"Have the Sect Master and Senior Sister Zhi Shan finished meditating?"
Lin Dachun and Zhao Xuewu, along with Huang Shaoqing, Tang Doudou, and Wang Zhuyu, were also present, all clad in dark blue Taoist robes and practicing the Wuliang Swordplay with long swords in hand.
Seeing Wan Yunting finish meditating and stretch his limbs as he approached, Wang Zhuyu and Tang Doudou's eyes lit up with fervent anticipation.
"Sect Master Senior Brother, Senior Sister Zhi Shan..."
Li Zihang turned and greeted them. Wan Yunting smiled and greeted Qi Wu. Seeing him instructing Lin Dachun and Zhao Xuewu in the Five Elements Palm, he said with a laugh, "The five of you, come out for a moment."
Zhao Xuewu, Lin Dachun, Huang Shaoqing, Wang Zhuyu, and Tang Doudou were called out. Their faces instantly brightened as they stepped forward and bowed, "Greetings, Sect Master..."
Wan Yunting waved his hand and said with a smile, "I promised you before that I would personally teach you martial arts, but you must pass my assessment first!"
Lin Dachun excitedly said, "Sect Master, tell us quickly what the assessment is. We can't wait any longer."
Wan Yunting looked at the five of them, their faces filled with eager excitement, and said with a smile, "Let me ask you, how long does it usually take to walk from our Wuliang Mountain up to the sect's gate with ordinary footwork?"
Wang Zhuyu and Tang Doudou exchanged glances and replied, "About forty minutes?"
Wan Yunting turned to look at Li Zihang, who smiled and said, "Normal walking takes forty-six minutes. If you jog up, it takes twenty-seven minutes!"
Wan Yunting nodded and turned back to look at Lin Dachun, Wang Zhuyu, and the other four, saying with a smile, "If you can reach the sect's gate from the foot of the mountain in the fastest possible time, and finish within eighteen minutes, I will personally guide you in your martial arts. How about it?"
"Eighteen minutes!"
Zhao Xuewu, Lin Dachun, Huang Shaoqing, Wang Zhuyu, and Tang Doudou's eyes widened. That was a reduction of twenty-eight minutes.
"What, don't you have confidence in yourselves?" Wan Yunting asked them with a smile.
"No, we think we can do it."
Zhao Xuewu and Lin Dachun immediately declared with confidence, their heads held high.
Wang Zhuyu and Tang Doudou, the two girls, also nodded confidently. Behind them, the other disciples shouted, "Sect Master, if we can also run up in twenty minutes, can you personally guide us in martial arts?"
"Yes."
Wan Yunting looked at these new disciples and nodded with a smile, "If you can run up within eighteen minutes, I will personally guide you."
"That's great..."
The disciples were excited and eager to try.
Wan Yunting said to Li Zihang with a smile, "You take them down the mountain first, and then accompany them to count as they run up. Is that okay?"
Li Zihang patted his chest and laughed, "Of course, no problem."
"Then go," Wan Yunting waved his hand. Li Zihang beckoned to Lin Dachun and the others, "Everyone follow me, let's go down the mountain first..."
"Let's go, let's go..."
Lin Dachun, Zhao Xuewu, Huang Shaoqing, Wang Zhuyu, Tang Doudou, and a group of new Taoist temple disciples all jogged away following Li Zihang...
Wan Yunting, along with Xu Lingwei and Qi Wu, followed behind. Qi Wu said, "Eighteen minutes is definitely not difficult for us, but for these new disciples, it's probably a bit of a gamble!"
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled, "Lin Dachun, Zhao Xuewu, Huang Shaoqing, and those two girls have a good foundation. For eighteen minutes, if they grit their teeth and stimulate their potential, they can still run up."
Qi Wu nodded and smiled, "Then let's go and see how many people can make it in eighteen minutes."
Wan Yunting nodded and, with the taciturn Senior Sister Zhi Shan and Qi Wu, headed towards the foot of the mountain. On the way, they met Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao who had just woken up, as well as Lu Xiaodie and Zheng Rong, who were also going to the small square to practice. They met Wan Yunting and the others and followed to watch the excitement...
