Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Wei Tu was taken aback.

Just a moment ago, he had been secretly relieved that True Monarch Che was accepting disciples on a large scale. It would allow him to hide among the crowd, lost in the masses.

He never imagined that True Monarch Che actually intended to take him as an Inner Chamber Disciple.

After composing himself, Wei Tu glanced at Master Qingmei beside him. Seeing the man's unpleasant expression, he understood. 'Gao Chen must have only told me.'

"Of everyone here, I wonder who else Elder Che has taken a liking to, besides me?" Wei Tu pondered for a moment before asking Gao Chen via voice transmission.

The two groups in the front hall were all prospective disciples of True Monarch Che, but they belonged to different factions. The cultivators who had led them in were two of Gao Chen's junior brothers.

Gao Chen was True Monarch Che's second disciple.

But with True Monarch Che's first disciple already dead, Gao Chen, the second, was effectively the most senior.

Gao Chen had no suspicions. He assumed Wei Tu was simply planning ahead, wanting to gather information on his "rivals" in advance so he could respond accordingly.

"Behind Third Junior Brother Shijun is a young gentleman named Hua Xianlong. He's quite well-known in the Western Border of Zheng Country."

"Though his skill in the Talisman Dao is weaker than yours, Junior Brother Wei, his Cultivation is a step higher."

Gao Chen's gaze fell on a strikingly handsome young gentleman in the crowd as he spoke seriously.

"And behind Fifth Junior Brother Chen Gu is a young woman in yellow named Mu Die. I heard he found her in the mortal world. She's an Upper-Grade Spirit Root cultivator. Though her Cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Realm, her future is boundless…" Gao Chen added.

A Middle-Grade Spirit Root cultivator, provided they are of a suitable age, has a chance to enter an Immortal Sect and become a disciple.

An Upper-Grade Spirit Root cultivator, however, is often nurtured as a "Golden Core Seed" within an Immortal Sect. That's because an Upper-Grade Spirit Root provides a twenty percent greater chance of successful Core Formation compared to an ordinary cultivator.

"I have no idea where Fifth Junior Brother found this Mu Die." Gao Chen's voice was tinged with jealousy.

Having failed at Core Formation, he, a Fake Pill True Monarch, could only pin his hopes on his master, True Monarch Che, praying that he would grant him another Opportunity to attempt it.

Finding and befriending Wei Tu had all been part of his plan to curry favor with True Monarch Che.

But now, Fifth Junior Brother Chen Gu had found Mu Die, whose aptitude was even greater than Wei Tu's… How could he possibly be happy about that?

However, the thought of Wei Tu's talent as a Talisman Master immediately eased some of the pressure he felt.

Mu Die's aptitude might be high, but it would take her at least one or two hundred years to reach Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

In other words, despite her great aptitude, her long development time meant she might not be of much use to True Monarch Che in the short term.

'An Upper-Grade Spirit Root.' Wei Tu was inwardly shocked.

An Upper-Grade Spirit Root was no common thing. If it weren't for the current chaotic times, a cultivator like Mu Die would have long since been taken by an Immortal Sect's Guiding Envoy to cultivate within the sect.

...

「After about half a day.」

An elder with white hair but a youthful complexion, dressed in a feathered robe, slowly strolled out from the rear hall of the estate. His aura was clearly that of the Golden Core Realm.

Upon reaching the central courtyard, Gao Chen, Shijun, and Chen Gu bowed deeply and said, "Master."

Hearing this, Wei Tu and the others were jolted to their senses. They too bowed their heads, addressing the feather-robed elder as "Elder Che."

True Monarch Che walked to the front hall. His gaze swept over the cultivators present, and he nodded.

Standing behind Gao Chen, Wei Tu noticed that True Monarch Che's gaze lingered the longest on him, Mu Die, and Hua Xianlong.

"I intended to accept four Inner Chamber Disciples. I did not expect you worthless apprentices to misunderstand my meaning and bring so many fellow cultivators here…" True Monarch Che said with a displeased look as he took the main seat.

As his voice fell, any dissatisfaction in the cultivators' hearts vanished without a trace. After all, even with so many people in the hall, four slots for Inner Chamber Disciples was a considerable number.

Their chances of being chosen as an Inner Chamber Disciple were over fifty percent.

But True Monarch Che's next words sent the flicker of hope in their hearts plummeting back to rock bottom.

"Mu Die, Wei Tu, and Hua Xianlong. Your aptitudes are the highest among this group. You may become my Inner Chamber Disciples," True Monarch Che announced in a deep voice.

As his voice fell, the cultivators looked at each other in dismay. They clearly hadn't known about this arrangement.

At first, they had assumed that Wei Tu, Mu Die, and Hua Xianlong were starting on the same footing as everyone else and would have to pass an assessment to become Inner Chamber Disciples.

They never expected True Monarch Che to skip all that and directly accept the three of them.

'True Monarch Che just said there were four slots. Three are gone now, so there's still one left!' Thinking of this, a sense of expectation rose in the cultivators' hearts once more.

Although their odds of being accepted were no longer over fifty percent, they weren't exactly low either.

They still had a chance.

"Mu Die, Wei Tu, Hua Xianlong, are the three of you willing to take me as your master?" True Monarch Che asked with a smile.

Any cultivator who came to True Monarch Che's estate was already mentally prepared to become his disciple. Naturally, none of them would hesitate, let alone refuse and offend a Golden Core True Monarch.

