Chapter 203: Chapter 193: The Disciples
The Inner Court didn’t have a dining hall, so Zhao Lin returned directly to his residence to eat.
The living conditions in the Inner Court were much better than at the Wuxiang Institute. Each disciple had their own private two-courtyard residence.
Zhao Lin had already moved in and spent two nights here, so he was familiar with the place.
A servant quickly prepared his meal. After eating his fill, Zhao Lin went out again and headed to the Hongrong Pavilion to get a bowl of Nine Red Soup from Hu Xuancheng.
Nine Red Soup was brewed from nine types of medicinal herbs that replenished Qi and Blood, including safflower, Blood Ginseng, and Nanzhu Seeds. It was named "Nine Red" because all nine ingredients were red.
Once a cultivator reached the Blood Realm, their Qi and Blood was abundant enough that they no longer needed to drink medicine daily like in the Power Realm and Qi Realm. Taking it once every three to five days was sufficient.
Zhao Lin drank the Nine Red Soup and was leaving the Hongrong Pavilion when he ran into Xiang Bao, Zhong Yewu, and two disciples he didn’t recognize.
All four of them looked exhausted, their faces weary and their steps heavy. They seemed completely overworked.
"Brother Xiang, Brother Zhong, and you two brothers."
Zhao Lin stopped and cupped his fist in greeting.
"I don’t dare accept the title of ’Brother.’ Xiang Bao told me you’re very strong. Maybe next month I’ll have to be the one calling you Brother," one of them—a skinny disciple with beady eyes and a pointy chin—said.
Zhao Lin wasn’t sure what he meant by that and glanced at Xiang Bao.
Xiang Bao smiled and explained, "Brother Zhao, you might not know this, but there’s a rule in the Inner Court. A disciple’s rank isn’t determined by age or who joined first."
"Whoever is stronger is the senior brother. If your strength isn’t up to par, you can only be a junior brother."
Only then did Zhao Lin understand. He’d thought the guy was being sarcastic earlier.
Xiang Bao introduced Zhao Lin to the other two.
The skinny disciple who had spoken was named Hou Qian. He had been in the Inner Court for four years and was considered a veteran with considerable skill.
However, Hou Qian excelled in agility but was lacking in strength. Yang Lin was very dissatisfied with this and had him train his strength alongside newcomers like Xiang Bao.
The other disciple was Li Liang. He was originally an Outer Court disciple who, through diligent cultivation, had become a late bloomer, breaking through to the Blood Realm at the age of twenty-four to become an Inner Court disciple.
Then, Xiang Bao asked, "Brother Zhao, how do you feel after your first day?"
Zhao Lin thought for a moment, then smiled. "It’s good. Very different from the Wuxiang Institute. Headmaster Yang has some interesting ideas."
Xiang Bao grimaced. "His methods are just a bit... extreme."
He sized up Zhao Lin and added, "You got off easy. On my first day, the Spotted Tail Bees stung me so badly I was stuck in bed for a whole day..."
After chatting for a while, Zhao Lin bid the four farewell, returned to his residence for a quick wash, and then went to bed.
In his sleep, his mind alternated between images of the Sixty-Four Trigrams Position Map and a dense swarm of Spotted Tail Bees.
「The next day.」
Zhao Lin went to the stone chamber and began practicing his footwork.
Before long, Instructor Wei Hong walked in. He watched from the side for a moment, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"To grasp the basics of the Feisu Step in a single day... it seems you’ve put in the work. Try going a little faster."
"Alright!"
Zhao Lin agreed and quickened his pace.
After a few dozen steps, Wei Hong’s brow twitched. Zhao Lin knew he had misstepped and quickly stopped.
"That’s perfectly normal. Take your time," Wei Hong encouraged.
Zhao Lin continued to practice diligently, gradually increasing his speed.
Over the next few days, besides cultivating the Sea Return Skill, he spent most of his time practicing the footwork.
He could gradually complete all the trigram positions of the Feisu Step at a light jog, but he was still a long way from being able to do it at a full sprint.
On the fifth day, Yang Lin summoned Zhao Lin to that same courtyard and had him fight the Spotted Tail Bees once more.
"Don’t worry. Just follow the Feisu Step," Wei Hong instructed.
"Okay."
