Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 127

Chapter 127: Grand Empress Dowager Achieves Celestial Image Level

The annual recruitment of Divine Sword Sect has officially begun.

In addition to the original eight counties of Sword Province, one county of Bright Province, and three counties of Xuan Province, Divine Sword Sect also occupied the territory originally belonging to Mysterious Netherworld Sect, which is the other six counties of Xuan Province.

This brings the territory of Divine Sword Sect to a total of eighteen counties.

The disciple recruitment of the entire Divine Sword Sect will be carried out in these eighteen counties.

It generally adopts two stages: preliminary selection and final examination.

In the preliminary selection, the recruitment personnel of Divine Sword Sect go to the eighteen counties, and with the cooperation of the Divine Sword Residences in each county, they select those with qualified Root Bones from among the children of commoners.

As for those martial arts forces that have inextricably linked relationships with Divine Sword Sect, they are not included in the preliminary selection. They will send their own people to Divine Sword Sect.

Because of the long distance, the children of commoners cannot come to Divine Sword Sect to participate in the Inner Sect Assessment by themselves. Only after passing the preliminary selection will they be organized by Divine Sword Sect and sent over by carriage.

Generally speaking, those who can pass the preliminary selection are basically qualified to stay in Divine Sword Sect as Odd-Job Disciples.

“Junior Brother Li, the people here are all sent from Pingze County, a total of five hundred and twenty-nine people, all from commoner families.”

Elder Kang pointed to a large group of young boys and girls lined up in formation.

Li Qian swept his Spiritual Sense over them but did not find the fishing boy from Pingze Lake.

Even if you need to pay to participate in the preliminary selection, that boy had an Azure Dragon Fish and should be able to gather the money. Coupled with his good Root Bone aptitude, why didn’t he come?

There must be something fishy going on here.

Li Qian nodded and used his Spiritual Perception to scan the entire area, investigating the Root Bone aptitudes of these young boys.

Although there were some promising talents,

most of them were very ordinary.

Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to select from commoner children on a large scale and only have such a small number of promising talents.

It was very likely that during the preliminary selection process, the probability of children from martial arts forces passing the assessment could be increased by reducing the proportion and number of talented children from commoner families.

After all, the number of places for Inner Sect Disciples was fixed. Once there were more commoner children, there would naturally be fewer children from martial arts forces.

“Elder Kang, the Root Bone aptitudes of these people are not good.”

Li Qian said in a deep voice.

“Junior Brother Li, this is normal. The probability of geniuses appearing among commoners is inherently very low. In the end, it still depends on those martial arts forces.”

Elder Kang said with a smile.

“Then let’s go and see the children from those martial arts forces.”

Li Qian did not say much and, under the guidance of Elder Kang, went to another line.

These were the children from various martial arts forces in Pingze County, and there were even more of them.

Li Qian swept his Spiritual Perception over them and, as expected, their overall Root Bone aptitude was much better than that of the commoner group.

However, the proportion of promising talents was not high.

Next, he learned about the Root Bone aptitudes of the people participating in the assessment from the other dozen or so counties, and they were all similar to the situation in Pingze County.

“Junior Brother Li, isn’t the probability of geniuses appearing among the children of martial arts forces much higher?”

Elder Kang said with a smile: “If there are no problems, we can start the Inner Sect Assessment.”

“Elder Kang, whether it’s the commoner children or the children from the martial arts forces, I feel that this batch is not very good. The Inner Sect Assessment cannot be conducted for the time being. I need to go to the counties below for a field investigation first.”

Li Qian shook his head and said.

“Ah? Not conducting it?”

Elder Kang was stunned.

“Yes, not conducting it.”

After Li Qian finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving Elder Kang with a look of disbelief.

What was wrong with this Li Qian?

The people participating in the Inner Sect Assessment had all arrived.

Now he actually said that he would not conduct the Inner Sect Assessment?

“Elder Kang, what should we do now? Should we proceed?”

