Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 292 - 282: Choosing a Mentor
Chu Hao looked into the other’s eyes as if his entire soul had entered the vast expanse of the Star Universe, filled with mystery and inescapability. He didn’t know how much time had passed when his body suddenly shuddered, waking from that peculiar feeling with sweaty palms.
He couldn’t help but feel terrified—if the other party had harbored any ill intentions, a mere thought could have killed him countless times.
By his side, the Barbaric Girl also shook slightly, similarly breaking free from Senior Hongyu’s gaze, followed by Fu Xue, whose recovery took much longer, at least another dozen seconds.
"Not bad, not bad. These three kids are all very good," Senior Hongyu revealed a gentle smile, his gaze lingering longer on the Barbaric Girl, filled with admiration and affection.
An Innate Body Cultivator, a rarity in tens of thousands of years, could be said to be the most anticipated talent.
"You may enter," Senior Hongyu waved his hand dismissively and closed his eyes again, apparently not intending to speak further.
"Yes!" Shi Yuanming bowed respectfully, then made a gesture to Chu Hao and the other two to follow him.
As the four entered the hall, Chu Hao asked curiously, "Senior, what realm of cultivation does Senior Hongyu possess?" He must be from the Upper Three Realms, but was he a War Venerate, War Emperor, or War King?
"War Venerate!" Shi Yuanming whispered.
A War Venerate is theoretically just one major realm above a War King, but this is a step that ninety-nine percent of War Kings cannot cross.
While a talented martial master, like Chu Hao, could fight against a Martial Sect—and a monstrous talent like Chu Hao might even slay a regular Martial Sect of the Three Meridians at the Ten Meridians stage—he would not stand a chance against a Warrior once he reached the War Sect of the Ten Meridians.
Perhaps at Double Great Perfection with Twenty Meridians, one might contend against a First Tier Warrior, but to claim victory... The truth is, far too few have reached Double Great Perfection, with no precedents to follow. However, at least a Martial Sect at the edge of the Eighteen Meridians would stand no chance against a First Tier Warrior.
Because Martial Sect belongs to the Three Minor Realms, while Warrior is within the Middle Three Realms—there is a reason the ancients drew such distinctions.
No one can hope to cross this gap; they can only get infinitely close.
Not to mention other things, a Warrior can control the artifact to fly and unleash attacks from the sky. How can those below do anything but stare blankly? Moreover, a Warrior’s combat power is indeed like an overwhelming flood compared to a Martial Sect, simply unbeatable.
This holds true for War Kings in relation to War Venerates as well; the step is exceedingly difficult to take, but once it is taken, strength surges, enabling one to look down upon all War Kings, easily suppressing dozens or hundreds with one hand.
"Senior Hongyu was also a genius on the Fledgling Dragon List in his younger years, but he was too competitive and sustained foundational injuries in battle, impeding his progress compared to the past. Even so, he still stepped into the realm of the War Venerable, his talent comparable to the strongest of the ancients," Shi Yuanming spoke with a tone full of reverence.
To have reached the Upper Three Realms despite fundamental injuries, that was indeed formidable.
As they spoke, they arrived at a large hall where they saw four elders sitting cross-legged on the ground, each with a cushion beneath them woven from some material, shining like jade and emanating a calming air.
"Yuanming pays respect to the elders," Shi Yuanming bowed respectfully. In front of ordinary disciples, he was a high-ranking War King, but here, he was reduced to the junior generation.
"Hmm," a purple-robed elder nodded casually, then turned his gaze to Chu Hao and the others, smiling, "Not bad, not bad, the roots are good, and their progress is quite pleasing."
"Yuanming, you have earned merit for the sect this time," another elder in a grey robe commented.
"Yuanming dares not take credit," Shi Yuanming bowed again, but his face couldn’t hide his joy—these four elders were the true powerhouses of Spirit Spring Sect, all of Imperial Level in cultivation.
War Emperor?
That was a joke. War Emperors were the true trump cards of First Grade Sects, not usually seen as they were undoubtedly in deep cultivation, hoping to take the next step and become the very strongest on Sky Martial Star.
—Having reached the level of a War Emperor, who wouldn’t desire to become a War God?
"Let’s not delay, let’s decide their mentors for imparting martial techniques," the third elder spoke, dressed in a vermilion robe.
The fourth elder, wearing white, nodded, extended his right hand, and flicked his fingers, sending out seven white lights from his fingertips that shot forth.
"The elder is sending a message, calling several War Kings over," Shi Yuanming explained to Chu Hao and the others, "I will also introduce those War Kings to you, to aid your selection. Of course, you can choose a master, but the master also has to choose you; you can’t just decide to become a disciple on your own."
This was the difference between True Disciples and Core Disciples; True Disciples were taken under the wing of a powerful individual, while Core Disciples belonged to the Sect in a general sense, without a specific master.
Chu Hao and the others nodded, also amazed by the War Emperor’s method of transmitting messages with a flick of his fingers, truly an eye-opening experience.
This time it was quick. It only took a few minutes before seven people entered the hall one after another.
These seven individuals appeared to be of varying ages, but each one of them emitted a powerful aura, much like that of Shi Yuanming, yet they were undoubtedly a great deal stronger than him.
