Chapter 18: Elder Tang’s Dilemma
Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
To lower his expectation, Lu Ye should probably choose the lowest tier Sect. To show that he wasn’t irresolute, he should only make one choice. If Lu Ye wasn’t mistaken, that was what Pang Da Hai meant when he said those words to him. The most important question for Lu Ye now was whether he should trust him.
After giving it a thought, he made up his mind and put down the pen on the table. Then, he passed the paper and his jade tablet to the moustachioed cultivator. “Senior Brother, I’ve made a decision.”
The cultivator arched his brow. “Do you need more time to think it over?”
Lu Ye looked down and uttered, “There’s no need.”
His talent was indeed outrageously low, so it was pointless for him to choose other Sects. In that case, he would rather place all his hopes on Crimson Blood Sect. Pang Da Hai did not have a reason to mess with him. After all, he had given him two mineral ores.
“Alright.” The moustachioed cultivator nodded before he stored Lu Ye’s paper and jade tablet. Then, he took a look at the tablet. “Oh, you are Lu Ye the One Leaf.”
“My name is just Lu Ye, Senior Brother!” The corners of his eyes twitched.
“Alright, Lu Ye the One Leaf!” The moustachioed cultivator smiled at him as he emphasised ‘One Leaf’.
At that instant, Lu Ye had the urge to scold him. He already had a nickname before he even ventured into the cultivation world, so how was he going to face other people? Also, who had spread the news that his talent was only one leaf?
A moment later, the moustachioed cultivator stored all their papers and shot into the sky. Then, he turned into a beam of light and flew towards the middle of a mountain in the East.
There were many palaces in that location. The palaces were the residences of those cultivators from Evil Moon Valley, but they had become a temporary base for those from Grand Sky Coalition now. Many cultivators kept entering and leaving the base. There were also a lot of items that had been collected and pending allocation. The moustachioed cultivator directly flew towards the innermost palace. There was already a female cultivator waiting outside the palace.
Seeing him, the woman asked, “Is everything ready?”
The moustachioed cultivator replied, “All the papers are here.”
“Just give them to me. The representatives are talking about retreating from this place. After they’re done with the discussion, I’ll pass them the papers.”
“Are we going to retreat so soon?” The moustachioed cultivator was shocked. Rêađ lat𝒆st ch𝒂/p/ters on n𝒐/v/𝒆/l(b)i𝒏(.)c/𝒐/m
The female cultivator replied, “Those from Thousand Demon Ridge have reacted quicker than we expected. Some of their Sects are gathering together, so we have to leave this place quickly.”
Upon hearing her explanation, the moustachioed cultivator nodded. Although many people from Grand Sky Coalition had come over, they were in the territory of Thousand Demon Ridge after all. If they got into a war again, the other party could continuously summon more people, which would put Grand Sky Coalition in a disadvantageous position.
Since Evil Moon Valley had been destroyed and they had gained a lot of benefits, it was the right time to leave. After passing the pile of papers to the woman, the moustachioed cultivator quickly left the place.
The female cultivator waited outside the hall for a moment before a loud voice could be heard coming from inside. “Come in.”
Upon hearing that, she quickly pushed the door open.
There were only ten people in the hall who were the representatives of the ten Sects that had come over to destroy Evil Moon Valley. The person at the front was an upright-looking and authoritative person, who was Pang Zhen from Righteous Sect. He was also the Deputy Coalition Leader of Grand Sky Coalition. He was the most powerful cultivator among these people as he was in the Divine Ocean Realm.
The woman walked up to Pang Zhen and respectfully put down the pile of papers before saying, “I’ll take my leave now.”
After she was gone, Pang Zhen flipped through the pile of papers and picked out only one. Then, he passed the rest to the representative of Green Jade Sect.
For Lu Ye and other people, every piece of paper carried their future and dreams. However, to people like Pang Zhen, these papers were not worth their attention.
