Chapter 378: Thoughts Across the Board

Entering the Primordial state is easy, but upgrading one's martial will is hard.

Lin Chen made a judgment in his heart.

One knows one's own situation best—his destiny granted him protection, so he had no fear of failing to break through to Primordial.

As for his own master, he must have been confident in helping him ascend to Primordial, or he wouldn't have sent him to choose the Canglan Secret Realm.

"Alright, now back to the two things you most need to do right now: one, ascend to Primordial; two, keep climbing your ranking on Mount Dengwudao."

"With your current strength, you should easily enter the top hundred on Mount Dengwudao. Once you reach the top hundred, stop—everyone in the top hundred are super geniuses from various sects, and the top thirty have already entered the Primordial realm."

All the top thirty are Primordial cultivators?

Lin Chen's pupils contracted—he hadn't been wrong to say Yanhuang Empire was formidable; there were thirty Primordial cultivators under twenty years old.

"Master, does our sect have any Primordial cultivators on Mount Dengwudao?"

"Yes."

Du Du Xiaofeng smiled: "This year's inner disciple Open Seeing Qiao Yuan has already entered Primordial—he's ranked fourth among this year's inner disciples. If not for you, by the end of the inner disciple grand competition, Open Seeing Qiao Yuan would've been a hotly contested prize among the Elders."

"Lin Lin Shixiong Open Qiao has entered Primordial and is still only fourth among inner disciples?"

Lin Chen was surprised—shouldn't the top-ranked one have a higher ranking on Mount Dengwudao?

"Don't fall into a misconception. Mount Dengwudao only allows cultivators under twenty to enter. Some inner disciples are over twenty and can't enter anymore, but that doesn't mean they're weak."

"I apologize, Master—I misjudged."

Lin Chen smiled. He'd indeed been biased—he'd assumed too much. Mount Dengwudao only permits those under twenty, but Canglan Sect's inner disciples have no age limit.

According to what he'd learned from Senior Gao, inner disciples served for ten years—once admitted, they remained inner disciples for a decade unless they reached Primordial Stage Two, in which case they'd be promoted to an Hu Hu Zhishi.

But that didn't mean they could rest easy. Outer disciples had a grand competition every three years; the top ten became inner disciples. If adding those ten pushed the inner disciple count past three thousand, the bottom ten inner disciples would have to fight the new ten. The losers would lose their inner disciple status.

Losing inner disciple status meant being expelled from the sect. Once exiled, one was essentially abandoned—the sect would no longer provide any martial resources; one had to secure them alone, and one's treatment would be worse than even an outer disciple's.

"Later, Gao Zemin will take you to choose your quarters. Though you're my disciple, Canglan Sect has designated residential zones—even direct disciples can't be exempt."

"If you have any questions about the sect, ask Gao Zemin directly. For now, keep challenging on Mount Dengwudao. I'll prepare the water-element energy and items you need to break through to Primordial—I guarantee you'll succeed without a hitch."

Hearing his master's words, Lin Chen wanted to say he only needed water-element energy to break through—but he realized this was his master's care, so he didn't refuse.

"Then I'll take my leave, Master."

……

……

Not far from his master's courtyard, Lin Chen spotted Gao Zemin waiting—he hurried forward several steps.

"Senior Gao."

"Finished talking with Du Zhanglao?"

"Yes. Master told me to follow you to my quarters."

"Come with me. The inner disciples' residence is some distance from here."

Gao Zemin wasn't surprised. As an Elder, Du wouldn't personally escort Lin Chen to the disciples' quarters. Usually, a new disciple was guided by an Hu Hu Zhishi or senior brother.

He'd been the one to bring Lin Chen in, and he'd heard the uproar Lin Chen caused—he wanted to extend this favor and had waited here in advance.

"Lin Brother, today you've caused quite a stir in the sect—all inner disciples are talking about you, wondering who exactly you are."

"Senior Gao—"

"Don't call me 'my lord.' I'm only a few… several decades older than you. Just call me Lin Lin Shixiong."

Lin Chen: …

……

……

Following Gao Zemin to his quarters, Lin Chen realized Gao wasn't flattering him—his name was truly spreading like wildfire among inner disciples.

Though Elders wouldn't publicly discuss his direct disciple examination, several disciples had been present that day and later spread the news.

Scoring over two hundred in the direct disciple examination…

These two pieces of news shocked all the inner-disciple students; they did not reach the outer-disciple students because there was a strict hierarchy between inner and outer disciples, and the inner-disciples naturally would not discuss this matter with the outer-disciples.

