Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Apprenticeship

“Senior Brother Yi, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Li Qian shook his head.

Yi Zhong didn’t expect Li Qian to be so unyielding. His face immediately turned gloomy. “Junior Brother Li, you’re just an Odd-Job Disciple. There are some things you can’t keep to yourself. Let me tell you something. The thing Old Song left behind has been taken by a big shot in the Inner Sect.”

“Senior Brother Yi, to be honest, I’m still confused about the opportunity you mentioned. After all, I’ve only been in the Bell Tower for a little over two years, and Old Song has been gone for so long. Is my relationship with him that close? Is it worth it for him to give the opportunity you mentioned to someone like me who has nothing to do with him?”

Li Qian sighed and said.

“Then why did you say Chu Yingying was your cousin before? Why did you deliberately hide it?”

Yi Zhong said coldly.

“Senior Brother Yi, we are both Odd-Job Disciples, not superiors and subordinates. I don’t need to explain these things to you.”

Li Qian said in a deep voice.

Even if Song Yingying revealed the truth, he wouldn’t admit it anyway.

“Junior Brother Li, I’ve said all I can. Think about it carefully.”

Seeing that Li Qian was neither soft nor hard, Yi Zhong snorted coldly and turned to leave.

“Old Song, you’re putting me on the grill.”

Li Qian looked at Yi Zhong’s departing figure, his heart a little heavy.

Because the matter of the treasure map wasn’t over yet.

He would rather not have any treasure map, because with the Sacrificial Instrument System, he could still rise, and he wouldn’t even have to take too many risks.

But now, a treasure map had put him in danger.

It was just that he was in the Divine Sword Sect and also served as the Bell Ringer. The person behind Yi Zhong shouldn’t dare to deal with him easily.

But after a long time, who knows what will happen?

“This Yi Zhong mentioned a big shot in the Inner Sect. Is he bluffing me or is it true?”

His heart stirred.

The Odd-Job Hall and the Inner Sect were not the same concept.

Those who could enter the Inner Sect must be Formal Disciples, and there were True Disciples, Elders, and Peak Masters with even higher status.

For the current Li Qian, that was a level he couldn’t reach at all.

Although he was already a Ranked Martial Artist, at the Postnatal First Level, if he were placed in the Inner Sect, he would only be the lowest-level Formal Disciple.

“No, this can’t go on. If someone from the Inner Sect really intervenes, I’ll be in more trouble later.”

Li Qian took a deep breath, and a strong sense of urgency arose in his heart.

He just wanted to be a Bell Ringer in peace.

Why did trouble always come to him?

“It seems this is the only way.”

Li Qian finally made a decision.

He knew that with his identity as an Odd-Job Disciple, even with the Postnatal First Level Ranked Martial Artist cultivation, he couldn’t protect himself.

His status wasn’t enough.

Not to mention Inner Sect Disciples, even high-ranking members of the Odd-Job Hall could order him around.

Immediately, Li Qian returned to his room, tidied up, and went down the mountain.

He didn’t go to the Odd-Job Hall, but to the valley behind it.

In this valley, there stood a lonely wooden house.

Behind the wooden house was a waterfall.

It was the dry season, so there was less water flowing down from the mountain. If it was the rainy season, the waterfall would be very spectacular.

He could just see this waterfall from the Bell Tower.

Outside the wooden house, on a wooden chair, lay an old man with a scruffy beard. His face was flushed and he smelled of alcohol. It was obvious that he was drunk.

“Senior.”

Li Qian called out.

“Uh huh.”

The old man scratched his nose and changed to a more comfortable position.

“Senior.”

Li Qian called out again.

“Eh… I’m not deaf. I heard you. What’s the matter?”

The old man muttered without even opening his eyes.

“Junior wants to take the re-examination.”

Li Qian said respectfully.

That’s right, he planned to take the Divine Sword Sect’s re-examination and become a Formal Disciple.

As for becoming a Formal Disciple, wouldn’t it be inconvenient to stay in the Bell Tower?

That’s what he thought originally.

But the current situation forced him to change his mind.

“Re-examination?”

The old man finally opened his eyes and looked Li Qian up and down. “You’ve really entered the ranks.”

“How old are you?”

