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nTranslator: Kazeyuki_ Editor: Jimmy_

nFeeling extremely light-hearted, Qin Wushuang knew that each person certainly had their own manner regarding how they conducted matters. And for someone like his teacher, surely he had his own intentions for his actions. Yet, from the bottom of his heart, he truly did not wish for his teacher to murder Old Man Ji Yin.

nThe Old Devil Ji Yin was someone in which Qin Wushuang hated from the bottom of his soul ever since he had entered the Upper Sky Realm. His act of willfully slaughtering innocents and vicious methods that had caused that catastrophic event at the Eastwood Town had inspired Qin Wushuang to become determined to kill him himself in order to console those deceased souls!

nOn the other hand, Emissary Liu said in a low voice: “Second Palace Master, that Old Devil Ji Yin has an unusually stubborn will. His compromise today was definitely not his true intentions, but in fear of your power. It was only a temporary compromise.”

nTan Zhongchi said lightly: “How could he conceal his little mind games from me? Of course, I had my own considerations since I did not kill him. Currently, although my Great Luo Empire appears glorious on the surface, the real situation is somewhat complicated. In the past few hundred years, the talent pool of the empire has gradually devolved into a horrible situation where every generation is weaker than the previous ones. It is an extremely dangerous sign. In the Tian Xuan Land, the downfall of an empire has always started from the reduction in the talent pool. Next, this gap will gradually become bigger. Once other empires discovers this gap, they would use force against it. Under the circumstance where the empire is attacked from both inside and outside, it would turn into an even less favorable situation…”

nBoth Emissary Liu and Qin Wushuang become stunned. Since the Second Palace Master had told them about this highly confidential matter, of course, he had saw them as his trusted aides.

n“For this martial arts student exam, the Great Luo Empire appeared to be the one hosting it. However, the truth is that it was conducted by the Stargaze Palace. Since even the Stargaze Palace had trouble in recruiting potential students, you can imagine the situation of the other powerhouses in the empire. The overall situation of the Great Luo Empire needs no explanation.”

n“Second Palace Master, the Palace has tens of thousands of students. There are thousands of Advanced Students, and close to hundreds of Core students, how could we possibly have a reduction in the talent pool?” Emissary Liu could not truly understand.

nSecond Palace Master smiled bitterly: “That’s it for the discussion of this matter. Any deeper and we will encroach on confidential information. Overall, to determine the rise and fall of a sect is not just by looking at the numbers. The crucial point is to look at the potential, especially the potential to become the most elite warrior!”

nEmissary Liu nodded thoughtfully because, he had experienced this aspect. Throughout the building of a sect, in fact, most the students were only there for appearance. In the end, only those few highly talented people at the top would decide the fate of the sect. It all depended on them whether or not a sect would have a future.

nSometimes, the emergence of a super warrior from a sect could even directly place higher than his own sect with his strength alone.

nImagine it, regardless of the size of the talents in the sects, it was inevitable for them to bow down before a powerful warrior that had reached the Perfect Stage of the Spiritual Force.

nOnce the warrior at Perfect Stage made a move, you would still become cannon dust regardless of the number of Upper Sky Realm students you had.

nIn the stage of the Spiritual Martial Force, the attack from one hundred Initial Stage warriors would still be useless against someone at the Perfect Stage. Unless they escaped through different directions, they would not escape the fate of getting killed.

nThus, Tan Zhongchi had spoke his words from experience.

nEmissary Liu nodded, then he asked: “This way, Second Palace Master had let that Old Devil Ji Yin go inconsideration of the overall situation in the Great Luo Empire.”

n“That’s right. The Old Devil Ji Yin may be vicious, ruthless and sly, yet in the Great Luo Empire, his strength is counted as a talent. It is one reason that killing him felt like a shame, but most importantly, if I had slaughtered the entire Ji Yin sect, it would surely create an uneasy atmosphere for the other powerhouses in the Empire. It would influence the stability of the Great Luo Empire. To kill or not to kill had a huge meaning behind it. The only exception was if that Old Devil Ji Yin asked to die himself, or else I had not truly intended to kill him today.”

nSuddenly, Emissary Liu said: “That the personal grudge between Marquis Wushuang and the Old Devil Ji Yin…”

nTan Zhongchi said: “That will come later. I had set a ten year promise. Within these ten years, for sure, the Old Devil Ji Yin would not dare to make a move. And after ten years, if Wushuang has demonstrated enough potential and strength, then of course he would have a say in the Stargaze Palace. Whether to kill Ji Yin, at that time, he would have the power to make the decision.”

nThen, he said to Qin Wushuang: “Wushuang, ten years is my expectation for you. After ten years, if you can not surpass the Old Devil Ji Yin, then I would be disappointed.”

nQin Wushuang immediately said: “I will work with my utmost effort, and I would not dare to betray your trust.”

n“Good! Good ambition, good man!” Tan Zhongchi laughed, “Enough with the chit-chat, let’s go to Stargaze Palace immediately and to see the other Palace Masters. I will let them know that I did not make an empty trip and took in a very good student, haha.”

nAmong the five Palace Masters, besides the absolute superiority from the Head Palace Mater, the remaining four still had some internal competition. They especially valued the growth of their students with great importance.

