Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the disciples’ canteen.
“Exclusive news, exclusive news. I just got hold of an extremely sensational piece of news.” One of the tables was surrounded by many disciples of the Luo Ding Sect.
“Stop dilly-dallying. Spill!”
One of the disciples was like a storyteller. He cleared his throat and said, “A friend from the third division secretly told me that their head of disciplinary office has become sworn brothers with a new disciple.”
“D*mn, seriously?” asked the surrounding disciples in disbelief.
“If I recall correctly, the head of the disciplinary office of the third divisions is Immortal King Lan Lang!”
“He’s a prominent figure in the Luo Ding Sect. Back then, he was the head of the headquarters’ Sword Dao office. Even now, he’s the idol of all our senior brothers and sisters,” said a disciple.
The others nodded.
‘Asa result, everyone doubted the authenticity of the news.
The storyteller said, “This news of mine is true.
“Just wait and see. The news from there will arrive soon, but mine is first-hand.”
Some people were skeptical.
Most of such ridiculous rumors were fake, but some of them were indeed true.
Not long after the mealtime ended, the news of the newly-recruited disciple, Qin Chuan, becoming sworn brothers with the head of the disciplinary office of the third division, Immortal King Lan Lang, spread in various places.
‘The news spread quickly, and almost all the disciples in the headquarters learned about it.
Many disciples asked their masters and elders about it. Though they didn’t speak explicitly, all of them tacitly acknowledged it.
The entire headquarters was in an uproar.
The disciples of the Sword Dao office, in particular, found it hard to swallow. Some of the female disciples broke down in tears.
Lan Lang had once been the head of the Sword Dao office at the headquarters. Ever since he slew the Immortal King of the Demon realm with a single strike a thousand years ago, he had left the headquarters for the third division.
Even so, his prestige in the Sword Dao office remained high.
Because of this, Qin Xiaochuan’s quickly spread across the headquarters.
The information network of the headquarters’ disciples was very powerful, and they collected all the relevant information regarding Qin Chuan.
At the same time, the upper echelons of the headquarters were also in turmoil.
Many purple-robed elders gathered for a meeting.
The main topic of this meeting was the people participating in the challenge against the Demons—which would be held in half a month’s time.
There were 12 of them.
These 12 people were definitely the strongest in the sect amongst those below the Immortal realm.
Most of them were selected from the headquarters’ most talented disciples.
‘There were many talented disciples at the headquarters, but some of them were in seclusion trying to break through to the Immortal Realm, and they were generally not allowed to participate.
However, this year, a few disciples from the second and third divisions were particularly outstanding, and their combat strength was on par with those from the headquarters.
Just this morning, the second and third division had submitted their names, hoping to get selected.
Three disciples were submitted by the second division.
The elders were very familiar with these three disciples and acknowledged their strength.
However, they were put in a spot by the third division’s submission.
Among the three divisions, only one name was submitted, Qin Chuan.
In fact, he was the main reason for this meeting.
‘This was because the challenge against the Demons concerned the reputation of the Luo Ding Sect.
If the Demons win, the sect would definitely become the laughing stock of many powerful factions in the Immortal Realm.
Therefore, they had to win. As such, the selection of participants was particularly strict.
At this point, the headquarters had already approved of the names reported by the second division, but they couldn’t confirm Qin Chuan yet.
They had witnessed the scene where Qin Chuan established his dominance.
“This Qin Xiaochuan possesses the Sword Soul and has already mastered the liberation of the soul,” said an elder. “From what I saw earlier, his swordsmanship is indeed extraordinary, and he’s quite capable.”
“It’s not that difficult to liberate souls. Many of our headquarters’ genius disciples have mastered it as well.
“On top of that, he’s only in the first realm of Mahayana; his foundational realm is simply too low.
“In any case, I don’t suggest he participate, “retorted an elder.
“The Demons are well-prepared this time, so we have to be cautious when choosing our candidates.
“I don’t think the disciple chosen by the third division is qualified enough either.”
‘That was what most people thought, but there were a few who thought he was worth observing.
After all, he and Lan Lang were sworn brothers.
Lan Lang must have seen something in him, or he wouldn’t have sworn brotherhood with him.
At this moment, an old man in a black robe spoke. “Just now, I received an oral message from the Sect Master. He has decided that Qin Xiaochuan will be one of the participants in this challenge.”
Everyone looked surprised.
Just as an elder was about to speak, the black-robed old man raised his hand. “We will end the discussion of whether Qin Xiaochun is qualified or not here.”
