Xiao Baiyu looked at Lu Ping and smiled. "Is this the third time we've met?"
Lu Ping thought for a moment and said, "More than that!"
Xiao Baiyu smiled and said directly, "Although I have already overestimated your growth, it seems that it is still far from enough. Your rise is just like the sect you belong to, it is beyond everyone's expectations."
Lu Ping smiled and did not say anything. Xiao Baiyu did not mind and continued, "Everyone can see that Zhenling will rise in the North Sea, but no one would have thought that Zhenling would have such a terrifying number of high-level adepts. If it wasn't for the fact that Zhenling does not have a strong enough foundation, that the time it took for it to rise is too short, and that the distribution of Dharma adepts in each generation is not reasonable, just based on the number of Dharma adepts in your sect, it is already enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Skyrend, the Tianxuan Sect, and the Tianyue Sect."
On this point, Xiao Baiyu was very much in line with Zhenling's reality. Currently, there were only three adepts left in the first generation of Zhenling, and the number of second-generation Dharma adepts had already reached nine. In the third generation, the number of Dharma adepts in Zhenling had surged. With Lu Tianping and Yin Tianchu as the leaders, there were now more than 15 adepts who had reached the Dharma stage, and this number was still growing.
Furthermore, these were just the adepts that Zhenling had cultivated. If the outer sect elders such as Xiang Lou, Lei Di, and Qing Hu were added, the number of Dharma adepts in Zhenling would be even larger. It was no wonder that after this promotion battle, the strength that Zhenling had displayed had shocked the entire world of practitioners.
In reality, Zhenling had already realized this problem. Although the appearance of a large number of Dharma adepts could make Zhenling flourish for a while, such a large group of Dharma adepts would definitely take up a large amount of training resources. Moreover, the North Sea training world was a barren place, which made the already tight situation even more difficult, to the point where it would affect the training of the younger generation.
After all, the legacy of a sect was a long-term plan. Such an uncontrolled expansion of the sect's strength would definitely cause the younger generation of disciples to become weaker due to the lack of sufficient training resources.
The truly strong sects would control the number of Dharma adepts in the sect very well. Perhaps there were many adepts who had the potential to advance to the Dharma stage, but they would always make them compete with each other and pick out the more outstanding disciples to train.
Although this might reduce the number of Dharma adepts that the sect might have, it could save a large amount of training resources to train the younger generation of disciples. At the same time, a portion of the training resources could be stored away in case of emergencies.
Of course, there might be some disciples who had their own opportunities. Originally, they had been quietly abandoned by the sect, but they had managed to advance through their own hard work. This way, the sect would not have to expend too much in order to gain a powerful disciple. This was something that any sect would welcome.
Only in this way could a sect be able to carry on a good succession with limited training resources. At the same time, when the sect was faced with a crisis, it could also train a large number of Dharma adepts in a short period of time to help the sect overcome the crisis.
Now that the fourth generation of Zhenling's adepts had gradually grown up, the more outstanding ones had already begun to enter the late Core Forging stage. The matter of the fourth generation of adepts advancing to the Dharma stage had also begun to be brought up more and more by the sect.
Although the fourth generation of adepts did not have as many outstanding adepts as the third generation, there were still many disciples who were looked upon favorably by the sect.
However, Lu Ping had already received news from the head of the sect that the sect was only prepared to select 15 to 20 of the most outstanding adepts from the fourth generation of disciples to become direct disciples. They would compete with each other and strengthen their foundations. Then, they would select 10 to 12 disciples who stood out from the rest to train and help them condense their Dharma power.
It could be said that the head of the sect, Liu Tianling, had an extremely accurate grasp of Zhenling. She did not bite off more than she could chew just because the sect's strength was expanding, especially because of the explosion of the third generation of Dharma adepts. Instead, she was extremely pragmatic in reducing the number of fourth generation adepts who could advance to the Dharma stage. The entire process was estimated to take 50 to 100 years, and the fourth generation of Zhenling's disciples would begin to advance to the Dharma stage.
Lu Ping smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice, senior. However, Senior Xiao has come to see me this time only to talk about some plans for the development of the sect, right?"
Xiao Baiyu smiled and said, "Of course not. I'm just saying this because I feel that your sect is an ambitious sect. You shouldn't just limit your vision to a corner of the North Sea, but should look at the entire world of training."
Lu Ping did not become complacent because of Xiao Baiyu's words. Instead, he said calmly, "Ideals can't be separated from reality. It is already difficult for Zhenling to maintain its position in the North Sea, and I'm afraid that outside of the North Sea, there are many things that we don't have the strength to do."
The admiration in Xiao Baiyu's eyes deepened, and he said, "This is your sect underestimating itself. With your sect's current strength, you have a lot of potential in the world of training. Also, as the saying goes, the tree may desire peace, but the wind will not stop. If Zhenling wants to have a stable place in the North Sea, it will also need the consent of others."
Lu Ping's expression changed, and he said in a low voice, "What do you mean, senior?"
Xiao Baiyu had long expected that Lu Ping would ask such a question, and as soon as his voice fell, he answered, "There are two meanings. The first is in Zhenling itself, and the second is in you."
