Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Accepting Disciples

Time Bell Pavilion.

Dong.

The clear and melodious sound of the bell rang out, breaking the tranquility of the Divine Sword Sect.

At this moment, the sky was still dark, shrouded in blackness.

It was the darkest hour before dawn.

Bathed in the sound of the bell, Li Qian began the first cultivation session of the day.

After a long while, he withdrew his sword momentum, sheathing Sword Eighteen. The aura around his body gradually calmed down.

Suddenly, he had a thought, summoning the system interface to check the latest information.

Celestial Being Realm （ Mid-Stage 91/100 ）.

Time Bell （ Law 9989/10000 ）.

Great River Sword Qi （ Second Layer 36/100 ）.

Heartless Sword Intent （ Celestial Image 21/100 ）.

Blood and Qi Sanctuary （ 25/100 ）.

Lion Camel Ridge Formation Manual （ Minor Completion 12/100 ）.

Looking at the latest information, a smile appeared on Li Qian’s face.

It wasn’t easy.

The Time Bell was finally about to upgrade.

He couldn’t help but feel excited.

What kind of changes would occur after the Time Bell upgraded?

This upgrade had taken more than twenty-seven years.

Adding in the time spent traveling outside and not ringing the bell, it might take a few more months. Twenty-nine years should be about right.

Unknowingly, it had been almost thirty-two years since he transmigrated to this world.

Apart from the Time Bell being close to upgrading, his cultivation progress had also reached Mid-Stage 91. Based on an increase of one point per month, it would take another nine months.

However, once the Time Bell upgraded, his cultivation speed would increase, so it definitely wouldn’t take nine months.

He wondered how much the Time Bell upgrade would enhance his cultivation of Sword Intent, Great River Sword Qi, and Blood and Qi Sanctuary?

Suppressing his anticipation, Li Qian walked down from the bell tower. Liu Ming was busy preparing breakfast.

With Li Qian’s current cultivation realm, he could completely rely on pills to solve his daily meals.

However, he was accustomed to three meals a day and didn’t want to change anything.

If he even gave up eating, what joy would there be in life?

The breakfast Liu Ming made was no longer a simple bowl of spirit rice and exotic beast meat porridge.

Instead, it had become quite sumptuous.

After breakfast was ready, Master Zhou Buping also entered.

After the three of them sat down, they began to eat.

“Li Qian, I heard that the Assessment Hall just recruited a batch of new Inner Sect Disciples. You should take on a disciple when you have time. After all, your cultivation is not low.”

After finishing his meal, Master Zhou Buping suddenly said.

“Uh, Master, I’m not even an Elder. I’m not qualified to accept disciples. How about… you take on one? I can be a Senior Brother then.”

Li Qian said with a smile.

“You’re already a Grandmaster. If you want to accept a disciple, it’s easy. But I’ve retired, so I’m really not qualified.”

Master Zhou Buping was speechless towards his disciple.

No matter how detached one was, they should at least have the title of Elder.

Moreover, without accepting disciples, how could the Heartless Lineage flourish?

“Sigh, it seems that before I die, I won’t have the chance to see the rise of the Heartless Lineage.”

Zhou Buping sighed, then left the room with his hands behind his back.

Li Qian had seen people urging others to get married, but he never expected to be urged to accept disciples.

Taking on a disciple was such a hassle.

“Senior Brother Li.”

Liu Ming suddenly spoke.

“What is it?”

Li Qian glanced at him.

“I think you really should accept a disciple.”

Liu Ming said.

“Uh, it’s none of your business. Finish your porridge.”

Li Qian snorted coldly.

“Senior Brother Li.”

Liu Ming didn’t stop, hesitating to speak.

“Liu Ming, I feel like you’ve been acting strange lately. What do you want to say?”

Li Qian looked at Liu Ming and asked.

“Senior Brother Li, I want to be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple.”

Liu Ming said.

“Eh? You’ve finally come to your senses?”

Li Qian was extremely surprised.

“Senior Brother Li, I met a female Inner Sect Disciple… so I want to serve the Divine Sword Sect for a few years, then leave with her and return to my hometown.”

A shy expression appeared on Liu Ming’s face.

Although he was over thirty years old, he was still an honest man.

“It seems I should congratulate you.”

Li Qian suddenly understood. No wonder Liu Ming had changed so much in the past year or so. It turned out he had snagged a girl.

Speaking of which, Liu Ming had been at the Time Bell Pavilion for a full twenty-one years.

This was not a short period of time.

“Senior Brother Li, if I leave, there will be no one to ring the bell for you. So I think you should accept a disciple.”

Liu Ming said.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Li Qian shook his head.

However, he decided to go to the Inner Sect to see the batch of newly admitted Inner Sect Disciples. If there was a suitable one, he wouldn’t mind accepting one to ring the bell, cook, and so on.

Divine Sword Hall.

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu was talking to Xiao Wendao.

The Divine Sword Sect had suddenly received an invitation from the Taiwu Circuit Lord’s Residence, inviting the Celestial Beings of the Divine Sword Sect to attend the opening ceremony of the Taiwu Circuit Lord’s Residence.

◈◈◈

The Taiwu Circuit Lord’s Residence was located in Fuyuan County City, Xing Province. It was said to have been chosen and built in advance by Prince Qi’s Residence.

In other words, the Taiwu Circuit Lord’s Residence was within Prince Qi’s territory.

“Grand Martial Uncle, will you be attending the opening ceremony of the Taiwu Circuit Lord’s Residence, or will you send Peak Master Hou?”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu asked.

