Chapter 31: Flying Sword, Murderous Intent! Protect Junior Brother Chen

Buzz!

In front of the Azure Flame Palace, the gatekeeper's eyes flickered, and the short sword hanging at his waist seemed to sense its master's will, trembling incessantly and emitting a cold, forest‑like gleam.

The sword is about a foot long, without a hilt; its blade is as black and deep as night, speckled with starlight, like a hanging river of stars.

It turns out to be a spirit‑crafted flying sword!

According to legend, every spirit artifact is exceedingly rare, unattainable even by trading whole cities, truly priceless.

If a Mortal Secret Realm cultivator obtains such a flying sword and successfully refines it with a blood offering, he can control it at will, slay foes within a hundred li in an instant, and behead enemies.

At this moment, the gatekeeper's flying sword quivers, eager to move.

He harbors a murderous intent.

On the other side.

In Feathered Ascension City.

Chen Zheng had no inkling that, having just joined the Feathered Ascension Sect as an outer disciple, he was already being eyed by schemers.

He was walking along the wide main avenue of Feathered Ascension City, flanked by towering buildings in orderly rows, while Feathered Ascension disciples hurried by.

Only now did he begin to feel that he truly belonged to a celestial sect.

His destination was the Inner Immortal Courtyard, where inner disciples reside.

It is also the place outer disciples must go to become inner disciples.

There, Elders assign various tasks to outer disciples; completing a task grants qualification for the inner‑disciple assessment.

Passing the assessment makes one an inner disciple.

At that point, food, clothing, weapons, and other benefits, including status, undergo a qualitative shift.

Moreover, one can receive superior mental cultivation methods and formidable secret arts, far stronger than secular techniques.

Secular folk such as Chen Xingye, Wang Guanshi, Xu Guanshi, even after reaching the Tenfold Mortal Body Divine Transformation realm, possess only the strength of five horses.

But disciples of celestial sects, thanks to superior diet, pills, and especially cultivation methods, often refine their mortal bodies to the strength of seven, eight, or even ten Xuanhuang fiery horses.

Chen Zheng doesn't need the Feathered Ascension Sect's cultivation methods; he merely glanced at the three basic martial arts and tossed them into a chaotic space to gather dust.

He only intends to pick up a random demon‑slaying task in the Inner Immortal Courtyard, then, while completing it, absorb a batch of demon blood to boost his strength and, incidentally, earn the inner‑disciple qualification.

Of course, he could also hunt on his own.

But hunting alone is time‑consuming and laborious; taking a sect task is far more efficient.

The Feathered Ascension Sect surely has a dedicated intel system; any place with rogue beasts or rampaging demons is absolutely known to the sect.

Once he accepts a task, he receives the intel needed for precise strikes.

Chen Zheng soon arrived at the entrance of the Inner Immortal Courtyard.

The Inner Immortal Courtyard has a layout similar to the Step Immortal Courtyard where he lives, also composed of a series of courtyards.

But it is larger, deeper, and every corner wafts a mysterious, lingering fragrance.

Moreover, few people are here; it is quiet, unlike the bustling Step Immortal Courtyard where groups of outer disciples constantly come and go, chatting loudly.

Chen Zheng stood on the threshold for a while, yet he couldn't find anyone to ask for directions.

He had no choice but to walk inside.

"Eh? Young Master Chen?"

Shortly after entering the Inner Immortal Courtyard, Chen Zheng heard a surprised yet familiar female voice suddenly call his name.

He turned his head and saw seven or eight women of varying ages nearby, each bright, beautiful, and full of vigor.

The one calling him was the frail girl who had taken him to the Step Immortal Courtyard for the assessment a few days earlier, Xu Yue'er.

She stared at Chen Zheng with an unexpected expression.

She said something to the other women, then hurried forward, curiously asking, "Young Master Chen… Junior Brother, you have passed the assessment and become an outer disciple. Yet this place is the residence of inner disciples; are you looking for someone here?" "So it's Senior Sister Xu Yue'er."

Chen Zheng smiled and nodded at the woman, "I want to find an Elder to receive a task that grants inner‑disciple qualification through the outer‑disciple assessment."

Encountering Xu Yue'er in the Inner Immortal Courtyard also surprised him.

Because she guided him last time, his impression of her was quite good, and he did not hide it.

It was also a good chance for her to guide him again.

Xu Yue'er exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Brother Chen, I recall you joined three days ago, right?"

She didn't deliberately lower her voice; the other women waiting nearby heard her and blinked their wide eyes toward Chen Zheng, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Clearly they hadn't expected Chen Zheng, having entered only three days ago, to be rushing to the Step Immortal Courtyard to take on an inner‑disciple qualification task.

That's far too fast.

Chen Zheng smiled and nodded at Xu Yue'er, "Indeed, I have nothing much to do lately, so I'll just casually take a task to become an inner disciple."

You have arrived at this novel.

Xu Yue'er was taken aback by his words.

Meanwhile, the other women nearby also heard Chen Zheng's words.

"Just casually take a task?"

"And become an inner disciple?"

That guy looks exceptionally handsome, evoking goodwill, yet his words are so out of place.

If they didn't already know Chen Zheng, they'd have to give him a huge side‑eye.

One must know that this kind of outer‑to‑inner qualification task is far from ordinary.

Although one can take it after reaching the Physical Body Eightfold, in practice many ninth‑ and tenth‑fold outer disciples are extremely cautious about it.

Because it is extremely dangerous; a slight slip could cause a fall.

Thus even these outer disciples who have been in the sect for several years dare not claim they can complete the task unscathed, so they come to the Inner Immortal Courtyard to borrow a life‑saving trump card from a senior sister.

In fact, thinking about it reveals that the Feathered Ascension Sect has over four hundred thousand outer disciples, but only four to five thousand inner disciples.

A ratio of one hundred to one, such a disparity shows how difficult it is to go from the outside to the inside.

On Chen Zheng's side, after Xu Yueer was dazed for a moment, she suddenly asked, "Junior Brother Chen, which layer of the Physical Body are you at now?"

Chen Zheng replied plainly, "Physical Body Ninth Layer."

"Ninth Layer, huh?"

A flash of light appeared in Xu Yueer's eyes, and she spoke rapidly, "Junior Brother Chen, actually we also need to undertake the task to obtain qualification for the inner gate assessment. Stay here for a moment; I'll ask the senior and junior sisters. If they all agree, I'll take you along."

Having said that, she didn't wait for Chen Zheng's reply, turned around and hurriedly ran toward the group of women not far away.

After she explained Chen Zheng's situation to the women, they immediately gave unanimous consent and decided to take Chen Zheng on the mission.

There was no other reason; Chen Zheng's cultivation was not a burden.

The important thing is that he's handsome and pleasing to the eye.

Soon, Xu Yueer led the women to Chen Zheng and began exchanging names.

"Junior Brother Chen, I'm Ai Wei."

"Zi Xuan."

"Hehe, I'm Yan Xiaoyu."

"Yan Xiaoxing, Xiaoyu is my younger sister."

"I'm Nan Beibei, a Xuan-level member of Jialan Hui. Junior Brother Chen, rest assured, I'll protect you."

A twelve‑ or thirteen‑year‑old little girl clenched her fist and solemnly promised Chen Zheng.

(End of chapter)