I’ll Take That Opportunity Chapter 13 - Becoming An Outer Disciple

The three puppets rumbled forward, each heavy step making the ground tremble.

Ye Lin narrowed his eyes, channeling all his spirit qi into his right arm. Veins bulged along the skin as power surged through it.

"Seven Kill Fist!"

With a thunderous shout, Ye Lin launched a punch straight at one puppet’s chest.

Bang!

The blow landed with a deafening crack. The puppet, thought to be indestructible, was pierced clean through its chest and halted in place, unmoving.

"The Seven Kill Fist—second level? To reach that stage so quickly... his perception is truly impressive."

"Shattering an assessment puppet with a single strike? Even a 5th layer Qi Refinement cultivator might struggle with that. This kid’s no joke."

Arms crossed, Wu Shuang muttered to himself in surprise.

He had heard of Ye Lin before—the youth who’d slain Zhang Xiao’s younger brother in broad daylight. Zhang Xiao, the top disciple of the outer sect. That kind of boldness had already made Ye Lin infamous.

But seeing him now, Wu Shuang realized: Ye Lin wasn't merely bold.

Two more thunderous strikes followed. The remaining puppets collapsed in ruins. Ye Lin had restrained his cultivation base to the 4th layer Qi Refinement stage for the assessment, yet even so, his performance was overwhelming.

If he had fought at full strength—with his 6th layer Qi Refinement cultivation base and the third level of Seven Kill Fist—he might have even been able to contend against a 7th layer Qi Refinement cultivator.

Ye Lin bowed toward Wu Shuang, "Senior Disciple Brother, I don’t need to pay for the damage, do I?"

Wu Shuang waved it off, "Not all. If they're broken, they’re broken. Come with me to receive your token."

Ye Lin followed as Wu Shuang led the way.

"Here." Wu Shuang handed over a wooden token and two pristine white pills, "This is your outer sect token. And your reward for passing the assessment—two Spirit Refinement Pills."

Ye Lin looked up at him before accepting them with a nod.

Wu Shuang watched him with quiet approval. This kid was sharp—and respectful.

"Senior Disciple Brother, I’ll take my leave."

Wu Shuang nodded, and Ye Lin turned and walked away.

Watching Ye Lin's departing figure, Wu Shuang sighed, "That kid is sharp... but he won’t live long."

Back at his residence, Ye Lin took out the two Spirit Refinement Pills. Without hesitation, he swallowed them and sat down cross-legged to cultivate.

Almost instantly, strands of spirit qi coursed through his body, gradually tempering his tibia.

The Qi Refinement stage was a path of progressive self-strengthening. From the 1st to the 5th layer, the focus was on purifying the body. From the 5th to the 9th, cultivators began storing spirit qi in their dantian, enabling the use of minor spells.

The Spirit Refinement Pills were low-grade basic-tier pills that brimmed with potent spirit qi, perfect for someone at Ye Lin’s level.

By the time he had fully refined both pills, the sky outside had already turned dark.

A voice broke the silence, “So you’re Ye Lin—the one who passed the outer sect assessment today?”

Ye Lin opened his eyes. A young man in white robes stood before him, holding a folding fan and wearing a calm, calculating smile.

Ye Lin furrowed his brows, “I am. And you are?”

“Huang Xiong, outer disciple.” The young man replied smoothly, “I came for one reason—join us.”

Ye Lin blinked, “Join you? What do you mean?”

Huang Xiong spoke casually, as if talking to himself, “I know you’re living in constant fear right now, but you’re smart—you became an outer disciple and gained the sect’s protection.”

“But do you know that Zhang Xiao will be coming out of seclusion soon? When that happens, not even your new status will shield you from his wrath.”

“Join our faction. We have Senior Disciple Brother Li—he’s at the 7th layer Qi Refinement stage. With his strength, he can protect you.”

In truth, the outer disciples were split into three factions: Dragon, Tiger, and Qilin. Every time a promising new disciple passed the assessment, these factions scrambled to recruit them.

The outer disciples didn’t receive much support from the sect, and they also had to face the monthly outer sect assessment, where the only criterion was points—earned by completing various tasks.

If one fell below the threshold, they would be kicked out of the outer sect. No excuses.

