Chapter Forty-Four: A New Trial

The leader glanced at Li Sibai and spoke slowly, "You must be Li Sibai. I remember you now. My name is Guo Jian. If you ever get the chance, come find me for a sparring match."

With those words, he turned and took a seat at the back, and the group behind him murmured quietly among themselves.

"Li Sibai, ha, speak of the devil and he appears. What do you guys think?"

"A useless outer disciple comes to the inner sect and thinks he'll rise to the heavens. He doesn't even realize where he is."

"He thinks this is still the outer sect. Only our Brother Guo is generous enough to tolerate him. Let's see how he manages in the inner sect from now on."

They talked and laughed, occasionally pointing at Li Sibai, their voices low, but Li Sibai could easily tell they were discussing him.

He frowned slightly, thinking that there were always those who gossiped and relied on borrowed authority wherever one went, but he paid them no mind.

At that moment, an elder entered. He wore spotless white robes, exuding ease and dignity, his hair and beard all white, a sword slung across his back, hands clasped behind him.

Everyone rose to pay their respects: "Greetings, Elder Yang!"

Li Sibai hurriedly stood up as well: "Greetings, Elder Yang!"

Elder Yunyang nodded and slowly walked to the center of the platform. His gaze swept over Li Sibai and he smiled lightly, "Are you this year's new disciple? What's your name?"

Li Sibai quickly replied, "Disciple, Li Sibai!"

Upon hearing the name, Yunyang Elder nodded thoughtfully.

"Li Sibai, I've heard of you. You performed exceptionally, showed admirable perseverance, and did well on the exam."

Yunyang Elder smiled, clearly acknowledging Li Sibai.

The disciples who had just been mocking Li Sibai looked utterly incredulous. Yunyang Elder was actually praising this so-called useless newcomer from the outer sect, which made them inwardly uncomfortable.

Guo Jian, hearing Yunyang Elder's words, nodded, his impression of Li Sibai deepening further.

Suddenly, he remembered something and addressed Li Sibai, "By the way, Li Sibai, though you’ve entered the inner sect, since your cultivation hasn’t yet reached the Heart of the Zither realm, you cannot take a master for now. You must break through to that realm within six months. Do you understand?"

The group who had mocked Li Sibai burst out laughing.

"So this guy is still at the Initial Phoenix realm. If he doesn’t break through in six months, he’ll be sent back to the outer sect. Ha!"

"This kid spent eight years just to get to the third level of Initial Phoenix realm. Breaking through to the sixth level won’t be easy. We won’t see him again in half a year…!"

"Exactly. If he doesn’t reach the Heart of the Zither realm, he’ll have to leave after six months!"

Harsh voices echoed from all directions.

Li Sibai was daydreaming, deliberately ignoring their trivial chatter.

There were such rules, and since they came from the teaching elder, they were surely true.

He thought he’d been too optimistic lately. His luck and fortune had improved immeasurably, but now it felt like he’d forgotten past hardships. Indeed, he must not relax even for a moment. One acts, and the heavens watch. Sibai continued to encourage himself, determined to work hard in the days ahead.

Soon, students filed into the classroom. Attendance wasn’t mandatory, so only about a third of the disciples were present.

Apart from Qin Feng, who was also a new inner disciple and quietly took a seat at the back, nodding to Sibai in greeting, Li Sibai knew no one else.

Elder Yunyang began his lecture, but Li Sibai didn’t absorb a single word. His mind was occupied with thoughts of how to break through to the sixth level of the Initial Phoenix realm.

"Alright, that’s all for today. If you have any questions, you may ask me after class," Elder Yunyang said, signaling that class was over and began packing his books.

Li Sibai approached and respectfully asked, "Elder Yang, if I fail to break through to the Heart of the Zither realm within six months, will I definitely be sent back to the outer sect?"

Elder Yunyang nodded, "That’s correct, but don’t worry too much. I can see you’re already at the late stage of the sixth level of the Initial Phoenix realm. With your strength, reaching the first stage of Heart of the Zither in six months shouldn’t be a problem."

Li Sibai felt a bit more at ease, but the elder’s next words pulled him back to reality.

"You may attend lessons here before breaking through, but you won’t be able to cultivate these techniques until you do, and no teacher will accept you as a disciple before then. Moreover, breaking through to the first stage of Heart of the Zither is something you must accomplish on your own—no one else can help you. Whether you succeed or not depends entirely on your own fortune."

Elder Yunyang smiled gently, "Do you have any other questions?"

A thousand wild llamas seemed to gallop through Li Sibai’s mind.

Where were the promised inner sect resources? What about taking a master? What about cultivating techniques?

In the end, everything depended on himself. Fortunately, he was used to setbacks in the outer sect, so he didn’t collapse.

The disciples leaving behind him erupted in laughter when they overheard the conversation, once more gossiping about Li Sibai.

Li Sibai’s face was a bit flushed, but he pretended not to hear and said to Elder Yunyang,

"Elder Yang, in all these years, has there ever been a disciple expelled from the inner sect for failing to break through to the first stage of Heart of the Zither realm?"

Elder Yunyang thought for a moment and nodded, "Indeed there have. But it’s nothing serious—you can always take the entrance exam again next year."

Li Sibai forced a bitter smile, thinking how hard he’d worked to get into the inner sect; being expelled would be humiliating. But he never believed any challenge was insurmountable.

At least for him, everything depended on effort!

Seeing no further questions, Elder Yunyang rose and departed.

Li Sibai stood there, deep in thought, seemingly frozen in place while disciples gradually left the classroom, most casting him mocking glances and whispering derisive remarks as they passed.

Someone seemed to call his name, and Li Sibai snapped out of his reverie.

"Brother Li, Brother Li!"

Li Sibai looked up—it was Guo Jian, smiling at him.

Li Sibai quickly clasped his hands and said, "Senior Brother Guo, may I ask what you need?"

"Brother Li, you’re new to the inner sect. I wanted to find a chance to exchange ideas with you, but seeing how busy you are, I’m sure you won’t have time. Let’s meet again after you’ve taken a master."

Li Sibai frowned. He wasn’t foolish—though Guo Jian smiled, he was reminding him not to get cocky, and to be careful lest he be sent back in six months.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Guo. When I break through to the Heart of the Zither realm, I’ll surely seek your guidance," Li Sibai replied bluntly.

Guo Jian smiled, "Very well, I’ll remember your words," and turned to leave.

His followers all grinned at Li Sibai as well; few believed he would remain after six months.

At that moment, Qin Feng approached Li Sibai, clasping his hands and saying,

"Brother Li, it’s been a long time!"