Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 310 The Way Out (Part 1)

The Yuanmiao Sect has six lower peaks and six inner courtyards, each with its own regional divisions and recruitment requirements.

The head of the institution will determine whether to accept new members based on this information and the number of available spots.

For those who have spent their entire fortunes, paid a high price to obtain a recommendation spot, and traveled thousands of miles to Yuanmiao Sect.

These high-ranking officials can decide the fate of others for the rest of their lives with a single thought.

Profound martial arts techniques, detailed breakthrough manuals, suitable elixirs, and a combination of animal meat resources.

Many things can only exist within the long-standing Yuanmiao Sect.

Therefore, this moment can be said to be the one that determines the fate of many hopeful people.

Inside the Chongzhen Hall, all was quiet as the six academy leaders carefully examined the documents in their hands.

The incense in the corner burned slowly, emitting a refreshing fragrance.

"Alright, everyone should have finished reading. The list for the first half of this year consists of thirty-two people nominated by various outposts and peripheral forces. If you have any questions or thoughts, please speak them out."

At this moment, Elder Yang Huawu, seated on the main seat in the hall, spoke calmly.

Yuanmiaozong, Qingjiang Mountain, has a total of nine peaks, divided into three upper peaks and six lower peaks.

The Upper Three Peaks are where various secret and dangerous places within the sect are located, and also where many experts cultivate in seclusion. Elders and sect leaders mostly stay on the Upper Three Peaks.

The Lower Six Peaks are six inner courtyards specially divided within the Yuanmiao Sect according to the characteristics of various martial arts.

Each inner courtyard has a headmaster, who is equivalent to an elder in a sect who teaches and imparts leadership skills.

Their strength may not be as great as that of the many experts on the three peaks, but their status is quite high, equivalent to that of ordinary elders. After all, the main responsibility of passing on the foundation of the Yuanmiao Sect falls on their shoulders.

Therefore, in matters of great importance concerning the succession of a sect, even though Yang Huawu is nominally the head of the three upper peaks, he still needs to listen to the opinions of the six academy leaders.

It should be understood that the experience, methods, and expertise of these veteran academy leaders are the guarantee for providing a large number of fresh blood for the Yuanmiao Sect.

In front of the heads of the six academies were various tokens.

Yuanmiaozong governed the entire Yunzhou, which was a vast area, and was therefore divided into six resource areas, each with a similar size.

Each inner courtyard is responsible for a region, much like a sect. They are responsible for the security, stability, development, and recruitment of disciples within their respective regions, all based on the division of responsibilities within that region.

At this moment, the wooden plaque representing Han Yi, along with a document, was placed in front of a middle-aged Taoist nun with a long, narrow face and a delicate appearance.

She was dressed in a bright red Taoist robe. Her face was a classic oval face, but her sunken cheeks gave her an inexplicable sense of ruthlessness.

This woman is named Yan Xuanji. She is the head of the Sword and Talisman Academy among the six lower academies. She is cunning and extremely protective of her own. Her strength is considered to be in the middle to upper range among the six academy heads, so others are not willing to provoke her.

The Xuanmiao Sect emphasizes the four characters "the mystery of creation," so Yang Huawu belongs to the "Hua" generation, and most of these academy leaders belong to the "Xuan" generation.

"Since everyone has finished reading and there are no problems, let's proceed according to the usual procedure." Yang Huawu glanced around and, seeing no one speak, said calmly without surprise.

Swish swish.

Immediately, several wooden plaques were thrown into the middle of the table.

"As usual, esteemed leaders, please state your reasons and justifications." Yang Huawu continued to preside over the meeting, following the established procedure.

"A weak foundation leads to an unstable mind." "A variable strength, coupled with too many other pursuits, depletes one's potential."

"Low physical constitution and low birth can not be compensated for."

......

The four heads of the academy who threw out the wooden plaques gave their evaluations. There were a total of six wooden plaques thrown out, among which Han Yi's name was clearly mixed in.

The six signs were neatly placed in the middle, arranged in an orderly row, and displayed in front of the seven people.

Each wooden plaque has basic information such as name, age, and cultivation level, and four columns of red text below.

Qi and blood, physical constitution, background, and temperament.

Each column of red text is followed by a corresponding evaluation.

The plaque bearing Han Yi's name listed several criteria: mottled blood and qi, below average physical constitution, poor birth, and above average temperament.

Qi and blood refer to the total amount and purity of qi and blood. Root bone refers to one's bone age and constitution. Origin and temperament are easy to understand; they are simply one's background and personality/comprehension.

The evaluation criteria are based on four aspects: Qi and Blood, Root Bone, Background, and Temperament. Combining these aspects constitutes potential and aptitude.

