Chapter 240 : The Position of the Temple Master

Chapter 240: The Position of the Temple Master

The bamboo huts where the outer disciples resided weren't actually very spacious. As a result, Chu Huaixu's room was quite close to Little Xu's.

With him burning like a furnace over there, it was only natural that Chu Huaixu's room would be affected as well.

Strictly speaking, the living conditions in the Dao Gate were quite decent. Everyone stayed in their own freestanding little villa—these bamboo huts counted as single-person residences.

As for the one Little Xu was staying in, it was originally just a storage room.

“Why am I undergoing Body Tempering too?”

Chu Huaixu glanced at his own body, sensing the aura of Body Tempering on himself.

If Xu Ziqing was currently sitting right at the heart of the Furnace of Heaven and Earth, then Chu Huaixu was positioned at the outer edge.

The Body Tempering effect wasn’t as good as what Little Xu was experiencing, but it still helped somewhat.

As for the burning sensation—considering Chu Huaixu's pain tolerance—he simply ignored it.

This meant he gained over a hundred points of Cultivation Method Experience every once in a while.

It didn’t seem like much, but accumulated over an entire night, it would be quite a substantial amount—likely a few thousand points.

More importantly, this built up over time!

“Looking at it this way, the effects are about the same as this Body Tempering Jade Pendant, maybe even slightly better.” Chu Huaixu lowered his gaze to the jade pendant at his waist.

He simply stood up, pushed open his door, and moved closer to Little Xu's room.

The moment he stepped outside, the burning sensation became more intense.

But the Cultivation Method Experience he gained had already increased from 105 points to 179 points.

“What kind of public-use Body Tempering Furnace is this!” Chu Huaixu was amazed.

This Furnace of Heaven and Earth that Little Xu had actually worked like a shared furnace!

In other words, as long as Body Training cultivators practiced around him, they could all benefit from Body Tempering effects, accelerating their cultivation speed by a whole level!

Of course, the prerequisite was being able to endure the endless agony of being inside a furnace.

Other Body Trainers didn’t have the same freakish pain tolerance as the two of them.

Naturally, no one else would be subjecting themselves to such hellish torment during the Qi-Opening Stage.

Chu Huaixu estimated that, as long as Xu Ziqing was the center, the Body Tempering effect within a radius of ten meters would be quite substantial.

All in all, Little Xu, from a certain point of view, could be considered his own alternative Furnace.

After completing one cycle of energy circulation, Xu Ziqing, whose entire body was now flushed red, slowly opened his eyes.

A fiery blaze flashed across his pupils.

He was very satisfied with his current Body Tempering efficiency.

He still had a blood feud to avenge, and he craved power desperately.

Moreover, he was now aware of how dangerous the Origin Spirit Realm was. He wanted to try again, hoping to defeat Senior Brother, so that he could take on the risk himself.

As for the spoils within—he’d give them all to Senior Brother! He could handle everything!

“I’m still too weak, far too weak!” The delicate-looking youth clenched his jaw, reminding himself to train even harder.

Soon, Xu Ziqing sensed Senior Brother standing outside his room.

Thanks to the faint connection between the two, he could feel it.

“Little Xu.” Chu Huaixu spoke.

“Eh? Senior Brother.” He immediately got up, not bothering to adjust his breath, and rushed to open the door.

Chu Huaixu looked at him and felt that Little Xu was radiating an intense heat.

“Bring your Meditation Cushion.” He instructed.

“Alright.” The youth didn’t ask any questions. He ran back in to grab the cushion.

Chu Huaixu pointed outside his own door and said, “Put it there.”

Little Xu immediately dashed over and placed the cushion at his Senior Brother’s doorstep.

“From now on, when you use your Body Training Divine Ability for Body Tempering, train here.” He said.

The delicate youth didn’t question why. After all, if Senior Brother said so, it must carry deeper meaning. He immediately agreed:

“Okay.”

Chu Huaixu was about to return to his room.

But seeing Xu Ziqing preparing to sit on the cushion and start cultivating again, he paused and said, “Don’t train tonight.”

“Tomorrow, I need to find an array master to add another Restriction to our bamboo huts. Can’t let you burn the place down with that big furnace of yours!” Chu Huaixu said with a huff.

Unaware of how heaven-defying he was, Little Xu looked a little embarrassed, lowering his head, thinking:

“I’ve just come home, and I’m already causing trouble for Senior Brother again.”

At the Dao Gate Grand Hall, everyone gathered.

The reason was simple—Han Shuangjiang had already broken through to the Third Realm.

Given Chu Huaixu’s current cultivation speed, he wasn’t far behind.

In fact, everyone believed that whether or not he entered the Third Realm was simply a matter of his mood.

If he wanted to be in the Third Realm, then he would be in the Third Realm!

As for the last savior mentioned in the final Dao Ancestor Maxim—the Sword Attendant Xu Ziqing—his talent was lacking, and his cultivation speed slow. However, thanks to his Drug-taking Holy Body, it shouldn’t be long before he entered the Third Realm as well.

