Starting with the Corpse-Eating Worm, he worked his way up to become the Left-Winged Immortal Lord.

The words fell.

Gu Qing felt a chill in her heart.

However, he did not show any displeasure on his face and remained as calm as ever.

However, Li Fu's anger erupted, "Master Chen, the affairs of the medicine hall are none of your business!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye immediately glanced at Li Fu. Over the years, Li Fu had always flattered and fawned over him whenever he saw him, but today he was actually going against him for Gu Qing's sake. It seemed that Li Fu was determined to support Gu Qing in competing for a top-three spot in the assessment.

After scoffing inwardly, Chen Ye ignored Li Fu and continued speaking to Lu Xingzhi: "Fellow Daoist Lu, although unorthodox practices are also orthodox in our Wufeng Temple, very few practitioners of unorthodox practices can avoid being impatient for quick success and instant benefits, and the further they go, the more their foundation is damaged."

"If we take sword-wielding disciples now, no matter who we take, it will increase their chances of entering the Xuanqing Academy. But if the Xuanqing Academy sees that the person we sent is a heretical cultivator whose foundation has been damaged..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing felt a murderous intent rising in his heart.

To prevent himself from having a chance to compete for a top-three finish in the assessment, Chen Ye directly used the Xuanqing Academy to put pressure on Lu Xingzhi.

He'll remember this grudge!

As for whether Lu Xingzhi would protect him, he dared not hope for it. After all, when the benefits were not great enough, it was not worth it for a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator like him to obtain Chen Ye, the protector of Wufeng Temple.

Fortunately, he hadn't hidden his strength and had appeared powerful enough, which greatly increased Lu Xingzhi's chances of protecting him.

At this moment, Lu Xingzhi did not immediately respond. Instead, he stroked his beard, glanced at the calm and composed Gu Qing, and then at Li Fu, who was about to speak up to defend Gu Qing. After weighing his options, he said, "Fellow Daoist Chen's concern for Wufeng Temple is truly a blessing for the temple. However... doesn't Fellow Daoist Chen think he's meddling too much?"

"that is!"

Upon hearing this, Li Fu quickly responded.

Chen Ye frowned slightly. He could understand Li Fu, but Lu Xingzhi, this opportunist who played both sides between the two deputy abbots, had also chosen to oppose him. Could it be that Gu Qingzhen had truly caught his eye?

That's how it is.

We must not let them have their way.

"Before leaving, the Abbot entrusted the assessment to Vice Abbot Wei, who in turn instructed me to take full responsibility for it. To ensure that the disciples of Wufeng Temple will not lag behind other Taoist temples in Xuanqing Courtyard, I must handle this matter carefully. If Fellow Daoist Lu speaks in this way, then I have no choice but to request the Abbot's decree!"

That's all.

Lu Xingzhi raised his hand and took out a black token.

It only has two characters on it—Mountain and Sea!

It is the last two characters of the name of the abbot, Yan Shanhai.

Upon receiving the order, Lu Xingzhi's expression changed drastically, and he could no longer maintain his previous composure.

Li Fu, who was standing to the side, was also dumbfounded.

Gu Qing's murderous intent intensified.

This is an obstruction.

If I don't kill this man someday, I swear I'm not worthy of being called a human being!

Seeing that Lu Xingzhi and Li Fu were no longer speaking, Gu Qing gave up hope and immediately raised his hand to bow to Lu Xingzhi and Li Fuzhi, "Master Li, Steward Lu, thank you for your kindness. This junior will return to Fufeng Forest now."

He knew very well that he could not remain silent at this moment.

But you can't show anger.

The best approach is to retreat strategically!

Just as Gu Qing turned to leave, Lu Xingzhi finally lost his temper. "Boy, stand there obediently... Fellow Daoist Chen, I have been in Wufeng Temple for over seventy years and have managed the medicine hall for twenty-three years. Even if I were to take on a mortal disciple, the abbot would give me some face. Do you think a decree from the abbot can stop me from taking on a disciple?"