Zhao Lin took a deep breath, mentally reviewed the Feisu Step, then raised his sword and stabbed at the beehive...
BUZZ!
The Spotted Tail Bees charged out of the hive, swarming out in a rage.
Zhao Lin angled his body slightly. His feet naturally moved diagonally along the Dà Yǒu position, landing on the Qiān position, followed by Guī Mèi, Lín, Wú Wàng...
It was strange. Zhao Lin was worried about misstepping, so he wasn’t moving quickly. Yet, as he advanced and retreated, he repeatedly caused the Spotted Tail Bees to miss their mark.
Every time a bee was about to beat its wings to accelerate, Zhao Lin would change his position, appearing in an unexpected spot and forcing them to alter their flight path.
After more than ten steps, not a single Spotted Tail Bee had gotten close to him.
Zhao Lin’s confidence soared. He thrust out his Triangular Sword repeatedly, felling one or two Spotted Tail Bees with each strike.
But while individual Spotted Tail Bees had low intelligence, the swarm seemed to gain a collective intellect. They quickly spread out, surrounding Zhao Lin from all directions.
Seeing more and more bees gathering around him, Zhao Lin had no choice but to speed up, and his footwork began to falter.
Finally, a Spotted Tail Bee landed on his shoulder and stung him.
Then a second, and a third...
Zhao Lin had the Spirit Beast Scroll to absorb the poison, so he kept his hands moving, continuing to swing his sword and slay the Spotted Tail Bees.
The bee carcasses rained down.
After about a quarter of an hour, everything fell silent.
Zhao Lin glanced at his Triangular Sword; the Spotted Tail Bees were skewered on its tip like a string of beads.
"So? Is the footwork useful?"
Yang Lin walked over, a smile on his face.
Genuinely impressed, Zhao Lin nodded vigorously.
"My requirement for Inner Court disciples is that they last for a hundred breaths. You have a resistance to poison, so naturally, the requirement for you is higher."
"How about this: you’ll pass when you can kill all the Spotted Tail Bees without a single scratch."
"I will follow the Headmaster’s instructions."
...
In the blink of an eye, the end of the month arrived, and the Inner Court suddenly became more crowded.
Zhao Lin often ran into them when entering or leaving the training chambers, or when he went to the Hongrong Pavilion to get his medicine.
Judging by their clothes and appearance, these people were Inner Court disciples, just like him.
However, their cultivation levels were much higher.
Most of them were at the First Layer of the Blood Realm or higher. There were even two who had reached the Third Layer of the Blood Realm.
Zhao Lin had been in the Inner Court for over half a month and had a general understanding of how things worked.
Yang Lin assessed the disciples’ cultivation at the beginning of each month. These people must be the Inner Court disciples who had been guarding the mountain and had now returned for the assessment.
’I heard that only the top ten of the Inner Court are qualified to participate in the Martial Arts Assembly. This assessment is a good opportunity to see how strong they are...’
「The first day of the eighth month.」
The Inner Court disciples gathered on the training grounds. Headmaster Yang Lin and four instructors stood in the center of the field, facing the crowd.
The disciples formed a semicircle, automatically arranging themselves according to their rankings from the last assessment.
The disciple ranked first was named Xiao Jin. He was the oldest and strongest in the Inner Court.
He was twenty-eight this year and would turn thirty in exactly two years, just squeaking in under the age limit for the Martial Arts Assembly. This gave him a huge advantage.
You see, some people, despite their outstanding talent, were born at the wrong time. Their peak years at ages twenty-nine or thirty didn’t align with the Martial Arts Assembly.
Ranked second and third were Miao Tianfeng and Lv Zhenglong, two of the sect’s famous geniuses.
Both of them had entered the Inner Court before the age of twenty and had performed excellently in last year’s Martial Arts Assembly.
What was even more valuable was that both were only around twenty-four or twenty-five, meaning they could still participate in two more Martial Arts Assemblies. Both the Sect Leader and the Headmaster had high hopes for them.
The disciple ranked fourth was named Yao Chong. Although his combat skills were not on par with Miao and Lv, his cultivation was a layer higher. He and Xiao Jin were the only two in the Inner Court at the Third Layer of the Blood Realm.
Xiang Bao’s older brother, Xiang Shaofeng, was ranked fifth.
