You Will Succeed Me as Mount Shu's Next Sect Master
Chen Changqing raised an eyebrow. Based on his understanding of his master, Daoist Chen Yuan's "hesitant to speak" state was extremely rare. The last time he saw him with this expression was when he accepted Chen Changqing as his Personal Disciple.
At the end of the passageway was an even older stone gate.
There is no decoration on the door, only the word "Enlightenment" is engraved in the center.
Daoist Chen Yuan stopped in front of the door, straightened his clothes, and then raised his hand to knock.
"Master, your disciple Chen Yuan has brought Changqing."
There was a brief silence inside the door.
"Come in."
An aged voice came from behind the door, full of vigor and carrying a profound and authoritative aura.
The stone gate opened by itself without any wind.
Chen Changqing stepped across the threshold, and a bright and clear view suddenly appeared before him.
This is a Cave Heaven hidden inside a mountain. Within a space of several hundred feet in diameter, the Spiritual Qi is so dense that it is almost tangible; one can even feel wisps of Spiritual Power flowing into one's body with each breath.
In the very center of the Cave Heaven stood an ancient Stone Platform, upon Stone Platform rested a pot of tea and two cups.
Behind the Stone Platform Meditation Cushion, on a futon, sat an elderly man with white hair and beard.
The Daoist Wuzhen.
The old man wore a faded gray Daoist robe, had a thin face, half-closed eyes, and long, even breaths. He looked like an ordinary old Daoist priest in the mountains, no different from a fortune teller in a rural temple.
However, the moment Chen Changqing's Nine Great Red-Gold Primordial Spirits sensed the old man's aura, they all sounded an alarm.
The aura of Tribulation Immortal First Stage was concealed to the extreme, yet his Primordial Spirit still instinctively felt immense pressure.
This feeling is different from that of True Lord Qingxiao. True Lord Qingxiao is Sixth Layer of Tribulation Immortal, and when his aura is released, it is as if the sky is collapsing and the earth is sinking. Daoist Wuzhen is Tribulation Immortal First Stage, which is much lower in realm, but he has something even more indescribable about him.
Like a sword hidden in its sheath.
You can't see the blade, but you can feel that it's ready to be drawn at any moment.
Chen Changqing composed himself, stepped forward, and respectfully performed a deep bow.
"Disciple Chen Changqing pays respects to Grandmaster."
The Daoist Wuzhen slowly opened his eyes.
Those eyes, though cloudy, gleamed with a sharp light as they scanned Chen Changqing from head to toe.
"Get up," Daoist Wuzhen raised his hand. "Speak standing up, don't kneel. I don't follow that custom."
Chen Changqing got up as instructed.
Daoist Wuzhen picked up the teapot on the Stone Platform, poured a cup into each of the two cups, and pushed one towards Chen Changqing.
"Have a sip of tea."
Chen Changqing took the teacup with both hands, lowered his head and took a sip. As the tea went down his throat, a refreshing Spiritual Power flowed through his meridians and throughout his body, several times more mellow than the best Spirit Tea on Evergreen Peak.
"Good tea."
"Nonsense, this is Grand Void Spirit Sprout that I've stored for eight hundred years, of course it's good." Daoist Wuzhen glared at him irritably, then looked him up and down several times.
The old man's gaze lingered on Chen Changqing's brow for a moment, as if observing the changes in his Primordial Spirit.
"Nine Red-Gold Primordial Spirits." Daoist Wuzhen nodded, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Not bad, your time in the Heavenly Void Divine Pool wasn't wasted."
"You flatter me, Master."
"Don't flatter me." Daoist Wuzhen picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and said seriously, "You caused quite a stir on your trip."
Chen Changqing remained silent for a moment, offering no explanation.
Daoist Wuzhen raised his fingers and began to count.
"Champion the Heavenly Void Grand Tournament is a good thing; it brings honor to Mount Shu."
One finger.
