The little brats were stirring up trouble, so the shameless Qingming Sect Master led a bunch of elders down the mountain to the new disciples' lodgings. "Then why is he still in the Qi Refining Stage?" She stared blankly at the Sect Master and elders of the Azure Nether Sword Sect, lined up outside the courtyard where Bai Qiuran supposedly lived. They said Bai Qiuran was in seclusion, and not one of them dared knock on the door and disturb him. While Bai Qiuran was in seclusion, Jueyunzi kept saying things that had a ninety-percent chance of earning him a beating. "But..." Qing Yun reminded her with a smile, "Oh, and Martial Ancestor Uncle doesn't like hearing about cultivation realms and the like, so you'd better not bring them up in front of him." "Senior Disciple Brother, we shouldn't judge by talent alone." "His standing is very high? Of course it is." Jueyunzi coughed and said solemnly, "Look, Martial Ancestor Uncle has worked tirelessly for our Azure Nether Sword Sect for over three thousand years. He's never had a Dao companion—not even a proper romantic encounter. We're his disciples, raised under his guidance. At a time like this, shouldn't we do our filial duty?" "Damn it, Third Elder, you're always making trouble." Jueyunzi was now putting his authority as Sect Master to work at a level never seen before. Utterly bewildered, Tang Ruowei followed a group of bigwigs—any one of whom could shake an entire region if sent out alone—to the shabby courtyard on Seven Star Peak. "Get lost! I'm talking about Martial Ancestor Uncle!" "What do you mean, how is he?" Qing Yun answered with a quiet laugh, "Martial Ancestor Uncle is a direct disciple of the founder of the Azure Nether Sword Sect. His standing is higher than anyone else's in the sect." The Sixth Elder quietly reminded her, "Don't assume Martial Ancestor Uncle knows nothing. If you keep making him the butt of your jokes, he might hold a grudge." "If even Junior Sister says so, then she must be a wonderful girl." After years of testing, a disciple who did this had about a 98.7 percent chance of successfully breaking through. She'd thought Bai Qiuran might be powerful, but the Azure Nether Sword Sect was, after all, a renowned super sect throughout the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou. Surely, even if he was an old hand, as a Qi Refining Stage cultivator he could only hold a middling position within the sect. She hadn't expected all these elders and the Sect Master to treat him with such reverence. Now she wasn't sure how to face Bai Qiuran. "I never expected Martial Ancestor Uncle to go down the mountain at his age and have this kind of gossip... I mean, romance. Junior Sister, what do you think of this young lady?" "Martial Ancestor Uncle's love life is his own business. We juniors shouldn't interfere... Besides, aren't you all afraid of getting beaten?" "Yes, there was someone. She said she hoped to meet her benefactor. Her benefactor was a young man with white hair and white eyebrows, named Bai Qiuran..." The Second Elder reminded them, "There are plenty of cultivators with excellent talent who lack resolve and lose themselves. And, conversely, there are many with ordinary talent but unshakable resolve who attain the Dao through sheer hard work." "All right... Junior Brothers and Sisters, I'm serious." "Hey, Qing Yun, don't you want to see Martial Ancestor Uncle in love?" Jueyunzi's eyes lit up. "Come on, we've been following Martial Ancestor Uncle around for hundreds of years. Has he ever gone into seclusion for more than three days? He's probably just breaking through another level." Tang Ruowei couldn't help asking. Jueyunzi waved a hand. "My own talent is ordinary, and besides, I'm not worried that our Azure Nether Sword Sect's disciples will lose heart just because their talent is average and their progress is slow. After all, Martial Ancestor Uncle is here." After reading the new disciples' roster submitted by Third Elder Bieyunzi, Jueyunzi sighed. "There are plenty of talented children among this batch. Oh, look—there are two with Heavenly Spirit Roots." "Beautiful as a flower, clever and kindhearted." "Well, Martial Ancestor Uncle's situation is special, but he's definitely not weak." "Senior Disciple Brother, isn't this a little inappropriate?" Jueyunzi flew into a rage. "Do I look like that kind of person?" In the Azure Nether Sword Sect's Main Peak, in the courtyard where the Sect Master lived, Qingming Sect Master Jueyunzi was discussing the recently concluded disciple selection with several fellow disciples. "Come on, come on. Bring this young lady along, and let's go to Seven Star Peak to welcome Martial Ancestor Uncle out of seclusion." When disciples heard about an elder who had struggled in the Qi Refining Stage for three thousand years and still refused to give up, they would feel ashamed, return to their training, and work hard to rise again. "Oh, really?" After watching for a long while, the young woman finally couldn't hold back. She turned to the most approachable-looking elder, Qing Yun, and asked, "Um, Sixth Elder, does Bai Qiuran really have such a high standing in the sect?" As the other elders followed Jueyunzi toward the door, the honest Third Elder Bieyunzi raised a hand. Jueyunzi egged them on in a low voice. Tang Ruowei nodded blankly, still unable to make sense of it. "Oh, I know this one." Seventh Elder Liu Yun smiled, touching her red lips. "This disciple seems to be a royal noble of Shangxuan Kingdom. Oh, and I remember she's one of the two disciples with Heavenly Spirit Roots this time." The Sect Master and all the elders had come out together, leaving the new disciples both flattered and overwhelmed. But Jueyunzi and the other old hands knew how to deal with greenhorns. After a few words of encouragement, they brought along Tang Ruowei, still a black-robed reserve disciple, and headed to Seven Star Peak, where Bai Qiuran lived alone. "Oh, Martial Ancestor Uncle? I know him—he's got a great temper." Jueyunzi laughed, unconcerned. "Then that settles it!" Tang Ruowei waited with the Sect Master and the elders on Seven Star Peak for a while. At last, when the sun was high in the sky, someone pushed open the courtyard gate from inside. "Martial Ancestor Uncle came back and went straight into seclusion to refine pills and break through," the Second Elder complained. "Senior Brother, are you really thinking of hitting on a brand-new disciple?" "By the way, speaking of Martial Ancestor Uncle, there was someone in this round of disciple selection who said she wanted to find him..." "What do you all think, Junior Brothers and Sisters?" Qing Yun hesitated. Liu Yun answered, "And she scored very highly in this selection, ranking second, only a little below the other disciple with a Heavenly Spirit Root... I suspect that's because she doesn't know much about the Cultivation World." "Hmph." The Second, Fourth, and Fifth Elders all sneered without answering. Jueyunzi rubbed his hands together, very much the wheeler-dealer, and looked around. "The heavens bless our Azure Nether Sword Sect." Third Elder Bieyunzi said quietly, "The disciples guarding the mountain said that when he returned, he had signs of fierce battle on him. We should leave him be for now... What if he really does reach Foundation Establishment?" Jueyunzi pointed at the Third Elder. "Back when we were disciples, you were the one who went running to report people the most! Come on, come on. If Junior Brother Bieyun won't come, so be it. Let's go." The Sixth Elder hesitated for a long while, then finally lowered her head, cheeks red, and said with great embarrassment, "I really want to..."
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