"Child, once you enter the Butian Pavilion, you must work hard and not disappoint the expectations of our tribe."
"The Ancient Pure Land is extraordinary; it has produced deities. Do not be mischievous here. Listen to your teachers and practice diligently."
A group of tribal elders from large tribes repeatedly advised their children, urging them to cultivate their supernatural powers diligently, so they could protect the tribe in the future.
Over three thousand children, their eyes red with tears, stood beside their elders, listening to their teachings and wiping away their tears. They were about to part ways, not knowing when they would meet again. Many elders might have passed away by then.
"Take care, elders."
These children were outstanding talents selected from the tribes due to their good aptitude. Most were not the direct descendants of these elders, but they were still reluctant to part. It was the elders who had brought them across hundreds of thousands of miles of wilderness to this place, giving them such a life-changing opportunity.
A small boy stood among the crowd, missing his home but without any relatives or elders here. He pretended to wipe his tears and held onto an unknown elder, sobbing.
"Whose child is this?" The old man was puzzled. He did not remember this boy as one of his tribe, but with so many children crying, it was hard to keep track.
"Don't cry, child. Just focus on your cultivation," the elder comforted.
"Thank you, Grandpa. I will," the little boy replied. Seeing fewer children crying, he stopped sobbing altogether and turned away, not a tear on his face, leaving the elder bewildered.
Finally, the large mountain gate quieted down significantly. All the tribal elders from the major tribes had left, taking nearly ninety thousand young people who had not passed the test with them.
Three thousand children remained, densely packed. The elder sitting cross-legged on the large blue stone at the mountain gate had a headache. In previous years, they only accepted a few hundred disciples each year. This time, there were too many, over three thousand. Arranging them would be a problem.
Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun stood nearby, their heads lowered, feeling extremely frustrated. They had really messed up this time and felt ashamed in front of the senior elders of the sect.
"Let it be. Bring them all into the sect and take more care of them. Everyone should take on more disciples," the elder sitting cross-legged said, his eyes reflecting a scene of creation, a truly awe-inspiring sight.
The mountain gate was grand, composed of two stone mountains, majestic and solemn. Many elders of the Butian Pavilion appeared, leading the children inside to pay homage to the ancestral founder.
Only upon reaching this place could one be considered to have entered the Butian Pavilion. The inside was vast, with one beautiful mountain after another, covered with lush trees, pavilions, and cascading waterfalls.
It was like a fairyland, with each beautiful peak shrouded in mist and filled with a harmonious atmosphere.
This was the Ancient Pure Land, filled with spiritual energy, lush with ancient trees, flowing with spiritual springs and waterfalls, and inhabited by auspicious birds and beasts, resembling a mythical world.
"This place is truly special. Just breathing in the air makes all my pores relax. It's perfect for cultivation," many young people exclaimed in delight.
"Yes, it's true. I feel like my cultivation speed can increase several times here," a group of youths said excitedly.
"Those birds look really plump. They seem to be Fire Sparrows, and they look delicious," the little boy mumbled, drooling.
Near Stone Village, there were small Luan birds, also spiritual birds, but the tribe leader wouldn't let them hunt them easily. The little boy still reminisced about their taste.
"There are so many Fire Sparrows here. It should be fine to eat one occasionally," the little boy muttered to himself.
"What are you talking about?" a boy next to him asked, looking puzzled.
"Nothing. By the way, look over there. It seems to be a Scarlet Jiao Vine. It's a spiritual herb. Can we take a piece? It's over two meters long," the little boy tried to change the subject, but ended up talking about another powerful spiritual herb, causing the boy next to him to shrink back and quickly turn away, not wanting to get into trouble in the Pure Land.
"Where's Hairball? When I bring it here in the future, it will definitely find a lot of spiritual herbs on these spiritual mountains," the little boy thought happily.
Each beautiful peak had ancient trees, old herbs, and spiritual birds. Some even had spiritual energy rising directly from them. The little boy guessed that there must be some spiritual herbs growing there.
