Chapter 3796: Top Rank: Lushi Tangmen

Little Bull looked up at the glowing name. "Lushi Tangmen?" he muttered.

Beside him, Elder He Jian nodded slightly. The old man followed Little Bull’s gaze across the gathering hall. A moment later he found the person in question.

"There." He pointed.

Little Bull followed the direction.

Among the gathered recruits stood a young man wearing luxurious robes embroidered with golden threads. His posture was straight and composed. Unlike many of the excited recruits around him, he appeared calm.

Lin Mu carefully observed him. The man looked to be around twenty years old. His features were handsome and refined. His skin was fair, his hair was neatly arranged and several decorative accessories hung from his robes.

Everything about him suggested wealth and status.

More importantly, Lin Mu could sense the fluctuations around him despite his own cultivation being sealed. The young man was already at the First Tribulation Stage of the Immortal Realm.

That alone placed him far above the majority of recruits.

In truth, most of the top thirty recruits were already immortals. Only a handful were exceptions. And Little Bull happened to be one of those exceptions. Looking at the man, Lin Mu could already tell he came from a powerful background.

The confidence, the bearing, the quality of his equipment, everything pointed toward an aristocratic clan or major cultivation family. And as Lin Mu studied him, a memory surfaced. He recalled the conversation from the previous day.

The Junior Elder had mentioned that the highest ranked recruit during the ordinary assessments was the young man possessing the Six Winged Immortal Butterfly bloodline. That recruit had received a Rank Three evaluation.

Yet somehow Lushi Tangmen stood above him and had the score of Rank Two as well.

Little Bull tilted his head.

"Elder," he called.

"Hm?"

"Yesterday that elder said the butterfly bloodline guy was the strongest one."

Elder He Jian understood immediately.

The old man nodded. "That was true."

Little Bull looked confused. "Then why is this guy first?"

Several nearby recruits overheard the conversation and quietly listened. The question was reasonable .

Elder He Jian stroked his beard. "The answer is simple. Lushi Tangmen entered through a special assessment."

Little Bull blinked. "What does that mean?"

The old man took a moment to explain. "Most recruits participate in the standard assessment. Everyone gathers together and competes through the same process."

Little Bull nodded. "I did that."

"You did." The old man continued. "However, some elders possess the authority to recommend disciples directly. Those recruits undergo separate evaluations before joining the general rankings."

Little Bull scratched his head. "Because they’re special?"

"In a sense." The old man smiled wryly. "Most come from major clans, influential families, or groups closely tied to the sect."

Little Bull pointed toward Lushi Tangmen. "So he’s one of those?"

"He is." The old man paused before adding. "His family possesses strong connections within the sect."

Little Bull nodded slowly.

Then he asked a question that nearly made Elder He Jian choke. "So that’s politics?"

Several nearby recruits immediately turned toward them as Elder He Jian stared for a second.

Then he laughed helplessly. "In a way, yes."

Little Bull nodded as if understanding some profound truth. "Politics sounds troublesome."

The old man sighed. "It often is."

Of course, Elder He Jian quickly clarified. "The assessment itself remains legitimate. Every special recruit is still evaluated by multiple elders."

Little Bull looked relieved. "So nobody cheats?"

The old man coughed awkwardly. "Not openly."

Several nearby elders suddenly found the floor extremely interesting.

Little Bull merely nodded. "Okay."

Internally, Lin Mu found the explanation interesting but not particularly important. Every major power operated similarly as connections existed everywhere, influence existed everywhere and power naturally accumulated around established families.

The Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect was no exception.

If anything, Lin Mu would have been more surprised if such arrangements did not exist. His real interest lay elsewhere. He observed Lushi Tangmen carefully. The young man’s cultivation, his confidence and the reactions of the elders.

The fact that he shared the same Rank Two evaluation despite achieving first place overall. All of it suggested that Lushi Tangmen possessed extraordinary talent. More importantly, it meant he would likely become an important figure within the sect.

A person worth remembering.

At that moment, Lushi Tangmen seemed to sense someone watching him and his gaze swept across the crowd. For a brief moment, his eyes met Little Bull’s as the aristocratic young man studied him.

Little Bull waved cheerfully while Lushi Tangmen blinked. Then he politely nodded back.The interaction lasted only a second, yet several elders secretly observing the scene suddenly grew nervous.

Because in their minds, they were witnessing the meeting of the two greatest talents from the current recruitment batch. One was an aristocratic genius raised by powerful influences and the other was a mysterious villager possessing enough physical strength to kill immortals.

Neither knew it yet.

But from this day onward, the entire Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect would constantly compare the two of them. And many people were already wondering which of them would eventually stand at the very top.

The ranking announcement eventually came to an end, though the discussions it had sparked continued throughout the hall.

Groups of recruits were still talking among themselves while many elders quietly observed them. Some recruits looked excited about their future, while others appeared disappointed by their results. A few had clearly expected higher rankings and were still struggling to accept reality.

The elders gave them little time to dwell on it as soon, the sorting process began. Several administrative disciples stepped forward carrying jade slips and began calling names. The recruits who had obtained Rank Seven evaluations were gathered first.

Their numbers were not particularly small. While they had failed to qualify as disciples, it did not mean they were untalented. It merely meant they had not met the standards required for direct disciple status.

The Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect was enormous and a sect that covered an entire world required an equally massive support structure. Servants, attendants, laborers, assistants, messengers, gardeners, caretakers, beast handlers, warehouse managers, and countless other positions needed to be filled.

Thus Rank Seven recruits would begin as sect servants. Of course, they were not forced into it.

An elder explained the matter clearly. "If any of you do not wish to remain within the sect, you may leave freely."

No one moved, not a single person. Many recruits exchanged looks as if the suggestion itself was ridiculous.

Leave? Why would they leave?

Even becoming a servant within the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect was an opportunity countless cultivators dreamed of. The resources available here far surpassed what most independent cultivators could obtain.

More importantly, the path forward remained open. Outstanding servants could still become disciples later. The road might be longer, but it still existed. Thus, all Rank Seven recruits accepted their assignments.

They were quickly escorted away by specialized elders and administrative disciples who would begin their introductions and training. The remaining recruits were then sorted according to their rankings.

Rank Six and Rank Five recruits were gathered together. They would become Outer Court disciples. The moment they received their assignments, many of them revealed excited expressions.

Joining the Outer Court directly was already an achievement worth celebrating.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.