Chapter Five: Doctor Mo

Chapter Five: Doctor Mo

After a while, Eli felt a sudden tightness around his waist and a lightness in his body as he was automatically lifted upwards.

Turning his head, he saw it was the tall, thin senior brother carrying him with one arm and climbing up swiftly with his hands and legs. Eli also noticed the high sun directly above.

It turned out that he had failed to complete the journey after all. Eli felt a bit sad; despite his best efforts, why couldn't he match others?

In a blink, they reached the top of the cliff. Only six children were resting on one side, while Rocky was speaking with a man in his fifties wearing a deep blue surcoat and standing with his hands behind his back. Hall Master Yue and Protector Wang were standing by his side, along with a few others, all waiting as the young senior brothers one by one brought up the slower children.

After a while, when all the children had been brought up, Hall Master Yue stepped forward and solemnly faced the children.

"There are seven who qualified this time," he said slowly.

"Six of you will enter our sect's Hundred Tempering Hall and become official disciples."

"As for the other one, Rocky, who was the first to reach the cliff, will be sent directly to the Seven Extremes Hall to learn our sect's unique techniques," Hall Master Yue looked back at the man in the surcoat, who stroked his beard and nodded in approval.

"As for the rest..." Hall Master Yue glanced at the other children, touched his chin with his right hand, and after a brief pause, continued:

"Zhang Tie and Eli Mason, although you did not reach the cliff top on time, your performances were notable. It seems you can endure the hardships of martial training. You two will start by laying a foundation with several instructors at our sect. After half a year, we will re-evaluate you. If you qualify, you will officially become internal disciples; if not, you will be sent to work as external disciples."

Eli glanced at the other child who had

 also stepped forward, named Zhang Tie, who was the one who had almost reached the cliff top with him.

"Protector Wang, give each of the children who did not pass some silver and send them back home," Hall Master Yue ordered coldly.

"Understood!"

Protector Wang stepped forward, bowed, and led the disqualified children down the cliff.

"Zhang Jun, Wu Mingrui, you two take these qualifying children to our hall and hand them over to Vice Hall Master Gu and Instructor Li," Hall Master Yue continued.

Two young men stepped forward and divided Eli and the others into two groups, leading them down the cliff. One of them was the cold senior brother. As they were about to descend, Eli couldn't help but glance back at Rocky, noticing he was still talking with the man in the blue surcoat without any intention of leaving.

"He's different from you. He's being sent to the Seven Extremes Hall as a core disciple. Once he completes his training, he'll at least be a protector," the other thin-faced senior brother seemed to have noticed Eli's question and explained voluntarily, but his tone carried an indescribable mix of envy and resentment.

"It's all because he has a cousin who married the deputy sect leader. If it weren't for his cousin becoming the deputy sect leader's second wife, how could he, with his age already exceeding the entrance requirements, have entered the Seven Extremes Hall so effortlessly?" The cold senior brother's words sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Zhang Jun, are you out of your mind? Even the deputy sect leader isn't someone we can discuss so casually. If others in our sect heard us, both you and I couldn't escape punishment!" The thin-faced senior brother was startled by the cold senior brother's words and quickly looked around. Seeing that no outsiders were present except for the few children, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The cold senior brother snorted coldly, apparently also somewhat apprehensive, and fell silent. Only then did Eli realize that this cold senior brother was named Zhang Jun. The words they had spoken made Eli vaguely understand that Rocky hadn't gained entry to the Seven Extremes Hall through genuine skill but because he had a relative who was a deputy sect leader in the sect, allowing him to enter effortlessly.

As they walked down the mountain path, both senior brothers were reminded of some disheartening matters within the sect and lost the mood to talk. They silently led the way, and Eli and the others didn't dare to speak privately, perhaps already sensing some of the unusual practices within the Mystic Gate.

When they passed through a dense forest, an old man emerged slowly from the woods. This man was in his sixties, tall and thin, with sallow skin but long white hair that reached his shoulders. The old man kept bowing as he coughed, looking so frail as if he might fall at any moment, which was quite concerning.

However, Zhang Jun and the other didn't seem worried at all; instead, they hurried forward and respectfully greeted the old man.

"Doctor Mo, how are you? Is there anything you need us to do?" Zhang Jun's usual cold demeanor changed, his face filled with respect. To him, this old man was more deserving of respect than the hall master or even the deputy sect leader.

"Oh, are these the new disciples who just arrived at the mountain?" the old man finally stopped coughing and asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yes. Among them, six are official disciples, and two are registered disciples," Zhang Jun replied carefully.

"I'm short of hands right now. I need an apprentice for medicine making and one for herb gathering. These two will do," Doctor Mo pointed casually at Eli and another registered disciple, his tone leaving no room for objection.

"Understood. Being noticed by Doctor Mo is a fortune for these two. They haven't come forward to greet Doctor Mo yet. If they can learn even a fraction of his medical skills, it's a lifetime of good fortune for them!" Neither of the senior brothers objected, and the thin-faced Wu Mingrui even flattered the old man.

Eli and Zhang Tie, seeing that the senior brothers had no objections, naturally had no right to disagree either, and followed the old man into the forest.

The old man led them along a path through the forest, turning east and west, until suddenly, the view opened up to a vibrant green valley filled with life.

On the left side of the valley was a large field exuding a strong medicinal fragrance, planted with many herbs that Eli could not name. On the right side were several interconnected buildings of varying sizes. Looking around, besides the entrance they came through, there appeared to be no other exits leading outside.

"This is Divine Hand Valley. Except for disciples from the valley, outsiders usually don't come here unless they're sick or injured. You two will live here from now on. Rest for a bit first, then come to the main hall tonight. I

 have something to tell you," the old man stopped in front of a few connected rooms, pointing to a smaller one.

"You can call me Old Mo," the old man paused, then added, "or Doctor Mo."

After speaking, Doctor Mo ignored them and walked into a more imposing large house, coughing as he went.

Eli was exhausted and didn't bother with Zhang Tie, another child named Zhang Iron; he just flopped onto a wooden bed in the room and fell into a deep sleep. To him, no matter what, he was now at least a half-disciple of the Mystic Gate.