THE RULE KING

Inside the cave, Xu Shan was hugging the washing machine and giggling foolishly, but there was also a hint of worry in his eyes. Turns out, this washing machine of his really did have some special ability. When the clone got into the washing machine, the spiritual energy was being sucked in like crazy. It almost got drained in just a few breaths. Luckily, he reacted quickly!

But... would anyone find out that he'd stabbed the Sect Master's clone to pieces with his sword? What if the Sect Master could sense it? Wouldn't he be in big trouble? Probably not.

Given the Sect Master's status, she wouldn't waste too much effort on such a small trial for the Outer Sect. Otherwise, the clone wouldn't have been so fierce and attacked the trial disciples without holding back...

"Dang——!" A long, clear bell sound rang from above, waking Xu Shan up. Thinking too much wasn't going to help. Xu Shan used his sword to prop himself up and struggled to stand up. He had a lot of wounds all over his body, all from the broken sword qi of the clone's first attack. The worst ones were on his ankle and right arm. He had to get out quickly, prove who he was, and then find a place to treat his injuries.

A stone door in the rock wall at the end of the trial area quietly opened. Xu Shan was in so much pain and so tired, but there was still a lot of hope in his eyes. He staggered step by step towards the light at the door. The Inner Sect... that was the Inner Sect. Only by going through that door would he really be a proper cultivator!

...

Outside the passage, a bunch of elders and disciples were gathered together, chatting in low voices.

"This is really strange. How can a Qi Refining disciple beat the Sect Master's clone? That can't be possible, right?"

"Whether it's possible or not, Elder Cao rang the bell. He wouldn't make such a stupid mistake."

"Did they get the talent level wrong when they picked disciples from the Outer Sect?"

"Whoever this disciple is, I want him. I only have Xiangjun as a disciple. It's about time I took on another one."

When he said this, all the elders looked at Jin Yangqiu at the same time.

"Old Jin, what you said isn't right. Who wouldn't want a good talent?"

"Yeah... You're being picky. The guy beat the Sect Master's clone. It should be him picking the master."

"I think this disciple must have a top-grade spiritual root. Maybe he doesn't practice hard, but he's really talented in fighting. You only have one disciple. I don't think you have much experience in teaching, so don't butt in."

Jin Yangqiu's face turned serious. "What are you arguing about? Does it matter to you if I take a disciple? If this isn't a top-grade spiritual root but a middle-grade one, would you want him? Huh? Who of you would?"

Lu Xiangjun was stuck in the middle, looking left and right. Everyone just snorted and didn't bother to answer.

Jin Yangqiu said in a disdainful tone, "Come on, I'm not as snobbish as you guys. When I pick someone, I care about their character first. If their character is strong, everything else will be strong too! No matter if this disciple's talent is good or bad, since he dared to take on this Outer Sect test, his character can't be bad. When you pick disciples from the Inner Sect, have I ever fought with you? Now that I finally meet someone with a good character, you're all acting up!"

"Okay, okay. We're just talking. No one's competing with you. Shut up a bit... Here he comes."

After a while, Xu Shan's staggering figure showed up in front of everyone. Seeing a group of disciples and more than a dozen elders looking at him, Xu Shan froze on the spot.

"This kid... He looks really good. His talent can't be bad for sure."

"That's right, that's right. How come Elder Cao never mentioned having such a disciple in the Outer Sect?"

"Him? He doesn't care about anything. He's just waiting to die all day."

While everyone was still chatting, Jin Yangqiu took two steps forward and greeted Xu Shan. He looked Xu Shan up and down and said with satisfaction, "Not bad. You're the first disciple in our sect who can beat the Sect Master's clone with your Qi Refining cultivation. You're really good! What's your name?"

Xu Shan bowed and said seriously, "I'm Xu Shan, disciple. May I ask what I should call you, Elder?"

He wasn't too humble or too arrogant, and he had a great manner! Good! Very good! Jin Yangqiu was really satisfied. He stroked his long beard and said, "I'm Jin Yangqiu, an elder in charge of the Qingfeng Hall in the Inner Sect. I'm in charge of sword cultivation. I saw that you chose a sword for the trial, so I think we're destined.

"Today, I'll take you as my direct disciple. You'll come to the Qingfeng Hall and practice with me. This is your senior brother, Lu Xiangjun. He'll tell you about some of the little rules in the Inner Sect later."

"Xu Shan greets Senior Brother Lu."

Lu Xiangjun squinted his eyes, nodded in confusion, and that was his way of agreeing.

"Here, this is the Foundation Establishment Pill given to you by the sect. It's the reward for beating the trial clone." Jin Yangqiu handed over the Foundation Establishment Pill with a kind reminder. Not to mention anything else, the more he looked at this disciple, the more he liked him. He had a unique air about him from the start, and he was really good-looking. If he was out there, those female Demonic Path cultivators would definitely want to catch him and use him as a cauldron.

Xu Shan held back his excitement and reached out to take the Foundation Establishment Pill. But just then, Jin Yangqiu asked another question, "By the way, what's your talent level?"

"Lower-grade Fire Spiritual Root."

"..." Jin Yangqiu's face changed suddenly, and he quickly pulled his hand back!

"Lower-grade spiritual root?"

"Yes..." Xu Shan's outstretched hand froze in the air, and his face looked a bit ugly. Wait, did it seem like he was going to back out?

At the same time, all the elders' faces changed a bit too.

