Furious Elder Ji

When the disciple returned with tea, there was another disciple with him. As the two disciples entered the pavilion, they both bowed respectfully to the elder. The first disciple immediately set to work preparing tea for the elder while the second disciple stood by his side.

The elder, sitting in the pavilion, observed the standing disciple. He recognized this particular disciple as one of the prized members of his faction. The elder was well aware of the talents and abilities of his disciples and held great pride in the accomplishments of his prized disciples. He was curious to hear about the progress of this particular disciple and how he was doing in his cultivation journey. The elder was keen to know about this young man's accomplishments, as he represented the best of his faction.

Elder Ji: Fan Zixin, how are things in the outer sect? How is your cultivation? Will you get a good place in the outer sect competition this year?

Fan Zixin: Yes elder, this time I should be able to get in the top 10. My cultivation has reached level 4 of the Qi Condensation and Saber technique to level 1.

Elder Ji: (smiling and nodding) That's excellent news. I'm happy that our faction will gain some recognition. There are more than 50 elders in the outer sect; each is trying their best to show that their faction is the best. The more fame our faction has, the more disciples will be willing to join us.

Elder Ji: (noticing that Fan Zixin is hesitating to say something) Speak your mind.

Fan Zixin: There is a rumor in the outer sect that Elder Zhou poached an inner sect-level talent from our Ji faction. The disciple mastered the sword technique and cultivated to level 1 of Qi condensation in just one and a half years.

Elder Ji asked: When did this happen?

Fan Zixin: 5 months ago.

Elder Ji: (shocked) Is it true? Or just a rumor? If it were just a rumor, you wouldn't have mentioned it. Who is this disciple? How could Elder Zhou take him away if he was registered with my faction? Why didn't you inform me about such talent?

Fan Zixin: We checked, and it is true. His name is Han Cai. He joined the sect one and a half years ago when he was ten. He was very reclusive and did not talk much with anyone except some gray robe disciples.

Elder Ji growled: Why are you telling me this late?

Fan Zixin: When rumors began, we were not sure. Then they gradually died down, but when elder Zhou contacted discipline hall elder Miao that he wanted to use his elder token to get his faction's disciple Han Cai directly into the top 100, elder Miao agreed. The rumors began to spread again because disciples of Discipline hall had been discussing it. We had to verify first if the rumors were true.

Elder Ji: Are you sure that Han Cai was in my faction?

Fan Zixin: We did a thorough investigation. His father paid our faction 60 spirit stones so he could live safely in the outer sect for the first year. When he joined, He had no cultivation He did not seemed to have much talent in cultivation. He registered at the outer sect hall to take on some missions and earn spirit stones.

Fan Zixin continued : To take missions, he had to show his cultivation and technique to the outer sect hall for verification. As elder Zhou controls the outer hall, he was the first to figure out his talent. So when he was being registered in the outer sect disciples ledger book, elder Zhou got the outer hall disciples to add Han Cai's name in his Zhou faction, not Ji faction. We confirmed with gray robe disciples that after Han Cai went to register, he did not return to his quarters. In the evening, elder Zhou sent some gray robes to take away all his things to quarter secretly. Elder Zhou will be using his elder token to get him to participate in the competition directly for the top 100, and He will not need to go through fighting tests of 1000.

Elder Ji was angry and shocked when he heard the news of Elder Zhou taking Han Cai, an inner-sect-level talent, away from his faction. The thought of letting a highly skilled disciple slip away from his grasp made his face turn red with anger.

He couldn't help but wonder what the other elders in the sect would think of him if they found out about this incident. He knew that having an inner sect-level talented disciple would bring significant contributions to the sect, and he would be rewarded greatly for it.

He also knew that no elder would use their token to push a disciple directly into the top 100 of the competition if they were unsure of the disciple's talent and strength.

Feeling a surge of anger, Elder Ji grabbed the teacup in his hand and smashed it. Afterward, he stood up from his seat and ran towards the outer sect hall with Fan Zixin following him hurriedly.

He wanted to rectify the situation and get his faction's disciple back before it was too late.