"ENOUGH!" A deafening voice boomed across the sect, shaking the ground.
From the sky, a figure descended. A tall man in pristine silver robes, his expression colder than the peak of the Snowfall Mountains. His long, black hair was tied neatly behind him, and his aura alone was enough to send weak disciples stumbling back.
Sect Senior Elder Bai. Ah, great. Now I had the big boss on my case.
Elder Zhao immediately bowed, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Senior Elder! This lowly disciple has committed grave disrespect against his elders! He must be punished immediately..."
"Silence." Elder Zhao clamped his mouth shut so fast you'd think his jaw was about to fall off.
Senior Elder Bai's sharp eyes landed on me. He scanned me up and down, his expression unreadable.
The crowd held their breath. Was I about to get executed? Expelled? Sent to the mines?
I lifted my chin. "So? What's my punishment, Senior Elder?"
Senior Elder Bai remained silent for a long moment. Then...
"…What is your name, disciple?"
The crowd blinked rapidly. Even Elder Zhao looked confused.
I smirked. "Long Fei Jian."
Senior Elder Bai's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he recognized the name. Then, he spoke the words that would change everything:
"You are no longer an outer disciple."
The silence was deafening.
Zhao Han looked like someone had just fed him a rotten egg.
Elder Zhao looked ready to vomit.
Even I was a little surprised.
"From now on," the Senior Elder continued, "you are an inner disciple of the Azure Sky Sect."
Wait. What!.
The moment Senior Elder Bai's decree echoed across the sect grounds, all hell broke loose.
Disciples exploded in protest.
"What?!"
"How can a mere outer disciple be promoted just like that?"
"He's just a nobody! He hasn't even taken the Inner Disciple Trials!"
Meanwhile, Zhao Han looked like he was about to pass out.
"B-But… But Senior Elder, he slapped me!"
Senior Elder Bai didn't even glance at him. "If you were stronger, you wouldn't have been slapped."
Oof. Direct hit.
Some disciples in the crowd sputtered, trying to contain their laughter. Even I had to respect that level of savage discipline.
Elder Zhao, on the other hand, was seconds away from combusting. "Senior Elder, I must protest..."
"You must nothing."And just like that, he shut up.
Senior Elder Bai turned his gaze back to me. "Long Fei Jian, you have three days to move into the Inner Disciple quarters. Train well. Dismissed."
And just like that, he turned and left, his silver robes billowing behind him like some all-powerful cultivation boss.
I stood there for a moment, processing.
Then, I smirked. Well.
That was easier than expected.
I turned to leave, but before I could take a step, Zhao Han ran forward, face red with rage.
"You think this is over? You think I'll let you get away with humiliating me? I swear, I'll make you regret ever..."
Slap! He dropped like a sack of rice.
I looked down at him, flexing my fingers. "You talk too much."
And with that, I strolled off...now an inner disciple, and now, officially, the most hated person in the sect. Time to have some fun...
Moving into the Inner Disciple quarters should have been a grand occasion, a moment of celebration.
Instead, I was met with death glares.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands.
Okay, maybe not thousands, but damn if it didn't feel like every single inner disciple in the sect wanted to skin me alive.
As I casually walked through the courtyard, their whispers weren't exactly subtle.
"That's the guy?"
"The outer disciple who got promoted just for slapping an elder, and his idiot son?"
"How is this fair? I spent five years training to get into the Inner Court! Five years!"
"I swear, if he shows his face in the training grounds, I'm going to break it."
Ah. Jealousy.
My favorite seasoning.
I grinned, and stretched my arms, letting out a loud, satisfied yawn as I passed a particularly pissed-off-looking senior disciple.
"Man, it feels so good to be an inner disciple. I didn't even have to try that hard."
He looked like he was going to implode.
Too easy.
Two minutes later…
A group of five senior disciples blocked my path.
The leader...some tall, broad-shouldered guy with the usual 'I'm the strongest in my generation' expression...stepped forward, arms crossed.
"Long Fei Jian, right?"
I looked around dramatically. "Who's asking? Oh, wait..." I pointed at him. "You, obviously. My bad. Continue."
His eye twitched.
"I'm Xu Jin, top five among the inner disciples," he said, voice dripping with arrogance. "Unlike you, I actually earned my place here. You? You're nothing but an arrogant fraud."
The disciples behind him nodded aggressively.
Ah. The classic 'I'm going to beat you up because my fragile pride is hurting' speech.
I sighed. "Alright, alright, let me guess how this goes."
I pointed at him. "You want to 'teach me a lesson.'"
Then at his group. "Your goons are here to laugh at your jokes, and back you up when I embarrass you."
Then at the crowd forming around us. "And they're here to watch me make you look stupid."
Silence.
Xu Jin's vein popped.
"This guy..." One of his friends growled.
"Senior Brother, let's just cripple him now."
"Whoa, whoa, cripple?" I laughed. "That escalated fast. I just got here, and you're already talking about ruining my cultivation? At least buy me dinner first."
The crowd snickered.
Xu Jin's face darkened. "You talk too much."
I smirked. "You hit too slow."And then, before he could react...
I punched him in the face. Xu Jin flew back like a damn kite.
The crowd gasped. His friends? Stunned.
I shook my hand, sighing. "That felt good. Man, I missed being strong."
Xu Jin groaned on the ground, half-conscious. His nose was definitely broken.
His friends snapped out of their daze. "B-Bastard! You dare..."
I turned to them, cracking my knuckles.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I said, smiling. They hesitated.
One of them gulped. "Y-You only got lucky!"
Ah. Classic delusion.
I gestured to Xu Jin's twitching body. "Your strongest guy is currently reconsidering all his life choices. You sure you wanna be next?"
They took one last look at Xu Jin, then at me, then at each other... And bolted. Cowards. The crowd? They lost their damn minds.
"Did you see that?!"
"One punch! He took out Senior Brother Xu in one punch!"
"Is he secretly an elder in disguise? A hidden dragon?!"
I dusted my sleeves, letting the whispers spread. Perfect.
Let them talk. Let the rumors fly.
Because by the end of today, everyone in this sect would know my name.
Long Fei Jian is back, and I'm just getting started.