Beggar Cultivation System-Chapter 181: Elders

"So the rumor is true? That you’ve given the title of Personal Disciple to an outsider?" an old man asked, wearing a white hanfu robe that reached his ankles.

"I won’t deny it," Master Axton replied, glancing at the School Elders around the table. There were seven of them, five men and two women, all with gray hair and wrinkled faces, a testament to their age and experience.

"The Senior Apprentices won’t like this," one of the old men said. Elder Yuan, the elder responsible for crafting weapons in the Great Serpent School, was a master blacksmith with numerous disciples eager to acknowledge him as their master.

Axton glanced at him, his eyes glinting with understanding.

"I expected that," he said, a relaxed smile on his face.

"We don’t know what they’ll do," Elder Yuan continued, staring intently at the Headmaster. "Do you think your Personal Disciple can handle them?"

"I don’t know," Axton shook his head. "But I think he can defeat Heru."

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"Haha," Elder Yuan laughed before turning serious. "My disciple has been eyeing that position. I don’t think he’ll take this lightly."

"Actually, all of the Senior Disciples will be watching," one of the female elders added, the others nodding in agreement.

"Don’t underestimate them," Elder Yuan smirked. "Especially the one I’ve nurtured."

"I’m not. I’m just stating facts," Axton smiled. Only the outer and inner disciples participated in the previous Advancement Examination. Those who had reached the title of Senior were not allowed to join. They hadn’t seen his chosen Personal Disciple in action, but Axton was confident that Yoma could defeat them.

The Elders also didn’t participate in such affairs, as they were focused on cultivation and school matters.

"If you say so. But remember, once he’s defeated by any Senior Disciple, the one who defeats him will take his place," Elder Yuan reminded.

"Rules are rules. I’ll follow through," Axton said. Once he chose a Personal Disciple, the battle for the position would begin.

Each of the Elders seated around the table had a Senior Disciple under them. The goal of these Senior Disciples was to secure the position of Personal Disciple to the Headmaster, which meant they would be the next candidate to lead the Great Serpent Cultivation School in Klown City. Axton had delayed this decision for years, waiting to find someone truly worthy of the title.

As Headmaster, Axton was required to personally train his Personal Disciple, whether he liked them or not.

However, the Headmaster had yet to reveal the real reason for choosing Yoma as his Personal Disciple. He wanted Yoma to take his time and not feel pressured by the future. But looking at the current situation, the Wanderer’s peace would soon be disrupted.

Still, Axton wasn’t overly concerned; in fact, he was quite confident.

Yoma only needed to defeat all of the Qi Condensation Senior Disciples without losing. One loss, and he would be out.

"Enough of that," Axton said, his tone turning serious. "Let my Personal Disciple and the Seniors settle this among themselves. Let’s move on to official matters."

The atmosphere shifted. What had been a somewhat relaxed meeting just moments ago now grew tense, the air turning heavy.

The Elders straightened up, the smiles fading from their faces.

"We’re gathered here to address the thieves who’ve stolen techniques from our library," Axton began, glancing at each of the Elders. They showed little emotion, as expected of those with far more experience than he had. "I assume you’re all aware that someone is behind them."

"With cultivation and battle techniques being stolen from every martial school in this city, it’s obvious someone’s pulling the strings," one of the Elders remarked. "Even a fool knows who’s responsible."

"That man knows how to smile, but beneath that fat exterior, he hides his true self," Elder Yuan said, his eyes flashing coldly.

"Even if we suspect the same person, the prisoners won’t talk. If we try to force information or use special techniques on them, their heads explode," Axton explained. "And we’re not allowed to act unless they show clear signs of hostility."

The Elders frowned at this, some visibly frustrated.

"We should send a request to the higher-ups," one of the Elders said through gritted teeth. "Why are they allowed to scheme like this while we have to ask permission just to defend ourselves?"

Others voiced their agreement.

The Great Serpent Cultivation School in Klown City was only a branch of the main school. They had to answer to the central authority and seek approval for major decisions.

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Axton sighed. He too disliked the restrictive system that prevented them from acting freely. "We have to follow orders—to maintain peace and not instigate conflict with the Empire."

"Well, we can’t ignore their wishes," Elder Yuan added. "We can’t afford to be the ones responsible for starting another war."

At the mention of "war," the atmosphere grew even heavier.

War—the very word carried a weight that chilled them. It had been so long since the last one, but the truce between the bona fide and the mundane had held for nearly ten thousand years. Back then, the ancestors had lived in the mountains, isolated from the common people.

But once the mundane discovered the extraordinary powers of the first cultivators, greed had driven them to call upon forbidden power.

Axton had only read about it in books, but he understood that the desire for peace had been their ultimate goal.

"True immortality and enlightenment—that’s our purpose. It always has been and always will be. Strength is just a byproduct," Axton said. "But we face a threat determined to disrupt our path to cultivation. We may not be able to fight openly without approval, but that doesn’t mean we’ll sit back and let them bite at our heels."

The Elders fixed their gazes on the Headmaster. "What’s your plan?"

"Personal Disciples—they don’t belong to the school. They answer only to me until I decide to hand over my position," Axton said, a cunning smile playing on his lips.

Peace was the goal, but the means to achieve it didn’t matter.

"You mean…" Elder Yuan squinted, catching on to Axton’s implication.