"With such extraordinary aptitude, Master is proficient in countless martial arts and skilled in a hundred techniques, yet only ranks fifth?"

Bai Qi was stunned for a moment, as he had never encountered any of the other Four Cultivation Grandmasters besides Ninghai Zen.

However, from his master's brilliant achievements in dominating Yihai Prefecture a decade ago, where he could defeat third-level martial artists and even Daoist officials were helpless against him.

To say "outstanding and peerless" was absolutely fitting!

Yet he merely ranks fifth.

What other terrifying celestial beings rank before him?

His gaze continued upward.

He could only make out a few scattered names.

"Kang Longsheng... Lu Ruoying... Li Quanzhen..."

He had never heard of them.

Bai Qi clicked his tongue:

"Just how formidable are these ancestral masters?"

Ninghai Zen seemed to notice his disciple's confusion and spoke:

"These ancestral masters should have been titans of their era before the Way was lost. I have perused many texts, inquired of my master, and even of that rascal Qiu Changtian, and in the end, only discovered brief mentions of Kang Longsheng.

He was said to be the seventh generation ancestral master of Tongwen Hall, having created the 'Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants Prison-Suppression Skill,' aiming to substantiate divine techniques with force.

It is said this ancestral master was extraordinarily remarkable, nurturing an unparalleled martial bone within, with innate divine power. Not limited by the Four Elephants, he used his physical body as a great cauldron, refining the spiritual mechanism of heaven and earth, understanding the way of 'the Furnace of a Hundred Forms.'

Hiss!

Bai Qi's eyelids twitched, unable to suppress his gasp.

The ancestral master was so ferocious?

After long-term tutoring at Dezhen Tower, his knowledge and perspective had significantly improved.

Thus he knew that before the Way was lost, the four major training levels were not as clear and distinct as they are now.

It was merely a simple matter of nourishing blood, refining tendons, changing bones, and altering marrow.

Martial artists of that time did not understand the concept of standing post to practice skills or the respiration of force techniques.

They often used more brutal methods, traveling through mountains and wilderness, delving into great marshes, hunting spirits, and gathering great herbs to temper their bodies.

Should they succeed, they could advance further; if not, they would be shattered to pieces, body and head separated.

Ancestral Master Kang Longsheng not only created authentic skills but also blazed a trail forward, truly a heaven-sent outstanding talent.

"The end of the Four Cultivation Grandmasters is the Circulation of Qi, acquiring enlightenment through methods.

Ancestral Master Kang Longsheng broke through the fetters with 'the Furnace of a Hundred Forms,' stepping into the Divine Power Secret Realm, truly exceptional."

Ninghai Zen held much admiration, even though before the Way was lost, the Red County Divine Land was said to be rich in talent, with countless herbs, rare beasts as numerous as the hairs on a cow; the mountains and marshes nurtured items like 'Spirit Stones,' available for the masses to train.

Yet because of this, the method of cultivation was rather crude, mostly relying on self-realization or relying on Spirit Stones and precious medicines for forced elevation.

Especially in the Martial Dao, the main focus was that hardness meant excellence, largeness meant strength.

Unable to break through the current realm?

Directly venture into the great wilderness, slay a few ancient demons seven to eight thousand years old, take their blood, eat their flesh!

Still not enough?

Simply set your sights on targets over ten thousand years old!

If a three-zhang tall physical shell can't withstand a ten-thousand-year-old Demon Emperor.

Then temper it to ten zhang, twenty zhang, even a hundred zhang!

In such circumstances, the ancestral master Kang Longsheng who created his own cultivation technique and comprehended the Great Way.

Truly deserved to be described as "astonishingly talented."

"The true skill I intend to impart to you today was created by this ancestral master, the 'Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants Prison-Suppression Skill,' to become the Dragon-Elephant Dharma Body through the Furnace of a Hundred Forms!"

Ninghai Zen said softly.

"But before that, we must complete the necessary procedures, so let's start with recording your name."

This Ancestor Hall is akin to a small secret realm, where law and principle intertwine, serving as the beams and pillars of the house, supporting the four directions.

Only with the Sect Leader's Seal, as well as inheriting the mantle of Tongwen Hall, and being recognized.

Can one step over the 'threshold' to enter and meet the ancestral masters within.

Ninghai Zen rarely displayed a solemn expression, offering incense three times and bowing to the ancestral masters of past generations. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Then, with a grand gesture, the spacious Ancestor Hall, like a giant palace, slightly trembled, and a jade tablet of blue and white gradients manifested out of thin air.

"Ah Qi, step forward."

Bai Qi heard these words, took two steps forward, bowed his head, and placed his palm on the floating jade tablet.

With a 'buzz', as if muffled thunder cracked open, everywhere swayed like ocean waves, creating ripples layer upon layer.

The eleven portraits started to move without wind, their gaze seemingly turning substantial, sweeping over Bai Qi.

Next, as if softened like clay, the jade tablet was imprinted deeply by his hand.

The intertwined lines transformed into large letters, engraved above.

Bai!

Qi!

"The Ancestor Hall has accepted me, and now I can be considered a true personal disciple..."

Bai Qi inexplicably felt a sense of closeness and integration with this world, more accurately, a palpable stirring of mind and spirit.

He looked once more at the portraits of the ancestral masters hanging high, they seemed... closer?

"Only after the Way was lost did excessive formalities cease to be popular, placed three thousand years ago, my accepting you as a personal disciple would require recording your name and date of birth in 'Golden Book and Jade Scroll,' submitting it to heaven, burying the tablet in the earth, equivalent to announcing it to the heavens and mountains and rivers."

Ninghai Zen smiled slightly, that Tongwen Hall is ultimately a declining line of law, only the authentic technique remains, and things like the mountain gate, treasury, and complete genealogy are all nonexistent.

If compared to the Seven Upper Sects or the Five Taoist Sects, from inner sect, true disciples, to the main line leaders, recorded with hierarchical taboos.

The so-called taboo, taboo is the date of death, the taboo is the name.

More detailed records would specify paternal lines and children, the child connected to the father, relationships with spouses, all clear at a glance.

So detailed it could almost cover the Black Water River.

"So this is the difference between registered and personal disciples? Registering means only belonging to Tongwen Hall, not recorded in the genealogy. Being a personal disciple is to inherit the mantle, becoming the pillar of support in the future!"

Bai Qi pondered, he had not seen the name of Senior Brother Cheng Yuanlong.