Chapter 89: Attending the Conference

“What kind of new story? Do elaborate.”

Hearing this, Bushi immediately crossed his arms and put on airs. “It is not impossible to elaborate, but this poor monk is rather thirsty. If I could have a few sips of Junior Brother’s tea, I would surely be able to speak with flowing eloquence.”

…You Buddhist cultivators from Kudu Temple really don’t seem to have anything to do with “bitter salvation” at all.

But how much could tea possibly cost? Yet the moment Bian Chunzhou saw the price of the tea, he immediately turned his back on the senior brother next to him. “Some stories aren’t absolutely necessary to hear. I am already a cultivator who has risen above low-class tastes.”

“Is that so? Actually, this poor monk knows quite a few stories. For example… a certain elder of a great sect was infatuated with a female cultivator from the Hehuan Sect^[1]. Even though he knew her heart belonged only to the Great Dao, he was still willing to give her everything. Yet, after he gave her everything, she kicked him to the curb. He lost everything, felt too ashamed to return to his sect, and wanted to come to Kudu Temple to end his days.”

Bian Chunzhou’s ears perked up instantly. “And then?”

“And then, this poor monk is a bit thirsty.”

…Did he really have to be this scheming? Bian Chunzhou tearfully bought him a stick of candied hawthorns. “Here. This is my absolute limit. No more than this.”

Bushi accepted it with a look of feigned grievance. Honestly, even when a handsome guy ate candied hawthorns, he still looked good. It was truly unfair. “And then, our Buddha does not accept trash, especially discarded, homeless, empty-shelled trash.”

Bian Chunzhou reached out. “Give me back my candied hawthorns!”

“Hey, since you gave it to this poor monk, it is mine!”

Wen Xu: …Combined, these two probably aren’t even three and a half years old.

“I see that Junior Brother Bian has a clear mind and a bright spiritual terrace. If you encounter any female or male cultivators from the Hehuan Sect in the future, you must be careful. If your heart is stolen, Kudu Temple won’t help you get it back.”

Bian Chunzhou gasped. “Your Kudu Temple actually handles that kind of business?”

“Originally we didn’t, but later… well, there are always people who can offer terms that Kudu Temple cannot refuse.”

“So your ‘affinity with Buddha’ is that pragmatic?”

Bushi glanced at the ribbon-blindfolded young man beside them. “There are also unpragmatic cases. For example, if your Little Grand-Uncle Master is willing to transfer to Kudu Temple, this poor monk is willing to accept a disciple on behalf of my Grandmaster.”

…I’ve only ever heard of accepting a disciple on behalf of one’s master, never on behalf of one’s grandmaster. You really are something else.

“In your dreams!” Bian Chunzhou snorted. “Tell the truth, why do you keep staring at our… Little Grand-Uncle Master?”

Bushi pressed his palms together. “Amitabha, Amitabha^[2].”

Translated, this meant he did not want to say. But Buddhist cultivators do not tell lies, so he used a universal Buddhist chant to brush it off.

Bian Chunzhou strangely understood how Buddhist cultivators avoided lying, and then his focus drifted. “It’s one thing to watch out for female cultivators of the Hehuan Sect, but why do we also need to be wary of the male ones?”

“Well, you will find out when the time comes.”

Rumors about the Hehuan Sect were everywhere in the cultivation world. Although the Hehuan Sect was not large, their romantic scandals always spread the fastest and widest. “…Although it might be presumptuous to ask, is it true that the Hehuan Sect is particularly fond of Buddhist cultivators?”

Sometimes, Wen Xu hated that he could instantly read the information carried by the wind. For instance, right now, he immediately sensed Bushi’s sudden, momentary tension.

How to put it… perhaps some lessons were learned through personal experience. In a way, Chunzhou was quite skilled at stepping on landmines.

Most importantly, Buddhist cultivators do not lie.

“Since you know it is presumptuous, it would be better for Benefactor not to ask.” As expected, Bushi did not deny it outright.

Bian Chunzhou: …The rumors are actually true! So Kudu Temple really has Buddhist cultivators who willingly let their hearts be stolen by the male and female cultivators of the Hehuan Sect?!

The Hehuan Sect is truly terrifying!!

*

The next day was the opening ceremony of the Five Sects Conference.

Originally, the Five Sects Conference was just an occasion for the major sects to show off the new geniuses they had recruited. But as its reputation spread, other cultivators came drawn by its name, and the Five Great Sects could not shut them out. By now, the event had grown to a grand scale indeed.

It had even become an arena for young, talented cultivators to make a name for themselves. After all, the spots on the Heaven’s Pride List were far too few, and it only recorded those under a hundred years old with Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivation. For ordinary cultivators, this threshold was ridiculously high.

Therefore, making a name for oneself at the Five Sects Conference was the perfect stage for a cultivator to rise above their station.

