"Qingyun Peak disciple Lin Qingzhi, against Cangshan Peak disciple Wu Hao!"
"Xiaozhu Peak disciple Shangguan Yan, against Shuiyun Peak disciple Zhao Sanqian!"
…
The Mount Shu disciple convention continued with the results of the disciples' lottery draws being announced.
Lu Changsheng's eldest disciple's opponent turned out to be a disciple of an Elder from Cangshan Peak.
"Lian, go draw your lot as well."
Lu Changsheng wanted his young disciple to also gain some battle experience.
"Okay!"
Lian excitedly went up to draw her lot.
"Little girl, you're also participating in the competition?"
The Elder from the Nascent Soul Realm responsible for the lottery draw was incredulous when he saw a girl, only ten years old, coming up to draw a lot.
He thought Lu Changsheng had merely brought his young disciple to see the world; he never expected Lu Changsheng would actually let the girl compete.
"I am a newly admitted disciple of Qingyun Peak, so of course, I may participate!"
Lian, brimming with confidence, reached into the box and pulled out a slip of paper, unafraid of the imposing Mount Shu Elder.
"Number 137, your opponent is disciple Yang Ren from Zhiyue Peak."
"Yang Ren has been at the gates for eight years by now and is rumored to have reached the first layer of the Golden Core Realm!"
"Yang Ren, you're really lucky. Your opponent turns out to be a little girl."
"Don't hit too hard; Qingyun Peak's elder is already in the Dao Palace Realm."
"Yang Ren's master is Elder Zhao from Zhiyue Peak, and he's in the Dao Palace Realm too, sure isn't scared of Qingyun Peak's Elder Lu."
Many Mount Shu disciples whispered among themselves at the scene, considering it all a farce.
A ten-year-old girl facing an eight-year veteran prodigy disciple of Mount Shu— the outcome was predictable.
"Boring."
Disciple Yang Ren from Zhiyue Peak found it dull.
Li Changye, along with envoys from the five major Righteous Dao sects and various Elders of Mount Shu, were observing the performances of the disciples from above.
"In this disciple convention, the ultimate victor is nine times out of ten going to be the eldest senior brother's disciple, Xiao Xiangdao, who possesses the once-in-a-millennium Spirit Sword Physique."
"Grandmaster Tailin, our Mount Shu's seventh-generation Sect Leader, also had the Spirit Sword Physique. With less than a century of cultivation, he reached the Dao Palace Realm and later achieved the pinnacle, arriving at the supreme state of having no sword in hand but a sword in heart. It remains to be seen whether Xiao Xiangdao can reach the heights of Grandmaster Tailin."
"Xiao Xiangdao's Spirit Sword Physique is indeed rare, but it still can't compare to the eldest senior brother's Eternal Wilderness Body. Even the Sect Leader believes that the eldest senior brother's physique far surpasses that of most special physiques."
Mount Shu Elders were also whispering among themselves before the start of the disciples' sparring sessions.
The vast majority of Mount Shu Elders believed that the eldest senior brother's disciple Xiao Xiangdao would be the eventual winner.
"It has begun."
The Mount Shu disciple convention quickly got underway, with disciples beginning their sparring.
Lu Changsheng's only concern was for his two disciples.
His eldest disciple, Lin Qingzhi's opponent from Cangshan Peak, was probably at the fifth layer of the Qi Transformation Realm.
"Please instruct."
Lin Qingzhi unsheathed his Green Abyss Sword.
"Of course. Today, you shall witness our Cangshan Peak's Flying Eagle Thirteen Swords."
The Cangshan Peak disciple also drew his longsword.
"We finally get to see Elder Lu's disciple in action."
Quite a few Mount Shu Elders focused on the battle between Lin Qingzhi and the disciple from Cangshan Peak.
Among the inner sect disciples, Lin Qingzhi had the most mediocre talent.
When Lu Changsheng first took him as a disciple, it surprised many Mount Shu Elders.
Three years later, they all wanted to know what sort of abilities the disciple taken in by Lu Changsheng really had.
"Elder Lu, although your cultivation is higher than mine, my disciple has been diligently practicing and has now reached the fifth level of the Qi Transformation Realm. He has also mastered the seventh stance of the Flying Eagle Thirteen Swords. This time, your disciple is in for a tough challenge."
The sect elder from Cangshan Peak was at the seventh layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, which didn't compare to Lu Changsheng, who had stepped into the Dao Palace Realm, but he was full of confidence in his own disciple.
His cultivation might not match Lu Changsheng's, but when it came to a disciple's talent, how could it be possible that his disciple was inferior to Lin Qingzhi, who had mediocre aptitude?
"What you said is true."
Lu Changsheng did not argue.
Below, Lin Qingzhi and the disciple from Cangshan Peak had already started clashing.
"Flying Eagle Thirteen Swords—First Stance, Eagle Strike the Heavens!"
The disciple from Cangshan Peak initiated the attack, and his sword qi crisscrossed mightily across the sky!
Lin Qingzhi operated the Taxuan Skills, holding his breath and concentrating his spirit.
Lu Changsheng had required him to suppress his strength by a major realm, so Lin Qingzhi didn't dare to be careless.
As the disciple from Cangshan Peak advanced, Lin Qingzhi countered with the Soaring Cloud Sword Technique, using his profound strength to neutralize the opponent's onslaught.
It appeared as though the disciple from Cangshan Peak was suppressing Lin Qingzhi, yet every move and stance were seen through by Lin Qingzhi with crystal clarity. He parried each move, shattering the incoming sword qi.
"How is this possible?!"
The disciple from Cangshan Peak became increasingly frantic as he fought.
He had heard that this opponent had lackluster talent, with both root bone and comprehension at the bottom level, and yet he couldn't defeat him.
As Lin Qingzhi crossed swords with his opponent, he felt the pressure exerted by the disciple from Cangshan Peak was far less than that from his junior sister.
His junior sister was endowed with the Martial King Divine Physique, a cultivation higher than Lin Qingzhi's. Sometimes she would strike out too heavy-handedly, and Lin Qingzhi could even be injured by her.
Compared to his junior sister, the attacks from the disciple of Cangshan Peak were somewhat... feeble and ineffective.
So Lin Qingzhi only paid attention to his opponent's techniques.
When the disciple from Cangshan Peak had exhausted the seventh stance of the Flying Eagle Thirteen Swords, Lin Qingzhi saw that his opponent had no new moves left, and with a slight exertion of force, he knocked away the other's longsword.
With a clang, the longsword flew from the hands of the disciple from Cangshan Peak, who was left standing there, dumbfounded.
He had actually been defeated by a Shu Mountain disciple with inferior aptitude, who three years ago was only at the first level of the Foundation Establishment Realm!
All the elders of Mount Shu watching this bout were rendered speechless.
Lin Qingzhi seemed to win easily, showing no signs of having exerted his full strength.
"Elder Lu, what exactly is the cultivation level of this disciple of yours?"
"If he was able to defeat Wu Hao of the fifth layer of the Qi Transformation Realm, his cultivation must be at least at the sixth layer of the Qi Transformation Realm."
"In three years, to raise a mediocre disciple from the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the sixth layer of the Qi Transformation Realm, Elder Lu's ability to teach disciples is simply too strong, I am truly ashamed."
After these elders came to their senses, they could not help but admire Lu Changsheng.
Who would have thought that a disciple from Mount Shu with mediocre talent could have such astonishing progress in cultivation?
In Lu Changsheng's heart, there wasn't a hint of disturbance.
This was still the result of Lu Changsheng asking Lin Qingzhi to go easy. Otherwise, with Lin Qingzhi's current cultivation at the Golden Core Realm, he could have defeated his opponent with a single move.
"Elder Lu's disciple is quite remarkable."
Li Changye also expressed genuine admiration.
Li Changye's disciple, Xiao Xiangdao, seeing his master praising someone else's disciple—the same person who had once been his chess attendant—his eyes couldn't help but flash with a hint of envy.
After all, he was the illustrious Prince of the Liang Kingdom.
"Is Elder Lu's newly accepted little disciple also going to step forward for a sparring match?"
"Her opponent is Yang Ren, a disciple from Zhiyue Peak, at the first layer of the Golden Core Realm, much stronger than Wu Hao from Cangshan Peak."
"Elder Lu, are you sure you want to let a little girl of about ten years old fight a disciple at the first layer of the Golden Core Realm?"
The other elders of Mount Shu cast odd looks toward Lu Changsheng.
Lu Changsheng replied calmly and composedly, "My little disciple likes to play around. If I don't let her participate, she is likely to demolish my cave dwelling."