Chapter 209: Arriving in Shazhou
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"From the 8th of May, my sect shall open its doors at Shazhou City and accept disciples."
Once everyone had arrived, Lin Feng said while smiling, "While it had been quite some while, there were some preparations that had to be made. From tomorrow onwards, I hope that everyone will follow me to Shazhou."
Zhu Yi inquired, "Are you making preparations in case someone decides to interfere?"
Lin Feng smiled and said nothing. From within his robes, he took out a bundle of talismans and passed it to a few people. They were the Talisman-Dollars he made during the Spiritual Conference of Hanhai.
Among Xiao Yan and the other three, each of them received 15 purple Talisman-Dollars and 150 red Talisman-Dollars. Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing were each given 5 purple Talisman-Dollars and 50 red Talisman-Dollars.
Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing were shocked. They did not dare to accept.
The purple Talisman-Dollars were Nascent Soul stage talismans. Each of them had the power of an attack from a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. While it was technically money, 99% of cultivators would not dare to use it. Instead, they would choose to hide it and use it in crucial moments to save their lives.
Even the red Talisman-Dollars were equivalent to a strike by an Aurous Core cultivator. As both Yang Qing and Yue Hongyan were in the Foundation Establishment stage, these talismans packed an immense amount of power to them.
Regardless of whether they were from the former Covenant of Liefeng or the Cloud Water Cave, they received more Talisman-Dollars from Lin Feng than they had ever seen.
Lin Feng thought, "Those who come to Mount Yujing shall be disciples of my sect. How can I let you get away?"
Looking at the flustered Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing, Lin Feng smiled and said, "It's alright, just take it. I believe that our trip to Shazhou this time will not be smooth. For the both you, the talismans might come in handy."
He turned his head towards Xiao Yan and the rest and said, "Same for the four of you. These talismans belong to you now. How you want to use them is entirely up to you."
"However, don't blame me for not warning you ahead of time that once we opened up our sect, many people will want to join you as disciples."
Xiao Yan laughed, "Don't you mean that our disciples shall honor us instead, master? Why does it sound like we have to give them welcoming gifts?"
Lin Feng stared at him with a quirky half-smile. "Oh? In that case, why don't I see you honoring me?"
Xiao Yan spread his hands and laughed, "Take from me what you desire, master."
Xiao Budian and the other three burst into laughter as they knew that Lin Feng was kidding around with Xiao Yan.
Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing looked on with admiration at them.
One should not refuse what a senior had given. Despite Lin Feng's easy-going attitude, Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing did not dare to refuse the gifts a second time, particularly after Lin Feng explained to them his intentions.
Yang Qing sneaked a glance at Lin Feng's immediate disciples, noticing that they did not mind Lin Feng giving the talismans to them.
Seeing that, Yang Qing was slightly relieved. Respectfully, he accepted the talismans as he thought, "I was already in senior's debt before this. Now, he gave me such valuable talismans. I must be careful during the upcoming trip to Shazhou so as to not ruin his plans."
Yang Qing decided in his heart, "If I can help in anyway, I'll do it."
Yue Hongyan also relaxed as she accepted the talismans, thinking to herself, "Senior is truly magnanimous. For this trip to Shazhou, should anyone dare to stop us or block our paths, I'll be the first to get rid of them. There will be no need to trouble Xiao Yan and the rest."
Lin Feng looked at Kang Nanhua and Miao Shihao and said smilingly, "I am not a rich man, so I can't afford to give the two of you anything."
Kang Nanhua and Miao Shihao laughed. Miao Shihao, in particular, laughed crazily as he said, "Look at you, if you need help I have some money I can lend you."
After interacting with him for many days, everyone had grown accustomed to Miao Shihao's feminine behavior. However, looking at his appearance now, everyone stared awkwardly at the ground.
Lin Feng looked at Miao Shihao. His mouth twitched at the sides as he said, "There's no need for that."
He waved his robes and his Avatar of Ares appeared next to him. Lin Feng spoke, "I still have something to attend to here, so my Avatar shall head with you to Shazhou."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Lin Feng's Avatar of Ares growled quietly, "Let us move."
The purple clouds encircled them and brought the six of them through the void and away from Mount Yujing. Kang Nanhua and Miao Shihao followed tightly behind.
Looking at them go, Lin Feng sat cross-legged on top of the mountain as he said, "Let us begin. While we have limited time, stress too can be a form of motivation."
Exiting the void, the Avatar released Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi and Xiao Budian to let them fly on their own while carrying Wang Lin, Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian were like two wild horses free from their restraints. They enveloped themselves in two rays of golden light and charged towards the northern horizon at lightning speed.
Zhu Yi looked at them while shaking his heads, "They are almost going to become masters. How can one feel relaxed about entrusting them with such responsibility?"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "It's alright. Your Little Junior is after all still young. I am not even sure if he would get any disciple this time round. As for Xiao Yan, while he is playful, but before others, he will not disappoint."
