A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 412 Conspiracy
Lao Sheren reorganized those posts and put them together with the resumes of the sect elders and hidden elders, one by one.

The resume is below and the opened post is above.

This Dragon Fish Hall is where the ceremony of paying respect to the master is performed.

Everyone who is qualified to accept disciples will submit a resume here.

Now, many elders and old masters all want to accept Duan Rong, so the power of choice naturally falls into Duan Rong's hands. He wants to choose a master for himself among these people.

These resumes and the additional conditions listed in the post were all the information he had available for reference.

The old servant had finished everything and checked it again. After confirming that everything was correct, he left the back hall and served tea in the front hall. Seeing that the time was almost up, he asked the younger servants to serve well and walked to the side door of the back hall.

Usually at this time, he would sit at the door and stand up only when he saw someone. But today, he was waiting outside the door early.

Lao Sheren stood outside the door, and when the breeze blew through the hall, his sleeves and beard fluttered.

About half an incense stick later, Duan Rong and the other three were led by one person, dragging their heavy formal clothes, and walked towards this side exhaustedly.

They were all at the state of great perfection in the Qi realm, so physical work would not tire them out. The key was the various cumbersome formalities of the worship along the way, which really made them dizzy. In addition, they had not slept all night and had not eaten breakfast, so they were really exhausted both physically and mentally.

When Duan Rong and his three companions arrived at the door, they saw an old man with gray hair and a sharp look, standing there with a smile to greet them.

The old man respectfully welcomed the four of them into the door, then bowed to them in the small hall, then smiled and asked, "Excuse me, which one is Lord Duan Rong?"

Duan Rong was wearing a heavy and thick dress, and he looked a little confused because of the rituals of worship. When he saw the old man asking him, he replied, "I am Duan Rong. I wonder what the old man wants to say?"

Upon hearing this, the old man looked at Duan Rong deeply, and immediately bowed deeply. His voice seemed to suddenly become deeper, and he shouted, "Master Duan, please follow me!"

Duan Rong's eyes jumped. The old man's voice changed a little when he spoke to him alone. Before, the old man's smiling face was respectful, which was a scene, but Duan Rong could see that at this moment, the old man seemed to have a kind of respect for him that was like submission from the bottom of his heart.

Besides, why did he just go there alone?

The other three also looked at Duan Rong with some curiosity.

Duan Rong followed the old man and walked behind the screen. Just as he reached the screen, the old man seemed to remember something. He suddenly turned his head and looked at the other three people. He said coldly: "You three, wait here and don't move around casually. When I'm done, I'll hold a ceremony for you. I will accept you as my disciples on behalf of the founder of Taiyi Sect!"

When the three heard this, their faces turned unhappy.

Before, the three of them were hoping to be accepted as disciples by the manager of that hall.

Judging from what the old man said, it seems there is no hope.

The so-called founder of Taiyi Sect accepted them into the sect by asking them to kowtow three times in front of the portrait of the founder. This ceremony was simply prepared to send away the inner disciples who had no master.

The old servant led Duan Rong to a table behind a screen and said with a smile, "Master Duan, these are the elders and seniors who want to accept you as their disciple!"

The old man's eyes lit up, and after a pause he continued, "Here is the introduction, and the conditions they offer. My lord, you can take your time to study them. I am serving in the back. If you have any questions, you can call me at any time."

"Sir, this dress is heavy. How about I take off the outer layer for you first? This will make it easier for you to check it!"

Duan Rong asked, "Can we take off the formal dress now?" The historical supervisor who taught them etiquette had told them that they could take off the formal dress only after they had descended Cuiwei Peak and entered the other courtyard.

The old man smiled meaningfully and said, "Yes, sir. No one can see it here. When I finish checking it and go to the main hall, I will help you put it on."

Duan Rong said: "Then I'll trouble you, old man."

"You don't have to be polite, sir."

As Lao Sheren spoke, he took off the hem of Duan Rong's dress, the chest patch, the waistcoat, and the top hat one by one.

Duan Rong let out a long breath and immediately felt a lot more relaxed.

Lao Sheren placed the removed dress parts neatly on two armchairs, while Duan Rong was already in front of the desk, picking up a post and some information and starting to read it.

Lao Sheren put away his dress, brought a cup of tea, placed it in the middle of the table, then retreated with a smile.

