Chapter 64: The Second Sect Recruitment Ceremony

Meanwhile, news that the Morning Light Sect was recruiting disciples across the entire Qianyuan Continent spread rapidly. Had this happened before the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion hosted the Grand Tournament of the Proud, perhaps no one would have known of the Morning Light Sect's formidable might. However, following the tournament, the news that five direct disciples of the Morning Light Sect had claimed the championship spread like wildfire, letting many realize that the Morning Light Sect might well be the ideal choice for anyone aspiring to become a true prodigy.

Of course, the disciples previously recruited by the Morning Light Sect continually spread the sect's reputation, and cultivators around the Great Yong Kingdom were already well aware of its strength. Expanding across the entire Qianyuan Continent would take time, but the Grand Tournament of the Proud had undoubtedly served as an immensely powerful, albeit indirect, promotion of the sect's might.

In addition to the Grand Tournament, the subsequent news of the Morning Light Sect annihilating the Blazing Fire Mercenary Corps further served as undeniable proof of the sect's unshakeable strength.

Li Yuan and the others had originally anticipated that it would take some time before anyone came to register. However, once they revealed their Emperor-realm cultivations, coupled with the rising fame of the Morning Light Sect, tens of thousands of people quickly flocked to sign up. Such a roaring and passionate registration scene continued for three full months, with the total number of applicants directly soaring to four million—roughly tenfold the number of applicants from the initial recruitment examination.

Next came the task of transporting these applicants to the sect. Because the number of participants was simply too vast, even with Li Yuan and the other Emperor-realm experts lending a hand, it took a full half-year just to transport everyone to the sect grounds.

By this time, nine months had already passed, leaving only three months to prepare for the examinations. Yet, providing food and lodging for these applicants over those three months was by no means a small expense. Free food and board were out of the question, so Elder Zhuque came up with a solution: selling Foundation Establishment Pills. The sect had far too many Foundation Establishment Pills, more than the sect's own disciples could ever hope to use. Since that was the case, it was better to put this surplus to good use.

Such pills might be considered worthless waste within the Morning Light Sect, but to cultivators outside the sect, they were absolute treasures. When the applicants learned that the Morning Light Sect would not provide free meals, they initially wore expressions of deep displeasure; however, upon hearing that the sect would sell top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills in unlimited quantities, every single one of them beamed with joy.

One had to know that purchasing a single ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill on the outside market required at least ten thousand low-grade spiritual stones. Yet here at the Morning Light Sect, everyone could acquire a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill for a mere five thousand low-grade spiritual stones—it was practically a giveaway.

Many people down below bought the pills instead of eating. Why bother with food when you could practically eat Foundation Establishment Pills as meals? Wealthy applicants even bought thousands of pills in one breath and then turned around to sell them to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, instantly netting a massive fortune in spiritual stones. By the time the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion realized what was happening, they had lost so much money they were practically left with the shirts off their backs.

The first to benefit from this were the Spirit Fox clan and the Jiang family. These two great families controlled White Elephant City and the entrance to the Myriad Demon Mountain Range respectively, making them the earliest beneficiaries.

Wan Baoshan, patriarch of the Spirit Fox clan, even came up with a cunning idea: offering a disguised method of consuming Foundation Establishment Pills to those who lacked spiritual stones or had very few of them. For instance, tossing a single Foundation Establishment Pill into a large barrel of water would infuse the entire barrel with the medicinal fragrance. While the potency wasn't as concentrated as taking a whole pill directly, drinking such water was certainly better than nothing.

Destitute applicants didn't have to pay a single spirit stone, yet they could drink a bowl of medicated Foundation Establishment broth every day. The price for this was that, should they successfully pass the examination and enter the sect, they would repay the debt with ten Foundation Establishment Pills. Naturally, if they failed to enter the sect, these applicants were under no obligation to repay anything.

This welfare policy allowed the Spirit Fox clan to accumulate an immense amount of popularity, which was tremendously beneficial for the development of the fox clan. Meanwhile, the Jiang family followed suit: on one hand, they doled out charity to impoverished rogue cultivators, and on the other, they even provided lodging and meals, endearing them even further to the applicants.

Liao Chen paid little mind to the actions of the Spirit Fox clan and the Jiang family. After all, the two great families had done nothing detrimental to the sect, and they had even resolved the food and lodging issues of the applicants—why not let them be?

Time flowed swiftly. Three months later, the sect examinations officially commenced.

Due to the massive number of participants this time around, Li Yuan and the others all stayed behind to maintain order, while Zhuque and Qinglong served as the hosts, presiding over the entrance examinations for the second time.

