Ning Lingge completed the handover with Sage Cihang and officially resigned from the position of the Tiangang Hall Master. However, he still retained his status as one of the 36 Omniscient Sages, which was second only to the three Deputy Grand Masters and several Virtuous Great Sages. Thus, he could still make a comeback.
Sage Cihang officially took office as the Tiangang Hall Master, but she did not hire a new Deputy Hall Master. Instead, she replaced Shangguan Jing’s vacant position with the original Eighth Deputy Hall Master. It was not considered a transfer because the Eighth Deputy Hall Master kept the same division and subordinates. It was merely a name change from the Eighth to the Seventh Deputy Hall Master.
During the battle of Cuowenbu, Shangguan Jing was not the only one who was killed in action. Some Daoist priests and Spirit Guards under his command also suffered heavy casualties, so they were no longer a complete team.
Thus, Sage Cihang simply merged the survivors under Shangguan Jing’s division with Zhang Yuelu’s Yaoguang Division. Zhang Yuelu’s new title was the Eighth Deputy Hall Master, leaving the position of the Ninth Deputy Hall Master vacant.
Although Zhang Yuelu was still ranked last among the many Deputy Tiangang Hall Masters, she would be more senior than a newly appointed Ninth Deputy Hall Master in the future. Moreover, Zhang Yuelu finally had Spirit Guards under her command, making her position as a Deputy Tiangang Hall Master more official.
Everyone knew that Sage Cihang was paving the way for her disciple, but no one could say anything about it. After all, Zhang Yuelu was still ranked last among the Deputy Tiangang Hall Masters and was not promoted ahead of anyone without reason.
Furthermore, before Zhang Yuelu was appointed the Ninth Deputy Hall Master by the Earthly Preceptor during his term as the Great Sage Lunzhi, Tiangang Hall only had eight Deputy Hall Masters. So Tiangang Hall was returning to its original structure.
However, the speed of Zhang Yuelu’s promotion was truly enviable. She had moved up a level within less than a year in office as a Deputy Hall Master. At this rate, she would become the Chief Deputy Hall Master in another ten years. That was an esteemed position that could only be held by a second-rank Taiyi Daoist priest, which was just one step away from an Omniscient Sage.
In a sense, this move also confirmed Zhang Yuelu’s status as Sage Cihang’s successor.
Sage Cihang did not only have Zhang Yuelu as a disciple. Zhang Yuelu also had other senior and junior apprentice sisters. However, there was only one position for the title of Sage Cihang. Thus, it was up to Sage Cihang to decide who would inherit her legacy, resources, connections, and status.
Naming a successor for the throne had always been a major event that would ensure stability by gaining the people’s trust. In the past, the successor for the position of Sage Cihang had been put to the side. However, now that Sage Cihang was a strong contender in the competition for the Grand Master, her current position would need a successor.
This was also the reason why Sage Qingwei and Sage Donghua were also promoting their own successors at this time.
As such, the Qingping Society posted the Ruyi Leaderboard at this critical juncture, bringing Li Changge and Yao Pei to the forefront. Before this, these two juniors were not known to outsiders.
Sage Cihang chose Zhang Yuelu as her successor after considering many factors. Age was undoubtedly an important one. Her successor could not be too close in age to Sage Cihang because their retirement age would be too close together. This was also why the three Deputy Grand Masters and several other Virtuous Great Sages were not qualified to be in the running for the position of the seventh-generation Grand Master.
If the successor was too young, she might not have enough experience compared to Zhang Yuelu. Thus, they would not be suitable for the position.
Zhang Yuelu was of the right age with the necessary experience. If she continued this trend of growth, she could likely be a second-rank Taiyi Daoist priest in her thirties and an Omniscient Sage in her forties. By then, she would definitely be a strong contender for the title of Grand Master. Others could only blame their bad luck in comparison to Zhang Yuelu.
Another thing to consider was one’s background. Of course, there were some who could ascend to the position of Grand Master without relying on family background, such as the fifth- and sixth-generation Grand Master. However, the fifth-generation Grand Master was an anomaly that should not be judged by common standards.
The sixth-generation Grand Master came from an ordinary background and obtained the position by chance, but he was merely a puppet of the three Deputy Grand Masters.