Aside from the disciples of the Five Great Sects, whether they came from small-to-medium sects, noble families, or were rogue cultivators, anyone attending the Five Sects Conference undoubtedly came with ambition. Even if they could not use this to enter a great sect, it was still a good opportunity to make connections, acquire cultivation resources, and exchange information.

At the very least, it was a good chance to watch how other cultivators fought and broke through stalemates.

Although Wen Xu only had Qi Refining cultivation, he held the highest seniority among the representatives from Yonglu Mountain. Furthermore, he had received the favor of the Shattering Heaven Sword Light as soon as he arrived. By all rights, the Suitian Sword Sect could not afford to ignore him.

“Is it appropriate for a mere Qi Refining cultivator like me to sit in such a high position?”

Gu Wufang tucked his hands into his sleeves, thinking that the Suitian Sword Sect was truly too cold. It was as cold as Guochun Peak, constantly reminding him of certain unpleasant experiences. If the Five Sects Conference did not require the sect master to lead the delegation, he really would not want to come to this godforsaken place. “What’s inappropriate about it? If your master had come in person, that would be truly inappropriate.”

Wen Xu understood instantly, thinking of that thirty-page list. “Sect Master, some things do not need to be said so plainly.”

“Heh, as long as you understand. Let’s go. You look so fresh-faced, those old fogeys probably won’t make things too difficult for you.” Besides, although Yonglu Mountain ranked last among the Five Great Sects, when it came to actual combat, it was still anyone’s game.

Watching Wen Xuxu get dragged away by Sect Master Gu, Bian Chunzhou could only drag Chen Zuizui along to join the fun. Of course, it wasn’t just to watch the excitement; he also had to keep an eye on Chen Zuizui to make sure he didn’t draw his saber on someone at random.

Chen Zui said, “I have already practiced my saber today.”

“But if you run into an opponent you’re interested in, don’t tell me you won’t want to… See, I know you too well. The disciples of the Five Great Sects go straight to the official tournament, and the Tianji Pavilion, Hehuan Sect, Shahai Gate, Jinglei Villa, and Rogue Cultivators Alliance each have direct entry slots. But the rest, whether they are from noble families or are rogue cultivators, must go through the arena matches to secure a ticket to the Five Sects Conference. You were so eager to go out today, wasn’t it just to watch those?”

Bian Chunzhou thought to himself, As if I don’t know you. Wherever there’s a fight, you’re bound to be right in the middle of it, Chen Zuizui.

Chen Zui pursed his lips. “I’m just going to watch. My cultivation isn’t high enough yet.”

In other words, if his cultivation were high enough, he would definitely sneak onto the stage and stun everyone in the sect.

When it came to this, Bian Chunzhou felt Chen Zuizui’s credibility was far too low. “No way. I have to keep an eye on you.”

However, the preliminary arenas for the Five Sects Conference were set up at the foot of the mountain, with only a few Suitian Sword Sect disciples maintaining order. Wearing their Yonglu Mountain uniforms to watch the matches would be far too conspicuous. So before they left, Bian Chunzhou dragged Chen Zui to change into ordinary robes, which indeed allowed them to blend right into the crowd below.

The registration threshold for the Five Sects Conference was Foundation Establishment, but there were still plenty of Qi Refining cultivators at the foot of the mountain. Some had been brought along by their elders to gain experience, while others had sniffed out business opportunities. On the outskirts, Bian Chunzhou even spotted a small barter market for cultivation resources. Some were even peddling detailed dossiers on the participating cultivators from the various major sects, and quite a few were buying them.

Naturally, some had also set up underground gambling rings, and a surprising number of cultivators were tossing in their spirit stones.

“Wow, they’re fighting so fiercely! Their style is so wild!”

Chen Zui was practically itching to join in. “Are you sure I can’t go up?”

“Absolutely not. Besides, this is a Golden Core arena. Are you trying to get yourself killed, kid?”

Chen Zui let himself be dragged away with a sullen face. After much coaxing, he finally stopped reaching for his saber, but his eyes remained glued to the various arenas.

“Huh? That guy looks a bit familiar.” Bian Chunzhou stroked his chin, unable to place the face for a moment.

Chen Zui looked up. “Familiar how? Is he a disciple from our sect?”

“…I remember now. That’s Young Master Zhou, the ‘passionate and busy’ guy from yesterday.” Bian Chunzhou slapped his forehead. “You weren’t there at the time. I didn’t expect him to fight so fiercely in a duel.”

“A couple of Qi Refining brats, yet you dare speak so boastfully here!” an arrogant voice suddenly sneered nearby. Bian Chunzhou turned around and found himself looking straight up at a pair of flared nostrils. The speaker continued to boast, “Young Master Zhou Ji on the stage hails from the Zhou Family of Nanfeng City. He possesses the highest talent and comprehension among the Zhou Family’s younger generation. In this Five Sects Conference, he will surely compete on equal footing with the geniuses of the Five Great Sects.”

