Everyone could not help secretly thanking their lucky stars that Wei Zhao was on hand to smooth things over on the secular world's behalf. Otherwise, if blows had truly been exchanged, the entire cultivation forces of the secular world would have been wiped out in one fell swoop. The Primordial Alliance truly was no force to be trifled with!

Because of the earlier conflict and upheaval, these secular-world cultivators actually harbored little goodwill toward the Primordial Alliance. But at this very moment, having sensed such an immediate and palpable gap in strength, they could not help but feel a measure of solemn respect stir within them. If joining the Primordial Alliance meant a chance to become a Heaven-Realm expert like these people, then that would indeed be a rare opportunity.

!

It was only now that the crowd finally began to feel a genuine longing for the Primordial Alliance. Many of them had come to this disciple selection assembly purely to go through the motions, lest they bring disaster upon their own sects and clans. But now they sincerely hoped that they themselves would be chosen.

Under Qiu Lingshan's lead, the secular-world cultivators took their seats one by one in proper order across the mountain gate plaza, quietly awaiting the start of the selection. Qiu Lingshan herself, however, ran over to Wei Zhao's side and looked at Leng Leng with curiosity. "Who is this?"

Wei Zhao's old face flushed red, and he pinched his nose somewhat awkwardly. "This is Leng Leng, a disciple of the Snow Sword Sect of the Primordial Alliance. I've mentioned her to you before—she's one of us."

"One of us?" Qiu Lingshan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly understood. She could not resist shooting Wei Zhao a glare, and extended her hand to Leng Leng with easy poise. "Hello, I'm Qiu Lingshan, deputy director of the Secular World Mysterious Investigation Bureau—and also one of this philandering radish's own people. I look forward to your guidance in the days to come."

"Philandering radish..." Leng Leng burst out laughing at the words. She promptly clasped Qiu Lingshan's hand and, copying her manner, said, "I look forward to your guidance as well."

Though she was by nature the sort to keep strangers at arm's length, she did not hold Qiu Lingshan at a distance. After all, Wei Zhao had already told her about these matters over the past two days, and the Primordial Little Jianghu shared much the same ancient backdrop as Cloud Terrace Island. It was hardly strange for a man of Wei Zhao's strength to have any number of beauties about him; if he had not a single one, she would instead have to seriously doubt his inclinations.

While Wei Zhao was holding his little family reunion over here, Xin Yijie had already formally begun the first round of selection over there. The principle was simple: each Primordial sect's lead senior brother would step forward to pick people. If any of the secular-world cultivators present were not chosen by any Primordial sect, they were naturally eliminated and could simply pack up and go home.

Those who were chosen could stay and advance to the second round of selection. And if one's aptitude was solid enough to catch the eye of several Primordial sects at once, then it was up to that person to decide according to his own wishes.

The disciples sent by the various secular-world cultivation forces this time were no mere filler—they were all elite disciples of their respective houses. Otherwise, this disciple selection assembly would have been utterly meaningless. The Primordial Alliance would surely seize the occasion to make trouble, and so after the first round of selection, as many as thirty-three disciples remained.

This result greatly exceeded Xin Yijie's expectations. The Primordial sects set extremely strict standards for selecting disciples. Originally, by his reckoning, it would have been impressive if seven or eight had passed the first round. Clearly, the secular world truly brimmed with talent; it was only because the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was too thin that it had declined. Otherwise, its overall strength might not have been much inferior to the Primordial Alliance's.

After sending people to escort away the eliminated secular-world cultivators, Xin Yijie was just about to announce the rules for the second round when Xue Jianfeng suddenly leaped out and shouted, "Hold on! Since this disciple selection assembly is a matter jointly agreed upon by the Primordial Alliance and the secular world, the secular world can't just muddle through half-heartedly, can it? Otherwise, where does that leave the dignity of my Primordial Alliance?"

"Thirty-three remain after the first round of selection—even your own Snow Sword Sect picked four. And you call that muddling through?" Xin Yijie frowned and said in a heavy voice.

"A large number doesn't mean ample sincerity. Martial Uncle Xin, let me ask you a question first: if someone cultivated in the secular world to become a Heaven-Rank Great Perfection expert, wouldn't such a person count as talent with limitless potential?" Xue Jianfeng asked with a meaningful look.

"Of course they would." Xin Yijie nodded. With the spiritual qi of heaven and earth so thin in the secular world and its cultivation resources so barren, reaching Heaven-Rank Great Perfection there was at least a hundred times harder than in the Primordial Alliance. To call such a person's potential limitless was no exaggeration at all.

"If the secular world truly meant to show sincerity, then shouldn't these people come to attend the disciple selection assembly? But from what I know, many Heaven-Rank Great Perfection experts are absent today—and those people are all his subordinates. As the lead Martial Uncle, shouldn't you look into this, Martial Uncle Xin?" Xue Jianfeng's spearhead pointed straight at Wei Zhao.

"This..." Xin Yijie glanced at Wei Zhao with some difficulty, at a loss for how to answer for a moment. The Primordial Alliance and the secular world had jointly held this disciple selection assembly in a spirit of sincere cooperation; at least by reason, those Heaven-Rank Great Perfection experts ought not to be absent.

"Heh heh, Xue Jianfeng, you really never change, do you? Last time you suffered a loss over this very matter, and it's only been a few days—the scar's healed and you've forgotten the pain. You just don't learn, do you?" Wei Zhao said, eyeing Xue Jianfeng unkindly.

The memory of being unilaterally trounced by Wei Zhao last time was still vivid before his eyes, and Xue Jianfeng instinctively recoiled several steps in fright. Only after a moment did he react, his face red with embarrassment, and snorted with bluster masking cowardice: "Hmph, this is my Primordial Alliance's territory. If you dare act recklessly, you're openly provoking the Primordial Alliance—everyone has the right to put you to death!"

"This is plainly Shennongjia. Since when did it become the Primordial Alliance's territory? Still, from the look of you, you do have some memory left—seems that beating last time wasn't wasted." Wei Zhao curled his lip with a half-smile. Then he said, "This disciple selection assembly has one most basic principle: fairness and voluntariness. Whether to come or not is entirely up to each individual. Otherwise, if even the slightest compulsion remains, then this disciple selection assembly is utterly meaningless. If you can't even grasp this point, your intelligence is truly worrying—you'd better hurry off and top it up somewhere, before it gets deducted into the negative."