ch 8 - Inner disciple

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

In the outer disciples' courtyard, inside a nondescript house, Chen Mo exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly stood up.

During this month, Tian Li hadn't come to test him again. But the murderer had yet to be found, so Tian Li's investigation continued.

After seizing Tian Li's opportunity and obtaining three demon crystals, his cultivation not only reached the small achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, but he also showed signs of advancing to the great achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Therefore, Chen Mo drank all the remaining Earth Mother Spirit Liquid.

As expected, in one vigorous effort, he directly broke through to the great achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm! Now, he possessed the great achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and had a powerful trump card in the Thunder Shadow Sword Technique. Tian Li was no longer his match!

"Today is the day of the outer disciples' assessment. I will challenge Tian Li in front of everyone and defeat him, thus entering the inner sect. As long as I become an inner disciple, I will be under the protection of the Celestial sword Sect. No more pretending, I'm revealing my true strength, I am now incredibly formidable!" Chen Mo sneered coldly.

He pushed open the door and strode out. Sure enough, the outer disciples were all heading in groups of three or five towards the halfway point of the mountain. The place for the outer disciples' assessment was the martial arts training ground halfway up the mountain.

When Chen Mo arrived there, hundreds of outer disciples had already gathered. He saw two particularly noticeable people in the crowd. A girl was tightly holding onto a man's arm, leaning on him like a delicate bird. These two were none other than Feng chen and Feng xia.

Obviously, Feng chen's red fate attribute, "Graceful Immortal Bearing," had worked, and he had successfully won over Feng xia. There were quite a few outer disciples around Feng chen, all congratulating him.

"Congratulations, Brother Feng, on becoming an inner disciple!"

"Brother Feng, don't forget us junior brothers and sisters in the future!"

Feng chen, his face glowing with pride, responded politely, "Rest assured, I, Feng chen, have always been someone who repays kindness. Those who have helped me, I will surely repay!"

Chen Mo listened to a few of their words. It turned out that during this month, Feng chen had stopped challenging Tian Li head-on and instead challenged an inner disciple weaker than Tian Li, successfully defeating him. That inner disciple was stripped of his inner sect status and fell to the outer sect, while Feng chen successfully ascended, becoming an inner disciple.

As for Feng chen's polite words to those disciples, Chen Mo listened for a bit before sneering. If Feng chen were truly someone who repays kindness, he wouldn't have abandoned Chen Mo so readily when Chen Mo lost his cultivation.

In the pavilion next to the martial arts training ground, there were three inner disciples drinking tea while watching the martial arts platform. One of them was Tian Li. The other two, Chen Mo knew as well. They were also from prominent families, but not from Yan city; they came from Central city.

Yan city, Central City, Feng City, and the hundreds of towns and villages surrounding these three cities were the territory under the control of the Celestial sword Sect. In this region, the Celestial sword Sect was the absolute overlord, its word was law.

Chen Mo glanced at them from a distance and saw Tian Li's life panel:

[Name: Tian Li]

[Cultivation: Small Achievement Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm]

[Fate Attributes: Family descendant, Thunder Spirit Body, Remarkable Luck]

[Destiny: Ultimately stops at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, serves as an outer sect elder of the Qingxuan Sect. Nineteen years later, attempts to forcibly break through to the Core Formation Realm, suffers severe injuries, and dies a few days later from vomiting blood.]

[Recent Opportunity: Challenged by Chen Mo, defeated, Dantian crippled, inner sect status stripped, demoted to outer sect disciple.]

Chen Mo sneered inwardly. After plundering Tian Li's opportunities several times, his life's destiny had undergone a significant change. Originally, he could have become a Core Formation cultivator, but now he was stuck in the Foundation Establishment Realm, unable to progress further in his lifetime.

Seeing the recent opportunity, Chen Mo felt even more pleased. The panel displayed events that were about to happen. Clearly, his own strength was now sufficient to crush Tian Li!

Chen Mo glanced briefly before shifting his gaze to the martial arts platform at the center of the training ground. There, a dark-faced deacon was responsible for recording. Behind him was a power-testing pillar.

The power-testing pillar was three meters high, completely transparent. It was hollow inside, with a pool of silver liquid at the bottom. This liquid was very peculiar, usually lying still. But once it was struck by external force, it would expand. Therefore, many sects used it as a power-testing pillar to measure strength. As long as a punch could make the silver liquid rise above one foot, it meant surpassing the small achievement stage of the Body Refinement Realm, which was considered qualified. If it couldn't exceed one foot, then sorry, you'd better pack up and leave.