Unknowingly, they arrived at a large open area surrounded by glowing spiritual mountains. In the center stood a massive stone statue, carved from a stone mountain, towering and majestic.
"This is our ancestor. To enter the Butian Pavilion, you must first pay homage to the ancestor."
The statue, though huge, was weathered and worn by time, barely recognizable as a human figure, let alone its gender.
"Pay homage to the ancestor," an elder called out, leading over three thousand children in a grand ceremony.
"Is it an old man or an old lady, or perhaps a sacrificial spirit? Have you heard?" the little boy whispered to the boy next to him.
"I don't know," the boy was startled. He didn't expect the child beside him to be so bold. He quickly responded and bowed his head, not daring to speak further.
The little boy then tugged at a girl's skirt in front of him and asked, "Have you heard? What's the ancestor's story? What great deeds did they do in ancient times?"
"Stop it," the pretty girl said nervously, pulling her skirt back and bowing again.
The nearby children wanted to laugh but didn't dare. They all bowed their heads, muttering prayers to the ancestor, not daring to look around.
The little boy scratched his head, poking this one and nudging that one, trying to make friends, but the children were too scared to be distracted during the grand ceremony.
Finally, the lengthy ceremony ended.
The little boy tugged at the skirt of the thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl in front of him again and asked, "Hey, weren't they saying the Emperor's daughter and the children of ancient relics were here? Why haven't I seen them?"
"Don't touch me," the girl glared at him fiercely.
"Do you know?" He didn't feel embarrassed at all, asking the group of teenagers beside him. He was the youngest, but also the boldest.
"They left early. Their places were different from ours. They performed the grand ceremony around the statue. They left after paying homage to the ancestor," a boy answered.
"What a pity. I wanted to see what the double-pupiled ones looked like. Do they really have four pupils?" a child beside him said disappointedly.
"What's so special about double pupils? It's scary," the little boy shook his head. "I wanted to see if the Emperor's daughter is as beautiful as the legends say, and check out the offspring of the ancient relics."
"Shh, keep your voice down. That's the Emperor's daughter. Don't speak carelessly," a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy reminded him.
"So what? She's just a teenage girl. Here, everyone is a disciple of the Butian Pavilion. There's no difference," the little boy said nonchalantly. "She has so many fine jades at home. If we meet her, she should treat us to Luan bird meat and maybe even give us some treasures."
Listening to his bragging, the teenagers laughed. The little boy was so lively and easy to like. Before long, he had made friends with the group.
"You few, hurry up. I'm taking you to meet your master. Be serious, no laughing," a crisp voice called out. A beautiful girl of about ten years old approached, pointing at them.
"Beautiful sister, please be our master," the little one said with a cheeky smile, his round face looking plump because of his changed appearance.
"You little chubby, how dare you flirt with your senior sister?" The young woman in white came over and pinched his chubby cheeks.
"I'm not chubby, I'm just full-figured. It's a symbol of beauty, just like your slender figure, sister," the little one grinned, grabbing her jade-like slender fingers to stop her from pinching.
The young woman was surprised, having never met such a mischievous child before. While others missed their families, he seemed to be at ease here.
"Little chubby, I warn you, don't lead others astray. Hurry up and choose your master," she said, pinching his chubby cheeks one last time before letting go.
Suddenly, a large white feather flew in from a distance, carrying a young man and woman who quickly reported something to the elders.
"What?" The elders were shocked, whispering among themselves, clearly discussing the matter.
Elder Xiong Fei stood up and said, "Bring it here."
Everyone was curious about what was happening.
Not long after, a piece of ancient beast skin covered in symbols, floating about a meter above the ground, rushed in, accompanied by several strong individuals and a stone slab.
"What is that? Could it be a sacred stone relic?" Many youths were curious.
"Don't choose your masters yet, come back," Elder Xiong Fei ordered.
