The Four Great Sects

Only seven days remained until the start of the Baiyun City sect selection grand ceremony.

Inside the Ye family discussion hall, the ancient wooden pillars and beams felt heavy and majestic, creating a solemn atmosphere. The Patriarch sat in the main seat, his expression serious.

The Great Elder sat quietly at the lower left. Her silver hair was combed meticulously, and though her face was kind, her eyes were bright and clear.

In the prestigious seat on the lower right sat a young woman in her early twenties dressed in green robes. Her name was Ye Yan.

The five of them—Ye Ling, Ye Chen, Ye Ling, Ye Fei, and Ye Yin—entered and stood still, already well aware of the newcomer's identity.

They had heard Ye Yan's name countless times in clan rumors.

She was a once-in-a-decades genius who had emerged while the Ye family had been keeping a low profile for years.

During the sect selection three years ago, at the age of nineteen, she had swept through all the geniuses of Baiyun City with her Houtian Tenth Layer cultivation, firmly securing first place.

She had successfully entered Xuanling Valley, one of the four great sects, and had once been the benchmark in the hearts of all the clan's younger generation.

Her return this time was not simply a glorious homecoming.

Ye Yan had accepted a sect mission to accompany a sect elder to Heishui Commandery to oversee the selection for the entire commandery region.

Thanks to the travel benefits granted by her sect, she was able to return home to guide the younger generation of her clan.

Though it was called “guidance,” it was actually giving her own family private tutoring.

While such things did not look good if brought out into the open, disciples from clan backgrounds all did it, so the sects could only turn a blind eye.

The Patriarch's gaze swept over the five of them, his tone solemn. “In seven days, the Baiyun City preliminary selection will begin.”

“Only the top ten can set out for Heishui Commandery to participate in the final selection. Only by passing the final selection will you be qualified to be recruited by the four great sects.”

As his voice faded, Ye Yan took over. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a leisurely manner.

“The four great sects of the Qingyun Kingdom are the Qinglan Sword Sect, Xuanling Valley, Jingshui Yaotai, and the Burning Heaven Martial Academy.”

“The four sects have stood tall for hundreds of years. After several changes, their strengths are now clearly defined. The Qinglan Sword Sect firmly ranks first among the four, Xuanling Valley is second, Jingshui Yaotai follows closely behind, and the Burning Heaven Martial Academy ranks at the bottom.”

The five of them listened intently, even holding their breath. This was crucial information that would decide their future direction, and they could not afford to be careless.

Ye Yan set down her teacup and began to count them off on her fingers.

“The Qinglan Sword Sect is the sacred land of swordplay in the world. Sword cultivators are as numerous as clouds within the sect, which inherits countless top-tier sword manuals. All resources lean toward sword cultivators, and its swordplay heritage reigns supreme in the entire Qingyun Kingdom.”

“Any genius solely focused on cultivating the sword desires to enter the Qinglan Sword Sect. If your swordplay is outstanding enough, heading there is definitely the right choice.”

As she said this, she glanced at Ye Ling and Ye Chen.

Both of them focused on swordplay, and both had trained a Yellow-grade mid-tier sword technique to great perfection. They were the most promising prospects among the five to make a breakthrough into the four great sects.

“Xuanling Valley is where I am,” Ye Yan said with a smile.

“The valley encompasses everything. It has a complete variety of cultivation methods, body-tempering techniques, and mental arts. The path of cultivation is informal and compatible with all kinds of cultivators.”

“The entry threshold is a bit more relaxed than the Qinglan Sword Sect, making it suitable for disciples with mixed foundations who want all-around development.”

“Jingshui Yaotai focuses on nurturing spiritual energy, alchemy, and auxiliary mental arts. The sect's environment is gentle, and they excel at consolidating foundations and nurturing vitality. Cultivation progress is stable and long-lasting, and most of the disciples are female.”

As she spoke to this point, the corners of her mouth curved slightly. Ye Fei and Ye Yin both showed thoughtful expressions.

“The Burning Heaven Martial Academy,” Ye Yan paused, her tone turning a bit more serious.

“It has always focused on physical combat and bloody battles on the battlefield. Every disciple is unafraid of death, their cultivation techniques are bold and sweeping, and their close-combat lethality is fierce.”

Changing the subject, she brought up past events.

“Tracing back a hundred years, the Burning Heaven Martial Academy was actually the overlord among the four great sects.”

