Within three years, enter the top ten of The Heavenly Ranking.
Even Ao Xin Yan, who was very confident in her own strength, didn’t dare to say that she would be able to do this in three years.
Other people, naturally, it was even more impossible.
It was too difficult!
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint scanned the circle and said, ”Since none of you have taken the initiative to want to take up the position of Group Leader of the first group, then, it is up to me to resign myself to the position. Zhang Ruochen, do you have any confidence that you can enter the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking within three years?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Yes.”
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint nodded and said, “Good! Since this is the case, in the future, you will be the leader of the first group. When I’m not around, all of the Saints in the first group will be managed by you. Of course, as the leader of the group, you must also urge everyone to cultivate hard, instruct them in their cultivation, and truly take the lead.”
Hearing the Spirit Pivot Half-Saint’s words, many of those Saints revealed looks of dissatisfaction.
Each and every one of them was a proud son of heaven, high-minded and proud, defying anyone, and in the future, they would actually have to follow Zhang Ruochen’s instructions, which made them feel very stifled no matter how they thought about it.
What was Zhang Ruochen, but just a slightly stronger bumpkin, how could he compare to their noble status?
However, earlier, the Spiritual Pivot Half-Saint had already asked them, and none of them dared to be the leader of the first group, and now, the Spiritual Pivot Half-Saint had recognised Zhang Ruochen as the leader of the first group, and if they raised any more objections, they would surely provoke the Spiritual Pivot Half-Saint’s heart to be displeased.
Thus, those Saints who were dissatisfied with Zhang Ruochen all held back.
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint said, “Zhang Ruochen, you come with me. The rest of you, go and dismiss yourselves, you can go and familiarise yourselves with the environment of the Sacred Courtyard first, or you can go to the Book Pavilion to look through the secret books of the merit laws.”
Zhang Ruochen followed behind the Spiritual Pivot Half-Saint and travelled towards the hinterland of the Holy Academy.
It was only after the Spirit Pivot Half-Saint and Zhang Ruochen left that the crowd began to talk.
“What an abomination, to actually have to follow Zhang Ruochen’s orders in the future. He’s just a bumpkin from the Sky Demon Ridge, what’s the big deal?”A Sage Sect’s heir, who was quite unconvinced, said coldly.
His name was Zuo Quling, an heir of the Left Sage Clan, his cultivation had reached the Heavenly Extremity Realm’s Great Extremity Position, and he ranked seventeenth in the first group’s overall strength, which made him considered a supreme hero.
At the same time, he was also Xi Yunxi’s suitor, so he was quite hostile to Zhang Ruochen.
Xi Yunxi stared at Zhang Ruochen’s back and said, “I see that Teacher Lingshu wants to accept him as a disciple, so that’s why he’s recognised him as the leader of the group.”
“That’s definitely the case.”Zuo Quling said.
In the audience, only Duanmu Xingling, who had been silent all this time, knew that the person who wanted to take Zhang Ruochen as a disciple wasn’t the Spirit Pivot Half-Saint, but rather, it was the Second Courtyard Master, Old Man Xuangui.
Right now, the Spirit Pivot Half-Saint should be the one who brought Zhang Ruochen to meet Old Man Xuan Gui.
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint brought Zhang Ruochen to the hinterland of the Holy Courtyard, the Holy Mountain.
From afar, the Sacred Mountain, looked like a huge navy blue dragon, lying across the horizon. The elevation of the mountain, was as high as eight thousand metres, and in the mountain, countless strange peaks towered. On top of the mountain, it was snow-capped and surrounded by clouds, as if it was the hermitage of the immortals.
Before even entering the Sacred Mountain, Zhang Ruochen could feel that an unusually dense aura was coming over his face.
“Ahead is the Sacred Mountain, and only when one reaches the Half-Saint realm can one carve out a cave in the Sacred Mountain. From there, one can cultivate in the Sacred Mountain all year round.”The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint explained to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Legend has it that at the bottom of the Sacred Mountain, there is a Sacred Vein that has been deposited for hundreds of millions of years. In the Sacred Vein, it can release thin Sacred Qi. A Heavenly Extremity Realm martial artist, if they cultivate in the Sacred Mountain, their cultivation speed can reach ten times their usual cultivation speed.”
