Ninth In the World

An Tuning sneered deep down. This was why she was confident. Wang Teng probably was unaware that the First Evolution Dao Sect had entered the top 50.

A long-bearded man sitting near An Tuning had a hint of a sneer at the edge of his eyes. The day before, he had heard that the First Evolution Dao Sect had made an unprecedented achievement at the Elixir River Competition. Wang Teng only knew about the internal strife and had probably never thought of the great results that An Tuning had achieved. He had not even bothered to ask around.

However, the man did not step out to retort. Wang Teng had colluded with two of the Elders and made use of his position for personal gain. The recruited disciples were not as good as they had been in the previous years. As the Imparting Dao Peak’s Peak Master, he had the most experience.

Since the Fei Xuan had just come out of seclusion, he was unaware of the First Evolution Dao Sect’s results at the Elixir River Competition. He glanced at An Tuning, his voice sounding somewhat displeased as he said, “Valley Master An, everyone can sit down and talk over the internal issues of the sect. Although the First Evolution Dao Sect’s Alchemy Dao has been falling behind, the Great Age Elixir River Competition concerns both our sect’s face and our sect’s right to speak. You have been too careless this time.”

Without needing Wang Teng to tell him this in detail, he also knew that the First Evolution Dao Sect had not achieved a great result. If it was that good, Wang Teng would not be talking about it.

An Tuning stood up and replied with cupped fists, “I agree with Sect Master very much. I think that the sect’s interest should be placed first, while the pettiness between us should be pushed aside. However, in order to make me suffer a defeat at the elixir competition and get me punished by the sect, Peak Master Wang allowed all the Alchemy Masters to leave the sect during the elixir competition. Since the First Evolution Dao Sect only has a few Alchemy Masters, I could not even find one to participate in the competition. I want to ask Peak Master Wang a question. If everyone was like you, would there still be a need for the First Evolution Dao Sect to exist?”

Fei Xuan’s face grew increasingly ugly. If Wang Teng had dared to do this, then he couldn’t blame the Sect Master for being impolite.

Wang Teng stood up, looking as if he had been wronged. “Sect Master, Elders, Peak Masters… I, Wang Teng, am the Peak Master of the First Evolution Dao Sect and the person in charge of the entire sect’s disciple affairs. How bad I am is not the point here. There are 23 Alchemy Masters in the sect in total. Seven months ago, the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain opened. This was a huge matter, so the Alchemy Masters naturally could not fall behind and instead headed there…”

When Fei Xuan heard this, he sighed silently.

He naturally knew all about the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain. It was a divine spirit herb garden mountain of the Dao World Elixir Association. Every time it opened, all the Alchemy Masters registered at the Elixir Association could gather divine spirit herbs for one year.

The sect also benefited from this so it was hard for Fei Xuan to say anything. Furthermore, the Alchemy Masters of the sect had gone to the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain. Wang Teng had not urged them. They were the ones who had volunteered.

Wang Teng, who was not finished yet, added, “I’m not belittling Valley Master An here. However, as the person in charge of the Great Age Elixir River Competition this time, she should have taken the initiative to contact these Alchemy Masters and make them return. Nine days before the competition, I unexpectedly found out that none of them had returned to the sect. Thus, I panicked. I hurriedly sent out messages for help, asking these Alchemy Masters to come back quickly since the competition was about to start.”

Wang Teng then laughed self-derisively. “Valley Master An was the one in charge of this but she did not do anything. Therefore, I could only go beyond my authority to call these Alchemy Masters back. At the time, they could still compete in the elixir competition on time.”

As though he was feeling very unsatisfied, Wang Teng’s face grew somewhat ugly. “What I’m furious about is that I called these Alchemy Masters back but Valley Master An ignored them and secretly left the sect. It is said that she led away an outer sect disciple. I supposed she was worried that she would not be able to compete, so she brought him and casually reported there before returning.”

When they heard that, Fei Xuan and some Peak Masters and Hall Masters who somewhat did not understand the truth felt somewhat dissatisfied with An Tuning. She had brought an outer sect disciple to participate in the elixir competition. It was evident that she’d wanted to botch this up.

After taking a deep breath, Wang Teng continued speaking. “I did not accuse Valley Master An wrongly. After she left for several days, she once again returned. In fact, the elixir competition was going on at the time and I was getting increasingly furious. Valley Master An had clearly brought someone to apply. The First Evolution Dao Sect is one of the Five Major Sects after all. If everyone was like her, would the sect still want to survive in the Dao World?”

“Valley Master An, although the Sect Masters of the First Evolution Dao Sect can’t be compared to the sects that rely mainly on alchemy, we have over 20 Alchemy Masters. Since they went to the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain to pick herbs, why did you not call them back through the sect? You only needed three of them to compete, so you didn’t have to call them all back. As long as three Alchemy Masters returned, you could have taken part in the Dao World Elixir Competition.”

