Chapter 0542: Temporary Disciples

Chapter 0542 Provisional Disciples

These special provisional disciples were temporarily representing Immortal Armament City to carry out certain tasks.

Qin Yun recalled Mu Fengxiao mentioning earlier that the Five Immortal Sects and the Rune Hall had discovered a Celestial Beast Wasteland.

Because this Celestial Beast Wasteland was protected by the Nine Suns, only those at the Ninth-Level Martial Path could enter.

Anyone exceeding this cultivation level would be unable to enter.

Among the Outer Sect disciples of the Five Immortal Sects, there were also many outstanding Ninth-Level Martial Path disciples.

However, since many of them were elite talents, the Five Immortal Sects were reluctant to send their best disciples into the Celestial Beast Wasteland.

Yet, they still desired the resources within, so they began recruiting provisional disciples.

If these disciples performed exceptionally well in the Celestial Beast Wasteland, they could become full-fledged sect disciples.

As a result, many Ninth-Level Martial Path cultivators eager to join the sects rushed to take part in the assessment.

Scions of the Five Major Clans and Ten Noble Families arrived from all over.

Other immortal sects also followed Immortal Armament City’s example and began recruiting disciples.

Qin Yun hurried to the front gates of the Immortal Armament Palace.

The Immortal Armament Palace was tremendously vast, situated at the center of Immortal Armament City.

It was the core of Immortal Armament City—one of the Five Immortal Sects, a supreme sect!

Immortal Armament City had many skyscrapers, but the Immortal Armament Palace itself contained no structures. Instead, it housed numerous mountains, resembling a miniature mountain range.

Entering this palace was extremely strict.

Thus, the disciple recruitment was only held at the front gates.

This was an opportunity to become a disciple of Immortal Armament City.

Moreover, the lure of the Celestial Beast Wasteland was irresistible.

Qin Yun was determined to seize this chance to become a sect disciple.

He soon arrived at the front gates of the Immortal Armament Palace.

The place was packed with cultivators—scions of noble houses with status and influence, as well as disciples from lesser sects.

Back in their home regions, they might act arrogantly, but here, they could only bow their heads meekly.

Because in front of sect disciples, they dared not act arrogantly.

Especially after learning about the existence of someone as transcendent as Liu Jingmeng, their fear of such sects grew.

Within the immortal sects, there were all manner of geniuses.

As soon as Qin Yun arrived, he spotted Mu Fengxiao.

Mu Fengxiao was an unmistakable, flamboyantly dressed fatty.

Jian Lang and Chu Binyu were also observing from the sidelines.

Qin Yun approached and only then discovered that the selection process for provisional disciples was handled by Chu Binyu and the Qiwen Halls.

Among the Immortal Soldier City, the East Qiwen Hall, South Qiwen Hall, and West Qiwen Hall were on excellent terms with the city.

Only the North Qiwen Hall was under the Medicine Immortal Valley's control.

It was only because the Immortal Soldier City was open that the Medicine Immortal Valley managed to establish a presence here.

However, now the North Qiwen Hall was to be closed for five years, while the South and West Qiwen Halls could establish branch halls.

In five years, the North Qiwen Hall was certain to collapse.

And all of this was caused by Qin Yun!

The Medicine Immortal Valley had suffered such a significant loss of influence here and would surely have it out for Qin Yun.

"Qin Yun, how's it feel getting the Dragon Bloodline?" Chu Binyu asked with a smile.

This Chu Binyu appeared like a kindly old man, but Qin Yun knew very well that this Manor Lord was not to be trifled with—Jian Lang had been tricked by him before.

"Not bad! I'll need to find someone to spar with to see the effects!" Qin Yun replied with a chuckle.

Yue Wulan and Tian Ruoleng were also here.

Qin Yun quickly greeted them and asked, "Big Sis, Second Sis, are you also becoming provisional disciples?"

"Yes, we ranked first in the Blade-and-Sword Combat Tournament, so we can skip the trials and directly become provisional disciples!" Yue Wulan said with a smile.

"That's great! I didn't want to go through those tedious trials either!" Qin Yun sighed in relief.

"With hard work, provisional disciples can become full-fledged disciples of the Immortal Soldier City!"

"Don't worry—even if you become disciples of the Immortal Soldier City, you can still return to the Sword and Blade Manor in the future! Many of our disciples who entered the immortal sects followed this path!" Chu Binyu said with a laugh.

The immortal sects didn’t interfere much with this arrangement; in fact, they strongly supported it.

Over time, these smaller sects would naturally become affiliated with the immortal sects.

"Provisional disciples are, frankly speaking, just expendable troops!" Qin Yun shook his head and smiled.

"If you want to enter an immortal sect, you have to pay some price," Jian Lang said. "If I were at the Ninth Layer, I'd want to throw my hat in the ring too!"

The registration and assessment period lasted one month!

Jian Mang also came. Though he had to take the assessment, he passed it easily.

Soon, the assessment concluded, with barely 200 candidates passing.

Out of over ten thousand Ninth Layer martial artists who took the assessment, only about 200 succeeded.

Aside from various requirements, there was also an age limit—no older than 30.

And on the final day, they even had to undergo screenings for Martial Souls and Dao Pills!

This seemed to be a last-minute stipulation—those with dual Martial Souls or dual Dao Pills were disqualified outright. No explanation was given for the reason.

