Chapter 1971 - Sixty-Ninth Peak

Compared with the other halls, the Enrollment Hall was relatively quiet. Elder Kong brought the three thousand newcomers inside, and the other nine elders had already left. News of their arrival had reached the hall ahead of them, and its staff waited to receive them.

Deacons stood along both sides, ready to guide the disciples to their allotted residences.

"What kept you, Old Kong?" an elder asked, hurrying out from the hall's depths as they entered.

"We added a trial this year. It took a little longer," Elder Kong replied in greeting. Turning to the three thousand disciples, he introduced the man. "Elder Shi oversees everything here in the Enrollment Hall."

"Our respects, Elder Shi," the disciples said, bowing in unison.

"The arrangements are complete. Each of you, take one box," Elder Shi instructed.

Three thousand small boxes awaited them in the middle of the hall. Inside each were outer sect disciples' robes and books to familiarize the newcomers with their sect.

Liu Wuxie took a box and placed it in his interspatial ring. There would be time to inspect it after he reached his residence.

"Old Shi, could you place that young man on the fifth peak?" Elder Kong whispered, drawing his colleague aside while the disciples collected their boxes.

He lowered his voice so only Elder Shi could hear him.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible. The fifth peak isn't accepting disciples. Besides, at his cultivation, they'd bully him to death there," Elder Shi replied with a shake of his head.

Peak masters presided over the Azure Jade Palace's seventy-two peaks. Some had already taken too many disciples and temporarily stopped admitting newcomers. Whenever a peak opened recruitment again, it informed the Enrollment Hall in advance, allowing the staff to prepare.

"Then what about the seventh peak?" Elder Kong asked, his brow furrowing. The fifth peak's abundant resources would have enabled Liu Wuxie to advance more quickly.

No one else could hear the exchange. Liu Wuxie, however, read their lips and followed every word.

"Old Kong, what do you see in this boy? Why go to such lengths to secure him a favorable placement? He's only a Profound Immortal, and the sect won't allow him to take a master. Surviving in the Azure Jade Palace will be difficult enough. Do you realize how many people have their eyes on him because of those fifty immortal roots?" Elder Shi asked earnestly.

The Enrollment Hall had already heard that Liu Wuxie had placed first in all four trials. At first, Elder Shi had been as astonished as anyone, but after learning about the fifty immortal roots, all he could do was sigh.

"Don't concern yourself with that. Just send him to the seventh peak," Elder Kong insisted. Even he could not fully account for his faith in Liu Wuxie. Perhaps it arose from the debt he felt he owed the young man, and helping him would ease his conscience. Moreover, the seventh peak's peak master was his friend and could keep an eye on Liu Wuxie for him.

"Let me be honest with you, Old Kong. I've already received instructions to place him on the sixty-ninth peak," Elder Shi confided. Their long friendship alone persuaded him to disclose something he would otherwise have kept private.

"Ji Pei ordered it?!" Anger flashed across Elder Kong's face. During the assessment, Ji Pei had interfered again and again and even attempted to kill Liu Wuxie. Now, he had arranged for Liu Wuxie to be assigned to the sixty-ninth peak.

"It wasn't him," Elder Shi replied, shaking his head. Ji Pei had approached him, but he had rejected his request. These instructions came from someone of even higher standing.

"I see. Thank you, Old Shi," Elder Kong said, apparently beginning to suspect the truth. The woman's earlier intervention had prevented Liu Wuxie from accepting a master. Perhaps the sect's upper echelons had decided this placement as well.

Their private discussion ended, and Elder Kong turned back toward the newcomers.

"It has been a while since our last game of chess, Elder Kong. Shall we play once the disciples are settled?" Elder Shi offered, troubled by guilt. His old friend rarely asked him for favors, yet he had been forced to refuse this one.

"Of course," Elder Kong agreed, waving a hand without looking back. They could catch up once the disciples' arrangements were finished.

The deacons stationed along the hall began reading out names and directing the newcomers into their assigned groups. Huang Zechang went to the sixteenth peak.

"Liu Wuxie is assigned to the sixty-ninth peak!"

Disciples around him exchanged looks.

They were shocked. "The sixty-ninth peak? Why send him there?" Even without fifty immortal roots, talent like Liu Wuxie's should have secured a place among the top ten peaks.

However, Liu Wuxie stayed calm. Elder Shi's conversation with Elder Kong had already told him where he would go.

"Brother Liu, speak to Elder Kong now! Ask him to change your assignment!" Huang Zechang urged, rushing over. The elder had yet to leave, so there was still time to seek his help.

"That won't be necessary," Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. Elder Kong had already done more than enough for him. He would not add to the elder's burden.

When the last name had been called, Liu Wuxie still stood alone in the group for the sixty-ninth peak. Every other peak accepting disciples had taken anywhere from a dozen or so to a few hundred newcomers.

