After the Tower Climbing Ceremony, Ling Xiao, in front of the entire sect at the Yuehua Treasure Tower, severely injured Elder Jin, the former head of the Law Enforcement Hall, and killed Shen Tianlin, the new disciple of Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable.
He was arrogant and ruthless, showing no regard for the Law Enforcement Hall or even the former Supreme Sect Leader.
Yet, no one could do anything about him.
In the current Yuehua Sect, Sect Leader Wu Xiang was his sworn brother.
The formidable Lady Yue Nü was his adopted sister.
Most unbelievably, this kid had the backing of the Yuehua Heavenly Maiden Ancestor. That day, the Ancestor’s divine intervention completely turned the situation around.
Thinking of this, Dai Yuling trembled with excitement.
Even though she had journeyed with Ling Xiao from Yunkong City, she now found him increasingly mysterious.
Mysterious, powerful, and wise.
“Senior Sister Yuling, congratulations!”
Suddenly, Dai Yuling’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
Ling Xiao descended from the air with a smile.
On the surface, there was nothing particularly special about him.
But for some reason, the moment Ling Xiao appeared, everyone present felt an urge to kneel.
It was terrifying.
Was this really a fourteen-year-old boy?
Seeing Ling Xiao, many people at the scene grew uneasy.
Many of them had once accused Ling Xiao before the Yuehua Treasure Tower. Though they had been punished for it, they were still worried.
Ling Xiao was decisive and ruthless, and they genuinely feared he might suddenly strike and wipe them all out.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Ling!”
Someone took the lead, and nearly ninety percent of the people at the banquet knelt on the ground, trembling and shouting in unison.
In contrast, Leng Hao and others who were closest to Ling Xiao approached with smiles, showing no fear.
They knew Ling Xiao well and understood he wasn’t someone who killed indiscriminately or attacked without reason.
“Get up, everyone. Today is Senior Sister Yuling’s big day for her promotion, so don’t ruin the atmosphere.”
Ling Xiao spoke calmly.
Those people sprang up as if they had springs in their legs, obediently returning to their seats.
Ling Xiao sighed helplessly. Am I really that scary?
I’m pretty good-looking, aren’t I?
He didn’t realise that, although the Tower Climbing Ceremony incident had been clarified, it was a fact that he had killed Bai Feifei and others, eliminating them.
It was normal for people to revere those with great strength.
Just as they would tremble before someone like Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable.
“Senior Brother Ling, about the incident at the Yuehua Treasure Tower, we had our reasons. For survival, for cultivation, we had to follow the crowd.”
“Please forgive us, Senior Brother Ling!”
“Senior Brother Ling is the true number one genius of our Yuehua Sect. Compared to you, that Ming Tian is nothing!”
Perhaps because a gentle smile appeared on Ling Xiao’s face, many people let down their guard, and some finally mustered the courage to start flattering him.
However, Ling Xiao had always been indifferent to flattery, even finding it somewhat repulsive.
“Enough, let’s not bring up the past.”
Ling Xiao waved his hand lightly. With his current level of cultivation, he couldn’t be bothered to hold grudges against these people, as their offences didn’t warrant death.
“Ling Xiao, you came at the right time. Didn’t Sect Leader Wu say the core disciples would be reshuffled? You, me, Senior Brother Shangguan Lei, and Senior Brother Zhao Zhi can challenge any core disciple we want, but the challenge must be held in public so everyone knows.”
Dai Yuling finally had a chance to speak to Ling Xiao.
“I’ll pass for now. I’ll wait a bit longer. Once I fully comprehend the Black-Winged Great Roc Martial Soul inheritance, I’ll be ready. I’m not qualified yet,” Zhao Zhi said with a wry smile.
Thanks to the Black-Winged Great Roc Martial Soul and miraculous elixirs from Ling Xiao, his cultivation had advanced to the sixth stage of the Mortal Realm. But compared to the core disciples, there was still a significant gap.
The lowest-ranked among the top ten core disciples, Meng Yuan, was at the mid-eighth stage of the Mortal Realm.
Zhao Zhi felt he needed to reach at least the seventh stage of the Mortal Realm before challenging.
“Who’s currently ranked fourth?” Ling Xiao suddenly asked.
The core disciple competition, for him now, was only significant for participating in the Four Sects Martial Arts Competition.
So, securing fourth place would be enough.
“Yue Ren!” Lan Yu’er replied.
“Alright, I’ll challenge him when I have time,” Ling Xiao said after some thought.
Hearing this, many people present were shocked.
Yue Ren, the fourth-ranked among the top ten core disciples, seemed insignificant in the eyes of Senior Brother Ling?
“There are three days left until the core disciple reshuffle. Do you want to train a bit more?” Lan Yu’er asked with some concern.
Her cultivation had recently broken through to the half-step Heavenly Venerable realm, thanks to the spirit fruit Ling Xiao had given her.
She had completely fallen out with her master, Chang Yueli. Though they were still nominally master and disciple, they were practically strangers.
Her master’s actions had been too despicable.
“No need. But what about you all? Are you satisfied with your current rankings?” Ling Xiao asked with a smile.
“What can we do if we’re not satisfied?” Leng Hao asked, puzzled.
“I’ve already assessed your situations. Your strengths aren’t weak, but you’ve gone astray in some areas. For the next three days, I’ll train each of you intensively. Let’s aim for all of us to secure good rankings among the top ten core disciples!”
Having reached the ninth stage of the Mortal Realm, Ling Xiao’s insight had sharpened. He knew Yuehua Sect could no longer meet his needs, so he might leave soon.
Before departing, he wanted to help these friends as much as he could.
Besides, seeing his friends achieve good rankings felt pretty great.
“Me too?” Zhao Zhi asked, confused.
“You’re actually the easiest. Only four people received martial soul inheritances this time, and you’re one of them,” Ling Xiao nodded.
Over the next three days, Ling Xiao gathered Lan Yu’er, Dai Yuling, Shangguan Lei, Leng Hao, and Zhao Zhi at his mountain peak for special training.
Three days later, the core disciple reshuffle began.
Everyone thought the rankings were mostly set.
But to the shock of the entire sect, Lan Yu’er directly challenged Bai Feifei and won, reclaiming her rightful second place.
That same day, Ren Xingtian broke through to the Heaven-Human Realm and was appointed an inner elder, filling the vacancy left by Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable’s demotion. This made Lan Yu’er the undisputed top core disciple!
Before Bai Feifei could process her defeat, she was challenged and defeated by Tantai Lingzi, causing her ranking to drop further.
