Chapter 264 The Struggle Among Various Forces 2
In this way, the two of them read all the scrolls submitted by the ninth-level forces.
Among them, the most sincere are the Lingxian Sect, the War God Hall, and three other very powerful level-nine forces.
It was the Nine Star Pavilion, the Heavenly Martial Gate, and the Mirror Moon Sect.
How powerful is it?
Most level nine forces only have one Transcendent Cultivator, but these three forces each have two!
Among the many forces in this area, only these three forces possess two experts who have reached the Heavenly Realm.
Each of the three factions offered one spot as a disciple of a Tongtian expert—meaning that as long as one joins that faction, one can become a disciple of a Tongtian expert!
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The powerful figures who have reached the highest level on the continent have lived for countless years and have seen countless geniuses. They do not easily accept disciples. They are usually only willing to accept top geniuses who have no shortcomings in any aspect and whose cultivation path is the same or similar to theirs.
Once geniuses become Tongtian's disciples, they can receive better treatment. If they can maintain a state of rapid progress, they will also receive Tongtian's attention, more guidance, and preferential treatment from Tongtian's private treasury.
However, this also presents a problem.
If one's progress slows down after becoming a disciple of Tongtian, fails to meet the standards of a Tongtian master, or discovers after spending time with him that they are incompatible with his temperament, there is a high chance that they will be neglected by their master.
Of course, the necessary resources will still be provided, but after being "exiled" by Tongtian, one will no longer receive the rewards from the other party's private treasury. Therefore, the benefits this disciple receives within the faction will not be much different from those of ordinary disciples of the same realm. Only the title of "Tongtian disciple" can serve as a certain deterrent and provide a few more protections than ordinary disciples.
In this way, the "opportunity to receive instruction once a year" offered by the Lingxian Sect and the War God Temple becomes more practical—this is like an annual custom, and once it's set, it won't change.
Moreover, the Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall did not impose any time limit—meaning that as long as the disciple is alive, he can meet Tongtian every year.
Perhaps this won't earn them "Tongtian's favoritism towards his own disciples," but what does it matter?
Disciples with sufficient ability will receive permanent benefits from the sect, even if they do not become disciples of Tongtian. If they are truly lacking in resources, Tongtian experts will likely not be stingy with them—unless there is a conflict with an exceptionally outstanding disciple under Tongtian's command.
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Furthermore, the reason why the three forces, including the Nine Star Pavilion, were willing to offer a spot was not only because Wu Shaogan was outstanding enough, but also because he was able to bring in an excellent alchemist like Zhong Cai... and because they originally had more spots available.
If there is only one Tongtian, the disciple quota must be treated with care. The other forces that have not given quotas do not think that the Third Dou Wang is not qualified to become a Tongtian disciple. Rather, they have to go through a process, first recruit him into their forces, and then observe whether the disciple's personality is compatible with the Tongtian expert, and whether they are compatible with each other. Otherwise, if they are too incompatible, it would be better to take a Nirvana with great potential as a master.
In summary, the value of this Tongtian disciple spot is indeed the highest, but due to some uncertainty, it is generally similar to the treatment offered by the Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall.
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However, Wu Shaogan had ruled out these three forces from the very beginning.
Because the three families have a total of six Tongtian masters, all of whom are martial arts Tongtian masters, and there are no ninth-level alchemists in their forces at all!
If Zhong Cai were to become an apprentice, only Wu Shaogan could become Tongtian's apprentice, and the highest level of guidance he could receive would only be level eight—this would not be acceptable.
Of course, Wu Shaogan understood that the three major forces had already given his A Cai very high treatment, but since it did not suit his taste, why should he join them?
Moreover, although Wu Shaogan and Zhong Cai did not say it explicitly, they both understood each other's thoughts tacitly: unless absolutely necessary, neither of them intended to become an apprentice.
They had never received much protection from teachers or elders since childhood. Even though Zhong Cai's maternal grandfather and aunt loved him very much, and his stepfather and stepmother were not bad either, in the end, the former was a "broken mirror mended", and the latter was "some affection but not much".
Not to mention Wu Shaogan.
Therefore, after entering the Azure Dragon Academy, they truly felt the love and care of their elders. From cultivation to daily life, there was no aspect that was not meticulously cared for. Even though Wu Shaogan and Zhong Cai only cared about each other, they still truly regarded their two masters as their own fathers.
The relationship between master and disciple deepens, becoming no different from that between father and son. However, with more disciples (sons), bias is inevitable—Wu Shaogan and Zhong Caike are both "only children," and they were the children that their two masters had been looking forward to for many years.