nThey would often fight and become flustered with anger when a good potential sprout appeared. For this trip, Tan Zhongchi had won this opportunity against the other Palace Masters with his brilliant words.

nFortunately, he had gained something on this trip. Or else, when he returned, he would become a laughingstock among the other Palace Masters.

n…

nThe Stargaze Palace was located in the number one mountain range of the Great Luo Empire—Virtuous Heaven Mountain Range.

nStretching for tens of thousands of miles, this Virtuous Heaven Mountain Range could not be said as having the most rich Spiritual Qi. However, inside the Great Luo Empire, it was the most unique existence.

nBecause of it, it could nurture the humongous sect like the Stargaze Palace and supported a middle ranking Empire like the Great Luo!

n“Marquis Wushuang, our Stargaze Palace is divided by the main, front, back, left and right Palaces. Thus, there are five Palace Masters. Usually, the Five Masters oversee the five Palaces. However, they would meet at the main Palace to discuss matters. Your teacher, the Second Palace Master is the head of the Green Cloud Front Palace Hall…”

nEmissary Liu explained patiently. It seemed that he intended to make friends with Qin Wushuang, the future popular guy. Unpretentiously, Qin Wushuang also listened attentively.

nRegardless, it would not be a bad thing to join such a large sect. Since he became part of it, it was essential for him to acquire some fundamental knowledge.

nAt the moment, he listened to the instructions humbly.

nAt the same time, he said with courtesy: “Emissary Liu, these three words “Marquis Wushuang” was an address from the Bai Yue Country. I am afraid it would not be suitable when people from the Stargaze Palace call me this. If you would not mind, please call me Little Brother Wushuang, or Little Brother Qin. And I could call you Big Brother Liu, how about it?”

nNaturally, calling each other brothers would pull closer the relationships. It was exactly of what Emissary Liu looked for as he smiled: “Since Little Brother Wushuang says so, I would not mind calling myself the Big Brother.”

n“This is the way it should be, how could it be out of bounds? Please don’t put yourself out with the formality. In the future, I would still very much hope you could help with my many questions.”

n“Haha, of course. I will use all my efforts to help with your questions. Right, Little Brother Wushuang, let me tell you more about the situation in the Stargaze Palace. Besides the five Palace Halls, amongst the tens pf thousands students in the Palace, only the Advanced students are eligible to enter the main Virtuous Heaven mountain range to train. And for the Virtuous Heaven Summit, the core of the mountain range, only the Core students can enter. The rest of the non-Advanced students can only train on the other branches of the mountain range. The treatment within is entirely different. Such classification is also to stimulate students from different ranks to train harder. It would not matter if you were in the Lowest ranking, you could work hard and would have a chance to advance during each year’s advancement exam. The same goes if you wanted to advance to become a Core student, as long as you demonstrated strength…The same principle applies to Core students, if you don’t work hard and do not achieve a reasonable grade, you would be downgraded. With this grading system, could you understand?”

nIt was not difficult to understand. After all, the core was only four words—Survival of the fittest.

n“You have explained it with such clarity, I would be a wooden block if I did not understand it. Haha, allow me to ask, how exactly is this grading system implemented?”

nEmissary Liu smiled and said: “It is easy in fact. The last place gets disqualified. It is only a problem of the number of spots available. For example, there are only three to five spots available for Core Students each year. If you place last in the exam, naturally you would be downgraded. And if an Advanced Student wanted to become a Core, they would advance automatically if they could place in the first five or the first three. As for Lowest students to become Advanced Student, there are a dozen of spots. On the contrary, they would have much more opportunities.”

nQin Wushuang nodded for he had understood most of it. Suddenly, he asked with a smile: “Big Brother, you have a superior position in the Stargaze Palace, you are already one of the Core, right?”

n“Yes, the ten Emissaries are all Core Students. And the most popular students to the Five Palace Masters are also Core students. Some students of the Kings and the Elders are also part of the Core. Overall, there are less than a hundred spots in the Core category. But, since you have the most exceptional talent, I believe that Second Palace Master will definitely get you a spot in the Core.”

n…

nJust as Emissary Liu was explaining to Qin Wushuang about the Stargaze Palace, at the same time, the Second Palace Master was having a heated debate with the other four Palace Masters.

n“Head Master, please say something, I have finally took in such a student. If you don’t give me the spot of the Core, I would not agree with it.” Tan Zhongchi, the Second Palace Master yelled with a deep voice.

nApparently, they had already gone through some heated discussion. It seemed that the Head Palace Master had not voiced his opinion during this time. And the other three Palace Masters all shared the same idea and would not allow an exception.

nRegardless of who entering the Stargaze Palace, they must follow the rules and start from the Lowest. It was an ironclad rule, and rarely were there any exceptions.

nWhile the Head Master stayed silent, the other Palace Masters were firmly in disagreement.

n“Second Palace Master, this is not what you should do. Our Stargaze Palace was able to become the number one sect, and the backbone to the Great Luo Empire because of these ironclad rules. If this time, you wanted an exception, then in the future, everyone would wanted a spot for the Core, wouldn’t it become chaotic? What good would it do to us if we had an overabundance of Core students?”

nFifth Palace Master was the first one to disagree. Ever since the Second Palace Master had grabbed the upper hand, he had harbored a grudge. How could he agree right now?

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