Bian Chunzhou let out an “oh.” “That impressive?”

“Of course! A mere Qi Refining cultivator like you naturally wouldn’t know. Young Master Zhou is only forty-two years old this year, yet he is already in the late Foundation Establishment stage. He is but a single step away from the Golden Core realm!”

While they were listening to the man boast, Zhou Ji won his match. He appeared completely unfazed, showing no overt joy at his victory. Coupled with his handsome features, he drew admiring glances from the crowd below.

Seeing this, the man next to them who had been hyping up Zhou Ji’s background and talent raised his chin proudly, as if he shared in the glory. His eyes practically screamed: See? Told you so.

Bian Chunzhou thought to himself, So you can make a name for yourself like this. Well, building up hype for yourself isn’t shameful.

So he gave a thumbs-up and agreed, “Young Master Zhou is indeed very impressive.”

Hearing this, the man lowered his haughty head slightly. “You have decent taste.”

“But even if he’s impressive, what does that have to do with you?”

“You-“

He was so angry he wanted to hit them, but Bian Chunzhou had already dragged Chen Zuizui away, slipping through the crowd like an eel. Since fighting was strictly forbidden anywhere outside the arenas, the man could do nothing but fume.

“Junior Brother Bian, Junior Brother Chen, what are you two doing?”

Bian Chunzhou turned toward the voice. “Senior Sister Huo?”

The speaker was indeed their fellow disciple, Huo Shengyin. She was also dressed as an ordinary cultivator and held a few pretty but useless trinkets, likely bought from the market. “Why is it just the two of you?” She wondered where their Little Grand-Uncle Master was, as the three of them usually went everywhere together.

“Yeah, Wen Xuxu was dragged away by the Sect Master.”

Huo Shengyin nodded, realizing that having too high a status had its downsides. “No wonder. Have you two seen any exciting duels? I used a Shadow Retention Stone to record a few very interesting fights.”

Oh right, they could use Shadow Retention Stones. The one thing Bian Chunzhou had plenty of in his storage ring was Shadow Retention Stones. “Thanks for the tip, Senior Sister. If we see any good matches, we’ll share the recordings with you.”

“You’re too polite, Junior Brother. We can just trade when the time comes.”

After bidding farewell to their senior sister, Bian Chunzhou and Chen Zui resumed their wandering, though this time they kept their Shadow Retention Stones ready. Chen Zuizui had a far better eye for duels than he did. Once they recorded some good matches, they could make copies to give to Wen Xuxu.

While the two of them were having the time of their lives wandering around, Wen Xu had already been forced to take a seat of honor. Along the way, he was introduced to the leaders of the other three major sects: Ding Jieyou, the Sect Master of the Hehe Sect; Tang Ji, the Sect Master of the Suitian Sword Sect; and Master Yicheng of the Kudu Temple.

Frankly speaking, in terms of seniority, these leaders technically had to address him as Little Martial Uncle. But did he dare accept it? Wen Xu certainly didn’t. His own master already drew enough aggro as it was.

Thus, he fell back on his usual humble, polite social pleasantries. This was second nature to him, and since he didn’t have to worry about recognizing faces, it was completely effortless.

This left the three sect leaders silently marveling to themselves: To think such a bad bamboo could produce such a fine shoot^[3]!

Still, they had heard that this Little Martial Uncle of Yonglu Mountain had only joined the sect barely two years ago. It was understandable that his personality hadn’t been warped by the Dragon Venerable. After all, rumors had it that Venerable Chengwei spent most of his time asleep, which was why the snow and ice on Guochun Peak never melted.

Perhaps he was only a disciple in name. After all… Tang Ji and Master Yicheng glanced at Ding Jieyou. The Grand Elder of the Hehe Sect was perpetually short of disciples. If anyone else from Yonglu Mountain had taken in the genius standing before them, he probably would have been poached away by now.

But as things stood, this excellent seedling was destined to remain stuck in Yonglu Mountain.

As the three of them united in their silent scrutiny, Gu Wufang rubbed his nose. Why are you all looking at me? I didn’t do anything.

Wen Xu simply pretended to be completely oblivious to the undercurrents.

Of course, besides the leaders of the Five Great Sects, there was also Qin Guan, the Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion; Fairy Yutan of the Hehuan Sect; Ling Feihai, the Sect Master of the Shahai Sect; the leader of the Rogue Cultivators Alliance; Lou Buhuan, the Jinglei Blade of Jinglei Villa; and many others. Along with the elders and disciples backing them, the crowd was so vast that even with Wen Xu’s excellent memory, he could only manage to get a general sense of who was who.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember them. They’ll remember you anyway.”

