Volume One, Chapter Three: A Sensation Within the Inner Sect!

All the outer disciples gaped in disbelief; no one had expected Chu Tianxing to dare so openly insult an outer elder.

“A worthless wretch! How dare you be disrespectful to this elder!” Lu Lingquan immediately flew into a rage, his spiritual energy surging fiercely.

He was astonishingly at the ninth level of the Spirit-Infusion Realm.

The martial cultivation ranks, from weakest to strongest, are: Mortal Realm, Body Tempering Realm, Spirit-Infusion Realm, Spirit Perceiver Realm, Spirit Master Realm, Spirit Profound Realm, Spirit Sect Realm… each realm having nine levels.

The weakest outer disciples are at the Mortal Realm, the strongest at the Body Tempering Realm.

Outer elders all stand at the Spirit-Infusion Realm.

To ascend to the inner disciples, one must first step into the Spirit-Infusion Realm!

Chu Tianxing remained calm and unafraid. “Begin the assessment quickly. I have no time to waste with dogs.”

“You! Fine, fine! An assessment it is! This elder will grant your wish!” Lu Lingquan drew a deep breath, gritting his teeth with a furious smile. “There are two requirements to become an inner disciple: first, reaching the first level of the Spirit-Infusion Realm; second, sparring with any outer elder—you must endure three moves to pass. But I will waive the first requirement for you now!”

Upon hearing this, the outer disciples sneered with schadenfreude. Waiving the first requirement meant a straight fight.

Lu Lingquan was clearly planning to beat Chu Tianxing sensibly and thoroughly.

“He can’t sense that I’m already cultivated; even Ye Qingxuan didn’t notice earlier,” Chu Tianxing’s eyes flickered—perhaps owing to the Undying Art of the Primordial Sovereign.

“I am at the Spirit-Infusion Realm, I don’t need your exceptions!” Chu Tianxing pursed his lips in a cold sneer, his spiritual aura sweeping around him.

It was unmistakably the aura of the ninth level of the Spirit-Infusion Realm.

He had concealed his true cultivation level because wealth should not be flaunted, and martial artists must also hide their prowess.

“You…” Lu Lingquan was stunned, his mind blank, ears ringing.

The outer disciples were equally dumbfounded, their eyes wide with disbelief.

A waste who had lingered at the Mortal Realm for two years had suddenly become a ninth-level Spirit-Infusion Realm cultivator?

It was simply unbelievable!

“If you will not make a move, then I shall,” Chu Tianxing said coldly, smiling as he dashed toward Lu Lingquan with his sword.

Spring Rain Sword!

Chu Tianxing approached closely, wielding his sword with movements swift as wind, his strikes like a sudden, continuous spring rain.

“This is impossible!” Lu Lingquan was alarmed, drawing his sword to defend.

Clang! Clang! The clash of swords never ceased, sparks flying amidst the tearing of robes.

The newly admitted outer disciples watched in stunned silence, their hearts stirred like stormy seas.

Chu Tianxing moved like a phantom, so fast that afterimages of his body flickered.

Especially the relentless sword strikes—terrifyingly fast, flawless in execution!

His breath remained steady and even, each sword movement flowing like clouds and water, as graceful as a dance.

In contrast, Lu Lingquan was utterly defenseless, his hair disheveled as he staggered backward, his robes torn, blood streaming.

“This is the low-level sword technique you scorned—the Spring Rain Sword,” Chu Tianxing said suddenly, sheathing his sword.

Thud!

Lu Lingquan fell to his knees, exhausted and weak, covered in sword wounds—nothing but a bloodied mess.

At this moment, he was too feeble to utter a word, his body trembling uncontrollably.

“I won! To defeat an outer elder so effortlessly!” The disciples fell silent, barely daring to breathe.

Chu Tianxing’s expression was cold as he strode to Lu Lingquan and struck him hard across the mouth with his sword’s hilt.

Crack!

In an instant, Lu Lingquan’s face split open, all his teeth shattered!

“I said I would break all your dog teeth today—I always keep my word!”

Chu Tianxing slowly withdrew his gaze and turned his head toward several outer elders standing at a distance.

“Take Elder Lu to recover. I will escort Senior Brother Chu into the inner disciples.”

