Ordinarily, Fang Qingyang shouldn’t have said these things to Tang Yi. If he were to speak of such matters, it would be to another Elder of the Dui Palace or someone of equal status, not an examinee like him.
But for some reason, when Tang Yi inquired, his words seemed to possess a strange Magic Power, compelling Elder Fang to unconsciously reveal his innermost thoughts.
"So that’s it," Tang Yi said with a smile after a brief pause. "Elder Fang is worried about recruiting that particular examinee."
He had no intention of telling Fang Qingyang that the very examinee he was trying to recruit was standing right before him.
"It’s true, isn’t it? Right now, our Dui Palace..."
Fang Qingyang started to speak excitedly, but he suddenly remembered that Tang Yi wasn’t a Dui Palace disciple yet—merely an examinee. He hesitated for a moment, glanced at Tang Yi, and asked, "By the way, young man, what is your name?"
"I am Tang Yi," he replied with a respectful salute.
He then turned to Wang Bi’Er, Mu Xianling, and the others from the Tang Family, introducing them to Fang Qingyang in turn.
They all returned the salute, greeting Fang Qingyang respectfully. With that, both parties were formally acquainted.
"Mm." Fang Qingyang nodded and asked hesitantly, "Young Brother Tang, if I may be so bold, should you pass the House Entrance Examination, would you have any interest in joining our Dui Palace? I know this is a bit forward, but unless I’m clear on your intentions, there are certain things I really can’t discuss with you."
Hearing Fang Qingyang’s question, Tang Yi glanced at Tang Piaomiao and the other Tang Family members, as well as Mu Xianling, before turning back. "I can’t speak for them, nor can I make that decision on their behalf. But as for myself, I am indeed interested in entering the Dui Palace to become one of its disciples."
"Wherever you go, I go, Brother Yi," Tang Piaomiao immediately declared. "Your decision is my decision. So if you’re entering the Dui Palace, then I’m definitely coming with you to follow you."
"Brother Tang Yi, why can’t you decide for us?" Tang Shu added, her large, watery eyes wide. "When we left the Tang Family, the Clan Leader himself told us all to follow your orders. So whatever you decide, we’ll obey. Besides, Brother Tang Yi, we can’t be without you now!"
"There’s no need to be so humble, Brother Yi," Tang Baijie said earnestly. "It’s just as Piaomiao said: wherever you go, we will follow. So please, just make the decision for us, Brother Yi. We will have no objections."
The moment Tang Yi finished speaking, the Tang Family members seemed to vie with one another, each rushing to declare their allegiance.
And Mu Xianling?
As Tang Yi’s servant, did she even have a choice?
She didn’t.
Of course, she had to be wherever Tang Yi was. After all, she still had to ’serve’ him.
So, Mu Xianling lowered her head for a moment in thought before stating, "Whichever palace you join, Tang Yi, I’ll be there too. As you know, I have no other choice."
"Uh..."
Tang Yi was taken aback. He had only wanted them to choose their own paths of cultivation freely. He never expected them to misunderstand his intentions and rush to pledge their loyalty.
It was like ancient court officials pledging their fealty to an emperor...
The display was both amusing and touching to Tang Yi.
Meanwhile, Fang Qingyang’s heart leaped with joy as he listened to Tang Yi’s group. He already had an excellent impression of Tang Yi and had taken a great liking to the polite and level-headed young man. Naturally, he would be delighted if Tang Yi joined the Dui Palace.
And of course, it would be a boon for the Dui Palace if the others, not just Tang Yi, could pass the House Entrance Examination and join their ranks.
"Good. As long as you have the will to join, that’s enough."
Fang Qingyang nodded, looking quite relieved, and the worried expression on his face finally softened. He picked up where he’d left off, saying, "To be honest with you all, you probably already know that our Dui Palace specializes in Spiritual Power. Since arriving, you must have heard a little about what Spiritual Power can do. It’s an incredibly formidable ability."
"But... Spiritual Power is incredibly difficult to cultivate. Once talented disciples learn this, they refuse to join the Dui Palace. They don’t want to spend an enormous amount of time on Spiritual Power at the expense of their future accomplishments. Because of this, the Dui Palace’s situation isn’t very good. In fact, it gets worse with each passing year. What’s more, some disciples have even made the audacious request to the Hall Master to transfer to another Palace, wanting to give up on Spiritual Power and start over with something else."
"Hearing such requests, the Hall Master couldn’t bring himself to stand in the way of their futures, could he? So, being soft-hearted, he agreed. As a result, the number of disciples in the Dui Palace dwindled even further. That’s the reason you’ve hardly seen any of our disciples around."
Having laid out the Dui Palace’s situation in one breath, Fang Qingyang glanced at Tang Yi’s group. Before they could respond, he quickly added, "You’re not going to be too scared to join the Dui Palace now that you’ve heard all this, are you? Heh! To be honest, I’m already satisfied just knowing you have the inclination. I only told you the truth because I want you to think it over carefully. After all, Spiritual Power is no easy thing to master. Even if you change your minds, I won’t hold it against you."
Seeing Elder Fang pour out so much at once, his face etched with a look of helpless sorrow, Tang Yi suddenly felt a pang of pity for the disciples of the Dui Palace. ’If even an Elder is in this state,’ he thought, ’how miserable must the day-to-day circumstances be for the disciples themselves?’
No wonder that Mo Ran fellow got so furious when he heard people badmouthing the Dui Palace.
"Don’t worry, I will definitely be joining the Dui Palace," Tang Yi said earnestly, then turned to Tang Piaomiao, Mu Xianling, and the others. "And you?"
"Same as before. Wherever Brother Yi goes, I go."
"It’s entirely up to Brother Tang Yi."
"Whatever Brother Yi arranges is fine with us."
"You decide, Tang Yi."
With the exception of Wang Bi’Er, who didn’t need to join any of the Outer Mansion Eight Palaces, everyone else voiced their agreement.
"Excellent! You are all excellent. I have very high hopes for you," Fang Qingyang said, overjoyed. "If that’s the case, then why am I even bothering to look for that examinee who ranked second? A genius of that caliber would never choose to enter our Dui Palace anyway." He happily set aside his original task of finding the second-ranked prodigy.
What Fang Qingyang didn’t know, however, was that in this casual chat, he had already found that very genius. Furthermore, that examinee had already confirmed his intention to join their Dui Palace.
And that genius examinee was none other than Tang Yi, who stood right before his eyes.
While the various Palaces were frantically searching for the examinee with temporary ID 59416, they had no idea that someone from the Dui Palace had already made contact with him. Not only that, but they had already secured his commitment to join.
Even the Dui Palace and Elder Fang himself could never have imagined that the examinee they had randomly bumped into in the main hall of the Fighting Palace was none other than the infamous examinee 59416, the one who had caused such an uproar.

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