Savage

For the past dozen or so days, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation and knew nothing about anything else.

When the Scripture Hall opened again, he found that what many Inner Court disciples were discussing was usually the year-end Unrestricted Duel.

"I only entered the Inner Court recently, and I had no idea Inner Court disciples cared so much about the Unrestricted Duel!"

As Zhong Yue walked along, he sensed a murderous air emanating from these Inner Court disciples.

He could not help sighing inwardly. But this is normal. Whether they come from poor families or prestigious clans, anyone who has not cultivated a spirit by the age of sixteen will be driven down the mountain. This Unrestricted Duel is probably the hope of every Inner Court disciple who wishes to become a qi refiner! Of course, if I meet Kindling's requirements, I can cultivate a spirit without relying on Spirit Void Hall. But Kindling's requirements are so high that they are practically insane. With my current abilities, I am still far from meeting them.

Outside the Scripture Hall, quite a few disciples were even exchanging blows.

They used not only various Visualization Combat Methods, but also treasures such as Totem God Pillars and soul weapons. The clashes were extremely fierce.

Hundreds of Inner Court disciples watched from the sidelines, divided into separate battle circles. Two disciples contested in each one, displaying every method under the sun as all kinds of visualization techniques were unleashed.

Zhong Yue even saw someone sprout wings and fly into the air, beating them as a soul weapon flashed back and forth like lightning above him.

Brilliant and dazzling battle techniques emerged one after another!

"What are they doing? Huh? Why are there so many unfamiliar faces in the Inner Court?"

Zhong Yue focused his eyes and saw that all those participating in the battles were unfamiliar faces, fighting against Inner Court disciples.

Suddenly, an Inner Court disciple was knocked down from midair and crashed heavily to the ground, unable to get back up. Fortunately, his life was not in danger.

Clearly, this was not a simple contest. When fellow disciples sparred, they stopped once the point was made, but these people were striking far too heavily. They did not look like fellow disciples sparring at all!

"Pfft—"

Suddenly, Zhong Yue saw a familiar figure shoot high into the air within one of the battle circles, sent flying by a single blow from his opponent before helplessly tumbling toward the ground.

With a thought, Zhong Yue's spiritual power flew out and transformed into a Flood Dragon, catching the man and gently setting him down.

Zhong Yue strode forward and asked, "Senior Brother He, what happened? Who are they?"

The one knocked out of the battle circle was He Chengchuan. He raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and said furiously, "These fellows are Outer Disciples cultivating in the Inner Court. They've come to the Inner Court to smash our signboard!"

"Outer Disciples cultivating in the Inner Court?"

Zhong Yue was slightly startled, then immediately understood.

To become an Inner Disciple and cultivate under a Hall Master or elder of Sword Gate, one had to cultivate a spirit and become a qi refiner.

However, the great clans possessed certain privileges. The core disciples of great clans would be taken in by qi refiners from their clans, who would teach them techniques and guide their cultivation at any time.

For example, Yu Feiyan of the Youyu Clan could go up the mountain whenever she wished to ask the Youyu Clan's qi refiners about problems in her cultivation.

However, Yu Feiyan disliked living in the Inner Court, while the core disciples of other clans generally lived there, so they rarely encountered Inner Court disciples in their daily lives.

Although these people cultivated in the Inner Court, they were still Outer Disciples. When the year-end Unrestricted Duel arrived, they would still have to come for the assessment.

Now that the date of the Unrestricted Duel was approaching, quite a few disciples like this had come over from the Inner Court.

As for why they attacked the Inner Court disciples, it was because they were unfamiliar with the latter's strength and wanted to find out which experts among them posed a threat.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can win every battle.

"The people who came this time are core disciples of the Shuitu Clan and Lishan Clan, two of the Ten Great Clans. It wasn't just me who got beaten—Senior Sister Ting was beaten too!"

He Chengchuan spat out the blood in his mouth and said furiously, "They're completely unreasonable! They said they wouldn't strike too heavily, but they ended up seriously injuring Senior Sister Ting!"

"The Shuitu Clan?"

A sharp glint flashed through Zhong Yue's eyes, and fury surged in his heart, though his expression did not change in the slightest.

The Shuitu Clan! The Shuitu Clan's qi refiners colluded with the demons and released the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother. The higher-ups of the Shuitu Clan summoned Junior Sister Shui Qingyan up the mountain, and as a result, Junior Sister Shui was parasitized by the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother and her soul scattered into oblivion! Heh...

"That was quite a move, sending out a Flood Dragon with a flick of your hand. You have decent strength, Junior Brother. Interested in exchanging pointers?"

The disciple who had injured He Chengchuan turned his gaze to Zhong Yue and smiled.

"From what I saw, the Flood Dragon you visualized carries the Thunder Totem and seems to contain the Thunderclap Sword Art. You should be Elder Pu's disciple as well, shouldn't you? I've tested the abilities of all Elder Pu's disciples, and they were truly mediocre. But you're different. You actually combined the Flood Dragon Totem with the Thunder Totem. It seems you've received the true transmission and have some ability."

His gaze was extremely discerning. As a disciple who had cultivated under a qi refiner, it was no wonder that his knowledge and experience surpassed those of Inner Court disciples by far.

Zhong Yue's expression was as calm as water, still as an ancient well. He asked softly, "Are you from the Shuitu Clan or the Lishan Clan?"

The disciple smiled. "Shuitu Clan. Shui Lingshan."

Zhong Yue nodded and began walking forward.

