Chapter 20: Twenty Years Old That Year, Standing Like a Lackey at the Ascension Meeting!

Within the territory under the jurisdiction of the Chiyuan Immortal Sect.

The Ascension Meeting is a matter of the utmost importance in the eyes of all mortal noble families.

It is also the only opportunity for the vast majority of mortals to change their fate in this lifetime.

Each Ascension Meeting is not mandatory for everyone; it is based on the principle of voluntary participation. As long as one has not participated in an Ascension Meeting before, anyone, regardless of gender or age, may give it a try! The reason it is not mandatory is actually to leave a way out for the various families under the Immortal Sect.

These noble families usually cultivate their descendants until they are twelve or thirteen years old before allowing them to participate in the Ascension Meeting to have a chance to enter the Immortal Sect.

The reason for this age is also a hard-learned lesson accumulated by various families over many years; those family descendants who go to the Immortal Sect too early often become indifferent to family ties, viewing family investment as a matter of course.

The father is kind and the son is filial, moving heaven and earth.

Yet the Immortal Sect itself actually also needs disciples who have family ties as bonds to fill certain key positions.

Thus, it tacitly allows family descendants to be a bit older and have developed feelings for their families before coming to the Immortal Sect to grow.

…………

Once the news that the Ascension Meeting would be held early was announced, the entire Jinque City immediately boiled over.

People leaving the city to spread the news were in an endless stream.

On the largest drill ground in Jinque City.

Although it was not yet known when the Patrol Envoy would arrive.

The personnel of the City Lord Mansion had already set up the venue, and even called upon the various major families to help check for omissions and fill in gaps.

As an Inspector, Su Ping only needed to sit upright on the main stage above the venue.

Su Ping looked at the gradually taking-shape Ascension Meeting venue.

The familiar scene made the Su Ping of twenty years ago flash through his mind involuntarily.

At that time, he was also waiting nervously for Immortal Fate in a similar venue.

In rags, he only dared to stand in the shadow of the crowd, as humble as an ant.

"Twenty years old that year, at the Ascension Meeting, standing like a lackey."

Su Ping felt something in his heart and sighed softly to himself: "Who could have imagined that twenty years later, I would already be the most noble superior at this Ascension Meeting."

"Worldly affairs are like a game of chess; they are hard to predict!"

Thinking of this change in circumstances, Su Ping still felt a bit proud of himself.

Su Ping could say quite sincerely: he was able to reach today's status entirely through his own efforts! He, Su Ping, did not cheat! The Patrol Envoy of the Immortal Sect arrived more urgently than expected.

Just as Su Ping and the City Lord and others had finished the venue affairs and were preparing to have a small gathering to listen to music at a pleasure house.

A small Immortal Boat about twelve meters long flew into the sky above Jinque City.

Immediately, a cultivator of at least the Qi Refining Late Stage, accompanied by two attendants at the first or second level of Qi Refining, descended directly to the City Lord Mansion.

Su Ping hurriedly let Spirit Mouse Xiaobai and Xiaohui hide in a burrow, tidied up his appearance, and only then entered the City Lord Mansion.

"What a young Patrol Envoy!"

As Su Ping entered the main hall, he saw the Immortal Sect Patrol Envoy already waiting there.

With sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, a slender figure, dressed in a pure white long robe, carrying three Long Swords on his back.

His image looked even more like a Sword Immortal than Su Ping.

More importantly, judging by Su Ping's intuition as a cultivator, this Patrol Envoy could not be over thirty! "A thirty-year-old in the Qi Refining Late Stage... this Patrol Envoy is at least an Inner Sect Disciple!"

"He is an Elite cultivator truly valued by the Immortal Sect!"

"But I no longer need to be jealous or envious; it won't be long before I, too, will be a heaven-gifted talent of the Cultivation World!"

Su Ping kept complaining in his heart, while on the surface he maintained the humility a frustrated Inspector should show toward a powerhouse.

This young Inspector nodded slightly in greeting, seemingly pressed for time, or perhaps unwilling to stay long in this Jinque City where Spirit Qi was thin.

He kept it brief and handed over a set of Dharma Artifacts for testing Spirit Roots from the Immortal Sect to Su Ping.

