Chapter 211: Inheritor

“It was too reckless of me; I mistook someone else for her.”Chen Mobai wasn't sure what riddle Yuan Chiye was posing, but he acknowledged that approaching Ding Ying so rashly had indeed been his mistake.

“Actually, the one who went with me to Nanxi Market last time was Junior Sister Yin. However, her identity is special; if rival sects found out, it could lead to some undesirable consequences. If anything were to happen to her, our Divine Wood Sect might not hesitate to initiate a sect-wide war, which is why we borrowed Junior Sister Ding’s identity for her.”

Junior Sister Yin?So, it was indeed the legendary Heavenly Spirit Root.Chen Mobai confirmed a suspicion he had, but he still feigned a look of "shock" on his face.

“I’ll keep this secret; I won’t let anyone know.”“It’s fine; Junior Sister Yin won’t be allowed to leave the sect by Ancestor Fu until she achieves Foundation Establishment.”

Yuan Chiye seemed to trust Chen Mobai greatly, even divulging such a significant sect secret.“Junior Brother Chen, in another two years, I also plan to go into seclusion to take the Foundation Establishment Pill. However, our faction has no successor among the True Disciples. If you’re willing, I can speak with Junior Sister Ding and arrange for you to become a True Disciple this very year.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai’s gaze subtly shifted. He hadn't expected Yuan Chiye to offer such terms just to recruit him.

“Senior Sister Ding might not be willing.”“As long as you are, Uncle-Master E will personally persuade Junior Sister Ding. Once she has her Foundation Establishment Pill, holding onto the True Disciple position won’t mean much to her anymore.”

Yuan Chiye’s words silenced Chen Mobai. It turned out that the True Disciple position, which seemed incredibly important to them, was not as significant in the eyes of those above.He supposed that was true. Wasn’t the greatest benefit of the True Disciple position the Foundation Establishment Pill?It certainly seemed a bit unseemly for someone who had already received the pill to continue occupying the spot.

“What would I need to do to join your faction? And what would I gain?”“You would receive the support of our faction. In return, however, you would need to take over some of my tasks in Yunmeng Marsh while I am in seclusion taking the Foundation Establishment Pill. The group of people who came from Nanxi Market would be reassigned to you.”

Chen Mobai shook his head upon hearing this.He would naturally be willing if it only involved staying within the Divine Wood Sect, but Yunmeng Marsh posed too great a risk. Without achieving Foundation Establishment, he felt there was no need to take such a gamble.

“I owe Uncle-Master E Yun a favor. As long as I become a True Disciple, I will say I am part of your faction.”Chen Mobai’s words brought a look of surprise to Yuan Chiye’s face. He hadn't expected such an answer.

“So you mean you won’t join us, but you’ll still claim to be one of us?”“Precisely.”

“But without our help, you’d need at least another five or six years to become a True Disciple. Moreover, if you lose this time, the Spiritual Plant Department won't lend you any more second-tier magical artifacts. You might not even wait for the next Jade Marrow Ganoderma to mature; you might have to wait for the one after that, another ten years from now.”Yuan Chiye’s words were cold, but realistic.“What if I defeat Senior Sister Ding?”Chen Mobai asked, eliciting a wry chuckle from Yuan Chiye.

“That’s impossible.”After this, the two dropped the subject and discussed other topics. Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Mobai bid farewell.

“Senior Brother Yuan, we met today, but this wine is truly mediocre. Next time I open a jar of my own brewed spiritual wine, I'll treat you to a proper drink.”In the pavilion, Yuan Chiye watched Chen Mobai leave, then put down his wine cup. Frowning, he drained the remaining half-flask.This wine was worth three spirit stones, already considered quite good in Divine Wood City; it shouldn’t go to waste.

“You think so highly of him?”A dark figure descended. It was E Yun, with an ordinary face and bright eyes. He watched Yuan Chiye, picked up his chopsticks, and began eating the leftover dishes.“Among the talented individuals from Yun Kingdom, Yu Lian was taken as a disciple by Uncle-Master Shan, and the Luo siblings are descendants of Uncle-Master Luo. Only he is truly unattached and impartial.”“Although Liu Wenbo is also decent, his spiritual root is somewhat inferior, and even with our help, he would at most only become a True Disciple.”“After you and I, if we want someone to lead independently among the True Disciples, I think he is the most suitable.”Yuan Chiye spoke candidly.

During the previous Spirit Crossing mission, of the four nations under the Divine Wood Sect, the founding nation where the sect was located had separate arrangements. As for the others, Yun Kingdom was assigned to E Yun, Yu Kingdom to Hong He, and Lei Kingdom to Zhou Wangshen.Unfortunately, among the four geniuses recruited from Yun Kingdom, three were already claimed.Yu Lian was fine; he was a lone wolf.Like Chen Mobai, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation after leaving the New Sprout Hall.However, the Luo siblings took many people with them, causing E Yun to lack manpower when developing Yunmeng Marsh, falling behind the other Foundation Establishment Elders in progress.

“Then let him hit a few walls for a few years. When the Jade Marrow Ganoderma is about to mature, he’ll come to us.”E Yun said this after finishing the food and wine.“Should we say something to Junior Sister Ding? She seems to have a small grudge against Junior Brother Chen.”“He needs to experience some hardship to learn to yield. Junior Sister Ding knows what she’s doing.”Upon hearing this, Yuan Chiye said no more.

When Chen Mobai returned, he found Qi Rui drowning his sorrows in wine at the inn where they were staying.“Did you lose?”He asked Xi Jinghuo, who was sitting nearby. Xi Jinghuo had already been eliminated in the fourth round.However, Xi Jinghuo believed his future was promising and felt certain he would become a True Disciple before the next batch of Jade Marrow Ganoderma matured.Thus, his elimination from this sect competition caused no emotional波动; he accepted it calmly.Qi Rui, on the other hand, after reaching the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, had only managed to break into the top forty-eight in his first year due to good luck. For the past two years, he had been stopped in the fifth round, which was quite a blow to someone who had intended to make a name for himself.

“I ran into last year’s True Disciple; I couldn’t beat them.”Qi Rui answered himself, taking another bitter sip.“It seems the three of us will be finishing this sect competition together tomorrow.”Xi Jinghuo’s words made Chen Mobai shake his head. This guy had already assumed he couldn't defeat Ding Ying.“I’ll go rest first. Tomorrow’s match requires a bit more seriousness.”With that, Chen Mobai left.

Xi Jinghuo and Qi Rui exchanged glances, looking at each other in confusion.Facing Ding Ying, there was simply no way to win, so how much more serious could one be?Were they supposed to seriously concede defeat?

On this day, the sect competition finally reached the battles for the twenty-four True Disciple spots.“Junior Brother Muyuan, please begin.”Chen Mobai sat in a restaurant, watching the first match arranged below.Muyuan was facing a True Disciple who had already obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill. Xi Jinghuo said it was the sect’s intention to persuade those from the previous generation who had received the pill but refused to vacate their spots to step down.However, last year, Yuan Chiye was strong enough to suppress Muyuan, who had been sent by the Divine Wood Hall to clear the way.But this year, he might not be able to hold him back.Chen Mobai watched Muyuan ascend the stage expressionlessly, silently contemplating.