After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 53 Inner Disciple

Cuiyun Mountain seemed unchanged despite the outer sect competition; everything remained as familiar as ever.

After agreeing on a time to go to Green Bamboo Peak at the mountain gate, Shen Xu and the other two went to handle their respective follow-up matters. The three of them were now qualified to become inner disciples.

In fact, apart from a few clothes to take with him, Shen Xu's wooden house was practically bare.

However, his purpose was not those few pieces of clothing. Since he was going to the inner sect, he naturally had to say hello to Wu Qi, and Wu Qi still owed him a celebration banquet!

Back in the familiar wooden house, Shen Xu recalled how he looked when he first returned, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

A new owner may come here tomorrow, but at least for today, this little cabin still belongs to him.

He knocked on Wu Qi's door, but as expected, the guy wasn't home. Come to think of it, he'd never actually found Wu Qi before; it was always Wu Qi who found him first. With that thought, he gave up on looking for Wu Qi and decided to wander around Cuiyun Mountain while waiting for him to appear.

Along the way, many people recognized Shen Xu and quietly moved away from him, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. Was he really that scary?

Fortunately, Wu Qi didn't make him wait too long before refreshing the page next to him.

"The top student in the outer sect is truly different. You even exude an aura when you walk now, you know! The aura of a strong person," Wu Qi exclaimed.

"No matter how much you praise me, I will never forget what you promised me!"

"What is it? I don't remember promising you anything," Wu Qi said, feigning ignorance.

"I was planning to waive your meal since you're so poor, but it seems there's no need for that now!" Shen Xu said with some regret.

"No way! Of course I remember what I promised you, it's just a meal!"

"Alright, I'm not kidding anymore. I've come to say goodbye."

"Going to the inner sect is nothing like a life-or-death separation. I'll come find you in a couple of days, so you'll have to look after me then!"

"Haha, definitely!"

After saying goodbye to Wu Qi, Shen Xu returned to his cabin, packed a few clothes, and then gently closed the door.

……

"Elder Yan, we're here to get our permits to go to Green Bamboo Peak!" Chen Kaijia announced, and the appearance of the three immediately caused a stir in the Hall of Deacons.

"Aren't you one of the top three in the outer sect? You're already heading to the inner sect so soon, why don't you stay here a little longer?" Elder Yan teased.

"And Shen Xu, you really can't judge a book by its cover. A few days ago, I would never have believed that you could become the number one in the outer sect."

"Just lucky! Senior Brother Chen is very capable; I've already used all my trump cards," Shen Xu replied.

"Junior Brother Shen won through his own strength, there's no such thing as luck involved. But I will come looking for you to take my revenge soon," Chen Kaijia said boldly.

"Alright, I won't delay your future any longer. I've already prepared everything for you."

"These contain all your information from the outer sect. Just go to the inner sect's affairs hall to hand them over! Also, these are your credentials for entering the inner sect." Elder Yan divided the six envelopes into three parts and handed them to the three people respectively.

"Thank you, Elder Yan!" the three said in gratitude.

"Don't forget to come back and visit often!" Elder Yan said with a smile.

……

“According to the usual practice, the top five in the outer sect competition will be accepted as disciples by different elders. If the sect leader hadn’t just recently accepted a closed-door disciple, I think with your talent, you would definitely have been accepted into the sect by the sect leader.” Chen Kaijia suddenly spoke up on the way to Qingzhu Mountain.

"Personally, I prefer to be free. If possible, I would rather no elder take me as a disciple," Shen Xu replied. Anyway, he was going to run away sooner or later, so there was no need to find a master to restrict him.

"Junior Brother Shen is wrong. The elders' strength and vision far surpass ours. With their guidance, our strength will definitely improve faster."

"Moreover, the elders possess superior cultivation techniques and secret realms, as well as years of cultivation experience—advantages that ordinary disciples cannot have," Lu Qingqing retorted.

"Let's go and take a look!" Shen Xu replied with a smile.

He could no longer add any more ties to the Green Bamboo Sword Sect. Ties were shackles that would prevent him from escaping the sect and ultimately cause him to be swallowed up by the tide of blood.

Outside the gate of Qingzhu Peak, Shen Xu and his two companions handed over their credentials to the disciples guarding the gate.

"So you are the top three outer disciples this time. I'll go and notify someone to come and pick you up. Please wait here for a while," said the disciple guarding the mountain.

After a while, two figures arrived together, one in red and the other in black.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Wang, Senior Brother Shen!" the mountain-guarding disciple said respectfully.

