The uninvited woman possessed a serene and elegant demeanor, and the guqin she carried was clearly no ordinary instrument. As she walked through the crowd, no one stopped her; everyone made way for her.
The woman squinted as she scanned the stage, and her eyes immediately fell on Lin Xuan. A smile instantly bloomed in her slightly narrowed eyes.
Lin Xuan also saw her.
He was immediately taken aback.
Is it her?
Lin Xuan had a good memory, and the moment he saw this woman, he immediately recalled that she was Yunyi, the number one genius of the Lingzhen Spirit True Empire of the Zither Intent, whom he had met in the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm.
How did she end up here?
Just as Lin Xuan was filled with doubt, the girl holding the guqin stepped onto the high platform and arrived in front of the testing spirit tablet.
She stretched out her slender hand and gently pressed it onto the testing stele.
Immediately afterwards, the beam of light illuminated!
One...
Three...
Six Paths...
Eight paths...
Ten!
Without any hindrance or obstruction, ten beams of light rose from the ground almost simultaneously, flashing with dazzling brilliance.
"Ten... ten pillars of light?!"
The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, leaving them staring blankly at the field.
When they realized what was happening, the entire venue erupted in cheers, with countless people standing up and staring fervently at the stunningly beautiful girl on stage.
One, two, three... a full ten beams of light!
There's no mistake, it's ten!
"The founder of the Jade Void Sword Sect only detected eight beams of light back then, and that person was Half-Step Emperor Realm!"
"There is no record of the ninth or tenth beam of light."
"This... this is the first person in our Heron Empire to test the ten beams of light?!"
How talented must she be?
The elder's words, seemingly still echoing in everyone's ears, kept repeating "eight questions, eight questions..."
They stared at the antique-looking woman with a mixture of shock and bewilderment, and even... a hint of fear!
Fear of what one does not understand, awe at this stunning and dazzling talent.
The ninth and tenth beams of light—heights that even the Jade Void Sword Sect Sect's founder, once the strongest in the Heron Empire, had never reached—were so easily achieved by a young girl?
What an incredible, heaven-defying existence!
Whether it was the silent elder of the Jade Void Sword Sect, the madwoman of the Azure Luan Pavilion, or Elder Yan who had been sitting on the sidelines watching the show, almost all the elders present went mad.
They stood up at the same time, their eyes burning with excitement, staring intently at the ethereal figure.
"Would you be willing to join my Jade Void Sword Sect? I can accept you as a disciple on behalf of the Jade Void Sword Sect's patriarch. Furthermore, you can choose your own elixirs and Cultivation Method, and the sect will devote all its efforts to nurturing you!"
Fearing the young girl below wouldn't understand the prestige of her sect, the elder of the Jade Void Sword Sect frantically tossed out a bunch of high-grade pills and Cultivation Method, constantly calling out their names. Any one of these items would be enough to make anyone envious, yet she promised them all at once, just to use them as an olive branch to recruit the guqin girl.
Not to be outdone, Elder Feng of the Azure Luan Pavilion also promised benefits, just like reciting the names of dishes.
Her eyes gleamed with madness as she looked at the woman playing the guqin, as if she wanted to devour her whole.
If we can acquire this genius, Azure Luan Pavilion will definitely become the number one in the Heron Empire in the future... No! What's the point of competing for the number one spot in the Heron Empire? If we're going to compete, we should compete for the top spot among the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms!
Elder Yan is no different...
Almost all the elders were scrambling to grab people, frantically sending out messages using their communication jade pendants as they did so.
Something terrible has happened!! Ancestor! Sect Master! Come quickly!
This is a prodigy, a once-in-a-century... no, a once-in-a-millennium talent!
They're taking him!
We must seize control of our own sect!
The girl playing the guqin seemed to have anticipated these people's reactions, her eyes remaining calm and unmoved, showing no emotional fluctuation when she heard about the insane benefits.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she gently shook her head, met a chorus of astonished gazes, looked up towards the Jade Balance Sword Palace, and smiled.
"Senior, would you be willing to accept me as your disciple?"
Lin Xuan opened his mouth, somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Yunyi to have come for him.
Should I become his disciple?
He couldn't quite understand what the little girl was thinking.
It wasn't that he felt unqualified to take her as his disciple, but rather the most important point—he cultivated the sword, while Yunyi cultivated the zither; all he had comprehended was the Sword Intent, while Yunyi had already comprehended the Zither Intent. These were two different Great Dao, and she should have been well aware of this. Why would she have the idea of becoming his disciple?
Lin Xuan was somewhat surprised, but for everyone else, it was a shock.
They didn't hear me wrong, did they?!
A prodigy guqin player, ignoring invitations from the Jade Void Sword Sect and the Azure Luan Pavilion, chooses to become a disciple of the Jade Balance Sword Palace.