He looked at Zhu Yi and continued, "To be a master is a trial for you guys too. On one hand, it's psychological training. On the other hand, it's also for you to improve your mastery."
"If you only understand half the content, how can you teach your disciples?"
Zhu Yi nodded solemnly and replied, "What master said is true. I will take extra care in these aspects and I vow that I will never mislead my disciples."
Lin Feng looked at Wang Lin, "Wang Lin, you have already entered the Foundation Establishment stage. I know that you want to focus on cultivation, but like what I've just said, accepting disciples is a trial for you too."
Wang Lin nodded, "I understand. If anyone wishes to become my disciple, I will teach them patiently."
In the span of the conversation, the group had already reached the sky above Shazhou. In the sky, one could see a tear. Song Fu, one of the three executives of the Pavilion of Heavenly Trade, stood smiling in the space.
Seeing him, Lin Feng turned and smiled at Kang Nanhua and Miao Shihao. The three of them advanced forward and stepped into the void, appearing before Song Fu.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian, who went ahead of them, paradoxically came up behind them. Looking at Song Fu, they wiped their smiles from their faces and stood properly behind Lin Feng.
Lin Feng's gaze fell on the old man behind Song Fu.
Upon seeing the person, Miao Shihao's eyes glittered as he smiled and said, "Sorry to trouble you, Boss Tan."
Lin Feng had heard Miao Shihao and Kang Nanhua mentioning about the composition of the Pavilion of Heavenly Trade before. With Miao Shihao's words, he immediately understood that the old man was the leader of the three executives of the Pavilion of Heavenly Trade. He was in his Nascent Soul stage and much more powerful than Song Fu.
Elder Tan's hair was entirely white. He had a benign expression and he chortled when he heard Miao Shihao and said, "I must come out and receive the master of the Celestial Sect of Wonders in his visit to Shazhou."
Turning his head, he looked at Lin Feng and said apologetically, "One of the other executives had been doing closed-door training since 10 years ago. Hence, he would be unable to attend your sect-opening ceremony. I hope you will not take offence."
Lin Feng smiled gently, "It's alright."
As they entered Shazhou City, they needed somewhere to rest. Naturally, Song Fu had prepared everything ahead of time.
What made Lin Feng happy was that in a span of a few months, many talented young people had come to Shazhou to join his sect upon hearing the news.
Through the Talent Analysis Device, he gathered that many of them possessed high potential values. This made him extremely joyous. After all, the system main quest required him to accept at least 30 disciples with potential values of 25 and above into his set.
"Also, I had to be thankful that no other major sect exists in the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains, other than the Pavilion of Heavenly Trade which is technically a commercial body."
His heart was content. When he chose to raise his prestige here, it was not solely because he wanted to build his sect here. It was also because of the ties the Kunlun Mountains had with the wider cultivation world.
As time passes, Lin Feng's official sect-opening day on 8th May approached and increasing number of wannabe-cultivators gathered around Shazhou City. Seeing that he almost managed to complete the quest, Lin Feng's heart was elated with joy.
While the potential values of many would-be recruits just barely passed 25, Lin Feng was already very happy.
What made him even more satisfied was that amongst the four component values of his future disciples, none of them was particularly low.
This was good news. While stunning prodigies appeared extremely rarely, he already had disciples like Xiao Yan and the other three. For his second generation of disciples, it was better to go for stability.
A sect needed exceptionally talented individuals as much as it needed steady and firm disciples to serve as its bedrock. The two types of disciples complemented each other, and only with both could one advance far.
As Lin Feng thought about it, a disturbing thought entered his mind. Kang Nanhua's voice sounded next to his ear, "Master, may I please come in?"
"Sure." Lin Feng was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room when Kang Nanhua opened the door. Smiling, he said, "A bunch of colleagues have arrived in Shazhou. They wished to join in the sect-opening ceremony as observers."
Lin Feng nodded his head. In the past few days, many cultivators came to Shazhou hoping to witness the ceremony.
Many of them came from the sects in the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountain. They were curious about the new and upcoming Celestial Sect of Wonders.
The number of sects that could successfully challenge the Mount Shu Sword Sect could be counted with one hand. Most of them had at least a Nascent Soul stage cultivator as their leaders. None of them had an Aurous Core stage one.
With their abilities, they were unable to affect Lin Feng much.
"This time, Master Wu Yunliang of the Ethereal Mountain Sect came personally. He is accompanied by his disciple Meng Chaoran." Kang Nanhua paused for a while before continuing, "I feel that Meng Chaoren isn't ordinary. He should be in the latter phase of the Aurous Core stage. While he is a far cry from the Nascent Soul stage Wu Yunliang, I feel that there's something extraordinary about him."