Chapter 203: Connections Are Too Wild

Tang Tianlong had originally intended to give Jiang Fan a hard time, making him, like the other disciples, flatter and beg him. Of course, even if Jiang Fan truly begged, Tang Tianlong had no intention of going easy on him. He merely wanted to toy with Jiang Fan.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Fan was so unyielding. He openly showed Tang Tianlong disrespect and even audaciously claimed that if Tang Tianlong was the one assessing, there would be no problem. Tang Tianlong couldn't help but sneer as he sized up Jiang Fan.

"Oh, where did you get the confidence that you'll definitely pass my assessment?" he mocked. "You need to understand that my seriousness or lack thereof can lead to two different outcomes. If I become serious, even someone at Foundation Establishment Level Seven can only barely get a passing evaluation. If I'm not serious, someone at Foundation Establishment Level One can also pass. Understand?" he said with a meaningful smile. His words, however, were laced with deep threats, implying that expelling Jiang Fan from the Azure Cloud Sect would be as easy as flipping his palm, entirely dependent on his mood.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan, on the contrary, felt relieved. "Then I'm even more at ease," he said. This was because he had already broken through to Foundation Establishment Level Seven. At least he wouldn't end up failing. As for a "good" rating, it didn't seem too difficult.

Tang Tianlong was displeased. He felt like his punch had landed on cotton. He simply laid it bare, saying, "Jiang Fan, if you beg me properly now, perhaps I will show mercy and not make things difficult for you. Letting you pass the assessment is just a matter of my word. If you're so insensible, don't blame me for handling this officially."

Such a blatant threat was openly spoken, demonstrating how utterly unscrupulous Tang Tianlong was. The surrounding disciples all pretended not to hear, as they still had favors to ask of Tang Tianlong.

Seeing that a conflict was about to erupt, Xu Youran sensibly took out a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills, intending for Jiang Fan to back down. But before she could even speak, Jiang Fan snatched the Foundation Establishment Pill and gave her a reproachful look.

"Are Foundation Establishment Pills free?" he grumbled. He had thought it was the high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill he had given her. Upon opening it, however, it was a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. He couldn't help but show disdain. These days, carrying such a pill felt like it was just taking up space.

Just then, an outer disciple from the Sect Master's Peak was walking the peak's large yellow dog. Jiang Fan immediately called out. "Come here, Big Yellow!" Hearing Jiang Fan's voice, the big yellow dog immediately ran over, wagging its tail and affectionately rubbing against his leg.

"Here, have this," Jiang Fan said, pouring the Foundation Establishment Pill onto the ground.

Everyone immediately gasped in surprise. "What's he doing? Feeding the monthly low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill to a dog?" "What does he mean by that?" "A low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill is worth a full hundred spirit stones!" Someone wanted to step forward and stop him, but Big Yellow was quick-eyed and quick-mouthed, snatching it up and swallowing it whole in one gulp. Then, it wagged its tail at Jiang Fan with immense gratitude.

Jiang Fan patted its head and said, "Youran, do you see? Give this low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill to a dog, and it will wag its tail and try to please you. Give it to certain people, and they'll instead mock you as a fool who's easy to trick. Understand?"

Xu Youran rolled her eyes at him. "Now you're lecturing me," she said, but she also understood that what Jiang Fan said was not without reason. If Tang Tianlong was intent on deliberately ostracizing Jiang Fan, no amount of appeasement would be useful. Instead, she would be ridiculed and mocked by him.

Chen Siling had met more people than Xu Youran. She had long since seen that Tang Tianlong was just toying with them. She also bent down, patted the big yellow dog, and said cheerfully, "Husband is right. Give Foundation Establishment Pills to a dog, but not to certain people. Because they are even worse than dogs."

She and Jiang Fan played along, making veiled allusions, which made Tang Tianlong's face stiffen. He gritted his teeth and growled, "Jiang Fan! Are you looking for death?" He couldn't understand. Didn't Jiang Fan realize that his fate was in Tang Tianlong's hands? If he didn't want Jiang Fan to pass, it would just take a flick of his finger.

"Who's making a ruckus here?" a displeased voice drifted over. The disciples surrounding Tang Tianlong immediately scattered like birds and beasts. They recognized it as Wen Hongyao, known for her fiery temper in the Azure Cloud Sect. No disciple wanted to incur her displeasure.

The crowd parted. Wen Hongyao naturally saw Jiang Fan. Her grim old face immediately brightened, and she stepped forward with a smile, taking the initiative to speak. "Young man, is your disciple evaluation going smoothly?"

Jiang Fan cupped his hands and replied, "Thank you, Elder Wen, for your concern. This disciple is confident."

Hearing this, Wen Hongyao, on the contrary, stretched her old face. She turned to Tang Tianlong, who was standing nearby, and said, "You're assessing the disciples this time, aren't you?" Tang Tianlong also dared not provoke this Elder Wen, so he quickly cupped his hands and bowed. "Reporting to Elder Wen, this disciple is indeed in charge," he replied.

Wen Hongyao pointed at Jiang Fan and said, "Be strict with this young man. It would be best if he fails, if he gets expelled from the Azure Cloud Sect and loses his disciple status! That way, I can take him into my Medicine Peak!" With a sly chuckle, she departed.

Jiang Fan's brow furrowed in exasperation. Elder Wen's desire to take him as a disciple just wouldn't die!

Tang Tianlong watched Wen Hongyao leave. When he looked at Jiang Fan again, he finally understood where Jiang Fan's confidence came from. "Aha! So that's why you dared to be so defiant with me. So you've latched onto Elder Wen's coattails! I underestimated you, being able to wrap Elder Wen around your finger! You really have some skill!"

Xu Youran and Chen Siling also looked astonished. They knew Wen Hongyao's temper. She never showed a good face even to the disciples of her own peak, let alone outer peak disciples. They hadn't expected her to treat Jiang Fan specially. No wonder he was so confident he could pass the assessment.

Jiang Fan shrugged. There was no way to explain it.

"Hmph!" Tang Tianlong sneered softly. "What if you have Elder Wen's backing? I'm telling you, it's useless even if it's not just her, but even Sect Master Liu backing you! Because this assessment will be personally supervised by the Grand Elder. No one dares to tamper with your assessment!"

Disciple grading was a rather important matter for the sect because it concerned every disciple's future treatment and status within the Azure Cloud Sect. It also concerned the strength of each peak and their subsequent resource allocation. Moreover, it was also related to the qualification for participating in the beast tide defense.

Jiang Fan nodded slightly. "Then I am completely at ease." With the Grand Elder personally supervising, Tang Tianlong and Feng Guchan could only resort to petty tricks. They absolutely wouldn't dare to arbitrarily manipulate the grading. As long as his performance wasn't too bad, getting a "good" rating wouldn't be difficult.

Tang Tianlong snorted, "Go ahead and be stubborn! Let's see who stands up for you when you get eliminated later!"

No sooner had he spoken, a gasp of surprise suddenly came from among the disciples. "That's the Free Peak Grand Elder's mount, it's Grand Elder Huang!" Everyone looked up to see a two-headed black eagle soaring over their heads. Suddenly, Huang Zhantian unexpectedly spotted Jiang Fan. He then maneuvered the black eagle, spiraling down to land in front of Jiang Fan. Under the almost stunned gaze of Tang Tianlong and all the disciples present, he walked up to Jiang Fan and rolled his eyes. "You brat, do you even need an assessment? Who's qualified to assess you?"