Wu Shaogan and Zhong Caiben are not people who easily trust others, and it is also difficult for them to develop a deep enough relationship with other teachers. Therefore, what they need more than becoming disciples is "the opportunity for guidance".
Therefore, Wu Shaogan himself did not expect that the treatment offered by Lingxian Sect and War God Hall was more satisfactory.
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Countless thoughts flashed through their minds, and through their frequent eye contact, they understood each other's intentions. They also conducted a series of "discussions" right under the noses of the Nirvana beings.
Those who had attained Nirvana felt a strange sense of unease upon witnessing this scene.
The two juniors seemed to be having a heated discussion, but they weren't releasing any spiritual energy or transmitting any spiritual messages. Their expressions didn't change much either, and there was no discernible pattern... So how were they having this "discussion"?
Upon seeing this, the gentle-looking, refined man sitting quietly behind a long table raised an eyebrow and then looked at the strong young man behind the table next to him.
The strong young man gave the gentle man a fawning smile.
The gentle-looking man turned his head, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth—was he trying to interrogate him and make him appease him? Damn brat! No understanding at all!
The strong young man didn't know why his sweetheart was angry again, so he could only scratch his head awkwardly.
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After they had almost finished "discussing" the matter, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan carefully placed the numerous scrolls to one side and looked at the many Nirvana scrolls with very serious expressions.
Many of the reborn beings smiled and did not urge the two of them on.
Zhong Cai paused, then said hesitantly, "As you all probably already know, the young minister and I..."
Wu Shaogan continued, "He is not from a top-tier continent."
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None of the many Nirvanas showed any surprise.
That's true.
Wu Shaogan is one thing, but it's possible that his strength was recorded by heaven and earth immediately after he broke through to the Fusion Realm, causing him to suddenly drop to third place on the list.
But Zhong Cai was an alchemist.
Even the most skilled alchemist practices alchemy in the same way they learn it. As their alchemy skills improve, they are recorded by heaven and earth. It's impossible for someone who couldn't even make it to the bottom of the rankings one month to suddenly jump into the top ten the next.
The alchemy kings on the alchemist ranking list, apart from having a talent level of at least ninety-five, have no fixed pattern in terms of age, aptitude, or realm; there are countless possibilities. But once they are on the list, there is always a process of climbing the rankings.
Even if there were a chance, even if there were such a genius... for example, a certain alchemist who only knew how to refine a few kinds of pills one month, but the next month developed an extremely powerful formula, so he suddenly appeared out of nowhere...
However, when Zhong Cai failed to make the list a month ago, she had already developed the Love Poison and administered it to Hong Shaoling.
With this love-sickness poison, coupled with Zhong Cai's ability to refine so many top-grade pills as a foundation, if he had been a top-tier alchemist from the beginning, he would never have failed to make the list!
The various factions acted swiftly, not only searching for people but also gathering information. Especially while waiting for the two, they conducted extensive investigations to gain a deeper understanding of each other so that they could "prescribe the right medicine" when recruiting them.
Naturally, they quickly came up with multiple inferences and confirmations.
However, precisely because Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan both come from other continents, and the energy of heaven and earth on those continents is certainly far inferior to that of the top continents, the fact that these two can reach such a level at such a young age, in no way inferior to the top geniuses carefully cultivated by some level nine forces, makes them stand out even more.
The reason why they were so actively trying to recruit them and were willing to offer such generous treatment was not only because these two were ranked extremely high, but also because all the major powers believed that the possibility of these two stagnating in their cultivation in the future was very small...
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Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan confirmed this from the numerous expressions of Nirvana, and their expressions relaxed slightly.
Wu Shaogan said, "We two come from the Middle Continent."
Many Nirvana cultivators were taken aback—it wasn't a higher-level continent but a mid-level one, so the level of importance needed to be increased further.
Zhong Cai said sincerely, "Shao Gan and I have only been here for a short time, and we know almost nothing about the forces that you seniors belong to."
The many Nirvanas have long known this, and remain gentle and kind to this day.
Zhong Cai continued, "However, Shao Gan and I intend to go to the same force, but we do not want to wrong each other. Therefore, if the differences between alchemy and martial arts are too great, then we will have to... Please forgive us, seniors."
Many level-nine forces understood after a little thought.
Those present were all from level nine forces, so their training of disciples would certainly not be crippled. Both alchemy and martial arts were included, and in martial arts, there would be at least Nirvana level disciples, and in alchemy, there would be at least level eight alchemists.
