CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 371: BATTLE FOR POSITION (PART 1)_1

「The Riverside Sect, Affairs Hall.」

The impressive Tian Zhiyu, a prodigy of the Tian Family, waited attentively, listening to the teachings of the middle-aged man before him.

"Shen Mo, this boy, has considerable strength. He has challenged you; do you think you have a chance of winning?" the middle-aged man asked slowly, his voice soft and gentle.

The person Tian Zhiyu treated with such respect could be no other than the patriarch of the Tian Clan and the Hall Master of the Affairs Hall of the Riverside Sect, Tian Zhaoquan.

Although Tian Zhaoquan was of Tian Zhiyu’s great-grandfather’s generation, the two of them standing together looked very much like father and son.

"..."

Tian Zhiyu’s expression was dark and complicated; he did not reply immediately.

After some thought, he said gravely, "This Junior Brother Shen is indeed no ordinary person! Even before he established his Spirit Sea, my Third Grand-uncle, Tian Qisheng, fought him and lost. Now, this person has also entered the Spirit Sea Realm! Against anyone else, I am confident I could easily defeat an early-stage Spirit Sea Realm cultivator. But..."

Upon hearing this, Tian Zhaoquan understood that this most outstanding great-grandson of his lacked absolute confidence.

「...」

News of Shen Mo challenging Tian Zhiyu for the title of core disciple had already spread throughout the Riverside Sect.

One was a figure who had risen to prominence in the last two years, with numerous extraordinary achievements to his name, shining dazzlingly. The other hailed from a wealthy sect, had entered the Spirit Sea Realm early, and had held the position of core disciple for many years. Although he was the lowest-ranked, his strength was not to be underestimated.

Therefore, when Shen Mo approached Stars Peak Master Zhou Shili to propose initiating a battle for the position, the entirety of Stars Peak was stirred. Then, this news rapidly spread among the sect’s upper echelons, Rising Sun Peak, Bright Moon Peak, and the entire Inner Door. Even many well-informed outer disciples had heard something of the matter.

Soon after, the sect’s upper echelons made a decision, setting the date for the duel seven days later to allow the challenged party time to prepare. As for the location, it was arranged in the Linjiang Mountain Range, following established precedent.

Once the news was confirmed, many disciples who were out training, slaying demons, or on missions, rushed back to the sect as much as possible if they had no pressing matters, wanting to witness this grand battle. Tian Zhiyu, in particular, who was earning merit of slaying demons at the Heishan battlefield near the Ghost Nation Ruins, was directly summoned back by the sect.

As for the other eight core disciples, those already within the sect gates were not an issue. Those who had left the mountain also quickly settled their affairs and hurried back to the sect. Excluding the chief core disciple, the second seat, and the fifth seat, the remaining five were either already in the Riverside Sect or on their way back.

Shen Mo had not revealed his intention to issue successive challenges in advance. After all, regardless of whether the higher-ranked disciple was within the Riverside Sect or not, a certain amount of time had to be given after a challenge was issued. This was convenient for him to recover his condition and also for the challenged core disciple to prepare.

However, the core disciples of the Riverside Sect also had their own ideas. Among the nine, the chief was at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, and the second seat was at the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm, significantly surpassing the others. The remaining seven core disciples, including the third seat, Yu Yan, were all experts in the early to middle stages of the Spirit Sea Realm. The differences in their strength were not excessively large.

Even if Shen Mo defeated Tian Zhiyu and had no intention of challenging further, if they could witness his methods firsthand, they would have a better understanding when the core disciple rankings were re-evaluated in two years.

Of course, the pressure on the core disciples ranked eighth and above was not as great as it was for Tian Zhiyu, the ninth seat. Even if Shen Mo was unstoppable, defeated several people in succession, and rose to a higher seat, the defeated would only drop one rank. This was unlike Tian Zhiyu, who would be directly stripped of his core disciple position and could only be reassigned as a sect Elder!

Then again, who was to blame for Tian Zhiyu ending up in the last seat during the previous ranking?

The battle for positions required witnessing by the sect’s upper echelons. Therefore, Tian Zhaoquan, as the Hall Master of the Affairs Hall, was among the first cultivators in the sect to learn of this news. Tian Zhiyu had just returned to the Riverside Sect when he was summoned by him to the Affairs Hall.

However, this junior descendant’s reply did not satisfy Tian Zhaoquan.

Tian Hong’s initial decision might have been correct! Unfortunately, his abilities are mediocre, and his methods aren’t ruthless enough. His series of actions not only failed to suppress this Shen Mo but instead caused friction between him and our Tian Family! Having just advanced to the Spirit Sea Realm, he is so impatient to initiate a battle for position... He must have realized that Yuan Chengshan may have already perished, and the sect’s core disciple seats will see changes. He intends to knock you out of the core disciple rankings before that happens.

Tian Zhaoquan’s tone remained calm and gentle, showing no sign of anger or impatience. Having held a high position for a long time and witnessed many storms, even the death of his own son had not visibly moved him, let alone the prospects of a junior in the Riverside Sect. However, for someone like him, once he set his mind to something, he would naturally exert all his efforts to steer events in his desired direction.

After a pause, Tian Zhaoquan retrieved three spiritual items from his top-grade Universe Bag.

First, a needle-like magic artifact. It was as fine as an ox hair, its tip gleaming with an azure, cold light.

"This is a low-grade spiritual level magic artifact, the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle. Seven days is enough for you to become proficient in refining it," Tian Zhaoquan stated calmly. "Then, you only need to deploy this treasure to break Shen Mo’s defensive magic artifact."

This Soul Snatching Needle was no ordinary magic artifact; it was a low-grade Spiritual Artifact that had developed gnosis. Its power was extraordinary, specializing in penetrating a cultivator’s defenses. Magic treasures, magic, or even powerful vitality would struggle to offer effective protection against this treasure. Once this needle touched an enemy’s flesh and blood, it would, under the Artifact Spirit’s control, continuously navigate along the Flesh and Blood Chakras, heading straight for the opponent’s heart acupoints. At that point, life and death would be determined by a single thought from the magic treasure’s owner.

Second, a High-Level Talisman.

Its light was restrained, appearing unremarkable. However, it was a Grade V Flame Zone Talisman. Once activated with Mana, it would create a raging inferno powerful enough to incinerate mountains and boil seas, even threatening cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm. Throughout the entire Riverside Sect, there wasn’t a single Grade IV Talisman Maker. Tian Zhaoquan must have acquired this talisman from elsewhere.

Third, a spiritual silk inner armor.

This item, like Shen Mo’s Auspicious Snow inner armor, was also refined from silk spun by a Six-winged Snow Silkworm. The only differences lay in its design, the amount of material used, internal runes, and so on. This particular silkworm silk inner armor also reached the top-grade profound level, no inferior to the one Shen Mo wore.

Of these three spiritual items, the most valuable was naturally the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle. Even Tian Zhaoquan, despite being the Hall Master of the Affairs Hall, did not possess many Spiritual Artifacts. Bestowing one upon Tian Zhiyu now clearly showed his earnest expectations. The other two items were also incredibly precious, both being treasures that money couldn’t easily buy.

With these three treasures, Tian Zhiyu’s combat strength would immediately soar, and his chances of retaining his core disciple seat would increase significantly.

"Zhiyu... humbly thanks the Patriarch for your generous bestowal!"

Tian Zhiyu knelt, raised his hands above his head, and respectfully received the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle, the Grade V Flame Zone Talisman, and the spiritual silk inner armor.