Chapter 153: Taking on a Disciple Fulfills the Heavenly Dao's Numbers

The Spirit Realm, headquarters of the Hundred Nations Alliance, a stone stele reaching a hundred zhang in height stood upon a mountain peak.

It had remained inactive for over a thousand years, but today it suddenly burst forth with a scarlet light curtain; this change drew the attention of most Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul True Lords within the Alliance.

Inside a great hall, a cultivator clad in purple robes withdrew his gaze and, in a low voice, commented:

"The Heavenly Pride Stele has actually undergone an anomaly; a scarlet light curtain indicates it has barely reached the Alliance's national-level genius tier, yet it is not worthy of this lord's attention."

Many cultivators shared this view, but just as their thoughts faded, an orange light curtain lit up, followed quickly by a yellow one.

Three light curtains lit up in succession, completely capturing the attention of all cultivators at Golden Core level and above within the Alliance.

"Three light curtains—could they not be Nascent Soul-level seedlings? Whose disciple is this?"

"Even possessing a heavenly spirit root does not guarantee the Heavenly Pride Stele will display three light curtains; I wonder what talent this person possesses to earn the Stele's acknowledgment of three curtains!"

"No, look quickly—the Heavenly Pride Stele is about to light up again; could it be about to display a fourth curtain?"

"What? Impossible— the fourth light curtain has already transcended regional limits; any genius who lights a curtain can be called an 'Eternal Pride'! Their counterpart is the stunning, fleeting pride found in the river of ages!"

People within the Alliance were buzzing with discussion.

Whoosh!

Amid the incredulous gazes of the crowd, a fourth green light and a fifth cyan light lit up in succession!

Hiss!

Many sucked in a breath of cold air, about to step forward to watch, when they saw eight cultivators in purple robes appear beside the stele's body.

"Greetings, True Lord!"

Those eight purple-robed cultivators were indeed Nascent Soul cultivators, beings honored as True Lords in the cultivation world.

"Rise!"

A calm voice sounded, tranquil yet carrying an irresistible charm.

"Thank you, True Lord!"

Another uniform voice rang out, and every non-Nascent Soul cultivator's eyes flashed with a glint of brilliance.

"That cultivator, whose name is still unknown, has likely caught the eye of several True Lords, who intend to take him as a disciple!"

For a moment, all cultivators' thoughts raced: a genius recorded by the Heavenly Pride Stele, once taken as a disciple, would surely become a closed-door disciple, the inheritor of the master's mantle!

Throughout history, aside from accidental deaths, there has never been an instance where a prodigy who provoked five light curtains failed to become a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"I have only eight disciples in my lifetime; only one remains to make nine. This one ought to become my disciple! Nine disciples correspond to the ultimate number nine, a blessing from the Heavenly Dao! Hahaha!"

Among the eight True Lords, one with a handsome visage, named Li Hua, a Nascent Soul cultivator, chuckled and spoke.

"Lord Li Hua True Lord, your words are mistaken; I have taken only five disciples in my life. If I accept one more, would that not fulfill the Six Harmonies, also in accord with the Heavenly Dao? This disciple ought to be taken into my sect!"

Another Nascent Soul True Lord spoke; he had a white beard, an ethereal aura, the eldest among the Alliance, named Bai Mei Lao Ren.

"Hahaha! You're all wrong; that disciple should most certainly join my sect!"

A gruff voice suddenly rang out, causing those of lower cultivation to feel their ears ache.

Li Hua: ……

Bai Mei: ……

Yang Yue: ……

All cultivators: ………

Bai Mei asked puzzledly: "Ji Dao True Lord, you have already taken thirteen disciples! Why should he most certainly join your sect?"

Ji Dao True Lord grinned: "Bai Mei Dao Friend, you are correct, but do you know that if I were to take another disciple, this one could be called the foremost genius of the Spirit Realm, and would also be in accordance with the Heavenly Dao."

Li Hua asked puzzledly: "Ji Dao Dao Friend, please forgive my ignorance, but what is the significance of a fourteenth disciple? It seems hardly related to the Heavenly Dao!"

Ji Dao True Lord chuckled: "Do you Dao Friends know the significance of the nine-five number? Once I take this fourteenth disciple, would it not precisely match nine-five, since nine plus five equals fourteen? Would that not be in accordance with the Heavenly Dao?"

Li Hua: "Shameless, utterly shameless!"

Bai Mei: "Is that how the nine-five is explained?"

Yang Yue: "Ji Dao True Lord is indeed as shameless as ever!"

All cultivators: "You are strong; what you say makes sense."

Ji Dao True Lord glanced at them, thinking coldly: "Shameless, learned from you; even taking a disciple can be linked to the Heavenly Dao, his face as thick as a city wall—brazenly shameless."

While several of them were still glaring at each other over the dispute for disciples, the Heavenly Pride Stele's body flashed once more with a ray of light.

