Exploitation is everywhere

Wang Longzhi's attitude wasn't overly forceful, which somewhat eased the Elder's expression.

At the same time, he became interested and curiously asked, "Young man, who is this Brother Tan you speak of?"

"Reporting to this Elder, Brother Tan is this person."

Wang Longzhi had no ulterior motives, only knowing to speak his mind, and his finger was already pointing towards Li Tan's location.

This truly troubled Li Tan, who quickly bowed in greeting.

"Missing an arm, and without a special Physique, his talent is also unremarkable."

"It seems he achieved a good ranking entirely by relying on his Family's foundation."

The Elder shook his head, the expectation in his eyes completely extinguished by cold water.

"Forget it, you and I are not fated."

Looking at the departing Elder, Wang Longzhi was momentarily stunned.

He had originally thought that this Elder would simply wave his hand and accept them both as Disciples, leading to a carefree life.

But the plot had completely deviated from his plan, yet he wasn't disheartened; he jogged over to Li Tan's side.

He seemed determined not to give up until they both became Disciples under the same Elder.

A voice only he could hear sounded from his mouth: "Old fool, you have eyes but cannot see!"

An hour later, many Elders had already finished selecting Disciples, with Zhao Aotian being accepted as a Disciple by an Inner Sect Elder.

Due to Wang Longzhi and Li Tan's rankings, Outer Sect Elders were too embarrassed to take them as Disciples, so they slowly waited it out.

....

After a long while, another figure flew from the horizon; unlike the previous old man, this person was very young.

He was handsome, stepping on a Flying Sword, walking through the air, and his light blue robe was very dashing.

His gaze swept over the crowd below, and his brows furrowed slightly as a result.

"I'm late; practicing swordplay truly delays matters."

Among the top fifty in the field, except for Li Tan and Wang Longzhi, all had already been chosen by various Elders.

During this period, many Elders had been interested in Wang Longzhi, but without exception, he vehemently refused them.

He cried and made a fuss, insisting on becoming a fellow Disciple with Li Tan, causing those Elders to leave regretfully.

The late Young Elder quickly understood the whole story; without hesitation, he flew directly in front of the two.

"Young man, is your arm congenitally missing, or was it Acquired?"

Li Tan couldn't help but recall that Bai Youqianshan had asked the same question in the Li Family residence, probably because a disabled Physique greatly affects a Cultivator.

He didn't hesitate at all, almost blurting out: "This Elder, this young man's arm was cut off by someone in the Acquired stage!"

The Young Elder nodded slightly upon hearing this, seemingly satisfied with the result.

With a wave of his hand, he accepted both of them simultaneously.

Then he went to the position of the latter fifty, feeling very pleased: "Those old geezers are truly old; their eyes are dim, to think they would let go of the Prodigies in the top fifty."

"This young man named Wang Longzhi possesses a Bloodline of strength within him; although very faint, it is still a Physique!"

The necessary conditions for a Genius are talent and Physique, just like Zhao Aotian's Spear Heart Clarity.

"As for this young man with the severed arm, he has a trace of Dragon Blood from the Acquired stage."

"They truly went all out; since they dared to invest in such an ordinary person, there must be some hidden secret I haven't seen."

"Following the clues, if there truly is an Opportunity, then it will be the day I Breakthrough my Bottleneck...."

.............................

Soon, this Young Elder gathered ten Disciples, five males and five females, which was very pleasing to the eye.

However, during this period, this Elder was very picky; if the other people had no Physique, they were all rejected.

Following behind this Elder, they gradually learned some useful information.

The Elder whom Li Tan and Wang Longzhi pledged allegiance to was named....

"Xu Yan."

The Xu Family is a famous great Family in the northern part of the Tianwu Continent, having produced many sword Dao Geniuses and Grandmasters of other schools.

Xu Yan is an Inner Sect Elder, with a cultivation level at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, belonging to the newly promoted Elders.

He is obsessed with sword practice and has very strict requirements for his Disciples.

"Your identity tokens will be distributed together after statistics."

"For the Disciple's entrance rules and other miscellaneous things, you can find the Heavenly Sword Envoy who brought you."

Xu Yan clearly didn't want to deal with these messy affairs, pushing them all onto the Heavenly Sword Envoy.

...........

Under Xu Yan's leadership, everyone quickly arrived at the huge Yanwu Arena they had seen earlier.

Bai Youqianshan had already been waiting there early.

Upon learning of Li Tan and Wang Longzhi's rankings, Bai Youqianshan was overjoyed, excitedly dancing with his hands and feet.

After some uninspired praise, the cunning Bai Youqianshan took the two and boarded the Sect's public Flying Ship.

"Junior Brother Tan, Junior Brother Long, once you enter the Sect, you can no longer address me as an Elder."

"Every Family has its rules, and every Sect has its regulations; from now on, just call me Senior Brother."

Li Tan remained silent, but Wang Longzhi was surprised; he asked with a puzzled expression, "Does that mean we can't use these titles even in private?"

"There are actually such restrictions!"

Bai Youqianshan's eyes were very complex; looking at the two in front of him, he seemed to recall his own youth.

"The world is cold, and human hearts are treacherous."

"You will understand later."

"Senior Brother Bai!"

"I knew that young Tan was intelligent; this is how it should be...."

......

The Sect's Flying Ship was about ten zhang long, entirely blue, and could accommodate many people at once.

The Flying Ship provided convenience for Cultivators, and in return, each person had to pay ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Although the amount was not large, the Heaven Sword Immortal Sect had an enormous number of people.

Accumulated over time, the Spirit Stones had reached a terrifying astronomical figure; Li Tan silently praised the inventor's cleverness.

At this moment, the three had entered the Flying Ship's interior; Bai Youqianshan waved his hand, paying the Spirit Stones required for their ride.

Looking around, there were many young Disciples here, all dressed in light blue.

However, their expressions were not good, with deep sorrow hidden in their brows.

One by one, they were like walking corpses, and the atmosphere was very oppressive.

Moreover, the moment Li Tan took his seat, he clearly noticed several gazes sizing him up.

Their eyes were filled with envy, jealousy, and longing.

They were just like hungry beggars on the roadside, envying the landlords who had no worries about food and clothing.

Bai Youqianshan remained silent, scoffing at the envious gazes of the crowd, the disdain in his eyes difficult to conceal.

Noticing Li Tan's gaze on him, he quickly smiled and enthusiastically introduced the Sect's affairs.

The Flying Ship was fast, stopping occasionally as Sect Disciples departed.

"The Deacon Hall has arrived, Junior Brother Tan, Junior Brother Long."

Bai Youqianshan's kind words fell into Li Tan's ears, and he hurriedly stood up.

Wang Longzhi beside him was fast asleep, completely unaware of any danger.

"What a carefree fellow!"

After waking Wang Longzhi, the three walked together to a counter named "Retreat from the Mundane."

Guarding the counter was an old man with white hair, his eyes very empty.

He was numbly processing one Disciple's procedure after another.

"Junior Brother Xin, is Senior Brother Liu here today?"

When Junior Brother Xin saw the newcomers, he tossed aside the Disciple procedures he was waiting to process.

His face was full of flattery, with one polite remark after another.

In contrast, Bai Youqianshan's tone was very impatient, filled with urging.

Junior Brother Xin sighed imperceptibly, then cupped his hands and said, "Senior Brother Bai, please wait a moment; I will go and call Senior Brother Liu here now."