Inner Gate Selection
The hundred newly initiated disciples were full of enthusiasm, and even some of them who were already sword cultivators practiced swordsmanship with Qi Yuan.
All one hundred new outer disciples have arrived in the last three days. Ye Munian passes through the training ground on his way back to Lianqian Peak, and every time he sees the 101 disciples moving in perfect unison, he is filled with admiration.
Soon, the inner sect selection process began.
The inner sect selection was presided over by Qi Yuan. One hundred disciples stood in the training ground. Qi Yuan said, "The inner sect selection begins. Listen carefully to the rules. First, please invite the sword cultivators to come up to the stage."
More than fifty disciples went up on stage, confused. Qi Yuan then said, "This selection is a two-person competition. One sword cultivator and one non-sword cultivator will be paired up, and only one pair will be retained as an inner disciple."
"Senior Sister, what if there are even more sword cultivators?"
“A bye. There will be a dozen or so sword cultivators who will have a bye. These sword cultivators will be divided into several groups. If any non-sword cultivator disciples who are willing to fight in the second round are willing to team up with these disciples who have had a bye, they will have a better chance of becoming disciples in the third round of the personal training selection,” Qi Yuan said.
The disciple, who had initially been dismissive, became excited upon hearing the last sentence: "I'm willing to fight a second time!"
"I'll do it!"
"..."
"Quiet. Only disciples who win the first round can get a bye, and it's even riskier. Even if you win the first round, you won't be able to become an inner disciple if you lose the second. Think carefully before deciding whether you want a bye," Qi Yuan added.
The disciples quieted down and began to hesitate.
“I’m not convinced. The disciples in the first round have already exhausted their stamina, but the disciples in the second round have perfect stamina,” a male disciple said.
Qi Yuan said coldly, "There's nothing unfair about it. The disciple who gets a bye is equivalent to himself and the opposing sword cultivator having full stamina. His teammates and the opposing sword cultivator's teammates have used up their stamina. Even if there is a difference in strength, luck is also a part of strength."
"Now we'll begin the draw. Sword cultivators, come to me to draw lots. Everyone else, go to your second senior brother. Those with the same front number are teammates, and those with the same back number are opponents," Qi Yuan said.
She and Ye Hanyun each stood on one side, each holding a cardboard box, and the disciples lined up to take them one by one.
Among the sword cultivators, the four most outstanding disciples are Nie Yi, Wen Lian, Wu Rongqiu, and Jin Jin. Since this sword competition is the home ground for the sword cultivators, the other disciples all pray to be teammates with one of these four disciples.
The sword cultivators who received a bye stepped aside to watch the competition. They could compete in three matches simultaneously according to their numbers, supervised by Qi Yuan, Ye Hanyun, and Ye Munian respectively.
Qi Yuan: "Jin Jin's team wins against Gu Yi's team."
Ye Hanyun: "The Fang Bing group wins against the Jie Yun group."
Ye Munian: "Xu Jin's team wins against Duan Xuanlin's team."
"..."
Basically, every team had a tough time, since it was their first time working together and they didn't have much chemistry. One of the players had only practiced swordsmanship for three days.
Only Wen Lian and Jin Jin's teams had an easy time; all three of them could be said to be able to take on two opponents at once and carry their teammates to victory.
Many people's favorites, Wu Rongqiu and Nie Yi, were left out.
"Bai Zhuo, how come you don't seem as good as that Nie Yi? I saw him use his sword at the training ground yesterday," Ye Yu said without hesitation.
"How could that be... I, I am still a senior, even though he is very strong." Bai Zhuo stammered.
Wu Shangyao laughed and said, "No, although Nie Yi is a genius, Bai Zhuo is still his equal. Junior Sister Ye, please stop teasing him."
Cheng Jin sighed, "How come all these talented people have gone to the Silver Bamboo Sect? The Water Spirit Sect hasn't had any new talents in years."
The battle lasted about three hours, and it took more than eighty disciples to finish. Qi Yuan asked Lu Wenxing to record the list of winners. She read out all forty-odd names and then said, "Non-sword cultivators among these forty-odd disciples can send twelve to team up with the sword cultivators who have received a bye. Those who are interested, please step forward."
After waiting for a while, only eleven disciples were willing. Qi Yuan said, "I will choose the last disciple randomly. To be fair, the disciple who is chosen will team up with Wu Rongxue directly."
She passed the flower around like a game of musical chairs, and as she turned, it landed in Chen Jie's hand. He was the disciple who had torn apart his inner demons with his bare hands.
"Alright, Junior Brother Chen, step forward and team up with Junior Sister Wu. The remaining twenty-two people, come here to draw lots."
The disciples who had drawn a group gathered together, and Qi Yuan said, "Have you all found teammates? We will compete in order, and only twelve of you twenty-four can remain."
The disciples nervously stepped onto the training platform to begin a new round of competition. They all performed better than before, since on average, one in two had won.
Qi Yuan hadn't paid much attention to the match before, but she started watching carefully because her favorite, Liu Huaxu, was playing.
But she discovered another promising talent, Nie Yi. The sword in his hand seemed to be alive; every move he made was exquisite and flawless.
Wu Rongqiu moved with agility, her sword dancing faster and faster, like a silver dragon soaring and swirling around her. She quickly ended the match.