He suddenly asked.

“Seventeen years old.”

“How many years have you been an Odd-Job Disciple?”

“Two years, two months, and eleven days.”

“Did you cultivate before entering the sect?”

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“No, I didn’t.”

“What martial arts are you practicing now?”

“Sword-Piercing Fist.”

“Sword-Piercing Fist?”

The old man suddenly sat up and looked at Li Qian. “This is a basic fist technique. It’s not easy to enter the ranks by relying solely on this fist technique. At least in the history of our Divine Sword Sect, there are very few. And, it’s even more impossible to do so in a little over two years.”

“Show me a set of Sword-Piercing Fist.”

He said after pondering for a moment.

“Yes, Senior.”

Li Qian immediately took a stance, circulating his Internal Qi. His fist momentum stirred, and an invisible aura of sharpness emanated from him.

The old man’s originally slightly cloudy eyes burst with a sharp light. “Fist momentum?”

“Alright, you don’t have to practice anymore.”

He said.

“Tsk tsk, you can cultivate the most basic fist technique to the Perfection level and comprehend fist momentum. This kind of comprehension is extraordinary. It seems that the previous entrance test missed you.”

The old man said in amazement.

He no longer doubted that Li Qian had entered the ranks in a little over two years by relying on a basic fist technique.

To cultivate a basic fist technique to the Perfection level was a miracle in itself.

“Kid, do you want to take me as your master?”

Suddenly, the old man said.

Geniuses with good Root Bone aptitude were not uncommon in the Divine Sword Sect.

But those with such high comprehension were extremely rare.

Because in martial arts cultivation, the higher the realm, the less important pure Root Bone aptitude was. The most important thing was actually comprehension.

Li Qian’s ability to cultivate a basic fist technique to the Perfection level showed his high comprehension, which made him want to nurture this talent.

“Junior still doesn’t know Senior’s name?”

Li Qian asked respectfully.

“I’m just a gatekeeper of the Divine Sword Sect, but if you take me as your master, you will naturally enjoy the same treatment as other Formal Disciples.”

The old man smiled.

“Disciple Li Qian pays respects to Master.”

Li Qian didn’t hesitate at all and immediately knelt down.

All he wanted was the status of a Formal Disciple. As for who he took as his master, it didn’t matter.

As far as he knew, becoming a Formal Disciple didn’t mean that one was qualified to take a master.

Most Formal Disciples with ordinary aptitude were only Registered Disciples of an Elder or Peak Master.

Only true geniuses would be taken as Direct Disciples by Elders and Peak Masters.

This gatekeeper old man… although he didn’t know what his status was in the Divine Sword Sect, his willingness to take Li Qian as his disciple meant that he had the authority to do so.

That alone was enough.

Having a master or not made a huge difference.

It was equivalent to having backing.

“Good, from now on you are my Zhou Buping’s Direct Disciple.”

The old man nodded and said, “Disciple, where were you working before?”

“Reporting to Master, I was the Bell Ringer at the Bell Tower.”

Li Qian said.

“Then you’ll live here with your master from now on. The Bell Tower… the Odd-Job Hall can send someone else.”

The old man said.

“Master, I want to continue cultivating at the Bell Tower.”

Li Qian said.

“Eh? Why is that?”

The old man Zhou Buping asked.

“Master, the Bell Tower is very quiet, and this disciple has already adapted to the life of Bell Ringing Cultivation.”

Li Qian quickly said.

“Hmm, the morning bell and evening drum are thought-provoking and can cleanse the heart. You’ve endured loneliness and cultivated alone for more than two years, cultivating Sword-Piercing Fist to the Perfection level. Continuing to cultivate there would indeed be very beneficial.”

The old man Zhou Buping nodded and said, “However, as a Formal Disciple, you can’t be hindered by chores. In that case, you continue to cultivate at the Bell Tower. If you feel that ringing the bell affects your cultivation, ask the Odd-Job Hall to send another Odd-Job Disciple.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Li Qian quickly said.

He definitely didn’t want the Odd-Job Hall to send anyone else to the Bell Tower.

After all, he already considered the Bell Tower his own territory.

The Time Bell belonged to him, his Sacrificial Instrument. He absolutely wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch it.