Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Martial Granduncle, the identity tokens for your five disciples are all finished—only the final step remains. Each needs but a single infusion of their own divine consciousness to activate, after which the Ascending Heaven Formation will recognize them and they may leave this place. I imagine they have all made up their minds by now?" Chen Dongcheng's smiling gaze swept across the group, lingering by design on Qiu Lingshan and Ying Ziyu.

The two women's poised, modern air was utterly singular in the Primordial Little Jianghu; even a man of Chen Dongcheng's stature could not help his heart growing drunk on it. This was no longer merely the heir-producing errand Chen Jiu had assigned him—it was simply a man's true nature.

Yet Qiu Lingshan and the others eyed the five identity tokens in his hand coolly, every one of them unmoved, not one reaching out to take them.

"This..." Chen Dongcheng could not help but feel awkward. He had assumed that even if the group was not overjoyed, they would at least not resist—never had he expected such a cold reception.

A moment later, Chen Dongcheng's gaze returned to Wei Zhao. He knew this was surely Wei Zhao's handiwork.

"Martial Granduncle, we agreed on this earlier. I have already arranged the spiritual root test—once everyone takes their identity token and goes through the test, I can assign each of them the most suitable introductory master. You see..." Chen Dongcheng smiled bitterly.

"Agreed on this?" Wei Zhao's lips curved in a faint, ambiguous smile. "I don't think so. My reply at the time, as I recall, was that I would discuss it with them and let them decide for themselves."

Hmph—if you weren't scheming behind the scenes, would everyone be acting like this?

Chen Dongcheng cursed inwardly, yet not the slightest displeasure showed on his face. Beaming, he addressed the group: "There are no outsiders here, so let me speak from the heart. Assigning each of you a dedicated master best suited to you is a first in the entire history of our Northern Island Cangwu Sect! In the past, even the most outstanding prodigy had to grind his way up step by step. There has never been such special treatment. To show respect for our Martial Granduncle and to value you all, I have truly bent the rules to the extreme here—a rare opportunity. You must not let it slip by for nothing."

His words were utterly sincere, yet the group still would not buy it.

"Vice Sect Master Chen, I'd like to ask just one thing: is the master you'd assign us stronger than our leader?" Wu Chengtian asked bluntly.

Chen Dongcheng glanced at him. Were it not for Qiu Lingshan and Ying Ziyu, he would not have deigned to look twice at the likes of Wu Chengtian. But at this moment he still had to put on an amiable air and explain: "Since we are bending the rules, let us bend them all the way. The masters I have arranged for you this time are all sect elders—which is to say, at minimum cultivators of the Golden Core stage. In seniority they may not command the respect of our Martial Granduncle, but in strength there is absolutely no question."

The implication being that Wei Zhao was merely at the great perfection of Foundation Building, and those Golden Core elders would naturally outrank him.

Wei Zhao paid this no mind. Ying Ziyu, however, was displeased and pouted: "So what if they're Golden Core? Even your introductory heart method, the Azure Cloud Serenity Mantra, is a knockoff version—nothing as authentic as Brother Wei Zhao's!"

"Indeed. Teaching disciples is not fighting; what matters is not sheer strength, but one's understanding and insight into the heart methods. In that regard, I doubt anyone in the whole of the Northern Island Cangwu Sect is more accomplished than Wei Zhao," Qiu Lingshan added.

"Exactly. And if we're really talking strength, never mind that our leader is only at the great perfection of Foundation Building—he settled Xue Jianming with a single slap. What's a Golden Core worth?" Zhao Qilei and Zhao Qiwu both wore looks of disdain.

Xue Jianming? Wasn't he only at the great perfection of Foundation Building?

Chen Dongcheng was taken aback. Xue Jianming's advancement to Golden Core had come only after he entered the secular world and joined the Center, and reaching the great perfection of Golden Core had come even later still—the news had simply never spread. Moreover, Xin Yi'an had not specifically mentioned such matters in yesterday's routine report, so Chen Dongcheng was entirely in the dark; he even found the Zhao brothers' claim rather laughable.

Xue Jianming was indeed hailed as the foremost Foundation Building cultivator of the Primordial Alliance, but that was still only the Foundation Building level. That Wei Zhao could defeat him was uncommon, to be sure, but it proved little. However strong a Foundation Building cultivator might be, what comparison could there be between him and a true Golden Core expert?

Chen Dongcheng dismissed everyone else's words with contempt, but Qiu Lingshan's he could not refute. Not only had the original Azure Cloud Serenity Mantra come from Wei Zhao, but many other heart methods were still awaited from his pen. As for understanding the authentic heart methods, he truly dared not claim anyone could outrank Wei Zhao—after all, the man was the genuine article.

"Of course I do not doubt the Martial Granduncle's ability. In truth, my main concern is that the Martial Granduncle may have no time—after all, he still has heart methods to transcribe, and that is the foremost priority of our Northern Island Cangwu Sect. It cannot be delayed," Chen Dongcheng was forced to say.

"You're wrong. I have all the time in the world," Wei Zhao said offhandedly.

"Ha?" Chen Dongcheng was choked speechless.

"Transcribing cultivation heart methods is not the work of a single day. Because of that, I must recall everything clearly before I can write it down—otherwise, the slightest negligence, even a single misplaced character, could lead to unimaginable consequences. So in between I often need to switch my mind and clear my head, and that is the perfect time to guide their cultivation. Time is no problem," Wei Zhao said.

Before this, he would not have minded letting Qiu Lingshan and the others receive some local Primordial introductory training. But now that he knew full well the other side harbored ill intent, he could not allow Qiu Lingshan and the rest to go out—otherwise they would easily become hostages.

"This..." Chen Dongcheng was at once at a loss for words. He now had need of Wei Zhao and dared not fall out with him on the spot, so he could only rack his brains for some seemingly reasonable excuse—but Wei Zhao would not take the bait at all. What was he to do?

"We can discuss the spiritual root test another time. The identity tokens, though, may stay. I trust Vice Sect Master Chen will have no objection?" Wei Zhao pursed his lips toward the identity tokens in the other man's hand.

These things were certainly needed. Even if he was confident he could one day unravel the Ascending Heaven Formation, that would only free himself—he could hardly destroy the entire formation. For Qiu Lingshan and the others to walk out of here, they would still have to rely on the identity tokens.

"Of course, of course—they were prepared for everyone to begin with. As disciples of our Northern Island Cangwu Sect, how could you lack the most important identity tokens?" Chen Dongcheng kept a strained smile on his face, while inwardly he was spitting blood. (To be continued.)