Chapter 52: Yang Jinshu

The reason Lin Xiao spoke so confidently wasn't because he was trying to deceive anyone. He had come to this conclusion after serious consideration.

He had thought about himself and Sun Yigao. Sun Yigao was already 15 years old, well beyond the maximum age of 12 for disciples accepted by the Shangyang Sect. However, Lin Xiao had barely made the cutoff himself. The system had rated his aptitude as "A Dragon Among Men," while Sun Yigao's was rated as "A Rare Talent."

Frankly, Lin Xiao didn't think there was much difference between the two ratings. So, he believed that the difference in aptitude between them wasn't significant.

Despite having the advantage of 24/7 cultivation, it still took Lin Xiao two days to reach the second level of Qi Refinement. As for Sun Yigao, even though he was diligently cultivating whenever he wasn't eating, sleeping, or even while going to the restroom, he had only half the cultivation time compared to Lin Xiao. Yet, he reached the second level of Qi Refinement in just three or four days.

This led Lin Xiao to believe that their cultivation speed was actually quite similar, and that age wasn't a significant factor in their progress. Of course, it could also be that the first and second levels of Qi Refinement were too low to serve as a reference. But Lin Xiao's intuition told him that the situation was exactly as he suspected.

Perhaps the cultivation rules of this world didn't apply to their sect. Lin Xiao had always been confident in his uniqueness, and he firmly believed that his sect was unique as well.

Hadn't he even considered getting his grandfather to cultivate with him? If someone like Tie Tou, whose system rating was mediocre at best, could cultivate and had already reached the first level of Qi Refinement, then surely anyone could cultivate!

With this thought, Lin Xiao's gaze at Widow Liu became even more resolute.

Widow Liu felt a surge of excitement in her heart. Struggling to contain it, she said to Lin Xiao, "Xiao'er, I want to join the sect. I want to cultivate!"

Liu Shengsheng, nestled in her mother's arms, quickly added, "Brother Xiao, I want to as well! I want to be with Mother and Brother."

Lin Xiao nodded and was about to take them through the entry process when he suddenly paused and asked Widow Liu, "Aunt Liu, may I ask for your full name?"

Widow Liu hadn't expected this question but thought that since she was about to embark on the path of cultivation, she wouldn't need to carry the title of "Widow Liu" for the rest of her life. She replied, "My surname is Yang, and my name is Jinshu."

"Yang Jinshu."

Lin Xiao silently repeated the name in his mind. Then, he addressed both Yang Jinshu and Liu Shengsheng, "Yang Jinshu, Liu Shengsheng, are you both willing to join Lingxian Sect, become part of our sect, and cultivate with dedication?"

The two of them seemed to have stars in their eyes as they smiled and replied, "We are willing!"

After receiving their affirmation and completing the entry process, Lin Xiao retrieved both the "Taoyuan Wankong Jue" and its simplified version from his storage. He handed the two manuals to Yang Jinshu and Liu Shengsheng, saying, "This is our sect's cultivation method. Aunt Yang, since you are literate, you can guide Shengsheng in practicing it together."

Hearing Lin Xiao address her as "Aunt Yang," Yang Jinshu felt a swirl of emotions. She was also surprised that she had received the cultivation method immediately upon entering the sect. Her father had once told her that, in most sects, unless you had exceptional talent, you had to spend months doing menial tasks and passing various tests before being given a chance to cultivate. She hadn't expected Lin Xiao to give her the method right away.

Grateful, Yang Jinshu bowed and said, "Thank you, Sect Leader."

Liu Shengsheng imitated her mother and bowed as well, saying, "Thank you, Sect Leader Brother."

Liu Yunan, standing nearby, was overjoyed and laughed, "Mother, from now on, we are fellow disciples! Haha!"

Jiang Youfu, astonished, remarked, "Wow! Baldy, does that mean you're now the senior disciple to your mother and sister? Haha, and now I have two more junior sisters!"

Though Yang Jinshu was already 30 years old, she didn't mind their playful banter. She merely smiled and said to Liu Yunan, "Yunan, just because I'm in the sect, don't think you can stop calling me 'Mother' and start calling me 'Junior Sister.'"

Liu Yunan quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, Mother! You'll always be my mother!"

Lin Xiao then took out two sets of sect robes from his storage and handed them to Yang Jinshu and Liu Shengsheng. "These are our sect's uniforms. I'll give them to you now. However, for the time being, it's best not to wear them outside. Our sect is still small, and these uniforms might attract too much attention."

Yang Jinshu nodded immediately, "I understand. Shengsheng and I will keep them safe until the day we can wear them openly."

With that, the number of disciples in Lingxian Sect grew to nine. Just one more, and Lin Xiao would complete the disciples' task!

Liu Yunan led Yang Jinshu and Liu Shengsheng to the cultivation room, while Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu remained in the sect's grand hall. Jiang Youfu, seeing Lin Xiao with his eyes closed as if he were concentrating on something, didn't disturb him. Instead, he sat down and pulled out the "Hundred Beasts Linguistics" to study on his own.

Recently, he had been spending his free time asking Sun Yigao to teach him how to read the manual. He wanted to learn the "Hundred Beasts Linguistics" quickly so he could communicate with Xiao Luan. He often wondered what Xiao Luan was thinking, especially when the little chicken clucked at him repeatedly. He felt sorry for Xiao Luan, but Lin Xiao was too busy to always act as a translator.

At that moment, Lin Xiao, who had his eyes closed, was reviewing the details of Yang Jinshu and Liu Shengsheng on the disciple panel.

He first checked Yang Jinshu's profile.

 Name: Yang Jinshu

 Gender: Female

 Bone Age: 31 years

 Aptitude: Lingxin Huixin

 Cultivation Level: Mortal

 Sect Status: Outer Sect Disciple (can be changed)

 Sect Position: None (can be changed)

"Lingxin Huixin" was a new aptitude rating, and Lin Xiao was surprised. This term seemed to indicate a level similar to "Outstanding," but Lin Xiao felt it might be even better.

He then moved on to Liu Shengsheng's profile.

 Name: Liu Shengsheng

 Gender: Female

 Bone Age: 7 years

 Aptitude: Outstanding

 Cultivation Level: Mortal

 Sect Status: Outer Sect Disciple (can be changed)

 Sect Position: None (can be changed)

Liu Shengsheng's aptitude turned out to be quite good as well—better than her brother's initial rating, which had been "Above Average" before being upgraded to "Outstanding."

Now that the sect had nine members, Lin Xiao began to think about the sect's foundational teachings. Currently, "Taoyuan Wankong Jue" was the only core method in Lingxian Sect, and it was the only method available for cultivation.

This didn't seem ideal; it felt limiting that everyone had to follow the same path without any other options.