Chapter 597: Xuan Hao's Test for the Younger Disciples~

"You're going to hold a lecture for the new disciples?"

"Yes, and I wanted you to join the lecture as well, as I'm planning to go over the Qi Condensation Realm and how to go from the Qi Condensation Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"I want to join!"

Having woken Bai Ning up from his meditation, Xuan Hao smiled happily upon hearing Bai Ning's positive response.

Even if he was not as interested in cultivation as he was in blacksmithing, he still wanted to improve his cultivation realm after knowing not only the benefits it brought to his blacksmithing, but also after knowing that he would be able to forge stronger weapons and artifact with a stronger cultivation realm.

"Great! Let's going then."

Whoosh~

Not wasting any more time after hearing Bai Ning's positive response, Xuan Hao directly used his domain to lift both of them off the ground before flying towards the location where he planned to hold the lecture for the new disciples of the sect.

...

Whoosh

Arriving at the location he had chosen for his lecture; Xuan Hao could not help frowning when he heard saw that there were so many disciples and elders present in front of the hall, he was going to hold his lecture.

Among them, only a dozen or so were new disciples who had come to listen to his lecture. Did the rest of them just show up to see him?

Honestly, Xuan Hao had no idea why so many elders and older disciples had shown up when he was only planning to hold a lecture for the younger disciples about the two first major cultivation realms...

"Ah, its Elder Xuan and the boy next to him should be one of his disciples!"

"Wah~ Elder Xuan looks so young compared to the other core elders!"

"Don't let his appearance fool you, I'm sure he is already a few hundred years old and just chose to retain his appearance from when he was still young! Don't forget how Core Elder Zu Fei also looks like she is in her mid-twenties but is actually several hundred years old!"

"Indeed... Almost had me fooled into believing that Elder Xuan was only in his thirties..."

Listening to the conversation among the older disciples after they saw him together with their awed expressions, Xuan Hao could not help shaking his head. Not knowing whether or not to chase them away and proceed with his lecture like planned with the dozen or so young disciples that showed up.

Hm? Now that I think about it, why did only a dozen or so show up for my lecture...? I'm still a Domain Lord and a Core Elder, far more of these little ones should have shown up to listen to me-

Ah...

Suddenly realizing something as he looked over the dozen or so younger disciples that had shown up so far, Xuan Hao noticed that all of them were extremely exhausted and could barely breath, it was easy to see just how exhausted they were.

Whoosh~

Spreading out his divine sense across the Flying Sword Sect, Xuan hao could not help smiling wryly the next second, as he saw close to a hundred young disciples all across the Flying Sword Sect, dragging their exhausted bodies towards his current location.

"No, I can't give up like this! Just a little more!"

"Elder Xuan... Is this the reason why there was no competition for joining the lecture? This is the test we have to go through...?"

Listening the young disciples doing their best to drag their exhausted bodies towards the hall where he was going to hold the lecture, Xuan Hao had no idea what to say.

From the looks of it, the younger disciples viewed reaching the hall in time, as a challenge he had set up for them. Only the strongest among them would be able to reach the hall in time for his lecture, while most of them would not be able to reach the hall in time with their Qi Condensation Realm cultivation base!

"..."

What on earth should I do in such a situation...?

Not knowing what to do as he watched the young disciples who just entered the Flying Sword Sect a few months earlier do their best to reach him for a chance to join the lecture, Xuan Hao felt that just bringing them all here would not be good.

Especially considering how they all viewed reaching the hall and getting the privilege to join the lecture as a reward for completing a hard task given to them by him.

"I will begin the lecture in one hour, the disciples who are going to join the lecture can enter the hall for now and get something to drink while waiting for the lecture to start!"

Coming to a decision on what to do, Xuan Hao decided not to ruin the 'test' for the young disciples who had already completed it and those still trying their best. Instead deciding to give the ones who had still not reached the hall one hour to reach the hall.

Given the location of most of the younger disciples making their way towards the hall to join the lecture, Xuan Hao expected for there to at least be fifty at the end of the hour.

Far more than the number of disciples that core elders normally held a lecture for, while at the same time not being so many that the ones who reached the hall in time felt like they had worked hard for nothing.

"Looks like reaching the hall was indeed a task set by Elder Xuan!"

"Haha, to think he came up with such a genius way to test our endurance and willpower! If joining the lecture was decided through a fighting competition like normal, I would have no way of joining..."

"Heh, these young ones are truly lucky..."

Whoosh~

Entering the hall while both the disciples and elders outside were busy talking with each other about what he had just said, Xuan Hao found a place to sit down and meditate inside the hall while waiting for the one hour to pass, Bai Ning was the same, as he obediently followed behind and found a place to meditate next to him and wait for the lecture to begin.

...

"Elder Xuan is holding a lecture for the younger disciples!? How come I didn't hear about this before now?" At the same time Xuan Hao was waiting for the one hour to pass, Feng Chen sitting inside Zu Fei pavilion sprang up from his chair as he asked the elder in front of him.

"Sect master, according to what I know, Elder Xuan announced that he was going to hold a lecture for the younger disciples late last night through the information boards when most of them were still sleeping. From what I have seen so far, it seems that it was planned that way, so the disciples would not have a lot of time to get to the location of the lecture after finding out about it."

"Hm, I see...A test of endurance for the younger disciples, the reward is joining the lecture. Different from normal, but still a decent test for these young ones. Especially fitting given their current cultivation realms!" Smiling to himself as he heard about the test that the younger disciples had to go through, Feng Chen could not help feeling happy that Xuan Hao was teaching the disciple.

After all, with his strength, a lecture by him was bound to cause a few disciples listening to experience a breakthrough!

Even more, it would allow the disciples to have something more to look forward to when another lecture was held in the future. Not to mention, news about a Domain Lord Realm expert personally teaching the new disciples of the Flying Sword Sect would surely help when it came to helping draw in more talented disciples in the future!

Maybe, they would even be able to start seeing disciples who came from more affluent backgrounds outside the territory of the Flying Sword Sect!

"Hehe~"

Just thinking about how the name of the Flying Sword Sect spreading attracting the younger generation of those strong clans with Nascent Soul Realm Experts backing them made him excited.

Especially considering that most of those clans felt that they were far too strong to send their people into a place like the Flying Sword Sect...

Remembering something from the past during an encounter with the head of one of these clans, Feng Chen could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine.

"Sect master, I will take my leave..." Noticing something from the entrance behind him, the elder who had just informed him about Xuan Hao's lecture took his leave.

"Sure-"

Allowing him to leave, Feng Chen suddenly froze when he saw the person who had appeared at the entrance to the room.

"Z-Zu Fei, Shu Yao!?"

Well not person, but two people who had appeared at the entrance to his room.

For some reason, Feng Chen had a feeling deep inside that it might be related to what had happened between him and Zu Fei yesterday...