Mu Fengxiao frowned at Qin Yun and sent a mental message, "Qin Yun, you'll never make it past screening. You should bow out now before they expose you!" he said telepathically.

"Don't worry about it!"

Qin Yun secretly rejoiced, as his Vibration Martial Soul and Thunderflame Martial Soul had both merged into his body.

The Dao Pellets had also integrated with his Profound Body, coexisting in another form.

In this state, he no longer fell under the category of dual-core cultivation.

Yet Qin Yun still got in line for screening.

To his surprise, there were actually several people with dual-core cultivation.

Though they couldn’t enter the Celestial Beast Wastelands, they still garnered attention, being youngsters possessing dual Martial Souls and dual Dao Pellets.

When Qin Yun lined up for the test, he cleared it effortlessly.

This stunned Mu Fengxiao.

He knew very well that the sensing crystal was extremely powerful—impossible to deceive—yet Qin Yun had managed to pass.

Chu Binyu and Jian Lang were also somewhat astonished. They knew Qin Yun could wield both thunder and flame, with terrifying power, and had assumed he possessed dual Martial Souls.

Qin Yun wore a straw hat and made simple alterations to his appearance. As long as he didn’t reveal his name, he wouldn’t draw attention.

After all, his victory over Long Quan and Long Yuetao had made him a hot topic.

His skill with mystic inscriptions was formidable, but since he hadn’t claimed a badge, people still thought he was a mere beginner...

Once the temporary disciples were selected, a colossal airship flew out from the Immortal Soldier Palace.

Jian Lang did not board the ship, as he had to return to the Swordblade Manor.

Thus, Tian Ruoleng, Yue Wulan, Qin Yun, and Jian Mang formed a four-man squad.

All four of them were exceptionally strong Ninth Layer martial artists.

Chu Binyu was to see them to the Celestial Beast Wastelands and wait outside for their return, so he would accompany them as well.

Due to Chu Binyu’s high status, they were given a premium cabin aboard the flying ship.

"I bet Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian will definitely come too. The only question is, which immortal sect’s temporary disciples will they be?" Though Jian Mang was blind, his hearing was sharp, and he knew many things.

Chu Binyu chuckled. "Not only do immortal sects have temporary disciples, but the Five Star Gates and the three Moon Sects will also send their own. For such a major event, they’ll surely want in on the action. The loot in the Celestial Beast Wastelands is valued even by immortal sects, let alone these factions."

"Why are people with dual Dao Pellets restricted from entering?" Tian Ruoleng asked, puzzled.

"Because those with dual Dao Pellets are too strong—they’d upset the equilibrium the moment they enter!" Chu Binyu’s expression darkened slightly as he looked at Qin Yun. "Qin Yun, you have too many Dao Artifacts. I hope they won’t keep you out because of that."

"My Dao Artifacts haven’t been tempered yet. What are they afraid of?" Qin Yun snorted.

As if on cue, just as Chu Binyu voiced his concern, someone knocked on the door.

The knock came from a middle-aged man in azure robes.

"Old Chu, there’s something I need to discuss with you."

The man stepped inside and glanced at Qin Yun.

"Go ahead," Chu Binyu quickly invited him to speak.

"I won’t sit. I’ll keep it brief," the azure-robed man said. "This is about Qin Yun."

"Qin Yun became a provisional disciple without taking the test, which has left many provisional disciples dissatisfied—and they’re causing trouble outside!"

Chu Binyu said, "So what if a bunch of provisional disciples are unhappy? Let them whine all they want!"

"Old Chu, these disciples were incited to cause trouble! If we don’t calm them down, they might refuse to enter the Celestial Beast Wilds! With so few provisional disciples left, we’ll catch hell from the higher-ups!"

The blue-robed middle-aged man spoke with a troubled expression.

"Who incited them?" Chu Binyu’s usually kind and gentle face suddenly darkened ominously.

"No clue… but my money’s on the Long or Yang families from the Immortal Armament City. Our city also has members from those two families!" The blue-robed man glanced at Qin Yun and said, "To calm them down, Qin Yun has to take the test."

"No problem!" Qin Yun chuckled. "Thought I’d gotten off easy, but it seems I can’t escape it after all!"

Soon, they arrived at a spacious hall in the ship’s cabin.

The more than two hundred protesting provisional disciples were gathered there.

"The same test you took, Qin Yun will take as well—so you’ll see he’s the real deal!"

After entering, Chu Binyu wore a smile, but his eyes carried an invisible chill that sent a wave of fear through the disciples.

Qin Yun smiled and asked, "What’s the test about? It should be pretty easy, right?"

A disciple sneered, "Think you’re hot stuff? It’s brutal! Out of over ten thousand candidates, only two hundred passed. That shows how tough it is!"

"He’s just a guy who relies on good weapons—of course he doesn’t understand the importance of true strength!"

"A hack like him’s got no real chops! He only knows how to use scavenged mystical weapons and Dao Artifacts!"

Qin Yun saw right through it—these disciples were being manipulated; someone didn’t want him waltzing in as a provisional disciple.

"If you’re so sure I’m trash, then fight me directly! I won’t use any weapons or wear armor!"

Qin Yun wanted to shut them up for good so they wouldn’t cause trouble in the future.