Afterward, he took out a bottle of Pill and placed it on the table: "I will have to trouble Senior Brother Su a lot from here on."

"This bottle of Peiyuan Pill is the remuneration issued by the Immortal Sect to Senior Brother for this Ascension Meeting."

"If you can discover more people with Spirit Roots, all rewards will be issued as usual."

"Also, these two are Outer Sect Disciples selected in the last meeting; Senior Brother, feel free to command them!" "Farewell!"

After the Patrol Envoy finished giving instructions, he did not meet with the City Lord and others who were waiting eagerly outside, but rose directly into the air and flew back to the Immortal Boat.

Before long, the Immortal Boat emitted a faint milky-white spiritual light and, with a 'swish', turned into a blurred shadow and moved away from Jinque City.

Su Ping took the Pill and glanced at the two Outer Sect Disciples at the first or second level of Qi Refining who had been left behind to assist him.

He said slowly:

"You two shall stay in this City Lord Mansion for the time being, also to guard against any Chaos that might occur in the city during this period."

"Jinque City has been quite stable these past few years, but in neighboring large cities, there have been vicious cases of Loose Cultivators who practiced evil arts snatching people suspected of having Spirit Roots!"

"Yes, we will strictly follow Senior Brother's orders!"

The two Outer Sect Disciples who had been dispatched hurriedly agreed and stated that they would definitely maintain the Order of the Ascension Meeting!

As cultivators who looked like they had only just entered the sect a few years ago.

Believing themselves to be the orthodoxy of the Immortal Sect, they were at a time of high pride and arrogance.

This made Su Ping unable to resist encouraging them a few words, which made both of them full of energy.

"Lord Inspector, the Immortal Boat... why did the Immortal Boat fly away!"

Seeing Su Ping come out, the City Lord and others who had been waiting anxiously hurried over, somewhat afraid that some variable had occurred.

"Do not be nervous, the Ascension Meeting will proceed as usual, and I will be in full charge of presiding over it when the time comes!"

"That is good, that is good!"

"To think that Lord Inspector would preside over the Ascension Meeting; our Jinque City will surely have boundless good fortune this time!"

Hearing that there were no changes to the Ascension Meeting, the City Lord and others breathed a sigh of relief and offered their congratulations one after another.

However, a flicker of unease flashed through the eyes of some old foxes.

The previous Ascension Meetings had never seen anything like this happen.

The Immortal Sect's patrol Immortal Boat would wait for a city to finish its Ascension Meeting and take the selected disciples before heading to the next location.

It was nothing like this, dumping the affairs directly onto an Inspector.

Did they intend to wait until all the city Ascension Meetings were finished before taking all those disciples away in one go?

Such efficiency was naturally higher, but... since when did the Immortal Sect care about efficiency when recruiting disciples?

Su Ping declined the banquet invitation from the City Lord and the others.

He also refused the gifts sent by the Ji Family, who had a daughter just coming of age.

Su Ping, who also realized in his heart that something might be happening within the Immortal Sect, quickly headed to the Nine Leaves Market after leaving the city.

After selling a new batch of white sugar there, Su Ping probed that old Cultivator about the Ascension Meeting being moved forward.

Upon learning that the Yun Family was equally bewildered and was quietly looking for people to investigate the situation,

Su Ping stopped digging deeper.

Su Ping exchanged all the Spirit Stones from this transaction for various Waste Pills.

The old Cultivator was not surprised by this.

It was not that he guessed Su Ping could turn waste into treasure.

Rather, from the perspective of Su Ping being an Inspector, he guessed that the other party might want to rely on Waste Pills to cultivate a group of martial artists or controlled fierce beasts.

Thereby, in the event of any accidents that might occur, he could save his life as much as possible.

Although a large number of martial artists and fierce beasts could not threaten a Cultivator in the Qi Refining Middle-Late Stage,

at least they could serve as cannon fodder to create brief Chaos and gain a chance at survival.

As for a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator...

Hmm... if one were to encounter an attack by a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator in a mortal city,

then one might as well accept their fate; there would be no chance of saving oneself.

(End of this chapter)