As night fell, the three-day-long Tianlu Sacred Ground Grand Competition finally came to an end.
At that moment, the twelve core elders presiding over the competition all extended olive branches to Mo Fan at the same time, making generous promises in the hope that he would become their disciple.
Mo Fan politely declined each one. Finally, he turned to Ye Kongcheng, whose expression remained calm, and smiled. “Elder Ye, I heard that in the past two days Junior Brother Leng Zhan has often been shivering with cold. I wonder if he is all right?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Ye Kongcheng’s elderly face twitched, his eyelids flickered slightly, and then he smiled. “Zhan’er is fine, and he has also entered the Heavenly Ranking.
This old man knows there is some grudge between you two. If you are willing to become my disciple, this old man is prepared to mediate the enmity between you, and at the same time gift you a water-system cultivation method that can be practised all the way to the peak of Nascent Soul!”
“Elder Ye is too kind. There is no need to become your disciple. When you return, please advise Junior Brother Leng well, and tell him not to keep shivering with cold. Too much of it is not good for his health, after all!”
“…”
Ye Kongcheng gnashed his teeth. Seeing Mo Fan refuse, the smile on his face vanished instantly, and his gaze became extremely sinister.
Just then, two figures suddenly appeared in front of Mo Fan. They were precisely the two Nascent Soul ancestors who had been concealed above the sea of clouds!
When Mo Fan saw one of them, he could not help feeling a chill in his heart.
It was indeed Situ Yunzhen!
He immediately lowered his head to avoid Situ Yunzhen’s gaze, while secretly becoming vigilant in his heart.
If there was anyone in the entire Tianlu Sacred Ground that he was rather wary of, this Situ Yunzhen certainly counted as one!
After all, this old fellow cultivated the complete version of the Tianlu Derived Spirit Art. Back in the Dragon Ruins, Mo Fan had witnessed this fellow’s methods. His spiritual power was terrifyingly strong, and his skill at escaping was also first-rate.
“Zheng Dao, you are the most outstanding disciple in this Sacred Ground Grand Competition, so this ancestor and Ancestor Yunshang have discussed it and decided to accept you as a disciple.
You may decide for yourself which of us you will acknowledge as master.
Once you become our disciple, you will be the third direct personal disciple of our Tianlu Sacred Ground!”
Situ Yunzhen spoke slowly, yet his gaze remained fixed on Mo Fan, with brilliant light flowing in his eyes, as if he were looking at an uncut jade.
As soon as Situ Yunzhen said this, it immediately caused an uproar among all the cultivators in the entire Tianlu Dao field. It truly was a stone stirring up a thousand waves.
An ancestor personally accepting a disciple?
The third direct personal disciple of the Sacred Ground!
Most crucially, this fellow Zheng Dao could choose for himself which ancestor to acknowledge as master!
For a time, when all the cultivators looked at Mo Fan, their expressions revealed all manner of envy, jealousy, and hatred. Their eyes turned red!
Even Lu Qianqian in the distance, and Liu Zhengde who had been paying attention to Mo Fan from another place, were completely shocked.
“This kid actually really did it?”
“Worthily the candidate sent from the Holy Sect side!”
Liu Zhengde was shocked in his heart, and at the same time could not help revealing a trace of bitterness.
He had joined Tianlu Sacred Ground more than two hundred years ago, yet up to now he was merely an inner sect elder. In terms of status, he was far inferior to a direct personal disciple of the Sacred Ground!
Just when everyone was green with envy and wished they could immediately agree on Mo Fan’s behalf, Mo Fan instead bowed very respectfully to the two Nascent Soul ancestors before him, then said with some difficulty, “Reporting to the two ancestors, Zheng Dao already has a master, so I fear it would not be proper to change allegiance.”
“Whoa…”
As soon as Mo Fan said this, the surroundings erupted in an uproar.
“Is this fellow refusing?”
“Good heavens! This is a great opportunity that comes once in a thousand years! He actually refused it!!”
“An opportunity that we could never touch in our entire lives, he rejected with a single light sentence! Is there any justice left!!”
“This fellow’s brain must be muddled. At a time like this, let alone a master, even parents would turn against him!!”
“Exactly. In front of a direct personal disciple, being first on the Heavenly Ranking counts for nothing!”
