World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 439: Sect Matters

After hearing the brief explanations from the Daoist masters who had rushed over, Wang Sheng found himself half crying and half laughing. All he could do was decline politely.

For now, only his master could take in disciples. Both he and his senior sister had low seniority, and no one from their generation had opened a sect or accepted disciples yet.

If the two started taking disciples now, then in the future, most disciples of Lu the Progenitor's Daoist heritage would technically rank a generation below other heritages' disciples. It would also mean that every time they went out, they'd have to treat others as seniors, calling them "martial uncle" or "martial aunt."[1]

The Daoist masters asked him for confirmation. Wang Sheng quickly explained that he had no plans to take disciples for now, though their sect certainly planned to expand.

If they knew any talented and well-behaved cultivators, they could register their names with him in advance. Once his master, senior sister, and he had chosen a mountain and established their mountain gate, they would be sure to invite them for an entry-level assessment.

After leaving their contact details, the Daoist masters departed with smiles. Meanwhile, Fei Lianzi simply dragged over a nearby chair and sat down to chat with Wang Sheng while also subtly trying to open a backdoor for his grandniece.

Gao Shixing, who wasn't as thick-skinned, left as soon as he learned that Wang Sheng wasn't taking disciples. It was actually Wang Sheng who had to ask him for his "niece's" contact information.

Wang Sheng understood perfectly well why so many Daoist masters wanted to bring their relatives into their sect. The first reason was simple: avoidance of favoritism.

If Fei Lianzi's grandniece joined the Shu Sword Sect, her master wouldn't dare discipline her harshly because of Fei Lianzi's position, and elders familiar with him would give her special treatment. Her peers would naturally resent her.

Fei Lianzi had to avoid bringing family into the sect to prevent the formation of cliques and messing up their generational hierarchy. Since there were many good masters within the sect, he had no reason to take in his own kin.

The second reason lay in the sheer reputation of Qing Yanzi and his two disciples. Their little sect was far too "miraculous." All three were on the Heavenly Rankings, each among the top dozen. Mu Wanxuan's ranking hadn't even been updated yet, but she had almost certainly broken into the top ten.

Meanwhile, Wang Sheng had just single-handedly slain fifteen ancient cultivators with two swords. He was now the strongest in the modern cultivation world. Seniority aside, becoming his disciple would mean an unimaginable future.

Fei Lianzi put his chair right between Huai Jing and Wang Sheng, inserting himself into the conversation with a grin. "Little Fei Yu, you really don't plan to take any disciples?"

Wang Sheng smiled bitterly. "I don't know how to teach. That's something my master should handle."

Fei Lianzi solemnly replied, "Teaching disciples is simple. You can just explain cultivation techniques like a teacher explaining a classical text in class. You only have to guide them through their first internal qi circulation. As long as they aren't too dim, they'll figure out the rest on their own. When it comes to sword techniques, you can just teach them one-on-one. You'll definitely create a few prodigies in the Dao of the Sword!"

Wang Sheng didn't know what to say. Hence, he simply changed the topic. "I haven't thanked you for saving Big Sister Xi Lian and my little sister yet."

"Ha! I knew it, you're just being lazy, you rascal!" Fei Lianzi glared in mock anger, then laughed. "It's not a big deal; our forefather's sword did most of the work. I just had to persuade them. Those ancient cultivators relied too much on their strength from a thousand years ago, and they looked down on the current generation. Their downfall was their own doing."

"When the conference ends today, please do come down the mountain for a talk," Wang Sheng offered sincerely. "My big sister should be recovering well by now. We ought to thank you properly."

Fei Lianzi smiled and agreed readily, then continued recommending his grandniece. He even took out a few photos of the girl, who certainly looked bright and charming. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Before their sect even had a name, they already had a potential junior sister.

Wang Sheng looked over at his master, finding a few Daoist elders surrounding Qing Yanzi. He could only smile wryly.

Will all our future disciples come from our personal connections in other heritages?

Judging by the scene, that possibility didn't seem far-fetched.

Still, Wang Sheng had made it clear that he wasn't ready to take in disciples yet. His senior sister, who was completely absorbed in her "research," wasn't interested in outside matters. Naturally, the responsibility of expanding their sect fell to his master.

Qing Yanzi, who cherished his first and second disciples, didn't pressure them to help either. In half a day, he had collected over a hundred "contacts." Fortunately, he soon clarified that he would only accept three to five disciples at most, finally cooling everyone's enthusiasm.

By the time the preliminary rounds of the Immortal Dao Conference began, things around Qing Yanzi had quieted down. Like Wang Sheng, he still chatted with a few familiar Daoist elders while watching the duels.

In the arena, over a dozen young cultivators sparred in pairs. Wang Sheng watched with great interest.

Fei Lianzi asked, "By the way, Fei Yu, aside from disciples, will your sect take in off-heritage sect members?"

Wang Sheng blinked. "Off-heritage sect members?"

Fei Lianzi rolled his eyes. "Cultivators who join your sect and become part of it despite belonging to a different Daoist heritage."

Wang Sheng thought for a moment. "That will have to wait until our sect grows larger. Where would we even recruit them from?"

