Beat You Until You Submit (Part One)

Back at Lonely Peak, Li Qiye immediately summoned Nan Huairen and his master, Protector Mo. Once the master and disciple had both arrived, Li Qiye asked, "What exactly is the Sect Master's background?"

This matter intrigued Li Qiye. The Grand Elder was not the sort to envy the worthy, and it was clear he had no ambition to contend for the position of Sect Master. Why, then, was he so hostile toward Sect Master Su Yonghuang?

Nan Huairen and his master exchanged a glance. Nan Huairen knew even less. He scratched his head and said, "Well, I don't know. Before I even entered the sect, the Sect Master was already the Sect Master. I could count the number of times I've seen the Sect Master on both hands."

Li Qiye looked at Protector Mo. Protector Mo gently shook his head and said, "I do not know the Sect Master's origins either. In fact, very few people in the Washing Yan Ancient Sect know the Sect Master's true background. You could say the Sect Master appeared overnight."

"Appeared overnight? Someone who appeared overnight could become Sect Master?" Even Li Qiye could not help finding this strange.

Protector Mo pondered for a moment, thinking carefully before saying, "The previous Sect Master was still alive then, and I heard the Supreme Elder had not yet passed away either. I do not know the details. But I heard that overnight, the previous Sect Master summoned only Elder Gu. That was when the Sect Master appeared. It was only said that, at the time, the previous Sect Master and the Supreme Elder, who had yet to pass away, entrusted an orphan to Elder Gu and appointed the Sect Master to take charge of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect."

Hearing Protector Mo's words, Li Qiye was rather surprised. He had thought his master, Su Yonghuang, had always been a disciple of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. Now, it seemed that was not entirely the case.

"Could it be that my master was a disciple secretly raised by the previous Sect Master and the Supreme Elder?" Li Qiye asked.

Protector Mo shook his head. "We do not know the specifics. We only know that after Elder Gu was summoned, he announced the new Sect Master. In fact, it was not only Cao Xiong—four other Elders strongly opposed it as well. But it was said that the Grand Elder spent considerable effort persuading those four Elders. Later, the Grand Elder personally stepped in and suppressed some disciples, Protectors, and Hall Masters from the middle and upper ranks who fiercely opposed the decision..."

"...At the time, the previous Sect Master was still alive, and the Supreme Elder had not yet passed away. Elder Gu had the full support of both the previous Sect Master and the Supreme Elder, and his standing in the Washing Yan Ancient Sect had always been extremely high. In fact, many believed Elder Gu would succeed to the position of Sect Master. Everyone was surprised when a new Sect Master suddenly appeared. However, even Elder Gu supported the new Sect Master and did not seize the position for himself. In the end, the four Elders agreed to the decision." Protector Mo fell silent after saying this.

"But the new Sect Master was unwelcome." Li Qiye could imagine the scene. A new Sect Master had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Even with the backing of the previous Sect Master and the Supreme Elder, and Elder Gu personally suppressing opposition, the elders of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect were probably unwilling in their hearts.

Protector Mo nodded gently. "Not long after taking office, the Sect Master took a small group of disciples to guard the frontier wilderness and rarely returned. After the previous Sect Master and the Supreme Elder passed away one after another, the Sect Master never returned to the Washing Yan Ancient Sect."

Li Qiye stroked his chin. This made him rather curious. Just what kind of background did the Sect Master have?

"If anyone knows the Sect Master well, I fear it would be none other than Tu Buyu," Protector Mo finally said in a low voice.

Li Qiye smiled and shook his head. It would be strange if Tu Buyu said anything. Clearly, Tu Buyu was Sect Master Su Yonghuang's confidant, or else he would not have been sent back.

Protector Mo could not explain Sect Master Su Yonghuang's origins either, so Li Qiye did not ask further. He slowed the pace of his cultivation and turned his attention to teaching at the Martial Teaching Hall of Wash Stone Peak.

When it came to being a teacher, no one was more suited than Li Qiye. He had risen and fallen through countless ages and been tempered over millions of years. What sort of people had he not seen? How many heroes and overlords had he trained? How many giants and emperors had he suppressed?

Not to mention that Immortal Emperor Mingren had been raised by his own hand—even a supreme giant like the Black Dragon King, revered by three generations of Immortal Emperors, had been trained by him personally.

Training a group of greenhorn boys was as easy as turning over his hand for Li Qiye. Yet he took the matter seriously.

The reason was simple. Not a single person raised by his hand had ever been weak. He had no desire to reclaim his body in this life only to ruin his own glorious name with his own hands.

Li Qiye possessed deeper and more far-reaching insights into cultivation. In his eyes, talent was unimportant, physique was unimportant, and even cultivation methods could be unimportant.

What mattered was an unchanging Dao Heart, a Dao Heart thirsting for knowledge, a Dao Heart broad enough to embrace all rivers! A tireless and diligent Dao Heart—this was what mattered most.