Resources in the outer sect were scarce. Disciples had to rely entirely on themselves—either by hunting demon beasts in the surrounding mountains together or teaming up to complete sect tasks, all for the sake of earning points.

In short, after entering the outer sect, without joining one of the three factions, passing the monthly assessment was nearly impossible.

After all, minor tasks yielded too few points. Major tasks, on the other hand, were too dangerous to complete alone.

Unless one was willing to abandon cultivation entirely and take on minor tasks day after day just to scrape together points—an approach that was both unsustainable and foolish.

As a result, over time, the outer disciples naturally rallied around the three most powerful figures—each at the 7th layer Qi Refinement stage—and formed three factions. These leaders commanded significant followings and influence within the outer sect.

Today, upon hearing that Ye Lin had not only passed the assessment but was rumored to be at the 5th layer Qi Refinement stage, Huang Xiong had come in person without delay.

Ye Lin didn’t answer immediately but instead posed a question, "What value do I have that would make you risk offending Zhang Xiao—the No. 1 outer disciple—to recruit me?"

Huang Xiong’s expression remained unchanged as he answered smoothly.

"First, Senior Disciple Brother Li and Zhang Xiao are sworn enemies. Recruiting you is a way to strike at Zhang Xiao indirectly."

"Second, your strength has caught Senior Disciple Brother Li’s attention. That’s all there is to it."

After Huang Xiong finished speaking, Ye Lin replied calmly, "Sorry, but I'm not interested."

Huang Xiong paused for a moment, giving Ye Lin a strange look.

"Alright then. Since you’ve made your choice, I’ll take my leave." He turned to go but glanced back one last time, his voice laced with thinly veiled sarcasm, "When Zhang Xiao comes out of seclusion... I hope I hear good news about you."

With that, Huang Xiong walked away, the faint smile on his face twisting into something cold.

He had extended a hand—but Ye Lin had chosen to walk alone.

[Name: Huang Xiong]

[Cultivation base: 6th layer Qi Refinement]

[Fate grade: white (promising)]

[Fate trait: exceptionally intelligent]

[Fate prediction: five years from now, you will challenge an inner disciple. You will lose—and die a brutal death at their hands.]

[Upcoming opportunity: in half a month, a 5th layer Qi Refinement demon serpent will appear near Wang Family Village. You will accept a task and slay it. After killing the demon serpent, you will discover a low-grade mystic-tier Interspatial Ring in its stomach.]

[Exceptionally intelligent: gifted with extraordinary intellect from a young age, you remain calm under pressure and adapt swiftly to any situation.]

After reading Huang Xiong’s panel, Ye Lin’s eyes narrowed slightly in surprise.

A low-grade mystic-tier Interspatial Ring…? That was no ordinary item.

Interspatial Rings housed an independent storage space. In the Azure Cloud Sect, even low-grade basic-tier Interspatial Rings were unheard of, let alone low-grade mystic-tier ones.

If a low-grade mystic-tier Interspatial Ring appeared in the mortal world, even Nascent Soul stage cultivators might vie over it. That alone revealed its worth.

Ye Lin’s lips curled into a faint smile, "Not bad. Your opportunity is mine now."

Without hesitation, he set off down the mountain.

He hadn’t forgotten about Wu Shuang’s opportunity. According to the panel, Wu Shuang would stumble upon a treasure that could strengthen the spiritual soul—a rarity among rarities.

Its location: the Dark Gold Demon Beast Cavern, deep within the mountains. However, the area was perilous, where demon beasts as strong as the 7th or 8th layer Qi Refinement stage could appear without warning.

Ye Lin moved cautiously, scanning the surroundings every few steps. He had no intention of risking his life for a mere opportunity.

"So this is the Dark Gold Demon Beast Cavern. According to the panel, three 5th layer Qi Refinement demon beasts guard the place. Let's observe for now."

Ye Lin unsheathed his sword as he crept closer. He had brought the weapon specifically for this—armed with the sword, his combat strength increased by at least 30%.

Arriving at the mouth of the cavern, Ye Lin peered into the darkness, where he spotted them: two large, tiger-type demon beasts.

"Two...?" He muttered, "Where’s the third one?"

That was when his body suddenly froze.

A chilling presence loomed behind him.

Slowly, very slowly, Ye Lin turned his head to look over his shoulder—