Jiang Chen nodded inwardly as he watched.
The heart-tempering toll of the Purple Firmament Azure Heaven Bell struck directly at the Dao heart. This method of recruiting disciples was more conducive to the Holy Land's continued legacy than selecting them purely on aptitude!
"The bell tempers the Dao heart. Those who remain standing beneath its toll may all enter the Purple Firmament Holy Land. Come before me! The rest of you, wait where you are. Once the disciple recruitment ceremony ends, someone will escort you away!"
The Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor's voice reverberated endlessly between heaven and earth, as though he spoke for the will of the world itself, carrying an unquestionable dominance.
In the square, those who had passed the trial cheered and leaped with excitement.
Those who had failed wore dejected expressions and could only watch the others celebrate with envy written across their faces.
"The heart-tempering toll of the Purple Firmament Azure Heaven Bell is not something ordinary people get to hear. It can cleanse the soul and temper the Dao heart!"
"Though none of you are fated to enter the Purple Firmament Holy Land, this heart-tempering toll alone will benefit you for the rest of your lives!"
The Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor's voice rang out again.
These words did improve the spirits of many who had failed the trial. At least they had not come for nothing.
"Everyone, all those who qualified this time are here. Each main peak has only one true disciple slot. Make your selections!"
The Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor raised his mountain-sized head slightly, gesturing toward Jiang Chen and the others.
All those who had passed the trial were filled with anticipation.
A true disciple!
Once they became true disciples, the cultivation resources they enjoyed would far exceed anything ordinary disciples could receive!
If they were not selected, they could only enter the Purple Firmament Holy Land's outer sect first!
Then they would have to compete with the other outer sect disciples for limited cultivation resources. It would be far too difficult to rise above the rest!
Jiang Chen understood their thoughts perfectly well, but could not be bothered with them.
He had only one target: a child of destiny!
Jiang Chen swept his gaze over the many disciples before finally settling on a girl of fifteen or sixteen.
The girl wore a white dress. She was tall and slender, with delicate features and clear eyes that seemed capable of reflecting all things.
However, her face was abnormally pale, and her blood and Qi were as thin as gauze.
The instant Jiang Chen looked at the girl, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes, visible to him alone.
[Child of destiny] [Name: Han Yuyao] [Identity: Seventh princess of the Cold Moon Holy Dynasty] [Cultivation: None] [Aptitude: Supreme Sword Physique (crippled), flawless sword heart] [Life history: Born in the Cold Moon Holy Dynasty with an innate supreme sword bone. Before her supreme sword bone could awaken, her third elder sister from the same clan dug it out and refined it. Han Yuyao fled the Cold Moon Holy Dynasty as a child and wandered the world. She never gave up cultivating. Every day, she visualized all things in heaven and earth as swords, watching clouds gather and scatter like a sword dance, listening to the wind sing and rain fall like ringing blades, comprehending the sword through every method she could think of. To this day, though Han Yuyao has no cultivation whatsoever, she has honed a flawless sword heart. Unfortunately, the loss of her supreme sword bone severely damaged her life essence, leaving her unable to open her Wheel Sea.]
Her supreme bone was stolen?
Not only did this fail to break her Dao heart, it actually allowed her to hone a flawless sword heart?
A flawless sword heart could keep one's sword heart lucid at all times, allowing one to see through appearances to the essence beneath!
With a flawless sword heart, cultivating any sword divine ability presented no difficulty whatsoever. One could infer three things from one and grasp related principles through analogy. It was an aptitude every sword cultivator dreamed of.
The more setbacks she faced, the more valiant she became!
As expected of a child of destiny!
"I am Jiang Chen, Peak Master of Clear Void Peak! Are you willing to take me as your master?"
Jiang Chen crossed the void, arriving beside Han Yuyao in a single step. Looking straight at her, he asked without preamble.
Only after a hundred years since transmigrating had he encountered a true child of destiny. Naturally, Jiang Chen would not hesitate.
At Jiang Chen's action, the other elders and true disciples were all inwardly startled.
They thought Jiang Chen had discovered some peerless prodigy, and instinctively wanted to leap forward to compete for the disciple.
But they soon employed various secret arts and saw that Han Yuyao's blood and Qi were deficient.
