After a brief, dead silence, Chu Yuling, the impatient Peak Master of the Fourth Sword Peak, was the first to speak, her tone carrying a hint of stubbornness and reluctance.
“Sect Master, this is against the rules.”
“You just accepted a top genius in the previous session, and your quota for personal disciples is already full.”
“The talent across the main peaks of the sect needs to be balanced. How can you decide on a disciple in advance in private? It should be left to our peaks to compete for her in turn.”
The other Peak Masters nodded in agreement one after another, their eyes burning with intensity as they stared fixedly at Leng Zhiwei.
Everyone quietly waited for Leng Zhiwei's explanation, hoping she would relent and release this once-in-three-hundred-years peerless genius, allowing the peaks to compete for her fairly.
Looking at the resentful and indignant gazes cast by all the Peak Masters in the hall, Leng Zhiwei had a very hard time holding back.
She was already laughing hysterically inside. These old folks had argued until they were red in the face, only to end up empty-handed in the end. It was absolutely hilarious.
However, as the master of a sect and a top expert at the Tongxuan Realm Great Perfection, she absolutely could not lose her composure.
Leng Zhiwei forcefully suppressed the corners of her lips that were about to curl up, and her expression instantly became cold and majestic.
Her gaze swept calmly across the hall. With a steady and solemn voice that carried an inherent majesty, she spoke slowly.
“What do you all mean by that? What do you mean by saying I contacted Ye Ling in advance and privately snatched her into my lineage?”
Her brows furrowed slightly, her tone carrying a hint of calm refutation and deterrence.
“On the day the Heavenly Spirit Stairs assessment ended, I publicly promised to establish a special, exclusive seat for Ye Ling as the Tenth True Disciple of the sect.”
“Everything was done completely aboveboard, witnessed by all four major sects. How can you call this hiding her or stealing her in advance?”
Pausing for a moment, her gaze swept over the crowd, whose expressions were a mix of colors, before she continued composedly.
“Ordinary True Disciples are distributed among the various peaks, selected by each Peak Master based on merit.”
“But the Tenth True Disciple position I promised is, by definition, independent of the eleven main peaks.”
“From beginning to end, her placement was never within the scope of what the various peaks could compete for.”
These few simple, logical, and well-reasoned words instantly left the Peak Masters in the hall speechless.
The reluctance and resentment on everyone's faces instantly froze. Dumbfounded, they never expected that they had been fighting for absolutely nothing from the very beginning.
Seeing the Peak Masters with stiff faces, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and filled with annoyance, Leng Zhiwei's lips twitched slightly. She pursed her lips gently and spoke again.
“However, you do not need to be so disappointed.”
She looked at them with a calm gaze and a frank tone, carrying a hint of heartfelt humility. “I will not become Ye Ling's master. With my current cultivation realm, I am not worthy of being her teacher.”
The moment those words fell, the entire main hall of the Qinglan Sword Sect instantly fell into a dead silence.
All eleven Peak Masters in the hall froze on the spot, their eyes vacant, completely stunned.
Just a second ago, they were still filled with reluctance, annoyed that they could not snatch this genius who had climbed nine thousand steps.
But in this instant, a loud rumble echoed in everyone's minds, and the same thought popped up in unison: just how terrifying was Ye Ling's talent?
She was a peerless genius, the only other person besides Su Qingyue in three hundred years to reach the summit of nine thousand steps on the Heavenly Spirit Stairs. Her swordplay comprehension and foundation of state of mind had already far surpassed ordinary peers.
She had comprehended half-step Sword Force while still in the Houtian Realm. Indeed, everyone present had seen Ye Ling's greatest trump card.
After all, they were veteran Tongxuan Realm experts who specialized in the sword Dao, and their understanding of Sword Force far exceeded Ye Ling's.
It was precisely because they saw through it that they understood the terror of this talent even more.
With such a heaven-defying talent, which ordinary Peak Master would dare to say they could teach her, or were worthy of teaching her?
For a moment, the Peak Masters of the six major sword peaks and five auxiliary peaks looked at each other, all feeling a sense of solemnity and self-deprecation in their hearts.
Those who had fought the most fiercely just now were now completely speechless, and some even felt a faint sense of relief.
If they were really to accept Ye Ling, they would be at a loss instead, absolutely not daring to delay the future of such a genius.
Standing in the hall, Ye Ling was also slightly startled, a trace of surprise flashing in her eyes.
She did not care about taking a master in the first place.
With Heaven Rewards Diligence, she only needed to cultivate diligently to make infinite breakthroughs and crush her peers. Whether she had a master's guidance had a negligible impact on her.
What a master could give were cultivation methods, experience, and guidance.
What her golden finger could give was a heaven-defying cultivation speed and an unlimited foundation of cultivation.
But hearing the grand Sect Master of the Qinglan Sword Sect, the number one person in the sect at the Tongxuan Realm Great Perfection, directly state that her realm was insufficient and she was not worthy of teaching her, a bold thought subconsciously popped up in Ye Ling's mind.
But as soon as the thought arose, she gently snuffed it out.
Forget it, it didn't matter at all whether she had a master.
As long as the Qinglan Sword Sect could provide her with sufficient cultivation resources and enough room to grow, cultivating freely without anyone's supervision would be the best outcome.
Seeing the Peak Masters looking downcast, Leng Zhiwei took the opportunity to propose an alternative.
“I already have a suitable method in mind. Ye Ling will not be taken as a disciple by any single main peak. Instead, she will be jointly taught by our twelve main lineages.”
“The sect resources of the twelve main peaks will be fully open to her, allowing her to use them as she pleases.”
“Whichever peak's exclusive secret technique she wants to cultivate, she can go to that peak to seek guidance at any time. She will never be bound by a single style, which would delay her future growth.”
“Do you all think this plan is feasible?”
Hearing this, the Peak Masters' downcast expressions instantly vanished, replaced by looks of joy.
Thinking about it, although they could not take this genius under their own lineage alone, having the twelve lineages teach her together and putting the entire strength of the sect into nurturing her would still allow them to form a bond with Ye Ling. In the future, they would also be able to benefit from her success. Thus, they nodded in agreement one after another.
Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Leng Zhiwei changed the subject.
“In addition, I plan to contact Senior Su Qingyue later to request her to guide Ye Ling for a period of time. Once the time is ripe, we can formally petition Senior to take Ye Ling as her disciple.”
As soon as these words were spoken, all the Peak Masters in the hall froze on the spot, their faces filled with shock.
After a moment, they sighed in admiration. Indeed, with the cultivation and vision of any of them, they were truly unworthy of guiding Ye Ling, but Senior Su Qingyue was more than qualified.
With this senior's meticulous cultivation, Ye Ling's path of cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds, and the Qinglan Sword Sect would also benefit in the long run.
But on second thought, they felt some apprehension. Senior Su Qingyue had long left the Qingyun Kingdom and was currently cultivating diligently in a great sect in the Eastern Territory.
No one had any confidence in whether this matter could actually succeed.
Hearing this, Ye Ling's heart leaped, and she was filled with joy.
Over the past two days, she had repeatedly heard of Su Qingyue's illustrious reputation; she was a genuine Wangzuo Realm powerhouse.
If she could study under her, she would surely avoid countless detours on her path of cultivation, and her path of Dao would be smooth and unobstructed.
However, alongside her joy, she remained highly clear-headed. A top-tier figure like Su Qingyue might not necessarily take a liking to her, and whether she could successfully become her disciple was still an unknown.
Still, she would do her best and leave the rest to fate.
It would be best if it succeeded, but if not, it did not matter. She was never someone who pinned her hopes on others.
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