A deacon from the Assessment Hall hurriedly asked.

“I’ll go to Divine Sword Hall first.”

Elder Kang shook his head and then turned to go to Divine Sword Hall.

Li Qian suddenly saying that he would not conduct the Inner Sect Assessment was a bit fishy. It was obviously not Li Qian’s own intention. Could it be that the Sect Master was behind this?

Arriving at Divine Sword Hall, Elder Kang explained the situation.

“Elder Kang, first follow Li Qian’s lead. You just need to assist him.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu said calmly.

“Sect Master, it has always been like this before. Now suddenly not conducting the Inner Sect Assessment will cause controversy.”

Elder Kang hurriedly said.

“Elder Kang, recruitment still needs to be more cautious. Try to select more martial arts geniuses for our Divine Sword Sect.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu took a sip of tea and said with a smile.

“Yes, Sect Master.”

Elder Kang did not say anything more. He felt that the Sect Master’s words had a deeper meaning. It seemed that there would be new developments in this recruitment.

So after leaving Divine Sword Hall, he visited several other elders in succession.

Pingze County City.

Divine Sword Residence.

Li Qian immediately rode a fast horse to this place.

There were more than a dozen Divine Sword Sect Inner Sect Disciples stationed here.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Li.”

The leading Divine Sword Sect Inner Sect Disciple hurriedly said respectfully.

“Junior Brother He, use all the power of our Divine Sword Sect in the county city to issue notices to all the counties, towns, and villages below, ensuring that all eligible youths must participate in the preliminary selection of Divine Sword Sect.”

Li Qian said straightforwardly.

“Ah? Senior Brother Li, hasn’t the preliminary selection already been completed?”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He was astonished and hurriedly said.

“Didn’t you understand what I said? Go and do it immediately.”

Li Qian snorted coldly, and an invisible Sword Intent spread out. The Inner Sect Disciple’s face immediately turned pale, and he trembled with fear. He dared not say anything more and hurriedly took the other Inner Sect Disciples to handle the matter.

“Senior Brother He, what should we do now? Do we really have to issue notices?”

After these Inner Sect Disciples left Divine Sword Residence, someone couldn’t help but say.

“Just go through the motions. Anyway, the people below know what to do. Hehe, this Senior Brother Li really has a lot of authority. I don’t believe he can really do anything.”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He sneered.

The unspoken rules of the preliminary selection were known to everyone above, and they had already acquiesced to them.

It had already become a common practice for them, the Inner Sect Disciples guarding Divine Sword Residence, to take advantage of the preliminary selection to make some gains.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Li Qian, who had been staying in Divine Sword Residence, suddenly said: “Starting today, we will conduct the preliminary selection in each county, town, and village, one by one.”

“Ah? Senior Brother Li, conducting the preliminary selection one by one like this is too inefficient and troublesome. It’s better to let the people below send the participants over.”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He hurriedly said.

“Although it’s a bit troublesome, this way we won’t miss any true martial arts geniuses. Just do as I say.”

Li Qian said calmly.

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He looked troubled.

Because the notice he had issued was only sent to the county level. As for whether the county had notified the villages and towns, it was unknown, and the possibility was estimated to be very low.

“What? Is there a problem?”

Li Qian asked in a deep voice.

“Senior Brother Li, no.”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He hurriedly shook his head.

Helplessly, he could only follow Li Qian out of Divine Sword Residence, but he secretly signaled someone to notify the people below.

The preliminary selection venue in Pingze County City.

Hundreds of young boys and girls were gathered there.

Many of them were commoner children from the county city.

“Only this many people?”

Li Qian frowned slightly.

“Senior Brother Li, they’re all here.”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He hurriedly said.

“I remember that the population of Pingze County City is around 800,000, right? Have the people from the government household registration office bring all the registers of eligible youths between the ages of ten and eighteen in the entire Pingze County. I want to examine their bones one by one.”

Li Qian waved his hand and said.

