Could it be that the person before him was an expert surpassing the Deity Transformation Realm?
That was utterly impossible.
"What's going on?"
Not only was she stunned, but everyone else was stunned as well.
Yun Chen was also somewhat taken aback, then rather awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Um, I don't need to pay for this testing pillar, do I?"
The testing pillar was a priceless treasure, after all.
Now that it had been destroyed by him, he was genuinely worried that Dayan Mountain would demand compensation.
"Elder Zhu!" The white-robed deacon looked toward Zhu Hanyan.
The testing pillar had exploded; this was no trivial matter.
"Alright, this recruitment assembly ends here! Yun Chen, from this moment on, you are an outer court disciple of Dayan Mountain!" Zhu Hanyan said indifferently.
"Understood!" Yun Chen gave a wry smile.
He had originally wanted to join the inner court, but it seemed that was temporarily out of the question.
Fortunately, now that Yun Xiaoya had become Zhu Hanyan's personal disciple, he had nothing to fear even if the Tianque Chamber of Commerce came looking for trouble.
Powerful as the Tianque Chamber of Commerce was, it was not powerful enough to make Dayan Mountain wary, let alone force them to hand over a disciple.
Dayan Mountain's selection assembly came to an end.
The crowd gradually dispersed.
Meanwhile, the news of the Supreme Spiritual Root incident instantly swept across the entire Daxia Nation.
As for Yun Chen causing the testing pillar to explode, everyone assumed it was because Yun Xiaoya had tested her roots and the pillar simply could not withstand spiritual energy of such purity, resulting in the blast.
This hypothesis won the approval of many.
Yun Chen, however, did not think so.
He suspected that the explosion of the testing pillar was caused by the thunder bead inside his body.
Knowing this was one thing, but he had no intention of stepping forward to explain.
Some things were best kept to oneself.
"Fei..." Yun Mengchen walked over, just about to call him Brother Feiyang, when Yun Chen directly interrupted him, "My name is Yun Chen!"
"Brother Chen, congratulations! From now on, we're disciples of the same sect!" Yun Mengchen was genuinely happy for Yun Chen.
Yun Ziyue's expression turned ugly, but he managed to squeeze out a smile. "Yun Chen, you're quite impressive. We're all fellow disciples now; I hope you continue to improve and become the pride of the Yun family!"
With Yun Xiaoya shielding Yun Chen, coupled with the combat strength Yun Chen had just displayed, Yun Ziyue did not dare to continue looking for trouble with him for the time being. Until something happened to Yun Xiaoya, he would not dare harbor any malicious thoughts toward Yun Chen.
Yun Shanshan and Yun Zhongfei also offered awkward, sheepish smiles.
Good-for-nothing?
An abandoned outcast?
Was the person before them still that same fellow they could casually humiliate?
"Get lost!"
Yun Chen gazed coldly at Yun Ziyue, spitting out an ice-cold phrase that made Yun Ziyue's expression stiffen, anger surging in his eyes.
"Hmph!"
Even so, he did not dare to make a move, instead turning around and walking away directly.
Yun Zhongfei and Yun Shanshan also hurriedly beat a retreat.
Yun Chen clearly had no intention of making peace with them.
"Ungrateful wretch!" After walking a distance away, Yun Zhongfei cursed bitterly. "Brother Ziyue, you don't need to worry. That Yun Chen's talent is probably mediocre at best. Even if he joined the outer court, he's still just trash. Besides, Brother Ziyue, you're an inner court disciple; dealing with an outer court disciple should be a piece of cake. Even if we can't kill him, crippling him again would be effortless."
At these words, Yun Ziyue's eyes suddenly lit up.
That's right!
Why hadn't he thought of it? No matter how formidable Yun Chen was, he was currently nothing more than an outer court disciple. With the connections he had within Dayan Mountain, dealing with a Yun Chen would be a breeze.
...
The next day.
Yun Chen, along with the other youths who had passed the Dayan Mountain selection, gathered at the plaza in Salt City.
Today, they were setting off for Dayan Mountain.
A massive flying ship slowly descended onto the plaza. Five stories high, it looked just like a flying castle.
"Brother Yun!" Zhang Tao walked over to Yun Chen's side and said, "We're considered fellow disciples now; please take care of me in the future."
Yun Chen had no intention of engaging with Zhang Tao, silently staring at the gigantic flying ship before him.
He had read about flying ships in many Xianxia novels, but this was his first time seeing one with his own eyes.
Compared to the descriptions in books, this flying ship appeared even more majestic, imposing, and magnificent.
Yun Xiaoya had already been taken away by Zhu Hanyan, returning directly to the sect.
