Chapter 306: Martial Competition, Allocating Disciples, and Debating Roles

Inside Wuji Hall, the Seven Stars Sealing Spirit Array had already been set up. Lieyang Zhenren sat at the array eye to guard the star, Shangqing Zhenren took the head of the array, Qianyuan Zhenren took the tail, and the other True Persons each occupied a star position.

Zhaoming Zhenren, accompanied by the first disciples of each Elder, set up the Eight Extremes Heavenly Steel Array to guard outside Wuji Hall, while some other disciples kept a strict watch outside the array.

According to Lieyang Zhenren, Wuwei Laozu had long ago given instructions to fetch the Dust-Peering Mirror. Since that was the case, there must be a mystery within it, only it could not be fathomed for the time being.

Zhaoming Zhenren always felt a sense of unease. After all, Wuwei Laozu would not have separated the two Spirit Treasures he had refined for no reason; he must have calculated some crisis, which was why he had made such arrangements.

But what exactly had the clan calculated...

Most of the Yuanqing disciples were dispatched to guard Wuji Hall, so the entire Yuanqing Sect naturally became quite empty. Apart from a few disciples guarding their respective dojos, there were only some Outer Disciples and a portion of Inner Sect Disciples who had returned from training.

And those participating in the martial arts competition established by Lingxiang were precisely these disciples.

Zhaoming Zhenren had originally opposed Lingxiang's plan to hold a martial arts competition at the dojo outside Wuji Hall, but she had said that this could also serve to build momentum for the fellow senior brothers and Lieyang Zhenren, and that in terms of fortune, it could help the senior brothers succeed in sealing the spirits—it was a good thing.

Upon hearing Lingxiang's reasoning, Lieyang Zhenren and Shangqing Zhenren actually felt that a competition between disciples was not a bad idea. They agreed to this method before entering the array, and Zhaoming Zhenren, having no choice, let her be.

Fine, just pretend not to see it; out of sight, out of mind.

The competition was divided into three parts: first, Martial Dao; second, Talisman Array; and third, Witchcraft. In each part, both sides would send three disciples to compete in three rounds on the ring. Whichever side's disciples were the first to lose everything would be judged as having lost that part of the competition.

Lingxiang repeatedly emphasized that in no part of the competition could non-standard methods be used; for instance, witchcraft footwork like the Tayun Boots could not appear in the Martial Dao competition.

Huiyan had no objections upon hearing this. Although it was somewhat inconvenient for the disciples taking the stage, it was a competition after all, and setting rules was indeed reasonable.

As it happened, on the day of the competition, Chengkai also returned to Yuanqing.

By rights, Chengkai should have returned to the sect long ago, but he truly could not set his mind at ease regarding his home. After all, Cheng Danruo was still young, and the family's escort agency was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt, with many affairs to attend to; he was always afraid she could not handle it alone.

However, Chengkai's worry was somewhat superfluous.

Not to mention that after experiencing everything, Cheng Danruo had listened to Banxia's advice and had long since found peace in her heart. Furthermore, having grown up in the escort agency, she had been influenced by what she saw and heard, and was long since able to handle all sorts of affairs with ease.

Moreover, there were many escorts in the agency, and there was even the master who had taught both Chengkai and Cheng Danruo since they were young. That was an old person; with her guarding the various decisions of the agency, she would naturally not let the agency fall into a predicament, and Cheng Danruo would not be at a disadvantage.

Seeing that all affairs in the agency were in perfect order and that Cheng Danruo had become even more steady than before, Chengkai finally felt at ease to leave.

Chengkai's arrival solved Lingxiang's momentary predicament.

Within Yuanqing, most of the Elders' disciples focused on inner cultivation of witchcraft, and even those who studied Talisman Arrays were few and far between. As for Martial Dao, most rarely improved after body tempering; they merely practiced diligently during evening lessons so as not to lose the hard work of many years.

