Chapter 152: Rank Replacement
「At the foot of Battle Peak.」
The two of them arrived at around the same time.
"It’s a draw," Fang Yun said, taking the initiative.
Although he had arrived first, it was only because he had pushed ahead at full speed.
Bai Qinying nodded. Her thoughts were the same as Fang Yun’s.
’The Upper-Grade Magical Artifact Fang Yun is wearing must have a relatively simple function; otherwise, it couldn’t produce such an incredible burst of speed. The Spiritual Power consumption must have been significant, too.’
However, Bai Qinying had no intention of letting Fang Yun recover his Spiritual Power. If she couldn’t break through his defenses within a certain amount of time, she would be the one to lose.
She remembered Fang Yun’s rules very clearly; in fact, she had been very supportive of them at the time.
On the way up Battle Peak, some senior brothers and sisters who saw Fang Yun came over to ask if he had an opponent for his first Magical Combat spar.
They didn’t think Bai Qinying, who was beside Fang Yun, was his opponent for the spar.
After the last Inner Sect Grand Competition, many disciples knew which senior brothers and sisters were on good terms with Fang Yun.
Given Bai Qinying and Fang Yun’s relationship, even if they went up Battle Peak together, it didn’t necessarily mean they were there to fight. In this situation, one had to ask, as it was the only way to get a chance to spar with Fang Yun.
According to the information they had, Fang Yun had only come to Battle Peak once in the last month, and once the month before that.
So, the opportunity to have a Magical Combat spar with Fang Yun was now even more precious.
Upon arriving on Battle Peak, Bai Qinying said, "Junior Brother Fang, come with me over there first."
"Alright."
Fang Yun followed Bai Qinying, and the two of them walked over to the vicinity of the Inner Sect Ranking board.
Next to the Inner Sect Ranking, a list of participants for the Four-Sect Trials was also posted.
The day after tomorrow, Bai Qinying would be going into seclusion for her Foundation Establishment. She came to Battle Peak today to take care of registering her withdrawal from the Inner Sect Ranking and the Four-Sect Trials list.
Even if she didn’t come to explain, the stewards would handle it after she became an Elder.
By handling it now, Bai Qinying was simply hoping to give herself some better luck—a form of psychological suggestion.
Fang Yun seemed to understand Bai Qinying’s intentions.
He supported this kind of thinking. ’If I were the one attempting Foundation Establishment, I’d take every possible measure to ensure I succeed on the first try.’
"Huh? Junior Brother, you’re not on the list yet." Bai Qinying looked at the roster for the Four-Sect Trials and saw that Fang Yun’s name was not on it.
Fang Yun nodded and was about to explain when Bai Qinying continued.
"Are you worried that the junior brothers and sisters will challenge you and disrupt your schedule, so you’re planning to wait until the last minute to add your name?"
The requirements for challenging a disciple on the Four-Sect Trials list were much simpler than for the Inner Sect Ranking.
Bai Qinying looked at Fang Yun beside her and offered her advice, "When they challenge you, just defeat them in a few sword strikes. That way, not many will actually dare to challenge you."
Fang Yun, as a ’whetstone,’ was very popular on Battle Peak.
When his name was on the list, it was inevitable that disciples of average strength would come to challenge him. In those situations, Bai Qinying hoped Fang Yun wouldn’t agree to any of their requests. This wasn’t a formal Magical Combat spar; he could just end the fight quickly with a single sword strike.
If he didn’t function as a good whetstone, people would be less willing to challenge him.
After she was off the list, Fang Yun would undoubtedly be the strongest disciple on it.
"I understand, Senior Sister." Fang Yun nodded, going along with what Bai Qinying was saying.
But that wasn’t the actual reason.
The main reason he wasn’t on the list was that for the past few months, his focus had been on breaking through to the next Realm and on Refining Spiritual Artifacts.
Now, he had broken through to the next Realm, Refined his first Spiritual Artifact, and even upgraded his Combat Talent.
