Ancient and Modern Division

After the opening, Feng Chutang said, "To talk about the Sect Unified Examination, we must first understand its origins, that is, why the Sect Unified Examination came to be. We all know there are countless paths to cultivation, but techniques vary in quality, and so do these paths. Some paths lead to ascension, while others only allow for crude brute strength. However, regardless of the path, as long as one can cultivate, they could establish a sect in ancient times, leading to the emergence of countless sects."

Feng Chutang continued, "When anything becomes numerous, its quality inevitably varies, and sects are no exception. Only those on the path to ascension can be called Immortal Sects. Immortal Sects are lofty and naturally have no shortage of disciples; their concern is rather that too many wish to join, and they cannot accept everyone. Thus, since ancient times, Immortal Sects have set various thresholds for accepting disciples, making things exceedingly difficult. When all else failed, they could simply say, 'You have no destiny with my sect,' and send applicants away."

A burst of laughter erupted in Qisi Hall, with only Wei Yuan and a few others not laughing. In that era, it went without saying that those from humble backgrounds like Wei Yuan would be among the 'destined to be turned away.'

"But for other sects, a promising cultivator is often the source of their resurgence. For smaller sects, it can mean a complete transformation, a rebirth from ashes. Therefore, sects gradually resorted to various tactics to compete for these promising cultivators. The weaker the sect's lineage, the more unscrupulous they became..."

Following this, Feng Chutang began to recount various tactics, and as the students listened, a new world opened before their eyes.

In the competition for promising cultivators, some smaller sects initially only promised excellent disciples from poor backgrounds some basic necessities like rice and oil. Later, this gradually escalated to promises of gold, silver, and land. When every household was offering money and land, it was no longer enough. Thus, to win people over, some sects promised that if one person achieved enlightenment, their entire family would ascend with them, inviting all their relatives to live within the sect. Some sects took a different approach, promising wives and concubines upon entry.

Naturally, if wives and concubines were offered, male companions were offered too.

When all sects began offering such incentives, and mere offerings could no longer distinguish them, some sects dropped all pretense. They simply seized mountains and claimed all cultivators from their territory as their own, forbidding others from competing or even observing.

Later, a small sect managed to acquire a disciple blessed by fortune. Seeing that they couldn't cultivate him well themselves, they had a sudden inspiration: they sold him to a larger sect for a certain price, thus opening up a new avenue.

Ever since disciples began to be sold, many soon felt that small-scale operations were meaningless. Consequently, some small sects sought out higher sects or even Immortal Sects, obtaining basic cultivation methods for entry and having all the disciples they recruited cultivate them. Those with relevant talent who could cultivate were sent to the higher sects; those who couldn't were kept by the small sects or simply expelled. Since they cultivated the sects' own basic techniques, these disciples sent to higher sects quickly adapted, their progress not falling far behind that of direct disciples.

This provided a stable source of disciples, and the higher sects were happy to oblige.

As this practice became more common, regulations gradually emerged.

Small sects and higher sects would agree to send a batch of disciples every few years. The higher sects would then pay a unified price in silver and provisions based on the quality and cultivation of the disciples. In this way, cultivation was turned into a business.

As a result, small sects had a stable income, and higher sects had a stable supply of disciples. Each took what they needed, and this method spread. Before long, almost every prefecture and county had an owner; there was no unclaimed land in the world.

Over time, the chaos escalated. Many truly talented cultivators were tricked into mountain gates by small sects through various means and forced to cultivate inferior techniques. Initially, deception was the primary method, but later it devolved into threats and enticements, with all sorts of tactics being employed. Since these methods were effective, some sects even cut back on the things they originally promised to give.

By this point, the once-lofty Immortal Sects finally sensed something was amiss. The number of independent cultivators they could recruit began to dwindle. Until one day, an Immortal Sect stumbled upon a Child of Fortune. In an era when fortune was not easily apparent, this was akin to finding a leader for a resurgence.

However, that individual had already been cultivating in a small sect for six years, forging a flawed Dao Foundation, with no hope of recovery.

Under normal circumstances, a Child of Fortune would naturally gravitate towards a suitable Immortal Sect through various fortuitous encounters. But this Child of Fortune had first been lured, then kidnapped by the small sect, confined, and subjected to threats, enticements, torture, and forced cultivation of techniques completely unsuited to him. This Child of Fortune's talent was indeed formidable; cultivating a technique that clashed entirely with his fortune and root bone, he still managed to forge a Dao Foundation within a few short years. However, his originally heavenly path was severely compromised, limiting him to the Dharma Idol realm for life.

This incident deeply shook the Immortal Sects at the time. They hadn't expected that even a Child of Fortune's immense talent could not escape the clutches of these small sects.

Not long after, another major event occurred.

At that time, another Child of Fortune emerged, but he was naturally frail. The higher sect in the region where he was born was renowned for its body-refining techniques. This Child of Fortune was forcibly recruited into a local small sect. After a near-death experience, he barely passed the assessment, gaining entry to the higher sect for cultivation. However, being naturally frail, his cultivation progressed slowly with twice the effort for half the results. Furthermore, due to his humble background since childhood, he was stubborn and inflexible, leading him to be constantly humiliated and labeled a waste everywhere.

Not long after, he was framed and expelled from the sect. But this individual was, after all, a Child of Fortune. He always managed to evade his pursuers. After drifting for several years, his destiny manifested, and he was able to join another major sect renowned for its talismans. He possessed a naturally powerful Primordial Spirit, destined to be a genius in the path of talismans. In less than a century, he successively achieved Dao Foundation and Dharma Idol, ascended to the Imperial Scenery realm, and even created several extremely powerful Dao Talismans.

After achieving success in cultivation, he quietly descended the mountain. First, he annihilated the small sect that had forced him to join. Then, he went to the body-refining higher sect and exterminated the families of everyone who had humiliated him, including his former master and his master's master.

Anyone who had called him a waste back then, or even glanced at him with disdain, was remembered. He would turn the world upside down to find and kill them. His rampage finally alerted several Grand Elders of the body-refining higher sect, who emerged from seclusion to suppress him.

However, this individual's combat power was extremely formidable. His self-created Dao Talismans were unprecedented and immensely powerful. The elders of the body-refining higher sect suffered greatly in their first encounter. Ultimately, he fought Imperial Scenery against Imperial Scenery, killing three elders of the body-refining major sect in succession before breaking through with severe injuries.

With the situation escalating to this point, the talisman path major sect could no longer protect him. Thus, the various Immortal Sects intervened and eventually cornered and killed him in the East Sea.

But the matter did not end there. The body-refining sect lost three Grand Elders, severely weakening its strength. The following year, the region it occupied was overrun by mountain tribes, and three million people across two prefectures were wiped out.

This event is not recorded in historical texts.

At this point, Feng Chutang saw that all the students were dumbfounded and paused, allowing them to digest the information.