“That’s right. At the bottom of the Sacred Mountain, there is indeed a Sacred Vein. Ten times the cultivation speed seems too exaggerated. However, a cultivation speed of five times or more is still there.”
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint stared at Zhang Ruochen and said, “In fact, Saints of the Sacred Academy can enter the Sacred Mountain for a day’s cultivation as long as they have accumulated enough 10,000 Merit Values.”
“Merit Values can be exchanged with Military Merit Values for each other, so that being said, Zhang Ruochen, I would still suggest that you go to the Market Realm Battlefield to train for a while and endeavour to impact the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Heavenly Extremity Realm.”
“Although the Market Realm Battlefield is extremely dangerous, it is also a good place to sharpen one’s skills. Even if you are unable to reach the Heavenly Extremity Realm’s Supreme Extremity Realm, experiencing some more time will have endless benefits for your future impact on the Fish Dragon Realm.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Thank you, Teacher Lingshu, for your guidance.”
“There’s no need to call me Teacher, maybe, soon, you’ll have to call me Senior Sister. Let’s go, follow me to meet the Xuan Gui Academy Master.”
Under the guidance of the Spirit Pivot Half-Saint, Zhang Ruochen entered the Sacred Mountain and arrived at a secluded valley filled with pear trees.
In the woods, pear blossoms were in full bloom, their petals white and flawless, emitting a faint fragrance.
The ground was also covered in petals, spreading a thick layer, just like snowflakes.
Zhang Ruochen channelled his true qi into the meridians of his legs, and his feet stepped on a wave of qi, travelling off the ground without stepping on a single petal. At the same time, he was also surveying the pear trees around him, and the more he looked, the more shocked he became, asking, “Could it be that the pear trees in this one garden are the legendary Spirit Crane Pears?”
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint glanced at Zhang Ruochen with some surprise and laughed, “You do have some insights, yes, this garden, called the Spiritual Crane Pear Garden, has a total of 3,600 Spiritual Crane Pear Trees growing in it.”
“The Spiritual Crane Pear tree, blossoms for three hundred years, bears fruit for three hundred years, and matures for three hundred years. Taking a single Spiritual Crane Pear will not only enhance one’s cultivation and open up one’s spiritual wisdom, but it will also increase a cultivator’s lifespan by thirty years. When I broke through to the Half-Saint realm, my master gave me a Spiritual Crane Pear.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded and slurped.
In his heart, he said that in the Sacred Courtyard, there were so many Spiritual Crane Pears growing, the depth of the Martial Market Money Bank was indeed not comparable to other sects and clans.
Passing through the pear garden, a steep black cliff appeared ahead. On the cliff, a waterfall flowed, like a thousand-foot white train, cascading down from the nine heavens.
Below the cliff, on top of an irregular stone platform, an old man with a white beard and white hair and white robes was seated. His one pale hand, wrinkled, held a bronze quill, writing something on top of a green-coloured silk cloth.
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint knelt down on one knee and bowed to the old man, saying, “Disciple Spirit Pivot, I pay my respects to my master.”
“So, he’s the famous Old Man Xuan Gui, one of the Three Great Sword Saints of the Eastern Domain.”
Zhang Ruochen also hurriedly knelt down and cupped his fists in salute, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
“Haha! All of you get up!”
A cheerful laughter came out of Old Man Xuan Gui’s mouth as he stopped his pen with a gesture of his hand.
There was no sign of him exerting any means, and Zhang Ruochen and the Spirit Pivot Half-Saint automatically stood up.
“Wow…”
Right at the moment when he stopped writing, on the stone platform, the piece of silk cloth immediately emitted an eye-catching light and transformed into a holy decree.
This was a true holy decree, containing the holy power of a Saint, representing the will and decision of a Saint.
Elder Xuan Gui glanced towards Zhang Ruochen and nodded with a smile on his face, saying, “Not bad, really not bad, your Sword Dao realm should be on the verge of reaching the middle stage of Sword Mind.”
