"Very simple."

Before Elder Murray finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and with a flash of spiritual energy, a food box suddenly appeared in front of him. He opened the lid, revealing several small dishes and a large bowl of rice.

"Eat it."

Ian Quinn was full of doubt.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with this food," the other party said with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. "In fact, after eating it, it will be greatly beneficial to you."

Hearing this, Ian Quinn became even more puzzled.

"However, this meal is extremely bitter, hard to swallow, thousands of times more bitter than coptis root. Even true cultivators rarely dare to eat it. The pain you experienced while practicing the Immortal-Seeking Manual is nothing compared to this."

"So, how about it? Do you dare to eat this meal in front of me? Didn't you say that only those who endure the hardest hardships can rise above others? Then show me how you endure hardship."

"As long as you truly have such courage and perseverance, I, as an elder, will make the decision to let you stay in the Immortal Sect. How about that?"

A hint of provocation appeared on Susan Murray's face. After all, anyone can talk big, but whether you can actually do it is what matters most.

Understanding the cause and effect, Ian Quinn did not hesitate and stepped forward to pick up the food box.

……

"This is your token. From today on, you are one of the three hundred and sixty outer disciples of the Falling Snow Sect..."

Ian Quinn was not afraid of hardship and finally made the right bet. As he wished, he stayed and became an outer disciple of the Immortal Sect.

The hierarchy in the Immortal Sect is strict. So-called outer disciples usually refer to those who have undergone the spirit-opening ceremony, but whose spiritual roots are of poor quality. Although these people can also sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and embark on the path of cultivation, their achievements are limited due to their aptitude.

Cultivation is to go against the heavens, and the path to immortality requires countless resources. Heavenly treasures are already rare, so the sect naturally does not want to waste them on those who are clearly useless.

So why not simply refuse to admit them and send them down the mountain?

As the saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind," but that won't do. As mentioned earlier, spirit-opening pills are precious—how can they be wasted for nothing?

Although these people have poor aptitude, it doesn't mean they can't cultivate. The sect just doesn't want to invest in them further, but letting them make up the numbers is still acceptable.

So, they are reluctantly admitted as outer disciples to distinguish them from the real disciples. They are given Daoist books and cultivation manuals and left to cultivate on their own.

At first glance, this seems like decent treatment. However, compared to the real disciples, these abandoned outer disciples receive no monthly offerings—not even a single spirit stone. As for pills to aid cultivation, that's even more out of the question—don't even think about it.

To put it nicely, they are left to rely on their own efforts. In reality, they are simply left to fend for themselves. If someone manages to cultivate well and make a perfect comeback, they can be re-admitted as inner disciples. As for the rest who achieve nothing and have weak spiritual power, it doesn't matter. After all, the sect hasn't invested anything in them. If their strength is lacking, so be it. If a powerful enemy attacks, they can still be used as cannon fodder, right?

In short, the sect doesn't even want to waste a chicken rib, treating it as waste utilization. The Immortal Sect's calculations are truly meticulous.

At the same time, this also shows the cruelty of the cultivation world.

However, Ian Quinn still managed to stay.

Yet his prospects remained bleak. Not to mention that outer disciples already have an awkward status—even among them, he was an oddity.

The others, at least, had undergone the spirit-opening ceremony. Although the results were unsatisfactory, at least they had spiritual roots and could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so cultivation was not a problem. But Ian Quinn's situation was too unique. It could be said that since the founding of the Falling Snow Sect, there had never been such a case. He had not undergone the spirit-opening ceremony; in the end, he was just an ordinary mortal.

It could even be said that this violated the sect rules. However, Elder Murray insisted on doing it this way. The spot for an outer disciple was just used to support an idle eater. Thinking of it this way, it was a trivial matter. No one would make an issue of this with a Golden Core ancestor, so Ian Quinn stayed in the sect.

As he wished.

After understanding the whole story, Ian Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. But soon, his brows furrowed again. Staying was only the first step. Before the age of eighteen, he had to find a way to regain the qualification for the spirit-opening ceremony, or else everything would be for nothing.

But as for how to do it, he still had no clue.

Ian Quinn shook his head. Worrying about these things was useless. For now, he would not think about it and consider it later. Thoughts flashed through his mind, and then Ian Quinn bowed and respectfully received the token representing his identity from the other party's hand.

At this moment, standing in front of him was a tall, thin man named James Bolton, in his thirties, also one of the three hundred and sixty outer disciples of the Falling Snow Sect.

However, unlike the newly admitted Ian Quinn, this man had spent many years in the Falling Snow Sect. Although his cultivation was negligible due to limited aptitude and laziness, he was already thoroughly familiar with all the open and hidden rules of the sect.

To put it simply, he was an old hand who had been around the block.