Chapter 65: A Guiding Senior Brother for the Trial of the Immortal Path

“Alright, everyone quiet down!” Elder Chu’s voice cut through the disciples’ chatter. “In a moment, we will form groups for the Trial of the Immortal Path. The five halls—Ancient Cloud, Summer Cloud, Jade Bamboo, Hundred Flowers, and Nature—have each sent disciples who have completed three years of training to act as your Guiding Senior Brothers. Because this class has three Purple Seed disciples, the Sect Master has granted you all the special privilege of mutual selection.”

He continued, “For the next three months, these senior disciples will personally lead your cultivation, teaching you through their own experience so that you may understand the hardships of this path. This will be your most important opportunity, so you must seize it! The grouping will work as follows: those who have reached the Rooting Stage or above will receive one-on-one guidance. Those who have not yet rooted will be guided in larger groups. The Guiding Senior Brothers may choose you, and you may also choose which of them you wish to follow.”

“Mutual selection? Oh, yes! At least I don’t have to worry about being picked by that trash hall, the Nature Hall!” a more knowledgeable Uncolored Seed disciple whispered in a cheer, a look of immense relief on his face.

The other disciples, not as well-informed, were confused. They had only ever heard of the four great halls of the Taichu Sect. When had a “Nature Hall” appeared? They began to ask around.

“The Taichu Sect originally had five halls,” the knowledgeable disciple explained. “The Nature Hall is the weakest of them all. Their Hall Master is only at the Spirit Sprout Realm, so you can imagine the strength of their disciples. It’s basically a garbage hall for garbage cultivators! Over time, no one wanted to go there anymore.” He paused for dramatic effect before continuing, “You heard what Elder Chu said. These next three months are crucial. If you end up being guided by someone from the Nature Hall, you might as well write these three months off as a waste.”

Hearing this, the others paled, feeling like they had narrowly avoided a disaster. They all resolved to avoid the Guiding Senior Brothers from the Nature Hall at all costs.

Before long, several dozen senior disciples in grey and brown sect robes arrived. These were the Guiding Senior Brothers from the five halls, each with their hall’s insignia and name embroidered on their right breast. The disciples from the Ancient Cloud, Summer Cloud, Jade Bamboo, and Hundred Flowers halls walked together, chatting and laughing. They were all vibrant youths, their confident expressions and powerful auras indicating that even the weakest among them was at the Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm. Each of the four great halls had sent ten disciples; Chu Xiangzi from the Ancient Cloud Hall and Luo Jinhua from the Hundred Flowers Hall were among them.

In stark contrast, there were only two disciples with the Nature Hall insignia. They trailed far behind the main group, looking isolated and out of place. Both were also noticeably older. One was Pu Hanzhong, whom Qin Haoxuan had met in the Nine Yin Ice Cavern. The other was only at the Seventh-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm. Compared to the robust disciples from the other halls, they looked like a pair of old, weak invalids.

“See? See how pathetic the Nature Hall is?” the knowledgeable disciple commented. “They know no one wants to pick them, so they only bothered to send two people! Not that anyone will pick them anyway.”

The others nodded in agreement, their minds already racing with calculations. There were forty Guiding Senior Brothers from the four great halls and twenty-five new disciples who had already rooted. This meant some of the senior disciples would have to guide larger groups. As for the two from the Nature Hall, it was a foregone conclusion that they would be left with no one.

“We will begin with the five special seed disciples!” Elder Chu announced. “The five of you may choose any of these senior disciples to follow, provided they also agree to guide you.”

At the elder’s words, all eyes filled with envy turned to Zhang Kuang, Li Jing, and the others. The Guiding Senior Brothers, in turn, all stood a little taller, puffing out their chests in hopes of being chosen. To become the guide for a Purple Seed disciple was a matter of immense prestige.

Zhang Kuang’s gaze swept across the senior disciples, finally settling on a Twentieth-Leaf disciple from the Summer Cloud Hall named Yelu Qi. Although Yelu Qi only had a Full Immortal Seed, he had reached the Twentieth-Leaf Realm in just eight years. His brown sect robe stood out amongst the more common grey ones.

“I choose Senior Brother Yelu Qi of the Summer Cloud Hall.”

As Zhang Kuang spoke, Yelu Qi smiled faintly at Elder Chu and said, “I also choose Junior Brother Zhang Kuang.” Though his expression was calm, Yelu Qi was inwardly ecstatic. Each of the four halls had sent a top-tier, brown-robed disciple at the Twentieth-Leaf Realm, but there were only three Purple Seeds to go around.

