Ye Chen

Junior Brother Su, my name is Zhao Ming. You can call me Senior Brother Zhao.

The Inner Sect steward smiled warmly. "Let's head to the Disciplinary Hall first to collect your Inner Sect belongings."

The two of them passed through several courtyards and arrived in front of an old-fashioned building.

Zhao Ming led Su Yu through the paperwork with practiced ease, then handed him a set of cyan robes embroidered with Cloud Patterns and a smooth, warm jade token.

You must keep this token safe.

Zhao Ming's expression turned solemn. "It represents your identity, of course, but if you're in danger while training outside the sect, showing it might save your life. The Yunlan Sect's name carries plenty of weight within a thousand miles."

Su Yu took the token. He saw two bold, powerful characters engraved on its face, and an image of Sunrise Peak carved on the back.

He tucked it safely against his body and followed Zhao Ming to the Spirit Artifact Pavilion.

Inside the Spirit Artifact Pavilion, all manner of weapons were arranged in orderly rows.

Su Yu's gaze was drawn to a long sword of gleaming silver. Its blade was slender, and a faint blue light shimmered along its edge.

"Good eye." Zhao Ming praised him. "The Lone Swan Sword may be Human-grade Mid-tier, but its materials are unusual. They say a strand of Outer-heaven Meteorite Iron was mixed in when it was forged. It's incredibly sharp."

Su Yu lightly brushed the blade and felt a faint tremor run through it, as if it had somehow resonated with him. Satisfied, he sheathed the sword.

Next, Zhao Ming showed Su Yu around the Inner Sect grounds.

When they passed a towering stone tablet, Zhao Ming stopped. His voice carried a note of reverence. "Junior Brother Su, this is the Inner Sect Ranking Stone Tablet. It records the top hundred disciples. Every one of them is an elite of the Inner Sect."

Pointing to the glittering name at the very top, he said, "Look, the top-ranked disciple is Tang Yi, at the Spirit Condensation Realm Sixth Layer. His Mysterious Ice Sword Art is so refined it seems almost divine. Second is Yang Fan, also at the Spirit Condensation Realm Sixth Layer, who specializes in the Departing Fire Sword Art. Third..."

Zhao Ming recited the top ten disciples' names like a treasured list. Each one represented astonishing strength and talent.

Su Yu listened closely, committing every detail to memory.

"...Ninth is Liu Qing, at the Spirit Condensation Realm Fifth Layer Peak; tenth is Han Feng, at the Spirit Condensation Realm Fifth Layer."

Zhao Ming finally finished and paused for a moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Yu asked with feigned curiosity, "Senior Brother Zhao, how come I don't see Senior Brother Ye Chen's name?"

"Senior Brother Ye?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Zhao Ming's eyes. "He's a Core Disciple. This tablet only records the Inner Sect Disciple rankings."

Then, as realization dawned on him, he asked, "Junior Brother Su, do you know Senior Brother Ye?"

"I'd heard of him back in the Outer Sect," Su Yu replied casually, though a storm was brewing in his heart.

Zhao Ming glanced around, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Senior Brother Ye may not be among the top Core Disciples in terms of cultivation, but when it comes to talent and strength, he's absolutely the best! They say an Essence Transformation Realm Martial Artist once tried to assassinate him in secret. Guess what happened?"

Su Yu obligingly looked surprised.

"Senior Brother Ye killed him instead!"

Zhao Ming spoke excitedly.

"He was only at the Spirit Condensation Realm Eighth Layer then! He killed someone an entire realm above him!"

Su Yu's heart jolted.

Killing someone above one's realm was no feat an ordinary genius could accomplish. Ye Chen was clearly no ordinary person.

"What's more, Senior Brother Ye comprehended Half-step Sword Intent at eighteen. That's never happened before in the history of the Yunlan Sect."

Zhao Ming continued.

Hearing this, Su Yu silently compared himself to Ye Chen.

He would turn sixteen in a little over a month. If not for the heaven-defying insight that came with the fusion of his soul, and the aid of the Ancient Sword, his cultivation speed would never have come close to Ye Chen's.

And that was not to mention that Ye Chen had already comprehended Half-step Sword Intent, while Su Yu was still at the Nascent Sword Intent stage.

That kind of talent...

Su Yu couldn't help but marvel.

Could Ye Chen be the true protagonist of this world?

He couldn't help thinking of a sword-cultivation novel he'd read in his previous life. By a strange coincidence, the protagonist's name was astonishingly similar to Ye Chen's.

Seeing Su Yu lost in thought, Zhao Ming assumed Ye Chen's deeds had left him awestruck. He smiled and patted Su Yu on the shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, Junior Brother Su. Elder Mo Yuan personally recommended you, so your talent must be extraordinary. Given enough time, you may well stand shoulder to shoulder with Senior Brother Ye."

Su Yu came back to himself and smiled.

But in his heart, he had already set Ye Chen down as someone he needed to surpass.

After all, in a world where the strong ruled, only by constantly breaking through his own limits could he go further.

At that, Zhao Ming suddenly remembered something and said seriously, "By the way, Junior Brother Su, as an Inner Sect Disciple, you need to complete five Sect Missions each year. They're posted in the Inner Sect Main Hall, and range from simple Herb Gathering to dangerous Monster Hunting. Both the number and quality of the missions you complete will affect your share of resources at the end of the year."

Su Yu nodded thoughtfully.

It seemed the Inner Sect's system of competition was more developed than the Outer Sect's. It judged not only cultivation but practical combat ability as well.

After passing through several courtyards, Zhao Ming brought Su Yu to a secluded courtyard.

Its walls were built of blue-gray stone and covered in green vines, with two old pines standing tall beside the entrance.

"Junior Brother Su, this will be your home from now on."

Zhao Ming opened the gate and ushered Su Yu inside. "The layout may be similar to the Outer Sect's, but the Spiritual Qi on Sunrise Peak is several times richer."

Su Yu took a deep breath. A surge of pure spiritual power flowed into his limbs and body, and even the cultivation technique circulating within him seemed to speed up on its own.

Beneath an old plum tree in the courtyard stood a stone table and stools. In one corner was a small medicinal plot, clearly meant for disciples to grow spirit herbs.

The Inner Sect really did offer different treatment.

Su Yu marveled inwardly.

Zhao Ming pulled a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Su Yu. "This is the Restriction Jade Slip for your courtyard. Once you drip your blood on it and bind it to yourself, no one but you and the elders of the Disciplinary Hall will be able to enter."

After Su Yu put away the jade slip, Zhao Ming added, "Oh, right. With your Inner Sect token, you can go to the Scripture Repository and claim one Human-grade High-tier cultivation technique and one Yellow-tier Lower-grade martial skill. You should know where the Scripture Repository is, so I won't need to go with you."

Su Yu was astonished.

The Su Family didn't even own a Yellow-tier Martial Skill, yet the Yunlan Sect granted one directly to every newly promoted Inner Sect Disciple!

The foundations of a great sect were truly unfathomable.

"Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother Zhao."

Su Yu bowed respectfully.

"If I have any questions in the future, I hope I can trouble you for advice."

Zhao Ming smiled and waved a hand. "There's no need for formalities between fellow disciples. If anything comes up, you can find me at the Disciplinary Hall."

With that, he turned and left.

Su Yu carefully looked over the courtyard.

The main house was spacious and bright, with a dedicated Quiet Room for cultivation.

There was also a small Training Ground in the back courtyard.

After familiarizing himself with the place, Su Yu changed into his cyan Inner Sect robes,

strapped the Lone Swan Sword to his waist, and headed once more for the Inner Sect Main Hall.