" Zhou Zhiyi, Master of the Yuheng Hall, Third Rank True Person..."
Zhou Wuji and Su Wuyi have been staying for almost three months and have gained a basic understanding of the situation in the academy. They know that Zhou Zhiyi is the eldest of the Yuheng Lineage and is also the current head of the Zhou Household family.
As the sect leader, Zhou Xuan'an tried his best to treat everyone equally. However, he couldn't be ruthless towards his own family. Having led the Northern Pole Sect for nearly a century, his Zhou Household had naturally become the largest Aristocratic Clan in the Northern Pole Sect.
In terms of relationships, Zhou Zhiyi is the nephew of the sect leader, Zhou Xuan'an.
According to Su Wuyi, the sect leader rarely interfered in the sect's specific affairs and seldom saw anyone.
The affairs of the sect are jointly managed by the seven hall masters, the supervisors, and the dean of the Discipline Court.
Generally, each hall manages its own affairs, with the head of the hall responsible for coordinating finances and logistics, while the head of the Discipline Court is in charge of regulations and precepts.
True Disciple hold positions equivalent to the temple master, which is very important, but they do not manage specific affairs.
The True Disciple Candidate is also very important. Even the heads of the various halls have no authority to manage them.
Only the sect leader has the authority to dispose of True Disciple True Disciple Candidate.
As the Yuheng Hall, Zhou Zhiyi is already one of the most powerful figures in the academy. For such a person to come and stand up for Zhou Yichun is, frankly, quite beneath his dignity.
On the other hand, the Yuheng Lineage truly could not find anyone who could surpass him.
If an elder were to come, Zhou Wuji could simply put on airs and refuse to see him, leaving the elder with no one to complain to.
Regardless, Zhou Zhiyi, the Yuheng Hall Palace, stood up for such a trivial matter, which shows that he has a strong personality, acts directly, and really has the indomitable spirit of a sword cultivator.
Zhou Wuji, dressed in a single layer of clothing and barefoot, came to the courtyard. He nodded slightly to Zhou Zhiyi and said, "I was unaware of the arrival of the Yuheng Hall. Please forgive my failure to greet you properly."
Zhou Zhiyi sized up this True Disciple Candidate. Although Zhou Wuji rarely appeared in the academy, he was known for his elegant demeanor and was also hailed as having unparalleled Swordsmanship.
As True Disciple Candidate promoted from the Upper Court, he was even granted the Third Rank True Person Hongde by imperial decree.
Just considering the title bestowed upon True Person, his rank is on par with all the other True Person.
Today, Zhou Wuji was dressed in only a single garment, barefoot, with his hair disheveled and most of his chest exposed, looking rather unrestrained and carefree.
It was the height of summer, Zhou Wuji's residence at Fallen Blossoms Studio was hot, so his attire was quite normal.
But to see him like this was far too disrespectful. Zhou Zhiyi was displeased, but he had to admit that even in this unrestrained manner, Zhou Wuji was still handsome and elegant, unlike any ordinary person.
The old Daoist sighed inwardly. No wonder the sect leader admired such a person!
When the sect leader initially suggested making Zhou Wuji True Disciple Candidate, he was actually unwilling.
Judging from his various deeds, Zhou Wuji is shrewd, capable, and possesses the perseverance of a cultivator from the lower levels; he is a formidable figure.
The competition for the True Disciple Candidate someone is already fierce; this person's arrival will only intensify it.
Another issue is that Zhou Zhihua and Zhou Wuji had a close relationship.
Zhou Zhihua disobeyed his arrangements and refused the marriage proposal on her own, even giving up her status True Disciple Candidate, which embarrassed him and caused a falling out with his entire family.
Once Zhou Zhihua was promoted to the Third Rank, he would permanently reside in the Jingyang Upper Court and never return to his original academy. He also vowed to sever all ties with the Zhou Household and never have any further contact with them.
This incident caused a huge uproar. Although no one died, it exposed the disunity within the Zhou Household to everyone, causing him to lose face and making the Zhou Household a laughingstock.
Zhou Zhiyi also deeply resented Zhou Zhihua's lack of understanding; he naturally loathed the people Zhou Zhihua had pushed forward.
But as a member of the sect leader's family, how could he oppose the sect leader's proposal?
That would only make outsiders laugh at him for being ignorant and at the Zhou Household for being a disorganized mess. In addition, Zhou Wuji had made great contributions to the sect, and none of the hall masters dared to object, so the matter was passed smoothly.
Zhou Zhiyi wasn't sure what the sect leader was thinking. Despite being the sect leader's nephew, they were actually sixty years apart in age. They were related by blood, but there was no real personal affection between them.
As for Zhou Wuji, he originally planned to find opportunities to suppress him gradually, in any case, he couldn't let this kid become the True Disciple.
In this respect, the seven palace masters all had a tacit understanding.
They all have their own True Disciple Candidate; how could they let an outsider like Zhou Wuji get the advantage!
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yichun was impatient and restless. Knowing that Zhou Wuji had gone to the Thousand Spirits Mountain Secret Realm, he couldn't wait to find someone to duel with.
If he had won, Zhou Yichun would have been decisive and ruthless. But if he had lost, had his sword sheath thrown away, and had his hair cut off, it would have been a disgrace.
There was a Daoist priest guarding the entrance to the secret realm, and the news that Zhou Yichun left with a bald head had already spread throughout the academy.
As a cultivator of the first generation, Zhou Yichun was already looked down upon by many True Disciple Candidate, and many palace masters also had their own objections.
Now that this scandal has occurred, Zhou Yichun's status among the many True Disciple Candidate has plummeted to the lowest.
The sect leader doesn't choose True Disciple solely based on cultivation level; otherwise, it would become a martial arts tournament.
All the other True Disciple Candidate don't need to do anything else; they can just settle things through a martial arts contest. However, Zhou Yichun, who took the initiative to challenge, lost to Zhou Wuji, losing all his accumulated resources in one fell swoop.
From now on, all the sects will bring this up, and even the sect leader will have opinions about Zhou Yichun.
It can be almost concluded that Zhou Yichun has lost his qualification to advance to the level of True Disciple.
That's why Zhou Zhiyi wouldn't let Zhou Wuji get away with it.
Zhou Wuji naturally had no idea what the old Daoist was thinking, and he wasn't in a hurry, so he just waited quietly.
Even if this were on Tianshu Mountain, he wouldn't be afraid of anything, no matter where he was.
"You do have a certain appeal; no wonder Zhou Zhihua admires you."
Zhou Zhiyi said in a condescending tone, "For Zhou Zhihua's sake, as long as you apologize and return the sword sheath, this matter will be considered closed."
Zhou Wuji laughed; this old Daoist was quite a character.
"What?" Zhou Zhiyi frowned, his long white eyebrows furrowed. He disliked Zhou Wuji's frivolous smile.
"Palace Master, there's something I don't understand. Why should I apologize?" Zhou Wuji asked with a smile. "Just because I defeated Zhou Yichun with my sword?"
Before Zhou Zhiyi speak, Zhou Wuji said to himself, "If it's a fair sword fight, he lost because he's incompetent."
"Please ask the Palace Master to intervene on his behalf; Zhou Yichun is even more despicable and laughable."
"We're just two kids having a sword fight, and you, over ninety years old, come out to help us save face? Is that right?!"
Zhou Wuji rarely directly confronts people, but Zhou Zhiyi is so aggressive that he simply won't back down.
It's clear from Zhou Yichun's words that True Person Zhihua is at odds with the Zhou Household.
Then he has even less reason to be polite.
Most importantly, he felt that the old man Zhou Zhiyi was quite valuable. Perhaps by provoking him, he could squeeze some money out of the old man.
Zhou Zhiyi had a smooth and successful life and never really suffered any losses, which fostered his stubbornness.
Hearing Zhou Wuji speak so rudely, the old Daoist priest became somewhat angry. He frowned and said, "You are a junior, yet you are too presumptuous."
"Your Highness, I have always been very polite and dared not be impolite."
Zhou Wuji still smiled gently, "It is the Palace Master who is being rude. At your age, it is not appropriate for you to speak like that."
Zhou Zhiyi was just stubborn, but he lived to be over ninety years old and was still very shrewd, having spent his days scheming against the other six factions.
He was also trying to provoke Zhou Wuji with words to see how the young man would react.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Wuji spoke rudely, but did not do anything impolite, leaving Zhou Wuji with no grounds for complaint.
"You're quite the eloquent one."
Zhou Zhiyi, on the contrary, remained calm and said, "You were able to easily defeat Zhou Yichun, which shows that you do have extraordinary talent in Swordsmanship."
"Of the seven lineages in this academy, only the Yuheng Lineage Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword is most suitable for you."
