Chapter 23: Collecting Three to Five More Dou

  The Lingjian Sect has not held an Ascension Conference for over a hundred years. Now that it's finally opened, the harvest is astonishingly bountiful.

  Seventeen people left Taoyuan Village and walked the last section of the trial. Thanks to Wang Lu's blessing, fifteen of them passed the test, except for two who gave up early. Even Hai Yunfan, Zhu Qin, and Wang Zhong managed to crawl out of a certain ice cave after the heaven and earth were separated and walked all the way to the end point.

  Under one sword, the four major Dantian were penetrated, and the entire path to ascension was severed at the waist. Everyone passed through unconditionally...

  This unexpected joy is dizzying, but on the other hand, the Lingjian Sect is in an uproar. If the previous Taoyuan Village issue was just a minor problem, then this bountiful harvest scene has become a severe pain that hurts to the bone. Even the master of Xianyun Peak cannot make a decision on this matter, and as a result, it has been argued all the way to the Starry Peak of Lingjian Mountain where the sect leader resides.

  At the top of Xingchen Peak, in a small hut where the leader discusses matters, nine elders of the Tianjian Hall gathered together.

  The Great Elder, who was also the current leader of the Wind Residence, sat at the top, but he closed his eyes and meditated silently. The Second Elder Liu Xian was furious and couldn't calm down, repeatedly slapping the armrests of his chair and letting out a loud roar.

  "I told you so, we can't let that woman do whatever she wants! That idiot's brain is rotten to the core! You all indulged her, believed in her so-called 'humanized innovation'! And now look what's happened! What are you going to do about it now?!"

  The other elders had different expressions, but no one was willing to get involved in this mess.

  Only a lively girl at the end smiled and mediated: "Second brother, calm down, after all, you are also the master of the inner door disciples. As a teacher, you should pay attention to your demeanor. Besides, blaming Fifth Sister now is useless."

  Seeing that lovely smiling face, Liu Xian also didn't dare to get angry, and simply shook his head and complained: "Little sister, you say it lightly, but now it's not your turn to have a headache..."

  The girl continued to smile slyly: "Hehe, who made you the master of Lingxiao Peak? I'm just the master of Xianyao Peak. Why don't you just take them all in and be done with it? It's a good thing that our Lingjian Sect is sparse, with these fifteen people, we can liven things up a bit."

  Liu Xian's eyebrows shot up, his eyes wide with anger: "Don't joke around, little sister! I've been on Mount Lingyun for over a hundred years, and there have only been thirty-four inner disciples. Now suddenly fifteen new people appear? It's going to be chaotic! The original plan was that if ten or so people made it to the end, that would be good enough. We were going to make an exception and carefully select three to five people... but now that woman has messed everything up, and there's no way to wrap things up!"

  The six elderly men who had been meditating with their eyes closed slowly opened their mouths and said, "Not to mention other things, the sect's resources can't support fifteen more inner disciples. Although our Spirit Sword Sect is well-off, we can't afford to be wasteful."

  Liu Xian nodded repeatedly and said to his junior sister Hua Yun: "Look, even Lü Li has said so, what else can you say, little sister?"

  Little Shifu spat out her tongue: "The person in charge of the finances has spoken, what can I say as someone who eats soft food from others? If we anger Lu Li Shifu, he'll cut off our Xianyao Peak's budget this year and I'll have no opera to sing."

  Lu Li was both amused and annoyed: "Little sister, look at what you're saying. When have I ever cut your budget? You want money, when did I ever say no?"

  "Hum, last time I wanted to buy Xingchen Polar Diamond, you didn't approve, did you?"

  "....What's the logic in using public funds to buy jewelry for oneself?!"

  "Ahem!"

  At this time, the elder who was in the first place finally couldn't bear it anymore.

  "Alright, you all shouldn't quarrel about this. This matter indeed can't be taken lightly, but to solve it, we need to come up with a practical and feasible plan. You say that these fifteen people can't all be recruited into the Misty Peak, I agree with that, but what's next? There must be some way to handle this."

  Several elders looked at each other in dismay, all feeling somewhat embarrassed. As for the solution, everyone had one, but who could make all the people present believe it, that was the problem.

  The result was that the six elders spoke again: "According to my calculations, it is impossible for all fifteen people to be included in the Lingyun Peak... but joining the Xiangyang Peak would not be a problem, and the sect's resources can fully support it."

  No matter which sect, the distinction between inner and outer doors is like heaven and earth. The Lingjian Sect, which advocates elite policy, is even more so in a place where people are scarce. There are 34 disciples in the inner door, but more than 200 disciples in the outer door. The resources invested by the sect on both sides differ by more than ten times.

  However, Ling Jian Sect might be able to support the expenses of fifteen outer sect disciples, but a certain junior sister, who was also the master of Xiao Yao Peak, Hua Yun, refused.

  "What are you talking about, Lao Liu? Are you treating Mount Wuyi like a junkyard?"

  "I'm just providing a plan from the perspective of our sect's resources, don't misunderstand me, sister..."

  The little sister sat down with an unhappy face and said, "If you ask me, since the Ascension Conference has not successfully recruited anyone for over a hundred years, why not just kick all fifteen of them off the mountain?"

