Accompanied by Elder Su and the several Qingyun Sect disciples, Ye Chen soared through the air on a stream of soft spiritual light, leaving the quiet Cloud Hidden Village far behind. The wind whistled past his ears, and the scenery below quickly shrank into a blur of green mountains and rivers. Looking down, he could see endless mountain ranges stretching across the land, with dense spiritual energy lingering between the peaks, far richer than the thin spiritual energy in Cloud Hidden Village. Ye Chen closed his eyes slightly, quietly sensing the abundant spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and the Chaos Thunder Seed in his dantian spun slightly, greedily absorbing the free spiritual energy, making his already stable cultivation at the Peak of Qi Refining Realm even more solid.
Elder Su stood beside Ye Chen, his eyes glancing at the calm young man from time to time, and the appreciation in his heart grew deeper. Along the way, Ye Chen had shown a composure that was completely inconsistent with his age. He was not curious or flustered about flying with spiritual energy, nor was he overawed by the prestige of Qingyun Sect. He was calm and steady, as if he had long been used to such scenes. This kind of mindset was extremely rare even among the core disciples of Qingyun Sect who had practiced for many years. Elder Su became more and more convinced that this young man he had recruited by chance would definitely become the most dazzling genius in the entire sect in the near future.
"Little friend Ye Chen, the mountain in front of us is the main peak of our Qingyun Sect, Qingyun Peak." Elder Su pointed to the towering, majestic peak piercing into the clouds not far away, and said with a smile.
Ye Chen opened his eyes and looked forward, and his eyes could not help but narrow slightly. In front of him, a huge mountain stood towering between heaven and earth, surrounded by layers of auspicious clouds and mist, like a fairyland. The mountain was steep and straight, with ancient pine trees growing everywhere, and cranes and divine birds flying above the clouds. Streams of clear spiritual energy visible to the naked eye lingered on the mountain, forming a huge spiritual formation that enveloped the entire peak, exuding a solemn and sacred aura. On the mountainside, there were rows of magnificent palaces and pavilions built against the mountain, with blue tiles and golden eaves, towering and grand, showing the profound heritage of Qingyun Sect everywhere.
This was Qingyun Sect, the top cultivation holy land in the entire region, a place that countless mortal geniuses dreamed of entering. Ye Chen looked at this towering mountain peak, and a faint light flashed in his eyes. From today on, this place would be his temporary foothold on the path of defying the heavens. He would accumulate strength here, learn cultivation techniques, and break through to higher realms, laying a solid foundation for his future path of avenging his family and defying the Heavenly Dao.
As the group got closer to Qingyun Peak, more and more Qingyun Sect disciples could be seen shuttling back and forth in the air. Some rode on flying spiritual weapons, some controlled sword lights, and their movements were agile and free. These disciples were all dressed in uniform blue Taoist robes, with distinct cultivation auras, and their eyes were full of pride and pride of being a Qingyun Sect disciple. When these disciples saw Elder Su, they all stopped and saluted respectfully, not daring to be slighted in the slightest.
But soon, their eyes fell on Ye Chen, who was following Elder Su, and their eyes were full of curiosity and doubt. As direct disciples of Qingyun Sect, they were all familiar with each other, and they had never seen Ye Chen in the sect. Moreover, Ye Chen was wearing ordinary mortal clothes, without any Taoist robe of Qingyun Sect, and his cultivation was only at the Peak of Qi Refining Realm, which made them full of doubts. They could not understand why Elder Su, an elder of the sect, would personally bring an unknown mortal youth back to the sect, and even treat him with such a polite attitude.
Elder Su ignored the curious gazes of the surrounding disciples, and brought Ye Chen straight to the square at the top of Qingyun Peak. The square was extremely vast, paved with bluestone slabs that had been tempered by spiritual energy for many years, smooth and clean. In the center of the square stood a huge stone monument tens of feet high, engraved with the three big characters "Qingyun Sect" in ancient seal script, which was vigorous and powerful, exuding a faint pressure of time.
At this moment, there were many disciples gathered on the square, most of whom were new disciples who had just joined the sect in the near future, and some inner disciples responsible for managing new disciples. When everyone saw Elder Su arriving, they all fell silent and looked over respectfully.
"Elder Su, you are back." A white-haired elder who was in charge of receiving new disciples stepped forward and saluted Elder Su slightly. Then his eyes fell on Ye Chen, and he asked with some doubt: "May I ask Elder Su, who is this young friend? I have never seen him in the sect before."
