"What do you mean, 'huh'? This is Wu Xiqiu, a senior in the Foundation Establishment stage, equivalent to a level 39 class holder. She will guide you on how to play the part."
Chen Xu quickly walked to the side of Xia Qiming, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Teacher Xia, at least tell me the whole story. Why do you suddenly want me to pose as a cultivator? I've never studied acting."
Xia Qiming remained silent, turning his head to look at Wu Xiqiu and saying indifferently, "I will let Wu Xiqiu explain it to you."
Hearing Xia Qiming's cold tone, Wu Xiqiu knew he was angry. After all, the suggestion for the ascension item Shen Mengqi had chosen back then was given by her and Qiusha.
"The matter starts with Mengqi's advancement task. Originally, I thought that 【Broken Bowl】 could be classified as a legendary-tier item by the World Will because it might involve a legend from the 【Immortal Island】, a legacy of a Soul Transformation cultivator from a thousand years ago.
But I did not expect it to be a different legacy—a very troublesome and dangerous one."
Wu Xiqiu's brow furrowed unconsciously as she spoke.
In the world of the 【Immortal Island】, due to its unique geographical environment, there are thousands of islands. Cultivators occupy these islands and establish sects. Standing at the pinnacle of the Immortal Island are the Five Great Sects, also known as the Three Great Islands.
To the north is the Shuanghua Sect. Shuanghua is located in the arctic cold zone, and half of the island is permanently covered in ice and snow. Within its extremely cold regions grows a miraculous object of heaven and earth called unmelting ice. The first sect master of the Shuanghua Sect entered the Dao by observing this unmelting ice and established the sect there.
To the south is the Xuanhuo Sect. The southern waters are dotted with volcanoes. Xuanhuo is not a single island but a volcanic archipelago. The heat brought by the volcanoes makes the waters around the archipelago rich in resources, making it a prosperous region of the Immortal Island world.
To the east is the Bihai Sect. On Bihai Island, there is a sea within the island. The green sea is divided into Yin and Yang. The Yang Sea is crimson and boiling with heat. The Yin Sea is grayish-white and is said to reflect the past of all living beings.
To the west is the Yinjue Alliance. The climate in the west is pleasant, and the islands there are covered in dense forests with countless birds, beasts, insects, and fish. Furthermore, the people of the west have loved music since ancient times. It began as an organization for enthusiasts to communicate with each other, but later, a great expert entered the Dao through music, and Yinjue was born from that.
Located in the center is the one hailed as the most mysterious: Tianxin Island. Legend has it that in ancient times, the heavenly Dao of the Immortal Island world had not yet manifested, and the transcendent systems were unclear. A Daoist calling himself Tianxin realized the Dao on this island, and the methods of cultivation spread throughout the world from there.
And the Broken Bowl that Shen Mengqi chose involves the inheritance method of Tianxin Island.
After Daoist Tianxin preached to the world, later generations of cultivators all addressed him as Teacher. However, it is said that while Daoist Tianxin taught the universal laws of cultivation, his fundamental Tianxin Daoist Law was only passed down to one person. After this person inherited the mantle, they announced to all the heroes of the world on Tianxin Island that they wished to take a disciple to inherit the Tianxin Daoist Law. For a time, all the cultivators in the world rushed to Tianxin Island.
But when everyone arrived at Tianxin Island, they found that the Tianxin successor claimed that the Way of Tianxin is only passed to one person per generation. The assessment method was also bizarre: any cultivator below the Foundation Establishment stage could come to Tianxin Island to participate in an arena competition. The final winner would be allowed to enter Tianxin to learn the law.
At that time, the cultivators never expected that the teaching assessment of the teacher of all laws would be so crude. Yet, the attraction of the Way of Tianxin still drove generation after generation of cultivators to follow one after another. With an interval of ten years between each generation, some people even forcibly suppressed their cultivation just for the Tianxin Assessment.
Later, besides the Way of Tianxin, other geniuses like the first sect masters of the four great sects appeared in the Immortal Island world to teach their laws, and the world's enthusiasm for the Tianxin Assessment finally cooled down a bit. It was at this time that the contemporary Tianxin successor actually modified the rules of the Tianxin Assessment. Although they still only took one disciple per generation, the original free-for-all was changed to allow teaming up. The captain of the final winning team would be allowed to join Tianxin.