"In that case, each of you may choose the disciple you fancy based on the situation of your own inner courtyard," said Yang Huawu, presiding over the meeting.

The final step in assigning disciples is this exchange.

After all, the vast Yuanmiao Sect has countless martial arts techniques, and each head of a courtyard and the inner courtyard it belongs to have different characteristics.

Some people value the total amount of Qi and blood, some emphasize temperament, and others look at physical constitution and background.

The "one thousand people, one face" approach ensures that talented individuals are fully recruited and that each inner court receives the most suitable disciple for comprehensive training.

At this moment, Yan Xuanji looked left and right, then reached out and took a plaque indicating the level of Qi and Blood, Root Bone, Origin, and Temperament.

"Nine Lives Academy Chief, you're still the same. You can't even look down on people with good genes and backgrounds."

Sitting opposite her was a pale-faced, somewhat weak man dressed as a scholar. He chuckled and said, "Head of Xuanji Academy, you know that in my Zihui Academy, the most important thing is character. No matter how good one's talent or background is, if one's character is flawed, it will be difficult to see through the secrets of heaven."

Within the Zihui Academy, most practitioners are skilled in divination and fortune-telling, and master the secrets of formations and heavenly mysteries. One's temperament is the most crucial element.

The head of the Nine Lives Institute once taught a person with exceptional talent who, at a young age, was able to subtly catch up with him in divination.

Unfortunately, this person was weak-willed and unable to see through the illusions of reality, and died from mental demons.

This was also one of the greatest regrets of the head of the Nine Lives Institute in his youth. From then on, when accepting new disciples, he paid special attention to their character and temperament.

"Without a noble birth or a strong foundation, no matter how good your temperament and comprehension are, if your cultivation cannot be improved, you will either be beaten to death or die of old age sooner or later," Yan Xuanji said coldly.

"Perhaps." The head of the Nine Lives Institute chuckled lightly, not arguing with her, and continued to look at the other plaques.

Logically, he should be called the head of the Xuanming Academy, but he is a low-key and gentle person and finds the character "Xuan" too grand, so he lets everyone call him Jiuming instead.

He looked at them for a long time, hesitating between the two signs.

One of the signs bears the name Lian Jin: "Qi and blood are below average, physical constitution is below average, background is below average, but temperament is above average."

The other piece, Han Yi's, was mottled with blood and qi, indicating poor bone structure, low birth, and poor temperament.

His hand hovered in mid-air. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up Lian Jin's plaque.

The two are actually quite similar. "Middle to low Qi and Blood" means insufficient innate vital blood, which, like "Mottled Qi and Blood," is not a good assessment. However, Han Yi's "Mottled Qi and Blood," coupled with his excessive cultivation of other skills, still influenced his choice.

After all, even if the Yuanmiao Sect does have a way to transform acquired turbid blood into innate primordial blood, it would still require a huge investment of time, energy, and resources.

He didn't believe that someone from a lower social class could have the resources to make up for their losses.

Soon, the heads of the academy made their choices, leaving only three wooden plaques on the table.

Generally speaking, martial artists who enter the ranks with recommendation letters are the most outstanding individuals in their respective factions. Only geniuses who surpass ordinary martial artists in various aspects can receive such recommendations.

In addition, since they have traveled a long way to get here, they are at least martial arts masters, so there is basically no chance of them refusing to accept the goods. Even if there is, it will only be one piece at most.

But this time… three people were rejected at the same time. If the head of the inner court didn't choose them, it meant they had no chance to enter the inner court and could only start from the outer court, hoping to participate in the assessment again someday.

"Have you checked all three of them? Are you sure?"

Yang Huawu presided over the ceremony.

Everyone fell silent, and a few people looked through the documents in their hands again.

The remaining three either have weak blood and qi, are too old, or lack understanding and temperament.

Or perhaps, both are true.

Yang Huawu waited for a while, and seeing that no one spoke, he flicked his sleeve and said, "Then let's settle on this for now. If there are any changes, let me know as soon as possible."

Three people were eliminated, which is a bit too many, but it's not a big deal.

Now that Pingzhou is in trouble, a large number of powerful forces and martial arts resources are being transferred to Yunzhou.

As for the Yuanmiao Sect, it is the largest power in Yunzhou and also the biggest beneficiary. Now it lacks everything, but the one thing it has in abundance is people.

Then, he stood up, and in a flash, disappeared into the Chongzhen Hall.

If the sect leader hadn't asked him to come, he really wouldn't have wanted to get involved in the mundane affairs of the six peaks. Staying here, he felt that even the air wasn't as clean as the upper three peaks.

The other heads of the academy also prepared to get up and leave.

