Lan Yin seemed to be in a strange mood. She was leading him to their destination at a walking speed that was just that bit faster than his, putting her in front of him and making conversation almost impossible to start. They passed plenty of buildings that he wanted to know more about.

William knew it couldn’t be him that caused her foul mood… probably. There was a chance that Lan Yin had noticed Ren Bo’s staring and was thinking about what to do with him.

He didn’t like the idea of that at all. Ren Bo might have lost his mind around Lan Yin, but the dumb kid was too naive to think anything too extreme. If William had to guess, the furthest Ren Bo might have gone in his fantasies might be holding hands with Lan Yin. That didn’t need any sort of punishment.

William cleared his throat. “Ren Bo is quite smart, Senior Lan. I’m surprised someone so young has such skill. But I think he’s a little too naive.”

“Young?” Lan Yin glanced back at him with an amused look, “He’s older than you, Little Wei Liang. Sometimes I wonder why you sound much older than you should.”

“Ah, you know, many reasons,” William mumbled, regretting saying anything when Lan Yin mentioned he sounded older.

Lan Yin hummed as they approached a rather rough building nestled against the steep mountain walls. It wasn’t poorly built, but instead of walls made out of expensive white jade, like the other buildings in the outer court, this one was built using white stone. It was still decorated in a way that reflected the Sect’s dedication to healing, but there was no doubt that it was made to be stronger than others.

“You shouldn’t worry about my Junior Brother, Little Wei Liang. Instead, focus on what will happen next,” Lan Yin stopped walking, “This is where you will be tested. The Head Elder of the Outer Court will be in charge, so do your best.”

William stared blankly at Lan Yin before switching his focus to the building. In contrast to all the others he had seen on the walk here, it was utterly devoid of people. He would have thought it was abandoned if not for the well-maintained garden that surrounded the building.

It also highlighted how well-lit it was, just like the rest of the Outer Court. Even though there was no way for the sunlight to sufficiently shine into the Outer Court with the mountain walls surrounding it. But that was a mystery to be solved another time.

“… Do I just enter?” William asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” Lan Yin nodded and expanded when she noticed his confusion, “The Sect has an annual examination for candidates wanting to join the Sect. This already happened months ago, but there are the rare times when someone like you is eligible with an Elder’s recommendation.”

“So it’s just going to be the Elder and me?”

“Correct,” Lan Yin stated before rephrasing, “Well, correct this time. Elder Yu is doing Elder Huang a favor by personally testing you.”

William nodded slowly, wondering if this meant that the test would only be a formality. But if that was true, there was no reason to waste time and wait until he was in peak condition.

“Alright, Senior Lan,” William said as he looked at the large entrance, “Wish me luck.”

“I am not some spirit beast to give you luck, Wei Liang,” Lan Yin said coldly, “Make your way inside. Don’t keep Elder Yu waiting any longer.”

William knew that he had made Lan Yin angry with a saying that didn’t exist in this world, but he felt that trying to explain himself would make it worse. After shuffling in place for a few seconds, he quickly walked through the gardens before reaching the entrance.

The scenic path through the beautifully maintained garden did nothing to lessen his growing nerves. Though, he did notice that the path through it was often lined with benches, which he assumed was for when the annual examination took place.

Before William entered the building, he looked back to see if Lan Yin was still there, like he was a kid going to school for the first time. Unfortunately, Lan Yin had disappeared, so there was no comfort to be had there.

William straightened his back and reminded himself that the Sect was making the effort to test him all alone. There was nothing to be nervous about... he hoped.

He opened the large doors with surprising ease. He would have been confused with being presented with an enormous, bare room if not for the woman that was waiting for him right behind the door.

William wondered if he would ever get desensitized to the beauty of female cultivators. Li Xinyue, Lan Yin, and that attendant in the Phoenix’s Nest, Mei Lin, were stunning, though at different levels. Even the disciples he had seen walking around the Outer Court and the occasional glimpse of an apprentice doctor in the clinic showed they were all beautiful. Perhaps in the future, William would have his standards of beauty recalibrated instead of relying on his experiences from his old world.

Of course, even after that predicted recalibration, the woman before him would be beyond stunning, even more than Lan Yin or Li Xinyue. William remembered a few passages in a novel that he got a chuckle out of.

Her beauty was beyond compare, with skin as smooth as jade and eyes like sparkling stars. Her lips were cherry-red, and her hair flowed like silk in the wind.

She was a vision of ethereal beauty, with a face that could launch a thousand ships. Her beauty was like a flower blooming in the midst of winter, captivating all who beheld her.

It was the general flowery descriptions that William had learned to skip over. Still, it so accurately represented the woman before him that it should have stunned him stupid. Well, William was stunned stupid, but not because of her beauty.

[Name: ? | Level: ?]

From what William understood about the system, a question mark only appeared when the person’s cultivation was too high. Plenty of people he had seen had hidden levels, but only two had hidden names.

Daoist Chen, and this woman, who William guessed was the Head Elder for the Outer Court.

Unless someone of Daoist Chen’s cultivation was commonly an Elder of a Sect’s Outer Court, there must be something William misunderstood. Since the old man who saved him clearly mentioned that he was on the cusp of ascension, William could only conclude that this woman was somewhere between Huang Jingyi’s cultivation and Daoist Chen’s.

“Are you done staring, boy?”

William blinked when he realized that he had done it again. He stared at the blue text for far too long, but luckily, she didn’t seem offended. In fact, she didn’t show much emotion at all.

If Lan Yin could be called a cold beauty, this woman would be an iceberg beauty… or whatever the equivalent would be. Not that William would say that out loud.

“Sorry,” William bowed deeply, “Senior Lan told me Elder Yu would be personally testing me.”

“That would be me,” Elder Yu revealed blandly, “Elder Huang has never recommended a mortal. Let’s see what’s special about you.”

William was rudely forced to stand straight, making him wonder if higher-level cultivators had something against people bowing to them. He wasn’t sure where to look when Elder Yu stood less than an arm’s length away. Especially since displeasing her would be unwise.

“Fascinating,” Elder Yu murmured with her finger on the pulse of William’s neck, “You have had an eventful few months. From the weakest of mortals to one of the strongest. A surprising resilience to pill and spirit plant consumption, but you haven’t eaten enough to explain your overall condition.”

William rubbed his neck when Elder Yu stepped back. He noticed that she hadn’t mentioned his soul damage, which implied that she wasn’t on the same level as Daoist Chen.

“Little Yin might be right about you having a special constitution,” Elder Yu seemed satisfied, “I have to hear it personally. Do you wish to join my Jade Healing Sect?”

“Uh, yes, Elder Yu,” William stumbled over his words, distracted by wondering if he was seeing her smile or not.

“Good,” Elder Yu nodded, “We’ll get started immediately.”

As she walked away, William stared at her smooth black hair, swaying gently with every step. However, before he could trail after her, a random idea popped into his head.

Why was it that of the older cultivators, only the females still had the looks of a young woman? Was it someone sort of rule for the men to look like Gandalf or Dumbledore? All William knew was that he definitely wouldn’t choose to look like an old man.

“Wei Liang!”

William snapped out of his thoughts and rushed after Elder Yu.