Lu Qing’s gaze swept across the roster one name at a time. Finally, he said calmly, “Ye Lian’er will be one. And Zhang Shi… Zhang Shi, come forward.”
Although Zhang Shi was also considered a prodigy, he was not ranked among the top ten. Lu Qing was fairly satisfied with the honest and somewhat dull personality Zhang Shi had displayed in his previous life.
Zhang Shi seemingly never imagined that he would be selected. He stood frozen for a moment before surprise appeared on his simple, honest face. Then he rushed forward with great strides, hurriedly dropped to his knees, and kowtowed, “Greetings, Master.”
Lu Qing nodded slightly. “Very good. Go stand behind me.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Zhang Shi hurriedly rose and ran behind Lu Qing. His honest face still carried a somewhat dazed expression, as though he could hardly believe that a master had chosen him, much less that Heavenly Sword Peak itself had accepted him.
Then he noticed Ye Lian’er and immediately gave her a simple, honest smile. “Greetings, Senior Sister.”
“Mm…”
Ye Lian’er nodded slightly and returned a faint smile.
After casually accepting these two disciples, Lu Qing fell silent.
As for those former traitorous disciples of his, he did not spare them so much as a glance.
Ye Youran was briefly stunned before asking, “Junior Brother, do you wish to select any more disciples?”
“Sect Master, these two are enough,” Lu Qing replied calmly.
Hearing this, Ye Youran said nothing more. Instead, she had the remaining Peak Masters begin another round of selections from the beginning.
As for Ye Xing, he naturally should not even dream of accepting disciples this year. He had already humiliated himself so thoroughly that if disciples were forcibly assigned to him, they would probably harbor resentment themselves.
If he managed to receive a few menial or outer sect disciples, he should consider himself fortunate.
Meanwhile, once Lu Qing finished his selection, the four future female Great Emperors stood frozen where they were.
They had only wanted to test him.
They wanted to see whether Lu Qing would behave exactly as he had in their previous life, recklessly showering them with heavenly treasures, divine weapons, and powerful artifacts…
Yet they had never imagined this outcome.
Lu Qing had not even accepted them as disciples.
For a moment, all four future female Great Emperors remained rooted in place, staring blankly at the man who had once been their master. Their emotions were impossibly complicated.
It was not that the outcome was impossible for them to accept.
With their experience as former Great Emperors, returning to the Great Emperor Realm was merely a matter of time. At most, they would have to expend more effort and endure more difficulties along the way.
However, the pain in their hearts was impossible to avoid.
…
Ye Feiyan’s emotions were especially complicated.
She suddenly remembered something.
In their previous life, Master had once told them that when he accepted them as disciples, what truly mattered to him was whether they caught his eye and whether there was fate between them.
He had not accepted them because of their exceptional talent or for any other special reason.
Now that they had been reborn with their memories as Great Emperors, they had deliberately changed everything.
They had even written in their preferences that they did not want to enter Heavenly Sword Peak.
Their circumstances upon entering the sect were now completely different from those of their previous life.
They had done all this deliberately to test him.
And Master really had not chosen them.
‘Doesn’t that mean…’
‘Could it mean that Su Chen lied to us? That Master never had any conspiracy at all?’
‘Doesn’t it also mean that in our previous life, Lu Qing truly accepted me simply because he glanced at me and found me pleasing to the eye?’
They had changed everything in this life.
And precisely because everything had changed, Master no longer accepted them.
Memories of the past surged through Ye Feiyan’s mind like a relentless tide.
She still remembered that day clearly.
Outside the mountain gate, she had endured countless hardships and exhausted every ounce of effort before finally seeing the slightest hope of entering the sect.
Yet her talent had been too poor.
No one wanted her.
In the end, she had been left all alone on the plaza, helpless and lonely, as though the entire world had abandoned her.
No one cared about an ordinary mortal girl.
No one except Master.
Back then, Master had stood there just as he did today. His youthful face had shown little emotion.
Yet when he looked at her and extended a hand, it was as though that single hand had lifted up her entire world.
Afterward, he brought her into a completely new world.
He had never been stingy with heavenly treasures, divine weapons, or powerful artifacts.
He had always protected her carefully.
He had never allowed anyone to bully her.
But now, he would not accept her.
He said he would not take her, and just like that, he truly did not.
‘Just because I don’t need you anymore… does that mean you don’t have to accept me anymore?’
…
Elsewhere, his second disciple, Xiao Ning, also raised her head and stared blankly at him.
She had long since sealed away her Great Emperor Dao Heart.
She had sealed it the moment she was reborn.
Apart from retaining her memories, she was currently no different from an ordinary person.
“It’s… it’s over? Just… just those two are enough?”
Xiao Ning seemed lost.
She could not understand it either.
Nalan Qingqing looked at her and asked, “Ning’er, what’s wrong?”
“M-Master, I’m fine.”
Xiao Ning struggled to suppress the turmoil in her heart.
Yet she could not calm herself.
Master had not chosen her at all.
In her previous life, she had been framed by a treacherous member of her family and afflicted with a strange poison. Her life had hung by a thread, and she had already been frighteningly close to death.
If no one in the sect had accepted her, she would have survived for only another half a month.
Unfortunately, curing her required an astronomical amount of resources.
Not a single high-ranking member of the sect had been willing to bear such a cost.
Back then, Xiao Ning had already fallen into despair. She had closed her eyes and quietly waited for death.
Yet Master had looked at her twice.
In the end, he accepted the pale-faced girl into his lineage.
