27 Battling an Outer Disciple

Two inner disciples have been defeated as of then. They were stripped of their status as an inner disciple through the challenge of an outside disciple!

There was little to no disquiet with Li Datou's victory over Li Wei. After all, Li Wei was considered the bottom rung among the inner disciples. On the contrary, Li Gei's defeat caused quite a stir!

"Those two brothers are really unlucky. They've been kicked out of the inner disciples one after the other."

Li Wei and Li Gei turned out to be brothers who were quite well-known among the inner disciples. Li Gei, in particular, ranked seventh-placed among the inner disciples and occupied a dominant position. It may even be said that he was capable of keeping his inner disciple status and was inseparable from his duties therein.

"Rumor has it that Li Wei, even though he hasn't reached Level Seven yet, was able to learn a Yellow Rank Advanced technique because his elder brother Li Gei was secretly teaching him!"

"Exactly, it's impossible for someone like him to access Yellow Rank Advanced techniques by virtue of his strength alone!"

Despite being defeated, Li Gei did not despair like his younger brother. Instead, he glanced past the crowd with a profound gaze said to the enforcement elder, "Elder, I challenge the eighth-placed inner disciple!"

According to clan rules, an inner disciple that was defeated by a challenge had one more chance to prove themselves. As soon as everyone heard that, they looked at the eighth-placed inner disciple with pitiful gazes.

"Although Li Gei lost, he's still undoubtedly powerful. If he challenges the weaker eighth-placed disciple, he has an eighty to ninety percent chance of claiming a spot in the top ten."

Some people were already thinking that to themselves. Sure enough, the eighth-placed inner disciple, with a cultivation of peak Level Seven, was unable to resist Li Gei's Yellow Rank Advanced techniques even though he was not that inferior himself. A dozen moves later, he willingly forfeited to conserve his strength.

Almost immediately after that, the loser challenged the ninth-placed inner disciple and succeeded.

The inner disciples' rankings soon underwent a series of changes. Nearly everyone was shifted to a lower rank except for a few who remained unchanged. Li Xuan and Li Datou's entrance into the rankings raised the austerity of the atmosphere there.

None of that however, sustained Li Mo's interest as he sat high up on the stands. His eyes were focused on the body of the beautifully charming girl beside him. A dash of heat surged from the depths of his eyes and he curled his lips into a little smile.

"Li Yating, I heard that the Dark Heaven Sect had been revering you highly for a few years now. I wonder if you can withstand more than ten moves from me right now?"

Li Mo spoke with an abundance of pride and confidence! Ten moves! He still retained his proud ways even when facing Li Yating, a person of equal stature as him and was one of the three prodigies!

Nevertheless, he had every right to be proud. Be it Li Yue or Li Yating, he could defeat them with ten moves three years ago. None of his Li clan peers ever came close to taking his place. Even if the whole of Wu Prefecture City was taken into account, few opponents could force him into taking them seriously.

"Hmph, although Li Yating is hailed as one of the clan's three prodigies, it seems to me that her appearance is the only aspect where she surpasses me! I don't understand why the Dark Heaven Sect would take an interest in her instead of me! This time, I'm going to find out just how strong you are and why Dark Heaven Sect would take the initiative to accept you into the sect! "

Li Mo's emotions were apparently very turbulent during the past few years. A comparison of their past cultivation made it abundantly clear that his was higher than Li Yating's. If their strength was compared, then Li Yating was much weaker than him, since she was not able to fend off ten of his moves. Unfortunately, the Dark Heaven Sect chose Li Yating instead of accepting him. That fact made Li Mo resentful since a young age, even though he frequently left others eating his dust.

It was a pity that Li Yating ignored his conversations and treated him like air. As a result, Li Mo's average-looking face became slightly tensed up, complete with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

He noticed that Li Yating paid much attention to the development on the arenas ever since she arrived. It made him rather curious. What was it that attracted the interest of Wu Prefecture City's most remarkable woman?

He looked in the direction of her gaze. No one else seemed to be worthy of attention except Li Xuan.

Just as he began to shake his head, a figure came suddenly into view.

"What?"

Down at the arena, a teenager jumped onto the stage. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a handsome face and a calm smile.

Li Mo frowned at once after seeing the young boy. The boy looked familiar somehow, and it was only after some detailed pondering that his eyes lit up!

"Li Ye! I didn't expect that trash at all!"

He glanced at Li Yating sitting next to him. Once Li Ye appeared, Li Mo noticed a change in Li Yating's calm and unmoving expression.

The scenes of yesteryear flashed in his mind, after which a cold sneer emerged on his face.

At that point, Li Ye was unaware that he was attracting the attention of Li Mo, the clan's first-placed prodigy.

"Li Ye, humbly seeking pointers."

