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Chapter 216 Recruitment
He Lingxiu had been busy defending her title for the past few days, and only had some free time after securing her spot. However, she had overheard a lot of discussions in the courtyard, which matched what Xiao Hanyan had said.

Forbidden sword, drawn sword, robe...

Those who witnessed the scene, though unable to understand it, had seen it with their own eyes, while Lingxiu had only heard about it, which only fueled their curiosity.

At this moment, seeing Junior Brother Ji stride over, his white robes fluttering and his aura restrained, He Lingxiu couldn't help but observe him carefully and discovered that he was indeed still at the upper level of the Profound Realm.

For some reason, even though he was a whole realm lower, He Lingxiu could feel a surging aura coming towards her as he approached, making her heart tremble.

Like He Lingxiu, the other six people also sensed an unusual aura at close range. It was not caused by the difference in their cultivation levels, but by something else.

It originates from the depths of the heart and then radiates outwards to the mind, moving from the inside out rather than from the outside in, making it impossible to discern clearly.

In fact, after the preliminary rounds ended, they all met Liu Qichen, who was challenging them in the second round, and asked him about what happened back then out of curiosity.

The elders had warned him that day not to defend against Ji You, but to attack to have a chance. However, Liu Qichen ultimately switched from attacking to blocking. Everyone was curious about why he made such a sudden move.

Liu Qichen said that wasn't a block.

Blocking is a selective action; offense and defense lie in the shift of thought.

But the moment Ji You raised his sword, he felt as if he had been locked onto by a colossal beast, his whole body trembling, and his only thought was to protect himself.

Therefore, calling it a block is incorrect; it was merely a self-protective act from the heart.

Was it because of Ji You's body tempering? Or something else...? He couldn't say for sure.

The path of Daoist cultivation is traceable, with the level of cultivation being the most obvious indicator. However, body refinement is a minor path where the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, and there are virtually no records of it in the Azure Cloud World.

At this moment, Ji You came to the seat next to He Lingxiu, lifted his robe and sat down.

He didn't know most of the people here, but he did have some connection with Senior Sister He, who had a broad vision and a heart for the world.

Seeing that he had sat down, He Lingxiu couldn't help but say, "That day when I came out of seclusion, I met my junior brother on the mountain path. He said that he got the spot without any danger, but I later heard that he only used four swords. Is that what you call a close call?"

"It was indeed a close call."

He Lingxiu glanced at him: "What's the surprise?"

Upon hearing this, Ji You spoke up: "Naturally, others were alarmed, but Bo Chang was unharmed."

"It can be... explained like this?"

"Actually, it was a lucky break. Others probably thought I couldn't use swordsmanship, so they lowered their guard against me, giving me a better chance. If they had fought with all their might, the outcome might have been different. It's a pity no one tried, otherwise they would have been exposed."

Ji You attributed his overwhelming victory that day to clever tactics, making himself seem less formidable.

Just like clever bandits who pretend to be unarmed when they first rob people, in order to make it easier to develop customers later.

He's currently hoping someone will suddenly jump out, yell "What are you pretending for?", and then give him a sword strike, solving his problem of having a pig-like appetite and an empty wallet after body tempering.

However, his reputation at the Heavenly Academy was so great that the chances of him encountering someone as stubborn as him were very small.

When the Heavenly Way Society arrives, in an environment where most people don't know him, he might be able to encounter such passionate clients.

As expected, the four people at the Fusion Realm naturally did not believe it.

If we're talking about Wu Zhen, it's possible that he let his guard down and was thus lulled to sleep by Yi Jian.

After all, everyone thought that without the swordsmanship of Lingjian Mountain, Ji You was just a toothless tiger. But even though Liu Qichen had almost maxed out his defense, he still couldn't hold out until the fourth sword strike.

However, those at the Tongxuan Realm, such as Wang Gaocen and Gu Zetao, seemed to be deep in thought.

"Wen Zhengxin, how is he now?"

"Fortunately, she tricked me out of a meal the other day, but she is still continuing her enlightenment and cultivation step by step. However, Senior Sister He, my Senior Sister Wen is not to be underestimated."

He Lingxiu glanced at him sideways: "When we entered the academy back then, we were about the same age and were female cultivators from the same hall, so we could be considered friends. But Wen Zhengxin didn't understand at the time that personal disciples don't necessarily only look at cultivation level, and that's not something I could choose."

