Chapter 29: The Apprentice Ceremony (2) Part 1

◎Each carries their own melancholy, yet all hearts are tied to one person◎

The blazing sun spilled down. The vast training ground was flanked on three sides by tiered seating, packed with disciples in different uniforms—Inner Sect, Outer Sect, and Handyman Disciples alike. All were in high spirits, brimming with excitement as they gazed toward the center of the grounds, engaged in eager chatter with one another.

Colorful banners of different hues were planted on either side of their seats, fluttering in the wind.

From a distance, the three sides of the training ground resembled layer upon layer of fine fish scales under the sunlight, reflecting a shimmer that rose and fell like stormy, surging waves.

The great drums thundered, awaiting the new disciples who had passed the final trial to step onto the grounds. Following instructions, they sat down below the arena platform one by one, each so tense that their entire bodies were rigid.

At the sight of them, thunderous cheers erupted from the spectator seats.

These “veteran” seniors who had already entered the sect, adopting the mentality of jaded old-timers who had been through it all, took particular delight in watching the newcomers make a spectacle.

They continuously threw flower bouquets or colored ribbons downward. The more excitable ones even stood up, leaning over the railings and waving their arms as they howled.

Off to the side, someone had cleared a clean area, laid out a cloth, and written down the names of the disciples most likely to win. Squatting on the ground, he hawked on both sides for people to place their bets.

As the final stage of the Grand Apprentice-Making Ceremony, to have made it this far proved that a disciple had at least one outstanding trait—at minimum, they would be an Inner Sect disciple.

But as long as there were better options, the struggle would inevitably continue.

Thus, these new disciples would face off in pairs. As long as they didn’t forfeit, they could all come up to display their skills and contend for the seats of Elder’s Disciples as victors.

Which naturally meant there was a gambling ring like this nearly every term.

And before this, the several layers of trial stages that had sieved out most of the new disciples had already revealed a disciple’s overall strength.

Based on their performance, a few of the more prominent ones were chosen as the subjects for betting, with people guessing who the ultimate victor would be. This game never grew old.

One person jumped down, crouched beside the cloth, and tapped with a finger: “I’m betting that disciple named Jiang Yanyu will win!”

Someone rolled up their sleeves, silver clutched in their palm as they shook it, their gaze sweeping over the cloth a few times before slamming a hand down with a smack: “I bet on Yan Guixing!”

Another person, a toothpick clenched between their teeth as they leaned on the railing, said: “All of you, mesmerized by nothing but beauty—none of you have a sharp eye.”

“Then who do you say it is?”

“It’s obvious. That disciple called Cuicuo is going to win. A tournament final like this requires someone with a ferocious, forceful temperament.”

While the discussion was buzzing here, Teacher Xiao Yuanming down below had already begun explaining the competition rules to the new disciples.

The three sides of spectator seating on the training grounds—the remaining side was the Elder seating, elevated a level higher than the Martial Arts Stage and the instructor seats on either side.

For such a grand occasion, the Sect Leader, the Vice Sect Leader, and their children should have all been present, seated together at the very center of the Elder seating.

But the Sect Leader had long concealed his whereabouts, Yun Kaiye was dead, and the Vice Sect Leader, lost in inconsolable grief, had shut his doors and refused to come out.

Yun Jinxue looked at those three empty chairs. If she were the only one sitting there, it would be far too awkward. She therefore went to sit by Nan Yuan’s side as before.

The long tables in front of the several Elders were piled full of personal information on the disciples who had broken through to the dueling stage—from their dates of birth to their family circumstances, cultivation progress, and their performances in the previous trials, all detailed to an exhaustive degree.

Qiao Yushan sat with her legs crossed, leaning back against her chair, a sheet of paper pinched between her fingers as she read its contents, her long hair loosely tied up.

Wu Feiran stood at her side, carefully offering tea: “Shizun, please rest a while.”

Qiao Yushan took the tea and drank it in one go. She placed the empty cup back, rubbed her palm on the table, and pulled out two more sheets to continue reading.

Wu Feiran put the cup away and began peeling an apple. A remarkably intact length of apple peel hung down—clearly the work of an experienced hand.

After peeling the apple, she sliced it into pieces and placed them in a small bowl, setting it within Qiao Yushan’s easy reach. Then she waited by the side.

Nearly everyone present had their gazes fixed on the center of the grounds, their attention captured by those new disciples. Wu Feiran alone was constantly observing her Shizun’s needs and had barely sat down at all.

And Qiao Yushan, clearly, had long grown accustomed to this mode of interaction.

Yun Jinxue felt a tiny shock in her heart. She hadn’t expected that this high-and-mighty, cold beauty who looked so difficult to provoke would be so utterly obedient in front of her own Shizun.

But speaking of obedience, Yun Jinxue also thought of another person.

She turned her head to look toward the new disciples’ seats. The distance was too great—each person’s face was a blur—but she still recognized where Yan Guixing was at a single glance.

