In order to test Gu Lingzhi's temperament, these elders had purposely used their experience and status to seem more imposing.

Originally, they had predicted that even if Gu Lingzhi was not scared of them, she would surely show at least a bit of fear.

However, Gu Lingzhi exceeded their expectations and did not shy away from them. In fact, she seemed unfazed by them. Her back was straight, and her eyes were full of determination. This led them to suspect whether her previous display of weakness was just an act.

If that really was the case, then she was indeed a very shrewd person whose thoughts were hard to fathom...

Well, that was not a bad thing after all. In such a big clan like the Gu Clan, talent was not enough, one had to be smart too.

The Great Elder who sat at the center of the room warm-heartedly and eagerly nodded in approval of Gu Lingzhi and said, “I didn't think that Gu Rong had such an outstanding daughter, you are much stronger than your little sister. Good.”

A benevolent old man, the Great Elder had the rank of a Martial Sage, which made his eyes glow with vigor despite his age.

Gu Lingzhi knew that she had pa.s.sed the first trial upon hearing the Great Elder's words. She smiled and said, “Thank you Great Elder for the compliment. I am older than my sister by a year, I must not perform too poorly otherwise people would think that I am an incompetent sister.”

The elders were satisfied with what Gu Lingzhi said.

They did not know whether Gu Lingzhi's words were sincere or not, but being the illegitimate daughter of a great clan, her reply had not embarra.s.sed Gu Rong and simultaneously expressed the spirit of sisterhood. There were simply no faults to be found in her words. She had pa.s.sed yet another trial.

Some of the Elders exchanged glances once again and were even more satisfied with Gu Lingzhi's performance.

Afterwards, the Great Elder proceeded to ask Gu Lingzhi a few more questions, to which Gu Lingzhi answered with confidence. Then, the Great Elder finally announced the purpose of calling Gu Lingzhi over to the Discussion hall.

“After two days, you will follow the Third Prince to the Royal School. I hope that when you are there, you will remember that you represent our clan and do us proud.”

Gu Lingzhi did a full bow upon hearing this and rea.s.sured them, “Elders, please do not worry. I will definitely not let you down.”

The Great Elder nodded his head in satisfaction, “It is great that you are confident.”

Suddenly, the Great Elder asked, “Have you ever heard of Beicheng Haoyue?”

Beicheng Haoyue?

Gu Lingzhi paused, she thought that the name was very familiar. From her memories of her past life, she was able to match a pretty face to the name.

“Are you talking about Beicheng Haoyue of the Beicheng Clan who is well-known as a talented Alchemist?”

Beicheng Haoyue was originally a neglected child in the Beicheng Clan, one of the Four Great Clans. However, before she turned ten years old, her fire and wood-based Spiritual Roots were awakened. As a result, the leader of the Beicheng Clan kept her by his side and trained her. In the years that followed, she showed an outstanding talent for refining medicine, enrolling in the Royal School's section for Alchemy. She was the most outstanding Martial Artist amongst the Beicheng Clan's younger generation.”

The only reason why Gu Lingzhi had heard of her was because in her past life when she was married to Bi Lingcan, she remembered him staring dumbly at Beicheng Haoyue's portrait. However, she was more curious as to why the Great Elder would suddenly mention her name.

Sensing her confusion, the Great Elder explained, “Yes, that's her. Since you have an apt.i.tude for Alchemy, you will definitely be put into the Sector for Alchemy when you enroll into the Royal School. The reason why I called you here today is to remind you to be careful of this person when you are in the Royal School.”

Oh? Could it be that Beicheng Haoyue would scheme against her?

Gu Lingzhi could not help but feel more cautious and alert, but the Great Elder suddenly changed the topic and said with disdain in his voice, “Recently the Gu Clan has become less powerful, but we are still influential. Even though the Four Great Clans maintain an amicable relations.h.i.+p on the exterior, beneath the surface, the power struggle has never ceased. In the past few years, due to the emergence of Beicheng Haoyue as a talented Alchemist, her name has been tossed around at the Clan Meetings as a way for the Beicheng Clan to show off.”

The other Elders agreed with what the Great Elder said and their faces had all darkened slightly.

“Lingzhi, when you go to the Royal School, you must remember never to slack off. You are part of the Four Great Clans' younger generation, so you will inevitably be compared against the rest of them. Even if you cannot be better than Beicheng Haoyue, you cannot be worse than her.”

Gu Lingzhi finally understood why she was being called to the Discussion Hall, and at that point she did not know how to feel. She did not think that she would be made speechless.

She knew that the Gu Clan was no longer what it used to be. She also knew that the Gu Clan was spending more and more money trying to raise talents. After all, the strength and weaknesses of the younger generation would affect the status of the clan in the future.

She respectfully replied, “Elders, please do not worry. Lingzhi will not fall short of your expectations and let the clan down.”

Getting the rea.s.surance and promise that he needed, the Great Elder nodded his head with satisfaction. After saying some supportive words to Gu Lingzhi, he dismissed everybody in the Discussion Hall.

The next two days pa.s.sed in a flash. Gu Lingzhi did not know if it was because of Gu Rong's warning, but Lin Yue-er and Gu Linglong did not bother her.

On the morning of the third day, Rong Yuan's carriage arrived promptly at the Gu Clan's gates. Lingzhi, who had packed everything beforehand, was waiting at the gates. Gu Rong and Gu Chengze came to send her off. Gu Lingzhi swiftly and nimbly got up the carriage.

“Do you want to bring along two servants who can attend to you?”

Looking out of the carriage, Rong Yuan raised his eyebrows at Cui Lian who was sobbing really badly. He was slightly surprised that Gu Lingzhi intended to go to the Royal School alone.

“No, I have a perfectly healthy body. I can take care of myself.”

Cui Lian was a servant who would easily betray her mistress for petty gains. Keeping her was almost the same as raising a wild beast that could not be tamed and would attack the master at any time. For such a person, it would be better if she stayed in the Gu Clan and be taken care of by Lin Yue-er.

When Gu Lingzhi thought about how Cui Lian had begged her the night before to follow her to the Royal School, she laughed to herself silently. How would Lin Yue-er treat Cui Lian, someone who was once her confidant but had now betrayed her?