These two pieces of news shocked every inner disciple. They hadn't reached outer disciples because of the strict hierarchy between inner and outer disciples—inner disciples wouldn't gossip about such matters to outsiders.

"Here we are. This is where inner disciples live. This area is for direct disciples; the right rear section is for regular inner disciples."

Gao Zemin unfolded a map showing the direct disciples' residential zone.

"Lin Brother, the circles mark occupied courtyards; the uncircled ones are still vacant."

Lin Chen took the map, glanced over it. Over a hundred courtyards dotted the direct disciples' zone. Most in the front rows were circled. After scanning the uncircled ones, he chose the first courtyard in the second row from the back, on the left.

To the left of the courtyard lay a lake—quiet and peaceful. "Lin Lin Shixiong Gao, I'll take this one."

Gao Zemin was surprised Lin Chen picked a rear courtyard, but he quickly understood—the young man wanted to keep a low profile. Yet after today's direct disciple examination, how could he possibly stay quiet in the sect?

"Fine. I'll take you there."

The two arrived at the courtyard. Though unoccupied, the gate showed no dust. Inside, everything was immaculate—someone must have cleaned it regularly.

As Gao Zemin led Lin Chen inside, not far away, three young men sat in a courtyard.

"Just saw Senior Gao bring someone in—that must be Lin Chen."

All three young men were direct disciples. They'd witnessed the celestial phenomena above the sect today and had been informed immediately by inner disciples below.

"What's he like?"

"Looks unremarkable."

"Unremarkable?" The middle-aged youth shook his head. "If he were unremarkable, how could he have scored two hundred and three?"

"Senior Zhu, even if his exam score was high, it doesn't concern us—he's not even a Primordial cultivator."

All three present had entered Primordial years ago.

"Normally, it wouldn't matter—but don't forget, the Canglan Secret Realm opens in half a year."

"The Canglan Secret Realm opens in six months. Lin Chen might barely break into Primordial by then—he won't get a spot, right?"

"Wrong. If you miss this chance, you'll have to wait five more years. If you were Du Zhanglao, would you fight the sect for a spot for Lin Chen?"

Hearing Zhu Tao's words, the other two grew serious. If they were Du Zhanglao, they'd absolutely fight for Lin Chen a spot.

"But will the Sect Master agree?"

"Scored over two hundred, perfect potential—if I were Sect Master, I'd agree without hesitation."

Zhu Tao's eyes gleamed. Direct disciples had their own hierarchy, but to the Sect Master, what mattered most wasn't their current strength—it was their potential.

Most direct disciples would never rise beyond Primordial Stage Three or Four; only a few reached Stage Five.

The Sect Master didn't care much about temporary strength differences.

But a disciple like Lin Chen—with maximum potential—would earn the Sect Master's special attention and preferential treatment.

"So what should we do?"

"Wait."

"Wait?"

"Someone else is more desperate. Spread the news that Lin Chen has moved in to Fang Lin Shidi."

Hearing Zhu Tao's words, the other two young men smiled—they understood his meaning.

The most desperate one right now was Fang Lin Shidi.

Fang Lin Shidi became a direct disciple a year before Lin Chen and had surely been counting on this year's Canglan Secret Realm spot. But each opening had a fixed ten spots.

If the sect gave Lin Chen a spot, it would displace one. Fang Lin Shidi was the most likely to be displaced.

After all, Fang Lin Shidi became a direct disciple late and still hadn't broken into Primordial.

……

……

"Lin Chen has moved in?"

Fang Ming listened to the inner disciple's report, his eyes gleaming. He didn't know the Sect Master had already granted Lin Chen a Canglan Secret Realm spot—but like Zhu Tao, he could imagine how much the sect valued Lin Chen.

"As a senior brother, I must pay a visit to my new junior."

Fang Ming smiled at the reporting inner disciple: "Lead me to Lin Lin Shidi."

Just as the inner disciple turned toward the courtyard gate, Fang Ming suddenly froze, frowned, then said: "Leave for now. I'll call you back later."

"Yes."

Though the inner disciple didn't understand why Fang Brother had stopped, he obeyed and left the courtyard—but he didn't leave the direct disciples' zone. Instead, he headed toward another courtyard.

"Who's challenging me on Mount Dengwudao now? Let's see which poor fool it is."

Fang Ming's ranking on Mount Dengwudao wasn't high—not because his strength was weak, but because he'd been focused on breaking into Primordial and hadn't cared about challenges.

Otherwise, his rank could've risen thousands of places.

(End of Chapter)