... A barely suppressed delight and excitement washed over Lei Dong's face as he hastily knelt down with utmost reverence, "Thank you, Ancestor, for granting this." To the Ancestor, that expression suggested overwhelming joy at becoming a direct disciple, causing the elder to nod again inwardly. If he had suspected the young man was merely overjoyed at escaping death, completely indifferent to the status of a direct disciple, he might have slapped Lei Dong dead on the spot and found another candidate instantly.

"Young Lei, cultivate diligently from now on, and do not bring shame upon your Ancestor," Gui Nu instructed solemnly as well. "Yes, Lord Gui Nu," Lei Dong suppressed his elation and replied with exceptional gravity. Immediately afterward, Gui Nu began detailing the numerous benefits of being a direct disciple.

For instance, there was a monthly stipend of two spirit stones and a bottle of Peiyuan Pills. This allowance would increase as one’s cultivation advanced. Furthermore, at the end of every month, the Ancestor would hold a lecture session for all direct disciples.

Here, they could pose any lingering questions regarding their cultivation journey to the Ancestor directly. Additionally, direct disciples were permitted to move into exclusive residences, which offered environments far superior to those of ordinary disciples. Most crucially, their cultivation chambers were built directly over spirit veins, ensuring the surrounding spiritual energy was vastly denser and more abundant than what ordinary disciples experienced.

There was another benefit unknown to the general disciples: when redeeming items using contribution points, direct disciples were only charged eighty percent of the listed price. Lei Dong, who had initially held some disdain for the title of direct disciple, now began to take it quite seriously. He had to admit that certain advantages exclusive to direct disciples were precisely what he needed.

While possessing the heaven-defying treasure, the Soul Devouring Pagoda, undeniably boosted his combat strength significantly, it offered little direct benefit to his own cultivation advancement. Unless he was willing to spend time leveling up more Mid-grade Spirit Ghosts to sell, converting the resulting spirit stones into elixirs like Peiyuan Pills, his progress would only be indirectly accelerated to a limited extent. However, constantly selling Spirit Ghosts carried inherent risks; too much success eventually attracts unwanted attention.

Sooner or later, someone keen-eyed would notice something amiss. After all, no matter how lucky a person was, they couldn't always acquire Mid-grade, or even High-grade Spirit Ghosts with such ease. But things were different as a direct disciple.

Twenty-four spirit stones annually—neither too much nor too little—provided a legitimate means to enrich his storage pouch. The monthly bottle of Peiyuan Pills was an invaluable boon, far superior to the Minor Peiyuan Pills Lei Dong had used before. Then there were the residences situated on spirit veins, and the Ancestor’s personal guidance, all benefits that directly impacted cultivation.

As for the eighty percent redemption privilege, that would save a considerable sum over the long run. There were indeed quite a few perks. It was no wonder that Zuo Chao and Zhou Minghua had both reached the Fifth Layer within just three years, and Ding Wanyan’s cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.

While their exceptional innate talent certainly played a part, the myriad benefits of being a direct disciple added significant color to their progress. At the very least, now that Lei Dong possessed these advantages, his path forward would undoubtedly be much swifter than before. "Young Lei, today is your first day as a direct disciple, and the Ancestor is showing you special consideration.

If you have any questions regarding your cultivation, you may pose them to the Ancestor now." Having interacted with Lei Dong several times, Gui Nu held a degree of appreciation for the boy, and his demeanor softened considerably. Indeed, over the past three years, Lei Dong had relied heavily on self-exploration, accumulating numerous unresolved queries. With the Ancestor's consent, he began posing the questions that had long puzzled him, one by one.

The Ancestor, unusually amiable, answered each in turn. Often, problems that had vexed Lei Dong for extended periods were clarified completely with just a sentence or two from the Ancestor, bringing sudden enlightenment. Both in his heart and on his face, his reverence for the Ancestor grew.

Of course, this treatment was also afforded because he was now a direct disciple favored by the Ancestor. Otherwise, an ordinary disciple would barely be able to stand steady in the Ancestor's presence, let alone dare to ask questions. After about half a day, Lei Dong had no more inquiries.

Only then did the Ancestor solemnly bestow a treasure that elicited a complex mix of gratitude and wry amusement from Lei Dong: a Mid-grade Spirit Ghost. He had to admit it was a significant gift—worth over a thousand spirit stones on the market. Yet, a Mid-grade Spirit Ghost was rather anticlimactic for Lei Dong, as he could produce one himself with a bit of effort over a month or two.

