Xue Ying did not dare wish the invitation was from the Bloodshed God Emperor. The way he saw it, becoming a disciple of one of the three ancestors was more than good enough, and he had no confidence in attracting even them! He was well aware that experts as powerful as the three ancestors would rarely accept disciples, instead placing most of their focus on personal cultivation.
If I were to shout out the name of one of the ancestors, telling them that I am a grade one True Meaning Transcendent while revealing my combat power, there might be a chance they would take me as their disciple. Xue Ying imagined such a scene. He quickly realized that a grade one True Meaning Transcendent didn't mean much to the Bloodshed God Emperor, and they were quite ordinary even in the eyes of the three ancestors. It was only the ordinary powerful existences who would try to snatch him away.
If I were to take the initiative and call out an ancestor, which one should it be? The Bamboo Mountain Prefecture Master? But if he were to not like me as a disciple… Xue Ying was starting to find this plan counterproductive.
If a teacher did not like their disciple from the bottom of their heart, they would likely not teach them seriously.
He would rather enter the tutelage of an ordinary powerful existence who truly wanted to teach him than become the disciple an ancestor who was not sincere. After all, even ordinary powerful existences had once transcended the river of time and the Laws of the World. Any of them would be good at teaching in their own way.
If there's no better option, I'll just choose Forefather Fierce Tyrant, Xue Ying decided.
Forefather Fierce Tyrant was the most sincere of all those five powerful existences! Did it really matter that he was weaker in terms of teaching his disciples? It would still be better by a mile than burying his head and cultivating alone.
Let's just see who exactly sent this final command token. Xue Ying held the blood-colored command token, carefully reading the message within.
Would you accept becoming an inner disciple under me, Bloodshed?
This simple sentence was all there was, but Xue Ying was left dumbstruck nonetheless.
Bloodshed?
Bloodshed's disciple?
Xue Ying blinked once, and a huge wave began to brew in his inner heart. This was the Bloodshed God Emperor—the publicly-acknowledged strongest expert in the Deity world! He was even seen as stronger than the three rulers of the Dark Abyss by a slight bit. Naturally, this was just conjecture, and there was nothing to acknowledge it as fact.
Even then, the Bloodshed God Emperor could stand at the very apex of the Deity world, the Material World, and Dark Abyss; there was no dispute about that. No matter what, he was seen as the expert with the strongest combat power there was!
He had long reached a truly unfathomable stage, a level at which accepting disciples had no meaning! Even grade one True Meaning Transcendents were not any big deal in his eyes.
Becoming the inner disciple of such a being? Xue Ying was more than happy about it. It was normal, after all, because even the most talented of people would only become inner disciples after just being accepted as the Bloodshed God Emperor's disciples. Only after going through trials and observation set down personally by His Majesty would they either be accepted as personal disciples or not! Anyone who wished to become the God Emperor's personal disciples would need to have certain levels of talent, temperament, and other aspects he deemed important.
I'm going to become the Bloodshed God Emperor's disciple? Xue Ying felt like his body was on fire.
Back in Crimson Rock Mountain of the Xia Clan world, Xue Ying's disciple brothers, Ge Bai and He Fei Yun, the treasure spirit Crimson Rock, the green-haired Xi Wei, Jing Qiu, and the white-robed Xue Ying himself were all sitting apart from each other, all of them looking forward to any news regarding to the Bloodshed God Palace Battle. They decided to ask Xue Ying to send his true body over to Crimson Rock Mountain, so that he could share any new information straightaway.
"Disciple Brother Dong Bo, what's wrong?" The thick-robed young man, Ge Bai, laughed. "Why are you in a daze?"
"Perhaps one of those formidable powerful existence is willing to accept you as their disciple? One of the three ancestors, maybe?" the scarlet-cloaked He Fei Yun inquired.
Xi Wei, Crimson Rock, and Jing Qiu looked at Xue Ying.
The white-robed Xue Ying swept his gaze across the others and gulped down a mouthful of wine from the flask beside him. Seeing this happen left Ge Bai and the others feeling puzzled and startled at the same time. Xue Ying finally placed down the flask and said, his eyes red from excitement, "Indeed it's because of a powerful existence who is willing to accept me as their disciple. But it's not one of the three ancestors, but His Majesty himself!"
"His Majesty?"
"His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor?"
Everyone was astonished; even the well-read and knowledgeable treasure spirit, Crimson Rock, was startled.
