“How can this be… Is that the sacred lightning aurora and that color… golden?”

A group of Martial Grandmasters was looking up to the sky. From a certain side peak of this Thunderball Hall, something magnificent was happening. They could feel it, someone was taking their first real step into becoming a true cultivator.

People in this empire were only really considered full-fledged cultivators when they achieved the Martial Master realm. The Inner Aura realm was considered a baby step in the right direction but going further would cement them as a real master.

They were all looking at a particular phenomenon. The heavens were dancing, the clouds gathered and lightning energy crackled as a new Martial Master was born. This was truly a cheerful day for this sect as it was one of their own.

“Who could it be… was there someone from the outer sect disciples that was this exceptional or perhaps it was one of the new recruits?”

While some senior members and elders started discussing, some of them headed for that mountain peak. The direction this spiritual energy was coming from was where the trial disciples went through their training, it had to be one of them.

Elder Yusheng was one of the first ones to arrive. He was responsible for this batch of trial disciples and was quite ecstatic to see who was advancing their cultivation. Two other elders arrived soon after but were halted by Yusheng.

All three of them were standing on flying boats as none of them had achieved the Martial Saint realm.

“Stop, we must not disturb the junior disciple from advancing into the next realm!”

The two elders looked at this Yusheng and then at the person that was radiating the strange Qi. These two elders just like this one were responsible for different batches of trial disciples. The three depending on how the trial disciples did would receive better cultivation resources from the sect as well as more prestige.

Yusheng knew this, he had to protect the trial disciple while he was the most vulnerable. Even though they were all from the same sect, this didn’t mean that others would use underhanded methods to gain more power for themselves.

If these two were left along with his disciple he knew that they would try to make him join their sides. Then if he refused they might act rashly, even doing something that would be otherwise forbidden.

“Who is that young man?”

One chubby elder asked while rubbing his second chin.

“Did you give some forbidden techniques to people from outside the sect before they joined?”

Another hooked-nosed elder commented while looking at the youth that was transcending into the Martial Master realm.

“What are you babbling about you old fart? You did that a few years ago and got caught by the sect, now you are trying to accuse me with no evidence!”

Yusheng furrowed his eyebrows. The elders here were highly competitive, they did sometimes sponsor some good prospects in hopes of them achieving higher status later in life.

The sect mostly frowned upon such things as most of those youths grew up with a shaky foundation. Their rise was fast but they quickly found themselves at a bottleneck that they could not easily break.

When one used secret items and many pills to quickly reach new heights without any restraint it would mostly backfire. Thus these two were suspecting foul play and the youth before them just being another tiger with rotting teeth.

To them, it seemed that this elder Yusheng gave the youth some treasure or pill. With this cultivation phenomenon now being out in the open, the boy would garner attention. If he advanced further and became an inner disciple, Yusheng would garner more rewards.

“You want evidence? Do you really think we were born yesterday, how could this youth without a name produce the secret aurora without any help?”

“Yes, hand him over, we will check if he achieved this feat by his own merit!”

Yusheng’s face contorted from bewilderment into a rage. He knew that if he handed the youth over he could end up crippled or even worse, he might get bought out by one of these two idiots.

“You think I was born yesterday? The disciple stays here, if you don’t like that he is under my watch, go discuss it with the high elders!”

The high elders in question were people at the very top of the Martial Grandmaster level and ones even above them. The disciples could not be handpicked by these elders, they were all assigned by higher parts of the sect and these two knew it as well.

“The high elders…”

The two flinched a bit as they knew that they would achieve nothing when talking with the top members of the sect. The two stared glaring at Yusheng while down below the glow started to fade.

“He is done… he truly achieved the Martial Master level and he is not even twenty years of age!”

Yusheng turned around to make his way down to the youth that just achieved the breakthrough. He knew that the two idiots behind him were up to no good but they would not do something stupid while so many people were watching.

“Make way.”

He swished his sleeve as people looked up. The Trial disciples and the instructor were standing around this youth that achieved the breakthrough.

The youths parted to the sides while clasping their hands. By the robe that Yusheng was wearing all of them knew that he was an elder from the sect.

It was clear why he was here as he headed straight for the young man that was still in the lotus position. Suddenly the youth opened up his eyes, they crackled with golden lightning for a second before the glow faded. Even this elder that was a Martial Grandmaster flinched slightly. Even though this power was below him, its quality was far above his own.

“Young man… state your name.”

The young man before him looked up, there was a small pause but soon a very soft-spoken voice followed suit.

“Dai Rong, Elder.”