Moreover, she wasn't worshipping the already renowned Chen Xiong, but rather the young man who had offended Elder Feng?
Is the world crazy, or are they crazy?
How could anyone abandon top-tier sects like the Jade Void Sword Sect and the Azure Luan Pavilion to go to the lowest-ranking Jade Balance Sword Palace?
What were you thinking?!
Elder Feng was also dumbfounded.
What's going on?
Did she not explain herself clearly?
This prodigy actually wants to become that guy's disciple?
They're blind! Absolutely blind!
The seven sect elders promised so many treasures and Cultivation Method, even offering to take on disciples in place of their respective sect leaders and ancestors. Yet she turned down these readily available benefits and chose a young man who hadn't even spoken a word to her as her master?
Moreover, he is a young man from the Jade Balance Sword Palace, the weakest of the seven sects!
What else could this be but blindness?
Elder Feng didn't believe that a small place like the Jade Balance Sword Palace could produce any powerful experts.
She couldn't help but say, "Little girl, have you thought this through? The person you're referring to is from the Jade Balance Sword Palace, which is ranked last among our seven sects, while my Azure Luan Pavilion is ranked second! We have countless powerful experts..."
No need for you to trouble yourself.
Before Elder Feng could finish speaking, Yunyi interrupted him.
Not just anyone is qualified to be her master.
In short, Elder Feng was thoroughly put on the defensive.
Yunyi's purpose was clear: Lin Xuan.
Otherwise, why would she abandon a major sect like Thousand Sounds Pavilion in the Profound Domain and travel thousands of miles to come here?
Faced with Yunyi's bright and beautiful eyes, Lin Xuan didn't hesitate much and readily agreed.
"Alright, from now on, you will be my fifth apprentice."
At the same time, the system also scanned towards her.
Name: Yunyi
Age: 19
Realm: Earth Profound Realm Eighth Layer
Identity: Sword Pavilion Disciple
Destiny: Peerless in Zither and Sword (Orange Rank 1)
Recent events: After being shocked by Su Lianxin's extraordinary talent within the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm, he disregarded his clan's opposition, refused the Thousand Sounds Pavilion's invitation, and went to the Heron Empire to try to become Lin Xuan's disciple.
Orange-ranked, Peerless in Zither and Sword?
Wow, her talent is no less than that of Nangong Yaoyue...
As soon as Lin Xuan finished speaking, Yunyi, who was holding a guqin, walked straight towards him with a light and bright smile on her face.
" Yunyi greets Master!"
She walked away lightly, ignoring the complicated looks from others, leaving everyone sighing with regret.
Such a talented disciple... how could he have been so blind at such a young age to have joined the Jade Balance Sword Palace?
What's the difference between this and a golden phoenix landing in a chicken coop?
With Yunyi his disciple, Lin Xuan became the ultimate winner in the Immortal Ascension Ceremony.
Every now and then, someone would cast a complicated glance at what was behind him.
One has seven paths, the other has ten...
Even if the one who lit up seven beams of light was in tremendous trouble, it cannot be denied that Qin Feng was a genius.
How come this young man is so lucky at taking on apprentices?
It's really puzzling...
By the end of the ceremony, Lin Xuan had not found a third disciple who met his expectations.
There are indeed talented individuals with five or six streams of spiritual light, but even if Lin Xuan wanted to take them in, they would prefer to become disciples of other major sects rather than someone like Lin Xuan... a "dying man."
Everyone knows that he offended the Scarlet Ghost King!
After the ceremony ended, everyone returned to their respective sects. Chen Xiong followed Lin Xuan, looking worried. He wanted to speak but didn't know where to begin, and could only remain hesitant.
Elder Feng stood far away from the Jade Balance Sword Palace. She glanced at Lin Xuan from afar, a mocking smile appearing on her lips, before turning her head away without hesitation.
Originally, she planned to cause trouble for Lin Xuan after the ceremony.
But this guy was reckless and accepted Qin Feng, which saved her the trouble of dealing with his funeral arrangements.
The Scarlet Ghost King would never let him go. If she killed the person he wanted to kill before Scarlet Ghost King did, thus angering Scarlet Ghost King, not only would she be unable to bear it, but the Azure Luan Pavilion would also find it difficult to withstand the Scarlet Ghost King's wrath.
"A dead man is dead no matter who kills him, ha..."
"Let's go."
Elder Feng casually called out, then left with the few disciples he had recruited and Xi Huan.
But she didn't see that although Lin Xuan wasn't looking in her direction, he seemed to sense her venomous gaze. With a slight twitch of his finger, a dark shadow sank into the ground, heading straight for the direction where Azure Luan Pavilion and the others had left...
Elder Feng was right about only one thing.
He's just a dead man; dying at anyone's hands is still dying.
Of course, whether she died at the hands of her true self or her clone, it was still death.