Chapter 2900: Chapter 2900
After devouring all the newly emerged beasts, the Demon Vine retreated to break through its cultivation realm. Ye Liuyun also returned to his spatial world to restore his Profound Energy.
Now that he had infiltrated the Tang family, exposure was a constant risk. He needed to ensure he remained battle-ready at all times.
Outside, Elder Tang Fengkuan was already contemplating how to train Ye Liuyun. When he didn’t emerge immediately, the elder grew concerned.
Given Ye Liuyun and the Demon Vine’s current strength, battling opponents at the first or second level of the Gui Realm was already a struggle. If he recklessly ventured further, the danger would escalate.
So the elder weighed whether he should intervene if Ye Liuyun foolishly pressed onward.
A warrior who didn’t recognize his own limits and charged ahead blindly lacked the necessary composure—hardly worth saving. But Ye Liuyun’s rare talent made the decision difficult.
Then, just as Ye Liuyun finished recovering and suddenly reappeared at the secret realm’s exit, the elder couldn’t help but smile.
*So this kid waited until he was fully restored before coming out! He’s got patience and knows when to advance or retreat.* His estimation of Ye Liuyun rose even higher.
The moment Ye Liuyun emerged and saw the two elders beaming at him, he immediately guessed they favored him. Especially the fifth elder in charge of training—from Tang Xiao’s memories, he knew this elder highly valued talent.
"Elder Fengkuan!" Ye Liuyun respectfully bowed.
Tang Fengkuan nodded in satisfaction, smiling as he asked, "You’re Tang Xiaofeng, right? What happened to Tang Wan, who entered with you?"
Ye Liuyun adopted a regretful expression. "I was careless... I failed to protect him."
Tang Fengkuan merely hummed in acknowledgment, unfazed. Too many Tang disciples had perished in this secret realm—in his eyes, they were simply the weak who deserved elimination. Their deaths saved the family resources.
Ye Liuyun pretended to be weighed down by grief as he went to retrieve his token.
But Tang Fengkuan promptly stopped him. "From now on, you’re an elite disciple of the Tang family. I’ll take you to the inner sect to exchange your token—this one is useless now."
Ye Liuyun paused upon hearing this, pretending to glance at Tang Wan’s token before letting out a sigh.
He didn’t forget to thank Tang Fengkuan, though his expression betrayed no hint of joy.
"Just one dead disciple, and you’re sighing like this? The path of martial arts is ruthless—if you’re weak, death is the only outcome!"
Disappointed by Ye Liuyun’s lack of enthusiasm, Tang Fengkuan took the opportunity to lecture him.
"Yes. This disciple takes your words to heart." Sensing the elder’s displeasure, Ye Liuyun responded with a perfunctory nod.
"Hahaha, that’s more like it! Come, follow me to the inner sect to receive your elite disciple token!"
Without waiting for a reply, Tang Fengkuan led Ye Liuyun straight to the inner sect. The token belonging to Tang Xiaofeng was left untouched, and the elder in charge of registration collected both Tang Xiaofeng’s and Tang Wan’s tokens, marking them for disposal.
Ye Liuyun acknowledged the order and followed Tang Fengkuan without protest.
Upon arrival, Tang Fengkuan personally escorted him to retrieve his new token and robes. The elder overseeing the tokens didn’t bother asking for Ye Liuyun’s old one, proceeding directly with the issuance.
"Infuse a trace of your spiritual sense into these two tokens," instructed the elder, handing them over. Once Ye Liuyun complied, one token was returned to him while the other was kept.
"As an elite inner disciple, if this strand of your spiritual sense is ever extinguished, it will confirm your death," the elder explained before launching into a rundown of inner sect rules.
Before he could finish, Tang Fengkuan cut in impatiently, "Enough, enough. He’ll learn all that in time. Hurry up and assign him the finest quarters—I want him ready for training tomorrow!"
"Yes, Elder!" The attendant dared not argue, promptly handing over the robes before leading Ye Liuyun to his new residence.
Tang Fengkuan accompanied them the entire way, only departing once Ye Liuyun was settled to his satisfaction. Before leaving, he reminded him, "Be at the training hall first thing tomorrow morning."
After the man left, the steward also asked Ye Liuyun curiously, "Do you know the Fifth Elder?"
He suspected that Ye Liuyun might have some special connection with the Fifth Elder.
Ye Liuyun understood what he was implying but had no intention of revealing the truth. Instead, he countered with a question, "Is there any Tang Clan disciple who doesn’t know the Fifth Elder?"
Hearing this, the steward realized Ye Liuyun wasn’t willing to elaborate and simply chuckled before quickly excusing himself.
Once the steward was gone, Ye Liuyun immediately returned to his spatial world to confirm the legitimacy of the inner disciple identity token with Tang Xiao, Tang Xiaofeng, and the others.
"I’ve imprinted my divine sense into it. Does that mean using this token from now on won’t expose my identity?"
Tang Xiao, an elite inner disciple of the Tang Clan, promptly reassured him, "Exactly. Once your divine sense is registered, the token won’t raise any suspicions—even when accessing the formation that draws power from the uninhabited planet’s origin."
"That’s a relief! I never expected it to be this easy to secure a Tang Clan identity," Ye Liuyun replied with a satisfied smile.
Tang Xiao, however, was curious about how he had obtained the inner disciple status. Ye Liuyun gave him a brief rundown.
After listening, Tang Xiao couldn’t help marveling at his luck. "The Fifth Elder must have been too excited and took you straight to process the inner disciple token. If you had gone alone, things would’ve been much trickier!"
"The standard procedure requires you to exchange your outer disciple token for an inner disciple one. Since each token carries a divine sense imprint, a comparison would’ve exposed you as an imposter!"
"What about the old token, then? I left it with the elder who registered me in the secret realm. Won’t they cross-check it?" Ye Liuyun asked, a hint of concern creeping into his voice.
Tang Xiao shook his head. "They probably won’t. Your previous token was likely scrapped by that elder right away. Inner disciples hold much higher status than outer disciples—outer sect elders wouldn’t casually verify information with the inner sect."
"Besides, your token was processed under the Fifth Elder’s direct supervision. Even if the outer sect insisted on verification, the inner sect would likely dismiss such a trivial request."
"Let’s hope so," Ye Liuyun murmured. For now, he could only trust that things would go as smoothly as Tang Xiao predicted. If danger arose, he could always rely on his time manipulation or the teleportation black tower to escape.
With that, Ye Liuyun began scanning his surroundings with his divine sense.
This was the residential area for elite inner disciples, where each had their own private courtyard. Every courtyard was shielded by formations that blocked divine sense probes, preventing outsiders from peering inside.
Activating his Golden Pupils, Ye Liuyun swept his gaze across the neighboring courtyards. Some housed disciples deep in cultivation, while others stood empty, showing no signs of recent habitation.