"Your disciple pays respects to Master." Wei Tu, along with Mu Die and Hua Xianlong, knelt on the ground and performed the grand discipleship ceremony before True Monarch Che.

"Rise. From this day forward, you three are my Inner Chamber Disciples."

True Monarch Che watched this with a satisfied expression and nodded.

"Wei Tu, you are the eldest of the three, so you shall be my sixth disciple." True Monarch Che smiled, and with a flick of his wide sleeve, he used his Magical Power to help the bowing Wei Tu to his feet.

As he spoke, True Monarch Che produced a Jade Talisman from his sleeve and handed it to Wei Tu.

"You are a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman Master, so you should recognize this. I'll give you this Treasure as a gift for becoming my disciple."

"A Small Shifting Talisman?" Wei Tu's face lit up with joy as he took the Jade Talisman and examined it.

He still had the Small Shifting Talisman that Zhao Qingluo had given him, so he was quite familiar with the object.

He just hadn't expected True Monarch Che to be so generous as to give him a Small Shifting Talisman as a welcoming gift.

After all, even a Tier Three Talisman Master wouldn't have many Small Shifting Talismans on hand.

For one, they were incredibly difficult to create.

For another, the Sky Blue Stone—the Spiritual Material needed for the Talisman Paper—was one of the materials used in refining Spatial Spiritual Treasures, making it exceedingly rare.

Therefore, aside from the incredibly wealthy Immortal Sects, it was rare for any cultivator to bestow a Small Shifting Talisman as a gift upon a new disciple.

'What exactly was the gift True Monarch Che gave to Wei Tu?'

The other cultivators in the front hall saw the joyous surprise on Wei Tu's face. They were filled with envy, curious as to what kind of Talisman it could be.

Wei Tu, however, had no interest in satisfying their curiosity. After thanking True Monarch Che, he clasped his hands respectfully and stood beside Gao Chen.

Next, True Monarch Che assigned seniority to Hua Xianlong and Mu Die, and he gave each of them a Small Shifting Talisman as well.

"Senior Brother Wei, what is this Jade Talisman?" Mu Die asked curiously, standing beside Wei Tu.

She came from a scholarly family in the mortal world and was currently only at the Qi Cultivation Realm, so she couldn't recognize the Small Shifting Talisman.

Hearing Mu Die's voice transmission, Wei Tu was first a little surprised by True Monarch Che's behavior—giving them the talismans without any explanation.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. After a moment's thought, he casually explained the function of the Small Shifting Talisman to Mu Die.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wei," Mu Die said with a sweet smile.

After explaining, a thought suddenly struck Wei Tu. 'Compared to me, her relationship with Senior Brother Chen Gu—the one who guided her into the Cultivation Realm—is obviously much closer. It makes no sense for her to bypass him and ask me instead.'

"Junior Sister Mu, why didn't you ask Senior Brother Chen?" Wei Tu voiced his doubt.

Mu Die paused for a moment, then replied, "Master told me to ask you. He said… that you would know about these things, Senior Brother Wei…"

'True Monarch Che?'

Hearing this, Wei Tu suddenly understood True Monarch Che's deeper meaning.

True Monarch Che didn't want his new disciples—him, Mu Die, and Hua Xianlong—to align themselves with the older disciples' faction. He didn't want them getting too involved with Gao Chen's group and creating factions within the faction.

True Monarch Che was subtly telling Wei Tu that compared to Gao Chen, he, their master, was the one they should truly rely on.

'It seems that between Hua Xianlong and me, True Monarch Che favors me more,' Wei Tu thought.

Like him, Hua Xianlong was also a Tier Two Talisman Master.

...

After accepting his three Inner Chamber Disciples, True Monarch Che flicked his wide sleeve. From a distance, he set up a tournament stage reinforced with an Array outside the hall. It was to be used to assess the remaining cultivators, including Master Qingmei.

The one who ranked first in combat would become True Monarch Che's final Inner Chamber Disciple.

'Gao Chen is not to be underestimated; he's a man who thinks ahead,' Wei Tu mused after scanning the Cultivation of the cultivators present with his Guardian Map Divine Sense. He had watched True Monarch Che set up the stage.

The cultivators brought by Shijun and Chen Gu were mostly Foundation Establishment Cultivators with high aptitude and great potential. In terms of sheer cultivation level, however, they were clearly a step below Master Qingmei, whom Gao Chen had brought.

Excluding Wei Tu and the other newly-accepted disciples, Master Qingmei was one of only two Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators present.

When Wei Tu first saw Master Qingmei at Gao Chen's Cave Mansion, he had mistakenly assumed that True Monarch Che had a way to treat Master Qingmei's "injury."

Everything that followed had overturned that assumption.

Wei Tu guessed that Gao Chen must have anticipated how True Monarch Che would act. That was why he had sought out both him and Master Qingmei—one as a guaranteed pick, the other to compete in the tournament for the final spot.

「One day later.」

The tournament ended. Master Qingmei narrowly defeated the other Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, taking first place in combat and becoming True Monarch Che's Inner Chamber Disciple.

At the same time, True Monarch Che also addressed Master Qingmei's "chronic affliction," stating that he would do his utmost to help him restore his Profound Wood Spirit Body and achieve Core Formation.

"Senior Brother Wei, Junior Sister Mu…"

Master Qingmei walked over to Wei Tu and greeted him and Mu Die in turn.