Aside from <Cloud Dragon Divine Movement> and <Nine Demons Divine Art>, Ling Xiao’s other martial arts were essentially obsolete.
Upon reaching the Mortal Realm, those techniques became largely unusable.
Though reluctant, he knew that to keep advancing, he had to let go of some things. It was inevitable.
…
The next morning, Ling Xiao recalled his sword soul clones and left his cave dwelling.
“Morning, Senior Brother Ling!”
Xiao Yan and Lin Feng were already waiting outside, treating him with utmost respect, as if he were their leader or boss.
They’d likely heard about the grim experiences of outer disciples in joint training with the inner sect.
Whether they could avoid humiliation depended on Ling Xiao.
Though their strength wasn’t bad, compared to inner sect disciples, they were far inferior.
The weakest inner sect disciples were at early Mortal Realm first level.
Xiao Yan and Lin Feng were only half-step masters.
Looking at Ling Xiao, they felt a mix of surprise and awe.
He was supposedly just a half-step master, yet his commanding presence was beyond their reach.
They didn’t know his confidence stemmed from his true strength.
He appeared to be a half-step master, but his actual cultivation was early Mortal Realm second level.
His confidence wasn’t solely from his cultivation.
Beyond that, he had two terrifying trump cards, one being the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul.
He’d never used it fully in combat, only as an auxiliary tool for analyzing and exploiting opponents’ techniques and weaknesses.
In the Fulong Mountains, he’d once summoned it, unleashing a terrifying aura that could shake the heavens.
It was capable of devouring even the ancient Golden Dragon.
That dragon’s roar had altered the Mysterious Realm’s laws, alarming countless experts.
Yet the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul’s aura was even more fearsome, undetected by even Grotto-Heaven Realm powerhouses.
His other trump card was the power of the ancient Golden Dragon.
In human form, drawing a trace of its primordial power boosted his strength by about fifty percent.
In human-dragon form, he could use more, doubling his strength at least.
In full Golden Dragon form, he could wield even greater primordial power, increasing his strength tenfold.
But the immense consumption and physical toll limited this form to ten breaths at most—a fleeting moment.
As a finishing move, though, it was perfect.
He wouldn’t use it lightly, nor did he need to, unless his life was truly at stake.
Revealing the Golden Dragon form would expose his revival of a primordial beast, inviting endless trouble.
“Let’s go to the inner sect’s main hall!”
Ling Xiao took a deep breath.
Heading to the inner sect’s main hall as an outer disciple felt peculiar.
News of the joint training spread quickly through the inner sect.
It was no secret—anyone familiar with the Yuehua Sect’s customs could guess it.
“Hey, I heard one of the joint trainees killed a Mortal Realm first-level martial artist.”
“Yeah, his name’s Ling Xiao. He killed Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable’s disciples, Xu Ying and Wang Feng.”
“What’s this guy’s deal? That’s terrifying!”
Ling Xiao was the talk of the inner sect.
To many inner disciples, outer disciples were ants. Historically, while some outer sect top three had defeated inner disciples, no one had ever done what Ling Xiao did—killing two inner disciples single-handedly.
Even past victories by outer disciples were against near-eliminated inner sect rejects, won by a single move or a narrow margin.
But Ling Xiao?
Rumors said he killed two inner disciples in two moves.
And they were genius-level disciples.
Xu Ying, in particular, was Demonic Flame Heavenly Venerable’s true disciple, on par with Ming Tian and Leng Hao.
Her death had driven Demonic Flame to try killing Ling Xiao himself, despite his status.
“Hmph, you only know half the story. Don’t believe the hype. I heard the real killer of Xu Ying and Wang Feng was someone else—a Heavenly Human Realm expert.”
“Guanghan Heavenly Venerable, maybe? That would make sense.”
“Shh, keep it quiet. Spreading that could get you killed.”
“Hmph, I knew it. How could an outer disciple kill two genius inner disciples so easily? There’s definitely more to it.”
“When this kid shows up for training, we’ll give him a warm welcome, heh heh!”
Aside from Zhao Zhi, Lan Yu’er, and Dai Yuling, almost no one in the inner sect liked Ling Xiao.
Maybe his outer sect brilliance sparked jealousy, or his killing of Xu Ying and Wang Feng fueled resentment.
Jealousy, envy, irritation, hatred—every emotion swirled.
Ling Xiao, still en route to the inner sect’s main hall, was unaware of the gossip.
Xiao Yan and Lin Feng, walking beside him, looked grim and anxious.
Only Ling Xiao seemed cheerful, as if anticipating something fun.
Joint training with inner disciples—wasn’t that exciting?
He was thrilled.
…
The inner sect’s main hall was the Yuehua Sect’s core.
The spiritual energy here was far denser than in the outer sect.
But as they approached, powerful auras grew more numerous.
Whether intentional or not, these auras seemed to target Ling Xiao, Xiao Yan, and Lin Feng.
Though lacking killing intent, the pressure alone was a calamity for three outer disciples.
In the past, three outer disciples had collapsed under this pressure, some driven to suicide, others to madness.
The Yuehua Sect later banned such tactics against joint-training outer disciples.
But some, backed by powerful figures, still defied the rules.
Xiao Yan and Lin Feng’s faces turned deathly pale, their legs leaden, barely able to move.
Sweat poured from their foreheads, as if they’d fallen gravely ill.
Ling Xiao smiled faintly and waved a hand.
A warm aura enveloped his two companions, easing their burden.
