The annual outer court competition was about to begin.

The outer court competition was the best path for Kongshan Sect’s outer court disciples to enter the Inner Court.

As long as they performed well enough in the competition, they could catch the attention of the Inner Court elders who came to observe.

If one of the visiting elders took a liking to them, they would have a good chance of being selected for the Inner Court and becoming an inner disciple.

The difference in treatment between outer court disciples and inner disciples was like night and day.

At the very least, inner disciples did not have to be sent away by the External Affairs Hall every five to ten years to spend two years farming in some remote spirit farmland or mining.

The official start of the outer court competition was still three days away.

Today was also the day the Inner Court elders who had come to observe the competition would arrive at the outer court.

Inside Fate Inquiry Hall, Lin Qifeng stood in the center of the main hall, receiving the visiting Inner Court elders.

In terms of both his position in the sect and his cultivation, Lin Qifeng ranked below these elders from the Inner Court.

Lin Qifeng was an Outer Court Elder with a cultivation base in the Qi Sea Realm.

The Inner Court elders, by contrast, were all in the Spirit Connection Realm.

But when it came to status, Lin Qifeng was not at all intimidated by these Inner Court elders, despite their being an entire major realm above him.

That was because he was a personal disciple of Yun Yichen, the current Sect Leader of Kongshan Sect.

His eldest senior brother was Zhong Yin, the Dignity Elder of Kongyuan Mountain who governed the Hall of Prudent Discipline. His second senior brother was Yue Chi, the Alchemy Hall elder of Kongyuan Mountain.

It could be said that Lin Qifeng’s backing in the sect was far beyond what ordinary Inner Court elders could hope to match.

“Elders, you’ve all arrived!”

Lin Qifeng held his head high and raised a hand in greeting to the dozens of Inner Court cultivators, dressed in the daoist robes of Kongshan Sect’s seven major peaks, as they streamed into Fate Inquiry Hall.

“Elder Lin!”

The middle-aged man at the front, dressed in Yibai Peak daoist robes with a sword at his waist, clasped his hands and greeted him with a hearty laugh.

Although Lin Qifeng had powerful backing, he was still only a Qi Sea Realm cultivator.

Greeting a group of Spirit Connection Realm Inner Court elders with such an attitude was, in fact, quite discourteous.

But no one would hold it against him.

If Lin Qifeng had observed the proper etiquette and not acted so arrogantly, Sect Leader Yun would not have exiled him from Kongyuan Mountain to the sect’s outer court.

The middle-aged man in Yibai Peak daoist robes was Yan Zheng, the current elder of Yibai Peak’s Sword-Commanding Hall.

Of Kongshan Sect’s Three Mountains and Four Peaks, only Yibai Peak had established a Sword-Commanding Hall, because nearly all of Yibai Peak’s disciples were swordsmen.

The Sword-Commanding Hall held a very important position at Yibai Peak, and its elder was the most powerful figure there beneath the four Peak Elders.

For that very reason, Elder Yan clearly held the leading position among the group of Inner Court elders who had come to observe the outer court competition.

“I didn’t expect Elder Yan to come observe the outer court competition too.”

Lin Qifeng said this to Yan Zheng.

“Elder Qiu made the arrangements. How could I possibly refuse?”

Yan Zheng replied.

Elder Qiu was Qiu Yuanqing, the current Solemn Martial Elder of Yibai Peak.

Each year, it was indeed the Solemn Martial Elders of the various peaks who decided which representatives would attend the outer court competition.

“So, if I understand Elder Yan correctly, you wouldn’t have wanted to come observe if Elder Qiu hadn’t arranged it?”

Lin Qifeng said with a smile.

“That depends on how Elder Lin chooses to interpret it.”

Yan Zheng smiled back.

It was merely some unimportant, rather dull small talk.

Then Lin Qifeng turned his attention to the Inner Court elder beside him, who wore Yuanhua Mountain daoist robes.

“This elder from Yuanhua Mountain looks unfamiliar.”

The Inner Court elder in Yuanhua Mountain daoist robes looked somewhat chubby, with monolids and narrow, squinty eyes. He clasped his hands slightly, but did not bend at the waist at all, standing perfectly straight, and said nothing to Lin Qifeng.

According to the etiquette of the cultivation world on Chenping Continent, established back when it was called Heavenly Summit Mountain, even a superior returning a greeting to an inferior was expected to give a slight nod.

Standing ramrod straight and completely motionless like this seemed less like a greeting and more like a show of provocation and contempt.

He also did not introduce himself to Lin Qifeng. Instead, an Inner Court disciple standing behind him, who was also from Yuanhua Mountain, stepped forward, lifted his chin, and adopted an arrogant air.

“The person beside me is Elder Chen Bin, an elder of Yuanhua Mountain’s Enforcement Hall.”

“Oh, so you’re Elder Chen.”

Lin Qifeng gave a very casual nod.

Not everyone could tolerate Lin Qifeng’s attitude.

What gave an unremarkable Qi Sea Realm cultivator the right to act as though he stood on equal footing with Spirit Connection Realm elders?

Just because his master was Yun Yichen?

Clearly, Elder Chen Bin found Lin Qifeng’s behavior hard to stomach.

The atmosphere inside Fate Inquiry Hall immediately grew awkward, because everyone could see Chen Bin’s contempt for Lin Qifeng.

Yet no one stepped in to smooth things over in that situation.

Everyone wanted to see how Lin Qifeng would react.

“Speaking of Yuanhua Mountain, there’s an instructor in the outer court’s Scripture Hall who’s received unanimous praise from the outer court disciples and supervisors. I believe his name is Lu Li, a very capable young man.”

Lin Qifeng spoke slowly.

“I spoke with him briefly a while ago and asked why he’d been transferred from Yuanhua Mountain to the outer court. He told me he’d been ostracized at Yuanhua Mountain. As it happened, the supervisor who’d been pushing him out had a close relationship with a Protector of Yuanhua Mountain’s Enforcement Hall, so they pinned some minor charge on him and dumped him in the outer court.”

The Inner Court cultivators in Fate Inquiry Hall were all astonished when they heard this. They exchanged glances.

Whether or not Lin Qifeng’s claim was true, making such an accusation in front of everyone was unquestionably the greatest humiliation he could inflict on Elder Chen Bin, who governed Yuanhua Mountain’s Enforcement Hall.

But what Lin Qifeng said next was even more chilling.

“Since Lu Li is now an instructor in my outer court, he’s my subordinate, one of my own. I have to stand up for him.”

Lin Qifeng’s tone was calm.

“I’ll write to Elder Zhong Yin of Kongyuan Mountain. Once the outer court competition is over, people from the Hall of Prudent Discipline will go straight to Yuanhua Mountain’s Enforcement Hall. In the meantime, Elder Chen, please cooperate fully with their investigation.”

“...”

At those words, Chen Bin’s expression shifted slightly. He was clearly flustered.

Chen Bin knew nothing about what Lin Qifeng had just described. After all, not every case on Yuanhua Mountain passed through his hands as the elder of Yuanhua Mountain’s Enforcement Hall.

The few Protectors under him also wielded considerable authority.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.