Chapter 448: Tragic News

Despite knowing that Lu Ping was going to hold a knowledge-sharing seminar, the fact that he was not accepting apprentices still disappointed many disciples. Some of the disciples tried to impress Lu Ping in the hopes of him accepting them. They wanted to try their luck and did not wish to give up without trying.

To their disappointment, Lu Ping only smiled and showed no signs of accepting any of them. Only a portion of the hundreds of disciples present decided to participate in the orientation after learning that Lu Ping was not going to accept an apprentice. However, the participating disciples unexpectedly gained the favor of some of the Core Forging Realm cultivators. These cultivators, who originally did not plan on accepting any apprentices, ended up accepting some disciples under Xuan-Miao's influence.

In the end, more than half of the participating disciples were taken in. This was considered a huge success in Xuan-Miao's eyes, even if some of the disciples were accepted as probationary apprentices.

Three days had passed when Wang Qi, Fang Wei, and Fang Xia, who were out hunting, learned that Lu Ping was holding a seminar. When they arrived, the orientation was reaching an end, so they were relieved they were still in time for the seminar.

Tian-Yue was also among the disciples that rushed to the scene. His cultivation level was still very low, but he had always been on Huang Li Island so he learned the news from Fang Tao long ago, allowing him to arrive early.

After scanning around, Wang Qi quickly identified a few figures in the crowd. They were the other five disciples that were sent to Huang Li Island back then. They were now all in the mid-Blood Condensation Realm and had made quite a name for themselves. Similar to Wang Qi, they were here to attend the seminar.

The first two days of the seven-day seminar were mainly about cultivation techniques. Lu Ping focused on the water-elemental technique, but the North Ocean Wave Listening Scripture was not the only technique he knew. His knowledge of water-elemental techniques included the many techniques of the sect and his experiences from numerous fights throughout his cultivation journey. The knowledge-sharing session was far more fruitful than he had expected; the disciples learned a lot, but he also took the chance to reflect and collate his knowledge.

The next two days focused on swordsmanship. These two days were the most anticipated because Lu Ping remained unrivaled in swordsmanship in his generation, earning him the honorable 'Water Sword Immortal" title. Many disciples wished to become his apprentice because of his swordsmanship.

In reality, Lu Ping was not a pure swordsman. Swordsmanship was only the fighting method that he used the most. Although he had only learned a few sword arts in the past, Lu Ping was no longer limited by this. Throughout the years, his knowledge of swordsmanship had widened significantly after being exposed to many dangerous adventures. As a result, his knowledge widened the perspectives of the many cultivators present, helping many of them to reach the peak of their current swordsmanship level.

In addition to the Blood Condensation Realm disciples present, there were also many Core Forging Realm cultivators listening to him through their divine revelation. Lu Ping did not react to this, and just focused on sharing his knowledge.

During the fifth and sixth days, the contents focused on alchemy, rendering many cultivators unable to comprehend his words. The only ones that paid attention were the alchemists of the sect and the cultivators intending to walk the path of an alchemist.

Who was Lu Ping? He was one of the only five master alchemists in the sect. It was not an exaggeration to consider him the best alchemist after Tian-Hu. Lu Ping was considered a senior to many cultivators present because whilst some of them were in the Core Forging Realm, their alchemy skills were not at the same level, making them unable to advance to a master alchemist.

Lu Ping even saw Tao Xuan-Fang in the crowd. The man no longer acted so proud and arrogant as before, especially after Xuan-Jing stole a quarter of the Core Forging Pellet's essence in an unethical manner, almost ruining Lian Xuan-Feng's incredibly bright future. This incident crushed Tao Xuan-Fang's pride in the sect; if it weren't for Lu Ping, Xuan-Jing would face severe punishments.

Lu Ping's ability to concoct the Little Core Forging Pellet was classified by Tian-Hu.