The children who were about to leave stopped and returned to the ancestral statue.
The elders' faces were expressionless, particularly Elder Xiong Fei and Elder Zhuo Yun, who looked particularly grim and displeased.
The little one had a peculiar expression, staying unusually quiet and standing with the other youths.
"Show them," Elder Zhuo Yun commanded.
The stone slab was placed on a high platform, facing the crowd, revealing the words: "Unparalleled in talent, upright and honorable."
The youths were astonished. These were the best of their tribes, mostly thirteen or fourteen years old, and they all recognized these words from the virtual divine realm.
"The little rascal!"
"It's from that peculiar kid. The handwriting is identical. Did he join the Butian Pavilion?"
"No way, didn't that troublemaker escape? How did he become a disciple?"
The crowd of over three thousand was in an uproar.
Elder Zhuo Yun had the slab turned around, revealing more words: "With a hammer in hand, the world is mine."
The crowd was amazed, laughing and discussing amongst themselves.
Only a silver-robed youth clenched his fists, then quickly covered his forehead as a bulging vein near the large bump throbbed with pain.
"It's really him," the silver-robed youth gritted his teeth.
Elder Xiong Fei, with a stern face, said, "I think you all know who he is. This troublemaker might be among us in the Butian Pavilion. Now, here's your task."
No one expected Elder Xiong Fei to issue a bounty. Anyone who found the little rascal or had any information about him could report it and become a core disciple.
A loud uproar followed, with over three thousand youths excited.
The little one grimaced. This was too harsh. He had just joined and was already a wanted man. Could the elders have sensed he was among the crowd? He had to be careful and not let his guard down.
"Catch that notorious rascal!" The newly admitted disciples shouted, their voices booming.
The little one quickly slipped into the crowd, shouting along, "Catch the troublemaker!"
"Alright, go choose your masters," the elders waved their hands.
The little one joined the familiar group, following the young woman in white to choose their master. They went around, but most places were already full because there were too many new disciples this year.
"Fine, these children will be under Elder Zhuo Yun and me," Elder Xiong Fei approached.
"Ah," the little one was dumbfounded. These two elders had been almost driven to fury by him. How could he have a good future under their guidance?
The young woman in white secretly pinched his chubby cheek and said, "No mischief. Being taught by these two elders is a blessing. You must know they are esteemed seniors, though it does mess up the seniority a bit."
The group of youths' eyes lit up. The little one also had to puff out his cheeks and widen his eyes, trying to look surprised and happy, though he was inwardly distressed.
In fact, Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun were also helpless. Together, they had taken on a hundred disciples. How could they personally teach each one? They had to take on more work due to their previous mistakes.
"Let's go, I'll show you to your living quarters," the young woman in white led the hundred new disciples to a mountainous area, explaining the rules and sternly warning them not to disturb the Butian Pavilion's sacred spirits.
This was a stone mountain area where the three thousand new disciples would live. There were many houses, bamboo groves, and a nice environment.
The little one was relieved that for several days, the two elders only showed up once, explaining some basics before hurrying away.
"The good life begins now. Where's Hairball? Why hasn't it come in yet?" The little one's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Several days passed without seeing Hairball, but he did see Qing Feng once by chance. He immediately frowned because Qing Feng was injured, covered in bruises.
The little one didn't approach but clenched his fists in secret.
"Who did this? How could they bully Qing Feng in just a few days? Is it because his cultivation is lower?" The little one frowned but didn't act rashly.
After all, they were in the Butian Pavilion, not the wilderness. Acting recklessly could cause big trouble. He had to be cautious.
However, he wouldn't ignore it. Qing Feng was like a brother to him. Seeing him covered in bruises right after joining the Butian Pavilion, he had to seek justice.
This is the fourth chapter. My typing speed is too slow, but I'll work hard on the fifth chapter. Don't wait up; check it out tomorrow morning. I'm trying my best. Please vote, brothers and sisters.
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