He slowly rose from his spot and performed the usual small bow while clasping his hands. Yusheng felt that something was off, he was the superior here but for some reason, he felt that this person before him outranked him.

“Ahh… disciple Dai Rong, I must congratulate you on your breakthrough, may I check for any faults?”

“Elder wants to check this disciples' disposition?”

Yusheng nodded. This was slightly intrusive but the young man before him did not have the right to refuse. He was not a disciple of any elder in particular. In a world where might made right, he needed to go along with the elder’s wishes.

“Yes, I must examine your crystal palace for flaws…”

Dai Rong nodded and Yusheng moved over. He grasped the young man by the shoulder and started to concentrate. The first moment he felt a little jolt that was a bit odd but the feeling subsided within a fraction of a second.

What he saw was a magnificent crystal mountain that reached up high. When he compared it to his old crystal palace when he broke through, then this one was a true mountain while his was more of a small hill.

“Magnificent… such talent and potential.”

What he saw was a giant golden mountain of crystals. Each person had a unique-looking mountain, some were more pointy while others were wider. The more jagged and covered with cracks it was the tougher it would be to produce a good crystal palace afterward.

This one on the other hand looked smooth and pristine. The crystals were nicely packed and without flaws, what kind of palace would be made from this he could only speculate.

‘I must make him my disciple… even if for a while… if he has the time to grow he could even become a high elder… maybe even a star elder!’

The man thought while spacing out, he was snapped back to reality only after Dai Rong spoke out.

“Is everything fine, Elder?”

“Uhh… yes disciple, everything is fine.”

The man coughed into his hand and straightened up his clothes. He then struck a gallant pose and was about to give the youth the master and disciple speech.

“Young man, there comes a time in the life of a cultivator when they have to make a decision…”

Before he could continue the two elders that were looking at everything unfold descended from their flying vessels.

“Halt! Not so fast you rat!”

“Who are you calling a rat, you oversized pig!”

Yusheng turned around, he had characteristic buck teeth and everyone knew that he hated to be reminded of it. The fat elder and the one with the hooked nose gathered around Dai Rong and didn’t even ask before examining his desposition.

“By the Patriarch… what is this… you must become my disciple!”

“Don’t listen to him young man, become my disciple instead!”

The two were quick to start arguing about who would be getting Dai Rong as their disciple. A person was allowed to have more than one master but there was a special meaning behind the first one.

Even if the disciple attained more in their cultivation than their master they were supposed to offer them respect till they died. This was also why these three foxes were salivating about the opportunity of getting this genius to be their disciple.

The other trial disciples looked on with envy as the three old men fought for one no-name disciple. They knew that he was stronger than they were but were still hoping to nab themselves a good master and advance above Dai Rong.

“Elders please calm down, I’m just trying to focus on my cultivation, I’m not sure If I’m worthy of being accepted as a disciple of any of you prestigious elders…”

Dai Rong finally spoke up. He started rubbing the back of his neck while holding his head down as if he was shy. The three elders turned to him, the youth looked quite bashful but then he continued to speak.

“But… it’s hard to focus on my cultivation with all these other trial disciples around…”

“You have a hard time focusing on your cultivation?”

Yusheng asked while eying the other two elders.

“Yes, it would be really nice to have a secluded place to cultivate… but I’m just a trial disciple, I’m not worthy enough of such a place...”

The three old masters looked at themselves before each one started shouting.

“The disciple wants a place to cultivate? You can have access to my personal cultivation cave!”

“You can use mine instead, it’s much better!”

“No, you can use mine, I’ll even lend a maidservant to the disciple to tend to his needs!”

The three started to argue once more, at this time Zhang Dong was rather glad that he dropped the facade. He was not getting anywhere by hiding his strength, thus he now decided to show it off instead.

His roots were unknown so he could just tell everyone that he was holding back this whole time. He was now a Martial Master so he wouldn’t need to hide his cultivation as much.

‘Great… I should be able to get a personal cultivation abode thanks to these greedy old farts…’

He was not planning to accept any one of them as his master. For now, he would lead them on and take part in that competition in a few days.

“Great elders please calm down, I’m really not worthy of your time. How about we do this, I’ll come to take a look at all those cultivation caves and decide on one then?”

The elders looked to themselves and nodded. If they continued like this a fight would probably break out.

Soon the trial disciples saw Dai Rong leaving on one of the boats. Their mouths were wide open as they couldn’t believe what just happened. The respectful elders fighting like ten-year-old children and the birth of a new genius. It seemed that the name Dai Rong would be spreading far and wide...