Reincarnation Immortal Venerable: Starting from the Ninety-Nineth Incarnation

As Li Yanzhou left the Scripture Pavilion, he repeatedly rubbed the newly acquired inner disciple token in his palm. The warm, smooth jade against his hand gave off a slightly cool sensation.

He walked slowly down the blue stone steps leading to the courtyard, his mind heavy with worry.

Disciples came and went in an endless stream, passing by in twos and threes. Many of them caught a glimpse of the jade pendant with cloud patterns engraved on his hand out of the corner of their eyes, and couldn't help but stop and steal a glance.

His eyes held curiosity, but also a hint of barely perceptible envy. After all, everyone knew that an inner sect position in the Qiyun Sect was never something easily obtained.

But Li Yanzhou paid no attention to these gazes; his mind was still preoccupied with the scroll in the library with the key pages torn out, and the hastily written yet glaring phrase, "Spiritual energy has ***."

It's really strange. The Qingxuan Sect was destroyed overnight, Mo Yuan's clone caused chaos, and now even the sect's records are strange. He always felt that behind all of this, there was a secret that had not been revealed, like a thick fog that was unclear but made people feel uneasy.

As they reached the fork in the road halfway up the mountain, they bumped into a group of inner disciples, chatting and laughing. The burly man at the head of the group was none other than Wang Meng, who had been working his way up in the Qiyun Sect for nearly five years.

Wang Meng's talent wasn't top-notch, but he was willing to put in a lot of hard work. He cultivated diligently day and night without daring to slack off. After so many years, he finally managed to enter the mid-stage of the Zhenxi Realm and gained a foothold among the inner disciples. He spoke and acted with the confidence that came from his hard work.

But that confidence shattered the moment he caught sight of the inner sect token at Li Yanzhou's waist.

The smile that had been on his face froze instantly, as if struck by a cold mountain wind. His eyes churned with resentment and jealousy, and even the aura around him became restless.

On what grounds?

An outer disciple who had only been in the sect for a little over half a year, and who was ridiculed by everyone for his mortal roots, managed to break through from the Qi Sensing Realm to the early stage of the Breath Suppression Realm. He was even specially approved by the elders to be promoted directly to the inner sect, stepping over the head of an old inner sect member who had been working hard for five years.

He exhausted all the spiritual jade pills he had saved up, endured countless nights of being stuck at a bottleneck, and even almost suffered a qi deviation during his breakthrough. Was his hard work really less than that of a mortal boy who had only entered the field halfway through?

The inner disciples around them also noticed that something was wrong. Their laughter stopped abruptly, and they huddled together, whispering among themselves. Their words were not deliberately concealed and carried by the wind to Li Yanzhou's ears.

"Is that Li Yanzhou with the mortal roots? I heard he broke through to the Zhenxi Realm after only a month of seclusion. His luck is just too strange."

"That's right. I heard that he was personally approved by the sect leader and two elders as an inner disciple. This kind of treatment is even better than many disciples with spiritual roots."

"Who could swallow this insult? Meng Ge spent five years to reach the mid-stage of the Zhenxi Realm, while he reached the early stage in just six months. He's still so young, and he might even surpass Meng Ge in the future."

Li Yanzhou remained calm, as if he hadn't heard the discussions. He slightly turned his body, wanting only to get away from the group of people.

At this moment, his mind was filled with the old case of the Qingxuan Sect and the inexplicable strangeness of the spiritual energy in the realm. He had no intention of acting impulsively and causing unnecessary trouble, thus delaying the opportunity to investigate the truth.

But even though he didn't want to cause trouble, trouble still came knocking on his door.

"stop."

Wang Meng's cold shout suddenly rang out, carrying a hint of ferocity, causing the surrounding bamboo leaves to sway slightly.

He moved with lightning speed, like a tiger blocking the way, and stood directly in front of Li Yanzhou. His followers were quick-witted and immediately surrounded him, blocking him completely from all sides, leaving no gap for him to even turn to the side.

Li Yanzhou stopped and looked up at Wang Meng, his tone flat and indifferent: "Senior brother, is there something you need?"

"What is it?" Wang Meng sneered, snorting heavily as he scanned Li Yanzhou from head to toe. His displeasure was almost overflowing. "You're nothing but a mortal, relying on some inexplicable luck to break through to the early stage of the Qi-Suppressing Realm. You think you're worthy of being an inner disciple? When did the inner disciple positions of my Qiyun Sect become so cheap that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can sit in them?"

