“A person's energy is finite. When one's focus narrows onto a single matter, attention toward everything else will inevitably diminish.”
“What's more, the masterwork booklets that truly carry Senior Sister Zhao's power have already been drowned out by the countless crudely made imitations churned out by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. As a result, Heavenly Venerable Yixin's contagious influence has been constrained to the greatest possible extent.”
“What a brilliant move! I've learned something today,” exclaimed Ji Shaoli, whose keen sight missed none of the Alliance's maneuvers.
A moment later, his brows knitted slightly. “However, doing this can only mitigate the harm. It cannot completely end Senior Sister Zhao's influence...”
“The Alliance must have a follow-up move.”
Just as Ji Shaoli predicted.
While the vast majority of Alliance cultivators were absorbed in the deliberately stoked storm of public discussion, there remained a small handful who found no satisfaction in those crude imitations. They continued tirelessly searching for even more thrilling booklets.
Little did they know that anything circulating on the market was already under the strict, covert surveillance of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. It was only that the net had not yet been drawn.
When they finally managed, through painstaking effort, to locate a seller willing to deal, the moment the transaction was completed, they were rounded up in one fell swoop.
They were arrested on charges of attempting to subvert the Alliance.
Against the roaring tide of lively discussion, all this unfolded in utter silence. Had Ji Shaoli not already been keeping an eye on those cultivators, even he might not have noticed them evaporating from the face of the earth.
Muddying the waters on one hand while conducting sting operations on the other.
Through this two-pronged approach, it took a full three months before the fallout from Senior Sister Zhao's initial probing was finally neutralized by the Alliance.
“Though the Alliance appears to have won this clash on the surface, in truth it lost.”
Ji Shaoli shook his head in secret. “What did the Five Elders Association invest in this disturbance? Nothing more than mass-producible booklets. Yet the Alliance was forced to expend massive amounts of time and energy to quell the matter.”
“It was suppressed this time. But the Five Elders Association can stage a comeback at any moment at minimal cost, whereas the Alliance must remain on guard around the clock. Such is the overwhelming superiority of a Heavenly Venerable's power.”
“The Alliance's decline is fully exposed...”
“Still, I hope it can offer me a few pleasant surprises going forward.”
...
No topic stays sensational forever.
As time went on, the cultivators' interest in the released secret texts steadily waned.
In its place, the long-awaited Alliance induction examination was finally about to raise its curtain.
The reason this examination drew such immense attention—apart from its unprecedented scale—was an explosive piece of news newly issued by the Alliance.
To counter the predatory Five Elders Association, the Alliance would use this grand examination to select thirty-three “Immortal Chosen.”
Entrusted with the hope of resisting the Five Elders Association, anyone who became an Immortal Chosen would receive unreserved nurturing from the Alliance at any cost.
Everything required for advancement—medicinal pills, cultivation methods, grotto-heavens, nascent transformations, and even animas of Heaven and Earth...
The Alliance would provide it all free of charge!
Regardless of their original cultivation base, they were guaranteed to achieve the Dao Integration realm within ten years!
In this selection of the Immortal Chosen, family background and even cultivation talent were not the primary focus of evaluation.
The sole criterion that mattered was the cultivator's personal capability—whether they could play a unique role in the upcoming conflict against the Five Elders Association!
When the news broke, the cultivators of the Alliance instantly fell into a frenzy.
Cultivators, by and large, tended to think highly of themselves.
Even if their cultivation stalled for a time, they would never blame themselves.
They would only attribute the cause to external factors like techniques and resources.
“If I were a Dao Integration expert, wouldn't I be vastly stronger than those who climbed up relying solely on clan protection? We wouldn't be retreating step after step under the Five Elders Association's onslaught...”
Countless cultivators had this very thought surge into their minds the moment they heard the announcement.
In a rush of reckless enthusiasm, they swarmed toward the examination registration offices, throwing caution to the wind.
Even Ji Shaoli felt a brief flicker of temptation in that instant.
Yet it was merely a passing impulse.
Everything had a price. The price of being prematurely forced into growth and rushed to Dao Integration might be more than he could bear.
As an avatar entangled with the secrets of his true self, he would never take such a risk.
Then again, even if he wanted to, he might not be chosen.
How vast was the population of cultivators governed by the Alliance? To pick only thirty-three from among them...
Even if some might not fit the traditional definition of prodigies, every single one of them would surely possess their own unique edge.
Some who were down on their luck were no weaker than anyone else; they merely lacked an opportunity.
Once caught in the rising wind, they could soar and laugh proudly across the nine heavens!
Ji Shaoli had no doubt that among these thirty-three, there would emerge previously obscure figures who would shine brilliantly in this selection and shock the Xuanhuang Realm.
Yet a trace of perplexity still lingered in his mind.
Placing the hope of resisting the Five Elders Association on these Immortal Chosen—did that not imply that the current rulers were unequal to the task?
Why would the Alliance do something that slapped its own face so openly?
To say nothing of the mysterious Dharma Transmitters, even the prodigy divine souls chosen from the Eras had not taken the field yet.
The Alliance should not be incompetent to such a degree.
“Unless these thirty-three Dao Integration seeds, these so-called stars of hope...”
“are merely a front.”
“They have another purpose.”
Ji Shaoli's eyes flickered.
Under the watchful eyes of all, the Alliance Grand Examination officially commenced.
Its scale and stature far exceeded anything in the past.
Spanning a full month, all participating cultivators would travel to the examination grounds through each province's Heavenly Profound sub-mirror.
Until the grand examination concluded, the examination grounds remained entirely sealed and severed from the outside world.
Because the number of examinees was so overwhelmingly large, the provinces across the entire Alliance grew noticeably quiet and deserted.
During this month, the Alliance's interior lay hollowed out.
To guard against surprise attacks by the Five Elders Association, the Alliance not only deployed heavy forces along the borders in strict defense, but also launched a silent counteroffensive in the shadows.
Within the Spirit Wood Realm.
Li Fan, having temporarily paused his process of consuming the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, looked at the diamond-like, glittering sphere handed over by Lin Ling with a rather solemn expression.
This object had been sent over from the Five Elders Association.
As “business partners” who had already completed several successful transactions, the Five Elders Association had actually taken the initiative to come knocking and seek help this time...
This came as quite a surprise to Li Fan.
Supposedly, this sparkling sphere had caused no small amount of trouble for the Five Elders Association, and they had not yet found a way to counter it.
Left with no alternative, they reached out with the attitude of giving it a shot, hoping to see if the Ten Thousand Immortals Federation had any intelligence regarding it.
Chapter 846