However, since both Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan are on the Sky Ranking, if we want to recruit them both, then the person who can guide Zhong Cai must not be an ordinary eighth-level alchemist, but a senior alchemy emperor. And the person who can guide Wu Shaogan must be an eighth-level Douhuang on the Sky Ranking.
So……
At that moment, several Nirvana cultivators from level nine forces shook their heads in regret.
They might be alchemy factions without an eighth-level Dou Huang, or martial arts factions with only ordinary eighth-level alchemists—they had long anticipated their obvious weaknesses, insufficient to recruit one of the couple, so they offered them very generous treatment, especially in terms of resources for their weaker areas, which were several times better.
Even so, for the couple's long-term development, they can only focus on one aspect at a time...
The couple has a very deep relationship, so they might be able to recruit both of them directly this time; however, because their relationship is so deep and they are unwilling to mistreat each other, no matter how much they are willing to give more to those with weaknesses, they still won't get a chance.
However, even though it seemed like there was no chance, these forces did not give up completely—what if in the end the other forces still couldn't reach an agreement? Wouldn't they be able to give it another try?
Some factions exchanged glances, wondering if they could offer some compensation in exchange for "exchange and learning" opportunities from other factions, which might become a bargaining chip in the final negotiations...
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In addition, there are many other forces that believe they have no weaknesses.
Then, a Nirvana cultivator from the Zixiao Sect smiled and said, "Then let me first tell you about the situation within the sect."
Zhong Cai said sincerely, "Thank you for your help, senior."
Zixiao Sect Nirvana simply stated: "Our sect is divided into inner and outer sects, among which outer sect disciples... inner sect disciples... the sect's greatest strength is..."
What I said was very basic, without involving any secrets. You could find out more by simply asking around in the area where the Zixiao Sect is located.
He finished speaking succinctly in no time.
Then came the Five Elements Gate, the Blazing Fire Palace, the Formless Palace...
Many other factions also spoke, and their methods of storytelling were no different from those of the Zixiao Sect.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan listened attentively.
Although they have places they want to go, they still haven't decided yet.
This concerns their future prospects, and the behavior of each faction must also be taken into consideration. If they are not careful enough and rashly join a faction, they will be in trouble if they feel uncomfortable later.
Therefore, one's inner inclination can only be one of the factors in making a choice, not the absolute one.
All these forces have finished speaking.
Finally, a gentle man from the Lingxian Sect spoke up, giving the two of them a friendly smile.
Zhong Cai smiled back, though she still felt a little hopeful inside.
Judging from the previous performance of the Lingxian Sect, the treatment in all aspects was quite good, and his current expectations... he didn't really know what he was expecting, but he was definitely expecting something.
The gentle man from the Lingxian Sect, Xiao Danhuang, smiled and said, “Our Lingxian Sect has the peerless Nirvana Guardian, and our Sect Master is a Pill Venerable. Both of them are capable of teaching you. Moreover, our Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall have been on good terms for generations. If you two join our Lingxian Sect, when you need higher-level guidance, you can also go to the War God Hall.”
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"Guidance from the Pill Master" was the treatment given to Zhong Cai by the Lingxian Sect, while Wu Shaogan received very generous martial arts resources and a promise that a powerful Nirvana cultivator within the sect would definitely guide him.
"Guidance from a top-tier expert" was the treatment the War God Temple gave to Wu Shaogan, and Zhong Cai received the same treatment, including countless resources and guidance from the Pill Emperor...
Now, Xiao Danhuang directly proposed that not only would Zhong Cai receive corresponding treatment, but Wu Shaogan's salary would also be increased, and that the War God Hall would definitely give the Lingxian Sect face.
In this way, what Wu Shaogan can get in the Lingxian Sect is not much less than what he can get in the War God Hall.
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Wu Shaogan was already satisfied.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Cai pursed his lips—"Not much less" is still less; it can't compare to the benefits his old man, Wu, would receive after directly joining the Temple of War.
The two of them subtly revealed their true feelings through their expressions.
The robust Nirvana cultivator in the Temple of War Gods also spoke, saying, "Our Temple of War Gods has a Heavenly Gate Guardian, if the two of you..."
His words were similar to those of Xiao Danhuang, naturally implying that if the two of them joined the War God Hall at the same time, the Alchemist Master of the Lingxian Sect would also give Zhong Cai face when he needed guidance on alchemy.
Zhong Cai was satisfied.
But Wu Shaogan felt it was still lacking and frowned slightly.
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The couple's reaction was observed by Xiao Danhuang and the strong Nirvana cultivator, and was also clearly seen by the other Nirvana cultivators.
