I’ll Take That Opportunity Chapter 19 - Zhang Xiao Challenges An Inner Disciple

After wrapping up his affairs, Ye Lin took a final glance around before making his way back to the Azure Cloud Sect.

Upon returning to his residence, he retrieved the demon core and three mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Carefully opening the box, a rich, fragrant aroma greeted him—delicate and refreshing, like the faint scent of a young maiden. It invigorated him instantly.

Without hesitation, Ye Lin swallowed the demon core in one gulp and immediately activated the Stellar Method with all his might.

In an instant, a searing pain tore through his internal organs. Cultivators typically absorbed gentle, obedient spirit qi that flowed smoothly through the meridians according to their cultivation technique.

But the demon core was different—it contained the raw, violent essence of a demon beast. This power was untamed, rampaging through the body like a wild, frenzied beast.

“Settle down!” Ye Lin’s face flushed crimson as he struggled to suppress the raging power.

He knew absorbing the demon core promised immense benefits, but he hadn’t anticipated its ferocity.

“Not good—at this rate, it’ll tear me apart.”

At that moment, Ye Lin’s expression shifted. The power within the Foundation Establishment demon core was incredibly ferocious—far more than he could handle.

As the spirit qi he was using to suppress the demon core’s power steadily diminished, Ye Lin grew increasingly anxious.

“Screw it, I’m going all in.”

Gritting his teeth, Ye Lin gripped a Spirit Stone tightly and recklessly absorbed its spirit qi, throwing caution to the wind. Two powerful forces surged through his meridians, colliding and intertwining chaotically.

Six hours passed before Ye Lin finally ended his cultivation. His body was soaked in sweat, and a lingering fear clung to his heart.

It had taken him a full six hours to refine the demon core, and now its power surged through his meridians

Afterward, Ye Lin focused on absorbing the Spirit Stone, swiftly refining and merging the two forces within his body.

While cultivating, time lost all meaning. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

“As expected of a mid-grade Spirit Stone. After an entire month, I’ve only absorbed half its spirit qi.”

Gazing at the Spirit Stone in his hand, Ye Lin couldn’t help but admire its quality.

Mid-grade Spirit Stones not only contained purer, more concentrated spirit qi, but also held far greater quantities than their low-grade counterparts.

“My strength has increased tremendously. With my current power, I could defeat my previous self within three moves using the Seven Kill Fist.” Sensing the energy coursing through his meridians, Ye Lin murmured to himself with satisfaction.

In the Qi Refinement stage, every layer was like a towering chasm. Even a single layer’s difference created a gap that countless cultivators struggled to overcome their entire lives.

“Zhang Xiao should be out of seclusion by now.” Ye Lin’s gaze flickered.

After a month of closed-door cultivation, it was time. Zhang Xiao would surely have finished his seclusion.

“Let’s see what fate has in store for me.”

Suppressing the brief excitement in his heart, Ye Lin summoned his life panel.

[Name: Ye Lin]

[Cultivation base: 7th layer Qi Refinement]

[Fate grade: black (fraught with calamity)]

[Fate trait: shrouded in misfortune, transcendental perception]

[Fate prediction: after coming out of seclusion, Zhang Xiao will defeat an inner disciple today, securing his position as a new inner disciple. Upon learning that you have become an outer disciple, he will ambush you three days from now at the foot of the mountain. In the ambush, you will suffer severe injuries. At a critical moment, you will unleash a talisman and strike back.]

[Upcoming opportunity: none]

[Shrouded in misfortune: you are prone to accidents and betrayals.]

[Transcendental perception: you possess an incredible ability to grasp cultivation methods, mastering in days what others take months to learn.]

Reading the fate prediction, Ye Lin fell into deep thought.

This Zhang Xiao was a cunning bastard. Ye Lin had only ever displayed the strength of a 4th layer Qi Refinement cultivator, yet this cunning bastard was still going to plan to ambush him.

“Three days from now? Perfect. Once I kill you, I can finally focus on cultivating and preparing to become an inner disciple.”

After settling his thoughts, Ye Lin rose, brushed the dust from his clothing, and stepped out into the courtyard. After a month of closed-door cultivation, it was about time he stretched his legs.

As soon as he walked out, he caught sight of several handyman disciples gathered in quiet conversation.

