Chapter 1181: Keeping His Word
After Wang Jiaoying emerged from the small world formed by the Go board, his cultivation had suffered severe damage. Xu Jiaorong, the second-rank Spirit Guard, and the Tiangang Hall branch manager immediately subdued Wang Jiaoying and shackled him with specially made restraints. Then they placed him under strict surveillance.
“Deputy Hall Master Yao, that was amazing!” Some people could not help but shout their praise for Yao Pei.
Yao Pei’s expression remained calm throughout.
Neither Yao Pei nor Zhang Yuelu wished to advance so quickly. As natural-born Banished Immortals, they had to rely on themselves to advance their cultivation. Though they could boost their strength by external means, advancing too fast would inevitably mean needing to stop later to consolidate and repay the “debt.” Thus, it was better to lay a solid foundation from the beginning.
However, there was no helping it. Li Changge and Qi Xuansu were on the opposite spectrum as manmade Banished Immortals. They were relentless, relying on external aid to advance through realms at breakneck speed.
This put Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei in an awkward position. If they continued at their original pace, they would be left far behind by Qi Xuansu and Li Changge, which would be extremely disadvantageous.
If Qi Xuansu and Li Changge had already reached the Wuliang stage while Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei remained at the Xiaoyao stage, the public opinion of the Daoist community would certainly shift. No matter what, one’s cultivation was an extremely important standard. On the path to becoming the Grand Master, the first threshold was having a Longevity-stage cultivation.
Thus, when competing for the position of Grand Master, one’s cultivation level had to be sufficient. Otherwise, nothing else mattered. In this regard, although the Daoist Order’s Three Heirs had not yet truly reached the Longevity stage, given their status and the resources they could mobilize, they could attain immortality at any time. Thus, it did not clearly place one above another.
However, among the eighth-generation disciples, cultivation became an especially critical criterion at this stage.
If the younger generation could not remain at the same level, and the disparity between them became too obvious, then there would be no talk of the Four Prodigies. It would instead become the Twin Pillars of the Daoist Order—Qi Xuansu and Li Changge—leaving Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei out entirely.
The Li family only chose Li Changge due to his bloodline and his Longevity Stone Heart, which allowed him to secure an absolute advantage in cultivation. That way, Li Changge would stand out among the Three Prodigies and build a favorable impression early on. What they had not expected was Qi Xuansu’s emergence and rise to prominence, which the Quanzhen Sect had planned for.
Though they seized the opportunity to push Qi Xuansu forward to contend directly with Li Changge, they did not abandon Yao Pei. The Quanzhen Sect fully leveraged its greatest advantage of scale.