However, Chengkai was different.

If one were to speak of comprehensive cultivation, Xin Yi was indeed a good choice. But for one thing, his explosive power was extremely strong, yet he lacked staying power, so he was truly stretched thin for ring competitions. For another, his body movement relied mostly on the support of the Lu Family Secret Method; if it were a pure Martial Dao competition, he might not necessarily have an advantage in body movement, but if it were a witchcraft competition, he would find it difficult to win in a single move.

Chengkai had grown up in an escort agency since he was a child and was naturally skilled in body movement. He could master all kinds of weapons with extreme speed, and he had a unique understanding of Martial Dao, so he was naturally the only candidate for this Martial Dao contest.

Since Lieyang Zhenren had not brought any Outer Disciples this time, Huiyan suggested not to involve the Yuanqing Outer Disciples. Lingxiang was noncommittal.

In Lingxiang's view, although what the Outer Disciples practiced was mostly Daoist inner cultivation and body tempering, and their techniques were not entirely the sect's true teachings, some disciples were indeed excellent. It was just that they lacked a bit of luck during the martial arts exercises, and their temperaments needed some tempering, which was why they were placed in the Outer Sect by the sect.

One couldn't say that Outer Disciples were inferior to others, could one?

After the incident with Huiwu, Lingxiang had told these disciples that they could not resign themselves to their fate just because of where they were. Some difficulties were only temporary, while others were merely tempering for reaching the peak.

Although the sect established an Inner Sect and an Outer Sect, it never treated them differently. The purpose of its establishment was merely to let these disciples who had a heart for the Daoist Sect make up for what they currently lacked. If they could temper their temperaments and exercise their will here, they would also be able to achieve great things in the future.

The world of mortals is full of suffering; sentient beings can look up at the starry river even while in the gutter, let alone those who practice the Dao?

For the first round of martial cultivation, Lingxiang planned to let Long Qi, Chengkai, and Xin Yi fight. For one thing, the three of them mostly practiced body movement skills; for another, she was relatively familiar with the three of them, so handling the first round should not be a problem.

Xin Yi felt that the Taishang Sect had sent two Inner Sect Disciples to compete, while the three of them were all master-taught disciples, which was somewhat unreasonable. Lingxiang, however, said that such a choice of candidates was very appropriate.

"Speaking of master-taught disciples, I find it strange. Since you say you and Long Qi are my personal disciples, then let me ask you: my Qingwei Peak's alchemy is unique, have you two learned even a little?"

Hearing this, both Long Qi and Xin Yi shook their heads.

The Yuanqing Sect Leader and the eight Elders each indeed had their own strengths. Except for Elders Danyang and Danzhu who had never taken disciples, the disciples personally taught by the other Elders had learned a thing or two of their respective masters' skills.

Take Chengkai for example: Zhaoming Zhenren specialized in array techniques. Although Chengkai was skilled in weapons and Martial Dao, he had also learned many array secret methods from his master, and even that Thunderbolt Staff Technique of his had been infused with many array methods.

But what about Long Qi and Xin Yi?

For Lingxiang, she herself was not skilled in Martial Dao. Long Qi was one thing—he was the one who had pestered her at Youran Abode, which was why Lingxiang had reluctantly accepted him. But Xin Yi and Rendong were different.

At the time, Lingxiang had perceived Xin Yi's background and his relationship with Bai Wuchang. To resolve Xin Yi's inner knot and to prevent him from going astray and harming Yuanqing, she had decided to take him into Qingwei Peak. For one thing, it was to keep Xin Yi by her side for easy monitoring; for another, Lingxiang always felt that the destruction of the Long, Lu, and Qiao families was because of her mother, so she felt guilty and wanted to make some compensation.