"Bloodshed God Emperor?" Even Jing Qiu, who had been giggling softly as the others talked, was left dumbstruck. She had all the confidence in the world for her husband, but for the Bloodshed God Emperor to have accepted him as a disciple…
"Is this true? You aren't lying to us?" Crimson Rock asked, his voice filled with doubt.
"Yes, it's His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor. Do you really think I'd speak rubbish about such matters?" Xue Ying shook his head.
"I… I…" Crimson Rock stood up.
"Quick, quickly now. Good wine, we've got to bring out all the good wine!" Ge Bai shouted out.
Even He Fei Yun, who always kept a rather detached demeanour, found his eyes turning wide and round at the news. "His Majesty accepted you as his disciple?"
"Hahaha, the Bloodshed God Emperor!" Crimson Rock shook his head vigorously. "He's the most powerful person in the entire Deity world, the one publicly recognized as the strongest of all powerful existences! Be they secret absolute arts of the Deity world, the highest, most unique secret techniques, or terrifying treasures…the foundation of His Majesty is unfathomable and firm. Think about that White Sand City Lord whom you've just made friends with; wasn't he chased out of the sect? Even then, he still created his personal secret skill which allowed him to become unparalleled amongst stage three World Deities. How do you think he managed to do that? Without the secret techniques which the Bloodshed God Emperor had taught him, do you think he'd still have accomplished so much?
"Amongst the many disciples His Majesty has, there are people like Monarch Gu Zang who's more low-key, and who cultivated for so long his territory without ever leaving it! But why is it that he chose to undergo closed-door cultivation? According to the old master's words, he is actually cultivating some terrifying absolute art. Where did he get it? From His Majesty, of course. Monarch Gu Zang rarely acts, but many of the powerful existences feel that his combat power is likely close to that of the three ancestors."
"Dong Bo, ah my Dong Bo, you haven't had a single teacher in the past!" Crimson Rock looked Xue Ying once over. "You may be master's disciple, but he died before you ever got the chance to get him to teach you. This time, however, you're really going to get a good teacher, a being who's sitting at the apex of the Dark Abyss and the Deity world combined. There are only so few who could hope to compete with him."
The white-robed Xue Ying nodded and laughed.
He was truly happy.
Never before did he receive any teacher's guidance. He had reached his current realm primarily due to his personal hard work. Now, however, he would finally be getting a powerful teacher.
******
Over at the outer perimeter of the Myriad Flower Feast…
The thousand and more Deities were still looking forward to receiving command tokens when a six-armed World Deity guard walked out.
"To those who obtained command tokens—choose one and refine it," the guard announced. "Refine the command token of the person you want to be your teacher."
A total of eight experts had obtained command tokens, five of which only had a single token, so they immediately refined that one.
Xue Ying did not hesitate to take out the blood-colored command token and refine it. He even double-checked whether the message really was from His Majesty before proceeding.
"The top hundred rankers will follow me inside," the six-armed World Deity guard then order.
Xue Ying, Drunk Guest, Jiu She, and the rest of the hundred stood up while the other Deity experts watched in envy. They understood that these hundred people would each be joining the sect of a powerful existence! These top ranked people could even enjoy a Myriad Flower True Fruit.
The many figures rushed inside.
Seventh Mei Yu could only look at this happen. In spite of her having received a command token, she hadn't landed a spot in the top hundred; she would not be partaking in a Myriad Flower True Fruit.
"Seventh Mei Yu." A World Deity guard walked over to her, smiling all the while. "Monarch Mother Whirlpool has sent an order to bring you in."
Seventh Mei Yu was stunned for a moment, but she then hurriedly stood up. As he walked, her appearance transformed. It was just a minor transformation, but she turned from her original male form into a unperturbed, cold and beautiful woman. She was going to meet Monarch Mother Whirlpool soon, and since Monarch Mother Whirlpool was known to only accept female disciples, Seventh Mei Yu worried that she might not like guys. If she were to remain cross-dressed as a guy, her teacher might frown upon her.
"He…was a she?"
"Seventh Mei Yu is a woman?" A number of Deities who came from the Calm Sea Prefecture were startled. Even the rest of the Deities found this behaviour rather queer.
The group of Deities moved along as arranged by the World Deity guard.
"You five will be be taken by Forefather Long Brows."
"The four of you will be under Forefather Fierce Tyrant."
The World Deity guard made sure everything proceeded as planned.
Of the top hundred rankers, a portion were already disciples of powerful existences, some of them honorary disciples, others inner disciples. However, virtually all of them would now be promoted to inner disciples. As for those who weren't, after a discussion between the Bloodshed God Emperor and his subordinates, they had been divided so that that, other than His Majesty and the three ancestors, every other powerful existence would take in three to five disciples.
