Chương 99: Straight Into the True Disciple Sequence!

Su Zhe looked grief-stricken on the outside, but inside, he was secretly delighted. Still, with so many people watching, he didn't dare show even the slightest hint of joy. He could only keep a mask of sorrow on his face. He was doing this partly to clear himself of suspicion, and partly to leave a good impression in front of everyone. After all, in his previous life, Su Zhe had practically memorized An Actor Prepares. When it came to acting, he didn't think he was worse than anyone.

Yu Shen watched the whole thing with a strange look on her face. She kept feeling that something about Su Zhe was off. She just couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"All right… this was simply fate. Su Zhe, you… must not grieve too deeply…" Xuan Yuan Yizheng comforted him, raising a hand in a calming gesture. Su Zhe nodded, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.

"Since the second trial has concluded, those who died will have their remains sent back to their hometowns."

"As for the rest of you who passed both trials, return to the Sword-Casting Plaza and take out the water spirits in your Essence-Storage Pouches. Your results will be judged there."

"Based on those results, I will announce the list of those admitted into the sect!" Seeing that the Tempering Lake trial had ended, Xuan Yuan Yizheng gave the order. The five manor lords, the spectating disciples of Zhu Jian Shanzhuang (Sword-Casting Manor), the many elders, and the martial artists taking the test all used their own methods to head toward the Sword-Casting Plaza. At the Sword-Casting Plaza. The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder.

The martial artists taking the assessment began taking out the water spirits they had captured one after another. People like Yu Yi and Xiao Xunhuan had only captured Frost Realm water spirits from less than nine meters below the surface. They weren't impressive compared to the best, but at least they had passed. As for the others, the strongest among them had only managed to capture a mid-grade Snow Condensation water spirit from around thirty-four meters deep. Then it was Su Zhe's turn.

This time, Su Zhe had obtained a lot of water spirits. Four Frost water spirits, a full five Snow Condensation water spirits… And even one Ice Soul water spirit. After all, he had spent the longest amount of time at the Snow Condensation depth.

"Master once hinted to me that at Zhu Jian Shanzhuang's disciple recruitment ceremony, the more dazzling I am, the better!"

"And this Tempering Lake is clearly a place the manor lords value highly."

"Under these circumstances, hiding my strength would be foolish." Su Zhe had originally planned to keep a low profile, but after quietly analyzing the situation, he ultimately decided to abandon that plan. Immediately, Su Zhe used his inner force to seal the water spirits inside the Essence-Storage Pouch, walked up to a table, and raised his hand with a flick. Clang, clang, clang! A total of ten water spirits landed on the table. Ten exquisitely delicate transparent dolls instantly drew everyone's gaze.

"Ten! A full ten!"

"The other martial artists in this assessment only captured one each. The cold qi in Tempering Lake is far too intense. Diving deeper is already hard enough, but capturing these water spirits, which are basically spirits of the water to begin with, consumes a huge amount of qi, blood, and inner force…" Under the sunlight, the ten transparent dolls glowed brilliantly. These water spirits loved shade and water. Under the sun, each of them trembled, clearly in great discomfort.

Gasps rang out around the ten water spirits.

"Wait! Five of them are Snow Condensation water spirits! And there's even a supreme-grade Snow Condensation water spirit!" Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"And there's one more…"

"That's a Profound Ice water spirit!" The recording elder saw the ten water spirits clearly, and his expression changed drastically. When he saw the final water spirit, his original calm, immortal-like demeanor vanished in an instant. He cried out hoarsely, completely unable to believe it. Every level of water spirit, such as the Frost Realm, was divided into four grades: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade. Su Zhe had dived to fifty-nine meters, the very limit of the Snow Condensation Realm.

Naturally, the water spirits he caught there were supreme-grade. But that wasn't even what shocked the martial artists of Zhu Jian Shanzhuang the most. No one had expected that Su Zhe would actually have a Profound Ice water spirit! Even if it was only a low-grade Profound Ice water spirit. One had to know… Even the five manor lords could, at most, dive into the Profound Ice Realm. For a moment, the entire place fell silent. The way everyone looked at Su Zhe was filled with shock and disbelief.

"Reporting to the manor lords, when that giant softshell turtle ambushed Brother Qin, the currents became violent. Caught off guard, I was swept into the Profound Ice Realm at sixty meters."

"At the same time, a Profound Ice water spirit was suppressed by the giant turtle's aura and froze in place."

"At that critical moment, I seized the Profound Ice water spirit, then escaped!" Su Zhe had long since prepared an explanation for this. He cupped his hands and bowed, his gaze sincere. The five manor lords were stunned as well. Listening to Su Zhe, his explanation did make sense. It was just… his luck was a little too good. With Su Zhe's ability, capturing a Profound Ice water spirit on his own simply couldn't be justified. So Su Zhe pushed all the cause and effect onto that giant turtle monster in the lake.

It was reasonable enough.

