Down below, amidst the many senior Outer and Inner Sect disciples, quiet mutterings had already begun to stir.
"Who is he? I don’t recognize him..."
"He’s wearing the Sect Master’s personal disciple robe. Is he out of his mind? Most of her disciples either went mad or quit due to the effects of her Divine Physique."
"What’s his na?"
"No idea. Never seen him before."
"Tch. That just ans he’s been hidden until now—probably trained in secret on so sealed-off mountain."
"Is he the one Brother Jie put a bounty on?" a nearby Core Disciple whispered to his friend, who wore a fan tucked into his sash.
As Huang Jie passed by, he threw a sideways glance at the two and said coolly, "Mind your own business, Lin."
Lin only smiled, muttering, "Bah, I’m just saying... why would a Core Disciple like you bother going after a poor newbie?"
Then he added, almost innocently, "So is it true that Core Disciple ixue personally knows him? Is that why?"
Huang Jie’s eyes flicked briefly toward ng Li and he replied blandly, "Fairy ixue was just guiding him to Void Peak."
He turned away, brushing off the implication. But ng Li smiled inwardly, thinking, Really now? Then why did you put a bounty on him?
He didn’t say it aloud, simply watching the exchange with a fox’s patience.
Then ng Li grinned and said, "How about we make it interesting? I’ll wager 1,000 spirit stones that he wins this competition."
"Then I bet 10,000 that he loses," Huang Jie shot back instantly, eyes sharp.
ng Li smiled wider, still fanning himself lazily as he thought, Hook, line, and sinker. Now let’s see what happens next.
Only a fool who thinks with his lower body would assu that anyone can defeat him. He’s the Sect Master’s disciple for a reason.
And ng Li wasn’t speaking from blind admiration.
His older sister—one of the most prodigious Sword Masters of her generation—had once been invited to study directly under the Sect Master. Her Soul-Sword Divine Physique was considered unmatched, a once-in-a-century gift.
And yet... even she broke.
ng Li rembered it clearly: she returned after just two days. Her spirit was intact, but her pride had been stripped clean. Her ntal fortitude—the very core of her being—had been unraveled by the Sect Master in under sixty hours.
She didn’t speak much of it.
She didn’t need to.
ng Li rembered her words more than anything else—quiet, serious, and unforgettable:
"If anyone can remain the Sect Master’s disciple for more than ten days and still stay sane... that person is destined to beco a great figure. No exceptions."
That statent echoed in his mind even now.
ng Li continued to fan himself leisurely, eyes half-lidded but glittering with ambition.
It seems... I’ve just stumbled upon a worthy investnt opportunity, he mused, already calculating angles, paths, and chances—plotting how best to approach Tian Lei... and how to ride that rising dragon’s coattails all the way to supremacy.
Finally, the tournant began, following a series of encouraging speeches from the Grand Elders, who promised generous rewards to the victors.
The tournant grounds thundered as the opening gong rang out.
All across the colossal arena, stone platforms began to rise into the air—each suspended in midspace by intricate formations inscribed by skilled Array Grandmasters. A do of protective qi surged to life around the spectator stands, humming softly with spiritual energy. Hundreds of disciples, spanning the ranks of Outer, Inner, and Core levels, stepped forward, faces tense with anticipation.
And thus, the Azure Feather Sect’s Grand Disciple Selection officially comnced.
Round One.
Tian Lei stepped onto his first platform with no expression, no flaring aura, and not even a flicker of theatricality. Just a sword resting at his side, and black robes that flowed like shadow-stained silk.
His opponent—a brash, peak-stage Qi Condensation Inner Disciple—grinned arrogantly as he summoned his martial spirit: a pair of fla-wreathed twin axes.
"Don’t think you’re the only one with backing," the disciple roared. "I’ve trained at Flawind Valley and reforged my body three tis—co taste my—!"
Slice.
One stroke.
The twin axes split cleanly in half—along with the platform beneath them.
The fire-wielding disciple collapsed unconscious, his spiritual channels sealed with pinpoint precision.
Silence.
Even the judges paused a mont longer than necessary before activating the formation to safely remove the defeated fighter from the stage.
"...Winner, Tian Lei."
The next round played out nearly the sa.
And the next.
And the next.
One sword stroke—every ti.
It beca almost ritualistic. Each opponent would enter with bravado—summoning sword lights, erecting fla barriers, unleashing illusion domains—only to be defeated within monts by a clean, untraceable movent. It wasn’t sheer brute strength.
It was cold, calculating mastery.
Each slash of his sword seed to carry the essence of an entire martial scripture. His control was unnerving—striking at the exact weak point in every defense, unraveling techniques at the conceptual level.
By the fifth round, the crowd was no longer cheering.
They were watching in reverent fear.
Yet Tian Lei wasn’t the only na making waves.
Lan Yue of Spirit Rain Peak danced across her platforms with grace, conjuring water blades like crystalline glass. Her Nine-Crested Wave Dance annihilated opponents in a tide of srizing, fluid motion.
Duan Fei of Earth Core Peak brought pure force to the field. His Stone Titan Body technique allowed him to shatter platforms with each stomp, tanking sword strikes with a body like fortified granite.
Xu Lanyin of Sword Mist Peak was a blur—her invisible sword arts drew wind scars across the arena, turning every duel into a deadly guessing ga where one wrong move ant instant defeat.
And then there was Bai Rong, another new outer Disciple known for his twin paths of poison and charm. His opponents rarely made it past their first stance—bewildered by illusions and overwheld by subtle toxins that blood around him like a deadly garden.
All were prodigies. All carried backgrounds, sponsors, and powerful lineage techniques passed down by their respective Peaks. Yet none of them had been accepted as personal disciples—not yet.
Within the Azure Feather Sect or any other sect in this world, only after a disciple reached the Spirit Awakening Realm—when their Spirit fully manifested and their true potential could be discerned—would they beco eligible to be chosen as a personal disciple.
It was at that pivotal threshold that they would be scouted: by an Outer Sect Elder, an Inner Sect Leader, a Core Elder—or, in rare and exceptional cases, even by a Grand Elder.
From atop the viewing platforms, the Peak Lords carefully observed the disciples from their respective Peaks. They nodded quietly if a contestant perford impressively, ntally taking note—marking them as potential candidates for elevation into the Inner Sect ranks.
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