Nevertheless, he maintained an outward expression of astonishment and profound joy, repeatedly thanking the Ancestor for the reward. After bidding farewell to the Ancestor, he returned to his quarters and finally collapsed onto the sleeping platform, utterly drained. The entire process of meeting the Ancestor and officially becoming a direct disciple had been more exhausting than his decisive battle against Zhou Minghua.

Still, having achieved the status, Lei Dong felt immensely fortunate. He knew his own aptitude was, at best, above average, with his comprehension being his only truly strong suit. Becoming a direct disciple would undoubtedly smooth the path ahead considerably.

Once Gui Nu announced Lei Dong’s elevation to direct disciple status, a swarm of people immediately came to pay their respects and curry favor. Lei Dong refused everyone except Chen Wei. He only shared a brief gathering with them before they all returned to their cultivation to prepare for the subsequent duels.

In the upcoming matches, Lei Dong proceeded with unusual smoothness. The vast majority immediately surrendered upon facing him, their expressions a mixture of awe and deference, seemingly fearing he might slay them and feed them to his ghosts. Their terrified demeanor caused Lei Dong a degree of awkward amusement.

It wasn't until the nineteenth round that he encountered Chen Ge. After a perfunctory, staged spar, Lei Dong conceded. In the twenty-third round, it was Wei Hua; naturally, Lei Dong fought briefly before forfeiting.

In the twenty-seventh round, he finally drew Ding Wanyan, and forfeiting was unavoidable this time; facing Senior Sister Ding, even all three ghosts employed would not be enough. By the thirtieth round, his opponent was none other than Zuo Chao. Lei Dong pondered briefly: to defeat Zuo Chao, he would likely need to deploy all three ghosts, and even then, it would be a narrow victory.

Two powerful Ghost Soldiers were already drawing attention; revealing a third might invite real suspicion. After all, Lei Dong had only cultivated for three years, and producing two formidable Ghost Soldiers, leveraging the High-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda, repeated Blood Sacrifices, and immense focused effort, was already pushing his limits. However, surrendering without a fight seemed too regrettable.

Thus, Lei Dong unleashed both existing Ghost Soldiers and fought with everything he had, ultimately falling short by a hair's breadth. Yet, Zuo Chao was not faring much better; his low-grade magic shield was shattered, and he had to consume a Guiyuan Pill just to barely edge out Lei Dong. Whether due to youthful spirit or inherent decency, instead of feeling resentment after Lei Dong forced him to break his shield and waste a valuable pill, Zuo Chao expressed deep admiration, openly stating that had Lei Dong been a direct disciple three years ago, Zuo Chao now would stand no chance against him.

He also insisted that despite his younger age and higher ranking this time, he was unwilling to be called Senior Brother by Lei Dong, actively addressing Lei Dong as such instead. Lei Dong, for his part, was also quite impressed, marveling at Zuo Chao’s cultivation level at such a young age. Even more striking was the sheer mastery he displayed in using his magical arts, far surpassing the dilettante nature of Zhou Minghua.

The final match brought him a young girl at the mere third level of Qi Refining. With a look of tragic pleading, she begged Lei Dong to let her win this one match, offering anything in return, otherwise, she feared being ranked outside the top twenty. Lei Dong merely sneered, summoned his Ghost Soldiers, and within ten breaths, forced her surrender.

The rankings for the small competition were quickly posted. As expected, Ding Wanyan stood undefeated in thirty-one matches, taking first place. Zuo Chao was second with thirty accumulated points, and surprisingly, Chen Ge claimed third with twenty-nine points.

Chen Ge had only lost to Ding Wanyan and Zuo Chao, benefiting from Lei Dong having eliminated Zhou Minghua earlier, which granted Chen Wei and another unnamed disciple an extra point each by default. Wei Hua was also extremely lucky, avoiding any formidable opponents early on. Midway through, he managed to break through from the peak of the Third Layer to the Fourth Layer.

Armed with decent cultivation, magical artifacts, and techniques, he surged forward, ultimately securing fourth place with twenty-eight points. Lei Dong finished fifth with twenty-seven points. Although ranked fifth, everyone present understood that he was, in reality, the third strongest contender.

But only Lei Dong knew that if he had unleashed all three ghosts, he could certainly have overcome Zuo Chao. At that moment, Lei Dong couldn't help but sigh again, recognizing how incredibly potent the Ghost Taming Art truly was once one possessed powerful Spirit Ghosts. ...