The moment Ye Wen spoke those words, Yue Hang’s face lit up with excitement. He barked at his son, "Why haven't you offered the tea yet?"

Though Yue Ning was young, children of that age were often sharp beyond their years, especially within the strictly disciplined Yue household, and this boy was particularly astute. After only a few moments upon entering, he had grasped that his father was securing him a master.

Initially, he had assumed it would be the old Daoist with the beard, but he never expected the master to be this young man who looked scarcely older than himself.

However, such a thought dared not be voiced. Moreover, he had clearly heard his father’s command, and he would never doubt his father’s judgment. Since his father insisted he take this person as his teacher, there must be a sound reason for it.

Without further hesitation, he immediately took the tea set from the servant, knelt, and presented the cups with both hands before Ye Wen, softly murmuring, "Master, please drink."

Ye Wen accepted the tea and took a sip. "Go pack your things now. You will return to the mountain gate with me shortly. Only after paying respects to the Ancestor Master will you truly be considered a disciple of the Shu Mountain sect."

"This disciple understands."

"Rise now, go and prepare," Ye Wen nodded, watching his first disciple since becoming sect master slowly depart. He then turned to Yue Hang. "If Head Escort Yue has no pressing matters, I must take Ning'er to the mountain soon. Yue Ning will likely be residing on the mountain for most of the year from now on."

Yue Hang understood the necessity and waved dismissively in acknowledgment. "But why the rush, Sect Master Ye? Why not stay a few more days before returning to the mountain?"

Ye Wen shook his head and did not agree.

Others might not know why, but he did. The deed of sale for Ya Ya was still missing, held firmly by the Tianle Gang. Although he publicly claimed not to care, he was actually quite worried underneath.

He knew the state of his own sect: currently, only he himself was truly skilled, and his junior sister was also competent. If the Tianle Gang truly came to seize the girl, he wasn't confident he could repel the attackers.

"Thinking it over, it's still my own strength that is lacking."

Although his Quan Zhen Xin Fa (Complete Heart Art) had reached minor completion, making him no small master in this Book Mountain region, comparing him across the entirety of Pingzhou was another matter entirely.

To speak nothing else, the internal energy of that Liu Qingfeng, True Man Liu sitting right there, was far deeper than his own. During these past few days, he and Liu Qingfeng had discussed martial arts extensively, and Ye Wen learned that the Tiger Mountain Sect’s Hu Yang Dan Qi (Tiger Sun Elixir Breath) was exceptionally fierce and overbearing, and this True Man Liu had already cultivated this internal art to a considerable degree of mastery.

What puzzled Ye Wen was why the Tiger Mountain Sect, possessing a foundational internal martial art manual, had disciples whose cultivation levels were so weak overall.

In reality, Ye Wen was unaware that the Tiger Mountain Sect’s internal art was only that single manual of Hu Yang Dan Qi. This technique was created by the sect's founding ancestor only after his own internal energy had reached a considerable level of skill. Consequently, this manual carried a problem that caused the Tiger Mountain disciples both frustration and helplessness: one could not practice it unless one’s foundational internal energy was already sufficiently developed.

The issue was that the Tiger Mountain Sect lacked any entry-level internal arts. All disciples relied on a rough, rudimentary breathing technique—only slightly better than the one Ye Wen had practiced initially. They had to cultivate this basic method for years, grinding their internal energy through sheer accumulation of time until they reached the required standard to practice the Hu Yang Dan Qi. Only then could they learn that foundational, sect-guarding ultimate technique.

In other words, the Tiger Mountain Sect suffered from an awkward martial arts gap: they possessed a breathing method barely suitable for beginners, and the ultimate hereditary technique, but nothing in between to bridge the two.

This resulted in Tiger Mountain disciples, before mastering Hu Yang Dan Qi, being only marginally stronger than mere street performers, except for the rare one or two with exceptional talent who might start learning the Hu Yang Dan Qi early and pull far ahead of their peers. Only then would they begin to catch the notice of genuine experts.

Liu Qingfeng was considered talented within the Tiger Mountain Sect; he began cultivating Hu Yang Dan Qi quite early and had practiced it for a long time now, mastering the control over this fierce inner strength to the point where it could be deployed or retracted at will. In the region of Pingzhou, he was certainly a recognized figure.

Compared to the Tiger Mountain Sect, Ye Wen was undoubtedly luckier. His Quan Zhen Xin Fa had no such prerequisites; it could be cultivated as long as one possessed even a slight foundation in internal energy.

Furthermore, before this, Ye Wen’s body had already practiced basic breathing methods, developing a slight sense of qi. He then used foundational internal arts to solidify the base for his deeper cultivation, making the subsequent practice of the Quan Zhen Xin Fa a natural progression, without being stalled by restrictive, confusing training thresholds.

Moreover, the martial arts summoned by his ring were generally those he could use at his current level, rarely summoning a technique that was powerful but utterly uncultivatable (though it might summon some bizarre, useless items).

In this aspect, Ye Wen held a significant advantage, an advantage he believed would eventually benefit the Shu Mountain Sect. After all, when a sect possesses a complete, tiered system of martial arts that allows for continuous progression, it becomes almost inevitable that the sect will rise to become a first-rate force over time.

