Disciple Lin Chen rushed down the mountain, wondering whether Elder Chen Fang had suffered Qi Deviation and gone crazy—or something worse.
Why else would he talk about taking in disciples, and only trash disciples whom no one else had chosen?
Didn’t he also say that he’s more than willing to welcome female disciples? Lin Chen thought, turning his head to look at Sword Cloud Peak, as if a crazy demon were now living there.
Though he was unwilling in his heart to carry out this order, as a disciple of the Cloud Pearl Sect there was no way he could ignore a mission issued by an Elder. In the end, all he could do was bite the bullet and do it.
Half an hour later, he finally arrived at the Main Outer Disciple Hall, where all Outer Sect disciples received their sect missions.
Lin Chen cleared his throat. Approaching the large wooden mission board, he slowly hung a small wooden sign in the corner, hoping no one would notice it.
The moment the wooden sign was placed, a loud voice echoed from it.
[Sword Cloud Peak, Elder Chen Fang, is now accepting disciples! Within the sect, anyone who feels their journey is hopeless and sees no future in this world may come and try their luck!]
The moment those words landed in the Main Outer Disciple Hall, the noisy hall fell into deathly silence.
Everyone began looking at each other, wondering whether what they had just heard was real or if they were simply hallucinating.
“Did I hear that right? That Elder Chen—the one still stuck in the Body Refining Realm—is now trying to take disciples?”
“This must be some kind of joke! That fellow can’t even teach himself properly, and he wants to teach others?”
“But isn’t something strange about the criteria he set? He said he’s willing to take anyone rejected by others. Perhaps he’s trying to gather others like himself?”
“Haha, he must be trying to bury himself among other trash so it would be less humiliating for him in the end.”
Harsh mocking laughter began to echo through the Main Outer Disciple Hall, making even Lin Chen’s face turn red with embarrassment. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
The news, as if it had grown wings, quickly began to spread throughout the entire Cloud Pearl Sect.
…
Cloud Pearl Sect, Library Hall.
A white-bearded man sat on a comfortable chair, savoring a cup of Green Fresh Cloud Tea that had been specially grown by the Herb Elder.
At the moment, a group of disciples stood surrounding him, wide grins on their faces, as if they had just witnessed something extraordinary and were dying to share it with their master.
“What is it? From your expressions, it seems there is something you wish to tell me.” The bearded man slowly placed the cup on the small table and looked at all of his present disciples.
“Master, you didn’t hear? Elder Chen has declared that he’s accepting disciples, without caring about talent or any other criteria. That declaration caused quite a stir at the Main Outer Disciple Hall.”
WHAT—
The bearded man, who had been playing with his beard while wondering what his disciples were about to say, unconsciously pulled his beard forward several inches upon hearing their words, almost sacrificing it that day.
“Chen Fang… That good-for-nothing fellow who walks through the sect only because of his connection with the Sect Master. Now he’s planning to make a fool of himself with another idiotic trick.”
The white-bearded elder, whose name was Wang Jian, had always looked down on Chen Fang.
Wang Jian had cultivated diligently, proved himself useful to the sect for decades, and only then managed to attain the position of Library Elder of the Cloud Pearl Sect. Meanwhile, that wet-behind-the-ears punk Chen Fang, holding the Sect Master’s hand, dared to walk all over him.
That bastard had no right to be his equal.
However, he suddenly began to laugh out loud, as if things had begun falling into their destined place before he even needed to lift a hand.
“Master, is something wrong?” the disciples asked worriedly, looking at Wang Jian.
With his smile widening, Wang Jian replied, “Actually, your master was planning to cut off Sword Cloud Peak’s expenses at the Sect’s Grand Competition next month. But now it seems that man is actively serving himself up on a platter to me instead.” Wang Jian sneered.
“Then shouldn’t we take advantage of this situation?” one of the disciples asked.
A sinister glint flashed in Wang Jian’s eyes. “We should.”
“All of you, go spread the word for me: whoever comes last in this Grand Competition will not only have their resources cut in half—the Peak Master of that place must also publicly apologize to the sect for wasting resources on trash disciples and for being unable to teach.”
The disciples, already accustomed to their master’s trickery, immediately lit up. “Master, with this you can ultimately humiliate Elder Chen Fang and kick him out of the sect!”
Seeing that his disciples were just as treacherous as he was, Wang Jian couldn’t help but nod in approval while gently sipping his tea.
Wondering what kind of unique scene that trash bastard—who had dared to stand on equal terms with him—would show them, Wang Jian got lost in thought.
…
As for Chen Fang, the current source of laughter for everyone in the sect, he was standing completely calm at the entrance of his residence.
Looking outside, he couldn’t bring himself to claim that the scenery was good enough to attract anyone’s attention, let alone draw someone to become his disciple.
With no movement from any disciple or even a visiting elder coming to exchange moves with him, the whole peak had almost turned into a new jungle that would continue to grow if left alone. Weeds stubbornly grew everywhere, as if mocking Chen Fang that he could do nothing about them.
Looking at the scene in front of him, one thing became clear in his mind.
“There’s no way anyone would willingly come to this Sword Cloud Peak if it looks like this.”
However, there was no way he alone could do much about it either. With only his Peak Physical Enhancement Realm strength, it would take him quite some time.
No, I cannot waste my time here like this, Chen Fang thought. Though he had ordered Lin Chen to spread the word about him accepting disciples, he now realized that simply sitting here would never change his fate.
Three or four hours had already passed, yet not a single disciple had come knocking at Sword Cloud Peak’s door.
“It seems I personally need to descend the peak to snatch disciples.” With that thought, Chen Fang began wondering which place he should visit first—somewhere where getting disciples would not be too hard. After thinking for a few moments, he knew exactly where he could get the disciples he desired.