Already recognized him so quickly.

Several sharp bolts of lightning flashed, and the inner disciples who had surrounded Xiao Rui were knocked to the ground. Their bodies lay sprawled in a circle around him.

Seeing this, Fu Hanqiu said with great satisfaction to the elders beside him:

"Not only is Xiao Rui's cultivation high, but his spiritual power aura is also very stable. He is truly a formidable young talent."

Ye Yigeng raised an eyebrow:

"Judging by the Palace Lord's tone, he's developed an appreciation for talent and wants to take Xiao Rui as a personal disciple?"

Zhao Zhixuan smiled:

"If the Palace Lord doesn't take him, I'm afraid Elder Ye, you would also break the rules to accept him as a disciple."

To be honest, if Zhao Zhixuan's cultivation method wasn't more suited for female cultivators, she would have wanted to take Xiao Rui as her disciple too.

By rights, an Elder could only take one personal disciple at a time.

However, if they encountered someone exceptionally outstanding, they could make an exception.

Lu Shenxing's expression was not good:

Xiao Rui's strength far exceeded his expectations.

His personal disciple was already nearing thirty and his cultivation was only at the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm.

Although his foundation was very stable, looking at it now, he might not be Xiao Rui's opponent.

With this thought, a trace of malice flashed in Lu Shenxing's eyes:

"In that case, little Xiao Rui, don't blame me for being insidious and cunning."

It could be said that the more outstanding Xiao Rui performed, the more Lu Shenxing believed the other party possessed immense fortune, and the more he wanted to claim it for himself.

On the other side, Xia Wantang and Ye Xing also saw Xiao Rui's performance.

Although Ye Xing strongly disliked Xiao Rui, he had to admit that the opponent was indeed a formidable rival—if it were a few years later.

"Junior Sister, the Xiao Rui you favored does indeed have some skill."

"Even with so many disciples ambushing him, they couldn't harm him in the slightest. It looks like he's definitely going to qualify."

Hearing this, Xia Wantang chuckled inwardly:

See? See? Ye Xing didn't like Xiao Rui when they first met, and now he's already acknowledging him.

Tsk.

"Senior Brother is quite appreciative of talent, isn't he?"

"Wantang remembers, Senior Brother was deliberately being passive-aggressive in front of him just now~"

Ye Xing turned his head and saw Xia Wantang blinking her eyes, a teasing expression on her face.

Unlike her usual self, her current expression was very lively and bright, making one feel cheerful just looking at her.

Ye Xing said helplessly:

"I act upright and conduct myself properly. Even if I have many criticisms of Xiao Rui, I must acknowledge his excellence."

These male protagonists in group settings, regardless of their background, are all gentlemen with impeccable character, outstanding in both conduct and ability, truly six-sided warriors.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be favored by the Heavenly Dao.

Hearing this, Xia Wantang's lips curved into a smile:

"To receive such acknowledgment from Senior Brother, it seems Junior Brother Xiao is definitely going to make it into the top four and fight against us."

Among all the inner disciples and personal disciples, only two could enter the top four to battle the Holy Son and Saintess.

The duels between the four were a round-robin format, meaning each person would have to fight against the other three before the final rankings were determined.

Therefore, Xiao Rui, Ye Xing, and Xia Wantang were all guaranteed to face each other.

Ye Xing nodded:

"Xiao Rui's strength is good, but unfortunately, he is still no match for us."

This time, Xia Wantang was a little surprised:

It's understandable that Ye Xing thinks he's stronger than Xiao Rui, but why did he include me?

Did I slip up?

"Senior Brother, what do you mean by that? Wantang hasn't fought with Junior Brother Xiao yet, so I don't know his true strength."

Ye Xing turned his head, his pure black pupils deep and dark:

"Junior Sister possesses the Ice Pure Jade Body, her cultivation is stable, and her swordsmanship is superb. How could he be your opponent?"

Hearing this, Xia Wantang knew that Ye Xing still underestimated Xiao Rui.

Ye Xing didn't know Xiao Rui's background, but how could she not?

In the early stages, Xiao Rui had Elder Sword, a master from the upper plane, and a powerful cheat—the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body.

Her Ice Pure Jade Body was only at Divine Grade Second Tier, while the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body had reached Divine Grade Fourth Tier.

In the original story, although Ye Xing also possessed the Divine Grade Third Tier Heavenly Demon Body and dual spirit roots of Wind and Dark, he suppressed his cultivation to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm during the competition to avoid others noticing anything amiss. He didn't use his Heavenly Demon Body or Dark element spells.

In this inner sect competition, Ye Xing was indeed the original victor. However, at that time, Xiao Rui's cultivation was only at the perfected stage of the Mystic Martial Realm. He challenged across realms, and in the end, Ye Xing narrowly won by a single move.

But now, for some reason, Xiao Rui's cultivation had reached the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm ahead of schedule. It was truly hard to say who would win or lose.

Speaking of herself, she originally thought that with her advantage in cultivation, defeating Xiao Rui wouldn't be difficult.

But now, if she suppressed her strength to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm, could only use Ice element spiritual power, and was forbidden from using any formations or spirit talismans, she might not necessarily be able to defeat Xiao Rui.

Considering this, Xia Wantang shook her head slightly.

"Senior Brother, I always feel that Junior Brother Xiao isn't that simple."

Ye Xing merely raised an eyebrow at this, clearly not taking her words to heart. He changed the subject instead.

"I heard that as long as one can make it into the top twenty in this inner sect grand battle, they can participate in the Sect Grand Competition four months from now."

"For this Sect Grand Competition, Azure Cloud Palace is sending out a total of twenty-two disciples. It seems these twenty people, plus you and me."

Upon hearing this, Xia Wantang nodded.

"Since Senior Brother says so, the information must be accurate."

After all, you are Fu Hanqiu's "son."

In the original text, Azure Cloud Palace sent out twenty people.

Besides the original host, who died early and was a great scapegoat, another disciple had their spot revoked.

With this thought, Xia Wantang looked down, her gaze locking onto a male disciple with a tall and straight posture.