Chapter 140: Chapter 45: Accepting a Disciple

This time, Ji Chengfeng truly understood how formidable Sword Cultivators could be. His face flushed, alternating between pale and crimson.

He couldn’t defeat Yang Jing even at his peak. Now, with his body invaded by Ren Water Sword Qi, he struggled to even circulate his Magical Power. If he were to step onto the Magic Battle Platform now, he would surely be defeated in an instant.

After a moment’s hesitation, he covered his face and fled, hastily piloting his Flying Spiritual Artifact away in disgrace.

Yang Jing extended his palm, and the distant Flying Sword returned to his grasp, as agile as a darting fish.

“What a coward.”

Only then did Ren Xingzhou finally accept the reality of the situation. Ji Chengfeng, the man the seniors at the Household Affairs Hall called invincible among his peers, had been defeated so easily.

“Senior Brother Yang, I almost don’t recognize you anymore,” he said with a wry smile, wiping away the blood he’d coughed up from the shock of the Thunder Technique.

“But Ji Chengfeng’s master is a senior figure in the True Martial Hall. Are you worried this will affect your future?”

The True Martial Hall presides over all martial affairs in the Five Elements True Spirit Sect. The Demon Suppression Armies and the Flying Ship Fleet are all under its command.

Yang Jing wasn’t the least bit afraid. He had seen a glimpse of how the Five Elements True Spirit Sect operated through Guo Chuanzhi of the General Affairs Hall. He had already calculated the consequences before he even made his move.

Besides, in the matter with Ji Chengfeng, Yang Jing was completely in the right.

Within the Sect, if you wanted to be valued, you had to demonstrate your worth. Ji Chengfeng’s Thunder-Fire Spiritual Root was famous for its prowess in Magical Combat. By defeating him fair and square in his own area of expertise, Yang Jing had proven his own value naturally surpassed Ji Chengfeng’s.

From now on, the Sect would only value him more.

Even if his judgment was wrong and he ended up “hitting the junior only to attract the senior,” he had a simple solution. He would just apply for seclusion and achieve Foundation Establishment with his True Yang Body.

After that, he could simply invite Ji Chengfeng’s master to the Magic Battle Platform.

The greatest advantage of being a Sword Cultivator was that no matter the problem, the Magic Battle Platform could serve as the ultimate method of resolution.

News of the Magical Combat between Yang Jing and Ji Chengfeng spread like wildfire throughout the entire Outer Sect, thanks to the many witnesses.

In his first year after joining the sect, Ji Chengfeng had relied on his powerful Thunder Technique to challenge people everywhere. He was far more ostentatious than Yang Jing, and his reputation among the Outer Disciples was consequently much greater.

Some disciples at the scene had recorded the battle with Mirage Pearls, and the price for a single recording was driven up to twelve Spirit Stones.

In the wake of this battle, Yang Jing’s prestige soared even higher. Some even began to call him the number one disciple in the Outer Sect.

「Three days later.」

The Outer Sect competition finally began.

Thanks to the hype from the previous battle, this year’s Outer Sect competition drew an enormous crowd. It wasn’t just Outer Disciples; many Inner Sect Disciples and even True Disciples at the Foundation Establishment Cultivation level had come to watch.

In the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, a Cultivator who reached Foundation Establishment but failed to become a True Disciple had to take up a post within the Three Palaces and Nine Halls or in a Marketplace outside the Sect. They could no longer focus solely on their cultivation.

Even the status of a True Disciple only lasted for fifty years. During that time, the Sect would provide all the resources needed for cultivation, allowing them to advance their Cultivation without any distractions.

Typically, True Disciples paid no mind to events like the sect competition. It was only because Yang Jing’s reputation had grown so immense that their curiosity was piqued.

Iron Head and his three friends were squeezed into the crowd along with Ren Xingzhou. Chi Yu sat on Ren Xingzhou’s shoulders, pouting unhappily.

