Chapter 187: Barely Passable

Yao Qian was greatly astonished at this moment, because even he hadn't seen clearly how Ye Yuan had managed to sneak the Tongming Fire behind Yang Hao!

Ye Yuan's monstrousness far exceeded his imagination!

It seemed that the title 'Number One in a Millennium' might not be without reason.

A fifteen-year-old at the second level of Liquid Essence—even in a sect, such cultivation speed was not slow. What was more terrifying was that Ye Yuan's alchemy skills should be very strong.

Achieving so much in both martial arts and alchemy at only fifteen, his future accomplishments were limitless!

However, this Ye Yuan had offended the Su family, and this time he would probably be eliminated by them.

It was a bit of a pity.

"Lord Yao Qian flatters me. What 'Number One in a Millennium'? Ye Yuan is unworthy of it. But compared to some mediocrities, I am indeed a little stronger," Ye Yuan said calmly.

This old man was clearly ill-intentioned, so Ye Yuan naturally saw no need to be polite.

"Quite a sharp tongue. But young people should learn to be a bit more restrained, or they will suffer losses."

"If others respect me a foot, I return them ten feet. If others push their advantage, I leave them no ground to advance! That is my principle!"

"Heh, Yunhe, this little fellow is quite interesting," Yao Qian said, ignoring Ye Yuan and turning to Jiang Yunhe.

Jiang Yunhe was rather embarrassed and gave a dry laugh: "Ye Yuan has always been like this. Lord Yao Qian, please don't take it to heart."

"Why would I bother with a little child?" Yao Qian said indifferently.

Just then, a voice came from outside: "Dean, Long Tang requests an audience."

"Come in," Jiang Yunhe instructed.

Long Tang's arrival eased the awkward atmosphere somewhat. But when he saw Ye Yuan, his eyes instantly turned sharp.

This Ye Yuan had actually broken through to the second level of Liquid Essence!

He had thought that by breaking through to the fifth level of Liquid Essence, he had finally left Ye Yuan behind. If Ye Yuan couldn't break through to Liquid Essence, then his duel with Ye Yuan would be meaningless.

But who would have thought that Ye Yuan's progress was no slower than his!

Long Tang's consecutive breakthroughs within a month were due to three factors: first, his accumulated strength; second, the great benefits from the Nine Heavens Path; and third, the Yuanling Pill.

With so many factors combined, he dared to break through two realms in a short time.

But Ye Yuan had gone to the Boundless Forest and returned already at the second level of Liquid Essence. This speed of progress was too terrifying!

One must know that before going to the Boundless Forest, Ye Yuan had only just broken through to the ninth level of Yuan Qi!

At this moment, Ye Yuan also looked at him. They exchanged smiles but said nothing more.

After Jiang Yunhe introduced them and Long Tang paid his respects, Yao Qian spoke: "I came this time on the sect's orders to guide you into the sect. Since you two have passed the Nine Heavens Path, you naturally hold the status of core disciples. However, before entering the sect, you need to understand the rules of my Youyun Sect. After joining, you must strictly abide by the rules, or face the consequences!"

As he spoke, Yao Qian casually shot out two white beams, and two jade slips landed in the hands of Ye Yuan and Long Tang.

Ye Yuan sank a wisp of his divine sense into the jade slip and read its contents.

After reading, Ye Yuan sighed deeply. From the sect rules alone, it was clear that competition within the sect was far more brutal than in the Danwu Academy.

It was truly survival of the fittest!

In the Youyun Sect, there were elite disciples, core disciples, and outer disciples.

The normal path of advancement: only the top students from the outer training grounds who passed the heaven-level advancement assessment were qualified to become outer disciples!

There were three ways to become a core disciple: the first was promotion from among the outer disciples; the second was passing the Nine Heavens Path; and the third was by special approval from the sect's high-level officials.

Elite disciples were somewhat similar to the Danwu Academy's Danwu Ranking—only disciples extremely strong in alchemy or martial arts could qualify!

Moreover, the statuses of elite disciples, core disciples, and outer disciples were not fixed. Every two months, rankings were conducted. Those ranked lower were demoted to the next level, while outstanding lower-level disciples were promoted.

Thus, the numbers of elite and core disciples were essentially fixed!

Outer disciples who failed their assessments would become menial laborers!

Menial laborers had no status in the Youyun Sect. They had to do a large amount of mundane work every day, leaving them little time for cultivation.

The treatment among elite disciples, core disciples, and outer disciples also differed greatly!

In the Danwu Academy, many were from noble families. For them, using the academy's resources was no big deal.

Money could buy indulgence!

But in the Youyun Sect, that was not allowed!

The Youyun Sect implemented a point system. Disciples had to use points to exchange for corresponding cultivation resources.

Without points, one could not move an inch in the Youyun Sect!

Points could not be bought with money; they could only be obtained by making contributions to the sect.

From this system, it was clear that trying to coast along in the Youyun Sect was absolutely impossible! Only by constantly cultivating, cultivating, and cultivating again could one gain a foothold in the sect!

The sect did not raise useless people!

Yao Qian glanced at the two indifferently and said, "You've finished reading the sect rules, right? I can tell you that with your current strength, you are probably only at the middle level among outer disciples, still a gap away from core disciples. Especially you, Ye Yuan. At the second level of Liquid Essence, you might even be at the bottom among outer disciples. So, if you want to obtain corresponding resources after joining the sect, you'd better spend more time cultivating. Otherwise, being eliminated in the first sect competition would make Yunhe lose face, wouldn't it?"

Hearing Yao Qian's words, Long Tang looked at Ye Yuan with a strange expression.

Ye Yuan's strength could only be at the bottom among outer disciples? This Yao Qian definitely didn't know how terrifying Ye Yuan was!

Even though he himself had broken through to the fifth level of Liquid Essence, he dared not say he could definitely beat Ye Yuan! If he himself was only at the middle level of outer disciples, then Ye Yuan was certainly about the same.

Bottom? That was impossible!

Moreover, with Ye Yuan's speed of progress, he would probably quickly gain a foothold among core disciples after joining the sect, right?

Seeing Long Tang's expression, Yao Qian said indifferently, "You don't yet have a clear understanding of how strong the sect's disciples are. I just want to tell you, don't naively think you can fight above your level. Once you enter the Youyun Sect, you'll realize how weak you are!"

Long Tang's heart tightened at this, but Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Lord Yao Qian really likes to worry. With all this free time, you'd be better off teaching your mediocre disciple. From what I see, after we join the sect, he might barely pass as a core disciple."