"One at a time, Lin !" The deacon shouted. A disciple jumped onto the martial arts platform and punched the power-testing pillar.

Buzz! The silver liquid reached two feet. The deacon nodded. "Two feet and one inch."

"Next, wang San!"

With a punch, the silver liquid barely reached nine inches. The disciple named whang San's face turned pale. The deacon waved his hand. "Nine inches, you're disqualified. Pack up your things."

"Next..."

The assessment proceeded swiftly. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred disciples had been tested.

"Next, Chen Mo," the deacon called out loudly.

Hearing this name, many outer disciples below the stage recalled the former number one of the outer sect. They began to whisper among themselves. Some mocked, some ridiculed, some showed a bit of pity, while most just watched with amusement.

Ignoring their words and looks, Chen Mo strode confidently onto the martial arts platform.

Feng chen glanced at Chen Mo's back, his eyes flashing. Leaning on him, Feng xia whispered, "Brother feng , I remember that person once gave you spirit stones. Why didn't you help him afterward?"

Feng chen's heart tightened. Feng xia's sudden question raised his guard. Such behavior was ungrateful and could be seen as heartless, something women despise. He needed Feng xia to provide cultivation resources, so he couldn't afford to show any sign of poor character.

He immediately grasped feng xia's hand, indulging her. "Xia'er, you only know part of the story. That person did give me spirit stones, but he only did so because he saw my potential and wanted to befriend me. I've never liked such opportunistic people, so I ignored him."

Feng xia nodded. "As expected of Brother Feng chen, your insight is sharp, seeing through him immediately."

Feng chen suddenly asked, "xia'er, did you approach me because you saw my potential and wanted to bet on it? If that's the case, I'd be heartbroken." He said, deliberately loosening his grip on her arm.

Feng xia was stunned and quickly waved her hands. "Brother feng chen, how could you say that? I genuinely like you and wanted to get close to you. From the moment you entered the sect, I liked you at first sight. However, my father wanted to wait and see your aptitude before letting me contact you."

Feng chen immediately hugged Feng xia tighter. "I understand, I know. Fei'er is the best to me." Liu Fei blushed, pressing closely against his chest.

Feng chen inwardly sneered. Women in love are so easy to deceive.

Of course, he was lying. When Chen Mo's foundation was destroyed and his cultivation plummeted, Feng chen decisively abandoned him for a simple reason. If Chen Mo was still the number one outer disciple, Feng chen would maintain a good relationship with him. Chen Mo could protect him and even give him spirit stones. But when Chen Mo fell to the entry level of the Body Refinement Realm, he lost all value, making any further relationship meaningless.

The only thing Feng chen hadn't expected was that Chen Mo still hadn't left the sect. If he were in Chen Mo's position, he would have long thought of leaving the sect and returning home to become a blacksmith. With his foundation destroyed and no hope for immortality, staying in celestial sword Sect would be pointless.

In the pavilion, sitting opposite Tian Li , the tall inner disciple Li zeng glanced at Chen Mo from afar. He said indifferently, "That person is Chen Mo, the former number one of the outer sect? Such a waste of resources for a crippled person to stay in the sect." He shook his head repeatedly after speaking.

Tian Li sneered, "I think so too. If I were him, I'd have left long ago." His tone was harsh, starkly different from the gentlemanly image he usually portrayed. "But, I always felt something was off about him, though I couldn't find any evidence," Tian Li continued solemnly.

The gaunt inner disciple Ning Peng asked casually, "Do you suspect he killed your cousin?"

Tian Li nodded. "He has the strongest motive to kill Yang Li, but I've tested him several times and found him to be merely at the entry level of the Body Refinement Realm."

Tian Li laughed heartily, "I think you're overthinking it. With his foundation destroyed, he can't possibly cultivate. Unless he obtains a high-grade elixir to restore his foundation, but that would be at least a high-grade mystic elixir."

Ning Peng added, "Indeed. With his abilities, he wouldn't be able to obtain a high-grade mystic elixir, let alone a single Body Refining Pill."

Tian Li chuckled, "But who knows, maybe he stumbled upon such an elixir by sheer luck?"

Tian Li laughed out loud, "Luck is an elusive thing, but it's clear that Chen Mo is not someone blessed with great fortune."

"Chen Mo is about to test his strength; we'll see his level soon enough," Ning Peng said with a smile.

The three of them focused their attention on the martial arts platform.

Continue....