I Want This Woman

Currently, although Wang Zhong's personal strength surpassed that of Yan Tiesheng and Song Hongyan, the overall strength of the Spacious Spirit Sect was still lacking.

It was not yet at the stage of a Middle-ranked Immortal Sect and couldn't pass the sect's assessment temporarily.

So, he wasn't considering the main quest for now. However, the side quest was just one step away from completion.

Wang Zhong already had two direct disciples: Nan Ronghui with a Saintly-Stage Cultivation Aptitude and Xu Tong with a Heavenly-Stage Pill Refining Aptitude. Although these two disciples were relatively weak in terms of strength, their aptitudes met the requirements. However, the third disciple with an Earthly-Stage Aptitude was proving difficult to find.

Wang Zhong had recruited many disciples in an attempt to complete the side quest. However, let alone Earthly-Stage aptitudes, most of them didn't even have Black-Stage aptitudes. Some struggled to reach the Yellow-Stage, but these individuals could only be assigned to menial tasks in the sect.

The Ascension Conference was Wang Zhong's last hope. If he couldn't find a disciple with an Earthly-Stage Aptitude here, he would have to consider leaving Qingzhou Prefecture and tried elsewhere.

After Song Hongyan announced the start of the Ascension Conference, the enthusiasm in the square reached its peak. This event was not only a grand occasion for the major immortal sects but also a place where many cultivators in Qingzhou Prefecture pursued their dreams.

Only after joining an immortal sect could one started his or her further cultivation. Of course, joining a Lower-ranked or even Middle-ranked Immortal Sect was the ultimate goal for many aspirants.

"I must join either the Sword Mountain Sect or the Azure Sea Pavilion, then I can stride proudly through Qingzhou Prefecture in the future." Many of them secretly swore in their hearts.

Among the crowd, there was a young girl with long purple hair, probably around seventeen or eighteen years old.,whose name was Qin Yue'er.

In Qingzhou Prefecture, apart from the major immortal sects, there were also many cities. Qin Yue'er hailed from the Qingzhou Prefecture, where there were three major long-standing clans, and the Qin family was one of them.

It could be said that Qin Yue'er was an aristocrat. Coupled with her exceptional talent, she had already broken through to the fifth stage of Gathering Qi, and her appearance was outstanding, standing out from the crowd. Describing her as a heavenly beauty was not an exaggeration.

However, at this moment, Qin Yue'er showed no hint of arrogance. Instead, she wore a worried expression. The reason for this was that the Qin family was currently on the brink of survival.

Actually, the Qin family's expertise lay not in cultivation, but in the art of celestial divination. The Qin family was a remnant branch of an ancient celestial divination sect. Celestial divination allowed one to perceive the myriad manifestation of the world. However, practitioners of this art tended to have short lifespans. Moreover, it often attracted unscrupulous individuals who sought to exploit the power of celestial divination for their own gain.

Thus, the members of the Qin family never revealed their skills to the outside world, for fear of bringing calamity upon their clan.

However, a month ago, the Middle-ranked Immortal Sect, Mountain Moving Sect, located in Chiyang Prefecture, somehow learned that the Qin family was a remnant branch of the celestial divination sect. They actually came to propose to Qin Yue'er on be half of the Young Lord of the Mountain Moving Sect. Further more, they also demanded that within a month, the Qin family must send Qin Yue'er to the Mountain Moving Sect and relocate the entire clan there.

How could the Qin family not see through the ambitions of Mountain Moving Sect? They wanted to completely control the Qin family, all for the sake of their celestial divination skills, intending to keep them under their control.

However, Mountain Moving Sect was a Middle-ranked immortal sect, with the Sect Master being a powerful Myriad Manifestations expert. In contrast, the head of the Qin family, Qin Xiangnan, was only at the second stage of the Cave Mansion Realm. The difference in power was disparity. If the Qin family were to go against the wishes of Mountain Moving Sect, they would undoubtedly face complete annihilation. Their fate would be even more tragic.

Faced with the choice between the survival or demise of her clan and her own honor, Qin Yue'er withstood the pressure and came to participate in the Ascension Conference. As long as she could join the Sword Mountain Sect or the Azure Sea Pavilion, the Qin family would have the qualifications to negotiate with Mountain Moving Sect.

Both being Middle-ranked Immortal Sects, Mountain Moving Sect would surely have some reservations.

"I can make it." Qin Yue'er looked up at the third floor of the pavilion, silently encouraging herself.

At the same time, Wang Zhong's gaze swept across the entire venue, landing on Qin Yue'er.

Huh? Suddenly, Wang Zhong made a soft sound of surprise and sat up straight.

Due to the Immortal Sect system, basic information would appear in Wang Zhong's mind for anyone or anything he had seen. Thus, when Wang Zhong looked at someone, all kinds of aptitudes that this person possessed would be known by him.

