Chapter 617: Gathering to Accept Disciples

Everyone was still discussing when a streak of flowing light flew in from outside, entering the room and hovering in midair.

This is a flying sword that looks quite ordinary.

All the elders stood up; the flying sword trembled, and the sword's cry formed a gentle voice: "The master already knows of this, but it's fine to accept—treat it normally."

"We obey the sect leader's decree." Everyone spoke in unison.

The flying sword turned back into a golden streak, shot up into the sky, and vanished.

"Then let it be so." Elder Hun nodded and departed first.

That flying sword belongs to the sect leader of the Qingtian Sword Sect; "Flying Sword Transmission" is considered the sect leader's special method, often used for communication.

As for the master mentioned by the sect leader, that is the Divine Lord Yue Wushuang.

Since Yue Wushuang already knows of this matter, it proves there's no need for them to worry at all.

That Tang Xuanzang is a genius twelve times beyond even the most obsessed sword fanatic.

"After Tang Xuanzang entered the inner door, his master..." Elder Mo began to say.

Several Nascent Soul elders exchanged glances, wearing expressions of wanting to snatch a disciple but hesitating to speak up.

Entering the inner door is equivalent to pursuing a master's or doctorate degree; most disciples will take a master.

They are divided into nominal disciples, inner door disciples, and true transmission disciples.

The difference naturally lies in whether the master values them.

Someone like Tang Luo, who completely transcends common sense, these elders certainly all want to take him as a disciple.

Elder Hun is solitary and reclusive, coming and going alone; up to now, he has never taken a single disciple and has no interest in doing so.

But these elders are different.

It just so happens that Elder Mo, a cultivator at the God Transformation stage, is here—so even if they wanted to compete, they couldn't match him.

As for Yu Tiangang, he no longer has such thoughts.

Taking in a genius disciple, nurturing them, and having them surpass the master in cultivation later on is not shameful at all—on the contrary, it is highly honorable.

The relationship between a true transmission disciple and their master can even surpass that of a father and son by blood—many cultivators have no descendants, and their disciples become their heirs in the lineage.

If they do have descendants, but those descendants turn out to be disappointing...

This has happened before: a master, for the sake of a true transmission disciple, would abandon their own unworthy yet restless son—such things have occurred.

But now Tang Luo's cultivation equals that of Yu Tiangang, and even surpasses it.

Yu Tiangang even went to beg someone to take him as a master—how could such a thing possibly happen?

Even if Yu Tiangang has thick skin, given Tang Xuanzang's nature, he would only disdain him as too weak.

This brat dared to look down on others during foundation establishment—let alone now that he has reached golden core.

"Don't look at me." Elder Mo smiled gently, "To be honest, it's not us choosing disciples now—he's choosing his master."

Everyone froze for a moment—yeah, such a genius, how could they possibly decide behind closed doors?

Never mind whether the other party agrees.

Even if they did agree, there would likely be a horde of peers rushing to the door, radiating fury, declaring: "I'm stronger than you—what right do you have to be his master?"

Things are exactly as Elder Mo said.

When the news spread that "Tang Xuanzang achieved golden core in one month, and even possesses a new supreme sword intent above the power sword intent,"

he immediately became the object of contention among all the elders.

Moreover, limited only to God Transformation elders, because the Nascent Soul elders have clearly realized they cannot compete with those at the God Transformation stage.

Tang Luo's residence in the inner door often sees sword light falling down—it can be said to be very lively.

Occasionally, one can even hear the sounds of battle.

At first, everyone thought something had happened, rushed over to inquire, and found it was merely two God Transformation elders who happened to bump into each other.

Each unwilling to yield, to prove they were stronger and more suitable to have Tang Luo take them as master, they "started fighting."

This is the first time in the sect's history that God Transformation elders have fought over a disciple.

Though those two God Transformation elders were never on good terms, it's not hard to understand.

After that, the door opened, and the situation suddenly changed.

The elders realized that merely talking wouldn't convince Tang Xuanzang, so they began openly displaying their strength.

Back and forth, many elders started showing off their skills in Tang Luo's courtyard.

By now, everyone has grown accustomed to it—some even guess which two elders are sparring today, or which one is showing off.

After all, coming to take Tang Luo as a disciple isn't a guaranteed thing, so everyone still tries to conceal their identity.

Although by now everyone knows, most God Transformation sword cultivators in the sect have already joined the rush to take disciples.

Only a few elders who don't take disciples, or feel their sword path is entirely different from Tang Luo's, remain quiet—but they still show mild concern.

And above the God Transformation stage, the Void Refining stage consists of the sect's supreme elders.

The supreme elders have long stopped taking disciples—even if someone like Tang Luo, a super-genius, appears, they won't come out of seclusion to disturb the sect's foundation.

Including the relatively active Divine Lord Yue Wushuang, who has shown no reaction to this.

Time passed like this for nearly a month, and Tang Xuanzang's master remains undecided.

Another major event in the Qingtian Sword Sect: the outer door grand competition is about to begin.

The outer door grand competition occurs every two years, coinciding with the sect's time to recruit new disciples—timing perfectly before the recruitment period.

The competition includes various formats, such as arena fights, obstacle courses, "dungeon trials," etc.

Those who perform outstandingly in the grand competition can become inner door disciples.

Some disciples, though unable to become inner door disciples, can become squad leaders or team leaders—from then on, they rise in status, transforming from trainees into instructors.

