And now he was the one fucked. Was there any ways he could ask the Lord for his secret manual? Nope! That Lord was a strong one like other Lords. They wouldn't be able to retain Lordships otherwise. The tournament was truly the only way...But there were no other disciples who could do this. Ah, fuck it, he would have to teach a random kid and have him win the tourney.

At least, he could leave the sect right away under that excuse. Yeah, it wasn't so bad. Five months without having to see that fucker's face. In the end, now that he thought about it, it might actually be his greatest opportunity. If he could catch the sight of the Lord over there, he might be able to get under his wings. Leaving the sect was sad after so long but here he was no more than a slave...He would be treated better elsewhere anyways.

Yeah, he would do just that.

As for retaliating against the disciple? That was dumb. How could a core elder be so petty? Obviously he would reject such a request. At least he wouldn't lift a single hand on that kid. He didn't do anything bad but rather did the only thing he could to shield his future.

Tae-Yeon, fuck you and your ancestors! From now on, he would no longer serve this bitch. He reached his own villa in mere moments, picked all his stuff, and left without turning his back. Tae-Yeon would no longer have any attendants. But fuck this fucktard.

...

Jin finished gobbling down the spiritual energy in his room but was yet to be satisfied. So, he went to the other rroms, candle in hand. After all this, he still remained unsatisfied with the speed. He went to his garden, then outside. And as such, you could see a kid running around with a candle and jumping to eat spiritual energy throughout the desolate areas of the inner sect where the houses remained unused...

Four days later, Han-Bi and Sang-Min knocked on his door. It was lunch time. He went with them. He was used to this by now and it became his everyday usual. The trio quite enjoyed the company of each other. Today was slightly different though. This afternoon, they would meet the other members at the prestigious inner coliseum. There was an event and they planned to all go.

Han-Bi and Sang-Min had successfully convinced Jin to attend. And even to join their faction. It had been quite easy in fact once they understood what he liked the most. They baited him with battle pointers and spars once he reached a certain stage in cultivation.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

To Jin, having rivals through his way to the top was a must. This offer was a good one that he had no reasons to refuse. As for what it truly meant to join a faction...It didn't matter. He was a kid far weaker than everyone else, what could he even do? He would just leech off them until he didn't need to or it became useless.

And so, after a satisfying meal, they walked towards the coliseum. Jin was very impressed as the structure was even bigger than the outer sect arena. What's more, there were many giant sculptures at the entrance. And many smaller ones. In fact, there were sculptures of all sizes. When he asked about it, he was told that the bigger ones were those of certain sect masters.

Once one became a sect master, he was allowed to build a statue of himself wherever he wished. And it was always one of that particular size. Incredibly tall. Yet slightly lower than the first, second and third sect masters as a show of respect.

As for the smaller ones, they were all sculptures of disciples and elders who achieved something in this coliseum or in tournaments outside the sect but as representants of it. The taller the statue, the more impactful and impressive the achievement. It turned out to be the same in all regions of the sect. Which explained all the sculptures.

He went to one and saw some writings under it: "Sung-Ki, Year 25863, defeated five opponents of the same realm at the same time"

Now those were interesting. Couldn't he get a sculpture of himself too in this case? If it was fighting a few at the same realm, he would be able to do so. He asked his two friends: " Can I get a statue if I do this too?"and it prompted a laughter from both of them: " First, this is the inner sect. If you can do this much here, sure. But in the outer sect? You need to do something much, much more grand if you want a sculpture "

Jin nodded. It was easy to understand. As one reached higher realms, rivals became stronger as well. Defeating five weaklings who just started fighting and five masters was a vastly different ordeal. It made sense. Still, he would go check the sculptures at the outer court next time. Having a sculpture of himself for all to see for centuries was very appealing.

Anyways, the duo did not bring him here so he could check the arts. Today, they brought him for two reasons. The first one was to introduce him to the friends in their faction and make him join. The second reason was that the event that was scheduled was quite something. It would no doubt brighten the kid's horizons.

That's right. This was the coliseum. And what happened there? Battles! Today was exactly so. It would be a showcase battle. In a year and some months, there was to be a giant tournament for disciples under the 30th stage. It meant that the strongest five disciples at the 30th stage would represent the sect at the tournament.

Fame, Glory, Experience and rewards were bountiful. But only five could be selected. And the first requirement was to reach the 30th stage of spiritual accumulation. There were already very few able to get to that point in their lifetimes. Yet, there were a few here in the inner sect. And today, one of the five seeds selected to represent the sect at the tournament was being challenged for his spot.

This was going to be one hell of a fight!