Ji You did not respond after hearing this.

In his view, the established order of the political landscape has been solidified for so many years, and fairness cannot be achieved under such circumstances.

However, he still felt awkward about this situation.

It's like seeing ordinary people working themselves to the bone, giving up most of their labor to offer as tribute to the immortals on the mountain, so that they can retreat into the deep forests to cultivate immortality without any distractions.

He had heard people say that where there is oppression, there will inevitably be resistance.

However, there is still an insurmountable gap in strength between cultivators, let alone between immortals and mortals, but they still cannot stand it.

Seeing that he remained silent, He Lingxiu shifted her body, her waist twisting with a "Duang" sound.

Seeing this, Ji You glanced sideways and pondered, thinking to himself that his stubborn senior sister Wen had still lost somewhat.

At the very least, we lost by a C.

In the following hour, the three stewards of the Steward's Office arrived and spoke with everyone about the Heavenly Dao Society.

The Heavenly Dao Society was held in Zhongzhou, a large northern prefecture called Zhongxing County, located west of Shengjing.

Since ancient times, that has been the territory of the human race.

Therefore, there is an ancient Taoist temple in Zhongxing County, which is the location of this Heavenly Dao Assembly.

The actual Heavenly Dao Assembly is not entirely the same as what ordinary people think of it. It is not just about pure martial arts competitions, but also includes a Daoist debate conference.

The Dao Discussion Conference is for the participation of the elders and has nothing to do with the disciples. The disciples mainly participate in the martial arts competition.

Qingyun Tianxia has nearly a hundred families that have been around for over a hundred years. Including the Immortal Sect, there are about two hundred people in the Tongxuan Realm and one hundred in the Rongdao Realm participating in this event. Therefore, the competition will be conducted in groups to defend their positions.

The number of venues and specific rules have not yet been announced, but they are expected to be similar to the previous group-based competition format.

Contestants will be assigned to different battlefields, and the final top ten will be determined by the main players of each sub-battle. It is a high-intensity competition that will last longer than you can imagine.

It's not uncommon for people to break through their limits during a major competition.

According to the rules of the Heavenly Dao Assembly, even if a participant in the Profound Realm breaks through to the initial or even intermediate stage of the Dao Fusion Realm on the spot, they will still participate as a participant in the Profound Realm.

Therefore, in recent years, in order to qualify for entry into the places where sages comprehended the Dao, many disciples of immortal sects would even suppress their cultivation level before the competition and break through their cultivation level as soon as they entered the arena in order to increase their chances of winning.

The reason the Council of Affairs emphasized this matter was to give them more time to prepare.

As expected, among the four participants in the Profound Realm, apart from Ji You, the expressions of the others gradually became somewhat solemn.

Some members of ancient families who have reached the Tongxuan level are actually only of average combat strength, and are likely not as strong as those from immortal sects.

Random matchmaking means that everyone's opponents will not necessarily be of the same level, and some people may even encounter someone who breaks through to the next major realm right before the competition.

So after Manager Qin finished speaking, discussions arose about whether the competition format was fair.

Ji You found the whispers quite amusing.

The preliminary selection within the Immortal Sect was also unfair, but they were all beneficiaries and perhaps hadn't cared about it before.

Now the situation has reversed, and they have begun to pursue fairness and justice.

This is actually the same as what He Lingxiu just said. In an unfair situation, only those who have all the advantages can calmly say that they also cannot choose.

Once they are at a significant disadvantage, these people will ask why they can't choose.

However, the good thing is that Ji You feels he will meet many potential clients at the Heavenly Dao Conference...

In addition to the competition format, the heads of the Hall of State also analyzed some of the formidable opponents they might encounter, as well as some who might break through to higher realms before the competition, based on the list currently circulating, urging everyone to pay close attention.

He Lingxiu then looked at Ji You: "What do you think about the possibility of someone breaking through to a higher realm on the spot, Junior Brother?"

Ji You came to her senses: "I am only responsible for drawing my sword; winning or losing is a matter of fate."

"It has a touch of the natural way of things."

He Lingxiu stood up from her seat: "Later, all of you fellow disciples will be going for tea together. Junior Brother Ji, please come with us."