Zhu Hanyan possessed her own individual flying spiritual artifact, and thus had no need to board the ship.
"Everyone, board the flying ship!"
A white-robed deacon announced coldly.
This time, Dayan Mountain's selection assembly had recruited a total of fifty outer court disciples, one hundred miscellaneous chores disciples, and eight inner court disciples.
Following the white-robed deacon's words, figures instantly dashed onto the flying ship.
At the forefront were precisely the eight inner court disciples.
Each of them wore an arrogant expression, looking down on the other disciples like monarchs.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Unwanted
Yun Chen also boarded the flying ship.
Seeing that Yun Chen ignored him, a flash of vicious resentment crossed Zhang Tao's eyes.
"Just you wait! Sooner or later, I, Zhang Tao, will rise above the rest and make those who once looked down on me pay a bitter, bloody price," Zhang Tao swore inwardly.
Yun Ziyue and his companions had already returned to the sect in advance.
As official disciples of the sect, naturally they did not need to squeeze onto a flying ship like Yun Chen and the others.
"Brother, you're quite impressive! You actually managed to blast the bronze bell. My name is Tian Canxue. Hehe, isn't my name super domineering?"
A young man wearing a bright red longrobe walked over to Yun Chen's side and spoke.
He was exceptionally handsome—anyone who didn't know better might have mistaken him for a woman. Especially since he wore a bright red robe, it gave him an even more bewitching aura. If not for the clearly masculine quality of his voice, probably no one would have guessed he was a man.
While most strikingly handsome men gave off a delicate, feminine vibe, the Tian Canxue before him unexpectedly radiated a bright, sunny, and cheerful disposition that easily won people over.
"It certainly is domineering!" Tian Canxue—sharing a surname with heaven itself—how could it not be domineering?
"Right, brother, you still haven't told me your name!"
"Yun Chen."
"Yun Chen, not bad, great name!"
"What's so great about it?"
"I just think it sounds nice, that's all."
Yun Chen: "..."
You think it sounds nice, so that settles it?
"It's him!"
"Isn't that the guy who made the bronze bell ring five times?"
Quite a few people noticed Tian Canxue and let out cries of astonishment.
Tian Canxue paid those people no mind, continuing to chat amicably with Yun Chen.
Time slipped away unnoticed.
Finally, accompanied by a slight tremor of the hull, the massive flying ship soared into the sky. Its speed rivaled that of sound, and in the blink of an eye, it streaked out of Salt City and roared away into the distance.
Half an incense stick's time later, the flying ship slowed down.
Range upon range of towering mountains came into view within everyone's field of vision.
The highest mountain among them resembled a giant wild goose, spreading its wings to soar through the azure sky.
Atop those broad wings stood rows of buildings; that was the main peak of Dayan Mountain, Dayan Peak.
Those residing on Dayan Peak were either core disciples or sect elders; ordinary disciples did not even possess the qualifications to set foot on it.
Beneath Dayan Peak stood numerous other peaks, varying in size, each exuding a magnificent aura.
"Ahead of us is Dayan Mountain. Congratulations on joining Dayan Mountain and officially becoming a part of it!" The white-robed deacon stepped forward and announced in a ringing voice.
As his voice fell, the flying ship descended, landing upon an immensely spacious martial arts training arena.
At this moment, quite a few people were already waiting at the arena.
These individuals were the deacons of the various peaks of Dayan Mountain, and they had come to select disciples.
"You eight, come with me. The rest of you stay put and wait to be chosen!"
With that single instruction, the white-robed deacon led the eight inner court disciples away.
Those eight were all brilliant, dazzling talents; otherwise, they would not have bypassed the outer court entirely to become inner court disciples directly.
Fifty outer court disciples and over a hundred miscellaneous chores disciples waited quietly in the plaza.
Well aware of their respective statuses, the crowd naturally split into two factions.
Outer court disciples made up one group, and miscellaneous chores disciples the other.
"Is there anyone among you who is a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator? If so, please step forward!"
A middle-aged, elegant-looking woman spoke.
Among the fifty outer court disciples, there were a total of ten Qi Condensation Realm practitioners.
Yet upon seeing these ten, the middle-aged woman's expression turned rather unsightly.
Because not a single one of these ten individuals was under eighteen years of age.
"A bunch of good-for-nothings. The main peak of Dayan Mountain does not take trash. Pick the rest amongst yourselves!"
With those words, the middle-aged woman turned and left directly.
If the main peak didn't want them, it didn't mean the other peaks wouldn't.
A middle-aged man looked at the ten Qi Condensation Realm practitioners and said, "I am Xiang Yuan, a deacon of Qingzhu Peak. Cultivators at the Qi Condensation Realm and above are welcome to join us. Are you willing?"
