Chapter 723 - 644 Ascending the Peak 53
Ling Wuchen is the highest cultivated person in the Wuji Sect, aside from the Supreme Elders who are in seclusion. He is currently at the eighth rank of the Martial Arts. People wanting to be disciples of Ling Wuchen would line up from the top of the Wuji Sect’s main peak all the way to the foot of the mountain, if only Ling Wuchen’s standards for accepting disciples weren’t so high.
He doesn’t want the ones who are lacking in aptitude, the ones with good aptitude but poor character, nor the ones whose willpower doesn’t pass muster. With these strict criteria in place, basically no one can meet his requirements, which led to even Wei Tianxiao, who never liked taking disciples, accepting Qin Shaofeng, but Ling Wuchen still hasn’t taken any disciples. As Ling Wuchen puts it, he prefers quality over quantity.
The reason Ling Wuchen agreed to be Tan Shuangshuang’s master without meeting her was due to her achievements in the Secret Realm. She saved the lives of many disciples from both the Li Tian Sect and the Wuji Sect, preserving the close ties between the two sects; this was a great contribution.
The rewards given by the Wuji Sect previously were not insignificant, but after reviewing them, the sect’s higher-ups felt they were still somewhat lacking. Just as Tan Shuangshuang came to the Wuji Sect to seek apprenticeship, the sect decided to make her acceptance as a disciple of its strongest Law Enforcement Hall Master, Ling Wuchen, the highlight of the rewards.
Originally, Ling Wuchen didn’t want to accept someone he hadn’t even met as a disciple. He is very picky about his criteria for accepting disciples; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so many years without one. However, as the Law Enforcement Hall Master, Ling Wuchen is inherently impartial and emphasizes clear rewards and punishments.
Ling Wuchen is aware of the magnitude of Tan Shuangshuang’s achievements. It is the most normal and fair reward for him to accept Tan Shuangshuang as a disciple and wholeheartedly guide her. Thus, Ling Wuchen spent a long time mentally preparing himself before deciding to accept this disciple he couldn’t avoid taking.
Initially, although Ling Wuchen decided to genuinely care for this only disciple and teach her and guide her cultivation earnestly, he actually had little feeling towards Tan Shuangshuang, his future disciple. He was merely executing a fair decision.
Until Tan Shuangshuang incredibly managed to climb to a place only half-step Martial Generals could endure during the final Heaven-Reaching Road assessment of the disciple selection! This was a place no new incoming disciple had ever reached!
Coincidentally, the Second Elder Si Kaojing was worried about his own little disciple’s well-being and wanted to pull in her future master for a good impression. He brought the unusually curious Ling Wuchen along to sneak a peek at Tan Shuangshuang.
When Ling Wuchen arrived, Tan Shuangshuang was crawling upwards like a caterpillar. With his sharp eyes, Ling Wuchen immediately saw that Tan Shuangshuang had learned some hard body cultivation techniques, enabling her to endure up to this point. However, this place was also her limit.
Tan Shuangshuang’s physical condition was very good, but was limited by her cultivation level. She was comparable to a Great Martial Artist, and now she had reached a place typically reserved for Great Martial Artists only. Tan Shuangshuang had reached her physical limit, and it was time for her to retreat knowing the difficulty.
To Ling Wuchen’s surprise, Tan Shuangshuang refused to give up, crawling step by step and managing to reach a place only half-step Martial Generals could endure. At this point, Tan Shuangshuang wasn’t merely leveraging the Heaven-Reaching Road for cultivation, but was using its greater pressure to refine her body and surpass herself.
Witnessing Tan Shuangshuang’s performance, Ling Wuchen’s heart was truly filled with joy and satisfaction towards his future disciple. He never expected that after so many years of not finding a suitable disciple and almost giving up on accepting any, this disciple he couldn’t avoid accepting would unexpectedly align with his ideals.
Below, Tan Shuangshuang was unaware that she already had a future master, who was the Wuji Sect’s top expert and that this master was immensely satisfied with her as his disciple. She was still arduously crawling up the stone steps, persevering like a caterpillar.
Just as Ling Wuchen previously thought, Tan Shuangshuang had reached her physical limit here. She had to constantly push herself to climb even a few more steps, yet Tan Shuangshuang never considered retreating. She simply didn’t believe she would fail the Wuji Sect’s disciple assessment.
Completely unaware that she had already passed, Tan Shuangshuang continued to battle the Heaven-Reaching Road fiercely. Although the progress was extremely difficult, she kept gritting her teeth and persevering. After gnawing another cold bun, Tan Shuangshuang regretted not buying some Spiritual Wine.
Even frozen into icy lumps, wine still heats one’s body quickly. Many ordinary people like bringing wine with them for warmth when going out in winter. A sip of wine can bring heat much better than eating a chilling bun in extreme cold.
Feeling too cold and the gravity too strong, Tan Shuangshuang’s head had become somewhat numb. In the end, all that remained was instinct—instinct to forge ahead, instinct to cultivate, and instinct to chew buns when hungry. Tan Shuangshuang felt like she’d been crawling a long time, apparently a year, but she’d only managed to climb about ten steps.
Gradually, Tan Shuangshuang’s consciousness began to blur. The pressure had reached its limit, making further progress impossible. As she moved her limbs, she simply flailed at the same spot. Finally, at that moment, Tan Shuangshuang had a flash of insight. She realized she might have misunderstood the assessment, thinking she needed to finish the Heaven-Reaching Road, but in reality, she needed only to go to her limit. Thinking this, Tan Shuangshuang finally relaxed, letting her muddled Divine Sense surrender as she fainted.
When Tan Shuangshuang woke up again, she had already returned to the room arranged for her by Si Kaojing. At this moment, she was lying on the bed, with a fluffy, large bundle snuggling close to her. Seeing her awaken, it excitedly approached her with licks and nudges. It was Fei Hu, who had been constantly guarding Tan Shuangshuang.
Tan Shuangshuang stroked Fei Hu’s head and got out of bed to step outside, seeing a young man and woman about seventeen or eighteen years old tidying up the lush flowers and plants in the courtyard. When they saw Tan Shuangshuang come out, the two immediately walked over and respectfully greeted, "Senior is awake, greetings to Senior."
Tan Shuangshuang looked at the two, puzzled, "Who are you? How did you come to be here?"
The young man replied respectfully, "Returning to Senior, we are outer servant disciples. My name is Ouyang Qing, and this is my sister, Ouyang Mingxin. The Second Elder selected us to serve Senior."
Outer servant disciples sound pleasant, but in reality, they are specially recruited servants of the Wuji Sect who require no assessment; willing ones can join. These are people without cultivation aptitude or whose aptitude is too poor.
The duties of servant disciples are varied, from sweeping and trimming branches, planting spirit fields, preparing meals, and serving all sorts of people in the Wuji Sect. They manage all miscellaneous tasks within the Wuji Sect, the best outcome being to become stewards of sect assets, leading a life of prosperity.
Tan Shuangshuang wasn’t accustomed to being served, preferring to personally handle all tasks. Besides, she wasn’t yet part of the Wuji Sect; it wouldn’t be proper to have Wuji Sect servants serving her, thus she hadn’t gone to the servant quarters to take anyone in before. Unexpectedly, after passing out during the assessment, Si Kaojing brought in two servants to attend to her.