Suijun starts with the principle of rewarding diligence.

Heishui County, Taoist temple.

He Qing sat in the main seat, dressed in a Taoist robe.

Lu Xiu stood beside the spirit-testing pillar, looking quite content. Today he was wearing a proper brocade robe; the gray robe he used to wear was nowhere to be found.

Except for Bu Qu, who was absent, the others all came to the Taoist temple for spirit testing on the day of the test.

Although He Qing didn't force them, these young men and women from prominent families still valued first impressions.

After all, they were all quite talented, and He Qing only had two recommendation slots.

If everyone's strength is roughly equal two months from now, who stays and who leaves will be up to He Qing's discretion.

In situations like these, first impressions become very important.

The three of them took turns testing themselves on the spirit-testing pillar.

Ten days later, the three of them were evenly matched in cultivation, all at the third level.

Seeing that the three had finished their tests, He Qing nodded slightly: "It seems these little ones didn't slack off. With the aid of the Spirit Gathering Pill, advancing one level every ten days is a normal cultivation speed. The effect of the Spirit Gathering Pill is definitely not as good as the Crimson Scale Sturgeon, but it's enough as long as they don't hit any bottlenecks."

He picked up his teacup, took two sips, and glanced at Lu Xiu beside him: 'With him here, our minimum goal for this year's Dragon Gate Election is already achieved. If we want to improve our standing within the sect, we still need to rely on that little fisherman. I wonder how well he's progressing?'

He Qing was very patient with Bu Qu, who possessed innate spiritual power.

Such promising talents are rare indeed. Those born into prestigious families are more likely to be directly recruited by high-level Dao Seekers; those born into poor families lack the resources to cultivate their spiritual power to perfection.

As a Level D Seeker, He Qing couldn't possibly devote all his resources to one person.

If the investment fails, I'll lose my job.

Fishermen like Buqu, who are able to be self-sufficient, are truly rare.

"No rush. If we miss this year's Lungmen election, then next year."

Red-scaled sturgeon are already hard to find, and catching ten within two months is even more difficult.

He Qing didn't have much hope that Bu Qu would cultivate his spiritual power to perfection within two months.

Although I promised to reserve a spot for him, my focus is still on next year.

After the group finished testing their spiritual power, and seeing that Bu Qu hadn't arrived, Su Miaoyin asked He Qing, "Daoist Master, why didn't Bu Qu come? Could it be that he went to Blackwater Lake to catch Red-scaled Sturgeon?"

Su Miaoyin was quite interested in Buqu.

In just ten days, she had already sent people to investigate Buqu's background.

It's also reasonable to guess that he most likely killed Li Xian and Yan Song, those two fishing tyrants.

She wasn't surprised by this.

Characters who rise from the bottom must possess a certain ruthlessness.

The ancestors of the Su family also came from a poor background, and their hands were stained with countless blood before they finally gained a foothold in Heishui County.

Therefore, she wouldn't look down on Buqu just because he was a fisherman, a lowly social status. On the contrary, someone with such a rising potential was more worthy of her attention.

Su Miaoyin knew that her talent for cultivation was limited, and even if she were to enter a righteous sect in the future, she would only be an ordinary disciple. If she was unlucky, she would have no choice but to obey her family's arrangements and become a sacrifice in an arranged marriage.

Rather than living an ordinary life, it's better to take a gamble on someone with potential.

If you follow the right person, you will surely become very wealthy and successful in the future.

Su Miaoyin's indirect questioning was also tinged with ulterior motives.

After all, what she could find out was only the tip of the iceberg that Bu Qu had revealed to everyone. Only He Qing, the Seeker of the Dao, knew his true potential.

He Qing was Bu Qu's mentor, so Bu Qu would naturally tell him all about his talents in order to gain the greatest possible support.

He Qing smiled and said, "He's a fisherman, and he was born with spiritual energy, so of course he needs to use the Crimson Scale Sturgeon to aid his cultivation..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence. He had originally intended to say that since Bu Qu had already demonstrated the supernatural abilities related to water, catching the Red-scaled Sturgeon would not be difficult.

However, considering that these people also needed the Red Scaled Sturgeon to break through their bottlenecks, he said no more.

If they knew that Bu Qu could easily catch the Crimson Scale Sturgeon, they would definitely go and demand it. This would inevitably affect Bu Qu's cultivation progress.

Jiang Linyuan smiled slightly upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "I knew it. A fisherman trying to aid his cultivation by catching Crimson-scaled Sturgeon is truly delusional. These treasure fish aren't that easy to catch. Even if you manage to catch two or three a year, by the time you reach the pinnacle of your cultivation, you'll be too old. The older you are, the lower your potential. Even if you manage to enter a righteous sect just before the age limit, you won't be valued."

He asked, "Master He, when do you think he can cultivate his spiritual power to perfection by catching red-scaled sturgeon to aid his cultivation?"

He Qing smiled slightly: "How can I say for sure? Maybe next year, maybe the year after."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Linyuan felt even more smug.

He Qing's silence about this year implies that Bu Qu's chances of catching the Red-scaled Sturgeon are slim. A slim chance means it's entirely up to luck.

How far can someone who rises to prominence by luck go? A fleeting moment of glory!

"Speaking of which, I didn't find any treasure fish at the fish market today. The fishermen are still the same fishermen, but the treasure fish yield has been much lower in recent years. It seems that the number of treasure fish in Blackwater Lake has decreased in recent years."

If we still can't catch the treasure fish, I'll have to talk to my father and ask him to form a fishing team and send people to Blackwater Lake to fish for them.

Many hands make light work. How can one person's luck compare to that of a team?

Besides, you need ten, but I only need one.

By the time you've cultivated your spiritual power to perfection, I will have already become a disciple of the righteous sect, someone you can only look up to in awe.

Thinking of this, Jiang Linyuan shook his head, cupped his hands in farewell, and took his leave.

He felt a pang of self-reproach: 'Why did I waste my time on this fisherman again? Isn't it only natural that I should become someone he can only look up to?'

Xia Zhuxin smiled faintly: "I didn't expect him to have such abilities? In that case, Buqu really is a fisherman."

Although she also wanted to recruit Bu Qu, she wasn't as enthusiastic as Su Miaoyin.

Previously misled by Lu Xiu's remarks, they only thought that Bu Qu was hiding his identity.

"If he can catch the Red-scaled Sturgeon, I'll have to go back and talk to my father properly, and ask him to put more effort into getting one. At the very least, I'll have to buy one from him. Anyway, he won't make it to the Dragon Gate Election this year, so one more or one less won't make a difference."

Su Miaoyin's beautiful eyes darted around, but she didn't say anything.

Having received He Qing's reply, she felt reassured.

Instead of using Spirit Gathering Pills, they use Crimson Scale Sturgeon to cultivate spiritual power.

This behavior alone was enough for Su Miaoyin to see Bu Qu's ambition.

It contains a dragon within, and its power can swallow the ocean.

Such a person is proud and arrogant, and would never remain subservient to others for long.

He had not accepted the invitations from his retainers before, and he would not accept them in the future.

She quietly turned her head, and out of everyone's sight, she curled the corners of her lips into a wicked smile: "Now, I really have to seduce you properly!"

Lu Xiu looked around at everyone, secretly anxious.

"Why am I invisible again? Why am I the center of attention even though Brother Bu isn't here? If you guys have nothing better to do, you can look up to me. I'm an eighth-dan master!"