Of the thirty inner disciples, a huge disparity existed between the top ten and the bottom twenty. The top ten were then further divided into two: Eminent Masters and ordinary Martial Masters.
Regardless of that, the top six inner disciples were at the same state and their respective gaps between them were unable to produce a substantial amount of suppression.
At that time however, all the disciples—including some elders as well—were in absolute disbelief after Li Mo exposed his real state!
"Martial Spirit Level Nine! Li Mo is truly our clan's premier genius! A Grandmaster that hasn't even reached the age of twenty. This record is one-of-its-kind throughout the past thousand years!"
An elder gasped loudly and had a very shocked look in his eyes! After all, he was only at peak Level Eight even though he was already in his fifties. Becoming a Grandmaster was still one step away.
"That is an erroneous statement, Elder Li. I may be young, but I am fully aware that our patriarch attained Innatism more than twenty years ago. He became the youngest Sovereign Level Master Wu Prefecture City had seen for the past thousand years."
A voice immediately caused the gasping elder to pull a long face. He glared resentfully at the speaker but kept quiet, due to the fact that the speaker was the Princess of Heaven who returned from the Dark Heaven Sect. Like Li Mo, Li Yating was also one of the clan's three prodigies!
A few other elders sported unsavory expressions and murmured angrily, "The former patriarch is a taboo topic in the family, but this girl is bold enough to speak of him! Well, it's the truth, but unfortunately, he's missing. If he were still here, the Li clan would long have reigned over Wu Prefecture City!"
Li Huangran's face was rather expressionless, but anyone who knew him noticed a hint of coldness when Li Yating talked about the Patriarch.
"Martial Spirit Level Nine! Alright! Alright! Li Mo! You are indeed the clan's foremost disciple! I accept my defeat graciously."
Seeing the widening gap between himself and the opponent he tried so hard to catch up with, Li Huo felt somewhat dispirited. Even so, he was very happy to admit that he lost.
The gap between Grandmaster and Eminent Master was similar to that between Eminent Masters and ordinary martial cultivators! It was far too large and there was not a single chance of success for Li Huo.
"Who else among you wants to challenge me?"
Li Mo gazed down haughtily at everyone, like a king. His eyes swept across the faces of the strongest inner disciple, with those on the receiving end of his gaze smiling wryly.
Challenge? What challenge? Although those inner disciples were Eminent Masters, they were too far behind Li Mo's standards. Challenging him would only result in the same outcome as Li Huo—utter humiliation.
"Hmph! Bunch of garbage. People like you can only stare admirably at me for the rest of your lives!"
Li Mo was utterly unsurprised by the result and was even rather bored by it. The arrogant temperament of 'a loner who sought to be defeated' characterized him vividly.
In his eyes, not even the elders were a match for him, let alone the inner disciples!
He did not even look at Li Ye and others. Although Li Ye had defeated the two Eminent Masters Li Gei and Li Xuan, Li Mo did not regard any of them—or anyone else for that matter—as a worthy opponent.
"I never expected Li Mo to break through so fast. It seems that there will be a shift in this year's ranking of Wu Prefecture City's four prodigies."
Li Yuanjia smiled and said. Li Ye listened and asked curiously, "Where did Li Mo rank among Wu Prefecture City's four prodigies before this?"
"The four prodigies of Wu Prefecture City are all from the Three Great Clan. One of them is our Li clan's Li Mo, but he had always ranked third in the past. In addition, the Wu clan has someone named Wu Batian in second-place. The Yuwen clan has two people in the standings for several consecutive years. One is slightly weaker than Li Mo, a girl named Yuwen Lihua. The last one is Yuwen Wushuang, the most formidable talent the Yuwen clan has seen in a thousand years. It is rumored that he also broke through to Martial Spirit Level Nine a year ago. As it stands currently, we don't know whether he or Li Mo is stronger."
Wu Prefecture City's Four Great Prodigies! Li Ye felt a tremble in his heart after hearing that.
There was a time when he even looked up to the Li clan's outer disciples, but as of that day, he was one of the best among the inner disciples. Unfortunately, he discovered that he had a long way to go before being considered as one of Wu Prefecture City's top figures!
Genuinely top prodigies from Wu Prefecture City were those superhuman talents that became Eminent Masters, or those like Li Mo who were Grandmasters!
Many were intimidated by Li Mo's prowess, but the battles to determine the inner disciples' standings were not over yet.
Soon, the inner disciples' ranking changed again after a few hours.
Among them, Li Mo sat firmly at the top of the list. No one could shake him!
The second place has a slight change!
Li Hounian's adopted son, Li Yuanjia—who was originally in fifth place—battled against the second-place Li Ji. They fought fiercely against each other and exchanged hundreds of blows. In the end, Li Yuanjia eked out a small victory and became the new second-placed disciple! Li Ji dropped one place, and the standings of those below him dropped as well.