The Nascent Soul True Lords who noticed this scene were each startled, glanced away, and simultaneously arose with the thought: "Could there still be more!?"

Just as this thought arose, a blue light curtain shot up into the sky!

For a moment, the mountain peak where the Heavenly Pride Stele stood was enveloped by six kinds of light, gorgeous and varied, miraculous and splendid.

"Good heavens! Six light rays—could this not match the achievements of the Four Grand Masters of old? Are we about to see another prodigy of Four Grand Master caliber arise in our cultivation world?"

"No, I must see what this cultivator has done to cause the Heavenly Pride Stele to blaze with six kinds of light."

To be frank, not only that cultivator, but even the eight Nascent Soul True Lords share this anticipation.

"Hahaha! Just as I emerged from seclusion, I encountered the Heavenly Pride Stele lighting up with six rays of light. I, Tie Zhan, have never taken a disciple in my life; this one shall be my founding disciple, the beginning of the primordial element, in accordance with the numbers of the Heavenly Dao! Wah ah hahaha!"

Upon hearing this voice, Ji Dao, Bai Mei, Li Hua, and others' faces changed, yet they had to bow to the approaching cultivator: "Greetings, War Lord!"

Below, simultaneously, a earth-shaking voice of worship rose: "Greetings, War Lord!"

Whoosh!

Having descended to the summit, Tie Zhan waved his hand, casually saying, "All rise!", then chuckled as he looked at the several True Lord cultivators:

"You few are also here! Could it be you intend to vie with me for a disciple?"

Bai Mei gave a wry smile: "I dare not contend with War Lord for supremacy!"

Ji Dao wore a sullen expression: "How could I encounter War Lord emerging from seclusion? He is a Nascent Soul grand perfection cultivator, now only over six hundred years old, fully capable of advancing to Divine Transformation; even though I, Ji Dao, reached mid‑Nascent Soul at five hundred years of age, I still dare not act rashly before him."

Tie Zhan chuckled, nodded, then turned his gaze back to the Heavenly Pride Stele, also wishing to know which genius junior could cause the Stele to emit six kinds of light.

In the Hundred Nations Alliance region, no one has heard of a disciple so talented! Could it be from the great plains? That would be a bit troublesome, or perhaps from the Meteor Sea?

Tie Zhan's mind was filled with countless thoughts, one place after another came to mind, yet in the end he could not be sure.

Fortunately, the Heaven's Pride Stele did not keep him waiting long; the six paths of shooting heavenly light intertwined and finally formed an image.

In the image, a blue light pillar descended from the sky; the cultivators present were basically at the Golden Core level, and they naturally saw that the blue light pillar possessed power comparable to late Golden Core.

Could it be that this genius is a Golden Core cultivator? If so, it would not be easy to take him as a disciple!

All the cultivators were secretly sizing up Tie Zhan, but Tie Zhan's gaze remained calm, his face unchanged, merely staring silently at the image in the air.

He did not believe that whoever could make the Heaven's Pride Stele shine with six kinds of light would be a Golden Core cultivator.

Indeed, in the next instant, a flash of five-colored light splendor flickered and vanished; afterward, that awe-inspiring blue light pillar split in two.

The image ended here, and a final line of large characters appeared:

Western Drooping Land's Wang Ping, in a wasteland, with the body of a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, aided by the Five Elements Forbidden Array, slew a late Golden Core cultivator; evaluation: over the past ten thousand years, the Foundation Establishment stage's attack power ranks first!

Silence! Utter silence!

Including Tie Zhan, everyone's face showed an expression of disbelief.

What they saw was a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection slaying a late Golden Core cultivator!

For a moment they all suspected they were deep in a dream; such an event was even more unbelievable than Arabian Nights.

What shocked them even more was that evaluation: over the past ten thousand years, the Foundation Establishment stage's attack power ranks first!

What does this indicate? Even the Four Great Masters at this stage are inferior to that junior named Wang Ping.

Moreover, most cultivators felt unfamiliar with that Western Drooping Land; what place is it? A location on the great plain, or perhaps a certain spot in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

A simple sentence revealed an enormous amount of information, so much so that for a period of time no cultivator spoke.

"Hehe! Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, aided by a formation, slaying a late Golden Core cultivator—over the past ten thousand years, the Foundation Establishment stage's attack power ranks first! Hahaha! Indeed, he is a disciple favored by this lord!"

Tie Zhan suddenly burst into loud laughter; the rolling laughter, like heavenly thunder, made those Golden Core cultivators' faces flush red, and they all exerted spiritual power to resist, which eased them a little.

The tremor at the headquarters of the Hundred Nations Alliance was merely a minor episode; the real storm has only just begun.

And the mastermind behind all this is currently struggling to hold a top-grade spirit stone to repair his battered body.