Ji You looked up upon hearing this: "I still have some matters to attend to at the outer courtyard, so I need to go down the mountain later." "It's spirit tea, sent by several aristocratic families in Zhongzhou. It's been sitting for a while now. If you think it's good, Junior Brother, you can take some back with you."

"?"

After leaving Qingfeng Hall, everyone gathered at the tea pavilion in Zizhu Zen Forest.

The crowd was abuzz with discussion about the rules of the Heavenly Dao Society that the head of the council had just told them, with all sorts of opinions circulating.

Ji You, however, was not interested in that; he was more interested in the tea in front of him.

This tea comes from Lingcha Mountain and has been cultivated for many years. After drinking a cup, you can feel a clear energy flowing through your body.

This is what these disciples of the immortal sect drink every day. It's nothing special to others, but to Ji You, it's a corner of the heavenly palace, something a poor man like him can't even see.

He Lingxiu then moved closer to him and said, “In my Zizai Hall, there is an elder named Qiu who has no relation to the Elders’ Pavilion. This tea is offered by the Qiu family’s manor. Elder Qiu has a granddaughter who is not yet married.”

Ji You, holding her teacup, asked, "Senior Sister He, are you here to propose marriage to me?"

"I just wanted to ask if you'd be interested in getting to know me?"

"I still have several women I'm entangled with, so I'd better just forget about it."

He Lingxiu glanced at him and said, "If you have the ability, your legal wife can still be a daughter of the Dan Sect. There is no conflict."

The saying "one man's meat is another man's poison" applies here.

Some people have real conflicts of interest with Ji You, so naturally they don't like him.

But some people might see his immense talent and think it's a good bet.

He Lingxiu spoke very tactfully, but what she meant was that Ji You should sit with them.

These spiritual teas and fruits, though rare to those below, were nothing more than mundane things in their eyes.

Ji You has now received an invitation to enter through the Heavenly Dao Society, and has seen the olive branches extended by the families united by the Zizai Hall, such as the He family, the Zuoqiu family, and the Qiu family, and other such united forces.

After all, in He Lingxiu's view, Ji You was very likely to enter the place where the sages proved their Dao, and after coming out, he might be able to touch the threshold of the Yingtian Realm.

A mere Transcendent Realm cultivator might not be worth offending some elders or forces who disapprove of him.

But a person at the Yingtian Realm is a completely different matter.

More importantly, if he really marries the daughter of the Dan Sect, then the sisters will naturally become relatives.

As Ji You listened to her words, he thought to himself that with such an arrogant fairy keeping his backyard in check, Yuan Caiwei's desire to become his legal wife wasn't about whether he was capable or not, but about whether she herself was capable or not.

“Junior Brother Ji, you are different from the other disciples in the academy. With your talent, you shouldn’t just be an ordinary disciple who can’t even enter the Five Great Halls. No one cares about the matter at Yecheng Mountain in Fengzhou anymore. You should start thinking about your own future.”

Ji You yawned: "It's great to latch onto a powerful figure. Participating in the preliminary rounds will naturally prevent you from even being unable to use your swordsmanship. But the problem is that once you latch onto someone, you can only follow wherever that powerful figure goes."

He Lingxiu raised the teacup to her lips: "I know you care about mortals, but marriage won't make things difficult for you."

"But sometimes you're not in control of your own destiny, so it's more liberating to be a private cultivator in the countryside, where you can do whatever you want."

"Junior brother is a strange person."

"I don't blame you, I'm just afraid that if I ask myself again, I'll still feel guilty."

In fact, Ji You has received many letters in the past few days, asking to become Daoist partners.

Some were written by senior female students in the academy, while others were written by daughters of prominent families in the capital. They covered a wide range of topics and were even more exciting than what I had received when I entered the inner academy.

Of course, there were also some letters written by the parents, saying that they had a daughter who was well-educated and reasonable and had reached marriageable age, etc.

Among them were princesses from the Great Xia Dynasty and daughters of prominent families around Shengjing.

Some letters even included a dowry list, detailing the amount of gold, silver, fertile land, and spirit stones.

His weakness was no secret for a long time; almost everyone wanted to use it to strike a blow to his heart.

But in this world, there is no such thing as emerging from the mud unsullied.

Ji You had a slender, long, fair thigh to hug without being restricted, so naturally she didn't want to choose any calves.

