber.

He walked up to Xia Jin and looked her up and down, left and right.

His gaze swept from the top of Xia Jin's head to the soles of her feet, and then back up again, as if he wanted to examine every single bone in her body.

Xia Jin stood there, feeling a chill run down her spine.

After a long while, the old man finally withdrew his gaze.

A very strange expression appeared on his face.

His expression was hard to describe; it was probably the complex look of an old man who had suddenly spotted a rare treasure—a mixture of wanting to possess it yet fearing someone else would steal it. Coupled with his full beard, it looked particularly comical.

"Good!" The old man suddenly slapped his thigh, his loud voice startling Xia Jin. "Today, I, Xiao Xuan, will accept you as my disciple!"

"Wait!!" Shen Jinghan, who was standing to the side, had a subtle expression on his face when he heard this.

He couldn't help but speak up: "Master, don't you need to test this Brother Xia's talent and strength again? When I first joined the sect, you weren't like this at all. You made me chop firewood in the back mountain for three months, and then you made me go to the bottom of that deep pool in the back mountain..."

Shen Jinghan's tone carried a distinct hint of resentment.

Before he could finish complaining, the old man named Xiao Xuan waved his hand impatiently and glared at him disdainfully: "What? Are you dissatisfied with what I did? Do you think you were comparable to this kid back then? Don't be shameless!"

"Alright, get out of my way."

Shen Jinghan: "..."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He felt as if his heart had been stabbed.