After the commotion finally settled down, Elder Martin looked much more satisfied. Several formation masters were still rubbing their scalps while glaring at him from a safe distance. Tyler couldn’t help feeling that these elders were surprisingly lively. In most sects, elders carried themselves with dignity and prestige. The elders of the Formation Hall, on the other hand, looked more like a group of old friends who spent half their time researching formations and the other half arguing with each other.

Elder Martin waved his hand toward Tyler.

"Enough. Thank you for your help, kid. If not for you, those idiots might have trapped themselves for another few months. Welcome to the Formation Hall. Someone register this kid immediately."

The moment those words fell, a dissatisfied voice rang out.

"You already left the Formation Hall. Like hell we’re helping you."

The speaker was naturally the elder whose hair had suffered the greatest tragedy earlier.

Tyler glanced at him and almost failed to recognize him. His hair looked as though a spiritual beast had nested inside it before leaving halfway through construction.

Elder Martin frowned.

"And who are you?"

The old man’s face immediately darkened.

"I am Vance."

Martin blinked.

Vance’s expression became even uglier.

"You pulled out so much of my hair that you don’t even recognize me anymore."

Several disciples immediately lowered their heads, afraid they would laugh out loud.

Vance pointed toward a nearby disciple.

"You. Go to the Pill Hall and buy a Hair Growth Pill." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The disciple almost laughed but quickly restrained himself and ran away.

Meanwhile, another Formation Hall disciple stepped forward and respectfully bowed toward Tyler.

"Junior Brother, please follow me. I’ll help you complete the registration procedures."

Tyler was about to follow him when Vance suddenly shouted again.

"Stop!"

Everyone turned toward him.

"What kind of nonsense is this? He hasn’t even taken a test yet. Since when can people join the Formation Hall through recommendations alone?"

The disciple silently pointed toward a painting hanging on the wall.

Tyler followed his finger and saw a younger version of Vance standing beside a previous Sect Master.

Underneath the painting was a short introduction.

Recommended directly into the Formation Hall.

Vance immediately became silent.

The hall became quiet.

Several disciples desperately tried to suppress their laughter.

Vance’s mouth twitched. Then he pretended not to notice the painting at all, "Who is the Hall Master here?"

Elder Martin rolled his eyes.

"Stop grumbling. This kid is the reason I managed to enter the formation. Even if it was partly luck, his understanding is enough to prove he has talent. At the very least, he’s more useful than some people who trapped themselves for three days."

Several elders immediately looked away.

Nobody wanted to continue that topic.

Vance let out a long sigh and finally gave up arguing. The Formation Hall’s barriers had already been lifted, and disciples from throughout the branch were beginning to enter the hall again. Some came to purchase formation discs. Others came to submit requests. The previously deserted hall was quickly becoming lively again.

Vance looked toward Tyler, who was following the disciple to complete his registration, then turned back toward Martin.

"You came all the way from the Main Formation Hall just to rescue us. Fine. Thank you."

Martin smiled.

"I knew you would appreciate it."

"Don’t misunderstand. Now that you’ve rescued us, you can leave."

Martin laughed and walked directly into Vance’s office as though it belonged to him. Without hesitation, he sat in Vance’s chair and casually placed his feet on the desk.

Vance’s face darkened.

"That’s my chair."

"I know."

"Get off."

"No."

Vance grumbled but eventually sat opposite him.

Martin then took out a scroll and tossed it onto the table.

The moment Vance saw the scroll, his expression became complicated.

"Is that The Creativity Project?"

Martin nodded, "The Sect Master’s new initiative."

Vance rubbed his forehead, "I still don’t understand what we’re supposed to do. We live in an era where everything already exists. If someone wants to fly, there are flying swords. If they want to breathe underwater, there are underwater pearls and talismans. If they want protection, there are formations. If they want attack power, there are weapons cheaper than formations. If they want defense, there are Talisman cheaper than formations. What exactly are we supposed to create?"

Martin shrugged, "I have no idea either."

The two elders looked at each other. Then both sighed simultaneously. Clearly neither of them believed in the project.

"Still," Martin said, tapping the scroll, "it came directly from the Sect Master. We need to show some effort."

Vance nodded reluctantly.