Duan Rong read it quickly, and after a few copies, he already understood what it meant.

After all, he was only half a step away from stepping onto the altar. He still remembered the reaction of the woman playing the piano on the altar, whose master called her Han Yan, when she saw him about to step onto the stage.

He was sure of one thing, that the test in the valley was aimed at mental power, that is, a test of the strength of the soul.

At that time, he had already achieved the eleventh level of the Taizang Sutra, and within his sea of spiritual consciousness, the shadow of the figure sitting cross-legged in the sky had condensed.

His spiritual strength may be relatively weak among the powerful ones, but in the secular world or among ordinary disciples, it is probably already a terrifying level.

In other words, we can say that he is a genius that only appears once in a century.

Because mental strength is the core of cultivation!
These people naturally want to accept him as their disciple! Isn't a truly capable disciple a great support for oneself?
Sometimes, the relationship between a master and his apprentice is no different from that between a father and his son.

Duan Rong looked for about an incense stick of time. At this time, there were only three posts left in front of him: one from Zhu He, one from Yang Sixuan, and one from Lin Youjian.

He no longer considered anyone else.

He has to choose his master from among these three people.

These three people all had a connection with him. Except for Zhu He, he had also met the other two.

But the fact that he listed Yang Sixuan and Lin Youjian as candidates had nothing to do with whether he had met them before or not.

Yang Sixuan was also half a step away from stepping onto the stage back then, but he is the confidant of the current sect leader Chu Qiushan. So, his identity as the chief of the Zongzheng Judgment Department is secondary.

As for Lin Youjian, Duan Rong had met her once on the altar during the test in Yougu. He considered Lin Youjian because of her skills. The sonic power that could penetrate the soul with the sound of the piano really made Duan Rong quite fascinated.

Duan Rong pondered for a moment, then sighed lightly, raised his hand and took Lin Youjian's post aside.

Although he was fascinated by Lin Youjian's musical skills, this alone was not enough reason for him to become his disciple.

For a cultivator, the level of strength is the foundation. If he is obsessed with external things such as music and sound waves, he is too obsessed with appearances and is missing the forest for the trees.

Using this as the criterion for selecting a teacher is just like having a foolish dream.

At this time, there were only two people's posts left in front of Duan Rong: Zhu He and Yang Sixuan.

He looked at the two posts with flickering eyes.

Zhu He and Yang Sixuan's posts only had two words on them: Duan Rong. It was very clear and there were no additional conditions.

Although Duan Rong did not choose them for this reason, he also admired their style.

Only when you sell vegetables in the market will you organize an event? !
However, Duan Rong was obviously having some trouble deciding between the two of them, and it was difficult to tell.

If we look at it from a risk perspective, choosing Zhu He is somewhat risky.

There are two factions competing for the next sect leader. One is Zhu He, and the other is Lu Zhongtang and Ge Rushong.

The winning faction will naturally be honored as the leader, while the losing faction will probably be suppressed and liquidated, or at least faced with all kinds of difficulties.

The risk of choosing Zhu He is what if Zhu He loses?
It is not impossible. Wasn't Zhu He's bloodline in the secular world, Zhu Shizhong, who held the position of Shangshu Ling, murdered?

When Duan Rong was handling a case in Shenyun Mansion, he could feel that the strength of both factions should not be underestimated.

Once he chose Zhu He as his master, he would be drawn into the vortex of the struggle for the sect leader.

The advantage of choosing Yang Si-hyun is that you can avoid such disputes.

Yang Sixian is the confidant of the current sect leader Chu Qiushan, and he does not belong to any of the two sects. In other words, no matter who becomes the sect leader, Yang Sixian will not be suppressed. With his own cultivation talent and his relationship with Chu Qiushan, this upcoming storm should not affect him. This is also the reason why Duan Rong considered him.

Of course, Lu Zhongtang and Ge Rushong were directly eliminated by Duan Rong.

He could either choose Yang Sixuan to avoid the dispute, or if he wanted to intervene in the dispute over the leader of the sect, he would definitely choose Zhu He. He could vaguely feel that Zhu He had a greater chance of winning.

While Duan Rong was standing there, at a loss as to what to do, some of the elders and seniors in the Dragon Fish Hall who were more impatient in temperament were already getting impatient.

