Selection

When the sect leader saw Chu Li, she was somewhat surprised. She remembered that Chu Li had gone out with those two disciples. Why had she returned to the sect so early this time?

Why don't they go out and gain some experience for themselves?

She still remembered how, when she used to take that fox out alone, it would often take more than a month to come back.

"Master, could we set up an isolation barrier first?" Chu Li took a deep breath. This matter was of great importance and required a more advanced isolation barrier.

The sect leader sensed something was wrong from Chu Li's words and almost immediately raised his hand to release the attack. His expression tightened as he asked, "Has something happened?"

Chu Li remained silent, but simply loosened her grip on the stone. Sure enough, without the suppression of her spiritual power, the outer layer of the "stone" instantly shattered, and a distant aura instantly spread throughout the hall.

If the sect leader hadn't set up an isolation barrier in advance, this aura could have spread throughout the entire sect.

This is—the sect leader's gaze was fixed on something that had completely shed its gray undertones.

It was an oval-shaped piece of amber, constantly shimmering with various colors of light. And if someone stared at it for a long time, it seemed to possess a magical power, making people unconsciously become immersed in it.

Xie Wanqiu couldn't help but recall what her master had once told her—is now the time right?

"Late Autumn, if I appear before you later with the Time Amber, please remember..."

Xie Wanqiu clenched her fist: "This is Time Amber. You must keep it safe and never let anyone find out that you have this."

Especially before that space opened.

To better conceal the aura above, Xie Wanqiu also brought along two other junior brothers and sisters. Although they were sometimes unreliable, they were definitely reliable when it came to their master's affairs.

The three of them disguised the Time Amber once again as something ordinary. After confirming that its aura would no longer dissipate, Xie Wanqiu carefully handed it over to Chu Li.

Chu Li put the Time Amber back on her chest. Since she had always worn it this way before, she might as well do it the same way from now on.

After leaving the Wuxiang Hall, Chu Li unexpectedly saw Nan Yi and Wen Xiangluan: "What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for my senior sister!" Nan Yi replied first, looking quite obedient.

Wen Xiangluan hesitated for a moment before saying dryly, "I'm also waiting for Senior Sister."

"Here's the thing, we've received word that the sect competition will be held in a year, and the sect needs to conduct selections in advance. Those who want to participate can register in the next few days."

Nan Yi and the other person had just returned to the sect and received the news. He himself didn't care whether he participated in the competition or not; the important thing was to see what his senior sister thought.

Reminded by these words, Chu Li also remembered that the sect leader had mentioned this matter to her before, "If you want to participate, then sign up."

This time, Wen Xiangluan answered first: "Of course I will participate in anything that can bring glory to the sect."

As the sect leader's disciple and also a Qingluan, he was naturally stronger than the average Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Nan Yi glanced at Chu Li discreetly and saw that after hearing the words of the blue phoenix, her eyebrows slightly raised, and she immediately made a decision in her heart.

The final result was that the two of them signed up for the sect selection together.

Wen Xiangluan stopped mentioning her desire to study the spatial domain and instead followed Chu Li's advice to study a domain more suitable for her.

Half a year passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the Wanxiang Sect's internal competition again.

"Master... um, is there something you need here?"

Having not seen his master for so long, the sect leader almost misspoke again, but fortunately, the other party's attention did not seem to be on his inexplicable words.

"Master, I came here to discuss Seventh Junior Brother's future cultivation with you."

"Him?" The sect leader wondered if Wen Xiangluan had done something improper, which had prompted Chu Li to come and complain to her.

Over the past six months, she had secretly observed that Chu Li always taught both of them at the same time, and her previous vague worry that Nan Yi might do something on purpose gradually dissipated.

With Wen Xiangluan present, it's unlikely that the fox will be able to do anything else, since he's only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

“That’s right,” Chu Li said carefully, “I don’t have the energy to teach two people at the same time.”

In the past six months, she spent some time with Nan Yi and Wen Xiangluan, but she never neglected her own cultivation. In her spare time, she would often study the Time Amber.

Over time, she gradually felt that she didn't have the energy to teach two people well at the same time, especially since the two of them always liked to compare themselves to each other behind the scenes.

The sect leader thought for a moment and recalled that in recent days, the area not far from the Wuxiang Hall had always been unusually lively. Occasionally, when she passed by, she could hear the two people calling out "Senior Sister," each one more enthusiastic than the other.

She fell silent for a moment. Her master had indeed endured too much, but who could have imagined that she could cause such a commotion by teaching just two people? Those two were even more unruly than her previous six disciples.

"So what are you planning to do?" Judging from her expression, it seems she's prepared to give up one of them, but it's unclear which category Wen Xiangluan, whom she just mentioned, falls into.

"I plan to continue taking care of my eighth junior brother, but as for my seventh junior brother, I'm afraid Master will have to take over."

This was actually a decision she had just made recently. Firstly, Nan Yi had been with her for longer, and secondly, it was also partly due to her own selfish reasons; deep down, she preferred to have a fox with her.

The sect leader understood somewhat and quickly nodded: "In that case, I'll talk to Wen Xiangluan about it later—but do you still have the energy to take care of Nanyi?"