Fei Xuan sighed. “Even though you didn’t call these Alchemy Masters back, the Peak Master helped with that. You had to bring at least a few Alchemy Masters to compete but you called an outer sect disciple instead. Just as Peak Master Wang implied, how much does the sect matter to you?”

An Elder sitting not far away from Fei Xuan said with a sigh, “Valley Master An has indeed handled this poorly. Not only did she bring an outer sect disciple to compete, but she also casually killed my sect’s disciple. Not long ago, Xun Bai attained the Primordial Dao Realm, which was akin to our sect having another second-step Dao Validation expert. Valley Master An’s actions have created a gap between the Xun Family and the First Evolution Dao Sect.”

An Tuning’s heart sank. She was suddenly so thankful that Di Jiu had come. If he had not helped her, the Spring Evolution Valley’s cultivating resources would not have decreased but she very likely would no longer have been the Valley Master. She might even have been punished and isolated by the sect.

Wang Teng had unexpectedly been really sinister. Before she had gone to the competition, she had called the Alchemy Masters of the sect back. This clearly showed her negligence.

Wang Teng had long planned this, as she did not pay attention to the Dao World Elixir Association. She had not expected the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain to play a part. She had used her communication pearl to call these Alchemy Masters back. However, they needed to be called back through the sect since they had gone to the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain.

Wang Teng had planned this and she had unwittingly walked into his trap. She knew that he had called back the Alchemy Masters, not to make them go to the competition with her but to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

“Valley Master An, what else do you have to say?” Fei Xuan looked at her in disappointment. In fact, he had thought highly of her and had not expected her to disappoint him so much.

An Tuning bowed before the Sect Master. “Sect Master, since I’m not familiar with the Elixir Association, I forgot about the Tranquil Eclipse Mountain. I asked the Alchemy Masters of the sect to come back through my personal communication pearl. However, none of them came back. I know they have a deep relationship with Wang Teng. For the sake of searching for Alchemy Masters to compete in the Elixir River Competition, I sent a lot of messages. Finally, I found an Alchemy Dao jewel left behind in the First Evolution Dao Sect…”

Wang Teng chuckled. “Valley Master An must be talking about that outer sect disciple she brought there, right? How did he do at the Dao World Elixir Competition?”

An Tuning ignored Wang Teng and kept addressing the Sect Master. “In fact, it was a big coincidence. When I had just brought that outer sect disciple to compete, the Alchemy Masters of the sect all came back but I didn’t see them. Fortunately, I lived up to the expectations and ranked 49th at the Elixir River Competition this time. The outer sect disciple also ranked 20th individually…”

“What?” Fei Xuan suddenly stood up and looked at An Tuning in disbelief. To his knowledge, the First Evolution Dao Sect had only placed 116th at best at each Great Age Elixir River Competition. As for the individual ranking, it was a tragic sight. Now that An Tuning had said that the First Evolution Dao Sect had ranked in the top 50, how could he not be shocked?

Hold on… The First Evolution Dao Sect had ranked in the top 50 and individually ranked in the top 20. Didn’t that imply that they would get a few places to cultivate in the Dao World Elixir Mountain Range and a place in the Dao Ridge Dao Enlightenment? The First Evolution Dao Sect’s disciples had never gone to the Elixir Mountain Range before.

Wang Teng, who was also stunned, immediately said, “Valley Master An, what’s the meaning of this joke? We will know once we check.”

An Tuning replied coldly, “Wang Teng, you’re right. We’ll know once we check. Why would I make things up?”

Wang Teng’s heart sank. That’s right. Since they would know after checking, would An Tuning dare to deceive them?

Before Fei Xuan could ask, Imparting Dao Peak Master Xue Han stood up and responded with cupped fists. “Sect Master, Elders… I can testify that Valley Master An has spoken the truth. The First Evolution Dao Sect indeed ranked 48th at the Dao World Elixir River Competition this time and Alchemy Master Di Jiu ranked in the top 20. I wanted to find Valley Master An to congratulate her today but I didn’t expect her to be waiting for Sect Master to come out of seclusion.”

“Ha ha…” Fei Xuan laughed. “Not bad, Valley Master An. You found this outer sect disciple for the First Evolution Dao Sect despite the unfavorable circumstances. You simply deserve credit. Good, good…”

An Tuning once again bowed. “This outer sect disciple clearly has an Alchemy Dao capability but was thrown in the outer sect. Xun Shang wanted to occupy his cave abode by force, so I killed him in a fury. I think that the Disciple Hall needs to be reorganized the most. If this goes on, the sect’s disciple recruitment will get worse with each generation.

As for what Peak Master Wang said earlier about Di Jiu killing Xun Qi on the Outer Sect Mountain, I believe that you will find out as long as you ask someone to investigate it. Di Jiu and I went to the competition and I am well aware of his conduct. He’s humble, he knows his place, he doesn’t cause trouble, and he has a very strong sense of the sect. Even though he has given so much credit to the sect, he still declined any reward. How can such a disciple kill another disciple of the same sect at will? Besides, as an outer sect disciple, could Di Jiu have killed Xun Qi, who had reached the Dao Birth?”