If one's talent was lacking, diligence could make up for clumsiness. So long as one reflected earnestly, even if one's talent was poor, if others reflected for one day, then reflect for a hundred days. There would always be gains. With a Dao Heart that embraced all rivers, one could look in every direction and would not be blinded by one's own short-sightedness!

If the cultivation method one practiced was inadequate, then so long as one thirsted for knowledge, even the most ordinary method could, through tireless learning, one day be cultivated to its limit, opening up a brand-new heaven and earth!

Since ancient times, how many great figures had carved out a new heaven and earth from old, ordinary cultivation methods, comprehended Dao laws belonging to themselves, and walked a great Dao of their own!

The Dao Heart was the foundation of cultivation. Since ancient times, countless ancient kingdoms and sacred sects had nurtured countless geniuses, yet in the end, not many became Immortal Emperors.

Li Qiye carefully read the profiles of all three hundred disciples at the Martial Teaching Hall of Wash Stone Peak. He memorized every disciple's cultivation circumstances and also diligently reviewed the Martial Teaching Hall's cultivation methods.

In truth, the three hundred disciples of the Martial Teaching Hall did not practice many methods. The longest any of them had been in the sect was less than five years. In principle, they were not yet formal inner disciples of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. Only after passing the final assessment would they become true inner disciples.

Among the three hundred disciples of the Martial Teaching Hall, males and females were evenly divided, and the cultivation methods they practiced were not numerous. The entire Martial Teaching Hall possessed only a scant dozen or so methods.

Some of these methods were introductory cultivation methods created by sages of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect through the generations. The more ancient introductory methods had been left behind by Immortal Emperor Mingren, while the oldest methods had been left behind when Li Qiye was still the Shadow Crow.

These were all comparatively ordinary introductory cultivation methods, nothing that could shake heaven and earth. However, these ancient methods had all been carefully selected as foundational methods for building a solid base.

Aside from some ordinary methods that Li Qiye himself had introduced into the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, he had not seen the other methods before. Yet over millions of years, he had seen, comprehended, and studied far too many cultivation methods. Even if every memory of those methods had been erased, his perspective when reviewing cultivation methods was far beyond what others could compare to. Regarding any cultivation method, Li Qiye's insights could be called penetrating and true!

Besides reviewing every cultivation method of the Martial Teaching Hall, he also consulted many additional methods from the first and second floors of the Scripture Repository. Li Qiye did not cultivate these methods himself; he was merely seeking suitable cultivation methods for the disciples of the Martial Teaching Hall.

The Grand Elder also hoped Li Qiye could establish merit, so he had specifically permitted Li Qiye to consult these cultivation methods.

As a teacher, Li Qiye truly was responsible. He was not merely using these three hundred disciples to gild himself and earn a little credit.

Since he was teaching them as their instructor, he would be responsible to the very end. That was Li Qiye's style, and he absolutely would not ruin his own glorious name with his own hands.

For the sake of teaching, Li Qiye made thorough preparations. He had sufficient confidence that he could teach this batch of disciples well. In his view, when the day of assessment arrived, not a single disciple would fail the assessment and be unable to become an inner disciple.

Within the Wash Stone Peak branch, Cao Xiong's influence was extremely great. For instance, Hall Master Zhou stood on Cao Xiong's side.

But such a challenge did not even qualify as a challenge to Li Qiye! No matter how great Cao Xiong's influence within this branch was, Li Qiye had enough confidence to take the Wash Stone Peak branch into his own hands. To him, this was no problem!

The Martial Teaching Hall of Wash Stone Peak was built within Wash Stone Valley. Wash Stone Valley was enormous, with buildings rising and falling and courtyards interwoven throughout. The disciples living in Wash Stone Valley had all entered the sect less than five years ago. There were three hundred disciples in total, and with the servants responsible for their daily needs, there were more than four hundred people in Wash Stone Valley.

Early in the morning, Li Qiye entered Wash Stone Valley. Hall Master Zhou naturally would not help Li Qiye, but Nan Huairen was attentive and thorough. Since it was Li Qiye's first day of teaching, once Li Qiye entered the valley, Nan Huairen gathered all three hundred disciples of the Martial Teaching Hall for him.

The three hundred male and female disciples gathered on the training ground of the Martial Teaching Hall. At this moment, all three hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on Li Qiye.

Li Qiye also swept his gaze over every disciple present. The three hundred disciples before him were roughly evenly divided between males and females. The oldest were not yet eighteen, while the youngest were probably only thirteen.

Li Qiye himself was only thirteen or fourteen, yet he was about to teach three hundred disciples. Even Nan Huairen could not help worrying that Li Qiye would be unable to keep these disciples in line.

Yet Li Qiye sat calmly and unhurriedly in the seat of honor. Though clearly only thirteen or fourteen, he carried the bearing of a grandmaster. Seeing Li Qiye's confidence, Nan Huairen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, the moment the three hundred disciples gathered, trouble arose. Among them, disciples immediately expressed dissatisfaction with Li Qiye as their teacher, even though he bore the title of Chief Disciple.