Chen Ye said coldly, "This matter cannot be accomplished without the Abbot's personal approval; otherwise, it would be disobeying the Abbot and Vice Abbot Wei."

"I will immediately send a message to the Abbot!"

"Please proceed, Fellow Daoist Lu."

That's all.

Chen Ye put away the abbot's order and went straight downstairs, which made Lu Xingzhi so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him.

"Young man, I've decided to take you as my disciple. We can discuss the formal apprenticeship ceremony later. Start coming to the pharmacy tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this...

Gu Qing immediately knelt down and bowed deeply, secretly relieved.

In any case, the apprenticeship is now officially complete.

"Thank you, Master!"

Lu Xingzhi nodded. "You should go back and rest first. I will write a letter to the Abbot. The Abbot is currently cultivating in the Broken Soul Mountains outside the county. His reply should reach Wufeng Temple in less than two months!"

After saying this, Lu Xingzhi immediately turned and left, clearly to write a letter.

As Lu Xingzhi left, Li Fu, standing to the side, said angrily, "I never expected Chen Ye to be so shameless and disregard his status. Even if the abbot's reply is delivered to the abbot in two months, it will be too late for him to become a disciple then."

"Is it too late?"

Gu Qing was stunned.

Didn't Lu Xingzhi just tell him to come to the pharmacy tomorrow?

"If you don't complete the apprenticeship ceremony, you won't be Uncle Lu's official disciple. If you're not an official disciple, you can't be taught techniques. If you waste these two months, you'll fall far behind Li Huosheng and the other two... If we don't get any news for two months, you'll fall even further behind." Li Fu sighed, his teeth itching with resentment.

Chen Yeguan has already given his orders, so even if you go to his father now, it won't make a difference.

however.

Gu Qing was not disappointed.

What is very important to others in passing on knowledge and skills is not very important to him at the moment.

Although he lacks magic and therefore cannot engage in magical combat, he possesses the Corpse-Eating Worm, which is his most powerful "magic"!

Moreover, as long as I can work at the pharmacy and do the jobs with higher daily ratings, nothing else matters for the time being.

However, he didn't show it. "It's alright. Even if it takes me half a year, I'm confident I can catch up."

Li Fu's first thought was that it would damage his own vital energy. He wanted to dissuade him, but when he thought that if he didn't do it, his chances of competing for the top three in the assessment would be extremely slim, he could only acquiesce.

……

soon.

Gu Qing then left the pharmacy with Li Fu.

However, Li Fu did not leave immediately, because as a disciple of Fengjian Daotong, Gu Qing would no longer need to sleep in a dormitory with twenty or thirty people.

The young disciples who practiced swordsmanship all had their own rooms, which, though small, meant they no longer needed to fall asleep to the sounds of snoring.

Furthermore, the Sword-Bearing Taoist Boy also receives a monthly stipend of five taels.

That adds up to sixty taels a year.

Within Changping County, this would represent six years' worth of expenses for a family.

However, what Gu Qing liked most was the third benefit of Fengjian Daotong – he could enjoy a discount on all properties owned by Wufeng Temple.

Even though it's only 20% off, if you buy 100 taels of cultivation supplies in the future, you can save 20 taels.

You can save 100 taels by buying 500 taels worth of goods.

This is undoubtedly the best benefit for Gu Qing.

After all, he still had five hundred taels on him.

After seeing Li Fu off, Gu Qing turned and went back into the house.

The small house was separated from the dormitory by only one wall. Although it was small, it was fully equipped with a square table, bookshelves, and a wooden bed. In Wufeng Temple, he finally had his own independent space.

Just thinking about Chen Ye's obstruction of the road today, he couldn't help but feel a surge of murderous intent in his heart.

After lying down for a while, Gu Qing went down the mountain again and headed straight for Fufeng Forest. To Li Fu's dismay, he spent another day examining the corpse.

that's it.

Busy with anticipation.

Gu Qing welcomed the dawn of the second day.

He is now very much looking forward to how high his evaluation will be after breaking through to the first level of Qi Refining, and how much benefit from corpse energy it will bring.