Chapter 366
Zheng Fa, the leader of the sect, certainly knew how to provoke people.
The other Yuanying (Nascent Soul) cultivators present were no longer focused on the disciples competing but were instead whispering among themselves.
"Fourteen, huh? I remember when the Jiu Shan Sect had only this many Jindan (Golden Core) cultivators before, right?"
"Has it doubled?"
"Not just that, but among these fourteen Jindan, there are actually seven high-quality Jindan! If given time, won't there be seven more Yuanying cultivators? Currently, the Jiu Shan Sect has only five Yuanying, right?"
With this, all the Yuanying turned their gazes toward Zheng Fa.
Among the group seated here, there were two Huashen (Transformation) cultivators, while the vast majority were Yuanying. Only Zheng Fa was the youngest, with a cultivation level of merely Jindan, making him feel somewhat out of place.
Yet, at this moment, he was the center of attention.
The golden light from afar shone upon him, making him gleam brilliantly, unforgettable to those who beheld him.
But the frown on his brow made everyone wonder—was the Jiu Shan Sect really that pitiful?
With so much potential talent, why was he frowning like that?
Was he really that dissatisfied?
People began to reflect:
"Have we been too lenient in our expectations of our disciples?"
"Look at how prosperous the Jiu Shan Sect is now!"
"Could it be that strict teachers produce exceptional students?"
Zheng Fa truly had no idea that his expression could mislead the disciples from other sects.
He was indeed a bit disappointed.
Out of the fourteen disciples, only half had condensed high-quality Jindan, which was somewhat below his expectations.
In theory, this ratio would be considered a great achievement in any sect within the Xuanwei realm.
But the Jiu Shan Sect was different.
After the "Jindan Project," the twelve Jindan techniques within the sect had become nearly perfected.
That aside, these disciples had even grasped the principles of Jindan, leaving little room for doubt in their minds.
Of course, this didn’t guarantee that everyone would achieve high-quality Jindan.
The issue lay in simplification.
The effect of simplifying the process could be illustrated with a simple probability problem:
If there were originally twenty steps to complete, each with a 90% success rate, the overall success rate would be just over 10%.
If simplified to only ten steps, the overall success rate would rise to over 30%.
That’s about a threefold increase.
Of course, condensing Jindan wasn’t that simple—he couldn’t just halve every method. The so-called "success rate" varied with different techniques and the individual conditions of the cultivators, making it impossible to calculate precisely.
But the principle was roughly the same.
On the other hand, fewer steps had another advantage:
Since the process of condensing Jindan consumed spiritual energy and mental focus, the more steps involved, the less control a cultivator had over the process, naturally leading to a lower "success rate."
With fewer steps, that risk was eliminated.
Thus, Zheng Fa believed that the proportion of high-quality Jindan should be higher.
After some thought, Zheng Fa shook his head, realizing that this was the first large-scale practice of the "Jindan Project," and it couldn’t fully meet ideal expectations. Additionally, each foundation-building disciple had different conditions; some had significant flaws in their Dao foundation, which likely had a considerable impact.
He planned to summarize and further refine the theory of the "Jindan Project" after this batch of disciples emerged from their seclusion, improving these Jindan techniques once more.
In the future, with the "Fuda Foundation-Building Method" for foundation-building and the "Jindan Project" for Jindan, it would be a whole new scene!
As for those disciples who hadn’t achieved high-quality Jindan, Xuanwei cultivators might think they had no hope of becoming Yuanying...
But the "Nine Turns Jindan Method" might just surprise Zheng Fa.
Having thought through all this, Zheng Fa looked up and noticed the strange expressions of the surrounding Yuanying cultivators.
"Why are you all looking at me like that..." he asked, puzzled. "Is the competition over?"
"Huh?"
Everyone turned around to see the victorious disciple standing in the arena, hands on his hips, looking lonely, aggrieved, and utterly bored.
...
After the sports meet, there was an awards ceremony, and the Baixian Conference followed suit!
The Baixian Conference was divided into three categories: Jindan, Foundation-Building, and Qi Refining, with the top eight in each category receiving rewards from the Tongming Master.
Zheng Fa looked at the Seventh Young Master, who stood foolishly on stage, shaking his head:
"This guy actually managed to rank seventh in the Qi Refining category!"
The quality of disciples in the Baixian Alliance was concerning!
But then again, it made sense—
The Seventh Young Master had reached the late stage of Qi Refining, and aside from the disciples of the Jiu Shan Sect, his mastery of talismans was undoubtedly among the best in the Baixian Alliance.