Most people still had to consider the help or influence of one’s family background.
Zhang Yuelu was from the Zhang family, so there was nothing much to elaborate on. More importantly, Zhang Yuelu was also favored by the Earthly Preceptor, not just the Heavenly Perceptor.
She had learned two exclusive mystical abilities. One of them was the Cihang Sword Sequence taught to her by Sage Cihang. The other one was the Six Void Tribulations, passed down to her by the Earthly Preceptor. Even Sage Cihang did not practice the Six Void Tribulations. From this point of view, Zhang Yuelu also had a master-disciple relationship with the Earthly Preceptor. Thus, when she mentioned out of anger that she could convert to the Quanzhen Sect, it was not a groundless threat.
If Zhang Yuelu could become the Grand Master, the Quanzhen Sect would probably not object to it.
The most important factor was that Zhang Yuelu was willing to put in the effort and do the tough jobs.
Although Li Changge and Yao Pei had a high cultivation level and good backgrounds, there was no legitimate reason to promote them because they had not contributed to the Daoist Order. Thus, they were both still in the fifth rank and were merely Prospective Jijiu Daoist priests, while Zhang Yuelu was already a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master.
Since Zhang Yuelu had made contributions to the Daoist Order, it was still within reason for Sage Cihang to pave the way for her, leaving people with nothing to criticize.
Judging from Zhang Yuelu’s abilities, she was not far away from getting promoted to the third rank.
As Ning Lingge said, there was no shortage of capable people in the Daoist Order. Some had no chance to compete for the position of Grand Master, but they hoped to follow the right leader for a brighter future. Some people also saw that it was difficult to bet on the candidates for the seventh-generation Grand Master, so they set their sights on the candidates for the eighth-generation Grand Master well in advance.
The candidates for all three sects were already clear as day. However, they were all just budding talents. In terms of age, qualifications, and background, Zhang Yuelu from the Zhengyi Sect, Li Changge from the Taiping Sect, and Yao Pei from the Quanzhen Sect were the strongest contenders for the position of the eighth-generation Grand Master.
Among the three, Li Changge had the highest cultivation level, but Zhang Yuelu had the richest experience. Although the three sects were different, there were still many disciples in each sect who believed in other sects.
Not everyone in the Taiping Sect would wholeheartedly support a candidate from the Taiping Sect. The same was true for the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect.
Zhang Yuelu’s experience of slowly climbing up the ranks of the Nine Halls would gain her the votes of many colleagues, old subordinates, bosses, and friends who might not be from the Zhengyi Sect. Yet they had a close relationship with Zhang Yuelu. After decades of accumulation, they would become an extensive network for her that could not be suppressed by merely having a higher level of cultivation.
Therefore, many people were very optimistic about Zhang Yuelu’s future and had begun currying favor with her.
This undoubtedly increased Zhang Yuelu’s growth and popularity, inevitably raising her status. Within Tiangang Hall, the other Deputy Hall Masters dared not underestimate this junior.
By this time, the Zhang family no longer pressed for Zhang Yuelu’s marriage.
If Zhang Yuelu could really achieve the status that the current Sage Cihang had, a regular marriage would definitely not suffice.
Tantai Qiong even joked with Zhang Yuyue in private that they would have to thank Qi Xuansu for interrupting when he did. Otherwise, they would most likely be regretting their decision of an arranged marriage with the Yan family.
No one expected that Sage Cihang would become the Tiangang Hall Master. After a series of events, Zhang Yuelu’s identity as Sage Cihang’s successor was confirmed.
In the past, this succession was still unclear. Except for Zhang Yuelu herself, who was determined to compete for the position of Grand Master, no one else was sure whether she was capable enough to be a contender for that esteemed position. They probably underestimated her and expected her to be an ordinary Sage and at most an Omniscient Sage. Anything higher would have to depend on her luck.
Who would have thought that Zhang Yuelu would be named Sage Cihang’s successor so soon?
At this time, Qi Xuansu was still unaware that his difficulty in marrying Zhang Yuelu had been raised to yet another level. At this point, even being a Sage did not seem enough to be able to convince the public that he was worthy of her.