Fei Lianzi smiled. "Unaffiliated practitioners, of course! Those with decent cultivation and good character can all be accepted as off-heritage sect members. They're the reason why the Wudang Mountains have quite a few Daoist heritages that aren't part of their true Daoist heritage. The people that they had recruited in their early years passed those Daoist heritages down.

"Those from the sect master's line are called direct disciples, while those whom the sect master's martial brothers are called inner disciples. They inherit the sect's own Daoist heritage.

"Off-heritage sect members can take disciples, too, but they're called outer disciples. Some sects with too many affiliated sect members divide their disciples into inner and outer sect disciples to make management easier."

Wang Sheng thought for a moment. "Don't the outer disciples find that unfair?"

Grinning, Fei Lianzi nodded. "It's an old rule passed down from ancient times. Back then, Daoist masters had quite a traditional mindset. In the early years of primal qi's resurgence, every Daoist heritage was rebuilt from nothing. There was no such distinction between inner and outer disciples.

"Those who trained on the same mountain learned from the same Daoist scriptures, revered the same Three Pure Ones, and honored the same forefathers. Only in recent years have unaffiliated practitioners with solid cultivation begun joining established heritages as sect members. Since there are simply too many unaffiliated practitioners, it's becoming more and more common."

Wang Sheng seemed deep in thought.

Fei Lianzi nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "Do you really think only a few unaffiliated practitioners want to join your master's sect? Once you've set up your mountain gate and announce that you're recruiting, plenty of skilled unaffiliated practitioners will come seeking you. You'd better think carefully about that."

"Tsk." Wang Sheng rubbed his forehead and drew in a breath. "I didn't expect this many problems..."

Fei Lianzi chuckled. "Of course. Starting a sect isn't like opening a company in the secular world. The most troublesome part is always the relationships between people."

Wang Sheng rubbed his temples. "Let's watch the match first. I'll ask for your advice later."

Beside him, Huai Jing suddenly asked, "Fei Yu, any interest in a Buddhist-Daoist fusion?"

Wang Sheng couldn't help but cover his face and groan wearily. Founding a mountain gate really couldn't compare to simply finding a quiet place to cultivate with his senior sister.

Still, there was no avoiding it. After the ambush on Xi Lian, he had already decided to establish some form of power, not only for self-protection but also to carry forward the Daoist heritage that their sect's forefather had passed down.

He still hadn't found the time to tell his master about the Pure Yang Sword Song and the dozens of cultivation techniques that their forefather had left behind. Those at least completed the core of their unnamed sect's Daoist heritage, allowing them to provide their future disciples a proper foundation.

He chatted with Fei Lianzi until the first day of the Immortal Dao Conference ended in the evening.

The various Daoist heritages began to take to the skies to depart. Before Wang Sheng could look for his master, several Daoist elders dragged Qing Yanzi away to drink on Mount Hua.

Hence, Wang Sheng instead grabbed his senior sister, invited Fei Lianzi and Huai Jing for a few drinks, and called Shi Qianzhang to ask where they were. As soon as the call connected, a hoarse, heart-wrenching "singing" blasted through the speaker, making both Huai Jing and Fei Lianzi freeze.

—Let me cry to this love song, while the north wind keeps blowing outside~!♪

That voice... Is that the great heartthrob himself?

They then heard Shi Qianzhang shouting.

—Brother Sheng? What's up, Brother Sheng?! We're having a blast here!

A wave of indecent noise followed, including a girl's soft teasing.

—Why are you answering calls now? Don't get distracted, Daoist master...

"You two enjoy yourselves," Wang Sheng muttered and hung up.

Huai Jing and Fei Lianzi were rendered speechless. Mu Wanxuan blinked in confusion.

Wait, isn't KTV for singing? What does "don't get distracted" mean?

Huai Jing murmured, "Should we go catch them in the act?"

Fei Lianzi hesitated. "What they're doing might be improper, but... well, they're just young people doing young people things. It's still a bit disgraceful, though—against the rules, even."

Mu Wanxuan blinked again and whispered, "Call police?"

"You're right. As cultivators, how can they break the law?" Wang Sheng replied. A realization then dawned on him, making his expression darken. "No, we have to find them. I just gave him a celestial pill to strengthen his foundation, and he's already wasting it like this!"

He spread his spiritual perception, finding the familiar aura several hundred li away. Wang Sheng summoned a cyan cloud and pulled his senior sister aboard. Huai Jing and Fei Lianzi quickly followed.

Wang Sheng formed a sword finger with his left hand and pointed it forward, making the cyan cloud rise into the air and lightning flicker below like fine strands of hair. They shot toward the two familiar auras like a thunderbolt.

Fei Lianzi's face lit up with anticipation as he drew out two sword cores from his sleeve and rolled them between his palms like walnuts. Meanwhile, Huai Jing rummaged through his storage artifact and took out something rather unexpected: a professional-grade filming camera.

1. If Qing Yanzi is from the first generation, and Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan are from the second generation, then the martial siblings' disciples would be considered part of the third generation. The other sects don't have 3rd-generation disciples yet because among the second generation, only the two are strong enough to take in disciples. If Qing Yanzi took in the disciples instead, those disciples would still be part of Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan's generation. ☜