However, talismans had a significant advantage among Qi Refining disciples, as magical artifacts could only be used after reaching Jindan.
Moreover, this guy was currently receiving considerable attention from the Qingmu Sect, which excelled in alchemy.
Zheng Fa had watched the Seventh Young Master’s matches: this guy was definitely a cash-spending, pill-popping warrior!
Those with higher cultivation than him had fewer talismans, and those with the same number of talismans had fewer pills. Even those with more pills surrendered faster than he did!
As the Tongming Master distributed spirit stones and various rewards to these disciples, he felt a bit awkward—he could sense that everyone seemed somewhat distracted.
He was too.
Because they were all waiting for the next event—the Jiu Shan Sect's new Jindan ceremony.
This was also suggested by Uncle Pang, who felt that Zheng Fa’s achievement in condensing Jindan deserved a celebration. At the time, Zheng Fa had declined, as he had already had a ceremony when he took over as leader, and the two events were too close together; he didn’t want to make a fuss.
Now that the sect had gained fourteen new Jindan cultivators, significantly boosting its strength, it was better to take advantage of the excitement in the Jiu Shan realm and hold a grand celebration.
After thinking for two days, Zheng Fa agreed—after all, it was only natural to want to show off after a breakthrough, right?
He couldn’t deprive those new Jindan disciples of this joy.
To his surprise, the Tongming Master and others seemed quite interested as well.
Thus, after the Baixian Alliance awards ceremony, the Jindan celebration of the Jiu Shan Sect commenced.
Once the Seventh Young Master and the others received their rewards, the fourteen newly advanced Jindan cultivators from the Jiu Shan Sect lined up on stage. They had just advanced, their auras not yet fully contained, and as they walked together, they exuded an impressive presence.
Even the Yuanying cultivators watching couldn’t help but hold their breath, their gazes complex as they looked at these disciples.
Leading the fourteen was Sun Daoyu, Uncle Pang’s disciple, who had condensed a high-quality Jindan and held considerable prestige among the disciples, making him the de facto leader.
At this moment, Sun Daoyu was no longer the calm and composed figure he used to be; a silly grin spread across his face, and upon seeing Zheng Fa, he couldn’t help but beam with joy, clearly reveling in his success.
In the audience, Uncle Pang watched his disciple with a smile that could light up the room.
The Jindan ceremony, however, couldn’t compare to the earlier awards ceremony—there were no prizes to be given.
The main purpose was to introduce these new Jindan disciples to the rest of the sect and to replace their waist tokens with those of true disciples.
Zheng Fa handed the newly crafted waist token to Sun Daoyu, who took it and carefully rubbed it with his fingers, his eyes slightly reddening.
Zheng Fa patted his shoulder and gently nudged him forward.
Sun Daoyu took a couple of steps and stood before Zheng Fa, facing the bustling crowd of Jiu Shan Sect disciples and the visiting cultivators.
First, the disciples of the Jiu Shan Sect bowed to him: "Congratulations, Senior Brother, on achieving Jindan and ascending to true disciple status!"
The chorus of voices echoed, shaking the very air.
Sun Daoyu hurriedly returned the gesture.
Then came the congratulations from the visiting cultivators, their expressions quite serious—after all, a Jindan cultivator was a significant figure in the Xuanwei realm, especially a high-quality one with the potential to become a Yuanying talent.
Even the Yuanying cultivators quietly noted Sun Daoyu’s face.
After the eighth disciple received their waist token and the congratulations, the expression of the ninth disciple was no longer purely joyful... it also bore a hint of shame.
Because he had only condensed a mid-quality Jindan.
The expressions of the subsequent disciples couldn’t hide their disappointment either.
Watching from below, the Tongming Master and others found it even more peculiar:
"A mid-quality Jindan is a bit lacking, but is it necessary to be this way?"
"Huh? What’s with the inflated expectations in the Jiu Shan Sect?"
The Tongming Master turned to look at the elite disciples he had brought, mentally calculating that among the hundred or so Jindan cultivators, there were no more than fifteen high-quality ones!
And this was still the cream of the crop from several generations of disciples in the Baixian Alliance!
Seeing the forlorn expression on the disciple’s face only fueled his frustration!
Zheng Fa, however, understood the disciple’s disappointment...
He patted the young man’s shoulder, smiled, and said, "When you return, take some time to reflect on the mistakes made during the Jindan process. Future disciples can learn from your experience."
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