Apprenticeship Ceremony
Six years later, the Silver Bamboo Sect is holding another disciple-acceptance ceremony. Yun Xingjun is not only recruiting disciples in the mortal realm and the cultivation world, but also announced in advance that he will be accepting personal disciples this time, which has further fueled the enthusiasm of cultivators in the cultivation world.
Qi Yuan, as the eldest disciple, stood at the entrance to welcome the candidates. There were two paths: one for disciples from other sects who came to watch the disciple recruitment ceremony, and the other for young men and women who wanted to join the Silver Bamboo Sect.
Looking at the candidates who were constantly entering the sect, Qi Yuan felt gratified. The large venue was filled with people.
Seeing that most people had arrived, Qi Yuan cast a spell to create a special barrier. She shouted, "Listen up! To participate in the disciple-acceptance ceremony, you must have spiritual roots. If you don't, it means you are not destined for immortality and you should leave. Those with spiritual roots can pass through this barrier to enter the inner area."
Upon hearing this, someone sighed, thinking that he could become a superior person by cultivating immortality, but he still stopped at the starting point and returned to the mortal world to farm.
Some people were secretly pleased, as they suddenly had so many fewer competitors.
Qi Yuan kept a close eye on the time. There were only a few minutes left before the deadline for joining the sect. If anyone was late, the sect would be locked out, and those who arrived late would be barred from participating in the disciple-acceptance ceremony.
In the final minute, no one else came in. Just before she was about to seal off the Silver Bamboo Sect, a young man rushed towards the sect and jumped inside a second before the barrier opened, registering for the disciple release ceremony at the last minute.
He was panting heavily, drenched in sweat, and asked Qi Yuan beside him, "Fellow Daoist, how do I participate?"
She said calmly, "If you have spiritual roots, you can just pass through the barrier."
"Thanks!" The boy ran off quickly.
Qi Yuan wasn't in a hurry. Knowing Yun Xingjun's temperament, she would have to wait a while. She slowly walked towards the dueling platform.
As they approached, they saw a huge crowd gathered below the arena. Yun Xingjun stood on the platform and saw Qi Yuan. He said, "Wei Shuang, come here. Your two martial uncles have returned."
She was taken aback. Why had those two senior uncles suddenly returned?
Qi Yuan strode onto the stage, and the candidates below whispered among themselves, "That's Qi Yuan!"
"Waaaaah, I actually saw the person in person..."
"So young, she really is only seventeen."
"..."
People were seated on one side of the stage, from left to right: Ye Hanyun, Ye Munian, Jin Yanjun, and Huiguangjun.
Ye Hanyun patted the seat next to her and called out, "Senior Sister! Sit here!"
Qi Yuan chose to ignore him, walked up to Jin Yan Jun and Hui Guang Jun, and bowed:
"This disciple greets the two senior uncles."
"So you're the eldest disciple, Qi Yuan?" Jin Yanjun asked dismissively.
"...This disciple's name is Qi Yuan."
"Fine, fine. I don't care what your name is, I just want to know if your abilities match your reputation." Jin Yanjun looked her up and down, clearly disgusted.
Qi Yuan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Please ask your questions, Uncle-Master."
"What's your cultivation level this year?" he asked, pursing his lips.
"Early stage of Nascent Soul."
"Isn't it just Nascent Soul? What the hell are you talking about?! Nascent Soul? Don't lie to me!" Jin Yanjun even swore, and his expression showed that he didn't believe it at all.
Qi Yuan helplessly stretched out her hand: "If Martial Uncle doesn't believe me, you can examine my spiritual veins. What I say is absolutely true."
Upon examining him, Jin Yanjun's expression visibly worsened. He seemed embarrassed and said irritably, "Alright! Look at you, so smug! You're just a Nascent Soul cultivator, can't you be a little more humble?"
Qi Yuan: ?
Huiguang Junwen said gently, "Qiyuan, you are seventeenth Nascent Soul cultivator, even surpassing Xuan Yang Zhenren of that time. Your future is boundless."
