Chapter 111: Chapter 16: Same-Batch Cultivators

In the end, more than twenty people remained on the high platform. The number might seem large, but in the entire Chen Kingdom, only about fifty cultivators would pass the assessment.

Besides the grand sect-joining ceremony, cultivators could also join the Demon Suppression Army stationed at the Six Passes Defense Line and accumulate Merit Points to enter the Five Elements True Spirit Sect. Furthermore, if a cultivator already within the Five Elements True Spirit Sect performed a great service, the Sect would award them a Five Elements Order. Their descendants could then present the Token and join the Sect as long as they possessed a Spirit Root.

The Five Elements True Spirit Sect also opened up a few spots each year to recruit cultivators who had achieved outstanding accomplishments in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.

Among these many paths into the sect, there was a clear hierarchy, much like the distinction between the more prestigious and lesser paths in the imperial examinations of old.

Cultivators who joined the Five Elements True Spirit Sect through the grand ceremony after passing the Five Elements Dharma Platform trial were considered the most esteemed and held the highest status. This was why so many cultivators from Foundation Establishment Clans went to great lengths to advance their Five Talisman Scripture to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation, even if it meant forcefully breaking through with a Barrier-Breaking Pill and damaging their own foundation in the process.

A scribe from the Marketplace verified the identities of all the cultivators who had passed the test.

Yue Fashan picked up a Jade Scroll and examined it. In truth, there wasn’t much to inspect. As long as a cultivator’s Magical Power didn’t match that of any recorded Tribulation Cultivators and no one reported them, they would pass.

“You performed a great service during the Autumn Defense?”

He raised his head and looked at Yang Jing.

A True Disciple of the Dark Spring Demon Sect had died—this was no small matter. Even Yue Fashan, all the way in the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, had heard of it.

“By a stroke of luck, I was able to assist a True Disciple of the Taixu Sword Sect and made a minor contribution,” Yang Jing said humbly.

Yue Fashan nodded and put down the Jade Scroll.

The other cultivators were mostly disciples of Foundation Establishment Clans; naturally, their records would be flawless. There was nothing much to see.

“I will remain in Huangyuan Marketplace for three days. If any cultivator knows of illicit activities committed by these individuals, you may come and report to me.”

Yue Fashan announced to all the cultivators present. After speaking, he led the Armored Warriors back to the Flying Boat.

The cultivators remaining on the high platform already had one foot in the door of the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, making them fellow disciples of a sort. They began exchanging pleasantries right there on the platform.

“So, you’re the cultivator who helped the Taixu Sword Sect’s True Disciple slay the Demon Cultivator that day.”

The young man who had been the first to step onto the platform walked warmly to Yang Jing’s side.

“I am Ren Xingzhou. I’ve long heard of Brother Yang’s great name! I hope you’ll look out for me in the Sect.”

He was of average height, nearly a full head shorter than Yang Jing.

Yang Jing certainly wasn’t going to act aloof and offend a future fellow disciple at a time like this.

“I am Yang Jing. Senior Brother Ren, we are all from the Chen Kingdom. We should certainly look out for one another in the future.”

There were no Foundation Establishment Clans with the surname Ren in Huangyuan Marketplace, so this Ren Xingzhou must have come from another Marketplace.

Ren Xingzhou wanted to connect with the other cultivators who had passed, suggesting they book a restaurant for a long talk. To his surprise, while the other cultivators were fine with it and stayed, those from Huangyuan Marketplace acted quite cold. They made their excuses, politely declined, and left.

“Why is that?”

He hadn’t expected the cultivators from Huangyuan Marketplace to be so exclusionary.

“It might be because of me.”

Yang Jing, dressed in a simple Daoist Robe, looked rather out of place among a group of cultivators in lavish attire. However, his handsome features, tall stature, and exceptional bearing made him stand out like a crane among chickens.

“I am merely an Independent Cultivator, yet I ranked fifth at the merit award ceremony after the Autumn Defense. That has indeed displeased some of our fellow daoists.”

He stated this with composure, neither servile nor overbearing.

Treading on someone’s interests is a greater offense than treading on their soul. By taking fifth place, Yang Jing had offended the Foundation Establishment Clans ranked below him. Moreover, more than two years had passed, and the Taixu Sword Sect seemed to have forgotten his existence, causing some of the halo around him to fade.

Even the Market Scribe, Zhang Wenchun, who had once been exceptionally friendly, had grown distant since last year.

These Foundation Establishment Clans forgot favors in an instant, yet they held onto their grudges forever. It was hardly surprising that they would openly ostracize Yang Jing today.

However, now that Yang Jing had the status of a Five Elements True Spirit Sect disciple, he no longer needed to be deferential and fearful when facing these disciples from Foundation Establishment Clans. Besides, the great local Yushan Huang Clan had been destroyed at his hands. ’He really didn’t think much of these paper-tiger Foundation Establishment Clans.’

Ren Xingzhou was shocked. He never imagined that Yang Jing was just an Independent Cultivator; he had assumed his simple dress was merely an eccentricity.

“Fellow Daoist Yang, even I greatly admire your bearing. It’s laughable that the local cultivators are so obsessed with petty gains that they can’t see the forest for the trees.”

Upon learning of Yang Jing’s status as an Independent Cultivator, flashes of contempt appeared in the eyes of some cultivators present, though they didn’t show it openly out of respect for Ren Xingzhou.

“Let’s go! Fellow Daoist Yang, let’s head to the restaurant and drink until we drop!”

Ren Xingzhou had a rather unrestrained spirit, which was evident from how he had dared to be the first to take the test. A group of people clustered around him as they headed toward a restaurant in the Marketplace.

Yang Jing glanced up at the Flying Boat in the sky, then caught Li Jingjing’s eye in the distance, signaling for her to return to the Marketplace first. Only then did he walk at a leisurely pace behind the other cultivators.

Aboard the Flying Boat, Yue Fashan was watching this scene with great interest.

“What, you think highly of this Yang Jing?”

another Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Yu Hongye, asked.

“He’s an Independent Cultivator who remains composed and dignified in the face of clan cultivators. He helped Song Luoxi slay a True Disciple of the Dark Spring Demon Sect, and he cultivated the Five Talisman Scripture to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation with no one to guide him. With such talent, how could I not think highly of him?”

Yue Fashan made no effort to hide his high opinion of Yang Jing.

“Joining the Sect is just crossing the first threshold. Without the support of a clan, it’s difficult to gain a foothold even within the Sect. Think of how much we suffered to reach our current achievements, and the Golden Core Realm is still a distant dream. Yet Zuoqiu Ye, from our same generation, is already preparing to enter seclusion for Core Formation.”

Yu Hongye said, his tone somewhat melancholic.

As Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they held a lofty status in the eyes of outsiders, but as the saying goes, only the one drinking the water knows its temperature. They had already exhausted their efforts to reach this stage of cultivation; advancing even a single step further was immensely difficult.

The Five Elements True Spirit Sect was a web of intricate connections. They were still busy with Sect affairs, running around day and night just to exchange their labor for cultivation resources. Meanwhile, cultivators from major clans like Zuoqiu Ye had naturally and effortlessly obtained prestigious positions within the Sect. They could simply focus on their own cultivation and still earn a great deal of Merit Points with ease.

Yue Fashan sighed.

“These clan cultivators from Huangyuan Marketplace are still looking down on Yang Jing for his supposedly lowly status, but they have no idea that once they enter the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, there’s no difference between them. In the eyes of the great Sect clans, all Foundation Establishment Clan cultivators from the Three Border Kingdoms of Chen, Cai, and Wei are just country bumpkins.”

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