Chapter 52

"Have you heard? A monster has come to our South Courtyard, even defeating Zhang Chulong!"

"Pfft, who doesn't know about this? It's said that the monster is broad-shouldered and waist-thick, standing a full ten feet tall!"

"Nonsense, there's no one that tall!"

"But it's a monster, and besides, it has four arms..."

Whispers like these spread throughout the South Cloud Peak, and even the entire Xuan Yun Sect was abuzz with the news that a freak had arrived in the inner courtyard of South Cloud Peak.

Some said he was ten feet tall, others claimed he had three heads and six arms, and some even said he was the reincarnation of a demon. There were all sorts of versions, each more outlandish than the last.

Li Chen walked up the stone steps, the whispers reaching his ears, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, not many people recognized him, and most of the rumors, having been passed on by word of mouth, had become baseless.

After about half an hour, he arrived at the top of South Cloud Peak, where a large cluster of buildings stood. Hundreds of teenagers were heading into the inner square, dividing into three distinct groups.

Looking up, he saw a huge plaque under the eaves, inscribed with the three large characters "Jian Wu Tang" (Hall of Martial Arts).

For a named disciple to become an outer gate disciple, they must be led by an outer courtyard official and go to the Hall of Martial Arts at the beginning of each month to verify their cultivation. If they fail, they must wait another month.

The same applied to outer gate disciples.

Li Chen had been in the sect for a short time and was not very familiar with these rules, and no one had told him. Fortunately, it was the beginning of the month today, right after the end of the previous month.

Originally, with the influence of the two major figures, Li Chen could easily have entered the inner gate, or even become an elite disciple directly. However, the two of them refused to use their power for personal gain and told him to handle it himself.

With his current strength, entering the inner gate would be a piece of cake, just a formality.

As for a guide, that was unnecessary. Feng Luming had entered the Discipline Hall, and there was no way he could come out alive unless the person behind him was powerful enough to challenge the two major figures, which was clearly impossible.

Li Chen didn't care who the official in charge of the named disciples of South Cloud Peak was, and he was too lazy to ask.

After the two major figures left yesterday, Li Chen had directly darted into the forest of South Cloud Peak, choosing a secluded spot to spend the night, waiting for dawn to come.

"Bad luck, I clearly felt myself break through to the fourth level, so why can't I leave a fist mark?"

Beside a small door, a teenager of about thirteen or fourteen, looking dejected, walked to one of the groups.

This group of people all had youthful faces, wearing gray martial attire. It was clear they were named disciples of South Cloud Peak.

The other group was slightly older, with some as old as sixteen or seventeen, many of them broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, matured from years of martial practice. They were, of course, outer gate disciples.

As for the last group, there were only seven or eight people, each with a proud look, their eyes high above others.

"Hey, ignorant boy, do you think breaking through in cultivation means you can leave a palm print on the Illusionary Iron? Without skillfully using your inner breath, even if you break through to the fifth level, it's just a pile of pills!"

In the row of outer gate disciples, a teenager with a face full of acne sneered.

Upon hearing this, the originally silent group erupted into a cacophony of noise.

Both sides were young and hot-blooded, and they couldn't stand such words. Even though they knew these outer gate disciples were beyond their reach, they all looked indignant and glared.

"Silence!"

At the front of the group, a middle-aged man in a green robe sternly shouted.

Immediately, the group of named disciples dared not make a sound, most of them muttering under their breath. Although the man in green seemed to be just an inner gate disciple, at this age, he was clearly a hopeless case, assigned by the sect to be a new outer courtyard official.

As for the outer gate disciples, they didn't change much. At their young age, they had such cultivation and would soon reach the inner gate disciple level, so they naturally didn't fear these outer courtyard officials, continuing to joke and even speak rudely.

At the front of the outer gate disciples, unlike the named disciples, there were five people, each with prominent temples and eyes that occasionally flashed with sharpness. It was clear they were all experts at the ninth level of inner breath.

With the cultivation of these five, they could easily suppress these young and hot-blooded martial artists.

The five clearly had no intention of stopping their disciples' behavior, which made the outer courtyard official's face turn dark. He knew his job wasn't easy, especially at this time of the month.

Originally, he didn't want to take on this job, but he had no choice after the Discipline Hall issued the order yesterday.

"You, come here!"

Just as his anger had nowhere to vent, he suddenly saw a disheveled youth, taller than the rest of the group by half a head, arriving late. He immediately flew into a rage.

"Me?"

Li Chen looked around, somewhat at a loss, but after the official shouted again, he stepped forward.

Yesterday's battle with Zhang Chulong had left him exhausted, and after being scared by Hou Dan Chen, he had slept until late morning, almost missing the time to change his inner gate token.

However, as a named disciple, Li Chen needed to become an outer gate disciple first to enter the inner gate.

"Kneel down!"

Seeing Li Chen's height, the middle-aged official assumed he was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old who hadn't even reached the fourth level of inner breath, and coldly ordered him.

"Give me a reason!"

Li Chen's face remained calm, and the cold light in his eyes, hidden under his disheveled hair, flashed and disappeared.

"Bold, you missed an important hour on such an important day. Do you still respect the sect's rules? Do you still respect me, your official?"

The middle-aged official was so angry that his mustache and eyes were flaring. He could tolerate the outer gate disciples, who had a bright future and were about to break through to the inner gate, but for a named disciple in gray to act this way, how could he not be furious?

With a fierce shout, a gust of wind suddenly arose, and the middle-aged official's tiger claw struck toward Li Chen's shoulder.

From the power of his attack, he was at least at the eighth level of inner breath, if not the ninth. If Li Chen were an ordinary named disciple, this strike would have broken his bones, and he would have been in pain for at least half a month.

At this time, named and outer gate disciples were constantly entering and exiting from the sides of the main hall, some looking dejected, others excited.

The square was vast and open, and the middle-aged official's voice was loud and clear, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

The wind from the official's attack blew the clothes of everyone except the five outer gate officials, and the rest of the people's faces showed shock.

Especially those outer gate disciples who had spoken rudely to the official now realized how much they had underestimated these older martial artists who had stagnated for years but had no hope of advancing.

Putting themselves in the shoes of the thin youth, they knew they would have no chance of dodging such an attack.

As a martial artist, being observant and alert was a basic skill, and he naturally saw the changes in everyone's expressions, which was exactly the effect he wanted.

"Brat, blame yourself for coming at the wrong time!"

Seeing the seemingly frightened Li Chen, the middle-aged official's lips curled into a cold smile, and he increased the force of his hand, clearly intending to use Li Chen to establish his authority.