Liu Xinzhi

Lin Chen did not avoid her gaze. He glared right back at her.

That woman was deep and scheming. Leaving her in the sect would surely lead to trouble.

He had no idea which brain-dead fool in the sect had decided to keep her.

He would have to ask his senior brother tomorrow.

Lin Chen lowered his head toward the yellow-grade cultivation techniques and reached for a Jade Slip.

Across from him, Liu Ruyan looked at him and asked, "Junior Brother, have we met before?"

Even her voice was exactly the same.

Lin Chen lowered the Jade Slip in his hand, looked up again, and replied expressionlessly.

"We're both old foxes here. What kind of ghost story are you trying to spin?"

"What foxes... ghost stories? You lecher, hmph!"

Liu Ruyan actually got angry and walked over from the other side. "Explain yourself!"

Lin Chen sneered and looked down at her. "Liu Ruyan, you incited Huang Mingyuan and the other disciples who were competing for selection to slander me, and I was driven out of the sect.

"Now you've suddenly come back. What are you plotting? Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Pfft!

Hearing his words, Liu Ruyan suddenly burst out laughing.

For an instant, it was as if a hundred flowers had bloomed.

Lin Chen remained unmoved. He only felt baffled.

This woman really was crazy.

After laughing for quite a while, Liu Ruyan shot Lin Chen a glance and said coyly, "You're Lin Chen, aren't you?"

"I never change my name or hide my surname!" Lin Chen's expression returned to calm.

Now that he knew this woman's true nature, there was nothing to fear.

When soldiers came, he would meet them with a general; when water came, he would meet it with earth.

"My name is Liu Xinzhi. I'm Liu Ruyan's older sister."

Hearing her words, the coldness on Lin Chen's face did not lessen in the slightest.

"You really do hold a grudge. I'm sorry on my sister's behalf. She's just too impulsive; she didn't mean any harm." Liu Xinzhi bowed slightly, her manner sincere.

Lin Chen waved a hand. "No need. I want nothing to do with the Liu Family. Please, go ahead."

With that, he stopped looking at her and focused on choosing cultivation techniques.

Liu Xinzhi pouted, stamped her foot lightly, and turned to the other side.

Still, from time to time, she glanced up to steal a look at Lin Chen.

No one knew what she was thinking.

Lin Chen opened his Sea of Consciousness, greatly increasing his mental strength.

Without even looking up, he could keep track of the woman's every move.

He found that Liu Xinzhi really was quite different from Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan was the seductive, mature type, skilled at controlling and manipulating others.

But Liu Xinzhi was poised and steady, graceful and generous.

Since she had made no improper moves, Lin Chen stopped paying attention to her.

Soon, he found the cultivation techniques he wanted.

They were all low-grade yellow-tier techniques.

And they seemed to be a complete set.

Wood Element Art, Fire Element Art, Earth Element Art, Metal Element Art, and Water Element Art.

"System, can I learn all five techniques at the same time?"

[Host, you can.]

"Does the Wood Element Art conflict with the Eternal Spring Art?"

[System analysis shows that the Wood Element Art is a simplified version of the Eternal Spring Art. They share the same origin and can be fused.]

Lin Chen was surprised. "They can be fused too?"

[Host, fusion is also a form of advancement. Any advancement can be exchanged for cultivation.]

"I see."

Lin Chen thought for a moment. "To reach the introductory level in all five techniques, I just need to exchange coins, right?"

[Yes, Host. After reaching the introductory level, fusion is also available and requires Spirit Stones.]

"Good. Then give me—"

Before Lin Chen could finish, he suddenly heard someone behind him scolding, "Who let a menial disciple in here? Don't you know what kind of place this is?"

"Elder, but the sect's rules say that any disciple of our sect can—"

"Nonsense!"

The Duty Disciple tried to argue, but the newcomer snapped at him again.

"How many menial disciples ever advance to the outer sect? If they take cultivation techniques and leave the sect, what impact will that have? What losses will the sect suffer? Can you take responsibility?"

Lin Chen ignored the speaker and immediately ordered the system to exchange for cultivation.

In an instant, five streams of energy erupted inside his body.

The force of it startled even Lin Chen.

He had thought the energy would blow him apart.

Instead, to his surprise, the five streams flowed along their own paths, without interfering with one another.

