Chapter 318: Choose a Master (2)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Even Si Yuanpei, the head of the academy, had to treat Lin Shen as an equal now.
This was the status of a cultivator master!
Once one got out of the cage, they would have the rights and status that ordinary people could only dream of!
After Lin Shen sat down, Si Yuanpei waved his sleeve across the coffee table, and there was instantly an exquisite tea set on the table.
Si Yuanpei then flicked his finger, and a golden bean fell to the side. It turned into a child with red lips and perfect teeth. He knelt obediently at the side and began to make tea.
Soon, the tea room was filled with the faint fragrance of tea.
Clang.
A cup of tea was gently placed in front of Lin Shen. The tender leaves in the cup were fragrant and refreshing.
“This is the best Cloud Dragon Tea. Try it.”
Lin Shen picked up the teacup and took a sip. He felt that the spiritual essence was clear and moisturizing, and the fragrance lingered in his mouth. He nodded involuntarily and thought to himself that it was good tea.
Once the tea was served, Si Yuanpei finally got down to business.
“Fellow Daoist Lin, what’s the grade of the spirit meridian you’ve forged?”
“First grade,” Lin Shen said as he put down his teacup.
Si Yuanpei nodded slightly and said in a low voice, “A first-grade spirit meridian is very important, so Fellow Daoist Lin, don’t mind me asking too much.”
Seeing Lin Shen smile and shake his head, he continued,
“According to the academy’s rules, disciples who become cultivator masters will automatically graduate from the academy and be bestowed the status of a true disciple. Hence, from today onwards, Fellow Daoist Lin will be a true disciple of the sect!”
Lin Shen took another sip of tea and didn’t reply.
These were all things that should be done. The truly important things were still to come.
As expected, Si Yuanpei went on, but this time, his tone was more solemn.
“According to the sect’s rules, a true disciple will usually become the direct disciple of an Elder to learn the most important knowledge or join a certain courtyard pavilion to take on the position of a deacon.”
What Si Yuanpei was talking about were the two most common career paths for Nine Suns Sect disciples who advanced to cultivator masters.
The first choice was to find a master.
Those who could embark on this path were either disciples of influential families or had elders of the same clan or those close to the influential families as Elders. As long as they advanced to a cultivator master, they would naturally have channels to acknowledge a master and learn all the important knowledge from that master.
Either that, or the person was a commoner with the outstanding aptitude and was admired and valued by an Elder, who would take that person in as a disciple.
This was also the origin of the master-disciple faction!
Only cultivators without background or outstanding aptitude would choose the second path.
Such people usually had mediocre aptitude and wasted decades in the sect before being lucky enough to advance to a cultivator master. However, their spirit meridians were inferior, and they were already old. Their future was almost cut off. Even if they wanted to acknowledge a master, no one would accept them. They could only take on the position of a deacon in the courtyard pavilion to spend their later years in peace.
“No one in the sect has ever forged a first-grade spirit meridian before. Your matter caused quite a commotion in the entire sect. Many Elders expressed their intention to take you in as a disciple, but after Elder Zhao and Master Yu took action, they all backed off,” Si Yuanpei said slowly.
“Who are they?” Lin Shen looked puzzled.
In fact, he didn’t know much about many of the higher-ups in the sect.
Si Yuanpei also knew this and explained patiently.
“Zhao Quan, the head of the Zhao family, one of the three great sects. He’s a ninth-level Mystic Light Stage cultivator master and one of the most promising cultivators in the sect to reach the Reverse Elixir Stage. Speaking of which, his daughter is in the same year as you. She’s Zhao Xueying. You probably know her.”
Zhao Xueying’s father!
Lin Shen was slightly surprised. He didn’t expect that the influential families would also extend an olive branch to him, and it was one of the three famous families, the Zhao family.
Si Yuanpei wasn’t surprised at all.
The potential displayed by Lin Shen was too shocking!
No one in the right mind would let go of the opportunity to rope in Lin Shen.
Moreover, the candidates they recommended were also very particular.
Not only was Zhao Quan a ninth-level Mystic Light Stage expert but it was also said that his daughter, Zhao Xueying, had a good relationship with Lin Shen.
If he accepted Lin Shen as his disciple and things went smoothly in the future, he might even turn this disciple into a son-in-law one day.
Using marriage alliances to keep talents in the family had always been the specialty of influential families!