Every time they attacked the territories occupied by Thousand Demon Ridge, they would save some people, and taking in the ones with the aptitude and talent to cultivate was just something they had agreed upon.
Each of these Sects had thousands of disciples. If a person’s aptitude and talent were not particularly outstanding, no one would bother to spare them a glance. Apparently, among the people that had been saved this time, no one was worth their attention.
As the more than a hundred papers passed through the hands of these representatives, the number of the papers decreased. When the papers were in the hands of Hundred Flower Valley’s representative, he picked out more than ten people. Just when he was about to pass the papers to the next one, he seemed to have discovered something interesting as he looked at an old man at the back of the row. “Elder Tang, someone has chosen Crimson Blood Sect.”
Upon hearing that, Pang Zhen, who was speaking to the representative of Green Jade Sect, couldn’t help but lift his head. “Are you serious?”
He had just randomly picked one person out of more than a hundred people, so he did not pay attention to the other candidates.
Other people appeared surprised as well. Someone even said with a smile, “It seems that this person is pretty astute compared to the others…”
Judging from his words, it was as if choosing Crimson Blood Sect was an incredible decision. The person at the back of the row who was called Elder Tang was the old man who had brought Lu Ye out of the mine.
Upon hearing that, Elder Tang was surprised as well. Their Sect had joined many such operations before, but no one had selected their Sect even though those who had been saved were given three choices. That was because Crimson Blood Sect was of the lowest tier. Any ambitious and aggressive people wouldn’t choose this Sect.
Although he was surprised, Elder Tang still waved his hand. “You’re aware that we don’t take in any disciples.” If it weren’t because of the coalition’s rules, the name of Crimson Blood Sect wouldn’t even have appeared on the paper.
Upon hearing that, the representative from Hundred Flower Valley uttered, “I’m afraid you can’t reject him, Elder Tang. He has only chosen Crimson Blood Sect, and no one else has picked your Sect.”
A shocked Elder Tang extended his hand. “Let me see it.”
After taking the remaining papers from the representative of Hundred Flower Valley, Elder Tang pored over the papers and realised that, just like what the representative had said, the person had only chosen his Sect.
“Lu Ye…” Gazing at the name on the jade tablet, Elder Tang immediately recalled the young man that he had come across in the mine, so he was surprised that the young man had chosen his Sect.
The representative from Hundred Flower Valley uttered, “According to the rules, in such a situation, it’s mandatory for you to accept this person.”
There was indeed such a rule in the coalition. Grand Sky Coalition would give three chances to those who had been saved. However, if a person only chose one Sect, the selected Sect had to take the person in. The prerequisite was that no one else had made the same choice. This rule was to give those who were determined to cultivate a chance. Only a small number of representatives from the Sects were aware of this rule, so there was no way that those former slaves could find out about it.
“This guy…” Elder Tang appeared helpless. The fact that Lu Ye had chosen his Sect seemed to have put him in a tight spot.
“Elder Tang, it’s time you took in a disciple.” The representative from Hundred Flower Valley persuaded him, then he changed the topic. “Although this guy has been enlightened, his talent leaves much to be desired.”
“So what if his talent is low? It doesn’t mean anything. You all have cultivated for years, so haven’t you come to this realisation?”
“Have you ever seen someone with one-leaf talent?”
“That’s terrible. How was he even enlightened?”
“Since he’s made such a decision, there’s no reason for Crimson Blood Sect to turn him down.”
“I’m worried that those from Cinnabar Heart Sect will…”
At the mention of Cinnabar Heart Sect, all of them fell silent as if there was something that had stopped them from talking about it.
“Rules are rules. If those from Cinnabar Heart Valley are not happy with it, they can come at me!” Pang Zhen, who had remained silent for a long time, suddenly landed a slap on the table. “Elder Tang, just take him in. Although a person with one-leaf talent isn’t worth nurturing, this might be a chance to save your Sect.”
Elder Tang clenched Lu Ye’s jade tablet in his hand for a moment before he uttered, “I’ll think about it.”