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He’s face changed drastically. If they really examined the bones according to the household registration registers, then the true inside story of the recruitment would be completely exposed.

“Senior Brother Li”

“What? Is there a problem?”

Li Qian’s face darkened slightly.

The reason why he had personally come here was to find out how serious the inside story of this recruitment was.

“Senior Brother Li, I’ll send someone to the household registration office immediately.”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He hurriedly said.

Since this Senior Brother Li wanted to investigate, then let him investigate.

After he learned the truth, he probably wouldn’t be able to continue investigating.

“Forget it, I’ll go there myself.”

Li Qian said.

He didn’t want to see any incidents of fire dragons burning down warehouses.

So he mounted his fast horse and headed towards the government household registration office.

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He and the others could only hurriedly follow.

After arriving at the household registration office, the official in charge hurriedly came out to greet them. Then, under Li Qian’s order, stacks and stacks of household registration registers were brought out.

“According to the compiled list, summon people to the household registration office by household.”

Li Qian said.

Many clerks and officials at the household registration office were currently checking the list of eligible youths between the ages of ten and eighteen.

“Yes, Senior Brother Li.”

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He felt helpless, but he could only do as he was told.

As a large number of officials were dispatched, eligible youths from various districts of Pingze County City gathered.

Li Qian directly used his Spiritual Perception to examine their bones. His efficiency was very high. The proportion of promising talents was not high, even very low.

But the sheer number was overwhelming.

After registration according to the household registration registers was completed, the number of eligible youths in the entire Pingze County City actually reached over 110,000.

Even with such a low proportion, Li Qian still selected nearly three hundred promising talents.

There were even several with very high Root Bone aptitude.

This was just one county city.

There were more than a dozen counties below, and the number of villages and towns was even greater.

“I really thought there were no promising talents among the commoners.”

Li Qian chuckled softly.

The Inner Sect Disciple surnamed He and the other Inner Sect Disciples felt numb in their hearts.

Actually, they didn’t know how many promising talents there were among the commoner children.

They had never counted, nor could they count.

But now, seeing this Senior Brother Li pick out so many, it was obvious that their Root Bone aptitudes were all quite good.

Over the next half a month, Li Qian visited more than a dozen counties, hundreds of towns, and thousands of villages in Pingze County City.

Wherever he went, he would first go to the local household registration office to find the register of eligible youths.

In the end, the number of eligible youths whose bones he had examined exceeded one million. He finally selected about two thousand promising talents in the preliminary selection.

Moreover, the boy he had met at Pingze Lake last time was also selected.

Finally, he took these promising talents directly back to Divine Sword Sect.

As for the other counties, he couldn’t examine their bones one by one.

He had spent about a month just in Pingze County.

If he really wanted to visit all eighteen counties, it would probably take two years.

He was just using Pingze County to get a feel for the situation.

Through the situation at Pingze Lake, he could basically grasp the actual situation of the entire Divine Sword Sect territory.

Even if the counties varied in size and population, and taking into account the war and other situations, how could a county not be able to select at least a thousand qualified promising talents?

In this way, it should be reasonable to select twenty to thirty thousand promising talents from eighteen counties, right?

When Li Qian returned to Divine Sword Sect with two thousand eligible youths, Elder Kang of the Assessment Hall had an unpleasant expression on his face.

He had long known what Li Qian had done in Pingze County. He was simply too meticulous, conducting the preliminary selection in each village and town, even according to the household registration registers.

◈◈◈

“Elder Kang, my requirement is that each county, according to its population proportion, must send at least another thousand people, and the minimum standard for Root Bone must be Silver Bone level.”

Li Qian said.

“Junior Brother Li, this is impossible. It has never been done before, and it’s not in accordance with the rules. What you’re doing is disrupting the rules.”

Elder Kang said in a deep voice.

“The past is the past, but from now on, all future recruitment will be conducted according to my rules.”

Li Qian said calmly.

“Junior Brother Li, are you kidding me? According to your rules?”

