Under the watchful gazes of everyone inside the bamboo hall, Fang Lin slowly walked forward toward Elder Feng.
Then he clasped his hands respectfully and bowed.
Fang Lin respectfully said, "Fang Lin greets Elder Feng."
Elder Feng calmly looked toward Fang Lin.
Then—
A powerful yet gentle spiritual sense quietly swept across Fang Lin's body once.
Fang Lin instantly felt as though his entire body had become completely transparent before Elder Feng's eyes.
However, Elder Feng simply nodded afterward.
Then he lightly waved his sleeve.
A gentle stream of Qi instantly wrapped around Fang Lin's body.
Before Fang Lin could even react—
The scenery before his eyes suddenly blurred.
The next moment—
He completely disappeared from the hall together with Elder Feng.
The entire bamboo hall instantly became silent.
Everyone stared blankly toward the place where Fang Lin had disappeared.
Instructor Kong's jaw almost dropped to the floor.
Meanwhile, Instructor Luo revealed a proud smile for the first time since arriving there.
Xuo Mu blankly stared toward the empty space where Fang Lin had stood moments earlier.
Xuo Mu muttered, "What just happened…"
Beside him, Xue Ji quietly narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
"Why was Fang Lin taken away personally by an elder…" she silently wondered.
Fang Lin only felt the world spinning briefly around him.
Then suddenly—
Everything stabilized again.
The moment Fang Lin regained his senses, his eyes immediately widened slightly.
He was standing atop a towering mountain peak.
Cold winds swept through the surroundings while thick clouds floated beneath the mountain itself.
Before him stood a magnificent palace built entirely from red and white jade stones.
Beautiful spirit lanterns illuminated the surroundings softly while spiritual mist drifted calmly around the palace.
The scenery looked almost dreamlike.
Fang Lin had never seen such a majestic place before in his entire life.
Compared to this palace—
Even Green Bamboo Country looked ordinary.
Elder Feng calmly walked forward.
"Follow me."
Fang Lin quickly followed behind him respectfully.
Soon, Elder Feng led Fang Lin into one of the palace halls.
The inside of the hall was even more luxurious.
Beautiful red carpets stretched across the floor while spirit lamps softly illuminated the surroundings.
Several paintings of phoenixes hung across the walls elegantly.
The entire palace carried a noble and graceful atmosphere.
Then Elder Feng lightly touched the green ring on his finger.
A yellow paper talisman instantly appeared in his hand.
Elder Feng casually crushed it.
The talisman immediately transformed into light and disappeared.
Fang Lin quietly observed everything carefully.
Especially the green ring upon Elder Feng's finger.
By now, Fang Lin had already discovered that the mysterious grey stone inside his spiritual sea could freely store and remove objects after establishing the blood contract back at his house.
After seeing Instructor Luo and Elder Feng continuously taking objects out from their rings, Fang Lin finally understood something clearly.
Those rings were storage treasures.
And the mysterious grey stone hidden inside his spiritual sea was most likely an even rarer spatial treasure.
This immediately made Fang Lin become more careful inwardly.
Uncle Wei's warning echoed inside his mind once again.
"Never reveal the stone to anyone."
At that moment, nearly thirty seconds quietly passed.
Then—
Footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the hall.
The next moment—
A beautiful young girl slowly entered the room.
The moment Fang Lin saw her—
He became stunned briefly.
The girl looked around eighteen years old and wore a tight red dress that perfectly outlined her graceful figure.
Her skin looked fair and flawless while her long black hair flowed beautifully behind her waist.
Her face was delicate and charming, while her eyes carried a noble and slightly cold aura.
She looked like a fairy from the heavens.
Even Fang Lin subconsciously swallowed his saliva slightly while staring at her.
For a moment—
He forgot to look away.
When the beautiful girl noticed Fang Lin staring at her blankly, she immediately frowned slightly and looked toward him coldly.
