Chapter 48 - Chapter 48: Top Five! Joining Halls!
Once again, Li Ming dealt with his opponent with just one strike!
But this time, his attack was much more explosive than the previous ones!
Even Lin Xiao, who had strong defenses, was easily dealt with by Li Ming.
At this moment, all of the disciples watching from outside the arena were stunned.
They had no idea how to describe what had just happened.
Originally, they thought that after the elder gave the order, the only sight they would soon see was Li Ming being sent flying off of the arena and defeated by Lin Xiao!
However, the result was the exact opposite of their expectations!
Li Ming made use of his power as a body cultivation foundation establishment cultivator to cripple Lin Xiao!
This was a result that no one had expected.
When the elders above saw this scene, they were equally shocked.
This was the first time they had seen such a powerful burst of power. It could even ignore the strong defenses of qi cultivation foundation establishment cultivators.
This was a way of fighting that they had never seen before!
Moreover, Li Ming displayed unprecedented combat strength.
This was something they truly had never seen before.
It now seemed to them that there was a possibility that body cultivation was actually feasible.
The elders looked at each other. Clearly, each of them had their own thoughts.
The first match finally concluded.
With the match over, Li Ming relaxed significantly.
The following matches that took place were just as intense, if not more so, than that of Li Ming and Lin Xiao.
After all, the remaining contestants were those who had persisted all this way.
Those who had managed to stay in the competition were the cream of the crop.
They could all be considered elite disciples among those in the inner sect!
Among the matches, Chen Qingke’s match was evidently surprising!
Even when facing an inner sect disciple who had already reached the intermediate stage of the foundation establishment realm, Chen Qingke still won with decisive ease!
Chen Qingke had not let her guard down when facing an inner sect disciple in the intermediate stage of the foundation establishment realm, treating the battle as seriously as all her other matches.
Her opponent released all kinds of magical arts and techniques!
He even released his natal magical treasure right after!
A natal magical treasure was a magical treasure that cultivators nurtured with their own blood and spiritual qi.
This kind of magical treasure was usually a cultivator’s greatest asset!
It was also their greatest support.
This was because it could increase their combat strength by a large margin!
A natal magical treasure could significantly improve one’s combat strength. Even though her opponent had a natal magical treasure, Chen Qingke was still able to rely purely on her own strength and wits to defeat him!
What was additionally worth mentioning was…
A natal magical treasure would swiftly consume its user’s spiritual qi.
Therefore, after the other party took out their natal magical treasure, Chen Qingke chose to make use of the same tactic that Li Ming used.
She did her best to avoid direct confrontations with her opponent as much as possible.
In this way, she could deplete the other party’s spiritual qi while barely using her own.
But unlike when Li Ming had done the same, all of the spectating disciples cheered this time.
They all praised Chen Qingke for her intelligence.
They said that she was powerful and knew how to use tactics.
Li Ming rolled his eyes at the praise they directed at Chen Qingke.
Damn it.
This bunch of double-standard dogs!
How infuriating!
However, Li Ming was nonetheless happy for Chen Qingke after seeing her win.
Chen Qingke’s talent was indeed the best in the inner sect.
She was the disciple who had spent the shortest time to reach the foundation establishment realm, taking only a year to do so.
Moreover, after reaching the foundation establishment realm, she could still manage a fight against those in the intermediate stage of the foundation establishment realm, a level range higher than hers.
There was no doubt that Chen Qingke had become the focus of the sect’s training.
All of the elders who were watching from above had satisfied looks on their faces as they looked at Chen Qingke. It was obvious that they valued Chen Qingke greatly.
As all of the battles concluded, the top five soon emerged.
There was no final battle in this inner sect grand competition, and the top three would not be selected.
This was because the ultimate purpose of the inner sect grand competition was merely to select suitable and capable disciples for key training.
It could be said that this was a test for the sect.
It was not just for purely the sake of deciding the victor.
Looking at the five disciples on the stage, the great elder appeared to be very satisfied.
“The inner sect grand competition has come to an end. The five of you will
enter the core of Divine Will Sect and become the disciples that we will focus on nurturing.”
“The five of you can choose to join the various halls of the Divine Will Sect and become core disciples of our sect!”
“These five halls are the true core of the Divine Will Sect!!”
The great elder spoke continuously, telling the disciples about the strength of the Divine Will Sect.
While the inner sect and outer sect disciples knew that the Divine Will Sect had an area that was even more valued than the inner sect, none of them really Imew where that core area was.
This was true even for the elders in charge of the inner and outer sects, other than the great elder, the other elders did not have the qualifications to interfere.
As for the five halls of the Divine Will Sect, these included the Spirit Will Hall, which mainly focused on the cultivation of qi, and then the Pill Will Hall, Tool Will, Talisman Will Hall, and Sword Will Hall.