  Lu Li had just offended Hua Yun, and now he also tactfully echoed: "Hmm, that would indeed save the sect a lot of resources..."

  "Don't jump to conclusions and kick all fifteen of them out? What's the reason? According to the rules, they have all perfectly completed their ascension path and even set foot on the misty peak!"

  Zhang Xing, the elder of the Ling Jian Sect, pointed at Hua Yun and Lu Li with some anger: "If it were those heretical sects or small, unscrupulous factions that didn't dare to show their faces, it would be one thing. But for our own Ling Jian Sect to do something like this, it's simply a shame to our ancestors!"

  Hua Yun stuck out her tongue, not daring to offend this elder who was only second in authority to the master's older brother. But after a while, she turned her head and whispered: "A stubborn old man destined to be lonely for life..."

  The crane's ears moved slightly, and it was furious.

  Luckily, the sect leader spoke up in time: "Heh heh, now it's troublesome. We can't keep him and we can't take him in either. What should we do?"

  Second Elder Liu Xian said bluntly: "After all, it's because Master Big Brother is too indulgent towards Fifth Younger Sister. Please come up with a plan for this matter!"

  "Hehe, if you want a plan, I do have one. It's actually quite simple. Since you think there are too many of these fifteen people, let's just go and filter them out ourselves. We can eliminate those who don't qualify."

  Elder Fang He furrowed his brow: "Master, this doesn't follow the rules. By rights, they've already passed the test and shouldn't have any more unexpected twists..."

  "Rectangles also need people to interpret, if I say so, these fifteen people have not yet passed the road of ascension, because the last link was forcibly interrupted by irresistible external forces, their trials did not even have time to be completed."

  "This is simply outrageous."

  Liu Xian then naturally applauded the proposal of the sect leader: "How can it be forced? It's a golden good word! This time, the road to ascension has been fraught with strange changes. The sect leader didn't let them start all over again, which is already very kind and generous."

  The top two elders of the Tianjian Hall (now nine) have set the tone, what else can others say? Thus, this meeting of the head office came to an end.

  Half a day later, the elder of the Tianjian Hall gathered at the Youyun Peak to jointly review these 15 trial-takers who should have passed.

  ——

  The fifteen trial-takers gathered in front of the Xuan Cloud Hall on the Misty Peak were mostly filled with resentment.

  Of course, this is also a common human feeling. When one thinks that the door to success has finally opened, they are suddenly informed that they need to take an additional test, and judging from the lineup of examiners, the elimination rate for this re-test is quite high! This is like on the night of the wedding, when you're about to consummate the marriage, but when you lift the veil, you see the father-in-law's smiling face, asking for a huge dowry. It's against all reason and no wonder people are indignant and hard to console.

  But the unfair will not be fair, after a noisy argument, we still have to accept reality. After all, even the most qualified person is quiet, and other people's protests seem to be somewhat unreasonable.

  Wang Lu's silence has caused many people to lose the opportunity to make a scene, but it is most unfair for him because among the fifteen people, only Wang Lu walked through all the checkpoints and reached the end in an upright manner. The others were completely carried by the wind. However, on the list of additional trials, Wang Lu's name was listed, and it is unknown what the people of Lingjian Sect are thinking, perhaps they never intended to recruit any new members from the beginning?

  The consideration of the Lingjian Sect was how, Wang Lu was unclear and didn't bother to think. For him who was bursting with confidence, the more trials the Lingjian Sect gave, the harder it would be, and the final victory would be even more glorious. Anyway, Tianling Gen was here, who dared not to obey?

  So, while others gathered in twos and threes on the square in front of Xuan Yun Hall to discuss countermeasures, Wang Lu stood alone under a tree, watching with cold eyes. At this time, Xuan Yun Hall had not yet opened, the trial method was not yet determined, and even he, a professional adventurer, could not see through the next step, what could be discussed? It was purely an action.

  However, I always feel that the future is full of twists and turns, and maybe even more unexpected than expected...

  ——

  As the young men indulged in their wild fancies, time passed minute by minute, but the gate of Xuan Yun Hall remained shut, and the crowd could only waste their time outside.

  Inside Xuan Yun Hall, the elders of Tian Jian Hall were also getting anxious - everyone else had already arrived and was waiting for the trial to begin, but their leader hadn't shown up yet!

  Although it is customary for those in higher positions to arrive later, Wind Whistling True Person has never been one to put on such airs. His punctuality puts many of his fellow sect members to shame (especially the five elders of the former Tianjian Hall). Yet this time, the Sect Master arrived a full half hour late, leaving everyone perplexed.

  Fourth Elder Zhou Mingshen's expression turned slightly urgent, and he instructed his personal disciple: "Luli, go take a look at what the Sect Master is doing, and invite him over."

  A female disciple beside him smiled and nodded, then flew away with a flash of light.

  Half a stick of incense later, the female disciple flew back: "Reporting to Master, couldn't find the leader."

  "......where did you find it?"

  "I don't know either, Master didn't say just now."

  "You..." Zhou Ming opened his mouth but was speechless, and finally shook his head helplessly. "Forget it, sit down."

  "Yes!"

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