A plea for monthly passes; the upward momentum has slowed, and I'm now only over eighty votes shy of second place.

Beside the stream, Lei Dong suddenly sneezed violently and repeatedly. Rubbing his nose, he mused, Who is thinking of me? Just as the thought formed, his expression shifted dramatically.

The stiff, frigid atmosphere in this place seemed to detonate completely at the sound of his sneeze. Countless gusts of Gang Jin began to clash and collide silently. Within that small space, two vast and powerful martial intents fought ferociously.

While the scene appeared outwardly undisturbed, one could see the dust and sand beneath Yan Fan and the Taiyuan Immortal sitting down visibly vanishing at an alarming rate, dissolving into finer particles before scattering away.

And those lush, emerald-green weeds were utterly devoid of life force; they remained from being tenuously sustained by two overwhelmingly powerful and unreasonable forces, preventing them from turning to dust on the wind.

Yan Fan shot a grinless look at the Taiyuan Immortal, a flash of icy coldness crossing his features. He then turned toward Zong Shou beside him with a warm smile. "I wonder, Young Lord, if you have a master? Would you be willing to join my Five Absolutes Estate? You and Lei Dong are sworn brothers; training together in the same sect would be excellent company! You may choose freely from the Five Ultimate Techniques of my Five Absolutes Estate! In thirty years, I will gladly step down and hand the stewardship of the Five Absolutes Estate over to you!"

His withered hands clenched involuntarily.

It wasn't just the talent for the Way of the Sword, but the sheer confidence and tenacity in this youth—the ability to shatter every hardship!

A person of such caliber, even with mediocre innate talent or facing the barrier of the Heavenly Realm, would surely achieve something! He absolutely could not let this young man slip away!

Zong Shou’s eyes brightened slightly. He had long known of the Five Absolutes of the Five Absolutes Estate. However, in his previous life, he had only had the fleeting chance to glimpse them.

The foundation of this Fifth Sacred Land Sect far surpassed that of the Lingyun Sect!

The sheer abundance of texts in their library was something the Lingyun Sect could never match.

But the Taiyuan Immortal, Shui Lingbo, let out a cold laugh: "Your Five Absolutes Estate is merely the Fifth Sacred Land Sect. How dare you try to snatch a disciple right in front of me? Boy, though my Taiyuan is the Third Sacred Land, I simultaneously command the Third and the Seventh. Very few in this world can truly suppress our lineage. If you agree to join my sect, you can directly become the direct disciple of the Sect Master, learning our sect's ultimate technique, the Taihao Primordial Spirit Sword! With your talent in the Way of the Sword, you could reach the Heavenly Rank in five years at most!"

Zong Shou’s eyes instantly shone brighter; the Taihao Primordial Spirit Sword seemed rather appealing!

That was a supreme technique even superior to the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword, one that could directly point towards the Immortal Martial Great Dao—truly extraordinary!

Yan Fan remained completely unruffled, his smile intact: "Immortal Aunt, you speak wrongly! While the Taiyuan Sect's strength is indeed a notch above ours, what does the matter of accepting disciples have to do with the strength of the faction? The most suitable is the best! I already have two disciples who have reached the Fourth Meridian Martial Venerable stage of the Heavenly Wheel, and three others are already Heavenly Rank Martial Venerables! I dare say, within this Cloud Realm, when it comes to nurturing talent, no one can surpass me, Yan Fan. May I ask, Taiyuan Immortal, how many disciples do you currently have, and what achievements have they made?"

"Pfft!"

Shui Lingbo suddenly laughed, laced with mockery: "Senior Brother Yan, have you perhaps misunderstood little me? Such unparalleled genius—Shui Lingbo dares not accept him as a personal disciple, nor do I believe I have the qualification. Naturally, he should be brought under the tutelage of my Senior Brother. It is for him to instruct. Although my Senior Brother is no longer in this realm, if he knew of such excellent material, he would surely be delighted to return and accept him as the direct disciple of the Sect Master, is that not just talk?"

Yan Fan clearly paused, then let out a dry laugh: "It seems I, Yan Fan, was thinking too narrowly! Such a genius indeed cannot be taught by me. But while your Taiyuan Sect has Immortal Martial experts, does my Five Absolutes Estate not? Coincidentally, my Martial Uncle has been complaining for a hundred years that he hasn't found a disciple to satisfy him. Even if my Martial Uncle is still insufficient, I can request our revered Elder Master of the Qiong Realm to personally instruct the Young Lord. I wonder if the Celestial Venerable of your Cangsheng Dao would have such patience..."

Lei Dong’s brow furrowed upon hearing this. He pondered: If Zong Shou became the disciple of that Martial Ancestor, wouldn't he have to call him Martial Uncle?

And if he entered under the tutelage of the Qiong Realm Elder Master, he would have to call him Founding Ancestor—this was simply unacceptable!

Chu Xue felt her throat growing dry. From the tone of these two speakers, they seemed to be the world's absolute top powerhouses.

When Zong Shou rejected the Lingyun Sect earlier, she had only felt regret. Now, she secretly felt immense relief.

The Taiyuan Sect was the Third Sacred Land, and the Five Absolutes Estate was the Fifth—surely both were vastly superior to the Lingyun Sect.

These pinnacle figures, leaders of one of the world's most formidable forces, were actually vying to take their Young Master as a disciple! Their Master was truly the greatest!

Yet, she also harbored worry: Did these two know about the hidden danger surrounding the Young Master? Would they, like Long Ruo, merely offer polite gestures before leaving for good?

Lian Fan’s body trembled. When he left Cloud Saint City with the feeling of being abandoned that day, how could he have ever imagined witnessing this scene?

