Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 513 - 512: Complex Pattern

Hou Niao raised his head. Was this Judge truly ruthless, implying chaos was desired throughout the world?

If nothing had happened, the Judge continued, "There are still four Masters, among them Master Hai and Master Wei have traveled far and are untraceable; the other, Master Quan and Master Yuan, suffered defeat at the hands of Prince Manor and King Wucheng Manor due to their disciples’ lack of competitiveness..."

Hou Niao chuckled, "Do you mean to say that I should seek refuge under the two Masters Quan and Yuan?"

The Judge nodded slightly, "Is that shameful? To respect and follow one’s teacher is originally the path of knowledge for every Cultivator. From the moment a Cultivator embarks on cultivation, mentorship has always been a part of the journey, though some are official disciples and are recorded within the Sect, while others are unofficial yet devoted, just like you with Li Chuping.

At the beginning of your cultivation, Li Chuping indeed provided you with much support, but in the matter of becoming a True Disciple, he was powerless.

It’s not your fault, after all, when newly on the Daoist Path, one cannot foresee everything; but a person’s life cannot possibly have only one teacher. There are always different directions, different Realms, different levels of guides, and it doesn’t make sense to stick to only one throughout.

I too once... unfortunately, I couldn’t match others due to my lack of strength and could do nothing about it."

The Judge concluded, "You might think that if I am offering help without being asked, I must have an ulterior motive? Then, what could I possibly want from you? It’s just that I am dissatisfied with the current atmosphere within our Sect, which is stagnant and utterly lacks any spirit of striving upward;

As Sword Cultivators, we should seek straightforwardness, not intrigue. The truth of our swords should be seen in battle, without regard for background or family, where everyone has a chance—this is what a normal atmosphere in a Sect should be. freewebnøvel.coɱ

The current situation, however, is muddled and confusing. Pretending to hold a competition every ten years, what can that truly achieve? When the qualifications, background, history, and legacy are all compared, those like you, who possess significant Sword Techniques, don’t even have the chance to draw their swords.

I have already missed my chance and can blame no one but myself, yet I do not wish for other young generations to miss their opportunities as well.

What to do is up to you, whether to speak up is for me to decide, who can force another?"

He took the Spirit Stone inventory, with a stroke of the pen, cut two hundred Spirit Stones, "Go and claim it; it probably won’t wrong you."

...Hou Niao walked out of the room, shaking his head and chuckling bitterly. These Golden Core officials were all slick and seasoned. After all their maneuvering, he ended up neither earning nor losing a single Spirit Stone; in fact, it was a veiled warning not to overstep, for Sikong Mansion had its connections even in the underground forces of Jianye.

With such capability, if only they were willing to spend some Spirit Stones, the mission wouldn’t have been so perilous. In Hou Niao’s view, this was putting the cart before the horse, not distinguishing between primary and secondary.

All these, however, were minor details. The most crucial was the Judge’s opinion about True Disciples. He knew this was not mere deceit; these truths were not actually secrets. If he put a little effort into inquiring, he could always dig them out, or if he directly questioned Li Chuping, he would probably receive similar statements.

Of course, he would not ask Li Chuping; it would be too awkward. He had to bear everything himself.

For a Cultivator, the only thing one can truly rely on is oneself.

He returned to his own residence, a section provided by Sikong Mansion for staff without families—a separate household that, while not luxurious, was completely sufficient if one wasn’t too demanding. He did not return to his old place, and after so many years, reviving old practices did not seem appropriate; for a common mortal, one such shock was enough.

Sitting cross-legged in the small courtyard, his mind was calm as he pondered over Judge Quan’s words again. Combining the information, he had gathered recently, he formed a basic judgement about his future direction.

Since he was in Sikong Mansion, he feared that fighting for those two positions would jeopardize the unity and atmosphere of the mansion. Striving for it would not only make things difficult for Li Chuping but would also mess up his professional environment.

The three positions in Sima Mansion were also out of reach, just as Judge Quan had said. The fundamental conflict in ideology was irreconcilable. He could not humble himself, and Sima Mansion would not accept someone whose principles were unclear; the brand of Sikong Mansion was too deeply ingrained in him, a depth not erasable in merely twenty or thirty years. How foolish would the real masters of Sima Mansion have to be to abandon their decades-cultivated direct descendants to accept him?

As for Prince Manor and King Wucheng’s Manor, he didn’t even consider them; it was utterly impossible.

This left only the two True Masters in Situ Mansion and the two True Masters in Quan Yuan. In fact, as Judge Quan had said, his chances lay only with True Master Quan and True Master Yuan.

He had no prior interactions with Situ Mansion; to go there without an invitation would be humiliating.

At this stage, he realized just how limited his social network was. Within the ranks of the Golden Core Great Cultivation, the only person he could ostensibly converse with sincerely was Li Chuping; there were few others. His acquaintances within Sikong Mansion’s Golden Core officials were merely superficial, and it was inappropriate to delve too deeply into the struggle for the position of True Disciple with them.

He couldn’t rush; he could only wait for an opportunity. Surely he couldn’t just sell himself door-to-door? His skin wasn’t that thick yet.

For now, he began a rare period of calm in Yujing City. There were still thirty years until the final decision for the True Disciple position. During this time, it was difficult for him to step out of his professional role in Sikong Mansion. If things remained stable for a while and he got used to the city, he planned to bring Bai Qingqian over.

After all, it wasn’t convenient for her to stay alone in Mirage, nor was it necessary for her to remain there alone since she was no longer in business.

The prerequisite was that he first had to stabilize himself, or in other words, the competition for True Disciple had to become less perilous.

His cultivation was now on the right track, whether it was Cultivation Techniques or swordsmanship; everything was progressing in an orderly manner.

He had now shifted his main Cultivation Technique to the Five Elements. On this basic level, there were many great practitioners in Yujing City’s Cultivation circles, many of whom dedicatedly pursued their Daoist paths and were his best teachers.

The Three Night Thunder Law had passed its growth phase and was now in a consolidation phase. Advancing further required the support of the Golden Core Realm and full application of the Sea of Consciousness, which he could not yet achieve, so it was not necessary to spend too much energy in this area.

Each stage of cultivation should have different focuses to maintain a balanced progression; for instance, he now needed to switch his main cultivation practice to the Five Elements Technique, which suited the demands of his current phase.

The Sword Skill System structure was already complete. The switching between three sword stances had become his current main focus and was gradually perfected.

It was only now, with the main framework erect, that he could finally attempt to fit many previously superficial and impractical tricks and techniques into his framework. These didn’t determine the level of cultivation but could embellish the cultivator’s arsenal once a certain level had been reached.

Every day, between attending to his routine duties at the mansion and normal studies and cultivation, he began to engage in social interactions that he had never cared about before.

He needed to expand his network to see from which angle he could reach those two True Masters, ah no, their feet.