Cultivation Starting from Full Talent-Chapter 659 - 657: The Zhang Family’s Recruitment

Time passes swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, three years have gone by.

This year, Ning Daoran is 465 years old. Had he been at the Golden Core Stage, he would most likely appear as an elderly man in his twilight years. However, he is at the Nascent Soul Stage, with a long life span, so he still looks like a youth.

Over the three years, the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture has further improved, though he hasn’t broken through to the next level, his progress is still quite remarkable.

Additionally, the intensity of his mana has become ever deeper—an accumulation requiring the tempering of time and not something that can be rushed.

"Young Master..."

Little Bai gracefully entered the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven and, with a courteous bow, smiled and asked, "Has Young Master emerged from seclusion?"

"Indeed."

Ning Daoran nodded and asked, "During my closed meditation, was there anything significant that occurred?"

"Nothing major happened, though quite a few came to visit."

"Oh? Who were they?"

"Huang Xianyu, Zhang Qinghe, and Chen Ningfeng—they all came. However, since Young Master was focused on cultivating in seclusion, I declined them and sent them away."

"Hmm."

Ning Daoran chuckled. "Chen Ningfeng must have wanted advice on arrays. As for Huang Xianyu and Zhang Qinghe... That, I cannot guess. By the way, have there been any new commissions for array crafting?"

"Indeed."

Little Bai took out a ledger and smiled. "Many commissions for refining arrays have been delayed for two years already. There are over twenty arrays to be crafted. Would you like to take a look?"

"Crafting the arrays comes first; earning money is important!"

Ning Daoran pondered aloud. "I will start refining them right away."

"Excellent!"

Thus, having just exited his closed meditation, he immediately began working to earn some money.

...

Several days later, Huang Xianyu visited.

"Fellow Daoist Ning!"

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Huang Xianyu strode swiftly into the cave mansion, seeming rather pleased with himself.

Ning Daoran naturally understood the reason. At this moment, Huang Xianyu’s cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage!

That’s right, within three years, he had managed to break through!

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on your breakthrough!"

Ning Daoran cupped his hands with a smile. "What a joyous occasion!"

"It’s all thanks to your guidance!"

Huang Xianyu exclaimed excitedly, "Over these three years, I followed Fellow Daoist Ning’s pointers and re-cultivated the Divine Fire Technique from start to finish. Sure enough, all the blockages that had stalled me were cleared away. In less than three years, the Divine Fire Technique I had cultivated for centuries reached perfection, and with its perfection, my cultivation naturally advanced to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage!"

As he spoke, Huang Xianyu enthusiastically retrieved a jar of spiritual wine from his storage bag and said with a smile, "This is top-grade Fire God Wine; there are very few jars of this in the entire Divine Fire Sect. After many hardships, I finally acquired one. I wish to present it to Fellow Daoist Ning as a token of thanks. Please accept it!"

"Hmm."

Ning Daoran nodded with a smile. "This jar of Fire God Wine—how could I refuse such kindness from Fellow Daoist?"

With that, he swept his hand, storing the top-grade Fire God Wine into his storage ring alongside ten jars of high-grade Fire God Wine.

Next, Huang Xianyu discussed several matters related to the Divine Fire Technique.

Actually, his breakthrough was entirely reasonable. After all, throughout the years, Huang Xianyu had never slacked in his cultivation; his foundation had already been sufficiently built. It was merely the path of the Divine Fire Technique that had gone awry.

It was akin to a trench already dug, but the failure to channel water resulted in blockage, preventing the water from irrigating the trench. So, when the Divine Fire Technique reached perfection, the spiritual power washed over and nourished his physical body, making his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage a natural outcome.

If Huang Xianyu remains diligent, advancing further in a few decades to cultivate the Divine Fire Technique to the Transformation Realm—and even reaching Nascent Soul Late Stage—would not be impossible.

It’s precisely due to this that Huang Xianyu was so ecstatic and overjoyed.

