Hán Fāng said this with a huff, but his expression was more one of delight than anger.

The four Inner Sect disciple slots that Wèi Xù had left behind were originally intended for Zōng Shǒu's future personal 'protectors.'

Since he had just claimed one, compensation was naturally required.

Ruò Lán, however, felt as if she had already been 'abandoned' by Zōng Shǒu, her gaze pitiful and pleading.

Zōng Shǒu smiled and pointed to Hán Fāng, saying, "This person is much more formidable than I am; he can teach you incredible skills. You won't be bullied anymore, understand! Plus, he has really tasty candy—"

At these words, Shī Ruò Lán's eyes filled with tears, shimmering with supplication. Zōng Shǒu felt helpless, wondering how Little Ruò Lán had learned this trick from Chū Xuě. Its devastating effect made his heart clench, as if he had committed some unforgivable act, akin to a final parting in life and death.

A thought suddenly struck him. Zōng Shǒu changed his tone, injecting a hint of temptation, "If you learn the skills well, you can protect your Brother Shǒu in the future! This is just discipleship, not separation—"

Hán Fāng, who had been quietly annoyed—how could his personal disciple serve as a guard for someone else?—immediately clamped his mouth shut upon seeing Shī Ruò Lán nod and her tears cease, forcefully suppressing the urge to scold.

Zōng Shǒu immediately pulled Zhàn Xuě forward beside him, "Senior Brother Hán, if you are accepting a disciple, why not take one more? Her name is Sù Chū Xuě; her innate talent is no less than Ruò Lán's."

He mused that if he could offload this burden onto his senior brother, it would be the best outcome. Chū Xuě could master any martial art or technique instantly. However, when it came to spiritual arts, she was hopeless; teaching her one thing made her forget the previous one, and even mastering the Grand Eclipse Azure Nether Technique hadn't helped much. This had long been a headache for him.

Hán Fāng's expression turned cool. He glanced dismissively at Chū Xuě, then waved a hand, unconcerned. "This girl's talent is decent enough; with her Spirit-Forged Tiger Bones, she possesses innate prodigious strength. However, to enter my school, she still falls short. She is more than a notch below Ruò Lán."

Zōng Shǒu froze. Hadnèi Wèi Xù failed to inform this senior brother that Chū Xuě possessed the Martial Body of War and Battle?

He didn't know about Spirit-Forged Tiger Bones, but he was intimately familiar with Chū Xuě's combat instincts—they were the absolute pinnacle of talent in this world.

Even he himself was inferior to this girl. If he hadn't continually suppressed her and forced her to cultivate spiritual arts concurrently, her cultivation would surely be far beyond the current Martial Sovereign realm.

Raising an eyebrow, Zōng Shǒu prepared to explain, but only felt Chū Xuě suddenly tugging at his sleeve.

When he turned, he saw Chū Xuě's face set in a stubborn expression of reluctance, her eyes flashing with resentment.

Zōng Shǒu was initially stunned, but after a moment, he realized that Hán Fāng's words might have wounded the girl's pride.

He couldn't help a quiet chuckle. He had thought this Xuě'er was genuinely scatterbrained and carefree.

After a moment of thought, Zōng Shǒu swallowed the words he was about to speak, concluding that this burden couldn't be cast off after all. But a slight curl lifted his lip, and he smiled with a touch of mischief, "Forget it then! If you won't take her, you won't. Senior Brother Hán, don't regret this later, okay?"

Hán Fāng gave a cold sneer. "In this world, there is nothing that can make me, Hán Fāng, regret anything! I am confident these old eyes have never misjudged."

Hearing this, Zōng Shǒu was resigned. Hán Fāng had just accepted Shī Ruò Lán and didn't wish to let the atmosphere become too strained. He immediately took Shī Ruò Lán's hand and pushed open the door of the scripture tower, striding out. "You all follow me."

As Hán Fāng left the tower, Zōng Shǒu felt his breath hitch. He gazed intently at the space before them.

He saw that the vicinity was filled with interconnected structures, all magnificent and grand, spreading out over ten thousand zhang.

Although a great sun hung in the sky, it offered no warmth. The temperature in this space seemed eternally constant.

He couldn't tell if the sun was too fake or if it was due to the spiritual arrays here.

Surrounding these buildings was a wilderness—there were mountains, water, and even patches of farmland.

Zōng Shǒu knew, however, that most of the surrounding scenery was illusory. This Azure Life Dome, he estimated, could be at most a mere hundred thousand zhang in circumference.

—Legend says the Five Great Domes, unlike naturally formed Holy Lands and Spiritual Mansions, were spaces carved out within the Cloud Realm by supreme experts from the ancient Cloud Barren Era. This claim was clearly true!

Losing himself for a moment, Zōng Shǒu retracted his gaze. He looked back at the great door behind them, above which were inscribed the four large characters: 'Scripture Storage B Tower.'

He couldn't help but feel a renewed surge of joy. If there was a 'B Tower,' there must naturally be an 'A' and a 'C.' Wèi Xù's claim that this Dome housed millions of books was probably not an exaggeration.

Immediately after, in his peripheral vision, he saw a group of figures emerging from a pavilion. Their attire was motley, their ages varied, and most of their cultivation levels hovered around the fifth or sixth stage, with the lowest not below the fourth stage.

Zōng Shǒu's eyes widened in surprise. "Senior Brother, our Azure Life Dao Main Hall actually has this many disciples?"

