Chapter 269: Ambition, Despair
After the New Year Festival ended, the Clear Sky Sect began making full preparations for the Grand Dao Tournament. From Clear Sky Mountain to Xunxian Town, and then to the various peaks of the Ancient Great Mountain Range—once anyone started talking, they could not avoid the Grand Dao Tournament.
This session of Dao duels began in February and continued all the way to June, determining the Top Sixty-Four. The entire process consisted of one-on-one Dao duels.
Up until mid-June, disciples could still register. This also gave disciples who were out tempering themselves enough time, so the Grand Dao Tournament would not feel rushed.
Large numbers of aristocratic clans, merchants, and officials came to the Clear Sky Sect. The current Clear Sky Sect stood above dynasties—any disciple with talent was worth recruiting.
Because the Clear Sky Sect allowed pilgrims to go up the mountain, many people used the identity of pilgrims to come and observe the strength of Clear Sky Sect disciples. This included other immortal cultivation sects in the current martial world.
When the winter snow between heaven and earth had completely melted, everything seemed to awaken.
In a courtyard on Ziyang Peak.
Qiu Dahu, the sect master of the Azure Cloud Sect, looked at his master Zhou Ya with a complicated expression.
He had not expected to see his master so easily, and his master was doing better than he had imagined.
Zhou Ya had already made up for his past mistakes and regained his status as a True Transmission Disciple. His cultivation was now at the Fourth Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
Such cultivation was nothing within the Clear Sky Sect, but before Qiu Dahu, it was unfathomable.
At twenty-four years old, Qiu Dahu still could not reach the Third Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm. Within the Azure Cloud Sect, he could still maintain an immortal cultivator’s bearing, but after coming to the Clear Sky Sect, he grew inferior.
There were simply too many Clear Sky Sect disciples who made him afraid to even look up.
Not only their strength—Clear Sky Sect disciples’ speech, temperament, and appearance all made him feel ashamed of his own inadequacy.
Watching the grown-up Qiu Dahu, Zhou Ya was also filled with emotion. When he heard that a pilgrim surnamed Qiu was looking for him, he immediately thought of Qiu Dahu.
“Dahu, have you been well these years?” Zhou Ya asked.
After returning to the Clear Sky Sect, he had kept an eye on the Azure Cloud Sect. As long as he could hear news of the Azure Cloud Sect, it meant the sect still existed.
The Sect Master had not lied to him—he truly had allowed the Azure Cloud Sect to continue.
So when Qiu Dahu came looking for him, Zhou Ya was happy, not afraid that it would cause trouble.
He could not go looking for the Azure Cloud Sect on his own, but for the Azure Cloud Sect to come visit him meant his teachings had not been in vain.
Qiu Dahu came back to his senses and said, “Quite well. I have not run into any trouble.”
He was telling the truth. Thinking carefully, his life was far better than it had been before he met Zhou Ya. It was only that his ambition was too great and he could not see hope, so his mind was suffering.
“Our sect’s Grand Dao Tournament is about to begin. You can stay a while longer. Master will cover your food and lodging,” Zhou Ya said with a smile.
Within the Clear Sky Sect, he did not have much presence, and he only had two or three friends. He hoped Qiu Dahu could keep him company longer.
Our sect…
Hearing those four words, Qiu Dahu found them grating. In an instant, the distance between him and Zhou Ya widened.
Yet Zhou Ya did not notice. He began enthusiastically describing the Grand Dao Tournament.
One genius name after another came out of his mouth, making Qiu Dahu feel increasingly bitter.
He suddenly realized his master was not that towering after all. His master was also an ordinary person who looked up to others. That gave him a sense of collapse.
Perhaps this had always been his master’s true nature. Back then, he had not cultivated immortality and could not see the world through his master’s eyes.
After a long time—
Qiu Dahu forced a sigh and asked, “Master, tell me—back then, why did you establish the Azure Cloud Sect at all? If you had just brought us into the Clear Sky Sect, would that not have been better?”