After the outer grand elder gave the order, he stepped beside Chu Tianxing and gestured with his hand.

Under the awestruck gazes of the outer disciples, Chu Tianxing left with the outer grand elder.

Within the sacred land’s inner sect.

Where Chu Tianxing and the outer grand elder passed, not a soul was seen; silence reigned.

“Could today be...?” The outer grand elder counted on his fingers, then suddenly said, “The day the Demon-Sealing Tower opens. Let us go to the inner sect’s restricted area.”

“The inner sect restricted area—the place where the Demon-Sealing Tower and the Demon-Sealing Monument stand?” Chu Tianxing had heard of it before.

The outer elder nodded. “Yes, the Demon-Sealing Tower opens once every three months; when it’s closed, no disciple may approach.”

“With your realm, Senior Brother Chu, you can train within the first three levels of the Demon-Sealing Tower.”

“And the Demon-Sealing Monument... Senior Brother Chu, we must hurry, lest we miss the time to observe the monument.”

Chu Tianxing nodded lightly, a hint of anticipation stirring within him.

For the Demon-Sealing Tower and the Demon-Sealing Monument were two of the four imperial relics of the Demon-Slaying Sacred Land, renowned across the continent for millennia.

Though the inner sect restricted area housed replicas, they were invaluable to inner disciples.

At the same time, inside the inner sect restricted area.

A nine-tiered golden tower stood tall at the center—the Demon-Sealing Tower!

A hundred paces before the tower’s entrance stood a massive, over six-meter-high, wordless stone monument.

This was the Demon-Sealing Monument!

Countless inner disciples sat without complaint or boredom before the monument, meditating and contemplating.

Even dozens of inner elders sat there, occupying the front row.

“Fortunately, the hour has not yet passed. I’m lucky to benefit from Senior Brother Chu,” the outer grand elder said with delight.

Without an outer disciple’s promotion to the inner sect, outer elders were forbidden to enter.

Today, with the Demon-Sealing Tower’s opening, was a rare stroke of fortune for the outer grand elder!

“Senior Brother Chu, let us first observe the Demon-Sealing Monument. Remember, do not speak loudly,” the outer grand elder whispered, watching the monument.

“The monument holds the strongest divine art of the Demon-Slaying Emperor—the Demon-Sealing Technique!”

“According to the sacred land’s rules, only core disciples may study the last three techniques of the Demon-Sealing art.”

“To learn the middle three requires promotion to the direct disciples, while only the top ten direct disciples can master the first three!”

“Those who fail the rules can only attempt to comprehend the Demon-Sealing Technique through the monument, relying on personal talent and insight.”

“How much one grasps depends entirely on innate aptitude and perception.”

Hearing this, Chu Tianxing was not surprised; he had long been aware.

“The Demon-Sealing Technique—one technique with nine variations, rivaling gods and heaven itself!”

Chu Tianxing gazed at the monument. At just one glance, countless characters began to surface on the wordless stone.

Legend held that the founder of the Demon-Slaying Sacred Land, the first sovereign, was the Demon-Slaying Emperor himself.

Upon ascending to emperor, he condensed his lifetime of knowledge to create the supreme divine art—the Demon-Sealing Technique—with which he challenged the Heavenly Dao.

He fought against the Heavenly Dao for eight hundred years before his demise.

Though defeated, to have battled the Heavenly Dao for so long marked him as one of the greatest emperors in history.

“The Demon-Sealing Technique comprises nine variations, divided into the first three, middle three, and last three—collectively known as the Nine Demon-Sealing Arts.”

“The first three are the strongest, followed by the middle three, then the last three.”

Chu Tianxing entered meditation, not only comprehending the Nine Demon-Sealing Arts with a single glance but beginning to cultivate them.

Boom! Rumbling... A hum!

Suddenly, the Demon-Sealing Monument trembled violently, and a pillar of golden light shot skyward, piercing the clouds.

This extraordinary phenomenon instantly caused all present, including the elders, to change expressions dramatically.

“Golden light appears! Someone has comprehended the Demon-Sealing Technique!”

“Who is it? Which disciple—or rather, which senior brother?”

For a moment, dozens of inner elders looked around anxiously and respectfully.

For any inner disciple who comprehended the Demon-Sealing Technique had a chance to leap into the direct disciples!