Chapter 701: Senior Brother Dai, guess who this is

Old Ma looked on with slight surprise as the young man got into the carriage, not knowing who he was or why Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were bringing him back to the sect.

Was he a promising talent they had just found?

But even then, he should have passed the entrance examination before being able to join Dao Seeking Sect.

Never mind, what does it have to do with me? I'm just a carriage driver.

Old Ma stopped overthinking and focused on his job of driving the carriage.

"Grand Ancestor, rest assured, this Golden Cicada Exuviation will definitely be returned to you."

"We just received news that the Luoshui Guard, the official cultivators of the Great Xia Dynasty, have already captured True Monarch Guanqi."

"That quickly?" Innate Daoist was very surprised. "How did you two know?"

"However, it's best to leave the matter of returning stolen goods to the sect elders. We two juniors have little influence, and it's not convenient for us to step forward."

Innate Daoist nodded, acknowledging that it made sense.

"Grand Ancestor, you might not be aware, but the current atmosphere of the sect is quite different from your time; it's more open."

"Currently, the sect is managed not only by elders but also by several disciples."

Old Ma transported the three of them to Dao Seeking Sect in just one day, which greatly astonished Innate Daoist, who realized that even he would only manage this speed if he were to travel.

Oh, no, considering he would get lost, it might take him more than ten days to reach Dao Seeking Sect. That's why he had previously wanted to save money to take a flying boat.

What he hadn't considered was that he was currently unregistered and couldn't take a flying boat.

As some fellow disciples returned from missions, Dao Seeking Sect was a bit livelier than when the two had left, but it hadn't fully returned to its usual state. Some people were still carrying out character observation tasks.

"Wow, Dao Seeking Sect is so big now," Innate Daoist exclaimed. Not only had the sect grown significantly since its establishment, but even the main gate was grander than before.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou led Innate Daoist to the entrance of the Mission Hall. "Grand Ancestor," Lu Yang said, "please wait here for a moment. You know your identity is special. If we take you directly, we're afraid the sect's high-ranking members might not accept it immediately."

"How about this? We'll go in first and explain the whole situation clearly, and then you can enter."

"Alright, I'll follow your arrangement," Innate Daoist said, chuckling happily. He understood that this matter indeed required a process of acceptance.

A thick stack of mission reports lay before Dai Bufan, detailing the results of character observations.

The mortals whose character needed observation had all been screened by him, and it turned out his judgment was excellent; most of them met the standards of Dao Seeking Sect.

"This young man who visited someone in prison is good," he mused. "He's very filial. I wonder if he'll come to Dao Seeking Sect."

"This little girl is also good; she accidentally found a storage ring and used it for farming, which is quite clever. It's just that her family atmosphere isn't very good."

"I just wonder how those two, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, are doing," Dai Bufan mumbled, feeling a bit on edge, worried that they would stir up more trouble.

"There shouldn't be anything," he thought. "I haven't received any reports of Tribulation Transcendence stage battles lately."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Dai Bufan's mouth. After these few experiences, he was already mentally prepared. Even if those two caused trouble, provoking battles involving Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators or demi-immortals, or even brought back one or two ancient demi-immortals, he wouldn't react much.

As Dai Bufan was muttering to himself, he heard a polite knock on the door. "Brother Dai, we're back."

"Come in."

The wooden door opened, and Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou walked in cheerfully.

"Have you finished your observations?"

"Yes, we're done."

"Tell me, what were the three people I asked you to observe like? Did their character pass?"

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou shook their heads regretfully. "Only one of the three passed the character assessment," Lu Yang said.

"Only one?" Brother Dai frowned slightly, a bit puzzled. Was his judgment that bad?

"For example, that mortal named Xie An," Lu Yang explained, "he was actually Wuji Venerable Xie Jiu in disguise. As a powerful cultivator, for him to disguise himself as a mortal is utterly shameless!"

"Oh, is that so?" Dai Bufan was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected these two to be so unlucky as to encounter a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator disguised as a mortal.

Was it because they were disciplined by Senior Sister Yun last time that their Dao heart hadn't recovered?

"What about the one named Tao Tingfeng?"

Meng Jingzhou shook his head and said regretfully, "Tao Tingfeng isn't good either. This young man disregards the law, openly violating criminal law, harboring robbers, and even helping to guard stolen goods. When we left, he was taken away by the Luoshui Guard."

"So the only one whose character passed was Gu Junye?"

"That's right," Lu Yang affirmed. "This Gu Junye is an extremely rare talent. He not only strictly abides by the law but also knows how to use it as a weapon to protect himself. He studies diligently in class and uses every available moment after class to exercise. He's also very filial and listens to his mother."

"He most fits what you, Brother Dai, said about being an honest and upright person and diligently cultivating."

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou spoke highly of Gu Junye.

"His mentality is also very good," Meng Jingzhou added. "He remains calm in the face of challenges. Even when we told him he could participate in Dao Seeking Sect's entrance examination, he didn't show excessive excitement."

"We also found that Gu Junye holds himself to the standards of a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator," Lu Yang continued. "He cares deeply about the world and has repeatedly expressed to us his desire to save all living beings."

"Moreover, he doesn't hide himself; he openly expressed this idea to us in front of his classmates and teacher."

Dai Bufan nodded. "Such character," he said, "he truly is a rare and promising talent."

"Oh, right, Brother Dai," Lu Yang then asked, "didn't you say that if we found someone not on the list who also met the sect's recruitment criteria, we could also recommend them to you?"

"I did say that," Dai Bufan replied. "Did you find someone?"

"It's an unexpected gain from this outing," Lu Yang replied. "It's just that this person's background is a bit complicated. He's a cultivator from the Great Yu Dynasty who, for some reason, dispersed his cultivation and started anew."

Lu Yang declared confidently, "But rest assured, Brother Dai, their character is guaranteed and absolutely meets our Dao Seeking Sect's recruitment standards! Plus, they're very famous; Brother Dai, you'll definitely know them."

"A Great Yu cultivator who dispersed his cultivation and started anew?" Dai Bufan hesitated slightly, finding it hard to make a decision. "You two sure know how to find people," he thought. "Someone like this could easily be a traitor if one isn't careful."

"We were afraid you wouldn't be at ease, Brother Dai," Meng Jingzhou said, "so we specifically brought him back to the sect."

"Then bring them in; let me see."

"Alright!"

Soon, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou brought a refined young man before Dai Bufan. The young man smiled somewhat shyly.

"Brother Dai, guess who this is?"

"Who is it?"

Lu Yang introduced with a beaming smile, "This is our Dao Seeking Sect's founding Grand Ancestor, Innate Daoist Qi Tongtian."

Brother Dai's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a thud, unconscious.

"Wh-what happened?" Innate Daoist asked, a little flustered.

Meng Jingzhou said seriously, "He probably has poor psychological endurance. He's never seen a Grand Ancestor and got too excited."