"I am Leiming, deacon of Thunder Peak. Those at the Peak Qi Cyclone Realm or above, under twenty-five years of age, may join."
"Over here is Fengming Peak. Cultivators at the Mid Qi Cyclone Realm or above, under twenty years of age, may join."
One by one, the deacons stated their conditions.
Immediately, these outer court disciples rushed to join the sub-peaks of their choice.
Out of fifty people, over thirty left in no time.
The remaining dozen or so looked at each other in dismay.
Among them was Yun Chen.
Yun Chen's cultivation was not quite at the very bottom here, but it was certainly among the weakest batch.
Consequently, once everyone else had been chosen, he realized that nobody wanted him.
This forced him to awkwardly rub his nose. Was he really that terrible?
"Who is Yun Chen?"
Right at that moment, Leiming suddenly spoke up.
"I am!"
Yun Chen hurriedly stepped forward.
"Hmph, if it weren't for Elder Zhu Hanyan, you wouldn't even have had a way to join the outer court. Follow me! I'll take you to collect your outer court disciple token and robes!"
With that, Leiming turned on his heel and walked away.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Grade C Rooms
Leiming had selected a total of three disciples, all of whom were Qi Condensation Realm practitioners at or above the mid-stage.
Seeing Yun Chen trailing behind them, the three of them wore expressions of utter disdain, clearly looking down on him.
Yun Chen's cultivation was simply too low—merely Qi Cyclone Realm Layer 1—and at seventeen or eighteen years of age, his achievements in this lifetime would undoubtedly be severely limited.
The four of them followed Leiming all the way until they reached a cluster of buildings, where Leiming proceeded to collect disciple robes, tokens, and other items for them.
Carved upon Yun Chen's token was his own name, engraved by Leiming himself. Its purpose was to identify the disciple's status; even if Yun Chen were to perish out in the world, others would still know his name and the sect he belonged to.
"There are three residential districts on Thunder Peak, divided into Grade A, Grade B, and Grade C rooms. The three of you may reside in the Grade B area. As for you, your cultivation is too low, so you can only live in the Grade C area. In the future, if your cultivation improves and reaches the Mid Qi Condensation Realm or above, you can move into the Grade B area. If you manage to break through to the Origin Opening Realm, you can move into the Grade A area. Did you all understand clearly?"
Arriving at the foot of Thunder Peak, Leiming looked at the four youths and spoke, his final sentences directed specifically at Yun Chen.
Hearing this, Yun Chen was left somewhat speechless.
Back at the Tianyang Sect, his living quarters could be said to rival those of elders and sect masters. But coming to Dayan Mountain, his treatment had plummeted drastically, landing him in the worst Grade C housing area.
Of course, Yun Chen didn't mind too much; for him, as long as there was a place to cultivate, that was all that mattered.
The other three youths hurriedly shouted their assent upon hearing Leiming's words, then cast another look of supreme contempt in Yun Chen's direction.
Once Leiming departed, a pale-complexioned youth sneered, "Sharing a mountain peak with a guy like this is truly a disgrace. Kid, from now on out there, never tell anyone you're our fellow disciple, and don't ever mention that you joined Thunder Peak at the same time as us. We can't afford to lose that kind of face."
"Hehe, this fellow must be over eighteen, right? Qi Cyclone Realm Layer 1 at eighteen—trash like this is beyond garbage. How on earth did he even have the nerve to come to Dayan Mountain? Truly shameless."
"Alright, didn't you hear what Elder Leiming said? Elder Zhu asked him to look after this fellow; otherwise, how could he possibly be qualified to join Thunder Peak? Sigh, you can only say the guy has a good sister."
As they chatted, the three strode off toward the upper slopes.
Yun Chen paid them no heed and directly headed up the mountain himself.
Thunder Peak was massive, and the higher one went, the denser the heaven and earth spiritual energy became.
However, after walking a short distance, Yun Chen could go no higher because the Grade C residential area had arrived.
The other three gave Yun Chen an immensely smug look before producing their disciple tokens, walking swaggeringly past the indifferent gazes of two mountain-guarding disciples to continue further up.
Stepping into the Grade C housing zone, Yun Chen found plenty of buildings here, though he only spotted a single graceful figure stretching lazily not far away.
The figure wasn't wearing the unique robes of an outer court disciple. After stretching her slender waist, she seemed to sense someone watching and turned around to look at Yun Chen.
Seeing Yun Chen, the young woman paused slightly before speaking, "New here?"
"Yes, outer court disciple Yun Chen greets this senior sister!" Yun Chen cupped his fists slightly. "I was arranged to come here by Elder Leiming and will be staying in this area."