The other Nirvana cultivators glanced at the people from the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Palace, a sense of foreboding suddenly rising in their hearts.
The ninth-level forces, Nirvana, who had previously offered the "Tongtian Disciple quota," suddenly realized that they might cause the genius couple to give up because the offerings were not balanced—they had not expected that the couple would value each other to such an exaggerated degree.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Danhuang glanced at the strong and muscular young man.
The strong young man, having received prior instructions, quickly understood.
Xiao Danhuang smiled and said, "The two of you are so deeply in love and unwilling to let each other suffer the slightest grievance, my Lingxian Sect—"
The strong young man chimed in, "...there's another way, with the Temple of War."
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had a rough idea of what was going on, so they looked over.
Emperor Xiao Dan still wore a warm smile: "If you two young friends don't mind, you can have your friend Zhong join my Lingxian Sect, and your friend Wu join our War God Hall."
The robust young man nodded and followed up with a suggestion: "I wonder if you two are aware that the Spirit Immortal Sect is adjacent to my War God Palace, and the distance between them is not even as far as the two mountain ranges within the sect."
Next, Xiao Danhuang and the strong man spoke one after the other, each saying their own thing.
Xiao Danhuang: "In this way, even if they are in different forces, they will only have different backgrounds, but they will still not be separated."
The strong man said, "Although the tokens of the Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall disciples are not interchangeable, they can be used as collateral to allow disciples of friendly sects to enter the territory without any inconvenience. If they want to meet their Daoist partners, it is also very easy."
Xiao Danhuang said, “If you still feel uncomfortable, you can each enter the sect and swear an oath of brotherhood with your own pill seal and battle intent within your respective forces, register as Daoist partners, and then you can come and go without any obstacles.” He paused, “It’s just that some of the secret places of each force are still inaccessible—but if the disciples of that force are willing to pay a certain price, it may not be impossible to make an exception.”
The strong, muscular man said, "After registering as a Daoist couple, you can settle down in Lianli Lake or Biyi Mountain Range, choosing your own island or peak to live on."
Xiao Danhuang's smile became even more amiable: "If young friend Zhong joins my Lingxian Sect, I will gift him an island in Lianli Lake."
The strong, muscular man said, "Young friend Wu, you can obtain a Twin Peak within the Temple of the God of War."
Xiao Danhuang: "Lianli Lake Island is connected to Biyi Peak. The former is located in Lingxian Sect, and the latter is located in War God Hall. If you two occupy one of them, you can travel directly between the two forces."
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While the two were introducing themselves, the other Nirvana beings also wanted to interrupt, but their respective situations were completely different from those of these two forces that were entangled, and they couldn't think of a way to interrupt.
So they could only watch helplessly as Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan's eyes grew brighter and brighter, as they were deeply captivated.
Numerous Nirvanas: "..."
The bad feeling intensified.
depressed.
Then they saw that young friend Zhong asked with some hesitation, "So, although the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Hall are two separate forces, their internal communication is rather... too close?"
Xiao Danhuang smiled and explained, "My two young friends may not know this, but the sect leader of my Lingxian Sect and the chief hall master of the War God Hall are Daoist partners who have been married for thousands of years and each founded this power."
The strong young man said directly, "The two seniors were once adopted brothers. They depended on each other since childhood and grew up together. Later, one of them pursued alchemy and the other martial arts. After experiencing countless life and death, they became Daoist partners and had a very deep affection for each other. Even when they created their own forces, they took the sound of each other's names."
Xiao Danhuang smiled gently and said frankly, "My Lingxian Sect Master is named Ji Zhan."
The robust young man scratched his face and said, "The Grand Hall Master's name is Pei Xiaoling."
so……
In reality, it is: "Ling" Immortal Sect, "Zhan" Divine Palace.
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Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan: "!"
Among the other forces, some have achieved Nirvana: "!!"
Others, reborn, twitched their lips slightly.
The Nirvana cultivators were also quite shocked. They were relatively young and unaware of such ancient gossip, and they had no idea what the original names of the founders of the two major forces were. Whenever they were mentioned, they were referred to as "Senior Wuming Danzun" and "Senior Baxue Tiandao".
The sudden news—even though they have all experienced a lot in life—is still very shocking.
And those with twitching corners of their mouths... are the older Nirvana types.
They knew a bit about Ji Zhan and Pei Xiaoling, and had long been aware of the shady dealings between these two major forces, but every time they heard people mention it or thought about it, their feelings were hard to describe.