Yang Jing had made her deliberately lose in the preliminaries for two reasons: first, he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control herself and might accidentally reveal her true Power; second, a three or four-year-old child entering the Inner Sect would be far too conspicuous.

She was still sulking about it today.

Yang Jing stood on the Magic Battle Platform, gazing down at the sea of people below.

’There were competitions like this in the Nine Heavens World, too. But back then, I wasn’t enough of a whale and didn’t grind hard enough, so my Power was only upper-mid tier among the players. I’d usually get eliminated by the experts after a few rounds and fade back into the crowd.’

’Today, I can finally experience what it feels like to be one of those star players, one of the pros.’

The person from the Household Affairs Hall who arranged the matchups clearly didn’t care about the audience’s expectations. Yang Jing’s opponents in the first two rounds were both new disciples at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Cultivation.

Among Independent Cultivators, they might have been considered experts, but within the Outer Sect, they were at the very bottom of the hierarchy.

One of the disciples chose to forfeit immediately. The other mustered his courage and attacked, only to be effortlessly defeated by Yang Jing’s Golden Light Qi Sword Spell.

Not until the third round did he face a Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer disciple who had been in the sect for five years.

When the disciple saw he was matched against Yang Jing, his face filled with despair.

Disciples who had been in the sect for five years generally had a Cultivation between the sixth and seventh layer of Qi Refining. A Class disciples, thanks to their monthly supply of Five Elements Pills, could usually reach the Eighth Layer Qi Cultivation by their fifth year.

A rare few with exceptional Spirit Roots could even advance their Cultivation to the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer.

His Cultivation had reached the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer. If he hadn’t run into Yang Jing, his chances of advancing to the Inner Sect would have been quite high. Now that he had missed this opportunity, he would have to compete for a spot against the ten-year Outer Disciples.

Yang Jing saw a shadow of his past self in this disciple. ’No matter how hard you try, you always seem to fall just short of success.’

But even though the disciple gave it his all, he was still defeated with ease by Yang Jing’s Golden Light Qi Sword Spell.

After comprehending the Metal Element Sword Mantra, his Golden Light Qi Sword Spell had reached a new level. The Sword Qi he flicked from his fingertips now carried a hint of the sharpness of Sword Gang.

After three rounds, the number of remaining disciples had dwindled, and the truly strong were beginning to emerge.

“Ji Feng is defeated!”

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator acting as referee shot Ji Feng a strange look. He could tell that Ji Feng hadn’t used his full strength during the Magical Combat.

Within the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, only Inner Sect Disciples were eligible to exchange Merit Points for Foundation Establishment Pills. For that reason, 99% of disciples would never hold back in the competition.

Ji Feng stepped down from the Magic Battle Platform with a calm expression.

“Did you lose on purpose?”

Yang Jing asked, confused.

Ji Feng had only ever displayed his Talent for Five Elements True Fire. This fire could easily melt Iron Essence, so its power in Magical Combat should have been immense.

“Senior Brother Yang, I wish to follow in your footsteps. Please take me as your master.”

In the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, Outer Disciples were not qualified to take on disciples of their own. Only those at the rank of Inner Sect Disciple or higher had that right. Moreover, Inner Sect Disciples could only accept Outer Disciples as their apprentices.

The Five Elements True Spirit Sect was quite strict in managing the personal bonds of a master-disciple relationship. Once established, the bond could not be easily broken, and there were limits on the number of disciples one could accept.

In practice, very few Outer Disciples actually chose to become the apprentice of an Inner Sect Disciple. They usually received few benefits from such a master and were instead expected to run errands and perform manual labor.

Only older Outer Disciples who had lost their chance to advance to the Inner Sect would do so, hoping to leverage their master’s right to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Ji Feng had planned this all along. By only revealing his intentions after losing the match, he was demonstrating the depths of his resolve.

His words made Iron Head’s and Yinjiao’s eyes light up.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep