Capítulo 7: Inner Disciple

Since Li Kuo was still unconscious, Jian brought him back to the Outer Pavillion. He then went to the shopping part of the Outer Court and sold the flowers to a disciple. He wanted to sell the beasts' corpses too, however as soon as he showed them, a disciple passing by put his hand on the counter , preventing the shop owner to take them.

" Hey there, I don't want to be intrusive, however I saw that you had twenty Iron Rabbits' corpses and a White Winger Demonic Crow's corpse. You could sell those to our little friend here, or you could give them to me. " Said the disciple. Jian was thoroughly confused, but the shop owner quickly looked away when the other disciple glanced at him.

[ Name: Peng Fu

Age: 26

Rank: Qi core 5th Step

Martial Spirit: Non-Existent

Soul Heritage: Non-Existent

Unique Technique: Non-Existent

Thoughts: Greed ]

" Give them to you ? Why would I do that ?" Asked Jian. The shop owner wanted to tell him that what he said was disrespectful but the other disciple stopped him.

" You see, I am a subordinate of an Inner Disciple called Huang Lei. And he would be absolutely delighted to receive those corpses since the cores contained within those bodies could help him in his cultivation. In exchange Huang Lei would treat you as his younger brother, which would grant you a.....Special status. " Said the disciple.

' Huh....System ? I am kinda lost there.'

[ Without seeing this Huang Lei I cannot tell you his level. However the shop owner look terrified, so this Huang Lei should be quite powerful. Those corpses aren't useful to you, and you don't really need that much money since the outer disciples will soon receive their salary. ]

' Wait what ?! '

[ A random disciple you came across while walking towards the shop said it. ]

Jian was shocked when he heard this, but this only meant that he should accept the disciple's offer. He just hoped he wasn't wasting those precious corpses.

" Okay. I'll give them to you." Said Jian. The disciple looked a little stunned for a second but he quickly took the corpses and placed them inside a spatial ring.

" Glad to see that you have a brain contrarily to those other Outer Disciples." Said the disciple before he walked away. Jian turned to the shop owner since he was still a bit confused and the shop owner was smiling at him.

" You are quite smart, recruit. You know, this guy spend his time doing stuff like this, and he's not the only one. Strong Inner disciples love to create their little groups of followers. However this Huang Lei is an unknown, nobody even know his strengh as he usually keep to himself and he doesn't have a lot of followers. Last I heard, that guy Zhao Shu became his follower because Huang Lei is a friend of his family." Sais the shop owner.

Jian was now completely shocked, this was beyond his imagination. He was gonna become the follower of a guy who already had his rival as a follower. Though since Zhao Shu joined him, Huang Lei shouldn't be weak, so Jian was pretty sure he hadn't wasted the corpses.

Since he didn't have anything left to do in the Outer Court he left and went back home. Once he got home, Jian had only one thing in mind.....Cultivating. The process of absorbing Qi and refining it was q long and painful one for Qi Core Realm Cultivators, which is why it was the only thing they did. However Jian could cultivate all the time and had pain tolerance. He had the advantages of a high ranked Cultivator without being one.

He was sure he could breakthrough the Second Step before the tournament. At that time he would've gotten closer to Zhao Shu's level. Even if Zhao Shu would still be a lot stronger than him. If he could somewhat learn a Sword Technique or Sword Style he could easily beat Zhao Shu since he had the Red Sky Broken Sword. Though Zhao Shu had a Martial Spirit and most likely had some good equipments.

Thus Jian trained for an entire week, effectively breaking through the Second Step. He stopped after the week ended since he decided to train with the Red Sky Broken Sword a bit. He also wanted to check on Li Kuo, who must've recovered already.

Jian ran all the way to the Outer Pavillion and actually met Jin Wang on the way.

[ Name: Jin Wang

Age: 18

Rank: Half-Step Mortal Realm

Martial Spirit: Non-Existent

Soul Heritage: Non-Existent

Unique Technique : Three Jades Formation ( Qi Core 9th Step )

Thoughts: Curious ]

'This Rank.....This guy is definitely not someone I can mess with.' Thought Jian.

" Huh, aren't you one of the newest recruits....Jian was it ?" Asked Jin Wang as all his followers froze. It was the first time they saw Jin Wang talking to a recruit like this. Usually he wouldn't even say a word to them.

" Oh yeah, you are that lazy guy who didn't wanted to act as my guide ! I found out about it when I saw the disciple you had brought with you a few days later." Said Jian in a nonchalant attitude. Jin Wang wasn't even angered by this, which added to the surprise his followers felt.

" It is indeed me. I am Jin Wang by the way, you would do well to remember my name." Said Jin Wang before he walked away. Jian merely nodded and continued to run towards the Outer Pavillion.

While his followers were wondering who the hell this Jian was, Jin Wang was laughing like a madman in his mind.

' I knew it ! I knew something was strange with this guy ! That day I indeed sensed a Soul Heritage in his body. And he already broke through the Second Step. He doesn't have a heaven-defying talent, but he's pretty good. If you add his Soul Heritage to this.....Hmm I should keep an eye on this guy.' Thought Jin Wang before he turned to one of his followers.

