Chapter 516: Chapter 298: Grand Event

"The Celestial Strategy Academy doesn’t just have a powerful Martial Dao; it also has a tradition of weapon forging. Lu Ren’s Martial Arts Talent may not qualify him for a Secondary Dragon Ascension, but his talent for weapon forging can still get him into the Celestial Strategy Academy."

Before Lu Ren could speak, Bai Shaoling’s voice rang out.

Everyone looked at Lu Ren in shock. He could actually become a Celestial Strategy Academy disciple through his weapon forging talent. It seemed they had all underestimated his skill in the art of weapon forging.

For the Celestial Strategy Academy to make an exception, Lu Ren’s weapon forging must be far more impressive than they had imagined.

A look of smug satisfaction appeared on Lu Ren’s face. He had never liked weapon forging, only wanting to become a powerful Martial Artist. To think that he would ultimately have to rely on this thing he disliked to become a disciple of the Celestial Strategy Academy.

"Young Sect Leader, are you saying that Lu Ren is already a disciple of the Celestial Strategy Academy?" Zhang Hanzhou’s tone was thick with disbelief.

They had trained to the brink of death and only managed to get tickets to the Secondary Dragon Ascension. Whether they could actually become disciples was still uncertain. Yet, from Bai Shaoling’s words, it sounded as if Lu Ren already was one.

Bai Shaoling shook his head. "The Sect has already reported Lu Ren’s situation to the Celestial Strategy Academy. They’ve agreed to give him a chance to demonstrate his skills, as they’re worried we might be exaggerating his weapon forging talent."

"However, barring any surprises, Lu Ren becoming a disciple of the Celestial Strategy Academy is already set in stone."

The Celestial Strategy Academy merely doubted the authenticity of Lu Ren’s weapon forging talent, but they all knew there was nothing fake about it. In other words, it wasn’t wrong to say that Lu Ren was, for all intents and purposes, already a disciple.

"He got damn lucky!" Zhang Hanzhou said sourly.

They were heading to the Secondary Dragon Ascension selection with an unknown future and their lives on the line, not even sure if they would survive. Meanwhile, Lu Ren was already a disciple of the Celestial Strategy Academy just because of his weapon forging talent.

Lu Ren remained silent, but a flash of displeasure crossed his eyes.

’This is why I dislike weapon forging. If I had become a disciple of the Celestial Strategy Academy through my Martial Arts Talent, Zhang Hanzhou wouldn’t have dared to make such snide remarks even if you gave him ten times the courage.’

’No matter how advanced my Weapon Forging Skill is, I’m still just serving the strong. No matter how much I dislike Zhang Hanzhou’s words, I can only bottle it up.’

"We’re about to leave the Sect’s territory. Everyone, stay sharp," Yue Zhong’s voice called out.

"With so many experts here, would anyone really dare to attack us?" Zhang Hanzhou asked with an incredulous look.

Their group numbered thirteen in total. Aside from Li Chuyang’s two followers, Jiang Yan who had left the Purple Sun Sect with Jiang Fan, and Lu Ren—these four only had Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation—the other nine were all Celestial Essence Martial Artists.

Who would dare cause trouble for a lineup like that?

"HUMPH!"

Yue Zhong’s displeased voice came from his horse up ahead. "If there was no danger at all, would the Sect have needed to arrange for the Young Sect Leader and me to escort you? Every time the Celestial Strategy Academy holds its selection, countless people are ambushed and killed by the Demon Sect on the way."

"If you keep that attitude, I’m afraid you won’t even make it to Yun Province alive."

"For the rest of the journey, whether you’re eating or resting, you must be on full alert. Watch out for any suspicious individuals."

Hearing this bloody lesson, Zhang Hanzhou felt a chill in his heart and immediately cast aside his conceited attitude.

After a full day of hard riding, the group had left the Yunling Mountain Range by evening and arrived at the Commandery City.

