The most excited among them was Yun Xiaodao. As soon as he stepped out of the mystic realm, he loudly declared his intention to find that Evil-Eyed guy and demand the thousand True Qi Pills. Zhu Rong, upon seeing how easily Yun Xiaodao won the thousand True Qi Pills, felt a surge of jealousy.
Based on the market rate of 500 crystal stones per True Qi Pill, those thousand pills were worth a staggering 500,000 crystal stones—a massive fortune!
"Big Brother Shen, I'll take one hundred of the True Qi Pills and give you the rest. After all, I only agreed to the bet on a whim, never expecting to win so much!" Yun Xiaodao laughed. Although the amount was large, it didn't seem to matter much to him. Over the years, the amount of pills he had consumed was worth far more than that.
Shen Xiang, seeing how little Yun Xiaodao cared about the value of the True Qi Pills, couldn't help but be secretly surprised. However, considering that the Yun Family was one of the Four Great Families of Taiwu State, he realized it wasn't that big of a deal. A large family like theirs controlled extensive crystal stone mines, medicinal herbs, and demon beasts. Though they weren't as powerful as the major sects, they were still among the wealthiest families beneath them.
"Fatty, your Zhu Family should be wealthier than my Yun Family, right? After all, you guys are stingy and crafty!" Yun Xiaodao patted Zhu Rong on the back, laughing.
Zhu Rong only snorted in response. Judging by his physique, it was clear he came from a well-off family.
Zhang De sighed and said, "Having a good background can save you decades of hard work."
The group followed Zhu Rong to Martial Courtyard No. 329, which was the weakest among the inner martial courtyards and the place new inner court disciples typically entered.
"There's no one here?" Yun Xiaodao asked, puzzled, before shouting, "Is anyone here? Come welcome the newcomers!"
Zhu Rong rolled his eyes and said, "Stop yelling. No one has joined the inner court in years, so this place has been like this for a long time."
Shen Xiang asked, "So, does that mean the people from this martial courtyard have all moved up to higher-ranked courtyards? But shouldn't some people have been pushed back down?"
Zhu Rong nodded. "That's true, but the tasks given to inner court disciples are numerous, heavy, and dangerous. While there are over 300 martial courtyards in the inner court, no more than ten disciples reside in each. In the one I currently stay in, there are only five of us!"
The inner court offered great benefits: every month, disciples received 30 True Qi Pills, 3,000 crystal stones, and one True Yuan Pill annually. During missions, they could also obtain healing and detoxification pills, and there were additional rewards upon completion. Zhu Rong's precious Bai Yu Powder was one such reward.
"All the disciples from this martial courtyard died. Martial Courtyards No. 300 to No. 329 are all empty," Zhu Rong said, his expression becoming more serious. Being an inner court disciple wasn't as glamorous as it seemed; they had their own burdens and responsibilities.
"Then why didn't you bring me to Martial Courtyard No. 300?" Yun Xiaodao glared at him.
"Yun brat, I'm doing this for your own good. The lower the number, the more dangerous the missions. You should wait until Shen Xiang reaches the tenth level of the Mortal Martial Realm before advancing step by step," Zhu Rong advised.
Shen Xiang agreed. "We've just entered the inner court. We can learn higher-level martial techniques, and once we've mastered them and our strength is stable, we can move forward."
"Good luck! I'm only in Martial Courtyard No. 200 now, and it took me quite a while to work my way up there. You guys clean up the place; I'm leaving." Zhu Rong quickly left, as if afraid Shen Xiang would ask him to help clean.
The martial courtyard consisted of several small residences, with both living quarters and training facilities in the same place. Shen Xiang and his friends wouldn't have to travel far to get to their training sessions anymore.
"I'm not sleeping here. You two can handle the cleaning!" Yun Xiaodao laughed before leaving.
Since no one had lived there for years, the place was covered in dust and fallen leaves. Shen Xiang and Zhang De spent half a day cleaning it up.
In a room filled with various training apparatus, Shen Xiang found that most of the equipment was either too light or required too much time to be effective.
"These things are just for passing the time. Real training involves extreme methods or going out for field experiences," Zhang De commented.
At that moment, Yun Xiaodao returned, excitedly shouting, "Big Brother Shen! I went to that Evil-Eyed guy and asked for the True Qi Pills, and he gave them to me without any trouble. Come check if they're real."
Shen Xiang hadn't paid much attention to the bet, and he had thought it would be troublesome to collect the thousand True Qi Pills, possibly even leading to a conflict.
Yun Xiaodao took out ten jade boxes, each containing one hundred True Qi Pills. After examining them, Shen Xiang confirmed that they were genuine. Although their quality wasn't as good as the ones he refined himself, they still met the standard.
Yun Xiaodao kept only one box for himself. Shen Xiang originally wanted to give Zhang De one box as well, but Zhang De refused to accept it for free and ended up buying it at half price.
Zhu Rong had previously gifted Shen Xiang a box of Bai Yu Powder, so Shen Xiang gave him one box of True Qi Pills as thanks. However, Zhu Rong still looked jealous when he accepted it and even tried to buy three more boxes at half price, but Yun Xiaodao kicked him out before he could.
"That shameless fatty!" Yun Xiaodao cursed.
"We're officially inner court disciples now. Let's go collect our supplies and visit the Inner Martial Scripture Pavilion to find some high-level martial techniques," Yun Xiaodao said excitedly, rushing out of the martial courtyard.
The supply collection point was at the Tai Dan Academy's inner court, managed by a True Martial Realm disciple. Shen Xiang received 30 True Qi Pills, one True Yuan Pill, 3,000 crystal stones, and a fitting ninth-level Mortal Weapon—a Dragon-Headed Broadsword!
Yun Xiaodao and Zhang De also collected weapons, but they didn't care much for them.
As they walked toward the Inner Martial Scripture Pavilion, Yun Xiaodao noticed Shen Xiang playing with the Dragon-Headed Broadsword and asked, "Big Brother Shen, what's so great about a ninth-level Mortal Weapon? Zhang Old Man and I are both using Spiritual Weapons."
Shen Xiang was startled and immediately understood why they hadn't cared about the weapons—they already had Spiritual Weapons!
Even the cheapest first-level Spiritual Weapon would cost over 100,000 crystal stones, so it wasn't surprising they had such items.
"I've never seen a Spiritual Weapon before. What do they look like?" Shen Xiang asked curiously.
Yun Xiaodao proudly took out a broad sword. "This is a fifth-level Spiritual Weapon, the Heavenly Wolf Sword. It's worth a million crystal stones and is forged from the bones of a Diamond Iron Wolf, making it incredibly durable. Moreover, the blade is engraved with spirit patterns, allowing it to absorb and fuse with spirit True Qi, making it even more powerful. Inside the blade are meridians similar to those in a human body, so True Qi can flow through it smoothly. The hilt is embedded with the demon core of the Diamond Iron Wolf. When activated, the demon Qi from the core will make the sword even more formidable!"
Shen Xiang could indeed see the intricate, mysterious patterns on the blade. Under the sunlight, it sparkled beautifully.
"This is one of the top fifth-level Spiritual Weapons! Although its base cost is a million crystal stones, its true value far exceeds that. The Yun Family was able to commission a famous weapon smith to forge it using their connections," Zhang De said, his face full of envy and jealousy.