Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Inner Sect Number One, Xiu Luo
The small courtyards of the Inner Court all had Restriction Wards set up, and their gates were tightly closed, so just looking from the outside, you could not tell if any given courtyard had an owner.

However, Yu Zhao did not really care.

Elder Hou had brought her here, and in her mind, this was exactly the line he had been waiting for her to say.

She had not wanted to cooperate with Elder Hou on purpose. It was just that this particular courtyard happened to catch her eye, and since she had now become one of the Inner Disciples, she had to follow local rules and fight for what she wanted with her strength.

The good show Elder Hou had been secretly waiting for all this time was finally about to begin.

He narrowed his eyes, hiding the pride in them, and said: “I told you before, the closer people live to the top of the mountain, the weaker they are. But now I have to tell you something else. There are always exceptions. The person who lives here is that exception.”

As soon as he finished, Elder Hou flicked his fingers.

A streak of white light shot toward the courtyard.

The courtyard’s Restriction Ward activated on its own. In an instant, a half-spherical Defensive Formation rose up.

At the same time, the master of the courtyard also received the message that their residence was under attack.

Bang!

The two wooden doors burst open.

A cute figure rushed out of the room like a fierce demonic beast charging into battle.

A violent shout rang out: “Who? Who dares disturb Grand Auntie’s cultivation? Are you tired of living?”

Yu Zhao looked at the delicate, cute girl who was a head shorter than her, standing with her hands on her hips as she roared in anger, and the corner of Yu Zhao’s eye twitched.

This was really unexpected.

Elder Hou called out in a friendly voice: “Xiu Luo.”

Elder Hou was already used to the girl’s sharp contrast in behavior. He smiled and waved her over.

The girl named Xiu Luo instantly changed her expression. Her big eyes opened even wider, her little mouth puffed up, and she ran toward Elder Hou in tiny quick steps as she called out in a soft, sweet voice: “Hello, Elder Hou~”

Her voice was soft and cute.

Compared to Ye Cong Xin’s voice, it was every bit as good.

Elder Hou smiled kindly and made the introductions: “This is Xiu Luo. She has ranked first among the Inner Disciples many times in a row. This is Yu Zhao, a newly joined Inner Disciple.”

From the moment she saw Yu Zhao, Xiu Luo had felt a strange sense of familiarity. It was only when she heard Elder Hou say Yu Zhao’s name that she went over it in her mind twice, then suddenly widened her eyes.

She stared and asked in a rush: “Yu Zhao? You are Yu Zhao? That Yu Zhao from Lone Moon Peak?”

Even this three-hit combo of questions was not enough to show how shocked she was.

Her eyes were already big and bright, and now they opened even wider in her shock. Yu Zhao even started to worry that her eyeballs might pop right out.

To stop that tragedy from happening, Yu Zhao gently cleared things up for her: “That is me, but I am no longer someone from Lone Moon Peak.”

Xiu Luo sucked in a sharp breath.

Very few people knew that among all the elders and peak masters of the Five Elements Dao Sect, the person she admired most was Master Qing Yan, and the place she wanted most to go to was Lone Moon Peak.

Her biggest dream was to become Master Qing Yan’s disciple and join Lone Moon Peak.

Of course, she also knew this dream was impossible.

First, her aptitude did not meet the requirements for a Personal Disciple.

Second, Master Qing Yan had already said he would not take any more disciples.

Lastly, she knew herself well. The fact that she could stand at the top among the Inner Disciples, and if placed among those monstrous Personal Disciples she might only rank in the middle, was already the Heavenly Dao rewarding her hard work.

No matter what, Master Qing Yan would never choose her.

So Xiu Luo could only hide this dream deep in her heart and never tell outsiders.

But today, she had actually met someone who had the identity she dreamed of, yet did not value it or hold onto it.

Xiu Luo’s eyes were almost red.

She demanded in a voice on the verge of tears: “Why did you stop being a Personal Disciple? Do you even know how important that identity is?”

Elder Hou secretly laughed to himself.

He was one of the few people who knew what was in Xiu Luo’s heart.

It was really because Xiu Luo showed it too clearly. Every time she saw him, she would openly and secretly ask about news of Lone Moon Peak. It was hard for him not to know.

He had also deliberately brought Yu Zhao here to meet Xiu Luo.

Elder Hou did not know why Yu Zhao had been expelled from the sect by Master Qing Yan. He guessed it was most likely because she had committed some serious mistake and refused to repent.

He did not like disciples who were full of defiance.

So he planned to use Xiu Luo’s mouth to tell Yu Zhao exactly what she had thrown away.

Yu Zhao looked at Xiu Luo’s excited, emotional face and asked thoughtfully: “You want to become Master Qing Yan’s disciple?”

Xiu Luo’s face turned bright red.

For some reason, hearing this question from Yu Zhao filled her with a strange sense of shame.

Her aura instantly weakened. She lacked confidence but still forced herself to act calm as she snapped: “Y-yeah, so what!”

Yu Zhao shrugged and gave a kind reminder: “Nothing really. I just think you had better choose to join the Main Peak, or become a disciple under some other peak master elder. Any one of them would be better than taking Master Qing Yan as your teacher.”

Master Qing Yan had never been a serious or responsible master, and there was also the ill-intentioned Ye Cong Xin on Lone Moon Peak. Whoever went there was just a huge sucker.

As a former victim, Yu Zhao felt she had not lied at all. Every word she said came from the bottom of her heart. But to Elder Hou and Xiu Luo, it sounded absurd and laughable.

In the cultivation world, the strong were respected.

When you took a master, you naturally wanted to choose the strongest.

And among Master Qing Yan’s disciples, besides Yu Zhao and Ye Cong Xin, the other five were all very outstanding and already had some fame across the entire cultivation world. Only Zhou Jin Yue and Zhang Jun from the Sect Master’s Line could compare to them.

For Yu Zhao to say such nonsense clearly meant that she held a grudge because Master Qing Yan had expelled her from the sect, and now she was trying to destroy his reputation on purpose.

Elder Hou’s face turned completely cold.

Xiu Luo could no longer keep up her soft and cute act. Her violent aura surged, the curve of her mouth flattened into a straight line, and a fierce light shot out from her eyes.

In the blink of an eye, her whole aura changed completely.

She shouted in rage: “Yu Zhao, prepare to die!”

Duels between Inner Disciples did not need any fancy opening. They did not even give people time to prepare. Once they decided to fight, they fought.

By now Elder Hou had already stepped aside to leave enough space.

Yu Zhao and Xiu Luo were both at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and each had their own strengths.

Yu Zhao’s advantage was that she had once been a Personal Disciple. The environment she had been in and the resources she had enjoyed were things Xiu Luo could not compare with.

As for Xiu Luo, although she did not look very old, she had actually joined the Five Elements Dao Sect nearly thirty years ago. She had put in a hundred times the effort to gain her current position. Her rich real battle experience and her unyielding will were her most valuable assets.

Elder Hou had already guessed that the coming fight would be intense, so, as an old man, he knew better than to stand in the middle and get in the way.

Xiu Luo’s movement speed was not really fast, but her explosive power was very strong.

She gathered strength in her right foot and stomped down hard, leaving a half-foot-deep dent in the ground.

She charged toward Yu Zhao with the force of rolling thunder, a faint earth-yellow light flowing over her body.

She shouted in a low roar: “Take my punch!”

Just as Xiu Luo was about to reach Yu Zhao, her body suddenly stopped its forward rush and she jumped up. She clenched her right hand into a fist and, carrying the power of a thunderbolt, slammed it down from above.

The air instantly erupted with a sharp whistling sound.