The Contest for the Outer Branch Heavenly Master: The Heavenly Master Divine Seal in Jeopardy

Zhou Xuanzhen kept a straight face and ultimately did not lose his temper in public.

With the evidence laid bare, if he insists on expelling them, it will only make it seem like the Celestial Masters' Mansion is bullying its own kind.

He could only wave his hand, instructing the disciples to lead Xie Changming into the hall and place him among the other disciples.

The elders exchanged glances, all seeing a shadow in each other's eyes.

The ceremony continued.

Before long, one of the most important parts of the ceremony arrived... bringing out the Celestial Master Deputy Seal.

This secondary seal is a treasure made by several Celestial Masters of the Celestial Masters' Mansion's Mansion in later generations. Although it is far inferior to the real Heavenly Master Divine Seal, it is still quite remarkable.

The deputy seal is most sensitive to the Celestial Masters' Mansion's Mansion's techniques; it cannot be fooled by the purity of cultivation level, Dao Resonance, or foundation of the method.

For thousands of years, the Celestial Masters' Mansion has always maintained a rule that young disciples can step forward to try their luck at the thirtieth anniversary ceremony.

If even the secondary seal cannot be activated, there is absolutely no way to make the true Heavenly Master Divine Seal recognize its master.

The true Heavenly Master Divine Seal awakens only once every thirty years, and only one person is given the opportunity to try it.

That person will be chosen from among all the disciples in the hall.

To put it simply, this is both a trial and a competition.

Whoever can win the first place in front of the deputy seal will have the opportunity to knock on the real Heavenly Master Divine Seal.

Even just touching it is an incredible blessing.

The disciples in the hall were already eager to try their luck; those who were brought to participate in the ceremony were all outstanding young talents from various halls and courtyards of the mansion.

They held their breath and stepped forward one by one according to seniority.

The deputy seal was placed on a jade platform, with forty-nine ever-burning lamps beside it, their flames like swords pointing straight to the center of the sky.

Each disciple stepped forward, employing their most proficient Celestial Masters' Mansion techniques to exert their utmost effort in activating the secondary seal.

But the seal remained completely still, not even a glimmer of light appeared.

The examination for deputy seals is still ongoing.

One by one, the young disciples in the hall stepped forward, and then one by one silently retreated.

The deputy seal remained quietly resting on the jade platform, as if asleep.

The atmosphere in the hall only began to liven up a little when it came to the most promising disciples of this generation.

"Senior Brother Zhao, we must activate it."

"Senior Brother Sun, the Celestial Masters' Mansion is counting on you for this generation."

Don't lose to that person!

Several disciples who were on good terms with Zhao and Sun were shouting quietly outside the hall, feeling quite aggrieved.

Xie Changming's existence was like a thorn stuck in the heart of every disciple of the Celestial Masters' Mansion.

If a disgraced successor from one of the four lineages were to gain prominence in front of the deputy seal, where would the faces of the legitimate disciples of the main lineages be?

The disciple surnamed Zhao took a deep breath, walked to the deputy seal, closed his eyes and concentrated, pushing the Celestial Masters' Mansion techniques he had cultivated throughout his life to their limit.

True Essence flowed in his palm, and faint lightning crackled beneath it.

But the seal remained completely still, not even a corner of its surface lit up.

His face turned pale, and he struggled for a few more moments before finally staggering backward.

The disciple surnamed Sun gritted his teeth and followed. He was practicing the most complete Golden Light Mantra in the manor. Although it was not as ancient and complete as the one obtained by Chen Du, it was still one of the best in this generation.

He placed his right palm three inches above the seal, golden light emanating from his palm, attempting to resonate with the power of the same origin.

The deputy seal trembled only slightly, like a candle flame blown by the wind, before going dark again.

The disciple surnamed Sun was filled with resentment, but he could only lower his head and retreat to the side.

The surroundings gradually quieted down, and the disciples who had been shouting encouragement just moments before fell silent, their faces ashen and their eyes filled with disappointment.

One or two times might be a fluke, but so many people went up, yet not one of them could truly get the deputy seal in place.

Has the Celestial Masters' Mansion truly fallen so low in this generation that it can't even kowtow to its ancestors anymore?

Just as the hall was filled with gloom, Xie Changming stepped forward again.

"Since you've all tried it, I'll give it a try too."

He spoke of it casually, as if it were a trivial matter.

Everyone in the hall turned to look at him, some wary, some hostile, some with mixed feelings.

Xie Changming didn't care at all. He walked up to the deputy seal and, unlike others, didn't hesitate for a long time. He simply raised his right hand naturally, palm down, and pressed it down lightly.