Elder Kang was astonished, then sneered: “You’re not even an elder. You’re not qualified to establish new rules for recruitment.”

“Hehe, you’ll soon know if I’m qualified or not.”

Li Qian smiled faintly.

After saying that, he turned and left.

He went straight to the Divine Martial Legion camp.

“Eh? Li Qian, are you sure you want to mobilize the Divine Martial Legion for this recruitment?”

Celestial Being Xiao was stunned by Li Qian’s idea.

Mobilizing a Martial Arts Legion for recruitment, what a grand gesture this was!

“Of course, the people in the Assessment Hall are unreliable. Temporarily transferring others won’t work either. Now, the only ones who can be used are probably the Divine Sword Legion.”

Li Qian said.

“But the Divine Sword Legion cannot be easily mobilized. If there’s any movement on the front line, they must rush to the front line.”

Celestial Being Xiao said in a deep voice.

“Grand Martial Uncle, don’t worry about this. That senior said that Prince Ning’s army cannot cross the Min River.”

Li Qian whispered.

“Really?”

Upon hearing this, Celestial Being Xiao’s expression immediately relaxed. He slapped the table and said, “Alright, I’ll lend you the entire Divine Sword Legion for recruitment for now.”

With that senior’s promise, what else did he have to worry about?

Moreover, he saw even greater potential in Li Qian.

“Thank you, Grand Martial Uncle. This recruitment will definitely exceed your expectations.”

Li Qian immediately said.

“Haha, then I’ll be waiting.”

Celestial Being Xiao laughed heartily.

He had just looked at the recruitment situation in Pingze County that Li Qian had provided and was greatly shocked, even numb with fear.

He hadn’t expected the situation to be so serious.

Half a day later, the entire Divine Sword Legion made a big move. Teams of Martial Soldiers, after receiving orders, left the camp and headed towards the seventeen counties in the three provinces of Divine Sword Sect.

At the same time, Li Qian led a team of Divine Sword Legion Martial Soldiers to the Assessment Hall.

He immediately chose to take control of everyone in the Assessment Hall.

“Li Qian, how, how did you do it?”

Elder Kang saw the Divine Sword Legion Martial Soldiers in full armor behind Li Qian. At this moment, he finally understood what Li Qian’s confidence was based on for this grand gesture. He actually had the support of that Grand Martial Uncle.

“Elder Kang, you should think about how to explain your own actions.”

Li Qian said calmly.

With a wave of his hand, Elder Kang and the others were escorted away.

Just as Li Qian was making these successive moves, a group of elders, retired elders, and even elders with real authority went to Divine Sword Hall to find Sect Master Feng Shaoyu, believing that Li Qian’s actions were too reckless.

“Everyone, this is Grand Martial Uncle’s intention. If you have any objections, you can go to the Divine Sword Legion camp.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu said calmly.

“Sect Master, Grand Martial Uncle usually doesn’t interfere with matters and doesn’t understand the current situation of our Divine Sword Sect. Now the war on the front line is tense, and many disciples and elders are fighting desperately on the front line. If we let Li Qian continue to act recklessly, it will probably chill their hearts, which is not conducive to the stability of our Divine Sword Sect. If this continues, it will lead to unpredictable consequences.”

An elder with real authority said in a deep voice.

Others also spoke one after another, implying that they hoped the Sect Master would take the lead, explain the situation to Grand Martial Uncle, withdraw the decision, and quell the incident.

“Hmph, so this is how loyal you are to Divine Sword Sect?”

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out in the hall.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Wendao, the Celestial Being of Divine Sword Sect, walked out from behind the hall with his hands behind his back.

Seeing this, everyone present was startled and hurriedly stood up to salute.

“Although Grand Martial Uncle’s recruitment method has some problems, we can’t let Li Qian continue to act recklessly. He’s undermining the foundation of our Divine Sword Sect.”

The elder with real authority hurriedly said.

