CHAPTER 268: CHAPTER 258: NO CHOICE (2)

Zhao Qianshan’s expression immediately turned serious as he said, "Just take it when I give it to you, otherwise, where would I place my old face?"

Lu Hongfei heard this and then put away the Burning Gold Fruit.

Zhao Qianshan smiled and nodded when he saw this, appearing to have thought of something while looking at the documents.

"By the way, I saw in the documents before that you applied for an S-level contract for him, but it was rejected. What was their reason for the rejection?" Zhao Qianshan asked in a deep voice.

"Sigh! It’s because Chu Chen’s cultivation talent is relatively low, and the Daoist School believes his potential is limited and not worth much investment," Lu Hongfei said with a sigh.

Hearing this, Zhao Qianshan slapped the desk and angrily cursed, "A bunch of idiots! Without the annual exchange competition, our Daoist School would lose so many talents. Rest assured about this, I will reapply for Chu Chen. Wang Tianxiong has already submitted a detailed report on his performance in the Second-Level Secret Realm. If you can achieve a good result in the upcoming exchange competition, I will also try to secure a spot for you in the Celestial Dragon Training Camp."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen became interested and couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Elder, what rank approximately counts as a good result?"

Zhao Qianshan paused for a moment before saying solemnly, "Among the Daoist School’s senior members, some place more value on cultivation talent, but your cultivation talent will affect their assessment of you. If you want to enter the Celestial Dragon Training Camp, you need to at least make it into the top twenty, or even the top ten, so I would have the confidence to secure a spot for you."

Upon hearing Zhao’s words, Chu Chen frowned slightly. It seems the Daoist School values potential more, but that’s normal. Without the Heaven Rewards Diligence talent, at Chu Chen’s current cultivation speed, he would probably still be at the War General Level.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen smiled and nodded, "Then I will trouble Elder Zhao, I will definitely give it my all."

Elder Zhao nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this. He seemed to have thought of something and said again, "If you can make it into the top ten, you can choose an item from the treasure vaults of the Five Great Daoist Schools. I remember there’s a bottle of Ten Thousand Year Stalactite Liquid there, which can directly elevate your cultivation talent by one equivalent rank."

Chu Chen couldn’t help but show his delight upon hearing this and cupped his hands, "Thank you, Elder Zhao, for the guidance."

Zhao Qianshan waved his hand, "No need to be polite. Perform well this time, I have high hopes for you. Here is my contact information, should anything arise in Cyan Dragon City, feel free to find me." With that, he took a business card out from the Spatial Ring and handed it over.

Seeing this, Chu Chen hurriedly accepted it with respect.

"Alright, you should head back to rest early."

The two of them heard the dismissal and promptly bowed and left.

After leaving the office building, Chu Chen asked solemnly, "Headmaster, isn’t Zhao Qianshan being a bit too nice to me, could there be something else involved?"

Lu Hongfei was silent for a few seconds before solemnly saying, "Actually, our Cyan Dragon Daoist School is not monolithic."

Chu Chen immediately showed a realization, knowing that a top-tier force like the Cyan Dragon Daoist School having factional conflicts is normal, though he had no desire to get involved.

After all, with his current status and strength, he could become a discard anytime, such factional struggles are the most fatal.

But he still curiously asked, "How many factions are there in the Daoist School, and who are they?"

Lu Hongfei said solemnly, "It’s not much of a secret, so it’s okay to tell you. Our Cyan Dragon Daoist School has two major factions. One faction is led by Long Batian, the Grandmaster of the Daoist School, who advocates for the principle of teaching without discrimination and doesn’t heavily emphasize talent for Beast Masters. The other faction is led by Grand Elder Xu Guangyuan, who prioritizes talent beyond all else, and the two factions have always disagreed on the standards for nurturing talents."

