Volume 8, Chapter 508 – Taking a Master (Part 1)

“Her? Who is she?”

The beautiful sect master turned her head and glanced at Cheng Hongling. Perhaps due to her status, she refrained from directly probing with her divine sense.

“Her name is Jiang Ling, a cultivator seeking refuge in our Huarong Sect.”

Shi Yuqi rushed to answer, her eagerness starkly contrasting with her cold and elegant appearance.

“Such trivial matters can be decided among yourselves. Why bother me?”

The sect master’s face revealed impatience.

“Sect Master, this is no trivial matter! This girl has reached the second level of the Incarnation Realm at just eighteen years old. Her bloodline purity must be around eight points.”

The elderly woman surnamed Zhou solemnly introduced.

“What? Such a thing?”

The sect master’s expression finally turned serious. She turned to Cheng Hongling and said, “Little girl, do you mind if I use my divine sense to inspect your cultivation?”

“No!”

Cheng Hongling refused expressionlessly. Though they were all women, she had Profound Ice True Qi within her body, something already known in the Western Radiance Dynasty. To avoid unnecessary risks, it was better not to expose herself.

Of course, Cheng Hongling wasn’t unreasonable. After politely declining, she immediately summoned her doppelgänger, Qi Huang, to prove her Incarnation Realm cultivation.

“I’ve become a tool again!”

Qi Huang wore a helpless expression.

“It seems you truly are at the Incarnation Realm, but your age…”

The sect master looked thoughtful, then extended her right hand and produced a white, circular stone. “Drip a drop of blood onto this.”

“What for?”

Reαԁ оn KаtRеαⅾіոɡСafе

Cheng Hongling grew wary.

“You don’t know what an Age-Testing Stone is?”

The sect master’s face showed astonishment, while the other elders exchanged puzzled glances.

“Should… should I know?”

Cheng Hongling asked cautiously.

“Judging by your accent, you’re not from around here?”

The sect master probed.

“Yes, I’m from the Northern Continent, born in a remote minor sect.”

Cheng Hongling answered vaguely.

“No wonder! This is an Age-Testing Stone. A drop of blood will accurately reveal a person’s age. From zero to ten years, it shows tender green; ten to twenty, emerald green; twenty to thirty, dark green and so on, following the color changes of most plant leaves.”

The sect master patiently explained.

“Such a miraculous thing exists in this world?”

Qi Huang couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Miraculous? Isn’t this quite common in the cultivation world?”

Shi Yuqi asked in confusion, her expression turning odd. The other elders shared her reaction.

Qi Huang immediately fell silent. She suddenly realized she had been too “easily amazed”, which would make her seem like a country bumpkin.

Unable to bear the strange looks, Cheng Hongling glared at Qi Huang before withdrawing her back into her Sea of Consciousness. Without delay, she dripped a drop of blood onto the stone.

The elders crowded around to observe closely. They knew that reaching the Incarnation Realm before thirty was an entirely different concept from achieving it afterward.

Rеαԁ on KаtRеaԁiոɡСαfe

Under their gazes, the stone gradually emitted an emerald-green glow, confirming Cheng Hongling’s age to be under twenty.

“It seems you weren’t lying. Reaching the second level of the Incarnation Realm at eighteen, such talent would rank you within the top ten in our Huarong Sect.”

The sect master’s expression softened slightly, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes.

Cheng Hongling, however, looked somewhat disheartened. Back in the Western Radiance Dynasty, her talent had been unrivaled. Yet now, in the Southern Continent, she could only rank in the top ten of a single sect. For someone as prideful as her, this was hard to accept.

The sect master then took out a Phoenix Selection Token to test Cheng Hongling’s bloodline purity. As expected, the result was eight points, just as everyone had predicted.

“Young lady, how should I address you? With such high talent, why would your sect abandon you?”

The sect master began probing Cheng Hongling’s background. After all, Huarong Sect was a righteous faction and couldn’t just accept anyone.

“My name is Jiang Ling, from a minor sect in the Northern Continent. Since my sect could no longer provide me with sufficient resources, I came to seek refuge in Huarong Sect.”

