When Jin Ming, Yang Cheng, and Li Anle appeared, all the outer sect disciples waiting in the square gazed at them with awe.
Ling Xiao was the exception.
To earn his awe, one would need to be at least in the Mundane Realm.
“The one in white is Yang Cheng. He excels with the spear, and his spear techniques are formidable. If you want to avenge Wu Xiang, you’d better study him thoroughly,” Zhao Zhi continued. “Next to him is Li Anle, ranked twenty-sixth, skilled in movement and lightness techniques.”
“And the one in the middle is Jin Ming, right?”
“Yes, that’s Jin Ming!” Zhao Zhi nodded.
Though Jin Ming was shorter and slighter than Yang Cheng and Li Anle, he somehow gave the illusion of being the most imposing of the three.
His frame was lean, almost like a skinny monkey.
But the confidence and strength in his eyes were intimidating.
“Don’t let Jin Ming’s appearance fool you. He’s incredible. You’d never guess, but he specialises in defensive martial arts, and his body is extremely tough. Don’t be deceived by his looks,” Zhao Zhi warned.
Ling Xiao nodded.
What others couldn’t see, he could.
Jin Ming likely possessed a complete martial soul that enhanced his physique, and his potential was probably exceptional in this area.
Ling Xiao was certain that even without using true essence, Jin Ming could easily defeat ordinary martial artists below the peak Ninth Layer Martial Vein.
“Hm?”
Ling Xiao hadn’t expected that the sheer pressure and intimidation from Jin Ming would trigger a breakthrough in this moment.
This guy’s aura was overwhelming—compared to him, Tian was less than an ant.
Ling Xiao closed his eyes, focusing on consolidating his new cultivation at the initial stage of the Ninth Layer Martial Vein.
The breakthrough didn’t take long, and fortunately, he could swap his main body with his martial soul clone.
His main body entered the Mountain and River World to cultivate.
The martial soul clone remained outside, continuing to chat with Zhao Zhi.
Yet Zhao Zhi didn’t notice this drastic change at all.
Beyond possessing a physique-enhancing complete martial soul, Jin Ming likely practiced defensive martial arts comparable to Ghost King Extinction.
This was probably something he brought from the outside world.
Indeed, Ling Xiao wasn’t the only genius.
Jin Ming’s potential in physical prowess was likely on par with Ming Tian’s.
As they reached the square, Jin Ming’s aura grew even more pronounced.
Many outer sect disciples trembled, some even collapsing to their knees.
The terrifying aura was unbearable, causing their blood to surge and their true essence to feel like it was flowing backward.
“Terrifying!” Zhao Zhi’s face paled. Though he didn’t kneel, his body was visibly shaking. “I’ve never seen such a fearsome half-step master in the mundane world. His aura is almost on par with a Mundane Realm martial artist.”
“Heh, that Ling Xiao’s not bad. Not only did he defeat Tian, but he can stand unshaken under Senior Brother Jin’s aura. Impressive,” said Li Anle, ranked twenty-sixth, with a smile.
“Only three people are still standing. He’s indeed remarkable,” Yang Cheng said, his face darkening with a cold expression.
At that moment, only Ling Xiao, Zhao Zhi, and Xu Ying remained standing. The rest were either kneeling or sprawled on the ground.
“Hmph!” Jin Ming snorted, directing a powerful, almost tangible aura straight at Ling Xiao.
Unfortunately, it was the martial soul clone standing there.
The main body might have been affected, but the clone, formed entirely of soul force and true essence, had no blood or qi and was immune to such pressure.
So Ling Xiao stood firm, a smile on his face.
Jin Ming’s expression shifted. “This kid’s got some skill, but if he wants to run rampant in the outer sect, he’ll have to get past me first!”
“Exactly, Senior Brother Jin, you’re the embodiment of justice, the idol of the weak. This Ling Xiao even bullied Tian—far too arrogant,” Li Anle said, quick to flatter.
It was unclear what Tian had said, but Ling Xiao’s reputation among the outer sect’s top disciples seemed less than stellar.
Jin Ming appeared to relish Li Anle’s flattery, saying coldly, “When work assignments are made, we’ll give this kid a wake-up call.”
Typically, work assignments for new outer sect disciples were handled by the outer sect stewards.
But under the guise of “training disciples,” these stewards delegated the task to top-ranked outer sect disciples.
This time, Jin Ming was in charge.
If he wanted to make things hard for Ling Xiao, he could do so immediately.
Unbeknownst to Jin Ming, Ling Xiao had already been claimed by the Medicine Hall’s master.
“Listen up. The outer sect’s work tasks are demanding. If you can’t complete them, you’ll lose the benefits of being a Moonlight Sect disciple and face punishment. Pay attention,” Jin Ming said, handing a list to Li Anle. “Junior Brother Li, you handle the assignments.”
The tasks on the list were pre-arranged; Li Anle just needed to read them out.
Li Anle nodded, eagerly taking the list.
To him, Jin Ming was untouchable. He had to keep him happy to get by.
Though both were in the top thirty and half-step masters, Jin Ming’s strength far surpassed his.
Of course, above Jin Ming was Heisuo.
A genius of the inner sect, Heisuo was someone Li Anle had to handle carefully, or he’d regret it.
He didn’t know how Ling Xiao had offended Senior Brother Heisuo, but today’s task was just a convenient way to mess with him—child’s play.
Ling Xiao had finished cultivating, swapping his martial soul clone back to the Mountain and River World.
His cultivation had advanced to the initial stage of the Ninth Layer Martial Vein, though outwardly, nothing seemed different.
This was thanks to his template.
For now, he could handle most outer sect matters with his peak Eighth Layer Martial Vein cultivation and had no intention of revealing his Ninth Layer status, lest he attract Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable’s attention.
“Hm?”
Ling Xiao keenly sensed someone watching from about a mile away.
Entering a soul-focused state, he looked far and saw it was Heisuo.
At that moment, Heisuo was sipping tea, waiting to see Ling Xiao make a fool of himself.
Li Anle had begun announcing the assignments.
The roles for Zhao Zhi, Xu Ying, and Zhao Ci weren’t announced, as they had “other arrangements,” clearly pre-arranged by someone influential.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ting and Zhao Yu received cushy, lucrative jobs.
This was all normal.
Xu Ying was royalty from the Ninja Nation with remarkable talent.
The other four were royalty from the Northern Han Nation, with equally impressive talents—especially Zhao Zhi, whose potential matched Xu Ying’s. Assigning them to good roles was perfectly reasonable.