Chu Chen nodded, "It’s not too bad, at least they are all doing it for the Daoist School’s benefit. From the contracts given by the Daoist School, it seems that Grand Elder’s faction has more say. If I’m not mistaken, Elder Zhao should belong to Long Batian’s side."

Lu Hongfei nodded, "Indeed, how do you view Elder Zhao’s goodwill?"

Chu Chen shook his head, "I just want to focus on cultivating and have no interest in joining their factional conflicts."

Lu Hongfei said solemnly, "It might not be as easy as you think."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Chu Chen asked with a frown.

"If you hadn’t demonstrated your abilities before, you might have stayed out of it, but now you have caught Zhao Qianshan’s attention."

"Can’t I just ease up in the upcoming competitions?"

Lu Hongfei shook his head, "They’re not fools. They’ve already recognized your capabilities from your recent tower challenges and past feats in the Second-Level Secret Realm. If you deliberately lose the competition, it might backfire and annoy them."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen frowned tightly. It seemed he had oversimplified the situation. If he had known it would turn out like this, he should have kept a low profile, but constantly staying in the shadows would mean never gaining access to those high-level cultivation resources.

While Chu Chen was feeling frustrated, Lu Hongfei spoke again, "Even if Zhao Qianshan lets you off, Xu Guangyuan’s faction likely won’t."

"Why is that?"

"It’s simple. Your presence is essentially proving Long Batian’s theory of teaching without discrimination, which is deadly to Xu Guangyuan. Even if he doesn’t kill you, he’ll constantly target you. As for wanting to cultivate in peace, that might be difficult to achieve," Lu Hongfei said gravely.

Chu Chen’s expression suddenly changed upon hearing this. He didn’t expect things to escalate to this point.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Chen asked solemnly, "Headmaster, what do you think I should do?"

Lu Hongfei did not answer immediately but after some contemplation said gravely, "This concerns your future, I won’t make the choice for you, but I can help you analyze the pros and cons of choosing their sides."

Chu Chen nodded, "Alright then."

Lu Hongfei continued, "Currently, Grand Elder’s faction holds the most power and resources. They place more importance on cultivation talent, so if you join them, you might be able to cultivate steadily, but you can forget about access to advanced cultivation resources, exploration opportunities, and certain fortunes. They’re only allowing your entry to prevent you from joining Long Batian’s side."

Chu Chen nodded thoughtfully, "What about joining Long Batian’s faction?"

"If you join that side, steady cultivation is almost impossible. If you achieve exceptional results in this exchange competition, Long Batian might grant you access to all high-level resource exchanges and may cultivate you earnestly, assuming you can demonstrate enough potential. Meanwhile, Grand Elder’s faction will suppress you, and you’ll have to fight for those high-level resources."

Chu Chen immediately fell into silence. Neither choice seemed wise, but he had no third option. What about resigning from the Daoist School?

Thinking of this, Chu Chen casually asked the question.

But the result was a reprimand from Lu Hongfei.

"Nonsense, if you leave the Daoist School, according to the contract, you would have to repay triple the cultivation costs. Though this may not be a big deal for you, none of the other four Daoist Schools would accept you, meaning you’d miss out on high-level cultivation resources, and your record would be tainted, severely impacting your future development, and possibly even implicating your parents," Lu Hongfei said angrily.

Chu Chen quickly waved his hand, "Don’t be upset, I was just asking casually."

Lu Hongfei’s expression softened.

At this moment, Chu Chen had no extra choices. He had to choose between the two major factions.

Choosing Grand Elder’s faction would mean being groomed as a mere tool but he could cultivate with stability.

Choosing the Grandmaster’s faction would mean facing numerous challenges but acquiring the resources and opportunities he wanted.

In this world of the survival of the fittest, he seemed to have a choice, but in reality, he did not.

Over the past six months, he had grown rapidly, relying mostly on resources and opportunities.

With this thought, Chu Chen’s heart already had an answer. He was like a sapling that, without experiencing wind and rain, could never grow into a towering tree.