Notes from Yuanling City (V)

The obese cultivator in luxurious clothes sitting opposite him gave a disdainful smile. He first raised his hands and cupped them in greeting to the surrounding onlookers before speaking to the thin cultivator.

Liu Chun, a person must have a conscience. You have been with the Wu family for ten years. Over these ten years, my Wu family has never mistreated you, and your monthly stipend has always been paid in full. I never expected that you would now turn around and make false countercharges. It truly opens this Wu's eyes!

You claim our Wu family promised you a quota for the Tianxuan Sect. Is that even possible? Let me ask you, in the entire Yuanling City, which family would be so generous as to hand over a Tianxuan Sect quota to an outsider on a silver platter?

Hearing his words, the surrounding onlookers nodded in agreement.

That is right, a quota for the Tianxuan Sect is incredibly hard to come by. I heard that those large families only get five or six quotas every few decades. The rest of the people have to go test their aptitudes and join through normal channels.

There were also newcomers who did not quite understand the hidden rules here and asked in confusion.

Since there are normal channels for recruiting disciples, why are these extra quotas given by the Tianxuan Sect so precious?

Sigh! Fellow Daoist, you do not understand. If you take the normal route and your aptitude is poor, even if you enter the Tianxuan Sect, you will likely just be a handyman disciple for the rest of your life, or at most an outer sect disciple. But these extra quotas from the Tianxuan Sect are direct admissions for inner sect disciples! The difference between the two is simply too vast...

If that is the case, isn't this Fellow Daoist named Liu Chun being too delusional? The Wu family never deducted his stipend, yet he still wants to extort a Tianxuan Sect quota from them. This is truly...

Listening to the continuous discussions of the people around him, Liu Chun only felt a mix of shame and anger in his heart. He said indignantly.

Wu Sanbao, you are spitting blood and slandering me! It was clearly your Wu family who promised me the quota first, and even said the stipend would not be exempted. Otherwise, why would I have given up the once-in-a-century Talisman Master Conference to become a talisman guest elder for your lowly Wu family!

As soon as these words came out, many people were quite surprised.

To think that this was actually a formidable figure whose goal was the Talisman Master Conference!

The Talisman Master Conference was a grand event jointly held by the Southern Spirit Domain and the Northern Spirit Domain. Its purpose was to discover the most talented talisman masters in the two domains. After gaining the recognition of the Talisman Master Conference, the conference would issue corresponding title tokens to these talisman masters according to their ranks. The holders of the highest-level tokens could even join the legendary Talisman Sect!

Therefore, many highly talented talisman masters would set participating in the Talisman Master Conference as their goal. Moreover, because this Talisman Master Conference was only held once every hundred years, and combined with its strict assessments, the number of people who could obtain a title token in each conference was basically no more than a dozen. So, unless someone was truly exceptionally gifted, very few people genuinely worked towards it as their goal.

That was why people reacted the way they did.

However, the obese cultivator called Wu Sanbao gave a cold laugh and said.

Liu Chun, do you truly not feel ashamed making such shameless boasts? With just your abilities, you have the nerve to say you originally planned to participate in the Talisman Master Conference?

Back then, our Wu family only extended a helping hand because we saw how pitiful and destitute you looked. We let you hold a guest elder position in our Wu family, but we never expected to raise such an ungrateful wretch!

Look at yourself. You were at the early Foundation Establishment stage when you first joined our Wu family, and now, after all these years, your cultivation has not advanced a single step. Yet you still have the nerve to say you were aiming for the Talisman Master Conference back then? It is truly laughable!

You! Hearing him actually say such things, Liu Chun was already enraged to the extreme, his eyes practically splitting open in anger.

Do you not know why my cultivation has not advanced a single step!

If it were not because you promised me the quota, why would I have spent day and night crafting talismans all these years, to the point of delaying my own cultivation!

I never expected that today you would not only go back on your word but also falsely accuse me! Fine, fine! Your Wu family... from this day forward, I am absolutely irreconcilable with your Wu family!

Upstairs, Lin Xiao was still attentively watching the confrontation between the two. Both sides had their own stories, and for a moment, the onlookers did not know who was actually telling the truth.

Lin Xiao was not sure either. After all, he was not familiar with the atmosphere of the cultivation world, and there were all kinds of people. He thought it was possible that the Wu family, being the local tyrants, was using their power to bully others. But it was also not impossible that this Liu Chun was disguising himself as the weaker party to gain sympathy and seek benefits for himself.

Lin Xiao had no intention of getting involved in this matter. Having watched enough of the drama, he was just about to close the window and go back to eating his roast suckling pig when he heard a crisp and melodious voice coming from an adjacent private room.

Why don't the two of you each swear a Heavenly Oath, stating that what you say is absolutely true? Wouldn't that solve it?

The crisp female voice seemed to be laced with spiritual energy, spreading throughout the entire hall.

Hearing this, the surrounding crowd chimed in.

Yes, yes, since your stories are different, why not just swear a Heavenly Oath.

A Heavenly Oath is not something you can just swear so easily...

Seeing that the situation, where both sides stuck to their own versions of the story, might still have a plot twist, Lin Xiao was just getting ready to wait for the follow-up. Unexpectedly, Liao Pantu behind him suddenly waved his hand and closed the window in front of him.

I am full. It is too noisy here, let us go.

Lin Xiao turned to look at him in some surprise.

Don't do that, Senior. Let's wait a bit longer, I want to see the outcome.

Liao Pantu rolled his eyes at him.

What outcome is there to see? There is no need to look. Regardless of who is right or wrong in this matter, the Wu family will definitely be the winner in the end. Alright, let us hurry up and leave. We should watch less of these messy affairs, lest it ruins my good mood.

Hearing this, Lin Xiao felt that there seemed to be a hidden meaning in his words. After thinking about it, he did not ask for details. He nodded, walked over to the table, and said.

Alright, since you do not like it, let us leave then.

Saying so, he stored his half of the roast suckling pig and the completely untouched plate of Eight-Crisp Silver Tail Fish from the table into his private storage. Liao Pantu also shrank back into the Soul Nourishing Jade and floated into Lin Xiao's embrace.

There were quite a few people watching the commotion outside, filling the hall to the brim in multiple layers. Lin Xiao had to struggle to squeeze his way along the edges just to get out of the Immortal Fragrance Pavilion.

After coming out, he pondered for a moment and sent a sound transmission to ask Liao Pantu.

Senior, do you still want to return to your cave dwelling?

Liao Pantu replied.

You do not need to accommodate me. Just do whatever you want to do.

So Lin Xiao smiled and replied.

Alright. I plan to stay in the city for these few days before heading to the Ice Plains Mystic Realm. I will not go back, to save the time wasted on traveling back and forth. This will also make it easier for me to gather some new information, and I can see what preparations people generally make when going to a mystic realm...

During the few days Lin Xiao was away, in the peaceful Xiushui Village, Sun Yigao's private school officially began enrolling students after the custom-made desks and chairs arrived.