Even Yang Jingyi and Wu Weizi, who were having breakfast in the cafeteria, and Duan Yingying, who had finally gotten out of bed, joined the crowd and ran to the gate tower of the sect entrance to wait for Lin Dachun and Wang Zhuyu and the other new disciples' performance.
"Is everyone ready?"
At the foot of Wuliang Mountain, Li Zihang, along with two other senior brothers, held mobile phones with timers open. Facing Lin Dachun, Zhao Xuewu, Huang Shaoqing, Wang Zhuyu, Tang Doudou, and a total of twenty new disciples, everyone was poised and ready. They shouted, "Senior Brother, we are ready."
Li Zihang ran in the first position, holding his phone in one hand and waving the other, "Run...!"
Instantly, Lin Dachun and Zhao Xuewu exerted force with their legs, sprinting up the mountain steps at full speed. Wang Zhuyu, Tang Doudou, and several other girls also gritted their teeth and charged up the mountain with all their might...
In front of the gate tower of the Taoist temple on the mountain, Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, Lu Xiaodie, Zheng Rong, Qi Miaomiao, Xu Lingwei, Yang Jingyi, Wu Weizi, and other disciples were all gathered, all wanting to see how many of these new disciples could run up from the foot of the mountain within eighteen minutes...
"Yun Ting, what are you doing?"
Han Shumei and Lin Xinlan, accompanied by four assistants, also came over, curious about what they were doing.
Wan Yunting was sitting on a stone next to the gate tower, still eating a steamed bun that Zheng Rong had brought him from the cafeteria. Wan Yunting nodded and greeted them while eating, saying with a smile, "We are assessing the new Taoist temple disciples. The results will be known soon."
"Come on, come on..."
Twelve minutes had passed, with six minutes remaining, and there was already movement from the foot of the mountain.
Li Zihang was counting with his phone. He was running in the first position, with Lin Dachun and Zhao Xuewu running side by side in the lead, followed closely by Wang Zhuyu and Huang Shaoqing...
Tang Doudou had already fallen behind. Sweating profusely, she panted heavily, unable to run any further, along with a few other sisters. The remaining dozen or so young disciples followed loosely, the group stretching further and further apart...
"Five minutes left, they'll be here soon, keep going..."
Li Zihang turned his head and looked at Lin Dachun and Zhao Xuewu behind him, as well as Wang Zhuyu and Huang Shaoqing. The four of them were also sweating profusely, gasping for breath, their chests and backs soaked. Wang Zhuyu, in particular, a girl, was gritting her teeth and persisting with a determined gaze.
"Ah... charge..."
Lin Dachun roared, unleashing the last of his strength, and sprinted towards the mountain with all his might.
Zhao Xuewu followed closely. Wang Zhuyu and Huang Shaoqing also gritted their teeth, let out a low growl, and followed with effort. To be accepted as disciples by the Sect Master and personally taught martial arts, the four of them gave it their all...
The disciples behind them also chased with all their might, their strange shouts echoing through the mountainside of Wuliang Mountain...
"Here they come, here they come..."
Qi Wu, Xu Lingwei, Yang Jingyi, Wu Weizi, and other disciples gathered in front of the gate tower, as well as Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, Lu Xiaodie, Qi Miaomiao, Zheng Rong, Han Shumei, and Lin Xinlan, all got up and looked at the steps of the mountain road. Then they saw Li Zihang, who was the first to rush up, holding his phone and counting, shouting, "Quick, quick, it's not yet eighteen minutes, hurry up..."
"Ah..."
With a roar, Lin Dachun, Zhao Xuewu, Wang Zhuyu, and Huang Shaoqing appeared one after another and rushed up...
Li Zihang, who was counting, immediately paused his phone's timer. He let out a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "The four of them took 17 minutes and 39 seconds!"
"They made it, they made it, haha..."
Exhausted, Lin Dachun, Zhao Xuewu, and Huang Shaoqing excitedly slapped each other on the shoulder, laughing with excitement, unable to catch their breath...
Wang Zhuyu, tired, sat down. Her cheeks and the hair on her forehead were matted with sweat, and her chest and back were soaked. Hearing that she had finished within eighteen minutes and passed the Sect Master's assessment, she clenched her fist and waved it excitedly.