‘Hmm, the space really feels different here after reaching fourth level Space intent,’ he thought while feeling the wrapping of space all around him.
…
Shen Yuan traveled through a few Spatial Portals before reaching a different location on the Radiant Heart Peak, since only the Core Disciples were worthy enough to qualify for the Aurora Competition.
A small competition was being held at the central square of the Core Sect. Shen Yuan wandered his way to that place. Looking at the empty roads, he shook his head. “The core sect is really too barren. I think there are not even 30 Core Disciples inside the sect.”
He remembered during the ceremony when he became a Core Disciple, not even 5 Core Disciples had come there.
[It isn’t easy to cultivate Core Disciples of a Divine Grade sect, you know. All the top Inner Disciples here can become the Core Disciples or even the Head Disciples in the outside world.]
“I know that, but still, it would have been better if there were more core disciples.” He shook his head and continued towards the competition venue.
Standing in front of him was a giant coliseum-type building with lotus imprints all over its wall, while a faint barrier shimmered all around it.
“Hmm, are they having the competition here?” He wondered before entering since there were no disciples on guard here.
He entered a tunnel-like structure with a light at the end of it. After walking for a short while, he exited from the other side, and the sight that greeted him was something… else.
Two battles were ongoing in the arena at the center, with disciples sitting all around on seats above the arena. A pair of female disciples were fighting each other with brilliant radiant and other elemental attacks.
Two of them were wielding short swords, one had a longsword, while one was wielding two daggers. Shen Yuan curiously observed their fights for a second, realizing all four of them were around the upper levels of Mid-Tier Dao Core Forming Realm.
The surrounding disciples also noticed his presence when he came out from the entry. Most of them looked at him respectfully, as not only was he a Core Disciple of the sect, but also an Earth Grade Alchemist and Blacksmith.
Their respect would have been much greater if they knew he was already a Heaven Grade Alchemist and Blacksmith. But none of them came to disturb him as the competition was ongoing currently.
Shen Yuan also didn’t bother with them but went ahead and sat down on one of the nearby seats. Glancing around, he also saw quite a few elders, some he had never met, while there were some familiar faces as well, like Xiang Mei, as well as some other Core Elders he had seen during his ceremony.
‘How many core elders even are there? Including Elder Xiang Mei and the two others, I have seen only four of them. Including my mom, since she said she is also a Core Elder,’ he said inside his mind.
[There should be a few more. They are quite the high cultivation base, especially Xiang Mei. She is only weaker than the Sect Leader. Among all the elders, she is the strongest I have seen, of course, except the Grand Elder.]
Just then, the dagger wielder had defeated her opponent, one of the short sword wielders, with a swift counterattack.
“Oh? Dagger Intent? And at the Second Level. She is quite talented.” Shen Yuan’s keen eyes captured the subtle use of Dagger Intent in that move.
The other pair of disciples increased the intensity of the fight just as they realized the other one had finished their battle.
On the other side of the arena, three disciples were sitting together, two inner disciples and one core disciple. The core disciple had purple hair and white eyes. She was giving off a proud and confident aura to those around her.
“Is that the rumored Shen Yuan, one of the greatest geniuses in the history of the sect?” She softly asked, lightly looking at Shen Yuan before shifting her gaze away so he wouldn’t notice.
“Yes, yes, Young Miss. He is that prodigy everyone has been talking about,” one of the girls hurriedly nodded her head and answered.
The other disciple, not to be left behind, quickly added, “Yes, I heard even the Sect Leader was praising his talent and battle power highly. But of course, he is nothing in front of you, Lady Lei Ranyu, who is ranked 3rd in the Core Disciples Ranking.”
Lei Ranyu neither accepted nor denied her claim and calmly looked at the battle ongoing inside the arena, which was nearly finished. “I will challenge him after this battle ends.”
Both of the Inner Disciples’ eyes lit up as they hurriedly praised her and began talking about how Shen Yuan couldn’t hold a candle to her.
After a while, the longsword wielder had defeated the short sword user, and just then Lei Ranyu stood up and looked at where Shen Yuan was sitting.
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Her eyes shot up in surprise to see him missing from there. She hurriedly scanned the entire arena but she couldn’t find him.
“…Where did he go?” She quietly asked as her body released small electric arcs in frustration.
…
[Why did you leave the arena so quickly?]
“Nothing in particular. I felt like it would only bring me trouble if I stayed there longer. There is no shortage of disciples who want to beat me up for fame, after all.” Shen Yuan was walking towards the training grounds of the Core sect with his hand behind his head.
[Hehe, you made me miss a good show.]
Shen Yuan shook his head and entered another Spatial Portal, heading towards the Spatial Portals.
…
“Woah, so that’s the training pagoda of Core Disciples? It sure is impressive,” he said, standing beneath the massive 10-story training pagoda with a few disciples entering and leaving.
‘Well, not as impressive as my Pagoda though,’ he thought to himself with a smirk before heading inside the pagoda. Once inside, he saw an Inner Elder sitting behind a counter.
After reaching the front of the counter, “Greeting Elder. May I inquire how I can use the training pagoda?” he lightly asked.
The elder raised her head and looked at him for a bit. “Oh, you are Shen Yuan. The Sect Leader informed me about you. She told me to take care of you if you decided to come here,” she kindly said.
Shen Yuan lightly smiled, “Haha, the Sect Leader indeed does take good care of me.”
“So about the training pagoda, the first three floors are designed for Extreme Origin Core Realm Disciples. Fourth to Sixth floors are for Dao Core Forming Realm Disciples, while the seventh to ninth floors are for Mortal Tribulation Realm Elders,” she softly informed him.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Hmm, what about the tenth floor? Nascent Soul Realm?”
She nodded her head. “Yes, Nascent Soul Realm cultivators train there. Mostly to train their soul.”
He nodded his head and continued asking, “Does that mean Elders also come here to train?”
“Of course, there is not much difference between Core Disciples and Inner Elders. Most of them are guaranteed to become Elders at least, if they don’t meet an unfortunate accident.”