In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

In the outer disciples’ courtyard, inside a nondescript house, Shen Mo exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly stood up.

During this month, Lei Xiaojun hadn’t come to test him again. But the murderer had yet to be found, so Lei Xiaojun’s investigation continued.

After seizing Lei Xiaojun’s opportunity and obtaining three demon crystals, his cultivation not only reached the small achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, but he also showed signs of advancing to the great achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Therefore, Shen Mo drank all the remaining Earth Mother Spirit Liquid.

As expected, in one vigorous effort, he directly broke through to the great achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm! Now, he possessed the great achievement stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and had a powerful trump card in the Thunder Shadow Sword Technique. Lei Xiaojun was no longer his match!

“Today is the day of the outer disciples’ assessment. I will challenge Lei Xiaojun in front of everyone and defeat him, thus entering the inner sect. As long as I become an inner disciple, I will be under the protection of the Qingxuan Sect. No more pretending, I’m revealing my true strength, I am now incredibly formidable!” Shen Mo sneered coldly.

He pushed open the door and strode out. Sure enough, the outer disciples were all heading in groups of three or five towards the halfway point of the mountain. The place for the outer disciples’ assessment was the martial arts training ground halfway up the mountain.

When Shen Mo arrived there, hundreds of outer disciples had already gathered. He saw two particularly noticeable people in the crowd. A girl was tightly holding onto a man’s arm, leaning on him like a delicate bird. These two were none other than Xiao Fan and Liu Fei.

Obviously, Xiao Fan’s red fate attribute, “Graceful Immortal Bearing,” had worked, and he had successfully won over Liu Fei. There were quite a few outer disciples around Xiao Fan, all congratulating him.

“Congratulations, Brother Xiao, on becoming an inner disciple!”

“Brother Xiao, don’t forget us junior brothers and sisters in the future!”

Xiao Fan, his face glowing with pride, responded politely, “Rest assured, I, Xiao Fan, have always been someone who repays kindness. Those who have helped me, I will surely repay!”

Shen Mo listened to a few of their words. It turned out that during this month, Xiao Fan had stopped challenging Lei Xiaojun head-on and instead challenged an inner disciple weaker than Lei Xiaojun, successfully defeating him. That inner disciple was stripped of his inner sect status and fell to the outer sect, while Xiao Fan successfully ascended, becoming an inner disciple.

As for Xiao Fan’s polite words to those disciples, Shen Mo listened for a bit before sneering. If Xiao Fan were truly someone who repays kindness, he wouldn’t have abandoned Shen Mo so readily when Shen Mo lost his cultivation.

In the pavilion next to the martial arts training ground, there were three inner disciples drinking tea while watching the martial arts platform. One of them was Lei Xiaojun. The other two, Shen Mo knew as well. They were also from prominent families, but not from Qingshan City; they came from Gufeng City.

Qingshan City, Gufeng City, Xishan City, and the hundreds of towns and villages surrounding these three cities were the territory under the control of the Qingxuan Sect. In this region, the Qingxuan Sect was the absolute overlord, its word was law.

Shen Mo glanced at them from a distance and saw Lei Xiaojun’s life panel:

[Name: Lei Xiaojun]

[Cultivation: Small Achievement Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm]

[Fate Attributes: Family Scion, Thunder Spirit Body, Remarkable Luck]

[Destiny: Ultimately stops at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, serves as an outer sect elder of the Qingxuan Sect. Nineteen years later, attempts to forcibly break through to the Core Formation Realm, suffers severe injuries, and dies a few days later from vomiting blood.]

[Recent Opportunity: Challenged by Shen Mo, defeated, Dantian crippled, inner sect status stripped, demoted to outer sect disciple.]

Shen Mo sneered inwardly. After plundering Lei Xiaojun’s opportunities several times, his life’s destiny had undergone a significant change. Originally, he could have become a Core Formation cultivator, but now he was stuck in the Foundation Establishment Realm, unable to progress further in his lifetime.

Seeing the recent opportunity, Shen Mo felt even more pleased. The panel displayed events that were about to happen. Clearly, his own strength was now sufficient to crush Lei Xiaojun!

Shen Mo glanced briefly before shifting his gaze to the martial arts platform at the center of the training ground. There, a dark-faced deacon was responsible for recording. Behind him was a power-testing pillar.

The power-testing pillar was three meters high, completely transparent. It was hollow inside, with a pool of silver liquid at the bottom. This liquid was very peculiar, usually lying still. But once it was struck by external force, it would expand. Therefore, many sects used it as a power-testing pillar to measure strength. As long as a punch could make the silver liquid rise above one foot, it meant surpassing the small achievement stage of the Body Refinement Realm, which was considered qualified. If it couldn’t exceed one foot, then sorry, you’d better pack up and leave.

