In Shanmen Quanzhen, nominating True Disciples was an extremely complicated process, and combat strength was not the sole deciding factor.
Since the goal was to break the shackles of the Splendid World after reaching Infant Transformation in the future, their sights necessarily had to be set on the future. But how to assess that future was an age-old problem humanity had never solved since its emergence, whether among cultivators or mortals.
A face destined for greatness? An extraordinary bone structure?
There were no grounds they could rely on, nor any way to convince everyone. This was not a problem unique to Shanmen Quanzhen; in fact, it was a difficult issue in every tradition, rife with controversy, conflict, and even shady dealings and private exchanges of favors.
One relatively common practice was to appoint nine True Disciples first, then conduct an assessment every ten years. The assessment covered potential, comprehension of the Great Dao, the characteristics of their cultivation methods, contributions to the sect, influence, combat strength, and so on-almost every aspect of cultivation.
Of these, only combat strength offered a definite standard, because it could be settled through combat and could not be faked. As for the other aspects, well, ha.
How did one calculate potential? There was no single correct answer to comprehension of the Great Dao, contributions were riddled with subjective judgments, and what could they use to measure influence?
But one thing was very real: those controlling the assessments were the Infant Transformation masters of the various sects, or the different factions within a tradition. Under such circumstances, a good background and good connections became very important.
Among the continent's traditions, Shanmen Quanzhen was relatively fair in this respect. In some traditions, the selection of True Disciples had simply become a breeding ground for unchecked selfish desires,