Challenge the Inner Disciples

After two rounds of elimination, the remaining hundred could all obtain the status of Outer Disciple.

This was practically the greatest goal for many collateral branch descendants!

"This year's youngsters look quite good, stronger than in previous years."

On the Li Family's viewing platform, several elders spoke quietly among themselves. Any family needed to continuously cultivate its younger generation in order to maintain prosperity and flourish. Their task was to unearth talents among them who could be useful to the family!

"They're decent enough, but there still haven't been many who truly surprised me."

One elder shook his head, clearly not particularly satisfied.

"The Third Elder's son is quite good, isn't he? If I remember correctly, he isn't even eighteen this year, yet he has already broken through to the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm. Although he only broke through recently, that is still remarkably outstanding!"

At those words, a trace of pride flashed across Li Huangran's face! Li Xuan, as his son, had truly shown his face this time. Looking across the earlier matches, other than him, not a single person had reached the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm.

"Speaking of which, that youth on the sixth arena just now looked awfully familiar."

Someone's casual remark immediately made Li Huangran's expression sink.

"Ninth Brother, you're still young—how can you be so forgetful? That boy is Second Brother's only child. Who would have thought he'd grown so much already!"

That booming shout immediately drew everyone else's attention.

"It was actually him?"

Clearly, most of the family elders had not known that Li Ye had returned. At this moment, they all noticed the frail youth among the crowd of roughly a hundred, their expressions slightly dazed.

On the other side, after the contests, ten people from each of the ten groups had emerged. An elder specially assigned by the family stepped forward, his imposing gaze sweeping over Li Ye and the others. "You are the pride of the family. For the next year, you may remain in the family as Outer Disciple and cultivate. Of course, this year's martial competition is not yet over. Next, you will contend for your respective rankings. Those who enter the top thirty may become Inner Disciple of the family and enjoy higher treatment! If you can enter the top ten, the family will grant you the treatment of a steward and even give you a chance to enter the Martial Arts Pavilion and select a Combat Technique!"

The Martial Arts Pavilion! Selecting Combat Techniques!

Li Ye's eyes immediately lit up. A good Combat Technique was enough to allow the weak to defeat the strong. With Combat Techniques, the weak could become strong, while the strong became even stronger!

Even ordinary low-grade Yellow-tier battle techniques and mid-grade Yellow-tier battle techniques were enough to make countless people see red with envy!

"I never thought we could enter the Martial Arts Pavilion! I heard only the family elders could enter and leave freely. Even Inner Disciples could only make an exception and enter once after rendering tremendous merit!"

As soon as this condition was announced, many people became incomparably excited. Even a young master of the main branch like Li Xuan was burning with desire! Although they could inherit quite a few Combat Techniques from their fathers, there were always limits! Only by entering personally could they choose what suited them best.

"Elder, if those in the top ten can enter the Martial Arts Pavilion, what about the top three?"

No one knew who asked it, but everyone's interest was immediately hooked.

Xiao Bailian looked toward the speaker. He was a rather ordinary youth of fifteen or sixteen, with a somewhat babyish face. After searching his memories briefly, he immediately remembered him.

Li Yu, also a rather outstanding member of the collateral branches. Not yet seventeen, at peak Spirit Martial Tier Five—he was considered a highly talented genius even within the Li Family.

"Good question!" The elder smiled faintly and did not beat around the bush. He continued, "In order to encourage you to cultivate diligently this time, the Family Head has specially approved that the top three may remain in the Martial Arts Pavilion for three days! Furthermore, they may select up to three Combat Techniques to take out! They will also be recommended to the Supreme Elder to become his registered disciples!"

Whoosh! As soon as these words fell, it was as though a bolt of thunder had exploded beside Li Ye and the others' ears!

"Remain in the Martial Arts Pavilion for three days? Select up to three Combat Techniques?! Become the Supreme Elder's registered disciple?!"

One earthshaking bomb after another was dropped, immediately making everyone's breathing quicken!

Even Li Xuan's gaze blazed at this moment, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body! It forced back several people around him, faintly carrying the momentum to contend with the family's three most dazzling geniuses on the viewing platform!

Yet amid his excitement, Li Ye's heart turned cold. That elder had said the Family Head specially approved it! But he clearly remembered that, to this day, the Family Head was still his father, Li Kainian! Even if he had been missing for more than a decade!

The Li Family now only had an Acting Family Head! There was no Family Head!

He swept his gaze over the viewing platform, but did not see the Grand Elder or the Acting Family Head. Perhaps, to them, such trivial matters below were not worth their attention at all.

"I never expected the rewards to be so generous! Forget staying in the Martial Arts Pavilion for three days and freely choosing Combat Techniques that suit you—being able to take three Combat Techniques out is already enough to drive people mad! And one can become the Supreme Elder's registered disciple too! Heavens! It's a pity I have no chance at all, otherwise I would fight for it too!"

