Chapter 194 - Heart Refining Rock

In the main hall!

It had been more than six hours since Qin Chuan left.

During this time, the Patriarchs of the various families in the Hundred Thousand Mountains had rushed over one after another.

But now that Qin Chuan had yet to appear, these Patriarchs were getting impatient.

When he saw their anxious expressions, Li Jingchen was secretly happy.

He hoped that Qin Chuan and Lu Dewei would talk for a longer time so that these Patriarchs would leave on their initiative.

Right then, a few Patriarchs couldn't wait any longer.

Together, they ignored Li Jingchen's objections and arrived at the guest room area.

A young man saw this and was afraid that trouble would ensue, so he immediately informed his chief, Lu Dewei.

In the room.

At this moment, Lu Dewei was surveying the jade talisman that Qin Chuan had just given him. Then, suddenly, there was a commotion at the door.

"Chief, something is wrong!" Someone knocked on the door and said.

Lu Dewei frowned as he stared at Qin Chuan.

"Sect Master…"

With a thought, Qin Chuan expanded his divine consciousness. He saw the aggressive Patriarchs, and he instantly understood what was going on.

Qin Chuan calmly replied, "It's those Patriarchs, they couldn't wait any longer and came to find me."

Lu Dewei immediately asked, "Sect Master, do we need to chase them away?"

"No need, I have something to discuss with them as well."

Lu Dewei frowned and asked casually, "Is it also related to cultivation?"

"You might say so!"

When Lu Dewei heard this, his expression changed, and he immediately said, "Sect Master, these martial arts families are very vicious. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to let them cultivate!"

"I know what to do. You don't have to worry."

"Alright!" Lu Dewei had originally wanted to persuade Qin Chuan, but he could only give up since Qin Chuan was set on a strategy.

Just like that, they walked out of the room.

…

"Guest Elder Qin!"

"Guest Elder Qin!"

"Guest Elder Qin!"

…

When the Patriarchs saw Qin Chuan, they hurriedly ran over.

"Guest Elder Qin, you are finally out."

Qin Chuan smiled. "Sorry for the wait."

"Guest Elder Qin, look, it's close to noon. I've already asked my clansmen to prepare some food and wine, we're only waiting for you to make your way there." A Patriarch beat everyone to speak first.

When the other Patriarchs heard this, they immediately felt bad. They could not allow anyone to beat them to it.

Guest Elder Qin is mine!

Hence, they scrambled to offer invitations to Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan smiled but didn't respond.

At this moment, Li Jingchen had rushed over.

The sounds of the Patriarchs arguing made him furious.

They're blatantly poaching him. How could I tolerate this?

"You old fogeys, get lost!" Li Jingchen shouted after he arrived.

He was enraged.

Energy erupted from his body, and his aura spread out. He looked like he was ready to fight.

Seeing that Qin Chuan was present, the Patriarchs didn't want to get into a conflict with Li Jingchen, so they stopped talking.

Li Jingchen coldly snorted and muttered, "If tiger doesn't show its might, you think it's a sick cat?"

After which, he walked towards Qin Chuan, retracting his aura as he respectfully spoke, "Great Master Qin, the food has already been prepared. Please proceed to the banquet."

"Alright!" Qin Chuan nodded his head and then said, "Patriarchs Li, since all the Patriarchs of the various clans are here, why don't we go together?"

Huh???

Li Jingchen was shocked.

Those Patriarchs were excited, their eyes shining.

"Patriarch Li, then we will thank you in advance." The Patriarchs cupped their hands and smiled happily.

When Li Jingchen heard this, his expression twisted in a grimace. He couldn't understand why Qin Chuan wanted to keep them.

Qin Chuan patted him on the shoulder as he softly spoke, "Patriarch Li, I have a reason for keeping them here. You will understand when the time comes."

Li Jingchen felt better after hearing this.

…

It was noon.

All the Patriarchs were gathered together.

The tables used were the traditional square tables. Since the leaders of the 36 families were here, there were five tables.

Since they all wanted to sit at the same table as Qin Chuan, they decided to draw lots to decide their seats. Of course, this would depend on luck.

After drawing lots, some were happy while others were sad.

Those who were able to sit at the same table as Qin Chuan were naturally delighted. Those who weren't were woeful and jealous of those who had succeeded.

After the dishes were served, the various Patriarch came over in an orderly manner to give Qin Chuan a toast. At the same time, they didn't forget to offer invitations to their residence.

Qin Chuan didn't reject or agree to give them an out.

After the toasting, the various Patriarchs began to chat with each other. They were discussing the Martial Arts Conference.

It could be seen from the faces of the various Patriarchs that none of them had absolute confidence in clinching first place.

Since the list of participating teams was announced, the various families had begun to carefully study these teams.

After all, they organized the Martial Arts Conference, and it had been passed down for so long. If the first place was taken away by an outsider team, wouldn't that be a disgrace to their ancestors?

As a result, all the family clans were actively training to defeat all the teams from the outside world.

However, there were two powerful teams from the outside world this time.

In particular, one of them was like an insurmountable mountain. So defeating them was only possible theoretically.

Because of this, many Patriarchs had come to ask Qin Chuan if he could guide the juniors of their clan to defeat the foreign teams.

Qin Chuan had to tactfully reject these requests.

One of the powerful teams they were talking about was his own.

He would never do his teammates in.

All the Patriarchs knew their limits and naturally did not push further.

Time slowly passed.

They were almost done with lunch.

Qin Chuan stood up and clapped his hands. The Patriarchs turned to look at him, and the entire hall fell silent.

"Everyone, I have something to say." Qin Chuan began.

Upon hearing this, everyone could not help but frown and speculate inwardly.

Li Jingchen, who was sitting beside Qin Chuan, asked, "Guest Elder Qin, what is this about?"

Qin Chuan glanced at the crowd before saying, "I intend to select 100 people from the various family clans to cultivate with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present looked especially surprised, and then their gazes became fervent.

In their eyes, Qin Chuan was a Land Immortal, an existence akin to martial arts legends.

If they could cultivate with him, putting aside whether or not they could reach his level, their own martial path would definitely be much longer than if they had cultivated by themselves.

This was an extremely rare opportunity. As such, they were all excited.

"Guest Elders Qin, what are the conditions for this selection?" A Patriarch asked.

Qin Chuan replied, "Naturally, I have conditions."

With that said, a red stone appeared in his hand.

Qin Chuan introduced, "This is the Heart Refining Rock. When you place your palm on it, the surface of the rock will light up with a five-pointed star.

"If 10 stars appear, then you are fit to cultivate with me.

"If not, then I can only apologize."

For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the Heart Refining Rock. They were all curious and wondered how they could activate those 10 stars.

Silence!

"Guest Elder Qin, does that mean that everyone has a chance to give it a try?" A Patriarch asked softly.

"The Heart Refining Rock is open to all. There are no restrictions. It depends on whether you can get 10 stars."

Qin Chuan nodded. His words were clear.

"Then… then we can try it too?"

"Sure!"

The gazes of all the Patriarchs instantly became especially fervent as they rubbed their palms together, eager to give it a try.