Against The Heavens 99 Preparing For The Grand Competition.

After Elder Mujin left, the golden-haired Elder Su swept the 18 disciples in front of her with a quick gaze. The various disciples tensed up slightly, straightening their backs and raising their heads to show themselves off a little bit more now at the last second. Elder Su swiped her interspatial ring and took out 12 orbs of emerald-colored jade.

Back when Li Yang had first joined the Yuan clan, the elder overseeing the process had also taken out jade orbs, but those had been yellow in color. These jade orbs served the same function, tracking the contribution points of the disciple as well as notifying the clan if the disciple should die. The only difference between the two different orbs was that this emerald-colored one could only be used by inner disciples, it was a mark of honor of sorts.

Elder Su stretched out her right arm, the 12 orbs spinning around each other in the air above her palm. The disciples looked at these orbs with wanton desire and excitement, wis.h.i.+ng they could just jump forward and s.n.a.t.c.h one for themselves. Elder Su swept the disciples with her completely white eyes, calmly speaking up.

"There are 18 of you, but only 12 of these orbs, meaning that there are six among you who have not pa.s.sed this rank-up test. Yan Hu, Kang Xia, Ren Jie, Cao Jin, Quan Hao, and Feng Xue, please step forward."

The six people who were called up stepped forward with bitter expressions, lining up a few steps away from Elder Su. Of the six that didn't pa.s.s, five of them were actually Kang Xia and the four people who had joined him in speaking up against Li Yang's plan. Elder Su looked at the six people with an encouraging expression, talking to them in a comforting tone.

"You were all close to completing the test, but there are some things you must improve before you can become inner disciples. Yan Hu, you were good at following orders, but you lacked a little when it came to formulating a plan and reacting to unexpected situations, try to put yourself in situations where anything can happen, train yourself to be better to react and then come back to us. Kang Xia, Ren Jie, Cao Jin, Quan Hao, Feng Xue, the five of you were originally on track to completing the test perfectly, but you stumbled right at the end."

The expressions of Kang Xia and the four others sank further, turning even more bitter. To hear that they had failed right at the finish line, how could they not be disappointed? Elder Su gave them a short moment to calm themselves again, continuing with her explanation.

"You did well when it came to making plans and reacting to unexpected situations, but you are too hasty, too eager for glory. The glory and reputation of the clan mean nothing if they come at the cost of the lives of our disciples, the safer plan that ensures the lives of the disciples is always the better one, trying to ruin the plan just because you want to show off is foolish. Take a year to temper your minds, quell the fires in your hearts and aim for stability rather than glory. The clan expects great things from all of you, so we will call all six of you again next year, I hope you will have improved by then."

She didn't try to put them down or make them feel bad about how they had failed, she simply guided them in an earnest fas.h.i.+on, hoping that they would prove that they were as good as the clan believed them to be. The six that failed straightened their backs and then gave Elder Su a deep bow.

"We are sorry that we failed your expectations, we won't fail you again next year!"

The six of them left the stone stage after bowing. Since they had failed, this was no longer a place they could stay, they would have to wait until next year before they would hopefully get the chance to stand here again. With the six failing disciples leaving, Elder Su turned her gaze onto the 12 that had pa.s.sed, one of the 12 orbs floating over to each of them.

"Congratulations, all of you have pa.s.sed the rank up test. As inner disciples, you will only have to clear one clan mission every five years, and every month you will receive 100 Spirit grade Spirit Stones. As for the bowl of cultivation resources you used to receive once a year, you will receive an upgraded version of this bowl every three months."

The disciples couldn't help but bubble with joy when they heard the rewards, even Li Yang feeling somewhat surprised at how generous the rewards were. Just the amount of Spirit Stones they would receive was 10 times greater than that of an outer disciple. Elder Su pointed at the 12 orbs, continuing to talk.

"Once you bind those orbs using your blood, they will fuse together with the ones you received earlier, officially marking you as inner disciples. They will also lead you to your new abodes, so take some time to familiarize yourself with your new environment. But don't forget to cultivate, the grand compet.i.tion organized by the Huo clan will start soon, and the clan still has two open spots for newer inner disciples like you."