Actually, she shouldn't have been in charge of these two people in the first place.

Chu Li paused for a moment, then thought of Nan Yi's usual tactics of feigning weakness, and couldn't help but feel a headache: "Nan Yi, I'd better lead them myself."

The sect leader frowned slightly as he looked at her somewhat helpless yet indulgent expression.

However, she couldn't simply forbid Chu Li from bringing Nan Yi, as that would easily lead Chu Li to make certain assumptions. So she changed the subject: "The sect's selection should have started today, right? Aren't you going to check on your two junior brothers?"

Chu Li smiled and shook her head: "It's just a selection within the sect. They can all be selected. Whether I go or not doesn't really matter."

The sect leader stroked his chin and suddenly thought of the "miserable" life he and his two junior brothers and sisters had lived in the past. Back then, their master rarely cared about them, and he rarely appeared in competitions or anything like that. So that's what he was thinking?

She couldn't help but smile sincerely and said earnestly, "That's true. They're not cubs; they don't need someone to accompany them all day."

So, how can they not let their current disciples experience what they went through in the past?

Chu Li nodded in agreement, but of course, she had another reason besides this one.

She planned to make a gift for Wen Xiangluan. She chose Nan Yi between the two men, but she still needed to give this little blue phoenix something to comfort her.

It is said that Wen Xiangluan is only a little over a hundred years old, and has only recently come of age.

"Listen up, everyone. The first challenge is to break through the domain. You must break through the domain's structure and not use brute force. The top 100 from each group can advance to the next challenge!"

Before the disciples could react, domains descended from the sky in an instant.

The elder in charge of this matter beckoned to a disciple standing nearby: "Come on, keep an eye on things. As long as there are enough people, the remaining disciples will be eliminated immediately. However, we are in charge of those in the Foundation Establishment stage, and it will probably take them some time to break through their domains."

This first test examines the disciples' familiarity with the domain and their ability to integrate all the knowledge. Because the disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage are not strong, they were given an easier domain with almost no offensive power.

For example, the group in the Nascent Soul stage were directly given a powerful attack domain, which meant they had to dodge the attacks while also figuring out how to break through the domain.

But just as the disciple was about to sit down leisurely, a domain below suddenly exploded, and the fragments of the domain scattered into the air and then dissipated.

The disciple's eyes widened instantly. His first thought was that a Nascent Soul stage disciple had wandered into the wrong place. But before he could check carefully, another domain suddenly exploded!

The disciple, with a heavy heart, waited in place for a while longer. Finally, when no other sounds came out, he jogged down to check.

“Nan Yi, right? Good,” the disciple quickly wrote down the name on the plaque, “Hmm, and there’s also Wen Xiangluan… Both of them are disciples of the sect leader…”

The disciple examined the area several times and found that it was indeed broken through structurally, rather than by brute force. Only then did he signal to the two that they could leave.

Standing there, still somewhat shocked, watching their backs, were all the sect leader's disciples this terrifying?

"Nan Yi! Let's have another good fight tomorrow!"

"Wen Xiangluan, I told you, you can't beat me."

Can't win? Even if you can't win, you should still fight well.

Wen Xiangluan lowered his eyelashes. The sect leader had told him to go to the Wuxiang Hall after the sect selection. Qingluan had a strong premonition, and he had vaguely sensed that something was slowly changing.

During the time she cultivated with Nan Yi, Wen Xiangluan indeed felt that Nan Yi's comprehension was very strong, so strong that it was not like he was at the Foundation Establishment stage at all...

But so what?

He raised his head. "Junior brother, wait until you are truly able to defeat me tomorrow before you say that."

The sect selection process began as scheduled on the second day.

This time was different from yesterday; many disciples came to watch the battle.

Like yesterday's breakthrough in the domain, the disciples were breaking through from inside the domain, so it wasn't visible from the outside and there was really nothing to see.

On the contrary, today's battle reveals something more—even among the Myriad Manifestations Sect, people don't just use domains to fight; they use a wide variety of attack methods.

Some came to watch the spectacular battles, while others came to observe how other disciples constructed their domains.

In short, the area around the ring was packed with people.

There are a total of six arenas open this time, with two arenas in each group. You can choose any arena to watch.

Most of the time, many disciples choose the arena for the Nascent Soul stage, as the Nascent Soul stage is much stronger and more interesting than the Golden Core or Foundation Establishment stages.

However, this time was different from the past, with significantly more disciples crowding around the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Why are there so many people here?" A disciple muttered as he was led by the crowd to the vicinity of the Foundation Establishment stage arena.

Do people just enjoy watching the Foundation Establishment stage characters fight in such a bland and uninspiring way?

“Junior brother, your information is a bit outdated,” another disciple standing nearby glanced at the one who spoke—it turned out to be a new disciple who had just entered the sect. He kindly replied, “Yesterday, two Foundation Establishment disciples broke through their domains at an extremely fast speed, and they will most likely face off today. Do you think this scene is worth watching?”

In the past, there have been disciples who broke through the domain quickly, but those disciples had already made a name for themselves in the sect early on, and everyone was used to it.

However, these two names are quite unfamiliar; all that's known is that they are both disciples of the sect leader.

That they're from the same school makes things even more interesting.