Lotus Sword Emperor Dongfang Xuetong

Xuanzhou City.

Ascension Avenue.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary street, wide and long.

But it was anything but ordinary. It was the most important place in Xuanzhou City for finding masters and selecting disciples.

Every year on this day, people from all the large and small counties and villages, lineages, sects, and other forces within a radius of ten thousand li came here.

Some came to seek a master and set foot on the path of cultivation.

Others hoped to gain a stronger cultivation background, making their future path a little smoother.

And some came for all sorts of reasons, seeking a disciple who pleased them and could inherit their legacy.

At that moment, high above, a graceful young woman stood alone, shrouded in White Immortal Light.

Whoosh!

A plume of purple-black energy appeared beside her.

When it dissipated, a handsome young man in black robes emerged. He pouted and complained, "Lotus Sword Emperor, why are you moving so fast?"

But the Lotus Sword Emperor didn't reply. She simply gazed fixedly below.

Was she searching for something?

"Heh heh heh!"

"My Lord spent a full thousand years searching before finally finding Wang Teng, who possessed the Emperor's Bearing."

"So for you to find a disciple with comparable aptitude within a month? This sage thinks the chances are vanishingly small."

Suddenly, icy killing intent sealed off the black-robed young man, and the atmosphere became unbearably tense.

His face went pale with fright. He stammered, "Lotus Sword Emperor, don't forget your agreement with my Lord."

"This Emperor naturally remembers. But if you keep buzzing in my ear, don't blame this Emperor for removing a few parts of you."

At those words, the black-robed young man hurriedly squeezed his legs together and covered his mouth.

The woman before him was even more powerful than his Lord.

Even if his Lord were here, she would have no trouble carrying out her threat.

A while later, the Lotus Sword Emperor's sharply angled brows furrowed slightly. She had clearly failed to find what she was looking for.

"On to the next city."

Her voice was cold, leaving no room for argument.

But after he recovered from his fright, the black-robed young man started up with a fresh round of chatter.

"That's all the searching?"

"Lotus Sword Emperor, I don't mean to criticize you, but you really are too impatient!"

"You should know better than I do that there are peerless geniuses in this world who can hide their true aptitude."

She cast the black-robed young man a sharp, cutting glance, but revealed no killing intent.

The next moment, the Lotus Sword Emperor nodded slightly. "Shātu Demon Sage, you make a good point. I'll find Xuanzhou City's governor first and arrange the permits to enter Ascension Avenue."

Whoosh!

Her graceful figure vanished. Zhu Ding, the Shātu Demon Sage, watched her go, his expression unchanged, though he was overjoyed inside!

His Lord had ordered him to follow the Lotus Sword Emperor and secretly sabotage her search for disciples.

He didn't believe a word of what he'd just said.

His Lord had searched for a full thousand years without ever finding anyone like that.

That clearly meant the chances of a peerless genius hiding their true aptitude were almost nonexistent.

Lotus Sword Emperor Dongfang Xuetong!

You may be one of a kind when it comes to cultivation.

But when it comes to understanding the world, you're a little lacking!

Still, no one would be foolish enough to spend a thousand years looking for a disciple. Only his Lord could do something like that.

What Zhu Ding didn't know was that Dongfang Xuetong had already used her Emperor Tier spell, One Thought Blooms, to send her clones throughout every city in the Southern Wilderness Domain.

Once she and her clones had completed the necessary arrangements in each city, they would begin accepting disciples throughout the Southern Wilderness Domain.

Outside Ascension Avenue.

"Unranked!"

A badge marked "Unranked" was pinned to Xiao Yao's chest.

The people around him glanced over, curiosity in their eyes.

But when they realized it was Xiao Yao, they turned away and went back to their own business.

Clearly, no one thought there was anything unusual about it.

Xiao Yao didn't care. Head held high, he strode into Ascension Avenue, looking rather confident.

The guard who had assessed Xiao Yao's cultivation aptitude rubbed his eyes. After making sure he hadn't misread it, he muttered, "Could the Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader really think someone will take him as a disciple?"

"With unranked cultivation aptitude, no cultivator would accept him unless they'd been dropped on their head," another guard said with absolute certainty.

Xiao Yao hadn't gone far before his gaze fell on a youth in a blue robe, surrounded by a crowd.

His name was Xiao Ting, the First Elder's eldest legitimate son. He was the same age as Xiao Yao: twelve.

The difference was that the badge on Xiao Ting's chest bore the words "Venerable Tier," indicating that he possessed Venerable Tier cultivation aptitude.

As far as Xiao Yao knew, he was among the most talented of the younger generation in Xuanzhou City.

If Xiao Yao didn't now possess a Chaos Body and Emperor Tier cultivation aptitude, Xiao Ting would truly seem high above him, while he himself was as lowly as an ant—utterly unworthy of his position as Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Yao looked away from Xiao Ting and continued forward, observing the cultivators of various cultivation levels lining both sides of Ascension Avenue.

Suddenly, a familiar, grating voice rang out nearby.

"Brother Xiao Yao, what brings you here? You didn't even tell Brother Ting!"

Xiao Ting behaved with great respect. He knew that as long as the clan rules hadn't stripped Xiao Yao of his position, Xiao Yao remained the Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader.

So he had to show Xiao Yao plenty of goodwill if he wanted to take over in three years.

Xiao Yao stopped and turned to face Xiao Ting. He widened his eyes and opened his mouth in exaggerated surprise. "Brother Ting, I didn't know you were here too!"

"Hehe! Brother Xiao Yao, what are you here for? Don't tell me you're here to seek a master?" Xiao Ting asked curiously.

Xiao Yao felt speechless.

He was on Ascension Avenue, had no cultivation, and was clearly not there to take on disciples. What else could he be doing but seeking a master?

In response to Xiao Ting's veiled mockery, Xiao Yao simply smiled. "That's right! I'm here to seek a master."

Xiao Ting froze for a moment!

Seeking a master?

With unranked cultivation aptitude?

And most outrageous of all, he couldn't even begin cultivating.

Even if he really had come to seek a master, no one would accept him!

Unless they'd lost their minds!

So this guy definitely wasn't here to seek a master. He had some other motive. Xiao Ting had to keep a close eye on him.

Xiao Ting immediately pushed through the crowd and hurried over to Xiao Yao. "Brother Xiao Yao, what a coincidence! I'm here to seek a master too. Let's go together!"

"Sure!" Xiao Yao replied at once.

Even if he refused, Xiao Ting would either follow him anyway or keep watching him from the shadows.

Xiao Ting was even more bewildered. He couldn't figure out what Xiao Yao was up to.

After walking the length of Ascension Avenue, Xiao Yao felt utterly disappointed.

There wasn't even a single cultivator in the Venerable Realm. The quality of the masters on Ascension Avenue this year was truly terrible!

In previous years, there had been at least a few cultivators in the Venerable Realm.

Could the system really expect me to take one of these people as my master?

[Beep! It's only just getting started. Why are you in such a hurry, Host?]

Just then, a bald man appeared in the distance.

A dazzling light flashed in every direction, making people squint.

Xiao Yao took a closer look. The man wore an ochre Daoist robe, had eyes like bronze bells, and a burly, imposing build. His face was fierce as he strode toward them.