However, they were too busy with their daily affairs to pay much attention to things like the "Lake of Connected Trees" and the "Mountains of Two Wings" that these two forces had been doing behind the scenes—these things weren't exactly the earliest, were they?
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—And that is indeed the case.
It is precisely because there have been so many pairings across generations that the couples do not want to engage in any "long-distance relationship".
After all, it is indeed inconvenient to be in different factions, even if the factions are extremely friendly.
Many years have passed, and more and more disciples have become Daoist partners. The disciples who were the first to get married have all grown up and jointly protested, while the disciples who are about to become Daoist partners also echoed their sentiments... The two factions then began to have a heated discussion.
Ultimately, it was the top couple who made the decision to simply create two places exclusively for them.
Thus, the two forces had actually become "too harmonious" long ago.
The disciples on both sides were well aware of this, and they regarded the disciples in the other's faction as their own people.
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Zhong Cai looked at her husband, Lao Wu.
Wu Shaogan also looked at his own Ah Cai.
Neither of them expected that the so-called "Lingxian Sect" had a "War God Hall" nearby that was on good terms with it, and that the so-called "disciples of both sides complementing each other and traveling together" actually meant "forming complementary partnerships".
hiss.
But it must be said that if the two of them were still carefully considering things before, they are now very satisfied with everything.
Perhaps it's fate, but it feels like the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Palace... were tailor-made for them.
Even if they join these two factions separately, they will receive maximum assistance and will not be separated at all—they can even each take the other with them as they roam between the two factions.
At the same time, the two also secretly pondered the hard power of the two forces.
Although both the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Hall are relatively "young," the underlying strengths that other forces mention when introducing themselves are slightly inferior to those of either of these two forces individually. However, if the two forces are this close, it means that the War God Hall has a large number of alchemists as a backup and is not short of pills, while the Spirit Immortal Sect also has enough strong individuals to protect those more fragile alchemists.
The combination of the two means there are no weaknesses.
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Numerous Nirvanas observed Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan's reactions throughout.
By now, they pretty much knew the two men's choices—which was reasonable, but they were still quite unhappy that such a talented prospect wasn't going to join their own team.
However, they couldn't offer Zhong Cai a better treatment than the guidance of the Pill Master, while Wu Shaogan's treatment was comparable to or even better than that of the War God Temple—but his Daoist partner would inevitably suffer considerable grievances, and the so-called "better" treatment might not be what Wu Shaogan wanted.
It's like... there's no room for struggle anymore?
Many Nirvana cultivators were in a bad mood, and when they looked at the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Hall again, they unconsciously curled their lips and snorted coldly.
The Nirvana cultivators from the Lingxian Sect and the War God Temple also curled their lip in disapproval.
What an impatient person!
They felt that what they were offering was attractive, but since they weren't entirely sure, they shouldn't be too happy too soon.
Thus, the rebirth of the two forces merely meant that they continued to watch over Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan with a benevolent gaze.
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Zhong Cai said somewhat embarrassedly, "Shao Gan and I really don't want to be separated... We are deeply grateful for your kindness. I am willing to join the Lingxian Sect, and Shao Gan is also willing to become a disciple of the War God Hall."
At this point, he showed a slightly embarrassed expression, looked at the Nirvana cultivators from the other forces, and together with his old man Wu, bowed and apologized.
Many factions sighed upon seeing Zhong Cai's humility.
Zhong Cai said somewhat shyly, "To be honest, seniors, I actually have some connection with the Lingxian Sect. This time, I was traveling with Shao Gan towards the Western River Region. Unexpectedly, we encountered the Qingyu Town incident first."
Wu Shaogan nodded and said, "A Cai's master received a legacy from the Lingxian Sect when he was young, and he also mentioned that the Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall have a very good relationship. Therefore, before we came here, we had already intended to go and take a look at the Xihe Region."
Xiao Danhuang of the Lingxian Sect was taken aback.
The robust Nirvana cultivator from the Temple of War was somewhat surprised.
Other forces also did not expect this.
But they soon realized that the two geniuses had originally set their sights on the Spirit Immortal Sect, and if the Spirit Immortal Sect fell short, the War God Hall was still a backup. However, they had only heard some rumors and didn't fully understand the real situation, so they had many considerations.
If it weren't for their consecutive appearances on the lists and the numerous recruitment efforts, these two talented youngsters might have spent even more time observing the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Temple before making a decision.
And now...
The offers from other forces were not as suitable as those from the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Temple, so they were able to finalize their decisions much faster.
At this moment, the eyes of the many Nirvana cultivators looking at the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Palace flashed with even colder light.
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