...still just a big girl whose looks are not particularly pleasing!

Pine nut candy here is not your ordinary pine nut candy. They are served in delicate little sachets, each piece plump and coated with a layer of crystal-clear sugar glaze, mixed with an indescribable floral fragrance that is intoxicating.

Such exquisite treats are things children from poor families have never seen, but Henry Carter showed no attachment at all. As soon as he stepped out, he casually shoved the sachet and pine nut candy into Samuel Foster's hands, saying offhandedly, "Let my junior brother have these instead."

His "generosity" left Samuel Foster momentarily stunned. Samuel Foster took the sachet with mixed feelings, for once feeling a bit embarrassed.

Growing up as a little beggar, he always had to fight for every bite. Everyone out here was just struggling to survive, living like wild dogs—who had the energy to care about others?

A warmth spread in Samuel Foster's chest. Moved, he also developed a huge misunderstanding in his heart—this new little senior brother of his probably wasn't weak and easy to bully, but truly didn't care about such things and treated him well.

But Mr. Ethan Clark was not so easily fooled. He clearly saw Henry Carter pat his own hand in disgust, as if he'd touched something dirty, and immediately understood that this kid was giving away the candy not out of any good-natured humility, but simply because he couldn't be bothered to give face to his monstrous senior brother.

Still, when you think about it, the greatest temptation a kid this age can encounter is nothing more than food and drink. Yet Henry Carter could resist, could refuse to accept, could not even spare a glance.

Mr. Ethan Clark thought with some emotion, "This little bastard has a heart of stone. If he doesn't become something great, he'll surely become a great disaster."

And so, the little bastard Henry Carter officially joined the Fuyao Sect.

He spent his first night in his own Qing'an Residence, sleeping soundly until the third quarter of the Yin hour the next morning, with sweet, dreamless sleep—no trouble adjusting to a new bed, no homesickness.

Early the next morning, Alice Foster dressed Henry Carter in a long robe and styled his hair into a topknot, making him look quite presentable.

Children usually didn't need to bind their hair or wear a cap, but Alice Foster said that since he had entered the immortal sect, he could no longer be considered a child of the mundane world.

The biggest difference between a "domestic fowl" sect and a "wild chicken" sect is that the wild chicken sects are pure nonsense, while the domestic fowl sects, though of dubious origin, at least have some real foundation on the surface.

First of all, there were talismans. The legendary immortal talismans, said to be worth a fortune, were everywhere here—even trees and stones were covered with them. Alice Foster pointed to a talisman on a tree root and said to Henry Carter, "If Third Uncle ever gets lost on the mountain, just ask these stones and trees."

As Alice Foster spoke, he stepped forward to demonstrate, addressing the tree root: "Please take us to 'Buzhi Hall'—that's the sect leader's residence. Since Uncle has just joined, today you need to go there to receive your initiation."

Henry Carter didn't answer, too amazed as he stared at the tree root before him, which was emitting a faint glow.

It was still not fully light outside, and the glow was small, clustered, moon-white, casting a touch of ethereal aura over the mountain forest. The same glow clung to other stones and trees, winding through the woods to form a clear, simple path.

Although this was not the first magical artifact Henry Carter had seen, it was the first useful one!

Alice Foster was a master at reading people, and knowing this child was sour-faced and quite sensitive, he didn't point it out when he saw his astonishment. He simply waited for him to look over, then calmly reminded, "Third Uncle, this way please—just follow the light."

Walking along the path paved with glowing light, Henry Carter finally felt that he was becoming a different person, about to live a different life.

Henry Carter asked, "Alice Foster ge, who made all these?"

Alice Foster couldn't correct Henry Carter's way of addressing him, so he just let it go. Hearing the question, he replied, "The sect leader."

Henry Carter was startled, finding it hard to believe.

Until not long ago, his image of the sect leader was just a somewhat cute, long-necked pheasant—neither impressive nor useful. So could it be that he wasn't a fraud after all?

Could he have some hidden abilities?

Could a master really be as invincible and powerful as the legends say?

With a bit of incredulous longing, Henry Carter tried to imagine it, but found he still couldn't muster any real awe for his master.

Alice Foster led Henry Carter along the glowing path to Mr. Ethan Clark's Buzhi Hall.

"Buzhi Hall" was actually just a small thatched hut, with no magical artifacts and no plaque. At the entrance hung a palm-sized wooden sign, roughly carved with a beast's head. Henry Carter found the beast's head somewhat familiar, but couldn't recall what it was. Next to the beast's head was a line of small characters: "I don't know the answer to anything."

The thatched hut made Henry Carter feel, for a moment, as if he had returned to his rural home. It was so plain as to be almost empty.

At the door was a lonely little courtyard, with a three-legged wooden table in the center. One of the legs was broken and propped up on a stone. The tabletop was full of cracks, and Mr. Ethan Clark was sitting upright behind it, staring intently at a small tray on the table.