The Outer Court's Top Five

The cultivation of the Formless Phaseless Sublime Method in the Fifth Rank targeted the neural connections of the meridians.

Just as Zhuang Xun was planning to continue cultivating with Bai Yujing, he received major news regarding the promotion assessment from Yan Pingsheng.

...

“Tsk tsk tsk, the admission quota for the Upper Two Courts has actually been cut in half this year. They used to recruit twenty people every year, but this year they're only taking ten. With over ninety people fighting for just a handful of spots, the Outer Court... is probably going to turn into a bloodbath.”

Returning to the dorm, An Dafu sighed alongside his three roommates as he recalled the announcement for the promotion assessment he had seen outside the Administrative Hall. In truth, however, he was secretly looking forward to watching the drama unfold.

After all, the requirement to apply for the promotion assessment was Nine Stones of strength.

He was currently still a bit short of Seven Stones of strength, so this promotion assessment had absolutely nothing to do with him. Whether the Upper Two Courts recruited many or few made no difference to his life.

On the contrary, the fewer they recruited, the higher the competitive pressure, and the more entertaining the spectacle would be for him.

An Dafu looked at Li Zigeng and asked, “Zigeng, are you still going to try for the Upper Two Courts?”

“With spots being so scarce and so many experts competing this year, the difficulty is really quite high. Actually, I think the Jixin Courtyard among the Lower Three Courts isn't bad either. The strongest true disciple, Senior Brother Yang, came from the Jixin Courtyard.”

Li Zigeng paused mid-motion as he practiced his palm techniques and said firmly, “Yes. I've worked hard for so long precisely to enter the Upper Two Courts. If I don't at least try, I'll be letting down all the effort I've put in over the past six months.”

“Mm, true. You have to give it a shot,” An Dafu agreed, nodding. He then turned to look at Yan Pingsheng, who was lying on his bed reading a novel. “Pingsheng, what about you? Have you thought about trying for a spot in the Upper Two Courts?”

Zhang Tie tilted his head back and grinned. “Yeah, Pingsheng. Speaking of which, has Senior Brother Bai made any arrangements for you?”

“Hmm?” Zhuang Xun put down his novel and shook his head. “I haven't thought that far ahead. I was only just able to lift the stone lock of Eight Stones of strength a few days ago, so I might not even be able to temper myself to Nine Stones of strength before the promotion assessment.”

Hearing this, the other three in the dorm all wore expressions of disbelief.

Zhuang Xun gave a helpless smile. “I really only have Eight Stones of strength. I haven't reached the standard to participate in the promotion assessment yet. If I can make it in time, I'll probably give it a try.”

The other three thought about it and decided that made sense.

Pingsheng's talent lay entirely in his Comprehension, while his Skeletal Structure was merely a common Average Skeletal Structure. Coupled with his overly lazy attitude toward cultivation, he really might not be able to forge Nine Stones of strength before the promotion assessment.

Yet, whether he could or not, this guy's future was still terrifyingly bright.

They looked at Yan Pingsheng with envy.

However, it remained nothing more than envy, never turning into jealousy.

This was because Yan Pingsheng never showed off in front of them. On the contrary, he was exceptionally low-profile and humble, making it very difficult for anyone to resent him.

For this reason, unlike Guichen, who was universally disliked in the Outer Court, Yan Pingsheng enjoyed an excellent reputation.

Seeing how he lived such a low-profile life and never got into conflicts with anyone despite being the Chief Disciple's fellow villager, many people held him in high regard.

Some even believed that any place capable of producing both Bai Yujing and him had to be an extraordinary land of outstanding people.

Li Zigeng silently went through the motions of his palm technique, occasionally pausing for a long time to ponder how to take it a step further.

He just couldn't figure it out.

He lowered his hands in frustration, hesitated for a moment, and then looked at An Dafu. “Um... Dafu, do you know much about the top ten disciples on the Outer Court Disciple Ranking?”

“Of course I do!” An Dafu, who had been copying Yan Pingsheng by reading a novel, instantly perked up.

