During these days, Teng Qingshan spent his mornings practicing the Three Stance Form, immersing himself in its underlying artistic conception, hoping to forge the fourth move of the Five Elements Spear Technique. In the afternoons, he diligently studied the Tiger Form Spirit Transformation Art. Since consuming the Black Fire Spirit Root, his strength, vision, and hearing had been gradually improving as he cultivated.
Evenings were dedicated to researching the Flying Dagger secret arts.
Naturally, mealtimes, both lunch and dinner, were spent drinking and laughing heartily with his brothers in the Black Armored Army. In truth, Teng Qingshan was not alone in his diligence; the vast majority of the Black Armored Army were incredibly hardworking. Few of those who managed to pass the rigorous selection process to remain in the unit were idlers or loafers.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was September the twenty-first.
In the early morning, just as the sky began to pale, most occupants of the Black Armored Army camp were still deep in sleep. However, noise erupted from Teng Qingshan’s quarters.
“Cousin! Cousin!” Qingyu was already in the courtyard, jumping excitedly and shouting loudly, “Hurry and wake up! This morning, we all have to go to the Great Hall!”
“It’s barely dawn,” Teng Qinghu pushed open his door, emerging with his heavy iron spear in hand. He shot Qingyu a helpless glance. “Qingyu, look at the time. There’s still almost an hour before breakfast.” Despite his words, Teng Qinghu immediately moved to the front courtyard and began practicing his spear forms.
Qingyu simply snorted, “So lazy! Look at my brother; as soon as I got up, he was already punching!”
“If I tried to keep up with Qingshan, I might as well not sleep at all,” Teng Qinghu paused his spear practice and chuckled. “But look at your brother—he was sitting cross-legged in the rear courtyard all night. How can I compete? If they told me to skip sleep and just meditate instead? Is meditation the same as sleeping? I certainly don’t possess that skill!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
From the rear courtyard came occasional whistling sounds.
There, Teng Qingshan was practicing the Three Stance Form. It was the ordinary Three Stance Form, yet under Teng Qingshan’s execution, it carried a special, earthy resonance. If one looked closely, they could perceive that Teng Qingshan’s legs seemed to conceal a drawn bow, his left and right arms were also taut bows, and his entire body manifested as a mighty bow!
The whole physique was simmering with an intense, latent power!
Slow, then swift!
A sudden punch burst forth, much like drawing back a taut bowstring to launch a fierce arrow!
The movement concluded!
Teng Qingshan’s chest expanded like bellows as he exhaled a long breath, a trace of serene tranquility etched upon his face. With every practice of the Three Stance Form, Teng Qingshan vaguely sensed an inexhaustible flow of vitality, an artistic conception of balanced Yin and Yang. Yet, that profound conception remained too high and elusive for him to fully grasp.
“Cousin, Xiaoyu, you’re up quite early today. Come on, let’s go eat breakfast,” Teng Qingshan walked toward the front courtyard.
“Brother, you need to change your clothes. Today is the great day when the Sect Master formally accepts you as his disciple! Many Elders and Protectors will be present in the Great Hall,” Qingyu urged.
Teng Qingshan glanced at his own attire.
Dust smudged his clothes, having settled upon them during his night of quiet cultivation in the courtyard.
“No rush. I’ll rinse off and change after breakfast,” Teng Qingshan replied.
The three of them then left the residence together.
...
The sun rose, casting forth radiant streams of rosy light that bathed the Grand Hall of the Gui Yuan Sect.
On the dozens of steps leading up to the hall entrance stood a large contingent of the Gui Yuan Sect’s core disciples, each dressed uniformly in white robes, standing ramrod straight. Further off, along the paths, even more core disciples were gathered in small groups of three or five, gazing toward the Great Hall and murmuring amongst themselves.
“What major event is happening in the Sect today? My Martial Uncle, along with all the twenty-seventh generation disciples, are waiting outside the Hall!”