"This is Ye Chen, a new direct disciple recruited by this elder." Elder Su looked around at the crowd, and said in a loud voice without hiding anything, "From today on, Ye Chen will officially become a direct disciple of our Qingyun Sect, enjoying the treatment of direct disciples."
As soon as Elder Su's words fell, the entire square instantly fell into a dead silence, and all the disciples looked at Ye Chen in shock, their eyes full of disbelief and envy.
Direct disciple!
Everyone in Qingyun Sect knew what the title of direct disciple meant. Direct disciples were the core heirs of the sect, personally taught by the sect's elders or even the sect leader. They could enjoy the best cultivation resources in the sect, including top-tier cultivation techniques, exclusive spiritual caves, and a steady supply of spirit stones and pills. Even those geniuses from major cultivation families who joined Qingyun Sect had to start from outer disciples first, and after layers of assessments and years of hard cultivation, they might be promoted to inner disciples. Only those top-level geniuses with extremely terrifying talents could be directly accepted as inner disciples. As for being directly recruited as direct disciples like Ye Chen, it was extremely rare in the entire history of Qingyun Sect, and only those peerless geniuses with heavenly-defying root bones could get such treatment.
But Ye Chen looked like an ordinary mortal youth, with no prominent background, and his cultivation was only at the Peak of Qi Refining Realm. How could he be directly accepted as a direct disciple by Elder Su? This was simply beyond everyone's cognition.
"How is this possible? Direct disciple? He's just a nobody with no reputation, why can he become a direct disciple directly!" A young inner disciple with a proud face couldn't help but speak first, his voice full of jealousy and dissatisfaction. This inner disciple was a well-known genius among the new disciples, with a medium-grade spirit root. He had practiced hard for three years before being promoted from an outer disciple to an inner disciple. He thought he was already outstanding, but he never thought that an unknown mortal youth would directly surpass him and become a direct disciple, which made him extremely unbalanced.
"That's right! Elder Su, this is too unfair. We have worked hard for many years to get to where we are today. Why can he become a direct disciple as soon as he comes?" Another disciple also echoed, his eyes staring at Ye Chen, full of hostility.
For a time, the entire square was in an uproar, and all the disciples looked at Ye Chen with jealousy, doubt, and dissatisfaction. They could not accept that an ordinary mortal youth could get such a high treatment as soon as he joined the sect, which made their years of hard work seem like a joke.
Ye Chen stood quietly aside, facing the countless hostile and jealous gazes around him, his expression remained calm, without the slightest fluctuation. He had experienced too many storms and humiliations in the past, and these mere gazes could not affect his state of mind at all. He knew that in the cultivation world, strength was the most important thing. All doubts and dissatisfaction would be completely crushed with sufficient strength.
Elder Su's face sank slightly when he heard the disciples' doubts. He let out a low shout, and a powerful aura belonging to the Late Stage of Qi Refining Realm instantly spread out, pressing on all the disciples present. All the disciples felt as if a boulder was pressing on their chests, they could not breathe, and the noise in the square stopped abruptly in an instant.
"Silence!" Elder Su's eyes swept across the crowd, and his voice was cold and stern, "Do you think this elder's decision is random? Do you know what kind of talent Ye Chen has? He has a rare thunder attribute root bone, which is a top-tier heavenly-defying root bone that is hard to find in a hundred years! What's more, he triggered a heavenly thunder tribulation when he was only at the Peak of Qi Refining Realm, and successfully absorbed the thunder power to temper his body!"
As soon as these words came out, all the disciples on the square widened their eyes, their faces full of horror, and looked at Ye Chen as if they were looking at a monster.
Thunder attribute root bone! Triggered a heavenly thunder tribulation at the Qi Refining Realm!
These two pieces of news were like thunder exploding in their minds, making them completely stunned. They had practiced in Qingyun Sect for many years, and naturally knew how precious the thunder attribute root bone was. Cultivators with thunder attribute root bones were born with the power to control thunder, and their combat power was far beyond ordinary cultivators. As for triggering a heavenly thunder tribulation at the Qi Refining Realm, it was even unheard of. Only those who cultivated peerless heavenly-defying techniques and possessed unparalleled talent could trigger such a vision.