Li Yanzhou raised an eyebrow slightly, showing no anger, and simply replied, "Whether I am worthy of an inner sect position is a matter for the sect leader and the two elders to decide. If you really have any objections, you can go to Yunting to appeal. It's useless to waste time with me here."

These words were like a stone, leaving Wang Meng speechless.

Elders Chaohua and Ruoxue held such high positions in the sect that even the sect leader would have to show them deference, let alone an ordinary inner disciple like him. How could he dare to argue with Yunting?

But the anger in his heart was like a burning firewood, growing stronger and stronger. He had spent five years cultivating diligently, exhausting his energy. Why should a mere mortal who had only entered the sect halfway steal the limelight that should have been his?

"Don't try to intimidate me with your seniority!" Wang Meng sneered, his spiritual energy suddenly exploding. The pressure of a mid-stage Qi Suppression Realm cultivator surged forth like a tidal wave, carrying a brute force that directly confronted Li Yanzhou. "I can tell you clearly used unorthodox methods to barely reach your breakthrough level. You're completely unworthy of your title. Do you dare to come to the martial arts arena and have a match with me? If you win, I, Wang Meng, will be completely convinced and will never bother you again. If you lose, you'll voluntarily resign from your inner disciple position and go back to the outer sect. How about that?"

The disciples behind him immediately joined in the commotion, their voices rising and falling, each one speaking up for Wang Meng.

"Exactly! True skill comes from luck. Go on stage and try it out, what kind of hero hides away!"

"You're too scared to accept the challenge, are you? I bet you're just feeling guilty, afraid of being exposed in public and losing face as an inner disciple!"

Li Yanzhou looked at the aggressive Wang Meng in front of him, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

He never liked to cause trouble, but he also knew that if he kept backing down, people would think he was weak and easy to bully, and in the future, even more people in the sect would probably come to provoke him.

Moreover, he had just entered the Zhenxi Realm, and he wanted to personally test the strength of the chaotic energy in his body, which had been repeatedly refined by the "Dust Boat Technique".

"Alright, I'll accompany you to the end." Li Yanzhou spoke slowly, his tone still calm, but with a hint of unquestionable authority. "But let me make this clear beforehand: fists and feet have no eyes on the training ground. If I accidentally injure you, I hope you won't hold a grudge."

Upon hearing this, Wang Meng reacted as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. He immediately threw his head back and burst into loud laughter, a rough laugh filled with utter contempt: "Hit me? You, a mere mortal who has just broken through to the early stage of the Breath Control Realm, dare to speak such boastful words? Come on! Today I will show you that the position of an inner disciple is not one that just anyone can sit in!"

After saying that, Wang Meng waved his hand and led his entourage toward the training ground in a grand procession, his steps heavy and each one filled with anger.

Li Yanzhou followed closely behind, his expression remaining calm, but his aura was subtly becoming more composed.

The news spread faster than the mountain wind, reaching most of the sect in an instant.

Upon hearing that Li Yanzhou, a newly promoted inner disciple from a common background, was going to compete against Wang Meng, a veteran inner disciple, the disciples along the way immediately became interested. They put down what they were doing and stopped to watch. Many of them even followed along out of curiosity, all wanting to see how this seemingly unequal duel would end.

Before long, the training ground was packed with people, three or four layers deep, with noise and chatter rising and falling.

Most people felt that Wang Meng had a very high chance of winning, after all, his cultivation level was a small realm higher, and he had a solid foundation from five years of hard training. Some people were also secretly hoping that Li Yanzhou could pull off another upset, since it was already a miracle for someone with ordinary roots to break through to the Zhenxi Realm in half a year.

Wang Meng leaped onto the martial arts stage, his body surging with spiritual energy, his robes fluttering in the wind, his gaze fierce as he stared at the audience below, exuding an arrogant aura.

Li Yanzhou slowly walked onto the stage, his posture upright and his breathing steady, without any unnecessary movements, which was in stark contrast to Wang Meng's flamboyance.

"Kid, I won't hold back!" Wang Meng roared, his body suddenly rising up, his right fist gathering a thick spiritual energy, carrying a whistling wind, and smashing straight towards Li Yanzhou's heart.

This punch was powerful and heavy, containing most of his true essence. If it landed, an ordinary cultivator in the early stage of the Qi Refining Realm would definitely be seriously injured and fall to the ground.

A gasp rippled through the audience, who assumed Li Yanzhou was doomed to fail to dodge the punch.

