In the original storyline, Tantai Yunzhi was supposed to claim the championship in the subsequent tournament. As the champion, she would have possessed the right to freely choose any sect, and she had chosen Divine Might Manor.
In truth, Su Yi could have waited until after Tantai Yunzhi seized the championship, extending an olive branch only when her glances toward the other sects were met with alienated stares.
Doing so would not only make her abandon all hope in the other sects, but it would also elevate Divine Might Manor’s importance in her heart.
However, Su Yi felt that would be rather petty. He had watched that unskippable CG cutscene in the game. After Tantai Yunzhi claimed first place, the camera tracked her perspective through every scene—those intentionally cold, distancing stares felt suffocating to Su Yi, even through a screen, and even though he wasn't the one experiencing it.
Now that he had extended an olive branch ahead of time, Tantai Yunzhi wouldn't have to suffer through that plotline.
As for accepting Tantai Yunzhi, while Su Yi thought nothing of it, the crowd below the platform felt entirely different.
“Holy crap, what a saint!”
“Tch, he’s a saint and you're still cursing at him?”
“...”
“Divine Might Manor? Has Su Yi gone mad again?” “Did he not hear what we just said? A Flawed Great Dao is an eerie force capable of corroding even an innate Dao physique,” an elder of Ancient Sword Mountain said, frowning.
A disciple beside the elder was equally bewildered. “Could Senior Brother Su be... blinded by lust? Tantai Yunzhi might be peerlessly beautiful, but surely that's no reason to gamble with his sect’s future?”
“Shh! Watch your words! Don't you see Senior Sister Gongsun's face has already darkened?”
The core disciples of the other three sects were equally puzzled by Su Yi's actions. Murong Yue swept her crimson eyes over Su Yi, carrying a trace of scrutiny and incomprehension.
Shang Shuqing glanced at Tantai Yunzhi. After weighing the pros and cons, he ultimately abandoned any thought of recruiting her.
In Ming Xi's golden eyes, interest deepened further. She seemed to find this spectacle far more entertaining than the spirit root testing itself.
Faced with the crowd’s focused gazes and Su Yi's seemingly flippant yet unmistakably resolute invitation, Tantai Yunzhi's slender eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Those azure eyes, crystal-clear as a freezing pool, reflected Su Yi's smiling face with precision. Questioning the spirit-testing stele? Such a clumsy, blatant excuse born of protection... It had been a very, very long time since she had heard anything like it.
Ever since that bizarre power awoke within her body, corroding her Dao foundation and causing her cultivation to regress instead of advance, all that had accompanied her were strange glances, regretful sighs, and even covert fear and ostracism.
Even her family had shifted from pinning high hopes on her to cautious observation, secretly searching for methods to “strip” or “seal” away this hidden peril, as if she were merely a prized vessel that had developed a flaw.
She had long grown accustomed to the silence, to the distance, to enduring alone the chilling desolation wrought by the relentless, day-and-night depletion of her origin.
Participating in the Ascendance Gathering was merely a desperate move after reaching a dead end. She truly had exhausted all other options!
Jia High talent? Innate Five Elements Dao Physique? The fleeting brilliance brought by those titles could not compare to the chilling reality that followed once her “defect” was laid bare.
Yet amid this frigid indifference, this person... this disciple of Divine Might Manor had stepped forward without hesitation. In an almost brazen manner, ignoring every warning and doubt, he had extended his hand to her.
His reason? She couldn't see through it. In his eyes were appreciation, excitement, and an incomprehensible light, as though he had struck upon a buried treasure—everything except pity and fear.
“Why?” Tantai Yunzhi's voice was as cool as shattered jade, carrying a faint hint of huskiness. It was the first time she had spoken today.
Su Yi's smile didn't waver, growing even a shade brighter. Leaning in slightly, he whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, yet his tone was extraordinarily serious: “Because I believe in you. Besides, it's hardly the first time I've done something that left everyone dumbfounded.”
Believe? Tantai Yunzhi listened in a momentary daze. She hadn't expected anyone would ever say such words to her.
