Chapter 303: Discussion

Twelve years later.

In a stone pavilion on Tianzhu Mountain, two cultivators, a man and a woman, sat beside a stone table, sipping tea and chatting.

In two white jade teacups, the tea was an unusually emerald green, its fragrance sharp and sweet; at the bottom of each cup floated a single flat tea leaf, shifting now golden, now pale silver, astonishingly strange.

"Senior Brother Xuan, I heard a new prodigy has emerged among this batch of recruits—not only an Ice Spirit Root, but its quality has reached the half-step supreme level."

The woman, appearing twenty-five or twenty-six, wore a pale white long dress, her features finely drawn; after sipping her tea, she smiled at the man across from her.

"Oh? Is that so? The Azure Dragon lineage has no Golden Core Ancestor—how dare they compete with the Black Tortoise lineage for a disciple?" The man, around forty, wore a gray robe; his features were ordinary, but his eyebrows were thick as swords; he looked slightly surprised.

"I've long heard Senior Brother has extraordinary composure, devoted solely to cultivation and blind to worldly affairs—truly accurate."

The woman in white smiled at him. "Though the Azure Dragon lineage has no Golden Core Ancestor, Senior Brother Zhang has finally broken through to Foundation Establishment late stage—he now has a faint chance to attempt Golden Core."

"I know about Senior Brother Zhang—he's already one hundred seventy or eighty, right? Even if he's reached Foundation Establishment late stage, to fully cultivate it will take at least thirty or forty more years; even if he finds longevity herbs to extend his life by a few decades, he'll likely get only one shot at Golden Core, and his vital energy is already withered—his chances are vanishingly slim." Senior Brother Xuan shook his head repeatedly.

"Even so, the Azure Dragon lineage now has backing; competing for a disciple against the Black Tortoise lineage is still feasible—after all, without a Golden Core, Foundation Establishment late stage is still sufficient." The woman in white smiled in reply.

"That's true. But with this new disciple's talent, he'll surely become an inner sect disciple—and perhaps even earn the status of True Disciple." Senior Brother Xuan nodded.

"That used to be true, but since our sect moved to Jingzhou, the resources we can obtain have drastically decreased; it's unlikely we can support another True Disciple unless a new True Disciple slot happens to open up." The young woman disagreed.

"I recall Senior Sister Min, having passed sixty without breaking through to Foundation Establishment mid-stage, stepped down from True Disciple status and became an inner sect elder—doesn't that free up a True Disciple slot?" Senior Brother Xuan thought for a moment.

"That True Disciple slot won't go to this boy—it's already been pre-assigned; the General Affairs Hall should announce it within these two days." The woman in white smiled lightly.

"This is serious—who among us can pre-assign a True Disciple? Could this new True Disciple be connected to our sect's Three Ancestors?" Senior Brother Xuan looked astonished.

"This new True Disciple has no connection to our Three Ancestors—but he's tied to the Thousand Bamboo Sect." The woman in white sighed.

"The Thousand Bamboo Sect? You mean that exchange program between our two sects' disciples?" Senior Brother Xuan immediately recalled something.

"Precisely. This exchange has been underway for over ten years, and now it's finally reached the True Disciple level." The woman in white spoke calmly.

"So our new True Disciple must be uniquely suited to learn one of the Thousand Bamboo Sect's powerful cultivation arts." Senior Brother Xuan fell into thought.

"Indeed. But the full details won't be known until the General Affairs Hall announces it. Besides the slot freed by Senior Sister Min, it seems another junior's True Disciple position may also be in jeopardy." The woman in white nodded slightly, then shifted her tone.

"Another person? Are you referring to that Qi Condensation-level Junior Wang?"

"That can't be right. Though ordinary disciples don't know, everyone in the upper echelons knows Junior Wang is a registered disciple of Senior Brother Tianchan—he'll become a true Golden Core Ancestor's direct disciple the moment he establishes his Foundation." Senior Brother Xuan shook his head again, clearly disbelieving.

"Junior Wang has held True Disciple status for over ten years, yet reportedly he hasn't even reached Qi Condensation peak—he's never attempted Foundation Establishment."

"Though our sect doesn't require True Disciples to establish their Foundation before a certain age, historically every True Disciple achieved it before thirty; Junior Wang has broken that record. Given the resources allocated to True Disciples, failing to establish before thirty is indeed hard to justify."

"Moreover, since becoming a True Disciple, he's never appeared in public. Fortunately, he's a weaponsmith—he fulfills his contribution point obligations entirely by crafting artifacts; otherwise, someone would have forced him to surrender his True Disciple status long ago."

"Now, I suspect some have lost patience and are preparing to band together and pressure him to relinquish his position." The woman in white spoke casually.

"Band together to pressure him? How bold—they fear no backlash from Senior Brother Tianchan?" Senior Brother Xuan stroked his short beard, then let out a cold laugh.

"It's said that since becoming a True Disciple, Junior Wang has never visited Senior Brother Tianchan's cave, and Senior Brother Tianchan has never summoned him again."

"Also, it's rumored that Junior Wang was taken as a registered disciple by Senior Brother Tianchan in Qi Condensation stage because he once saved Senior Sister Ximen's life." As she spoke, the woman in white's expression turned slightly strange.

"That explains it. Senior Sister Ximen's secret departure caused a huge uproar in the sect back then." Senior Brother Xuan murmured, his own expression likewise odd.

"We'd best not delve into Senior Sister Ximen's affairs, but it's almost certain that Junior Wang is no longer favored by Senior Brother Tianchan—that's why others are trying to strip him of his True Disciple status." The woman in white said.

"How exactly will they take it?"

"As far as I know, there are only two ways to seize another True Disciple's position: one is for the Elder Council and the Sect Master to jointly approve and petition a Golden Core Ancestor to issue a direct decree. Even if Junior Wang is no longer favored by Senior Brother Tianchan, he's still his nominal disciple—this route is impossible."

"That leaves only one option: have another disciple of the same level challenge him. If they win, Junior Wang himself would have no face remaining among the True Disciples." Senior Brother Xuan spoke as if to himself.

"Exactly. From what I've heard, they plan to use this method—but since Junior Wang is only Qi Condensation, they can only send Qi Condensation disciples to challenge him." The woman in white smiled sweetly.

"Heh, now this promises to be quite a spectacle."

"I've heard that although Junior Wang's cultivation talent is mediocre, he was once called the top Qi Condensation disciple—beating him will require some special tactics, surely." Senior Brother Xuan chuckled wryly.