" Tian Zhou. This Jian is an Outer Disciple. As such he is bound to spend his time at the Outer Court and the Thousand Flowers Forest. Since you are Elder Hou Fei's disciple, you can keep an eye on that kid. If anyone pick a fight with him, help him if he can't defend himself." Said Jin Wang. He only said this as if it was an everyday's matter, but his words left his followers completely dumbfounded. In the next days, Jian's name was sure to be on everyone's tongue since Jin Wang had an interest in him.

Meanwhile Jian reached the Outer Pavillion and found Li Kuo training in the open. For some reasons he looked stressed out, but Jian didn't really notice it.

" Hey, you dumbass !" Yelled Jian. He was slightly surprised when some older disciples glared at him. Seeing this, Li Kuo quickly walked up to him and greeted him.

" Hey. I didn't see you in the last days. Since you broke through the second step, I guess you trained like a madman. " Said Li Kuo, as they both sat on a bench.

" Well what can I say, I need to train for the tournament. We both need to become inner disciples. After we become inner disciples we can accept missions and have access to some better stuff, atleast that's what a shop owner told me. " Said Jian. Li Kuo nodded, even though he looked like he wasn't really listening. He then lifted his head and exclaimed.

" Jian, I already got promoted as an Inner disciple !"

".....Huh ? Can you repeat please ? It's like you said you got promoted to....YOU GOT PROMOTED ?!" Yelled Jian, his voice so high Li Kuo had to put his hands on ears.

" Yeah....Don't even ask me how it happened. I think some elders found out about the Ice block we left behind and traced it back to me. It's a good thing, but the problem is that I am still too weak. I will get harassed by the other inner disciples, that I am sure of." Said Li Kuo, who was slightly depressed .

" Bah ! Don't worry about it. I will get qualified in the tournament and become an inner disciple. That way I can help you. Also I kinda became the follower of some mysterious Inner Disciple. His name is Huang Lei, maybe you can get his help once you get into the Inner Court. " Said Jian. Li Kuo wondered how the hell Jian became a follower, but he knew the boy himself didn't have an answer.

" Well I can only hope you'll join me quickly. I should be going to the Inner Court today." Said Li Kuo. He gripped Jian's arm and they both nodded at each other before Li Kuo departed.

Now that he had seen Li Kuo, Jian decided to get back home. The day the Outer disciples would receive their salary was near, and Jian wanted to train with the sword a bit.

So when he got back home he did just that, only he actually trained under the waterfall, since for some reasons the unholy energy of this waterfall was calling him. He had ignored it while cultivating but now he just couldn't anymore.

He was unaware however that during the few days he trained at the waterfall, the Red Sky Broken Sword was slightly repaired.

Finally the day came and Jian woke up early to get to the Outer Court. Once there he saw that many Outer Disciples were standing in lines, not even moving a little bit as some Elders started to appear one by one.

' So I arrived just before it started.' Thought Jian as he got in line with other disciples. A few minutes later, all the Elders had arrived and a man Jian recognized started to speak to the Outer Disciples.

" You all trained hard during those last months, as such the Sect has decided to reward you even more. Not only will you receive 500 Sect Token, you will also receive a Qi Refinement Pill, and a Qi Core 3rd Step at that !" Said Wei Fang. This wasn't much for Inner Disciples, but for Outer Disciples this was extremely useful. A 1st Step Cultivator could reach the 2nd step instantly if he ate this pill.

Jian's eyes shone as he heard this, though they widened when he saw that Wei Fang's eyes settled on him for a few seconds.

' What the hell happened ?!' Asked Jian. When Wei Fang looked at him, it felt like someone was trying to pierce through his soul.

[ He knows you have a Soul Heritage, he was trying to discover what it was. However he's not powerful enough to get any informations on you as long as you don't want to. ]

Once again thanking whoever gave him this System, Jian focused on Wei Fang.

" As you all know, the Outer Tournament will begin in three days. During this tournament if you can reach the top 10, you will be promoted to Inner disciple. If you can reach the top 3 , you will receive guidance from one of the Gate Elders. The disciple who will become the number one will also be awarded a Qi Core 4th Step Soul Pellet to help him grow in strengh. " Said Wei Fang. As soon as his sentence ended, the disciples cheered and he frowned. Since they were too excited to listen anymore, the Elders departed.

As soon as Jian received his 500 tokens and the Qi Refinement Pill, he got ready to get back home. But a group of older disciples blocked his way.

" Hey aren't you Li Kuo's follower ?" Asked the leader of the group. Some older disciples laughed seeing this, since this man clearly wasn't aware of who Jian was. They, on the other hand, were aware since knews travelled fast but not to everyone.

" What ? His follower, what makes you think I am his follower ?" Asked Jian, which earned him a slap from the leader who was a Qi Core 3rd Step Warrior.

" Don't play dumb, you little doggy ! You are clearly his follower since you were close to him. And you can't be his friend since you're so behind him. " Exclaimed the Leader. Jian frowned, unable to understand what the man meant by this.

" What are you talking about ? Why do you think I am behind him ?" Asked Jian, which earned him a second slap.

" Are you done playing dumb ?! It's quite easy to see that you are his follower since you are an unknown outer disciple and he's now an inner disciple. Also due to the unique technique he practices, there are rumors about him becoming the personal disciple of a Gate Elder !"