Among the thousand disciples, many cast envious looks at Liu Wuxie. His first-place ranking had brought him endless glory, and jealousy gnawed at their hearts. Some secretly wished to see him fall, if only to soothe their own frustrations.
"Liu Wuxie, I heard you obtained the Heavenly Sacred Dragon Scripture. I've been practicing the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms. Why don't we study together? I can give you a few pointers," Xu Guang said smoothly. His tone sounded polite, but his intent was obvious—he wanted the scripture.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm tired. I'll rest first," Liu Wuxie replied politely. Now wasn't the time to clash with Xu Guang, and he had no intention of handing over the scripture.
If he handed it over, and Xu Guang refused to return it, it would cause endless trouble. The Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms could evolve into the Great Heavenly Dragon Art. After all, its foundation was too important.
Xu Guang's face darkened. Liu Wuxie had dismissed him so bluntly before so many new disciples, humiliating him. The latter had not only refused to hand over the Heavenly Sacred Dragon Scripture, but he also hadn't even offered him a single astral stone as tribute.
After all, there were a thousand disciples here. Xu Guang couldn't possibly protect them all. In the Heavenly Dragon Sect, with tens of thousands of disciples, a deacon's authority extended only to trivial affairs. Still, he had enough power to make someone's life difficult in secret.
However, no one, not even Mu Heng, had ever made Liu Wuxie bow. Certainly not a petty deacon like Xu Guang.
Without hesitation, Liu Wuxie pushed open the courtyard door and walked inside.
Xu Guang trembled with murderous intent. For the first time, a new disciple had disregarded him openly in front of so many disciples. He trampled his authority and shattered his dignity.
How could he establish prestige among the newcomers again?
"Liu Wuxie, you're dead," Xu Guang muttered, taking a deep breath to steady himself before turning away.
"Deacon Xu, please take care of me in the future!" Li Sha called out obsequiously. However, Xu Guang barely heard him—one thought consumed his mind: how to kill Liu Wuxie. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novelFɪre.net
Many new disciples began to regret their earlier tributes. It was clear Xu Guang couldn't protect them all, yet it was too late. They could only select their own courtyards and settle in.
Each courtyard housed four disciples. Strangely, no one dared share a space with Liu Wuxie, fearing Xu Guang's revenge would spill over and affect them as well. They would rather cram together in dilapidated huts than risk being targeted.
That suited Liu Wuxie just fine. He preferred the peace. The courtyard was small but more than sufficient. Inside, he found a chest just as Xu Guang had said.
It held two sets of outer disciple robes embroidered with the character "martial,'" marking him as a member of the Heavenly Martial Institute. The color gray represented outer disciples; purple represented inner disciples, and white represented true disciples. Only holy sons could wear whatever they wished.
He changed into the uniform and stored his token in his interspatial ring. The chest also held three books.
The first detailed sect rules and a map of forbidden grounds. The rules were simple: do not kill fellow disciples, and do not betray the sect. Using Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie scanned the entire book in minutes; what would take others a full day took him only a few breaths.
The second book contained the Heavenly Dragon Sutra, an optional entry-level cultivation technique for new disciples.
The third was a set of sword techniques suitable for outer disciples, but it was far beneath Liu Wuxie's level.
He also discovered a porcelain bottle of fourth-grade Spirit Converging Pills, and he found them too low in grade to be of much use to him. Alongside them sat one hundred astral stones, a modest starting reward, but better than nothing.
From here on, he would not obtain resources so easily.
According to the book, disciples earned resources through missions. They could also fight abyssal devils in the Blood Fiend Battlefield to earn points faster, though the risks were far greater. Few humans ventured into the Blood Fiend Abyss, where casualties were notoriously high.
The third option was trade: assisting alchemists, tending herb fields, or working in shops. These methods were safer but slow, offering far fewer points than fighting abyssal devils. Still, the sect provided many paths for disciples to grow.
Liu Wuxie closed the books and sat in silence, planning his next move. From the map, he learned that Mount Sumeru lay deep within the sect's forbidden grounds, the burial site of its ancestors. It was a vast graveyard, and no sect would tolerate trespassers disturbing their dead.
Yet the Dragon Origin Herb grew only there on the Indigo Bamboo Star. Even if people were to sell it outside, it would surely command an exorbitant price, and no one had seen one on the market for centuries.
The herb required dragon veins to grow, and Mount Sumeru was the only such vein. Even Void Realm experts risked death if they were to enter uninvited.
Liu Wuxie rubbed his temples as he stepped into the courtyard. He had joined the sect, but obstacles still blocked his plans. Time was short. He couldn't approach Mount Sumeru, nor could he yet reach the upper echelons.
He considered seeking Elder Ding's help but quickly dismissed it. Elder Ding was only an outer sect elder with limited authority. More importantly, Liu Wuxie couldn't reveal the existence of the True Martial Continent. If he exposed it, his homeland would face grave danger.
He had a little over a year. If he still couldn't obtain the Dragon Origin Herb by then, he would force his way into the sect's lesser realm, even at the risk of death.
"For now, I'll focus on missions to strengthen myself," Liu Wuxie muttered. "With the Heart Purification Pill and the Great Clarity Divine Pill, I'll break through to the ninth-level Heaven Profound Realm before making my next move."
Just as he turned back to refine the two pills, the courtyard door exploded inward, shards flying past him.
Five men stormed inside, their expressions menacing.
Liu Wuxie frowned. He had only just joined the sect and had offended no one else. Clearly, someone had sent them. He didn't recognize the intruders, but they were not new disciples.
The newcomers outside knew Liu Wuxie's strength well, and they wouldn't dare provoke him. But the older disciples did not.
"You're the one who took first place this year?" asked the leader, a cultivator at the first-level Origin Conversion Realm. The four at his side stood at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm, and their combat strength was far stronger than that of any newcomer.
"I am," Liu Wuxie said calmly. He already guessed Xu Guang had sent them.
"I'm Tie Niu," the leader said with a grin. "I hear you obtained the Heavenly Sacred Dragon Scripture. Hand it over."
"No." Liu Wuxie's refusal was instant. The scripture was too rare, too coveted. He would never let it out of his hands.
"How dare you refuse Senior Brother Tie!" one lackey barked, stepping forward until his finger nearly touched Liu Wuxie's face. Hostility radiated from his eyes.
In the past, new disciples always bowed before older ones. Only Liu Wuxie had ever looked at him with contempt.
"It's mine," he said coldly. "You asked to borrow it. I have every right to refuse."
A crowd of new disciples gathered outside, gloating as they watched. All of them had paid Xu Guang tribute. Only Liu Wuxie had not, and now, they expected others to bully him.
"I asked nicely," the lackey sneered. "Don't push it. Hand it over, or don't blame us for what happens next."
"Oh?" Liu Wuxie's lips curled into a sneer. "And what exactly are you planning to do?"
Though he had no wish to stir trouble so soon after joining the sect, fear was not in his nature. Since Tie Niu had come today, someone else would come tomorrow. The only solution was to establish prestige. He had to crush them so thoroughly that no one would dare try again.
"Teach him a lesson!" the lackey shouted, lunging with a fist that whistled through the air with lethal speed.
Tie Niu stood back, smirking. He was certain that a Heaven Profound Realm cultivator couldn't possibly withstand them.
The fist hurtled toward Liu Wuxie.
"You're courting death," Liu Wuxie growled as his figure blurred. His fist shot forward to meet the strike.
When the fists collided, a shockwave rippled outward, shaking the courtyard.