by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Annoyed, Qing Xiuhe shouted and pointed to one disciple, “Quiet! You, tell me what happened here.”
Stunned, the disciple was unable to immediately form a coherent sentence. Zi Changhe then stood up and said, "Vice palace master, I'll tell you what happened instead."
Thus, Zi Changhe gave Qing Xiuhe a simple and concise recap of everything that had just happened. At first, he was unwilling to speak of what had happened, at least until he had taken Xiang Shaoyun as his personal disciple. However, due to the scale of the commotion caused, he knew that this matter could not be kept under wraps for long.
"You say it's this brat who attracted the power of five stars?" Qing Xiuhe asked excitedly, his eyes shining as he looked at Xiang Shaoyun. Not just him, all the elders present looked at Xiang Shaoyun, their eyes full of fire.
Chapter 4: Fighting for a Disciple!
Hidden deep within a cultivator’s body, one's natal chart could have up to nine stars.
One star is weak, two stars is somewhat bright, three stars is extraordinary, four stars ascend into the night sky, five stars illuminate the sky, six stars fill the halls with jade, seven stars lower the big dipper, eight stars is a celestial crossing the great ocean, nine stars shake the heavens.
Every star awakened was a testament to one's ability to cultivate. Ordinary people were unable to awaken these stars; hence, they would forever be hidden within them. A person capable of waking one star was considered weak, barely able to be considered a cultivator. Somebody capable of waking two stars was like unpolished jade, possibly having a bright future. Awakening three stars signified extraordinary accomplishments, glorifying one’s family and sect.
The owner of a four-star physique could reach extraordinary heights and be able to ascend the night sky and traverse the heavens and the earth. As for five-star physique owners, these were the blessed children of the heavens, able to illuminate the sky and spread their glory everywhere.
As for people who were able to awaken six or more stars, they would be classified under high-end physiques. Such miracles were only seen once in a thousand years in such a small place like Wu Town.
Since Xiang Shaoyun had attracted the power of five stars, it proved that he possessed a five-star physique. His accomplishments would be boundless, illuminating and resonating through the skies! In such a tiny place as Wu Town, Xiang Shaoyun indeed possessed the qualifications to be a genius only seen once every hundred years! Even throughout the whole of Martial Hall Palace, there was only one person who could compare—the number one beauty of Martial Hall Palace, Gong Qinyin.
All the outer court disciples stared at Xiang Shaoyun, their eyes full of admiration as well as envy. As for the elders, all of them were shivering with excitement. Such a genius must be taken as a personal disciple!
“Boy, what is your name? Are you willing to be a disciple of me, Lie Huo? I have a scroll containing the Burning Heaven Flame Technique! With this technique, you will be able to burn the high heavens and dry up the vast sea!” a red-haired elder excitedly said. This was the seventh elder Lie Huo, who commanded immense prestige in Martial Hall Palace.
“Brat, his Burning Heaven Flame Technique is incomplete. Here, I have a complete scroll of the Flowing Wave Technique, which will allow you to command fierce winds and treacherous waters, leaving you nothing to fear!” This old man was Jiang Lingzi, the sixth elder.
“Their techniques are all not worthy. This old man has the Indestructible Diamond Scripture, allowing you to train your body to ignore blades and spears, to withstand fire and water,” a golden-haired man said. He was the fifth elder, Jin Ye.
“I have a complete Shadowless Technique, a technique allowing you to travel anywhere without leaving a trace. Furthermore, if you join me, you will have two beautiful senior sisters under you. You will not lose out by joining us~" a sexy middle-aged woman coquettishly said, exuberating waves of seduction. She was the eleventh elder, He Yinghua.
At this moment, numerous Martial Hall Palace elders were extending olive branches to Xiang Shaoyun, completely overshadowing how he had been made fun of for having a third-stage Basic Realm cultivation. He now had an extraordinary status in the Martial Hall Palace, with the various elders trying to snatch him up.
