Chapter 4 (2/2)
The old man calmly spoke. Without giving the disciples any time to consider what he just said, he rode his rainbow and disappeared into the horizon.
“As expected of such power from the Emperor’s Heaven Sect! The selection of disciples is so strict! So many hurdles!”
“Of course! I’ve heard that even after you become an inner disciple, there’ll be another competition, something like a battle for core disciples. Currently, the Emperor’s Heaven Sect only has seven core disciples. One for each peak!”
“I’ve also heard that the core disciples’ cultivation bases are beyond strong, and they’re absolutely loyal to the sect. Only core disciples have the qualifications to become an elder, a supreme elder, or even a saint, and then the sect leader, controlling the entire Emperor’s Heaven Sect.”
After Elder Chuanfa had left, the atmosphere grew more relaxed. Hearing their chatter, Jiang Xiaofan held his tongue. Out of a hundred, only seven would become inner disciples. Out of the entire sect, only seven were core disciplines. Jeez, this was tougher than the infamous gaokao[1]!
“Let’s go, Xiaofan. We need to pick a nice place.”
As he was spacing out, the smell of light perfume from nearby filled his nostrils. Ye Yuanxue dragged him towards the bases of the nearby peaks. At that moment, naughty thoughts wandered through his mind. The others were stunned after they had noticed Ye Yuanxue’s unparalleled beauty. They looked at Jiang Xiaofan with admiration and envy.
Not long after, the two of them stopped at a place filled with cherry trees, its petals pink in color and faint fragrance permeating the air. Green grass and colorful blossoms painted the landscape.
Naturally, Ye Yuanxue was very fond of this place. Jiang Xiaofan mentally told himself that he must build a small hut, big enough so that he could live with the beauty under one roof. This was something that he could have never dreamed of. He had to put in his best effort and perhaps, something wonderful might even arise out of this.
“What a beautiful scenery!”
Around this time, a group of brightly dressed young disciples walked behind them. Among one of them was a bewitching female who sighed. Her name was Liu Ruyan, daughter of the Jade Moon Palace’s leader. Jade Moon Palace was a small sect, incomparable to the Emperor’s Heaven Sect. Three months ago, she had been sent here to secretly cultivate.
Taking notice of her expression, a youth beside her lightly chuckled, “Shimei, if you want to meditate here, I’ll make those two people hand it over to you.”
“But I can see that they like this place too. I don’t think they’d agree, right?”
“It’s simple. I’ll have a talk with them. I believe they will agree.” The young man was confident.
“That’s right, Shimei. Just rest easy. If it’s Zhu Gongzi[2] up for the task, you’ll be bound to feel satisfied. There isn’t anyone beneath a core disciple who will dare to not give face to Zhu Gongzi.”
Besides the youth from before and the female, there were two other men in their twenties. They were outer disciples from the previous selection but haven’t ascended to inner disciple status yet. In addition, they also came from smaller sects to discreetly cultivate.
The Emperor’s Heaven Sect wasn’t concerned about these disciples learning their techniques because the most powerful cultivation techniques wouldn’t be passed onto them. In that way, there would be no harm done unto the sect and rather, the sect could benefit from these disciples.
The young man who had spoken those confident words strode up to them, revealing a surprised look when he saw Ye Yuanxue. He gazed at her for a long while until she grew flustered before finally turning his head away.
A mysterious gleam flashed in his eyes. He briefly glanced at Ye Yuanxue again and then gestured a fist salute at Jiang Xiaofan. “I am Zhu Youwei, the elder cousin of Zhu Xidao, one of the Emperor’s Heaven Sect’s core disciples. Would you be willing to give this piece of land to Ruyan Shimei and me?”
He loudly declared his background not just to Jiang Xiaofan but also to Ye Yuanxue. As long as Jiang Xiaofan wasn’t stupid, he should be able to understand the meaning behind his words. The best of both worlds would be to acquire this piece of land and have another beautiful girl in his other arm.
“Sorry but we like this place as well. Please kindly go somewhere else.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Xiaofan rejected him.
After hearing Jiang Xiaofan’s rejection, Zhu Youwei’s expression turned ugly. Within this sect, who didn’t know of Zhu Xidao? Except for the core disciplines, elders, and those ranked above, no one else dared to show disrespect towards him. As his cousin, few people within the sect gave him trouble. Not to mention, he was an inner disciple.
“But I really want this land here!”
His eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward, pressuring Jiang Xiaofan.
“Deepest apologies. We have already chosen this place, so we will not give it up.” Jiang Xiaofan shook his head.
Since Jiang Xiaofan didn’t budge, he grew sullen. His eyes were cold, and he icily replied, “I’m a very persistent person. Within the Emperor’s Heaven Sect, there is nothing that I can’t get.”
Jiang Xiaofan had never imagined that there could be such an imperious person would exist in a sect. Since Zhu Youwei was being domineering, Jiang Xiaofan no longer bothered to be courteous towards him. He shrugged his shoulders and halfheartedly responded, “Oh yeah? Let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve then.”
As the incident was unfolding, everyone around the commotion sensed that something was amiss, and they all turned to watch. When they discovered that someone in the sect had defied Zhu Youwei’s wish, they were stunned but revealed expressions of eagerness in anticipation of a good show.
Editor: Vis
Footnotes