Inner Disciple Ranking Battle

The situation had grown somewhat out of control. Several elders and deacons responsible for enforcement looked at one another.

One side was the Third Elder, a highly influential figure within the Lineage; the other was the Fourth Elder, who had returned from his travels. Both were members of the Council of Elders. One demanded an arrest, while the other forbade them from acting, leaving them unable to decide whether to make a move.

"Did you not hear me? Seize the Lineage traitor, Li Ye!"

At Li Huangran's command, he leaped straight up from the viewing platform. His hand instantly formed a claw, and a massive claw imprint descended from the air! It was the mid-grade Yellow-tier battle technique, Eagle Claw Technique!

Yet when wielded by Li Huangran, its power was far more terrifying than an ordinary person using a High-Grade Yellow-Tier Combat Technique!

"Li Ye! Today, even if you sprout wings, you will not escape! Why don't you obediently surrender?"

Seeing Li Huangran openly make his move, a flicker of hesitation flashed through Li Ye's eyes. If he resisted now, the charges against him would surely be made real. Even if he were completely innocent, he would still be unable to escape punishment.

But if he did not resist, once Li Huangran caught him, his fate was easy to imagine.

"How dare you!"

Just as he hesitated, a thunderous roar rang out. Then a towering figure stepped in front of him—it was Li Hou Nian!

"Fourth Brother! Move aside!"

Seeing Li Hou Nian blocking his path, Li Huangran shouted furiously.

"Not a chance! Whoever dares touch my nephew today, I'll cripple him!"

At those words, Li Ye's body trembled slightly, and his heart was filled with emotion. He knew very well that Li Hou Nian's actions today would definitely affect his standing within the Lineage.

Though they were both elders, Li Huangran was clearly far more deeply rooted than Li Hou Nian. Yet Li Hou Nian had not hesitated in the slightest, shielding him to the death!

"Fourth Uncle!"

Li Ye clenched his teeth. He wanted to fight, even if it meant battling alongside Li Hou Nian!

"Li Ye! Don't move! The moment you cannot hold back and attack, even your Fourth Uncle won't be able to help you. You'll fall right into this pack of petty men's trap!"

"But Fourth Uncle..."

"Listen to me! You absolutely cannot make a move! Your Fourth Uncle will bear everything!"

By then, Li Hou Nian and Li Huangran had already exchanged blows. In just one move, the difference in their strength became immediately apparent! Li Huangran's eagle claw was instantly shattered by a single punch. Had Li Hou Nian not refrained from pressing his advantage, Li Huangran would have been in grave danger in that brief instant.

Though the two had only exchanged a hasty blow, quite a few people present could see that the Fourth Elder, who had traveled abroad for many years, was clearly much stronger than the Third Elder.

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Huangran's face turned livid as he flipped back onto the viewing platform. He narrowed his eyes at Li Hou Nian for a long while, then said "good" three times in succession. His voice was icy. "Fourth Brother, it seems your skills have not rusted over these years. As your elder brother, I am truly happy for you!"

Perhaps realizing that Li Hou Nian was determined to protect Li Ye, Li Huangran began to hesitate. His gaze swiftly swept over the crowd, taking in every expression around him, and for a moment, he found himself unable to save face.

"Third Elder, why not let this matter rest for now? Since the Fourth Elder is willing to vouch for it alone, let us put it aside temporarily. After the Year-End Martial Contest, we can make a decision in the Council of Elders. What do you think?"

Suddenly, someone spoke. The crowd turned to look, and their pupils constricted.

Li Mo! The most terrifyingly powerful of the Lineage's three great geniuses! Rumor had it that his true strength was even greater than that of the elders. No one had ever forced him to fight seriously, and no one could last more than ten moves against him.

Though he was merely one of the Lineage's disciples, Li Mo's status was even higher than that of an ordinary elder.

His words gave Li Huangran a way down. With a cold snort, Li Huangran fell silent, tacitly accepting the decision.

Li Hou Nian gave the youth, not yet twenty years old, a deep look. Those words had sounded like mediation, but on careful reflection, their sinister intent could be heard clearly!

Li Mo was plainly dragging Li Hou Nian into the trap as well. Once Li Ye was found to have even the slightest suspicious point, not only Li Ye, but Li Hou Nian too would be implicated!

Yet although Li Hou Nian could see that Li Mo harbored ill intent, he did not oppose it.

"Fourth Uncle, I'm sorry. I dragged you into this."

Li Ye felt somewhat guilty, but Li Hou Nian remained unmoved. He shook his head, forcefully patted Li Ye on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Go ahead boldly. Remember, in this Lineage, I am your backing! Unless I die, no one can touch you!"

Just a few short words deeply shook Li Ye's heart.

This was a man of few words. In the depths of his memories, he had been taciturn, to the point that the original "Li Ye" had once been quite afraid of his own uncle. Now, it seemed that this man possessed a heart more blazing than his exterior. He simply was not good with words.

After that interlude, Li Ye rightfully took the eighth position among the Inner Disciples. Second only to Li Xuan from before, he became the greatest dark horse of this contest.