Wang Zhong glanced over to search for disciples meeting the standard of Earthly-Staged. However, most of the participants in the Ascension Conference were extremely ordinary. Yet this girl named Qin Yue'er truly aspired Wang Zhong.

Qin Yue'er's Cultivation Aptitude was only Yellow-Staged, but her Astromancy Aptitude had actually reached Heavenly-Stage. As long as he could accept Qin Yue'er, Wang Zhong could complete the side quest. A smile played at the corners of Wang Zhong's mouth.

On the side, Song Hongyan had been keeping an eye on Wang Zhong. When she saw this scene, she felt a sense of emergency.

"Sect Master Wang, are you interested in this young girl?" she asked.

"Yes, I'll take her." Wang Zhong replied firmly.

This tone brooked no dissent. Yan Tiesheng also looked over. Before the Ascension Conference, they all had a list that enumerated the top talents of Qingzhou Prefecture in this generation. This girl was not bad, but she wasn't on the list.

Yan Tiesheng couldn't understand why Wang Zhong would take an interest in her. However, he believed that Wang Zhong was not someone who would make decisions lightly.

"This girl is quite exceptional in various aspects, but compared to me, she still has a long way to go. Does Sect Master Wang prefer the kind lack of experiences?" Song Hongyan commented with a tinge of jealousy.

"No comment," Wang Zhong said without elaborating.

However, this also piqued Yan Tiesheng and Song Hongyan's interest in Qin Yue'er. What kind of performance would she have next?

The Ascension Conference comprised two main parts.

The first part involved assessing the aptitude and the realm..

The second part involved combat exercises within assigned groups.

Naturally, the aptitude and realm assessment evaluated only a cultivator's aptitude in cultivation, excluding other talents such as alchemy, artifact forging, astrological formations, and appraisal.

The assessment method was quite simple. When a cultivator stepped onto the platform and placed their hands on the central spirit stone, the results were displayed.

"Chou Yuanwu from Hengshui City, Gathering Qi at the First Level, with acceptable aptitude."

"Bai Yun from Liuzhou City, Gathering Qi at the First Level, with acceptable aptitude."

"Jing Zhengxin from Yuzhou City, Gathering Qi at the Second Level, with a Yellow-Stage aptitude."

The young participants who came for the Ascension Conference ascended the platform one by one.

However, the majority of individuals had realms only at the first or second level of Gathering Qi. Occasionally, one or two individuals might reach the third or fourth level of Gathering Qi. Yet, without exception, their aptitudes were merely Yellow-Stage or even lower.

For the first part of this test, what the Immortal Sects value most was their aptitude rather than the realms. This was because realms only represented the present strength, while aptitude determined the potential height of the cultivator in the future. Though not an absolute rule, it applied to the vast majority of cultivators.

However, the Qingzhou Prefecture in the Eastern Region is considered a relatively backward region. Yan Tiesheng and Song Hongyan had long been accustomed to this fact. As for Wang Zhong, he merely cast a glance and saw this truth at a single glance.

Fortunately, after the test had progressed past its midpoint, some promising talents finally emerged.

"Qi Heng from Xi Mountain, Gathering Qi at the eighth stage, with a Black-Stage aptitude."

"Xi Chengcheng from Liang Mountain, Gathering Qi at the ninth stage, with a Black-Stage aptitude."

"Wu Yifeng from Wuyang City, Gathering Qi at the ninth stage, with a Black-Stage aptitude."

...

"Sect Master Wang, Qi Heng, Xi Chengcheng, and Wu Yifeng are probably the three most talented individuals in this Ascension Conference. I wonder who Sect Master Wang values more?" Yan Tiesheng asked.

This was a probing question to see if Wang Zhong had taken a liking to anyone.

"None of them caught my eye." Wang Zhong shook his head.

"Sect Master Wang, please don't be joking," Yan Tiesheng chuckled awkwardly. Any of these three was much outstanding than Qin Yue'er, yet Wang Zhong hadn't taken a liking to any of them?

Yan Tiesheng was very worried that Wang Zhong would take all three of them.

"Sect Master Wang, there is a certain relationship between Xi Chengcheng and me, and I’ve decided to take him with me. You won't have any objections, will you?" Song Hongyan delicately complained.

"As you wish," Wang Zhong replied.

Seeing this, Yan Tiesheng mustered his courage and spoke, "Since Sect Master Wang has no objections, then I will choose Qi Heng as the disciple of Sword Mountain Sect."

In truth, Wu Yifeng and Xi Chengcheng's performance far surpassed Qi Heng.

However, now there were only two spots left. Yan Tiesheng could only reluctantly accept Qi Heng.

Yan Tiesheng couldn't possibly compete with Wang Zhong for Wu Yifeng, could he?

After all, he didn't have the means of Song Hongyan.

Soon, it was the turn of the people from Qingzhou Prefecture.

This finally caught Wang Zhong's attention.