Before him was a young boy of almost the same age, albeit with a fiercer mien. With a lick of the lip, the boy snickered, "It's best if you concede defeat, lad. I wouldn't want to be rough!"

The person already won one match before Li Ye went up. He broke his opponent's limbs without hesitation and was ruthless in his methods!

"Heh, this kid is digging his own grave."

Someone from below shook their head when they saw Li Ye get on the arena. That person seemed to foresee that Li Ye would end up just like the earlier guy.

Li Ye's opponent turned out to be reasonably well-known amongst the clan as someone who had long gained a reputation among the outer disciples.

"Li Gua was already at peak Level Five last year. Although he hasn't had a breakthrough yet, anyone who isn't above Level Six is no match for him at all. To add to that, he's always been ruthless in his attacks. He'll either break your hands or your feet!"

The most Li Ye could display was the vital force of someone at peak Level Four. It was a one-state difference between himself and Li Gua's peak Level Five. It was no surprise then that everyone around him was pessimistic about Li Ye getting a victory.

By then, many of the stronger outer disciples—namely those who have reached peak Level Six—have challenged the inner disciples. Some succeeded while others did not. Out of the remaining, Li Gua was the strongest one. That was why many Level Five outer disciples cleverly waited before coming forward.

They were not hoping to challenge inner disciples and succeed in doing so—they simply wanted to be as far up as possible within the outer disciples' rankings.

"Those who were higher up in the outer disciples' rankings would be allocated more cultivation resources."

As he thought of that, Li Ye remembered how things worked in the Li clan. Ordinary outer disciples would receive an allowance of twenty gold coins a month, but the top ten outer disciples would get at least a hundred! As for the first-placed outer disciple, he or she would be given an allowance of five hundred gold coins a month!

Such was the difference in their treatment!

For those in the world of bloodsoul, injuries sustained in one's daily life needed to be healed. To do so, money was required to buy expensive medicine. Cultivation had to be aided by some types of medication as well. On average, the allowance was grossly insufficient.

"Li Gua was among the top fifty outer disciples last year. One year on, he might even be able to reach the top twenty. How could a measly peak Level Four boy have the courage to go up there?"

Many had looks of admiration, but there were undoubtedly others who had a derisive expression.

At that juncture, Li Ye—to everyone's surprise—did not willingly forfeit. A violent look appeared in Li Gua's eyes as he cackled. He then formed his fist into a claw and extended his grip to grab Li Ye!

"The Hawk's Talon Technique! A Yellow Rank Intermediate battle skill!"

Someone from below exclaimed after seeing the move.

Even within the Li clan itself, Yellow Rank Intermediate techniques were only available to a small number of elite outer disciples. They might not necessarily even be able to master it. However, Li Gua's execution of the technique clearly showed that he had practiced it to a certain degree.

"It was this Hawk's Talon Technique that broke the other guy's hands just now!"

Peak Level Five, combined with a Yellow Rank Intermediate technique, gave Li Gua the means to fight against a Level Six heavyweight!

"Li Gua's strength isn't weak at all. He might even enter the top ten among outer disciples! He might even be hopeful to challenge those insiders!"

Up in the stands, a sneer appeared on Li Huangran's face. Many of the inner disciples took a casual glance and immediately lost interest, except for those few who were placed last in the ranking.

"Li Ye, show me how strong you are!"

Li Mo thought silently to himself. Although Li Gua was not worth a mention to him, few outer disciples could reach such heights!

"Battle skills, huh!"

A mocking smile appeared on Li Ye's face, followed by a punch!

"Die!"

Seeing that Li Ye did not even use any battle skills, Li Gua's malicious glee was even more evident in his eyes. It was as if he could already visualize a scene where he broke his opponent's limbs once more.

However, the next moment…

There was a boom!

A scream was heard, and the following occurrence was not one that anyone expected. Li Gua, who had the capability of challenging an inner disciple, screamed and was sent flying.

Upon closer inspection, his right hand was twisted unnaturally and had been broken!

"I'll kill you!"

The severe pain made Li Gua enter into a rage. He let out a roar before using his left hand to execute the Hawk's Talon Technique.

However, the result was still the same. Li Ye broke Li Gua's left hand with a single punch.

With both hands turning useless, the intense pain caused Li Gua to roll his eyes and faint.

"Li Gua was always breaking other people's hands, but I would never have expected him to have a taste of his medicine someday!" Some outer disciples who usually did not dare to offend Li Gua's were reveling in his downfall!

"Where did this boy come from? At peak Level Four, it's surprising that he did not need to use any battle techniques to defeat Li Gua. How did he do that when Li Gua is at peak Level Five and even used the Hawk's Talon Technique?"

Li Ye became everyone's focus for a brief moment. He defeated someone stronger than him even though he was only at peak Level Four. All of a sudden, Li Ye became the only other dark horse after Li Datou!