“…”
For a time, the surroundings were filled with the whispered discussions of the cultivators, carrying a feeling of hating iron for not becoming steel. They wished they could immediately soul-transmigrated into Zheng Dao to seize this opportunity.
Mo Fan’s words also caused Situ Yunzhen to frown slightly, but the Ancestor Yunshang beside him smiled faintly, and her gaze towards Mo Fan became even brighter.
“In the face of enormous temptation, he can still maintain his original heart and respect his teacher. This point is truly rare and valuable!”
Ancestor Yunshang immediately spoke with a face full of appreciation, then added with some emotion, “We cultivators, in order to defy the heavens and change our fate, many have long forgotten the original intention of their cultivation. One by one, they become full of scheming and mutual calculation, all for the sake of contending for that slim chance of becoming an immortal.
“You have cultivated to the Core Formation stage, which must have taken no small amount of time, yet you can still possess such a disposition. This is truly precious!”
As Ancestor Yunshang spoke, she looked at Mo Fan and continued, “Since we have stepped onto the path of cultivation, ultimately we are all heading towards becoming immortals, so our road is very long. No one has stipulated that on this long path of cultivation we can only have one master.
The capable are teachers. As long as there is someone who can help your cultivation advance and bring you closer to immortality, you may acknowledge them as master. There is nothing wrong with that.
Moreover, you are already first on the Heavenly Ranking. Continuing to remain at the core level will make further breakthroughs difficult.
To put it bluntly, your current master may not even be as strong as you, so what can he use to guide you in further cultivation?
Our Tianlu Sacred Ground values fairness and justice the most. Different statuses naturally receive different cultivation resources.
If you can acknowledge us as masters, then the cultivation resources you obtain will be beyond your imagination!”
As Ancestor Yunshang’s words fell, Zheng Dao immediately showed some interest. The former smiled faintly and said, “This ancestor knows you possess water spiritual roots, so as long as you acknowledge me as master, I will allow you to view all the water-system cultivation methods in the entire Sacred Ground!
By the way, this ancestor also cultivates one of our Sacred Ground’s three town-sect methods, the Tianlu Divine Light Seal. As long as you are willing to become my disciple, I will transmit this Tianlu Divine Light Seal to you!”
As soon as these words came out, Mo Fan’s eyes immediately lit up, and he promptly said, “I…”
However, before he could fully speak, Situ Yunzhen beside him interrupted, “Zheng Dao, this ancestor observes that what you cultivate is the Tianlu Derived Spirit Art, and you have already achieved minor accomplishment. It happens that this ancestor also cultivates this method. If you acknowledge this ancestor as master, this ancestor can transmit the complete Tianlu Derived Spirit Art to you, and guide you in cultivating this method. It will certainly allow you to advance further!”
“As for the issue of your master that you mentioned, it actually is not a problem here. We are not old-fashioned in our thinking. Since we can accept you as a disciple, we can naturally allow you to have multiple masters. This is no issue!”
“Indeed!”
Yunshang nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Immediately afterwards, the two Nascent Soul ancestors both looked at Mo Fan and smiled. “So, what is your choice?”
This scene directly made the eyes of those Tianlu Sacred Ground cultivators around them turn completely red with envy!
Let alone these disciples, even those elders sighed with emotion, secretly thinking that this Zheng Dao’s luck was truly good. Some even directly approached Liu Zhengde, this cheap master, to offer congratulations, leaving Liu Zhengde speechless.
Being fought over by two Nascent Soul stage ancestors to accept as disciple, this kind of treatment was only the second time in Tianlu Sacred Ground.
The first time was that fellow known as “Tianlu Divine Lord” Lu Taiji, but that person had an extraordinary background.
Therefore, by comparison, for Zheng Dao, who came from grassroots origins, to reach this step was truly astonishing.
Under the gaze of everyone, Mo Fan pondered for a moment, his face full of hesitation, as if he were under enormous pressure. In reality, however, his heart was blooming with joy.
His goal had finally been achieved!
Soon, Mo Fan made his decision. He looked at Ancestor Yunshang and said solemnly, “Ancestor Yunshang, I am sorry. This disciple chooses to acknowledge Ancestor Situ as master!”
