Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Due to Yun Xiao circulating the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique last night, he had attacked the Ancestor Vein above his right leg overnight, resulting in that leg being sore and numb, making his walk extremely unnatural.

This was an unexpected development for Yun Xiao, especially when those peculiar gazes kept casting towards him; he couldn’t help but quicken his pace, which only made the unnatural movement of his legs even more apparent.

Yun Xiao did know the general direction to the Task Hall of the Inner Sect, and today, the path seemed quite bustling with people. He spotted some vaguely familiar figures, who should be Inner Sect Disciples from the Jade Pot Cave that he had seen before.

Back when he was in the Outer Sect, Yun Xiao was informed by Tan Yun that the Task Hall of the Jade Pot Sect was managed by the Poison Vein; the Third Elder of the Poison Vein faction, so he had always been on guard. Those Poison Vein Masters were indeed not to be trifled with.

After about half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a large hall appeared in front of Yun Xiao. He couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but he felt that the hall was exuding a faint green aura.

Yun Xiao paid no mind to the aura of the Inner Sect Task Hall, and with his feet moving unnaturally, he stepped into the hall. As he entered, many figures already inside turned their gazes towards him at once.

The specific circumstances of this Outer Sect competition had probably spread throughout the entire Inner Sect after several days, and so in this period, the name Yun Xiao had become well-known among the Inner Sect.

Of course, it was not because Yun Xiao was the champion of the Outer Sect competition, nor because of his just-reached Early Stage Meridian Rushing Realm cultivation, but because this newbie who had just been promoted to Inner Sect Disciple had surprisingly been accepted as the Sect Leader’s Direct Disciple.

Such a major event, in the eyes of the Jade Pot Sect’s Inner Sect Disciples and even the Sect Elders, felt utterly inconceivable. This young man had broken a potential rule that had existed since the founding of the Jade Pot Sect.

Without paying too much attention to these peculiar gazes, as soon as he entered the hall, Yun Xiao focused his eyes on the northern wall; that was where the mission wall for posting tasks was located.

However, upon closer inspection, Yun Xiao noticed that the mission wall seemed to be divided into three sections. The area on the far left was the most crowded, the middle section a bit less so, and the rightmost section was completely empty.

Realizing this, Yun Xiao quickly approached the mission wall, now understanding that there was a clear ranking division between these three sections.

”Spiritual Rank Low Level Task, reward of 1,800 points!”

”Spiritual Rank Low Level Task, reward of 2,100 points!”

”Spiritual Rank Low Level Task, reward of 2,500 points!”

”...”

Yun Xiao first glanced over the leftmost section of the mission wall where most of the disciples gathered, muttering to himself. At this moment, he had no more doubts; this was the location for the issuance of Spiritual Rank Low Level tasks.

It seemed that in the Task Hall of the Jade Pot Sect’s Inner Sect, there were no Mortal Rank tasks to be found, which was fundamentally different from the Task Hall of the Outer Sect.

After all, the purpose of issuing tasks in the Task Hall was to train these young disciples. For an Inner Sect Disciple who had at least reached the Early Stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, taking up those Mortal Rank tasks would hardly have the effect of a real trial.

Of course, these Spiritual Rank Low Level tasks varied as well, which could be seen from the reward points. At a glance, Yun Xiao had already seen two tasks that offered more points than his initial Fire Spirit Crystal task.

The task offering a reward of 2,500 points required the slaying of a Fourth Rank Intermediate Vein Demon, a feat undoubtedly impossible for disciples at the Early Stage of Meridian Rushing Realm.

Yun Xiao had little interest in these tasks; he was here only to wait for Mo Qing, to see what news this talented girl of the Inner Sect had regarding the Ice Whisker Grass.

Under the somewhat strange gazes of the people around, Yun Xiao went straight to a corner, yet his eyes intermittently scanned the entrance of the hall, waiting for Mo Qing’s arrival.

However, as time passed, Mo Qing’s figure did not appear, but several individuals related to Yun Xiao did show up one after another, although their relationships with Yun Xiao were not good—they were the kind who harbored deep-seated hatred for him.

”Zhao Ningshu, Cao Luo!”

Watching the two young figures entering from the hall’s entrance, a glint flashed in Yun Xiao’s eyes as he saw them, not heading to the left section of the mission wall for Spiritual Rank Low Level tasks but rather standing in a spot just like he did, seemingly waiting for something as well.

As for these two, the current Yun Xiao had no concerns anymore. Having broken through to the Early Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm, how could he possibly care about Zhao and Cao, who had only just recently advanced to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm with the help of some items?

Yun Xiao couldn’t quite understand how these two at the late stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm dared to come to the Task Hall, where the lowest missions were of the Mortal Rank, and even if it was like the Fire Spirit Snake from before, it was not something that Cao Luo and Zhao Ningshu could handle.