"...You’re not on the Inner Sect Ranking either." Bai Qinying seemed to realize she had misjudged the situation. ’Maybe Fang Yun already knows all this.’
Except for the person ranked thirty-sixth on the Inner Sect Ranking, anyone else who wanted to challenge a disciple on the ranking had to be on the ranking themselves.
"We can take care of it all today." Fang Yun couldn’t help but smile at Bai Qinying’s expression. "Senior Sister, aren’t you leaving the list and the Inner Sect Ranking? I can just take your spot."
With his strength and Bai Qinying’s background, it wouldn’t be difficult to arrange.
He just needed Bai Qinying’s master to make the arrangements.
The most important thing was that he had the strength to replace Bai Qinying, a fact that was obvious to everyone.
"That works."
Bai Qinying walked up to the Steward in charge of the Inner Sect Ranking and the Four-Sect Trials list.
"Steward Cui, I need to withdraw from the Inner Sect Ranking and the Four-Sect Trials list. Let Fang Yun fill my vacant spots."
"Ah, Qin Ying, replacing you on the Four-Sect Trials list is easy, but filling a spot on the Inner Sect Ranking isn’t so simple," Steward Cui explained his predicament.
When the Four-Sect Trials list was first created, it was populated with people from the Inner Sect Ranking. For any remaining open spots, those who signed up first could simply fill them.
Therefore, it was very simple for Fang Yun to take Bai Qinying’s place on the Four-Sect Trials list after she withdrew.
As for why Bai Qinying wanted to voluntarily withdraw from the list and the Inner Sect Ranking, Steward Cui, who had been in charge of this area on Battle Peak for years, understood perfectly well.
’The next time I see Bai Qinying, I might have to address her as Elder.’
"As for the Inner Sect Ranking, just record my request for now, and then go speak with Elder Feng about it."
"Alright, I can give it a try."
Since Bai Qinying had put it that way, he couldn’t very well refuse.
’I’ll just have to report exactly what Bai Qinying said to Elder Feng later.’
This outcome was exactly what Fang Yun had hoped for.
Getting on the Inner Sect Ranking was usually a bit more troublesome, as it required scheduling a challenge match.
Being able to jump directly to third place saved him a lot of effort.
The rewards for the Inner Sect Ranking, just like the Spirit Plant List, were settled every year in December.
’If the Inner Sect Ranking were settled in January or February, I would have made sure to get on it by now.’
After handling the matters of the Four-Sect Trials list and the Inner Sect Ranking, Bai Qinying and Fang Yun went to register for their Magical Combat spar.
Soon, the two of them were assigned to Dueling Platform Two.
On their way to Dueling Platform Two, they saw Wu Junxin.
"Senior Brother Wu."
"Junior Brother Wu."
"Ah, Senior Sister Bai and Junior Brother Fang."
Just as they saw Wu Junxin, he saw them as well.
Wu Junxin hurried over to Fang Yun.
"Perfect timing, Junior Brother Fang. Here are the one hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones that Junior Brother Yang asked me to give you. He went to your place once but couldn’t find you, so he came to me for help."
As he spoke, Wu Junxin handed the one hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones to Fang Yun.
Like Wu Junxin, Yang Yingjie also lived in Area B of the Inner Sect Disciple residences.
It was much more convenient for him to find Wu Junxin than Fang Yun.
"Junior Brother Yang also asked me to tell you that the shield is working really well."
"As long as it’s useful." Fang Yun smiled and placed the Spirit Stones into his Storage Pouch.
Bai Qinying could tell at a glance that this was a transaction Fang Yun had completed using the Spirit Refining Device.
"Junior Brother Fang, it looks like you’re about to have a Magical Combat spar with Senior Sister Bai?" Wu Junxin asked.
It was Bai Qinying who answered him.
"After my Magical Combat spar with Junior Brother Fang is over, Junior Brother Wu, would you like to have a match with me?"
"I’d be honored!"