Chapter 4694: Selecting Disciples

Even the weakest ones in the other three halls were at Exalted level; there were practically no Martial Immortal realm cultivators around. However, the North Tortoise Hall had a bunch of Martial Immortal realm cultivators, and some of them were even in the earlier ranks.

From this comparison, it was apparent that the North Tortoise Hall was incredibly weak.

However, by Chu Feng’s standards, even the disciples of the East Dragon Hall were nothing noteworthy. He vaguely remembered Yu Ting telling him that she was one of the weakest disciples in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, but in truth, Yu Ting wasn’t weak at all.

Even the first time they met, she was already at rank four Utmost Exalted level, and her spirit power had reached rank one Dragon Transformation Sensation too.

Her incredible proficiency in both her martial cultivation and spirit power showed just how talented she was. Within the whole of the Holy Light Galaxy, she could definitely be considered as a top-notch talent.

Compared to the disciples here, she was like a dragon amongst mortals.

“It looks like Yu Ting was just being humble,” Chu Feng murmured.

Since Chu Feng had successfully entered the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect, he believed that it shouldn’t be long before he met Yu Ting. By then, they could discuss their plans to save Zi Ling together.

Even though the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect was very different from how he envisioned it to be—both the elders and disciples were weaker than he expected—he had no plans of underestimating it.

Putting aside the mysterious Hidden Dragon Selection Formation, the mysterious voice that had spoken to him earlier, and Yu Ting, just the disciple whom he had met back at the Dragon Clan, Li Muzhi, was more than enough to show just how powerful the Hidden Dragon Martial Clan was.

He was at rank eight Utmost Exalted level and rank three Dragon Transformation Sensation. Even to the current Chu Feng, Li Muzhi still posed a huge threat.

There was enough evidence around to prove that the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect was incredibly powerful. Perhaps not every disciple in the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect were top-notch prodigies, but there were definitely many of those amongst them.

“Take this.”

While Chu Feng was still deep in thought, an elder from the North Tortoise Hall walked up to Chu Feng and passed a wooden token to him. The wooden token was white in color, and it had a string hanging on it.

Even though the elder told Chu Feng to take it, he didn’t hand the wooden token into his hands. Instead, he hung it around his neck.

Chu Feng realized that everyone who received the token would hang it around their neck too. This was an indication of their identity as newly accepted members, highlighted by the ‘Lower’ word inscribed on it.

Hua Xu also received a wooden token, but the one he received was blue in color, and the word on it was ‘Middle’. Tu Yuanyuan’s token, on the other hand, was purple in color, and it was glimmering slightly. The word inscribed on it was ‘Upper’.

Tu Yuanyuan’s outstanding appearance was eye-catching enough as it was, but the token only further highlighted her presence. Without a doubt, the limelight was on her in the square.

After handing out the tokens representing their identity, the elder of the North Tortoise Elder who had stopped Chu Feng and Hua Xu from fighting one another stepped out to address them once more.

By listening in to the conversations along the way, Chu Feng learned that the elder’s name was Dao Qinian, and he had quite some standing in the North Tortoise Hall.

“First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate the young friends here for joining our Hidden Dragon Martial Sect and becoming one of us. Our Hidden Dragon Martial Sect is divided into the East Dragon Hall, West Tiger Hall, South Vermilion Hall, and North Tortoise Hall. No matter where you choose to cultivate at, as long as you’re willing to work hard, you can be assured that your efforts will bear fruit.

“However, having a master who’s willing to patiently guide you along would indubitably spare you from taking detours in your cultivation, allowing you to progress faster than ever. Later on, the elders of our Hidden Dragon Martial Sect will be taking in new disciples amongst your group, and you’ll be joining whichever hall your master is in.

“Of course, if you don’t think that an elder would be a suitable master to you, you have the right to reject him. The disciples who fail to be picked by any elder will automatically enter our North Tortoise Hall,” Elder Dao Qinian explained the process to Chu Feng and the others.

As the elder of the North Tortoise Hall, he seemed to have already accepted the reality that the North Tortoise Hall was inferior to the other three halls. Having to accept all of those who weren’t chosen was not something to be proud of, but he was able to speak of it nonchalantly.

“Also, take a look over there.”

Elder Dao Qinian suddenly pointed to the other end of the square. There was a dueling ring there, and a massive bell was hanging at the top of the dueling ring. The word ‘Indignance’ was written on it.

