Of course, while this was what the upper echelons said, that did not necessarily mean everyone believed it. You have to understand that even in the modern world with so-called educated people and the internet, individuals would not believe things until they saw them with their own eyes, let alone in such an ancient world.
For upper echelons like Hao Donglei and the other hall masters of the various halls who had the ability to come into contact with greater secrets and truths, they would know that Dante's situation, though very rare, was not impossible and was not exclusive to him in history.
However, for the rest who had never even seen a being above Martial Master since they didn't have the right to encounter Grandmasters like Hao Donglei much, such a thing sounded like an exaggeration.
How was it possible for someone who had never practiced martial arts in their life to have the body of a half-step Grandmaster as well as the vigorous blood energy of that grade?
One should know, they had only recently accepted the fact that the 4th Core Disciple of the Hall, Senior Sister Shui Binglan, who was recruited directly from outside on the claim that her bones were top grade and her blood energy was at the Martial Blood realm without practicing martial arts.
They only accepted her after she went through trials and tribulations to prove her monstrous talent and ability, and there were even rumors stating that she had a special bloodline which was why she had such prowess.
And now, the hall had dredged up this funny fellow who was supposed to be even more talented?
Many sneered in their minds and hearts. They did not dare to dispute the Vice Hall Master because he was definitely more far-sighted than them. Dante was definitely special and had great talent, but they firmly believed it was exaggerated!
The Outer Disciples, of course, did not dare to show their thoughts, but the Inner Disciples had fewer scruples. After all, they were both true members of the hall and received its love and care.
The Blood Tempering Inner Disciples felt indignant and showed it, while the Martial Warrior Inner Disciples had serious and competitive expressions on their faces as they glanced at Dante's back.
As for the Martial Blood Realm Inner Disciples, they mostly had ugly expressions, as they had previously stood at the front since all the core members were out on an important expedition, making them the top dogs.
Now, some brat had come to stand before them and didn't even look at them twice nor greet them. What was worse was that they had to greet this brat as their senior brother, despite probably being able to beat him away with a flick of their finger!
On top of that, the spots for core disciples were limited. The Hall, despite its power and means, was not in possession of limitless wealth, especially within Green Wind City. They could only support a limited number of talents as core disciples, so every spot was precious.
Normally, the next to become a core disciple was fought for among them, the Martial Blood realm Inner Disciples. Apart from Shui Binglan, every other core disciple had risen from an inner disciple to that spot.
Because the competition was steep and hardly anyone was ever directly recruited as a core member, it had created the notion that the position was one to be fought for and only those who climbed through hell to get it deserved it.
In the back of their minds, they understood, they surely did, that Dante's talent was likely far better than theirs. They had seen the monster Shui Binglan and she had convinced everyone that her recruitment was a sign of the upper echelon's good vision, so it was likely Dante would soar beyond them.
But it was hard to reconcile this. To them, on what basis did Dante have to wear that gi and enjoy the resources that they craved and spent day and night thinking and training to fight for? Just because of something illusory like talent?!
Dante could feel the eyes that bore into his back, full of challenge, unwillingness, and questioning. There was naturally no hatred or the like because it was not like he had killed their parents or something, and he had not made his position known.
Who knows, Dante could be a nice guy that might use his ability to fetch limitless resources to assist them in their martial practice, so why hate him right at the get-go? It was not the time yet to burn the bridge if it needed to be burned.
Soon, Hao Donglei came into the courtyard with 8 other people who were of different ages, sexes, and colors. Their presence caused the faces of all the disciples to change greatly, while Dante's became grim.
Apart from Hao Donglei, who was mostly restrained, the ones behind him radiated endless blood Qi that literally burned everyone like a scorching sun. Their expressions were lofty and full of arrogance regardless of the disciple's status.
The only one who caused a change was Dante at the front. When their eyes landed on him, their pupils constricted greatly and they became far less arrogant and full of wariness.
Hao Donglei cast his gaze around and smiled. "Greetings, disciples of my Supreme Martial Hall! Some of you may know me by face, and the rest of you only by name, so let me introduce myself!"
"I am the Vice Hall Master of the hall, Hao Donglei, a Martial Grandmaster!"
The faces of the disciples changed greatly, and they immediately bowed deeply.
"Disciples greet the Vice Hall Master!" They roared collectively, making Hao Donglei nod. Only Dante was a bit slow since he didn't know the custom, but he made it in time.
"These are the noble elders of our hall. I will let them come and introduce themselves one by one so that our new core disciple can know who they are." Hao Donglei gestured to the 8 people behind him.
Immediately, the eyes of the disciples fell on Dante, with varying emotions. There was mostly envy and jealousy as this was an extravagant way to introduce Dante to the upper echelon. When any of them entered the hall in the past, they might not even see a single elder and would have to scramble to discover their identities to avoid offending these elders.
Yet these same elders were made to come and greet Dante… as if Hao Donglei was worried that the elders would offend this new core disciple instead!
Dante didn't exactly understand this and thought that it was a normal thing in these settings, so he seemed nonchalant about it and even a bit impatient. My Brother in Christ, the faster he could learn a bloody martial technique, the quicker he could break the gene limit and finally taste his succulent as well as seductive Beatrice.
Seeing this, Hao Donglei was amused, but the other elders were aggrieved. They were usually lofty and disdained the weaker disciples since they were Martial Masters, but now they were being treated as nuisances by a new disciple?
Elders were already faintly below core disciples in terms of value and rank within the overall scheme of the hall, especially at the city level. Then there was Dante, who not only had the talent to surpass them but could literally trade blows with them head-on using raw power alone.
Of course, they didn't believe that Dante could actually defeat them, since they had years of training as well as the ability to use blood Qi. This was a reasonable assumption, since Dante would not be able to actually do so… yet.
"
Jun Feng, Hall Elder of Administration!" the familiar bespectacled and effeminate Jun Feng spoke first.
"Xia Dongyin, Hall Elder of Resources!" a mature beauty with slightly yellowish skin and a huge chest introduced with a smile.
"Da Bo! Hall Elder of Training!" A muscular man with no strand of hair on his body roared with a fierce glint in his eye.
"Ling Qi, Hall Elder of Knowledge!" Another smaller and nerdy-looking man also introduced lazily, looking bored.
"Lin Dao, Hall Elder of Tasks!" An older and seasoned man with a long beard greeted while smiling casually.
"Ah Jin, Hall Elder of Arms and Equipment!" A heavily tanned and burly man stated, looking like he'd rather be in the forge than standing before some brats.
"Pei Luo, Hall Elder of External Affairs." A young woman with a svelte body and porcelain features greeted with an approachable look.
"Wu Jian, Hall Elder of Acquisition." An older man with a short black goatee and a sword on his back greeted casually and indifferently.
The moment they were done, all the disciples once again bowed and paid their respects to the elders. Hao Donglei waved his hand for them to rise and then smiled at the group.
"Now that you have met your elders, I shall leave Brother Bo here to handle the training. As for you, Disciple Dante, please follow us."
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