“Unfortunately, in the last national war, a large number of the academy's high-level elders and core fighting forces died in battle. This caused a gap in their inheritance, leaving their top-tier martial arts incomplete. The sect's strength plummeted, leading to its current bottom-ranking position.”

“Although it has gradually declined, its century-old foundation is still there. Many powerful ultimate techniques remain within the academy, and its heritage is still unfathomably deep.”

The five of them listened intently, each calculating their future destination in their hearts.

Ye Ling calmly glanced sideways at Ye Chen. She knew very well that she had seen plenty of these genius-counterattack scripts in her past life.

The more a sect was looked down upon by others and in decline, the more it tended to be the protagonist's destination.

A declining sect hid secret opportunities and lost inheritances, which perfectly matched his destiny of rising against the odds.

She withdrew her gaze, having already made up her mind. Since she focused on swordplay, the number one swordplay sect in the Qingyun Kingdom was the Qinglan Sword Sect.

With top-tier strength and a swordplay heritage that reigned supreme in the Qingyun Kingdom, entering this sect was her optimal choice.

Ye Yan paused before continuing, “According to the rules, I cannot leak the selection questions or pull strings behind the scenes, so do not count on that.”

She spoke very bluntly. “However, the sect rules allow me to guide your cultivation and polish your combat skills, helping you consolidate your combat foundation.”

“For the next few days, I will take the five of you into the Baiyun Mountain Range for hands-on training. You will hone your adaptability during battles in the wilderness. How much you can learn will depend on yourselves.”

Hearing this, the Patriarch and the Great Elder were overjoyed and quickly expressed their thanks. Such an opportunity was hard to come by, and Ye Yan's willingness to spend time leading the younger generation brought great honor to the clan.

Over the next few days, Ye Yan led Ye Ling and the other four deep into the Baiyun Mountain Range.

They traveled through dense forests, encountering demon beast harassment and wilderness ambushes. Throughout the journey, she pointed out flaws in their moves and provided combat strategies on the spot.

Her gaze was sharp, often hitting the nail on the head. The issues she pointed out were things the five of them usually failed to realize themselves.

During the training, Ye Ling was calm and composed.

Moving with her Mastery-level Flowing Cloud Movement Technique, her Star-Moon Sword Technique and Gale Legs coordinated seamlessly. Her attacks were executed and retracted with ease, showing not the slightest hint of awkwardness.

Relying on his great perfection swordplay and great perfection movement technique, Ye Chen could always calmly break through dangerous situations, escaping unscathed even after being besieged by demon beasts several times.

The performance of the two far exceeded the standards of their peers, causing even Ye Yan to cast a few extra glances at them.

Ye Ling and Ye Fei were not bad either. After all, they were seeded contestants from the top ranks of the family tournament, possessing solid foundations and showing clear progress.

Ye Yin was slightly inferior, but she excelled in her willingness to endure hardships. After a few days of training, her saber technique had improved by another notch.

With the few days of training concluded, the group returned to the Ye family.

Ye Yan left the Patriarch and the Great Elder alone, closed the door, and could not hide her surprise.

She picked up her teacup and set it down again, carefully weighing her words before speaking.

“Among the five, the combat foundations of Ye Ling and Ye Chen are the most stunning.”

“I am now at the Houtian Twelfth Layer Great Perfection, only a step away from the Xiantian Realm. My experience and vision are far superior to what they were back then, yet I am completely unable to see through the depths of these two fifteen-year-old youths.”

She paused, seemingly still reflecting on what she had witnessed during the training.

“Judging by their revealed cultivation, both of them are at the Houtian Seventh Layer.”

“However, the heritage they harbor inside and the trump cards they keep hidden are bizarre and unpredictable at every turn. To put it bluntly without fear of embarrassment, I cannot see their true upper limits.”

However, there was one sentence she did not voice. When facing Ye Ling, her intuition actually gave rise to a faint sensation of danger.

It felt as though even if she exerted her full strength, she might not necessarily defeat the person before her.

The Patriarch raised an eyebrow, and the Great Elder also sat up straighter.

Watching their reactions, Ye Yan smiled. “The Ye family has been quiet for many terms, but we have finally made it through.”

“In this term, true dragons have indeed emerged.”

Upon hearing this, the Patriarch and the Great Elder were filled with wild joy.

The Great Elder said “good” three times in a row, and the Patriarch stood straight up from his chair, pacing back and forth in the hall a couple of times before suppressing the excitement in his heart.