Selection Ceremony

Hearing Lin Yi's sigh through the microphone. At the Think Tank conference site. Zhou Jianmin, Huang Rong, and the others also grew somewhat somber: "......" Although they had not personally experienced transmigration. Still, reading between the lines, they could more or less sense the hardships and helplessness of those past years. "Sorry, Director Zhou." After a silence, Lin Yi composed himself and apologized to Zhou Jianmin: "Once a person gets up in years, they can't help but feel melancholy. My apologies, my apologies—please forgive me." Hearing this, Zhou Jianmin also snapped back to reality and waved his hand casually, not taking it to heart: "Comrade Lin Yi, there's no sin to speak of. We don't stand on ceremony; it's only human nature, understandable." According to the pre-meeting analysis of several behavioral experts. If Lin Yi showed even a little loss of composure during the exchange, it would actually be a very positive signal. It showed that he trusted the state from the bottom of his heart, and was not producing temporary emotions due to pressure from the sect's Great Calamity. Then Academician Huang Rong cleared his throat, took over the conversation, and summarized: "In short, Comrade Lin Yi—spiritual energy, cultivation techniques, and innate aptitude are the three core elements of cultivation, right?" "Yes," Lin Yi affirmed, though after thinking for a moment he added simply, "Apart from that, there are also resources like medicinal pills and herbs. They are auxiliary items that help if available, but even without them, one can barely cultivate by breathing in spiritual energy." Although there were stenographers and audio-video backups at the scene, Huang Rong still picked up his pen and recorded Lin Yi's words one by one in detail. With this explanation from Lin Yi, the research direction for getting started in cultivation was now at least clear. Soon afterward. Huang Rong raised his head again and exchanged a glance with Zhou Jianmin in the head seat. Zhou Jianmin gestured the number two to him. Huang Rong immediately understood. By now in their exchange, the home world could be said to have initially understood the Tianling Continent and cultivation. The remaining content was either something Lin Yi himself didn't know, or could be referenced in more detailed written records. Therefore, the next phase of the discussion should tilt toward Guihua Sect. After all, earlier both sides had focused their energy on eliminating the Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beast, so the home world actually knew very little about Guihua Sect. Apart from the fact that Lin Yi was a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was limited to just the names and genders of Zhao Ping and Su Qing. And if the two worlds wanted normal exchanges in the future, Guihua Sect was clearly an important Node that could not be avoided. Then Huang Rong took out a blister pack of medicine from his person, popped out one pill, swallowed it with tea, and only then said to Lin Yi: "Comrade Lin Yi, we've talked about so many external matters. Now could you introduce the internal situation of Guihua Sect?" "No problem." Lin Yi had also been wondering how to ask about the organization's arrangements for Guihua Sect, so hearing this, he immediately followed Huang Rong's lead and began to speak: "Guihua Sect currently has thirty-six people in total, six of whom are in management, with exactly thirty disciples." "Three cultivators at Foundation Establishment or above, four at Qi Condensation Late Stage, ten in the early and middle stages of Qi Refining, and the rest are in the Awakening stage." As a small sect established for barely thirty years, Guihua Sect's internal hierarchy was actually very simple. Apart from Lin Yi, this founding patriarch on his last legs. The remaining five members of management correspond to second-generation disciples, and everyone below management belongs to the third generation. In the entire sect, the highest aptitude belongs to two people with four spiritual roots. These two are Lin Yi's Personal Disciple Su Qing, and the eldest senior brother Wei Chongshan, the only one among the third-generation disciples to reach Qi Condensation Late Stage. Zhao Ping and the other eight disciples have five spiritual roots, just like Lin Yi. As for the two Executors, or Armorer Lu Yang, plus the remaining third-generation disciples, they all have six spiritual roots. A few minutes later. After listening to Lin Yi's introduction. Zhou Jianmin and Huang Rong looked at each other once again: "......." Although they knew Guihua Sect's foundations were not that rich, they