"The last matter concerns the quotas for the Ancient Sanctuary this time," Xiao Qingyu said.

The quotas for the Ancient Sanctuary are limited. Each time it opens, there are only just over ten thousand spots available. That might sound like a lot, but this is for the entirety of Nanzhou. Besides the Thirty-Six Heavenly Caves and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, there are countless cities and even more mortal kingdoms. The number of living beings is in the hundreds of millions!

In the past, the Immortal Alliance would set aside a small portion of the quotas to conduct a selection across the entire Nanzhou cultivation world, panning for gold in the sand. Sometimes, they could uncover a few impressive new talents this way. However, the vast majority of the spots were still taken by the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands.

Even so, for the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, the quotas were never enough.

Take the Sanqing Immortal Sect at its peak, for instance. It had three hundred and sixty branches, a veritable gathering of geniuses. Every True Disciple was a dragon or a phoenix among men; outside the sect, each would be considered a one-in-ten-thousand prodigy. Yet, they were only allotted about five hundred spots. How could that possibly be enough?

And this was already the highest tier of allotment. As for those Blessed Land-level powers, it was common for them to fight until they were battered and bleeding for a single spot.

Xiao Qingyu sighed faintly. "This time, the Immortal Alliance has only given our Sanqing Immortal Sect eighty spots!"

Wang Xiu was stunned. "Isn't that too few?"

"There's nothing to be done," Xiao Qingyu said helplessly. "It's because we've declined. Besides, even with this number, several Blessed Lands are still dissatisfied... If the Immortal Alliance hadn't considered the contributions our Sanqing Immortal Sect made in the fight against the Demon Race, we might not have even gotten these eighty spots!"

Wang Xiu fell silent.

Normally, even the lowest-ranked Cave Heaven powers would receive around a hundred spots. Eighty is only slightly more than what the top-ranking Blessed Land-level powers get. Of course, the Ancient Sanctuary is one of the most important resources for Nanzhou's Righteous Path to cultivate its next generation of successors. It has always been that only the most outstanding and talented individuals qualify for a spot. Allocating spots based on the foundations of the major powers and the number of geniuses they possess is inherently justifiable. However, such a huge disparity couldn't help but make one lament how times had changed.

The upper echelons of the Sanqing Immortal Sect had likely hoped to use this opening of the Ancient Sanctuary to cultivate a few hundred more talents, adding to the grand cause of the sect's revival. But with so few spots, that would be incredibly difficult. For now, the Immortal Alliance still remembered the past contributions of the Sanqing Immortal Sect. But what about next time? And the time after that? Once the snowball of resource disadvantage started rolling, the consequences would be terrifying. Even if it didn't lead to a complete fall from the ranks of the Cave Heaven powers, climbing back up would be nearly impossible.

After a pause, Xiao Qingyu added, "After learning the news, the Sect Leader was furious and rushed out. He said he was going to negotiate with them, but I don't know how it will turn out!"

Wang Xiu nodded thoughtfully. However, he didn't harbor much hope. Even with the Sect Leader handling it personally, how could other powers be willing to give up something as precious as the Holy Academy quotas?

Xiao Qingyu glanced at him and chuckled. "You don't need to worry. No matter how few the spots are, there will definitely be one for you. After all, you are our future Saint Heir..."

Wang Xiu covered his forehead. "Senior Sister, please stop teasing me!"

Seeing his expression, Xiao Qingyu giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

「Meanwhile,」

「In the depths of the Ghost Immortal Blessed Land.」

In just a few short days, the number of Human Souls within the Ghost Immortal Blessed Land had plummeted. They went from being abundant and ubiquitous to being difficult to find.

Thus, the time had come for the disciples to display their real skills.

On a certain hillside, a Human Soul leisurely appeared, immediately attracting dozens of gazes.

"HOLY CRAP, A SOUL!"

"OUT OF THE WAY, LET ME! SUPREME IMPERIAL DECREE, I COMMAND THY LONELY SPIRIT, ALL GHOSTS AND GHOULS, RECEIVE THIS GRACE... DAMN IT, WHO STOLE MY SOUL!"

A young disciple from the Manipulation Sect, his eyes gleaming, rapidly chanted an incantation, intending to guide the soul to rebirth. However, he was only halfway through his Rebirth Mantra when a golden light descended from the sky, enveloping the Human Soul and sending it directly to its final rest.

The Manipulation Sect disciple whose prize had been snatched away wore a twisted expression, cursing furiously. He turned his head and saw a young man in the crowd holding a hand seal, who glanced at him with disdain. "With a mouth that slow, you still want to snatch souls? Eat my dust... WHOOPS~"

Reciting a fluid tongue twister as he went, the figure swiftly disappeared into the distance.

The Manipulation Sect disciple could only watch, pounding his chest and stamping his feet in vexation.

Damn it!

DAMN IT!

Scenes like this were happening everywhere. Almost all the disciples were embroiled in a frantic war over Human Souls, a competition of who had the quickest tongue.

However, there was one exception.

「In the wilderness, by a stream.」

The water babbled gently as Jiang Ling'er strolled leisurely beside it. Suddenly, a breeze rippled the water's surface, and the spirit of a woman quietly appeared in the center of the stream.

Jiang Ling'er's eyes lit up as she gazed at the spot. "So there are Human Souls here too!"

She hurried over and recited the Rebirth Mantra, guiding the Human Soul to rebirth.

After finishing, she turned to walk upstream, only to find three child-like ghosts on a nearby rock, watching her motionlessly.

"Three more! Wonderful!"

After guiding the three children to rebirth, she prepared to leave. Suddenly, a thick fog descended upon the wilderness. Phantoms flitted within the mist as an endless stream of ghosts floated past her.

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