Only then did Fang Lin realize he was being rude.
He hurriedly lowered his head awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Elder Feng silently smiled while observing Fang Lin's reaction.
The beautiful girl then looked toward Elder Feng.
"Grandfather… why did you call me here?"
Her voice sounded extremely pleasant and soft.
Fang Lin immediately became slightly shocked internally.
"So she is Elder Feng's granddaughter…" he thought silently.
Elder Feng calmly smiled before speaking.
"Since you have arrived, you will gradually learn everything."
Then Elder Feng pointed toward Fang Lin.
"This child is a newly recruited disciple brought back by Luo Hengsha."
After speaking, Elder Feng lightly touched his ring once more.
A much smaller crystal than the one used in Mylan Village appeared in his hand.
Then Elder Feng calmly looked toward Fang Lin.
"Come forward and place your hand upon the crystal once more."
"Let me personally inspect your attributes."
When the beautiful girl heard those words, her expression immediately changed slightly.
Attributes.
Plural.
That meant—
This young boy possessed more than one elemental attribute.
Her beautiful eyes immediately landed upon Fang Lin again.
People possessing multiple attributes were extremely rare.
Most cultivators only possessed one elemental attribute.
Those with two attributes were already considered geniuses.
As for three attributes—
Those people were monstrous talents that appeared only once in many years.
Meanwhile, Fang Lin quietly stepped forward.
Then he slowly placed his hand upon the crystal.
Elder Feng carefully stared toward the crystal without blinking.
The beautiful girl also quietly watched.
A moment later—
The crystal suddenly shone brightly.
Then three colors slowly appeared inside it.
White.
Black.
And icy blue.
The beautiful girl's eyes widened instantly.
She subconsciously blurted out,
"Level Five Light Attribute…"
"Level Five Darkness Attribute…"
"And Level Four Ice Attribute…"
Even Elder Feng, who had already heard about Fang Lin's talent from Instructor Luo earlier, still felt shocked again after personally witnessing the crystal himself.
The beautiful girl slowly looked toward Elder Feng with disbelief still filling her eyes.
"Grandfather… how is this possible?"
"Light and Darkness should never coexist…"
"And there is even the Ice Attribute…"
Even her calmness nearly collapsed.
Meanwhile, Fang Lin quietly looked toward the crystal thoughtfully.
Because deep inside the icy blue energy—
He had once again faintly sensed the strange hidden grey light.
However, this time—
Fang Lin did not dare extend his spiritual sense further.
Not with Elder Feng present nearby.
At that moment, Elder Feng finally laughed softly.
"Even I have never seen such a thing before."
"Light and Darkness are opposite attributes by nature."
"They should never coexist within the same body."
"Yet this child possesses both."
Elder Feng's gaze toward Fang Lin gradually deepened.
Meanwhile, Fang Lin silently listened to everything.
Even he himself felt shocked internally.
Then Elder Feng suddenly became serious once more.
"Jiu'er."
The beautiful girl immediately looked toward him respectfully.
Elder Feng calmly continued,
"This matter must remain completely secret."
Then Elder Feng looked toward Fang Lin.
"I will later assign him to the Rising Phoenix Mountain after he reaches the Spirit Foundation Realm."
"Until then, you will look after him temporarily."
The beautiful girl looked slightly surprised but still nodded calmly.
Then Elder Feng turned fully toward Fang Lin.
His expression became serious.
"Fang Lin."
"You must never reveal your true attributes to anyone."
"If others ask, you will only mention your Ice Attribute."
"Do you understand?"
Fang Lin immediately cupped his fists respectfully.
"This junior understands."
Elder Feng slowly nodded.
"Good."
Then Elder Feng calmly said,
"I will head toward the examination hall and register your identity personally."
"You may directly enter the outer sect without taking further trials."
After speaking, Elder Feng's figure suddenly blurred.
Then—
He completely disappeared.