Teacher Xiao Yuanming was still reading the rules. Almost all the disciples were listening attentively. Only that one girl had turned her gaze toward the Elder seating.

Yun Jinxue chuckled softly and waved at her. She didn’t know if she could see clearly from that far away.

Yan Guixing realized that her stolen glance at the person had been discovered and hurriedly averted her gaze.

Seeing the child whip her head around, Yun Jinxue felt somewhat amused, as if she could already see that bashful expression.

She had just been thinking of looking for where the other worrying child was when she saw the little female lead turn her head again and also wave at her.

Was she responding to the wave from just now?

Yun Jinxue thought to herself: Too well-behaved. Once the Apprentice Ceremony is over, I must treat her to a big meal.

She then went looking for the little villain, who was even more conspicuous than the little female lead.

Because the new disciples were all basically wearing inconspicuous gray robes. She alone was decked out in bright red from head to toe, impossible not to notice even if one wanted to.

And she didn’t seem to be listening attentively either. She sat at the highest point of the new disciple section, counting exactly how many people were present.

Was she confirming how many enemies she had?

Yun Jinxue recalled that exceedingly arrogant remark Jiang Yanyu had made on the back cliff of Sword Summit a few days before.

[If I can become the number one in the Grand Apprentice-Making Ceremony, would you agree to one thing for me?]

In that instant, watching her with her spirit soaring so high, Yun Jinxue seemed to have forgotten the original novel’s plot development and had truly believed she would take first place at the Grand Apprentice-Making Ceremony.

It was only that she had very quickly realized that this was likely impossible.

But she had still agreed.

It was also the matter of the Fish Core that had caused her guilt to act up.

Even though rationally she knew she hadn’t actually been wrong, she still couldn’t help agreeing to all of this child’s demands.

Yun Jinxue lifted her gaze toward the Martial Arts Performance Field.

It was just that the outcome of this Apprentice Ceremony was destined to shatter all of that young girl’s current self-respect and pride.

The sunlight split into forked strands, like rainbow glass columns of light, projecting downward.

As Yun Jinxue watched, she suddenly realized—that wasn’t necessarily so.

For now, the plot had already deviated considerably.

The Jiang Family had been exterminated ahead of schedule, Yun Kaiye had died a miserable death, and even that fellow Pan Bohun had exited the stage early. What else couldn’t happen?

But if the little villain truly won, and didn’t experience the shattering of her Golden Core today—then would she still be able to discover that she was a Devil being?

Even holding the original novel in hand, she couldn’t guess the next step forward. Better to just quietly observe the changes.

Over there, Xiao Yuanming had finished reading the rules, added a few words to inspire hearts and encourage the defeated, and with that, the competition began.

There were a total of thirty-six disciples participating in the final duels. According to some rule, they were split in half—two squads, eighteen people each.

These eighteen would duel in pairs. Each squad would produce one victor, who would then compete one final time to determine the ultimate winner. Afterward, based on previous results, the rankings would continue in order.

For the sake of competing for the seats of Elder’s Disciples, the dueling stage of every term’s Grand Apprentice-Making Ceremony would always be fought with incomparable ferocity. Drawing blood was normal, and everyone tacitly accepted that the matches would be fierce.

However, the cause of this state of affairs was basically all due to misinformation.

Winning in the final duels could indeed better display one’s strength or reveal a deeper level of cultivation, and it was indeed possible to take the initiative in proposing which Elder one wished to have as Shizun.

But the crux of the matter lay in the fact that the final decision-making power in the apprentice-taking affair still rested in the hands of the Elders.

In other words, whether they took a disciple or not did not depend on victory alone. What was more important was whether the Elders found the disciple pleasing to the eye.

In the original novel, Cuicuo successively defeated the female lead and the villain, becoming the victor of this term’s Apprentice Ceremony. But he did not become an Elder’s Disciple.

The reason was that he had grown up roaming the streets and was used to fighting dirty brawls. In his bones, he believed that a fight had to end in a gory, clear-cut defeat, and therefore, he struck rather heavily when dueling others.

The Elders did not like this kind of cultivator who lacked a sense of propriety and used insidious methods, so no one chose him.

And the person who became an Elder’s Disciple in this term was only the female lead, whom Yan He had taken a fancy to due to her body’s lightness and agility, and her calm, steady temperament.

Thus, chasing only victory was truly a matter of misinformation spreading further and further. Many people overlooked that the key lay in the details of one’s performance.

Whether one could demonstrate clear thought, or quick reflexes, or profound spiritual power, or excellent moral character—it was fine to display any point, except for pure violence, which alone was unacceptable.

Otherwise, so many terms of the Apprentice Ceremony could not possibly have always produced only this many Elder’s Disciples.

The great drums thundered again, mingled with the high-pitched sound of some instrument Yun Jinxue couldn’t name, like an opening fanfare. The crowd in the spectator seats boiled over once more.

Those two children were divided into different squads, and the one to compete first was the squad the little female lead was in.