On that day, Ling Xiao single-handedly fought thirty half-step masters.
These were the elite among the outer sect disciples.
Most couldn’t withstand even a single move from Ling Xiao, and during the process, he even offered guidance to them.
He didn’t think much of it, just seeing it as helping fellow sect members with a few words.
But unexpectedly, this act won him the full support of most outer sect disciples.
It could be said that, should he enter the inner sect, the entire outer sect would back him.
This was a rare and valuable force.
It might not be obvious now, but since inner sect disciples came from the outer sect, their support would bring him significant benefits once they advanced.
Zhao Ci remained aloof and rigid. Defeated in one move by Ling Xiao, she refused his guidance.
Ling Xiao couldn’t be bothered with such a woman.
Zhao Zhi, her brother, was her polar opposite despite being siblings.
Before the challenge, Zhao Zhi asked Ling Xiao to spar longer to help identify flaws in his cultivation.
Ling Xiao didn’t refuse.
A fight he could’ve ended in ten moves stretched to over a hundred with Zhao Zhi.
While guiding Zhao Zhi, Ling Xiao gained insights himself.
Zhao Zhi, a genius in his own right, had ideas Ling Xiao hadn’t considered, and he absorbed them all.
“Senior Brother Ling’s strength now probably doesn’t even consider Mortal Realm first-level martial artists a threat, does it?” Zhao Zhi remarked helplessly after the challenge.
It seemed that unless Ling Xiao advanced to the inner sect, he’d never become the top outer sect disciple.
“Indeed, calling him the strongest outer sect disciple in Yuehua Sect’s history wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
After this challenge, Ling Xiao was virtually invincible in the outer sect.
But outer sect dominance meant little.
After the challenges, he returned to his cave mansion to continue cultivating.
During the nearly half-month recovery period, his time wasn’t wasted, but he hadn’t focused fully on cultivation.
The challenges provided insights from the thirty outer sect disciples, which he planned to integrate into his training.
As the saying goes, “When three walk together, one can be my teacher.”
Though simple, many struggle to live by it.
But Ling Xiao always did, finding value even in those far weaker than him.
Currently, he faced only two obstacles.
First was accumulating strength. Breaking through to the fifth layer would allow him to advance to the Mortal Realm with all three potentials—soul, inner force, and body.
This was far harder than advancing with one or two potentials, but once achieved, he’d be immensely powerful, with a solid foundation and rapid future progress.
The second was the fusion of his Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul with his soul.
He had no clear solution for this. After reaching ninety-nine percent fusion, progress stalled. Unlike cultivation, this relied on finding the right catalyst to reach one hundred percent.
He was eager to see what changes would occur when the fusion was complete—for both the martial soul and himself.
He couldn’t ask others, as no one had such experience. He had to rely on himself.
That day, learning that the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable and Yang Danlin had emerged from seclusion, he stopped cultivating to visit them.
They had fought the Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable for him, sustaining injuries and nearly clashing with the Law Enforcement Hall.
He had to thank them personally.
At Yang Danlin’s cave mansion, he found the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable there too, discussing something confidential.
“Ling Xiao, you’re here! Come in!” Yang Danlin was as kind as ever, like a warm grandfather.
The Guanghan Heavenly Venerable remained icy, but Ling Xiao sensed her goodwill.
“Your disciple pays respects to Master Yang and Senior Guanghan!”
Entering, Ling Xiao noticed Yuan Zun’s absence, and a strong unease gripped him.
What had happened?
He frowned, waiting for them to speak.
“Sit, Ling Xiao. It seems we can’t keep some things from you,” Yang Danlin said with a sigh.
“Did something happen to my master?” Ling Xiao asked, his voice calm but his heart in turmoil.
“Here’s what happened…”
Yang Danlin didn’t hide anything, recounting what occurred while Ling Xiao was unconscious.
When Ling Xiao was on the brink of death, even Yuan Zun thought his survival odds were less than thirty percent.
This enraged Yuan Zun.
Despite his usual harmless demeanour, losing such a promising disciple to murder ignited his fury.
He and Yang Danlin confronted the Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable.
They found the Guanghan Heavenly Venerable already there, with molten lizard corpses scattered around the Volcano Palace.
Though she didn’t care for Ling Xiao as Yuan Zun did, the Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable’s audacity to attack an outer sect disciple under her watch, in her domain, infuriated her.
After sending Ling Xiao to Yang Danlin’s cave mansion, she stormed the Volcano Palace.
Truth be told, the Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable’s strength exceeded her expectations.
Without Yang Danlin’s arrival and Yuan Zun’s risky intervention, both she and Yang Danlin might have died.
But Yuan Zun’s actions alerted the Law Enforcement Hall.
The Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable was saved, while Yuan Zun was subdued by the five strongest enforcement elders.
These elders were the sect’s most powerful, yet even with Yuan Zun not at full strength, they paid a heavy price to suppress him.
“How is my master now?” Ling Xiao asked urgently.
“He’s imprisoned at the top of the Yuehua Treasure Tower, in an ancient array designed to confine demons. Even Yuan Zun can’t escape,” Yang Danlin said with a sigh.
“That’s outrageous! The Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable broke sect rules first, and they do nothing?” Ling Xiao said angrily.
“Child, that’s the law of the Mysterious Realm—might makes right,” Yang Danlin said solemnly. “The Law Enforcement Hall doesn’t care about an outer sect disciple’s death, even a genius like you. They value the Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable more, so they’ll blatantly protect him.”
