Chapter 54

The six elders looked at Li Chen, examining the fist mark, all showing expressions of disbelief.

No matter how they thought about it, they could not be sure that the three-inch fist mark before their eyes was the work of the young man who was not yet fifteen.

But the fact was right there, and they had no choice but to believe it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, three deafening bell sounds echoed throughout the Xuan Yun Sect, shaking the area for dozens of miles, making everyone look up in unison.

"This... This is the sect's celebratory bell!"

The six elders exchanged glances, their disbelief turning into shock, and they all looked at Li Chen without prior agreement.

The celebratory bell only rings when there is a great joy in the sect, and three rings signify the emergence of a talented genius.

Within the Xuan Yun Sect, only those who reach the True Refinement Realm before the age of eighteen can become elite disciples.

Even someone as talented as Zhang Chulong barely managed to break through to the True Refinement Realm just before turning eighteen, barely becoming an elite disciple.

But the young man before them, who was not yet fifteen, had a very good chance of entering the True Refinement Realm before turning eighteen, especially since his previous strike already indicated that his cultivation was extremely close.

"Senior, should I receive my identity jade token now?"

Li Chen, feeling quite uncomfortable under the gaze of the six old men, coughed dryly and said.

"Yes, of course!"

Old Liu, after a moment of daze, came to his senses and hurriedly took out a thumb-sized blue jade from a large box behind him.

He then picked up a special, fine-tipped pen that emitted a faint, precious light and began to inscribe on the jade.

"True Refinement Realm martial artist!"

Seeing the deep golden aura emanating from Old Liu's hand, Li Chen's pupils contracted, realizing that the six seemingly carefree old men were all extremely powerful True Refinement Realm martial artists.

"Here!"

After a dozen breaths, Old Liu threw the jade to Li Chen.

"Thank you, Senior! I will take my leave!"

Li Chen took out a gray jade from his pocket, placed it on the table, and without further delay, walked out of the hall.

"Ah, truly, the waves behind push the waves ahead, and a new generation replaces the old!"

Looking at Li Chen's back, the six elders sighed with no small amount of emotion.

...

"Here he comes, here he comes, quick, look!"

On the square outside the hall, as Li Chen walked out, a clamor immediately arose, even drowning out the summoning bell that had just sounded.

Li Chen walked straight to the group with the fewest people, which consisted of disciples who had advanced from the outer sect to the inner sect.

The leader was a lean man, half a head taller than Li Chen, who nodded when he saw him: "I am Chen Chongsu, the inner court instructor. You can call me Uncle. However, with your talent, I believe I will soon be calling you Junior!"

Geniuses are always envied wherever they go and are never short of people trying to win them over. Clearly, Chen Chongsu was one of the latter.

"Disciple Li Chen, I greet you, Uncle Chen!"

Li Chen was neither humble nor arrogant, performing the proper disciple's salute.

Having too many enemies in the sect was definitely not a good thing, and he did not want to offend a True Refinement Realm instructor right after entering the inner sect.

"Ha ha!"

Chen Chongsu was clearly very satisfied with Li Chen's respectful attitude and began to converse with him in a very friendly manner.

The seven or eight disciples in this group all showed envy, some were jealous, and some were admiring. These young men, mostly around fifteen or sixteen, were at the age of competing and admiring strength, which was quite normal.

Time passed slowly as the disciples came and went, and it took several hours for everyone to complete the test.

Even as martial artists, these young men were all starving, and murmurs of complaint could be heard.

"Let's go!"

When the last outer sect disciple walked out, Chen Chongsu waved his hand and led nearly twenty successful disciples, under the envious gazes of the registered and outer sect disciples, to the other side.

Chen Chongsu, leading the way, walked very fast, and Li Chen noticed that he was using a rather mysterious step.

His steps seemed slow but were actually very fast, especially on the uneven stone path, where he quickly left the last group of disciples behind by dozens of feet.

Although these disciples had cultivation, they had been hungry for half a day, had not had a drop of water, and had climbed the mountain early in the morning. Now, walking on this path, they inevitably fell behind due to lack of strength.

What surprised Li Chen was that Chen Chongsu was leading them in circles.

He had spent a large part of a year fleeing in the mountains and was very familiar with the mountain paths. Chen Chongsu led the group up and down, always choosing to go down when they should have gone up.

The exhausted disciples had no energy left to observe these details.

"Is this a test?"

Li Chen thought, although Chen Chongsu's steps were very fast, he was not using his full strength, and Li Chen managed to keep up.

After a full hour, Chen Chongsu suddenly disappeared from sight. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a stone wall with a side passage inside.

Li Chen was the first to flash into the passage, followed by the others. It took a full half an hour for the third person to catch up.

"Find them and send them back to the inner court, and arrange their accommodations!"

Chen Chongsu gave a few light instructions to several inner sect disciples dressed in blue, who then entered the passage and disappeared.

"Good, you three have the chance to enter the Scripture Hall and choose a martial technique and a cultivation method!"

Looking at Li Chen, who remained calm, and the two others who were panting, Chen Chongsu pointed to the majestic hall hidden behind a large rock and smiled faintly.

"The Scripture Hall!"

Not just Li Chen, but the other two also forced themselves to muster their spirits, their eyes full of surprise and joy, and followed Chen Chongsu inside.

This was likely a special reward for being able to follow Chen Chongsu here; otherwise, they would have to go to the Treasure Exchange Hall set up on Nanyun Peak to exchange on their own.

There, the items were all common goods, and even if there were good things, they would be taken by the geniuses in the inner sect, leaving nothing for them.

Of course, Li Chen was an exception. With the many treasures he possessed, even True Refinement Realm martial artists might not match him.

The three followed Chen Chongsu into the hall, where an old man was lying on a soft chair, completely silent.

Chen Chongsu bowed respectfully to the old man without a word, made a gesture for the three to be quiet, and then entered the hall.

The three followed suit, knowing that the old man was a formidable expert. After bowing, they entered and were immediately captivated by the numerous scriptures inside.

No one noticed that after the three entered, the old man, who had been completely silent, suddenly opened his eyes, emitting two piercing rays of light, and glanced at Li Chen in surprise.

But he then shook his head in confusion, as if muttering to himself that he was getting old, changed his position, and closed his eyes to rest again.

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