"Open the door." A cocky-sounding voice rang out.

Upon hearing this voice, Chu Fan's face immediately darkened. Of course, he knew who it was—none other than that treacherous fellow who had been making trouble for him as soon as he entered the outer gate, that bastard named Qin Yu.

The outer disciples' residences are not as exquisite as Yu Ling's. Instead of courtyards, they are rows of small rooms arranged neatly. Inside, there is nothing but tables, chairs, benches, and beds without any partitions. They are not soundproof, and without any protective measures (such as defensive formations), it is easy for others to sneak over and disturb them.

Chu Fan, of course, didn't have those things. He opened the door and coldly questioned:

"Qin Yu? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Chu Fan, don't be so cold. Although we had a little unpleasantness during the day, as the saying goes, 'No discord, no concord.' Maybe we can be friends."

Qin Yu said with a smile,

"I didn't expect you to have a companion at the Void Refinement Realm. I heard he's going to be Venerable Si's first disciple. No wonder Senior Brother Cen squeezed you in... I have to say, you're really stubborn. You should have said so earlier!"

Chu Fan sighed silently. This man was indeed only trying to reconcile with him because of Brother Mo. He frowned and said, "So you've come to apologize? Then please leave. I have nothing to say to you."

"Alright, that's enough for now. I'll cover your cultivation resources if necessary." Qin Yu sneered. "You don't really think a personal disciple will be your long-term friend, do you? You're not on the same path. Face reality; the outer sect isn't easy to navigate."

"Oh," Chu Fan said indifferently, "So what?"

\"you!\"

Qin Yu's tone faltered, clearly not expecting the other party to be so stubborn. He was, after all, a cultivator at the Refinement of Void stage! He was a leader among the outer disciples, but he had been unable to break through for a long time, which was why he had never had the opportunity to enter the inner sect.

However, he quickly calmed down because he knew that Chu Fan was only at the Nascent Soul stage. Even if they became enemies, it wouldn't cause him any harm. If soft tactics didn't work, he would try hard ones!

"Since that's the case, I'm too lazy to waste words with you. Let's settle this with a fight! I won't bully you; I'll suppress my cultivation level to the Nascent Soul stage as well. If you lose, don't bring anyone else to cause me trouble."

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes, swung his right fist, and slammed it hard towards Chu Fan. He had been preparing this punch for a long time. Ever since he learned that this person with connections had stronger connections than him, Qin Yu had thought of many ways to deal with the situation, but finally decided to use the method he was best at.

If you can't persuade him, then beat him into submission. This time he's being reasonable and not bullying people, so he can't be unreasonable anymore, right?

Chu Fan remained calm. He knew this guy's cultivation was far superior to his own, and by a significant margin. Even if the other party suppressed his cultivation, he had no chance of defeating him. Therefore, he decided to give up resisting. Qin Yu was, after all, an outer disciple; he couldn't possibly destroy him.

At this critical moment, a strong sense of crisis suddenly surged into Qin Yu's heart. He subconsciously dodged to the side, barely avoiding Chu Fan who was about to crash into him.

"...Are you crazy?!"

"I never rely on anyone's charity or help. I'm not afraid of you, nor am I afraid because I have a disciple as a friend." Chu Fan approached without any warning, causing the even stronger Qin Yu to retreat step by step. "As long as you are always stronger than me, you don't need to worry about my revenge."

"Alright, I hope you keep your word." Qin Yu dispersed the magic power in his hand and said, "I just wanted to see you have some fun. I went a bit too far, but it's the law of the jungle. If you're weak, it's your fault. You should talk less about principles. You know the Heavenly Dao is watching from above."

This is the sad thing about cultivators; they easily turn to oaths to the Heavenly Dao, putting themselves in shackles. Therefore, Chu Fan's words are quite credible.

"No matter what, I lost today, and you won." Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.

...........

Time flies, and the day of the disciple-acceptance ceremony arrived in the blink of an eye. This is a privilege reserved only for the sect leader and peak masters when they accept disciples.

After selecting an auspicious time, Yu Ling was led into the main hall of the sect's main peak by her old acquaintance, Cen Yan.

"Senior Brother, what's going on? Why does a newcomer suddenly want to become Uncle Si's disciple? I've never heard of Uncle Si taking on any disciples!"

Upon seeing that Cen Yan had brought Yu Ling, a complete stranger, the group of disciples below immediately questioned him with dissatisfaction.

As the chief disciple and the senior brother of everyone in the sect, Cen Yan would naturally try to resolve the issue tactfully to prevent any conflict between Yu Ling and this disciple. He smiled and said:

"This was a last-minute decision, and today it was the Sect Master who accepted the gifts on behalf of Martial Uncle Si. Oh, by the way, this is Young Master Mo Xuanyu, a hundred-year-old Void Refinement Realm cultivator who recently ascended from the lower realm..."

"So that's how it is. No wonder Master and the others looked so mysterious. They actually took on disciples without telling Uncle Si. This is going to be quite a show." The man said with sudden realization.

"Alright, this apprenticeship ceremony should begin soon. I'll take Young Master Mo there first."

Cen Yan nodded to the man, then said to Yu Ling, "Come with me!"

Yu Ling followed Cen Yan into the main hall. He could feel the intense gazes of everyone around him the whole way, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Finally, they arrived at the main hall. Several peak masters and sect leaders were all present and sat in the seats of honor. The surrounding area was already full of people, including elders, disciples, and even the black-robed man they had encountered in the weapon tower.

Upon seeing Yu Ling and Cen Yan arrive, everyone's attention turned to them. Cen Yan whispered to Yu Ling, "Young Master Mo, we can begin now. Go."

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Cen."

Yu Ling stood gracefully in the center of the arena. Although the selection had already been made internally, the normal disciple selection process still had to be followed. He calmly bowed to the sect leader and said:

"Disciple Mo Xuanyu is nearly a hundred years old and has reached the Refining Void Realm. I wonder if any elder would be so kind as to offer guidance?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose in the seats of honor, and some disciples couldn't help but start discussing among themselves.

"Mo Xuanyu reached the Void Refinement Realm at only a hundred years old... Heavens, did I hear that right?!"

"Is it true? He really reached the Void Refinement Realm? Our sect is about to produce another extraordinary figure!"

"This is absolutely unexpected!"

There was a soundproof array between the main hall and the audience, so the noise below would not affect the solemn disciple-acceptance ceremony. Several dignified and refined peak masters began their performances, sometimes vying for the prize, sometimes giving way to each other, feigning reluctance.

Only at the very end was the sect leader brought out.