The world was immediately in an uproar. Such a rule was like a bolt from the blue for rogue cultivators and small sects everywhere. Large sects could completely rely on their advantages to form overwhelming teams to help a specific disciple win. Thus, voices of opposition rose everywhere.
But they only received one reply from the Tianxin successor: "Those who possess the Dao have many helpers."
Strangely enough, in the Tianxin Assessments after that, the final winners from large sects were few and far between. Instead, the winners were all sorts of rogue cultivators and people from small sects who were not favored by the world.
"So you want me to team up with Shen Mengqi and help her participate in the Tianxin Assessment?" After listening to Wu Xiqiu's explanation, Chen Xu understood most of it and asked the question he was most concerned about. "Why me? Does Daxia not have any other cultivator classes? My specialty doesn't match this at all."
"The Tianxin Assessment rules state that participants must be below the Foundation Establishment stage, which corresponds to level 20 or below for class holders. Cultivators in Daxia are already scarce, those below Foundation Establishment are even scarcer, and those with actual combat power are rarer still." Wu Xiqiu sighed.
"Besides you, Daxia has found five other cultivators, all at level 19, which is the peak of the Qi Refining stage. Any others would just be cannon fodder if they went." Seeing Wu Xiqiu fall silent after sighing, as if she were remembering something, Xia Qiming took over the conversation to avoid wasting time.
"Furthermore, Daxia's highest-ranking cultivator currently at the Soul Transformation stage, Ye Bufan, recommended you."
"Am I already that famous in Daxia!" A cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage was a level 99 powerhouse.
"I heard he learned about you from Professor Zhang Jingping, saying you could try posing as a ghost cultivator." Speaking of Zhang Jingping, Xia Qiming was also somewhat curious. "You brat, when did you catch Professor Zhang's eye?"
"Right now, many people in mental strength-related classes are very envious. They're all saying they want to challenge you to see what's so special about someone favored by Professor Zhang."
"Hahaha, perhaps Teacher Zhang has a keen eye for talent and saw at a glance that I am a once-in-a-ten-thousand genius." Hearing Xia Qiming's rare tone of shock, Chen Xu began to boast.
"But how do those people know about me?" Chen Xu wasn't afraid of those who wanted to challenge him, but his relationship with Zhang Jingping shouldn't have been known to many people.
"Zhou Zitong!?" Chen Xu suddenly remembered that there was another person in the office the day he received the recommendation letter. No wonder Zhou Zitong's expression was so strange back then.
"Yes, the Blooming School is the sect with the most Blue Star humans. If one person knows, everyone knows." After saying that, Xia Qiming raised his hand to cut off the topic and turned to Wu Xiqiu. "I've brought the person to you. Whatever preparations or training you have, do it quickly. After all, besides Shen Mengqi, Chen Xu is also a Daxia Dragon Seed. Do not waste too much time."
After speaking, he stood up to leave, and Wu Xiqiu nodded. "I understand."
Xia Qiming walked to the door, looked back at Wu Xiqiu again, and after a moment of silence, finally decided to say one more thing. "A person must ultimately rely on themselves. You cultivation factions, instead of pinning your hopes on these ethereal legacies and even going so far as to deceive a little girl, you should think about yourselves. You can't even learn the laws left behind by Senior Ye Bufan, so do you really think you can learn the top legacies of the Immortal Island?"
Wu Xiqiu opened her mouth but couldn't think of an answer, so she could only sigh. Seeing this, Xia Qiming said no more and left directly.
Only Chen Xu and Wu Xiqiu were left in the operations room. Just as Chen Xu was considering how to break the silence, Wu Xiqiu took out a set of clothes and said to him, "This is a set of Yellow-grade Daoist robes. It was the loot from an evil cultivator Senior Ye Bufan once killed, and I'm giving it to you now. After all, modern clothes are too conspicuous. Put them on."
Chen Xu took the Daoist robes. They were pure white with no other colors. He didn't know what material they were made of, but they felt smooth and very comfortable to the touch.
"And these, Yellow-grade evil cultivator dharma artifacts. Although you don't have spiritual power and might not be able to activate them, just holding them will help build your image."
Wu Xiqiu placed three more items on the table.
"Wait, isn't this a bit too stereotypical?" Chen Xu looked over to see a necklace of skulls, a soul-hooking chain, and a spirit banner emitting black mist.
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