According to sect rules, once outer disciples reached the Third Realm, they fulfilled the basic requirement for entering the Inner Sect.

As long as they met a few more criteria, they could be promoted from outer disciples to Inner Sect Disciples.

And if selected by an Elder or someone of higher standing as a disciple, they could directly become a True Disciple of Gentleman Temple!

Today’s gathering was to discuss who would take Xu Ziqing and Han Shuangjiang as their disciples.

All three of them were bound to be absorbed into the Gentleman Temple and cultivated as leading figures of their generation.

As for Chu Huaixu, his “ownership” had long been “preemptively seized” by Seventh Junior Sister and Little Junior Sister.

Now, the boy had become so heaven-defying that his future achievements were limitless—he might even become the next Dao Ancestor!

Naturally, everyone wanted a disciple like that.

There’s a saying—"The mother becomes honored because of the child.”

In the cultivation world, there was often a phenomenon of “the master gaining fame because of the disciple.”

The Righteous Path prized fame.

Wasn’t being remembered in history a glorious thing?

And Chu Huaixu was about to participate in the Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition for the Third Realm. If he won Champion, what a feat that would be!

Who wouldn’t want a Champion Disciple? Such prestige!

Unfortunately, all that was left now was to contend for the title of Third Master, and even that required deferring to Little Junior Sister, the current Second Master.

Everyone knew exactly what kind of expression Chu Yinyin would wear when that happened!

So, they could only let it go with a sigh.

Thus, the two saviors mentioned in the Dao Ancestor Maxim, Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing, became the real “objects of contention.”

Xiang Yan cleared his throat. His quota for true disciples was full, and as Sect Master, he was well-suited to preside over the situation.

“Han Shuangjiang has reached the Third Realm, and Xu Ziqing is close behind. Is there anyone willing to take them as True Disciples?”

Unexpectedly, the first to speak was Chu Yinyin.

The “Old Girl” sat in the Big Chair, her short legs unable to reach the ground, swinging in the air as she said:

“They both use swords. Among our generation, only Seventh Junior Sister and I use swords, so I think it’s best they study under us.”

The crowd immediately erupted in outrage.

“Little Junior Sister! Isn’t Chu Huaixu enough for you?!”

“You’ve gone too far, Little Junior Sister!”

“With your mere Sixth Realm sword cultivation, I could give pointers too.”

Hearing this, Chu Yinyin instantly flared up.

Here we go again! More personal attacks!

“Damn it, the Sixth Realm isn’t human now?!” she fumed.

The scene descended into chaos.

Truth be told, the upper echelons of the Dao Gate didn’t act very dignified behind closed doors.

Zhao Shuqin, the narrow-eyed man, opened his eyes wide, revealing golden pupils as he declared:

“My Pupil Technique allows me to observe all the nuances of cultivation. If I teach them, even the Dao Ancestor’s spirit would rest easy.”

Nangong Yue then played her female card, saying, “Xu Ziqing is fine, but I think Shuangjiang needs a female teacher.”

“Besides, I saw her reading basic Artifact Refining manuals in the Scripture Pavilion. She might be interested in that path.”

“More importantly, my lineage traces back to Yan Shen, the Second Generation Temple Master.”

Everyone chimed in with their opinions, the debate fierce.

Xiang Yan and Lu Pan, both of whom had already filled their True Disciple quotas, could only smile at each other—though their hearts were full of regret.

“We shouldn’t have filled our quotas so early. Regret!” they thought.

Finally, Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.

“Enough!”

He too felt a surge of excitement, but sect rules forbade crossing generational lines to take disciples.

Since this was now Xiang Yan’s generation in charge, only they could take True Disciples, as the future leaders.

Jiang Zhi swept his gaze across the room and said, “Since so many of you are eager to take disciples, then clearly all three of them are qualified to enter Gentleman Temple.”

“But according to the rules, none of them meet the full requirements yet.”

First Elder Lu Pan, also the Enforcement Elder, quickly responded, “They still need to complete ten Outer Gate Reinforcement Missions.”

These missions involved outer disciples descending the mountain to assist when another disciple on a sect task encountered danger.

By definition, such missions were extremely perilous.

And those sent for support had to be elite among the outer disciples.

To become an Inner Sect Disciple, five such missions were required. For True Disciples, ten.

Xiang Yan added, “These missions shouldn’t be too difficult for them.”

“But prestige among peers must be built up, one task at a time.”

If they were to be cultivated as future leaders of the Dao Gate, then they had to gain respect among their peers.

After all, it wouldn’t be us old fogeys always by their side—it would be their fellow disciples.

Winning a place in the Eastern Continent Competition wasn’t enough.

There was a difference between the two.

“Especially Chu Huaixu. He should do more of these reinforcement missions.” Xiang Yan said.

Everyone had already tacitly agreed—

Chu Huaixu, with his current condition, was too perfectly suited to be groomed as the future Temple Master.

The Position of the Gentleman Temple Master had been vacant for years.

And honestly, no one would mind leaving it empty a few years more—for him.