Ning Daoran further refined some aspects of the Divine Fire Technique for him, but his insights were limited since he hadn’t trained in it himself. His advice was based on extrapolating and applying what he knew from the Nine Yang Furnace Divine Technique.

He sincerely wished to help Huang Xianyu break through. After all, Ning Daoran had suffered insults and ridicule in the past when he was labeled as a "waste," so he could empathize with Huang Xianyu’s mental state.

Unfortunately, the Divine Fire Technique is not passed to outsiders. As a Guest Elder, Ning Daoran wasn’t qualified to cultivate it. Unless he officially joined the Divine Fire Sect as an Elder or a True Disciple, it was unfeasible.

...

After Huang Xianyu left, Ning Daoran continued crafting arrays.

Nowadays, his achievements in the array path were exceedingly high, allowing him to refine arrays with remarkable speed. Perhaps due to his immense proficiency, crafting a third-tier top-grade array often took him merely half a day. If other array masters learned of this, they’d likely fall to the ground in envy.

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed, and another visitor arrived.

This time, the guest turned out to be Zhang Qinghe, a Guest Elder of the Divine Fire Sect.

Zhang Qinghe occupied an extraordinary position in the Divine Fire Sect. Not only was he a Guest Elder, but he was also the Daoist couple of Sect Master Long Xian’er. Since the two became a Daoist couple, all major sect affairs had been jointly decided by the pair.

Moreover, Long Xian’er’s gentle temperament and deep affection for Zhang Qinghe, combined with her relentless pursuit of cultivation, meant she often went into closed meditation, leaving sect matters in Zhang Qinghe’s hands.

As such, there was a tacit, unspoken understanding in the Divine Fire Sect: although Zhang Qinghe held the title of Guest Elder, his status was akin to that of the Supreme Elder. In the Divine Fire Sect, he was like a Supreme Emperor, acting with unbridled authority.

Because of this, the sect’s resources had increasingly flowed to disciples of the Zhang family in recent years. In contrast, the current generation of Long-named disciples proved unremarkable, resulting in the sect’s upper ranks being half-filled by the Zhang family. Among the six True Disciples, five bore the surname Zhang, while only Long Jiyu remained as the sole representative of the Long family—a hot-tempered individual, deemed unsuitable for greatness.

In short, Ning Daoran’s impression of this Guest Elder... was rather unimpressive.

"Whoosh!"

The cave mansion’s restrictions dispersed, and Ning Daoran cupped his hands with a smile. "I welcome Fellow Daoist Zhang!"

"Fellow Daoist Ning, it’s been far too long!"

Zhang Qinghe also cupped his hands. "I sincerely hope my unexpected visit hasn’t disturbed Fellow Daoist?"

"Not at all. Please, come inside for tea!"

"Much appreciated!"

The two sat in a pavilion, as Little Bai brewed tea.

Before long, the refreshing aroma of Wind Snow Spirit Tea permeated the space, causing even an esteemed cultivator like Zhang Qinghe to sniff the air and praise, "Marvelous tea! Fellow Daoist Ning truly possesses refined tastes."

"Of course, I have always been one of refined tastes."

A certain someone shamelessly declared.

It seemed when dealing with this Guest Elder, Ning Daoran cared little for honesty, let alone sincerity.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang’s visit today—is it perhaps regarding..."

Ning Daoran offered a faint smile. "The misunderstanding from three years ago?"

"Cough, cough..."

Zhang Qinghe replied, "That uncontrollable disciple of mine, whom I’ve scolded countless times, remains utterly incorrigible—unruly and insubordinate. He offended Fellow Daoist Ning... This visit is indeed partly to extend my apologies on his behalf. Zhang Naiqian, while naturally blessed with exceptional talent, is far too arrogant and disdainful of others, offending many. I’ve reprimanded him repeatedly, but still to no avail—it’s genuinely exasperating."

He bowed lightly. "As his teacher, I hereby apologize to Fellow Daoist Ning on his behalf!"

