The drizzle of March, alternating between clear skies and sudden showers, washed the air clean and cool. The tender leaves were still small, yet a hint of green was emerging everywhere. The spring sunlight was not harsh at all, merely allowing a soft ray to peek through the clouds. The tree shadows were faint, and a trace of the lingering cold wind from winter still hung in the air. The wild peach blossoms, blooming earliest, swayed their pale pink hues in the wind and rain.

Swallows leaped lightly across the rooftops. Cuckoos hid among the branches, and flocks of thrushes chirped softly upon the aged tree trunks.

Lu Yuan awoke amidst the crisp chorus of birdsong.

Upon waking, he glanced outside.

It had been a full nine months since the house arrest order was issued, and his time in the Celestial Prison had concluded two months ago. Life had returned to its usual tranquility, the air thick with a certain laziness. He recalled his initial sentiment upon first arriving at Mount Hua: "Spring is not a season for cultivation."

Spring was indeed not weather conducive to practice.

Of course, although one felt sluggish enough to nap, with the aid of spirit stones and the five Cloud-element spirit beasts residing in the Spirit Sealing Tablet, his magic power had quietly reached the mid-stage of the Great Perfection of the Tenth Level of Qi Condensation, even surpassing his previous state, achieving a truly remarkable level without strenuous effort.

If only he possessed more Cloud-element spirit beasts; they were truly excellent. As long as they were within the Spirit Sealing Tablet, a ceaseless stream of Cloud-element power would flow into his body.

This, truly, was an essential feature for the lazy.

After washing up, Lu Yuan prepared to start breakfast. Breakfast at Changchun Residence was served in a side chamber where two low tables were set—one for Li Yuanbai, and one for Lu Yuan. Each table held light congee and small vegetable dishes; breakfast ought to be light.

As Lu Yuan was eating, Li Yuanbai spoke up, “Yesterday, Senior Brother Yuanyuan sent down an order, appointing you to oversee the recruitment of disciples this time.”

“Recruiting disciples,” Lu Yuan started, taken aback.

The Five Great Immortal Sects had two types of disciples. One type was the True Inheritor Disciples, chosen personally by the renowned Sword Immortals of the preceding generation; no one else had the right to interfere. However, these renowned Sword Immortals also had to coordinate quotas for True Inheritors; in total, there were only ten spots. True Inheritors received true teachings and enjoyed access to all resources and all opportunities for trials.

The second type was the general disciples. General disciples were not so fortunate. The sect would rarely provide them with truly excellent cultivation methods or sword arts; they were given third-rate or second-rate material. Resources and trial opportunities were also not specially allocated. Simultaneously, general disciples had no quota limitations.

Naturally, this did not mean general disciples could never achieve greatness. Sometimes, if a general disciple had sufficient fortune or exceptionally high comprehension, they could still succeed.

Take the Ninth Generation: the former Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak were all True Inheritor Disciples back then.

And Chu Fei, the Soaring Sword Immortal who later rose to replace the aging Sword Immortal Li Yuanbai, was a general disciple in his youth. With enough fortune and sufficient strength, he could become a renowned Ninth Generation Sword Immortal.

The recruitment of ordinary disciples had no quota limits and occurred periodically. Typically, renowned Sword Immortals were not required to oversee the process; it was mostly managed by the Ninth Generation Elders and the True Inheritor Disciples. Now, it seemed Martial Uncle Yuanyuan was assigning him to the task.

Indeed.

Lu Yuan could not help but shrug. By now, he certainly knew Martial Uncle Yuanyuan. Martial Uncle Yuanyuan was aware of his lazy nature, so he would assign him a task after a period of rest, and issue another command when he was idle for too long—ensuring he was neither too busy nor too idle. But there was no choice; Martial Uncle Yuanyuan was the Lord of the North Peak, and his orders had to be obeyed.

However, Lu Yuan suddenly considered a possibility for shirking: “Master, the house arrest order you gave me was not set to expire for another three months, was it? Why must I go recruit people now?”

Li Yuanbai laughed and scolded him, “You managed to slack off for two months already! Now you are merely presiding over the affairs of recruiting ordinary disciples. Still thinking of being lazy? This time, all five peaks of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect are recruiting simultaneously at the foot of the mountain. That area is public ground shared by the five peaks, so it doesn't count as leaving the boundaries of the five peaks.”

Since the Master said so, he had no choice but to go.

Lu Yuan shrugged. It was only recruiting disciples; in truth, it wasn’t a huge matter.

“Oh, right, this time you are not solely in charge of the proceedings. There is also Elder Wu of the Ninth Generation, and your good partner, Ye Fang, will also be jointly overseeing the recruitment.” Clearly, Master Yuanyuan intended to train the handling abilities of more than just Lu Yuan among the True Inheritors. He wanted to train all ten True Inheritor Disciples.

Li Yuanbai felt a touch of melancholy at this moment. He had lived through the struggle between the Ninth Generation Master Yuanyuan and Yuan Ling. He knew that in terms of individual talent, Yuan Ling surpassed Senior Brother Yuanyuan. Yet, looking at it now, the keen eye of the Eighth Generation North Peak Master was indeed accurate; Senior Brother Yuanyuan was the most suitable choice for the North Peak Lord.

