“First place in this year's Immortal Sprout Assembly, Long Zitian. Lightning Heavenly Spiritual Root, superior aptitude, superior talent, possessing Transparent Sword Bones. He may freely choose a Peak Master as his master.”
“Second place, Huo Huang. Fire Heavenly Spiritual Root, excellent aptitude and talent, possessing the blood of the ancient divine beast Phoenix. She may freely choose a Peak Master as her master.”
“Third place...”
The presiding elder announced the rankings of those who had passed the assembly's trials in an orderly fashion.
High up on the platform, several Peak Masters of the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect gazed at Long Zitian, who stood proudly in the center of the arena. A faint golden glow enveloped him, making him look exceptionally dignified and extraordinary.
The Peak Masters nodded in satisfaction.
“Not bad, not bad.”
“This boy's temperament, Dao Heart, and disposition... they all perfectly meet my peak's requirements. Why don't we have him join my lineage? I will guide him to become a leading figure of the new generation.”
“Have some shame. When have you ever not demanded the best of everything? How could such a fine sprout be left for you to pick?” another elder retorted with a look of disdain.
“So what? It's because of this old man's superior strength. If you're not satisfied, why don't we have a fight?” the old man in the fiery-red Daoist robe blurted out immediately, flexing his fists to show off.
“Hmph, he is the first-place winner and has the right to choose his own master. It's not your place to boss everyone around here,” the elder said, sounding a bit lacking in confidence.
In terms of strength, he was truly no match for this old fellow, nor could he compare in nurturing disciples. His only qualification to stand on equal footing was his status as a Peak Master.
“Alright, stop arguing. Let the boy make his own choice.”
The Sect Master spoke, and the Peak Masters and elders instantly shut their mouths.
Below the platform, Long Zitian looked calmly at the powerful elders above. A smug smile crept onto the corner of his mouth as he thought, “Yes, yes, yes, this is the gaze of a thousand eyes, eagerly awaiting my decision.”
“Long Zitian, you may choose your master.”
As the presiding elder's voice fell, twelve stone pillars suddenly rose in the arena. Painted on each pillar were men and women of different attire and appearances—the Peak Masters of the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect's various peaks.
If there was a preferred master, one only needed to touch the corresponding stone pillar.
Long Zitian pretended to look around, then rested his chin on his hand in deep thought, looking as if he was struggling to make a choice, unable to find a qualified master.
In reality, he had a target from the very beginning.
He only put on this hesitant expression to avoid raising suspicion.
After pondering for a long moment, Long Zitian stepped forward and touched the stone pillar of Xiao Hongye of Tianyun Peak. Instantly, a brilliant crimson light erupted, bathing the entire arena.
When the light faded, Xiao Hongye had already arrived.
Just as depicted on the stone pillar, she was stunningly beautiful.
Her long, dark hair fluttered in the wind. With an exquisite face and perfect features, every detail of her seemed like a masterpiece hand-carved by heaven itself.
Especially those crimson eyes, which rippled with a deep, maple-leaf-like tenderness that couldn't help but draw people in.
For a moment, the young boys and girls in the arena stared in a daze, utterly captivated by Xiao Hongye's beauty, sinking deep into it without any hope of escape.
“Disciple Long Zitian pays respects to Master.”
Long Zitian knelt on the ground, his resonant voice snapping them out of their daze and bringing them back to reality.
Xiao Hongye possessed a natural charm that could unconsciously attract others. High-level cultivators were fine, but young children like these stood absolutely no chance against it.
As the saying goes, while you are choosing a master, the master is also testing you. Never assume that the trial ends with the selection.
Fortunately, Long Zitian knew how to break this test.
For no other reason than that he had already experienced this little trick in his previous life. He would absolutely not fall for it a second time.
“You are very good. To be unaffected by external influences... This deity is willing to be your master.”
Her crisp, melodious voice, combined with her heaven-defying beauty, made her the dream lover of countless people.
“Thank you for fulfilling my wish, Master.”
Long Zitian spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, remaining as calm as before, but his heart was in turmoil. Meeting her again in another life, his master was still so breathtakingly beautiful.
“Mhm. Follow me. Let us meet your fellow disciples.”
“Yes, Master.”
With that, Long Zitian followed behind Xiao Hongye, gently catching the scent of his master's fragrance as his thoughts drifted into his own world.
Now that the first-place winner of the Immortal Sprout Assembly had chosen his master, the remaining disciples began their selections one after another.
However, most of them did not possess the exceptional strength of the top three to freely choose their masters; they could only wait for the Peak Masters to inspect them before being brought back to their respective peaks.
As a side note, the second-place winner, Huo Huang, also joined Tianyun Peak. This was an event never mentioned in the original plot, which only stated that she had joined Tianhuo Peak and become the leading figure of its new generation.
Wang Xuanyi stared at the girl with fiery-red hair and a somewhat fiery temper, falling into deep thought.
“Could the plot have drifted?”
“Whatever, who cares. I'm not a disciple of Tianyun Peak anyway. They can play however they want. I'll just keep living my retirement life.”
Unable to figure it out, Wang Xuanyi stopped thinking about it.
He had no real connection to Tianyun Peak. His only link was that Xiao Hongye had saved him and brought him to the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect.
Since it was a debt of gratitude for saving his life, Wang Xuanyi had plenty of ways to repay her. He just needed to wait for the plot to unfold. When the time came, he could resolve the karma between them and completely escape his tragic, foolish death.
“Senior Brother, are we really not going to choose any disciples?”
Zhu Huai asked.
Looking at his senior brother's indifferent attitude, showing absolutely no intention of picking any disciples, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for him.
“No way. We can't take what others want, and we certainly can't take what others don't want,” Wang Xuanyi replied lazily.
“But Senior Brother...”
“There are no buts. In this vast world, eating and sleeping are the most important things. It's better than bringing in some disciple with a bad temperament who will turn our Tianzhu Peak upside down,” Wang Xuanyi said indifferently.
Having lived in the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect for so long, what kind of plotlines had he not witnessed? Schemes, melodramatic love affairs, baseless accusations flying everywhere...
He had absolutely no desire to get mixed up in that chaotic mess.
Especially Tianyun Peak.
It was practically a toxic breeding ground, filled with all kinds of "poison" that no ordinary person could withstand.
Wang Xuanyi knew very well that he was just an ordinary guy with no profound cultivation or extraordinary intelligence, so he naturally refused to be a scapegoat.
“Senior Brother, aren't you afraid of Master's fist of love?” Zhu Huai asked.
“That old geezer has been beating me for over a decade. I've long since become immune.”
With that, Wang Xuanyi pulled out a bunch of crystal-clear Snowfield Grapes from his storage ring and began to eat, tossing some to Zhu Huai. “These things are very helpful for your condition. Eat more.”
“Senior Brother, I remember these are rare treasures found only on the snow peaks of Beizhou. That place is so dangerous, how did you...”
“I bought them at a high price on the black market. Just pay me back later,” Wang Xuanyi interrupted, then snapped the bunch in half and tossed it into Zhu Huai's arms. “Just eat up and stop overthinking. Focus on recovering from your illness first.”
“Yes.”
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