Taking a Disciple

Just as the system was spouting flirtatious nonsense.

The various mountain masters present also began to focus their attention on those disciples who had successfully passed the trial and possessed good-grade or high-grade Spiritual Roots.

"What is your name?"

Liǔ Yán, seated beside Li Zhōujūn, was the first to turn his gaze toward Chen Shaohua, who stood near Sū Nán amid the crowd.

"Disciple Chen Shaohua!"

Chen Shaohua replied respectfully.

Liǔ Yán smiled. "With high-grade talent, are you willing to join my Fire Maple Mountain as an Inner Disciple? With your aptitude, once you enter Fire Maple Mountain, an elder will surely take you on as a True Disciple."

"This disciple is willing!"

Chen Shaohua said excitedly.

"Good. Wait where you are for now. Later, simply return to Fire Maple Mountain with me," Liǔ Yán said with a nod.

Afterward, Liǔ Yán's gaze swept through the young men and women on the Ascension Platform again, searching for those with good-grade or high-grade Fire Spiritual Roots.

Within the Dao Tian Sect, those with good-grade or high-grade Spiritual Roots would generally be selected by the various mountain masters to become Inner Disciples. Among them, those with high-grade Spiritual Roots would, after returning to the various mountains with their mountain masters, be fought over by the elders and accepted as disciples.

Just like how the mountain masters had earlier competed to take those with supreme-grade Spiritual Roots as disciples.

Meanwhile, Chen Shaohua, having successfully entered Fire Maple Mountain, looked at Sū Nán with a beaming smile. "Miss Sū Nán, you heard Mountain Master Liǔ's words just now. With my aptitude, once I reach Fire Maple Mountain, an elder will take me as a True Disciple. Becoming Cultivation Partners with me is far better than merely being an Outer Disciple."

"Young Master Chen, with your talent, you can surely find an even better woman. You're a good person, but I'm still young, really," Sū Nán said with utter sincerity.

At that moment, Sū Nán felt a faint unease in her heart. After all, Chen Shaohua was a notorious playboy in Pingyu City. Relying on his family's influence there, he bullied men and tyrannized women, committing every evil imaginable.

Now that he had joined Fire Maple Mountain of the Dao Tian Sect as an Inner Disciple, and was highly likely to become an elder's True Disciple in the future, who knew whether he might do something to the Su Family behind her...

Yet when Chen Shaohua saw Sū Nán's attitude, the smile remained on his face, though he snorted coldly in his heart. Stubbornly incorrigible!

At this time.

Among the more than one thousand new Dao Tian Sect disciples on the Ascension Platform, all those with good-grade and Mid-grade Spiritual Roots had already been snapped up by the various mountain masters.

Liǔ Yán turned to Li Zhōujūn and joked, "It seems Mountain Master Li hasn't found any disciple to his liking again today."

In truth, Liǔ Yán looked down on this ordinary man who stood on equal footing with him. Thus, knowing that Li Zhōujūn had no ability to take disciples, he could not resist teasing and mocking him.

[ Ding: The host has suffered ridicule. How can this be tolerated? ]

[ Ding: The system has issued a task: Stand up and walk before Sū Nán! Upon completion, the reward will be 'Spiritual Root Awakening Ability!' ]

Hearing the task issued by the system.

Li Zhōujūn smiled faintly. Rather than answer Liǔ Yán's veiled mockery, he slowly rose to his feet and walked toward Sū Nán among the newly initiated disciples on the Ascension Platform.

"Hm?"

"What is this Li Zhōujūn up to?"

"Could he be planning to take a disciple?"

"What a joke. He's a cripple without even a Spiritual Root—what disciple could he possibly take?"

Seeing this, the expressions of the various Dao Tian Sect mountain masters gradually shifted from surprise to ridicule.

Yet Li Zhōujūn paid no heed to those looks. He walked before Sū Nán and smiled. "Are you willing to take me as your master?"

"Ah... ah, r-really?"

Sū Nán was so excited that she could barely speak.

What was going on?

A mountain master had actually come before her in person to accept her as a disciple. Wasn't this a dream?!

Heavens!

Clearly, overwhelmed by the sudden joy, Sū Nán failed to notice the subtle expressions on the faces of the various mountain masters seated above.

"Of course," Li Zhōujūn said with a smile.

At the same time.

Chen Shaohua, standing near Sū Nán, was dumbfounded. He could not understand, even if he racked his brains to the point of breaking his toes, why this mountain master would accept someone with a Mid-grade Spiritual Root as a True Disciple.

It was utterly baffling!

The system spoke again at that moment.

[ Ding: Congratulations to the host for completing the task: Walk before Sū Nán! The host has received the reward, 'Spiritual Root Awakening Ability!' ]

As the system's voice fell.