After taking a sip of tea and waiting for Lin Shen to digest this news, Si Yuanpei continued,
“Master Yu Siyu is a ninth-level Mystic Light Stage cultivator. She’s also one of the cultivators with the highest chance of reaching the Reverse Elixir Stage in the sect. At the same time, she’s also the head of the Alchemy and Tool Hall.
“Master Yu rarely takes in disciples. In all these years, she has only taken in two. This time, she took the initiative to make that offer. That’s enough proof of your outstanding talent!”
At this point, even Si Yuanpei, who had an indifferent disposition, couldn’t help but sigh with emotions.
If an ordinary core disciple wanted to become a master teacher, they had to spend a lot of effort and pull a lot of strings to do that.
Lin Shen hadn’t made any requests yet, but a large number of Elders had already jumped out to take him in as a disciple.
Among them were even mighty figures like Elder Zhao and Master Yu!
Neither of them had taken in direct disciples for years.
“Elder Zhao and Master Yu are both top experts in the sect. Their cultivation levels are profound. No matter which one you choose, it’ll be very beneficial to your future growth. Why don’t you consider it carefully?”
Although Si Yuanpei belonged to the master-disciple lineage, he remained relatively objective. He didn’t take the opportunity to belittle the power of the influential families and elevate the master-disciple lineage.
He disdained to do so.
Lin Shen fell into deep thought.
Actually, he didn’t mind who his master was.
To him, acknowledging a master was just to make it easier for him to obtain cultivation techniques.
Therefore, it didn’t seem to make any difference to him whomever he followed.
Even though he seemed to be at odds with the influential families, the only ones who had a grudge against him were the Yan and Kuang families.
The former had already been cleaned up, while the latter was just a preeminent family. They were far from representing the power of the influential families.
If he really wanted to acknowledge Zhao Quan as his master and become a part of the influential families, the other influential families would probably be the first to object if the Kuang family wanted to take revenge on him!
Of course, Master Yu sounded like a good idea too.
“On one side are the influential families, and on the other side is the master-disciple lineage. Rather than calling it discipleship, it’s more like choosing a faction.”
Lin Shen shook his head.
Unless he didn’t want to obtain a stronger cultivation technique and was willing to slow down his cultivation speed, it was inevitable that he would choose a side.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Shen had an idea and asked,
“Master Si, which one of them is good at flying sword techniques?”
Si Yuanpei was stunned. He didn’t expect Lin Shen to ask such a question.
After regaining his senses, he gave Lin Shen a long look.
“You want to become a sword cultivator?”
“I’m interested.”
Si Yuanpei nodded and didn’t ask further. He said, “Master Yu is famous for her powerful sword techniques. Her two disciples were also famous sword cultivators among the younger generation.”
Lin Shen no longer hesitated and immediately made a decision.
“I choose Master Yu!”
“Alright, let’s go. 1’11 bring you to Master Yu now!”
Master Si stood up and walked out of the tea room.
Although he wouldn’t belittle influential families, he wasn’t a pedantic person. Seeing that Lin Shen had already made his choice, he immediately decided to settle the matter as soon as possible to prevent any unnecessary trouble.
Just like the Nine Yang Academy, the Nine Suns Sect’s mountain gate was also located in an alternate space, or rather, a Blessed Land.
The location was somewhere in the sky above the center of Dragonside City.
When Si Yuanpei used the token to open the entrance and a crack appeared in the sky, Lin Shen immediately felt an abundance of spiritual essence leaking out. The density far exceeded that of Nine Yang Academy and Xuandu Mountain.
“As expected of a Blessed Land-level Cave Abode!” Lin Shen sighed inwardly.
“A true disciple is already qualified to obtain an exclusive cultivation Cave Abode in the sect. After you acknowledge Master Yu as your master, you can go to the merit courtyard to choose a cultivation Cave Abode,” Si Yuanpei said casually.
Lin Shen’s heart skipped a beat.
The Nine Suns Sect’s mountain gate was a Blessed Land. The Cave Abode that was opened up was at least at the Essence Prefecture level.
Even if it couldn’t be compared to the place with the richest spiritual essence in the Nine Yang Academy, it was almost there.
“Let’s go.”
Si Yuanpei flew into the entrance first.
Lin Shen came back to his senses and followed without hesitation.
After a flash, Lin Shen looked over again and realized that the scenery in front of him had already changed drastically..