The outer disciples stared blankly at this scene, their eyes red. They would give anything to have this opportunity presented to them. Unfortunately, they did not have Xiang Shaoyun’s talents, their natal charts sorely lacking.
“Cough cough,” Xiang Shaoyun cleared his throat and was about to speak when the Purple Lightning Marquis stepped in front of him, cupping his hands.
Zi Changhe said, “My apologies to all the elders here, but disciple Shaoyun here has already pledged to become my disciple. I was only testing his innate talent earlier. It was not our intention to startle everybody here, our sincerest apologies.”
“What? He’s already pledged to you?” seventh elder Lie Huo choked, unreconciled with what he had just heard. He then said, “Changhe, you are still young and your future is bright. You shouldn’t waste your talents by splitting your time fostering a disciple. How about this, I’ll exchange this infernal lotus for your disciple!”
“Lie Huo you shameless old man! You dare to use a low-tier spirit medicine to barter for a five-star physique?! Kudos to you for daring to say it out loud!” Jiang Lingzi snorted before looking to Zi Changhe, and smiling, he said, “Changhe, I know that you cultivate astral lightning energy. I just so happen to have this thing here—a middle-tier medicine, Purple Lightning Vine! I trust that you know its benefits to your cultivation, so could you let me have that brat learn cultivation under me instead?”
Zi Changhe replied without hesitation, “No need. The brat has already completed the ceremony to take me as his master, so it would be improper to hand him over to you now.”
Facing all of Martial Hall Palace’s elders, Zi Changhe faced quite a bit of pressure. However, for a five-star physique, he would be willing to offend all of them. Behind Zi Changhe, Xiang Shaoyun gloated to himself, “See? I already said that you would fight to take me in as a disciple, but you didn’t believe me. Hehe, now you know of this young master’s genius!”
Upon hearing Zi Changhe’s words, the elders could not help but have a tinge of disappointment. They knew that trying to fight for this disciple would not be an easy task at all. At this moment, Qing Xiuhe lightly coughed before speaking, “Changhe, this boy was able to attract the power of five stars before breaking the Evaluation Stele. It’s possible that his talent is even more terrifying than that! Such a fine seedling being under your tutelage is undermining his innate talents; how about leaving him under me personally?”
That caused a ruckus among the outer disciples.
“Th-the vice palace master wants to take him in as a personal disciple?! Is there still justice in this world?!”
“One’s fate is in the stars, one’s fate is given by the heavens. This guy has a five-star physique; no matter where you go in Cloud Margin City, there will be some expert who would want him as a disciple!”
“Indeed. If the palace master himself was here, he would also fight over this disciple! It’s a pity that he has business in the city. No one knows when he’s coming back either.”
“He’s born a genius. We should just work hard; maybe we will have extraordinary achievements some day.”
The outer disciples were all gloomy after witnessing what had unfolded. They practiced all their lives just for the chance of becoming an inner disciple, yet this third-stage Basic Realm brat had gained the recognition of not only the elders, but even the vice palace master himself. This was the unfairness of life.
Zi Changhe unhappily replied, “Vice palace master, I’m only taking him as a disciple on behalf of my master. In truth, he can be considered my junior brother, and he will come under my master in the future.”
Hearing Zi Changhe, Qing Xiuhe’s expression slightly changed. Following that, he lightly sighed and said, “Since this is the cas
e, forget it. He’ll be a disciple of Martial Hall Palace from now on, so allocate some resources to him. Everybody disperse!”
Even though they were all unwilling to let Xiang Shaoyun go, the elders left the area one by one after hearing Qing Xiuhe. The outer disciples also proceeded to go about their own business again, but from now on, the scene of Xiang Shaoyun attracting the power of five stars would remain deeply etched within their minds.
People possessing this level of talent would definitely not turn out to be just some commoner; hence, even if they could not befriend him, they definitely could not offend him. After the crowd had dispersed, Zi Changhe heaved a sigh of relief.
“Hehe, I told you that you’d fight to take me in as a disciple! Now you know of my prowess!” Xiang Shaoyun said, his smile full of pride.
