Chapter 242: Boxed-In, An Unexpected Twist

Translator: Minotauruz

Yu Wanrou had firmly believed that Jun Xiaomo had only come to the Discussion Hall in a rush because she had received her own forged letter. She was completely unaware that Jun Xiaomo had by now already torn apart the farce that was her letter, much less know of the contents of the letter that Jun Linxuan had sent to Jun Xiaomo.

After Qin Lingyu’s change of master ceremony, the agenda for the day entered its second phase – earmarking their Chosen Disciples.

Those who had earned themselves seats within the Discussion Hall were undoubtedly the ones who had the greatest prospects of becoming earmarked as Chosen Disciples. That said, whether they could eventually become earmarked as Chosen Disciples was very much something left up to their luck and fortune.

In turn, this “luck” was completely dependent on whether any of these disciples caught the eye of the sect elders from the Greater Sects. Some sect elders prioritized talent, some fixated themselves with personality, and there were yet some other sect elders that looked at the disciples’ comprehension and understanding.

The truth of the matter was that it was an incredibly rare and glorious matter to be earmarked as a Chosen Disciple. On the last instance of such a visit, the only disciples who had been earmarked as Chosen Disciples numbered only two – Qin Lingyu and Ye Xiuwen.

Thus, the disciples who had their names called out by He Zhang would make their way to the front of the Discussion Hall with eager anticipation and be asked a few questions by the sect elders. Then, they would display some of their own abilities. Finally, they would then return back to their seats with their heads hung low.

All of them had been rejected by the sect elders from the Greater Sects. Even though the performance of these disciples during the course of the Secondary Inter-Sect Competitions had been decent, their abilities were nevertheless a far cry from the minimum requirements of these sect elders.

It was not particularly clear whether He Zhang had planned this all out, but He Zhang only came to the Heavenly Peak disciples after calling out all the names of the disciples belonging to the other Peaks.

Everyone within the Dawn Sect was well aware of the fact that a rift had developed and divided the Heavenly Peak’s Peakmaster Jun Linxuan from the rest of the Dawn Sect. As a result of this, the Heavenly Peak had practically become isolated by the rest of the Sect.

Thus, when He Zhang began to call out the names of the Heavenly Peak disciples, meaningful and profound gazes from all around the Discussion Hall drifted over landed directly on the Heavenly Peak.

Everyone looked at the Heavenly Peak in eager anticipation, praying and hoping that not a single person from the Heavenly Peak would be picked by the sect elders.

However, these people would eat their words very soon. As soon as Chen Feiyu walked up to the front of the Discussion Hall, one of the sect elders from the Frozen Sword Sect immediately recognized his aptitude and declared his interest in earmarking Chen Feiyu as a Chosen Disciple.

“I wonder if you’ve got any intention to be my Chosen Disciple?” The Frozen Sword Sect’s sect elder asked Chen Feiyu.

“Junior would be honored and delighted. Junior sincerely appreciates Sect Elder Gao’s nod of approval.” Chen Feiyu politely and courteously bowed to the Frozen Sword Sect’s sect elder.

Sect Elder Gao nodded his head, before informing He Zhang of the successful nomination of his Chosen Disciple.

He Zhang dared not pull any shenanigans when faced with a sect elder from the Frozen Sword Sect. Thus, he could only forcefully plaster a smile on his face as Chen Feiyu turned back and returned to his seat, before announcing to the entire audience, “Dawn Sect disciple Chen Feiyu has been earmarked as the Frozen Sword Sect’s Chosen Disciple.”

That said, no matter how one looked at it, the smile that was plastered on He Zhang’s face was incredibly contrived and sullen.

It was not difficult to understand why He Zhang couldn’t maintain the smile on his face. After all, he had already left the Heavenly Peak disciples to the very end with the hope that the sect elders would already have picked out all the disciples that they were looking for and thus no longer be interested in the Heavenly Peak disciples.

Yet every single one of the earlier disciples had been rejected, while Chen Feiyu from the Heavenly Peak had succeeded almost instantly. How could He Zhang not be mad at how things turned out?!

Those who harboured an immense hatred and jealousy towards Chen Feiyu included disciples from the other Peaks as well. Most were disciples who possessed abilities and cultivation that were close to Chen Feiyu’s level, but they did not get picked out by the sect elders earlier. These other disciples were simply incensed.

