05. The Disciple Ranking

After having a small talk with his mother, Lin Feng stood up. Lin Ming had said that she would come to see his cultivation progress in 2 days.

He was just at the first layer, but he didn't care. She was his mother, so she wouldn't kill him or anything. He could actually use this as an opportunity to demand more cultivation resources.

However, there was one thing that worried him. His mother asked a lot about Bai Xue. She treated this girl in front of him like her own daughter.

'Lin Yang, my new father knows about "that" matter. I'm afraid he might share this with Lin Ming and make things more troublesome. First of all, my cultivation is too low and I also have to convince Old Song to keep his mouth shut. Let's see, if I…'

While he was lost in his thoughts, Lin Feng was unknowingly facing Bai Xue. She wondered why he was staring at her in a daze while she was eating. When a few moments passed, his distant look made her feel somewhat embarrassed.

Bai Xue glanced at her clothes and turned her head to see if something was behind her. When she realized his eyes were still fixated on her, she blushed. She was not used to being stared at like that.

'Is he going to do something again…?' This thought made her feel scared again as she quickly remembered his character. He was a pervert, a depraved idiot.

But… considering his actions yesterday and today, he seemed to be changing, right? He even gifted her a Thousand-year-old Blood Fruit…

This was Bai Xue's point of view. She didn't know Lin Feng just gave it to her because she'd looked rather pale to him yesterday.

Being a cripple, Bai Xue was never provided with cultivation materials and thus never got the benefit other well-born children got. It was an open secret among the clansmen that Bai Xue's parents didn't even care about her.

They had tried healing her legs, of course, but nothing worked. Thus, they had given up on her. The only one who cared for her was her grandfather, the 3rd Elder.

"L-Lin Feng, do you n-need something?" Bai Xue finally asked, putting her chopsticks down.

If it was before, she would have tried slipping away, but Lin Feng's recent change had given her some courage to speak up. Unfortunately, her voice was too small for him to notice.

'So if I did things like that, maybe it's possible to reach Essence Condensation in a month…' By now, Lin Feng's thought process had reached a whole different realm.

"Young master, the miss is calling for you." One of the servants coughed and said, breaking Lin Feng out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yes. Bai Xue, you called?" His irises locked on her face this time. She appeared a bit shy. Her ears were red and her cheeks had a soft pink glow.

"I- You were…"

"I was?"

"...Nothing." She muttered.

"Say again?" Lin Feng asked, confused.

"I said nothing!" Bai Xue's girly voice was crisp and clear this time. She pouted and rolled her wheels, causing one of the maids to follow her outside.

'Now what?' Lin Feng was stunned for a while before he shook his head. As the sages said, not once but all the time, that girls are difficult to understand.

He left the scene and decided to head outside. There was a cultivation ground at the base of the 3rd Peak, one of the five mountains surrounding this valley.

That place was where most of the valley's Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth segregated. Anyone who cultivated there would have a much faster rate of progress.

Actually, just being in this valley was a great fortune, because there was an extra large formation attracting Yuan Qi to this place from the surrounding areas. Such were the perks of being in a clan or sect.

Lin Feng, after exiting the courtyard, boarded a luxurious carriage and headed towards the southeast of Storm Fort City. The clansmen all bowed whenever his carriage passed through the streets. Even though he was infamous for being a lowlife, he was still a young master. They must show appropriate respect.

Lin Feng cultivated in a relaxed manner until he reached the place. There were various disciples here. All of them were of the Inner Clan.

He noticed two youths pointing at each other while shouting loudly.

"Junior! You dare?!"

"Courting death!"

Ah, it seemed some inner disciples were exchanging pointers. Just an everyday event. Nothing to see here.

This kind of feud was children's play in the eyes of elders. As long as they didn't seriously hurt themselves, fighting was allowed. Though they weren't attacking each other at all, just pointless threats.

"Kowtow to me 9000 times!"

"Hah! I'll slaughter your whole family, chickens and donkeys included!"

Lin Feng turned around and went a different path. He couldn't afford to waste his time in entertainment now. With his status, this place was too low-level of an area for him to cultivate.

After climbing a little higher, Lin Feng took a deep breath. The Qi was rich here. In this place where Yuan Qi was highly saturated, no one from the Outer Clan was allowed.

In the Storm Feather Clan, the hierarchy was simple. Those from the branch families were of the Outer Clan, and those from the main families would be a part the Inner Clan.

That is not to say that someone from the Outer Clan would remain in that position all their life. If they show exceptional talent in cultivation or do meritorious deed for the clan, they would be taken into the Inner Clan.

This was especially true for talented individuals of the younger generation. As there were approximately 50,000 members in the Storm Feather Clan, it was hard to find out who was and who wasn't talented.

Here, "talent" didn't just mean the efficiency of their cultivation. It also meant their ability to adapt, face danger, overcome obstacles, their perseverance, etc.

For this, the clan had a Disciple Ranking. Anyone below 30 years of age in the Storm Feather Clan was a youth, someone from the younger generation, and thus a "disciple."

Needless to say, those from the Inner Clan were inner disciples and those from the Outer Clan were outer disciples. Though this division existed, the ranking was the same. Anyone below 30 who reached the top 1000 would be appointed as an Inner Disciple, and become a part of the Inner Clan.

Thus, the Disciple Ranking was a gateway to the Inner Clan for the branch families. The competition was fierce. However, for the main families, the Disciple Ranking was a method to show dominance.

In the history of the Storm Feather Clan, youths from the main families always dominated the top 100 positions. Trained since birth, fed with top-quality pills, and provided with the best techniques, their strength was simply too high for those from the branch families to match.

Lin Feng's family was much greater than even the main families. It was a "great", the Great Lin family, one of the only three. The remaining two were the Great Bai, Xue's family, and the Great Fang family. As a whole, they are the rulers of the Storm Feather Clan.

There were eight boys under the age of 30 from the Three Great Families. They were the clan's 8 great Young Masters. Of course, there were Young Misses as well. Nine of them actually.

Nurtured with precious resources to improve their health, each one of them was a beauty. Since their parents were also provided with the same merit, their genes inherited this property. Thus, every young master and miss were always good looking.

Bai Xue was a peerless beauty because she had also been a "young miss." Though only until the birth of her sister, Bai Fen. Her parents favoured the younger girl more than the older cripple. Thus, Bai Xue had to give away her Snow Command Token and was stripped of her Young Miss status.

'I wonder… how would they react if I managed to heal that girl's legs?' Lin Feng had this thought when he reached the Third Peak's top.

The Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth was extremely thick here, so much so that it affected the flowing cool wind. Lin Feng was having difficulty breathing because of his low cultivation base.

However, he didn't complain. He sat under a short tree and started meditating to get into the Sublime State.

He managed to do it within an hour this time. After getting into the Sublime State, his meridians started greedily absorbing the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth in this place.

About three hours passed. Lin Feng opened his eyes in delight.

"This is really great. If I cultivate here until the night, I can reach the 2nd layer of Qi Gathering! Coming to this place is a good idea, indeed."

Lin Feng stood up and stretched himself. He walked some distance downhill and drank the clear water of a spring. Afterwards, he went back up and returned to cultivating.

Night came and he hadn't left the Third Peak yet. The two half-moons were shining brightly, illuminating Lin Feng's peaceful expression, which suddenly broke as he shot his eyes open.

With a grin on his face, Lin Feng felt his body.

"Finally, I have..."