He didn't even use any special techniques. But the moment his palm landed, the secondary seal, which had been dormant for too long, suddenly trembled violently.

The ancient Daoist patterns on the seal surface seemed to be ignited, and beams of golden light burst forth from the seal, like the sun falling to earth, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.

The flames of all the eternal lamps were lowered to their lowest possible level, as if they were bowing to something.

Golden light shot up to the top of the hall, then cascaded down like a waterfall, covering Xie Changming.

He stood in the center of the golden light, his white hair as silver and his Daoist robe as white as snow, like Celestial Master had walked out of ancient times.

The entire arena fell silent. Then, one of the disciples' legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

Someone opened their mouth wide, but couldn't utter a sound.

Some people already had tears in their eyes, filled with despair.

The younger generation of the Celestial Masters' Mansion suffered a crushing defeat.

What chilled them even more was that the deputy seal didn't just flash briefly, but remained lit for a long time.

The golden light was terrifyingly stable, like a great river, flowing endlessly.

Chen Du remained standing outside the hall; he neither went in nor looked at the mournful faces of those inside.

He only stared at the golden light spilling from inside the door, and his lips twitched very slightly.

This successor of the Fourth Lineage is indeed a remarkable person.

However, today's grand ceremony may not end so simply.

The news spread extremely quickly; the news that the deputy seal had emitted a golden light and that the successor of the four lineages had won spread Longhu Mountain in less than half an hour.

Those young disciples who were not qualified to enter the Patriarch Hall were originally waiting outside for their senior brothers to return in triumph. Upon hearing the news, their faces turned as white as paper.

"How is this possible... Senior Brother Zhao and the others really didn't trigger anything? Instead, that outsider won?"

"Doesn't this mean he also has to try the Heavenly Master Divine Seal? What if he really manages to make the seal recognize him as its master...?"

"Then what face do we, this lineage, have left to remain on Longhu Mountain?"

Several Daoist priests who were acquainted with Chen Du also gathered together, their faces full of dejection.

They don't understand any grand principles; they only know that the Celestial Masters' Mansion's Mansion has been entrenched in Longhu Mountain for nearly ten thousand years, but now it has been trampled underfoot by an outsider.

Some even whispered that if a former disciple of one of the four lineages were to obtain the divine seal, then the sky would fall.

Inside the hall, the faces of the several masters were equally grim.

Zhou Xuanzhen sat upright in the main seat, his fingers unconsciously clenching and unclenching in his sleeve.

For so many years, their lineage has failed to produce a single disciple who truly commands the attention of the Vice-Seal.

This was true for the previous generation, and it is true for this generation as well.

The decline of the Celestial Masters' Mansion did not begin with the invasion of foreign enemies, but with the incompetence of its own people.

What he found even more unacceptable was that the person about to get the opportunity was actually a descendant of the Fourth Lineage, whom their lineage had suppressed for countless years and almost wiped out.

"Since I have emerged victorious, then the qualification to activate the Heavenly Master Divine Seal should also belong to me."

Xie Changming turned around and glanced at everyone in the hall.

A moment of silence fell over the hall. Suddenly, a young disciple, his face flushed, took a sharp step forward. "You, a descendant of a lost lineage, what right do you have—"

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Changming let out a cold laugh.

His aura was released in that instant; it was the true aura of the Heavenly Master Realm.

It felt like an ancient ice peak pressing down from above, or like the sun setting into the palace.

Everyone felt their breath catch in their throats, and even the forty-nine ever-burning lamps in the hall seemed to shrink by half a foot.

Zhao, Sun, and several of the most outstanding disciples' knees buckled, and they collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

The expressions of the several cultivators changed drastically. They almost simultaneously activated their cultivation to resist, but they still felt as if a mountain was pressing down on their shoulders.

Zhou Xuanzhen's pupils contracted sharply, and even his fingertips trembled.

Heavenly Master Realm!

This Fourth Lineage, which they regarded as weeds and trampled on for nearly ten thousand years, actually produced a genuine Celestial Master.

And those who claim to be the legitimate heirs of Longhu Mountain are at most at the Seventh Realm. When did the Celestial Masters' Mansion become like this?

Xie Changming released his aura for only a moment before withdrawing it.

He stood in the hall, his clothes and hair still, his expression calm. "I'm only here to pay respects to my ancestors, but if you think that having more people can break the rules, then I can only follow the rules of the Celestial Masters' Mansion's Mansion."

He spoke calmly, but no one dared to respond.

In the deathly silence of the hall, Chen Du still stood outside.

The broom in his hand was already leaning against the door, and he was hidden in the shadows under the eaves.

Xie Changming was indeed Heavenly Master Realm, but unfortunately, he encountered himself.