8 Chapter 7 High Emotional Quotient and Low Emotional Quotient_2

"Are you Ji Changsheng?"

The voice of Elder Chuanjing echoed, and all eyes turned to Ji Changsheng.

Ji Changsheng stood up, bowed in the manner of a disciple, and then respectfully replied, "Yes, disciple Ji Changsheng."

A smile emerged on Elder Chuanjing's face: "I heard you ranked first in this Inner Sect Disciple assessment, well done. If there's anything you don't understand in the future, you can come to me for advice."

After speaking, a jade talisman wreathed in smokey mist appeared in front of Ji Changsheng.

"This is my token. You can move freely in the Scripture Hall and Mount Misty Cloud with it."

Ji Changsheng paused for a moment, then thanked him, "Thank you, Elder."

He guessed that Elder Chuanjing must have known about his reporting of Old Devil Yu's illegitimate child, hence the kind treatment.

Indeed.

After accepting the talisman, Elder Chuanjing's voice echoed in his ear, "Don't worry about it too much, young fellow. Old Devil Yu and I have a feud stemming from severed friendship. I am aware of your situation, but rest assured, I made a Heavenly Dao vow not to reveal this."

Ji Changsheng bowed again to Elder Chuanjing and took his seat amidst everyone's envious gazes.

Elder Chuanjing did not continue to talk privately with Ji Changsheng, he spoke out loud, "You shouldn't be envious of Ji Changsheng. There are always special perks for being first. If you achieve first place in the next Inner Sect competition, you will naturally have your opportunities."

The others hurriedly agreed.

No matter what they truly thought, only a fool would defy Elder Chuanjing to his face.

Elder Chuanjing certainly knew the others would not fully agree, he continued, "Ji Changsheng may have ranked first in this Inner Sect assessment, but as he has joined the Illusory Light lineage, it's highly unlikely he will win the next competition. Furthermore, since he joined the Illusory Light lineage, his life won't be long. The Mystic Temple's disciples are limited, I hope you can support each other, rather than feeling jealous for a dying man."

Ji Changsheng: "???"

What's going on?

Why is joining the Illusory Light lineage equivalent to a death sentence?

And why wouldn't I be able to win the next Inner Sect Disciple competition?

What does this mean?

Before he could comprehend, he saw the eyes of the others, filled with sympathy.

Even Li Daoyan and Ying Hongye looked at him with pity.

It seemed they all agreed with Elder Chuanjing's words.

Ji Changsheng felt a bit flustered, and took the initiative to ask, "I dare to ask Elder, what do you mean by this?"

Elder Chuanjing looked at him with pity, "Ji Changsheng, you are exceptionally talented and I had high hopes for you, alas, you chose to join the Illusory Light lineage. The Illusory Light… sigh. Everyone knows that the Illusory Light lineage is the shame of Xuandu. If Li Changxi fails to recruit more disciples, this lineage will likely be eliminated."

Ji Changsheng was a little dazed.

This wasn't what Li Changxi told him.

"My master said the Illusory Light lineage ranks first among the eight lineages of Xuandu,"

As Ji Changsheng's voice fell, many people started to laugh, and their gazes towards him were filled with more sympathy.

Elder Chuanjing pondered and said, "You should listen to your master selectively. She... tends to stretch the truth."

Standing in front of the disciples, she didn't divulge the complete truth, still leaving some face for Li Changxi.

But seeing Ji Changsheng's confusion, Elder Chuanjing couldn't bear it any longer.

"Since you all have joined the Inner Sect of Mystic Temple, cultivation is naturally the first priority. To prevent straying off course, I will explain the way of cultivation today, including the reasons for the decline of the Illusory Light lineage. For orthodox cultivation, having a solid foundation is extremely important. There's a saying in Ying Country – a lofty tower rises from the ground with every brick and tile constituting the foundation."

At this, Ji Changsheng's heart stirred. He turned to look at Ying Hongye beside him.

Ying Country?

This was the first time he had heard of this country.

Indeed, he had to quickly deepen his understanding of this world.

However, at the moment, Elder Chuanjing's explanation on cultivation was most important.

"Since you've joined the Mystic Temple, each of the eight lineages of Xuandu has its inheritance, you definitely won't lack cultivation techniques. But the biggest difference between our Xuandu and other sects is — we have shortcuts. We can advance our cultivation base quickly by exploiting certain techniques."

Ji Changsheng immediately thought of the word: merit!

He was right.

Elder Chuanjing didn't hide anything, "Everyone knows that the Mystic Temple is a sect that values merit most. In the Mystic Temple, the disciple who obtains the most merit will receive more respect when compared to the one with the strongest power.

"Merit has countless uses. It can protect us from the invasion of extraterrestrial demons, increase our chances of crossing the Heavenly Tribulation by thirty to fifty percent, and can also keep our Dao heart clear, encouraging us to move forward without hesitation.

"Merit has another important function — when we reach a bottleneck in our cultivation, we can consume a certain amount of merit. Using Mystic Temple's special secret technique, we can directly break through."

Ji Changsheng was shocked and elated.

Such a fantastic thing?

Yes, no wonder he had advanced straight into Foundation Establishment Realm in the Soul Drawing Array.

He had a Merit Gold Lotus.

So as long as he accumulates more merit, he will certainly reach the Nascent Soul level in a year, Mahayana in three years, and Ascension in five years.

Old Devil Yu is worth nothing.

Give me five years, even if I kill his son, dare he fart if I even snatch his wife?

At that moment, Ji Changsheng was full of ambition, seeing a bright future ahead of him.

However, it seemed Elder Chuanjing intended to dampen his enthusiasm: "Just because the Mystic Temple has these easy methods doesn't mean they should distract from cultivation. For those without strong determination, as soon as they encounter a bottleneck, they get into the habit of turning to merit. Once they go through a shortcut, they struggle to continue to cultivate diligently and lose that relentless Dao heart, becoming passers-by on the endless path of cultivation, with no further achievements."