A few sharp flashes of lightning sliced through the air, and the inner disciples who had previously surrounded Xiao Rui were struck down, collapsing in a disordered circle upon the ground.
Seeing this, Fu Hanqiu said with great satisfaction to the elders beside him:
"Not only is Xiao Rui high in cultivation, his spiritual energy aura is also very steady. Truly, a formidable young generation."
Ye Yigeng raised a brow:
"Listening to the Palace Lord's tone, it seems you have taken a liking to his talent and intend to take Xiao Rui as a personal disciple?"
Zhao Zhixuan smiled:
"If the Palace Lord does not take him, I am afraid Elder Ye intends to break the rules and accept a disciple as well."
To tell the truth, if not for the cultivation method Zhao Zhixuan practiced being more suited for female cultivators, she would have wanted to take Xiao Rui as a disciple too.
Logically speaking, a First Elder could only take on one personal disciple at a time.
However, if they encountered someone exceptionally outstanding, they could make an exception and take them in.
Lu Shenxing's expression, however, was not very good:
This Xiao Rui's strength far exceeded his expectations.
His own personal disciple was already nearing thirty, yet his strength was merely at the perfection stage of the Mystic Martial Realm.
Although his foundation was very solid, seeing it this way, he might not necessarily be a match for Xiao Rui.
Thinking this, a sinister trace flashed across Lu Shenxing's eyes:
Since that is the case, brat Xiao Rui, do not blame me for being treacherous and cunning.
It could be said that the more outstanding Xiao Rui performed, the more Lu Shenxing believed the other possessed some grand opportunity, and the more he wanted to claim it for himself.
On the other side, Xia Wantang and Ye Xing also witnessed Xiao Rui's performance.
Although Ye Xing thoroughly disliked Xiao Rui, he had to admit that the other was indeed a formidable opponent—if given a few more years, that is.
"Junior Sister, the Xiao Rui you are so optimistic about indeed has some ability."
"Even with so many disciples surrounding and blocking him together, they cannot injure him in the slightest. It looks like he will definitely qualify."
Hearing this, Xia Wantang chuckled inwardly:
Just you wait and see; when they first met, Ye Xing still looked at Xiao Rui with displeasure, and now he is acknowledging him so quickly.
Tch.
"Senior Brother still possesses quite a bit of appreciation for talent."
"Wantang remembers that just a moment ago, Senior Brother was still deliberately speaking in riddles and sneering in front of him~"
Ye Xing turned his head to see Xia Wantang blinking her eyes with a playful expression.
Unlike her usual self, her expression right now was extremely vivid and bright, a sight that instantly made one feel at ease.
Ye Xing said helplessly:
"My actions are upright and my conduct is proper. Even if I have reservations about Xiao Rui, I must still acknowledge his excellence."
These ensemble-cast male leads, no matter what their background, were all upright gentlemen with sound character, deserving to be called all-around hexagonal warriors excelling in both conduct and talent.
Otherwise, they could never have become the darlings of the Heavenly Dao.
Hearing this, a smile hung on the corners of Xia Wantang's lips:
"To be able to gain such recognition from Senior Brother, it seems Junior Brother Xiao will surely fight his way into the top four this time and battle the two of us."
Among all the inner disciples and personal disciples, only two could enter the top four to battle the Holy Son and Saintess.
The duel among the four was a round-robin tournament, equivalent to everyone battling the other three to determine the final rankings.
Therefore, the three of them—Xiao Rui, Ye Xing, and Xia Wantang—would inevitably face each other.
Ye Xing nodded:
"This Xiao Rui has decent strength, but unfortunately, he is still not a match for you and me."
This time, Xia Wantang was actually a little surprised:
She could understand Ye Xing thinking he was stronger than Xiao Rui, but why drag her into it?
Could it be that her cover was blown?
"Senior Brother, why do you say that? Wantang has never battled Junior Brother Xiao, nor do I know the depth of his strength."
Ye Xing turned his head, his pure black pupils deep and murky:
"Junior Sister possesses the Ice Pure Jade Body, steady cultivation methods, and peerless sword techniques. How could he possibly be your match?"
Hearing this, Xia Wantang knew that Ye Xing was still underestimating Xiao Rui.
If Ye Xing did not know Xiao Rui's background, how could she not?
In the early stages, besides Elder Sword—a master hailing from a higher plane—Xiao Rui also possessed a thick golden finger: the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body.
Her Ice Pure Jade Body was merely at the Divine Grade Second Tier, whereas the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body reached the Divine Grade Fourth Tier.
In the original work, although Ye Xing also possessed the Divine Grade Third Tier Heavenly Demon Body and dual wind-and-dark spiritual roots, to avoid having others notice any flaws, he had suppressed his cultivation to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm during the matches and used neither the Heavenly Demon Body nor dark-attribute spells.
In this Sect Grand Competition, the one who originally won the championship was indeed Ye Xing, but at that time, Xiao Rui's cultivation was only at the perfection stage of the Mystic Martial Realm. He fought across realms, and in the end, Ye Xing still won by a narrow margin with a single move.
Yet now, for some unknown reason, Xiao Rui's cultivation had reached the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm ahead of time. Who would lose and who would win was truly hard to say.
To return the focus to herself, she had originally felt that since she had the advantage in cultivation, defeating Xiao Rui would not be difficult.
Yet right now, if she were to suppress her strength to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm and could only use ice-attribute spiritual Qi while unable to use any formations or spiritual talismans, she might not necessarily defeat Xiao Rui.
Pondering this, Xia Wantang gently shook her head:
"Senior Brother, I always feel that Junior Brother Xiao is not that simple."
To this, Ye Xing only raised a brow, clearly not taking those words to heart, and instead changed the subject:
"It is said that as long as one manages to place in the top twenty of this inner sect battle, they will be able to participate in the Sect Grand Competition four months from now."
"For this Sect Grand Competition, the Azure Cloud Palace is dispatching a total of twenty-two disciples. It seems these twenty people, plus the two of us, make up the number."
Hearing this, Xia Wantang nodded:
"Since Senior Brother says so, the news must be accurate."
After all, you are Fu Hanqiu's 'son.'
In the original text, the Azure Cloud Palace had indeed dispatched twenty people.
Aside from the original owner—that early-dying tragic scapegoat—there was also another disciple whose quota had been revoked.
Thinking of this, Xia Wantang looked down, locking her gaze onto a male disciple with an upright posture.
Before you continue