Time flew by and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed.
At the Outer Court, the triennial Selection had begun.
A huge number of outer disciples gathered around the gigantic fighting ring. There were even a small number of core disciples who attended simply out of curiosity.
The Selection at the Outer Court was almost the only chance outer disciples could become core disciples. It was of utmost importance to them.
The fighting ring had become extremely lively with the large crowd around it.
“The Selection has begun again! I wonder who’ll be the winner.”
“Do you really still have to wonder? Of course, it’s Senior Brother Yin Long. Who among us in the Outer Court could beat him anyway?”
“That’s actually true. For his level, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to defeat everyone in the Outer Court. The only person who could probably bring some challenge to him is Senior Brother Qian Xia. However, Senior Brother Qian Xia had fought Senior Brother Yin Long a few times before and was always on the absolute losing side.”
The comments waves among outer disciples almost uniformly agreed that Yin Long would become the final victor in the Selection.
It was true that only Yin Long had the ability to defeat all of them. Compared to him, they were all quite far below his level.
Right then…
“Oh yeah, what about that Jian Wushuang?” Someone shouted, causing a noisy disturbance around the ring.
“That’s right! Where is that Jian Wushuang guy who has an Elder’s Token and would get even more supplies than core disciples?”
“If he has resources that could make core disciples jealous, I’m sure he has very outstanding tactics and abilities. Then, why don’t we see him in this year’s Selection?”
“Don’t tell me he’s afraid?”
Many of the outer disciples were searching thoroughly around the fighting ring but could not find a trace of Jian Wushuang.
They very soon received news indicating that Jian Wushuang did not even plan to take part in that year’s Selection.
“I’ll be damned! I thought I could see what he is made of in the Selection. Instead, he isn’t even taking part now?”
“From how I see it, I’m sure he knows he isn’t good enough and would only face humiliation by taking part in the Selection, that’s why he didn’t join on purpose.”
“What a coward, this Jian Wushuang!”
“Isn’t he? Since he has got more resources than the core disciples, he should prove that he is even more outstanding than most core disciples. However bad he is, he should at least show that he has got something that others don’t. But now, it’s clear that he is not feeling confident!”
“Alright, alright, let’s not talk too much. We all know this Jian Wushuang character has an unusual relationship with Elder Wujian. Who knows, he could be Elder Wujian’s offspring in the Outer Realm, maybe even his illegitimate son. It’s only normal that Elder Wujian shows partiality for him.”
There was a disdain undertone between the outer disciples’ comments.
However, the discussion soon gradually faded and the Selection officially began.
At a separate courtyard of the Outer Court…
Jian Wushuang lightly shut his eyes and swallowed an elixir pill that could raise divine power.
After ingesting the elixir, the efficacy was fully absorbed by Jian Wushuang within only two breaths.
“My divine power has become purer and purer. I can have a new breakthrough within a month with my current progress speed, reaching the Middle Stage Chaotic Realm.” Jian Wushuang smiled with satisfaction.
Before he arrived at Narcissus Island, he knew that he could restore his peak ability in only a few years’ time.
However, within less than three months, he was already one step away from the Middle Stage Chaotic Realm. With such progress, he could return to his peak in three years’ time.
“Seeing the time of day, the Selection has most probably started. The Selection takes two days, but I could already predict the result today. Hopefully Senior Brother Yin Long can really defeat all the outer disciples without many difficulties.” Jian Wushuang smiled before closing his eyes again and began to concentrate on understanding the knowledge from the jade slips.
A day quickly passed with such learning concentration.
In the blink of an eye, the sun was setting in the west and darkness fell.
Only then did the outer disciples who were gathering around the fighting ring gradually dispersed.
Jian Wushuang’s expression suddenly changed as he sat properly in the courtyard.
“Senior Brother Yin Long.”
Jian Wushuang’s body mysteriously moved and stood in front of Yin Long, who just returned from the fighting ring.
“Junior Brother Wushuang.” Yin Long raised his head and took a glance at Jian Wushuang with a forced smile.
“Has the first day of the Selection ended?” Jian Wushuang looked at him.
Yin Long nodded slightly. “Uh-huh. Junior Brother Wushuang, I still have something to attend to and can’t talk right now.”
He headed swiftly towards his courtyard after he spoke.
Jian Wushuang stood there with a strange expression.
“Logically speaking, with Yin Long’s ability, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to defeat the entire Outer Court and become the champion of this term’s Selection. He could’ve fulfilled his wish as a core disciple, but why did he look so upset? Did he run into some trouble?” Jian Wushuang was surprised. Right at that instance, he saw a hunching old gentleman walking over.
Jian Wushuang paced quickly towards him.
“Elder Yu Yang,” said Jian Wushuang humbly.
“Ah, it’s my little friend Wushuang. What’s the matter, my little friend?” Old gentleman Yu Yang gave a warm smile.
“If I didn’t guess wrongly, Elder Yu Yang must have attended the Selection today?” asked Jian Wushuang.
Elder Yu Yang nodded. “Of course. The Selection was held among the outer disciples and I’m in charge of various matters in the Outer Court. Naturally, I would’ve to keep an eye on the Selection.”
“Since it’s so, you should clearly know what happened during the Selection. I wonder what has gone down. As when I saw Senior Brother Yin Long, he seemed rather upset.” said Jian Wushuang.
“Well…” Elder Yu Yang pondered for a bit before saying, “It’s actually quite simple. According to his abilities, Yin Long could’ve easily beaten all the outer disciples in this Selection. Everybody thought so, including the authorities on Narcissus Island.”
“However, during the Selection today, Qian Xia—who had challenged Yin Long a few times and who had the capability to threaten him—made his move. Once he took action and exposed his ability, it was clear that he had reached the Peak Stage Chaotic Realm!”
You have to know that the difference between the Middle and Peak Stage of Chaotic Realm is unbelievably huge.”
“Even though Yin Long didn’t face Qian Xia, he could more or less tell what the result would be,” said Elder Yu Yang.
“Is that so? No wonder Senior Brother Yin Long looked so upset.” Jian Wushuang finally understood.
