Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Elders, the expressions on your faces don’t seem too pleasant, can you speak up and let this Sect Leader help you through it?”

Sect Leader Yu Shu didn’t care about the thoughts of the Inner and Outer Sect disciples at all. As soon as his voice fell, he turned his head to the two Great Elders, and his question made everyone’s faces look somewhat awkward.

Just now, the atmosphere in the hall was tense to the extreme. If Yu Shu had arrived a little later, it’s likely that the two Great Elders would have already made their moves.

No one would think that Yu Shu was unaware of the intricacies involved. To sit in the position of the Sect Leader, and to integrate the Medical Pulse and Poison Pulse so well, this Sect Leader was definitely not as simple and gentle as he appeared on the surface.

To be honest, if Yu Shu had come in and reprimanded the two Great Elders right off the bat, perhaps they wouldn’t have felt such enormous pressure. But, as it happened, the Sect Leader amiably asked the question, which left them somewhat at a loss for words.

This was the strategy of the Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect: soft spoken yet with a hint of veritable severity in his words, which sometimes could be more distressing than outright scolding. Thus, for the time being, the two Great Elders remained silent.

”Well, since the Elders are not speaking up, let this Sect Leader take a guess!”

Yu Shu, whether intentionally or not, spoke again, and his gaze directly shifted to a young man in plain clothes, probing, ”I guess the two Elders are being so intractable over a certain talent, right?”

After these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was no longer doubtful. This Sect Leader must have had a clear understanding in his heart, like a mirror, seeing through everything. He hit the nail on the head.

Upon hearing this, the two Great Elders remained silent. In fact, disputes like this had occurred not just once or twice before, but they had never been so intense.

Moreover, neither of the two wanted to give up Yun Xiao. Even with the Sect Leader present, they had to fight for a resolution. They absolutely could not let such a ”talent” fall into the other’s hands.

”Let me guess again, which talented individual is so important that the Elders are ready to clash, even willing to take action rather than give in?”

Yu Shu’s gaze swept over the two Great Elders, and while speaking, it already fell on Yun Xiao. But upon seeing him, he expressed his surprise, ”He’s only at the Peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm? Young man, what is your name?”

Although Yu Shu spoke of guessing, from the first glance, he had already recognized Yun Xiao, and his words lacked the intention of guessing—they seemed more like he had a specific target all along.

In the presence of the highest authority of the Jade Pot Sect, Yun Xiao did not dare to neglect showing respect and immediately bowed, replying, ”My name is Yun Xiao!”

”Yun Xiao, a good name. I do like people who are always smiling!” Upon hearing this, Yu Shu laughed and continued, but his praise made everyone, including Yun Xiao himself, have somewhat peculiar expressions.

In fact, Yun Xiao’s name stemmed from his mother Shang Li’s wish for him to always smile, but whether as Yun Xiao of the Shang Family, or Yun Xiao reincarnated from the Long Xiao Battle God, he seldom laughed heartily. Unexpectedly, the Sect Leader would strike up a conversation with this pretext.

However, since Yu Shu had given a compliment, Yun Xiao could not refute and could only reply with an awkward smile, ”You flatter me too much, Sect Leader!”

A dialogue between the ruler of the Jade Pot Sect and a Peak Meridian Gathering Realm Outer Disciple was baffling to the crowd, leaving them unable to grasp what was happening.

”Yun Xiao, I ask you, are the Elders arguing over you?”

Yu Shu didn’t specify what ”like this” meant, but everyone clearly understood, and they didn’t know why the Sect Leader would still ask such a question, which made them even more puzzled.

”Sect Leader, this young man’s Poison Meridian Skill is extraordinary, truly a rare talent of the Poison Vein!”

Somehow, Fu Du suddenly spoke up, seemingly adamant about not giving up Yun Xiao—a boy with endless secrets which he must claim for the Poison Vein.

”I was speaking with Yun Xiao, why are you interrupting?”

Just after Fu Du finished speaking, a chilling gaze was cast upon him, followed by a voice that made him tremble.

The one who spoke, naturally, was Yu Shu, the Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect. Only by this time did Yun Xiao and the surrounding Inner and Outer Sect disciples begin to witness the assertive side of the Sect Leader.

Since entering the hall, Yu Shu had always exhibited a gentle demeanor, making people subconsciously think he was as compassionate as Lu Zhan.

But to become the Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect, was it possible for him to be weak and incapable, especially when even a Spiritual Rank Poison Vein Master like Fu Du would willingly obey him?

Before Fu Du had thought to himself that having refined the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad, he need not fear the Great Elder Lu Zhan, and perhaps he even possessed the power to fight against the Sect Leader.