"Which one of you is Chen Kaijia?" the woman in red asked with a smile.

“I am!” Chen Kaijia said.

"Very good, your master is already waiting for you. Come with me!" the woman in red beckoned.

"Then I'll be going now." After bidding farewell to Shen Xu and the other person, Chen Kaijia followed the woman in red into the mountain gate.

"Then you must be Lu Qingqing!" the black-robed youth then said.

"Replying to Senior Brother, I am Lu Qingqing!"

"Come with me!" The young man in black robes said and then turned and left. Lu Qingqing could only give Shen Xu an apologetic look before hurriedly following him.

For a moment, only Shen Xu and the disciples guarding the mountain gate remained outside, staring at each other in bewilderment.

"Um, the person who's supposed to pick you up might not be here yet, so please wait here for a bit," the mountain-guarding disciple comforted Shen Xu.

"Okay!" Shen Xu agreed, because normally someone should come to pick him up. As the top disciple of the outer sect, he shouldn't be ignored.

After some time, many people emerged from Green Bamboo Peak, but none of them came looking for him.

"Senior brother, it seems no one is coming to pick me up today. I wonder if you could let me in to complete the entry procedures?" Shen Xu asked the disciple guarding the mountain.

"This shouldn't be!" the disciple guarding the mountain murmured.

"Alright! That's the only way. Remember to go to the Hall of Affairs first. If you don't know the way, just ask. Don't wander around aimlessly!" the mountain-guarding disciple reminded him.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother!" Shen Xu thanked him and then carried his bundle into Green Bamboo Peak.

After walking along the main road leading to the mountain gate, Shen Xu came to a fork in the road, which put him in a dilemma. "It seems I'll have to ask for directions."

"Excuse me, senior brother, how do I get to the Hall of Affairs?" Shen Xu asked a passing gray-robed disciple.

"A newcomer?" the disciple asked, looking at his outer sect robes.

"Yes, he's new."

"I'll take you with one hundred Qi-Nourishing Pills," the gray-robed disciple said with a smile.

"Sorry, I don't have that many Qi-Nourishing Pills."

"You consumed all the Qi Nourishing Pills the sect provided after you broke through to the eighth level of Qi Nourishing." The gray-robed disciple clearly didn't believe it.

"I haven't gone to collect it yet." He indeed hadn't gone to collect the Qi Nourishing Pill that he had obtained after breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Nourishing.

"That's easy. I'll take you to the Hall of Affairs. You can give me the Qi Nourishing Pill after you've received it!" the gray-robed disciple suggested with a smile.

"I'll ask someone else!"

"Then how about we settle the score for wasting my time? You have to give me these one hundred Qi Nourishing Pills today!" The gray-robed disciple grinned and reached out to grab Shen Xu's collar.

Shen Xu dodged the gray-robed disciple's hand with a swift movement and casually chose a direction to walk in; he had just arrived and didn't want to cause any trouble.

But the gray-robed disciple didn't seem to back down and let him go. Instead, enraged at failing to catch him, he thrust his sword at him. Shen Xu could sense that the sword strike didn't carry much force; the other party simply wanted to teach him a lesson.

But since the sword was aimed at him, he had to pay the price. He instantly drew his sword and thrust it at the tip of the sword that the other was thrusting at him.

After the two sword tips collided, there was a cracking sound, and the gray-robed youth was immediately knocked back several meters before staggering and falling into the bushes by the roadside.

After the gray-robed youth fell to the ground, he looked at Shen Xu with a solemn expression. He hadn't expected that the newly promoted inner disciple, whom he thought he could easily defeat, would be so strong, probably even on par with him. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little reluctant to give up.

"Fine, I guess I'm just unlucky today. I'll just forget about the hundred Qi-Nourishing Pills." The gray-robed disciple stood up and dusted himself off.

"What about my hundred Qi-Nourishing Pills?" Shen Xu asked coldly.

"What do you mean, a hundred Qi-Nourishing Pills? I'm in a good mood and want to let you go, but don't push your luck!" The gray-robed disciple's face also darkened.

“Now it’s two hundred!” Shen Xu continued.

"You're courting death!" The gray-robed man's gaze turned cold, and a sharp sword light, carrying a slight breeze, pierced towards Shen Xu's chest.

Shen Xu's figure flashed instantly, easily dodging the sharp sword light. Then, a triple wave swept over, instantly knocking the gray-robed youth to the ground. As the gray-robed youth tried to get up immediately after falling, he saw a gleaming sword tip pressed against his neck.

“There are three hundred now,” Shen Xu said slowly.