There was an old man in the hall, wearing a green shirt and with his hair neatly combed. He suddenly looked at Lin Youjian who was not far away and said, "Youjian, didn't you say that you would only accept female disciples? Why are you here today?"

Lin Youjian smiled.

Given her temper, if someone asked her this, she would definitely retort. But this old man was a senior in the sect, and he had some attainments in music, so Lin Youjian still had some respect for him, so he smiled and said, "It's lively today, can't I come and take a look?"

Lin Youjian did say that she would not accept men. But she had seen Duan Rong before. Although he was not good-looking, he looked like an honest and well-behaved child. In addition, he was gifted. If he was willing to be her disciple, she would really be willing to teach him.

In fact, Lin Youjian had suffered a heartbreak in her early years, and she was quite resentful towards handsome men. The reason why Duan Rong caught her eye was because he was not good-looking.

In the hall, Zhu He, Yang Sixian, and Lin Youjian all had calm expressions.

Zhu He already has four disciples, two of whom are in the Cyclone Realm.

Although Yang Sixuan has no apprentice yet, he is not very concerned about taking in a disciple.

Lin Youjian already has Jiang Hanyan, his treasure, and Jiang Hanyan is also very hardworking and has already broken through the cyclone realm.

Ge Rushong sat there with a stern face, but he was actually quite concerned. He picked up the teacup from time to time and took a sip of tea. The servant who served him tea had already replaced two cups of tea for him.

The only disciple he has now is the insignificant Jiang Zhe.

In the early years, he also had a proud disciple in the Cyclone Realm. However, during an operation to capture the Filthy Blood Sect, his disciple was actually killed by the Filthy Blood Sect leader Fu Yi.

Later, he found out that this matter was related to Zhu He's second apprentice Wu Shidao.

Wu Shidao knew in advance that Fu Yi was present in the operation, so he stopped the operation, but he failed to inform them in time, resulting in their complete annihilation.

This incident was also the beginning of his break with Zhu He.

He questioned Wu Shidao about this matter, but the matter was suppressed by Zhu He.

In the Dragon Fish Hall, some people were beginning to feel restless. At this moment, the old man came over here with Duan Rong.

Duan Rong wore a heavy formal dress and performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows outside the hall.

Many people were already restless, and now they were even more annoyed by seeing such complicated etiquette, but this was an ancient custom, so they had to wait.

After Duan Rong finished his greetings, Lao She led him into the hall.

Duan Rong had just stopped in the hall and hadn't spoken yet when an old woman in the hall said, "Well, I'm already impatient to wait. Duan boy, just tell me who you've chosen as your master. Stop talking nonsense!"

Duan Rong bowed to the old woman and said, "Yes!"

Then he glanced around, and when he fixed his eyes on Zhu He, he suddenly knelt down and said loudly: "My little disciple Duan Rong is willing to take Master Zhu He as my master!"

Zhu He's originally calm expression suddenly turned into a smile.

"Good, good, good, good disciple!"

In the back hall, Duan Rong thought over and over again and finally chose Zhu He.

Because he remembered something else.

When he was in Shenyun Mansion, Guanglu Doctor Zhu Zhengfu had a private chat with him once, and also gave him a rare treasure - Gao Qingqiu's only handwritten manuscript of poems.

The spirit of the box containing the unique copy of the poem has reached the thirteenth level!
At that time, he was a little surprised. Why would Zhu Zhengfu give him such a big gift?
Moreover, Duan Rong could not really understand the meaning of some of the words spoken during the meal at that time, but now, he suddenly understood.

Well, what... they said that the ancestors praised him, saying that he was meticulous and broad-minded, and that he would be an unparalleled person in the future... and what else, that he would teach the world's best talents...

That means extending an olive branch to him!
So, she was waiting for him here?

With the previous preparations, and the fact that he accepted Zhu Zhengfu's generous gift, if he didn't choose Zhu He, wouldn't he really be offending him?

This old guy is really far-sighted! I'm afraid he had already thought of this when he transferred me to Shenyun Mansion to assist in the investigation.

This is like tying up your pocket, which is equivalent to drilling into it yourself?

Moreover, this is an open conspiracy, and he has no choice but to take advantage of it!

However, Duan Rong felt that this old fellow had such far-sighted plans that he should have a great chance of winning the battle for the sect leader.

This risk is worth taking.

After all, having a master who is the leader of a sect seems to be pretty good.

(End of this chapter)