Chapter 2440

Forty days passed after the martial competitions for the miscellaneous servants, outer sect, and inner sect disciples concluded.

Next came the comprehensive practical assessment.

For the medical examination, since there were no human patients, they treated injured animals. For pharmacy, ingredients were provided, and grades were determined by the quality and tier of the produced medicine. For alchemy, scores depended on the grade and appearance of the pills.

There were also assessments for artifact refining and other skills.

Time flew by. When all results were compiled, another twenty days had vanished unnoticed.

Fortunately, after nearly two months, all disciples of the Azure Sovereign Qingdi Sect had completed their assessments. Only the final total score compilation and announcement remained.

After finishing the work, Zhu Yanyi and the others summarized the event. Zhu Yanyi said, "I feel that although we made no mistakes this time, it was too exhausting. We only have twenty-three thousand disciples now. What if we have one hundred thousand in the future? Therefore, I propose that next time, we set up preliminary hurdles. For academic subjects, anyone scoring below eighty will not participate in other assessments."

Zhuge Hongwen nodded. "The Sect Master is right. If we had set it up this way, the time required would have been cut in half."

Zhu Yanyi continued, "Of course, academic hurdles can reduce the number of participants, but our student body will only grow, not shrink." Her tone carried a hint of worry.

"I agree with that point," Hong Lian said directly. "We have only recruited three batches of students so far. Our scale will definitely expand. If we only eliminate those who fail the academic exam, there will still be too many people left."

Zhu Yanyi went on, "So, we must set hurdles not just for academics, but for other areas too. For martial combat, we can first set up an array or make them climb the Heavenly Ladder directly. The ladder tests martial cultivation ability anyway. We just need to set a time limit. For example, those who cannot last a day get no points. Those who last two days get a certain score, and so on, until the top ten are decided."

"But that tests perseverance, not martial combat," Gui Fu said.

Zhu Yanyi replied calmly, "This is a preliminary hurdle. It also lets them feel the pain of climbing the Heavenly Ladder. Then, the top one hundred proceed to the real martial competitions to determine rankings. This will save a lot of time."

"If only the top one hundred compete, then everyone else is automatically eliminated," Zhuge Hongwen said.

The others thought about it. "Sigh, this method is really good. Very good." They all expressed their agreement.

Seeing everyone’s approval, Zhu Yanyi said, "In this way, the top one hundred will first compete in martial combat for points, then in comprehensive practical skills, and finally in special projects. Then we can determine the final rankings."

Zhu Yanyi clapped her hands. "This will save us a lot of time. Although our sect assessment went well this time, it was truly too cumbersome."

Hong Lian waved her hand. "You’re right. It was indeed very cumbersome. I didn’t expect it to be so complicated."

She Manhuang added, "It was indeed tiring this time. Not only were we tired, but the disciples were too, and they were under great pressure."

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "Fortunately, it ended successfully."

The others felt a sense of relief. Indeed, who could have imagined so many issues arising from an internal sect competition? But now that the problems were identified, discussing them provided valuable experience. Such issues would not happen again in the future.

"By the way, have you found your personal disciples?" Zhu Yanyi asked. "Give me the ranking list. I want to take a look."

Although the assessment was over, prizes could not be distributed yet, as everyone still needed to be ranked comprehensively with all scores included.

Zhuge Hongwen handed Zhu Yanyi the list of the top ten disciples. "You might like Qing Cuiwan. Although she is not the best, she is in ninth place."

Although the Azure Sovereign Qingdi Sect was said to have few people, only twenty-three thousand, standing out as ninth among these thousands was still impressive.

Zhu Yanyi looked at her scores and smiled. "She likes medicine. It seems she really catches my eye. We will announce the results tomorrow. Three days later, we will arrange for the disciples to undergo the trial array and then climb the Heavenly Ladder. After this stage, we will announce the names of the selected disciples."

Zhu Yanyi said, "We do not necessarily choose the first place, but we must choose someone who leaves a deep impression."

Zhuge Hongwen smiled. "That’s good. If there are no accidents, I have my eye on the third-place disciple. I want to take him as my personal disciple."

"You cunning fox, you actually like the third place? What are his characteristics?" Gui Fu asked curiously.

Zhuge Hongwen said, "This disciple is named Chen Xiaoqiang. He is an orphan. He was previously disabled. It is said his disability was not congenital, but caused when he was thrown into a wolf den. In a way, he was lucky. There was only one wolf in the den, so he fought it. He killed the wolf, but his own leg was bitten off. Now, thanks to the Sect Master’s treatment, his leg is healed."

Zhuge Hongwen continued, "These are not the main reasons I value him. The most important point is that although he appears lively and talkative, his displayed wit is frightening. Of course, to friends who treat him well, he is loyal and devoted. This is evident from how well he gets along with other disciples. However, he is also very ruthless. I dare say that if he went out for training, he would be more cruel than anyone else. Most importantly, he studies pharmacy, with poison arts as his major and arrays and hidden chess as his minors. This fits my preferences perfectly."

Zhu Yanyi listened and said, "Choosing disciples is about affinity. Since you have chosen Chen Xiaoqiang, let’s see her trial results. If she passes the pharmacy trial, you can teach her well."

Pausing for a moment, Zhu Yanyi continued, "Tell your disciples one thing: The Azure Sovereign Qingdi Sect does not fear disciples causing trouble. As long as they stand upright in their principles, no matter what trouble they cause, it is fine. The Azure Sovereign Qingdi Sect will bear any consequences."

"Yes." The others agreed immediately upon hearing Zhu Yanyi’s words.

This was Zhu Yanyi. She might not be skilled in management, but everyone regarded her as their spiritual pillar. Her attitude and everything she expressed made it impossible to ignore her presence, and they were willing to serve her heartily.