Each of these halls had its own focus.
These five halls also served as the very foundation of the Divine Will Sect.
Those who could enter these halls were vigorously selected through every inner sect grand competition.
“Now, tell me your choice.” “There will be an elder in charge of you.”
The great elder said.
Out of the five disciples, the others swiftly said where they wanted to go.
Two of the three chose to go to the Spirit Will Hall, and the other one chose to go to the Talisman Will Hall.
Chen Qingke and Li Ming remained, and they did not immediately make a decision. Rather than choosing a hall to go to right away, Chen Qingke surprisingly turned to look at Li Ming.
“Junior sister, hurry up and choose. Don’t worry about me.”
“You can choose first.”
Li Ming could tell that Chen Qingke wanted to go to the same hall that he did.
Chen Qingke said that she wanted to protect Li Ming.
However, she still did not understand that the current Li Ming was not someone that anyone could bully.
“Chen Qingke, you have a good grasp of the Cauldron Transformation Art, and your control of spiritual qi is the best among all the disciples. It would most likely be best for you to join the Spirit Will Hall.”
The great elder spoke. With Chen Qingke’s talent, going to the Spirit Will Hall was obviously the best choice.
At the same time, going to the Spirit Will Hall would allow her to be given more resources.
The great elder was obviously favoring Chen Qingke.
Chen Qingke turned to look at the great elder while he was speaking to her, but she could not help but turn her head back to Li Ming right after.
Seeing Li Ming nod, Chen Qingke did not hesitate any longer.
Although the two of them had a good relationship, on the path of cultivation, opportunities were hard to come by.
Chen Qingke did not delay any longer and chose to join the Spirit Will Hall.
Next, it was naturally Li Ming’s turn.
Of the five halls of the Divine Will Sect, the first few were obviously not of much help to Li Ming.
As for the Sword Will Hall, it was obviously something that Li Ming was considering.
However, before Li Ming could speak, the great elder beat him to speaking and said, “Alright, all of you go to your respective halls and cultivate well. The elders shall lead the way and send you there.”
“Li Ming, you follow me.”
Instead of letting Li Ming choose a hall, he abruptly dismissed everyone.
Li Ming could not understand what the great elder was thinking.
He wondered what the great elder was planning.
Could it be that the great elder felt that his body cultivation foundation establishment was contrary to the philosophy of the Divine Will Sect and wanted to use other methods to obstruct him?
Possibly?
But that could not be it, could it?
After all, the Divine Will Sect was the number one sect in the Heavenly Southern Region. Such a powerful sect should not be stingy.
Li Ming had many thoughts in mind, but he ultimately gave up on making any further guesses.
As a sect disciple, he naturally had no right to speak.
He really did not have much power.
He could ultimately only listen to the arrangements of the sect.
Anyway, body cultivation was his main focus. As long as whatever arrangements the sect had for him did not entirely cut off his body cultivation,
Li Ming did not care that much.
The assembly dispersed.
Everybody returned to their duties or went to take on new roles in the sect.
Li Ming followed the great elder deeper into the inner sect.
Along the way, the great elder did not say a word. During this time, Li Ming kept his composure and did not ask the great elder any questions.
“Li Ming, you’re surprisingly calm. The other disciples have already chosen a cultivation place that they are satisfied with. Don’t you want to know why I
have brought you all this way here alone?”
The great elder was clearly surprised by Li Ming’s lack of questioning.
Back then, when Li Ming was brought to the sect and hailed as a prodigy, he carried the hope of the sect. It had been hoped that he could show off incredible talent in the aspect of qi cultivation.
It was believed that he would become an unprecedented prodigy of the Divine Will Sect.
However, the sect did not expect that in the past three years, Li Ming’s qi cultivation would be left behind. Those who joined the sect later had managed to surpass him, but Li Ming still remained obsessed with body cultivation. The sect had discussed it several times, but they could not bear to expel Li Ming.
Now that Li Ming had reached the foundation establishment realm and had also displayed his strength in the inner sect grand competition, many elders came to look at him in a new light.
The same could be said for the great elder.
Hearing the great elder’s question, Li Ming immediately said, “Could it be that the elders do not see me as a good fit for the Divine Will Sect as I am a body cultivation foundation establishment cultivator?”
“However, since I am a disciple of the Divine Will Sect, I will naturally listen to the sect’s arrangements.”
“As such, great elder, you need not be afraid of being frank with me.”
Li Ming had some rough guesses toward the situation. With his Qi cultivation not having reached the foundation establishment realm yet, he felt that it was obviously impossible for him to enter and cultivate in the core area of the Divine Will Sect.
Although he was at the foundation establishment realm, there was no one in the Divine Will Sect who practiced body cultivation, much less be able to guide Li Ming..