As soon as Chen Feiyu returned to his seat, Jun Xiaomo applauded him and gave him a sincere, heartfelt smile, “Congratulations, martial brother Chen.”

“Thank you. All the best, Xiaomo.” Chen Feiyu returned a smile at Jun Xiaomo as well.

It was only when everyone else noticed the interaction between Jun Xiaomo and Chen Feiyu that they recalled that the Heavenly Peak still included the tardy Jun Xiaomo.

Is Jun Xiaomo here to vie for a spot as a Chosen Disciple as well? She’s only at the sixth level of Qi Mastery, yet she’s already here to vie for a spot as a Chosen Disciple?! She must be joking, right? Some of the other disciples mocked in their hearts.

They firmly believed that the odds of Jun Xiaomo being earmarked as a Chosen Disciple was close to zero. As for why Jun Xiaomo was here...

Several of these disciples felt that her presence was inextricably tied to Jun Linxuan. After all, Jun Xiaomo’s father was a Peakmaster, and it was hardly a surprise that Jun Xiaomo would have several “privileges” extended to her. This would naturally explain her attendance at the Discussion Hall.

Everyone was waiting patiently for the moment when Jun Xiaomo would get rejected by the sect elders of the Greater Sects. On the other hand, Jun Linxuan continued to glance at the sect elders from the Zephyr Sect from time to time with furrowed brows.

The sect elder who had taken a keen interest to earmarking Jun Xiaomo as a Chosen Disciple should be seated among those Zephyr Sect’s sect elders, right?

Unfortunately, he was still unable to tell exactly which sect elder it was. Furthermore, a sense of unease plagued Jun Linxuan’s heart incessantly.

As expected, shortly after He Zhang announced that Chen Feiyu had been earmarked as the Frozen Sword Sect’s Chosen Disciple, he declared that this iteration of the selections had finally ended.

“Ended?! What about martial sister Xiaomo? Why didn’t martial sister Xiaomo get a chance to display her abilities?!” One of the Heavenly Peak disciples blurted out in shock.

By this point in time, Jun Xiaomo’s name was the only one among all the disciples seated within the Discussion Hall that had not been called. Everyone else had already obtained the opportunity to display their abilities to the sect elders once.

The other Dawn Sect disciples delighted in Jun Xiaomo’s misery. They were undoubtedly disappointed that they had not been earmarked as Chosen Disciples by the Greater Sects’ sect elders, but the silver lining was that there was someone in an even worse predicament seated among them – her name had not even been called.

What did this mean? This meant that Jun Xiaomo simply had no business being in the Discussion Hall to begin with. She had simply entered the Discussion Hall of her own wishful thinking.

In fact, not only had she done that, she had even boldly entered the Discussion Hall tardily. Having left the Greater Sect’s sect elders with such an indelible, terrible impression, perhaps Jun Xiaomo was fated to never be able to enter the Greater Sects, right?

After all, were there any Dawn Sect disciples who were able to present themselves before the sect elders of the Greater Sects without any fear and trepidation? Every single one of them had been apprehensive and fearful that they would leave a bad impression and cause the sect elders to reject them.

The Heavenly Peak disciple who had exclaimed aloud had done so with a considerably loud voice, and the Greater Sects’ sect elders and He Zhang had undoubtedly picked up on his exclamation as well.

The sect elders from the Greater Sects maintained a placid expression on their faces, while He Zhang’s expressions improved substantially when he heard the Heavenly Peak disciple’s exclamation.

A smile crept up the corner of his lips as he explained, “Some days back, I’d already sent a letter informing everyone of the list of persons who would be allowed within, and those who were not. Might I remind everyone that this is the Discussion Hall, not a place where any person of a low cultivation level can enter as and when she liked. Let’s not even talk about the fact that someone crashed the Discussion Hall on account of the fact that her father is a Peakmaster. In fact, I had already turned a blind eye in that regard. I gave an inch, yet she demands a mile and expects the right to participate in these selections? If everyone does this, wouldn’t the Sect be in chaos?! Are you challenging the rules and regulations within the Dawn Sect right now?”

He Zhang’s words had been harsh and unforgiving. Not only had he thoroughly mocked Jun Xiaomo and left her no room to back down, he had even taken the opportunity to tear apart and trample on Jun Linxuan’s pride and reputation in front of everyone.