"Exactly. The Supreme Elder is Wuzhou City's number one expert! A King Tier powerhouse who has stepped into the Innate Realm! Even merely being his registered disciple is countless times better than being an Inner Disciple!"

"Stop dreaming. There is practically no suspense over the top three. It will just be another contest among those three. Of course, Young Master Li Xuan has great hope as well. After all, he has also stepped into the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm and has the capital to contend with those people!"

The last speaker was clearly flattering Li Xuan in secret, making the pride on Li Xuan's face even more obvious.

However, he soon noticed Li Ye. His expression darkened slightly, but he immediately changed his demeanor and offered a friendly smile.

"Hypocrite!" Li Ye snorted coldly in his heart. Compared to his father, this man was even more false.

Li Ye had little interest in becoming the Supreme Elder's registered disciple. But he was deeply interested in the Martial Arts Pavilion.

"Although my cultivation speed is much faster than ordinary people thanks to the cultivation method within the Moon Dream Heart Sutra, I have a huge gap when it comes to battle techniques. The Dream Heart Sutra combined with a Vampire's Blood-Eyed Illusion can only serve as support. I must learn one or two battle techniques for direct offense!"

On the Blood Soul Continent, good Combat Techniques were worth a fortune and nearly impossible to obtain. They were generally monopolized by the great families and powerful sects, making them difficult for ordinary people to acquire.

With such a good opportunity laid before him, Li Ye naturally would not let it slip away.

He still remembered the Profound Yin Palm Li Yue had used. It was enough to let someone at the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm fight an ordinary eighth-level Spirit Martial Realm cultivator without falling behind! And the Profound Yin Palm was precisely a high-grade Yellow-tier battle technique!

Of the final hundred remaining, even the weakest had cultivation at Spirit Martial Tier Four or above. In terms of cultivation alone, Li Ye was not outstanding among them at all; he was even at the bottom.

Yet he believed that with his methods, entering the top thirty would pose no problem at all. He was more than eighty percent confident of reaching the top ten! The only thing that challenged him was striving for the top three!

"Among you, the ten strongest will have the chance to challenge the family's three great geniuses! Each person will have one opportunity!"

After explaining the situation, the elder smiled faintly and stepped aside, yielding a massive arena.

Hearing this, Li Ye's heart stirred. "In other words, I must first become one of the ten strongest among these hundred before I qualify to challenge the family's three great geniuses and contend for the true top three?"

Very soon, the truly fierce martial competition began.

"I'll go first!"

A youth with a fair complexion like that of a scholar leaped directly onto the arena. He swept an arrogant glance over everyone and declared loudly, "Who dares fight me!"

"I will!"

Someone immediately leaped onto the stage. The two began fighting at once, trading blows without the slightest hesitation!

However, Li Ye could see that the two were merely appetizers for this round. Both were at peak Spirit Martial Tier Four and could not possibly go far.

Sure enough, both were quickly eliminated. Gradually, all those at Spirit Martial Tier Four suffered a defeat, while only those at Spirit Martial Tier Five or above maintained undefeated records.

At the same time, Li Ye noticed thirty men and women on the other side, who looked one or two years older than them, watching coldly.

"Inner Disciples?"

Li Ye fell into thought. The family did not limit the number of Outer Disciples, but there were always only thirty Inner Disciples! Only after exceeding the age of twenty-five could one leave disciple status and become a family steward.

In other words, after Li Ye and the other hundred determined the strongest thirty, they would have to successfully challenge those people to become Inner Disciples. Only then could they challenge the three great geniuses and become the strongest three among the family's disciples!

Boom!

A youth at Spirit Martial Tier Five was blasted off the arena with a single punch! Li Ye looked closely and saw that the one on the stage was Li Datou, the youth born with divine strength. He still wore that honest, simple smile, but in everyone else's eyes, that smile was like a nightmare.

Before long, he swept through several opponents, then pointed directly at one of the thirty Inner Disciples!

"I challenge you!"

Whoosh! Li Datou became the first person to challenge an Inner Disciple. After all, he had just swept aside ten people in succession, earning one opportunity to challenge!

The family rules stated that this batch of new Outer Disciples had to win ten consecutive matches before they could challenge any Inner Disciple!

The Inner Disciple pointed at by Li Datou immediately turned cold. A trace of gloom flashed swiftly through his eyes, as though he was displeased.

Li Ye looked over. This man ranked near the bottom among the Inner Disciples, in twenty-sixth place. The Inner Disciple rankings were tied to their respective strength, so this person was clearly relatively weak among them.

But he was still at peak Spirit Martial Tier Six! Being openly challenged by Li Datou, who was at peak Spirit Martial Tier Four, immediately made his expression turn ugly.

"Since you're seeking death, don't blame me!"

In an instant, a terrifying aura erupted from his body!