Jiang Ruoxu's Opportunity: The Great Emperor Takes a Disciple

"Destiny favors our Jiang Family!!!"

The words of the Sword Emperor Ancestor stirred excitement among many members of the Jiang Family.

With the arrival of the Golden Age, the younger generation of the Jiang Family had yet to produce many outstanding talents. Though they had ten Imperial Sons, none ranked particularly high on the Heavenly Pride Leaderboard—not a single one made it into the top twenty. Left with no choice, they had to unearth the long-sealed direct descendant of their immortal ancestor, preserved for a hundred thousand years.

Now, the Nine Heavens were teeming with monstrous prodigies of the immortal path. True Immortal Physiques alone were too numerous to count on one hand, let alone the various mutated Immortal Spirit Roots.

This was why the Jiang Family had been keeping a low profile—after all, they lacked worthy successors.

But now, things were different. Their family had produced two prodigies in the lower realm!

One had survived the Chaos Tribulation, attaining a True Immortal Physique, while the other had endured the Heavenly Dao’s Immortal Tribulation, achieving a Quasi-Immortal Physique. With the Jiang Family’s resources and the personal guidance of an Emperor, the latter could very well ascend into a true Immortal Physique.

Two Immortal Physiques in one family—their future was now radiant!

"Ahem... Though this old man already has a few closed-door disciples, my heart aches for talent... I shall take this Quasi-Immortal Physique as my disciple," the Sword Emperor Ancestor declared, stroking his white beard with a dignified air—though the corners of his mouth simply refused to stay down.

The rest of the Jiang Family could only sigh in exasperation. This sword-wielding ancestor had declared fifty thousand years ago that he would take his "last" closed-door disciple. Yet, up to now... he had already taken eight. With this Quasi-Immortal Physique, it would be his ninth.

"I shall burn incense to cross realms and personally take him as my disciple, guiding him with care. My ninth sword... shall be passed down through him!"

...

Meanwhile, the little brother also received his own stroke of fortune.

The Emperor Ancestor had an imposing presence—burning incense to descend into the lower realm, taking him as a disciple and even gifting him a storage ring full of treasures.

But it paled in comparison to the hoard inside Jiang Che’s Azure Dragon Ring.

This old man had already taken eight disciples before him—whatever riches he had were likely long since drained, leaving only scraps of little value.

Yet, the little brother was overjoyed.

Just as he lost a Nirvana-stage master, he gained an Emperor-level teacher!

Now, Jiang Ruoxu had backing too. He didn’t know how many reincarnations this old Sword Emperor had undergone, but an Emperor was an Emperor—utterly formidable!

"Brother... my master gave me hundreds of top-grade spirit stones in his storage ring! I’ve hit the jackpot!"

"Holy—there are even a few Saint-grade spirit stones... Brother, take this one. My master kept muttering about spirit stones when she took me in. I think she must be short on them. This Saint-grade stone is my offering to her..."

Now that he had money, Jiang Ruoxu went straight to Jiang Che and splurged without hesitation.

Admittedly, compared to Mo Lianxing, the little brother had a conscience.

At that moment, Mo Lianxing materialized from her soul-nurturing ring.

"Mas... Master?" Seeing Mo Lianxing appear, Jiang Ruoxu’s expression wavered. Over a year had passed since he last saw her, and he felt an urge to cry.

"What ‘Master’? This is your sister-in-law!" Jiang Che corrected sternly.

"Besides, you’ve already taken an Emperor-level master. Counting Lian’er, that makes two. If you take another later, won’t you become a thrice-named slave?"

"Wait, no—wrong phrasing. A thrice-surnamed slave!"

Jiang Che wrapped an arm around Mo Lianxing’s waist and casually picked his nose.

Jiang Ruoxu: "..."

He was genuinely speechless. Why was Jiang Che so infuriating?

Every time he tried to have a serious conversation with this brother of his, one sentence was all it took to shatter his composure.

And what the hell was "Lian’er"? That was his master!!!

Screw this thrice-named slave nonsense!

"Jiang Che... you have a beautiful master too, didn’t you also acknowledge Jiang Hong the Emperor from the Jiang Family as your teacher?" Jiang Ruoxu nearly growled through clenched teeth.

"Tsk, I only accepted his legacy. That doesn’t mean I acknowledged him as my master! I never said anything like that." Jiang Che spread his hands, feigning innocence.

Jiang Ruoxu: "..."

Un-freaking-believable. "I accepted ≠ I agreed"? You’ve mastered the art of T0-level sophistry!

Jiang Hong the Emperor would probably keel over if he heard this.

[Hahaha, this Jiang Hong must be blind! Went his whole life without taking a disciple, and when he finally does, it’s an ungrateful brat. Half a lifetime’s savings—gone just like that~~~]

A wisp of a fragmented soul within Jiang Ruoxu’s ring sneered.

Clearly, this was Jiang Jiujian’s remnant soul, hiding within the ring to guide Jiang Ruoxu’s cultivation.

Jiang Che raised a brow, glancing thoughtfully at Jiang Ruoxu’s ring.

[What... why is this kid looking at me? Could he have sensed my presence? Impossible. Even as a remnant soul without cultivation, I shouldn’t be detectable by a junior like him...]

After a brief pause, Jiang Che averted his gaze.

Emperors were terrifying existences, capable of manifesting in the lower realms through various means.

Take Jiang Hong, for example—he had hidden a quasi-Emperor soul fragment within the Azure Dragon Ring, capable of unleashing a quasi-Emperor strike at a critical moment. But doing so came at the cost of immense karmic backlash. If left unused, fine... but the moment it was activated, the Heavenly Dao would immediately take notice!

Such karmic backlash could even threaten an Emperor’s life. Jiang Hong had clearly resolved to protect him at all costs.

As for this Jiang Jiujian, descending as a remnant soul without cultivation, he could only play the role of a "ring elder," offering guidance. Though there was still karmic backlash, the risk was far lower.

Regardless, the mortal realm was a backwater place where Emperors rarely deigned to interfere—let alone risk such consequences.

After all, Emperor-level powerhouses were Tier-1 combatants even in the Nine Heavens. There was no need for them to descend and court disaster.

...

"Sis... sister-in-law, please accept this Saint-grade spirit stone. You guided me onto the path of cultivation, and for that, I am eternally grateful."

Jiang Ruoxu extended a fire-attribute Saint-grade spirit stone toward Mo Lianxing.

The usually heartless woman wore a rare expression of melancholy. Master and disciple—to say there was no bond between them would be a lie, though it was strictly a master-disciple relationship.

She had always been ruthless, remaining unmoved by worldly attachments for over five thousand years in the cultivation world. A mere disciple could never sway her heart—yet she had fallen for Jiang Che.

But Jiang Ruoxu’s sudden gift of a Saint-grade spirit stone left her momentarily wistful.

"Since it’s your sincerity, this master won’t refuse."

Mo Lianxing accepted the stone, her heart aching even as she took it.

"Disciple, the path of cultivation... you must walk it alone from now on."

"If you encounter any insurmountable troubles, seek out your brother. My husband is quite capable."

With that, she hooked her arm around Jiang Che’s, adopting the demeanor of a delicate, dependent woman.

Jiang Ruoxu: "..."

Watching his master act so clingy, the last shred of gratitude he held for Jiang Che evaporated.

Even if Jiang Ruoxu were beaten to death, ganged up on by enemies, or struck by lightning, he would never come to Jiang Che for help!