“I only believe in data. In the previous expanded recruitment, even disciples at the Copper Bone level could be recruited. You actually said that there weren’t enough people and you had to lower the standards. But look at this list. Just in Pingze County alone, Li Qian brought back at least two thousand promising talents at the Silver Bone level or above. I think the ones who are undermining the foundation of Divine Sword Sect are you, the parasites who disregard the overall situation of the sect for personal gain. From now on, everyone present will be removed from their positions as elders and elders with real authority. Investigate all the disciples under your command. If anyone is found to have harmed the interests of Divine Sword Sect, they will be severely punished.”

Xiao Wendao held a stack of lists in his hand and said coldly.

After comparing the previous recruitment data, he had come to a conclusion that made his heart ache.

How many martial arts geniuses had Divine Sword Sect missed over the years?

And how many incompetent people had filled the ranks, consuming the cultivation resources of Divine Sword Sect?

Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.

At this moment, they realized that Grand Martial Uncle was serious.

Although they were elders and elders with real authority, wielding great power and prestige, they were not qualified to stand before Celestial Being Xiao, the true controller of Divine Sword Sect.

With a single word, he could deprive them of all their authority and status.

It was clear that Grand Martial Uncle was going to make an example of them, paving the way for a complete reform of the recruitment process.

Shocking news spread throughout Divine Sword Sect.

More than a dozen elders, including an elder with real authority, were removed from their positions by Celestial Being Xiao because of the recruitment incident. Even their disciples were being investigated, with the intention of getting to the bottom of the matter.

For a time, no one dared to interfere with the recruitment process.

After the Divine Sword Legion arrived in various counties to take charge of the recruitment, they first arrested a batch of Inner Sect Disciples from the local Divine Sword Residences and members of affiliated forces. Then, they began to conduct the preliminary selection by examining bones according to the household registration registers.

The entire preliminary selection lasted for nearly two months before it ended.

By the time all the selected candidates arrived at Divine Sword Sect, it was already three months later.

At this moment, over thirty thousand selected candidates had gathered at the Assessment Hall of Divine Sword Sect.

As for the first batch of selected candidates, all those who did not reach the Silver Bone level, regardless of their background or identity, were directly eliminated and sent back to their places of origin.

Of the first batch of over ten thousand people, less than three thousand were left in the end.

In the subsequent Inner Sect Assessment, Li Qian increased the number of assessments from the original three to six, in order to assess the selected candidates from a comprehensive perspective and maximize the retention of truly outstanding individuals.

After more than half a month of Inner Sect Assessment, a total of 3,218 people passed the Inner Sect test and became Inner Sect Disciples.

In addition, more than eight thousand people were willing to stay and become Odd-Job Disciples.

Even if they were Odd-Job Disciples, their Root Bone talents were all at the Silver Bone level or above. As long as they worked hard enough, they could become Ranked Martial Artists within three to five years.

It took more than half a year for the recruitment to be successfully completed.

Moreover, Li Qian also established a complete assessment supervision mechanism for the Inner Sect Assessment, minimizing the possibility of problems arising in the recruitment process.

Of course, he also knew that it was impossible to completely eliminate such issues.

There was no absolutely perfect system in the world.

The human heart was unpredictable, and loopholes could always be found.

However, he believed that to a certain extent, he could improve the recruitment situation of Divine Sword Sect, allowing more martial arts geniuses to enter Divine Sword Sect and enabling Divine Sword Sect to truly become stronger.

As for the fact that he had offended most of the high-level officials of Divine Sword Sect during this recruitment,

and even incurred the deep hatred of many,

would he care?

Zhenwu Circuit.

Wu Province.

Prince Ning’s Residence.

“Is the news accurate?”

Prince Ning, dressed in a purple python robe, sat on the main seat, his face extremely gloomy.

“Your Highness, it has been confirmed. A terrifying celestial phenomenon appeared above the Jade Capital, exactly the same as when the Old Martial Emperor achieved the Celestial Image level two hundred years ago.”

A person standing in the main hall said.

“Damn it, I didn’t expect her to achieve the Celestial Image level after all.”

