Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1114: The Method of Choosing Disciples

Chapter 1114: Chapter 1114: The Method of Choosing Disciples

Master Sumiao pursued Xue Jingxiang with some difficulty; in the Mortal Realm, she could not fly too conspicuously and had to resort to more restrained flying methods.

Meanwhile, Xue Jingxiang, wary that Feng Jun might catch up, deliberately took several detours.

Master Sumiao, realizing this, didn’t bother to chase too closely; after all, she was just leisurely flying. Finally, after two hours, she pinpointed Xue Jingxiang’s location.

His hideout was carefully chosen: less than two thousand miles from the entrance to the Cultivation World and nestled within the mountains, he had carved out a cave dwelling. Clearly, he was determined to enter the Cultivation World at a moment’s notice.

However, such petty schemes were trivial in the face of absolute power. After Master Sumiao descended, she killed him with a single palm strike and returned at her leisure.

To her, this was nothing but a minor errand, hardly worth calling assistance—she simply wanted Feng Jun to find a way to cure his granddaughter. If anyone meant harm to him, they would have to face her merciless intervention.

Feng Jun, seeing the delivered corpse, slightly furrowed his brows—he didn’t recognize the man.

He had fought Xue Jingxiang several rounds yesterday, but under the confusing darkness, he really did not remember the man’s face.

However... based on the attire, he managed to guess the man’s identity. In fact, throughout last night’s battle, he could sense an almost imperceptible attention focused on the fight.

Upon examining the Storage Bag, he found nothing but a few low-grade Magic Artifacts and Magical Treasures. Only two Kong Ming Stones were of any real value; not a single Spirit Stone was present.

—Spirit Stones should have been there. In fact, Xue Jingxiang had planned to stay in the Secular World for quite a long time, and considering the five thousand Spirit Stones he owed Yan Xiaomo, he had taken more than ten thousand with him.

But those Spirit Stones were unhesitatingly taken by Master Sumiao. For someone like her, such universal hard currency was always welcome.

It was the Kong Ming Stones that were prized by Sword Cultivators. Master Sumiao had no need for them, so she left them for Feng Jun.

For Feng Jun though, the most delightful surprise was a Flying Boat with an absurdly high speed—the Flash Star Boat.

He had always used the Time Shuttle as his Flying Artifact, but now that he had risen in rank, it was somewhat unseemly to continue using such an artifact, especially since it was plundered from Kunlun. Using it constantly in the Earth Realm didn’t sit well with him.

It wasn’t a fear of retaliation from Kunlun, but rather a concern about being underestimated by them—didn’t Luohua have a decent Flying Artifact of its own?

Feng Jun had killed many people and plundered many Storage Bags, possessing various Flying Artifacts, but he earmarked those for his disciples and ladies. He didn’t plan to use any himself, to not steal their thunder upon their dramatic entrances.

Well, that was just one of the reasons. The key issue was that all the large Flying Artifacts from the mobile phone dimension required Spirit Stones, which didn’t align with Earth’s Cultivation World’s consumption habits. Moreover, none of his ladies or disciples owned Spirit Stones yet.

He had given some Spirit Stones to Dong Zenghong, Guan Shanyue, and Tang Wenji, but within Luohua, there really were none. It wasn’t that he was stingy, but rather that they simply had no need—what did Luohua Manor not have?

Regardless, Feng Jun felt that this Flying Boat was quite suitable for him.

Aside from being a Magical Treasure, its key attribute was speed—it was at least six or seven times faster than the Time Shuttle. If he had to travel around the Earth Realm, it would take him only three to four hours to fly from Huaxia to Merrick, and it didn’t require him to use any Spiritual Energy. Just load a Spirit Stone, and the problem was solved.

Indeed, before this, he regarded Spirit Stones as very valuable, but when he possessed more than three hundred thousand, he felt that any issue solvable with Spirit Stones was not an issue at all.

It was still best to not deplete the spiritual energy reserves within his body.

Feng Jun unapologetically accepted these gifts and walked through the rain to a simple nearby courtyard.

Greeting him was Kong Ziyi, who with a smile said, "Um... Master just returned not long ago and is meditating to recuperate. Anything you wish to discuss with the Mountain Master, you can tell me—it’s all the same."

As she spoke, she curiously sized up Feng Jun—she rarely saw such an odd person, who despite being able to keep the rain off with his power, chose to let himself get thoroughly soaked.

"It’s nothing much," Feng Jun said with a smile, "Master helped me assassinate my enemy overnight, and of course, I had to come and give thanks."

Kong Ziyi smiled sweetly, "If you want to thank Master, it’s actually quite simple. Master is very curious about many things concerning you, just explain a thing or two to her... no need for these formalities."

Feng Jun found it difficult to continue on that topic and turned to leave, "Then I will not disturb Master’s rest; I happen to have matters to attend to today as well."

Indeed, he had business today. The Tian Family was gathering its members, saying that Mountain Master Feng was interested in choosing a disciple—everyone should seize the opportunity.

The Tian Family was selecting members, while Feng Jun had invited Shangguan Yunjin to inspect Yan Xiaomo’s Storage Bag.

In Yan Xiaomo’s Storage Bag, there were more than seven thousand three hundred Spirit Stones, matching his testimony.

As for the Magic Artifacts, Magical Treasures, and Cultivation Techniques, Feng Jun did not even let Tian Family members browse them—that was not for them to consider.

However, as a witness, Shangguan Yunjin became unsettled after seeing a Cultivation Technique, "Mountain Master, this Ice Arrow Technique is just what my family needs; would you part with it for five hundred Spirit Stones?"