The disciples started to seethe with excitement again after hearing about the grand compet.i.tion. Even if one ignored the rewards of the compet.i.tion, just the chance to enter the hidden realm where it took place was a grand treasure, as the hidden realm contained countless rare beasts and herbs. Of course, the compet.i.tion was also incredibly dangerous, with a very high rate of death. But to cultivate was to go against the heavens, one could not become a great cultivator if they feared death.

Li Yang was a bit calmer than the other disciples, he had already secured a spot for himself in the compet.i.tion after all. Now he only had to focus on his cultivation, strengthening himself as much as possible before the start of the compet.i.tion.

He sliced his thumb with his nail, dripping some blood on the emerald-colored orb. Just like last time, the orb split into two, half of it flying into his chest and the other half flying over to Elder Su. After half of the orb flew into his chest and fused with the other part that was already there, he felt the jade resonate with something in the distance, guiding him to the place that would be his new house.

Li Yang didn't head to his new house immediately, returning to his old one first to pick up the few items he had left behind there. At the same time, he also told Blackstone and the two other servants that he was now an inner disciple, meaning that they were no longer his servants. They were a bit downtrodden, Li Yang had treated them rather well after all.

But thanks to the cultivation manuals he had gifted them early on, as well as the fact that they got to live close to his house, which was located in an area where the natural Qi was far denser than around their previous houses, they were all close to breaking through to the Ascending Heaven realm. They would become outer disciples once they broke through, receiving far better treatment than they had as provisional disciples.

Li Yang picked up the few items he had left behind, a few robes and books, and then followed the resonating feeling unleashed by the piece of jade, heading to his new house. As an inner disciple, his house was located on the main mountain of the Yuan clan, a place where the surrounding Qi was at least three times as dense as the place where he had previously lived. Cultivating in a place like this would drastically increase one's cultivation speed, so it was understandable that so many people wanted to become inner disciples.

Li Yang's new house was quite a bit larger than his previous one, reminiscent of a small palace. The house was circular in shape and the ceiling was in the shape of a pointed dome, the entire house painted a deep golden color. Two statues were placed in front of the double-doors that served as the entrance, one on each side. One was in the shape of a roaring tiger and the other was in the shape of a coiled up blue dragon, both statues looking quite life-like. There was a five-kilometer empty area around the house that served as a garden, giving him some privacy from the other inner disciple.

Li Yang pushed open the doors to his home, entering a large hall decorated with a few couches and tables, as well as some plants and paintings that served to brighten up the atmosphere of the room. There were already a few people standing in the room, 12 young girls clad in the robes of the clan. Once Li Yang entered the room, the 12 young girls bowed to him in unison and spoke up.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Yang. We are the ones who will serve you in the future, you may call upon us at any time of the day should you have any needs you want us to take care of."

Li Yang swept the 12 girls with a quick gaze, recognizing two of the girls. They were Cheng Xun and Qiao Ping, two girls who had entered the clan alongside Li Yang, becoming outer disciples by taking part in the same tournament that he had taken part in. They had stood on somewhat equal grounds back then, but now they could only look up at his back and serve him as maids, or bedwarmers if he so wished.

Li Yang understood what role these 12 girls were supposed to play, but just like with his previous servants, he didn't really care. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, crossing the hall and opening a door that was marked with the words 'Master Bedroom'.

"You can do as you please, I won't stay here for long."

Li Yang had his own plans, and that was to once again leave the clan to undertake several missions at once. He needed a large number of resources and dead bodies to cultivate his three different cultivation techniques, and the resources he would receive every three months weren't quite enough. He planned on accepting several missions and leaving the clan, only returning occasionally to hand in the completed missions and pick up some more resources. He was going to do this all the way until the Huo clan compet.i.tion started, at which point he would head directly over to Broken Rapid's city, the place where he had to go to head to the compet.i.tion.

The young girls thought that Li Yang might be joking with them, after all, what sort of young man could resist the allure of so many young and beautiful girls? But he proved that his words weren't a joke, only dropping off a few items in the bedroom and then leaving the building, heading directly for the dome that was the mission control building, not even sparing the girls a second glance.