"What tribe are you...?" Xiao Rong suddenly asked.

"Master, my disciple is a barbarian." Zhang Rongfang said truthfully.

"Who is the ancestor?"

"My ancestors were Confucian people."

Xiao Rong suddenly showed regret.

"That's it...you go back first and everything will be as usual. I will call you again after I secretly confirm the authenticity."

"yes."

Zhang Rongfang's expression did not change, he bowed and stepped back.

Barbarians are the fourth class, and Confucian households are only a little higher than beggars in the ten-level classification of the Great Spirit.

With the combination of the two, it's no wonder Xiao Rong has such a look on his face.

Originally, Zhang Rongfang was not from this world, and had no real sense of these two identities in his heart.

But just now, Xiao Rong was obviously interested in taking on a disciple, but after hearing about his origin, he suddenly stopped talking.

This made Zhang Rongfang truly realize for the first time the strict hierarchy in Daling.

Obviously, even if he is a Taoist, his background as a barbarian or a Confucian household will have an impact on his future development.

Zhang Rongfang didn't know the specific impact, but looking at Xiao Rong's expression, he knew it wouldn't be simple.

After leaving the dojo, the scene that Xiao Rong regretted just now flashed through Zhang Rongfang's mind.

If Xiao Rong accepts a disciple, he will definitely join the ranks of practicing disciples.

By then, not only will you not have to do menial labor, you will also have a lot of time to practice literary and martial arts. Your food and salary will also be greatly improved. In the future, you will also have the opportunity to be given a Taoist title and become a mage.

The most important thing is that then, he can accumulate attribute points faster and improve himself.

Until now, there are only two options on his attribute bar: life and skills.

What exactly counts as a skill? Zhang Rongfang has tried a lot, but to no avail.

But just now, it looked like it was almost done, but unfortunately... there was only a moment between success and failure.

After sighing in his heart, Zhang Rongfang returned to his room alone.

The treatment in Qinghe Palace is actually quite good. Each disciple has a separate room. Although it is simple and narrow, there is only enough space for a bed and a stool.

But it's better than a bunch of people sleeping together.

After the news was announced, Zhang Rongfang still had the same daily routine as before, with bells in the morning and drums in the evening, homework in the morning and evening, and chores during the rest of the time.

Until the time for the examination of practicing disciples has passed, it is almost June.

Xiao Rong finally got a response.

May 14th.

In the early morning, the fog filled the air, like smoke lingering throughout the Qinghe Palace.

Zhang Rongfang was preparing to go to work in the washing room.

"Zhang Rongfang, Master Mingguang calls you! Go to the master's room in the back mountain."

Suddenly, on the way, a handyman disciple came up and shouted.

The handyman disciples nearby immediately cast their gazes upon hearing the sound.

"I got it." Zhang Rongfang remained calm and breathed a sigh of relief.

He followed the handyman disciple, one behind the other, moving quickly towards the back mountain.

The sound of chanting by other Taoists floated far away in the palace, as well as the chatter and laughter of the noble pilgrims in Shangde Garden.

"Today, a master is holding a sutra recital meeting, and many distinguished guests are here. Please be careful not to rush into the guests who are carrying yellow Ruyi cards." The handyman disciple in front whispered.

Zhang Rongfang understood and thanked him.

The other party obviously didn't remind him casually. No one would kindly remind a complete stranger's handyman disciple out of nowhere.

Therefore, it is very likely that Master Xiao Rong has good news.

He recognized the other party. This handyman disciple was different from the other handymen. It was said that he would donate a lot of property from his family to Master Xiao Rong every year, in exchange for the opportunity to serve the Master closely.

The reminder just now was obviously a sign of goodwill, and Zhang Rongfang kept it in mind.

"Dare I ask my senior brother's name?"

"I don't dare. My surname is Sun, and my given name is Yuanfeng. There is no other word." The handyman replied with a smile.

"It turns out to be Brother Feng..." Zhang Rongfang paused and suddenly felt something was wrong. "Thank you, Brother Feng, for the tip. Zhang took note of it."

"Little things." Sun Yuanfeng waved his hand.

Soon, the two passed through alleys, passed corridors, dojos, and disciples' squares, and found a group of attics surrounded by red walls at the very back of Qinghe Palace.