And after completing one cycle, they continued without end, forming a vast circuit.

"I'm talking to you! Get out at once. This isn't a place for menial disciples!"

At that moment, the voice behind him sounded again.

A powerful force bound Lin Chen and tossed him outside.

Lin Chen got up from the ground and brushed the dust off himself before looking at the elder who had just spoken.

Then he turned to the Duty Disciple and smiled apologetically. "Sorry you got dragged into this, Senior Brother."

The Duty Disciple lowered his head with a bitter smile.

Only then did Lin Chen look at the elder who had spoken. "Elder, the Green Mountain Sect is a place where people reason things out, isn't it?"

"Of course we value reason. Menial disciples have mixed Five Elements Roots, so they find it difficult to break through the limits of the Qi Condensation Realm in their lifetime. They only need to practice the basic techniques issued by the sect. There's no need for them to come here."

The elder spoke with righteous conviction.

His voice was loud, immediately drawing the attention of many disciples.

"Isn't that the menial disciple who came up the mountain earlier?"

"Elder Li just threw him out. How embarrassing."

"I really don't understand why a menial disciple came here. Are they all that idle now?"

To be honest, on Sect Leader Peak, Lin Chen had felt everyone was treated equally.

Here, the discrimination between ranks was utterly blatant.

In these people's eyes, menial disciples were worthless.

They were nothing but trash.

They didn't even have the right to come here.

Right now, he was itching to go to the place where people posted bounties for testing cultivation techniques and spells, and show off what he could do.

But correcting cultivation techniques and spells required Spirit Stones.

He had only fifty left.

More importantly, some high-tier techniques and spells required a certain level of cultivation to use. His cultivation was still too low.

Besides looking for cultivation techniques, he had also wanted to consult some historical records on this trip.

From the looks of things, he wouldn't be able to do that.

He looked up at the elder, then swept his gaze across the crowd, committing their faces to memory.

"If menial disciples aren't welcome here, I'll come back with a different status."

Lin Chen's words immediately drew a burst of laughter.

He neither argued nor tried to explain. Instead, he formed a sword seal with his fingers, and a Flying Sword appeared beneath his feet.

The next moment, he transformed into a streak of light and sped away.

"He knows the Sword Control Art? How is that possible?"

"His sword control is even more practiced than mine. He must have practiced for at least ten years."

"No way. How could a menial disciple practice the Sword Control Art?"

At that moment, the elder was also taken aback. He hurriedly turned around and asked, "What's his name?"

"Elder, he hadn't even had a chance to register before he was..." The Duty Disciple looked wronged.

"I know."

Just then, Liu Xinzhi walked out from inside.

Her breathtakingly beautiful face immediately drew a flurry of gasps.

But she was clearly used to it and didn't care in the slightest.

"Elder, he's Lin Chen, the only menial disciple on Sect Leader Peak."

At first, the elder hadn't paid it any mind. Only moments later did he suddenly realize what she had said. "Who did you say he was?"

"Lin Chen. The one the Scripture Depository and the Sect Leader were fighting over. You just drove him away."

Liu Xinzhi's words struck the elder like a sharp sword, stabbing him through.

He was only a minor elder in the Scripture Depository, in charge of some day-to-day odds and ends.

He had wanted to make himself useful today. Who could have imagined he would offend someone so important?

The Scripture Depository had even posted a bounty: anyone who could recruit Lin Chen would be rewarded with fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

Now he had probably lost his chance for good.

"Hahahaha... I sensed just now that my young friend Lin Chen had arrived. Where is he?"

Just then, a delighted peal of laughter rang out from the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw a Purple-Robed Elder descending from above.

"G-grand... Grand Elder!" Elder Li, who had caused the trouble, stammered.

"Where is he? Where is my young friend?" The Purple-Robed Grand Elder searched all around, his face glowing.

He had already been cautious enough to leave a mark in the Formation. The moment Lin Chen arrived at the Scripture Depository, he would sense it.

"He... he left," Elder Li answered timidly.

Seeing his expression, the Purple-Robed Grand Elder immediately understood. His smile vanished, replaced by a dark scowl.

A vast pressure swept outward.

Thud!

Elder Li dropped to his knees on the spot. "It was my fault. I didn't recognize Lin Chen, and I drove him away."