Chapter 39: The sect has made its decision; you shall be Qin Xi's master.

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“What?”

Bu Weiwei looked as though she had heard something utterly unbelievable, her expression going blank.

“Heaven-defying? Heaven-defying?” She gave an awkward laugh. “You’re not joking, are you?”

“No. It is a Heaven-defying Spiritual Root.”

The Third Elder was visibly unsettled. He searched through the memories accumulated over his long life, trying to find some clue related to the girl’s spiritual root.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

For now, he could only surmise that a Heaven-defying Spiritual Root was the opposite of a Celestial Spiritual Root.

And since it was called “heaven-defying,” it must possess qualities completely contrary to those of a Celestial Spiritual Root.

If a Celestial Spiritual Root was the darling of Heaven, then a Heaven-defying Spiritual Root…

The Third Elder’s gaze changed at once, as though he were looking at a thundercloud about to unleash a heavenly tribulation.

“...No, no, this can’t be. I may be a little unlucky, but surely it hasn’t come to this.” Bu Weiwei began to fidget helplessly. She had already passed the trials of the Great Thousand Sect and was about to enter the sect of her dreams, only to have all her joy extinguished by a single remark.

Sure enough, her misfortune was destined to continue. Just when she was about to succeed, fate would always strike her over the head.

Perhaps this was what it meant to be a child forsaken by Heaven.

At that moment, someone stepped forward.

“Elder, are you still hesitating? We have passed every trial. According to the rules, we should be allowed to enter the Great Thousand Sect, shouldn’t we?” Qin Xi cupped his hands. “The Great Thousand Sect surely isn’t the sort of sect that establishes its own rules only to violate them afterward... The Great Thousand Sect I know has always been the foremost among the righteous sects!”

Bu Weiwei turned her head toward Qin Xi, wondering, Haven’t you only known the Great Thousand Sect for a short while?

Qin Xi gave her a look, signaling that she need not worry.

The Third Elder hurriedly waved his hands. “Ah, that isn’t what we mean. I was only wondering whether the Sixth Elder can truly teach her properly.”

“Eh?”

Bu Weiwei lifted her head, looking bewildered.

The Third Elder sighed. “Since Heaven has sent you to the gates of the Great Thousand Sect, that proves you share a destiny with our sect. Whether you possess a Celestial Spiritual Root or a Heaven-defying Spiritual Root, it makes no difference. If you bring the sect opportunities, as a Celestial Spiritual Root might, then the Great Thousand Sect is destined to dominate this Age of Declining Cultivation. If you bring disaster, then it simply means the sect’s calamity has arrived. We cannot blame you for that.”

“Thank you, Elder!”

Bu Weiwei lowered her head, biting her lip with her silver teeth.

At last, fortune had favored her for once.

The Third Elder sighed and continued:

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“As for the young body cultivator, I think the Fifth Elder would suit you quite well.”

“As a body cultivator, the Fifth Elder is deeply versed in the methods of tempering the flesh... But you are only a young girl. Can you endure it?”

“No problem. I’m ready!” A Ling replied with her usual firmness.

“By the way, young lady, what is that thing you’re carrying on your back?”

The Third Elder had noticed the man-high stone stele strapped to A Ling’s back and, intrigued, pointed a finger at it, intending to use a technique of taking objects from afar to gauge its weight.

The stele did not move in the slightest.

“How interesting.”

The Third Elder’s eyes filled with curiosity. He drifted behind A Ling and prepared to lift the stele with his own hands.

Yet the instant his hand touched it and he sensed its weight, his expression changed.

He abandoned the attempt to move the stele and instead asked, “Does this stele have a name?”

A Ling turned and stroked the stone before answering, “Taihang.”

“The Taihang Stele?”

The Third Elder frowned. He had sensed its weight only faintly, but it was clearly far beyond what anyone in the Qi Condensation Stage could carry. Moreover, A Ling had apparently already been carrying the stele when she received the scroll.

For someone in the Body Tempering Stage of body cultivation to carry it was impossible.

Most likely, some great expert had placed a restriction on this magical treasure. Anyone other than this little girl who tried to lift the stele would have to bear an unimaginably terrible weight.

It seemed that this girl must have an extraordinary background. As for why she had joined the Great Thousand Sect...

The elder pondered for a while, his expression becoming somewhat complicated. In the end, however, he silently nodded in acceptance.

Now only Qin Xi and Jiang Baiqiu remained.

“And you two...”

Qin Xi extended his hand. “Then does that mean we will personally become your...”

Jiang Baiqiu bounced excitedly at his side. “And me! And me!”

The corner of the Third Elder’s mouth began to twitch. These two eccentrics were like a pair of hot potatoes. There was no way he could take them on.

So he uttered the words Confucius had supposedly spoken upon encountering his three-thousand-and-first disciple:

“I do not accept disciples.”

“?”

“Ahem. You two are far too unusual. The sect elders are still holding a meeting on the matter. Once the meeting concludes, an elder will naturally accept both of you as disciples.”

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With that, the Third Elder swept his sleeve. The scene before them began to twist, and the surrounding landscape changed at astonishing speed.

“This is a spatial spell!” Bu Weiwei watched the surroundings in delighted amazement. It was the first time she had ever seen a great expert cast such an advanced technique.

“From this point onward, the paths of immortals and mortals diverge. Once you enter the immortal sect, you will have no further connection with the mortal world. Prepare yourselves.” The Third Elder seemed to be explaining this to them, yet also seemed to be lamenting to himself. “In this Age of Declining Cultivation, dragons and tigers vie for supremacy, and turmoil stirs throughout the universe. As disciples of an immortal sect, you certainly will not have peaceful lives.”

...

The Dao Profound Realm.

There were six people in the council chamber. Together with the Third Elder, they made up the illustrious Seven Swords of the Great Thousand.

The six sat around a round table, looking at one another while keeping their eyes fixed on the bronze mirror in the center. Not one of them spoke.

At last, someone broke the awkward silence.

It was a female cultivator.

“Which of you is willing to take these two?” she asked. Her voice carried an invisible majesty that suppressed everyone else present.

“A Jiu, you know very well that the boy is certainly a Confucian cultivator, while the girl may be either a Confucian cultivator or a sword cultivator,” said the Second Elder in a steady voice. “A sword cultivator would be easy enough. You yourself are one, A Jiu, so you can teach her.”

“But a Confucian cultivator...” The Second Elder hesitated. “Is there a Confucian cultivator among the seven of us?”

The female cultivator called A Jiu replied calmly, “Our master is a Confucian cultivator.”

“But you know that our master is missing. No one can find him. Besides, if he took the boy as a disciple... wouldn’t that turn the generations upside down?” said the Fifth Elder from nearby. “He would call us senior brothers, while we called him junior brother? Would that make any sense?”

“That may be true, but have you forgotten someone? That person is also a Confucian cultivator.” A Jiu let out a soft breath. Behind her, a dark silhouette slowly emerged.

“!!!”

Of the six people present, one had not spoken and had not even been mentioned. Yet when the others saw that figure, their expressions froze.

The figure stood behind A Jiu. Facing the elders, it did not even spare them a direct glance. Its manner was extraordinarily arrogant, and an aura that kept others at a distance radiated from its entire body.

“That is true... it is indeed a Confucian cultivator.” Only the First Elder reacted at that moment. After hesitating briefly, he addressed the icy black silhouette. “If I remember correctly, you have never taken a disciple. Since that is the case, why not give it a try?”

The dark silhouette did not speak. An eerie silence settled over the chamber.

It merely regarded everyone coldly. Only after a long while did it give a slight nod.

The shadow had agreed to take Qin Xi as its disciple.