"In that case, it was quite the coincidence…" Xuan Yuan Yizheng smiled.

"Sixty meters… the Profound Ice Realm…"

"With Su Zhe's physical strength, comparable to a fifth-grade martial artist, if he's skilled in the water, then diving deep into the Snow Condensation Realm makes sense."

"But to accidentally fall into the Profound Ice Realm at sixty meters and still return unharmed…"

"I've really picked up a treasure! This boy Su Zhe has exceptional skill in the water, and his talent for water-element martial dao is extremely strong!" Yu Shen was stunned. Her voice trembled with excitement as she murmured to herself. She thought of Su Zhe cultivating the Flood Dragon Art. His progress had been terrifyingly fast. The Flood Dragon Art had two main requirements. First, strength and speed had to merge as one. Power and the physical body were extremely important.

Second, one needed exceptionally high talent and comprehension in the water element. Thinking about it that way… Su Zhe's cultivation speed in the Flood Dragon Art was indeed terrifying, but on closer consideration, it could be explained. Su Zhe had a strong body, immense strength, excellent innate talent, and on top of that, extremely high water-element martial dao talent! That was what had created this little monster called Su Zhe!

"Extremely high water-element talent!" The Lords of Casting Heart Manor, Salvation Manor, and Bing Xuan Manor all revealed unusual expressions, as if surprised and expectant at the same time.

"This boy's luck is heaven-defying! A low-grade Profound Ice water spirit—something like that is probably beyond even many core disciples, right?"

"Luck? Is it really just luck? He already had the strength to dive to the fifty-nine-meter limit of the Snow Condensation Realm! So-called luck is nothing more than a modest phrase used by the strong!"

"Su Zhe is absolutely deserving of first place in this disciple recruitment ceremony. He can definitely enter the core directly. Within three years, he'll surely become a true disciple!" The disciples and elders of Zhu Jian Shanzhuang all sighed with emotion. When they looked at Su Zhe, it was as though they were seeing a rising star. One that would surely shine throughout Zhu Jian Shanzhuang. As for entering the true disciple sequence, no one doubted it. All Su Zhe needed was enough time.

"Su Zhe is indeed extraordinary. First place in this assessment belongs to him. He should enter the core directly!" After considering Su Zhe's strength, performance, and temperament, Xuan Yuan Yizheng was full of praise for him. He nodded and spoke. Entering the core directly meant becoming a core disciple right away. Disciples of Zhu Jian Shanzhuang who passed the assessment became inner sect disciples. Inner sect disciples were divided into core disciples and ordinary disciples. Above them were true disciples.

True disciples were also known as the true disciple sequence. The so-called sequence referred to the ten true disciples collectively accepted by the five great manor lords of Zhu Jian Shanzhuang. Those ten true disciples were the true disciple sequence. Su Zhe had done his homework beforehand. He knew that the treatment given to core disciples was far better than what ordinary disciples received. Hearing Xuan Yuan Yizheng say this, Su Zhe's expression remained calm.

Over all these years, entering the core directly could already be considered the best result in any previous disciple recruitment ceremony. Only the first place of the ceremony—the so-called True Dragon Champion—had a chance to receive such an honor. If a particular disciple recruitment ceremony lacked overall strength, then even the True Dragon Champion might not reach the level required to enter the core directly.

At most, they would remain an ordinary disciple while receiving a bit more attention from the powerful elders of Zhu Jian Shanzhuang, shortening the time it would take them to be promoted to core disciple in the future. Zhu Jian Shanzhuang presided over all of Tang Prefecture, with eighteen counties under its rule. Countless geniuses and talented youths were like fish in a river, all caught in Zhu Jian Shanzhuang's net. They were brought into Zhu Jian Shanzhuang as fresh blood, keeping it full of life.

As the saying went— The Sword-Casting Ancestor's strategy was truly long-reaching, netting heroes until their hair turned white. Learn martial arts, then sell yourself to the sect. That was all there was to it. At the same time, this showed just how exceptional someone had to be to enter the core directly during the disciple recruitment ceremony.

"Hmph! If that's what you're saying… then I'm not happy with it!"

"Someone with one-in-a-thousand innate talent already has the makings of a core disciple. My disciple's innate talent far surpasses one-in-a-thousand. Letting him enter the core directly is far too much of a waste!" When Manor Lord Yu Shen heard Xuan Yuan Yizheng's words, she suddenly frowned and let out a cold snort.

Xuan Yuan Yizheng's brows furrowed slightly at Yu Shen's disrespect, but knowing her temperament, he held back his temper and said patiently,"Then Junior Sister Yu Shen, what do you think should be done?" Manor Lord Yu Shen stood up and flicked her long robe.

"Simple! He enters the true disciple sequence directly!" Straight into the true disciple sequence! The crowd erupted! Since Zhu Jian Shanzhuang began holding disciple recruitment ceremonies, there had never been such a precedent! This Yu Shen… Had she lost her mind?