Ye Ming looked at himself in the mirror; the dark blue robes with cloud patterns looked not bad. He even took several sect-issued boots and gloves. He likes the whole uniform stuff when it comes to this.
As they say, if you are into something, then you give your all. That’s why The Alchemist can’t see himself switching sides and that stuff.
It feels cheap.
Then, of course, the Sect Token was a fancy cloud-and-sword carving—a golden sword descending from the clouds.
It has his name on it; it represents his Sect affiliation. One could imitate clothes, but tokens? They have distinctive Qi, and the sect trained the guards to see the difference.
"What do you think?" Ye Ming asked Liu Li, who was watching him from a short distance away.
"You are the first person I’ve seen this excited to wear robes. Most of the time, seniors are simply proud of their achievements, but you..." The Fallen Princess shook her head. His actions amused her.
"One should enjoy every moment of their life." He said with a smirk.
"That is why I prefer to make things myself; I do believe such a trait could be related to my talent." The Alchemist smiled as he looked at her. He walked over to her as his hands went around her waist and pulled her to himself.
"And now I will see my beautiful Liu Li become a Core Disciple as well." He said, slowly leaning towards her, as she smiled slightly, knowing where this was going.
So she leaned forward and kissed him instead. She wrapped her hands around his neck. It was a gentle kiss, and soon enough she pulled back and helped him with his robe’s collar.
"Done. It looks very nice." She whispered into his ear before kissing him one more time.
After that, the pair left the room where the Elder was waiting.
"Junior Apprentice Ming, the Core Disciple robes suit you well."
The Alchemist wanted to roll his eyes at the ass-kissing he was getting; instead, he focused on what was ahead.
"Let’s proceed with Liu Li’s promotion."
"Of course, follow this old man." He motioned for them to follow him.
The pair of Disciples followed the Elder as they left the Hall and moved towards what looked like fighting arenas carved into the side of the mountain.
’Not bad. I guess this is where the tournament to decide the next Sect Master will be.
According to Liu Li, these kinds of tournaments don’t happen often.
I guess that the main character should appear in such a place.’
The Alchemist looked around, imagining how many people could watch this tournament; it could be thousands.
"Who will you duel for the position, Junior Apprentice Liu?" The Elder asked the Fallen Princess, who was looking at the arena.
"I wish to face Situ Louchen, ranked 47th." She said, in a dead-serious tone, that it was a very specific person.
"Very well." Jiang Kang pulled out a communication talisman and sent a message about fetching Situ Louchen.
"Who is this Situ Louchen?" Ye Ming asked curiously. It was a very specific person, so he wanted to know.
"Hmph, he tried to court me several times, so I think it’s time for me to return the favour." Liu Li said with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, so it’s like that." The Alchemist had this pondering look. It seemed this guy was one of those pitiful guys who had no idea how to court girls.
"Yes, and I shall crush him!" She declared while clenching her fist. She clenched it so hard her hand began to shake.
"Relax, just remember to wield the sword as I told you, and it will be fine." The newly promoted Core Disciple said with a smile.
"Yes, Master Ming~."
’Sword? It would seem he is not only an Alchemist but also a talented swordsman. I must inform the Sect Master of this news.’ Elder Kang nodded to himself as he stroked his beard and waited for the arrival of Situ Louchen.
Around five minutes later, a youth in his early twenties arrived at the arena. He was quite tall and dressed in Core Sect robes. He had quite a muscular build.
"Elder Kang, I received news that I must defend my position as a Core Sect Disciple." Situ Louchen declared in a proud tone. He sounded quite certain in his abilities.
"Yes, your challenger is Junior Apprentice Liu." The Elder pointed at Liu Li, who, at that moment, on purpose was leaning against Ye Ming’s shoulder.
"Junior Apprentice Liu!?" The tall disciple was about to walk over, but then he stopped in his tracks and looked at the girl.
He noticed her cultivation was at his level, and she was all over another Core Disciple guy...
An ugly feeling surged in his heart.
"I see... very well, then let’s duel." Situ Louchen declared as he walked to the arena instead. He decided to teach this woman a lesson.
Liu Li swiftly moved to the arena as well. She got into position as she pulled out her sword.
At that moment, her Qi surged as the air around her got extremely sharp.
’What kind of training did she go through?’
The thing was, the girl had spent years practising the sword, but that was just that; while important, it would never take her beyond simple physical prowess.
What she lacked was the deeper spiritual meaning behind the art; only then could one merge with Qi and release the art’s true power.
Meaning, then Intent leading towards the Dao.
And at this very moment, Liu Li grasped the Cloud Sword Art close to the level of Houtian.
"Remember, no fatal attacks." Jiang Kang reminded them. He looked at Ye Ming for a second. The Elder is ready to interfere if the girl ends up in trouble. He doesn’t want to offend the Alchemist.
"Now begin the Duel!"
