Two weeks later.
"Do you wish to have your tour now, Noire?" Tianshi asked, Noire is yet to register as an official disciple, Tianshi planned to escort Noire to the Certification Pavilion after having a spin around the sect.
The two were walking out of Tianshi's courtyard after two weeks of mediation and realm consolidation.
Noire's 9th stage Ether realm was now solid, and his physique was a dozen times more compact and resilient in comparison to half a year ago.
If he and Tianshi were to have another game of speed now, she won't be able to capture his silhouette, much less contest against him.
Then again, she was using movement techniques built for human practice, her muscular configuration may come out human-like, but she needed to implement bestial inscriptions into her muscle and reflex system to extract her full potential, Noire noticed this when he saw Tianshi utilizing four limbs in full sprint.
"I would like to check on Ning'er and Yue before anything else if possible, Ning'er should already be at the 9th stage of Ether realm, I already calculate that accumulating from 6th to 9th stage shouldn't be a problem for her," Noire responded.
Tianshi nodded in understanding, she naturally inquired about those two's relationship with Noire, and it seems like they're close to an extent.
Especially that Zhan Yue girl.
Swoosh~
A breeze of wind rushed past Noire and Tianshi the moment they set foot outside the periphery of the courtyard.
An elderly man with white hair and a long beard, thin yet sharp eyebrows, wearing a blazing red robe with an aura of arrogance landed in front of the couple.
Seeing this, Tianshi held out a fist in respect out of courtesy and greeted.
"Grand Elder Xin," She spoke softly.
Grand Elder Xin simply nodded at her. Of course, being one of the Grand Elders, he is aware of Tianshi's circumstances so he wouldn't treat her in the same light as those of lower status.
Then his eyes swept over towards Noire, Elder Xin attempted to utilize his spiritual sense to see Noire's face behind the mask, but a repellent force blocked his advancements causing him to frown lightly.
"You must be Siyu Noire, correct?" After being repelled like that, especially when Noire showed no reverence for his position as a Great Elder, Xin was a bit dissatisfied and it's apparent in his tone.
He didn't expect Noire's mask to be impermeable to spiritual fluidity, thusly leading to an embarrassing situation.
Noire already has a poor assessment of the Elder, so he simply nodded without saying a word.
'This might be a bit complicated, he looks like the uncompromising type. Maybe I should retreat and attempt another day...' Elder Xin thought, if it wasn't for the mask, this awkward situation wouldn't occur!
Tianshi could feel the tension build-up, she wasn't oblivious to Elder Xin's attempt earlier, she was one small realm inferior to him after all.
Although she didn't like the mandating approach, she was shocked by the mechanism of Noire's jade mask.
Thinking along the lines that not many people witnessed his real face, she suddenly felt a surge of pride well in her heart.
"Great Elder, if there's nothing else, we will take our leave," Tianshi said with a courteous bow before rotating by Elder Xin.
Noire followed without saying a word, but he was already dissatisfied with the sect's conduct.
- - - -
Outer Court Area.
The sect was established in a mountain range, correspondingly, the status of disciples and pavilions spiraled from the skirts of the mountain.
The closer one is towards the skirts, the lower their status.
Below the mountain was a large-scaled city-like architecture for premature disciples and custodians.
After which comes the area for Outer Court disciples, the scenery is a bit more exquisite with lush greeny and towering canopies.
The buildings are more sturdy and inscribed with numerous formations of both defensive and auxiliary aspects.
Currently, in an open pavilion spread an altar made of crystalline jade, the altar was the most conspicuous place in the vicinity as it looked like a major chessboard laid on the ground.
The altar's surface was laminated by layers of mild trap restrictions that are activated via direct contact.
This altar is built to train disciples towards fighting under unexpected circumstances, and the difficulty of each situation is set by an elder who oversees the ongoing spars.
On the stage, a female and a male disciple were having a face-off.
They were both at the peak Ether realm, and the battle was intense.
The female disciple is Ning'er, her long brown hair fluttered and swayed as she tried to maintain her instincts to their maximum capacity, enhancing her reflexes while fending off the barrage of long-ranged attacks.
Her opponent was a lean middle-aged man with a short, spiky haircut. He had a horizontal scar across the bridge of his nose and a horrible grin.
One week ago, Ning'er found out that this disciple, Yang Jin, was pressuring Yue for a date indirectly by harassing Yue's female sisters.
The situation was going on for a month now, and because of this, many female disciples began to avoid Yue like a plague, causing her to be pushed into a corner of loneliness.
Ning'er was focused on her cultivation for the past four months, it's usually a secluded process, and due to her background coupled with Flaming Paradox's protection, no one dared make waves against her.
Yue on the other hand focused on her affinity with Water Qi, she was more interactive with fellow disciples.
Her innocent and kind temperament attracted a lot of attention, especially the rumor she's acquainted with the Masked Spear User; Noire's official nickname in the sect.
However, due to the protection of Flaming Paradox, no one dared pressure her directly in the outer court, and with Ning's aptitude, it's foreseeable that she'll advance to the Inner Court sooner or later.
With this in mind, many males with nefarious intentions towards Yue began to make waves in a way or another.
Now, Ning'er was venting her anger against one of them, but she was baited in a long-range battle whilst her specialty is close-range combat!
As the strongest after Noire in the party, she didn't want to fail in protecting Yue.
'Are we that useless without him?'
Ning'er thought as she misstepped and landed onto an active trap, a column of fire burst out from the block underneath her right foot, instantly giving her a severe wound.
With a crisp cry of pain, Ning'er crumbled onto the jade floor while applying cloth onto her burnt ankle.
Beads of sweat oozed from her face as Yang Jin's sadistic laughter closed onto her from a distance.
Yang Jin was known for his long-ranged attacks using his water Qi element like bullets, coupled with his shadow steps movement technique, avoiding traps on the altar was easy for him.
Once Ning'er got caught in a trap and began to wiggle in pain, he instantly closed the distance with a whip of condensed Water Qi and began to assault her exposed back as she hugged her ankle tightly.
Many onlookers began to turn their heads and avoid watching, it was just too brutal, but the echoing sound of whips and muffled hums was too conspicuous.
Yue was also present, she attempted to breach through the blockade of Jin's friends to help Ning'er, tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably as she felt helpless.
One of the disciples blocking the path said with disdain.
"Ha, it's an official match! It won't stop until either party gave up! Of course, if you offer yourself to senior brother Yang, he will surely stop. What do you say, little girl? It's only one date~"