Chapter 32 The Ancestral Master's Grace Part 1

Whether one could earn the Ancestor Master's favor was the most direct demonstration of a disciple's innate talent. However, Wei Yuan had been standing for a long time, watching five or six batches of people go in, and only one person had received the gift.

At this moment, Zhang Sheng was standing in the distance, talking to Sun Yu. According to the rules, he could only stand ten zhang outside the large hall, along with the elders of the new disciples.

Zhang Sheng glanced at the number of new disciples and said, "This year's new disciples are indeed more numerous."

"One hundred and fifty people were collected from seventeen states in total, less than ten per state, which is not too many."

"There were only eighty-four people in my year," Zhang Sheng said.

Sun Yu replied, "Yan Shi True Monarch advocates for broadly opening the Mountain Gate, teaching without discrimination. In my view, admitting more disciples is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Hopefully so."

Just then a new batch of disciples entered, and the Ancestor Master Statue underwent a change, a point of light flew out from the jade crown atop the Ancestor Master's head and entered the body of a young girl. An elderly man nearby suddenly burst into ecstatic laughter, exclaiming, "Good, good, good, this gift is supreme! The rise of my Jiao family is within sight! The ancestors have opened their eyes, the ancestors have opened their eyes!"

The old man laughed and cried, drawing sideways glances from everyone. At once, someone spoke in a mocking tone to a companion, "Do you know what that crown represents?"

"Of course, I don't!" the other replied.

"Although the crown is a treasure, it is neither the body of the Ancestor Master nor a killer treasure like the Immortal Sword. This thing is like clothing, an everyday utility, valued for its ingenuity. Generally, those who receive this gift easily make advancements in Artifact Refining, Magic Treasures, and auxiliary Daoist Skills. That is to say, when fellow disciples charge into battle later on, she can provide support from the rear, mending a Magic Treasure or something of the sort," the person said with sarcasm.

After the sarcastic remark, the old man's face turned green then red, shouting aloud, "No matter what it is, it is a grace from the Ancestor Master! It's better than nothing!"

Instantly annoyed, the sarcastic person retorted sharply, "What are you saying? My child hasn't gone in yet, how dare you say nothing?"

The elderly man pointed to the grand hall and said, "Isn't that child joining right now?"

Among the group of children was the sarcastic man's child. But by the time the ritual had concluded, the Ancestor Master Statue remained entirely still. The sarcastic man felt both ashamed and angered, and after being repeatedly mocked by the elder, he could no longer save face and hurried away.

At that moment, they heard Daoist Zhili chanting from afar, "Wei Yuan from Fengyuan County in Yong State, Bao Yun from Fengyuan County, Xiao Yu from Fengyuan County, ... Yan Ming from Fengyuan County."

As these names were announced, they immediately stirred up commotion within the crowd.

"Why are there so many from Fengyuan County?"

"Indeed, our Gan Province only admitted five new disciples, and they get six from one county!"

Suddenly, an old man dressed in commoner's clothes stepped forward and exclaimed loudly, "Our Chu State is a major state in the land, and we only have eight spots. How can a remote place like Yong State's single county receive six? I don't believe there is no trickery involved! Taichu Palace, as an Immortal Sect, conducts such unfairness; how can it command respect?! I will not stand for this!"

With the old man's loud protest, it immediately attracted responses from many. Even people from Yong State said, "There are nine counties in Yong State, and the other eight together only received one spot; how can Fengyuan County have six spots?"

Ritual Daoist kept calling for order several times, but the crowd's unrest grew bigger and bigger, with the leading old man jumping and shouting injustice, repeatedly saying his grandson narrowly missed being admitted. He claimed that Taichu Palace ought to act fairly, reallocating Fengyuan County's spots to Chu State, so his grandson could also enter Taichu Palace.

Zhang Sheng looked around and saw a burly man and an elder from the Bao Family. The elder's expression was wooden as if nothing in the world could change his demeanor while the burly man crossed his arms and sneered. Seeing Zhang Sheng looking over, he deliberately walked over and said, "Why don't you go and argue?"

Zhang Sheng replied indifferently, "This man is targeting your noble families, what does it have to do with me? Besides, how can your Xiao Family allow someone to be so brazen?"

The burly man cracked a smile and said, "This is a matter for Taichu Palace, if he specifically named my Xiao Family, I would naturally intervene. But I doubt he would dare."

On one side, the burly man remained unperturbed, while several young Ritual Daoists who were inexperienced started to panic, alternately persuading and obstructing. But seeing this, the elder grew even more aggressive, clamoring for fairness. The young Daoists sweat beading on their foreheads, were at a loss, unsure of how to handle the situation.

Just then, a Daoist suddenly appeared in the square, and as soon as he materialized, an enormous and fierce Qiu Long loomed overhead. An invisible pressure instantly enveloped the entire square, immobilizing everyone below the rank of Dharma Image; the chaos was abruptly subdued.

All the Ritual Daoists immediately saluted, saying, "We pay respect to Master Tengqiu!"

The Daoist spoke coldly, "What is the disturbance about?"

A young Ritual Daoist immediately explained what had happened. After hearing it, the expression on the Master's face darkened, and the invisible pressure increased threefold. The elder stood stiffly on the spot, as if crushed by a mountain, unable to move or speak, his face etched with panic.

Master Tengqiu reprimanded, "The number of disciples each state recruits is determined by the True Monarchs, how dare you recklessly debate this! Causing trouble in front of the Ancestor Master Hall, punishment is undoubtedly necessary."

The Daoist stretched out his hand for a grasp, and a lightning whip appeared in his grasp, which he lashed across the elder's head!

Immediately above the elder's head there appeared a screen depicting a plum tree in bloom. As the whip came down, the screen cracked instantly, and the plum blossoms scattered like rain, leaving only a few in the blink of an eye. The elder collapsed after taking the blow, his hair turning white in an instant, his wrinkles deepening as if he'd aged a dozen years.

Many of the onlookers gasped in shock. Master Tengqiu's whip had scattered much of the elder's Dao Foundation, undoubtedly wasting decades of his cultivation.

Master Tengqiu put away the Thunder Whip and said, "This punishment is minor. Considering your child is young and ignorant, I will not expel you for now, but relegate you to a nominal disciple. You will cultivate with the masses in the palace and observe the effects later on."

The elder, unable to speak, simply vomited blood and was carried away by his family and disciples.

After dealing with the disturbance, Master Tengqiu did not leave but stood in the square, watching the new disciples enter the hall to pay homage to the Ancestor Master.

Sun Yu suddenly sighed and said softly, "That person just wanted to fight for a better opportunity for his junior, but he used the wrong method and ended up sacrificing his own path. He had a sliver of hope of forming his Dharma Image."

Someone nearby remarked, "These cultivators from humble origins have little resources, so they must fight for everything. They get used to fighting over time, and eventually, they took the fight to Taichu Palace. Actually, having a descendant enter Taichu Palace is like a fish leaping through the dragon's gate for such families. Still not satisfied, they truly show insatiable greed."

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan followed a Ritual Daoist's guidance into the Ancestor Master Hall, where in front of the towering Ancestor Master Statue, both new disciples and Ritual Daoists seemed as insignificant as ants.

Under the guidance of Ritual Daoist, Wei Yuan knelt on the cushion in front of the Ancestor Master Statue and began the rites of worship. After seven bows, Wei Yuan silently recited the sacrificial words, feeling as though a gaze from an incomprehensibly high place had fixed upon him, seeing through him completely.

In an instant, Wei Yuan felt as if his consciousness had been pulled from his body, rising to an infinite height. Below him, the Ancestor Master Hall had shrunk to the size of a palm. And that gaze still looked down upon Wei Yuan from an even higher place, a place he could not even perceive.

Wei Yuan began to panic, looking around only to find empty void all around him.

As the gaze from above settled upon him, Wei Yuan felt a stirring within him, as his Luck began to grow. Then, he sensed an invisible entity at a great height, standing opposite where the gaze had come from.

This formless entity was indescribably immense, ancient, and desolate, its limits unfathomable. It seemed to have some connection with Wei Yuan's Luck, but the feeling was extremely vague, and Wei Yuan wasn't sure if it was real.

At that moment, Wei Yuan's consciousness hung alone at a great height, suspended between two unknown existences high above, like an ant caught between two great mountains, unnoticed and easily crushed.

No matter how Wei Yuan struggled, he could not move; all he could do was watch as the figures below in the hall paid homage over and over, as if the real world had nothing to do with him anymore.

Then, faint music suddenly filled the great hall, and from the sky, a column of light descended, illuminating the Ancestor Master Statue. Within the beam of light, countless petals fell like rain.