However, Yun Xiao wasn’t interested in such matters and shifted his attention away from these two people, only to see another familiar figure enter the Task Hall.

Compared to the newly admitted Inner Sect Disciples Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo, this young man who walked into the hall now had a rather impressive background, for he was Elder Fu Du’s junior disciple, and also the most beloved disciple, Yin Huan.

Upon entering the hall, Yin Huan, bathing in the focused gazes around him, radiated with high spirit. However, when he turned his head in a certain direction and saw a familiar figure in coarse clothes, the smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a deep-seated rage.

Back in the Jade Pot Cave, Yin Huan attempted to assassinate Yun Xiao in order to complete the task assigned by his master, but it ended in failure due to the sudden appearance of a Strange Spirit.

Even the Spirit Crystal of that Strange Spirit was snatched away by Yun Xiao, leaving Yin Huan unable to swallow such a defeat. Furthermore, his failure in the mission seemed to have caused him to gradually fall out of favor with his master, Elder Fu Du, which only intensified his hatred for Yun Xiao.

Regardless of how much Yin Huan wanted to slap Yun Xiao to death, he dared not make a move in the Task Hall, so he could only send a fierce glare at Yun Xiao before indifferently standing aside.

Many Inner Sect Disciples witnessed this scene, and they couldn’t help but be curious about the relationship between Yin Huan and Yun Xiao. How did the newly accepted Direct Disciple of the Sect Leader manage to offend Yin Huan this time?

”Eh? Isn’t that Brother Bi Luo? Even he’s come?”

While everyone was speculating about the relationship between Yun Xiao and Yin Huan, an astonished voice suddenly rose, followed by the sight of two figures in green and white robes walking into the hall from the entrance.

Yun Xiao was no stranger to these two individuals, the young man in the green robe, whose strength surpassed Yin Huan by more than just a margin, was none other than the Poison Vein second disciple, Bi Luo.

As for the young man in white beside Bi Luo, that was the Third Prince of the Empire, Xuan Zhi. Others might not know why these two came in together, but Yun Xiao had some guesses.

During the ranking competition of the Outer Sect, Xuan Zhi lured Yun Xiao into a trap using Guan Hu’s life as bait. Were it not for Mo Qing’s timely arrival, his schemes might have succeeded.

At that time, Xuan Zhi had already colluded with Bi Luo. Now, with the Third Prince having joined the Inner Sect and become a disciple under Elder Fu Du, their relationship was likely to grow even closer.

Of course, for someone as calculating and hypocritical as Xuan Zhi and Bi Luo, Yun Xiao had even more reason to believe that their alliance was based on mutual benefit, which could instantly crumble in the face of greater gain.

Like Yin Huan, both Bi Luo and Xuan Zhi enjoyed the attention they received, but when their gaze fell on the coarse-clothed figure in a corner, their expressions also turned somewhat grim.

Yin Huan was not fond of Yun Xiao, and the relationship between these two and Yun Xiao wasn’t any better, they were birds of a feather, wishing nothing more than to quickly get rid of Yun Xiao.

This attitude made even more Inner Sect Disciples puzzled, their gazes, intentional or not, kept shifting towards Yun Xiao, secretly thinking that this youngster really knew how to stir up trouble. Was he going to offend all the senior brothers from the Poison Vein?

Bi Luo and Xuan Zhi did not immediately take on any missions either; they walked straight over to where Yin Huan was standing, and the trio of disciples seemed to be conversing about something, with their gazes occasionally sweeping over in Yun Xiao’s direction. It appeared that their topic was inseparable from this coarse-clothed young man.

Seeing this, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but smile wryly, musing that he had unwittingly made so many enemies, some of whom were well-established talents within the Jade Pot Sect’s Inner Sect. What a predicament!

However, with Yun Xiao’s temperament, plus the fact that one doesn’t worry about many debts, he believed that in time, he would be able to surpass Yin Huan and even Bi Luo, making these fellows unable to point fingers at him.

”Look, Brother Chang Qing is here!”

No matter how prestigious Bi Luo, Yin Huan, and the likes were within the Inner Sect, the attention they commanded would fade over time, especially when another young figure appeared at the entrance of the Task Hall.

As the voice sounded, Yun Xiao turned his head and immediately saw a figure step into the hall, a smile finally appearing on his face, for a fellow Inner Sect talent with whom he had a good rapport had arrived.

It was Chang Qing who had entered the Task Hall. Seeing his gaze sweep the hall, he then walked confidently towards a corner, a scene that led others to thoughtful speculation.

”Hehe, Disciple Brother Yun Xiao, you arrived quite early!”

Chang Qing’s voice preceded his arrival, and with those words, people began to guess the nature of his relationship with Yun Xiao. It seemed that the newly accepted disciple of the Sect Leader did not have only enemies within the Inner Sect.