That peerless expert of the Cloud Realm was now squabbling like common market folk, all over securing this Young Lord for their sect!

Even as a mere carriage driver, he felt a shared honor.

Shui Lingbo huffed, ceasing her debate with Yan Fan, and turned her gaze to Zong Shou: "Little fellow, you choose now—is it me or him? I, Shui Lingbo, traveled a thousand miles to recruit you. Don't disappoint me!"

Killing intent subtly permeated her voice, laced with an implied threat: If you don't join my sect, I'll just take you by force.

Over there, Yan Fan's eyes gleamed sharply, his smile mocking: "The Young Lord must think carefully. While the Taiyuan Sect is excellent and its supreme techniques shock the world, it is the recognized Demonic Sect of the Cloud Realm. My Five Absolutes Estate, however, is a dignified, orthodox Heavenly Sect! In just thirty years, the Five Absolutes Estate can be entirely under your control. With me here, you need not fear her!"

His words shed all pretense of grace, pushing temptation and slander to the limit. He was practically about to shed his robes and fight Shui Lingbo head-on.

Shui Lingbo, however, let out a delicate, tinkling laugh, shaking with mirth: "Little fellow, my Taiyuan Sect cannot guarantee you mastery of the sect within thirty years. However, my sect has seven thousand female disciples, nearly half of whom are beautiful. Two of the Cloud Realm's Ten Beauties hail from my sect. Moreover, the Seven Spirit Sect is our vassal, also brimming with beauties. My sect excels in dual cultivation methods; our Qi refinement techniques have far fewer taboos than those of the orthodox sects. The women within the gates are all available for your taking—three wives and four concubines, as you wish. If you desire, my niece, Yanran, can be delivered to you immediately..."

Zhao Yanran remained expressionless. Upon hearing this, she showed no aversion; instead, she studied Zong Shou with interest, as if greatly amused.

Zong Shou, meanwhile, was ecstatic. Honestly, whether it was a Demonic Sect or not, he didn't really care. Wasn't this idea of three wives and four concubines the very aspiration of his youth in his past life? Had the Heavens blessed him so that this wish might be fulfilled in this era ten thousand years past?

He didn't expect every woman to be as exquisitely beautiful as Zhao Yanran; having half her beauty would already be a great fortune. Of course, this crazy woman was absolutely out of the question—even if she were gifted to him, he wouldn't want her.

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, imagining countless stunning beauties throwing themselves at him, pleading for affection. Bosoms surging, pairs of fair, slender legs dangling before his eyes.

Damn it! Such a breathtaking vision—if one didn't enjoy it to the fullest, wouldn't that be worse than a beast!

Suddenly, his mind cleared. How could he forget the cold, solitary figure atop that mountain peak just now? And the girl currently searching for a way out in the dense fog? This Taiyuan Immortal’s voice was too seductive; he had almost fallen for this woman’s trap.

Subconsciously, Zong Shou wiped away a trace of drool near his lips. With a righteous and unyielding shake of his head, he declared: "Immortal Aunt, do not mention such things again. While three wives and four concubines sound appealing! My sole pursuit, Zong Shou, is the pinnacle of the Way of the Sword; how could I be misled by mere feminine charms?"

Not only did Yan Fan’s eyes light up with surprise, even Shui Lingbo, the instigator, was slightly astonished.

She had anticipated that Zong Shou would not be swayed by illusory sounds, nor could he truly indulge in lust, but she had absolutely not expected that, at the realm of an Eight Meridian Secret Martial Master, Zong Shou could extricate himself from her Taiyuan Marvelous Sound so quickly!

The banks of the stream returned to silence. But beneath this calm, the faint, veiled killing intent and fighting spirit were vaguely perceptible even to Chu Xue and Lian Fan. Pressed back dozens of feet, they still felt unable to hold their ground.

Zong Shou, however, fell into hesitation. Clearly, the conditions offered by the Taiyuan Sect were superior. Cultivating the Taihao Primordial Spirit Sword to its extreme could blast open the gate to Immortal Martial arts in one go. Plus, there were all those female disciples—even if he couldn't touch them, simply looking at them from afar was pleasing to the eye. He especially enjoyed discussing life philosophies with girls.

The Five Absolutes Estate was also good. He had no real interest in ruling the Estate, but their sincerity was undeniable.

An orthodox sect undoubtedly offered a brighter future.

In his previous life, he had always cultivated alone. Only after his sword skills had reached minor perfection and he ascended to the Heavenly Rank did he realize that climbing the Martial Dao was not so simple. Especially since he intended to integrate the sword arts of a hundred schools, he required immense martial accumulation. Only those venerable sects with legacies spanning ten thousand years possessed enough foundation to satisfy him.

But by then, he was already famous throughout the Cloud Realm—‘Godslayer Hades Sword’ in reality, and Sword Emperor Tan Qiu in the divine game—both names renowned. Of the Ten Sacred Lands and the Nineteen Spirit Mansions, not one dared to accept him as a disciple.

If he hadn't understood the hardship of being a lone cultivator, he wouldn't have risked danger to guide Lei Dong that day, nor would he have pursued the Lingyun Sect's library so eagerly.

Now that he had the chance to join a major sect, he could not let it slip away.

He did not dwell on it for long. Seeing the gazes of the Taiyuan Immortal and Yan Fan burning intently, as if wishing to tear the other in half, Zong Shou’s mind suddenly moved, and he decided to kick the ball back: "Disciple truly cannot decide between the two. Why don't you two seniors decide? You tell me which sect I should join, and I, Zong Shou, will join that sect. Zong Shou will have no hesitation whatsoever..."

Yan Fan was clearly taken aback, then let out a burst of laughter: "You little fellow, you are truly cunning!"