Newcomer Ranking?
On the way, Daoist Zhiyang worried that Liu Jiang Fusheng's mind was filled with impulses to catch adulterers and that he wasn't focusing on the right path. So, he pulled Liu Jiang Fusheng along, chatting about this and that to distract him.
Naturally, the matter of the "Newcomer Ranking" was also brought up. Liu Jiang Fusheng, along with three other disciples, would represent the Great Evolution Sect in the "Newcomer Ranking" competition at the Void Gate in the Twenty-Eight Heavens.
The "Newcomer Ranking" was considered a grand event that the entire cultivation world watched with anticipation. Lower-tier cultivators were thrilled at the prospect of reaching the Twenty-Eight Heavens. It was known that anyone who ranked in the "Newcomer Ranking" in the past had inevitably become a renowned figure in the cultivation world thereafter.
In other words, the "Newcomer Ranking" served as a weather vane for the changes in the cultivation world for the next few decades.
Therefore, every sect and school closely monitored the changes in the "Newcomer Ranking." By observing the growth of the new generation, they could assess which cultivation forces had potential prodigies, which also indicated the future direction of alliances.
Do not assume that the cultivation world does not adhere to the principles of forming factions, just like the mortal world. Human cultivators are still human. Since humans need to live in communities, the idea of competition based on hierarchy and distance naturally arises.
Liu Jiang Fusheng cupped his hands in a bow. "This disciple will do his utmost."
At this moment, Daoist Zhiyang asked, "Sect Leader, have disciples from the Void Gate arrived at the hall entrance?"
When he entered the hall earlier, he had seen Elder Chen Di talking with a few people in the corridor. He had specifically paid attention to their attire before entering with Liu Jiang Fusheng.
"Aren't they precisely that?" Wei Li chuckled.
Daoist Zhiyang's face lit up with joy. "Our Great Evolution Sect finally has a chance to hold its head high..." Suddenly, he remembered something, and his smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. "Sect Leader, did you reveal Liu Jiang Fusheng's situation completely?"
Wei Li glanced at him. "Do I look that foolish? I only mentioned his Heavenly Spiritual Root aptitude. I said nothing else. With just this one piece of information, the Void Gate will be astonished. Why would I need to say more and needlessly invite trouble?"
"That's good! Hahaha..." Daoist Zhiyang rubbed his palms together, already eager to see his disciple Fusheng shine brightly in the "Newcomer Ranking."
As for Liu Jiang Fusheng, the person being discussed, he appeared somewhat absent-minded.
Wei Li's peripheral vision did not leave Liu Jiang Fusheng. Three years ago, he was already good-looking. After three years, as his facial features matured, he became even more exceptionally gifted, not inferior to their Nine-Tailed Fox clan, who were known for their beauty.
No wonder that smelly woman had been unable to forget him all these years.
"Fusheng, have you seen your wife after coming out of seclusion?"
This question was abrupt, causing both Liu Jiang Fusheng and Daoist Zhiyang to freeze.
"I saw her briefly just after emerging from seclusion, in the haste and rush," Liu Jiang Fusheng replied honestly.
Daoist Zhiyang, however, did not understand the Sect Leader's intention behind this question.
Wei Li nonchalantly brushed his slender, onion-like fingertips. "Spend more time with her these next couple of days. After preparing your itinerary the day after tomorrow, you will depart for the Twenty-Eight Heavens. I fear that once you separate, you may not see each other again for years to come."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jiang Fusheng's expression brightened. "Thank you, Sect Leader, for arranging this."
"No... no, Sect Leader—" Daoist Zhiyang said anxiously, but he was impatiently interrupted by Wei Li. "You old fogey, you lack romance. Must your disciple also remain abstinent and vegetarian with you until old age? Mind your own business when it comes to young people's affairs."
Daoist Zhiyang was choked, glaring and puffing out his beard in annoyance.
Nonsense!
Did the Sect Leader truly intend for the future hope of their Great Evolution Sect to be entangled with a mortal who was destined to live only a few decades?
The saying goes, "Deep affection leads to a short life." Even if Fusheng could withstand the sorrow of losing a spouse, it was hard to guarantee he wouldn't develop inner demons or other hidden ailments. Therefore, the mortal's existence brought only harm and no benefit.
Wei Li was accustomed to acting as he pleased. He never interfered with others' destinies or troubles. He believed that everyone should bear the karma they chose.
In his heart, he was thinking that the smelly woman had been practicing less in the forbidden area recently, and he couldn't find her. He didn't know where she had gone. If she knew that Liu Jiang Fusheng had emerged from seclusion, she might go to find him.