“One at a time, Li Si!” The deacon shouted. A disciple jumped onto the martial arts platform and punched the power-testing pillar.

Buzz! The silver liquid reached two feet. The deacon nodded. “Two feet and one inch.”

“Next, Zhang San!”

With a punch, the silver liquid barely reached nine inches. The disciple named Zhang San’s face turned pale. The deacon waved his hand. “Nine inches, you’re disqualified. Pack up your things.”

“Next…”

The assessment proceeded swiftly. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred disciples had been tested.

“Next, Shen Mo,” the deacon called out loudly.

Hearing this name, many outer disciples below the stage recalled the former number one of the outer sect. They began to whisper among themselves. Some mocked, some ridiculed, some showed a bit of pity, while most just watched with amusement.

Ignoring their words and looks, Shen Mo strode confidently onto the martial arts platform.

Xiao Fan glanced at Shen Mo’s back, his eyes flashing. Leaning on him, Liu Fei whispered, “Brother Xiao Fan, I remember that person once gave you spirit stones. Why didn’t you help him afterward?”

Xiao Fan’s heart tightened. Liu Fei’s sudden question raised his guard. Such behavior was ungrateful and could be seen as heartless, something women despise. He needed Liu Fei to provide cultivation resources, so he couldn’t afford to show any sign of poor character.

He immediately grasped Liu Fei’s hand, indulging her. “Fei’er, you only know part of the story. That person did give me spirit stones, but he only did so because he saw my potential and wanted to befriend me. I’ve never liked such opportunistic people, so I ignored him.”

Liu Fei nodded. “As expected of Brother Xiao Fan, your insight is sharp, seeing through him immediately.”

Xiao Fan suddenly asked, “Fei’er, did you approach me because you saw my potential and wanted to bet on it? If that’s the case, I’d be heartbroken.” He said, deliberately loosening his grip on her arm.

Liu Fei was stunned and quickly waved her hands. “Brother Xiao Fan, how could you say that? I genuinely like you and wanted to get close to you. From the moment you entered the sect, I liked you at first sight. However, my father wanted to wait and see your aptitude before letting me contact you.”

Xiao Fan immediately hugged Liu Fei tighter. “I understand, I know. Fei’er is the best to me.” Liu Fei blushed, pressing closely against his chest.

Xiao Fan inwardly sneered. Women in love are so easy to deceive.

Of course, he was lying. When Shen Mo’s foundation was destroyed and his cultivation plummeted, Xiao Fan decisively abandoned him for a simple reason. If Shen Mo was still the number one outer disciple, Xiao Fan would maintain a good relationship with him. Shen Mo could protect him and even give him spirit stones. But when Shen Mo fell to the entry level of the Body Refinement Realm, he lost all value, making any further relationship meaningless.

The only thing Xiao Fan hadn’t expected was that Shen Mo still hadn’t left the sect. If he were in Shen Mo’s position, he would have long thought of leaving the sect and returning home to become a blacksmith. With his foundation destroyed and no hope for immortality, staying in Qingxuan Sect would be pointless.

In the pavilion, sitting opposite Lei Xiaojun, the tall inner disciple Liu Yuefeng glanced at Shen Mo from afar. He said indifferently, “That person is Shen Mo, the former number one of the outer sect? Such a waste of resources for a crippled person to stay in the sect.” He shook his head repeatedly after speaking.

Lei Xiaojun sneered, “I think so too. If I were him, I’d have left long ago.” His tone was harsh, starkly different from the gentlemanly image he usually portrayed. “But, I always felt something was off about him, though I couldn’t find any evidence,” Lei Xiaojun continued solemnly.

The gaunt inner disciple Gao Peng asked casually, “Do you suspect he killed your cousin?”

Lei Xiaojun nodded. “He has the strongest motive to kill Lei Yong, but I’ve tested him several times and found him to be merely at the entry level of the Body Refinement Realm.”

Liu Yuefeng laughed heartily, “I think you’re overthinking it. With his foundation destroyed, he can’t possibly cultivate. Unless he obtains a high-grade elixir to restore his foundation, but that would be at least a high-grade mystic elixir.”

Gao Peng added, “Indeed. With his abilities, he wouldn’t be able to obtain a high-grade mystic elixir, let alone a single Body Refining Pill.”

Liu Yuefeng chuckled, “But who knows, maybe he stumbled upon such an elixir by sheer luck?”

Lei Xiaojun laughed out loud, “Luck is an elusive thing, but it’s clear that Shen Mo is not someone blessed with great fortune.”

“Shen Mo is about to test his strength; we’ll see his level soon enough,” Gao Peng said with a smile.

The three of them focused their attention on the martial arts platform.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel