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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Three Sages School’s recruitment ceremony basically happened once every two years. Frequency wise, it was below average because some sects in Jiu Zhou took in a batch of disciples every year.
It was because the casualty rate of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators was extremely high. Even if they managed to survive the Spirit Creek Realm, their safety still wasn’t guaranteed after they reached the Cloud River Realm, Real Lake Realm or Divine Ocean Realm.
Unless there came a day where the Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge stopped fighting completely, Jiu Zhou would always be embroiled in conflict, and lives would be lost.
Therefore, the only way to ensure that the sect could endure was to absorb new blood again and again.
Generally speaking, the recruitment ceremony of Tier-One, Two and Three sects involved not just themselves, but also the lower tier sects around them.
Tier-One, Two and Three sects had very stringent entry requirements, and they only accepted a limited number of disciples at a time. The number of registrants always outnumbered the quota by a significant amount. Therefore, those who failed to make it weren’t necessarily unworthy of investment. In fact, many excellent talents had been unearthed this way.
That was why the middle to low tier sects loved to attend the recruitment ceremony. It was to flatter the other party and to pick up those hidden gems the hosting sects might have missed for one reason to another.
Generally speaking, everyone had a chance to join a major or minor sect so long as they properly displayed their talent and skills in the recruitment ceremony.
This was very different from the one Lu Ye had experienced in the Evil Moon Valley. Back then, almost no one in his group had unlocked even a single Spiritual Point. That was why the recruiters only checked their cultivation talent and nothing else.
In this recruitment ceremony, the candidates already possessed a cultivation foundation of some sort. This made it easier to glean their future and potential.
The Three Sages School thought that this year’s recruitment ceremony was going to be a bountiful one because they had already spotted a ton of excellent seeds during the registration phase. The organizers were most happy to see this.
The Three Sages School welcomed each and every guest warmly. This was especially true after they learned that Tang Yifeng, the sect master of the Crimson Blood Sect himself would be showing up in person.
The Crimson Blood Sect might be a shadow of its former self, but there was no changing the fact that they were a pillar of the Grand Sky Coalition over thirty years ago, not to mention that the sect was showing signs of revival thanks to the meteoric rise of their latest disciple, Lu Yi Ye.
The sect master of the Three Sages School, Yu Ganju had personally made an appearance to receive Tang Yifeng. They were long-time acquaintances at this point, so they did not bother exchanging too many pleasantries.
“Why have you come, Brother Tang?” Yu Ganju asked in puzzlement.
“What? Am I not welcomed?” Tang Yifeng joked smilingly.
“We wouldn’t dare. It is our honor to receive your presence. You understand why I’m asking though, right? It has been decades since you attended any such event at all.”
Tang Yifeng sighed. “Because I’ve changed my mind. Back then, I didn’t care if the Crimson Blood Sect would be disbanded. Shui Yuan and I were the only ones left anyway, so it was like we had already disbanded, not to mention that I’m old enough to enjoy retirement. But now, I have younglings to look after, and the days where the Crimson Blood Sect was in danger of being disbanded are behind us. In that case, I might as well put my heart and soul into it, right?
“Yi Ye suggested that I recruit more disciples to ensure that the sect has a future, but as you’re aware, it has been over thirty years since we recruited anyone, not to mention that I’ve never handled a recruitment ceremony once in my life. I know next to nothing about the process or the customs that should be observed. Since you sent me the invitation not long ago, I thought I would use this opportunity to brush up on my knowledge.”
“I see!” Yu Ganju exclaimed in realization. He finally understood why Tang Yifeng was attending the recruitment ceremony.
“Anyway, I’m sure you have duties you need to attend to, so feel free to leave me and observe your ceremony at your leisure,” Tang Yifeng shooed kindly. The sect master was right, but he was still a sect master and a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator, meaning that he was expected to receive a modicum of respect at the very least. That was why Yu Ganju immediately ordered a Real Lake Realm attendant to accompany Tang Yifeng for the entire length of the recruitment ceremony.
A recruitment ceremony was not a major event to the Three Sages School, so Divine Ocean Realm cultivators generally did not get involved in it. In fact, only four or five Real Lake Realm cultivators were assigned to receive important visitors and ensure that everything was proceeding in order. Everything else was left to the Cloud River Realm and Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to handle as a matter of course.
While Tang Yifeng was enjoying his time at the Three Sages School, Lu Ye was fighting for his life at the Rift of Illusions.
After dying to the motherfucker from the Thousand Demon Ridge seven times in a row, Lu Ye finally became wise and waited for an entire hour before going back in. As expected, the bastard was already gone. He then paid fifty Contribution Points to enter the Rift of Illusions and began honing his telekinetic abilities. Over time, he felt much better as one fog-covered cultivator fell after another.
Four hours later, Lu Ye emerged from the rift looking completely refreshed.
The training through real combat had improved his Way of Telekinesis measurably. Most importantly, the experience allowed him to figure out his limit.
After recovering his strength and grooming himself a little, he went to the Lunarmere and caught a couple of Blood Sturgeons. Then, he brought out his Spirit Boat and flew straight to the Summit of Clarity.
When he arrived at the peak, jumped off his flying Spirit Artifact, and walked toward Lady Yun’s residence, the mute female attendant he saw before emerged from the entrance and shot him a smile. She then gestured for him to go in.
A trace of surprise flashed behind Lu Ye’s pupils.
In the past, he already thought that the mute woman was a little strange, but he couldn’t tell exactly what about her had tickled his senses. Today, he finally noticed a thing or two thanks to his stronger Divine Soul.
For starters, he finally realized why the attendant hadn’t said a word. It wasn’t just because she was mute.
He gave her the fish he caught before following her into a corridor. They soon arrived at the study Lady Yun where usually taught him. The woman herself was reading a book inside the study.
“Long time no see, Lady Yun,” Lu Ye greeted her with a respectful salute.
Lady Yun examined him for a moment before shooting him a warm smile. “I’m happy to see that you’ve returned without losing a limb or two.”
“It may not have been possible without the two treasures you gave me.”
“You can own the most powerful treasure in the world, and it will still be useless if the user is inept. I have heard of your deeds, and I am pleasantly surprised to learn how talented you are in the Way of Wards. Without exaggeration, you have dealt an unprecedented blow to the Thousand Demon Ridge. Are you planning to make the Way of Wards your main focus?”
“It depends. I honestly didn’t expect to have such growth. It’s all thanks to the Hundred Wards Tower.”
“The Hundred Wards Tower is a wonderful place, yes. I have challenged it once in my lifetime, but I was too young to understand its secrets and intricacies back then. As a result, I wasn’t able to gain too much from it. Anyway, it sounds like you still wish to focus on the Way of Glyphs.”
Lu Ye responded affirmatively, “Yes. The Way of Glyphs is a way that encompasses many fields, and my inheritance is that of a Glyphweaver. That is why I do not want to neglect it.”
“You are correct. Mastering the Way of Glyphs would facilitate your learning in many other fields, and your current attainment in the Way of Wards is the proof of that. Let us begin our studies then. First, show me your current attainment in the Way of Glyphs.”
Lady Yun then passed a jade tablet to Lu Ye.
This wasn’t the first time she had tested his skill like this, so Lu Ye knew what to do without having to be told. He immediately channeled his Spiritual Power and constructed a Glyph to the best of his ability.
Of course, he chose a Glyph he had learned from the books. There was no point constructing one from the Tree of Glyphs.
A moment later, Lady Yun looked at the tightly woven Yin and Yang elements on the tablet and nodded approvingly. “You have improved a lot.”
Lu Ye thought the same thing himself. He might have invested most of his energy in the Way of Wards as of late, but the improvement in his cultivation level, his Divine Soul and even his Spiritual Power Control had all indirectly contributed to his attainment in the Way of Glyphs.
Now that Lady Yun had a measure of Lu Ye’s current attainment, she took a moment to prepare before starting the lesson. Lu Ye played the role of a model student and listened attentively to every word. From time to time, he would ask a question or answer a problem Lady Yun had posed to him.
It almost felt like he had traveled back to the time where he studied under Lady Yun during the day and read her books during the night.
Speaking of books, he had already finished reading the books he had taken from Lady Yun’s study before, so this was the perfect opportunity for him to replace them.
The days passed bit by bit, and the recruitment ceremony happening at the Three Sages School was nearing its end. It wasn’t a big event, so the results were ready to be published after a couple of days. The Real Lake Realm cultivator responsible for organizing the event had ranked all the registrants accordingly.
The top fifty candidates would go to the Three Sages School as a matter of course. The rest might or might not be recruited by the sect representatives who were attending the ceremony.
Generally speaking, those among the top five hundred could always find a sect they were suited for unless they were too proud, or had set their sights on greater heights.
Nighttime arrived, and the younglings participating in the recruitment ceremony were visibly nervous and excited. It was because the results would be published the next day.
The next day, everyone was waiting eagerly for the announcement, but to their surprise, there was none. Rather, something had happened to delay the announcement because they saw many Real Lake Realm cultivators flying back and forth between the headquarters and the outer courtyard.
Even the honored guests attending the ceremony were confused by this turn of events and tried to find out as much as they could. It wasn’t until two hours later that the news was leaked: the top fifty participants of the recruitment ceremony had vanished into thin air!
Not only was it a shocking development, it was unprecedented. Something like this had literally never happened in the history of Jiu Zhou. Many people guessed that this was a new ploy by the Thousand Demon Ridge, but on second thought it couldn’t be them. For starters, only a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator was capable of kidnapping fifty people in a night while remaining undetected, and it made no sense that a Divine Ocean Realm Master from the Thousand Demon Ridge would come all the way to the Three Sages School to do such a thing.
At the same time, Yu Ganju was receiving the reports of his subordinates with growing anger. “Tang Yifeng! That old bastard has gone too far!”
The outsiders did not know what had happened to the fifty younglings, and neither did the Three Sages School at the beginning. That said, they were a Tier-two sect. It wasn’t long before they found out the truth.
The fifty younglings had been kidnapped, and the kidnapper was none other than the Crimson Blood Sect Sect Master, Tang Yifeng.
Yu Ganju recalled his conversation with Tang Yifeng. He realized too late exactly why the sect master—no, the old bastard had come to observe their recruitment ceremony.
[Observe my ass, the sonuvabitch had come to steal OUR recruits! Not only that, he stole the top fifty candidates we were going to accept into our sect, no more and no less! Hells, he didn’t even wait for the fucking INK on the paper to dry before stealing them!]
Tang Yifeng was without a doubt the most shameless Divine Ocean Realm cultivator he had ever known!
Lol, why look for candidates if you can just literally kidnap a bunch
…a bunch hand-picked and deliberated over by consensus for you as well!