The three-story attic with red walls and gray tiles is arranged in an orderly manner.

Sun Yuanfeng led Zhang Rongfang all the way in, and soon came to one of the attics.

Xiao Rong has a well-proportioned figure. She is standing on the balcony on the second floor of the attic. She is wearing a light yellow shorts and a gray cape. It seems that she has just finished practicing martial arts.

Qinghe Palace is affiliated to Daling Daoist Sect, which respects the Three Pure Ones and teaches its disciples to practice, which is mainly divided into two parts: civil and martial arts, with more literary skills and less martial arts.

What Zhang Rongfang saw in the dojo were all people practicing martial arts.

At this time, he followed Sun Yuanfeng to the bottom of the attic and waited at the entrance.

"Come in first." Xiao Rong said in a calm tone. His eyes swept over Zhang Rongfang.

"yes."

Zhang Rongfang bowed, entered the first floor of the attic, stood at the entrance to the living room, and waited.

Not long after, Xiao Rong came down from the second floor, took a hot wet towel in his hand, wiped his cheeks and palms, and then handed it to the serving disciple on the side.

He waved his hand and motioned to the disciples around him to get out.

After the others left and only Sun Yuanfeng and Zhang Rongfang were left, he coughed.

"Zhang Rongfang."

"Disciple is here!" Zhang Rongfang responded quickly.

"Are you willing to become my disciple? Join my sect?" Xiao Rong asked directly without any explanation.

This sentence came out of nowhere, with no warning before, making both Zhang Rongfang and Sun Yuanfeng slightly stunned.

Fortunately, Zhang Rongfang reacted and immediately knelt down and bowed.

"Disciple Zhang Rongfang, I have met the master!"

This apprenticeship is not a true apprenticeship. There are two types of apprenticeship in the Taoist teachings. One is the ordinary apprenticeship.

Also called Xiaoshi.

Becoming a junior master is just an ordinary disciple of the master in name only. There will not be any major training. They will only have the proper Taoist qualifications and job benefits.

After that, there is another kind, called Master Worship, which is the core of the true inheritance. You are given a Taoist title and given gifts and red envelopes.

After worshiping the master, the relationship between the master and his disciples is like that of father and son, and they even have corresponding partial inheritance rights in property. The disciples also have many obligations to the master.

Zhang Rongfang also came here and realized that unlike those in movies and TV shows in his previous life, not everyone who worships the Taoist sect can get a Taoist title casually.

From being a disciple to being a master, the disciple needs to go through many tests in the middle.

Zhang Rongfang felt relieved at this moment, knowing that he had finally taken the right step.

Although I am just a junior master.

But as long as he breaks away from the hard-working life of a handyman disciple and accumulates attribute points, he will surely be able to move to a higher level step by step.

Boom, boom, boom.

As Zhang Rongfang knelt down and kowtowed, and under Xiao Rong's smile, he finally took a formal step forward, breaking away from the handyman disciple who could be abandoned at any time and becoming a formal cultivation disciple.

A trace of envy flashed in Sun Yuanfeng's eyes. He didn't know what kind of bad luck Zhang Rongfang had gotten, but he was immediately named as a disciple by Master Xiao Rong.

Even though his family gives him so much money every year and he still serves him wholeheartedly, it has been four years now and he still has not been accepted as a disciple by Master Xiao Rong.

In Taoism, when a mage accepts a disciple, he must allocate part of his own salary resources to train his disciples.

Therefore, generally, mages are very cautious in recruiting disciples, so that in many Taoist palaces and temples, the number of disciples has always been the same, without increasing or decreasing.

Therefore, Sun Yuanfeng guessed that there must be some reason that made Zhang Rongfang fall into Master Xiao Rong's eyes and make him accept people as his disciple regardless of his background.

Zhang Rongfang was born into a fourth-class barbarian tribe, his parents were Confucian scholars, his appearance was not outstanding, and he had no apparent talent.

Anyone with a discerning eye can guess right away that it must be Zhang Rongfang's recent performance that attracted Xiao Rong's attention.

After kowtowing, Xiao Rong looked at Zhang Rongfang.

"You should follow Xiaoying from now on. She has a bad temper. You should watch her more and remind her."

"Yes." Zhang Rongfang responded quickly. As a disciple, he had no control over what tasks he was assigned.
To be continued...