The smile on the old man's face grew wider and wider, until he could barely contain it.
He stood there laughing for a good while before finally rising to his feet. Walking to the palace doors, he waved his sleeve lightly, and they swung open.
Seeing the old man emerge, the row of elders standing neatly outside the palace all bowed in unison and called out, "Greetings, Sect Master!"
"Hahaha! Heaven smiles upon our Qingmu South Forest!" the old man laughed heartily, clearly overjoyed.
"Sect Master, what has happened to make you so happy?" The elders were puzzled, though they could tell something good had occurred, so they smiled along and asked.
"Tell me, elders — why does our Qingmu South Forest station itself here and take in so many disciples? What is our purpose?" The old man, known as the Sect Master, answered their question with one of his own.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, our Qingmu South Forest is stationed here to recruit top-quality talents and send them to Qingmu Mountain," the elders answered in unison.
"Our Qingmu South Forest currently has more than a hundred million elders and disciples. We've produced quite a few decent talents, but to this day, we haven't found a single truly exceptional one. That's why the other three Forests have always looked down on us." The Sect Master spoke with a tone of helplessness.
Hearing the Sect Master's words, every elder present silently lowered their heads. A sense of shame too deep for words crept across their aged faces.
"Though it pains me to admit it, when you think about it, their mockery isn't unjust. They've sent far more exceptional talents to Qingmu Mountain — they have every right to laugh at us."
"But now, their days of laughing at us are about to come to an end." Suddenly, the Sect Master broke into a grin once more.
"Sect Master, what do you mean?" At those words, the elders' eyes lit up, and a joyful glow replaced the dejection on their faces.
"Years ago, several of our South Forest predecessors worked together to set up a formation at the exit of the Heavenly Path, hoping that one day we might obtain unexpected gains from the Southern Sea — that land beyond our Martial Sacred Ground."
"After all these years, our Qingmu South Forest has indeed cultivated a great number of disciples through that Heavenly Path, but not a single one could be called a truly exceptional talent."
"Heaven does not forsake those who persevere. Today, I have finally found a truly exceptional talent!" The Sect Master spoke with undisguised excitement.
"An exceptional talent?" Hearing this, the elders looked puzzled and collectively turned their gazes toward a particular elder in the crowd.
Faced with everyone's stares, that old man's expression stiffened visibly.
"
"Reporting to the Sect Master... I returned some days ago. The people selected from the Heavenly Path have all been properly arranged." The man called Ma Qiang replied nervously.
"Is the Heavenly Path exit still being guarded?" the Sect Master asked urgently.
"That is... Reporting to the Sect Master, because no one had appeared at the exit for days on end, I believed something might have gone wrong with the Heavenly Path and that no more people would be coming out. So I didn't stay any longer — I brought everyone back together." Ma Qiang looked increasingly worried.
"You FOOL!!!" Hearing this, the Sect Master erupted in fury, then pointed at Ma Qiang and roared: "Just moments ago, a heaven-blessed prodigy appeared inside the Heavenly Path! This boy possesses incredible combat strength — if we nurture him properly and send him to Qingmu Mountain, he would surely bring glory to our South Forest! And yet you useless fools abandoned your posts? You missed the chance to bring this boy into our South Forest?!"
"Sect Master, please calm your anger! Please calm your anger! It wasn't that we abandoned our posts — it's just that this year's Heavenly Path was truly bizarre. Days passed and it still hadn't closed, and during all that time, not a single person emerged. I genuinely believed the Heavenly Path had malfunctioned and no more would come out. To avoid wasting time, I led everyone back first!"