Chapter 11: Senior Brother, You're Joking

The next day.

Early in the morning.

"Boom!"

In the thatched hut where Li Xun resided, a powerful aura burst forth, shaking the entire house. His body was filled with abundant spiritual energy, and he radiated a brilliant light like a small sun, dazzling with countless rays.

His eyes gleamed with divine light, resembling two lightning bolts, exceptionally radiant.

Li Xun stood up.

At this moment, he possessed a majestic aura, and the aura emanating from him shook the ground beneath his feet, causing tiny cracks to appear.

"The Pure Yang Body sure do lives up to its reputation!"

Li Xun inwardly marveled as he assessed his current state.

In just one night, he had transformed from an ordinary physique to a Pure Yang Body. Although his cultivation realm was still at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, his strength had multiplied several times over.

"With my current strength, I can probably easily defeat my previous self. Even if I were to encounter someone at the Spirit Connection Realm, they wouldn't necessarily be my match!"

Li Xun thought to himself.

And this was without practicing any inner sect techniques.

If he were to cultivate more advanced techniques, his strength would undoubtedly increase even further!

"Now, it's time to go to the Assessment Hall for the assessment and also take a look along the way to see if I can find some people worth investing in."

Xuanyang Sect had tens of thousands of outer disciples.

And there were several thousand inner disciples. Even if only one percent of them were worth investing in, it would still be a considerable number.

Yesterday, he didn't encounter many people because he left too late.

But if he set off earlier today, Li Xun believed that he might be able to invest in a few more individuals.

Having made up his mind, Li Xun tidied up and packed his belongings, storing them all in his storage ring. Then he turned and left.

Zichen Peak.

Since it wasn't the day for distributing the sect stipends, it appeared particularly quiet.

As Li Xun made his way, his gaze swept over every disciple he encountered.

"Unable to invest, unable to invest... They are all unable to invest. What's going on?"

Li Xun furrowed his brows.

He had encountered hundreds of people along the way, but each one displayed the message "unable to invest." This left him puzzled.

Could it be...

That he had used up all his luck yesterday?

Another disciple brushed past Li Xun, and the words "unable to invest" remained above his head.

"It seems that investing in others also depends on fate."

Li Xun shook his head with a sigh and retracted his gaze.

He looked ahead, and the Assessment Hall was already within sight. He decided to put aside the matter of finding potential investments for now. The most important thing at the moment was to become an inner disciple.

He strode into the Assessment Hall.

As soon as he entered, a white-clad inner disciple sitting behind a desk glanced at Li Xun and asked indifferently, "You are here for the assessment?"

In the outer sect, Li Xun had a considerable reputation.

But in the inner sect...

To be honest, not many had heard of his name. After all, he wasn't an inner disciple yet, so people didn't treat him with the same deference as they did to outer disciples.

"Yes."

Li Xun nodded.

"Then follow me, Junior Brother."

The white-clad disciple stood up and motioned for Li Xun to follow. He walked toward the back of the grand hall.

Li Xun followed behind.

The two of them arrived in a secluded chamber. Once inside, the white-clad disciple took out a dusty stone and placed it in Li Xun's hand, saying, "Use all your strength to hold this stone and see what color it emits."

"Remember, if your strength is at the Body Tempering Realm, it will emit white color, and Blue if you are at the Qi Refining realm."

"Even if you are already at the Qi Refining realm and yet the stone doesn't glow any blue light, then I'm sorry."

The meaning behind the last statement was clear. If the stone didn't emit a blue light, it meant that the cultivation realm and strength were mismatched, and becoming an inner disciple would be impossible.

After all...

Every inner disciple had to go down the mountain to complete tasks. Once an inner disciple ventured outside, they represented the face of Xuanyang Sect. If an inner disciple at the Qi Refining Realm were defeated by someone at the Body Tempering Realm, it would be a disgrace for Xuanyang Sect.

"Is everything clear?"

The white-clad disciple asked again.

"Yes."

Li Xun nodded.

"Then let's begin."

With that said, the white-clad disciple stepped aside, his eyes filled with an intriguing expression as he watched Li Xun's every move.

Li Xun took a deep breath and looked at the stone in his hand. He was also curious about what kind of light the stone would emit now that he possessed the Pure Yang Body and the peak strength of the Qi Refining Realm.

"Boom!"

In the next moment, Li Xun exerted force with his five fingers, causing his robe to billow. The aura of his peak Qi Refining Realm erupted like a volcanic eruption, instantly engulfing the entire chamber.

"Hum!"

A deep, ocean-like blue illuminated the entire room.

But the brilliance didn't last long.

"Crack!"

"Thud!"

Two completely different sounds almost rang out simultaneously.

"Hmm?"

Li Xun made a soft sound of surprise as he looked at the powder in his hand. He felt a bit embarrassed because he hadn't expected to exert too much force and end up crushing the stone.

"Senior Brother, this... Huh? Senior Brother, why are you kneeling on the ground?"

As Li Xun turned around, about to explain that it was unintentional, he suddenly noticed that the white-clad disciple from earlier had inexplicably knelt on the ground.

"Junior Brother... No, you should be the Senior Brother. Could you... please, tone down your aura?"

The white-clad disciple knelt on the ground, his whole body numb.

He couldn't fathom what kind of person could break through to the peak of the Qi Refining Realm and only then come for the assessment. When the imposing aura of the peak Qi Refining Realm burst forth just now, it frightened him to the point of almost wetting himself.

After all...

He was only at the early stage of the Qi Refining Realm!

The pressure Li Xun exerted on him just now was no less than that of disciples at the Spirit Connection Realm.

Who exactly was this Senior Brother before him?

Didn't he need the inner sect techniques?

He managed to cultivate to the peak of the Qi Refining Realm with just a Qi Refining Technique?

"Uh... Junior Brother, please don't take any offense."

Li Xun retracted his aura, extended his hand, and helped the white-clad disciple to his feet. He asked, "Since the stone broke, do you need me to retest?"

"Senior Brother, you're quite joking. With your strength, who needs to crush a stone?"

The white-clad disciple managed to force a smile and continued, "We can proceed to the next step now."