Chapter 3797: The Elders Are Desperate To Please

Next came the Rank Four recruits.

Their treatment was noticeably different as several elders personally arrived to escort them. These recruits possessed enough talent that their future progression into the Inner Court was considered highly likely.

Gradually, the hall emptied as groups departed one after another until only a small number of people remained. Little Bull stayed where he was. Nine other recruits remained along with him

The top ten.

The elite among the elite.

The atmosphere around them felt completely different now. The noise of hundreds of recruits had disappeared and the massive hall seemed far quieter. Yet the pressure filling the area had increased considerably.

Because although only ten recruits remained, more than fifty elders were now present. Some sat calmly, others stood while several watched silently. A few openly studied the recruits as if evaluating priceless treasures.

Little Bull looked around curiously.

Among the remaining recruits, only two possessed Rank Two evaluations, himself and Lushi Tangmen. Below them stood the two Rank Three recruits and Lin Mu recognized neither of them.

Apparently, they had completed their assessments after Little Bull had already left the testing grounds. It was clear that the sect had great luck during this cycle of assessment. Not only did they get a monster like Little Bull, but other talented recruits too.

One was a tall young woman carrying a sword on her back. The other was a thin scholarly looking man who continuously held a folding fan despite standing indoors. Both appeared confident.

The remaining six recruits all possessed Rank Four evaluations. Any one of them would normally be considered a genius. Yet today they were overshadowed by the existence of the top four.

Among those six was the recruit possessing the Six Winged Immortal Butterfly bloodline. The moment Lin Mu noticed him, he could not help observing him more carefully as the man was difficult to classify at first glance.

His features were exceptionally delicate, his skin was smooth and his face possessed neither particularly masculine nor feminine traits.

Combined with his long silver hair and flowing white robes decorated with blue and pink patterns, the result was a person whose appearance seemed to balance perfectly between male and female.

Several recruits occasionally glanced towards the androgynous man, before quickly looking away. The man carried himself with obvious pride. Or perhaps arrogance, as his gaze swept across the gathering hall as though evaluating everyone present.

The only people he seemed to regard seriously were Lushi Tangmen and, reluctantly, Little Bull. Even then, his expression whenever he looked toward Little Bull appeared rather unpleasant.

Lin Mu could practically hear his thoughts.

The butterfly bloodline genius clearly found it difficult to accept that a simple villager had ranked above him. Still, he remained silent as the rankings had already been finalized. Arguing now would only embarrass himself.

Soon several senior elders stepped forward and one of them addressed the remaining recruits.

"Your rankings and talents place you among the most outstanding individuals of this assessment cycle." The recruits listened attentively.

"Because of this, additional evaluations regarding your future cultivation path will be conducted."

Lin Mu found himself growing curious. He had expected something complicated. Perhaps more assessments, perhaps combat examinations, perhaps even complex tests involving Dao comprehension.

Or at least something along those lines.

Instead, what followed surprised him. There were no additional tests at all. The elders simply began talking, one after another.

An elder would approach a recruit, introduce themselves, explain their division, describe their cultivation path, list their resources, present their benefits, then ask whether the recruit was interested.

The process was astonishingly straightforward.

A sword elder approached the young woman carrying the sword and began describing the advantages of the Sword Hall.

An alchemy elder spoke to one of the Rank Four recruits who had demonstrated exceptional alchemical aptitude.

Formation elders competed over another.

Body cultivation elders surrounded a muscular young man who had displayed impressive physical talent.

The entire scene resembled a marketplace, except the items being traded were disciples. Lin Mu found the situation rather amusing. The elders were behaving far differently from what he had expected.

He had imagined powerful immortals maintaining dignified appearances while calmly selecting disciples.

Reality proved very different as many of them looked nervous. Some appeared anxious while others continuously adjusted their robes while waiting for opportunities to speak. Several elders even glared at one another.

The recruits, meanwhile, appeared far calmer as they were essentially being courted. It became increasingly clear that the competition was not among the recruits. The competition was among the elders.

More than fifty elders and only ten disciples... The imbalance was obvious.

Not every elder would succeed and many would leave empty handed. The atmosphere gradually became more tense as several elders began raising their offers.

One promised access to a private cultivation ground. Another, guaranteed special resources. While a third offered rare manuals. One particularly desperate elder openly promised three hundred years’ worth of contribution points in advance.

Immediately, several other elders accused him of bribery.

The argument nearly escalated before administrative elders intervened.

Time slowly passed as one recruit accepted an elder. Then another and gradually matches began forming. Yet even after an entire hour had passed, something strange remained. No elder had approached Little Bull.

Not a single one.

The situation felt increasingly bizarre and several recruits noticed it. Even Lushi Tangmen occasionally glanced toward him. After all, everyone knew Little Bull was one of the two Rank Two recruits.

He should have been the most sought after disciple present. Yet the elders seemed to be deliberately avoiding him.

Little Bull scratched his head. "Elder He Jian."

The old man looked over. "Yes?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

Elder He Jian almost laughed. "No."

"Then why is nobody talking to me?"

The old man’s expression became strange, very strange. He looked toward the gathered elders, then toward Little Bull, then back toward the elders. A helpless sigh escaped him. Because unlike Little Bull, he knew exactly what was happening.

The reason nobody was approaching him was simple, every elder present wanted him. And that was precisely why none of them dared make the first move.

The moment one elder approached Little Bull, the other dozens would immediately swarm in and another war would begin.

A much larger one than yesterday.

Thus everyone was waiting... Waiting for someone else to move first.

Waiting for the Elder Council’s final decision, waiting for the inevitable disaster and somewhere among the gathered elders, Lin Mu could already see several of them glaring at one another like hungry wolves surrounding the same piece of meat.

It was only a matter of time before the situation exploded again.

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