Just with this statement, they believed that Elder Lin Xuan was just making Sword Dust aware of the difficulty and nothing more!
In their eyes, it was equivalent to another kind of polite rejection.
After all, for cultivators like Sword Dust with only the Blood Refining Realm cultivation, they couldn't think of any chance for Elder Lin Xuan to accept him as a disciple.
If he could become Elder Lin's disciple, then perhaps they all could.
Elder Lin gave him some encouraging words at the end, which was considered fulfilling his duty!
"Ah, I know this Sword Dust. He used to be a little genius. He was able to join the God Tian Sect as an outer disciple because of this. But for some reason..."
Watching Sword Dust's figure, the disciples started discussing again. Some seemed to know Sword Dust and began sharing stories from the past.
"Little genius? Why does he look like this today?"
"Yeah, it seems this guy's mind is a bit unclear. He actually went to Elder Lin to become his disciple. I really don't know what he's thinking..."
As soon as they heard such gossip, everyone around became interested and surrounded the person who seemed to know Sword Dust, asking him.
"It's nothing, really. This guy used to break through to the Void Filling Realm, but for some reason, one day, his cultivation suddenly started falling, and from then on, he declined, experiencing a broken engagement... mental collapse is a normal thing."
The disciples' words were heard with interest by Lin Xuan. He understood more about Sword Dust from these discussions.
Even though the disciple didn't know the specific reason, Lin Xuan could guess that Sword Dust's damaged sword heart was due to losing himself. His body had undergone some kind of accident, so his talent in the Dao of the Sword did not manifest.
He was different from Ye Hao. Although Ye Hao's Supreme Bone was excavated, his mind was unaffected. So, even without the Supreme Bone, it had no impact on the rewards he received for accepting disciples.
As for Sword Dust, Lin Xuan knew that he hadn't suffered mental collapse. If his mind had collapsed, he wouldn't persist in cultivation after his realm dropped. His sword heart was just obscured, and he had lost himself. If he couldn't find himself, how could Lin Xuan accept him as a disciple?
Even without the system's analysis, Lin Xuan wouldn't accept him directly. He didn't want to take in a disciple who would become a waste.
If he accepted disciples, his goal was to cultivate them to the positions they should have naturally achieved, or even higher. Otherwise, he would just become a puppet following the system's rules.
"Disperse! The testing ceremony is approaching! Focus on your cultivation!"
Lin Xuan gave a faint reprimand to the disciples gathered there.
"Yes, Elder Lin!"
Hearing Lin Xuan's words, the disciples responded and left without daring to stay longer!
...
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
"Boom!"
In the God Tian Sect's mountains, a huge sound echoed, causing the mountains to shake, and beast roars filled the air!
Even though Lin Xuan had chosen a place far from the sect, the sect could still sense the commotion.
"The perfected Extinct Heaven Palm technique is indeed powerful!"
Lin Xuan looked at the disturbance caused by his strike, contemplating.
Now, he had stabilized his mid-stage Kingly Realm cultivation, and the Extinct Heaven Palm had also been perfected. Other supernatural powers he comprehended from the Supreme Immortal Bone had achieved some success.
Currently, even though he was in the mid-stage Kingly Realm, if someone from the late-stage Kingly Realm came, he had confidence in defeating them. This was the peculiar strength of the Supreme Immortal Bone.
"Ye Hao, the testing ceremony has begun. Although you're a new disciple and not required to participate, come with me to have a look! It will be beneficial for your cultivation."
Lin Xuan said to the young Ye Hao beside him.
At this moment, Ye Hao's aura had undergone a tremendous change compared to when he first arrived at the God Tian Sect. With the reconstruction of the Supreme Bone in progress, he had gained a natural change in temperament.
While the complete reconstruction of the Supreme Bone still required some time, Ye Hao could already practice normally. With the Supreme Bone, he instantly surpassed the Blood Refining Realm and achieved the Void Filling Realm. However, Lin Xuan deliberately restricted his breakthrough, allowing him to rely on his own efforts to break through the realm. This would give him a deeper understanding of the entire cultivation realm rather than being like a tree without roots.
Even so, Ye Hao, at this moment, had just embarked on the cultivation path. Placing him among the outer disciples, he was already a presence to be looked up to, not to mention that Lin Xuan personally taught him the cultivation technique and the powerful supernatural abilities of the Supreme Bone. Who could rival him? This was the strength of the Supreme Bone talent!
"Yes, Master!"
Ye Hao responded to Lin Xuan with respect.
Whoosh!
Immediately after, the two figures disappeared among the mountains.
God Tian Sect.
The testing ceremony was about to begin, offering external disciples an opportunity to advance to internal disciples and gain more resources.
The sect had set up eighteen checkpoints. Each one was extremely challenging for these external disciples. Obtaining the qualification to become an internal disciple was by no means an easy task.
Becoming an internal disciple meant that the sect's resources would be tilted towards you. Resources were the foundation of cultivation!
The competition was fierce, to say the least.
Originally, people's attention during the testing ceremony was on those who could be called geniuses. However, this time, the focus of the external disciples was not on them but on a disciple named Sword Dust!
In the past two days, Sword Dust's attempt to become Lin Xuan's disciple had caused quite a stir among the outer disciples, and almost everyone knew about it.
However, most people's impressions of Sword Dust were that he was overestimating himself!
Still, looking at Sword Dust's appearance, it seemed that he was serious. People's feelings toward him were: Could this guy really take Elder Lin's words seriously?
With Lin Xuan's arrival, the mood of the external disciples began to stir.
"Could it be that Elder Lin's words weren't a joke?"
As Lin Xuan arrived, the hearts of the external disciples began to stir.
"Hail Elder Lin Xuan!"
Many outer sect elders, upon seeing Lin Xuan's arrival, respectfully saluted him. Below, the disciples also followed the elders in bowing to Lin Xuan.
With Lin Xuan's arrival, the hearts of all the disciples in the God Tian Sect surged with excitement.
However, when they saw the young man beside Lin Xuan, they were momentarily unable to recognize him.
Who is this?
Could it be that Elder Lin Xuan has taken in another new disciple? They couldn't help but wonder, and the temperament of this disciple, even when viewed from below, made them feel a bit inferior and embarrassed.
Just with this aura, how extraordinary could his talent be? Many of them wondered.
"He seems to be Ye Hao!"
Someone recognized him and exclaimed. Upon closer inspection, they realized the young man was indeed Ye Hao!
In less than a month, how could Ye Hao undergo such a significant change? When Ye Hao first arrived at the God Tian Sect, everyone knew that although he had a powerful physique and even possessed a natural divine body, it had been taken away by the royal family of the Ye Kingdom!
They initially thought Lin Xuan had taken in Ye Hao because he didn't know about his divine body being taken. However, with Ye Hao's reappearance, his ethereal temperament made everyone excited.
Especially for those top disciples among the outer sect, if what Elder Lin Xuan said to Sword Dust earlier was not a joke, it meant they also had a chance!
If they could win the first place in the testing ceremony, they might have the opportunity to catch the eye of Elder Lin Xuan.
In an instant, because of Lin Xuan, the atmosphere of the testing ceremony seemed to become tense.
"The testing ceremony officially begins!"
With the shout of the outer sect elders, the entire testing ceremony had begun.
Then, they reminded the disciples:
"There are risks in the test. If you can't hold on, just shout for the elders, and they will naturally save you. Don't force it; otherwise, there is a risk to your life!"
As the words fell, numerous outer sect disciples, like arrows leaving the bow, rushed toward the inner sect's eighteen tests.
And Sword Dust was naturally among them.
Many disciples thought Elder Lin Xuan was just joking, but Sword Dust didn't think so. In his eyes, this was his only chance! If he wanted to save his sister, this was the only chance!
The first checkpoint!
Crossing the river with a reed!