He didn't care—or rather, he selectively ignored the defect that everyone else dreaded, choosing instead to wager on her future worth.
The stagnant pool of her heart felt as though a warm stone had been tossed into it, stirring faint yet genuine ripples.
Su Yi straightened up, looking around at the startled, uncertain gazes surrounding them, especially at the elders on the elevated platform. He proclaimed loudly, “Elders, fellow Daoists, the path of immortal cultivation has always been an act of defying the heavens, seizing destiny from fate itself!”
“If we shrink back merely because dangers lie ahead, then what is the point of cultivating immortality? What is the point of seeking the Dao? Our Divine Might Manor may lack many things, but we possess courage and conviction! Divine Might Manor takes this disciple!”
His words resonated with immense conviction, brimming with youthful bravado and confidence, momentarily suppressing the clamor of the entire venue. Below the stage, many disciples even found themselves tempted by the idea of joining Divine Might Manor.
It wasn't simply that Su Yi's speech was inspiring; rather, this fellow already had the precedent of Breaking Through to Establish Anew. If he could discard decades of cultivation without flinching, who could say anything about him taking in a disciple with an unknown physique?
With such boldness, it was no wonder he dared to take her in.
At this point, the disciple recording the results could only look up at the elevated platform, entirely at a loss.
The elder of the Return to Origin Sect pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, “Martial Nephew Su, this old man understands your intentions. However, this matter is of grave consequence. Martial Niece Tantai possesses an extraordinary physique, so this requires careful deliberation...” He was clearly still reluctant to give up a seedling of Jia High talent, yet remained fearful of the unknown danger.
Right at that moment, Tantai Yunzhi, who had remained silent all along, suddenly moved. She raised her hand once more, but this time, not toward the spirit-testing stele. Instead, she gently smoothed her slightly wrinkled sleeves.
Then, she raised her eyes. Her calm gaze swept past the elders on the platform and finally settled upon Su Yi's face.
“I am willing to join Divine Might Manor.”
Her cool voice was not loud, yet it rang out clearly across the entire arena, carrying an immutable resolve.
Since someone was willing to reach out without hesitation while she was mired in the deep, why shouldn't she grasp it? Whether fortune or misfortune awaited her, at least at this moment, she chose to place her trust in this seemingly reckless “anomaly.”
As for the other sects? Those hesitant, calculating, and pitying gazes had already chilled her heart.
The championship? The right of free choice? She no longer needed them. Right now, the best choice was already standing right in front of her.
Su Yi paused in surprise, then his smile widened. “A wise choice!”
He turned toward the recording disciple and arched an eyebrow. “Did you hear that? Jia High talent, Tantai Yunzhi, joins Divine Might Manor! Write it down!”
The recording disciple's hand shook, and he instinctively looked toward his Return to Origin Sect elder.
The elder opened his mouth, but it only ended in a long sigh as he waved his hand helplessly.
Seeing this, the other elders also knew that things had reached their conclusion and further words were useless. The gazes they cast at Su Yi and Tantai Yunzhi were immensely complicated, filled with pity, worry, and an inexplicable thread of anticipation.
Perhaps... this Divine Might Manor kid who never played by the rules could truly perform some miracle?
As for Gongsun Lin, her face was now completely helpless. Watching Tantai Yunzhi walk toward them, she had wanted to offer a gentle smile to the newcomer, but the expression she managed looked worse than crying.
Murong Yue's battle intent, on the other hand, waned slightly, replaced by a touch of solemnity.
Ming Xi chuckled softly. “How entertaining. With a fellow like Su Yi around, this trip certainly wasn't in vain.”
The crowd below erupted into an even greater uproar. No one had expected that this maiden with a Flawed Great Dao would actually choose the seemingly most unreliable Su Yi with such decisiveness, nor that Su Yi would truly be bold enough to take on this “hot potato”!
“He truly lives up to his name as the ruthless man who crippled his own cultivation the moment he said he would!”
Rate on N.U.