In other words, he was saying that Jun Linxuan was abusing his privileges as a Peakmaster, flouting the Sect’s rules and regulations, and allowing his daughter to participate in the selection process though a backdoor approach.

Jun Linxuan’s face darkened, and he glared coldly back at He Zhang.

He had truly been slightly selfish. But, if not for the fact that the sect elder from the Zephyr Sect had sent that letter to him, he would never have asked his daughter to participate in these proceedings.

Truth be told, he would not have been disappointed or harboured any ill will even if his daughter had not ended up being earmarked as a Chosen Disciple. After all, he had not borne too much hope for such an outcome to begin with. In the very worst case, Jun Xiaomo would simply have to work harder during the Greater Sect Selection Competitions in future.

Yet who would have thought that He Zhang would pick on Jun Xiaomo in public and make things difficult for her. This left Jun Linxuan incensed, and his darkened expression seemed to foreshadow an oncoming manifestation of his emotions in a torrential thunderstorm.

“Father, it’s fine. Let me handle this.” Jun Xiaomo patted Jun Linxuan’s shoulder as she appeased him.

As she said this, she stood up and brazenly addressed the sect elder of the Greater Sects, “May I ask if any of these esteemed sect elders might be interested to pick me as their Chosen Disciple?”

It had to be said that prior to this, each and every disciple had walked up to the front of the Discussion Hall to address the sect elders from the Greater Sects when He Zhang had called their names.

This was to preserve each disciple’s pride. After all, the further away they were from everyone else, the less others would be able to hear the sect elders’ assessment of each disciple. Even if they ended up being rejected by the sect elders, they would not be made into a laughingstock by their compatriots.

But what Jun Xiaomo had done right now was to address the sect elders in a loud voice from her seat. The other disciples couldn’t help but think that she was either over-confident in herself, or a part of her brain must not be working properly.

Naturally, most onlookers believed that the latter was far more possible, and they watched eagerly in anticipation for Jun Xiaomo to turn herself into a laughingstock.

As expected, the sect elders of the Greater Sects began to furrow their brows when they heard Jun Xiaomo’s words.

One of the Limitless Sect’s sect elders looked up. He remained in his seat and looked down at Jun Xiaomo from on high as he chuckled coldly, “Little fellow cultivator, do you think that you possess anything in particular that’s worth our consideration? In terms of talent, you can hardly hold a candle to most others present. In terms of abilities, your cultivation is only at the sixth level of Qi Mastery. In terms of character, I don’t think that a person who’s late to the meeting and accords no respect to her seniors is someone who qualifies to be a disciple of the Limitless Sect.”

In other words, there was not a single thing that Jun Xiaomo possessed which gave her an edge over other disciples, and the Limitless Sect was not willing to consider her as a Chosen Disciple.

Moments later, a sect elder from the Frozen Sword Sect spoke up as well. His words were short and succinct, but it still expressed their rejection towards her, “I’ve personally witnessed this little fellow cultivator’s performance throughout the earlier competitions. Your abilities with the whip are pretty decent, but the Frozen Sword Sect propounds the way of the sword. Therefore, I regret to inform you that we won’t consider you as a Chosen Disciple as well.”

Thus, the Frozen Sword Sect had also rejected Jun Xiaomo.

On the other hand, the sect elders from the Zephyr Sect simply remained taciturn, and nobody said a word. After some moments of silence, everyone began to think that the Zephyr Sect was also tacitly signaling their intentions to reject Jun Xiaomo. See? We knew that given Jun Xiaomo’s present cultivation level, none of these sect elders would be keen in picking her as their Chosen Disciple.

Yu Wanrou had already guessed as much from the outset. She chuckled coldly in her heart as she grew more and more pleased by how her schemes were stumbling Jun Xiaomo right now.

Her gaze was transfixed on Jun Xiaomo, and she watched and observed each of Jun Xiaomo’s expressions extremely closely, hoping to pick up traces and clues that Jun Xiaomo’s emotions were going to escalate into a massive outburst.

But Jun Xiaomo continued to maintain a cool and stoic expression on her face, as though she were completely unperturbed and unfazed by what had happened.

What’s going on? Was the Threefold Spellbinding Incense ineffective?! Yu Wanrou bit down on her lower lip, and a dark haze loomed in the depths of Yu Wanrou’s eyes.

