I Have A Disciple Simulator Chapter 1: The Grand Disciple Induction Ceremony
“Elder Lu, tomorrow is the occasion of Mount Shu’s decennial Disciple Selection Ceremony. The Sect Leader has ordered that all elders not in retreat must participate. Elder Lu?”
“I am aware.”
“What a strange man.”
Elder Lu’s voice resounded from his cave dwelling, while the Mount Shu disciple dispatched to deliver the notice muttered in disappointment.
As one of Mount Shu’s elders, Lu Changsheng had entered the Nascent Soul Realm a century prior and remained in secluded cultivation thereafter. Most disciples who had joined Mount Shu over the past hundred years had never laid eyes on this elder. Without the Disciple Selection Ceremony, even inner sect members might have overlooked his existence within Mount Shu.
“Then, this junior will depart.”
The Mount Shu disciple called forth his Flying Sword and soared into the heavens, balanced upon it.
Mastering Sword Flight was a vital technique for Mount Shu’s inner sect disciples, indicating a cultivation base at minimum in the Qi Transformation Realm.
“Disciple Selection Ceremony…”
Inside his cave dwelling, Lu Changsheng whispered to himself.
Lu Changsheng’s soul had crossed into this cultivation world, and it required three days for him to fully absorb the body’s original memories.
This Mount Shu elder, likewise named Lu Changsheng, had met his end three days earlier due to soul deviation during his push toward the Dao Palace Realm.
Mount Shu stood as one of Xia State’s six premier Orthodox Sects, founded hundreds of thousands of years in the past. Amid endless shifts in the mortal realm’s dynasties, it remained steadfast, dedicated to demon slaying, evil eradication, and the preservation of heavenly justice.
An immense floating mountain without precedent, Mount Shu boasted hundreds of peaks of varying sizes. Every peak was overseen by an elder—typically a Nascent Soul Realm inner sect disciple with outstanding contributions to Mount Shu—granting eligibility for the elder position.
Lu Changsheng counted among these elders who maintained a low profile.
“Verification complete… Initiating Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator… Initiation finished…”
“Scanning host’s disciple count…”
“Existing disciples: 0.”
A mechanical tone reverberated in Lu Changsheng’s Sea of Consciousness.
Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator?
Excitement surged through Lu Changsheng; this appeared to be the golden finger granted upon his transmigration.
Lu Changsheng examined the system with care.
Through the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator, one could uncover a disciple’s potential, simulate their life path, and unlock mentor rewards as the disciple’s cultivation progressed.
Greater disciple achievements in cultivation yielded more substantial rewards for the mentor.
As a devoted cultivation enthusiast fixated on personal growth, Lu Changsheng currently lacked any disciples.
It wasn’t simply a case of more disciples equaling better results. In truth, an excess of disciples could impede one’s own progress. Thus, Mount Shu elders generally prioritized excellence over numbers, accepting pupils only upon discovering individuals of remarkable talent and virtue.
“Growing stronger through accepting disciples?”
With a clear grasp of the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator’s capabilities, Lu Changsheng anticipated the upcoming Mount Shu Disciple Selection Ceremony.
Drawing from the body’s memories, Lu Changsheng understood the Mount Shu Disciple Selection Ceremony as a grand Xia State event occurring every decade. Families and ordinary folk across a hundred thousand li of Xia State spared no effort to secure spots for their offspring in Mount Shu for cultivation.
After all, as one of Xia State’s six great Orthodox Sects, Mount Shu held immense prestige for its demon-slaying and evil-purging exploits. In Great Xia, countless homes enshrined clay idols of Mount Shu’s Ancestor Daoist Taiqing, with reverence persisting for hundreds of thousands of years.
Owing to his prolonged seclusion and reclusive nature, Lu Changsheng had skipped the prior nine Disciple Selection Ceremonies.
Now equipped with the Disciple Apprenticeship System, he might discover a disciple of exceptional talent at this gathering.
On the following day, Lu Changsheng, carrying a longsword strapped to his back, emerged from his century-long isolated cave dwelling.
With a mere intention, the longsword detached from his back, and Lu Changsheng directed it with his Qi, morphing into a beam of light that pierced the cloud layer. Windswept clouds rushed past as he headed toward Mount Shu’s Great Hall.
Amid the clouds, Lu Changsheng’s beam wasn’t solitary; fellow Mount Shu Elders hurried along too. Vibrant rays of light darted across the cloud expanse, presenting a magnificent spectacle.
