I Am Supreme

Little Fatty was dumbfounded. “I… uh…”

His eyes darted around, comprehension dawning in his eyes that perhaps he had caused some form of trouble.

“I could go to them to ask for a few older ones? They’re all disciples, it probably wouldn’t matter if I swapped them around…”

“Do you think we’re playing house?”

Yun Yang spat in disdain. “As the master supreme, as the sect leader, as the Lead Supreme, I think my protégés aren’t good enough and so I am to swap them with others? Where’s my face if I do this? Do you think I’m as shameless as you are?”

“How am I supposed to lead this school in the future?”

Little Fatty peeked at the angry man in a daze. “Then what should we do? We need to find a solution somehow!”

“What should we do? Doofus, we will be doomed!”

Yun Yang rolled his eyes, certain that he had been kicked into a pit dug by this fatty.

Little Fatty had personally reserved a batch of the most talented pupils with kind intentions, but not only was it impartial, but the inability to utilize these disciples due to their much younger age compared to others was also the direst of issues!

When the sect had met up, everyone else would be ushering their taller and bigger disciples while he, as the leader, would be bringing a group of children… When the disciples from the other Supremes could be sent to the ring, his disciples could only watch from the sidelines… How frustrating it was to even think about it!

Furthermore, this matter could hardly be alleviated in the first three to five years. After all, the oldest of his first batch of nineteen disciples was only nine years old! They were all merely babies!

“Ah!” Yun Yang’s sigh came from the bottom of his heart. Other than heaving a sigh, he did not know what else to say.

It came as a surprise, then, when Dong Qitian’s upset voice rang out. “What are you sighing about? If you’re not happy with them, reluctant to take the children as your protégés, give them all to me. I don’t mind their talent… nor their lack of age.”

Dong Qitian had wanted to say their talents were lacking, but his status and conscience forbade him from lying so openly. In the end, he concluded the fault to be due to their age.

Yun Yang was close to vomiting blood. “Boss, I’m not putting the blame on their age; well, yes, the age is an issue, but the matter to be resolved is not this one!”

Dong Qitian scoffed, his disdain as plain as day.

…

The excitement was no longer there. There was only anxiety permeating the nineteen children outside. Why did their leader master come out and go in straight away? Why did he not look very happy?

‘Is he not pleased with us?’

‘We’ve been handpicked by the majordomo. Even if one or two of us aren’t the best, could everyone be so bad that the Lead Supreme can’t bear to see us?’

While the little ones were wrapped in nervousness, the leader master was seen walking out slowly. His fine looks and sophisticated air of a ruler caused the children to have great respect for him, the deference growing deeper.

“From now on, all of you are recorded disciples of the Central Peak,” Yun Yang said faintly, “I shall teach you the same cultivation method after this and treat all of you the same.”

The children listened seriously, eyes trained on Yun Yang without blinking.

“There will be a match every ten days. Like how the Nine Supremes were determined, the nineteen of you will be ranked accordingly. Two months later, the top-ranking ten will become my in-house disciples.”

“The rules, aside from the sparring, are much simpler,” Yun Yang elaborated with a smile, “I will not urge all of you to cultivate. All progress shall be made on your own accord.”

Yun Yang’s terms were simple but the children looked more pensive, becoming unprecedentedly serious. Everyone understood the Lead Supreme’s meaning very clearly. It was the survival of the fittest in the Residence of Nine Supremes – there was no room for weakness here!

Although their leader master did not mention what would happen to the others after selecting the in-house disciples, it was definite that the education that followed would not be as good. The crucial variable that would decide this result would actually be their individual efforts.

Yun Yang wasted no more words and began to teach the children cultivation methods. According to the norm in the Bound of Universe, there was basically no difference across such foundational cultivation base; one would have to be above the level of Heaven Mystic when it came to choosing a specific cultivation method that matched their individual color, only then would there be meaning to further develop a disciple.

Not only was it inappropriate to teach a high-level cultivation method to a disciple who had just entered the sect, but it was also easy to expose the sect’s unique cultivation method. Moreover, the weaker one’s cultivation base, the easier it was for accidents to happen. Whether the student was robbed by an outsider, eliminated by his school, or hardly gained any improvement, it could contribute to the sect’s cultivation method being spread externally…

Therefore, higher-level cultivation methods were only passed down when the protégés reached a certain level.

In spite of this, Yun Yang did things differently in the Residence of Nine Supremes.

He taught them basic cultivation methods as well, but he observed each child carefully before picking out several practices to allocate to these nineteen children. There was a total of seven cultivation methods that Yun Yang had handed out to the nineteen children, specifically varying the practiced methods between boys and girls.

“Already individualizing his teachings at this stage?” Dong Qitian who had been watching was stunned, startled by Yun Yang’s actions.

To tailor one’s teaching to the student sounded easy, but it was exceptionally difficult to actually do it. Everyone’s physique, meridians, talents, innate gifts, personality, temperament, and other traits were different, varying across the board; how could it be easy to accurately gauge all of them?

Yet, Yun Yang had done so during the first time he and the children met. It was a painstaking effort as well as a great resolution.

“I’d love to see if you’re simply arranging things or you’ll actually embody this tailored teaching.”

…

Other than passing down the foundational cultivation method, Yun Yang spent the whole day teaching the children six sets of techniques consisting of the body, steps, palm, fist, swordsmanship and saber style. Similarly, other than the sets of body and step techniques that were taught universally, the technique sets of palm, fist, sword, and saber were personalized, different among the children and focused on distinct aspects.

A day passed, just like that. When these young ones were observed again, everyone looked the part when they were practicing. Although they had only the façade, showing a semblance of learning, there was no substance to it, yet the outcome was enough to make Dong Qitian and Qian Duoduo click their tongues in astonishment.

The practice of martial arts, the existence of each set of techniques of body or sword or fist, possessed its particular requirements. Each form and each style held at least some degree of precision. They were art forms of hundreds of thousands of years that were practiced and perfected repeatedly, having close to no room for tweaking.

An inch higher or lower of the wrist, an inch wider or narrower between two feet after a step, a little raise or drop in shoulders, a slightly skewed angle in the gaze… These could affect the success or failure of a technique. A millimeter’s deviation that could cause a thousand miles’ disparity in the result was best reflected in this case.

This was the reason martial art practitioners and cultivators were said to be in need of talent because such prodigy was not equipped by everyone. The ability to copy and memorize as well as the physical agility and coordination were the very least skills needed…

Nevertheless, these little ones had committed the cultivation method to heart within a night and at the same time remembered six sets of body, step, palm, fist, sword and saber techniques. There was no doubt that these were rare prodigies.

Even if it were the top Celestial Luck Banner disciples, there was hardly a handful of them, geniuses who could memorize things so quickly.

This was only Yun Yang’s first time teaching them, but all nineteen children had done what he had instructed without exception. This in itself was already a rare miracle.