The Purple Sun Sect had businesses in the Commandery City. Led by Bai Shaoling and Yue Zhong, the group didn’t go to an inn but instead headed for one of the Sect’s properties.

Along the way, Li Chuyang left with his two subordinates to return home.

"Is Li Chuyang from the Commandery City?" Xu Yang asked Jiang Fan.

He only knew that Li Chuyang’s father, Li Lingdu, was an extraordinary figure, considered a regional hegemon even in the vast Yun Province. He had assumed Li Chuyang wasn’t from a small place like Fufeng County.

"Li Lingdu originally came from the Purple Sun Sect," Jiang Fan said. "Although he has established a firm foothold in Yun Province now, his family’s roots are still in Fufeng County."

Xu Yang had a sudden realization. No wonder someone with Li Chuyang’s background would join the Purple Sun Sect. It turned out Li Lingdu was a genius who had emerged from the Purple Sun Sect; so that was the connection.

’With his background, he could have joined a better sect than the Purple Sun Sect. Why would he come here?’ Xu Yang was still puzzled.

He transmitted this question via voice projection. While he didn’t mean to look down on the Purple Sun Sect, the reality was clear: compared to the vastness of Yun Province, the Purple Sun Sect was practically insignificant.

A disdainful expression appeared on Jiang Fan’s face as he replied via voice projection, "He said he wants to walk the same path as Li Lingdu."

’That certainly fits Li Chuyang’s arrogant and conceited personality—to walk his father’s path and become a man just like him.’

A little while later, Jiang Fan and Jiang Yan also split from the group and took their leave.

The Jiang Family’s roots were also in the Commandery City, so now that they were here, the two of them wanted to go back and visit.

「The night passed quickly.」

At dawn the next day, Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan returned to rendezvous with the group, and they all set off toward Yun Province once more.

The fine steeds galloped along the main road, moving like lightning, far faster than the day before.

The previous day, they had been coming out of the Yunling Mountain Range, where the paths were all mountainous. Even mounted on Divine Steeds that could cover a thousand li in a day, they couldn’t build up much speed.

"Brother Jiang, could you tell us about the Secondary Dragon Ascension?"

Sun Tao spoke to Jiang Fan, and the moment he asked, everyone turned to look at him.

They were all about to participate in the Secondary Dragon Ascension, yet he didn’t even know what it was?

"How in the world did that fellow Gong Shu teach you? You don’t even know about the Secondary Dragon Ascension?" Yue Zhong turned his head, a look of displeasure on his face.

If it were a disciple from another peak, it would be one thing. But Sun Tao was a disciple of Li Fire Peak. For someone who had obtained a ticket to the Secondary Dragon Ascension to be so clueless about it, his master, Elder Gong Shu, was clearly derelict in his duty.

"Reporting to the Peak Master, you can’t blame my master for this. It was I who had no time to ask him about these things," Sun Tao explained on Elder Gong Shu’s behalf.

He wasn’t like Xu Yang, Jiang Fan, and the others.

With his initial talent, when he submitted his discipleship request to the Inner Sect, no one gave him a second glance.

Later, in search of resources, he went treasure hunting in the Yunling Mountain Range. On the brink of death, he obtained a rare and exotic medicinal herb. From then on, his cultivation soared, and he successfully underwent Marrow Cleansing.

Although he successfully entered the Inner Sect after his Marrow Cleansing, no one was willing to take him as a disciple at first. It wasn’t until he caused a huge stir at the Ten Prodigies ranking challenge that Elder Gong Shu finally accepted him.

After that, he basically spent all his time in secluded cultivation. That was how he managed to raise his cultivation so quickly, even breaking through to the Celestial Essence Realm before Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang. He simply had no time to learn about the Secondary Dragon Ascension.

In truth, Xu Yang didn’t know much about the Secondary Dragon Ascension either. He only knew it was the Celestial Strategy Academy’s disciple selection, but as for how many they chose or how many people participated, he was completely in the dark.

