Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 767 - 766: True Inheritor of the Shan Sect

...Fang Yazi stood proudly in front of the Sword Separation Platform. This was his third victory this year and his sixty-first victory over five years. After this win, he firmly stepped into the upper ranks of the Shan Sect Quanzhen major competition,

which meant he was already one of the nine True Disciples of Shan Sect. The only thing left was the announcement at the annual meeting regarding the order of the nine True Disciples.

Three months later would be the last annual meeting of this cycle. At that time, the competition would conclude, and the True Disciples would no longer participate in challenges for the next decade, to focus on preparing for the battle for Spiritual Green in the Outer Space.

Shan Sect started preparing right after the last annual meeting. All mansions, states, and external branches could register, involving many aspects like positions and tasks to free up time and confirm qualifications; they couldn’t afford to include both the mediocre and the talented, and also couldn’t afford to miss a disciple with potential. It was a huge challenge for the organizational capability of a Daoist sect.

After years of preparation, the Quanzhen Sword Cultivators with basic capabilities began to challenge higher rankings, and the process was very complex. To ensure fairness, each Cultivator was given three chances to fail, and so the competition continued...

To ensure authenticity and minimize casualties, each fight was supervised by a Golden Core Upper Cultivator, sometimes even conducted in a minor world. This was not a competition that could end quickly, and for a massive Daoist sect like Shan Sect Quanzhen, covering all bases was not easy.

Five years after the competition began, or ten years after the last annual meeting, the basic results were out.

Over five years and dozens of battles, those who maintained an unbeaten record unquestionably became True Disciples; there were only three such individuals, and Fang Yazi was one of them. ƒreewebɳovel.com

The remaining six slots would be decided at the annual meeting in three months, with fifteen advancing to six... These were all individuals who had one or two failures in the prior rigorous selections but still had a chance.

But he was not happy because all his skills came from his senior brother, who was now absent from this stage that rightly belonged to him; although his senior brother was now a high and mighty Anhe Constellation True Inheritor, Fang Yazi knew that his senior brother truly cared the most about Shan Sect, on the stage of the Quanzhen Sword Lineage.

Also, few of his friends had managed to overcome their hurdles.

Rao Zongzhi was eliminated early, Zong Qian also lost his last opportunity due to exceeding three failures before the year’s end, and Hai Xixi was knocked out in the first round of the competition. His background didn’t provide much help: progeny of a dragon turned out to be mere insects...

Only Wang Mian made it to the list of fifteen, but the outlook was not promising, as this round of competition had seen the emergence of many hidden masters, all waiting for their moment.

Fang Yazi despised these individuals, who didn’t amount to anything at the annual meetings, and were nothing without the influence of his senior brother, capable only of hiding until their deaths.

By now, of the previous eight potential True Disciples, fewer than three still held possibilities. They were Situ Mansion’s Wei Gu, Sima Mansion’s Zu Yong, and Prince Manor’s Wu Weijiang, but they too had experienced defeats. Thus, among the fifteen, they still had a chance but it was not secure.

Wu Weijiang had been defeated by Fang Yazi, which made him very pleased; if not for the quick action of the overseeing Golden Core Upper Cultivator, this favored son of heaven might not have had another chance, which was a pity.

The three unbeaten candidates were all unheralded individuals; Fang Yazi was one, and the others were Mao Qifeng and Bian Xingzhi.

These two, one from an Outer State and the other from a nation on the brink of death... Just hearing their names was interesting, one standing out like a peak, the other slipping unnoticed to the bottom...

If Shan Sect Quanzhen hadn’t opened its pathways to sword practice broadly and recruited talent without rigid criteria, such figures might not have come forward willingly; other Daoist sects across the Continent did the same, as opening pathways for advancement had indeed brought a wave of new talents.

However, while the True Disciples were undergoing a major turnover, the Constellation True Inheritors did not, and in fact, each of those certified by the Heavenly Heart Pavilion was stable as an old dog, wreaking havoc far and wide, with not a single one undeserving of their name.

This included Tang Yan, Han Tiangang, and Duan Wuqian as well; it wasn’t that their capabilities were lacking, merely that their luck was poor, encountering someone they should not have encountered.

All of this would be resolved at the last Shan Sect annual meeting in three months. After this annual meeting, the future selection methods for Shan Sect True Disciples would likely be set and become the new tradition.

Of course, the future True Disciples might not carry as much weight as this time, for the Heaven and Earth Chains would only break once. Whether or not Spiritual Green from Outer Space would continue to descend after the Heaven and Earth Chains were broken, or whether Spiritual Green could become a common commodity easily obtained, was still unknown.

After thanking his friends for their congratulations, Fang Yazi returned to his home in the Jade Capital. His current position was no longer in the Lizhi Sea but in Sikong Mansion. His professional trajectory was somewhat similar to his senior brother’s; he was now a Sword Master of Sikong Mansion.

In Sikong Mansion, he had no backers, but everyone was polite to him, as they all knew who his real backer was. He was the loyal lackey of the Constellation True Inheritor of the Sky Dog Star, once a companion of Hou Peirong.

He was very aware that his inclusion in the Jade Capital system by Sikong Mansion was as much about surveillance as it was about protection, the balance of which was meticulous.

During the last annual meeting, the appearance of Hou Niao also caused significant trouble for Sikong Mansion. Although it was an individual action, the fact that he came from Sikong Mansion was true, and it felt like being roasted over a fire.

After grilling the mentor Li Chuping, it was finally the turn of the two Masters, even grilling the whole mansion. As a place of discipline, it was greatly ironic that such a person had emerged, leading to constant rumors from Sima Mansion.

Not only could he not hide his past experiences, but his Body Sword Skill was also unfathomably magical; his skills were only seen on Hou Niao and himself within the Shan Sect Quanzhen System.

In Shan Sect, several others were studying or planning to learn the Body Sword Skill. For instance, Xiangye and Li Shipeng were making efforts and had achieved some success, but were not yet able to secure victories in the major competition. They needed more practice.

Wang Mian and Zong Qian were preparing to learn, and they had the hurdle of a Sword Spirit to overcome.

Apart from them, numerous Sword Cultivators were interested in this marvelous swordsmanship technique, but clearly, the key to unlocking this skill was held by Hou Peirong, the former companion from Sikong Mansion. To learn it would mean acknowledging something significant, presenting a delicate choice.

Hou’s senior brother had been dismissed from the Quanzhen Sect. Now what about you guys wanting to learn his techniques? How would you justify that within the sect?

It wasn’t about taking sides, but it was also about taking sides. Anyway, Fang Yazi was not teaching it. In his words: "I only know a bit of the surface, and I’m afraid it might mislead the youths."