Chapter 2: First Disciple
Chen Wentian was excited at his great idea and decided to visit the closest town. It was around lunch time in the town and the streets were bustling. They were shopping and haggling and eating tasty street food. Chen Wentian displayed his immortal power and left a streak of blue fire behind him as he flew down to the town square, attracting a lot of attention.
"Look!" "Kyaa!" "Its an immortal!" Many mortals in the streets screamed in excitement.
Although many have seen immortals, it was a rare occurrence. They all ran to the town square and quickly gathered around him. Chen Wentian looked towards the crowd in satisfaction and enhanced his voice as he began to speak.
"Citizens of Lin Town, please calm down. I am Immortal Blue Dragon, Chen Wentian!"
"Waahhhh!" "He's so handsome!" "He's so young!" "That's amazing!"
Chen Wentian felt giddy and happy inside, it actually felt this good to be flattered! He enjoyed the applause and adulation a little more before he continued.
"I am going to create a new sect, and those that are destined and fortunate will become my first batch of disciples! Now, I will conduct an examination, anybody that wants to pursue the road to immortality can step forward."
The square immediately exploded into excitement. Amazing! Seeking disciples! A once in a lifetime opportunity. There were many mortal cultivators that were stuck at some level or other. What they lacked was not enthusiasm or dedication but a teacher to lead them in the ways of Dao.
There was immediately a large amount of pushing and shoving as people tried to crowd around Chen Wentian. He looked a pompous looking fellow and cupped his fist, "Town Mayer, I request you form them into orderly lines. My test is quick, everybody will have a chance!"
"Sir Immortal, I will accomplish it!" The town mayor said quickly as he directed his men to get the crowd in order. Some semblance of order gradually returned.
Meanwhile, a young maiden named Lin Qingcheng was out at the market shopping with her mother. She had just turned 16 this year. She was the only daughter of the town lord and the undisputed princess of the townsfolk. She started cultivating from a local sect and achieved some decent progress. Her mother thought that given a couple more years, she can find a good match for her daughter with some young master in the provincial city. That way, her husband could have opportunities to increase his rank.
Lin Qingcheng heard about the immortal seeking disciples just like everybody else and was excited, she grabbed her mother's hand and they also headed to the hubbub. By the time they got there, there was already a very long line that wrapped around the town square several times. Lin Qingcheng didn't see her father, the mayor so she got in line. Her mother meanwhile left to seek her mayor husband.
Chen Wentian sat on stage, screening each person one by one. He really only needed to glance at each person for 1 second to tell their age and cultivation level. He also took into factor their appearance. At first he was excited, but he quickly realized how stupid his idea for seeking disciples was. There were around a few thousand hopefuls in line, at this point it would take him a few hours! He sighed, slumping in his chair as he tried to make it go as fast as possible.
"Age thirty, 7th level Body Refinement, Fail!"
"Age thirty-five, 9th level Body Refinement, Fail!"
"Age twenty-eight, 5th level Body Refinement, Fail!"
"Age fourty-one, 10th level Body Refinement, Fail!"
This town truly was trashy, he hated himself even more. What kind of stupid idea did he have? Did this town not have a single talent?
"Age twenty, 2nd level Body Refinement, Fail!"
"Age twenty-two, 2nd level Body Refinement, Fail!"
"Age eighteen, 3rd level Body Refinement, Wait!" Finally, Chen Wentian broke out of his stupor as he opened his eyes to study the person in front of him. It was a handsome looking male youth. The mayor besides him pitched in immediately, "Sir Immortal, this one is Yue Wuque, a young master from a prominent merchant family. His talent is one of the best in Lin Town."
"Fail!" Chen Wentian closed his eyes again. He smirked to himself as Yue Wuque, with a wronged and devastated expression, was pushed off the stage by the guards.
After a while, Chen Wentian was really bored. He suddenly stood up. "Mayor, I have some prior engagements, this is taking too long. I apologize for my earlier method."
He then turned to the crowd and increased his voice. "Everybody remain calm, stay where you are and don't move, I will fly over and inspect each one of you. It will be faster this way."
He kept his spiritual cloak to a minimum and slowly hovered above the line. Inspecting each person as he went. There really was nobody good in this entire town. The only decent one was a dude! Unacceptable, what an inauspicious start to his immortal career.
It was almost the end of the line when he suddenly stopped. "Age sixteen, 3rd level Body Refinement!" He stared at the pretty maiden in front of him and was a bit stunned. She was a stunningly cute girl. With almond shaped eyes that had a hint of makeup. Small red lips, a face white as jade, her hair held up in a couple elegant but simple knots. Two adorable bangs framed her face which was accentuated by a charming dimple.
He instantly was attracted to her. He was an immortal for crying out loud but he couldn't stop his stomach from fluttering. The crowd parted as he landed in front of her. Chen Wentian took her hand and led her to the stage. The mayor was crying in happiness as he knew his family had finally made it!
"Sir Immortal, this is my daughter, Lin Qingcheng."
Chen Wentian laughed. "Good! An excellent name. We are fated to meet! Maiden Lin Qingcheng, this Immortal Blue Dragon Chen Wentian takes you as his disciple! Do you accept?"
Lin Qingcheng was giddy with joy inside, she naturally found the immortal extremely handsome, even though truthfully really he was above average if he was a mortal but who cared about that!
She bowed down and said, "This disciple accepts master's grace!" Her parents also fell down and bowed in gratitude.
Chen Wentian smiled at her, "Great, we shall have a great adventure on the path of immortality. You'll be able to contact your parents through mail and even visit them when you are strong enough. As a reward for raising a good daughter, here..." He drew out some mortal money from his spatial ring. Mortal money was pretty much useless to him so he carelessly took out 10,000 taels of gold. This amount was greater than the entire wealth of city lords and more than a hundred times what Lin Qingcheng's bride price would have been in a best case scenario.
Watching her parents cry in joy, Lin Qingcheng was extremely appreciative of her new master. When she took his hand, Chen Wentian was a bit surprised but happy nonetheless.
"Time to go," Chen Wentian said gently.
"Goodbye, father, mother, Qingcheng will return as an immortal to bring more pride and joy upon my family!"
Chen Wentian spread his spiritual force to Lin Qingcheng and they flew off into the sky.