Cheng Yan's curiosity was piqued. He casually flipped to the front of the exam paper and was greeted by two bold, flamboyant characters.

Qin Shu.

Cheng Yan was completely stunned. The shock in his heart was akin to a tidal wave crashing through him, leaving him speechless for a long time.

"Are young people nowadays this impressive?" he thought. The algorithm she had written down was so intricate that even he struggled to fully comprehend it.

However, while this young girl was undoubtedly brilliant, her handwriting was atrocious—completely lacking in elegance or style.

As he mused, he separated Qin Shu's paper from the rest, planning to show it to his master later.

After finishing the review of the other submissions, he found that while some were decent, none came close to the refreshing originality of Qin Shu's theories.

With the selected papers in hand, Cheng Yan made his way to Master Lingxu's abode. He intentionally placed Qin Shu's paper on top, his private bias evident.

To produce work like this at the tender age of ten—calling her a genius was no exaggeration.

The only drawback was that her cultivation level was quite low, and her innate talent wasn't particularly impressive. He wasn't sure if his master would approve.

Lingxu Zhenren took the stack of papers from Cheng Yan. As soon as he saw the handwriting on the first page, his initial reaction was to flip past it. However, Cheng Yan quickly stopped him.

"Master."

Lingxu Zhenren raised his head and glanced at Cheng Yan. Seeing the peculiar expression on his disciple's face, he suppressed his impatience and gave the paper a closer look.

As he read through it, his expression grew increasingly intrigued. By the time he finished, he discarded the rest of the papers entirely and turned to Cheng Yan.

"This paper is quite interesting. Which peak does this Qin Shu belong to? Her ideas are remarkable, though her handwriting is truly terrible."

Cheng Yan respectfully bowed and replied, "Master, this disciple only recently joined the outer sect and is merely ten years old."

"Ten years old?" Lingxu Zhenren sighed with admiration, "That explains the poor handwriting."

But as soon as he finished his remark, something clicked in his mind. His eyes widened as he abruptly stood up, pointing incredulously at Cheng Yan.

"Wait—did you just say she's ten years old?!"

Cheng Yan wasn't surprised by his master's reaction. Once again, he bowed and repeated, "Ten years old."

With a wave of his hand, Lingxu Zhenren made the other exam papers vanish into thin air. "With a disciple like this, there's no need to look at the others."

The air around him exuded an air of decisiveness, as if nothing else could compare.

Since it was his master's decision to choose disciples, Cheng Yan didn't interfere too much. However, as the eldest disciple, he still felt obligated to offer a reminder.

"Master, this disciple's innate talent is somewhat lacking."

Lingxu Zhenren raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"She has only three spiritual roots," Cheng Yan replied.

Lingxu Zhenren dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand. "Three spiritual roots are fine. With my abilities, I can at least help her cultivate to the Golden Core stage. Just tell me—does she have a fire spiritual root?"

When Lingxu Zhenren asked this question, he had already made up his mind.

Even if she didn't possess a fire spiritual root, he would personally capture a fire spirit for her, solely based on her extraordinary talent in alchemy.

Having been his master's disciple for over a hundred years, Cheng Yan was well aware of Lingxu Zhenren's personality. Qin Shu becoming the master's final disciple was practically a foregone conclusion.

Unless... something unexpected happened.