At a glance, there seemed to be nearly a thousand of them?

"They are disciples of the Azure Life Dao, but not of the Main Hall. These are the Inner and True Disciples from the Three Sects and Six Gates, here in the Azure Life Dome. They utilize the spiritual energy here to cultivate while also attending lectures."

Hán Fāng smiled and casually explained, "However, our Azure Life Dao Main Hall isn't short on manpower either. Those qualified to be on the Profound Destiny Golden Scroll number only about twenty. The Direct Lineage Disciples have only reached the third generation. But collateral branches like mine have also taken on many disciples."

Zōng Shǒu paid little attention to the latter part, only curious about the first few sentences. "Lectures? What do you mean, Senior Brother?"

"That was a rule established by your Senior Brother Wèi Xù. Although your senior brother could be somewhat unreliable, this one aspect of his merits admiration!"

Hán Fāng sighed as he spoke, then continued calmly, "The Azure Life Dome invites elders from the sect every year to lecture and preach within the Dome. Those qualified to teach are invariably above the Spirit Martial Venerable realm, and sometimes even cultivators from the Immortal Dao return here to instruct. Attending classes within the Dome is far more beneficial than instruction from their own masters. Thus, the Three Sects and Six Gates all consider gaining a quota for cultivation in the Dome an honor. Naturally, this measure also serves to consolidate the sect and prevent the numerous branches of the Azure Life Dao from growing distant and disloyal."

Zōng Shǒu suddenly understood. If the founders of the various branches were still present, it would be fine, but without them, if there were no connections between the branches, they would inevitably split apart sooner or later.

Wèi Xù's action was brilliant. By fostering the camaraderie of shared learning, these numerous branches could still regard each other as peers.

Could it be that the university system of ten thousand years later originated from this? The disciples of the Azure Life Dao sects must possess qualifications at the Inner or True Disciple level just to enroll—

While secretly admiring this, Hán Fāng turned back and looked at him meaningfully, "So, Junior Brother, have you decided which identity you will use to cultivate and seek enlightenment within our Azure Life Dome?"

Zōng Shǒu, with clarity in his heart, flipped his right hand, and a token appeared.

He had initially thought Wèi Xù gave him this token to facilitate his travel in the Cloud Realm under the guise of an Azure Life Dao disciple, never imagining it would be used here.

Indeed, within this Azure Life Dome, the disciples from the Three Sects, Six Gates, and the Main Hall likely numbered no less than ten thousand.

With so many people, he truly needed a new identity to conceal himself.

After a moment of contemplation, Zōng Shǒu flicked the token in his hand slightly. The writing upon it instantly changed—it now clearly read: 'Azure Life Dao Inner Disciple Tán Qiū'!

Zōng Shǒu's appearance also shifted, transforming exactly as it had in his previous life. However, although Zōng Shǒu intended to make his face appear more mature, returning to the look of a thirty-something uncle,

it was unfortunate that the illusion token in his hand wasn't very cooperative. No matter how it shifted, it still only looked like he was just over fifteen years old.

Not far away, there happened to be a pool of water. Looking at his reflection, Zōng Shǒu became slightly engrossed.

How long had it been since he last saw this face? His mind seemed to drift back to the youthful days of Jiàn Huáng Tán Qiū in his past life.

"This appearance isn't overly handsome, but not ugly either—just completely ordinary. The identity is merely Inner Disciple; you truly understand the art of concealing one's brilliance."

Hán Fāng's eyes held a trace of surprise. Though the visage Zōng Shǒu manifested was plain, the innate noble yet slightly sharp aura could not be hidden.

He inwardly scoffed, In the eyes of anyone with discernment, your appearance is as conspicuous as a lantern; what are you hiding? He continued, "—It's a pity, though. If you wish to enter the Scripture Storage B Tower, or even the A Tower, you will need at least the rank of True Disciple!"

Zōng Shǒu sighed in resignation and had no choice but to alter the writing on the token again, changing 'Inner Disciple' to 'True Disciple.' After some thought, he added the characters 'Third Generation' to it.

Hán Fāng smiled and ignored him, then swept his gaze over Zōng Yuán and the others.

Zōng Shǒu suddenly realized that Zōng Yuán's fame as the Peerless Progeny General was no less than his own. Those who recognized them would be numerous. The problem was that he only possessed one illusion token; how could he change their identities?

Then, Zōng Yuán’s expression shifted, and he took out his own token. Surprisingly, the writing on it could also change; at the name field, it was directly altered to read 'Zōng Èr' (Zōng Two).

Seeing Zōng Shǒu as the primary figure, he naturally assumed the secondary position. After shifting his appearance slightly, changing the placement of his eyes and features, he became entirely different—equally handsome, but with a hint of sunshine about him.

Zōng Shǒu finally understood. The tokens held by Zōng Yuán and the others were likely linked treasures, embodying the concept of 'mother and child.' His own displacement jade slip and illusion token were the master artifacts of this spiritual set.

Ruò Shuǐ followed suit, changing her name to Shuǐ Ruò. Chū Xuě, initially unsure how to rename herself, felt reassured after seeing the name Ruò Shuǐ had chosen. She also reversed her name, changing it to Xuě Chū.

In the blink of an eye, the appearances of the three had changed somewhat from before. Only Shī Ruò Lán remained young; likely, no one would recognize her, so changing her name and appearance was unnecessary.

In any case, he didn't intend to use this current identity for very long.