In front of them, a river appeared, testing the disciples' light skills and, more importantly, their control over spiritual power. The control of spiritual power was the most critical thing in cultivation. If you were not familiar with your own spiritual power, how could you fight against others?
Those who crossed the river with less water splashed would get better results!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Figures erupted with spiritual power under their feet, floating above the river. This checkpoint was not easy to pass or too difficult. Those with outstanding talents could undoubtedly see the level of their spiritual power.
Soon, a figure simply walked on the water surface with minimal contact with the river and reached the other side in a few breaths!
"That's Lin Tang! One of the outstanding disciples among the outer sect! I didn't expect him to improve even more than last time. Such speed is truly unmatched among the outer disciples!"
"This time, Lin Tang might enter the inner sect! It's fortunate. With Elder Lin Xuan here, there might be a chance for him to be accepted as a disciple!"
While focusing on these outer sect geniuses, people also paid attention to another person, Sword Dust!
After all, the outer sect testing had become so lively this time for a reason.
Whoosh whoosh!
However, what surprised them was that Sword Dust, whom they didn't have much hope for, did not seem affected by their gazes. In just a few breaths, he also reached the other side!
"How is this possible!"
"He only has the initial cultivation of the Blood Refining Realm. Why can he do this?!"
While the disciples were amazed, the elders watching on the side were also extremely surprised. Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but admire Lin Xuan's vision. Had he already seen the potential of this disciple?
With only the initial cultivation of the Blood Refining Realm, the speed of crossing the river was not inferior to Lin Tang, who had almost reached the Void Filling Realm!
In fact, this was within Lin Xuan's expectations. Sword Dust had spent a lot of effort on his spiritual power in the past few years since his cultivation hadn't made much progress. Moreover, Sword Dust couldn't practice light skills like those who had already reached the quasi Void Filling Realm, which could provide them with many bonuses. Sword Dust mostly relied on his own control of spiritual power.
However, not everyone could do this. If it were someone else, their mentality would probably have collapsed under such circumstances!
"Don't just stand there! Crossing the river with a reed tests your control over spiritual power. If you pay attention to controlling your spiritual power in your daily practice, you can achieve the same!"
Although the outer sect elder in charge of the test said so, he was also astonished by Sword Dust's performance. Even though it required persistence in daily practice, how many could persist?
But the hearts of many outer sect disciples were relieved because of these words. They would think that Sword Dust only focused on practicing control of spiritual power because his cultivation did not progress. If it came to verifying true strength, relying on these skills would be difficult to go further.
The inner sect's eighteen checkpoints were just the beginning; the road ahead was still long!
Without thinking too much, all the disciples exerted themselves and rushed towards the second checkpoint: Walking on Thin Ice!
This was the second checkpoint of the eighteen, testing the disciples' spiritual power endurance!
This checkpoint was where the true strength of spiritual power needed to be verified. If the concentration of spiritual power was insufficient, it would be difficult to take even a single step on this ice layer!
The first checkpoint, if it did not eliminate many disciples, the second checkpoint already had considerable difficulty. Most of the low-level disciples could not even pass this checkpoint.
"Sword Dust... he probably won't be able to pass this checkpoint, right?"
People said slowly in their hearts; after all, he only had the initial cultivation of the Blood Refining Realm.
However.
When it truly began, people were shocked. Sword Dust, who they didn't have much hope for, was struggling forward on this ice layer with just the initial cultivation, and they had only just set foot on it, feeling an incomparable pain!
What kind of willpower is supporting him forward?
Even Lin Xuan was slightly curious, wondering what was supporting him.
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I am going to go much further ahead with the story on my patreon, so if you could support me there please go to https://patreon.com/MangaTacos
I also have plans to turn this into a manhua which I will be funding with the monthly donations I get from Patreon. My goal is to reach about 100 patrons to get the artist started. The more patrons I get, the more artists I will be able to hire and get the story into a manhua much quicker.
I am also writing a light novel series which is more of a Shounen style story. I hope to see you all there!