Putting down his novel, he sat up and said boastfully, “I've even analyzed the Outer Court Disciple Ranking and picked out the five candidates most likely to enter the Upper Two Courts.”

Hearing this, Zhuang Xun closed his novel and pricked up his ears to listen.

“The first one is the top-ranked disciple on the Outer Court Disciple Ranking, who possesses Ten Stones of strength and is known as ‘Little Yujing’—Yu Wuyong!”

Zhuang Xun pressed his lips together. Every time he heard this name, he found it hard to keep a straight face.

Li Zigeng nodded. “I know him. Because his strength is in a league of his own in the Outer Court and he was scouted early by an Inner Court elder, his experience is very similar to Senior Brother Bai's. That's why people secretly call him ‘Little Bai Yujing.’ He really is the most likely to get into the Upper Two Courts.”

With a mysterious smile on his face, An Dafu glanced at his three roommates and lowered his voice.

“Let me tell you, that title of ‘Little Yujing’ wasn't actually something others came up with behind his back. Yu Wuyong spread it himself!

“He completely copies Senior Brother Bai in everything from his clothes and appearance to his tone of voice, terrified that people won't call him that. Too bad the guy lacks Senior Brother Bai's temperament and looks. His imitation is a total mess and feels incredibly off. I heard Senior Sister Chen even scolded him to high heaven right to his face a few days ago.”

Li Zigeng remarked, “The Fifth Young Lady did seem to have scolded him, but I didn't know that was the reason at the time. I thought the Fifth Young Lady also wanted to be called ‘Little Bai Yujing’...”

“What's there to say about a fake? Who's the second one?” Zhang Tie interrupted Li Zigeng and urged An Dafu.

“Don't rush. The second is naturally the most famous one lately, ‘Wild Dog’ Ye Guichen. He fought his way all the way from tenth to third on the Outer Court Disciple Ranking. However, I heard that when he wanted to challenge the second-placed Senior Sister Chen, he got beaten up by a group of you guys.”

An Dafu looked at Li Zigeng and gave a teasing smile.

Li Zigeng scratched his head, looking rather embarrassed. “I was only following the Fifth Young Lady's orders at the time.”

Zhuang Xun knew about this as well.

It happened about half a month ago, when Guichen, having recovered from his injuries, began challenging the Outer Court Disciple Ranking once more.

When he reached Chen Jinzhu, she completely disregarded sportsmanship. After agreeing on a location for the duel, she had her lackeys set up an ambush in advance. The moment Guichen arrived, she called out a large crowd of people to gang up on him.

As a result, Guichen, who had only just recovered, was severely beaten and heavily injured once again.

An Dafu continued, “The third is ‘Madman’ Luo Yangguan. Although he isn't the strongest of the five, he is the most dangerous. He has a screw loose and fights with complete abandon. When ‘Wild Dog’ Ye Guichen challenged him back then, Luo Yangguan actually bit a chunk of flesh right off his shoulder.

“Honestly, compared to Ye Guichen, I feel like Luo Yangguan deserves the nickname ‘Wild Dog’ more. Maybe Ye Guichen is just better at attracting hatred.

“There's also an even more sensational rumor.”

An Dafu whispered mysteriously, “I heard that Luo Yangguan's mother... was a prostitute! Someone actually went and asked him if the rumor was true before, and Luo Yangguan crushed his groin on the spot. So it's highly likely to be true.”

“Crushed his groin...” Zhang Tie squeezed his legs together, feeling a sudden wave of phantom pain. “Yeah, yeah, that guy really is dangerous.”

Just don't be a big mouth and you'll be fine... Zhuang Xun thought to himself, though he still decided to stay far away from the man.

“The fourth is Yu Xiao, who ranks third on the Outer Court Disciple Ranking. He has Nine Stones of strength, and his Rock-Striking Fist Technique has reached great perfection. He was only a single move short when he fought Guichen. This guy is an ascetic, so I haven't heard any gossip about him.

“As for the fifth one, you might be very surprised to hear this, but he only ranks thirty-fourth on the Outer Court Disciple Ranking,” An Dafu said, keeping them in suspense.