51
I Just Want to Live a Good Life but Surpassed the Protagonist – 50 Hall Master Assessment
The Sound and Painting Hall is on the ninth peak, Echo Peak.
Being ninth doesn’t necessarily mean it’s big. Echo Peak’s size is the second to last among the twenty-four peaks of the Tianluo Sect.
After all, there are few people in the Sound and Painting Hall, and it would be a waste to occupy such a large place.
Unlike some halls, such as the Sword Pavilion Hall, which has too many people, and thus occupies two peaks, one for teaching and cultivation, and one for the disciples to live in.
Although Echo Peak’s size is the second to last, its actual area is not small. Lu Xiaoxiao introduced to Ye Yong that the top of the mountain is the hall master’s cave house, and the disciples’ living quarters are not divided by level like other halls because of the small number of people, so they are all concentrated on the mountainside. The middle and upper levels are the lecture halls and cultivation places for daily practice and teaching.
Ye Yong could see many buildings standing on the mountain, like villas built in the deep mountains and old forests, very close to nature.
Cultivation is in some ways even more technologically advanced than science. Once the formation is set up, mosquitoes, mice, and ants will all stay away, so even if there are plants all around, you don’t have to worry about waking up to find bug corpses lying beside you.
After Lu Xiaoxiao and the other senior sisters enthusiastically introduced the distribution of the facilities, they hesitated for a moment, probably wanting to tell Ye Yong the content of the hall master assessment, but were afraid of being discovered by the hall master. If Ye Yong His qualification to enter the hall at that time was canceled.
Ye Yong had read the novel and of course knew the content of the assessment. He smiled slightly and said, “Senior sisters, please don’t reveal the content of the assessment. That way, even if I got lucky, I will feel uneasy . I want to become your junior brother with my own abilities.”
Since Ye Yong had said so, Lu Xiaoxiao and the others had no choice but to give up. Otherwise, they would have been willing to risk leaking the content in order for this junior brother to successfully enter the hall.
———
Sound and Painting Hall, Hall Master’s Cave.
Yi Bai and a group of female disciples in golden robes all knelt at the door, reporting Ye Yong’s talent and requesting the hall master to keep Ye Yong.
“Do you know why I set up an assessment for male cultivators after I became the hall master, and why I haven’t accepted any male cultivators for such a long time?” came an ethereal and melodious voice from the cave house.
“The hall master said that it is because cultivating music and painting requires a calm mind… If you think about men and women, it will affect your cultivation progress…” Yi Bai replied.
“That’s right. Cultivating music and painting is already difficult, and having distractions will make it even more difficult. The Ye Yong you speak of, I have also heard of him. He is 18 years old, at the tenth level of Foundation Establishment, with a seven-colored Foundation Establishment. His talent is indeed rare. But do you know that he has cultivated the sword for 10 years?”
“Junior Brother Ye does indeed have talent in music and painting, especially his talent in painting. There is a hint of the Dao in it.”
“The same goes for music.” Because Yi Bai mainly cultivated painting, another female disciple in a golden robe who cultivated music would be more convincing in acknowledging it.
“You guys…” The ethereal and melodious voice seemed a little helpless: “You are all already at the Golden Core stage, why can’t you control your mortal hearts? As for lying for a male junior brother?”
“Disciple did not lie.”
“Then Yi Bai, tell me, how many years have you cultivated painting?”
“From the age of 5, for a total of 206 years.”
“You have cultivated for 206 years, and you are only at the eighth level of the Golden Core stage. You haven’t even touched the Dao of painting yet. You are saying that an 18-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator has already begun to touch the Dao of painting and music, and both at the same time. Are you trying to say that he is the reincarnation of the Immortal of Music and the Immortal of Painting?”
“It is not impossible. Disciple’s every word is true.”
“Even so, he still needs to pass my assessment. If his temperament is unstable, no matter how talented he is, he won’t be able to go far on the path of music and painting.”
“But he’s only 18, still in his prime…”
“Alright, no need to say anymore. When he arrives, bring him to the assessment room. Also, don’t leak the contents. Although, even if you do, it won’t matter much. I’ll just be disappointed in you.”
———
When Yi Bai and the others saw Ye Yong again, their expressions were a bit unnatural, as if they were a little embarrassed to face him.