"He defeated dozens of strong opponents of the same level on the arena, killed talented disciples from multiple forces, and offended almost everyone in the entire Nine Provinces."
Two fingers.
"On the way back, someone spread the news, attracting more than three hundred True Lords to ambush you. You killed more than eighty of them in forty breaths, and also took the opportunity to kill a Heavenly Monarch."
Three fingers.
"In the end, I was forced to beg Senior Brother Qingxiao to come out of seclusion and protect you."
Four fingers.
The Daoist Wuzhen shook his four fingers.
"Tell me yourself, isn't this a lot of noise?"
Chen Changqing's lips twitched.
Daoist Chen Yuan, standing to the side, silently lowered his head, as if there was something interesting on the ground.
Daoist Wuzhen stared at Chen Changqing for a long while, then suddenly laughed.
A smile, like a chrysanthemum, bloomed on that thin, old face.
"However, to be fair, the Champion of the Heavenly Void Grand Tournament is truly deserving. I watched the footage transmitted from the arena, and your sword strikes were indeed beautiful."
His tone shifted, his smile faded, and his gaze became deep and serious.
"I called you here today not to settle old scores."
Chen Changqing's heart skipped a beat.
Daoist Wuzhen put down his teacup, placed his hands folded on his knees, and straightened his back.
"Who do you think should be the next Sect Master of the Mount Shu sect?"
This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.
Chen Changqing's pupils dilated slightly.
Daoist Chen Yuan stood to the side, his expression unchanged, clearly knowing what Daoist Wuzhen wanted to discuss before he arrived.
"Disciple..." Chen Changqing hesitated for a moment, then said, "I dare not presume to speak."
"I told you to discuss it, so discuss it." Daoist Wuzhen glared at him.
Chen Changqing remained silent for three breaths.
Daoist Wuzhen didn't urge him; he simply picked up his teacup, took another sip, and waited calmly.
The Cave Heaven was so quiet that only the faint sound of Spiritual Qi flowing within could be heard.
Three breaths later, Chen Changqing spoke.
"Does the Grandmaster mean to choose me?"
Daoist Wuzhen put down his teacup, his gaze falling on Chen Changqing's face, a meaningful smile curving his lips.
"I have decided that you will succeed me as the next Sect Master of the Mount Shu sect."
Sect Master.
These two words, when they hit Chen Changqing's ears, were more shocking than the shockwave from the combined attack of the six Heavenly Monarch.
Shu Mountain Sacred Land, the foremost of the Orthodox Ten Great Sacred Lands.
The position of Sect Master carries immense weight, ranking among the top three in the entire Nine Provinces. To sit in that position means wielding the power of life and death over tens of thousands of disciples of Mount Shu, controlling the accumulated resources of Legend of Shu Mountain, and becoming one of the leading figures in the righteous faction of the Nine Provinces.
Chen Changqing had made many mental preparations.
He had considered that Daoist Wuzhen might reprimand him for what happened in the Netherworld Trench, that he might be given more guards and have his movements restricted, and that the old man might even lock him up in the forbidden area of Mount Shu for seclusion.
The only thing I didn't expect was this.
"Grandmaster, this disciple is only at the Middle True Lord Stage." Chen Changqing's voice carried a rare hint of hesitation.
Daoist Wuzhen held his teacup and slowly blew on the steam rising from the surface of the tea.
"Cultivation level is not a problem. The cultivation levels of the successive Sect Master of Mount Shu varied greatly when they took over. When your Master Chen Yuan took over as Sect Master, he was only at the Early Tribulation Transcendence, not much higher than you."
"But this disciple has only been a student for a few years—"
"Enough." Daoist Wuzhen interrupted him, his tone calm yet undeniable. "The Champion the Heavenly Void Grand Tournament, a True Lord Monarch who slew Heavenly Monarch, Nine Great Red-Gold Primordial Spirits, and the successor of the Immortal Execution Sword. With all these things combined, how many people on Mount Shu would dare to disagree?"