Divine Eyes of Shattering Illusions

The Qingxuan Sect was a renowned cultivation sect in Xuanzhou.

Since its founding, it had cultivated countless all-powerful experts. They either guarded the peace of a region or turned the tide in times of chaos, making the name of the Qingxuan Sect resound throughout all of Xuanzhou.

The sect had always upheld the principles of fairness and justice, never favoring any faction, much less participating in mortal power struggles.

No matter one's background, as long as they possessed sufficient talent and potential, they would receive equal opportunities in the Qingxuan Sect.

No matter where they came from, as long as their character was upright, they could find a place for themselves here.

Here, strength and moral character were the only standards by which a person was measured.

Because of this, the Qingxuan Sect held immense prestige in Xuanzhou, standing tall and unwavering even after a thousand years of wind and rain.

At this moment, hundreds of young cultivators were standing in the sect's mountain gate plaza.

They were all elites who had passed the Qingxuan Sect's rigorous layers of assessment. Though their faces still bore the fading traces of youth, they could hardly conceal the sharpness and longing in their eyes.

Next was the time for the sect elders to select their disciples.

Once chosen by an elder as a personal disciple, it meant receiving the most generous allocation of resources and meticulous guidance, leading to a limitless future.

Thus, these young people all straightened their backs, gazing at the elders' seats ahead with burning eyes, longing to be chosen.

"This year's seedlings are indeed not bad. Look at that youth in the blue shirt; his bone structure is extraordinary. He is great material for body refinement."

The elder of Danding Peak stroked his beard, his eyes filled with a satisfied smile.

The elder of Jianxiao Peak beside him looked over upon hearing this and nodded slightly. "More than just body refinement. That girl to the east has sword qi flowing at her fingertips when she grips her sword. She is a natural-born sword embryo."

"When choosing an inheritor, talent is certainly important, but their character must also pass the test."

The elder of Qingyun Peak spoke in a deep voice, "The legacy of our Qingxuan Sect cannot be handed over to those with crooked intentions."

The elders chimed in with their agreement, their gazes sweeping back and forth over the young people in the plaza, carefully screening them.

Right at this moment, the gazes of all the elders coincidentally froze at the entrance of the plaza.

They saw a peerlessly handsome man dressed in a plain white flowing-cloud Daoist robe walking over slowly. The dark purple bamboo patterns on his cuffs flowed with a lustrous gleam under the sunlight.

His incomparably handsome face featured sword-like eyebrows slanting into his hairline and starry eyes as dazzling as if they held the entire Milky Way of the Nine Heavens.

With a straight nose and lips as red as cinnabar, his looks could be called a peerless countenance rarely seen in the Xuanhuang Great World in tens of millions of years.

Exactly how handsome was he? Let us put it this way: he was as earth-shatteringly handsome as the esteemed reader currently reading this text.

All the female cultivators present unconsciously held their breath, and a few young disciples lacking in mental fortitude simply stared in a daze.

After a while, a few junior elders finally snapped back to reality and frowned.

"Isn't this Gu Changge from Zizhu Peak? Why is he here?"

The young deacons nearby exchanged blank looks, clearly very unfamiliar with this name, and could not help but ask in low voices, "Elder, who is this..."

"He is the Peak Master of Zizhu Peak, Gu Changge."

An old elder with completely white hair and beard stroked his beard, his expression somewhat complex.

"Zizhu Peak?"

A low gasp of amazement instantly rang out from the crowd, while quite a few people also revealed looks of bewilderment.

The seven main peaks of the Qingxuan Sect were renowned far and wide, but aside from these main peaks, there was an extremely special existence—Zizhu Peak.

Nominally, this mountain peak belonged to the Qingxuan Sect, yet it possessed almost independent autonomy. It did not participate in the sect's daily affairs, yet it exclusively enjoyed a portion of the sect's resources.

Back when the Sect Master overcame all objections to set this rule, many people had their complaints. It was only out of respect for the Sect Master's authority and Daoist Zizhu's face that they refrained from saying much.

And this Peak Master of Zizhu Peak was an even more mysterious figure.

Ever since Gu Changge took charge of Zizhu Peak ten years ago, he had rarely shown his face within the sect. As a result, many newly promoted disciples did not even know such a person existed in the sect.

"It seems that Gu Changge only has a Core Condensation Realm cultivation base?"

A low exclamation suddenly sounded from the crowd. The speaker was an outer sect deacon who had just been promoted not long ago.

His own cultivation was also at the Core Condensation Realm, and he sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations radiating from Gu Changge's body. That was clearly an aura that only a Core Condensation Realm cultivator would possess.

"What do you know? Peak Master Gu is not even twenty years old this year, alright? When you were twenty, you were probably still in the Foundation Establishment Realm!"

An older disciple with more seniority who was slightly more familiar with Gu Changge retorted.

As soon as these words came out, the plaza instantly grew a bit quieter.

"A Core Condensation Realm cultivator under twenty years old... This talent is already comparable to Senior Brother Li, the Sect Master's personal disciple, right!"

Immediately after, even louder whispers erupted.

