Childlike Heart

Boom!

A vast pressure descended upon Shushan Main Peak. The crowd that had been clamoring before the hall, along with the Shushan elders and disciples inside, fell silent as graveyards.

The whole of Shushan Main Peak trembled slightly, the sea of clouds churned, and purple qi came from the east for three thousand li!

The souls of some outsiders who had never seen such a sight trembled.

A figure appeared out of thin air in the seat of honor in Shushan's main hall. His hair and beard were gray, and he had an immortal bearing. He wore a Daoist robe patterned with a taiji yin-yang diagram, and his profound eyes were like the vast stars.

The old man waved his sleeve, and the terrifying pressure enveloping Shushan Main Peak vanished in an instant, as though swallowed by a whale.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!"

"Greetings, Sect Leader!"

Shushan's many deeply cultivated elders all bowed respectfully to the old man in the seat of honor.

Taiyuan True Person, the twenty-seventh sect leader of Shushan and its strongest fighter as far as anyone knew, had already been a Dao Palace Realm cultivator three thousand years ago!

"Changye, has there been any turmoil in Xiazhou while I was in seclusion?"

"Reporting to the sect leader, all is peaceful in Xiazhou. Only the Desolate Province seems to be in some turmoil, which has affected our Xiazhou to some extent... I will report the details to you later, Sect Leader."

"Mm. Changsheng, after a hundred years apart, your cultivation has improved considerably. But for a cultivator, building a cart behind closed doors is a great taboo. It is very good that you overcame your inner demon and emerged from seclusion."

Taiyuan True Person's piercing gaze swept over Lu Changsheng, seeing through his cultivation completely.

Yet even with Taiyuan True Person's cultivation, he did not know that the soul of this disciple had been replaced by another person's.

Taiyuan True Person exchanged a few pleasantries with several other elders, then slowly said, "Since the other elders are all here, apart from those in seclusion, let the Apprentice-Selection Ceremony begin."

"Yes."

"By order of the sect leader, the Apprentice-Selection Ceremony begins!"

Li Changye's voice boomed like thunder, echoing across Shushan Main Peak. The more than ten thousand mortals waiting to have their aptitude tested all grew solemn.

A cultivator at the Great Completion of the Dao Palace Realm was someone they could look up to for their entire lives.

A square mirror flew out of the main hall, grew larger in the wind, and hovered above the square in front of the hall, emitting an astonishing amount of Spiritual Qi.

"That is Shushan's low-grade immortal artifact—the Guts-Illuminating Mirror!"

"It can test physique, comprehension, and fortune. It is truly wondrous beyond compare. Shushan has been blessed with talent in every generation precisely because of the Guts-Illuminating Mirror."

"Shushan's foundation truly is unfathomable."

Some of the old servants who had accompanied their young masters to Shushan were well-traveled and knowledgeable, and they cried out in astonishment.

A low-grade immortal artifact was something even an immortal cultivator might never see in a lifetime, let alone a mortal.

Shushan's Outer Sect Disciples maintained order as the crowd divided into groups of ten and approached the Guts-Illuminating Mirror in turn to have their aptitude tested.

Every one of them was extremely nervous. If they became Shushan disciples, especially inner disciples, they would set foot on the path of immortal cultivation. Their fortunes in life would change as well, and they would no longer be mortals.

Among the crowd were no shortage of Aristocratic Clan disciples, princes, commandery princesses, and Rogue Cultivators.

"Cai Zhiyin, middling Root Bone, low comprehension, low fortune, third level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Unqualified."

"Lin Chunping, high Root Bone, middling comprehension, middling fortune, fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Qualified."

"Chen Ruyi, low Root Bone, high comprehension, high fortune, sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Qualified."

The Guts-Illuminating Mirror revealed each person's aptitude. Anyone with two low ratings had no chance of pursuing the immortal path.

Those who qualified could become Shushan Outer Sect Disciples. Only if the sect leader or an elder took them as an apprentice could they become inner disciples.

Lu Changsheng activated the Apprentice-Teaching Simulator's search function, and his invisible Divine Sense spread over Shushan Main Peak. Everyone's aptitude was laid bare except for that of Sect Leader Taiyuan True Person.

It was not just Root Bone, comprehension, and fortune. Lu Changsheng could also see things that even the Guts-Illuminating Mirror could not.

Lu Changsheng looked toward his senior brother Li Changye. The Apprentice-Teaching Simulator in his sea of consciousness burst with brilliant golden light, and Li Changye's information appeared in his mind.

