105: Chapter 47: The Majesty of the Leader 105: Chapter 47: The Majesty of the Leader Bu Linhai’s cultivation life was far from pleasant.
Only seventeen years had passed since he joined the Sea Watch Sect, yet he had already reached the later stages of the Merge True realm.
Bu Linhai was born into a family of loose cultivators from a market town and practiced with his parents from a young age.
By chance, he encountered an immortal from the Sea Watch Sect who was traveling and had the good fortune to be accepted as a disciple, thus entering this largest sect in the Northern Region on the shores of the East Sea.
Bu Linhai always felt that his aptitude and comprehension stood out among his peers in the Sea Watch Sect, yet the sect never seemed to value him enough.
This was not simply Bu Linhai’s own boastful claim.
The Sea Watch Sect also adopted an inner and outer disciple system, and compared to other large sects, its rules were simpler yet stricter.
——All disciples started as outer disciples, followed by a minor examination each year, and a major examination every three years, with only ten spots available for new inner disciples each year, and the bottom fifteen inner disciples being eliminated every three years.
Only by successfully entering the Heaven and Earth Bridge realm could one shed the title of disciple.
As outer disciples, their cultivation resources were fixed and limited.
Only by gaining the favor of an inner sect immortal was there a chance to obtain a ticket to the inner sect.
In such an environment, Bu Linhai climbed step by step to his current position, taking seventeen years to become one of the most dazzling among the twenty immortal sprouts of his generation in the Sea Watch Sect.
At this moment, several of the sect’s outer elders were meeting with him and a few other Merge True disciples in secret, issuing them an important command.
Bu Linhai had a feeling that his opportunity to prove his strength had arrived.
The elder said, “Did you several look at the jade talismans we gave you at noon?”
The disciples nodded in acknowledgment.
The elder in the middle nodded slowly and spoke soothingly:
“This time, our Sea Watch Sect is convening this East Sea Experience Gathering, first and foremost to clear out those disruptive demons, and secondly to provide a chance for our young disciples to make a name for themselves.
“These are of utmost importance, but there is a third matter I need to specifically instruct you on.”
The five disciples bowed to receive the order.
The elder continued softly, “Are you aware of the Wanyun Sect?”
Bu Linhai responded swiftly, saying, “Elder, the Wanyun Sect is a righteous sect on the Path of Immortality that has existed for tens of thousands of years.
Within it reside three Golden Immortals and over a hundred Heavenly Immortals, a force not to be underestimated.”
“Hah,” one elder scoffed coldly, “If this were ten thousand years ago, the Wanyun Sect would indeed be on par with our Sea Watch Sect.
Unfortunately, due to their lax sect rules, they suffered internal strife a thousand years ago, many Heavenly Immortals fell or defected, and now they are merely strong on the outside but hollow within.”
Another elder said, “The Wanyun Sect had some conflicts with us recently, causing us to lose some face, something you must be unaware of.”
Realizing the situation, Bu Linhai immediately said, “Rest assured, elder, during this experience gathering, we will certainly show those Wanyun Sect disciples a thing or two!”
A few disciples beside him frowned and shot Bu Linhai a few glances.
Could you tone it down?
This guy’s really jumping the gun with his comments!
Luckily, the elder snorted coldly and scolded Bu Linhai, “Impatient and hotheaded!”
Bu Linhai quickly shut his mouth and bowed his head, not daring to say more.
“Alas, it’s just the inconsiderateness of youth,” said the elder in the center, stroking his beard and pondering:
“This is a trial for disciples from six sects initiated by our Sea Watch Sect.
If we deliberately target our guests, it will ultimately be our own reputation that suffers.
“Although the Wanyun Sect has had some conflicts with our Sea Watch Sect, after all, we are both righteous sects on the Path of Immortality, and the Golden Immortal ancestors from both sides are well-acquainted.
We must not let things become too unsightly.
“However, some time ago, an immortal from the Wanyun Sect mocked our Sea Watch Sect publicly in a market town in front of many loose cultivators, indeed causing our Sea Watch Sect to lose face.
“This experience gathering must also knock down their pride, to put the minds of all sects at ease on the Way of Humanity.”
Bu Linhai pondered the elder’s words and quickly grasped the underlying intention.
This trial for the disciples was likely deliberately orchestrated by the elders of his Sea Watch Sect to lure the Wanyun Sect here and ridicule them in front of all the guests.
Bu Linhai had letters from his father at home and somewhat understood what had happened.
In recent years, the Wanyun Sect’s influence had grown strong in the hundreds of market towns along the East Sea shores.
While other sects were trying to sell various expensive Immortal Treasures and Magic Artifacts, the Wanyun Sect did the opposite, beginning to sell large quantities of ordinary Magic Artifacts.
These common Magic Artifacts, high-quality and inexpensive, reasonably priced, became very popular among loose cultivators, earning them a good amount of Spirit Stones.
Other sects soon followed suit, copying their methods, and the Sea Watch Sect also attempted some trials.
At the end of last year, the Sea Watch Sect organized a large group of disciples for Artifact Refining, but after two months of effort and calculations, the Magic Artifacts produced were of inconsistent quality and dubious merit.
The average cost was only slightly lower than the price of the ready-made artifacts from the Wanyun Sect’s shops.
The Sea Watch Sect, ambitious and driven, opened new shops in over a dozen market towns, and these Magic Artifact shops were either located opposite or nearby the Wanyun Sect’s shops.
The Wanyun Sect’s shops responded swiftly, offering various ‘discounts’ over three months.
The Sea Watch Sect’s shops were decisive; after struggling for two months, they shut down entirely.
An elder from the Sea Watch Sect secretly spied on the Wanyun Sect’s shop activities and was exposed by an outer elder of the Wanyun Sect, who publicly ridiculed them.
This stirred up a bit of tumult, with the Sea Watch Sect becoming the butt of jokes, losing Spirit Stones, and shedding face.
Even up to this moment, the Sea Watch Sect still couldn’t understand where the Wanyun Sect was getting so many high-quality and inexpensive common Magic Artifacts from.
Could it be that a group of immortals were wielding little whips, forcing thousands of disciples to toil daily in Artifact Refining?