Chapter 9 - Looking For Elders

Time passed by and 3 months passed in a blink of an eye and Long Jun's cultivation finally broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm

Although he just broke through to the Nascent Soul realm, his combat strenght was comparable to those who are in the Nascent Soul 6th stage due to him having cultivated numerous tier 5/6 Martial art techniques

In the Azure Cloud Empire, those who have reached this cultivation base will be respected no matter where they go, as this is the highest realm of cultivation in the empire

It is rumored that the ancestor of the Azure Cloud Empire has reached the threshold of the Nascent Soul Realm and was on the verge of breaking through to the next realm

As the royal family is famous for cultivating a high grade tier 4 technique, the Nascent Soul realm is the limit of their cultivation. To reach the next realm, they will need to cultivate a higher tiered technique

For the past 3 months, Long Jun had received numerous gifts from the system due to the breakthrough of his disciples

'show me Ming Huo and Yue Qing's status'

[Name: Ming Huo

Cultivation Technique: Crimson Phoenix Sutra

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 2nd stage]

[Name: Yue Qing

Cultivation Technique: Shadow Moon Sutra

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1st stage]

'The cultivation difference between the two has decreased again huh' Long Jun thought, but remembering that Yue Qing is more talented than Ming Huo, he felt that she will soon surpass Ming Huo's cultivation

"It is inevitable" Long Jun muttered....

Looking at the status of the ordinary disciples, Long Jun found out that all of them are either in the 3rd/ 4th stage of Qi Condensation

He was both proud and happy seeing the results of these disciples. Although the ordinary disciples had similar talent value to those in the major sects, they cultivated a high tier 5 cultivation technique, so it is normal for them to cultivate faster

He then called his personal disciples to meet him in the hall, and both of them arrive immediately

"Greetings Master" Both Ming Huo and Yue Qing cupped their finger as they greet Long Jun

"First of all, congratulations to the both of you for breaking through the Foundation establihsment realm" Long Jun said

"Thank you master!"

"But, I could not help but feel useless as both of you did not even asked for pointers from me even once..." Long Jun continued and his disciples scratch their head due to embarassment and they could not deny his words

"Sigh... it seems the only thing that I can do is reward you for your hard work" Long Jun pulled out a set of peak tier 4 armor and sword for both his disciples

"These are your reward for breaking through, continue working hard and I will reward you even more"

"Thank you master!!"

In the 3 months Long Jun had been in closed door cultivation, Ming Huo and Yue Qing had gotten closer as both of them had much things in common, and hearing the stories of Ming Huo's past, Yue Qing sympathize with him more

Long Jun then summoned all of the ordinary disciples to this hall and they arrived in no time

"Greetings sect master"

"No need for formalities here. Now that all of you have bitterly cultivating for 4 months, I know that all of you had worked very hard and your results truly amazes me." Long Jun said

"For that reason, I wanted to give you a special surprise" He continued and the disciples face lit up with excitement

"All of you had made major progress with your cultivation, now it is time for the martial art techniques to be given to each and every one of you" Long Jun said

The disciples cheer loudly as they were delighted with the surprise

"The martial art techniques that my sect has is not just some garbage and the weakest among them is a peak tier 4 technique" He continued and the cheering went louder

"You all can find the martial art techniques in the library that is located in the next peak. However, the second floor is only accessible to Ming Huo and Yue Qing, do you understand?"

"YES MASTER/ SECT MASTER"

"Good, before all of you head to the library, I have another annoucement to make." Long Jun stopped the disciples who are eager to head to the library straight away

"I will be leaving the sect for and won't be back for a while. I am leaving the sect in the hand of Ming Huo so you all should listen to him" He continued

"Yes sect master!" All of them replied before rushing towards the library

-------------------

Long Jun then left the sect's ground to complete the mission given by the system

Now that he had reached the 1st stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he could recruit elders who are in the peak of the Core Formation realm as according to the system, he could only recruit elders who are weaker than him

Since receiving the mission 3 months ago, Long Jun had considered many aspects of the potential elders of his sect

He did not want to recruit the old foogeys who are nearing their lifespans and could not break through to the nascent soul realm.

What he wanted is talented young elders who could naturally break through to the Nascent Soul stage but could not break through due to some limitations. However, finding such a person is very difficult as most of the talented people are already a part of a faction

In his head, the only candidates that are perfect for his taste are only powerful rogue cultivators who are unaffiliated with any faction

He then decided to head into the capital city as there is a branch of the Shadow Faction located there

The Shadow Faction is a strong faction which spread all over the continent, and the person behind it is rumored to be someone whose cultivation is already higher than the Nascent Soul realm

The Shadow Faction is the perfect place to gather information, because one can buy any information as long as he have the right money for it. Furthermore, the credibility of the information is very high as the shadow faction is highly reputable and had a huge background behind it

A hundred years ago, a prince who was from the Azure Cloud empire acted arrogant and decided to mess with the faction and he was killed mercilessly

Just as the people thought that the faction will be destroyed, the king himself appeared personally to apologize for his son's action, leaving all the people of the empire speechless and ever since then, no one dared to mess with the bureaue no matter where they came from

Entering the branch of the shadow faction, Long Jun immediately went to the counter and asked for the information on any rogue cultivators who are less than 30 years old who are already in the core formation realm

Since core formation rogue cultivators are quite rare, the information was expensive and took a while to get.

After just a few hours, Long Jun had obtained the information he was looking for and simply paid the counter lady before leaving the branch

The information of the rogue cultivators listed their name, age, cultivation realm, as well as their last seen.

Reading through the candidate names, Long Jun decided on a particular name and muttered "Let me check you first"