"Thank you for the compliment, Uncle-Master."
Qi Yuan turned and sat down next to Ye Hanyun, casually asking, "Are the elders not here?"
“Yes, they don’t participate in the disciple-acceptance ceremony. Only new disciples who have officially joined the Silver Bamboo Sect are under their jurisdiction,” Ye Hanyun said.
She looked at the candidates below the stage, her eyes deep and thoughtful.
"Welcome, young people, to the Silver Bamboo Sect. The gates of the Silver Bamboo Sect are always open to you. I am Yun Xingjun, and I will now introduce our sect's direct disciples and two vice sect leaders."
"Eldest disciple, Qi Yuan."
Qi Yuan stood up, nodded slightly, and sat down amidst applause.
"Second disciple, Ye Hanyun."
Ye Hanyun jumped up excitedly and greeted the girls below the stage with a cool and aloof demeanor, which elicited screams from the crowd.
"The third disciple is Ye Munian."
"I've become the third disciple?" Ye Munian was completely bewildered. Before he could figure it out, Ye Hanyun pinched his flesh and forced him to stand up, giving him a very perfunctory greeting.
"Jin Yanjun, Glow Lord."
The two seniors nodded slightly as they sat in their seats.
Yun Xingjun said, "The test is divided into three rounds: the first round selects outer disciples, the second round selects inner disciples, and the third round selects personal disciples!"
The contestants shouted excitedly, and Yun Xingjun coughed lightly and said seriously, "The first round of testing will begin now! In front of you is the arena. I will cast a spell on the arena, and each of you will see your own inner demon in the illusion. The first hundred to defeat their inner demons and regain their senses will become the first disciples of the Silver Bamboo Sect!"
A chorus of sighs erupted. This contest had a thousand participants, yet only one hundred could be chosen. Some were celebrating their spiritual roots one moment, only to feel certain defeat the next. They had never even lifted a sword; how could they possibly slay their inner demons? Others didn't even know what inner demons were.
"Those who want to back out can leave now! Candidates, take three steps forward!"
Most people hesitated before stepping forward, hoping for the best.
Wu Shangyao, who was watching the competition from the sidelines, asked Duan Yu, "Senior Brother Duan, I saw some people who didn't even have weapons. Is it okay for them to go into battle empty-handed?"
"How would I know?" Duan Yu blurted out.
Ye Ting suddenly spoke up: "Not necessarily. Inner demons can be killed without weapons. I just don't know if we'll see such a disciple this year..."
Yun Xingjun began casting a spell, and each candidate had to walk into the passage in front of them to confront their inner demons.
Everyone stepped inside, leaving only one boy standing still.
Qi Yuan glanced at him; it was the person who was late. She looked away, then suddenly sensed something was wrong. She looked back and observed him closely, and suddenly discovered something extraordinary.
This boy is stuck between reality and the passageway; he can't get in, which means...
She stood up and ran quickly off the stage. Under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, Qi Yuan grabbed the boy's arm and led him towards the checkpoint.
"Fellow Daoist, what's wrong?"
Qi Yuan didn't say anything and walked over there on her own.
Ye Hanyun asked, "That boy hasn't even gone in yet, has Senior Sister gone mad?!"
"If you're not interested, then don't worry about it. Senior sister thinks differently from us." Ye Munian patted his shoulder.
"What is Senior Sister Qi doing?" Sima Chu asked, puzzled.
Pei Yin smiled and said, "I understand."
"What do you know?" Nangong Xu asked.
“I understand now.” Lu Wenxing smiled.
Yun Xingjun asked sternly, "Wei Shuang, what do you mean by this?"
“Master, this disciple has no inner demons, so we can let him pass directly,” Qi Yuan said coldly.
"What?!" the onlookers exclaimed in unison.
"How can anyone be without inner demons? Any obsession, no matter how small, will turn into an inner demon!" Dongfang Yilin frowned.
"Young man, is there any obsession in your heart?" Yun Xingjun asked in a deep voice.