"However, which of the Peak Masters of the seven main peaks is not in the Cave Heaven Realm? How can he, a mere Core Condensation Realm cultivator, be a Peak Master?"

"Do not speak nonsense. Daoist Zizhu showed great kindness to the sect. Is there a problem with his disciple becoming a Peak Master..."

Gu Changge paid absolutely no attention to the crowd's discussions. He walked up to the elders' seats and slightly cupped his hands toward them.

Wearing a somewhat careless smile on his face, he said, "Changge greets all senior brothers."

The Peak Master of Danding Peak shook his head helplessly.

"You brat, has the sun risen from the west? In past years' disciple recruitment ceremonies, you would not come no matter how much we invited you. To think you actually showed up today?"

"I was bored staying at home, so I came over to join the fun."

Gu Changge threw his hands up, his tone very casual. "Senior brothers, feel free to choose your disciples. Do not mind me, I am just here to take a look."

"Just taking a look?"

The Peak Master of Zhenyue Peak furrowed his brows slightly, his tone carrying a bit of sternness.

"Changge, as the Peak Master of Zizhu Peak, you should at least consider the legacy of your peak's lineage. You have not even taken in a single nominal disciple in these ten years. Zizhu Peak is still relying on you to bring it to greater heights!"

Gu Changge rubbed his nose and was just about to speak when the system's notification sound suddenly rang in his mind:

"Ding! Limited-time quest triggered: Passing the Torch of Zizhu"

"Accept?"

"Quest Requirement: Recruit one personal disciple."

"Quest Reward: Unknown."

"Quest Failure: No penalty!"

The smile on Gu Changge's lips stiffened for a moment. He could not help but complain to the system in his heart: "No way, System. You are making the quest reward unknown? Are you kidding me?"

The system's icy voice echoed in his mind.

"The host needs not doubt. After completing the quest, the reward is guaranteed to be bountiful. If the host accepts the quest, you will receive the Divine Eye of Delusion-Breaking. This divine eye can see through all illusions and perceive the essence of all things."

"Divine Eye of Delusion-Breaking?" Gu Changge's heart stirred slightly.

Being able to distinguish true from false and recognize the essence of things—this ability was indeed practical.

His mind raced as he secretly calculated: "I get the divine eye just for accepting the quest, and there is no penalty for failure. This wave is simply a guaranteed profit with zero risk! It is equivalent to getting a god-tier ocular technique for absolutely free. What a massive steal!"

"Accept!"

"The host has accepted the quest. The Divine Eye of Delusion-Breaking has been successfully distributed."

A gentle, warm current quietly poured into his eyes, bringing a bizarre sensation. Gu Changge felt the newly born ability in his eyes, and his mood became exceptionally good.

Thinking for a moment, he asked in his heart again, "Are you sure the reward is bountiful? Do not just fob me off with a few broken spirit stones when the time comes."

"The system's credibility is guaranteed. Please complete the quest as soon as possible, host."

The system's tone remained as flat as ever.

Gu Changge curled his lip, deciding not to waste any more words on the System.

It was not like he had anything to lose anyway. He might as well take a look; who knows, he might actually stumble upon someone who met the requirements.

But he had his own strict standards. If someone did not catch his eye, he would not give them a second glance, let alone accept them as a disciple, even if they were a once-in-an-eon cultivation prodigy with some heaven-defying physique.

When it came to taking in disciples, it ultimately boiled down to personal affinity.

As for the System quest, he had already reached the absolute pinnacle of this world through years of relying on daily sign-ins. A mere quest reward meant absolutely nothing to him.

He raised his gaze toward the crowd of disciples gathered in the plaza. Just then, a slight warmth blossomed in his eyes as a strange power surged into his pupils.

The moment the Delusion-Piercing Divine Eyes quietly awakened, a clear understanding of physique grades simultaneously surfaced in his mind.

In this world, aptitudes were ranked from lowest to highest: Mortal, Spirit, Heaven, King, Saint, and Emperor.

Each grade corresponded to a guaranteed minimum level of future achievement.

For instance, someone with a Heaven-grade aptitude was destined to reach the Heaven-Human Realm in the future.

With a King-grade aptitude, as long as one cultivated normally, they were guaranteed to step into the King Realm. With enough fortuitous encounters, they might even knock on the threshold of the Saint Realm.

A Saint-grade aptitude was even more extraordinary. Their absolute lowest achievement would be the Saint Realm. Those with exceptional talent could reach the Saint King or Great Saint Realms, and a rare few might even ascend to the throne of a Great Emperor.

As for the legendary Emperor-grade aptitude, so long as they did not perish prematurely, they were ultimately destined to ascend to the position of a Great Emperor and become the supreme ruler of a realm.

Of course, aptitude was not absolute.

There were those born with a mere Mortal-grade aptitude who, through heaven-defying perseverance and endless fortuitous encounters, managed to shatter their limits.

Conversely, there were those blessed with Saint-grade aptitudes who, due to a flawed state of mind or an early demise, ultimately faded into obscurity among the masses.

But generally speaking, aptitude remained an important yardstick for measuring a cultivator's potential.