The young woman looked quite pretty with an excellent figure, exuding an indescribable sense of allure.
Hearing this, her pretty eyebrows arched slightly, and she said, "Normally, newly arrived disciples are directly assigned to the Grade B area. But look at you—you got assigned here. It seems they dumped you here because your cultivation is too weak. Since you've arrived, pick any house you like, except for those three closest to the main peak! We don't usually get outsiders coming around here anyway. There are only two other people living in the Grade C zone—they're both your senior sisters. Tsk tsk, little junior brother, you're in for a treat!"
At the end of her sentence, the young woman suddenly giggled. "The two of them are peerless beauties, oh!"
Yun Chen's forehead was covered in black lines.
He hadn't come here to look at beauties, but to increase his strength.
"I haven't asked for senior sister's honorable name yet!" Yun Chen cupped his fists slightly, feeling a bit puzzled as to why only three female disciples lived in the Grade C zone.
"My name is Xu Yingdie. Oh, and the other two senior sisters are Chen Xue and Mu Ling."
"So it's Senior Sister Xu. Outer court disciple Yun Chen greets Senior Sister Xu. By the way, Senior Sister Xu, why do only the three of you live here?"
Logically speaking, a place like this shouldn't be inhabited by just three female disciples.
"Hehe, you'll find out later. Hurry up and pick a room!"
Xu Yingdie smiled and didn't answer Yun Chen's question, already walking toward a nearby house as she spoke.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Yun Chen Free-Riding on Spiritual Energy
"What did you say? A man has come to live in our zone?"
At that moment, inside a room within the Grade C residential area, a young woman wearing a cyan longrobe, so breathtakingly lovely she looked like she'd stepped out of a painting, cried out in surprise, her eyes wide open and looking exceptionally cute.
"That's right!" chuckled Xu Yingdie, who had crossed paths with Yun Chen outside earlier. "Elder Leiming must not have known that this Grade C zone has already been occupied by the three of us, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have let an outer court disciple move in."
"Forget it, we better hurry and kick him out! If First Senior Sister comes back and finds a guy here, she'll blow her top. And that disciple would probably either get beaten to a pulp or thrown down Thunder Peak!"
Thinking of this, the cute, pretty maiden shuddered involuntarily.
Whenever any male disciple had wandered into this territory in the past, their fate was never pretty.
The house was quite nice, featuring a small courtyard and seven or eight rooms spread across two floors; even if five or six people lived here together, it wouldn't feel crowded.
This made Yun Chen sigh with emotion—if there was one thing worth nothing in this world, it had to be real estate.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Yun Chen emerged from his room, preparing to cultivate by harnessing the early morning heaven and earth spiritual energy.
Most people liked to cultivate in the mornings because that was generally when the world's spiritual energy surged most violently.
As soon as Yun Chen stepped outside, he spotted two figures already sitting cross-legged not far away.
Aside from Xu Yingdie whom he'd met yesterday, there was another maiden dressed in a cyan longrobe. She sat cross-legged upon a massive boulder, breathing in and out as the surrounding spiritual energy surged into her body at a pace visible to the naked eye. Moreover, a circle of spirit stones was arranged all around her, making Yun Chen's eyes turn green with envy.
Perhaps due to their intense focus on cultivation, neither of them noticed Yun Chen stepping out.
Yun Chen pondered for a moment, inched slightly closer to the pair, and then also sat cross-legged, beginning to circulate the "Supreme Divine Thunder Scripture" to cultivate.
Following the circulation of his cultivation technique, a tremendous suction force abruptly manifested, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy. It even pulled away the spiritual energy emanating from the spirit stones beside Xu Yingdie and the cyan-robed maiden, drawing it into Yun Chen's body like a thin mist.
Sensing the anomaly, Xu Yingdie and the cyan-robed maiden snapped their eyes open. Instantly, they watched in shock as the spirit stones beside them shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, while massive amounts of spiritual energy rushed frantically toward that fellow not far away. For a moment, the two of them were completely dumbfounded.
After a long pause, the two remembered their spirit stones were about to vanish and hurriedly collected them.
With the spirit stones gone, Yun Chen stopped his cultivation as well.
If he relied purely on absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy, it would be extremely difficult for him to level up—not to mention that the cultivation resources he required were far greater than anyone else's!
"You guy, you actually leeched off our spirit stones!" the cyan-robed maiden accused indignantly, puffing out her cheeks.
Xu Yingdie also glared resentfully at Yun Chen.
They were accustomed to placing spirit stones on the ground to absorb while cultivating, but the moment this fellow arrived, he absorbed more than half of their stones, forcing them to jolt awake from their meditation.