However, Li Yanzhou remained calm and composed. He used the basic movement technique of Qiyun Sect, and his figure was like a willow catkin in the wind. He gently turned to the side and narrowly avoided the punch. His movements were smooth and fluid, without the slightest hesitation.

Wang Meng's punch missed its mark, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Then his anger intensified, and he unleashed a barrage of punches like raindrops, each strike fierce and ruthless, forcing Li Yanzhou to retreat repeatedly.

Li Yanzhou remained calm and composed, dodging attacks while secretly observing the weaknesses in Wang Meng's moves. Wang Meng's moves were powerful but lacked agility, and his spiritual energy circulation was too rapid. After a prolonged attack, his aura would inevitably fluctuate, revealing weaknesses.

"All you can do is dodge? If you've got the guts, take my punch head-on!" Wang Meng roared as he got into the swing of things, gathering all his spiritual energy in his palms and unleashing a powerful strike at Li Yanzhou. This was a full-force attack, the culmination of his entire life's cultivation.

"Good!" Li Yanzhou's eyes hardened, and he stopped dodging.

He slowly circulated the chaotic energy disguised by the spiritual jade within his body, gathered an extremely pure wisp of energy in his palm, and gently tapped it against Wang Meng's palm force.

The seemingly casual strike contained a solid strength far exceeding that of cultivators of the same realm, a confidence honed day after day through the "Dust Boat Technique".

A muffled thud suddenly rang out, and a shockwave swept across the entire arena, causing the robes of the disciples below to flutter wildly.

Wang Meng felt a powerful and concentrated force surge towards him, his arm instantly went numb, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood flowed freely. He staggered back several steps as if hit by a boulder, crashing heavily into the railing of the martial arts arena. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, his face turned deathly pale, and the spiritual energy in his body became completely disordered, unable to gather even a trace of it.

Li Yanzhou remained firmly in place, his clothes fluttering slightly, his expression calm, as if the previous strike was merely a casual exchange of blows, without the slightest hint of arrogance.

The entire arena fell silent instantly. All the noise vanished without a trace. The disciples below the stage stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding on the martial arts stage.

No one expected that Wang Meng, who was in the mid-stage of the Zhenxi Realm, would be defeated in one move by Li Yanzhou, who had just entered the early stage of the Zhenxi Realm.

Wang Meng, leaning on the railing, struggled to his feet. Blood still clung to the corner of his mouth, his expression ashen. He looked at Li Yanzhou with disbelief in his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, "Impossible... How could you, a mere mortal at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, possess such strength..."

"In the path of cultivation, aptitude is certainly important, but temperament and foundation may be even more important than talent." Li Yanzhou said calmly, without a hint of boasting. "Senior brother's cultivation is solid, but he was too eager for quick success, and his spiritual energy circulation was too hasty, which is why he revealed his flaws."

After saying that, he turned around and walked off the martial arts stage, ignoring the shocked gazes of the disciples around him, and walked straight out of the arena.

After this battle, no one in the sect will dare to underestimate him again, and there will be fewer unwarranted provocations. He can finally focus on his cultivation and continue to investigate the truth behind the destruction of the Qingxuan Sect.

Wang Meng stood on the stage, watching Li Yanzhou's departing figure. He remained silent for a long time before finally raising his hand and solemnly clasping his hands in a fist salute to that figure. His voice, though soft, clearly echoed throughout the entire martial arts arena: "I, Wang Meng, am convinced that my skills are inferior to yours. From now on, Junior Brother Li will be my acknowledged senior brother in the inner sect. Today's events were my recklessness."

He spoke frankly and without any hesitation. He admitted defeat openly and honestly. Seeing this, the disciples below the stage suppressed their shock, and some couldn't help but applaud his frankness.

But no one noticed that among Wang Meng's followers, there was a thin, ordinary-looking disciple who quietly took a few steps back at the moment the battle was decided. Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on Wang Meng on the stage and the departing Li Yanzhou, he slipped out of the martial arts arena without a sound. His steps were hurried and his expression was strange, as if he was going somewhere and had something important to do.

After a long silence, the audience erupted in a deafening murmur. The look in their eyes as they gazed at Li Yanzhou's back had long since transformed from initial curiosity and disdain into genuine awe.

Wang Meng remained standing on the training platform, gazing into the distance. Though his face showed resentment, there was no longer any bitterness. He understood his defeat and accepted it with equanimity.