Prince Ning’s face became even uglier. “Real Person Danyang, didn’t you say that disrupting the world’s格局 （pattern or order） and interfering with that national treasure artifact could prevent her from achieving the Celestial Image level?”

He suddenly looked at an old Daoist priest sitting cross-legged below.

The old Daoist priest had a sword slung across his back and a kind and benevolent appearance.

He was the Grand Elder of Zhenwu Temple, a major martial arts sect.

Zhenwu Temple was known as the ancestral court of Daoism in Great Chang.

Even the name of the Zhenwu Circuit feudal state came from Zhenwu Temple, which showed how influential Zhenwu Temple was.

No one had expected that Zhenwu Temple, as the ancestral court of Daoism in Great Chang, would choose to support Prince Ning’s Residence.

“According to our three sects’ previous calculations, there should be absolutely no problem. The problem should lie in your previous plan. The three feudal states of Taixing Circuit, Kunwu Circuit, and Shuchuan Circuit are still under the control of the imperial clan, which means the overall situation is still in their favor. It hasn’t completely interfered with that thing.”

Real Person Danyang, the old Daoist priest, sighed and stroked his beard, almost pulling it out.

“Who knew there would be such a big problem over there, causing the plan to fail? Real Person Danyang, what should we do now?”

Prince Ning was extremely annoyed.

As long as the Grand Empress Dowager hadn’t achieved the Celestial Image level, there was still a chance.

But now, hope was slim.

“Since the previous plan has failed, there’s only one path left for Your Highness, or rather, for all the feudal lords in the world. That is to lead the army to the capital to support the emperor, gather the military might of a million Martial Arts Legions, and exert pressure on the Celestial Image level. Otherwise, once the Grand Empress Dowager completely consolidates her realm, defeat will be certain.”

Real Person Danyang said in a deep voice.

From True Image to Celestial Image, there would be a period of instability.

This was the last chance for all the feudal lords in the world.

“Real Person Danyang, wouldn’t it have been better to march on the capital from the beginning? The chances of capturing the Jade Capital before that old woman broke through to the Celestial Image level would have been higher.”

Prince Ning frowned and said.

Behind the entire feudal lords’ rebellion, it was actually the three major sects who were pulling the strings.

As one of the most powerful feudal lords in the world, apart from his own ambitions, he was also somewhat constrained by circumstances.

Many of the Celestial Beings in his Prince Ning’s Residence army came from Zhenwu Temple.

Zhenwu Temple was his biggest financial backer.

“Without chaos in the world, you couldn’t gather so many battle-hardened soldiers. Your Martial Arts Legions wouldn’t even reach the Jade Capital before being completely wiped out by the imperial clan’s Martial Arts Legions. Moreover, there’s another reason that Your Highness doesn’t know about.”

Real Person Danyang sighed.

“What reason?”

Prince Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“Your Highness, first have everyone present withdraw. I will explain it to you in detail.”

Real Person Danyang said.

“All of you, withdraw.”

Prince Ning waved his hand, and everyone in the hall immediately withdrew.

As the hall doors closed, only Prince Ning and Real Person Danyang remained in the empty hall.

“Real Person Danyang, can you tell me now?”

Prince Ning asked impatiently.

Real Person Danyang’s lips moved slightly, and he actually used the Secret Sound Transmission technique.

Upon hearing this, Prince Ning’s face changed drastically, and he almost cried out in shock, “Real Person Danyang, are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Real Person Danyang nodded and said in a deep voice, “Your Highness, please don’t spread this matter. Just keep it to yourself for now.”

“In that case, then marching on the capital is indeed the only path left.”

Prince Ning took a deep breath and immediately made a decision.

He had no way out.

If he failed, the thousand-year foundation of Prince Ning’s Residence would be destroyed.

Moreover, the reason Real Person Danyang had mentioned was simply too terrifying.

PS: Third update, a big chapter of 6,600 words. Please vote for double monthly tickets!!!!