"I thought you were better than this, Junior Apprentice Liu, but I was wrong." Situ Louchen was a bit clueless. He did feel the oppressive power radiating from her, but he was confident in his skills, so when he pulled out his sword, the Core Disciple began to channel his Qi.
But this is where things began to go south for Situ Louchen: around Liu Li, clouds began to gather, and then she lunged towards him.
"Meaning Manifestation!" Elder Kang gawked at what he saw!
Last time he checked, only the Top 10 of Core Disciples achieved this level of mastery in Cloud Sword Art!
Yet this girl, from Inner Sect Grounds, was able to do it?
’No, the only way she was able to do it was with the help of someone.’ The Elder looked to his side, and the expression he saw on the Alchemist said it all.
This Junior has some seriously extraordinary talent. A talent that they can’t allow to leave the Sect.
As Jiang Kang was thinking about the Alchemist, the outcome of the duel was already decided. The difference in understanding the Martial Art played an enormous role.
Situ Louchen could even defend himself against the clouds rushing at him.
They were like sledgehammers that hammered into his body. A single impact took the wind out of his sails as he wheezed, but then more of them slammed into him as he flew out of the arena like a sack of potatoes and slammed into the ground with a thud.
’Even if their cultivation was in the same realm, the Martial Art made the difference.’
It was quite the demonstration. Ye Ming had only read about it in his previous life, but now he saw it in person.
"The winner is Junior Apprentice Liu; you are now a Core Disciple, and I demote Junior Apprentice Situ to Inner Sect Status. He will be able to challenge again for Core Disciple status after a month." As Elder Kang explained, Liu Li sheathed her sword and walked down the stairs toward Ye Ming and the Elder.
"Junior Apprentice Liu, here are your robes and Sect Token." The old man gave the fresh robes to the newly promoted Liu Li. She took them with a very bright smile.
"Many thanks, Elder Kang!"
"Your Token as well. I do need to take your previous one." He offered her the new token.
The Fallen Princess pulled her old one out and gave it to him while taking the new one.
"Good, Junior Apprentice Ming, this old man’s job is done. "
"Yes. Thank you, Elder Kang."
With that said, the Elder disappeared with his Lightfoot, completely ignoring the unconscious and demoted Situ Louchen.
Ye Ming and Liu Li ignored him as well. The pair began walking toward the exit and the Inner Sect Grounds.
~~~
As the pair returned to the house, Liu Li went to change into the Core Disciple robes. There was a smirk on her lips as she looked at herself in the mirror.
"You know... with my previous cultivation speed, I would have never achieved such a status. Once you are 25, you automatically graduate."
"Is it? But you followed Mengxue; she could have assisted you in cultivation, promoting you to Core Status." He pondered for a bit. Recalling that it was only a two-minor-realm difference.
"Yes, but cultivation realm aside, my combat prowess wasn’t the greatest. Hundreds of disciples compete for the lower positions on the board all the time.
That is why the Elders Council has introduced a month-long waiting period.
At the same time, the Sect rules protect Core Disciples and their rankings. Other Disciples can only challenge the rank holder once per month." She explained to him that, while spinning in front of the mirror, the girl clearly loved the new robes she was wearing.
"So no one challenged this Situ guy?"
"The most volatile positions are fifty and above. He was ranked 47th; in fact, he was climbing the rankings bit by bit. Last time he tried to court me when he was ranked 48th." She rolled her eyes at the mention of courting.
"Is that so. I guess he was building up confidence." Ye Ming shook his head. No amount of these confidence boosts will be enough to court a girl who wants to reach the Xiantian Realm.
The fallen Princess snorted at that reply.
"More importantly, Master Ming. Those flowers that you got from Jiang Zi Yan."
"Oh? You know them?" The Alchemist pulled out the thin box and opened it, revealing four metal-like flowers.
"Not specifically." She shook her head in denial. "But I do know that they hold elemental attributes."
"Elemental attribute... I heard that term when I was attending lectures several years ago." Ye Ming stroked his chin, trying to recall the advanced classes he was in at that time.
Honestly, he ignored most of it for a simple reason: his talent was so shit that he simply blocked that content out.
Why would he need it if he could never reach the Foundation Realm his whole life?
Turns out now he needs it.
"Yes. Elemental attributes of Qi. You have Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Thunder and Metal. These are the Elemental Attributes of Qi.
There are higher elements, like Darkness or Light.
And of course, Supreme Elements like Life and Death.
The issue is that once you dedicate yourself to an Element, you won’t be able to practise any other element ever again, unless, of course, you have a special physique.
Since you are an alchemist, by nature, your Qi will be that of fire."
When Ye Ming heard that, he got a blank look on his face.
’Wait... that makes no sense... I could feel how fluid my Qi is... I have been mixing fire, and then it feels like metal... the sharpening thing? Or not...’
"...Is my sword technique considered metal? How can I use it then?"
The Alchemist asked with a confused tone.
His reply left Liu Li staring blankly.
"...A fair point." The Fallen Princess was as confused as he was.