“Junior Brother Ye, please come with me to the assessment room to take the sect master’s assessment.”
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“Thank you, Senior Sister.” Ye Yong cupped his hands and said to Wu Xue, “You follow Senior Sister Lu first. Once I pass the assessment, I’ll come find you.”
“Young Master, you can do it!” Wu Xue felt that nothing could stump her young master, so she wasn’t worried at all.
After Yi Bai took Ye Yong away, she saw Lu Xiao Xiao and the others sighing. She couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong, fellow female immortals?”
Mortals usually addressed cultivators as immortals. Wu Xue was currently only at the Qi Refining stage and wasn’t a disciple of the Tian Luo Sect, so naturally, that was how she addressed them.
“The sect master’s assessment is very difficult. The chances of Junior Brother Ye passing are too slim.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The path of music and painting is more focused on nourishing the soul than on improving cultivation. Only a powerful soul can develop the full potential of music and painting. Our sect master is a Nascent Soul stage expert. Although she cultivates music, she is also proficient in painting. The paintings from her brush…”
———
In front of a small house halfway up the mountain.
“Junior Brother Ye, please be sure to stay rational…” Yi Bai and the other female disciples ultimately didn’t reveal the contents of the assessment. She didn’t dare to disobey the sect master and also wanted to believe in Ye Yong.
“Thank you for the reminder.” Ye Yong bowed to Yi Bai and the others and went straight into the small house.
The house was clean and tidy, with a large bed, a desk and chair, and many bookshelves.
On the wall hung two portraits of beautiful women. They were extremely lifelike. The women’s eyes were filled with affection, and they were quite alluring.
After Ye Yong entered, he saw a note on the table asking him to copy a certain Heart Sutra.
Ye Yong searched the bookshelves for a long time before finding the Heart Sutra. It was quite thick, and the content was very dry. Ye Yong sat down at the table and began to copy.
For an ordinary person, writing continuously for more than half an hour would cause their hands to ache, but Ye Yong was a cultivator with a divine body. He wrote from morning till afternoon, from dusk till night.
He finished copying the Heart Sutra.
Ye Yong shook his wrist. Copying for a long time while staring at tiny characters and the dry content made him feel tired and irritable. Ye Yong was no exception. He felt like he had returned to his primary and junior high school days when he was forced to copy textbooks.
Suddenly, a pleasant fragrance filled the air, followed by two ethereal female voices.
Ye Yong looked towards the source of the voices and saw that the two women in the paintings had come to life and stepped out of the paintings.
They hummed a beautiful melody while walking gracefully towards Ye Yong with alluring figures.
His sense of smell, hearing, and sight were all affected. Even with his divine body, Ye Yong felt his heart itch.
The song ended, the singing stopped, and the dancing ceased.
“Esteemed guest, you’ve worked hard all day. Let this humble servant serve you?” The two beauties, one on the left and one on the right, bowed to Ye Yong. “This humble servant can do anything you desire.”
“Anything?” Ye Yong’s eyes lit up.
The two beauties lowered their heads, their faces slightly flushed. Their eyes flickered with a watery light. They didn’t answer, but instead, they made Ye Yong’s heart race and his imagination run wild.
Ye Yong smiled at this moment.
———
Dawn. Yi Bai and the others, who had been guarding outside for a day, saw that the time was up and went straight into the house.
This wasn’t the first time they had done something like this, but this time, they were really reluctant.
In the past, after undergoing a day and night of assessment, male disciples would often lose their sense of direction and have their clothes in disarray. They would be trapped in some indescribable illusion.
What they had to do was throw such male disciples outside Echo Peak and let them embarrass themselves in front of their fellow disciples.
Some people thought that the sect master’s methods were too excessive, but it had to be said that the deterrent effect was really great. After a few times, those male disciples with impure thoughts no longer dared to have any ideas about the female disciples of the Music and Painting Hall.
Yi Bai and the others were very unwilling to see Junior Brother Ye become like that.
Upon entering the room, he found it tidy and not strewn with books like before. Two painted beauties sat at the table, engrossed in writing.
Ye Yong sat beside them, seemingly supervising, and muttered to himself.
“The God of War returned home to find his daughter living in a pigsty. With a roar, he summoned a hundred thousand soldiers and built her an identical pigsty…”