Cheng Hongling continued to give vague answers, knowing that the more she said, the easier it would be to slip up.

“If you’re from the Northern Continent, why travel thousands of miles to join Huarong Sect? There are immortal factions in the North, and if not, you could have sought refuge in closer sects in the Central Continent.”

The sect master pressed further.

“Because Huarong Sect is the largest all-female immortal sect in the cultivation world. I am devoted to the Dao and wish to avoid distractions from romantic entanglements. This place is undoubtedly the most suitable.”

Cheng Hongling had prepared this reasoning long ago.

“Such ambition!”

The sect master praised, though her expression quickly dimmed. “Ah, if only Huayu thought like you.”

“Sect Master, has the Holy Maiden still not relented?”

Elder Zhou inquired.

“If she had, would I still be troubled?”

Reαԁ οո КαtRеаdіոɡСаfе

The sect master sighed.

“What an ingrate!”

Shi Yuqi couldn’t help but curse.

“Niece, mind your words. She is, after all, our sect’s Holy Maiden and the Sect Master’s personal disciple.”

Elder Zhou reminded her.

“Hmph! She swore a blood oath before the Immortal Stele never to marry. Now she’s going back on her word. How does someone like her deserve to be Holy Maiden?”

Shi Yuqi fumed.

The elders’ expressions darkened, and the atmosphere in the hall grew heavy.

“Sect Master, the deadline set by the Cao Family is just days away. What should we do when the time comes?”

Elder Zhou asked anxiously.

“Let’s not speak of her for now!”

The sect master changed the subject. “Right now, we must decide on Jiang Ling’s master. Who among you is willing to take her as a disciple?”

“Me! Me! I was the first to meet her. First come, first served!”

Shi Yuqi rushed to claim her.

“Niece, respecting elders and cherishing the young is our Huarong Sect’s tradition. You should yield this disciple to me, your elder.”

“Who here is older than me? If even I haven’t spoken, how dare you call yourself ‘elder’?”

“What’s the use of age? High cultivation is what matters. Otherwise, how could you properly guide her?”

The other elders naturally refused to back down, each arguing their case.

Reаⅾ oո KаtRеаԁіոɡCаfе

“Sect Master, as you know, I’ve only recently become the head of Biyu Peak and don’t have a single decent disciple under me. Meanwhile, every one of them already has a disciple with eight-point bloodline purity. You must be fair, otherwise, my Biyu Peak’s lineage will be cut off!”

Shi Yuqi stepped forward, nearly in tears.

“Very well. Jiang Ling shall henceforth be your disciple.”

The sect master was indeed swayed and made her final decision.

Though the other elders were unwilling, they couldn’t defy the sect master’s orders. Cheng Hongling’s talent, while impressive, wasn’t enough for them to risk everything.

The sect master also hurried off, undoubtedly to continue persuading her Holy Maiden disciple. A fine cabbage like her shouldn’t be devoured by some pig.

“Hehe, I finally have a disciple with eight-point bloodline purity!”

Shi Yuqi’s face flushed with excitement as she reached for Cheng Hongling’s hand.

Cheng Hongling subtly avoided the touch, she wasn’t accustomed to such closeness.

Except with Qi Huang, of course.

Shi Yuqi wasn’t offended and cheerfully said, “Disciple, follow Master back to Biyu Peak! Don’t worry, though I may look young, my cultivation has already reached the late Incarnation Realm. Teaching someone at the early Incarnation Realm is more than enough.”

“What? Late Incarnation Realm? I thought you’d be at the Divine Realm!”

Cheng Hongling was deeply disappointed. After all, she had a Heavenly Tribulation Realm doppelgänger, even if it was a crippled one.

“Divine Realm? Are you joking? I’ve just turned thirty-six. Aside from those freaks with immortal bloodlines, no one reaches the Divine Ability Realm at this age.”

Shi Yuqi retorted indignantly.

“That’s not necessarily true.”

Qi Huang suddenly reappeared, thinking to herself: ‘Once my main body and I master the “Doppelgänger Technique,” you’ll soon learn what a true freak looks like.’