527: Chapter 37 Official Announcement of Promotion

"Don't you know?"

Hearing Song Da Ren's rhetorical question, Zeng Shushu was a bit confused: "Know what? What happened?"

Upon hearing this, before Song Da Ren could answer, Tian Linger was the first to respond.

She said with a face full of pride: "My Seventh Junior Brother is already a Sect Elder, and he has broken through to the legendary Taiqing Realm. Naturally, it's not appropriate for him to participate in the Seven-Peak Martial Tournament. So, he went with my parents to the Yuqing Hall to discuss the upcoming arrangements with the Sect Head and the others."

These words were like a huge stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.

The Disciples from the other peaks present immediately erupted in an uproar.

"A Sect Elder?"

"Broke through to the legendary Taiqing Realm?"

"How is that possible?"

"This is too unbelievable!"

"Is it true or false?"

"It must be fake!"

"It should be true. I noticed earlier that the style of that Junior Brother's robe was the same as the Peak Masters'. At first, I was puzzled, wondering if there was a mistake. Who would have thought he's already an Elder and has even broken through to the legendary Taiqing Realm."

...

Zeng Shushu was also stunned speechless by Tian Linger's answer.

An Elder, the Taiqing Realm... this...

He remembered that Meng Li, like himself, enjoyed refining Magic Treasures and tinkering with novel gadgets.

For example, creating puppets that could cook by themselves.

Or researching Talismans.

Both of them were equally "neglecting their proper duties," yet he was still hopping around in the Yuqing Realm, while Meng Li had actually broken through to the Taiqing Realm!

This... it doesn't make sense, there's no reason, it's utterly unjust!

Could it be that Meng Li is the illegitimate son of the heavens, finding cultivation Breakthroughs as easy as eating and drinking?

Lu Xueqi was also stunned.

During their journey down the mountain last time, she knew Meng Li's cultivation surpassed her own.

Upon learning that Meng Li had entered the Sect later than she did, Lu Xueqi felt surprised by his talent and couldn't help but develop a sense of rivalry.

Her Master, Immortal Master Water Moon, had once said that her cultivation Aptitude was extremely high. Not only among contemporary Disciples, but even looking across all the Disciples of the Qingyun Sect from its founding to the present, only that Ancestral Master Qingye, who led the Qingyun Sect to rise and stand at the pinnacle of the Righteous Path, was slightly superior.

Lu Xueqi understood Immortal Master Water Moon's character and knew she wouldn't exaggerate about such matters.

Later, Lu Xueqi's cultivation speed confirmed this.

She, Lu Xueqi, truly was a cultivation Genius!

Youth plus Genius gave Lu Xueqi a bit of pride in her heart, more or less.

This was normal; she had the capital to be proud.

And someone with pride in their heart would naturally not easily accept being inferior to others.

Therefore, upon discovering that Meng Li's talent might surpass her own, Lu Xueqi inevitably developed a competitive spirit. So, after returning last time, she cultivated even more diligently, aiming to catch up to and even surpass Meng Li.

This Seven-Peak Martial Tournament, in her view, was the perfect opportunity to prove herself.

She wanted to defeat Meng Li fairly and squarely on the arena.

But Lu Xueqi never expected that Meng Li had quietly reached the level of her own Master, becoming a Sect Elder, with cultivation even surpassing that, stepping into the Taiqing Realm.

She was still thinking about determining superiority through competition, while Meng Li had already stepped out of the competition to become a judge.

This gap left Lu Xueqi feeling shocked and, at the same time, a sense of defeat.

A Genius?

Compared to Meng Li, her Genius status seemed a bit laughable.

...

After the uproar subsided, a Disciple from Tongtian Peak came to relay a message, instructing the Disciples participating in this Seven-Peak Martial Tournament to assemble at the Yuqing Hall.

The Disciples present hurriedly complied, heading towards the Yuqing Hall in groups.

Upon arriving at the Yuqing Hall, the Disciples lined up according to their peak affiliations, standing in order of seniority.