The Little Core Forging Pellet was not as powerful as the actual Core Forging Pellet. It took Liang Xuan-Feng three Little Core Forging Pellets to compensate for the lost essence of the actual Core Forging Pellet. As a pellet that was nearly in the Law Avatar Realm, the Little Core Forging Pellet could only be consumed three times in a cultivator's lifetime. As such, a late-Core Forging Realm cultivator couldn't rely solely on it to achieve a higher grade Golden Core.

Despite this, the Little Core Forging Pellet was especially effective in the first and second infusion of wonder items. For example, if Xuan-Jing had three Little Core Forging Pellets at his disposal, he wouldn't have needed to steal the essence of the Core Forging Pellet. He could use just the Little Core Forging Pellets to help him infuse the wonder items to enter the late-Core Forging Realm.

The final day of the seminar was a question and answer session. Instead of sharing his knowledge, Lu Ping prepared to patiently answer the questions thrown at him. However, unexpectedly, none of the cultivators dared to ask him a question in front of the massive crowd, resulting in an awkward situation.

In the end, the awkwardness was finally ended by a few cultivators here to learn about alchemy. Although these cultivators were only ordinary alchemists, they were all in the Core Forging Realm, and some even had a higher position in the sect than Lu Ping. As such, Lu Ping did not behave arrogantly. He humbly answered the questions and continued the session in the form of a discussion.

After answering these alchemists, more and more alchemists joined in and asked Lu Ping their questions, turning the seminar into an alchemy knowledge-sharing discussion. As the discussion went on, more and more cultivators chimed in, so it was no longer limited to only alchemists. The Core Forging Realm cultivators listening to the seminar through their divine revelation also showed up. They shared their opinions and knowledge one after another, removing Lu Ping from the spotlight.

The cultivators gathered were very surprised. Although Lu Ping was no longer the main speaker, the disciples had never seen such a massive gathering consisting of Core Forging Realm cultivators in the sect. The content of their discussions was fascinating and quickly drew the attention of the Blood Condensation Realm disciples.

There were so many Core Forging Realm cultivators involved that the hundreds of disciples split into groups to listen to the discussion they were interested in. After listening to the discussions held by high-level cultivators, the disciples gained a lot of insights and knowledge.

The seven-day seminar ended up being extended by another three days as more and more Core Forging Realm cultivators chimed in. If it weren't for Tian-Fan's influence, the seminar would have lasted even longer.

However, Tian-Fan did not simply stop the discussion. After ordering the seminar to stop, he decreed that a similar seminar would be held every year during the orientation. The seminar would last for nine days. The first six days would be held specifically for Blood Condensation Realm disciples, with the Core Forging Realm cultivators being the speakers. The remaining three days would be held for the Core Forging Realm cultivators to share their knowledge among themselves, but it was also open to the Blood Condensation Realm disciples if they wished to listen.

Lu Ping had not expected that his casual idea would end up becoming a tradition in the sect. As soon as the seminar ended, Lu Ping headed to visit Li Xuan-Ru, who had been away for a very long time under her master's order. Apart from her, Li Xuan-Ji and Wang Xuan-Jing were also in the same boat. It had been years since they last returned to the sect.

Left with no choice, Lu Ping decided to return to Huang Li Island. However, he was stopped by an incoming golden light.

With a frown, Lu Ping reached his hand out and intercepted the light. The golden light was a scroll containing a message.

He quickly scanned it with his divine revelation, causing his expression to twist immediately. In the next second, he turned around and headed to the Evenite Palace, the residence of Tian-Fan and Tian-Xue.

When he arrived, Tian-Fan, Tian-Jiang, and Tian-Hu were already present. Standing nearby were the late-Core Forging Realm cultivators such as Guo Xuan-Shan.

When they caught sight of Lu Ping, many late-Core Forging Realm cultivators were surprised, but they kept quiet. After noticing Guo Xuan-Shan and Xuan-Shu's expressions, Lu Ping's heart skipped a beat.

The moment Tian-Fan opened his mouth, he unveiled shocking news to everyone present. "This meeting was called because I have tragic news. Xuan-Shu has just reported to me that Li Xuan-Yin's soul candle has gone out!"

The news was sudden, catching everyone off-guard, and creating a heavy atmosphere.