As for Rendong, it could be considered a case of shared misfortune. During the examination of Spirit Roots at Wuji Hall, among the fifteen disciples, only Rendong fell behind others. Based on his False Spiritual Root aptitude, not to mention mediocre, if one called it unlucky, it was the unluckiest of them all. Although Rendong did not show it on his face at the time, his eyes dimmed for that instant. Lingxiang saw it and truly felt empathy, which was why she took him into Qingwei.

Lingxiang did not blindly teach the three of them; instead, she chose methods suitable for each person based on their individual strengths.

Long Qi was skilled in strength, and his heavy sword was a family heirloom, so she mostly taught him the method of Guiding Spirit into Artifact; Xin Yi was skilled in surprise attacks and had agile body movement, but was lacking in witchcraft, so Lingxiang ordered him to study witchcraft theory; as for Rendong, Lingxiang had put in a lot of effort, from personally crafting magic tools to having him taught by Zhuzhang Laoren, which was why Rendong had his current set of skills.

It must be said that in terms of being a master, Lingxiang was a good one.

But...

"Then let me ask again: you say I am your master, but when you first entered my Qingwei Peak, did you kowtow?"

Long Qi and Xin Yi shook their heads again.

"Then did you offer tea?"

Xin Yi shook his head again, while Long Qi wore a look of astonishment—wasn't this the excuse he had used to fob off Wuwei Laozu back then?

"Then I find it strange. You haven't learned a single bit of my signature skills, nor have you performed the full apprenticeship rituals of offering tea and kowtowing, so what kind of Qingwei Peak disciples are you?"

This was indeed correct, and even Xin Yi could not refute it.

Ever since the three of them moved into Xianyun Abode, they mostly interacted as friends in their daily lives. Although Lingxiang was always bossing them around, she had never put on the airs of a master.

To call them disciples—whoever looked at it would say it didn't make sense. If one really had to say what status they had when they went to Qingwei Peak, looking back now, it was more like servants—the three of them did all the work, while Lingxiang was happy to point fingers from the sidelines, never even lifting a finger herself.

Back at Wuji Hall, Lingxiang had disregarded the opposition of all the Elders and insisted on taking the two highly talented Long Qi and Xin Yi. Besides compensation and monitoring, she had indeed harbored the intention of having them do the hard labor, only Lingxiang had never explicitly stated this.

Just kidding, if others found out about this, would her face as Fucang Elder still be intact?

At the thought of this, Lingxiang could not help but sigh in her heart—her damned vanity!

To avoid exposing her inner thoughts, Lingxiang hurriedly shrank her head and said with a straight face: "Since you don't count as my Qingwei Peak disciples, and you haven't kowtowed to other Elders, then you are Inner Sect Disciples. Although you did learn skills at my Qingwei Peak, that was only receiving instruction from me temporarily; it doesn't count as you being my disciples. Those Inner Sect Disciples are personally taught by the Sect Leader; when they go out, can they say they are the personal disciples of Shangqing Zhenren of the Yuanqing Sect?"

Furthermore, back at Wuji Hall, to avoid trouble, Qianyuan Zhenren had also said that the two were temporarily entrusted to Lingxiang, not taken under her wing. It was just that seeing the three of them improve in cultivation, and with no other Elders bringing it up, it had been left alone.

Lingxiang was following the instructions of her Manager; she was very obedient!

Hearing this, Long Qi looked full of admiration. As expected of the woman he had chosen, twisting logic and spouting nonsense was something she could do with ease; after a string of fallacies, there was truly not a single flaw.

As for Chengkai, he had been in a state of astonishment from beginning to end, with only one thought in his heart: sophistry, could it really be played like this?

As an honest man, what could he possibly know? The games Lingxiang plays are far more than just these! It is only because he has spent little time with Lingxiang that he has yet to witness her true "talents."

Chengkai was still astonished when he heard Lingxiang say in a tone that took it for granted:

"Since no rules have been broken, then what are you waiting for? Get ready for the tournament; if you lose and bring shame upon Yuanqing, I will not spare you!"