Before he had even finished talking, Zi Changhe firmly hit him on the head before sternly saying, “What’s there to laugh about? From now on, you will call me senior brother, if not master. Just at third-stage Basic Realm, what is there to be proud of? You’ll be under me from now on. If you can’t hit the standards I set for you, see how I’ll deal with you!”
“Damn, since when was there such a fierce senior brother such as you?” Xiang Shaoyun said, dissatisfied.
“Hoh, so you think you can disregard everyone because you have a five-star physique? Let me tell you first that it’s the geniuses who will fall most easily. If you don’t listen to me, then don’t blame me for anything that happens to you in the future!” Zi Changhe coldly said.
“Okay okay, from now on I will definitely work hard to become the number one person in all of Martial Hall Palace!” Xiang Shaoyun said seriously, showing no trace of his prior arrogance.
Chapter 5: What a Cute Little Girl!
In one of Martial Hall Palace’s elder residences, an old man was feeling extremely unreconciled and spat, “A five-star physique was snatched by that brat Zi Changhe! God damn him!”
This old man was someone who had numerous feuds with Zi Changhe—the thirteenth elder, Li Xuemeng. He was one of the more senior elders, yet he had recently suffered defeat to Zi Changhe. Since then, he was constantly thinking about how to take him down a notch.
And since Zi Changhe had taken in a disciple with a five-star physique, he was more unhappy than usual. Even though Zi Changhe had claimed to be accepting a disciple on behalf of his master, how would Li Xuemeng believe that?
Since I cannot take him as my own disciple, I must eliminate him and not give him the chance to mature, Li Xuemeng thought to himself as he started crafting numerous schemes in his mind.
Around Wu Town, there were also several experts who had witnessed the five stars illuminate the sky phenomenon. One of them lived inside the most luxurious residence in Wu Town, an old expert whose teeth were falling out.
“Find out who caused the phenomenon of the five stars illuminating the sky at once!” the old man hoarsely shouted.
“Father, this phenomenon seemed to have arisen from the Martial Hall Palace,” a middle-aged man answered the old man.
With a greedy expression on his face, the old man told the middle-aged man, “I know those old bastards at Martial Hall Palace. None of them are capable of causing such a phenomenon. One year ago, there was a young girl who did it; it was a pity that she was taken by the palace master as a personal disciple. It seems like it was a new disciple who caused the phenomenon. Quickly go find out who caused it!”
“Yes father.” The middle-aged man did not dare delay, setting off at once.
“Hehe, this old man has waited a very long time for this. I never would have imagined that I would come across such a genius before the end of my lifespan. When I get ahold of him, I will be able to refine him into a Yang Restoration Body Sculpting Pill. Not only will I be able to extend my lifespan by ten years, I will also be able to escape from this prison!” the old man maniacally laughed to himself.
Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun had no idea that the phenomenon he had produced had caught the attention of these two experts. Today, he was with the other outer disciples, training his physical strength. He had initially thought that by following this senior brother Zi Changhe, he would have some form of special care and guidance. Never had he imagined that Zi Changhe would only pass him a simple cultivation method before throwing him to the outer court!
Back then, Xiang Shaoyun had complained, “How can you make me cultivate with all these outer court disciples?! No matter what, I’m the junior brother of an elder, which makes me a half elder! I don’t really mind, but I feel embarrassed for you!”
Sadly, Xiang Shaoyun’s complaint merely resulted in Zi Changhe coldly answering, “You dare to call yourself a half elder when you’re still in the Basic Realm? Come find me only if you can reach the Astral Realm within half a year! If you can’t accomplish such a simple task, then you really are the disappointment of your mother, a disgrace to your five-star physique!”
Xiang Shaoyun could not refute Zi Changhe and could only meekly obey.
“Hmph. Half a year? I’ll do it within three months!” Xiang Shaoyun resolved to himself.
It went without saying that Xiang Shaoyun was extremely narcissistic. However, when it came to cultivation, he worked harder than anybody else. Right now, one could see him madly sprinting while carrying a rock weighing 200 kilograms on his back.
Every cultivation realm was split into nine stages of proficiency. Xiang Shaoyun, with the strength of a third-stage Basic Realm practitioner, could initially lift a weight of 150 kilograms. However, after he produced the five stars illuminating the sky phenomenon, having undergone the cleansing of astral energy, he had broken through to the fifth-stage of the Basic Realm. Carrying 250 kilograms of weight was no problem for him, much less 200 kilograms.
Many outer disciples were unaware that Xiang Shaoyun had already broken through to the fifth stage of the Basic Realm and thought that he was still at the third stage. Hence, they were stunned to see him sprinting so effortlessly with 200 kilograms on his back.
“A five-star physique indeed is marvellous! He’s able to do what a fourth-stage Basic Realm cultivator can do at merely the third stage, truly amazing!” some disciples murmured, their faces green with envy.
“Talents are determined by the heavens. Although he possesses a five-star physique, his cultivation is lower than ours, despite being older than us by one or two years. He’s nothing much at all,” other disciples nearby said.
The outer disciples at Martial Hall Palace were mostly between 13 and 15 years of age, so there were disciples who were much younger than Xiang Shaoyun. That being said, all of the said disciples had cultivations at the fifth stage of the Basic Realm at the very least, which was the minimum standard to become a disciple at Martial Hall Palace.
Xiang Shaoyun did not take their words to heart and continued to full-heartedly sprint with the rock on his back. About two hours later, he put down the rock weighing 200 kilograms and made his way towards another rock weighing 225 kilograms.
“He can’t be trying to lift a heavier weight, right? Has he already broken through to the fourth stage?” somebody whispered.
“This is possible. With the Purple Lightning Marquis’s capabilities, breaking through several minor realms might not be a challenge,” several disciples speculated.
Paying no attention to any of them, Xiang Shaoyun lifted the 225 kilograms rock onto his back and continued sprinting until noontime. He was sweating profusely. His hands, which were originally fair as snow, were covered with cuts and bruises from carrying the rock.
Spreading his arms, he shook his head as he mockingly said, “I really am too used to living life comfortably; just exerting this bit of effort gets me injured.” After a short pause, he faced the heavens and lightly exclaimed, “Ten years! I am willing to wait ten years before going after those so-called geniuses. What I say I will do! You two thieves just wait. The day this young master returns will be the day I come to retrieve your dog heads!”
&nb
sp; A vicious glint flashed across Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes, a stark contrast to the cheerful simpleton that he usually was. Needless to say, this young man was one with quite the history.
“Hey, what are you still standing there for? Quickly go to the canteen to get your food! If you keep dilly-dallying, there won’t be any left!” a clear yet graceful voice rang out beside Xiang Shaoyun.
Turning around, Xiang Shaoyun looked in the direction where the voice came from. Upon spotting his target, his eyes momentarily flashed as he uncontrollably said, “What a cute little girl!”
“Y-you’re a bad person!” the girl angrily scolded, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
Immediately afterward, her slender figure turned away and furiously stomped off.
She was Lu Xiaoqing—the number one beauty of the outer court’s 10 great beauties. Her cute and graceful appearance charmed many males of the outer court. Furthermore, her talents were not lacking at all. Able to attract the power of four stars, her future was bright. She was also most likely to soon become an inner court disciple, having caught the eye of the eleventh elder, He Yinghua.
Lu Xiaoqing did not approach Xiang Shaoyun because she had fallen for him. Rather, she had noticed his vicious eyes as she passed by and couldn’t help but call out to him. She never imagined that Xiang Shaoyun would tease her at the first opportunity he got, causing her impression of him to drop straight down.
Xiang Shaoyun stared at her round buttocks swinging as she walked. He lightly touched his lower chin as he laughed, “This young master was only speaking my mind. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Brother, stop staring so hard. Or else, you really will be doing something wrong,” another voice came from beside Xiang Shaoyun. The person who had spoken had an extremely unassuming appearance. Apart from the cunning look in his eyes, one could tell that he was an uncouth person from first glance.