“It would be best if both of us went together. However, we still need to leave a Celestial Being behind in case any demonic traces appear. So I’ll go.”

Xiao Wendao said, “Also, choose a few people for me to bring along to broaden their horizons.”

“Alright, Grand Martial Uncle.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu nodded. He had the same intention.

Inner Sect.

Li Qian arrived at the Assessment Hall.

As soon as he arrived, Elder Xiang, the Hall Master of the Assessment Hall, immediately welcomed him.

“Junior Brother Li, what brings you here? What a surprise.”

Elder Xiang said in surprise.

He had no objections to Li Qian, and even held some respect for him.

After all, it was Li Qian who had reformed the recruitment process, greatly increasing the proportion of commoner disciples among the Divine Sword Sect’s Inner Sect Disciples.

“I heard you’ve recruited a new batch of Inner Sect Disciples, so I came to take a look.”

Li Qian said.

Then he inquired about the recruitment situation in the past two years, and Elder Xiang naturally answered all his questions.

Based on Li Qian’s original measures, the Assessment Hall had also implemented a quota system for recruitment in various counties. In other words, each county had to provide a minimum number of candidates for the preliminary selection based on its population.

“Elder Xiang, I’m planning to accept a disciple. Are there any promising talents?”

Li Qian asked.

“Junior Brother Li, I’m afraid there are no promising talents left. They were all snatched up by the Elders as soon as they were admitted. You know, we’ve promoted quite a few Elders in recent years, and they all have disciple quotas. Although there are quite a few Gold Bone level Inner Sect Disciples, there are still more Elders than disciples.”

Elder Xiang said.

Li Qian was not surprised. The recruitment had ended many days ago. It would be strange if he could still find a Gold Bone level disciple.

“Junior Brother Li, how about this? I’ll gather the new Inner Sect Disciples for you to take a look. Or I can notify you immediately during the next recruitment, but you’ll have to wait another two years.”

Elder Xiang said.

The current recruitment interval was once every two years.

When Li Qian participated in the recruitment, it was once every three years.

Later, due to the war and the heavy losses suffered by the Divine Sword Sect, it was changed to once a year.

Now, after years of recruitment, the number of Inner Sect Disciples had not only recovered but also increased, so the recruitment interval was changed back to once every two years.

“Then I’ll take a look first.”

Li Qian nodded.

“Junior Brother Li, then please have some tea inside. It will take about half an hour.”

Elder Xiang said.

Li Qian waited in the Assessment Hall for more than half an hour before Elder Xiang came in and led him to the plaza of the Assessment Hall, where over two thousand Inner Sect Disciples were gathered.

These Inner Sect Disciples were all Silver Bone level and had not yet taken a Master.

Without any good opportunities, the future prospects of these Inner Sect Disciples would generally be quite ordinary.

Li Qian looked at the noisy crowd, his eyes flickering with a faint light. Under his Spirit Sensitivity Technique, everyone turned into a spiritual light, and he could distinguish the differences among them.

Suddenly, Li Qian sensed two spiritual lights that far surpassed the others.

One should be at the Middle-Grade Bright Light level, and the other at the High-Grade Bright Light level.

Based on Li Qian’s judgment, the Middle-Grade Bright Light level should correspond to the Gold Bone level, and the High-Grade Bright Light level should be the Jade Bone level.

In other words, among these two thousand Inner Sect Disciples, there were actually two hidden geniuses with Gold Bone and Jade Bone levels?

He quickly withdrew his Spirit Sensitivity Technique and directly used his Spiritual Perception to assess the root bone aptitude of these people.

Without exception, they were all only Silver Bone level.

“I didn’t expect there to be Hidden Root Bones, and two of them at once.”

Li Qian was amazed.

He couldn’t help but suspect that in the history of the Divine Sword Sect, there must have been some Hidden Root Bones that were missed, and those individuals ultimately became ordinary.

Although the essence of a Hidden Root Bone was a high root bone level, if it couldn’t be manifested, its potential couldn’t be unleashed, and the individual would remain ordinary. Unless they encountered certain specific factors that could activate the Hidden Root Bone.

The reason why some people with originally ordinary root bone aptitude suddenly experienced a breakthrough and became extraordinary was basically due to Hidden Root Bones.

Soon, Li Qian found the two individuals with Hidden Root Bones.

A boy and a girl, both around eleven or twelve years old.

Judging from their demeanor, the girl seemed to come from an ordinary background, but she was quite pretty.

The boy’s behavior suggested he was from a prominent family.

Surprisingly, the girl’s hidden root bone aptitude was higher, while the boy’s was lower.

“I’ll take both of them.”

Li Qian pointed to the two and said.

“You two, come forward. Although this Senior is not an Elder, he is a Grandmaster. It is your fortune to be able to take a Grandmaster as your Master.”

Elder Xiang hurriedly said.

He was a little puzzled because these two Inner Sect Disciples seemed ordinary, and their root bone aptitude wasn’t even the most outstanding among the group.

“I’ll accept you two as Registered Disciples first. As for whether you can become my Direct Disciples in the future, it depends on your performance.”

Li Qian said calmly.

He wouldn’t favor someone just because of their high root bone aptitude.

He valued character and moral integrity more.

“Yes, Master.”

The boy hurriedly bowed.

The girl finally reacted and also bowed.

“Come with me.”

Li Qian nodded and turned to leave.

The remaining Inner Sect Disciples were envious as they watched the two being chosen by a Grandmaster as Registered Disciples.

PS: Second update, seeking monthly votes!!!!