To reach the status of a War King was certainly the mark of a genius, yet even among geniuses there were different levels of talent, and clearly, Shi Yuanming was not their match.
Chu Hao and the others had only heard Shi Yuanming introduce up to the sixth person, yet all seven War Kings had already arrived. However, in order for them to fully understand, Shi Yuanming continued with the introductions.
The seven War Kings consisted of one woman and six men; the woman appeared to be the youngest, not even forty years old, mesmerizingly beautiful, with a body that was fully matured, her generous chest and hips complemented by a narrow waist, compelling anyone who saw her to salivate.
The six male War Kings seemed to be somewhat older, all above the age of 40, with the eldest being seventy or eighty, none younger than these four Old War Emperors in the hall.
But just attaining the status of a War King meant one could live at least 250 years longer, and with the aid of life-extending Spiritual Medicine, living to 400 or even 500 years old was not unusual. Thus, in comparison to such "longevity," one could not judge their real age solely by their appearance.
Two minutes later, Shi Yuanming finished a cursory overview of the seven War Kings’ profiles, and it was indeed a brief overview—there was just enough time to introduce the areas in which the seven War Kings specialized.
"You three may now choose; if the person you select also chooses you, then you will have successfully found a master. If not, then pick someone else," the War Emperor in purple robes said.
"I choose Senior Yao Yue," Fu Xue was the first to speak. Among the seven War Emperors, there was only one woman, making her choice relatively simple.
"I also choose Senior Yao Yue," the Barbaric Girl followed suit, her reasoning being the same as Fu Xue’s.
"No, no, no, you are an innate Body Cultivator, and we, several old men, will teach you together." Her suggestion was immediately opposed by all four War Emperors, which surprised the eight War Kings in the hall.
These four War Emperors were the mainstays of the Spirit Spring Sect, but now they were willing to teach her personally, and not just one, but all four together—how highly must they value the girl?
On second thought, though, she was an innate Body Cultivator, destined to create miracles in the future; any amount of high regard was understandable.
The Barbaric Girl pouted dissatisfiedly and tilted her head to look at the four old War Emperors, bargaining, "Then I want to eat the Three-legged Golden Rooster, and I want to have Spiritual Medicine every day!"
The four old War Emperors immediately lost their composure. The War Emperor in grey robes said, "Girl, it’s not that I am unwilling to give it to you, but that Three-legged Golden Rooster belongs to Lord Kong Ming. Even we cannot decide on this matter; otherwise, we would let you eat it if you wanted."
The one even War Emperors call ’Lord’... can only be a War Emperor.
War Emperor Kong Ming, the only War Emperor of the Spirit Spring Sect at present, ascended to his status 400 years ago and was now more than 700 years old. Even with Spiritual Medicine to extend his life, he had at most one or two hundred years left to live.
Therefore, if the Spirit Spring Sect cannot give rise to a new War Emperor within the next one or two hundred years, it will fall from its position as a First Grade Sect.
This fall is not just about the loss of nominal status but also tangible benefits.
For instance, the mines of Star Stones, important medicine fields, the rights to explore Ancient Ruins, and so forth. Should such a situation occur, it could lead to a domino effect, and even attract ancient enemies to invade, potentially leading to the downfall of the entire Sect.
The rise and fall of one power is always accompanied by the rise and fall of another, or even several others.
The Barbaric Girl continued to pout unhappily, her sparkling dark eyes rolling continuously. It was evident she wasn’t so easy to deal with.
The female War King named Yao Yue was also very pleased with Fu Xue. After all, this Female Tyrannosaurus had made it onto the Fledgling Dragon List, and moreover, she had just turned 20, making her well worth cultivating.
More importantly, Fu Xue was a woman, which would avoid some minor awkwardness during the master-disciple interactions. Some Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques require hands-on guidance, and even touching of bones for instruction, which would be inappropriate between the opposite sexes.
The two had taken a liking to each other, and naturally, no one else was qualified to meddle. The remaining six male War Kings all turned their attention to Chu Hao, the new first place holder on the Fledgling Dragon List, replacing Yuan Tiangang as the number one talent of Cang State.
Of course, to say Cang State might be an exaggeration, it’s more accurate to refer to those within their age range. For example, Spirit Spring Sect had Yue Feng, who reached the status of an Eighth Tier Warrior at the age of 31, and there were certainly several exceptional talents among the many First Grade Sects in Cang State.
Chu Hao also looked at the six War Kings, recalling Shi Yuanming’s recent introductions in his mind, and settled on two of them.
Both men were proficient with swords, and besides his affection for using his fists, Chu Hao favored the sword as his choice of weapon. Thus, he decided to make a selection between these two, and he quickly made up his mind.
"Senior Zhang, I would like to become your disciple," Chu Hao said, bowing to a tall War King, a man with the surname Zhang and the name Tianhua.
Why not choose the other? The answer was simple; the other War King was named Tu Honglie—the master of Yue Feng.
Putting aside the invisible conflict that existed between him and Yue Feng, just the matter of two talented disciples being under the same master raised the question of how to distribute cultivation resources. The Sect did not allocate resources based on headcount, but rather, the master would be responsible for managing and allocating according to the circumstances. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