But at this moment, when he was glared at by Yu Shu and coldly rebuked, he suddenly realized that although his Poison Meridian Skill had significantly improved, this Sect Leader was still an enigma to him.

Therefore, Fu Du immediately fell silent. Compared with the newly promoted Outer Disciples like Yun Xiao, he probably understood the Sect Leader’s formidable power even better. If he truly angered him, despite being the Second Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, the outcome would undoubtedly be unbearable.

After intimidating Fu Du, Yu Shu turned back, once again adopting a benign demeanor as he continued to inquire, ”Yun Xiao, you have not yet answered my earlier question!”

Yun Xiao was somewhat stupefied and after a moment, he mumbled back, ”It should... be so!”

No matter how thick-skinned Yun Xiao was, in front of the Sect Leader and so many disciples, he could not directly admit that the two Great Elders were ready to brawl over him, as that would be giving himself too much credit.

Having received the answer he expected, Yu Shu nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said, ”Yun Xiao, the Jade Pot Sect is a whole. The peaceful coexistence of the Medical Pulse and Poison Vein has not been easy to achieve. Are you willing to help me with a favor?”

Suddenly changing the subject, Yu Shu surprised not only Yun Xiao but also many of the Inner and Outer Sect Disciples, as well as Lu Zhan and Fu Du who were taken aback.

Everyone knew that there was only one Yun Xiao. Regardless of whether he chose the Medical Pulse or the Poison Vein, it would offend the other, thereby disrupting the hard-won peace between medicine and poison that Yu Shu had spoken of.

Such a contradiction, everyone thought, might be something that even Yu Shu, the Sect Master, would struggle to resolve. So when he spoke out, everyone stared blankly at Yun Xiao, wanting to see how he would respond.

”Sect Leader, you flatter me too much, I’m not sure how I can be of help?”

Yun Xiao, whose thoughts were intricate, did not hastily agree but instead asked a question back. However, he was very curious to see what kind of perfect solution the Sect Leader had in mind.

”This kid, really astute!”

Hearing Yun Xiao’s retort, a trace of admiration appeared on Yu Shu’s face. After muttering in his heart, he spoke forthrightly, ”I want to accept you as a Direct Disciple. What do you think?”

”What? Did I hear that wrong?”

As Yu Shu’s shocking words were uttered, the entire arena hall became silent, to the point where even the breathing of the crowd seemed to quieten down.

At this moment, be it the Outer Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, or even the three Great Elders, all felt as if the wind was too strong and they had not heard clearly, because this situation was entirely beyond their imagination.

Setting aside the new Outer Disciples like Yun Xiao, all the Elders and Inner Sect Disciples, as well as the veteran Outer Disciples, knew that the Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect never accepted disciples.

Otherwise, why would the most brilliant talents of both the Medical and Poison veins of the Jade Pot Sect be disciples of the Great Elder and Second Elder? If the Sect Leader had disciples, wouldn’t that be incredibly contradictory?

The underlying reason was that Yu Shu had never taken any disciples. This may have been his method to balance the two veins, or perhaps he had never encountered a young talent that caught his eye.

Only the few Great Elders truly understood that the tradition of the Jade Pot Sect Leader not taking disciples had been established since the founding of this powerful sect.

To say the least, as far as those Great Elders were aware, for hundreds of years, no Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect had ever taken a single disciple.

Even when encountering incredibly talented youths, those Sect Leaders would only recommend them to the controlling Elders of either the Medical Pulse or Poison Vein, which had become a fixed pattern within the Jade Pot Sect.

Therefore, compared to the younger disciples, the Great Elders were already experiencing tumultuous shockwaves in their hearts. Was the Sect Leader intending to break the centuries-old tradition of the Jade Pot Sect?

This very day, in this arena hall, the current Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect, Yu Shu, unexpectedly announced in the presence of many talented youths and the Great Elders that he wanted to accept Yun Xiao as a Direct Disciple.

As for the reason mentioned by Yu Shu, the Great Elders chose to selectively ignore it. Leaving aside whether Yun Xiao’s demonstrated talent was necessarily stronger than Mo Qing’s, even if that were the case, it wouldn’t be sufficient for Yu Shu to break this centuries-old unwritten rule, would it?

Previously, there were instances when the Medical and Poison veins had fought fiercely over exceptional youths, and even came to blows, but during those times, Yu Shu would at most intervene to mediate.

Merely because of a word from Sect Leader Yu Shu, the atmosphere in the hall became several times more bizarre and tense than before, completely overturning the understanding of many Inner Sect Disciples and Elders.

Everyone turned their dazed gaze from the Sect Leader and eventually, all eyes rested on that young man in plain clothes, filled with envy, fervor, jealousy, resentment, and a plethora of emotions!