"Boy, seeing that your talent is quite promising, I was unwilling to let you squander such an opportunity, which is why I offered my advice earlier. Your stubborn refusal, however, has put this old man in a most awkward position," the old man said, looking at Lin Tian. "How about this—let us make a wager."
"After you take me as your master, if you can meet the goals I set for you each month, then you may devote the remaining time to artifact refining. If you fail, however, you will obediently follow me and study the principles of medicine."
"And if the targets you set each month are outrageously unreasonable, wouldn't that mean I'd have no choice but to submit and study medicine?" Lin Tian replied without hesitation. Though the old man before him appeared immortal and benevolent, with an air of honesty and simplicity, Lin Tian's confidence in his character had already been deeply shaken by earlier events.
"This old man knows full well that my reputation may be questionable and difficult to trust," the elder said earnestly. "But since you would be my disciple, how could I possibly harm you? Besides, if you can achieve success in artifact refining in addition to medicine, I would be delighted—why would I ever hold you back?"
"Very well. Since you've put it that way, I'll trust you this once," Lin Tian said, still visibly skeptical. Yet for the sake of the Nine-Gold White Jade Lotus before him, he could only swallow his misgivings for the time being.
After performing a simple disciple-taking ceremony, the old man handed the Nine-Gold White Jade Lotus directly to Lin Tian. Seeing that there was no trickery involved, a trace of curiosity and surprise flickered in Lin Tian's eyes. Under the old man's gaze, he swallowed the lotus in one go.
The moment the Nine-Gold White Jade Lotus entered his body, Lin Tian could clearly feel his meridians being steadily widened under an influx of extraordinarily pure spiritual energy. At the same time, his spiritual strength surged dramatically. Waves of refined energy rushed through his limbs and bones, and his cultivation rose accordingly, surging upward until it broke through to the ninth level of the Qi Refining realm—only a single step away from complete perfection.
"I never imagined the Nine-Gold White Jade Lotus could be this miraculous," Lin Tian exclaimed, sensing the tremendous increase in his strength.
Because the spiritual energy within his body was already exceptionally pure, most medicines designed to enhance cultivation had little effect on him. Yet this single Nine-Gold White Jade Lotus had elevated him all the way to the ninth level of Qi Refining, a testament to its extraordinary value.
"Good disciple, now that you've acknowledged me as your master and taken the medicine, shouldn't you carry out the task I've entrusted to you?" the old man said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.
"Master, please give your instructions," Lin Tian replied, clasping his fists respectfully.
"You see, no matter what, I am still a peak lord, am I not? As my disciple, you naturally cannot lag behind others. So tell me—when are you going to bring me a first-place ranking from the Medicine God Tower? That way, your master here can take proper pride in you."
"The Medicine God Tower?" Lin Tian was utterly dumbfounded. Only now did he finally understand why the old man had treated him so generously, even handing over the Nine-Gold White Jade Lotus so readily. It turned out that this was the pit he had been digging all along.
Though he was not a disciple of the Medicine Peak, Lin Tian was well aware of the Medicine God Tower. Among the Seven Peaks of the Xuanwu Sect, its difficulty was indisputably the greatest. The tower consisted of seven levels, each containing ten trials corresponding to ten different ailments. Only by resolving all ten conditions on a given level could one advance to the next.
Throughout the history of the Xuanwu Sect, not a single outer disciple had ever reached the second level of the Medicine God Tower. According to Lin Tian's knowledge, the current top-ranked outer disciple had managed to resolve only nine ailments.
In other words, to surpass that disciple and claim first place on the outer sect rankings, one would have to clear all ten ailments of the first level. To Lin Tian, the old man was clearly making things deliberately difficult.
"Are you certain you're not intentionally making things hard for me?" Lin Tian could not help but ask.
"How is this making things hard for you?" the old man retorted, clearly displeased. "Everything I do is for your own good. And I guarantee that once your disciple token is bound to my elder token, every bit of the master's rewards I receive will be handed over to you in full. I won't withhold a single point."
"Master's rewards?" Lin Tian asked in confusion.
"You don't know this?" the old man said smugly. "In the Xuanwu Sect, to encourage elders to take on disciples, once an elder's token is bound to a disciple's token, rewards in points and items are issued based on the disciple's performance in the outer sect. It's a way of compensating elders for their painstaking guidance."
"So the better my performance, the more points you receive?" Lin Tian's eyes lit up immediately. He had not expected such an additional benefit to come with acknowledging a master.
"Naturally. But at your current level, you won't earn much," the old man said, unable to resist dampening his enthusiasm. He had intended those words as motivation, not to give Lin Tian the impression that vast rewards were already within reach.
"Still, given your talent, your performance in the outer sect should be decent enough. Perhaps, when all is said and done, the points might even reach ten thousand." After a moment's thought, the old man took out his elder token and established a direct connection with Lin Tian's token.
At that moment, Lin Tian stared at him with unconcealed excitement, clearly eager to see just how many points he would ultimately receive.
"Look at you, so provincial," the old man scoffed. "It's just a few points—are you really that impatient?" He then infused the tokens with spiritual energy. Yet when the points finally appeared, the old man was instantly struck dumb.