"Was Li Ye really that useless trash who could not cultivate back then?"

"He even defeated Li Wei, the eighth-ranked Inner Disciple. If someone like that is trash, then all of us are worse than trash!"

For a time, private discussions about Li Ye sprang up everywhere.

Countless people developed a keen interest in this youth, who had once been driven out of the Lineage for bearing the name of trash, yet had now returned in force, using his own strength to prove himself.

The following matches became rather dull by comparison.

After witnessing Li Ye's twists and turns, the battles between the other Outer Disciples seemed utterly flavorless. Even when another dark horse among the Outer Disciples challenged an Inner Disciple and succeeded, it did not draw much attention.

"This Li Yu hid himself quite deeply. He had originally only been at peak Spirit Martial Tier Five, but suddenly erupted to peak Spirit Martial Tier Six. He even knows two mid-grade Yellow-tier battle techniques."

The final Li Family disciple to successfully challenge an Inner Disciple looked entirely ordinary, yet his final result was even better than Li Datou's. He directly defeated the person originally ranked twenty-third among the Inner Disciples and charged forcefully into their ranks.

As the final challenger failed, the results for the Outer Disciples were also announced.

"Outer Disciples may remain in the Lineage to cultivate for the coming year. They will be assessed again one year from now!"

In the end, five people had successfully entered the ranks of the Inner Disciples. Two of them were at peak Spirit Martial Tier Six, so their success was not particularly surprising. Yet Li Yu, one of them, had concealed his strength beforehand, which left people somewhat startled.

"Li Datou was born with divine strength. He entered the ranks of the Inner Disciples at peak Spirit Martial Tier Four. If not for an even more monstrous Li Ye, he would definitely count as the greatest dark horse the Lineage had seen in a hundred years!"

Many elders, deacons, and Inner Disciples paid great attention to this honest-looking youth. Some elders even spoke up one after another, wanting to take him as a disciple! It made many Inner Disciples green with envy!

Though Inner Disciples held higher status than Outer Disciples, not everyone could become an elder's disciple!

"Heavens, an elder actually wants to take him as a disciple! Li Datou must have stumbled into eight lifetimes of damned good luck!"

Everyone knew that within the Li Family, only those whose cultivation had reached the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm could become elders. Spirit Martial Tiers One through Three formed the foundation, while Tiers Four through Six belonged to true martial cultivators. Only after reaching the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm could one be considered a Martial Master!

The gap between a martial cultivator and a Martial Master was like the gap between a martial cultivator and an ordinary person.

There were quite a few people in the entire Li Family at peak Spirit Martial Tier Six, but those who could break through to the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm were few and far between! And the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm was several times stronger than the seventh!

The seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm was called Martial Master, while the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm was Grandmaster! As for Spirit Martial Tier Nine, that was what ordinary people called a Great Grandmaster! Unless an Innate Realm King Tier appeared, these Great Grandmasters were the strongest!

For a Grandmaster to offer to take him as a disciple showed just how outstanding Li Datou's talent truly was.

Unfortunately, what puzzled everyone was that Li Datou might have been too honest—he actually refused! The elder who had spoken was greatly displeased and left with a flick of his sleeve.

"What an idiot, wasting such an opportunity!" Seeing this result, many people secretly mocked him. Only Li Ye noticed that, in the instant everyone laughed, a glint of light flashed deep in the honest youth's eyes.

"This kid is definitely not as foolish as he looks!"

Li Ye trusted his own eyes. At the same time, as if sensing his gaze, the other party returned a silly, honest grin.

Though the Outer Disciples' challenges against the Inner Disciples had ended, the Year-End Martial Contest was not over.

"Alright, according to the custom of past years, it is now time for the contest among you thirty Inner Disciples. Each person has three chances to challenge someone ranked above them. The victor takes the loser's rank, while the loser's rank falls directly by one place, with those behind shifting accordingly!"

Now came the Lineage's main event. One could say that the Lineage's future was almost entirely born from among the Inner Disciples. For countless years, this had been the key to the Li Family standing firm in Wuzhou City without falling.

As soon as the enforcement elder finished speaking, thick fighting intent erupted from the Inner Disciples.

Many of them emerged from their earlier half-dreaming state like awakened lions, baring their fangs.

"Among the Inner Disciples, even their treatment differs in rank—sometimes as far apart as heaven and earth!" Watching those eyes gleam one after another, Li Ye deeply felt the sorrow of belonging to a great Lineage.

With so many descendants, it was impossible to attend to everyone. One could only struggle desperately to stand out and draw the Lineage's attention, gaining access to better cultivation resources.

With a sweep of his gaze, Li Ye saw that apart from the top ten Inner Disciples, the remaining twenty were all brimming with fighting intent. Their differences in strength were not actually great, as all of them stood at peak Spirit Martial Tier Six. They had usually lived in peace, but now, the scent of gunpowder seemed to rush straight at them.

"Who will go first?"

The one presiding over this scene was no longer an ordinary enforcement elder, but Li Xuanji!