A moment later, Han Li felt a sudden tightness in his waist, his body lightened, and he found himself rising automatically. Turning his head, he saw that his senior brother, who had been right behind him, was cradling him in one arm while using the other hand and his legs to climb upward with graceful agility. At the same time, Han Li noticed the sun high in the sky, directly overhead. It seemed that, despite his best efforts, he had still failed to complete this journey, and a sense of sadness settled in his heart—he had worked so hard, yet still couldn't match the others. A short while later, they reached the summit of the cliff, where only six young children sat quietly beside them resting. Wu Yan was conversing with an elderly man dressed in a deep blue official robe, his hands resting at his sides, aged about fifty with a prosperous, well-nourished appearance. Yue Master and Wang Protector stood beside him, with several others standing close by, all waiting for the young senior brothers to bring up the slower children one by one. After a while, all the children had been brought up. Then Yue Master stepped forward, facing the group of children with a solemn expression. "Seven candidates passed this round. Six of them entered the Hundred-Refinement Hall and officially became inner-door disciples of our sect." He said slowly. "The other, Wu Yan, reached the cliff first and demonstrated outstanding performance, thus being directly transferred to the Seven-Excellence Hall to study our sect's supreme techniques." The Hall Master turned to look at the elder wearing a senior official's robe. The elder, gently stroking his beard, nodded in satisfaction. "As for the others..." The Hall Master glanced at the remaining young disciples, lightly touched his chin with his right hand, and after a moment of thoughtful pause, continued: "Zhang Tie and Han Li, though they did not arrive at the summit on time, have shown exceptional promise. It appears they can endure the rigors of martial training. You two will first stay with several instructors in our sect to build a solid foundation for the next six months. After that, you will be assessed. If you pass, you will officially become inner-door disciples; if not, you will be assigned to the outer-door ranks." Han Li glanced at the other young disciple who had also stepped forward, named Zhang Tie—just behind him, hanging on the rope, nearly reaching the cliff's summit. "Master Wang, the remaining disciples shall each receive some silver and be sent home,"岳 Master said coldly to the last remaining young disciple. "Understood!" Master Wang stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and led the unqualified disciples down the cliff. "Zhang Jun and Wu Mingrui, you two will escort the passed disciples to our hall and deliver them to Gu Deputy Master and Li Instructor, respectively." Two young men stepped forward, dividing Han Li and his companions into two groups, heading down the cliff. One of them was precisely the cold-tempered senior brother. As they approached the base of the cliff, Han Li couldn't help but glance at Wu Yan, who remained speaking with the blue-robed elder, showing no sign of moving. "He's different from you—he's been assigned to the core disciples of the Seventh Absolute Hall. Once he completes his training, he'll at the very least hold the rank of a Protector. Another slender-faced senior brother seemed to have sensed the questions in Han Li's mind and stepped forward to clarify them, yet in his words, an indistinct sense of admiration and envy lingered. "It's still because of his aunt-in-law, who holds the position of Vice Grand Master. If it weren't for his cousin marrying the Vice Grand Master as a secondary wife, how could he possibly have made it? He's past the required age for admission, yet still managed to enter the Seven Absolute Hall!" The coldly composed senior brother's words left a chilly, rising sensation in everyone's backs. "Zhang Jun, are you trying to get yourself killed? Is the Vice Grand Master someone we can casually talk about? If other fellow disciples hear this, we'll both be forced to face the penalty of sitting in silence and reflecting on our actions!" Upon hearing the cold senior brother's remarks, the slender-faced senior brother was startled and hurriedly scanned the surroundings. Seeing that only these young attendants were present, he finally exhaled in relief. The elder brother, cold and composed, gave a sharp sniff, as if he too had some reservations, and then fell silent. At this point, Han Li realized that this reserved elder brother was Zhang Jun. While he didn't fully grasp what the elder had said, he sensed vaguely that Wuyan had not entered the Seventh Absolute Hall through sheer merit, but rather due to the support of a relative of the deputy gate master, which had made his entry effortless. As they passed through a dense grove of trees, an elderly man emerged slowly from the woods. In his sixties, he was tall and slender, with a slightly yellowed complexion, yet he had a long white beard that reached his shoulders. He walked steadily, constantly bowing and coughing, his coughing so persistent that it seemed he might fall at any moment—his condition was truly concerning. "Right now, I'm short on staff and still need one apprentice in the pharmacy and one herb-gathering disciple. These two will come with me." The black-robed doctor gestured casually, pointing directly at Han Li and Zhang Tie, two named disciples, his tone carrying an unmistakable authority. "Follow my instructions. These two are named disciples—being chosen by the esteemed Doctor Mu is truly a blessing for them. They should come and pay their respects to Doctor Mu right away. If they can learn even a few techniques from him, that would be a lifetime of fortune for both of them!" The two senior disciples showed no hesitation, and Wu Mingrui, with his slender, refined face, even enthusiastically praised the elder. Seeing that his two seniors had no objections, Han Li and Zhang Tie naturally followed the old man into the forest. The elder led them slowly along the winding paths through the trees, turning here and there, and suddenly, before their eyes, a lush, vibrant, emerald-green valley came into view. To the left of the valley lay a large field filled with a strong, fragrant aroma of medicinal herbs. Inside the courtyard, there grew many herbs whose names Li Han could not recall, while on the right stood a cluster of several buildings, ranging in size and connected together. After taking a glance around, it appeared that aside from the entrance they had just entered, there were no other exits leading out to the outside. "This is Shen Shou Valley. Aside from the disciples living within, outsiders typically only come here when they are ill or injured. You two will be staying here from now on. Rest for a while, and come to my hall in the evening—I have something to tell you." The elder stood before a group of closely adjacent buildings and pointed to a smaller one among them. "You may call me Mo-Older." After speaking, he paused and added, "Or you may call me Doctor Mo." Having finished speaking, the elder turned and walked steadily, coughing gently, into a more spacious and elegant building. Han Li had long been exhausted and no longer cared about the other young disciple named Zhang Tie. He simply collapsed onto a wooden bed inside the room and fell asleep instantly. For him, no matter what, he could now be considered half a disciple of the Qi Xu Sect.