“Who knows? The twenty-seventh generation disciples are qualified to stand outside the Hall. We twenty-eighth generation ones can only watch from afar. Look! The Grand Master! Wow. And the Elders, the Protectors too!”
Many core disciples spotted the distant assembly of figures.
This group represented the true high echelon of the Gui Yuan Sect! Teng Qingshan was currently among them.
“All Centurions! Two men on every single step! Line up downwards sequentially, all stationed outside the Hall,” Ji Hong, clad in dark, tight-fitting uniform, bellowed. The Centurions following behind the main crowd responded with respectful obedience. For this Great Hall assembly, even the Centurions of the Black Armored Army were not qualified to enter and could only wait outside.
Outside the Hall, on every tier of steps, stood two Centurions alongside two twenty-seventh generation core disciples; Teng Qinghu was one of them.
Inside the Great Hall!
Chairs lined the left and right sides, forming two rows that extended all the way to the entrance of the Hall. Each row contained eighteen chairs, totaling thirty-six seats!
The Four Great Commanders and the Eleven Marshals were seated on the right side. The Black Armored Army had twelve Marshals in total, though one was currently deployed elsewhere. Besides these fifteen figures, the ‘Prefect’ of Jiangning Commandery City and the ‘General’ of the City Guard were also present. These two sat ahead of the Four Great Commanders.
With those seventeen occupants, naturally, only the foremost seat on the right side remained unoccupied.
The row of eighteen seats on the left was also occupied by seventeen individuals. Only the foremost seat on the left was empty!
“From these seating arrangements, one can discern the major factions within the Gui Yuan Sect,” Teng Qingshan remarked, seated toward the rear of the right row, his gaze sweeping over the assembled figures. “The row on the left side should belong to the Elders and Protectors of the Gui Yuan Sect, likely managing the core and outer disciples. Our row here belongs to the Black Armored Army… Oh, those two people.”
Teng Qingshan did not recognize the ‘Prefect’ of Jiangning Commandery City or the City Guard’s ‘General.’
The Sect Master had not yet arrived, and the atmosphere inside the Hall was rather cheerful and relaxed.
“Old Yan, who are the first two individuals in our row? They actually get to sit in front of the four Commanders,” Teng Qingshan inquired quietly.
Beside him sat Yan Ge, a Marshal serving under the First Commander.
“Qingshan, those two are the ‘Prefect’ of Jiangning Commandery City and the City Guard’s ‘General.’ Those two control the ‘City Guard’ force, which numbers a massive eighty thousand strong!” Yan Ge whispered back. “Although the City Guards were all men filtered out from our Black Armored Army, their sheer numbers make them the army responsible for protecting our base camp for the Gui Yuan Sect.”
“So that’s them!”
Teng Qingshan’s heart stirred.
Because the Black Armored Army consistently maintained a strength of six thousand, many desired to join, and many possessed decent strength but were still rejected! Consequently, the Gui Yuan Sect absorbed these individuals into the City Guard—the Jiangning City Guard boasted a force of eighty thousand, the largest military contingent in the entire Jiangning Commandery.
Of course, on an open plain engaging in direct combat, the six thousand Black Armored troops would be sufficient to annihilate eighty thousand City Guards!
However, if the eighty thousand City Guards defended using the tall ramparts of Jiangning City, even the six thousand Black Armored soldiers would find it difficult to breach.
“This is the Gui Yuan Sect!” Teng Qingshan marveled internally. An elite force of six thousand Black Armored troops, and a massive, well-trained force of eighty thousand City Guards. Nearly ten thousand core disciples, and countless outer disciples. This was the foundation upon which the Gui Yuan Sect completely dominated Jiangning Commandery!
Just then—
Three figures walked in from outside the Hall. The one leading was none other than Zhuge Yuanhong, wearing a moon-white long robe and letting his long hair flow freely. Behind him were two others: one was an elder with silvery-white hair, dressed in simple cloth robes, and the other possessed eyes that flashed like lightning, carrying a sharp, imposing aura; he appeared to be only middle-aged.
