Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

The Dao Repository Vault of the Black-White College only held the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]. To this very day, no one was capable of recording down the final three stances in written form.

However, those words left behind on the stone wall had been personally penned by Immortal Northwalker. Only when there was a sword-intent resonance would an Epochal Transmission occur, and could the [Three-Foot Sword] be transmitted.

“So that’s how it works. Occasionally, a later disciple of the Black-White College will receive an Epochal Transmission, but even if they do, it’s quite rare for them to obtain the complete sword technique. The last time a complete sword technique was transmitted was more than thirty million years ago.” Upon reading this, Ning finally understood how astonishing a gain he had just reaped.

Ning also now understood why Headmaster Daoist Jadesea had given him this scroll. It was precisely because of how important the [Three-Foot Sword] was; if some of the enemy powers were to learn that the Black-White College had produced yet another genius who had gained the complete legacy of the [Three-Foot Sword], they would probably use any means at their disposal to ensure that this genius would fall early on.

Thus, this news absolutely could not be publicized. But of course, he could still use the [Three-Foot Sword]; after all, the Dao Repository Vault had the secret manuals for the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]. As for using the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], if the situation called for it…then there was no need to keep the secret any longer. Once one possessed the power of the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], then one would already be standing at a peak of power. After all, the seventh stance was already something which even Immortal Northwalker was unable to commit to paper; from this, one could imagine how powerful it was.

…….

Two more hours passed. Only now did Northson completely come to his senses.

“Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.” Northson’s eyes were blazing as he turned to look at the nearby Ning. He immediately called out in excitement, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, this Black-White Diagram is simply too helpful in training. I feel as though I have made tremendous, tremendous progress in the Dao of Constructs.”

But immediately afterwards, Northson realized something; Ning had awoken before he did. Most likely, he hadn’t gained as much from the Black-White Diagram as Northson himself did. This made Northson feel rather embarrassed.

“Indeed, I’ve gained much,” Ning said with a laugh. “It’s late. I imagine that it will be dawn soon. Junior apprentice-brother Northson, it’s time to get some rest. Two days later, we’ll go to the Headmaster’s Palace.”

“Right.” Northson nodded.

“Also,” Ning warned, “These words left behind by Immortals all have quite a history and are worthy of you viewing.” Northson walked the Dao of Constructs; naturally, he wouldn’t have the heart of a Sword Immortal and wouldn’t be able to receive the legacy of the Immortal Northwalker. However, although Ning had received the Epochal Transmission of Immortal Northwalker, it could very well be that there were other legacies left behind by other ancestors of the school on the stone wall.

“Right. It’s almost dawn. I’ll come here in the future and read through them slowly,” Northson said with a laugh.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two left, one on a wooden boat, the other on an Azure Dragon construct. They each headed towards their own abodes.

…………

In the blink of an eye, two days passed. As had been predicted, on the second and third days, there were no applicants who were qualified to become formal disciples of the Black-White College! Thus, this year, the only new disciples of the Black-White College were Ji Ning and Mu Northson.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ning and Northson were streaking through the air above the Black-White College like two streaks of light, moving directly towards the Headmaster’s Palace.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Northson’s eyes were filled with eagerness. “Today, we will receive black-white pellets. We’ll be able to enter the Dao Repository Vault and exchange it for Ki Refining techniques or secret Immortal techniques. In addition…we will be paying our respects to our masters. We don’t even know who they will be yet.”

“Right. I wonder who will be my master,” Ning mused in a soft voice. Master. For an Immortal practitioner to acknowledge a master was completely different from how he had acknowledged Blindfish to be his master when learning archery as a child. Archery was just the technique of an ordinary mortal, but your master on the Immortal path…what they passed down to you would help you on your road to becoming an Immortal. The value of this benevolence shown was far greater, and most likely the relationship between a master and apprentice would persist for centuries or even millennia.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning and Northson landed in front of the Headmaster’s Hall. Quite a few formal disciples had already gathered together within the Headmaster’s Hall, at least a hundred or more. They were casually chatting amongst themselves, and all of them had extraordinary demeanors.

When Ning and Northson entered the palace, quite a few of the formal disciples turned to glance at them. Most of them had kind looks in their eyes, and they nodded slightly, signifying greetings.

“It seems only part of the formal disciples of the Black-White College have come,” Ning mused to himself. “It makes sense. Immortal practitioners can’t always be staying within the school; I imagine many are outside.”

Each year, there would be a grand ceremony for admitting new disciples. But sometimes Immortal practitioners would enter closed-door meditation for decades; thus, attendance at this sort of ceremony was not too important. Those who could come would; if one couldn’t, it didn’t matter much. Still…for most, as long as they weren’t engaged in any pressing matters within the school, they would still come and pay their respects at the Headmaster’s Palace.

“The Headmaster is coming,” someone suddenly called out. Ning and the others immediately turned to look. A white-robed youth was descending from midair, and there were multiple figures behind him. All of them were Primal Daoists of the Black-White College; this entire group of Primal Daoists descended en masse.

“According to the normal customs of the Black-White College, new disciples of the College will generally take on Primal Daoists as masters,” Ning mused to himself. The Primal Daoists of the Black-White College were not like those of ordinary schools; some of them had such astonishing power that they were comparable to ordinary Immortals. Thus, being able to become a disciple of a Primal Daoist of the Black-White College was quite a fortunate affair.

“I wonder which one of them will be my master?” Ning swept his gaze past all of the Primal Daoists, including the headmaster, Daoist Jadesea. He began to privately guess at which of them it would be.





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Book 7, Chapter 25 - Daoist Title, Darknorth


Daoist Jadesea sat on high in the headmaster’s seat, staring downwards towards the Primal Daoists, who had lined up into two rows. Beneath the palace was a group of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples.