Early morning.
The sky had yet to brighten.
Within the borders of Qingzhou.
Qingyun Dao Sect.
This was an unranked sect.
It didn't even possess a classification grade, the type that could vanish at any moment.
And today, inside the main hall.
The only seven disciples of Qingyun Dao Sect were, at this very moment, appearing extremely nervous and excited.
Because the Sect Leader had sent a letter three days ago, informing them that Qingyun Dao Sect was about to welcome an eighth disciple.
That’s right—they were about to welcome a little junior brother.
Perhaps for other sects, adding a new disciple was an extremely ordinary matter.
But for Qingyun Dao Sect, adding a new disciple was harder than ascending to heaven.
Sects were like the forces of the mundane world. When most cultivators sought to join a sect, their first thought was to find a decent one to serve as a backer.
Not to mention the various resource benefits—even without resources, the stronger the sect, the safer one was.
When disciples of small sects went out and got bullied, they could only grit their teeth.
When disciples of large sects went out and got bullied, they had a sect backing them.
Precisely because of this, many new cultivators would choose stronger sects.
And those large sects would never look down on new cultivators; on the contrary, they would take extra care of them.
No one was a fool, and no sect would be arrogant enough to think they didn't need new disciples joining.
Thus, the strong grew stronger, and the weak grew weaker.
A sect like Qingyun Dao Sect might not see a single new disciple for several years.
Now, hearing that a new disciple was coming, how could the entire sect not be excited?
How could they not be happy?
Qingyun Dao Sect, inside the main hall.
Seven figures sat within the hall.
Five men and two women; men on the left, women on the right.
At this moment, the expressions of all seven showed some nervousness and excitement.
However, right then, the first man on the left spoke up first, breaking the silence in the hall.
"Fellow junior brothers and sisters, this time Master has recruited another new disciple for our Qingyun Dao Sect while traveling abroad. This is a great happy occasion."
"However, considering what happened the previous few times, Master urged repeatedly in his letter that we must not be too enthusiastic. We cannot let this little junior brother think we are worthless, nor can we let him think our sect is short on people."
"Therefore, we must remain calm, and moreover put on the airs of experts. We must do our best to play it steady. As long as this little junior brother stays in our sect for a full year, we can submit the assessment documents for a third-rank sect."
The man sitting in the first seat on the left spoke thus.
He was not very old, roughly twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. Although he wore a simple robe, his appearance alone gave off an indescribable feeling, as if he were a peerless swordsman.
This was Su Changyu.
The Eldest Senior Brother of Qingyun Dao Sect.
His voice fell.
The disciples nodded one after another.
"We understand."
Their voices rang out in unison, answering with utmost seriousness.
But after these words, everyone fell into silence once more.
Yet after a short while.
Another voice rang out, breaking the tranquility.
"Eldest Senior Brother, remaining calm I can do, but when you say deceive him, how do we deceive? With our level of cultivation, I'm afraid we'll be exposed very easily."
The man speaking was roughly twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with delicate features, currently frowning as he asked.
This was the sect’s Second Senior Brother, Xu Luochen.
Xu Luochen appeared somewhat distressed.
He could manage to be a bit calmer; at worst, he just wouldn't speak. But asking him to deceive someone—he really didn't know how.
Once these words were spoken, the other junior brothers also showed troubled expressions.
They were still relatively young. Although they had experienced the world, their personalities were still rather simple and honest. They could manage to trick people here and there, but actual deception was somewhat awkward for them.
The disciples fell silent.
After a moment, Eldest Senior Brother Su Changyu slowly spoke.
"Actually, fellow junior brothers may be mistaken. The so-called deception is not real deception, but rather creating the attitude of an expert. Master explained in his letter that this new junior brother is a complete novice who understands nothing about cultivation."
"We only need to exaggerate a little in the fields we excel at. For example, I am skilled in the Sword Dao, so I will have him comprehend sword principles that he fundamentally cannot comprehend. Junior Brother Luochen, you are skilled in alchemy, so teach him some alchemy techniques that are fundamentally impossible to achieve."
"Although he will discover the truth sooner or later, dragging it out for a year should be no problem. After a year, our Qingyun Dao Sect will already be qualified to submit the paperwork. Once our Dao Sect advances to third-rank, good days will come."
Eldest Senior Brother Su Changyu spoke thus. When mentioning advancing to third-rank, the smile on his face could no longer be concealed.
"Senior Brother, with you saying it like this, we understand. In any case, it's only deceiving him for one year. If after a year he discovers the truth and finds it hard to accept, we'll let him leave on his own."
"If he is willing to accept it, then by then if our Qingyun Dao Sect is lucky enough to advance to third-rank, he too can enjoy the benefits. No matter what, we won't owe him anything."
Xu Luochen spoke thus, his expression showing some conviction.
This was self-consolation, because at the end of the day, it was still deception.
But there was nothing to be done. Who asked Qingyun Dao Sect to be so impoverished? For the sect’s survival, they could only do this.
"Senior Brothers and Sisters, don't worry either. Perhaps this junior brother is an unprecedented genius. Whatever we teach him, he'll learn. If that's the case, then we have even less reason to say we owe him, right?"
The youngest junior sister spoke.
She was comforting everyone so that they wouldn't feel guilty.
But these words made everyone smile involuntarily.
An unprecedented genius?
To be honest, what kind of genius would join Qingyun Dao Sect?
If he were truly a genius, would it be Qingyun Dao Sect’s turn?
Not even mentioning the entire world of immortal heroes—just within Qingzhou alone, there were many great sects. Not only did these great sects hold Immortal Ascension Conferences every year to select disciples, but they also sent out many sect disciples to search for those with immortal affinity.
In other words, they wanted the good ones, and the poor ones too—they'd recruit them into the sect to give them a try. In any case, trying didn't cost money, and they didn't need to provide many resources. Getting something for nothing made them happy—what was there to lose?
Therefore, the probability of a small sect recruiting a genius was almost zero.
Even if a phoenix emerged from a chicken coop, so what?
As soon as the other immortal sects got wind of it, they would immediately rush to recruit him. First they'd overwhelm him with resources, then pressure him with their influence, and finally even send out some beautiful female disciples to entice him.
To be honest, who could withstand that?
Therefore, the possibility of Qingyun Dao Sect recruiting a genius was zero.
Unless a miracle occurred.
"Alright. If nothing unexpected happens, our little junior brother will arrive tomorrow at noon. Senior Brother will give one final reminder."
"Calm! Calm! You must remain calm! You must constantly maintain an appearance of complete indifference. The more you act this way, the more he will believe it. Moreover, no matter what actions he takes, you must belittle him. Even if he truly has some talent, you must belittle it until it seems worthless."
"Furthermore, we must not take the initiative to look for this junior brother. We must let this junior brother take the initiative to look for us. So for the time being, we go about our own business as usual, understand?"
Su Changyu emphasized again.
"We understand."
Everyone had no objections and nodded one after another.
And so, the seven gradually left the main hall.