Lu Ping raised his eyebrows and said, "I'd like to hear the details!"
Xiao Baiyu said with fervor and assurance, "Let's talk about your sect first. I have also heard about what happened after your sect's treasure ship sailed to the west this time. Although the process was dangerous, in fact, your sect and little friend Lu already had a well-thought-out plan. Whether it is the Canghai Sect, the Xuanling Sect or the Taixuan Sect, they are just clowns who can't achieve anything. Even if the Beihai Sect sends out all its forces, the final result is just a scare but no danger."
Lu Ping could not help but ask, "What is Senior trying to say?"
"Doesn't your sect think that everything is too easy?"
"Easy?"
Lu Ping thought for a while and said, "Senior, you mean …"
Xiao Baiyu smiled and said, "Yes, it is the Crystal Palace! If the Crystal Palace intervenes this time, let alone whether your sect can succeed, even if you succeed, how heavy a price will you have to pay? "
Lu Ping was a little unconvinced and said, "The reason why our sect set sail at this time is that the Crystal Palace has no time to attend to other things this time."
"Of course, it is because the Crystal Palace has no time to attend to other things. But what about when the Crystal Palace has time to spare?"
Lu Ping said, "You mean that the Crystal Palace will return to the North Sea?"
Xiao Baiyu said matter-of-factly, "Unless we can make the Crystal Palace retreat in the face of difficulties, otherwise, with the nature of the Crystal Palace, they will think that the entire overseas cultivation world belongs to them."
Seeing that Lu Ping was silent, Xiao Baiyu continued, "Now, in the overseas cultivation world, other than the Crystal Palace, there are nine other large sects. I don't know if you have noticed that other than the Wind Thunder Island and the Purple Talisman Pavilion which are vassals of the Crystal Palace, only the Zhenling Family is a local sect of the overseas cultivation world."
Lu Ping was stunned for a moment before he heard Xiao Baiyu continue, "Be it the Four Major Sects of the Southern Sea, or the Eastern Sea's Skyrend and Carefree Pavilion, when traced back to their origins, they were all driven overseas to rebuild their sects. As for the local sects in the overseas cultivation world, Flying Spirit Island was destroyed four thousand years ago. You've personally witnessed the collapse of the Northern Alliance, and the Southern Sea doesn't even have a single local major sect. As the largest local sect in the Southern Sea, the Yulin Sect has long reached the qualifications to be promoted to a major sect, but it has never built a treasured ship. It was only when it hooked up with the Yuwen Clan and wanted to promote its sect that it unexpectedly ran into the conflict between the Four Major Sects of the Southern Sea and the Skyward Pavilion. The Ba Gui Clan also interfered in the middle. The Stormy Ocean from the Southern Sea to the Central Plains was completely sealed off, so naturally, the promotion of the Yulin Sect was impossible."
"Although the Zhenling Sect has successfully promoted to a major sect, I'm afraid that the crisis of your sect has just begun."
After Xiao Baiyu finished speaking, Lu Ping was silent at the side, but the affection on his face was changing rapidly. Obviously, Lu Ping was digesting Xiao Baiyu's previous words in his mind.
Xiao Baiyu's words might be exaggerated, especially the destruction of the Northern Alliance and Feiling Sect. Perhaps it was not the Crystal Palace's purge of the overseas local sects. From the information that Lu Ping had, especially the destruction of Feiling Sect, there might be other hidden reasons. However, it was also true that the Crystal Palace was the main force behind the destruction of these sects. From this point of view, what Xiao Baiyu said was also true. From the behavior of Xiao Baiyu, perhaps Skyrend had also felt the pressure from the Crystal Palace, so he spared no effort to unite the overseas sects and coastal sects to resist the Crystal Palace.
After a long time, Lu Ping let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Senior, there is one more reason about me that I haven't told you."
Xiao Baiyu couldn't help laughing and said, "You and I are the well-deserved best among the practitioners of the same generation. Even when I was like you, I might not have such achievements as you. Even I have to live outside for 200 years. Little friend, do you think the Crystal Palace will let you go?"
"Xiao Baiyu and Skyrend could cause such a big movement. If there is another Lu Tianping and Zhenling … hehe, the overseas cultivation world will be in chaos. Danger always needs to be nipped in the bud."
Lu Ping smiled and said, "So, instead of waiting for the opponent to come and slaughter us, why not take the initiative to attack?"
Xiao Baiyu suddenly smiled. He knew that Lu Ping had probably already agreed with his approach.
The two changed the topic at the same time. Lu Ping originally wanted to ask him about the sword duel in Ziyang Palace, but unexpectedly, Xiao Baiyu didn't care about it. Instead, he showed a trace of seriousness on his face and said carefully, "That day at the Qing Ming River, although I invited Lu Xiaoyou and was rejected once, this time I still want to invite you to join us again. That day, your cultivation was not good, but now you are qualified to be on equal footing with us, so I hope you can consider it seriously."
This time, Lu Ping didn't refuse immediately like before. Instead, he looked at Xiao Baiyu seriously and asked, "What are you planning?"
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