He Chengchuan endured his pain and hurriedly grabbed his hand, whispering, "Junior Brother Zhong, don't strike too heavily. The Shuitu Clan is one of the Ten Great Clans. You've already offended the Tian Feng Clan. It would be enough to fight him to a draw..."

Zhong Yue gently pulled his hand free, a smile appearing on his face. "Don't worry, Senior Brother. I know my limits."

"Don't strike too heavily?"

Shui Lingshan of the Shuitu Clan laughed dumbly and said, "It should be me who doesn't strike too heavily. To be honest, I only used seventy percent of my strength when I fought him just now. Junior Brother, you can attack with all your might. I hope you have some passable ability."

"Good."

The two were about thirty feet apart. Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes slightly and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"The Shuitu Clan..."

Boom!

The bluestone slabs beneath his feet exploded with a thunderous roar, fragments flying in every direction.

Where Zhong Yue had stood, the ground suddenly sank, leaving a footprint over a foot deep. Its shape resembled a dragon claw and was more than ten times larger than an ordinary footprint, as if a vicious Flood Dragon had suddenly exerted its strength and stomped the ground flat!

Zhong Yue shot forward in an instant.

At the very moment he sprang out, a dragon's roar shook the air. An enormous Flood Dragon twisted and coiled around his body, winding around his torso like lightning.

Shui Lingshan blinked. When he opened his eyes again, Zhong Yue was already standing before him.

His arm was wrapped in a massive Dragon Body, making it look exceptionally ferocious. He smashed his fist viciously into Shui Lingshan's chest!

Dong!

The impact reverberated like a great drum.

Then came the crisp crackle of bones breaking. Shui Lingshan's body bent backward and slammed into a stone monument in front of the Scripture Hall, snapping the monument, which was as thick as a barrel.

He tumbled and rolled before crashing down dozens of yards away!

The battles in other places before the Scripture Hall continued, but Zhong Yue's strike had triggered a chain of explosive booms like thunderclaps.

Thunder rolled from one side to the other, a sight so shocking that words could not describe it.

Such terrifying explosive power made everyone turn their heads!

At that moment, battle after battle came to a halt. Whether they were fighting or watching, all the Inner Court disciples turned to look.

"Brother Lingshan!"

Two Shuitu Clan disciples cried out in alarm and hurried over to help Shui Lingshan up.

His body hung limp, and several ribs had been forcibly broken—seven or eight of them.

"He's been injured this badly?"

The expressions of the two Shuitu Clan disciples changed drastically. They turned back and glared at Zhong Yue, shouting, "You were sparring with a fellow disciple! How could you strike so viciously?"

"I already held back. I didn't use my full strength."

Zhong Yue's expression remained calm. "I only used seventy percent of my strength. If I had used all of it, he wouldn't have been able to withstand one punch."

Within his sea of consciousness, the Kindling Child lectured him, "Your strength still isn't crisp enough. If your strength were crisp enough, your enemy would become just as crisp when you hit them—one touch and they would shatter! Forget seventy percent. Even with fifty percent, you could have killed him with one punch! You still need to keep cultivating. You haven't achieved true crispness yet!"

"Seventy percent?"

The two Shuitu Clan disciples snorted. One helped Shui Lingshan away, while the other stepped forward and sneered, "You're Elder Pu's disciple? You cultivate a Body Refining Method? No wonder you're so fast. A pure Body Refining Method tempers the body to be far stronger than anyone else's. In close-quarters combat, Brother Lingshan was caught off guard and you seized the initiative, which was why he suffered this loss! If he had been prepared, how could you have struck him so easily?"

He raised his hand and gave it a shake. A Totem God Pillar flew out, radiating ripples in every direction.

Like water waves, they expanded until they covered an area dozens of yards across. Enveloped by the ripples of the Totem God Pillar, all the Inner Court disciples felt as if they were standing in water, making it difficult to move.

An ordinary Totem Pillar could cover only two or three yards, but this Totem God Pillar could cover dozens of yards. Clearly, it was no ordinary Totem Pillar that a common disciple could possess!

"People who refine their bodies have merely strayed into the heretical path of demons, making them utterly useless. A single Totem Pillar is enough to suppress body refiners to death!"

That Shuitu Clan disciple looked at the Flood Dragon coiled around Zhong Yue and sneered, "Besides, your Flood Dragon Totem has skin but no flesh, no blood or bones. You clearly haven't received the true transmission! Come on, let me see your seventy percent!"

Zhong Yue raised his foot and stomped down heavily.

Suddenly, the Water Wave Totem Pattern radiated by the Totem Pillar was swept up as if by a tsunami, its water patterns surging into the sky. The pressure this Totem Pillar imposed on everyone instantly vanished!

The Shuitu Clan disciple's heart jolted.

He saw that Zhong Yue's fist had already arrived before him. He hurriedly began visualizing, but how could he still have time?

"Seventy percent."

Zhong Yue spoke indifferently.

His fist viciously shattered the apparition that had only just formed from the disciple's spiritual power. The Shuitu Clan disciple was sent flying as if he had been struck by a giant one-horned rhinoceros, tumbling and rolling dozens of yards away!

"Not enough time to visualize—there wasn't even time to visualize! How can his speed be so fast?"

The Shuitu Clan disciple's mind thundered. He spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to rise, only to collapse again, shocked and enraged.

"How can his explosive power be so terrifying?"

"Are there any more Shuitu Clan disciples?"

Zhong Yue looked around. Before the Scripture Hall, the hundreds of Inner Court disciples were silent as the grave.

Only his voice rang out.

"I'll take on ten."