[Li Changye]

[Innate gifts: Myriad Desolations Indestructible Body, fire Spirit Root, loses every bet]

[Cultivation: ninth level of the Dao Palace Realm]

[Dao bone: 500 years]

As expected of the personal disciple Shushan's sect leader Taiyuan True Person valued most, he had reached the ninth level of the Dao Palace Realm after only 500 years of cultivation, just half a step away from the Void Refinement Realm.

Senior Brother actually has a special physique, the Myriad Desolations Indestructible Body... But for someone with his cultivation to lose every bet, it seems his fortune isn't very good...

Lu Changsheng secretly examined his senior brother Li Changye's innate gifts. Li Changye was exceptionally talented, but there was no way Lu Changsheng could take him as an apprentice.

Lu Changsheng shook his head and swept his Divine Sense over the mortals being tested below, searching for a suitable apprentice.

The more his apprentice's cultivation improved, the richer the Apprentice-Teaching Simulator's rewards would be.

Training one Nascent Soul Realm disciple was far better than training a hundred Qi Transformation Realm disciples. The greater a disciple's innate gifts, the faster they cultivated, so it was better to go without than settle for less.

Zhu Shuangshu, middling Root Bone, low comprehension, low fortune, no special physique. No good, no good.

Chu Feiyan, high Root Bone, high comprehension, high fortune, no special physique. She can definitely become an Outer Sect Disciple, and an elder might even be willing to take her as an inner disciple.

Li Gang, damn, a Heavenly Sha Lone Star?!

Lu Changsheng saw that a mortal named Li Gang actually had the innate gift "Heavenly Sha Lone Star."

The Heavenly Sha Lone Star fate did not affect the person himself, but brought extreme misfortune upon those around him.

With an apprentice like that, he might not live to see next year.

"Xiao Xiangdao, superior Root Bone, superior comprehension, high fortune, third level of the Qi Transformation Realm, possesses a special physique—the Spirit Sword Body!"

The Shushan elders who were searching for disciples suddenly erupted with excitement.

The Guts-Illuminating Mirror shook violently, revealing three golden ancient seal-script characters: "Spirit Sword Body"!

Even Taiyuan True Person was moved by this.

A special physique meant exceptionally high aptitude.

Eldest Senior Brother Li Changye had almost no equal in the same realm thanks to his Myriad Desolations Indestructible Body.

"That is Xiao Xiangdao, the third prince of the Liang Kingdom!"

"I never expected a Spirit Sword Body to be born into the Liang Kingdom's imperial family!"

"Shushan's incense offerings are flourishing indeed! With a Spirit Sword Body among this generation's disciples, in a thousand years, this person will surely become a pillar of Shushan!"

An uproar broke out among those waiting for their aptitude tests.

A special physique was found in less than one in ten million.

"With no sword in hand but a sword in the heart, comprehending the sword Dao is as easy for someone with a Spirit Sword Body as eating and drinking is for a mortal."

Li Changye looked at Xiao Xiangdao with his hands behind his back, seemingly full of admiration for the youth.

The Shushan elders' eyes burned with desire. They all wanted to take Xiao Xiangdao as a disciple; he was an uncut jade rarely found in a thousand years.

Yet no one dared offer to take Xiao Xiangdao as an apprentice.

The reason was simple: an uncut jade could not be carved without a skilled craftsman, or it would only be a reckless waste of heaven's gifts.

Everyone turned in unison to look at Taiyuan True Person. It seemed he was the only one here capable of training someone with a Spirit Sword Body.

"I have gained some insight in recent days and must go into seclusion for a time. Shushan's affairs will be entrusted to your Eldest Senior Brother in my stead. As for this Xiao Xiangdao, Changye, you may take him as your apprentice."

"Me?"

"Only Eldest Senior Brother is suitable."

"Yes, yes."

The Shushan elders were all wholeheartedly convinced of Eldest Senior Brother Li Changye's abilities, so they had no objection to Taiyuan True Person's decision.

Apart from Taiyuan True Person and the old monsters secluded on the Rear Mountain, Eldest Senior Brother Li Changye was the one qualified to take a Spirit Sword Body as an apprentice.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the Spirit Sword Body, a rarity seen once in a thousand years, Lu Changsheng's Apprentice-Teaching Simulator found a plain, unassuming youth in the crowd.

Innate gift: Childlike Heart!!