On the high platform above the main hall, Tian Buyi, Immortal Master Water Moon, and other high-ranking members sat upright in their chairs.

Meng Li was among them, though his position was at the end, similar to Su Ru's.

Su Ru's official position within the Sect was also that of an Elder.

The same went for Wan Jianyi and Green Pine.

However, these two were responsible for guarding the Ancestral Hall in the back mountains, and due to special circumstances, it was inconvenient for them to appear, so they didn't come.

Not long after the Disciples had taken their positions, an announcement came from the entrance: "The Sect Head Immortal Master has arrived!"

As the words fell, the doors of the great hall opened.

Mysterious Dao entered with measured steps, passing through the crowd and proceeding directly to the high platform above.

Tian Buyi, Zeng Shuchang, and the other high-ranking members stood up and saluted: "We greet the Sect Head."

"Hmm." Mysterious Dao responded lightly, then turned his gaze downward.

The Disciples below the platform immediately and uniformly cupped their hands in salute: "We greet the Sect Head Immortal Master."

Mysterious Dao gave a slight nod, then looked at those Disciples and began his address: "To establish the heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish the destiny for the living people, to continue the lost teachings of past sages, to open peace for all generations. This is the ancestral precept of our Qingyun Sect since its founding..."

Meng Li: "..."

This "Four Establishments" ancestral precept, Tian Buyi had mentioned it when he first entered the Sect.

At the time, he was confused for quite a while, then asked Tian Buyi if the Qingyun Ancestral Master's surname was Zhang, given name Zai, courtesy name Zihou, and sobriquet Hengqu.

Because these four phrases, "To establish the heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish the destiny for the living people, to continue the lost teachings of past sages, to open peace for all generations," in his first life, originated from the "Hengqu Quotations" by the Northern Song Dynasty philosopher Zhang Zai, also known as the "Four Sentences of Hengqu." After their emergence, they were revered by countless scholars as the highest ideal and moral standard.

Furthermore, in the web novel world, especially for protagonists in modern-to-ancient Transmigration stories, they were a Sharp Weapon for showing off, considered invincible.

The reason was none other than the high level of sophistication these four phrases carried!

And in this world, they had become the ancestral precept of the Qingyun Sect.

This was something Meng Li had never expected.

He almost thought the Qingyun Ancestral Master was a Transmigrator, but later it was proven not to be the case.

These four phrases were the Ancestral Master's inspired utterances during his travels across the world.

This kind of ambiguous situation gave Meng Li an indescribable sense of strangeness.

Putting aside these four phrases, Mysterious Dao's speech at this moment also gave him a sense of familiarity. It reminded him of the speeches given by school and company leaders in his first life: first talking about history, then pouring on motivational talk, delivering a long-winded discourse before finally getting to the main point.

Thoughts flashed through his mind, but on the surface, Meng Li kept his eyes downcast, maintaining composure. He only stood up and acknowledged appropriately when his appointment as an Elder was announced.

Afterward, Tian Buyi stood up and, on his behalf, introduced the rules for this competition.

The rules were simple: There was a pre-prepared rosewood box on the stage containing sixty-four balls, each inscribed with a number from one to thirty-two. All participants would come forward in order to draw a ball. Those with the same number would be opponents.

After the draw, Mysterious Dao instructed the Disciples to go and rest.

Once the Disciples had dispersed, Tian Buyi, Zeng Shuchang, and the others also prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, just as they stood up, Mysterious Dao stopped them: "Wait, there's one more matter I need to discuss with all of you."

Tian Buyi and the others showed expressions of confusion.

There was more?

At that moment, Mysterious Dao called out towards the outside: "Yicai."

As soon as the words fell, a young man dressed in Qingyun Sect Disciple attire pushed the door open and entered.

Seeing the young man, Su Ru beside him softly introduced him to Meng Li: "This is your Sect Head Senior Martial Uncle's eldest Disciple, the Senior Brother of Tongtian Peak—Xiao Yicai."

...