They go on to train the next batch of new disciples.

As for those who cannot advance nor become squad or team leaders, they should just continue training obediently.

If I endure a few more years of hardship and it still doesn't work out, I'll switch to some menial role, and from then on, I'll abandon the thought of becoming an inner sect disciple, continuing my cultivation, and striving for the peak of life.

Maintaining such a large sect definitely requires a large number of such roles.

It's impossible for everyone to focus solely on cultivation there.

The outer sect grand competition certainly counts as a major event for the Qing Tian Sword Sect, although it pales in comparison to the inner sect grand competition held once every ten years.

Many high-level sword cultivators will also appear, even the sect leader might show up.

One reason is to observe the future pillars of the sect; another is to select promising seedlings and pre-arrange taking them as disciples.

But this time, the outer sect grand competition has attracted almost no attention; if not for Yu Tiangang's conscientious effort and his order, the competition might even be postponed until after the sect's recruitment.

The reason is simple: another major event has drawn the attention of the entire sect.

That is the "Elder Grand Competition"!

Here's how it happened: for nearly a month, everyone has been competing over Tang Luo's affiliation, yet still cannot determine it.

Tang Xuanzang, who had always refused to take a master, finally made it clear: he doesn't unwilling to take a master, but only wishes to take a true master of strength.

Though his words were polite, the implication was clear: he looks down on these God Transformation elders as not strong enough.

Good kid!

What kind of figures are these God Transformation elders? They immediately couldn't hold back: previously, when we slightly sparred, was it you who misunderstood, right?

This time, I'll let you understand what a God Transformation sword cultivator is—I guarantee you'll beg me to take you as a disciple after seeing it.

One God Transformation elder spoke boldly, and the elder beside him couldn't hold back either: "What are you pretending for! You're clearly someone I defeated!"

"Pah, that was 185 years ago, and it was only off by one move—now I'm not the same as I was back then!"

"I'm far stronger than you!"

Back and forth, a group of God Transformation elders refused to yield to each other, all clamoring to prove they are the strongest.

Other God Transformation elders also refused to accept it: "You two, what qualifies you to decide who's strongest? Have you asked my sword?"

Thus, it became the current Elder Grand Competition.

Tang Xuanzang's master must be someone only the strong are worthy of!

Faced with this situation, the sect leader remained silent for a few seconds, then waved his hand broadly—not only did he not stop it, but he expressed encouragement instead.

In the end, things just became this way.

It turned into an unprecedented prosperous era for the sect.

Know this: as one of the Seven Great Sects, the Qing Tian Sword Sect's God Transformation elders rarely get opportunities to act.

Friction with other sects is restrained below the God Transformation level; deploying Nascent Soul sword cultivators is already considered a serious matter.

The Void Refinement stage is the sect's foundation, its "seal-pact treasure."

Although God Transformation sword cultivators are inferior, they are still pledged not to be used first as "large-scale destructive weapons."

In normal friction, Nascent Soul sword cultivators are sufficient to decide the outcome.

The other six sects are the same.

Among the Seven Great Sects, the last time God Transformation sword cultivators acted publicly was eighty-six years ago—almost one and a half lifetimes of a mortal in this world.

Someone feels it might be due to recent slight turmoil among the Seven Great Sects.

The Qing Tian Sword Sect simply took this opportunity to display martial power and announce to the world that they have a super heavenly pride surpassing even the Sword Maniac's single-minded devotion.

The "Elder Grand Competition" is not open to outsiders, nor are outsiders invited to observe.

However, the news is not concealed, nor is its spread prohibited—clearly, there is such an intention.

Even some cultivators on good terms with the Qing Tian Sword Sect came running eagerly, intending to take a look… only to be opportunistically persuaded into becoming guest elders.

As the main party involved, Tang Luo expressed his innocence.

He truly only didn't want to take a master, wanted to delay a bit, planned to delay until finding a suitable time to break through to Nascent Soul, and then it would be settled.

Who would have thought it would lead to this—this blame doesn't belong to me.

No matter how you say it, a grand "Master-Accepting Assembly" was solemnly convened.

Eighteen God Transformation elders, after many many years, descended from their "observer" positions and became "combatants" once again.

At first, it was just clashing qi; now, however, there is a sense of nostalgic reflection.

On the high platform, sat several God Transformation elders who did not participate, such as the Soul Elder who doesn't take disciples, the Ink Elder who thought it over and ultimately gave up, and two other elders who had already taken in closed-door disciples.

Besides them, there were also two very conspicuous figures.

One of them is the current sect leader of the Qing Tian Sword Sect, wearing a purple-gold hairpin and dressed in equally luxurious purple-gold robes, appearing like an emperor.

His face is extraordinarily handsome, with a gentle and confident smile on it.

The Qing Tian Sect Leader, known to the outside world as Lei Yin Zongheng's Tianlei True Lord, Lei Zhengyang.

Beside him stands a man in simple gray-white robes, his hair casually scattered, appearing somewhat unrestrained.

At first glance, his appearance seems quite ordinary, but upon closer look, it seems as if there is a vortex within, making one feel deeply immersed, producing a sense of lofty mountains to be admired and boundless seas.

Lei Zhengyang's master, a Void Refinement powerhouse, and simultaneously one of the top three sword cultivators—Lord Yue Wushuang!