"Huh? Elder Wang's recommendation?" A middle-aged Taoist priest with a fair complexion, no beard, handsome and slender, dressed as a Confucian scholar, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“Han Yi…” He frowned as he looked at the information on the sign; indeed, there were some problems in various aspects.

but…...

He thought about it, hesitated for a moment, but still decided to recruit this person.

Be a teacher for one day, and be a father for life.

Regardless, Wang Yunkai was his mentor for life. He had to give him that respect.

"Wait!" Suddenly, a whisk blocked Han Yi's sign, and Yan Xuanji's cold voice rang out, "Head of Xuanzhen Academy, I suggest you reconsider this person."

"What do you mean?" Cao Xuanzhen frowned.

"Take another look at this person's information."

Cao Xuanzhen was a little angry, but he suppressed his temper and looked at Han Yi's information again.

Although Han Yi was not a native of Yunzhou, Yuanmiaozong's powerful intelligence network still managed to thoroughly investigate most of Han Yi's background.

Han Yi, a native of An'yan City, Pingzhou, was originally a disciple of a small gang. He was calm, composed, and resourceful...

Recommended by Wang Yunkai, Chief Instructor of Dongyang College.

Cao Xuanzhen had only skimmed through it earlier, but now, after carefully reading through the account, he quickly noticed the problem. "Tantai Xunzhen?" he muttered to himself, "Could it be…..."

How could someone who can become the head of the Yuanmiao Sect be stupid?

Aside from his background, poor physical constitution, and weak blood and qi, Han Yi doesn't seem to have anything else wrong with him.

“Indeed, this child is related to the Tantai family. It is not advisable to hastily admit him as an inner court disciple. He should be trained in the outer court for a few years and observed more closely.” Yan Xuanji said calmly.

“Even so, the information clearly states that this boy was merely implicated and is by no means a member of a noble family. Besides, with my master Wang Yunkai’s recommendation, what’s the problem?” Cao Xuanzhen argued logically.

“Wang Yunkai?” Yan Xuanji sneered. “Don’t you know? Your so-called impartial and indiscriminate master, Wang Yunkai, has recently been getting very close to the Tantai family… he’s almost become a Tantai family retainer…” “Huh?” Cao Xuanzhen was taken aback. Among these academy leaders, he was a newcomer and the youngest.

Being the youngest means having potential and the ability to make great progress in the future.

But it also means that in many aspects, such as power, intelligence, and interpersonal relationships, they are not as well-informed as the older generation of leaders.

He has been busy practicing a secret technique lately and hasn't paid much attention to his master's affairs.

All he knew was that his master had recently taken in a disciple from the Tantai family named Tantai Xunzhen.

But that's nothing special; he's just a disciple of a prestigious family. What kind of disciples hasn't his master had?

He had even met a woman who was originally a courtesan in a brothel, who changed her appearance and became his junior sister.

After all, Wang Yunkai's principle of teaching without discrimination and treating everyone equally was not just empty talk; he also put it into practice.

"Heh." Yan Xuanji chuckled. "You really don't know anything. Wang Yunkai is now making a big show of it, giving advice to that little girl from the Tantai family. Under such circumstances, you still dare to say there's no problem?"

Furthermore, as you know, the aristocratic families of Dragon Blood, especially the Tantai family, have recently been having a rather unpleasant falling out with our Yuanmiao Sect. Do you really want to make a mistake at this time?

“But Han Yi is clearly just a pure-blooded martial artist, and has no relation to any bloodline family…” Cao Xuanzhen still wanted to try to help Han Yi. No matter what, he didn’t want to see his master sad.

Therefore, he immediately distanced himself from Han Yi's connection with the aristocratic family.

The discord between bloodline families and forces composed of ordinary humans is not a secret among the top powers.

The great calamity a thousand years ago caused many martial arts systems to be interrupted and gradually decline, while the Blood Fusion lineage rose to prominence, leaving ordinary martial artists at a disadvantage.

The Blood-Melting lineage is the predecessor of today's aristocratic families with spirit beast bloodlines. A thousand years ago, martial arts flourished, and the territory of the Great Xuan region was far larger than it is now, with abundant resources. At that time, a Grandmaster was only called a Foundation Establishment stage, meaning just the first step into the path of martial arts.

At that time, martial arts traditions flourished, with a hundred schools of thought contending, and countless amazing and ingenious secret techniques emerged.

At that time, Yuanmiao Sect was only a medium-sized sect.

The Blood Melting lineage was merely a secret technique developed by a master who had a sudden inspiration to enhance the weak physique of martial artists and improve their physical defense by refining the bloodlines of demonic beasts, thus becoming stronger.