The group of young Deities were now starting to enter the location of the Myriad Flower Feast. Indeed, in the eyes of the stage four World Deities and the powerful existences, these Deity experts were indeed very young.
Batch by batch, they began moving in.
"Disciple greets teacher." Five young men and women entered the palace hall of the Myriad Flower Feast. They had already been notified that they would become disciples of a long-eyebrowed man, toward whom they moved respectfully. Once they arrived before him, they kneeled and kowtowed.
"Come in." The man nodded.
The top hundred formally accepting their teachers was also a custom of the Myriad Flower Feast.
Soon, another batch of five entered.
This group included Drunk Guest, Jiu She, and three other people. They went over to a man with gold hair and brows, and they all kowtowed before him. "Disciple greets teacher."
"Mn." Gong Yu nodded without saying a word.
As soon as the ritual ended, they immediately went to their seats.
Batch after batch entered, batch after batch kowtowed…
Dong Bo still hasn't entered? Jiu She began to look around him after he took his seat, parsing through the stage four World Deities and the powerful existences, before his eyes arrived at the towering figure seated high above in front of him. That single glance was enough to leave him hot-blooded. That was His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor! As for those sitting next to him, they were likely the rulers of the Dark Abyss.
More and more batches arrived and formally accepted their teachers.
The batches always contained disciples of the same teacher.
At the very end, Xue Ying's turn finally arrived. He was the only one to enter without any other members in his group.
As Xue Ying entered, the expert seated behind Monarch Mother Whirlpool like an attendant—Seventh Mei Yu—looked over, as did Jiu She. In fact, all of other ninety-nine Deities in the top hundred were looking at Xue Ying! The stage four World Deities and powerful existences were all staring straight at this person who came in last, some of them shaking their heads slightly, including Forefather Fierce Tyrant! Clearly, his heart ached at having failed to get his hands on such disciple.
This final expert to enter, Xue Ying, walked over to the frontmost spot in the palace hall, to the crimson-robed figure sitting at the highest position. This man's figure was filled with endless darkness and destruction. Xue Ying kneeled down and kowtowed before the man. "Disciple greets teacher!"
**
Xue Ying did not dare wish the invitation was from the Bloodshed God Emperor. The way he saw it, becoming a disciple of one of the three ancestors was more than good enough, and he had no confidence in attracting even them! He was well aware that experts as powerful as the three ancestors would rarely accept disciples, instead placing most of their focus on personal cultivation.
If I were to shout out the name of one of the ancestors, telling them that I am a grade one True Meaning Transcendent while revealing my combat power, there might be a chance they would take me as their disciple. Xue Ying imagined such a scene. He quickly realized that a grade one True Meaning Transcendent didn't mean much to the Bloodshed God Emperor, and they were quite ordinary even in the eyes of the three ancestors. It was only the ordinary powerful existences who would try to snatch him away.
If I were to take the initiative and call out an ancestor, which one should it be? The Bamboo Mountain Prefecture Master? But if he were to not like me as a disciple… Xue Ying was starting to find this plan counterproductive.
If a teacher did not like their disciple from the bottom of their heart, they would likely not teach them seriously.
He would rather enter the tutelage of an ordinary powerful existence who truly wanted to teach him than become the disciple an ancestor who was not sincere. After all, even ordinary powerful existences had once transcended the river of time and the Laws of the World. Any of them would be good at teaching in their own way.
If there's no better option, I'll just choose Forefather Fierce Tyrant, Xue Ying decided.
Forefather Fierce Tyrant was the most sincere of all those five powerful existences! Did it really matter that he was weaker in terms of teaching his disciples? It would still be better by a mile than burying his head and cultivating alone.
Let's just see who exactly sent this final command token. Xue Ying held the blood-colored command token, carefully reading the message within.
Would you accept becoming an inner disciple under me, Bloodshed?
This simple sentence was all there was, but Xue Ying was left dumbstruck nonetheless.
Bloodshed?
Bloodshed's disciple?
Xue Ying blinked once, and a huge wave began to brew in his inner heart. This was the Bloodshed God Emperor—the publicly-acknowledged strongest expert in the Deity world! He was even seen as stronger than the three rulers of the Dark Abyss by a slight bit. Naturally, this was just conjecture, and there was nothing to acknowledge it as fact.
Even then, the Bloodshed God Emperor could stand at the very apex of the Deity world, the Material World, and Dark Abyss; there was no dispute about that. No matter what, he was seen as the expert with the strongest combat power there was!