Just then, Tyler and the disciple returned. The registration process had already been completed. Vance immediately looked toward Tyler.

"You’ve officially joined?" Tyler cupped his hands.

"Yes, Elder." Then he displayed his disciple token. A small Formation Hall symbol had been added beside his identity markings.

Vance nodded.

"Good."

Then he suddenly grabbed the scroll from the table and tossed it toward Tyler.

Tyler instinctively caught it, "What is this?"

"Congratulations." Vance smiled. "You’ve received a project."

The disciple standing beside Tyler nearly dropped his jaw.

Project?

A personal project?

The fastest disciple in branch history to receive an independent project had taken three years after joining the Formation Hall. Most disciples spent years assisting their seniors before earning such opportunities. Yet Tyler had joined less than an hour ago.

The disciple suddenly felt as though he was witnessing history.

Even Elder Martin frowned after hearing that. He looked at Vance as though the latter had lost his mind. "Are you serious? We don’t even know his formation talent yet. The kid just joined the Formation Hall."

Vance didn’t seem concerned at all. He simply waved his hand and leaned back in his chair. "The project itself is useless anyway. Whether he succeeds or fails doesn’t matter."

Martin opened his mouth, intending to argue, but after thinking about it, he couldn’t find a proper reason. The truth was that he also felt the project was somewhat pointless. The Sect Master kept talking about innovation and creativity, but most formation masters spent their entire lives studying ancient formations. Asking them to suddenly invent something new felt like asking a fish to climb a tree.

Seeing Martin fall silent, Vance immediately became more confident. He grabbed the scroll from the table and tossed it toward Tyler.

"Kid, take it. Register it under your name. Call it the New Aspirant Project or whatever sounds impressive. You don’t need approval from us to start working on it. If you need resources, submit a request with proper reasons and documentation. As long as the request isn’t ridiculous, I’ll approve it."

Tyler caught the scroll and stared at it for a moment. Then he looked at Vance. Then at Martin. Then back at the scroll again.

For some reason, he felt like everyone else had discussed something important while he wasn’t paying attention.

Before he could ask any questions, Vance impatiently waved his hand.

"Alright, alright. Stop standing there. Go do something productive."

Tyler could only cup his hands and leave. The disciple who had helped him register hurriedly followed behind him.

The moment they disappeared from sight, Martin looked toward Vance with a strange expression.

"You really handed it over just like that?"

Vance chuckled and picked up a teacup.

"Of course."

Martin stared at him for a few moments before finally understanding.

"You don’t actually expect the kid to succeed."

Vance took a sip of tea and smiled.

"It’s not that I want him to fail. I want the project itself to fail."

Martin blinked before slowly nodding.

Now it made sense.

If even after giving opportunities to young disciples the project still produced no results, then the Formation Hall could honestly report that they had tried. At that point, nobody could blame them anymore.

Vance looked quite pleased with his own idea.

"When the Sect Master asks about it later, we can say we fully supported the younger generation. We provided resources, opportunities, and freedom. If nothing comes out of it, that’s not our problem."

Martin couldn’t help laughing.

"You really are shameless."

Back outside, Tyler walked down the corridor while staring at the scroll in his hand. Even now, he still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened.

"What exactly did I just get dragged into?"

The disciple beside him looked at him with unconcealed admiration.

"Junior Brother Tyler, your luck is truly incredible."

"Huh?"

The disciple lowered his voice as though discussing some great secret.

"You joined the Formation Hall today, got recommended by Elder Martin, skipped most of the usual procedures, and received your own project on the same day. Forget this branch hall. I don’t think anyone in the entire sect has ever done that."

Tyler looked at the scroll again and couldn’t help feeling something was off.

For some reason, neither Elder Martin nor Elder Vance looked like people who expected results from him. If anything, they looked relieved after throwing the project into his hands.

Meanwhile, the disciple had already reached a completely different conclusion. In his eyes, Tyler had Elder Martin’s recommendation, special treatment from the Formation Hall, immediate admission into the hall, and even an independent project on his first day. No matter how he thought about it, such treatment could only mean one thing.

This Junior Brother Tyler definitely had a terrifying background.

The disciple secretly made up his mind to maintain a good relationship with him in the future.