Zhou Ya shook his head. “The journey was long. Bringing you all back to the Clear Sky Sect would likely have caused many problems. And I also had my own mission to carry out. I cannot bring everyone I save into the sect every time—what would that make me? Besides, I did not have that kind of authority.”
Then Zhou Ya smiled. “Back then, were you not the one shouting about becoming a sect master and shaking the martial world? What—have you given up that goal?”
As soon as Qiu Dahu heard it, he said seriously, “How could that be? I was just asking casually. I will not abandon the Azure Cloud Sect.”
The words “abandon” also sounded grating to Zhou Ya.
He suddenly realized that Qiu Dahu held resentment toward him.
Zhou Ya did not get angry. His conscience was clear. He maintained his smile and changed the topic, so the boy would not remain stuck in that mood.
Qiu Dahu’s arrival was only one example.
The current immortal cultivation sects all had countless threads of connection to the Clear Sky Sect. When they sent people to probe the Clear Sky Sect’s strength, they would all be subdued by the Clear Sky Sect’s grand bearing.
Some were subdued and wanted to draw closer to the Clear Sky Sect. Some fell into despair, not knowing how they could ever surpass the Clear Sky Sect.
…
At midday.
In Hu Yan’s courtyard, Duan Xiaojuan was animatedly describing a Dao duel she had seen that morning, waving her hands as she spoke.
Even after she finished, she still looked unsatisfied.
“A Dao duel at the Fifth Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm is simply like immortals fighting. I wonder when I will reach the Fifth Layer. Oh right, Hu Yan—what cultivation are you at now? Do not tell me you are already at the Fifth Layer too?”
Duan Xiaojuan sat down, propping her cheek with one hand, her eyes bright as she stared at Hu Yan.
Hu Yan smiled and nodded. “I have already reached the Fifth Layer.”
Duan Xiaojuan was not surprised. She had already accepted Hu Yan’s genius status. Many people said Hu Yan would become the future strongest disciple, and she felt proud of it.
“Then are you participating in the Grand Dao Tournament?”
“I will not. Master told me to observe this time, and to participate ten years later. He also set a task for me.”
“What task?”
“He required that in the next Grand Dao Tournament, I must take first place.”
“First place?”
Duan Xiaojuan’s eyes widened. She looked Hu Yan up and down, her heart filled with emotion.
If the Sect Master dared set such a goal, it meant Hu Yan was qualified for it.
Ten years from now—what kind of presence would he have then?
Duan Xiaojuan had heard that if one became famous in the Grand Dao Tournament, many aristocratic clans would try to recruit them, even propose alliances through marriage.
Her heart jolted. In the future, would she be unable to hold onto Hu Yan?
“Hu Yan, since you entered the sect, do you have someone you like?” Duan Xiaojuan asked. She still remembered Zhu Qingling of the Zhu Clan.
Zhu Qingling was said to be a genius too, and she had even become an Enforcement Hall disciple ahead of time.
Hu Yan smiled helplessly. “How could I? I have devoted myself to cultivating immortality. You—do not always let your mind run wild. Look at my master—so formidable, yet he never married or had children. What are you worried about? I will definitely keep my promise and pursue longevity and immortality with you.”
Those words left Duan Xiaojuan feeling very uncomfortable.
Back then, she had said such things only to keep Hu Yan from being taken away. Now it seemed that this promise was the one binding her.
Hu Yan seemed to think of something and continued, “Next year, I plan to go down the mountain to temper myself. Will you go with me?”
The moment Duan Xiaojuan heard it, her spirits rose. She asked curiously, “A genius like you should be in secluded cultivation, pushing toward tribulation. How did your master agree to let you go down the mountain?”
Hu Yan answered, “When the time comes, Martial Uncle Jiang will accompany us. There will not be too much danger.”