Such was Mount Shu’s profound legacy.
Mount Shu’s central peak towered ten thousand feet high, thrusting into the skies with a majestic aura rivaling charging bulls.
In the Great Hall’s plaza on Mount Shu, thousands of youths—both male and female—from Xia State’s hundred counties assembled, totaling no fewer than ten thousand!
These youths had already passed initial screenings; otherwise, their count would be endless.
Successively, Mount Shu Elders arrived via sword flight, proceeding into the Mount Shu main hall.
Their formidable auras inspired awe, and those in the main hall plaza gazed upward at the overhead Elders like mere insects beholding colossal sky-reaching trees.
Even the ancient millennial clans paled before the aura of Mount Shu’s Elders, all at least Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
“Mount Shu indeed deserves its status as an ancient sect with a legacy spanning hundreds of thousands of years, boasting deep reserves. Hundreds of Nascent Soul Realm Elders alone.”
“Rumors say the present Mount Shu Sect Leader shattered into the Dao Palace Realm three millennia before assuming leadership. After three thousand years, his prowess must be beyond comprehension.”
“Among the six great Orthodox Sects, Mount Shu holds the top spot. If you, our young Sect Leader, could be accepted as a disciple by a Mount Shu Elder—or the Sect Leader personally—our family’s future would shine brightly.”
“Your Highness, entry into Mount Shu bears on the enduring legacy of our Great Xia Dynasty; this instant decides triumph or defeat.”
Longing filled the hearts of those in Mount Shu’s main hall plaza as they observed the Elders gliding past.
Within Mount Shu’s main hall, hundreds of Elders had assembled, each appearing noble and radiating uprightness.
As an orthodox sect, Mount Shu’s ongoing disciple intake ceremony aimed chiefly to welcome fresh disciples but also to flaunt its strength against malevolent forces and intimidate demonic entities.
“Brother Lu, you’ve at last emerged from seclusion. A century has passed since we last met. In those days, you ranked among the Sect Leader’s most cherished disciples, attaining Nascent Soul Realm in merely fifty years of practice. Time races on, and your cultivation has undoubtedly advanced greatly.”
A voice Lu Changsheng recognized sounded; a square-faced middle-aged man in green robes approached with a friendly smile to welcome him.
Lu Changsheng rifled through his memories and promptly recognized the figure—his senior brother Li Changye, a Dao Palace Realm powerhouse at great accomplishment, the leading disciple under the current Mount Shu Sect Leader.
Three centuries back, Li Changye had battled three foes single-handedly, eliminating three Demonic Dao cultivators at Dao Palace Realm, earning renown across the six Orthodox Sects and four Demon Sects.
The other five Orthodox Sects viewed Li Changye as the prime candidate to inherit Mount Shu’s Sect Leader role.
Certain reclusive Mount Shu Elders from the prior era might surpass Li Changye in cultivation, yet these ancient eccentrics shared the Sect Leader’s generation and harbored no interest in the leadership seat.
“Nascent Soul Realm at great accomplishment… It appears, Brother Lu, you’re poised to enter the Dao Palace Realm shortly. My congratulations, Brother Lu.”
Li Changye discerned Lu Changsheng’s level; at the ninth layer of Nascent Soul Realm, Lu Changsheng teetered on the brink of Dao Palace Realm.
Nascent Soul Realm qualified one for Mount Shu Elder status, but Dao Palace Realm formed the sect’s core powerhouses.
Over one hundred fifty years, Lu Changsheng had progressed relentlessly from Foundation Establishment Realm, through Qi Transformation Realm and Golden Core Realm, to Nascent Soul Realm, followed by a century of isolation, now nearly breaching Dao Palace Realm. Even within Mount Shu, this pace stood out.
Lu Changsheng possessed solid innate talent from the start, or he wouldn’t have shone at the discipleship rite and caught the eye of Mount Shu’s Sect Leader as a pupil.
Yet Li Changye remained unaware that the prior Lu Changsheng, consumed by obsessive cultivation, had veered into madness and succumbed to deviation.
The present Lu Changsheng hailed from a far-off world known as Earth.
“My thanks, Senior Brother. I’ve concluded my seclusion for dual purposes: to refresh my spirit, and to seek out any outstanding young talents. I plan to accept one or two disciples.”
“Hahaha, who could imagine the lone wolf Brother Lu yearning to take disciples one day—truly astonishing…” While conversing with Lu Changsheng, Li Changye’s face grew serious of a sudden, “The Sect Leader approaches.”