He had long reached a truly unfathomable stage, a level at which accepting disciples had no meaning! Even grade one True Meaning Transcendents were not any big deal in his eyes.
Becoming the inner disciple of such a being? Xue Ying was more than happy about it. It was normal, after all, because even the most talented of people would only become inner disciples after just being accepted as the Bloodshed God Emperor's disciples. Only after going through trials and observation set down personally by His Majesty would they either be accepted as personal disciples or not! Anyone who wished to become the God Emperor's personal disciples would need to have certain levels of talent, temperament, and other aspects he deemed important.
I'm going to become the Bloodshed God Emperor's disciple? Xue Ying felt like his body was on fire.
Back in Crimson Rock Mountain of the Xia Clan world, Xue Ying's disciple brothers, Ge Bai and He Fei Yun, the treasure spirit Crimson Rock, the green-haired Xi Wei, Jing Qiu, and the white-robed Xue Ying himself were all sitting apart from each other, all of them looking forward to any news regarding to the Bloodshed God Palace Battle. They decided to ask Xue Ying to send his true body over to Crimson Rock Mountain, so that he could share any new information straightaway.
"Disciple Brother Dong Bo, what's wrong?" The thick-robed young man, Ge Bai, laughed. "Why are you in a daze?"
"Perhaps one of those formidable powerful existence is willing to accept you as their disciple? One of the three ancestors, maybe?" the scarlet-cloaked He Fei Yun inquired.
Xi Wei, Crimson Rock, and Jing Qiu looked at Xue Ying.
The white-robed Xue Ying swept his gaze across the others and gulped down a mouthful of wine from the flask beside him. Seeing this happen left Ge Bai and the others feeling puzzled and startled at the same time. Xue Ying finally placed down the flask and said, his eyes red from excitement, "Indeed it's because of a powerful existence who is willing to accept me as their disciple. But it's not one of the three ancestors, but His Majesty himself!"
"His Majesty?"
"His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor?"
Everyone was astonished; even the well-read and knowledgeable treasure spirit, Crimson Rock, was startled.
"Bloodshed God Emperor?" Even Jing Qiu, who had been giggling softly as the others talked, was left dumbstruck. She had all the confidence in the world for her husband, but for the Bloodshed God Emperor to have accepted him as a disciple…
"Is this true? You aren't lying to us?" Crimson Rock asked, his voice filled with doubt.
"Yes, it's His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor. Do you really think I'd speak rubbish about such matters?" Xue Ying shook his head.
"I… I…" Crimson Rock stood up.
"Quick, quickly now. Good wine, we've got to bring out all the good wine!" Ge Bai shouted out.
Even He Fei Yun, who always kept a rather detached demeanour, found his eyes turning wide and round at the news. "His Majesty accepted you as his disciple?"
"Hahaha, the Bloodshed God Emperor!" Crimson Rock shook his head vigorously. "He's the most powerful person in the entire Deity world, the one publicly recognized as the strongest of all powerful existences! Be they secret absolute arts of the Deity world, the highest, most unique secret techniques, or terrifying treasures…the foundation of His Majesty is unfathomable and firm. Think about that White Sand City Lord whom you've just made friends with; wasn't he chased out of the sect? Even then, he still created his personal secret skill which allowed him to become unparalleled amongst stage three World Deities. How do you think he managed to do that? Without the secret techniques which the Bloodshed God Emperor had taught him, do you think he'd still have accomplished so much?
"Amongst the many disciples His Majesty has, there are people like Monarch Gu Zang who's more low-key, and who cultivated for so long his territory without ever leaving it! But why is it that he chose to undergo closed-door cultivation? According to the old master's words, he is actually cultivating some terrifying absolute art. Where did he get it? From His Majesty, of course. Monarch Gu Zang rarely acts, but many of the powerful existences feel that his combat power is likely close to that of the three ancestors."
"Dong Bo, ah my Dong Bo, you haven't had a single teacher in the past!" Crimson Rock looked Xue Ying once over. "You may be master's disciple, but he died before you ever got the chance to get him to teach you. This time, however, you're really going to get a good teacher, a being who's sitting at the apex of the Dark Abyss and the Deity world combined. There are only so few who could hope to compete with him."
The white-robed Xue Ying nodded and laughed.
He was truly happy.
Never before did he receive any teacher's guidance. He had reached his current realm primarily due to his personal hard work. Now, however, he would finally be getting a powerful teacher.
