Taking a Disciple and Bestowing a Name

Ning Qi cleared his mind of distractions and channeled gentle Gang Qi of internal energy into the White Ape's body. The previously drowsy White Ape awoke slowly, startled at first, then scratched its head sheepishly and said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, teacher. I was trying my best to calm myself down, but the fluctuations in my blood were so intense that I fainted immediately."

Ning Qi waved his hand:

"First, carefully check your body for any unusual symptoms."

The White Ape sensed it carefully, a hint of surprise in its eyes:

"Aside from feeling a bit listless, everything else is fine. In fact, I feel like my bloodline development has improved!"

Ning Qi immediately felt relieved, and then smiled:

Tell me about your specific feelings when you experience blood resonance.

The White Ape thought for a moment:

"At first, it was a tingling, numb feeling, like all my muscles and bones were about to fall apart, but then I drifted into a dazed and confused state, and vaguely I thought I heard a roar..."

He spoke slowly, and Ning Qi nodded slightly, thinking to himself:

"It seems that what I saw deep within my bloodline, Tiansheng can also vaguely sense in my innate nature. The roar he heard must have been that of the silver giant ape. If things continue as they are, I'm afraid that one day when his bloodline is developed to a sufficient degree, he himself will be able to see that scene."

Seeing the White Ape standing respectfully with its hands clasped, Ning Qi smiled and said:

"Let's go, the year-end competition is about to begin, let's go over there."

The White Ape nodded repeatedly, a hint of joy in its eyes.

He was always mischievous and fought fiercely with many disciples of the True Martial Sect. This time, he could see many familiar faces competing on the stage, so he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to join in the fun. In fact, if he weren't so strong now, he would have liked to go up and have some fun himself.

The man and the ape headed towards the Martial Training Ground.

The bustling atmosphere could be seen from afar. Ning Qi and the White Ape's arrival caused quite a stir, drawing curious glances from all directions.

For newly joined disciples, Ning Qi was indeed somewhat mysterious, rarely showing himself, but the information that occasionally leaked out showed that this Ninth Elder was an unparalleled genius, and the White Ape under his seat was further proof of this.

The scene of the White Ape displaying its divine power and revealing its true form as the ape king during that mountain-opening assessment is still vivid in my mind.

But the White Ape was extremely respectful in front of Ning Qi.

Amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ning Qi stepped into the chief position.

"Little Nine, Tiansheng, you're late!" Ye Qinghe grinned and winked. Since Daoist Longshan wasn't there this time, she openly took out her wine gourd and took a sip every now and then. Luo Wentian could only shake his head and smile wryly.

Even though she had become an elder, this third senior sister still didn't behave properly.

Ning Qi greeted his fellow disciples with a smile:

"Something came up and delayed me a bit. What stage is it at now?"

Fourth Senior Brother He Yan smiled and said:

"The top ten have been decided. There are quite a few promising talents this time. The seedlings selected through your method, Little Nine, are much stronger than ours. Don't be fooled by Third Senior Sister's casual manner; she praised one of the little ones more than once just now. It seems that Third Senior Sister is finally going to take on a disciple this time."

Ning Qi somewhat surprised, and then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The thought of Ye Qinghe teaching her students felt somewhat incongruous.

Ye Qinghe glared at the two of them fiercely and snorted:

"Let me tell you, this little girl Yuxuan is destined to be with me, and you can't take her from me."

Ning Qi looked at one of the young girls dressed in purple. Although she was young, she was already a beauty with a gentle temperament. He vaguely remembered her; she had performed quite well when the sect was first established and disciples were accepted. Her name seemed to be Ouyang Yuxuan.

The thought of this gentle young girl spending every day with a drunkard as her master filled him with a sense of pity.

He recalled how Ye Qinghe had tricked him into drinking when he was young, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Ye Qinghe snorted:

"You can laugh all you want. I'll train her to suppress the third-generation disciples of True Martial!"

Everyone laughed even more heartily.

At the same time, I felt a little emotional in my heart, time passed so fast, and before they knew it, they had become the mainstay of Zhenwu Sect, and had reached the point of accepting disciples as teachers.

Amidst laughter and conversation.

The disciples' duel was still in full swing.

This time, the large division was divided between the new and veteran disciples.

The senior disciples are divided into the outer sect competition and the inner sect competition, while the new disciples are the previous three hundred seedlings. This competition is more important for them, as it not only determines their starting point, but the top three will also be promoted to True Disciple.

Of course, in addition to this, the rewards bestowed upon both new and veteran disciples this time are also extremely generous.