truly hadn't expected it to be so pathetic—no, so threadbare to this extent... "Cough cough..." Then Huang Rong politely cleared his throat to slightly ease the awkward atmosphere, and asked Lin Yi: "Comrade Lin Yi, do these disciples have any blood relation to you or the other transmigrators?" Lin Yi shook his head: "None." Including Lin Yi himself. None of the three founding patriarchs of Guihua Sect left blood descendants. Professor Xu Hua had an elderly wife back in his homeland with whom he had weathered hardship for most of his life, and Wu Xiangnan had a lover, married for only two years. Although both were in a foreign land, they remained utterly faithful to their spouses and never formed another marriage bond until death. As for Lin Yi... Before transmigrating, he was a wretched bachelor, but after coming to the Tianling Realm, he had spent years struggling to survive, so he never married. There were a few times when he couldn't hold back and wanted to indulge in some debauchery, but after weighing his Storage Pouch and looking at little Su Qing's empty rice bowl, he continued to honestly work as a craftsman. As for the other transmigrators... There were two who were of compatible age and developed feelings after long years of companionship, but after marriage, limited by their precarious living conditions, they never had children. Finally, during an expedition to clear a secret realm, they encountered an accident and both perished, buried in a foreign land with regrets. Two others, because they had no hope in cultivation, left without saying goodbye on a certain morning fifty years ago, and their whereabouts remain unknown. But at least before leaving the team, neither had started a family. "Is that so..." Huang Rong sighed regretfully and wrote a note in his notebook: 【Highly suspected "nestlings."】 Then he put down his fountain pen and continued asking: "Comrade Lin Yi, how are the sect's disciples recruited?" "Mm, a small portion are orphans picked up like Su Qing and Zhao Ping." Mentioning the past of picking up the two children, a smile still rose at the corner of Lin Yi's mouth, but it soon faded. "However, most disciples enter the sect through the Selection Ceremony." Huang Rong was momentarily stunned: "Selection Ceremony?" "Yes," Lin Yi made an acknowledging sound, and turned toward the southeast of the forbidden ground, explaining: "Four hundred li outside Guihua Sect is a city called Jiuwu City. Uh... in nature, it can be considered the hub of the entire region." "Guihua Sect, as well as other small and medium sects, must regularly pay a batch of cultivation resources to Jiuwu City." "In return, we can establish strongholds in the city, and Jiuwu City also holds a Selection Ceremony every two Tianling years, screening children with qualifying aptitude from the common people and assigning them one by one to the various great sects..." Although the civilizational structure differs from Earth. Because of the existence of extraordinary power, the scale of cities in the Tianling Realm is no smaller than that of the home world. Even a small city has a population exceeding several hundred thousand. A slightly larger one can easily exceed a million, and a prefectural capital can even reach over a hundred million. The Jiuwu City mentioned by Lin Yi is a standard mid-sized city. Its permanent population exceeds two million, controlled by three great cultivation families, and they jointly hold a Selection Ceremony every two years. Within Jiuwu City. As long as they meet the age requirement. Children of appropriate age, regardless of background, may participate in the ceremony's aptitude test. This is the only opportunity for many mortal-class people to leap upward in society, and also the main channel for small and medium sects to recruit disciples. Of course. The specific distribution rules for talent still depend on each sect's strength, and the quantity and quality of resources paid up. In the early years after Guihua Sect was founded, Lin Yi and the others couldn't even muster the quota needed for the Selection Ceremony. Not until twenty years ago did the sect have some spare resources to begin paying tribute to Jiuwu City, but the quality of the resources was barely adequate. The sect's strength was at the bottom, and the resources paid were few, so the final distribution results were predictable—the quality of disciples obtained each time was basically one five spiritual root matched with a few six spiritual roots, just getting by. Over all these Selection Ceremonies. Lin Yi had only once, nine years ago, had a stroke of enormous luck and snagged Wei Chongshan, who had four spiritual roots.