This meant the sect could mass-produce a cohort of competent practitioners. With a large number of skilled disciples, the sect would naturally ascend to become a leading power in the martial world.

Throughout all of Pingzhou, neither the Tiger Mountain Sect nor any other sect possessed such a complete martial arts system. Therefore, their cultivation of masters relied heavily on chance.

These were matters Ye Wen only learned in detail after some time had passed. For now, he was still perplexed by the stark disparity in skill among the Tiger Mountain disciples.

After bidding farewell to Yue Hang and the others, Old Daoist Liu Qingfeng departed with his two disciples to continue their travels. He had initially expected to be away from home for quite a while, but Xu Xian’s sudden change of plan had thrown a wrench into his aspirations of broadening his disciples’ horizons. Now, he had no choice but to personally guide them around to witness the current state of the martial world firsthand.

The old Daoist left the Yue Shan Escort Agency with Ye Wen and also left the county town with him. Before they parted ways, the old Daoist spoke with Ye Wen privately for a few moments.

"What does Sect Master Ye think of his own martial arts?"

"Barely (entry-level), nothing significant," Ye Wen, having read countless novels, knew that his own skill level wasn't even close to that of a true master. In the original novels, one could probably pull any random Quanzhen disciple who wouldn't be inferior to him—yet those Quanzhen disciples ended up tragic figures in those stories.

Liu Qingfeng nodded. "What does Sect Master Ye think of my skills?"

While Ye Wen and Liu Qingfeng hadn't become close friends during this period, they had gained a general understanding of each other. After that initial encounter, they had discussed martial arts. Ye Wen wanted to use the opportunity to gauge the true strength of the Tiger Mountain Sect, and it was then that he gained a deeper understanding of Liu Qingfeng’s cultivation.

The old Daoist had, in turn, learned about Ye Wen’s martial arts during that time and realized he had misjudged Ye Wen’s abilities that first day. However, he had also noticed that Ye Wen’s internal energy path was one built step-by-step; though progress wasn't rapid, its strength lay in its steadiness.

This contrasted with his own cultivation. The Hu Yang Dan Qi had many restrictions, but once mastered, its power was extraordinary, though subsequent progress slowed considerably, relying entirely on individual aptitude to reach higher levels. Ye Wen was different; even with average talent, as long as he practiced diligently, he was bound to see improvement.

Thus, even though he learned Ye Wen’s skills were not as high as he had initially assumed, Liu Qingfeng, like Yue Hang, was very optimistic about Ye Wen's future.

Moreover, he could see that Ye Wen's internal art seemed to lack strict entry requirements. If this was true, anyone joining the Shu Mountain Sect would eventually become a master of internal energy, and such a sect would inevitably carve out a place for itself in the martial world.

But...

Before Ye Wen could ask, Liu Qingfeng spoke directly. "Don't laugh at me, Sect Master Ye, but my skills are considered decent here in Pingzhou. But if I were to truly venture into the Central Plains... hehe..." He left the rest unsaid, but Ye Wen gathered the meaning from the expression on the old Daoist's face.

This conclusion surprised Ye Wen. Was the martial world of Pingzhou so vastly inferior to the mainstream powers of the current Jianghu?

As if sensing Ye Wen’s question, the old Daoist nodded in affirmation. "The gap is indeed immense. I imagine Sect Master Ye now understands why I became so concerned when that matter involved the Tianle Gang."

"Although the Tianle Gang harbors many despicable secrets, the fact that they can maintain a foothold in the current martial world and spread their branch offices so widely demonstrates their considerable power. Although Sect Master Ye was in the right this time, offending the Tianle Gang will likely bring no end of trouble in the future."

Ye Wen nodded. This time, he realized the enemy he faced might be far stronger than he had anticipated. This realization instilled a sense of urgency in him; he desperately wished to return to the mountain immediately and cultivate diligently, advancing his skills further so he could face the coming trouble with greater confidence.

Liu Qingfeng noticed Ye Wen deep in thought, devising countermeasures, and quickly spoke again. "Sect Master Ye, there's no need to worry excessively. Although this incident means offending the Tianle Gang, it is ultimately a minor conflict, and they probably won't pay too much attention initially. Furthermore, it won't be easy or quick for them to trace it back to you."

"More importantly, I cannot simply wash my hands of this. My Tiger Mountain Sect will not stand idly by and ignore justice and righteousness."

Hearing this, Ye Wen finally understood why Liu Qingfeng had shared so much with him. In essence, the matter had now implicated the Tiger Mountain Sect. Since the Tiger Mountain Sect feared they couldn't stand against the vast and powerful Tianle Gang alone, they sought to ally with his Shu Mountain Sect.

This was why Liu Qingfeng acted this way—he recognized the potential for growth in the Shu Mountain Sect. On the other hand, it was also a sign of recognition: the other party acknowledged that his sect was a force capable of engaging in equal discussion with the Tiger Mountain Sect.

Besides, this was not a bad thing for the Shu Mountain Sect. Facing a powerful enemy was always more reassuring with allies at one's side. Thus, Ye Wen nodded in agreement. "I understand. I hope that at the time, Senior and the Tiger Mountain Sect will uphold justice and speak out righteously."