Nowadays, the True Martial Sect is wealthy and powerful, and its main focus is on absorbing its resources and increasing its strength. Therefore, the rewards it offers are generally excessive, such as martial arts secrets, heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or even divine weapons, all of which make the disciples' hearts burn with excitement. The True Martial Peach Fruit cultivated by Ning Qi is naturally among them, and he even took out a small portion of Enlightenment Tea as a reward.

Ning Qi watched intently. Although the disciples' fights seemed like child's play to him, they represented the future of the True Martial Sect.

He was very pleased.

In the past, it would take a dozen years or so for someone to successfully Body Tempering Realm, and that would be considered the mark of a peerless genius.

However, this is no longer the case in the current True Martial Sect. With a series of secret techniques created by Ning Qi to improve the efficiency of Body Tempering, as well as Improved Body Tempering Powder and other treasures, the progress of Body Tempering has been greatly improved. The training time for the same talent has been shortened to about 40% of the original time!

This is an extremely exaggerated level of absurdity; if it were to spread, it would shock the world. Fortunately, the new batch of True Martial disciples has never left the mountain.

In fact.

It's not just the Body Tempering Realm.

After completing his cultivation of the existing realms, Ning Qi summarized his experiences and created many universally applicable secret techniques that made the cultivation of both the Inner Essence Realm Gang Essence Realm much simpler. The most obvious example is that when Jiang Baishan descended the mountain, he was already close to stepping into the Jade Liquid Realm.

"Back then, I completed the Body Tempering Realm in three years, a speed that can be described as unprecedented. But if the cultivation methods I created are spread in the future, there may be monstrous talents who can cultivate even faster than me. At that time, will there be those who think that I am nothing special?"

Ning Qi smiled slightly.

No one can predict what will happen thousands or tens of thousands of years from now. When the legends fade away, there will always be ambitious later generations who will think that what happened back then was just an exaggeration.

On the arena.

The martial arts competition among the senior disciples has ended.

Having made a name for themselves in front of the sect leader and many elders, the victorious disciples were all excited and thrilled. The older disciples also had their own paths to becoming True Disciple, so they did not feel that the sect favored the new disciples.

After Luo Wentian some words of encouragement, it was time for the main event of the day.

Top three new disciples

There was also a hint of expectation in Luo Wentian's eyes.

Ning Qi couldn't help but smile. He naturally knew who his senior brother favored. The boy named Gou Dan came from a humble background but had a resilient character. Luo Wentian had been secretly observing him for a long time. In fact, it wasn't just Ning Qi who knew; Xiong Shi and the others had also noticed it.

The competition begins.

Although they are just children, their progress in Body Tempering is already quite good, and their mastery of martial arts is also quite high. Each of them has a powerful punch and kick, just like young leopards and tigers. The three hundred seedlings were already selected from the best of the best, and these ten are the best among the three hundred seedlings.

Many veteran disciples exclaimed in surprise, feeling a sense of impending doom and crisis.

Luo Wentian and the others were extremely gratified.

Round after round of competition were conducted.

soon.

The top three have been determined.

The first place winner was also a boy who performed exceptionally well in the competition. Despite his young age, he was already extremely strong and robust. He was Lu Mang, from the Lu clan of Gaoyang.

Second place went to Ye Qinghe's favorite, Ouyang Yuxuan, from the Ouyang Aristocratic Clan. Her cultivation talent was actually slightly higher than Lu Mang's, but Lu Mang Tiansheng strong and had an advantage in this aspect.

The third place went to Gou Dan, who came from a beggar background.

In response to this...

Everyone was extremely surprised. After all, compared to others who had been exposed to martial arts since childhood, Gou Dan's starting point was not high. He was able to break into the top three entirely through his own hard work and perseverance. Ning Qi also nodded in approval. Several times, he could sense that this little guy was practicing hard alone in the Martial Training Ground when he released his Divine Intent.

Such a person is destined for great achievements.

Talent determines a person's lower limit, but perseverance and persistence determine a person's upper limit.

When Ning Qi first embarked on his martial arts journey, Ning Qi only thought that Root Bone was the most important thing. However, as his cultivation level grew stronger and his understanding of martial arts deepened, some of his ideas gradually changed. In the later stages, temperament and perseverance became more important, as they determined whether a person could overcome obstacles. In contrast, innate Root Bone could be supplemented through other means.

A person can cultivate quickly, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are very strong.

Ning Qi.

All the True Martial disciples' eyes were fixed on the top three, filled with envy.

The top three new disciples can directly become True Disciple, and the training they receive thereafter is unparalleled.

Lu Mang and his two companions were also flushed with excitement. They had already received their competition rewards and were waiting for the most exciting part to come.

Luo Wentian laughed and stood up. He looked around at his many disciples, his eyes filled with satisfaction:

"You all performed very well today, I am very satisfied. You are all the future of the True Martial Sect, so keep up the good work and take it as your responsibility to bring glory to the sect!"

