"Junior brother, let me introduce you. This is Mo Qi's junior sister, Xiao Yu. Just call her Xiaoyu."
Ji Fenghe drew Xiao Yu over and introduced her to Ye Xuan.
"Xiaoyu, this is Junior Brother Ye Xuan, whom I told you about."
"Greetings, Junior Sister Xiao!"
Ye Xuan cupped his fists in greeting.
"Just call me Xiaoyu, Senior Brother Ye. Senior Brother Ji told me he had a genius junior brother. Now that I've met you, you certainly are an impressive-looking man. I hear you're very skilled at pill refining. If the opportunity arises, I'll definitely seek your guidance."
Xiao Yu smiled sweetly, then quietly edged closer to Ye Xuan. The fragrance from her body made him very uncomfortable.
"You flatter me, junior sister."
Seeing Xiao Yu about to lean against him, Ye Xuan decisively put some distance between them.
Turning his head, Ye Xuan saw Mo Qi glaring furiously at him.
Xiao Yu wanted to say a few more words, but the furious Mo Qi found an excuse to pull her away.
"Ah, what a blockhead."
Watching the two leave, Ji Fenghe couldn't help sighing.
"Indeed."
Ye Xuan agreed.
He could sense that Xiao Yu's muscles had been taut when she approached him. Although she had been talking to him, her gaze kept straying toward Mo Qi, seemingly both deliberately and unconsciously.
The man had feelings, and the woman was interested, but neither seemed quite aware of it-or perhaps neither was quite right in the head.
"So, junior brother, when you meet someone you like, be bold and tell them how you feel."
Ji Fenghe suddenly patted Ye Xuan's shoulder and spoke with utter solemnity.
"Senior brother!"
"Say no more, junior brother. We can never be together!"
Ji Fenghe turned his head away, pretending to be heartbroken.
"Senior brother! I was trying to say that I have at least three kinds of poisonous powder on my shoulder. You've been poisoned!"
Looking at Ji Fenghe's sudden antics and the strange looks directed their way, Ye Xuan spoke through gritted teeth.
"Ah! What? Give me the antidote, quick!"
Ji Fenghe swiftly took out spirit spring water to wash his palm, then pulled out over a dozen antidote pills and swallowed them in one gulp. Still, he felt dizzy and his vision swam, so he hurriedly begged Ye Xuan for mercy.
The outer sect selection officially began.
Ye Xuan entered the competition area for the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
Across the several hundred arenas around him, each had a Foundation Establishment disciple serving as referee.
Soon, it was Ye Xuan's turn.
Ye Xuan's opponent was a bashful male disciple. Seeing Ye Xuan step onto the platform, he hurriedly bowed.
"Please go easy on me, senior brother."
The outer sect matches were very dull, and the opponent before him was particularly weak, nowhere near Ji Fenghe's level. Even Hu Yi as he had been at the beginning was much stronger than him.
Thus, Ye Xuan had little desire to fight.
When he met a polite opponent, Ye Xuan offered a few pointers. When he met an arrogant one, he dispatched them with a single sword strike.
Soon, after a few rounds, Ye Xuan entered the top 1,000 in the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.
Ji Fenghe, Mo Qi, and Xiao Yu also entered the top 1,000 at the Qi Refinement peak without incident.
Five hundred disciples at the Qi Refinement peak were randomly selected to defend the arenas. Each could only be challenged once a day, while everyone else had just two opportunities to challenge.
Those who issued challenges on the first day were all very confident in their strength. Ye Xuan joined them, casually picked a mediocre disciple, and knocked him off the platform with a single sword strike.
The first day soon passed. Most of those on the platforms had substantial backing: they were either disciples of outer sect elders or children of cultivation Lineages.
"Wang Li of the outer sect. Please enlighten me!"
"Ma Lu of the outer sect. Please enlighten me!"
After defeating five challengers in succession, Ye Xuan finally had nothing to do and simply watched the other disciples issue challenges each day.
Ten days passed in a flash. Ye Xuan and the others all lasted until the end.
As for the subsequent competition for rankings, Ye Xuan wasn't particularly interested.
An inner sect spot?
Once he returned from the Spirit Medicine Realm, he would be in the Foundation Establishment realm and automatically become an inner disciple.
Foundation Establishment Pills?
Ye Xuan was already at the Golden Core Stage. What would he need Foundation Establishment Pills for?
Spirit Stones? Spirit Artifacts?
With two Law Treasures and a million Spirit Stones on him, Ye Xuan naturally had no interest in the rewards the sect handed out.
Mo Qi and Xiao Yu were eliminated first, falling in the matches just short of the top 100. Ji Fenghe fell in the round of 32. Had he been allowed to use poison, he probably could have gone farther. Even taking first place wasn't impossible, but there was no need.
Waving goodbye to Mo Qi and Xiao Yu, Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe returned to the inner sect.
Fewer people had registered in the inner sect than in the outer sect, but their battles lasted longer. The outer sect had already finished, while the inner sect was still competing for the top 100.
With nothing to do, Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe went over to join the crowd.
"So this is the strength of inner disciples? They really are much stronger than the outer sect. They're only competing for the top 100, yet it's already more exciting than the outer sect finals."
Watching the match on the platform, Ye Xuan couldn't help remarking.
The gap between the inner and outer sects was like a chasm. Dense Spiritual Qi and superior cultivation methods made the inner disciples stronger.
Moreover, the inner disciples on the platforms were all very young, mostly around fourteen or fifteen, three or four years younger than outer sect disciples at the same cultivation level.
"Tch, what's so special about that? If I entered, there wouldn't be many here stronger than me."
Ji Fenghe waved his folding fan, looking rather pleased with himself. Though his strength in a head-on fight couldn't match these inner disciples, if he could use poison, he could bring down most of the people on the platforms without a sound.
Ye Xuan nodded. Ji Fenghe did possess that ability. Over the past three months, he had sensed Ji Fenghe making tremendous progress in his knowledge of poisons. He could now concoct some poisons that threatened those in the Foundation Establishment realm.
"Heh, two outer sect disciples actually spouting such outrageous nonsense here. How utterly laughable."
Just then, a discordant voice came from behind them.
A boy of thirteen or fourteen regarded them with cold arrogance.
"Who's this little kid?"
Ji Fenghe rolled his eyes. He hadn't expected anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Ye Tian!"
Ye Tian lifted his chin slightly and declared arrogantly.
"Hmph. One of you only reached the Qi Refinement peak at eighteen, and the other the ninth layer of Qi Refining at sixteen. With talent like that, you still dare spout nonsense here? You really don't know your place."
Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe were rather speechless. They hadn't expected to run into a superiority-complex dog.
Just as Ye Tian was about to continue mocking them, someone on the platform called his name.
"Hmph, it's my turn. Watch carefully and see how we fight. If you're not convinced, you can come up and challenge me afterward!"
Ye Tian snorted coldly and strode toward the platform with his nose in the air.
"A little brat brimming with superiority. A lesson for him."
Ji Fenghe flicked his sleeve, a wicked grin on his face.
Just now, as Ye Tian passed them, Ji Fenghe had used the wind to poison him.
"How many poisons did you use?"
"Two. You?"
"Five!"
Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe exchanged smiles, then both looked toward Ye Tian on the platform.
With his chest out and head held high, Ye Tian launched the first attack.
But after fighting for only a short while, Ye Tian noticed that something wasn't quite right with his body.
Gurgle, gurgle!