Zhang Kuang’s followers murmured their approval. “The boss has a good eye. Senior Brother Yelu Qi hasn’t been in the sect for long, but he’s highly regarded by the Summer Cloud Hall Master. It’s not an exaggeration to call him a favored disciple. Reaching the Twentieth-Leaf Realm in eight years shows his foundation is incredibly solid!”

“Of course! From talent to judgment, is our boss not the best in every aspect?”

Next, it was Xu Yu’s turn. Without a moment’s thought, she said, “I’ll choose Senior Sister Luo Jinhua of the Hundred Flowers Hall.” After all, they had already spent some time together, and Luo Jinhua was the strongest among the female guides. The choice was obvious.

Luo Jinhua beamed. It seemed her efforts to befriend Xu Yu had paid off. If she guided her well during these three months and strengthened their bond, bringing her into the Hundred Flowers Hall would be a natural next step.

With another Purple Seed chosen, Chu Xiangzi of the Ancient Cloud Hall and Shi Junjie of the Jade Bamboo Hall, the two remaining brown-robed disciples, sighed in frustration. But there was nothing they could do. The Hundred Flowers Hall, being the only all-female hall, had a natural advantage.

Only one Purple Seed remained: Li Jing. After comparing Chu Xiangzi and Shi Junjie, he offered an apologetic smile to Chu Xiangzi and chose Shi Junjie of the Jade Bamboo Hall. His reasoning was twofold. First, the Jade Bamboo Hall’s alchemy was second to none in the sect, and they were the primary supplier of pills to the Soaring Dragon Nation’s royal family. Li Jing had practically grown up on their elixirs. Second, although Shi Junjie was low-key and not as flamboyant as Chu Xiangzi, he was also at the Twentieth-Leaf Realm and was a favored student of the Jade Bamboo Hall Master, who had taught him everything he knew about alchemy. His skills were profound, and the pills he refined were more potent than others’.

Li Jing’s followers were thrilled. “As they say, no alchemy, no cultivation! Senior Brother Shi Junjie’s alchemy skills are definitely the best among the guides! Once our boss masters the art, we won’t have to worry about pills anymore!”

Having been passed over by all three Purple Seed disciples, Chu Xiangzi seethed with rage. It must be because I lost face to that brat Qin Haoxuan the other day, he fumed internally. They must think I’m weak and incompetent.

He glared at Qin Haoxuan, his eyes thick with killing intent. The incident only strengthened his resolve to kill the boy during the final trial in the Aqueous Manor.

Next, Zhang Yang, the Gray Seed, chose his fellow hall member, Chu Xiangzi. With all four brown-robed disciples now taken, Murong Chao deliberated for a long time before choosing an Eighteenth-Leaf, grey-robed disciple from the Ancient Cloud Hall named Xu Hao.

Once the five special seeds had made their choices, it was time for the other disciples who had rooted to be selected. The Guiding Senior Brothers began to pick those they found most promising, as everyone preferred to guide stronger newcomers.

One by one, the other rooted disciples were chosen, but no one from the four great halls approached Qin Haoxuan, who had already sprouted. Word of his conflicts with Zhang Kuang, Zhang Yang, and the powerful Chu Xiangzi had already spread among the senior disciples. No one wanted to invite that kind of trouble.

After a while, every disciple at the Rooting Stage and above had found a guide from the four great halls. The remaining senior disciples then began to choose from the weaker disciples who hadn’t even rooted yet, still pointedly ignoring Qin Haoxuan.

After all, he was just an Uncolored Seed. Even if he had sprouted, his flawed foundation meant his future cultivation speed would inevitably slow down. More importantly, he had offended two special seeds and the vengeful Chu Xiangzi. His path was destined to be a thorny one; it wouldn’t be surprising if he met a sudden, violent end one day.

When the selections were nearly complete, Qin Haoxuan, the one who had sprouted, was still left without a guide.

Xu Yu opened her mouth, about to ask Luo Jinhua to help find him a place, but Qin Haoxuan, sensing her intent, gave her a slight shake of his head. “It’s fine,” he mouthed. “I’ve already found the most suitable person.”

He stood up and walked towards the group of Guiding Senior Brothers.

Seeing the murderous glint in the eyes of Zhang Kuang and Chu Xiangzi, the senior disciples parted before him like water, desperate to avoid being chosen and earning the ire of those two formidable figures.

But Qin Haoxuan walked past all of them. He went straight to the back of the group, to where Pu Hanzhong of the Nature Hall stood alone, having neither chosen anyone nor been chosen.

“Senior Brother Pu,” Qin Haoxuan said. “You wouldn’t mind being my Guiding Senior Brother, would you?”

A surprised and joyful smile broke across Pu Hanzhong’s face. He clapped Qin Haoxuan on the shoulder. “Of course not! I will do my utmost to guide you onto the path!”

(End of Chapter)