******
Over at the outer perimeter of the Myriad Flower Feast…
The thousand and more Deities were still looking forward to receiving command tokens when a six-armed World Deity guard walked out.
"To those who obtained command tokens—choose one and refine it," the guard announced. "Refine the command token of the person you want to be your teacher."
A total of eight experts had obtained command tokens, five of which only had a single token, so they immediately refined that one.
Xue Ying did not hesitate to take out the blood-colored command token and refine it. He even double-checked whether the message really was from His Majesty before proceeding.
"The top hundred rankers will follow me inside," the six-armed World Deity guard then order.
Xue Ying, Drunk Guest, Jiu She, and the rest of the hundred stood up while the other Deity experts watched in envy. They understood that these hundred people would each be joining the sect of a powerful existence! These top ranked people could even enjoy a Myriad Flower True Fruit.
The many figures rushed inside.
Seventh Mei Yu could only look at this happen. In spite of her having received a command token, she hadn't landed a spot in the top hundred; she would not be partaking in a Myriad Flower True Fruit.
"Seventh Mei Yu." A World Deity guard walked over to her, smiling all the while. "Monarch Mother Whirlpool has sent an order to bring you in."
Seventh Mei Yu was stunned for a moment, but she then hurriedly stood up. As he walked, her appearance transformed. It was just a minor transformation, but she turned from her original male form into a unperturbed, cold and beautiful woman. She was going to meet Monarch Mother Whirlpool soon, and since Monarch Mother Whirlpool was known to only accept female disciples, Seventh Mei Yu worried that she might not like guys. If she were to remain cross-dressed as a guy, her teacher might frown upon her.
"He…was a she?"
"Seventh Mei Yu is a woman?" A number of Deities who came from the Calm Sea Prefecture were startled. Even the rest of the Deities found this behaviour rather queer.
The group of Deities moved along as arranged by the World Deity guard.
"You five will be be taken by Forefather Long Brows."
"The four of you will be under Forefather Fierce Tyrant."
The World Deity guard made sure everything proceeded as planned.
Of the top hundred rankers, a portion were already disciples of powerful existences, some of them honorary disciples, others inner disciples. However, virtually all of them would now be promoted to inner disciples. As for those who weren't, after a discussion between the Bloodshed God Emperor and his subordinates, they had been divided so that that, other than His Majesty and the three ancestors, every other powerful existence would take in three to five disciples.
The group of young Deities were now starting to enter the location of the Myriad Flower Feast. Indeed, in the eyes of the stage four World Deities and the powerful existences, these Deity experts were indeed very young.
Batch by batch, they began moving in.
"Disciple greets teacher." Five young men and women entered the palace hall of the Myriad Flower Feast. They had already been notified that they would become disciples of a long-eyebrowed man, toward whom they moved respectfully. Once they arrived before him, they kneeled and kowtowed.
"Come in." The man nodded.
The top hundred formally accepting their teachers was also a custom of the Myriad Flower Feast.
Soon, another batch of five entered.
This group included Drunk Guest, Jiu She, and three other people. They went over to a man with gold hair and brows, and they all kowtowed before him. "Disciple greets teacher."
"Mn." Gong Yu nodded without saying a word.
As soon as the ritual ended, they immediately went to their seats.
Batch after batch entered, batch after batch kowtowed…
Dong Bo still hasn't entered? Jiu She began to look around him after he took his seat, parsing through the stage four World Deities and the powerful existences, before his eyes arrived at the towering figure seated high above in front of him. That single glance was enough to leave him hot-blooded. That was His Majesty, the Bloodshed God Emperor! As for those sitting next to him, they were likely the rulers of the Dark Abyss.
More and more batches arrived and formally accepted their teachers.
The batches always contained disciples of the same teacher.
At the very end, Xue Ying's turn finally arrived. He was the only one to enter without any other members in his group.
As Xue Ying entered, the expert seated behind Monarch Mother Whirlpool like an attendant—Seventh Mei Yu—looked over, as did Jiu She. In fact, all of other ninety-nine Deities in the top hundred were looking at Xue Ying! The stage four World Deities and powerful existences were all staring straight at this person who came in last, some of them shaking their heads slightly, including Forefather Fierce Tyrant! Clearly, his heart ached at having failed to get his hands on such disciple.
This final expert to enter, Xue Ying, walked over to the frontmost spot in the palace hall, to the crimson-robed figure sitting at the highest position. This man's figure was filled with endless darkness and destruction. Xue Ying kneeled down and kowtowed before the man. "Disciple greets teacher!"
**