“But…” The elders exchanged glances and could only give up.
The black-robed old man went on. “Less than half a month is left until the challenge. As this concerns our sect’s reputation, the Sect Master and I have decided to open the Mustard Domain for the ten disciples.”
The Mustard Domain was the most precious cultivation ground of the Luo Ding Sect.
Cultivating in the Mustard Domain for a day was equivalent to cultivating in the outside world for ten years. Every time it opened, it expended a tremendous amount of wealth and resources.
It had been 500 years since the last time the Mustard Domain opened. From this, it could be seen how much importance the Luo Ding Sect placed on this challenge.
The third division of the Luo Ding Sect.
In the hall of the disciplinary office.
When Qin Chuan walked into the main hall, Lan Lang was already waiting for him.
“Elder!”
“You and I are already sworn brothers. It’s time to change your address,” said Lan Lang gently.
“Eh…” Qin Chuan hesitated, then clasped his hands and bowed. “Big Brother!”
Smiling, Lan Lang nodded in satisfaction.
“Big brother, why did you call me here?” asked Qin Chuan.
He thought that if it wasn’t anything important, it could just be committed over voice transmission. Since he was here, it must be no ordinary matter.
Lan Lang said, “Come with me to the headquarters later.”
“Headquarters?” asked Qin Chuan, shocked.
Lan Lang said, “You are now one of the disciples chosen to fight against the Demons. In order to boost your strength before the challenge, headquarters opened the Mustard Domain.”
Qin Chuan had learned a thing or two about the Mustard Domain of the Luo Ding Sect—it was a space formed from multiple time arrays. A day inside was equivalent to ten years outside.
Such a large flow of time required unimaginable amounts of energy to operate.
Qin Chuan could also guess why the Luo Ding Sect had opened up the Mustard Domain. It was all so the disciples could defeat the Demons in half a month’s time.
Lan Lang activated the teleportation array within the hall.
This array formation was connected to the headquarters and could send them directly there.
‘There were more than a thousand light-years between the headquarters and the third division, but it would only take an hour or so to get there with the array formation.
Although Qin Chuan had never been to the headquarters of the sect, he had read up on the relevant information and had some understanding of it.
In the teleportation tunnel, Lan Lang and Qin Chuan chatted about the other chosen participants.
“Because of our sworn brotherhood, many disciples in the sect might not be very nice to you.
“In the Mustard Domain, you might be isolated, but don’t think too much about it. Just focus on your cultivation,” advised Lan Lang.
Qin Chuan nodded. “I will definitely follow Big Brother’s instructions and focus on my cultivation. I will work hard to improve myself.”
Lan Lang smiled, pleased.
Retrieving a jade bottle from his storage ring, he explained, “Inside this bottle are spirit pills that can aid in one’s cultivation. All of the ingredients are extracted from the most precious ingredients in the world, and there are basically no side effects. Feel free to use them.”
Qin Chuan froze, not knowing whether to accept it or not.
Lan Lang knew what Qin Chuan was hesitating about. “I’m not giving these pills to you on my own accord. It’s what the elders of the third division want.
“Now that you are chosen, you represent not only the Luo Ding Sect but also the third division.
“We aren’t stingy with our talents.”
“Oh! I see.” Qin Chuan accepted the jade bottle.
After that, Lan Lang chatted with Qin Chuan about some important matters when fighting the Demon race.
Time flew by, and the exit of the teleportation tunnel was just ahead.
The headquarters of the Luo Ding Sect, located on Liu Ping Planet, was twice the size of a superstar.
There were no outsiders here, and the entire planet belonged to the headquarters.
Without a doubt, the headquarters had the most disciples, and the overall quality of their disciples was also much better than the other divisions.
Using the three division as an example, the top-notch geniuses of the third division could only be considered third-rate in the headquarters.
Numerous talented disciples were doing everything they could to enter the headquarters.
For other divisions, large numbers of talents were lost every year.
There was nothing they could do about it; the headquarters was much better in every aspect than the other divisions.
In recent years, the various divisions allocated various benefits to prevent the loss of talent. That was how the rate of loss of talent had decreased.
After exiting the teleportation array formation, Qin Chuan shuddered when he inhaled the air here.
The density of the spiritual energy here was only slightly lower than that of the system sect, but it was still considerably high.
In terms of environment, it was miles ahead of those divisions.
Cultivating here for a day was equivalent to cultivating in another division for a few days. It would be strange if he didn’t lose any of his talents.
At that moment, a few booming voices came from the sky.
“Long time no see, Elder Lan!”