"If you are willing to join Yuheng, the past will be wiped clean. I will have Zhou Yichun voluntarily withdraw from the True Disciple Candidate, and our entire lineage will fully support your advancement to the True Disciple level."
Even if you cannot advance to the True Disciple, we can still pass on our lineage's ultimate techniques to you without any restrictions.
"How was it?" Zhou Wuji was slightly surprised that the old man actually had the idea of winning him over, which shattered his stereotype of the stubborn old man.
However, this should be Zhou Zhiyi's test, or rather, a trap.
As True Disciple Candidate disciple, his sudden jump from Tianshu to Yuheng is enough to jeopardize all his chances of advancing to the True Disciple level.
If he really goes to Yuheng, he'll still have to be at the old man's mercy. If he doesn't obey, as the palace master, the old man has plenty of ways to deal with him.
If it were the Lower Court, Zhou Zhiyi saying that would have actually swayed him.
Now, however, it is absolutely impossible.
"Thank you for your kindness, Palace Master. As a disciple of Tianshu, how could I possibly join Yuheng?"
Zhou Wuji was afraid the old man would do something bad to him, so he had to make his words clear and unambiguous.
Anyway, he has the Perfected Water Mirror Technique, so he can extract the conversation from his memory at any time.
Zhou Zhiyi gave Zhou Wuji a deep look. "This won't work, that won't work, are you determined to oppose my Yuheng Lineage?"
"I wouldn't dare."
Zhou Wuji said calmly, "The Palace Master's aggressive behavior is clearly an act of bullying me by the Yuheng Lineage."
Zhou Zhiyi was genuinely furious. This junior was completely unyielding, not even offering a single soft word. Did he really not take him, the Palace Master, seriously?!
However, this junior has a title of True Person and is highly valued by the sect leader, so he doesn't have a good way to deal with him for the time being.
Zhou Wuji noticed the change in the old Daoist's emotions, mainly because Zhou Zhiyi was too lazy to hide his true feelings.
He said directly, "I can apologize, but only if you can defeat the sword in my hand. I will give this Tianshu Sword to Zhou Yichun as an apology, and I will also apologize to all the cultivators in the academy in person."
Zhou Zhiyi remained silent in thought, and Zhou Wuji's initiative to propose a sword duel was somewhat unexpected.
Moreover, Zhou Yichun lost, and no one among the Yuheng Wu generation could beat Zhou Wuji.
Publicly competing in swordsmanship on the Seven Star Platform will actually allow Zhou Wuji to gain fame. That kid has a brilliant idea!
The old Daoist priest sneered, "Are you implying that Yuheng has no one to rely on?"
Zhou Wuji then said, " The Yuheng Sword cultivators like to settle their differences with swords. The Palace Master dares not agree; are you perhaps afraid?"
Before Zhou Zhiyi speak, Zhou Wuji continued, "How about this: you Yuheng can use the Seven Star Consecutive Battles. As long as your cultivation is at the same level as mine, you are welcome to come up on stage and compete in swordsmanship."
The Seven Star Consecutive Battles " refers to a situation where one side can send seven people to challenge the opponent in succession.
Cultivators who wish to advance to the Yi Guan of True Disciple must all pass through the Seven Star Consecutive Battles.
However, in recent years, the sect's prestige has declined, and the Seven Star Consecutive Battles has become a mere formality, mainly for True Disciple to demonstrate their personal cultivation and spar with the other seven.
Zhou Zhiyi's expression was deep. Zhou Wuji actually took the initiative to propose the Seven Star Consecutive Battles, which meant he wanted to fight seven against one. He completely disregarded Yuheng and was too arrogant!
He said in a deep voice, "Very well, we, the Yuheng Lineage, will ask True Person Hongde for much guidance!"
Zhou Wuji countered, "If I lose, I'll give you the sword as an apology; if I win, what will I say?"
Zhou Zhiyi said in a deep voice, "If you win, you can name your terms."
"I don't want anything else even if I win, all I want is a Third Rank Army-Breaking Sword," Zhou Wuji said.
"Alright, it's a deal." Zhou Zhiyi smiled instead, knowing that this was Zhou Wuji's true purpose.
However, this kid is far too arrogant and conceited!
He refused to believe that all the experts in the Yuheng Lineage could lose to this kid!
(Happy National Day, everyone! Requesting double monthly votes! Thank you so much!)