Chapter 19: Tian Li
Meng Zhang had been closely watching Zhao Dong, but he refrained from taking action until Zhao Dong left. Everyone present was somewhat surprised by Meng Zhang's ability to repel Zhao Dong and suppress Fang Meng.
"Sect Master's skills are indeed remarkable, effortlessly subduing the enemy."
"Elder Profound Spirit truly has a keen eye, selecting an outstanding successor for our Taiyi Sect."
Several elders of Taiyi Sect were discussing on the side.
Meng Zhang's prowess was also beyond Tian Zhen's expectations, but he wisely refrained from probing further. The various techniques of cultivators were their greatest secrets.
"Sect Master, will you let them go just like that? Especially Fang Meng, that traitor, shouldn't be let off so easily."
"Zhao Family is powerful; it's not the right time to turn against them."
Meng Zhang shook his head, feeling somewhat resentful. There was nothing he could do at the moment; he had to bide his time as he was currently at a disadvantage. The Zhao Family had a large number of disciples, including several Refining Qi Late stage experts. On the other hand, Taiyi Sect had lost all of its Refining Qi Late stage elders during a turmoil over ten years ago. Even after the recent internal conflict that occurred after the demise of Sect Master Daoist Profound Spirit, Taiyi Sect was nothing more than a hollow shell with weakened strength.
As the Sect Master, Meng Zhang did possess some trump cards, but he was still outnumbered and couldn't withstand the Zhao Family's full-scale attack. Using two previously refined magic tools for the Blood Refining Martyr Art had depleted his resources. Without recklessly using the Spirit Snake Spear, which would completely damage the spiritual weapon, he had no other means to definitively defeat Zhao Dong.
Zhao Dong didn't know Meng Zhang's true abilities and was scared off by his empty bluff.
Regardless, the troublemakers were driven away, allowing Meng Zhang to focus on other matters. Without Fang Meng's instigation, Fang Meng's sister dared not speak a word in front of the respected elders.
After a brief examination of Tian Li's condition and some casual conversation with the seniors, Meng Zhang, Tian Zhen, and Tian Li left Sweetwater Oasis and returned to Taiyi Sect's residence.
Despite being only ten years old, Tian Li was quite bold and showed no signs of fear or crying after leaving home.
Of course, the fact that Taiyi Sect's residence was not far from Sweetwater Oasis and that both places frequently interacted with each other played a part. Additionally, with Tian Zhen, his distant uncle, by his side, Tian Li felt reassured.
Upon returning to Taiyi Sect, Meng Zhang brought Tian Li to the sect's main hall and took out the Spirit Testing Disk from the basement. He carefully measured Tian Li's spiritual roots and physical attributes.
Meng Zhang held the Spirit Testing Disk close to Tian Li's head and infused it with true qi to activate it.
A burst of light emanated from the Spirit Testing Disk, displaying various scales and markings on its surface. A beam of light rose from the disk, accompanied by golden and red patterns.
After observing the position where the beam of light stopped, Meng Zhang smiled and said, "This kid has good aptitude, possessing low-high-grade spiritual roots."
Among the different grades of spiritual roots, low-high-grade was considered the upper tier of the low-grade.
Most of Taiyi Sect's disciples had inferior spiritual roots, being the lowest of the low-grade. With such aptitude, unless a miracle occurred, they could hardly reach Foundation Building. Even reaching Refining Qi Late stage would be impossible without abundant resources.
Tian Zhen and Fang Meng both had low-middle-grade spiritual roots, making them relatively valued within the sect.
Meng Zhang's own high-grade spiritual roots were highly sought after even by Gold Core sects. The legendary top-grade and Heaven-Grade spiritual roots were just myths, at least in the Endless Sea of Sand, where they had never been seen.
Although Elder Profound Spirit had concealed Meng Zhang's true spiritual root aptitude, claiming it was middle-grade, perceptive figures within Taiyi Sect, like Daoist Profound Spirit and Daoist Clear Spirit, considered him a promising disciple. Even Tian Zhen, who was deeply loyal to the sect, saw him as the hope for Taiyi Sect's revival.
Even the An Family Patriarch, who had passed by Taiyi Sect, admired Meng Zhang and tried hard to recruit him. Though the attempt was unsuccessful, the Patriarch was still willing to maintain a good relationship with him.
However, the majority of the current generation of Taiyi Sect disciples lacked potential. Fang Meng was focused on creating small groups, and people like Zhen Ling had too many selfish thoughts, lacking consideration for the sect's future.
Hearing that Tian Li possessed low-high-grade spiritual roots, Tian Zhen was overjoyed. Not only was he happy for his fellow disciple and relative, but he also felt that Taiyi Sect had gained a talented individual. With such spiritual roots, Tian Li had a certain possibility of succeeding in Foundation Building if he had access to Foundation Building Pills or other Foundation Building treasures. Although the possibility of obtaining such treasures with Taiyi Sect's current situation was merely a dream, having hope was better than having none.
After assessing Tian Li's spiritual root aptitude, Meng Zhang shifted his attention to Tian Li's physical attributes. Observing the changes in colors and patterns on the Spirit Testing Disk, Meng Zhang announced Tian Li's physical attributes.
"With this kid's physique, he's most suitable for practicing techniques that combine both fire and metal attributes."
Tian Zhen thought for a moment and shook his head. "The sect has the Flame Technique with fire attributes and the Refined Metal Art with metal attributes. However, there isn't any technique that combines both fire and metal attributes."
"Do you mean we should let this kid practice the attribute-less Transparent Technique?"
"Although the Flame Technique and the Refined Metal Art are common techniques, they are still stronger than the attribute-less Transparent Technique."
At this moment, Tian Zhen fully realized the limitations of being from a small sect. The sect's collection of techniques was limited, leaving few options. Many times, they couldn't find the most suitable technique for their disciples, resulting in the waste of their talents.
Meng Zhang didn't say anything; instead, he went to the back of the sect's main hall and retrieved two copied manuals from his quiet room. He handed one copy of "Fusing Gold Art" to Tian Li and said, "You will practice the technique from this manual in the future. If you have any questions, both your uncle and I can guide you."
He gave the other copy of "Fifth Earth True Secrets" to Tian Zhen. "Senior Brother, you will switch to this technique. It's much stronger than the Yellow Sand Art you've been practicing."
"Senior Brother, I've placed copies of both manuals in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion." "In addition, I've copied some other books and placed them in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion as well. If you have spare time, you can read them."
Taiyi Sect's Hidden Scripture Pavilion was originally just a few small houses with few books and no precious collections. It had always been open to all disciples of the sect. There were only a few fire-proof and pest-proof runes and some runes for temperature and humidity control; there were no other restrictions.
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