The Supreme Elder of the Holy Land, Su Shuangyu; The Rules Left by Gu Changyuan

Su Wanqing froze for a moment upon hearing this, and then a wave of warmth and admiration rose in her heart.

Not only did this Senior possess heaven-defying strength, but he was also incredibly reasonable, completely lacking the arrogance commonly seen in top-tier experts.

"Thank you for your understanding, Senior!"

Su Wanqing thanked him with absolute sincerity, then turned to look at Meng Canglan.

Meng Canglan caught her gaze and hastily bowed:

"Rest assured, Fourth Miss. Everything will be completely inventoried and handed over before noon tomorrow. I wouldn't dare delay the journey of the Senior and the Miss!"

He then turned to Gu Changyuan, lowering his posture even further:

"Senior has traveled from afar and must be tired from the journey. If you do not mind, please rest temporarily at my humble abode.

The Meng family has prepared the guest courtyard, the Listening to the Waves Pavilion, for you. Whatever you need, you can order the servants to prepare it at any time."

Gu Changyuan gave a slight nod.

"Acceptable."

"Senior, Fourth Miss, right this way, please!"

Meng Canglan personally led the way, his attitude attentive in every possible way.

......

The Listening to the Waves Pavilion was ordinarily reserved exclusively for entertaining distinguished guests like the Su family.

The courtyard was quiet and secluded, surrounded by rockeries and flowing water, and the spiritual energy here was somewhat denser than outside.

There were eight wing rooms of varying sizes in the courtyard. The largest and most spacious main room was originally reserved for the leader of the Su family's delegation, but now it was naturally arranged for Gu Changyuan without any hesitation.

Meng Canglan personally ushered Gu Changyuan into the main room, attentively introducing the furnishings, and repeatedly stated that if he needed anything, he should just ask.

Seeing that Gu Changyuan had no further orders, he carefully bowed and retreated.

The interior layout was divided into an outer and an inner room.

The outer room was similar to a parlor, furnished with tables, chairs, and a tea set, with ink wash paintings hanging on the walls. The inner room served as both a bedroom and a quiet room for cultivation; it contained a Spirit Gathering Array, a cloud bed, and a meditation cushion, making it simple yet practical.

Once the Meng family members had withdrawn, only Gu Changyuan and Su Wanqing, who had not yet left, remained in the room.

Su Wanqing was just about to bow and take her leave to return to her assigned wing room when Gu Changyuan called out to her.

"Su Shuangyu, do you know her?"

Gu Changyuan's voice was calm, as if he were just asking casually.

Su Wanqing's delicate body trembled slightly, and obvious surprise flashed through her eyes.

She quickly concealed her expression and respectfully replied:

"To answer Senior, Su Shuangyu is this junior's third-generation ancestor, and one of the most outstanding figures in our Su family's history.

The venerable one is now... a Supreme Elder of the Tianren Holy Land."

The reason she was so familiar with the name of this ancient ancestral aunt was not because the family frequently proclaimed it, but because her parents had repeatedly reminded her when she was young.

If she encountered an invincible enemy while out adventuring, declaring the name of the Tianren Holy Land and her ancestral aunt Su Shuangyu would be far more effective than using the name of the Su family or even the Meng family.

The reason was simple: when it came to being fiercely protective of their own, the Tianren Holy Land was the absolute best in the Nine Heavens Realm, bar none.

Of course, this protection was not without its principles.

The Holy Land had an ironclad rule: if their disciples bullied others using their status or were in the wrong first, the Holy Land would not only refuse to shield them but would strictly punish them instead.

However, if outsiders humiliated a disciple of the Holy Land, and the fault lay with the other party, the Holy Land would strike like a thunderbolt, making the provocateur pay ten or a hundred times the price.

This rule had never wavered for a thousand years. Because of this, very few people dared to casually provoke disciples of the Tianren Holy Land when they traveled the world.

Su Wanqing recounted what she knew, her tone carrying deep reverence for the Holy Land and pride for her ancestral aunt.

Gu Changyuan listened quietly, his gaze profound.

When he first saw Su Wanqing, he had already inspected her aptitude through the system's basic functions.

A sixth-grade talent, reaching the peak of the Golden Core realm before the age of fifty.

Although she couldn't compare to the tenth-grade peerless geniuses he had selected back in the day, she still met the disciple recruitment standards of the Tianren Holy Land.

But it seemed that due to certain limitations she was unable to break through, or perhaps it was a heart demon, which would also cause her to fail the assessment.

Gu Changyuan had just conveniently utilized the system's remaining basic functions to check the disciple roster, and sure enough, he found the traces of the Su family within it.

Among the Su family descendants recorded on the roster, the one with the highest cultivation was Su Shuangyu, who was now at the seventh level of the Mahayana Realm and held the position of Supreme Elder in the Tianren Holy Land.

If the Su family's relationship with Su Shuangyu was close, Gu Changyuan wouldn't mind lending a hand to solve Su Wanqing's cultivation problem.

To be able to ascend to the rank of Supreme Elder in the Holy Land, she must have devoted a great deal of effort to the sect over the past millennium.

He had been a hands-off leader for one thousand one hundred years. The sect had grown from nothing to something, from small to large, and from complete obscurity to shaking the world, all relying on these disciples fighting and managing step by step.

Now that he had returned, although he didn't plan to immediately intervene in sect affairs and disturb them, conveniently helping out the descendants of these old acquaintances and solving problems they were powerless against could be considered a slight, insignificant compensation.

If it weren't for the cultivation supply from those sect factions, he probably would have become a desolate corpse long ago, ultimately turning to ash in the Ruins of Disorder.

Yet despite having the connection with Su Shuangyu, Su Wanqing still hadn't been able to enter the Tianren Holy Land.

Gu Changyuan already understood the reason in his heart.

This reminded him of when he first founded the Tianren Sect and established numerous rules for that group of disciples who possessed peerless talent but came from various backgrounds and had unsettled temperaments.

At that time, his own cultivation was not high, and the system was still in its developmental phase. Resources were limited, so he had to calculate carefully to ensure every bit of resource was used where it mattered most, while also avoiding internal friction within the sect to maintain healthy development.

He remembered personally carving down several core sect rules back then:

First, disciples of the same sect could spar and compete to increase their combat experience, but death matches were strictly forbidden; violators would be severely punished.

Second, when the sect recruited disciples, talent and character were paramount. They had to pass strict assessments, and any form of backdoor entry was strictly prohibited, even for the relatives of elders.

Third, if disciples caused disputes outside due to their own faults, the sect would punish them according to the severity of the situation. But if they were bullied by others while being in the right, the sect would definitely seek justice for them at any cost.

These rules were established back then to maximize the use of limited resources to cultivate core disciples, maintain the sect's stability, and simultaneously establish the sect's ethos.

He didn't expect that a thousand years later, the Tianren Holy Land would still be following them, and executing them so thoroughly.

This also explained why Su Wanqing, despite having the connection to Su Shuangyu and not lacking in talent, still failed to enter the Holy Land.

"So that's how it is."

Gu Changyuan nodded slightly, his gaze toward Su Wanqing gaining a bit of understanding and an imperceptible trace of approval.

This girl's temperament was actually quite good. When mentioning the glory of her ancestors and the prestige of the Holy Land, she had pride, but no arrogance.

After Su Wanqing finished explaining, she waited quietly for Gu Changyuan's next words.

She could sense that this Senior suddenly bringing up Supreme Elder Su Shuangyu was definitely not as simple as a casual question.