Li Zhōujūn smiled at Sū Nán. "If you are willing to take me as your master, then call me Master."

"Greetings, Master! This disciple Sū Nán pays respects to Master!" Sū Nán said in a rush of delight.

[Ding: Congratulations, host, on successfully taking a disciple!]

[Ding: Host has received the reward, 'Saint-grade Ice Spirit Root!']

[Ding: Host has received the reward, 'Golden Core Perfected Cultivation!']

[Ding: Host has received the reward, 'Profound Nether Heart Sutra!']

[Saint-grade Ice Spirit Root]: Possessed by those with the greatest affinity for ice spiritual energy between heaven and earth!

[Golden Core Perfected Cultivation]: The cultivation realms in this world are divided into Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Return (Void Immortal), Body Integration, Tribulation Transcendence, Mahayana...

[Profound Nether Heart Sutra]: An ice-attribute cultivation technique practiced by the Profound Nether Immortal Emperor. The system has automatically helped the host learn it.

"Holy shit!"

Hearing the system's string of rewards, Li Zhōujūn was dumbfounded.

A Saint-grade Ice Spirit Root!

I have a spirit root now too—and it's Saint-grade?!

And then there was the Profound Nether Heart Sutra that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

This was the ice-attribute cultivation technique practiced by that Profound Nether True Immortal who had ascended to the Immortal Realm thousands of years ago—and that Profound Nether True Immortal had now become the Profound Nether Immortal Emperor?!

From that alone, the Profound Nether Heart Sutra was undoubtedly the cream of the crop among top-tier cultivation techniques!

And the system was a man of few words and ruthless action, directly granting him Golden Core cultivation!

That meant his lifespan had increased too. After all, Golden Core cultivators generally lived up to five hundred years!

"System, I freaking love you!"

Li Zhōujūn practically wanted to hug the system and plant a loud kiss on it.

[Ding: Host, please do not get too excited. In order to make the host appear more like a super expert who has returned to simplicity in the future, allowing the host to show off more effectively, the system has already hidden the host's cultivation. The host may choose to activate or deactivate the aura-concealing buff at any time.]

"What a pity for such a young girl."

"Never mind. Once she realizes her master is a useless cripple, she will naturally regret it."

At the same time, the various Mountain Lords all shook their heads.

"Could this Mountain Lord be Dao Tian Sect's good-for-nothing Mountain Lord, the Cloud Dwelling Mountain Lord?"

Seeing the expressions of the Mountain Lords, one of the disciples on the Ascension Platform could not help muttering softly after making the connection.

Sū Nán, who had just been delighted to become a Mountain Lord's True Disciple, froze on the spot when she heard that.

Blinking her eyes, she looked at Li Zhōujūn and asked weakly, "Master, are you really...?"

"That's right. I am the Cloud Dwelling Mountain Lord." Li Zhōujūn smiled.

Upon hearing that, Sū Nán immediately clutched her chest with her little hand, nearly fainting on the spot.

Damn it!

It's over!

She had heard that Dao Tian Sect had a Cloud Dwelling Mountain Lord who was a good-for-nothing unable to cultivate.

But she had never imagined that she would happily trot over and become the True Disciple of this good-for-nothing Mountain Lord!

What a sin!

"Um... can I regret this now?" Sū Nán forced out a smile uglier than crying as she spoke to Li Zhōujūn.

Li Zhōujūn shook his head. "No."

Sū Nán: "..."

At this moment, Sū Nán suppressed the urge to cry and comforted both herself and Li Zhōujūn. "It's fine, Master. I believe in you. My father always says that the more useless... ordinary someone appears, the more formidable they are. Master, you must be that sort of person, right?"

Li Zhōujūn merely smiled without saying anything.

At the same time.

Chen Shaohua smiled.

Earlier, he had been worried that this girl had become a Mountain Lord's True Disciple and would be someone he could not afford to offend.

Now, it seemed he had worried for nothing.

A good-for-nothing Mountain Lord who could not even carry out basic cultivation—his status was probably not even comparable to that of an Outer Disciple, was it?

What was there left to fear?

[Ding: The system has detected that the people around the host hold little faith in the master and disciple. A task is now issued: the host must help Su Nan awaken a Saint-grade Ice Spirit Root on the spot. Upon completion, the host will receive a reward!]

Seeing this task, Li Zhōujūn was dumbfounded. System, you have ulterior motives here. If Sū Nán awakens a Saint-grade Ice Spirit Root now, won't I become the target of public criticism?

[Ding: If not this way, how will the host use the Fifty-Fifty ability to show off? How will the host hold his head high and exult? What would the system even be for?]

Li Zhōujūn: "..."

That makes so much sense. I am willing to call you... the strongest show-off system...