Although Ye Lin was now officially an outer disciple, he still lived in the handyman quarters—making him something of an anomaly.

“Did you hear? Senior Brother Zhang Xiao just formally challenged inner disciple Niu Bo! The duel’s happening at the Outer Sect Square—let’s go watch!”

“Watch my ass. The new handyman overseer’s a damn dog. All he does is bully us and wring out every last bit of strength.”

“Yeah, my body’s still sore.”

Ye Lin couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at their complaints, then made his way toward the Outer Sect Square.

After all, this would be his first time seeing an inner disciple up close. There was no way he’d miss it.

By the time he arrived, the square was already packed, a sea of outer disciples filling the space.

It had been a full ten years since an outer disciple dared to challenge an inner disciple. Naturally, no one wanted to miss such a rare spectacle.

The resources given to inner disciples were on a completely different level compared to what outer disciples received.

Beyond that, inner disciples were entitled to medicinal bath, a high-grade basic-tier martial skill, and for the truly outstanding—the chance to learn a treasured cultivation method of the Azure Cloud Sect.

If outer disciples were like adopted children, then inner disciples were the sect’s true bloodline. The difference between the two was a chasm as vast as heaven and earth.

On the dueling platform, a man dressed in black stood silently, his gaze sharp and fixed on the figure before him—a man carrying twin words across his back. The tension between them hung heavy in the air, thick with murderous intent.

“Junior Disciple Brother, who do you think will win between those two?”

An outer disciple appeared beside Ye Lin, grinning as he spoke with a hint of mischief.

“It hasn’t started yet—the outcome is still unknown.” Ye Lin replied, shaking his head. Though he already knew the outcome.

“If you kneel now, kowtow three times, and get lost, I’ll forgive your impudence just this once.”

It was the inner disciple, Niu Bo—the man with twin swords on his back. His gaze was sharp as blades, brimming with murderous intent.

When an outer disciple challenged an inner disciple, the stakes were terrifyingly high. Should the inner disciple lose, they’d be stripped of their status, their cultivation resources cut off for five full years.

In other words, one defeat would send them crashing down from their pedestal. No wonder Niu Bo’s heart seethed with murderous intent. Regardless of how this ended, the fact that he had been challenged would make him the subject of ridicule.

The first inner disciple in ten years to be challenged…

“Eight years. I’ve been preparing for this day for eight years. Do you have any idea what I’ve endured? Enough talk—let’s begin.”

Zhang Xiao didn’t want to waste another moment on the person in front of him. He had spent eight years preparing for the Inner Sect Secret Realm—all for the chance to enter the secret realm and obtain a treasured cultivation method of the sect.

The man standing before him, Niu Bo, was the weakest of the inner disciples, his cultivation merely at the 8th layer Qi Refinement stage.

In the past, there had been outer disciples strong enough to match him, but none had dared to issue a challenge. But while others hesitated, Zhang Xiao did not.

“Looks like you’ve grown tired of living.”

With a murderous snarl, Niu Bo unsheathed his twin swords and lunged at Zhang Xiao with the intent to kill. On this platform, life and death were left to fate. If Zhang Xiao died here, the sect would not intervene.

If you wanted to seize the title of inner disciple—you could. But you’d better be prepared to pay the price.

“Let’s take a look at Zhang Xiao’s panel.” Ye Lin narrowed his eyes, focusing on Zhang Xiao’s figure. In an instant, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Zhang Xiao]

[Cultivation base: 8th layer Qi Refinement]

[Fate grade: white (promising)]

[Fate trait: hidden spirit root]

[Fate prediction: you will successfully become an inner disciple. But before you can enjoy your new status, Ye Lin will secretly kill you using a talisman three days later.]

[Upcoming opportunity: upon becoming a new inner disciple, when you visit the Inner Task Pavilion for the first time, you will accept a task. While heading to Tianfeng City to carry out the task the next day, you’ll discover a piece of Black Gold being used as a table support in a famous blacksmith shop in Riyue City.]

[Hidden spirit root: your spirit root appears low-grade on the surface but is actually mid-grade. Due to unknown reasons, its potential remains suppressed.]

Ye Lin stared at the panel hovering in the air, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his lips.

He noted the mention of Black Gold, though he had no idea what it was.

Ye Lin turned his head toward the outer disciple standing beside him, “Senior Disciple Brother, do you know what Black Gold is?”