Chapter 649 - 649: Abandoned

After his victory, Chu Qingyun didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he returned to his previous fighting stage to watch the upcoming matches.

As for Zhou Yongyang, someone had already carried him away for treatment.

With the great battle between Chu Qingyun and Zhou Yongyang in the second match as a point of comparison, the next few fights seemed rather dull.

Only toward the end, when the last few combatants with comparable strength fought, did the battles become more intense and deadlocked.

Finally, the Inner Sect qualification tournament concluded smoothly, determining the twelve spots for Core Disciples.

Besides Chu Qingyun, Xu Shijie also went through a bitter struggle before finally defeating his opponent and becoming a Core Disciple as he had wished.

Becoming a Core Disciple of the Inner Sect came with immediate rewards: 200,000 units of Primordial Spirit Liquid, two thousand Saint Extreme Points, and the opportunity to cultivate one imperial-grade Secret Manual and Secret Technique for free.

Of course, these were all just external aids.

For Chu Qingyun, he wasn't short on Primordial Spirit Liquid at all. As for Saint Extreme Points, besides the two thousand-plus he had on him, he had over ninety thousand more with Zhou Ling, so he didn't care much about them either.

He wasn't even particularly concerned about the free imperial-grade Secret Manual and Secret Technique.

This was because he had previously "sold" many Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques to the sect. He still had unused opportunities to cultivate five imperial-grade Secret Manuals, one imperial-grade Secret Technique, and even more king-grade Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques.

There were only two things Chu Qingyun truly cared about.

One, naturally, was that Core Disciples could cultivate on the eighth floor of the Saint Extreme Tower, where its auxiliary effects were double that of the seventh floor.

The other was a unique privilege of Core Disciples: the right to ask an Inner Sect Elder for cultivation guidance three times a year.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary Inner Sect Disciples couldn't even get to see the Inner Sect Elders, let alone ask them for cultivation advice.

However, the Inner Sect Elders could not refuse these three opportunities from Core Disciples; it was one of their duties.

Previously, when Chu Qingyun was cultivating his Thunder Sword Intent and got stuck at the bottleneck of the Lightning Sword, it was with Elder Zhu's guidance that he broke through in one go.

And his comprehension of the true Thunder Sword Intent was also aided by Ling Yuan's guidance.

This showed how crucial it was to have someone to offer pointers and clear up confusion on the path of the Martial Dao. This kind of guidance was a form of soft power within a major force like a sect.

After the tournament ended, Chu Qingyun, Xu Shijie, and the other ten new Inner Sect Core Disciples went to the Saint Extreme Tower together.

Their Sect Tokens needed to be upgraded there, and the Saint Extreme Tower was also responsible for distributing the Saint Extreme Points and Primordial Spirit Liquid.

"Chu, we'll be counting on your help in the Inner Sect from now on."

"With Chu's strength, once he breaks through to the Martial King Realm, I'm afraid not even a Level Two or Level Three Martial King will be his match."

Along the way, the other eleven Core Disciples all tried to build a rapport with Chu Qingyun. Even Shen Hao uncharacteristically set aside his cold attitude and greeted him with a smile.

Chu Qingyun, in turn, responded to each of them with a smile, showing no signs of arrogance.

While Chu Qingyun and the other Core Disciples were heading to the Saint Extreme Tower, Zhou Yongyang had taken a Healing Elixir and regained consciousness.

Dragging his heavily injured body, Zhou Yongyang went to find Zhou Jianxiong.

"Senior Brother, I lost. I failed to become a Core Disciple..."

"Senior Brother, you have to get revenge for me! That Chu Qingyun not only drove away the newcomers from our Qianshui Dynasty, but he also stole our Core Disciple spot! We absolutely can't let him get away with it!"

Zhou Yongyang gnashed his teeth, his heart filled with rage toward Chu Qingyun.

"Revenge? How? By killing him?!"

"Do you think the Inner Sect is the same as the Outer Sect, where no one cares or asks questions? Besides, Chu Qingyun is a Core Disciple now. Who would dare to make a move against him within the sect's sphere of influence?"

Zhou Jianxiong's face was cold as he barked out his reply.

The Saint Extreme Sect's Inner Sect and Outer Sect were different. The Outer Sect had tens of thousands of disciples, most of whom would never break through to the Martial King Realm, so its management was much more relaxed, almost hands-off.

But the Inner Sect was another story.

King Realm Experts were pillars of the sect, even within the organization itself. All major sects definitely had strict rules to prevent internal strife among Inner Sect Disciples.

That was why Zhou Jianxiong and his group could use some tricks to deal with Chu Qingyun in the Outer Sect, but once in the Inner Sect, there was basically no hope.

Not to mention, Chu Qingyun's current status was also that of a Core Disciple.

"Senior Brother, this... are we just going to let him go?" Zhou Yongyang was unwilling to accept it.

"Hmph, and isn't this all thanks to you, you useless waste! If you had beaten him, none of this would have happened!" Zhou Jianxiong was also furious.

The great faction of the Qianshui Dynasty had not only failed to stop a mere Outer Disciple with no background, but had also lost a Core Disciple spot to him in the process.

This caused Zhou Jianxiong to lose all face in front of the other Core Disciples of similar standing!

Facing Zhou Jianxiong's anger, Zhou Yongyang shrank back and said, "Senior Brother, I forced my breakthrough, and now my Primordial Pill has an Innate deficiency. Could you..."

"The Dynasty's resources are rewards for Core Disciples. Are you a Core Disciple?" Zhou Jianxiong said.

"Senior Brother, I only ended up like this because I was fighting for the Qianshui Dynasty..." Zhou Yongyang hastily explained.

"Shut up, you useless waste! Get out!"

Zhou Jianxiong cut him off with a cold shout.

When Zhou Yongyang was useful, Zhou Jianxiong treated him like a brother. Now that Zhou Yongyang's aptitude was severely damaged, Zhou Jianxiong had instantly turned ruthless and cold.

Zhou Yongyang trembled with anger, his fists clenched tightly, but in the end, he didn't dare say anything more. He turned and left in disgrace.

Without the support of the Qianshui Dynasty, it was almost impossible for him to repair his damaged Primordial Pill on his own. His cultivation aptitude was as good as ruined.

'Zhou Jianxiong... Chu Qingyun... This isn't over between us...'

After Zhou Yongyang turned away, his face twisted into a terrifyingly hideous expression.

After Chu Qingyun's group arrived at the Saint Extreme Tower, they first upgraded the permissions on their Sect Tokens, then collected their respective rewards of Primordial Spirit Liquid and Saint Extreme Points.

All twelve decided to ascend the Saint Extreme Tower and attempt to break through to the Martial King Realm.

After all, now that they were Core Disciples, they would be entering the Inner Sect soon. The Inner Sect was almost entirely composed of those in the Martial King Realm. If they didn't break through sooner, it would be inconvenient, and they would lack confidence just walking around.

In fact, the sect's decision to offer such large amounts of Primordial Spirit Liquid and Saint Extreme Points as rewards was made with this consideration in mind.

Of the twelve, eleven of them stopped at the fourth floor of the Saint Extreme Tower, then watched with envy as Chu Qingyun continued upward.

They all knew that Chu Qingyun had already cleared the Saint Extreme Road. Now that he was a Core Disciple, he could go directly to the eighth floor of the Saint Extreme Tower to cultivate.

Breaking through to the Martial King Realm was an incredibly important event.

At such a critical juncture, no one would think about saving their Saint Extreme Points. It was definitely better to be on a higher floor of the Saint Extreme Tower.