Feng Jun couldn’t be bothered to haggle with her and gestured, "Bring the Spirit Stones then, but... you may only copy the rubbings."

The Tian Family was making their move, and other clans such as the Yu Family, Mi Family, Chen Family, and Mu Family all sensed the anomaly.

What’s worse, someone leaked the news saying Mountain Master Feng guaranteed a Daoist Qi Refinement Realm for the Tian Family.

Cultivation and guaranteeing a Qi Refinement Realm are not the same at all. One look at Yu Changqing and it becomes clear. As a Cultivation Seedling, she was guided to Wuyou Platform from a young age, but her Cultivation Level reached the seventh layer of Shedding the Mortal Coil, and she dared not reveal her identity in the Mortal Realm.

—It’s not that she couldn’t enter the Qi Refinement Realm, it’s that entering it after the age of twenty-five wouldn’t mean much anymore.

Now everyone at Mount Zhige knows that Mountain Master Feng is likely at the Ascended Realm of Cultivation Level, and so if Mountain Master Feng were to take a disciple, surely they couldn’t be someone who only enters the Qi Refinement Realm after turning twenty-five, otherwise, it would be embarrassing.

Everyone knows that the Tian Family has put the most effort into courting Mountain Master Feng, but... the Tian Family only has the advantage of location.

The Yu, Mi, Chen, and Mu families, which one isn’t stronger than the Tian Family? The first two have cultivators in the Shedding the Mortal Coil realm, and the last two are clans within the Family Alliance. On what grounds does the Tian Family deserve to produce a Qi Refinement Realm disciple?

No one dares to reason with Feng Jun, but everyone unanimously found Tian Yangni: Lao Tian, the way you’re handling things is a bit unfair, why should Mountain Master only choose from the Tian Family?

But Tian Yangni was clearly becoming somewhat arrogant, "Did the Tian Family lose someone? Your families didn’t lose anyone."

A member of the Mu Family coughed dryly, "Let’s talk nicely, if you aren’t convinced... we can make sure all the Tian Family members die off."

The Mu Family has not been part of Mount Zhige for long, but they are part of the Family Alliance, have predecessors in the Cultivation World who have reached the Qi Refinement Realm, and with Mu Fengtang getting along well with Merrick, they dared to speak such words.

For clans like the Mi Family, it’s all the same. Mi Yunshan is already the pillow-side companion of the Mountain Master. They will fight for the opportunities they should but don’t need to provoke the Tian Family, the local old hats—how is whispering in the pillow-side not better?

Tian Yangni, seeing that the Mu Family spoke with authority, did not retort and said that the Tian Family had chosen their disciples anyway, and the others could join in as long as Mountain Master Feng doesn’t find out.

However, who would dare to gamble on Mountain Master Feng’s discerning ability? Those who didn’t believe in curses have already paid the price.

That afternoon, two hundred disciples chosen by the Tian Family gathered outside the courtyard, braving the rain, both male and female—these were the essence of the youth in the Tian Family, excluding those over twenty-five like Tian Lewen, no matter how high their Cultivation Level was.

Feng Jun came out for a glance and felt it somewhat resembled children in red scarves welcoming leaders to inspect in the rain.

With his current status at Mount Zhige, there wasn’t much he couldn’t say, so with a wave of his hand, "Disperse, no need for such formality, just don’t stray too far from the courtyard."

With so many people gathering outside the courtyard, due to the immense reverence for Mountain Master Feng, no one dared to make unnecessary noise. The only sound was the rustling rain, which made the surrounding silence all the more profound.

However, such silence could not affect the attention of two esteemed individuals from Taiqing.

Master Sumiao had toiled all night. Although the Spiritual Energy consumption was not much, the unfriendliness of the Mortal Realm to cultivators made her come back and rest for a bit until she noticed the crowd outside Feng Jun’s courtyard.

With a bit of attention, she understood what had happened here.

It is an iron rule that Mortals cannot cultivate, but Mortals entering an Immortal Sect can become disciples after going through the necessary procedures.

Previously, Feng Jun did not have the authority to accept disciples during his Qi Refinement Realm, and allowing Mi Yunshan and Chen Junsheng to freeload some Spiritual Energy was a borderline act. If anyone investigated, such behavior might not get by unnoticed.

But now he has ascended to the Dust-Free Realm, past matters don’t need to be mentioned. He even has the right to publicly screen potential disciples.

Master Sumiao was concerned with how he planned to select them.

Feng Jun straightforwardly took out the Ascension Mirror, a gift from Luo Shuchen of the Heavenly Heart Platform.

The Ascension Mirror swept over them and not a single one of the two hundred people passed.

This was not surprising; the Ascension Mirror of the Four Sects and Wutai is not meant to test ordinary Cultivation Seedlings. It wouldn’t be strange if not one among two thousand, or even twenty thousand people, was found suitable.

Master Sumiao was not disappointed but rather more interested: What other methods do you have?

Feng Jun rifled through his things and took out another Ascension Mirror, which was the one from Kunlun, and after repairing it, he didn’t rush to return it—returning it early or late made no difference, delaying would instead highlight the difficulty of repairing it.

Luo Shuchen once said that this Ascension Mirror had lower requirements than that of the Four Sects and Wutai, and was not suitable for a wide range of assessment.

That is, although Kunlun is in a lesser magical realm with scarcer Spiritual Energy and cultivation resources, due to less contact with the outside, the standards for accepting disciples are actually a bit lower than the Mobile Phone realm—related to the survival and development strategy of sects.

However, even after the sweep of the Kunlun Ascension Mirror, no Cultivation Seedling was selected.

Seeing Feng Jun’s frown tightening, the Tian Family members’ expressions turned awkward.