"Lower-grade spiritual root? How could that be?"

"It's impossible. A cultivator with a lower-grade spiritual root has no chance of beating the Sect Master's clone."

"Is there something wrong with the formation? Or is there a problem with the clone since the Sect Master is in seclusion?"

"If this kid got through by cheating, it'll be a big problem. This kind of thing has never happened before."

"Look at Old Jin. He's in a tough spot now. Hehe, what about that character thing?"

Jin Yangqiu hesitated, and his face kept changing. With a lower-grade spiritual root, there was a problem. From his experience, a cultivator with a lower-grade spiritual root couldn't possibly beat the Sect Master's clone. That meant there must have been a big mistake in the test. This disciple got through by taking shortcuts, and his talent was so low. He couldn't be accepted. But what he said was already out, and he felt really embarrassed.

Jin Yangqiu coughed twice and waved his hand at the Inner Sect disciples watching. "You guys! Don't you need to practice? Go away!"

The disciples all scattered, leaving only Lu Xiangjun standing beside him. A group of elders stood there with their arms crossed, watching the show.

Jin Yangqiu turned back to look at Xu Shan. "Xu Shan, actually, after you enter the Inner Sect, you still have two choices. One is to keep cultivating. The other is to go back to the ordinary world like the Outer Sect disciples. But the Inner Sect will give you a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pill to make sure your cultivation level doesn't drop in the ordinary world, and you can enjoy a rich life.

"Since I've already taken you as my disciple, you're my disciple. To be honest, there's not much point in cultivating with a lower-grade spiritual root. It's better to go back to the ordinary world and be a big shot there than to be at the bottom in the cultivation world. These are all my words of experience."

Xu Shan pulled his hand back, lowered his head a bit, and said in a deep voice, "I'm determined to cultivate. I won't consider anything else."

Jin Yangqiu frowned. "Aren't my words clear enough? There's a limit to how much you can improve with a lower-grade spiritual root. Even if you stay in the sect your whole life, you'll still be at the bottom. People are compared with each other, and cultivators are the same. Living a boring life is really painful. Have you thought about why you're cultivating?"

Xu Shan didn't answer right away. He thought for a while. First, he took a deep breath, then he gathered all his strength and shouted, "Master! The only reason I, Xu Shan, want to cultivate is to serve my senior brothers and sisters, the elders, the Sect Master, and the Xinglan Sect!!!"

After all, he was at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, and his lung capacity was much bigger than an ordinary person's. The huge shout echoed through the sky.

Everyone was silent, and Jin Yangqiu was stunned on the spot. This... This guy, how could he say such nonsense in front of everyone? How could he persuade him to give up now?

Lu Xiangjun squinted his eyes even more and couldn't help but lean forward to take a closer look at Xu Shan.

After a while, a hearty laugh came from the elders.

"Little Xu is right. He's full of spirit!"

"Good, well done!"

"Old Jin, you're being snobbish. You just said you cared about character first. Now that you've taken the disciple, he's so loyal. Do you want to back out just because you think his spiritual root isn't good? You used to be a poor wandering cultivator picking up scraps. Have you forgotten where you came from?"

Jin Yangqiu laughed out of anger and slapped the Foundation Establishment Pill into Xu Shan's hand. "Very good! Well said! Take this Foundation Establishment Pill. From today on, you'll follow your Senior Brother Lu to cultivate. Don't come to see me unless there's something important! Let's go. Everyone, leave. Don't stay here."

"Wait a moment. Please don't leave yet." A cold voice came from behind the crowd. Before everyone could turn around, Lu Xiangjun's shout came next. He suddenly rushed forward and knocked Xu Shan down.

"It's him!!"

The situation changed quickly. Jin Yangqiu angrily said, "You brat! The Sect Master is here. What are you doing?"

Lu Xiangjun sat on Xu Shan tightly, put his hands together, and held Xu Shan's chin, pressing him hard to the ground. "You little rascal!!! You've been lying to me for so long!!! You shaved off your fake beard, right? You have a lot of nerve! I've been looking for you for over a month!!"

Xu Shan struggled a few times but finally gave up. He felt completely hopeless. Lu Xiangjun was like a mountain on top of him, and he couldn't get away at all.

The expressions of all the elders changed again. Jin Yangqiu said in surprise, "Is he that cook?"

"Yes, Master. It's him!" Lu Xiangjun shouted.

But just then, Ye Qingbi pushed through the crowd and said, "Let him go."

Lu Xiangjun quickly got up and stepped aside. Xu Shan sat there, feeling defeated. Looking at that cold and perfect face, he felt like he was falling into an ice hole. He was done for. He was really completely finished... How could he make up an excuse this time...

"How did you pass the test?" Ye Qingbi asked calmly.

Xu Shan's mind was working overtime. How did he pass the test? Her asking this meant she didn't know what happened in the cave. She just knew the clone was gone. He definitely couldn't tell the truth. As for the cooking thing, he'd just have to deal with it as it came.

"I was the third one to enter the cave. Seeing how my fellow disciples were, I thought the clone's movements were a bit stiff. So I came up with a way to keep dodging, then I bothered it with fireballs. In the end, I managed to win with a surprise attack. Also, at that time I..."

After listening to Xu Shan, Ye Qingbi didn't show any emotion and continued, "You learned the Fireball Spell, right? Show me."

Xu Shan reached out his hand and formed a fireball as big as a basketball.

...