Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-364-30041322

"The third one is Enlightened Master Lin Xuan-Sheng, another bright talent in the side hall back then. It was rumored his popularity surpassed even Enlightened Master Lu Xuan-Ping. The fourth one is Enlightened Master Leng Xuan-Qian, she’s said to be Enlightened Master Lu Xuan-Ping’s eighth senior martial sister."

Lu Ping and Hu Lili were aimlessly wandering in the plaza. From time to time, Lu Ping would look up at the stages and observe the disciples. Even so, he could hear everything the disciples were saying.

"Twenty-six Enlightened Masters under the age of one hundred? There are definitely more than a hundred Enlightened Masters in the sect."

"Who would’ve thought these old names would also advance to the Core Forging Realm?"

Hu Lili smiled and said, "Yuan Zhan always did like to assume the role of a mastermind—he would never reveal all of his cards. It’s no surprise that he quietly became an Enlightened Master. Not to mention that the Yuan Clan is suspected to have hidden ties with the other sects, so it’s possible that he received some help from them.

"Lin Sheng and Leng Qian have been well-known talents of our generation since they were in the side hall—not even you were up to their standard at that time. It’s only normal that they also advanced to the Core Forging Realm."

"Yuan Zhan, Lin Sheng, and Leng Qian… Leng Qian is Teacher’s eighth official disciple, and supposedly my dear eighth senior martial sister. Although she was in the wrong to abandon you during the monster pursuit, she still had a shred of humanity left in her for not injuring you and leaving you to die. As for Lin Sheng—I personally don’t have any grudges against him, I will let it slide if he knows his place.

"But Yuan Zhan… he’s schemed against me not just once, but twice. Although I survived both times, and even benefited from them, it doesn’t mean I can forget what he did to me. He must die, and not even the Yuan Clan can do a damn thing about it. If they insist on protecting him, then the Yuan Clan has no reason to exist anymore. I believe the sect won’t value a half-hearted clan more than me."

Hu Lili was surprised and said, "Ever since you returned from the East Ocean, you’ve become more confident and assertive than before."

Instead of feeling proud, Lu Ping was embarrassed to hear her compliments, and he blushed a little.

Luckily, a sudden burst of cheers from the disciples saved him from the awkward situation. The disciples were running somewhere behind them. Lu Ping looked back and saw the battles on the stages had stopped, while the disciples were gathering around the podium in the center of the plaza.

Lu Ping looked at Hu Lili in puzzlement, while a Core Forging Realm on the podium suddenly sat down and said happily, "I knew Junior Uncle Xuan-Yuan didn’t invite us here for no reason. I told myself there was nothing to gain by attending and I’d be lucky to not lose anything. But in the end I just couldn’t help myself, and I had to come to quench my curiosity.

"And sure enough, just after one round, the junior martial uncle called for a break and asked us to have a small forum. So, I guess I’ll use the time to craft some common charms for you little ones. If you also like charm-crafting, feel free to exchange knowledge with me so I can learn more too."

Hearing these words brought Lu Ping back to his early days of cultivation. Back then, he had a short-lived profession in charm-crafting, which made him his first bucket of wealth and set him off on his cultivation journey.

However, as his cultivation progressed and he picked up alchemy, he eventually dropped charm-crafting and became rusty in it. Even so, he still possessed the foundation, and in addition to his expanded knowledge, he was able to understand the teaching easily.

While the disciples were still puzzled from the lesson, Lu Ping was already nodding in enlightenment and murmured, "So that’s how it is… I see…"

Having known about Lu Ping’s history in charm-crafting, Hu Lili chuckle and said, "It feels more like Senior Brother Xuan-Tao is teaching you instead of the disciples."

Lu Ping smiled awkwardly, then he remembered his earlier question and asked, "Why did the competition take a break just after one round?"

Hu Lili laughed again. "You know what kind of person Junior Uncle Xuan-Yuan is. He surely wouldn’t let us off without squeezing the last bit of juice he can get out of us."

Lu Ping clapped his hands in realization. "No wonder he wanted me to do alchemy in front of the disciples. He even applied for a batch of spirit herbs from the sect. By letting me do alchemy in front of the disciples, he can achieve at least three goals.

"First, I would inspire the disciples to take up alchemy; second, my success rate is higher at above ninety-percent, so the sect’s spirit herbs won’t be wasted in my hands; third, because of my success rate, there will be more pellets the junior martial uncle can use as rewards in the competition. What a cunning old fox! No wonder the side hall expanded so quickly and smoothly under his leadership."

Hu Lili added, "In order to make us stay longer, Junior Uncle intentionally set just two rounds of competition in a day. This way, he can drag out more time so every Enlightened Master will be able to show their specialties to the disciples. But this is the most that the junior martial uncle can do—it’s up to the disciples to grasp and learn however much they can."

Lu Ping sighed in admiration. He couldn’t help but respect this junior martial uncle who did all he could for the disciples’ benefit.

Hu Lili continued, but this time, she sounded more serious, "But you need to be wary. Enlightened Master Xuan-Jing’s disciple, Tao Xuan-Fang, is also here. He has the most potential to become the next Master Alchemist in the sect.

"That said, there is nothing for him to display other than his alchemy. Hence, he might just choose to concoct Blood Condensing Pellets like you. So, you have to watch out for him. And don’t forget that you are also known for your swordsmanship, so Junior Uncle Xuan-Yuan might have calculated something for that as well."

After the break, the second round of competition started and ended quickly. The next break was quickly announced, and Du Feng was brought up to teach this time.

Du Feng the Ruthless Sword, Rank of the North Ocean Prodigies. His fame within the sect was quite notable, especially with those indifferent disciples who secretly aspired to become someone like him.

Being the taciturn and detached sword practitioner he’d always been, Du Feng didn’t say a word as he promptly cast up a flying sword and performed a sword art in mid-air.

His sword attacks were quick and direct; they were obviously created solely for the purpose of killing. At critical times like the human-monster war, an effective killing sword art could be a life-saving matter to the disciples.

After Du Feng finished the swordplay, he cast out a copper mirror above him and performed the killing sword art one more time. This time, the swordplay was much slower, while the copper mirror showed the anatomy of a cultivator, clearly indicating the flow of energy in the body.

After the second time, Du Feng cast the killing sword art again for the third time, now at the original speed as the first time. Throughout the entire session, Du Feng didn’t say a single word, but this didn’t affect the magnificence of his swordsmanship that he’d just displayed.

Even the Enlightened Masters were amazed to see his swordsmanship. Only then did they realize that there was someone else in the sect that was equally as good in swordsmanship as Lu Ping, if not better!

During Lu Ping’s time in the side hall, there were only two hundred plus disciples in the competition. But now, the number had more than doubled. Furthermore, the presence of Enlightened Masters attracted more of the disciples to come back to the side hall, which made the room extremely crowded.

Not long after Lu Ping finished watching Du Feng's swordplay and referenced it to his own, Hu Lili left to settle some things in the side hall. Some time later, Lu Ping arrived at the back hill of the side hall, where he’d stayed for ten years during his time there.

Because Junior Uncle Xuan-Yuan was dragging the duration of the side hall competition to several days, Lu Ping had to stay in the side hall in the meantime.

Hence, many visitors came to visit him in the past few days, all trying their luck to get a place as one of his disciples. Each one came accompanied by their seniors, who would ask if he could take them in, even if it was just as registered disciples.

In truth, apart from being attracted to Lu Ping's prowess, the other main reason was due to his status as a valued official disciple of Great Ancestor Liu Tian-Ling.

As time passed by and after meeting constant visitors, Lu Ping eventually grew impatient and decided to leave the cultivation room early in the morning to avoid these people. He then made his way to the Zhao Yang Summit.

The summit was still the place where disciples gathered for their morning practice. The only difference was that the seventh platform on Zhao Yang Summit had been expanded. Lu Ping could only see some faint traces of the past at the edge platform by the cliff.

Because of the side hall competition, the disciples were not required to gather for their morning practice in this period of time. Hence, there were not many disciples at the Zhao Yang Summit.

Lu Ping stood by the edge of the seventh platform, right at the edge of the cliff and facing the rising sun. He looked at the clouds rolling like waves, but with an added touch of charm and freedom.

All of a sudden, an indescribable urge took over Lu Ping's heart; a golden sword miraculously appeared in his hand, and he started casting the very first sword art that he’d learned—the [Blood Condensation Bone Melting Sword Art].

In the side hall, every disciple was taught and practiced the most basic cultivation method, the [Blood Condensation Bone Melting Art]. This cultivation method consisted of two cultivation arts, the [Blood Condensation Bone Melting Fist Art], and the [Blood Condensation Bone Melting Sword Art], which Lu Ping was now performing with the Golden Scale Sword.

However, even though it was just the simplest and most common sword art, it felt incredibly powerful and spectacular when cast by a master of swords. Every move carried a faint trace of the law of nature, as if nature was resonating with his movements.

But such appearances were deceiving. As graceful and marvelous the moves were, only those of equal prowess could sense the extreme danger and deadly power carried within them.

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