Wan Jian returns to his clan!

Chapter 112 Three Thousand Disciples, Eight Hundred Personal Instructors

Amidst the rising smoke.

Three chimes rang out from the back mountain, their echoes lingering long afterward.

It refreshes the mind and soul.

Lu Wubing and his companions had not yet arrived at the Houfeng Ancestral Hall.

A large group of disciples followed behind him.

"Are we heading to the Ancestral Master's Cave?"

"I haven't heard of any senior brothers or sisters reaching the ninth rank of perfection recently."

"Internal strength is relatively easy to deal with; it just takes time. However, the most crucial aspect of the Sword Gate Trials is swordsmanship talent. Even Dong, Wu, Chen, and Xiao are said to be quite lacking in skill."

"Yes, yes, to reach the 'Mastery' level of swordsmanship before the age of eighteen and comprehend the essence of the Heavenly Star Sword Technique... it sounds easy, but in reality, it requires sufficient talent. It's not that easy."

"If it weren't for that, our Heavenly Star Sect wouldn't only have eight direct disciples, no, now it has nine."

The sounds of bustling activity came from all directions of Wangtian Cliff.

The disciples of Jingxin Hall, who had just finished practicing their swordsmanship that morning, followed behind in twos and threes. Instead of going to the canteen, most of them took two steamed buns and ate them as they walked, hoping to see something interesting.

"Who leaked the information?"

Lu Wubing looked back and saw disciples rushing over from all directions, the older ones looking to be in their early twenties.

This person has no hope of promotion and can only become a steward disciple in the future.

The gazes that came over were filled with envy, but could not hide the slight resentment and inferiority complex hidden in their bones.

Those younger ones, about ten of them, were even younger than Junior Sister Su. With their short legs and pigtails sticking up, they looked no more than ten years old.

Their eyes were full of fighting spirit, clearly indicating that they had not experienced any cruel setbacks.

They are full of hope for life.

“Master and Mistress have been waiting for this day for three whole years. Ever since Junior Sister passed the three trials of the Sword Gate three years ago and was accepted as a direct disciple, she has been getting worse year by year. Several others tried before, but they all failed. Now, she doesn’t even have the chance to open the Ancestral Master’s Cave.”

Lin Wenjing sighed, seemingly also worried about the lack of promising young disciples in the Tianxing Sect.

"Yes, I heard that when our Tianxing Sect was thriving, every month, several new disciples would pass the Sword Gate Trial together."

With three thousand disciples and eight hundred personal instructors, its power was extremely formidable. Even the currently reviving Ziyang Peak was far inferior.

Ouyang Lan said in a clear voice, her face full of longing. She had obviously heard her father and mother tell stories of the past and was very proud of the glory of the Tianxing Sect in the past.

"It's hailed as a revival of the nation, so how many direct disciples does Ziyang Peak have now?" Lu Wubing wondered to himself.

He always heard the name of the Three Peaks.

I don't really know much about the other two peaks.

“One hundred and eight.” Fourth Senior Brother Zhang Dexing appeared out of nowhere, his round, comical face bearing a hint of bitterness.

He added, "These are only sixth-generation disciples; there are also fifth-generation elders, and I've heard there are twenty-eight in total."

"Okay, just pretend I didn't ask."

Lu Wubing glanced at Ouyang Lan and remained silent for a moment.

This means that Ziyang Peak currently has 108 disciples who are at a similar level to Senior Sister Xiaolan.

Tianxing Peak is only a fraction of what the other party has.

As for the fifth-generation elders, they are experts of Shen Liancheng's caliber, and there are a total of twenty-eight of them.

As for the Tianxing Sect, including the sect leader and his wife, and counting the two senior uncles from Jinyutang and Menghu'ao at the foot of the mountain, there are only four people in total.

Suddenly, Lu Wubing understood why the sect leader wanted to hold the Three Sects Grand Competition.

This is a matter of risking losing the position of sect leader in order to win over the other two factions. There's no other way.

In peaceful times, one should naturally shut oneself away to practice swordsmanship... If one's power is small, so be it; it's best to avoid getting involved in matters of the martial world.

But that's obviously not possible now.

The Northern Zhou's Demonic Sect has launched a massive invasion, and it's unclear what their true intentions are.

Within the Three Peaks, there are also many conflicts... No one knows whether some ambitious people will think of using some underhanded methods to annex their own sect.

This forced the Tianxing Sect to seek survival and change.

Some things happen, but it's best to just pretend they didn't.

For example, that night, the three enemies targeting Senior Sister Xiaolan were actually in a very awkward position... He could have taken this opportunity to openly confront them, but he didn't dare.

If you are at a disadvantage and things really come to a head, it may be truly irreversible.

At least some people only scheme in secret, and they try to cover it up in public. They still have some sense of shame and dare not violate morality and let the world talk.

This means there is still a sliver of a chance to turn things around.

'Weak nations have no diplomacy.'

It's not just a country, a sect, or even an individual.

That's true in all cases.

Lu Wubing understood this deeply.

He thought to himself, no wonder the Wangtian Cliff lineage of the Tianxing Sect usually lived a rather austere life. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they couldn't.

Despite their enormous reputation, they are actually just skin and bones like tigers, and hardly anyone cares about them anymore.

"Most of these disciples are probably orphans."

Looking at the disciples who surrounded him from all sides, only daring to whisper among themselves and not daring to make a loud noise, Lu Wubing guessed.

"Yes, most of them were picked up by their fathers and mothers. There are also some children from poor families who couldn't afford food down in the mountains and were sent up here. They said they were to learn a skill from a master, but most of them just wanted to save some food."

Seeing the change in Lin Wenjing's expression, Ouyang Lan quickly grabbed her hand and said sweetly, "Seventh Senior Sister, I'm not talking about you. When you were twelve years old, you dared to take a hunting knife into the mountains to kill wolves, and you were bitten more than ten times, but you killed seven hungry wolves..."

My mother said it was a rare gem, the likes of which she had never seen before.

"It's alright. Senior sister just couldn't afford to eat back then. Whether or not to kill the wolves, it was really just about wanting to die together with them. If she could get revenge, she would; if she couldn't, it would be better to die on the spot. There's nothing wrong with that."

Lin Wenjing gently stroked Ouyang Lan's hair, her eyes filled with deep gratitude.

If my master and mistress hadn't arrived in time, I would have been devoured by wolves long ago, and I wouldn't be where I am today.

Thinking of this, she turned her head and saw a tall, slender young man standing quietly in the morning light, his face reflecting the sunlight.

Just like when I was a child, that boy, alone with a sword, charged into the wolf pack, surrounded by wolf carcasses lying prostrate in the warm sunlight.

"Senior Brother, you're here too. Is your arm injury any better?"

Lin Wenjing's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly greeted him.

"It's nothing, just a minor shock. After the blood was transferred and the qi circulated for three weeks, I'm almost fully recovered. I've actually been studying swordsmanship these past two days, so I definitely won't be careless next time I encounter an enemy like this."

Yue Lingfeng walked up with a smile, his face beaming, and turned to ask:

"Junior Sister, are you letting Ninth Junior Brother pass the trial so soon? You're too impatient!"
The senior brother had originally planned that if the ninth junior brother's internal energy cultivation speed was not slow, he would give him some practical experience to make up for the weaknesses in his swordsmanship...

"No need, Senior Brother."

Ouyang Lan smiled lightly, "Don't you even know who taught Junior Brother? With my personal guidance, Junior Brother's swordsmanship will surely surprise you."

……

(End of this chapter)