"I didn't," the boy answered crisply.
A look of shock flashed in Yun Xingjun's eyes as he looked at Qi Yuan: "But he did not slay his inner demon."
"If he doesn't even have inner demons, how can he possibly eliminate them? I believe that maintaining inner purity is far more difficult than slaying inner demons," Qi Yuan said solemnly.
Seeing her firm attitude, Yun Xingjun had no choice but to let the boy in. The first name on the list that could hold one hundred names appeared: Nie Yi.
Qi Yuan glanced down at him; it turned out this person was Nie Yi.
Nie Yi belatedly realized, "Fellow Daoist, so you are Senior Sister Qi."
"Hmm." She returned to the stage and continued watching.
The host was Yu Guanzhi. Seeing a disciple emerge from the passage, he enthusiastically shouted, "Someone has defeated their inner demon! Let's see who it is! He doesn't even have a weapon in his hand!"
Yu Guanzhi ran down and asked, "Young man, how did you defeat your inner demon when you came out empty-handed?"
"I don't know how to use a sword, and I didn't have one. I tore it open with my bare hands," he said sheepishly, scratching his head. He had dark skin and a simple, honest expression.
The entire audience erupted in uproar. Qi Yi exclaimed in disbelief, "Tearing apart a demon with bare hands? Is that even human language?"
He only shut up when he saw that Sima Chu was still ignoring him with a cold face.
The second name on the list also emerged: Chen Jie.
Another young girl appeared! She sheathed her sword, tossed her hair, and strode confidently into the clearance area.
Third line: Wu Rongqiu.
One after another, disciples emerged, increasing the number of people in the pass area, and the list now contained more than eighty names.
Qi Yuan did not see Liu Huaxu's name on the list, and Liu Huaxu was the candidate she was most looking forward to.
Liu Huaxu is skilled with a whip and is also a talisman cultivator. Qi Yuan once watched her sparring; she wielded the whip exceptionally well, and her movements were incredibly fluid and graceful.
With only two spots left on the list, another disciple emerged from the passage, and Qi Yuan clenched her fists.
At the same time, two disciples came out, one male and one female, the female disciple being Liu Huaxu.
Yu Guanzhi, always eager for excitement, exclaimed, "There's one last spot left! Who will become an outer disciple of the Silver Bamboo Sect?"
The male disciples started running wildly, hoping to secure the last spot, but unexpectedly, Liu Huaxu used her lightness skill to lightly tap her toes and took the hundredth place.
With a wave of her hands, Qi Yuan dispelled the illusions of the remaining hundreds of people. She said loudly, "The top one hundred have been identified. The rest of you, please leave the Silver Bamboo Sect on your own."
Those people left unwillingly. The Silver Bamboo Sect only accepts disciples under the age of fifteen, so it would definitely not be possible in the next disciple recruitment ceremony.
Yun Xingjun said, "From now on, you one hundred people will be disciples of my Silver Bamboo Sect. Go to the eldest disciple Qi Yuan to get your outer disciple robes. You will need swords for the inner disciple selection in three days. Go to the second disciple Ye Hanyun's Silver Rope Peak to get your swords."
Someone asked, "What if I'm not a sword cultivator?"
"There are three days. If you're a genius, three days is enough to learn how to wield a sword." Yun Xingjun said, then turned and left, walking with a swift, sweeping gait.
Seeing the disciples' uneasy and dejected expressions, Qi Yuan said, "Junior brothers and sisters, you can come to me to learn swordsmanship in these three days. As long as you are not afraid of hardship, three days is enough."
Who is Qi Yuan? She is a famous figure in the cultivation world.
Her words were extremely convincing, and the disciples exclaimed with delight, "Senior Sister Qi!! Teach us!"
"I want one too!"
"..."
"Meet at the training ground tonight. I'll be here during the day for the remaining three days. Come with me to collect your disciple robes. The list of peak assignments will be released later," Qi Yuan said.
The disciples followed her in unison, excitedly discussing their future life in the sect.
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