Everyone was excited.

"Yes, Sect Master!"

Having gone through these major events, the True Martial Sect is now united as one.

Luo Wentian didn't waste any time. He looked at Lu Mang and the other two and smiled:

"The three of you should be considered True Disciple. Fellow disciples, are there any of you willing to take on disciples?"

The breath of everyone caught in their throats.

This was completely unexpected.

Nowadays, not all True Disciple of the True Martial Sect have to formally become apprentices to elders; some simply enjoy more resources.

Luo Wentian finished speaking...

Ye Qinghe had already stood up with a smile. As the only female elder, everyone would defer to her.

She looked at Ouyang Yuxuan and said with a smile:

"Little Yuxuan, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Ouyang Yuxuan's face lit up with joy; she hadn't expected to be the first one chosen. She said crisply:

"Disciple greets Master!"

Although she was young, she knew the importance of her master.

Everyone watched with smiles, but Lu Mang and Gou Dan unconsciously clenched their fists, gradually becoming tense.

Xiong Shi's expression turned slightly serious. He stepped forward and looked at the burly boy:

"Lu Mang, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Lu Mang's face lit up with surprise. Xiong Shi was the Elder of Punishments, a fair and serious man, but definitely a renowned teacher. He respectfully kowtowed and bowed. A barely perceptible smile appeared on Xiong Shi's face. He also liked Lu Mang very much, as the young man's path in martial arts was somewhat similar to his own.

Thus, only Dog Egg remained.

The remaining elders simply smiled but made no move.

Dog Egg's face paled slightly, but he quickly took a deep breath to recover.

"Dog Egg, Dog Egg, it must be because you didn't perform well enough that the elders didn't take notice of you. You must work even harder in the future. But things are already good enough. You can still become True Disciple and have a better starting point. Keep up the good work!"

Dog Egg's expression gradually hardened.

Deep down, he harbored a desire he never told anyone: to become Luo Wentian's disciple.

On the day of the grand competition, Luo Wentian personally brought him water and food. He would never forget that concern. But Luo Wentian was the sect leader, and he dared not hope for anything more. He simply kept the thought to himself.

Ning Qi secretly observed Gou Dan's expression and nodded approvingly.

It's truly remarkable that someone so young can adjust their mindset so quickly.

Luo Wentian, who was also observing, finally smiled and said:

"Dog Egg, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

In an instant.

An uproar ensued.

Everyone was stunned, unable to believe what they were hearing. Gou Dan was completely dumbfounded, as if in a dream. One second he was determined to be noticed by the sect leader, but the next second the sect leader offered to take him as a disciple.

Dog Egg's face flushed red, his eyes were red-rimmed, and he trembled with excitement as he respectfully prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed in greeting.

"Dog... Dog Egg is willing!"

All eyes were fixed on Gou Dan, filled with envy.

Luo Wentian helped him up, patted his head, and smiled gently:

"Now that you've joined my sect, calling you 'Dog Egg' from now on is a bit too hasty. Do you have a surname?"

He'll be the sect leader's disciple after all, and when he goes down the mountain and mentions Gou Dan's name, he'll inevitably face criticism.

Dog Egg shook his head sheepishly:

"I don't know either."

He was called Gou Dan (Dog Egg) since he could remember. Later, after he learned a few words, he thought about giving himself a name, but he lived a life of wandering and depended on his sister for survival. No one cared whether he had a name or not, so his thoughts gradually faded away.

Luo Wentian sighed inwardly, then said:

"Since that's the case, from now on you'll take my surname. You'll be called Luo Nianchu. I hope you never forget your original aspirations and always remember the path you came from."

His face gradually became serious.

Luo Wentian valued most about Gou Dan was his character; reminding him not to forget his original aspirations was the best lesson he could teach him.

Dog Egg—no, Luo Nianchu—was extremely excited, and he kowtowed again:

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name upon me!"

He repeated the name Luo Nianchu in his mind over and over again, feeling both joy and determination, thinking that he would certainly not let his master down.

Everyone was filled with emotion.

Luo Wentian's act of accepting a disciple and bestowing a name upon Luo Nianchu clearly shows his high regard for him.

Ning Qi and the rest of the group laughed:

Congratulations to my senior brother and sister on taking on such a wonderful disciple!

Luo Wentian and the other two laughed heartily, in high spirits.

These three disciples are all exceptional martial arts talents. If they are properly nurtured, they will surely achieve great things.

Watching this scene, the White Ape felt incredibly envious. He also hoped that one day he could openly call Ning Qi "Master." He cautiously stole a glance at Ning Qi, then immediately lowered his head, secretly encouraging himself.

Ning Qi seemed to sense something, but simply smiled slightly.