Now, Xiao Ning stared at Lu Qing standing calmly on the platform, her own face growing pale.
For some reason, every memory of the past became incomparably vivid at this moment.
It was as though she had returned to that day.
She seemed to see her past self standing before her, face twisted with resentment and hatred, pointing accusingly at the person she was now.
‘What did you do?’
‘You destroyed everything I had!’
‘You killed the man who saved my life!’
‘You killed my master!’
Xiao Ning closed her eyes.
She did not want to think about it anymore.
In her previous life, she had been poisoned and on the verge of death. She had stood there alone and helpless, obviously destined to consume an enormous amount of resources if anyone accepted her.
Yet Master had merely glanced at her before taking her in without hesitation and sheltering her beneath his wings.
In this life, she had never been poisoned.
She was no longer helpless or alone.
She no longer needed to reach the same desperate situation as she had in her previous life.
And so, Master had not accepted her.
Nalan Qingqing studied her and asked, “Ning’er, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“Master, I’m fine.”
Xiao Ning did not want to speak, but given the circumstances, she could only answer.
“Mm.”
Nalan Qingqing nodded.
She could tell that Xiao Ning had merely suffered an emotional shock and that there was nothing physically wrong with her.
Even so, Nalan Qingqing found the situation puzzling.
‘It seems this disciple of mine has some unresolved ill-fated relationship. It may have even developed into a heart demon. I’ll have to pay closer attention to her in the future.’
…
Elsewhere stood Lu Qing’s third disciple, Ye Lingyu.
Among all of Lu Qing’s disciples, she had been the youngest in actual age.
She had also been the most spoiled.
Almost everyone had doted on her.
Because of this, Ye Lingyu had been the most innocent of Lu Qing’s disciples, the most carefully protected, and also the least mature.
That was precisely why she was now even more stunned.
She gently bit her lower lip.
Scene after scene from the past flashed through her mind, yet she simply stood there without saying a word.
Even though a group of people surrounded her, protecting and caring for her, Ye Lingyu did not feel happy at all.
She had once become a female Great Emperor.
Yet she had always loved the feeling of being protected.
She would rather never grow up and simply remain forever beneath the wings of Master and her senior sisters.
But now…
Master was gone.
At Heartless Peak, Liu Yao’s beautiful expression had also become somewhat unsightly.
She seemed unable to believe that Master’s disciple selection had ended just like that.
It was completely different from their previous life.
He had chosen only two disciples.
Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi.
Not a single one of his former disciples had been chosen.
In her previous life, Liu Yao had been lonely and helpless, burdened by a miserable fate. Her ancestral bloodline had been stolen, and she had suffered endless humiliation and bullying.
It was Master who accepted her.
He had even gone directly to the Liu Family to seek justice for her and vent the resentment she had endured.
Later, he nurtured her until she became powerful enough to return to the Liu Family and suppress the entire family, settling the karma created by everything they had done to her in the past.
Those experiences had made Liu Yao far more mature than most.
Yet even her heart was now filled with turbulent emotions.
Master had not chosen them.
…
Before long, the sect examination came to an end.
The disciples had all been assigned to their respective peaks.
Ye Feiyan became Ye Youran’s disciple.
Xiao Ning entered Ice Cloud Peak under Nalan Qingqing.
Ye Lingyu entered Green Bamboo Peak under its Peak Master, Daoist Miaoyin Xue Miaoyin.
Liu Yao entered Heartless Peak under the Snow Spirit Fairy, Xue Qinghan.
Ye Lian’er entered Lu Qing’s lineage.
The remaining prodigies ranked within the top ten were divided among the other five Peak Masters.
…
“Let’s go. Follow me back,” Lu Qing said calmly as he looked at Ye Lian’er and Zhang Shi.
A massive flying sword appeared before them.
“Yes, Master.”
Dressed in white, Ye Lian’er glanced at Lu Qing with her beautiful eyes before leaping onto the flying sword.
She could not shake a peculiar feeling.
Although Master had intervened earlier and personally brought her into Heavenly Sword Peak, his attitude toward her now seemed neither warm nor cold.
It was almost as though he did not value her very much.
Zhang Shi did not think nearly as much.
He carefully climbed onto the flying sword and immediately lay flat against its surface.
“Hold on securely,” Lu Qing said calmly.
Whoosh!
The massive sword rose into the air.
A protective energy barrier formed around it before it tore through the sky toward Heavenly Sword Peak.
Standing upon the sword, Lu Qing never looked back even once.
He left behind only the four women, who stared blankly as they watched him disappear into the distance.
A short while later, Ye Feiyan turned toward Ye Youran and said, “Master, may your disciple take a brief leave? I have a small matter I need to discuss with a younger sister.”
“Go ahead,” Ye Youran replied generously.
By this point, Liu Yao and Ye Lingyu had already been taken back to their respective peaks by their masters.
Only Xiao Ning remained.
Ye Feiyan walked toward her.
With her experience, she could naturally tell that this junior sister of hers had most likely been reborn as well.
Seeing Ye Feiyan approaching, Xiao Ning also requested permission from Nalan Qingqing before walking over to meet her.
“Senior Sister,” Xiao Ning greeted her.
Ye Feiyan said, “Master didn’t choose us.”
“Mm. We changed our destinies. Perhaps that’s precisely why he didn’t accept us.”
“Then what do we do next?”
“Next… at the very least, we have to stop Master. We can’t allow him to continue farther and farther down the wrong path. Don’t forget, the evidence Su Chen gave us was irrefutable.”