Fang Lin immediately became shocked again.
Such methods completely exceeded his imagination.
Soon afterward, only Fang Lin and the beautiful girl remained inside the palace hall.
The atmosphere suddenly became slightly awkward.
The beautiful girl quietly looked toward Fang Lin for several moments.
Then a faint teasing smile slowly appeared on her beautiful face.
That cold and noble expression instantly became far more charming.
"Follow me."
After speaking, she turned around and began walking outside.
Fang Lin hurriedly followed behind her.
As they walked through the palace pathways, Fang Lin continuously looked around curiously.
This was his first time entering a real palace.
Everything looked beautiful beyond imagination.
Meanwhile—
As Fang Lin walked behind the girl in red, his eyes occasionally drifted toward her graceful figure subconsciously.
Especially her smooth waist and graceful curves.
The girl seemed completely unaware.
Or perhaps—
She simply pretended not to notice.
Soon afterward, they arrived near the bottom of the mountain.
At that moment, Elder Feng suddenly appeared nearby once more.
Fang Lin nearly jumped from shock.
He had not sensed Elder Feng appearing at all.
Elder Feng casually tossed a token toward the beautiful girl.
"I will leave this child in your hands for now."
Then Elder Feng disappeared once again.
The girl caught the token before tossing it toward Fang Lin.
"This is your outer sect disciple token."
"With it, you may stay inside the outer sect."
Then she lightly touched her ring.
A cultivation manual and a blue spirit stone immediately appeared in her hand.
She tossed both items toward Fang Lin.
"This spirit stone contains spiritual Qi."
"It will help you enter the Qi Conjunction Realm."
"Use it carefully."
Then she pointed toward the manual.
"This is the Qi Condensing Manual."
"Practice properly."
"If you have doubts later, you may come to Rising Phoenix Mountain and look for me."
After speaking, she turned around and began walking away.
Suddenly, Fang Lin hurriedly called out,
"Big Sister—"
The beautiful girl instantly stopped walking.
Then she slowly turned around and coldly stared toward him.
"Who is your Big Sister?"
"Call me Fairy Feng."
Fang Lin immediately became awkward.
Then he swallowed the rest of his words.
Seeing his reaction, the girl frowned slightly.
"Speak."
Fang Lin hesitated briefly before asking,
"I wanted to ask about the others from my village…"
"Were they selected successfully?"
Before Fang Lin could finish speaking, she calmly interrupted him.
"Instructor Luo stays within the outer sect instructors' area."
"You may ask him personally later."
Fang Lin immediately nodded respectfully.
"Thank you… Fairy Feng."
Calling someone "Fairy" who looked only slightly older than him felt extremely strange.
However—
After seeing her beauty earlier—
The title somehow suited her perfectly.
The beautiful girl did not say anything further.
She simply turned around.
Then with a single step—
She flew gracefully into the skies toward the distant mountain peak.
Fang Lin quietly watched her flying figure disappear into the distance.
Then his eyes slowly fell toward the token in his hand.
The token was star-shaped.
On the front, the words "Fang Lin" were carved clearly.
On the back—
"Outer Disciple 53579."
Fang Lin quietly memorized the number before slowly walking toward the outer sect residential area.
After asking several nearby disciples for directions, Fang Lin finally learned that the number represented his room number.
By the time he finally arrived before room 53579—
Nearly one hour had already passed.
The sky was beginning to brighten slightly.
Fang Lin slowly pushed open the door.
Dust covered the entire room.
Clearly—
Nobody had stayed there for a long time.
Fang Lin quietly cleaned the room carefully before finally sitting down upon the bamboo bed.
The events of today continuously replayed inside his mind.
The Green Bamboo Sect.
Cultivation.
Elder Feng.
Fairy Feng.
And the mysterious grey stone hidden within his spiritual sea.
Without realizing it—
Fang Lin slowly drifted into deep sleep.