„Disciple greets branch head and elders!", Xu Ran greeted the three people who sat at the end of the big hall with a bow.

„So you are Xu Ran? I've heard that you could attempt the breakthrough to Qi-circulation realm within the month?", the man in the middle asked her.

„I'm honored that branch head heard of me."

„Don't be, I've heard from elder Xiao that you show great potential as a smith?"

„It is still too early to say that. I've only learned the theory.", Xu Ran shook her head.

„Actually, that's why you were called here. How positive are you to succeed in your breakthrough on your first try?"

Xu Ran began to think. The old Xu Ran originally thought her chances of success to be somewhere around thirty percent. It wasn't an unusual estimate. But now that she had the book on Chinese medicine and a mature mind, she reassessed her chances to be almost ninety percent.

But of course, if she said that, no one would take her seriously. So instead, she gave a realistic, but also confident reply.

„Seventy percent when I'm in my best condition."

„And if you're not?"

„Around fifty."

„Just as I heard, you have a good personality and a clear mind. Very good, if you can achieve your breakthrough on your first try, we can give you the chance of becoming an inner sect disciple at the main branch. Although you still have to take part in the tournament.", master Long said with a satisfied grin.

„That... Why?", Although Xu Ran was confident that she could enter the main branch with the rate of her growth, she thought that she wasn't strong enough to become an inner sect disciple.

„Do you know how disciples for the main branch are chosen?", elder Xiao asked.

„Yes, every year a group of examiners goes from branch to branch where they then choose which disciples can enter the main branch and which ones can become inner sect disciple. In addition, the branches themselves can choose one disciple they want to admit directly...
Hmmm? Is branch head perhaps implying that, since Wu Ling would be chosen for the inner sect by the examiner, either way, you want to use the chance for me?"

„As I thought, you are clever. That's right, by admitting you directly and Wu Ling being chosen by the examiner, two of our disciples can enter the inner sect which would, in turn, raise the reputation of our branch.", the branch head answered.

„But why me? My cultivation and martial arts are only a little above average. And even when considering my bodily constitution, it's not like there aren't others who are better than me. To be honest, I don't think I could keep up with the pace.", Xu Ran asked.

„Hooh... It's good being honest, but you shouldn't think to low of yourself. Yes, even under the condition that you make the breakthrough on your first try, there are a few who are better than you even in this branch. But don't forget, while they had time to cultivate all day, you had to set aside two to three hours to learn forging theory.", master Long explained.

Certainly, it had become such a normal thing for Xu Ran, that she didn't even consider this.

„But...", master Long continued and instantly put a damper on her joy: „... even then, I don't expect much, to be honest. You probably didn't know, but while every branch can admit one disciple directly every year, this is only rarely made use of and its rare to have even a single disciple enter the inner sect."

„Why don't they make use of that possibility?", Xu Ran wondered.

„Think about it, wouldn't it be shameful for the branch if we admitted a disciple in that way, he couldn't keep up with the pace and became an outer disciple after only a year? That's why it would be a great achievement if two of our disciples could enter the inner sect in the same year. Although it is a bit of a gamble, as even with your talent, it may be a little hard to keep up. If you can, it would be perfect, but even if you can't, we can expect Wu Ling to become a core disciple. At that point, it wouldn't matter much if you couldn't keep up. Well, that's the general situation."

„This disciple will gratefully accept the chance and work hard to make the best out of it!", this was her honest opinion and she was determined to work hard. After all, even though both were inner disciples, there was a big difference between those who directly became one and those who were outer disciples before. And she knew, if not for Wu Ling, she may have never gotten this chance, she may have stayed as an outer disciple her whole life.

Just as she turned around, elder Xiao spoke up: „Take this before you go, study it well."

Seeing the scroll that was floating towards her, she picked it out of the air and read its title: heavenly phoenix basic forging technique.

„Aren't I only allowed to learn this after reaching Qi-circulation realm?"

„It's not forbidden, you just can't use it. But I heard that you learned already everything about the basics and have already started to learn about more advanced theories and materials. You won't need that stuff until a few years later, and will probably forget most of it until then. You won't have to continue with your studies and use that time instead to cultivate. At the same time, you can already take a look at the technique, that way you can learn it faster when the time comes."

„Thank you very much! This disciple will now take her leave.", Xu Ran gave her farewell with a bow and left.