He drank a few cups of tea, listened to the others' chatter, and then got up and left the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest.

When they saw him gracefully depart in his white robes, the tea pavilion fell silent for a moment, and then everyone looked towards He Lingxiu.

Although unwilling to admit it, Ji You now has enough reasons to be recruited, and what He Lingxiu is thinking is actually what other powerful families are thinking as well.

Unfortunately, this person was not obedient.

To others, this personality trait can be described as either arrogant or, to put it bluntly, conceited.

Without any established tradition or lineage, and without being courted, in the eyes of many, he was simply able to be so carefree because he hadn't encountered anything beyond his control.

Ji You had already arrived at Cao Jingsong's courtyard and explained the rules of the Heavenly Dao Society to them, which sparked a lively discussion among them.

However, their emotions were clearly not as intense as those of the other participants.

On the one hand, it's because they don't need to play, and on the other hand, it's because they've become somewhat numb to this injustice.

At this moment, Ji You took out the tea leaves that He Lingxiu had given him, put them into the teapot, and while pouring hot water, he talked about how He Lingxiu wanted to be his matchmaker.

Cao Jingsong stroked his long beard and said, "I have heard of the Qiu family. They are not many people, but their overall strength is quite good. They are a middle-level century-old family. With your talent, it is not surprising that people are jealous of you and recruit you."

Ban Yangshu spoke up upon hearing this: "They underestimate my junior brother too much. Both are century-old families, but the Lu family has two, and they are sisters."

Ji You glanced at him: "You can't just say things like that. It's just a matter of strict teachers producing outstanding students. How come Senior Brother Ban has the same problem as Immortal Emperor Rulong?"

"Uh, just kidding."

"Did you feel a bit cold where you put your money bag?"

Ban Yangshu raised the corners of her mouth: "Every time I come to Instructor Cao's courtyard, I always leave my money bag in the inner courtyard first."

Wen Zhengxin spoke up upon hearing this: "Junior Brother is right to ignore it. Most of the aristocratic families in Qingyun are like this. They make a good deal when they are recruited, but once a marriage alliance is formed, things may change. At that time, even Fengzhou may be affected. Their Dan Sect is different, after all, the Dan Sect has no combat power, so Junior Brother Ji will not be coerced."

Cao Jingsong agreed with the words of the Fairy of Righteousness: "There are too many temptations in this world. If you are not careful, you will fall into them. That's what happened to Lu Da and Liu Qichen. It's good that you can keep yourself pure like your teacher."

After saying the words "keep yourself clean," Instructor Cao suddenly sniffed the air, and a strong aroma of tea suddenly entered his nostrils, causing him to shiver with a sense of clarity.

"What kind of tea is this? Why does it smell so good?"

"Huh, just smelling it makes my Dao heart feel much clearer. It's truly mysterious."

"Has Instructor Cao been accepting gifts again recently?"

"No, I've never seen this tea bag before."

Ji You picked up the teapot and poured the tea into the three people's teacups: "It was given to Zizai Palace by the Qiu family. He Lingxiu brought me some, saying it was spiritual tea, something that poor people can't afford."

Cao Jingsong and the other two picked up their teacups, took a sip of hot tea, and instantly felt a spiritual current spreading through their bodies, clearing their energy channels. Their vision cleared instantly, and even their Dao hearts became much calmer.

The three exchanged a glance, and their gazes toward Ji You turned strange.

"Actually, if you think about it from another perspective, taking a concubine from the Qiu family wouldn't be bad. Although the Lu family has two sisters, the Qiu family's daughter might be even more beautiful."

“Instructor Cao is absolutely right. Although all aristocratic families are the same, there’s a saying that goes, ‘You can remain untainted by the mud.’”

"The daughter of the Dan Sect seems to be gentle and well-educated. She will surely allow you to take a concubine. Wasn't that the case on Xin Yuan's day? You kept a woman in your courtyard, and she didn't say anything. You even spent several days with her."

"?"

Seeing their attitude change as if they had completely transformed, Ji You looked around and then criticized Cao Jingsong: "The instructor is really useless. He can't even withstand such a small test?"

Cao Jingsong narrowed his eyes: "What's the use of being successful? Do you really think your teacher is virtuous and clean? No, I am virtuous and clean because no one has tested me..."

(End of this chapter)