Training Begins

Although it had already been 10 years since Qin Jue had joined the Xuanyi Mountain Sect, because he rarely appeared in crowded places, many cultivators dispatched to guard other places had never seen him, such as this young man, Zhao Ruocheng.

Zhao Ruocheng had only heard rumors about Qin Jue from other fellow disciples.

"What right does a teenager have to be an uncle-grandmaster?!" Zhao Ruocheng felt very unreconciled.

He had started cultivating at the age of six and only took 23 years to reach the late-phase of the Profound Stage. In the future, he even had a chance to step into the Earth Stage and become an elder of the Xuanyi Mountain Sect. But now, he had to refer to a teenager as his uncle-grandmaster. On what basis? Did he have greater strength?

If Zhang Yue wasn't here, Zhao Ruocheng would absolutely not have been able to resist directly challenging Qin Jue.

Zhang Yue did not know what Zhao Ruocheng was thinking. He was already discussing with a few mentors about the upcoming training. Since Elder Wu did not come, Zhang Yue had to be more cautious. After all, no matter how he looked at it, the uncle-grandmaster lying on the roof did not seem to have any intention of lending a hand.

As the branch hall master of the Black Forest Branch Hall, if something happened to the disciples, Qin Jue might be fine since he was the junior brother of the sect master, but he would definitely be in trouble.

After two hours of discussion, they finally decided to set the training period for tomorrow. After all, these new disciples had just experienced a day of flying. If they did not rest, it would definitely affect them.

When Zhang Yue and the others walked out of the main pavilion, Qin Jue, who was on the roof, had already disappeared. No one knew where he had run off to.

Zhang Yue suddenly had a curious thought. Although this uncle-grandmaster was very unreliable, for him to be accepted as the last disciple of the previous sect master, his talent must not be bad. "Mentors, do you know what level Uncle-Grandmaster is at now?"

""I don't know.""

The mentors looked at each other and shook their heads.

"But since Uncle-Grandmaster is able to replace Elder Wu, I think he should have at least reached the Earth Stage," one of the mentors guessed.

"Indeed. Uncle-Grandmaster's temperament is so extraordinary. One look and you can tell that he's a top-notch expert," another mentor chimed in.

"Earth Stage?!" Zhang Yue widened his eyes in disbelief.

How could a dozen-some-year-old have possibly reached Earth Stage?

But on second thought, if Qin Jue had not reached the Earth Stage, how could he be assigned to replace Elder Wu?

"Impossible!" Zhao Ruocheng, who was at the side, suddenly shouted loudly, attracting everyone's attention. At this, Zhao Ruocheng was instantly disconcerted. He didn't realize he had actually shouted it out!

"Why wouldn't it be possible, young man? Don't sit in a well and look at the sky, or you'll only appear ignorant," the previous mentor said unhappily.

"That's right, that's right." Another mentor agreed.

"…"

"You—" Zhao Ruocheng was unable to restrain his anger and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Zhang Yue. "Shut up!"

Zhao Ruocheng was stunned, and then anger filled his eyes. However, he still obediently shut his mouth.

Just when the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, there was a sudden ear-piercing sound in the distance. Qin Jue then lightly landed in front of everyone, still dressed in white and incomparably handsome.

"How is it? Has the training period been decided?" Qin Jue said drunkenly.

Suppressing his shock, Zhang Yue replied, "It's… been decided. We'll start tomorrow morning."

If he wasn't wrong, Qin Jue seemed to have flown over just now. And to fly in the air, one had to at least reach the Earth Stage.

In other words, Qin Jue was indeed an Earth Stage cultivator!

By the side, Zhao Ruocheng was already dumbstruck. He practically did not dare to believe his eyes.

As for the two mentors who previously said that Qin Jue was an Earth Stage cultivator, they had complacent expressions and didn't forget to use their eyes to mock Zhao Ruocheng.

