Suijun starts with the principle of rewarding diligence.

The next day.

Qiming Peak, Council Hall.

Eight elders responsible for training new recruits sat around a large round table.

Above the round table is a huge octagonal mirror, which displays scenes from the spirit-opening ceremony.

The elders can switch perspectives to observe the newcomers according to their own needs.

There's no need to worry about not seeing things clearly. With the help of magic, replaying previous footage is a piece of cake.

The focus of the eight elders' attention was naturally on the ten newcomers with full spiritual power.

In previous years, the elders would often fight tooth and nail for newcomers with full spiritual power.

After all, in most years, there are fewer than eight newcomers with full spiritual power.

To address this issue, the sect devised a new rule: whichever elder's disciple performed best in the trials last year will have priority in selecting new disciples in the Dragon Gate Grand Selection the following year.

Because of this new rule, it is easy for an elder to win the Lungmen election for many consecutive years.

Therefore, the eight elders addressed each other according to the order in which the new members were chosen.

The first elder to select a new disciple is called the First Elder; the second is called the Second Elder, and so on.

This year's situation is quite special.

In previous years, only the top elders needed to worry about the Dragon Gate election. This year, even the eighth elder will have three options, so everyone is focused and dares not slack off in the slightest.

Similar to the Seekers of the Way, these elders responsible for training newcomers also undergo assessments.

Being able to fully realize the potential of newcomers and let them shine in the trials will bring many benefits, in addition to priority in next year's general election.

If a new recruit is mismanaged, there will be corresponding punishments. Those who seriously neglect their duties may even lose their position as elders and be replaced by new recruits.

The sect's assessment only focuses on disciples with full spiritual power.

In ordinary years, the elders at the back can slack off.

This year there are many disciples but few elders. This is a fortunate thing for the sect, but it puts immense pressure on the elders.

"This young lady is quite good, with nine gold and one water element, and she has tremendous potential. Elder, this is the type you most like to cultivate."

"Heh, Second Elder, you've taken a liking to that young man with nine fires and one wood, haven't you? He's got the makings of an alchemist."

The eight elders looked at the image in the mirror and began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Every word he spoke revealed his cunning.

They shower praise on people they don't want, but nitpick at people they do want.

After all, apart from the Grand Elder, everyone else could only choose what others had left over.

Without a priority in the order of seniority, if one wants to get the disciple they desire, they can only rely on their words to influence the judgment of other elders.

"Look, that boy in the black robe is about to awaken his spiritual power. I heard Elder Yan say that his name is Bu Qu, and he is very likely to be a celestial being."

The elder stared intently at the image in the mirror, thinking, "I hope it's not him."

Water ranks last among the five elements, not only because it's unsuitable for combat, but also because it's difficult to cultivate.

In previous years' trials, newcomers with the water attribute had the highest failure rate.

Many elders selected newcomers with water attributes, but their performance in the trials resulted in a decrease in their priority in the general election.

In contrast, the metal and fire attributes, due to their strong explosive power, rarely perform below expectations.

The five elements have mutual generation and restraint relationships, and initially there was no ranking of their strength. However, due to the success rate and performance in trials, the ranking of the elements gradually spread within the sect.

The image shows the face of a young man.

He stood in front of a stone tablet and looked it up and down.

The stone tablet has ten holes arranged in a circle, like a clock face. The two missing holes are the one at the six o'clock position and the one at the twelve o'clock position.

To cultivate the Five Elements techniques, one needs to mobilize the spiritual energy of the Five Elements in the world and use it for one's own purposes.

The two holes are for receiving the heavens and the earth.

The young man in black followed the instructions, extended his right palm, and placed it on the stone tablet.

Ten holes, starting from the one o'clock position, emitted blue light in sequence.

The eight elders stared intently at the image in the mirror.

As a circle of blue light illuminated the stone tablet, and the last stone hole lit up with blue light, the seven elders exclaimed in surprise, "Truly imbued with divine spiritual energy!"

After he finished speaking, all the elders congratulated the Grand Elder, saying, "Such a genius is a once-in-a-century talent; we are truly envious."

The elder chuckled dryly, his mouth agape as if he had swallowed a fly.

He thought to himself:

"Water-attribute individuals are inherently difficult to cultivate, and this child, in particular, possesses the potential of a celestial spirit."

Even if it's not water-attribute, the cultivation of Immortal Spirit Essence is still more difficult.

So many years have passed in the land of China. In the end, only two people from the Immortal Spirit Realm were truly able to ascend to immortality.

The Yan Emperor from 20,000 years ago, and the Thunder God from 10,000 years ago.

A celestial being might be encountered only once every hundred years, yet the world only remembers the one who ultimately succeeded in ascending to immortality.

He coughed twice and smiled at the elders, saying, "It's too early to draw conclusions. Let's see how he performs on his leap through the dragon gate tomorrow."

The Second Elder joked, "The First Elder is really strict. Even with a Celestial Spirit Essence, he still needs to examine it further. If it were me, I would have chosen it directly!"

The Third Elder also said, "This is why the First Elder has been able to hold this position for eighteen consecutive years. You should learn from him!"

The elders showered him with compliments one after another, leaving the eldest elder with no choice but to force a smile.

For a sect, if such a genius can be successfully nurtured into a talent, it would be a great achievement; but if he misleads others, it would be a huge disaster.

The Grand Elder was conflicted: 'I've been the Grand Elder for eighteen consecutive years, and I want to remain so for another eighteen! This year, Heaven has bestowed upon me a genius with pure water spiritual energy; is it a blessing or a curse?'

.....

Buqu and Lu Xiu followed He Qing back to the thatched cottage that the Zhengdao Sect had arranged for the newlyweds.

He Qing exclaimed excitedly, "Bu Qu, as long as nothing unexpected happens on the Dragon Gate Leap tomorrow, you'll be the champion of this Dragon Gate Election!"

He was especially happy today. The thought of Zhao Fan missing out on a once-in-a-century genius like Bu Qu kept him smiling.

"I didn't realize you were so talented. There's something good I forgot to tell you."

Bu Qu slightly tilted his ear.

Since it's a good thing, I definitely have to listen to it.

If it's bad news, it's better not to listen.

"The top three winners in each Dragon Gate Election will receive additional rewards from the sect."

"An extra reward?" Bu Qu nodded.

He Qing had mentioned it briefly before, but hadn't specified what the reward was. Now that it's being brought up again, the reward must be quite generous.

He Qing smiled and said, "If you become the top scholar, you can directly choose an unclaimed cave dwelling within the sect as your residence. Besides that, you'll also receive a flying boat capable of traversing land and water, and a high-grade magic treasure!"

Lu Xiu sat to the side, his eyes revealing a look of craving.

"Being the top scholar in the imperial examinations means there's a high probability they'll stay with the sect. Besides the benefits of a core disciple, they're given a cave dwelling and a flying boat—they're practically treating the top scholar as one of their own."

Buqu's rise in Heishui County is all due to his continuous efforts.

Now, participating in the Dragon Gate election, he truly feels like a fish leaping over the Dragon Gate.

Everything is different now!