Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 284 The Immortal Fate Conference Ends
Soon, in less than half a month, the first Immortal Fate Conference of the White Stone Immortal Sect since the beginning of the Immortal Era came to a successful conclusion.

The total number of participants in this Immortal Destiny Conference was over 40,000, of which 10,000 were selected by Emperor Murong Zhen of Xiao Kingdom from the Shuntian Army camp. Overall, the number was not much more than last time, which surprised Zhang Chengdao.

However, most of these 40,000 people failed in the first stage, the "Ascension Steps," and only less than 3,000 people successfully entered the "Trial Array."

A 10% "acceptance rate" is only enough to qualify for the "trial formation," which is indeed very demanding.

Of these 3,000 people, only 500 actually obtained the "key to pass the test," and of those, only a little over half successfully passed the inner demon illusion.

It's worth mentioning that among the 267 people who entered the sect this time, including the only gold card holder, Master Yi Zhi, there was also an old acquaintance, Zhu Ye, who was only one step away from entering the sect last time from the Heart Demon Illusion.

Of course, the old acquaintance is not the point. The point is that this old acquaintance actually went from a blue card to a purple card!
This is truly an eye-opener – a case of using a small knife to pull out a big mess!
The card rarity even automatically upgrades!?
Could it be some twins with the same name who are impersonating each other?

For a moment, Zhang Chengdao's imagination ran wild.

Fortunately, the disciple academy had already been expanded. The 267 new disciples could be accommodated in just over sixty small courtyards. To this end, Zhang Chengdao moved a mountain peak to the west and used it to create scenery in the "Trial Array" below, just to level the area and use it to expand the original disciple academy.

In addition, the standard equipment for new disciples, the Qiankun bag and disciple uniform, made Zhang Chengdao suffer to the point of exhaustion. This was only because he could use the method of reading the bar to make them, which greatly saved time.

The most difficult issue is the teaching of the new disciples.

Zhang Chengdao could certainly choose to arrange a large class with more than two hundred people attending together. After all, whoever was lecturing was a cultivator, possessing a "bio-spiritual energy loudspeaker" activated by their own body, so there would be no situation where someone couldn't hear clearly. However, the progress of the previous batch of disciples was different from that of the new disciples, so at least these two groups should be separated.

"Then this batch of new disciples will work five days on and two days off, while the previous batch will work two days on and five days off. Once the Qi is drawn into the body, all disciples at the fifth level of Qi Refining can switch to working two days on and five days off. As for how to arrange affairs on their respective main peaks, that will be decided by their respective main peaks. They can hold a meeting once a month and report back to me."

The day after the Immortal Affinity Conference ended, Zhang Chengdao was having a meeting with Xu Ying and other stewards and sect leaders in the Lingxiao Palace. Accompanying him were his six personal disciples, including Shi Yizhi.

After Zhang Chengdao finished speaking, he thought for a moment and added, "From now on, the Immortal Affinity Conference should be held once a year, and the disciples should be referred to by their year. This batch of new disciples are disciples of the first year of the Immortal Origin of the White Stone Immortal Sect, and the previous batch were disciples of the year before the Immortal Origin."

"Also, let's set a rule for the next three years: all of you above Foundation Establishment will have one spot to take on disciples at the annual Immortal Affinity Conference. If you want more spots, you can exchange them with sect contribution points. You can exchange for up to four spots each year, which means you can take on a total of five disciples... Hmm, Manager Xu, please draft a plan to specify how many are needed."

"The disciples you take in will be considered inner disciples in the future. However, after you become their masters, there will be an additional assessment standard. If they fail the assessment for three consecutive years, they will be demoted to outer disciples. If for three consecutive years, one of your disciples is demoted to an outer disciple, you will be disqualified from taking in disciples for three years."

"This year, you can select this batch of new disciples. If you see someone you like, you can take them on as disciples. The sect will provide additional subsidies. Of course, the classes will be the same for everyone. If you want extra tutoring, you'll have to do it yourselves. Do you understand?"

This familiar formula, slightly modified from certain modern university models, is actually meant to ensure that one's apprentices have access to more capable and efficient training.

The trainees nurtured through one-on-one or small-group, nanny-style instruction are definitely more useful than those raised in large classes of hundreds. Moreover, elite education is indispensable for a cultivation sect. Furthermore, Zhang Chengdao abandoned his original plan to individually recommend all the purple cards to his disciples. While the "golden finger" (a powerful cheat ability) is certainly plausible, he prefers to trust his disciples' choices.

Just like in some games I played before time travel, who said common cards were inferior to high-level cards, or R cards were inferior to SSR cards? Don't you see, whether it's the Grass Daddy and Orochi in Onmyoji, or the Ban-surname Vulcan in Primitive Man Activation, they are all common in rarity but exceptionally powerful? If I choose my apprentices wisely, maybe I can even raise some awesome blue cards!

Moreover, over-reliance on cheat codes is not a good thing...

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengdao felt his throat was a little dry, so he skillfully took out a cup of cola from his backpack and drank it.

After hearing Zhang Chengdao's words, Chang Ping'an was the first to stand up, respectfully cupped his hands, and said earnestly, "Master, I am only eighteen years old and my aptitude is only average. I'm afraid I won't be able to mentor you properly and will hold you back. Let's just forget about this spot..."

Murong Ruyan, who was standing to the side, gave a barely perceptible snort and rolled her eyes.

Zhang Chengdao smiled and said, "Age is not a problem. Over the years, you, Headmaster Xu, and Ruyan have been the only ones in the sect who have taught the Dao. As your teacher, I have observed that you have taught very well. I am sure you can also teach disciples well. However, this matter ultimately depends on your own thoughts. If you feel that you are not up to the task, it is fine not to teach."

Murong Ruyan said impatiently, "I want to take them on! Master, I have the most contribution points, so I should be able to exchange for more spots, right? It would be perfect to take on more apprentices to do things, I really don't have enough people here!"

“Yes, you have a lot of contribution points, you should be able to exchange them all…” Zhang Chengdao nodded, then looked at Tang Xiaoyu and Ye Shuyun: “What about you two?”

Although Tang Xiaoyu's cultivation level is low, her realm is strictly speaking the highest among all her personal disciples. According to the rules, she should also have a spot. Moreover, because she has been in charge of the "project" of the teleportation array, although her sect contribution points are not as many as Murong Ruyan's, they are more than Chang Ping'an's. She should be able to exchange for the full number of spots.

Tang Xiaoyu was also very enthusiastic about it: "I really want it! I'm always short-handed when I set up teleportation arrays! I'm in dire need of people!"

Although Ye Shuyun didn't contribute many points, she had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, so she was considered to have a spot.

When this kid broke through, he used up his few Foundation Establishment Pills. Fortunately, he later found the method to refine Foundation Establishment Pills in a book called "Detailed Explanation of Basic Pills". The raw materials were not difficult to obtain and could be replaced. Otherwise, the sect would have run out of supplies when the disciples needed them in the future!
"I……"

Ye Shuyun pondered for a moment before replying, "Since there is such a spot, then this disciple will accept one and teach him carefully."

Zhang Chengdao nodded with satisfaction, looked around at his disciples, and said, "Alright, as for the specific selection process, you can discuss your own methods and report to Manager Xu. Of course, if you have your eye on someone, you can choose them directly, but you must get their consent. This is not a matter of forced buying or selling."

The disciples all nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)