In the other groups, it was the sword cultivators who exerted their strength, but Liu Huaxu was different. She wielded the sword as smoothly and powerfully as a whip, and she even looked stronger than the actual sword cultivators beside her.
Wen Lian may not be famous, but her strength is no less than Jin Jin's. Her swordsmanship is fluid and powerful.
Before long, the six winners were revealed. They stood in the winners' seats, looking up at their three protégés in the stands, their eyes filled with hope. Becoming a protégé was the goal in each of their hearts.
Qi Yuan read out the final list and said, "The above forty-two disciples are the inner disciples of the Silver Bamboo Sect. You need to understand that sword cultivation is the most popular profession in the cultivation world. After this round of rotation, there will be even more sword cultivators in the inner sect. I hope you will help each other and compete with each other."
When it was Ye Hanyun's turn to speak, his expression was serious: "I have something very important to tell you sword cultivators. First of all, you will be very poor. Be prepared. In the Silver Bamboo Sect, only the eldest sister, a sword cultivator, is wealthy. Secondly, the female cultivators... oh my god!"
Qi Yuan knew what he was going to say, and calmly kicked Ye Hanyun off the stage, leaving the disciples below puzzled.
Ye Munian swallowed hard when he saw Ye Hanyun clutching her buttocks below: "I'm a pill cultivator. New pill cultivator disciples can come to me. Just a heads up, Second Senior Brother is particularly unreliable..."
"Alright, alright, shut up." Qi Yuan was afraid he would say something he shouldn't.
She said loudly, "Listen up, you inner disciples. You have three days to gain the favor of our three personal disciples and two senior uncles."
The disciples were still confused: "What...does this mean?"
Qi Yuan said, "Use your strength, sincerity, and other means to gain our approval to the greatest extent possible. Those who offer bribes will be expelled from the Silver Bamboo Sect. I won't give you any further hints; this is related to the selection of your personal disciples."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. She said, "Dismissed."
The three disciples turned and left, not giving the inner disciples a chance to go up on stage and find them.
Chen Jie was dumbfounded: "What do you mean?"
Wu Rongqiu glanced at him sideways: "Gaining their approval makes it more likely that you'll become their protégé."
Jin Yanjun and Huiguangjun rose and left. During the inner sect selection process, the sect leader and deputy sect leader did not interfere.
While the other disciples were still standing there discussing, several figures had already rushed out.
For example, Liu Huaxu and Nie Yi, who rushed up Honglin Peak.
They knocked on the door at roughly the same time. Qi Yuan smiled and opened the door to let them in.
Liu Huaxu and Nie Yi sat in chairs, while Qi Yuan stood and pointed at them: "You two have a very high level of awareness. Coincidentally, you two are the ones I have the most faith in during this apprenticeship ceremony. Your names are definitely on my recommendation letter."
"Thank you for your appreciation, Senior Sister Qi. It's my honor to be recognized by you!" Liu Huaxu said excitedly.
Nie Yi said without hesitation, "The first person I met in the Silver Bamboo Sect was Senior Sister Qi, so I came to find her."
"I ask you, what is your cultivation level?" Qi Yuan asked.
Willow catkins: "Late stage of Foundation Building".
Nie Yi: "Core Formation."
Qi Yuan said admiringly, "Not bad, you are thirteen and fourteen years old respectively. You have already reached this level when your peers are still practicing Qi cultivation."
"Senior Sister Qi, you are the strongest! I heard that you are already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage at the age of seventeen!" Liu Huaxu said admiringly.
"No. I am currently in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm." Qi Yuan smiled slightly.
A glint seemed to flash in Liu Huaxu's eyes as she suddenly stood up from her chair: "Nascent Soul stage!!"
Nie Yi stared at Qi Yuan in shock.
She said, "I hope that the two of you will become direct disciples. Besides our master, the two senior uncles also returned to the sect to take on direct disciples. If possible, I would prefer that you become disciples of Huiguang Jun. He is kind and generous, and will definitely treat his direct disciples very well."
Although somewhat surprised, Liu Huaxu thought Qi Yuan wanted her to become Yun Xingjun's disciple, but she still excitedly said, "Senior Sister Qi wants me to become Huiguangjun's disciple, so I also want to become Huiguangjun's disciple."
Nie Yi nodded: "Me too. I'll listen to my senior sister."
"It's good that you think that way. Focus on your cultivation these next two days and prepare for the personal disciple selection. If you have any questions about cultivation, feel free to ask me. It just so happens that one of you is from my peak and the other is from the nearby Silver Chain Peak. Go back and get some rest." Qi Yuan took her seat.
"I won't let my senior sister down!" Liu Huaxu shouted.
“I will definitely become a direct disciple,” Nie Yi said confidently.
The door closed, and Qi Yuan couldn't manage a smile. She dared not gamble, nor did she want Yun Xingjun to take on a new disciple.
Her parents were killed by Yun Xingjun. When Ye Hanyun left the sect, Yun Xingjun was not in the sect. He was not surprised to learn that the Ye family had been destroyed. After thinking about it carefully, Qi Yuan believed that it was related to Yun Xingjun.
Ye Munian and Yun Qing are orphans, and Xie Juxing had an accident.
None of Yun Xingjun's direct disciples had happy families. Qi Yuan believed that even if it was just a coincidence, she couldn't let it continue to bring misfortune to the new disciples.
Two days later, during the personal selection, she was determined to sneak into Yun Xingjun's room to see what secrets lay hidden.
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