If it were Yuan Ling, although his talent surpassed Master Yuanyuan’s, he would absolutely not be capable of caring for the next generation in this manner.

Lu Yuan immediately departed, needing to hurry to the recruitment site.

At this moment, Li Yuanbai stood alone by the window, his hands clasped behind his back.

Outside the window, the courtyard was bursting with spring vitality, life flourishing everywhere.

——————

This time, three individuals were responsible for overseeing the disciple recruitment: the experienced Elder Wu, the Sixth True Inheritor Disciple Lu Yuan, and the Ninth True Inheritor Disciple Ye Fang. The intent was clear: Master Yuanyuan wished to train the True Inheritor Disciples in handling various administrative matters. That was why he summoned Lu Yuan and Ye Fang to lead the recruitment. True Inheritor Disciples were not only required to excel in combat; they were expected to be figures who could stand alone, destined to take on political duties later, just as the current Ninth Generation renowned Sword Immortals were each managing a host of responsibilities. Master Yuanyuan’s arrangement was sound. As for Elder Wu, his extensive experience would allow him to provide assistance and guidance, preventing the two True Inheritors from making errors in something like disciple recruitment due to inexperience.

Presently, Elder Wu, Lu Yuan, and Ye Fang were heading towards the main gate at the foot of Mount Hua.

The main gate of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect was constructed at the base of the mountain, where the terrain was exceptionally flat. The recruitment was to be held here.

An elder in a grey Daoist robe, bearing the Yin-Yang Fish emblem on his back, possessing an air of immortal elegance—Elder Wu—glanced at Lu Yuan from time to time while traveling. Elder Wu was also a Sword Cultivator who had long heard that Lu Yuan, the sixth True Inheritor Disciple of the Tenth Generation, possessed superb sword techniques but had never had a chance to interact with him. Since he had this rare opportunity to jointly oversee the recruitment with Lu Yuan, Elder Wu naturally sought some instruction.

Before making his move, Elder Wu pondered internally: he was also at the Tenth Level of Qi Condensation, and in terms of strength, he was no less than Yun Ping. During a previous task he managed alongside the Second True Inheritor Disciple, he seized the chance to spar with Yun Ping, and the exchange ended in a draw.

This time, having the rare opportunity to work alongside Lu Yuan, famed for his sword skills, Elder Wu naturally sought instruction. After this exchange, he discovered that under Lu Yuan’s hands, he was at an absolute disadvantage in just ten moves, and his defeat came by the twentieth move.

This greatly startled Elder Wu.

He had fought Yun Ping to a standstill.

Yet, against Lu Yuan, he was defeated in only twenty moves.

It had always been assumed that the strongest two among the Tenth Generation True Inheritors were Yun Yi and Yun Ping. Although there had been recent rumors about Lu Yuan’s exceptional sword skills, most people still believed Yun Yi and Yun Ping were the strongest. No one expected Lu Yuan’s strength to have reached this level.

Elder Wu was genuinely shocked. He fought Yun Ping to a draw, but was defeated by Lu Yuan in twenty moves.

After his initial defeat, Elder Wu took a long time to recover his composure.

It seemed the number one position among the Tenth Generation True Inheritors should rightfully belong to Lu Yuan.

...

Finally, they arrived at the main gate of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect. Here stood a tall archway, supported by white jade pillars. Four large characters were inscribed upon it in vigorous, flowing script: "Mount Hua Immortal Sect." Not a speck of dust marred the entire archway. Legend held that these characters were written five thousand years ago by the founding Patriarch of Mount Hua, True Man Tongxiao. True Man Tongxiao’s magic was profound; the calligraphy he left behind remained utterly pristine, showing no signs of the five millennia that had passed, just as if it were written yesterday.

This was the Outer Gate. The Outer Gate was not enveloped by the restrictive formations of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect, nor was it heavily guarded. It served as the outermost perimeter. Only by passing through layers of restrictive formations could one reach the Inner Gate of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect, whose defenses were entirely different from the Outer Gate’s.

At this moment, the Outer Gate was exceptionally lively.

The Mount Hua Immortal Sect was the most powerful among the Five Great Immortal Sects, its prestige echoing far and wide. When Mount Hua decided to recruit disciples—even if only ordinary ones—countless people arrived to register. Among them were younger generations from aristocratic cultivator families, children of high officials from the Great Jin, and even members of the royal lineage. There were also descendants of famous wealthy merchants from the Great Jin Dynasty, and people from all other walks of life.

True Inheritor positions were opportunities that came once in an eon, impossible to plan for. People dared not hope to become True Inheritors; they only wished to become ordinary disciples in the strongest sect, Mount Hua. For these aspirants, becoming an ordinary disciple brought immense benefits. Mount Hua possessed all manner of cultivation methods; even their second or third-rate techniques would be considered first-rate in the outside world. Moreover, within the most powerful sect, one could meet all sorts of influential figures and gain access to extensive connections. If one could befriend a True Inheritor Disciple, the aid to one’s future prospects would be immeasurable.

(Two chapters today. For some reason, this book is proving very slow to write; classical Xianxia is difficult. However, I must maintain a pace of at least two or three chapters a day, never less. Please rest assured. This chapter serves as foreshadowing, but it is obvious to everyone that this is a small... [end of chapter marker])