This was a congenital deficiency. Even if she had luckily endured the Purple Firmament Azure Heaven Bell's trial, it would be difficult for her to achieve much in the future.
The elders and true disciples shook their heads one after another, abandoning any thought of competing for her.
"Peak Master Jiang, this girl has a congenital deficiency. Unless she encounters a heaven-defying opportunity, even opening her Wheel Sea will be difficult!"
The Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor offered a well-intentioned reminder, advising, "You had best think twice, Peak Master Jiang!"
"Thank you for the reminder, Dragon Emperor!"
Jiang Chen thanked him with a smile, but said without any concern, "When accepting disciples, I look not at aptitude, but at fate. This girl shares a fated connection with me. If she wishes to take me as her master, I shall form that bond with her."
The Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor nodded slightly and offered no further persuasion.
Han Yuyao looked at Jiang Chen. Her flawless sword heart was clear and lucid, reflecting the essence of all things, and she vaguely sensed that the young peak master before her would be deeply intertwined with her!
"This disciple is willing!" Han Yuyao nodded decisively.
"Detected that the host has accepted a child of destiny as a disciple-Han Yuyao. Congratulations to the host on obtaining the Chaos Sword Scripture!" "As this is the host's first time accepting a child of destiny as a disciple, boundless providence flows back to the host. Congratulations to the host on obtaining the myriad tribulations indestructible physique! Awaken it?"
The moment Han Yuyao agreed, a series of system notifications suddenly rang out in Jiang Chen's mind, accompanied by a vast flood of related information.
Chaos Sword Scripture: Enter the Dao through the sword, unrivaled in offense. Transform bones into chaos sword bones and forge a chaos sword physique!
Cultivated to its utmost, every bone in the body could become a chaos sword bone. Each chaos sword bone contained a mighty sword divine ability, allowing one to step into the supreme realm!
Myriad tribulations indestructible physique: A physique supreme above all throughout the eternal epochs!
Cultivated to its utmost, it would remain unbroken through myriad tribulations, imperishable through eternity. A single thought would birth myriad tribulations; a single thought would annihilate the heavens. All tribulations of heaven and earth would fall under its control, and even a calamity of the age could descend upon it without inflicting the slightest harm!
Moreover, this physique possessed the source of myriad tribulations, transcending fate and confounding heaven's secrets!
Upon awakening, this physique could conceal all information about oneself and others, including origins, providence, aptitude, cultivation, soul, and presence. No existence could see through it, preventing certain supreme beings from detecting and erasing its bearer the moment the physique awakened.
A trace of shock involuntarily flashed deep within Jiang Chen's eyes.
As expected of a system that could only recruit children of destiny. It was simply too powerful!
His hundred years of waiting had not been in vain!
The Chaos Sword Scripture was clearly tailor-made for Han Yuyao, while the myriad tribulations indestructible physique was Jiang Chen's foundation for stepping into the supreme realm!
Jiang Chen was destined to recruit many children of destiny in this lifetime. The growth of every child of destiny would be accompanied by boundless calamities, and only this myriad tribulations indestructible physique could suppress that endless backlash of tribulations.
Borrow boundless tribulations to forge a supreme Dao foundation!
Although breaking through each realm with the myriad tribulations indestructible physique would be fraught with countless difficulties, as long as he nurtured children of destiny to maturity, he could receive boundless providence in return. There was no need to worry too much.
This was not the time to awaken the myriad tribulations indestructible physique. Jiang Chen bade farewell to the Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor and the elders, enveloped Han Yuyao in divine power, and the two vanished silently from between heaven and earth.
"What profound mastery of space!"
"Peak Master Jiang's cultivation has become even more unfathomable!"
"What a pity that he accepted a disciple with such a congenital deficiency this time. I truly have no idea what he is thinking!"
The elders shook their heads inwardly and sighed.
The Dark Annihilation Dragon Emperor gazed at the spot where Jiang Chen had vanished, a thoughtful look in his draconic eyes. He vaguely felt that Jiang Chen's cultivation might be no weaker than his own!
There was probably a deeper meaning behind Jiang Chen's choice of disciple!
Could that girl possess some other hidden, heaven-defying aptitude?