"First Peak disciples, come with me!" a deacon called, stepping forward. Long Yuanxiong and the three other Golden Immortals left the crowd to join him.

"Second Peak disciples, follow me!"

"Third Peak disciples, this way!"

"......"

"Fiftieth Peak disciples, come along!"

"......" Groups departed one after another, steadily emptying the hall. Before leaving, Huang Zechang handed Liu Wuxie a Communication Talisman so they could stay in touch.

"Sixty-Ninth Peak, with me!"

By the time Liu Wuxie's turn arrived, few people remained. Generally, a later position on the list meant a lower standing. The Sixty-Ninth Peak was fourth from the bottom, and that position said enough.

The ranking was not absolute, though, and other differences separated the peaks. The first peak stood closest to the inner peak and consequently enjoyed far richer immortal energy and denser laws than the Seventy-Second Peak.

Liu Wuxie followed his deacon out of the Immortal Ascension Hall.

"Bridges connect the peaks. Have your identity token ready," the deacon instructed. He remained courteous and made no issue of Liu Wuxie's status. They reached the hall's edge, where a bridge-like structure stood above an abyss.

The deacon brought out his token. Liu Wuxie followed suit, placing his own into a groove on the bridge's left side. Characters flashed into view, and the deacon chose the Sixty-Ninth Peak.

A light screen descended around them. It worked much like a teleportation array, but far more slowly.

Before Liu Wuxie, an illusory bridge unfurled toward the Sixty-Ninth Peak. Such bridges connected every peak, providing convenient passage in a sect where flight was ordinarily forbidden.

Once they stepped onto it, the bridge carried them forward without another stride. In little more than ten breaths, they reached the Sixty-Ninth Peak, far faster than they could have traveled by flight.

They alighted at the peak's edge to a scene of desolation.

Every peak of a superpower like the Azure Jade Palace should have thrived. That expectation only made the bleak surroundings harder to explain.

Liu Wuxie followed the deacon among weathered buildings. Many lay in collapsed heaps, with no repairs to shield their ruins from the elements.

"Senior Brother, would you tell me something about the Sixty-Ninth Peak's history?" Liu Wuxie asked, slipping an interspatial ring into the deacon's hands. Here, unlike the Immortal Ascension Hall with its countless watching eyes, no one stood nearby to observe them.

"Tens of thousands of years ago, the Azure Jade Palace had only sixty-nine outer peaks. The number later grew to seventy-two," the deacon explained. He pocketed the interspatial pouch and slowed down to acquaint Liu Wuxie with the peak as they walked.

"The Azure Jade Palace has no prison. In those days, disciples who broke its rules were sent here to be punished. Strong winds scour this place, and it's near the outermost edge of the outer peaks, so immortal energy is thin. Those sent here had to reclaim uncultivated land. That's how the Seventieth to the Seventy-Second Peaks were built," the deacon continued.

Liu Wuxie felt a stir of surprise. This had been a punishment ground. Although the Seventieth to the Seventy-Second Peaks ranked beneath it, both their locations and their conditions were far better.

Over the years, the sect had gradually abandoned the Sixty-Ninth Peak. Stricter administration meant fewer disciples broke the rules, and every peak had its own Law Enforcement Hall. Offenders no longer needed to be sent here.

Neglect had taken hold. Yet that very abandonment drew disciples who refused to live under rules. As long as no one died, the peak master imposed no punishment. Even a killing brought only a sentence of reclaiming land or a heavy fine in immortal stones.

The Sixty-Ninth Peak had thus become an anomaly within the Azure Jade Palace. The sect had invested considerable effort in reforming it, but achieved little each time.

Orderly disciples would not come, and unruly ones would not leave. That impasse had slowly reduced the Sixty-Ninth Peak to what it was now.

Previously, the sect had assigned a group here whenever it admitted new disciples. Within days, those newcomers had died, been crippled, or had left. Eventually, the Azure Jade Palace had been forced to abandon the effort and leave the peak to its own devices.

Despite its peculiarities, the Sixty-Ninth Peak remained part of the Azure Jade Palace, and its disciples still received the benefits to which they were entitled. After all, disobedience was not the same as betraying the sect.

Every sect had disciples it struggled to tame. The Azure Jade Palace had merely gathered its own in one place.

After hearing the explanation, Liu Wuxie could only sigh. It was just like Shui Yao. Even the way she managed her sect differed from everyone else's.

......

Completing her task, the immortal crane returned to the lotus pond on Matriarch Cradle Peak.

"Mistress, why send him to the Sixty-Ninth Peak? I'm afraid he won't last even three days," the woman asked, bewildered by Shui Yao's decision.

An ordinary disciple would have managed to adapt somehow. Liu Wuxie, however, possessed fifty immortal roots. He was a walking treasure trove, and everyone would want a share.

"If he truly is that man, he'll survive. If he isn't, he has no right to bear that name," Shui Yao murmured, her gaze wandering into the distance. No one knew whom she meant.