He would first send Liu Jiang Fusheng to his mortal wife's side. Then, if she wanted to see him, she would have to be more considerate. At that time, he would urge Liu Jiang Fusheng to leave the Great Evolution Sect quickly and go to the Twenty-Eight Heavens to participate in the Newcomer Ranking, giving her ample opportunity to make her find him impossible, and to taste the bitterness of unrequited love.
"Sect Leader, are you available to receive guests at this time?"
Elder Chen Di respectfully inquired again from outside.
The Hall of Longevity was generally a place for receiving guests or holding meetings. They had arrived first, but Daoist Zhiyang and Liu Jiang Fusheng had entered. This was because Wei Li, wanting to vent his anger, deliberately wanted to give the Void Gate a taste of their arrogance.
The Great Evolution Sect had been ridiculed for hundreds of years because their disciples had never even ranked in the top one hundred. They were directly categorized as a lower-tier sect in the cultivation world, not even making it into the numbering for the three thousand sects. In the past, whenever it was time to participate in the Newcomer Ranking, the Void Gate would casually send a cloud letter. Only this year did they send their own disciples personally to show their solemnity.
Circumstances change. Their Nine-Tails clan was most vengeful. Now it was their turn to be proud.
Who could have imagined that within fifty years, their Great Evolution Sect would gain one Earth Spiritual Root, then another Heavenly Spiritual Root, and also have two disciples with single elemental spiritual roots? This was something many sects couldn't even wish for.
"Enter."
A lazy and casual voice emanated from within the Hall of Longevity.
Elder Chen Di breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the order and then led the disciples from the Void Gate into the hall.
The Sect Leader's capriciousness had worsened day by day. He would even throw tantrums over such matters. If they offended the Void Gate, a mere sect like theirs could be annihilated by just one Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
He first bowed to the Sect Leader and then introduced, "Sect Leader, these are the Void Gate disciples responsible for delivering the invitations for this Newcomer Ranking."
There were seven people in total, two in front and five behind.
The two in front were not wearing the standard disciple uniforms. One wore a green python robe with a gold belt, and the other wore a bright, lustrous silk blue robe. The five behind were all wearing identical crisp, buttoned long robes and swords at their waists.
"Void Gate's Second Disciple, Chen Daoshan, greets the Sect Leader of the Great Evolution Sect."
The disciple leading the group was tall, with rugged, sculpted features like stone carvings, and his eyes seemed to crackle with electricity.
Chen Daoshan.
The second disciple of the Void Gate Sect Master, whose famed technique was the "Tiger Leopard Star Axe." He was powerful, having been stuck at the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm for thirty years. He had once ranked fourteenth in the "Newcomer Ranking."
The remaining Void Gate disciples also announced their names one by one, but this was merely a formality. No one would pay attention to these accompanying new disciples.
However, the new disciple next to Chen Daoshan was somewhat interesting.
His cultivation was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, but his bone age was only nineteen. This indicated he was also a disciple of extraordinary potential. He did not announce his sect lineage, but it was unknown whose direct disciple he was from the Void Gate.
Chen Daoshan presented four invitation slips bearing the Void Gate's emblem. "This trip is under the orders of our sect to deliver these four invitation slips for the Newcomer Ranking to the Great Evolution Sect. We hope your sect's disciples will attend on time."
An elder stepped forward to accept them and then passed them to the Sect Leader.
Wei Li's expression was indifferent as he glanced at them.
"This is the first time our Great Evolution Sect has received an invitation slip from a Void Gate True Person."
Chen Daoshan did not feel awkward hearing this. With a stern face, he said, "The Great Evolution Sect's future is boundless, its disciples are extraordinary, and it has taken in a peerless genius. The True Person, upon hearing this, also instructed me to personally congratulate the Sect Leader of the Great Evolution Sect. Now that the invitation slips have been delivered, we shall take our leave."
He looked straight ahead, completing his sect's mission with neither humility nor arrogance. Only when he was leaving did his peripheral vision sweep across the two people standing beneath the red pillars in the hall. One was a thin, withered old man wearing a strangely loose Daoist robe; this person must be Daoist Zhiyang. And the person beside him...
Chen Daoshan's pupils constricted slightly. He slowly adjusted his disordered breathing and, without further hesitation, led his group away.
After the Void Gate people departed, Wei Li finally smiled, holding the invitation slips. His fox-like eyes narrowed into slits, and his red lips curved into a smile.
"Finally, I can have the chance to enter the secret realm."