Hearing this, Yue Zhong’s expression softened slightly. He said, "The Secondary Dragon Ascension is a grand event in Yun Province held once every five years. Geniuses under the age of twenty-eight who have reached the Celestial Essence Realm, from all thirty-six counties and over a hundred sects in the province, can participate."

"In a busy year, there can be four to five thousand participants. Even in a slow year, there will still be one to two thousand."

Aside from Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan, who remained relatively calm, everyone else was shaken.

The difficulty of emerging victorious from such a large crowd was immense.

"So many people!" Zhang Hanzhou couldn’t help but exclaim.

Over a hundred sects, and even in a slow year there were one to two thousand people... Didn’t that mean that, on average, each sect sent ten to twenty disciples to the Secondary Dragon Ascension?

He had thought that with seven participants, the Purple Sun Sect was sending quite a large group. He never expected they didn’t even meet the average.

"The Purple Sun Sect is just a minor sect," Li Chuyang said bluntly. "In those large counties where the Martial Dao flourishes, it’s not unusual for a single sect to send twenty or thirty participants. The top-tier sects might even send over a hundred disciples directly. You think Fufeng County only has this handful of people? You’re wrong. Fufeng County has far more geniuses than you know. For starters, just look at our group. How many are from the ten great families of Cyan Yang City?"

"Do you really think the ten great families of Cyan Yang City don’t have a single young genius? It’s not that they don’t have any; it’s that the truly talented ones were sent away long ago."

"Their ancestors built their fortunes relying on the Purple Sun Sect, but after they made it, they never thought about giving back. Every time a genius appears, they send them off to someone else."

At the mention of this, the faces of Yue Zhong and Bai Shaoling turned grim. A city as large as Cyan Yang City, with a population of hundreds of thousands, couldn’t possibly lack a single Dragon Ascending Genius.

It was just that after discovering a genius in their ranks, the families of Cyan Yang City would send them to train at more prosperous and powerful sects.

That’s why most of the geniuses at the Purple Sun Sect were disciples from the Lower Class. It wasn’t that the great families had declined, but that their geniuses had all gone to sects stronger than the Purple Sun Sect.

Everyone glanced at Li Chuyang in surprise, not expecting this arrogant fellow to be so dissatisfied with the great families of Cyan Yang City.

"How many disciples does the Celestial Strategy Academy usually accept?" Sun Tao asked in a heavy voice.

What he cared about most was still the number of people the Celestial Strategy Academy would accept.

"Three hundred and sixty people each time," Yue Zhong said.

Three hundred and sixty out of several thousand. It sounded like a lot, an acceptance rate of about one in ten.

But one had to remember that among the hundred-plus sects in Yun Province’s thirty-six counties, the Purple Sun Sect couldn’t even be considered mid-tier. If even half of their seven-person group could get into the Celestial Strategy Academy, it would be considered a great success.

Besides, the Purple Sun Sect was just a minor sect. What did they have to compete with the disciples of those top-tier sects?

"Don’t worry. Just do your best," Bai Shaoling comforted them. "Strength is certainly important for the Secondary Dragon Ascension, but sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can ascend even if your strength is lacking. It mainly depends on the selection method the Celestial Strategy Academy decides on this year."

At noon, while the group was still within the borders of Fufeng County, they came to a place where the mountains rose and fell like a dragon. At a crossroads, they saw a dozen or so people with profound auras sitting on horseback. Their eyes glinted sharply, and a faint Spiritual Qi swirled around their bodies.

Everyone went on guard, their hands subconsciously moving to rest on their Spiritual Soldiers.

"Don’t be nervous. They are friends from the Yellow Maple Valley," Yue Zhong’s voice sounded. "Over the years, to prevent being attacked by the Demon Sect on the road, our two sects have always joined forces to travel to Yun Province."

Xu Yang focused his gaze and indeed saw a few familiar figures among the crowd.

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