Chapter 137: Tribute, the Five Great Sects Submit, Recruitment
Once an existence beyond reach, now no different from an ant, toyed with by me at will! You were filled with emotion. Indeed, cheating felt good in the moment, but cheating all the time felt good forever!
Your figure vanished. In the next second, you appeared within Ouyang Xiu’s secluded cultivation grounds.
“You—who are you? How did you get in!” Ouyang Xiu looked at you, who had appeared so suddenly, a flicker of panic flashing through his eyes.
Behind you, the Spirit Transformation Ancestor who had just been refined into a puppet stepped forward.
“Ancestor? You’ve come out of seclusion?” Upon seeing the Ancestor, Ouyang Xiu’s heart clearly steadied a little. With a Spirit Transformation Ancestor present, your sudden appearance seemed quite reasonable.
“As of today, the Body-Refining Sect is to tribute three-tenths of its sect resources every year, to me, the Martial Sect!” You wasted no words, directly issuing the order.
“This… Ancestor?” Ouyang Xiu looked at the Ancestor in disbelief, at a loss for a moment.
“Hm?” In the next second, the Spirit Transformation puppet struck without hesitation, slapping Ouyang Xiu into the wall with a single palm, leaving him unable to move.
Ouyang Xiu trembled, kneeling on the ground, and cried out loudly. “I agree!!!”
Only then did you nod in satisfaction. Then you tossed Ouyang Xiu a map and delivered your final notice. “One month from now will be the time my Martial Sect openly recruits disciples from all under heaven. Bring the resources to be tributed this year, and come to the Martial Sect!”
“Yes!” Ouyang Xiu caught the map, head bowed, speaking with the utmost respect.
“Oh, right. If any disciple in your Body-Refining Sect wishes to join my Martial Sect, they may also come and try!” Something had occurred to you, and you gave another instruction.
Then, without waiting for Ouyang Xiu’s reply, you left with the Spirit Transformation puppet.
At the Cloud Mist Sect. “This junior respectfully obeys the Martial Sect’s command. From now on, we shall follow the Martial Sect’s lead in all things!” The Cloud Mist Sect Master looked at his own Ancestor standing beside you, knelt on the ground, and declared his stance with the utmost respect.
At the Soul-Refining Sect, the gravely wounded Qingyunzi, on the verge of death, lay on the ground without moving. The Vice Alliance Master accepted the map and agreed to your demands.
In just three short days, you had traveled to all of the Five Great Sects, with five Spirit Transformation puppets standing behind you.
With the Five Great Sects tributing resources every year, the Martial Sect’s cultivation resources should be enough for now. You silently calculated in your heart.
As a Martial Cultivator yourself, you naturally knew the resources required for the Martial Way were not many. As long as there was sufficient flesh and blood to replenish oneself, that was enough.
Returning to the Martial Sect, you sent Xiao Long to capture demonic beasts everywhere and penned them all up, to serve as a trial ground for future disciples.
Afterward, you began laying down formations, to serve as the entrance examination for joining the Martial Sect.
The entrance examination was divided into three trials: Heart Questioning, Dao Questioning, and Comprehension!
Since it concerned your legacy, and holding to the principle of preferring quality over quantity, the people you selected were all those with firm Martial Way will, excellent temperament, and superior comprehension.
The one-month deadline soon arrived. You saw the Immortal Treasure Pavilion’s branch pavilion already established outside the sect, the masters of the Five Great Sects, and hundreds of thousands of mortals who had come seeking the Dao!
You took a single step and appeared directly in the sky above the sect, looking down upon the myriad living beings.
“Senior!” The masters of the Five Great Sects stepped forward together, bowing respectfully to you, and at the same time presenting storage bags.
“Rise.” You waved your large hand, and all the storage bags were taken into your possession.
“Congratulations to Senior on the grand opening of your sect!” Pavilion Master Gu also stepped forward, handing you a storage ring. “This is a small token of this Gu’s regard. I hope Senior will not disdain it.”
“Hm, Pavilion Master Gu, is it? Let us cooperate more in the future.”
After dealing with the Five Great Sects and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, you finally turned your gaze to the hundreds of thousands of mortals who had come seeking the Dao.
“The entrance test begins now. The first trial is Heart Questioning!” A formation plate appeared in your hand, directly covering all hundreds of thousands of mortals.
The hundreds of thousands of mortals were pulled into an illusion by the formation, where they began reincarnation after reincarnation. Those of poor character were instantly eliminated by the formation!
When the first trial ended, of the hundreds of thousands of mortals, only a mere three thousand remained within the formation!
“Those of you who have passed the first trial may all become Outer Sect disciples of my Martial Sect!” You announced at once.
“The second trial, Dao Questioning! This tests whether your hearts for the Dao are firm!”
As his words fell, the formation activated once more, and the three thousand mortals began the Dao Questioning.
“Senior, does your Martial Sect not need to test spiritual roots?” Pavilion Master Gu had been watching for a long while, and could not help but ask.
You shook your head. “The path of the Martial Way does not look at aptitude.”
Within the formation, the three thousand disciples embarked on the path of Martial Way cultivation within the illusion.
The speed of Martial Way cultivation was extremely slow. Soon, some could no longer persevere and switched to cultivating spiritual qi. Such people were naturally eliminated as well.
One day later, the Dao Questioning ended. Of the three thousand, only thirty remained in the end.
“Those of you who have passed the second trial may be promoted to Inner Sect disciples!”
Afterward, you waved your large hand, and all kinds of food appeared before everyone. As mortals, they still needed to eat.
When they had eaten and drunk their fill, you had the five Spirit Transformation puppets lead the two thousand–plus Outer Sect disciples into the sect, while the thirty Inner Sect disciples remained behind.
“The final trial, Comprehension!” You waved your large hand, and three Martial Way cultivation techniques appeared before each of the thirty.
“Choose any one of them. After one month, those who have achieved an elementary grasp of cultivation may become Core Disciples!”
After giving all these instructions, you finally turned to look at the cultivators who already had a foundation in cultivation.
“Those who wish to switch to the Martial Way, enter the formation and accept the entrance test!”
“What? We already have cultivation of our own. Why must we still undergo an entrance test?”
“Exactly, exactly. I have a supreme-grade spiritual root! With aptitude like mine, I still need to be tested like a bunch of mortals?”
“I am a Golden Core True Person! How dare you humiliate me like this?”
Zheng! The Golden Core cultivator who had spoken was instantly slain by you. The group of cultivators fell silent at once.
“Within three breaths, either enter the formation for the test, or get lost!”
Over a thousand cultivators entered the formation and began the first trial, Heart Questioning.
Half a quarter-hour later, all of the over one thousand cultivators who had entered the formation were eliminated. Not a single one passed the Heart Questioning trial!
“This—how could that be???”
“Heh heh, to think I have a supreme-grade spiritual root, yet I cannot even pass the first trial!”
“I refuse to accept this!”
“What kind of bullshit sect? I won’t join anyway!” The cultivators who could not even pass the first trial all broke down.
“ROAR!!!” Xiao Long, who had been following behind you, lay in its true form, its massive body blotting out the sky and sun. A trace of True Dragon bloodline pressure was released, and a crowd of cultivators present fell to their knees. The cultivators who had earlier insulted the Martial Sect died on the spot!
“A dragon! It’s actually a legendary dragon!”
“The Martial Sect actually has a dragon in existence!!!”