“Martial Uncle, Grand Martial Uncle, please be seated,” Zhuge Yuanhong said with a light smile.
The two bowed slightly before naturally taking their seats at the head of the left and right rows, respectively.
“Those two!” Teng Qingshan immediately guessed in his heart. “Could these two be the legendary ‘Law Enforcement Elders’ of the Gui Yuan Sect?” During his time in the Black Armored Army, Teng Qingshan had indeed heard mention of the ‘Law Enforcement Elders.’ They held extremely high status, surpassed only slightly by the Sect Master.
The status of the other Commanders, the Prefect, the Elders, the Protectors, and the Marshals was significantly lower.
...
Once Zhuge Yuanhong was seated, everyone else in the Hall took their places.
“Qingshan!” Zhuge Yuanhong spoke with a gentle smile.
Teng Qingshan immediately rose and bowed deeply. “Sect Master!” In this formal public setting, before the official ceremony, Teng Qingshan still had to address him as ‘Sect Master.’
“Qingshan grew up in the mountains and forests, taking the natural world as his teacher, from which he forged his spear techniques! At such a young age, he even slew that ‘Blood Moon Blade’ Meng Tian. In the battle of Flame Mountain, when the two Elders of the Carefree Palace, Black and White, joined forces against Qingshan, he still held his own without being at a disadvantage! Haha. Qingshan is truly raw jade of immense talent. Today, I, Zhuge Yuanhong, formally accept Qingshan as my disciple, and all of you shall bear witness!” Zhuge Yuanhong announced with a smile.
Teng Qingshan immediately stepped forward and accepted a teacup from a platter held by a serving maiden.
He knelt on one knee and offered the tea!
“Master, drink,” Teng Qingshan said respectfully.
Zhuge Yuanhong smiled, accepted the cup, took two sips, then set it aside, nodding happily. “From this day forward, Qingshan, you are a twenty-seventh generation disciple of my Gui Yuan Sect! In the future, you must strive to be even more diligent and reach the Xiantian realm as soon as possible.” The apprenticeship process was truly simple; drinking the acceptance tea finalized the bond.
“Yes, Master,” Teng Qingshan replied respectfully.
“Rise,” Zhuge Yuanhong said with a faint smile.
From this day forth, Teng Qingshan was the Sect Master’s personal, direct disciple! This status was no small matter. Those who become Sect Masters are generally chosen from the most outstanding disciples, and the Sect Master, in turn, selects only the very best. According to traditional rules, barring unforeseen circumstances, the next Sect Master of the Gui Yuan Sect would typically be selected from among the Sect Master’s direct disciples!
The fact that Zang Feng and Guan Lu could become Commanders at such a young age was not only due to their strength but also closely related to their status as ‘Sect Master’s Direct Disciples.’
“Congratulations, Sect Master!” Everyone in the Great Hall cupped their hands and called out.
“Haha… Accepting Qingshan as a disciple today is a minor matter! There is another matter of far greater importance,” Zhuge Yuanhong said, his gaze shifting toward Ji Hong, immediately causing the Hall to fall silent. Everyone knew… the crucial moment had arrived!
Accepting a disciple was a simple affair. In the past, such a large gathering for such an event was rare.
Summoning so many people this time, everyone had a hunch: the new Commander would likely be selected now! The position of Commander held genuine power. Moreover… Ji Hong’s position was the First Commander! According to regulations, the other three Commanders were subject to his direction!
“Esteemed sirs,” Ji Hong stood up and announced in a clear voice, “I have held the position of First Commander of the Black Armored Army for over fifty years! Now, I feel my strength waning, and I must step down from this First Commander position.” He then looked toward the Sect Master, Zhuge Yuanhong, “I request the Sect Master to select a new Commander.”
Everyone held their breath, looking toward the Sect Master, ‘Zhuge Yuanhong’!