At this moment, no one dared to question Elder Su's decision anymore. All the jealousy and dissatisfaction turned into deep shock and awe. They finally understood why Elder Su would personally recruit Ye Chen and directly make him a direct disciple. With such a terrifying talent, let alone a direct disciple, even if he was valued by the sect leader, it was not an exaggeration.
The white-haired elder who had spoken before also looked at Ye Chen in shock, and quickly bowed to Ye Chen with a respectful attitude, no longer the slightest doubt: "So it's Brother Ye with a thunder attribute root bone, I have offended you just now, please forgive me."
The other disciples also lowered their heads one after another, not daring to look at Ye Chen with the same eyes as before. Some even showed flattering expressions, wanting to curry favor with this peerless genius who had just joined the sect.
Elder Su's expression softened when he saw this, and he withdrew his aura. He looked at Ye Chen and said gently: "Ye Chen, from today on, you will live in the Tianlei Cave on the mountainside, which is a spiritual cave specially prepared for thunder attribute cultivators, with abundant spiritual energy. This is the identity token of a direct disciple of Qingyun Sect, as well as the basic cultivation techniques and introductory notes of the sect."
With that, Elder Su took out a blue jade token and a few ancient books from his storage bag and handed them to Ye Chen. The jade token was engraved with cloud patterns and the word "Qingyun", exuding a faint spiritual fluctuation, which was the symbol of Qingyun Sect's direct disciples.
Ye Chen reached out to take the jade token and ancient books, and bowed slightly to Elder Su: "Thank you, Elder Su."
"You don't have to be polite." Elder Su smiled and nodded, "In the next few days, you can first get familiar with the environment of the sect, study the basic cultivation rules, and consolidate your cultivation. After three days, the sect will hold a monthly disciple competition. You can also participate to experience the fighting style in the cultivation world. If you have any questions about cultivation, you can come to this elder at any time."
After saying that, Elder Su told Ye Chen a few more things about the sect's rules, and then left to deal with other affairs.
After Elder Su left, the surrounding disciples gathered around one after another, greeting Ye Chen with friendly faces, wanting to make friends with him. Ye Chen responded politely one by one, but did not intend to have too much contact with them. His purpose of joining Qingyun Sect was only to cultivate and become stronger, not to make friends.
After dismissing the surrounding disciples, Ye Chen held the identity token and followed the route instructed by Elder Su to head towards Tianlei Cave. Tianlei Cave was located on the secluded side of Qingyun Peak, surrounded by lush ancient trees, with extremely abundant thunder attribute spiritual energy lingering around, which was very suitable for his thunder attribute cultivation. The cave was clean and tidy, with a stone bed, a stone table, and a storage rack. The spiritual energy in the cave was several times richer than that outside, and it was indeed a rare cultivation place.
Ye Chen put away his identity token, sat cross-legged on the stone bed, and took out the basic cultivation technique of Qingyun Sect that Elder Su had given him. The technique was called "Qingyun Heart Method", which was a low-grade earth-tier technique, suitable for Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to practice. Although this technique was not a top-tier heavenly-defying technique, it was gentle and stable, very suitable for consolidating the foundation.
Ye Chen opened the ancient book, carefully reading the contents of the Qingyun Heart Method, and quickly memorized all the mental methods and meridian circulation routes. He had a soul that had been sublimated by the heavenly thunder tribulation, and his understanding was far beyond ordinary people. He quickly understood the essence of the technique.
Then, he closed his eyes, ran the Qingyun Heart Method according to the meridian route in the book, and began to absorb the abundant spiritual energy in Tianlei Cave. The surrounding spiritual energy quickly gathered towards him, and under the operation of the Qingyun Heart Method, it was transformed into gentle spiritual power and integrated into his meridians. At the same time, the Chaos Thunder Seed in his dantian also operated simultaneously, absorbing the thunder attribute spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and the two forces complemented each other, making his cultivation consolidate rapidly.
He knew that the monthly disciple competition three days later was an opportunity for him to establish his position in Qingyun Sect. He would use his strength to shock everyone again, let everyone know that he was qualified to be a direct disciple of Qingyun Sect, and also take this opportunity to sharpen his own strength and pave the way for the next breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
In the quiet Tianlei Cave, Ye Chen sat quietly, surrounded by rich spiritual energy lingering around him. A new chapter of his cultivation path in Qingyun Sect had officially begun, and the road against the heavens was moving forward steadily.