Top of Seven Courtyards, Senior Brother Qing Yang! The List is Revealed!

Not long after, the man had already taken his stand within the Training Ground.

The man wore a cyan long robe, his countenance cold and stern, his gaze like a sword, and faint Sword Qi swirled around his entire being.

The terrifying pressure of his aura oppressed many disciples, making their breathing stagnate, as if they were about to suffocate.

"Hm?"

"Foundation Establishment Realm!"

Chen Changqing's pupils contracted as he immediately sensed the terrifying aura emanating from this person.

"Who is this? To possess such might?"

Chen Changqing was slightly startled inwardly.

He secretly thought that the Seven Courtyards actually had such a figure.

He had originally assumed Liu Ruyan was the strongest disciple of the Seven Courtyards, but this person before him clearly had a denser aura than hers.

In terms of cultivation, he had even stepped into the Foundation Establishment level.

Just as Chen Changqing was sizing up the man, the disciples of the Seven Courtyards had already begun bowing to him in greeting.

"Senior Brother Qing Yang!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother!"

"..."

All the disciples were respectful.

Even Liu Ruyan and the others slightly lowered their heads upon seeing the man arrive, showing their deference.

The man's expression was indifferent, paying no heed to those gazes. He walked straight to the front, stood with his hands behind his back, and swept his eyes across the crowd—no one dared to meet his stare.

"Qing Yang? Who is this?"

Chen Changqing muttered softly.

He could feel the powerful aura radiating from him.

Ran Hua, standing nearby, saw this and immediately sidled up to Chen Changqing, lowering his voice:

"Senior Brother Chen, you don't recognize him?"

"He is Senior Brother Qing Yang, the Top of Seven Courtyards!"

"In the last Outer Court Competition, he fought his way into the top twenty—his strength is unfathomable!"

"Oh?"

Chen Changqing raised an eyebrow.

He vaguely felt that this Outer Sect Competition might not be as simple as he had thought.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator like Qing Yang had only made it into the top twenty of the Outer Court Competition.

"I may only be at the ninth layer of Qi Refining."

"But my actual combat strength shouldn't be below the Foundation Establishment Realm, right?"

Chen Changqing pondered inwardly.

Since breaking through to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he hadn't sparred with anyone, so he himself wasn't entirely sure of his exact strength.

But in Chen Qingfeng's view.

The technique he cultivated was the extremely difficult Nine Revolutions Qi Refining Art.

Even Situ Yun, the elder guarding the Technique Hall, had said so.

This technique was powerful, but very few could master it; otherwise, it wouldn't have been gathering dust in the Technique Hall.

Just as Chen Changqing was lost in thought, Ran Hua beside him continued:

"Senior Brother Qing Yang has extraordinary talent."

"But strangely, he clearly qualifies to enter the Inner Sect, yet for some reason, he has always remained in the Outer Court."

"For this Outer Sect Competition, Senior Brother Qing Yang is our Seven Courtyards' greatest hope!"

As he said this, Ran Hua's gaze fixed straight on Qing Yang, his eyes full of admiration.

Chen Changqing didn't mind and nodded thoughtfully.

"Able to enter the Inner Sect but didn't?"

"This one called Qing Yang is rather interesting."

Chen Changqing muttered to himself.

With Qing Yang's arrival, all the disciples of the Seven Courtyards had gathered.

Not long after, three streaks of light descended from afar.

"Boom!"

A terrifying pressure of aura spread out in an instant.

This aura was even more formidable than Qing Yang's; sensing it even slightly sent a chill down one's spine.

Fortunately, once the arrivals stood firm on the platform, they restrained their imposing pressure.

Looking closely, the leader had a kind face—who else could it be but Elder Willow Wood?

Flanking Willow Wood were two Core Formation Realm stewards from the Seven Courtyards.

Seeing Elder Willow Wood and the other two appear, all the disciples immediately fell silent.

Elder Willow Wood swept his gaze across the crowd and said calmly:

"Everyone."

"I trust you all know why you've been gathered here today."

"In three days, it will be our Mount Shu Sect's Outer Sect Competition!"

"Today, I've summoned you to announce the ten-person roster representing our Seven Courtyards in this competition!"

As his words fell, the entire venue held its breath, waiting for the result.

Being chosen to represent the Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Competition was an immense honor in itself, a mark of the Seven Courtyards' recognition!

Beyond that, if one performed outstandingly in the competition and secured a good ranking, they could earn substantial rewards.

If they caught the eye of some Inner Sect Peak Master, they might even join the Inner Sect directly.

At that point, it would be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate—a single step to the heavens.

After all, the treatment of Inner Sect disciples was utterly incomparable to that of Outer Sect disciples; all kinds of cultivation resources were readily available.

Then, Elder Willow Wood waved his hand, and a rolled-up Jade Slip appeared in his grasp.

As the Jade Slip slowly unfurled, Willow Wood read aloud:

"Qing Yang!"

"Liu Ruyan!"

"Zhao Wuji!"

"Lin Xiao!"

"Han Yue!"

"Fang Han!"

"Chu Feng!"

"Xiao Yun!"

"Wu Xiujie!"

The first nine names were all renowned genius disciples of the Seven Courtyards. Hearing them, the crowd nodded one after another, raising no objections.

"Who will be the last one?"

"It must be another prodigy of our Seven Courtyards."

"..."

Just as everyone was wondering who the final spot would go to, Elder Willow Wood directly announced:

"Chen Changqing!"

The moment Willow Wood uttered "Chen Changqing," the entire venue erupted into an uproar!

"What?"

"Chen Changqing? Who's that?"

"Is there such a person in the Seven Courtyards?"

"The first nine are all top-tier geniuses—where did this Chen Changqing come from?"

"What's going on?"

"I've never heard of any Chen Changqing in the Seven Courtyards."

"..."

For a time, the Seven Courtyards' disciples buzzed with discussion.

The first nine names Willow Wood announced raised no objections, as their reputations were well-known.

But as for the name Chen Changqing, many disciples were hearing it for the first time.

At that moment, countless puzzled gazes swept across the venue, searching but finding no corresponding person.

Everyone wanted to see just who this Chen Changqing, chosen to represent the Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Competition, really was.

When Ran Hua heard Willow Wood's announcement, his entire mind went numb.

"Chen... Chen Changqing?"

He muttered in stunned disbelief, his head buzzing.

After all, every disciple chosen to represent the Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Competition was a favored child of heaven among them.

Ran Hua hadn't expected Chen Changqing to be selected, either.

After a moment of stunned disbelief, Ran Hua finally came to his senses. He whipped his head around, eyes wide, staring at Chen Changqing beside him.

"Senior Brother! You... you actually made the cut?"

As Ran Hua's words rang out, the disciples of the Seven Courtyards present all turned to look.

Every gaze converged sharply on Chen Changqing.

"Shwoosh!!"

In that instant, Chen Changqing became the center of attention for the entire venue.

"Is this Chen Changqing?"

"Never seen him before!"

"What qualifies him?"

"He looks utterly unremarkable, and he's supposed to represent our Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Competition?"

"This is it?"

"Could there be a mistake?"

"Sending someone like him to compete—he'll only bring shame to the Seven Courtyards!"

"..."