The Spirit Pivot Half-Saint knew Elder Xuan Gui very well, and knew that he didn’t easily appreciate his disciples, but today, he had praised him with two “not bad” compliments in a row. From this, it could be seen that Zhang Ruochen’s natural talent was truly remarkable.
Zhang Ruochen just stood by the side, quietly listening.
Elder Xuan Gui’s face was solemn as he said, “I have taken in a total of five disciples, and even Ling Shu, who has the weakest cultivation, has now crossed over into the Half-Saint realm. Zhang Ruochen, are you willing to be Old Master’s sixth disciple?”
“Latecomer is willing.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t push back and knelt down once again, bowing, “Disciple, greetings to Master.”
Elder Xuan Gui stood up and laughed out loud, “Since that’s the case, then receive the decree!”
With a gentle toss of his arm, the green-coloured imperial decree flew out from Elder Xuan Gui’s hand and landed in front of Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen stretched out his hands and caught a holy decree, holding it in his hands.
The words written on top of the holy decree were the very ones that recorded the acceptance of Zhang Ruochen as a disciple, every word was golden and contained a wave of a Saint’s will.
The acceptance of a disciple by a Saint was by no means a simple act of worship, it was a very significant decision for a Saint, requiring the issuance of a Holy Decree to affirm the identity of the disciple.
Therefore, only the cultivator who holds the holy decree can be called the “holy one’s heir”.
With a holy decree, one proves one’s identity.
Elder Xuan Gui laughed, “That one holy decree contains a stream of holy power from the old man on it, if you encounter a danger that you cannot deal with, as long as you unfurl the holy decree, the holy qi will be able to instantly carry you ten thousand miles away and escape.”
“Of course, if you exhaust the holy qi on top of the holy decree, it will lose its usefulness. Therefore, as a last resort, you should still try to rely on your own strength to overcome the difficulties.”
“I am honoured to follow the teachings of my master.”Zhang Ruochen said.
Elder Xuan Gui said, “Before you reach the Half-Saint realm, let your fifth senior sister, Ling Shu, teach you the cultivation method instead of your master, what do you think?”
Zhang Ruochen glanced towards the Ling Shu Half-Saint and said, “Fifth Senior Sister’s cultivation is profound, and her sword dao realm far surpasses that of my disciple, so I will definitely learn more from Fifth Senior Sister.”
Elder Xuan Gui nodded and said, “Since that is the case, then you should retire first! If you have any important matters, you can come to the Sacred Mountain to find me with the Holy Decree in hand, and no one will stop you.”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred, feeling that Elder Xuan Gui was hinting at something with these words.
“Right! When he said that holding the Sacred Decree, you can enter the Sacred Mountain without any hindrance, isn’t he telling me that I can enter the Sacred Mountain to cultivate at will?”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart rejoiced and suddenly felt that it was worth it to worship Elder Xuan Gui as his teacher.
For other Saints, they needed to accumulate 10,000 points of Merit Value before they could enter the Sacred Mountain for a day of cultivation. He, on the other hand, didn’t need any Merit Value to enter the Sacred Mountain to cultivate, so he had simply earned a lot!
When Elder Xuan Gui saw the change in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, he knew that Zhang Ruochen had already understood the meaning of his words, so it seemed that he was really a smart young man, the children could be taught.
“Ling Shu, you stay, I still have some things to explain to you.”
Elder Xuan Gui left the Ling Shu Half-Saint alone, while Zhang Ruochen walked out of the Spirit Crane Pear Garden first, travelling outside the Sacred Mountain.
Just as he stepped out of the Sacred Mountain, Zhang Ruochen once again encountered that one of the Divine Dragon Demi-Human Race’s Heavenly Pride Daughter, Ao Xin Yan.
Ao Xin Yan had been accepted as a disciple by a Half-Saint and also happened to walk out from the Sacred Mountain.
When she saw Zhang Ruochen, she immediately chased after him with quick steps, calling out from afar, “Zhang Ruochen, fight me, today, we must share a victory.”