Hah, it’s fine even if it had been ineffective. After all, Jun Xiaomo’s really dragged her face through the mud today. Yu Wanrou regulated her thoughts and focused on the bright side of things very quickly.

As for Jun Xiaomo’s placid and composed expression, Yu Wanrou firmly believed that this was nothing more than the result of Jun Xiaomo’s fierce pretensions.

Jun Xiaomo swept her gaze coolly across each and every one of the sect elders seated at the front of the Discussion Hall. Once she ascertained that none of these sect elders presented themselves with any intention of accepting her as a disciple, she lightheartedly curled her lips into a smile –

“Alright, since that’s the case, there’s no reason for me to be here any longer. Dear sect elders, please take your time with the rest of the other disciples. If there’s nothing else, please excuse junior as she takes her leave.”

As she finished speaking, Jun Xiaomo made a fist and palm salute to all of the sect elders present before turning around and motioning to leave.

“Wait a minute! Jun Xiaomo, how can you be so disrespectful?! The sect elders are all still seated here! How can you leave just like that?!”

One of the Dawn Sect disciples pretended to be incensed as he decried her actions. His only goal here was to increase the rift between Jun Xiaomo and the sect elders from the Greater Sects.

That disciple glanced towards his own master, and he was delighted when he received his master’s discreet nod of approval. It felt good to be able to cause Jun Xiaomo to stumble even further while at the same time boosting his own standing in the eyes of the Greater Sects’ sect elders.

Jun Xiaomo turned around, looked at the disciple who had cried out earlier, before she raised and eyebrow at him, “Aren’t these sect elders here to pick out their Chosen Disciples?”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t it a fact that I haven’t been picked as a Chosen Disciple?”

“That’s also correct.” The disciple did not know where Jun Xiaomo was going with this series of questions.

“Since that’s the case, and the results have already been made clear, why do I still have to remain here? Did the sect elders say I can’t leave this place? Wasn’t I respectful when I bade them farewell and took my leave earlier? And furthermore, do you really have the authority to represent the sect elders from the Greater Sects?”

Jun Xiaomo’s series of questions left the disciple stammering speechlessly.

“Ah...this...you...you...”

After stammering a whole bunch of “you’s” for some time, the disciple continued to find himself completely speechless, without any way of refuting Jun Xiaomo’s logic.

“Besides, the Limitless Sect’s sect elder had mentioned it pretty clearly – the Greater Sects aren’t considering me right now because my present cultivation level is far too low. As a person with lofty goals and ambitions, shouldn’t I make the best of my time to increase my cultivation level? Esteemed sect elder, was junior’s interpretation of your words wrong in any way? After all, junior had only intended to rush back to her room in order to devote each passing minute to her cultivation.”

Jun Xiaomo’s last two sentences were directed straight back at the sect elder from the Limitless Sect, and she had finished her speech with a radiant smile on her face, without a single bit of dispiritedness from her earlier rejection.

The sect elder from the Limitless Sect glared straight back at Jun Xiaomo, thinking that this young brat from the Heavenly Peak was far too unruly. After all, she had undeniably been rude and disrespectful with her actions, yet she had managed to twist her words and employ sophistry to make herself sound completely reasonable and above board.

One of the sect elders from the Zephyr Sect also found himself slightly taken aback by Jun Xiaomo’s actions, before he began to laugh heartily, “Interesting! This little brat truly has the gift of the gab. Her repartee is unmatched. Let me make the exception and make you a Chosen Disciple of mine, hahahahaha......”

The Dawn Sect disciples were incredibly shocked, and their hearts ran wild –

What in the world?! Is that even possible? What’s the use of the gift of the gab in the cultivation world?!

Everyone stared at the sect elder from the Zephyr Sect with astonishment in their eyes – This sect elder must be kidding, right?!

Just then, a resonant voice boomed across the Discussion Hall. The voice preceded the man’s appearance.

“You old fogey, are you snatching my disciple again?!”

As soon as his voice rang out, an old man with disheveled hair and a child-like countenance wearing sloppy clothes swaggered into the Discussion Hall.

Everyone: ......Snatched his disciple? Who is this man? ......

And could the “disciple” that he’s referring to be Jun Xiaomo?!!!