The ceremony, which wasn’t particularly long, finally came to an end. Zheng Jin, who had been acting as a wallflower in the back, could no longer hold himself back. In the blink of an eye, he slipped behind Wen Xu. Zhi Lianshan, who had been entrusted by the sect master with the heavy responsibility of keeping an eye on Zheng Jin, had no choice but to step over as well. Fortunately, he was good-tempered: “He’s right. If you don’t remember, just ask us.”

Wen Xu: …If this keeps up, I’m going to become the tyrant of Yonglu Mountain.

He suddenly realized that his master’s ability to amass a thirty-page list of old friends in the past might have had something to do with the harmonious atmosphere of Yonglu Mountain.

There were only two Qi Refining cultivators present. Wen Xu was one of them, and the other was Xin Ci, the female cultivator standing behind Qin Guan, the Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion. Rumor had it that she was the newly accepted last disciple of the former pavilion master. She possessed exceptional talent, particularly suited for the Tianji Pavilion’s star-gazing cultivation methods.

The status of the Tianji Pavilion was actually very delicate. The sect’s martial strength might not be particularly high, but its prestige was by no means inferior to that of the Five Great Sects. Back when the Tianren Sect merged into the Hehe Sect to become a colossal entity, some had suggested promoting the Tianji Pavilion to fill the vacancy in the Five Great Sects; after all, it looked strange for the “Five Great Sects” to only have four. But to everyone’s surprise, the Tianji Pavilion declined, publicly declaring that they had no ambition to stand alongside the great sects.

Indeed, the Tianji Pavilion had very few disciples. It was said that their inherited methods were extremely selective, impossible to learn without the right talent. Thus, Xin Ci’s appearance drew a great deal of attention.

“Long time no see, Senior Brother Zhi, Senior Brother Zheng.”

The person who came over to greet them was Song Zijing, the eldest disciple of Qin Guan, the Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion. As they were all in the top ten of the Heaven’s Pride List, they were naturally old acquaintances. After speaking, he also respectfully bowed to Wen Xu.

“True Monarch Song, there is no need to be so polite.”

Song Zijing was also at the Nascent Soul stage. He spoke with elegance and grace, his words carrying the refreshing feel of a gentle breeze. Of course, he had come over to greet them to introduce Xin Ci, who stood behind him.

In terms of seniority, he had to call Xin Ci “Little Martial Uncle.” By the same token, so did Zhi Lianshan and Zheng Jin.

Xin Ci had a delicate, beautiful appearance and a somewhat cold, aloof demeanor, so she was naturally not one for warm socializing. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Song Zijing departed with her.

“Lately, I feel like my seniority has taken a massive nosedive. I thought that once I advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, everyone would have to call me ‘True Monarch.’ Who would have thought?” Zheng Jin shook his head with mock regret. “It’s just that my master didn’t work hard enough.”

Wen Xu: …

“By the way, what is the background of this Little Xin Ci? Didn’t the old pavilion master of the Tianji Pavilion say long ago that he wouldn’t take any more disciples?”

Zhi Lianshan had only recently emerged from seclusion, so he naturally did not know either. “Perhaps it was a stroke of fate.”

“…I don’t get it. I feel like it’s not that simple.” Zheng Jin leaned against the stone pillar of the palace hall’s entrance as if he had no bones. “I hope it’s just my imagination.”

The Five Sects Conference commenced, and disciples from every sect were eagerly preparing to showcase their talents. Meanwhile, the winners of the arena qualifiers at the foot of the mountain were also arriving with formidable momentum; it was said that the cultivators who qualified this year were exceptionally strong.

The lists featured the top one hundred from both the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages. On the day the rankings were posted, the foot of the mountain was packed with cultivators.

“Young Master! Young Master, you are nineteenth on the Foundation Establishment list!”

Hearing this, Zhou Ji could not help but smile with joy, but he quickly reined it in. “Father, I will keep working hard. Nineteenth does not represent the full extent of my strength.”

Father Zhou spoke with gratification. “There is no need to be overly modest. There is only one thing your father hopes you will maintain: do not get bogged down by petty romances. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Father.”

Seeing no reluctance in his son’s expression, Father Zhou patted his son’s broad shoulder. “If you can make a name for yourself at the Five Sects Conference, I will certainly no longer interfere in your marriage, and there will be no more trouble from your mother’s side.”

Zhou Ji immediately said, “Thank you, Father.”

He made a silent vow in his heart to fulfill his past promise. It was just a pity about A-Yu… A flash of grief crossed his mind, but Zhou Ji forced it down. The moment he looked up, he caught sight of a face on the high platform that was so familiar he could never mistake it.

“A-Yu…”

He cried out under his breath, and Father Zhou, who had not walked far yet, naturally heard him loud and clear.