The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The sturdy man rubbed his head and chuckled. "My apologies, Junior Sister Lan. I got carried away." He cleared his throat. "Everyone, our three sects are the leaders of the righteous path in the Floating Shadow Realm and the pillars of the Human Race. We guard three fronts of the human territories. My Mo Palace focuses on Body Cultivators. Our domain borders both the Beast and Demon Races, so we of Mo Palace defend against them both."

The Daoist nun stepped forward. "My Heart Slaying Hall focuses on cultivating Divine Sense and specializes in Daoist techniques. Our domain borders the Demon Race, so they are the ones we primarily contend with."

A man in a green robe with a presence as sharp as a sword stepped forward. "My Cyan Sky Sect breaks ten thousand techniques with a single blade. We specialize in slaying evil beasts!"

The sturdy man laughed. "I assume all of you who came to the Floating Shadow Realm already know the basics. Now, those who wish to join my Mo Palace, come and stand behind me. Those who wish to join the Heart Slaying Hall, go over to Junior Sister Lan. As for those who want to join the Cyan Sky Sect... just go to that idiot over there."

The green-robed man snapped, "Who are you calling an idiot, you brute!"

The Daoist nun quickly intervened. "Stop it, you two! You're making a scene in front of the new disciples!"

The sturdy man just laughed, unbothered. The green-robed man, however, stood to the side with a cold expression, arms crossed over his sword.

Soon enough, the crowd began moving toward the three representatives. Tian Sisi glanced at Chen Dong before taking her place with the Cyan Sky Sect group.

Chen Dong ambled over to join them. He didn't care which sect he joined. Li Zhixuan was still standing in place, stroking his chin thoughtfully, until Chen Dong grabbed him and pulled him over to the Cyan Sky Sect's group.

After a short while, it was clear that Heart Slaying Hall had attracted the most recruits—nearly a hundred people. This was for no other reason than Baili Qingcheng's appearance, which was the best recruitment ad imaginable.

The Cyan Sky Sect came in second with about seventy people. Back in the modern world, Sword Cultivators were practically objects of worship.

Lastly, Mo Palace only managed to recruit thirty people—exactly thirty. Two of them were young women, likely fangirls of Leng Tong.

The sturdy man was chagrined to see only thirty people. Leng Tong shook his head and said, "Martial Uncle Ye, if you hadn't shown up, we probably would have gotten more recruits!"

The sturdy man roared, "What was that, you brat?"

Leng Tong fell silent, but the green-robed Sword Cultivator chuckled. "He's calling you ugly, you brute!"

A golden light flared around the sturdy man. "You looking for a fight, you moron?"

The sword in the green-robed cultivator's arms began to hum. "Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you!"

The Daoist nun barked, "That's enough, both of you! Take your new disciples back to your sects, then return here to discuss the agreement!"

Both men knew they couldn't actually come to blows, so they turned away from each other.

The sturdy man said regretfully, "A shame about that Evergreen Thousand Leaves Dao Body. If he'd joined my Mo Palace, with time he would have become invincible in the Nascent Soul Realm!"

The green-robed Sword Cultivator drew his Spirit Sword and let out a smug huff. With a flash of sword light, all seventy-plus of them vanished.

They reappeared before a Teleportation Array. The Sword Cultivator said, "Step onto the Teleportation Array. It will take you directly to the Cyan Sky Sect. Changyan will be there to get you all registered." With that, he vanished.

After another teleportation, the group arrived on a sprawling plaza suffused with a celestial aura. The plaza was built halfway up a mountain, suspended in midair. In the distance, mountain ranges rose and fell, and celestial cranes soared through the sky.

While this sect wasn't as opulent as the Qixia Sect, it possessed a much stronger celestial atmosphere.

A Female Cultivator in a green dress, a Divine Sword strapped to her back, was already waiting. "Tian God Department, please come with me."

Hearing this, Tian Sisi glanced at Chen Dong, who gave her a slight nod to reassure her.

As Tian Sisi departed with the female cultivator, Fu Changyan led the remaining crowd down from the plaza, explaining as they went, "You all learned about the sect's structure on your way here, so I won't go over it again. The Cyan Sky Sect is divided into seventy-two peaks, each with its own orthodox-grade Cultivation Technique. Twenty-three of those peaks are currently vacant, as their Peak Masters and all their disciples have perished in battle."

Chen Dong listened to Fu Changyan's casual explanation. 'The Floating Shadow Realm really isn't a peaceful place,' he thought.

Fu Changyan continued, "Among these, there are five major peaks that teach profound-grade Cultivation Techniques. You may choose which of these major peaks to join. There's no need to decide right away. You can spend a month in the Inner Sect considering your options before making your decision."

Fu Changyan led them all the way to a large hall.

"This is the Storage Hall. Everyone, please collect your Sect Magic Robe, Sect Rules Manual, and Sect Token. When you receive your Sect Token, state your name and drip a drop of your essence blood onto it."

The crowd began to form a line. Li Zhixuan, who was behind Chen Dong, muttered, "I can't believe the day has come when I, Li Zhixuan, have to join another sect's Inner Sect!"

Chen Dong sent him a voice transmission. "Stop complaining. At least the Spiritual Qi here is decent, even richer than on that peak by the Realm Passage. By the way, are you able to hide your cultivation level properly?"

Li Zhixuan sent back a smug transmission. "You're looking down on me. I cultivate the Daoist Scripture of Void Forgetfulness. No one can see through my cultivation level or constitution unless they're two whole major Realms above me!"

"Impressive. Why don't you teach it to me, then?"

"You have the Yuqing Immortal Technique. Why would you need me to teach you this?"

"What's the problem? The Yuqing Immortal Technique and the Daoist Scripture of Void Forgetfulness are different, aren't they?"

"It seems you still don't get it. Both the Daoist Scripture of Void Forgetfulness and the Heavenly Prayer Scripture are derived from the Yuqing Immortal Technique. That's because the Yuqing Immortal Technique itself is incredibly unique and profoundly difficult to grasp. In my Wangyou Sect, we have a saying: 'All techniques stem from Yuqing.' You're sitting on a priceless treasure and you still want me to teach you something else... honestly! By the way, no one can sense your Yuqing Immortal Technique, right?"

Chen Dong nodded. "Feng Fu, who's nearly at the Divinity Transformation Realm, couldn't sense it. I doubt anyone in the Floating Shadow Realm can either."

"That makes sense. An Immortal Technique like the Yuqing Immortal Technique is incomparably profound. If it doesn't want to be discovered, no one can detect it unless they also cultivate the very same technique."

Chen Dong's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? The technique has a consciousness of its own?"

"Not consciousness, exactly. More like... Dao affinity, I guess."

Chen Dong didn't quite understand what he meant, but just then, a Cyan Sky Sect disciple called out impatiently, "Hey, kid, it's your turn! What are you daydreaming for? Hurry up and register!"