Chu Feng had long noticed the bell. The word ‘indignance’ on the bell, as well as the dueling ring beneath it, suggested that there was a special use to them.

“Elders select disciples based on their talent, but talent is not all there is to cultivation. If any of you think that a junior chosen by an elder is inferior to you, you may ring the bell and challenge the junior.

“However, I should remind you that the other party has the choice to turn down the battle, and even if you win, the elder still gets the final say on who he wants to take in as his disciple. Ringing the bell is an opportunity to prove yourself, but it’s not certain whether it can change your plight. So, do it at your own caution.

“If you don’t get chosen by the elder you look up to, there’s no need to lose heart. The Hidden Dragon Martial Sect is large, and there’s a long road ahead of you. This selection is nothing more than the start of the journey. You’ll meet more elders who are worthy of your respect in the future, and it’s not too late to learn from them then. Besides, even if you don’t have a master, you’ll still receive the resources you require to cultivate,” Elder Dao Qinian said.

The elders of the South Vermilion Hall and West Tiger Hall were already present, but none of them walked into the square to choose their disciples. They were waiting for the elders from the East Dragon Hall to go first.

Even though the four halls were supposed to be equal in terms of standing, the difference in strength had long changed their dynamics. The superior prowess of the East Dragon Hall meant that they were granted special privileges when it came to such events.

Of course, there were also some who didn’t fear the elders of the East Dragon Hall and refused to acknowledge their special privileges, but these were just a handful of special individuals.

Finally, three elders from the East Dragon Hall flew over and landed on the square. None of them concealed their aura, so Chu Feng and everyone else was able to feel their strength.

They were all Martial Exalted level cultivators.

Even though they were in the earlier ranks of Martial Exalted level, it was still plenty formidable. At the very least, they were far stronger than the elders from the other three halls, who were at most only at pinnacle Utmost Exalted level.

Once again, this showed the superiority of the East Dragon Hall over the others.

“Why did the East Dragon Hall only send three elders here?”

Some of the juniors present began to panic. There were a purple token, three blue tokens, and fifty gray tokens amongst them; the remaining two thousand people all had white tokens.

Those who had white tokens were fated to only enter the North Tortoise Hall, so it didn’t make not much of a difference. However, those who had gray tokens were still hoping that the elders of the East Dragon Hall could select them as their disciples. The fact that the East Dragon Hall had only sent three elders meant that their hopes were most likely dashed.

The three elders swiftly began selecting their disciples. It appeared that there was some kind of rule at play here, such that the three elders selected a disciple each before heading off.

One of them was a gray-haired old woman, and she was the strongest amongst them three, being at rank two Martial Exalted level. The other two were at rank one Martial Exalted level.

The gray-haired old woman quickly chose Tu Yuanyuan and left the area.

As for the remaining two, one of them chose Hua Xu, and the other one chose a brawny fellow who was labeled with the blue token too.

After the three elders of the East Dragon Hall made their pick, the right to choose was passed on to the elders of the West Tiger Hall. After them were the elders of the South Vermilion Hall.

Surprisingly, the elders of the West Tiger Hall and South Vermilion Hall only chose a small handful of people. As a result, some of the gray token disciples were forced to enter the North Tortoise Hall.

Once the selection was over, Chu Feng and the others left the square under the instructions of the elder from the North Tortoise Hall, leaving just the elders and their selected disciples from the other three halls in the square.

As it turned out, these disciples were going to conduct the acknowledgment ceremony there and then. They were only allowed to leave after acknowledging the respective elders as their master.

Fortunately, the acknowledgment ceremony didn’t take too long. It was just that Hua Xu suddenly began complaining to his master right after that.

“Master, someone has disrespected me earlier. How do you think I should deal with the matter?” Hua Xu asked his master.

“You’re my disciple now. If someone dares to disrespect you, that would be an act of disrespect to me as well. If someone dares to bully you, you can feel free to tell me. I’ll stand up for you.”

Hua Xu’s master was a skinny old man who had an extremely terrifying face. He even shot a glance at the elders of the North Tortoise Hall as he spoke, subconsciously assuming that it was the elders of the North Tortoise Hall who had made things difficult for Hua Xu.

“Master, the person who bullied me wasn’t an elder but a disciple who has just joined the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect,” Hua Xu said.

Chu Feng already had a good idea of what Hua Xu was planning to do after hearing his words. Without a doubt, the latter was planning to come after him.