Chapter 167: Wanting More
Early December.
It had been three years and two months since Fang Yun became a disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect.
In the five months from the beginning of July until now, Fang Yun’s cultivation had steadily improved each month, and the amount of Talent Points he gained monthly had also been quite stable.
He had now drawn Life Talents over four hundred times. While the upgrade to a five-star Life Talent was still a long way off, he was approaching it at a steady pace.
Three months ago, Fang Yun had received some good news.
He had heard it from his master, Xiong Xingfeng.
The rewards for the Four-Sect Trial had been decided. The disciple with the highest points would receive a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
Fang Yun was determined to get that Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
He had also made many preparations for the Four-Sect Trial...
Early this morning.
After finishing his cultivation, the first thing Fang Yun did was check the accumulation of Spiritual Power in his Qi Sea.
’In about half a month, I’ll reach the peak of the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.’
Breaking through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining before the new year was already a sure thing for Fang Yun.
After he finished cultivating, Fang Yun left his residence and headed toward Battle Peak.
The fifteenth of this month was when the Inner Sect Ranking would be finalized.
He was still ranked third on the Inner Sect Ranking. So far, no one had challenged him for his third-place spot, nor had anyone challenged his position on the list for the Four-Sect Trial.
He was quite happy about this, because with no challengers, he didn’t have to adjust his schedule to accept duels.
He was heading to Battle Peak now to do one thing first: register with the Steward to challenge the number one on the Inner Sect Ranking.
The first-ranked disciple on the Inner Sect Ranking could directly receive five hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones every year.
The difference between first and third place was two hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones. The rewards for third through tenth place were the same, as were the rewards for eleventh through thirty-sixth.
Fang Yun wasn’t concerned about the two-hundred-Spirit-Stone difference, though of course, having them was better than not.
What he cared about was the difference in Talent Points awarded upon finalization.
There was definitely a gap in the Talent Points awarded to the first and third ranks. Based on Fang Yun’s calculations, the gap might be quite large—perhaps as much as one thousand Talent Points. After his multipliers, that would be a difference of over three thousand Talent Points.
Therefore, he had to take the number one spot on the Inner Sect Ranking before the fifteenth of this month.
"Senior Brother Fang."
At the foot of Battle Peak, Fang Yun had just slowed down when he heard someone call his name.
"Ah, it’s Junior Brother Bai."
"Senior Brother Fang, you still remember me!" Bai Chengyou had only meant to greet him, but he immediately hurried over when Fang Yun responded.
"Of course I do."
Bai Chengyou was the first opponent he had ever faced in a Magical Combat spar on Battle Peak; it was impossible for him not to remember.
He recalled that Bai Chengyou’s cultivation had been approaching the peak of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer back then. Now, Bai Chengyou was wearing the attire of an Inner Sect Disciple, which meant he had already broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
"When did you break through to the late stage of Qi Refining?" Fang Yun asked.
"Just half a month ago."
Hearing Fang Yun take the initiative to ask about his cultivation made Bai Chengyou even happier.
As Fang Yun grew stronger and more famous, he had become one of Fang Yun’s supporters, albeit a neutral one.
However, now that he was an Inner Sect Disciple, he had to be more mature and composed. He couldn’t act too excited when Fang Yun was about to have a Magical Combat spar.
Bai Chengyou walked with Fang Yun up the path to Battle Peak.
Most of their conversation centered on their first Magical Combat spar.
On the way up Battle Peak, Fang Yun also received an invitation for a Magical Combat spar from a senior sister who was an Inner Sect Disciple at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.
He accepted immediately.
An unwritten rule had emerged among the disciples regarding Magical Combat spars with Fang Yun on Battle Peak.
If a disciple’s Realm was not higher than Fang Yun’s, they were not qualified to have a Magical Combat spar with him.
Fang Yun didn’t appear on Battle Peak often—almost never more than three times a month. The opportunities should be given to the more powerful senior brothers and sisters to practice their all-out offensive techniques.
Fang Yun himself didn’t know about this rule at first, but he gradually came to understand it later on.
He couldn’t really say anything about a rule that the Sect Disciples had spontaneously created among themselves.
Sparring in Magical Combat with disciples of a higher Realm was a good thing for him anyway, as it would earn him more Talent Points upon settlement.
"Junior Brother Fang, aren’t you going to register with the Steward?" the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining senior sister asked.
She had finally gotten this opportunity and was very excited, already prepared to use every technique she had on the Dueling Platform. A tiny, faint hope lingered in her heart that she might find a flaw in Fang Yun’s defense.
"I need to go register at the Inner Sect Ranking first," Fang Yun replied.
"A rank-challenge battle?"
"That’s right."
"What?!" Bai Chengyou had the strongest reaction.
Realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly covered his mouth. After all, he was an Inner Sect Disciple now.
’Be composed, be composed.’
Fang Yun was currently third on the Inner Sect Ranking. His opponent in a rank-challenge battle could only be the senior brother in first place or the senior sister in second.
Rank-challenge battles could not be initiated against those of a lower rank.
Compared to Bai Chengyou, the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Inner Sect senior sister was also excited. She would finally get to see a battle between the top three on the Inner Sect Ranking.
The two of them followed Fang Yun to the area near the Inner Sect Ranking board.
Fang Yun needed to register with the Steward here.
"Steward, I want to challenge the number one on the Inner Sect Ranking, Senior Brother Zhou Hongchang."
"Alright. Give me your Token. You’ll be notified of the time later."
"Yes." Fang Yun handed over his Token upon hearing this.
Just like the notifications for completing tasks from the Task Hall, Fang Yun would later receive a notice with the scheduled time.
All of this would be displayed on his Token.
That was why the Identity Token was so important for disciples within the sect; it wasn’t just a tool for recording Sect Contribution Points.
The junior brother and senior sister who had followed along had thought Fang Yun was just challenging the second-ranked disciple. It turned out he was going for first place.
Now they were even more excited.
In five days at most, there should be a showdown between the first and third-ranked disciples on the Inner Sect Ranking.
A notice with the relevant information would be posted near the Inner Sect Ranking board a day before the battle began.
It seemed they would have to come check the Inner Sect Ranking board for the next few days.
...
"Are you free in the next five days?"
"Yes, I am."
"Good. Await notification, then."
"Yes, sir."
Once the required procedures were complete, the Steward left.
Zhou Hongchang closed the door to his room and couldn’t help but smile.
’Interesting.’
The day the Inner Sect Ranking rewards were to be finalized was only eleven days away, yet Fang Yun had actually decided to come after him at a time like this.
He actually knew quite a bit about Fang Yun.
Mainly because this junior brother was very special—he had managed to remain undefeated against Bai Qinying, who was third on the Inner Sect Ranking at the time, while only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
Now, Bai Qinying was already a Sect Elder, while he, having failed to reach Foundation Establishment once, was planning to make another attempt at the Foundation Establishment Stage early next year.
If he failed this second attempt, he wouldn’t just be a Half-Step Foundation Establishment cultivator anymore.
When he failed his first attempt, the silver lining was that his cultivation had advanced, allowing him to become a Half-Step Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
A Half-Step Foundation Establishment Cultivator was far stronger than a cultivator at the Peak of Qi Refining.