"Got it. Is there a place to sleep?" Qin Jue yawned sleepily.

The mentors were speechless. You've already slept for a day. Haven't you slept enough?

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhang Yue nodded repeatedly. "Someone, quickly arrange a room for Uncle-Grandmaster. Wait, I'll do it myself!"

With that, he carefully led Qin Jue to his residence.

Originally, Zhang Yue had thought that Qin Jue was, at most, a Profound Stage cultivator and was only symbolically responsible for completing the mission, so he could return to the sect to receive the reward. But now, he had discovered that Qin Jue was a genuine Earth Stage cultivator!

As everyone knew, there was a heaven and earth difference between an Earth Stage cultivator and a Profound Stage cultivator. Even if Qin Jue didn't do anything but stand there, he could still intimidate others. How could Zhang Yue not be happy about this?

He quickly arranged for Qin Jue to stay in a separate courtyard, which was usually used for elders.

The courtyard was even next to a river. It was quite quiet, and the spirit qi was quite dense. However, Qin Jue wasn't in the mood to appreciate the scenery. After entering the courtyard, he went straight to his room and fell asleep.

He slept until the next day.

The next morning.

The sun rose, and the world livened up.

Qin Jue opened his eyes and stretched before opening the door in high spirits.

Dong!

The pleasant sound of a bell echoed throughout the entire compound.

Qin Jue looked over. He knew that the training was about to begin.

…

In a vast square, more than two hundred new disciples had gathered. They were crowded together, making it rather noisy.

"Silence!"

Zhang Yue stood at the front and raised his voice. "Disciples of the Xuanyi Mountain Sect, I believe you all know that this training will determine your place in the Sect and your future.

"Remember, disciples who hunt three fiend beasts or fewer, regardless of their aptitude, can only enter the outer court. As for disciples who hunt four or more fiend beasts, they will be directly promoted to the inner court. With the fiend crystals of the fiend beasts as proof, the top three disciples with the most crystals will be rewarded with spirit energy empowerment.

"If there's anyone who hides or who fails to hunt a fiend beast, I'm sorry, but you are not qualified to become a cultivator and will be eliminated.

"The training period is three days. In these three days, you are not allowed to form teams. You are not allowed to walk out of the designated area. You are not allowed to harm your fellow disciples. Otherwise, you will have to bear the consequences! In addition, if you encounter a high-level fiend beast or a life-threatening danger that exceeds the training level, place your hand on the jade tablet that was given to you before you came and inject your spirit energy into it. When the mentors sense this, they will immediately rush over to rescue you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yue looked around and shouted, "Do you all understand?!"

""Understood!""

All the disciples hurriedly responded.

"Very good, the training has officially begun!"

With a wave of Zhang Yue's hand, the two hundred plus new disciples fell silent for a moment before rushing towards the nearby Black Forest, quickly disappearing into this endless forest.

"Mentors, please." Watching all the new disciples enter the forest, Zhang Yue cupped his fists at the mentors.

"Hahaha, don't worry, Hall Master Zhang." The mentors smiled and then split off into different directions to infiltrate the Black Forest, secretly protecting those new disciples.

At this time, Qin Jue, holding a wine pot, finally arrived.

He took a sip of wine and casually asked, "The training has already begun?"

"Yes." Zhang Yue then solemnly said, "Uncle-Grandmaster, please look after them."

Although there were only supposed to be low-level Yellow Stage fiend beasts in this area, the Black Forest was still too dangerous. No one could guarantee that a Profound Stage or even an Earth Stage fiend beast wouldn't suddenly jump out.

These new disciples were the future fresh blood of the Xuanyi Mountain Sect. If they were attacked by high-level fiend beasts, it would be a huge loss for the entire sect.

"No problem." Qin Jue nodded and flew up. He sat cross-legged on a stone pillar at the edge of the square and continued to leisurely drink spirit wine.

Zhang Yue: "???"