"Fourth Uncle's adopted son is no ordinary person." Many people were taken aback by Li Yuanjia's successful challenge. After all, Li Yuanjia usually kept a low profile and was much more reticent when compared with the other inner disciples. It came as a big shock that a low-key person displayed such sheer brilliance to break into second-place. Many people were taken by surprise.
Li Ye, however, did not challenge anyone again. He was already seventh-placed. It might not be high, but it was enough for the family to start taking him seriously! His original purpose had been achieved.
"With my current strength, the odds are in my favor should I ever challenge anyone below Level Eight, but I only have a thirty percent chance of winning against a Level Eight Eminent Master. That is, unless I use my bloodpupils to affect my opponent with my illusionary spirit or wait for night to come."
The Ichor race was strongest at night. During the day, Li Ye was greatly restricted and would be unable to show his true strength.
In any case, he successfully became one of the inner disciples and had the opportunity to enter the martial arts pavilion. For Li Ye, the copying technique of his bloodpupils was enough to help him find what he needed!
Soon enough, the year-end tournament came to a close once the inner disciples' battles ended. Many people rued that there was no chance for them to watch the prodigious Li Yating show her skills, especially after she had just returned from the Dark Heaven Sect.
Even Li Ye was curious as to what level she had reached ever since Dark Heaven Sect recruited her three years ago.
A biting-cold look swept past Li Ye, prompting the boy to source the origin of that look. Upon doing so, he noticed Li Huangran's cold expression. Li Ye could imagine that his strong entry into the top ten inner disciples left Li Huangran and his faction dissatisfied, perhaps even frightened. Li Ye did not fear them, though. His earlier displays were far from his full strength, and if he really worked hard, he believed that he could calmly make his escape even if he was facing a Grandmaster like Li Mo! That was especially true at night, when his true strength was at its zenith.
"All disciples may now receive this year's reward from the enforcement elders!"
Li Huangran said in a loud voice. It excited many disciples, especially the inner disciples and those who had just become outer disciples.
Li Ye was now the seventh-placed disciple and could enjoy the same status as a steward in the family. Those who used to laugh at him now instinctively bow their heads when they saw him and were afraid to look him in the eye.
Regardless of anything else, Li Ye's had fully demonstrated his true strength.
"I really don't know what kind of
Some whispers reached his ears, but Li Ye ignored them. He knew that many people had doubts about his real state and he was not at all prepared to explain himself.
"It's better this way, to make them doubt me. If someone wants to try something on me, I'll just kill them to set an example for the others."
In order to gain a foothold in a clan as big as the Li clan, asserting dominance was very important. By defeating Li Wei and Li Xuan, he had already asserted himself in front of many clan disciples.
"I'm now an inner disciple, and I'm in the top ten too. According to the family's reward system, I'll be allocated one chance to enter into the martial arts pavilion. I can then choose a combat technique to bring out and cultivate."
The reward was satisfactory even though it was not as generous as the rewards for the top three inner disciples. The clan's martial arts pavilion was known to be guarded by two elders all year round, and ordinary people were not even allowed to enter.
"Although I can only bring out one battle technique, I have my bloodpupils' copying ability. It's the same as a photographic memory. When the time comes, they'll never know what I have learned from the pavilion!"
With that in mind, Li Ye went to the martial arts pavilion with the other inner disciples.
In front of him was a tall tower. It was the Li clan's martial arts pavilion, a very important place. Two elders stood guard at the door. They had a resting angry face that made all inner disciples afraid to speak loudly.
Li Ye then saw someone coming out from the pavilion. The person looked pleased and was evidently very satisfied.
Li Ye was just about to walk in when he was stopped by someone.
"Stop!"
The loud yell surged into Li Ye's mind like an arrow made of soundwaves. It made Li Ye dizzy and he only managed to compose himself after taking a breath. Li Ye had an unhappy expression on his face as it was the two elders who had stopped him. Their faces were frigid and their eyes were infused with iciness, "It's a big crime to break into the martial arts pavilion!"
Li Ye flew into a rage as soon as he heard those words!
"Dear elders, I remember that the top ten inner disciples are allowed to enter the pavilion and choose a battle technique. Why are you stopping me?"
The two elders were unmoved. They even sneered and said, "You? A top ten inner disciple? You think I'm a three-year-old child! Is this a joke to you! Now leave!"
Following those words, the elder slapped him. The palm slamming against Li Ye's face made his expression sink into coldness!
Elders standing guard over the martial arts pavilion were at least Level Eight and above!
With the Eminent Master acting without regard for his position by lashing out directly against his junior, a murderous aura surged from Li Ye's heart and was directed at the two elders!