Qinglong raised both hands, releasing a powerful Emperor-realm aura that enveloped the entire plaza, instantly silencing the bustling crowd. He then proclaimed in a booming voice: "Silence, all applicants! I am Qinglong, an inner sect elder of the Morning Light Sect, and I shall preside over your examination trials today. This is the second time our sect has held a disciple recruitment examination since our emergence into the world. I shall now read out the examination rules: Every applicant must ascend the Examination Heavenly Ladder, which is divided into one thousand tiers. Climbing two hundred tiers qualifies one as a sect handyman disciple; reaching four hundred tiers grants entry as an outer sect disciple; scaling six hundred tiers makes one an inner sect disciple; ascending seven hundred tiers elevates one to a direct disciple of the sect's protectors; reaching eight hundred tiers qualifies one as a true direct disciple of the sect's elders; scaling nine hundred tiers makes one a holy son of the sect; and reaching the very peak of the ladder grants the status of a direct disciple of the sect's patriarch. I now declare the examination open. Applicants, begin your ascent of the heavenly ladder!"

The moment Qinglong's voice faded, the applicants surged toward the heavenly ladder, climbing upward with all their might. The spiritual pressure exerted by the ladder varied depending on each applicant's cultivation level, and the evaluation standards differed accordingly. The examination was divided into four stages: spiritual pressure testing, soul pressure testing, state-of-mind testing, and talent testing.

The onlookers noticed that both the quality and cultivation levels of this batch of applicants far surpassed those of the previous group. Over ninety percent of them successfully climbed past the two hundred tiers of the heavenly ladder. The remaining ten percent had perhaps merely come to try their luck; upon realizing they had no hope of entering the sect, they chose not to leave, opting instead to remain in White Elephant City to await the next recruitment drive by the Morning Light Sect.

Subsequently, over two million applicants were stopped short before reaching the four hundredth tier of the ladder. Such a staggering number gave even Zhuque a headache, for if all these people were allowed to stay, the resulting upkeep would be a truly astronomical expense. Consequently, Zhuque approached Liao Chen to air his grievances:

"My Lord, this time we have over two million applicants qualified to become outer and handyman disciples. Isn't this simply too many? The sect doesn't possess nearly enough resources to sustain all these disciples! Should we perhaps hold another round of screenings to weed more of them out?"

Hearing this, Liao Chen burst into hearty laughter. "Old Zhu, oh Old Zhu, you're still as stingy as ever! We've barely even started, yet you're already complaining that a mere two million handyman disciples are too many? Do you have any idea how many disciples our sect possessed back in the ancient era?"

Zhuque didn't get angry at being addressed as Old Zhu. After all, he had even endured being called Zhu Neng-less earlier. What could he do when he was outmatched in both strength and eloquence? Yet, he remained curious about just how many disciples his sect had boasted in ancient times, so he probed tentatively, "Ten million? Thirty million? Or perhaps fifty million?"

Liao Chen chuckled and said, "Don't be so small-minded! Guess bigger!"

"One hundred million? Or three hundred million? Surely not five hundred million—there can't be that many. Even the major sacred grounds couldn't possibly have more than five hundred million disciples." In Zhuque's view, no matter how powerful or populous his sect was, it couldn't possibly exceed the figure of five hundred million. One had to realize that five hundred million was no small number; the daily consumption of resources alone would reach a terrifying figure, and anything beyond that was simply impossible.

Liao Chen shook his head. Seeing that the other man still couldn't guess correctly, he kindly offered a hint: "Old Zhu, I told you that you're small-minded. Back in the ancient era, the disciples under our sect's banner numbered over seven billion! We've barely scratched the surface—this is nowhere near enough!"

In truth, Liao Chen had no idea how many pills the damned system might provide him, but judging by the pills gifted previously, he knew that saying seven billion was likely an understatement.

Those who speak without intention often make a deep impression on the listeners. Upon hearing that his sect had possessed over seven billion disciples in ancient times, Zhuque was so shocked he was momentarily left speechless. Though he found it hard to believe, since the words came from Liao Chen's mouth, they naturally could not be false. Furthermore, other sects couldn't possibly awaken Emperor-realm mighty figures without reason, yet how long had it been since his own sect emerged, and already seven Emperor-realm powerhouses had awakened? Moreover, four of them were at the third heavenly layer of the Emperor realm, boasting terrifying strength—and they apparently weren't even the strongest entities within the sect.

Given the previous presence of Qin Yu, followed now by Zhao Wuji and the others—all of whom were third heavenly layer Emperor-realm experts—when asked whether the sect harbored other powerhouses, all three had replied that they did not know. This led Zhuque to one inevitable conclusion: within the sect, there existed many entities far surpassing them. After all, only the unknown was truly beyond one's reach. The sect master before him was simply too mysterious, and he secretly rejoiced that he had surrendered to Liao Chen early on; otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"My Lord, it was Old Zhu whose vision was narrow. From now on, wherever My Lord tells Old Zhu to go west, Old Zhu shall go west; wherever My Lord tells Old Zhu to go east, Old Zhu will never head west. I swear to obey My Lord's commands unto death!" By this point, Zhuque was utterly subdued by Liao Chen, and he bowed respectfully.

Liao Chen laughed heartily. "Alright, alright, go on and continue with your duties!"

"Understood, My Lord!" Zhuque accepted the order and departed.