"Fellow Daoist Zhang need not go to such lengths. It was a minor misunderstanding, nothing more."

Ning Daoran sneered internally. If Zhang Qinghe’s apology were genuine, he would have brought that unruly pupil along, right?

This Zhang Qinghe truly believed he could treat Ning Daoran like a fool—or perhaps, more likely, simply didn’t respect him as a Guest Elder, using his status to pressure him.

"Honestly, Fellow Daoist Zhang..."

Ning Daoran said, "Although I appear young, it’s merely because I once consumed a Solid Color Pill. In reality, I am nearing five hundred years old—many centuries older than your disciple Zhang Naiqian. I understand the impulsiveness of youth—being vigorous and full of fervor is just a characteristic of being young, don’t you think?"

"Precisely."

Zhang Qinghe quickly agreed with a laugh, "Fellow Daoist Ning’s magnanimity truly warms my heart!"

"Ah, no need, no need."

Ning Daoran feigned politeness, responding in an utterly perfunctory manner.

"Cough, cough..."

Zhang Qinghe continued, "In fact, there’s another matter I’d like to discuss with Fellow Daoist Ning during this visit."

"Oh?"

Ning Daoran raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Fellow Daoist?"

"It concerns the appointment of a Peak Master."

"A Peak Master appointment?" This time, Ning Daoran was genuinely surprised.

"Indeed!"

Zhang Qinghe explained, "Among the Inner Sect’s Six Peaks—Shenxiao Peak, Divine Deer Peak, Divine Cold Peak, Fire Cloud Peak, Fire Qilin Peak, and Fire Sun Peak—the previous Peak Master of Fire Cloud Peak, Zhang Qingyang, retired as an affluent businessman. Thus, the position of Fire Cloud Peak Master has been vacant ever since."

He smiled faintly. "I have surveyed the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators within the sect and found that Fellow Daoist Ning’s cultivation and qualifications make him the most suitable candidate. If you agree, I can make arrangements for you to assume the position of Fire Cloud Peak Master in your capacity as a Guest Elder. What does Fellow Daoist think of this offer?"

Ning Daoran was momentarily struck dumb.

Zhang Qinghe claimed Ning Daoran had the highest cultivation and qualifications—but Ning Daoran had only joined the Divine Fire Sect recently. What qualifications did he have? Clearly, this old schemer had ulterior motives.

"Cough, cough..."

Ning Daoran replied, "I am undeserving of such an honor and dare not presume to accept the position of Peak Master."

"Fellow Daoist Ning is too modest."

Zhang Qinghe responded, "The fact that you were able to make my unruly disciple yield within thirty moves—and even force him into injury—proves your extraordinary skill and profound foundation. Being entrusted with the position of Peak Master for a mere Fire Cloud Peak might even be beneath your talents. However, I must confess, I do have a personal agenda in this matter."

"And what might that be?"

"I have a nephew named Zhang Huaiyu, who happens to be one of the Inner Sect Disciples under Fire Cloud Peak."

Zhang Qinghe continued, "This nephew of mine is quite fortunate, born with a second-grade Fire Spirit Root, which ranks as a Heavenly Spirit Root. If Fellow Daoist Ning accepts the role of Fire Cloud Peak Master, I would hope you might take Zhang Huaiyu as your disciple. If so, you and I would be considered family. In return, I would fully endorse Fellow Daoist Ning for the position of the Divine Fire Sect’s Right Protector, a trusted position. Furthermore, you would gain unrestricted access to the Fierce Sun Sky Pool for cultivation without needing to pass any tests."

Ning Daoran narrowed his eyes.

So that was it. Zhang Qinghe’s true intention was to rope Ning Daoran into taking on Zhang family disciples as his students, thereby consolidating the Zhang family’s influence and countering the diminished strength of the Long-named disciples within the sect.

This cunning old fox had finally set his sights on Ning Daoran!

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